The first was “Oracles and Divination in Ancient Egypt” by Richard Reidy, who is the author of Eternal Egypt: Ancient Rituals for the Modern World. Richard’s approach to the practice of ancient Egyptian religion is a bit different to that of Tamara L Siuda (whose workshop I attended on Saturday morning). Richard’s approach is that he limits himself solely to source texts. As I have previously discussed, this seems to me to be largely a matter of taste. While I think it is important to have a well researched core to your own practice, whether or not you choose to “improvise” is a personal choice. Richard is someone who is obviously devoted to his practice, and I felt quite inspired listening to the relationships he had forged with his primary deities over a lengthy period of time. I also enjoyed listening to his thoughts about some of the Demotic magickal texts dating back to late antiquity which we both use – there simply aren’t many people using this stuff, so it’s definitely not something you hear everyday.

The last workshop that Jo-Ann and I attended was the very last one put on by Patrick McCollum called “Creating the Sacred Oil: The Origins of Magical Oils in Ritual.” Patrick was actually involved in eight workshops all up, and he had a very large group for this one. One of Patrick’s missions in life is to prevent craft secrets from being lost – much has actually been lost in just the last couple of generations as pagan elders die off. To this end, he taught us how to manufacture the original Sacred Oil used by witches in ancient times. The workshop didn’t end there, as Patrick told us how to modify the Sacred Oil recipe to turn it into Flying Ointment, but requested that we not upload it to the internet. The composition of Flying Ointment is normally a closely guarded secret, so to be honest, I was quite surprised when he revealed it to the group. But, at least this way, the composition will not be lost any time soon.

After some sad goodbyes to our friends who were still there, including the ever gorgeous Orion Foxwood, it was time for Jo-Ann and myself to drive back home.

Tony Mierzwicki

I was very pleasantly surprised to find that there were two workshops on Neoplatonism, one following on from the other. The first, “What is Neoplatonism & Why Should I Care?” was presented by Don Frew, who is widely known for his interfaith work. Don’s workshop was very easy to follow and was an excellent introduction to Neoplatonism. Don showed just how important Neoplatonism was to Gerald Gardner, and by logical extension, to the practice of contemporary Wicca.

Lunch was a lot of fun. Jo-Ann and I joined Frater Barrabbas, Steven Posch and HiC [a tarot reading Kemetic Wiccan] for an hour of wit and frivolity.

Just after lunch I participated in the Immanion Author panel. A number of the Immanion authors at PantheaCon were part of the panel, including Taylor Ellwood and Lupa, Erynn Laurie, Sarai St Julien, Crystal Blanton, Frater Barrabbas and Denny Sargent a.k.a. AION 131. The panel was an informal chat with authors discussing their backgrounds and how they got onto their present path. The common thread was that all of us were unable to find what we were looking for in published material and so put together our own systems.

Following this, there was a panel featuring a number of well known Weiser authors titled “Earth Based Religion: Are We Really?” The panel was moderated by T Thorn Coyle and included Diana Paxson, Z Budapest, Orion Foxwood and Lon Milo DuQuette. It was fascinating hearing authors from widely divergent traditions giving their take on just how “earth-based” their spiritual modalities actually are. At the end of the panel, future pagan authors in the audience chatted to the two Weiser acquisitions editors, trying to get an idea of which way the publishing winds were blowing.

Following on from Don Frew’s workshop was “On the One: Critical Remarks on Pagan Neoplatonism” by Nathan Bjorge, who is probably best known for his work in Thelema. Nathan’s workshop was far more technical than Don’s, but was greatly appreciated by those who already had a basic grounding in the subject matter.

While I was at Nathan’s workshop, Jo-Ann went to “Visceral Magick” by Peter Paddon. She thoroughly enjoyed the workshop and had a number of “light bulb moments.”

Twelve hours after my first workshop began, I gave my second workshop, “Greek Nature Deities and Gaia Consciousness.” This workshop was an expansion of the paper which I presented to the 6th Conference on Current Pagan Studies at Claremont Graduate University just two weeks previously. I felt privileged to have the presence of Lon Milo DuQuette at both workshops while Selena Fox and Elysia Gallo of Llewellyn were at the second one. At the end of the workshop Selena shared her deep love of Greek deities. Having been part of a classical education, the Greek deities are incredibly prevalent in our society – especially in popular culture, where they pervade advertising, literature and the cinema.

