Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 53:04 — 48.6MB)

This Week’s Hosts

Host Beliefs Location
Amber Kemetic / Theurgist Outer Banks, NC
Ashlee LaVeyan Satanism Stroudsburg, PA
Dave Non-Traditional and Solitary Wiccan Houston, TX
Sam Shamanic Hazleton, PA

Breaking News
Notice Silver Ravenwolf in the press lately? It’s because she’s got a new book: HedgeWitch: Spells, Crafts & Rituals For Natural Magick (Paperback). Let’s make sure this fluff goes down the tubes with a rating of 1… out of 5.

Listener Topics

  • Micky in Australia Writes:

    Hey guys
    I was very interested in your call for more organized action for pagan rights in the public arena as opposed to the internet and thought I’d offer my two cents.

    Though first some introduction,

    I am Micky, a follower of the Hermetic tradition as well as a number of other paths, I escaped from a pentecostal church as a teenager but still carry many christian values with me even as I identify myself as a pagan.

    As was said in episode 37, the pagan community lacks the numbers to be a serious force in of itself so we rely on other groups to sympathize with us, such as in the case of the headstone incident.

    The first step as you said is distributing pamphlets, to different places such as colleges, social centers, shopping centers etc. The trick with these pamphlets is deciding your audience, because then you need two different approaches.

    If they’re aimed to rouse pagans in the broom closet to action, then it should have sections on promoting unity between diverse pagan faiths, reasons and methods for coming out of the broom closet, how to contact the larger pagan community and how to take action.

    If they’re aimed at non pagans, it should be much more secular, making appeals based on actual experiences people have had being discriminated against, cases where laws and regulations (state law, college regulations) have been broken in the name of favoritism and discrimination, and most important of all, is why it effects the person reading, i.e a breakdown in laws preventing religious discrimination and favoritism is something affecting not only pagans but Atheists, Muslims, Buddhists, etc etc ect, anything non christian essentially.

    Its really a matter of picking your targets and tools very carefully, and appealing to as many groups as once, in effect a multipronged assault, ensuring that even if only a small number of people from each group get involved, if you appeal to a lot of different groups, thats a lot of people.

    Then its a matter of getting them all to get involved online, yes I know we’re trying for real world change but we have to get them talking in an online setting first, they’ll be more likely to want to take part since they can do so at first from the safety of a computer, and it gives us an oppurtunity to weed out those who want to cause trouble, or just wont actualy get anything done. Then among those who do get involved and are eager to get stuff done, we can get to know them and what they can offer better, for instance it would be helpfull if this multipronged compain landed us a lawyer who wanted to support the cause.

    I myself am a graphic designer, mainly focusing on 3D animation and photoshop work, If anything in that realm of things was needed I’d be happy to help.

    Another thing to consider is to look at different religious and social groups outside paganism who may have reason to side with us and focus our efforts on appealing our cause to them.

    Since I live on the other side of the planet (Australia) I’m not exactly familiar with the particulars of different faiths and organizations in your area. (I have skype if you wanna chat, but I have to yell REALY loud to be heard all the hell way over there XD)

    But the first step with whatever organization you chose, is to try to form some kind of public relations campaign with them, if all goes well you could start hosting conferences addressed by pagans and people of the other faith/group aimed at bringing together and educating both pagans and (insert faith here), a local example I’ve seen is the crescent moon and the cross, interfaith meetings between Christians and Muslims.

    Though this might need to wait till you have a larger support base and contacts within the relivent faiths who can get you an in with the church for these conferances. But once these get rolling support should realy start growing, just have to keep it relivent to the audiences, hammer home how this effects them or ideals they hold dear, like preserving the rights they are entitled to.

    Since you’ve been active in the pagan comminity I expect I’ve said a lot you already know. Just thought I’d chip in and offer my support.
    I personaly have had great difficulty establishing contact with pagans in Australia since there actualy arent that many of us and as has been said on the show we generaly dont advertise.

    I love the show keep up the good work, if there’s anything I can do to contribute to the cause let me know.

    Dark/Light/Nuetral Grey/Whatever-the-fuck-ever Blessings
    Micky

  • Pat writes:

    Hi again:
    It’s been a while since I last wrote. I thought I’d ask about the word metaphysics. As you probably recall, I asked you some time ago whether or not you accept as true the metaphysical reality of Christianity. In episode 79 you claimed that indeed you do. This raised in my mind the question then of what you mean by metaphysics.

    If it’s true that you hold Christianity to be a metaphysical reality on some level then you must also see yourselves as going to Hell, as you are all pagans and not followers of Jesus Christ, the figure or god which Christianity asserts to be the one and only metaphysical road to salvation from Hell. That is, unless I am mistaken as to what you mean by metaphysics.

    By metaphysics are you discussing a reality which exists independent of human thought and also above and beyond the physical? Considering Ashlee’s claims about the gods’ merely being parts of the human psyche idolized, as it were, it would seem that you do not necessarily believe the metaphysical realm to exist outside of human thought. Jason also does not seem to accept the view that the metaphysical exists above and beyond the physical as he answered my question regarding where gods come from by recourse to scientific laws – particularly thermodynamics (16:55 in mp3). He could just as easily have said that the gods themselves were responsible for the creation of the said physical laws from outside the universe.

    So, what do you mean by metaphysical?

    Pat

    Dave notes: Ashlee previously posted a blog entry about semantics where she discussed her definition of Metaphysics: http://imbleedingprofusely.com/archives/308.

Lead Topic

  • Confidence, and its role in your metaphysical workings.

Ego Stroking

  • ARIANNA writes:

    HEY JUST WANTED TO TELL YOU GUYS THAT I THINK YOU’RE ALL A REAL RIOT TO LISTEN TO LOL.THE THINGS YOU TALK ABOUT ARE SAID WITH HONESTY AND BLUNTNESS,BUT YOU ALWAYS SEEM TO HIT THE NAIL ON THE HEAD WITH ANY ISSUES. I LOVE THE WAY YOU GUYS DESCRIBE CERTAIN THINGS AND THE FEELING YOU PUT INTO ALL IT TOO.

    YOU TELL IT LIKE IT IS AND IF ANYONE OUT THERE LISTENING IS OFFENDED OR DOESNT LIKE ANY THING YOU SAY THEN I CONSIDER THAT THEIR PROBLEM AND I’M SURE YOU DO TOO! …

    YOU’RE CRUDE AND YOU LIKE TO SHOCK PEOPLE WITH THE THINGS YOU SAY..HEY YOU KNOW WHAT??? I THINK I LIKE THAT, CAUSE GUESS WHAT??? SO DO I! LOL :-D

    HAVE A GREAT AND FUN SAMHAIN GUYS!

    HOPE ITS A WICKED ONE!GO OUT AND SCARE THE S**T OUT OF EVERYONE! LOL

    BLESSED BE

    A.

Credits