I’ve always been fascinated by prayer beads. I suppose that’s because I grew up Baptist, and Baptists wanted nothing to do with religious objects, much less anything so “Catholic” as prayer beads. The grass is always greener and all that. I’ve thought about making my own prayer beads for a long time, but the idea never went anywhere. But here recently, two things happened. First, I decided that when it comes to spiritual practice, I need to build on my... Read more

While I did a lot of book reading on vacation (and I have one more book review yet to come), I’m just now getting caught up on on-line reading. I missed the explosion of yet another wave of “who’s a Pagan and who’s not.” Jason at The Wild Hunt has four good excerpts here along with links to more posts, and the comment count is up to 291 as I write this. It seems that nothing motivates Pagans and Not-Pagans... Read more

Come Fairies, take me out of this dull world, for I would ride with you upon the wind and dance upon the mountains like a flame!William Butler Yeats, quoted by Beth Hansen-Buth I don’t read many “how-to” books anymore. I have maybe a dozen on my shelf – most of them were bought long ago. They were helpful when I first read them and I still refer to them occasionally. But it’s rare when one of the many new how-to... Read more

What do you do when you’re nearing the end of your life and the creeds and doctrines of your youth ring hollow? You hold fast to what is real, to what your heart tells you is true. That’s the approach Episcopal Bishop John Shelby Spong takes in his book Eternal Life: A New Vision, which came out late last year. Spong was raised in a fundamentalist church and ordained a priest and later a bishop in the Episcopal church, but... Read more

I have been to the mountains and the seashores, to the deserts and the forests. They all have their beauty and they all inspire wonder and awe at the power of Nature. But nothing – nothing – has ever shown me the enormity of the Earth and the true meaning of wilderness like the North. I’m back from a vacation to Alaska, with a side trip into Canada’s Yukon Territory. It was enjoyable, educational, relaxing, and very civilized: with the... Read more

I’ll be off-line for the next week and a half.  Didn’t want anyone to think I’d been raptured when I didn’t show up after Saturday.  Although, under the doctrine taught at the church where I grew up, I would.  Assuming, of course, that I was ever “saved” in the first place, which I was never sure about, which made me terrified of the Rapture… Which is one of the many reasons why I’m a Druid, a Pagan, and a Unitarian... Read more

By now everyone who’s paying attention knows that a small group of fundamentalist Christians led by one Harold Camping is predicting the Rapture – the return of Christ to take the saved to Heaven and leave the rest behind to face the Tribulation – will occur this Saturday at 6:00 PM. The responses have been predictable. A good many atheists, Pagans, UUs and others who are certain to be “left behind” if this prophecy come true are laughing it up... Read more

l am neither a Heathen nor a comic book geek (though I am definitely a geek for many other things). As a result, I went to see Thor with very few expectations about what it should or shouldn’t be. The movie posters proclaimed “The God of Thunder” but I had already been warned to expect lots of Stan Lee and not much Snorri Sturluson. I don’t want to review the movie so much as I want to explore some thoughts... Read more

According to one legend, in the very early days of Wicca Gerald Gardner considered using sex as a means of raising energy in ritual.  Realizing he was working primarily with the British middle class (who are every bit as uptight as their American counterparts) he settled on dancing instead.  But he kept sex in its rituals in the form of the Great Rite. In every group ritual I’ve ever participated in, seen, read or heard about, the Great Rite has... Read more