Amongst my YouTube suggestions today was
FAUN -- Walpurgisnacht.
https://youtu.be/nLgM1QJ3S_I?si=Jg_rm4jF4LrP15Ki
This German neopagan group reminded me strongly of the older British group Steeleye Span.
Although I'm sure some people love this MV, I can also imagine it evoking a strongly negative reaction.
#FAUN #Walpurgisnacht #Neopagan #Folkpop #SteeleyeSpan #Folkrock
✨ Славянская Медитация "В Объятиях Мудрости Сварога" | Ритуал для Спокойствия и Гармонии 🌿 ✨
🌿 Этот ритуал поможет вам отпустить тревоги, обрести гармонию и соединиться со своими корнями.
#SlavicRitual #SlavicMeditation #СлавянскийРитуал #Медитация #Сварог #Paganism #NeoPagan #SlavicMusic #ДревниеБоги #Вырий #Ancestors #ConnectionWithNature #МудростьПредков #PeacefulMind #Relaxation #Soundscape #AmbientMusic #EthnicMusic #RitualMusic #Slavs #Русь
🎶 Славянская магия звука - Mystical Slavic Magia Ritual Music 🔮🎶
Мистическая славянская ритуальная музыка.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gzHkGkewL0c
#RitualMusic
#МагияЗвука
#SlavicAmbient
#ЗавораживающаяМузыка
#MysticVoices
#СлавянскийФольклор
#HauntingFolk
#Флейта
#NeoPagan
#CurrentlyListeningTo Heilung - Lifa #NeoFolk #NeoPagan 🌐
Happy Beltane, everyone! 🌟🌸🌹🌺🌞
#HappyBeltane #Beltane #Beltaine #Bealtaine #Pagan #Neopagan
Song of the Day! ...It's taken a long time..."but no regrets"
Music will get me through.
My new Life is a Stir Fry / Mediterranean hybrid diet. It's taken a long time to get here, but it's turning out to be "just what the doctor ordered."
I feel much healthier now!
DATE: March 20, 2025 at 07:00PM
SOURCE: Angela Raincatcher Substack and Polytheism Today Podcast
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TITLE: 529 CE was not a good year
URL: https://angelaraincatcher.substack.com/p/529-ce-was-not-a-good-year
Earlier this week, I finished the book “The Darkening Age: The Christian Destruction of the Classical World” by Catherine Nixey. And while Nixey is an engaging and accessible writer, the content of her book is gutting especially if you are a polytheist and/or Pagan, both of which (as you no doubt know) I am.
Let me just start with the very last paragraph of the book to give you a sense of what I mean:
The lovely statue of Athena, the goddess of wisdom, suffered as badly as the statue of Athena in Palmyra had. Not only was she beheaded, she was then, a final humiliation, placed face-down in the corner of a courtyard to be used as a step. Over the coming years, her back would be worn away as the goddess of wisdom was ground down by generations of Christian feet. The “triumph” of Christianity was complete.
Oof!
Ouch!
In clear, compelling prose, Nixey lays out how, in its first 200 years in authorityfrom Emperor Constantine’s conversion to Christianity in 312 CE to the legal prohibition of any teachers who “labored under the insanity of paganism” in 529 CEthe Church led a concerted and sustained campaign to destroy pagan religion, culture, and people. In story after horrific story, Nixey lays out how Christian clergy and monks incited angry mobs of disaffected men to tear down temples and schools, burn libraries, and harass and beat to death pagan priests, philosophers, and adherents. The now-Christian Roman Empire and its client states passed laws making it harder and harder to worship in any way but the new Christian way.
In less than 50 years after Emperor Constantine converted and stated that all religions should be tolerated, offering sacrifices to the gods became punishable by the death penalty. In another 50 years or so, pagan ceremonies were outlawed with the same cost (execution) for those who led them.
To many of these early Church fathers, including Augustine of Hippo (354-430CE), whose followers often operated outside the law and were never punished, the terror visited upon the pagan public was the point: “Where there is terror, there is salvation . . . Oh, merciful savagery!”