It seems that at every PantheaCon I manage to find someone with whom to have an incredibly cerebral conversation. This time around, it was with Jonathan Korman, whom I managed to separate from T Thorn Koyle, and other Feri folk such as Shade and Flame. Jonathan, who has contributed to Thorn’s Solar Cross project, is a practitioner of Western Hermeticism whose catchcry for completing the Great Work is “Know your dharma, live your dharma.” We had an intense discussion covering a broad array of esoteric topics, which will hopefully be one day continued.

While Jonathan and I were chatting, Thorn, her friend Amanda and Barbara McCollum abducted Jo-Ann, and took her to the party in full swing in Sam Webster’s suite for the Open Source Order of the Golden Dawn. There was much to celebrate as Sam has just published his first book, Tantric Thelema. The party eventually broke up into smaller groups so as to keep overall noise levels down.

A word of advice for next year’s PantheaCon attendees – if you’re thinking of getting a room on the tenth floor which is party central and you like getting early nights, don’t.

Tony Mierzwicki

I then attended “AMHA 101: Primitive Hebrew Earth spirituality – the basics” by Elisheva Nesher. Elisheva is an amazing speaker – a font of knowledge about Hebrew tribal spirituality, which is a spiritual modality far removed from the better known Judaism and Qabala. I’m very fortunate to meet up with Elisheva twice a year – PantheaCon and Starwood.

Continuing my academic overload for the day, I attended “The Mysteries of Demeter and Persephone” by Charles Stein. Dr Stein covered a lot of ground in his talk, admitting that very little is known about the Eleusinian Mysteries, and rehashed the theory of entheogens being used to facilitate spiritual experiences. Dr Stein believes that there are valuable lessons that can be incorporated into contemporary life that can be obtained by studying what is known about the mysteries, which he claims led to a lessening of the fixation we all have on personal identity.

“Global Meltdown? McGyver 101: Pagan Survival Techniques” by Patrick McCollum was just the change of pace that I needed. Patrick talked about techniques for surviving in wilderness areas using common everyday objects, so as to produce warmth and water. He illustrated the importance of his workshop by recounting the story of a man who died from exposure despite having all the requisite everyday objects around him – a tragic death which could have been preventing with just a little knowledge. Patrick then went on to talk about combining excrement and urine over a period of a few days to produce crystals of potassium nitrate or saltpeter, which is a component of gun powder. Patrick’s talk showed just how much knowledge we’ve lost, as virtually everything he talked about would have been common knowledge a couple of generations ago.

After four intense informative workshops it was time to socialize and network. And who better to socialize with than Jamie Martinez Wood and her boyfriend, Jeep. We went off to dinner and found ourselves sitting next to Richard Reidy and his partner. Any hope that Richard may have had for a quiet tranquil dinner quickly evaporated!

Jo-Ann and I had an early night as both of my workshops were scheduled for the following day.

Tony Mierzwicki

The problem with PantheaCon is that there up to a dozen presentations at any given time slot. Scheduling all these presentations is a nightmare. Presentations from particular genres are put on at different times, so those attendees who are interested in just one genre don’t have a problem. If, however, your interests are like mine and span a number of genres, then you’re going to have clashes. I found myself tempted by the huge variety of lectures on offer, and wished it was somehow possible to get my hands on Hermione Granger’s Time-Turner so that I could see everything which appeals to me!

Everyone’s experience at PantheaCon is different, and so I thought that I’d share mine.

As we were checking into the hotel a bit later than we hoped, we wound up missing the Opening Ritual and the first round of workshops at 1:30pm. The first workshop I attended was at 3:30pm and was “22 Steps of the Cycle of Initiation – Transformative Journeys” by Frater Barrabbas, which explored similarities between Joseph Campbell’s 22 stages of the Hero’s Underworld Cycle and the 22 Major Arcana cards of the Tarot. Frater Barrabbas devotes himself to innovative blendings and developments of various spiritual modalities, but primarily focuses on Alexandrian Wicca and the Golden Dawn system. Meanwhile, Jo-Ann attended “Ecologically Minded Pagans in Action” by Jamie Martinez Wood.

We then decided to have a break from the workshops on offer and socialized/networked with friends and authors we hadn’t seen in several months. It’s just so hard limiting yourself to the lunch and dinner breaks!

