2024-12-19T19:00:15-06:00

Last updated on: December 19, 2024 at 7:00 pm   By
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Thank you for reading Under the Ancient Oaks in 2024, and especially for liking, sharing, and commenting on social media and in the comments section.

Here are the top ten posts for the year on Under the Ancient Oaks, as measured by pageviews.

photo by John Beckett

10. 5 Steps to Re-enchant the World (February 2024)

Re-enchantment has come up more than once this year. I think that’s a good thing, even though the world has never been truly disenchanted – and even though some people are taking re-enchantment in a dangerous direction.

Still, re-enchantment has been part of the Pagan movement since at least the 19th century. This post discusses five ways to re-enchant our own lives, and in the process, re-enchant the world.

9. Divination for 2024 (January 2024)

My reading for 2024 said “the core of this reading is highly positive. But ‘positive’ doesn’t mean ‘easy’ – we’re still living in Tower Time.”

I’ll have more to say about the accuracy of this reading when I do the reading for 2025 on January 1.

8. Walpurgisnacht in the Infirmary (May 2024)

Walpurgisnacht is April 30 – Beltane Eve. Traditionally it’s a night for witchcraft and related activities. At this year’s Walpurgisnacht I was medically sick and emotionally drained. I wasn’t able to do what I wanted to do, even though I wanted to do it very badly.

And so Someone had to tell me to go back to bed, for my own good and for the good of all the things I’m working on.

This is pretty much a transcript of what happened that night. Some of it was communicated in feelings that I had to translate into words, but this is as faithful an account of that conversation as I can produce.

fire - photo by John Beckett

7. Being Pagan In An Era Of Religious Decline (August 2024)

So many of our expectations of Paganism come from our experiences in other religions – especially the Protestant Christianity that still dominates this country. But that religion – and all religion – is in decline. How can those of us who are called to this path build a Paganism that works for us, here and now?

6. The New Asatru Temple and the Challenges to Authenticity (February 2024)

A new Norse temple opened in Iceland and the mainstream Religion News Service covered it. Comments on the report were mostly negative. Several of them challenged the authenticity of the temple, of Ásatrú, and of modern Paganism in general. They say that since we don’t have direct continuity with the ancients, we’re “making it all up.”

Those comments are misguided. That we have no direct continuity with the ancients is a challenge, but it doesn’t mean we’re “making it all up.” Rather, we’re trying to build contemporary Pagan religions that are inspired by the beliefs and practices of our ancestors, but that are meaningful and helpful to us, here and now.

5. Tower Time Is Still Very Much With Us (June 2024)

I stopped talking about Tower Time because those conversations stopped being useful. Too many people were expecting an apocalypse. Or they accused me of fear mongering. Or their own fears were so great they couldn’t or wouldn’t deal with it. But Tower Time is still very much with us. It isn’t pleasant and it isn’t easy. It isn’t the Star Trek future we were promised. But this is the hand we were dealt. This is the environment in which we work.

As I say so often – especially to myself – you don’t have to like it, you just have to deal with it.

photo by John Beckett

4. A Witch Decides A Witch’s Fate (November 2024)

The first time I saw witchcraft on TV as a small child, I immediately knew two things. First, I knew what I was watching was fiction. And second, I knew there was a reality behind the fiction – and I wanted to find it. That search took me almost 30 years. I was mainly looking for a spiritual path, and when I found Druidry, I instantly felt at home. I continued working magic, but I never called myself a witch. That began to change in 2022.

I had two very different blog posts in my head for after the election. I didn’t get to write the one I wanted to write. I wrote this one because sometimes you have to choose a side. In a society that voted for a convicted felon who is a genuinely bad person, who promotes chaos and cruelty, that supports Christian Nationalism and Project 2025, I choose witchcraft.

3. A Response From One Of The Pagans (January 2024)

On Christmas Day 2023, scholar and Conservative Rabbi David Wolpe published an essay on The Atlantic website titled “The Return of the Pagans” in which he argued for the moral and ethical superiority of “monotheism.” Paganism for Wolpe seems to mean “whatever I don’t like.” But while Paganism still doesn’t have a precise definition after over a century of its revival, it has a meaning.

This is my response to Rabbi Wolpe and all the people who use “Pagan” when what they mean is “irreligious.”

photo by John Beckett

2. Do Not Comply In Advance (November 2024)

I did not expect Donald Trump to win the election. I really didn’t expect the election to be called early on Wednesday morning, and for him to win the popular vote. When he did, I was filled with disappointment, and also with the realization that this is who and what the United States of America is: a country where more than half the voters don’t understand basic economics, think the President controls the price of gas and the price of eggs, are so afraid of trans people that anti-trans attack ads are effective, and reduce the complicated issue of immigration to keeping “those people” out.

This is reality – what are we going to do with it? One thing we can’t do is to comply with Trump’s division and cruelty unless we have no other choice.

1. 6 Kinds Of People Who Revert Out Of Paganism And Witchcraft (January 2024)

Any time a celebrity witch, Pagan, or alternative spirituality practitioner reverts to Christianity, people scream “it’s all about the money!” Maybe it is, in some cases. More often, though, people change religions because their beliefs change. I identified six kinds of people who revert out of Paganism and witchcraft.

The saddest are those who never dealt with their religious baggage. They were happy as witches and Pagans, but then at some point, things got difficult, they got scared, and they ran back to what they were taught as children. Sometimes that happens because of nostalgia, but more often it happens out of fear. And it’s not just celebrities – it can happen to us too.

Deal with your religious baggage, particularly if you grew up in a “we’re the One True Way” environment. Build a strong intellectual foundation for your chosen path, whether you consider it religion, spirituality, or simply “what I do.” Study and practice diligently. You can’t just dismiss bad religious experiences – you have to crowd them out with good experiences.

2023-12-21T12:55:28-06:00

Last updated on: December 21, 2023 at 12:55 pm   By
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Thank you for reading Under the Ancient Oaks in 2023, and especially for liking, sharing, and commenting on social media and in the comments section.

Here are the top ten posts for the year on Under the Ancient Oaks, as measured by pageviews.

photo by John Beckett

10. Sharpen The Swords You Have (November 2023)

If you need something, by all means begin the process of obtaining it, whether you’re talking about a physical item, a resource, a skill, or anything else. The sooner you start the sooner you’ll have it.

But don’t wait until you have exactly what you need. Don’t wait until you finish this or complete that or until a situation is clarified. If you wait until the time is right, you’ll be waiting forever. Or at least, until that army of orcs overruns your fortress.

Sharpen the swords you have.

Now.

9. Olivia Pettijohn (1982 – 2023) (October 2023)

I am sad my friend Livvy is no longer in this world. I am thankful so many people read this post and learned a few things about her. You would have liked her if you had met her.

Livvy should have been a shaman. She had many of the skills. She had some of the markers, or at least, some of the markers I recognize as the calling of a shaman in many cultures. She had a community that loved her and a family that supported her unconditionally.

But she couldn’t be a shaman because she lived in a culture that has no place for people with her skills and calling… and limitations. Still, she lived her life as best she could, and she made her community better as best she could, until she couldn’t.

photo by John Beckett

8. An Apocalypse Is In The Air (April 2023)

An apocalypse is in the air, the currents of magic are growing, and the wind is blowing in an unfriendly direction. It’s not just Pagans – other people are sensing the same things we’re sensing and they’re interpreting it through their own religious traditions.

But the world is not ending: not naturally and not supernaturally. We don’t get off that easy. Whatever is coming, we have to live through it, work through it, and when necessary, fight through it.

And then clean things up and start building again.

7. What Do We Do If Society Becomes “Less Friendly” To Pagans And Witches? (November 2023)

If society becomes less friendly to witches and Pagans, then we will continue doing what we do in private, in secret, deep in the forest and behind closed doors, behind passwords that for all their metaphorical meaning have the practical value of letting us know who we can trust with our magic and who we can’t.

