Betty Sue Flowers, poet, mythology expert, Jungian, and consultant for “Joseph Campbell and the Power of Myth”, is making headlines in Texas as she steps down from her position as director of the Lyndon Baines Johnson Library and Museum to start a new life with her current partner, former Senator Bill Bradley.

“Sometime in July, Flowers — award-winning teacher of English and religion, expert in mythology, past director of Plan II, confidante of PBS journalist Bill Moyers, consultant to NASA and corporations around the world, author of three poetry volumes — will move away from her home in West Lake Hills to commence a personal and romantic adventure with Bill Bradley in New York City.”

In honour of her leaving, the Austin American-Statesman has reprinted a profile of Flowers from 2002, shortly after she was named as the new director of the LBJ Library. In it, Flowers recalls how the goddesses of ancient myth, specifically Demeter and Aphrodite, helped spur her forward into becoming a powerful woman, and sparked a lifelong love of myth.

“Sometime before the sixth grade, the Bookworm of Abilene happened upon the beauty of mythology. To her delight, Flowers discovered that the women in Greek myth were star players in moral drama. While not always virtuous, the Greek goddesses were spunky and brazen. They wielded power. They were the focus of stories. “The Greek myths were the only stories I could find, in fact, that involved powerful women,” says Flowers. “These goddesses: They throw their weight around! Demeter blasts the world! Zeus has to beg her to stop!” Flowers was so enthralled by the Greek myths that she carried a personal copy of Edith Hamilton’s “Mythology” back and forth to school with her throughout the sixth grade. But since this was West Texas, circa 1958, shy Betty Sue Marable covered her book of myths with aluminum foil — concealing the cover illustration of the naked Perseus, sword in hand, hoisting up the head of the slain Medusa.”

I encourage reading the entire profile, for while Flowers is no Pagan in the formal sense of the term, she lives a life that sings with the virtues of the ancient world. A powerful personal example that refutes the idea of Christianity or moral chaos. An individual who embodies some of the best qualities of the emerging post-Christian cultural reality.

An interesting business article about fortune-telling in Will County, Illinois (that would be around Joliet for those unfamiliar with Illinois) caught my eye today. It seems the Will County Board have decided that all new businesses offering any sort of psychic service, from astrology to “magic mediunship”, can only open in a commercial district.

“If you want to get paid to read fortunes in Will County, you’ll have to open up shop in a commercial district. Before a zoning ordinance mandating that was approved by the County Board last week, those who dealt in the occult could pretty much do it anywhere. But the change came as the county decided to go over its long list of ordinances — some of which were outdated because they were enacted when the county was mostly rural and didn’t take into account such “new age” businesses as tattoo parlors, body piercing studios, dog watchers and, yes, fortunetellers.”

To avoid an uproar, the board allowed pre-existing businesses (about 11 or so) to be grandfathered in. Still, this places a significant hardship on a rather transient industry that is often based in the home of the practitioner. It would be little wonder that in these tough times, and with psychic and spiritual services seemingly weathering the storm well, more and more folks trained in tarot or astrology would decide to supplement their income. Indeed, David Dubois, Will County Land Use Department supervisor says that increased interest in people (legally) opening these businesses is what prompted the change.

“The change in law regarding fortunetellers and tarot readers began after several people had inquired about opening such businesses, said David Dubois, Will County Land Use Department supervisor.”

The County Board no doubt thinks this will discourage “blight” in residential areas (by restricting not only fortunetelling but many other potentially home-based businesses) while boosting revenue in commercial districts, but I think they’ll be somewhat disappointed. Having to rent a separate space for a business that can often see rather sporadic revenue is often a non-starter for most (honest) psychic or fortune-telling individuals. What I predict will happen (using no psychic powers I might add) is that many of these would-be fortunetellers (not to mention the dog-walkers and tattoo/piercing artists) will simply go underground. Working quietly for cash, and denying the County tax and licensing revenue they could have reaped from a less restrictive measure. The whole issue strikes me as somewhat discriminatory against folks who largely come from and service low-income areas (how many tattoo parlors or tarot-readers are going to open up shop in a McMansion). A disappointing measure, that in these times could be disastrous for families living on the edge of solvency. Yet another entry into the quiet war against psychics and seers.

