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Archive for February, 2007

Three Bars of Soap and a Massage

Posted in Archives #1 Deafness and Accessibility, Creating Accessibility, Deaf/Hearing Relations, Deaf/Pagan Relations, Magick, Ritual, Sign Language on Tuesday February 27 2007 | 20 Comments »

(the above photograph shows six different bars of homemade and hand-cut soap, displayed on a white sheet with some white queen anne’s lace flowers for decoration…like a still life artwork)

A few years ago, I was teaching a beginning sign language class for a local community college. I had around twenty students in my class, two of whom were a young couple in their mid-twenties. When they walked into the classroom on that first night, I got this strong feeling that they just might be of earth-based spirituality…I can’t explain exactly how or why I felt this way – it was just “one of those things”…call it intuition, if you wish.

My suspicions were confirmed on the second night of class, when I noticed that the gentleman was wearing a pentacle hanging from a chain around his neck. During our class break, I walked up to the couple, and signed (or gestured, to be more accurate) to “Hawk” how I liked his pentacle. At first they were both taken by surprise, but then when I showed my own pentacle (which I kept hidden under my shirt), the two of them broke out in big smiles. It turned out that they were members of a nearby coven, and had in fact heard that there was a “Deaf Witch” living in the area, and were hoping that perhaps after taking a class or two, they might be able to meet her and invite her to join them at one of their coven events. Little did they know that witch would end up being their teacher!

Thus began a friendship between me and Hawk, along with his wife…a wonderful young woman named Willow. They proved to be excellent students who picked up the language quickly, although Hawk at times had to struggle to get his fingers to work properly. On more than one occasion, they would invite me to join them for a drink after class, and we would sit around discussing various topics and laughing over our jokes. One night they even bravely showed up at the local Deaf Club, and made a genuine effort to communicate with some of the members there, although I could tell they were a bit overwhelmed by all the flying hands around them.

Their coven was putting on a special ritual for the Sabbat of Beltaine, which some of you might know as “May Day,” since it is celebrated during the first week of May (traditionally on May 1st). Hawk and Willow asked me if I would come and join them as their guest for this event, which would include a special workshop, the ritual itself, dancing around the maypole, and a Beltaine Feast. I told them that as much as I loved them and was honored to be invited, that there was a big difference between sitting in a bar having a casual conversation with some beginning sign students, and trying to understand what is happening at a large gathering – where there is a lot of group interaction, information being exchanged, formal presentations, etc. The two nodded their heads a little sadly, and indicated that they understood what I was saying.

Then Willow shyly and hesitantly asked “if we provided an interpreter, then would you come?”

I smiled and nodded my head. “Certainly! But be forewarned, I doubt you will find anyone willing to do this for free, and interpreting services are not exactly cheap.”

Willow’s eyes lit up, and she gave me one of her wicked little grins. “Don’t worry…I’ll figure something out.”

Knowing Willow, I wasn’t about to ask!

Immediately, Willow went back to her coven, which was already aware that she and Hawk were taking a sign language class with a Deaf Pagan instructor. She stated that the two of them really wanted to see me come to the Beltaine Festival, and explained my communication needs.  Then she described her proposed plan for meeting those needs, which was unanimously endorsed by all of the members.

First, all of the coven members (which totalled around fifteen people) agreed to donate two dollars each towards an interpreting fund. They knew this wasn’t going to be enough, but at least it was a start. Then they decided to set up a “donations table” at the Festival where visitors who came to participate would be able to give a few bucks towards the fund as well (the Festival was free to the public, but “love offerings” were certainly welcomed).

But this was only the beginning. It was the second part of Willow’s proposal that was especially innovative.

Going around the circle, each member pledged a certain item or service that would be donated as part of a “gifts-in-kind” payment in exchange for interpreting services. One by one, they came up with ideas for what they could give in lieu of the money which they couldn’t afford.

Then armed with her list, Willow made a call to one of the interpreters on the list I had given her. This interpreter wasn’t Pagan – in fact, she is a Christian who teaches Sunday School and occasionally offers her interpreting services at her church. But she is also a skilled and ethical professional; a generous, loving, and open-minded individual; and a good friend. Regardless of her own spiritual beliefs, I trusted her to work with me and the Festival coordinators to provide the best services possible, and felt she would be willing to consider such an assignment and possibly reduce her normal hourly rate.

