Deaf Pagan Crossroads

The Fifth Sacred Thing – Thoughts From Starhawk
Deaf Pagan Crossroads In my prior post, I discussed the latest efforts from The Fifth Sacred Thing Film Project – the group which is working to bring this novel to the screen. Written by Pagan leader, teacher, and author Starhawk, the book centers around an ecotopian society in the San Francisco Bay Area. Set in the year 2048, […]
Fri, May 10 2013

Access and Inclusion In “The Fifth Sacred Thing”
Deaf Pagan Crossroads In this blog post, Ocean talks about Starhawk’s novel The Fifth Sacred Thing, how it incorporates American Sign Language as part of the concept of access and inclusion for all, and the current efforts underway to bring the novel to the screen.  This post also contains a video which is captioned for the Deaf and […]
Fri, May 10 2013

Redefining Beauty
Deaf Pagan Crossroads After some considerable deliberation regarding the proper style that I wanted, I got my hair cut the other day. Mind you, I am fussy about my hair. I won’t let just anyone work with it, so I go to an upscale Aveda salon located in the more “poshe” area of Louisville, where I’ve become a [...]
Fri, Apr 26 2013

Prayer for the Earth
Deaf Pagan Crossroads Together, in peace… Let us promise To care for all her lands and seas To nurture every creature To love, to live in harmony with Mother Earth, our teacher To learn more about this post and its photography and prose, please click here to continue on to Robin and Ocean’s notes on this collaborative project… [...]
Tue, Apr 23 2013

Notes on the Earth Prayer from Robin and Osh
Deaf Pagan Crossroads I want to thank Osh for asking me to collaborate with her once again. I always enjoy our combined efforts to put something together in both words and photographs. Although we haven’t openly discussed our beliefs, I suspect they’re very similar which is why we work so well together. Plus Osh is just plain fun [...]
Tue, Apr 23 2013

Earth Teach Me
Deaf Pagan Crossroads The below prayer, which has been attributed to the Native American Ute Tribe, perhaps best expresses my own sentiments about what we can learn from the Earth – today, tomorrow, and always. Blessings, Ocean Earth teach me stillness…as the grasses are stilled with light Earth teach me suffering…as old stones suffer with memory Earth teach [...]
Mon, Apr 22 2013

It Could Have Been Me…
Deaf Pagan Crossroads It could have been me But instead it was you So I’ll keep doing the work you were doing as if I were two I’ll be a student of life A singer of songs A farmer of food And a righter of wrong It could have been me But instead it was you Well it [...]
Tue, Apr 09 2013

Drawers
Deaf Pagan Crossroads I first read this poem many years ago, when I was a recent college graduate just beginning my venture into the “real world.” I loved it then, and I copied it into the journal I was keeping at the time. Shortly afterwards, I met the man who was to become my first true love. I [...]
Thu, Apr 04 2013

The Commandments of Coyote
Deaf Pagan Crossroads I’m not really good at telling or pulling jokes… but in honor of the day, I thought I would dust off one of my old posts about a character who is a real trickster. I’m sure he’s having a blast today.  Enjoy. ~ Ocean I’d like to share with my readers a conversation I had [...]
Mon, Apr 01 2013

Learning Sign Language Off the Internet?
Deaf Pagan Crossroads In the past couple of weeks, I have noticed that the most popular blog post here at Deaf Pagan Crossroads has been one titled “Thoughts On Pagan Sign Language – Part One” – the first entry in a series of posts in which I shared my views in regards to the use of sign language [...]
Fri, Feb 08 2013

Finding Me On Facebook
Deaf Pagan Crossroads I’m making use of the social network to help keep in touch with my Crossroads readers… I now have a page on Facebook! I will be using this page to post links to current and past posts here at Deaf Pagan Crossroads, and also to share some of my thoughts, news, information, etc. that might [...]
Thu, Feb 07 2013

Mea Maxima Culpa
Deaf Pagan Crossroads On Monday, February 4th, a documentary will debut on HBO that takes a hard look at a sensitive subject – the issue of sexual abuse within the Catholic Church. “Mea Maxima Culpa – Silence In the House of God” is a documentary produced and directed by Oscar winner Alex Gibney, exposing the widespread abuse of [...]
Sun, Feb 03 2013

A Deaf Imbolc Ritual
Deaf Pagan Crossroads As we prepare for the Sabbat of Imbolc which many of us will be celebrating this weekend, I am repeating this post from last year. It has become one of my favorite rituals – a beautiful merger of my spirituality as a Pagan with my identity as a Deaf person. I hope you enjoy it [...]
Thu, Jan 31 2013

