TWH – Saturday, November 20, 2021 marks the 22nd annual Transgender Day of Remembrance (TDOR). In 1999, transgender advocate Gwendolyn Ann Smith began the important tradition of TDOR as a vigil to honor the memory of Rita Hester, a transgender woman who was killed in 1998. The annual vigil commemorates all the transgender people lost to violence each year.
“Transgender Day of Remembrance seeks to highlight the losses we face due to anti-transgender bigotry and violence. I am no stranger to the need to fight for our rights, and the right to simply exist is first and foremost. With so many seeking to erase transgender people — sometimes in the most brutal ways possible — it is vitally important that those we lose are remembered, and that we continue to fight for justice.”
– TDOR founder Gwendolyn Ann Smith
Each year a number of groups and organizations both within and outside of the Pagan community conduct public vigils of remembrance.
This year Circle Sanctuary will conduct an online bilingual (English & Spanish) Transgender Day of Remembrance ceremony at 1:00 pm (EDT). The honoring ceremony will be facilitated by transactivist Brianne Ravenwolf, Circle Sanctuary Ministers Rev. Selena Fox, Rev. Laura Gonzalez, and Rev. Jake Bradley, and live-streamed on Circle Sanctuary’s YouTube Channel.
Circle Sanctuary is also one of the co-sponsors of the Interfaith Transgender Day of Remembrance Service that will be held the same day at 7:00 pm (EDT) at the First Baptist Church in Madison, Wisconsin. The event is free and will be both in-person and live-streamed, with registration. The service will include music, prayers, reflections, readings of names, and candle lighting. The Interfaith Transgender Day of Remembrance Service is co-hosted by First Baptist Church of Madison and Wisconsin Faith Voices for Justice.
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WELLINGTON, New Zealand – The Māori Ngati Toa tribe (iwi in Māori) issued a strong statement demanding anti-vaccine protestors stop using its ceremonial dance, the “Ka Mate” haka, at protests.
According to The New Zealand Herald, Taku Parai, one of the iwi’s leaders said, “As the descendants of Te Rauparaha, we insist that protesters stop using our taonga immediately,” Parai continued, “We do not support their position and we do not want our tupuna or our iwi associated with their messages.”
The Ngati Toa tribe won their legal case over intellectual property rights under New Zealand law in 2009 and became the cultural guardians of the Ka Mate haka. The Ka Mate haka was created in the early 1800s, the war leader Te Rauparaha of the Ngāti Toa is credited with composing the haka.
The statement from the Ngati Toa was issued after protesters performed the haka last week in Wellington against the New Zealand government’s vaccine mandates for doctors, pharmacists, nurses, and other health care workers, as well as a mandate for educators and teachers in the country.
While cases of Covid-19 in New Zealand remain among the world’s lowest, a spike in cases has occurred since August raising the number of total cases to 8,866 cases and 34 deaths.
The Māori Peoples’ vaccination rates lag behind the rest of the country with only 61% fully vaccinated, and 77% having received one shot according to government data.
The tribe’s chief executive Helmut Modlik said in a statement, “Many of our [ancestors] lost their lives in previous pandemics.” Modlik continued, “We are absolutely clear that the COVID-19 vaccine is the best protection we have available to us,” and added that the Ngati Toa “are committed to supporting” vaccination of its people “as soon as possible.”
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Image credit: Pixabay
SAN FRANCISCO – Tomorrow the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit will hear arguments in the case Slockish v. U.S. Federal Highway Administration. The final decision in the case could have a major impact on Native American tribes and their access to their sacred sites and lands.
Members of the Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakama Nation and the Confederated Tribes of Grande Ronde allege in their lawsuit that the U.S. government violated numerous federal laws when it bulldozing their sacred site, including the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, the Free Exercise Clause of the Constitution, and several environmental laws.
Hereditary chiefs Wilbur Slockish and Johnny Jackson of the Klickitat and Cascade Tribes of Yakama Nation are being represented by the Becket Law organization whose mission is stated as being “a non-profit, public-interest legal and educational institute with a mission to protect the free expression of all faiths.”
The history of this case stretches all the way back to 2006 when the U.S. Federal Highway Administration announced a project to expand U.S. Highway 26.
