Pagan Paths

It’s a common thing to hear that there’s a difference between our magical lives and our mundane lives. In reality, we have the ability to step into ritual and devotion each and every day.

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2015 Pagan Best of the Best

It's that time of year again folks, when the media starts releasing lists. The "Most Memorable Moments of 2015" or the "Top Ten Really Important Things That You've Already Forgotten About". I'm not a fan of lists. I find that lists make me grumpy. Why should I only remember these ten things? I frequently find that I didn't see any of those Top Ten must see movies and I'm pretty sure that those Top Ten Celebrities That Changed America, didn't actually change much at all.

So this is not a "list" blog. Think of it, perhaps, as a collection of my favourite seven (I like seven, it's sort of witchy and isn't Ten) Pagan writings that you might like to read at some point, and in no particular order (except number one on the list. You do have to read that one first). Imagine that the author (that's me) just sort of bumped into you at your favorite eating spot and said "Oh! Look what I think is interesting and compelling. Read these."

Remember, what follows is not a list...


To Be A Witch's Annual Round-Up Of Brilliant Pagan Articles I Read This Year That I Think You Might Also Like


All kidding aside, some of these articles stopped me in my tracks. They arrested my thought process so completely that I had to put down whatever I was doing and re-read them several times over. Some made me laugh. Others made me cry. One or two compelled me to get right up off of my arse and actually do something. I like writings like these. Not arguments or debates or slinging mud, but passionate, funny, vulnerable, honest, educational, discourse.

 


 

1) If you read only one of the pieces on this Not A List, please read this one. It is quite possibly the best article I've ever read anywhere, at any time, in any format, in my life. I strongly believe that Niki's piece should be required reading for every man on the planet. Period. Nuff said. Just click on the link.

"Our Bodies Will Not Be Machines: My Resistance Will Be Bloody" - Niki Whiting,writing at Gods & Radicals.

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(The fantastically talented Niki Whiting)

2) There's a lot I could say about Rhyd Wildermuth and his writing. A word that he himself has used is "dangerous". That works for me. Provocative, Poet, Madman and Brother are also words that come to mind. I find so few really good articles about my beloved Welsh gods. Forget what you think you know about Arianrhod. This is She, speaking with and through Rhyd.

"Where They May Be Found: Arianrhod" - Rhyd Wildermuth, writing at Paganarch.

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(The Dangerous and Divine Rhyd Wildermuth)

3) Technically this piece came out in December of 2014, but I'm including it here because my calendar starts over after Samhain and well, I just loved it. Brennos isn't a blogger in the typical sense. What he writes is more of a Field Journal. What I find so aching and breath-takingly poignant about this entry is that he could have re-written it every day of every month of 2015. 

"Service Above Self" - Brennos Agrocunos, writing at Polytheist.com.

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(This is not Brennos. I didn't check with him first about using his image and the other folks have very public profiles. I think he'll like this image though)

4) I attended the new Many Gods West conference held in Olympia, Washington. Morpheus Ravenna gave the key note speech and, fortunately, released a written version. I thoroughly enjoyed hearing the address and have returned to this piece a few times since. I find that it challenges me in the ways I like to be challenged and gives an excellent framework for how Polytheistic thought differs from monotheism (and other isms that you're free to debate about on your own time).

 "Deep Polytheism: On The Agency and Sovereignty Of The Gods" - Morpheus Ravenna, Key Note Speech given at Many Gods West.

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(Morpheus actually reading the Keynote speech)

5) The Anomalous Thracian is at least six feet five inches tall. There are two ravens perched on his shoulders at all times. He has a cask of whiskey slung across his back, a cask that is never empty mind you. He always has fresh, raw meat in his satchel, the origins of which are dubious at best and most likely evidence he is disposing of at worst. Much of what I just wrote is an exaggeration, but which bits exactly, I'm not going to divulge. If Douglas Adams, Ian Anderson and Odin had a love child, it might be known as the Anomalous Thracian. "Bad Math" is at once entertaining and erudite, commentary and critique.

"Bad Math" - Anomalous Thracian, writing at Thracian Exodus.

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(See, I wasn't kidding about the Ravens)

6) It's likely that Jason's blogs will be on a few lists this year. To be clear. This is not a list. I don't do lists. I just like starting sentences with a number and parentheses to annoy my old English teacher, Mr. Rasmussen. There are mercifully few Pagan texts, but one that I hold dear is "The Charge Of The Goddess." Jason's treatment of this piece of poetry/prose is quite lovely.

"The Charge Of The Goddess: A History"  - Jason Mankey, writing at Raise The Horns

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(This picture of Jason cannot be unseen. I hope the internet never breaks so I can always view this)

7) In case you just skimmed through to see what was at the bottom, may I remind you...If you read only one of the pieces on this Not A List, please read this one. It is quite possibly the best article I've ever read anywhere, at any time, in any format, in my life. I strongly believe that Niki's piece should be required reading for every man on the planet. Period. Nuff said. Just click on the link.

"Our Bodies Will Not Be Machines: My Resistance Will Be Bloody" - Niki Whiting,writing at Gods & Radicals.

So, as a tour guide in Bath frequently said when pointing out interesting tid-bits of information "so there it is and there you have it." 

 

May the remainder of 2015 be filled with peace and rest. May 2016 be filled with peace and justice.

 

 

 

 

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I've been a practicing witch and ritualist within the Reclaiming Tradition since 2003. I love being in service with this community of witches and world changers.   My own practice, my own way of changing the world is through devotional practice. It's my belief that we can re-enchant our lives by re-framing the so-called "mundane" as sacred and divine. By imbuing the familiar with a sense of wonder and infusing daily life with acts of magic, we choose to consciously make all of life devotion. Whether we engage in large, public rituals or sink sumptuously into the pure ecstasy of eating a delicious meal by ourselves or meditating at sunrise, our daily rituals can draw us back into harmony with the world and each other.  

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