Ep 20: John Beckett, Druidry, and Public Ritual

Divine Diversity

Last month, I spoke about divine diversity and inclusion at the Mattatuck Unitarian Universalist Society in Connecticut. I distilled my thoughts from a few episodes of Season 1 of the Polytheism Today podcast: What is Polytheism? [https://angelaraincatcher.substack.com/p/episode-1-what-is-polytheism-227], What is a God? [https://angelaraincatcher.substack.com/p/episode-2-what-is-a-god-c98], and Divine Diversity [https://angelaraincatcher.substack.com/p/episode-7-divine-diversity-153]. I encourage you to check out those episodes if you enjoy this video. I wish I could share with you the wonderful comments and conversations I had with congregation members after the service and during the fellowship. Some were curious and open to a perspective they had not considered before. Some were familiar with Wicca and were excited to hear about the gods in their church. Some wondered if I thought the gods were “real” and if they talked to me (the answer is “yes” to both). These comments and questions have given some a lot to think about, which may fuel future writing or podcast episodes. With all that is going on in our current political climate in the U.S., I think it is vital for those of us who can speak publicly about polytheism, the diversity of the gods, and link that to diversity in our natural and cultural world, to do so. There is another way — there are MANY other ways — to be in relationship with each other and the world around us. Ways that are nurturing and liberating. Ways in which the whole person and the whole of existence is embraced and valued. I, for one, think that polytheism as an intellectual and spiritual construct and worldview is a way forward that we should consider. That’s my flag in the sand. Blessings from a strong and open heart, Angela Raincatcher Thanks for reading! This post is public, so feel free to share it. Get full access to Angela Raincatcher at angelaraincatcher.substack.com/subscribe [https://angelaraincatcher.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4]

Ep 23: Importance of Religious Freedom

In this last episode of Season 2, Angela Raincatcher discusses the history of religious freedom in the United States, shares some personal experiences from her childhood about religious prejudice, and reads some audience responses to the question, “Why is religious freedom important to you?” Click here for a transcript of this episode. [https://drive.google.com/file/d/1cZGJGxvQ7UbVSQulXYs5oZJm3oTt7iZa/view?usp=drive_link] Some resources for further reading: History.com: Freedom of Religion [https://www.history.com/topics/united-states-constitution/freedom-of-religion] Smithsonian Magazine: America's True History of Religious Tolerance [https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/americas-true-history-of-religious-tolerance-61312684/] The Conversation.com: Religious Liberty has a Long and Messy History [https://theconversation.com/religious-liberty-has-a-long-and-messy-history-and-there-is-a-reason-americans-feel-strongly-about-it-186613] Founders Online, U.S. Archives: Memorial and Remonstrance against Religious Assessments [https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Madison/01-08-02-0163] Interpretation: The Establishment Clause | Constitution Center [https://constitutioncenter.org/the-constitution/amendments/amendment-i/interpretations/264] Interpretation: The Free Exercise Clause | Constitution Center [https://constitutioncenter.org/the-constitution/amendments/amendment-i/interpretations/265] Britannica.com: Thirty Years War [https://www.britannica.com/event/Thirty-Years-War] Law.Cornell.edu: Establishment Clause [https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/establishment_clause] Americans United for the Separation of Church and State [https://www.au.org/] The Wild Hunt Editorial: The Stare that Petrifies Injustice [https://wildhunt.org/2024/12/editorial-the-stare-that-petrifies-injustice.html] Daily Oklahoman: OK Superintendent Ryan Walters Calls for Schools to Teach Bible [https://www.oklahoman.com/story/news/education/2024/06/27/oklahoma-superintendent-ryan-walters-calls-for-schools-to-teach-bible/74233983007/] Get full access to Angela Raincatcher at angelaraincatcher.substack.com/subscribe [https://angelaraincatcher.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4]

