Music for Beltane

More -
Loreena McKennitt - The Mummers' Dance
Wojtek Godzisz - Beltane
'Beltane' ~ Jethro Tull
Omnia - Tine Bealtaine
Beltane - Narsilion
Inkubus Sukkubus - Beltaine
Beltane Fires - Gaia Consort
Beltane
Mediaeval Baebes - Summerisle (The Maypole Song)
The Watersons "Hal-An-Tow"
Hal An Tow
Padstow / Steeleye Span
Magpie Lane - May Song
The Copper Family - The Month of May
Slieve Galleon Braes
June Tabor - Bonny May
Beltaine's Fire: I Am
Jenna Greene - Beltane
Lisa Thiel - Beltane (Lord & Lady Song)
Emerald Rose- Merry May Folk
Beltane Wassail Slideshow   
Rockhill - Beltaine
Beltane 2009 " Drumming in the Sun"
Fire Of Spring
Now is the Month of Maying
Lusty Month of May
Gjallarhorn - Suvetar (Goddess of Spring)

Traditional seasonal song - "Sumer Is Icumen In"

Sumer is icumen in The Hilliard Ensemble
Sumer is icumen in
Circulus - Sumer Is Icumen In
Sumer is a Cumin In
Summer is icumen in - Bagpipe
Blowout concert Sumer is icumen in 
Summer is a-Comin' In
Vocal trio Herb sing "summer is icumen in",  

Happy Walpurgisnacht - April 30

                     

The Bonfire of Walpurgis Night celebrated in Stadparken in Lund, Sweden

Here is information on the holiday from Wikipedia:

"Historically the Walpurgisnacht is derived from Pagan spring customs, where the arrival of spring was celebrated with bonfires at night. Viking fertility celebrations took place around April 30 and due to Walburga being declared a saint at that time of year, her name became associated with the celebrations. Walburga was honored in the same way that Vikings had celebrated spring and as they spread throughout Europe, the two dates became mixed together and created the Walpurgis Night celebration.

"Walpurgis Night (in German folklore) the night of April 30 (May Day's eve), when witches meet on the Brocken mountain and hold revels with their Gods..."

"Brocken the highest of the Harz Mountains of north central Germany. It is noted for the phenomenon of the Brocken spectre and for witches' revels which reputably took place there on Walpurgis night. The Brocken Spectre is a magnified shadow of an observer, typically surrounded by rainbow-like bands, thrown onto a bank of cloud in high mountain areas when the sun is low. The phenomenon was first reported on the Brocken."

Walpurgis is one of the main holidays during the year in both Sweden and Finland...The forms of celebration in Sweden vary in different parts of the country and between different cities. One of the main traditions in Sweden is to light large bonfires...An older tradition from Southern Sweden was for the younger people to collect greens and branches from the woods at twilight, which were used to adorn the houses of the village. The expected reward for this task to be paid in eggs.

Today in Finland, Walpurgis Night (Vapunaatto) is, along with New Year's Eve, the biggest carnival-style festivity that takes place in the streets of Finland's towns and cities. The celebration is typically centered on plentiful use of sparkling wine and other alcoholic beverages...One tradition is drinking mead, whose alcohol content varies. Fixtures include the capping of the Havis Amanda, a nude female statue in Helsinki." ...(Cont.)...

More info...
Walpurgis Night - The Other Halloween
Walpurgis Night in Germany
YouTube - FAUST-WALPURGIS NIGHT
Sweden - Walpurgis night 
Walpurgisnacht
Walpurgis im Harz - singende Hexen
Die Irrlichter in der Walpurgisnacht
Walpurgis Night
Walpurgis Night
The Walpurgis Night - Russian 
Die Erste Walpurgisnacht
Walpurgisnacht auf Schloss Guteneck
Walpurgisnacht 2005 in Mauerpark, Berlin
Walpurgisnacht 2009 Krawalle Berlin Hamburg
Die Pilzen - Heia Walpurgisnacht   

Why is Yoga being separated from Hinduism?

For years Native Americans have pointed out that their spiritual traditions are being appropriated, misrepresented and sold to mostly white people by New Age entrepreneurs.  Here is another example of a cultural rip-off practiced this time against Hinduism as reported by the blog - Spiritual Bangalore

"...Christians, Jews, Muslims, Pagans, agnostics and atheists they may be, but they partake in the spiritual heritage of a faith tradition with a vigor often unmatched by even among the two-and-a half-million Hindu Americans here. The Yoga Journal found that the industry generates more than $6 billion each year and continues on an incredible trajectory of popularity. It would seem that yoga’s mother tradition, Hinduism, would be shining in the brilliant glow of dedicated disciples seeking more from the very font of their passion...

Why is yoga severed in America’s collective consciousness from Hinduism? Yoga, meditation, ayurvedic natural healing, self-realization–they are today’s syntax for New Age, Eastern, mystical, even Buddhist, but nary an appreciation of their Hindu origins. It is not surprising, then, that Hindu schoolchildren complain that Hinduism is conflated only with caste, cows, exoticism and polytheism–the salutary contributions and philosophical underpinnings lost and ignored. The severance of yoga from Hinduism disenfranchises millions of Hindu Americans from their spiritual heritage and a legacy in which they can take pride." ...(Cont.)...

A few seasonal photos - that time is close at hand

US to review opposition to UN Declaration of Indigenous Rights

When the United Nations overwhelmingly passed the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples in 2007 the vote was 140 to 4.  The United States, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand were the only countries opposed.  However the political climate here may be changing as reported in Indian Country Today:

"NEW YORK – Political tides are turning as international support for the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples continues to grow, putting greater pressure on Canada and the United States to fully endorse it.

One day after New Zealand reversed its position and supported the Declaration, U.N. Ambassador Susan Rice announced that the United States is undertaking a review of its opposition.

“I am pleased to announce that the United States has decided to review our position regarding the U.N. Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples,” she said, addressing the Ninth Session of the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues." ...(Cont.)...

