The Carnival (of Pagans) Returns!

After a long long hiatus, we return to The Pagan Carnival, a summary of the best writing in the modern Pagan, Heathen and occult blogosphere. Help spread the word and strengthen our online community by posting a link back to this entry. Don’t forget to submit your nominations for the next edition! Now on to the carnival!

Anne Hill writes about being nominated as grand marshal for the Pagan Alliance Festival, and shares an extended version of the speech she gave. In the speech she shares her vision of modern Pagans getting involved in the political process.

“If we want to help defend our way of life from this deadly assault by the religious right, we need to allow ourselves to be pro-America in some way. I know this must be about the most radical thing anyone could say standing on a stage in Berkeley, but we must find a way to balance our outspoken criticism of the things that are wrong in this country with outspoken pride in the things that are right. We simply cannot cede the ground of patriotism to those who would destroy our country in order to “save” it.”

Meanwhile Victoria Slind-Flor covers the event and provides many wonderful pictures.

Anne Hill and M. Macha NightMare
photo by Victoria Slind-Flor

Dave Haxton reviews John Michael Greer’s “A World Full of Gods”, a meditation on the theology of polytheism. Haxton shares an allegorical argument from the book entitled “The Cat and the Village”.

“The lady in the fifth home gets quite a kick out of her neighbors behaviors and beliefs: she knows that there are at least three cats running about the village, and sometimes feeds them all. There’s a tabby, a black and an orange. Each one has his rounds and knows when and where to get the food he likes. She wonders how her neighbors will react when the Burmese she’s spotted a couple of times has her litter, and there’s a mini population explosion of cats in the village. The polyfelist.”

Cosette at Pandora’s Bazaar contemplates sex and Beltane.

“Sex and procreation are not the same thing so I’d like to see Pagans explore forms of fertility other than physical. Not everyone wants to or can produce offspring. I’d rather explore the property of producing abundantly and sustaining growth on all levels, including the mind and the spirit, not just the body.”

While Cosette ponders sex, T. Thorn Coyle ponders forgiveness.

“For what do you need to forgive yourself? For what do you need to enact cleansing and the beginnings of healing? Can you repair past damage? Can you have remorse, and hold yourself accountable, thereby beginning to let go of strangling guilt? Accountability means taking responsibility for your part and no more than your part. Remember both segments of that latter statement, whether you are a chronic blamer or someone who shoulders too much of the burden. Go deeper. Look more closely.”

Christine Hoff Kraemer gives a sneak-peek of the paper she is presenting at the “Charming & Crafty: Witchcraft and Paganism in Contemporary Media Conference”. The subject? Alan Moore’s brilliant comic “Promethea”.

“Promethea is one of Moore’s lesser-known works, although it is now selling briskly in trade paperback form to pagan and occult audiences. An analysis of the comic, however, demonstrates the unique strengths of the comics medium as a tool for religious evangelism. Moore’s writing, combined with J.H. Williams’ art and layouts, creates a highly immersive reading experience that may potentially trigger spiritual experiences in the reader.”

Finally, let me say welcome back to Pagan blogger Jay Allen who has returned from a hiatus and is now actively writing at “The Pagan Bodhisattva”. The Pagan blogosphere is all the richer for his return.

As much as I would like to say that this is a return to me doing this every couple weeks, I can make no such promise. But I will try to do an occasional look at my fellow Pagan bloggers now and then. We are blessed with an huge network of talented writers and they all certainly deserve a few evangelists.

Tags: Paganism