Just thought I’d take a quick moment to do some shameless self-promotion, specifically, the fact that I’ll be presenting at the 2009 Samhain Florida Pagan Gathering! Also scheduled to appear will be Janet Farrar & Gavin Bone, Donald Michael Kraig, and musical guests Coyote Run. The event runs from November 5-9th (the theme being “Hail the Honored Dead”), and has gotten positive reviews from former presenters  Thorn Coyle and Chas Clifton.

Here are the talks/discussions I’ll be giving:

Emerging Trends and the Pagan Movement: Reflections and predictions from reading and reporting the Pagan news.

As the Pagan movement grows and enters the mainstream, what can we expect in the coming years? Jason Pitzl-Waters, author of The Wild Hunt blog, will share some thoughts on emerging trends and possible outcomes gleaned from reading, investigating, and reporting the Pagan news on a daily basis for the last five years. Topics explored during the talk will include the ongoing growth in Pagan numbers, how the coverage and treatment of Santeria and other minority faiths will affect our rights, and moving into a post-Christian society.

Pagans and The New Media: How blogging, podcasting, twitter, and other technologies are changing the way we do things.

Modern Paganism once relied on handwritten personal correspondence and small newsletters to connect like-minded souls. Now, in an age of instant information and social networking, blogs, podcasts, and services like Facebook and Twitter have come to dominate how many of us communicate. What are the advantages and disadvantages of these new technologies? How will new media affect book and magazine publishing in the Pagan world? How can we utilize these advances in a way that benefits us? Join us as we explore these and other issues. (Depending on who else is at event, this might make this a panel discussion.)

A Darker Shade of Pagan: A brief (alternate) history of Pagan and occult music.

Many of you know the common circle chants, or have heard of well-regarded Pagan musicians like Gwydion Pennderwen, Isaac Bonewits, and Selena Fox, but did you know there was a parallel development of Pagan and occult music gestating deep in the musical underground? Join us on a trip through the “darker shade of Pagan” as we explore a variety of artists from the Industrial music pioneers of the late seventies to the psych-folk resurgence of today. Plus, we’ll also spend some time on some common ancestors linking these two worlds together.

If you’re in the area, or wanting an excuse to go to Florida for a Pagan festival, I hope I’ll see you there. This will be my very first proper festival experience, as well as my first time out doing talks of this sort, so wish me luck! I’ll be adding a little side-bar on the blog to remind everyone of this appearance (and if all goes well, future appearances as well).

I’m out on the road today, but I did want to share a few news items of interest. First off, the Chicago-based web publication Gapers Block features a review of a recent Pagan unity ritual and appearance by Oberon Zell-Ravenheart. While starting off pretty snarky, the journalist is ultimately taken in by the experience.

“People are circling the candlelit altar, clapping and stomping and screaming with abandon. Suddenly, the chant drops out, giving way to a wordless, pulsating hum. It’s a totally spontaneous, genuinely moving moment, and it sends shivers down my spine. I forget, for a moment, all about wizards and unicorns, forget that I mostly came here looking for a cheap laugh; the simple joy of being in a room full of people, singing and dancing and feeling at one, is more magic than I could have hoped for, and if this is the sort of spell that Oberon Zell-Ravenheart is capable of casting, then perhaps his claims to wizardry are not as far-fetched as I’d believed.”

You have to wonder how many skeptical journalists have been won over by better-than-expected rituals over the years. If you want to see the ritual in question, it’s up on Youtube.

Meanwhile, in New Jersey, Lisa Rose of the Star-Ledger explores if the economic downturn has been good for  New Age and Pagan belief systems and businesses.

“Like Reynolds, who is a Wiccan, a growing number of Jerseyans are exploring alternate routes to their spiritualilty — rather than joining a church, synagogue or mosque — to cope with the economic tailspin. While she’s been studying the stars and worshiping the earth for decades, there are plenty of novices shopping for inner wisdom at New Age stores and botanicas. “People are looking for something,” says Kim Sandak, owner of Whispers of Enlightenment, a New Age store in Hewitt. She reports healthy sales since she opened in October.”

