The breakdown of the Canadian census results is frustrating because it does not show Heathens, Druids, or polytheists; and the Pagan category includes Wicca. So it’s hard to compare with the UK data.
Continue readingPagan Studies
Census results for Paganism in England and Wales
I always have a look at the census results whenever they’re published, and the articles never report the Pagan numbers properly as they only look at people who write “Pagan” or “Wicca” (they never think to include Druidry and Heathenry in the total). So I always go to the detailed spreadsheets and make my own list.
Continue readingNot the messiah
A few years ago, I organized an event where Philip Heselton gave a talk based on his excellent multi-volume biography of Gerald Gardner. He was looking for a title and said that the talk was about the murkier aspects of Gardner’s life. I suggested calling it “He’s not the messiah, he’s a very naughty boy” which I’m sure you will recognize as a line from The Life of Brian by Monty Python. So that was the title of the talk.
Continue readingEverything you think you know about Wicca is wrong
This blogpost was inspired by this conversation on Twitter:
The snark quotient of this post may be dangerously high — you’re strongly advised to put your snark goggles on, because I have a snark hammer and I am not afraid to use it.
Continue readingNew book project: spiritual wobbles
Have you had a “wobble” in your Pagan path where you joined another religion, either temporarily or permanently? What caused it, and what other religion did you choose? Did it help you resolve the issue? Did you return to Paganism, or did you stay with the other religion? What did you gain or lose by your exploration of the other path?
Continue readingWhat’s on The Witch’s Mirror
Have you subscribed to my YouTube channel yet?
My channel is called The Witch’s Mirror. Here’s a Playlist of all the videos in the series so far.
Subscribe to The Witch’s Mirror
Quality witchy content approximately once a week
More potted history
In my last potted history post, I was half way through my ‘potted history of witchcraft‘ series. I have now completed it, and added a video on key concepts in Paganism.
Coming soon: a potted history of Paganism, and a video on recovering from fundamentalism. Subscribe to my YouTube channel so as not to miss any of my upcoming videos.
Continue readingZoom Talk on Folk Magic
Folk Magic
Yvonne Aburrow and Bob Houghton
- Zoom talk hosted by the Centre for Pagan Studies
- Sunday 12 July 2020
- 19:30 BST (UK) / 14:30 EDT
Register for the talk on the CFPS website
Update
Folklore Against Fascism
One of the highlights of my week is the Folklore Thursday hashtag on Twitter. I’ve not had time to look at it for a few weeks though, so it seems I missed the occasion when some völkisch fascists tried to hijack it, much to the horror of the regular participants.
One of them accordingly started a second hashtag, Folklore Against Fascism, and several participants tweeted about their opposition to fascism and commitment to inclusive folklore.
Wonder and delight: Tolkien and Pagan ideas
JRR Tolkien loved ancient Pagan mythology, especially Norse mythology. He also loved trees, flowers, rivers and streams, mountains, woods, and landscape generally. His writing is infused with a love of Nature, as well as an in-depth knowledge of ancient cultures and mythologies. He was, however, a Catholic, both by upbringing and conviction. He wrote his legendarium as a supporting world for his invented languages; though the earliest version was intended “to restore to the English an epic tradition and present them with a mythology of their own”.
Dowsing for Divinity 