A varied month: bisexuality, climate fiction, and essays.
Continue readingreligion
Review of The Actual Star
A mysterious cave in Belize is the heart of this novel. In 1012, the last monarchs of the ancient Maya are preparing for the sacrificial ball game. In 2012, Leah Oliveri travels to Belize to rediscover her roots. And in 3012, two competing factions of a religion born from climate chaos travel to Belize to see which of their visions should prevail.
Continue readingMy books
DARK MIRROR
“Inviting us to examine many different aspects of Initiatory Wicca, this book is aimed at both initiates and non-initiates. It could certainly be used as the basis of a coven training programme but is also invaluable for the solo practitioner.”
— Morgana Sythove,
Pagan Federation International
https://silvercircle.org
https://wiccanrede.org
Available from the Doreen Valiente Foundation and all other online retailers
THE NIGHT JOURNEY
“The Night Journey utilizes the historical legend of the witch’s flight to the sabbat to expand Aburrow’s notion of a modern witchcraft which is “queer, transgressive, and resistant to authoritarian versions of reality.” In the spiritual world of The Night Journey, witchcraft isn’t seen as some sort of rarefied practice isolated from the messy mundane world, but as a beautiful, viable, and practical way of living in the world as a person of power and integrity … a revolutionary vision of traditional Wicca which looks to the Craft’s future while simultaneously honoring its traditions.”
Misha Magdalene, author of Outside the Charmed Circle: Exploring Gender & Sexuality in Magical Practice
Available from the Doreen Valiente Foundation and all other online retailers
ALL ACTS OF LOVE AND PLEASURE
“an outstanding Wicca 201, intended for already-active, primarily initiatory covens, that examines Wiccan praxis and theology. This is the next step once you have established a solid Wiccan practice. Many aspects of Wicca are examined with an eye towards inclusivity; Aburrow covers LGBTQ, BDSM, polyamory, and asexuality; physical and mental disabilities; cultural appropriation; and trauma recovery in the context of ritual practice, relationship to divinity, and mythology. …The author looks at some of the common Wiccan myths and makes suggestions for ways to incorporate deep ecology, from adapting the Wheel of the Year to appropriately reflect your climate and geography to reducing your carbon footprint.”
— Sable Aradia
Available from Avalonia Books and all other online retailers
Books I read in January 2022
I decided to re-read The Lord of the Rings as it’s been about a decade since I last read it and it was Tolkien’s birthday. Then I read The Vanishing Half, which was amazing. And Labyrinth, which was enjoyable too.
Continue readingUnexamined Baggage
Both individual Pagans, and Pagan traditions, have unexamined baggage from their childhood. Individual Pagans have intellectual and emotional baggage from the tradition they grew up in (even if that tradition was atheism). Pagan traditions have baggage from the era in which they emerged.
Continue readingTalking about your spiritual path
There are different ways to talk about one’s religion: interfaith dialogue, enthusiasm without any underlying agenda, evangelizing, and proselytizing. Each of these has different underlying assumptions and values.
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 readingBlogging and privacy
People are often confused that I’m a blogger but I really value privacy. They seem to think that having any sort of internet presence is incompatible with privacy. In this post, I will attempt to explain why that is not the case, why privacy matters to me, why it should matter to you, and what that has to do with Pagan stuff.
Continue readingHaloes, East and West
We just started watching the series Warrior Nun on Netflix. It’s rather enjoyable so far. However I couldn’t help noticing that it is wrong about haloes.
BIPOC Pagan Reading List
A reading list of BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Colour) authors covering Paganism, the occult, astrology, Tarot, and Indigenous spirituality.
Note that the deities of African diaspora religions can only be contacted through those religions and not via other religions. And that Indigenous life ways and spiritual practices are specific to their cultures and should not be culturally appropriated.
I’ve put out a call on Twitter and Instagram for more books to add to this list, and I will post updates (as I do with the Queer Pagan Reading List).
Dowsing for Divinity 