Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

Outside the Charmed Circle

Home
Pagan

Uncategorized

Select a Category Interviews Politics Reviews Social Justice Theology Uncategorized

Select a Month January 2021 December 2020 October 2020 August 2020 July 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017

February 2018

February 24, 2018

Words Mean Things: A Resource for Discussing Gender and Sexuality

Gender and sexuality can seem a lot more complicated nowadays, especially without the language to...

February 22, 2018

Some Unconventional Thoughts about Pagan Conventions

That's not to say that conventions aren't important, or filled with magic. They can be...

February 16, 2018

Safer Sex Magic: How to Learn Sex Magic in Three Easy Steps!

It's time to get down to brass tacks... but first, I apologize for any misapprehensions...

February 10, 2018

Safer Sex Magic: Getting Down to Business, As It Were

It's not surprising that our ancestors came up with the idea of using sex as...

February 08, 2018

Safer Sex Magic: Dancing in the Thicket Between Science and Religion

Magic is notoriously one of those words where, if you ask any ten practitioners, you'll...

February 04, 2018

Safer Sex Magic: Let’s Talk About (How We Talk About) Sex, Baby

Coming up with a universally-accepted definition for sex is a fool's game, but I've never...

February 02, 2018

After the Mirror: An Ending, with Neither Closure nor Resolution

Sexual abuse and sexualized violence are very real problems in our communities, as in our...

January 2018

January 27, 2018

After the Mirror: A Brief Interlude on Words and Power

Words are magic, and yours no less than mine. Our words and actions together change...

January 25, 2018

After the Mirror: Now Here, Nowhere—Where Now?

If we want to our communities to be the safe, welcoming spaces we tell ourselves...

January 20, 2018

After the Mirror: A Personal Recollection of Complicity

I ended my last post by saying I know about missing stairs from personal experience....

January 19, 2018

After the Mirror: The Missing Stair and the Enabling of Abuse

The missing stair is that problematic person we all know is a problem, but who...

January 13, 2018

A Long, Cold Look in the Mirror

The responsibility for preventing abuse in our communities doesn't lie with the victims or the...

January 10, 2018

Memories of the First Books: Deities & Demigods

D&D encouraged me to explore the vast array of spiritual traditions throughout history, beyond the...

January 05, 2018

A Blessing for the New Year

It's traditional to start the new year off with introspection, contemplation, and a resolution or...

December 2017

December 28, 2017

Sharpening Your Knives: Three Simple Tools for Developing Discernment

With the exception of a few gifted folks, magic and spirituality are hard work. Not...

December 26, 2017

The Spaces Between: Discernment and the Power of “Yes-And”

In a culture which pushes us to believe in the binary choices of yes or...

December 22, 2017

Leviathan Grumbles: Simplicity and the Betrayal of Discourse

Anti-intellectualism is an attitude of bad faith which violates the principles of discourse. Moreover, its...

December 15, 2017

Down Comforters, Army Blankets, and the Necessary Problem of Nuance

Nuance lives in the spaces between binaries, thriving in shadings and shadows, dancing on the...

December 12, 2017

Gods Behaving Badly: Managing Outcomes When Things Get Complicated

If a god is leaning on you, they tend to have a reason for it....

December 10, 2017

#NotAllGods, and Some Rules of Thumb for Working with Gods

While some folks disagree on this point, I maintain quite firmly that human beings are...

December 06, 2017

Saying No to Gods, and Other Challenges of the Path

...the gods relate to us for their own reasons, just as we relate to them...

December 03, 2017

The Toxic Narrative of “Being Chosen” by Gods and Bad Boys

Once we've cast ourselves as powerless protagonists at the mercy of domineering, socially inept aggressors,...

November 2017

November 29, 2017

Kings, Queens, Dukes, and Lords: The Perils of Hegemony in Pagan and Polytheistic Praxis

...we are often forced either to adapt the myths and symbols the past to meet...

November 16, 2017

Book Review: “Sigil Witchery” by Laura Tempest Zakroff

Zakroff has taken the time and effort to ground her work in both legitimate art...

November 11, 2017

The Veil of Ignorance: Reclaiming Our Power, Understanding Our Privilege

"...we're responsible for what's done with our power, whether we claim it or deny it....

November 08, 2017

The Politics of (Spiral) Dancing, and Giving Away Your Power

What we call "politics" is, like any other realm of human endeavor, a way in...

November 03, 2017

Apoliticality and Other Comfortable Lies We Tell Ourselves

Politics is, in short, another word for talking about and negotiating power... and if I've...

October 2017

October 28, 2017

Agency and Agenda: Notes Towards a Consent-Based Approach to Praxis

I don't much relish being treated like Mrs. Hughes or Carson the butler, especially if...

October 25, 2017

Some Thoughts on Consent in Magical Praxis and Community

Consent's a funny thing. It has the potential to start or end relationships, to create...

October 19, 2017

The Dead Are With Us Still: A Meditation on Samhain

Samhain. Halloween. The night before the first day of Winter, the beginning of the slide...

Related posts from Outside the Charmed Circle

Pagan

Sunset Doesn't Last All Evening: A Coda and...

Outside the Charmed Circle

Pagan

The Company We Keep: On Ethics, Values, and...

Outside the Charmed Circle

Pagan

A Word Before the Drop: On Politics, Ethics,...

Outside the Charmed Circle

Pagan

A Hole in Our Midst: On Moral Vulnerabilities...

Outside the Charmed Circle

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Subscription Support Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In

Follow Patheos