(This article is an excerpt from “The Wiccan Mystic.”) What Is Wicca? Current historical research suggests that Wicca is a modern Pagan religion first promoted by Gerald Gardner around the 1950s. Wiccan beliefs are structured on the practices of witchcraft as outlined by Gardner. Modern scholars such as Ronald Hutton, in his detailed and highly influential book “The Triumph of the… Read more »
Here are a few guided meditation MP3 files that you can download and use. They work best if you listen to them through earphones. Because they are meditations, and are meant to lead you to altered states of consciousness, you should not use them when driving or doing other tasks that require your full attention.
Our dreams are populated with all sorts of interesting characters – friends, family, strangers, fictional characters, animals, mythical beings, Gods and Goddesses. Each night when we close our eyes and give ourselves over to dreamland we gain unique opportunities to interact with intelligences with which we normally don’t have contact. Some explain these dream figures as parts of ourselves that… Read more »
Religious fundamentalism is characterized by literal belief in specific spiritual claims, often about a particular religion’s history, regardless of any available evidence. A particular dogma is promoted as the One True and Only Way and anything that deviates is considered heretical. The Roman Catholic Church has an office within its organization called the Sacred Congregation for the Propagation of the… Read more »
There is a trend among some Reconstructionist Neopagans to dismiss Neopagans who are admitted Eclectics in their religious practice and philosophy. Recently, Sannion wrote an editorial titled “Defending Reconstructionism” to address the conflict and to present some of the arguments from a Reconstructionist’s viewpoint. Sannion’s editorial can be found on the web in the September 2002 issue (#27) of the… Read more »
One unfortunate trend which has become prominent within the online Pagan community is known as “bashing fluffy bunnies.” No, it doesn’t involve harming animals — but it does involve verbally attacking those who are perceived to have less scholarly opinions on modern Paganism than the attacker. Personally I think this trend is shameful and disrespectful, unworthy of anyone who claims… Read more »
It has been said by some Wiccan authors that mixing mythological pantheons is bad and should be avoided at all costs. The usual argument given for this admonishment is that each pantheon, indeed each deity, has very specific features and should be treated individually. To equate one goddess with a similar goddess from another pantheon is seen as disrespectful. Each… Read more »
