Yesterday, and in less than a week, The Wild Hunt’s Fall Fund Drive met, and then surpassed, its $6000 dollar goal. While I was always confident that this campaign would eventually meet its goal, I had no idea it would do so with such alacrity. I have been overwhelmed by the generosity of my readers, my community, in helping The Wild Hunt go independent once again. To fund a new vision for the site, and Pagan news. So thank you, whether you donated $5, $50, or $500 dollars, you all made this happen. The campaign will stay up through November, and any donation above the $600 goal number will go towards a travel and a materials stipend for our reporters, and perhaps even towards paying additional contributors. So once again, thank you, thank you, thank you. The links lists, Fall Funders list, new underwriting affiliates, and supporter graphics will be going up soon (honestly, I had no idea I would make my goal this fast).
http://www.indiegogo.com/the-wild-hunt-fall-funding
Now that I’ve shared that happy news, let’s have a few news links, shall we?
- You may have seen a wire story about a pagan rock carving in Morocco being destroyed by ultra-orthodox Salafi Muslims. Turns out that the report of the sun-divinity’s image being destroyed may have been greatly exaggerated. Quote: “The Moroccan government has denied that an 8,000-year-old rock engraving depicting the Sun as a divinity has been destroyed in the south of the country in an attack residents had blamed on ultra-orthodox Salafi Muslims. Communications Minister Mustafa el-Khalfi took journalists to the site of the pagan engraving in the Toukbal National Park to demonstrate that reports of its destruction were untrue.” So, I guess the lesson here is “pics or it didn’t happen.”
A not-destroyed petroglyph inToukbal National Park.
- How am I just now hearing about this book? “A History of Spiritualism and the Occult in Salem: The Rise of Witch City” was written by historian Maggi Smith-Dalton, and “delves into Salem’s exotic history, unraveling the beginnings of Spiritualism and the rise of The Witch City.” Certainly seems like a must-read for scholars of Salem, and those wanting to know what laid the groundwork for its Witchy present. We’ll be following up on this book in the future here at The Wild Hunt.
- The Guardian’s film blog points to an interesting essay on the rise of a “new magical realism” in American film, spearheaded by Generation X filmmakers. Quote: “I think there have been signs in recent years that, surrounded by difficulties at home and abroad, America has turned from doing to thinking, and that its imagination is growing heavy to the point of overflowing; the emergence of a film like Southern Wild was only a matter of time.”
- Kateri Tekakwitha, an Algonquin-Mohawk Indian, will be named a Catholic saint on October 21st. The Religion News Service looks at the mixed emotions that prompts among the present day Mohawk people. Quote: “The church has been telling us for years we’re heathens,” [Alicia] Cook said. “The white man has hurt us enough. They intruded on our land here.”
- A Christian Air Force chaplain recounts his experience with being asked to officiate a Wiccan handfasting. The story centers on his refusal, and how the Wiccan wife-to-be understood the exchange: “Dear, don’t you understand? We would be hypocrites for saying the Christian vows, and the chaplain would be a hypocrite for officiating a wedding for people he knows don’t believe the Christian vows.” That chaplain, Norris Burkes, says that “her words were so profound that I have repeated them to nearly every engaged couple who has come to my office.” Just proof that real interfaith exchanges and understanding can happen at any time, if you’re open to the experience.
That’s all for now, have a great day, and thank you for supporting The Wild Hunt!
