Circle Sanctuary logo
Rev. Selena Fox, senior minister and high priestess of Circle Sanctuary, joined other speakers at the Wisconsin Faith Voices for Justice press conference last Wednesday morning, June 28, the 54th Anniversary of the Stonewall Uprising. Circle Sanctuary is among the churches and other organizations standing up for LGBTQ+ Rights and signing on to the statement released in response to the Human Rights Campaign(HRC)’s declaration of an LGBTQ+ emergency. The HRC wrote last month “We have officially declared a state of emergency for LGBTQ+ people in the United States for the first time following an unprecedented and dangerous spike in anti-LGBTQ+ legislative assaults sweeping state houses this year…. More than 75 anti-LGBTQ+ bills have been signed into law this year alone, more than doubling last year’s number, which was previously the worst year on record. Our community is in danger, but we won’t stop fighting back — not now, not ever.”
The Wisconsin Examiner covered the story and quoted Rev. Fox saying “Many of the world religions have some form of what is often called the golden rule: Do unto others as you’d have them do unto you, or stated in another way, don’t do to others, what you don’t want them to do to you.”
“Divine love has “no exclusions or opt-outs,” she added. “And as religious leaders, we need to stand up for love. We need to stand up for inclusion.”
Circle Sanctuary also added its signature calling on legislators and public officials to block anti-LGBTQI+ bills. The statement said “As leaders representing various faith traditions, we stand united in our support of each individual’s human dignity and worth. We stand united in our belief that our LGBTQ+ siblings are beloved and sacred. Each person should feel safe and nurtured in our communities.”
The statement continued, “Therefore, we denounce the use of political hate speech against the LGBTQ+ community. Hate speech dehumanizes our family members, friends, and neighbors, and too often leads to violence against marginalized communities. We have witnessed a rise in dehumanizing language aimed particularly at the LGBTQ+ community at all levels of government—from the U.S. Congress to local school boards. Such language causes great emotional and psychological harm to the Queer community, particularly to our LGBTQ+ youth. Therefore, we call upon all people to counter messages of hate with messages of love.”
The full statement is available on the Wisconsin Politics site.
The July 2023 just-shy-of-full Super Moon over TWH headquarters in Miami [MJTM]
“A supermoon is when the moon appears a little bit bigger in our sky,” said Dr. Shannon Schmoll, director of the Abrams Planetarium at Michigan State University. “As the moon goes around the Earth, it’s not a perfect circle. So, there are points in its orbit where it’s a little bit closer or a little bit farther from the Earth.”
The full moon will be the first since the June solstice and will reach peak illumination below the horizon at 7:39 a.m. ET, according to The Old Farmer’s Almanac. The July moon is often called the buck moon as the antlers of male deer usually begin to grow.
This full moon has been given different names by Indigenous peoples, many focusing on the harvest of berries. Abenaki people call the moon temaskikos or grass cutter moon, the Anishnaabe refer to it as the raspberry moon, the Choctaw call it Hash Watallak or moon of the crane, and the Tlingit call it the salmon moon or xaat disi.
The next supermoon will be the August blue moon.
In other news
Health Canada’s Minister of Health, the Honorable Jean-Yves Duclos, announced last week that “the Government of Canada has banned the cruel and unnecessary testing of cosmetic products on animals in Canada, representing a major step forward in supporting animal welfare by reducing our reliance on animal testing.”
Humane Society International notes “Cosmetic animal tests are archaic chemical-poisoning experiments devised more than half a century ago.” It notes “Modern non-animal methods are available for most cosmetic safety issues, and have been shown to better predict human responses in the real-world than the animal tests they replace.”
Canada now joins Australia, Colombia, Ecuador, Guatemala, European Union, India, Israel, Mexico, New Zealand, South Korea, Scandinavian nations, and the United Kingdom, in banning cosmetic testing on animals, according to the release. Various states in Brazil have also banned the practice as have the US states of California, Hawaii, Illinois, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, and Virginia.
“Protecting animals, now and in the future, is something that many Canadians have been calling for, and something we can all celebrate,” said Canadian Minister of Health Jean-Yves Duclos in the release. “We are proud to move forward with this measure, and to assure Canadians that the products they buy are cruelty-free. We will keep working with experts and international partners to explore safe, cruelty-free alternatives so no more animals suffer and die due to cosmetic testing.”
The bill was first read in the House of Commons in April and received royal assent on June 22.
