New Moon at the Close of Samhain

As we turn toward the dark half of the year, it is worth reflecting on how we can navigate the darkness without losing our way.

Another View of Samhain

Today is the first day of Samhain! This declaration may come as a bit of a surprise to some who think of the festival as a single-day event, but in my own practice I have come to think of it as a nine-day festival. Celebrating to the Nines Thinking of Samhain as a nine-day festival…

The Hel We Want

Truth has a kind of gravity to it. In the first decades of the ninth century as Alcuin was guiding Charlemagne’s Court School to greater feats of Roman hero-worship, he spoke out against the idea that “vox populi, vox dei:” ‘the voice of the people is the voice of God,’ but there is a truth…

Secret Paganisms in Beetlejuice

It’s been too long since I last updated the Pagan Sermon, but I could never let Samhain pass by without posting something. It seemed appropriate to begin the festival noting some distinctive yet unobtrusive paganisms in our current society. What better area than cinema? View from the Other Side It always amazes me how human…

Pigs to Pigeons and Back: the Long Game

This is the third day of Lughnasadh and the New Moon to boot: a time of beginnings in the face of endings when what is solid, tangible, and physical is most in tune with what is rarified and abstract. A fitting time to talk about paganism past, present and future. Don’t worry: this is not…

What Is Pagan About Karma?

This is the second post for the festival of Lughnasadh and it may not seem overly apparent why I would choose to talk about Karma at the high festival of Lugh, but it’s all about the harvest. Vulgar English loves to talk about sowing what you reap and other quotations from the Bible and no less…

I Swear By That …

The festival of Lughnasadh is one of those festivals, like Imbolc, that easily blends into the background, but there is a profundity to it that is indelible. What I mean is that while the festival itself does not seem to bear an enormous weight to it in our current culture anymore — we no longer hold the…