Path: kudonet.com!news.scruz.net!legba.synergy.net!news.inetnebr.com!news.mid.net!mr.net!www.nntp.primenet.com!nntp.primenet.com!mindspring!uunet!in3.uu.net!207.90.222.2!news.brewich.com!robomod!srp-submit From: storm@nas.nasa.gov (Steve Storm) Newsgroups: soc.religion.paganism Subject: Re: Suicide and the Great Cycle of Life Date: 10 Dec 1996 00:58:22 -0600 Organization: NAS/NASA Ames Research Center Lines: 48 Sender: srpbot@news.brewich.com Approved: SRP Approval Key Message-ID: <58huh7$sg9@cnn.nas.nasa.gov> References: <32AB210E.3708@cwo.com> NNTP-Posting-Host: brewich.com X-SRP-Homepage: http://www.brewich.com/org/srp/index.html X-SRP-Info-1: Send submissions to srpbot@brewich.com X-SRP-Info-2: Send technical complaints to srp-admin@brewich.com X-SRP-Info-3: Send complaints about policy to srp-modkin@brewich.com X-Robomod-Written-By: ichudov@algebra.com (Igor Chudov) X-Auth: PGPMoose V1.1 PGP soc.religion.paganism iQBVAwUBMq0KDFzemumcYbkZAQG/WwH/YtTw7kfL5EmNle79f6BwW7/O5oPjzVPv 2FSvrbGMmYTNrScFL+xJaJdmiQo9A9L4W9RccUohT3eN9DZQVC1/kg== =agwy In article <32AB210E.3708@cwo.com>, Alan Sheridan/Alpha Starsinger writes: |> I'm having difficulty reconciling the great cycle of Life/Death/Rebirth |> with the concept of suicide, and could use some help. My sister chose |> to take her own life last Monday, and while I can accept her death and |> process the grief, the question has come up about how we, as pagans, |> view suicide. I can't come up with a rational answer at this point, and |> would appreciate feedback. |> Mercy in the form of Death is one of the gifts of the Crone. Sometimes, in our incarnations, we take on loads we cannot handle. It would be cruelty beyond measure to insist that such a burdened one continue with their load just because we do not wish to grieve at their passing. (Now, it might be true that was a better answer for their pain, but sometimes there isn't.) Doctor Kevorkian is attempting to inject this notion into the American mainstram of thought. I, personally, wish him luck in his efforts. The soul will come back for new lessons, or repeat that particular lesson until it can overcome the challenge. That's one interpretation. I haven't seen any consistent Wiccan attitude that I could point to. But I see no immediate conficts between suicide and the "great cycle". Some Christian faiths consider suicide a "sin" that denies the sinner access to Heaven. I do not know of any Wiccan dogma that sets such a stigma to suicide. Sometimes there is no point. The Wheel of life goes round and round without need of explanation or reason. To accept this, understand this, and still celebrate the cycles: that is one of the hardest lessons. I'm still working on it. The Rede says "Do what thou wilt." And suicide is one of the actions and choices a Wiccan is empowered to take. Whether the grief others then feel is "harm" becomes an interesting Wiccan discussion point which I will gladly leave to others. My stand is that it then becomes the decision of the survivors whether to grieve their loss or to celebrate what limited times they did get to share. There is no "rational" answer to emotional pain. There are only comforting reassurances and the continuing love of those who remain. I hope you recieve plenty of both. Blessed be. -storm -- As we endure storms, | storm@nas.nasa.gov | These are opinions! So we receive rainbows. | Steve Storm | Not policies or dogma!