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| Author: Posted: Sep. 8, 2002 | This Page Viewed: 7,019,222 |
Question of the Week: 59 - 9/11/2001 911 America: Talking Through The Terror... Talking Through The Terror... And helping each other cope with the tragedies that struck at the very heart of the United States. The Witches Voice has opened up this forum in order that Pagans may express their thoughts on the terrorist attacks that took place in NYC and DC on September 11th. As the full realization of what happened and the toll numbers begin to come in, Americans have many challenges ahead. What are your thoughts on these incidents? How are you feeling? Feel free to post any magickal workings or other support gatherings planned in your area. WebNote 9/16/2001: Since we launched this on 911 this forum as become laced with powerful inspiration and critical information, feel free to use the search functions on your left to better define the info you are looking for. Search for your area, famous Pagans, key words etc. Also check Wren's Nest News for the latest news related to our community. |
| Reponses: There are 969 responses posted to this question. | Reverse Sort |
| I'm One Of Many Who Is Shocked And Horrified At What Has... | Sep 18th. at 1:01:14 am EDT |
| Sheryl (San Francisco, California US) | Age: 38 |
|
I'm one of many who is shocked and horrified at what has happened. This is all so like a horrible nightmare!! I'm scared, saddened, jumpy. I'm greatful that The Witches Voice has opened up this forum. May the Gods help all of those who are suffering through this tragedy, those who are working round the clock in the devestated areas, and all of us Americans. Blessed Be. |
| Nearly A Week Later Exactly And Just Now Are My Thoughts Coming... | Sep 18th. at 1:07:47 am EDT |
| Melanie Pohl (Auburn Hills, Michigan US) | Age: 21 - Email |
|
Nearly a week later exactly and just now are my thoughts coming together. Just now am I beginning to answer the question I first asked myself when I learned of what happened: What do you say to something like this? My thoughts remain with those who are victims. My thoughts are with their loved ones. My thoughts are with those working to help in whatever way they can. My energies directed towards the best for all. My energies directed towards justice. Every thought, every action, every breath is one in recognition of them and of this experience. My tears may have ebbed, but the feeling behind them remains, more focused. And in that focus I worry. As great as my concern is for what has happened, I find myself more concerned with what WILL happen in light of these events. The past is past, but we are still making the present and the future that will come of it. I see so much energy focused on what's going on. But in all of this I can't help but wondering if we are TRULY a "nation united". Certainly there IS unity in this common focus of attentions. But how deep does it run? Or is it a more superficial variety? These are not questions asked of a pessimistic person. Rather, these are questions asked by one who, behind the flag waving, sees a trend of finger-pointing and "them"s and "they"s. I see "good old red-blooded Americans" parked outside of mosques, waving United States flags and shouting slurs. I hear people seriously asking how they can do anything but look at "those people" with suspicion. "Those people" are fellow American citizens who just happen to be of Arab decent instead of the questioners' "Heinz 57" European Caucasian background. When I see people judging another person because they just happen to fit into a broad and often arbitrary group with those INDIVIDUALS who are responsible for what happened last Tuesday, INDIVIDUALS acting in a way by no means representative of the whole group, I worry. When I see certain Americans dividing themselves into "us vs. them" WITHIN this country I wonder how TRULY "united" we are. Are we TRULY up to the challenge of facing the real enemy in a quest for justice when we cannot see that we are stabbing ourselves in the foot by attacking our own? I only hope that we can become "a nation united" in time to turn and fight this common threat before we destroy ourselves in the process. |
| I Remember Two Very Vivid Dreams That I Had In The Weeks... | Sep 18th. at 1:17:38 am EDT |
| Leriahl Owlshade (Upstate, South Carolina US) | Age: 29 - Email |
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I remember two very vivid dreams that I had in the weeks prior to September 11. These dreams contained visions of disaster from the sky, people full of terror and turmoil and an atmosphere of war. They scared me when I had them (I've had many dreams prove prophetic in the past), but I hoped they were only nightmares...nothing more. Early in the morning on September 11, my husband (who works an overnite shift) and I fell into bed at our usual time and went to sleep without a thought or care. But, for me, sleep was fitful and I awoke several different times for no reason...something felt very wrong to me, but I didn't know what it was. Shortly after 3pm, I finally crawled out of bed, groggy and exhausted, turned on the computer and got online. The first thing I saw on my ISP's homepage were news headlines