I remember seeing The Wicker Man as a teenager. It was an edited-for-television version, but it still grabbed me – I can clearly remember thinking “that is so cool” as the Wicker Man burned. On his live album As Nature Intended Damh the Bard introduces a song from The Wicker Man by humorously asking “Why [Read More…]
Archives for January 2012
Practice and Belief
January 25, 2012 by 1 Comment
I’ve seen quite a bit in the Pagan blogosphere the past few days on the connection between practice and belief. That relationship is most clearly expressed in B.T. Newberg’s interview with Rev. Michael J Dangler of ADF at his Humanistic Paganism blog. Dangler says simply “practice begets belief.” He’s right, but I want to dig [Read More…]
Joe Paterno 1926 – 2011
January 23, 2012 by Leave a Comment
With apologies to Shakespeare, I come to bury Joe Paterno, not to praise him. For the benefit of readers who actively ignore sports in general and college football in particular I’ll offer this summary. For over 40 years Joe Paterno was head football coach at Penn State University. In a sport with tremendous pressure to [Read More…]
Sacred Space: Architecture and Worship
January 22, 2012 by Leave a Comment
crossposted with Denton Unitarian Universalist Fellowship Tom Stovall This morning’s service at Denton UU was titled “Sacred Space: How Architecture Affects Our Worship Experience.” The guest speaker was Tom Stovall, a retired architect who specialized in church design during his career, and a member of the UU Fellowship of Tyler. I don’t normally review Sunday [Read More…]
Common Ritual Errors and How to Avoid Them
January 19, 2012 by 7 Comments
There are rituals that leave you feeling like you’ve touched the gods and walked between the worlds. And then there are rituals where you walk away shaking your head. If you’re new to leading group rituals, how do you make sure yours fall into the first category and not the second? Knowing what you’re doing [Read More…]
A Pagan Ritual Outline
January 16, 2012 by 2 Comments
This past weekend I made a trip to Houston to visit with the Northwest Community UU Church. On Sunday I helped Cynthia present her service on UU and Islam and on Saturday we had a dinner meeting with some folks who are interested in starting a CUUPS chapter. During our conversation someone said “we don’t [Read More…]
CUUPS Imbolc Circle
January 14, 2012 by Leave a Comment
If you’re going to be in the North Texas area, please join Denton CUUPS for our Imbolc Circle two weeks from tonight, on January 28. Click on the image for a larger version of the flyer. [Read more…]
The Death of Trees
January 12, 2012 by Leave a Comment
crossposted with No Unsacred Place It is no exaggeration to say that Pagans love trees. Our ancestors had tree alphabets and World Trees. We admire trees, photograph them and hug them. We hold sacred gatherings under them and among them. At times we commune with them. They are beautiful, strong, resilient and supportive of other [Read More…]
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