Between the Shadows
Thanksgiving is celebrated much earlier in Canada. But I don’t think there’s ever a wrong time for gratitude. And one thing we don’t often give enough thought to is how our lives are changed by ideas. I’m pleased and grateful to be in the company of such amazing and clever writers, and I appreciate how they make me think about my faith and ethics, and how I can be more true to myself and my practice. With that in mind, I thought I would take the chance to thank a few of my fellow and sister writers for creating such thought-provoking works. In ascending order, here’s a countdown of my favourite articles at Patheos Pagan over the past year:
10. Aiden Kelly: “I Fell in Love with a Witch”: The Vision of Gerald Gardner
I have a great deal of respect for Aiden Kelly and I think it’s great that he writes for us regularly. He has done a great deal to establish the true history of the Craft in the face of all the misinformation. A lot of people in our community demonize Gerald Gardner these days. This article points out that he was pretty much just a guy, just like everyone else, and that most “religious founders” are subject to a great deal of criticism for the crime of being “human.”
9. Heather O’Brien: Keeping Our Words Sacred
I’m not a heathen, but Heather has a lot of good things to say about honour and virtue that are excellent for everyone – and I can really respect that. This article was especially good.
8. Lilith Dorsey: Remembering the Dead Can Be a Dirty Business
I’m a Voodoo novice and so I relish the opportunity to learn what I can about the tradition. This article explains a little about ancestor worship, the often-misunderstood graveyard dirt custom, and gives a graphic to show the veve of Maman Brighid; and that’s not easy to find! I’m part of a sisterhood of flamekeepers who honour Brighid in all Her aspects so I was especially eager to learn about Brighid the lwa.
7. Taylor Ellwood: The Power and Peril of Positive Thinking, Part 1
Taylor started his column relatively recently, coming over from his column on Experimental Magic at PaganSquare. As the former owner of a metaphysical store, this subject is a particular pet peeve of mine. Taylor carefully explains how the Law of Attraction and the Power of Positive Thinking can be misused as a justification for entitlement and privilege, rather than a message of empowerment; and also, why people choose to do that.
6. Sarah Thompson: The Beast with No Backs
I remember I had a friend in high school who legitimately had no interest whatsoever in sex. And everybody thought she was weird. And when I discovered sex, I couldn’t imagine why I had been depriving myself of its joys; nor why anyone else would. But some people just aren’t interested. And there’s nothing wrong with that. In Wicca, because we value sacred sexuality, sometimes we make those who are not interested feel uncomfortable. And that’s something we need to learn not to do. A very informative article.
5. Jason Mankey: Pagan Time Capsule series
I follow Jason’s blog pretty regularly because his brand of Wicca and mine look a lot alike and we speak the same generational/cultural language (aside from his Americanisms). But this series was especially good, touching on Pagan Culture from the 50s to the Millennium. It was a very fun read!
4. John Beckett: Dude, It’s You
This was written just after the Eliott Rodger murders, and I found myself cheering all the way. So did a lot of other people. An excellent read on why there is no excuse for misogyny and why no one is entitled to sex.
3. Nornoriel Lokason: Sacred Grief
I discovered Nornoriel on his personal blog The Serpent’s Labyrinth when I was researching my sex magick articles for Seekers and Guides. Then I discovered he was writing for Staff of Asclepius and for PaganSquare: and that he was starting a new blog of his own here. Busy man! He’s quickly become one of my favourite bloggers. Here he writes about his experience with the need to embrace grief, and how sometimes the world doesn’t give you sunlight and roses, and the need to accept that; and how “cheer up” may be disempowering rather than helpful.
2. Tom Swiss: Wild Naked Pagans
I think Tom Swiss is the kind of guy I’d like to get to know, because I think he’s just a little bit nuts. Not in a bad way, just in a Tom Sawyer let’s-get-in-trouble kind of way. This article about learning how to be skyclad, and why it’s so liberating, is not only well written but entertaining, funny and relatable. And since I sometimes practice skyclad and this is something people often require explanations about, I am going to point them to this article the next time I need to do that!
1. Niki Whiting: What I Miss About Being a Christian
This article got a lot of negative commentary and few shares. In this I think it is the most unjustly treated article of the year. Niki writes about how Christianity has a lot of things that Paganism does not; the unity, the simple and prescribed liturgy, the luxury of being able to just relax and let the experience carry how, rather than having to drive it yourself. She also writes about the struggle of being Pagan, of always going against the status quo, of always having to explain one’s spirituality to people; and the commentators quite effectively demonstrate one of the most challenging aspects of Paganism, which is having people tell you you’re wrong all the time, and you better come back to Jesus before he smites you.
I don’t believe in being anti-Christian – certainly these loud-mouthed evangelizing jerks really are a small minority and I don’t think it’s any more fair to bash their entire faith than it is for anyone to bash us – but I do wish these people would just dry up and blow away. Slightly less offensive (but no less annoying) were the people who came to tell her that her lament was a sign from God to come back to the church. I really dislike people who think they know how to live your life better than you do and who always “know” what the right decision is. It must be a pretty easy existence; which was Niki’s point.
Just as offensive were the Pagans who had to come in and leap on Niki about her choice of words; quoting what she said about the reasons she left, and twisting her words around to make it sound as if she was lamenting those reasons (such as the race and class privilege observed in megachurches). I hope they’re proud of themselves for “fighting the good fight,” and making certain that anyone with a feeling of discomfort or doubt in our community is marginalized and forcibly silenced.
I did not grow up Christian. But I attended church a lot with my friends. I remember the day that I realized that I could not believe in a faith that dictated that one half of humanity was destined to be enslaved by the other half and that I was in the slave caste. And I was very sad, because I loved the singing and the camaraderie and the being part of something. This was the beginning of the end of three great childhood friendships. I’m pleased that I’ve recently been able to rekindle one of them, but only because she left her church and now, perhaps even more so because she is part of a Mormon family, suffers the same “outsider looking in” effect.
Niki was willing to be vulnerable in this article and its message was powerful. Because people were invested in their personal agendas, they attacked her vulnerability instead of supporting it. That’s a terrible shame. But I think she’s got some valuable things to say, and I am thankful she had the courage to say them.
Enjoy your turkey!
Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In