Racism in Heathenry

There's been a thing going around. It's been brewing, it seems, for decades. It's coming to a head.  Not for the first time, I am certain--nor for the last. I don't have the time, honestly, to read everyblog  post and every article by every person who has an opinion. I have a book to finish.

But. I do have a copule of brief things to say.

A) I believe in freedom of religion. I also believe in free speech. That means you, whomever you happen to be, have the right to believe what you believe, practice what you feel is "right" (within the context of what's legal--although you certainly have the right to campaign to change those laws). You also have the right to post on your own site what your beliefs are. You have the right to talk about it.

B) I have the right not to listen. So does that guy over there and the guy next to him. I have the right, if I think your beliefs are bigoted, arrogant, ignorant, or just plain offensive, to say so. I am also within my rights to not only not support you, but to do so publically. I am within my rights (and make no mistake, I will exercise that right) to campaign long and loud that you not be allowed to come to any event over which I hold any sway. I am just as within my rights to decline to attend an event at which you have been invited to speak.

C) We are under no obligation to agree; we are however oblidged to be civil to one another. We should fight with facts, not lies. Not slander.

And last, but not least, I will not allow myself to be ashamed of my stating my opinion. I will, loudly and clearly, say "Not my Paganism" to any person or group that is transphobic, "racist" (in quotes for a reason I'll get to in a second), or bigoted. I do not believe, not for one fraction of a second, that the Gods care what color a person's skin is, what their gender is, what their sexual orientation is. I do NOT believe that one must be of any particular ethnicity to worship any particular set of Gods--so long as you do your homework and approach Them (and Their native/original culture) with respect.

Your love for your Gods comes from your heart, not your skin-color. Not your ethnic origins (which in this day and age quite likely mixed.) Stephen McNallen has the right to his opinion. I don't believe in violence or even in spewing viterol. It accomplishes nothing. But neither will I quietly sit down and ignore the problem. I'll wrote. I'll speak out.

And if you don't like it, you don't have to listen.

Now. Racism. I'm going to defer to someone more well-spoken than me.

Winding down....and gearing up!

I want to thank the people who came out to my Anglo-Saxon Rune Class at Michigan Pagan Fest last weekend--and the wonderful people who put on the event!  I was so sorry I couldn't make it back up on Saturday. I-94, as I'm sure many others noticed, was a *mess*. When the GPS told me it would take me another 2.5 hours to get there (I live 40 minutes away and had already made it *past* the half-way point!) it was time to go home. Besides MPF this month, my husband and I also travelled East to Maryland for the Free Spirit Gather and had *so* much fun! We are looking forward to going back next years. I met some truly awesome people, took a few great classes, and managed *not* to come home looking like a lobster, despite it being a clothing-option event (and me being the type to shed my clothing whenever possible!)

I have one more event this weekend and then it's time to kick into high gear, creatively! The rune book is finished and in the hands of a number of awesome beta-readers; I have plans to make it available on its own as well as the companion book to my rune sets. (The current version of the book actually contains about 10K more words than the 50K word book my beta readers saw because I'm really terrible at leaving things alone). Now, I just have to make some rune sets...and other fun stuff. I have 200 lbs of clay sitting in my studio.

I'll be submitting the same class I taught for MPF for ConVocation 2017 and Free Spirit 2017--and will probably add a few other festivals to my calendar for 2017 as well.

Although I won't be in the ConVocation merchant room, I will have art in the Art Show and am  planning on merchanting at Free Spirit (where I will definitely have my *other* books for sale, too!) and most likely MPF and a couple of Pagan Pride events (locally).

Last but not least on today's announcements.... I got a lot of really awesome feedback from attendees of this year's ConVocation. For everyone who said the rune class should have been longer, I agree! I'm going to be proposing a 6 segment class at Pagan Pathways Temple in Madison Heights.

As for the comments about the Invo being "too long", I don't disagree that it was long (and apparently the room was hot), but the thing is, invocatory rituals go as long as they go. Everyone who wants to go up and talk to Deity deserves the chance to do so. Cutting the ritual short short would mean some people don't get to talk to their God/ess. And I would never be one to set a time-limit on how long a person could spend with the God/ess, either  (not that I suspect They would stand for that anyway!)  So the honest answer is that I don't think it's possible to make an invo any shorter than it ends up running. That said, I know we make it clear that folks are welcome to leave after their time with Deity, precisely because these things *can* run long and there's usually other things going on that someone may want to get to.

I appreciate the feedback and when I can, I make changes based on participants' suggestions--unfortunately, some things are out of my hands.

See everyone at Metro-Detroit Pagan Pride! (Don't be shy, come up and say "hi!")

Coming Soon -- Rune Sets!

 

The guide book is almost finished. This pocket-sized guide is nearly three hundred pages long--definitely more informative than your standard "little white book"!

 

In the guide-book, I talk a little bit about the history of the Anglo-Saxon Runes and their corresponding rune poem, then go into each of the runes in depth. I offer several ideas for how to cast your runes and ways to use some of them in galdr (magic).

 

Each rune set will come with not only this helpful guide-book, but a cloth pouch and traditional white cotton "casting cloth".  (Each pouch is large enough to carry your runes, the cloth, and the pocket-sized guide-book).

 

Recommended Books

First, let me say another HUGE thank you to the wonderful folks at Pagan Pathways Temple in Madison Heights for hosting my Anglo-Saxon Futhorc class yesterday! Thank you also to the wonderful people who came out at 11 AM on a cold Saturday morning to hear me speak. I'm looking forward to returning in May to teach an Introduction to Shamanic Journey-work Class  :)

 

Now....yesterday I managed to totally blank out on bringing my list of favorite books, so here it is (all of the books in the Wayne State University Collection are held in the Purdy Library; if you have a Michigan Library card, you can borrow them at no cost).

 

 

Academic texts:

 

Excellent beginner book

(Wayne State has a copy)

 

Another excellent beginner book

(Wayne State has a copy)

 

 

These next two are much more on the academic side

(i.e. a bit dry and crunchy, more geared toward

those interested in history and philology)

I know for sure Wayne State has this book,

I'm not sure about the one below

 

 

 

The Old English Rune Poem: A Critical Edition

by Maureen Halsall

(there currently is a copy for sale on Amazon

for $100

 or you can borrow

Wayne State's copy)

 

 

 

Esoteric Texts:

Very good all around information;

Paxon gives multiple authors' perspectives

all neatly packed into one (big) book, saving you

from having to buy lots of other people's books

(none of which are on this list)

 

Not a rune book, this is about trance/journeywork

within a Norse frame work

The very BEST book on the Younger Futhark

(16 staves of the Norwegian Rune Poem)

This is one of the few books that

straddles the gap between academic

and esoteric studies; it isn't intended as

an esoteric book, but it is far more approachable

than most academic books on the runes.

 

 

I don't necessarily agree with everything

Krasskova (or anyone else for that matter)

says/believes, but I respect and recommend

her work

Ditto

This is probably my favorite of other people's

esoteric texts

 

 

Last but not least,

visit Maria Kvilhaug's Website!

http://freya.theladyofthelabyrinth.com/