The Unitarian-Universalists (of which I am a member) recently held their annual convention/business meeting the General Assembly. This year one of the featured speakers was Margot Adler (a self-proclaimed “UU Pagan”), author of the seminal book on modern Paganism “Drawing Down The Moon” (which she claims she has finished updating during the talk). The talk focuses on the growth and future of modern Paganism, and she wonders if our explosive growth has hindered community building and dampered much of the “rebellious” spirit of the early closer-knit community.

“Is there a downside to paganism growing so quickly? The movement was long based on personal connections, on community, on touching. Adler says now, through the Internet, there are many solitary pagans who have never experienced a great teacher or had deep, intimate conversations with other pagans. ‘How do we retain our core, our fire, our passion, and our rebelliousness that was what brought a lot of us into this movement?’ Adler asks. ‘I came because I wanted a religion without dogma that was open and ecstatic and had fire and passion but still had intellectual integrity. I want to make sure keep our fire and passion, and that’s a real battle.’”

During the talk, Adler jokes about how she is uncomfortable with how “respectable” she has become. She seems genuinely surprised by the growth of Norse Paganism, Druidism, and Gay Pagan groups while bemoaning how authoritarian and de-energized goddess and feminist-oriented groups have become in her experience. On the whole it was interesting to hear how much some of her views have changed since “Drawing Down’s” first publication. You can see the entire talk, here.

So I was reading a story about the Viking Festival in Denmark (think Renaissance Festivals except with more Vikings and overt paganism) when I came across an odd claim that I had never heard before. It had to do with Celtic women (and Vikings of course).

“Eventually, the Vikings took Celtic wives and proceeded to convert from Paganism to Christianity. They settled into family lives, which motivated them to become farmers, and teachers of poetry, music and folklore.”

Yes, thanks to Celtic wives the bloody Vikings settled down and converted. They then finally learned about farmings, music, and poetry! I wonder why I had never heard the “Celtic wives” theory of Viking decline before? But perhaps I shouldn’t mock the civilizing power of the Celts, according to scientists at the University College London the Celts were better survivors than anyone had figured.

“A new genetic survey of Y chromosomes throughout the British Isles has revealed a very different story. The Celtic inhabitants of Britain were real survivors. Nowhere were they entirely replaced by the invaders and they survive in high proportions, often 50 percent or more, throughout the British Isles, according to a study by Dr. Cristian Capelli, Dr. David B. Goldstein and others at University College London. The study, being reported today in Current Biology, was based on comparing Y chromosomes sampled throughout the British Isles with the invaders’ Y chromosomes, as represented by the present-day descendants of the Danes, Vikings (in Norway) and Anglo-Saxons (in Schleswig-Holstein in northern Germany).”

But if you look closely at their findings, it isn’t so much that the “Celts” survived (“Celtic” being a linguistic/cultural term), as perhaps the original neolithic population of Britain, who were “reculturalized” by “Celtic” invaders/visitors (and hence became “Celtic” for all intents and purposes).

“In a study two years ago Dr. Goldstein and colleagues established that Y chromosomes of Celtic populations were almost identical with those of the Basques…they have long been regarded as likely remnants of the first modern humans to reach Europe some 30,000 years ago, during the Paleolithic…By this chain of reasoning, the Celtic-speaking men, since genetically very close to the Basques, must also be drawn from the original Paleolithic inhabitants of Europe, and probably represent the first modern human inhabitants of Britain who settled the islands some 10,000 years ago, Dr. Goldstein said. These original Britons must later have adopted from Europe both the Celtic culture, evidence of which appears from some 3,000 years ago, and the Celtic language, which is a branch of the Indo-European language family.”

So I would guess the take-home message is never underestimate the staying power of the Celts (and in the Vikings case, particularly the Celtic women).

Ever since the rise to power of the “Religious Right” in America, concerned centrists, leftists, and even some on the secular right have wondered where the counterbalance was in American politics. Democrats, since before the 2004 election have worried over the “God Gap” and how they can crack the “Bush Code” and reach out to religiously minded (read: Christian) voters. Since then two men have become focal points of what some are branding the “Religious Left”, the Reverend Jim Wallis, editor of Sojourners magazine, and Rabbi Michael Lerner, editor of Tikkun magazine. But some, including Martin Edlund of Slate.com are pointing out that the two men have perhaps incompatible visions for a religious counter-movement.

