Buzz Coil: October 2013

A look at some posts of interest from our blogroll and sometimes beyond: 
 
My Village Witch: Byron Ballard's Oct. 23 post, In the Cool of the Evening, begins with a visit to a bookstore and evolves into poetic thoughts about the autumn in the Appalachian Mountains. Her Oct. 18 post, Days of Bright Wild Leaves, tells of her participation in the recent Southeast Wise Woman Herbal Conference, where, among other things, she taught classes on Appalachian Cove Healing, Rites of Passage and Finding Your Own Myth. 

My Life as a Goddessian: In an Oct. 23 post by Stormy Seaside writes of Of Sweetgum, birds nest and bees ---and gratitude.

WoodsPriestess: In this blog formerly known as Theapoetics, blogger talkbirth's Oct. 21 post, Co-Circling & The Priestess Path, discusses shared responsibility in Circling and invites readers to join her Facebook group "for those interested in the priestess path as a serious commitment/vocation."

Goddess House: In an Oct. 4 post, Sacred Goddess Circles coming to Adelaide, blogger As't Moon tells why women-only Sacred Goddess Circles will begin at the Adelaide, Australia, location in 2014.

Annelinde's World: Annelinde Metzner's Oct. 12 post, a poem, A Prize for Malala, contains quotes from the 16-year old and a photo of her from her book, along with other pics.

Love of the Goddess: In her Oct. 19 post, Samhain Magic, Dumb Supper, blogger Tara offers suggestions about how to conduct this tradition. Her Oct. 11 post is about Berchta, Germanic Goddess of Winter.

Hearth Moon Rising's blog: In her Oct. 11 post, Hearth Moon Rising takes a look at Understanding Halloween, including the relationship to Native American, Mexican, and ancient Celtic celebrations.

The Wild Hunt: Jason Pitzl-Waters Oct. 23 post, Everyday (and Everything) is Halloween, discusses the changing treatment of this holiday in the media, especially in TV shows. He writes:
"Like it or not, Halloween has established itself as the dark mirror of Christmas in the Western holiday calendar."
 He gives examples of why he also feels that
 "the figure of the witch is changing dramatically before our very eyes. It is now deeply embedded in our culture that witchcraft is no longer solely malefic..." 

Casa della Dea: This Italian language blog explains the origin of "Halloween" in an Oct. 18 post by Eilantha Redspring, Le vere origini di Halloween...

Broomstick Chronicles: In an Oct. 4 post, Macha NightMare (Aline O'Brien) offers her thoughts on Boundaries & Permeability, Inclusivity & Exclusivity, particularly in the Pagan community.

Works of Literata: Blogger Literata's Oct. 4 post, Columbia, Help us rise, analyzes the recent power struggles in the U.S. government, with particular focus on the Tea Party, writing,
 "...it is terribly dangerous to the functioning of a democracy and the system of representative government for people to elect politicians who proclaim their fundamental mission as NOT governing, politicians who claim that they do not believe that the institution they are going to be part of should exist in its current form and fulfill its current functions."
The post culminates with a prayer to Columbia, and begins with a pic of her statue atop the U.S. Capitol. 

Goddess in a Teapot: In an Oct. 14 post, Carolyn L. Boyd posted Persephone’s Bower: Chapter One, a draft of a novel she's working on, and invites your comments to help her with revisions. Her Oct. 20 post, Living in the Garden of Time, speculates on the relationship of nature and time. 

HecateDemeter: posted Chapter 31 of her fiction (will it be a novel?) "A Place Without a Witch" on Oct. 11.

GoddessChess: In an Oct. 19 post, Oops! Etruscan Man Actually A Woman, blogger Jan, presents an article from Live Science explaining how the error happened and its implications.

Group Blogs

Return to Mago: Some of this month's posts on this Goddess-centered blog of many bloggers:

Lydia Ruyle  treats us to her artistic interpretation of the Mexican ancestor spirit Itzpapalotl in a Oct. 24 post.

A poem in both Spanish and English, Fuerza Ancestral/Ancestral Strength is the Oct. 23 post of Xánath Caraza. With pic of the Goddess Tlazoteótl.

Why the Color of Isis Matters, posted on Oct. 18, is a continuation of an earlier Mago Circle discussion about the use of various colors  in spiritual representations. This part focuses particularly on black.  Participants in this transcript include Nae Ayle Kumari, Max Dashu, Harita Meenee, Glenys Livingstone, and Rick Williams.  

A poem, Red Tent Rising, is the Oct. 8 post of Andrew Guervich. With art.

