Deirdre Pulgram Arthen

Power in Community
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Power in Community

by Deirdre Pulgram-Arthen

This moment in US history is extremely hard for me to fathom. As the child of a Holocaust survivor, I have been feeling triggered over and over, especially, most recently, by the abductions and disappearances. I consider “Christian Nationalism” and I feel the terror personally, while at the same time I feel angry and resent this administration using “smokescreen antisemitism” as a justification for some of these actions, as a cover for their own racism, Islamophobia and actual antisemitism. 

Over the past six weeks I have also been meeting with a group of committed pagans from across the US most of whom have once, or currently lead groups, many of them older teachers and organizers, like me, with some younger people as well who are in leadership roles in their own communities. We are trying to find ways to build a network that can help hold all kinds of pagans in this time of crisis. Even as we struggle with the shape of what we hope to create, it is good to see these friends in the Zoom windows and know that we are struggling together.

At a time like this it is important not to be alone. When I find myself sliding and wanting to retreat into isolation and fear, I know that it is time to reach out. It is time to get together with a friend for lunch or for a walk, time to gather and sing with my spiritual community, even time to try to wade through social media to see who is there that I can wave to. Rites of Spring planning sessions enliven me. Working together with others and with a shared purpose in service of community is fuel for my heart.

Community matters at a time like this. We are stronger when we are together, when we can hold each other up and keep each other from breaking. Community can energize us to keep standing and moving forward, to not give up.  A spiritual community, like EarthSpirit, can help us find strength in our practices, our shared beliefs and experiences, our shared rituals and our songs. When we come together anytime to sing of what is sacred, or celebrate the return of spring, we can open our hearts and let some light in, let some joy in, let some love in!  And now, at this dangerous time, finding ways to be together, especially in person, can be healing. Holding hands, joining voices, marching in resistance, being together in the name of what is life-affirming and good and sacred, knowing there are others next to you who feel as you do, who care for you and care about your well-being, these can lift some of the load that we each carry. 

Try it — find your people and gather. I think you will be glad that you did.

A Powerful Journey
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A Powerful Journey

A story from the Visioning Ritual at Twilight Covening 2024

Once, in the world between, there came a time of great trouble — so great that it felt to the people like their world was disappearing. They tried to listen and talk with one another, but somehow the languages they spoke were no longer understood by their neighbors. They tried to find peaceful solutions to conflict, but the violence around them expanded. They tried to find ways to care for their world, but it continued to become more barren. They felt powerless and angry, lost and afraid. 

Over generations, during times of struggle the people had always relied on a well of sacred water which held power. But they had drawn power from their sacred well so often in recent times, that even it was beginning to dry up. 

Faced with an ever depleting source of power, the people held a council to find a way forward. They considered rationing what water was left, they considered giving power only to the leaders to use as they thought best, they considered using only the power needed to survive, and turning away from the struggling world. They could not agree on what was most important. Finally, the oldest person in the village spoke and reminded the people that in earlier times of struggle their ancestors had journeyed to find new sources of power when their well was so depleted. The people agreed that the one thing left for them to do was to learn from those ancestors and embark on a similar journey themselves. 

No one had taken that journey in generations. They knew that it would be long and might be dangerous. They didn’t know the way. They knew from legend that they must begin by honoring their ancestors and then find their way to the Witch’s hut in the forest, but they didn’t know who else they might meet along the path. As afraid as they were about this journey, they were more afraid for the state of their world. And so, driven by their own desire to protect the things most precious to them, they set forth, each carrying a vessel of power drawn from the dwindling sacred well, to use as they needed it. A long journey began.

First they traveled to honor their ancestors. They stopped at the shrine to listen to whispers on the wind, telling where those gone before them had found sources of power and the uses they had put it to.  Then, inspired to continue, the travelers  moved further into the woods where they soon came to the Witch’s hut, as they expected. There they encountered the old Witch, who bade them consider the source of their personal power and stirred their words into her cauldron.  As they went on, they met other beings who taught them vital lessons about finding and using power. They experienced the wonder of the world and used some of their power to add beauty to it. They learned the importance of using power in service of others — or receiving from others when they needed it. Then they met a challenge that required all that they had. For some, it was more than they were prepared to give, but despite that, they continued forward — walking with emptiness for a long time. 

