Merry Meet

Like tarot cards, runes had a practical purpose in addition to being tools of portent. Runes are symbols of an alphabet, just as we use Roman letters.

Runes are often portrayed in a fantasy context as being used as a means of telling the future for stereotypical witches. Like many aspects of original paganism and magic, the historical details are fuzzy and sometimes up to interpretation.

A general interest in mysticism in the late 1800s/early 1900s sparked a cultural interest in the use of runes for divination. Some assign specific meanings to runes and use the original rune meanings/resemblances for the purpose of divination so that they can be used much like a tarot card.

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Social media has proven to be a great tool for pagans and paganism. As a rule, many pagans tend to avoid organized religion or spirituality, with the exception of small covens or groups. In the neopagan world, this was often spiritually beneficial, but difficult for those wishing to connect to like-minded individuals to learn or teach further.

Facebook, Twitter, and even the professional LinkedIn are excellent online resources, providing pagans a chance to connect with one another. There are also many interfaith and universalist resources available for those looking to find peace with members of various belief systems. While connecting any spiritual belief to a professional networking site like LinkedIn might be risky for some, I think it’s valuable if part or all of what you are selling connects to the pagan community. I am a member of these communities because I sell my writing (including this page, which is undeniably pagan). I think people expect writers to be quirky, and I like people to think I am quirky enough to entertain them and professional enough to do the job right.

While these sites are helpful, I don’t think that any of the social media sites quite rival Witch Vox in their capacity for connecting pagans to one another (especially because Witch Vox has implemented search functions such as ‘by type’ which are specifically relevant to certain pagan paths or professions).

Here is a list of resources for those looking to connect to other pagans in a social and professional way using social media:

Connect to me (Tara), the author of Merry Meet: Facebook | LinkedIn | Twitter

Facebook:

• New Jersey Pagans
• Pagan Friends
• Paganism and Wicca
• Witchcraft, Wicca, and anything about Pagan religions
• Whitelight Spritual Arts (Mt. Holly, NJ) 
• I’m a witch and/or pagan, but I’m not Wiccan, dammit! (more…)

What did you think of ABC’s Eastwick? Please leave your comments below.

I found the show to be both surprising and disappointing at the same time.

Here’s what I didn’t like:

• Too many characters. We were introduced to too many people at once. I read the online character guide and I was still a bit lost.
• Campy. It was campy, but not in a cool way like Buffy. It was just a bit cheesy when it could have been racy or heartfelt instead.
• No chemistry between the three main witches.
• The archetypes of the three witches were pushed a bit too much; the exaggeration made them seem unreal. Believe me, I practically AM the newspaper chick (Joanna), and even she was exaggerated.
• That guy’s voice. What the hell…they hired Mr. Moviephone?!

Here’s what I adored: (more…)

ABC will air a new TV show tonight: Eastwick. Centered around witches, the show seems to be loosely based on the movie The Witches of Eastwick. The ABC show airing tonight promises to be modern and engaging.

The show is about “three sexy, bewitching women,” according to the description on ABC’s site. The site features a preview in addition to character biographies and forums for visitors.

This seems like an attempt to cash in on the success of the spicier True Blood series with the storyline of much-beloved Charmed.

Generally, commentors seem skeptical about the casting for this show. Others claim that cultural fascinations about the occult are cultural trends. Perhaps it’s just the pictures, but the actors seem to look above ordinary in their bios. (Also, is it a rule that all journalists have glasses?)

Most appealing and relatable of the bunch does seem to be a secondary character called Penny. Savvy and realistic looking, she seems to have some usual gripes concerning friendship.

More than anything, I’m concerned with the show’s treatment of witches. Sure, this is entertainment and it’s for entertainment value…but is this another means of placing standards on society? On one hand, witches are stereotyped as ragged and haggard crones–are we now looking at the new face of witchraft, models only need apply? (more…)

It is generally assumed that there is a strong link between paganism and environmentalism. Regardless of general society’s positive and negative perceptions of pagans, most people are somewhat aware of the existence of Earth-centered religions on some level. More specifically, people are often aware of related principles such as ‘going green,’ recycling as required by law, and Gaia Theory.

