The Unofficial Start of Summer

It's Memorial Day in America, a day on which we remember the men and women who have died while in the U.S. Armed Forces.

Today Americans will fly the flag at half-staff, visit cemeteries and memorials, and pause for a national moment of remembrance at 3 pm. They may also attend a parade. And because Memorial Day marks the unofficial start of summer, many Americans will head to the beach and parks and their backyards for some barbecue and red, white, and blue fun.

Memorial Day wasn't always on the last Monday of May, but as the Opinion Pages at the New York Times observes, it seems a good time of year.

It has always seemed fitting to mark the purpose of this holiday — honoring those who have died in our country’s service — at the exuberant end of May. The outburst of spring is just slowing into summer’s cadence, and yet you can still smell and feel the biological crescendo all around you.

In this too brief, Pagan-friendly editorial, the writer explores the idea of nature as a comforting force following the solemnity of such a day. Read it in its entirety at the New York Times.

How will you be spending Memorial Day today?

About the image: Young Patriot in the U.S. Army Flickr for the public domain.

No Critical Thinking Skills Required

Anderson Cooper talked to one supporter of Pastor Charles L. Worley of Providence Road Baptist Church in North Carolina. A few days ago, Pastor Worley figured out a way to get rid of all the gays and lesbians - put them in an electrified enclosure and let them die off.



Cooper challenges her on what the Pastor said versus what he meant, whether they realize that gay people are born to straight people, and why they don't take similar stances on other sins such as adultery. She's just got nothing but eye rolls.

(via BoingBoing)

Documentary Follows Fake Indian Guru

A new documentary called Kumare follows a fake guru and his worshipers.

At PSFK CONFERENCE NYC, American filmmaker Vikram Gandhi spoke about his experience growing up Indian in New Jersey. He says Americans and other Westerners often look to Indian culture for emotional and spiritual support. In his new documentary, Gandhi pretends to be a spiritual guru, gains devoted followers, then tells him he's a fake, and challenges them to examine their beliefs.



Kumare hits theaters next week.

What do you think? Is this a good experiment that challenges racism and religion or a cruel play?

(via Mike Elgan)

Non-Religious Are More Charitable Out of Compassion

Last month, the Australian talk show Q&A featured Cardinal George Pell, Archbishop of Sydney, and atheist Richard Dawkins going head-to-head on history, faith, God, and (Christian) religion. The first question posed by an audience member was:

At Easter Australia's religious leaders invoke the power of God to preach peace, love, political integrity, and moral fortitude - all positive, worthwhile values. In what way are all these values dependent on the existence of a god? Is it not possible for an atheist to be peace loving and socially responsible?

Both Cardinal Pell and Dawkins answered that yes, it is possible to peace loving and socially responsible.

I've heard Christians ask this question before and puzzle over where non-Christians draw their ethics from. Other religions have their own moral philosophies. Wiccans, for example, may observe the Rede. But beyond that, new research from the University of California, Berkeley suggests that non-religious people are moved to act charitably out of feelings of compassion and empathy.

The results challenge a widespread assumption that acts of generosity and charity are largely driven by feelings of empathy and compassion, researchers said. In the study, the link between compassion and generosity was found to be stronger for those who identified as being non-religious or less religious.

Highly religious people are less motivated by compassion than are non-believers (via Big Think)

Happy Holidays

It's been a lovely year.

In January, I began blogging about Second Life. I'd wanted to try out the (no longer) new platform Tumblr, which turned out to be fun in its way, but didn't serve my needs ultimately. I moved my Second Life blog to WordPress.

February was an awesome month. I re-dedicated to my coven, set new goals for myself, and attended PantheaCon once again where I had a great time. It was also during the month of February that I made the committment to travel to Australia.

In May/June, I went on a corn fast, which was challenging and enlightning.

July was instrospective. I spent time reflecting on food and culture, Wiccan ethics, karma, Pagan business, and whether we can have media without religion.

In August, I began a blog series that I never finished.

In September, I got my geek on.

In October, I mourned the passing of Steve Jobs and defended Snooki, as well as celebrated Samhain with my coven and Halloween with my family.

In November, I stepped down from my position at the Pagan Newswire Collective and informed Cherry Hill Seminary I would be stepping down as Social Network Coordinator come the new year. I also celebrated my 34th birthday.

December has been a busy month of work and travel plans, thinking back on the year, and daydreaming about the future.

I'm looking forward to the new year. In February, I'll be going to PantheaCon again and then traveling on to Australia. How long I'll be gone is anyone's guess. I'm starting a new blog January 1 on my Aussie adventure.

This blog is going on hiatus. WordPress has emerged as my favorite blogging platform and I've been unable to maintain excitement about using Blogger given its limitations. I may move it or start something new. I don't know yet, but I hope you'll keep up with me.

Have a wonderful holiday season. See you next year!

Blessed Samhain & Happy Halloween

A very blessed Samhain and happy Halloween to everyone!

I celebrated Samhain this weekend with my coven. It was a magickal night. The dissipated hurricane Rina has been bringing heavy storms with thunder and lightning and provided the perfect atmosphere for our observance.   We honored and connected with our ancestors and had a delicious feast.

The photo above is of our cauldrons full of bones. Samhain is the last of the three harvests, the one of meat and blood and bone, when the animals were slaughtered for the cold and dark winter season. We saved the bones from our meals during the month, separated them elementally, and these were our bonfires. The word "bonfire", or bone fire, is believed to be derived from the Celtic custom of burning the bones of cattle slaughtered.

It's still raining here, but I'm crossing my fingers it will clear up for a while tonight so we can take the kids trick-or-treating.

44 Days of Witchery Day 26: A Witchy Podcast

I listen to a number of podcasts, but not a single Pagan one. I've tuned into different ones over the years and may catch an episode here and there, but the last Pagan podcast I heard was a 2010 episode of Pagans Tonight featuring Margot Adler.

I'm glad there's a Pagan podcasting community and an audience for it, but I just don't dig it. I was giving some thought as to why so I browsed the list of podcasts I do regularly enjoy, which includes Diggnation, This Week in Tech, the Social Hour, Frame Rate, and NPR's Pop Culture. I realized most of them are tech and pop culture shows and all of them are about current trends and commentary. In contrast, a lot of Pagan podcasts feel dated and I don't get a lot out of many of them. I just don't need to hear yet another discussion about how Satanists aren't Wiccans (or are they?), how to protect yourself against psychic vampires, or another personal gnosis story. A lot of Pagan podcasts leave me with a "been there, done that" feeling.