Category: General Information

Quick Update – Reminders, Thanks, Apologies

Hi everyone!

First of all, I just want to say a HUGE thank you to everyone who’s written, posted, tweeted, or otherwise shown support and love during the past couple of weeks after the arrival of my new daughter.  She’s doing well (other than a little cold which she got from her big brother), and we’re starting to normalize.

I also wanted to apologize very sincerely to anyone who is waiting on a response from me via email or comment.  I always mark incoming emails and comments so that I can get back to them, but it is just taking me a while to get around to responding at this point.  I will be writing to anyone who’s written to us as soon as possible, so thank you for your patience, and sorry again for the delay.

There will be more material up on the site soon (I’m working on a few articles now), and Laine and I are already planning more episodes and lining up more guests.  So if your inbox has been a little light lately due to my absence, rest assured I’ll be burdening you with my insufferable prattle again soon.

Finally, I wanted to remind everyone, especially those of you who write, that there is an open call for submissions from Misanthrope Press right now.  They’ve got a Pagan-themed short story anthology called “Etched Offerings: Voices from the Cauldron of Story” that they are putting together, and they will be accepting your work right through the end of this month.  So if you’ve got a story you’d like to share, please do so!  Complete submission guidelines are here.

Thanks again for all the support and patience!  I’ll be in touch soon!

-Cory

She’s Here!!!

This is a quick post to announce the newest member of the New World Witchery family, my daughter!  She arrived safe and sound on the evening of March 16th, and is doing quite well.  Mama and daddy are very proud, and her big brother is already giving her kisses (though we don’t expect that to last long).  Here’s a picture of our lovely little girl:

I probably don’t have to say this, but the blog will not be getting much attention for a week or two (though I do have a few articles in the works, and a podcast nearly ready for release, so it won’t be completely silent here).  Likewise, the Etsy shop is down for a bit, though I do have several things already in the works there, too. But for now, I just want to say a big thank you to everyone who’s sent love, support, prayers, spells, and good wishes to us during the difficult past few months.  It’s all paid off beautifully in the form of a gorgeous girl.  Now all I have to decide is what type of pony to get her first…

Thanks for everything!

-Cory

NWW on IAR

Hi everyone,

If you’ve not seen already, I was recently featured as a guest on Fire Lyte’s show, Inciting a Riot.  The focus was on the African Diaspora traditions like Lukumi, Palo, Candomble, and Vodoun (he jokingly referred to me as an “expert” on these, which I am NOT; but I did do a good bit of research for the show so I think it’s still a good overview).  We also wet our feet in topics such as the ongoing debate on “pre-natal murder” in Georgia and weighed in on the recent kerfuffle with Z. Budapest at Pantheacon. We had a bit of a gripe with Pagan media grabbers in general, and learned about an old word, “cockalorum,” which was particularly apt.

I hope you’ll check it out, and feel free to leave me a comment here or send me an email if you want to talk about anything we mentioned on the show.  It’s definitely not my usual format or subject matter, but I had fun doing it, and I think you might like it, too!

All the best,

-Cory

Quick Update

Hi everyone,

Sorry for the temporary lull in posts.  I’ve actually got two posts on different kinds of divination I’m working on, so those should be up soon.  Additionally, I’m hoping to have a new episode recorded soon–we’ve had  a series of delays in recording due to things like scheduling conflicts and me being hit in the face by a 2×4 over the weekend (I’m okay, but I can tell you with some degree of authority that when you start a fight with your house, your house most likely will win).

At any rate, I do apologize for the temporary slowdown, but I’ll try to have a good bit of content up soon.  Thanks for your patience, and for all the comments and emails!  I’ll be replying to those as soon as possible.

For now, thanks for continuing to read us here!

-Cory

Quick Update

Hi all,

I had been hoping to do several more posts this week than I have, but unfortunately life got in the way.  My wife, who is carrying our second baby, had to go to the hospital this week due to fears about pre-term labor.  All seems well now, but she’s on a form of bedrest which means I’m having to pick up a lot of slack as far as childcare and housekeeping are concerned.  I’ll probably have less time to write (and sadly, podcast) over the next month or two, so please accept my apologies in advance for any diminished content.

