Why Pagans Don't Celebrate St. Patrick's Day
Text in italics was written by Flame Ravenhawk, and the original article can be found here.
Thanks to sari0009 for the correct credit!

Why pagans don't celebrate St. Patrick's Day

Patrick was a Christian priest whose job it was to convert the population of Ireland to Christianity. The Druids, however, stood in his way. The Druids were very important people in Ireland at that time, and their symbol was the Snake of Wisdom. Druids could be priests of the old religion of Ireland, but there were also much more.

One part of the Druid class were the "Bards", whose job it was to remember all of the history of the people, as well as to record current events. Because the Irish Celts did not rely on a written language, everything had to be memorized. Bards were poets and musicians, and used music and poetry to help them remember their history exactly. Because of this, Bards were highly respected members of the Irish society. The Irish believed that history was very important, for if you didn't remember what had happened in the past, you couldn't safely plan for the future. Bards, therefore, held the future of the people in safekeeping.

Another important part of the Druidic class were the "Brehons". Brehons were the Judges and the Keepers of the Laws. The Celtic people had a highly complicated society, and with it, a highly developed set of laws. Brehons trained for many years to learn the laws of the people, so that whenever there was a dispute, the Brehon could
fairly decide the matter and make peace. The laws were there to make sure that everyone; man, woman, and child, were treated fairly and with respect. Because of the wisdom that the Brehons held, and the knowledge of the laws of the society, they too, like the Bards, were held with much respect.

And, of course, there were the Druid Priests. This branch of the Druid set were the keepers of the knowledge of Earth and Spirits. It was their responsibility to learn the Spirit World, in order to keep people and Earth in harmony. Priests performed marriages and "baptisms", they were healers, and psychiatrists. The Priests were
the wise grandparents to whom you could go with a problem. They were there to help you solve them, with the help of the Earth and the Spirit World.

Into this world of the Irish Celts entered a highly energetic and devoted Christian Priest named Patrick. Because he believed so strongly in the tenets of Christianity, he thought that anyone who was not Christian had to become one in order to be "saved". He came to Ireland to convert the Irish people to Christianity.

The Irish people at that time were happy and doing quite well without Patrick and his ideas, but he was persistent. He noticed that the Druids were really the important people of the society. He thought that if he could convert the Druids to Christianity, the rest of the people would follow. Patrick's main problem was that the Druids were very
comfortable with what they had already learned, and were not willing to change. Druids had spent their entire lives learning the ways of the people, and were the last people who were willing to change.

Although Patrick was not willing to abandon his vision of a Christian Ireland, he was getting desperate. He knew that because the strength of the people rested with the Druids, he had to get rid of them in order to get the people to listen to him.

Patrick was not alone in his efforts. He had brought many people with him from Britain to establish the new religion. Patrick began to destroy the influence of the Druids by destroying the sacred sites of the people and building churches and monasteries where the Druids used to live and teach. Gradually, the might of the Druidic class was broken by a bitter campaign of attrition. Instead of hearing the teachings and advice of the Druids, the people began to hear the teachings of Rome. Because the Druids were the only ones who were taught to remember the history, with the Druids dead and their influence broken, the history was forgotten.

Patrick won. By killing off the teachers and the wise ones, his own religion could be taught. For this mass conversion of a culture to Christianity, and for the killing of thousands of innocent people, Patrick was made a Saint by his church.

So while I love my Irish heritage and the culture I do not celebrate the murder of my ancestors or the man that murdered them.

http://child-of-the-earth.xanga.com/577383277/why-pagans-dont-celebrate-st-patricks-day/

In the future, judges will send criminals to holy spots where reverence~provoking beauty will overwhelm their addiction to hatred.

~Rob Brezsny

Willing to Experience aloneness,

I discover connection everywhere;

Turning to face my fear,

I meet the warrior who lives within;

Opening to my loss,

I am given unimaginable gifts;

Surrendering into emptiness,

I find fullness without end.

Each condition I flee from pursues me.

Each condition I welcome transforms me.

And becomes itself transformed

Into its radiant jewel~like essence.

I bow to the one who has made it so,

Who has crafted this Master Game;

To play it is pure delight,

To honor it is true devotion.

"Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds".
Albert Einstein

http://www.deepastronomy.com/hubble-deep-field.html

The Hubble Deep Field: The Most Important Image Ever Taken::DeepAstronomy.com
www.deepastronomy.com
There are very few images that can be called revolutionary. The Hubble Deep Field represents the farthest we've ever seen into the universe. Looking at this image, one cannot help but be humbled.

