Irish-American Witchcraft: The Good and the Bad of Fairy Work

August 18, 2018 By Morgan Daimler

Paganism and witchcraft, like most subcultures, tends to go through trends – periods where different things become popular for a period of time. I’ve seen this repeatedly over the years, rather like the tide, things become a prime topic of interest than fade a bit as something else comes into focus. There’s nothing wrong with this pattern of course it’s a natural flow. Right now it seems like fairies are a hot topic de jour, as they have been a few times before, and I’m seeing an uptick in fairy-themed books and conversations. As someone whose main practice has centered on fairy work – that is the active practice of trucking with fairies – for most of my life this naturally gets my attention.

When we see fairies being discussed in paganism there’s a very – very – wide range of ways those beings are interpreted. So wide that one end of the spectrum is basically unrecognizable to the other end, but that is perhaps a different discussion. My own view tends to be based in two things: personal experiences and traditional folklore. Based on my own perspective I think these beings can sometimes be helpful but also sometimes dangerous, and are often mercurial. This means that when I talk about being a person who works with fairies its coming from a place of respect as well as caution.

“Oberon, Titania and Puck with Fairies Dancing” by William Blake. From WikiMedia.

My particular flavor of witchcraft is mainly focused on the Good People and over the years I’ve had a wide range of different experiences with them. These experiences include both good things and bad things, and more neutral experiences of course as well. I find I often tend to share the bad things more often to offer a counter to the avalanche of only positive things that seem to have flooded the internet, specifically attached to the viewpoint of fairies as earth angels or nature-spirit-guides. After giving it a lot of consideration I decided it might be a good idea to share a balanced view here that included anecdotes of both the benefits and occasional pitfalls of this work.

The Good of Fairy Work

There are many good things that come from connecting to and working with (in any sense) these beings. These good things can take a variety of forms and may be things that impact a person in deeply private ways or that are expressed in ways that other people also perceive. They may also include minor things that are nonetheless valuable ot major things that are vital. There is an old and longstanding taboo against bragging too much about fairy blessings in your life and so one must always be cautious about what and how much they talk about, but generally speaking anything that other people were also involved in or aware of is safe to share. Why this prohibition? I have a couple ideas but I suspect the main reason is simply that it keeps us from taking these blessings for granted. So that said here are three good things that being connected to the fairies has meant for my life:

They’ve guided me when I was physically lost – kind of the opposite of being pixy-led, there have been a few times when I’ve lost my way in an unfamiliar place and the Good People have helped me find where I needed to be again. In one case driving in a car with two other people late at night in a strange city we took a wrong turn and ended up very lost (back before GPS); I started seeing a form in front of us and instructed the driver where to turn to follow it. We ended up back where we needed to be within about 5 minutes. Another time, when I was in Ireland, I wandered off from the group I was with and got turned around in a field. I couldn’t see anyone else from the group, it was starting to get dark, and I had no idea where I was. I made an offering and was guided back to the main pathway and a friendly (human) face.

“The Mystic Wood” by John William Waterhouse. From WikiMedia.

They saved my life – several years ago I had a severe anaphylactic reaction. It was late at night and even though I knew what was happening I was frightened enough that I was in denial and decided if I just went to sleep everything would be alright. Lying there with my tongue swelling and having trouble breathing, my husband was suddenly and somewhat violently awakened by what he described later as a ‘large moth’* flying into his face, causing him to get up and turn the lights on. There was no moth to be found anywhere but at that point I broke down and asked him to call an ambulance.

They saved my house from a fire – I was sitting in my living room and kept seeing movement near the outlet by our television. I initially dismissed it, acknowledging that it was fairy activity (which I can see) but not concerned. I was getting ready to leave to run an errand but kept getting distracted by this movement and finally when I thought I saw a small figure walking in that area I walked over to see what was going on. As I got within a few feet of the wall the cord plugged into the top outlet sparked and then started burning; because I was so close I quickly pulled it out before the wall caught fire.

The Bad of Fairy Work

Along with the good things that have come from working with the Fair Folk there have been bad things, although I will admit the bad is often (not always) my own fault. Generally when a negative thing occurs it is a result of me transgressing an etiquette rule, pushing a taboo, or ignoring directives which are part of my spiritual work. Occasionally however negative things are simply a result of being in the wrong place at the wrong time, which is a risk of doing this kind of work. I also want to be clear that when I say ‘bad’ I mean bad consequences that result directly from some aspect of this work, rather than difficult things like those aforementioned prohibitions which are certainly also a factor but which I wouldn’t categorize as bad per se.

As with the previous examples I’m going to offer three, and you’ll notice several of them are medical; in those cases yes I sought professional medical help and no the situation couldn’t really be explained by doctors. These may sound a bit extreme but these did all really happen and I’m sharing them in part to illustrate what I mean by bad.

“The Nightmare” by Henry Fuseli. From WikiMedia.

They interfered with my eyesight – just prior to my last trip to Ireland I was working to get a manuscript finished before I left. In the two weeks prior to the trip I started having dreams and otherwise receiving messages that I should stop working on the project and start focusing on the Gentry and on getting ready for some intense spiritual work that would be going on. However being stubborn I didn’t want to listen so I kept pushing, knowing I could get the book done before I left. After a few days of this I developed a strange eye infection that caused blurred vision – meaning I couldn’t type or be on the computer very much because I couldn’t see – and which the doctors and opthamologist couldn’t explain. They diagnosed it as a bacterial infection of ‘unknown origin’ and gave me some ointment to put in my eyes. Once I stopped trying to get any work done and started focusing on the spiritual things my vision cleared up.

