Pagan

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  • When Were Clothes Invented?

    Goddesschess
    22 May 2013 | 6:57 pm
    An interesting question, and one I've wondered about myself from time to time.  Archaeologist Becky Wragg Sykes (@LeMoustier), a postdoctoral researcher working on Neanderthal archaeology, responds in a column at The Guardian Online: Sifting the Evidence By Suzi Gage Hosted by The Guardian Who invented clothes? A Palaeolithic archaeologist answers [Excerpted] "Who invented clothes?" It's one

  • You’re Invited!

    Stella Seaspirit Blog
    Stella Seaspirit
    23 May 2013 | 3:35 am
          Google Reader is closing. If you follow me with Reader you won’t hear from me anymore *sad witch*   I would miss you and you would miss me (right?)   So I’m inviting you to join my e-mail subscribers and get the Magick Instigator delivered direct to your inbox every Witchy Wednesday [...]

  • Roses

    Aquila ka Hecate
    22 May 2013 | 8:16 pm
    Dreaming last night, I was walking in my garden, which was unaccountably - since it is Winter - full of roses.Huge blooms of all colours grew from bushes and trees, and although I rarely get the sense of smell vividly in my dreams, still I knew that their scent was powerful and beautiful.When I awoke, something was nagging me...what was it now..oh yes, my doctor had found an unacceptably high blood pressure reading in me when I visited him for the 'flu two weeks ago.Roses, for those who don't know it yet (and that apparently included me up to a few hours ago) are a sovereign aromatherapy for…

  • WHY YOUR PARENTS hate YOU

    Radical Goddess Thealogy
    5 May 2013 | 2:45 pm
    Do our parents and grandparents hate Pagans because Hitler loved them?? You bet, says historian Malcolm Gaskill:   "…the Nazis … endorsed Pagan ideals to highlight the church’s oppression of authentic volkish [folk] culture.” All of which, says Malcolm, soured the postwar generation on all things Pagan -- including the notion that witches might have been benign people smacked with a smear

  • A Few Notes on Palo

    The Wild Hunt | A modern Pagan perspective.
    Stacey Lawless
    24 May 2013 | 10:14 am
    Nsala malongo! I’ve been learning about Palo cosmology and history over the last couple of months, and slowly unraveling some of the confusion I had about how the religion works. I thought I would offer up some of what I’ve learned, detailing a little of our worldview and the fact that there are different denominations, or ramas, of Palo. (By the way: any mistakes here are entirely mine, while the goodness in this piece must be credited to my teachers.) And without further ado . . . The dead The dead are the basis of everything in Palo. We call them the bakulu, which means ancestors, but…
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    Radical Goddess Thealogy

  • WHY YOUR PARENTS hate YOU

    5 May 2013 | 2:45 pm
    Do our parents and grandparents hate Pagans because Hitler loved them?? You bet, says historian Malcolm Gaskill:   "…the Nazis … endorsed Pagan ideals to highlight the church’s oppression of authentic volkish [folk] culture.” All of which, says Malcolm, soured the postwar generation on all things Pagan -- including the notion that witches might have been benign people smacked with a smear

  • terror at THE BOSTON MARATHON 2

    21 Apr 2013 | 10:35 am
    Hmm.  Let’s see.   Let’s count on one hand the number of religions that strut around town trumpeting, “Do religion our way, or we’ll cut you off at the knees”: 1. Christianity 2. Islam 3. ??? 4. ???? 5. ?? <!--EndFragment-->

  • terror at THE BOSTON MARATHON

    21 Apr 2013 | 9:41 am
    As long as we allow bloody and violent religions space for dancing on the planet, the world will be bathed in blood.  Christians and Muslims alike praise their faiths as being stuffed full of love, peace and understanding -- despite eons of evidence to the contrary. <!--EndFragment-->

  • JUST FOR laughs

    13 Apr 2013 | 11:00 am
    <!--[if gte mso 9]> 0 0 1 131 750 -- 6 1 880 14.0 <![endif]--> <!--[if gte mso 9]> Normal 0 false false false EN-US JA X-NONE <![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]>

  • dissing THE "CHRISTIAN" EASTER BUNNY

    2 Apr 2013 | 6:34 am
    A few days ago, Quigley the cartoonist caught Fox News’ Bill O’Reilly crying in his soup again.   This time it was about how Americans are dissing his beloved “Christian” Easter Bunny.  My favorite line in Quigley’s little article: “OMG the Easter egg is all about sexy Pagan goddesses, and we are forcing it on children, Bill!”  Go HERE to read the article.  <!--EndFragment-
 
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    The Wild Hunt | A modern Pagan perspective.

