The Wild Hunt (https://wildhunt.org/category/living/page/2)
Like a “Sunday Catholic” who is extremely devout on Sunday mornings but lives a decidedly un-Christian life for the rest of the week, we can all too easily make grand speeches over the drinking horn at blót but neglect to put intention into action when we step out into the wider world. Are we honoring the ancestors in our lives? Or are we dishonoring them?
Despite challenges from rain, COVID-19 and venue changes, Greater Chicagoland Pagan Pride returned triumphantly, uniting nearly 1,000 attendees with workshops, rituals, and activism-focused teachings, all celebrating the power of community, resilience, and finding one’s voice.
Once the immediate danger had passed, though, it was not long before the facades began to crack and slide away like pieces of mud-caked siding. The groups of helpers that traveled in from other areas started to include hate groups, religious zealots, bigots, and con artists. Some local helpers began to show their true colors, too.
“Made up of a mix of all the grains, legumes, and edible seeds grown in any given area,” writes Siobhan Ball, “polysporia belongs to that most fundamental class of agricultural ritual: the kind that gets down to the bare bones of the relationship between man and gods, expressing plainly what we want and what we’re willing to give in exchange.”
“It’s hard to feel hopeful in the face of so much violence and gaslighting,” writes Storm Faerywolf. “That is why it is important to periodically disconnect from the noise and reconnect with our inner natures. To “touch grass,” as the often-snarky internet memes suggest. Toward this end, let us apply our magic.”