As a child of divorce, I had two of every holiday: two birthdays, two Thanksgivings, two Christmases... That’s sort of what being a current Pagan, benevolent ex-Christian is like. I’ll happily sing the Jesus songs and make a joyful noise about it, but I’ve also got my eyes peeled for nature spirits darting in and … Continue reading On Christmas Eve a Pagan Writes Something Pithy About Divorce
Tag: Gods
Where HAVE I Been? Death, Agony, and the Flame that Won’t Die
I was posting regularly, getting Temple Mercury off the ground, and then I just up and disappeared on you. Here’s what happened: It has been a rip-roaring six months, let me tell you! In mid-February my mom, with whom I lived and whose caregiver I had been for three years, had to go to the … Continue reading Where HAVE I Been? Death, Agony, and the Flame that Won’t Die
On Godly Gifts: Life Is Hard When You Don’t Believe in Giraffes
When I was 19, I took piano, violin, and music theory from an eccentric Hungarian musician who liked to talk a lot about escaping communism. He also liked to tell Hungarian jokes. In a book of translated Hungarian poetry, (by the poet Miklos Radnoti—seriously, check him out. He’s awesome), I read in the translator’s notes … Continue reading On Godly Gifts: Life Is Hard When You Don’t Believe in Giraffes
Those Who Lack: A Pagan Meditation on Love and Dentistry
Taken outside my mother’s board and care facility while she was recovering and my teeth were falling out. I remember my friend Jeana at the bar in Nashville, Tennessee, or actually on her way to the bar saying that her teeth may be crooked, but at least they were all in there. She was referring … Continue reading Those Who Lack: A Pagan Meditation on Love and Dentistry
A Pagan Learns Evangelical Charity
My best Salvation Army find of all time. I kick myself every day that I didn’t buy it. Except God Now! Human trafficking is a huge problem where I live yet, woefully, there are very few organizations that serve those victimized by it. I recently had occasion to donate goods to a deserving charity and, … Continue reading A Pagan Learns Evangelical Charity
Prayer Song Honoring Goddess Hestia
While it is traditional to honor Brigid during the Imbolc season, it is also fitting to honor Goddess Hestia who is the goddess of hearth and temple fire—the loving goddess of the divine spark. She so wished for humanity to have this connection to the gods that she gave up her throne on Olympus to … Continue reading Prayer Song Honoring Goddess Hestia
Pagan Truthiness
“This is the true religion. All others are thrown-away bandages beside it.” -Rumi In college, while still a Mormon, I saw some article in the local newspaper disparaging Mormonism for claiming to be the “one true religion.” I thought it was funny at the time. Who would want to belong to a church that claimed … Continue reading Pagan Truthiness
Saturday Devotion: Hail Beloved Gods
I have a morning prayer practice that I have come to rely on to get my head straight and help remind me of what my priorities are—loving and serving my gods in joy and gratitude, and expressing passionate faith. The watchwords of Temple Mercury. This prayer is based on the “Hail Mary” which is a … Continue reading Saturday Devotion: Hail Beloved Gods
Mercury Day Magic: Casual Banishing Spell
Wednesday is, astrologically speaking, the day of Mercury. Mercury, so the mythology says, is the god of folk magic, so let’s talk magic (or magick if you like to distinguish between woo and prestidigitation. Mercury is the god of both). Have you ever come into contact with nasty people you needed out of your life … Continue reading Mercury Day Magic: Casual Banishing Spell
Gratitude Prayer
Hibiscus Blossom in a Snowstorm (photograph by M. Ashley) Passionate faith begins and ends in passionate gratitude. And so Temple Mercury’s inaugural post is, fittingly, a gratitude prayer. You should seek to express gratitude to and for your gods as much as possible, in the moment, even improvisationally, letting one small gratitude lead to another … Continue reading Gratitude Prayer
Temple Mercury 