Autumn Equinox

On Wednesday evening, I conducted a brief solo ritual to honor the passing of Summer and welcome the new season to come. I offered an apple pastry as well as milk and honey to the land spirits. I raised the horn to the Alfar and the Disr. I thanked Sunna for the blessings of Summer, gave thanks for bounty, and asked Ullr and Skadi to guard us well in the coming winter months. Due to rain showers, there was no view of the Harvest Moon for me. But I was blessed with a wonderful light(ning) show -- Hail Thor!

Whose Holiday Is This Anyway? [Redux]

We're knee-deep in the holiday season now -- Hanukkah has passed, the Winter Solstice is upon us, and Christmas is right down the stretch of this week -- so now seems like the right time to re-post a little something I wrote in 2004. This time around I have included links to "4000 Years of Christmas" and a video performance of Dar Williams' "The Christians and the Pagans." I have also changed "Chrismahanukwanzakah" to "Chrismahanukwanzakyule" as it better expresses my pluralist leanings. I hope you enjoy this holiday rewind...

Whose Holiday Is This Anyway? 

This is a response to the various and recent vents in my local paper about the current holiday season. Specifically, I want to address the memes of "Keeping the Christ in Christmas" and "Jesus is the reason for the season." Before I begin, however, I must point out that I love this holiday season, and I care not one whit whether someone wishes me Seasons Greetings, Happy Holidays, Joyous Yule, or any of the countless other phrases in use. I'll take them all in the spirit intended. I'll even return a cheery Merry Christmas in kind to someone who proffers it. That's right, I'm no Scrooge who thinks that "every idiot who goes about with ‘Merry Christmas’ on his lips should be boiled with his own pudding, and buried with a stake of holly through his heart" [A Christmas Carol]. 

Pagans in ... Israel?

The headline brazenly proclaims, "Paganism returns to the Holy Land," but the truth is so much more subtle. Of course, one could make the argument that paganism never really left Israel. That, at most, it was driven underground. And that seems to be the way things still are. Consider the following quotes from Ofri Ilani's article:

• ...most Israeli pagans reveal their beliefs only to those who share them. They usually keep religious gatherings ... secret.
• "Some guys live with religious families. They can't tell their parents, 'I don't believe in Judaism, I'm a pagan.' They'd chop off their heads."
• "In a country like ours ... being a pagan is not easy ... Worshiping other gods is something very sensitive in Judaism. We all were educated [to think] this is intolerable and illogical."
• "...Judaism has only one god, and if you do not believe in him, you will be driven off with stones."

Due to this environment, it's not much of a surprise that there is not all that much information about pre-Judaic divinities or practices. So some Israeli worshipers pray to Nordic or Celtic gods. But there is a movement to revive the worship of ancient Canaanite gods. Hail to all those who seek to revive, preserve, and make relevant their ancient ancestral practices. Especially those living in what is considered the capital of monotheism. Read the article at http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1072829.html