Apparently “green”, “healthy”, and other counter-cultural businesses are also weathering the current downturn well. Whether this perceived trend continues, or even really exists outside individual cases, remains to be seen.

In a final note, we have an update on the controversial case of a Canadian mother and Odinist who had her child taken away after she was sent to school with a swastika and “white supremacist symbols” drawn on her arm.

“On Tuesday, another social worker testified the girl said she was missing school because her mom and stepfather didn’t wake her up on time. She told the social worker that her stepfather made the rules in the house, that he was angry and would get drunk, and that he didn’t make meals, or change her brother’s diaper often enough. The girl, now eight years old, went to school with white supremacist symbols drawn on her skin in March 2008. Her teacher scrubbed them off in the afternoon, but the girl showed up again the next day with another one, along with other white supremacist symbols drawn on her body. CFS caseworkers were alerted and went to the family’s apartment, where they found neo-Nazi symbols and flags, and took custody of the couple’s two-year-old son. CFS officials picked up the daughter at her school. The children have been in foster care since then.”

The stepfather is filing a constitutional challenge, while the mother is hoping to tell “her side of the story” and says that the social workers are lying about her and her daughter. You can read my original coverage of this issue, here.

That’s all I have for right now, have a great day!

Despite the many theological and political problems I have with Roman Catholicism, I do carry a soft spot for the faith. I was baptised a Catholic, and many of my family members and loved ones are still active church-goers. Plus, I’ve always been fascinated with their rich history of saints, and the unflinching social justice work of people like Dorothy Day.  Best of all, they have their very own active and thriving goddess tradition (at least that is what we Pagans would call it) in the form of Mary, mother of Jesus. Over the years I’ve kept my eye on the quiet movement to see Mary (officially) elevated to Co-Redemptrix (and Mediatrix), giving her a nearly (but not quite) equal role in the redemption of humanity. Now Pope Benedict XVI seems to be giving hints that he might be ready to make her status as Co-Redemptrix an official dogma.

The Assumption of the Virgin by Rubens.

“When Pope Benedict XVI told a crowd in St. Peter’s Square in April that the Virgin Mary “silently followed her son Jesus to Calvary, taking part with great suffering in his sacrifice, thus cooperating in the mystery of redemption and becoming mother of all believers,” most listeners probably heard nothing remarkable in the statement. After all, devotion to Mary is a pervasive element of the Catholic faith, and one of the features that most clearly distinguishes it from Protestantism. Yet for one group of devotees, Benedict’s statement was a milestone — a sign that he had moved one step closer to granting their wish for a new dogma on Mary’s contribution to human salvation. At least 7 million Catholics from more than 170 countries, including hundreds of bishops and cardinals, have reportedly signed petitions urging the pope to proclaim Mary “the Spiritual Mother of All Humanity, the coredemptrix with Jesus the redeemer, mediatrix of all graces with Jesus the one mediator, and advocate with Jesus Christ on behalf of the human race.” In other words, the Virgin Mary — though always subordinate to and dependent on the will of Christ — plays an active, unique and irreplaceable role in helping her son deliver mankind from sin and death.”

The article mentions that many believe John Paul II wanted to make Mary Co-Redemptrix during his Papacy but was advised not to in order to not trouble the waters of Christian ecumenicism. However, some proponents of Mary as Co-Redemptrix say it would ultimately help ecumenical efforts because it would prove they don’t see Mary as part of the Holy Trinity.

“This would bring new clarity that Catholics do not adore Mary as a goddess,” Miravalle said. “It would underscore what Catholics do believe — that she is your spiritual mother — but at the same time that she is not the fourth person of the Blessed Trinity.”

While Benedict has criticized the idea of Mary as Co-Redemptrix in the past, he could be changing his tune in order to continue his efforts to unite and strengthen the Catholic Church. After all, Marians are often the staunchest, and in many cases, the most conservative, of Catholics and Benedict hasn’t seemed to mind courting controversy in reaching out to them. Besides, the fringe Protestant groups who demonize Catholics for worshipping the “Queen of Heaven”, and take credit for killing prominent Catholics with their prayers, aren’t going to stop simply because Benedict holds off on making Mary Co-Redemptrix. Why not officially acknowledge that which many rank-and-file already believe?

