Cherry Hill Seminary Holds Historic First Ordination
Columbia, S.C.—Cherry Hill Seminary held a service of ordination on Saturday, March 21, 2026, for five of its graduates: Vanessa F. Hurst, CMC; Jeffrey M. Keefer, Certified Spiritual Director; Julie Olson, CMC; Troy Alan Robinson, CMC; and Jenny Zappala, CMC.
Each of the ordinands completed a thorough course of study, including a supervised internship local to them. A Clergy Review Committee, which included Rev. Wes Isley, MDiv, HPs Carol Kirk, Rev. Karen LeBlanc, MDiv, Rev. Cedar Monroe, MDiv, and Dr. Robert Patrick, MDiv, reviewed applications and interviewed each candidate before approving them for ordination. Before this review, the Seminary contracted with an outside firm to conduct extensive background checks.
Top to bottom, left to right: Jeffrey M. Keefer, Jenny Zappala, Julie Olson, Vanessa F. Hurst, Troy Alan Robinson
“We’ve been asked about ordination for as long as I’ve been with Cherry Hill Seminary,” said Holli Emore, Executive Director. “That’s been 20 years, and last year we began to hold discussions about what it means to be ordained, or to be the ordaining party,” she continued.
Robert Patrick, a member of the Clergy Review Committee, had more to say. “Pagans are largely solitary. We are ordaining Pagan-identified clergy to minister to the needs of Pagan and nature spirituality folks in both their solitariness and in their groups. It’s really sort of uncharted waters, and that’s exciting. We are ordaining clergy for large swaths of people who don’t have easy access to clergy when they feel the need.”
The world of contemporary Pagans has long debated terms like clergy or the need for ordination, Emore noted. “My own thesis work showed that most people who identify as some variety of Pagan, or simply connecting to spirituality through nature, are on their own, but not always by choice. This means that our graduates are serving their communities in myriad ways, whether leading small groups, offering spiritual direction or pastoral counseling, holding public rituals, formal chaplaincy, or leading from a congregational pulpit.”
Cherry Hill Seminary is not tradition-specific and does not train students for particular traditions. Core elements of seminary training include ethics, exploring the student’s personal theology, interfaith leadership, ritual development, and more. Candidates for ordination have demonstrated an understanding of and ability to support others spiritually.
“In the end, we realized that our students both need and deserve the validation that comes with the rigorous process leading to ordination. It is also a strong message to the world outside the Seminary that this is a person who can be trusted,” said Emore.
Those who wish to make a gift in honor of one or all the ordinands may do so here.
Cherry Hill Seminary is the leading provider of education and practical training in leadership, ministry, and personal growth in Pagan and Nature-Based spiritualities, by providing transformative education and empowering students to advance academically and lead spiritually.
Congratulations!
Real Madrid logo
At the March 22, 2026, derby between Real Madrid and Atlético Madrid, the atmosphere inside the Santiago Bernabéu shifted before kickoff as a massive tifo unfurled across the stands. The image depicted the “Goddess of Cibeles,” accompanied by the words “Goddess of Real, Queen of Madrid.”
For a moment, everyone stood, and the stadium fell into a kind of collective pause. The scale and symbolism of the display captured attention even beyond the usual intensity of one of football’s fiercest rivalries. While local supporters immediately recognized the figure, many international viewers were left asking: Who is Cybele, and why does she matter so deeply to Madrid?
The answer leads back to one of the ancient world’s most powerful figures: the Great Mother.
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Cybele, known in Spain as Cibeles, is an ancient Phrygian goddess originating in what is now modern-day Turkey. Often called the “Mountain Mother,” she embodies the untamed, fertile forces of nature. In classical iconography, she appears crowned with a mural crown, symbolizing her protection of cities, and seated between lions, representing her dominion over the wild. Her mythology is marked by the tragic story of her consort Attis, whose death and rebirth came to symbolize the cycles of nature. Her cult was known for ecstatic, sensory rituals, including drumming and dance, and in 204 BCE she was brought to Rome as Magna Mater, where she became a powerful figure in state religion, bridging wilderness and civilization.
Today, her presence endures not only in Pagan practices but in the heart of Madrid itself. The Fuente de Cibeles, an 18th-century fountain depicting the goddess riding a chariot drawn by lions, stands as one of the city’s most iconic monuments. It is here that Real Madrid celebrates its greatest victories. After major titles, players and supporters gather at the fountain, where team captains ceremonially adorn the goddess with club colors. The tradition has not been without consequence; celebrations have, at times, damaged the statue. But the fountain remains a powerful ritual of civic and sporting identity.