When Kim answered the phone, Willow introduced herself and explained that her coven really wanted me to attend their Beltaine Festival, but while they understood and respected the hard work involved in providing interpreting services, they were just a small local coven – of which some of the members were living on limited incomes – and really didn’t have the money to pay the standard hourly interpreting fee for such an assignment. Willow then read off the various items on the list, and asked Kim if she would consider a “gifts-in-kind” arrangement – more or less a form of bartering.

Kim was touched. It was clear that a lot of time and effort had gone into trying to come up with a solution which would work for everyone, and several of the items on the list did sound quite enticing. A little mental calculation and it wasn’t hard to figure out that the cost of the items would be comparable to an actual cash payment. She agreed to accept the assignment.

At the next sign language class, Willow came bounding up to me in breathless enthusiasm:

“We got an interpreter! Now you have to come to our Beltaine Festival!”

I was flabberghasted. I had no idea how Willow managed to pull it off, but I certainly wasn’t about to miss this event! The three of us – Willow, Kim, and myself made an appointment to get together and discuss the actual Festival plans, that we might be able to develop a sign vocabulary, determine appropriate times for Kim to take needed breaks, etc.

I had a blast. There were about thirty to forty people there all together, and everyone just really had a great time. The coven members were all very nice, and Willow and Hawk had given them a “crash course” in sign language so they could at least introduce themselves, say a few words of welcome, and sign the basic parts of the ritual. The ritual itself was beautiful…the workshop was interesting and well presented…dancing around the maypole was loads of fun (even if we did screw up and get the ribbons all tangled)…and the food was delicious. Even Kim remarked later that it was one of the best assignments she had done in a long time, and she was so happy to have accepted it.

Ohhhh…and what exactly did Kim end up receiving? As best as we can recall, payment included:

* a free one-hour massage given by a coven member who was a licensed massage therapist

* a $20 gift certificate to a coven member’s book shop

* a 20% discount at the local natural foods store (where one coven member works)

* several jars of home-grown and home-canned fruits and vegetables, plus a little “certificate” to come out to the farm later in the summer and pick a basket of veggies

* a couple of loaves of homemade bread, made with organic grains and flours; along with a jar of homemade preserves and a dish of home-churned butter

* free baby-sitting service from a former kindergarten teacher (and we all know how hard finding a good babysitter can be!)

* free lawn service including cutting and raking the grass, weeding, trimming the bushes, and planting some flowers in the planters (as a single mom, Kim appreciated such service!)

* a basket of homemade bath items; including bars of soap, bath salts, homegrown loofah sponge, and a homemade candle

a number of other items, too various to mention…and approximately $60 in cash

Frankly, I think Kim got a pretty good deal.

This is just an example of what can happen when a Deafie, an Interpreter, and a Coven get together to explore the possibilities, instead of arguing the impossibilities. I’m not saying it will work for everyone, or every situation…but I would like to think there is a lesson to be learned here.

“Magick is the art of creating possibilities.”

There was magick in the air at that Beltaine Festival.

Blessings,

~ Ocean

(the above photograph shows a close-up of a woman lying on her stomach on a massage table, a white bath towel wrapped around her head and another towel wrapped around her midriff. Her shoulders are bare. There are hands reaching out in the photo which are giving her a massage on her shoulders.)

 

The names here have been changed out of respect for the persons involved.

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The Goddess Must Love Tattoos…

Posted in Archives #3 A Deaf Pagan Shares, Humor, Irish/Celtic, Paganism, Spirituality on Sunday February 25 2007 | 12 Comments »

While perusing some of my favorite Pagan blog sites, I came across a little tidbit referring to an on-line article which discussed the spiritual side of body art. Upon reading this article, I found it to be quite interesting, informative, and well-written. While it begins with a bit of background about the spiritual connotations of tattooing, most of the article is a question-and-answer interview with “Madame Lazonga” – a Seattle based tattoo artist who has long been advocating the importance of tattooing in people’s quest to connect with the Divine.