I had to read this book in short spurts as I found myself angered and depressed by turnsnot only because of tragedies of the past, but because of what we are facing today in the U.S. with the rise to power of authoritarian fascist would-be emperors, the destruction of our governmental institutions and the war on science perpetuated by DOGE, and the culture wars whipped up by Christian nationalists and white supremacists intent on dividing and controlling the masses. It was impossible not to see the parallels between then and now.
With less than 10% of all classical literature and knowledge surviving into the modern era, the history of the late Antique world rewritten and/or forgotten for centuries, and religious monotheist fanatics running roughshod above the law, I can only imagine in horror our future.
And of course, I wonder how we can preserve the scientific and medical knowledge we have gained in the last 200 years, how we can protect the rights and the lives of our most vulnerable and marginalized communities, and how we save ourselves and our Mother Earthand if we even can.
I don’t have the answer to that, but I believe in witnessing and not turning away. And I recommend reading Nixey’s book and talking with your communities and your loved ones about these issues.
Blessings from a strong and open heart,
Thanks for reading! This post is public so feel free to share it.
Share
This Substack is reader-supported. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.
URL: https://angelaraincatcher.substack.com/p/529-ce-was-not-a-good-year
Substack blog articles can be found at https://angelaraincatcher.substack.com/
Polytheism Today podcast site at https://angelaraincatcher.substack.com/s/polytheism-today You can also find Season One here!!
-------------------------------------------------
Consciously Pagan since the late 1980s, Angela Raincatcher is a spirit-led artist and Pagan priestess. Angela has been a priestess and community organizer since the early 2000s. She is currently the convener of the public ritual group Connect DC, head of the Artist Guild and a 3rd-degree initiate in the Order of the Elemental Mysteries. At heart, Angela is an animist and an equal-opportunity polytheist. In her endeavors and life journey, she leads with a strong and open heart, and strives to treat all living beings with the respect they inherently deserve.
Polytheism Today explores the rich diversity of the divine as experienced in our modern world by polytheists from a variety of spiritual traditions. You and all your gods are welcome here!
All content is free. If you can help cover costs, subscriptions are $5/mo. and can be found at https://angelaraincatcher.substack.com/about . You can also buy me a coffee at https://buymeacoffee.com/angelarainu
-------------------------------------------------
@inclusiveWicca @TheWildHuntNews@witches.live @TheWildHuntNews@mastodon.social #Pagan #Paganism #Pagancommunity #Neopagan #Wiccan #Wicca #Heathen #witchcraft #witch #polytheism #religion #spirituality #occult #theology #theaology #GoddessConversation #DivineExperiences #BeliefJourney #PolytheismToday #PodcastInterview #SpiritualJourney #PolytheismCommunity #PaganArt #AngelaRaincatcher @pagan @witchcraft @spirituality @occult
DATE: March 16, 2025 at 01:28PM
SOURCE: Angela Raincatcher Substack and Polytheism Today Podcast
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TITLE: Community Mandala in Action
URL: https://angelaraincatcher.substack.com/p/community-mandala-in-action
The community mandala created in collaboration with attendees at the 2024 Sacred Space Conference is up for auction to fund scholarships for the 2026 Sacred Space-Between the Worlds joint conference next February.
Place Your Bid
I wrote about the construction and symbolism of the mandala before, but there is a bit more on the auction website.
The finished painting is 36” x 36” and would sell for $975. I donated the piece to the Sacred Space Foundation to auction because I wanted this piece to support my spiritual community, not only culturally, energetically, and spiritually, but also financially (MALKUTH!!!)
By the way, I will be vending at this year’s conference under the auspices of Your Magick Aunties with the fabulous Ketzirah haMa’agelet, and I’m teaching a class (really more facilitating a conversation) on the topic “Loving the Ugly to Heal the Wounded Earth,” on Friday evening, 8:45pm - 10:15pm.
The description I wrote for conversation read, “Pollution, mining, and superfund sites are not pretty. But in order to love and heal our Mother Earth fully, we have to be willing to look at and excavate these wounds so that we can spiritually, energetically, and where possible physically clean them out. We have to love our Mother not just in her beauty and bounty, but also in her scars and her wounding. In this workshop, we will discuss how to find these wounded places close to where we live. We will explore how to interact safely with the spirits of a wounded place and craft magic and ritual to support their healing. We will also brainstorm ways to blend our magical work with physical clean-up efforts.”
