[S]ince we all have different ways of creating sacred space, I’ll leave it to you to do that in your own way....I’ve found that we can never rid ourselves of something within us. We can only change it. As the Thelemites say, “there is no part of me that is not also a part of the Gods”. So, I’d encourage you to look deep inside and see that part of you that still clings to the idea that there’s such a thing as sin. The goal of this exercise is to change this inner misguided spirit.

1. Visualize it. What does that look like to you? You might even visualize it as a creature of some sort: an unruly spirit within you waiting for guidance. You might even include the sound, smell, touch, and, yes, even taste of this being. Remember that it’s a part of you.

2. Create sacred space however you do that and call on whatever Deities or spiritual beings you work with, particularly any patrons you might have, and particularly any ones that are good at this sort of work. Deities of transformation come to mind, as do healers, since this is really a type of healing.

3. See (and maybe even feel, smell, taste, and hear) this false, sin-defined morality within you that you want to get rid of. Know it inside you as a being, perhaps a sort of misguided spirit.

4. Talk to this being. It’s part of you, so you can talk to it. Find out why it is the way it is. Rather than being adversarial to it, I strongly suggest coming to it with compassion. You may find that, misguided as it is, it’s doing all these things for reasons that it thinks are good, or what we want (and maybe, at some level, we have been encouraging it, even if we now need to stop doing so).

5. Thank it for all it’s done, but explain to it why its behavior and outlook are problems. Explain that you’re communicating with it in a non-judgmental way, but, also explain that it can serve you better by relinquishing this notion of “sin” and, instead, helping you follow your ethics.

6. Will that, for the greater good of both you and humanity, it transform itself from a being that believes in “sin” to a being that promotes true ethics. Visualize this (and maybe smell, hear, touch, and perhaps even taste it) until you see a full picture in your mind of a new being: one who represents your Pagan ethics. See it transform into this. If you have any trouble, ask your Deities or spirit helpers for help, but remember that you’re just changing yourself, so you have the right to decide how you’re going to be. Rather than seeing it as a battle, transform it with love. It may take a great act of love and will to transform yourself from a person who thinks there’s sin and is afraid to disobey arbitrary rules to a person of strong ethical principle. So, turn on the love and try to get this being, which is part of you, to be on your side.

7. When you see (feel, sense, etc.) that this part of you has been transformed, thank it, and thank whatever spiritual beings and Deities you’ve called, and then open sacred space.

Afterwards, I’d encourage you to let this be the magical act that it is. Avoid talking to others about it or even thinking much about it. More than mere psychology, this is magic. It will transform you, so let it flow.

Alys-RaccoonReadings wrote:I ran across this article on Paganism and sin (https://www.patheos.com/blogs/agora/201 ... ed-part-2/). It is part of a series on shedding the vestiges and baggage of prior religions. There's a thoughtful and, I think, helpful discussion of ethics without the sin-baggage. I recognize this isn't a thread about sin and ethics, as such, but if that's a subject that interests you, you might want to click through and read the whole article. If you are interested in a broader Pagan-specific discussion of sin, then you might also want to click through to the whole article.

Now. To the meat of this thread. What is something we can actively do to try to manage the baggage of prior religious beliefs? This exercise is designed for dealing with the concept of sin specifically, but I think it could certainly be tweaked to deal with other baggage.

[S]ince we all have different ways of creating sacred space, I’ll leave it to you to do that in your own way....I’ve found that we can never rid ourselves of something within us. We can only change it. As the Thelemites say, “there is no part of me that is not also a part of the Gods”. So, I’d encourage you to look deep inside and see that part of you that still clings to the idea that there’s such a thing as sin. The goal of this exercise is to change this inner misguided spirit.

1. Visualize it. What does that look like to you? You might even visualize it as a creature of some sort: an unruly spirit within you waiting for guidance. You might even include the sound, smell, touch, and, yes, even taste of this being. Remember that it’s a part of you.

2. Create sacred space however you do that and call on whatever Deities or spiritual beings you work with, particularly any patrons you might have, and particularly any ones that are good at this sort of work. Deities of transformation come to mind, as do healers, since this is really a type of healing.

3. See (and maybe even feel, smell, taste, and hear) this false, sin-defined morality within you that you want to get rid of. Know it inside you as a being, perhaps a sort of misguided spirit.

4. Talk to this being. It’s part of you, so you can talk to it. Find out why it is the way it is. Rather than being adversarial to it, I strongly suggest coming to it with compassion. You may find that, misguided as it is, it’s doing all these things for reasons that it thinks are good, or what we want (and maybe, at some level, we have been encouraging it, even if we now need to stop doing so).

5. Thank it for all it’s done, but explain to it why its behavior and outlook are problems. Explain that you’re communicating with it in a non-judgmental way, but, also explain that it can serve you better by relinquishing this notion of “sin” and, instead, helping you follow your ethics.

6. Will that, for the greater good of both you and humanity, it transform itself from a being that believes in “sin” to a being that promotes true ethics. Visualize this (and maybe smell, hear, touch, and perhaps even taste it) until you see a full picture in your mind of a new being: one who represents your Pagan ethics. See it transform into this. If you have any trouble, ask your Deities or spirit helpers for help, but remember that you’re just changing yourself, so you have the right to decide how you’re going to be. Rather than seeing it as a battle, transform it with love. It may take a great act of love and will to transform yourself from a person who thinks there’s sin and is afraid to disobey arbitrary rules to a person of strong ethical principle. So, turn on the love and try to get this being, which is part of you, to be on your side.

7. When you see (feel, sense, etc.) that this part of you has been transformed, thank it, and thank whatever spiritual beings and Deities you’ve called, and then open sacred space.

Afterwards, I’d encourage you to let this be the magical act that it is. Avoid talking to others about it or even thinking much about it. More than mere psychology, this is magic. It will transform you, so let it flow.