John Oliver is very wrong about psychics and mediums

By now you've probably all seen John Oliver's segment on psychics on Last Week Tonight - if you haven't, you can watch it here. In short, it was appallingly offensive. He took some really broad strokes about psychics, and instead of just focusing on the problematic frauds, he decided that all psychics and mediums are fakers and con-artists.

How about no? Where do I start with how awful this segment was?
1) Although he lumps them together, psychics and mediums are two different things: psychics predict the future, mediums communicate with the dead. Some people have both gifts, but not always.
2) How DARE he pick on Tyler (the "Hollywood Medium"). He's a KID for godsakes. Shame on John. Pick on adults all you want, but Tyler is still a teenager and that was really low. It's also important to note that the show claims Tyler researches his clients ahead of time, but this is wrong. If anyone working at Last Week Tonight had even bothered to watch an episode or two of Hollywood Medium, they would know that Tyler knows nothing (not even a name) about the people he reads for beforehand, to help prevent bias.
3) So many people love to hate on psychics and mediums, but the minute they want to know whether their boyfriend is cheating on them or whether their deceased grandma is happy, they come running to us for a reading. But if thy get a reading they don't like, they start screaming about frauds. It's so hypocritical it's stunning.
4) Psychics and mediums are not omniscient. We are not a god, we don't see all or know all, and to imply otherwise is naive and petulant as all hell. Like everybody else on this planet, we cannot know everything and be right about everything 100% of the time. We only see/hear/understand what Spirit allows us to see/hear/understand (this is what I believe; others may feel differently about receiving information). And then we do our best to comprehend what has been conveyed to us and pass along the information to the querent.

5) Did he even talk to a psychic or medium before writing this segment? Obviously not, because it really shows.

Since he and his staff are clearly incapable of writing a balanced segment on something they don't understand and don't want to understand, John should stick to political and economic commentary.

Remembering my Ancestors by Sharing Their Stories

When I first accepted Gwynn ap Nudd as my patron deity and took his mark, he had one condition for me: "You must work with the dead."

Illustration by Yuri Leitch

This made sense to me, as he is the Welsh god of the Underworld and leader of the Wild Hunt at Samhain.  He has also made it clear to me that he is titled Lord of the Dead, though I don't believe that title is found in what little written mythology there is.  He didn't provide me with any explanation or further details on what working with the dead meant for me, though.

That was a number of years ago.  He had largely remained silent on the matter - I assumed I wasn't ready to take on the responsibilities of the task, particularly in the time after I was forced from my coven and needed a significant amount of fallow time with my spirituality.

This autumn, I felt a growing pull to start collecting the stories and photos of my family, namely those who had passed.  As I approached Samhain I came to understand that this is the beginning of my obligation to Gwynn - my work with the dead starts with my family, telling their stories to keep their memory alive.

Because what is remembered, lives.

I started with a request in a private Facebook group for my father's side of the family, and have begun saving digital copies of the stories and photos I've collected so far.  While I was at my parents' for Thanksgiving, I also scanned a number of documents they had, including a family tree that goes back to my 3-times great-grandparents!

This is probably going to be a multi-year project, and I'm kind of excited about that.  I'm looking forward to seeing what other interesting stories and revelations about my family I discover along the way.  Maybe I'll even take a trip to research my family's lineage!  (Or maybe I've been watching too much Who Do You Think You Are? and am overconfident in my ability to afford such a trip!)

I'm not sure what I'll do with the findings - perhaps an ebook to give to my family, or maybe even a fancy website?  So many possibilities!

Have you done any research into your family's lineage or stories?  What revelatory discoveries did you make?

Happy Mail from Uncustomary Art

Happy Summer Solstice, friends!  I am spending my Solstice by enjoying a quiet day at home, mostly cleaning and watching Netflix.

I'm also taking time today to spruce up my altars - with all the strong solar energy, it seemed like a good time to refresh things.  My altar cloths are in the washing machine now, and later I'm going to dust all my tools and set up my main altar and my ancestor altar for the second half of the year.

So a few days ago I got a fun "Happy Mail" package in the mail from my fellow blogger Mary over at Uncustomary Art.  The package was so much fun to open.  First of all, can we talk about the amazing glittery tape she used to seal the envelope?  I NEED THIS IN MY LIFE.  (Seriously, where can I buy some? :)

Inside I found all of these wonderful things.  Some of them, like that scrap of gold foil and the heart stickers, are definitely going to be used in my Book of Lore & Craft.  I'm not entirely sure what the dinosaur thing is - some kind of kid's game, I guess? - but the brontosaurus illustration is adorable nonetheless.

The silver foil sticker that says "You are beautiful" is my favorite item in the package.

Inside the package was... another package!  This mystery item was wrapped in some lovely rainbow stripe wrapping paper.

What I found when I opened delighted me - a small mirror, adorned with a sticker that says "You are beautiful."  So fun!  (By the way, it's really hard to take photos of yourself in a tiny mirror!  I couldn't seem to keep the camera from obstructing my face - oh well :)

Thanks again to Mary for sending me this delightful Happy Mail!!  

If you liked seeing all the fun things she sent me, you will probably enjoy reading her blog - I encourage you all to hop on over and give her a follow.  And while you're at it, why not give her page a like on Facebook - she's hoping to get 2,000 followers for her birthday, let's help this birthday wish come true! :)

Monday Music Break: Shores of Avalon

Hi folks.  I apologize for the radio silence lately, but things have been really rough for me over the last few weeks.  Among other things, my family has been dealing with the loss of my Grandmom.