screaming about the terrorist attacks on NYC and DC...I stared at the screen. Stunned, I wondered if this was yet another dream...just a nightmare, nothing more. The pictures of the Twin Towers burning resembled an ad for yet another action-adventure flick. It couldn't be real...could it? As I read the news stories, my heart sunk and my soul felt chilled. What was going on in my country? What was happening? This just could NOT be real. But it was real. It IS real. I feel such sadness for the thousands of innocents lost to some madman's way of "making a statement". So many people who were going about their day as usual...never suspecting it would be their last. So many families and friends without loved ones now. So many children without parents now. They never knew it was coming. It's heartbreaking. I believe that those responsible for this horror should pay for what they've done...but I also realize that cooler heads must prevail and there is NO sense in more innocent lives being sacrificed just to get back at those who did this. So, I will pray for peace and justice (not revenge)...most of all, I will pray for healing and love for all of those affected by the events of September 11, 2001. |
| Hatred Is Never Healed By Hatred,but By Love Alone Is Healed... | Sep 18th. at 1:17:57 am EDT |
| Nelli (Mountain View, California US) | Age: 24 |
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Hatred is never healed by hatred, but by love alone is healed. This is an ancient and eternal law. -Dhammapada, Ch 1 At 7 in the morning, I was woken up by the phone - my boyfriend, telling me to turn on the radio, because something really bad was happening. I tuned in as the first tower was collapsing. It took me the better part of the day to understand the enormity of this disaster. I have never been to New York, and have never paid much attention to pictures of it, so I had no vision in my mind of the twin towers. I don't have a television either, so I couldn't see the pictures. The horror was slow to creep up on me. Fear came first, fear that the attack wasn't over. I live near San Francisco Airport, as well as very close to the Nasa/Ames research center and Moffett military facility, so there were lots of potential targets for me to imagine. I sat on my sofa and listened to the news - the story repeated over and over, more painful and bewildering each time. At one point, it occured to me to notice the silence - along a flight path that sees at least 10 planes landing and another ten taking off at any given time, the sky was clear. The air was oddly still. That evening, my boyfriend picked me up and took me to his house, where we flipped from station to station, seeing the scenes of destruction replayed from different angles, with different narration, at different speeds. Now the full scope of this attack was clearer to me. My heart aches for those who have lost loved ones in this insane attack. The next day was surreal. No national day of mourning, no allowance for grief or shock. Back to work, back to school. America, we were told, must carry on. America must be strong. Wednesday was a day of confusion, shock and denial, but by thursday the reality had seeped in. People were sober, qiet, and red-eyed. We were all drawn closer to each other by our shared emotions. American flags now hang from nearly every overpass, decorate most car antannas or windows, and wave from many front porches. I weep for the immense feeling of solidarity and connectedness and empathy that these flags symbolize - this merging of different and often estranged disparate people into one unified "us". There have been countless beautiful and moving gestures of compassion and unity from all across the nation. But I also weep because I can already see the "us against them" mentality developing, and I can hear the cries for blood. For some, Osama Bin Laden's death would be enough. For others, "bombing Afganistan back to the stone age" seems appropriate. For some few individuals, "us against them" means that it is open season on anyone that seems like they might be from somewhere in the middle east. 87% of Americans want us to go to war. People who speak of peace are scorned and ridiculed. I beg all Americans to extend their compassion to people outside the United States, even to people who may hate us, but who are still innocent. There are some people out there, of course, who are not innocent. But I truly believe with all my heart that "hatred does not heal hatred", and that any action we take must be taken in the clear mind of reason, not in the fire of rage. Any action we take must be an enactment of justice, not a taking of revenge. To those who are enduring the loss of their loved ones - my heart goes out to you, and at least once every day I shed tears in sympathy with your grief. May the God(s) of your heart hold you, and comfort you, and heal you. May all beings enjoy happiness and the root of happiness. May we be free of suffering and the root of suffering. May we always dwell in the great equanimity, free from passion, agression and prejudice. |
| Dear Wren And Family!!! Merry Meet!i Send My Love, Blessings And... | Sep 18th. at 1:29:12 am EDT |
| Jackie Bloomfield (Perth, Western Australia AU) | Age: 38 - Email |
