Reconstructionists and Traditionalists

new mod

Mon, 04 Aug 2008 22:45:06 GMT

I would like to appoint a new maintainer for this community. I am really not such an active member of the community anymore, so I feel I make a poor choice for a leader here. In the interest of fairness, I'd like ownership to go to someone who does have an active role in the community.

Any takers?

KHARIS second edition

Fri, 11 Jul 2008 23:15:54 GMT

I am happy to announce the release of the second edition of my book, Kharis: Hellenic Polytheism Explored. The first edition was printed via Cafepress four years ago, and I wanted to publish a more professional version now that the technology was more readily available. While I was doing that, I decided to include an updated Hellenic pagan survey, incorporate a few recent articles I've written, and make several smaller changes, updates and additions.

You can visit the website for the book (including a Table of Contents) here: http://www.winterscapes.com/kharis/
And buy it either via CreateSpace: https://www.createspace.com/Customer/EStore.do?id=3344165
Or Amazon.com: http://www.amazon.com/Kharis-Sarah-Kate-Istra-Winter/dp/143823192X/

I will be donating 20% of the proceeds from this book to Survival International, a charitable organization working to protect tribal peoples around the world.

For those unfamiliar with my book, here's the blurb:

Kharis: Hellenic Polytheism Explored delves into the many aspects of the revival of Greek paganism, from its ancient roots to its modern practice. It is written for the person new to Hellenismos, and for the person who has been practicing for years, as well as for people outside of the religion who are interested in learning more. It covers not only the basics of worship, but also how to make the ancient religion relevant to modern times, cultivate relationships with the gods and other divinities, and create a deeply satisfying spiritual life.

The emphasis of this book is on the concept of kharis - the reciprocity so implicit in the practice of Hellenic polytheism. From the simplest devotional act, to prayer, to divination, to mysticism, the principle of reciprocal favor governs the heart of this religion and lets each worshipper encounter the gods on a real and profound level.

Feel free to pass this announcement along to any lists, groups, etc. that you think might be interested.

Cultural Fixation

Fri, 11 Jul 2008 02:50:07 GMT

I am curious what other recon groups do in regard to culture.

In CR people have been going on for years that you have to learn a language and you have to be involved in the culture (which includes use of language) but in talking with some Asatru freinds I have to wonder. Do other recon groups fixate on the 'living culture' as much as CR? How do other groups approach the concept that there is a living culture that is decendant from the Norse/Germanic peoples, or the Hellenes, or whichever form of recon you are.

John

Wed, 25 Jun 2008 00:11:58 GMT

Just out of curiosity, do you consider Proto-Indo-European Religion to be a form of reconstructionism in the same way that Asatru or Celtic Reconstructionism are?

http://www.ceisiwrserith.com/pier/index.htm

Lithuanian Mythology

Mon, 23 Jun 2008 05:33:12 GMT

Hello all,

Please forgive me if this has been asked before, but I am interested in reliable and accurate information on Lithuanian Mythology. Can anyone recommend any books or websites (only well informed websites, please!)

Thanks in advance!

Patrons

Thu, 19 Jun 2008 07:04:53 GMT

The concept of patrons deities (or other divinities such as Daemons, spirits, ect…) is an interest of mine for some inexplicable reason. As such I was wondering if some of you wouldn’t mind answering these questions I have and perhaps spark a dialog on these topics as well.

1. How do you define the patron deity relationship within the confines of your individual path?
2. How do you feel the average pagan defines the patron deity relationship if it differs from 1?
3. What is your opinion on the place of the patron relationship within the greater context of both your path and paganism in general
4. Why do you feel patron relationships are popular within paganism?
5. Do you feel that this type of relationship is over emphasized, neutral, or under emphasized?
6. Do you personally have a patron deity, what type of relationship do you have with this “entity”, and how important is this relationship to you in your daily life.

