UPDATE:  As of June 27, the camp is full and registration is closed.  So if you aren't already registered, sorry. ************************************************************Last year I attended the OBOD East Coast Gathering and had a wonderful time. This year should be even better, with special guests OBOD Chosen Chief Philip Carr-Gomm, OBOD Scribe Stephanie Carr-Gomm, and AODA Grand Archdruid John Michael Greer.If you are a member of a Druid order, I strongly encourage you to … [Read more...]

Star Foster at Patheos is delving into ancient philosophy – something I wish more Pagans would do. The Greeks and Romans are our cultural as well as spiritual ancestors and their ideas are more prevalent in our common society than many of us realize.Today Star asks one of the Big Questions: what is our purpose? She says:Most religions insist we don’t belong here. We’re trying to get back to where we came from. Redeem our fallen state or liberate ourselves from the illusions of the … [Read more...]

I love books. Always have. Books are wonderful and magical and sacred. Few things will get my blood pressure up more than idiots who want to ban books, or worse, burn them. So it goes against my nature to tell someone NOT to read a book. But sometimes that’s necessary. Today I came across a Facebook friend’s post that said she was getting ready to start 21 Lessons of Merlyn by Douglas Monroe. My response was “Ack! No!”Subtitled “A Study in Druid Magic and Lore” this book is … [Read more...]

image from the Robin Wood TarotPantheacon is the world’s largest indoor Pagan gathering, exceeded only by the largest outdoor festivals like Pagan Spirit Gathering. Each year’s lineup of speakers, workshops, rituals and entertainment (not to mention connecting face to face with people you only know via the Internet) is both impressive and broad. Most people who go say it’s awesome. I’ve never been... one of these years I’ll get my travel budget and vacation time aligned so I can. … [Read more...]

The Tale of Gwion Bach, told as the Story for All Ages at the February 5 Denton UU Sunday Service on "The Cauldron of Transformation."Thanks to Jake Jacobson for the video editing. … [Read more...]

Our mothers are our first and most important teachers. Stephen T. Abell has a new essay on his “Letters from Midgard” blog on Patheos titled “Thinking of Heathen Women.” The subtitle is “the perspective can challenge the unprepared.”Heathenry – the recreation of Norse and Germanic beliefs and practices – is different from most other Pagan religions, to the point that many Heathens don’t consider themselves Pagans. Heathens place strong emphasis on the bonds of family and … [Read more...]

I spent the last three days working on a long, philosophical, metaphysical blog post, trying to build a framework to better understand and explain some of my beliefs and practices. I finally got it to the point where I was happy with it yesterday afternoon, but when I went to upload it I ran into some technical issues. It was late in the day and I had a meeting at Denton UU last night, so rather than fight through the computer problems I figured I’d just take it home and post it using a … [Read more...]

If you're in the North Texas area, please join us on Saturday, February 25 from 2:00 till 5:00 for our "Introduction to Modern Pagan Religion" class. We'll cover the beliefs and practices of our ancient ancestors, the origins of Wicca and other modern Pagan religions (and the differences between them), basic concepts shared by most Pagans today, the structure of group rituals and how to lead them, and the essentials of personal spiritual practice. This will be the third edition of this class. … [Read more...]

Charles DarwinThis is the seventh annual Evolution Weekend and Clergy Letter Project, which asks ministers of all denominations to speak on the importance of evolution and the lack of conflict between religion and science. Though I am not clergy (at least not in the usual sense) I feel the need to add my voice to this project.Last September I wrote on The Great Story of Evolution and why it’s important to us as UUs, Pagans and other religious liberals. I’m not going to revisit that essay … [Read more...]

UU Pagans - Faith in ActionSometimes I forget how good I have it. Denton CUUPS had been in existence for three years when I arrived. There were still a few people in the Denton UU Fellowship who were skeptical about Paganism in a UU church, but by the time I was elected Congregational President in 2005 that was pretty much over. Our current minister is very Pagan-friendly and attends many of our circles, our long-time members understand us and our new members are respectful even if they … [Read more...]