We’ve all heard someone say “funerals are for the living.” No. This is sacrilege. This is a Protestant and humanist idea that has no place in Paganism and polytheism. Funerals are for the community, which includes both the living and the dead. Read more
Taking oaths is among the most serious and most personal of personal religious decisions you’ll ever have to make – I can’t tell you what to do. But I can tell you I’ve sworn oaths to three different deities and I’m glad I did. Read more
Many traditional activities for Mabon are designed for large groups, but many Pagans are solitary practitioners, either by choice or by necessity. Here are eight things you can do to celebrate the Autumn Equinox as a solitary. Read more
I have a message for those who feel the call to mystical and ecstatic practice, and for those who are contemplating taking an oath to a deity: if you can do anything else, do it. Their ways are not our ways. Read more
The name of the Autumn Equinox has changed many times, and it can change again. But if it does, it will be because enough people flock to a new name, not because Mabon gets shouted down on the internet. Read more
Dr. Dean Radin’s new book presents case after case of experimental evidence that magic is real. The fact that it is not turning the scientific establishment upside down isn’t because it’s fraudulent or lacks scientific rigor, but because what it proves can’t be easily exploited for profit. Read more
Travel is good in and of itself. Pilgrimage is sacred travel, for a sacred purpose. If you are called to pilgrimage, I strongly encourage you to say yes. Read more
Will climate change and a Mad King drive us into a new Dark Age? I do not think so. But both the ordinary world and the Otherworld are changing. Those who pay attention and who learn to navigate the new reality will do well. Those who cling to the way things have always been will suffer greatly. Read more
How should Pagans view the references to many Gods in the Bible? What happens when we get a warning from a spiritual source? Who owns our many Pagan traditions? Responses to six questions for Conversations Under the Oaks. Read more
Nothing has as much impact on how well your spell will work than how well – or how poorly – you choose a target. Most magical systems utilize metaphors, poetry, and other symbolic language, but magic itself is highly literal. You don’t get what you want – you get what you enchant for. Read more
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