Hello again to those coming back for week two of PaganQuill and hello to all the new faces in the crowd! Given the volume of our submissions, we’re looking to post every Wednesday for the next few weeks. If this darkens your heart a bit, well then get on to sending us your work! You (yes You!) can make a difference in helping us grow as a community and as a site.

[How’s that for meta-readership involvement?]

Starting on a wave of explanations S. Nicole, from A Pagan Sojourn, was gracious enough to let us borrow her six part series titled Pagan Misconceptions, wherein she debunks popular and sometimes misleading theories and myths on the Pagan religion. Her first issue to tackle was that of the common linking of Paganism and Satanism. In respect to validify one’s own religion, she makes a good point in how sometimes the buck gets passed in regards to respecting religions:

“I think that it is reasonable to say that if you don’t want your religion misrepresented, it is necessary to understand how you are representing another’s religion.”

Last week we threw you into a detailed musing on Heathenry’s Nine Noble Virtues, so this week we wanted to backtrack with Bernulf’s concise explanation on “What is Heathenry”:

“Heathenry is a nature-based religion, animistic and totemic, that embraces technological advances. With all of this considered, Heathenry is also a family and community-based religion: the true essence of Heathenry is found in the home and community.”

In the era where being Green is especially hip, John Williams from Thudfactor, explains in a great article titled “Why Pagan” a thought that might be a few people’s minds – how Paganism can be very relevant to the issues of today:

“I am pagan in the twenty-first century… And it strikes me as a particularly modern way to live.”

John Michael Greer, Archdruid of the Ancient Order of Druids of America, is allowing us to use his article “Druidry and the Future” as an extended feature for our site in six parts. In part one he explains,

“In the end, the costs of growth overwhelm growth itself and bring industrial society to its knees.”

And lastly, Jason from Wildhunt, speculates on the need for awareness on issues that many in the Pagan community may feel that only should belong to the fringe, namely, in this post, polyamory:

“I felt then (and now) that we needed to be ready to confront these issues when the press came calling, especially as modern Paganism (which contains a large number of actively polyamorous individuals) continues to grow and gain mainstream attention.”