Brief Thoughts on an Insurrection

January 6, 2021 By Aine Llewellyn

Yesterday, insurrectionists stormed the US capitol building. News media covered it non-stop. Social media feeds were dominated by discussion of it. The majority of my social media is Pagan and polytheist. Everyone I followed was appalled by what was happening. Not everyone was surprised, though. I don’t know I can claim surprise at the attempted coup we saw yesterday. Not real surprise. When I heard the news, shortly after waking, I felt an unpleasantly numb shock race through me. But... Read more

Otherfaith Winter Traditions

December 17, 2020 By Aine Llewellyn

Reunion is not radically different from other winter holidays. Gathering with chosen family and friends is important. Honoring the Gods and spirits close to us is important. Feasting, partying, and reveling in the light that is to return: all important. Read more

The Best Offerings

November 30, 2020 By Aine Llewellyn

The offering I see many Pagans uphold as the shining jewel of devotion is giving our time and energy to the Gods. But ‘time and energy’ are pretty vague. Read more

Pagan Proselytizing Is Still Bad

October 22, 2020 By Aine Llewellyn

Hughes calls proselytizing an ‘act of love’, but it is not love for the dignity of your fellow human. It is not dignity for the intersection of culture and religion and how proselytizing often damages and warps cultures it touches. It is not respect for the diversity in our world. Read more

Journaling in the Plague

September 25, 2020 By Aine Llewellyn

The solitude that allows us connection to the Gods and spirits is quiet. Loud as the Holy Ones might be, we must find the silence in ourselves. And this quietude will lead us to right relationship not only with the unseen powers but with the world around us. Read more

Your Favorite Sabbat Sucks

September 17, 2020 By Aine Llewellyn

The Sabbats and holy days and festivals we love, the ones we hate - they express the varied experience not only of humanity but the lands we are so intimately tied to. But there is no universal experience of the Sabbats. There shouldn’t be. Read more

Making Bread at Lammas

July 27, 2020 By Aine Llewellyn

The first grain - the first harvest - is the focus of this holiday, and baking bread has this indescribable quality to it. Read more

Hell Month in 2020

July 18, 2020 By Aine Llewellyn

I’ve seen a lot of posts on ‘Tower Time’. I wouldn’t compare the Otherfaith’s Hell Month to Tower Time. I don't know if they really fit. The way my fellow bloggers talk about Tower Time, I always felt it more apocalyptic . Read more

Stop Using the Deity Identification Spread

April 8, 2020 By Aine Llewellyn

When I see people using this spread, they often mention trying to find ‘their deity’. They are trying to find their patron, or a God that has chosen them, or the God they are ‘meant’ to work with. So why are people frustrated with it? Read more

The Despair of Doing Nothing

April 2, 2020 By Aine Llewellyn

The point of this post is to simply be there. A vulnerable record of what I'm feeling at the moment. Trying to write something pleasant or something disconnected from the trauma we're going through hasn't helped. I'm not like these other wise bloggers able to put out useful posts in this time of need. I can try to be real and present, though. Read more