the icing on my cupcake

This is a repost of a blog post i wrote as a guest blogger on Siobhan's Journey

Where to start… perhaps the beginning is best. Yes. Perhaps.

So let me introduce myself. I’m cupcakemummy and I’m currently borrowing this blogspace as my own (because I’m just a spoonful of awesome here to sweeten your day!)

Von has asked me to talk religion.

Well more beliefs than religion.

So here we go.

I’m not Christian, I’m not Hindu or Buddhist or even Islamic. I’m Pagan. And I have been for the best part of my life (well I tell myself it’s been the best part, sometimes I wonder though).

I guess I should explain the when, how and why’s…

I was raised catholic, went to Sunday school every Sunday and said my prayers every night.

Then my parents divorced and my mum remarried.

They say people come into your lives for a reason. My stepdads reason was removing a blindfold. He made me see that it was okay to look at other religions, I wouldn’t say encouraged it, just that he let me know I wouldn’t go to hell for it (as I said… raised catholic).

I was about 13/14 when I received my first book on paganism. Actually I think it was more the fluffy Wiccan stuff than paganism. But it got me thinking. And it got me researching. A LOT. Back then the internet was still a pretty new thing in the common home so I spent most of my days in the library, photocopying, writing, and researching.

I felt comfortable. I felt at home.

That’s when I knew that this is who I am. And that was the last time I went to a church (okay that’s a lie I went to a friend’s funeral after that.)

The thing is that when I told my dad that I’d well, “converted” he simply laughed and said “I wondered when that would happen”… turns out my Irish heritage runs a long line of pagan history. Well that explained why I felt so comfortable with it.

And yeah. I’m a hippy at heart. I’m a barefoot wearing, tree hugger, star staring hippy.

And I’m happy as it J

Now for the important bits: no I’m not satanic, we don’t believe in satan. No I’m not going to hell, we don’t believe in hell. No I won’t curse you because we believe in the law of three.

The most important thing to remember as a pagan (as a human being I think) is that you should do unto others as you want done unto you.

Holidays: many many MANY Christian holidays celebrated stem from Pagen traditions. Yuletide = Christmas, Beltane = easter, litha = valentines day etc… all the little traditions that are so commercialized today stem from harvest festivals, the celebrations of the changing of the seasons.

I try very hard to celebrate them as they should be; being in the southern hemisphere our seasons are different so our holidays are different. Where do you think the whole “Christmas in July” comes from? But it’s very difficult because of the holidays being money making schemes today.

Parenting: I’m a single parent to a toddler boy who I fully believe I will raise pagan. Whether or not he chooses to follow that path when he is older is entirely up to him. Though if anything, I wish to instill upon him the true values of a man. I’d like him to know that women should be respected, that he should say please and thank you, that he should open the door for a lady.

 And that he should always be honest.

Even if it gets him in trouble.

Because that is what we are taught.

Take responsibility for your actions.