bad magic?

It’s been over two years since I fell in love with a pagan, and I am beginning to get the gist of it. I have been through two full cycles of the wheel, and understand all the pagan holidays.

I think Brigid is my favorite, as the plum tree right outside the living room window is in full bloom, and I feel elated and inspired by all the poetry books on the altar. As I mentioned in my first post, I am not crazy about Samhain, when the house fills up with spirits, and inanimate objects start moving from place to place around the house.

As a Jew, I am struck by the similarities between Judaism and Paganism. Many of the Jewish holidays have evident Pagan roots, and there is even a religious movement called Jewitchery or Jewish Neo-paganism that seeks to create an earth-based religion for the Jewish people.

I have come to respect how much work it is to celebrate the seasons. The altar is transformed each season, as my partner pulls these incredible objects from goddess knows where and performs her artistic magic. Being with a pagan has also improved my social standing, as suddenly I started being invited to the parties of an acquaintance who told me, “I hear you live with a very powerful witch.”

So when my partner occasionally told me, “that’s bad magic”, I had no recourse but to believe her. She obviously is a very experienced witch, and knows what she is talking about. So I would alter my course to try to eliminate whatever it was that was bad magic.

After a while, however, I started to realize that when she said “That’s bad magic”, what she really meant was “I don’t like that”, especially when she started to say “That’s bad Feng Shui”, which I am quite certain she knows close to nothing about.

So now I am left with the task of trying to figure out on my own what really is bad magic and what is simply unsatisfactory to that powerful witch I live with. It could be worse.

on to our next event

Many of you know that for the last month or so, one of the most frequent things to come out of my mouth is "after the dyke march." I am one of eight women who organize the San Francisco Dyke March, an annual event that takes place the day before Pride. 15,000 people have a big party in Dolores Park, and then 40,000 dykes march through the Mission to the Castro. We are all volunteers, and the stress during the month of June increases daily.

It is interesting , though, the juxtaposition of the dyke march and summer solstice. The summer solstice party that was a fixture in our house before I arrived on the scene has been superseded by the dyke march, and last Friday nite there was a small gathering of witches in Berkeley, whileI was in the Castro hawking dyke march t-shirts in the line at the LGBT(IQQ) film festival.

So now that it is almost "after the dyke march", I can begin to think about my next organizing role, the Fools Journey.

My pagan partner has taught at many witchcamps, but she does not teach at California camp. As the ever-supportive partner of a pagan, I have been encouraging her and some of her cohorts to start their own "camp", in some form or other. What emerged from these discussions was the Fools Journey, a three-day spiritual restorative at Four Springs, a beautiful retreat center near Harbin Hot Springs.

So now my vast experience from organizing a party of 40,000 comes in handy. We have the site, the food is all arranged, the witches are meeting to plan the programming, and the word is out.

So come relax by the pool, get introduced to the elements of magic, or deepen your magical touch with some of the most experiences witches in California. A magical time will be had by all.

Welcome to Partners of Pagans

I am happy to announce the founding of a new international organization called “Partners of Pagans”. I founded this group to find support and camaraderie among people who understand my particular fate; married to a pagan.

You might ask what kind of support we need. Well, the first thing that comes to mind is “Pagan Holidays; As the Wheel Turns”. I first realized I needed a Partners of Pagans meeting when I needed support around what to do on Samhain, a.k.a. Halloween. She’s up in Marin County at a witches-only event, and I am too scared to be alone in the house at midnight because of all the friendly ghosts.

All of my non-believing friends think I am totally out of my mind, but many people who have been to this house and have experienced the funny stuff will understand. Heck, the cable guy won’t even come here alone. He got a good dose one day when the TV starting going off and on by itself.

Next topic: Where to go during the initiation at your house? It’s a lazy weekend day, perfect for hanging around the house and relaxing. Guess again. An initiation today. Let’s see, how can I amuse myself out of the house from 11 AM to 5 PM. Please see the pamphlet on day trips for Partners of Pagans.

Next: Don’t tell me you ate THAT! One of our first UK members reports that he came home one day and there was a piece of cheesecake on the mantle. Sweet, he said to himself and partook. His wife came home and shrieked, “That was an offering to the goddess!” Oh, well. Another member’s response to that was, “When you offer something to the gods, you never know which god will receive.”

I think you catch my drift. When I was in England in April, each and every husband of all of those fabulous witches over there signed up. So stay tuned, and send in your topics for future meetings. Oh yes, and there will be a Partners of Pagans caucus at the up-coming Fools Journey three-day spiritual restorative that I am helping some witches organize. Maybe we’ll even do a skit in the talent show.