Buzz Coil: November 2012

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

Hearth Moon Rising's blog: Beginning with a quote from Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Hearth Moon Rising's Nov. 16 insightful post, "How to Create a Patriarchal Pagan Group in 12 Steps," explores the difficulties of creating a Goddess group that is free of patriarchal bias. She writes:
 "Variations on the idea that 'What we’re trying to do is really hard' predominate when we talk about the patriarchal climate that develops in spiritual groups which start out with the intention of fully honoring the Great Mother."
 She goes on to examine the roots of this problem and suggest how (not) to deal with it.

Hail Columbia: Blogger Literata, who was recently recognized as clergy in Arlington Virginia, reflects on her experience in her Oct. 31 post, "Further thoughts on being recognized as clergy," such as:
"The tremendous variations across Virginia in terms of clergy recognition are first and foremost a matter of different bureaucracies coming up with different rules. Those variations can pose a serious burden to non-traditional religions in some areas, including Arlington. Making small changes in the bureaucracy is part of the long work of getting our civil rights assured in practice, in everyday life, until it becomes unremarkable to be Wiccan."
This is just part of a post that is important reading for anyone seeking recognition as clergy or whose group seeks status as a "church."

HecateDemeter: Blogger Hecate's Nov. 16 post, "What Modern Wiccan Theology Doesn’t Care About," proposes that
"one large difference between Wicca and many other religions is that modern (at least) Wicca doesn’t look to separate people out into groups." 
She observes that
"Early Wicca...fell a bit into the trap. Thus, the insistence that one had been initiated into a coven with a lineage all the way back to the Bronze Age."
 However, she believes that modern Wicca has departed from this view and associated practices. She asks if you agree with this assessment.

My Village Witch: In her Nov. 6 Post, "A Day in the Garden," Byron Ballard tells how a group of women's studies students from a nearby college help her in a garden she tends on behalf of Mother Grove Goddess Temple in Asheville NC. She writes that after the weeding and leaf-raking they have discussed the "feminine divine" and the Gaia hypothesis.

Annelinde's World: This is the blog Annelinde Metzner devotes to her poetry. Two beautiful poems this month are "This Fire Blazes"  and "The Bone Drum."

At Brigid's Forge:  Thank Goddess Lunaea Weatherstone's Nov. 5 post, a wonderful "Election eve prayer," has been answered.

Dirt Worship: Starhawk's Nov. 7 post, "Now That the Election Is Over..." begins:
"I wake this morning with a profound sense of gratitude." She goes on to discuss why she is grateful and then gives some deep thought to answering these questions:
"What does an Obama victory mean for progressives, greens, anarchists and radicals far, far to his left? To those folks who couldn’t morally bring themselves to vote for Obama, or possibly even to vote at all? Who grew furious at me for urging people to get to the polls and admitting that I voted for him?"

Works of Literata: In her Nov. 6 post, "Voting and Columbia," blogger Literata discusses how voting resembles a sacred act, and characterizes the Goddess Columbia as embodying, among other qualities, the separation of church and state. 

Way of the Rabbit: In her Nov. 26  post,  "Resolving/Reducing Conflict in Covens and communities,"  Yeshe Rabbit shares the conflict resolution process that CAYA coven has been using for a number of years.

The Wild Hunt: In his Nov. 23 post, "Pagan Fundraising Initiative: Black Friday Edition," Jason Pitzl-Waters writes about several ongoing projects, including a film version of Starhawk's novel, The Fifth Sacred Thing; Bobbie Grennier's film about Merlin Stone, Layne Redmond's documentary about Brazilian deities, the New Alexandrian Library's building project, and the Wild Hunt itself. 

Goddess in a Teapot: In her Oct. 31 post, "Hildegard of Bingen, A Saint Whose Spirit Soared Free, "Carolyn L. Boyd reviews Mary Sharratt's new novel, Illuminations, about Hildegard von Bingen (which I also reviewed here previously). In her review, Carolyn focuses on the role of freedom (or non-freedom) in religion.

Feminism and Religion: This blog carries posts from feminists on a variety of spiritual paths.

  "In Memoriam Patricia Monaghan: The Goddess Community Remembers and Mourns," posted on Nov. 28 by Dawn Work MaKinne, gives extensive background on Monaghan's work, her influence on Goddess spirituality, and upcoming memorials.

In a Nov. 26 post,"What Was Your Childhood Religious Tradition And Do You Still Follow It?", Carol P. Christ shares her response to questions she was asked  in a interview for Claremont Graduate University's Women’s Living History Project, and asks you if you'd like to share your experience.  In her Nov. 18 post, "Women for Peace--Take To The Streets," Christ discusses the relationship of war and peace to bonobo apes, Goddess thealogy, paleolithic societies, the Bible, the Iliad, Plato, and more.

