Buzz Coil: January '11

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

Brigid’s Forge: In her a beautiful Jan. 22 post, Lunaea Weatherstone shares her experience in making her priestess vows to Brigid and what her practice of "Smooring the Fire" entails and means to her.

American Witch: In her Jan. 1 post, "On Writing the First Rionnard Tri-Nard..." Poet Annie Finch tells how she recently composed a poem in this complex ancient Celtic form. Great inspiration for Brigid/Imbolc!

Hecate: More inspiration: Blogger Hecate begins her Jan. 22 post, "Exchanging Seeds":

I can almost feel Imbolc stirring itself from deep inside my Mother and beginning to rise through the root-chilling red clay and rock-hard frozen surface of my tiny bit of Earth. I am longing like a thirsty woman for a taste of that icy water of inspiration, for all that I know that Imbolc is often considered a fire festival. Imbolc is a time to honor inspiration and the plain old hard work of forging new tools, as well as a time to commit to a warming that we can, often, only believe, rather than sense.

She goes on to share that her preparations for Imbolc/Brigid include poetry, seeds, and places she wants to do ritual. She closes with a question for you.

Communing with Goddess and God: In a Jan 23 post, "Of Imbolc and the Rudeness of Jonquils," blogger perditax traces the etymology of "Imbolc," and its association with sheep, its winter relevance, and how she imagines people will observe it, including something about "chubby rodents."

The Village Witch: In her Jan. 21 post n the Asheville (NC) Citizen-Times, "Brigid’s Coming! Hide Your Hearts," Byron Ballard reveals that the Irish Goddess/Saint is very popular in the Southern U.S. area where she lives and then gives a brief history of Brigid.

Pagan Godspell: In her Jan. 16 post, "Networking Pagan and Plain," Ruby Sara blogs about Imbolc preparations. She then writes that she plans to blog more about Paganism and simplicity in dress, lifestyle, etc.

Veleda: Max Dashu reviews Ben Whitmore’s Trials of the Moon: Reopening the Case for Historical Witchcraft: A critique of Ronald Hutton's The Triumph of the Moon, A History of Modern Pagan Witchcraft in her Jan. 21 post titled, "Reopening the Case for Historical Witchcraft." This in-depth and fascinating post calls into question many of Hutton’s assertions.

Huffington Post: Laura Amazzone introduces Huff Post readers to "Goddess Durga: A Divine Female Role Model for Our Times?" in her Jan. 21 post in the Religion section.

Walking on Fire: Blogger Myfanwy, who up to this point has written mostly Jewish material, announced in her January 17 post, "Radical Transformation," that she will no longer be writing her "weekly Torah commentary from a witch’s perspective" because "The Torah cycle belongs to a patriarchal system I have rejected." She will instead be focusing on "ancient Pagan Europe and reclaiming the women’s mystery tradition of my Celtic ancestors."

Mary Magdalene Within: Joan Norton’s Jan. 5 post, "Inner Magi" tells of the "colorful Druid Magi philosphers visiting the baby Jesus on Epiphany." She writes that the Druid Magi "follow the five pointed star, the one which the Goddess directs." There’s more on background and symbolism, along with great pics.

Queen of Heaven: In her Jan. 18 post, blogger Carisa shares the "World’s Oldest Song,"— that is the oldest song that for which we have the original written notation and lyrics. It is apparently in Ugaritic (ANE language) and dates to c.400 BCE. It tells of the marriage of Goddess Nikkal to a moon god. Carisa gives more details, 2 versions from You Tube, and a link to the sheet music. I think I heard at least one Hebrew cognate in the first You Tube video shown, a word that sounds like the Hebrew "kallah," meaning bride. In her Jan. 13 post, "Virgin of Guadalupe, Spain" Carisa wonders if this Black Madonna is an additional source for the Mexican "Lady of Guadalupe." This extensive and interesting post goes into detail about various European Black Madonnas and their possible relationship to other goddesses. With great pics.
　
Glaux’s Nest: Did you know that in Nashville USA there’s a Parthenon resembling the original Greek one? I didn’t until I read blogger Glaux’s Jan. 10 post, "Photos from the Nashvile Parthenon." Yes, lots of great photos!

Knitting, Sex and God: In her Jan. 10 post, "Yule Shawl," Anna in Glasgow shows the shawls she knit for Yule. Her Jan. 8 post, "Sabbat Shawls," shows those she’s knitted for other Pagan sabbats.

The Retiring Mind: Wendy Griffin’s Jan. 15 post, "Paying Attention," is about trying to respond to a phone Gallup Poll whose questions, including those about religion, were rather restricting.

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