A Poll for All You Pagans

Please select all that apply to you and add anything not listed in the “other” section.

Evolution?

Evolution?

Evolution still hasn’t caught on completely in America. As a former fundie I’m not sure what I believe about the formation of the world. I believe evolution has occurred, but I’m not so sure I accept things like the Big Bang. I want to look into the general consensus among Pagans.

A Possible Patron

A Possible Patron

I’m still trying to find my patron goddess. I’m pretty certain she’s in the Celtic pantheon, and seem to have it narrowed down to Airmid or Brigid. This link tells about Airmid and her association with healing herbs. I’m very drawn to herbalism – always have been – and am feeling strong leaning towards Airmid at the moment. There isn’t much said about her in mythology, but she seems beautiful in what I have seen.

Norse Mythology for Kids

Ozark Pagan Mamma

Whatever tradition of Pagan you are, I hope you find this guide to teaching kids Norse mythology helpful in some way. My first exposure to Norse mythology was “Nordic Gods and Heroes” by Padraic Colum which I recommend highly. Yet here, I have only reviewed books with lots of illustrations, to really capture the interest of young children. One well illustrated mythology book can go a long way in teaching children the lore and providing a sense of wonder and understanding.

D’Aulaires’ Book of Norse Myths (for ages 5 to 9)
After much thought and trepidation, I finally decided to suggest this book. The pluses outweigh the minuses, and so here it is. For the younger ages, this is the book of Norse mythology. The old fashioned colored pencil illustrations are enchanting, and there is a good balance of words to pictures to keep young children interested. At the youngest…

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Article: “My Defining Moment” & My Thoughts

Article: “My Defining Moment” & My Thoughts

I’ve been reading John Beckett’s writing on Patheos Pagan for awhile now. I have grown to appreciate his perspective and wisdom. This article made a part of me quiver with excitement. I still have not had a “defining moment,” but I sincerely hope I will, and soon. Hearing that Beckett was also raised in a fundamentalist background (Baptist, it sounds like) was encouraging to me; if he can overcome past indoctrination and embrace paganism, then so can I.

I’m still terribly unsure of what I believe. Gods, goddesses, archetypal beings, a universal spirit… nothing? After rejecting fundamentalism I struggled with what to make of the universe once the Christian god was removed. In IFB, there is nothing but the Christian god… it was engrained into me that to take away the god of the Bible was to take away everything. Atheists and agnostics were angry, spiteful people who put too much stock into science, Anyone involved in pagan or other worldviews that focused on other gods and goddesses or nature were for silly, crazy people. Overcoming this way of thinking is not easy. But I’m working at it! I want to believe. I hold science very highly (and think science and paganism can coexist), but I want more than just science for my worldview. I feel that there is much more than science can tell us. I’ve always felt there was more.

Open Windows

It’s summertime! Sunshine, fresh fruit, and lots of bugs all serve as daily reminders of the season. The heat and humidity are perhaps the most noticeable effects, though. Our family has chosen to use the AC as little as possible – meaning we’ve used it for less than ten days this whole year. I didn’t think we’d do this well, but we have and I’m very pleased.
I’m originally from the South, so AC has always been a big part of my life. It wasn’t until yesterday that I realized what I was missing by choosing AC over open windows. Last night I noticed that the sounds of Nature were missing. Singing birds, the wind in the trees, barking dogs, talking people (and noisy cars) had become my background noise over the past few months. When those sounds are gone I feel so disconnected from what’s happening outside. I’m looking forward to the time when it cools down enough to open the windows again.

I have readers in Chile, Portugal, Greece, France, Ireland, Philippines, Indonesia, and from several states in the USA. Awesome! Apparently blogging about paganism brings in a wide variety of viewers. Merry meet to you all!

The Earth is Our Mother

I’m currently very poor and am struggling to afford groceries and other things. Yesterday I realized that one of my family’s favorite parks has an apple, pear, and mulberry tree. So excited to share in the bounty! We picked 14 lbs of apples to make into applesauce and will go back for more soon. Last night and today I looked outside our apartment building and discovered we had 4 mulberry trees full of berries. Picking the berries today from one of the trees behind us I had a sudden urge to sing this song. I felt so cared for and proud of my Mother Earth for providing us with fruit just when we needed it.

Article: Being in Nature

Article: Being in Nature

I love experiences like the author describes here. I’m really bad about allowing myself to disappear somewhere and just be, though. Anything like this feels selfish – taking the time for myself, not using it to do something productive – and “selfish” is still flagged as evil in my post-Christian brain. Also, allowing myself to relax and focus on nature is all mystic and stuff, which is another thing my post-Christian brain has flagged as evil. *sigh Most everything about being Pagan still alarms me at some level because of my fundamental Christian background. Letting myself be pagan causes me to worry if I’m just acting, if what I’m doing is silly, or any number of doubtful, worrisome things.

Article: Communication 101 (for witches and others): toward Place speaking

Article: Communication 101 (for witches and others): toward Place speaking

I found this lovely. I appreciate the author’s creativity – loves it when people take the mundane and make it fun and magical.