Slockish, Jackson, and tribal elder Carol Logan alerted the federal government officials as to the importance of the burial grounds, as tribal members had done in the past when the government announced expansion plans. Despite the tribal concerns in 2008 their ancestral burial grounds were obliterated along with other sacred artifacts by the highway expansion project.
Since then the case has been making its way through the lower courts as tribal leaders have appealed when the courts have ruled against their claims. A decision in favor of the Yakama Nation could set a precedence and provide relief for other tribes, like the Apache who are fighting to protect their sacred site, Chi’chil Bildagoteel or Oak Flat from the mining company Resolution Copper. Decisions in the cases are not expected until next year.
In other news:
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- Interfaith Partners of South Carolina announced that Rev. Pamela “Mela” Borawski of Greenwild Mystical Academy and Bell, Book & Candle Podcast, is the new Pagan Faith Representative to their board of directors. Borawski succeeds Holli S. Emore of Cherry Hill Seminary who served for the past ten years. Borawski was approved at the IPSC Annual Meeting on November 14, 2021, and has actively supported and participated in interfaith work for a number of years. At the meeting, she said, “For so long, many pagans have lived in fear of being seen. To have the opportunity to be seen is truly transformative, both personally and for our community.” IPSC faith representatives serve the entire state, both representing Pagan interests and serving as an interface between IPSC and Pagans around South Carolina. Her first task will be to communicate the upcoming (January) S.C. Interfaith Harmony Month, recruiting Pagans to offer open events and attend other religions’ events throughout the month.
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- Cherry Hill Seminary announced that Sionainn McLean is a new graduate of their Community Ministry Certificate (CMC) program. McLean identifies as a polytheist, fire witch, priestess, spiritual counselor, and now community minister. While participating in the CMC program, McLean started Liminal Raven Ministries to help reach out to those in need of spiritual support. She plans to continue her journey as a student with the CHS Spiritual Direction program and Sacred Wells Deacon training program.
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- Archaeologists in Egypt believe they have unearthed one of the sun temples that date to the mid-25th century B.C.E. The remains of the sun temple were buried beneath those of another temple at Abu Ghurab, roughly 12 miles south of Cairo. In the late 19th century archaeologists working at the same site uncovered the sun temple of Nyuserra, also known as Neuserre or Nyuserre, the sixth king of the 5th dynasty, who ruled Egypt between 2400 and 2370 B.C.E. These new findings suggest that Nyuserra’s sun temple was built on top of an earlier sun temple. The bases of two limestone columns, part of an entrance portico, and a limestone threshold were among the new finds discovered by the joint team from the University of Naples L’Orientale and the Polish Academy of Sciences. The team also found seals engraved with the names of kings who ruled before Nyuserra, which were once used as jar stoppers. They hope to be able to identify which Egyptian king was responsible for building the original structure as they continue their excavations. Prior to this latest find, only two of the six sun temples that are believed to have been built have been found.
Positively Noteworthy
November 16 marks one of the feast nights that honor the goddess Hecate. Hecate is considered by many as the protectress of the marginalized and oppressed, as well as the goddess of Witches. She is also recognized as a goddess of the crossroads, of the liminal spaces and boundaries, and overseeing transitional phases of life that include birth and death.One of the larger sites of the ancient world dedicated to Hecate is Lagina Sanctuary in western Muğla province’s Yatağan district in Turkey. The site has been in the process of excavation and restoration since 2019. The site is over 3000 years old and contains some twenty 2000-year-old columns that the excavation team intends to restore to their original positions.
The team doing the excavation work is being led by Bilal Söğüt. “Our major work here is to unearth the temple, altar and ceremonial areas within the Lagina Hecate sanctuary,” Söğüt said. Officials claim that over 100,000 modern Pagans visit the site annually. It is hoped that the restoration will increase the number of those making pilgrimages to the sanctuary.
Here is video footage of the site taken last year.
Tarot of the week by Star Bustamonte
Deck: Animal Totem Tarot, by Leeza Robertson, illustrated by Eugene Smith, published by Llewellyn Publications.Card: Nine (9) of Pentacles
This week there is an emphasis on differentiating between money and wealth, and a focus on sustainability. Slow, careful planning with an eye to building a solid future is key.
Conversely, haste to accomplish a goal is likely to result in not only missing the bigger picture or point but also does not allow time for enjoyment or savoring of success.
Decks generously provided by Asheville Pagan Supply.
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