Blog: About Pagan / Wiccan Religion
Mabon is a time to honor gods of
vine and vegetation.
Image © Getty Images
Fall is lurking just beyond the trees, and as the first of the leaves begin to change colors, it's a good time to consider the grape harvest, which is so intricately tied to the shifting of the seasons. This is the season to celebrate the making (and of course, consumption) of wine and other things grape-related. Wander outdoors somewhere this time of year, and you may even be fortunate enough to stumble upon some wild grapes.
This is the season to celebrate Dionysus and his counterpart Bacchus, and all the celebration that comes along with them. It's the season in which the Green Man makes his appearance, and shows in the forests in his many aspects as Herne the Hunter, Cernunnos, or even Puck of the wild woods. Take a moment to honor these gods of vegetation, and celebrate the harvest of grapes as Mabon approaches: Gods of the Vine
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Mabon Countdown: Gods of the Vine originally appeared on About.com Paganism / Wiccan on Friday, September 3rd, 2010 at 06:46:40.
Cherry Hill Seminary, which provides continuing education for Pagan clergy, has announced the addition of a four-week course on Media Outreach For Pagan Groups and Organizations. Taught by Jason Pitzl-Waters of the Wild Hunt blog, the course looks at ways to get your group's message out while not compromising your Pagan values. Topics covered include the importance and use of social networking, why having a media relations person is important, and the touchy yet ever-pervasive subject of "witch wars" on the Internet. Foundations courses such as this are open to the public, although you must register first with Cherry Hill if not matriculated. For more info, read the course description here: Foundations Courses. It sounds like a great class, and I'm sure Jason will have some great information to share!
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Media Outreach Course Available Thru Cherry Hill originally appeared on About.com Paganism / Wiccan on Thursday, September 2nd, 2010 at 17:28:01.
Enjoy the magic of apples at Mabon!
Image © Patti Wigington
I love apples. Every fall, I take my kids to a local orchard -- it doesn't have anything fancy, like hay rides or corn mazes or anything like that. Just acres and acres of trees, full of plump and juicy fruit. We make a day of it, gathering up bags and bags of fat apples in every color and size and shape. I bring them all home with me, and then the magic really begins... preparing apples for the winter. I turn them into applesauce, I chunk them up and preserve them in slices, I dry them by hanging them from the rafters so we can snack on them later. There's just something magical about this autumn fruit, and that magic has long been a theme found in harvest celebrations around the world.
In ancient Greece, Pomona was the goddess of orchards and fruit trees. Apples have been used for divination and magic for centuries. The five-pointed star can be used as the focus of a harvest ritual. And it's not just apples themselves -- the blossoms of the apple tree are known for their magical properties.
If that's not enough to satisfy your apple craving, there are plenty of craft projects you can use to decorate your home with the magic of apples -- try a couple of these just for fun: Apple Candleholders and Apple Garland, or visit our Family Crafts site for some really fun ideas: Family Apple Crafts
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Mabon Countdown: Apple Magic originally appeared on About.com Paganism / Wiccan on Thursday, September 2nd, 2010 at 06:45:36.
Archaeologist Leore Grosman of the University of Jerusalem has spent thirteen years poring over bone fragments, artifacts, and specks of dust at the burial site of what may be the Middle East's oldest shaman, which is located at Hilzaon Tachtit cave in northern Israel. Over the past year, Grosman believes there is evidence that the gravesite itself could have hosted an early burial feast.
Researchers believe that in the years after the shaman's burial, other members of the community climbed up to the cave with large amounts of food, as well as other bodies to be buried. National Geographic says, "Next to the graves, the living dined lavishly on the meat of aurochs, the wild ancestors of cattle, during feasts conducted perhaps to memorialize the dead." Grosman says that in one sitting a large group may have devoured nearly 700 pounds of auroch meat. That's a LOT of feasting right there!
This would have been around 12,000 years ago, at the end of the Paleolithic era. Archaeologists have previously found evidence of ritual feasting in later Neolithic communities. Zooarchaeologist Natalie Munro of the University of Connecticut has been working with Grosman, and she saiys that the feasting served several purposes. In addition to the spriritual, ritualized process of the slaughter and the feast, a meal of this scale would have helped to reinforce the sense of community in the area. Communal parties are a great way to make peace with the neighbors. "When people feel like they are part of the same group, they are more willing to share and to compromise to resolve conflict," Munro said.
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Shaman's Grave Shows Signs of Partying originally appeared on About.com Paganism / Wiccan on Wednesday, September 1st, 2010 at 09:49:34.
Demeter and Persephone tell the story
of the changing seasons.
Image © Getty Images
Mabon is just around the corner, and one of the stories that I've always loved about the change of the seasons is that of Persephone and Demeter. Even as a child I remember thinking how sad and heartbreaking it was that poor Demeter had to wander the earth looking for her lost daughter... and then when she finally found her, she still had to give her up for six months each year! Read more on Persephone and Demeter.