They drained my car battery – I have a specific personal prohibitions relating to my spiritual work. One of these has some layers to it, and I was skirting around part of it to visit a cemetery with my children. I had a bad feeling about the whole thing and suspected that I was edging into doing something I shouldn’t. When I went to park my car I had a very strong sense not to turn the car off or get out myself but I did anyway. Walking back up to the car afterwards I knew it wouldn’t start, and it didn’t. So I was stuck with three very upset children in a cemetery in the woods, with an hour wait for roadside assistance. Despite trying multiple times to start the car it was clear the battery was dead. It was very hot, the children were upset and thirsty, and the situation was a lot more unstable than I can easily put into words here. Finally I had a talk with my Otherworldly friends and basically said if they would let the car start I wouldn’t make the same mistake again (and I’d drive directly to get a new battery for the car). The car then started.

I’ll probably never hear the end of this incident from my kids.

I was sick for about 6 months – this one may have been kind of inevitable as an after effect of an initiatory experience I went through involving the Good Neighbours in Ireland, but afterwards I was inexplicably very sick for about six months. I went to the local walk-in clinic and saw my primary care several times and was told it was everything from lingering viral bronchitis to possible repetitive walking pneumonia, but nothing helped it and no one could explain why I wasn’t getting better. I was just sick and stayed sick from Samhain until Bealtaine. This was, at the least, a very difficult experience to go through connected to this spiritual work.

Fairy Work and Options

Not everyone who decides to connect with the Good Folk will end up with this level of engagement, which is fine. Like any other type of witchcraft or spirit work there’s a range of interaction that occurs and for some people this will mean minimal but safer encounters while for others the work will be deeper and more dangerous. At least speaking for the kind of Otherworldly beings I deal with danger and blessing are two sides of one coin and the more dedicated you are to fairy work the more you are open to both. It’s good to keep this in mind if you are considering this path in any serious way. There will be positive things that come your way but there will also be equivalent levels of risk and potential negative experiences. If this is a path that interests you, you should go into it prepared for both the good and the bad.

*I have a strong personal connection between moths and the Gentry; interestingly Grimm in Teutonic Mythology also connects moths and butterflies to elves.

Hearth of Hellenism: Freedom from Spiritual Slavery

August 18, 2018 By Angelo Nasios

August 15th marked a significant feast holiday for both Catholics and Orthodox Christians. Catholics call it the Feast of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary. Orthodox Christians call it the Feast of the Dormition of the Virgin Mary. It is the day that Mary died or “goes to sleep” and is taken into heaven. It is the second biggest religious celebration in Greece after Easter.

This blog entry is a religious commentary and critical evaluation of the Orthodox acts of prostration done during the feast on the island of Tinos and how it is against the values of Hellenism. Being that it was the feast for the Virgin Mary, an article appeared on my wall which shard a tradition on the island of Tinos that is done on this feast day. From the article:

St Dominic Prostrating Himself, from the 13th Century.

“…the annual celebration yields an extra meaning on the Greek island of Tinos, where thousands of religious pilgrims endure scorching heat as they climb on hands and knees from the island’s port to reach one of Greece’s most important religious monuments.

The church of the Evagelistria on Tinos was built in 1823 to house an icon found in 1822, and for decades has attracted thousands of Greek Orthodox faithful who believe their pleas for a miracle will be answered by the Virgin Mary.”

When I look at these photos of people crawling on hot roads, from the port to the church, up the stairs all I can think is how sad this is. How sad that they believe that is piety that is what their god would like. That they have been taught from childhood, this is good and acceptable behavior towards a deity. One of the photos shows a small childing crawling up those stairs. It is horrifying to me to see these images.

I have been criticized for this opinion/evaluation as not being “open-minded” – given I study religion. As someone who studied religion, yes, I can be objective if I must. But not on this. Being Greek and seeing things as a former participant I can criticize it from the inside. As a Greek who practices Hellenism, I can criticize it and recognize the shift that has occurred from Hellenism to Christianity and how this shift in religions has crushed the Greek people.

Greece is known for its financial problems, but the deeper problem in Greece is a spiritual one. Orthodoxy has been a burden on the country and the people. It has turned the country and people into a shadow of its former self. Greeks have been subjected to spiritual slavery, crushed by the weight of the cross.

The kind of prostration conducted on Tinos is humiliating. In Hellenism, such prostration is degrading and above all – slave behavior. Orthodox Christians call themselves “servants of god” (δούλη του Θεού). A nice way to say slaves of god. When you think of yourself as a slave, it is perfectly acceptable to crawl on your hot pavement for your master, your god.

The Greeks, before Christianity, did not think of themselves as slaves of the gods. No. They did not crawl on their hands during festivals. The Pythia of Delphi did not crawl into the temple to speak Apollo’s word. Greeks approach the gods with dignity, standing up with their hands to the sky. We approach the gods as equals because we come from the same place as them. Humanity is kin to the gods.

The evidence that we have from antiquity does not support the practice of prostration like that which is done in Tinos as a Greek behavior or acceptable behavior for anyone to perform. The action of prostration done by Christians originates in the east and not from the Greeks. It is not the normative behavior in the Greek world to act that way. Philostratus and Plutarch are two valuable sources which explain the unfitting nature of this prostration.

Philostratus’s Life of Apollonius of Tyana records the Greek understanding that prostration is fit for slaves. Apollonius is speaking with Thespesion, who asks about the “custom of scourging” in a ceremony in honor of the Scythian Artemis in Sparta. Thespesion informs us that the goddess (Scythian Artemis) was introduced from Taurus and Scythia, and that the men of Sparta had embraced “alien customs.” Thespesion also describes the custom “fit for slaves.” Apollonius tells us that it is “poor wisdom” to think the gods support such behavior.

Plutarch, philosopher and High Priest of Delphi based on his writings in On Superstition would without a doubt be disturbed by the acts of the people on Tinos. He describes actions of “uncouth prostrations” “disgraceful besieging of the gods” such as “casting down with the face to the ground” caused by superstition.

