The following is from Ellen Evert Hopman:

An Urgent Plea Concerning Druid Veterans and Their Families and Friends.
Please Read and Pass This Along!

Dear all:

To date I have not received any new letters from vets stating their desire to have the 'Awen' symbol on their headstones, nor any copies of letters to next of kin or clergy stating the same. It will be very hard to proceed with this cause as a religious freedom issue unless we can show that there are Druid vets out there who want the symbol.

The campaign is at a critical point once again and we really need those letters. Can you please alert your members?

Thank you in advance and here is my address again; POB 219 Amherst, MA 01004 EE Hopman

Please see message from Selana Fox below;


Greetings, All,

This is follow-up to some individual and group discussions I have had with some of you previously, and most recently, Ellen.

It is a good idea to get letters from Druid vets and Druids on active duty in the US military who state that they have the Awen symbol as their emblem of belief and that they want it added to the Va's list of emblems of belief that can be included on gravestones it issues for deceased veterans.

Their letters should state that after death, they would like the Awen included on their VA-issued grave marker which will be ordered by next of kin.

It also is a good idea to have the next of kin of each of these veterans informed about the veteran's wishes regarding the Awen being included on gravestones to be ordered after the veteran's death from the VA. Something in writing from the veteran/soldier to her/his next of kin could be very helpful.

I met by phone this week with staff from the US Department of Veterans Affairs to get another update on the progress of the revision of the new procedures for adding additional emblems of belief to the Va's authorized list. This bureaucratic process is still in the works. During this call, no one could estimate as to how soon the process would be completed. I did lean that the process was continuing to move, although slowly. We plan to continue to track this.

Although the Va's new procedures have not been released yet and supposedly have gone through quite a few changes as a result of the revision process that was begun in January 2007,several VA staff I spoke with over the past year indicated to me that, as with the previous set of procedures, that a symbol will be eligible to be on the list after a veteran or one on active duty dies and had wanted a symbol on her/his marker and the next of kin knows of this and makes that request of the VA as part of the gravestone/marker/plaque application process.

During our settlement of the Circle Sanctuary vs. Nicholson lawsuit in April 2007 which resulted in the Pentacle being added to the list, I made certain that our attorneys (from Americans United for Separation of Church and State) included a clause in the settlement agreement that allowed me and Circle Sanctuary to work on behalf of other emblems of belief being added to the list. When asked about the reason for this clause by media at the national press club news conference on April 23,2007, the day the Pentacle was added to the list, I specifically mentioned the need for the Druid symbol to be added.

Should any of you know of a Druid vet or Druid on active duty who dies and has requested the Awen to be on a VA headstone and the next of kin is planning to order a marker from the VA, please contact Circle Sanctuary as soon as possible so we can be available to help as needed.

Contact:
Lady Liberty League
Circle Sanctuary
liberty@circlesanct

Okay boys and girls, it's time for a stirring round of "Supplement! That! Income!!!!"

I'm looking into ways to bring in some extra money without resorting to whoring myself out* and have come up with the following ideas, with varying levels of feasibility:

1) Buys books off the online clearance sale at B&N and resell them on eBay. Sounds good in theory, but when I checked a few of the titles I already bought, I found that eBay-only bookstores are already selling them for $1. That's AT LEAST half of what I paid for them at B&N, so there's no way I could turn a profit.

2) Buy stuff at local thrift stores or Craigslist & resell them on eBay. Might be feasible depending on the type and quality of the item, but profitability is a different story. I have a set of wood napkin rings I bought for $1 and comparable napkin ring sets on eBay are starting bidding at $1.50-$3.50 plus S&H. So I could probably sell them, but for a tiny, tiny profit.

3) Advertise tutoring services for math and science online (probably craigslist). I definitely have the skills and a quick perusal of similar services on CL show that the market will bear a decent hourly ($20). The problem is three-fold: time, educational materials, and volume. With my hours at the clinic being what they are, I would have to schedule clients either every other week or on a rotating-day schedule, neither of which is ideal. Additionally, I don't have any texts or teaching materials, much less access to the current texts and tests that the students would be using or preparing for. Both of these could be somewhat averted by working for a tutoring/test prep company like I did when I part-timed for Kaplan back in Texas. Unfortunately, I can't find any nearby that are hiring.**

4) Sell blood or plasma. For a long time, I believed that my anti-depressant disqualified me from donating blood. I was recently informed that this is not the case. However, I'm still "a man who was ever had sex with another man", so I'm automatically disqualified from, well, everywhere, unless I lie. Plus, I could only do it once every few months.

5) Become an experimental subject for medical/medicinal trials. Can't find any I qualify for.

6) Win the lottery. Been trying, although only when the jackpot is over $111 million. I *DO* know the odds against my winning, thank you, and that jackpot represents the point at which the risk/reward ratio tilts towards it being statistically viable.***

Anything else y'all can think of?

* Though if I did, I'm sure I'd receive top dollar.