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Mabon Countdown: The Tale of Persephone originally appeared on About.com Paganism / Wiccan on Wednesday, September 1st, 2010 at 07:35:55.
Use pokeberries to make natural ink.
Image © Patti Wigington 2010
A reader asks, "I do a lot of spellwork that involves writing on parchment, and I'm a little tired of using a plain old pen. I know there are inks available on the market, but I'd like to make my own if possible. Any suggestions?"
Actually, yes! This time of year is perfect for gathering pokeberries, or pokeweed, which grows in many parts of North America. The berries are super-toxic, but they produce a lovely pinkish-purple ink that you can use in your workings. The ink does eventually fade to brown if it's exposed to sunlight, but that's not such a bad thing - rumor has it that the Declaration of Independence was written with pokeberry ink! How to Make Pokeberry Ink
Readers, have you made your own ink using magical ingredients? What suggestions and ideas can you offer?
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Reader Email: Magical Ink originally appeared on About.com Paganism / Wiccan on Tuesday, August 31st, 2010 at 14:08:27.
Author Raymond Buckland has a birthday today. He's been writing books on Paganism and Wicca for some forty-odd years now, and is often credited with being instrumental in bringing Wicca to the United States. Ray was introduced to Spiritualism by his uncle as a child, and was later initiated into Wicca by Gerald Gardner. After leaving the Gardnerian tradition, Ray founded Seax Wica. He continues to make numerous appearances on the lecture and teaching circuit each year. His newest book, "Solitary Seance," will be released by Llewellyn in April 2011.
For me personally, the first time I read "Big Blue" back around 1989 was a defining moment in which I realized that I was not, after all, alone in what I believed -- for that, Ray, I thank you once again. Have a wonderful, wonderful birthday!
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Happy Birthday, Ray Buckland! originally appeared on About.com Paganism / Wiccan on Tuesday, August 31st, 2010 at 09:12:11.
A court has ruled that a religious-based charity can fire workers who do not follow the Christian faith. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has handed down an opinion in a case involving World Vision, a charity which says that "a shared Christian faith" is crucial to its mission. The court says World Vision, as a religious organization, is exempt from provisions of the 1964 Civil Rights Act that would normally protect workers from discrimination on the basis of religious belief.
The ruling passed by a 2-1 vote, and dissenting judge Marsha S. Berzon "argues the exemption should not apply to non-profits whose primary mission is similar to secular organizations." Read the full ruling here: Spencer, Youngberg, Hulse v. World Vision
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Religious Charity Can Fire Non-Faithful Workers originally appeared on About.com Paganism / Wiccan on Monday, August 30th, 2010 at 11:39:34.
So I spent a couple of days off the grid, and when I came back to the Interwebz all I saw was an endless array of stories (and, dog help me, excited Facebook updates from friends) about Glenn Beck and his Washington DC rally. Evidently the conservative commentator held a big revival this weekend, in hopes that he and his loyal followers could "reclaim the U.S. civil rights movement "from politics." The issue of faith in the Christian god was a leading discussion point, and from what I've read so far, it seems the main goal was to lead Americans back to faith. Because in Glenn Beck's world, if you ain't a Christian, you ain't a real American patriot.
I find it interesting that Beck could compare this neoChristian revival with the civil rights movement of the 1960's -- and he held his event on the same date and location as the 1963 march in which the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. made his "I Have a Dream" speech, which I'm sure is no coincidence.
It's disturbing that people like Beck continue to equate religious belief -- and that means their kind of religion, not all kinds -- with patriotism. If you want change in this country that aligns with their outlook, you're a patriot and a Christian. If you want change that is less conservative, you're a socialist Marxist anarchist and you probably kill kittens for fun and should be deported.
The most delicious irony of all of this is that for some folks, Glenn Beck isn't Christian enough. Apparently evangelical leaders are skeptical about his faith, because he's a Mormon, which doesn't sit well with some of the more uber-fundamental branches. Regardless, it's pretty clear that Glenn Beck and his army of lemmings had a good time in Washington this weekend. It remains to be seen whether his call to restore America to Christianity is just talk, or if he's vying for position in the political arena.
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God in Politics and Patriotism originally appeared on About.com Paganism / Wiccan on Monday, August 30th, 2010 at 09:18:45.
Researchers Bruno Fazenda and Rupert Till have developed a method of measuring a site's acoustic fingerprint, and the results are pretty cool indeed. Fazenda and Till measure the "impulse response" of a location in hopes of determining how it might have sounded long ago. That, in turn, helps archaeologists in figuring out whether placement and positioning were deliberate or accidental.
For the Stonehenge experiment, they weren't able to bring in any sort of sophisticated equipment to measure reverberation, so they kept it simple by popping balloons and banging a drum. Because parts of Stonehenge's structure have fallen over the years, they also measured sound at a full-size replica in Washington state. If you watch the video, you can tell there's a distinct difference between the drum sounds from one part of the site to another.
