Tag: Gods
-
Is Hard Polytheism Incomplete?
I think that hard polytheism is incomplete. I think that there is an underlying unity in all things that hard polytheism — at least, the hard polytheism I see presented most often within my own tradition, ADF — does not take into account. This became clear to me when I began to read Saraswati Rain’s […]
-
A Pagan, a Druid, and an Episcopalian walk into a Church
I went to church last night. It was the first time I’d been to church since I left the Church. Taking in an evening mass, done up to the 9’s with incense and vestments, was something I hadn’t planned to do while visiting Eugene, Oregon, nor was it an invitation I expected to receive from […]
-
He Says The Gods Are Not What Matters
The worship of the gods is not what matters, Brendan Myers says. People and relationships matter. Even as someone who helps to provide others with the tools to worship their gods, these liturgies of the Fellowship, I find myself reading his words and saying — Yes. This is correct. This is not the only correct […]
-
How Do You Know It’s The Gods You’re Listening To?
Since I began working through the Dedicant Path this second time, I’ve run across a number of people who are also starting their studies with ADF. They’re showing up in the comment section on Bishop In The Grove, on Facebook, and I’m wondering if there’s some deeper meaning behind it. A friend of mine suggested […]
-
Paganism Beyond the Warm and Fuzzy
I fell into a frozen lake once. It was winter, and we were on holiday from school. I was running ahead of my two cousins and my older brother, and I hit a thin patch. In no time, my tiny body was submerged. The water was violently cold, and I was certain I was going […]
-
Are You There Gods? It’s Me, Teo.
Sometimes I think there’s a good reason for blind faith, religious ignorance, unwavering piety. Sometimes those seem like a much easier choices than being inquisitive, being contemplative, being patient with your own uncertainty. The dialogue around the last post extended deep into the theoretical as well as the practical, even spawning an interesting offshoot post […]
-
I Spotted Thor Down at the Quik Mart
In a recent discussion with a group of Pagans about the development of an American pantheon for use in ADF ritual, someone said this: “When we look at historical evidence to find the ancient deities, we look at what was left behind and what survived for long periods of time, such as the stories that […]
-
The Offerings of Man, the Obligations of Gods
I approach my home shrine in the morning and prepare my offerings. Into three small, porcelain sake glasses, which were given to me by my stepfather, I pour a small bit of sugar, oats, and oil. These were the foods that made the most sense to me, although I’m not sure why. Whether I’m clothed […]
-
I Went Camping in the Woods and I Came Back a Druid
Organized sports never suited me. But wrestling with my faith? Someone should give out trophies. I would have a garage full. When I left for the Eight Winds Festival, the first ADF gathering I’d ever attended, I was concerned that I may not be able to invest myself fully on account of a little religious […]
-
Where Does Compassion Belong Among Pagans and Polytheists?
I’m having a hard time with compassion. So far, I’ve developed a daily ritual at my altar, I’ve reconciled (for the time being) my differences with my Christianity, I’m working to hold the tension between my Druid Revival leanings and my ADF approach, and all of that feels good. I feel like I’m developing a […]
-
Do Not Speak, and You Will Be Heard
Today I approached my altar in silence. Speaking the words out loud, my standard approach to a daily ritual, felt unnecessary. In my mind, in my heart, the words rang out with perfect clarity, and I trusted that whomever needed to hear them would. The effort I put into my daily practice waxes and wanes, […]
-
Chew on THIS, Pagans.
We set fire to the kitchen last night. Metaphorically, I mean. The conversation started while I was preparing dinner, and it continued on throughout the meal and into the clean-up. I woke up thinking about it, and I feel compelled to share some of it with you, my readers; my community of dig-deepers. I’m not […]
-
A Pagan’s Christmas Message
I’m in Nashville, home of the Christian Contemporary Music Industry, home of LifeWay Christian Stores, and home of the Southern Baptist Convention. This week, in a kind of radical re-immersion into Christian culture, I’m going to spread the message about Jesus to Jesus-people, and I’m doing so in the most subversively effective way imaginable: through catchy […]
-
More On Christian-Pagan Relations
Pagans hate generalizations made about Pagans (he writes with a smirk). That’s one generalization I feel confident in making. In my last post I made some bold statements about the unwillingness of Pagans to accept the existence of the Christian god, knowing full well that those statements were not completely accurate (or, perhaps even close […]
-
Christian-Pagan Couples Counseling
Pagans don’t want to accept the possibility that the Christian god is real. Doing so might open us up to a diatribe about salvation, our inherent sinfulness, or our “need for conversion”. We’ve had that talk a time or two, and – thank you – we’ll pass. Christians are of the “One and Only God” camp. Not […]
-
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?
-
Ghosti!
At the moment of surrender, when all seemed lost, I experienced a new kind of connection to the Gods. It’s what the Druids call, “Ghosti”.