It is not humbling or pious to harm yourself, to crawl on the floor, or to in any way degrade your human spirit for the gods. It is not prideful to refuse such actions – because to reject such behavior is to reject spiritual slavery. We are not slaves, and we are not worthless. It is disrespectful to the self and to the gods. The gods would never want us to behave in this way for the negative impact it has on the soul. It plants the seeds of subordination in the soul which bloom within the mind to corrupt the person from true spiritual progress and liberation with the aide of the gods. You will have trouble building strong people when you teach them that weakness and self-harm are virtues.

Radical Pantheist: Money is the One God you Shouldn’t Worship

August 16, 2018 By Luke Gardner

In the United States, the link between capitalism and religion is strong, validating the idea that money is a form of God.

Many social critics have drawn comparisons between economic systems and religion, but few have done so like Miguel D Lewis, an elusive philosopher attributed with the following quote:

An attempt at researching Lewis led me to an article by Nirvaan Nadeem in the Daily Times inspired by this very quote. The article proposes that in past societies, like the puritan colonizers of Europe, development in any field (for example: medicine, education, science, architecture and art) was influenced by God.

Nadeem believes that discoveries and advancements in U.S. society, and many others, are primarily motivated by the desire to make a profit, as opposed to the desire to serve a deity, money-related or otherwise.

“In the past kings were worshiped and their orders were followed without question, now the people in power had to figure out how to make the common man work against his interests, without him knowing it,” Nadeem said. “No longer was working for your country, king or fellow man a sacred duty, and problems arose regarding the means to control them.”

In an article for Margilina, Regina Munch reviews Chris Lehmann’s book “The Money Cult: Capitalism, Christianity, and the Unmaking of the American Dream.”

Munch explains that in the book Lehmann addresses how capitalist ideology has affected religious development in the United States. Lehmann believes that the Puritans and early colonizers were a communalistic culture, as they were often dependent on their neighbors for survival.

According to the article, as the ideas of the enlightenment area spread, preachers at public revivals would preach about “workplace discipline” as a part of God’s divine plan. According to Lehmann, the accumulation of wealth and the search for god became synonymous because capitalist ideology mixed with Christian doctrine over years of American development.

Lehmann uses Joel Osteen, the wealthy pastor infamous for refusing to open his church to flood victims, as an example of how the problematic narrative of “prosperity gospel” allows the mega-rich to justify deplorable actions by claiming that God helped them along their path to power.

This “prosperity gospel” narrative favors the Divine Right of Kings, and the Mandate of Heaven, two examples of how the politically powerful in past societies used religion to secure and abuse their positions of power.

Using religion to blindside the masses is nothing new; millions of conservative voters believe that Trump himself is sent by God. These supporters believe that God himself made Trump a politically powerful billionaire, despite that fact that their same god allows billions of humans to suffer because of lack of access to basic tools for survival.

Any ideology that paints the most wealthy and powerful people in the world as godly while failing to address global poverty, starvation, war and genocide is not valid religion or holistic spirituality; its propaganda.

“Money to Burn” by Victor Dubreuil. From WikiMedia.

Munch’s article explains how liberal New Age culture in the U.S. has just as many spiritual leeches as conservative Christianity. As opposed to preaching “prosperity gospel,” these people use the “law of attraction” to create narratives that excuse class hierarchies, claiming that wealth comes to those who raise their vibrations through techniques like visualizations and spellwork.

“Osteen would ask [the poor] why they won’t have faith in God’s productivity; Oprah and Chopra might wonder if [the poor] aren’t vibrating clearly enough,”Munch said.

Rich pastors, monks, priestesses and supposedly spiritual political leaders who tell their poor followers that poverty is their fault because they didn’t pray enough or meditate right are spiritual leeches, not spiritual leaders.

After hours of research I have arrived here, and it’s glaringly obvious that I’m only 15 feet deep in a rabbit hole that extends for miles.

I have reached the [temporary] conclusion that capitalism is very similar to religion, and that capitalism in the U.S. is intertwined with religion, from the glorification of the wealthy to the countless mass-produced products sold in the name of various religions.

Money can be used to do and purchase good things, but the nature of currency is that it is a resource unfairly dispersed, making money a god who nurtures only a privileged few, while leaving the poor to suffer and die.

Some who pray for money do so because they are facing starvation; others do so because they want to buy private jets and expensive clothing. Most are somewhere in between, and while the line between financial security and greed is debatable, the religion of capitalism clearly sanctifies the accumulation of wealth.

Therefore, those in the U.S. must reject money as a God by questioning their “leaders” in positions of wealth and power, not by idealizing them.

In the age of materialism, we must not forget that authentic spirituality serves all sentient beings with the desire to end their suffering, not the desire to accumulate material attachments and social power.

Millennial Witch: Magickal Pitfalls

August 15, 2018 By Melissa Smith

When you are first starting out, either as a young witch by age or by curiosity, you get so wrapped up in the idea of moving energy, casting spells, and making things happen; that when the excitement wears off, it feels like you’ve gone from the honeymoon phase to the real, hard part of the marriage. It was during the 90s and early 2000s for me when I first started, back when the internet first grew big, and stories of witches and wizards going to school were all the rage. I felt so caught up in all the magickal hype, that when I decided I wanted to explore the religion behind the magick, I dove feet first. I drew symbols and sigils on pieces of paper and taped them on the back of my door for protection, I placed rocks in water to have them soak up moon and sun rays, ( I still get teased from my parents about how I used to ‘grow’ rocks) and I went out of my way to get into every form of magick I could get my hands on.

Book and Candle, from Pxhere. Public Domain Image.

