Okay, I have to tell you. I am going crazy. Since I started this blog, I have been trying to keep myself from blogging several times a day. I’m trying to space out my posts, so I don’t get burnt out and then ignore the blog for months like so many I see out there. But the fact is that right now, I am going through some kind of spiritual manic phase. I’ve decided that it coincides with the time... Read more
Originally posted on August 2, 2011 by John Halstead I’ve decided to rename my blog. For one thing, the name Temple of the Earth Mother is a bit pretentious. I’ll be keeping the same URL though. And I’ll post another day about the reason why originally I chose to name the blog that. I’ve decided to rename the blog The Allergic Pagan first of all because that’s what I am. I am a Pagan, a nature worshiper if you will,... Read more
Originally posted on August 1, 2011 by John Halstead Let me begin by saying that the ritual was not terrible. But it wasn’t great either. There was no connection … no juice. Now the girl swaying next to me, in apparently orgasmic ecstasy at the mere presence of Janet and Gavin, would probably disagree (especially since laughed the loudest at Janet’s and Gavin’s jokes). But for me, it was a disappointment — especially after hearing Gavin talk the night before... Read more
Originally posted on July 30, 2011 by John Halstead Well, I had a wonderful evening listening to Janet Farrar and Gavin Bone talk at the book signing. There I heard about an open Lughnasadh ritual scheduled for the following evening in Oswega, IL, that Janet and Gavin would be attending, so I went to that too. The two experiences generated all kinds of topics for this blog. But let me start with one: Pagan spirituality. Janet and Gavin had wonderful... Read more
Originally posted on July 28, 2011 by John Halstead Tonight I am going to a Meetup with Janet Farrar and Gavin Bone at the Occult Bookstore in Chicago. They are going to talk about their book, Progressive Witchcraft, and do a book signing. The Farrars (Janet and Stewart) are important to me because of their book The Witches Way, which explains Wicca in Jungian terms: ‘Whether the archetypal God-forms are cosmically divine, or merely the living foundation-stones of the human... Read more
Originally posted on July 25, 2011 by John Halstead “We live in succession, in division, in parts, in particles. Meantime within man is the soul of the whole; the wise silence; the universal beauty, to which every part and particle is equally related; the eternal ONE.” — Emerson Yesterday I went to a Quaker (Friends) meeting. In part, I was curious about the Society of Friends. But mostly, I wanted to embark on a practice of religious silence, and what... Read more
Originally posted on July 23, 2011 by John Halstead Last night there was a lightning storm. Here in the Midwest we have heat lighting, thunderless lightning that dances across the sky on hot, humid nights. Last night it went on for hours. It was an spectacular light show, somehow made all the more stunning for its silence. I love the thunder, but I love the silent heat lightning as well. It is raw energy without the catharsis of the thunder... Read more
Originally posted on July 22, 2011 by John Halstead I have identified as Neopagan for about 8 years now. And I have found that I have a tendency to intellectualize everything, which interferes with my experiencing life. And, as I understand it, Neopaganism is all about experiencing life. I have maintained a website at www.americanneopaganism.com for several years, and that is where I publish my evolving understanding of Neopaganism. However, a periodically return to the feeling that I have been... Read more
The Allergic Pagan
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