5.25.2008
The Wild Hunt's Amazing Guest-Star Vacation Special
Welcome to the last week of May! Due to vacation-oriented circumstances beyond my control, I will be unable to perform my regular blogging duties here at The Wild Hunt. However, just because I'm off to run and play doesn't mean I'll be depriving you of your daily fix of great Pagan-oriented content. I have somehow managed to assemble an all-star line-up of guest posters for while I'm away. Allow me to introduce you...
May 26th - Cat Chapin-Bishop
Wiccan since the late '80s, Cat Chapin-Bishop has also been Quaker since 2001. Cat's essays have appeared in Laura Wildman's "Celebrating the Pagan Soul", "The Pomegranate: The Journal of Pagan Studies", the Covenant of the Goddess newsletter, and "Enchante: The Journal for the Urbane Pagan". In addition to her work as a Wiccan HPs, Cat is the former Chair of Cherry Hill Seminary's Pastoral Counseling Department, and she currently serves on the Ministry and Worship Committee of Mt. Toby Quaker meeting.
Cat and her husband maintain Quaker Pagan Reflections, a blog dedicated to exploring the connections between Pagan spirituality and Quaker practice. They reside in Northampton, Massachusetts, where they attempt to live peacefully in the midst of chaos.
May 27th - Anne Hill
A skilled facilitator, author and teacher, Anne is on the faculty of Cherry Hill Seminary, hosts a weekly dream radio show, and writes an award-winning blog on dreams and spirituality. In addition to speaking at businesses and organizations, she has a private dream practice and is currently writing a book on dreams.
May 28th - T. Thorn Coyle
T. Thorn Coyle is a magic worker, mystic, musician, and author of "Evolutionary Witchcraft" and the forthcoming "Kissing the Limitless." She teaches internationally. Her blog can be found at yezida.livejournal.com or www.thorncoyle.com/musings.htm
May 29th - M. Macha NightMare
M. Macha NightMare, Priestess & Witch, is an author, teacher and ritualist, with a penchant for collaboration. She is an initiate of two traditions of Witchcraft: Reclaiming and Faery/Feri, Reclaiming’s root tradition. Macha has authored, co-created, or contributed to, several books. Most notably "The Pagan Book of Living and Dying" (with Starhawk and Reclaiming), and "Witchcraft and the Web". In addition, she currently chairs the Public Ministry Department at Cherry Hill Seminary, and serves on the Board of Directors at the Foundation for the Advancement of Women in Religion.
For a full biography, click here.
May 30th - Chas S. Clifton
Chas S. Clifton has been blogging since 2003, when he converted his Pagan magazine column, "Letter from Hardscrabble Creek," into a blog. A widely published Pagan writer, he is the author of "Her Hidden Children: The Rise of Wicca and Paganism in America". He also edits "The Pomegranate: The International Journal of Pagan Studies"
May 31st - Deborah Oak
Deborah Oak is a psychotherapist, artist, gardener, aromancer, mother and earth-worshiping Pagan. She writes the popular Pagan blog Branches Up, Roots Down, maintains the Temple of Elvis, and teaches at Reclaiming Witchcamps all over the world. Oak was also featured, along with Thorn and Anne Hill, in the RE/Search Publications book "Modern Pagans".
I hope you will enjoy their contributions to The Wild Hunt, and check out their respective blogs and published works. My deepest appreciation goes out to all of them for stepping in for me. I will return on June 1st with my usual daily dose of news, commentary, and links.
Labels: Anne Hill, Blogosphere, Cat Chapin-Bishop, Chas Clifton, Deborah Oak, M. Macha NightMare, Paganism, The Wild Hunt, Thorn Coyle
2.04.2008
Around the Blogosphere
Some great Pagan and Pagan-friendly content has been popping up lately in the blogosphere, so I thought I would take some time to highlight some posts that I found particularly interesting.
To start off, Mollie at Get Religion takes a look at recent press coverage concerning the entheogenic plant ayahuasca, and the surge in popularity of shamanistic therapy sessions among upper-class suburbanites in Southern California.
