Bishop in the Grove

Category: Values

  • Equality is a Pagan Value

    Equality is a Pagan Value

    Those who say that equality is not a relevant “Pagan” issue are incorrect. There is no one for whom equality is not a relevant issue. Strip the rights of one, and you strip the rights of all. Conversely, uphold the dignity of one, and you uphold the dignity of all. Today SCOTUS struck down DOMA and […]

  • How Much Stuff Does One Pagan Need?

    How Much Stuff Does One Pagan Need?

    Should I let go of my stuff? Should I have a metaphysical yard sale, in which I sell my Cunningham books, my surplus of pewter jewelry, and my… …ahem… …crystals? Should I rid my closet of the long, green, hooded robe I’ve worn twice, my Guatemalan patchwork jacket I scored for $7 bucks, or my […]

  • The Spiritual, the Mundane, and the Cash Money

    The Spiritual, the Mundane, and the Cash Money

    Some days, it’s all we can do not to break. Yesterday felt like one of those days. I’ve done well to keep my focus on matters of spiritual growth since returning from my Pagan pilgrimage. I’ve kept my daily practice, and I’ve delighted in the conversations we’ve had here on the blog about leadership, purpose […]

  • Curses, Shame, and a High-Functioning Mexican

    Curses, Shame, and a High-Functioning Mexican

    I watched her shovel the snow in fits and starts with a 3-year-old boy trailing behind, and I felt sorry for her. She was at home during most days with the little one, while her husband, I presumed, was out at work. I never saw him shovel. Rarely did I see him at all, to […]

  • A Pagan Reclaiming Forgiveness

    A Pagan Reclaiming Forgiveness

    In the midst of this Christian extravaganza, standing beneath the red and green blinking lights, and surrounded by the sound of Jesus followers singing hymns and secular Christmas classics, I’m rediscovering the act of forgiveness. I didn’t expect forgiveness to be a theme of this brief caroling experience. I thought my time singing Christmas songs […]

  • The Just Treatment Of Puppies And Old People

    Old folks & puppies are cute, but they shouldn’t be confused. Old people have one set of needs, and puppies another. Question is – how do you do right by both?

  • The Day The Witches Took Over Church – UPDATED

    No one knew why the woman sitting beside the Pagan Chamber Choir was wearing a black, feathered, Carnival mask, and I doubt anybody asked. Her display may have seemed a bit dark for 9:15am on a Sunday, but who was I to judge?

  • Letting Go Of The Gun

    What are you supposed to do when you realize that you have to sit back and allow a bad thing to play out?

  • Rules Of Reverence: The Sacred And The Silly

    How do we find a balance between our desire for personal freedom and the legitimate need to have a standard measurement in our community?

  • Pill Popping Deities

    Are the Gods little more than metaphysical designer drugs for the New Age? Are we in service to them, or is it the other way around?

  • Casting Faith

    Pagans are so centered around practice. We define ourselves by what we do, not by what we believe (generally speaking). But faith is all about belief, isn’t it? How do we reframe faith as something that you do instead of something that you have?

  • Imagination is a Pagan Value

    Your imagination is where it all takes place. See a deity? Give thanks to your imagination. Create a circle of protection? Again, imagination.

  • Pagans Have Values, Too, Say Bloggers

    Think Christians are the only ones with values? Think again.