Green Burial at Circle Sanctuary

April 12, 2011April 12, 20111 Comment

Spring is the time to celebrate approaching intimacy, and what is more intimate than sharing a loved one’s passing? The first ‘green burial’ took place at the cemetery at Circle Sanctuary in Mount Horeb, WI. this past weekend. Selena Fox presided over the ceremony. Many Pagans claim to want a green burial, but what is it like? I talked with Robert Paxton, a Circle Sanctuary minister, who participated in funeral, as part of a community weekend at Circle Sanctuary.

Describe what the funeral experience was like?

It was very much different from any funeral I had attended. The person who had died was a long-term member of the Madison folk music and dancing scene. The funeral was a genuinely beautiful and touching event. Family and friends, about a dozen, helped with every element from carrying the casket to the gravesite. They sang song and read poetry. They spoke as they were individually moved to about the life of the person who had passed. Typically, the funeral director said, they would lower the casket into the grave, there would be just a few words and the family would step away and head down the hill. Community members were there to help fill in the grave. It didn’t go like that. We placed the casket in the grave, and the family looked over at the pile of dirt and the half-dozen shovels. They picked them up and got to work. The grave was nearly filled when they tired and the community members took over. They were very engaged in the whole process. Once the mound had risen, they took flowers from the earlier memorial service and placed them lovingly on the grave. One of the funeral party, in one of those ‘ah-ha’, deep truth moments, took a night crawler from one of the last shovelfuls of dirt. He laid it on top of the mound and said, “Here is the first one, get to work!” It was a very loving experience. It was done very clear-eyed, we are committing these remains back to the earth. We will honor her with this last loving and personal act. At the same time they were completely realistic and open about the nature of what had happened. It was the most truthful funeral I had ever experienced.

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Paganicon Opens Friday! – Interview

March 24, 2011March 24, 20112 Comments

Elysia, LLewellyn Senior Acquisitions Editor

Elysia is the Senior Acquisitions Editor for Witchcraft, Wicca, Pagan, and magickal books at Llewellyn. She spoke with me about the new Pagan Conference this weekend, Paganicon.

You are representing Llewellyn Publishing at Paganicon, what is their role in the event?

We are one of the sponsors. This is the first time that we are stepping in as a sponsor for an event. What generally happens with regard to Pagan conferences, is sometimes I will be sent to them, and we’ll have a table or a display. We often provide items for a raffle or a charity cause. For many years I have been going to Pagan conferences, and it has been a loss that we haven’t had one here, in the Twin Cities.

When I heard that there would be one here, I let the management at Llewellyn know, and said, “We really should get involved in this”. It is our community, and we want to support it, and hope it grows to be huge! For myself, I want to be involved in the future so it is just as much a success as others I have gone to. This year we are supporting by bringing John Michael Greer as Guest of Honor. We are providing his transport and meals, and Twin Cities Pagan Pride (TCPP) is providing his housing during his stay. This was a great way that we could work together, getting someone really interesting, and a “Big Name Pagan” (BNP) into the Twin Cities.
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John Michael Greer – Interview with Paganicon Guest

March 23, 20111 Comment

John Michael Greer

John Michael Greer is the Guest of Honor at the launch of Paganicon this weekend. He will be giving a keynote address at 8pm Friday night, to open the event. I got the opportunity to interview him, and listened spellbound to his articulate thoughts. I first asked about the path that brought him to be Archdruid of the Ancient Order of Druids in America (AODA). He treated me to his personal history from age 10, fascinated with UFO’s, Unexplained Mysteries, Magic, and reading the Lord of the Rings. He said he was a boyhood, “Geek before being a geek was fashionable.” His many books are references that are a must for every bookshelf. He is a gentle, polite, and soft-spoken man, but one with a passion, clarity, and eloquence that show through his writing, and promises a keynote address, not to be missed! His areas of mastery and expertise are lengthy, varied, and impressive. If anyone can be called a Pagan Visionary, I would say it is John Michael Greer.

What can you say about your keynote address Friday night at Paganicon?

There are two ways you can take a talk about Paganism and the future. One is what is going to be the future of Paganism, the other is how is Paganism going to deal with the broader future, that is breathing down our necks at this point. I will be talking about both. We are moving into a future that a lot of people are going to find very challenging, especially if they have bought into the attitude, that “Our ancestors were stupid. We are smart, and we are going to go zooming off to the stars. We know the truth, and no one else has ever done so.” Continue reading →

Developing Capitol Community – Editorial

March 17, 2011March 17, 2011

I have talked to several veterans of the Madison Protests over the last few weeks. Each person was vocal about the sensitive compassion of all the people involved. One of the most visible has been John. He has been involved in distributing food to protesters at the Capitol, almost since the first one arrived. How long have you been working here?

“I started serving food here the Thursday of the first week, so a little over three weeks.”

Community Free Food Booth

Where does all the food come from? We have been receiving donations, but the vast majority if the food comes when people bring in a bag or box of something. People donate money to stores who then call us up and see what is needed. This is all donations. We have been here everyday. Continue reading →

Madison Protests Interviews 2 – Pagan Perspectives

March 15, 20111 Comment

Elizabeth MoonRaven, Whitewater, Wi Pagan

Why are you here today?

I feel the energy here is part of the global revolution that is coming forth from all parts of the world. I wanted to be here to add my energy to that realm of energy because we are all related. I feel really great about this energy, it naturally flows (around the square) widdershins, see how the parade flows. This is the natural way to unwind all the bad things that have been happening. I am concerned about all of the American Freedoms becuause there is a bigger dark agenda underneath all of this. Part of what is going on under all of this is there is a land grab, wetlands and parks are being threatened. I have friends and family who are teachers. It affects them, it effects their bottom line. I am out here to support the farmers, and the tractors and to add my good energy to it.