Pagan Community Notes: On Faith, Pagan People, Prisons, Surveys, and More!

October 13, 2010 By Jason Pitzl-Waters 10 Comments

Pagan Community Notes is a companion to my usual Pagan News of Note, a series more focused on news originating from within the Pagan community. I want to reinforce the idea that what happens to and within our organizations, groups, and events is news, and news-worthy. My hope is that more individuals, especially those working within Pagan organizations, get into the habit of sharing their news with the world. So lets get started!

On Faith Adds Another Pagan Voice: I’m pleased to announce that The Washington Post’s On Faith site has added me to their panel of religious specialists and generalists. My first response, on the issue of religion within debates over homosexuality, is up now.

“It’s no secret that religion shapes our lives, our morality, our politics, and our society, so it should surprise no one that religion also shapes our reactions to homosexuality. How could it be denied? When we talk about the “traditional family” or “traditional marriage” we are, at the end of the day, talking about specific religious ideas about those topics. Indeed, when we talk about opposition to same-sex marriage, or ending “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell”, or the culture of bullying that has sparked so many high-profile suicides, the arguments come down to the perceived moral “correctness” of same-sex love and attraction.”

I join fellow Pagan panelist Starhawk, doubling the Pagan presence at that site.  I look forward to weighing in at On Faith, and being able to share a Pagan perspective with the readers there. I’ll try to be mindful of the voice and reach this gives me, and do my best to represent our diverse views while also sharing my personal opinions. I hope you’ll follow my posts there, and show WaPo that there’s an engaged modern Paganism that wants to see its voice(s) heard.

PCP Launches Pagan People: The popular Pagan podcast PCP (Pagan Centered Podcast) has launched a new series entitled “Pagan People” that aims to become the “CSPAN of Paganism”.

“Pagan Centered Podcast has launched its forth podcast series: Pagan People.  Pagan People is a podcast to document and broadcast the history of contemporary Paganism as it happens.  No commentary beyond what is necessary to understand the clip, it’s intended to be the CSPAN of Paganism.  Who knows, it may become an unbiased CNN of sorts for breaking Pagan news that has audio content.”

Their first installment is the oral arguments from Patrick McCollum’s 9th Circuit Court of Appeals appearance. PCP: Pagan People, as a member of the Pagan Newswire Collective’s partner organization Proud Pagan Podcasters, hopes to be medium “for ensuring the awesome audio content recorded by the PNC is properly attributed to the PNC and distributed to a wide audience.” You can subscribe to Pagan People via iTunes, or reach them at PaganPeople.info.

Prison System Turns to Pagan Chaplain: The newly-launched Patrick McCollum Foundation (Facebook) reports that the Washington Department of Corrections has turned to Pagan chaplain Patrick McCollum for feedback on Pagan practices.

“The Washington department of Corrections contacted Patrick for clarification of what the normal religious practices are for Wiccans and Pagans. After talking with Patrick they will be expanding accommodations for the inmates and the ability to practice their religion!”

The Washington Department of Corrections made headlines back in 2008 for altering its policy regarding a prisoner’s adherence to multiple faiths. That move caused some controversy, but was ultimately seen as a positive step for the lives of prisoners. The prison system in Washington actually has a large Pagan population, so it’s nice to see them reaching out and trying to meet the needs of Pagan prisoners.

More Pagan Surveys: Chas Clifton reminds me that Aline O’Brien (aka Macha NightMare), president of the Cherry Hill Seminary board of directors, has released a new survey “exploring the concept of eldership in contemporary Paganism.”

“I have prepared a brief 10-question informal survey for a paper I’m writing exploring the concept of eldership in contemporary Paganism. I invite you to help in my research by participating in the survey. Use of the word “elder” in this survey means elder in the sense of a formal role within a group, organization or religious community. Feel free to circulate this request to your communities. Responses will be collected until January 15, 2011. Thanks to all who help by responding.”

