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Welcome to UK Pagan

For Pagans of all paths, and for Pagans of none.

UK Pagan has been an online home and discussion place since being founded in 2001. We pride ourselves on providing a safe space for active debate and conversation, and a place where followers of other religions are welcome providing they show respect and tolerance.

We strive to be a place for all Pagans, whatever path, whatever stage of their learning; a place where Pagans discuss issues with tolerance and respect for others; and a neutral forum with no "site line" or "site view".

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  • Posts

    • raventouched
      Silver Ravenwolf

      I met this Silver Ravenwolf many years ago. Went to a book signing. Always heard she wasn't a "real" witch. In it for the money. Some people rave about her wisdom. I never could find any. Now Starhawk.......Tejas web ...whole other subject.

    • Ellinas
      Silver Ravenwolf

      Heard of her.  Never read her.  Not avoiding her.  Just never really found the opportunity or need to get to grips with her.

      That is probably the most unhelpful answer you'll get on this one.

    • Moonsmith
      Do You Have A Sacred Animal?

      There is a big Ursidae family around here.  Definitely wellies in the woods :biggrin:

      Of all the bears in our family, I'm guessing that I am the teeny-tiny bear.  Most of you seem to have or be North American bears.

      Is no one a Kamchatka, Kodiak or Polar?  All bloody big.

      Please don't be sun bears.  They are miniature [smaller than my bhalu], very smartly turned out but the nastiest little buggers I have had the misfortune to clean up after.

       

      Family photo

      I'm third from the left.

    • Caesar's Mushroom
      Do You Have A Sacred Animal?

      My fetch is a bear :blush:

    • Ember Autumn Rose
      Silver Ravenwolf

      I can only make my judgement really from the one text I own by her (Solitary Witch: The Ultimate Book of Shadows for the New Generation), which I bought when I first started learning. It is a text that has made me roll my eyes many, many times.

      • A personal peeve of mine (although it might not be to others) - magick, not magic. One obviously cannot possibly understand magic in this context without the added ~*k*~ :rolleyes:
      • She so kindly points to her other books so that she won't repeat herself and bore the reader - a more cynical person would say she would just like you to buy those too.
      • Ye Olde Language that all witches use.
      • Portrays the idea that Witchcraft and Wicca are one and the same; or the idea that there is one craft rule book that all witches/wiccans/pagans follow with no exceptions. Not sure how accurate her information on Wicca is either.
      • She seems to have a real thorn in her side with Christianity/Christian Dogma. Whenever she gives a negative example of religion, it just so happens to relate to Christianity. She also makes it plain that most other witches will not likely consider you a witch should you have any consideration of or understanding towards Christians...
      • *Real* witches can't be Christian / Witches don't believe in Satan - she believes it's insulting to think in such a way.
      • *Real* witches can't be victims / have a victim-mentality :rolleyes:
      • She's all for love and light, positive energy - negative energies and negative vibrations are bad, bad, bad...
      • The idea that you can't join a coven, or that they won't accept you, if you have emotional life-events happening at present (for example, if you are going through a divorce). Because humans should live happy lives all the time with no problems, of course. Also, having other life commitments may hinder you.
      • The many "humble-brags" she likes to slip into each chapter: Mentioning her many other books you may want to dip into, her private correspondences with Ronald Hutton [who is a decent writer], that she only has a clan of twenty-eight covens.
      • A lot of the information within is very superficial, with no actual reason on why one should do such practices, or where they originate for the most part. Her section on deities is incredibly limited, and there's barely a sentence on each deity. I know it isn't specifically a deity book, but it is pitiful in my opinion.
      • Thirteen Powers of a Witch (?)
      • Love balls (?)
      • Her wonderful ideas on when to cast spells, or reasons for... there's one for acne; one for unfair teachers; one for helping you to choose your school classes; to gain an understanding of literature... :huh: she also includes "advice" for eating disorders and suicidal friends...

