Patheos invites contributors to consider some “resolutions” around faith-based practices that could lead to greater peace in 2015. I cannot speak for everyone, but I will speak for myself. Here are my resolutions to improve peace that I will take on in 2015. I believe that if we, as individuals, resolve to do these things, collectively, that will bring peace wherever it can be brought. Read more
Most scientists shudder at the use of the phrase "God particle." I don't blame them, really. The discovery in no way proves any kind of intelligent design from any pantheon. All it does is prove the existence of a basic building block of reality that was suspected in theory. That being said, it's still really exciting, and it's still one of the hidden secrets of the universe revealed through cutting-edge modern technology. Read more
On July 14, 2006, at 13 weeks of pregnancy, I miscarried. Our culture does not really understand miscarriage, pregnancy loss, abortion, or infant death. When I tried to find a requiem ceremony, there was nothing. So this is what I wrote. Read more
Here's a little non-tradition-specific ritual to acknowledge the change of the year with some of our North American customs but also throw in a Pagan sense of the sacred. It shouldn't cost you much and you can do it as a solitary or as a group. Read more
Sometimes the Yuletide season is a little awkward for us Pagans. We often don't want to buy into the whole secular Christmas thing, and yet not celebrating can make us feel left out and remove the magic from the holiday. So three generations and a mixed family of a dozen people came together, first to do sacred ceremony in the Pagan way and then to do a quiet, private sacred ceremony, burning a candle of faith in the darkness. Read more
It's actually a myth that there are more suicides at this time of year than any other time of year. That's actually around the Vernal Equinox. But it's still a high-risk time. . . I'm mentioning this because maybe, like me, you have already had your Solstice gathering and you don't really have anything to do on Christmas Day. So maybe you've got the time to reach out to someone else who might need it. Read more
"Intent" is the Wellspring of All Magick. I find that many people believe that they know what this means and how to do it, but in practice, forming clear and precise Intent, and willing it to happen, is not nearly as simple as it sounds. It takes training and effort and work! In order for your Intent to be effective, quite a few things must come together at once . . . Read more
Happy Solstice everyone! I thought I would share this album of Yuletide music that two of my dearest friends and I self-produced on my computer at the turn of the millennium. Read more
Rarely do we take the time to appreciate the beauty of Night, even at this time of year. Instead, wearied by the seemingly endless dark, we celebrate the rebirth of the Sun and look to longer, brightening days. But without dark, how would we ever see the beauty of the stars? How would we ever know about the mysteries of the cosmos, of which we are merely a infinitesimal part? Read more
At the quantum level, nature is more numinous than we realize in the material reality we experience. There is a fundamental limit to what we can know about the behaviour of quantum particles and, therefore, the smallest scales of matter and energy. It seems that the mere act of interacting with matter this small changes the way it behaves and it is impossible to observe the environment without affecting it. This variable property of quantum particles is known as the Uncertainty Principle. Read more
Between the Shadows
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