Goddess is...

The Goddess is creation
The Goddess is birth
The Goddess is death

She is the old woman
and the ancient wisdom
She is the fall,
leaves that slowly fall
towards the ground
the Winter
Long sleep
Violence
Tempest
Darkness
the Womb of the Earth
She lightens up the riches of the underworld
She rules over Life and Death
She is the magick
She is the Mystery
She is the power
She is the Fire that burns
around the mountain of death
She is the Queen of the Witches
She is the Skillful
Fearsome
Violent

The Goddess is Creation
the Goddess is Birth
The Goddess is Death

She is the Mother
She is Birth
She is the Child
She is the Giver of Life
She is the Spring for ever flowing
from the mother's breast
She is the Quickening of Life
from the Mother's Cave
She is the Green Fertile Earth
Protectress of All Life
She is the Swelling of Woman
She is the Weight
She is the Womb
with the full grown Child
She is the Child Bearing Woman>
Fertility and Overflowing
She is Summer and Autumn

The Goddess is creation
the Goddess is birth
The Goddess is death

She is the young woman
the spring
that opens earth's womb
and gives warmth and life to earth
She is the wind in spring
she is the joy
she is the soul of the earth
she is love and lovemaking
she is receiveness
she is fertility
she is the blooming
she is peace, joy and light
she is the creator
she comes from the darkness and
spreads the light.

I used to have a homepage at Geocities, but then Yahoo! stopped the service, and I lost my site. I was a bit sad, because I thought this poem was lost. I wrote it. First part is The Crone, second The Mother and last The Maiden. I hope you enjoy it :-)

Mmm... I do love houses....

I received a comment from a very kind anonymous, and he/she made me very happy :-)
He/she suggested Natural Homes group at Facebook, and there are pictures, links to information, videos... ah.

This is Clark Sander's house built of stone... lovely :-)

Then there's this home, which is so hobbit-y and I love it :-D I think I have mentioned it somewhere else, though, but it's worth mentioning again :-D

Holy cow and Charlie's Goddesses

I really, truly hate it when ordinary people are called "goddesses". To me Goddess is the name for a female God. Millions of people on this planet believe their God is feminine. Associating this word to... er... how to put it nicely? Women who have sex for earthly goods... No. NO!
But for some reason, most of the people in the Western society have no problems with this. I suppose they don't think it might be offending to anyone, after all, they believe every other religion except their own is humbug and BS, so there's no need to respect other people's beliefs either. 
It could be the fact that most of these people are so used to think human beings are divine, that they don't realize the absurdity of the idea.
But - what ever happened to "do unto others"? I mean, if you think "OMG" is swearing and foul language and "taking God's name in vain", why do you think it's okay to use other religions' "names of God" in vain?

There was a woman in Penn&Teller Bullshit episode "Profanity", Ginny Foster. She said: "...because if you are going to profane a deity, I guess it might as well not be your own."
WHAT?

She said: "The use of profanity degrades society. English is a living language. We have an opportunity to bring it to life. And when we say ugly things, then that living language becomes an agent of death."
Then she goes on saying: "Mork and Mindy is a tv show from a long time ago, and Mork had the best word, shazbot. And so, if you hit your thumb with a hammer, you can say shazbot. My father is a Mexican, so I was around Spanish a lot, so this one word I use when I'm really angry is "santa vaca". If you say "santa vaca", you can really get mad and really blow off some steam, and then you won't be bothering anyone". 
Oh? In what way importing swearwords from invented Orkan language or existing wordly languages, like Spanish is bringing English to life, opposing the use of existing English swearwords?

You could say "fan" (Swedish swearword, pronounced a bit like the F-word, except with longer "ah" and -n in the end in stead of -ck. Like "fun" but with long vowel. fu-un. It means "the devil", and is about the worst swearword in Swedish you can use. To me - a Finn - it's about as offensive and ugly as flan, fun and fan, though the long vowel sound makes it a bit silly.)
You could also use the Galactica swearword "frak". It doesn't "mean" anything either... the problem here is that it's not the MEANING of the words that's offensive, degrading, foul language, bad manners and what ever people are trying to say, but the IDEA of swearing. 

