Buzz Coil: August 2012

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

 My Village Witch: Byron Ballard wrote several posts this month leading up to and after the first ordination of priestesses as "Reverends"at the Mother Grove Goddess Temple in Asheville NC. Among them: on  Aug. 13  "Samhain? Is It Time To Talk About Ancestors Yet?, summarizes ordination preparations; on Aug. 19 "The Day After…and I’d like a nice nap," briefly recaps the ordination ceremony; on Aug. 20  "Ever-loving Sunday" describes the first all-clergy devotional after the ordination. Congratulations and blessings to all at Mother Grove!

A Crone Speaks Out: In her Aug. 11 post, Cathryn Platine announces that a "New York Court Rules Against Freedom of Religion" in a case that the Maetreum of Cybele has been fighting for some time in Palenville NY. Platine begins:
 "The Christian right is fond of spewing 'America is a Christian country' disregarding all facts of history and tonnes of statements from the founding fathers to the contrary. Apparently at least one Judge in Albany did not get the memo that freedom of religion means ALL religions."
She then goes on to give the history of the Maetreum and of the legal case.

The Wild Hunt: Jason Pitzl-Waters gives his analysis of the Maetrum of Cybele case, among the items in his Aug. 26 post "Updates: South Dakota Sacred Land Auction, Maetreum of Cybele Case, and COG’s Grand Council."

Broomstick Chronicles: An Aug. 3 post, "A Co-Founder Withdraws from Reclaiming Tradition" begins:
 "I, M. Macha NightMare, Priestess & Witch, aka Aline O’Brien, withdraw from the organization known as Reclaiming Tradition Witchcraft and hereby dissociate myself from further involvement with the tradition. I make this statement formally and publicly because I am a public figure known to be connected to Reclaiming."
Macha/Aline goes expands on this in this post, and in more recent posts gives more background for her decision.

Branches Up, Roots Down: Deborah Oak's several posts, some of them the Reclaiming elder's older writings originally published elsewhere, begin on Aug. 18 with "Reclaiming Feri," about the relationship and differences between these traditions. On Aug. 19, Oak republishes  "Dissent and Reclaiming " as part of her "personal reflection" on "Macha's very public leaving of Reclaiming."  In her April 20 post, "Why I am Excluded from all the Inclusion," Deborah writes of her experience at this year's Reclaiming Dandelion gathering, including a conversation with Macha about a confidentiality waiver participants were asked to sign; Oak publishes text of the waiver and explains her ultimate lack of full participation in this year's Dandelion. 

Ma Vie en Goddessia: This is a new blog,  which despite its French title, is in English. Blogger Goddess Centric Pagan explains in her first post on August 27, "The Lonely Goddessian," that she created the blog as
 "A way to get my views out as a Pagan Minority to the world in general.  An[d]  maybe a way to let any other Goddessians wandering alone out there know that they aren't the only ones."
There follows three other Aug. 27 posts, including,  "My thoughts of Goddessia*/Making Goddessian My Own", which begins:
"Goddessian is a term to describe a person who worships/honors only the feminine face of the Divine or otherwise follows a spiritual path that is heavily Goddess centered, also known as Goddess Worshippers. This term also serves as an attempt to unify those who practice Goddess Religion as well as to give a label to those who wish for an identity in addition to or instead of Pagan, Witch, or Wiccan. For now, Goddessian is the term I choose to label my path. I am a Goddessian Neopagan, meaning my path is Neo-paganism, the flavor is Goddessian."
She goes on to provide a list of what "Goddessia"and "Goddessian" mean to her, and refers to a post published previously on Medusa Coils.

HecateDemeter: In her Aug. 13 post, "Hail and Welcome, Hecate," blogger Hecate notes the celebration of the feast day of her matron Goddess Hecate and includes a video with a Hecate chant and images (I'm not sure who's chanting, but it's gorgeous!). She also includes several other images and shares how Goddess Hecate looks when she appears to her. In her Aug. 22 post, "Water Temples en Plein Air," she discusses various spiritual aspects of elemental water, including places she has performed magical acts related to water in her landbase, Washington DC.

