Yea, really...And I think you'll agree after you read what happened to me today. Here's a pic of my travel altar set up from the hospital I'm in right now:   You can't see it, but the small chalices have salt and water in them. West is to the Right. I use air as North because that's how I was trained, and it makes sense to me: when you think of the X and Y axis, North being air and masculine lines up with south which is also masculine. I hope that makes sense. So I have my cone incense stick on the North side. I figured this woudl suffice enough to survive the flight. I got the small pentacle at some craft sore, as a christmas item actually. Got the incense stick, my quartz, my bell for fire, since bringing blades to a hospital or on a flight just isn't a good idea. ... it's in the corner of my desk in my room so I'm not worrieda bout it  being touched by staff, the nurses have another table set up for their supplies. So, anyway, why I'm here... ( Read more... )

i_hope_that
For many of us, the holidays can be kind of rough. If you're searching for a network of understanding friends, this ultra-nurturing community encourages you to express your heartfelt wishes and offer other members encouragement and acceptance. Not for the terminally snarky or emotionally-challenged, this is a good-spirited place to lend comfort and support.

diygifts
Feeling crafty? If you've got a few last folks on your holiday gift list, this is a great place to seed your creativity and generosity. You'll also discover wonderful DIY tips to decorate your home and entertain guests. Offering a no-frills-no-skills attitude that welcomes the cash-challenged and arts-phobic, you're sure to get ideas and make friends in the process.

cooking_club
A fun and friendly community dedicated to those who love to cook, whether you're a meat-and-potatoes type, an aspiring gourmand, and/or a vegan. In search of a brilliant dish to use up those weekly leftovers? Post your ingredients and you'll be whipping up a feast by dinner. You can also share favorite recipes. For Type A chefs, you can spice up your culinary repertoire with exciting cooking challenges.

I love advent calendars but they don't really make them for pagans so I'm doing my own on-line. If you're interested it's over at paganadvent and I'll be posting daily until Yule.

Every year I hear the same thing: Christmas is a pagan holiday, the Christians stole it from us.

That is simply not true. Many of the traditions and ways of celebrating it are pagan in origin, but that does not mean the holiday itself is. As various cultures converted from paganism to Christianity, they brought their seasonal traditions with them. It wasn't always the case that "the evil priests tricked the pagans into making their festivities into Christian ones".

As for the conversions themselves, sometimes it was at knife-point, but more often it was because it was financially or politically expedient. A king, emperor, or chieftain would convert, and then the juicy "government contracts" went to fellow Christians. And sometimes, sometimes, people converted because the faith felt right; it felt like coming home. I hear that all the time from pagans that they felt this way when found their new faith. Why can't it work in the opposite direction?

Christmas is a Christian holiday. It is a celebration of Jesus' birthday. Very likely He was not born in December, and many suggest is was moved to December 25 to coincide with an older, pagan holiday. However, from what I've seen, no one can agree on which pagan holiday. Myself, I believe that part of the reason for the move is that you just need an excuse for a bit of warmth and a bit of a party that time of year.

Christmas is also a secular holiday. It outgrew the chapel and spilled into the Victorian parlor, the city streets, and then the shopping malls. Again, I think it is partly because you need the warmth and a party in the winter.

You might celebrate Yule, Saturnalia, Alban Arthuan, or something else entirely different. You may celebrate the secular Christmas or you may dread it. But even if you don't keep Christmas yourself, your co-worker with the crucifix likely does. If you wish them a merry Christmas, it isn't because it is important to you, but that it is important to them; the wish isn't for you, it is for them. My non-American friends will wish me a happy fourth of July. It isn't their holiday, but they know it means something to me.

There are many Christians that anger me this time of year (but there are also many pagans that embarrass me.) It is easy to find enemies; if you look you will see them even where they aren't. Instead, look for friends and allies.

Tolerance doesn't begin with someone else; it begins with you. You can't demand that someone else change their attitude if you are unwilling to change yours first.

stepstomarrow
When granddaughter, Jada, was born with leukemia, a donor-match was located and Jada made a miraculous recovery. In honor of her grandaughter's health, Jeanna has decided to walk across the country (in the dead of winter) to raise awareness and build support for the bone marrow registry (all that's required is a cheek swab). Follow Jeanna's remarkable journey as she travels the United States by foot.

taste_buds
Holidays provide a built-in excuse for indulgent entertaining. This all-purpose foodie community covers everything from homemade hangover cures to dinner party menus. Need quick advice? Get five-minute snack suggestions, low-fat ingredient substitutes, and even measurement conversions. Delicious recipes garnished with humorous advice. Yum.

naturesbeauty
Always on the lookout for compelling images, we were delighted to discover this flourishing community of artists who share a love of nature. Honoring the subject with photographs, paintings, sketches, prose, poetry, and other creative works, you'll be simultaneously riveted to your monitor and inspired to run helter skelter towards the nearest wooded dale.