I read an interesting piece by Jenna, the Foxy Folklorist over on the Atheist channel of Patheos<\/a>.\u00a0 It\u2019s a simple read that can appeal to anyone, go take a look.\u00a0 Jenna breaks down in basic terms what ritual is and what it isn\u2019t.\u00a0 This post is not, in any way, meant to be rebuttal \u2013 but perspective matters.\u00a0 How an Atheist views ritual will differ to how a Pagan, Witch or Polytheist will view it, simply because of the difference in our views on the mundane.<\/p>\nWhat ritual is and is not is actually fairly easy to break down, and Jenna does a fine job of it.\u00a0 Simply put, a ritual is something done, usually formulaic and at specific times \u2013 whether frequently or infrequently \u2013 that has a deeper meaning than it\u2019s physical actions might suggest.\u00a0 From simple things like saying \u201cBless you\u201d when someone sneezes to more complex frequent things like the Deipnon to more moment specific things like, as Jenna stated, the crowning of a new monarch.<\/p>\n
But those things we do that are frequent and formulaic but have no deeper meaning, are not rituals.\u00a0 Those things where the actions are exactly what they seem to be, those are not rituals.\u00a0 Brushing your teeth, sweeping the floor, washing the dishes in that particular order and method that you do \u2013 not rituals.<\/p>\n
Except, when they are rituals.<\/p>\nVia public domain pictures.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\nHearth and Kitchen Witchery are our greatest examples of those mundane non-ritual tasks becoming ritual tasks.\u00a0 Me, I am a Hearth Witch \u2013 though I don\u2019t really blog much about it \u2013 so there are many things I do that may seem normal and mundane that actually hold a much deeper meaning and purpose than is obvious on the surface.\u00a0 Sweeping, cleaning, cooking, DIY, crafts, these are all things that are, at times, rituals and not just chores to do.<\/p>\n
But also, not always.\u00a0 Most of the time I sweep the floor because, it needs to be swept for the umpteenth time because I have kids and they are messy.\u00a0 There is no ritual to this, it\u2019s a task that must be done.\u00a0 But there are those other times, when it looks exactly the same, you can\u2019t even tell the difference when looking with your eyes \u2013 but it\u2019s a ritual. Meaning, purpose, will and magic flows through.\u00a0 Perhaps it\u2019s a cleansing ritual, perhaps a protection, perhaps a banishing.\u00a0 Perhaps it is something else.\u00a0 You won\u2019t know for looking, you can\u2019t know.\u00a0 But it\u2019s there.<\/p>\n
And the usually mundane chore becomes deeper, meaningful and spiritual as well.<\/p>\n
This happens outside of witchery of course.\u00a0 Sweeping on the Deipnon, to place the sweepings alongside the offering to Hekate \u2013 this is a ritual as well.\u00a0 Cleaning your altar and shrine, sometimes it is a mundane chore, because of dust you know \u2013 but sometimes, hopefully more often, the cleaning of your sacred areas, though it looks relatively normal, would actually be a deeper and more meaningful ritual than people would assume.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
On the flip side, things that are ritual to most people aren\u2019t necessarily such to others.\u00a0 As Jenna said, and I mentioned above \u2013 saying \u201cbless you\u201d when someone sneezes, is in itself a ritual because of its deeper meaning.\u00a0 But if you don\u2019t ascribe any deeper meaning to those words, or your use of those words, then it can\u2019t really be called a ritual any more, can it?\u00a0 It\u2019s just an automatic thing like saying, \u201cJesus Christ!\u201d when you stub your toe. You aren\u2019t necessarily calling on Jesus to bless your toe, are you? The same, if I were to say \u201cBless you\u201d it really wouldn\u2019t mean anything deeper than \u2013 I am stuck in this world where stuff said all the time becomes impossible to not say.\u00a0 Or, we are all sheeple sometimes.<\/p>\n
Ritual is something that is at once very simple to define, but also very complicated to define.\u00a0 Simple \u2013 it has to have a deeper meaning that is not necessarily apparent on the surface.\u00a0 Complicated \u2013 everything can be a ritual, it just depends on who is doing it.\u00a0 You can\u2019t assume one way or the other.<\/p>\n
And it does make me wonder.\u00a0 Is there anyone out there for whom brushing their teeth is actually a ritual?<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Brushing your teeth, sweeping the floor, washing the dishes in that particular order and method that you do – not rituals.
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