I thank you for your time and thought ahead of time. Also if you feel you can only answer one or two of these feel free just to answer those or if you have ideas not relating to these questions as well. I want to gather as much information possible!

x-posted in various places, I apologies if you see it more than once.

Publication update

Sun, 08 Jun 2008 18:54:51 GMT

The magazine I'm planning on releasing (hereafter called The Urn) has been delayed due to my laptop deciding it was a good time to die last month. Getting my replacement set up to do the necessary layout work is taking so long that the odds I'll hit the June 21 publication date are vanishingly small.

However, what this means to anyone who intended to contribute but missed the deadline is that you still can (the contributions are resting comfortably on a different computer that I can't do the layout on, so what I have received so far is safe).

I'm going to call July 1 my drop-dead for getting things set up so I can work on the magazine. If I don't have what I need by then, I'm going to admit defeat. No point having folks' work sit and wait if they can get it printed elsewhere.

A question I have had on my mind for a long long time.

Wed, 30 Apr 2008 20:36:16 GMT

A large worldwide disaster looms in the distance, or so experts tell us. Even without factoring in global warming the rate of consumption worldwide is increasing exponentially world wide, and with that greatly pollution and decreasing (all types) resources. Furthermore, our ecosystems (both macro and micro) are nearing a breaking point due to human ignorance and management. Add to that soil degradation and increasing water shortages. All these things threaten to increase every year until we as a species reach a breaking point. Lets then factor in global warming which threatens to if not destabilize utterly crush modern civilization as we know it (It also happens to synergies with the previously mentioned problems). Even though we are leaving a small ice age the rapid rate of warming is the true threat as the Earth is having a hard time reaching equilibrium. Let us Assume all these threats are indeed imminent and unstoppable for various reasons. Obviously this will have wide spread affects on all levels of society but specifically how do you feel your path and paganism as a whole will be affected by this.

New Recon LJ Community

Sat, 26 Apr 2008 13:56:09 GMT

Finding your this LJ community and reading your list of specific Recon communities present on Live Journal made me realize that there wasn't one for those of us who reconstruct spiritual traditions from Mesoamerica. Thus, I just formed the Reconstructionist Traditions of mesoamerica LJ community where people can come to post information about the various religious traditions of the Mesoamerican region including the Maya, Aztec, Toltec, Zapotec, Olmec, etc. Membership is open to all who are interested, regardless of knowledge or experience.

Pagan_Hymnal

Mon, 21 Apr 2008 03:07:15 GMT

Hello everyone I am here to invite you to the new Livejournal community the pagan_hymnal a place to share your hymns, poetry, and other devotional writings inspired by paganism or a pagan view point.

Also Posted on Pagan and darkpaganism, sorry if you see this more than once.

Theism type.

Mon, 14 Apr 2008 07:21:04 GMT

What kind of theist (atheist, pantheist, polytheist, ect…) are you and why? Also based upon this theistic type do you have a concept of The One? (which can be many things, for example some hard Hellenic polytheists still have a The One concept).

Mon, 10 Mar 2008 07:07:33 GMT

Em Hotep!

I am pleased to announce that the members of Neos Alexandria have begun work on the second volume in the Bibliotheca Alexandrina.

To help promote the revival of traditional polytheistic religions we are launching a series of books dedicated to the ancient gods of Greece and Egypt. Volumes will contain essays, poetry, devotional material, original artwork, etc focused on a particular divinity. The library will be a collaborative effort drawing on the combined resources of the different elements within the modern Hellenic and Kemetic communities, in the hope that we can come together to praise our gods and share our diverse understandings, experiences and approaches to the divine. All of the proceeds for these books will go to help promote the worship of the gods of Greece and Egypt, by being used to put on a Greco-Egyptian religious gathering in 2009, bring out further volumes in the series, or given to charitable causes in the name of the gods.

This volume will be dedicated to Thoth (Egyptian Djehuti) the inventor of writing, the scribe of the gods, the lord of wisdom and magic, and the establisher of peaceful concord in the world.