Jim Wallis and Michael Lerner

“Lerner and Wallis often get lumped together, and frankly, the religious left has been so marginal until now that it hasn’t much mattered. The confusion is understandable. Both are veterans of the student movements of the 1960s who have been agitating ever since for a progressive politics consistent with their reading of scripture. They more or less agree on the big liberal faith issues, poverty, pacifism, the environment…But as their movement becomes a bigger target for the religious right and Republican Party they may have to start keeping their distance from each other in order to continue building it.”

The problem is one of inclusion and focus. Lerner is a “big tent” spiritual progressive, his recent conference to kick-off his new Network of Spiritual Progressives featured not only left-leaning Christians but “scores of liberal Jews, fewer Muslims, and a sprinkling of Buddhists, Sufis, Baha’i, Wiccans, Native American shamans, and various metrospiritual seekers” according to Edlund. Meanwhile Wallis is focused on winning moderate Catholics and evangelicals who are more concerned with poverty and the environment than gays and abortion.

The real question in my mind isn’t if there is going to be a “Religious Left”, the question is if we are going to have a “Religious Left” or a “Spiritual Progressives” movement. The difference to some may seem a trifle, but for those who adhere to a minority faith the issue is one of recognition and inclusion. Lerner’s movement is messy and all over the place, it welcomes “fringe” groups (like modern Pagans). It doesn’t have a timetable, and is more concerned with building long-term connections between different faith groups. Wallis on the other hand is far more pragmatic. He wants votes and to shift the public’s focus from “righty Jesus” to “lefty Jesus” (from gays to the poor). You can guess who the Democrats are cozying up to in anticipation of the 2008 elections.

The problem with Wallis (and those like Wallis) winning the crown of the new “Religious Left” is that it sidelines other faiths into cheering on their favorite version of Jesus instead of crafting a multi-religious counter-message to conservative Christian talking points. That strategy may win more votes in the short term but it won’t build a long-lasting movement in the shifting sands of American religion. While the values of Wallis may be more in line with the “spiritual progressives” than with the conservative Christians currently in power, we shouldn’t forget that much is left unsaid when you replace a “conservative” evangelical with a “moderate” one.

There is a reason why prominent religious conservatives like Rick Santorum and Sam Brownback are willing to speak at conferences held by Wallis. Because his views on abortion and gay marriage fall right in line (for the most part) with theirs. His focus at the moment just happens to be on poverty, but once candidates he advises attain office you can expect that the more “conservative” elements of his platform will gain more attention. Recent political contortions by Hillary Clinton can give you a preview of what to expect.

While I hope for Lerner’s big tent, I fear that the (actually) compassionate conservatism of Jim Wallis will win the day. If so, expect any faith that doesn’t mention “Jesus” to be quietly asked for donations, and to hand out leaflets so long as they tuck in their pentacle necklace. If we’re lucky we might even get ringside seats for the (electoral) battle between the Christian sects.

In an unusual step, the advocacy group Religious Coalition for the Freedom to Marry has directly targeted Cardinal Sean P. O’Malley and other Catholic leaders for trying to push legislation that interferes with their own faith tradition’s stances on gay marriage. O’Malley, along with other Catholic bishops, have been leading an aggressive campaign for a repeal of same-sex marriage laws in Massachusetts. The RCFM has decided that it isn’t just or moral for one religious institution to use their political clout to decide policy for all religious institutions.

“We respect the Roman Catholic Church’s desire to speak in a public forum about this, but it has come to a point where their advocacy about same-sex marriage has come to impinge on our own religious practices, because not everyone believes same-sex marriage is wrong or sinful or against religious beliefs…” – Rev. Tiffany Steinwert, a United Methodist minister, and pastor of Cambridge Welcoming Ministries

The RCFM has several Pagan members, including Church of the Sacred Earth, the local chapter of The Covenant of The Goddess, and the Society of Elder Faiths. I’m glad these groups are on the front lines fighting for some of our most basic and sacred truths as modern Pagans. That no one faith should dictate, control, or unfairly influence the legal status of the sacred rites of another, and that where matters of love and the gods are concerned no human agency should meddle. While many of my readers are not practitioners of religious Witchcraft, I think this phrase from Doreen Valiente’s “The Charge of The Goddess” is most appropriate.

“Let my worship be with the heart that rejoices, for behold, all acts of love and pleasure are my rituals. And therefore let there be beauty and strength, power and compassion, honor and humility, mirth and reverence within you.”

While the powerful and influential will continue to try to hold a monopoly on truth, they can’t stop our sacred rites from happening. We will continue to marry and handfast those who are joined by love, no matter their gender, and eventually, the walls of a manufactured single truth will crack and crumble and all those joined will be lifted up together free of the boundaries that separate us.

