My first article in the Cauldron

So I published an article in The Cauldron - an old pagan magazine that has been running quarterly since 1976. I've been convinced by friends to make a post about it - since I've been busy studying this year, I've not had as much time to devote to this blog, why not add something like this?

The issue it was published in was #153 Summer 2014 - coming out in August. I sent it in March/April and was told by Mike Howard that it would come out in August. The thing about the Cauldron is that its so successful that 3 issues are organised ahead of time. That's a sign of a good magazine. The writers may be mostly amateurs, but at least it's still running!

So anyway, my article was 'Pan in Fiction', which I have published on this blog before in this summarised version.

A favourite topic of mine, even since I read Ronald Hutton's 'Triumph of the Moon' (the 'Finding a God' Chapter) where I got the inspiration for the article, and purchasing 'The Blessing of Pan' novel by Lord Dunsany. I analysed the themes and genres of Pan's role in the short stories of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and gave a summary of each tale. 

My friend Andy Roberts, co-author of 'Twilight of the Celtic Gods' congratulated me on it, as he got his issue in Britain before I got mine, reminding me, as I had forgotten all about it...

This may not mean much to some, but having your first article published in something so widely distributed (all over the world) is something to be impressed with yourself about. Badly written, or enjoyed, it was fun to write - even though some Cauldron editors changed it a bit! (it even had missing punctuation!)

We always remember our first published piece.

http://www.the-cauldron.org.uk/

ANCIENT GODS: WHERE ARE THEY NOW?

In this day and age, pagans often find they constantly have to prove or report that their Gods are not dead, that they exist on a personal, dimensional, and accessible level, and even then, they will eventually if not immediately, be less concerned whether or not anyone else believes them and their statement.

The other statement usually made by the monotheistic religions that seem to dislike the idea of other religions and other gods, will often report that the Old Gods are dead, never existed, or are simply not worth revering because they are evil and simply results of devil worship.

Upon researching the web for information about the subject of whether the Old Ones are alive or dead, I came across Hannah M G Shapero's article that answers every single question I have ever asked in regards to the belief and existence of the Old Gods. This small post is actually to promote people to read Hannah's article, where you can believe, disbelieve, or take what you want from it.

'You can worship anything – Zeus, Apollo, Thor, Isis, Elvis, but is what you are worshipping real? Is it still there? Proving God’s existence is impossible, and proving a lesser god’s existence equally impossible – but can a god die? Can something that was once worshipped disappear into oblivion? Popular legends and stories tell of ethereal beings, such as the fairy “Tinkerbell,” whose very existence depends on the belief of human beings. When people cease to believe in these sweet spirits, they disappear into non-existence, like bubbles. Are the gods the same way? If no one believes in them, as I said earlier in this essay, do gods die? If not, then what lives on?'

It is my belief that the Gods lie dormant until they are awakened. A simple, yet dreamy belief, and also harmless - what seems to worry monotheistic worshippers, positively delights those in more of an open, discovery-based spiritual life, where anything is possible. An Old God, awakened from dormancy, and revered in harmless ceremony is a pagan's right.


'To me, this is the best answer to where the old gods have gone. They are not theatrical spirits, who are only present when there’s an audience to believe in them. Nor are they necessarily Divine Beings with the all-encompassing status of the monotheists’ One True God. They are imaginal beings, who live in this middle world. And the Imaginal World is not a dreamworld dependent on the whims of one person; it is a shared multicultural universe, springing and flowering from the ground of millions of human beings and their minds and their creativity. Once the image, the poem, the character, the myth, the mathematical theorem, the story, the song, the magic, has been created, and has been set down in writing or in a computer file or in any other medium that can be communicated, it has left the confines of one person and entered the Imaginal – or the cultural world.'

Here is Hannah's article, for your full perusal - you may argue her points, or just allow it to be.

Farewell, Old Silver Fox

A man so well loved by many people in Australia, especially around Victoria, passed away recently. Keith 'Chips' Whitthread - or 'Old Silver Fox' - was quite an extraordinary man - a storyteller, teacher, craftsman, artist, and tradesman. I knew Chips for 17 years, first meeting him in 1997 when I joined the viking re-enactment Garrison of Dubh Linn in Geelong.

Better known as Chips by all who knew him, he was a master at creating fantastic Viking jewellery, cloak pins, pendants and amulets, Thor's hammers, apron brooches, carpentry, among many of the other talents he was brilliant at.

Born in England, and arriving in Australia at age 14, Chips was a re-enactor, scout leader, elder, and well respected by the Aboriginal people. He attended ceremonies where he blessed rites of passage, weddings, rituals, and thanked the ancestors of the land. A true pagan, priest, elder, heathen and a grandfather to many.

While many people recently, at Chips' funeral, or on facebook, have been telling tales about how they met Chips - most people remember that day - but I find I cannot recall the exact moment. It was sometime around the 1997 Celtic Festival on Geelong Waterfront on the June long weekend. I was going to training sessions and sewing circles before that event, so may have met him then, but it might have actually been at the Celt Fest. I'd always respected Chips, was happy to see him, and enjoyed seeing what Viking artefact replicas he had acquired from his Danish archaeologist friend. He was a very easy guy to get along with and was disliked by no one. Nothing stopped him from attending events he was invited to - from rituals, weddings, handfastings, historical events and parties - the polio he had in his youth had given him bad legs, but that did not stop him from tripping about in his little van, well-known and loved by many.

All pain is now gone, and troubles left behind, Chips is now with the Ancestors, his tribe and his people. The spirits of the Norse and the Ancestors of the Aboriginals have welcomed their brother. You have been honoured. Farewell, Chips, and rest in peace.

Waes Hael, Grandfather.