This day's guidance has touched me on this day so deeply I felt to share it with those of you about to read forward, may you be BLESSED... 0:)

Blue Monkey is the Artisan; the weaver of time; the scribe; the trickster; the playful agent of magical illusion; ambassador of Cosmo~Rama!  It's energy is known for weaving new patterns, constructive solutions, artistic expressions or inventions into our lives; for The monkey's message to us all is; "Don't take yourself so seriously!"
Blue Monkey reminds we are all children of the Universe here to play with the every~day magic we are immersed in.  A we embrace spontanity and honor play as an essential part of the wholeness of life we find healing, liberation and joy.  Blue Monkey dares us to laugh and smile in the face of stresses, transforming them into adventure and wonder.  As The Mayan Oracle encourages:  "As you freely play, the importance is taken off who you think you are, leaving room for who you actually are."
We can view the entirety of Creatio  as a Divine Play.  In Sanskrit, the word "maya" means: illusion which masquerades as apparent reality.  The word "leela" means: The Divine play of Self;  the sport of God; the Dance of Consciousness.  If we identify only with the maya and overlook the leela, the result is suffering.  Perceiving the leela, freedom finds us!  See you in the unfolding Play of Cosmos!

On the surface, this push-pull between Saturn and Uranus can be extremely challenging; after all, they seem to represent polar-opposite energies. Saturn upholds rules and limits, promoting the status quo and all that has come before. Uranus, on the other hand, represents the revolutionary desire to upturn that which is accepted in hopes to find a solution that promotes evolution.  ALL IS WELL...

http://planetaryapothecary.com/2009/09/saturn-opposite-uranus/

When we structure our lives by the artificial rhythm of the clock and 12-month calendar, we expose our central nervous system, and subsequently, our entire mental-emotional body to the frequency of a machine.

Reknowned author and scientist Dr. Deepak Chopra, M.D., has presented studies showing how:the stress of linear time contributes directly to an acceleration of the physical aging process, inclusive of deterioration and disease.

In modern industrial living, we wake up by the clock, we eat to the clock - we plan our lives and live our days in accord to the clock. We refer to the clock to program even our most basic of biological functions!

Quoting Mark Comings, Quantum Physicist: "The intrinsic folly of this unnecessary yet widely promoted artificial dependance upon machine technology is that it discourages the development of, and even serves to hide the existence of, a vast spectrum of inner capacities - psychic, mental, emotional and spiritual potentials - that lie dormant within the biological human body in time."

According to Dr. José Argüelles, PhD.:"The simple and easiest way to reprogram your daily awareness of the actual nature of time is to follow the 13 Moon Calendar."
Free your mind and your world will follow!

http://www.13moon.com/nature's%20cal%20page.htm

So tonight at Mide one of our beautiful staff Miranda decided to start singing the chicken dance.  Once our cook Gavin got the tune it stayed with him, LOL.  So as I move through the Bistro tonight on 999 I hear not the Beatles but the Chicken dance being hummed in the front end and at the back kitchen.  As Jim and I giggle to ourselves and look at Miranda and Gavin and laugh out loud we invite you to join in the Mide FUN and do the Chicken Dance as seen here with Lawrence Welk:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6UV3kRV46Zs
Have a wonderful evening... 

'The Tao of Physics'...  IN the perfection of our original nature, the realization that the process of enlightenment consists merely in becoming what we already are from the beginning.  When Zen Master Po-Chang was asked about when seeking for the Buddha Nature he answered, 'It's much like riding an Ox in search of an Ox.'

Excerpt from the Book "The Fifth Sacred Thing" Author Starhawk...

This dilemma has faced every peaceful culture for the last five millennia, at least.  Once this drive for power-over and domination appeared on the planet, it became a force that no one could escape for more then a breathing space.  For either we submit, and it triumphs or we mobilize to fight against it, diverting our energies and resources and transforming ourselves into what we do not want to be.  It's like a virus, mindlessly destructive, yet we cannot eradicate it without changing our own internal balance. 
We must develop an immunity to that virus.  Not just for ourselves but for our planet.  We've had a little space of time in isolation, where we could pretend that life could carry on here without too much regard for what went on elsewhere, if only because we had no means to affect it.  We have used that time well.  We have shown in this city-in this watershed-that even on this ruined and ravaged and poisoned Earth, people can live well together, can care for one another, can heal and build in harmony with what is around us.  We have demonstrated hope.  Now it is up to us to sustain that hope, not to abandon it to the despair of violence."

