I’ve recently been reminded of the importance of listening. I’ve done a lot of talking lately: leading the Pagan Tent Revival at the Spring Equinox, being the primary ritualist for the multi-group Beltane celebration, co-writing the CUUPS Egyptian Summer Solstice ritual, co-writing the funeral ritual for James Stevens, speaking at First Jefferson UU last Sunday, and doing some work on an upcoming sermon for DUUF based on The Case For God. It’s good work and I enjoy it, but between... Read more

According to Gerald Gardner, in the Summer of 1940 the witches, druids, occultists and other magical practitioners of Britain joined forces for a series of simultaneous workings designed to stop Hitler from crossing the English Channel. “Operation Cone of Power” – which may or may not have actually taken place – was fictionalized in Katherine Kurtz’s excellent novel Lammas Night. In the Fall of 2004 a group of American magical practitioners felt a threat similar in kind if not in... Read more

Via WitchVox, here’s an interesting article from Joe Keohane of the Boston Globe. The headline reads: “Researchers discover a surprising threat to democracy: our brains.” When presented with new facts, most people don’t change their opinions. Instead, they react and become even more entrenched in their previously held ideas. I can’t say I was exactly shocked by this, though if the phenomenon is as widespread as this article implies, that may be simply because it confirms my own previously held... Read more

I generally keep this blog away from politics, but libertarianism seems to be all the rage these days. I’ve seen it show up on WitchVox, The Gods Are Bored, and Spells for Democracy, not to mention virtually every mainstream media outlet in existence. Much of it is controversy-driven, namely comments by Republican Senatorial candidate Rand Paul and Fox News personality John Stossel that the Civil Rights Act of 1964 should be repealed because it infringes on individuals’ rights to only... Read more

The Earth Healing Ritual from Gorsedd 2009I’m headed back to California at the end of the month for the House of Danu’s second Druid Gorsedd. I considered not going due to finances – registration is actually a little cheaper this year, but air fare is almost double. Still, this was such a wonderful experience… I have to go back. I’m particularly interested in the emphasis on ecstatic ritual. The rituals I compose and lead tend to be deep and introspective.... Read more

This Sunday, July 11, I’ll be the guest lay speaker at First Jefferson Unitarian Universalist Church in Fort Worth. I’ll be speaking on “The Hero’s Journey, Part II.” We’re all familiar with the myth of the hero. But what happens when the quest is over, and we try to live happily ever after? This is a slight refreshing of the sermon I gave at DUUF last April. I’ve been to CUUPS events at First Jefferson, but this will be my... Read more

In October 2004, Denton CUUPS performed our Lunar Eclipse Ritual for America as part of the Spells for Democracy project. Here’s a part of the liturgy. Let us now invoke the Spirits of America, as we call upon those who have led and inspired us throughout history. We call upon the spirit of Benjamin Franklin. You who said “Those who would sacrifice liberty for a measure of security deserve neither” – your country needs your wisdom. We see many eager... Read more

St. Louis Cemetery #2, New Orleans (1993) IT WAS 1993, in that most magical of American cities, New Orleans, that I came to realize that magic is real. There was no Damascus Road conversion (or should that be Bourbon Street conversion?), just talking for the first time with an experienced witch who helped me to understand that those thoughts and feelings I had been denying were more than wishful thinking. A lot more. And so being the good engineer, one... Read more

I’m updating my blog roll; adding a few folks I read regularly and recommend that you do too. The Gods Are Bored. A very personal and very open blog by Anne Johnson, a Druid who lives in New Jersey and writes about her life and her relations with the bored gods. And vultures. Letter From Hardscrabble Creek. The blog of Chad Clifton: writer, editor, professor, and author of Her Hidden Children: The Rise of Wicca and Paganism in America… which... Read more