John Beckett

Memento Mori, Donald Trump A man who has spent his entire life denying reality and avoiding consequences is starting to understand that he’s going to die. Donald Trump is building a state ballroom because he knows he’s dying an...

A man who has spent his entire life denying reality and avoiding consequences is starting to understand that he’s going to die. Donald Trump is building a state ballroom because he knows death is getting close and he’s grasping for any sort of immortality he can get.

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Not peeking into your head, but I'm not surprised I'm not the only one picking up on themes like this.

Samhain: Remember Who You Are The holiest day on the modern Pagan Wheel of the Year is rapidly approaching and I’m in no mood to celebrate. But I’m going to celebrate anyway. Because at Samhain – especially this Samhain – we need ...

The holiest day on the modern Pagan Wheel of the Year is rapidly approaching and I’m in no mood to celebrate. But I’m going to celebrate anyway. Because at Samhain – especially this Samhain – we need to remember who we are.

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Grieving A Religion That Might Have Been The Under the Ancient Oaks course “Unpacking Your Religious Baggage So You Can Live A Magical Life” is nearing conclusion (but it’s on-demand, so you can

Like a bad romantic relationship, the religion I left was toxic. No amount of tradition, no amount of universality, no amount of liturgy would have ever made it healthy. I needed to get out so I could find something better. I needed to cut the cord. And I did.

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Magic As A Foundation Of Paganism Attacks on Paganism almost always include attacks on magic that label it naïve, evil, or both. We need not engage in bad-faith debates with our attackers, but we need to make sure we aren’t unduly inf...

Attacks on Paganism almost always include attacks on magic that label it naïve, evil, or both. We need not engage in bad-faith debates with our attackers, but we need to make sure we aren’t influenced by our enemies just because they’re louder and more numerous.
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The Divinity Of Nature Nature is our source and our sustenance. We are a part of Nature – not the head and not the center, but one part among many. We are connected to all the other parts and all of them are connected to us...

Nature is our source and our sustenance. We are a part of Nature – not the head and not the center, but one part among many. We are connected to all the other parts and all of them are connected to us. Nature is not fallen – Nature is good and holy.

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Beards, Professionalism, And Culture Warriors Real professionalism is technical competence, customer service, and continuous improvement. “Professional appearance” is the preferred culture of the people in charge and nothing more.

Real professionalism is technical competence, customer service, and continuous improvement. “Professional appearance” is the preferred culture of the people in charge and nothing more.
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10 Great Movies For Halloween You Probably Haven’t Seen Here are my annual Halloween movie recommendations: ten good horror movies you probably haven’t seen, or haven’t seen in a long time. Vampires, witches, folkloric mermaids, a cursed theater, and an ol...

Here are my annual Halloween movie recommendations: ten good horror movies you probably haven’t seen, or haven’t seen in a long time. Vampires, witches, folkloric mermaids, a cursed theater, and an old dark house; made as early as 1932 and as late as 2015.

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The Case For Polytheism Are the Gods many, one, or none? We owe it to ourselves to contemplate this question and to choose the answer that seems most likely to us, rather than simply accepting what we were told as children –...

Are the Gods many, one, or none? We owe it to ourselves to contemplate this question and to choose the answer that seems most likely to us, rather than simply accepting what we were told as children – or acquiescing to the loudest voices in the public square.

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If your funds are limited, definitely skip this one. There are much more productive - and more pleasant - ways to spend them.

I Read Pagan Threat So You Don’t Have To I wish Pagans were the threat “Pagan Threat” says we are. I wish we had the power, the influence, and the organizational competency it says we have. Instead, this book tries to make Pagans the scapego...

I wish Pagans were the threat “Pagan Threat” says we are. I wish we had the power, the influence, and the organizational competency it says we have. Instead, this book tries to make Pagans the scapegoats for the internal failings of conservative religion.

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Spiritual Sources Of Our Current Troubles Factual reporting and relevant analysis are more than helpful – they’re necessary. But secular news and political analysis will only take us so far. We need to put current events into a Pagan and magi...

Factual reporting and relevant analysis are more than helpful – they’re necessary. But secular news and political analysis will only take us so far. We need to put current events into a Pagan and magical context so we can understand our place in them.

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Celebrating Balance At A Time That’s Out Of Balance Celebrating the Fall Equinox will help you remember who you are, even as the world continues to spiral out of balance.

Celebrating the Fall Equinox will help you remember who you are, even as the world continues to spiral out of balance.