At last they were welcomed into a place of connection, with nature and with community, where they were renewed enough that they could imagine once again having the ability to give or receive. 

When they had reached that point of openness, they discovered that they could reshape themselves and create a completely new vessel for holding power. And then they learned how to find the power that could fill that new vessel — both from within, and from connection with infinite mystery — and that they could decide when and how to use that newly found power.

When the people returned to the village they saw that with the power that each of them now carried they could refill their collective well and get ready to face the problems around them.  And they now also knew that as long as they kept finding ways to replenish their own power, they would have enough to sustain themselves, to support each other, and to make changes to improve their world.

Story by Deirdre Pulgram-Arthen and Lyra Hilliard

photo © Moira Ashleigh
The Black River: Death Poems (press release)
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The Black River: Death Poems (press release)

Editor’s Note: This book was released November 2024, and was edited by Deirdre Pulgram-Arthen, the executive director of the EarthSpirit Community. To order the book directly from the publisher, please use the link at the bottom of this post.

NORTHFIELD, MA—NatureCulture announces the release of our 20th publication, The Black River: Death Poems. This is an anthology of poems about death and dying, available in two versions: portable paperback with owl cover for people who are grieving, and all-black large format hardcover for use by death ritual leaders. 69 authors from eight countries have contributed to this anthology of 149 poems grouped into four stages: Dying, Death, Remaining, and Journeying. The poems are heavily indexed: by relationship to deceased; by themes—memory loss, pregnancy loss, long/short illness, violence/war/suicide, hope, acceptance of death; by language—most are English and there are 3 in Spanish, 1 French, and 1 Arabic; and by suggested for use in ritual. This book is non-denominational and brings together contemporary poets writing on the many stages of grief and death. 250+ pages; featuring interior page decorations by artist Martin Bridge.

The editor, Deirdre Pulgram-Arthen, has worked in service to her local, spiritual, and interfaith communities for 40 years. She has a graduate degree in counseling psychology, is a certified Death Midwife, and a published author and composer of sacred chants. She is a mother and a grandmother, which is her favorite title. Deirdre lives in the Berkshire hills of western Massachusetts with a small community on a 130 acre nature preserve. Deirdre believes that “By using music and poetry to reach beyond rational thought and touch the depths of our felt experience, the arts serve as passageways for transformation and healing.” She has a passion for creating deeply spiritual, personal experiences of the sacred—in recognition of ourselves as a part of the natural world, and as a way of expanding our connections within the human community. As the director of EarthSpirit, a non-profit focused on current and traditional European earth-centered spiritualities, Deirdre creates rituals for celebration, seasonal cycles and rites of passage—including the sacred passage into death.

In keeping with NatureCulture’s mission to help people be in right relationship with the rest of Nature, this book addresses human existance within physical and spiritual relationships in the physical world and beyond. Publisher Lis McLoughlin believes “Poetry has an essential role to play in helping people come to terms with complexity, and the dying process, death itself, and the subsequent experiences of people who love the deceased, are among the most complex experiences humans encounter.”

The book is organized in such a way as to try to address feelings that arise at any stage of grief or grieving, without being prescriptive or simplifying, and includes a section directly related to Our Animal Kin. It adds powerful contemporary poetic voices to the conversation about, and rituals pertaining to death. The poets offer their experiences and insights so that no one will have to rely on an internet search for a one-size-fits-all classic poem, but rather, can choose something more personally meaningful.

