A couple days ago I mentioned the brand new “Celtic Reconstructionism FAQ” in a blog post. A couple commentators thought that perhaps I was giving too much credit to blogger/writer Brenda Daverin and ignoring the other major contributors. That was obviously not my intention. So let me also heap praise and recognition upon Erynn Rowan Laurie (author of the excellent “A Circle of Stones: Journeys and Meditations for Modern Celts”), Kathryn Price NicDhana (co-author of an interesting article on tree ogham), Kym ni? Dhoireann, and C. Lee Vermeers. Mea culpa, and congrats on the excellent work.

I feel bad for Jean Torkelson, she obviously didn’t want to write a filler piece about modern Pagans celebrating the Summer solstice for Rocky Mountain News. This woman is well-educated veteran of the religion-beat and most likely frustrated with her lot. Why else would she write the article in the manner she did?

She starts off fine.

“A rustle of wind, the glow of a fire pit, and a lingering dusk that coaxed night from the longest day of the year – last week marked the summer solstice, a magical time for scores of Colorado’s witches’ covens.”

But every nice phrase is married to an embarrassing gaff or diminishing factoid. It becomes clear she wasn’t impressed and wished to convey that to her readers.

“…intoned Will Christy, 46, known at his King Soopers checkout job for his thick, lush ponytail and pagan necklace…the coven’s high-priest, Richard Cornelius, who sported a ritual saber slung at the side of his khaki shorts…Despite being a high priest, he has a laid-back, Clark Kent demeanor…”

The whole article ends with her description of a prank played during the evening, but the real prank seems to be on the coven who trusted the reporter to treat their ritual with some measure of respect. Torkelson doesn’t seem particularly malicious, so was it boredom? Snobbishness? Lazy writing? Whatever the reason this should be a message to the editors to take her off the Pagan beat before her snark turns to anger.

A few entries by Pagan bloggers have caught my eye, and I thought I would share them. You can consider this a mini-Pagan Carnival of sorts.

First, Deborah Lipp is back from Brazil and has some interesting insights into the Wiccan community there.

“The Wiccan community in Brazil is about 9-10 years old. Interestingly, it seems about exactly like the Wiccan community was in the U.S. when it was ten…The Brazilian Wiccans have remarkable unity. Everyone knows everyone else. They have a small repetoire of chants and songs, and they all seem to know them and really sing out. They have more Wiccans and fewer Pagans of other paths, as well as fewer solitary eclectics. They’re in the midst of some ugly Witch Wars, and are figuring out how to respond to and recover from those. All of this is extremely reminiscent of the U.S. coasts (East and West) in the early 1970s.”

You can read some more about the talks she gave and Garderians in Brazil, here. I’m hoping this becomes a regular series of posts for her, it is rare to get a peek into how modern Paganism is developing outside of America.

After the tragic closing of Odin Lives Radio due to (unfounded) rumours of racism, Dave Haxton announces the triumphant return of the radio and booking company (with a new name).

“First off, the good news. Odin Lives Radio is coming back! We’ve changed our name and, consequently, our main web address, but we’re back “on the air”. The new name is Nine Worlds Radio, and the new website is at http://www.nineworldsradio.org. Three years of work building the show had seemingly been destroyed virtually overnight…We are heathens, not racists – some of us are folkish heathens, some of us are universalists, but all of us place our trust in our folk and our gods over and above any political debates. But in the hope that your belief in the Gods and Goddesses of the North is heartfelt, and not just a whim of temporal politics, we can ask you to stop pushing our shows, our concerts and our other services on sites devoted to white supremacist politics. If you care a whit about heathenry you will separate your politics from your religion, and not cause associations to be formed in the minds of the ignorant between them.”

In a final note, those wishing to explore Celtic paganism in a deeper manner would do well to read the newly posted “Celtic Reconstructionism FAQ”. It was partially written by Pagan blogger Brenda Daverin.

“I was one of the eight people who did a bit of blood-sweating (admittedly not as much as others) over that, and it’s good to see it wrapped up and live. People have wanted a CR 101 book for years. You may consider this to be it, at least for now.”

Consider this a sampler to whet your appetite for even more Pagan blogging! Remember, if you like a blog one of the best things you can do is post a link to it on your own web page or blog. Thanks for reading, and have a good day.

A weekly feature highlighting the best music from Pagan, Pagan – influenced, and occult artists. You can hear many of these artists on my weekly radio show and podcast, or you can check out the annual “Darker Shade of Pagan” music special available for download online.

ATARAXIA

Ataraxia

Band Bio:
Ataraxia is an absolute tension, a way of affording life and experience in a receptive way with the aim of contemplation and enlightenment. The followers of Epicure (in the Hellenistic philosophic era) considered Atarassia a lack of inner turmoils, a spiritual balance reached after a deeply lived material and spiritual experience, often a hard painful one. Contemplation is a hard state of perfection to reach in its plenitude so we try to converge our instincts, needs, egoisms and enthusiasms in the act of creation that’s music. The knowledge of the man, the relativity of everything, the importance of creating are the basis of our way and research. In our creative world the passion for the Greek/Latin culture and its philosophical world has a great importance. Through music we portray the traditions and ancestral imaginary of these cultures that are a never ending source of inspiration.

Ataraxia web site.
Ataraxia MySpace page.

Song download:
“Zelia” (MySpace Mp3 download)
“Scarlet Leaves” (MySpace Mp3 download)
“Seas of The Moon” (Mp3 sample clip)
“Jarem Gitti” (Mp3 sample clip)

Reviews:
“Ataraxia are my favourite band, and it’s not just because of the gracious nature of their beautiful music, it’s because they can also bewilder. You always know roughly what to expect, but then they turn up sweeter, or determinedly out there, but the magic always remains, and they have already created an astonishing body of work…” – Mick Mercer (writing for Starvox)

“I consider this band something more than a ‘musical band’. Their music can’t be taken out from their visual and philosophical concepts…Francesa’s voice and Vandelli’s classical guitar transport us to an oneiric trip through the gardens of the world…Francesca speaks to us with her voice – sometimes sweet, sometimes rough – in Spanish, in English, in French… but you won’t notice it because she really talks in the language of Music.” – Alfonso Algora, progVisions

“…the actual music…is traditional sounding, “earthy” folk with a very high eastern influence. Think old medieval flute players, mixed with acoustic guitars, mixed with Arabic percussions, mixed with some highly exceptional vocals…it’s Francesca that completely steals the show. Her vocals are of such high caliber that when she hits the high notes, she does it with such raw force that animals all over town start responding.” – Maelstrom E-Zine

My Two Cents:
Ataraxia is one of those bands. A band that people are either indifferent to, or are huge obsessive fans. It is rare to find a casual Ataraxia fan due to the level of dedication and depth the band puts into their work. I have always stayed on the sidelines, while I appreciated isolated tracks I never “got” them the way some do. But considering they are putting out a new concept CD dedicated to the primordial goddess that came before all other religions, It may be time to give them another try.

Further Reading:
A 112-page compendium of Ataraxia interviews and reviews by Mick Mercer (pdf download). A web-based interview with the band.