Happening tonight!
American Goddesses Full Moon Circle
Circle Sanctuary has an online Full Moon Circle ceremony every month which happens this evening. Circle Sanctuary’s next Full Moon Circle will be tonight, Monday, July 3 at 8 pm Eastern, 7 pm Central, 6 pm Mountain, 5 pm Pacific, Midnight UTC. Our focus for this Independence Day Eve ceremony is on American Goddesses and will include honoring and lore connected with some Goddess icons associated with the USA as a nation in public art and popular culture, including Lady Liberty/Libertas and Lady Justice/Justitia, plus others. The event will be livestreamed tonight on the Circle Sanctuary YouTube channel. More info about this and other Full Moon Circles is available on their website:
Happening this Weekend:
The 12th Annual WitchsFest USA – Ye Olde Pagan Faire will be held in New York City, NY, and will take place July 7-9th, 2023. This magickal hybrid event brings a diverse group of people to the table from all over the world and walks of life for your edification and enjoyment. With over 49 workshops online and 12 workshops in person on Saturday, July 8th at Astor Place. Filled with workshops, educational presentations, Live performances on Saturday, community building, Summer Blessing Ritual, and much more. Register for the online event and come and join us in person to experience this event in all its many-faceted glory. Check out our Magickal Market Place, Featured Presenters, and Featured Performers. Applications are still open for Food, Non-Food Magickal Vendors for in-person on Saturday, July 8th. Applications for Groups/Temples/Covens etc still available as are applications for adverts in the WitchsFest USA Program. Volunteers needed, who will be offered a discount on registration: more details can be found on our website. PROCEEDS TO: CITY HARVEST, ST. JUDE HOSPITAL FOR CHILDREN & FEED AMERICA.
Upcoming Gatherings:
- 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.
- The Texas Local Council of Covenant of the Goddess announced that they will be hosting Merry Meet from Friday, July 28 – Sunday, July 30, 2023, in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. MerryMeet is the annual gathering for Covenant of the Goddess and includes two days of workshops, rituals, lectures, local vendors, and entertainment. This year, visiting author Raven Kaldera will be presenting workshops and offering a book signing. Wendy Rule, a pagan musician and visionary, will be performing on Saturday, July 29. Friday night will include a ritual presented by the local council followed by a drag show presented by the United Court of the Lone Star Empire. Concurrently, during MerryMeet the Covenant conducts its annual business meeting known as Grand Council (GC). Grand Council is the forum for its members (covens and solitaries) to engage in a consensus process to discuss issues relevant to the operations of CoG, review national bylaw changes necessary in a changing world, to decide matters which require deliberation by the full membership, and to elect the national board of officers. Grand Council provides a unique opportunity to observe the process of decision-making utilizing the consensus process. Additional details and registration are available at the Merry Meet website.
Positively Noteworthy
New research published last week finds that bottlenose dolphins use “baby talk” like humans. As with humans, “Baby talk” may sound foolish but has an important function in preparing infants for speech.
Dolphins, being highly intelligent and social animals, have a complex system of communication that involves various vocalizations, body movements, and gestures. Reviewing 34 years of data, researchers found that mothers changed their vocalization in predictable ways when teaching calves dolphin calls. Like humans, dolphin calves take years to master language and the names of other pod members. The “baby talk” appears to help the calves master the vocalizations.
When dolphins interact with their young calves, they often employ a softer and higher-pitched vocalization pattern compared to their usual communication sounds. This higher-pitched vocalization, sometimes referred to as the “signature whistle,” is a unique sound produced by each individual dolphin. It serves as a way for dolphins to identify and call out to specific individuals, including their offspring.
The researchers issued some caveats about how to interpret their results. They noted more work must be done to confirm their findings.
Science takes time and we can wait for confirmation. It’s still cute.
Tarot of the Week by Star Bustamonte
Deck: Tarot Neocolonial de las Américas, by Patrick McGrath Muñiz, published by U.S. Games Systems, Inc.
Card: Two (2) of Bastos (Wands)
The week ahead is liable to offer opportunities for exploration, expansion, and new endeavors for those who are willing to seize the moment. The ability to have an actionable plan that can be implemented on the fly may be key.
Conversely, chasing a dream without a solid plan of action with room for flexibility is unlikely to succeed. Additionally, even a successful plan that achieves a set goal can result in negative backlash that may not be immediately obvious or detectable, and have far-reaching impacts.
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