"Piccalo explains that ayahuasca, meaning "vine of the soul" has been used for hundreds of years or more by tribes in Central and South America. In countries where it is legal, pilgrims flock to ceremonies. She notes that Allen Ginsberg and William S. Burroughs introduced the plant concoction to pop culture in the 1960s but that it has remained a largely underground phenomenon - until now. A community shepherded by shamans is emerging in the United States ... Unfortunately, the religious component of ayahuasca isn't really explored. Most of the piece deals with Truenos, who comes off more Elmer Gantry than devout believer. He has a shady past and can't answer Piccalo's questions in a straightforward manner. In an area where New Age practitioners have found fertile ground for preying on the wealthy, he seems perfectly Californian."
Mollie and I both share the sentiment that journalists should further explore the religious ties to this plant and its usage. You can read the original Los Angeles Times article, here.
An the artistic front, classics professor Mary Beard reports on the opening of a new show of neo-classical sculpture at Tate Britain called "The Return of the Gods".
"Highlight of the show, but not for me (I actually think it's a bit irritating), is Canova's Three Graces. I decided to talk about some of the less well known pieces. The aim was to explain why what may look like slightly insipid white marble, recreating some serenely voluptuous male and female flesh, is actually a lot cleverer and a lot more intellectually engaged with the Greco-Roman sources on which it is based than most people ever imagine."
Meanwhile the Treadwells blog announces a new exhibition at the Transition Gallery (in London) entitled "Sex and Witchcraft"
"A sinister beauty pervades the work of seven artists from London, Manchester and Budapest in Sex and Witchcraft. Working across media, often incorporating the use of found materials and tabletop techniques, the artists engage in a disturbing alchemy. Dabbling in the chemistry of first sighting and the magical fusion of opposing elements, the artists reveal a dark underbelly to the world of love and flowers, white horses and watercolours."
The "Sex and Witchcraft" show also features a specially commissioned essay from punk-pioneer turned occult historian Gary Lachman.
Over at MetaPagan, Cat Chapin-Bishop notices a "spontaneous blog carnival" concerning interactions between Paganism and Christianity.
"It must be something in the aether...Discussions of Christianity are breaking out on Pagan blogs everywhere. It's odd, but whenever I post anything related to the subject of Christianity at my own blog, the number of hits and comments--from Pagans--goes way up. Maybe I'm not the only person to have noticed this, because over the last few days, numerous members of the Pagan/Heathen blogosphere have posted entries on the topic of Christo-Paganism and related topics. Some bloggers are concerned, some are puzzled, and some are embracing at least some Christian concepts, if not Christianity, per se."
My coverage of Christo-Pagan inmates is included in this accidental blog carnival, as are entries from Gus DiZerega and Chapin-Bishop's own Quaker Pagan Reflections.
Over at Paganachd Bhandia, Kathryn Price NicDhana points to updates on direct action protests taking place in Ireland in a bid to save Tara from further development.
"We still need bodies on the line, supplies sent to the camps, and fierce magic in support. See my earlier posts for more details if you're new here."
For this blog's previous coverage concerning the fight to preserve the Hill of Tara, click here.
In a final note, author Erik Davis reviews the book "Romantic Religion" by R.J Reilly, and explores romanticism, sacred plays, the Inklings, and what really attracts him to religion.
"I have also begun to suspect that, a lot of the time, what has really attracted me to religion was less the glimmer of supernatural knowledge, of some answer to the irascible longing in my heart and the mercurial confusion in my mind, than the creative imagination that channels so much of this stuff in the first place. At root, my spirit resonates with to aesthetic dimension of religion - the pungent bite of frankincense, the swelling gallop of Mozart's requiem mass, the comic book arcana of cosmological maps, the turn of phrase in a lost gospel, the spare decor of the zendo. It is not that I am interested only in aesthetics, or story, or figurative art - I have spent tons of time with doctrine and history, and I love the experience of some model or argument about the nature of existence or God or the afterlife worms its way into my quotidian mind. But the real alchemy happens when the creative imagination soars beyond itself, towards matters of final import. I cannot imagine an awakened genuine religion without flavor and taste, without vivid figures and surprise. I rarely read wisdom books unless they are engaging as literature."
