Month: January 2017

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13th Annual Conference on Current Pagan Studies Take-Away Themes

I had the opportunity to attend and present at the 13th Annual Conference on Current Pagan Studies this past weekend at Claremont Graduate University, and it exceeded all my expectations!

Not only gaining valuable insights into questions related to my research in process, but I also had the pleasure of meeting some people whose work I have read, known, and discussed outside the conference but never met in person. Likewise, I believe I now have a new group of colleagues, without whose support and engagement I would not be able to sustain the academic work I have started doing in the area of Pagan Studies.

I wanted to share a couple themes that I found throughout the conference, in part as my own meaning-making process. While this list Continue reading “13th Annual Conference on Current Pagan Studies Take-Away Themes”

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The Awen Symbol is now VA Approved

As a seemingly inclusive nod toward the practice of religious and spiritual practices, the Awen symbol that often depicts Druidry, is now an approved image for Government-furnished headstones or markers  per the Veteran’s Administration (VA). First reported via Circle Sanctuary’s Lady Liberty League, this  information is now on the official U.S. Department of Veteran’s Affairs website.

While this is now #65 of the symbols that have been approved, it is even more than that — it is an official United States acknowledgement that Druidry is a real practice. While those of us who are members of The Druid Network or the Ancient Order of Druids in America (AODA) or even the Reformed Druids of North America (RDNA) may not be surprised given how our members seemingly increase as the threats to the stability of the environment are pushed to the breaking point, it is satisfying to be in a country where religious expression is free and protected and even officially approved for public cemeteries.

I wonder how many Druids who are not associated with the military will use this action as an encouragement to do the same when our time comes?

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Plans for PantheaCon 2017

I took the plunge and bought my flights for PantheaCon 2017 next month. Will be my first time at this gathering (or any large, formal, pagan gathering), so expect to have more to share about it. Not sure where to begin, between fears and hesitations and uncertainties, but that is what being a Druid is all about — listen to and embrace the energies in nature to help us face the simpler human issues that we (far too often) create for ourselves.

Onward to PantheaCon!

 

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Cherry Hill Seminary Courses (Fall, 2016)

I took the plunge in 2016 and took two courses at Cherry Hill Seminary — Paganism and the Body (taught by Christine Hoff Kraemer) and Living Systems (taught by Wendy Griffin).

Loved them!

The courses just ended so I am still processing the experiences, but I am thankful for the article in The Wild Hunt that alerted me to some of the challenges Cherry Hill was facing and, more importantly, that they offered such rich, diverse, intensively academic, and solid courses at all. I had not really thought about studying for another master’s degree, but I had such fun taking these two courses and, even though they were both much more work than I expected, found them so rewarding, that this just may be a 2017 goal of mine.

Hmm, what to take in the spring . . .

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