Please consider submitting your work to this worthy cause!

Send submissions to submissions@neosalexandria.org

* All submissions must be received no later than July 31st, 2008.
* All submissions must be the original work of the author – plagiarism
is strongly frowned upon!
* Multiple submissions by the same author are fine – and encouraged!
* Material that has been published in other places will still be
considered, provided the author retains their copyright to the work.
* The author retains all rights to their work after publication.
* Contact the editors for information on format, length, and other
requirements if you have any questions.

Feel free to pass this information on to anyone you think might be
interested in this project.

Sincerely,
The Editorial Board of the Library of Neos Alexandria
submissions@neosalexandria.org

Proving our Gods

Mon, 25 Feb 2008 23:29:58 GMT

Okay, after watching a few video's on atheistic rants against religious beliefs it strikes me.... We who believe in Gods have a rough time of convincing Atheists of our claims for the existence of Gods. So my question is, if you were faced with an Atheist, what evidence would you provide to them that your Gods exist? And no, unverified personal gnosis usually does not count as proof of the exisistance of any Gods.

A few questions...sorry for the cross-posting

Sun, 24 Feb 2008 00:00:19 GMT

I'm getting married in about a year and a half (Oct. 3, 2009 is the target date--October is a meaningful month, and it's a Saturday, and it falls on the first day of the full moon cycle), and we've...started...planning. I'm kind of at an impasse at the moment, until he gives me a list of his family, and we have numbers and can figure out what we need for venue and such.

So...while I can't do much of anything else, I thought it would be a good time to start working on this other part of things. Neither of us are interested in doing a religious ceremony (he's spiritual, but not religious, and I'm Hellenic polytheist), but I do want to do preparations and sacrifices and such appropriate to my religion on my own the eve/night before the wedding. I've read places about sacrifices to Zeus and Hera, obviously, and Artemis, and Hestia, and Aphrodite, but I'm wondering if any actual outlines of such rituals and prayers have made their way into our community. I'm not very good or eloquent when it comes to writing things like this, so I was hoping for some guidance and ideas, perhaps? Also, those are obvious gods to pray and give offerings to for such an event, but are there others that I'm not thinking of? And again, I don't even know where to begin, really. And, just an FYI, anything involving child-bearing is unnecessary, as neither of us are interested in children...though still welcome, as I'm sure there are others who would be interested in this also.

So...thank you very much in advance for anything any of you may be able to help/provide.

Thu, 31 Jan 2008 00:58:24 GMT

Khairete!

[Please feel free to distribute this announcement to other venues.]

It is with a great deal of pride that I am finally and happily able to announce that the first volume in the Bibliotheca Alexandrina has been completed and is available for purchase!

Written in Wine is a devotional anthology dedicated to Dionysos, the god of wine, vegetation, religious ecstasy, personal liberation, and the mysteries of life. With almost sixty pieces by over thirty contributors from every segment of the Hellenic polytheist community (as well as folks who do not identify as such) it is truly exhaustive in its portrayal of the different ways that people understand and relate to this complex and powerful deity today. Within these pages you will find original artwork, poetry, essays, fiction, scholarly translations, personal accounts of experiences with the god and even a play! In their very different ways each of our authors show that Dionysos is alive and still deeply touching our lives today.

Written in Wine can be purchased from our online store by visiting the following link:

http://www.createspace.com/3334423

Shortly it will also be available through Amazon.com and able to be ordered through your local retail book chain – but we encourage you to purchase it through our website since that will give the Bibliotheca Alexandrina a higher portion of the royalties without changing the price for you the consumer.

Why does that matter?

Because all of the proceeds from Written in Wine – as well as the other volumes in the Bibliotheca Alexandrina series – will be used to help promote the revival of the worship of the Greek and Egyptian gods.

