My religion has no moral doctrine

This is some really good stuff from Helio. Pulled all the right words from my mouth, and made them so much prettier by a thousand times. READ. IT.

Golden Trail

Every now and then, I’m asked where does my religion stand on topics like same-sex marriage, homosexuality or abortion. My answer is that it doesn’t, because to me those issues are not religious, but social. Some people look confused when I insist on it and I can understand why: in this as in other matters, over one thousand years of monotheistic dominance in western societies have shaped the notion of religion to the point where people generally cannot conceived it outside the Judeo-Christian definition.

1. Pervasive influence
As I have pointed out multiple times, that is the case with the use of the words “religion” and “faith” as synonyms: if you believe there is only one god, faith easily amounts to worship; but if you believe in multiple gods, then faith is not the same as worship. Because believing in many – including those outside your (usual) pantheon –…

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May All Our Voyages Be Safe and Sweet

So, thankfully, our very first Vialia went well. I think we’re definitely going to celebrate it yearly from now on. If you don’t know about it yet, here’s a brief description from the Golden Trail:

The basic idea [is] simple: as the New Year starts, I should offer my prayers and gifts to the god and wights of pathways and ask for their blessing for the twelve-months road ahead of me.

Pretty straightforward.

Behold, our finished product: focaccia-like libum! Bless the grain and the fire and this baker’s hands!

“Gee, your bread smells terrific”, is what I hope our Lares just said.

The feast is laid out and Hermes and the Lares Viales are invited.

The mistress of the house, lights the fire.

And the fire is lit.

Those are our wallets, yes. May they never run out of cash and coin in our voyages.

Hail the Traveller! Hail the roadside gods! May all our voyages this year be filled with happiness and good fortune! Belated Happy Vialia!