Earth Day News

Here is some news and information for the 40th anniversary of Earth Day today



NY Times - Big Coal Booming on Earth Day
NY Times - Earth Day, the Sequel
Earth Day 2010: Five Technologies That Could Help Save the Planet
Huffington Post - Progress Towards a Green California

You Tube
Celebrate Earth Day 2010
Earth Day
Earth Day 2010 James Cameron Interview
Earth Day 2010
Ulali - "All My Relations"
John Trudell_Earth the Living Entity
John Trudell Spirit Horses Video
Ulali - Mahk Jchi
Citizen of the Planet - Alanis Morissette
The Beautiful Planet Earth
SpaceNight Earthviews5
SpaceNight Earthviews9
The Secret - Planet Earth
BBC Planet Earth Trailer
Ask The Mountains
The Ocean
Jungles 
South Pacific
Africa
No Mans Land
'Shangri-La' and 'Land Of The Panda'
Planet Earth (Views From Space)
Once and Future Earth
Earth Universe Space Zoom Out
International Year of Biodiversity 2010
A New Look at Biodiversity
Global Warming 101  
How To Grow Sustainable Cities
An Experiment in Back Yard Sustainability
PERMACULTURE & PEAK OIL: Beyond 'Sustainability'
Peak Oil: How Soon? How Serious?

My Editorial - support a clear statement of Pagan ethics regarding sexual abuse

What I am about to say is an editorial coming from me - Greg Harder -your National PIO.  My suggestions are not official COG policy as yet, though I would urge us to strongly consider providing clear support for the following:

I agree with Jason Pitzl-Waters from The Wild Hunt blog  about the need for a clear and widely agreed to statement of Pagan ethics as it relates to sexual abuse - especially regarding children.  So I will quote him extensively here so that you may understand why I see this as an important issue for us in COG and the greater Pagan community.  He has a very important and influential Pagan blog, and I believe that we as an organization should be at the forefront of offering assistance and support for the effort he is describing.  I would urge our members to go to his site and read the complete post and the comments generated, and offer whatever assistance we can.  As of right now he already has 71 comments listed : the great majority supporting the general idea.  As your National PIO I cannot stress this enough for the safety and integrity of our community.  For Jason's complete statement look (here) and (here)

"I’m going to stray a bit from my normal routine, and propose an actual initiative for our community to undertake. Considering recent cases within our community concerning the sexual abuse of children, and the larger context of news-making abuse cases within non-Pagan faith intuitions, I feel that a voluntary statement of ethics put forward and enforced by Pagan leaders, groups, event organizers, media outlets, and organizations could go a long way towards fostering an atmosphere that would support victims, discourage would-be abusers, and potentially avert some cases of abuse. I understand that any undertaking that attempts to gain the support of any sizable percentage of the larger Pagan community can be fraught with drama, dissent, and backlash, but I feel this is something worth the effort, and the process will have The Wild Hunt’s support at every stage...

Back in December I reported on the arrest of Daniel Doherty, who was charged with raping and molesting a Washington woman from the ages of 11 to 19, telling her it was “pleasing the goddess” to endure his sexual assaults...

Since then, Doherty has pleaded guilty to the charges in a plea-deal, with hopes of a reduced sentence. However, Island County Superior Court Judge Alan Hancock, citing the heinous abuses perpetrated, ignored the plea recommendations and tacked on additional time, less than a year shy of the allowed maximum...

Naturally, many in our wider community will want to stress that Doherty wasn’t a part of any established group, and that is true, he was by all accounts a drifter who clung to the edges of our community, but I also think that obscures the larger lesson to be learned here. A vast percentage of modern Pagans aren’t part of any established group, or are members of groups and traditions so small they hardly count as “established” on any national or even regional scale. This creates a culture where we tend to ascribe a certain amount of legitimacy to any individual practitioner as a common courtesy, which creates fertile grounds for those who want to abuse that trust. I’m not saying we should stop trusting, or that everyone should join a national organization if they want to be taken seriously, only that our decentralized nature makes us uniquely vulnerable to con-men and monsters.

What can we do about it? Along with a culture of love and trust, we also need to create a culture of responsibility and frankness about what will and will not be tolerated within our communities, and make in known to the wider world. A shared covenant of ethics for events and community functions that clearly states our vigilance and zero-tolerance towards any who would abuse the mind or body of a child (or advocate same).

An ethic that says that no real Pagan teacher or clergy will ever demand sex, especially from a minor, in exchange for initiation, or in “celebration” of anything. That if you are in a situation, either with an individual, or group, that makes you feel uncomfortable, or pushes your sexual boundaries, that it’s OK to get out and alert someone you trust (parent, relative, teacher). That if someone in our community, or claiming to be a part of our community, transgresses sexually, that’s it’s not only OK to alert law enforcement officials immediately, but strongly encouraged. That no oath is broken when a rapist or abuser is brought to justice. That no god or goddess requires the sacrifice of your mind, youth, or innocence to some supposed representative." ...(Cont.)...

More poetry for April

Again, April is national poetry month.  In a previous post we discussed the importance of poetry to Pagan spirit and practice.  So, let us absorb a little more poetry. Here are a couple from the extensive, magical, and poetic internet site of - J.L. Stanley

Daughter of Bohemia

there are a thousand
years of peasant
women
dancing behind me
singing roughly
swaying
with sun cracked
faces
dirt hard hands
hands that knead
the loamy earth
dark and thick
as lovers' hair
hands raised naked
toward the downpour
unprotected from the holy water
unprotected from the earth's song
dancing deep
dancing long
I am the daughter
of the daughter
and there are a thousand
years of peasant
women
dancing behind me


Catechism for a Witch's Child

When they ask to see your gods
your book of prayers
show them lines
drawn delicately with veins
on the underside of a bird's wing
tell them you believe
in giant sycamores mottled
and stark against a winter sky
and in nights so frozen
stars crack open spilling
streams of molten ice to earth
and tell them how you drink
a holy wine of honeysuckle
on a warm spring day
and of the softness
of your mother who never taught you
death was life's reward
but who believed in the earth
and the sun
and a million, million light years
of being

Magical Folktakes from Eastern Europe - Georgia

 Here is a book review of Georgia Through Its Folktales by Michael Berman. It comes to us from Henry at the Elhaz Ablaze blog:

"...Georgia is an Eastern European region which hosts a range of related cultures, many of which to this day maintain pagan customs and beliefs in one form or another. Berman waxes lyrical about the rich traditions that persist in this land, the complex and subtle ways in which its people have woven incredibly disparate influences from east and west into a truly unique whole...

