Friday, January 24, 2020

Essay examples --

The truth about Wicca Wicca, commonly known as the â€Å"Craft† or â€Å"Old Ways† is an expression used to describe various traditions of contemporary Paganism, an earth-centered religion that shows a substantial amount of respect for nature; celebrating the changes in the season and lunar cycles (Mankiller, Wicca); As stated by Morrison Wicca celebrates, â€Å"the beauty of the moon, the stars, and the sun (5)†; and the worshipping of the deities (Morrison, 2001). Those who follow the path of Wicca are usually referred to as â€Å"Witches† or â€Å"Wiccans† derived from the Anglo-Saxon term wicce, which can be translated as â€Å"Sorceress† or â€Å"Wise One† (Morrison, 2001), they are nothing like the witches seen in modern media (Mankiller, Wicca). Throughout History Wicca has been depicted as a Satanist related religion, leading to mass persecution of those who adhere to its principles (as seen in the Salem Witch Trials); few truly fathom the Wiccan f aith. The real truth about Wicca is that, it is a religion centered on the theology of the deities in form of the Patron Goddess and God, it is a matriarchal religion, with varying traditions and religious branches, that doesn’t believe in predestination, and has basic tenets that must be followed. Wicca, like many fellow Pagan traditions, focuses on the beliefs of the deities that all share a different, yet common purpose in the universe-to keep balance and harmony in the world. Wicca, unlike other religions, categorizes the divine; honoring the Goddess in form of the Triple Goddess of sometimes referred to as the Patron Goddess, whose aspects are the Maiden, Mother, Crone; representing the three phases of the moon: Waxing, Waning, Full Moon, and Dark Moon (Morrison, 2001). In form of the Maiden, as stated by M... ...f empowerment; making the religion commonly depicted as a Matriarchal religion. Those of the Wiccan faith, also choose not to believe in predestinations because they see everyone as having control their own lives, and destiny’s, depending upon their actions. The most crucial point to the Wiccan faith is the basic, principles that must be followed; which includes the threefold law that states anything they do whether- good or bad- will come back to you times three; then there is the Wiccan Rede that is the outline of the Wiccan faith; to practice Wicca as you will, but to harm none in the process. Wicca has had a long history of being seen as an evil and unkindly religion; hopefully, it can now be recognized by the public that Wicca is actually a peaceful and natured centered religion that neither contains Devil worshipers nor blasphemes against the Christian faith.

