And some more, for greektoomey.

[featherynscale]

1. What are the substantive differences, if any, between girlfriend, wife, boyfriend, and husband, as they apply to E3?
In daily life, it doesn't often come up. The main things are that I respect the relationship of my partners to each other as being generally more important to them than their relationship to me, in that if one of them has a need for something from the other, and I simultaneously need one of them to do something for me, I step back. Also, I can leave the relationship without a lawyer. The differences become more pronounced when dealing with other people -- for example, people feel that it's more okay to try and hit on me and whatnot than to try and hit on one of the others, because they're married, and I'm just the girlfriend. That sort of thing. Also, the wife or the husband is expected to show up to the other married partner's family and work-social obligations, where the presence of the girlfriend requires explanation. Really, it's not that big a deal inside the house, it only gets troublesome with other people.

2. Is E3 your ideal relationship arrangement, or does it have any room for improvement? Explain.
It's pretty close to my ideal. Every relationship has room for improvement, but the basic structure is very, very good for me.

3. How were you introduced to polyamory?
I've always been more of the 'figure-it-out-for-yourself' sort than the 'do-what-you're-told-to' sort, for one thing. I actually had an open relationship with my first boyfriend, which we discussed as something we wanted to do after a while. That was more of a play around with other people sort of thing, though. The concept of having a family of more than two was a more recent development. But it seemed like a good idea at the time, and my mom always told me not to ever fight with your friend over a man (and would have added 'or a woman, either', if she'd been open to that sort of thing).

4. What is the nature of the soul? E.g., does it have a beginning, or an end? Does it have a gender? Is there such a thing as a "soulmate"? Etc.
See, now there are hard questions. I think that there is a sort of pattern to a person's existence, which is sometimes useful to think of as a soul. I think it can have gender as part of the pattern, but that this is not necessary. I think if there is such a thing as reincarnation, then it happens without being concerned with gender, race, or even species. I don't generally get onto the idea of the soulmate. I think that some patterns are more compatible with mine than others, but the idea that there is one person whose soul exactly lines up with mine is sort of silly (which is probably an obvious statement for me to make, as the idea of relationship with only one person is something that never really worked well for me to begin with).

5. When and how were you introduced to paganism, Gaia, polytheism, and when and how did you begin practicing?
I became a pagan at about age 16 or 17, which is apparently when that usually happens. I had read a book by Gael Baudino (I believe) that had sort of Dianic Wiccan elves in it, and that was interesting enough to me to make me want to do more research into this sort of thing. I wandered into a Brit Trad Wiccan coven, and that was sort of that. The actual beginning of practice must have been at 17, since I know the coven had among its principles that they wouldn't take you until you were 18.

I'd been introduced to, and attracted to, polytheism much earlier, when we did Greek myths in school. I think that started in grade 4. This somehow seemed to me at the time to be a much better system, so I went with it instead.

Gaia, as in Gaia Community, much more recent. The idea of congregational paganism is still in the experimental phase, and only seems to be happening in Kansas City and in a town in Texas, the name of which I have forgotten. I sort of wandered in there hoping to network with some other pagans, and ended up staying. That's like the story of my life, "I wandered in, and ended up staying."