The Paladin's Pine Stump

I took a few days to collect my thoughts for this one. Should those that come after be in any way confused, about 4 days ago the Supreme Court made a ruling that struck down an important case - Roe v. Wade. This same precedent has been used for decades to build equal rights cases, but its most well-known point is that it guaranteed the right of a female-bodied person to choose whether to continue or discontinue a pregnancy. This also feeds into medical information rights and many other things, but it has caused an outcry among many. It has caused pain, because it will  cause death. Other rulings have come in a wave - that police officers cannot be prosecuted for not mirandizing arrestees, that teachers may participate in and lead students in prayer. These are rights and structures of our society that were settled - they were given. But a collection of conservative judges, using the Bible as justification for law in a pluralistic society, are plunging the country into some terrifying th

 If my calculations are correct, and the client works properly, you are reading this while I am out in the woods with 4 dedicants to Primali. It occurred to me that I may not have described what dedication means to us, so while I am baking out at the Lake, I'll tell you about us.  Us? You say. Yes, us. The process is all about us, and it walks the path I've tread, hopefully with enough wiggle room that everyone can find their own way. My path hasn't been easy...generally because I'm terribly stubborn and the Universe has to kick me in the head, but still.  I think perhaps there is some confusion about some of the terminology I use, but I assure you it is all intentional. As we build a set of words, a lexicon of our own, we have to intentionally choose what we use and how.  A Student is not a position of subordinance. It is a title. We use the word Primali and Student of Primali in the same way you would use Christian or Muslim and Follower of Islam or Disciple of Christ

I preach from the rafters about the Honesty Doctrine. It's one of the core tenets of our faith, and I know that it confuses some. Our world is built on lies, and the things we intake, like our humor and our drama, use them as plot devices and entertainment. We're taught that it's an accepted part of our society - the little white lie, for instance. We scoff at the more traditional faiths who admonish us that it's a sin to lie while simultaneously continuing to advocate it in action.  I am not here to admonish. The concept of the Honesty Doctrine doesn't actually lie in the spiritual at all - it lies in the logical. Have you ever actually dissected the saying, "Magic cannot lie in the mouth that lies", or whatever version thereof you've heard. It's true, and here's why.  Words are magic. This much we know - I can use my words to evoke emotions in others, to invoke change, to inspire. I am doing it right now, as you read this. So what, then, is t

I was reminded today that I talk a lot about strength. I speak broadly on divine Defiance and rightly so. I speak on these things because, well, we need them. The world is difficult, and to be honest, feeling the need for strength is one of the reasons we need our faith. It is one of the hardest things I have to do to remind my people that there is nothing I can give them, nothing the Forces can give them, that they do not already have. We are all made of the Forces, including strength and defiance and the ability to survive and thrive that is ours from the beginning. I find that thought comforting, but it is difficult when someone is struggling.  Crom, hear your child. Remind me of the strength that I possess, and add your warcry to the battle before me. But, my loves, if I have, through error or omission, ever led you to believe that strength has only one form, or can only exist in planting your feet, please let me right a wrong I have done you. Vulnerability, the need to ask for he

This month is Pride month. In our area, the celebration of Pride has moved back to June to match the rest of the country and out of September. That means this is the perfect time to talk about our faith's thoughts on the LGBTQ+ population.  If you sat with any of us, you would know the answer to this question. But in perpetuity, it may someday be thought that a devotion to the natural and primal forces would be against diversions from a procreative norm. So let me be clear - this is not the case in nature, and it is not the case in Primali. There are over 1500 species of animal whose sexual practice diverts from the procreative, from invertebrates to animals we would normally call "noble", such as lions, orcas, and ravens. It is the hypothesis of scientists that homosexuality continues in the natural world to provide non-procreative families for abandoned or orphaned young. To use the vulgar - gays exist to save the children.  Oh, the Universe is multifoliate. If we all h