This has been a busy time for your Village Witch...mostly because she keeps leaving the village and hitting the road.

I've only just returned from the Pagan Unity Festival in Burns, TN and am pondering the differences between festivals and conferences, since I was fortunate enough to be included in the Cherry Hill Conference several weeks ago.

All these gatherings. What draws us into these artificial communities? And are they really so artificial?

Most of my friends and associates think of me as a serious person that is always up to their elbows in projects. I have a very full schedule with teaching workshops, writing, mentoring people within and outside of our tradition, organizing small, medium, and large educational events, and running a metaphysical shop. My days usually start at 5:00 or 5:30 AM and pretty much every hour is accounted for until around 9 PM when my off time begins. On May 4, 2013, my shop Bell, Book, & Candle sponsored an event called “The May Moon Revel”. It involved a live band, belly dancing, readers, book signings, food, drink, amazing costumes, and random merriment. It was a great deal of work and from my perspective well worth the hours required to plan it, and to pull it off.  By the way, it just barely, sometimes, breaks even so money is not its motivation. After the event, one of my friends (who did not attend) asked me why I used my time on a frivolous event when I have so many important things already on my docket? Before going further, I'd like to say that I believe that my friends and members of my community do have a right to question my choices. I would actually say that is one of the hallmarks of actually being in functional friendships or communities. So my answer was not “none of your business”, it was “let me tell you why”.

I recently did a reading for a repeat client. "I looked up the cards after I left here the last time I visited you," she said, " and the meanings that you told me were not the meanings I found when I looked up the cards online." 

One of the reasons that people go to a reader -- and often pay good money to do so -- is because of the reader's experience. Anyone can get a deck of cards and do the readings themselves from the little white book that comes with the deck. How accurate is that going to be, though? Is the novice experienced enough to be able to intuit what the cards are saying? Is a beginner going to examine all aspects of the messages from the cards, or will they jump to the nearest conclusion and run with it?

When  professional reader is doing a psychic reading for a client, that reader is not just repeating parrot fashion what a good author has written about the subject. A good reader will tap into his or her own intuition, and reach out into the cosmos to see how the images on the card apply to the particular situation of the client. There is both skill and experience involved. I know that I for one would rather place my trust in professionals in their field, who had years of experience and a good reputation, rather than a newbie who was still honing their abilities, and I feel this applies to psychic readers, too.

Abu Dhabi police launch drive against witchcraft (Gulf News)

"Abu Dhabi Abu Dhabi police are trying to break the spell of sorcerers on ordinary people. The police have launched an awareness campaign called Amman, encouraging people to come forward and report anyone practicing witchcraft or sorcery."

Wikipedia admits prominent editor conducted anti-Pagan purge (Tech Eye)

Many Pagans, especially those with a presence on Facebook, followed with interest the battle being fought earlier this year between well known resource site Wikipedia and the Pagan community. Pagan efforts were lead by a prominent Pagan festival organizer, who saw numerous Wikipedia entries of Pagan notables up for review and deletion (see one article here on the situation). The deletion reviews charged that these Pagan leaders were "not notable enough" and had no secondary sources linked to their pages. Indeed, my own Wikipedia entry was called out for deletion: fortunately I am cited as an expert on Mythology in several journals including that of the American Film Institute, and I have played fiddle on numerous recordings by well known musicians: so my own entry was spared. Other Pagan notables did not fare as well. In fact the entry for Starwood, one of the oldest and most respected Pagan-oriented festivals in North America, was deemed unworthy and was taken down.