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The Acoustics of Stonehenge originally appeared on About.com Paganism / Wiccan on Saturday, August 28th, 2010 at 11:25:37.
Green Egg is one of the best known Pagan publications out there, and certainly one of the longest running. Now they've decided to do away with subscription fees to access their online information, and made everything completely free of charge. Introduced by the Church of All Worlds, Green Egg has all kinds of articles about Neopagan beliefs on the website, and now you can read them any time you like: Green Egg Magazine.
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Green Egg is Now Completely Free originally appeared on About.com Paganism / Wiccan on Saturday, August 28th, 2010 at 10:55:37.
When I was about twelve, I read The Odyssey and The Iliad for the first time, and from that point on was totally hooked on classical mythology. I was so drawn in by the tales of Odysseus and his men, shipwrecked and constantly embattled on their decade-long journey after the battle of Troy, all so he could make it home to his queen, Penelope. Now, it looks as though there may have been more than a shred of truth to the fantastic story of Odysseus, because Greek researchers say they have unearthed his palace.
Archaeologists from from the University of Ioannina said they have found the remains of an extensive three-story building on the island of Ithaca, and that the location is virtually identical to Homer's description of Odysseus' home. Many scholars believe that Homer's work was strictly fiction, so there's bound to be some dissent about this alleged discovery - in fact, several researchers say that the Ithaca of antiquity was actually located somewhere else entirely.
Regardless, it's a neat find, whether Odysseus and his compatriots were real or simply the product of Homer's imagination.
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Greeks Discover "Palace of Odysseus" originally appeared on About.com Paganism / Wiccan on Thursday, August 26th, 2010 at 17:02:45.
A reader asks, "Several months ago, when I first began exploring Paganism, I found myself drawn to a particular goddess. Since there was such a strong connection, I performed a dedication ritual to her, and have honored her ever since. Now, however, I feel I'm being called by a different goddess. I'd like to honor both, but I'm worried it might be seen as disrespectful to the first one if I re-dedicate to the second. Can I change my affiliation respectfully, or may I dedicate to multiple deities? I know many believe one should only dedicate to the God/dess OR a specific pair of deities."
That's an interesting question, and one that can have a variety of answers, depending on your particular flavor of Paganism: Read Full Article
Readers, how about your experiences? Have you found yourselves called by more than one god or goddess at a time?
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Reader FAQ: Honoring More Than One Deity? originally appeared on About.com Paganism / Wiccan on Thursday, August 26th, 2010 at 16:31:23.
Thanks to Shwag for sending this my way -- a neat website dedicated to Proto-Indo European language and religion that happens to include a collection of harvest season songs. It's a list of traditional English harvest songs, combined with a few modern pieces that are done in the old style. Plenty of fascinating information, and definitely worth checking out! Songs to Celebrate the Harvest
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Songs to Celebrate the Harvest originally appeared on About.com Paganism / Wiccan on Thursday, August 26th, 2010 at 11:45:10.
There's been a huge kerfluffle lately about the issue of a proposed Islamic community center in New York City. Just two blocks from the hallowed ground of the World Trade Center, tucked in among strip clubs and pawn shops, a Muslim group is hoping to build an interfaith center. This has become a huge political issue -- despite the fact that the project was approved and the group has all the correct permits in place -- and a topic on the nightly news. There's an argument that it's just "indecent" and "a slap in the face" to build such a thing so close to Ground Zero (although one has to wonder exactly how far away would be far enough).
Ed Hubbard of Witchschool has written a fantastic essay on why the Park51 project, as it's called, should matter to Pagans. You and I may not follow Islam, but the fact remains that this is a pretty significant issue to anyone of a non-Christian faith. Why? Because the focus has drifted away from religious freedom into "OMG ITS MUSLIMS REMEMBER 9/11!"
Hubbard draws from his own experiences in which he and other founders of Witchschool tried to move their business to Hoopeston, Illinois -- and the parallels are eerie indeed. He says, "The argument for not opening our school in their town, which quickly became international news, was that while we had the legal right, why would we impose ourselves on a Christian community? Why did we need to come to Hoopeston and disrupt their community? They maintained that while we had the legal right, we were somehow indecent and wrong to benefit from the low cost of living there. "Why couldn't we go elsewhere", was the cry and hue, and many of our fellow Pagans agreed with the Christians. It was stated by so many that we had the legal right but not the moral right, to build our school in there. This is the same argument that the Christian Right is using against the Park51 project, and it states that the morality of the majority should win against the constitutional rights of the minority."
Kudos to Ed for tackling such a hot-button issue, and I hope his essay raises some awareness, and encourages people to stop and think about the significance of what's happening in New York City.
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Why Park51 Should Matter to Pagans originally appeared on About.com Paganism / Wiccan on Thursday, August 26th, 2010 at 10:23:03.