Blog o’ Gnosis

I live in one of the few places in Sonoma County where there is a shred of freshness in the air today. The wind is blowing fierce, the sky is like a milky soup with streaks of rust from all the fires burning, but at least here the smoke mingles with a layer of fog [...]

A couple years ago, I wrote about how singing and especially songwriting was one of my personal indicator species—those activities which, by their presence in my daily routine, mean that I am functioning at my fullest. By their absence, I can measure the level of stress that I am under. When they return, it is [...]

Yesterday afternoon I was preparing for my first class on Children in Contemporary Paganism, to be held online that evening through Cherry Hill Seminary, by reading some of the articles assigned to my students. The first piece was a lovely essay by my old friend Mary Klein, and as I read it I remembered the [...]

There are other places much more suited to outdoor celebrations of May Day than the Northern California coast. Our weather is dicey at best in the spring, often accompanied by cold winds that whip in from the ocean. It would make much more sense to celebrate Beltane here in September or October, when the wind [...]

On Friday I spent a few hours at the Dandelion Gathering, Reclaiming’s occasional hoe-down, business meeting and reunion of sorts. It was just a couple of hours away, and though I had a very busy weekend I couldn’t miss the opportunity to visit with friends from all over the country in a work-free environment.

The setting was gorgeous: rolling hills of meadow and oak woodland with an occasional stand of second-growth redwood. Spring in the Valley of the Moon: new leaves glistening in the vineyards and pollen floating through the air. It was deliciously warm in the sun and almost too cool beneath the big trees. Right off the bat I saw several people I hadn’t seen in a long time, and settled in on the porch to visit.

My paternal grandmother was a Naval officer’s wife, and through the years she spent travelling with her husband and sons from base to base, she always employed a housekeeper. The last of these, when she and my grandfather were in their late 70s and living in a modest apartment in Oakland, was a [...]

One thing I know about cities is that you can really read their vital signs by reading the posters stapled to telephone poles. Looking for where the reggae fans hang out? Search for the neighborhood with the largest number of reggae show posters on the phone poles. Want to hook up with the jazz and poetry crowd? Check out the poles outside a random sampling of coffee houses, and you’re sure to find the spot where most of the cool cats meet.

The same is true for churches—or, if you prefer, darshans and Buddhist retreats. Find the area in the city that sports the most posters advertising a certain faith, and you are almost assured of meeting like-minded folks there. You can tell a lot about the spiritual make-up of a city by the diversity on its phone poles. Which is why I am so enamoured by the recent development going on in Portland, OR.

I am still hoping to write something about my experience at PantheaCon two weeks ago, and I am still struggling with issues of perspective. I could give a jaded insider’s view of the con, complete with snarky gossip-y non-information that some people would think was hilarious but many more would think was self-indulgent and boring. So no, that’s not the blog post I want to write (though it is tempting).

I could give a lengthy, informative run-down of the sessions I attended, the interesting conversations I had, and what I think the state of Pagan-dom is based on all of the above. Yet writing that post does not interest me. I am tired of thinking of the state of Pagan-dom, tired of the responsibility of knowing so much history and holding so many confidences, tired ultimately of being looked to for words of wisdom.

I did promise to blog again after being “well and fully rested” from the ordeal of PantheaCon. Well readers, I must submit to you today that perhaps such promises are not the wisest notion. For I was no sooner back from Pcon than I was laid flat by the flu, or the bronchitis, or whatever it is that renders people completely helpless, fevering and delirious for days on end.

Okay, well two days on end. On the third day I had to haul myself out of bed for my radio show and a couple other things. By today I’m feeling quite a bit better, though I still haven’t done all my post-Pcon bookkeeping. Yet progress is progress. And considering that this week I have had more rest than activity (besides, do we ever fully recover from ordeals?), I must admit that it is time to blog about the Con.

That’s PantheaCon, for those of you jaded enough to think something else. Yes, the much-ballyhooed annual Pagan gathering is commencing this Friday, held in the splendor of a downtown San Jose hotel, and will run all through the long President’s Day weekend.

My crew and I will be at the Serpentine Music booth just inside the front entrance to the vendor’s room, playing all kinds of Pagan music, and selling CDs, songbooks, and DVDs. This year I have teamed up with the excellent Jason Pitzl-Waters from over at the Wild Hunt Blog and A Darker Shade of Pagan radio. Jason suggested some great new music to carry, and I managed to get his very favorite in stock. (If you come to the booth and give the secret blog-reader handshake, you can see his whole top ten list.)