TWH – Winners of the third annual Witchcraft & Occult Media Awards, or “The Witchies” were announced yesterday. The 2022 Witchies were presented by Modern Witch in partnership with Owlkeyme Arts and sponsored by Llewellyn Publishing, Weiser Books, and the Datura Trading Co.
The award for Outstanding Book of the Year went to Juliet Diaz for The Altar Within, as well as Outstanding Author of the Year. Frankie Castanea, who also is known as “Chaotic Witch Aunt,” won the award for Outstanding New Author of the Year for their book, Spells for Change, and for Outstanding Social Media of the Year.
The outstanding Tarot of the Year award went to The Mushroom Tarot by Sporelust!, and Outstanding Oracle of the Year was awarded to Seasons of the Witch Beltane Oracle by authors Lorriane Anderson and Juliet Diaz, and illustrator, Giada Rose.
Tamed Wild won in the category of Outstanding Blog of the Year, and Exceptional Blog Post of the Year was awarded to Jewitches for their post, Witch History.
Outstanding Podcast of the Year was won by Jennie Blonde, for the “Comfy Cozy Witch” podcast. Outstanding New Podcast of the Year went to Frankie Castanea & Matt Hatter Plays for their “Books & Broomsticks” podcast. They also won the Exceptional Podcast Episode of the Year for their interview with Juliet Diaz.
In the video blog or Vlog categories, Outstanding Vlog of the Year was awarded to Olivia Graves, “The Witch of Wanderlust,” who also won Exceptional Video of the Year for Celebrating Walpurgisnacht in the Hills of Germany. Outstanding New Vlog of the Year went to Laura Wong and Kaitlyn Graña for their vlog, “Third Eye Bind.”
Witchology Magazine won Outstanding Magazine of the Year, and the final award of Outstanding New Voice of the Year, went to Welsh Witch, Mhara Starling, author of Welsh Witchcraft: A Guide to the Spirits, Lore, and Magic of Wales.
Congratulations to all of the winners and nominees!
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Pentacle with Five elements – Image credit: Nyo – CC BY 2.0
COVENTRY, R. I. – The Horn of the Cauldron, Church of the Earth, which is Wiccan, was denied a permit in May of 2022. The Church which was founded in 2009, had been in operation at its current 13-acre site since 2013 but was notified by the Town of Coventry in 2020 that it needed a special permit to continue operating due to its tax-exempt status.
When they applied for the special permit in December 2021, the Zoning Board of Review denied them. This was despite submitting documentation that the Zoning Board had requested, which included engineering plans, lighting, fire alarms, and a fire inspection. Plus, the financial cost for all the documentation was roughly $4,500.00–a lot for a small church.
It was after their permit was denied in May that High Priestess Gail McHugh, and her husband and High Priest, Darrell Moore, founders of the Church, contacted the U.S. Department of Justice which resulted in the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) taking on the case.
According to a press release last week by the ACLU of Rhode Island about the case:
“After the church submitted its application for the zoning permit, the Coventry Planning Department and Planning Commission recommended approval, noting that the church met all requirements and that it ‘has been holding activities on the property many years and the Planning and Zoning department has not received any complaints since the church’s founding.’
“Nevertheless, during the public hearing, members of the Zoning Board claimed—without any evidence—that allowing the Church to continue operating would lead to parking problems and pose a fire hazard. In reality, the Church had demonstrated that there was more-than-adequate parking for visitors, the Church follows all fire-safety laws, and the Church’s facilities comply with the fire marshal’s directives.”
The ACLU in representing The Horn of the Cauldron, Church of the Earth, made clear “that a refusal to grant the permit would violate the Church’s First Amendment rights, as well as its rights under the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act.”
The U.S. Department of Justice clarifies the application and purpose of the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act as:
RLUIPA prohibits zoning and landmarking laws that substantially burden the religious exercise of churches or other religious assemblies or institutions absent the least restrictive means of furthering a compelling governmental interest. This prohibition applies in any situation where: (i) the state or local government entity imposing the substantial burden receives federal funding; (ii) the substantial burden affects, or removal of the substantial burden would affect, interstate commerce; or (iii) the substantial burden arises from the state or local government’s formal or informal procedures for making individualized assessments of a property’s uses. In addition, RLUIPA prohibits zoning and landmarking laws that:
(1) treat churches or other religious assemblies or institutions on less than equal terms with nonreligious assemblies or institutions;
(2) discriminate against any assemblies or institutions on the basis of religion or religious denomination;
(3) totally exclude religious assemblies from a jurisdiction; or
(4) unreasonably limit religious assemblies, institutions, or structures within a jurisdiction.
On October 5, the Zoning Board approved the Church’s permit which after the 20-day appeal period became final at the end of October.
While largely a win for the church and freedom of religion, Julia Chretien, cooperating attorney for the ACLU of Rhode Island said, “We’re pleased that the Town ultimately did the right thing in this matter. However, our clients first submitted their application in December 2021. They should not have had to wait ten months for a proper resolution. Zoning boards should be aware of their legal obligations when it comes to houses of worship and strive to comply with the law immediately.”
McHugh said, “We’re relieved that the town approved our permit. We love our neighborhood, and the Church will continue to be a positive force in our community and world. We are immensely grateful to the ACLU and its legal team for supporting us and the rights of minority religions to exist and freely practice their faith.”
The Horn of the Cauldron, Church of the Earth’s congregation is comprised of about 160 members, who range in age from 1- to 70 in age. The Church conducts 23 rituals and ceremonies annually, with many being held outside when the weather permits, and inside a 24-by-24-foot barn when it does not. Since 2013 the Church has never received any complaints or citations in the course of holding its events and operations.
