psycho$hell

1. Wisdom
2. Piety
3. Vision
4. Courage
5. Integrity
6. Persistance
7. Hospitality
8. Moderation
9. Fertility

Wisdom

Wisdom, in my opinion, is a delicate pattern woven of gained knowledge, innate understanding, and experience. Knowledge is simply information we gather regularly, a catalog of data. Understanding is the ability we are born with that allows us to wrap our brain around concepts, thoughts, and ideas. In other words, Understanding is a facet or an effect of intelligence. Experience is the use of hindsight to judge what results, changes, or effects future applications will have.

Knowledge by itself is useless when there is no practical application for it; that is, no way to put it into practice. If practical applications exists, ones own ability to understand the information and ways it can be applied will dictate the over all success of the use of that knowledge. Knowledge and Understanding alone are not enough to qualify as wisdom. For me, a wise person has almost a supernatural -OR- ultranatural ability to sniff out danger, peril, or pitfalls. They can tell us messages in ways that make us understand while dodging our pride or inability to listen. Wise people take care others feelings and thoughts and cull their actions as to benefit everyone. Every person possesses knowledge and understanding, but when these are married with experience, wisdom is born.

I find a little wisdom in everyone, though most ignore it within themselves, repeating the same mistakes.This is true for myself.

Piety

For me, piety is the way we align ourselves with the artus directly. As all the virtues are designed to bring about eudaimonia, piety is the virtue that is most effective and direct. The first step of dancing into alignment with the cosmos is to take your place before your altar and connect with the Kindreds. This symbolizes that one is accepting that they have a place in the cosmos and are willing to commune or connect with it. Connections and relationships are made through our religious actions, the COoR, devotionals, observance of cosmological High Days. This connection and relationship, once made, will always exist. It is important that this relationship and connection remain positive though piety, as this relationship is lasting, its effects are too. It is thought that piety is devout strictness and ultimate self sacrifice. To be a pious person, one doesn't have to over-extend and exhaust their own energies, as communion with the cosmos is about the circulation of energies.

Piety also forms lasting relationships with our deities. As we give to the Gods, they give to us. Overtime, these bonds are strengthened and renewed. They can only get stronger and once made, last forever.

Vision
I have strong ties to this virtue as it intrigues me. Throughout my life, perspective is a thing which contains many mysteries. I don't quite know what words to use but when I move from one place to another, there seems to be an aura or mood or flux surrounding my old home. When ever I visit old places that I've lived, the mood changes or shifts to resemble the state of things when I lived there. I find my self sifting through memories and I get blasted by the feelings or aura of that Era.

This is similar to the Era's of man. Think back to the 70's. There was an aura or mood about the world then, which is quite different than the 80's. Like wise with other Era's of time. It seems as if stretches of time, combined with Land or space, creates a perspective you look through.

I do not sense this effect where I currently live. Right now my perspective seems normal and and in a default state, but I know that when I am in a new situation, I will have a distinctly different feeling in regards to my present situation.

What does this have to do with Vision? Discovering the above phenomenon, has led me to formulate ideas about perspective in general. One of those ideas involves routinely trying to step outside ones self to survey the things that one may be unaware of due to a limited view or perspective. If there are moods attached to eras that I cannot detect until I am outside them, I am certain there are other conditions I am not aware of. We have to remember that we are humans looking through a human window into a non human world. Weather we like it or not, our thoughts are filtered by the Big Brother of the sub conscious human experience.

Courage
Courage is the ability to face danger and still do the right thing. Courageousness isn't the ability to loose your head in a sticky situation, as its important to maintain your composure of thought. Failing to think in a split second could result in not knowing the right thing to do and regretfulness. The opportunity to display courage often comes to us in matter of moments, however, not always. We may be in a situation where that opportunity will display over time, either abruptly or gradually. In cases like this, we often find ourselves mustering up courage to do something at the appropriate time or even discerning the proper time.

Courage is also standing up for what is right in the face of popular opinion. Since the right thing to do is often the hardest, the path to doing the right thing can also be concluded or obscured. Since others may not see the wisdom in one's actions, it is only natural that popular opinion would oppose the right path. Politics is a great example of this.

Integrity
We often think of maintaining the self, sometimes through culling thoughts and associations, not straying from who we are or the roots that bore us. This is a good definition, but to maintain this we need to include more concepts. A few such concept is honesty, honor, and brotherhood.

The public definition of Integral leads one to think that the whole cannot be complete without it's parts. In our behavior, we have several parts. If we are to act with dishonor or discord in one area, it will indeed effect the whole. You cannot obfuscate the parts away from the whole. Therefore we must keep all the parts of our mind close to our values so that the whole isn't spoiled or ruined.