Our work is part of who and what we are, and we can’t not do it. And if we happen to hex a few regressive and fascist politicians in the process, so much the better.

photo by Cathy Beckett

6. Wearing Pagan Jewelry And Clothing Is A Lot More Than Advertising (September 2023)

An atheist asked why religious people “feel the need to advertise their belief?” with jewelry and clothing. There are many reasons – most of which have nothing to do with advertising. And the question itself is loaded – those who want a religion-free public square are fighting needlessly and for the wrong things.

5. The Witch Stands In Opposition (July 2023)

Throughout history, the witch has been the outsider, the other – either by choice, or because that’s where their choices and actions took them. We need not abandon our homes in the cities and suburbs to live in a cottage deep in the woods – as appealing as that is at times – but we must not forget that our differences are both real and important.

When we oppose the mainstream society, or when the mainstream society opposes us, it’s not because we have different tastes in clothing and music. It’s because we have significant differences in priorities and in values. Our integrity demands that we stand in opposition.

I discussed this post in some depth with Seba on her Southern Fried Witch podcast in August – the episode is titled Camouflage and the Southern Witch.

photo by John Beckett

4. The Return Of A Storm Goddess (July 2023)

Earlier this year someone contacted me in a consulting arrangement. They were being pursued by a deity they knew only as “the Storm Goddess” and they were unsure how to proceed.

Right now the people who have been approached by Her are trying to learn more about Her. They’re doing historical and archaeological research. And at least some of them are spending time in meditation and prayer, trying to learn more about Her through first-hand experience.

Because that’s how our ancestors learned the names of their Gods all those years ago. At some point, every God was a new and unknown God, at least to humans. Someone had to figure out who They are and how to relate to Them.

I was disappointed – but not particularly surprised – when several people insisted they knew exactly Who this is. How they think they could know which deity is behind someone else’s UPG – and with such certainty – is beyond me. Thankfully, the people who are working with this Storm Goddess are continuing their work.

3. Evangelicals Claim Paganism Isn’t Really Pagan (June 2023)

As Pagans, the claims of other religions to exclusive possession of Truth are not our concern, except to dismiss them as arrogant and impossible to support. What is our concern is the claim that our Paganism is somehow inauthentic because it doesn’t exactly match the Paganism of our ancient ancestors, and the claim that the appealing parts of modern Paganism were cribbed from Christianity.

Neither claim is true.

2. Divination For 2023 (January 2023)

2023 is not going to be 2020 Part IV. It brings different challenges and new opportunities. We have what we need to make this a good year (whatever “good year” means to you) but we must keep our attention on the business at hand.

This is the first time one of my New Year’s divinations has been read this widely. And it’s not just a big fish in a small pond – it would have made the Top 10 in all but one of the years I’ve been doing this and most years it would have been in the top 5.

My divination for 2024 – including my analysis of how my 2023 divination went – will be up on New Year’s Day next Monday.

photo by John Beckett

1. The Great War In The Otherworld And In This World (March 2023)

For all that it’s important to pay attention to what’s going on in this world, we ignore what’s going on in the Otherworld at our peril. The battle to reshape our world is picking up again. We need to pay attention.

If you think you can be neutral, if you think you can be Switzerland, remember two things. First, Switzerland collaborated with the Nazis. Second, those who fancy themselves Switzerland without Switzerland’s mountains and riches usually find out they’re really Belgium, who proclaimed their neutrality and then were overrun by the Germans in 1914 and again in 1940.

Half the posts on this list deal with the spiritual and magical conflict many of us are sensing and feeling. Many of us are already caught up in it. We’re doing our best to compare notes, to come up with strategies for success, and to keep from getting discouraged when things go badly for us and ours.

We didn’t choose to be here, but here we are. Let’s face this head-on: the war in this world, the war in the Otherworld, and the overlapping war.

May we be victorious.

2023-09-28T18:25:45-06:00

Last updated on: September 28, 2023 at 6:25 pm   By
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This year I’ve been watching a lot of the movies I wasn’t allowed to watch as a kid.

To be fair, my parents put very few restrictions on my movie watching. The only movies I was explicitly forbidden to watch were The Exorcist (which I saw at midnight in college – what an experience!) and Helter Skelter. That one was never fully explained, but it wasn’t a problem. I had no desire to watch it, and I’ve still never seen it.

But I grew up in the era of three TV channels and two duplex movie theaters – there was a lot I missed because it wasn’t available. Even if a movie made it to TV it was often preceded by three terrible words: edited for television. Aggressive censors cut out profanity, violence, sex, and nudity. Especially sex and nudity. And the edgier movies never made it to TV in any form.

Now I’m an adult, living in an era of a zillion streaming services, some of which carry old and obscure movies. Revenge is mine.

These are the Top 10 horror movies I couldn’t watch as a kid. I never heard of most of them when I was growing up, but I would have enjoyed them if I had been able to see them. To fit the requirements of the title, there are two rules.

First, the movie has to be from the 1960s or 1970s. Anything older than 1960 likely wouldn’t have been censored (or rather, it was already censored by the Hays Code). By 1980 I was an adult and could see what I wanted, if I could find it.

Second, it can’t be a movie on my 2016 or 2019 Halloween movie lists. So none of Vincent Price’s Edgar Allan Poe films (some which I did see on Shock Theatre), Hammer’s Dracula series, or The Vampire Lovers (which I definitely did not see as a kid). There are a lot of good movies on those lists, but I don’t want to duplicate them here.

Not everything here was or would have been censored. That’s not the point. The point is that I couldn’t watch them then, but I can watch them now.

All of these are good movies – some are better than others. The rankings are my subjective opinion – not how “good” or “influential” they are, but simply how much I enjoyed them, all things considered. Your rankings may be different – these are mine.

Movies come and go on streaming services – you may not be able to see them in the same places I saw them. IMDb is usually – but not always – a reliable guide for what’s where.

photo by John Beckett
All the movies in this picture are good (or they wouldn’t be in my collection) but only two made this Top 10 list. For the others, see the 2016 and 2019 Halloween movie lists.

10. Terror in the Crypt (1964)

Also known as Crypt of the Vampire, it was made in Italy and originally titled La cripta e l’incubo. It stars Christopher Lee as Count Karnstein, who is not a vampire but who fears his daughter may be possessed by the spirit of a witch his ancestors killed centuries ago.

Terror in the Crypt is loosely based on Carmilla by Sheridan Le Fanu (1872), with a dose of Mario Bava’s Black Sunday (1960) mixed in. The story is good, the mystery is preserved until the end, and the supernatural elements aren’t explained away. It’s a good black and white gothic horror film.

Technical note: the version for rent on Amazon Prime is an old print formatted for pre-HD TV (4:3 aspect ratio). I found a much better copy in the original widescreen on YouTube.

9. Season of the Witch (1972)

I was a 10-year-old boy in 1972, but I was a 10-year-old boy who listened and paid attention. The themes of bored suburban housewives and the need for women’s empowerment in Season of the Witch were very familiar. Joan (Jan White) is abused and unappreciated – and then she discovers witchcraft. Unlike so many movies of this era, this one contains some real witchcraft.

In her 2018 book Bell, Book and Camera (updated in 2021 as Lights, Camera, Witchcraft) Heather Greene says “Joan moves from a point of powerlessness to a point of power through sexual liberation and witchcraft. As such, the film is a product of its time and comes the closest to a true feminist witch narrative in any film.” It’s directed by George Romero, better known for Night of the Living Dead.

This movie was originally titled Jack’s Wife and then Hungry Wives. There are at least three different cuts, one running 2:10, one running 1:44, and one – the one I found on both Amazon Prime and Tubi as Season of the Witch – at 1:29. The shorter version doesn’t appear to be missing anything of importance.