In a Nov. 21 post, "Thank You, Goddess," Barbara Ardinger writes:
 "Please don’t think I think the Goddess is a big fat woman wearing a crown and sitting on a big fat throne up in the sky and sending little goddessettes and superheros and superheras down to earth to chase editing clients to me, puff my lungs full of oxygen, and carefully arrange that I sit next to nice folks at the theater or find places to park when I need them."
Although Ardinger admits that it's hard to describe what/who Goddess is, in this post she does clarify many aspects of this thealogical quandary in her signature humorous way.

In a Nov. 18 post, "Death Of A Priestess," Geraldine Charles describes how people of the Glastonbury Goddess Temple marked the passing of one of its priestesses, Koko, including a funeral procession and a ceremony in the Town Hall.

Ivy Helman's Nov. 11 post, "Building A Bridge Toward the Future: Will You Meet Me in the Middle?" is a response to a comment by President Obama in his recent acceptance speech and investigates the difficulties of  "the intersection of feminism, religion and politics" in the U.S.

Return to Mago: This blog frequently has guest posts by people other than its main blogger, Helen Hwang.

In a 2-part series, Mary Ann Ghuffurian (aka MAG) introduces herself and her work in Part 1 posted on Nov. 21, and  in Part 2, posted Nov. 26, discusses her methodogy, specifically applying it to the main focus of this blog. MAG writes:
 "Magoism is a new word to the modern Western vocabulary, yet it has its linguistic roots in many parts of the globe and in an ancient knowledge and know-how almost lost. Dr Helen Hwang determinedly and methodically is excavating the little-understood historical Mother-Goddess knowledge of Korea, and its traditions, the Mago, and Magoism, and in doing so is unlocking another previously invisible door, and replacing another ripped-off corner of the global map of significant, almost-lost tradition and forgotten knowledge."

Judith Shaw's Nov. 23 post, "Why Are We Drawn to the Black Madonna," discusses and shows in photographs some of the many versions of this Goddess. 

In a Nov. 19 post, "Stone-Raising Spinners," Max Dashu discusses a variety of European megalithic monuments. With photos.

In her Nov. 12 post, "Goddess as Love," Carol P. Christ tells what her mother's death taught her about the Goddess.  

Pagan Square: This blog has posts from people on a variety of Pagan paths. In her Nov. 20  post, "The Initiation," blogger Amarfa, who is majoring in music in college, explains why she is starting a website whose basis is "that Classical Music is more Pagan than anyone truly realizes at this point in time...." In this post, she gives as an example, Claude Debussy's "Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun."

In her Nov. 12 post, "On Hekate," Rebecca Buchanan describes this Goddess as "complicated," gives background about her, and a recommends a substantial number of books and other reading material to help you learn more.

In a Nov. 17 post, "The Way We Say Goodbye," that begins with a photo of a candle dedicated to Patricia Monaghan surrounded by other candles, Byron Ballard
first tells of a death of another Irish American, discusses general issues about
"what happens when a Pagan dies--what shape the rites can take, what grave goods and music we can reasonably bring to a funeral that may include family members of the beloved dead who are still Presbyterians or Baptists or observant Jews," and describes her group's memorial service for Monaghan. In a previous post that begins with a photography of Brigid altar at the 2010 conference of the Association for the Study of Women and Mythology, Ballard tells how she and her group celebrate Samhain, and how through the year she keeps a list of those who have passed to be read at the Samhain ritual and after the ritual sets it aside. She continues in her Nov. 11 post,  "The Terrible Season of Samhain,":
 "Today Patricia Monaghan--beloved teacher, writer, wiseass and friend--died. She has gone across the crystal water, secure in her perfect ship, to the Land of Young, to blessed Tir Nan Og.
I have located a nice sheet of paper and am grieved to put her name at the top of this Year's Samhain list."


Here are links to some of the other many memorial posts for Patricia Monaghan: Association for the Study of Women and Mythology,  At Brigid's Forge, Cherry Hill Seminary, Agora, Adventures in Vanaheim, Beth OwlsDaughter, Betz-Blog, Gaian Soul, HecateDemeter , Irish Blessings Tours,  Journeying to the Goddess, Musings of a Quaker Witch, Sherry Chandler, Taste of Moon Goddess,  The Secret Life of the American Working Witch, The Wild Hunt,  The Witch of Stitches, Threads of the Spiderwoman, and of course, this blog.