50% of the royalties will be used to put on Neos Alexandria’s 4-day religious gathering in 2009.
25% of the proceeds will be used to bring out further devotional volumes for other Greek and Egyptian gods through the Bibliotheca Alexandrina.
And the remaining 25% of the proceeds will be given to a worthy charitable organization in the name of the gods of Greece and Egypt.

So, not only will you be getting a wonderful book about the modern worship of Dionysos – but your money will be going to do good work and help the revival of ancient polytheistic religions.

We are rebuilding the Library of Alexandria one book at a time!

***
Written in Wine: A Devotional Anthology for Dionysos
By the Editorial Board of the Bibliotheca Alexandrina
Price: $17.99
Publication Date: Jan 29 2008
ISBN/EAN13: 1434836738 / 9781434836731
Page Count: 220
Binding Type: US Trade Paper
Trim Size: 5.5"x8.5"
http://www.createspace.com/3334423

Table of Contents

A Note on Style
Introduction by Sannion
The Satyr of New Orleans by Sannion
Dionysos the Revealer by Samantha Frye
Lenaia by Sarah Kate Istra Winter
Love for Dionysos by Suz Thackston
Catch Me If You Can by Hector Lugo
Hail the Twice Born by Diotima Sophia
The Paths to Dionysos by Sannion
Orphic Hymn 30 Translation by Adam P. Forrest
For Dionysus by Raphaeline Williams
Freedom From Ourselves: Dionysos' Greatest Gift by Syna
Dancing with Dionysos by Samantha Frye
What It Means To Be a Maenad by Sarah Kate Istra Winter
Dionysos Rising by Charles M. Peckman Jr.
Dionysus Knows His Lady by Allyson Szabo
Dion and I: The Dance So Far by S. A. Victory
Six Poems by Cara Schulz
Dionysos From an Apollonian Perspective by Samantha Frye
An Echo, a Plea by Larissa Bernardes
How to Worship Like a Greek by Nuri
What It’s Like Right Now by Lysiodoros (Adam P. Forrest)
Shamanism in Nonnus’ Dionysiaca by Ron Newbold
For Dionysos by Renee Rhodes
Labyrinth of Mirrors by Michael Routery
Dionysos on Skyros by Tim Ward
To Dionysos the Bull by Samantha Frye
Libation by Diotima Sophia
Song for Dionysos-Zagreus by Blue Starthief
Loam by Venecia Rauls
Dionysos & Oracular Madness by M. Isidora Forrest & Adam P. Forrest
Ecstasy by Moonlight by Sannion
Dionysus, Plead by Larissa Bernardes
Dancing and Dreaming with Dionysos: A Personal Devotional Journey by the
Rev. Dr. Phillip A. Bernhardt-House
Labyrinth by Venecia Rauls
The Fool by Amanda S. Blake
Black Leopard by Rebecca Buchanan
Eyes Like the Fruit of the Vine by Hector Lugo
Diamente for Dionysos by Laura LaVoie
Dionysus by Amanda S. Blake
Dionysus Sees Her by Allyson Szabo
The City Dionysia: a Trilogy in Four Parts by Evanne Floyd
To Dionysos by Hearthstone
To Dionysos II by Hearthstone
The Mystery of Meilikhios and Bakkhios by Sannion
Dionysos of the Vine by Samantha Frye
Dionysus by Diotima Sophia
Culture from Counter-Culture: Dionysian Drama and Hellenism by Jeremy J. Baer
Homeric Hymn #7 Translated by Karen McCollam
Dionysus by Rebecca Buchanan
Ariadne by Samantha Frye
Dionysos and Dionysias by Ivan Richmond
Arakhneiad by Sannion
Orphic Hymn 52 Translation by Adam P. Forrest
Lesser-Known Dionysian Festivals by John H. Wells
Lampteria by Sarah Kate Istra Winter
To Bright-Eyed Dionysos by Samantha Frye
Dionysos: Intuition and Paradox by Venecia Rauls
Future Perfect by Nuri
Come Dionysus by Theokleia
After the Revel by Sannion
Glossary of Important Terms
Bibliography
About the Bibliotheca Alexandrina