Close-up of the monumental Fountain of Cybele, in Madrid. [Photo Credit: Fernando CCA-SA 4.0
In bringing Cybele into the stadium through the tifo, Real Madrid’s supporters were not simply displaying a historic image. They were invoking a living symbol, one that ties the club to the city, the past to the present, and communal celebration to something that felt, by numerous accounts, unmistakably sacred.
Museum of the Rockies Unveils Mural by Indigenous Women Inspired by Traditional Celestial Cartography
Montana State University’s Museum of the Rockies has unveiled its new lobby mural, a piece titled “All My Relations in All Four Directions.” Submitted photo. via Press Release
BOZEMAN, Montana— A press release from Montana State University announced that the Museum of the Rockies has unveiled a new lobby mural titled All My Relations in All Four Directions, created by three Indigenous women artists from the Wind River Indian Reservation in Wyoming: Talissa Abeyta, Colleen Friday, and Adrienne Vetter.
According to the release, the artists bring distinct but complementary perspectives to the work. Abeyta, an Eastern Shoshone contemporary ledger artist, incorporates cultural imagery and storytelling into her pieces. Friday, a Northern Arapaho artist with a background in science, draws on beadwork traditions learned from her mother. Vetter, an artist and educator, contributed experience in public murals and collaborative projects.
The mural blends Indigenous traditions with contemporary techniques and was created in view of museum visitors over several weeks. Painted across six curved ceiling panels, the work depicts a continuous cycle of day transitioning into night, with imagery of the sun, sunset, dusk, and moon. Additional elements include geometric patterns inspired by Arapaho beadwork, highlighted with gold leaf, alongside mountains, pathways, and stars.
The release notes that the mural centers Indigenous celestial knowledge. The North Star and Big Dipper appear in multiple positions, reflecting seasonal and spatial relationships in the sky. A recurring morning star motif—significant in many Native traditions—symbolizes balance and orientation.
Abeyta described the work as “a narrative that ties us all together globally. We all relate under one sky.” Vetter added that shared constellations connect people across distances, noting that those at similar latitudes “see the same sky,” reinforcing a sense of global relationship and perspective.
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Tarot of the Week by Star Bustamonte
Deck: We’Moon Tarot, by Musawa, published by Mother Tongue Ink.
Card: One(1) of Earth – All One – Artwork, Mother Nature at the Age of Three by Robin Waters (1993)
The week ahead is likely to focus on being comfortable in one’s own body and on renewed recognition of the spiritual connection to nature, the environment, and the planet. This renewal is equally likely to help fuel the start of new endeavors and open the way to greater prosperity with new opportunities in abundance. There may also be an element of reconnecting with one’s inner child, especially when an effort is made to “touch grass” and spend time reveling in nature.
In contrast, there is a potential to place greater value on appearance, social status, technology, and material possessions over emotional, mental, physical, and spiritual health and well-being. Becoming fixated on acquiring wealth and elevating one’s social status is unlikely to ameliorate unhealthy behavior and feelings that are rooted in imbalance within the body, mind, or spirit. It may also lead to missing important signals within personal and professional relationships that could undermine future success.
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Celebrations in Delaware!
Assembly of the Sacred Wheel logo
A recent feature in Delaware Today examines how the spring equinox is being observed across Delaware, highlighting public celebrations and the growing visibility of Pagan traditions, including Ostara. The article features well-known Elder, author, and astrologer Ivo Dominguez Jr., one of the original members of the Assembly of the Sacred Wheel.
The reporting approaches the equinox not only as an astronomical event, but as a lived, communal experience shaped by ritual, seasonal awareness, and personal reflection. It describes gatherings that blend education and practice, where participants engage in ceremonies marking balance, renewal, and the turning of the seasons.
Dominguez Jr.’s perspective anchors the piece, offering insight into how long-standing Pagan communities understand and embody the meaning of the equinox. “It’s a controlled loss of balance and then regaining of balance,” he told the reporter. “At the spring equinox, there’s an opportunity to be part of that falling into a new balance as you step forward, because it’s spring, it’s the beginning.”
Elder Ivo Dominguez, Jr.
The article emphasizes how these reflections resonate beyond explicitly Pagan spaces, drawing in a broader public interested in seasonal ritual, mindfulness, and ecological awareness. The coverage presents these gatherings as accessible and grounded, often taking place in natural settings where participants can experience the shifting light and early signs of spring firsthand.
Pagan observances are increasingly appearing in mainstream regional media as part of a shared cultural landscape. Too often, however, such coverage risks exoticizing our practices. This piece avoids that entirely, instead situating our celebrations within everyday life and highlighting their continuity, adaptability, and relevance in contemporary communities seeking connection with both nature and tradition.
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