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Continuing my story of my early experiences that led me to my heathen path, I encountered a heathen god in my childhood, but I did not know who he was. I’m not sure what age I was at the time, but in my dream, I saw the town outside my window as having almond orchards like Ripon, California, where I lived until age 9.

The following is a quote from my memoir, Greater Than the Sum of My Parts: My Triumph Over Dissociative Identity Disorder. DID is a defense mechanism developed by children who were sexually abused before age 7, according to the latest edition of the DSM. My memoir is about how I recovered from that. This is relevant because it’s the reason I was more afraid of my father and brother than the goblins of the dreamtime when I encountered the monsters.

“One night, I saw goblins, small dark shapes coming up through the heat vent in the floor.  I saw their outlines distinctly, as if I were wearing my glasses, though of course I took them off to sleep.  I spoke to them in my mind, thinking at them as I had thought at the boy at school. 

“There’s no sport here.  I glad you came, though.  Let’s go out and have some fun.  Let’s make some mischief.” 

When She Creates Herself...that’s how I think of my latest Goddess art piece. I did not have a plan of what she would look like. I had an idea of colors I wanted to use but not her shape. As I prepared her humble home with white acrylics, I felt that calm come upon me. The calm I felt before when I know I am creating something special. I've experienced it before when I connect to my Goddess-self and everything is effortless.

I was so amazed by how quickly she was manifesting herself that I started taking pictures of my progress and sending them to my partner. Here’s an image showing my progression:

When I looked upon the white surface, I could see her coming up like she was emerging from primal waters. I took my charcoal pencil to trace her voluptuous lines oblivious to time. I know now, thanks to the text messages I sent my partner, that it took me about three hours to complete her. I lost my sense of time with her.

I am usually very critical of anything I create. It’s an unfortunate habit that I am still working on. Yet for this Water Goddess, it was love at first sight for me. She came to me like a dream, a waking dream where all is effortless. I loved her with her  imperfections. I still love her.

I long to connect with this part of myself again. I want to see what other Goddesses and divine creatures are awaiting creation. My Water Goddess now sits above my main altar reminding me of love, relaxation and how easy it is when you connect with your breath and inner Goddess-self.

Blessings to you and yours sisters! ❤

For today's Faithful Friday we've got stories of real life shamanism and comic-book gods. Have a great weekend!

Thor is a .... girl? Heathen blogger Harrison K Hall decries the bastardization of the Norse pantheon -- but not the way you think.

Speaking of "comic god gods..." Graphic novel publishers in India are revisioning the gods in superhero guise to appeal to contemporary audiences. A "ripped" Vishnu?

In some of the earlier posts we began an exploration of key questions like 'What is a Celt?' and 'How do we know what we think we know?' No doubt we will return to these themes as we go along, but for now, let's delve into some primal thinking about what it may have meant to 'be living as' a Pagan Celt, and how that world view is relevant in this day and age.

From the evidence of archaeology and native writing, it is clear that for many (if not all) of the ancient Celts, their religion was polytheistic (having many gods and goddesses) and probably also animistic (perceiving the living presence of the divine in the natural world). This cultural tradition is important to keep in mind if people are promoting divergent views, such as claiming the Celts worshipped 'The Goddess' (a resonant but quite modern path) or the Wiccan 'Lord and Lady.' (ditto)

Some of the gods and goddesses (or their related culturally relevant archetypes) may have been fairly widespread. For example, the Continental god Lugus / Lugos sees a reflex in the Irish god Lug(h) and the Welsh figure Lleu Llaw Gyffes. It is possible (but not certain) that the British goddess Brigantia (whose name means 'Exalted One') may be related to the Irish goddess Bríg (later known as Brigid). Possibly the most well known and attested are the Horse / Sovereignty goddesses, such as the widely venerated Continental deity Epona ('Divine Horse Goddess'), the Irish Mórrigan and Macha, and the Welsh Rhiannon (as well as the legendary Medb and other figures from myth and folklore).

Kerr Cuhulain is an influential Canadian Pagan author. The first openly-Pagan cop in North America, Kerr’s work with the Vancouver Police Department, and his regular column at Witchvox, “Witch Hunts,” along with his book, “The Law Enforcement’s Guide to Wicca,” probably did more to help eliminate the systematic persecution of Pagans from the Satanic Panic than any other source. Recently retired from his involvement with the law enforcement to the Sunshine Coast, Kerr has retreated into a quiet life of writing and contemplation. I caught up with Kerr when discussing Vancouver Pagan Pride Day:

Question: Thanks for agreeing to do this interview! Tell us a little about yourself. Who is the man behind the story?

Answer: I am a retired police officer/dispatcher who has been a Wiccan for 45 years who was involved in anti-defamation activism and hate crimes investigation for the Pagan community for decades. I was awarded the Shield of Valor by the Witches League for Public Awareness.

It's Earthy Thursday and today's feed features stories of our beautiful living planet, including amazing trees, free herbal education, an organic skyscraper, and Pagan responses to climate change.

Farming, Art, and the Preservation of Heirloom Fruits are just part of the awesomeness of this Tree of 40 Fruits.

Mountain Rose Herbs announces the latest in free herbalism education events.

A little while back I wrote an article about The Broom Closet in the 21st Century. Recently the New York Times had an opinion article about the persecution of Witches in various parts of the world. In that article the opinion writer argued that the age of the internet has increased the witch hunting that occurs. One of the problems is that many of the people accused of witchcraft may not even be witches. They are accused for reasons that may have nothing to do witchcraft, but nonetheless it is used because it's convenient. In such places, the brutality that occurs involves burning people alive, or beheading or stoning them. The majority of such atrocities occur to women and the the people doing the assault are men doing it for prestige or as a way to enforce dominant social values. I mention all of this make a point: That such atrocities, far from being history, are still happening. In some cases, they are even happening in the U.S. And even here in the U.S. we also see the proliferation of ignorant perspectives about magic, because of how the mainstream religion fears the spread of any spiritual beliefs that run counter to that religion. Now whether every single one of those victims did or didn't identify as a Pagan or a Witch doesn't really matter, because those people were still labeled as such and punished for beliefs they may or may not have held.

In the majority of cases discussed in the article, it's a women's right situation, with women being accused of witchcraft and/or attacked whether they do or don't practice magic. But it also highlights how ignorance about the practice of magic is used as a way to demonize magic. This a problem that goes beyond the Pagan community, but nonetheless its a problem that the Pagan community should speak to. We should speak to it, not because we are Pagans and Witches, but because this kind of action isn't something that should happen to anyone. We speak up about it because we know that if such violence is condoned in any place because of what a person believes, all it does is continue the discrimination that justifies one person saying my religion is better than yours and you better change what you believe or die. One of the reasons I think we should speak to it, is to counter the ignorance that says its OK to persecute anyone who believes something that isn't in line with the majority social values or majority religious values that a community holds.