"The Goddess and the God are present in the physical world. They are the physical world. We are part of the world. And so the Goddess and the God are present in us, in our bodies, in our hands. And when we touch each other, we are touching the Goddess and the God, and they are touching each other, through us." Read more
Is it possible to build a religious community around the idea of celebrating difference? Is it possible that what makes us "Pagan" is not what we have in common, but the ways we are different? Perhaps being "Pagan" means nothing more (and nothing less) than being one those who have gathered around this word, "Pagan", gathered together to celebrate not a single meaning, but to celebrate the diversity of what that word means to us. Read more
I realized that devotional practice is not limited to deity-centered religion. There can be an earth-centered or nature-centered kind of devotion too. What I needed was to develop a devotional religious practice, not toward gods, but toward the world. I needed to embrace the world as my Beloved, as my waiting lover. The world is that Divine Other I have been seeking who can draw me out of my ego. And I need a religious practice that will affirm, encourage, and sustain this embrace. Read more
I just finished reading Margot Adler's Vampires Are Us: Understanding Our Love Affair with the Immortal Dark Side. Adler's fascination with vampires may seem strange to Pagans, but not me. In fact, vampires led me to Paganism. Read more
This is the first in a series in which I showcase some of the best ritualists I have met (in no particular order). First: Shauna Aura Knight, a mystic and shamanic ecstatic priestess. Read more
"Wiccanate" is a term coined by Johnny Rapture, and it refers to American Neo-Pagan theological ideas and liturgical forms common to large public Pagan gatherings and rituals, which are derived from Wicca, but are perceived to be “generic” or “universal” to Paganism. “Wiccanate privilege” is a phrase that has been going round in polytheist circles recently. It refers to the ways in which Wicca-inspired ritual and theology are assumed to be normative for Paganism as a whole. Read more
I’m on the plane right now, headed back home from Pantheacon. It’s been exciting and exhausting. This year, I didn’t feel like I had to fill every time slot with something, which was good because I was wiped out as it was. There are a few events that I want to devote an entire post to, like the discussion on Wiccanate privilege with PSVL and Don Frew, the Kali Puja ritual, and Shauna Aura Knight’s ritual facilitation workshop. But right... Read more
At some point in your spiritual journey, you have to stop looking over other people's shoulders and wondering what's in their god box, wondering if someone might be having a deeper spiritual experience than you. I guess I am at that point. I like my god box just fine. I'm pretty sure it's empty. In any case, it's my box and I'm keeping it. Read more
Words do have meanings. And those meanings are important. Without them, we could not communicate with one another. But our words should serve us; we should not serve them. Life happens the space between the words. Read more
Personally, my February celebration has nothing to do with sheep or with milk -- except that both are white and so is the snow on the ground outside right now. Read more
The Allergic Pagan
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