“Against stupidity, the gods themselves contend in vain.” — Friedrich Schiller

Last updated on: May 31, 2013 at 7:22 am By John Halstead

Controversy has broken loose on the Pagan blogosphere again. This time over the suggestion that pop culture icons, like comic book superheroes, are equivalent to polytheistic deities. It began on May 13th with a post by Sunweaver at Patheos titled “Making Light: Hero Worship” in which she compares contemporary superheroes to ancient Hellenic heroes and then a response by Norse Heathen Galina Krasskova’s who argues that unlike superheroes, heroes were real people. Subsequently, dozens of bloggers and hundreds of blog... Read more

“We are opening ourselves up to things we should not, like belly dancing and magic spells”

Last updated on: May 30, 2013 at 8:44 am By John Halstead

The quote above comes from one of a long line of speakers at the Pahokee city council meeting addressing (largely conservative Christian) public outrage at a planned Pagan summer solstice festival. You can read the article here. Lots of memorable quotes, but the one above was my favorite. I actually find it a little disheartening that this is all the pastors of the community could come up with. Paganism can be a truly radical critique of Western (read Christian) civilization.... Read more

Paganism’s Real Shadow Gods

Last updated on: May 29, 2013 at 6:30 pm By John Halstead

Check out my two new posts at PaganSquare about some archetypes that might constitute Paganism’s shadow side: In Part 1 about the Eternal Victim and the Terrible Mother, I talk about the victim mentality in contemporary Paganism and question whether, in spite of all of our talk about the death aspects of the gods, we have really come to terms with death as a fact of life. In Part 2 about the Maddener, I question whether the one-sided devotion to... Read more

“Sound’s like Daddy’s at church.”: American Pieism

Last updated on: May 27, 2013 at 6:11 pm By John Halstead

“Sound’s like Daddy’s at church.” That’s what my daughter told my wife this morning when she heard me singing (loudly) to Don McLean’s American Pie in the shower this morning. Yesterday my daughter was playing American Pie on Guitar Hero and she was complaining that it is 8 minutes long, much longer than the average pop/rock song, and her hands hurt. I told her that if I could make a religion up out of anything, it would be American Pie. I... Read more

M is for Masturbation

Last updated on: May 27, 2013 at 8:35 am By John Halstead

Lucy: “Where are you?” Devil/Dad: I’m at my dildo factory. Lucy: You have a dildo factory? Devil/Dad: Of course, Sinsperations. Lucy: I love Sinsperations! I mailed a letter with recommendations! Devil/Dad: Whoa! Daddy doesn’t want to hear about baby’s ideas on dildos. … Lucy: I’m a big masturbator. I can come there and do product testing. … Lucy: Do you have a bring your daughter to work day? — Lucy, Daughter of the Devil, “Dildo Factory” (You don’t know... Read more

A Christian Take on Contemporary Paganism

Last updated on: May 23, 2013 at 9:40 pm By John Halstead

I was extremely gratified to read Paul Louis Metzger’s recent post about contemporary Paganism at Patheos, entitled “Idol Makers”. Metzger succinctly, but accurately (in my opinion), tackles such issues as the Pagan materiality (i.e., idolatry), the spectrum of beliefs about the ontological nature of divinity, and the gendering of divinity. Addressing himself to fellow Christians, Metzger warns against an overly simplistic understanding of contemporary Paganism. “We Christians need to be on guard in our understanding of such movements as contemporary... Read more

Am I an animist?

Last updated on: May 19, 2013 at 1:18 pm By John Halstead

Don’t let us imagine we see the sun as the old civilisations saw it. All we see is a scientific little luminary, dwindled to a ball of blazing gas. In the centuries before Ezekiel and John, the sun was still a magnificent reality, men drew forth from him strength and splendor, and gave him back homage and lustre and thanks. But in us, the connection is broken, the responsive centers are dead. Our sun is quite a different thing from... Read more

Religion vs. Therapy

Last updated on: May 18, 2013 at 3:22 pm By John Halstead

Over at Patheos, in a post entitled, “another false divide”, deity-centric hard polytheist Aine makes a case that worship of the gods should benefit the worshiper as much as the worshipee. Believe it or not, this is something of a radical statement to make in the polytheistic community. Aine’s post is in response to the belief, common among hard polytheists, that religion is about serving the gods, not self-improvement. Aine writes: “But I am so sick, and so tired, and... Read more

Longing and Grace in Lev Grossman’s The Magician King

Last updated on: June 19, 2015 at 3:36 pm By John Halstead

God speaks to each of us as he makes us, then walks with us silently out of the night. These are the words we dimly hear: You, sent out beyond your recall, go to the limits of your longing. … — Rilke You, the great homesickness I could never shake off … — Rilke I know I promised a follow-up to my post about Lev Grossman’s book The Magicians. I had a lot of thoughts for a follow-up, but then... Read more

New post at Pagan Square: Jung’s Shadow Trinity

Last updated on: May 4, 2013 at 12:34 am By John Halstead

Check out my new post at PaganSquare, which explores Jungian Neopaganism as the Shadow side of Christianity. Read more