Tag: Pagan
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A voice for the Newly Saved
I don’t want to be a voice for the Newly Saved. I don’t want to be looked at as an example of what happens when Christ enters a person’s life. I don’t want to stand as a representative for all the Pagan converts out there, as though Pagans are so unified a group that there […]
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The Kind of Pagan I Am
I’m the kind of Pagan who hasn’t gotten rid of his Bibles. I don’t think there is a single Truth any more than I think there’s only one god, but I do think there’s something which unites everything in the universe. And I’d like to imagine that this connecting force is sentient, but I don’t know […]
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Pagan Assumptions and the Direct Results of Ritual
“There can be no direct results of ritual. The results are always just part of the fabric of all action.” — Sean Michael Morris As I prepare for my upcoming appearance at the Sacred Harvest Festival I’ve been giving thought to assumptions I’ve made about Paganism; assumptions that many of us make. We assume the […]
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On Leaving
Something broke today: a levee on the inside. My heart, tight and clenched for days, softened. And when it did, I knew… I have to leave ADF. I spoke the words out loud, and they sounded right. They didn’t sound easy, or pretty, or anything remotely uncomplicated. They just sounded right. I’m not leaving because it’s […]
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Who’s Going to Be My Pagan Jesus?
I started reading a book yesterday called Contemplative Practices in Action: Spirituality, Meditation, and Health. It’s an academic volume which seeks to demonstrate that contemplative practices have positive affects on the lives of those who engage in them. It’s of personal interest to me for a number of reasons. First, I would like to see […]
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The Tree of Contemplative Practices
While talking with my husband I realized that many of the arguments I’ve been making during my conversations with hard polytheists, particularly with Galina Krasskova (read our Facebook chat here and see the post it inspired from her here), are not necessarily reflected in or supported by the evidence of my own practice. Or, in […]
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PantheaCon: Much Work to be Done
It’s the last morning of the last day. I’m in my hotel room, waiting for the rest of the attendees to rise. I’m an early-morning Pagan, it seems. I’m in the minority of this minority. Intentionally reflective blog posts can be a saccharine mess if you don’t watch yourself, so I’m choosing my words carefully. There […]
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Privilege: The Other “P” Word
Yesterday I said, “Be nice.” Perhaps encouraging nicety is not the right approach. Perhaps to say “be nice” is too simplistic, and worse, reads very much like, “Hush now, your problems are not important,” or, “You are making me uncomfortable with your anger,” or “There really isn’t that much to be angry about, so can’t you […]
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Be Nice, Pagans. Be Nice Polytheists. Be Nice.
I had occasion to speak to a very nice, young man last week about online etiquette. For me, what it boils down to is this: Be nice. It may seem simplistic, or perhaps reductive to some. But, I think it’s a good rule. Be nice when you talk to people, whether you know them or […]
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Genderqueer is to Trans as Polytheist is to Pagan
My kid is transitioning, but he’s not trans. He’s genderqueer. He doesn’t mind being called “trans,” because it’s accurate, but he identifies as something different. For some, this is a brain breaker. I don’t blame them or vilify them for that. One has to be flexible with definitions in order to approach these (seemingly) subtle, nuanced uses of identity language, […]
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When Pagan Discourse Becomes Reality TV
I’ve been transfixed by a particular reality television show on Netflix. I’m not typically a reality TV kind of guy, save for a few of the more hands-on creative shows. And the ones with drag queens, of course. This show documents the Olympic-like achievements of super-couponers, who, if you don’t know, are people who stockpile mass amounts of […]
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Top of the Week at BITG
Top of the week to you! This week is starting off with a whole bunch of Internet happenings. First, it seems that my RSS Email subscribers haven’t been receiving my blog posts since mid-December. Sorry everyone. Here’s what you missed: I wrote a post on Yule at HuffPost, and we talked about decentralization. After pulling […]
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My Pagan Pride Day Post Went Meta
One of the most valuable contributions to the conversation around my Pagan Pride Day post came from a single commenter, who I’ll leave unnamed. He joined the comment thread and my Pagan Pride Day post went meta, because he gave me cause to take a closer look at the function of this blog, and the […]
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I Felt Ashamed At Pagan Pride
The circle. The circle is fundamental. This simple shape, along with the square and the triangle, introduces our early minds to geometry, to symmetry, to physical and social design. This past weekend I felt ashamed at Pagan Pride on account of a circle. My body helped form the edge of a circle. My body stood […]
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Keep Paganism Weird
Ever been to Austin? If you have, you’ll recognize the title of this post, Keep Paganism Weird, as a variation of the city’s popular catch phrase. Plastered on buildings and bumper stickers is a reminder that Austin has a history of wild, weird culture, and that it’s important that the young’ins continue the cultural tradition […]
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Gender Essentialism is a Problem, Pagans.
Inspired by a comment posted on Trans Is A Teacher For All Of Us, I posted the following status update to Facebook: “I wonder how my Wiccan friends might respond to the idea that the Lord and Lady gave us our form, or that a trans person transitioning is the greatest insult to them.” The […]
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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 […]
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It’s Back to (Druid) School Season
The harvest season comes, and the kids go back to school. I can’t pass a rack of school supplies without stopping to see if there’s anything I want need. There rarely is, but I still like to look. The eco-folders and notebooks, while more ecologically responsible, are nowhere as cool as my Trapper Keeper. It was rad. […]
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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 […]
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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 […]
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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 […]