Many years ago the poet Diane di Prima wrote a line that comes back to me now: "The only war that counts is the war against the imagination'. I often wondered what she meant by it, but now I think I understand.  All war is first waged by the imagination, first conducted to limit our dreams and visions, to make us accept within ourselves it's terms, to believe that are only choices are those that it lays before us.  If we let the terms of force describe the terrain of our battle, we will lose.  But if we hold to the power of our visions, our heartbeats, our imagination, we can fight on our own turf, which is the landscape of consciousness.  There, the enemy cannot help but transform".

Dreams are an interesting thing, sometimes they can be powerful messages.  11:11 with two children and a person pushing the buggy, the time reads as we pass through an arch of a bridge "11:11".  Bridges and archways are both symbolic of gateways... Let's see, always interesting!

The land of presence...  Coming out of Mercury retrograde has pushed us into being present/one with great abundance, prosperity, Joy, laughter and spectacular souls in our life.  I am truly grateful!!!  The patio at Midé inspires the soul to unite with Nature, and is like a magnet as we are all in need of continuing to be in union with and know our connection to all that is.  Last nights Jazz Event was a spectacular experience under the twinkle of the Stars, the artists Musical performance was beautiful, the Culinary art Joseph prepared was stunning and stimulated the senses, gliding through the venue, making sure all were happy PLUS working these long hours Joseph and I do daily, when we do have moments to just enjoy and watch we see the grace of creation we pay such close attention to come through in the smiling, happy, laughing faces in all of you experiencing Midé & YO2GA, thank you for sharing... Namaste

Wow,  this has been a Mercury retrograde that really keeps us working on being the calm in the eye of the storm/chaos surrounding us.  It brings in the heavy hitters like family and close relationships to ensure you can stay focused on who you are and where you are going amoungst the flying perceptions, anger, fear and all those other not so happy e(energy)motions.  (Be sure to duck...just bob and weave until May 30th when Mercury goes direct!)

The purpose of Mercury retrograde is to review and revise our life and our connection with reality. The timing of this universe is geared toward the Sun as it moves through the zodiac. Mercury has an orbit that at times gets ahead of the Sun allowing us to look into the future toward new and innovative ideas. However, we cannot continue in that vein until we come back to the present designated by the Sun and put our new ideas into manifestation. During the time that Mercury jumps ahead, we ultimately have to bring the ideas back into the present to test and evaluate to see how they fit into our life. As Mercury retrogrades back into the present, the connection with the Sun happens as we test drive our ideas and re-align with reality and the natural timing of the universe.

The Mercury retrogrades that are occurring in 2009 provide the opportunities for us to make mental adjustments about decisions we have as our goals, aspirations that are our focus during the ELEVEN year of 2009. Because we are making decisions to bring forward the visionary awareness into our new journey, new endeavors, new goals, the events during the Mercury retrograde time frames help us to veer away from the past and take bold steps into our new future. . These adjustments will be very necessary as they allow us to make major changes, emphasizing our bold and innovative choices. The ELEVEN year brings forward the opportunity to utilize the "master" qualities from a Divine perspective of leadership, visionary purpose, and Divine intent. The ELEVEN reduces to the TWO (1+1=2) which provides the basic energy for the year of relating to people, places and things. However, with the opportunities available to bring forward the Divine path available for those AWARE of the ELEVEN, the journey through 2009 provides a pathway lit by Divine opportunities.

YOGA ?  Simply; is awareness of LIFE in every moment and every moment in awareness of LIFE...

"In order to rally people, governments need enemies. They want us to be afraid, to hate, so we will rally behind them. And if they do not have a real enemy, they will invent one in order to mobilize us."
Thich Nhat Hanh

Form and Matter, Energy, force and Motion...  Let us stay present in our form and matter to move with great force sustaining our natural energy we are all blessed with at every moment.  Let this motion be one of peace, joy, happiness, love and bliss knowing that when you adopt the viewpoint:

"That there is nothing that exists that is not a part of you, That there is no one that exists that is not a part of you, That any judgement you make is self judgement, That any criticism you level is self criticism, You will wisely extend to yourself an unconditional love that will be the LIGHT of YOUR World!"  Harry Palmer