Pagan community center planned for “Paganistan”

MINNEAPOLIS –The Twin Cities — sometimes called “Paganistan” by Pagan residents — host a large enough number of Pagans that one local group is hoping to create a community center to serve their diverse needs. The Leanaí Na Déithe community center would be a space for classes and rituals, as well as services for the broader community such as a food bank. Center president Arcadian Barrett spoke about the plans, as well as how others might support it. While the center is still in the formative stages, Barrett said, with board members working on legal and tax paperwork, there is a space they have their eye on: a suite at 1200 Nicolette Mall, on the corner of 12th Street. It’s on a corner with high pedestrian traffic which they feel would suit a community center well.

Pagan Community Notes: W.I.T.C.H, Iowa Pagan Pride, Circle Sanctuary and more

MEXICO CITY – An organization named W.I.T.C.H. CDMX is hosting a public action in Mexico City, March 17. The event’s reported purpose is to bring women together to toss off the strains of oppression, abuse, and harassment. As written on the Facebook event page, “WITCH summons all our sisters to a night of spells, to the contemplation of fire,” and “to free ourselves, strengthen us and altar, in a symbolic act, reality.”  The scheduled action has been named Icendario and is being a labeled a “revolution.” W.I.T.C.H. reports that it is a nonprofit organization that is interested in art, magic, feminism, disruption. It appears to be taking its cue from the 1969 organization of the same name, and the more recent incarnation in Chicago.

Trendy magic: witchcraft tops pop culture charts … again.

TWH – As autumn approaches, it is not surprising that the number of mainstream articles referring to Witches and Witchcraft are increasing. Many of the recently published articles are touting that Witchcraft is “trending,” to use a social media term, or in old-school language, Witchcraft popularity is on the rise or “all the rage.” And in textspeak: WitchcraftFTW. #witches
For the bulk of the American public, the brief and unexamined suggestion that the nation’s Witch population is significantly increasing might be enough of a “sound bite” to tantalize and, in some cases, even scare. However, for those people who have long identified as Witches or the like, the flippant mention of Witchcraft in a seasonal article is not enough to satisfy.