Pagan Poddies

Pagan Poddies is a monthly podcast from New Zealand on themes and issues from a pagan perspective. This is an ongoing project with new podcasts being made available for downloading sometime during the first week of every month as well as the occasional interview as time and subjects permit.

We are not experts and have only as much authority as you wish to invest in us. Needless to say we are only expressing our opinions and its up to you to make of them what you will.

June '08	The Burning Times and the History of Modern Paganism (27 meg/29 mins) mp3	The Usual Suspects
Eeek, six months since our last offering. Oh well, blame it on the gremlins, the weather, and general slackness. Will deftly avoids being made to announce his newly awarded Master's degree. Christy starts by saying that 'witches' burnt during the Burning Times were not witches but Christians. 'Burning Times' justify a persecution complex among Pagans? However, people are still being burnt as witches in India, Mexico and Africa. A difference is made between 'neo-Pagans' and traditional ethnic folk-craft of Africa etc. Germany as the crucible of the witch persecution. The Reformation fuel the witch hysteria. Burning reserved for heresy in England, not witchcraft. Discussion on how people were burnt. Jacque de Moley's burning. Bamberg Witches and Johannes Junius's torture. Witch persecution a precursor to the Holocaust. Why are the Burning Times so much part of pagan identity?- feminist readings of 'witch'. The myth of nine million witches burnt. Why nine million is an absurd number. 'Anti-Witch' Laws in New Zealand. The Tohunga Suppression Act. Traditional, authentic 'witchcraft' as a conservative force. The repealing the anti-Witchcraft laws in England not being a factor in the publication of Gardner's Witchcraft Today. Paganism in NZ a lot more 'out' than in the UK. The popularity of pop-culture paganism. The difference between esoteric/occult culture in the UK and NZ.
Dec '07	Seasons Greetings! Our Christmas Special (29 meg/31 mins) mp3	The Usual Suspects and Iain	Forum 7

Rachael doesn't want to kick off with her "bah humbug" rant, gift giving, Are Christian holidays based on pagan holidays? Consensus is no. How do we celebrate Christmas? The nature of Santa Claus. Lying to children about Santa? Is the present-giving celebrating about Christmas. Giving respect to Christian tradition. Games to play in church. Christianity has lost the sense of sacred space and holy ground. Churches in school halls and hall-churchs- penny-pinching masquerading as rampant Protestantism. The presence of traditional churches. The zing from Temple of the Order of the Table Round. Churches have gone from sacred spaces and the presenting of God through architecture, to a public community space- work parties and band practices. Non Christian/secular Christmases. The horrors of Christmas shopping vs the energy and zing of Christmas shopping. The silliness of northern hemisphere traditions.

Nov '07

Pagan Subcatagories
(34 meg/36 mins)
mp3

The Usual Suspects

Forum 6

Sorry about the long delay in putting this one up. I have been busy with my thesis and things just slipped by me. This session is devoted to our musings on various types of pagans or quasi-pagans. We start off with Otherkin/Furries. Dragons and wolves- but what happened to the beetle and hippo otherkin? Otherkin body modifications. Are Otherkins in avoidance mode or have arrested development? The effect of Otherkinness on children of Otherkin. Fairies/fae. The Cult of the Dead Lightbulb. Christian Witches. Satanists. A temporary distraction caused by Rachel and fireworks. We return to Satanism. Sophistication (or otherwise) of Satanist ideology and Satanic neo-Nazis. Fluffys- what are they? Does the lack of a coherent, progressive and integrated learning/teaching structure mean all paganism is inherently shallow or fluffy? Lack of teachers and teaching lines in NZ- they are here but "when a student is ready a teacher will manifest". Initiation and initiatic traditions and processes. Druidry. Wicca and the importance of a structured approach to paganism. Why groups usually don't really work. Lack of dedication and application. Closing thoughts

	9 Oct '07	Pagans and Technology (29 meg/31 mins) mp3	The Usual Suspects and Special Guest Star, Iain	Forum 5
	Okay, so we changed the intended subject, but that is because we were joined by Iain, our resident techo-pagan (or is it shaman?). 1st question was what is the difference between techno-pagan and techo-shaman. Iain explains how an why he became a techo-dude. Rachael finds it difficult to understand how a person could feel 'connected' through technology. Yvette talks about her Witchaven programme that she has designed for teaching purposes. Intuitive understandings and learning of Tarot. Rachael would take advice from a real person rather than from the internet or 'scientific' sources because a human is fundamentally real. The benefits and drawbacks of net-based and online communication. Why hug trees and whats up with energy? The internet as a sentient being. Magically protecting computers during online rituals. Networking over the internet.

	10 Sept '07	The benefits (and limitations) of a more academic approach to being Pagan (25.5mb/27mins) mp3	The Usual Suspects	Forum 4
	Academic stuff that doesn't gel with personal experience, university experiences and papers that are pagan-orientated. Christy and Will attended 'Alternative Expressions of the Numinous' (University of Queensland- go and attend!) and discuss that. Will expressions his frustration with having no time to develop topics in the papers he co-lectures in. NZ paganism lacks a structured body of knowledge and thus does not have an impetuous to develop a more rigorous 'intellectual' approach to Paganism, Qabalah and paganism. Why Qabalists and Hermeticists sometimes look down on Pagans. The changing meaning of the word 'Wicca'. Why is academic study important to a religious path? A more rigorous discussion aids motivation for Pagan study. Accepting book information without personal cross-checking. Ease of access of knowledge (books) paradoxically has led to a shallowing of knowledge base. Four bookcases of occult books, but how many are actually essential? A stoopid mistake- Will meant Dion Fortune's 'Mystical Qabalah', not 'Essential Qabalah' (duh). The pagan literary culture of snippets and 'books of everything'. Books and authors. Magic and Paganism as separate pursuits. The different level of engagement required for Paganism and Magic

	8 August '07	Seasons and seasonal celebrations (26.6mb/28mins) mp3	Rachael, Christy, Will Rick, Yvette
		Sorry about the delay and shoddy posting of August's podcast. It was a hellishly busy month and included preparations for an over seas trip, a conference and other fun and exciting things. Hence no forum and no synopsis

	4 July '07	Magical tools (34mb/37min) mp3	Christy, Rick, Will, Yvette	Forum 2
	Who uses tools? Why use tools? Handmade tools have their imbued power. Buying (most) tools in NZ=buying imported cheap-and-nasty stuff. Tools as actual weapons and tramp smiting. Do people have tools for the sake of having tools? The influence of Gardner's Wicca, the middle class and Freemasonry on the use of tools. Swords. Tools as actual tools (athame to cut herbs etc). What do people do with their tools? Temple as a working tool. Temples in general. Tools as private property