I have to give Andrew Bowen credit for being well-meaning. I do think he means well, but Project Conversion just makes me a little nauseous. Maybe I should feel better knowing he’s given the same shallow treatment to other faiths before he hopped onto mine, but I don’t. I think it’s just as insulting to try to be a Jew for a month. I think we need a Pagan version of Godwin’s Law, perhaps I shall dub it Foster’s Law:... Read more
Guest post by M. Macha NightMare for our Season of the Witch series, recounting the stories of Witches. My late friend Bone Blossom had a huge loom in her living room upon which she wove all manner of wonderful cloth. For the direct action at Lawrence Livermore Labs, at which there was a large contingent of Reclaiming Witches and other Earth-loving Pagans — I recall this as being at Brigit of 1982 — she created an open weaving for demonstrators to... Read more
Lord Merlin, aka David John White, was the elder high priest of the Ravenwood tradition for almost three decades and he died over a week ago, on Mabon. He led an extraordinary life, much like his wife Lady Sintana, and he died a year and a week after she passed from us. He was there by the Lady to bless the founding of my coven, and when I’m initiated this Saturday he will be a part of my lineage, my... Read more
“I am not an angry girl but it seems like I’ve got everyone fooled. Every time I say something they find hard to hear they chalk it up to my anger and never to their own fear.” — Ani DiFranco, Not A Pretty Girl You cannot talk about the stories of Witchcraft without talking about anger. It bubbles up around the edges, spills over into the narrative and makes itself heard. It’s in the Witch trial records. It’s in the... Read more
For October I’m focusing on Witches and their stories, and it seems appropriate to begin with Aradia. Aradia: The Gospel of the Witches (or Vangelo della Streghe) is a strange text, as strange as any scripture any other religion can boast. When recently ill I grabbed it to read between fever dreams, and just like when I read it as a young Witch over a decade ago, I was enchanted and disturbed. The Gospel, or Vangelo, contains a creation story,... Read more
There are days when I really hate Christians. I loathe them on those days. My wrath swells and my rage increases. I hate their dismissiveness. I hate their blindness to their own privilege. I hate their double standards. I hate their elitism and snobbery. I hate their bland platitudes, and their church clothes. I hate their taking over restaurants on a Sunday and that they dictate my shopping habits with their blue laws. I hate the fish plaques on minivans... Read more
I have been under the weather and now I feel better I’ve got several things I want to touch on. So I’m going to try to breeze through them quickly. What Church Wants To Be A Jail? One thing I’ve only seen one person bring up in this church or jail story, is what church wants to be equated with jail? Seriously? And what religious organization wants to develop, staff and implement a rehabilitation program for criminals? Pagans have a... Read more
Maybe it’s because I’m feverish or because my head is filled with pea soup, but I found this video hilarious. When I say I’m being initiated, I’m not being initiated into anything this dude belongs to… On the contrary, I would say I’m being initiated into something quite like the following videos… Read more
I’ve been thinking a lot about Pandora lately. About how she let all the evils of the world, all the miasma, tragedy, depression, heartbreak, anger and violence just floated away. All she kept was hope. I know a lot of folks interpret this as a an Eve-esque story of woman inflicting evil on the world. It’s true in Greek mythos Pandora, the all-gifted, is the first woman, but I don’t think she inflicted evil on the world. I think she... Read more
It’s the last day of the lunar cycle, the moon is in Virgo, it’s raining and I would love to curl up under a quilt with a book. It’s one of those reflective, misty sort of days that make you crave chili and stew. It’s also less than two weeks to my initiation. Despite being a blogging loudmouth, I don’t like attention. I don’t want to be the center of anything. I cringe up and want to hide when waiters... Read more
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