Pagan Community Notes: Week of April 3, 2023

TWH – A new petition has been started in the United Kingdom for the government to recognize Pagan handfasting as a legal form of marriage in England and Wales. While the petition cites the 2021 Census reflecting 53,000 people in England and Wales listing their religion as Pagan, the most updated census numbers are a bit higher. According to the updated religion section of the England and Wales 2021 Census, 74,000 respondents identify as Pagan, and 13,000 as Wiccan.

Paganism and Wicca were under the category of “Any other religions” and required respondents to write in their answers. Combined the total of Paganism and Wicca at 87,000 dwarfed another write-in option under the “Any other religion” category which overall represents only .07% of the population or 405,000 respondents.

The petition so far only has a handful of signatures but will be open until September 8, 2023, as all petitions are allowed to run for six months. If the petition gains 10,000 signatures, the government will respond to it. Should the petition result in having 100,000 or more signers, it will be considered for debate in Parliament.

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MIAMI – Last week the Miami Seaquarium announced that the orca named “Lolita” would be returned to her native environment in the Pacific Northwest. The Miami Seaquarium is owned by The Dolphin Company, and their CEO, Eduardo Albor, made the announcement along with Indianapolis Colts owner and philanthropist Jim Irsay, Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava, and Pritam Singh, who leads Friends of Lolita.

Lolita was captured in 1970 from her natal pod and has been in captivity at the Miami Seaquarium ever since. While she was removed from performing in 2022, she remained in her 80-foot by 35-foot tank.

Lolita is also known as Tokitae, or Toki for short. The native Lummi people view, Toki and all orcas as relatives and part of their extended family. The Lummi have continually sought Toki’s release. Among the Lummi, Toki is called Sk’aliCh’elh-tenaut, which – means that she is a member of Sk’aliCh’elh, the resident family of orcas who call the Salish Sea home.

Raynell Morris, a member of the Lummi Nation said, “The web of life was broken when they took her. When we bring her home and reunite her with her mother, her family, her relatives, we’ll repair that web of life.”

There has been concern that Toki may not be healthy or strong enough to make the journey from the east coast all the way to Pacific Northwest, but veterinarians and her caregivers have stated that her health has rebounded enough to make the 3,000-mile trip.

Orcas are members of the Delphinidae family which includes all dolphin species, long-finned pilot whales, and short-finned pilot whales. They are very social animals. Natal pods each have their own distinct “dialect” when it comes to the clicks, whistles, and pulsed transmissions they use to communicate. Since she was captured when she was four years old, it is likely that Toki retains some or all of the dialect of her natal pod and could be recognized by older members of the pod. The orca that is believed to be Toki’s mother is thought to still be alive and at least 90-years-old.

Relocating Toki will not be simple, and she will need to be contained in a sea pen to get her acclimated to the new environment. The best fit would be back in the Salish Sea near where her natal or family pod of orcas still swim and live. This would allow her to communicate with them and hopefully be accepted back into the pod.

There are also concerns that some of the health issues that Toki has had–skin and digestive infections could be passed to other orcas, even with her contained in a sea pen. As a result of these and other concerns, federal agencies like NOAA and the USDA will be involved in the process and need to sign off on Toki’s relocation.

At 50 years of age, Toki is the oldest orca currently in captivity. Her return to the Salish Sea could take anywhere from 18-24 months.

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Announcements:

• The “Pagan and Heathen Political and Social Metrics survey” being conducted by Jonathan Leader of the South Carolina Institute of Archaeology and Anthropology defines it as “a means of gathering information about beliefs, behaviors, and demographics from Heathens and Pagans in the United States and Canada. It will ask you questions about aspects of your religious and personal life, and your opinion on hot-button issues. Its results will tell us what Heathens and Pagans have in common across borders, and how different Pagans are within them.” The survey can be accessed online.

• Cherry Hill Seminary (CHS) announced it would be holding its Summer Intensive at Mystic South 2023 in Atlanta, Georgia on July 14-16. More details can be found on the CHS website.
  

• The Fredrick Pagan Pride Day announced that it is seeking applications for entertainers, event sponsors, local groups and charities, vendors, volunteers,  and workshop and Ritual Leaders for their 7th annual Pagan Pride event, scheduled for September 9, 2023. Organizers request all inquiries be made via their website.
  

• The Grey School of Wizardry has launched a fundraising campaign to expand its physical campus in Whitehall, New York. This will enable the school to provide term-long, in-person enrollment. While the school officials say they still have a long way to go, they said things look quite promising.

• Cherry Hill Seminary announced today that they have raised over half of their funding goal of $20,000 for 2023. To date CHS has received $12,000 and if they can raise the additional funds needed, they will not need to hold another fundraiser in the Fall. CHS provides a variety of spiritual education for Pagans, nature-based belief systems that include, “specific training in areas such as rites of passage, counseling, religion and the law, interfaith work, leadership development, and nonprofit management.”

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Upcoming Events:

• Blue Marble Podcast will feature EcoActivist, EcoChaplain, and Circle Sanctuary Minister Rev. Char Bear on Friday, April 21 at 7:00pm (CDT) to discuss Earth Day, and the U.S. Climate Action Summit 2023. The U.S Climate Action Summit will be held on April 19 and virtual attendance is available for anyone to attend.

• Circle Sanctuary will hold its annual Earth Day Celebration on Saturday, April 22 at their Nature Preserve near Barneveld, Wisconsin. The celebration will include workshops, nature walks,  and rituals. More information on the event, including registration, is available on Circle Sanctuary’s website.