  • A Few Notes on Palo

    Stacey Lawless
    24 May 2013 | 10:14 am
    Nsala malongo! I’ve been learning about Palo cosmology and history over the last couple of months, and slowly unraveling some of the confusion I had about how the religion works. I thought I would offer up some of what I’ve learned, detailing a little of our worldview and the fact that there are different denominations, or ramas, of Palo. (By the way: any mistakes here are entirely mine, while the goodness in this piece must be credited to my teachers.) And without further ado . . . The dead The dead are the basis of everything in Palo. We call them the bakulu, which means ancestors, but…

  • It’s Different When They Do It

    Jason Pitzl-Waters
    23 May 2013 | 10:08 am
    Earlier this week I reported on how the Supreme Court of the United States will be hearing a case about sectarian prayers before government meetings. Defenders of various inclusive sectarian models say that it promotes a healthy discourse in which all citizens are able to fully represent themselves. The truth is that when pluralistic-on-paper invocation models are tested, the results are usually far from ideal. Rep. Steve Smith. Photo: Howard Fischer/Capitol Media Services “An atheist lawmaker’s decision to give the daily prayer at the Arizona House of Representatives triggered a…

  • Anti-Pagan Wikipedia Editor Outed by Salon.com

    Jason Pitzl-Waters
    22 May 2013 | 5:00 am
    In November of 2012 an alert went out within the Pagan community that someone had been systematically flagging articles for deletion relating to Pagan authors, events, and notable figures on the Internet encyclopedia Wikipedia. That someone, a Wikipedia editor who went by “Qworty,” seemed to have a personal grudge against Jeff Rosenbaum, co-founder of the Starwood festival, who had created many of these Pagan-themed pages under the moniker of “Rosencomet.” Jeff Rosenbaum “Excruciatingly non-notable band that abysmally fails WP:BAND. Article was created by a…

  • US Supreme Court Will Rule on Government Opening Invocation Policy

    Jason Pitzl-Waters
    21 May 2013 | 5:00 am
    The United States Supreme Court has agreed to hear a case stemming from sectarian prayers before local government meetings in Greece, New York. At the heart of the case is the question of if a policy regarding invocations can be pluralistic and inclusive in letter, but not in spirit. Rev. Kevin Kisler prays prior to the start of a Greece, N.Y., Town Board meeting in 2008. Photo: Rochester Democrat and Chronicle “Town officials said that members of all faiths, and atheists, were welcome to give the opening prayer. In practice, the federal appeals court in New York said, almost all of…

  • Pagan Voices: Dawn Hunt, Porsha Williams, T. Thorn Coyle, and More!

    Jason Pitzl-Waters
    20 May 2013 | 11:10 am
    Pagan voices is a spotlight on recent quotations from figures within the Pagan community. These voices may appear in the burgeoning Pagan media, or from a mainstream outlet, but all showcase our wisdom, thought processes, and evolution in the public eye. Is there a Pagan voice you’d like to see highlighted? Drop me a line with a link to the story, post, or audio. Dawn Hunt “It was a cool October morning and I had just finished a mediation to draw abundance and growth into my work. The phone rang and a lovely perky voice said “Hi Dawn! We have heard about you and think your website…
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    Medusa Coils

  • Global Goddess Oracle's Beltane Issue

    2 May 2013 | 9:35 am
    The Beltane issue of the e-zine, Global Goddess Oracle, is published. Among its articles you will find: "Artwork by Majak Bredell," which tells, in words and pictures, of the artist's transition from "patriarchal Calvinism" to Goddess. "Beltane and Liminal Time," by Deanne Quarrie, discussing the history of the holy day. Includes poem and a discussion of the meaning of "liminal." "Breathing

  • Buzz Coil: April 2013

    27 Apr 2013 | 8:28 am
    A look at some posts of interest from our blogroll and sometimes beyond. Annelinde's World:  Annelinde Metzner's April 4 post, Muso Koroni is a poem about the Bambara Earth Goddess. With pic and audio of the poem being read to marimba accompaniment. Her April 15 post, Red Bud is a beautiful evocation of early spring (also with pic.) Theapoetics: In poetry, prose and photos of her sculptures,