A book launch with panel discussion and poetry reading was held November 3, 2024, online. The book can be ordered from your favorite bookstore. To order the book directly from the publisher: https://www.nature-culture.net/the-black-river-death-poems

Artwork by Martin Bridge

Weaving the Web — Creating Community, Changing the World
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Weaving the Web — Creating Community, Changing the World

by Deirdre Pulgram Arthen

photo by ClearH20 LeStat

At the Rites of Spring “Weaving the Web of Community” ritual, every year we attach cotton rope strands to the already erected maypole to create a circular warp, held for the community by specific members, into which we then each weave ourselves with our own individual balls of colorful yarn. This year the underlying theme for Rites of Spring was “Creating Community, Changing the World” – a concept at the heart of EarthSpirit’s mission – and at our web weaving ritual we wanted to emphasize this.

5 community members stepped into the center of the circle of several hundred gathered around the maypole and held up the rope stands in pairs – one named for a way that we create our community and the other named for a way that the same work can serve to change the world. People were invited to come forward and take a strand if it called to them, and to hold it for the community to weave itself into, indicating their commitment to that aspect of our ritual intention. As each strand was called, our hearts swelled as several people came forward to hold each one, sometimes 6 or 7 at a time so that, by the time that all were called, fully half of those gathered were in clumps holding the strands that speak so strongly to our values.

Here are the intentions we wove into that web:

We create community by teaching our children that their voices matter.
We change the world by raising young people who know their voices matter.

We create community by creating spaces where all are welcome.
We change the world by advocating for inclusivity where we go.

We create community by working together to care for the mountain we’re on.
We change the world by caring for the lands we come from

We create community by taking the risk to teach each other what we know.
We change the world by cultivating experienced teachers.

We create community by coming together for handfastings, funerals, and other rites of passage.
We change the world by offering meaningful models for others creating rituals for themselves

We create community by singing together.
We change the world by bringing out the music in others.

We create community by offering healing and support during difficult times.
We change the world by offering support to people struggling with disaster or oppression.

We create community by celebrating seasonal cycles together.
We change the world by taking action to protect the natural world.

We create community by cooking for each other.
We change the world by knowing the value of service.

We create community by believing in each other’s capacity to change and grow.
We change the world by striving to offer an alternative model to the punitive justice system.

We create community by offering time and money to sustain our community.
We change the world by enabling our community to engage in global outreach.

We create community by laughing and having fun together.
We change the world by nourishing our spirits, enabling us to do important work in the world.

We create community by holding each other accountable.
We change the world by holding our political leaders accountable.

We create community by supporting each other in caring for our dead and dying.
We change the world by destigmatizing death and honoring it as sacred.

We create community by experiencing the sacred together.
We change the world by engaging in interfaith work.

We create community by creating and sustaining deep connections with each other.
We change the world by showing that enduring relationships are possible.

We create community by honoring our ancestors.
We change the world by striving to become ancestors worthy of honor.

We create community by hiring our friends and by serving our friends.
We change the world by putting our money where our values are.

We create community by caring for each other’s children.
We change the world by debunking the myth of independence.

We create community by creating shared culture that honors all beings.
We change the world by rewriting the mainstream narrative – that any one being or person should be valued more than another.

photo by Hattie Adastra
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Samhain Musings

by Deirdre Pulgram Arthen

At this time of year I feel especially conscious of the deepening darkness, the stark stillness of the Earth. As the sap slows down in the trees and the animals gather food and ready their homes preparing for the cold, I too look into the cold and the dark and prepare, recognizing my own fragility and mortality in the face of the winter to come. I stack the wood, rake and mow the grass, put away the tools and toys of summer, and I go out to tend the Ancestor Shrine. 

Nestled deep in the woods by the stream and against an old stone wall, this space is dedicated to those beings whose lives have made ours possible, and to the ones we love who have gone before us into that other way of being that we call death. I rake the path and brush off the leaves that have accumulated in the Shrine, revealing the growing moss and stones beneath. I uncover the trinkets that have been placed there and offer libations to the ones whose bits of ash or hair are buried beneath the trees. I make sure that the clouties tied on the branches are not preventing growth. I add this year’s offerings – a stone, a key, a yarn-wrapped stake. 