About 3 or so years into my path, I started to feel super disconnected.( I was also still in middle school at the time, so I also blame puberty and general life challenges, too). I think I was just coming off of the high of doing spells on the full moon, reading all the books, and trying all the new things. Looking back, I realize that I have had several situations were I have fell into a pit of disconnection with my path. There was even a time in my life when I thought about giving up being Wiccan all together and just being a witch, or not even doing that at all! I had different people encourage me to drop religion and just say, spirituality, but because I have studied religions for so long, I couldn’t do that. I know for a fact that being religious helps a lot of people get back up on their feet. I am not saying that just being spiritual wouldn’t do that either, but I feel like a lot of times, when you are just being spiritual, it is because you have already gotten back up from your pit.

In this pit, you feel like you should question everything all over again. Should I even read this book? Why do I have to practice under a full moon on Monday at 9pm? What exactly does -Samhain- even mean and why should I care? Are the Gods even listening?! I do have mild depression and severe anxiety, which I feel like don’t help my situations.

“An Alchemist in His Laboratory” by David Teniers the Younger, from Wikimedia.

Though, every time I end up in these pitfalls, I somehow get back up stronger then I went in. I start to think about all the great things I have done in my life with magick, and all the friends I have made, and the spiritual journey I have taken upon myself. I end up grabbing a beginner’s book again and realize one thing; I am always learning, always growing, always changing. I haven’t fallen into a magickal pit in over 4 years now, and things have been looking strong on the horizon. I am writing a lot more, doing simple spells, and making things less complicated for myself. Who said magick had to be complex?

Working with magick is like a marriage. It takes a lot of work, a lot of your time, and it might even feel like something you want to stop doing for a while. But, you end up realizing that your relationship with yourself and how you view the world is always moving and growing. I love my path, and I wouldn’t have it any other way. I might not feel the rush of a spell done at midnight on a full moon on a Tuesday, mostly because I’m in bed by 9 or 10 pm, usually.

I don’t hang sigils or pentacles behind my door anymore, and I don’t place rocks or crystals in bowls of water. Instead, I work on an amino app as an admin, I write about my experiences as a witch, and I feel proud when people acknowledge my hard work and accomplishments. If you feel you are in a pit of disconnect, or just question your path as a witch or a pagan, my advice is to go back to the beginning. What made you want to go down this road in the first place? For me, it was a chance to make a difference in this world and to grow into someone who could help people. Don’t worry if you end up falling. Look up at the sky, and take a deep breath. Then start to climb back up.

Between Two Worlds: The Blessings of Youths at Pagan Events

August 14, 2018 By Brianne Raven Wolf

In the past couple of years, I’ve noticed there seem to be more youths attending Pagan events. We’re very blessed this is happening.

For several years, I hadn’t seen many youths at the Pagan events I’d attended, even though the events had encouraged people to bring their children. When I attended my first Pagan Spirit Gathering (PSG) in 2017, there were a fair amount of youths. I hadn’t noticed many families, but those there had brought children of all ages.

“Wildflowers.” Image from PxHere. Public Domain Image.

This year, in 2018, wow, what a change. Besides a lot more families at PSG, there were great places for them to hang out as well. The Child Center was a safe, shady place supervised by adult volunteers, which gave parents time off to go to workshops and rituals. There were also special workshops open to parents and their children that were absolutely beautiful.

A Tween center had tailor-made workshops, rituals, socializing times, and other activities tailor-made for that age group. Likewise, the Teen Center was a safe place for them to come together as a community for camaraderie, support and conversation, and was open until 1 am every night.

Then later, at the Green Spirit Festival at Circle Sanctuary in July, I noticed more youths were present with their families. There were more programs and games for them as well. Families came together in shared experiences, which was impressive. I even saw older teens help with the younger kids. Youth helping youth. Many of the teens volunteered to come early and help adults with the set-up and tearing down tents. They didn’t need to be asked. They were there — ready, willing, and able.

Some of the younger pagans told me they were happy to have supportive families. A few even told me they were able to be out to them. Wow, I thought. What a time to be a pagan youth! Maybe in my next go around.

Being out as trans or Pagan was something I didn’t have in my childhood. I wondered how that kind of experience would have made a difference in my life.

When I was young, my biological family was not supportive in any way. Youths were meant to be seen, not heard. Our opinions weren’t considered all that important, and I had no knowledge of any others like me. Maybe that was a good thing. Awareness of anyone like me might’ve been bad. I can just imagine if I came home and said to my physically abusive Baptist deacon father, “Hey dad, not only am I trans, but I’m Pagan too!” Of course, that was before the word transgender existed, and I wasn’t familiar enough with what Pagan meant, but I knew who I was all the same. I was a girl who worshipped Luna, the moon Goddess.

But, yes, I think a supportive environment would’ve helped me when I was young.

A lot of the younger people I know in the pagan community are trans, non-binary, or gender non-conforming. If they’re lucky, they’re supported by safe people and also safe places like PSG and Circle Sanctuary. However, not all of them have what I consider supportive biological families. Hostile remarks and dangerous situations can lead to depression and even suicide in some cases. They need to have support from ALL communities, including Pagan ones.

When I see how much love there is at these Pagan events, I’m encouraged to know the future is in really good hands. Thankfully, our pagan youth are being encouraged to participate in events instead of being left at home or with baby sitters. Our event planners make sure there are plenty of opportunities for our youth to have their own programs, which are tailored to their respective age groups. I believe that we need to keep the the youths involved. When they interact with adults, they’re learning, gaining wisdom and confidence.

Yes, change is indeed coming. And for the better. No matter what I see in our mundane world, the youths in our Pagan community are focused and ready to step up and follow the lead of their seniors. We need to give them the tools to grow up well and to carry forth our values into the next generations to come. Yes, generations to come. Moving forward, not stuck in the past.

A young man told me recently, “if you live in the past, you die in the past.” It struck me. That’s nowhere for anyone to live. The past is over and done. No longer are children asked to stay silent and not question anything. Thank the goddesses and gods!