I’m looking forward to seeing a bunch of you at the conference, and I would love to hear from those of you I won’t see.
Blessings from a strong and open heart,
Angela Raincatcher
Thanks for reading! This post is public so feel free to share it.
Share
This Substack is reader-supported. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.
URL: https://angelaraincatcher.substack.com/p/community-mandala-in-action
Substack blog articles can be found at https://angelaraincatcher.substack.com/
Polytheism Today podcast site at https://angelaraincatcher.substack.com/s/polytheism-today You can also find Season One here!!
-------------------------------------------------
Consciously Pagan since the late 1980s, Angela Raincatcher is a spirit-led artist and Pagan priestess. Angela has been a priestess and community organizer since the early 2000s. She is currently the convener of the public ritual group Connect DC, head of the Artist Guild and a 3rd-degree initiate in the Order of the Elemental Mysteries. At heart, Angela is an animist and an equal-opportunity polytheist. In her endeavors and life journey, she leads with a strong and open heart, and strives to treat all living beings with the respect they inherently deserve.
Polytheism Today explores the rich diversity of the divine as experienced in our modern world by polytheists from a variety of spiritual traditions. You and all your gods are welcome here!
All content is free. If you can help cover costs, subscriptions are $5/mo. and can be found at https://angelaraincatcher.substack.com/about . You can also buy me a coffee at https://buymeacoffee.com/angelarainu
-------------------------------------------------
@inclusiveWicca @TheWildHuntNews@witches.live @TheWildHuntNews@mastodon.social #Pagan #Paganism #Pagancommunity #Neopagan #Wiccan #Wicca #Heathen #witchcraft #witch #polytheism #religion #spirituality #occult #theology #theaology #GoddessConversation #DivineExperiences #BeliefJourney #PolytheismToday #PodcastInterview #SpiritualJourney #PolytheismCommunity #PaganArt #AngelaRaincatcher @pagan @witchcraft @spirituality @occult
DATE: March 02, 2025 at 05:24PM
SOURCE: Angela Raincatcher Substack and Polytheism Today Podcast
-------------------------------------------------
TITLE: Divine Diversity
URL: https://angelaraincatcher.substack.com/p/divine-diversity
Last month, I spoke about divine diversity and inclusion at the Mattatuck Unitarian Universalist Society in Connecticut. I distilled my thoughts from a few episodes of Season 1 of the Polytheism Today podcast: What is Polytheism?, What is a God?, and Divine Diversity. I encourage you to check out those episodes if you enjoy this video.
I wish I could share with you the wonderful comments and conversations I had with congregation members after the service and during the fellowship. Some were curious and open to a perspective they had not considered before. Some were familiar with Wicca and were excited to hear about the gods in their church. Some wondered if I thought the gods were “real” and if they talked to me (the answer is “yes” to both). These comments and questions have given some a lot to think about, which may fuel future writing or podcast episodes.
With all that is going on in our current political climate in the U.S., I think it is vital for those of us who can speak publicly about polytheism, the diversity of the gods, and link that to diversity in our natural and cultural world, to do so. There is another way there are MANY other ways to be in relationship with each other and the world around us. Ways that are nurturing and liberating. Ways in which the whole person and the whole of existence is embraced and valued. I, for one, think that polytheism as an intellectual and spiritual construct and worldview is a way forward that we should consider. That’s my flag in the sand.
Blessings from a strong and open heart,
Angela Raincatcher
Leave a comment
Thanks for reading! This post is public, so feel free to share it.
Share
URL: https://angelaraincatcher.substack.com/p/divine-diversity
Substack blog articles can be found at https://angelaraincatcher.substack.com/
Polytheism Today podcast site at https://angelaraincatcher.substack.com/s/polytheism-today You can also find Season One here!!
