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10 Things To Learn When You’re Studying Paganism
This article was originally published on my About Paganism page, back in the days when it was part of the AboutDotCom network, but has since vanished because of changes and weird restructuring. ———————————- I know, it stinks. You finally sat down and had The Big Talk with your parents and they still won’t let you practice Wicca — or any other form of Paganism — in their house. It’s not fair, you might just hate them for a few minutes, and they’re the meanest parents ever. Take heart — there’s a positive side to this. If you can’t practice Paganism while you live under their roof, that means you’ll have…
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Help Your Local Shops Out During COVID
Guys, the world has been on fire for several months, and we’ve all been watching as smaller businesses are struggling to stay afloat. Especially in the case of Pagan businesses, which tend to have a shorter lifespan anyway, this year is going to be a make-or-break it situation. Plenty of the witchy shops where I live — and probably where you live as well — have moved to a model that involves curbside pickup only, or which requires customers to mask up and have access to product in minimal numbers. Whichever way your local shop has asked you to engage with them, it’s important that you still do patronize them.…
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Welcoming the Non-Pagans to Your Pagan Stuff
One of the most popular articles on my old About/ThoughtCo.LearnReligions site was one about proper etiquette when you’re a non-Pagan — or at the very least, a non-coven member — invited to a ritual. The piece discussed how to behave and interact with the folks holding the ritual, and how to make sure you’re invited back again — and since the piece is no longer live on LearnReligions, I’ve reposted it here. Anyway, for each non-Pagan attending an event, there must clearly be someone putting on the ritual. It’s important, therefore, for us to discuss how to treat non-Pagans–or non-members of our group–when they take time out of their schedules…
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Ritual Etiquette for the Non-Pagany Peeps
Perhaps you’re not Wiccan, but you’ve been invited by your friend to join in her coven’s next circle. Or maybe your buddy from work has invited you to his upcoming Druid celebration at the park. You want to participate, but have no idea how Pagans behave, or what the proper protocol is for a non-Pagan attending a ceremony. Or perhaps you are a Pagan, but you’ve been invited to attend a ritual with a group that’s brand new to you. So now what do you do? Believe it or not, most rules of common sense and courtesy apply here, just as they would apply to you attending any other religious service.…
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The Magic of Sigils
Sigils are a great way to identify your intent when you’re working magic. A sigil is simply a symbol of your purpose – for instance, you could use a heart to identify love, or a dollar sign to indicate money. Those are the easy ones – and certainly, there are a floppity-million other symbols you can use. If you want to do the standard issue symbols, pick up a copy of Raymond Buckland’s Signs, Symbols, and Omens – it’s chock full of great suggestions. That being said, one way to connect your intent to your working even more effectively is to create a unique symbol of your own. This sort…
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The Magic of Bamboo
Bamboo is grown in many parts of the world, and because it is both quick to develop and extremely hardy, it has a variety of uses from the mundane to the magical. The bamboo plant lives a long time, and will just continue growing until it is harvested. Because of this, some Pacific Island tribes regard it as a symbol of longevity and life, and include bamboo in some creation stories. In some parts of the Philippines, bamboo crosses are placed in the fields to bring hearty crops in at harvest time. In parts of India, bamboo symbolizes friendship, and in some Eastern religions, bamboo is the only acceptable material…
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Set Up a Birthday Altar
For some people birthdays are just another day, but for others, it’s often seen as a special time. After all, it’s a milestone — it marks the anniversary of your arrival on earth! Whether you’re having a small group of friends over for cake, or going out to a big party at your favorite club, sometimes it’s important to take a few moments just for ourselves to mark our birthdays. You can do this by setting up a birthday altar to celebrate the journey your life has led you on thus far. It’s a good idea to start gathering items for your altar in advance, because you never know how long it…
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Infographic: Magical Links
Print this puppy out and stick it in your Book of Shadows for reference.
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Bona Dea of Rome
In ancient Rome, Bona Dea was a goddess of fertility. In an interesting paradox, she was also a goddess of chastity and virginity. Honored originally as an earth goddess, she was an agricultural deity, and was often invoked to protect the area from earthquakes. Unlike many Roman goddesses, Bona Dea seems to have been particularly honored by the lower social classes. Slaves and plebian women who were trying to conceive a child might make offerings to her in hopes of being granted a fertile womb. Her name comes from the Latin for “good goddess.” Although her principal temple was on the Aventine hill, secret rituals and rites were performed in private homes.…
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Perfect Love, Perfect Trust
Many people toss around the phrase “perfect love and perfect trust” in the Neopagan community. They sometimes use it as a defense when they are corrected by someone else, or bring it up as an argument when they don’t like what people are saying, as in, “I am TOO right, you’re all being mean, what about perfect love and perfect trust?” I was once challenged by a community member when I pointed out that a popular book was full of shoddy scholarship, blanket statements, and just plain awful ideas. Her response was “But Author X is a respected member of the community! Where’s your perfect love and perfect trust?” Well, as…