Thursday, January 16, 2020

Carpe Diem Poetry

ENG. 1102 Paper 1 Carpe Diem Poetry â€Å"To The Virgins, To Make Much of Time† by Robert Herrick and â€Å"To His Coy Mistress† by Andrew Marvell are two great examples of Carpe Diem poetry. Their vivid imagery, symbolism, and usage of simile and metaphor are what make these poems memorable. Their usage of these terms also makes the poems more inviting and makes the usage of the Carpe Diem tradition more apparent. Likely risque for their times, I find both poems somewhat romantic and tame for our time period.The primary metaphor of â€Å"To The Virgins, To Make Much Of Time† is â€Å"Gather ye rosebuds while ye may, old time is still a-flying; and this same flower that smiles today, tomorrow will be dying†(961). This opening metaphor makes it clear that the theme of this poem is Carpe Diem. From my understanding and also from my introductory Latin class Carpe Diem is popularly known as â€Å"Seize the Day† though this is not the literal translation . Roses are fresh and supple like youth; they are fragile, beautiful, and pure. These are characteristics also associated with virgins. I have found in many literary works that virginity is compared to a rose.Herrick is urging the young to enjoy their youth before it evades them. â€Å"The glorious lamp of heaven, the sun, the higher he’s a getting, the sooner will his race be run, and nearer he’s to setting† is another metaphor using the personification of the sun to show the passage of time (916). The sun is an example of life; the more time that passes, or the rather the farther the race is run, is the closer life is to come to an end or the closer to the sun setting. The sun and it’s rising and setting is something that is very commonly used on obituaries to mark the birth and death of a person. That age is best which is the first, when youth and blood are warmer; but being spent, the worse, and worst times still succeed the former† (916). The p revious passage is the speaker saying that everything is better when you are young. You are livelier and more warm blooded when you’re young; and everything after that gets worse and worse. This is true from a physiological standpoint; as you age the way your hormones work change and the process that build up substances needed in your body slow and at times stop, an example of this medically is osteoporosis.The last stanza of the poem reads, â€Å"Then be not coy, but use your time; and while ye may, go marry: For having lost but once your prime, you may for ever tarry† (916). I believe the speaker is saying to the reader don’t be shy, don’t waste your youth, marry now while your young and beauty; and while you are filled with life and vigor. Once your beauty is gone it may be harder or it may be something that you may never do. Due to this poem being in the love and hate section of our book and also with it being about virgins, I can’t help, but t hink that this also has some subtle sexual connotations as well.I think this because the speaker is urging virgins and not just people in general to make the most of life. The speaker also uses the symbolism of the rose as a comparison for youth, but a woman transitioning for a virgin is also compared to a flower blooming. Between â€Å"To The Virgins, To Make Much Of Time† and â€Å"To His Coy Mistress† I find that â€Å"To His Coy Mistress† uses the most imagery; and because of that it is my favorite of the two poems. â€Å"Had we but world enough, and time, this coyness, lady, were no crime. We would sit down, and think which way to walk, and pass our long love’s day.Though by the Indian Ganges’ side shouldst rubies find; I by the side of Humber would complain† (951). I found this opening stanza important, because it set the stage for the Carpe Diem theme. The speaker has compare the ladies coyness to a crime because they don’t hav e enough time. This automatically says to me as he reader that he wants her to give up her shyness and give into him because they may never get the chance. He spends telling him mistress all the time he would spend praising her body, but saves her heart last.Though he suggest that he would take his time loving his mistress he then states, â€Å"For, lady, you deserve this state, nor would I love at a lower rate. But at my back I always hear time’s winged chariot hurrying near† (951). This is the speaker again stating that there is not enough time for them to wait any longer because time is quickly approaching. The speaker also states that his lust for her will turn to ash soon if they continue to wait and that her long preserved virginity and honor will also turn to dust. He is urging his mistress to be with him by constantly referencing death, â€Å"The graves a fine and private lace, but none, I think, do there embrace† (951). I have found that of the two poem s that â€Å"To His Coy Mistress does not put as much emphasis of seizing the day in general, but more so of seizing the moment now sexually. Though there were some references from the speaker about is mistress heart most of the references were in regards to his sexual desires. He references love several times, but warps it with his immediate cause for action. It seems that this speaker is using his love for her or saying that he has love for his mistress as a way to bring about her deflowering.This must be something that is a recurring trend across time periods as this can also be found much more apparent and much more frequently in our time period. Works Cited Herrick, Robert. â€Å"To The Virgins, To Make Much Of Time. † Abcarian, Richard, Marvin Klotz, and Samuel Cohen. Literature: The Human Experience. 10th. Boston: Bedford/st Martins, 2010. 916 Marvell, Andrew. â€Å"To His Coy Mistress. †Abcarian, Richard, Marvin Klotz, and Samuel Cohen. Literature: The Human E xperience. 10th. Boston: Bedford/st Martins, 2010. 950-951

Wednesday, January 8, 2020

Questions On The Free Will - 2144 Words

The Free Will Problem presents three different theses that, upon first glance, seem both intuitive and reasonable as long as they are considered independently. It is not possible to entertain all three theses together while maintaining any level of consistency. The problem, therefore, is in determining which of the three theses to discard. The first thesis is the Free Will Thesis, which simply states that agents sometimes act freely. This thesis seems to be reasonable for at least two reasons. The first reason is that, more often than not, we feel as though we are free; that is we feel as though we make a choice based on what we want, whether it be after careful consideration or merely on a whim. The very idea that we feel as though we†¦show more content†¦The second thesis in the Free Will problem is the Causal Determinism Thesis, which states that every event is causally determined to occur by another event; every event has a cause. This thesis seems reasonable because it coincides with the way in which we view the world, that being scientifically. Whenever an event occurs we naturally think that something caused that event. Imagine a cup of water falling over on a desk. It goes against our common sense to say that nothing caused the cup of water to fall over, it just did. We may not always know what the cause is but we do seem to think that a cause is necessary for the event to have happened and so far science seems to support this conclusion. The third thesis in the Free Will Problem is Incompatibilism Thesis, which states that the Free Will Thesis and the Causal Determinism Thesis are incompatible with one another; in other words, they are mutually exclusive. This thesis seems reasonable due to the following: if we define free will as acting without a cause or not being caused to act, and the Free Will Thesis says agents sometime act freely, then anytime we, as agents, act freely, an event occurs that does not have a cause. This is a direct violation of the Causal Determinism Thesis, which states that every event must have a cause. All three theses seem intuitively plausible but it is impossible to hold all three theses together consistently. Choosing