I need a bit of advice. My life is rapidly and inexorably turning to shit.
My debts are compunding daily, My job sucks stone & I can't find another,
My car is about to commit seppuku & I can neither replace nor repair it,
Even my college financial aid is coming undone.
I am a fairly new pagan, I have neither time, space, or resources to equip
myself with an altar of any kind, & I'm fresh out of Ideas. If it continuses
this way, I'll be contemplating suicide before Samhain. Any avice would be
appreciated. Blessed be.

31 responses total.

  Everyone's lives has their ups and downs.  I think particularly
for younger people, the downs can seem really devestating, as
there aren't as many ups to look back on, and thereby figure you
can look forward to again.  Life will get better, as long as you
hang in there.
 
  On a practical note, if you can discern some causes for your
problems, you could try to think of ways to eliminate them.
For example, for debts, how can you cut expenses?  For your job,
how can you make yourself more employable?  Can you ditch your car
in favor of a bike?

If you die, can I get your stereo?  But seriously, if you're interested,
I think Shaun <from the coffee shop> is always looking for new telemarketers. 
You might find him and ask him...

If this helps, you dont really need and altar.  I lived quite happily
as a pagan for a couple of years <at my parents house> without any outside
'symbols' or such of my faith.  Since then I have run into a few things
that i like to keep around, most of them cost me nothing at all <like
this stone i found on the beach at Lake Huron, and a pine branch I found
in the arb>
The lack of an altar doesnt seem to be what is bothering you the most.  I'm
not sure how to help with the other problems <tho a appointment with 
someone in the fianacial aid department might help sort out some of the 
problems you are having, or it might not >
/comfort starwolf

As for the altar, stones and feathers (except raptors) and such like are
free for the finding... don't think you need a pewter athame and a brass
chalice.  A stick and a Dixie cup get the same job done.  :)

One thing I don't hear anyone suggesting is that you pray for help
to whom- or whatever.  Don't pagans ever do that?

Yes, Michael...I ask for guidance through meditation sometimes.  Starwolf,
I don't have an altar either...I use the forest as my grounds.  All I have
in my possession are some crystals, candles, and rocks from the beach at the
Pictured Rocks (a highly charged area to me).  One thing about being a Pagan
is that you see the *Earth* as a religion...material things have nothing to
do with it.  Yes, it's nice to have a wand and an altar and really cool robes,
but I think in your case, the gods will understand.  =)

As for the financial problems, we've all been through it.  Believe me...if
you hang in there, it *will* get better.  At the beginning of this summer,
I received a letter from NMU saying that I didn't qualify for aid due to my
grades.  I thought I'd never be able to return here, and look where I am
today.  Enrolled in twelve credits and happily earning a 3.6 so far.  We all
have tough times, and I *do* feel for you.  Search a little harder for that
job...what are your skills?  What are you strong at?  What do you like to do?
 As for the car...do you *really* need it?  You can use public transportation
for work, or even a bike as Rob suggested.  If something is within a half
mile, take a walk.  I don't really know what else to tell you, darlin'.
<birdy hugs starwolf tightly>

md- pagans in general are very diverse.  some pray, some don't.
the reason that I didn't offer it as advice is because I dont ususally
pray.  i ony end up praying when i feel that i absolutey cannot handle
a situation on my own.  but this item is not about me, its about
Michael  :)

I'm a Pagan, and I would never even consider supplicating any
deity for anything.  Ask for guidance, or strength, but never
"please do this for me".

I've done without an altar for a while now, after living in
a house with someone else's cat and no door on my room.  >8(
You don't necessarily *need* one, though they are helpful.

As for the rest, I'd concentrate first on the "real world"
stuff you can do - don't rule out declaring bankruptcy, it sounds
worse than it is.  Is your financial situation marginal, or
is it just completely out of control?

How's the public transportation where you live?  My car died
a year ago.  It's not been fun, but the busses here have kept me
working and having at least a little fun since then.  And the
wait may pay off, it looks like a relative will be giving me
a hand-me-down car soon.  And don't rule out the possibility
of getting rides with others - so far I've found my friends are
more willing to give me rides than I am to accept them.  >8)

In a more magickal sense, Crowlye once wrote that the only spells
he cast that never ever worked were the ones for getting money.  >8)
I'd definitely advise against that, however there may be some
way of asking your gods for financial advice, they probably know
more than you do.  >8)  Which system/trad do you work with?

