"Musings on Pagan Divinity and Unitarian Universalism" by Raven Goldenseal

"On Unitarian Universalism"
An acrostic: UNITARIAN UNIVERSALISM

U nited in tolerance and freedom
N ever judging your fellow human
I nner reflections on your path of peace
T raveling in the only direction
A lways forward toward the Divine
R eality as subjective as sensory perception
I naccurate as dogma or stigma
A study in philosophy more than religion
N eo-humanistic theory in practice

U nwavering in servitude to ideals
N ationless and cultureless – a congregation
I ndividual in its pursuit of truth
V alues as timeless as Divinity – resolution
E nding war, strife, hunger, persecution
R esounding voices for peace, virtue, and morality
S ecurity in cooperation and coexistence
A meaningful inclusion of justice and fidelity
L iberty – not just a word, but an identity
I nvented not, but a right through clarity
S een through colorless eyes and accentless tongues
M outhing our covenant in synchronicity


"Witch Faith"

You were supposed to kill the loneliness
The despair, gloom, and emptiness
You were supposed to love unconditionally
Not with mass worship or ritualistic facsimile
You were supposed to teach deep wisdom
Respect, faithfulness, and spiritual freedom

Instead you taught us about evil
A never present, infernal devil
You instilled in us religious intolerance
An expensive, oft bloody reverence
You taught us subservience, fear of your wrath
That yours was the only true religious path

Your scripture teaches “(you are) love” – to trust
Yet your faithful drown, burn, and stab at us
They went on crusades of mass extermination
They threaten with witch hunts, arrest, or execution
If “you are the light and the way”
Why are deeds done in your name so dark to this day?

If my faith in the Great Goddess dooms me to hell
Then I’ll call it the Summerland to eternally dwell
You were supposed to kill the loneliness
The despair, gloom, and emptiness
You were supposed to be the light shining from above
But all you did was kill the love


"The Elemental Quintet"
Part I: Air

The Element of intelligence
Thought and mental vigilance
The reasoned flow of an idea
Thick introspective silence

The methodology of genius
The communicative flow between us
The conversational evolution of an era
Cognitive comprehension a plus

The gentleness of a breeze
Of mental clarity with ease
Light and feathery above Terra
Flights of whims, a mental tease

As air gives us life in breath
The lack of it, stillness in death
Purified constantly by the flora
Gaea alive, breathing life’s wealth

The breath of our lives
The thoughts our minds drive
This Element of Air
This life drifting slowly by


Part II: Fire

The Element of passion
Lust and fixation
The burning desire
And heated elation

The need to be obeyed
To not be stayed
But not to rise higher
And not to be delayed

The Element of wrath
The temper that hath
Rage, anger, vengeance, and ire
The Warrior’s Path

Of righteous vindictiveness
The vengeance and vileness
Brutality to transpire
Of truth and justice

The spark for genius
The heat for the devious
This Element of Fire
This life that burns in us


Part III: Water

The Element of dreams
Hidden reality, unseen
A liquid flow in slumber
Subconscious mental beams

Our intuition, instinctual thoughts
Like the river which flows as it aught
A carrying force slow to lumber
Not a stagnant mire which rots

Cool, level-headed emotions
Loving caresses and caring notions
Empathy and compassion among its number
Relationships, healings, and devotions

The mental vacations of quiet lucidity
Passing along in liquid fluidity
Inner journeys, astral travel while in slumber
The fork of bi-location, dual mobility

The current of our aspirations
Our dreams and mental distractions
This Element of Water
The ocean of a mind in inaction


Part IV: Earth

The Element of substance
Of coherence and measured distance
The function and body and environment
Leadership, strength, and endurance

For Air to stay, it needs gravity
For Fire to burn, fuel to feed
For Water to flow, it needs bedrock
For Spirit to fill, a body

Earth, the vehicle for life
A physical shell paying time’s tithe
The sensor for pain and pleasure
The flesh that endures triumph and strife