Yet this book is much more than a kind of travelogue. Berman contends that stories are doors into trance, both in the telling and in the content of the tales themselves. With a background in shamanism, it is no wonder that he turns his attention to the traces of shamanic influence that course through the stories recounted in this book. Characteristic Georgian folk tale conventions – such as vagueness about time and even whether the events recounted are real or not, as well as recurring numerological and symbolic patterns – are analysed by Berman as markers of shamanic experience, suggesting that these stories are rooted in deep spiritual experience and not merely in flights of fancy." ...(Cont.)...

Arizona physicians & native healers work together

Here is a story of cultural cooperation from central Arizona from MSNBC

Dr. Joachim Chino, 37, a Navajo-Acoma Native American, treats patients according to cultural tenents, such as avoiding eye contact and speaking in the third person when delivering a hard diagnosis so as not to be perceived as wishing harm.

"TUBA CITY, Ariz. - The hospital stands in the midst of a world of traditions: of Hopi clowns dancing around centuries-old villages, of Navajo elders tending their sheep, of customs as ancient as the winds that buffet the mesas and desert lands that stretch to the horizon.

And so, even at this center of modern medicine on the 27,000-square-mile Navajo Nation, it's not unusual to see Native medicine men attending the sick."...(Cont.)...

What we can do to "walk our talk" - Full Circle Blog

Continuing on the Earth Day theme I bring you a list of things we can do if we want to "walk our talk" as Earth religionists.  This list is provided by the Full Circle Blog"

"So", she asked, "what does an earthwise person do, exactly, if they really want to walk their talk?" Well, as it happens, I have a list. My friends and I are engaged in a wide variety of projects and volunteer work (1) Here are some examples:

* Companion Animals: Working with, companion animal rescue groups by fostering, helping with adoptions, doing shelter work, etc.

* Wildlife Rescue & Rehab: Working with and supporting groups that do wildlife rescue, rehabilitation & release of orphaned and/or injured wildlife.

* Habitat: Serving groups work to restore habitat & supporting native plant education in our community." ...(Cont.)... 

Pagan Godspell book review - God Is Not One

Over at the Pagan Godspell blog they have a good review of the new book - God Is Not One by Stephen Prothero.  You can view this post - God Is Not One – Book Review:



"...Perennialism seems to be the interfaith buzz-baby of the century. You can barely turn around in religious studies without running up against the seemingly age-old (but not really) metaphor that “all paths lead up the same mountain.” This perspective does seem unique to religious dialogue; as Prothero cannily points out, no one argues that political ideas like libertarianism and socialism are ultimately the same at their core, but for some reason we all happily invoke the Great Mountain Metaphor when it comes to religion, which makes for fun and awkward moments when thoroughly non-monist and non-monotheist folks go to interfaith events and someone says that at the very least we “all know” that we can “agree that all Gods are One and God is Love.” See, there’s one bugaboo right there – more often than not, according to American perennialism, we all seem to be climbing an awfully monotheist and often quite Christian mountain. Hegemony, Ms. Sara? No thanks, I’ve had plenty."  ...(Cont.)...

More on Stephen Prothero:
Stephen Prothero: On Religious Literacy
Interview with Stephen Prothero
Religion Panel - Do Atheists Lack "Spiritual Values?"

SF Bay Area Earth Day activites

I am sure there are activities for the 40th anniversary of Earth Day  planed for all over the country which are far too many for me to cover, so I will focus on those planed for the SF Bay Area in California.  Earth Day is on Thursday, but events are planned locally throughout the week. More listings can be found at the SF Gate portal.

"Albany Shoreline Cleanup
Wear sturdy shoes, a hat and sunscreen. Gloves recommended. 9 a.m.-noon, Sat. Free. Meet at the foot of Buchanan St. on the north side of Golden Gate Fields, Albany. (510) 524-5000 (510) 524-5000. www.eastshorepark.org.

Berkeley Earth Day
Live music and dance, food, activities and green-themed demonstrations. Performances by Earth Day Dance, Reggae Angels, Venezuelan Music Project. Noon-5 p.m. Sat. Civic Center Park, Martin Luther King Dr. & Allston, Berkeley. www.bayareaearthday.org/berkeleyearthday.

Earth Day at Coyote Point Museum
Animal showings, science activities and education about sustainable farming and earth-friendly food choices. Noon-5 p.m. Today. Free with museum admission. Coyote Point Museum, 1651 Coyote Point Dr., San Mateo. (650) 342-7755 (650) 342-7755. www.coyoteptmuseum.org.

Earth Day Build-a-thon
Habitat for Humanity East Bay invites volunteers to help build new housing in Oakland's Tassafaronga Village. Through Tues. Free. 8th Ave. and E St., Oakland. (510) 251-6304 (510) 251-6304. www.habitateb.org.         ...(Cont.)...

Iceland's Volcano - Mother Gaia at Work

 This photo is provided by NASA Goddard Photo & Video

Click on photo to view larger

"Ash from Iceland’s erupting Eyjafjallajökull Volcano had drifted over northern Europe by April 16, 2010. The brown ash is mixed with clouds in this photo-like image taken by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Terra satellite at 12:45 p.m. local time (GMT +2). The visible ash sweeps in an arc across the Netherlands, Germany, Poland, and Russia. It is likely that the clouds mask additional ash."

