Amarfa has been studying the occult, wicca, and paganism for 17 years and counting. She has been a musician since age 5, studying first guitar, then accordion for 10 years, placing 2nd in her division in the 1995 ATARI/ATAM New England Regional Competition, and has been studying voice for 9. She has directed small early music ensembles, performed publicly, and starred in local theatre works, particularly the World Premiere of Nightsong, a musical theatre piece with direction and book by Jon Brennan and music by Kari Tieger and Kevin Campbell, as well as composing a musical of her own and writing music in her spare time.
You know, there are times when I feel like I have nothing to contribute to Paganism. I've gotten a lot out of it, but then I think to myself: What happened? No, I don't want this to be all normal and easy to digest, I want it to be mysterious and exciting, and for some reason, it isn't anymore.
Why do I feel as though what I have to say isn't special? I'm scratching my head on this one, because it's an important part of my motivation to keep my blogs-that what I'm saying is important and useful. Maybe I'm having my mid-Pagan crisis or something. But where went the power and majesty of worshipping the Moon and the forbidden Gods? Because let's face it; what we do is forbidden by mainstream culture.
We know that the ancient Romans and Greeks played and sang lots of music and performed lots of dances and dramas and SACRIFICES!!!! MWA HA HA HA! AND THEN THEY SANG ABOUT THE SACRIFICES! (I like to say sacrifices).
Hi. I am NOT god-phone material. I am so lazy and procrastinat-ive that I just don't keep up regular communications with any deities at all. I had a thing with Bast a while back, but I"m a lazy mo-fo. And I'm proud of it. I'm still Pagan and live my life as naturally as possible (except for Taco Bell and the occasional battery-powered indulgence) with the caveat that I'm a hedonist.
Anybody else out there who is okay with being a regular every-day sort of Pagan? No need to be a priest of anything? No need to have direct communication with a deity? Just enjoying the pleasures of natural living and natural worship?
Hi! In the spirit of my last "entry," I thought I'd hazard the question: Where are the musicians among the readers of Witches and Pagans dot Com, and what is your level of experience? Private lessons, high school band, church choir, pagan choir, college degree? Community orchestra? Rock Band? What's your main instrument? How long have you played/sung? Have you written any music? If so, is it 'secular' or for the Gods?
Where are the "Witches" on Witches & Pagans dot com? I see Pagans of all kinds, Heathen, Norse, Greek, Celtic, but where are the witches? The Gardnerians, the Alexandrians, the Feri? Reclaiming? Dianics, even? Anybody out there? Are there any pagans out there who AREN'T priesthood?
I'm not priestesshood; my path is too divulgent for that. Is there anyone else out there like me, who is searching for their path somewhere between Wiccan and Pagan?
When I started to wander out into the brick-and-mortar Pagan community, I noticed that there were a lot of people who believed in Norse mythology and Pantheon. Some Asatru, some called themselves Heathen, some Northern Tradition, etc. And when I'd talk about how I wanted to find out more about how Pagans relate to music, especially if any relate to Classical music, I found that some Norsefolk liked metal and Beethoven, and others liked Richard Wagner. Richard Wagner, for those who don't know, is hailed as having "revolutionized" music during the middle of the 19th century, and he did this via writing operas about Scandinavian 'sagas' and the 'Nibelungenlied.' I wouldn't be surprised if Wagner was the origination for a connection between Norse/Scandinavian spirituality and anti-Semitism.
I am against the man and his works. Alright, maybe not. Maybe I am confused and heartbroken that someone who could write such beautiful and moving music, on such a thoroughly Pagan basis, was a megalomaniac, an abuser, and a bloodthirsty anti-Semite.
Erin Lale
Fellow faculty at Harvard Divinity School posted an open letter to Wolpe in response to his article. It's available on this page, below the call for p...
Erin Lale
Here's another response. The Wild Hunt has a roundup of numerous responses on its site, but it carried this one as a separate article. It is an accoun...
Erin Lale
Here's another response. This one is by a scholar of paganism. It's unfortunately a Facebook post so this link goes to Facebook. She posted the text o...
Erin Lale
Here's another link to a pagan response to the Atlantic article. I would have included this one in my story too if I had seen it before I published it...