It’s not Lust, it’s…… sacred sexuality using tantra.

It’s not Gluttony, it’s….just my natural Earth Mother Goddess body.

It’s not Greed, it’s… my Goddess given right to do money spells.

It’s not Sloth, it’s….being too busy finding enlightenment online, to do the dishes and feed the kids.

It’s not Wrath, it’s…just Dark God/dess energy.

It’s not Envy, it’s…”The Secret” to Success.

It’s not Pride, it’s… “Being a Celt” (or Norse, or High Priestess, or…)

Yup; Seven Deadly Sins. And in case you might think I’m only picking on pagans here, I’m not. It was, after all, Christians who defined them. Actually, we’ve gotten really good at sinning; we just don’t use our religion as an excuse for sinning. All too often it seems pagans, do.

But ya know, when you’re surrounded by people all doing the same thing, you don’t really see it. After awhile it becomes the norm. When everyone around you eats too much, it’s easy for you to eat too much. When everyone you know is sleeping with everyone else, it’s easy to believe that’s a good and normal thing to do.

The problem arises when you start having to pay the price.

Forget the word “Sin” for a minute. Think about what is HEALTHY. What you KNOW is good and healthy for your body, for your mind, for your soul. Takes you right back to those ol’ Puritanical values, doesn’t it?

Let’s take lust for example.

I am the first to admit that sometimes - poly relationship can, and do, work. But I will also admit that it sure as heck didn’t work for me, and to be honest - I don’t see it working that often, for that long, with other people I’ve known who are poly. Lust is just one of those things that easily gets out of hands, and can lead to disaster - ruined relationships, sexual addictions, viewing people as body parts, and not people. Bleech.

Gluttony? Well - this applies to other things besides food; it can be anything taken to excess. Mostly it’s associated with food and alchohol, however. The problems with too much food and too much alchohol - I’m sure I don’t have to tell you about.

Greed. Why is this a bad thing? Well when you concentrate too much on the material - kinda hard to concentrate on the spiritual. This isn’t “you’re not allowed to have things you need” - but again - it’s taking things to excess. This is - chaos on Wall Street.

Sloth. Add that with gluttony, and you’ve got heart-attack on a sofa. Add kids to the mix, and you’ve got the set up for some poorly neglected chillen’s.

Wrath? - witch wars. Middle East. ’nuff said.

Envy. Oy, envy. If all we have to do is picture something we WANT on “vision board” - and meditate on it every day, wish upon a falling star, it’ll come true, and we’ll get the house/job/man/woman of our dreams. Do we ever stop to wonder, do we really NEED these things? Why do we even WANT them?

Pride. No, not talking about positive self-esteem; we’re talking about self-absorbed, better-than-anyone else, false pride, that keeps us from treating others with basic human dignity. People who are assholes.

I’ve been guilty of all the above; I’m sure you have too. But not all is lost; for every Sin, there’s a Virtue to correct it. Chastity, for lust; Abstinence, for Gluttony; Generosity, for Greed; Diligence, for Sloth; Patience, for Wrath; Kindness, for Envy; and Humility, for Pride.

But ahh… virtues are another post, for another day.