You’ll recall from my earlier blogs that a civil rights commission was reviewing policies on religion in prisons and well-known prison chaplain Patrick McCollum appeared before that commission to testify on the treatment of Pagan prisoners.
Well, we haven’t heard much about that after it happened, but the UK seems to be a step ahead of us. Under advisement of the Pagan Federation (and I’m sure other groups as well), they have revised their rules to require and allow certain religious paraphenelia. The Pagans gave a little to get a little of course as Jenny Percival of the Westminster Editor reports “the Pagans have decided to tone down what are seen as the more exotic and striking forms of their worship and ritual, such as carrying flaming torches.” which makes perfect sense to me. While prisoners still can’t have athames or swords (a decision I heartily agree with!) Pagan prisoners will be allowed to collect and decorate wands and Muslim prisoners will have prayer mats.
Not everyone is thrilled about this new development and there have been more than a few disrespectful remarks. But this gives me an opportunity to point out good, unbiased reporting versus bad, biased reporting.
First, take a look at this article http://scotlandonsunday.scotsman.com/latestnews/Pagan-prisoners-allowed–twig.4071480.jp
Some negative comments were recorded. Word Pagan is capitalized, putting it on equal footing with other religions, such as Christianity and Islam, which are always capitalized and the article is forthright and to the point. Nice.
Now, take a look at this one.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/news.html?in_article_id=565823&in_page_id=1766&in_a_source=&ito=1490
Paganism is not capitalized and check it out; no Pagans were interviewed in the creation of this article. Only the detractors.
Take a look at the starting sentance of each article. They’re almost identical but…
The first one says: “Prison officers have been ordered to allow Pagan prisoners to take twigs into their cells to use as magic wands.”
And the second one says: ” Prison bosses have been instructed to let pagan inmates keep twigs in their cells…to use as wands.”
What a difference capitalization and a couple of dotdotdots make. Kudos to Jenny Percival. James
Slack on the other hand… is a slacker.
I don’t think I’d want a wand if I were in prison. Not that I plan to go. I just don’t ever use a wand. I can understand why incense and candles would be a problem and I probably wouldn’t get those. I think I’d want a cauldron with water and sea salt. I think that’s the only thing I’d really need (if I couldn’t have candles). Except maybe on Beltane. Then I’d need a wand… and my Priest.
Monday, May 12, 2008
Pagan Weddings
As you may or may not know, I’m getting married in August (woo!). So yea, I’ve been reading alot about weddings. I came across this article in the Modesto Bee about Pagan weddings and I thought cool! It’s neat to see how Pagan wedding traditions are expanding more into the mainstream. I am (obviously) going to have a Pagan wedding and handfasting and I have invited my best friend from New York, who is Catholic, to spend that week with us. We were talking about the wedding and how I’m only inviting a few select people because I don’t want anybody freaking out on me.
And then she said something that rather surprised me. She said, “Why would anyone freak out? I’ve been doing some reading and the Pagan traditions are so beautiful!” And I thought wow. That goes to show how you take things for granted when you’re inside them. I never thought about how beautiful they are. But yes. They are.
I have read on many different news groups that Pagan weddings, or handfastings are not legal. This, by the way, is bullshit. They are just as legal as Christian, Jewish and Muslim weddings. All you need to do is have two witnesses and a legal clergy sign your certificate afterward. And yes, there are plenty of Pagan clergy to be found. Just look under your area at WitchVox. According to the article there are about 1.2 million Pagans in America today and it seems to me that Pagans have a much higher clergy to layman ratio than any other religious group so you should have no problem finding someone who is ordained to handle to particulars for you. It’s so easy to have a Pagan wedding these days, even the non-pagans are doing it.
So maybe I will have a bigger wedding (or maybe I won’t) and invite Grandma and my aunts and uncles. The plan was only to invite my mom and sisters and Circlemates. But we’ll see how I feel as the date grows closer.
