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Pagan Community Notes: Week of February 28, 2022 – Updated

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Monday’s edition of PCN was updated to include a statement issued by Phyllis Curott.

Image credit: Maksym Kozlenko – CC BY-SA 4.0

TWH – As the invasion of Ukraine by Russian forces continues, more groups from within the Pagan community are issuing statements in support of Ukraine. One group, The Order of the Oak which is an international and volunteer group of Druids lists their mission as “to advocate, advise, and take real world action to conserve, restore, and protect our divine planet in the face of unprecedented climate change caused by human industrialization and pollution.”

They released the following statement:

We stand in peace and solidarity with all those in Ukraine.

We stand against those who would harm her people and take their lands.

We call upon and offer our energy to Berehynia to help protect those under attack and we offer our energy to Ukranians in their hour of need.

We stand with the Russian civilians who hold peace and justice in their hearts.

We stand with them to find strength and inspiration to make a daily difference for peace.

We ask that Druids across the Earth join the vigils and prayers in support of our Ukrainian cousins and friends.

We ask that world leaders find a solution to the conflict that is built on peace, justice, love, understanding and knowledge.

We call upon President Putin to withdraw his troops and cease his aggression.

May there be peace in the North

May there be peace in the South

May there be peace in the East

May there be peace in the West

May there be peace throughout Ukraine

Phyllis Curott, author and Program Chair of the 2023 Parliament of World’s Religions, announced that released a statement on Tuesday. She is helping organize a multi-faith prayer service for peace at the United Nations.

It’s a nightmare to watch the slaughter of women and children, the brutality and cruelty being rained down upon the Ukrainian people by a psychopath and feel helpless. What can we do? Donations to humanitarian efforts are important. Magic to protect and to sustain the brave Ukrainian people, magic to battle the forces driving these atrocities. Prayers with other faith groups – I have a small role in helping to organize this Multi-Faith service at the United Nations on Thursday and I hope Pagans in NY will attend in person, and Pagans from Ukraine and around the world will participate online. – our presence is important, especially to Pagans in Ukraine and the Balkan states who are increasingly at risk.

This is a hideous wake up call. Authoritarianism is growing like a cancer around the world and here at home – members of Congress praise Putin and go to rallies with Neo- Nazis. Our democracy is at risk. We must become activists – run for school boards, for state legislatures, for Congress. It’s not impossible. I know Pagans elected to city councils and local governments around the U.S. We need to find a new way to talk to friends, family and neighbors. We need to create mandorlas – liminal places where opposites find common ground.

The worst sometimes precipitates the best – chaotic and dangerous times de-stabilize entrenched powers. If we’re active, we can help move the forces at play in the direction of peace, democracy, human rights and freedom. Perhaps Putin has met his Waterloo.

Many members of the collective Pagan, Heathen, and polytheist communities have strong ties or roots to Ukraine and Russia.

Starhawk made a post on Sunday to her Facebook page regarding Russia’s invasion of Ukraine that differentiated between perceived strength and weakness and the reality of actual strength, and reminded her followers of her Ukrainian roots and her support for the country, “My grandparents all fled Ukraine in the early 20th century, trying to escape the aggressive weakness of their time, the pogroms and forced conscription and discrimination. In this time, I stand with Ukraine, and for a world where we will constrain the weakness of violence and celebrate real strength.”

While many groups are focused on peace, others have incorporated the element of justice and retribution into their statements.

Eventide Grove, a Florida-based, pantheist collective, “offers spiritual support and solidarity to Ukraine and her people. We unreservedly condemn the actions of Vladimir Putin and lay this Work against him.”

Further, they sent the following message:

We ask Mercury and Eleguá to carry this message.
We call on Hecate and Oyá to share this message.

We call to the Ancestors who built the Kremlin and Red Square brick by brick with their living hands to awaken.

We ask Hecate and Oyá to lift the Veil, so the Ancestors see how their artwork, artistry, and magical protections are being used today.

We ask Hecate and Oyá to announce the Fallen in Ukraine to the Ancestors who built the Kremlin that they may share their stories.

We ask the Ancestors who built the Kremlin to remove their protections that Craft will seep through the walls.

And then we lay this Craft upon the Kremlin:

We curse you with clarity to see the weight of your actions.
We bind you with peace to see the weight of your actions.
We bless you with courage to remove the weight of your actions.

We ask Mercury and Eleguá to carry this message to the People of Russia so they remove the weight of Putin from all of our lives.

Michael M. Hughes, author of  Magic for the Resistance: Rituals and Spells for Change and founder of the Facebook Official Bind Trump group is planning the Hex Putin: Global  Mass Ritual to Curse Vladimir Putin and Protect Ukraine.

Hughes organized similar rituals each dark moon during the term of the former U.S. president. The ritual is scheduled for March 2, at 7:33 pm (EST). Currently, the Bind Trump group has over 6,500 members.

Meanwhile fighting continues throughout much of Ukraine and everyone, including ordinary citizens, are being asked to defend against Russian forces.  evidence of their determination and resilience continue to inspire others around the globe.

This footage is from Friday night on the outskirts of Kyiv where a lone trumpeter plays the national anthem and is answered by those standing watch for advancing enemy forces with “Glory to Ukraine!”