This survey joins the political surveys by Maelstrom from The Political Pagan, and the Pagan Health Survey conducted by Kimberly Hedrick of the TriWinds Institute. Here’s hoping all this data collection ultimately benefits our community! Also, while I’m on the subject of surveys and data collection, let’s not forget that the American Academy of Religion conference starts October 30th in Atlanta, Georgia. A whole host of Pagan Studies folks will be there, and I’m hoping to bring you some coverage and reflections from that event.

Capture the Flag? In a final note, COG First Officer-elect Peter Dybing, writing as a private citizen, and not as a representative of COG, wonders if Pagan organizations are too invested in playing “capture the flag” in our quest for Pagan rights.

“So here is the question; are we as a community even half as effectively organized to gain or defend rights for Pagans? It is tempting to provide a long list of organizations and individuals doing great work for Pagan rights in response to this question. Each of these deserves our respect for all they have accomplished. Instead, lets address if this plethora of activities is keeping us from acting with unanimity? Is our approach analogous to a group of organizations playing Capture the Flag, where there are wins, but only by small groups and not the community as a whole? Does our duplication of effort squander resources and reflect that Paganism still needs to mature into an effective movement?”

Dybing calls for “a discussion on how to unify our approach to Pagan rights.” Is this a preview of what’s to come when his term starts as First Officer of the Covenant of the Goddess? Will we see more coordination, or at least more discussion about coordination, when it comes to Pagan organizations working towards the same goal? I invite you to weigh in on this subject. What would better coordination look like? How would it be managed without compromising the autonomy of each group?

That’s all I have for now, have a great day!

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Pagan Podcasts and COG’s Merrymeet

July 21, 2010 By Jason Pitzl-Waters Leave a Comment

Pagan Podcasts: There are some recent Pagan and occult podcasts of note that I’d like to share with you, starting with the latest episode of Elemental Castings from T. Thorn Coyle, featuring a recording of a panel discussion on Pagan leadership at Pagan Spirit Gathering.

“Special podcast on Pagan Leadership: Thorn and Jason Pitzl-Waters organized a panel at the Pagan Spirit Gathering in Missouri. Panelists were Thorn, Selena Fox, Patrick McCollum, Cynthea Jones and River Higginbotham.”

I was honored to moderate this panel, and I think it provides some excellent starting points in which to hold conversations about leadership within your own communities. I’m very glad we could record it and now share these voices of leadership with you. You can download it directly, here. You can also subscribe to the podcast via iTunes.

Meanwhile, at the OBOD Druidcast, hosted by Damh the Bard, there’s a show of interviews and music culled from his own experiences at PSG. Starting with an interview with me, and culminating in an interview with Pagan singer-songwriter Arthur Hinds of Emerald Rose fame. I think it’s one of my better interviews, but you should check it out for the music. You can download the show directly, here. You can subscribe, here.

Finally, for a podcast that doesn’t feature me in some manner, please check out the latest episode of Thelema Now!, featuring an interview with Faith & The Muse vocalist Monica Richards.

“Musican/artist Monica Richards from Faith & the Muse discusses Permaculture, being an old punk rocker, and different ways to express creativity.”

It’s no secret that I’m a big fan of Richards, and I’m glad to see her being interviewed in this context. You can download the podcast directly, here. Subscribe via iTunes, here.

Meet Me At Merrymeet: The annual gathering and business meeting of the Covenant of the Goddess, Merrymeet, is arriving in less than a month. I’m honored to say that I’ll be speaking at this event.

“I am happy to announce that I and other members of NCLC h?ave arranged to have Jason as a guest at this year’s Merrymeet to discuss Pagans and the media. I believe his presentation will be extremely important and is not to be missed.”

For more information on this year’s Merrymeet, and a list of presenters and workshops, click here. If you’re a reader of this blog who’s attending Merrymeet, please feel free to drop a line in the comments. I’m very much looking forward to the experience!

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Polysectarian Monotheistic Prayer and other Pagan News of Note

May 2, 2010 By Jason Pitzl-Waters 27 Comments

Top Story: The issue of sectarian prayers before government meetings may be heading to the courts again, this time in Lancaster, California. After the ACLU of Southern California demanded that the Lancaster City Council stop having sectarian prayers before meetings, a local ballot initiative was overwhelmingly passed in support of the prayers.

