Top 10 Pagan Quotes of 2012

 culture, Internet Media, News  2 Responses »
Dec 282012
 

Well, they said that 2012 was going to be the year of radical shifts in consciousness.  This year’s top Pagan quotes all seem to reflect that notion.  These are not the words of happy, comfortable New Agers seeking light and love.  Each one of these quotes challenges the existing paradigm and seeks to light a transformative fire under our collective rear ends.

Star Foster starts off the list by emphatically rejecting the perception that Pagans are simply a strange sect of alternative Christians, explaining in no uncertain terms how we are different from any sect of Christianity.  Crystal Blanton and Michael York both challenged us to go beyond the tempting polarity of Us vs. Them and find a new way of being the inclusive we claim to be, effectively challenging us to put up or shut up.

Dr. Brendan Myers advanced the argument that a previously under-recognized brand of Paganism was coming into its own, stirring up a lot of discomfort for the more theistic element of our community.  Teo Bishop made such a huge splash this year that he appears twice.  First, he underwent a very public coming out process as he wrestled with two public identities. Then he set fire to his own blog by questioning an element of Pagan ritual that many people see as downright foundational.

Add to that elders publicly leaving their traditions of origin, a call for male allies in the national fight for women’s rights, and a little poke at certain Mormon politician, and you end up with a year of Pagan quotes that broke self-imposed molds and stimulated entire new ways of thinking.  Our community is better for it.

As always, these quotes must have been said by people who are known to be Pagans.  Words stated by non-Pagans, even if they were about us, don’t qualify, even if Conan O’Brien brings one of our most revered publications to national television.  Also as usual, these are just what I found.  If I missed something you really liked this year, please feel free to leave the quote in a comment.

With those disclaimers out of the way, let’s get on with the Top 10 Pagan Quotes of 2012:

10. “I reject Jesus Christ. I reject Jesus Christ. I reject Jesus Christ.

There. I’ve said it three times. We’re officially divorced.” – Star Foster, August 2

9. “We judge one another in order to define who is Black enough, spiritual enough, Pagan enough or oppressed enough and we miss the mark on the true gift of our community.  The best gift that we can give is to love more, understand more, empathize more, show more, give more, listen more, connect more and even identify more with those who have experienced this here journey called life.” – Crystal Blanton, February 23

8. “Before I was a blogger named Teo Bishop, I was an artist named Matt Morris. I’ve been doing music since I was a little kid, been a pro since I was a teenager, and up until the last year or two, I’ve done little else.’ – Teo Bishop, July 12

7. “But it is to our shame that we fight among ourselves, drench ourselves in petty jealousies and reflect our worldwide human comrades more than the mother’s sanctity itself.” – Michael York, May 6

6. “I just don’t think the gods, any gods, care at all about politics. I don’t care if that god lives near the star Kolob, once resided in the Holy of Holies, or was worshipped on the Acropolis in the Parthenon of Ancient Athens.” – Jason Mankey, October 18

5. “Humanist Paganism seems to be an emerging option for those who want to be part of the Pagan community, but who want to be a little more intellectual about their practices, and they really don’t care about the “woo” anymore.” – Brendan Myers, August 18

4. “This past weekend I felt ashamed at Pagan Pride on account of a circle.” – Teo Bishop, October 22

3. “I, M. Macha NightMare, Priestess & Witch, aka Aline O’Brien, withdraw from the organization known as Reclaiming Tradition Witchcraft and hereby dissociate myself from further involvement with the tradition.” – M. Macha NightMare, August 4

2. “Don’t worry about the economy so much: as the majority labor force in this country, and the majority in colleges and universities at this time, women will be able to figure things out with the economy once we are able to stop wasting our time on, you know, worrying about being raped or forced to have children who are products of rape.” – Lady Yeshe Rabbit, August 23

1.  “I stand against rape, in person and at the polls.” – Pagan men’s response to Lady Yeshe Rabbit’s call for their support against misogynistic election year discourse.

Striving Toward the Highest Ideals: The Wigglian Way reaches 100 episodes.

 Internet Media, News  6 Responses »
May 272012
 

Last week, Mojo and Sparrow at The Wigglian Way Pagan Podcast released their 100th episode.  This is a huge milestone in the land of podcasting, as very few shows are able to make it to 100 episodes.  Beyond that, The Wigglian Way has remained interesting, topical, timely, and entertaining the whole time, another rare achievement over a span of so many installments.  The show retains a five-star rating on iTunes, yet another testament to its quality and durability.