It remains to be seen if Benedict is truly sending out a “dog whistle” to Marians that he is with them, or if it is merely wishful thinking on the part of the Co-Redemptrix supporters. Certainly those of us who are interested in how non-Pagan religions engage with the divine feminine (whether they officially acknowledge her as that or not) will be keeping an eye out.

Now that Obama announced U.S. Appeals Court Judge Sonia Sotomayor as his pick to replace Justice David Souter on the Supreme Court of the United States, you can bet that partisan groups on the left and right will be preparing for a high-profile fight. The SCOTUS Blog doesn’t see any major problems (barring an unforeseen ethics issue) in Sotomayor getting on the bench of our nation’s highest court (Slate agrees), but the process can be long and grueling. I briefly mentioned Sotomayor earlier this month in reference to a scaremongering article about her, but what chilled the heart of the (presumably Christian) conservative writing the piece, made me hopeful should she be appointed.

In 1994, Judge Sotomayor ruled in favor of two prisoners who claimed to practice Santeria, a Caribbean religion that involves animal sacrifice and voodoo, saying that “distinctions between ‘traditional’ and ‘non-traditional’ religions” are “intolerable.”

Meanwhile, the Institute For Public Affairs has done a quick round-up of her opinions on religious liberty and finds her stances “very encouraging”. They also reference the prisoner free exercise case involving Santeria.

Campos v. Coughlin (1994). In this case, prison inmates asserted a free exercise right to wear multiple strands of beads under their clothes, as part of their practice of the Santeria religion. Judge Sotomayor upheld their claim.

For a more robust listing of Sotomayor’s religion decisions, check out this post from Religion Clause. For an in-depth examination of her entire judicial career, check out the SCOTUS Blog. I’m personally heartened at Sotomayor’s willingness to fight for the rights of religious minorities (especially in prison), I envision that her voice will become vitally important as some key issues involving the rights and freedoms of religious minorities make their way to the Supreme Court.

If one fact refutes the idea that modern Paganism in America is merely some sort of 1960s holdover full of pacifists, rebellious teens, and aging baby-boomers (though we have plenty of all three) it is that so many of our number have been, and are, active members of our military services. There are active military (and military family) Pagan groups from Aberdeen, Washington to Camp Arifjan in Kuwait. There has been a Military Pagan Network since 1992, and they are joined by Circle Sanctuary’s robust military ministries, and a nascent Pagan Veterans group. So today, Memorial Day, isn’t just a day for those Christian soldiers who marched off to war, but for their Pagan brothers and sisters-in-arms who marched with them. It is a day to not only honor our coreligionists who fell in the line of duty, but to continue to work towards seeing that they are properly respected and honored in death, and given the support they need in life.

We here at The Wild Hunt honor those who gave their lives, and salute those who have served and are serving. May your gods and goddesses watch over and protect you. I leave you now with some thoughts from other Pagans on this day.

“The right for Pagans soldiers and veterans to have the pentacle inscribed on their headstones and memorials was one fought for very hard by Pagan communities throughout the country over the course of several years. Instigated by Veterans’ Affairs refusal to grant the late Sgt. Patrick Stewart a pentacle on his grave marker after he was shot down in Afghanistan, his widow, Roberta Stewart, and Circle Sanctuary’s Lady Liberty League spearheaded an anti-discrimination action against the VA. Pagan communities nationwide joined the fight, and this issue was the formative one that brought together the Upper Midwest Pagan Alliance (UMPA) here in the Twin Cities. UMPA organized a a protest action in in February 2007 in a freezing cold blizzard on the St. Paul Capitol steps at the same time other communities held marches and rallies in support  …  It has been a bittersweet victory; celebrating a hard-won right also brings with it the acknowledgment of the growing number of Pagan military folks and the sacrifices that they are making in order for this and other rights to be upheld. UMPA is continuing to send care packages of religious reading and supplies as well as maintaining correspondences with Pagan soldiers who are still fighting in Afghanistan and Iraq.” – Murphy Pizza, Minneapolis Pagan Examiner

