The Horn has been saved!! One of the most powerful discoveries given to us by science has been learning the astounding and glorious history of how we got here.  A key part of that discovery was the finding of the Cosmic Microwave Background radiation (CMB, see picture below), literally the glow of the Big Bang or Great Radiance itself!  The actual structure which gave us our earliest baby picture of ourselves was under threat from developers (for building a condo unit), but now, with our petition and the efforts of many others, has been saved!  A number of events are planned for ..read more

Are you ready for the Eclipse April 8th?  It’s significance to Pagans, as well as Pagan Eclipse Practices, a ritual, and practical details in how to experience totality are in the Eclipse Podcast Episode! Plus Mark’s new book “Round We Dance”, Ritual Skills, etc.   All those, and more, are on the page here. And I of course don’t know about you, but for me, every minute can be a tight squeeze in my busy life.  I used to have a 30 minute commute, which adds up to 5 hours of listening time every week.  But now, with my new job, it’s only a 9 minute commute, 3 times a week ..read more

Many aspects of our world offer compelling ways to see our deep time history, Ancestors, and often similar ways to think about future generations.  For me, total solar eclipses are a wonderful case of this.  Total solar eclipses are not common.  In any given place (say, the Sphinx of Egypt, Mt. Fuji in Japan, or the Yucatan Peninsula, etc.), one needs to wait usually many centuries from one to the next total solar eclipse.  For me here in Detroit, Michigan (which will be missed by the path on April 8th), the most recent total solar eclipse was in 1806, and the next one is i ..read more

Happy Spring Equinox, or Ostara! While many of us have seen climate change effectively remove this past winter (certainly the case here in Michigan), climate change is highly variable.  In California, it’s contributed to a massive amount of rainfall, setting off a “Superbloom” of flowers, just in time for Ostara!  This massive rain has even brought back Lake Manly, a rare lake in Death Valley (!) which last appeared around 20 years ago.  Our spirituality brings us Ostara today – a great reminder that life returns after challenges, as well as a reminder of that every cool thing ..read more

As many of you know, I’m writing from way up here in Michigan – the Great White North, eh.  When I was growing up in this same area of Detroit, the ice on the lakes would be so thick every year that we’d literally drive trucks out onto the ice with our ice fishing supplies.  No more.  That’s one more part of us that climate change has stolen. Last year, there was so little ice on the lake that ice fisherpeople could only go out there a couple days all winter (and certainly not with a vehicle). Same this year.  This was the first Imbolc where we didn’t have any snow for our ..read more

In this series, “No-Nonsense Paganism”, I have been striving to strip Paganism down, take away its ancient or faux-ancient terminology, its mythological and legendary pretensions, its foreign (to wherever you are) folk practices, its superstitious and pseudo-scientific justifications, and its esoteric ritual structures, and get down to the phenomenological core of pagan experience: our interaction with the earth and the other-than-human beings who we share it with. You can check out previous posts in this series here. Unseasonably Warm It’s late February. In spite of that, the temper ..read more

The eclipse is approaching fast now – just 44 days left!  As described earlier, you have to be in the path of totality to experience this total solar eclipse!  Don’t miss it!  The next total solar eclipse in the United States isn’t until 2044, and even that one is only visible from a small area.  Perhaps most important – can you show a child this eclipse?  All the details you need are below. Still not sure?  Here are some thoughts from people after seeing the 2017 eclipse.  Even though words fail, they are at least an attempt – and if you can share this exper ..read more

There’ve been some great topics on The Wonder podcast!  Being Pagan Every Day, an interview with Jaala, councilmembers, and Imbolc!   All those, and more, are on the page here. And I of course don’t know about you, but for me, every minute can be a tight squeeze in my busy life.  I used to have a 30 minute commute, which adds up to 5 hours of listening time every week.  But now, with my new job, it’s only a 9 minute commute, 3 times a week (due to Covid work from home), for less than 1 hour per week.  So it’s really cool to discover that now, transcripts are on Th ..read more

There are a handful of scientific facts that can radically change our view of our world and our life – and which indeed did exactly that when they were discovered.  Have you ever considered which scientific facts are most life-changing to you? I have, at least a little.   After I was asked to give a talk on our immense family tree of all life on Earth, I realized that this was a powerful idea, one of the biggest ideas to be shown by science (and yes, the essence of this idea has already been a main part of many indigenous spiritualities for thousands of years before Darwin and ..read more

The time of reemergence of life is approaching. Beneath the snow and ice lies a new heartbeat. What do you hold, which could empower your life?  Is it nearly time to bring it forward? Celebrations The Winter Thermstice is the time of the deepest cold (on average).  Despite the cold, life exists, hidden beneath the snow.   Gathering strength, yet hidden in many ways.  How long and harsh will this winter be?  Can traditions of groundhogs or candles tell us?  I recently saw a Pagans personalized Wheel of the Year, and they had Imbolc labelled as “Brightening“, o ..read more