As humans who walk forests and plains
Civilization’s leadership which reigns
Co-existing through bonds of fellowship
Of doubts and concerns no one blames

Strength of body, dominance of mind
Feats of courage and endurance of every kind
This Element of Earth
The world’s people together bind


Part V: Spirit

The Element of essence
The eternal soul’s presence
The very core of being
Before cosmic transcendence

The force of will which drives
The other four Elements besides
Being an Element itself
With them it resides

A link to the Akashic Record
Universal consciousness to accord
Personal experience and findings
Your life’s entry to afford

Legitimacy in your recollections
Your inner personal reflections
From the four Elemental senses
Not intermittent selections

The five Elements in conjunction
No random fantastic assumption
This Element of Spirit
Completing, binding our function


"The Spiral Way"
An acrostic: FEAR OF DEATH

F ear of death is a human enigma
E veryone deals in his or her own way
A ssorted beliefs as dictated by dogma
R eason sometimes holds no sway

O ur people believe in an order to existence
F or a spiral of rebirth to explain away

D eath follows life, in Summerland to dwell
E volution of the soul, to be reborn someday
A nother life to live with our karma in check
T hat we’ll learn from past mistakes this stay
H elping each other to perfection one day


"Mysterium Noctem"
An acrostic: MYSTERIUM NOCTEM

M idnight rites and rituals
Y esterday not quite here
S oon tomorrow will be present
T eaching new lessons sincere
E ternal knowledge to unfold
R ites in the sacred circle
I ntense reasoning enhanced by faith
U ndermining logic unquestioned
M aking magic a visible wraith

N urturing the continuation of mysteries
O pening portals to realms yet unseen
C oming to life-altering conclusions
T ranscending to the space in between
E ternally traveling toward perfection
M erging your soul with the universal dream


"Our Goliath, But Where Is David?"

As I walk outside, I cry
My country tis of thee I pray
My eyes deceive me because
Life, liberty – pursuit of happiness
Are gone to zombie-glazed gazes
In the eyes of my fellow countrymen

The possessions I own – not mine
Forfeit to immanent domain
My voice censored – words blackened
Incarcerated by the digital Brother
Watched by machines from ellipses high
The highways in vacuum
So close to the Moon
Were we ever there?

Digital fingerprints under our skin
Reduce us to blips on GPS screens
From sea to shining sea
We can be followed, singled out

Forefathers who fought
For rights deemed unalienable
Would repeat that history
Against our Goliath risen
Elected by faithless sheep
Grazing on plentiful pharmaceuticals
And drinking from still, stagnant waters
Generously polluted and fatally toxic

Industry’s standards and banker’s rule
Dictate laws – persecute the impoverished majority
Issuing National ID Cards like Nazis
Building toward their New World Order
The One bloody World Nation

Inciting hatred and ‘righteous’ anger
With doctored winged videos
Lies, subterfuge, and slight of mind
To gain support for needless, pointless wars

Where is our David to slay
This Goliath risen up in our land?
O’ Divine send us truth
Like the effigy of the burning bush of old
Give to us our David
Like Arthur with his righteous sword
Send to us a mighty hero
So America may once again
Be the Land of the Free
Not the home of the depraved


"On Being Pagan"

Misunderstood ambitions and dreams
Breaking a society apart at the seams
Religious passions and creation theories
Raping and pillaging of Universal memories

Standing alone - searching for a community
Of like-faithed people to join in solidarity
The ancient pantheons to come to life
To help relieve this discrimination and strife

Wiccan friends too far between and few
But my soul mate found, pulling my spirit into
A place not so isolated anymore - companionship
An ancient, undying love - an eternal courtship

Our Great Mother providing the things we need
A thirst for experience and knowledge to feed
Sun Father providing for all our daily wants
Moon Goddess teaching the mysteries - spiritual haunts

Pagan pride and love for Mother Earth
Inner understanding to appreciate self worth
Striving for wisdom as a part of the All
Harmony with nature - the witch’s call


