Top Story: Hey, it happens to the best of us sometimes. Apparently around 300 Pagan revelers showed up to Stonehenge for the Winter Solstice a day early, under the mistaken assumption that the date is fixed on the calendar.

“A crowd of around 300 people, wearing traditional costume, met at the mystical stone circle on Monday morning to mark the rising of the sun on the shortest day of the year. But unfortunately their calculations were slightly out meaning they had in fact arrived 24 hours prematurely … A spokesman for English Heritage said: ‘About 300 people turned up a day early on Monday morning. We took pity on them and opened the stone circle so they could celebrate anyway. They were a day early but no doubt had a wonderful time as well.’”

While this has inspired some snark, it also provides a helpful reminder that the solstices (and equinoxes) are moving targets, and that you should always check before inviting 300 of your closest friends to frolic at the stones.

In Other News: Mistakenly early-bird Pagans weren’t the only bit of Pagan-oriented solstice coverage going on, the South Yorkshire Star interviews 82-year-old Wiccan Elder Patricia Crowther (one of, if not the, last living High Priestesses initiated directly by Gerald Gardner) for the holiday and finds her remarkably well-preserved.

“Patricia’s appearance – a full head of thick curls, barely wrinkled skin, and a razor-sharp mind – belies her years. “On my natal chart the moon is in Gemini, which is the sign of youth and the young-at-heart, and I know that has something to do with it,” she says. Her home is filled with unusual ornaments, most of which represent figures from mythology or the Goddess herself. There are also dozens of pictures of Patricia as a glamorous young woman. One particularly striking image is that of Patricia sitting naked on a stool for her initiation. “That’s what you have to do when you’re initiated – you go as you were born into life,” she explains. “There’s nothing dirty about it.” As with any qualification, becoming a High Priestess takes time and training.”

Crowther has a new book, “Covensense”, that was released this year. According to one review it contains some “narrow convictions” that will please some BTWs, and frustrate some of the more eclectic Wiccans out there. Personally, I think it’s wonderful that she’s still writing books, no matter how opinionated they might be.

Turning from Solstice-related stories for a moment, I want to quickly highlight two interviews with Pagan-friendly band Faith and the Muse, who’s latest Shinto-inspired album, “Ankoku Butoh”, was a top pick in my year-end best-of list. First Liz Ohanesian of the LA Weekly chats with them about the new album, then gets them to pick their favorite supernatural J-Horror films.

“Japan has one of the oldest traditions of ghost tales, even as far back as 1776, scholar and artist Toriyama Sekien attempted to categorize them in his illustrated series of collections of ghosts and spirits. But their origins can be found even earlier, and coincide with oral tales of Nature spirits – these are actually classic Goddess tales, found not only in Japanese Shinto belief, but in Celtic, Nordic and even Native American mythology – all the same foundation of the consequences that await when one messes with Nature. J-Horror has its very own Nature Mother, with snow-white skin and unbelievably long black hair, the vengeful spirit of the Woman Wronged.”

It’s an interesting-sounding round-up of films, especially for those who thought J-Horror began and ended with “Ringu”. For more Faith & The Muse goodness, and to order a copy of “Ankoku Butoh”, check out their official web site.

The Philadelphia Daily News has a cautionary tale about getting into arguments over religion. It seems that after two men had an argument over whose tradition of Santeria was better, one decided to end the argument permanently with a sawed-off shotgun.

“Hernandez, of Camac Street, North Philadelphia, shot Luis Freire, 55, because they had argued over whose version of the Afro-Caribbean religion Santeria was better, according to the statement, which the prosecution presented as evidence. “Unfortunately, in this day and age, it’s a sad commentary that killings happen over disputes ranging from heated arguments about religion to minor disputes over someone looking at someone the wrong way,” said Assistant District Attorney Brian M. Zarallo.”

Needless to say, Christian Hernandez’s strain of Santeria, whatever it was, won’t be well-served by having a convicted murderer in its ranks. It certainly makes the Internet flame-wars and rampant snark within the Pagan community seem sedate by comparison.

In a final note, the Suwanee, Georgia, school board is wrestling with how to handle public invocations after two substitute teachers, both Wiccans, asked for fair and equal treatment. This led to rumors that invocations would be eliminated entirely, an aim that was denied by the couple.

“Locals John and Rene Checkett addressed board members Tuesday and noted it was in no way their “aim or goal to remove prayer from our school system.” A story in last Friday’s Democrat quoted Rene Checkett to that effect, after rumors to the contrary drew a standing-room only crowd to a scheduled Dec. 15 board meeting. That meeting was canceled due to lack of public notice. The issue, Rene Checkett explained, was fair treatment for those with minority religious views. The couple, both Wiccans, met with Supt. Jerry Scarborough and board chair Jerry Taylor behind closed doors Friday to make their case for fair and equal treatment, particularly in regard to district policies. Both Checketts are substitute teachers. Taylor addressed a full crowd at the 6 p.m. meeting and made clear the district’s intent to handle the matter. “As a school district we need to adopt a policy that deals with religious activities in our school system that adheres to the rights of everyone based on the law of the land, which protects everyone,” Taylor said.”