More than 75 percent of voters in the Antelope Valley city gave their OK Tuesday to Measure I, which sought public approval for officials to select clergy of different faiths to open meetings with invocations “without restricting the content based on their beliefs, including references to Jesus Christ.”

But something being popular doesn’t make it constitutional, and even though the invocation process is supposed to be random, a legal fig-leaf to ward off lawsuits, the overwhelmingly Christian population of Lancaster has meant that most of the prayers have been to Jesus Christ. On top of this, recently re-elected Lancaster mayor Mayor R. Rex Parris made it abundandtly clear what sort of community he feels he is leading.

“We’re growing a Christian community, and don’t let anybody shy away from that,”

Those comments came in the wake of Lancaster City Councilwoman Sherry Marquez saying that beheadings were “what the Muslim religion is all about”. So to say that things are tense in Lancaster, religiously speaking, would be fair. In an opinion piece published today by the Los Angeles Times editorial board, they discusses the inevitability of a lawsuit, the current tangle of legal precedent regarding religion in the public sphere, and why the Lancaster invocation program is unconstitutional despite its randomness.

“People of varying religious beliefs should be able to attend council meetings, or any other legislative sessions, without feeling marginalized … given the dominance of Christian congregations in almost all corners of the country, a rotating guest list is going to result more often than not in Christian prayer … Though a nondenominational prayer might satisfy the vast majority of Americans, aren’t atheists, agnostics, members of polytheistic religions and, for example, Buddhists — whose faith does not include a belief in a supernatural-related God — entitled to feel equally comfortable at these sessions? … there is no getting around the fact that what the courts call nonsectarian prayer is actually polysectarian monotheistic prayer. To someone who isn’t from one of those faiths — primarily Christianity, Judaism and Islam — this sure looks like establishment of a particular religious belief.”

I applaud the LA Times for actually acknowledging the existence of polytheists when pondering sectarian invocations and various permutations of ceremonial deism. You can bet that I’ll be keeping track of this (inevitable) case as it works its way through the courts. As for the Lancaster City Council, they are supposedly going to begin a series of discussions to promote “greater intercultural understanding”, but I’m not going to hold my breath for any major changes in the attitudes of local politicians.

Millennials and Post-Christianity: USA Today reports on a rather explosive survey conducted by LifeWay Christian Resources that suggests most young adults, even Christian-identified young adults, aren’t really interested in Christianity or its religious institutions.

Most young adults today don’t pray, don’t worship and don’t read the Bible, a major survey by a Christian research firm shows. If the trends continue, “the Millennial generation will see churches closing as quickly as GM dealerships,” says Thom Rainer, president of LifeWay Christian Resources. In the group’s survey of 1,200 18- to 29-year-olds, 72% say they’re “really more spiritual than religious.“

Only around 15% are “deeply committed” to Christianity, around 8% belong to “non-Christian” faiths, and most young Christians just aren’t interested in proselytizing. This data, if it holds true, could mean that post-Christian future I keep talking about may be here a lot sooner than we imagined, making the legal maneuvers by conservative Christians to enshrine Christianity in the public square nothing more than a desperate rearguard action.

That Bones Episode About Witches: Remember how I mentioned that forensics/cop dramedy Bones would be airing a special Kathy Reichs-penned episode, “The Witch in the Wardrobe”, that will air on May 6th? Well, here’s the teaser video.

Leaving aside for the moment Booth’s crack about people you don’t want to see naked, and the various stereotypes that will surely be dragged out, I am cautiously optimistic about this episode since Reichs has sympathetically tackled Wicca before in her novels. So I’ll be tuning in, and will let you know what I thought of it.

Livingston Parish Still Doesn’t Like Pagans: Remember Livingston Parish in Louisiana? You know, the place that passed an obviously religiously-motivated ban on fortune-telling, were taken to court by a local Wiccan, defended the law against the advice of their lawyer, and then lost? Well it looks like Perry Rushing, chief of operations for the Sheriff’s Office, is on the same page as the Parish Council.

