TWH – A milestone for Sacred Well Congregation International is fast approaching, as it celebrates its 30th anniversary on June 21, 2024.
Sacred Well Congregation International, established in 1994 in Belgium, was founded by six elders of Traditional Craft Wicca and originally conceived as a religious organization that could provide legal recognition for the ordination of Pagan clergy. Two of the founding elders then established the Sacred Well Congregation in the United States, incorporating it as an official Wiccan church in the US State of Texas. Building on this original focus, SWC has evolved to serve an inclusive community practicing many different nature-based spiritualities. Today, the organization provides training and support for military and civilian communities practicing nature-centered religions, with 1 board-certified chaplain, 23 military open circles, and 4 civilian open circles. It continues to mentor and support military and civilian community leaders, as well as develop professional chaplains through the Association of Professional Chaplains, Department of Veterans Affairs, and College of Pastoral Supervision and Psychotherapy.
Further information about Sacred Well Congregation International, including its history, purpose, membership options, and educational services, can be found on the organization’s website at www.sacredwell.org.”
Congratulations!
ASHEVILLE, North Carolina – HBCM celebrates its one-year anniversary! House of Black Cat Magic is celebrating its first anniversary with a two-day, One-Year Anniversary Purrty event this weekend in West Asheville, NC.
On Saturday, June 8th from 12 noon – 6:00 pm: Sterling “Trapking” Davis will be on site for a meet-n-greet all day to hang out with fellow cat-lovers, talk about TNR (Trap, Neuter, Return), and will read his children’s book, TrapKing for a Day to some lucky kiddies & kitties in the cat lounge.
Volunteers for the Asheville Cat Weirdos (ACW) Cat Pantry will also be present all day and will be accepting donations of unopened cat food for their pantry. There will be a silent auction to benefit the ACW Pantry & Binx’s Home for Black Cats that will run all day long and offer some amazing and awesome gift items that will include a Cat Lover’s Basket and an Ultimate Magical Practitioner’s Basket. Melt Your Heart, a gourmet grilled cheese food truck will be serving up cheesy goodness all day.
Admission to the Black Cat Lounge is free all day in 15-minute long sessions. Lounge capacity is limited to 10 humans at a time.HBCM shop and lounge will be open from 11:00 am to 7:00 pm.
On Sunday, June 9th from 12noon to 6:00 pm: HBCM will host its monthly Magical Market comprised of a congregation of local artists, makers, and more offering all manner of wares, and of course, all things magical, feline, and magically feline. Britt’s Sweet Treats will be serving a variety of soft-serve ice cream delights—sundays, cones, and floats.
HBCM will be open from 11:00 – 7:00 pm. Admission to the Magical Market & retail shop is free. Admission to the cat lounge is $7.00 for 30 minutes, $13.00 for 50 minutes. Last entry to the cat lounge is 6:00 pm for 50-minute sessions and 6:30 pm for 30-minute sessions.
Congratulations!
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Thor’s Oak Kindred joins Race Against Hate
For the fifth year, Thor’s Oak Kindred has a team walking in the Ricky Byrdsong Memorial Race Against Hate. We invite you to join us or donate to this worthy cause.
Thor’s Oak Kindred is a diverse organization dedicated to the practice of the Ásatrú religion in Chicago. We come together to honor the Norse gods and goddesses, the spirits of the land, and the departed people who inspire us. Since 2016, we have been building and nurturing a face-to-face community of practitioners in Chicago and the greater midwestern region for ritual celebration, group events, and mutual support.
Our members are kindred by choice and have chosen to embrace each other as a family. We are proud of our diversity, and we stand against all discrimination on the basis of race, sex, gender, orientation, identity, origin, ancestry, age, or ability.
With the poison of white nationalism spreading worldwide and using Ásatrú as a propaganda vehicle, it is no longer enough to issue declarations and denunciations. We must join with other people of positive intent, push back on resurgent hate, and promote productive change.
On June 16 in Evanston, the YWCA hosts the 25th annual event in memory of Ricky Byrdsong, the Northwestern basketball coach murdered by a white supremacist in 1999 while walking in his neighborhood with his young children. On the same day, the shooter wounded six Orthodox Jews. Over the subsequent weekend, he killed a Korean-American graduate student and wounded an African-American minister before taking his own life.
All proceeds are used to further the YWCA’s mission in the areas of racial justice and violence prevention. Their programs assist children in schools and youth organizations to challenge their own prejudices and foster healthy, violence-free relationships among their peers; support teenagers in examining their own relationships and practicing constructive ways to handle conflict and differences; and encourage adults to engage in constructive dialogue, interactive activities, and meaningful action as related to racial justice.
Help make a real difference in the real world. Please register today and join us on the walk. If you don’t live in the area, you can donate any amount small or large. Sign up to join our walking team or donate by clicking here.
Crossings of the Veil
Ms. Birubala Rava [Photo Credit : Utpal Datta CCA-SA 4.0]
We should underscore that Ms. Rabha was not a member of our community but her work remains important to Pagans, Witches, and polytheists.
Ms. Rabha was renowned for her efforts to combat witch-hunting practices in Assam, a northeastern state of India. Born in Thakurvilla village in Assam’s Goalpara district, she faced personal tragedies and witnessed numerous injustices related to the superstition of witch-hunting, which spurred her into action.
Ms. Rabha founded the NGO Mission Birubala to raise awareness about the issue and to support victims accused of witchcraft. Her work includes educating communities, advocating for legal reforms, and providing rehabilitation for those affected by these harmful practices. She was nominated for the Nobel Prices and received state honors in India.
