Witch at Large: Ruminations from a Grey Perspective

Seeing Paganism in terms of being a movement, explorations of our history, societal context, comparisons to other religious movements, and general Pagan culture.

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Aline "Macha" O'Brien

Aline "Macha" O'Brien

Aline O’Brien (M. Macha NightMare), Witch at Large, has circled with people of diverse Pagan paths throughout the U.S., and in Canada and Brazil.  Author of Witchcraft and the Web (2001) and Pagan Pride (2004), and co-author, with Starhawk, of The Pagan Book of Living and Dying (1997), Macha has also contributed to anthologies, periodicals, textbooks, and encyclopedias.  A member of the American Academy of Religion, the Marin Interfaith Council, and the Nature Religion Scholars Network, Macha also serves as a national interfaith representative for the Covenant of the Goddess (CoG) and on the Advisory Board of the Sacred Dying Foundation.  Having spent the last eleven years developing and teaching at Cherry Hill Seminary, the first and only seminary serving the Neopagan community, Macha now serves on its Board of Directors. An all-round Pagan webweaver, she speaks on behalf of Paganism to news media and academic researchers, and lectures at colleges, universities and seminaries. www.machanightmare.com

Posted by on in Studies Blogs
One Real Gripe, Two Frustrations

My gripe-du-jour is about people who volunteer to take on a task or role and then disappear.  I know it’s true that with all-volunteer organizations such as most Pagan groups are that the out-of-site-out-of-mind rule applies.  A volunteer leaves a meeting or gathering or festival full of zeal and ready to take on the work of whatever project(s) the group is planning.  That person may even have been provided with documents, mailing lists, etc. with which to accomplish the task(s).  He[1] may even have taken on the responsibilities of an officer within the organization.  Then he gets home and more immediate concerns distract and derail him.

This phenomenon was more damaging to Pagan efforts at organizing prior to the advent of the Internet.  For instance, within CoG, source of most but not all of my experience, membership applications must be timely processed or the applicant will wonder if her papers were even received.  And when a newsletter published eight times a year is the primary, and only official, vehicle of communication within the organization, getting every newsletter to the membership is critical.  Of course, today we can renew memberships online, and the newsletter editors of recent years have done a splendid job.  But back in the day such lapses in accomplishing volunteer tasks could have a negative impact on the group at large.

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  • Terence P Ward
    Terence P Ward says #
    I definitely read -- and write -- posts that are shorter, and I harbor no guilt about that whatsoever. I've read hundreds of page

Posted by on in Studies Blogs
The Tyranny of Secrecy

I don’t think that secrecy is a good thing.  I don’t think it’s healthy and I don’t think it’s beneficial to anyone.  Secrecy is a condition that allows all manner of malevolence to thrive.  Secrecy allows wounds to fester in the darkness and spread infection throughout the family system.

I’ve heard 12-steppers speak of the ways in which their families are affected by keeping secret the alcoholism of one or more family members.  Keeping that afflicted family member’s secret adversely affects everyone in the family.  One rationale for keeping such secrets is shame. 

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  • Jamie
    Jamie says #
    The isolation that secrecy fosters is like a poison-tipped arrow. Metaphorically speaking, far more damaging than the wound itself
  • Aline "Macha" O'Brien
    Aline "Macha" O'Brien says #
    Please, please, please leave comments here rather than on FB! If they're here, their available to other readers and don't become
Boundaries & Permeability, Inclusivity & Exclusivity

From a cursory scan of several Pagan blogs, it appears to me that lots of Pagans have been devoting their thinking to the notion of inclusivity.  Who is welcome in whose circles?  How Pagans can demonstrate their love for all humankind by rolling out the welcome mat to one and all?  In principle I agree that our groups should be welcoming to all who are called to a Pagan path, although we all know that there are many Pagan paths and not every one is suitable for every seeker.

Exclusivity

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  • leonard wilson
    leonard wilson says #
    Wonderful your word of wisdom , those r earned through much experience and life . Thank you I worry that a boomarang affect is tak

Earlier this week The Wild Hunt blog featured a report on CoG’s recently concluded MerryMeet/Grand Council, complete with photos of the new National Board.  What a change from my day!

There was a time when Witches (and Wiccans) kept deep within the broom closet, for all manner of reasons, most involving fear of discrimination at work, school, or housing.

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  • Robert Scott
    Robert Scott says #
    Well put, and thank you for sharing.
  • Richard Daley
    Richard Daley says #
    We can only hope that this trend continues.

b2ap3_thumbnail_altar2_20130816-083942_1.JPG

An Altar at Lucky Mojo Curio Co., Forestville, CA

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Posted by on in Studies Blogs

Coven Trismegiston Lammas Altar 2013

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b2ap3_thumbnail_Mummers-parade.jpg

 

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  • Chas  S. Clifton
    Chas S. Clifton says #
    Agreed! Without (preferably torchlit) processions, you don't have a real religion.

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