Welcome to Gaia! ::

She's extremely nude though.

Honestly, I do both -- understanding the justification can go hand in hand with saying that you still think it is wrong. I saw more of that than you seem to have.

Hi. I'm never sure what to post in these things.
You can call me Brass for short.
I don't consider myself a fluff.

I spend a lot of time reading. I'm currently working through some of Crowley's books and trying to relate them to other more modern works that are better written.

Heyla all. I'm Jaimee, or just Jai. Or you can simply call me Yugure if you want.

I'm 21, almost 22, living in Fremantle, Australia and hating every minute of this gods forsaken desertland. It's too hot, too dry, too sandy and too orange.

/rant

Anyways, while I wouldn't call myself pagan as such, I find I get along with you lot much better than, say, my Jewish sister, or the Moslims over the road. They tend not to like the fact that I make my own path through life.

I'm what I call a Humanist, or an Urbanist. I believe, mostly, in the strength and evolution of the human soul, the betterment of Humanity and the internal workings of energy. I was raised with an Odinist mindset, and considered myself an Asatruar for a long while. But it never really fit, you know? Like how some people say that Christianity never suited them, Asatru was likewise a glove-too-small for me.

I also grew up in a town that has a large Japanese population, so I was exposed to a lot of Eastern teachings and the practice of Shinto most of my life. Those ideas and concepts are part of who I am, equally as much as those of my ancestors. I practice seidr and venerate kami. I have a belief in my tama, and in Valhalla, savvy?

So, in somewhat of a rebellious mood, a friend 'challenged' me. She said that I would be hard pressed to put my own name to my beliefs, that I was 'cowering' under a sheltering title.

I took that challenge, and now I am building, from the ground up, Inarian Urban Shamanism. Yes, the name is pretentious and I like it that way. It's based around the concept of the Shinto ookami Inari being the perfect example of what Humanity can be. Fluid spirituality. Neither male nor female, a farmer and a warrior, water and fire, tempered blade and raw iron. The idea that a Human is Mind, Body and Spirit, and that the Perfect Human is Three Together As One. It's also a heavy focus on practical living, self defence, herb lore and modern medicine. If anyone is interested in hearing more, I have blogs elsewhere.

So, personal plug over, hope to talk to everyone soon.

Edit: Miss_Nel, who posted above me, is also my fiance if anyone was wondering.

Oh! I apologise, then.
I'd heard that it could be used as a racist slur, but not that it actually is one, and the few I've met have never pulled me up on it.

It was not my intention to insult.

Ooookay, let me rephrase what I meant then.
I only had an interest in the herblore and recipes in the book, not the rest of it.
I took it as biblical symbolism because of the endless references to Cain and Lilith and fallen angels, which (as I understand it) were the best images with which to teach people in those times. Considering the christian/catholic influence in those times and in that area, it made sense to explain ideas in common knowledge- using childrens stories to explain something that would otherwise be alien.
That's what I meant by biblical symbolism. I should have been clearer.