“A scheduled pagan festival is under the scrutiny of the Livingston Parish Sheriff’s Office. “Obviously, we don’t like this type of activity, but if they are following all of the laws to the letter of the law, then we can’t do anything about it,” Perry Rushing, chief of operations for the Sheriff’s Office, said Thursday. “We vehemently oppose this type of activity in Livingston Parish.” The pagan festival is scheduled to be held the last four days in May at Gryphon’s Nest Campground Inc. at 19306 Bull Run Road in southeastern Livingston Parish.”

Here’s a tip to the Sheriff’s Office, you better make sure that festival isn’t harassed, either by you, or by trouble-makers who think your comments mean you won’t be on the job. You see, you’re now on the record as being “vehemently opposed” to the event, opening up your performance to outside scrutiny. I’d keep in mind what idealogical rigidity did for the Parish Council and act accordingly.

What’s Wrong With a Black Heimdall? Some folks are up in arms over the decision to cast a black actor, Idris Elba, in the role of Heimdall in the Thor movie. You see, Nordic gods are supposed to be all white (except Hel, of course, who’s literally half-black)!

At the beginning of the month he told a media conference that he saw his casting as an encouraging step. His view was not shared among the more vehement of fans. ”This PC crap has gone too far!” wailed one. ”Norse deities are not of an African ethnicity! … It’s the principle of the matter. It’s about respecting the integrity of the source material, both comics and Norse mythologies.” Fellow fans were quick to nod their horn-helmeted heads. ”At the risk of sounding like a bigot, I think this is nuts!” said another …  Elba, who shot to fame as the erudite and thoughtful gangster Stringer Bell in the critically acclaimed television series The Wire, has addressed such concerns in recent interviews. ”There has been a big debate about it: can a black man play a Nordic character?” he told the British magazine TV Times. ”Hang about, Thor’s mythical, right? Thor has a hammer that flies to him when he clicks his fingers. That’s OK, but the colour of my skin is wrong?”

It should be pointed out that this is an adaptation of a comic book, and not, say, an adaptation of the Eddas. Not to get all nerdy here, but to echo someone else’s point, the Marvel comics gods are extra-dimensional alien beings, they aren’t “Nordic” in any cultural sense. Further, the comic books have strayed from the “lore” so many times that anyone trying to make an argument about fidelity to a cultural pantheon in the real world is seriously barking up the wrong tree. Besides, I always thought the gods could appear in any form they wished, even “white” Nordic gods.

Thorn’s Podcast Pledge Drive: In a quick final note, author and ritualist T. Thorn Coyle is holding a pledge drive in support of her excellent podcast Elemental Castings (full disclosure, I’ve been interviewed for it), which she has professionally produced at a recording studio.

“The quality that so many of you have remarked upon comes partially because the podcasts are recorded by professionals in a studio, rather than on my computer at home. This costs money. Inspired by the Wild Hunt’s Winter Pledge Drive, my hope is that if you enjoy the podcasts, you will make a Beltane pledge to donate $1-2 per episode so that we can keep providing these amazing conversations to the magickal community for purposes of education and enjoyment.”

All the details you need to donate can be found, here.

That’s all I have for now, have a great day!

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A Darker Shade of Pagan: Top Ten of 2009

December 13, 2009 By Jason Pitzl-Waters 13 Comments

While I generally keep my music podcast A Darker Shade of Pagan from getting entangled in the daily workings of The Wild Hunt, every once in awhile I like to alert my readership of some great Pagan and Pagan-friendly music that I come across. Since I just posted my ADSOP top ten of 2009 show, I thought I would share what I thought were some of the best albums that speak to the Pagan soul from the past year. Consider it a gift-giving guide to the Pagan in your life dissatisfied by what usually passes for “Pagan music”.

