Univision logo
MIAMI – Univision is an American Spanish-language free-to-air television network owned by TelevisaUnivision. It is the United States’ most prominent provider of Spanish-language content. The network’s programming is aimed at the Latino public and includes telenovelas and other drama series, sports, sitcoms, reality and variety series, news programming, and imported Spanish-language feature films. Univision is headquartered in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, and has its major studios, production facilities, and business operations based in Miami).
Univision’s programming is aimed at the Latino public and is a major force in the Spanish-language media landscape in the United States. The network reaches over 45 million viewers each month and is the most popular Spanish-language television network in the country. Univision is also a major player in the Spanish-language radio market, owning and operating over 60 radio stations across the United States.
Yesterday on Mother’s Day, Univision translated and posted a report noting that “Not all cultures and religions celebrate motherhood and nurturing on a particular day, rather in many cases they are exalted through goddess-centered traditions that embrace many forms of the divine feminine as a central part of their belief systems”. (trans.) The original report titled “From Kali To Mary To Neopagan Goddesses, Religions Revere Motherhood In Sometimes Unexpected Ways” was published via Religion Unplugged.
The report highlighted Neopagan beliefs as religious systems that honor the Divine Feminine. The report comments “Of primary importance to many Neopagans is the triple goddess, a figure encompassing all three aspects of maiden, mother, and crone. Sometimes these goddess figures are based on specific ancient deities, such as Persephone, Demeter, and Hecate, and other times they are more generally worshiped as representations of various phases of life” (trans.).
They further noted that many NeoPagans religions reject gender essentialism and expand our understanding of feminity and masculinity. “Many of these traditions are intentionally expanding to reject ideas of gender essentialism and embrace a variety of identities. For some Neopagans, exploring what femininity and masculinity mean in today’s society is an important extension of religious beliefs and a way to include people who have felt rejected by other religious communities” (trans.).
Smithsonian Logo
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – A new traveling tour by the Smithsonian will explore the history, beliefs, culture and identity of the Indigenous peoples of the northern Caribbean islands and “explores the Taíno heritage of today and how Taíno descendants are participating in a growing movement to reaffirm their Caribbean Indigenous identity and culture.”
The exhibition titled “Caribbean Indigenous Resistance / Resistencia indígena del Caribe ¡Taíno Vive!” began its national tour on May 13, 2023, at the Museum of Arts and Sciences (MOAS) in Daytona Beach, Florida.
The exhibition is organized for travel by the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service (SITES) in collaboration with the National Museum of the American Indian and the National Museum of the American Latino. It will be on view in Daytona Beach until August 6, 2023.
The exhibition wrote in a press release that the bilingual exhibit “explores the rich and enduring cultural legacies of the Taínos and the complicated questions around heritage, ancestry and race that emerge from Taíno identities today. The term Taíno refers to the diverse Arawak-speaking peoples of the Greater Antilles (Cuba, Jamaica, Haiti, the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico) and their descendants within and outside of the Caribbean. In 1492, the Taíno discovered Christopher Columbus, an encounter that set in motion a Spanish invasion that devastated the Taíno civilization and decimated their population. However, the exhibition reveals that in places like Puerto Rico, Cuba and Jamaica, historical records and regional traditions point to Indigenous survival and rich cultural legacies within and outside the Caribbean.”
“This exhibition tells the story of the Caribbean from the perspective of Indigenous survival and resistance,” said María del Carmen Cossu, project manager for Latino Initiatives at SITES. “It is dedicated to understand the value and impact of the Taíno legacy that continues to live on through its descendants, the community and activist groups.”
The MOAS is located at 352 S Nova Road in Daytona Beach, FL 32114. It is open Mondays – Saturdays from 10 AM – 5 PM and Sundays 11 AM – 5 PM. Additional information is available on the MOAS Website.