8. Castle of Blood (1964)

Filmed as Danza Macabra in Italian, this movie centers around a skeptical journalist interviewing Edgar Allan Poe in London. He’s approached by Lord Blackwood, who bets him that he can’t spend tonight – November 1st, the “Night of the Dead” – in his abandoned castle. After a few typical haunted house scares, he realizes the castle isn’t abandoned and he’s joined by two beautiful women… who don’t seem to like each other. As the night progresses, more and more people come and go. Are they alive? Ghosts? Vampires? Will our journalist make it till dawn and win his bet?

The opening credits say Castle of Blood was adapted from a story by Edgar Allan Poe, but while it is very Poe-like, he wrote nothing that directly corresponds to this movie. And while Poe lived in England when he was a boy, he returned to the United States at age 11 and never went back.

This is an early 60s horror movie – despite the title, there is very little blood. However, this is the only movie on this list where I feel obligated to provide a content warning. A snake is killed on camera and it wasn’t a special effect. You expect to see humans and human-like creatures treating other humans badly in horror movies. I wasn’t expecting to see this.

That aside, for atmosphere and suspense Castle of Blood is excellent.

There are numerous cuts of this movie – some of them are quite bad. I found two versions on YouTube that are close to original, one in Italian with subtitles and one dubbed in English.

7. Vampire Circus (1972)

Count Mitterhaus drains one too many women and children, so the villagers finally storm the castle and stake him. As he’s dying, he curses them. Fifteen years later, the village is struck by a deadly plague and is quarantined by armed guards. Somehow a circus gets through the roadblocks and brings a bit of joy to the town. Unbeknownst to them, the circus is full of vampires, including a relative of Count Mitterhaus intent on avenging him – and resurrecting him.

I’ve seen all nine Hammer Dracula movies, most multiple times. I’ve seen their Karnstein Trilogy (which isn’t really a trilogy, but the three movies are still worth watching) several times. But I never even heard of Vampire Circus until I went looking for old movies to stream. Perhaps that’s because it has none of Hammer’s usual stars: no Christopher Lee, no Peter Cushing, no Ingrid Pitt. It does have a young – and shirtless – David Prowse as the circus strongman.

Vampire Circus is enough like the other Hammer vampire movies to feel familiar, and it’s different enough to feel unique. That makes it perfect for this quest for streaming revenge.

6. Eugenie (1970)

The first line of director Jesús Franco’s Wikipedia page says he’s “known as a prolific director of low-budget exploitation and B-movies.” Eugenie qualifies as all of the above. It’s based on La philosophie dans le boudoir (1795) by the Marquis de Sade, about a woman and her brother who set out to corrupt a young girl (she’s 15 in de Sade’s story – Marie Liljedahl was 19 when she played Eugenie).

Is it a horror movie? It’s definitely psychological horror, and I found the ending to be rather frightening – and unpleasant. It has Christopher Lee in it, playing a role obviously inspired by de Sade himself. In this interview clip, Lee said he had no idea what the movie was about until after it was finished.

I discovered it because the band Blood Ceremony created a song about it for their new album The Old Ways Remain. Even if you don’t watch Eugenie the movie, check out “Eugenie” the song.

5. Persona (1966)

Ingmar Bergman (1918-2007) is considered one of the greatest directors of all time. He wrote and directed this story of a young nurse (Liv Ullmann) caring for a famous actress who had a breakdown and has stopped speaking. At the recommendation of her doctor, they move to a summer house on the beach, where they’re isolated together – the speaking nurse and the non-speaking patient. As the weeks go by, their personae begin blending together.

This is not a straightforward movie. It contains some disturbing imagery that’s open to interpretation. It had me remembering some difficult times in my life and questioning if my response was ideal, or even adequate. Definitely not a popcorn movie, but it will make you both feel and think.

Persona is in Swedish with English subtitles.

4. Baba Yaga (1973)

Fashion photographer Valentina has a seemingly-random encounter with a rich older woman who calls herself Baba Yaga. After that, Valentina starts having strange dreams, her cameras malfunction in odd ways, and people she photographs die mysteriously. There’s an old house with a bottomless pit and a creepy bondage doll that comes to life. Some of what’s going on is in Valentina’s head and some of it is not – which is which is left for the viewer to decide.

Baba Yaga has very little to do with the witch of Russian folklore. It’s based on the Valentina comics series by Guido Crepax that ran from 1965 through 1996. It’s a combination of horror and giallo (Is giallo a subset of horror? Open a bottle of Chianti or Nero d’Avola and let’s discuss it). It does an unexpectedly good job of capturing the atmosphere of Italy in the 1970s (fashionable but in decline, with talk of a revolution that never came) but mainly it’s a movie that gets the mixture of sexy and scary just right for my tastes.

photo by John Beckett
The Valentina Tarot, from the same comics series that inspired Baba Yaga.

3. Eye of the Devil (1966)

David Niven plays Philippe, a Marquis who lives happily in Paris with his wife Catherine (Deborah Kerr) and their two small children. Until he gets word that the vineyards on the estate his family has owned for a thousand years are failing for the third consecutive year. If you’ve seen The Wicker Man – a movie that would not be made for seven more years – you know where this is going. Except Philippe is a knowing and willing sacrifice. Eye of the Devil presents the idea of the Sacred King much more faithfully than The Wicker Man.

Most of the story is told from the perspective of Catherine as she attempts to figure out what’s going on, and once she does, to stop it. Will she? Can she? The ending is both what I expected, and not.

This was supposed to be the film debut of Sharon Tate, but because of post production delays, it wasn’t. The opening credits still say “introducing Sharon Tate.” She was very good as someone who may be a witch, and is dangerous whatever she is.

This movie is excellent, and not just because of the “name” cast. The writing and the direction make for a suspenseful and entertaining movie.

2. The Devil Rides Out (1968)

The Devil Rides Out is based on the 1934 novel of the same name by Dennis Wheatley. It was released in the U.S. as The Devil’s Bride because Hammer Films was afraid American audiences would think it was a Western. It’s set in the late 1920s and stars Christopher Lee as a duke trying to rescue the son of a friend from a group of Satanists led by Charles Gray (better known for playing Blofeld in Diamonds Are Forever and The Criminologist in Rocky Horror Picture Show).

The Satanism is a mixture of fiction, legend, and misappropriated occultism. Gray’s Mocata is clearly based on Aleister Crowley – one reviewer said that Mocata was what Crowley wished he could be. The movie is one of several from this era centered on the theme that the devil was corrupting young people and only strong institutions (usually the Church, but in this case the aristocracy) could save them.

For someone with only an academic interest in magic, Lee’s Duc de Richleau sure knows a lot about it. He’s good at it too. Some of the ceremonial magic in the film is real – all of it looks and feels genuine. Lee called this his favorite Hammer film, and I see why.

Full disclosure: I cheated on this one. I couldn’t find The Devil Rides Out on any streaming service – free or paid – so I bought it on Blu-ray. I’ve seen it on TCM before – look for it there during their Halloween horror marathons.

1. Daughters of Darkness (1971)

Stefan, a young rich Englishman, has just married Valerie, an even younger Swede. He’s reluctant to take her home to meet his mother, and they end up at a Belgian seaside resort in the off-season – they’re the only guests in the hotel. Until, that is, they’re joined by Countess Elizabeth Báthory and her beautiful traveling companion Ilona – who never come out in the day. And then young women in the nearby town start turning up dead and drained of blood.

This is a story of secrets, lies, and manipulation. The story is tight, the acting is excellent (especially Delphine Seyrig as the Countess), and the atmosphere is as good as you can get without setting it in a haunted castle.

I could have listed the top three movies in any order. But unlike so many of the movies on this list – and in this genre as a whole – I liked the ending of Daughters of Darkness. And that’s enough to make it #1.

2022-12-28T12:40:22-06:00

Last updated on: December 28, 2022 at 12:40 pm   By

Here are the top ten posts for the year on Under the Ancient Oaks, as measured by pageviews.

