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

Those interested in modern Paganism have a new outlet at Harvard.

“Though not in time for Halloween, the spring semester’s “Witchcraft and Charm Magic” – from the Folklore and Mythology department – may be right up the alley of those in the Harvard-Radcliffe Science Fiction Association. Undergraduates hoping to learn some of the charm magic described in the course guide might even be able to try it while studying for exams. This new course taught by department chair and Professor of Scandinavian and Folklore Stephen A. Mitchell will also explore the history of neo-paganism.”

Are we looking at a whole new breed of Ivy-league Pagans?

Online journal “The Blanket” gives a positive review to Patricia Monaghan’s “The Red-Haired Girl from the Bog”.

“She has found a much more gentle and inspirational (in the root sense) sacralized landscape than I have encountered in Ireland. She has the advantage that many Irish Americans do not of direct connections and still-connected cousins due to more recent immigration in her family. This allows her more of a base from which to leap out across what she views ahead of her, intellectually, spiritually, and physically, This is a bold attempt to confront what always stoked my own thoughts: how far beneath today’s Irish psyche and habits and mentality do you have to scratch before the pagan emerges?”

Buddhist Jess Row writes about what will happen to Buddhism after the death of the Tenzin Gyatso, the 14th Dalai Lama of Tibet. The final paragraph of the story brings up some deep questions not only for American Buddhists, but for modern Pagans as well.

“Perhaps the biggest question His Holiness’s eventual death will raise is this: Is Buddhism in the West destined to continue as a small group of practitioners flanked by a much larger body of consumers??those who buy the books and take an occasional class? Or can Western Buddhist sanghas grow and become a permanent part of the culture, alongside churches, synagogues, and mosques? The Dalai Lama spent his life bringing Buddhism out of the monastery and into the marketplace. For the next generation of Buddhist leaders, the challenge is to go beyond branding and truly put down roots in foreign soil.”

Can modern Paganism become a permanent part of American culture? Will we stay forever on the fringes, or will we also put down roots?

The Pagan Veteran headstone campaign made CNN’s “American Morning” yesterday.

“This story by CNN National Correspondent Bob Franken began with a scene of Sgt. Patrick Stewart’s coffin being carried by soldiers at his funeral. The story reported that Sgt. Stewart does not have his memorial plaque because his Wiccan religion and its emblem, the Pentacle, are not yet recognized by the US Department of Veterans Affairs. This news story also included photos of Sgt. Stewart and remarks by his widow Roberta and Rev. Selena Fox of Circle Sanctuary. Bob Franken, standing across the street from the VA headquarters, concluded his coverage by stating several times that the Wiccan Pentacle has been pending for 9 years.”

You can watch the spot online, here.

Liz Smith of the Baltimore Sun profiles the Colosseum in Rome.

“As long as the Colosseum stands so will Rome, but when the Colosseum falls Rome will fall, and so will the world!” wrote the Venerable Bede. The Catholic Church, which pillaged the Colosseum during the Renaissance to build its churches, is now busy restoring large sections of this giant pagan ruin. I guess the Romans in charge have taken the Venerable Bede’s warning to heart. These days you have to pass through a metal detector to get inside.”

Finally, we take a trip through the looking glass with conservative writer Fred Hutchison. Hutchison warns us which forces are truly responsible for the bondage and oppression of women.

“The sexual revolution is quickly unraveling the sexual respect for women that was developed in the Christian West over many centuries. As the culture becomes more pagan and more sexually unrestrained, sexual respect is evaporating and a fall in the status of women cannot be far behind. This iron law of human nature will become more clear as we consider the harem culture introduced by the Playboy philosophy.”

Damn you Paganistic sexual revolution!!! Don’t you realize how much freedom women enjoyed under the bulk of Christian history?

That is all I have for now, have a good day!

Tags: Paganism