Looking For Trouble

Undermining the Patriarchy Every Chance I Get. And I Get a Lot of Chances

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Hec

Hec

HecateDemeter is a woman, a Witch, a mother, a grandmother, an ecofeminist, a lawyer, a gardener, a reader, a writer, and a priestess of the Great Mother Earth.

Posted by on in Culture Blogs

Great Demeter, I pour libations to you, great Mother, and I give alms in your name.

Great Demeter, I call tonight to you.

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  • Willow
    Willow says #
    As a Pagan and Kindergarten teacher, I thank you. Your words touch me deeply. Willow
  • Constance Tippett Chandler
    Constance Tippett Chandler says #
    SO MOTE IT BE!

Posted by on in Culture Blogs

After the terrible shootings in Aurora, Colorado, proponents of allowing mental patients to buy and carry assault weapons warned Americans in favor of gun control not to "politicize" the tragedy.  Similarly, after Hurricane Katrina, Bush administration officials insisted that "now is not the time to play the blame game."  It's become an expected response anytime something bad happens:  Don't Politicize the Tragedy!  

Which is odd, when you think about it, because, in a democracy, politics is how we go about trying to address national problems.  And when a tragedy brings some problem (gun violence, global climate change, underfunded relief agencies, etc.) to the forefront of our attention, that seems like a great time to start talking seriously about the problem.

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  • Constance Tippett Chandler
    Constance Tippett Chandler says #
    This why we need a strong central government with regulations. Can you imagine a privatised FEMA? We would be charged to be saved,
  • Makarios Ofiesh
    Makarios Ofiesh says #
    If I might venture to suggest a slightly different framing of the issue: talking like responsible adults about matters of demonstr
  • Hec
    Hec says #
    Byron, You are right; "tragedy" does have a diff meaning in theatre. I am grateful for your wise, womanly wisdom, as well. Bles
  • Byron Ballard
    Byron Ballard says #
    Yes! I will do my best to politicize this occurrence (after all these years in theatre, I have a different definition of tragedy).

Posted by on in Culture Blogs

As I do twice a month, I got together today with some magical women from Columbia's District and did some political magic.  What's political magic?  Well, I think that we all know what magic is, but a good working definition is <a href=http://hecatedemetersdatter.blogspot.com/2006/02/ability-to-change-consciousness-at.html>the ability to change consciousness at will</a>.  And politics?  Well, Oxford Dictionaries on line defines politics as: 

  • 1 the activities associated with the governance of a country or area, especially the debate between parties having power
  • 2activities aimed at improving someone’s status or increasing power within an organization.
     
    So political magic, for me, is magic that changes consciousness related to governance, that shifts the debate about power, and that influences activities aimed at improving status or increasing power.  As a woman, a Witch, and a Crone (as someone with little power) I'm interested in increasing my power, my ability to influence the conversation about governing.  And as a white, educated person who earns a good income and  moves within the corridors of power, (as someone with a lot of privilege) I'm interested in using my influence in ways that assist Mamma Gaia.
     
    I'm an old feminist, and I do believe that the personal is the political (and, vice versa).  So a working to find a home that my Sister can afford to buy is political magic.  A ritual to send healing to a woman going through breast cancer is political.  And, a ritual to influence the election is political.  A ritual to protect the Code Pink house is political magic.  
     
    What's political magic to you?
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  • june-marie
    june-marie says #
    Clearly, I overdid the magic !!!
  • june-marie
    june-marie says #
    OK, I just tried to post, but it didn't seem to work, so maybe I'll try again with a little magic this time. (Which may or may not
  • june-marie
    june-marie says #
    Why do you say of yourself that, as a 'woman, a witch and a crone', you are of 'little power' ? If you believe that, you will, ind
  • Anne Newkirk Niven
    Anne Newkirk Niven says #
    http://hecatedemetersdatter.blogspot.com/2006/02/ability-to-change-consciousness-at.html Here is the link in a less mashed up form

Posted by on in Culture Blogs

@BenjySarlin is right:  Although today Mitt Romney told a crowd in Las Vegas that, "I'm convinced that the path [Obama's] put us on is the path to Europe.  Or, I jokingly say...to California," it's difficult to imagine Obama telling a crowd, even jokingly, that, "I'm convinced that the path Romney would put us on is the path to Mississippi."  And if he did, the outrage would be unending.

