Fire Vs. Water

I'm a Sagittarius and my eldest daughter is a Pisces. Given how drastic the difference is there, astrologically speaking, I think I've done rather well over her six years. I try to remember to be ever gentle in my tone, and she has taught me a lot in regards to patience and the like.

She's a well behaved child, don't get me wrong. But, she's still a child and, as such, is prone to doing things that might get under my skin (like literally put her face about 1/2 an inch in front of mine while she's talking to me, or having her moments when listening just isn't in the cards).

The little Virgo (my second daughter) and I tend to clash more often. But, my precious Pisces is far more sensitive in certain areas. So, I have to watch my tone with her more.

I was fortunate to have a number of close Pisces friends, prior to having my eldest daughter. With that experience, I was able to get some real life experience regarding exactly how our fire vs. water natures were most likely to clash.

Just last night though, I was reminded just how sensitive my little one can be.

I was sitting at the computer, sifting through email, when she came into the office. At first, she was merely playing in the room, but this escalated to her getting less than an inch away from my face, poking my shoulder, breathing heavily at me, and talking loudly.

I asked her to stop, multiple times, remembering to be gentle about it. But, enough was enough. I yelled her name. I got her attention, her face just about lost it's color when mommy's voice became that loud. And, I told her to stop what she was doing.

Almost immediately, simply because I yelled, she started to weep sadly. She then ran into the living room, slumped onto the couch, and continued to cry in the kind of way that just rips your heart out.

*Sigh*

Alas, it appears I still have work to do on softening my tone, somehow, when I'm dealing with her misbehaving. Yes, she needed to know that what she was doing was not okay. But, there has to be a way to do that, even with a sensitive child who can't stand knowing she's in trouble, without hearing that heart-wrenching weeping.

It's very interesting to me, the way our personalities clash, get along, or otherwise interact, particularly when it comes to the ones who are dearest to our hearts - our children.

Updated Blog Template.

Some of you may have noticed that I recently changed the blog's template. I prefer this one, because I think it's prettier, more in line with the theme of the blog, and organizes everything a little better. But, I would really like some feedback on it. What do you guys think of the new layout?

Who Do We Thank on Thanksgiving?

Most people think that I'm weird, because I have my children (and all guests) thank the thanksgiving turkey before we eat it.

In my belief system, I find it important to do so however. This animal had/has a spirit just like we do. And, it's life was lost so that we could live. I think it's only appropriate that we thank the animal for having given it's life that ours may continue on in health.

Does that sound weird?

Here's more fuel for the fire then, I also have my children thank the trees in the front yard after having taken something from them (a leaf, or blossom).

My kids are still very young, 6 and 4 respectively. But, I believe that having them do these things is good for their development, spiritually if nothing else. Yes, I believe that they should find their own path. And, I'll not be upset with them if they decide that (my) Paganism isn't the path they are meant to be on. But, my hope (and I really do think that it's working) is that this (asking them to thank various living things for various reasons) will teach them a great respect for life, in all of it's many forms.

Excavation in Israel Unearths an Ancient Roman Pagan Temple Within an Ancient Jewish Village.

Click here to read more about it on Foxnews.com.

Archaeologists have found an ancient Roman Pagan temple (dating back to around the second century A.D.) while excavating the ancient Jewish village of Zippori. A Christian church, from a later period, was built on top of it, and discovered during an earlier dig.

The temple is in ruins, but parts of it have been well preserved through the ages, and the layout of it is clear. Another building has also been discovered, and seems to have held great importance for the people of the time, though the proverbial 'they' aren't yet certain what it's original function was.

The article I found on Foxnews contains a photo of the ruins.

Apparently, their best guess so far is that the temple was perhaps dedicated to Jupiter (Zeus) and/or Fortuna (Tyche). They're basing this on some coins found at the site that show a temple(s) honoring these Gods.

Perhaps the best, and most interesting, aspect of this recent discovery, is the knowledge that at one time Jews, Pagans, and even early Christians apparently got along quite well, or at least lived together fairly harmoniously. These ancient peoples were able to coexist within the same village, and yet we (the more civilized?) often cannot. That's not to say that fights didn't inevitably break out between the various people. I'm sure they must have. I'm sure fights broke out, at that time, between people who shared identical beliefs as well. Still, it's uplifting to realize that likely people back then, as hopefully in many locations today, were able to at least respect one another, though their beliefs differed greatly.

*On somewhat of a side note, it really does irritate me to a degree that the writers at Foxnews chose to use the Greek names for the Gods, when they said it was a Roman temple that was discovered. On the other hand, I suppose since the Greek names are more commonly known, they may have felt that it was a better way to go, so that the average reader would instantly know who they were talking about. *shrug*

More Resources For Pagan Parents...

Lady Bridget's Pagan Parents Page is filled with lots of fun ideas for teaching Pagan values, rituals, etc. to children. It also has great stories, poems, etc. and a list of suggested reading material for Pagan kids.

Pagan Parents is a great site, that looks promising. There are links to articles on Pagan parenting, what your rights are, etc.

Your rights as a Pagan Parent. This is an article posted on About.com. Particularly if you're divorcing a non-Pagan spouse who may prove vindictive, or if you may find yourself involved in other legal issues regarding your children and your religion, this may prove exceedingly useful, perhaps even indispensable.

Mamawitch's Pagan parenting pages. This site is currently (as of late September, 2008) under reconstruction by Mamawitch. So, some of the pages may be blank, but it still promises to be a very interesting site, with projects for kids to do, a family book of shadows, and much more.

Care2 - A leaning tree for Pagan parents is an online support group for Pagan Parents.

Edmonton Pagan Parents Circle. This site is extensive, with many articles, resources, fun stories, etc. geared specifically toward Pagan families.

The Blessed Bee is a Pagan family newsletter.

Moon Dragon's Pagan Parenting Partnership is a very interesting site, with wonderful articles on the subject, and some awesome links toward the bottom of the page. I can't recommend this site enough!

And, finally, Solitary-Pagan.net.

I hope you find the above resources as great as I do. :)