Let’s face it: there’s a scavenger element to modern Paganism. I mean, there have been syncretists before but Modern Pagans outstripped them 30 years ago.  Sure, we’re respectful, sincere, caring, and a whole boatload of lovely, honorable things, but we’re addicted to religion like Courtney Love’s addicted to being a hot mess. I’m no exception. Growing up Southern Baptist I devoured Catholic and Anglican texts. As a youngster I’ll admit to experimenting with Mennonites, Pentecostals and Judaism. I’m omnivorous in... Read more

"...while this attitude of power struggle and supremacy prevails the suffering of the innocent will continue to be ever with us..." Read more

Be confident in what you believe and your own authority will shine through. Read more

All of Christendom is celebrating Easter and as a Pagan I’m delighting in all the confectionery fertility symbols: eggs, bunnies, lambs and chicks. In the two weeks since Ostara the energy, vitality and promise of Spring continues to wax fat and sassy. Lawns that have lain dormant are thick and peppered with dandelions and little purple flowers. The giant Japanese cherry in my backyard transformed overnight into a benevolent pink cloud. In the woods the dogwood blossoms peek out, skittish... Read more

Pagans recognize both the mysteries of the spirit and of the mundane, natural world. Childbirth, sunrises, vine-ripe tomatoes, slimy snails and voices lifted in song are all mysteries worth our attention. Music is our ship and we often sail into mystery with a song in our sails. Here’s a few songs by Pagan or spiritual musicians that explore some facet of mystery. Each link will open a video in a new window, so you won’t lose your place as you... Read more

Earth Maiden, Child Rhiannon; you have returned from the Isle of Annwyn, and Crone though you will always be, yours are the young buds and tender shoots. As the Sun hunts the Moon, Herne the Stag Lord, Lord of the Mound, has followed to find himself dressed in green as the face in the wood surrounded by the Creatures of his realm. He has awakened as the Green Man, Lord of the Green-wood, and he has heard the call— the... Read more

In the past few years two films promoting New Thought, or the Law of Attraction, have gained quite a following. “The Secret” and “What the Bleep Do We Know?” put basic New Thought principles into a snazzy new package for the 21st century. The ideas they promote are the power of positive thinking, the detriment of negative thinking and a primitive concept of sympathetic magic known as the Law of Attraction, or like begets like. The Secret actually boils this... Read more

The new topic in our Public Square is Miracles and Mysteries. Every religious tradition has at its heart central mysteries and miracles that generate and sustain faith. How is the supernatural evident in your belief system? What role does the extra-ordinary play in your faith? Read more

With the Sunday showdown between two war movies behind us, it’s a good time to talk about peace. Cat Chapin-Bishop’s beautiful “Peace Testimony: Roots and Fruits” is a great place to start: a moving meditation on peace, testimony, and personal transformation. “I go to Quaker meeting, not so much to experience peace as to practice it, for peace is much more than the absence of war. I strive to so open myself to the motions of the Spirit I find... Read more

Check out this moving recent post about the trials of being a single, integral, united human being, at peace with oneself. Somerset Pagan writes: I don’t want to have a professional me and private me. I want to be me wherever I am at any given time. For years I fought what often feels like a terrible battle to be accepted as an openly gay man. The consequences of this were immense and have involved losing family (thankfully temporarily), security,... Read more