The Course of My Studies Part One
“At the very dawn of religion, God was a woman. Do you remember?” – From: When God Was a Woman by Merlin Stone, 1931 – 2011
Like many Pagans, Merlin Stone’s book was amongst the first I found. Interestingly, I find that many Pagans my age or younger have, in fact, not read this book; as well as others like it such as “The Wise Wound” for an example. I was not like many of my generation’s young Pagans in that my very first book on Paganism did not come from the hand of Silver Ravenwolf.
This is a blog post I have been considering writing for a little while now. I was also considering reading it for the podcast, but I worry it might be boring to listen to. So, in honour of the memory of such persons as Merlin Stone, here goes …
My first literary foray into Magick, Witchcraft and Paganism came from fairy tales of course; Jack and the Bean Stalk, Disney, Mom reading ‘The Hobbit” to us. Like many children I played witches brew with mud and crud in the back yard, tapped stones with my sparkly cheerleading baton to wake the fairies, pretended I… Continue reading
My Soap Box
The (larger) Pagan Community and the smaller Pagan communities (within a region or city) are like any community or movement. There are great things and not so great things and maybe even a few things that are less than desirable. Whether it is the mountain biking scene, a local Catholic parish, a quilters’ guild, your place of work or your local Pagan community there is always going to be problems and annoyances. Such as gossip, personal conflicts, poor planning of events, even the occasional abusive jerk. The only way to totally avoid such things would be to avoid the human race as a whole.
Just as the Pagan Community attracts people who are free thinking, artistic, interesting, open minded, creative and spiritual; it can also attract the odd drama queen, womanizer or person who believes that they are a reincarnated elf from the planet Zooboo. Every religion and spiritual movement has its crazies and fanatics. Our fringe element might throw paint on a lady for wearing fur, dress like a vampire, create gossip and drama at a ritual, or go to class carrying a Druid staff. Far better than shooting abortion doctors, blowing up buildings and protesting soldier’s funerals, I… Continue reading
Building a Better Meme
(I’ll post answers my answers in a little while)
Please describe briefly your Path:
Please describe briefly how you practice it:
When did you first commit to your Path?
How is your practice different now than it was then?
Is your practice different today than how you thought it would be back then?
Does your Path and core belief system differ now than how it was when you first started?
What is your heritage and how does this inform your Path?
What are your main influences for your Path?
Which do you do more: practice or research?
Do you feel that one is more important than the other?
What values and ethics are important on your Path and in your practice?
What sort of cycles do you feel your practice goes through?
What is one of the greatest obstacles or struggles you have had to over come?
How do you see yourself practicing in ten years?
How do you incorporate your practice into your life?
Has walking your Path changed you as a person?
Do you consider yourself to be a priest/ess? How so?
A witch? How so?
A shaman? How so?
Which matters more: getting the vocabulary right or… Continue reading
Fire on the Mountain: A Gathering of Shamans
1999 documentary. For five days, shamans & elders (and the Dalai lama) from Asia, Africa, the Americas and Australia meet to talk and share rituals at a Buddhist monastery in the French Alps.
Today’s Rant: Hypocritical Feminists
My Mother and Grandmother’s generations fought hard against men telling them what they can and cannot do with their own bodies. They burned bras and refused to shave their legs. They fought for the right to wear what they wished.
They raised us (my generation and younger) to never let anyone tell them what we can and cannot do with our bodies or what to wear.
But what they really meant was “everyone but them”
Those same women who fought so hard now turn around and snipe and sneer at younger women. They tell us we what we can or cannot do with our bodies, they tell us what we should or should not wear.
Ladies, if you want feminism to be carried forth. If you want that respect you deserve for your efforts. If you want us to listen to what you have to say, then please:
Stop telling us whether or not we should shave our pussies.
Stop telling us we shouldn’t wear short skirts.
Stop telling us we shouldn’t shake our asses on the dance floor.
Stop telling us what kind of sex we should be having with our men.
Stop telling us that a woman who… Continue reading
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