"It is three thousand light-years to the Vatican. Once, I believed that space could have no power over faith, just as I believed the heavens declared the glory of God’s handwork. Now I have seen that handiwork, and my faith is sorely troubled. I stare at the crucifix that hangs on the cabin wall...

Your Friendly Interfaith Heathen was a guest speaker at Pebble Hill Interfaith Church this morning. Prior to the start of their morning celebration, I made use of the empty space on the right hand side of the church's altar for a Yuletide candelabra (pictured).

What child is this With cape and "S" Whom Martha now is raising? With strength so great, and manner sweet And all around amazing This, this is the Boy of Steel Krypton’s last hope, our Earth to heal Up, up, and away he flies! Kal-El, the son of two worlds. (Madonna and Superboy?)

Is Santa Claus a myth? Santa is indeed a myth. But only in the original and not the corrupted, modern sense of the word. To those of us who know better, myth ≠ untrue. Myth is the truest, most important thing in the world.

Your Friendly Interfaith Heathen on chaplain duty this Christmas Eve at the Bethlehem Campus of St. Luke's University Health Network.

Badge reel broke right at the start of my first patient visit on this Christmas Eve shift. #chaplain

IT IS TIME! I'm working the 4pm-8pm chaplaincy shift this evening up in Bethlehem, PA, so I'm doing my annual watch of SCROOGE, the 1951 film adaptation of A Christmas Carol, right now! #Scrooge #AlastairSim #Movies #SacredStories

Once again, I reach late December, and I find myself wondering: Where are the inflatable Mithras nativity scenes? #WhatAboutMithras? #MithrasmasEveEve #ChristmasEveEve #MithrasErasure

SENECA AND JESUS (Daily Stoic Email; December 25, 2020) In the very same year as Jesus, in another far-flung province of Rome, another boy was born. Seneca, who would go on to be an equally great and influential philosopher,... Read more: www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=...

Have you heard of Turoń, Poland’s Dancing Winter Bull? www.atlasobscura.com/articles/tur... Image: Illustration of Turon with carolers in snowy landscape, by Tao Tao Holmes for Atlas Obscura.

"And lo, on that day, a tentacled child was born, and they called him Cthulhu." I wish you and yours a very Happy Cephalopodmas! Check out the 13 Days of #Cephalopodmas: www.cephalopodmas.com

Last year, on Módraniht (Mother's Night), I threaded beads and a Frigg pendant together as part of my meditation with the Dísir. Since then, I’ve worn this necklace whenever participating in a ritual for Frigg and/or the Dísir. As such, I wore it for much of this Winter Solstice weekend.

This is the final evening in my sixth year of observing the revised, or reinvented, season called Sunwait (Väntljusstaken). As I'm following the six Sundays prior to winter solstice, and with the Solstice occurring this morning, I lit the candles for the Sixth of Sunwait 2025 this evening. 🕯️

And now that the Winter Solstice has come in the northern hemisphere (as of 10:03 a.m. EST this morning), let us never forget the true meaning of this season: The Paralyzing Fear that the Sun has Left Us and May Never Return. #WinterSolstice #Yule #ReasonForTheSeason

"So one evening when men sat by the meal-fires, they heard how the stock-fish was being riven out of its skin, but when men looked thereto, they found there nought quick. But in the winter a little before Yule, ...

Tonight is Módraniht (Mothers' Night), the eve of the Winter Solstice. Once again, I went about my tradition of crafting a sunwheel, a Yule wreath. I lit a candle and I poured a libation for the Disr. Using the juniper branches and holly sprigs that I cut and collected from my yard, ...

"What is a God? The Bible and the Ancient Near East" with Dr. Michael Hundley. FREE webinar from Friends of ASOR. December 17, 2025, at 7:00 pm EST. Details and registration link: www.asor.org/news/2025/12...

Today marks the penultimate evening in my sixth year of observing the revised, or reinvented, season called Sunwait (Väntljusstaken). As I'm following the six Sundays prior to winter solstice, I lit the candles for the fifth of Sunwait 2025 this evening. Of course, the specific days are fluid. 🕯️

Behold, KRINGUS HAS RETURNED! All hail Kringus, the Demon God of Christmas! Kringus, the Devourer of the Twelve Kingdoms of Christmas!! Kringus, the bane of Santa!!! #Kringus #Christmas #christmasTree🎄 #OhDemonTreeOhDemonTree #TheEyesHaveIt #Yule #YuleBeSorryWhenKringusRises

Your Friendly Interfaith Heathen just finished another chaplain shift at the Bethlehem Campus of St. Luke's University Health Network.

Thomas Adam: "Each season, the celebration of Christmas has religious leaders and conservatives publicly complaining about the commercialization of the holiday and the growing lack of Christian sentiment...

Winter Solstice: This December, honor the return of light (Sun or Son) by also BEING a light in the world. 🕯️ #interfaith #interfaithminister #pagan #heathen #interfaithheathen #solstice #Yule #Christmas #Chrismahanukwanzakyule #blackboard #blackboardwisdom Blackboard made by local craftsperson.