Seattle Area CR gathering, first three months schedule

Sat, 29 Dec 2007 09:55:22 GMT

I spoke with Robert this evening about setting up a once a month gathering at Edge of the Circle. After looking at the calendar, I've scheduled the following dates:

Second Monday of the month, 7-9pm:

January 14
February 11
March 10

The January meeting will be a discussion of what our goals and interests are as CRs who wish to learn and work together. I'd like to suggest that folks either get a copy of the CR FAQ (if you weren't one of the folks who actually helped compose it) or download it to read over as we work through some of our planning for the subsequent sessions.

I talked to Robert to see if he could get copies, but because the book is not available to him at a wholesale discount, he's not able to carry the book. Getting it directly from the CR FAQ website rather than Amazon.com or other online bookshop will guarantee that all profits go to Gaelic language charities rather than merchants.

If anyone has questions or thoughts, please drop me a line at inisglas (at) seanet (d0t) com. Please feel free to bring anyone who's interested, whether they are CR or not. Other reconstructionists are always welcome, but the focus of the group is on Celtic Reconstructionist Paganism.

Paganism & Wikipedia

Sat, 27 Oct 2007 06:39:13 GMT

How many of you visit Wikipedia articles?

How many of you regularly edit Wikipedia articles?

Why edit Wikipedia articles?

Do a search for anything and, most likely, one of your top results is going to be the Wikipedia article on that subject. That means millions of people every day find these articles and they tend to be the first source people turn to on the internet for a subject.

Sick of misrepresentation and repeated false notions?

Now is your chance to help.

A proper Wikipedia article must be neutral according to Wikipedia policy. All information requires references. As reconstructive pagans, we have the resources to contribute to and produce fact-filled articles that assist in dispelling all sorts of false information and spread the word about our indigenous pre-Christian cultural practices to people would otherwise never come across it or take interest in it via this medium.

I know that some of you - for example, Kathryn, often edit Wikipedia articles. Anyone can. And it's as anonymous as you would like it to be.Of course, as I've mentioned before, it has to be neutral and information added needs to be sourced, else you may find your contributions reverted pretty quickly but through this medium you can certainly contribute to a greater understand towards not only Reconstructive Paganism but also contribute to research and a greater understanding of your ancestors.

Contribute: http://en.wikipedia.org

I Stand with Tara - Samhain Ritual

Thu, 18 Oct 2007 19:47:27 GMT

On Samhain night, Oct. 31 2007, people all over the world will be uniting in a ritual to help protect and preserve one of the most sacred sites in Ireland, and indeed the world: The Hill of Tara and the surrounding Skryne Valley, in County Meath, Ireland.

As many of you know, the site is still threatened with destruction. We are working together with activists in Ireland to help stop this, both with this-world activism and with a ritual we've written to help support the activists spiritually.

In the time of our ancestors, Tara was the center of a ritual complex, where signal fires were lit to mark the holy day, and whose light spread out from hilltop to hilltop across the land. Now, the center has been neglected, so much so that some think it is no matter to desecrate it. So we meet on Samhain to add our energy and prayers to revitalise and resacralise Tara.

In the past, the signal and sacred flames were taken from Tara; but on Samhain we will all unite to send the power and blessings back to Tara, to rebuild the source. We will light our individual fires on hilltops and in fields, and in homes around the world. We will have people climbing the surrounding hills all across Ireland, and in many countries the world around. We will unite our flames with the center. We will unite to protect Tara.

Read more at http://www.paganachd.com/tara

At the end of the pre-ritual briefing we've posted information on how to help physically - by writing letters, sending money, calling with moral support, or going and standing in front of bulldozers. Our other offering is this ritual, which I wrote together with thewronghands, after we both got some heavy requests from the spirits.