“I will be going to the Lafayette war memorial on Monday, because people are still killed in war. We will place a pentacle for Sgt. Jason Schumann, enlisted at 17 and dead at 23, father and husband. We shall also recall Sgt. Joseph Ford, a Pagan member of Nova Roma who died in Iraq last May. Memorial Day, for me, is also a day to remember the 100,000 estimated civilians killed in Iraq since 2003, the more than 2,000 dead in Afghanistan just last year, the close to 5,000 US soldiers dead in Iraq and Afghanistan and the 30,000 wounded, and countless others with psychological and emotional distress.” – T. Thorn Coyle, Peacock Dreams

“In September of last year I posted about the Order of the Pentacle, of which I am a very proud member. This Memorial Day I will have the Honor and Privilege of representing the Order in a ritual in remembrance of our fallen soldiers. This Memorial Day, Monday May 25th the Pagan Alliance and the Order of the Pentacle will assemble at the War Memorial near the Lafayette BART station we will remember our Pagan Brothers and Sisters who who gave their lives in Iraq and Afghanistan. We will dedicate a new Pentacle for Sergeant Jason A. Schumann of Hawley, Minnesota. Sgt. Schumann was killed by an Improvised Explosive Devise in Ad Diwaniyah, Iraq. I myself have survived several trips through Diwaniyah, and will proudly carry his Pentacle.” – Joseph Merlin Nichter, WitchDoctorJoe’s RattleBone

“My monument to the cost of the recent wars will be adorned with flowers and a paper red poppy tomorrow.  And today, I will walk through the beauty of early summer in the Nor’west, thinking of eyes that cannot see it and holding each image in trust for them.  Oh, that we would be wiser and more careful of lives that stand in harm’s way at the order of others!” – Labrys, Walk of the Fallen

Blessings to you this Memorial Day.

If you were going to make a major motion picture that casts the modern Pagan impulse in the worst possible light, you couldn’t do much better than picking Varg Vikernes as the subject. Vikernes, founder of the infamous Norwegian black metal band Burzum, was convicted of the arson of a string of Christian churches (which he described as “revenge” for the desecration of heathen graves), and the murder of guitarist Oystein Aarseth. Vikernes also subscribes to racialist form of Heathenry, and has claimed in the past to be a Nazi. So we’re talking about a figure who personally fulfilled all the hysterical extremist Christian stereotypes about what modern Pagans are. Naturally, this means his story is being made into a movie that will be starring one of the teen heartthrobs from the movie “Twilight”.

Jackson Rathbone and Varg Vikernes

“Jackson Rathbone, the teen heartthrob from “Twilight”, has reportedly agreed to play Varg Vikernes (a.k.a. Count Grishnackh) — the former BURZUM mastermind who is currently serving a Norwegian prison term for the August 1993 murder of MAYHEM guitarist Oystein Aarseth (a.k.a. Euronymous) and setting fire to three churches — in the upcoming movie “Lords Of Chaos”. Based on Michael Moynihan and Didrik Soderlind’s book of the same name, the film depicts true events and revolves around the black metal sub-culture that spawned a wave of murders and church arsons across Norway in the early 1990s. Making his English-language debut with “Lords Of Chaos” will be hot Japanese director Sion Sono.”

The weird confluence of a hot teen-film star, a hugely popular avant-garde Japanese film-maker, and a notoriously influential member of the black metal underground almost guarantee “Lords of Chaos” instant cult status. The open question now is will the film be a critical examinaiton of the black metal scene and Vikernes’ life and mistakes, or will it turn him into a romantic anti-hero? Producer Stuart Pollock of Saltire Entertainment called the yet-to-be-shot film “a fun portrayal of Norway”, which doesn’t exactly reassure me that this will be some sort of arty morality play. As for Varg Vikernes, he’s just been released from prison after 16 years, so he’ll be able to see the film, and if he and the film’s producers are desperate enough for publicicty maybe help promote it as well. “Lords of Chaos” is set for a 2010 release, consider it the anti-“Agora” in terms of depicting paganism in a positive light. Oh, and if you’re looking for some more information on black metal, you might want to check out the book “Lords of Chaos” by Michael Moynihan and Didrik Soderlind. Vikernes calls the book “a pool of mud”, so you can’t get a better endorsement than that.

