Will there be a Maypole? Or May Day festivities? Will Morris dancers be stepping merrily outside of Westminster Abbey? I didn’t watch Diana and Charles’ wedding (being but a gleam in my father’s eye) but I did watch the divorce, the scandals and the funeral. While I’m not certain I will watch the Royal Wedding live as it starts about the time I will stumble sleepily home from Beltane festivities, I can’t pretend I’m not excited about it. The Monarchy... Read more
Find other posts related to this topic on the link round-up post! I’ve been involved in MANY discussions trying to define what Pagans share. Are we all: Earth Centered? Nope Polytheists? Nope Sex Positive? Nope Goddess Based? Nope Peaceful? Definitely Not After LOTS of discussion, the end result is clear. The ONE defining universal trait among Pagans is that WE ARE NOT CHRISTIANS. Even the Dictionary agrees! pa·gan n. An adherent of a polytheistic religion in antiquity, especially when viewed... Read more
I do think it is a parent’s responsibility to teach their child about their religion. I think the idea that a parent will not share their religion with their child and will instead “let them figure it out on their own” is somewhat harmful. Children need to be taught spiritual beliefs in the same way they are taught how to behave in public. If you do not teach your children about spirituality, the Gods, their Ancestors, and the way to... Read more
As a counterpoint to the pervasive solemnity of Good Friday, today is Earth Day. All around us the irreverence of nature is bursting out. While my northern friends still battle snow, here all is green and lush. How can we not love and care for the earth? She is abundant and bountiful. She gives us everything.Take time to care for her today. The PNC has launched a new blog project called No Unsacred Place that you should check out today.... Read more
4 AM. For the second night in a row Thor wakes me up. The night before it was thunder. This time I just can’t sleep. I keep thinking about the Thor film of all things. I toss. I turn. I get up, shower, dress and go to Wal*Mart. In the rain. Because this film disturbs me. You see, I never got into the Thor comics or The Avengers. My Marvel heroes were the X-Men. So when I look at the... Read more
I use Hootsuite everyday. As often as I eat food and use toilet paper. As often as I wash my hands and look out the window to check the weather. Today, it’s down, as well as Foursquare, Reddit and other services relying on Amazon’s cloud service. Twitter is full of folks adrift and a’ranting over the outage. Between the jokes regarding Skynet becoming self aware last Tuesday and the rumor going around that the Rapture is happening today (although some... Read more
I’m tired today. I finally finished a project that has consumed so much of my time you’d think it was some kind of chrono-cancer. I’m worn out, stressed and desperately in need of revival. Our body, mind and spirit need revival. Our lives are cyclical, and like the earth we sometimes need a chance to restore and renew ourselves. To reach towards the source with joyful song. Yet, revival doesn’t come unbidden like the spring. Revival requires work on our... Read more
Over the past few weeks I’ve been watching documentaries on music and religion in the South, particularly in Southern Appalachia. I’ve heard hyperventilating preachers, women speaking of their faith and culture and musicians conjuring up ballads of love and loss. It’s the sound of my childhood and my heritage, and there are things here of worth to me as a Pagan. I am revisiting Southern Appalachian heritage as a way to be more rooted in my spirituality. When I feel... Read more
The April Moon ritual last night was awesome. Priestesses from our mother coven came to visit and it was just a genuinely good time. I am now looking forward to Beltane so much that I feel antsy as a kid at Christmas. Our Beltane celebrations are like a big family reunion and I was thinking this morning that that is a rather profound thing. I’ve been to Pagan gatherings that felt like old friends meeting, and events that felt like... Read more
I was volunteering at a bluegrass festival in my town and I’m running a bit behind in getting this post out. Which is great because I want to talk a bit about it! For the first time ever just standing on the town square I casually met another Pagan, who encouraged me to join a local women’s choir that sings gospel music. I’m seriously considering it. Bluegrass gospel is the soundtrack of my childhood. My grandparents often took me to... Read more
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