The school board is going to be unveiling a new policy on public invocations in January, and it should be interesting to see how they address the concerns of religious minorities without causing an uproar with the local Christians.

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

I have a few news stories I wanted to share before tomorrow’s Winter Solstice, starting with a look at the annual pilgrimage for Saint Lazarus in Cuba, that not only draws devout Catholics, but devout adherents to Santeria as well.

“Several thousand people walked to the church during the morning clutching bunches of mauve gladioli, pink bougainvillea and fat cigars to leave as offerings to the saint, who also symbolizes the deity Babalu-Aye in the Afro-Cuban Santeria faith. Experts explain this fusion of Santeria and Christian figures by saying that African slaves in Cuba originally pretended to worship the Catholic saints of their Spanish masters while secretly paying homage to their own deities.”

The Reuters article notes that religious expression, particularly Catholic religious expression, has become more pronounced in Cuba since the Pope John Paul II’s visit in the late 1990s. However, despite this relatively recent religious openness, Cuba is still rated as the least religiously free country in the Americas by a recent study of global restrictions on religion released by the Pew Forum. Santeria was initially suppressed by the Communist government, though those restrictions have lapsed over the decades, especially now that the faith draws in tourists interested in witnessing rites, or receiving initiations.

Over at the Washington Post/Newsweek’s On Faith religious blogging brain-trust, Starhawk weighs in on whether action regarding global warming is a moral imperative.

“Responding to climate change is the moral imperative of our time, and people of spirit and faith can play a vital role in helping us make this crucial transition. God, Goddess, Allah, Jehovah, Buddha, Krishna and the Great Spirit know that the politicians aren’t doing it! Watching the manipulations, stalling and deceptions going on in Copenhagen is enough to make us wonder if the Goddess really knew what she was up to in involving human beings–or if she simply didn’t finish the job … we need real commitments. What if every church, synagogue, mosque, temple, and Pagan grove committed to reduce their carbon footprint by the 90 percent that we truly need to reach by 2050? What if they started study groups and chevras and support groups to help people learn the skills and fund the projects and make the changes together?”

In addition to calling for stronger leadership on this issue within religious communities, Starhawk will also be attending the upcoming Gaza Freedom March along with 1300 other activists and notables, including Alice Walker and Roger Waters. You’ll be hearing more about her participation in this event soon. It should be interesting to see what ramifications, if any, her 2008 deportation from Israel will have.

In Australia, the Sydney Morning Herald conducted a Nielsen poll concerning religious belief, and found that 6% followed “obscure faiths” like Wicca, while 22% of the total population believe in the existence of witches.

“Committed Christians are even more likely to believe in witches (35 per cent). This may surprise many, but not Pastor Daniel Nalliah of Catch the Fire Ministries, who in October this year organised a prayer offensive on Mount Ainslie after the discovery, it seems, of an altar for black masses. It was, said Nalliah, “the work of dark forces wanting to cast spells on Australia and Federal Parliament [which Mount Ainslie overlooks] – witches have been at work to tear down the fabric of the robust democratic system of Australia through spells”. The offensive appears to have worked.”

The manner in which the survey and the results were conducted and reported didn’t please some local Pagans, who didn’t like being lumped in with UFO-believers, Jedi, and other “obscure” religions. That the 22% who believed in witches weren’t superstitious, just “informed”.

“…the 22 per cent who said they believed in witches are not necessarily superstitious but just informed. In the last Australian census more than 22,000 people admitted to following a pagan religion, many of them Wiccan or witches. To put this in perspective, this is more people than the Australian followers of the Jains, Ba’hai and Sikh religions combined. At the recent World Parliament of Religions hosted in Melbourne, witches and other pagans had their own educational stream just like the Christians and Buddhists. As for the 78 per cent who don’t believe in witches . . . I don’t believe in you either.”

That’s all I have for now, have a happy Solstice tomorrow. If you are looking for some Pagan-friendly holiday music, why not check out my just-posted A Darker Shade of Pagan 2009 Winter Holiday Music Special. It’s sure to put you in a proper Winter-feasting, welcoming-the-light-back sort of mood.

While I generally keep my music podcast A Darker Shade of Pagan from getting entangled in the daily workings of The Wild Hunt, every once in awhile I like to alert my readership of some great Pagan and Pagan-friendly music that I come across. Since I just posted my ADSOP top ten of 2009 show, I thought I would share what I thought were some of the best albums that speak to the Pagan soul from the past year. Consider it a gift-giving guide to the Pagan in your life dissatisfied by what usually passes for “Pagan music”.

