Ava Gardner (1922–1990) was one of the most famous American film stars of the late 1940s through the 1960s, probably best known for The Night of the Iguana (1964). She had moved to London 1968, which might be why she … Continue reading
One of the books on my ethnobotany shelves is Witchcraft Medicine:Healing Arts, Shamanic Practices, and Forbidden Plants, a colloboration between Wolf Dieter Storl, Claudia Müller-Ebeling, and Christian Rätsch, all three anthropologists and ethnobotanists. Müller-Ebeling and Rätsch are married and live … Continue reading
From Danish writer and animist Rune Engelbreth Larsen The Viking Age seems to be undergoing a kind of global renaissance in various fields, spanning from popular culture to spirituality and even some misguided political trends. Often this “viking revival” manifests … Continue reading
What has been happening over at the Winery at Holy Cross Abbey, down in Cañon City, Colorado? They have gone hermetic! M. and I celebrated equinox season today by attending the winery’s Harvest Festival. It was packed. SInce the focus … Continue reading
News release from Oberon Zell: Soliciting essays for “Goodbye Jesus” book Goodbye Jesus; I’ve gone Home to Mother! This is the title of an anthology for which I’ve been gathering essays over the past couple of decades. These are accounts … Continue reading
Back in 1951, when Wicca was first being introduced to the world, largely via Gerald Gardner and Cecil Williamson’s seasonal museum on the Isle of Man, a store in Arlington, Virgina advertised that “the neo-pagan influence on fashion is one … Continue reading
Ecotourism often involves naturalist-guided tours of relatively wild areas, but also visits to small-scale agricultural producers, also called “agritourism.” Sometimes this operates in a B&B fashion. See, for example, the state of Vermont’s guide. But never mind milking cows and … Continue reading
Everything academic seems to slo-o-o-w down in 2020, so you can still submit a proposal for the “Ill met by moonlight’: Gothic encounters with enchantment and the Faerie realm in literature and culture” conference at the University of Hertfordshire, 8–11 … Continue reading
Last year I had the honor to give a keynote address at the Conference on Current Pagan Studies in Claremont, California. Last year’s conference involved a train trip. This year, like everything else, it’s virtual. Dates are January 16–17, 2021. … Continue reading
Earlier this summer, the fashion house of Dior produced a publicity video for their autumn-winter 2020–2021 haute couture collection that appeared — to my eyes — to be all about the the Other Crowd, so I blogged it as “Dior … Continue reading