A couple days ago I mentioned the brand new “Celtic Reconstructionism FAQ” in a blog post. A couple commentators thought that perhaps I was giving too much credit to blogger/writer Brenda Daverin and ignoring the other major contributors. That was obviously not my intention. So let me also heap praise and recognition upon Erynn Rowan Laurie (author of the excellent “A Circle of Stones: Journeys and Meditations for Modern Celts”), Kathryn Price NicDhana (co-author of an interesting article on tree ogham), Kym ni? Dhoireann, and C. Lee Vermeers. Mea culpa, and congrats on the excellent work.

I feel bad for Jean Torkelson, she obviously didn’t want to write a filler piece about modern Pagans celebrating the Summer solstice for Rocky Mountain News. This woman is well-educated veteran of the religion-beat and most likely frustrated with her lot. Why else would she write the article in the manner she did?

She starts off fine.

“A rustle of wind, the glow of a fire pit, and a lingering dusk that coaxed night from the longest day of the year – last week marked the summer solstice, a magical time for scores of Colorado’s witches’ covens.”

But every nice phrase is married to an embarrassing gaff or diminishing factoid. It becomes clear she wasn’t impressed and wished to convey that to her readers.

“…intoned Will Christy, 46, known at his King Soopers checkout job for his thick, lush ponytail and pagan necklace…the coven’s high-priest, Richard Cornelius, who sported a ritual saber slung at the side of his khaki shorts…Despite being a high priest, he has a laid-back, Clark Kent demeanor…”

The whole article ends with her description of a prank played during the evening, but the real prank seems to be on the coven who trusted the reporter to treat their ritual with some measure of respect. Torkelson doesn’t seem particularly malicious, so was it boredom? Snobbishness? Lazy writing? Whatever the reason this should be a message to the editors to take her off the Pagan beat before her snark turns to anger.

A few entries by Pagan bloggers have caught my eye, and I thought I would share them. You can consider this a mini-Pagan Carnival of sorts.

First, Deborah Lipp is back from Brazil and has some interesting insights into the Wiccan community there.

“The Wiccan community in Brazil is about 9-10 years old. Interestingly, it seems about exactly like the Wiccan community was in the U.S. when it was ten…The Brazilian Wiccans have remarkable unity. Everyone knows everyone else. They have a small repetoire of chants and songs, and they all seem to know them and really sing out. They have more Wiccans and fewer Pagans of other paths, as well as fewer solitary eclectics. They’re in the midst of some ugly Witch Wars, and are figuring out how to respond to and recover from those. All of this is extremely reminiscent of the U.S. coasts (East and West) in the early 1970s.”

You can read some more about the talks she gave and Garderians in Brazil, here. I’m hoping this becomes a regular series of posts for her, it is rare to get a peek into how modern Paganism is developing outside of America.

After the tragic closing of Odin Lives Radio due to (unfounded) rumours of racism, Dave Haxton announces the triumphant return of the radio and booking company (with a new name).

“First off, the good news. Odin Lives Radio is coming back! We’ve changed our name and, consequently, our main web address, but we’re back “on the air”. The new name is Nine Worlds Radio, and the new website is at http://www.nineworldsradio.org. Three years of work building the show had seemingly been destroyed virtually overnight…We are heathens, not racists – some of us are folkish heathens, some of us are universalists, but all of us place our trust in our folk and our gods over and above any political debates. But in the hope that your belief in the Gods and Goddesses of the North is heartfelt, and not just a whim of temporal politics, we can ask you to stop pushing our shows, our concerts and our other services on sites devoted to white supremacist politics. If you care a whit about heathenry you will separate your politics from your religion, and not cause associations to be formed in the minds of the ignorant between them.”

In a final note, those wishing to explore Celtic paganism in a deeper manner would do well to read the newly posted “Celtic Reconstructionism FAQ”. It was partially written by Pagan blogger Brenda Daverin.

“I was one of the eight people who did a bit of blood-sweating (admittedly not as much as others) over that, and it’s good to see it wrapped up and live. People have wanted a CR 101 book for years. You may consider this to be it, at least for now.”

Consider this a sampler to whet your appetite for even more Pagan blogging! Remember, if you like a blog one of the best things you can do is post a link to it on your own web page or blog. Thanks for reading, and have a good day.

A weekly feature highlighting the best music from Pagan, Pagan – influenced, and occult artists. You can hear many of these artists on my weekly radio show and podcast, or you can check out the annual “Darker Shade of Pagan” music special available for download online.