ADSOP’s Top Ten Albums of 2009

10. Soriah with Ashkelon Sain – “Atlan” [Purchase: CD, MP3]

atlan2 What do you get when you mix a shamanisitic throat-singer with the mystic sound-scapes of former Trance to the Sun guitarist Ashkelon Sain? You get an intense and world-bending album of darkly meditative compositions that explores an Aztec worldview (the album is sung in Nahuatl).  Many albums promise to bring you on a ritualistic journey, but few bring the goods. “Atlan” does, but be warned, this isn’t some breezy guided meditation, but an intense full-immersion into Soriah’s explorations into his own ethnicity and heritage. Harsh yet gentle, at times both hypnotic and jarring, this is a unique album. One that wonderfully inhabits a sound  that is both dark and “pagan” in scope. Well worth checking out.

09. The Hare and the Moon – “The Hare and the Moon” [Purchase: CD]

hareandmooncd I like to go on and on about The Wicker Man soundtrack, it’s one of the touchstones for A Darker Shade of Pagan, a way to explain the aesthetic and mood I often try to evoke. Many bands have taken inspiration from this film, but few make me take notice, or use that as a jumping-off point into even stranger and darker places. The Hare and the Moon is one of those bands. An unsigned UK band, they utilize traditional folk songs, but marry them to spooky soundscapes, almost militaristic drumming, odd and esoteric sound samples, and understated female vocals. The result is a wyrd marriage that references Coil almost as much as it does The Wicker Man. Why these folks haven’t been scooped up by a proper record label yet baffles me. Get clued in now so you can say you knew them when.

08. Various Artists – “Leaves of Life” [Purchase: CD, MP3]

leavesoflifeSome of my favorite artists from 2008, like Fern Knight and Silver Summit, didn’t release new albums this year, but thanks to the folks from the band Arborea we have this benefit compilation to tide us over till 2010. Featuring tracks from the aforementioned bands, along with other ADSOP-friendly artists like Mariee Sioux, Marissa Nadler, and Alela Diane (among others). It not only serves as a nice overview of the current Indie-folk scene, but it also supports a great cause, as proceeds from the sales of Leaves of Life will go towards the World Food Program. So you not only get an album of great music, but you also get to see your dollars going to charity, a sure win-win! Oh, and the music is top-notch as well.

07. Eluveitie – “Evocation I: The Arcane Dimension” [Purchase: CD, MP3]

Eluveitie-Evocation1 I’m not the biggest fan of metal, but the burgeoning genre of Pagan folk-metal has been slowly growing on me. The best of the pack this year, so far as my tastes are concerned, has to be the Swiss band Eluveitie’s  “Evocation I: The Arcane Dimension”. Picture if Faun or Omnia started out as metal-heads and you get an idea of the sound (which they call “Celtic Helvetian pagan metal and folkmusic”). Dual female vocals mixed with gruff metal-guy vocals that places a bit more emphasis on the “folk” than on the “metal” for this record. Oh, and the Pagan side of things? Pretty darn solid, as you can see from the lead singer dressed as Cernunnos  on the cover. If, like me, you are curious about folk-metal, but don’t know where to start, this album may be a great place.  Why not start with watching the video for their first single “Omnos”.

06. Lisa Hammer – “Dakini” [Purchase: CD, MP3]

lisahammer_dakini There is a lot I could say about Lisa Hammer’s (from the band Mors Syphilitica)  wonderful new solo album “Dakini”, but perhaps the following quote from the artist really says it all. “The intention behind this cd was to create music for ritual, meditation and sex. Ideally, all 3 at once. It was designed to carry the listener away from the manifest world and into a deeper space. The Indian ragas correspond with times of the day, so the CD represents a condensed 24 hours, which is perfect for ritual, or any emotional and spiritual trip. The medieval songs are matched with Indian ragas and tribal drums, Appalachian folk music, Middle-Eastern drones and opera to bring the four directions together, North South East and West. It’s a cultural and spiritual mix, all blending together in one CD. Each of the songs has its own meditational/trance-inducing quality, regardless of its origin.” I honestly don’t know what I could add to that, other than to say she’s right, and the album is excellent work.