You can read this article for yourself by clicking on this link:

http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/g/a/2007/02/20/findrelig.DTL

Interestingly, I think that there is a lot of truth to what Madame Lozonga has to say. Certainly, you will find tattoos to be fairly prevalent in the Pagan Community. Go to a Pagan Gathering, and I can almost guarantee that at least half the people there will be sporting a tattoo somewhere on their body. And the odds are, those tatts will in some way be reflecting their spirituality – whether it be pentacles or moons or celtic knotwork or the Goddess/Green Man.

This of course, begs the question – “so Osh…do YOU have a tattoo?”

Indeed I do…although it took me some time to work up my courage and conquer my aversion to needles.

Although I was ordained as a High Priestess in the Summer of 1984, and was given the opportunity at that time to get a free tattoo as an ordination gift, I turned down the generous offer and accepted a custom-made ring instead. I was still in my cowardly lion stage at that point.

It wasn’t until eight years later that I finally joined the ranks of the Painted Pagans. By that time I was living in Pennsylvania, where I was Executive Director of a non-profit agency serving deaf and hard of hearing consumers. One day, after doing a presentation to a women’s service organization a few towns over, I was driving leisurely through the countryside on my way home when I spied a sign that said “Tattoo Shop.”

A tattoo parlor here in this itty-bitty one-traffic-light country town in the middle of Amishland, USA??? This I had to see!!! So I pulled over and parked the car, and went to investigate. After putting it off all these years, I was beginning to seriously contemplate getting a tattoo – undoubtedly prompted by my Deaf friend Lucy, who sported a number of them on her own body. I was still nervous about the needles and the pain, but she assured me that “it really isn’t that bad.” Hmmmmpphhhh.

It turned out this tattoo shop was owned and operated by a woman, who was very friendly and pleasant to talk to. She showed me around, explained the procedure, and answered my questions. She told me that I could either pick a design from one of the books, or bring in my own design and she would be happy to tattoo it for me. This appealed to me, because I did in fact have a certain design in mind. After a little more discussion, we set up an appointment and I went home to contemplate my fate.

A few days later, I showed up for my appointment, with my special design in hand. I was greeted by my friendly tattoo artist (whose name I can no longer remember), who then introduced me to her male student, who was doing his “apprenticeship” in her shop in preparation for getting his own tattoo license. This gentleman was very polite and a bit flustered about the fact that on his very first day, he was going to be helping his instructor put a tattoo on a woman’s naked breast. I reassured him that I didn’t have any problems with it…”all in a day’s work.” Besides, when you’ve seen one boob, you’ve seen them all.

The actual tattooing wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be…it really didn’t hurt that much. Of course, the location might have had something to do with that – I’ve been told that the breast area is less painful than say…your ankle or pelvic area (or any place where the needle is close to the bone). Once it was all over, I had a chance to inspect the results, and I must say I was quite pleased. It wasn’t the easiest of designs, although it wasn’t that difficult compared to others I have seen. Nearly sixteen years later, I’m still pretty proud of it – take a look for yourself:

tattoo-close.jpg tattoo-distance.jpg

Yup, it’s a Celtic Knotwork design..sort of a fleur-de-lis shape. Actually, it is a modification of the design that is often found on the end tips of the Celtic Cross that can be seen in cemeteries all over the British Isles. I’m Celtic myself on both sides of the family, and I feel a strong bond to my Celtic heritage. I’m interested in all things Celtic – the culture, the history, the mythology, the language (Gaelic). And of course, the spirituality. While I consider myself eclectic, I do have a strong interest in the Celtic Path, and have been focusing more on Celtic Wicca, Shamanism, and Druidism in recent years.

I like the representation of the three petals of the flower, as three is a sacred number for many Pagans. Three represents the triple aspect of the Goddess – Maiden, Mother, and Crone…it represents the three phases of the moon – waxing, full, and waning…it represents the three aspects of an individual – body, mind and spirit.

So yes…my tattoo is a reflection of my spirituality, and my own personal connection with the Divine. The interlaced pattern with its unbroken lines symbolizes my own pilgramage in this life – both the quest to return to my own divine source, and the spiritual growth that occurs during such a quest.

Will I get another tattoo? For a long time I was content to just have this one, but lately I have been considering adding a second one. I’ve had the design I want for some time. It’s a bit more elaborate and complicated than the Celtic Knotwork on my breast – which means more time, more money, and likely more pain (ouch!) I need to establish a “tattoo fund” to start putting away the bucks for it, and then find a good tattoo artist who can render it justice on my lower back.

