Pointedly Pagan
Languages are alive, their words and meanings existing in a kind of linguistic ecosystem, but are we over-valuing words that disconnect us from the natural world? nviting relationships were replaced by words closed to them Read more
Languages are alive, their words and meanings existing in a kind of linguistic ecosystem, but are we over-valuing words that disconnect us from the natural world? nviting relationships were replaced by words closed to them Read more
Wicca and similar NeoPagan traditions have already helped humanity far out of proportion to our small numbers. We have disproportionately strengthened two spiritual insights essential to humanity’s future: the sacredness of the feminine and the sacredness of nature. In the absence of a appreciation for both, our society faces increasingly dark times, times even darker than those we are currently suffering. The crisis of our times As with every society, America has always presented a positive and negative side. Because... Read more
Monotheism seems to have an innate proclivity to violence *and* it has inspired some of the most noble people in human history. Why? Read more
Replying to reviews with which an author disagrees is in many ways a waste of time. Reviewers and other readers bring their own preconceptions and biases to whatever they encounter, just as do authors. It is no surprise two people will read the same book and emphasize different dimensions of it, both possibly different from what the author tried to emphasize. But at a minimum a review should give the reader a reasonable idea of what the book is about.... Read more
In the name of a more humane future, Pagans must do all we can to restrict the power and extent of joint stock corporations. Economic decisions must be made by human beings who will not be penalized if they do not put money profit first. This means removing joint stock corporations from sectors of the economy closely interacting with the natural environment. Read more
There is no contradiction between being a genuine polytheist, one arguing there may be unimaginably huge number of deities, and holding to the existence of an ultimate impersonal/transpersonal Source from which everything emerges, including the Gods. Even without the metaphysics, modern science is demonstrating that we ourselves are genuine individuals, but at the same time are such only because of our relationships at every level. We make no great jump to suggest the same holds for Spirit. Read more
Resentment, envy, and self-righteousness push away from the heart, narrowing it or shutting it down. In my opinion this is the ultimate spiritual poison in having the logic of ‘privilege’ come to dominate, or even play a large role, in our spiritual and religious lives. It weakens the heart, both in oneself and often in those attacked, and so further separates us from Spirit. Read more
The problems with 'Wiccan privilege' as a concept are rooted in the current abuse of the term in social and political analysis. While the term has a narrowly circumscribed realm where it provides important insights, its expansion beyond this realm has led to considerable confusion and worse. Read more
The word “privilege” is too abstract to do the work that needs to be done when we are discussing the intricacies of equality and inequality and how to make life better. It works well with respect to legal privileges giving some people advantages over others in the eyes of the law. Expanding it as has been done for ‘Wiccan privilege’ and its equivalent in feminism opens the door to serious abuses and confusions. Read more
Amid this rich spiritual diversity most of us will come together in a deeper appreciation for this sacred earth within which we live, and for feminine values as necessary correctives to the one-sided masculine puffery that afflicts and distorts so much of our culture, secular and Christian alike. And that will be quite enough. Read more
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