When people see you, what are they seeing?

A lot of things happened this year at Free Spirit Gathering. Here are four things that stick out in my mind.

1. On Tuesday night we had the opening Sumbel. I made an off handed comment about being a Lokean and a woman who was sitting to my right in the circle scooted away from me. When I asked her what she was doing she proclaimed that she was a devotee of Heimdallr in such a way that made it clear that that to her the proclamation excused her rudeness.  
2. A Gothi of Baldr  told me that because of who I am as a person, and the way that I carry myself, he would be willing to attend the Loki Blot I was hosting. A Gothi of Baldr. Of BALDR. Yeah.
3. A friend of mine, who also happens to be a Son of Heimdallr, hailed Loki in a blot. It wasn't even a blot for Loki. 
4. A person who I hold in high regard told me that my behavior as a Lokean, as well as past conversations she and I have had, made her comfortable enough to allow someone to add Loki to a shrine in her home. 

Things happened in that exact order.

Maybe I am reading into things, though I will be honest - I do not think I am, but I see those things falling the way they did as a sign from the gods.

I have worked hard in the past four years to remind people that Loki is not just chaos. He is truth. He is home and family. He is an oath keeper. He is the fire of destruction but that fire often burns away the rot and stagnation that keep people from growth. Loki is more than the box most people paint Him into.

So, even though one woman did a disservice to her god and was rude, three other people reminded me that I am exactly what Brigid and Loki have asked me to be. I am a light in the darkness. I shine Their fire out into the world and people are starting to see it. Starting to take notice.

Hail Loki, World Breaker.
Hail Baldr, Joyous One
Hail Heimdallr, Watcher in the Night.
Hail Brigid, Flaming Arrow.

Hail the my Kindred. Hail to the family of my heart and hearth. Hail to all who look beyond the surface of things.

Not just a Heathen problem.

My mother loves Jesus and Elvis. Both of them have churches. Both of them have crazy followers. Both of them speak to her soul.

My five year old niece believes in Buddha, Narasimha Deva and glitter. Her faith has never wavered.

My youngest nephew coined the phrase PaganHinJew. He is excited to light the Shabbat candles with me next week when I visit them, but he flat refuses to give up bacon.

My husband is a Hare Krsna.

Each member of my coven has a Hindu deity that they worship.

My oldest friend just recently embraced Paganism and is on a spiritual high from the Earth Mothers love.

We are more than the blood in our veins or the land that our forefathers came from. Ancestors aren't just family members. The Gods don't give a rusty fuck where your fathers fathers father is from. They care about who you are, and where you are going.

If you have a problem with someone embracing the non-white Gods of their Ancestors, feel free to fuck off.

This brand of racist bull crap is not just a Heathen issue. It is a Pagan issue. We will not be taken seriously if we don't take each other seriously. We will not be shown respect until we respect one another.
We've come a long way, but we still have a long way to go.