One of the leaders who was spearheading the movement to stop Wikipedia from its war on Pagans noticed one particular editor's name appearing again and again in the criticisms of Pagans, an editor calling himself Qworty. The Pagan leader suggested several times that this Qworty had a vendetta against Paganism in general. In fact, Qworty made statements in his criticisms of Pagan pages like these:

• 1) People who promote "witchcraft" are either charlatans or severely mentally ill

• 2) A good number of these Strega folks are Satan worshippers, for whatever that's worth

• 3) The rest of them are a bunch of New Agers who have gone way, way, way over the deep end, spending too much time sucking on water pipes in Santa Cruz and imagining that their deceased Italian forebears are going to drop down out of the sky (or rise up out of Hell) with advice on imagined medical problems, real financial problems, horrible self-created relationship problems, etc  [bullet points are part of quote]

When challenged for these statements, Qworty responded:

Someone asked me the other day whether or not it was acceptable to do magick for personal gain. This is one of those topics that can be hotly debated in Pagan circles. Wiccans sometimes say no, that there is something intrinsically flawed with the idea of using the powers of magick to say, win the lottery. (Hell, if that worked, there’d be a lot more rich Pagans out there.) Traditional Witches often used magick to get what they wanted. So what’s the answer?

As I see it, there are three pillars of the Kemetic religion(s), in all its (or their) many forms. These pillars are:  The gods, the practices, and the concept of ma'at. It is this third, ma'at, that I will be discussing in this particular post.

Ma'at is often translated as Truth, Justice, Good, Order, or Cosmic Order. It is all of those things at once, in a way that can't be adequately conveyed with any one of the above English words or phrases.  For the Egyptians, the stability of the cosmos was not a fundamentally different thing from a king ruling justly. They were both manifestations of ma'at, and the lack thereof (an unstable cosmos, an unjust king, with the resulting disorder in the land) would be considered a lack of ma'at, and signs of  its opposite, isfet (often translated as "evil" or "disorder".)

The gods are said to live on ma'at as we live on food. I would stretch this bit of theology farther, based on a couple of points:

When a person comes into magic, they often do so largely because they're looking for that magical wand for themselves. Either they're looking for a magical cure for their problems, or they're looking for an explanation why things work out the way they do, and so on. They often don't even give themselves a moment to consider the applications for other people. Even the nicer kinds of people often have this blind spot- they're not being selfish, they're being considerate of meddling in other people's affairs.

Still, I have often said that the true mark of a magician of any sort (be it shaman, sorcerer, witch, etc.) is how they use their powers in aid of another. After all, the first focus of any magician is the mastery of one's self and one's own life. Of course, once one has accomplished that (no easy task, to be sure, but it is the first goal), it should stand to reason that a person would naturally turn their gaze outward towards their surroundings.

In the Marvel Universe (yes, I'm referencing comic books in my magical practice), there are three kinds of true magic- Arcanum Ego, or the magic of one's self and one's own personal "energies"; Arcanum Eco, the magic of one's environment and natural power; and Arcanum Exo, the magic of extraplanar forces and beings. For myself and my own experience, this seemed entirely natural as a system of understanding. My own studies of astrology have taught about the modes of Personal, Interpersonal, and Transpersonal ideology and wisdom- if you haven't learned this yet, the twelve signs are split into four Personal (Aries, Taurus, Gemini, and Cancer), four Interpersonal (Leo, Virgo, Libra, and Scorpio), and four Transpersonal signs (Sagittarius, Capricorn, Aquarius, and Pisces).

For my inaugural article here at PaganSquare for the newly minted military section, I had a lot of ideas on which direction to take, but I couldn't quite decide where I wanted to set my focus. Some of you may be familiar with my writings on the Pagan Newswire Collective's Warriors and Kin in which I have been faithfully posting there each week for a little over three years. Sometimes, I ramble a bit (who am I kidding, I ramble a lot!), and sometimes I readily admit it's hard to come up with that hard-hitting journalism that seems to come naturally to so many other writers over at PNC and within the Pagan community as a whole. I call myself a hack, but I write from the heart, and I hope you enjoy what I offer.

