Today I am going on a vacation. I'm going to the Gathering For Life On Earth festival, located an hour east of Vancourver, British Columbia, Canada. I am well acquainted with the glories of western Canada, but it's been nearly a decade since I've been to Canada. This festival is on the smaller side, and not so packed with activities that there won't be time to meet new people and new lands. In addition to socializing, I'm excited about the various rituals presents, including two hosted by the … [Read more...]
Pagan Ireland: the Banshee {video}
May 16, 2013 By Leave a Comment
A short clip from Glenafooka: a documentary about Irish folklore and mythology. Enjoy! … [Read more...]
Childhood, risk and ‘wild’ places
May 6, 2013 By 3 Comments
When I came back from my travels recently, I spent a week at my mum's on the way back. It was an opportunity to revisit some of the haunts of my youth: the huge willow tree at the bottom of the road, still standing, and the old railway track which has since been transformed into a public path all the way from Harborne to Winson Green, approximately two miles of green, car-free paths winding through Birmingham's suburbia. The willow tree is an old friend. I and the little gang of pre-teens I … [Read more...]
Living on the ‘Roseline’ and other spiritual fantasies
April 29, 2013 By 11 Comments
A few months ago, I discovered that I live on the 'Roseline', the supposed leyline which runs around the globe, through the Gnomon de Saint-Sulpice in Paris, Glastonbury in England, and Rosslyn Chapel near Edinburgh in Scotland. The only information I can find on the Roseline variously describes it as: the Paris meridian - a challenger to the Greenwich meridian from the 17th to the 19th centuries; the sunlight line which identifies the date and time of Easter, at Gnomon de … [Read more...]
Finding place through the eyes of a child
March 20, 2013 By 2 Comments
This month's guest post comes to us from Kira Nuit, who explores the sacredness of the ordinary outdoor spaces around us through a child's vision. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- It’s easy to connect with a large, famous sacred Place. The weight of history presses its importance into our thinking mind. The accumulation of energies -- natural or created, intrinsic or fed by human ritual -- is palpable enough that folks of … [Read more...]
Sacred Lands and Spiritual Landscapes
March 8, 2013 By 7 Comments
![Abraham Ortelius 1570 [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons](http://wp.patheos.com.s3.amazonaws.com/blogs/asenseofplace/files/2013/03/OrteliusWorldMap1570-150x150.jpg "OrteliusWorldMap1570")
I love maps. I love their aesthetic. I love their usefulness. I love the wide variety of information we can gleam from any one map. I love seeing how maps change over time. Wouldn't it be useful if the spiritual life came with a map? This way to the Springs of Refreshment! Avoid the Pits of Despair! Cherry Hill Seminary is hosting a conference next month and an accompanying class (beginning next week) dealing with sacred lands and spiritual landscapes. I've been given a sneak peek at the … [Read more...]
Aliens on our own planet? What science fiction and space exploration can teach us about our sense of place.
March 4, 2013 By 3 Comments
I’m not only a Pagan, but also a science fiction fan. I read a lot of Stargate: Atlantis fan fiction in my downtime. A frequently recurring theme in these stories is that the planet that the SGA1 team emerge onto is a small, agricultural culture, with no word, in their own language, for the planet they live on. To the SGA team, the place they arrive in is a specific spot on a planet with a specific designation. To the local people, it’s just the place where they live: their place. The … [Read more...]
In love with the Gods of the city
February 20, 2013 By 12 Comments
This month's guest post is from Joshua Graham, and explores a personal perspective on urban Paganism. ---------------------------------------------------------- I hate trees. Ok, so I don’t actually hate them, but most of the time, when I am speaking to other Pagans and Witches (terms which I use interchangeably to describe myself), I find I must make this strong a statement just to get my point across. As a child growing up in Northwest part of the state of Georgia, USA, I was constantly … [Read more...]
Two peoples, one mountain, our tales (Part 2)
February 19, 2013 By 1 Comment
Last week I told a creation myth based on this Northern California mountain that comes to us from the Chochenyo Ohlone who lived here before the Spanish arrived. This is another story about the same mountain that was told to me when I was a child. Aside from the fact that both my mother and father knew the story, the exact source of it is unknown to me. I have not been able to find another example of this particular tale. My parents told this as non-Catholics with a twist of irony. In my … [Read more...]
The importance of beauty
February 18, 2013 By Leave a Comment
I am lucky enough to live in what I consider to be an intensely beautiful landscape. This is especially the case on mornings like this morning, when the sky is blue and the sun shines bright. The hills become honey-coated; the sky is endless. Beauty is a vitally important part of my relationship with place. If a place is ugly, it is hard for me to get past that in order to begin to form a relationship, a connection. I shrink back from such places. They make me uncomfortable and … [Read more...]
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