Tag: Practice
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Pagan Assumptions and the Direct Results of Ritual
“There can be no direct results of ritual. The results are always just part of the fabric of all action.” — Sean Michael Morris As I prepare for my upcoming appearance at the Sacred Harvest Festival I’ve been giving thought to assumptions I’ve made about Paganism; assumptions that many of us make. We assume the […]
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The Tree of Contemplative Practices
While talking with my husband I realized that many of the arguments I’ve been making during my conversations with hard polytheists, particularly with Galina Krasskova (read our Facebook chat here and see the post it inspired from her here), are not necessarily reflected in or supported by the evidence of my own practice. Or, in […]
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How Do I Know I’m a Pagan?
How do I know I’m a Pagan? I mean, really. I had this thought after my unexpected visit to church. I also had this thought after I returned home from Beltania, the Colorado Beltane gathering I attended and presented at over my birthday weekend. It may seem strange that I would question my Pagan identity after a Pagan […]
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We Don’t Have Faith: We Make Agreements.
A couple weeks ago I wrote about creating the Solitary Druid Fellowship, an extension of ADF designed to serve the broader community of solitary Pagans and Druids by providing them with a shared liturgical practice. I’m currently in discussion with the Clergy Council of ADF to work out the final details of the site launch […]
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Fragments of a Full Life
I tore it down. I tore it all down. I looked at my space, my little corner room, which is both an office and the home to my small shrine, and I realized that there was something wrong. There was something stale. It did not feel like a sacred space, like an active creative space. […]
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Serving Solitary Pagans: An Experiment in Liturgy
In September of this year, I submitted an application to start my own ADF protogrove for solitary Pagans. I planned on calling it, Sojourner’s Protogrove. Protogroves are the precursor to fully-chartered groves within the ADF organization, and their main responsibility (as with groves) is to provide public rituals for each of the eight High Days […]
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A Daily Practice Matters
This morning we slept in until 7:30. That may not seem incredibly early to some (it isn’t all that early for my husband and I), but it’s a vacation compared to the day of surgery and the first day of recovery. We woke to discover that my kid was experiencing some sharp pain, a common […]
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Solitaries are the Glue which Hold Paganism Together
I’ve spent nearly the entire week working on new ways to make ADF Druidism an accessible tradition to solitary Pagans. The work is still in its early stages, and I’m piecing together ideas which I hope to share once the leaves have fallen. My backyard maple is only hinting at new color, so it will […]
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The Offerings of Man, the Obligations of Gods
I approach my home shrine in the morning and prepare my offerings. Into three small, porcelain sake glasses, which were given to me by my stepfather, I pour a small bit of sugar, oats, and oil. These were the foods that made the most sense to me, although I’m not sure why. Whether I’m clothed […]
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When Jesus Hitches a Ride to the Druid Camp
I’ve been a stay-at-home Pagan, a bookish Pagan, a CUUPS ritual-attending Pagan, and a blogging Pagan. But as of yet, I have not been a festival-going Pagan. That all changes this week. On Wednesday I shall make my way to the Prosser Ranch group campground, located just outside the town of Truckee, California, and celebrate […]
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You Say Tomato, I Say Druid.
Ever since I took the name, Teo Bishop, and made it my own — both in a religious sense and through the proper legal channels — I’ve had cause to explain what it is that I do on this blog. My writing, as well as my deepening engagement with my own spiritual work, are both […]
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Do Not Speak, and You Will Be Heard
Today I approached my altar in silence. Speaking the words out loud, my standard approach to a daily ritual, felt unnecessary. In my mind, in my heart, the words rang out with perfect clarity, and I trusted that whomever needed to hear them would. The effort I put into my daily practice waxes and wanes, […]
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Liturgy is Sexy to *this* Druid
Here’s why ADF is awesome: The Core Order of Ritual. There are other reasons, too, but the Core Order of Ritual (or COoR) tops my list at the moment. The COoR is the key liturgical framework for ritual that unites the Druids of Ár nDraíocht Féin, regardless of what Hearth Tradition they’ve adopted for themselves […]
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Isaac Bonewits holds me up… Pants and all.
I’m wearing Isaac Bonewits’s belt buckle. Have been for days. The pewter Pan, which once held up the pants of a great Druid, is now playing his flute just above my zipper. This seems both an appropriate and terribly dangerous location for the randy God. I’ve never been a devotee of Pan — at least, […]
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How I Arrived At Pagan
I’m writing to explain my relationship with the identifier, Pagan, and how it sometimes fits and often does not fit my sense of religious identity.
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Turning Over The Earth
The Spring comes, and my life transforms. It seems to be almost as reliable as the coming of the Cottonwood snow. It happens every year, this pull towards the world; this letting go of Winter’s introspection.
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On Meditation and Devotion: Weeks 7, 8, and 9
I think it is time for me to return to the DP material and search out techniques to control my mind. It’s time to bring more mental discipline into my practice.
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Belief Is In The Doing
What struck me as interesting about his request, and what sent me into a bit of a tailspin, was how he framed the proposed discussion. My beliefs were what mattered to him, not my practice.
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Do The Work: A Motto For Dedicants
The results of the physical work are measurable. I know my thighs are shrinking, as is my belly. I know that my shoulders are bigger, and that my chest is broadening. But the results of my spiritual work don’t come in inches or pounds.
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My Altar: A First View
My altar is my Cathedral. It is the place where I go each morning to worship, to pray, to meditate. I make my altar new with each ritual I perform, infuse it with more of my essence, my intention, my magic. There is fire on my altar. There is water on my altar. There is […]
