The written word is a useful servant, but Western culture has made it an arrogant master. If we are to become truly Pagan then the primacy of the written word must give way to the primacy of religious experience. Read more
A Farewell to Normalcy
June 15, 2017 By John Beckett 0 Comments
I want being a Pagan to become normal, in the way it was normal for an ancient Greek or Celt to honor their Gods and ancestors – it was something everyone did. But some of us are called to work that isn’t normal and will never be normal. Read more
A Three-Fold Understanding of Magic
June 13, 2017 By John Beckett 0 Comments
I came to a three-fold understanding of magic very early on my Pagan journey, and I’ve yet to find a better model for how magic works. Magic is the intercession of Gods and spirits, the manipulation of unseen forces, and psychological programming. Read more
Summer Solstice – The Necessity of Trust
June 11, 2017 By John Beckett 0 Comments
If there’s a lesson in the Summer Solstice, it’s that nothing worthwhile is entirely under our control. We do our part and then trust that Nature and the Gods will do theirs. And then get ready to do our next part when the harvest begins. Read more
Fighting Words Are Not Free Speech
June 8, 2017 By John Beckett 0 Comments
There is no right to not be offended and offensive speech is still free speech. But threatening, harassing, and hateful speech is verbal assault, and verbally assaulting someone who can’t fight back is the mark of a coward. Read more
Differentiation is Good, Arrogance is Not
June 6, 2017 By John Beckett 0 Comments
In matters of absolute religious truth, ultimately we don’t know and we can’t know. But that doesn’t mean we can know nothing about the Gods, and it doesn’t mean our debates about them are useless. Read more
Playing the Grand Game When You’re Not A Great Power
June 4, 2017 By John Beckett 0 Comments
This is not the future we wanted. Most of us simply want to live good and honorable lives and leave this world a little better than we found it. But we live in interesting times. We are on the board and a Grand Game is afoot, whether we like it or not. Read more
Resilience in Troubled Times
June 1, 2017 By John Beckett 0 Comments
Life is easier if you have a resilient system supporting you. So build one, and work to build a society that provides one for all. But never forget you have ancestors who made it through times even harder than yours, and never forget you have magic. Read more
Knowing the Gods Are Real is Not What Makes Them Real
May 29, 2017 By John Beckett 0 Comments
Expanding our understanding of reality beyond the literal is a good and necessary thing. Interconnections are how we know something is real, as opposed to taking someone else’s word for it. But they are not what makes something real. Read more
Pirates of the Caribbean – Dead Men Tell No Tales
May 26, 2017 By John Beckett 0 Comments
There’s a bit of formula to Dead Men Tell No Tales, and that’s not necessarily a bad thing. Here’s the bottom line: I enjoyed it. A lot. Read more
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