   This photo is from Sverrir Thor's photostream on flickr

Click on photo to view larger

And here is some more sobering news from Discovery News:

"...In 1783, the world saw what Iceland's volcanoes are capable of. On June 8, the Laki fissures began erupting in the southern part of the island.

The effects were catastrophic on Iceland: 9,000 people were killed, between 20 and 25 percent of the population at the time. Livestock herds were decimated, animals' succumbed to grisly deaths as their teeth and bones dissolved in millions of tons of hydrogen fluoride gas that poured forth from Laki.

Through the summer, sulfur dioxide fumes swept down through Europe, turning the sun blood red and throwing weather systems around the planet into chaos for years. Inhalation of the gas is thought to have killed tens of thousands of Europeans...

...But history shows us that with the eruption of Eyjafjallajokull, the nearby Katla volcano usually follows, and more violently. If that happens, it may be time to break out the breathing masks."  ...(Cont.)

More:
The effects of volcanic dust on Britain’s climate could be severe

Starhawk - "Permaculture and Paganism"

For a number of years now Starhawk has been intensively studying permaculture techniques and philosophy.
Recently she talked about what she has learned with Nancy Vedder-Shults of Tikkun Daily in the interview and article: Permaculture and Paganism 



Starhawk video interview continued

"...Permaculture began as a way to imitate the relationships found in nature in order to design human communities and agricultural systems. As Star tells us in this interview, two Australians — Bill Mollison and David Holmgren — discovered many of the principles of permaculture while studying the Tasmanian rainforest. Their interest began when they started to ask questions like “Why is the rainforest thriving when no one is pruning it, spraying it for bugs, or fertilizing the soil? How does it care for itself? And why couldn’t we grow food for humans in the same way that the rainforest provides for itself?”...

...The type of agriculture that permaculture promotes requires an adjustment in our farming patterns, Star told me. But that doesn’t mean that all of us need to change. It just means that we have to shift away from factory farming. But doing this, Star noted, would actually solve another one of our current problems — unemployment. Today in the U.S. we have an excess of unused labor. We lack meaningful work that allows people to feel good about themselves and gives them fulfilling lives. Star believes that if we teach people permaculture skills and reward farmers who build soil with their practices rather than destroying it, we will be on our way to solving at least two problems at once. In order to accomplish this, however, we need economic and political change to happen." ...(Cont.)...

"146 BC: Ground Zero for all Western Magic"

Here is an interesting post on the history of Western Magic and philosophy as reported in the blog - Rune Soup:

"...Prior to 146 BC, there were a number of options when it came to choosing the great city you would live in if you were a philosopher, spiritual seeker, magician, etc. This decision was based on factors such as where you were from, what languages you spoke, etc. This was a pretty big call, because there wasn’t all that much in the way of movement of ideas before 146 BC. There was a gradual diffusion of them, sure. But not a dynamic interchange.

After 146 BC there was only one option. Everyone came to Rome. Everyone. There were druids in Rome.
Prior to this, there was very little movement of ideas around the world. So, for example, Chaldean astrologers had no access to Welsh bards. The works of Greek philosophers hadn’t really spread beyond Greece’s borders. (They were known, but they were not absorbed.)

Spiritual knowledge was localised… Tribal, essentially.

But now, ideas could get from one side of Rome’s territories to another in two weeks. There were now only two official languages. Greek and Latin. The druid could finally talk to the astrologer." ...(Cont.)...

Wiccan associated suspect In child rape arrested In North Carolina

This case and the subsequent publicity will probably need monitoring by our members in that area. Link - News 5, Cincinnati

"A suspect in the rape of an area child was arrested Wednesday evening in North Carolina.

Authorities said 37-year-old Waco "White Wolf" Tohausen was indicted Dec. 21 on charges of rape and pandering sexually oriented materials involving a 5-year-old, for crimes allegedly committed in 2007.

Investigators said Tohausen is associated with a Wiccan group known as the Temple of the Crystalline Star and the Lustration of the Ancestors." ...(Cont.)...

Search for the real Robin Hood

A couple of posts back I quoted Starhawk referring to Robin Hood as a kind of Pagan icon.  So I thought I would link to this recent long article in the Guardian from England titled - My search for the real Robin Hood

"Plenty of people think Robin is a myth, beginning life as a woodland sprite somewhere in a lost pagan past. "Somebody existed," he says. "Some, several – it doesn't really matter. They existed and they exist now. It's like any yarn: it gets spun until you turn into Errol Flynn. Who was he? Was he anybody specific? It really doesn't matter because it's the stories that people relate to....

I find Crook's hypothesis seductive. Robert Hod/Robert of Wetherby is a real figure, active in the 1220s, captured and killed by the sheriff of Nottingham (briefly holding the post of sheriff of York) in 1225, spawning a Billy the Kid-type legend that spreads all over England, becoming the generic outlaw, and producing ballads and songs which are common all over England 150 years later. The chronology of cultural diffusion feels feasible: a sliver of reality – a common outlaw in the badlands of south Yorkshire, robbing travellers on the Great North Road, with nothing to suggest his motive was anything other than personal gain and whose criminal career is rapidly, and bloodily, brought to an end – gradually becomes this all-pervading myth which eventually reaches Hollywood and the world..." ...(Cont.)...

South Africa - Pagans excluded from interfaith initiatives

Here is a disturbing report from South Africa which recently hosted the Parliament of the World's Religions. That gathering had quite a bit of Pagan participation which included a number of COG members. This report comes from News Time"

"The South African Pagan Council says its being ignored by the Moral Regeneration Movement (MRM), National Religious Leaders Forum (NRLF) and National Interfaith Leaders Council (NILC). An Asatruar and Strega argue for the inclusion of Paganism [0] in national multi-faith organizations...