So where did my mind wander for this article? Well, the last Monday in May is a national holiday – Memorial Day, which I found to quite apt. It is a holiday many Americans equate with the unofficial beginning of summer thanks to the rediscovered warm weather, complete with backyard barbecues. But it means something a whole lot more – an honoring, solemn day of remembrance for all those who have served and have passed.

For our Heathen brethren, this Memorial Day will mean something a little bit more, as the Veteran's Administration now officially acknowledges them by offering the Thor's Hammer emblem. Yes, this is another victory for Pagans as a whole, but just like how many people forget the meaning behind the holiday while they're enjoying charred burgers off the patio, many folks either forget or are unaware the way an emblem joins the list. You see, someone who has served has had to die and the next of kin makes the request. And that request, as many of us recall, can take several years, a lot of hand-wringing and plenty of petitions and calls to action.

Today I was chatting with my colleague Ochani Lele (who will be appearing on Wyrd Ways Radio on June 5), author of "Sacrificial Ceremonies of Santeria: A Complete Guide to the Rituals and Practices," "Diloggun Tales of the Natural World," and several other books.  We were discussing our respective Holy Powers when he asked me a question that made me stop and, after answering it, ask him if he'd mind me using it as a question here.   During the course of our conversation, he said to me: 

"You know . . . having Jewish blood, I've always been a bit afraid of Norse religion. Just out of curiosity, how do you think your gods would react to someone with Jewish blood taking up their worship? Would they respond? Would they accept? What about an African, or an African American? How would the Norse gods respond to such a person? Are they beyond racial boundaries, like the Orishas? I'm assuming they would be . . . but assumptions often get me in trouble. What are your thoughts on that?"

What did it mean to be a priest in ancient Egypt? 

Roving mendicant, parish pastor, fiery evangelist or vodoun mystic – so many stereotypes joust for attention when you speak the word.  Egyptian priests, however, were very different from the typical modern western image of a minister.  Their primary obligation was to conduct daily and seasonal rites in order to perpetuate the balance between the neteru (gods) and the earthly realm.  Healing, magical and literary and musical arts developed around these rites.  But preaching, converting, pastoral care for a congregation, and the like were not part of the job.

A hem-netjer (servant of the god) might be attached to a temple for life as a permanent vocation.  Other priests served in rotation, living at home with wife and children most of the year.  Celibacy was not a requirement for priesthood, though married priests during the New Kingdom abstained from sex before coming to the temple for their period of service.  In the large temples, divisions of labor resulted in specialties like the wab priest (a sort of ritual helper), sem priest (performed funeral rites), and kherheb (lector) priest, who recited texts and often performed magic.

In Osireion practice, we look at the figure of the priest as an allegory or type for our own daily living.  That does not mean we go live in a stone temple, but that we contemplate the devotion of the priest to spiritual practice.  We do not feel that we are inherently unclean, but we do find it meaningful to dip our hands in clean water before a ritual, to signify that we are washing away what is unwanted in our lives and coming to the altar with a clear and open heart.  We burn incense before the statues of our gods, but we are well aware that the scent has a powerful effect on our own human minds, instantly connecting us to the realm of spirit.  We shake the sistra, not only because it was believed that the gods like the sound, butmodel of devotional practice, in particular.

Today, however, we live in communities which are accustomed to a pastoral culture of ministry.  This need not be a conflict for independent-minded Pagans; humans naturally congregate and form groups based on shared values and practice.  Within those groups, some will emerge as possessing specific skills needed by the others.  There is honor and beauty in the idea of caring for others in our spiritual communities.  Intentional nurturing of one’s own spirituality, in addition to learning about ethics, leadership, ceremony and pastoral care, brings about a model for priesthood which can serve the growing new Egyptian spirituality communities.

“O Ra, Lord of Light, Giver of Life and taker of it, cast your light of peace unto the world. So commands the Chief Lector Priest, Haroeris M7, everliving in Ma’at.”

