Quan Yin, compassion, and lovingkindness

A while ago I was having tea and knitting time with a school friend of mine and her parents. They’re lovely, amazing people, and I got to talk a lot with them about my work for the Gods — specifically Brighid. I got an email from my friend’s mother a while after our meeting, and …

“Queering Paganism,” or Let Your Freak Flag Fly

So, I read this blog post this week, and I really want to address the idea that we, as pagans, need to make ourselves normal to break away from negative stereotypes. (Note: I’m not singling out this blog post for any reason other than it happens to be the most recent thing I’ve read that …

Innocence

There seems to be conflation with innocence and purity, and I believe that’s a Victorian idea still lingering around, wrecking the place and never paying rent. It’s wrong. I don’t really know how else to put it. We often describe kids as innocent but if you’ve spent any time around kids you know they’re anything …

Let Go and Let the Gods

My old church had a saying: “Let go, and let God.” Even though I was pagan while attending said church, I always loved that saying, and tried to apply it in my daily life. It’s difficult. Letting go and letting the gods. Putting faith in anything except yourself. When you spend [what feels like] your …

Persephone, and becoming your own person

When I was a child I was obsessed with the myth of Persephone’s descent. I read all the sanitized versions, of course, and so came to associate Her descent with my own — having to visit my abusive father for access weekends and, later, seasons. (Family law is mainly concerned with working around the needs and …

‘God-Bothered’, and what I mean by that

After writing Monday’s post, a discussion with a friend made it clear to me that my definition of ‘god-bothered’ may be quite different from many other people’s definition of it. When I say being god-bothered isn’t that common, I am not saying it’s not common to have a close and personal relationship with a deity. …

Prayer, and how it’s difficult

I realized today — I don’t know how to pray. I do pray, quite often, but it’s always clumsy, and sort of haphazard, like I’m picking my way through a cluttered cabin full of spiritual knick-knacks and doodads, trying to find just the right one for my purposes. Quickly uttered “Dear Brighid, please wrap so-and-so …

Orthodoxy vs. Orthopraxy

In case you need more Morag this week, I’ve also posted at Maenads of the (R)Evolution (MaRE for short), my project with partner-in-crime-and-awesomeness Daniel Grey (aka Sage or Danny). As well, Veggiewolf also did a post on Obesity for Pagan Blog Project, and it’s pretty damn good. You should read it. Now. On to the second O. (Sounds …

Landbinding

I mentioned Landbinding once, I think, in my blood sacrifice post. Since then I’ve been meaning to actually talk about what Landbinding is, or at least what sorts of nebulous ideas I’ve got about it. Danny’s post yesterday, The Morrigan, The Goddess of Blood, sort of spurred me on, and now here we are. When …

“Obesity”, or Fuck Off, Pagan Concern Trolls

I’ll admit I’ve been a little absent from the pagan blogosphere this past week (and other blogospheres; I think my brain is still camping out in the woods). But I haven’t been oblivious, and today I actually sat down to read a few of the posts floating around about the “epidemic” of “obese pagans”. I’m …