Walking the Path

Thoughts about the things happening in my life, often with some relation to the Kindreds and how my relationship with them is deepening.

Reflecting on the ‘Total Eclipse of the Heartland’

This past week I had the privilege to travel to Tredara with my family and many other pagan (and pagan-adjacent) folks to experience the totality of the solar eclipse that stretched across the United States on April 8th.  “Tredara is a 22-acre facility owned and operated by druids of Stone Creed Grove. It features multiple nemetons, an Ancestor Mound, a shrine to the Nature Spirits, and many other sacred spots” (Stone Creed).  Every time I have visited Tredara has been amazing, especially because they always seem to have new shrines each year (this year was a lovely Hekate shrine), but it was especially wonderful this visit because experiencing Totality is absolutely awe-inspiring, and then to see it on sacred ground amongst my spiritual community was ineffable.   

Continue reading “Reflecting on the ‘Total Eclipse of the Heartland’” →

“Reflections on Prison Chaplaincy”

It’s amazing how serendipitous life changes can really affect your spirituality and the ways that you interact with the world.  Since becoming ordained in 2015 I’ve had an interest in pursuing professional chaplaincy, but as a minority religion there are even more barriers in place that there would be otherwise.  Even then, I thought I’d like higher education or hospital chaplaincy, and was pretty sure that prison chaplaincy was not for me.  But then this opportunity to work at the local women’s state prison fell into my lap, and I have found myself spirituality reinvigorated and deeply humbled in this work.  

Continue reading ““Reflections on Prison Chaplaincy”” →

Teaching Chaplains About Paganism

I had the amazing opportunity to teach a class of Chaplaincy students doing CPE with OhioHealth this week.  Their instructor had reached out to me to see if I could help give them some perspective on what types of things pagans belief, and what would help them in times of crisis.  The talk went really well, the students were engaged and had good questions.  Hopefully I get the opportunity to go back with each new cohort.  

Here’s the outline that I sent along to the students:

Continue reading “Teaching Chaplains About Paganism” →

Reigniting Your Devotional Practice

For many people, including me, November and December are so busy with family obligations and other social functions thanks to the over-culture, that our own personal devotional practice tends to fall by the wayside for awhile.  Devotional practices, whether they be daily or weekly prayers, meditation, or magical workings, ebb and flow.  They go in cycles like the seasons, and that’s okay.  A dormant season is necessary for a fruitful growing and harvest season.  So, as we’re coming out of the dormant season, it’s okay that our practice may have been dormant for awhile. Now is the time to reignite it.  

Continue reading “Reigniting Your Devotional Practice” →

Book Recommendation: “Pagan, Goddess, Mother”

Book Cover depicts a painting of a purple haired woman holding a sleeping newborn.
“Pagan, Goddess, Mother” by Nané Jordan and Chandra Alexandre

This was recommended to me by a fellow ADF initiate who does a lot of academic research on various philosophical and pagan topics. Now I’m going to recommend it to you, my dear pagan parents. Particularly those of you who are steeped in both leadership roles and parenthood simultaneously.

Continue reading “Book Recommendation: “Pagan, Goddess, Mother”” →