PENTON PAGAN MAGAZINE
Issue number 39 - December 2007 to March 2008
Read this issue online now at www.penton.co.za
NOTE: NOT MOZILLA FIREFOX FRIENDLY !
In this issue PENTON INTERVIEWS...
Oberon Zell-Ravenheart
Founder of the Church of All Worlds
by Mabyn Wind
Oberon Zell-Ravenheart, (November 30th, 1942- ) is a Founder of the Church of All Worlds and a leading figure in the Neo-Pagan community. A modern Renaissance man, Oberon is has fulfilled many roles, including: communitycreator, transpersonal psychologist, metaphysician, naturalist, theologian, shaman, healer, seer, author, artist, sculptor, lecturer, teacher, eco-activist, magician, and ordained Priest of the Earth-Mother, Gaia. He sums all this up in the designation of "Wizard".
Deon Maas
Journalist & Director: Meerkat Media
I am not an atheist. I just despise any form of organised religion because it forces people to conform to certain ideas in order to belong to the group. It comes down to undue peer pressure that minimizes free thinking and forming your own opinion. This includes satanism. If you read the piece carefully (especially the original in Afrikaans and not all the translated ones floating around the web) you will see that it is not a piece about satanism, but one that encourages tolerance and encourages people to listen to other people's ideas, not necessarily agree with it, but understanding it.
Bob Makransky
Systems analyst, programmer, astrologer and Mayan Priest
I was given a ritual to invoke the Mayan spirits; and after a while they began talking to me. Apparently it had to do with past lives I've had as a Mayan priest here in Guatemala in ancient times.
FEATURE ARTICLES
The Hidden Children
by M & L Madytinos
Of all the great documented cultures of the ancient world, the Ancient Hellenic is among the oldest and best preserved. Ironically, the religion which inspired the aesthetics and culture of this great civilization is also the most misinterpreted and least understood of all the old religions of Europe. The roots of this problem are both subtle and complex. The effects thereof are far reaching for the standard of Neo-Pagan teachings which are most commonly propagated in today’s mainstream traditions.
The Long Road to Antissa
by Eleuthera
More than two years have passed since I have walked upon African soil. Since I made that decision to follow my chosen tradition and to walk the paths of the Ancient Hellenes. And so I left my home, family and career to follow a dream. A vision of a time when the Old Gods reigned supreme within the world of human consciousness. Perhaps I thought it would be easier to live a Pagan life completely if I was surrounded by its past glory. In many ways I was wrong. It is not easy to be a Pagan in modern Greece. I was not prepared for the deep sorrow I would experience in seeing the desecration of the temples and encountering firsthand the effects of the ignorance of people who are threatened by the past. I did however learn a valuable lesson about what it means to be a Eurocentric Pagan living in the 21st century.
666 is net 'n syfer
deur Deon Maas
Sover as wat geloof gaan, het Satanisme nog altyd aan die kortste end getrek wat die media betref. Terselfdertyd is dit die beste vriend wat die Christene nog ooit gehad het, synde dat die duiwel die kerk in besigheid hou.
William Butler Yeats'Theory of Reincarnation Explained
by Bob Makransky
What is reincarnation? To begin with, reincarnation does not take place within a matrix of linear time. It's not as if e.g. you had a life in ancient Greece and then you died; then you had a life in ancient Rome and then you died; then you had a life in the Middle Ages and then you died; etc. Rather, all of your past and future lives are going on at once, in an eternal NOW moment.
TouchStone Advocacy
Culture, religion and prejudice
by Damon Leff
As South Africans we have inherited several prejudicial memes on the nature of 'evil', 'misfortune' and 'maleficum'. These memes have illicited suspicion, mistrust, fear, hatred and violence within communities in several Provinces. They continue to do so because culture, religion, law and politics gives them sanction under the rubric of 'respecting cultural traditions'.
PENTON COLUMNS
COLUMN: PAN-GAEA ENVIRONMENTAL WATCHTOWER
Environment in the South African context
by Bronwen Griffiths
Welcome to my environmental column! I thought I would start this article with a quick overview of why I am contributing to Penton as the new ‘Environmental Columnist’. In terms of my background, I am a trained ecologist, have worked for both provincial and local environmental authorities, have operated as an environmental consultant dealing mainly with Environmental Impact Assessments (EIA) and Environmental Management Planning (EMP) since 1999, and was privileged enough to recently co-author the draft guideline document for the National Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism (DEAT) relating to the implementation of the new EIA Regulations. Thus, your esteemed Editor, Damon, gently bent my arm and asked nicely … so here we go!
COLUMN: CHTHONIC REALITY
Too Kind
by Terri Moore
Standing on the smokers' balcony at work I looked out on a low, grey, drizzly sky which had been African Azure the day before. "It's our own fault" I said, to one of my colleagues, meaning that we had only ourselves to blame for weird weather patterns. Climate change, global warming, holes in the ozone layer - I mean, I'm responsible for all that, am I not? I live as eco-friendly a life as I am able - I conserve ergs, use water sparingly and reuse it often. My family has only one small car between it and we don't jet-set around the globe; recycling of all our waste is a normal part of daily routine. I feel smugly like a good little green citizen and yet I continually blame myself for the fact that we may have only 5 years until something really gives way. It must be my fault - I must not have been trying hard enough, or else I must just be a rotten person who deserves to have this happen to her.
COLUMN: STICKS & STONES
Warm or Luke Warm ?
by Morgause Fontleve
Do modern day Pagans possess the ardour, the joy, the zeal, the rapture, the transport and fervor of Initiates of yore? The Ancient Mysteries teachings tell us to live life with abandon, to the full, just like the gods … But do we even know our own philosophical and mythological heritage? And do we make any efforts towards changing any of this?
COLUMN: CUNNING WORTS HERBAL
Lenny Bach
In this issue we take a look at Herbal Planetary Correspondences.
LETTER'S TO THE EDITOR
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CONTRIBUTORS
You are invited to share your comments, experiences and wisdom. We reserve the right to edit any material submitted for publication. see Deadlines.
DISCLAIMER
The opinions expressed in Penton are not necessarily those of the editor.
COPYRIGHT
Material published in Penton may not be reproduced in any form without written permission from the editor. Copyright remains with the original authors of all published articles and contributions. Articles are accepted as the original works of the author unless the converse appears in the body of the article. Penton does not accept any liability for breach of copyright or patent.
DEADLINES
Penton is published three times a year.
Deadlines for articles for publication:
End February for April
End June for August
End October for December
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