Winds of Change Bring a Morning Glow
Deaf Pagan Crossroads Recently a pal of mine put up the following post on her Facebook wall: Woke up with an overwhelming need to sob – is everyone I love okay? Please check with me or by text. Wow, not kidding, never felt like this before. And in checking with some of my other friends, I find that [...]
Mon, Jan 28 2013

What’s In a Name?
Deaf Pagan Crossroads I was recently asked how I got my Pagan name of Ocean, so I’m dusting off this post from six years ago to share. Enjoy!  I’ve been asked how I received my Pagan/Spiritual name of “Ocean.” It actually all started when I was a student at Gallaudet College (now University) – a Liberal Arts college [...]
Tue, Jan 22 2013

The Hazards of Lipreading
Deaf Pagan Crossroads It never fails, folks. I tell someone I am Deaf, and sooner or later someone will respond by asking if I can read lips. Many people assume that I am a crack-shot lipreader. Wellllll….yes and no. I am a skilled lipreader. But even the best of us lipreaders can’t understand everything, and we will make [...]
Thu, Jan 17 2013

Letter to My Hearing Readership
Deaf Pagan Crossroads I first wrote this post exactly six years ago today. I’ve decided to re-post it as “food for thought” for some of my readers. Yes, it may come across a bit harsh, but it’s brutally honest…and I think for anyone who is going to get involved in the Deaf Community in some way, it’s worth [...]
Tue, Jan 15 2013

Making Compost
Deaf Pagan Crossroads Back at the beginning of 2011, I wrote a post here at the Crossroads about creating a new Year Word. This is a concept I learned from Quinn McDonald, who blogs over at QuinnCreative. Like myself, Quinn is not a fan of New Year’s Resolutions – easy to make, and far too easy to break. [...]
Sat, Jan 12 2013

The Goddess and the Drum (The Twelfth Day of Christmas)
Deaf Pagan Crossroads On the Twelfth Day of Christmas, my Goddess gave to me… twelve drummers drumming. On this, the final day of the twelve days, I have chosen to once again focus on a book in my own personal library… When the Drummers Were Women is an inspiring history of feminine power and spirituality, a shamanic journey [...]
Mon, Jan 07 2013

The God and His Pipe (The Eleventh Day of Christmas)
Deaf Pagan Crossroads On the Eleventh Day of Christmas, my God gave to me… eleven pipers piping. Today I am going to honor the Divine Masculine by recognizing someone who has been my own personal god for over fifty years… my father, James Hugh Beach, Senior. Dad was a pipe smoker. I cannot remember a time when my [...]
Sat, Jan 05 2013

The Goddess and the Leap (The Tenth Day of Christmas)
Deaf Pagan Crossroads On the Tenth Day of Christmas, my Goddess gave to me… ten lords leaping. When I think of lords leaping, what comes to mind isn’t upper-crust folks, or British Parliament. Rather, I think of the people who actually do that leaping on a regular basis… athletes. It takes a lot of dedicated training to leap [...]
Sat, Jan 05 2013

The Goddess and the Dance (The Ninth Day of Christmas)
Deaf Pagan Crossroads On the Ninth Day of Christmas, my Goddess gave to me… nine ladies dancing. Mention dance, and you are apt to be drawn into a terpsichorean discussion of plies and pirouettes, Rumbas and Reels, Twists and Tangos…all in reverence to that goddess of the dance ~ Terpsichore. In Greek mythology, Terpsichore is one of the [...]
Thu, Jan 03 2013

The Goddess and the Cow (Eighth Day of Christmas)
Deaf Pagan Crossroads On the Eighth Day of Christmas, my Goddess gave to me… eight maids milking.  Today we return to our discussion of the goddesses, with a visit to Egypt. Probably the best known cow goddess is Hathor, and her counterpart Bat. Cow goddesses played a significant role in the pantheon of Ancient Egypt. Hathor is probably the [...]
Wed, Jan 02 2013

The Goddess and the Swan (The Seventh Day of Christmas)
Deaf Pagan Crossroads On the Seventh Day of Christmas, my Goddess gave to me… seven swans swimming.  For the seventh day, I am going to divert away a bit from the discussion of goddesses and instead share my thoughts about a book that sits on my shelf amongst my other pagan-oriented publications… The Twelve Wild Swans by Starhawk [...]
Wed, Jan 02 2013

The Goddess and the Goose (The Sixth Day of Christmas)
Deaf Pagan Crossroads On the Sixth Day of Christmas, my Goddess gave to me… six geese a-laying. There are many myths and legends which involve geese and their relationship with goddesses and women. In her Encyclopedia of Celtic Mythology and Folklore, Patricia Monaghan had this to say about the goose: Both the tame and wild goose had mythological [...]
Tue, Jan 01 2013