• Cherry Hill Seminary’s lecture series, “Coming to the Center” will host Jo Carson on May 20, 2023 at 3:00 pm (EDT). Information on the lecture and how to register is available on the CHS website. CHS provided this background on Carson, “Pagan priestess Jo Carson seeks to create positive visions of the future through Feraferia, A Love Culture for Wilderness. She is Chair of the Board of Feraferia, which she joined in 1972. She also holds the rank of 7th Degree in the Order of the Temple of Astarte, having been initiated in 1970. She was active in a Reclaiming-inspired Wiccan circle called Eye of the Crescent for 17 years. Jo holds a master’s degree from UCLA in film production, and her professional life has included camera work on many feature films. She directed and produced the documentary feature Dancing With Gaia: Earth Energy, Sacred Sexuality and the Return of the Goddess, plus documentary shorts A Dance for the Goddess about Feraferian rites, and Himalayan Pilgrimage: A Visionary Journey. She authored Celebrate Wildness: Magic, Mirth and Love on the Feraferian Path, an introduction to Feraferia through art. She is currently working on a Feraferia Tarot deck and book.”

• Circle Sanctuary announced last week that registration for Pagan Spirit Gathering is now open. The annual event includes a variety of vendors, workshops, music, and rituals.

• The Scottish Goddess Conference 2023 will be held online from September 13 – 17  as well as in person in Paisley, Scotland on September 16, 2023. This theme for 2023 is “Oracles of the Divine, and will be dedicated to all things related to communicating with the other realms and spirits. From oracle work to séance, spiritism, necromancy, omens, trance work, psychedelic plants, medium, divination methods, ancient oracles, and much more!” Speakers include Professor Daniel Ogden, Dr. Jeffrey S. Kupperman, Kristoffer Hughes, Caitlin Matthews, Ivo Dominguez, Jeff Cullen, Chris Allaun, Lucya Starza, Starr Ravenhawk, Susana Aguilar, Michael Mayo, and Cara Hamilton. Super Early Bird Tickets are currently available on the Scottish Goddess Conference Website. The Conference will also hold a Virtual Goddess Market till September and a live Goddess Market at the event venue at the Wynd Centre in Paisley, Scotland, to support the Goddess Temple Alba.

• The Goddess Temple Alba, with its aim to open a Community Space for Pagans in Scotland, will be hosting several Charitable Goddess Markets this year. The first one was held on February 4, and the next is scheduled for April 29 and will celebrate Beltane, and the third market will be held during the Scottish Goddess Conference on September 16. According to the organizers, “All donations towards spaces for traders will go directly to the Goddess Temple Alba Fund towards a space. Ness Bosch, the Head of the Goddess Temple Alba, and some of the members of the Temple are working very hard to open this Temple space! Go and support the Goddess Community in Scotland by paying a visit to the forthcoming Goddess Markets!” Those interested can now also join the Goddess Community In Scotland Facebook Group to keep up with goddess happenings in Scotland.  Anyone interested in securing a space as a trader/vendor with the Goddess Markets can email the organizers.  All markets will take place at the Wynd Centre in Paisley, Scotland.

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In other news:

• In repatriation news, the Mexican National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) announced the return of 40 artifacts from Italy, 40 more objects from Germany, and three returned from France. Culture Minister Alejandra Frausto traveled to Rome to collect the artifacts in person. In comments to the media, she said, “Not only do we announce the recovery of heritage but also the recovery of dignity in this country.” The artifacts were confiscated by an Italian enforcement agency, the Carabinieri group for the Protection of Cultural Heritage, which specializes in identifying cultural items that may have been removed without permission from their countries of origin. The French-held artifacts were part of a private inheritance that had been delivered to an auction house. According to the newspaper El Pais, the owner delisted and returned the objects to the Mexican embassy in Paris after learning of the government repatriation scheme. Some of the artifacts returned are close to 1700 years= old. Additionally, Frausto had spoken out against the sale of 83 Olmec artifacts that were scheduled for auction today in France. “They are put up for sale as if they were a luxury item to decorate a house as if they were merchandise. This is not only illegal but it is also immoral… We call for potential buyers to set their eyes on the art in towns today. There are extraordinary pieces that may be adorning the most luxurious houses in the world. Contemporary art in Mexico is also a power. Visit and see this art that is being created right now,” Frausto said. To date under President López Obrador’s government a total of 11,505 archaeological pieces have now been repatriated according to the INAH.

• French National Institute for Preventive Archaeological Research (Inrap) archaeologists excavating what was originally a Roman shale quarry and later converted into an ancient landfill in northwest France, discovered a number of 1,800-year-old artifacts. Among the finds are statuettes of deities, some believed to be of the goddess Venus, a potter’s kiln, a variety of fragments of ceramic tableware, coins, and even clothing pins. The quarry and subsequent landfill is located in what is now the city of Rennes, which was founded in the first century of the Gall-Roman Era. The Romans created many quarries in the areas they conquered to provide material for their many building projects. Researchers believe this quarry, which is one of only a few that have been excavated, was likely instrumental in the construction of Rennes. The Romans held Venus in high esteem and associated her not only with being the goddess of love but also with the power of emperors.

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Positively Noteworthy

The last few days of March and the first few days of April each year are considered Lobo Week by a number of wildlife organizations. Lobo Week was designed to help raise awareness for Mexican grey wolves, (Canis lupus baileyi), a subspecies of gray wolves, and celebrate the date of the first release reintroducing the species back into Arizona.

Eleven Mexican gray wolves were released into Arizona’s Apache National Forest on March 29, 1998 and since then their numbers in the wild have grown to 241. They remain one of the most endangered species in North America. Another 380 are involved in captive-breeding programs.

Thanks to legislation, and breeding programs that encourage genetic diversity, lobos are seeing their largest numbers in the wild in decades.

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Tarot of the week by Star Bustamonte

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