Pagan Community Notes: Max G. Beauvoir, the Parliament, Save the Deer, T. Thorn Coyle and More

Vodoun Priest and Supreme head Max G. Beauvoir died Saturday at the age of 79. Born in 1936, Beauvoir studied chemistry in both the U.S. and France, and eventually pursued a successful career as a biochemist. He worked at Cornell Medical Center, Tufts University as well as other private research institutions. According to a Washington Post article, Beauvoir was not initially interested in religion at all. However, he was called back to his home and to Vodou by his dying grandfather, who told him in 1973, “You will carry on the tradition.” He couldn’t refuse.

Beauvoir left his research and commercial career to become “the public face of Haitian Vodou.” In 1974, he founded Le Péristyle de Mariani, his first temple. Over the next few decades, he continued to lead, build community, and speak out publicly in support of his tradition. Beauvoir helped to establish a number of organizations, including the National Confederation of Haitian Vodou. In 2006, Beauvoir was named the Supreme Chief or “L’Ati Nationale.”

According to AP, Beauvoir died after a long illness, no other details are publicly known. In a tweet, Haiti’s president Michel Martelly has said, “Mes sympathies à la famille et aux proches de l’Ati national Max Beauvoir … Une grande perte pour le pays.” [Translation: “My sympathies to the family and those close to the National Ati Max Beauvoir … A great loss for the country.”]  Beauvoir’s supporters and followers have taken to social media to share their stories and express their grief. What is remembered, lives!

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In other world news, the Parliament of the World Religions (PWR) is now only one month away. People from all over the globe will be descending on Salt Lake City for potentially once-in-a-lifetime experience. The Wild Hunt will be there along with many other Pagan and Heathen organizations. In addition, we are preparing a pre-Parliament article that will highlight the Pagan, Heathen and Polytheist representation over that October weekend.

To do that, we’ve been talking with EarthSpirit’s co-founder Andras Corban-Arthen, who serves on PWR’s Council and is considered one of the “voices of the movement.” In our discussions, he recently informed us that the Council will be welcoming a brand new chair at the upcoming Salt Lake event. Professor Robert Sellers, a Baptist Minister from Texas, has been elected to the position.

Corban-Arthen said, “I have to admit that when Rob first joined our Board of Trustees some years ago, I wondered how well a Baptist professor of theology from the heart of Texas would fit in an organization as liberal, and as open to religious diversity, as the Parliament of the World’s Religions. But Rob turned out to be one of the nicest, most open-hearted and open-minded people I’ve met in a long time … He’s precisely the kind of leader the Parliament needs at this juncture: someone who is a big thinker, a careful and respectful listener, and a great team builder … I think our religious communities and traditions, as well as other minority religions, will find a good friend in Rob Sellers. I very much look forward to continue working with him in his new capacity as our Chair.”

Also recently announced, Jane Goodall will be addressing the attendees as the keynote speaker. According to a press release, Goodall will be speaking on two main topics: War, Violence & Hate Speech and Climate Change.

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To update a local story that we covered in August, Druid Cindy McGinley is still fighting the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation. As we previously reported, McGinley has been caring for two deer, Deirdre and Lily, who cannot be re-released into the wild. McGinley is a registered wildlife rehabilitator and typically rescues animals with the intent of re-introducing to their natural habitat. However, after caring for Deidre and Lily, she determined that these does would not survive in the wild. The DEC is attempting to force her to either release or kill the pair of deer.

In an update, McGinley said, “I think oral argument went well for us, but the judge did not render his decision today. He wants time to consider. The DEC, for their part, is trying to paint me as a criminal who willfully broke the law and so am ‘unfit’ to have a LCPEE.” She said that local media has been at her door, asking for interviews and looks at the deer. She remains hopeful, but the campaign continues. The Save Deirdre and Lily Facebook page offers ways to help the cause.

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T. Thorn Coyle [Courtesy Photo]

Over the weekend, there was another big announcement from blogging world. T. Thorn Coyle is preparing to return to writing. Over the years, Coyle and her inspirational words developed quite a following. Then, in March, she announced that she would be taking a leave of absence to focus her energy on other work.

On Friday, Coyle published a post reading, “I’m ready to come back to this blog, but in a different way. My five year plan is to continue ramping way back on public teaching and hopefully shift toward making a living writing.” To help launch her career, Coyle has set up a Patreon account, on which supporters can help fund her writing. She has already reached the first goal of funding one essay and one short story per month.

Coyle noted in the announcement, “The leave has been good for me, allowing me to continue studying fiction and planning out two novel series. I’m also slowly working on a long-form essay.” Her first set of works will be published on her blog in October.

In Other News

• The new Druid College UK will host its grand opening on Oct. 3-4 in a “a lovely retreat house venue in Essex.” According to the announcement, Joanna van der Hoeven said, “Druid College is dedicated to Earth-centred spirituality, to the integrity of our natural home, and to the crafting of sacred relationship. Twinned with its American sister college, the three-year programme begins with the basics of Druidry and moves on to crafting the wild soul, establishing a deep connection to the rhythms of life around us, finding out how we can be of service to the land, the ancestors and the gods …” There are only a few spots left in the first year program.
• Taylor Ellwood’s Pop Culture Magic 2.0 has been released and is available through publisher Immanion Press. The book is the follow-up to his first book Pop Culture Magic that explores the intersections between magical practice, pop culture and religion. In a blog post, Ellwood wrote, “You’ll also learn how pop culture is becoming the mythology of our time and how older mythologies are showing up in contemporary culture.”
• The Maetreum of Cybele was recently interviewed on Radio Survivor about their new station (WLPB) and the upcoming Grassroots Radio Conference. As we previously reported, the Maetreum of Cybele has just launched a low-power, local FM radio station in its small hamlet of Palenville, New York. In addition, the organization is playing host to the Grassroots Radio Conference, which is a national conference of community based, low power FM radio station owners and operators and staff. You can listen to the interview here:

• Gods & Radicals is going to print. The popular blog is taking its work into paper form. The announcement said, “twice-yearly print collection of smart, dream-soaked words collected against the horror of Capitalism and toward the beauty of the world thereafter.” To initially fund the project, editors launched a GoFundMe campaign and, in only 6 days, raised 3x their goal amount. The journal is due out around Samhain.
• For those interested in “Hillfolks’ Hoodoo” and Appalachian folk magic, writer and teacher Byron Ballard has finished her long awaited second-book in that series. Titled Asfidity and Mad-Stones, the new book will continue the conversation on the unique magical experience originating from the southern Appalachian region. It is a conversation that Ballard began in her first book Staubs and Ditchwater. To keep readers updated on its progress, she has launched a facebook page and is currently taking pre-orders. Asfidity and Mad-Stones is due out in October.

That’s it for now. Have a nice day!

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