What makes Pagans valuable to America? What do we bring to the table? How do we exemplify American values? Looking back on the contributions that Jews and Catholics have made to our collective American identity, how do Pagans enrich the American identity? - Star Foster We are a million individual voices. We share no unified belief, but we encourage the development of a personal and a communal practice. We force our traditions on no one, but we seek to build community. We are the … [Read more...]
The Day The Witches Took Over Church – UPDATED
June 27, 2011 By
No one knew why the woman sitting beside the Orpheus Pagan Chamber Choir was wearing a black, feathered, Carnival mask, and I doubt anybody asked. Pagans are known to be eccentric with their attire, after all, and who's to say she wasn't paying homage to a deity or something? Tres faux pax to question a Pagan's choice of bling. You're treading on holy ground there. Her display may have seemed a bit dark for 9:15am on a Sunday, but who was I to judge? Me, with my purple bow-tie and … [Read more...]
Letting Go Of The Gun
June 21, 2011 By
This morning, on a walk through our neighborhood with our big, black dog, my husband and I came across a fleet of police cars. They'd blockaded the street adjacent to ours, and the officers were all poised in defensive positions. As we walked past the roadblock, we saw a swat team van, and several ninja-like men creeping up toward the back of the corner house. "Come out of the house and leave your weapons", a police officer announced over a loud speaker. "Come out now!" I had no interest in … [Read more...]
Rules Of Reverence: The Sacred And The Silly
June 18, 2011 By
My grandma says in Spanish, "¡Jesus!" whenever someone sneezes. Its the cutest thing. The "-soos" part of the word is always pitched just a little bit higher than the "heh-". "Heh-soos!" I love it. My husband and I were over for dinner recently, and after a sneeze and a 'soos, I said jokingly, and in English: "Jesus!" She laughed a little, and then got a scolding expression on her face. "Mateo..." It was funny, though. Saying "Jesus" after a sneeze is funny. Who does that? I don't think my … [Read more...]
Pill Popping Deities
June 16, 2011 By
She skipped around the circle, waving sparkers in the air and laughing like a toddler. It was a non-conventional way to cast a Fire Circle, I suppose. But then again what's convention to a mis-match gathering of MeetUp Pagans holding ritual behind a Unitarian Universalist church? Could you imagine a more anti-convention convention? The Fire Circle was a sub-circle, if you will, of an even larger elemental circle. It was intended to provide the participants with some Wicca 101 on the relevance … [Read more...]
Casting Faith
June 3, 2011 By
The new head of the company told me on Thursday, in a calm and steady tone, that we have reached the furthest point we can in our working relationship. We need to accept that we've done everything we are capable of doing. In short - you're fired. Ah...THAT'S why he closed the door when I came in here, I thought. I told him that I understood, and I did. I haven't been a big money maker for the company. And while the business always considered itself to be more family-run than big-box, money is … [Read more...]
Imagination is a Pagan Value
June 1, 2011 By
Close your eyes. No... don't close your eyes. That won't work. Keep reading, but picture yourself in your mind sitting there with your eyes closed. Take a second. Can you do it? Well, you have just exercised the first Value in my Pagan Values Blogging and Podcasting Month Series: Imagination. *** Imagine An Image Here *** Imagine What I Said Before As I wrote in my last post, there are challenges to any group claiming a value as their own. The principle that is meant to be a … [Read more...]
Pagans Have Values, Too, Say Bloggers
May 30, 2011 By
Now that we're nowhere near consensus on how to use the word "Pagan", how's about we wander through an even hazier meadow... What are our Pagan Values? I'm jumping the gun a bit, being that the Third Annual Pagan Values Blogging and Podcasting Month is scheduled to begin on June 1st. But I thought it might be useful to spend a minute trying to understand what exactly a "Pagan Value" might be, and to ask the question, What makes a Pagan Value...pagan? Entry-Level Exploration Before I go there, … [Read more...]
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