a smarter shade of pagan

The focus is primarily literary, however we will, as the submissions guidelines say, welcome scholarly work (related to our general theme) with cries of glee :)

The first issue will feature Percy Bysshe Shelley's The Witch of Atlas, so if you've got something related to that, send it along.  I've been pining for a good article on the Pagan leanings of the Romantic poets :)   submissions at deadmadorpoet dot com

Dead, Mad, or a Poet:  A Journal to Faerie

Please distribute widely.

Gaia Gathering: Canadian National Pagan Conference

Theme: Language to Liturgy

www.gaiagathering.ca

CALL FOR PAPERS

Gaia Gathering was founded in 2004 and had its first conference in 2005.
Each year the conference is hosted over the Victoria Day long weekend in a
different Canadian city through a bidding process similar to the Olympics.
Past host cities include Edmonton, Halifax, Winnipeg, Ottawa and Vancouver.
Legally, we are incorporated federally as a non-profit organization and
operate with a national Board of Directors as well as a local host
committee.

The conference is organized collaboratively by Canadian Pagans and includes
three-days of discussion and workshops about Canadian Paganisms. After six
years of traveling across the country, the conference is finally coming to
Montreal’s Concordia University! The proposed theme for 2011 will be
"Language to Liturgy", which reflects the cultural diversity of Montreal and
how language itself can affect our practices and beliefs.

Our keynote speakers are Lucie Dufresne, Professor at the University of
Ottawa, speaking on Language, and Arin Murphy-Hiscock, published author and
Priestess, speaking on Liturgy. We are also planning an opening multifaith
panel on the Friday night and live entertainment on Saturday and Sunday
evenings.

Conference will be held Spring 2011 (May 20-23)

SUBMISSION CRITERIA

We invite papers and proposals from all faculties within the humanities who
touch into the realm of alternate spirituality, Paganism, New Religious
Movements and related subjects. We hope to see students rise to the
challenge and welcome them to this opportunity to present here in Montreal
with like-minded individuals.

Submissions may be sent via mail or e-mail and are to be no more than one
page. They must include a publication-ready, titled abstract of 150-200
words. The name, address, telephone numbers, e-mail address, college or
university affiliation and level of study of the presenter(s) must also be
included. Any special requests or needs for audio-visual equipment must also
be indicated. We will be accepting submissions for peer and academic review
between December 21st (Yule 2010) and March 20th (Ostara 2011). Abstracts
and proposals (and thus presentations) may be in English or in French. All
received submissions will be acknowledged, with notification of acceptance,
by mid-April 2011.

Email to: scarletcougar@gmail.com

Mail to: ATTN Scarlet (Gaia Gathering)

Department of Religion, Concordia University

1455 de Maisonneuve Blvd. West
Montréal (Québec)
H3G 1M8

Anyone can sign up for Master's courses with instructor permission, so please refer folks who are looking for continuing ed, as well as those who might be interested in pursuing a degree!


http://cherryhillseminary.org/Curr…

Paganism and the Body
N5650 / A6450

Declaring that all acts of love and pleasure are the rituals of the Goddess, contemporary Pagans widely affirm the sacredness of the body and of sexuality. Students will engage with theological and ethical writings around gender, sexuality, and the body from Pagan and allied perspectives, such as Christian and post-Christian feminist and queer theologies. Special attention will be given to Pagan understandings of same-sex relationships, BDSM, polyamory, transgender, and other expressions of gender and sexuality that are marginalized by mainstream society. The role of gender polarity and sex magic in the Western esoteric tradition and its influences on religious witchcraft will also be considered. Students will examine their conceptions of gender and sexuality and develop their own the-logies of the body in a context that takes both personal liberation and social justice into account. Students will also consider the challenges and joys of ministering to a sexually diverse Pagan community and emerge better equipped to counsel their communities in ethical responsibilities around eroticism and touch. Class meets with PCELL: Erotic Ethics.

Required Texts:
Ellison, Marvin M., Erotic Justice: A Liberating Ethic of Sexuality, Westminster John Knox Press, 2004. ISBN: 664256465

Hunter, Jennifer., Rites of Pleasure: Sexuality in Wicca and NeoPaganism, Citadel Press, 2004. 806525843



Contemporary Global Paganisms
CT591.Z

This survey course will introduce students to the wide variety of Paganisms being practiced around the world. We will challenge scholarly definitions of Paganism and our own personal ones by attempting to trace common threads between many disparate traditions. Students will familiarize themselves with both popular and scholarly descriptions of contemporary Paganisms, then explore the Internet and their local communities to gain first-hand experience with traditions not their own. In these encounters, we will deal with issues of cultural appropriation versus appropriate cultural borrowing and consider Paganism's position as a consciously (re)constructed, combinative religious path. A final project will allow students to synthesize their knowledge in an intercontinental comparison of Paganisms that supports the unique thrust of their ministerial paths.