Only 2022 posts are eligible. I put that rule in because The Solitary Rituals and the 8 Things To Do series are always very popular and nobody wants to see the same posts on the Top 10 list year after year. But What To Do When You Think You’ve Been Hexed came out in November of 2021 and while it did well, it didn’t generate a big initial interest. Apparently people are finding it through Google, because in total it was the most widely read post of this year. Still, I’ve always done this based on “this year’s posts only” so that’s what I’m doing for 2022.

Thank you for reading Under the Ancient Oaks in 2022, and especially for liking, sharing, and commenting on social media and in the comments section.

10. When You Shouldn’t Talk About Your Spiritual Experiences (April 2022)

Most times, talking about our religious and spiritual experiences is a good thing. It reminds us that they really happened – it keeps us from rationalizing them away. It reminds other people that their experiences are real too, and that they shouldn’t rationalize them away.

But when talking about them would be unhelpful or even counterproductive, then I encourage you to keep them to yourself. Sometimes they’re only for you. Sometimes you’re not sure what you experienced. Sometimes the Gods tell you to keep silent. And sometimes sharing an experience is likely to be misunderstood.

9. 8 Pieces of Bad Advice (August 2022)

I listen to everybody. If someone tells me I should do something, I’ll consider it. But I always ask myself “does this make sense?” “Is this outdated?” And perhaps most importantly “will this help me or will it manipulate me for someone else’s benefit?”

This is the worst advice I’ve received over the course of my life. Things like “you have to pay your dues” and “always do more than what’s required” and perhaps the most dangerously false of all “do something you love and you’ll never work a day in your life.”

8. When a Mainstream Writer Sees the Bad Guys Using Magic (May 2022)

Mainstream journalist Dave Troy wrote that “the normal world that we’ve inhabited since the end of World War II — one filled with institutions, the rule of law, compromise, business reality, elections and politics — has been gradually and then suddenly supplanted by a world governed by the exercise of raw power.” He asks “what rules when progress, science, and law are replaced by power? Darkness, and the occult.”

The bad guys in our contemporary world are using magic, even though most of them don’t call it that. Those of us who practice magic more overtly need to pay attention and respond in kind.

7. Worshipping Deities From Different Cultures (September 2022)

The best way to approach the matter of deities from different cultures is from the ground up: from theology to culture to practice. The Gods call who They call. The racist and folkish Pagans who tell People of Color “our Gods would never call you” are placing human limitations on divine beings and that never ends well. Still, worship practices are often part of cultures that deserve our respect.

When we ground our practices in respect, dedication, and love, we are likely to be on the right path.

6. Which God are White Christian Nationalists Praying To? (June 2022)

As Pagans and polytheists, we should remember to interpret what we see through a polytheist worldview and to not default to a Christian worldview. We need to remember that not only are all Christians not the same, they aren’t even praying to the same God – even if they think they are.

Most of the Christian nationalists are praying to a God I’ll call “Yahweh-Paul-Calvin” – the vengeful God of the Old Testament, filtered through the missionary zeal and misogyny of Saul of Tarsus, and presented in the context of the cruelty, patriarchy, and might-makes-right of John Calvin.

Remember that liberal, moderate, and other inclusive Christians are our friends and allies, even if we see the world and the Gods differently. We cannot worship together, but we can work together to build a better world here and now.

5. What Is Seen Cannot Be Unseen (January 2022)

Sometimes people experience something that defies a materialist explanation. They have an encounter with a God, or an other-than-divine spirit, or they see magic work in a way that can’t be denied. All of a sudden they’re confronted with the fact that the world is a lot bigger and a lot stranger than they thought it was.

I know some people who got a look behind the curtain of consensus reality into a wider, Otherworldly reality. They ran away screaming, a couple of them literally.

But also, there was a time in my own life when I stood at a line, knowing what it meant to cross it – and also what it meant to turn back. My fear of regret was greater than my fear of what might lie on the other side of that line, and so I stepped across.

4. Worshipping Gods From Different Pantheons (January 2022)

In ancient times, people grew up knowing their Gods: the Gods of their family, of their city, of their land. If they moved they might carry the worship of their Gods with them, or they might adopt the worship of the Gods of their new land. Or they might do both.

We live in a different era. Few of us are born into a relationship with a deity. Few deities have a multi-generation relationship with people. We are trying to build relationships and communities among and between Gods and humans. That’s not a neat and easily defined process.

The Gods call who They call. Sometimes Gods from different pantheons call the same person. That makes things more complicated. But it also brings more opportunities.

3. Answering the Call of Cernunnos (March 2022)

There are no ancient Cernunnos myths that have survived to our time. Learning about Cernunnos is largely a matter of independent study, with more field work than classroom work. That strikes me as very appropriate for a God of Nature and a God of the Wild. But that makes things more challenging for people who feel called to Cernunnos and are unsure how to get started.

There is, of course, no one right answer. But this is what I’ve done, and what I’ve seen others do that worked for them.

 

 

2. Explaining Paganism to the Curious but Religiously Ignorant (Feb 2022)

Most people who ask “what is Paganism?” aren’t looking to read a book. They want you to explain everything in under a minute. They want a creed, or perhaps a mission statement. They’re likely to be working from a Christian worldview – they may ask questions that are important to them but are completely irrelevant in Paganism and polytheism.

There’s no way to truly describe an entire religion in under 50 words. So for those who are willing to have a conversation over a glass of wine or a cup of tea, I offer this guide to explaining Paganism to those who are genuinely curious (i.e. – they want to learn for the sake of learning, not so they can proselytize) but who have some inaccurate and unhelpful assumptions about what religion is and isn’t.

1. Three Messages from Loki to the World (July 2022)

At a Seiðr oracular ritual at this year’s Mystic South, someone had a question for Loki.

And He showed up.

He didn’t just whisper words to the Seeress in Helheim for her to relay. He took full control of the Seeress. She knew what was going on but it was Loki speaking and moving her body here in this world.

I wrote this post as a journalist, not as an oracle. Loki did not speak through me or to me. He spoke through the Seeress, to those who asked questions and to the assembly in general. But He made it clear to them that He wanted these messages spread to the world.

Loki had three messages for the world.

This has been a down year for blogging, but this post would have ranked no worse than 4th in any of the nine years I’ve been doing Top 10 lists – most years it would have been 1st or 2nd.

Loki wanted his message to get out, and it did.

2021-12-25T19:05:36-06:00

Last updated on: December 25, 2021 at 7:05 pm   By

Some posts do very well even in a down year for blogging. They say just the right thing at the right time. They cover a sensitive topic in a way that’s meaningful and helpful to many. Or they just happen to hit the right combination of keywords to attract the attention of the algorithms. Honestly, while I can tell you why these posts were popular, I can’t tell you why these ten were more popular than the second ten, or even the third ten.

I don’t set out to blog about the Morrigan every year, but She always seems to have one big thing for me to write, and inevitably it ends up in the top 10. But not this year: The Morrigan Didn’t Call You Up Just To Smack You Down ended up 14th. I don’t know why. I thought The Currents of Magic are Getting Stronger would make the list, but while it got off to a good start, interest faded after a week and it ended up 23rd.

Part of the fun of Top 10 lists is speculating about why things ended up in the order that they did, even though we can never really know for sure.

Here are the top ten posts for the year on Under the Ancient Oaks, as measured by pageviews. Only 2021 posts are eligible. The Solitary Rituals and the 8 Things To Do series are always very popular, but nobody wants to see the same posts on the Top 10 list year after year.

10. Dealing With Troublesome Leaders (February 2021)

What can you do when you find out that one of your teachers or mentors is abusive, racist, TERFish, or has gone off the QAnon deep end? Can we still honor their earlier works or would that be hypocritical?

Be faithful to your values. Judge each case on its own merits. Gather the best and most complete information you can. Understand that whatever you do is likely to be painful in one way or another – so is doing nothing.

Then make the best decision you can, with the realization that other people of good will may look at the same situation and come to a different conclusion.