To find more great Pagan-friendly blog content, check out Blog Elysium for an extensive list of blog links, and MetaPagan for a human-edited look at content from other (Pagan) blogs.
That is all I have for now, have a great day!
Labels: art, ayahuasca, Blogosphere, Christopagans, entheogens, Erik Davis, Get Religion, Hill of Tara, Mary Beard, Metapagan, Pagan Blogs
1.13.2008
Happening Elsewhere in the Pagan Blogosphere
Since it is a slow news day, I thought I would take a moment to share some links of note from the larger Pagan/Heathen blogosphere.
Wiccan author Gus diZerega, who sparked some interesting conversations when he critiqued a recently attended Solstice ritual, weighs in on the issue of Paganism and assimilation.
"Paganism is not scriptural and so the challenge assimilation presents us is different. We are a religion of practice more than dogma, and so it is here that the threat lies. We have many practices that often can lead a person into a direct encounter with a deity. How people interpret their encounters is their own business. But during the encounter they can be transformed in ways they find valuable, as was true for me ... We need to be wary of dissolving this unique dimension of Pagan spirituality in the name of seeking greater respectability. For us to do so is like artists allowing the color blind to control the contents of their palette. It is way too easy to keep our words and forms while emptying them of content."
Author and elder Isaac Bonewits was recently a guest on that Bigfoot-lovin', Hopi prediction gathering, conspiracy-theory creating radio program Coast to Coast.
"I was a guest a few days ago on the show, which is broadcast from 10:00pm to 12:00 am Pacific Time (1:00–3:00 am EST). There has been a horrible story in the news recently, about a couple of children murdered in Sioux City, Oklahoma, supposedly in some sort of ritual to "cast a spell." I was invited to talk about magic and murder (and their usual lack of connection), but this quickly turned into a general conversation about Wicca, Druidism, Paganism, and magic in general."
To listen to the archived podcast, you'll have to subscribe via iTunes or download their proprietary podcast manager (also, you have to pay a subscription fee). In addition to the recent appearance by Bonewits, tonight the show is featuring CAW elder Oberon Zell, who will talk about mythical beasts.
Pagan academic Chas Clifton decries those who don't seem to grasp the blogging concept.
"When you write a blog, you either link to a web site you have visited (blog = web log, remember) and you comment on it. Even a Glenn Reynolds-ish "Heh" counts as a comment. Or you write what amounts to an online diary entry. Those are the two main types of blogging. But lately, thanks to Google Alerts, I noticed that some Pagan bloggers think that cutting and pasting Wikipedia entries counts as blogging."
On the Internet, content is king. So be careful where you get yours.
Thorn Coyle marks the 6th anniversary of Guantanamo Bay prison.
"To all the prisoners held in Guantanamo Bay, I am sorry. Sorry you've been rotting there for 6 years now. Sorry most of you are unlawfully and wrongfully imprisoned. Sorry that the US thinks torture is a fitting action."
Quaker Pagan Cat Chapin-Bishop writes about the challenge of becoming spiritually bilingual.
"Instead, the religious path that allowed us to experience connection with the world of Spirit has been, for the past twenty or so years, Pagan. And it's been challenging to us, since becoming Quakers, to be open to Spirit among Friends in whatever forms it chooses to speak to us. Since becoming Friends, and particularly since being impressed by the ways that even the most evangelical of Friends do seem led by a Spirit of peace, we've both worked to become more open to Christian insights, perspectives, and language within the Society of Friends. We're trying to become spiritually bilingual, in other words."
The occult web magazine Key 64 has posted a new issue, featuring submissions by Lupa, Paul Laffoley, Edward Wilson, and Klint "Technoccult" Finley, who writes a remembrance of Lady Jaye Breyer P-Orridge.
