Hello again. I know it’s been awhile, but settling in here in Chicago has taken some time. I’ve also been doing a lot of discernment and thinking about where my ministry is going, which is, as those of us who are clergy know, an ongoing process. Lately I’ve been working on an initiation series based […]
Tag Archive for practice
Rev. Gina Pond
Hanging out in Malkuth and other Witchy Things
by Gina Pond • • 0 Comments
Hello again. I know it’s been awhile, but settling in here in Chicago has taken some time. I’ve also been doing a lot of discernment and thinking about where my ministry is going, which is, as those of us who are clergy know, an ongoing process. Lately I’ve been working on an initiation series based […]
Drinking from the Cup of Life
Gang Aft A-Gley
by Friends of st4r.org • • 0 Comments
The best-laid schemes o’ mice an’ men gang aft a-gley–and also those of polytheists. For our August devotional, I’d planned for Thiasos Bakkheios to have a high-woo trance journey, so that each member could meet the god in person, and discover which aspect of Dionysos they most resonated with. Well, no. Scheduling problems, on-the-job injuries, […]
Drinking from the Cup of Life
Field Trip to Cat’s Cradle
by Friends of st4r.org • • 0 Comments
Last week, Thiasos Bakkheios and a friend took a field trip to Cat’s Cradle, a shrine in the redwood forest above the UC Santa Cruz campus. The idea was to get our hands dirty with some practical, physical work for the spirits and powers. Santa Cruz, California, is on the north end ot the Monterey […]
Drinking from the Cup of Life
Thiasos Bakkheios
by Friends of st4r.org • • 0 Comments
I’ve started, together with half a dozen friends, a Dionysian devotional group I’m calling Thiasos Bakkheios. It means, roughly, “Folks who come together to perform rituals to Bakkhos.” I am no expert in any form of Greek, so if someone reading this can confirm that I’m using the words correctly, that would be great. Better, […]
Drinking from the Cup of Life
Bedtime Prayers
by Friends of st4r.org • • 0 Comments
I’ve done a number of things as part of a regular (or, more often, irregular) spiritual practice. One thing the powers keep telling me, though, is not to try to do everything all at once. Start simple, and build on that. This has been especially reinforced by my recent (six months or so) onset of […]
This Week In Heresy
TWIH Episode 62: Taking a Third Path: Being an Atheist Pagan with Esther Bamberg
by Gina Pond • • 0 Comments
In this episode we talk to Esther Bamberg, a pagan atheist. What does it mean to be a pagan atheist? How does conversion contribute to misunderstandings? Can you be an atheist and still work magick? Does spiritual work necessitate a actual belief in a deity in order to give fulfillment? If someone identifies as part […]
This Week In Heresy
TWIH Episode 54: The Dynamics of Awareness with Deborah Blake
by Gina Pond • • 0 Comments
In this episode we talk with author Deborah Blake about daily practice and how we can get hung up on what “proper” daily practice is. We explore how daily practice can be just a part of our mundane practices, and that what is right and “proper” depends on your own spiritual needs. How do we […]
This Week In Heresy
TWIH Episode 43: Atheopaganism with Mark Green
by Gina Pond •
This week we talk to Mark Green, an Atheopagan (or Atheist Pagan). Do you need to believe in deity, spirits, or God in order to have a fulfilling spiritual practice? What is the difference between dogma, belief, and practice (or craft)? And sure, we throw in a little politics in for good measure. Mark […]
This Week In Heresy
The Heretic Writes: You know what they say about opinions….
by Gina Pond •
Yeshe Rabbit asked the following on Facebook the other day, and rather than clog up her wall with a long post, I figured I’d write about it here. How many people who write about doing spiritual work do you think are actually DOING that work on a regular basis? Like, how many ppl who write […]