-------------------------------------------------
Consciously Pagan since the late 1980s, Angela Raincatcher is a spirit-led artist and Pagan priestess. Angela has been a priestess and community organizer since the early 2000s. She is currently the convener of the public ritual group Connect DC, head of the Artist Guild and a 3rd-degree initiate in the Order of the Elemental Mysteries. At heart, Angela is an animist and an equal-opportunity polytheist. In her endeavors and life journey, she leads with a strong and open heart, and strives to treat all living beings with the respect they inherently deserve.
Polytheism Today explores the rich diversity of the divine as experienced in our modern world by polytheists from a variety of spiritual traditions. You and all your gods are welcome here!
All content is free. If you can help cover costs, subscriptions are $5/mo. and can be found at https://angelaraincatcher.substack.com/about . You can also buy me a coffee at https://buymeacoffee.com/angelarainu
-------------------------------------------------
@inclusiveWicca @TheWildHuntNews@witches.live @TheWildHuntNews@mastodon.social #Pagan #Paganism #Pagancommunity #Neopagan #Wiccan #Wicca #Heathen #witchcraft #witch #polytheism #religion #spirituality #occult #theology #theaology #GoddessConversation #DivineExperiences #BeliefJourney #PolytheismToday #PodcastInterview #SpiritualJourney #PolytheismCommunity #PaganArt #AngelaRaincatcher @pagan @witchcraft @spirituality @occult
DATE: March 02, 2025 at 05:24PM
SOURCE: Angela Raincatcher Polytheism Today Podcast
-------------------------------------------------
TITLE: Divine Diversity
URL: https://angelaraincatcher.substack.com/p/divine-diversity
Last month, I spoke about divine diversity and inclusion at the Mattatuck Unitarian Universalist Society in Connecticut. I distilled my thoughts from a few episodes of Season 1 of the Polytheism Today podcast: What is Polytheism?, What is a God?, and Divine Diversity. I encourage you to check out those episodes if you enjoy this video.
I wish I could share with you the wonderful comments and conversations I had with congregation members after the service and during the fellowship. Some were curious and open to a perspective they had not considered before. Some were familiar with Wicca and were excited to hear about the gods in their church. Some wondered if I thought the gods were “real” and if they talked to me (the answer is “yes” to both). These comments and questions have given some a lot to think about, which may fuel future writing or podcast episodes.
With all that is going on in our current political climate in the U.S., I think it is vital for those of us who can speak publicly about polytheism, the diversity of the gods, and link that to diversity in our natural and cultural world, to do so. There is another way — there are MANY other ways — to be in relationship with each other and the world around us. Ways that are nurturing and liberating. Ways in which the whole person and the whole of existence is embraced and valued. I, for one, think that polytheism as an intellectual and spiritual construct and worldview is a way forward that we should consider. That’s my flag in the sand.
Blessings from a strong and open heart,
Angela Raincatcher
Thanks for reading! This post is public, so feel free to share it.
Get full access to Angela Raincatcher at angelaraincatcher.substack.com/subscribe
URL: https://angelaraincatcher.substack.com/p/divine-diversity
Substack blog articles can be found at https://angelaraincatcher.substack.com/
Polytheism Today podcast site at https://angelaraincatcher.substack.com/s/polytheism-today You can also find Season One here!!
-------------------------------------------------
Consciously Pagan since the late 1980s, Angela Raincatcher is a spirit-led artist and Pagan priestess. Angela has been a priestess and community organizer since the early 2000s. She is currently the convener of the public ritual group Connect DC, head of the Artist Guild and a 3rd-degree initiate in the Order of the Elemental Mysteries. At heart, Angela is an animist and an equal-opportunity polytheist. In her endeavors and life journey, she leads with a strong and open heart, and strives to treat all living beings with the respect they inherently deserve.
Polytheism Today explores the rich diversity of the divine as experienced in our modern world by polytheists from a variety of spiritual traditions. You and all your gods are welcome here!