While the drink of choice at most pagan gatherings is mead, absinthe (Aleister Crowley’s Green Goddess) seems to have that distinction at PantheaCon. Because there were absinthe parties on offer, we felt it was important to be fully informed and to that end, attended “Absinthe Cocktails: Mixing it up with Le Fae Verte” by Jeff Winters. Jeff’s “show and tell” approach was wildly popular, with sample cocktails being shared around.

Jo-Ann and I left the absinthe workshop with Jamie Martinez Wood and her boyfriend, Jeep.[ Jeep is a fascinating guy who tags endangered birds of prey out in the wild as part of his job.] We wound up knocking on the door of the room occupied by William Blumberg [CHS vice president] and Angela Pearson, wheat weavers extraordinaire. Despite both being in their pajamas, they let us in and were incredibly hospitable. As we were leaving, we overheard Angela asking “Mr William” to fluff her pillows.

While many others continued partying into the wee hours of the morning, Jo-Ann and I eventually decided to call it a night as we had an early start the following day.

Tony Mierzwicki

We were privileged to have Robert Brandon Longcrier of the Military Pagan Network in attendance. He recently came to prominence by establishing a worship area for earth-based religions at the US Airforce Academy in Colorado. The site was subsequently desecrated by Christians who surreptitiously left a huge cross in the worship area. Why are some Christians so obsessed with trying to force the world to believe what they’ve chosen to believe? Everyone should be able to practice their own religion as they choose without interference by intolerant minority groups.

One of the best things about the Winter Conference is that it is the event that brings together the largest number of CHS students, faculty and board members. It’s great actually meeting people who I normally communicate with via email and sometimes telephone. For photographs, check out CHS’s Facebook page.

Tony Mierzwicki

The defense is arguing that “traditional” faiths are first tier faiths and that those faiths were meant to have equal rights and protections under the United States Constitution, but that all of the other faiths (including pagans) were second tier faiths, and were not meant to have the same equal rights and protections under the United States Constitution as the first tier faiths.

A conservative activist organization called WallBuilders, argues that Patrick has no standing because modern pagans aren’t guaranteed the same Constitutional rights and protections as Christian or monotheist citizens:

“The true historic meaning of “religion” excludes paganism and witchcraft … paganism and witchcraft were never intended to receive the protections of the Religion Clauses.”

Should this argument be accepted, the equal protection of all religious minorities in the United States could be cast into doubt. The First Amendment is supposed to guarantee religious freedom. What is happening is clearly unconstitutional.

The most comprehensive outline of the whole situation can be found at the Wild Hunt, and is essential reading for all pagans. Elysia Gallo of Llewellyn has added her voice. Cherry Hill Seminary has issued a press release supporting Patrick. Circle Sanctuary has expanded upon the recommendations in the Wild Hunt for action to be taken.

This case highlights the absolute necessity of the need for pagans to stand together. As a recent example of what can be accomplished when we stand united, was the Air Force Academy chapel agreeing to add a worship area for followers of Earth-centered religions. The military has been adopting a more liberal attitude towards minority religions over the past few years. To quote a member of the Sacred Well Congregation, “If we speak together, we are a chorus to be heard. If we whisper alone, we are but a sigh in the dead of night.”

Patrick suggests that we should write our demands to Jerry Brown, the California Attorney General, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, and Mathew L Cate, the Secretary of the CDCR (California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation).

The time to act is now. We must demand equal treatment, equal accommodations, and equal access to our religious items for institutionalized persons. Once the rights we take for granted are taken away, it will be too late.

Tony Mierzwicki

While not every presenter was an academic, there were a large number of people who either had PhDs or were well on their way to being awarded their PhDs. In a world where there are many people who buy dodgy unaccredited online degrees in an effort to enhance their profile, it’s gratifying that old fashioned scholarship is still valued.

Cherry Hill Seminary was well represented by Macha Nightmare (who did not present this year), William Blumberg and myself. I presented a paper on “Greek nature Deities and Gaia Consciousness.” At PantheaCon, I will be expanding on this paper and incorporating an invocation of the nymphs.

I had a great time at the conference and found it a wonderful opportunity to network with pagan academics and “pagan friendly” academics. If you missed it this year, definitely check it out next year.