Note - I will be adding more graphics and smoothing out the visuals of the site a bit more in the coming days, but all the info should be there. We welcome your feedback! If you plan on participating in the ritual, please consider letting us know. We may be posting a list of participants on the site. If you write us, let us know how you'd like to be named. We suggest using one of the formats in the ritual, explained in under the "Introduce yourself (threefold) and Lighting the Signal Fires For Tara" instructions on the pre-ritual briefing page (http://www.paganachd.com/tara/pre-ritual.html).

cross-posted to caitriona_nnc, paganacht, and a handful of other places. feel free to re-post this message and link to the ritual on the website

"Worshipping Ancients" versus Worshipping Gods

Mon, 15 Oct 2007 20:09:09 GMT

OK, this question has been on my mind recently, simply because I have seen several people alluding to it, but I honestly cannot say that I have ever see it in action, as it were.

Has anybody ever actually met somebody who is actually such a stickler for doing things "the way the ancients did" that they are completely abhorred by the idea of any kind of modern innovation in ritual or practise?

I ask this because the vast majority (probably every single one) of the "recons" I know, know of, and/or have met on-line or off seems completely realistic in acknowledging that some things "the ancients" did are either impossible to perform today, and may even be seen as "unethical" in a modern light, and therefore, modern innovations or inventions of practise should be made to make up for what we, as a modern people, lack the ability to perform. I really racked my brain to try and think of somebody, anybody whom I have met in the general Pagan/Neo-Pagan or specific Hellenic Pagan/Polytheistic Reconstructionist community (the Recon community I am a part of — I have limited experience with Keltic Reconstructionists and a little bit less of Asatru — I know practically nothing of non-syncretic Kemetic types, I must say). I am starting to think that these people who I may say "are more concerned with worshipping the ancients than the deities" do not actually exist and are basically a straw-man argument or some kind of "urban legend" that Recons have no actual proof that they actually exist.

Please correct me if I am wrong.

Also, just out of curiosity, I am wondering about what percentage of ancient versus modern practises that people would say that they practise. I am just asking for a rough guess, but if you want to expand of that, great! :-) I am always interested in what other people are doing in ritual, if only out of curiosity, but mostly to see what inspires me.

Holy day or seasonal celebration

Fri, 12 Oct 2007 05:24:19 GMT

I still have that compulsion, to do one seasonal ritual and call the season "done." I KNOW that this is a hold over of my Wiccan past, with some influences of modern Christianity as well (although I beleive older Christian practices probably more resembled Jewish practices where holy times are several days). To SOME extent we have begone the process of the seasonal acknowledgment being over a period of time as long as what is typically defined as "ritual" is done only once. And I KNOW that this is a wrong idea...intellectually I know that the celebrations of a season must have been a process themselves, carried out over days. There isn't a lot of any material on the rituals of Celtic cultures, so I'm focusing this on developing current practices more than what is traditional, but I also feel we can look at other related cultures for support in the idea that the season is not "done" in one ritual.

I mean I could see that the process of winterizing the house was part of Samhuinn and "dewinterizing" it as part of Bealtuinn. Then when we moved up here and started raising chickens the sacrifice was also part of Samhuinn, there was some ritual to that but obviously not the same sort of thing we do up the Hill. But, and these are the two holy times that seem to take up the most required activities, we felt that the ritual stuff had to be allatoncenomatterwhat! I've not been able to break away from that.

Now that we both work full time, I really feel that we need to push the idea. Because we're not going to have anyone else to handle these things anytime soon (like, you know, this lifetime).

