The power of the “Invocation of the Graces” to grant victory over one's enemies should not be seen as something given in addition to the feminine charms listed in the first verse, but because of them. The word buaidh, after all, means “victory.” When Brighid bathes your palms and cheeks in Her “lustral fire,” in Her milk and sunlight, in Her honey and wine, She not only grants you Her beauty and elegance but makes you “more victorious than all persons.” Read more
Instead of building a procedure to ancient blueprints, we are left with building a container, discovering what experiences can be held in that space, and elaborating, refining, and rearranging that container until the desired experiences arise naturally and reliably from the format. Read more
What the tennis debacle has shown us, is that bad manners and sexism are so embedded in our culture that a lot of people feel comfortable putting those kinds of views into the public domain. It is a tragedy for our culture, and for the individuals who have so lost touch with what it means to respect themselves and other humans Read more
We’re in the midst of another Mercury Retrograde, and while I don’t pretend to be an astrological guru, I have learned a lot through trial and error about making the most of this wonky energy. Attitude is everything: if you expect Mercury Retrograde to knock you flat, it probably will, but if you expect this to be a time of contemplation and creative opportunities, you'll ride the astrological tide with joy. Read more
For those who have considered teaching a course in Wiccan basics but aren't sure where to begin, Sable Aradia guides you through the process and suggests methods of troubleshooting. Read more
We, as Pagans, need to be aware of the cultural baggage that we carry with us from our presence in the larger American cultural community. Simply because we are Pagan does not mean that we have entirely removed ourselves from the effects of the larger culture. We need to be aware of the sources of our practices as well as their original contexts and meanings. Read more
The “Invocation” is not only a piece of folk magic but a commentary on virtue ethics. Many systems of virtue ethics seem to come from a very masculine perspective. For instance, the “nine noble virtues” of Asatru are courage, truth, honor, fidelity, discipline, hospitality, industriousness, self-reliance and perseverance. These are not portrayed as being “just for men,” but their relationship to the masculine warrior ethos of the Icelandic sagas is clear. As a discussion of “virtue ethics” based on a distinctly feminine perspective, the “Invocation of the Graces” provides an interesting contrast to the nine noble virtues. Read more
If you want to be a Druid, study everything, and try to find study materials written by people who knew what they were talking about. Let’s get away from fantasies of Atlantis and other such works of speculative fiction and educate ourselves about the world we live in. Read more
New blogs and columns at Patheos Pagan! Syncretic Pagan theology, Pagans and interfaith, Jungian Paganism, reconstructionist mysticism, domestic spirituality, and more. Read more
Most of our representations of deity seem to look suspiciously like us. The Bible has that line about us being made in God’s image, but I think really it’s the other way round – we make Gods in our image. Read more
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