And then she said something that rather surprised me. She said, “Why would anyone freak out? I’ve been doing some reading and the Pagan traditions are so beautiful!” And I thought wow. That goes to show how you take things for granted when you’re inside them. I never thought about how beautiful they are. But yes. They are.
I have read on many different news groups that Pagan weddings, or handfastings are not legal. This, by the way, is bullshit. They are just as legal as Christian, Jewish and Muslim weddings. All you need to do is have two witnesses and a legal clergy sign your certificate afterward. And yes, there are plenty of Pagan clergy to be found. Just look under your area at WitchVox. According to the article there are about 1.2 million Pagans in America today and it seems to me that Pagans have a much higher clergy to layman ratio than any other religious group so you should have no problem finding someone who is ordained to handle to particulars for you. It’s so easy to have a Pagan wedding these days, even the non-pagans are doing it.
So maybe I will have a bigger wedding (or maybe I won’t) and invite Grandma and my aunts and uncles. The plan was only to invite my mom and sisters and Circlemates. But we’ll see how I feel as the date grows closer.
Thursday, May 8, 2008
Weirdness and Wizardry in Florida
A Florida substitute teacher has lost his job, and may not be given anymore assignments because he’s been charged with Wizardry.
First, I was not aware that Wizardry was a charge that was worthy of firing someone over. I mean, is it a crime now? Is it even sort of a crime? Do people take it seriously enough to complain about? Have they been reading too much Harry Potter
? Again?
I dunno.
But the really amazing thing about this whole getting fired for practicing wizardry thing is the nature of the wizardry itself. It was the old disappearing toothpick trick. Yessir. Prestidigitation. Not magick. Magic. Stage magic. You know, like the old disappearing quarter trick your weird uncle insisted on inflicting upon you over and over and over again? Okay, so maybe that was weird enough to get fired over, or at least not get invited to dinner. But I don’t think we’re talking about that sort of weirdness. My son’s teacher shows him card tricks all the time. She’s a good teacher. I hope this isn’t a precident.
http://www.tampabays10.com/news/local/article.aspx?storyid=79533
First, I was not aware that Wizardry was a charge that was worthy of firing someone over. I mean, is it a crime now? Is it even sort of a crime? Do people take it seriously enough to complain about? Have they been reading too much Harry Potter
? Again?I dunno.
But the really amazing thing about this whole getting fired for practicing wizardry thing is the nature of the wizardry itself. It was the old disappearing toothpick trick. Yessir. Prestidigitation. Not magick. Magic. Stage magic. You know, like the old disappearing quarter trick your weird uncle insisted on inflicting upon you over and over and over again? Okay, so maybe that was weird enough to get fired over, or at least not get invited to dinner. But I don’t think we’re talking about that sort of weirdness. My son’s teacher shows him card tricks all the time. She’s a good teacher. I hope this isn’t a precident.
http://www.tampabays10.com/news/local/article.aspx?storyid=79533
Thursday, May 1, 2008
Celebrate the Self!
Note that this ritual is described as a solo ritual but it can easily be adapted for groups. Simply sit in a circle and share your affirmations together.
Timing
Any time is a good time to celebrate how wonderful we are, but the enthousiasm and joy of Sagittarius and the bright energy of the full moon make the full moon in Sagittarius a particularly appropriate time for this ritual. This is also a good ritual for Valentine's Day.
Any time is a good time to celebrate how wonderful we are, but the enthousiasm and joy of Sagittarius and the bright energy of the full moon make the full moon in Sagittarius a particularly appropriate time for this ritual. This is also a good ritual for Valentine's Day.
Materials
Prepare ahead of time by taking the time to buy yourself a gift and a bottle of your favorite wine (or other beverage) and making your favorite meal (or ordering your favorite takeout). Take a relaxing ritual bath and do some things to make yourself feel pampered. Put on your favorite outfit and settle down in front of your altar (you may wish to place a mirror near or on your altar, so you can see yourself) and light a candle. You may also wish to have your favorite album playing in the background.