Last year the Mail & Guardian incorrectly reported [1] that the National Interfaith Leaders Council (NILC) formed by Ray McCauley in July 2009, already included representatives of Paganism alongside those of Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Hinduism and traditional African beliefs, leading many to believe that Pagans were in support of the expressed position of the NILC on same-sex marriage and abortion. On the contrary, to date no Pagan religious organization is represented on the NILC, and not for lack of trying either." ...(Cont.)...

Starhawk - "Pagans and Social Justice"

Reacting to a editorial by Glenn Beck of Fox news in which he states that faith-based calls for "social justice" are really ideological calls for "forced redistribution of wealth, Starhawk, who is a former member of COG strongly disagrees.  She presents her Pagan perspective in her Washington Post Blog:

"...While Pagans do not have a set creed or unified code of beliefs, our traditions hold in common the understanding that we are all deeply interconnected, all part of the sacred weave of the world. The Goddess is immanent in this world and in all human beings, and part of our service to the sacred is to honor one another and take care of one another, to fairly share nature's bounty and to succor one another in facing the hardships of life. We must create justice in this world, not wait for redress of grievances in the next.

No one person or group has the right to commandeer nature's resources, which are the underpinnings of all wealth. Generosity, justice and fairness are old Pagan virtues, and Robin Hood is one aspect of our Pagan Gods. In fairy tales, the hero/a wins the aid of fortune when she shares her loaf with a beggar or lays his cloak at the feet of a poor widow. The greedy, hoarding, grasping or jealous person ends up defeated and despised." ...(Cont.)...

Music and Paganism - Delerium

Delerium is a band from Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada that I find is quite interesting. Formed in 1987, the band throughout their history have covered a broad range of musical styles, including dark ethereal ambient, voiceless industrial soundscapes, and electronic pop music. Their music can not be easily classified as particularly Pagan oriented, but many of their songs and videos have an ethereal dream like quality that remind me of shamanic trance like experiences.  I have to agree with Jason at The Wild Hunt blog, when he states:

"From time to time there is talk as to what a modern “Pagan music” would sound like, and we are often ready to throw laurels at the feet of any singer-songwriter or band willing to cater to our tastes and attend our festivals. However, I have long felt that the vibrant sacred music of today, the creative force that speaks to the Pagan soul, isn’t necessarily seeking our attention, or longing to attend our conventions. They are instead sending their message, and sharing their sacred works, with those who go to the trouble of seeking them out. They are in the underground, playing at clubs, rented halls, or even massive multi-band European festivals, but ignored by most critics and media outlets. They are singing and performing for those willing to step outside of the boundaries and labels so craved by those hoping to capitalize on a “scene” or “subculture”.



Delerium - Official Fan Site
Delerium - Myspace

Of Delerium's albums, Karma has garnered the most commercial success, and that success largely came from the single entitled "Silence" featuring  vocals by Sarah McLachlan. In 2000, three years after the original release of source album Karma, "Silence" proliferated throughout dance clubs; the interest generated took the single to #3 on the UK charts gaining considerable radio airplay.

Delerium  toured for the first time in 2003  Vocals were then provided by Kristy Thirsk and Shelley Harland during the tour. In January 2005, Delerium performed at the One World benefit concert in Vancouver for the 2004 Asian tsunami, where "Silence" was performed live for the first time with Sarah McLachlan, who was also performing at that benefit.

More from Delerium
Delerium -- Duende
Delerium - Flatlands
Delerium - Heavens Earth
Delerium Remembrance
Delerium - Aria
Delerium - Silence - (live)
Delerium - Terra Firma (live)
Delerium - Truly (live)
Delerium - Self-Saboteour (live)
Delerium - Silence
Delerium - Returning
Delerium - After All
Delerium - "Nature's Kingdom"
Delerium -- Underwater
Delerium Ft Leigh Nash Innocente
Delerium - Metamorphosis!
Delerium - Temptation
Delerium - Inner Sanctum
Delerium - Angelicus
Delerium - Euphoria
Delerium - Lost And Found
Delerium - Embryo
Delerium - Dark Matter
Delerium - Dark Star

Video for new book - Daughters of the Witching Hill

Daughters of the Witching Hill is a new historical novel by author Mary Sharratt. Sharratt is an American who moved to England and wrote this novel based on the true story of the Pendle Witches. This trial and group of executions was one of the most infamous witch-trials in British history.



The Pendle Hill Witches
The Pendle Witch Trail
Pendle Witch Hunt
ARREST OF WITCHES
Pendle Witches Brew

Blog o' Gnosis - Avalon, the Mirror Isle

One of our members from Northern California is Anne Hill. She has a long running and well respected blog titled Blog o' Gnosis.  Right now she has a great post - Avalon, the Mirror Isle:

"Long, long ago, before the legends were made, before the stories of heroes and magic were passed like flagons around a peat fire, Avalon was a green jewel of an island floating in an inland sea. The way to this island was always by boat, each vessel woven by hand, and guided skillfully through thickets of willow and sedge, following the winding, ever-changing paths formed by water and land.

The people of this land learned to find the high spots in the water to build their villages, and stayed away for all but the summer months, when the flood waters receded. This land was called Somerset, “land of the summer people.” It is among these first people that all our stories of the Sacred Isle begin. Avalon was sacred first simply because she was there: a refuge from the rising tides, a source of food, of fiber, an anchor and place of safety in a land ruled by the fickle gods of the waters and the weather." ...(Cont.)...

April is Aphrodite's month

Here is some information on the origin of the name for the month of April from Calendar, Aprilis

"April was formerly the second month in the ancient Roman year, when March began the calendar.

The “real” origin of its name has been lost. The most common theory is that Aprilis is derived from the Latin verb Aperire, “to open”, as the opening, or blossoming, of trees and flowers.

