Dear Jasmine,
I am a Muslim woman and I have recently felt a calling to expand my current faith to be more earth based and in tune with my feminine side, similar to paganism. I would say it’s how connected pagans are to nature that calls me. I want to connect and be in tuned with what is such an amazing and beautiful part of life. Nature makes me feel closer to the Truth. I have been hoping to figure out a way to incorporate rituals for the seasons or even moon cycles but I don’t even know how and I want something that works for me spiritually. I am not a polytheist, and believe more in the idea of sacred feminine, rather than gods and goddesses. I believe that we need to search for balance in life and that includes balance in masculine and feminine (which exists in all the world) but for me the idea of gods and goddesses doesn’t work. I consider myself an agnostic progressive Muslim open to reinterpretation and open to bettering myself and finding peace spiritually through parts of other religions beyond Islam. This includes paganism obviously. But I guess this makes me not open to seeing things in a polytheistic way. I see everything as united and One. Think of the yin yang symbol… That’s much the way I see things. How can I blend my current faith with aspects of paganism to fit my own beliefs?
Thank You,
Crystal
Dear Crystal,
This is truly an amazing question and I first would like to thank you for asking it. I can tell that you are a very open minded individual and I am honored to take a crack at giving you the answer to help you further yourself and your path. I am partially familiar with the Muslim faith, I studied it at the college level a bit and have even been to a service at a Mosque. I also dated a Muslim man for a few weeks, so I have a basic idea of your faith, but I am not familiar with all the ins and outs in regards to the Koran and rules that you in particular follow. I want to say in advanced that I hope I can stay respectful to you and your families faith the best I can in this. I also will be referring to what I know about Christianity in this regard being as that they have allot of similarities.
Pagan in general means to be of the non-Abrahamic faiths, which are Judaism, Christianity and Islam. You will hear a lot of this in the pagan community, and do not be shocked if you hear people telling you that a blended path is an oxymoron. You can still be connected to the divine feminine and nature, while still remaining true to your faith. Lots of pagans are more of the mindset that you are in, that we all come from one source and feminine and masculine energies are all a part of this. Pagans simply honor these energies by celebrating the goddess and god in themselves, nature and the energy of the whole divine. This mindset also helps connect pagans to nature, because everything is part of the whole, every rock, plant and creature. I am a firm believer that seeing the world like this is beautiful no matter where the core of those beliefs stems from.
Honoring the divine feminine is a challenge at times. It is easy however when you realize that as a woman you are honoring yourself and the wonder of the body that the divine gave you. There is a book out there called “The Red Tent”, which focuses on biblical characters. “It is a first-person narrative that tells the story of , daughter of Jacob and sister of . She is a minor character in the Bible, but the author has broadened her story. The book’s title refers to the tent in which women of Jacob’s tribe must, according to the ancient law, take refuge while menstruating or giving birth, and in which they find mutual support and encouragement from their mothers, sisters and aunts.” (Wikipedia). Many Goddess focused pagans use this book for their own inspirations. I have heard many great things about this book and I feel it would really help you to connect to the divine feminine energies. I also wanted to point out the daughter of Muhammad, Fatima. I am sure in your culture and time in your faith that you have heard the tales of how Fatima was revered, or seen the symbol called “The Hand of Fatima”. This symbol can be used as a representation of the divine feminine as well as the 5 pillars of Islam.
Connecting to the seasons can also be fit into your families traditions and holidays. Ramadan falls this year between July 20th and August 18th. This is normally seen as a time of harvest and bounty for pagans. While you fast during the day, you can incorporate the season of bounty at night and bring in seasonal vegetables and hearty meals to represent the bounty. Using the time during the day to meditate on the bounty and the patience it takes to fast will only enhance the wonders of the feasts that night. You can work these types of energies into all different holidays throughout the year. Many pagans do this with Christmas and Halloween.
In the end its a matter of what you feel comfortable with. You can get out in nature more and connect to the seasons and your femininity all while remaining true to your beliefs. What and how much you add is up to you. You may also consider contacting or participating in practice with your local Unitarian Church, as they accept people from all faiths and beliefs. This can be a wonderful support system for you as you grow your own path.
Many blessings to you,
Jasmine
Jasmine is a 15 year veteran pagan and Wiccan High Priestess and has been a leader in her local pagan community and done spiritual counseling. To submit questions please email JasmineMoon@gmail.com.
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