Tony Mierzwicki

A magnitude-7.0 earthquake on January 12 killed an estimated 200,000 people, left 250,000 injured and made 1.5 million homeless in Haiti, according to the European Union. Following this, there were 49 aftershocks of magnitude-4.5 or greater. January 20, saw a magnitude-5.9 aftershock send already frightened Haitians racing into the streets, collapse buildings and crack roads.

Governments worldwide have pledged nearly $1 billion in aid, and thousands of tons of food and medical supplies have been shipped. Only a fraction of those in need have been reached, and the situation remains critical. Inadequate supplies are resulting in unnecessary deaths in hospitals. There are thousands of US troops in Haiti assisting with the distribution of aid. Search and rescue missions are still searching for survivors. There are security concerns with outbreaks of looting.

In stark contrast to the frantic efforts to assist the survivors of the tragedy, American Christian televangelist, Pat Robertson, said that Haiti had been “cursed by one thing after another” since they “swore a pact to the devil” to free themselves from the yoke of the French. He added that Haitians need to have a “great turning to god.” Robertson has perverted a tragedy to suit his religious agenda. As a Christian, Robertson would be familiar with the Bible’s Book of Job, clearly shows that bad things can happen to good people. There is in fact a common theme in the old testament showing that evil doers appear to prosper, while the righteous seem to remain unrewarded. It is obvious that compassion plays little role in Robertson’s version of Christianity. A concern worth pondering is just how much influence Robertson has on the thinking of fundamentalist Christians.

Florida-based Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines has docked a ship on private Haitiian beach 60 miles from where people are trapped beneath the rubble. Passengers “enjoy jetski rides, parasailing, and rum cocktails delivered to their hammocks” as well as pass their time “shopping for trinkets at a craft market” under the watchful eyes of armed security personnel. Since 1986, the Royal Caribbean line has provided the largest source of tourism revenue to Haiti, paying the Haitian government $6 per passenger and employing about 300 locals, including security guards, beach monitors, waiters, cleaners, as well as some managers. Approximately 200 more locals find work here selling their wares or by providing entertainment.

While the ship admittedly brought in 40 pallets of relief supplies and there is an injection of capital from tourists buying trinkets, the whole thing seems somewhat distasteful. To quote one passenger, “I just can’t see myself sunning on the beach, playing in the water, eating a barbecue, and enjoying a cocktail while there are tens of thousands of dead people being piled up on the streets, with the survivors stunned and looking for food and water.” I find myself thinking about World War II with townspeople just outside concentration camps living their lives totally desensitized to the suffering of those whose only escape from their torments was through the crematorium chimneys. An unfair comparison perhaps, but the same sort of desensitization is required.

Profiteers have already launched aid scams for those suffering in Haiti. Those wishing to donate should stick to reputable aid agencies as there are scam artists attempting to capitalize off the Haitian tragedy. There are email and telemarketing scams to be watchful of. There is good advice available on-line including that from the FBI.

I find it heartening that in the face of disaster there is a surge of compassion from so many people. I am, however, prevented from putting on my rose-tinted glasses by those who are profiteering from the tragedy, either monetarily or ideologically.

Tony Mierzwicki

I had the privilege and pleasure of chatting to Patrick McCollum yesterday about the PWR definition of paganism. Patrick was in attendance at the PWR and so has first hand knowledge of what actually transpired. Without going into details, Patrick, in my opinion, is a true pagan leader, having engaged in numerous legal battles for pagan recognition and rights.

Patrick states that Andras was quoted out of context regarding his definition of paganism. Andras did actually mention the now infamous Eurocentric definition as his own personal definition when explaining his activities to outsiders. It should be noted that this Eurocentric definition is just one of many that have been bandied about in academic circles over the last few years. However, Andras then went on to outline its inadequacies and he proceeded to discuss several of the groups which had been omitted. In the end, Andras and several other Pagans present in the Parliament discussions, continued conversations over who we are and how we should define ourselves, and as is generally the case throughout the Pagan community, no conclusions or particular language was given more credence than any other. The main point here, is that what was said was part of a discussion, and not some kind of, edict or authoritative statement officially defining Paganism as it is being portrayed on a number of blogs.

I personally feel that the positive outcome of the controversy is that many people have started thinking seriously about what paganism actually is, and who should be included under the pagan umbrella.

