Guilt does for the soul what pain does for the body: it lets us know that there is a problem that needs to be tended to. But there is such a thing as false guilt. When we are using old beliefs from old systems to judge ourselves, then the measuring stick becomes a club to beat ourselves with. When we know what we value today, we can disarm the false signal and become that much stronger in our resolve to act honorably. Read more
We all must combat our own unspoken, gentle racism. When you speak, make sure your motive is to bring awareness and growth, not to hurt or shame. When the motivation behind what you say is clear, then you can move forward. The energy of your soul will be aligned with the energy coming from your mouth, and the effects will be magnified beyond your imagination. Read more
Much of the current dialogue in the Pagan blogosphere is about carving out ways to explain and justify our personal experiences and beliefs in relation to other traditions, but without a clear vision of the place our own traditions and experiences might have in an ideal world. What does your Paganism look like in 50 years? Read more
Without the reality of hard lessons, we would not be able to appreciate the wisdom needed to walk a spiritual path. In other words, there must be winter; there cannot always be flowers and warmth. The rune of the Elder Futhark known as “Ing” personifies this very concept. Read more
Given the environment that the Pagans of 2064 will be working with, I predict that those of us who want to build Pagan institutions will develop a type of “grove culture,” small communities or apartment complexes that support urban gardens and artisan crafts. Some of these may be tradition-specific, others might be more eclectic, but those will likely be the common elements between “groves”. These are two popular trends within our current community which could become valuable commodities within the next 50 years, and these groves could allow for both community and financial security. Read more
I wonder how many of us will find our Paganism is robust enough to survive the devastating future human stupidity is likely to create. How many of us will be able to walk our talk when our lives depend much more on our choices? Will we manage to be true to our values in crisis, or is it going to get decidedly Lord of the Flies out there? Or can we do enough, now, to avert ecological disaster? Read more
I’ve been struggling with a lot of stressors recently. It seems that my usual routine isn’t cutting it to keep me breathing and calm, so I’ve started shaking up my personal practices to help me find my center, starting with aromatherapy and Reiki. Read more
Sable Aradia discusses how to apply the Witches' Pyramid as a tool for learning and teaching. Read more
What if we could think of Paganism like the ocean in the above metaphor? What if Paganism was not a object, but an orientation? Maybe if we could conceive of Paganism as a way of being in the world, as a way of understanding our spirituality and our relationships, then we could think of ourselves as simply Pagan. Read more
If ever there was a strong masculine father figure, he's it. If you're a Pagan who is coming to a Paganism via the goddess movement or converting from a faith or practice that is strongly patriarchical with a desire to seek the divine feminine, Zeus is not your go-to god. Read more
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