Ep 22: Ivo Dominguez Jr. & Polytheism in Wicca

Ivo Dominguez, Jr, has been a witch since 1978 and is one of the founders and Elders of the Assembly of the Sacred Wheel. He is the anchor author for Lwellyn’s new twelve-book Witch’s Sun Sign Series [https://www.llewellyn.com/browse_series.php?series=1305]. He is also the author [https://redwheelweiser.com/book-author/ivo-dominguez-jr/]of The Four Elements of the Wise, Keys to Perception, Casting Sacred Space, Practical Astrology for Witches & Pagans, and Spirit Speak. His techniques are rooted in a synthesis of traditional metaphysical teachings, modern science, and memories from past lives. In his mundane life, he has been a computer programmer, the executive director of an AIDS/HIV service organization, a metaphysical bookstore owner, and more. He is queer, poly, and lives in the woods of Southern Delaware with his family of choice. Click here for a transcript of this episode. [https://drive.google.com/file/d/1SSfP6azHPK80QZ3ExpNqaEujnZCM5hJW/view?usp=drive_link] You can find Ivo online at https://ivodominguezjr.com [https://ivodominguezjr.com/] Facebook: @ivodominguezjr [https://www.facebook.com/ivodominguezjr] Instagram: @ivodominguezjr [https://www.instagram.com/ivodominguezjr/] Some resources and people mentioned in the interview include: Assembly of the Sacred Wheel [https://www.sacredwheel.org/] Sacred Space Conference [https://www.sacredspacefoundation.org/] Dolores Ashcroft-Nowicki [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dolores_Ashcroft-Nowicki] Shakmah Winddrum [https://www.thorncoyle.com/post/emissary-of-divine-grace-shakmah-winddrum] Get full access to Angela Raincatcher at angelaraincatcher.substack.com/subscribe [https://angelaraincatcher.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4]

Ep. 21: Lilith Dorsey & New Orleans Voodoo

My guest today is author and New Orleans voodoo priestess Lilith Dorsey. Lilith has been doing successful magick for patrons of her business since 1991. She is the editor/publisher of Oshun-African Magickal Quarterly, and the filmmaker of the experimental documentary Bodies of Water:Voodoo Identity and Tranceformation. She is also the author [https://www.amazon.com/stores/author/B001KHME5G/allbooks?ingress=0&visitId=0d5f26a7-c412-4309-9573-75bf807113dd&ref_=ap_rdr]of Orishas, Goddesses and Voodoo Queens, Love Magic, Voodoo and Afro-Caribbean Paganism and The African-American Ritual Cookbook, and she was a choreographer for jazz legend Dr. John [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dr._John]’s “Night Tripper” Voodoo Show. She has initiations in voodoo from Mambo Bonnie Devlin [https://www.patheos.com/blogs/voodoouniverse/2020/11/rise-in-power-mambo-bonnie-devlin-a-lesson-in-loss-and-gratitude/]and Priestess Miriam Chamani [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miriam_Chamani] at the Voodoo Spiritual Temple [http://www.voodoospiritualtemple.org/]in New Orleans. Her Santeria house is led by Ochun Olukari Al’aye and based in Florida. Lilith holds an undergraduate degree in anthropology and a graduate degree in cinema/television studies and anthropology. You can find Lilith online at her website [https://lilithdorsey.com/] and on Instagram @lilithdorsey [https://www.instagram.com/lilithdorsey/]. Click here for a transcript of the episode. [https://drive.google.com/file/d/1i8FkLWaQHqJksfMDS9rtHE32E2Nd27AG/view?usp=drive_link] Get full access to Angela Raincatcher at angelaraincatcher.substack.com/subscribe [https://angelaraincatcher.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4]