(I was ask to say that two responses back Val meant to say the item
was about starwolf, not michael....  <grin>  She had a brain fart. )

Prayer>  In many Pagan eyes, the closest thing to prayer is magick.
In some circles, the only way to do magick is with an altar.
Ergo... if you need an altar, you can't do magick for it.

I'm glad I ain't one of those sorts of pagans, logic befuddles them.
Hence my comment that effective magick (and altar) doesn't require
huge sums of money.  *curtsey*

I still remember back in 1991 when I was becoming very delusional and even
envisioning "appropriate" ways to commit suicide.  I'm glad I didn't try any
of those ways, because now I've gotten me a better home, a better job, and
people in my life who support me, and not just to make me feel better.

I haven't owned a car in my life, but am very thankful for the busses and the
cab service here in Ann Arbor.  As for an altar, I can envision the sights
around me as my altar -- the creek next to the parking area, the wildlife that
wanders around the apartment complex, the neighbor's cats, etc.  I even
noticed raccoons in the dumpster from time to time, and I bless them safety
so they can avoid being picked up on trash day.

Yes, things may be rough, but I know that you can make it through.  I'm
learning to get through rough moments so that they can become manageable.
I believe that you can, too.

Thanx a lot.
I think this item can be Killed now.
Blessed be.

Why kill it?  Someone else might get good out of it.

There's good advice in all these responses.  The basic 
message of "Hang in there, it'll get better" is the absolute 
truth, no matter how unlikely it might seem to you now.  
Paying attention to the natural world -- just turning your 
attention away from yourself and looking at things, like 
those raccoons in the rubbish barrels -- will also make you 
happy.  Curiosity might've killed the cat, but I suspect it's 
saved many human lives.  

Re prayer, spells, amulets, whatever: If I were you, I 
wouldn't hesitate to seek help from the pagan Powers That Be.  
The answer you get might not be any apparent solution, like a 
new job or a new car.  What might happen is that some day 
when you're feeling especially miserable, the clouds in your 
heart will suddenly disperse and never return.

"Hang in there, it'll get better" is a wonderful notion.
And if it doesn't?
Not to be a downer, but that phrase has *never* cheered me up when
I'm depressed.  There are no absolute truths.
It's better to look around and see the good things that you have, now,
rather than counting on the bad things to go away at some future date.
B/c, quite frankly, they may not.
But *everyone* has *something* good in their lives, no matter how trivial.

I agree.  "Hang in there, you can make it better" is more my style.

starwolf, I'd just as soon leave the item here, others may get
some use out of it later.  There's no expiration date on this
advice.  >8)

Thanks for that revision, rob,... *that* would cheer me up in depression.

        What's more.. "Hang in there, you have friends who care about you, 
and who will be there when you come back."
        Life can't be all bad, can it?

Nope, it can't.

 
        Get a copy of _What Color Is Your Parachute_.  It's gold.

        As far as your car goes, there're always onliners who're willing to
help with such things for other onliners ... or for beer and pizza, if they're
Objectivists.

Unfortunately, the only onliner I know personally that lives within a 300-mile
rad of me never comes to grex & I can't get to his bbs, I can e-mail him but
That's at least a 5-minute lag in communications-if he's on-line at the time.
Oh, well.  Could always be worse.

        yeah, you could live in the Northwest Territories, beyond
AT&T's lines..

I could live in a town whose public library didn't offer free telnet access...

Well, this item is crumbling quickly...

Happens every time.

        <Selena catches a piece>
        Here. <hands it to starwolf>

Thanx.  (breaks out the economy-size 50-gal. drum of super-glue)

I'll do better than that!
<breaks out an large but finite supply of universal solvent>

        Nonono! Not solvent!!

Erm, I meant sealer or bonder... or whatever..

Ok, then if you die, can i get your book collection <i'll take good care of
it!> Seriously, I hope you find what you need. And as for setting, all
you really need is a good imagination, then you can take your stuff with
you whereever you go.

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