ATARAXIA

Ataraxia

Band Bio:
Ataraxia is an absolute tension, a way of affording life and experience in a receptive way with the aim of contemplation and enlightenment. The followers of Epicure (in the Hellenistic philosophic era) considered Atarassia a lack of inner turmoils, a spiritual balance reached after a deeply lived material and spiritual experience, often a hard painful one. Contemplation is a hard state of perfection to reach in its plenitude so we try to converge our instincts, needs, egoisms and enthusiasms in the act of creation that’s music. The knowledge of the man, the relativity of everything, the importance of creating are the basis of our way and research. In our creative world the passion for the Greek/Latin culture and its philosophical world has a great importance. Through music we portray the traditions and ancestral imaginary of these cultures that are a never ending source of inspiration.

Ataraxia web site.
Ataraxia MySpace page.

Song download:
“Zelia” (MySpace Mp3 download)
“Scarlet Leaves” (MySpace Mp3 download)
“Seas of The Moon” (Mp3 sample clip)
“Jarem Gitti” (Mp3 sample clip)

Reviews:
“Ataraxia are my favourite band, and it’s not just because of the gracious nature of their beautiful music, it’s because they can also bewilder. You always know roughly what to expect, but then they turn up sweeter, or determinedly out there, but the magic always remains, and they have already created an astonishing body of work…” – Mick Mercer (writing for Starvox)

“I consider this band something more than a ‘musical band’. Their music can’t be taken out from their visual and philosophical concepts…Francesa’s voice and Vandelli’s classical guitar transport us to an oneiric trip through the gardens of the world…Francesca speaks to us with her voice – sometimes sweet, sometimes rough – in Spanish, in English, in French… but you won’t notice it because she really talks in the language of Music.” – Alfonso Algora, progVisions

“…the actual music…is traditional sounding, “earthy” folk with a very high eastern influence. Think old medieval flute players, mixed with acoustic guitars, mixed with Arabic percussions, mixed with some highly exceptional vocals…it’s Francesca that completely steals the show. Her vocals are of such high caliber that when she hits the high notes, she does it with such raw force that animals all over town start responding.” – Maelstrom E-Zine

My Two Cents:
Ataraxia is one of those bands. A band that people are either indifferent to, or are huge obsessive fans. It is rare to find a casual Ataraxia fan due to the level of dedication and depth the band puts into their work. I have always stayed on the sidelines, while I appreciated isolated tracks I never “got” them the way some do. But considering they are putting out a new concept CD dedicated to the primordial goddess that came before all other religions, It may be time to give them another try.

Further Reading:
A 112-page compendium of Ataraxia interviews and reviews by Mick Mercer (pdf download). A web-based interview with the band.

My semi-regular round-up of articles, essays, and opinions of note for discerning Pagans and Heathens.

Since I mentioned comic books yesterday, Neilalien has pointed out another Pagan-friendly comic in his round-up of favorite books at this years MoCCA Festival.

“From the website: “The WEIRD SISTER anthology contains three stories about Daleth, a modern witch who finds herself alone in a hostile Brooklyn. Luckily, she’s got a host of the old gods and a grumpy black ghost dog at her side.” Neilalien enjoyed this book- although he’d probably like to see more interesting powers than “one big move that takes out the baddie and ends the story”, although that might not jive with Daleth’s values to only use her great powers under extreme duress. (Also more God- and context-specific manifestations: if the action takes place on a dock on the water, Neilalien would rather see summoned ondines or Poseidon instead of a fireball from Diana (although Diana/Artemis does protect children, so some context is in the story).) This book is a perfect smallpress recommendation for the many people in that apparent Venn-Diagram overlap of Dr. Strange fans, horror fans, walkers of pagan spiritual paths, etc.”

The Guardian lets us know that Stonehenge is a boring place to visit (unless you happen to be a Druid).

“The main problem is that they made it too small. “Bloody hell, is that it?” said my traveling companion recently, as we drove along the A303. “It’s like a miniature model of Stonehenge”. Pyramids, temples, famous people, they’re always disappointingly small, but Stonehenge is especially so, I think, because of pictures in schoolbooks of hairy dudes hauling massive rocks along on tree-trunk rollers. The problem used to be surmountable, because wandering among the stones, they did indeed seem massive. And there was a magic about the place – you could touch the same cold stone the hairy dudes touched more than 5,000 years ago, admire the beautiful lichen, feel the power. Not any more though, unless you’re a druid, an official modern-day hairy dude. I know it’s for all the right reasons that visitors aren’t allowed among the stones, but looking at it from behind a fence, with a bunch of scary-looking guards making sure you don’t make a run for it, is not the same. It’s the difference between seeing an animal in the wild and an animal at the zoo. Oh, and the noise of all that traffic doesn’t really help either.”