Patrick’s idea of who the pagan umbrella encompasses is virtually identical to mine, as he would like as many people included as possible. Patrick includes many indigenous religions as pagans, particularly those who see themselves falling within that umbrella. I had always included those who take up the shamanic practices taken from various indigenous religions, but I can see the wisdom of Patrick’s idea, and am happy to embrace it.

Patrick stressed that the more people we have under the pagan umbrella, the more seriously we will all be taken. There is no reason to compromise our beliefs, as we can all agree to differ. What matters are sheer numbers.

Patrick told me of one really exciting occurrence at the PWR. A key representative for Hinduism stated that he would like to see his religion included under the pagan umbrella. Hinduism has grown to become the world’s third largest religion, after Christianity and Islam. It claims about 837 million followers – 13% of the world’s population.

Patrick estimates that in the US we have roughly 1.2 million pagans, with another 200,000 worldwide. Incorporating Hindus into our ranks would greatly swell our numbers giving us much more political clout.

Hinduism is the world’s oldest organized religion and consists of thousands of smaller religious groups. There are numerous similarities between Hindu and pagan practices. In addition, there are numerous aspects of Hinduism which have been incorporated into eclectic spiritual systems, including yoga and the concepts of chakras, karma and reincarnation.

These are indeed interesting times. Modern pagans have more rights now, than they have ever had, but there is no excuse for complaisance since there are those who would take our rights away from us in a heartbeat. It is important to stay visible, keep demanding equal treatment, be inclusive rather than exclusive, and minimize infighting (as this weakens us collectively), so as to achieve our common goals.

While I would love to take credit for the idea, Patrick came up with an absolutely brilliant suggestion. If all of us were to present our own definition of Paganism in our own terms, we could then attempt to combine those components. Upon achieving majority agreement, we could come up with at least a preliminary statement that more accurately reflects the whole community’s view of how paganism should be defined.

Tony

Organized mainstream religions have the benefit of hierarchies with clearly defined leaders. It is thus very easy for such religions to send either leaders or spokespersons to events, so that all their members can be spoken for. Would it be possible to have generally agreed upon leaders or spokespersons representing pagans in a similar fashion?

In my last couple of posts, I’ve discussed my displeasure regarding the Eurocentric definition of paganism proposed by the PWR, and have pushed my own idea of paganism being an umbrella term for the many small religious groups outside of the world religions. However, because the term pagan was initially one of derision, there are some people who I would consider to be pagans, who dislike the term and refuse to use it.

There are obvious advantages in terms of gaining recognition in being a part of a large group. Consider for instance the victory won by wiccans in the military who are now allowed to have pentagrams on their gravestones. This came about due to tireless lobbying by numerous dedicated individuals and the undeniable fact that wiccans make up the lion’s share of the pagan community. I believe that non-wiccan pagans should “piggyback” the wiccans so that their sheer total numbers enable them to have the recognition that they would be unable to have on their own.

Wiccans can be thought of as either solitaries or as members of covens. There is no one person who could rightfully claim to be the leader of all of the wiccans. Yet this has not been an insurmountable obstacle for wiccans in gaining recognition because of their sheer numbers.

Non-wiccan pagans similarly are either solitaries or become members of small groups. These groups, in general, are not affiliated with each other, and so there is no universally agreed upon leadership for pagans.

How should wiccans and pagans be represented? Could a democratic process such as a vote be used? It is commonly stated that working with pagans is like herding cats – there is great truth in this, and I cannot imagine an election of any sort ever taking place. And even if it did, most voters would be running on pagan time – read late!

There are a number of pagans who have dedicated themselves to working for their community. Some have fought protracted legal battles for pagan recognition and rights. Some of these people are very open about their work whereas others tend to work behind the scenes. There are others who have busied themselves in interfaith work enabling meaningful dialogue with mainstream religions. I believe that it can be argued that their long-term dedication makes them very appropriate as representatives, and legitimizes their claims. Altruistic selfless spokespersons focused on the greater good of the pagan community would appear to be the most appropriate choice.

Assuming that the pagan community was blessed with a number of altruistic spokespersons, would all pagans be happy with their representations? Given the extremely diverse multifaceted nature of the pagan community, I think that there will always be some who will feel like they are being overlooked. How do we stop pagans from feeling overlooked? At the risk of sounding like a broken record, all who want to be included within the pagan umbrella should be included.

Tony Mierzwicki