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January 2021

January 04, 2021

Sunset Doesn’t Last All Evening: A Coda and a Benediction

Nothing gold can stay... or, to steal a line from George Harrison, all things must...

December 2020

December 26, 2020

The Company We Keep: On Ethics, Values, and Bigotry in Our Communities

Why do we tolerate bad actors in our communities? And what does it say about...

October 2020

October 30, 2020

A Word Before the Drop: On Politics, Ethics, and Compassion

We're on the even of the most important election of our lifetimes, one that literally...

August 2020

August 14, 2020

Misha’s Lockdown Reading List: Yvonne Aburrow, “Dark Mirror” and “The Night Journey”

For years, readers have asked for more "advanced" books on Wicca. Yvonne Aburrow's "Dark Mirror"...

July 2020

July 13, 2020

A Hole in Our Midst: On Moral Vulnerabilities in Esoteric Communities

Our communities have made themselves safe spaces for entitled, selfish jerks who make our spaces...

May 2020

May 19, 2020

Misha’s Lockdown Reading List: Lilith Dorsey, “Orishas, Goddesses, and Voodoo Queens”

Dorsey's new book draws on her experience as a practitioner and her training as an...

March 2020

March 24, 2020

A Spring of Kindness in a Year of Sickness

As the pandemic forces us all into hermitage, I'm writing this to ask a favor...

February 2020

February 14, 2020

Materia Magica: Some Thoughts on the Stuff We Use to Do Magic

On the subject of magical materials, you’ll find two basic schools of thought, the Hardcore...

January 2020

January 02, 2020

Outside the Charmed Circle: Coming Soon to a Bookstore Near You!

I wrote a book! And since it comes out in just a few days, this...

November 2019

November 07, 2019

Critique as She Is Spoke: On Being “Pagan Enough” to Blog

What counts as "Pagan enough" to be covered in a Pagan blog, or a blog...

October 2019

October 01, 2019

Poking Bears, Striking Nerves: Talking to White Pagans about Racism (Some More)

Here are a few things I’ve noticed about talking with white Pagans about racism. These...

September 2019

September 27, 2019

Habits and Slips: Paganism’s Recurring, Tiresome Problem with Racism

Sometimes that racism is overt: shaven-headed, tatted-up dudes spouting white-supremacist dog-whistles. Most of the time,...

August 2019

August 29, 2019

What’s in Your Appendix N? (Memories of the First Books #4)

I was ruminating on the similarities between geek culture and p-word culture, and the thought...

August 20, 2019

So, You Want to Start a Pagan Blog: A Handful of Hard-Won Lessons

One of the weird things about being a writer is that people sometimes assume that...

July 2019

July 15, 2019

A Dollop of Analysis: Further Observations on Racism and White Fragility

If the modern Pagan and polytheist communities aren't willing to be inclusive of all races...

June 2019

June 17, 2019

What Your Favorite Wheel-of-the-Year Day Says About You

I’ve noted in previous posts that my relationship with the Wheel of the Year is...

May 2019

May 21, 2019

What Your Favorite Ritual Tool Says About You: An Exercise in Humor

What DOES your favorite ritual took say about you? What messages are you unknowingly sending...

April 2019

April 08, 2019

Animism for Every Body: A Review of “Witchbody” by Sabrina Scott

The animism of Witchbody isn't joyful serenity or justifiably crabby doomsaying, but rather, a vision...

March 2019

March 29, 2019

The Unbearable Whiteness of Being Pagan: Some Observations on White Fragility in Esoteric Spiritual Movements

For some Pagans, the core of their belief system isn't Paganism, polytheism, witchcraft, or magic:...

March 25, 2019

Six Types of Pagan Book Reviews to Stop Writing Immediately

Pagans, polytheists and occultists might be the People of the Library, but if certain book-selling...

February 2019

February 04, 2019

Catching Up with the Wild Migratory Misha: Places, Dates, and Words

I know it's been quiet around these parts lately. I've been banging away on the...

January 2019

January 17, 2019

A Not-So-Secret Project: An Update on the State of the Misha

Hello, beautiful creatures! Where've I been, and what's been going on? The answer may shock...

December 2018

December 14, 2018

The Tension of Yule as Solstice and “Pagan Christmas”

If it brings folks joy to import Christmas into their observance of Yule, then by...

October 2018

October 26, 2018

Pruning Your Roots, or, Coping with Samhain When Your Ancestors Suck

How do we honor our ancestors at Samhain if our ancestors were terrible people?

October 19, 2018

Points of the Triangle: The Victim, the Persecutor, and the Rescuer

Let's dig a little deeper into how the dynamics of Karpman's drama triangle manifest in...

September 2018

September 06, 2018

Movie Review: “Hereditary” (directed by Ari Aster, 2018)

"Hereditary" is an extraordinarily well-made, emotionally affecting film with incredible performances, and I feel deeply...

August 2018

August 14, 2018

Scribing the Triangle: Some Thoughts on Power Dynamics in Our Communities

If we're honest with ourselves, about ourselves, I think we'll find is that a lot...

August 13, 2018

Banishing the Boogeyman of Cultural Marxism, and Other Pastimes

Everyone's entitled to their own brand of ignorance and damnfoolishness... up to a point. For...

August 03, 2018

Choosing Who We Are: Boundaries and Inclusivity in Our Communities

The trouble is, radical inclusivity makes it really difficult to develop or enforce shared social...

July 2018

July 27, 2018

Washing the Clay Feet of Broken Idols: Confronting Paganism’s TERF Problem

TERFs are of a piece with the alt-right, from their reliance on pseudo-science to their...

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