Since the Romans often named months for gods (and goddesses), and since April was sacred to Venus, the Roman goddess of love, her festival was held on the first day of Aprilis. It is possible (probable?) that Aprilis was originally called Aphrilis, a Latin name which comes from Aphrodite, the Greek goddess of love equated to the Roman goddess of Venus?

Fordicidia, the Feast of the Cows on XVII days to Maius Calends (April 15), when ancient rites were conducted to ensure the prosperity of crops. A cow pregnant with calf (forda) was sacrificed, and attendants of the vestal virgins then took the calf from its mother to burn it. Its ashes, gathered up by the vestals, were used a few days later at the Parilia.  Parilia was the annual Roman festival of flocks and herds, celebrated on April 21 in honor of Pales, the pastoral deity (god or goddess) and special protector of cattle.

The Parilia, essentially a pastoral, or agricultural rite, is believed to have originated long before the founding of the city of Rome (753 B.C.).  Romulus, the legendary “founder of Rome”, is thought to have played a significant role in conducting the cleansing and renewal rituals of the Parilia.

April 21 (XI days to Maius Calends) was set aside to commerate not only Pales, but also the founding of Rome. A public holiday known as the Natalis urbis Romae (birthday of the city of Rome), was also a day which was marked by music, street dancing, and general revelry." ...(Cont.)...

"What Makes One a Witch?" The Witch of Forest Grove blog

Here are some thoughs on a word we use alot in Covenant of the Goddess.  This definition of Witch is provided by Sarah Lawless in her blog - The Witch of Forest Grove

"The word we use today stems from Old English which is Germanic in origin. Etymology is such a simple way to learn the origin and meaning of a word. In etymology the root “witch” stems from is “weik” which has five separate meanings that are all related to magic in some way. Wicca (originally pronounce “vitcha”) was the singular word for a female witch and wicce for a male. Wiccaecrafte was the word once used for the practice of witchcraft and wiccian was used to mean “to cast a spell” or “to bewitch” as a verb. But the meaning of the root is found in all words in the Germanic and also Latin tongues associated with magic and religion as both along with other terms from Europe and Asia all originate from the Proto-Indo-European language group. The version of the root directly connected to witchcraft means sorcery, cunning, and wiles associated with pre-Christian religion and supernatural power. Weik’s other meanings include to bend, change or alter (as in changing fate), twine and bind; to be able in battle, strong, brave, victorious; a clan or group of people; as well as an icon like a religious icon, statue, charm, or a poppet." ..(Cont.)...

Wilma Mankiller - First woman chief of the Cherokee Nation died this week

Wilma Mankiller, the first woman chief of the Cherokee Nation died after battling pancreatic cancer on Tuesday April 6th. She was 64 years old. Here is more on her life and work from Indian Country Today:

..."Thousands of newspaper articles, Internet messages, and other tributes and remembrances have already surfaced in honor of the first woman elected to lead the Cherokee Nation, who passed away at age 64 on April 6, after a battle with pancreatic cancer.

The outpouring of adulation, which has included praise-filled statements from President Barack Obama, former President Bill Clinton – who awarded her the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1998 – and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, is not surprising to those who knew her best.

“She had the uncanny ability to make people in Native America and beyond feel like she was talking right to them,” said Tom Holm, a longtime friend and noted Native American scholar." ...(Cont.)...

April - National Poetry Month - Gary Snyder

 As we celebrate National Poetry Month and approach Earth Day on April 22, here are some videos and other works from the environmental poet and philosopher - Gary Snyder . This first video was recorded  on March 5, 2009 as part of the Lunch Poems program at U.C. Berkeley -  http://lunchpoems.berkeley.edu/ .  

"Born in San Francisco in 1930, world-renowned poet, essayist, and environmentalist Gary Snyder has published sixteen books of poetry and prose, and received the Pulitzer Prize in 1974 for Turtle Island. Snyder has traveled widely and lived for extended periods of time in Japan, where he studied and practiced Rinzai Zen. He is currently a professor at University of California, Davis."




Northwest Stories: Gary Snyder
Gary Snyder at D.G. Wills Books, 1992
Gary Snyder on Ecology and Poetry
Gary Snyder on Ecology and Poetry - part 4
Gary Snyder 17th Prague Writers' festival 2007
After Nature (audio)

Riprap
by Gary Snyder

"Lay down these words
Before your mind like rocks.
               placed solid, by hands
In choice of place, set
Before the body of the mind
               in space and time:
Solidity of bark, leaf, or wall
               riprap of things:
Cobble of milky way,
               straying planets,
These poems, people,
               lost ponies with
Dragging saddles—
               and rocky sure-foot trails.
The worlds like an endless
               four-dimensional
Game of Go.
              ants and pebbles
In the thin loam, each rock a word
              a creek-washed stone
Granite: ingrained
              with torment of fire and weight
Crystal and sediment linked hot
             all change, in thoughts,
As well as things."

Margot Adler interview - Boulder Daily Camera

Another COG member in the news from the Boulder Daily Camera:

"Reporter and author Margot Adler attended the Conference on World Affairs at the University of Colorado again this year, participating in panel discussions ranging from journalism to youth rebellion to vampires. A supporter of human rights and a practicing Wiccan, Adler has written influential books regarding Paganism in the modern day and has worked with National Public Radio as a journalist for more than 30 years. The Camera caught up with Adler to discuss media, spirituality and the state of youth culture in the United States.

1. What drew you to Wicca?

I was looking for a spiritual view in keeping with the environmental movement and feminism, right around the time of the first Earth Day. I love song, I love ceremony. ... I was looking for something that combined all these things but that you didn't have to give up your intellectual integrity for. It could still be beautiful and metaphoric, and you could still be an agnostic at heart." ...(Cont.)...

Recently on NPR she put out a report the resurgence in interest in vampires and modern vampire stories.
The report is titled - For Love Of Do-Good Vampires: A Bloody Book List.

"...Even here at NPR, if you look at the archives, there have been at least 20 recent stories about vampires. What is it about our society now — the zeitgeist, the spirit of the times — that's making vampires so popular? And why are most of the vampires we are seeing struggling to be moral?" ...(Cont.)...

