Pagan Nostalgia - The Good Old Days

Once upon a time,at least 20 years or more ago,there was the Pagan community BEFORE the Internet,large Pagan Fests,and when finding one person near you who was pagan was Hard!!.Covens in certain areas were not easily found,and a bookstore that carried occult.or esoteric books wasnt very easy. We were mostly in the Broom Closet,except for those living on the east and West coasts,theres has been luckily a fairly vibrant communityBut the thing i liked about those days was that all /or most of the covens.groves,groups had some kind of newsletter or little magazine.Nowadays they are fewer and farther between. There were some good nationally known Pagan/Wiccan magazine's like Pan-Gaia.Shamans Drum,The Beltane Papers,Connections,Sage Woman and my favorite of all..(Well tied for #1 with Circle Sanctuaries Circle Magazine).The Green Egg.! For those who dont know the Green Egg,it was published steadily from the 70s thru the early 90s,then ceased publication.Then it was resurrected again sometime between 2005 and 2007.Its current status i couldnt tell you.It was published by Oberon Zell-Ravenheart of the Church Of All Worlds.As far as the Green Egg went you either loved it or you didn't.

My favorite part of the thing was The Green Egg forum,where people wrote in letters discussing this or that about the stories and things discussed in the previous issue.The interaction between Green Egg readers and editors with a certain Feisty Witch purist named Tarotstar stole the show. Lets relive a moment in time From the May June,2000 (correction they were publishing up to the early 2000s)Issue! Which Other Cheek? Come on Oberon,stop buttering Christian butts. In reference to the question of having the papacy sign an apology for the burning times,i quote Oberon:'We need not think we are alone in this.We have as allies respected Christian authorities who know us and are committed to justice.I suggest we appeal to these people to help draft a statement similar to the one presented to the Indians,and sponsor its passage through channels ro the appropriate authorities.I want to see it signed by no less than pope John Paul II himself!"Do we as Pagans,as Witches,as heretics,as occultists need validation by even being acknowledged as existing by the supreme pontiff of the Roman Church.?As Pagans,as Witches,one would assume Christianity is irrelevant in our lives and we need not grant them power by even coming to the notice of said church Do we really need to have that church make a statement saying please forgive us and forget the events of a benighted past.?Why do we in the Western world suffer under the delusion that an apology makes everything alright and better.? Just who are these" respected Christian authorities"we are supposed to have as allies? 'Christi-Wiccans?Do we really need allies from the institutional belief system of the Western world.? Has not the Witch always been the outsider and the other against whom the Christians need to compare themselves? Would this crusade for an official policy not contribute to more of the pandering for acceptance and making Wicca/Paganism but a bland offshoot of Christianity which sees the Goddess as Jesus in a dress.? It is normally assumed by academics and clergy that those of us who live in the Western world and who have gone through the education system are all Christian at least by culture. To quote Oberon again;" For our part,we Pagans must be willing to accept such an apology and embrace reconciliation with assurance of peace as an end to this long holy war.We must be willing to offer forgiveness(though not forgetfulness) for the crimes of there ancestors against ours." Listen, Oberon, as a member of the Craft,as a Pagan,as a heretic,as an occultist,I am not a Christian.I am not REQUIRED to forgive and i will not.Perfect Love and Perfect Trust to the worthy initiated,as the old Craft admonition runs,not to Dominicans,Jesuits,and Calvinist style fundamentalists.You embrace them if you will,but when they turn on you,I will be there snickering " I told you so!" BB Tarotstar Like i say --Oh how i long for the old days!!!!