I know I'm not the only one who is CR to have this issue. I recall discussions with CRs and proto-CRs about how they couldn't even participate in other rituals because you "can only do the holiday once." (this was, in part, because I sometimes led small rituals for a little mixed discussion group that asked members to lead rituals in their traditions each season and some thought I should not do that and ritual with the group I then worked with...things like that)

With just two of us trying to do it all in one ritual becomes complicated. I put out and relight the fires on both these holidays, as we keep a different fire for the dark half and the light half of the year (there is more documentation for this at Bealtuinn, but I do remember seeing material for Samhuinn as well ...and there is some old ritual drama that I had liked from a previous group involved even if there is no way to do it with fewer than a dozen people in the very least so that's not an actual part of the ritual although the tale might get told). This draws out the beginning of the ritual quite a bit. Then we do the stock blessing on Bealtuinn, and with just two of us we can't exactly take animals up with us other than the hounds (and we're just NOT going to get the chickens to herd through the fires, despite our sheepdog's determination). And Samhuinn is rather drawn out and involved anyway....so....

And this year I want to do a special ceremony for the new foal we're getting next week, as Saoradh was included in the first ritual after we got him, Bealtuinn. But with just us, again, we're not going to take a mostly still wildish filly up to the ritual site, fire and all.

So, this is the year I am determined to put a stop to this single ritual practice. We're going to bless the animals as the beginning, we will not be using fire for this anyway as that will take some work with the filly and the chickens just aren't going to accept it (when we do the "passing through the fires" at Bealtainn with the chickens, we keep them in the chicken house and I walk around it with a smoldering cauldron). On Nov. 5th, most likely, we'll do a ritual down in the farm yard, as that will be her 6 month birthday and Saoradh's first ritual was May 5 (and yes, that had something to do with why this is our foal and not one of the other possibilities). I will do a ritual to put out the old fire sometime after that. Then we sacrifice the chickens on another day. And I will light the new fire when we do the feasting ritual which I'll try very hard to stop thinking of as the "ritual that does the holiday."

Well, that's the plan in my head. It may change by the time we actually do this.

This is just my brain storming about this issue, my UPG form of learning to celebrate the SEASON rather than the day. I always felt that if CR ever developed groups that really worked, there would probably be several rituals involved in the holidays...as well as some subgroups doing, say, ecstatic ritual for their path at other times. That a household, especially if they live far from where the main group celebrates and therefore have local Spirits and possibly human members who can't make the larger ritual to consider not leaving out, might hold a household ritual at some point in conjunction with the group gathering together. And warriors might gather for specific rites at some point and place while bards might at another or the priest/esses of particular Deithe meet separately as well as together. While, as usual, we don't have a lot of documentation for this, we do know that different social groups doing separate things are at least somewhat traditional in Gaelic society...as McNeill notes that adolescents would gather together for bonfires at Samhuinn, apart from adults.

I'm very interested in if other CRs have begun developing multiple seasonal ritual work or not and how they might do this, as well as anything that those of other Reconstructionist traditions might have to offer whether they're struggling with this too or have more concrete multi-day ways...or, indeed, do only have one day. So I'm crossposting this in my LJ, MySpace and Tribe journals as well as recons and CR groups on Tribe and MySpace. Hmmmm...might hit a Yahoo group or two as well. So I apologize for those who see a lot of this.

[reminder/x-post] September Michigan Hellenic Meet-n-Greet

Sun, 02 Sep 2007 23:14:28 GMT

Date: September 7th, 2007
Time: 6pm-sundown
Where: Ann Arbor, Michigan
OK, more specifically: Island Drive Park, 1450 Island Park Drive (Ann Arbor), in the vicinity of the "Classical revival" shelter
Other Info: If you need a ride or have room in your car to offer, please feel free to use the ride-board--
http://www.sexyhobbitsuperstar.com/hellenic-rideboard/
Just make sure to either leave your e-mail or leave the Private Message option "on" when you sign up so that other people will know how to contact you.

Since this one is for the post-Labour Day weekend, we've decided to make it a picnic — B.Y.O.B., though we really won't care if you bring something big enough to share.

This is what the shelter looks like: http://www.ci.ann-arbor.mi.us/CommunityServices/Parks/images/Island_classic1.jpg
...though I should point out that the side in the photo is facing the water. This shelter is entered from the back.