"Lady Jaye Breyer P-Orridge, born Jacqueline Breyer in 1969, passed away Tuesday 9th October 2007. Lady Jaye and her partner Genesis Breyer P-Orridge spent the past several years living an "art as life project" sometimes called "Breaking Sex." The couple altered their own appearances to look more and more like each other, forming a third " pandrogenous" entity they called Breyer P-Orridge."
Greco-Egyptian syncreticist Sannion lays out exactly what his beliefs are.
"Some people, apparently, are quite curious about my religious profession. They want to know where to place me on the spectrum of things, and by what authority I write the content that I do. While I think there are far more important matters to concern oneself with, in the hopes of resolving further conflict I’ll attempt to clarify certain questions once and for all. I am, certainly everyone will agree, the best authority on the religion of Sannion, so here it is in my own words."
Finally, the neo-hellenic blog Tropaion shares a rich bounty of links from September through December for his "carnival".
"Finally I had the opportunity and time to gather all weblog's articles of interest and importance. The current Carnival presents, once again, and I am happy because of that, a multilingual collection - Spanish and English. I hope that soon more and more Classicists, Archaeologists, Antiquarians etc. will use the blogging systems to present their ideas and thoughts as well as news from their working environment."
That is all I have for the moment, for more great explorations of the Pagan blogosphere, check out the massive collection of links at the Blog Elysium. You might also want to check out my weekly Pagan music podcast A Darker Shade of Pagan, which will have a new episode posted shortly.
Labels: Blogosphere, Paganism, The Pagan Carnival
9.26.2007
Talking About Paganism and Christianity
Yesterday, a group of Christian bloggers participated in a "synchroblog" (an agreed upon day in which all post on the same pre-chosen topic) on the subject of "Paganism and Christianity". Many of the posts were quite thoughtful, and give an interesting perspective of our faiths from the outside looking in. One post of note includes Phil Wyman's essay concerning the inherent problems facing communication between Pagans and Christians.
"As Evangelical Christians, we will regularly be faced with communicating our faith, and consequently challenging the faith of others whose faith defines who they are. Their beliefs are personal, because they are the culmination of life experiences. These differences in the source, and direction of faith create tension in communication of belief systems between the Evangelical Christian and the Neo-Pagan. Evangelical Christianity has the call to proclaim its faith. It is therefore necessary for the Christian to understand that others may receive challenges to their beliefs as attacks against their being. We may well find ourselves in debate contests between those whose faith defines their being, when we think that beliefs are less personal and rooted in a hopeful becoming. For another faith is a personal journey defined by who they have become, and now are. My Evangelical definition of faith tells me it is less personal."
Also worth a read is Julie Clawson's exploration of the different methods Christians can take when approaching modern Pagans, Tim Abbott's meditation on if modern Paganism is slowly becoming the 'default spirituality' of teenagers, Paul Walker 'walks on the wild side' and visits a Pagan forum for the first time (spoiler: we're nice!), and Steve Hayes talks literature, religion, and his different experiences with different generations of Pagans.
"But what I think may be even more significant is the time. I got the impression (which could be mistaken) that the neopagans of the 1960s and 1970s were engaged in a search for spiritual values in reaction against secular modernity. They failed to find those values in Christianity, because many Western Christians had sold out to secular modernity ... In the 1990s, however, when I began communicating with neopagans and others electronically, I got a different impression (which could also be mistaken) - that many people who had turned to neopaganism in the 1990s had reacted not against secular values, but against religious ones, and those religious values were those of Christianity, or, perhaps more accurately, those which American sociologists have called "Judeo-Christian" when trying to describe the middle ground of US culture."
I encourage those interested in Christian-Pagan dialog to visit the participating sites and share your own thoughts and opinions.
Labels: Blogosphere, Christianity, Paganism, Religion
9.25.2007
Around the Blogosphere
Some great Pagan and Pagan-friendly content has been popping up lately in the blogosphere, so I thought I would take some time to highlight some posts that I found particularly interesting.
Feorag, of the venerable Pagan Prattle, dissects a recent article on a English Vicar who wants to debate the Church of England's use of Harry Potter to attract younger members. It turns out that the press-hungry Vicar has a notorious "Satanic Panic" past.
