Wikipedia 101: Wikiprojects
True Pagan Warrior
by TPWard
1M ago
One of the ways that pagans can work on getting more accurate information about our religions in Wikipedia is together, particularly through onsite “wikiprojects.” It’s an important way that volunteer editors organize to collaborate on a given subject. There is a wikiproject dedicated to neopaganism, into which is lumped all of the earth-centric, polytheist, and other religions that are considered “pagan” in the most inclusive sense that’s typically used. (I didn’t decide on this scope; I’m just reporting it.) Collaborating on Wikipedia is done in the same way everything is on that site: deci ..read more
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Paganism, depression, silence
True Pagan Warrior
by TPWard
4M ago
When I was accepted as a presenter at the Sacred Space conference, it was a watershed moment for me: this was the first conference to which I had applied, and it was the one with the highest profile. It was also the first time that Sacred Space would be run concurrently with Between the Worlds since I covered the combined conference in 2015. For me, it was also profoundly informed by the pandemic: I applied in 2021 after the conference had already been rescheduled once, and despite it being the first opportunity I was given to talk about my work around pagans and depression, further rescheduli ..read more
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Retiring an American flag
True Pagan Warrior
by TPWard
4M ago
American flags are accorded the respect that is given to a person; an animist like myself would say that this is because the American spirit embodied therein is a person. One example is the retirement of flags, which is essentially a funeral. From the flag code: The flag, when it is in such condition that it is no longer a fitting emblem for display, should be destroyed in a dignified way, preferably by burning. Retirement of flags is often done by members of veterans’ organizations, but it’s not restricted to them any more than is displaying the flag. Being in the military is a big deal, and ..read more
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Folding the flag
True Pagan Warrior
by TPWard
6M ago
For storage, American flags should be folded into a triangular pattern, as can be seen here and here. I also found a brief video demonstration, which can be seen here. On a practical level, folding the flag is an opportunity to inspect it for damage, which should be repaired if possible. There happen to be 13 folds in this process, and that’s a number with all manner of associations. I’ve seen scripts that involve invoking one or another christian deity; I’d like to think that there are witches and pagans with some ideas about how to work with the flag and those 13 folds, too. Here’s one possi ..read more
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Paper route
True Pagan Warrior
by TPWard
6M ago
I’m old enough that I held a job at 13 years of age. It was and is legal for children as young as 11 to work in New York, but the jobs a lot of kids my age got as their first mostly doesn’t exist any longer: delivering newspapers. There needs to be a certain density of subscribers to make delivering papers on a bicycle feasible, and I suspect that most of the people still getting home delivery had a subscription back when I was bringing papers to doors—and later knocking on those doors to collect the weekly bill. public domain The whole system depended on a bunch of young teenagers being respo ..read more
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Flag magic
True Pagan Warrior
by TPWard
6M ago
If there’s one thing I hope my writing on the American flag drives home is that the flag is tied to a powerful spirit. This American spirit personifies values laid out in the declaration of independence, and is fortified by the constitution. Its enemies are the hypocrisy that sows skepticism for those values, as well as the fear and hate that cause us to act in opposition to those values. Treat this spirit with respect, and it can become a powerful ally. Flag magic is aligned with certain values. The founding fathers worded them in their own patriarchal way, but in essence they are: all human ..read more
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Rescuing the American flag
True Pagan Warrior
by TPWard
7M ago
Americans being who we are, I have come to realize that flag rescue is important spiritual work. The desperate push to make the American flag a political tool has paradoxically reduced the knowledge most of us have about the flag, and how to treat it respectfully. There’s one group of people who wrongly avoid the flag at all, rather than recognizing that they are essential to the pursuit of the ideals it represents; another group wraps themselves in it (sometimes literally), which is just one of the offenses they commit against the spirit the flag represents. If you’re in either group you’re d ..read more
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Are polyester flags better?
True Pagan Warrior
by TPWard
7M ago
The feeling of artificial fibers against my skin is gross: the fabric slips and slides like the oil it’s made from, and doesn’t provide me any of the comfort or sense of style I draw from natural fibers. I won’t say that I have completely eliminated polyester, rayon and the like from my wardrobe—the stuff is everywhere—but I can say with confidence that I don’t own any nylon flags, at least. In a perfect world I’d only own American flags made from hemp like the first ones were, but we aren’t quite there yet. Hemp may be a long way off, but in the meantime it’s better only to use flags made fr ..read more
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Emotions are not thoughts
True Pagan Warrior
by TPWard
7M ago
It’s funny how humans see ourselves. We cut ourselves up into disconnected bits when, for example, we imagine that our bodies and minds are separate or disconnected. We lump ourselves together when we think that everything about ourselves begins with thought. That’s what we get for thinking—or at least, for limiting ourselves just to thinking. from the Crag During an absolutely delightful interview conversation I had with Dawn Hunt that came out last year, we talked about the interplay between thoughts and emotions. “Cogito ergo sum,” said Descarte, leading everyone who learned any western phi ..read more
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Displaying the American flag
True Pagan Warrior
by TPWard
9M ago
As with much about the American flag, methods of its display are enshrined in law. From the flag code: It is the universal custom to display the flag only from sunrise to sunset on buildings and on stationary flagstaffs in the open. However, when a patriotic effect is desired, the flag may be displayed 24 hours a day if properly illuminated during the hours of darkness. The flag requires light, and the light of the sun is preferred. In short, it’s got a solar spirit. We can leave the flag out at night with artificial illumination, but it is the universal custom to display the flag only from s ..read more
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