PALMERO, Italy – The Italian Religio Romana organization, Pietas – Comunità Gentile has constructed and dedicated another small Temple to Neptune. The last similar temple they erected was to Apollo in the city of Taranto this past September. Over the past two decades, the group has built a number of temples across the Italian peninsula: one to Jupiter in Rome, one to Minerva in Pordenone, another to Apollo in Palermo, and a temple complex to Apollo in Ardea.
In December of 2020, Pietas was officially recognized under Italian law as a valid national religious community. This has helped to further legitimize the Religio Romana tradition they practice.
Pietas’ leader and Pontifex Maximus, Giuseppe Barbera Hermes Helios, spoke with The Wild Hunt and explained that opening these sites must be a central mission of Pietas. He said “Pietas maintains that with the entry into the Aquarius era the return of the God Neptune is predestined with the prerogatives connected to him: knowledge, development of sacred mysteries, sudden changes in society. Several members of the gentile community have received the request from the God of the sea to build a temple for him through dreams.”
The temple was consecrated on November 10 of the 2775th year AVC (2022 CE) with a pilgrimage by the initiates of the Palermo community to the temples of Neptune and Apollo. The procession was led by the Pietas pontiff. Helios said that a cistern was built near the temple, filled with seawater from the Gulf of Palermo. The temple of Neptune in Palermo now has a rector priestess dedicated to him and who attends to the needs of the Pietas community in Palermo including the training of future priests for the temple.
Helios explained that November 10 was a day dedicated to the Gods Apollo and Neptune, frequently companions of important actions in the myth, such as for example in the construction of the walls of the city of Ilium, the Troy of the Homeric myth.
Helios added that “the oracles of Neptune collected by the priests from Pietas speak of an imminent change, which will take root on November 28th. The God of Neptune spoke of the rebirth of paganism and Gentile Traditions, but also of difficult events that the world will face, in the face of which Neptune gave a promise of salvation to pious people who honor the sacred: and thus offerings of myrrh and wine they were poured on the temple altar for the welfare of all those good pagans who love the Gods with a sincere heart.”
“The return of the Gods starts from their manifestations and the temples bear witness to this,” Helios said. “More and more temples are being born because times are changing and paganism is recovering its freedom of expression after centuries of suppression. Glory to the Gods.”
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OJAI, Calif. – Commons of Modern Pagans and Spiritual Seekers (COMPASS) is organizing two Spirit Walks to take place in December.
A Spirit Walk is described by the organizers as “a gathering of people who come together to represent the spirit world and walk as a group, during the darkest part of the year. They walk to emphasize the dark during the ‘season of light.’ Not a Halloween concept, but a Yule one, the spirit walk honors the beings of the Winter Solstice: elves, fairies, ancestors, house spirits, Krampus, Belsnickle, land wights, and yes, even St. Nick. Dressed as those spirits, they carry lanterns and trudge silently toward the Winter Solstice and through the bustle of holiday shoppers, a quiet reminder of the ‘spirit’ of Yule.”
The two Spirit Walks are scheduled for this December in southern California:
The Ventura Spirit Walk on December 3, 2022, will gather in the alley behind the parking structure on Santa Clara and Main at 5:00, and walk in silence to the mission and back.
The Ojai Spirit Walk on December 16, 2022, will meet at the post office on Ojai Ave and Signal, and walk in silence east to Montgomery and back.
The Spirit Walks are free and open to anyone, and participants are encouraged to don masks and apparel reflective of the purpose of the walk.
Announcements:
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- Circle Sanctuary announced their newest minister, Rev. Alison Cline, of Colorado, who was ordained on Saturday, October 29 during their Samhain Festival. Rev. Alison Cline is the administrative coordinator of Circle Sanctuary Military Circles program, as well as the Distinctive Religious Group Leader (DRGL) of the Circle at the US Air Force Academy.
