Christians and Pagans

[Elspode]

Yow! I didn't realize I was an authority (and let's just clear something up, here...I am *not* an authority on *anything*, I just have opinions, and I am sometimes able to describe and discuss things with which I am familiar).

LBZ, "graven" means carved, engraved, that sort of thing (Bruce, as usual, was correct. Bruce is a smart and much-experienced feller, it seems to me). This particular usage has nothing to do with death (unless, of course, you happen to have a graven image of Kali or something...).

I like to use the term "graven image" when I refer to all the little statues and representations of deities that we collect because, well, The Ten Commandments describes them that way, and I like to be as concise as possible when breaking the Commandments I don't agree with.

Onyx, I'd be real interested in hearing why you became a Solitary as well, if it isn't too personal or painful. My wife and I have had three major coven breakups in six years (our home is our Covenstead, and she is the HPS), and I'm always keen to hear other people's experiences. I like to think that I can always learn more about my path and the dynamics of covencraft.

As for the graven images, well...go here, http://www.lunalushede.org/Covenstead/Index.htm
and you can see some shots taken in our ritual room. Things like the altar (the dresser covered with a yellow towel, which doubles as our Eastern corner due to a lack of space) will probably look very familiar to Onyx, as it is a fairly standard setup for Wiccans.

These pics will give you an idea of what we have put together as our ritual area. The red, blue and green covered tables are all appointed with things appropriate to the elements represented - Fire, Water and Earth, respectively. The yellow represents Air. You'll see our apothecary (giant spice rack, basically) which contains all of our herbs and such, you'll see the two pics showing our collection of "graven images", and you'll see a lot of artwork of naked and nearly naked women.

This is a quick and dirty slideshow...I didn't do *anything* to gussy it up, but it helps to explain some of what we have been discussing. Enjoy.