ADSOP’s Top Ten Albums of 2009

10. Soriah with Ashkelon Sain – “Atlan” [Purchase: CD, MP3]

What do you get when you mix a shamanisitic throat-singer with the mystic sound-scapes of former Trance to the Sun guitarist Ashkelon Sain? You get an intense and world-bending album of darkly meditative compositions that explores an Aztec worldview (the album is sung in Nahuatl).  Many albums promise to bring you on a ritualistic journey, but few bring the goods. “Atlan” does, but be warned, this isn’t some breezy guided meditation, but an intense full-immersion into Soriah’s explorations into his own ethnicity and heritage. Harsh yet gentle, at times both hypnotic and jarring, this is a unique album. One that wonderfully inhabits a sound  that is both dark and “pagan” in scope. Well worth checking out.

09. The Hare and the Moon – “The Hare and the Moon” [Purchase: CD]

I like to go on and on about The Wicker Man soundtrack, it’s one of the touchstones for A Darker Shade of Pagan, a way to explain the aesthetic and mood I often try to evoke. Many bands have taken inspiration from this film, but few make me take notice, or use that as a jumping-off point into even stranger and darker places. The Hare and the Moon is one of those bands. An unsigned UK band, they utilize traditional folk songs, but marry them to spooky soundscapes, almost militaristic drumming, odd and esoteric sound samples, and understated female vocals. The result is a wyrd marriage that references Coil almost as much as it does The Wicker Man. Why these folks haven’t been scooped up by a proper record label yet baffles me. Get clued in now so you can say you knew them when.

08. Various Artists – “Leaves of Life” [Purchase: CD, MP3]

Some of my favorite artists from 2008, like Fern Knight and Silver Summit, didn’t release new albums this year, but thanks to the folks from the band Arborea we have this benefit compilation to tide us over till 2010. Featuring tracks from the aforementioned bands, along with other ADSOP-friendly artists like Mariee Sioux, Marissa Nadler, and Alela Diane (among others). It not only serves as a nice overview of the current Indie-folk scene, but it also supports a great cause, as proceeds from the sales of Leaves of Life will go towards the World Food Program. So you not only get an album of great music, but you also get to see your dollars going to charity, a sure win-win! Oh, and the music is top-notch as well.

07. Eluveitie – “Evocation I: The Arcane Dimension” [Purchase: CD, MP3]

I’m not the biggest fan of metal, but the burgeoning genre of Pagan folk-metal has been slowly growing on me. The best of the pack this year, so far as my tastes are concerned, has to be the Swiss band Eluveitie’s  “Evocation I: The Arcane Dimension”. Picture if Faun or Omnia started out as metal-heads and you get an idea of the sound (which they call “Celtic Helvetian pagan metal and folkmusic”). Dual female vocals mixed with gruff metal-guy vocals that places a bit more emphasis on the “folk” than on the “metal” for this record. Oh, and the Pagan side of things? Pretty darn solid, as you can see from the lead singer dressed as Cernunnos  on the cover. If, like me, you are curious about folk-metal, but don’t know where to start, this album may be a great place.  Why not start with watching the video for their first single “Omnos”.

06. Lisa Hammer – “Dakini” [Purchase: CD, MP3]

There is a lot I could say about Lisa Hammer’s (from the band Mors Syphilitica)  wonderful new solo album “Dakini”, but perhaps the following quote from the artist really says it all. “The intention behind this cd was to create music for ritual, meditation and sex. Ideally, all 3 at once. It was designed to carry the listener away from the manifest world and into a deeper space. The Indian ragas correspond with times of the day, so the CD represents a condensed 24 hours, which is perfect for ritual, or any emotional and spiritual trip. The medieval songs are matched with Indian ragas and tribal drums, Appalachian folk music, Middle-Eastern drones and opera to bring the four directions together, North South East and West. It’s a cultural and spiritual mix, all blending together in one CD. Each of the songs has its own meditational/trance-inducing quality, regardless of its origin.” I honestly don’t know what I could add to that, other than to say she’s right, and the album is excellent work.

05. The Moon & The Nightspirit – “Osforras” [Purchase: CD]

I’ve been following the Hungarian Pagan band The Moon & The Nightspirit since their first album, and they just seem to go from strength to strength. After the musical quantum leap of their last album  “Rego Rejtem” (which means “I conjure magic” in Hungarian) Agnes Toth and Mihaly Szabo’s fruitful exploration of their homeland’s music and folklore continues to deepen and mature with this release. This is no place-holder, but an expansion of a strong and ever-confident musical voice. This is one of the most talented openly Pagan bands operating today, and they deserve a much wider audience among Pagan music lovers. I can’t wait to see what they do with their next album.