I have been speaking about this several times, but I'll say it again. Perhaps someone understands some day.
When I grew up, I was the youngest of six, and NOBODY USED PROFANITIES OF ANY KIND EVER. I was over 10 before I even heard a profanity. I didn't get into the habit of expressing my anger with swearing. I didn't get into the habit of expressing my surprise with swearing. I didn't get the habit of swearing just for the "fun" of it. I didn't swear. It's quite enough to express your anger by saying you're angry. It's quite enough to express your surprise with "oh!" Simple exclamations, like "ow!", are quite sufficient when you hit yourself in thumb with a hammer. (Though why would you do such a thing in the first place, is beyond me. I have never hit myself in my thumb with a hammer, even though I have been building things since I was 10.)
NOW I swear like most other people. I was taught by my peers. Am I dumber and less mature as when I was 10? No. It really is just a habit. Might be a bad habit, but as a habit, it's in no way worse than smoking (which actually physically harms the bystanders. Swearing doesn't.) or drinking "diet soda" (which is a habit that harms both you and the environment, and supports a huge company that got rich by selling dirty water to people. Swearing doesn't.)

Ginny Foster's suggestions for "non-offensive swearing": "For crying out loud!", "Shut the front door!", "Santa vaca!", "Oh my gosh!", "I swear to Buddha"...
Well... when you scream things like that, when you scream ANYTHING in frustration, anger, because you think people around you are stupid... you are swearing.
(She also teaches her students that it's the DUTY of the person sitting next to driver, to show handsigns to their fellow trafficants. She isn't flipping the midfinger, she's using both hands. That makes it okay. For some reason, it doesn't even cross her mind, that a) ignoring the other trafficants' hand signs and "stupidity" in traffic would be a more mature, sensible and less offensive way of reacting, and if you now HAVE TO give space to stupid, instant, instinctive reactions, there already is a hand-sign that says it all very well and non-offensively. One hand, palm outward, all fingers extended. It says all kinds of things, like "hi!", "stop" and "talk to the hand"... which, in fact, is very rude. On the other hand, if you are so bothered by what other people are doing, you really need to grow up. YOU. Not the people you are angry with.)

Jim O'Connor, author of  "Cuss Control": "When you get really mad, you say "oh, that's a bunch of balderdash".
When you get really mad you say nothing.
Mostly, because you don't get really mad, especially over things someone else says. No, really. Don't. What's the point?

"I'm generally offended by crude language, by language I just don't think has a place among adults that respect each other".
"If somebody swears during a conversation with me, I think they are underestimating my intelligence, or underestimating my opinion on myself. I don't think it's protected speech, and I think that if people are somehow exposed to that, against their will, the government should take action to protect their people."
- Jim Lafferty; Traditional Values Coalition

Jim thinks the Xians should have the "freedom" to attempt to convert non-Xians. I find that EXTREMELY OFFENSIVE AND INVASIVE OF MY PRIVATE LIFE AND MY PERSONAL VALUES. In my mind the government should protect me against fundamentalists like that, who think their values are more valuable than my values. Unfortunately for me, the first amendment protects the Xians' right to exercise their religion freely, meaning, they have the right to try to push their crap to everyone they meet. They don't have the right to force themselves to my homes, though. And the same first amendment also tells the government that it may not create laws to abridge the freedom of speech. So, Jimmy-boy, you just have to do what we have to do, when you come to us with your offensive language and behavior, and walk away.
(BTW, Jim, I don't think anyone is underestimating your intelligence, but everyone is underestimating your opinion on yourself.)