Maybe I’ll give Madame Lazonga a call.

to see more pictures of tattoos, and to read more about

Ocean’s thoughts on Paganism and tattoos,

check out her more recent posts:

Tattoos, Paganism, and This Blog

The Deaf Community Loves Their Tats Too!

osh-tattoo.jpg

if you look carefully, you can see Ocean’s tattoo on her upper left breast

 

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The Ritual of Battering

Posted in Archives #4 Pagan Thoughts and Writings, Deaf/Pagan Relations, Empowerment, Magick, Paganism, Ritual, Spirituality, Women, Women's Spirituality on Friday February 23 2007 | 8 Comments »

I have to be honest, folks – when Wolf Wind first came to me with this article and asked if it could be posted at Deaf Pagan Crossroads, I was a bit hesitant. An article about Domestic Violence on a blog site that focuses on the merger of Deafness and Paganism? Well, I don’t know…

But as I read it, it was clear that Wolf had put a lot of thought into this article, and it was well-written. Besides that, there is no doubt that Domestic Violence is a subject that we need to address, and not avoid. I’ve known individuals – both male and female, deaf and hearing, black and white, Pagan and Christian who have been victims of this tragedy. It must be stopped, and it can only be stopped if we acknowledge it, discuss it, and do something about it.

I was also worried because I didn’t want people to get the wrong idea – to read this article and then go away thinking “Holy shit! So that’s what you heathens do…gather together in the forest and start beating the crap out of each other!”

Whoa! Time Out! NO WAY! We as Pagans are expected to live by our Code of Ethics, and to abide by the Wiccan Law that says “Harm None.” Most Pagans I know abhor violence, and would never accept such behavior committed on anyone or anything…be it animals, children, women, Mother Nature, etc.

What Wolf Wind is trying to do here is to take a subject of importance (in this case, Domestic Violence) and look at it from a Pagan perspective, using the analogy of ritual to help gain an understanding of how such violence develops and occurs. By doing so and then writing about such perspectives and sharing them with the rest of us, perhaps we also can gain a better perspective.

It’s not uncommon for us as Pagans to do so…in much the same way that a person who is Deaf might look at something through a Deaf perspective. We tend to see things in ways that reflect our beliefs, our backgrounds, our cultures and our identities. You will find examples of this Pagan perspective in a number of posts on this site – my blogs about Gallaudet, for example, discuss my thoughts on last year’s Gallaudet Protest from a Pagan perspective. “To Capitalize…or not to capitalize” uses this same approach to discuss the “Big D/little d” issue. Several of the blogs here utilize this approach, and I expect more of them to do so in the future.

I found this article to be quite thought-provoking, and I thank Wolf for sending it my way and addressing this important national issue. I hope that you will take the time to read it, and forward it to others who need to read it as well. Let us all do our part to stamp out Domestic Violence in our society.

Blessings,

~ Ocean

The Ritual of Battering 

As our society advances and becomes more “enlightened”, we are finding more and more just how little we really know.  Joseph Campbell’s works on mythology are a good example, how despite our advancement we are losing, or unaware of just how deeply the threads of our ancestors tie us together.  The loss of myth and ritual, simply put, leads to chaos. 

As Pagans, we place an important focus on ritual.  One of the things we teach by this emphasis is that the mundane and the sacred worlds are not necessarily as clear cut as many would like to believe.  Ritual – if we believe that it speaks to us on all levels – has much to bring the world of sociology and psychology in moving it to acknowledge just how important the spiritual realm plays in our lives.  As such, ritual draws some parallels to one of the more destructive social ills we face today and that is intimate violence. Just as ritual is something taught, violence adheres to the same ritual components with just as much power as a healing/positive ritual.  One of the keys to understanding intimate violence is to recognize it as a cycle, with identifiable stages.  Just as our rituals are attuned to the cycles of life, battering has possessed its own cyclical stages.  Below is a breakdown (general) of the battering cycle and the ritual aspects it has.  I will start with the positive ritual component and then the violent cycle counter part. 