9. To Those Proselytizing Out Of Love: You Aren’t (April 2021)

Sharing your religion with someone is one thing. High-pressure sales pitches are something quite different. Those who say they’re trying to convert me because they love me aren’t. They’re doing it out of arrogance, disrespect, fear, ego, and to cover up their own spiritual laziness in not examining the flaws in their own religion.

You cannot love someone while trying to change the core of who and what they are. If you love me, respect my deepest beliefs and practices.

8. 5 Things I Had to Unlearn as a Pagan (September 2021)

I look back at some of the things I believed when I was younger and I cringe. But only for a moment. Learning is a process and none of us get it all right the first time. When you learn better, then you can do better.

It’s helpful to review some of those changes and the process by which they changed. Because I have no doubt that there’s something I think or believe or do right now that some day I’m going to have to unlearn. I don’t know what it is – if I did, I’d already be working on it. But when I find it, I’m confident I’ll change it – because I’ve done it before.

7. People Who Brag About Their Paganism and Witchcraft (February 2021)

On one hand, it’s good to talk about our experiences. We live in a society where the loudest voices scream there is only one God and the second loudest scream there are none. The first group insists that magic and witchcraft are evil, while the second group insists they’re self-delusion.

When we talk about our experiences we make it easier for others to accept that their experiences are real and that their religious and spiritual paths are as valid as anyone else’s. That’s one of the reasons I write what I write, including some stories that defy rational explanations.

But people who tell stories that aren’t true, or who make everything about themselves, or who forget the need to keep silence cause problems for the rest of us.

6. We Owe Toxic Ancestors Nothing (October 2021)

I see polytheists who argue we have an obligation to honor all our ancestors no matter what they did. I don’t agree. We give honor to those who are worthy of honor. If someone was abusive in life, they are unworthy of honor in life or in death.

If your mother beat you, if your grandfather sexually molested you, or if your great-great-grandfather owned slaves, you owe them nothing. If they did other things that do not rise to that level but still caused you trauma you’re working through, you owe them nothing.

Honoring your ancestors is a good thing and a key element of religious practice. But you owe abusive ancestors absolutely nothing.

5. What Kind of Witch Do You Want To Be? (October 2021)

Every October the mainstream media remembers that witches are real and tries to figure out how to use them to attract viewers and readers. Some of these pieces are good, some are bad, and many are mediocre – particularly those that attempt to downplay the magical and otherworldly aspects of witchcraft. They focus on empowerment, on aesthetics, or on nature. Those things are fine, but they ignore the kind of witchcraft that reminds us that Nature has teeth – and so do we.

There are many ways to be a witch. What kind of witch do you want to be?

4. Why I Block Every “Law of Attraction” Account I See (April 2021)

There are countless Instagram accounts with some form of “law of attraction” or “manifesting” in their name. They each have several thousand followers. And they post different versions of the same theme over and over again: “you will receive five figures this week” or “this is the Bird of Good Luck – don’t scroll by” or any number of things that can be boiled down to “like this post and good things will come your way.”

I’ve started blocking them every time I see them.

How many people feel a pull toward magic, encounter the Law of Attraction and all these “manifestation” posts, are disappointed when nothing happens, and then walk away for good?

NOT the Bird of Good Luck – just a crow eating breakfast

3. Imbolc: A Time For Cleansing (January 2021)

Any time is a good time for cleansing. But some times are especially appropriate. New moons, the Winter Solstice, the secular New Year – all these are good times to banish what is harmful and inappropriate, to make way for the new.

Imbolc is another good time for cleansing. And in 2021 it was both especially auspicious and desperately needed.

2. For Those Coming Into Their Power (March 2021)

Someone asked “how come when I’m coming into my power, no coven has reached out to me? Can’t they feel me?” Some people thought this was an arrogant question. Others thought it was a troll post by someone who did it for a joke. I don’t care.

I hear someone who’s 15 or 16 or 20 years old (or maybe, someone who’s 45 and just now waking up) who genuinely thinks this is the way things are supposed to work. I think they deserve an honest answer.

1. Who Put the Odal Rune on the CPAC Stage? (March 2021)

When the Conservative Political Action Conference met in February, their stage was shaped like the Odal rune. And not just any Odal rune – this was the version developed and used by the Nazis. Who put it there?

I came up with three possibilities: a MAGA magician, an anti-Semitic right-winger, or a resistance troll.

The head of CPAC denied any connection and the firm that designed the stage said they “had no idea that the design resembled any symbol.” Fellow Patheos Pagan blogger Tom Swiss made a very rational argument that the design was coincidental. Perhaps it was.

Ten months later, we still know only two things with certainty. One, the stage design was in the shape of the Odal rune, however it got there. And two, the biggest problem at CPAC wasn’t the shape of the stage. It was the Trumpism being preached from the stage.

2020-12-18T13:05:33-06:00

Last updated on: December 18, 2020 at 1:05 pm   By

As I mentioned in the last post, 2020 has been just as bizarre in blogging as it has in everything else. As a result, all of the Top 10 posts of 2020 are from the first four months of the year. I thought about trying to come up with some sort of weighted average, but at the end of the day, the numbers are what they are.

But I am going to include the “Next 5” – the top five posts from May through December. They’re important too.

These are the top ten posts of the year on Under the Ancient Oaks, as measured by page views. Only 2020 posts are eligible. The Solitary Rituals and the 8 Things To Do series are always very popular, but nobody wants to see the same posts on the Top 10 list year after year.

Top 10 Blog Posts of 2020

10. A Modern Pagan Guide to Cursing (April 2020)

Some people say that cursing is the new “in thing” and they’re throwing curses left and right over trivial matters. Others say no ethical witch would ever curse, and if they did the Threefold Law would make them regret it.

As I see it, cursing is the big hammer in the toolbox of the magician. You don’t need it often, and if you try to use it when you need a smaller tool you’ll just make things worse – for yourself as well as for everyone else.

But when you need it, you need it.

to make a poppet

9. The Morrigan Demands Persistence Not Perfection (January 2020)

It seems that every January I end up writing about the Morrigan. I never plan it, but when the Battle Raven says “you, Druid – write this!” I write it.

In January I saw people who work with and for the Morrigan express sadness and regret that things they had planned to do for Her hadn’t goen the way they hoped. After the last one, I heard the Great Queen say “I demand persistence, not perfection.”

Morrigan painting by Emily Brunner

8. For Beginning Witches and Pagans Who Want More (March 2020)

I see so many people calling themselves witches who seem more concerned with how they dress and what they buy than with the actual witchcraft they work. It’s not my job to tell them they’re wrong or that they’re shorting themselves – that’s for them to decide. My job is to be here as an entry point for those who want something more.

7. Teaching Without Credentials, the Dangers of Cursing, and Watered Down Paganism (February 2020)

Speaking of beginning witches and Pagans, this post was the outcome of several questions for Conversations Under the Oaks (which I probably should do again in January). There was some concern for beginners moving too far too fast… and also some “get off my lawn.”

At the end of the day, age and experience are secondary concerns. Either you can do something or you can’t. And sometimes even very smart people have to learn things the hard way.

6. 5 Things to Pay Attention to During the Lockdown (March 2020)

As the Covid-19 pandemic began to spread across the United States we all found ourselves in some degree of lockdown, resulting in disruptions to our mundane lives and our spiritual practices. And here we are again in late December <sigh>.

Maintain your spiritual practice. Don’t just pray to your Gods, listen for Their direction. Don’t just make offerings to your ancestors, listen for their wisdom. Don’t just say hello to your local land spirits, become their allies.

5. 6 Pagan Roles To Fill During The Quarantine… And Afterward (April 2020)

By mid-April most states started “reopening” and we hoped the worst was behind us. It wasn’t.

But the disruption to our lives – including our religious and spiritual lives – showed that there are roles our wider community needs filled, now and in the future. Technology Chief, Pastoral Care Coordinator, Philosopher and/or Theologian, Shrine Keeper, Hedgewitch. And there will always be a place for Pagan lay people – those who want to honor the Gods but otherwise live ordinary lives.