  • Just Out: Max Dashu's video, Woman Shaman:The Ancients

    24 Apr 2013 | 9:07 am
    I got myself an early Mother's Day gift: "Woman Shaman: the Ancients," a 2-disk DVD produced by Max Dashu's Suppressed Histories Archives. I just opened it, haven't watched it yet, but just the box cover and art on the disks look so marvelous--and being acquainted with Dashu's extraordinary work in the history of women and its relevance to religion--and I wanted to tell you about it. You can see

  • Earth Day Invocation

    21 Apr 2013 | 9:08 pm
    Mother Earth, today we call you:Great living planet,Gaia,Goddess,Guide usto sanctify the air, which is your breath,to purify the water, which is your life's flow,to edify the fire, which is your energyto fructify the earth, which is your body.( Reposted from April 2007 post; Copyright 1990 by Judith Laura. Appears in 1999 and 2010 editions of She Lives! The Return of Our Great Mother)TAGS:life

  • Artist Lydia Ruyle Receives 2 Awards

    13 Apr 2013 | 9:34 am
    Lydia Ruyle Artist Lydia Ruyle, whose Goddess icon banners fly at events and locations internationally, this month received awards from the Association for the Study of Women and Mythology (ASWM) and  the University of Northern Colorado. ASWM's announcement of offering its 2013 Brigit Award for Excellence in the Arts to Ruyle, says: "Few artists can claim to have profoundly expanded and
 
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    The Gods Are Bored

  • A Shameless Plea for the Jersey Shore

    Anne Johnson
    24 May 2013 | 11:54 am
    Yes. It's an ugly stretch of real estate, with rough surf and bad food. Yes, there are indeed drunken idiots of both genders on certain boardwalks. And yes. The accommodations are overpriced. And yes, its governor is a big-mouthed moron who lets the invisible strings do the talking.Having said all that, won't you please visit the Jersey Shore this summer?Last fall, Hurricane Sandy walloped Jersey really hard. People have been working like bees in a hive ever since, trying to prepare for the summer tourism season.What I'd like you to keep in mind, my three readers, is that tourism is a big…

  • Paper on the Bulletin Board

    Anne Johnson
    22 May 2013 | 10:39 am
    You would think, with a mere 18 days of school left in the year, I would be rather chipper. But for the second late spring in a row, I've got the blues.For many, many years I sort of peaked in happiness on June 8 every year. I began celebrating June 8 on the day I got out of middle school for the final time. That was June 8. Just about 40 years ago. It's funny how long that date hung with me as I went on in life.You see, I hated middle school with the white hot passion of 10,000 suns. This makes me pretty average, I think.Spare was born on June 1, so I guess that sort of put a little damper…

  • Team Mascots Redux

    Anne Johnson
    21 May 2013 | 6:24 am
    I'm absolutely sure I have written before on the thorny issue of school and sports team mascots. If you've read all about this on "The Gods Are Bored," you are excused today, but please stop by again later in the week.I have attended two schools and worked at one. Two out of the three had inappropriate mascots.The high school I attended was three miles from Antietam Battlefield. Our mascot was a Rebel soldier. Our football games began when the "mascot," a young man dressed in a Rebel uniform and carrying a large Stars-and-Bars flag, ran onto the field. Our school fight song was "Dixie." This…

  • Despicable, Heartless Woman!

    Anne Johnson
    20 May 2013 | 10:46 am
    Welcome to "The Gods Are Bored," a voice crying out in the wilderness for collective bargaining since 2005! Today's sermon is about a sermon I heard over the weekend. Sadly, I can't produce the text of that sermon for you, because I couldn't find it on the news radio web page. But tra la la! This is a blog! I can say anything I want and not attribute it, because I'm not being paid!The sermon I heard:I was driving, so I didn't catch her name, but her title was dean of the School of Business at Drexel University. The news radio, KYW, billed the sermon as a "business commentary."The dean…

  • When Cold Dread Fills Me

    Anne Johnson
    17 May 2013 | 12:20 pm
    There's one word in the English language that fills me to the brim with cold dread. That word isDECORATE.You give me something and tell me to decorate it, my hands will go clammy. Then I'll flail helplessly. Then I'll petition the bored gods. Who scoff at me, because every last one of Them has had fabulous decoraters at one time or another.This is my back yard. After my neighbors demanded that I decorate it, I did the best I could.Last Monday, the dreaded word reared its ugly head. I'm in for it, folks.My school has never held a Spirit Week decorating shindig before. But there's a first…
 
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    Blog o' Gnosis

  • Before the Wind Comes Up

    Anne
    1 May 2013 | 11:55 am
    Spring comes early to the North Coast, and with it comes the wind. There are very few days in the Spring when the air is still, and many more when the house is buffeted all day by wave after wave of cold, thundering marine air. Some nights the wind picks up around 4 am, loud [...]