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- Cherry Hill Seminary (CHS) announced last week that enrollment is now open for Spring 2023 Courses. Graduate courses include Trauma-Informed Spiritual Care and Chaplaincy; Survey of Counseling Theories; Sacred Texts; Advocacy for Social Justice; and Spiritual Formation: Soul Work. Four-Week Insights Courses offered: Per Ankh I: Ancient Egyptian Spirituality For Today; and Dreamwork: Learning the Language of the Soul. More information can be found on the CHS website.
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- The second South Wales Occult Conference is calling for the submission of papers. “We invite speaker proposals on the theme of Practical Magic. We would love to hear from practitioners, scholars and researchers from a wide variety of traditions and independent practices. We invite proposals of no more than 300 words on topics such as but not exclusive to; magic of the everyday, the domestic, folk magic, tools, divination, astrology, tarot, magical gardening, anything with a practical quality will be considered.” The conference is scheduled for May 13 at the Welshpool Town Hall in Powys, Wales.
Proposals must be submitted by January 31, 2023. More information on submissions and the event can be found on the event’s Facebook page.>
- The second South Wales Occult Conference is calling for the submission of papers. “We invite speaker proposals on the theme of Practical Magic. We would love to hear from practitioners, scholars and researchers from a wide variety of traditions and independent practices. We invite proposals of no more than 300 words on topics such as but not exclusive to; magic of the everyday, the domestic, folk magic, tools, divination, astrology, tarot, magical gardening, anything with a practical quality will be considered.” The conference is scheduled for May 13 at the Welshpool Town Hall in Powys, Wales.
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- Master’s Thesis in Religion in Peace and Conflict, “A portrait of a Witch” by Liliya Todorova-Janssens is available online. The paper offers current research on the resurgence of Neo-Pagan & Modern Witchcraft movements in Western societies and what it means to be a Pagan in the 21st century. The “study examines the perceived recent resurgence of Neo-Pagan & Modern Witchcraft movements in the Western societies, the main reasons for this resurgence, the relationship with the traditional religions and the importance of social networks and media for the vitality of these movements.”
Upcoming Events:
- Circle Sanctuary will hold a free online public ceremony on Transgender Day of Remembrance (TDOR), on Sunday, November 20 beginning at noon (CDT), and co-facilitated by Brianne Ravenwolf & Rev. Selena Fox. The event will be livestreamed to the Circle Sanctuary YouTube channel. Circle Sanctuary is also co-sponsoring an Interfaith TDOR Observance on Sunday, November 20 being held at Temple Beth El, in Madison, Wisconsin. The event will run from 6:00-8:00 pm (CDT). Circle Sanctuary will have a table at the Community Resource Fair from 6-7pm, and the Interfaith TDOR service will begin at 7:00pm (CDT) and will be livestreamed to Temple Beth El YouTube channel, with more event details available on the Temple Beth El website.
In other news:
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- Despite some minor damage from hurricane Nicole, Artemis 1 is now currently scheduled to launch on Wednesday, November 16 with the launch window beginning at 1:04 am EST (0604 GMT), from Launch Complex 39B at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. There are also two backup launch dates on November 19 and 25. The prior launch date had been set for November 14 but was moved to the 16 due to the forecast of the hurricane. Jim Free, associate administrator for NASA’s Exploration Systems Development Mission Directorate said in a press conference on Friday that the damage from the storm was minor and easily repaired. “There’s nothing preventing us from getting to the 16th,” Free said during the briefing. “We do have some work to do.” As of 11:00 am today, NASA listed the weather favorability for the launch at 90%.
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- Six skulls and a number of other smaller bones were discovered on Chastain Beach on South Hutchinson Island in Florida after hurricane Nicole passed through the area. According to Martin County Sheriff’s Chief Deputy John Budensiek, beachgoers found and reported the remains. “We do believe based on other findings over the years along that area that it’s likely to be an old Indian burial site,” Budensiek told NBC affiliate, WPTV. “When we are dealing with remains like this, we try to preserve history. We are not exploring and digging any further into the area where the remains were found. We only recovered what’s been exposed by the water.” He also stated that, “Our medical examiner’s office is saying that they believe the bones are in excess of 200 years of age.” After Hurricane Sandy in 2012, and then again in 2019 after Hurricane Dorian, bones were unearthed in the same area that were determined to be those of Native Americans. Martin County officials have been in touch with the Seminole Nation regarding the discovery.