I’m excited to see what our youths will bring to the world — how they’ll shape it with their open minds, and how they’ll bring their spirits into it. If the kids at those gatherings are any indication, we’re in for a wonderful new era.

Until next time, somewhere in the future… Blessed Be!

Special thanks to Starlight Witch, for her help in editing.

Hearth of Hellenism: Polytheism In the Office

August 13, 2018 By Angelo Nasios

“I do not hide my religion at work. While it can be hard to be a polytheist in a sea of monotheists, I have a simple method of dealing with them. I do not normalize monotheism and position polytheism as the norm.”

I want to share some of my experiences as an open polytheist out and about in the world. Most of my experiences worth sharing happen in the workplace because I somehow always get involved in conversations concerning religion. Yes, it is often ill-advised to talk about religion at work, but that has never stopped me nor have any repercussions be dealt. Being Greek helps in these encounters and gives me confidence when speaking to them. I am a Greek who worships the Greek pantheon. There is nothing weird about that, they know it, they even acknowledge it. They do take me seriously, because through my explanations (in one example below you will see) they are forced to put me in the same mental category as a Hindu for example.

“Mercury and Argos” by Abraham Hondius. From WikiMedia.

One of the reasons things occur in the workplace happens because others open the door to the topic and I just jump in to drop bombs lol. It was Ash Wednesday, and a group of us were having a catered lunch. Because it was a religious holiday for those observing in the office, religion was on the mind of people. Someone said something about how horrible, and how could a priest steal from his parish. I commented, “when you have a professional class of clergy, whose livelihood is depended on the job of being a priest, don’t be shocked if they steal from the community that is their sole source of income. In the old days, of Greece and Rome – most priests were only priests during their religious duties and held normal jobs or trades.” I wish you were there for this because the silence and looks were hysterical – they could not reply or think of anything smart to say, one person made a dumb remark and the conversation moved on.

Another time while I was moving between departments as I sometimes do to visit and chat with others, I joined a circle of people to catch up. During the conversation, one of the senior managers said something and mentioned God in it. My reaction every time when someone says God is to ask “which god?” I will ask it in a confused tone. My basic position when dealing with monotheism is to act like it is not the normative and that the idea of only one god is strange. This throws people off so fast. When I asked him, “which god” he spat back real fast with such confidence “there’s only one god.” His face projected the “what the fuck are you talking about” look. I then asked again, “which god” and that “there are many gods in the world, I am Greek, I have many gods, and the lady over there who works for you is a Hindu, she has many gods as well, maybe you are talking about Apollo or Shiva?” He was dumbfounded. Monotheists need to be reminded that yes polytheists exist, and I will not placate.

“The Forge of Vulcan” by Francois Boucher. From WikiMedia.

One of my favorite experiences at work was with a Greek woman. She is an Orthodox Christian. This was right after Greek independence which happened to be my name day (the feast day of a saint after whom a person is named). She wished me a happy name day, to which I said, “thank you, but I do not celebrate my name day anymore.” She thought I was an atheist, but I explained to her my religion is ethnikos, the term we use to describe Greek religion in Greek. She gave a nod and an Ok, then at the end of the conversation, since Easter was nearing, she wished me a Kalo Pascha (Happy Easter) which I just died laughing inside. I just told her I am ethnikos 3 minutes ago and is too programmed to still say Kalo Pascha to another Greek.

The icing on the cake of all experiences has come from one of the guys in the mailroom who has become born again or something. He found Jesus apparently (where was he hiding?). We have had multiple conversations. I am openly polytheistic and talked to him about my religion. I told him my religion is Hellenism, “HELL?!” he said in horror. I then said it in Greek, never use the English pronunciation with Christians. I explained that my religion has many gods. He said that there is only one god. I said, “YOU may think there is only one, but my ancestors did not hold that positions nor do I. I have no reason to think there is one god. Where in nature do you see only one of something? This world expresses multiplicity. There are many trees, not one tree or one type of tree. Why should divinity be any different, it is logical to assume the multiplicity of the divine rather than a singularity and only a singularity.” I can’t recall his response, it was not worthy of a place in memory.

“Somehow King Midas Chooses Apollo Over Pan” by Jacob Jordaens (1637). From WikiMedia.

Other encounters with him have led him to ask questions that one would usually propose to an atheist. “How did we get here then?” “Who created all of this?” I had to remind him that I am a theist, a POLY-theist, so don’t ask questions that you ask an atheist. I have a cosmology different from you, full of gods, but I also have no issue with the scientific explanations. My religion is not in conflict with science like yours is. The funniest interaction with him was when he told me “Hindus have this god with many arms and a snake, wouldn’t you be sacred if you woke up to see that at the foot of the bed?” I said, “no, I’d be more afraid to see a crucified man at the foot of my bed.”

In the end, my goal is simple, do not normalize monotheism. Everything about it should be considered strange, odd, and deviate from what has historically been normative in the history of religion, which is polytheism. Monotheists need constant reminders that polytheists exist, and I am not afraid to be the one to remind them.

Irish-American Witchcraft: Witchy Life Hacks

August 8, 2018 By Morgan Daimler

The longer I’ve been a practicing witch the more I’ve moved away from long, complex rituals and into simpler ways of doing things. Some of this may relate to the fact that as time has gone on life itself has gotten more complicated and I find I have less time to spend on complicated daily magic, but my desire to have magic in my daily life hasn’t lessened. To balance out this desire for magic in my life with the need to keep things simple, or at least less complicated, I’ve come up with some basic ways to include aspects of magic in my daily life which I like to call witchy life hacks. None of these are necessarily super original and I’m sure other people also do them as well already, but I’ve found when I talk about them on social media that there are always some people who are excited to try them. So I thought it would be fun to share some of these today.