The Goddess and the Gold (The Fifth Day of Christmas)
Deaf Pagan Crossroads On the Fifth Day of Christmas, my Goddess gave to me… five golden rings.  Today we will explore the relationship between different goddesses and gold. The first goddess who comes to mind is Lakshmi, one of the most worshipped deities of the Hindu religion. Lakshmi is the goddess of wealth and prosperity, purity and generosity, [...]
Sun, Dec 30 2012

The Goddess and the Blackbird (The Fourth Day of Christmas)
Deaf Pagan Crossroads On the Fourth Day of Christmas, my Goddess gave to me… four colly birds.  First of all, allow me to clarify – the actual term is colly birds, not calling birds. Somehow the word got messed up over the years, and now people tend to sing the song saying “calling birds” rather than the original colly [...]
Sat, Dec 29 2012

The Goddess and the Chicken (The Third Day of Christmas)
Deaf Pagan Crossroads On the Third Day of Christmas, my Goddess gave to me… three French hens. First of all, I must give a shout-out to my friend and fellow Priestess Byron Ballard, who didn’t think it strange at all when I sent her a message asking if she was aware of any Goddesses of Chickens. Byron immediately [...]
Fri, Dec 28 2012

The Goddess and the Dove (The Second Day of Christmas)
Deaf Pagan Crossroads On the Second Day of Christmas my Goddess gave to me… two turtle doves. Today we return to a goddess mentioned in our First Day…Aphrodite (also known as Venus.) Not only is the Goddess of Love associated with pears, she has a strong connection with doves as well. While there are variations regarding the birth [...]
Thu, Dec 27 2012

The Goddess and the Pear (The First Day of Christmas)
Deaf Pagan Crossroads On the First Day of Christmas, my Goddess gave to me… A partridge in a pear tree.  Woman with Pears by Pablo Picasso  In Greek and Roman mythology, pears are sacred to three goddesses: Hera (also known as Juno to the Romans), Aphrodite (wh0m the Romans knew as Venus), and Pomona, an Italian goddess. Of [...]
Wed, Dec 26 2012

Is There A Virginia?
Deaf Pagan Crossroads Recently, one of my internet friends notified me about an interesting letter that is apparently making its way around the World Wide Web this holiday season. Unfortunately I had yet to see a copy of this mass e-mail – most likely because of the excellent spam filter I recently installed on my lap-top. However, I [...]
Sun, Dec 23 2012

A Winter Solstice Ritual
Deaf Pagan Crossroads photograph by Robin of MaidinSun Photography (Photograph of a forest, with pine tree in the center. Behind the pine tree can be seen a red sun coming up, signifying a new day) SpiritWolf steps forward and in sign language calls all the members to the Circle, as DeeLayne voices for her: The wheel of the [...]
Fri, Dec 21 2012

Healing Ritual for Newtown
Deaf Pagan Crossroads Ocean stands in the middle of the stone circle, holding a white candle sitting in a silver candlestick holder. Placing the unlit candle at her feet, she lifts her face to the sky… and then both signing and speaking, shares her thoughts: Mother, I stand here at the Crossroads to mourn those who lost their [...]
Mon, Dec 17 2012

Dealing With Tower Time
Deaf Pagan Crossroads For the past couple of months, many of my fellow Pagans as well as myself have been dealing with the growing darkness that is enveloping us, as we prepare for the return of the light at Yule on December 21st. You know how they say that the night is darkest just before dawn? Whether or [...]
Thu, Dec 06 2012

Makara – A Crossroads Book Recommendation
Deaf Pagan Crossroads What if you grew up with a seal mother and a human father? Fionnuala is such a daughter – a part-human, part-seal Deaf woman who grows up with her father in Ireland, falls in love with another woman in India, struggles with her own identity while living in Italy, and finally discovers herself within a [...]
Thu, Nov 08 2012

Thoughts On Bloomberg’s Interpreter
Deaf Pagan Crossroads While the east coast battled Superstorm Sandy last week, the internet seemed to have found itself a new darling in the form of Lydia Callis, a sign language interpreter in the office of New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg. Ms. Callis stole the show and secured the limelight when she appeared alongside Mayor Bloomberg in [...]
Tue, Nov 06 2012

Two Deaf Gals Celebrate Samhaim In Ireland
Deaf Pagan Crossroads This post includes a sign language video of our trip to Ireland, and some “comic relief” as we talk about our experiences of the day! Sorry, the video is not captioned, but the notes underneath it should pretty much explain everything that you can’t figure out from the video itself. Enjoy, and Samhain Blessings to [...]
Wed, Oct 31 2012

Samhain Blessings
Deaf Pagan Crossroads I have always enjoyed the beautiful Sabbat videos created by my on-line friend Witches Sky, who lives in England. Utilizing her own photography and her own words, she puts together short and simple films that get to the heart of what each special day represents to many of us who follow a Pagan Path. These [...]
Wed, Oct 31 2012