** Hell, most of 'em don't even have a way to contact them unless you're looking to engage their services!

*** Yes, I am a huge nerd both for calculating the odds and for knowing what a risk/reward ratio is. Thank you for noticing. :-D

Am I being a thick-skinned lout because I don't feel like rushing to sign the online petition or write to NBC Denouncing Gifford and demanding that she apologize to the Entire Pagan Community (whoever THAT is supposed to be) for the remark she made in this clip? The offending remark happens at approximately 4:27.

first, it seems the Pagan reference was to "ancient" Pagans. Second, her "dirty nasty Pagan" comment, IMO, was more to let the guy know that the answer was NOT "C" -- she was giving a "hint" to the contestant. That's what it seemed like from where I sit. Am I being naive in thinking no harm to any living people was meant? Do we need to start a media campaign against NBC or are some people in the "Pagan Community" blowing this out of proportion?

(I also don't think online petitions are an effective means of political action. If action is warranted, a real letter on paper sent to the network, show's producers, and the sponsor would be more effective (and more costly, to be sure). And probably press releases about the protest and boycott (which is also being touted on some e-lists) is also advised, otherwise the sponsor won't realize we're boycotting them.

EDIT/UPDATE: apparently CLG "apologized" on the air - not a specific thing but a generic "Mea Culpa" that shows up on this clip, at time marker (appx) 2:51. And I almost didn't make it through the clip to the "apology".

The linked article that follows raised a number of interesting questions for me, particularly with the sometimes-rabid anti-syncretic, hard polytheist discourse of intelligent contemporary paganism - a perhaps understandable stance in light of some of the more wildly appropriative forms of neopaganism. Particularly interesting is the contrast between clergy and people here, with the dismissal of heterodox religious practice by clergy and the popular reaction.

From today's Guardian:

Sisters and goddesses
Legend has it that it was the apostle, Thomas, the doubting one, who brought Christianity to Southern India - and now, aside from the odd jealous spat, the Virgin Mary and goddess Bhagavati are worshipped with equal fervour.

"But, for sisters, don't they look rather different from each other?" I asked. A calendar image of the goddess, pinned up behind him, showed Bhagavati as a wizened hag wreathed in skulls and crowned with an umbrella of cobra hoods. In her hand she wielded a giant sickle.

"Sisters are often a little different from each other," he replied. "Mary is another form of the Devi. They have equal power." He paused: "At our annual festival the priests take the goddess around the village on top of an elephant to receive sacrifices from the people. She visits all the places, and one stop is the church. There she sees her sister.""

http://www.guardian.co.uk/travel/2008/jun/28/india

I received a notice yesterday that my building's exterior was going to get power-washed today and that I needed to remove my belongings from the balcony since the wash solution would contain a bleach mixture. No problem, I just need to move my plant inside and everything else into the balcony closet.

Except.

When I went to take down my bamboo wind chime, I found that wasps had built a nest inside it. Luckily it was a small nest (smaller than a golf ball) and I realized this BEFORE I got stung, but it was still startling. I pried it out with a knife and kicked it over the edge of the balcony, but three times while I was clearing out the balcony I saw a wasp come buzzing over to where its nest used to be and act irate. Hopefully the power-wash will also remove whatever scent markers they may've laid.

No, I'm not planning a ritual in which I call on Odin and Kali as the Lord and Lady. That's just silly.

But I am having some deity trouble. Some background:

I am an eclectic Pagan. Have been practicing for nearly 12 years. What I do is very low-brow magic and ritual. Kitchen witchery stuff and celebrations of Sabbats with an emphasis on their agricultural roots. I am more likely to read a book on anthropology before writing a ritual than a book on Wiccan magickal correspondences. I have never had a specific patron Deity, I call on the faceless Lord and Lady.

Recently, I have been "pestered" by a few deities. My first reaction was that I was either dreaming or hallucinating, but then they became insistent. First was Hecate, telling me that I needed to choose a patron and that it should be her. She had all sorts of good reasons, but there were a lot of strings attached, such as daily meditation and more focused ritual work, neither of which I have much time for.

Then, I was approached by Bast and Anubis together, with Bast doing most of the speaking. They also informed me that I needed to choose some patron deities, and that it didn't really matter who I chose, but they wanted me to know that there were there if I needed them.

I recently became pregnant, and initially Hecate made a few comments about how I needed to thank her for it. Instead, I set up an altar to Bast and left her offerings of sandalwood, milk, and catnip (I have absolutely no idea what offerings should be left to an Egyptian Goddess... my own felines helped in the decision). It wasn't meant out of any disrespect to Hecate, I just felt that Bast was more influential in these matters.

Since then, Bast is the only one talking to me. The problem I have is that I don't want to follow any Egyptian-flavored version of Paganism. I like what my religion has evolved into for me. Following an 8-Sabbat Wheel of the Year works well in my Upper Midwest home. Plus, it appeals to my heritage: a long line of English, Scottish, and Irish farmers. My cousins and I are actually the first generation of my family not to spend any part of our childhood on a farm. Most of us did grow up in farm country, though.

So, I think my question is: Does anyone else have patron Deities of a pantheon that does not coincide with your day-to-day spiritual path? And how do you make it work without coming off as a fluffy "pick-and-choose" freak? And does anyone know what a really good offering would be to Bast, because I think my cats just want me to put milk and catnip in a place where they have easy access. :-)

Anyone who casts runes using a mat - I'm curious about what structure your design follows. I have two ideas on designing a rune mat at the moment, but some other examples and influence would be great. At present, it's a friend's design based on one by Kenneth Meadows, or one I knocked up based on the cross spread design in my rune book.
Don't suppose anyone knows how it might have been designed in the past? If not, what does your rune mat look like, and why?