1. Religion & Spirituality

Wicca for Beginners

Interested in learning about Wicca and Paganism but not sure where to begin? Here's where you'll find all kinds of information geared towards new practitioners of Pagan spirituality.

Be Sure to Read:
Paganism / Wicca Spotlight10

Notes from the Cauldron: Weekly Roundup May 14 - 20

Monday May 21, 2012
Wondering what you might have missed this week at About Pagan/Wiccan? Well, there's all kinds of new content, a bunch of blog posts, updates to older articles, and tons of new reader submissions! Here's your round-up of everything from the past week in About Pagan/Wiccan:

New and Updated Articles and Features

All About Litha
Garden Magic
Hold a Baby Naming Ceremony

Blog Posts

Notes from the Cauldron: Weekly Roundup May 7 - 13
Summer Reading: Our Favorite Witchy Fiction
Discernment, Tolerance and Why It's OK To Question Things
Reader Mail: American Witchcraft Laws
Robertson: Destroy Friend's Buddha Statue
Are You a Crafty Pagan?
Teen Pagans and Bullying

New Reader Submissions

Prayer and Energy Requests
Share Your Favorite Witchy Fiction
Pagan Blogs: Agnostic Witchery
Pagan Blogs: Book of Shadows
Pagan Tattoo Gallery: FyrePhoenix's Pentacle

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Teen Pagans and Bullying

Sunday May 20, 2012
It's no secret that teenagers are often the victims of bullying, and those who are outside the mainstream -- those who look different, act different, etc. -- can often be targets for malicious behavior. Unfortunately, that puts teen Pagans in a direct path for many bullies, and because school administrators are not typically educated about Wicca and other modern Pagan religions, they may not have a clue about what to do. If you're a teen Pagan or Wiccan, or the parent of one, and you've been the victim of bullying behavior, here are some tips on what to do: Teen Pagans and Bullying

Readers, do you have any advice for a teen or parent who might be dealing with bullying because of their religious beliefs?

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Are You a Crafty Pagan?

Sunday May 20, 2012
OK, so one of the most popular aspects of this particular About.com site is, I have found, that people really love Pagan-themed craft projects. I've posted a number of them for Sabbats and other occasions, and they're always a big hit. I know tons of readers do them, as well as doing their own craft projects.

We also have a really cool feature called Show and Tell, which allows readers to submit a photo and a story. If you've put together a project that celebrates your gods, your beliefs, a Pagan holiday or some other aspect of your spirituality, stop on in and share it with other readers here: Share Your Crafts

Once it's submitted, it goes into a queue for moderation. I'll review it and approve it, and then it goes live on the site. This is a neat way for everyone to share some of their projects, so send 'em on in!

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Robertson: Destroy Friend's Buddha Statue

Saturday May 19, 2012
In the movie The Avengers (which is amazing, btw), at one point a comment is made about a character that goes something like this, "His mind's like a bag of cats. You can smell the crazy on him." Well, when I read this article over at HuffPo religion about Pat Robertson, that was the first thing that popped into my mind. "Bag-of-cats-crazy."

Robertson has said a lot of bonkers stuff over the years, including blaming the giant Haiti earthquake on the Vodoun religion, but this latest one is pretty entertaining too. During a recent appearance on The 700 Club, a viewer asked Robertson what she should do if a friend had a Buddha statue in their home. His response?

"Take it away and break it. Break it! Destroy it."

Because that's the preferred method for dealing with the religious icons of friends who do not share our faith, evidently. Seriously, I'm constantly amazed that people still pay attention to what this man has to say. I'm also constantly grateful that he does not speak for my Christian friends, nor for most of the Christians in this country.

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