The Museum of Witchcraft, located in Boscastle, Cornwall, will be undergoing major renovations over the next two months. These changes will include a complete overhaul of the shop and entrance way. Director Simon Costin said the first two galleries will also be “radically altered to allow for new material.” Part of the gallery expansion will be the installation of old Victorian cabinets donated by the Museum of Zoology in Cambridge.
In addition to those renovations, the Museum will also have a new temporary exhibition space. Costin said that the first exhibition will display the “illustrations made by Jos. E. Smith for Erica Jong’s book Witches from 1980.” The museum is currently closed to the public and will reopen on March 28.
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ACTION, the newsletter for the Alternative Regions Educational Network, has just published a nearly all-Polytheist issue. Editor Christopher Blackwell had been working toward the goal of featuring Polytheists for some time. Finding interviewees is difficult, as he will tell anyone. However, finding interviewees all within a specific religion or practice is even tougher.
The results of his efforts are published in ACTION’s Imbolc 2015 edition. All but one of the interviewees are practicing Polytheists. Those interviewed include Anomalous Thracian, Conor Davis, Niki Whiting, Rhyd Wildermuth, Khi Armand and Karen Tate. Blackwell enjoyed putting together this edition and believes that the interviews, particularly Thracian’s, provide a great introduction to the “hard polytheist view point.” The newsletter will be available on Aren’s website today.
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Musician and Artist Sharon Knight announced a new project, which will include an album, an art book and a music video. The project is titled “Portals.” On her site, Knight wrote, “For as long as I can remember, I have yearned to be part of a thriving artists’ community, one that lifts each other up and shines a light on each another’s talents. With the Portals project, we plan to do just that.”
Knight, Winter and friends will record the new album as they travel around the country on tour. Describing the project, Knight said it will have a carnival feel filled with “mystery, magic and the unexplained.” Some of the musicians and artists already on board are SJ Tucker, Betsy Tinney, Caith Threefires, Valerie Herron, Morpheus Ravenna and more. The project’s fundraising campaign will be kicked off on Feb. 13 at the PantheaCon conference held in San Jose, California.
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James Stovall, an active member of the Michigan Pagan community, was recently elected to the board of directors for the Jackson County Conservation District (JCCD). The JCCD is a locally-controlled state agency that serves as a “gateway” for local conservation issues, offering consultation and advice. Although he ran unopposed, the journey to winning the election was not without its work.
Stovall said, “I ran for the board seat not only because I could then be involved in setting policy for local environmental issues, but to help represent the minority voice. My wife and I own The Wandering Owl, the only metaphysical store in our area, and we are quite open about our spiritual beliefs. I have always felt it is important to be the type of person that others outside our subculture could relate to. We build friendships and support that way, because we become the people they know from scout meetings, board memberships, local business, or civic groups, and not something to fear.”
In other news:
- The Aquarian Tabernacle Church announced Thursday that Janet Farrar has invited its members to help with ritual facilitation at Michigan Pagan Fest. Farrar, together with Gavin Bone, are the headliners for this year’s festival, which will be held in Belleville, Michigan from June 26-28.
- Grey Mare Books, an independent publishing imprint in the U.K., is looking for submissions for a new devotional anthology titled “The Grey Mare on the Hill.” The project was inspired by the work of the Brython group, which has published a number of writings on its blog including “liturgical material, ritual practices and modern myths.” In addition to using that work, the publishers are looking to include other writing focused on the “Horse Goddesses of Sovereignty and of the Land.” Submission information is on the website.
- Lithunania’s Pagan culture was featured on the Travel Channel’s show “Booze Traveler.” While visiting the country, host Jack Maxwell got a taste of these local religious traditions. The show’s website explains, “Lithuania proves that 50 years of oppression didn’t change the ways of the people. Jack gets an inside look at the world of paganism, its rituals and its love for mead.” Commenting on the experience, Maxwell himself said that Paganism was not what he expected, adding “It’s just people celebrating the earth and what’s natural.”
- Circle Sanctuary‘s popular podcasts are changing direction. Rev. Selena Fox will begin a new weekly podcast called “Nature Magic,” which will air every Tuesday night at 7pm CST on Pagans Tonight Radio Network. “Circle Talk” has now moved to 8pm.
- Finally, a fire has destroyed the Institute of Scientific Information on Social Sciences in Moscow. This particular research library, established in 1918, is one of Russia’s largest and one of the world’s greatest resources for historical and scientific documents. The loss is now being likened to the Chernobyl disaster. For Russian Pagans, especially those who adhere to Slavic-based practices, the loss is of particular concern, because the Institute held a significant number of ancient Slavic texts. We spoke with our Pagan contacts in Russia, who informed us that nobody really knows at this point how extensive the damage is and which texts have been destroyed. We will continue to follow that story for updates.
That is it for now. Have a great day!
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Some followup on the missing Manannán statue: Still missing, but support and coverage continues. The story was picked up by the New York Times, and continues to be covered in Ireland.
Thanks again for your coverage, it has really helped. We’ve also made a video about the theft, the effect on our communities, and suggestions for workings to bring the statue home. Like our midsummer video, we include traditional songs for Manannán, and poetry for calling him. Video: http://youtu.be/3lSm23YBt00
This fire in Moscow saddens me. It reminds me of course of the loss of the library of Alexandria but also, in more modern times, of the Copenhagen fire of 1728 where countless Medieval Icelandic Manuscripts were forever lost. I hope that the damage is as limited as possible.