Witch hunting is a persistent issue across India and other parts of the world. The practice predominantly targets women who are often single, widowed, or otherwise isolated, and frequently involved in property or marital disputes. Accused of being witches, these women have faced torture and, in many cases, murder. According to the National Crime Records Bureau, more than 1,500 women were killed in India due to such accusations between 2010 and 2021.
As The New York Times reported “The victims of witch hunts face gruesome punishments, according to “Contemporary Practices of Witch Hunting,” a 2015 report by the Indian legal nonprofit Partners for Law in Development. They can be subjected to “forcible stripping,” the report said, “being paraded naked in public, cutting or tonsuring of the hair, blackening of the face, cutting off of the nose, pulling of the teeth to ‘defang’, gouging out the eye, whipping, gang rape, forcible consumption of human excreta, cow dung” or “killing by hanging, hacking, lynching or burying alive.”
Her dedication and impact have been widely recognized, earning her several awards and honors. Birubala Rabha’s activism has played a crucial role in bringing attention to and reducing instances of witch-hunting in Assam.
Birubala Rabha’s lifelong crusade against social evils like witch-hunting among tribal communities has empowered thousands of women and brought massive changes to society. My deepest condolences on the demise of the iconic social activist. She leaves behind a great legacy in… pic.twitter.com/CyaWmrx2b0
— Sarbananda Sonowal (Modi Ka Parivar) (@sarbanandsonwal) May 13, 2024
What is remembered, Lives!
Happening this Weekend!
Summer Magick Festival is an earth-based spirituality convention in magickal Orlando, Florida. Event information is available on their website.
For this year’s festival, the coordinators write,
“The rituals that we do at Summer Magick Fest are a very special part of our magickal immersion weekend. Each year we build upon the magick that was done the year before and deepen the web of allies and connections that uphold this beautiful community.
In 2024, we conjure air energy after creating a foundation of earth energy the second year and emphasizing fire in our first year. Our main ritual Saturday night will use sound, sacred words of power, and our divine summons to encourage communication from Source. Four mediums will draw down the power of a deity associated with one of the elements of the Summer Magick Fest mandala, our sacred wheel of manifestation. Everyone in the circle will have the opportunity to approach one of the deities, ask a question or request a blessing, and receive communication from Source. This is a holy process in many earth religions and we hope you will find it meaningful to connect to the Old Gods in this tangible and experiential way.
In order to create the correct container for such powerful work we will begin with acknowledging the mineral, plant, and animal allies from our mandala. Through joyful sound and spoken word we will draw closer to Them. We are the power of Knowledge and Wisdom combined, the head and the heart acting as one for the benefit of all beings, including the planet. We embody the Knowing that we are connected to Source in a web of interdependence, that Source is Love and Acceptance, that we have direct access to Source through divine trance possession.
The deity you approach will be chosen for you by the Gods Themselves, through a mineral token you receive during ritual. Based on the stone you draw, you will be guided to approach Artemis in the East, Thoth-Hermes in the South, Hekate Einalia in the West, or Green Tara in the North!”
Announcements
Circle Sanctuary’s Pagan Spirit Gathering (PSG) is one of America’s oldest and largest Nature Spirituality festivals. Since 1980, PSG has been bringing together Pagans of many paths and places to create community, celebrate the summer solstice, and commune with nature in a sacred environment.
The 2024 Pagan Spirit Gathering will be held June 16th to 23rd in southern Missouri, USA. This year’s gathering includes a variety of rituals, workshops, concerts, and merchanting along with an assortment of other activities.
Our Pagan Leadership Institute will include workshops by Pagans from diverse traditions. In addition, High Priestess Rev. Selena Fox will be presenting a 4-part program, Wheel of the Year Intensive: Creating & Leading Group Rituals. It will cover creating and leading group sabbat rites and celebrations.
Pagan musicians will be sharing their music through concerts during the week and a combined main-stage group jam called Bardapalooz on Saturday night. Register by June 8th at circlesanctuary.org.
Again, registration is now open for the 2024 Pagan Spirit Gathering, but it will close on June 8, 2024!
The Delmarva Pagan Pride Festival will be offered June 30th, 2024 rain or shine at the Dover, DE outdoor Legislative Mall. This incredible day of classes, music, ritual, and shopping is offered to the community at no cost but we do encourage bringing a canned good donation for the local food bank which can be dropped off at the information desk. Please see our Facebook page for guest announcements and schedule releases. All are welcome, hope to see you there!
The sixth annual Mystic South Conference will take place July 26-28, 2024! Mystic South is filled with workshops, educational abstract presentations, rituals, community building, and much more. With the backdrop of the grand city of Atlanta, be a part of our celebration of the diversity of the peoples and religious practices, both past and present, that make up the Southern US region.
The conference also announced that their tickets are on sale. Get your tickets now and, get some for your friends, your neighbors, or just some random person you met on the street!
Do you have news to share with our community?
Announcements? Elevations? Events?
Let us know at pcn@wildhunt.org.
Tarot of the Week by Star Bustamonte
Deck: The Herbcrafter’s Tarot, artwork by Joanna Powell Colbert, text by Latisha Guthrie, published by U.S. Games Systems, Inc.
Card: Three (3) of Earth (Pentacles) – Raspberry
This week there is a focus on tending the abundance that has been bestowed, as well as sharing both the bounty and the workload with others. Teamwork and community are likely to figure prominently in securing a future legacy.
In contrast, trying to go it alone and shouldering all of the burden is likely to lead to burnout, exhaustion, and failure. Having clear communication and realistic expectations both for others and oneself is likely to be key in order to avoid the pitfalls of the week.
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