Thoughts While Nursing: What's In a Name?

This post is a response to this week's theme on the website Pagan Blog Prompts -- a site with ideas that very often inspire me to ruminate, but for which I rarely find the time to respond in writing. 

What's in a Name?  

Do you have a witch/magic name(s)?

If more than one, is one reserved for ritual use, with another that you go by to everyone else?

If you do use a witch/magic name, how did you come by yours? Was it 'given' to you? Were you lead to it? Or did you pick it yourself?

If you don't use a witch/magic name, why not? 

I have always maintained a certain amount of ambivalence towards magickal names. Mostly, because too often magical names sound altogether unsophisticated, role-play-ish & well, just plain silly. Truth be told, I have been known to speak of them in a mocking manner via a long-running joke -- because I am a mean-spirited & diabolical person. Or, perhaps I am not diabolical, just good-humoured. Let's be honest, some magickal names are just funny.

Then again, there are always the exceptions. However, in order to avoid hypocrisy, I have generally avoided them.

Many, many moons ago, I worked in a circle with a small group of friends. We used magickal names amongst ourselves to delineate between our circle's work & our "mundane" lives together. Mostly, we used our magickal names for signatures on written documents. We never spoke those names outside the circle. They are burned into my memory forever -- I remember every one. My name was apropos to the time & was chosen to reflect my beginning, my emergence onto this path. I still think it is a good name the me that was then, but I have changed & grown & become a mother.

Until recently, that was the extent of my "magickal name" usage.

How confusing this all must seem as you read a blog written by "Moma Fauna." I find it a tad bit confusing myself. In considering the origins of that name, I am startled that I cannot recall how it came about. But, I can deconstruct its meaning & purpose. 

How I came to Fauna, or, how She came to me. (A very short & simplified synopsis.) A couple of years ago, I began having dreams in which forest spirits (usually in the form of satyrs) would gift me with artistic inspiration. I would wake in the night & struggle to write it down, or, more often, I would lay awake for hours expanding upon the ideas. After the deluge of dreams began disrupting my sleep, I did a bit of research. I discovered that people once sought communication with Faunus via their dreams in order to obtain oracular counsel & artistic inspiration. I also learned that 

"A goddess of like attributes, called Fauna and Fatua, was associated in his worship. She was regarded sometimes as his wife, sometimes as his sister. As Pan was accompanied by the Paniskoi, or little Pans, so the existence of many Fauni was assumed..." (Wikipedia)

"Hm," said I. Of course I had known about the god Faunus, but Fauna was a new concept for me. Thus, the obsession began (the details of which I will not discuss, lest I digress far, far, far off topic). For those of you with interest in Fauna, I offer a few references to consider browsing: Wiki's Fauna article, Fauna in the Obscure Goddess Online Dictionary, Star Foster's recent Faunalia article at Patheos.com, an interesting Feminist angle over at The Suppressed Histories Archives & there is also always Theoi.com, although I find their discussions more confusing than helpful for this particular deity.

Needless to say, I felt a resonance with this She; nurturer of the Earth's living creatures, forest dweller, oracle & patroness of women. 

As for the pseudonym, somewhere along the line, I must have needed a screen name & decided to make it a tribute to Fauna, personalizing it by adding the pet name Hubby & Little Lad call me as a prefix. 

Over time & particularly with the advent of this blog, "Moma Fauna" evolved into an affirmation: this name is a daily reminder of the mother I aspire to be. It's a digital mantra & it's gently telling me right now, "Enough blogging, sister, your children are waiting..."

Moma Fauna

...& yes, despite the lack of recent posts bearing the title, I am still nursing.