I adore this time of year. There’s a crispness in the air, the herald of colder, darker things to come. The leaves are just beginning to change into what, in my region of the US, will soon become a riotous panoply of color. I live in the belly of the mountains, in the Hudson River Valley and fall is something to be celebrated here for its beauty alone. It’s as if the lines of varied color show, for a few... Read more
The list of songs is a bit darker for Mabon. Partly due to the season and partly due to my current mood. I’m craving darkly ambient, magical music lately. Enjoy and be sure to add links to songs I missed in the comments. What are your favorite Mabon songs? 13. Days of Yore – Mabon Never heard of these guys before but even from this bad recording they sound interesting. 12. Enya – March of the Celts Simply classic. 10.... Read more
World Peace. The concept is a cliche used by beauty queen contestants and politicians. It’s hard to even define the what the word peace means, let alone get the whole world in on the act. For some peace is simply the absence of war or physical violence. For others it is a state of mind within an individual, a lack of inner discord. Safety, justice, and equity are terms that crop up when talking about peace. I’m a person who... Read more
In the past, I’ve dabbled in Christianity. I was seeing this Pentecostal man and I just sort of got sucked into it briefly. I mean, I didn’t handle snakes or speak in tongues. But yeah, I dabbled. It involved a guy. Big deal. This anecdote from my life isn’t all that interesting. It certainly wouldn’t prevent me from running for office or be held against me when seeking employment. It’s a non-issue. So why is Christine O’Donnell dabbling in Witchcraft... Read more
I never met Lady Sintana, but I firmly believe she is the reason I am a Witch today. It’s kind of a long story, so bear with me. Lady Sintana was a very public Witch, one of the few well-known public Witches who were not authors. She appeared fairly regularly in the Atlanta Journal Constitution. She fought seminal court battles for Wiccan rights. She took in animals and people who needed her help. For many years her doors were always... Read more
This past Wednesday, the Wall Street Journal announced that France had followed through with its plans to ban the wearing of the burka: full body robes and head covering worn by some Muslim women. Wearing the burka, or indeed just the traditional headscarf has been a site of tremendous conflict, not just in France but throughout Europe over the past few years. This is so, perhaps most especially when devout women choose of their own free will to express their... Read more
Recently Pagan Newswire Collective journalist and Pantheon blogger Cara Shulz has been receiving threats via e-mail and has made it clear that she will be reporting these to the appropriate authorities. Paganism is a loose grouping of communities whose one clear unifying value is tolerance, not merely for religious views and practices but for political ideologies. Threatening a Pagan journalist you disagree with is ridiculous. 1. Freedom Of Speech The fact that there are Pagan journalists is an amazing thing... Read more
First a quick run through on awesome Pagan things going on in the world: Patrick McCollum received the Mahatma Gandhi Award for the Advancement of Religious Pluralism from the Hindu American Foundation. He will be attending the American Academy of Religion’s Annual Meeting in Atlanta, GA on Samhain weekend along with Chas Clifton, Helen Berger, Margot Adler, Michael York and other Pagan scholars, movers and shakers. You only need to pay admission to access certain portions of the conference, so... Read more
The anniversary of 9/11 is always a difficult time for me. Like many people, I lost someone dear to me that day. On the day itself, I stay away from tv, radio, and the internet, mourning and remembering in my own fashion. But the days leading up to and after the anniversary date I can’t help but seeing various opinions and thoughts about That Day. Reading the various opinion articles by people of many different religions I’m struck by common... Read more
The weather is so nice. The windows are open to the breezes. Autumn is on it’s way and I can’t wait. After a summer that seemed fraught with ill-luck and misfortune for so many of my friends it feels like abundance is on the way. You can feel good things coming, as if apples and squash are invading your cupboards in your sleep. I am ready to bake, to be hospitable, to be open to the cool breezes coming my... Read more
PANTHEON
Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In