Tag Archives: history

When Interfaith Gets Ugly

Patheos is a diverse place. I tend to think of it like a city with different quarters. There are good neighborhoods and bad neighborhoods, which shift depending on your point of view. There is the place I live, and the … Continue reading

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Book Review: Raven Grimassi’s Old World Witchcraft

This book is bold, and not at all what I expected. Although he’s been one of the author’s on my “to-read” list for years, I actually met Raven Grimassi before I read one of his books. At the urging of … Continue reading

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Ancient Pagans and Christians, or Who Did What To Whom

Watching people debate about the first four centuries of the common era is like watching a football game. The fans are rabidly rooting for their team all out of proportion. Trash is talked. Facts are distorted. Kurt Willem’s Pangea blog … Continue reading

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Pre-Smurf Humor

I am in an exceptionally good mood as I write this on a misty, post-storm Thursday morning. All is as it should be in the world. As you are reading this I will be unloading my belongings and stowing them … Continue reading

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Grounding the Revolution, Embracing the Legends

Wicca is by nature a revolutionary religion. Rebellion laces it’s liturgy and mythos. According to legend, Wicca is what happened when Paganism was driven underground by a violent combination of Christianity and absolute monarchy. I don’t know the truth about … Continue reading

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Life, Liberty and the Institution of Marriage?

Yesterday I was reading Timothy Dalrymple’s post on the gay marriage debate. Tim’s a good fella but we don’t agree on a whole lot. So it’s not surprising when either of us disagree with something the other wrote. Yet something … Continue reading

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Did Oathbreaking Lead to the Dark Ages?

I’m busier than a house-elf at Yule today, so here’s a blast from the past. Enjoy! History is written by the victors. This we all know well, yet there is a portion of our history that I don’t hear Pagans … Continue reading

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Recording Pagan History: Your Stories Are Worth Telling

I’ve had Pagan media folks comment on my ability to get folks to tell stories without my actually recording the stories. I’m a bad journalist. I become too interested in the story to grab my audio recorder. That fault was … Continue reading

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Irish Snakes Survive and Thrive: All Snakes Day

The Irish love a good story. They are a lyric, storytelling people. Their storytelling tradition is full of the improbable, impossible and likely not quite so. So although I appreciate those whose commitment to veracity in historical matters leads them … Continue reading

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Wicca Series: History of Wicca?

Every Monday and Friday in January we will be asking people questions about Wicca. Want to weigh in? Find the next question at the bottom of this post! What do you believe the origins of Wicca to be? Does academic … Continue reading

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