“The Love Potion” by Evelyn De Morgan, via WikiMedia.

Sartorial

Magic and clothing are a great combination and there are lots of ways we can do this. In folk magic we see things like safety pins pinned to hems of shirts or specific herbs sown into the hem of clothing for protective purposes. You can certainly still use those older ideas but there are some others that work as well that don’t have a clear history to them.

1. Runes and Sigils – runes and sigils can be drawn or sewn onto everything from shoes to jackets for a variety of purposes. For example you could write or lightly carve a runestave or sigil for safe travel into the sole of your shoes.

2. Jackets – if you have a favorite jacket or coat you can work magic into that in a variety of ways from blessing the item itself, to embroidering a symbol into it, to adding patches or decorative pins with specific meanings. These may be obvious or more subtle depending on what you want to do with the item. Every time you put the item on you can take a few seconds to just refocus the energy you want to invest into it.

3. Individual items of clothing can have magic worked into them for specific purposes as well, so that you might have a shirt you can wear when you need to feel confident or one for times when you need some extra strength to get through a situation. In the case of daily wear type clothing like that symbols could be drawn or sewn onto the item’s tag or hem where it wouldn’t be noticed by other people.

4. Even simpler clothing magic might involve just choosing items based on colour and what that color itself symbolizes to you. Just make it a conscious choice with intention behind it.

Personal

There are a few basic things I do with my daily routine that work just a bit of magic into things. They tend to involve essential oils or blends, but you could modify that for whatever works best for you.

1. This may only apply to people with curly hair, but I spritz my hair with water every morning as part of my hair care routine. To add some cleansing and protective energy to the process I started putting a few drops of rose water into the regular water I use for this. If you don’t have curly hair this is still something you could do though if you wanted to.

2. Switch out the chemical perfume or cologne for something that uses essential oils, and tailor what you wear to your needs or goals that day. I can credit this one to my friends Amy and Jennifer who got me into Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab and their products which are made with essentials. Not that that particular company is the only option but the idea is a good one, to use both the scent and the energy of the herbs to focus your purpose that day.

3. I keep sea salt and a few cleansing oils* in the bathroom to toss in the tub whenever I shower. Great easy method for cleansing, no difficult prep, just a palm full of salt and a few drops of oil.

General

Just a couple general things that I have found simple and useful.

1. I try to keep on hand both birch misting spray and lavender misting spray; you can buy them or make your own with essential oil and purified water. Misting spray is cost effective and is a great quick way to do a light energetic cleanse on an area without a full on herb-burning session which is a lot more time consuming.

2. Symbols and sigils are super useful and often underutilized. You can trace them on doors, on the backs of picture frames, on windows. My friend Patty suggested when you are painting a room you can paint protective runes onto the walls first then paint over them so the rune is hidden underneath, which is a great idea. I’ve done something similar using blessed water and that can be done regularly, while cleaning, or anytime you feel the need.

Those are just a few ways that I have found to work little bits of magic into various aspects of my daily life; there are certainly many more possibilities. They are all low maintenance and once you get into the habit of doing them they become reflexive. I’ve found things like this are good options for keeping little bits of magic going even when life gets hectic, and they are also often fun to do.

*I use pre-mixed oils. If you prefer essential oils, as always, just be sure they are safe.

The Corner Crone: Interview With a Crone

August 7, 2018 By Martha Kirby Capo

Some of you may have read Brianne Raven Wolf’s powerful blog post about TERFs and Transphobia in the Pagan Community. Toward the end of the piece, she writes: “I was really happy when a transwoman went through the Croning Rite of Passage at this year’s PSG. The first one that I’m aware of, ever.”

As it happens, Elaine Coffey, the woman Brianne refers to, is a friend of mine and a sister-member of our Kindred, which she is co-leading while I am on a short sabbatical. She and I were first-timers as this year’s PSG, having been encouraged by our friend Andrea’s positive review from her own first attendance the previous summer.

As soon as the information was available, we each pored over all of the workshops and rituals. At 60, I was drawn to the Crone Rite of Passage and Ritual and made sure to contact the Leader (Ana) well before the week of PSG to ensure I would have a spot in the Crone Temple. Elaine wondered if she, as a transwoman, might be welcomed into the Temple. I told her I didn’t see any reason why she wouldn’t be and put her in touch with Ana.

After reading Brianne’s article, I thought I’d ask Elaine a few brief questions about her experience of the Croning Rite of Passage and Ritual. She graciously agreed to share her thoughts.

CC: What were your thoughts/feelings as you considered approaching Ana about participating in the Crone Class?

Elaine: As soon as I heard there was going to be a Crone Rite of Passage, I knew I wanted to participate. I had decided some time before that I am a Crone. My criteria for that was that I’m of retirement age and my child is grown. The fact that I am now a grandmother adds to that feeling that I am in the crone stage of life.

I had some qualms however, based on my being a trans woman. I was new to PSG and, although I had been told that it’s a very accepting event and I’ve found pagans to be very accepting of gender minorities in general, I didn’t know how accepting they’d be from first-hand experience. Also, I wasn’t sure how much emphasis there would be in the Rite upon having given birth or having menstruated in the past. Of course, both of those circumstances have been physically impossible for me. I was afraid that the crone class might accept me as a matter of general principle, but I might not quite fit in.

CC: During the week, did your thoughts/feelings evolve/change?

Elaine: I quickly realized that I was completely accepted as a woman, both by the people participating in the Crone Ritual, and by PSG in general.

To be eligible for the Crone Ritual, one must be a woman who has not menstruated for at least two years. My womanhood was accepted without question, and of course I had never menstruated.

I also felt completely accepted as a woman by the participants in PSG in general. For example, when the Woman’s Ritual was mentioned at the morning meeting, the woman making the announcement was considerate enough to say that it was for women, meaning anyone who identifies as such. That instantly relieved any fears I had that my presence at that ritual would be resented. And of course, I did feel completely accepted.

