Perspectives: Sacrifice and Modern Paganisms

From the Grecian hecatomb to Roman grain and incense offerings to the ritualized blood-letting of the ancient Maya, sacrifice was a cornerstone of religious practice in the ancient world. But how is sacrifice viewed today by modern Paganisms, Polytheists, Polytheanimists and their practitioners. The Wild Hunt asked five figures within the community for their thoughts on sacrifice: Thracian polytheanimist Anomalous Thracian of the blog Thracian Exodus; Mambo Chita Tann of Sosyete Fos Fe Yo We; priestess, author and Solar Cross Temple board member Crystal Blanton; OBOD Druid and Under the Ancient Oaks blogger John Beckett; and Ár nDraíocht Féin (ADF) Druid Rev. Sean W. Harbaugh. How do you define sacrifice? “In common religious parlance I reserve the term “sacrifice” for the ritual slaughter/killing of living animals to a particular deity, spirit, or otherwise divine power.

The future of Pagan hospitality

What will Pagan hospitality look like in the future? Often times we look towards our past for inspiration. Yet what do we see? Gone are the mead halls and warrior bands of old; in ruin lay the civic temples and sacrificial altars; the bruidean are pages in the historical record. And while some part of my psyche as a Pagan and Witch yearns to relight the fires and resurrect the temples and groves of old, I am a person of the modern era.