Prepare ahead of time by taking the time to buy yourself a gift and a bottle of your favorite wine (or other beverage) and making your favorite meal (or ordering your favorite takeout). Take a relaxing ritual bath and do some things to make yourself feel pampered. Put on your favorite outfit and settle down in front of your altar (you may wish to place a mirror near or on your altar, so you can see yourself) and light a candle. You may also wish to have your favorite album playing in the background.
Establish your sacred space in whichever manner you prefer.
Light a single candle on your altar.
"I light this candle in honor of me, for I am the most important person in my life. My actions and my choices have brought me to the place I am now and only through my own courage and wisdom will my dreams be made real."
(If you are doing this in a group, the leader should light a candle and change I to we and My to our, etc.)
(If you are doing this in a group, the leader should light a candle and change I to we and My to our, etc.)
Count coup
Run through a list of all of the great things you've accomplished in the past year. Talk about the challenges you had to overcome to see these things come to fruition. Talk about what you learned in the process and congratulate yourself for a job well done. Say it all out loud or write it down if you're alone. If in a group take turns speaking and congratulate one another- but don't forget to congratulate yourself as well.
Run through a list of all of the great things you've accomplished in the past year. Talk about the challenges you had to overcome to see these things come to fruition. Talk about what you learned in the process and congratulate yourself for a job well done. Say it all out loud or write it down if you're alone. If in a group take turns speaking and congratulate one another- but don't forget to congratulate yourself as well.
"I am very proud of my accomplishments. I am very proud to be who I am. I feel that I deserve a special gift of congratulations for all the great things I do and so I present myself with this gift."
Open up the gift you brought yourself and admire it. Put it on (if it's wearable) and maybe even take a picture.
Open up the gift you brought yourself and admire it. Put it on (if it's wearable) and maybe even take a picture.
Get up and dance for awhile in celebration of yourself and the joy you bring you. Dance until you are tired.
Pour out libations:
"I am the physical representation of the Divine on the Earth. Through me Divine energy is manifest in matter. Through me the Gods experience the pleasures of mortality and through the Gods I may experience the wisdom of eternity. I offer this wine and this food to the Gods in thanks for myself."
"I am the physical representation of the Divine on the Earth. Through me Divine energy is manifest in matter. Through me the Gods experience the pleasures of mortality and through the Gods I may experience the wisdom of eternity. I offer this wine and this food to the Gods in thanks for myself."
Now, eat your favorite meal and drink your favorite beverage. This is the feast of celebration of you!
Other ways to celebrate yourself:
Write a poem or a song about yourself and your accomplishments.
Draw, paint or sculpt a self-portrait.
Get a cast made of yourself or your favorite body part.
Make a collage of some great pictures of you.
Write a poem or a song about yourself and your accomplishments.
Draw, paint or sculpt a self-portrait.
Get a cast made of yourself or your favorite body part.
Make a collage of some great pictures of you.
Friday, April 25, 2008
Global Warming and Witchhunts
Nicholas Kristof of the New York Times reported on an interesting point in the opinion section earlier this month. http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/13/opinion/13kristof.html?_r=1&oref=slogin
He’s talking about a paper entitled “Poverty and Witchcraft” by Edward Miguel at UofC Berkley which you can read at http://elsa.berkeley.edu/~emiguel/miguel_witch.pdf
In it, he notes that periods of drought or flood are linked to witch killings in developing areas, particularly of older women, but not murders of other sorts.
In short, when the weather gets weird, people look for someone to blame and lo, the witch gets killed and if there’s always a witch in the neighborhood, even if there isn’t.
Mr. Kristof connects this to research by Emily Oster at the University of Chicago who points out that colder weather correlated with witch hunts in Europe. You can check that out at http://home.uchicago.edu/~eoster/witchec.pdf
Now it’s true that witch burnings are, at present, not a concern for most of America, but they occur all over the world. In India police are hoping that displaying the severed head of a an accused witch killed by an angry mob will help to prevent this sort of thing from happening in the future. Hundreds of witch killings take place there every year and many go unreported.
