LOL, yeah it is amusing! And my tarots are just up on the shelf with the rest of my stuff, I dont know, maybe he was scared I was gonna try to put a spell on him or somethin, he seems to think it has something to do with not believing in god or what ever, I get tired of explaining the whole thing to new people, I grew up like this, so sometimes I forget that the outside world dont see things like me.

But yeah, It would be cool if I can find somebody to grow with spiritually, and Detroit is slowly getting put back together : )

Her or I? I don't need a woman. At all.

I know gurl!! Its some sexy brothas on tribe!!

You shed great light o this Phillip, Thanx.

Phillip, you are exactly right, even in the christian religion, you'll find twice or three times more women in the church than women. in christian churches, when they "catch the spirit" you rarely, if ever, see a man catch it. men are analytical, left brain. they are resistant to the spirit. my theory is that, as the penetrators (ie. they have a penis), most men are afraid of opening to "be penetrated", whether it's by spirit, emotion, vulnerability, whatever. women are the penetrated, we hold everything in our womb, good and bad. our minds, hearts, souls as well as our bodies are more open--literally and figuratively-- to be penetrated, in possession or taken over by emotion and sensation. men think more, women feel more. sensuality is the woman, and mystery....secrets locked inside that we hold in our wombs. that's why women can lie easier too i think. men, as much as they try to play macho, wear their hearts on their sleeves. just like their genitals hang outside of them, so they relate to the outside, the outer world. the woman relates to the inner world, the spirit and emotion. the woman hides things inside. anatomy reflects psychology and spirituality....

Good post phillip you are exactly right : ) thanks for your input!

And blackbeard, I use my tarot for a completely different purpose, my belief in god is not the same as others, but I would love to hear what you think about them, and how you use yours, I also work with runes as well.

6 But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.

Prayer is for self edification'

You got big problems creating' as of when you pray to a masculine Father' these terms of the bible I see as enormous deceits'

The Father is the Sun and she is feminine the same as creation' the same as Love' the same as the spirit running through your heart and head is Feminine'
Standing on your left hand side'
male and female physical reflections' right hand men' left hand women'

Just my five on bible concepts :)))

Bliss!

Nobu +

Sadly this is all pretty true. Attitudes today are not all that much more enlightened then they were in the past. I consider myself fortunate in that i run in a very neo-pagan circle that tends to be fairly open to a great diversity of spiritual thought. Outside this circle i don't volunteer much about my practices, though i do not hide it either. As you probably have all figured out by now i tend to say what's on my mind and if the subject were to come up in more mundane circles i am certainly there in defense of the matter. But just as there are places like the work place where it is wise not to discuss politics, the same is perhaps truer for spiritual matters.
What you say about keeping house and temple separate is indeed wise Wedosi. Of course the problem with it is that few of us are financial capable of supporting this. My solution is that i keep a separate room in my house which i generally refer to as my "study" ( ;->) which serves as my temple space. As it is i am very select about who i bring into my household, but i still have the option to shut the door to this room if i choose to keep people out of my spiritual business.
There is a magickal axiom that comes from the Ceremonial tradition; "To Know, To Will, To Dare, To Keep Silence". I am all for trying to change the public perspective on Vodou, but still, my personal practice, the workings i actually do, are between me and my Spirits. Really i don't even share that stuff with my wife. And she is extremely open to it all. We actually met at a big pagan festival and one of our first "dates" was to attend a ceremony of the New Orleans Voodoo Spiritual Temple at that event (well, maybe the actual "date" took place after the rite ;->). Still, like our finances, we tend to keep our relationships with the Spirits separate. :-)
I guess i would suggest that it is perhaps easier to look for love within our own spiritual circles. It's not that we can't find love outside these circles, but it is so much easier if we don't need to spend the earliest parts of a new relationship convincing our mates that we are not the devil's spawn. I once dated a born-again Christian who made me watch Jimmy Swaggart after sex. Strange indoctrination method, that. :-D As you might imagine, we did not last long. They say that opposites attract, but that doesn't mean that they stay together for long after they do. A long lasting relationship needs some commonality of thought and practice to survive and prosper.

hehehe' Where I come from' no one has a clue of spiritual matters' they only believe in one Lwa :)))

So I get to dance with all of em and the spirits' also the folks that have no clue' come seeking me out'

I got to remind em though that Voudun+Palo has no thing to do with Hollywood' hahaha but Mi Zarabanda does love a chicken from time to time :)))

Smile' laugh' sing' be confident' be happy' the rest of em shall love you for it !

Blessings

Nobu +

Yes Phillip, i can see from your photo gallery that you are not about hiding ANY part of yourself. ;-> :-D
However, i think that you need to realize that not everyone in this group lives the same kind of out and free lifestyle as yourself. Some people work in big corporations or in government circles. Some people work in school systems where their superiors may not have a full understanding of these practices. It's great to be "free" and all, but it's generally a good idea to do it wisely.
You state that "we are in a free country where our religion is accepted" . Now which country is this that you speak of? It certainly isn't an "accepted" religion in the USA though it may at times find legal protection from time to time. Still, do a search on animal sacrifice in the USA and see how many people have actually been arrested and had their children taken from them for practicing their Vodoun or Santerian religious beliefs in this country. Try checking out the Midwest and the bible belt areas of the country and look for acceptance of Vodou.
I agree, we should not have to hide our beliefs. That doesn't mean that we need to wear them on our sleeves or get up in people's grill with them either. I don't hide mine, but i also don't advertise them. I don't deny them if questioned either. But i do practice discretion. My boss doesn't need to know my spiritual beliefs, nor do strangers. There is just no reason that they should.