It is now, at Samhain, in the quiet of the twilight of the year, that we can find an opportunity to truly see, to feel and to listen – to be fully aware of and acknowledge those who came before us, and those who came before them. I feel surrounded by my ancestors, by the spirits of the woods, by the songs of the stream and the caress of the wind. I feel welcome and a part of everything. 

photo by Deirdre Pulgram Arthen

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On Election Day

by Deirdre Pulgram Arthen
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Today is Election Day. The country is painfully divided and the weeks following this election are likely to be very challenging, with the potential for violence, disruption and great uncertainty. Some of our community members will be especially vulnerable – people of color, queer and trans folks, immigrants, and those who live in locations where they are surrounded by hate.

The COVID pandemic is also growing and we will probably be spending our winter physically separated from one another as we try to maintain our health and the health of the ones we love. 

Many of us are experiencing legitimate rage and fear, and it can feel like there is nothing tethering us to sanity, normalcy, or security. When we find there are fissures in the ground beneath our feet we need to remember what we know at our core.

Here is what I know:

Community is more important now than ever.
Showing up for each other is more important now than ever.
More than ever, we need to maintain the vision of the world that we want and do everything we can to live in a way that embodies that vision. 

Yes, It is hard to stay focused.
Yes, it can feel hopeless at times.
Yes, it is hard to take a deep breath and step in again.

But we have the resources of a broader community to turn to. We are not separate from the rest of the natural world, and those beings are part of our community too. They do not know politics or COVID and they can help us keep our balance if we spend time with them.

We have the humans that we love who can listen to us and surround us with care.

And we have the mystery, which we can touch but cannot see, and which winds around humans and rocks and streams and birds and clouds and mammals and fire and all the rest to create the world that we view with wonder. We need to remember to look with wonder.
If you haven’t already, I urge you to vote – for the Earth, for Black lives, for kindness, for the things that matter most to you. Vote for what moves us closer to that world we want for future generations.

Tomorrow night is a time to care for yourself. You might choose to be with others on Zoom, you might spend the night in ritual, you might just turn off the internet and read a novel, or anything else.  Wednesday will come and there will be plenty of work to do after that – whatever the results.

I hope that you will find moments of beauty and joy for yourself through this turmoil and I hope that EarthSpirit will be able to contribute to your sense of connection and community. I know that I rely on this community to keep me tethered to what matters. Thank you for being a part of that. 

May there be peace among all beings.

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Ancestors

Today’s post is by Deirdre Pulgram Arthen.  Deirdre has been a witch for over 30 years and is the executive director of EarthSpirit.
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I spent the day today in the presence of my ancestors – beginning this morning as I raked and prepared the path through the woods to the Ancestor Shrine, lay the fire and collected the tools that I needed. Then this afternoon, as a part of EarthSpirit’s Sacred Lands series, I led a ritual of remembrance and honoring as I have for the past several years. It is a simple ritual and sometimes that is the best.
At mid-afternoon a small group of us walk in silence through the meadow, under the archway of trees and into the woods alongside the stream, which talks and sings as we pass. Dry leaves crunch underfoot but the winterberry is in full display and the moss on the wooden

Ancestor shrine in the woods

The ancestor shrine at Glenwood

board we cross over is thick and green. We travel over the hemlock-needled trail until we reach a stone fire circle. Beyond that is the shrine. This whole area is dedicated to those who have gone before us and even at other times of year you can feel their presence in the dark moss, mushrooms and rotting wood. Today the feeling is stronger still.

We have brought a decorated pole from the web ritual at Rites of Spring and some of us set to work planting it in the ground. Two people set the shell spirals from Twilight Covening in their new places and a others light the fire.The ritual is simple, as I said. We gather and open to the natural space around us with words and song and then we sit on the logs around the fire each with a stick to add when we choose to speak. As in a dumb supper without the food, each one of us in turn calls to mind and speaks of an ancestor or loved one. We make an offering to the fire in their honor, the bell rings three times, and we take white cotton cloth to tie as a cloutie on a tree near the Shrine where it will remain until it rots.One call follows another – this person’s mother, that one’s brother, a family dog, ancestors long past, an aunt, a grandmother – all join with us in the web of creation which is made of all we know. We finish with a cup of cider raised in honor of their lives, another song and time for ourselves in the woods there by the stream. Then, as we are ready, we make our own way out of the woods.