In Kinshasa, a city in Congo in Africa, there is a rash of people being accused of stealing penises right off folks. The police are arresting the accused mostly to prevent them from being attacked by their accusers, or from having the accusers get a mob together.
Witchcraft in India and Africa have alot more in common with each other than Witchcraft either have with Wicca or modern Western witchcraft. I don’t think the local herbalist has much to be worried about, but the witch hunt isn’t just about witches. It’s about scapegoats. In the United States, lynchings of blacks increased when farm values went down and all over the world economic crisis is a recipe for Civil War. It must be someone’s fault, it’s not ours/mine. We’d better kill them.
He’s talking about a paper entitled “Poverty and Witchcraft” by Edward Miguel at UofC Berkley which you can read at http://elsa.berkeley.edu/~emiguel/miguel_witch.pdf
In it, he notes that periods of drought or flood are linked to witch killings in developing areas, particularly of older women, but not murders of other sorts.
In short, when the weather gets weird, people look for someone to blame and lo, the witch gets killed and if there’s always a witch in the neighborhood, even if there isn’t.
Mr. Kristof connects this to research by Emily Oster at the University of Chicago who points out that colder weather correlated with witch hunts in Europe. You can check that out at http://home.uchicago.edu/~eoster/witchec.pdf
Now it’s true that witch burnings are, at present, not a concern for most of America, but they occur all over the world. In India police are hoping that displaying the severed head of a an accused witch killed by an angry mob will help to prevent this sort of thing from happening in the future. Hundreds of witch killings take place there every year and many go unreported.
In Kinshasa, a city in Congo in Africa, there is a rash of people being accused of stealing penises right off folks. The police are arresting the accused mostly to prevent them from being attacked by their accusers, or from having the accusers get a mob together.
Witchcraft in India and Africa have alot more in common with each other than Witchcraft either have with Wicca or modern Western witchcraft. I don’t think the local herbalist has much to be worried about, but the witch hunt isn’t just about witches. It’s about scapegoats. In the United States, lynchings of blacks increased when farm values went down and all over the world economic crisis is a recipe for Civil War. It must be someone’s fault, it’s not ours/mine. We’d better kill them.
Thursday, April 10, 2008
Burning Time Era Witchcraft Evidence Found
Archaeologists have found evidence in Cornwall of witchcraft dating back to the era known in the Pagan community as “the Burning Times”. Dr. Jacqui Woods and her team have found several pits lined with swan pelts and filled with the carcasses of birds, unhatched eggs, human hair, nail clippings, quartz pebbles and even part of an iron cauldron. A (possibly) sacred well has also been unearthed filled with offerings such as bits of cloth and fruit. Dr Woods believes that the pits were part of fertility rituals.
Read the entire story at http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/science/article3517036.ece
I would like to make one small correction to the fast facts at the end of the story. It states Thousands of women, the vast majority innocent, were burnt, hanged or drowned
I would like to correct that to Thousands of people, not just women. While many of the people who were killed during the Burning Times were women, many of them were men.
Read the entire story at http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/science/article3517036.ece
I would like to make one small correction to the fast facts at the end of the story. It states Thousands of women, the vast majority innocent, were burnt, hanged or drowned
I would like to correct that to Thousands of people, not just women. While many of the people who were killed during the Burning Times were women, many of them were men.
Monday, April 7, 2008
I Bought Girl Scout Cookies Today
Recently, I stumbled upon various articles on the web condemning the Girl Scouts for being too liberal, to feminist, not Christian enough. One blog in particular annoyed me with the following quote:
However, buying that box of (Girl Scout) cookies now presents a moral dilemma, as the Girl Scouts have become a training ground for the left-wing feminist agenda.
Source: http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=57505
I shared this with my boyfriend and he replied: “Well if she’s so offended by the left wing feminist movement, then why does she think she gets to express her opinion. Tell her to go back to the kitchen.”
I have to agree with that statement….