Darn those preservationists!

The Financial Times looks at the cultural (and pre-Christian) history of the drink mezcal.

“Like agave, the indigenous people of Oaxaca are tenacious. They have held on to their ancient culture despite centuries of hostility from church and state. In remote villages no Spanish is spoken, and 16 native languages are still in daily use by almost half of the population of Oaxaca, an area roughly the size of Portugal. The city of Oaxaca is one of the most perfectly preserved and architecturally harmonious colonial cities in Latin America. Once a year groups representing all parts of the state come together here for the Guelaguetza Festival to honour Centeotl, the goddess of tender maize. For two weeks in July an intoxicating mix of music, song, and dance take over the elegant plazas and shady parks of the city.”

In “Da Vinci” news, conservative think-tank American Enterprise Institute has reprinted an article from The National Review by Michael Novak that claims the novel by Dan Brown (and the movie inspired by it) is trying to replace typical monotheism with a new form of monotheism.

“But Brown has yet more to lay out in his book. “The quest for the Holy Grail is literally the quest to kneel before the bones of Mary Magdalene. A journey to pray at the feet of the outcast one, the lost sacred feminine”–to kneel as in a new religion, a pre-Jewish, pre-Christian religion. Miraculously, Brown keeps for this new religion a characteristic that no other pagan religion ever shared: It is monotheistic, and radiates a powerful unifying truth…One of the most sophomoric parts of The Da Vinci Code is Brown’s patronizing advice to Christians: Well, if that’s what you believe, that’s true for you; if that’s the sort of dependency you need, go right on leaning on it. And get over the idea that Jesus is God. In other words: Learn from me, ye Christians, that your faith is in vain. The religion of the Sacred Feminine is the coming attraction. Good luck with your new religion, Mr. Brown.”

I would say that this is a new opinion, but Steven I. Weiss at The Canonist blog has been all over the “new religion” springing forth from “Da Vinci” meme for a while now.

“The Da Vinci Code’s theories will outshine its critics’ as the flick comes out in May, and we’ll hear of at least one group actually taking up the religion.”

Finally, in a sad bit of news, I recently learned that blogger and cultural mythologist Maggie Macary has passed away.

“I am so very very sorry to be writing you this news. Maggie has died. I discovered her on the bedroom floor Monday afternoon. A coroner still has to establish cause of death. The emergency services surmise she died sometime in the wee of Easter morning. Family tell me the body will be cremated and flown back to CT for burial with ancestors. Everyone is in shock just now.”

Her intelligent and insightful voice will be missed. May the gods bless her and keep her.

That is all for this edition. Have a good day.

What do you get when you mix an obsessive love of music with occult dabblings? You may get something very like the new comic “Phonogram”. The comic follows the exploits of ‘Phonomancer’ (someone who draws magical energy from music) David Kohl, an unspeakably rude bastard and music obsessive who acts as the hero for this six issue series coming out in August from Image Comics.

“Music is Magic. You know this already. You’ve known this from the first time a record sent a divine shiver down your spine or when a band changed the way you dressed forever. How does something that’s just noises arranged in sequence do that? No-one knows. It’s just…magic. Everyone knows that. It’s just that some realise that it’s more than metaphor.”

It seems the cover for the comic’s first issue is already making waves in the UK occult community according to columnist Rich Johnston.

“One reader writes, “I was in an occult bookshop in London near the British Museum the other day when I overheard a strange conversation. I didn’t catch all of it, but what I did hear went something along the lines of: “Dammit, this looks genuine… Actual Theban script, how could they know about that?… they shouldn’t be publishing stuff like this..” and to finish it off: ‘THEY’RE MESSING WITH POWERS THEY COULDN’T POSSIBLY UNDERSTAND!’”

Despite “messing” with Theban script writer Kieron Gillen remains unrepentant!

“the actual logo has Theban in it, too. The letters between each of the main ones are Theban… Commonly used by witches. Appeared in about 1500 or so. Apparently invented by Honorious of Thebe…Heh. Bloody witches getting all uppity at us stealing their magic. We’re all about meddling in things man was not meant to meddle with. We own Menswear Albums.”

You can read a ten-page preview of the comic, here.