      Others may love her, and that's fine - each to their own. Her other books may be better, and I suppose there are a few nice bits within. But, if I had the choice to go back before I bought it, I wouldn't buy it at all. It's a very pricey prompt book for conducting your own research.

      Edited by Ember Autumn Rose
    • StillCarvahall
      Silver Ravenwolf

      I know, I know!

      But, in the most eloquent and least swear-y way possible, why? She is often given as the one to avoid, above all others. So why would you say to avoid Sh*thead Ravinghoot? 

    • Ember Autumn Rose
      Do You Have A Sacred Animal?

      I do not have a sacred animal as far as I am aware... perhaps I am just ignorant :blink:

      I have a fondness for quite a few animals, but nowhere near the idea/concepts of familiars, fetches or sacred animals. A quick list would include: tigers, lynxes, dogs (not the small, scrappy kind), bumblebees, moths, pipistrelles, magpies, jackdaws, crows, red deer stags, foxes, and owls. I think they're all stunning and majestic.

      Maybe one day ;)

    • Ellinas
      Do You Have A Sacred Animal?

      I now have a mental image of varying sizes of bear typing away on their laptops...

      "Part of me" is the answer I was expecting.  The alternative, if that is Sinistra's position, might be an interesting exploration.

  • Blogs

    1. Herne's Blog

      A blog by herneoakshield

      • 1
        entry
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      • 3
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      Recent Entries

      herneoakshield
      Latest Entry

      Long time No See

      Hey there folks It's been a long time since I last posted anything or was around on site so I thought it was time to update you on how things are going. In the last couple of weeks I have discovered several health issues that are going to have a huge impact and mean many changes. very high blood pressure (waiting for a 24 hour monitor), Diabetes (HBA1C of 96mmol/mol), and I suspect high cholesterol (will find that out when I get the results of today's blood test back on Thursday)  I've already started making changes to my diet, have cut out salt for starters and my BP today was a little lower than the reading a week or so ago. And have cut out sugar in my drinks as well as stopping cakes and such like. I've yet ot see a diabetic nurse to know what else I can do but I am heading in the right direction at least.

      My Youtube channel keeps going from strength to strength, up to 550 subscribers now or there about and forging friendships and contacts around the world through it. the channel probably isn't of much interest to folks here as it's a Pipe smoking related channel.

      Faith wise I continue to struggle to define it, but these days I have more of a new testament Christian view point, which is possible partly whey I haven't been around as much, that being said the last line of my forum signature is very much along my way of thinking.

      "Remember that you hold all religions in reverence, for there are none but contains a ray from the Ineffable Light that you are seeking" :- GD Neophyte Initiation ritual

      I am still struggling with my mental health but am now taking medication for that (previously I have been unable to take meds due to my fear of them) Agoraphobia is still crippling and I am trying to set myself a goal of leaving the flat once per week, very challenging for me and I am struggling to keep to it.

      Family wise my daughter hasn't spoken to me for over 7 months now :( this is probably the hardest thing for me to come to terms with just how much I have disappointed her by not being able to visit her.  

      As you can see somethings never change, my blog posts are still rather maudlin, sorry about that.

      IMG_5305.jpg

    2. NorseNephilim's Blog

      A blog by NorseNephilim

      • 56
        entries
      • 159
        comments
      • 1254
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      Recent Entries

      NorseNephilim

      For a while now, I've been looking into my family tree.  Seemed like a pretty heathen thing to do, but more importantly, I also found it interesting and rewarding.

      I have turned up a few surprises, though.  Not least of which discovery evidence to suggest I may have an ancestor of Romani descent.  I know that if you go back far enough, essentially we are all related to one another, so anyone can claim pretty much any heritage they like, but it was completely unexpected when I found one of my great, great grandfathers had such an exotic wife.  I am not 100% percent sure as I've only really been dabbling, but it is nice to see as the rest of my family tree is boringly anglo-saxon.

      Not that this really bothers me that much.  Had I found out in my youth, it might have had a bigger effect upon me - well might I have styled myself more along the lines of David Essex ("yeah..."), rather than the cross between Suggs and Catweasel that I have, for some reason, turned into.

      Really this changes nothing, other than my teasing my wife that if she doesn't treat me better I'll run off to live a life on the road with "my people"... ;)

       

       

    3. Anankes Blog

      A blog by anankesong

      • 6
        entries
      • 11
        comments
      • 16
        views

      Recent Entries

      anankesong

      So, I am about to complete my undergraduate degree in combined honours sociology and philosophy. A lot of it is about the mind, the nature of knowledge and the nature of the world of material things. Some of it covers theology, but is mostly to do with mainstream religions. At my university there is a course in theology and paganism, but there isn't much paganism on it. Instead it's all about the mainstream religions that aren't Islam, Judaism or Christianity. 

      In the face of this, I decided to write my dissertation on the Tarot deck, and apply philosophy to the Tarot deck. My dissertation has become a topic of conversation in the department and is greatly anticipated, so that is something to look forward to. 

      But I wanted to write my dissertation on the Tarot to begin my career in writing philosophical theses on paganism in the truer sense, in the sense that I know it. I don't want to follow the academic trend of writing about paganism, which is a euphemism religions that aren't one of the three abrahamic religions but are still within the major and mainstream world religions. 

      And you know what? The department head, who also happens to be my dissertation leader, is up for that. He knows that I am a practicing pagan, and he knows that that was the motivation behind my dissertation and he thinks I have a real shot at becoming an academic in the field, writing about and teaching the philosophy of paganism. 

      I feel very strongly about philosophy. Aside from my faith and my witchcraft I consider it to be my greatest passion. And when I look at paganism, in the most objective way I can manage, I see that there is so much potential to study the beliefs of various pagan groups, from the beliefs in the norse gods, to the metaphysics of healing crystals. I want to take it all on. I know there will be a lot of people out there who may take offense to my wanting to study paganism in an academic sense. And there will be some who would rather their beliefs be left alone and not come under the gaze of academia. But for me, I believe that it's important that paganism and the associated beliefs should be treated equally. Because ultimately, the reason these beliefs haven't been studied is because they are not thought to be serious religions or taken seriously. They were marginalised during the enlightenment period and continues to be marginalised in academia today. 

      So, I aim to bring paganism into academia in a serious way, to make it something to be taken seriously. It will be a challenge, especially as the nature of philosophy is to stay within the discipline and there is not much growth in the field. But that is the goal of my academic career, to make paganism an object of serious study and to give it the respect it deserves really. 

    4. Veggie dancer's Blog

      A blog by Veggie dancer

      • 4
        entries
      • 13
        comments
      • 79
        views

      Recent Entries

      Veggie dancer

      Well suddenly becoming a mum is just around the corner!

      Only 5 weeks to go. or maybe less! I can't believe how quickly pregnancy is going. Of course I've had some aches and pains only to be expected. But I think I've had it quite easy compared to many people. Hope my luck holds.

      Had my antenatal class all about labour and the birth a couple of days ago. Feeling much more prepared after that and am writing my birth plan today.

      Planning on a water birth and keeping it as natural as possible. Though of course I know you can only plan so far and sometimes drugs and medical procedures can be the only way for the mother and or baby to have a healthy birth or even survive, but I can deal with pain so as long as that's the only problem I will avoid the drugs.

      So many people have been so kind and have given us so many gifts to prepare for the baby and I have also been busy raiding ebay and the charity shops as well as the handy toys-r-us closing down sale for baby equipment and think we are just about sorted! Have been enjoying looking at names and trying to choose. We are keeping that secret though till after he/she arrives. I imagine everyone who knows G and I will expect us to go for something a little unusual. I doubt we will choose a name that his Dad or my Mum will approve of but we both believe the only way to live is by doing what you yourself believe to be the best thing. You can't be second guessing others wishes and trying to please them against your own heart, it only back fires.

      Lots of catching up to do with happenings at the valley that I may or may not get around to over the next few weeks. But hello to everyone here and I hope you have all been well and happy.

      Love, Sarah

       

    5. The rambling medic

      A blog by StillCarvahall

      • 4
        entries
      • 2
        comments
      • 63
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      Recent Entries

      StillCarvahall

      Some people deserve a good hard slap. I'm not allowed to slap them when in uniform. This annoys me. 

      We were called to a  crash on a fairly quiet road so I was having difficulty picturing quite how the damage being described had been done, but, I've had a nasty crash their before. An overturned vehicle was impressive though. Mind you, it was next to a pub, and the last guy who crashed there got very drunk at that pub, tried to drive off and crashed, so it wasn't outside the realm of possibility. It was outside the realm of decent parking and access which might be fun. We then got an update to say the Thames has risen up on to the top step and was in danger of reaching the car. Again, it does that, especially there. I went to the pub right next to the scene yesterday and it was lapping the path then, and there are a load of signs telling you not to park there because of how often the Thames rises above the point you think it will. On the plus side, although the caller didn't know the name of the road, they knew the name of the pub and I knew exactly where it was. And I knew exactly how to avoid that pesky width restriction the average ambulance won't get through. So far, job was a good 'un, even if it was getting dark, which always makes crashes more difficult to deal with. 

      As we were getting close, we got a road name, which is not only nowhere near the pub, it isn't all that close to the river. Control said the caller was adamant so we went to the new address while another crew went to double check the old address, to make sure, as they were closer to it. They radioed us to say there was no crash near the pub just as we turned on to the road we'd be given. We drove the length of it, and found no crash but we did stumble on some confused firefighters who had been sent to cut some trapped victims out of a crashed car. Control told us we were looking for the same crash, then said the police were also on their way, as was the other crew. The road name we'd been given was (blank) Road, and there was a (blank) Street nearby. Control had said the called sounded young and scared, so maybe they didn't know exactly where they were. We went to (blank) Street, but we still couldn't find any sign of an accident. We, the other ambulance who had now caught up, the police and the fire engine all pulled up to put our heads together. Was there a (blank) Avenue near here, or something that sounded a bit like (blank) if you've just been in a crash? Where was the Thames likely to be high, other than near that pub? On the river was key, but that section is mostly grassy / gravel towpath, not named roads you can flip a car on and the caller gave a road name. Were they too young to be able to read properly and mangled the pronunciation? If so, where could they be, that was also on the river. The police officers were now getting jumpy. A crash attracts attention, and no other calls were coming in about this. So it was secluded. And on the river. And, we thought, probably a named road rather than a footpath. Divide and conquer, we'd run out of ideas, the caller had hung up and now wasn't answering. Because they were hurt and had collapsed? On dry land or into the river?  

      We went back to the pub, sticking as close to the river as we could, going in and out off all the side streets we saw. The other ambulance, firefighters and police followed their own hunches, talking to their controls, us talking to ours, trying to find this crash and the possibly drowning, possibly seriously injured child. As it was now totally dark, could we miss them? Many of the side streets are unlit, and crashed cars sometimes lose their lights. We made it back to the pub, finding nothing, saying nothing. The police car was already there, disco light flashing, two tones off. They knew about as much as we did and nobody knew what to say. Almost 45 minutes since this had been called in. Then the radio sparked to life. Someone had finally answered the phone. A child had made the call, control was right about that. The phone was answered by a gentleman who had just discovered his child had made a prank called to the emergency services, and wasted the time of two ambulances, two police cars and a fire engine. Suddenly, the police had a lot to say, and their radios soon jumped to life with pretty much the same information and, happily, an address not too far away. One we'd driven past several times. They went to have some very stern words. We went to the pub to put a drunken prat-faller back together. 

      Next prankster I catch will have a boot inserted where the sun does not shine. It shall be inserted so firmly it'll require surgical removal. 

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