04. Bat For Lashes – “Two Suns” [Purchase: CD, MP3]

I doubt I’ll have to work hard to convince you that Bat For Lashes (the musical outlet of singer-songwriter Natasha Khan) is worth checking out. Her album “Two Suns” was shortlisted for this year’s Mercury Prize, and she appeared on David Letterman, garnering her plenty of mainstream attention. She’ll no doubt be on plenty of year-end lists of popular taste-makers everywhere. So let’s talk instead of how Khan mixes indie-rock, New Age tropes, Kate Bush-isms, and drum-machines to craft a meditation on how we live in two worlds at once, the spiritual and the material, and how that conflict creates the tension necessary for great art. It is, as Khan puts it, “the philosophy of the self and duality, examining the need for both chaos and balance, for both love and pain, in addition to touching on metaphysical ideas concerning the connections between all existence.”

03. Faith & The Muse – “Ankoku Butoh” [Purchase: CD]

After 2007’s excellent “InfraWarrior”, Monica Richards first solo outing, which explored themes of eco-spirituality, female empowerment, and myth, I wondered where her main project, the darkwave band Faith & The Muse would go. The answer it seems is “East”, and “Ankoku Butoh” is an immersion in Shinto, drums, and a “sonic atavisms for the warrior within”. This is a powerful and driving record that displays a band reinvigorated and at their creative peak. My only lament is that this came out so late in the year (October 31st) so I haven’t had the time to live with and explore it as I’d like. But still, this is a quality album, and should rightly be in the collection of any goth-Pagan fan worth their salt. Oh, and the album isn’t just an album, but a CD-DVD-Book set that is a work of art in itself.

02. Unto Ashes – “The Blood of My Lady” [Purchase: CD, MP3]

It could have been a disaster. Two long-standing members of Unto Ashes left the band, and songwriter-singer Michael Laird was left pretty much on his own to decide if the project was going to continue. Isolated, he went on to craft what may be the project’s strongest outing in years. Drawing deeply on strains of Neofolk and dark ambient, “The Blood of My Lady” is a darkly meditative work that careens from hushed ballads to stomping militarism and back again. Alone, Laird  has pursued the ultimate work, union with the goddess, she who is “everywhere and nowhere”, an album of “thirteen spells conjured for The Lady”. If you listen closely, you can sense that She has heard his call.

01. Fever Ray – “Fever Ray” [Purchase: CD, MP3]

To call this solo project by Karin Dreijer Andersson (one half of the amazing Swedish electronic music duo The Knife) “dark”, or “mythic” makes it sound too small. Just another musician dabbling with sound-scapes and Jungian tropes. It would be better to say this is a primal heartbeat from our inner core. A place where we lose the ability to quantify a thing or expression and instead we fumble along with made-up terms like “synth-druid” or “tribal electro weirdness” to express how synthesizer-created music can touch places usually reserved for drummed fire-trances or high-ritual. Fever Ray is Karin, and Karin is inhabiting the mythic core of humanity on this album. It is holy, pedestrian, lonely, loving,  and dark. The darkness of sadness and loss, but also the dark of potentiality, of the coming birth. This my favorite “pagan” album of 2009, though I doubt she would classify herself so, such labels lose meaning when you travel deep enough.

You can download my latest podcast, featuring songs from all these albums, here. I hope you’ll explore these releases, and perhaps find some new music to love. As always, apologies to all the other artists who released great albums this year, I only have room for ten.

Just a few quick items of note for this Wednesday morning.

The Augusta, Georgia alternative weekly Metro Spirit starts off October with the almost obligatory spotlight on local Pagans. The result is a fairly solid run-down of the history of Wicca, with interviews from Michelle Boshears (aka Dawnwalker), who coordinates Circle-sponsored ritual groups on military bases, and the Thelemic Wicca-practicing couple of Jezibell Anat and Joseph Zuchowski.

“Paganism is not a religion,” said Joseph Zuchowski, a Wiccan high priest who resides in Augusta. “Paganism is a blanket term given to a whole series of religions that are mostly Reconstructionist, in the sense that we reconstruct as best we can within the contemporary framework of the world we’re living in the beliefs of our pre-Christian ancestors.”

In a separate piece, Metro Spirit features a comparison of three religious magazines, and the author decides she likes “Witches & Pagans” the best, saying she “didn’t find much to guide me spiritually, but at least now I have more respect for that magazine”. The other two magazines? EnlightenNext (too much Ken Wilber) and Purpose Driven Connection (too Dr. Phil-ly).

Guardian music-blogger Nell Frizzell notices that there’s a whole lot of pagan imagery within pop music lately.

“Triangles? Check. Candles? Check. Stars? Check. Orbs? Check. Flowers? Check. Flowing locks? Check. Forests? Check. That’s more checks than a gingham tablecloth. The last time there were album covers like that, Steeleye Span were still in the top 40. What in the name of faery queen is going on? From Clinic to Little Boots, Florence and the Machine to Pendulum, Bat for Lashes to Wild Beasts, Paganism, it seems, is back.”