P.S:   I'm more offended by bitch (used of a woman), slut and (w)ho(re) than the C-word.
P.P.S. What the Bible says about cussing, swearing and taking God's name in vain. Really.

10 reasons to why I'm Pagan

tongue in cheek... I made the "10 reasons why I'd be Christian".

1) Writing
The Pagans invented letters, writing, literature, fiction, fact books, even ink and printing press. Hard to top :-D

2) Surgery
Saves lives, and have been saving and improving lives since Pagans invented it a couple of thousand years ago. Pagans also invented the rest of medicine, or most of it. Thank a Pagan every time you go and see a doctor or take medicine.

3) Astronomy
and navigation, sailing, ship building, aviation, space travels, moon walk... all thanks to Pagans.

4) Democracy
The Greek had it, the Vikings had it... also freedom of religion, freedom of speech and practically all civil and human rights. Lovely things :-)

5) Tolerance
Multiculturalism, diversity, tolerance, openmindedness, curiosity, will and ability to learn... the Romans especially were amazing with their ability to adapt and adopt... Really, if you go to meet other cultures with the idea of that they are stupid, primitive and lesser wilds, you won't learn anything from them.

6) Drums
Frankly, Pagans "invented" all music, but drums are my favorite.

7) Visual art
Cave paintings might not be advanced, but they do engage you, even today... And the Greek sculptures... or Scythian sculptures. Or Indian sculptures, or Chinese or... well... most Pagan sculptures are amazing :-)
I fully appreciate the beauty of nature, but mankind has beautified the world.

8) Pantheon
or Newgrange, the seven wonders of antique world, Great Wall of China; or a lot of other Pagan buildings. Frankly, we have to thank Pagans for the fact that we have houses to begin with.

9) Animal husbandry
Thank Pagans when you pet your cat ;-)

10) Zero
and the principles of mathematics. But zero is... divinely beautiful in its perfection. 

Also, Pagans invented the wheel, cooking, metallurgy and all the other crafts, agriculture, irrigation, laws and hundreds of other things. Heron inventor would be a reason in himself.
Also, mead. Claude Lévi-Strauss thought the invention of mead as a marker of the passage "from nature to culture".

If you appreciate ANY of these things in your life, thank a Pagan. ;-)

Eveyone is a lying hypocrite

I am having problems with negative thoughts.
Why do some people think its okay to claim they appreciate honesty more than anything, but when you are honest they find it okay to punish you for it, by bullying, mocking, harassing and persecuting you?
Why do they think it's okay to spread unbased gossip about others?
Why do they think it's okay to claim your conclusions based on a couple of words and a lot of misunderstanding is the truth about other people?
Why is it supposed to be bad that you publish something negative someone said in public group in the same public group? And that is supposed to be MY offense against you, who said it in the first place? Why are you fully innocent to what you say yourself? I don't get it. I really don't get it.

Some people get a good reputation for something stupid, and then they are untouchable. You may not criticise them, you may not tell them they are wrong or did something bad, you may not point out the inconsistency of their words and actions, if you do, you get flogged, and your reputation for ever more is ruined, not because you are a damned besserwisser and "negative", no, because you are a "bad person", attacking a "good person".
If A does this and B does the same thing, the consequences should be the same, don't you agree? But they aren't. The consequences are totally depending on if you like A and B. Whether they have shown ability to think intelligently or not, whether they are honest and reliable or not, whether they have shown prejudices or not, whether they have violated all your ethical rules or not, all that is totally indifferent, the only thing that matters if whether these people are your friends or not.
No, not even that... whether you consider these people to be your friends or not.

How do you know someone is lying? They claim to appreciate honesty more than anything else. They say they hate liars. If you ask doctor House, he's say the person is a human being and alive. Most people lie, every third minute they say something untrue. Either it's a real lie, or white lie, or something they are not aware is a lie, but if you are a human being, you lie. I lie, you lie, everybody lies.

