If you’re a suburban American and you call yourself a shaman, you’re saying “I do the same things that tribal people in Siberia and Brazil and Malaysia do” – when all of those people don’t even do the same things compared to each other. Read more
If you’re a suburban American and you call yourself a shaman, you’re saying “I do the same things that tribal people in Siberia and Brazil and Malaysia do” – when all of those people don’t even do the same things compared to each other. Read more
Regular and consistent spiritual practice is the core of any religion. This is especially true of Paganism, which is a religion of doing rather than a religion of believing. In this month’s Conversations Under the Oaks, I got several good questions on spiritual practice and so I’m going to address them all here. Read more
Repaganizing an ancient rite involves a lot more than adding an “s” everywhere you see “God” and changing “Lord” to “Lord and Lady.” But some ancient rituals and spells were created in a polytheist environment, so it stands to reason that if they’re restored to a polytheist environment they’ll still work… perhaps even better. Read more
Maybe I’m just in a cynical mood, but I’ve seen too many “signs you’re really something special but you just don’t know it” articles. People are out there searching desperately for their calling in life and they need better guidance than clickbait listicles. Read more
My religion is an ecstatic religion and an oracular religion. The Gods and spirits speak to us and with us. Much of what they have to say is properly classified as UPG. So when people attack UPG – particularly in vague and unsubstantiated ways – I take it personally. Read more
People across all religions and cultures ask why there is suffering in the world. But what if that’s the wrong question? In a world where suffering is the rule, joy exists. Why? Read more
Many traditional activities for Ostara 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 Spring Equinox as a solitary. Read more
I cannot save the world from fascism and I do not intend to die trying. I'm working to put my own mask on first, then help others to breathe as the cabin depressurizes and we continue to head downward. Read more
Intellectual knowledge about the Gods is no substitute for first-hand experience of the Gods. But from those experiences, and through our intellectual discourse, we can learn something about the Gods. And that helps us to build robust polytheist religions for our time. Read more
Nobody has the kind of name recognition Raymond Buckland and Starhawk had in the 1980s. But people are still recording songs, writing books, and teaching at conferences. Big Name Pagans have been replaced by Practitioner-Leaders who are doing Paganism first and writing about Paganism second. Read more
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