While Frizzell stretches her net rather wide in order to include a many “hot” acts as possible, I do agree with the central thesis, that pagan imagery, themes, and sympathies haven’t been this prevalent within music (both popular and underground) since the 1970s. Nor is the Guardian the only one to notice, NPR is discussing the occult significance of Jay-Z’s lyrics and clothing, The Quietus recently interviewed Gary “I was once in Blondie” Lachman about his occult history, the New Yorker profiles the massive (and metaphysical) sound of Sunn O))), and “Pagan rock” gets a brief mention in an article about the possible harmful side-effects of music. Of course if you want to keep track of some of the best Pagan and Pagan-themed music out there, you know where to turn.

It looks like some Christians liked (or hated) Isaac Bonewits’ “Spells for Democracy” so much they decided to steal appropriate the idea for themselves.

Liberty Counsel (a Christian advocacy group) has begun a “prayer in action” initiative it calls “Adopt a Liberal.” It is hoping to change the minds of political leaders it sees as “misguided”. The initiative calls on participants to pick one of the eleven liberals on Liberty Counsel’s list, or to choose some other liberal leader, and then: “Pray earnestly and intensely for them! Pray that the Lord would move upon them and cause them to be the kind of leaders who will encourage others to lead “a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence.” We encourage you to seek the Lord’s guidance on how to pray for your liberal(s), always allowing Him to temper your prayer with His love and mercy….”

You can see the chosen “liberals” (which includes two Republicans) they are urging Christians to pray for, here. Short of the theological loophole of asking “The Lord” to do the work for you, this pretty much the same sort of magic they damn the Pagans for. What a funny world. I suppose it’s better than the anti-Obama death prayers that some of ultra-right Christian groups have been engaging in.

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

British music site The Quietus (which is quite good btw) has decided to forego its usual tips for attending the massive Glastonbury Festival, and has instead sought the advice of Druid leader Emma Restall Orr. The author of “Living With Honour: A Pagan Ethics” gives sensible advice about not minding the rain, avoiding greasy junk-food, and finding time for a little serenity.

“Factor in some good chill out time, sometime during the day or night. Find quiet to relax alone, even just for ten minutes: find some peace … Visit the stone circle. Walk it a few times, feel its calm and how it sits deeply rooted in the landscape … Don’t make a mess or abandon your rubbish, and thank the spirit of the land when you leave.”

That’s all well and good, but surely they’d want some Pagan suggestions on which acts to check out, right? Since anyone who’s going is probably already there, this is pure armchair quarterbacking, but I’d definitely check out Bat For Lashes, Fleet Foxes, Fairport Convention, The Horrors, Bon Iver, and Tunng. Artists who have all been played on my A Darker Shade of Pagan podcast at some time or another. Also, from a purely personal standpoint (outside a Pagan purview), I wouldn’t want to miss Echo and The Bunnymen or Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds either.

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

We start off with two film-related tidbits that might interest my readers. First, Warner Bros. is moving forward with a big-budget production of the Odyssey directed by Jonathan “Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning” Liebesman and scripted by Ann “The Chronciles of Narnia” Peacock.

“Warner Bros. has nabbed Ann Peacock’s spec “Odysseus” and set Jonathan Liebesman to direct. Story centers on the Greek lit hero and king of Ithaca who returns to his island after 20 years of fighting the Trojan Wars only to find his kingdom under the brutal occupation of an invading force. Gianni Nunnari (“300”) is producing through his Warners-based Hollywood Gang shingle. Craig Flores exec produces.”

The Warners-backed Hollywood Gang is also producing the Theseus-starring “War of Gods” (and an as-yet untitled sequel to “300″), making ancient Greek legend a hot topic in 2010. Meanwhile, the remake of “Clash of the Titans” (starring Perseus), which is racing “War of Gods” to the theatres, has started filming and you can see some set photos, here. I predicted in the wake of “300″ that we’d see more “sword and sandal” flicks set in a Greco-Roman context, and it looks like the flood has arrived.

Since we’re talking about film and fantasy, you might want to check out a fascinating round of panel discussions by SF Signal that asks about gods and pantheons in fantasy literature.

“In a created fantasy world, gods can proliferate by the hundreds. When building religious systems for fantasies, what are the advantages/disadvantages of inventing pantheons vs. single gods, or having no religious component at all?”

Check out some of the really thoughtful and insightful ruminations on the subject from fantasy luminaries like Marie Brennan, Elizabeth Bear, L.E. Modesitt Jr., and John C. Wright (among others).

Speaking of panelists, Starhawk speaks out against torture at the On Faith site and references the repeated tasering of a Pagan Cluster member and the Burning Times in the process.

