Buzz Coil: October '10

A look at some posts of interest from our blogroll and sometimes beyond:

Evoking the Goddess: It’s wonderful to see Paul blogging again after an "absence" of several months. His Oct. 24 post, "Goddess Temple Budapest," tells of and shows (with great pics) his recent visit to the Goddess Temple in Budapest, Hungary.

Dirt Worship: Starhawk gives us "Some Quick Scenes from the Trip" in her Oct. 1 post. She writes about a Demeter workshop in Sicily; a workshop that included Baba Yaga stories and a trip through the woods gathering wild mushrooms in Poland; a talk, spiral dance, and Fall Equinox celebration in London; and the Goddess Conference in Madrid. With pics!

Pagan Godspell: Ruby Sara asks us to do a certain "dance" before we shimmy into her Oct. 23 post, "Conundrums and Kerfuffles: Clergy Language and the Pagani," Near the beginning she writes:

...Whether or not we are reconstructing, inventing, or syncretizing, the fact remains: contemporary Pagan/pagan religions are post-Christian phenomena, and there is a relationship there that must be explored, deeply and honestly, if we expect to grow and engage with those around us both inside and outside our traditions (even if we differ on what the goal of our growing and engaging ought to be).

She then gives a summary of what she objects to in Christianity, writes that "Pagans too can be guilty of ignorance when it comes to Christian history," and gives examples. And there’s much much more in this terrific think piece.

Hecate: Blogger Hecate has been posting about how Pagans/Wiccans/Witches might deal with media questions, sometimes bringing in her legal expertise. Two of the posts are Oct. 4's "Just Stop" and Oct. 6's "In Which Our Heroine Goes On and On Because It Matters," which includes remarks by Thorn Coyle. As someone with professional journalism experience, I say—Go read ‘em.

The Wild Hunt: The latest on "Witch’s Wit" ale’s label leads Jason Pitzl-Water’s Oct 23 "Updates: Witch’s Wit, Air Force Academy, Canadian Polyamory Case." The Witch’s Wit label issue revolves around a California-based beer company’s label on a brew showing a pretty blonde woman being burned at the stake. Its apparent resolution involves the collaboration of Vicki Noble and Cynthia Eller, supported by email to the company from many other individuals. However, if you read the readers’ comments below the post, things don’t seem to be entirely wrapped up yet. And if you read those comments you’ll also see why some Goddessians feel that part of the greater Pagan community is as misogynist as some other religious communities.

The Village Witch: Byron Ballard’s Oct. 24 post in the Asheville (NC) Citizen-Times, "Find the Pomegranate. Eat It. Remain a Time with the Dark Goddesses," discusses the myths of Persephone and Inanna, and invites us to eat pomegranate seeds and "cross over the thresholds of a deeper spiritual experience."

Read This and Weep: In her Oct. 25 post, 'Somewhere in between what the song & the silence say,' Carol Lovekin shares some beautifully-written thoughts about the beauty of autumn.

Goddess in a Teapot: In her Oct. 17 post, "Lili Boulanger: Composer for the Great Wheel of Life," Carolyn L. Boyd writes a tribute to the well-known French composer and musician who died at age 24 in the early years of the 20th century. Carolyn writes that when she listens to Boulanger’s music, "I hear a human voice of Kali and all the goddesses who bring together life, death, and rebirth."

Amused Grace: In her Oct. 17 post, "Truth," artist Thalia Took writes about changes she has made to her blog and changes she is thinking about making, related to some deeper issues.

Medusa Musing: Best wishes to blogger gorgon50, who announces she is getting married in 5 weeks in her Oct. 23 post, "Countdown Begins." In her October 14 post, "The Case of the Missing Virgin, Again," gorgon50 writes about the second time an image of Mother Mary has "disappeared" from her. I muse: Is this some sort of spiritual guidance?

Pantheos/Pantheon: "We are Born in Original Blessing," was posted on Oct. 20 by Star Foster in response to a post elsewhere on Pantheos. Star’s Oct. 24 post, "God is Not One, No really..." explores what Star calls "Universalism, as spun out by Theosophy, Joseph Campbell, and the inclusivist movement. . . ." Star calls this view "too easy."

Z Budapest Blog: Z’s Oct. 24 post, "Why I vote for Democrats" reminds American women why voting in the upcoming election is important.

Did we miss an item you think is important? We’d like to know about it, so please leave it as a comment.