Announcements:

    • Brian Henke released the final mix of “Temple of the Trees” and said his new album, “To the Faire” is almost complete and due to be released on March 31. Henke is simultaneously working on two vocal albums–both “To the Faire” and “Lullabies and Roses,” which is scheduled for release towards the end of May. Henke is noted for his considerable skills as both an award-winning guitarist and as a composer, with numerous solo CD releases to his credit, as well as collaborating on works with other artists, like Tuatha Dea’s “The Green Album” (2016). You can find much of his musical work on Reverbnation.

    • Cherry Hill Seminary announced that Brian King, a native Michigander and aspiring funeral director, is the latest CHS student to earn his Community Ministry Certificate. King said of the CHS program, “This program gave me a sense of a larger Pagan community, beyond the few well-known authors and handful of web forums. And it gave me the feeling of belonging in that community.”
    • Cherry Hill Seminary also announced that Tracie Mooneyham, who has volunteered as CHS’ Marketing Coordinator for the last two years is stepping down. Mooneyham said, “I have immensely enjoyed my time volunteering with Cherry Hill; the community here is so kind and generous! I’m proud of the small but impactful changes we’ve been able to make to our website and digital marketing – two you may not realize support the Seminary in a big way. Though my time as a volunteer has ended, I will continue to donate to CHS to help ensure that Pagan theological education remains available to all who seek it.”

    • The Black Earth Institute (BEI), a progressive think-tank dedicated to re-forging the links between art and spirit, earth and society, is seeking to add eight new fellows for its 2022-2025 term.” Chosen fellows are invited to join in a national—even global—community, guided by previous fellows and scholars, who share artistic creations and support each other in working toward common objectives. There is interaction both on an organized level and between individuals promoting and supporting each other. These days we can likely see more organized virtual activities.” BEI fellows span many artistic and creative genres– everything from literary, dramatic, performance and media arts to journalism. Submissions are open until April 1.

    • Circle Sanctuary is one of the co-sponsors of the March Forth to Earth Day events that span “eight consecutive weeks of outdoor-in-person & virtual climate actions across Wisconsin.” This Friday, March 4 is the first event and Rev. Selena Fox will be one of the speakers at the rally on the University of Wisconsin campus in Madison.

    Crossings of the Veil

    Frederick Allen (Buck) Anderson – January 26, 2022

    Fred “Buck” Anderson, 79, was born in Rockville Centre, New York, and passed away on January 26, 2022.

    Anderson was the founder and creative genius behind MagiCrafts Metaphysical Jewelry, and was the most prominent Pagan jeweler of his day. Every Triple Goddess design today was inspired by his initial design.

    He was an initiate in the Blue Star Tradition of Witchcraft and a priest of Hermes. Morningstar Coven, which he led as high priest, evolved into Keepers of the Rede when he met and was handfasted to his wife, Debbie.

    Not one to limit himself, Anderson was also a Freemason. Initially a 32° member of Free and Accepted Masonry Lodge 177 in Binghamton, New York, he came to realize the error of exclusion by gender and affiliated with Louis Goaziou Lodge #1953 of the International Order of Freemasonry for Men and Women, Le Droit Humain, American Federation in 2010.

    He retired from making jewelry once Debbie graduated from law school and began his mundane career as support person in a law firm.

    Anderson joined the Marine Corps when he was 17 and was a Vietnam-era veteran. He was buried on Friday, February 4th, 2022, at the Maui Veterans Cemetery in Makawao, Hawai’i.

    What is remembered, lives!


    Positively Noteworthy

    The flood of refugees fleeing Ukraine and the assault of Russian forces into neighboring countries, like Poland, continues to grow. José Andrés of World Central Kitchen is on-site in Poland at one of the borders helping to coordinate with local chefs and cooks to provide hot meals to both those seeking refuge and those working the border.

    World Central Kitchen has been providing relief in the way of food sourcing and preparation since 2010 when a massive earthquake devastated parts of Haiti. Since then, they have been on the frontlines of humanitarian, climate, and community crises.

    So far WCK has provided thousands of hot meals and starting today will be operating 24 hours a day at border crossing sites like Medyka. Yesterday alone the WCK provided over 4,000 just at Medyka.

    Freezing temperatures have added an extra layer of difficulty for those who are waiting one to two days to cross into Poland.

    Additionally, chefs within Ukraine are also part of the effort to provide food, like Chef Aleksander Yourz and the team at Yourz Space Bistro in Odessa, who prepared over 1,000 plates of pasta and fresh bread yesterday to residents and defenders of the city.


    Tarot of the week by Star Bustamonte

    Deck: Santa Muerte Tarot: Book of the Dead, by Fabio Listrani, published by Lo Scarabeo.

    Card: Eight of Swords

    This week is likely to hold elements of “the quiet before the storm,” and result in “a balance of opposites destined to be brief and explode with violence and thunder.” There is also an emphasis on a lack of stability to due delays in conflict which produce frustration that is unexpressed.

    Conversely, utilizing a relief valve and a safe and rational way to address conflict that reduces or removes fear is the path forward for transformation.

    Decks generously provided by Asheville Pagan Supply.

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