Paganism

Column: Queer Paganism in Australia

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Queer Paganism in Australia today is multifaceted and vibrant with a large number of publicly active traditions, groups, and meetups that are queer oriented or queer inclusive. The most notable of these is Queer Pagan Men Australia. But what many contemporary Australian Pagans don’t know is that the country’s history of Paganism within the LGBT community goes back more than three decades and includes a home-grown queer magical tradition. Queer Pagan Men Australia
Queer Pagan Men Australia (QPMA) was founded by Ryan McLeod and Buck Agrios in 2012 with the mission of providing a safe space for men who love men to explore their spiritual beliefs, sacred sexuality, roles in community, and practice in the craft as queer men. In Alexandrian witchcraft, McLeod finds that his position is primarily a fertility focused one, However he also sees the importance of LGBT people having opportunities to connect with one another in Australia, and to share their unique experience and perspectives of Paganism.

Paganism

Column: Green Space, Wild Space

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There is a place just south of the town where I live that I go to be wild. I go there to wander trails made of dirt and rock, to duck my head down under low stone curtains and into caves, to stand on bluffs and look down at ravines the depth of which could kill me with a false step. I love this place, because although I have not yet learned all of its paths – indeed, I only started going there this year – I recognize its form, its logic. I have been going to places like this since my boyhood, always in response to the same urge to nature. We call this place Rock Bridge State Park, one of dozens in the Missouri state parks system.

Culture

Column: Pagans Share Hurricane Stories and Struggles

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Hurricanes Harvey and Irma were two of the most devastating hurricanes ever to hit the mainland United States. Each storm carried its own unique brand of destruction. Harvey smacked into southern Texas, then stopped moving, flooding the Houston area with 51.88 inches of rain before it finally dissipated. Irma, which some news stations reported as being over 300 miles wide, scaled up the west coast of the Florida peninsula, devastating the length of the state with winds that topped out at 185 mph. Both storms ravaged local infrastructure, flooded residents’ homes, and caused misery to all who had to endure them.

Paganism

Column: Crossing the River, Care-giving

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The evening is crisp, with a hint of dampness still in the air. The descent of autumn in the Northern Hemisphere brings the blessings of bountiful pumpkins, crisp apples, and leaves just waiting to be crunched beneath boots on long walks through the woods. This is the in-between time. In my home tradition, we celebrate the sabbat of Thesmophoria when Demeter mourns the loss of her daughter, and Hades rejoices at the return of Kore, who will mature as his queen, Persephone. It is a time of tumult and the weather reflects this.

Paganism

Column: Memory, Prophecy, and Social Justice, Would You Know Yet More?

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[ Today we welcome once again guest writer Tamilia Reed. Reed is a devotional polytheist, spirit-worker, mystic, rune reader, Witch, and traveler of the otherworlds. Her spiritual work centers on building strong relationships with the denizens of this and other worlds, while seeking an intimate understanding of the magical ties that join all beings. You can find Reed’s writing on her personal blog at Wandering Woman Wondering, at Wayfaring Woman via Agora, or at Daughters of Eve: Pagan Women of Color Speak.]

The Völuspá (the Wise-Woman’s Prophecy) is the first poem in the Poetic Edda. The Poetic Edda along with the Prose Edda and multiple sagas form the main body of Norse mythology.