Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay
TWH – Over the weekend, FOX News commented on an article by a Religious News Service (RNS) story written by journalist, and former managing editor of The Wild Hunt, Heather Greene. The content produced by RNS is syndicated and occasionally printed in other media like The Washington Post.
The FOX News coverage appeared to mock the RNS article’s assertion that some Christian communities have become increasingly aggressive against Pagan events. The FOX News article included quotes from the RNS story with what can only be described as opinion-oriented commentary.
Describing these Christians as a nuisance to witches and occultists just trying to have their fun, she [Greene] continued, “Street preachers and Christian protesters have long been a fixture of Earth-based religions’ gatherings as they try to distract and deter people from enjoying what are typically outdoor festivals and ritual gatherings.”
What they chose to not include was the rest of the paragraph: “But this year, some attendees say, these opponents of [W]itchcraft and [P]aganism have become more aggressive and even dangerous.”
The FOX piece downplays the threat protesters might pose by using terms that imply a slight inconvenience, like “annoyance” and “nuisance” but also seeming to infer that any type of occult spiritual practice is not serious or should receive the same protections as Christian – “witches and occultists just trying to have their fun.”
Incidents of evangelical or other protesters at Pagan events and even online attempts to prevent events from happening certainly seem to be occurring with more frequency.
The Wild Hunt reported last month about the online opposition of a Pagan Market event by an evangelical pastor in Livingston, Texas which spilled over into the community and involved threats to the shop owner(s) and organizers.
The RNS story reported on the aggressiveness of protesters that seemingly crossed the line into harassment, as well as the unwillingness of law enforcement to curtail the protesters at WitchsFest USA in Astor Place in New York City.
WitchsFest is organized by Starr Ravenhawk, who is also an elder and priestess of the New York City Wiccan Family Temple. Since 2012, the event has been held as an annual Pagan street fair and market.
FOX News coverage of the RNS article may be part of a perceived ongoing media war with other mainstream news outlets like CNN, The New York Times, and The Washington Post.
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MEMPHIS, Tenn. – Last week, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) issued a press release that CBP officers at the port of Memphis, TN had intercepted an ancient Egyptian artifact shipped from Europe in the middle of August.
The artifact in question was a sculpted canopic jar lid bearing the image of the funeral deity, Imsety. University of Memphis Institute of Egyptian Art and Archaeology experts examined the canopic jar lid and determined it to be authentic and likely dates as far back as the Egyptian Third Intermediate Period, 1069 B.C.E. to 653 B.C.E. This would make the lid roughly 3,000 years old.
The canopic jar lid is on a list of items protected by bilateral treaties and is subject to seizure and forfeiture under the Convention on Cultural Property Implementation Act of 1983 which restricts importing some archaeological and ethnological materials into the country.
CBP agents became suspicious when the European shipper offered contradictory monetary declaration values for the item which was listed on the manifest as being over 100 years old.
Canopic jars were used to hold the organs of those deceased whose bodies underwent the embalming and mummification process.
Canopic jar lid with the image of Imsety recovered by CBP – Image courtesy of the CBP website.
In particular, the Egyptian deity Imsety, (his name has also been noted to have been transcribed as, Imset, Imseti, Amset, Amsety, Mesti, and Mesta), was one of the four sons of the God, Horus. Each of the four sons was associated with a direction or compass point: Imsety was linked to the South, Hapy with the North, Duamutef the East, and Kebehsenuef the West.
Originally depicted as human, each son was also connected to the organs of the liver (Imsety), lungs (Hapy), stomach (Duamutef) and intestines (Kebehsenuef). Their depictions changed between the 18th and 19th Egyptian dynasties (1550-1292 B.C.E.),
While Imsety’s depiction remained human, his brothers were then depicted with the heads of animals – Hapy was given the head of a baboon, Duamutef that of a jackal, and Kebehsenuef the head of a falcon. The reason for the continued human depiction of Imsety is due to his affiliation with the liver, which ancient Egyptians believed was the seat of human emotions.