4. The End of Beltane as “The Sexy Holiday” (April 2020)

Early modern Paganism emphasized the idea that sex is natural and sacred, not sinful or shameful. That was a good and necessary thing. But somewhere along the way we ended up with the idea that Beltane is a time for orgies in the woods, or at least, a time when everybody should be having a lot of sex.

And every year, we’re reminded that too many people exploited the idea of sacred sexuality for abusive purposes, and some still do. The sexual imagery of Beltane is often unwelcoming to people who aren’t cis, straight, and partnered.

This post generated a lot of comments, some here and more on Facebook. A few people really like the idea of Beltane as the sexy holiday and they push back on any attempts to change it.

I’m already thinking about a follow-up post for Beltane 2021…

3. Our Gods Are Not Jealous Gods: The Importance of Building a Pagan Worldview (February 2020)

From time to time I see people talking about how a certain God is angry with them for paying attention to other deities. Or how they’ve been told They want an exclusive relationship, and hinted that Bad Things will happen if They don’t get it.

This is almost always an inaccurate reading of the situation. Our Gods want what They want, but beyond that They are not jealous Gods.

Why we think they’re jealous is a symptom of an even larger problem.

2. A Pagan Response to the Coronavirus (March 2020)

This was my first post about the pandemic. At the time (March 15) there was still some denial among well-meaning people. I needed to make the point that it was – and still is – very real.

A plague is not an individual thing – how we respond has an impact on other people in the world. I encouraged everyone to read Edgar Allan Poe’s The Masque of the Red Death.

But also, remember that as magical people, we have skills that others do not. Magic alone won’t keep you safe from the Coronavirus, but magic can give your mundane efforts some extra juice. Maintain your spiritual practice. Remember your ancestors.

And remember that while someday the pandemic will be over, things will not go back to normal, because this is Tower Time and normal is an illusion.

1. How to Do Paganism Wrong – Nine Arrogant and Offensive Ways (January 2020)

A UK tabloid writer picked up a book titled The Modern Witch’s Guide to Happiness and decided to become a witch – for a week. What she wrote about her experiences was pretty much what you’d expect: superficial, sarcastic, and condescending.

But one good thing came out of all this – the writer gave us a prime example of how to do Paganism wrong.

This post would have been #1 even if it had come out in August.

The Next 5

The Hard Cure for Conspiracy Theories (June 2020, #11 overall)

As if 2020 wasn’t bad enough on its own, we’ve seen an explosion of conspiracy theories. It doesn’t help when the President of the United States is spreading them.

Conspiracy theories are popular because people want simple answers to complicated situations, because they lack basic knowledge, and because conspiracy theories provide meaning – they let people feel like they’re in on a secret.

The only alternative I see is mysticism. It’s not an easy alternative, but it generates real and authentic experiences in which we can find the kind of identity and meaning that conspiracies can never match.

What Did You Expect From Tower Time? (June 2020, #14 overall)

Those of us who’ve been talking about Tower Time and The Storm for years should not be surprised by anything going on, in politics, in Nature, or in the world of spirit. Let’s quit trying to act respectable and become the strongest, most competent witches, Pagans, and other magical people that we can be, that we need to be, and deep down, that we want to be.

I’ll be teaching “Navigating Tower Time – Magic For an Era of Change” early next year. Registration opens in January.

The Darkness is Returning – And That’s a Good Thing (August 2020, #16 overall)

This was a post I wrote for myself – that it was so popular with others was a bonus.

Texas summers can be oppressive. When the days start getting shorter, it’s a reminder that cooler weather is coming. And this year, it was also a reminder that even pandemics won’t last forever.

The Election Continues but the Referendum on the Soul of America Is Over (November 2020, #17 overall)

I am beyond relieved that Joe Biden won the US Presidential election and that Donald Trump’s days are numbered – that number is now 22. But while the election ended up being not as close as it seemed on Election Night, it was still far closer than it should have been.

This election was a referendum on the soul of America. I honestly believed that after having watched and listened to Donald Trump day in and day out for four years, a significant number of people who voted for Trump in 2016 would recognize their error and vote him out.

How naïve.

74 million people decided they like the way Donald Trump governs. Or at least, they’re OK with it.

The soul of America is rotten.

Why It’s So Hard To Work Magic Right Now (September 2020, #19 overall)

There are times when magic is a lot of fun. But this isn’t one of them, and if I wait for it to become fun again I may not be doing anything for a long time. That would make things even worse. Sometimes working magic is work. But sometimes work is necessary.

2019-12-29T09:51:44-06:00

Last updated on: December 29, 2019 at 9:51 am   By

2019 has been another great year on Under the Ancient Oaks. It’s been a record year for readership, and I’ve been very happy with the conversations that have come out of the blog, both here and on Facebook. My second book Paganism In Depth came out this year. The on-line class based on it exceeded my wildest expectations, and there’s a new on-line class starting in January.

My blogging continues to be a mixture of theory, practice, and current events – in the political world and in the spiritual world. I feel like I blogged less about politics this year (though I discussed it more in social media) but then I see two explicitly political posts in the Top 10 list.

But I also see posts on theology, spiritual practice, magic, and dealing with the metaphysical upheaval we find ourselves living in. The same pattern is there in the second ten and the third ten. My Paganism is a holistic Paganism. I hope yours is too.

These are the top ten posts for the year on Under the Ancient Oaks, as measured by page views. Only 2019 posts are eligible. Also, I’ve excluded the “8 Things To Do” series. If I hadn’t, Ostara would have been 2nd and Imbolc would have been 3rd.

10. 6 Reasons You Shouldn’t Swear an Oath to a God (and 3 Reasons You Should) (February 2019). Our contemporary society doesn’t understand oaths, and it certainly doesn’t understand the gravity of swearing an oath to a God. Oaths aren’t required to have a relationship with a deity, and you shouldn’t make an oath if you don’t fully understand what you’re getting into. What is sworn cannot be unsworn.

But if you’ve been repeatedly asked for an oath, if you want to strengthen the relationship, and if you can’t imagine doing anything else, perhaps it’s time.

I have oaths with three deities. They have been positive and beneficial, but they have not been easy. Know what you’re getting into.

9. What it Means that Nobody Believes Jeffrey Epstein Killed Himself (August 2019). In August, hedge fund operator and accused child sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein died in jail. The Federal Bureau of Prisons said he hanged himself, even though the evidence is far from conclusive.

An informal survey of my Facebook feed ran about 15 to 1 that his death wasn’t suicide… and I have very few friends who are conspiracy theorists. On the contrary, some of my most skeptical and well-grounded friends found it far easier to believe Epstein was murdered than to believe he killed himself.

If Epstein was murdered, it means there are people who are 1) incredibly rich, 2) who have no problem paying to have sex with underage girls, 3) who are willing to kill to protect their dirty secrets, and 4) have the connections to reach inside a federal prison to make it happen.

And that’s a scary thought.

8. Why I Believe in the Gods (October 2019). There seem to be as many opinions on the Gods in the Pagan community as there are Pagans. This includes those who don’t believe in any Gods, or who believe They’re the anthropomorphization of natural forces or metaphors for psychological phenomena.

It’s not my place to tell those people they’re wrong. It is my place to offer a differing viewpoint.

When I say “I believe in the Gods” I mean that I affirm the existence of individual beings who are the mightiest of spirits and who exist independently of human minds and human cultures. Though They often work through humans and other persons, that is by choice and not by necessity. They are fully capable of acting on Their own.

Belief is not the most important thing, but it’s an important thing.

As for me, I believe in the Gods because I’ve experienced the Gods.

7. Druid Reading Recommendations: A Revised List (February 2019). I’m a Druid – and a rather public Druid – so I get requests for recommendations for books on Druidry all the time. In 2011 I put together a blog post of Druid Reading Recommendations – this year I decided to update it.

