From: lilleyc@cs.man.ac.uk (Chris Lilley)
Newsgroups: alt.pagan
Subject: Re: Host/Priest Communication:  What should I expect?
Date: 6 Nov 92 01:02:02 GMT
Organization: Dept Computer Science, University of Manchester, U.K.

In article <CLR.92Nov3225501@mentor.cc.purdue.edu>
clr@mentor.cc.purdue.edu writes:

>i'm fairly new at all this type of stuff, and i had a few questions
>about what i should expect from a ritual with an experienced priest.

You are a person. You do what you wish. If it doesn't feel right,
don't do it. Read Starhawk about Power Over as opposed to Power from
Within - or Power With.

>my question is what rights do we have as hosts?  

In general every right. Its *your house*

Not knowing to which religious organisation you belong - I assume it
is an organisation since you don't seem to know some of the rules - I
cannot say whether this sort of setup is normal or typical for that
group. What I can say is that such a set up would not suit me )to put
it mildly) and it looks like it doesn't suit you either.

>is it typical for the
>priest to not contact the hosts directly, but rather to tell a third
>party?  is it typical for the priest to keep information (particularly
>key information) from the hosts?
>
>i'm wondering specifically about things like do we have any say (or
>even if we have the right to advance knowledge of the plans) on who
>attends the ritual (the original list that the priest gave to us
>included someone who i cannot work with because he is not comfortable
>in groups or with ritual, and i tend to "feed" off of his feelings of
>discomfort), what roles people play, or (one that bothered me when i
>stumbled across it) whether the cat i am developing a bond with is
>going to get locked away in my bedroom for the 4 hours that the
>activities are occuring (against my stated discomfort at the idea of
>him being locked up at all).

Sigh. If you are not happy doing a ritual with particular people,
don't. If the ritual means anything at all, then don't do it because the
energies you bring up will be discordant, and if it means nothing then
don't do it anyway.

Is this making sense?

>normally i would expect to be consulted on things occuring in my
>apartment, but i've gotten the impression from the priest that i had
>no right to question things (or question the lack of communication)
>and that any questions would be seen as sabotage.  is this what i
>should expect in the future, or with other priests i might work with?

That sort of paranoia I would associate more with 19th century occult
lodges - or someone who is trying to build afollowing on charisma
alone.

Why do you say this person knows better than you? What evidence do you
have of this? Where is your self respect?

AS to whether you expect this in the future, that is largely up to you
and the sort of people you intend to associate with.

But from where I am sitting, it looks like someone trying to pull one
over on you, and my feeling is to have nothing to do with it. Cancel.

If you think that you must put up with this in order to learn, think
again. Thats the organised religion way - a priest at the top, handing
out information in very small amounts. You can learn and expand as a
pagan without this person - without anyone, if necessary, though there
are plenty of _nice_ pagans you can associate with.

I hope this is some use. If you could mail me with more specific
details we could talk about it some more privately. It seems like you
have some serious doubts about this set up. It is certainly not
typical from where I am standing. If you want to discuss it more, mail
me.

Blessings,


--
Chris Lilley
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