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  1. Quintessence

    What is Practice and What is if For?

    An important aspect of religions worldwide is practice. But what do we mean when we say "practice" exactly? Perhaps more importantly, what is practice for within a religious (or spiritual, if you prefer) context? Maia Duerr, a cultural anthropologist and practitioner of Zen Buddhism had...
  2. Quintessence

    Celebrating St. Brigid - Bridging Paganism and Catholicism

    While this is only the second year that St. Brigid has enjoyed having her own public holiday in Ireland, this year marks the fifteen-hundredth anniversary of her death. "Whether devotees honor Brigid primarily as a saint, a goddess or some combination of both, they see Brigid as emblematic of...
  3. Quintessence

    Making slurs of religion - Voodoo as a Case Example

    Using religious affiliations as slurs or snarl words is nothing new to the history of human cultures. Sometimes, they are so pervasive in cultural dialogue that we don't realize we're doing anything wrong. Enter - voodoo. Odds are good that if your primary language is English, you've used or...
  4. Quintessence

    When gods are nature...

    ... is it proselytizing to encourage others to study and appreciate nature/gods through the sciences, the arts, and life experience? On occasion, I ask myself this question. I'm a Pagan Druid. For me and others on similar paths, that which is worthy of worship - the gods - is the world and...
  5. Quintessence

    Protecting India's Sacred Forests

    What do indigenous Indian religious communities and Christian communities have in common? Often, not much, but in Meghalaya, India, these two groups are working together to protect one of India's old growth sacred forests. B.K. Tiwari, a retired professor of environmental science from North...
  6. Quintessence

    What's in a Name? - Fixing Names of Birds

    As a biologist, it often bothered me when species were named after some guy. Not because I didn't recognize the important historical contributions of scientists, but because naming a species after some guy doesn't tell you anything useful about the creature itself. While scientific names may...
  7. Quintessence

    The Psychology of Fear - Implications for Learning

    Fear-mongering has become a routinely deployed weapon in today's sensationalist media discourse. I'd like to think most of us recognize this is problematic, even if we can't quite articulate why. Professor Pasternak discusses in a recent article at The Conversation a bit about the psychology...
  8. Quintessence

    The Need for Religious Literacy

    Where scientific literacy is poor in my country, religious literacy is even worse. Naturally, as while the sciences are permitted to be covered in public schools, the challenges of teaching religious literacy cause many to abandon the notion entirely. "According to the IDEALS survey of...
  9. Quintessence

    Safe Space

    What places in your life to you consider safe spaces? Why do they feel safe to you? What are some places you don't consider safe spaces, but also don't feel unsafe in? Why do they feel like neutral spaces to you? What are some places you consider unsafe? Why do they feel dangerous to you...
  10. Quintessence

    Beans on Toast

    I've had this thing sitting in my cupboard for months: And today was finally the day. Beans. On. Toast. My life is complete now.
  11. Quintessence

    What question is "god" the answer to?

    Religion is fundamentally about answering life's big existential questions - of meaning, of purpose, of relationships, and so on. Some religions do this within a theistic framework, while others don't. What are the questions "god" or "gods" are the answer to? Perhaps it might also be...
  12. Quintessence

    Classical Monotheism - Incorporeality

    Western culture discusses theism almost exclusively from the lens of classical monotheism, so much so that theism is often considered synonymous with it. Anyone growing up in Western culture is bound to be raised with or heavily exposed to the assumptions about god(s) found in classical...
  13. Quintessence

    Humility: The most important consequence of religion

    Religion is about many things, but it is especially about navigating relationships between the self and others. Those others might be humans, they might be non-humans, or they might be gods. In all cases, the way we approach these relationships in our religions can act as a very important...
  14. Quintessence

    What's your strongest attribute?

    You are a character on the stage of life, and if likened to the storytelling medium of table top RPGs, your abilities can be represented with six attributes. STRENGTH - muscle and physical power. This represents how much you can carry and how much force you can exert on objects and enemies...
  15. Quintessence

    [Magic DIR] Psychic Witch

    Last week, I wrapped up a read through of the highly praised "Psychic Witch" by Mat Auryn. It's billed as the book everyone wishes they had starting off as a newbie practitioner of witchcraft, connecting together the realms of psychic perception (ESP) and witchcraft into one neat little...
    • Quintessence
    • Thread
    • clairvoyance extrasensory perception magick spellcraft witchcraft
    • Replies: 2
    • Forum: Magic DIR
  16. Quintessence

    Musings of a Tree Hugging Dirt Worshipper

    Unfolding Lessons - Attending to the Guiding Star The Dark Moon approaches Storm Spirit flirts on the horizon The Green unfurls Magnolia stellata welcomes with open arms Tree pollen carried on the Winds In the decade plus I've been on the forums, at no point have I seriously considered...
  17. Quintessence

    Pronouns Matter - Understanding the Christian God

    In recent religion-related news, the Church of England has been exploring the pronouns used to refer to the Christian God. Theologian Annie Selak writes: "When we speak about God, we do so knowing that what we say is incomplete. All images for God reveal something about God. No image of God is...
  18. Quintessence

    Respecting Religion in the Workplace - Accommodations to be Re-evaluated by the Supreme Court Soon

    "A far-reaching federal statute, Title VII, requires employers to make “reasonable accommodations” for the religious beliefs and practices of employees. Yet what exactly that means has been unclear for decades. This issue comes to a head on April 18, 2023, when the Supreme Court will hear oral...
  19. Quintessence

    On the Importance of Moon

    Whatever one believes about the nature and state of humanity, there are a few experiences common to us as a species no matter where we live and who we belong to. Two great celestial powers process across the sky, inspiring sacred stories and legends throughout history and transcending cultural...
  20. Quintessence

    On the Importance of Plants

    One of the themes of religion is reconnecting. It encourages us to be more mindful of our relationships with the world around us, cultivating meaningfulness and gratitude. Studying sciences, while not conventionally regarded as an act of religious study, helped me engage in this reconnection...
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