  • When the Past Comes Back to Save Us

    Anne
    2 Mar 2013 | 6:33 pm
    Memory is an odd thing: slippery as a fish, shapeshifting and disappearing with the flick of its tail. We call our memories ours as though we had some dominion over them. But nobody knows why memories surface when they do, after decades of absence. In his final years, my grandfather was tormented by a rhyme [...]

  • What Would Sarah Winchester Do Now?

    Anne
    16 Feb 2013 | 12:29 pm
    Amid all the national clamor for sane gun safety laws, one forgotten figure keeps coming to my mind: Sarah Winchester. The heir to the Winchester rifle fortune, Sarah felt hounded by the spirits of those who had died by those rifles—Native Americans, Civil War soldiers, and many others. In 1884 she moved to California and bought a farmhouse [...]

  • Magic is a Way of Living

    Anne
    10 Feb 2013 | 2:11 pm
    In September of last year, I posed a question on Facebook about magic: How do you define magic? What is it? How does it work? I’ve never liked Dion Fortune’s definition, that magic is “the art of changing consciousness at will.” I’m thinking of writing an article about why it’s so bad, but first I’d like to [...]

  • Abortion, Small Town Iowa, 1927

    Anne
    22 Jan 2013 | 10:09 pm
    My grandmother, Dorothy Mary Gibson Roberts, was so lucky. When her first husband became jealous, then violent, and then brought a gun into the house, she removed the bullets, hid the gun, then called her father to come pick her up in Sioux City. He drove down the very next day, nearly being run off [...]
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    Goddesschess

  • Training for the Hales Corners Chess Challenge XVIII

    23 May 2013 | 8:39 pm
    Long story short -- I promised the chess femmes that I would play in the Hales Corners Chess Challenge XVIII.  I just noticed tonight, how could I have missed this? - that Challenge XVIII is scheduled for October 12, 2013.  That is the anniversary date of Don McLean's death (my Mr. Don).  What was I thinking???  Surely I knew that date before I made my promise?  Oy!  How could I have committed 

  • Pathogen That Caused 1840's Irish Potato Crop Failure Identified

    23 May 2013 | 6:17 pm
    This is absolutely fascinating!  Imagine preserving evidence of the potato famine for so many years.  How, and why?  Who did it, and when? From BBC News 20 May 2013 Last updated at 23:05 ET Irish potato famine pathogen identified By Helen Briggs BBC News Scientists have used plant samples collected in the mid-19th Century to identify the pathogen that caused the Irish potato famine. A

  • Ancient Fish and Seafood Eaters and Their Surprising Relationship with Dogs

    23 May 2013 | 5:30 pm
    The findings from the research in this study appear to have surprised some scholars. From discovery.com Prehistoric Dog Lovers Liked Seafood, Jewelry, Spirituality May 22, 2013 06:00 AM ET // by Jennifer Viegas <!--// // 5 Comments --><!-- Print | Email | Share --> <!-- AD : OAS CENTRAL

  • When Were Clothes Invented?

    22 May 2013 | 6:57 pm
    An interesting question, and one I've wondered about myself from time to time.  Archaeologist Becky Wragg Sykes (@LeMoustier), a postdoctoral researcher working on Neanderthal archaeology, responds in a column at The Guardian Online: Sifting the Evidence By Suzi Gage Hosted by The Guardian Who invented clothes? A Palaeolithic archaeologist answers [Excerpted] "Who invented clothes?" It's one

  • So, Who Discovered Australia?

    22 May 2013 | 6:32 pm
    What does "discovered" mean?  Was the land "discovered" by the prehistoric human arrivals, who came 60,000 to 40,000 years ago (with some disputed evidence claiming a date of 120,000 plus years ago...) and stayed? Was the land discovered by the first people who laid claim to it in the name of some sovereign or other?  What about casual visitors, or shipwrecked souls? This is interesting, but to
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    A Weblog for Our Mother God

  • The Demon Question

    24 May 2013 | 7:41 am
    Hello dear sisters in Our Mother. I have a question that has long puzzled me and caused me issues. What is the origin of demons? One thing I have always believed is that Our Mother God created us in the beginning to be perfect and that nothing she creates is for naught. So it always puzzled me as to where demons come from. We know they exist but they can't have always been evil as Our Lady only creates good. Now I am not saying as some people might accuse me of thinking something similar to what Christians think of demons being fallen Janyati. This is not true as we know that the Janyati can…

  • The Exalatation of the Queen of heaven

    30 Apr 2013 | 4:13 pm
    May 1st/Maia 14th is the Feast of the Exaltation of the Queen of Heaven. Read about this beautiful festival, its history and meaning.