Crossings of the Veil
“Shirley and Gaia” via Unitarian Universalist Women and Religion
Longtime Elder, Scholar, & Leader in National/Global Goddess Studies & Women’s Spirituality, Rev. Dr. Shirley Ranck, crossed over yesterday. She was 92 years old. Shirley is described as a “Crone of wisdom and power who has touched the lives of many women through her writing and teaching.” Shirley wrote the groundbreaking curriculum “Cakes for the Queen of Heaven” and co-edited “Pagan and Earth-Centered Voice in Unitarian Universalism”. The Covenant of Unitarian Universalist Pagans wrote “Her trailblazing spirit enlivened many over the years. Hail to the traveler. She is now everywhere and in everything.”
Shirley (upper left in light blue) is pictured with Selena Fox, Margot Adler, Jerrie Hildebrand & Starhawk in 2015 at a meeting that helped birth the anthology, Pagan & Earth-centered Voices in Unitarian Universalism that she & Circle Sanctuary Minister & CUUPs Elder Rev. Jerrie Hildebrand [Photo via Selena Fox]
Hail the Traveler!
What is remembered, lives!
Announcements
The Earth-based Spirituality Action Team (ESBAT) is for anyone who keeps the sacred Earth at the center of their practice. We see action on climate change as an urgent moral imperative. We aim to reach out to our global communities and recruit volunteers for the Citizens’ Climate Lobby. We recognize and honor the spiritual nature of climate work.
The monthly meeting of the Earth-based Spirituality Action Team will take place on Monday, June 12th at 8:00 PM Eastern Time (5 PM Pacific) via Zoom. The next month will feature Rev. Debbie Philp, an inter-spiritual minister, a Shamanic Reiki Master Teacher, and a state-licensed wildlife rehabilitator who specializes in injured freshwater turtles. Her ceremonies and teachings are centered on spiritual ecology and reflect her commitment to deep interconnection with the Earth’s wild beings.
You can find out more about Debbie’s non-profit, Dancing Turtle Rescue on their website. You can also locate a nearby wildlife rehabilitator via US – Animal Help Now.
Information about ESBAT is available on YouTube, Facebook, and Instagram. The meeting will be hosted on Zoom and facilitated by a member of our Action Team. Additional information is available on the ESBAT sites above.
A new Kickstarter project by Trystan Mitchell’s The Bigfoot Studio mixes folk horror, comic illustration, baked goods, and elder gods. The Wicker Pasty “is a 32 page colour comic book written, illustrated and set in the heart of Cornwall, riffing playfully on themes of folk horror and cultural identity. With a side order of Lovecraft and ritually baked goods, it takes its cues from a darkly whimsical Cornish storytelling tradition familiar to audiences of Footsbarn, Bedlam and Kneehigh Theatre.”
Hinting at a well-known Pagan-themed film, The Wicker Pasty tells the story of a recipe-hunter who “discovers a community blessed with exceptional good health and long life, following a faith tradition as old as the neolithic monuments that crown the headland above the village.”
Additional Information is available on The Bigfoot Studio Kickstarter site.
Upcoming Events:
- The 31st annual St. Louis Pagan Picnic will be held on Saturday, June 3, 10:00 am – 7:00 pm and Sunday, June 4, 10:00 am – 6:00 pm (CDT) in Tower Grove Park. The event is free and family-friendly, featuring a variety of workshops, musical performances, rituals, and vendors. The event also offers a Kid Zone that will include crafting and other activities for children.
- The EarthSpirit Community announced its 45th Annual Rites of Spring with the theme Reaching for Connection: With the land, each other, and all beings of the Earth. Among their presenters are Byron Ballard, Orion Foxwood, Andra Corban Arthen, Bright Hawk, and artist Martin Bridge. The EarthSpirit community writes ” Join us as together we Weave the web of community; Share in ancient traditions and new rituals; Look forward toward what we can create in the world” Information about the event is available on the EarthSpirit website.
