Minorities Are Always Wrong

Last updated on: June 28, 2012 at 3:58 pm By Star Foster

Really, the only struggle of interfaith work is in actually encountering people of other faiths. When you’re a minority, you encounter them all the time. That is one reason studies have suggested religious minorities have shorter lives: they are under constant stress. Lately most of my interfaith interaction is on a professional level. Which is nice because people are behaving professionally. Which sometimes sucks because sometimes in trying to make your voice heard or asserting your rights you can be... Read more

Pagan Hangout: Media at Festivals

Last updated on: June 28, 2012 at 3:58 pm By Star Foster

This week I’m going to be talking to a lot of Pagan Newswire Collective folks about their week at Pagan Spirit Gathering. Pagan Hangout happens every Wednesday. Here’s the time guide: 11 AM EDT (New York) 10 AM CDT (Nashville) 9 AM MDT (Denver) 8 AM PDT (Seattle) 4 PM BST (London) Read more

Gender, Sex, Fat Acceptance and Other Weird Stuff

Last updated on: June 28, 2012 at 3:58 pm By Star Foster

Buckle up. This is going to be a rambler. All across my social media I’m finding really interesting ideas about gender politics, sexuality, and fat acceptance. And all these posts seem to be connected in tenuous ways that I don’t have the mental bandwidth to explore deeply today. The first post is by the fabulous Jonathan Korman, who shares my deep love for comedian Louis C.K. You seriously need to take time to read the entire thing. It’s fantastic: When... Read more

Carefully Considering Conversion

Last updated on: June 28, 2012 at 3:58 pm By Star Foster

I mentioned a few days ago that one of the atheist bloggers here at Patheos converted to Catholicism. It’s a little bizarre, and a lot of atheists are confused, as well as a few Catholics. And it has me thinking deeply about conversion. The most popular conversion story in the Western world is that of Saul (soon to become the Apostle Paul) on the road to Damascus. It leads us to think of conversion as a sudden thing. A flash... Read more

An Occult Memoir of New York: A Review of James Wasserman’s “In The Center Of The Fire”

Last updated on: June 28, 2012 at 3:58 pm By Star Foster

My feelings regarding books sent to me for review are mixed. I don’t have a lot of free time for reading. Reading a book and then reviewing it requires a significant time and energy commitment on my part. So although I feel obligated to review the books sent to me for that purpose, most of them sit in what I term “the stack of good intentions.” It sits there boring a hole into my conscience. I feel a sense of... Read more

Keeping Calm: Why I Prefer Tolerance

Last updated on: June 28, 2012 at 3:58 pm By Star Foster

From what tiny scrap of info we have, it seems PSG made a poor judgement call. They have two women’s only rituals this year, and one was run by a Dianic for cis-women only. Maybe if the timing of the two rituals had been switched it wouldn’t have been such a big deal. I don’t know. I’m not there. In all likelihood, neither are you. But this is the internet, and on the slightest rumor everyone gets their undies in... Read more

Slacker Paganism

Last updated on: June 28, 2012 at 3:58 pm By Star Foster

I like things to be just so. Perfect mood, perfect atmosphere, perfect time and perfect focus. Life, however, has other ideas. Often I will end up sabotaging a diet or a meditation program because of an off day. We’ve all been there. You succumb to the candy bar and then think What the hell? and grab a slice of pie while you’re at it. Happens in our spiritual practice as well. You miss meditation one morning or a single devotional... Read more

Pagan Hangout: Sarah Whedon Discusses “Birth on the Labyrinth Path”

Last updated on: June 28, 2012 at 3:58 pm By Star Foster

This week we’re going to be doing the hangout a bit differently. I’m going to be chatting with Sarah Whedon about her new e-book on Pagan pregnancy: Birth on the Labyrinth Path. I’ll be posting the video here so you can keep this page open in a tab as a reminder if you like. The time of this hangout is a wee bit later. We’ll be broadcasting at these times: 1 PM EDT (New York) 12 PM CDT (Nashville)... Read more

13 Songs for the Summer Solstice

Last updated on: June 28, 2012 at 3:58 pm By Star Foster

I thought surely my readers were tired of these, but apparently not. The sun is reaching his zenith, the days are long, and the nights are warm. These are busy days! Tomorrow I will be hosting two different hangouts. One to discuss Sarah Whedon’s new e-book Birth of the Labyrinth Path, and one to discuss the sun in Pagan practice. On Patheos Pagan today there is Steven Abell’s first-hand account of Trothmoot, addressing the rumors that have been floating around.... Read more

When Patheos Bloggers Convert…

Last updated on: June 28, 2012 at 3:58 pm By Star Foster

We had a significant first at Patheos this morning. At least it hasn’t happened before to my knowledge. One of our bloggers converted. Conversion is always a big deal. It’s a huge personal transformation, and despite the story of Saul on the road, conversion doesn’t happen in a flash but is a long process. Converting isn’t easy, and those undergoing such a conversion need all the support they can get. So one of our fabulous atheist bloggers, Leah Libresco, has... Read more