30 Days of Paganism, Day 6, The power of prayer/reciprocity

6. Beliefs - The power of prayer/reciprocity

I am a strong believer in "a gift for a gift." I think it's a much-misunderstood principle. There is, certainly, a contractual aspect to it (the Romans, I think, made this aspect into an art form)--but there is a contractual aspect to marriage and I don't see anyone (well, not many of them) lining up to object to that. Because we know there's so much more to it. As there is so much more to reciprocity. The exchange of gifts between friends is in great part symbolic. It's a concrete representation of the growing bond between the two. You don't give your friends presents in order to get something from them, you do it because you love them and want to share something with them.

I am also a strong believer in building a relationship with deity--that relationship is a greater gift than any other blessing they may grant. Gifts and offerings can be a part of this, but so is prayer, and meditation, and work done for the gods--time spent, effort spent.


( Days to come... )