Required Texts:

Strmiska, Michael, ed. Modern Paganism in World Cultures: Comparative Perspectives (Religion in Contemporary Cultures). ABC-CLIO, 2005 ISBN: 1851096086

Please note that the required Modern Paganism book can take several weeks to arrive! If unavailable from Fields Books or Amazon, it can be ordered from the publisher at http://www.abc-clio.com/ in print or in a less expensive e-book edition.

Adler, Margot. Drawing Down the Moon: Witches, Druids, Goddess-Worshippers, and Other Pagans in America Today. Penguin, 2006 revised & updated edition ISBN: 143038192

Dear friends,

With increasing numbers of scholarly publications and its own well-established program group at the American Academy of Religion, Contemporary Pagan Studies has been making great strides forward in rigor and credibility. The creation of a viable Pagan intellectual culture -- along with the ability to dialogue effectively with others in both scholarly and religious contexts -- is one aspect of what will allow Pagans a place of respect on both local interfaith councils and in global meetings like the Parliament of World's Religions.

I am excited and proud to be involved with Cherry Hill Seminary, where I serve as instructor and head of the Nature, Deity, and Inspiration department. Cherry Hill Seminary provides professional training for Pagan ministry in a mostly on-line format. Degree candidates are required to participate in a small number of in-person, face-to-face academic intensives before graduation. ( Read more...Collapse )

Although registration for our next semester won't open until July 15, I'm very excited about the classes we'll be offering this Fall! FDN (4-week) and PCE (semester-long) courses are community education classes open to all; the rest are Master's-level and require a bachelor's degree or instructor's permission. You can enroll in classes without being a matriculating student (in other words, without a plan to complete a degree program).

FDN: Research and Writing in Pagan Studies - Potts
FDN: Why Magickal Thinking Isn't Crazy - Dobyns
FDN: Effective Website Development for Pagan Organizations - Mohnkern
PCE/NDI: Erotic Ethics - Kraemer
PCE: Rites of Passage - Arthen
PCE: The Warrior in Shadow: Violence From a Pagan Perspective - Rifkin
PCE: Call of the Dark Mother - Bennett

NDI/PAL: Paganism and the Body - Kraemer
NDI/TTI: American Spiritualities - Whedon
NDI/TTI: A Saunter with John Muir and Walt Whitman: The Poetry and Politics of Nature - Highland
PAL: Religion and the Law - Bianchi
PAL: Spirit of Economics - Levitt
PAL: Starting a Spiritually Centered Business or Organization - Levitt
PPC: Human Development in a Pagan Context - Mason
PPC: Personality Theories - Oringderff
TTI: Contemporary Global Paganisms - Kraemer
TTI: Western Initiation: Theories and Issues - Winslade

Whether you're looking for a complete Master's program or simply to acquire some specific knowledge or skills, Cherry Hill has a great deal to offer. We particularly celebrate the efforts of covens and small communities to raise funds for their leaders and facilitators to study ministry skills at Cherry Hill and encourage other interested students to do the same.

Because accreditation is a time-consuming and expensive process, we also appreciate your donations. Building a seminary takes years, and our dedicated staff and instructors put in large numbers of volunteer hours. Please spread the word about our work!

Best,
Christine Hoff Kraemer

Dear academic pagan members...I have an inquiry of sorts.

I am currently looking into applying to grad schools, and was wondering if anybody could recommend some specific programs that would allow me to focus on anthropology/folklore/mythology (both in the States and abroad, although I'm limited to English and Russian.) I am seriously considering the Folklore program at UC Berkeley, so if anybody has information or comments on that, I would be very grateful to hear it.

I am a visual artist and performer with a deep interest in the intersection of myth, technology, and the modern world (you can see what I do here and here.) I have a BFA in Illustration and a BS in Psychology, and I'm looking for something that would allow me to do solid academic research across multiple disciplines and synthesize my research in a creative way (ie a dance production, animation, etc.) My interests bend towards Slavic/Scandinavian folklore, gender, ecology/environmentalism/sustainability, systems science, contemporary circus arts, visual mythology, and history and evolution of magic.

Perhaps a mix like that is too much to ask for and I will need to find a way to compromise and/or combine programs to get a good blend of what I want, but if somebody knows of an existing good interdisciplinary folklore or anthropology program that could encompass all (or some) of those elements, please let me know.