  • Doki Doki Precure and the True Heart

    29 Apr 2013 | 10:28 am
    A new essay at Happy Innocent Musume Senshi discusses the Metaphysical implications of a current Japanese anime with reference to Filianic Scripture.

  • The Demon Planets

    21 Apr 2013 | 11:36 am
    The three outer planets, Uranus, Pluto and Neptune have become the darlings of many modern astrologers, but the traditional view of the cosmos had no place for them (even though some ancients were aware of their existence). Are they in fact bodies of no particular importance? Fly-specks on the cosmic map? Or are they something darker and more sinister? A new article argues for a fundamental connection between the three Outer Demons and the Three Poisons of the modern world described in The Feminine Universe.

  • The Symbolism of Fairy Tales

    29 Mar 2013 | 11:24 am
    A new article on the Symbolism of Fairy Tales may be of interest to our readers. It talks of the deeper divine meaning of traditional tales. Not strictly Deanic, but feminine-friendly and good on metaphysical symbollism.
 
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    Aquila ka Hecate

  • Roses

    22 May 2013 | 8:16 pm
    Dreaming last night, I was walking in my garden, which was unaccountably - since it is Winter - full of roses.Huge blooms of all colours grew from bushes and trees, and although I rarely get the sense of smell vividly in my dreams, still I knew that their scent was powerful and beautiful.When I awoke, something was nagging me...what was it now..oh yes, my doctor had found an unacceptably high blood pressure reading in me when I visited him for the 'flu two weeks ago.Roses, for those who don't know it yet (and that apparently included me up to a few hours ago) are a sovereign aromatherapy for…

  • Show Your Sacred Spaces

    21 May 2013 | 8:29 pm
    In response to Lupa's call for us to show our sacred spaces.This was my sacred space where I grew up in Wokingham:Here's what I had to say about it, a while ago.Interestingly, it hasn't changed. Maybe something to do with the area being moneyed...and this is my sacred space now:complete with canine companions.

  • Laughing Dove

    19 May 2013 | 8:58 am
    An example of the Mask of God manifesting in a strange and beautiful way is the pair of young Laughing Doves that has been sharing our bit of landbase for the past couple of months.As you all know, we already share this portion of Earth with two energetic and devoted PitBulls, who exhibit their essential PitBull-ness on occasion by catching and killing any bird silly enough to strut on the ground too close to them.Scylla, in particular, abhors flying things, and won't have them in her territory - never mind inside the house. Taranis has been known to kill a Hadeda Ibis and then eat the beak.

  • Mask of God, Part Ten Thousand

    17 May 2013 | 9:36 pm
    This is the mask of God:..and so is this:..and this:This, too is the mask of God, unfortunately for some of our perspectives:..and - sigh - so is this:I allow myself to become angered by humans at times. I get depressed by their actions and apparent lack of any real thinking. I am sometimes enraged by their violence towards each other and to other beings.But I get this, also, sometimes.For this , too is the mask of God:..and so, praise the thousand names, is this:

  • Blue Pearl

    11 May 2013 | 8:33 am
    What do you see when you close your eyes?Behind the eyelids, against the red-black-grey formless designs drifting, what do you see?I have been having hypnagogic hallucinations for a couple of years now, usually just before the onset of sleep. I see faces, crowds..mostly people I don't know in this life. Not one has ever been threatening. I am not afraid of this phenomenon at all.But this afternoon - while taking a Saturday after-lunch nap - I suddenly saw, behind my closed eyes, the most  awe-inspiring field of blue.Well, I say awe-inspiring. It was more like frightening. To my body that…
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    Beth Owl's Daughter

  • Wordless Wednesday: Spring’s Progress

    Beth
    22 May 2013 | 7:08 am

  • Happy Birthday to All You Wonderful Geminis!