The list contains recommendations for introductory books, books on the historical Druids, and books on the Revival Druids. And it points out one book to avoid at all costs.

After I published this list I learned that two of the books on it are out of print. Ronald Hutton’s The Druids is currently available used at reasonable prices. This book isn’t required reading to practice Druidry, but it is very helpful in understanding how Druids have been seen throughout history. It shouldn’t be the first book on Druidry you read, but do read it eventually if you can.

Bonewits’s Essential Guide to Druidism is currently overpriced through used sources. While it’s a good introductory book, there are other options that are more reasonably priced – there is no need to strain your budget for this one. Some have raised concerns due to the now-confirmed charges of sexual misconduct against Isaac. Isaac died in 2010 – he cannot benefit from you reading this book, nor will he suffer if you avoid it. As a society we have many opinions on how to deal with books, movies, and works of art made by people who did bad things. You must decide for yourself how best to proceed.

6. Why Pagans Don’t Proselytize (July 2019). We laugh at the memes asking “have you accepted Pan as your lord and satyr?” but the idea of Pagans seriously having that conversation borders on nonsensical. While publicizing our religions is good and necessary, there’s a big difference between that and the kind of high-pressure, fear and guilt based sales pitches of the conservative versions of Christianity and Islam.

Religious coercion is unethical. Most of us have been on the receiving end of aggressive proselytization and we don’t want to do that ourselves. We understand that religion is inherently uncertain, and unlike the religions who believe their way is the only way, we understand that many Gods call many different people to worship Them in many different ways.

5. You Didn’t Learn Witchcraft To Find A Parking Space (August 2019). Another day, another mass shooting. But I refuse to accept that there’s nothing that can be done to make these atrocities less frequent and less deadly, even if we can never completely eliminate them.

A few people interpreted this title as being judgmental against beginners, or against those who use magic for ordinary purposes. That wasn’t the intent, and the widespread popularity of this post tells me most people understand that.

“You didn’t become a witch so you could find a parking space at a crowded mall. You became a witch because it brought a bit of power and autonomy into your life.” I’m a Druid and not a witch, but when it comes to working magic there’s not a lot difference.

While high magic is traditionally a pursuit of the wealthy, low magic – including witchcraft – is the pursuit of ordinary people who find the doors of power closed to them. If those in power will do nothing to protect us, we can protect ourselves, using both magical and mundane methods.

4. The Morrigan Calls People In Different Life Situations (January 2019). I’ve been writing about the Morrigan and Her calls since 2012. This is the third straight year a Morrigan-related post has made the Top 10 – what She’s telling me to say is clearly resonating with many of you.

Some people ask “what could I possibly do for Her with my life the way it is?”

Maybe the Morrigan wants you to train and study for something She’s going to ask you to do five years from now. Maybe She wants you to clear some troublesome things – or some troublesome people – out of your life so you’ll be able to devote your full attention to Her when you’re done. Or maybe She wants you now, regardless of your situation.

I do not presume to know Her mind, but I feel confident in saying She values people in different life situations with different things to contribute – because I’ve seen Her do it.

If you feel the Call of the Morrigan, do not let your life situation keep you from saying “yes.”

3. The Gods Call Who They Call (July 2019). I wish I didn’t have to keep writing about this. Feeling called to the traditions of your ancestors is a good thing, but DNA isn’t religion.

The Gods call who They call. A study of history and an observation of contemporary polytheists clearly show They call who They want, for whatever reason They want. Race, skin color, national origin, language, gender, orientation – none of that matters. What matters is whether the person in question is willing to worship, work with, and work for the deity in question.

Do you want to have to explain to Odin or to Sekhmet why you told someone They called to Their service “you’d really be better off with a God from your own part of the world”? Gatekeeping the Gods is unnecessary, disrespectful, and dangerous.

2. Sacrificing Women’s Lives on the Altar of Political Purity (May 2019). I don’t like writing about abortion. The last thing the world needs is another man talking about what women should or shouldn’t do with their bodies. But in the aftermath of new dangerously restrictive abortion laws in multiple states, I had to say something.

These laws have nothing to do with “saving babies” and everything to do with sacrificing women’s lives on the altar of political purity. They are cruel and unjust laws passed by uncaring legislators for the sole purpose of screaming “I’m 100% pro-life!” while standing on the bleeding bodies of women trying to end pregnancies they cannot or should not or do not want to complete, and the bodies of those injured or killed giving birth under impossible circumstances.

These laws are clearly unconstitutional. They’re being passed knowing they will be challenged, in the hope that the new Supreme Court will overturn Roe v. Wade after 46 years. Trump already has two justices on the court. Ruth Bader Ginsburg will be 87 next year and Stephen Breyer will be 81.

Remember that when you’re trying to decide if you should support the Democratic nominee for President even though he or she isn’t your first choice.

1. A Ritual to Remove Curses We Place On Ourselves (August 2019). I knew this post would be popular. I had no idea it would be this popular. It got more views than #2 through #6 combined. It’s now the #3 post of all time, trailing only two posts that went viral in the mainstream.

I’m not sure how widespread self-cursing is, but apparently it’s more widespread than I thought. Most times we don’t realize what we’re doing even after it’s done. Self-curses tend to be rather embarrassing – it’s not something most of us want to talk about.

Idle words are not curses, but words plus desire is magic. If what we say we want isn’t what we really want, or if it’s something harmful, we get it anyway – and that can be a curse.

I know it happens, because I’ve done it myself. I’ve also composed and performed a ritual that successfully removed that curse. This post describes how to do it yourself.

2018-12-22T09:06:06-06:00

Last updated on: December 22, 2018 at 9:06 am   By

2018 has been a great year on Under the Ancient Oaks. It’s been a record year for readership despite both Facebook and Google making it more difficult for blogs to be seen. Engagement is up, both in blog comments and on social media. Current events posts did well, as did some deeper Pagan and polytheist topics – I love it when the deep posts do well. “Conversations Under the Oaks” brought new topics to the blog.

The video series faded away. A few of you loved them, but in general they weren’t well received, and they were very time-intensive to make. But I learned some things about video, and I’ll use it again sooner or later.

2018 was a great year for Patheos Pagan as a whole. More writers, more posts, and a record number of readers. Pagan blogging isn’t a competitive thing – good writing stimulates demand for more good writing. When some of us do well, all of us do well. I don’t agree with all the writers, but I’m not supposed to – different perspectives are good. If you only read my blog, check out some of the others in the “Popular at Patheos Pagan” list on the right, or in the “Trending at Patheos Pagan” list at the bottom.

These are the top ten posts for the year on Under the Ancient Oaks, as measured by page views. Only 2018 posts are eligible. Also, I excluded the “8 Things To Do” series. If I hadn’t, Winter Solstice would have been 2nd and Beltane would have been 4th.

Top 10 of 2018

10. The Morrigan Calls More Than Warriors (February 2018). “What does the Morrigan want with me? I’m not a warrior.”

Maybe you need to become a warrior. In the era before professional armies, if your village was attacked, you fought, whether you were any good at it or not. Or maybe you need to serve Her causes in a support role. I am oathed to the Morrigan, but I am not a warrior. I did not promise to fight for Her. Instead, I promised to perform Her devotions, to tell Her stories, and to serve Her community.

The Gods call who They call. If the Morrigan is calling you, you can be sure She has a good reason, even if you can’t see what that reason is. Your challenge is to figure out how best to respond.

9. House Cleansings Gone Wrong and How to Avoid Them (November 2018). House cleansing and blessing is basic Paganism. It’s a good and effective way to make your living space clean and safe. It’s a way to make it yours.

But before you begin, listen. Look around. Do some research. See what’s going on, and then think carefully about how to proceed. And whatever you do, resist the urge to break out the Big Bad Banishing magic unless you’re sure that’s what’s needed.