If, for some reason, the weather is bad, we can take everything to my place, but let's still meet up at the park to convoy.

Just like the August meet-n-greet, this is very informal, just so that we can all meet each-other and (hopefully) discuss potential group rituals for the future.

---

Since there are grills and tables outside the shelter, there really is no need to rent this one, but the chances of it being used are rather slim (since it's after Labour Day). (Though for future rituals, I *do* want to rent it.)

I'm five feet even (well, just a hair under), fat (no sense in sugar-coating it), have white hair, glasses, and will be wearing a "Here Comes A Special Boy" t-shirt and jeans. If the weather drops below 75, I'll have my old Retail Slut jacket. Trust me, I'm hard to miss.

-- RJ

"It is a very sad thing that nowadays there is so little useless
information."
-- Oscar Wilde

My Blog: http://rowan.sexyhobbitsuperstar.com
My Noise: http://thisiswherethefishlives.sexyhobbitsuperstar.com
My Books: http://stores.lulu.com/ruadhanjmcelroy

The CR FAQ Book is now For Sale!

Thu, 23 Aug 2007 00:15:47 GMT

Yes, we have finally approved it for sale.

The CR FAQ - An Introduction to Celtic Reconstructionist Paganism can now be ordered directly from our printer, here: http://www.lulu.com/content/1038004

For additional info on the book, we also have a page on the FAQ site itself: http://paganachd.com/faq/buybook.html

It will probably be a couple weeks before the book is for sale on the big chain websites and in bookstores, but not only can you buy it now directly, but skipping the middleman means that ACGA gets about twice the money they will get when it's bought from the corporate stores.

...and so the cross-posting begins...

Altarproject.org is Up & Running

Mon, 30 Jul 2007 05:47:55 GMT

(X-Posted)

Hey everyone,

I just wanted to drop a quick note to those who might be interested that the web domain for the 30 Day Altar Project is up and running (at about 80% live) at http://www.altarproject.org

The 30 Day Altar Project is a devotional art experiment dedicated to the Northern Gods & Elemental Deities. The way it works is that every contributor spends a few minutes every day meditating on a deity and one aspect of their influence and then looks around and collects owned, given, found, or nominal cost items that make up the items that will go on an altar to be erected in a public place. At the end of the 30 day period, the altar is set up, photos are taken, and the contributor records their experiences. Its both a creative and spiritual exercise, and by seeing others' altars it teaches us how others view the high ones. The project is intended to be international in scope, so if you don't see your country represented, please think about doing a piece. One of the goals is to increase mindfulness in worship and to expand practitioners' understanding of the High Ones through art. From July 2007-July 2008 altars to the Northern Gods will be erected in public all over the world.

We are actively seeking submissions from those who work with and honor the Gods of the North. All of the information for submitting projects can be found on the website or on our blog at http://altarproject.livejournal.com

A bunch of projects have been promised and the site will be updated frequently. Please set your bookmarks and check back often. The project is intended to represent a diversity of belief and is not relegated to the Heathen community.

Gaol Naofa

Sun, 29 Jul 2007 05:42:33 GMT

A friend of mine and myself are starting a Celtic Reconstructionist Organization entitled "An Chuallacht Ghaol Naofa (CGN)" or "Gaol Naofa" for short. We currently are not accepting official membership. However there is a public forum which we are excepting members on. We would greatly appreciate anyone interested in Celtic Reconstructionism check out the forum. Thanks

www.gaolnaofa.org

Iconography/Images of the Gods

Wed, 04 Jul 2007 07:46:34 GMT

Does anyone have a link (or more) to well crafted images of deities by modern worshipers? Trying to find some for part of my thesis that is dealing with iconography and want something to compare to a lot of the aweful statues and images that are around in New Age/Neopagan stores.

Also, how do people feel about modern iconography of the gods? Should the gods be represented or not?