Another thing that is true for every human being is that everyone is a prejudicous and hypocritical. Everyone. If you are a living human being, you have prejudices of several things, some of them negative, some of them false. If you are a living human being, you are a hypocrite. You don't live as you preach, and you do preach. The biggest hypocrisy of it all is when you claim you are not hypocritical, that you hate hypocritical people, and when you justify your bullying, mocking and harassing another human being with "he's being a hypocritical, prejudicous liar". So are you. So am I. Everyone is.

Except perhaps those who never say a word, who never visit internet debate groups, who live by the "I'm full of it and I know nothing" motto.
But, as said, you don't see those in the internet (laughing out loud)

It would be better to be an honest a-hole and admit that you cannot be sure of that every word that comes from your mouth IS truthful, that you cannot be sure of that your assessment of each situation, your understanding of what others are saying or what they mean with their words, your estimation of your environment and your fellow beings, is intrinsically flawed and based on your beliefs, prejudices and experiences in your life, and anyone over 10 years has plenty of experience and misunderstood "learning" to tackle. This is called "a filter" and it gives its taste to every piece of input and output. That you do allow your prejudices, beliefs, what other people say about these people and all kinds of irrelevant things decide your opinion on this person AND what he/she says.

And how is it supposed to be something to brag about that you don't have the slightest understanding of privacy? Why is it supposed to be a justifiable reason to pick locks and hack other people's accounts and send spies to closed groups, that you think they MIGHT be saying something negative about you? I don't like you, so is it a surprise to you to know that I state I don't like you? Is it necessary information to you so that you and/or your friends could violate the rules of privacy? No. The only thing you have achieved by mocking the members of a private group for not saying anything interesting in their group is to reveal that YOU are an a-hole.

People believe it's okay to break an agreement, violate trust and tell what they found out in a confidential discussion to others, whether it is their friends, or enemies of their enemies...
People believe you can - and should - break any ethical rules for the sake of "friendship".
People think others have to EARN respect and forgiveness... but respect you give to others is the measurement of the respect you have for yourself, and you need to forgive to be free and able to carry on with your life, take back the power you gave to the person who "offended" you.

In the end, all this is irrelevant. The only person I'm hurting is me. The people who did all that to me don't give a dime about me, or the others they keep hurting.

It's just that I don't understand... but - I'm full of it and know nothing, and I'm pretty sure I have done a lot of things other people don't understand.

World Environment Day

5th of June - the first Sunday of June - is the world environment day. I invite all of you to join the "pick a piece of litter a day" movement, and especially to pick a certain type of litter - cigarette butts - next Sunday.

"Cigarette butts are the most common litter in the world. Even many decent people throw their butts thoughtlessly on the ground. Cigarette butts, however, contain thousands of chemicals of which several are toxic and carcinogenic. For example heavy metal cadmium is not degradable, but instead it accumulates in the food chain and comes back to people."

 I also invite all crafters to create a pocket bin to be given to all smokers you see on the streets. It can be made of any metal or plastic case small enough to fit your pocket. In Sweden the plastic snuff boxes are perfect for this purpose. Decorate the box so that the smoker will accept it and use it.

Anti-fur and anti-leather shirts.

I have a zazzle shop.I thought it might be a good idea to mention it here too :-D Here are my newest shirts:

 Stop shaving t-shirt

 someone else's skin t-shirt

Frankly, I am not that fundamentalist about wearing fur and leather.
I think it's not ok to have fur farms - growing animals just for fur - but sheep and rabbit fur - animals that are eaten - is 100% okay.
Also, food animal leather, like pig skin, kidskin, cowhide and such, is fully acceptable. If you eat the animal, you can use the skin/fur too.
Providing, naturally, that the animals weren't grown on a factory farm, but cared for during their life, and killed humanely and quickly...
I am aware that that is almost impossible in today's society, but I also consider us having a choice and therefore responsibility.

I also have some Pagan themed shirts: