This is great, in general. It's one more reason for me to prod Patheos about their mobile inutility again, though.

That's why I have trouble believing the stories about British witches or ceremonial Mages organizing against the Germans in WWII. But that was a more present threat and a smaller group, so maybe.

There's nothing there.

Very well said. If there was a better term than Paganism, I'd be all for it, but I think it would have surfaced by now.

The first part is true; we need to remember she's running for city council. The minutiae of city government give little scope for her larger program. She is a long way from running for VP.

Based on recent developments in clinical psych, I would say those people are not our friends either.

" her rhetoric is a tool to stir fear and emotional involvement in those who listen to her" -- the very definition of demagoguery.

"'Old Europe,' which encompassed Europe, Asia Minor and Northern Africa."

Expecting people to substitute a well-kept arcanum like that one for a term in common use is kind of a reach, though. It would be nice if we had a specific term for that, but then we'd probably have to keep extending the borders anyway.

This was a great interview with a lot of food for thought. We've learned a lot from the African-derived religions. I have a bit of vicarious experience (i.e., a handful of informants) about the great magical melting pot in New York, so I completely agree with Dylan.

There were two misconceptions about Neopaganism that I'm getting a bit tired of: firstly, that it has anything to do with the root of "pagan" as "country dweller" (words do cut loose from their etymology quite frequently, and this one certainly did a very long time ago); and secondly, that Neopaganism is "European." Even if I were not involved with deities from the Near East, I would contest that description as applied to anything Hellenic or Hermetic. The Asian and African influences on those are enormous -- especially the latter, which could be fairly described, in its origin at least, as the magical religion of Late Antique Alexandria (which, it seems some folks almost tend to forget, is not in Europe).

"IOW, I believe the male tendency to cause harm is offset if that male is worshiping a Divine Feminine." Yeah, those sons of the Morrighan are such creampuffs ... (SORRY COULDN'T HELP IT COYOTE MADE ME DO IT)