But there is even more to this achievement than the obvious accolades that Mojo and Sparrow deserve for their accomplishment.   The 100th episode of The Wigglian Way is full of recorded messages from all around the Pagan community.  These well-wishes cross traditions, borders, beliefs, and experience levels.  They come from fellow Wiccans, Heathens, ceremonial magicians, and seekers.  They come from the Wigglian backyard of British Columbia, Canada and range as far as Texas, New Jersey, California, Georgia, and Scotland.  Messages of congratulations even come in from other Pagan podcasters, people who, in some genres, would be viewed as competitors.

And that’s the greater point of this milestone.  From the very beginning, The Wigglian Way has been “all about the love.”  In a minority faith, it is so easy to use the platform of a popular podcast to rail against the oppressions of the majority faith.  In a community plagued by witch wars, it can be so tempting to use your public persona to undermine whatever side you disagree with.  But the Wigglians avoid those temptations.  Instead, they broadcast love and inclusion, and the messages they received from all across the Pagan world clearly demonstrate that their love has returned to them more than threefold.

In Epsiode 100 of The Wigglian Way, we clearly see the results of striving toward our ideals.  We are part of a complicated web of faith traditions, and sometimes the differences between us can be difficult to navigate.  Mojo and Sparrow, however, bridge all the gaps among us effortlessly, keeping us moving toward the highest expression of what we are as a community.  In this way, their podcast is more than a show.  It is a service to the Goddess, part of Her Charge, and it stands as a testament to Her presence in this world.  Congratulations Mojo and Sparrow!

Top Pagan Quotes of 2011

 culture, Internet Media, News  24 Responses »
Dec 292011
 

As last year, so this year.  Here is my second annual installment of the Top 10 Pagan Quotes of the year.

This was a year of standing up in the face of threat.  The sources of threat varied from political institutions to international corporations to everyday people from mainstream faiths who were scared off by words like “Pagan” and “Witch.”

All too often the threat came from within our own community.  That’s not necessarily bad.  These kinds of discussions and disagreements, when handled productively and respectfully, can challenge beliefs that have solidified into dogma and propel the community forward, helping us learn and grow with the times.

And sometimes the threat was Charlie Sheen.

The speakers and writers of each quote must be Pagans.  This means that quotes said by mainstream news sources about Pagans do not qualify, and as much as I would have loved to include Stephanie Edwards’ instant classic from January 1, “I’m going to apply nuts to my face this year,” it also does not qualify.  In some cases, quotes have been edited for punctuation, grammar, or clarity.  You can link to each one to find its original source.

If you have any favorite quotes that I missed, please feel free to include them in the comments.  So here we go:

10. “In fact, ‘Wicca’ seemed to be turning into some sort of derisive joke, with ‘Ronald Hutton’ as the punch line.” – Ben Whitmore, February 8

9. “I looked at the toys in my hands and I saw the result of millions of dollars of development and thousands of hours of manpower, put into something bearing the name of a god, my god, and it had nothing to do with me.” – Eric Scott,  April 11

8. “By making me a personal target, I’ve been inundated with wonderful, loving, supportive energy from dozens and dozens of people.  I won’t waste my time being mad or hating them. Because in my personal faith, I forgive, I accept, and I am tolerant. (or at least I really, really try to be).” – Mrs. B., May 27

7. “At its essence, the message of the Occupations is simply this: ‘Here in the face of power we will sit and create a new society, in which you do count.’” – Starhawk, October 20

6. “But if you claim to be one of us, you have to have sometimes in your life a womb, and ovaries and MOON bleed and not die. Women are born not made by men on operating tables.” – Z. Budapest, February 28

5. “A tinfoil hat might protect [Charlie Sheen] from aliens, but it won’t do anything to protect him from witches.” – Christian Day, March 4

4. “This is very important for us; we didn’t have a place to call our own, to be outside in nature,” – Cadet Nicole Johnson, May 3

3. “I don’t like being tolerated by priestesses. It’s demeaning. It is absolutely arrogant to look down on me and assume that your path is in any way more valid or deeper than mine or other men who work with Goddess.” – Devin Hunter, December 19

2. “This decision shows how important our faith is. We are getting credence from a secular government about our belief structure – which not only shows it is valuable but also valued by us and others.” – King Arthur Pendragon, October 2

1. “Please send all questions to: usamericancouncilofwitches@yahoo.com thank you!” Standard answer of The U.S. American Council of Witches to all questions posted on their Facebook page.