    Beth
    20 May 2013 | 2:06 pm
    Sometimes you have to play a long time to be able to play like yourself. ~ Miles Davis (Sun and Ascendant in Gemini) Today, the Sun enters Gemini, sign of the Twins. Generally, people born under this sign are Jacks-of-all-trades. They’re data collectors and trivia  experts who keep an amazing amount of information about the strangest things in their brains. They are wonderful with words and scary-smart! They are true eclectics, following the creed that says, “The eclectic only steals from the very best.” Geminis generally go with the flow and are very flexible with whatever…

  • Tarot Card of the Week, May 20-26, 2013: The Star

    Beth
    20 May 2013 | 12:51 pm
    Barn’s burnt down – now I can see the moon. ~ Mizuta Masahide (1657–1723) After last week’s card that some have characterized as the “dark night of the soul,” this week we are given its ultimate antidote, the gift of grace and navigation in deepest dark. In what could be one of the most astrological intense weeks of 2013, The Star makes only its third ever visit in all these years of my weekly card. If we view the Major Arcana of the Tarot as a journey that begins with The Fool, The Star comes after the shattering challenges of the night cards like Death, the Devil, and…

  • Wordless Wednesday: Gifts of Maia Majestas

    Beth
    15 May 2013 | 5:07 am

  • Guest Blog: A Response to the Sylvia Browne Debacle

    Beth
    14 May 2013 | 3:34 am
    Today, I am honored to share a guest blog post from my brilliant Tarot colleague, Bri Saussy, of Milagro Roots.  For the past several days, a group of professional readers that Bri and I hang out with has been discussing the controversy around celebrity psychic Sylvia Browne’s statements regarding Cleveland kidnap victim Amanda Berry.  No doubt about it — for years, Browne has reflected very poorly on our profession as readers and intuitives. But this latest episode has had particularly grievous consequences. As practitioners of the esoteric arts, we are all pretty upset about…
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    T. Thorn Coyle: Know Thyself

  • Love in Action: for Oklahoma

    Thorn
    23 May 2013 | 10:12 am
    What world are we creating with our actions? What world do we want to create? I want to create a world of mutual aid, where we help one another in times of need, and celebrate together in times of joy. Solar Cross Temple is organizing to help Oklahoma. We are working with Marcia Carter Tillison, a Pagan in Norman OK, and with OpOK, a consortium of Occupy, Food Not Bombs and other activist groups working together to get supplies and help with on the ground clean up efforts in Moore. Marcia has on the ground experience in disaster relief from her work in Haiti and is someone I trust. OpOK…

  • Falling in Love

    Thorn
    15 May 2013 | 7:44 am
    (What helps you open heart and soul enough to fall in love?)   What is the thing you love most? What will you do to save it? If you had the chance, what is one thing you would do?   Back off from that extreme. What is one thing you love at all? What would you do to help it: how would you offer help, comfort, assistance, encouragement or strength?   Every being on earth affects each other being, for good or ill.   I decided to travel less – for the health of the planet and my own – but last night I was on a plane again. For someone who was traveling 2-3 times a month,…

  • Becoming Healers

    Thorn
    9 May 2013 | 9:51 am
      We do not live in isolation. “How do you heal yourself and help others?” I asked. The answers poured in:   “by building my mind, body, and community every single day.” “trusting my self to stand tall and reach out instead of within.” “by speaking my truth as lovingly as possible.” “Quiet meditation & working on things like afghans for veterans stuck in the hospital and small beanies & blankets for babies stuck in Children’s Hospital to help me heal.” When we work toward our own healing, everything changes. Things ebb and flow – there will be…

  • A Just and Joyous May Day

    Thorn
    1 May 2013 | 8:29 am
    Today, I will work. Then I will gather together bright ribbons. I will go out to the plaza in a vibrant, art-filled, violence-torn town and fashion a May Pole for workers, for anarchists, for the homeless, for students, for socialists, and for those who care for justice. These are my people. Together, we shall dance. Today, as a Pagan, I celebrate Beltane – a festival of cleansing, creativity, burgeoning, and the joyous renewal of sex. This is a happy day, a gorgeous day. I honor the season, the strengthening sun, and the ancestors who danced to wake the fields. Today, as an…

  • The Altar of Your Life

    Thorn
    24 Apr 2013 | 8:30 am
      What rests upon the altar of your life? What are you making sacred with your presence? Each morning I light a candle and I pray. I fill the kettle and meditate while the water heats. After time on the bench, I prepare hot water and lemon for my first drink of the day. Someone gifted me with a cup last year. It is simple. Elegant. White on the inside, black outside. No handle. It is meant to be cradled. Inside the rim is written “Rituals…”. The name of a shop in Holland, this bit of advertising reminds me that yes, my life is an altar. Each morning, I squeeze half a lemon into the…
 
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    Patheos Articles - Pagan

  • Persuasion

    22 May 2013 | 11:00 am
    I may never change anyone's mind, but if I do, it won't be because I lectured and harangued and imposed my infallible logic on them, Bub-style.