Building power:  This is the part of the ritual where the circle becomes drawn, members meditate, participate etc. in making the gathering sacred space, opening channels for communication etc.  The domestic violence portion follows a similar pattern, in that battering is not a spontaneous event, but is worked up to. This is called the stage of tension/stress building. 

Height of power/energy reached:  This event in circle can be different in form, but the purpose is the same in that this is the high point of the ritual, when energy is at its highest – the climax of energy if you will, and when all the major workings are accomplished in the ritual.  In domestic violence, this is the point of no return. The energy has built to its highest and in that moment the energy is released and actual violence occurs.  This is the result of the energy being reached at it maximum, and unlike circle the energy released is very destructive. 

The return:  For ritual, this is the conclusion of ritual, when the quarters are dismissed and the circle opened, and the experience of the working is continued and brought to the outside.  It is often a “calm” in that the released energy has been “spent” and sent out to work etc.  In intimate violence, this becomes “The Honeymoon” stage where the violence has ceased and all is well, seemingly the balance is restored, etc.  But like in the circle, the energy gathered and released does not stop but goes forth, the energy has to go somewhere and often it will go to maintaining the status quo in battering.  It is not uncommon for one to stay in a battering relationship because they truly love the person and feel if they work hard enough, can change the pattern. 

Just as in our celebrations, the Priest and Priestess in a large part determine the pace etc. of the ritual, so in battering the participants direct the cycle itself, sometimes speeding up the cycle to the point of no return with the intent to “get it over with” and reach the honeymoon stage again.  The misunderstanding here is that this cycle is truly a destructive ritual – that the power released has Karmic effects in that the honeymoon stage becomes shorter and shorter and ultimately results in the death of at least one participant.  This I think underscores just how powerful ritual can be, and the awesome responsibility which comes in putting it together and thus working ritual. 

At this point I will say this tends to be over simplified due to space etc. yet can be observed in other settings other than domestic violence, just as all ritual doesn’t apply to just one aspect of our lives.  One of the important points to remember is just like our own rituals, the ritual of battering is taught and will follow the cycle it sets unless interrupted (i.e. restructuring the tools of ritual to prevent it from getting to the point of no return).   

If nothing else, this brings an appreciation of the complexity and ritual nature of our relationships (in any sense) with each other.  At this time in our political concerns, it also has implications as to the bearing of certain policy, etc.  And thus, points out another important aspect of ritual – that it operates at many different levels and can have impacts we are unaware of.   

Wolf Wind is a Mental Health Professional and practicing Pagan who resides in Northern California. Hard of Hearing himself, he has consulted with Ocean on a number of issues related to deafness, and participated in various Deaf Pagan activities. He is also a loving husband and father, and freely admits that his favorite animal (as well as being his totem) is…the wolf.

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How to Caption Your Videos (with special thanks to Jared!)

Posted in Archives #1 Deafness and Accessibility, Creating Accessibility, Deaf/Hearing Relations on Thursday February 22 2007 | 3 Comments »

NOTE:  Please be aware that with ever-changing advances in technology, the information presented in this post may now be out of date. I have written a more current post on the issue of captioning videos which I encourage readers to check out for the latest information which may be of interest to you – especially if you use YouTube. Click on the link below:

http://deafpagancrossroads.com/2011/01/13/making-a-video-how-about-captioning-it/

Over the past year or so, I have seen an increasing number of individuals creating video clips using their videocams, and then downloading them to DVDs or onto the web itself. More and more videos are showing up on YouTube and similar sites.

I have gotten a number of emails from hearing friends wanting to share events with me – rituals, gatherings, parties, the new baby in the family, etc. etc.

This is great…and I do enjoy watching such videos – up to a point.

But what do you do when you are deaf or hard-of-hearing and you can’t hear the voice overs on the video, or lipread the words of the speakers?

Recently I was on another Pagan blog site where they were showing a video of a sermon about Paganism done by an ordained minister. While this gentleman was pleasant to look at, I could only catch a word here and there of what he was saying – prompting me to post a comment grumbling about how the video wasn’t captioned for my comprehension.

Well…I’ve always been taught that it is not enough to just sit around and complain when there’s a problem. If you’re not willing to be a part of the solution, then you’re only contributing to being a part of the problem. If I want to see more captioning/subtitling of videos, then I need to do my part to help come up with ways to help make this happen.

