COMITIA CENTURIATA CALLED TO ORDER MARCH 3, 2022

While we’re waiting for the results of the voting, and because I have put my foot into it at this thread already, I wanted to explain a few things because I’ve seen, more than once, the idea that my work is mostly along the Wiccan lines. This is partly true; however, I am not strictly Wiccan which is obviously why I am here. I am also not particularly exclusionary, with the exception that I am adamant about animal rights.

So, if you’re bored on a Sunday afternoon (as it is, here in California USA) here’s possibly a few things I would like to have clear, and it’s on the chance that the merger vote moves forward without any guarantees for animal rights. My organization does have an animal rights statement, and it’s a Neo-Pagan organization, not a Wiccan organization.

As for me, my influences are varied. The Wiccan religion did not inspire me to major in architecture at University; my first influences were ancient Greco-Roman mythology, art and architecture books I found as a child, backed up by family influences in my adolescence.

It was my younger brother who discovered Wicca in college and, at the time, I didn’t give it much thought. I had a dog for a number of years after I graduated University, and eventually he grew old. I consulted a mainstream clergy member about final rites for my dog and was told that the Abrahamic religions do not see animals in the same way as they do people, and that final rites were reserved for humans. I knew I had some seeking and searching to do, which in fact was accomplished after purchasing a freezer for my dogs’ remains, which I kept until I found that Wicca indeed honors dogs and pets as family members. So, you see, my search for alternative religions is based in animal rights.

I began podcasting about the Goddess Fortuna, at first, for entirely personal reasons. I attempted to add Wiccan holidays and concepts into the mix, and discovered that I was mispronouncing a lot of words, especially the Wiccan word for All Hallow’s Eve, which was particularly grating to the Wiccan community. I have, since, learned much more about Wicca; however, along the way I also learned about a lot of Roman holidays for the Goddess Fortuna while discovering that many Wiccan practices (as well as contemporary statues) seem to conflate Abundantia, who apparently never had any temples and only graced coins of the Augustan era (and perhaps other eras), with Fortuna who was a strong Goddess with many temples and holidays throughout the year and even throughout the Empire.

So, here I was, podcasting about mispronounced Wiccan holidays and adding in all all the Roman attributes and holidays without really knowing much at all what I was doing. Only that it seemed to make me feel a lot better about having dogs and all the stuff that goes along with that. Fortuna seems to like dogs, and that’s good enough for me.

So, if for some reason you all up and rejoin NR, realize I have deeply set reasons for why I would say “no” to that. And, also, that my little Temple of Fortuna dot com organization and its approved tax-exempt status is more than okay with taking on the religious aspects of Religio Romana within a larger Neo-Pagan structure. We already know the difference between Fortuna Primigenia and Fortuna Huisque Diei for example. I’m not sure how many Wiccans can say that.

With no updates via email, we have no knowledge about the future and decisions of this organization; however, the website is still up and showing the declaration with its guarantees, including the guarantee which attracted me to join: iv) The recognition of two millennia of advances regarding human and animal rights. In this recognition, we pledge to respect, support and promote human and animal rights at all times within our nation.

In honor of this fact, I will be dedicating an impromptu contemporary box to the statue of Jupiter which I won at a Ludi some years ago. It will not be a traditional Lararium. It will be, instead, a cigar humidor, which I’ve discovered is a wonderful way to display these statues. I may post a photo of the finished display. The exterior of the box will be anointed in some fashion; perhaps with a rosemary-clove essential oil blend in a jojoba base, which would be a contemporary association. I may also add a bit of benzoin, myrrh or frankincense into the mix, or possibly copal which is an American tree resin with similar properties, to hearken back to the ancient times.

I believe Jupiter will appreciate his new abode, which will have not only a roof above his head, but also a large glass window. And, of course, a mysterious sort of mechanical device on the side of the box, which is typical of humidors and quite amazing.