Buzz Coil: December

The Village Witch: In her Asheville NC Citizen-Times blog on Dec. 16, Byron Ballard issued "An Invitation to Make Some Magic With Me." The magic involves net-bags of gold-foil-covered chocolate coins often sold this time of year (usually used as Hanukah "gelt" symbolizing abundance for the coming months). Byron is placing them in her holiday gift packages this year and is also handing them out to people she encounters here and there–including the cashier at the store where she bought them. Her Dec. 19 post, "We need a bigger ritual space," was written after more than the expected number of people showed up at her group’s Solstice ritual. A Temple–which will provide more space–is in the planning stages.

The Girl Who Cried Epiphany In her Dec. 21 post, "Winter Solstice: Mary, Mother Earth, and the Stories That We Tell," blogger Girlwhocriedepiphany tells how this December has given her "unimagined insight into the power of the Solstice and Christmas." She confides:

For some time now, I have been experiencing visions of Mary. In them, she tells me that she is not just that silent, blue veiled vessel with the alabaster brow. She is the Mother who carried the weight of the world between her hips and who gave birth to a God. She is not some distant creature to be locked up in churches. She is a vital ally, a friend to all life. Mary is the supreme realization of the Divine Feminine.

Girlwhocriedephiphany explores more of her visions of Mary in her Dec. 22 post, "Visions of Mary? What Are You Talking About, Woman?"

Alive Mind & Spirit: In her Dec. 5 post, "Her Church," Carol P. Christ writes about attending the Sunday service of a Lutheran congregation in San Francisco "committed to feminist theology and the re-claiming of female imagery for the Divine" of which we have written here . On Dec. 15, She tells us why "My Mother Named Me Carol." In her Dec. 19 post, "Winter Solstice," Carol suggests that the focus of many Pagans on returning light rather than on "the pregnant dark reflects a fear of darkness that is the legacy of Indo-European cultures."

Knitting, Sex and God: After reading Carol Christ's Dec. 15 post, blogger Anna, in her Dec. 16 post "Gender and Christmas Carols," reflects upon where and when rewritten carols are preferable to the originals.

Evoking the Goddess: In his beautiful Dec. 13 post, "She changes everything She touches," blogger Paul writes about Winter Solstice that combines "a moment of poise and stillness–that only the dark can provide–with a real change of direction."

Hecate: In her Dec. 19 post, "Sleet on Solstice: Doan Want," blogger Hecate contemplates whether the weather will keep her circle from being outside on Solstice for the first time. She then ponders the relative qualities of Dark and Light.

At Brigid’s Forge: In her Dec. 7 post, "Yuletide Blues," Lunaea Weatherstone writes about creating a "blue grotto" in her new home that becomes more magical than she imagined. She then recalls her first "blue passage."

Radical Goddess Thealogy: Blogger Athana elucidates the apparent connection between Rick Warren and Christian Dominionists in her Dec. 20 post, "Rick Warren: Dominionist Dude?"

Peacock Dreams: In her Dec. 22 post, "Pagan Family Values: A Call (to the Circle of) Arms," Thorn Coyle writes:

I am thankful now, to be part of a religion that that believes consensual sex and humanity in myriad forms are sacred. I am thankful that my religion does not separate matter from spirit. I am thankful that non-dualism and polytheism are possible bed-fellows. I am thankful, so thankful, to be part of a religion that re-links sex to love in all it's facets and that helps us to break the chains of shame.

She then invites deities to "dance with us" and has a suggestion about what might be appropriate to do while Rick Warren is praying at the Inauguration.

At the end of desire: Blogger Inanna is expecting her baby’s birth very very soon. While waiting she blogged about sex on Dec. 16 in "Pleasure is a holy thing."

The House of Inanna: In his Dec. 8 post, "In the beginning," Brian Charles explores the misogynist roots of Abrahamic religions. In his Dec. 17 post, "Inanna Tantra," he thinks about ways he has changed–and hasn’t changed–since being initiated a priest of Inanna about a month ago.

Echidne of the Snakes: In her Dec. 25 post, Blogger Echidne treats us to a wonderful short story, "Looking for God," that also includes consideration of "a Goddess." The story is about Jonathan, his twin Anne, and a dog.

The Wild Hunt: Jason Pitzl-Waters’ Dec. 26 post, "Polytheistic Straw Men," uses facts to counter a misinformed (to put it mildly) article by an economist in FrontPage magazine.

Goddess in a Teapot: Carolyn Lee Boyd's Dec. 25 post, "Louisa May Alcott: Her Gift to Women of All Ages," answers the question, Why does Alcott’s novel, Little Women, still speak to us as adults today? It also suggests some other of Alcott’s writings we may want to explore.

*Poof?*
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