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Serenity, Courage, Wisdom, And Will The Serenity Prayer has been a part of addiction recovery programs since 1941. But as useful as it is in that context, it is inadequate for the situation we find ourselves in today. What do we do with...

The Serenity Prayer has been part of addiction recovery programs since 1941. But as useful as it is, it is inadequate for the situation we find ourselves in today. What do we do with the things we cannot change, but that our values will not allow us to accept?
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I got nothing, folks. Or at least, nothing that hasn't already been said a million times. Pay attention to your surroundings, physically and metaphysically. Stay in close contact with your people, over here and over there. I see no indication the temperature is going anywhere but up. Hope I'm wrong.

The Foundations Of A Modern Paganism Modern Paganism is an honest religion. It does not ask us to believe things we can’t honestly believe. It celebrates our humanity in all its glorious imperfection. And it gives us the resources we nee...

Modern Paganism is an honest religion. It does not ask us to believe things we can’t honestly believe. It celebrates our humanity in all its glorious imperfection. And it gives us the resources we need to deal with the Big Questions of Life.

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Continuing Education For Pagans Education is a process that is never finished. If we keep looking, we can keep learning more and more about the sacred topics and trends that are important to us, and in doing so, we can make our pers...

Education is a process that is never finished. If we keep looking, we can keep learning more and more about the sacred topics and trends that are important to us, and in doing so, we can make our personal and group practices deeper and more meaningful.

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Registration is now open. Details are on the Patheos blog and on the UTAO website.

To register, send me an e-mail. I’ll send you a PayPal request for the course (I can also take Venmo and some other payment methods – just ask if you’d prefer), once that’s done I’ll register you for the class.

A Modern Pagan Case For Reincarnation We can never be sure what comes after death, but we can examine the evidence, study the beliefs of our ancestors, search our own thoughts and feelings, and then come up with a tentative answer that pr...

While we can never be sure, we can examine the evidence, study the beliefs of our ancestors, search our own thoughts and feelings, and then come up with a tentative answer that provides meaning and comfort to us as we deal with the inevitability of death.

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To The Survivors Of James Dobson: You Win James Dobson is dead and you are alive. You are learning, and growing, and healing. You win.

James Dobson is dead and you are alive. You are learning, and growing, and healing. You win.

www.patheos.com/blogs/johnbe...

Registration is now open. Details are on the Patheos blog and on the UTAO website.

To register, send me an e-mail. I’ll send you a PayPal request for the course (I can also take Venmo and some other payment methods – just ask if you’d prefer), once that’s done I’ll register you for the class.

Unpacking Your Religious Baggage Announcing a new 8-week on-line class from Under the Ancient Oaks: “Unpacking Your Religious Baggage So You Can Live A Magical Life” begins on September 4 and registration is now open. Details are in ...

Announcing a new 8-week on-line class from Under the Ancient Oaks: “Unpacking Your Religious Baggage So You Can Live A Magical Life” begins on September 4 and registration is now open. Details are in Module 0 on the Courses page.
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Beliefs Are More Than Assumptions Whether we are deconstructing an old religion or working to recover from toxic religion, it’s important to make sure what we believe is something that’s meaningful and helpful to us and not what we we...

Whether we are deconstructing an old religion or working to recover from toxic religion, it’s important to make sure what we believe is something that’s meaningful and helpful to us and not what we were told we had to believe.

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“Unpacking Your Religious Baggage So You Can Live A Magical Life” - a new online course from undertheancientoaks.com. The module list is on the website on the Courses page. More details when registration opens on August 18.

A Spell For Clarity Acting with a plan is far more likely to be successful than acting without a plan, and plans made using clear and complete information are far more likely to be successful than plans make up on the fl...

Acting with a plan is far more likely to be successful than acting without a plan, and plans made using clear and complete information are far more likely to be successful than plans make up on the fly. Thus the need for clarity.

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Needs to be done a couple times a year. Not every time you cut the grass.

thank you for the kind words

Coming in September: Under the Ancient Oaks Course 11

“Unpacking Your Religious Baggage So You Can Live A Magical Life”

Sigil Magic: Did The Spell Work? As part of my Sigil Magic workshop at Mystic South, I created a sigil to get home safely on Sunday night. Did it work? Did I get home because of magic? Here’s what I know for sure: I got what I wanted...

As part of my Sigil Magic workshop at Mystic South, I created a sigil to get home safely on Sunday night. Did it work? Did I get home because of magic? Here’s what I know for sure: I got what I wanted on a day when a lot of people who were flying didn’t.

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