Profile Update

[qos]

I just updated my profile.

Feedback is welcome.

Comments

[oakmouse]

Looks copacetic to me.

[shadowandstar.livejournal.com]

Thanks!

A couple of times recently it's been pointed out to me that my path is not the same as yours -- and I decided that I needed to change the bit that implied I was becoming an underworld priestess, rather than simply studying with one. (Of course, when I started this journal we didn't know what was going to happen.)

The rest snowballed from there.

[oakmouse]

Well, odds are that you ARE becoming an underworld priestess. You've got all the hallmarks. The difference in paths doesn't rule that out. It simply means that in this end of the priestessing biz, we each walk our own unique path within the broad outline of the work. No two underworld priestesses do quite the same things or use quite the same techniques and practices. Why this should be so when at least some other types of priestessing are more regular I don't know, but there it is.

[shadowandstar.livejournal.com]

We probably discussed this before, but could we review what those hallmarks are, and why they indicate the underworld rather than a different path?

A definition of "underworld" would probably not be amiss as well. It's one of those terms that I used to think I understood, but now am no longer sure.

[oakmouse]

We probably discussed this before, but could we review what those hallmarks are, and why they indicate the underworld rather than a different path?

The ones that are in my mind just now are these:
*You serve underworld deities, and were spontaneously called by one of them long before this path opened to you;
*You were befriended by the Folk and the ancestors;
*You have a spirit husband, whose passage unto the underworld began your work in earnest, and who is in training to function as your priest;
*You have taken underworld journeys at the behest of an underworld deity, again before this path opened to you;
*You and your spirit husband work with animal spirits who are commonly part of the underworld path, and have done so since before this path opened to you;
*You are being trained by the gods to develop a specific set of capacities relevant to underworld work (persistence, courage, faith, clarity of perception, and others not to be mentioned here).

There are others that I can't remember just now, but I'm taking a brief break in the midst of work so unfortunately don't have time to dig them up until later.


A definition of "underworld" would probably not be amiss as well. It's one of those terms that I used to think I understood, but now am no longer sure.

The definition shifts from one person to another, and sometimes also within the work of any one person. My definition as I presently understand it is this: the underworld is the realm where the ancestors, the faerie folk, and various other beings dwell; it's the place of power of these beings and of some of the gods, and the place whence certain types of priest and priestess draw their power. It's a part of the inner realms. It does *not* correspond to the shamanic underworld, but it does correspond partially to the ceremonial magic understanding of certain portions of the inner planes.


Does any of this help? There are aspects not for public discussion, of course, but those and anything I think of later can be covered in email.

[shadowandstar.livejournal.com]

The ones that are in my mind just now are these. . .

Well, when you put it that way. . . !

I'm looking forward to seeing the email with the rest of your thoughts, when you have time.

Thanks!

[gryphons.livejournal.com]

looks good to us