Am I a Giant Panda?

October 16, 2011 by Eric Scott

Continued from Page 1

At the Heartland Pagan Festival in 2009, I took a place on the festival's Vision Quest trail. The quest's theme that year was animals, so, for lack of a better choice, I chose the panda. And had one of the strangest, most powerful experiences of my life, as people I had never met poured open their souls, their doubts, and their mysteries to the panda sitting in the Kansas woods.

I've still never had a meditative encounter with a "panda spirit," and when I finally met some actual pandas at the Memphis Zoo a few years ago, they continued to sleep when I tapped on the side of their cage. Still, the coincidences seem too strange for me to ignore, skeptical as I might be. When the whole world says there's something pandaish about you, and the panda connection keeps leading to important events in your life . . . well . . .

I'm not saying I believe that the giant panda is my spirit animal, necessarily. But I get the feeling that the panda doesn't particularly care whether I believe in it or not.

Page: 2 of 2

10/16/2011 4:00:00 AM

Pagan

Family Traditions

Pandas

Paganism

more at patheos

Why God Allows us to "Miss" Him

Lee Ann Marino

Top of the Country: Sleepless in a Hotel Room

Coyle Neal

The Solution to Racism They Don’t Want You to Know About

Frank Viola

The USCCB, Trump, Birthright Citizenship And Human Rights

Henry Karlson

About Eric Scott

Eric Scott was raised in St. Louis by Coven Pleiades, a Wiccan group based in the Alexandrian tradition. His fiction and memoir explore the joys and doubts of being a second-generation Pagan in the modern world. He holds an MFA in Creative Writing from the University of Missouri. His work has appeared in or is forthcoming in Ashe! Journal, Kerouac's Dog Magazine, Caper Literary Journal, and Witches & Pagans. He is also a Contributing Editor at Killing the Buddha.

Patheos 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.

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Subscription Support Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In

Follow Patheos