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Staff of Asclepius

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Welcome (updated 11/11/11)

Welcome (updated 11/11/11)

Last updated on: May 31, 2016 at 11:51 am by Guest Contributor

Welcome (updated 11/11/11) 2016-05-31T11:51:38-05:00 Guest Contributor

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Welcome.

The Staff of Asclepius is for Pagans with mental, physical or sensory impairments; who are in recovery from major injuries or addiction; and/or who are members of the Deaf or Blind community. It’s a place to share how a spiritual and magical life gives us strength or peace through all of life’s joys and struggles. There are also news updates and interviews with Pagans and experts on various topics affecting the community. Since starting the blog in August of 2010 as Pagans with Disabilities, I’ve realized that the topic of health can include so much. Thus it was renamed the Staff of Asclepius.

The Staff of Asclepius is one of the featured blogs on The Pagan Portal at Patheos.

Asclepius - Fragment of mosaics in the Public Bath of Kyustendil by Nikolai Zikov. Public Domain

Image: Asclepius – Fragment of mosaics in the Public Bath of Kyustendil by Nikolai Zikov. Public Domain

“Rod or Staff of Asclepius

Asclepius or Asklepios was the son of the Greek God Apolo and Koronis, a Trikkaian Princess. She died while he was still in the womb. Apolo freed his son from Koronis’ womb while she laid on the on the funeral pyre. Thus his name means to cut open. The babe was raised by the centaur Kheiron and taught medicine. Asclepius is often considered the physician of the Gods and myths say he could even raise the dead.

Hippocrates of Cos (ca. 460 BC – ca. 370 BC), a Greek Physician and descendant of Asclepius, “founded the Hippocratic School of medicine. This intellectual school revolutionized medicine in ancient Greece, establishing it as a discipline distinct from other fields that it had traditionally been associated with (notably theurgy and philosophy), thus establishing medicine as a profession.” Theurgy is a ritual practice, sometimes seen as magical in nature, which invokes the action or evokes the presence of one or more gods. The goal is to unite with the divine, become one with reality, and perfect oneself. It is believed this father of Western Medicine wrote the Hippocratic Oath, which has been taken by doctors for centuries. (Wikipedia).” From The Magick and History of Medical Alert Identification Part 1

From Pagan mom’s raising children born prematurely to Pagans recovering from addiction or mental illness there is much more to dealing with the difficulties of mind and body than just disabilities. I hope to share with you more of these diverse stories in the months to come.

A bit about myself: I have Turner Mosaic which created a massive failure of my endocrine system causing many health problems. I am now considered medically disabled. Disabled was not an easy word to be associated with and it wasn’t until I accepted this that I began to find ways of living a fuller life.

I’ve been a Pagan since I was eighteen but I’ve practiced meditation since I was twelve. I consider myself to be a panentheist mage who has a deep relationship with the Goddess Gaia. I’ve been involved with Pagan Pride Day, the Pagan Leaders Recommended Reading list with Elizabeth Barrett, and other wonderful magic circles over the years. Currently, I’m in my 30s and living in Missouri with my husband and myriad of pets.

I graduated from Southeast Missouri State University with a degree in mass communications specifically media studies and research and a minor in religion. Part of my course work included an independent study of mysticism in Christian, Pagan, and Native American traditions and a paper on Witchcraft in Colonial America.

Writing the Staff of Asclepius blog and hearing from other Pagans, both professionals and those with health concerns, inspired me to start the Pagan Health Care Resources Team and website. Our goal is to create an open health resource for Pagans and helping professions regarding the needs of Pagan clients.

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