Blog owner Helen Hwang's Oct. 4 post, Making the Gynocentric Case: Mago, the Great Goddess of East Asia...,  discusses the Budoji (Epic of the Emblem City) as a principal text of Magoism.
 
Witches and Pagans:  From this blog of many Pagan paths, published by BBI Media:
 
Byron Ballard's Oct. 23 post, Tending the Tears of Grief, tells about the first ancestor veneration discussion she's held in several years, this one "at Mother Grove's little chapel."

In an Oct. 21 post,  Samhain Approaching..., Joanne van der Hoeven writes about autumn beauty.

Robin Fennelly's Oct. 18 post, Hecate's Call: The Sorrow of the Mother, is the second of her three posts about this Goddess. It begins with a poetic invocation and goes on to tell of relating to Her at the full moon. The first in the series was posted on Oct. 3.

 "I am a belly dancer and will turn 60 this Christmas," writes Janice Tremeear in her Oct. 14 post, Dancing Crone. She has chosen the "Tribal style" of the dance and writes about its physical advantages and relationship to Goddess. With pics.

In her Oct. 9 post, The Tyranny of Secrecy, Aline "Macha" O'Brien, writes first of secrecy in general and then of secrecy in the Pagan community.

Terence P. Ward writes, in an Oct. 8 post, about a judge's comment, "This sounds like a convent," in a court case involving the Maetreum of Cybele.

In an Oct. 7 post, Susan Harper writes about a campaign, 40 Days of Ritual to Keep Abortion Legal, which was started by pro-choice Christian groups to counter an anti-choice campaign. Part of what Harper writes:
 "For 40 days, I am inviting Pagans of all paths to engage in whatever spellwork, ritual, or spiritual work they choose, with a focus on keeping abortion and reproductive health care safe and legal for all."

An Oct. 7 post, Dear Gaia, by Paola Suarez features her art depicting Gaia plus a letter she wrote to the Goddess while creating the art.

"After years of trying various paths through the forest of life, I finally found the Triple Goddess," writes Ted Czukor  in his October 5 post, This is the Mother's Forest." Czukor explains the significance of the forest in his journey to the Goddess.

 
Feminism and Religion: From this blog of many paths and many bloggers:

In her Oct 25 post, Janine Canan shares Three Poems from her forthcoming book: "The Visit," "On Her Breath," and "Only Once."

Aimee Hickman's Oct. 22 post, ...Mormons Seeking Women’s Ordination are Turned Away from Priesthood Conference tells of approximately 150 women being turned away from the priesthood session of the LDS church and the activities of an activist Mormon feminist group called, Ordain Women.

In an Oct. 21 post, Women Artists and Ritualists in the Great Caves... Carol P. Christ discusses recent news articles about ancient cave paintings being done by women. Under a pic of Fred Flintstone, she writes:
 "Despite decades of feminist theorizing about caves as the womb of the Great Mother, [Dean] Snow refused to speculate about the meanings 'cave women' might have given to the images within the caves. Could it be that he had never even encountered the idea that the cave symbolizes the womb of Mother Earth?"

Elizabeth Cunningham's Oct. 20 post, Longing for Hermitage   examines "religious solitude," beginning in 4th-5th centuries CE and continuing to her life today.

In her Oct. 16 post, What Would Malala Do?, Gina Messina-Dysert discusses the example set by Malala Yousafzai, the youngest person ever nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize. With a video clip from Jon Stewart's interview of Malala on the The Daily Show.

In her Oct. 12 post, Painting Holy Women, Angela Yarber explains why she does these paintings and refers to the portraits of several women and goddesses she has painted, and to the work of Carol P. Christ. With several pics of Rev. Dr. Yarber's paintings.

Giving specific examples, Kelly Brown Douglas, in an Oct. 10 post, examines Jesus' words to a woman, “Stand Up Straight,” in light of the mistreatment of women through the centuries to the current day.     

Beginning with quotes from Lisa Raphael and Leslene della-Madre, Molly Remer's Oct. 9 post, Birth Song, Life Song, Death Song, writes about her experience, starting in girlhood,  with rituals for important times in women's lives.

Carolyn Lee Boyd designates Feminism: A 21st Century Goddess of Healing, in an Oct. 7 post. She writes:
 "I had been active in political feminism, especially, since my teens, but suddenly I realized that all these women’s spirits had been so devastated by male-centric religions that the political progress I had set as my goal would never alone make them whole."
She tells of listening to other women's stories and outlines "three means" that she sees at work in the spiritual healing of women.