I hate having to say my personal life is interfering with my passion and making any kind of announcement here, but I thought that you all should know about it.  I’ve still got several articles planned (and a few that will be popping up in non-internet sources soon, too) and Laine and I always have the podcast planned about three months out, so we’ll definitely have stuff out to you, but please be patient if things don’t come quite as frequently as they have been.

Here’s hoping all is well out there with you!  Thanks for reading, and for your support and understanding!

-Cory

Quick Post – Hoodoo in the Wall Street Journal

Hi all!

Not a major post today, just something I found that I thought might be interesting to you:

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703989004575653102537901956.html

It’s an article about hoodoo in the Wall Street Journal!  Take a look and let me know what you think!

-Cory

Blog Post 111 – The Meaning of Christmas?

Hi everyone,

This is just a short post today looking at a recent discussion from the BBC:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/news/2010/12/101223_christmas_meaning_nh_sl.shtml

In this broadcast (which I heard via Oraia Sphinx, many thanks to her), the origins and meaning of Christmas are discussed by Bryan Fischer of the American Family Association (aka. The AFA—an evangelical group which leads many initiatives to instill religiously conservative values into Americans) and Professor of Pagan History/well-respected author Ronald Hutton of Bristol University.  While it’s not really fair to pit a scholar and historian against a spokesperson, the overall conversation is interesting, if a bit charged at times.  I’m not posting it to stir up controversy (though I suspect it may do so), but more because I thought it was interesting, and because I always enjoy hearing Hutton speak on history and theology.  Also, Fischer makes an interesting point for those of us who are American witches—can we celebrate “Christmas” without making it (at least primarily) a religious observance?  And do we need to?  Is our country so deeply tied to its Christian roots that we acknowledge Christianity by acts as mundane as writing a check with an “A.D.” date on it?  Or, as Hutton proposes, is America a collection of pocket communities each defining their own values based on their cultural, ethnic, and social histories?  Food for thought.

There’s a rather neat musical montage in the piece, too, which outlines the different angles from which Christmas (and the winter holidays in general) can be viewed.  Religious, Hopeful, Commercial, or Sad, there does seem to be a universal draw to set aside this time of year, whatever feelings it inspires.

So what about you?  Do you have a “reason for the season” that you’d like to share?  What does Christmas mean to you?

Thanks for reading!

-Cory

Quick Reminder

Just a quick reminder to everyone that if you want a chance to meet me (Cory) in person, this weekend is your opportunity!  I, along with a number of other witchy podkin, will be at:

Pagan Podkin Meet and Greet
Saturday, Oct. 2nd, from 11am – 2pm
@ Witchy Wearables
4459 147th St Ste D
Midlothian, IL 60445

So if you get a chance to come out, we’d love to see you!

Talk to you again after the weekend!

-Cory

Blog Post 93 – Sneak Peek

Hi everyone!

Today I’ve got a few photos of things to tease and entice you.  We’ve got something happening in the very near future and I wanted to let you blog readers be the first to know about it.  You can probably guess from the pictures what the announcement will be.

Be watching for an update soon!  Until then, thanks for reading!

-Cory


Blog Post 92 – Upcoming Event

Hi everyone!

As some of you may know from other sources at this point, several of us witchy podfolk are going to be in the Chicagoland area on Saturday, Oct. 2nd.  If you’d like a chance to meet and greet Velma Nightshade from Witches Brewhaha, Fire Lyte from Inciting a Riot, Gillian from Iron Powaqa, Jasmine & Isaac from Pagan Hooligans, Scarlett from Lakefront Pagan Voice, Britney of the Urban Green Witch, and of course me, stop by Witchy Wearables in Midlothian, IL between 11am and 1pm on 10/2.  We’ll be doing a little chat, and there’s going to be a witchy craft fair that day, too.  It’s a good chance to come out and put faces with names and voices, and maybe pick our brains a little (what will be left of them after jet lag, anyway).

Here’s the short version of the info:
Pagan Podkin Meet and Greet
Saturday, Oct. 2nd, from 11am – 2pm
@ Witchy Wearables
4459 147th St Ste D
Midlothian, IL 60445

Many thanks to Witchy Wearables for hosting this event, and to all the wonderful podkin who have made this community feel so close.  And, of course, thanks to our marvelous audiences, who we are very eager to meet.  We hope to see you there!

Thanks for reading!

-Cory