- Last week Colgate University in Hamilton, New York returned over 1,500 culturally significant items to the Oneida Nation in a ceremony. The collection of items returned were all classified as funerary objects and had been removed from eight burial sites in upstate New York by amateur archaeologist, Herbert Bigford Sr. between 1924 and 1957. In 1959 the university purchased them from Bigford’s family and they were housed in its Longyear Museum of Anthropology. “For decades, too many museums and other educational and cultural institutions have followed indefensible practices regarding the ancestral remains and cultural artifacts of Native Americans,” said Oneida Indian Nation Representative Halbritter. “These practices have been allowed to continue under the belief that preserving history is of the ultimate importance without questioning the means of doing so. They assume it is possible while divorcing the history from the people to whom it belongs, presuming to tell our stories with stolen artifacts and unfamiliar voices. Native people’s funerary and ceremonial objects should never be the property of museums in this way. Our dedication to continuing this conversation is one of the many values the Oneida Indian Nation shares with Colgate University. We are grateful for these efforts, but equally grateful for the university’s and museum’s understanding that they are what is required in a society that meaningfully recognizes the sovereignty and dignity of Native people. ” This repatriation is one of the largest in the state to date. In 1995, the university began the process of a series of repatriation returning seven sets of remains and funerary objects to the Oneida Nation. In 2002, the university transferred of remains of two Oneida ancestors and two cultural artifacts, followed by the return of a sacred mask in 2019. And then in 2020, a wide-ranging inventory of the museum’s collections resulted in the repatriation of remains from at least six additional Oneida ancestors. In a statement during the ceremony, Colgate University President Brian Casey said, “Many of the sacred belongings being repatriated today came into the university’s possession through a collection acquired in 1959 – one that should never have been acquired. For this, on behalf of this university, I humbly apologize. I hope that today’s repatriation brings Colgate closer to Members of the Oneida Indian Nation, both as neighbors and as partners, in continuing this important work to see that all of the Nation’s rightful belongings are properly and respectfully returned.”
The last lunar eclipse of 2022 occurred last Tuesday. It was a total eclipse of the moon and another total lunar eclipse will not occur again until March 15, 2025. In 2023 there will be two lunar eclipses, a penumbral lunar eclipse on May 5, and a partial lunar eclipse on October 28. A penumbral eclipse creates a diffuse shadow or shading on the face of the moon. A partial eclipse obscures part of the moon, as though a bite had been taken out of it.
However, there will be a total solar eclipse on April 20, 2023, but it will only be visible in Australia and the surrounding region of the globe.
If you missed the last lunar eclipse of 2022, below is a time-lapse video that contains 3612 frames captured at four-second intervals on Nov 8, 2022, from 1:57 am – 6:02 am MST in the Grants subdivision of the Baca Grande near Crestone, Colorado USA (an IDA International Dark Sky Community). The video was shot and compiled by Mike Lewinski.
According to NASA, the red color of the moon during part of the eclipse is due to Rayleigh scattering, “The same phenomenon that makes our sky blue and our sunsets red causes the Moon to turn red during a lunar eclipse. It’s called Rayleigh scattering. Light travels in waves, and different colors of light have different physical properties. Blue light has a shorter wavelength and is scattered more easily by particles in Earth’s atmosphere than red light, which has a longer wavelength.”
Tarot of the week by Star Bustamonte
Deck: Dancing in the Dark Tarot, by Gianfranco Pereno and Lunaea Weatherstone, published by Lo Scarabeo.Card: Major arcana, XXI (21), The World
The week ahead is liable to have the feel of being in a liminal space and tinged with anticipation of what is yet to come. Recognition of a cycle being completed and another soon to begin, is key for this week.
Conversely, refusal to accept what is final and done is likely to result in feeling fragmented and disconnected, hampering the ability to move on.
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