From Selections of Ancient Egyptian Prayer, © Copyright 2009 Michael J. Costa (M7), All rights reserved.

Women in Nepal tortured because of witchcraft allegations (Al Jazeera)

"Women accused of witchcraft in Nepal are often tortured and beaten by their own community. Human rights activists have been trying to stop the persecution but they say current legislation is too weak and is not helping. It is thought that about four women are abused every month, having their heads shaved and being beaten and bound."

SCOTUS to hear case on Christian prayers at beginning of public meetings (Miami Herald)

I don't want to talk about this.

Every fiber of my being is resisting - and that's why I'm going to do it. "The way of the transgressor is hard." I've called this series Blurring Boundaries for a reason - because that's what being a Dionysian comes down to. A constant struggle to be free and true, tearing away the masks no matter how painful the process, striving for an openness that leaves you so raw the wind against your skin bruises and filled with a monstrous hunger to experience more, always more, no matter the cost. Being alive and knowing fully what your flesh is capable of.

That is what being a Dionysian means to me, and it's terrifying as the face of the Devourer, my sweet prince, is terrifying. I love him and I will never stop pouring myself out for him. And I know that he would do the same for me because I am an initiate.

One of Zeus’ epithets is Georgos, meaning “farmer” or literally “earth worker”.  This epithet obviously describes his agricultural connections.  Now some may find this surprising.  “But he’s a sky god!”  He is now, but remember, Zeus was raised on Gaia.  He only became a sky god when the Titans were defeated in the Titanomachy.  Zeus Georgos was honored on 30 Maimakterion (November/December) which was the time plowing and planting of grain.  (I like to imagine it as right around the time of the US holiday of thanksgiving.)  He received bloodless sacrifices like ambrosia (water, oil and a sweetened mixture of edible seeds) or cakes. The dios kodion, the fleece of Zeus, was probably carried around the fields in his name for purification and protection from bad weather. 

One thing I often see, both from the reconstructionist and non-recon sides of Paganism, is a blind spot when it comes to sources that derive from Christian writers. I see this a lot particularly in Ásatrú and related Heathen faiths: when there’s a debate on something in the Sagas, or the Eddas, someone will inevitably chime in with the fact that most of the written lore comes down to us from Christian writers, who were writing after the official conversion from Heathen beliefs to Christianity, as if to shut down the discussion by impugning the sources.

The reality, of course, is that without the written sources, we would know next to nothing about the religion of the Norse. Indeed, much of our knowledge of Roman Pagan religion also comes to us from Christian sources, and the watchword from a Pagan or Heathen point of view could be, “If the Christians were against it, it’s probably a good idea.”

For example, a masterpiece of erudition on the subject of Roman religion by Marcus Terentius Varro, a book called Antiquitates rerum humanarum et divinarum is lost. Its contents are known to us chiefly through Augustine’s City of God, in which he critiques Varro. But for Augustine, our knowledge of Varro would be much less, and thus our knowledge of the Religio Romana would be all the poorer.

Ten days ago, I finished a long and occasionally arduous journey deep into the heart of nerdom: I finally read every issue of Marvel's THOR and its sister comic, JOURNEY INTO MYSTERY, published since the character came back in 2007.* 

Between here and there, there have been about 60 issues of the main Thor book, plus 37 issues of Journey into Mystery, plus assorted one-shorts and miniseries. (I'll confess, I haven't read every single one of the one-shots, mainly because Marvel released a ton of them around the time the movie came out and I'm sorting out what's what. If I stumble onto any gems, I'll let you know.) That's a lot of comics - Gods bless the iPad, without which I doubt I ever would have taken up the project.

If you like superhero comics... Well, it's actually hard to tell, exactly, how well you will enjoy this particular era of the character. The 2007 Thor relaunch emphasized the fantasy side of the series as opposed to the super-heroing; most of the time, when the series goes towards superheroics, it falls a little flat. The best parts, for me, evoke a wonderful feeling of magical realism, the mixing of the mundane and the fantastic, the holy and the comedic.

