Paganism

Column: a Fruitful Darkness

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Beloved American poet Mary Oliver once wrote, “Someone I loved once gave me a box full of darkness. It took me years to understand that this too, was a gift.”[1]

Darkness has prevailed in the Western hemisphere; autumn mourns the loss the sun whom no doubt returns triumphant in spring. Where once temples illumined, now there may only enough oil for one night of eight. Others too have readied themselves for a long journey at the mid hour of night. That story goes: wise men saw a star in the east and followed.

Paganism

Column: the Sleep of Reason Produces Monsters

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23.439281 degrees – that’s the reason for the season. Or rather, it is because of it that we started to promote symbolic and ultimately religious meaning to the path of the sun across the sky. It is an astronomical event co-opted by just about every religion that emerged north of the 23rd parallel, if not worldwide. The returning of the sun was marked in Rome as Sol Invictus with the co-occurring festivals of Brumalia and Saturnalia. The Christians would later fold those holidays together to mark the Nativity as the birth of light in the world.

Canada

Dragon Ritual Drummers winter solstice event cancelled last minute

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ST. CATHERINES, Ont. — A Canadian Pagan group says their Winter Solstice celebration was cancelled for being “too overtly Pagan.” The Dragon Ritual Drummers, a musical troupe headed by Witchdoctor Utu, planned to host a solstice ritual and concert at the Niagara Cannabis Club, but says the club canceled the event just hours before it was to start. The Winter Solstice Witches Mass and Concert is an annual Ontario event, during which the Dragon Ritual Drummers usually perform. This year the group decided to host it themselves, and they picked the town of St.

Living

A Blessed Winter Solstice

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TWH — This weekend, many Pagans, Heathens and Polytheists in the Northern Hemisphere are marking the winter solstice with celebrations, feasts, and rituals. The solstice will occur on Wednesday, Dec 21 at 10:44 UTC. It is a day traditionally thought to be the longest night and shortest day of the year. This time of year is held sacred within many different modern Pagan and Heathen traditions, and has a rich history in ancient Pagan religions. The solstice time was important to prehistoric peoples in both Ireland and England. While there is scant evidence of specific celebrations, it is generally thought that the pagan Celts did, in some way, honor the time around the solstice.

Living

Yule, Pennsylvania Dutch style

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PHILADELPHIA — Pagan and Polytheist traditions have a tendency to be influenced by local culture, and that’s particularly evident in Urglaawe, a form of Heathenry practiced in Pennsylvania. The term “Pennsylvania Dutch” comes originally from  Deutsch or Deitsch, and provides an Americanized lens through which to explore Heathenry. Robert Schreiwer, a leader of Urglaawe, explained how the dark times leading up to and through the winter solstice are honored in this unique tradition. It’s a practice that includes concepts common to Heathenry such as the Wild Hunt, as well as the visual spectacle of a flaming, spinning Yuletide sun wheel and a visit from Krampus. Yuul, as the winter solstice is called, is a time of introspection, the buildup to which began at the end of October.