“Torture, like a virus, also has a way of spreading. When torture is licensed at the highest levels, it percolates down to every police department and branch of Homeland Security. We may have a black president now, but a black man in this country who is arrested still stands a high chance of being brutalized and beaten. At the protests last summer outside the Republican National Convention, a dear friend of mine was attacked by police at a legal and peaceful rally, thrown to the ground and tasered multiple times. Another young friend was beaten in jail, then marched hooded and shackled through the hospital where he was finally taken for treatment. These are small examples, but they show how a culture of torture, force and bullying takes root and eventually threatens the freedom and safety of us all.”

I’ll ignore the Burning Times references and instead agree that ultimately no good can come from a policy of torture. Most of Starhawk’s fellow panellists seem to agree (except for Chuck Colson). I wonder what they think about the Pew Forum’s recent study linking torture acceptance with increased church attendance.

While I’m on the subject of Pew research, another recent study finds that nearly half of Americans have changed faiths in their lifetime.

“Americans change religious affiliation early and often. In total, about half of American adults have changed religious affiliation at least once during their lives. Most people who change their religion leave their childhood faith before age 24, and many of those who change religion do so more than once. These are among the key findings of a new survey conducted by the Pew Research Center’s Forum on Religion & Public Life. The survey documents the fluidity of religious affiliation in the U.S. and describes in detail the patterns and reasons for change.”

Sadly this data doesn’t go into how many people leave Catholic and Protestant Christianity for “other” religions, but it still gives and interesting snapshot of how fluid religious affiliation in America truly is.

In a final note, the dreaded H1N1 (the virus formerly known as “Swine Flu”) briefly cast its spectre over famed Pagan goth-rock band Inkubus Sukkubus who were in Mexico City for a concert.

“Tony and Candia McKormack went to Mexico City last week to play a gig to promote their band’s new album — which is ironically about the Mexican Day of the Dead. Authorities cancelled the event after the swine flu outbreak and Tony, 48, and Candia, 42, flew back to England on Monday. They began feeling unwell after arriving at Heathrow and have now been ordered to remain inside their home in Kingsholm, Gloucs, along with their two children Leon, 11 and Carmen, four.”

Luckily it turned out to not be H1N1 and everyone is fine. The band’s new album “Viva La Muerte” is shipping now, and all planned gigs are going forward. For more Pagan-related music news, check out the Twitter feed for my A Darker Shade of Pagan podcast.

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

I’ll be on the road today and unable to effectively blog, so in the meantime why not check out the latest episode of my podcast A Darker Shade of Pagan, and take a peek at the recent blog posts by fellow Pagan bloggers Chas Clifton, Gus diZerega, and the ever-vigilant Wren Walker of Wren’s Nest (you should also feel free to share links to articles, podcasts, and blog posts that you felt were particularly inspiring or thought-provoking this week in the comments). Cheers!

Word has been buzzing around the Internet that popular Pagan musician SJ Tucker (aka Sooj, aka “skinny white chick”) has been hospitalized with what appears to be appendicitis. Like many independent musicians and artists, she doesn’t have any health insurance and is facing a massive medical bill of $25,000 dollars or more. Friends, fans, and loved ones are now rallying to raise money through donations, charity auctions, and special sales of Tucker’s work.

SJ Tucker

I know that some of you have already heard about SJ’s recent emergency and hospital stay. It looks likely that it may actually be appendicitis, although the doctors want to confirm this with another CT scan before they do any surgery. We -do- know that the hospital bills are going to be significant, since this first trip to the hospital involved two emergency rooms, four doctors, a 45 minute ambulance transfer between the two hospitals, a CT scan AND an X-ray, multiple IV antibiotics, nearly daily bloodwork tests, and five and a half nights in the hospital … Please help us raise money to pay for these medical bills. Buy CDs. Spread the word. Share links and diggs and do all that interweb magic. What we need is 1000 people with $25. Do you have $25? Do you know someone who does? If you can’t give us money, please tell people who might.

I think it is safe to say that some of the things close to my heart  are Pagan music, and the awful state of health care in America. Living in fear of getting sick or having an accident is stressful, and when it happens, devastating. While we wait for our politicians to reform medicine in America, we have to do our best to take care of our own. I know for a fact that I have way more than a thousand readers, and while many of us have been hard-hit by the recent economic troubles, surely a percentage of us can spare a few bucks? Let’s unleash The Wild Hunt here, and help out in this effort. Make a donation, or purchase a CD (I bought a digital download of her album “Blessings”), and when you do, tell them you came from here.

ADDENDUM: Over $14,000 dollars was raised in the first week! Congratualations to SJ Tucker’s supporters on this amazing start, and thanks to all my readers who went out of their way to give to this cause, you helped make this happen.

