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Autumn 2007
Pagan Perspectives on Prayer
What is prayer? It means so many different things to so many different people. The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines prayer as « a supplication or expression addressed to God or a god, » or « an earnest request or wish .» A quick web search tells us, among other definitions, that prayer is « the act of communicating with a deity » (Princeton University WordNet), or « the act of attempting to verbally communicate with the supernatural » (religioustolerance.org). The definitions all have one thing in common-communication-but beyond that, the similarities seem to end.
Two of these definitions tell us that prayer is communication with deity of some form, one says that it's the supernatural that we'e communicating with (which I suspect includes deity), and one doesn't specify at all. We're simply communicating an « earnest request or wish.» To whom? Who knows? The ether, our god(s), each other, our self? And what are we communicating? Or even why? And does prayer have to be a verbal communication, as (religioustolerance.org) suggests? Or can a work of art be a form of prayer? The answers, I'm sure are as myriad as the religious traditions out there and as diverse as the people who practice them.
In this issue, we look at some contemporary Pagan perspectives on prayer. Taras tries to untangle the similarities and differences between prayer and magic, and in doing so finds that he must first define the divine no small order. Archer takes us on her own journey from the formality of Catholic ritual to ecstatic Pagan celebrations and then to her practice of offering up her body in prayer through yoga. Ceri Young looks at prayer beads and how they can be used in a contemporary pagan setting; and Cheryl Lynn Bradley muses about magickal thinking and the Tarot symbolism of the seven of cups. Also in this issue is my second instalment exploring Wicca in Canada, this one taking a look at Wicca in the courts and public opinion. We're hoping to be able to offer future explorations into our Canadian Pagan roots and identity in future issues, so stay tuned!
No issue of WynterGreene would be complete without book reviews, and this one has several. Keeping on the prayer theme, we review Celtic Prayers and Incantations, a collection of excerpts from the Carmina Gadelica; Sweat Your Prayers by Gabrielle Roth; and Devotional Dance (DVD) by T. Thorn Coyle. We also review the Jane Austen Tarot Kit by Diane Wilkes and Lola Airaghi, and All About Chakras by Lily Rooman.
Finally, in this issue, we also introduce a new French column: Parlons Païens by Coral, who has been working with the WynterGreene team for a few years now as a translator and editor. In his column, Coral will « talk » about current events and issues from a Pagan perspective. Debate is encouraged and we welcome your e-letters (as always) and your perspectives on the topics presented in his column. Finally in this issue, Atalante Pythie continues her column on Greek deities in Olympe, and Talyesin continues his mysterious Pagan serial, All Roads.
We hope that you enjoy this issue, and as always we look forward to hearing your comments on what you read, or story ideas for future issues. You can reach us by email at info@wyntergreene.ca.
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