CC: What was your experience of the Croning Ritual at the end of the week?

Elaine: The Crone Rite of Passage as a whole was a wonderful experience for me. I feel empowered to move through this final stage of this life with confidence that I have a role to play. I will carry my crone staff with pride!

I also feel that the women who went through the ritual with me have become friends for life. They’re my “cronies”. (Sorry! You know I can’t resist a good pun!)

The Ritual at the end of the Rite was very moving for me. I feel it was an absolutely essential element of the whole Rite. I got to sit in front of the community and be identified as a Crone. It was an honor I’ll never forget.

————
The Leader of our Rite of Passage, Ana, offers these wise and affirming words:

Women who embrace the power of the Crone have come to this stage of life full of goals, challenges, and experiences that have formed and shaped who and what we are as human beings and Spiritual beings. If physical boundaries and limitations decided who and what we are there would be few who could jump the broom as age takes away strength and agility. We know what is important is inside – our hearts, knowledge, and Spirit. Physicality just comes along to hold our hearts inside our bodies. LOL. To be a Crone is to know what is truly important in this life

I have to say that going through the Crone Rite of Passage and Ritual with Elaine was such a blessing. As campmates, we were able to share some of the thoughts we had in response to some of the work we did in the Temple. It’s my firm belief that all of us who participated in the Rite of Passage were enriched by Elaine’s experiences and perspectives.

More than a few people, myself included, grew teary-eyed as Elaine stepped over the broom and spoke the name by which she would be known as Crone. I watched as Selena, with the bone-deep generosity and joy that is so unique to her, honored Elaine’s passage into the Crone stage of her life. It was a powerful, magical moment.

e e cummings wrote, “It takes courage to grow up and become who you really are.” To that I would add that it was an honor and a privilege to spend a week in Crone Temple with Elaine and watch her become who she really is in the company of a people—not only in the Temple but in the wider PSG community—who had never met or known her yet welcomed and loved her just as she is.

Blessings of Harvest be upon you,

Elkwoman

Hearth of Hellenism: Netflix’s ‘Origins’ Fails at History

August 1, 2018 By Angelo Nasios

The other night I was scrolling through Netflix and saw a documentary series called Origins. The description appealed to me so I looked at their episode list and watched two that I thought I would enjoy. Season 1 Episode 15 Writing, Libraries, & Internet (three ways for leaving a legacy, for the future) and episode 16 Monarchy, Democracy, & Communism (three forms of government and the struggle for nations to define themselves).

I picked these two episodes specifically because I knew they would have to cover Greek history and I wanted to see how they would cover it. I am sad to report that whoever wrote the scripts either willfully overlooked Greek history, or was merely uneducated on the topics. I suspect though it was the former.

“A Reading from Homer” by Lawrence Alma-Tadema. From WikiMedia.

Episode 15, Writing, Libraries, & Internet left a big gap in the history of writing. I this episode, they explain the “origins” of writing, libraries, and the internet. Here is part of the timeline concerning the topic of ‘writing’ in the show.

1. Romania. 5,300 BCE
a. Vinca symbols
2. Sumer. 4,000 BCE
a. Cuneiform
3. Saqqara, Egypt. 2,800 BCE
a. The Maxims of Ptahhotep
4. Babylonia. 1,772 BCE
a. The Code of Hammurabi
5. China. 1,500 BCE
a. Gives a summary of topics Chinese writing.
6. Rome. 1st Century CE
a. Birth of the book. The Codex.
7. China 1045 CE.
a. Movable type method of printing.

You’ll notice a gap between China 1,500 BCE and Rome 1st century. This is where Greece would be talked about. The Homeric epics would have been a quick and easy talking point. The Homeric Epic’s long-lasting influence on Western Civilization is unquestionable. To me, it is criminal not to bring them up. The Iliad contains 15,693 lines while the Odyssey contains 12,110 lines. That is almost 28,000 lines of poetry in dactylic hexameter together.

Outside of the familiar Greek writings of Homer and later, the show could have showcased the Cretan hieroglyphic system c. 2100−1700 BCE, Linear A c. 1800−1450 BCE, and Linear B 1450−1200 BCE. All three are contemporaries with the other writings system mentioned in the show.

When the episode arrived on the topic of libraries things get hairy. When discussing libraries, it is certain that the Library of Alexandria will be mentioned and they did cover it in the episode. However, the way the oriented the subject is concerning. They position the topic starting with Alexander and Macedonia in 330 BCE. The show says that Alexander, after seeing King Ashurbanipal’s library (Neo-Assyrian Empire), he wanted to build one to rival it. Alexander dies at 32, and the task of creating the library was completed by one of his successors, Ptolemy Soter.

“The Death of Socrates, “by Jacques-Louis David. From WikiMedia.

What is the problem? There is no mention of Greeks. Greece and Greeks do not appear in this episode concerning writing and libraries. When talking about Alexander he is described as only a Macedonian. This will inevitably mislead people into thinking he was not Greek in the long run. For years now, I have noticed the repositioning of Alexander as only Macedonian, as if Macedonians were not Greek. It is like saying Alexander the Athenian, and ignoring that Athenians are Greeks.

Additionally, there is a country north of Greece which has been calling themselves Macedonia and has appropriated Alexander for themselves. I cannot go into details here, please read up on the name dispute. While this episode and the name dispute are two separate issues, they tie together in changing people’s understanding of the world. If I knew nothing about history, after seeing this episode, I’d know that Alexander was from Macedonia. If I were to go online to look it up, I’d find that there is a country calling themselves Macedonia and if I do not investigate further, I will suspect this is where Alexander was from, when in fact Alexander’s place of birth, Pella, is in Greece. Also, if I were to run into someone who said they were Macedonian (from FYRM), I would think they are probably decedents of Alexander. It is the little things that change people’s perceptions of history which can have dangerous consequences.

