A new reader recently graced us with her clickage: Ali, a Christian (or Christo-Pagan?) Druid who writes the blog Meadowsweet & Myrrh. She is a skilled writer, a thinker I can respect, and she has honored me with a link from her blog, which I am reciprocating.

Her recent article about why she identifies as a druid is exactly how I feel about it. I especially appreciated her take on depth of commitment to one path:

I have always been reluctant to jump from one spiritual path to another–to become a “window-shopper” of religions or to approach religions with a buffet-style pick-and-choose attitude. I believe that spiritual traditions have an integrity and internal consistency of their own, and that it is often more fruitful to explore a single tradition deeply, than to abandon any belief or practice that seems, on the surface, to be difficult or unappealing.

I have said some less-than-gentle things about modern pagans who seem to treat their faith like fashion accessories. If I were to put it more politely, this is close to what I would have said. Also, her take on the distinction between the Wicca and Druid archetypes is dead on:

One difference that I realized has always been important to me is how I consider myself in relation to the rest of society. The history–both the literal history and the idealized tradition–of Druidry is based on the idea that the Druids were not only priests, but the scholars, judges, advisers, poets and historians of their societies. They were integral to the healthy functioning of their community, and their wisdom was respected, celebrated and utilized openly. On the other hand, the dominant narrative about historical identity for most modern Witches and Wiccans is the story of the Witch Trials. Although we now know that many women who were killed were in no way associated with witchcraft, there is still the general idea at the heart of many witchcraft traditions that wisdom and power–especially that of women–is feared and rejected by society, that this is “just how it is” because society “can’t handle it.” The identity archetype of the “witch” remains the young seductress or old wise-woman living on the outskirts of the village, ostracized and misunderstood even when the community does covertly desire her or utilize her wisdom and influence.

So, welcome aboard, Ali. I look forward to reading more of your work in the future and hearing your comments about mine.

This website, by a Swedish survival expert, has several free videos about wilderness survival, with English subtitles. Good information at a price you can’t beat.

A work of particular interest to CR has been recently posted to Sacred-Texts.com: Survivals in Belief Among the Celts, by George Henderson, [1911].

This long out-of-print book, graciously loaned to sacred-texts for scanning by a reader from their personal library, reviews the extensive literature on survivals of pre-Christian beliefs in the Celtic area. It covers customs from Ireland, Scotland, the Isle of Man, Cornwall and Brittany, and relates them to other traditional cultures world-wide. This is a work of scholarship, and cites from authoritative literature, including many now hard to obtain sources, and several short texts in the original Gaelic. Among the fascinating topics covered are the evil eye, geis (taboos), doppelgangers, beliefs relating to animals and shape-shifting, lustration, second-sight, and healing rituals. Of particular interest is the discussion of pagan elements in the Carmina Gadelica.

Published at Glasgow university, it focuses on the traditions of Scotland and Ireland. It is because of works like this that we should support Sacred-Texts. There really is no other sourse like it out there. Consider buying their CD soon.

It has come to my attention that the Sustainable Living links I have provided were extremely sparce. There were only two, and neither actually dealt with the subject of sustainable living itself. I’m beefing up the links, and here is a rundown of the new additions.

Earthaven - I’ve linked to them a few times before because I have family that lives there. It is an “ecovillage.” That is, they seek to build a ecologically sustaiable community. They also teach sustainable living concepts to others.

Sustainable Living Network - “An informal affiliation of people in the United States and around the world who seek to deepen their understanding and practice of sustainable living.” The website offers links and information about basic definitions and principles.

Envirolink: Sustainable Living - An extensive link list organized much like Yahoo! topics.

Hollowtop Portal - The Hollowtop Outdoor Primitive Living School and associated sites. These are the sites of Thomas J. Elpel, the author of the articles I sited in my article about the Job Trap.

Primitive Ways - A site dedicated to providing information about primitive living skills. It is put together by members of the Society of Primitive Technology.

I hope these sites give you hours of inspiring reading as they have me.

A little while back, I grieved the loss of a voice of Pagan divergent opinion I found in Right Wing of the Gods. I searched for a while for something to replace it in my irregular blog reading and gave up. Then completely out of the blue, I discovered two blogs that fit the bill.

Rite Wing TechnoPagan is the blog of Karl Lembke, who wrote the article about tolerance I so liked, and who also wrote several other thought provoking articles found on Witches’ Voice.

Pagan~Vigil is by “Pagan philosopher, libertarian, and part-time trouble maker,” NeoWayland.

While I have referred to a desire to hear “conservative” points of view in the pagan community, it is more accurate to say that what I seek is an ability to look beyond “liberal” and “conservative” labels, to question cherished assumptions, and to pierce empty rhetoric to get at What It Is All About.

While I might not agree with everything they write, the things I don’t agree with are argued effectively enough to challenge me and to cause me to inspect and critique my own belief structure.  That is what I always hunger for: a good challenge that, no matter the outcome, I am a better person for having gone through.

This is what we need more of in the pagan community: fierce competition, real competition, in our “marketplace of ideas.”  Modern paganism cannot help but benefit from it.