While many pagans do focus on their personal relationship with Earth, that perspective is not shared by all. Balance, for example, is a core concept of many pagan beliefs. At this point in human history, it would seem that we as a species have tried to ‘reign in’ what is natural, so to create balance, one would ideally combat that somehow. What if the tables were turned, though? If the goal is to seek balance and promote it, would we be and let be, or take on the role of the destroyer?

On my personal spiritual quest, I feel like I could be kinder to the environment. I remember experiencing the real mainstream beginning of the green movement in the 1990s when I was young enough to be inspired by “50 Simple Things Kids Can Do To Save The Earth.” (more…)

I‘m so grateful to observe that tolerance is on the rise today. Living in the post September 11th world wasn’t easy for anyone ‘different.’ America, for some time, became a Christian fundamentalist zone. Others were not welcome, including those who opposed war and non-Christians. While this doesn’t describe most Christians, there was an alarming number of people who expressed extreme nationalist feelings such as “if you don’t like it here, leave.” (more…)

One of the most well-known and controversial pagan holidays is Samhain. Some people don’t know a great deal about Samhain except for its pagan origins and connection to the widely-celebrated Halloween, making them reticent or fearful to learn more about it. Samhain is celebrated on either October 31st or November 1st, depending on one’s belief structure or calendar.

Samhain (pronounced sow-ehn, rhymes with ‘how then‘) was celebrated as a pagan holiday in ancient times. Elements of this celebration as well as the meaning of Samhain has been retained in both popular culture, but more specifically in neopagan paths including Wicca and Celtic Reconstructionism.

Samhain can be seen as the end of the harvest and/or the beginning of the new year. It is often signified and celebrated with bonfires.

What’s the Halloween Connection? Should I Worry?

Samhain marks the lowering of the veils between the worlds of the living and the dead. While this might sound odd to some, it will also sound familiar–this is very standard Halloween lore and history.

Samhain was and is a day for participants to remember the dead. To remember the dead on Samhain, you can: (more…)

Being a Joss Whedon fan, I watched some Buffy: the Vampire Slayer last night. I checked out the episode ‘Gingerbread,’ in which parents are brainwashed into hating witches due to the influence of two small children, who are found murdered in a playground at the beginning of the episode.

There was a lot of talk in the episode about ‘is your teen experimenting with witchcraft?’ The parents underestimated the power of what, in the Buffyverse, is real witchcraft. It’s not spoiling the episode to say that the parents team up with Principal Snyder to go through students’ lockers to confiscate occult-related items from students and to identify them.

While the episode was a bit campy (in true Whedon fashion), it was also pretty revolutionary. It showed that the teens practicing witchcraft weren’t necessarily different or possessed by Satan. Willow’s mother even tries to explain away Willow’s fascination with witchcraft with psychological explanations. (more…)

What Is A Maenad?

Maenads are female mythological beings who worship the Greek god Dionysus (or Bacchus in the Roman pantheon). Dionysus and his maenad followers remain popular cultural and spiritual reference points because they are associated with partying and raucous behavior. Many have recently become curious about maenads due to HBO’s True Blood series, which outed supporting character Maryann as a maenad.

Maenads are connected to drinking, dancing, and overall intoxication. They are female figures and appear as a maternal, protective figure to mortals. (more…)

I’ve been calling it Irish luck. It all started more than two years ago. I started having a string of very bad luck. Accidents, failures, income loss, and a lot of other minor things negatively impacted me. I kept reminding myself, though, that I had Irish luck–meaning all these stupidly bad things would happen to me and then my luck started to turn around.

While a lot of people tend to think the term ‘Irish luck’ just refers to good luck, it may actually refer to having good fortune in spite of a ridiculous amount of adversity.

In his article “Myths of St. Patrick’s Day,” Edward T. O’Donnell said: “What sort of luck is it that brings about 1,000 years of invasion, colonization, exploitation, starvation and mass emigration?” O’Donnell goes on to explain that the term was actually coined in America due to the success many Irish were having in the gold mines.

Either way, it suddenly started applying to me.

Aside from feeling that this change of luck would happen, I didn’t do anything or even really change my attitude. My attitude, unfortunately, got worse when my now-husband had a great deal of trouble finding work for months on end.

I started winning contests (even though I was entering less of them). I’ve been winning everything from small lottery winnings to show tickets to my dream wedding.

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