The door to the broom closet keeps getting more and more open… As I’ve discussed here and here, I’m not one for wearing my religion on my chest. I don’t like it when religious conservatives inject their religion into the workplace and I don’t want to do the Pagan equivalent of that. If people ask, I tell them I’m a Unitarian Universalist and leave it at that. Today at work one of our Human Resources managers stuck her head in... Read more

Perhaps it is because I started reading it on vacation in New Orleans, but my first impression of The Book of English Magic is that it is a magical travelogue – a guidebook describing the important places to go, history to investigate, people to get to know, and sights to see. It doesn’t give you an in-depth look at any of them, but it does tell you enough for you to figure out what you want to do first and... Read more

You know you’re accomplishing something when folks on the other side of the religious spectrum start screaming that you’re dangerous. Via The Wild Hunt, here’s a piece from the New York Times Green Blog on an Evangelical backlash against environmentalism, calling it “the green dragon.”  The name is obviously an attempt to associate the whole green movement with the dragon of Revelation – Satan, and with the “end times” many look forward to.  And their target isn’t just Pagans –... Read more

Cathy and I visited the National World War II Museum in New Orleans last week. After seeing the Churchill War Rooms in London my expectations were low, but we were there for almost four very fascinating hours. The facts and artifacts were mostly not new to me but the presentation of the events and the stories that went with them was superb. My first impression was the level of sacrifice involved. Any war requires sacrifices by the combatants and by... Read more

There has been a rash of activity on the Pagan side of the internet this week about Christmas and what – if anything – those of us who aren’t Christians should be doing with it. It began with this Wild Hunt post by Jason Pitlz-Waters, which summarized his entry on The Washington Post’s “On Faith” question “what is Christmas all about?” Jason basically argues that much of Christmas comes from older, pagan, universal Winter traditions, and thus belongs to everyone.... Read more

The shortest day, the longest night, the return of the light, the rebirth of the Sun, the birth of the Sun God, the birth of countless gods and heroes… Whatever or whoever you’re celebrating, remember that Winter is the season of rest. In the midst of all the preparations and parties, relatives and rituals, feasting and frivolity, take some time to sit quietly and reflect. And rest. Mainly rest. Happy Solstice! Read more

Chad Clifton has two blog posts titled “Why We Do Pagan Studies” – Part 1 is here and Part 2 is here. They’re brief looks at Pagan scholarship from the perspective of a professional scholar and they make for interesting reading. Jason Pitzl-Waters at The Wild Hunt links to the first post here, where he says: I think some of us have fallen into the trap of labeling Pagan Studies works as “advanced” books for our faiths, when they should... Read more

Here’s a video from the BBC that’s worth four minutes of your time. The introduction is a bit slow – bear with it through about 45 seconds and you’ll be hooked. It’s a presentation on income levels and life expectancy by Hans Rosling, Professor of Global Health at the Karolinska Institute in Sweden. The presentation itself is a fascinating way to present data to make a point. It’s a reminder that no matter how important your message is, the communication... Read more

If you’re in the DFW area, come out and join us next Saturday evening for our Yule Circle.   Read more