One such part is our speech. This is the way we communicate and share ideas. If we are to represent false information using speech, in a community, we become labeled as untrustworthy. Individually, we start to believe our lies and begin corrupting our minds. However, we can maintain integrity through honesty, so that other parts of ourselves do not get poisoned by this.

In our dealings with others, we need to exibit honor to maintain integrity, in the community and for ourselves. Representing falsehoods to others could ruin a business relationship, or a position of political power, etc. Honesty isn't always the focus. Seeking to deceive through actions and dishonorable behaviour brings about the same results.

Persistence
We all get worn out and it's easy to get frustrated, but the answer is out there and we have to chase it. Persistence is pushing through to the very end. If you care about some process, you'll stick with that process to whatever end it sees. Persistent people ring out an echo that they care about the object of pursuit.

To be persistent, we must ignore the pitfalls of reasoning out ways or excuses to quit. Vercingetorix, a son of a Gaelic noble, tried tirelessly to muster up forces that could repel the armies of Rome. The odds were so great, that failure was inevitable, for the tribes of Gaul had never been united. Gaelic tribes had for centuries fought with each other and their ingrained behavior was no match for unity. He was initially expelled by the nobles, including his own uncle, who thought that resistance to Rome was futile. Yet, Vercingetorix did not let this quell his quest for a national force against his enemies. As he was defeated and eventually executed, we can conclude that he cared for the Liberty of Gaul enough to eventually die for it.

Hospitality
Believe it or not, this virtue is responsible for the existence of our entire universe. The modern definition of hospitality is a watered down principal of our Indo-European ancestors. This is represented by the Proto-Indo-European word ghosti (Pronounced GHOS-TEE). Think of the Chinese principal of the Tao. In Taoism, the first forces born from the Tao are Yin and Yang. Taoist philosophy holds that through the incessant interactions of Yin and Yang, the world is born. For instance, it is Yang that brings the tide in, yet it is Yin that causes the tide to go out. Without these forces, ocean habitat would vastly decrease. Without Day(Yang), night would cool our planet frozen, and without the Night(Yin), our planet would absorb more heat than life could tolerate.

When we meet in ritual to honor the Gods, we make offering to them and send them our love and devotion. They in return grant us blessings and fulfill our magic. This ebb and flow process of sending and receiving is a recreation of the relationship that Chaos and Cosmos have. The chaotic waters feed the Bile (World Tree or Cosmos) and in return, it drops its fruit into those waters feeding chaos.

Our ancient Indo Europeans held similar beliefs. Ghosti is the root word for both host and guest. To the Celts, being a good host meant graciousness and generosity. All things we own are gifts from elsewhere, so through ghosti, we become channels of graciousness and gift giving. Being a good guest meant appreciation and thankfulness.

With host and guest being both represented in one word ghosti, we can conclude that this is a reciprocal virtue. The thankfulness of the guest becomes a gift given to the host. The lines of guest and host become blurred and what remains is the exchange. This builds community relations and feeds the cosmos and structure of family, friends, tribal relations.

Moderation

Moderation is the act of restraining ones desires or appetite. Restraint implies familiarity with concept of knowing when 'enough is enough'. This also implies balance or the seeking of what is balanced with regard to appetite and restraint. I've read, 'moderate everything, even moderation.'

When one does not moderate themselves, they run the risk of not being able to recognize lack verses abundance. This also leads to unappreciative view with regard to the abundant blessings we receive from the Spirits, Ancestors, and our Gods. It isn't a stretch of the mind to see how this can also lead to greediness and greedy attitudes.

Our spiritual appetites are governed by this virtue in addition to our physical and mental desires. We need to know when too little or too much spiritual interaction can be dangerous. Many people who don't feed their spiritual selves enough fall out of pious practice or may even falter from their beliefs. Likewise, we need not to spiritualy feed ourselves to an extent where our mundane lives suffer.

Fertility

In addition to the sexual and birthing connotations this virtue carries, it has a modern context that we can follow. Growth, activity, and simulation of the self is more of a Cosmic Mandate than a human virtue. By this I mean to say, that which doesn't change dies. We are going to grow, change and learn whether we control the process or not. Fertility becomes a virtue when we live by it and duly safeguard this process to become better individuals.

To live an entire existence without making something or producing an object or art is a horrible thing. When we make something, a wonderful feeling is felt that cannot compare to anything else. When you imagine how the ancients felt this feeling in the context of their society and with the difficulty of ancient craftsmanship, one can see why votive offerings of jewelry, weapons, and pottery were given to wells and springs.