I walked into a convenience store a few weeks ago and made a startling discovery. I must have walked by that store a hundred times, but I had no idea that it held one of the greatest selections of magazines and newspapers in the area. As I browsed, I was astonished to see the face of the Black Madonna staring back at me. 

For those of you who read French, the hors-series edition of Sciences et Avenir (Science and the Future), January-February 2013, is an absolute gem.

https://www.epresse.fr/magazine/sciences-et-avenir-hors-serie/2013-01-01

A little over a week ago, I introduced a new series for the blog: a short series about the labours of Hēraklēs. In that post, I described the life of Hēraklēs up until the point where he set out to complete the tasks. Today, I'm taking you through the first of twelve labours: Hēraklēs' challenge to slay the Nemean lion.

The Leon Nemeios (Λεον Νεμειος), or Nemean lion has been described with a large variety of parents. Selene is mentioned by Aelian and Seneca, amongst others, but one of the drakons is also possible, especially Echidna. Diodorus Siculus, in his Library of History describes the lion so: 

(As readers of my Wytch of the North blog know, Queen Anne Boleyn is the most prominent member of a group of spirits I refer to as "The Queens"--since they literally are the spirits of dead queens--whom I have adopted as my Disir, and who have adopted me in turn and are kind enough to favor me with Their advice and support.  I may cover the story of how Anne first came into my life in another post, but for now I would like to share the below thoughts that were inspired by my Work with Her.  Probably this is more or less common knowledge, but for those who may not know, Anne Boleyn was beheaded by her husband, Henry VIII of England, on May 19th 1536, on false charges of adultery and incest.  Thus, I have set aside May 19th each year as Queen Anne's Day, which I observe by processing to our local Owen Memorial Rose Garden here in Eugene, where I leave gifts and offer prayers for her, and then at home I prepare a Tudor-era inspired feast in her honor.  This year, I will also be presenting prayers and poetry submitted as gifts for her by my readers.  Anne's death was a great tragedy, but as I commented recently on my blog, I think it's important to remember how she lived--boldly, with style and aplomb--and not just how she died.)

This week, in my search for Anne Boleyn-themed viewing material that I had not yet seen, I ended up borrowing (from our amazing local library) a BBC production of Philippa Gregory's The Other Boleyn Girl.  (Which is also available on YouTube here.)  Many of you are doubtless familiar with the Hollywood adaptation of this story, featuring Natalie Portman.  (I watched this again recently too, and to my surprise found that the theatrical release doesn't actually make a whole lot of sense if you aren't already familiar with the novel; this must be due to bad editing and too many deleted scenes, as the plotline--which was fine in the book--just does not hang together well.)  I have to admit, although I love Philippa Gregory, especially her books about the queens involved in the Wars of the Roses (aka "the Cousins' War"), I am not a fan of The Other Boleyn Girl.  Gregory does seem to have a distinctly pro-Catholic bias in her novels, and when writing about the Reformation, that bias translates into an anti-Anne bias.  In The Other Boleyn Girl, Mary is the good girl who compromises her purity for the sake of her family's ambition, then ends up falling in love with the king despite herself, only to be foisted from his bed by the heartless Anne, who coldly connives her way to the throne and stops just short of committing incest with her own brother in a last-ditch effort to conceive the male child that would have saved her life.  (Gregory's treatment of Anne's daughter, Elizabeth the great Protestant Queen,  in later books is not terribly flattering either.)  In historical reality, on the other hand, Mary was more of a good-time girl than a "good" girl (the King of France, one of her many conquests prior to Henry, referred to her as his "English mare,") and Anne was very likely a virgin at the time of her marriage, although on the topic of whether or not she actually loved Henry there are as many opinions as there are writers to offer them.  (The Lady herself says that she did, and does, which makes her story all the more tragic.)