05. The Moon & The Nightspirit – “Osforras” [Purchase: CD]

b7825df70922c1d763a9cfe1390 I’ve been following the Hungarian Pagan band The Moon & The Nightspirit since their first album, and they just seem to go from strength to strength. After the musical quantum leap of their last album  “Rego Rejtem” (which means “I conjure magic” in Hungarian) Agnes Toth and Mihaly Szabo’s fruitful exploration of their homeland’s music and folklore continues to deepen and mature with this release. This is no place-holder, but an expansion of a strong and ever-confident musical voice. This is one of the most talented openly Pagan bands operating today, and they deserve a much wider audience among Pagan music lovers. I can’t wait to see what they do with their next album.

04. Bat For Lashes – “Two Suns” [Purchase: CD, MP3]

sfw-bat-for-lashes-two-suns I doubt I’ll have to work hard to convince you that Bat For Lashes (the musical outlet of singer-songwriter Natasha Khan) is worth checking out. Her album “Two Suns” was shortlisted for this year’s Mercury Prize, and she appeared on David Letterman, garnering her plenty of mainstream attention. She’ll no doubt be on plenty of year-end lists of popular taste-makers everywhere. So let’s talk instead of how Khan mixes indie-rock, New Age tropes, Kate Bush-isms, and drum-machines to craft a meditation on how we live in two worlds at once, the spiritual and the material, and how that conflict creates the tension necessary for great art. It is, as Khan puts it, “the philosophy of the self and duality, examining the need for both chaos and balance, for both love and pain, in addition to touching on metaphysical ideas concerning the connections between all existence.”

03. Faith & The Muse – “Ankoku Butoh” [Purchase: CD]

faith_muse_ab

After 2007′s excellent “InfraWarrior”, Monica Richards first solo outing, which explored themes of eco-spirituality, female empowerment, and myth, I wondered where her main project, the darkwave band Faith & The Muse would go. The answer it seems is “East”, and “Ankoku Butoh” is an immersion in Shinto, drums, and a “sonic atavisms for the warrior within”. This is a powerful and driving record that displays a band reinvigorated and at their creative peak. My only lament is that this came out so late in the year (October 31st) so I haven’t had the time to live with and explore it as I’d like. But still, this is a quality album, and should rightly be in the collection of any goth-Pagan fan worth their salt. Oh, and the album isn’t just an album, but a CD-DVD-Book set that is a work of art in itself.

02. Unto Ashes – “The Blood of My Lady” [Purchase: CD, MP3]

untoashes5 It could have been a disaster. Two long-standing members of Unto Ashes left the band, and songwriter-singer Michael Laird was left pretty much on his own to decide if the project was going to continue. Isolated, he went on to craft what may be the project’s strongest outing in years. Drawing deeply on strains of Neofolk and dark ambient, “The Blood of My Lady” is a darkly meditative work that careens from hushed ballads to stomping militarism and back again. Alone, Laird  has pursued the ultimate work, union with the goddess, she who is “everywhere and nowhere”, an album of “thirteen spells conjured for The Lady”. If you listen closely, you can sense that She has heard his call.

01. Fever Ray – “Fever Ray” [Purchase: CD, MP3]

fever-ray-cover_medium-360x360 To call this solo project by Karin Dreijer Andersson (one half of the amazing Swedish electronic music duo The Knife) “dark”, or “mythic” makes it sound too small. Just another musician dabbling with sound-scapes and Jungian tropes. It would be better to say this is a primal heartbeat from our inner core. A place where we lose the ability to quantify a thing or expression and instead we fumble along with made-up terms like “synth-druid” or “tribal electro weirdness” to express how synthesizer-created music can touch places usually reserved for drummed fire-trances or high-ritual. Fever Ray is Karin, and Karin is inhabiting the mythic core of humanity on this album. It is holy, pedestrian, lonely, loving,  and dark. The darkness of sadness and loss, but also the dark of potentiality, of the coming birth. This my favorite “pagan” album of 2009, though I doubt she would classify herself so, such labels lose meaning when you travel deep enough.

You can download my latest podcast, featuring songs from all these albums, here. I hope you’ll explore these releases, and perhaps find some new music to love. As always, apologies to all the other artists who released great albums this year, I only have room for ten.

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