"Spiral Journey"

As you near an end
A new start will begin
And to not go on
An unforgivable sin

In a life unending
The wheel turns eternal
Rebirth following death
An unending journal

The world a theatre
And lives the many plays
All dramas and tragedies
The countless, infinite ways

Karma dealt and karma received
Now rewarded, now punished
The debt and the credit
That shall never be finished

‘Til perfection and balance achieved
All of life’s lessons learned
All of experience taught
Summerland – Nirvana earned


"Words"

Congratulations, praise, acknowledgement
To raise morale, lift spirits, and dole credit
These words given for positive affirmations
When well earned in every facet

Words of love, respect, honor, and friendship
Can heal hearts and minds and egos
Words of forgiveness, sympathy, and ministry
Can heal souls and most of life’s woes

Words spoken in anger, hate, and loathing
Can inflict pain and self-conscience awareness
Words spoken against race, sex, and religion
Can incite wars, inner-city riots, and violence

Words carry with them a mighty power
And that power comes with a great responsibility
To carefully choose what you write or say
Can make a great difference in our society


"Beliefs"

Beliefs take time
To ruminate - to cogitate
To mull the concepts over
To decide - to correlate
A plan for a purpose
To believe - to formulate
Correct courses of action
A path in life to stimulate

You cannot live day to day
To go with the flow of the now
You have to plan a future
To consciously map it somehow
To have goals you need dreams
And beliefs - The fertile ground to plow
Deeds and actions for the sowing
The final goal to reap - to endow

Beliefs take time
And a strong conscious effort
To take life firmly in hand
Seeking guidance as a last resort
Or as needed if you think it wise
Your principles not to distort
Take time with your beliefs
They are who you are - your support


"Elements in Nature"

Created in the womb of our Great Mother
The green and fertile wilds of deep forest
Wandered and tended by Her great Lover
Creatures great and small scurry and rest

All cares and worries now eternally bereft
Needless for Her care and Her will
Life’s eternal circle shall fulfill itself
And the balance of the Elements forever still

The nourishing and eternal Earth
The life-giving spark of sustaining Fire
The sip of growth, the raining Water
The exercising, sway-causing Air

The One - Creator of All - the Font
Father to the Great Goddess and God
The balance - Creators of life on Earth
Sky, oceans, animals, mankind, and sod

The great story of the greatest love
Eternal Circle of Life - the seasons
Markers of time - the turning of the Wheel
Spirit to live eternally - the greatest reason

Everything in balance Divine.


"Morality"
An acrostic: GOOD AND EVIL DOES NOT EXIST

G ood and evil does not exist
O nly socially acceptable morality
O wing that the human heart will persist
D redging the bottom with legality

A nswering questions with reasoned thought
N egating indecision with rationality
D elving into our subconscious minds

E xcavating the past to find no finality
V enerating the truth to define the axis
I nsisting upon good and evil – rigidity
L ying to ourselves for the ‘benefit’ of mankind

D emeaning others as a source of superiority
O stracizing the minorities, keeping in check
E mpowering the social and ‘moral’ majority
S teamrolling opposing thoughts and beliefs to dust

N ever questioning in depth their morality
O pposition accepts their place in the world
T heir safe positions in a hostile society

E vil and good changing generation to generation
X enophobia heightened with violent sobriety
I nsisting we all believe in their lies
S itting on their thrones dictating legality
T hriving on prejudice, fear, and hate


"Moments"

Precious moments like snapshots in time
A novel unwritten with no rhythm nor rhyme
Infinite interpretations with each new eye
A laugh, a smile, a tear, or a sigh
Ideas, ideals, dreams, or thoughts
A tree that blooms or a forest that rots
The rain that falls or the water which pools
A project, a purchase, or unused tools
A life, a death, the pain or the strife
Is giving, is taking, the birth of life
The death or the passing of age and beauty
The pressing responsibility or stifling duty
Precious moments like snapshots in time
The canvas unpainted, unhued, sublime