|
Dear Wren and family!!! Merry meet! I send my love, blessings and energy to all my fellow wiccans now, in their hour of disharmony. I also think that as a whole, we may just be able to stop this becoming bloodshed of unnatural proportions.I am doing a ritual on the next full moon to bind Bin Laden. I need your energies. I am a solitary and have 33 others so far. I hope you all can join our minds at this time. Merry part. Lady Roseeanna |
| I Am Semi-new To Wicca (2 Yrs This Yule) And I Had... | Sep 18th. at 1:36:22 am EDT |
| Andrea (Dbn Hts, Michigan US) | Age: 23 - Email |
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I am semi-new to Wicca (2 yrs this Yule) and I had a big case of the willies at the start of all this. There are all these way-right-wing fundamentalists all around my place of business spouting death and destruction and armageddon, not to mention Pat Robertson blathering on about "it's America's own fault because of abortion and sin, blah blah blah"... that all made me a little jittery at first. And then I had some quiet meditation and thought, how could any loving deity cast anyone down who only wants peace and unity and love among his/her people? And with that simple thought, I realized that I have never had more faith in my chosen religion than I have at this moment. When I first was trying to deal with all this, I popped into a pagan room on AOL and found people screaming for blood, and engaging in nasty fights with one another and I thought, this is not what we are all about. And then I came to this site and found the big goddess hug I needed. I hope that everyone who has lost someone in particular will be at least a little comforted to know that my thoughts and love are with them. I also hope that everyone else (those of you who, like me, were not directly touched by the attack but who are afraid or unsure) knows that I'm here with you, just one more person who wants a world where love and peace will quietly rise up and bring evil to its knees. All my love, Andrea "Who could say you're not simply wonderful? Who could ever harm you? Sleep now, You're my little girl" ---Tori Amos |
| On Tuesday Night, I Went To Work With Heavy Shoulders And Teary... | Sep 18th. at 3:47:07 am EDT |
| RubyMoon (Ogden, Utah US) | Age: 40 |
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On Tuesday night, I went to work with heavy shoulders and teary eyes. My heart broke a thousand times as the news of tragedy went on... My whole body went numb...and I never been so sad in my life... (since I lost my parents in a tragic car accident in 1984) And...I am furious...because I couldn't do anything about it... Once again, I asked myself: How could this happened?.. Where does my fault lie?... Blessed Be, RubyMoon |
| I Sit And Stare At This Blank Field, So Sure That There... | Sep 18th. at 3:51:45 am EDT |
| Raina (Deputy, Indiana US) | Age: 21 - Email |
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I sit and stare at this blank field, so sure that there is something I need to say and yet suddently at a loss for words. Every day since tuesday I have come here with the intention of posting, of letting some of what is inside out. And every day I stare at this white screen and shake my head. What can be said that hasn't already been? There is no thought or opinion, no emotion or pain, no viewpoint on this tragedy that is mine alone to post. And then I realised that was the point. That this is a shared tragedy. That hundreds of thousands of people are sharing the feeling I have in the pit of my stomach. That this didn't just happen to those poor people whos lives were cut short by this unforgivable act. Or to their families, their friends. This happened to us all. Every single one of us. We all mourn. There is a kind of comfort in that. We mourn in different ways. Some light candles. Some say prayers. Some cry our for peace. Most cry out for justice. Some unfortunately cry out for war. But their anger is just their way of mourning. We weep as a country, all faiths all colours all races. There have been rumblings, the few who would divide us when what we need most is to unite. But as a whole we have pushed them aside and dismissed their words as the fear and hatred they were. We can only hope that once the dust clears, once the tears are wiped away and we begin to heal as a nation, that the unity that we have found in our grief isn't put aside as well. |
| I Read With Joy And Sadness The Thoughts Of Zeyra, Who Is... | Sep 18th. at 4:04:50 am EDT |
| Greine (Covina, California US) | Age: 55 |
|