BBC - 'Goddess of the North' in Northumberland, UK

I found an interesting artistic story from the BBC today - Work begins on 'Goddess of the North' in Northumberland.  

"Work is to start on a giant sculpture of a naked woman which is to be carved into the Northumberland landscape.

The "Goddess of the North" will be made from 1.5 million tonnes of earth from the Shotton mine, near Cramlington.

It will stand 34 metres - 10 metres higher than the Angel of the North - and will be 400 metres long.

The sculpture, also knows as Northumberlandia, will form the centrepiece of a 29 hectare public park on the Blagdon Estate." ...(Cont)...

Looking at Pagan Pages

Pagan Pages is a monthly ezine with with lots of content and interesting articles.  It is put out by Jennifer and Benjamin Wright, and Michele Burke. There are many folks who contribute to Pagan Pages including regular columnists and guests who are professional and non professional writers. This is their statement about how they got started:

"Pagan Pages began as an idea for a newsletter for our group . The idea was for a newsletter to be distributed on the first of every month. Our many creative members, were taking on topics of interest to them for their monthly columns. As time went on and the newsletter grew we decided to open it up to other yahoo groups & then other pagans on the web. Many were interested and signed on. Our little newsletter grew to such a size that we could no longer consider it a newsletter anymore. Our ezine was born."

Now let's look at one example of their the many articles.  It is written by Porphyry and is entitled Pagan Theology:

..."I believe we are now getting somewhere in our discussion of magic. The individual is an inherent part of magic. Magic is a human endeavor prosecuted by people. Without the magician, magic will not happen. Thus magic is tied to the will and desires of the worker. But magic also opens up the space between the individual and the world, the same space opened up by story, art, and, dare I say, imagination. These exist both in the world, and within us [10]. The magical art exists in this same space between us and the world. We call this space by a lot of names: “between the worlds,” “the astral plane,” or “fifth dimension.” It is the very human process of giving the world meaning, of finding relationships in the world that really matter to us. That makes magic a very fundamental and powerful tool for how we as Pagans work with the world."  ...(Cont.)...

Tom Davis - Live Oak LC's PIO is published in local Austin, Texas news outlet

Tom Davis from Austin, Texas is our Public Information Officer for the  Live Oak Local Council of Covenant of the Goddess. Last month he published a column in the major local news outlet - Austin statesmen.com.   He is a  leader of Gaia Spirituality (www.gaia-spirituality.org), and the title of his article is Spirituality and reincarnation through Wiccan eyes:

..."All of us have the time (and the lifetimes) to understand and make up for what we've done wrong. This won't happen because some mythical devil is roasting us over an open fire as he pokes us with his pitchfork, but because we've grown and learned enough, over the course of our meta-life, to make our own decision to learn the good, and do it in love.

We are here, in this life, for two reasons: to learn and to love. We're all starting from less than perfect, and we grow — toward learning and toward loving — and are comforted by the understanding that even if we don't make it all the way in this life (and who does, really?), there are other lifetimes for us to complete the task." ...(Cont.)...

Dale Pendell - Dionysian Anarchism and other essays

Poet, author, teacher, consultant, and computer scientist - Dale Pendell  has some interesting ideas to share that appear to have a very pagan flavor to them.  This is not to say that Covenant of the Goddess or this blog endorses everything he has to say.   However, his thoughtful and challenging presentations are I believe worth a look. We can start with the detailed web site where he presents his ideas.  After that I will link to and quote from one of his many essays. But, let's begin by allowing Dale's web site to tell you more about him.

"Poet Dale Pendell is the author of the award-winning Pharmako trilogy, a literary history of psychoactive plants. His poetry is widely anthologized, most recently in The Wisdom Book of American Buddhist Poetry. Combining the teachings of poet Gary Snyder, Zen teacher Robert Aitken, and philosopher Norman O. Brown, Dale seeks his answers in “wild mind.” He was the founding editor of Kuksu: Journal of Backcountry Writing, a co-founder of the Primitive Arts Institute, and has led workshops at the Naropa Institute and the Omega Institute. In addition to writing, Dale has been a consultant for herbal product development, botanical surveys, and a computer scientist. His most recent books are Walking with Nobby: Conversations with Norman O. Brown; The Language of Bird: Notes on Chance and Divination; and The Great Bay: Chronicles of the Collapse, a novel."

Green Flames: Thoughts on Burning Man, the Green Man, and Dionysian Anarchism

..."Thomas Hobbes said that people were rapacious beasts, who would start killing and eating each other if it weren’t for an armed police force. Our mainstream culture seems desperate to maintain this viewpoint. During Hurricane Katrina, while the self-organizing cooperative efforts of thousands and tens of thousands of citizens to help each other went largely unreported, a scene of looting was replayed over and over. The clear message is “see, people can’t be trusted. We need the police.” In fact, police (or private security goons) broke up, and even fired on, the emerging cooperatives.

So who is on the other side? Many, actually. First off, we have the evidence of anthropology and human prehistory, which is overwhelmingly cooperative. We have the core teachings of deep mystical traditions.

Jean Jacques Rousseau offered that much of the sickness, the antisocial, and criminal behavior in society was not the result of our intrinsic natures, but of the society itself. Many are quick to dismiss Rousseau with a put-down—“ahh, the Noble Savage.” Rousseau never talked about any noble savage. The term was invented by a mid-nineteenth century pro-slavery American anthropologist, and has been an astoundingly effective little lie to cut off discussion on this topic.

Dionysian anarchism sides with the mystics and with anthropology. It sides with the way that people carry on their affairs most of the time: that is, cooperatively, and generally with a sense of good will. It sides with the spirit of DIY: do-it-yourself. Dionysian anarchists stress that means and ends have to be in accord, and if we can just stop things from getting worse, society will spontaneously realign itself towards freedom. That is our nature. As long as we have free horizons, as long as we are headed towards freedom and not away from it, we can relax a little with a long term view." ... (Cont.)...