All content is free. If you can help cover costs, subscriptions are $5/mo. and can be found at https://angelaraincatcher.substack.com/about . You can also buy me a coffee at https://buymeacoffee.com/angelarainu
-------------------------------------------------
@inclusiveWicca @TheWildHuntNews@witches.live @TheWildHuntNews@mastodon.social #Pagan #Paganism #Pagancommunity #Neopagan #Wiccan #Wicca #Heathen #witchcraft #witch #polytheism #religion #spirituality #occult #theology #theaology #GoddessConversation #DivineExperiences #BeliefJourney #PolytheismToday #PodcastInterview #SpiritualJourney #PolytheismCommunity #PaganArt #AngelaRaincatcher @pagan @witchcraft @spirituality @occult
DATE: February 04, 2025 at 03:09PM
SOURCE: Angela Raincatcher Substack and Polytheism Today Podcast
-------------------------------------------------
TITLE: Prayers for Hard Times
URL: https://angelaraincatcher.substack.com/p/prayers-for-hard-times
Greetings, Friends!
The last few weeks have been filled with uncertainty and chaos. There have been moments where, in the middle of doing the most mundane things, I have felt like the foundations under my feet have been pulled awayand I am completely rootless and untethered. My mind reels with a whirlpool of broken, incomprehensible thoughts. I am stunned and unmoving for a few minutes until I have found my center and ground again in my body.
I want to reach for my Gods, my Ancestors, and my Allies in prayer, but finding the words can be frustrating in the moment of distress.
See! It fits in the hand!
In my own desire to have such words to anchor me, comfort my soul, and steel my spine, I created this pocket-size booklet of prayers I have written over the years. It’s free for you to download, print, and share. It prints on one side of an 8.5” x 11” piece of paper. You can see how to fold it into a booklet here.
I hope that these prayers help you through these times.
Blessings from a strong and open heart,
Angela
Leave a comment
Angela Raincatcher is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.
URL: https://angelaraincatcher.substack.com/p/prayers-for-hard-times
Substack blog articles can be found at https://angelaraincatcher.substack.com/
Polytheism Today podcast site at https://angelaraincatcher.substack.com/s/polytheism-today You can also find Season One here!!
-------------------------------------------------
Consciously Pagan since the late 1980s, Angela Raincatcher is a spirit-led artist and Pagan priestess. Angela has been a priestess and community organizer since the early 2000s. She is currently the convener of the public ritual group Connect DC, head of the Artist Guild and a 3rd-degree initiate in the Order of the Elemental Mysteries. At heart, Angela is an animist and an equal-opportunity polytheist. In her endeavors and life journey, she leads with a strong and open heart, and strives to treat all living beings with the respect they inherently deserve.
Polytheism Today explores the rich diversity of the divine as experienced in our modern world by polytheists from a variety of spiritual traditions. You and all your gods are welcome here!
All content is free. If you can help cover costs, subscriptions are $5/mo. and can be found at https://angelaraincatcher.substack.com/about . You can also buy me a coffee at https://buymeacoffee.com/angelarainu
-------------------------------------------------
@inclusiveWicca @TheWildHuntNews@witches.live @TheWildHuntNews@mastodon.social #Pagan #Paganism #Pagancommunity #Neopagan #Wiccan #Wicca #Heathen #witchcraft #witch #polytheism #religion #spirituality #occult #theology #theaology #GoddessConversation #DivineExperiences #BeliefJourney #PolytheismToday #PodcastInterview #SpiritualJourney #PolytheismCommunity #PaganArt #AngelaRaincatcher @pagan @witchcraft @spirituality @occult
Heat another ½ oz of Irish whiskey in the microwave until warm-to-hot; 9 seconds is symbolically nice, but your microwave may vary. Layer that *very* carefully on the Bailey's.
Dim the lights and use a match to ignite the whiskey. As it burns, sprinkle powdered cinnamon over it from a height to make sparks. (This is why you put it on a plate: it catches the extra cinnamon and makes cleanup easier.) 2/3
#Pagan #Imbolc #cocktail #Brighid #Neopagan #Irish #Celtic #drink
For alcohol-drinking #Pagans, a thing I concocted some years ago: I call it the Triple Brighid.
Place a large shot glass on a plate and pour in ½ oz Frangelico. Layer another ½ oz Bailey's Irish Cream carefully on top.
(You can vary the amount based on the size of your glass; exactly ½ oz isn't critical.) 1/3
Happy Imbolc, everyone! 🌟🕯🌱🥛
#Imbolc #HappyImbolc #pagan #neopagan #Celtic #Irish #Imbolc2025