I read with joy and sadness the thoughts of Zeyra, who is wise beyond her years. Hatred and disunity is not the way to vanquish terrorism. Isaac Bonewits wisely calls us to send our healing thoughts and hope to the victims in New York, and to their loved ones, as well as those courageous men and women working tirelessly to put out the fires, dig through the rubble, and try to keep hope alive. I send love and kindness as well to the animals -- to those frightened pets who were abandoned, either in the rush to evacuate, or waiting at home for the master or mistress who is somewhere in or beneath the rubble that was the beautiful World Trade Center; also the wonderful dogs who search for signs of life, or death, and a pat on the head for the dog who already died of exhaustion doing his brave work. I read with horror, of those who would tar all decent Muslims, or dark-skinned middle eastern people of many religions, with the sins of the monsters who perpetrated this horror upon us. We must increase our work for calm, and extend the umbrella of our protection to these innocents. I firmly reject the statement, whether made by a Christian minister or by a pagan writing in this forum, that this calamity is due to any design or plan, of any god or goddess (and I would deem any god who could do such a thing unworthy of respect, let alone worship). I waked on 9/11 at an unusually early hour; normally I am the one who sleeps long past the alarm clock, and this was at least 3 hours before my ordinary waking time even when I'm not late. Something drew me downstairs, where I had some coffee & idly turned on the TV news just in time to see the first bulletins from the WTC, and subsequently the unimaginable sight of a plane deliberately ramming into the 2nd tower. From that point on, I operated sheerly on instinct for several days -- sending out wave upon wave of healing and hope, followed by a fervent call for the monsters among us to be exposed and receive their just punishment. It has been a relief to hear from my sister who lives and works in midtown Manhattan, even with no phones she managed to get an email out early the first morning so I would know that she was safe. Friday morning I received an urgent call from my son in Florida. Gabrielle had hit (we hadn't even heard about it out here in California) and my youngest grandson was injured in an accident; mom's healing energies were needed. I turned my attention to this personal matter, which came to a good conclusion; the baby was stitched up & soon running around as chipper as ever. But it brought me back to reality, that life goes on, and in our zeal to deal with the terror that has struck us we must not forget to do the everyday things that we normally do, whether it be tending a garden or caring for our pets, or any other constructive work. Life goes on, and we are made stronger by it. I look at the photos of candles burning all around the world, of carpets of flowers, and am cheered. God/dess bless and protect you all. |
| At My Little Altar...there Shines A Red, White, And Blue Candles... | Sep 18th. at 4:18:31 am EDT |
| SeptemberSong (Ogden, Utah US) | Age: 40 |
|
At my little altar... There shines a red, white, and blue candles... Along with yellow for the missing to be found; And black for the guilty to banish in peace! Lord and Lady be with us as always... Blessed Be, SeptemberSong |
| Much Love To My Fellow Witches, Wiccans And Pagans. Two Weeks Ago... | Sep 18th. at 4:38:51 am EDT |
| Pentalpha (Brooklyn, New York US) | Age: 51 |
|
Much love to my fellow Witches, Wiccans and Pagans. Two weeks ago, Morrigan, the Celtic Goddess of war, visited me in the dreamstate. She appeared as statuary, and didnot speak. The dream left me puzzled, since I have never worked with the Celtic pantheon. Looking forward to starting Kundalini Yoga classes, and receiving Reiki First and Second Degree attunements, I was focused on health, peace and healing, not war! The horrific events of the past week have put the dream in perspective. I am a nurse. I have dedicated the past twenty-five years of my life to healing and the care of Elders. It saddens me that I must now focus my will, resolve and energy towards supporting our Warriors and the new horrors they will be asked to face, no matter how just the cause. But make no mistake. I WILL support them anyway I can. Therefore, I am calling on Maat, Sekhmet, Freya, Morrigan, Hecate, and Kali-Ma to protect them and bring a swift, just and total victory against the enemies of all humankind. Joined in love of country and the Goddess, Pentalpha |
| As Are Many Others, I Am Totally Overwhelmed By These Events... Have... | Sep 18th. at 7:23:53 am EDT |
| Starwalker (Havelock, North Carolina US) | Age: 53 - Email |
|
As are many others, I am totally overwhelmed by these events... have been looking for ways to express my myriad of feelings. We are moving, and I am frustrated that our flag is "in a box, in storage somewhere" and there are none to be bought here (I live near several military bases). We have a Pagan Pride Day coming up on Saturday in New Bern, NC... on the same weekend as the "purple ribbon" campaign... I am hoping to be able to locate red, white, blue AND purple ribbons... from my craft supplies (IF I can find the box!) and/or the store... and I will be wearing a corsage made from all four colors, to say "I am a Pagan American." Also, I have decided, with Samhain coming up, to memorialize those who have died by making a paper crane, one for each victim... with the name of a victim written on each crane... to be burned within an appropriate ritual on Samhain, for the peace of their spirits, and with prayers that they not have died in vain. I suspect I will have more cranes to fold after the end of next month... this will be an ongoing thing for me, and next years' cranes will go up during next year's Smahain ritual. |
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