The tart continues on thusly:
I can still remember the pride I felt as I stood at attention in my crisp Girl Scout uniform to recite the promise:
On my honor, I will try:
To do my duty to God and my country,
To help other people at all times,
To obey the Girl Scout Laws.
How times have changed! Now God has an asterisk telling the girl that “it is OK to replace the word ‘God’ with whatever word your spiritual beliefs dictate.”
The word “duty” (to God) has been replaced with “serve” and the new all-inclusive Girl Scouts are free to serve anyone, including themselves, which seems fitting after reviewing some of their materials that stress “girl empowerment” and moral relativism.
So please, someone correct me if my interpretation is flawed, but it sounds to me as if this woman is saying that female empowerment and inclusivity is a bad thing. It sounds to me… no, surely I’m wrong… that this woman is condemning the Girl Scouts for not discriminating against people. Of course, if she hates the Girl Scouts because they’re not Christian enough and they don’t discriminate, she could always enroll her daughters with the KKK. I’m sure they’re accepting members….
She goes on to further condemn the Girl Scouts for allowing girls of nature-based religions to receive special faith-based awards, accepting donations and training materials from Planned Parenthood, the Arcus Gay and Lesbian fund, for supporting the U.N. Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), and the Million Mom March and for not encouraging girls to be homemakers.
Once again, will someone please tell this woman to shut up and get back in the kitchen if that’s where she wants to be!
But she’s not the only one annoyed by the Girl Scouts’ affiliation with Planned Parenthood. It seems the entire town of Crawford, Texas is up in arms and a bunch of folks are calling for a boycott of Girl Scout cookies because a Planned Parenthood executive won their Woman of Distinction award last year and because the Girl Scouts had been endorsing Planned Parenthood’s sex education course, which includes information on masturbation and homosexuality.
http://archive.southcoasttoday.com/daily/03-04/03-04-04/a05wn598.htm
Spider says: Why is masturbation such a faux pas. I mean, if they don’t want folks to have sex… well, give em something else to do.
I agree with that sentiment too!
About the sex ed program:
Some 400 to 700 fifth- through ninth-graders attend the half-day Nobody’s Fool conference in Waco each July. The program never mentions abortion, according to Planned Parenthood. The youngsters receive a book with chapters on homosexuality and masturbation, as well as illustrations of couples having sex, people examining their naked bodies and a boy putting on a condom.
Some Girl Scout mothers called it soft-core porn.
“It embarrassed me to look at it with my husband,” said parent Shannon Donaldson.
The book in question, I found out is It’s Perfectly Normal
Spider says: That’s one sad marriage relationship if you’re going to be embarrassed looking at stuff with your partner.
Okay, I don’t know if pictures of couples having sex is necessary but I’m glad somebody’s teaching these kids about sex, because their parents probably aren’t! (Especially if they’re embarrassed to look at books with pictures of naked bodies with their own spouses!) I am very annoyed to have to live in a world where the majority of the kids my kids come in contact with have no sex education beyond “don’t do it or God will hate you”.
By the way. The boycott was started by a man, of course. Dr John Pisciotta. Now I am not a feminist, and I have ranted before about how feminists get on my nerves sometimes, but what is up with the housewives jumping when the man says how high? Where does he even get off talking on this subject?
(Yes, even Spider will agree that men have no business running their mouths about women’s issues. But he’s downstairs playing some sweet gospel somethingorother on the electric organ and beyond hearing me exclaim about it at the moment.)
And so, I am buying Girl Scout cookies because they support the left wing feminist agenda, because they support girl empowerment and because they support sex education!
Absolutely
And you should too.
And when you do. Tell them why you’re buying them.
And say thanks.
Now if you don’t mind, he’s really feeling the power on that organ. It’s time for me to get downstairs and dance in the spirit. Hallalujia!
However, buying that box of (Girl Scout) cookies now presents a moral dilemma, as the Girl Scouts have become a training ground for the left-wing feminist agenda.