While I generally keep my music podcast A Darker Shade of Pagan from getting entangled in the daily workings of The Wild Hunt, every once in awhile I like to alert my readership of some great Pagan and Pagan-friendly music that I come across. Since I just posted my ADSOP top ten of 2008 show, I thought I would share what I thought were some of the best albums that speak to the Pagan soul from the past year. Consider it a gift-giving guide to the Pagan in your life dissatisfied by what usually passes for “Pagan music”.

ADSOP’s Top Ten Albums of 2008

10. sToa – “Silmand” [Purchase]

Veteran neoclassical darkwave band sToa returns after a seven-year hiatus stronger than ever. New lead singer Mandy Bernhardt ably fills the shoes of her predecessors, while the album as a whole is enriched from contributions by Louisa John-Krol and Love is Colder Than Death vocalist Ralf Jehnert. This is a beautiful autumnal disc that displays a mature and complex melancholy. Perfect for fans of bands like Ataraxia, Amber Asylum, and Dead Can Dance.

09. Arcana – “Raspail” [Purchase]

Arcana, lead by Swedish songwriter and musician Peter Bjargo, continue to evolve from their starker darkwave past and into territories mapped out by the legendary Dead Can Dance. While the DCD comparisons are inevitable on this disc, the final product is something altogether colder and grimmer than the emotive pessimism of Brendan Perry (or the transcendent glossolalia of Lisa Gerrard) . Whether he’s singing about alienation or environmental destruction, Bjargo brings an almost stoic resolve to present the world as it is, rather than how we wish it would be.

08. Various – “Perfect As Cats” [Purchase]

While tribute albums are often a dime a dozen, this tribute to The Cure, with proceeds benefiting the “invisible children” of Uganda, shines thanks to a unique and diverse lineup of talent. Indeed the mixture of goth/darkwave, psych-folk, and experimental artists seemed almost custom-tailored for a show like A Darker Shade of Pagan. Worth the admission price for stellar efforts from Bat For Lashes, Silver Summit, Ex Reverie, and Mariee Sioux alone.

07. Trobar de Morte – “Legends of Blood and Light” [Purchase]

For those sad that 2008 didn’t see any new material from European Pagan folk bands like Omnia or Faun, perhaps Trobar de Morte, a band that exists in a “world of dreams” where “fairies exist”, and where “the witches dance around the bonfire and share their desires with the night and the stars”, can fill the gap. This is music for the otherworld, complete with songs about sorceresses, and a rousing ode to the goddess Morrigan.

06. Mirabilis – “Sub Rosa” [Purchase]

Few groups can match the intertwined heavenly vocals of Summer Bowman and Dru Allen. I’ve been a fan of Mirabilis since their 2004 debut Pleiades, and Sub Rosa doesn’t fail to deliver another excellent set of songs that expertly meld classical, medieval, and electronic elements. Only Mirabilis can work from sources as diverse as middle-age chants, Beatles’ tunes, and jazz-age standards and have them all sound as if they were written specifically for the album. Throw in some strong originals, and you have an entrancing example of transcendent vocal mastery.

05. Ex Reverie – “The Door Into Summer” [Purchase]

Gillian Chadwick’s Ex Reverie provides the kind of music I always imagined the glory days of 1970s folk-rock would have sounded like, a heretical fusion of psychedelic (sometimes bordering on early heavy metal) rock riffs with complex folk ballads from “ye olde countryside”. A deeply esoteric record, The Door Into Summer is almost shamanistic in orientation, complete with songs about sea goddesses and natural forces. A natural fit in-between your Fairport Convention and Led Zeppelin albums.

04. Sigur Ros – “Med sud i eyrum vid spilum endalaust” [Purchase]

I’m not sure I can add anything to the mountains of praise that Iceland’s Sigur Ros have garnered over the years. Needless to say, their latest album is another strong collection of orchestral post-rock that have caused endless critics to come up with different ways to say “otherworldly”. Med sud i eyrum vid spilum endalaust sees them breaking out of their mold a bit with some tracks that come close to being downright poppy, and, for the first time ever, a song sung in English (“All Alright”).

03. Fern Knight – “Fern Knight” [Purchase]

A mix of folk, prog, and classical elements that serves as “an ode to all things green and living”, and showcases the amazing songwriting abilities of Margaret Wienk. This self-titled album, like its predecessor Music For Witches and Alchemists, contains songs that are darkly magical in construction and explore subject matter close to the Pagan soul. It’s pastoral and romantic, but unafraid to face the harshness of reality. An album I have returned to many times without it running out of new things to say to me.

02. Silver Summit – “Silver Summit” [Purchase]

A heady mix of psychedelic folk and mysticism, Silver Summit’s debut album is an ode to what lays beyond. The album plays like an initiatory journey to the otherworld, from the opening chimes of Music In the Afterlife, to the breathy chant-like In-Between Place (appropriately placed near the the middle of the album) to somber and spooky closer The Bridge. You are left feeling changed and deeper entwined in mystery than before you started. It is little wonder that other reviewers are describing Silver Summit as “bewitched”, “a collision of heaven and earth, fire and water”, or for “sonic voyagers seeking to ascend to the next level.”