The Troll-Tear ~ a story for Samhain
Deaf Pagan Crossroads WyndSinger steps inside the circle with his new harp, Tristan. He is clad in a flowing blue, floor-length robe. There is a gold braid on his left shoulder and his long, salt & pepper hair flows free down his back. The harp, standing at five feet tall, glows as the fire bounces off the walnut. [...]
Mon, Oct 29 2012

Dreaming the Dark – a ritual for Samhain
Deaf Pagan Crossroads I created this ritual after reading a book written by one of my favorite Pagan authors: Dreaming the Dark by Starhawk. I’ve had the pleasure of actually meeting Starhawk and participating in rituals with her, and I have incorporated some aspects of those rituals into this one. Many thanks to Starhawk for her inspiration and [...]
Sun, Oct 28 2012

A Deaf Pagan View of the McCaskill Situation
Deaf Pagan Crossroads In my last post here at the Crossroads, I discussed how the restless energies of this Samhain season are creating major rifts…not only for interpersonal relationships, but also within communities – individuals lining up on either side of the issues and taking pot shots at one another. I’m seeing this happening in the Deaf Community [...]
Wed, Oct 24 2012

The Tumultuous Energies of Samhain
Deaf Pagan Crossroads Recently I was having an interesting conversation with a good friend and fellow High Priestess about how the energies of this Samhain season to be all “helter-skelter” for many of us, making for rather difficult moments at times. To quote her comments: I think there’s something about this Samhain season causing serious rifts between people [...]
Sat, Oct 20 2012

The Deaf and Dumb Supper? – A History of...
Deaf Pagan Crossroads As Pagans around the United States and the Northern Hemisphere prepare for Samhain, probably the holiest of the eight Sabbats in the Wheel of the Year – which occurs on October 31st/November 1st, I would like to take a moment to talk about one of the traditions of Samhain… from a Deaf perspective. Many Pagan [...]
Wed, Oct 17 2012

The Story of Tlachtga – A History of Samhain/Halloween...
Deaf Pagan Crossroads In my previous post, I talked about the ancient hill of Tlachtga and its celebrations of Samhain. In October of 2011 I was fortunate to take my dream trip to Ireland, which included the opportunity not only to visit several of the sacred sites of the early Irish tribes, but also a chance to witness [...]
Sun, Oct 14 2012

The Fires of Tlachtga – A History of Samhain/Halloween...
Deaf Pagan Crossroads In my prior post about Samhain, I mentioned Tlachtga, where it is believed that the ancient Druids lit bonfires as part of the rites of Samhain and the beginning of Winter. Tlachtga (pronounced “clackda”), also known as the Hill of Ward, is an ancient hill located near Athboy, County Meath in Ireland. The earthworks at [...]
Thu, Oct 11 2012

The Arrival of Gaimos – A History of Samhain/Halloween...
Deaf Pagan Crossroads In an earlier series of posts here at the Crossroads, I discussed the history of Celtic holiday of Beltaine, also known as May Day. Now it’s time for us to take a look at Beltaine’s counterpart – Samhain. This holiday is known to us by a number of names, most popularly as Halloween. It is [...]
Tue, Oct 09 2012

Halloween? Ho-Hum!
Deaf Pagan Crossroads As a witch, I have an awkward confession to make… I don’t really care for Halloween. Mind you – I said Halloween, not Samhain. All Hallow’s Eve continues to be one of my favorite Sabbats. I do look forward to and enjoy the rituals that honor this time of the year. But the trick-or-treating? The costumes? [...]
Wed, Oct 03 2012

Autumn Blessings at Mabon
Deaf Pagan Crossroads To Autumn by John Keats Season of mists and mellow fruitfulness,    Close bosom-friend of the maturing sun; Conspiring with him how to load and bless    With fruit the vines that round the thatch-eves run; To bend with apples the moss’d cottage-trees,    And fill all fruit with ripeness to the core;       To swell the gourd, and [...]
Thu, Sep 20 2012

My Friend Arachne
Deaf Pagan Crossroads I like spiders. Mind you, I would not necessarily want them crawling all over me, but I’m not one of those people who freaks out at the sight of one. Nor do I believe in killing them…after all, spiders are good lil’ critters who eat the bad bugs. There’s really no reason to kill them. [...]
Tue, Sep 18 2012

A Picture Is Worth a Thousand Words
Deaf Pagan Crossroads Back in the beginning days of Deaf Pagan Crossroads, I became acquainted with a fellow blogger who shared similar viewpoints of spirituality as well as a common love for nature and all its creation. The one difference was that this blogger is a skilled photographer with a good camera…which she puts to good use. Her [...]
Thu, Sep 13 2012