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Subscribe to this list via RSS Blog posts tagged in Future Paganism

Swine Farrowing Barns - Hobby Farms

 

I live in Minneapolis. Our sister-city across the river is named for Christianity's (arguably) ookiest saint: Miss Paul ( Saul) of Tarsus.* Ugh.

What's a poor pagan to do?

Across the New World, in repeated acts of verbal imperialism, places bear the imposed names of foreign religions. As we move toward a post-Christian America, what do we do with these irrelevant old names?

Well, I've heard pagan Califians refer to LA as Yangna, the name of the Indigenous village in the same location. That's one approach, if such a name is available.

In this particular instance, of course, St. Paul isn't the city's real (= original, pagan) name. The city was first called Pig's Eye, and the story sounds like something out of Celtic mythology.

Now, it so happens that the guy who built the original trading post in the area one day lost his prize sow. (Her name, alas, is lost to history.) She had a tendency to wander off anyway, and was about to farrow, so her disappearance was extremely worrying.

Finally he finds the sow lying by the Mississippi with her numerous new farrow suckling greedily. (How's that for an omen?) Giddy with relief, he looks around him at the place where she's chosen to give birth.

“Hmm....” he thinks.

Welcome to Pig's Eye, boys and girls.

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Posted by on in Studies Blogs
In Defense of a Missionizing Paganism

 

 

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Posted by on in Culture Blogs
Life in the Old Roots Yet: A Parable

They cut down the old tree.

They thought that they'd killed it. They thought that it was dead.

Oh, but it wasn't dead at all.

There was life in those old roots yet.

In time, a new tree began to grow from the old roots.

No, it isn't the same tree. Nor is it quite the old tree again, not yet.

It's a new tree, a young tree.

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In Support of our own: understanding Unitarian Universalist Idealization

"Human progress is neither automatic nor inevitable... Every step toward the goal of justice requires sacrifice, suffering, and struggle; the tireless exertions and passionate concern of dedicated individuals."  -- Martin Luther King, Jr.

Last year this time I responded to an essay written by John Michael Greer titled, "A Bad Case of Methodist Envy:  Copying Christian models of clergy is a Pagan dead end."  His essay argued against the notion of payed professional clergy and my response was to argue in favor of professional clergy -- at least having the option of professional clergy.  In this essay it is my hope to build upon the ideas I shared in last year's essay but also share further reflections on the subject of the evolving nature of Paganism in general and Pagan clergy in particular.

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Recent Comments - Show all comments
  • Mariah Sheehy
    Mariah Sheehy says #
    It seems we all have different ideas of what "clergy" means, and I think people here are talking past each other a little bit beca
  • Wendilyn Emrys
    Wendilyn Emrys says #
    Ancient Egyptian priests most often donated their time and assets to the Temples. They might get to share in food offerings, and g
  • Jenni West
    Jenni West says #
    What benefit does a clergy based hierarchy provide for such a belief system? It opens the door to abuse of power and canonization
  • David Oliver Kling
    David Oliver Kling says #
    Jenni, there have always been clergy within the Pagan movement and there has always been abuse of power within the community by so
  • Jenni West
    Jenni West says #
    With all due respect, if Paganism becomes clergy based, I will slip further from the public path.
Pagan News Beagle: Watery Wednesday, June 3

Part of forming a community is defining what that community means. What do we stand for? What are our values? Who is or isn't a member of that community? And what are our goals? Today's stories for Watery Wednesday take a look at the ways in which the Pagan community is defining itself. All this and more for the Pagan News Beagle!

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Posted by on in SageWoman Blogs
Oak King, Holly King

Modern Pagan traditions have the Oak and Holly kings fighting at the summer and winter solstices. It’s a good excuse to evoke some mumming drama and get some chaps to hit each other with bits of wood, and as such is not without merit. But what of the oak and the holly?

Winter is certainly holly’s season. The deciduous trees shed their leaves a month or two ago, so the dark glossy hues of the holly stand out. Red holly berries can be one of the few bright things in a winter environment, still vivid even on gloomy days, and vibrant against backdrops of snow. Holly is certainly King at this time of year, but in practice he’s probably been King since Samhain.

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Recent Comments - Show all comments
  • Chiron Cane
    Chiron Cane says #
    .:. The Oak King, the Holly King and the Unicorn: Myths and Symbolism of the Unicorn Tapestries by John Williamson Publisher
  • Chiron Cane
    Chiron Cane says #
  • Chiron Cane
    Chiron Cane says #
    .:. the theme of the Oak and the Holly - like that of the Robin and the Wren - is reflected in folksong, folk custom, traditional
  • Chiron Cane
    Chiron Cane says #
    .:. White Unicorn .:. Red Maiden https://vimeo.com/30142658 .:. A visual journey through several centuries of sacred and encod
  • Gerald  Norviel
    Gerald Norviel says #
    Very simple and intuitive...I like blending with (nature) with the sabbats it gives a deeper feeling of spiritual contact than jus

Posted by on in Culture Blogs


b2ap3_thumbnail_starwberryleaves.jpgWhat does a sustainable future look like? And how do we get there? The book Pagan Visions for a Sustainable Future contains a collection of essays on the subject. Perhaps the more important question would be what kind of influence can we, as Pagans, have? We don’t have the numbers to effect elections except perhaps locally. But we can talk to people. Interfaith is one such path. But so is FB and getting involved with local politics.

Visioning sustainable food production covers a lot of ground for me. As a Pagan, I take solace in the Earth. I want to see my planet in a healthy balance with its residents, with relationship being the basis for interaction. Industrial food production does not support the relationship model, but permaculture and biodynamics do.Read More

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