Our Ancestors reach back in an unbroken chain billions of years long. Celebrations Death, the dead, and our Ancestors fill our minds today. Some of the ways many of us are celebrating were published a few weeks ago, and at least…
Why Worldview Matters: A Response to Kimberly Kirner
To conclude, worldview matters. It’s not all that matters. But it is part of the dynamic which drives human action, which also includes our material conditions and our social relations. If we want to effect radical change, then we must work to change all three of these, including those “interior states” like worldview or paradigm, spirituality and religious belief.
These Things Aren’t True: Five Falsehoods in the Pagan Community
I’m no stranger to conflict in Pagan circles. Over the years, I have noticed similar themes arise when I come into conflict with other Pagans. These themes can be summarized as five lies that Pagans tell themselves.
Forget Samhain: Halloween as a Pagan Holy Day
Forget Samhain. Halloween is ready-made for Pagan appropriation.
Escaping the Otherworld: The Reenchantment of Paganism
The real danger to Paganism is not so much that our religion will be outlawed, but that there will be no reason to outlaw it. The danger is not that guardians of the overculture will go to war with Pagans in a second “Burning Times”, but that they will have no reason to go to war with Paganism, because any difference between the two will have become merely superficial. The danger is not that we will forced to consume some counterfeit experience for the genuine re-enchantment, but that we will no longer be able to tell the difference.
Black Lives and Sacred Humanity, A Book Review by Emile Wayne
This book is an important philosophical and spiritual resource for all those currently working towards racial justice, especially for those who do so outside the frameworks of specific religious traditions.
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…
The Worst Named Pagan Holiday
Aside from the fact that no one seems certain how to pronounce it, the name “Mabon” is a poor choice for the holy day. As with “Lughnasadh”, the “Mabon” is only tenuously related to the season or the Neo-Pagan mythos relating to the season. Of all eight holidays, Mabon has the worst name of all of them.
The Spirituality of Protest
“There is nothing more radically activist than a truly spiritual life, and there is nothing more truly spiritual than a radically activist life.”
Spirituality Without Politics Is Lame
A politics without spirituality is blind, but a spirituality without politics is lame. And that is why I worry about an apolitical spirituality. I worry that individual spiritual practice in isolation from engagement with the world will never lead to real personal development and thus never lead to positive social change. And I worry about an apolitical spirituality which tells us that we need to accept the world as it is because we are powerless to change it. Finally, sitting back and practicing equanimity and a contemplative attitude is a privilege that many people do not have. It is not a option for many people of color. It is not a option for many gay, lesbian, queer or transgendered people have. It is not an option for many poor people or for many women.