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

The Richmond Times Dispatch in Virginia reports on CaribFest, and speaks with Haiti’s ambassador to the U.S. about Vodou/Voodoo.

“Raymond A. Joseph, Haiti’s ambassador to the U.S., was quite conversant on the subject of voodoo. ‘When people think of voodoo, they think about the pins and the dolls. . . . That is sorcery and witchcraft,’ Joseph said. In reality, he said, ‘voodoo is a religion, like any other.’”

In a fortunate piece of kismet, the public radio program Speaking of Faith aired its “Living Vodou” episode this week, which features an interview with Vodou scholar and practitioner Patrick Bellegarde-Smith.

Tropaion reports that the National Archaeological Museum of Athens, in partnership with the Onassis Cultural Foundation in New York, will be presenting an exhibition in December that may be of great interest to modern Pagans.

“Worship, Women’s Ritual and Reality in Classical Athens, is the forthcoming exhibition by the National Museum and the Onassis Cultural Foundation in New York for the following year … The exhibition will hold 158 artifacts from the National Museum, Acropolis, Kerameikou, Thebes and others including with 29 artifacts from the British, Metropolitan, Louvre, Vatican, Berlin and other foreign Museums. The exhibition is going to be divided in four main categories / themes: goddesses, priestesses, women and ritual, festivities and women on the circle of life. The visitor will be initially introduce with the Athena Parthenou, Artemis of Brauron, Demeter and Persephone who are presented with artifacts of their temples. Then, there are the mythical priestesses like Theano, who retain the key to further discover the practical aspect of worship (sacrifices, libations and choes). The exhibition ends with the section of the cycle of life (birth, adulthood, marriage and death), which run all stages of life in relation to religion and a woman.”

You can read more from this Greek paper. A formal press release hasn’t been issued, but once it is, I’ll provide a link.

Speaking of exhibitions in New York, the Museum of Biblical Art in Manhattan is currently hosting a traveling exhibit of 106 Albrecht Dürer prints. The famous German painter and print-maker, while devoting much of his work to Christian themes, also explored Greco-Roman myth, and did several witch-themed works. Reflecting the the growing concern (and eventual panic) that would engulf his homeland.

Excerpt from “The Four Witches” 1497

The Washington Post does a profile on the Hex signs of the Pennsylvania Dutch, and interviews Don Yoder, co-author of “Hex Signs: Pennsylvania Dutch Barn Symbols & Their Meaning”, artist Eric Claypoole, and Patrick J. Donmoyer, a student at Kutztown University who studies hex paintings.

“Some of the symbols, he said, date to Norse, and even pagan, art. And it is no coincidence that the hub of hex sign activity is in Pennsylvania rather than, say, New York or New Jersey. “There was freedom of religion in Pennsylvania,” he said. “People were afraid of so many things. Even ‘witches’ were protected here.” The argument that hex signs couldn’t have mystical meanings because they’re so public and out there for the world to see is misleading, Donmoyer said.”

Pennsylvania Dutch “Pow-Wow” folk practice and magic has gained popularity among some modern Pagans (to varying degrees of authenticity and success). So a thoughtful exploration of one aspect of this culture is welcome.

Druid leader King Arthur Pendragon’s protest at Stonehenge has entered its second month.

“Demonstrating on behalf of the Council of British Druid Orders, King Arthur Pendragon has vowed to remain at the site, living in his caravan, until the historic site is opened fully to the public … Pendragon, 54, has been camping close to the World Heritage Site since the Summer Solstice on June 21 and is hoping his protests will encourage the Government to remove the fences around the monument, build a tunnel under the A303 and grass over the A344.”

It is unclear if Pendragon’s protest, or the ongoing public consultation, will produce much needed changes in time for the 2012 Olympics.

In a final note, it looks fairly certain that Natalie Portman will be starring in a remake of Dario Argento’s occult-horror masterpiece “Suspiria” (featuring an evil coven of witches).

“Handsome Charlie Films, which is headed by Natalie Portman (pictured inside) and Annette Savitch, will be producing the remake of Dario Argento’s Suspiria. In addition, word has it Portman will topline the film that David Gordon Green is attached to direct. Green’s PINEAPPLE EXPRESS hits theaters tomorrow.”

Another addition to the large pile of horrid horror remakes (think “The Wicker Man”), or new classic for a new generation? I suppose only time will tell.

That is all I have for now, have a great day!

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

British Druid chief Arthur Pendragon is running for a seat in parliament as an independent candidate. Pendragon’s platform is one focused almost solely on the issue of Stonehenge.