"Anyone old enough to have been involved in neopaganism in the UK in the 1980s will remember the Rev. Kevin Logan (a.k.a.Kev. the Rev.). The Anglican vicar spent a lot of time and effort promoting the Satanic Abuse Myth, and propagating outrageous lies about neopaganism. He fell from grace after a seriously disturbed woman, Caroline Marchant, committed suicide while in his care. Well, he obviously thinks no-one can remember him after 17 years, and is back having a go at Harry Potter. Nor does he seem to have spent the time learning anything about neopaganism, as he strangely seems to think that Rowling's books have something to do with it."
Logan is looking to forge a comeback in the anti-occult market (reinvigorated by all the fuss over Harry Potter) by releasing a new edition of his Satanic Panic-supporting book "Paganism and the Occult: A manifesto for Christian Action", a work that Feorag describes as "a load of complete bollocks."
Perhaps gearing up for Halloween festivities, the mega-popular Boing Boing has featured quite a few Witchy and occult-oriented posts recently. There was the post on making "witches' jars", a look at a flying witch arcade game, and most recently a post on the organization "English Heretics", who are commemorating the "psychohistorical environment of England".
"England's buildings are littered with blue plaques placed by English Heritage, commemorating the birthplaces of important people, famous architecture and so on. English Heretics put Black Plaques up to commemorate an entirely different kind of heritage: 'The Black Plaque scheme was instigated in October 2003. Its purpose is to commemorate and draw public attention to historical figures in such diverse fields as sorcery, the Royal Art, left hand path occultism and witchcraft, as well as the mentally infirm: tortured poets, psychopaths and village idiots.'"
With a little funding "English Heretics" could really become something interesting (not to mention, fun).
Over at the TheoFantastique blog, John Morehead interviews Bill Ellis (author of "Lucifer Ascending: The Occult in Folklore and Popular Culture") about religious and occult themes in Japanese animation.
"Much of anime can be appreciated purely as story-telling, and as the studios know that their productions will be viewed all over the world, they do make an effort to stress universally engaging plots and characters and minimize the purely esoteric details. Still, myth and religion always lie very close to the surface, and many plot twists that seem odd to the Western eye are 'just right' for an Eastern audience. Likewise, many of the plot details are the sorts of folk beliefs that the Japanese accept as part of everyday life, such as the belief that the number four is unlucky (it's pronounced 'shi,' which can also mean 'death.') So if something happens three times, then the audience is set up to expect that the fourth time will involve some kind of danger or misfortune. Also, butterflies are cute in Western decorations but signal some uncanny and possibly scary twist when they appear in anime, because this creature is associated with magic and a pathway into another world."
Also discussed are the works of Hayao Miyazaki, and how Buddhist and Shinto themes manifest within anime features.
M. Macha NightMare, at her blog Broomstick Chronicles, discusses a recent interfaith meeting on the topic of serving the senior community. In the post she discusses who is considered "clergy", and what the responsibilities of Pagan clergy are when tending to the elderly.
"If there is one thing I want Pagans to take away from this is the knowledge that if we encounter anything resembling elder abuse, we are mandated reporters. Most of you probably know we are mandated reporters for suspected child abuse, but the law requiring 'clergy' to report suspected elder abuse is recent. So now you know. May you never have to do it."
If you need to report a case of elder abuse, the Elder Abuse Center gives you quick links to the State Adult Protective Services.
Finally, there are two new blogs of note I wanted to pass along. Witchvox staff member, movie reviewer, and author, Peg Aloi formally enters the Pagan blogosphere with the well-written "Orchards Forever". Meanwhile, Lupa, author of "Fang and Fur, Blood and Bone: A Primal Guide to Animal Magic", has started a new blog entitled "Therioshamanism" which aims to document her journey towards creating her own Neo-Shamanic path.
Labels: Blogosphere, Boing Boing, John Morehead, Lupa, M. Macha NightMare, Pagan Blogs, Pagan Prattle, Paganism, Peg Aloi