  • When Persecution Isn't, and What To Do About It

    16 May 2013 | 11:00 am
    New scholarship suggests that the martyrdom of early Christians is much exaggerated. How might this change our perceptions of religious persecution in the present?

  • Restoring Idolatry to Iconolatry

    14 May 2013 | 11:00 am
    The ancient icons of the Gods were destroyed in order to break worshippers' contact with their deities. Animating icons will make the Gods' power and blessings more accessible again.

  • One Defining Moment

    2 May 2013 | 11:00 am
    Waking up in the hospital can radically change one's priorities. In my case, it set me on the path to polytheism.

  • One Angry Queer

    18 Apr 2013 | 11:00 am
    Even as same-sex marriage moves toward legalization, many queer people and other sexual minorities are left by the wayside.
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    Alison Leigh Lilly

  • Keystones of the Sacred Land: 12-Week eCourse

    Alison Leigh Lilly
    20 May 2013 | 2:56 pm
    Have you been looking for a way to connect more deeply with the plants and animals living in your area? Do you want to ground your spiritual practice in your local landscape and blend ancient earth-wisdom with the insights of modern science? Are you eager to invite animal and plant companions into your rituals, meditations and magical practices, but aren’t sure where to start? The Keystones of the Sacred Land eCourse might be perfect for you. Inspired by my teaching experience as a volunteer naturalist and my evolving spiritual work with the keystones of my adopted home here in the…

  • The Journal as a Journey into Mystery

    Alison Leigh Lilly
    17 May 2013 | 11:14 am
    February 17, 2013 • In the mornings when the light has only just touched the mountainside and the low valley is still in darkness, I whisper one long prayer. The mountains, too, set loose their steamy breath into the rising wilds of day. There are as many ways to keep a nature journal as there are people who keep them. Some fill their journals with sketches, watercolors and diagrams of the plants and animals they find in the natural world, while others take notes, jotting down lines of descriptive prose or inspired verse to evoke a sense of wonder, curiosity and care about the diversity and…

  • Invasives, Revisited: Warfare and Harvest

    Alison Leigh Lilly
    3 May 2013 | 12:44 pm
    My post on invasive species provoked some really wonderful discussion from readers last week, reminding me once again just how diverse our attitudes towards the natural world can be. Even when we all agree on what practical actions we need to take, our motivations and reasons can be very different! Take Robert Paxton, for instance, who left this comment on my G+ page: Some invasives are sufficiently benign that one could address them in this gentle-hearted way. However, out at Circle Sanctuary, we cheerfully work hard to eradicate the buckthorn that has already killed some of our oldest oaks.

  • 7 Ways to Enjoy a Sex-Free Beltane

    Alison Leigh Lilly
    1 May 2013 | 1:41 pm
    A Pagan friend of mine mentioned recently that Beltane isn’t really a holiday they celebrate; being single and not all that interested in sex, they don’t connect with a lot of the symbolism associated with the holiday. I can totally relate. It may come as a surprise to you, but I don’t happen to think that sex is the pinnacle of my existence. I like lots of things more than sex, including good books and really clever puns. Don’t get me wrong! Sex is fun and beautiful, and as a woman who is child-free by choice and in a loving, stable relationship, I’m having…

  • Invasives: Enemies or Allies?

    Alison Leigh Lilly
    26 Apr 2013 | 4:41 pm
    In the late spring and early summer here in the Pacific Northwest, you’re bound to notice a certain delicate golden-blossomed plant growing along the roadsides. It leans out over the shoulders of highways, bristling with slender green stems that rustle in the wind that’s stirred by passing cars. When the afternoon sun catches the tiny asymmetrical flowers, it’s as if a bit of that sunlight has coalesced among the shady undergrowth, drops of golden-petaled light clinging like dew to the stems of this graceful plant that lines the edge of the forest. This same beauty can…
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    Stella Seaspirit Blog

  • You’re Invited!

    Stella Seaspirit
    23 May 2013 | 3:35 am
          Google Reader is closing. If you follow me with Reader you won’t hear from me anymore *sad witch*   I would miss you and you would miss me (right?)   So I’m inviting you to join my e-mail subscribers and get the Magick Instigator delivered direct to your inbox every Witchy Wednesday [...]