Samhain is a season more than a day. As the leaves fall and October slips by, the closeness of the spirit world is tangible and the call to enter in grows stronger. Our ancestors, whether of blood or heart, of spirit or of tradition are part of who we are. This is a good time to reach toward them and remember.

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On music and roots

By Deirdre Pulgram Arthen

This past weekend I attended the Old Songs Festival just outside of Albany, NY, as I have done for all but two of the last dozen years. It is a place that feeds my soul. I get to dance and sing, listen to and play music —  and relax, with no performance expectations from anyone. The musicians who come there are, for the most part, people who feel the roots of their music: they study their traditions in great depth and absorb them into their bodies, then exude them in their playing and singing. Their motivation is love — not fame or fortune, but love of music, love of the old ways themselves, love of the people who brought the traditions into being and of those people who carried them on, love of harmony, love of community, love of our species, love of the earth.  Many of the people who perform, organize, and attend have deep and long-held commitments to social justice and to the environment. Many have been political activists for decades. Very few preach. Instead we bask the joy of making music together as we walk through the fairgrounds and feel the satisfaction found in sharing the work of making the world a better place.

Gordon Bok and Archie Fisher performing

Gordon Bok and Archie Fisher performing at Old Songs 2013 (photo by Andras Corban Arthen)

While there were many things that I loved that weekend, there was a song that Gordon Bok performed that especially touched me.  It was something that he had written years ago as a result of listening to the marine radio channel in Maine, which he said he does for entertainment sometimes. It was essentially a conversation between two lobster fishermen. One was stuck and, over the course of the song, the other one came to help. That was it, really.  But something in the way that Gordon captured all of us in the fairly common conversation of two men on the water was just magic to me. There they were, fishermen on the ocean – that vast and moving body of water that cares nothing for people, but still feeds us and gives us life. And here we all are, humans in a universe that is not centered on our needs and desires, but which we must live in and depend on while we are incarnate beings.  We can forget sometimes that we are also floating – maybe near the rocks, maybe out of our depth – and that the simple act of accepting an offer of help allows both us and our neighbors to experience ourselves more fully as the interconnected beings that we are. The song held the magic of knowing, and Gordon shared that knowing with us all.

I find my own path reflected in that community of music makers. I, too, value the roots of my traditions and those who have brought them forward, and I find in the shared songs and dances true expressions of the joy of being human, fully intertwined with all that is creation.

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Rev. Richard Ravish

by Deirdre Pulgram Arthen
We are saddened by the news that our long-time friend Richard Ravish died in Salem Massachusetts on Saturday morning 9/15 at the age of 59. It is a true loss to many of us and we send our love and condolences to his wife Gypsy, his daughter Asherah and his stepdaughter Kitoto.
 
Richard and his wife Gypsy (Amy), who Andras and I handfasted many, many years ago, have been leaders in the Salem Wiccan and occult communities for 30 years. Richard was a Wiccan high priest – the Magus of the Temple of Nine Wells ATC, a public congregation in Salem and high priest of the coven of Akhelarre.  He was a Freemason, Thelmic and Enochian magician, a Rosicrucian and a Hermetic initiate. He lived fully out of his spiritual practice and gave generously of himself to many as teacher, priest and chaplain.   
 
Richard was a designer of magical tools, was proprietor of the store, Nu Aeon, creator of the gallery Cosmic Connection – both in Salem, and together he and Gypsy were the owners of White Light Pentacles/Sacred Spirit Products Inc.
 
May his spirit fly free. May his family and loved ones find peace, in time.
Blessings to all.
 
You can find a full obituary and memorial details here at Salem News.