We are now past the midway point in my sixth year participating in this revised, or reinvented, season called Sunwait (Väntljusstaken). As I'm following the six Sundays prior to winter solstice, I lit the candles yesterday for the fourth of Sunwait 2025. Of course, the specific days are fluid. 🕯️

Have a holly, jolly Chrismahanukwanzakyule. It's the best bunch of seasons all year. With love from the Interfaith Heathen! #Chrismahanukwanzakyule #Christmas #Yule #Hanukkah #Kwanzaa #WinterSolstice #HappyHolidays #HolyDays #InterfaithHeathen

This past Friday, December 5, I wore this Krampus-in-a-sleigh pin on my lanyard during my morning rounds as a hospital chaplain. It was Krampusnacht, after all!

December 5: Krampusnacht December 6: The Feast St. Nicholas Right now: Santa vs. Krampus (Art by Jakub Rozalski)

On December 5, 2019, Quartz was obsessed with Krampusnacht. (Am I obsessed with Krampus, or merely obsessed-adjacent?) Linky link: qz.com/emails/quart... If that link does not work for you, try this archived version: web.archive.org/web/20230605... Gruß vom Krampus! #Krampusnacht

My final preview card of 2025, my card for December, is … The Sun. This card is paired with BLACK BEAUTY by K. D. Edwards in The Literary Tarot. You cannot tell from this image, but the numeral, Sun's rays, border, and flower petals are all done in gold foil.

Annual reminder that BATMAN RETURNS (1992) is not only a Christmas movie, it also "digs into seasonal depression." Read the AV Club post from December 4, 2013: www.avclub.com/batman-retur... [Cross-posted to personal page]

In my sixth year participating in the revised, or reinvented, season called Sunwait (Väntljusstaken), I'm following the six Sundays prior to winter solstice. So, today is the third of Sunwait 2025 for me. Of course, the specific days are fluid. 🕯️

"If the only prayer you ever say in your entire life is thank you, it will be enough." –Meister Eckhart

Pamela Ayo Yetunde first encountered the five remembrances while studying chaplaincy at the Sati Center for Buddhist Studies. To change your life now and prepare for the inevitable, regularly contemplate these five home truths: www.lionsroar.com/the-five-rem...

Check out the ICJS "Grati-Tuesday" art collection (full post on my FB): www.facebook.com/photo?fbid=1... Image: Three column teaser of the Grati-Tuesday art collection. #Gratitude #art #Abrahamic #Interfaith

Several years ago, UNSTUCK offered a practical guide to gratitude. The web page is no longer online, but I previously saved this image summarizing the nine methods from the guide. Use these suggestions to cultivate an ongoing attitude of gratitude.

In my sixth year participating in the revised, or reinvented, season called Sunwait (Väntljusstaken), I'm following the six Sundays prior to winter solstice. So, today is the second day of Sunwait 2025 for me. Of course, the specific days are fluid. 🕯️

CSWR is linking selections from their in-development Archive of Mystical Experiences (AME) in their monthly newsletters. November 2025 selections are visionary examples from India, Egypt, and the United States. See my FB post: www.facebook.com/photo?fbid=1...

"Scotty! I need more contempt for those who seek to destroy the foundations of democracy!"

"Here in Sweden, the Vikings are back. And this time they’re searching for stability in a chaotic age" by Siri Christiansen (Nov 17, 2025) www.theguardian.com/commentisfre... Image: Outdoor temporary altar of the Swedish Forn Sed Association (via Wikipedia).

In my sixth year participating in the revised, or reinvented, season called Sunwait (Väntljusstaken), I'm following the six Sundays prior to winter solstice. So, today is the first day of Sunwait 2025 for me. Of course, the specific days are fluid. 🕯️

For those participating in the revised, or reinvented, season called #Sunwait (#Väntljusstaken), it begins this week and runs for six weeks prior to winter solstice. Full post on my LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/feed/update/... #interfaith #pagan #heathen #holiday #wintersolstice #advent #Yuletide

Preview card for November 2025. Pulled from The Literary Tarot on November 3, 2025: The Eight of Parchment. This card is paired with "Le Fantôme de l’Opéra" by Gaston Leroux. Upright: skill, talent, quality, expertise, mastery, commitment.

Rollo May: "The answer is that myths are permanent. They deal with the greatest of all problems, the problems which do not change because men and women do not change. They deal with love; with war; with sin; with tyranny; with courage; with fate; ...

THEOSIS Volume 2 – which is FREE to read and download – is the "second annual publication showcasing the remarkable breadth and depth of research emerging from the Center for the Study of World Religions." Access THEOSIS Volume 2 here: cswr.hds.harvard.edu/sites/g/file...

Good hallow's eve.

What's better than a harvest festival? How about officiating a Halloween wedding? Congratulations, Samantha and Michael, you spooky kids!

IS THE WORLD BECOMING MORE OR LESS RELIGIOUS? When: Monday, November 17, 11:30-1 pm Where: CSWR Common Room and Zoom ...

Thank you, Chicago.

On 10/24/2017, the day before my mother's funeral, I spent an hour or so reading DEATH POEMS in a tiny chapel within walking distance of my hotel room. I still recommend this book. And the 14-page sampler in PDF format is archived here: web.archive.org/web/20211025...

Death Takes a Holiday: A Cultural History of Halloween (2002) Halloween: From Pagan Ritual to Party Night (2003)

My latest talisman from Spellbound is a Skull and Crystal Necklace. It's a fun piece for October because it was a MYSTERY COFFIN BLIND BOX purchase that came in a small, black coffin...