Source: http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=57505
I shared this with my boyfriend and he replied: “Well if she’s so offended by the left wing feminist movement, then why does she think she gets to express her opinion. Tell her to go back to the kitchen.”
I have to agree with that statement….
The tart continues on thusly:
I can still remember the pride I felt as I stood at attention in my crisp Girl Scout uniform to recite the promise:
On my honor, I will try:
To do my duty to God and my country,
To help other people at all times,
To obey the Girl Scout Laws.
How times have changed! Now God has an asterisk telling the girl that “it is OK to replace the word ‘God’ with whatever word your spiritual beliefs dictate.”
The word “duty” (to God) has been replaced with “serve” and the new all-inclusive Girl Scouts are free to serve anyone, including themselves, which seems fitting after reviewing some of their materials that stress “girl empowerment” and moral relativism.
So please, someone correct me if my interpretation is flawed, but it sounds to me as if this woman is saying that female empowerment and inclusivity is a bad thing. It sounds to me… no, surely I’m wrong… that this woman is condemning the Girl Scouts for not discriminating against people. Of course, if she hates the Girl Scouts because they’re not Christian enough and they don’t discriminate, she could always enroll her daughters with the KKK. I’m sure they’re accepting members….
She goes on to further condemn the Girl Scouts for allowing girls of nature-based religions to receive special faith-based awards, accepting donations and training materials from Planned Parenthood, the Arcus Gay and Lesbian fund, for supporting the U.N. Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), and the Million Mom March and for not encouraging girls to be homemakers.
Once again, will someone please tell this woman to shut up and get back in the kitchen if that’s where she wants to be!
But she’s not the only one annoyed by the Girl Scouts’ affiliation with Planned Parenthood. It seems the entire town of Crawford, Texas is up in arms and a bunch of folks are calling for a boycott of Girl Scout cookies because a Planned Parenthood executive won their Woman of Distinction award last year and because the Girl Scouts had been endorsing Planned Parenthood’s sex education course, which includes information on masturbation and homosexuality.
http://archive.southcoasttoday.com/daily/03-04/03-04-04/a05wn598.htm
Spider says: Why is masturbation such a faux pas. I mean, if they don’t want folks to have sex… well, give em something else to do.
I agree with that sentiment too!
About the sex ed program:
Some 400 to 700 fifth- through ninth-graders attend the half-day Nobody’s Fool conference in Waco each July. The program never mentions abortion, according to Planned Parenthood. The youngsters receive a book with chapters on homosexuality and masturbation, as well as illustrations of couples having sex, people examining their naked bodies and a boy putting on a condom.
Some Girl Scout mothers called it soft-core porn.
“It embarrassed me to look at it with my husband,” said parent Shannon Donaldson.
The book in question, I found out is It’s Perfectly Normal
Spider says: That’s one sad marriage relationship if you’re going to be embarrassed looking at stuff with your partner.
Okay, I don’t know if pictures of couples having sex is necessary but I’m glad somebody’s teaching these kids about sex, because their parents probably aren’t! (Especially if they’re embarrassed to look at books with pictures of naked bodies with their own spouses!) I am very annoyed to have to live in a world where the majority of the kids my kids come in contact with have no sex education beyond “don’t do it or God will hate you”.
By the way. The boycott was started by a man, of course. Dr John Pisciotta. Now I am not a feminist, and I have ranted before about how feminists get on my nerves sometimes, but what is up with the housewives jumping when the man says how high? Where does he even get off talking on this subject?
(Yes, even Spider will agree that men have no business running their mouths about women’s issues. But he’s downstairs playing some sweet gospel somethingorother on the electric organ and beyond hearing me exclaim about it at the moment.)
And so, I am buying Girl Scout cookies because they support the left wing feminist agenda, because they support girl empowerment and because they support sex education!
Absolutely
And you should too.
And when you do. Tell them why you’re buying them.
And say thanks.
Now if you don’t mind, he’s really feeling the power on that organ. It’s time for me to get downstairs and dance in the spirit. Hallalujia!
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