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On Aug. 18, the Florida Pagan community lost one of its longtime, active members. Lady Moonfire, elder of the Church of Iron Oak – ATC and High Priestess of Coven Tropic Moon, passed beyond the veil after losing a long battle with cancer. Also known as Brandie Gramling, Lady Moonfire was born in Bristol, Connecticut March 25, 1957. She studied and lived in Kentucky before arriving in Florida, which then became her home.
Brandie’s Pagan journey began in 1994 when she joined the Church of Iron Oak. She helped with the group’s 10 month legal battle over zoning restrictions in the city of Palm Bay. During that time, Iron Oak’s neighbors attempted to stop the group from performing Wiccan rituals and worship in its home temple space. These neighbors claimed that the area was zoned residential only. In the end, Iron Oak won the battle when the city’s zoning board, ruled in its favor.
In 1996, Brandie moved to the Coven Lia Fail where she was initiated into the Gardnerian tradition. Then, in 1999, she finished her training, receiving her third degree. Nine years later, she was ordained by the Aquarian Tabernacle Church. Over that time period, Brandie also became involved with Florida Pagan Gathering (FPG), first as an attendee and eventually as a staff member. For twenty years, Brandie was present at every FPG, twice-yearly. In addition to being an active Priestess, Brandie enjoyed teaching students, making mead and being an herbalist. In the late 1990s, she maintained a small web presence devoted to these topics.
In the fall of 2014, Brandie was diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer, and she began and extensive treatment program. In February 2015, a GoFundMe campaign was launched to help offset her growing medical costs. However, in Aug, she lost her battle and passed away. Her family has left the fund open to donations, and all money will be used to pay her final bills. Brandie is survived by her husband, their partner, her two daughters and her father. Coven Tropic Moon has moved to Kentucky and is under the care of Lady Luna Owlheart and Lord Fox Fire. According to the family, there will be no public memorial. They have chosen to privately scatter Brandie’s ashes over a number of different places that she held dear. What is Remembered, Lives.
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Many Gods West Facebook Photo
Organizers have announced the return of Many Gods West. According to the announcement, Niki Whiting is returning as one of the coordinators of the event uniquely devoted to Polytheism. Once again, it will be held in Olympia, Washington. The opening and closing ceremonies will be hosted by Rynn Fox of the Coru Cathubodua. At this point, those are the only details provided.
Whiting said, “The enthusiasm, support, and love for this conference – from the gods and from humans – exceeded any expectations I had. I am hoping that MGW 2016 will be even better.” She added that organizers will be accepting proposals sometime this fall. She suggests following the MGW facebook for the most recent news, including all important dates and the launch of the 2016 web page.
In the meantime, you can read more about the inaugural 2015 Many Gods West event here at The Wild Hunt. Heathen Chinese attended and provided us with an extensive review of his experience.
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Everglades Moon Local Council (EMLC), a division of Covenant of the Goddess (CoG) located in Florida, has released its most recent podcast. This Mabon recording marks the 15th episode of the “Reaching for the Moon” podcast.
In 2013, EMLC organizers began creating podcasts in conjunction with the sabbats. They saw this as a way to not only regularly communicate with their community members, who are spread out over the entire state, but also to involve them in a unique way. The first podcast was recorded for Imbolc of that year. It included interviews with attendees of EMLCs yearly “Turning the Tides” event, as well as a Pagan parenting discussion and music by Lady Bridget and Ginger Doss.
Over the past two years, the podcasts have grown considerably and include more variety and greater participation. The 15th edition includes five different talks, on topics from baking bread to “Pagan Standard Time,” and three musical selections by the groups Crow Woman and Emerald Rose. EMLC invites everyone to participate, “If you’d like to contribute something to our podcast, whether it’s your music, an article, or something else, please leave us a comment below and we’ll get back to you to help make that happen!” You can listen to the podcasts on the group’s website or through iTunes, Stitcher and Libsyn.
In Other News:
- Dr. Karl E. H. Seigfried has published the first of a two-part interview with writer Jennifer Snook. As we reported in June, Snook is the author of the new book American Heathens: The Politics of Identity in a Pagan Religious Movement. She is a professor of sociology at Grinnell College, and has been a practicing Heathen since the age of eighteen. In his article, Seigfried writes, “For anyone interested in the subject of modern Heathen belief and practice, the book is indispensable. As the first work of its kind, it will be the defining text in this field.” He then moves on to the extensive, in-depth interview.
- As we noted last week, T. Thorn Coyle has returned to blogging after an short hiatus. During that break, she was able to focus on different projects, one of which was her fiction book Like Water. The other is the newly published book Sigil Magic: For Writers, Artists and Other Creatives. This book was published in Aug, and it is described as such: “Sigils can assist us with any creative venture: from writing novels and prepping art shows, to building lives filled with curiosity, wonder, and success. Sigil Magic walks us through a variety of ways to generate and charge up our sigils, and includes instructions for preparation and cleansing, working with intentional statements, and using magical mantras and a variety of sigils types. Take a risk. Make your mark.” Sigil Magic is currently available through Amazon.
- Diotima Mantineia, Chief Star Gazer at Urania’s Well, is beginning a new 9 week course in Astrology. Mantineia has been studying the subject since 1968, and it has guided much of her Pagan experience. Taught from Mantineia’s home in North Carolina, the beginner astrology class will be held completely online and will begin Oct. 19. Manineia writes, “The symbolic language of astrology offers profound insights … No astrologer, no other person, can do more than point you toward these gems — only you can fully experience the truths that ignite your soul. And that’s why I am teaching this course.”
- The Conference on Current Pagan Studies has extended its abstract deadline to Oct 6. The announcement reads, “The overall theme for the 2016 Conference is Social Justice. We face issues of social justice everywhere we look, from something as overwhelming as #blacklivesmatter to the seeming trivial Wiccanate privilege … We are looking for papers from all disciplines. A community needs artists, teachers, scientists, healers, historians, philosophers, educators, thinkers, activists, etc.” The abstracts should be no more than 300 words. More information is available on its website.
- Our friends in South Africa will be celebrating Pagan Heritage Day on Sept. 26. This event is sponsored by the Pagan Assistance Network and will be held Sunnyridge Primary, Germiston. The festival includes music, drumming, food, art, vendors and more. Contact information is available in the graphic above and on the website
That’s it for now. Have a great day!
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