Standing Stone and Garden Gate Podcast

Standing Stone and Garden Gate is a new podcast started at the end of December 2009 by author and philosopher Brendan Cathbad Myers¹ and Juniper, who blogs at Walking the Hedge. Their tagline is “the podshow for thinking Pagans and working Witches” and they’ve already put out three episodes.

In Episode One Brendan² and Juniper introduce themselves and the podcast. Also introduces the segments, such as Standing Stone, a segment dealing with philosophic themes – very appropriate for Brendan. Rants and Raves, which will be commentaries on current media, book reviews and other social commentary on the Pagan scene. Garden Gate, how to find the magickal in the mundane, every day practice. Ask Dr Expert, a segment where Juniper will try to stump Brendan on some bit of arcane lore.

Episode Two features JD Hobbes a wonderful bard from Montreal reciting a tale called “Lex and the Devil”. The Standing Stone segment discusses Jean-Jacques Rousseau, and Rants and Raves discusses Elders in the community and what that means.

My favourite segment from the first two podcasts is Standing Stone. Brendan is, if I can use the term, a professional philosopher. He has lectured at several universities, and it’s clearly demonstrated in his eloquence and range of knowledge on various philosophical subjects. It’s a lot of fun to listen to.

Episode Three is largely comprised of the panel session from the Fire in the Hearth conference that took place Bronson Centre in Ottawa in July of 2009. The discussion is moderated by Daniel Lemarche, and features Isaac Bonewits, Dr. Shelley Rabinovitch, Linda Demissy and Dr. Brendan Myers. The topic is Pagan Ethics, and is wildly entertaining, both due to the content of the arguments advanced by each, but also because of enthusiastic audience participation.

The podcasts are long – each is over an hour – and the sound quality varies, but this is something they’re actively working on and learning as they go.

This podcast will appeal to those outside of Paganism as well (hey, this atheist digs it), so I encourage you to check it out.

Footnotes:

1. Brendan’s written for ahrfoundation.org before, back in 2008. Check out “Magical correspondences and social values“. [back]
2. Brendan’s also written several excellent books, including The Other Side of Virtue: Where Our Virtues Come From, What They Really Mean, and Where They Might Be Taking Us, A Pagan Testament: The Literary Heritage of the World’s Oldest New Religion and Mysteries of Druidry. [back]

Psyche is the editor of ahrfoundation.org and the curator for the occult resource SpiralNature.com, Psyche also operates a tarot consultation business, Psyche Tarot. She has been published in The Cauldron, Konton, Tarot World Magazine, among other magazines, and her essay “Strategic Magick” appeared in Manifesting Prosperity (Megalithica, 2008).

Psyche's website is http://www.ahrfoundation.org.