My semi-regular round-up of articles, essays, and opinions of note for discerning Pagans and Heathens.

Thinking of holding a Pagan conference at a resort on the island of St. Lucia in the Caribbean? You might want to think twice. It seems the mere rumour of a “witchcraft conference” caused a huge controversy.

“The State-owned Radio St. Lucia first alerted listeners about the supposed meeting, when it claimed that witches from around the world were gathering here for the conference that would also involve members of the island’s elite. The radio station said that the conference had created “a media sensation” and that a local pastor, Anderson Cato of the Stream of Power Tabernacle, had condemned the authorities for allowing the gathering. “I think we have to consider what we allow ourselves to be exposed to as a people. There is a God and there are certain things that he is pleased with and others he can’t be pleased with.  In the Bible it is clear that God has spoken against witchcraft, sorcerery, adultery and sin,” Cato said. President of the St. Lucia Hotel and Tourism Association (SLHTA) Anthony Bowen said while he was unaware of such a conference, the “witches” were within their right if they decided to meet in St. Lucia.”

The rumour-mill and finger-pointing caused loads of political strife and angry denials. So if you’re thinking of going to St. Lucia, you might want to tuck in that Pentacle/Hammer/Awen/etc necklace.

Canadian paper The Star lists Wicca, witchcraft, and Sybil Leek as selling-points for visiting the recently created New Forest National Park in Britain.

“It’s common knowledge that the forest is still home to Hedgewitches, women who continue their Wicca practices in a solitary way. Witches’ spells, the best-sellers in the local witchcraft shop, are made by local Hedgewitches. There was a time when Sybil Leek, a past resident of Burley and a well-known “white witch” of the 1950s, incurred the wrath of the locals when she started dressing like the more sinister variety of witch, which made her, uh, unwelcome with the superstitious locals. She moved to America where she had a long and successful career as an occult writer and restaurant owner.”

What, no mention of Dorothy Clutterbuck and the (in)famous New Forest Coven? The British tourism industry should put together a comprehensive “history of modern Witchcraft” tour ASAP.

A woman from Louisiana visits Portland, Oregon and finds that it isn’t so bad. Of special note in her sojourn in “Hippie Land” is an encounter with a Wiccan on a bus.

“…a pagan/Wiccan evangelist on the bus. He started his pitch with “Do you like my rose quartz?” while brandishing a crystal worn around his neck. He then told a young woman on the bus that his quartz held special “mother goddess powers” and asked if she believed in the mother goddess. The answer? A very awkward “kinda.” Can’t really argue with that.”

Wiccans! How exotic! How unlike the South! Well, except for the hundreds of Pagans from Louisiana, not to mention the thousands of Pagans living in the Southern states. In fact, the entire column seems less about Portland, and more about her defensive excuses for not recycling, and how bums in Louisiana know their place.

Should an unsanctioned Santeria ritual in a cemetary get you ten years in prison? A woman in Massachusetts sacrificed a rooster at an old grave and then set it on fire, prompting a call to the police. The Eagle-Tribune lays out exactly what she could face if prosecuted to the full extent of the law.

“Officer Ariel Montas was sent to the scene and after an investigation arrested Portalatina, charging her with malicious damage to property over $250, animal cruelty, willful and malicious killing or poisoning of an animal, willful destruction of a gravestone and setting a fire in the open without the permission of the Fire Department. The malicious damage to property charge carries a penalty of up to five years in state prison, two and a half years in the house of correction, and a fine of not more than three times the value of the damaged property. The charges of animal cruelty, willful and malicious killing of an animal, and willful destruction of a gravestone each carries a penalty of up to five years in prison, two and a half years in the house of correction, and up to $5,000 in fines.”

Sacrifice a rooster, lose years of your life in prison? Yet another reason why we need a sane set of regulations and guidelines for those who want to engage in animal sacrifice.

