Paganism

For those who have not yet heard, deo's Shadow pagan podcast has officially decided to call it quits after the hosts have left a pagan path in favor of atheism.

There have been a number of followup posts by deo himself, as well as dozens of comments and related posts, many of which are linked through trackbacks or those compiled by The Wild Hunt Blog ( via wildhuntblog) here, and also an entry by Brendan Myers here.

I'm personally quite sad because I loved the show, and even though knew that updates wouldn't be likely, kept hoping it would come back. Now that not only is the show officially over, but to hear that deo and Mandy have left the pagan path, it's a little depressing even though I think no one can argue that it isn't for the best, and to each their own.

Anyway, I thought I'd pass on the links to anyone who's interested -- I don't have any actual topics of discussion to propose here, but if anyone else does, feel free.

And that said -- back episodes are still available of the show, so if you haven't listened to the show, they are well worth the download.

( Cut for length and x posting )

I did my first Tarot reading tonight with a little of Susie's help. As many of my friends know, I had a falling out with Danielle(best friend of 14 years). A few nights ago, I had a nightmare and I remembered the key details to it. I know that the dreams/nightmares you remember most are the ones that mean something. There was a message.

( The Nightmare )

I was talking to Susie about it and we were only able to pinpoint I was afraid of something. But we couldnt quite figure out what it was and where the rape scene fit in. So I suggested we consult her tarot cards but since her cards weren't downstairs, I suggested mine long as she helps me since this would be my first reading. We used This set-up for the reading(the celtic cross).

( What the cards had told me )

( Clarity )

After this reading, I felt relieved somehow. Knowing what was going wrong, what the nightmare was trying to tell me, and knowing what I must do to solve the issue currently. This first reading was the very first step into finally bonding with my cards and I know when I do leave for the airline academy, I will take them with me(as well as a little figure of bast too). And now I cant help but smile.

Now a question, other than your thoughts on this, what was your first reading like and/or what was the first steps you took to bond with your first deck of tarot cards?

I am curious if anyone knows of websites pertaining to worshiping both God and Goddess in tandem. Also, I'm wondering if anyone has gone through or is going through the Northern Way Mystery Schools? here is a link to what I am talking about. Thanks for any help.

Hello, Everyone! My name is Yuri and I've just begun my journey into my faith. I've thought about it for a long time, since I was about 12 or so. Now, at 21, I'm seriously starting it. I can devote my time and energy into this, which a journey like this needs.

I don't have a specific religion or belief system. Right now it's all fair game. The best thing to classify me is Pagan, since my path leads away from traditional church teachings.

I hope to make some friends here, and enjoy the coming of Spring.

Hello! *peers around hesitantly* What are you fine folks doing to celebrate this week? :-)

In previous years (aside from the usual decluttering and cleaning that this time of year always motivates), I've also experimented with coloring eggs using food-based methods, rather than buying egg-dye kits. I've found I really like the natural colors, especially the blues...

( Blues with cabbage, yellows with turmeric, greens via blue and yellow! )

Has anyone else here experimented with these sorts of egg coloring methods? How did yours turn out?

(And mods, I wasn't sure how to tag this post... help?)

Either they've asked the obvious question, or you "came out." So, what next?

If it was a surprise, what was the family reaction?

If it's common knowledge, how well do they accept your faith?

Are you open about celebrating your pagan holy day, whether or not you celebrate cultural Christmas as well? How do you explain the common points and differences between the two, if asked?

(discussion topic; not looking for personal advice)

Via nonfluffypagans on LJ...

For anyone who's going to be awake for the next few hours (that would be, not me!) and is interested, Heritage Ireland will be showing a streaming webcast of the sunrise at Newgrange. Video starts streaming at 8:30AM local time (which I believe is about 3:30AM for us in Eastern Standard Time... your time zone may vary.)

It's a bit late, but thought I'd pass it on!

December. 22, 2007, marks the solstice—the beginning of winter in the Northern Hemisphere and summer in the Southern Hemisphere. The precise moment of the 2007 solstice will be December 22, 2007 at 01:08. EST (Dec. 22, 06:08 UT).

How do you celebrate this holy day?

Hi! I'm crawling out of my lurkdom here to point out some really cool Solstice and Yule icons I found here on live journal. There are some traditional Christian Christmas icons as well but a lot of nice pagan icons.

Hope y'all might enjoy them!

Does anyone have any requests or ideas for tags to add to the community? I was going to start with adding tags for specific paths (i.e. Wicca, Asatru, Druidry, Slavic, Celtic, Egyptian, etc.) but other than that, is there anything anyone else would like to see?

Hey everybody,

I've started compiling a list of other pagan asylums and RSS feeds available on InsaneJournal on the userinfo page.

If you know of a feed or asylum out there that is not listed, let us know and I'll add it to the list!*

Please note that this is not an encouragement to cross-post all of your entries to multiple communities. However, if you're looking for a more specific community to your branch or interest of paganism, it's a good place to start!

* If an asylum for a specific path of paganism is already on the list and you want to give us another, I'm sorry but we won't accept your link. We want to do what we can to build a strong community, and promoting redundant asylums isn't in the best interest of community-building.

Out of curiosity, what are some pagan blogs or websites that you've all visited on a semi-regular basis? Or if not semi-regular, that you've bookmarked as a good resource to come back to in the future.

(Just trying to drum up some activity here -- hi! I'm greenwitch, your new co-mod! :) Welcome, new members!)

I was listening to Druidcast a few days ago and one of the songs that was played was by Josh Woodward ("Spirit World"). I liked it, so I went to his website and downloaded a few more tracks. He provides MP3s free on his website, and CDs on a pay-what-you-want basis -- so anyone looking for free or cheap pagan/folk music, check him out! Druidcast isn't bad either -- available through iTunes, or on the link above.

Would any of you happen to know where to get a statue of the Egyptian Goddess Nut (Nuit)? I've searched high and low, but all I've found are a few "papyrus scroll" images... no statues.

If I can't find one I'll make one, but I thought I'd ask around a little first. Any help is much appreciated. Thank you.

( Chanting, bonfire lead police to woman's backyard )


Whats everyones opinion on this? I'm honestly not too sure WHAT to think of it.

Hello! I'm Poleva and I am a Slavic pagan/heathen from the East Coast of the U.S. I try to be as authentic as I can be in my practice but I am not a reconstructionist. There's so little info available on pre-Christian Slavic religions that it's a bit difficult to truly reconstruct anything. There is more info available in Russian and I am slowly learning to read it but it's going to take a while before I am fluent enough to understand the texts that are available (and then there's the matter of how expensive some of the more academic and hard to find books are - another obstacle.) So most of my actual practices and beliefs are a result of a lot of reading, a lot of prayer, and a lot of UPG. My focus is on Eastern Slavic beliefs (Russian and Ukrainian mostly) but I also take inspiration from Polish (and, to a lesser extent, Prussian) traditions as that is where a good portion of my family is from.

I have a LiveJournal (under the name of bezcenny) but I am most active here at IJ - I am really starting to love InsaneJournal - and I hope to see this community grow! It will be nice to chat with other pagans.

To the mod: you asked for interest suggestions. Perhaps you could add Slavic paganism?

Welcome to paganism!

I created this community because I noticed a lack of asylums/communities about paganism. I am not a pagan myself, but rather someone who is searching for a spiritual path. Hopefully, as more people join, we'll have members of all sorts of pagan religions.

If any members have suggestions for interests, let me know and I'll add them. Also, if anyone who is actually Pagan would like to help me moderate the community, let me know.