Interestingly enough, the issue of captioning has come up in the Deaf Internet Community as well. Vlogs (“video-blogs”) have become increasingly popular in the Deaf Community as a way of sharing thoughts, etc. via our native language of American Sign Language (ASL). I’m seeing more and more Deaf bloggers turning on their videocams and switching over to this mode. An example of vlogging as used in the Deaf Community can be seen at Joey’s ASL Vlog (www.joeybaer.com) where my colleague, Joey Baer, shares his thoughts on a number of issues related to the Deaf Community.

The problem is – the majority of these vlogs are not captioned for the hearing community. Thus, if you don’t know sign language, you’re going to be a tad frustrated.

Which maybe ain’t such a bad thing…at least now you can get a sense of what it feels like for me and my Deaf peers when we attempt to watch videos broadcast in Spoken English. (and I’m not just talking about those funny homemade clips on YouTube either – even news videos on various internet news sites are rarely if ever captioned…I can’t understand the videos that are shown on MSNBC, for example.)

There’s been a lot of discussion about video captioning on both sides of the equation – captioning of Spoken English for the benefit of deaf and hard of hearing viewers, and captioning of ASL- created vlogs in order for those not versed in sign language to understand and benefit from learning more about our language and culture. There have been arguments pro and con on both sides of the fence.

But putting the debate aside, the real purpose of this post is to provide some information to those home movie producers who do in fact wish to make their videos more accessible, and thus allow folks like me to be educated, enlightened, or just plain entertained by such endeavors.

Since I am not a techno-expert by any means, I sought out a little help from one of my Deaf peers, a gentleman by the name of Jared Evans. Jared has a blog site called “Jared’s Global Microbrand” at

http://www.jaredlog.com

Jared has posted a couple of blogs on his site that do discuss how to caption/subtitle your video clips. I would suggest that you read these blogs at:

http://www.jaredlog.com/?p=471

and then the related posts at

http://www.jaredlog.com/?p=611

and

http://www.jaredlog.com/?p=70

Referring to the above-mentioned video shown on another Pagan blog site, the creator of that video actually contacted me asking for information on how to make his videos accessible by adding captions/subtitles. I contacted Jared, who was kind enough to send a response to this individual, with a cc to me. I would now like to share this information with all of you, that you might thus become video captioners in your own right!

So if you want to learn how to create subtitled video clips, I strongly advise you to head over to Jared’s site, where he provides information about software programs, and tips on the process for actually incorporating captions/subtitles into your videos. Since Jared is far more of an expert on this type of technology than I am (I’m a techno-idiot if the truth be known!), I encourage you to read his posts and contact him directly if you have any questions or concerns. From what I understand, captioning your videos does require some time and patience, along with a bit of computer savvy.

I do want to emphasize…if you have any questions or concerns regarding this information, please go to Jared’s blog site and use that site to contact Jared directly – do not post your questions here or ask me for further information, because I wouldn’t know where to even begin to try and help.

My purpose for posting this information here is that I know a large percentage of my readership is in fact hearing, and thus may not be familiar with those sites that do maintain and discuss this type of technical knowledge. Captioning is of course an important issue within the Deaf Community, but most hearing people rarely give it a second thought.

Until, that is…someone like me comes along and says “hey!”

Although I am Deaf, I do spend a considerable amount of time in the hearing world. My family is hearing. Many of my friends are hearing. Many of my co-workers have been and currently are hearing.

That hearing world isn’t always easy to navigate. Fortunately, with the help of modern technology, it is getting easier and easier. I can send and receive information via email. I can call my mother via Video Relay Services. I can sit in my favorite bar down the street and chat with my friend Crystal in Massachusetts via AIM using my SideKick pager. I can teach my students Birch, Gaylen, Ruby and all the others in an internet chat room. I can watch a movie rented through Netflix with my neighbor Carol by turning on the captions.

And now, hopefully the next time someone sends me a homemade video…

I’ll be able to laugh along with the rest of you.

Blessings,

~ Ocean

Special thanks to Jared Evans, who when I discussed creating this post, gave me his permission and told me to “go for it!” And if any of you DO in fact create a Captioned Pagan Video…please do let me know about it, and I will be happy to take a look and share the information with others as well!

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