This is a heavy topic, but an important one for anyone who is alive and must one day die.

Around my birthday, I have a strong tendency to reflect on my own mortality, and I think a small reminder that we have a limited number of birthdays to celebrate can be a healthy exercise to keep your life in order.

This episode does not dwell on the hereafter or what comes next, but instead on the practical: how we should live today, what we can do to prepare for death, and how we really would like to leave this world and the ones we love.

If you follow a solar or lunar calendar, you know that our Gregorian calendar starts the new year at a fairly random point -- after the winter solstice, but well before the spring equinox. And when looking at the typical calendar, January 1st also marks the sharp end of an approximately 3-month-long series of social festivities.

Most people regard the new year as a time for rebirth and renewal and setting "resolutions," though historically, that time of renewing ourselves was typically reserved for the spring.

So what is a modern pagan person to do? Do we acknowledge the new year? Do we ignore it completely? In this episode, I explore some of my own thoughts on how we can overlay the typical calendar with our own periods of reflection and focus to better follow the natural ebbs and flows of energy throughout the year.

Follow me on Instagram @wholesomepagan: https://www.instagram.com/wholesomepagan/

I LOVE Santa. He's my favorite Christmas character and is certainly the star of the show for nearly everyone around the world. And while others have pointed out the many hidden and thinly-veiled pagan aspects of Christmas and Yule, Santa is by far the most pagan deity to hit the mainstream. Yet I have heard very few people remark on the clear hero-cult worship that millions of children practice in December every year.

In this episode, my husband speaks as the resident cult expert and I pontificate on what it really means to be a member of the pagan Santa cult.

Though Christmas has passed, I hope you find this episode cheerful and festive!

On this episode of the podcast, I am talking about possibly the most loved and most relatable Christmas character to ever grace our television screens: The Grinch!

Our family loves How the Grinch Stole Christmas and has listened, watched, or read it more times than I can count (and we're only a few days into December!).

I brought my husband on to talk about the Grinch as an archetype (is he an archetype?) and where he fits into the Christmas character pantheon. We also discuss the death of the author (as it pertains to Seuss), and why the Grinch is such a beloved addition to most everyone's Christmas celebrations.

Find the all-audio rendition of the 1966 classic How the Grinch Stole Christmas, featuring Boris Karloff, Thurl Ravenscroft, and directed by Dr. Seuss and Chuck Jones that we mention in the episode here: https://youtu.be/lvneGep9TPo

It's October, which is my favorite time of the year! We are knee-deep in spooky stuff, and for me, that means family-friendly Halloween and fall content that my kids are going to love.

In the episode, I share our Halloween advent activity, the music and ambiance we're enjoying during this time of year, some of the shows and movies we're watching, and, of course, the books that we love.

Find the show notes, including TV show titles and links, books, and other resources on my husband's blog here: https://caffeineandphilosophy.com/WPP5

Follow me on Instagram @wholesomepagan: https://www.instagram.com/wholesomepagan/

In this episode, I am joined by my dear friend, Paige, to discuss what makes our pagan marriages different -- both from a Christian conception of marriage and from a secular "equality" based marriage.

In fact, though we may both call ourselves pagans, our own marriages are very different from each other!

We discuss the limitations of a universalist or idealistic view of marriage, and share the reasons we think a more practical pagan approach to negotiating with your spouse will ultimately result in a marriage that perfectly suits the two people who are in it.

Paganism is a word that can come with a lot of baggage and assumptions. So for my purposes, what do I mean by pagan?

In this episode, I cover the preliminary themes that typify my interpretation of my pagan practice. I also explain by way of demonstration how our beliefs about paganism influence the way that we are moving through the world and raising our children.

Follow me on Instagram @wholesomepagan: https://www.instagram.com/wholesomepagan/

I am well aware that I live in the 21st century, and as a parent, one tool I have in my arsenal is television. But not all TV shows are created equally. In this episode, I break down the reasons why I believe that Little Bear is the best - and most pagan - kids' show on television. From the beautiful illustrations, classical scoring, slow-living pace, and highly seasonal themes throughout the show, there's so much to love about Little Bear! Follow me on Instagram @wholesomepagan: https://www.instagram.com/wholesomepagan/