January isn’t too early for Valentine’s Day, is it? Nah. Didn’t think so. When my mom’s church friend came over today to pick up a tub of my mother’s fabric and quilt blocks we had recently unearthed in the garage, she said that Hobby Lobby has had their Valentin’s Day stuff up since right after … Continue reading Upfront and Down-Low Paganism: Valentine’s Edition
I said to myself, I said, “If you are going to blog about devotional Pagan life, you should probably actually DO your devotion.” Well played, Self. So before I did anything else—before I read tarot cards on whether or not starting this blog this way was a good idea and before I asked my AI … Continue reading Doing Pagan Devotion: Kathiskos Jar
As a child of divorce, I had two of every holiday: two birthdays, two Thanksgivings, two Christmases... That’s sort of what being a current Pagan, benevolent ex-Christian is like. I’ll happily sing the Jesus songs and make a joyful noise about it, but I’ve also got my eyes peeled for nature spirits darting in and … Continue reading On Christmas Eve a Pagan Writes Something Pithy About Divorce
I was posting regularly, getting Temple Mercury off the ground, and then I just up and disappeared on you. Here’s what happened: It has been a rip-roaring six months, let me tell you! In mid-February my mom, with whom I lived and whose caregiver I had been for three years, had to go to the … Continue reading Where HAVE I Been? Death, Agony, and the Flame that Won’t Die
When I was 19, I took piano, violin, and music theory from an eccentric Hungarian musician who liked to talk a lot about escaping communism. He also liked to tell Hungarian jokes. In a book of translated Hungarian poetry, (by the poet Miklos Radnoti—seriously, check him out. He’s awesome), I read in the translator’s notes … Continue reading On Godly Gifts: Life Is Hard When You Don’t Believe in Giraffes
Taken outside my mother’s board and care facility while she was recovering and my teeth were falling out. I remember my friend Jeana at the bar in Nashville, Tennessee, or actually on her way to the bar saying that her teeth may be crooked, but at least they were all in there. She was referring … Continue reading Those Who Lack: A Pagan Meditation on Love and Dentistry
My best Salvation Army find of all time. I kick myself every day that I didn’t buy it. Except God Now! Human trafficking is a huge problem where I live yet, woefully, there are very few organizations that serve those victimized by it. I recently had occasion to donate goods to a deserving charity and, … Continue reading A Pagan Learns Evangelical Charity
While it is traditional to honor Brigid during the Imbolc season, it is also fitting to honor Goddess Hestia who is the goddess of hearth and temple fire—the loving goddess of the divine spark. She so wished for humanity to have this connection to the gods that she gave up her throne on Olympus to … Continue reading Prayer Song Honoring Goddess Hestia
Happy Imbolc everyone! Gather here with me around the temple hearth where today we celebrate Hestia/Vesta, goddess of hearth and temple flame, and also Brigid, goddess of poetry, the forge, and myriad other bright and blessed things. Sit here with me, the goddesses amongst us, the soft flickering flames inspiring our mystical vision. As the … Continue reading Classic Imbolc Tale of My Epic Social Fail
“This is the true religion. All others are thrown-away bandages beside it.” -Rumi In college, while still a Mormon, I saw some article in the local newspaper disparaging Mormonism for claiming to be the “one true religion.” I thought it was funny at the time. Who would want to belong to a church that claimed … Continue reading Pagan Truthiness
Temple Mercury 