“A Druid chief has announced his intention to stand in the next general election to fight what he describes as the “disgusting neglect” of Stonehenge. King Arthur Pendragon, titular head and chosen chief of the largest independent Druid order in Britain, will stand as an independent candidate in the Salisbury constituency and take on the mainstream political parties. He is campaigning for the construction of the E510 million A303 Stonehenge road tunnel, which, he says, is the only way to protect the ancient monument and was backed up by a lengthy public inquiry in 2004.”

Pendragon has run for a seat in parliament four times previously, there isn’t any polling data so I can’t make any predictions if the fifth time will be the charm.

A group of North Carolina Pagans are getting “barbarous” in defense of a magnolia tree that is scheduled to be cut down by developers.

“Reaction to the potential loss of a single magnolia tree has left developer Stewart Coleman baffled. “It’s one tree,” he said Monday after hearing a group of Wiccans plan to cast spells to save it. “More than 40 trees – including six flowering cherries – have been destroyed for the park construction.” … But Wiccan priestess Dixie Deerman of Coven Oldenwilde in Asheville says the line has to be drawn somewhere, and this is it. Deerman, also known as Lady Passion, has invited Pagans, Wiccans and others to encircle the tree Friday evening and chant spells to protect it, “and Barbarous Words of Power to thwart the developer.” Wicca, also known as Paganism, is a faith that worships nature.”

The developer has offered to have the tree moved to a different location, though the shock of moving the tree may kill it, and questions the logic of Lady Passion in her spirited defense of this magnolia tree.

“Coleman said he doesn’t understand why people are so upset when developments outside downtown are destroying many more trees. ‘If I were to develop 40 homes … say, on a ridge top, how many trees would have to come down?’ he said ‘And you would need to build roads and water lines. It would be a lot worse.’”

But I guess you can never tell what your radicalizing moment will be, for Lady Passion it is the cutting down of that single tree. One hopes this is only the tentative start for a more involved life of environmental activism.

A British mother who is serving a life sentence for smothering her infant son is bringing litigation against the prison for not allowing her a ritual drum.

“I am a Shamanic pagan. I do not believe in violence. I have respect for all life and individuality. This prison, like many others, has an unwritten policy of pagan persecution. I have been refused and denied possession of religious items. I have faced hostility and disregard over my religious practices and festivals, and I have encountered bullying from inmates and staff due to my faith. I am not abusive to staff or inmates. So why should there be so many difficulties facing me? Either some members of staff see me as a threat because of my perceived intelligence, or they see me as a threat because they do not understand the way I choose to live my life.”

Leaving aside the bitter irony of a mother who killed her son (for refusing to breastfeed) saying she “respects” all life, prison officials don’t seem too keen to give her a drum, claiming that prison is a place of correction not recreation. So I guess we’ll soon see where the line in the UK regarding access to religious items will be drawn.

SperoNews, a Catholic-run news agency, reports on the persistence of paganism in Armenia and attempts to hint at dire political consequences if such behavior continues.

“At Garni, pagan priests placed sacrificial knives in fire, as well as rose petals in earthenware jugs of water, before reading aloud from the Ukhtagir, a collection of pre-Christian folk stories and legends immortalizing Armenia’s pagan gods written by Slak Kakosian, the founder of the Pagan Covenant, one of Armenia’s main pagan organizations. Founded in 1990, the group now claims it has over 1,000 members. In the group’s events, nationalism and paganism mingle equally. “We are pagans,” said 43-year-old Zohrab Petrosian, Kakosian’s successor. “We are Armenians, but we don’t know our true religion. Simply lighting a candle in a church or wearing a cross around our necks does not make us Christian. I’ve been a member of this organization for 10 years, but as an Armenian I’ve been pagan since the day I was born.” At the Garni Vardavar observances, one of the highest-profile attendees was Armen Avetisian, leader of the ultra-nationalist Union of Armenian Aryans, who received a three-year suspended sentence in 2005 for inciting racial hatred against Jews.”

You see, if any racists show up to your gatherings, then this must be the beginnings of a new fascism! But participants in the rituals don’t quite see it that way.

“Armenian pagans tend to dismiss the concern, though. Many at the Garni observances said politics wasn’t a factor for them … The hordes of children drenching pedestrians and motorists with water usually overshadow any such quests for meaning on Vardavar. Even so, Armenia’s pagans might take comfort in the fact that torrential rains unexpectedly hit Armenia at the festival’s end on July 15. As the rain poured down in the days that followed, one can only wonder if Astghik wasn’t listening, after all.”

No doubt Spero will keep looking for proto-fascists everywhere except in the mirror.

That is all I have for now, have a good day!