In episode 16 Monarchy, Democracy, & Communism the Greek development of democracy was severely downplayed. Sparta and Athens are spoken about for a roughly one minute then the show moves on to England 1215. When discussing Athens (508 BCE), they highlight the reforms of Cleisthenes the “father of Athenian democracy.” For some reason, the show had to mention that Cleisthenes is the grandson of the tyrant Cleisthenes Of Sicyon, who the show says murdered his opponents. It seems the reason they mention this is to give probable cause to why Cleisthenes thought it was a good idea to reduce the power of the nobility, but I think the writer was just trying just to throw something negative in, because it is a random fact you need to look hard for. They also gave a laundry list of people who could not vote in Athens, an attempt to tarnish them.

The fact that they only give one minute to Greek democracy is shameful. If I did not know history and watched this episode I would not have learned that Greeks invented democracy and would just think it occurred there like it was not historically significate. Even with its failings, Athenian democracy is the most enduring legacy to the western world that the Greeks gave. Democracy, when we examine history, was not the normative form of government, and today is held to be one of our highest ideals. The lack of any emphasis of this is disturbing.

In sum, Netflix’s Origins gets a big fat F on their report card. The downplaying of Greek contributions and history is highly suspicious. It is either deliberately done by someone with an agenda, or done by someone ignorant of history. I plan on watching one more episode from season two, Gods, Ghosts, & UFO’s to see if the pattern of misrepresenting Hellenism continues.

Radical Pantheist: Asatru, Building Temples and Breaking Barriers

July 28, 2018 By Luke Gardner

Asatru is growing, and its members are honoring the old gods by opposing the hate groups who are appropriating their symbology.

Iceland’s first Pagan temple in 1000 years is expected to open within the remaining months of 2018.

Image by Gunnar Creutz via WikiMedia. Public Domain Image

Members of the Ásatrúarfélagið faith have commissioned architect Magnus Jensson to build the temple, taking into account sacred geometry, planetary alignments and the golden ratio, according to Culture Trip.

The temple will have 250 seats and is being built on grounds that were consecrated in a 2015 ceremony.

Ásatrúarfélagið, also referred to as Asatru, is the modern continuation of Norse pagan traditions with roots tracing back thousands of years. They are also both referred to as Heathenism, an Old English word Christians used to describe Paganism in Germany and other parts of Europe.

Asatru was outlawed in Iceland in the year 1,000 by the parliament of the Viking commonwealth, Alþingi, according to Iceland Magazine.

After a harsh division between followers of Asatru and the growing religion of Christianity, the new official religion of Iceland, followers of Asatru retreated into the shadows to continue their practice.

In 1973 Asatru was recognized by the state as a religion after a public ritual was held by only 12 practitioners brave enough to challenge public opinion.

Ásatrúarfélagið, meaning “Pagan Association” was founded in Iceland in 1992 and has quickly grown to be Iceland’s fastest growing religion, again according to Iceland Mag, who says that Ásatrúarfélagið is the largest non-Christian religion in Iceland.

Ásatrúarfélagið is primarily based in the ancient traditions of Ásatrú, with modern-day members worshipping the same old gods and goddesses as their ancestors: deities like Thor, Odin and Frigg.

Asatru has no center church or holy text, there are no rules and practically limitless interpretations of the faith, which is becoming a Global religion.

Asatru High Priest Hilmar Orn Hilmarsson explained to Seeker magazine that many followers of the religion see the gods as symbolic:

“The priest said the gods are viewed as mystical and symbolic. Most modern worshipers don’t consider them to be living beings that are capable of flying down from the clouds.”

Originally from Richard Wagner’s “Siegfried and the Twilight of the Gods.” Painting by Arthur Rackham via WikiMedia.

While this is an entirely valid way to view divinity, the above sentence seems to be framed by Seeker as a justification for the religion. Many people in today’s world might see ancient mythologies as stories of over-imaginative civilizations that have been proven wrong, and may think that modernized monotheistic religions are more realistic. Truthfully, it doesn’t matter if believers think Thor is a living entity that can fly out of the clouds, because this is no more or less realistic than Christians believing the same thing about Jesus or Hindus thinking the same about Vishnu.

Hilmarsson is possibly misunderstood by citizens of the U.S., Sweden, Germany and Canada, where symbols of a religion sacred to him have been appropriated into symbols of fascism and hate practiced by modern white supremacists.

White Supremacists groups like the Nordic Resistance Movement in Sweden, the infamous Third Reich of Germany and The Soldiers of Odin in Canada view Anglo-Saxons and Vikings as ancient and “pure” white super-races. These groups adopt Asatru’s rich symbology and rewrite its history into a vague and inaccurate narrative that fits their agenda of white supremacy.

An article in the Atlantic describes in detail how this appropriation has affected practitioners of Asatru.

The article mentions many self-identified Heathens who have formed networks to actively fight against ultra-right groups who appropriate Norse religious symbols. One such network is Vikingar Mot Rasism, or Vikings Against Racism, a Swedish group who has actively opposed white supremacists in protest and shown support for the LGBTQ community at Stockholm Pride, according to The Local.

Several online communities of Heathens that oppose and police the racist use of their symbols can be found on Facebook.

Asatru is a traditional Norse spiritual path and should be respected as such. As followers in Iceland and across the globe work to take back their symbols and educate the general public, it is important to remember that this fight is not the heart of the faith, rather an attempt made by members of the faith to correct a gross misuse of their sacred symbols.

Members of Ásatrúarfélagið must live in Iceland, but followers of Asatru can be found around the world. Generally, members of both groups come from diverse backgrounds and practice tolerance.