I recently listened to an interesting podcast from Circle Talk: Four Witches on Coven Hierarchy. I was pleased to note that most of the speakers on the podcast were advocating for a pretty flat hierarchy. I have written a fair amount about the roles and expectations of the different degrees in Wicca (in All acts of love and pleasure: inclusive Wicca) and quite a lot about coven leadership and the concept of “elders” (in The Night Journey: Witchcraft as Transformation). I regard the Wiccan degree system as being like the apprenticeship system in medieval guilds (apprenticeship, journeyman, master). There was very little in the podcast that I disagreed with, except the one guy who makes his first degree coveners clean the coven brassware. I’m with the woman who said she is happy when people volunteer to help, but she doesn’t make them do tasks.
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Missing Witches
I was on the Missing Witches podcast recently. It’s a new and original format for a podcast: more like a structured group chat, ably facilitated by the lovely hosts.
Among other things, we discussed the subject of the book I’m currently writing, Changing Paths, which is about changing from one spiritual path to another. I was also really pleased with the circle opening that I did for this episode.
You can catch the episode at Missing Witches.
Trans Day of Visibility
Today is International Trans Day of Visibility.
It’s more important than ever that everyone stands with trans and nonbinary people, as there’s a concerted campaign to erase us from existence.
Continue readingCall for contributions – Changing Paths
Have you changed from one religion to another, or from a religion to none? Did the process take a long time or was it a sudden change?
I am writing a book to support people through the process of changing paths (leaving a religion, joining Paganism, or changing paths within Paganism).
I am looking for contributions of around 1500-3000 words from people who have joined a Pagan tradition from elsewhere, or left a Pagan tradition for another path.
I am especially interested in people who have left Paganism and then rejoined it, and people who have joined a Pagan tradition from a religion other than Christianity.
What annoyed you about the religion you left? What attracted you about the religion or path that you joined?
Contributions from marginalized people (disabled, BIPOC, LGBTQ2SIA, neurodiverse) are especially welcome. Were you marginalized within the tradition you left? Is that still the case with the tradition you joined?
Email for contributions is yaburrow@gmail.com
Nature, tradition, and ancestors
I am very keen on rejecting, resisting, and repudiating the infiltration and co-opting of Paganism by the far right, and so I found Amy Hale’s article on The Pagan and Occult Fascist Connection and How to Fix It a very useful resource, particularly the questions at the end. I would encourage you to read the article, and use these questions as journaling prompts.
So here are my answers to those questions for initiatory Wicca (in some cases, I have previously written blogposts on these topics, so I will link to those).
Continue readingWhat “inclusive” means
Inclusive doesn’t mean that we have to include everybody who asks to join; it means that we don’t exclude whole classes of people due to their innate or acquired characteristics (such as ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, or physical characteristics).
Continue readingOrange Shirt Day
I’m wearing my orange shirt from the Woodland Cultural Centre today, Orange Shirt Day, in honour of residential school survivors and all those who didn’t make it home.
Continue readingBack to school
Back to school 🏫 September Pagan Challenge # 9.
You can always learn new stuff: new values, new ideas, new ways of looking at the world.
Continue readingRecipe: British flapjack
My Mum always used to make this and it is incredibly moreish. I’ve got some in the oven right now. Yum yum.
Continue reading#DefendOccultBooks
I’ve always disagreed with the view that we don’t need Pagan and occult books.
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