Ep 20: John Beckett, Druidry, and Public Ritual

My guest today is John Beckett, Druid and author of The Path of Paganism [https://www.llewellyn.com/product.php?ean=9780738752051] and Paganism in Depth [https://www.llewellyn.com/product.php?ean=9780738760643].  John is a Druid in the Order of Bards, Ovates and Druids [https://druidry.org/], and a member of Ár nDraíocht Féin [https://www.adf.org]. He has served 12 years as the Coordinating Officer of the Denton Covenant of Unitarian Universalist Pagans [https://www.dentoncuups.org/] and 3 years on the Board of Trustees of CUUPS Continental. His blog, Under the Ancient Oaks [https://www.patheos.com/blogs/johnbeckett/], is part of the Pagan channel of Patheos, the largest multi-religion website in the world. John lives in the Dallas-Fort Worth area and earns his keep as an engineer. He calls his personal practice “ancestral, devotional, ecstatic, oracular, magical, public, Pagan polytheism” because, as he says, he hasn’t come up with a catchy name for it yet. Click here for a transcript [https://drive.google.com/file/d/1MwIA9JxRsZba6mhGqBGrZV5LU7DCV_ex/view?usp=drive_link] of this episode. Some of the resources mentioned in this interview include: A World Full of Gods [https://www.amazon.com/World-Full-Gods-Inquiry-Polytheism/dp/1801520801/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2AZSB6XA11B8K&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.QMqhFN0eRvzd59KzJjkFkvPIXuRwGMdPTyOtIcLNOJrGjHj071QN20LucGBJIEps.mgo6HvDAR4hDB_r65DZq4QS37naEwMnJn6ulZlEdfWs&dib_tag=se&keywords=john+michael+greer+a+world+full+of+gods&qid=1732391137&sprefix=john+michael+greer+world%2Caps%2C139&sr=8-1] by John Michael Greer The Book of Cernunnos [https://www.amazon.com/Book-Cernunnos-John-Beckett/dp/0988900971/ref=sr_1_1?crid=34I5K0Q8D2S2X&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.8-8QWCKBNcMgHbg-jNrim9n7Fwwccwd5eMmUXeL4MnnPT8KHIZg-_jZyvjqXDsBjaoZ1Eyonjgac5aZsEW-sRMDAhuemAh3ioNDPZoZzNITydEZwcUSVR65YGY8pMtO6VOsDxvW7AAXiAhkxwQQp9SSJeTxQkV90Y22STlF7GHbK3UtUHkdsAZrwn6HJS77iDzpjoBvs4GVlh3EadVoCEB0VvoxB24HoBQX4L1fn1i0.EdGofeacNUpvMxfk-jF1gwPqvGgmbTDx-RTbiP9Qu6A&dib_tag=se&keywords=book+of+cernunnos&qid=1732391190&sprefix=book+of+cernu%2Caps%2C162&sr=8-1] edited by John Beckett and Jason Mankey The Morrigan: Meeting the Great Queens [https://www.amazon.com/Pagan-Portals-Morrigan-Meeting-Queens/dp/1782798331/ref=sr_1_2?crid=3LPC9VWN118Y9&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.ufBQuMRQnQKpuZcLTusDdptL9R5nXdnUlV_uimivh4R5oHi-WnXGrEHX_3I1Qhouj4CWPwG9IIOdiKam-Ie1aCN6ZumT9X6mYrtclFBGwm_dtVEkTRutAGjatv_r9Z-kbBkqOoqetcikNx49bWYbKmomWqa8NwEySu-A0GYMct7WojmDqTj932fwJ81zpkavdYsI0ca2N8Ub61yURavx9s-wLolKQNMxb8aOcH4-cKmBrFnRpOVDpfnbUmOgzNJVvSty2I2TIO3Mzn12qHfG533GgdlFOOi6W71MVMa7KOI.H5OVx2vBxEiTuMuiJ5IrWhVuN5k8Jm1JYXxd6l-onSQ&dib_tag=se&keywords=morgan+daimler&qid=1732391263&sprefix=morgan+daimler%2Caps%2C150&sr=8-2] by Morgan Daimler Raven Goddess: Going Deeper with the Morrigan [https://www.amazon.com/Pagan-Portals-Goddess-Deeper-Morrigan/dp/1789044863/ref=sr_1_7?crid=3LPC9VWN118Y9&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.ufBQuMRQnQKpuZcLTusDdptL9R5nXdnUlV_uimivh4R5oHi-WnXGrEHX_3I1Qhouj4CWPwG9IIOdiKam-Ie1aCN6ZumT9X6mYrtclFBGwm_dtVEkTRutAGjatv_r9Z-k47DrUGkyTfAqaaxUJ_tLZ5D60zh5mPf2K6jU4gN90zjWojmDqTj932fwJ81zpkavdYsI0ca2N8Ub61yURavx9uA_GMubXWvb6EjoI3nkCWgAAu1AaXYgOLcsBvzVM62evSty2I2TIO3Mzn12qHfG5xnRxdQGtPrDXGKhYYu1l0s.9dL2wwwf1x-EmGedpwd_N0iN4xeaogT7Wdxni_a_-gU&dib_tag=se&keywords=morgan+daimler&qid=1732391384&refinements=p_72%3A1250221011&rnid=1250219011&s=books&sprefix=morgan+daimler%2Caps%2C150&sr=1-7] by Morgan Daimler The Book of the Great Queen: The Many Faces of the Morrigan from Ancient Legends to Modern Devotions [https://www.amazon.com/Book-Great-Queen-Morrigan-Devotions/dp/0990392716/ref=sr_1_2?crid=1RN2PVZCHV8RQ&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.Dgp0AbNH7WPUWvi9-JiyM35qQaeOhoU02w87aMlo95CX4dyr8PnfGC5RZNuuTF48eKstqM7CtS0RsnWV8Vwb3_hicBxRy5PliUmfB2ZkrhpRr1MUQAltqhx5HiKvZ5Wd.B9stbVSD8DWtZ6xZKxT9tg18neswCD86nKJVsqdW0uQ&dib_tag=se&keywords=morpheus+ravenna&qid=1732391447&s=books&sprefix=morpheus+ravenna%2Cstripbooks%2C111&sr=1-2] by Morpheus Ravenna The Morrigan: Celtic Goddess of Magick and Might [https://www.amazon.com/s?k=courtney+weber&i=stripbooks&crid=3GZ7B5JWE60WC&sprefix=courtney+weber%2Cstripbooks%2C129&ref=nb_sb_noss_1] by Courtney Weber Get full access to Angela Raincatcher at angelaraincatcher.substack.com/subscribe [https://angelaraincatcher.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4]