Friday, March 16, 2012

Fasting for Pagans

The season of Lent is in full swing now; the biggest period of fasting in the Christian calendar. I was raised in a Christian household, and I still remember Lent quite fondly - fish frys on Fridays, giving up chocolate or TV or some other luxury - and waiting, waiting, waiting for Easter Sunday, when all the self-restraint was lifted and I could eat as much of my giant chocolate bunny as I could handle. As I got older, I began to appreciate the spiritual benefits conferred by fasting; spending the time one normally would enjoying food or some other activity in prayer or meditation is incredibly powerful. I have always longed for a Pagan equivalent of sorts, but the closest I ever get is an all-night fasting vigil on the Winter Solstice.

So imagine my surprise to learn, when reading an article titled Rethinking Imbolc by Mary Jones, that Lent has its origins in the natural rhythms of the land as much as in Christian tradition. In early spring, the period between Imbolc and Eostara, the plants of Europe were just beginning to sprout and flower. Lambs and other domestic animals were not yet old enough for eating, and milk only added so much to stores of food strained from the long winter. In essence, early spring fasting was often a fast of necessity; later taken in and given religious meaning by the Catholic church.

This is an ancestral practice that we as Pagans can choose to honor as well. Though in our modern lives, we can just pop over to the supermarket for any fresh fruits, veggies, or meat that we'd like, it does us good to remember the cycles of the Earth that our ancestors were compelled to follow. Eating only seasonal, local produce becomes very difficult at this time of year, and it is in this way that I have chosen to honor my ancestors this year.

I have been unable to fast much for the past four years due to pregnancies and nursing, and it's something that I miss very much. Some day, when I am able to be a bit more lax about my nutritional requirements, I would like to undertake a bread and water fast during this Imbolc-Equinox period. For me, fasting is an incredibly powerful tool - meditation becomes easier, divination is clearer and more powerful, and rituals are full of a spiritual energy that can only be found when the body is not devoting its energy to the intake and digestion of food. Obviously it's not for everyone; but if you are a Pagan and have never given it a try, I heartily recommend it! Start small - ingest only water for twelve hours, or give up something special to you for a week and dedicate that sacrifice to the Gods/Goddesses or to your own spiritual growth. You might be surprised at the results you see.

Jones, Mary (2012). Rethinking Imbolc. Retrieved from http://www.adf.org/articles/gods-and-spirits/celtic/rethinking-imbolc.pdf

6 comments:

  1. An excellent post, fasting is something that is often overlooked in current pagan paths. In our group we are expected to, but this comes as a revelation to many new members lol.

    Great post.

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    1. I think it's awesome that your group expects fasting; it's definitely something that more spiritually-inclined people could benefit from practicing.

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  2. Excellent post, though knowing what bread does to the body, I hasten to advise against bread & water fasts. You would be better off with a bone broth fast. The human body does not need carbs, but it does need both fat and protein, which you can get easily from bone broth.

    I fast almost daily, between 12 and 18 hours. Once or twice a month I may also fast for longer, 36 to 48 hours, from dinner on night until lunch 2 days later. These fasts offer me more opportunity to meditate on food and feel my body's cycles and processes changing and adapting to my (relatively) new lifestyle of healthy, local, organic, grain-free eating.

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    1. Interesting about the bread and water! I think it may have been mainly practiced in the past because of the cheapness and easy availability of bread, but I'm not sure on that. It makes sense to modify this somewhat for health reasons! Thanks for sharing your own experience, I'm glad that fasting can be so beneficial for others as well.

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  3. Really interesting post! I also enjoy that you're not bashing Christianity! I am not Christian, but I do appreciate many elements to it and it has it's own beauty when we look past distortions. I think when we venture in "religion bashing", we're thrown into the same wagon with all the other paths that do the same.

    Very, very cool! This sounds like a lot of fun! I will look into this too! Thanks so much for sharing.

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    1. Thank you again for your kind words :). Having attended a Catholic elementary school as a child, we had compulsory Mass every morning and I found a lot there that I really admired, and still do. I still use modified versions of some of the ritualistic Catholic practices in my own big rituals. And I absolutely agree about "religion bashing" - there's so much to be learned from people of other faiths; and the more we interact in a respectful and open dialogue, eventually Paganism will come to be seen similarly to other smaller but more accepted religions.

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