Announcements:
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- The Texas Alliance of Pagan Students (TAPS) will be holding their annual conference in person with a tentative date set for February 24-26, 2023. The conference is open to all Texas college students.
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- Liminal Raven Ministries is looking for authentic voices and stories, personal essays, poetry, prayers, and rituals, as well as black and white photography and art for an anthology featuring Witch and Pagan voices entitled, Living in Magick – Stories of Everyday Magick, Paganism, and Witchcraft. The deadline to submit is November 15, 2022.
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- Helen Berger will present, “Thinking again about Community: Contemporary Pagans, Spirituality, and Political Action” on Saturday, November 12, as part of the programming for the annual joint meeting of The Society for the Scientific Study of Religion and The Religious Research Association.
- Cherry Hill Seminary announced last week that alumna Rev. Karen LeBlanc, M.Div. was officially ordained as a Unitarian Universalist minister and installed as the settled minister to the First Unitarian Church in New Bedford, Massachusetts in a special service on Sunday, October 30.
Alder MoonOak – October 12, 2022
Alder MoonOak passed away at home, surrounded by his family after complications from a surgery that took place on February 10, 2022.
He was born in 1960 in Miami, Florida, where he also grew up. MoonOak received his MA in Religion from the University of Florida in 2003, and his Ph.D. in Religious Humanities from the California Institute of Integral Studies (CIIS) in 2009.
MoonOak’s life journey reflected his desire to discover a deep spirituality that was rooted in his study of eco-spiritual philosophies, nature religions, and the practice of Paganism. He served as the Founder of the Sacred Oak Covenant of Unitarian Universalist Pagans within the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Gainesville, Florida where he lived and taught.
MoonOak authored two books, Bright Green Religion: An Introduction To The Future (2019), and the recently released, Radiant Circles: Ecospirituality & the Church of All Worlds (2022).
MoonOak has a passion for teaching and had devoted much of his focus to finding new ways to inspire engagement with the students he taught. He was the faculty sponsor of a journal of art and poetry, Within the Open Mind for the College of Central Florida.
In addition to being a Pagan, an author and an academic, he was also an artist who along with a friend painted the section of the 34th Street Wall that memorialized the five students who were victims of the 1990 University of Florida murders.
His friends and family have left remembrances on his Facebook page which has been converted to a memorial page. MoonOak is survived by Elisabet Carlson, his partner of 22 years, two sons, three stepsons, and two grandchildren.
What is remembered, lives!
In other news:
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- Tomorrow marks the Midterm Election Day in the U.S. The right to vote and to have one’s voice heard is part of the core foundation of America and its politics. While the Pagan community is small, the voices of its members are no less important, and exercising their voting rights is equally important. Franklin Delano Roosevelt, 32nd President of the United States, stressing the importance of voting said, “Nobody will ever deprive the American people of the right to vote except the American people themselves and the only way they could do this is by not voting.” Voting is the right of every American citizen. Here are some helpful links for checking voting status, where to vote, and more: Where “same day registration” voting is allowed; Find specific information on your state; More voting information; and if you encounter problems voting, 866-OUR-VOTE (866-687-8683) can help guide you through the steps you may need to take.
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- The proposed Stonehenge tunnel bypass is in the news again this week, with National Trust members scheduled to vote on the revised proposal. The plan is supported by groups Stonehenge Traffic Action Group which believes it will help reduce traffic congestion in the area, while members of the Stonehenge Alliance opposed the tunnel. The proposed two-mile (3.2km) tunnel for the A303 was approved by the former Transport Secretary in 2020 at an estimated cost of £1.7bn ($1.9bn).
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- Concern over the declining numbers of Box Turtles (Terrapene carolina) in the U.S. has brought focus to the Box Turtle Connection, a long-term study on Box Turtles conducted by the University of North Carolina, Greensboro. The project is designed “to learn more about the status and trends in Box Turtle populations, identify threats, and develop strategies for long-term conservation of the species. Volunteer lay scientists who make a long-term commitment to the project and are willing to be trained in data collection become Project Leaders. Each Project Leader (PL) manages data collection at a specific site, often these are places where they work like state parks but also include private properties.” A database used by Project Leaders to record their observations is managed by N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission and helps to track population size and structure. The Project itself hopes to last 100 years from the current youngest person involved in the project. Box turtles are very long-lived: In 2002 researchers in Long Island, New York discovered a box turtle that had originally been found and marked by a naturalist in 1921, noting then that the turtle appeared to be several decades in age, according to an article by NPR. Box turtles face increasing threats that encompass everything from development and habitat destruction to lawnmowers and vehicles, as well as people who collect them and then illegally sell them as pets.
ChileVision journalist, Nicolas Krumm, was giving a live report about an increase in robberies in the area when he became the victim of theft himself. The perpetrator was a wild parrot who landed on his left shoulder, then reached up and removed his earbud before flying off with it in its beak. Krumm later located the earbud that the bird dropped. The bird remains at large, so if you are in Chile, safeguard your earbuds!
Tarot of the week by Star Bustamonte
Deck: Shadowscapes Tarot, artwork by Stephanie Pui-Mun Law, text by Stephanie Pui-Mun Law & Barbara Moore, published by Llewellyn Publications.Card: Major Arcana, I (1), The Magician
This week holds the promise of utilizing the skills of creativity, flexibility, and willpower to craft dreams and desires into reality.
Conversely, a lack of focus and a clear vision of what is desired can result in chaos and produce both undesirable and unwanted outcomes.
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