Hail & welcome to my blog!

For those of you reading this that have never met me, I’m Jay and I’m a Pagan community organizer in Philadelphia. I’ve been on the board of Philadelphia Pagan Pride since 2016 and am proud to have served as President & Local Coordinator of the organization since 2018. I also am one of the founders and co-hosts of Witches Betwixt, a queer occult podcast. I sell myself to a corporation for 40 hours a week and in my copious amounts of spare time (ha!) I do *gestures vaguely* all of this other stuff.

I started my journey into the world of Paganism, magic & Wicca when I was in middle school/high school. I remained Wiccan all throughout college and a few years after. Once I got involved with Philadelphia Pagan Pride, I began to identify less as a Wiccan and more as a witch and a Pagan.

What I began to realize is that I was simultaneously searching for religion and magic.

(In my writing, I often decide at a whim to spell it as magick or magic. Both are valid to me and I’m not married to either spelling.)

For a long time, I viewed magic and religion as the same thing, but what I’ve learned in my experience is that they are similar, but not identical. 

Religion is what I was still searching for up until about two years ago when I started to explore Urglaawe. Something that had a framework and worldview without the baggage of dogma. Something that was close to me and not a reconstructed version of an ancient European Pagan practice. Something that would help my magickal practice grow and evolve. I didn’t want limitations. I wanted avenues for experimentation and exploration. But I also wanted a pantheon that wasn’t constructed from a wide variety of cultures and faith systems. I wanted something cohesive.

I’m of Irish, Scottish, Welsh, and German descent; but all I’ve ever known is this land on the North American continent. This is the only culture I know. This is the land I’m connected to. I longed for a spiritual community centered around the spirit of this land without culturally appropriating indigenous traditions.

Urglaawe is exactly this.

Urglaawe is a heathen tradition centered around the culture and traditions of the Pennsylvania Dutch people. It is not a reconstructed faith but a modern and evolving form of heathenry. Also, for me in particular, born and raised in Philadelphia and growing up adjacent to the Amish & Mennonite cultures just a few hours outside the city, everything feels comfortable and familiar with Urglaawe. It really feels like I’ve fit the last piece of the puzzle together regarding my spirituality. I found it. I’m here. I don’t have to search anymore. Now it’s time to explore.

And that’s what this blog is, an exploration and record of living my life within this spiritual paradigm. 

To start, I’m going to commit to posting here on a monthly basis. I’ve got a lot going on and I’m neurodivergent as fuck so I feel like that’s a fair goal to give myself.

This blog also exists on Tumblr and Substack, should you prefer to follow on either one of those platforms. 

Thank you for reading and I’ll see you in the next post.

Macht’s immer besser!

(If you’re interested in learning more about Urglaawe, there’s a book! E-book & Audiobook versions are also available.)