In a final note, we take a look at the dark side of magic and religion. Authorities in Spain have broken up a Nigerian human trafficking ring that used Vodou to intimidate women in prostitution.

“The traffickers lured their victims with promises of a better life in Europe and took them to a voodoo priest before departure, the police said in a statement. The traffickers then smuggled them to Spain, where they told the victims they had to become prostitutes to repay a hefty debt for their journey or face the wrath of voodoo spirits. Musikilu Mojeed, a journalist for the Nigerian online newspaper 234Next.com who has written about voodoo and human trafficking, said voodoo, known in Nigeria as juju, was a fairly common tool of intimidation used by traffickers. Women were taken to a voodoo shrine and made to swear before a priest that they would never reveal the identities of the traffickers, he said. The priests took pieces of fingernails or hair from the women as part of the ritual.”

A reminder that pre-Christian, alternative, or minority religions are also capable of committing abuse and instilling terror. No faith is immune from human weakness or evil intentions.

That’s all I have for now, have a great day!

The movie “Agora”, which centers on the life of Neoplatonist pagan philosopher Hypatia, had its first official screening at the Cannes Film Festival and initial reviews are trickling in from the entertainment press. While some thought the epic overreached and fell a bit flat, others, like Variety’s Todd McCarthy, thinks the film succeeds with its handling of difficult subjects despite some “dramaturgical” shortcomings.

Director Alejandro Amenábar with Rachel Weisz

“…there is much in the picture to sustain sympathetic interest, including its dedicated historical perspective, intellectual seriousness and credible presentation of epic film elements that have often tripped up filmmakers in the past. Then there is the physical side of the production, which is genuinely impressive. Lensing entirely in Malta, Amenabar has fleshed out real locations with extensive sets and helpful (and largely undetectable) CGI extensions to provide a striking impression of a legendary ancient city. Production designer Guy Hendrix Dyas has mixed traditional Greco-Roman style buildings with Egyptian motifs and various interior decorative influences to palpably evoke a Mediterranean port city where many cultures convened. Gabriella Pescucci’s costumes colorfully support this approach, and Xavi Gimenez’s widescreen lensing captures it all with colorful mobility. Dario Marianelli’s score is rich, with occasional swells into the bombastic.”

Also speaking positively about the film are the Hollywood Reporter’s Natasha Senjanovic, who says that Rachel Weisz gives an “unfaltering” performance as Hypatia, and Patrick Goldstein of the Los Angeles Times who calls the film rich in “visual imagination”. As for the historical accuracy buffs, The Guardian’s Charlotte Higgins calls “Agora” a “gift to classicists”.

“Classicists are going to have a field day with Alejandro Amenábar’s Agora, which premiered yesterday at the Cannes film festival. Starring Rachel Weisz as Hypatia, the 4th- to 5th-century Alexandrian astronomer, philosopher and mathematician, who was brutally killed by an angry Christian mob, it avoids some of the pitfalls of movies set in the ancient world. The characters behave naturally and speak normally, without either jolting archaisms or ridiculous anachronisms, and the world that has been created to stand in for Alexandria – a huge set on Malta – works well, with minimum CGI nastiness and an obvious attention to historical detail. The costumes and the “look” of the characters was based on Romano-Egyptian mummy portraits, said Amenábar at his press conference, and that was deftly done.”

Even better, Higgins assures us that the film manages to “deftly” include the famous tale of Hypatia repelling a suitor by showing him her menstrual rags. Also reassuring to those worried that Hypatia the virgin philosopher would be thrust into romance is this comment by director Alejandro Amenabar when counselling Rachel Weisz in the role.

“Rachel had accepted the part, but then she grew worried about that solitude, so she called me one day to talk,” Amenabar recalls. “I told her, ‘Remember, I’m not offering you the part of the scientist’s wife. You are the scientist. And you are very much in love — you’re just in love with the sky.’ ”

So it looks like “Agora” really will be a treat for Pagan film-goers once it sees wide release in December. Prepare to ramp up your expectations! I can’t wait to see this one on the big screen.