You've probably already subscribed to our RSS feed, followed us on Twitter, and joined our Facebook page. (You're so Web 2.0!)
But have you checked out our new Esoteric Book Club? First pick is Robert Anton Wilson's Quantum Psychology. Participate here!

Saturday Signal: sifting the signal from the noise of the Internet’s occultural cacophony.

I usually try and avoid the mush that is Valentine’s Day, it’s commercial and crass, but my cold dark heart warms a little when upon learning that science can break hearts. Isn’t that sweet?

But that’s tomorrow. Today is still Saturday, and that means we need signal:

• Jason Pitzl-Waters of The Wild Hunt has co-founded a new project, The Pagan Newswire Collective. The first dedicated blog for the Collective is Pagan+Politics, which will feature an additional seven bloggers. Given his history with the Wild Hunt, this new blog may be worth adding to your feed reader.

• Occultural Anthropology has posted a series of five videos titled “Myths & Logic Of Shaolin Monks” which is worth a look.

• Janelle Weaver wrote a piece for Nature.com titled “Brain surgery boosts spirituality“. A quote: “Removing part of the brain can induce inner peace”. The cynic in me isn’t surprised. (Via Technoccult.)

Ok, so it’s kind of thin this week. I’ve been kind of busy with the book club, which is really a lot of fun. I had to draw a picture of the website freehand and my attempt is spectacularly awful.

Found something nifty? Please share it in the comments, or if you use delicious, tag it “plutonica” and we’ll take a look. Thanks!

Standing Stone and Garden Gate is a new podcast started at the end of December 2009 by author and philosopher Brendan Cathbad Myers 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 Brendan 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. Continue reading »

(click photo to enlarge)

@joeldey posted a TwitPic of the Flying Spaghetti Monster holiday treats he made.

They look incredible.

No news yet on the recipe, but they look awesomely delicious.

Update: Recipe found on EvilMadScientist.com (love the site’s name). Thanks Brent Friedman!

Spotted on BoingBoing.

Back in August I posted about My Mother’s Lesbian Jewish Wiccan Wedding, a new musical I’d heard about that debuted at the Toronto Fringe Festival earlier in the summer.

It had just been announced that Mirvish was going to host a production of it at the Panasonic Theatre in November, and that I simply must see it based on the name alone.

November came, and indeed I did go to see it. And I’m surprised to say it was genuinely awesome and I loved it.

MMLJWW is narrated by David Hein, the co-author along with his wife Irene Carl Sankoff, and is based on the true story of how Hein’s moms got together.

Hein’s mother Claire (played by Lisa Horner) was an atheist who came out to her son is as a lesbian after falling in love with Jane (Rosemary Doyle), a Wiccan. Claire later comes out a second time to her son, this time as a Jew. It’s funny and it’s clever, but it’s also sensitive and genuinely touching. Continue reading »

Hidden Publishing has just released a new book edited by Dr Dave Evans and Dave Green, Ten Years of Triumph of the Moon.

Can you believe it’s already been ten years since Ronald Hutton first published The Triumph of the Moon?

Ten Years is “a collection of researches inspired by, deriving from or just celebrating the immense impact of [Hutton's] seminal book”. From the website:

The topics cover many historical periods, many academic disciplines and it provides a wealth of information of use to academic scholar and interested freelance reader alike. Includes an extended essay by Ronald Hutton on the history of such scholarship, the state of it today and some of his thoughts for the future.

I haven’t been able to locate a contributor list, but it’s suggested that there are “big names” and “those newer to the field” who collectively bring “nearly two centuries of hands-on pagan research experience between them”. Which sounds kind of impressive.