  • Find the Balance in Your Changing Busy Life

    Stella Seaspirit
    12 Mar 2013 | 2:00 am
        All change whether it is personal, family, career or all three at once results in new beginnings which lead to temporary energy upheavals and scatterings.   When you are nurturing potential in a variety of areas all at once it is easy to forget your centre and get caught up in the day [...]

  • Confused? Get Answers Spell

    Stella Seaspirit
    5 Mar 2013 | 1:00 am
        This spell can be performed to find an answer, a solution or explanation to events which confuse you or require clarity regarding any area of your life. Expect lightning fast results.   You will need:   A Yellow, white or beeswax votive or tealight candle Bergamot or spearmint essential oil A sharp implement [...]

  • Witchify Wicked Commutes

    Stella Seaspirit
    20 Feb 2013 | 12:30 am
        Many of you have a lengthy commute to the office during the week. Here is a list of things you can do to amplify your Witchiness while passing the time and/or transcending the rat race vibe, boosting your energy, creativity and productivity.   Start with one or two and then return to the [...]

  • 1 Minute Daily Practise: Alignment

    Stella Seaspirit
    5 Feb 2013 | 6:15 am
        It is a common misconception that a daily spiritual practise has to be long and involved and take up a sizable portion of your time. This is not so. Small, simple actions that preserve your alignment with your core Source-self are adequate. Begin your day with alignment and end it in alignment and [...]
 
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    Soul Intent Arts

  • Celebrate the Small Things – Gratitude

    skelleyh
    24 May 2013 | 4:45 am
    My weekly gratitude post, in the Celebrate the Small Things [ongoing] Blog Hop. Had a great big family weekend, complete with first children’s community rite of passage. Finished a huge day job project. Completed revisions on a short story. Succeeded at making a fantastic gluten-free/gum-free rosemary and sea salt focaccia, also a pan of cinnamon rolls. What are you grateful for this week? How will you show thanks? This post is part of VikLit‘s blog hop, Celebrate the Small Things. Participate by following the link and adding your name to the Linky list, then post your gratitude…

  • The Myth of Teen Violence and Spiritual Paths

    skelleyh
    21 May 2013 | 4:07 am
    What does it take to decode teenage America? How can we understand the confluence of factors behind rising crime rates involving our youth, changing sensibilities toward bullying, and violence in our society? Better yet, how do we inform ourselves and support young people in finding the facts? Every day I read articles asking these questions, and a San Francisco woman has devoted the last few years researching their answers. A passionate supporter of social causes, a civic voice sounding our shifting cultural landscape, a wonderful mother, and a brilliant writer — meet Beth Winegarner.

  • Weekly Rune – Dagaz

    skelleyh
    20 May 2013 | 4:48 am
    Dagaz – Day – If there is a Rune that encourages us to sing and dance, it’s Dagaz. Second to last in the final aett and symbolic of completion of a goal hard-met, this Rune indicates that we haven’t just gotten through or completed the mundane task. We have integrated its consciousness into our own, internalized its wisdom. Dagaz is about transcendence. Take heart that for this joyful time, the everyday is holy. Bliss is ingrained in everything we do, and we are aware of that fact. Remember the passion of this week. Write about it. Draw, paint, sing it. Make some…

  • Celebrate the Small Things – Gratitude

    skelleyh
    17 May 2013 | 5:22 am
    My weekly gratitude post, in the Celebrate the Small Things [ongoing] Blog Hop. Had a great Mother’s Day weekend. Sustained my workout schedule this week, making me three-fer. Reached the half-way point on a huge day job task. Figured out how to make excellent gluten-free onion rings. Made acupuncture a priority, despite having a crazy week. Great quality time with the kids this week, and a great date with my love! What are you grateful for this week? How will you show thanks? This post is part of VikLit‘s blog hop, Celebrate the Small Things. Participate by following the link and…

  • Weekly Rune – Uruz

    skelleyh
    13 May 2013 | 4:06 am
    Uruz - Auroch - This second Rune of the First aett hasn’t come up in a long time. In the story of the Runes, Uruz is the first point that we become aware of our ability to shape the Universe. We become aware of Nature’s Mysteries, specifically, that we are one of them. How, then, does Uruz shed light on our ability to shape ourselves? This week look to the story we tell about ourselves. Uruz begins a deep transformation in how we manifest ourselves.  How we manifest ourselves depends on the inner story we tell. Is the one we’re actually telling in sync with the one we…
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