The Mediaeval Baebes

How about some Mediaeval Baebes?
From Wikipedia
"The Mediæval Bæbes are an English ensemble of female musicians founded by Miranda Sex Garden (MSG) member Katharine Blake in the 1990s...


"The Bæbes' musical pieces run the gamut from extremely traditional, such as their version of The Coventry Carol on Salva Nos, to songs that feel traditional but are much more modern, such as their rendition of Summerisle, a song written for Robin Hardy's 1973 cult film, The Wicker Man. John Cale added non-medieval instruments, including saxophone and electric guitar, to some of the arrangements on Undrentide, although with subsequent albums the band returned to more traditional instruments. Even with these instruments, however, the band's current style is quite different from medieval authentic performance groups, as it displays significant modern influence, this juxtaposition most notably apparent in the Bæbes's latest album Illumination (2009) produced by KK (Kevin Kerrigan)."

The MySpace Music profile for Mediaeval Baebes
More from Mediaeval Baebes...
The Blacksmiths
Mediaeval Baebes - Mirabilis
Mediæval Bæbes - Blackfriars Theatre
Mediaeval Baebes in Conversation with Affliction Magazine
Mediaeval Baebes - Summerisle (The Maypole Song)
Mediæval Bæbes - Dringo Bell (live)
Mediæval Bæbes - Adam Lay Ibounden (live)
Mediaeval Baebes - All For Love Of One (Beowulf)
Mediaeval Baebes Temptasyon
Mediaeval Baebes (virgin queen)
Mediaeval Baebes
Mediaeval Baebes - Aria Delerium
Cantiga
I Sing of a Maiden
Mediaeval Baebes - Ecce Mundi Gaudium
castlefest 2007 mediaeval baebes
Yonder Lea
Desert Rose
Mediaeval Baebes at Bush Hall

April - National Poetry Month and the magic of poetry

Over at The Wild Hunt blog today there is a guest blogger - Ruby Sara from the Pagan Godspell blog.  Here is what she has to say about poetry:

"Poetry’s role in the devotional and magical lives of the Pagani is manifold. It can be used in magical practice both in riddling (i.e. grokking a text for its deeper meaning), and in inducing trance (alliteration, rhyme, evocative word choice – all can assist the individual in Diving Deep and Surfacing). It can be used to communicate the ineffable in ways that are inaccessible through prose or didactic speech. It can bring people together in worship and in prayer. It can act as a channel between a people and their god. It can illuminate what was previously hidden, and make opaque things that require occultation. Poetry works the mind and the heart – it infiltrates the bones. Poetry works." ...(Cont.)...

Ruby is coming out with a new book - Datura: An Anthology of Esoteric Poesis.  Referring to this project she says:

"My goal in creating Datura was to highlight a collection of poems that speak to the hidden and rapturous nature of our work as Pagans and occultists as well as essays that explore various aspects of poetry in our communities, and in doing so provide inspiration to those seeking an understanding of the paths we walk as practitioners, to those who practice themselves as they deepen their study, to other writers and poets in these communities as they undertake the Work inherent in the writing process, and to those who simply grok Beauty in its myriad forms."

And here is one of her own poetic invocations:

"Kore! Maiden Savioress, Child of Hyacinths, Bringer of Rain – She! Sweet Abandon, Sister to Daylight, Lightning Woman! She who swallows the moon and the stars! She who calms Aegean pools and break Ionian shores! She who Rises Up from Hades’ throne and Leaps across the River Styx! She who Races past the snapping jaws of Cerberus and bursts forth from the Cave Mouth, bringing with her all the glories of Spring!—The Willow and the Honeybee, the Storm and the Sap!"
     -From Invocation of the Kore, by Ruby Sara and Johnny Rapture

"The Catholic Sex Scandal, Monotheism, and Organizational Pathology"

Gus diZerega over at beliefnet has some interesting thoughts on the sex abuse scandal in the Catholic Church. You can find this and other subjects over at his site - A Pagans' Blog.

"But there is an interesting theological point here. The penchant for powerful centralized organizations that become corrupt at the top is something Christian monotheisms are particularly prone to because most have a radically hierarchical model of reality.

Smaller decentralized monotheistic groups do not have the numbers to seek political power and domination, but often have a similarly hierarchical view of a ultimate king share this weakness. As soon as they see an opportunity to exercise power their lust for domination is as strong as was the Catholic hierarchy when it was at the peek of its power. The conservative and right-wing branch of the Southern Baptists are proving this big time.

The problem is inherent in belief in a single divine "king" that can be understood as a "personality." It suggests that all good authority is ultimately top-down from a Big Boss. A human organization then takes it upon itself to serve as The Boss's representatives to the rest of us." ...(Cont.)...

Ancient Greek and Roman sites in video 3D reconstructions

Here are some computer recreations and other videos of ancient Roman and Greek civilization.

Discover Ancient Rome in Google Earth

Ancient Rome 3D

Virtual Life in Pompeii
3D (Roman City of Italica)

3D city model of Roman Cologne
Hadrian's Wall
Virtual Roman Temple

Virtual Roman Basilica

Parthenon by Costa-Gavras

3D Acropolis presentation

Secrets of the Parthenon

New Acropolis Museum opens

New Acropolis museum and the Parthenon marbles

Research - Plant Oils Highly Effective Against Drug-Resistant Bacteria

Here is an interesting story from The Voice of America web site. Let us see if follow-up studies verify this herbal lore with continued  positive findings....

"Researchers say oils distilled from plants are highly effective against drug-resistant bacterial infections and could prove to be an inexpensive way to combat super-bugs found in hospital settings.

For hundreds of years, different cultures have used so-called essential oils from plants to treat a variety of illnesses from arthritis to skin infections and sore throats." ...(Cont.)...