Old Dr. Jung was onto something when he wrote about shadows and projection.  For decades, the political Right has loudly insisted that the political Left holds "regular Americans" in contempt.  (They've been admirably vague about precisely who is a "real" American; allows everyone to image that they must be insulting someone else.)  Spiro Agnew announced that Americans who opposed the war in Viet Nam were an "an effete corps of impudent snobs who characterize themselves as intellectuals."  The Moral Majority whipped up lower-income, white Christians by implying that an "immoral minority" of snobby liberals looked down on the "moral majority" as it eroded "American values."  George W. Bush, a child of generations of financial and educational privilege, ran as a brush-clearing Texas rancher with whom you'd love to have a beer, against John Kerry as a rich, "French," jet-skiing (apparently, only rich liberals jet ski) liberal.  (We'll just ignore the fact that Bush bought that ranch just before beginning his political campaign, cleared brush only in front of the media, and sold the ranch immediately upon leaving the White House.)  Despite decades of economic policies that hurt working-class Americans, the Right has been able to paint the Left as made up of arugula-eating, latte-drinking, snobs.

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  • Tom Terrific
    Tom Terrific says #
    Like old Dr. Jung, I think you’re onto something as you write about shadows and projection. As it happens, if Obama told a crowd,

Posted by on in Culture Blogs

You can, as we all know, put four Pagans in a room and get (at least) six definitions of Paganism. So it's not universally true, but it's more-true-than-not and more-true-of-us-than-of-the-general-public that Pagans honor our ancestors. Daughter of a dysfunctional family, I've had to work on this practice. I've reached back into time, through meditation and trance, and developed a family tree that works for me and I've adopted more than a few Ancestors of the Spirit: people whose writings, and actions, and lives "raised" me much more so, in many cases, than did my own blood relatives.

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  • Rose
    Rose says #
    Glad you fixed it. It was beautiful. The clip you used should be used in all History classes, including college Intro courses to
  • Hec
    Hec says #
    Rose, My mistakes entirely. Anne and her DH have now fixed my mess and it is, hopefully, easier to read. Thanks so much for com
  • Rose
    Rose says #
    Your hyperlinks codes are visible and it's difficult to read your piece.

Posted by on in Culture Blogs
If you've been following The Wild Hunt, Works of Literata, and Hecate, you've likely seen that a local Pagan priestess was recently denied a license to perform legal marriages in Arlington County, Virginia.  The clerk's refusal to give her a list of the ways in which her application was deficient suggests that there may be some discrimination and denial of due process here. 
 
I've discussed relevant Virginia law at my daily blog, but I'd like to talk just a little bit about what Pagans can do when they find themselves in similar situations.  The actions that you take at the beginning of a case, before you've hired a lawyer, often have a huge impact on the final outcome.  (Full disclosure:  I know Literata and consider her a dear friend.  My understanding is that she took and is taking the steps outlined below.)  
 
First, and I know that some of you don't want to hear this, when dealing with government and corporate officials such as, for example, the clerk of a county court, look and act professional.  
 
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Posted by on in Culture Blogs

It's almost Litha and that means that we're only a few months away from October, or, as I like to call it, the Month of Bad Framing.  October is, of course, Pagan Pride Month, the month when many Pagans create Pagan Pride Events.  And it's also the month when many regional tv news programs, local papers, and other media do their once-a-year, "Hey, Look!  It's Halloween!  Real Witches!" pieces.  To do that, they call up some local Pagan and ask a few questions about "real Witchcraft."

So what does bad framing have to do with this?  Sure, taking your pictures to the local big box store may result in some poorly-matted paintings and some cheap bits of plywood slapped together around your son's wedding photograph or that Muncha poster that you bought on-line.  (One of the best bits of advice that I ever got was from a dear friend who was an art teacher.  She told me to buy cheap art and expensive frames.  She was right.)  But that's not the kind of bad framing that can do real damage to the Pagan community and undermine the best-laid plans for your local Pagan Pride event.

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