“The Dead Can Dance: The Mythic Ecology of Ancestry” by Mathieu Thiem

The second in a 4-part series, originally published at The Woven Song. III. The Mythic Ecology of Ancestry (Water) “There was a time, the myths tell us, when the link between animals, humans and the land was fluid, magical. The…

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“The Dead Can Dance: The Totemism of Evolution” by Mathieu Thiem

The first in a 4-part series, originally published at The Woven Song. I. Falling Towards the Ancestors (Sacred Space) “When the leaves fall, the bones are laid bare. Old scars are revealed.” – Émile Wayne Hauntings of autumn are carried…

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Teaching Death to Naturalistic Pagan Children, Addendum – by [Starstuff, Contemplating]

In the earlier post on teaching children about death, Kansas covered several important points.  In teaching those, the additional ones mentioned above, basic family discussions (such as when a pet dies, hopefully before a relative dies), and more, the following resources could be useful.

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Teaching Death to Naturalistic Pagan Children, by Kansas Stanton

We learn about death at school through literature, science, history, and mythology, but the topic alone never seems to be discussed. I feel like if sex education is taught in some public schools, we should be allowed to have death education. I think if we begin to discuss it with our children (whether someone they knew passed or not), it can not only help to teach them about its natural process, both miraculous and necessary as birth, but it can teach it to us, as well.

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Raising the Flame Stone: Stones Rising, Four Quarters Interfaith Ceremony, Part 2 by Moine Michelle

I’m still looking at the stone when I hear the voices of the main ritualists begin to raise in a song. I cannot really hear the words. I catch snippets—something about the land. Something about belonging to the land and to each other. I let the singing, the voices wash over me—through me—around me. I cannot take my eyes from the stone as the current raises and turns raw.

And, like that, I am opened. I surrender to it.

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Raising the Flame Stone: Stones Rising, Four Quarters Interfaith Ceremony, Part 1 by Moine Michelle

The enormous “Flame Stone,” a 4-ton and 22-foot slab of red, brown, and gray sand stone, is the 53rd stone to be raised at Four Quarters. Set in the North, the Flame Stone is the first stone of a larger interior circle that will take another ten years to build.

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Celebrating Seasons of the Goddess – with Contributions from Glenys Livingstone

“Celebrating Seasons of the Goddess restores the original vision of celebrating cultural and natural landmarks from the perspective of Goddess feminist activism. By taking such categories as time, seasons, nature and the female divine as a point of departure, this book…

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The Birth of Human-Pig Hybrids

Now, the reason they’ve chosen pigs is due to the similar size and appearance of organs we share, even though there’s a bit of a gap between our evolutionary history. But there’s more we share with pigs than just anatomical organs. Throughout world mythology, we have deities that either depicts pigs, are associated with them, ride them, or are partially pig themselves like Varahi from Nepal. In Greek mythology, Hercules captured the Erymanthian Boar for Eurystheus, as his Fourth Labour. Pigs were also a favorite sacrificial animal of various cultures and are used as a main festive dish for several religious holidays.

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A New Contraceptive for Pagan Men

Sex and health are important topics for anyone, but maybe more so for us Pagans. Being an earth-based belief system, we tend to favor and embrace a more natural and holistic approach to our health; steering away from chemicals that can harm the Earth and us, and pills that may contain multiple side effects. And when it comes to sex, we don’t usually attach cultural taboos, and restrictions like other religions do but encourage that which gives our bodies pleasure when performed in mutual enjoyment. We don’t always wish to produce more children, however, so we use contraceptives to prevent this from happening.

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