Annelinde's World: Annelinde Metzner's Aug. 17 post, "Homage to Ereshkigal," presents her poem and explanation of the Sumerian Goddess. With photos.

Return to Mago: Recent posts by bloggers other than Helen Hye-Sook Hwang, whose blog this is: On Aug. 25," ‘Ereshkigal Pronounces a Verdict’ by Hearth Moon Rising," tells of ghostly experiences and Hearth Moon Rising's call to the Sumerian Goddess for help; on Aug. 24, "‘Xi Wangmu, the shamanic great goddess of China,’ part 1 by Max Dashu," which gives background on one of the oldest Chinese deities, including a more accurate translation of her name in to English, her thousand-year "disappearance," and descriptions from various historical sources. Both posts are well illustrated.

The Goddess House: Blogger As't Moon's post, "Arise, Goddess of Spring," tells of looking forward to the arrival of spring in Australia, and gives background on goddesses associated with spring worldwide. 

Hearth Moon Rising: In her continuing series on goddesses associated with trees, Hearth Moon Rising's Aug. 3 post, "The Cedar Forest," discusses the mythology surrounding Ishtar. With several pics.

At Brigid's Forge: In her Aug. 3 post, "Devotions," Lunaea Weatherstone writes of the experience of daily devotions, why they are important to her, and her recent experience with one.

Goddess In A Teapot: In her Aug. 3 post, "The Cosmos as the Most Magnificent Masterpiece of All," Carolyn L. Boyd writes of walking along a northern Michigan beach and being moved by the composition of various elements she saw, as well as one unseen. She then expands this thought to the entire universe and gives links to websites that may inspire you, too.

Musings of a Quaker Witch: In her Aug. 23 post, "Balaam's ass kicked mine,"  Stasa Morgan-Appel writes that after listening to an interpretation of a biblical passage by a Jewish Friend, she was motivated to take a look at the interplay and possible conflict between her Goddess devotion and the Quaker community.

Pagan Square: This new blog is an offshot of Witches and Pagans magazine. In an August 19 post, "You Are Not the Boss of Me," Byron Ballard notes a new trend among people in various Pagan traditions.  She writes:
 "No longer content to go our separate ways and merely gossip about those goofy (fill in the blank), we seem to expend rather a lot of electronic air in actually trying to convert each other."
 One example that she gives:
 "Far too many times have I been confronted by someone who is filled with righteous indignation because I experience the Divines as exclusively female. But, but, they sputter, what about nature? What about the 'balance of male and female energy'? Pish tosh. I did not study all the world’s religions and then pick the one that was most logical. I didn’t choose my spirituality based on politics. I see the spiritual world as I see it. I experience the Divines as I experience them. That is my right, as it is yours."  

Feminism and Religion: Just some of the posts from many bloggers about many traditions and cultures:
In an Aug. 27 guest post, "Theapoetics," Molly Remer writes about "experiencing the Goddess through direct 'revelation,' framed in language." That is, when she opens her mouth, "poetry comes out."
In an Aug. 26 guest post, Mary Saracino offers "Sacred Outcry: A Poetic Trilogy," three poems about difficult subjects.
In her Aug.23 post, "Rape is Not a Political Platform – Rape is a Violent Crime!" Michele Stopera Freyhauf sums up the recent misogynist garbage from Akin et al. and gives a review of similar statements/actions from the past that show a trend (or tradition?).
In an Aug. 22 guest post, "Angrboða, Her Children, and Our Shadow Selves," Deanne Quarrie discusses several Northern European goddesses and spirit forms.
Rita M. Gross begins her Aug. 18 post, "What Do Women Bring to the Interfaith Table,"  with this: "The most important thing that women bring to the interfaith table is our sheer presence."
Near the beginning of her Aug. 13 post, "Shadows of the Goddess in Greek Orthodox Tradition: Easter and the Dormition of the Virgin," Carol P. Christ writes:  "...when I speak of the need for the “rebirth of the Goddess” in Greece, I am often told, “the Panagia is our Goddess.” This may not be theological orthodoxy, but it expresses a truth of practice." She goes on to describe the practices associated with two Greek Orthodox spring and summer holy days.