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So You Want to Work with Fairies
Before reading this, I recommend checking out my most recent post, where I cover some common misconceptions about these beings. As in that post, here I will be using euphemisms like the Good People or the Other Crowd, since the word “fairy” is considered rude or offensive by many of the Good People. Now that…
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Misconceptions About Fairies
Lately I’ve been seeing a lot of buzz around the Good People on social media, as well as in my local witchy community. I’ve also seen a lot of misinformation being passed along and people being encouraged to dive in the deep end without knowing what they’re getting into, so I want to address some…
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The Green Knight as a Fairy Journey
“In this domain more marvels have by men been seen than in any other that I know of since that olden time.” – Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, translated by J. R. R. Tolkien In my previous post, we talked about how Arthurian legend combines pagan and Christian elements to create a syncretic mythology.…
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The Holy Grail: Pagan or Christian?
[Note: This is a repost from my Tumblr. The original post was published on May 16, 2022.] The Holy Grail may be one of the most enduring parts of Arthurian legend. It’s shown up everywhere from Indiana Jones to The Da Vinci Code, and is almost as essential to our modern image of King Arthur…
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Reflections on Housewifery
I’ve never really bought into the Maiden/Mother/Crone model of womanhood that’s so popular in neopagan spaces and in fact I think it has some serious issues that need to be unpacked but I have to admit, as I’m transitioning from my early-twenties to my mid-twenties, it’s like someone has flipped a switch in my brain and suddenly…
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“Structured” vs. “High Demand”
You know, at this point I think it may be useful to talk about the difference between highly structured religions and high-demand religions, because I realize the terms sound very similar but have very different meanings, which may be confusing for newcomers. Highly structured religions are exactly that — religions with a lot of internal…
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Some thoughts…
I’ve often heard Americans and Europeans (i.e., people from culturally Christian societies) argue that Buddhism isn’t a religion, but a philosophy — even though most Asian Buddhists would tell them that of course it’s a religion. I think this gets into a larger cultural (mis)understanding of what a religion is and what it means to…
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Rethinking How Paganism Engages Culture
There’s a common sentiment in the greater pagan community that, “You don’t choose who calls you.” Most pagans are converts (meaning they weren’t raised in the faith they practice now), and many of us feel that we were called by the gods to our current faith. Those callings often come from gods who have little…
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My Queer (LGBTQ+) Ancestor Altar
To celebrate Pride month, I set up an ancestor altar to honor the beloved dead of the LGBTQ+ community! Ancestor worship has always been something that I was interested in, but hesitant to engage with. Like many queer folks, I don’t feel a strong connection to my biological ancestors, and in fact many of them…
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The Little Gods: Spirits of Place in Modern Paganism (Paganism 101)
In a previous post, we talked about gods, goddesses, and the many ways they can be worshiped in a modern pagan practice. However, the gods are not the only group of spiritual beings honored by modern pagans. While building relationships with deities makes up the bulk of practice for many people, a lot of pagans…
Sam Wise 