A lot of people have been asking me how I got into pop culture magick of late. It’s a difficult question to answer because it’s always been a part of my magickal practice. When I was a little girl I remember imagining Rainbow Brite protecting me from thunderstorms and nightmares. When I was a teenager I would “talk” to Hamlet and Horatio when I felt misunderstood and needed guidance. So even before I knew what real magick was, I was doing bits and pieces of pop culture magick. I suppose the first time I intentionally did pop culture magick, though I didn’t call it that at the time, was when I first started working with the elements.
For my use of pop culture magick to really make sense you’ll need a little context. I grew up in a household where hiking and enjoying nature were valued side by side with science and engineering. I remember meandering through woodland trails in the North Cascades while talking to my Dad about NASA, Star Trek, and fairy tales interchangeably. My love of mountains and general geekery were born and nurtured at the same time and in largely the same way, so they’ve always been intertwined in my mind. For me, there’s never really been a separation between the magicks of nature and the realities of the mundane world.
When I was a kid, I loved picking up the bright red seeds that littered the ground each fall. I was used to seeds being various shades of brown or black, and the riot of color that marked each passage into winter was always thrilling. I never really knew what to do with them; I'd usually carry them around for a bit and then discard them. But they were fascinating.
When most people think of the Southern Magnolia, they think of its huge white blossoms, which are currently in bloom. They think of the South, not Los Angeles. But we have them everywhere here, and to me they feel just as integral to Southern California as palm trees or pines.
This is one of my favorite times of year. Spring is in full swing here in Texas, finals are over and I've finished grading the mounds of papers and exams, and I have a little respite before my next round of classes start for summer school. I celebrated this past weekend by taking a trip home to South Dakota to see my youngest niece graduate from high school. As always when I return home, I am struck by the way that the Sacred is close enough to touch there -- in the wildlife that approaches almost without fear, in the early morning quiet and birdsong, in the plants and animals I can identify almost by instinct. While I firmly believe that Goddess is everywhere, in a busy city She can be a bit harder to find sometimes. Trips home nourish my soul and help me remember how to see Her everywhere.
I'm clearly destined to spend more time remembering how to see the Sacred in my everyday, as Maia has come to be my guide for the week. This Greek Goddess is one of the Seven Sisters, the Pleiades, and is also the mother of Hermes. She encourages us to see the magick in our everyday worlds and to use it to help us bloom.
Today's Fiery Tuesday posts are sure to stir a bit of controversy -- hopefully of a useful kind! Pagan Activism Conference, lowering police shootings; secularization of holidays; the (humanistic Pagan) case against spellwork; scary monsters in "pagan" festival.
First up, a report on last week's online Pagan Activism Conference. Which brings up the question: when and how should Paganism and political/environmental activism come together?
This is an excerpt from the brand new Kindle book I just co-wrote and released with Ellen Dugan, Every Witch Way: Spells and Advice from Two Very Different Witches. In it, we explore different sides of a number of issues, including Angels and Magick. The first piece is written by, and appears courtesy of, Ellen Dugan - the second is by me!
Having escaped any significant damage from Hurricane Arthur rolling through the area, I think it's a great time to talk a little about "storm magick" for lack of a better term. There's two different ways to incorporate the storm concept, using an actual storm, or mimicking/calling/drawing up similar energy of one. Either way, remember that this is mother Earth and father Sky coming together.
Storm magick is excellent for bringing about strong changes in your life, but as with storms, there are plenty of chances for things to get out of hand if not prepared, and even that's not a guarantee from harm or chaotic tangents!
Four years ago, when I first started my Pagan Music Project, I got asked "What's the difference between Witchcraft and Paganism?" That was difficult for me to answer. I struggled with it for a while, and then forgot about it. Now, I think I've got it.
Witchcraft is about energies and powers that be. Witchcraft spells and Witch magick are about working with the energetic machine that the world and universe are part of. It's almost more of a job than it is a religion. Witches around the world are people that "do." Whether good or bad, Witches "do" things.
Erin Lale
Fellow faculty at Harvard Divinity School posted an open letter to Wolpe in response to his article. It's available on this page, below the call for p...
Erin Lale
Here's another response. The Wild Hunt has a roundup of numerous responses on its site, but it carried this one as a separate article. It is an accoun...
Erin Lale
Here's another response. This one is by a scholar of paganism. It's unfortunately a Facebook post so this link goes to Facebook. She posted the text o...
Erin Lale
Here's another link to a pagan response to the Atlantic article. I would have included this one in my story too if I had seen it before I published it...
Janet Boyer
I love the idea of green burials! I first heard of Recompose right before it launched. I wish there were more here on the East Coast; that's how I'd l...