Apparently it has been unearthed from the massive earthquakes that destroyed it years ago. I find the timing very interesting - believe in 2012 lore or not - one of 'the' godesses w/ temple of all time has re-surfaced. A museum of all the underwater discoveries is in the works. It has been well preserved due to the saltwater. The learnings/discoveries from this will be quite interesting. I hope an anthropologist & archaeologist beyond the strictly academic veins are consulted as the museum comes together.

Enjoy... just in time for winter solstice!

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/ml_egyp…

hi All

Ten Years of Triumph of the Moon, ed. Dave Evans and Dave Green (Hidden
Publishing, 2009), ISBN 978-0-9555237-5-5. © 2009 a collection of essays
inspired by Ronald Hutton's Triumph of the Moon (which is ten years old in
2009), including a fabulous piece by Ronald himself

Just to let you know the book is officially launched now- you can see it on
the publishers website here and there are also links to amazon etc- if you
prefer to use local retailers then please take the ISBN and order locally

http://hiddenpublishing.com/about/…

please circulate the link to anywhere relevant

This was inspired by, and to some degree ganked from, a post by shadowthorne

I have several questions about the nature of power. I'm interested in your opinions on the subject.

1. How do you define "power"?
2. Is there something inherently divisive about power?
3. Are those who seek power destined to experience a certain amount of isolation, as mystics and writers do?
4. Do you feel the notion of power is romanticized? Not romanticized enough?
5. Do you believe people should reach for power?
6. Do you believe a group of individuals who all fully express their power is doomed to fall apart?
7. On the same token, do you believe it is possible for a group to reach for power and NOT fall apart, instead maintaining unity?

( My thoughts on the matterCollapse )

  Ok, looking for a bit of perspective here. Well, perhaps different perspectives might be more accurate.
    This begins in my last journal entry (which I cross posted onto http://community.livejournal.com/unnaturalpagans/profile ). Check it there to follow some of the comments, ( or read the basic post here.Collapse )

   So, that established, I'm wanting to bounce ideas around here as well.
  At the very first of it, let me reiterate that while I am wanting to address this issue in a workshop, I do fully understand that this, like any other bit of shadow work/counseling, will merely be the first steps in a much longer process. I'm just wanting to get the ball rolling by addressing a subject that is mostly ignored or minimized in most "pagan" publications and groups.
    Then there's the issue of needing to clarify the differences between "intentional" and accidental murder, and possibly the need to separate them as completely different beasts despite the emotional and spiritual similarities. Intentional murder covering everything from a soldier at war, or a cop in the line of duty, to extremes in defending home, friends or family from harm. Accidental would (I think) be split into 2 further categories: Blame and Blameless. Blame accidents would be such things as DUI related accidents, playing around with loaded guns, intentionally shorting or ignoring safety precautions in dangerous environs (ie construction). Blameless accidents would cover such things as weather related traffic accidents, or even when a doctor or medic fails to save a life. True, all of these situations carry different implications when confronted with ethics systems based on "Life is Sacred", but it could be argued that the mental and emotional (and spiritual) turmoil, let alone the relevant dichotomies, are similar enough to each other as to make no difference.
      I've gotten a number of responses ranging from completely worthless to the thought provoking. That's where y'all come in. Different perspectives both to the originating philosophical dichotomy in relation to the life changing event, as well as how to begin the counselors process of significantly reconciling the two.
      It's been suggested that perhaps the Baghavad Gita would cover these. The problem there is in the significant cultural and philosophical differences with our modern society. I can see that to some extent the idea the concepts of the old caste system and specific dharma guiding peoples lives could be said to overlap in a sense with modern society. Mind you, the similarity is mainly evident if you consider different times/phases of life as equating to specific castes. For example, Little Johnny graduates high school and becomes a marine who gets shipped off to war. After some time of service, Johnny gets out of the Marines, goes to college, and eventually becomes medical doctor. If you consider each phase of Johnny's life (Soldier, Scholar, Doctor) as a separate "caste" with it's own specific dharma. It is the next stage in the equation that really doesn't fit, however. The Gita would maintain that each dharma should be carried out with full zeal and without emotional ties, for one is simply obeying the natural order of their position. Yet, in modern society, we tend to have certain "moral presets", regardless of our individual ethics, well established before we ever get near the time we choose career or temporary profession.
    For some reason, I thinking there is a correlation there to the end result of counseling I am seeking to create...but it is eluding me currently. So, I turn here for some more analytical ideas, as well as some that might take a completely different tact.
    All assistance here is greatly appreciated.

    Chris  /  Grynner
 That Memphis Guy

I'm needing more information on the Ugandan goddess Kaikara. Does anyone know where I can find myths and stories about her?