- The Atheopagan Society announced Jarod K. Anderson as the keynote speaker at their upcoming Web Weaving Conference, scheduled to take place online on Saturday, June 3 from 10:00 am until 8:00 pm (PDT), and Sunday, June 4 from 10:00:am until 5:15 pm (PDT). Mark Green, from the Atheopagan Society Council, told TWH, “Jarod K. Anderson, the Cryptonaturalist, creates such beautiful and thought-provoking writing about nature that we are completely thrilled he has agreed to be our keynote speaker.” Anderson is an author, poet, and creator of “The CryptoNaturalist Podcast.” On his website, his work is described as, “Ranging from optimistic contemplations of mortality to appreciations of single-celled organisms, Jarod is forever writing love letters to the natural world.” His poetry collections, Field Guide to the Haunted Forest (2020) and Love Notes from the Hollow Tree (2022) reflect his fascination and wonder with the natural world. Anderson also has a forthcoming memoir about chronic depression and reconnecting with nature that will be published in 2024 by Timber Press. The Web Weaving Conference is a weekend Zoom gathering for Atheopagans, that offers a variety of entertainment, community-building, workshops, and socializing opportunities. The conference will feature workshops on diverse topics such as “Sarcastic Tarot;” recovering from religious abuse; LGBTQ+ allyship; and includes a children’s circle. Registration is open and more details, including the conference’s programming schedule, are available on their 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.
- Summer Magick Fest has an updated schedule of events for its second year of the event, coming up June 8-11, 2023. Jason Mankey has been added to the list of headliners which also includes Yeshe Matthews of the Mt Shasta Goddess Temple, Stacey Williams-Ng creator of the Southern Gothic Oracle, Coby Michael author of The Poison Path Herbal, and This Old Witch podcasters, Alexander Cabot and Melas Karan. Musical guests include Alexian and S. J. Tucker. Registration is still open and rooms are available in the Doubletree Orlando Airport conference hotel. Information about Summer Magick Fest and registration is available on their website.
- The fifth annual Mystic South Conference (MSC) will be held in Atlanta, Georgia, and will take place on July 14-16, 2023. The conference notes that it is a magickal event with a Southern flair. It is “filled with workshops, educational abstract presentations, rituals, community building, and much more.” Conference registration is now available as it is hotel registration. In addition, the MSC is accepting applications for volunteers who will be offered a discount on registration. Details about volunteer registration are available in the MSC volunteer section. Cherry Hill Seminary (CHS) has also announced it would be holding its Summer Intensive at Mystic South Conference. More details can be found on the CHS website.
- Editorial Note: Several members of the MSC team are writers for The Wild Hunt. They were not involved in this week’s Pagan Community Notes of these mentions.
Positively Noteworthy
This year’s Eurovision Song Contest was hosted in Liverpool, England this year. It is typically hosted by the country of the previous year’s winner. Last Ukraine won the contest but because of the Russian war on that nation, the UK stepped in as host.
For the uninitiated, the Eurovision Song Contest (ESC) is an annual international song competition organized by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU). Each participating country submits an original song to be performed live and transmitted to national broadcasters via the Eurovision and Euroradio networks, with competing countries then casting votes for the other countries’ songs to determine a winner. The contest has been running since 1956 and is one of the longest-running television programs in the world. It is also one of the most watched non-sporting events in the world and this year it was the most watched Eurovision in the contest’s history.
This year’s winner was Sweden with pop singer pop singer Loreen taking the top prize with the song “Tattoo.”
But it is Moldova that stood out to us and brings Eurovision to our pages with Pasha PArfeni’s Soarele şi luna (The Sun and The Moon) that combines Pagan folk symbols and natural elements over a couple in a “dense leaf forest” receiving a blessing: “The Sun and the Moon…will hold our wedding crown”.
Tarot of the Week by Star Bustamonte
Deck: Tarot of Sacred Feminine, by Floreana Nativo, published by Lo Scarabeo.
Card: Five (5) of Swords
This week holds the potential for conflict and disagreement, as well as one where words and actions matter. Evaluating whether the issue at hand is one truly worth the possible fallout before engaging, and approaching the matter with an eye to compromise is likely to be key.
Conversely, this week may offer opportunities to resolve or fully move past old conflicts. There may be sufficient energy to support making amends or coming to an accord where disagreements have created a divide.
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