01. Sharron Kraus – “The Fox’s Wedding” [Purchase]

Fans of pastoral British folk are in for a treat. Sharron Kraus, who has been generating buzz for some time now among fans of darkly-inflected folk music, delivers a masterwork that is both mythic and deeply personal. There isn’t a weak track to be found here, all the songs seem to lead you towards an ever-shifting seasonal journey that reminds you how deeply personal turning the wheel can truly be. That sacrifice and rebirth are simultaneously inside and outside of us. For fans of The Wicker Man soundtrack, surely, but also for those wondering who is envisioning the future of folk music. Wonderful.

You can download my latest podcast, featuring songs from all these albums, here. I hope you’ll explore these releases, and perhaps find some new music to love. As always, apologies to all the other artists who released great albums this year, I only have room for ten.

It has been awhile since I discussed music here, so I thought I would provide some capsule reviews of recently released music that sings to the Pagan soul (or at least my Pagan soul). All of these artists can be heard on my weekly A Darker Shade of Pagan podcast, and are easily obtainable through mail-order or digital download.

Falling You – “Faith”

John Zorko and his rotating band of “magicians” have created yet another magnificent collection of haunting ethereal soundscapes enhanced by masterful female vocals. This album, like previous Falling You efforts, explores a common theme as expressed through a variety of guest vocalists including Suzanne Perry, Amanda Kramer, and Dru Allen (among others). While “Faith” and Falling You’s previous albums may engender admiration from the New Age music scene, don’t let that fool you. These compositions are dynamic, engaging, and deeply moving. You can purchase a digital copy of “Faith” from Magnatune for a sliding scale charge of $5-$18 dollars. Physical copies will be available later this month through a variety of online distributors (CD Baby, Amazon).

Incus – “Fire and Bone”

While Incus has always evoked the word “tribal” when discussing the band’s sound, it hardly seems adequate in discussing the festival-touring juggernaut (including stops at Starwood and the Pagan Spirit Festival) this ever-evolving group of individuals, lead by singer and composer Jason Cohen, has become. As a result, “Fire and Bone”, unlike their previous release “Burning Thread”, seems to carry the aspirations of a group trying to capture the magic of its hard-won live energy. At times this is successful, like on the energetic opening cut “Claudia Always Eyes”, or the slow burn into Russian folk-jam of “Weight (Wait)”. However, elsewhere, this album strikes me as transitional, with some missteps keeping the album from eliciting an unreserved endorsement. “Fire and Bone” is a snapshot of an evolving band that hasn’t quite captured its lightning in a bottle. This album hasn’t been released yet, though you should be able to order it from CD Baby soon.

Sharron Kraus – “The Fox’s Wedding”

Fans of pastoral British folk are in for a treat. Sharron Kraus, who has been generating buzz for some time now among fans of darkly-inflected folk music, delivers a masterwork that is both mythic and deeply personal. There isn’t a weak track to be found here, all the songs seem to lead you towards an ever-shifting seasonal journey that reminds you how deeply personal turning the wheel can truly be. That sacrifice and rebirth are simultaneously inside and outside of us. For fans of “The Wicker Man” soundtrack, surely, but also for those wondering who is envisioning the future of folk music. Wonderful. You can buy a digitial version of “The Fox’s Wedding” at Amazon, or order a physical copy from Jnana Records (or Amazon).

Silver Summit – “Silver Summit”

A heady mix of psychedelic folk and mysticism, Silver Summit’s debut album is an ode to what lays beyond. The album plays like an initiatory journey to the otherworld, from the opening chimes of “Music In the Afterlife”, to the breathy chant-like “In-Between Place” (appropriately placed near the the middle of the album) to somber and spooky closer “The Bridge”. You are left feeling changed and deeper entwined in mystery than before you started. It is little wonder that other reviewers are describing Silver Summit as “bewitched”, “a collision of heaven and earth, fire and water”, or for “sonic voyagers seeking to ascend to the next level.” You can buy a digital copy of “Silver Summit” from Amazon, or you can order a physical copy through Drag City/Language of Stone.

Other picks:
Fern Knight – “Fern Knight” – A mix of folk, prog, and classical elements that serves as “an ode to all things green and living”, and showcases the amazing songwriting abilities of Margaret Wienk. [Purchase]

Lux Interna – [a lantern carried in blood and skin] – A retrospective collection of haunting neo-folk that explores a Gnostic band finding the “inner light” in a world of illusions. [Purchase]

Pamela Wyn Shannon – “Courting Autumn”: A psych/pastoral-folk exploration of the waning year that highlights a shining musical talent. [Purchase]