Last week my 92-year-old Grandmom, Alma Beaty, was moved into hospice care, and was refusing food and liquids.  Her health deteriorated quickly after that, and she passed away on Friday morning.  She had dementia for many years (over a decade, I think), and was nearly blind and deaf.  My Dad said she never really recovered from the surgery she had to repair a broken femur a couple months ago, which I guess was just too much for her body to handle on top of everything else.

I wasn't really close to Grandmom, due to living far away and having difficulty connecting to her through her dementia.  But I am still sad that she died.  At the same time, my parents and I have taken comfort in the fact that she is finally released her from all the pain, suffering, and confusion.
 
Here's a photo of the last time I saw her, on Mother's Day last year.  That's my Dad on the left, me, Grandmom, and my Aunt Kathy.  I think my Mom was taking the photo.

I wanted to dedicate today's Monday Music Break to my Grandmom, and to everyone who has lost someone lately.  It is a sad but very beautiful song by Tina Malia called "Shores of Avalon," about how we'll all meet our loved ones again in the Summerland.

Peace on, Grandmom. 

Wabbit Season

More fun than the microwave!

Happy Easter!  I know that as pagans we don't traditionally celebrate Zombie Jesus Day Easter, but I've begun pondering the idea that following the holidays of my long-dead ancestors isn't necessarily the way to go for me.  I like the idea of celebrating the seasons as they occur where I live - like cherry blossom season, and beach season, and the season of marshmallow peeps, chocolate bunnies, and hyacinths.

Also, I'm kind of mildly obsessed with bunnies, so I'm really embracing that aspect of Easter this year.  They're all fluffy, and hoppy, and wiggly-nose-y.  Even though they disapprove of everything.

I am leaving in a few minutes for my parents' house in Philly for Easter dinner with the fam.  Whether you observe Easter religiously or not, or if like me you just celebrate the proliferation of chocolate bunnies, I hope you have a lovely Sunday!

I am a giant leprechaun!

I almost forgot to post about St. Patrick's Day!  So here I am, albeit a few days late.

I'm a European mutt, but the majority of my ethnic heritage is Celtic - mostly Irish, but also Scottish, English, and French (the French, plus much of my German heritage, is from Alsace-Lorraine).

Funny story about my heritage, actually.  My last name is considered a tribe from Northern Ireland, but it's actually Scottish in origin (or possibly Saxon English - the origin is disputed).  The clan originally live in Britain, where they were "Reivers," a raiding clan along the Scottish/English border.  They were later ceded land in northern Ireland by the king.

Many pagans choose not to celebrate St. Patrick's Day, or they choose to mourn/honor the "snakes" (Irish pagans) that were "driven out" (probably killed) by St. Patrick's crusade to Christianize Ireland.  There's a good breakdown of the issues with St. Patrick's Day over at the Domestic Pagan and PaganCentric.  I've never been much for the ridiculous trend of making all sorts of unnaturally green food and adorning everything with leprechauns and shamrocks. 

Seriously, green beer should be outlawed.  It's a crime against hard-working real beer everywhere.

When I was growing up, my mom would make roast pork butt (it's the butt of the shoulder, for those wondering why I would eat a pig's ass) with cabbage and potatoes.  I also made potatoes colcannon a few years ago.  I wanted to make it again this year but did not have the time to go to the store to buy the needed ingredients. 

My ancestors/heritage are really important to me on both a personal and a spiritual level, and I've found it problematic to ignore a day that celebrates my heritage.  So this year, I decided that from now on I would honor both my Irish heritage and my pagan heritage on St. Paddy's Day.  So Friday night I wore my shamrock earrings for my Irish ancestors, a snake armband for my pagan community, and had a couple of (real) beers for both.  Okay, and some green pie too.  But it's lime pie, so it's supposed to be green, so it's okay.  And so tasty.

I hope everyone had a wonderful St. Paddy's Day, whether you celebrated it or not.  Now go have a good Irish beer, and if you like, raise a toast to your ancestors.  Slainte!

Now that's more like it.  Best beer in the world!

Samhain blessings

Blessed Samhain and happy new year to all my fellow pagans in the Northern Hemisphere! For those in the south, happy Beltane!

Right now I am drinking tea, watching cheesy Halloween movies like Teen Wolf and Queen of the Damned (later on I will watch Hocus Pocus), and giving out candy to trick-or-treaters. So far, only one kid has come costumeless - as is my policy, I gave her a hard time but gave her a piece of candy anyway.

Ah - I spoke too soon. A whole gaggle of teenage boys just showed up with no costumes. Seriously, is it so difficult to even put on a little spooky make-up? Borrow your sister's eyeliner if you have to. Sheesh.

Jack told me he's never seen Hocus Pocus and has no interest in watching it with me. Say what? It's like, practically a Halloween tradition to watch it. Bette Midler, Sara Jessica Parker ( "Amok! Amok amok amok!"), and Kathy Najimy as 3 sister witches running... well, amok in modern-day Salem - what's not to love?

Later I will raise a toast to my ancestors and departed loved ones, and leave a shot on the mantle for them. Hopefully we have some whiskey to leave for my Celtic ancestors. If not, I get the feeling both my Celtic and Germanic roots would appreciate the glory that is tequila. Hail to the ancestors!

What are your Samhain traditions?