8. A Letter To Those Trying To Convert Me (August 2018). Back in the summer I got more than my usual share of proselytizers. Their goal was to aggressively convert me to their religion, not by convincing me it’s a better way, but by insisting it’s the only way. Some were Christians, some were atheists, and a few were Muslims.

Needless to say, it didn’t work. It did succeed in annoying me enough to write this post.

Do you understand the sheer arrogance required to believe that your way is the One True Way and everyone else is categorically wrong?

Whatever argument these people make, I’ve heard it before. I’ve examined it, contemplated it, and rejected it. Paganism has been a good thing for me, and it continues to be a good thing. I’ve made my decision and I expect others to respect it.

Still, I support a free and open Marketplace of Religions. Proselytizing is bad, but publicizing is fine – and it’s necessary, something we Pagans would do well to remember.

So present your religion to the public. Let your God call who he will call. Welcome those who want to join you.

And leave the rest of us alone.

7. Enough With the Mabon Hate! (September 2018). Our Celtic ancestors left us definitive names for the four fire festivals: Imbolc, Beltane, Lughnasadh, and Samhain. Modern Paganism adopted Yule for the Winter Solstice and Ostara for the Spring Equinox. A few of us call the Summer Solstice Litha, but mostly I hear it called Midsummer or simply the Summer Solstice.

What do we call the Autumn Equinox?

There are several possibilities:  Harvest Home, Cornucopia, the Feast of Avalon, or Haligmonað, which means “holy month.” For the past five years Denton CUUPS has celebrated it as Gleichentag, which means “even day.” But in 1974 Aidan Kelly named it Mabon and it stuck, and some Pagans aren’t happy about it.

I don’t have a lot of energy for this controversy.

If you just can’t stand to hear it called Mabon, then by all means call it something else. If you can get enough people doing it, it may catch on… But every time you scream “don’t call it Mabon!” or “Mabon has nothing to do with the Fall Equinox” you perpetuate the name in common usage…

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 every September.

6. Their Ways Are Not Our Ways: A Warning And A Call (September 2018). Even the most orthodox of religions aren’t practiced at the same level of commitment and intensity by everyone. Paganism is certainly no exception. We have lots of beginners. We have people who are nominally Pagan, people who are serious about what they do, and people who could rightly be called devout and pious. One level of intensity isn’t “better” than the others – the question is finding the level that matches your needs, desires, and commitment.

Deep spiritual work and ecstatic experiences of Gods and spirits may look glamourous. It isn’t. It will turn your life upside down. It will unmake you and remake you into something you may not recognize. It will remove normal boundaries and put you on call day and night.

The line between ecstasy and insanity is exceedingly thin.

Do anything else if you can. Be a Pagan doctor or a Heathen lawyer or a Kemetic store clerk. Be a Wiccan High Priestess and coordinate the local Pagan Pride Day.

But if nothing short of the repeated intimate knowledge of your patron deity will do, if the Morrigan or Odin or Hermes won’t leave you alone until you join Their team, if there is nothing that can take the place of running wild with the God of the Forest, then do it.

“So surpassing was the sweetness of this excessive pain, that I could not wish to be rid of it.”

They’re running me into the ground. And I love it. Dear Gods, I love it.

5. Why I Don’t Like Sexy Morrigan Imagery (January 2018). Go looking for pictures and statues of the Morrigan and you’ll find a wide variety of themes, from regal queens to bold warriors to sexy temptresses – and some that attempt to combine all three. Some people have raised objections to these images grounded in various political and gender theories. Those are valid, but they’re out of my area of expertise. I simply don’t like sexy Morrigan imagery.

It’s inauthentic. It’s a distraction. It often crosses the line from sex-positive to sex-obsessed.

The Morrigan is not a Sex Goddess. There is one time in the literary record where She had sex, and that’s with someone who may have been Her husband. She made an offer to Cú Chulainn which may or may not have included sex, but in any case was refused. That’s it.

My devotion to the Morrigan and my work for Her has nothing to do with sex, or even with fit and attractive bodies. It has nothing to do with being sex-positive. It’s about the decidedly unsexy work of devotion, of communication, and of dealing with the aftermath of conflict and war.

Sexy Morrigan pictures and statues are mostly inauthentic and they’re a distraction from my work for the Great Queen. And so I avoid them.

4. 9 Things I Wish I’d Known When I Was A New Pagan (January 2018). I have mixed feelings about trying to tell newcomers all the places we screwed up as baby Pagans. So much of our journeys are personal and individualized – the problems I had may be very different from the ones you face. And many times we have to learn things the hard way because we refuse to listen to anyone else.

But these stories can be helpful to beginners who read them at the right time. This is my list of things I wish I’d known as a new Pagan.

The list begins with “you have to deal with your own issues first” and “examine your worldview mindfully.” It ends with the reminder that how you make a living and how you make a life are two very different things.

3. 5 Bad Reasons to Become a Pagan (March 2018). Different people come into Paganism for different reasons, but some of those reasons are bad reasons. In doing so, they set themselves up for disappointment, and they distract our movement from its higher goals.

Instead of seeking power, seek virtues. Instead of seeking secret knowledge, read and study. Too much knowledge is secret not because it’s hidden but because it’s ignored. Concentrate on honoring your ancestors, not on trying to find a direct connection to the ancients. Instead of looking for free sex, work to build a culture of consent.

2. Celebrating Wolfenoot as a Pagan (November 2018). Wolfenoot is the new holiday on November 23 that celebrates wolves, dogs, and people who are kind to dogs. It was invented by a seven year old boy in New Zealand and quickly took over social media. I expected this post to do well, but I had no idea it would end up the #2 post for the year.

Wolfenoot isn’t religious, but it’s definitely spiritual, and it has a quasi-religious tone to it. It’s a great example of organic religion – how we humans celebrate and memorialize things that are meaningful to us. It didn’t come from anyone’s holy book. It has no theology, doctrines, or creeds. It arose organically – and then it spread with the speed of 21st century technology and interconnectedness.

I marked the first Wolfenoot with a small donation to a group that rescues wolves and wolf-dog hybrids that people foolishly try to turn into pets.

Yukon sled dogs

1. Did You Think The Gods Were Lying? (July 2018). Sooner or later there comes a time when it hits us: “oh, shit – this is real.” And in an instant we have to make a decision. Do we accept what our senses are telling us and begin the process of rearranging our lives to accommodate the new reality? Or do we pretend we didn’t really see what we know we saw and go back to watching reality TV?

The political situation in the United States has been bad for a long time. But the retirement of Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy (who was ultimately replaced by Brett Kavanaugh) seemed to be the “this is real” moment for a lot of people.

It shouldn’t have surprised anyone.

For the last seven years, many of us heard a warning: “a storm is coming – get ready.” I have four major posts on this, in addition to discussing it on an on-going basis in other posts. And it isn’t just me… other knowledgeable, experienced Pagans and polytheists heard and saw and wrote about the same things.

Did you think we were making it up? Did you think Loki or Puck or some mischievous spirit was playing us for a laugh? Did you think the Gods were lying to us?

This was the most widely read post on Under the Ancient Oaks since “Adulting” in January 2016. It has more page views than the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 5th posts on this list combined. If I re-did the Top 10 Posts of All Time it would rank 5th, after less than six months.

I think most people understand the Gods weren’t lying to us. This post was popular because it confirmed what so many of us have been thinking and seeing for quite some time: the storm is here.

2018 has been a mixed year. It was better than 2017 and far better than the Year of Death (2016), but it was still a reminder that while the weather varies from day to day and year to year, the climate is shifting steadily in an unfavorable direction. And I’m not just talking about meteorology.

The good news is that where ever you turn, illusions are breaking. We now have no choice but to see the things we either couldn’t see or refused to see in the past. That’s painful, but when we see things as they are then we can begin doing what must be done to make them better.

Thank you for all your support this year. In 2019 may we grow deeper and stronger in our in our devotion, our magic, and our work in the ordinary world.

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