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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...

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...

February 2020

February 15, 2020

The People Who Aren’t There: Closing Remarks, PantheaCon 2020

I want to ask you all one last favor: I want you to look around...

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...

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...

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...

November 2018

November 01, 2018

Making a Witch: An Interview with Shannon Barber

Hello, beautiful creatures! Today, I have the unalloyed pleasure of sharing with you an interview...

October 2018

October 29, 2018

On Self-Preservation, Pragmatism, Politics, and Power

The US midterm elections, possibly the most important elections any of us have ever lived...

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...

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...

July 10, 2018

The Agenda I’m Advancing: Some Thoughts on Tolerance, Bigotry, and Discourse

We all have agendas, because we all have worlds in which we want to live,...

May 2018

May 30, 2018

A Handle on My Cup: Some Thoughts about Labels and Identity

In the wild, wild world of Paganism, polytheism, and magical practice, we spend an awful...

May 02, 2018

Snapshots and Sketches: A Rueful Panegyric for “The Community”

Maybe there never was a "community" after all, just an assumption of universality papering over...

April 2018

April 04, 2018

Bedroom Temples and Broom Closets: On Praxis, Space, and Community

I enjoy group rituals and Pagan and polytheist conferences, but at the end of the...

March 2018

March 30, 2018

The Grail Question: An Annoyingly Useful Discernment Tool

Rather than simply accepting things as they are because we don't want to "rock the...

March 23, 2018

Horses and Zebras: Some Further Thoughts on Abuse in Our Communities

For a movement that places so much value on personal, spiritual, and sexual autonomy, we...

March 01, 2018

Answer Me These Questions Three: A Word for Discerning Seekers

The story of the Seeker is a classic, almost a folk ballad in its structure,...

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