Images of the four sons continued to carved or engraved on funerary items well into the 4th century C.E., and even after Christianity has gained more dominance in Egypt.
According to the CBP the canopic lid was turned over to Homeland Security Investigations to determine its provenance and conduct further examinations of the artifact.
Announcements:
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- Western Massachusetts Pagan Pride Day event has been announced as taking place this year on Saturday, September 24, 2021, and will run from 10:00 am to 6:00 pm. While the event is free, organizers request a cash donation that will go to support The Northampton Survival Center which provides food and other resources to low-income families. The event which is characterized by the organizers as being “fun, family friendly and community-driven” will offer information about paganism in many of its forms, an open harvest ritual, musical entertainment, workshops and many vendors.
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- A new survey titled, “Gender and Sexuality Within Contemporary Paganism” is being conducted for the purpose of doctoral research that is examining the LGBTQ+ community within contemporary Paganism. The survey is restricted to those who are over 18 and live in England, Scotland, or Wales, in the United Kingdom. More information on the survey is available via google docs.
In other news:
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- While many space enthusiasts’ eyes were on NASA this morning for the scheduled launch of Artemis I, the mission was scrubbed due to a malfunctioning core stage RS-25 engine. In addition to the problems with one of the four core stage engines, the mission would have likely been scrubbed anyway due to precipitation and then lightning. The next possible launch date windows are September 2, from 12:48 p.m. EDT until 2:48 p.m. EDT, and September 5, from 5:12 p.m. EDT until 6:42 p.m. EDT. Of course, any future launch is dependent on NASA engineers being able to correct the engine issues.
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- In other space news, the ashes of “Star Trek” actor Nichelle Nichols who played Lt. Nyota Uhura in the 1966-69 television series, will be released into space from a Vulcan Centaur rocket by United Launch Alliance later this year. Her cremated remains, along with those of “Star Trek” creator Gene Roddenberry; his wife Majel Barrett-Roddenberry; and James Doohan who played Scotty will all be onboard the first Celestis Voyager Memorial Spaceflight, which will launch from Cape Canaveral, Florida. The spaceflight will travel into interplanetary deep space and beyond where the NASA James Webb Space Telescope is currently located. Capsules containing complete human genome DNA samples from willing participants will also be part of the cargo carried.
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- The dugongs or sea cows that used to live in the waters off the coasts of China have been declared extinct in Chinese waters. The mammals bear some similarities to the Florida manatees which are freshwater mammals, while dugongs are saltwater mammals. Dugongs are thought to be the origin of some of the mermaid folklore and tales. And while they look nothing like women with fancy fish tails, when seen from a distance by seafarers they likely sparked the imagination and resulted in the start of some of the mermaid stories. While there have been a few reports of dugongs over the past five years, none of those reports have been able to be confirmed. While researchers say it is likely that a few dugongs currently might still reside in the northern South China Sea, the chance of their populations returning is extremely unlikely. The presence of dugongs has not been observed or reported by any researchers since 2000 and the last fishermen to report a sighting was in 2008. And while the dugongs may be extinct in waters surrounding China, they are still found in shallow coastal waters of the Indian and western Pacific Oceans.”
CHARLOTTE – Some lucky travelers passing through Charlotte-Douglas Airport last Thursday got to witness Clark the eagle going through a TSA security checkpoint before being placed back in his carrier to board a flight home with his handler.
TSA tweeted about Clark’s presence:
TSA officers are used to seeing an eagle on their uniform as they look over their shoulder, but I’m sure the team at @CLTAirport Checkpoint A did a double take when they saw a real one earlier this week. (1/2) pic.twitter.com/cxfbqyVok1
— TSA Southeast (@TSA_Southeast) August 25, 2022
Clark the eagle was hatched in 2002 at the Wild Bird Sanctuary in Valley Park, Missouri just outside of the city of St. Louis. He was part of the Sanctuary’s bald eagle breeding program that was in effect then, and unlike the rest of his siblings that were successfully released into the wild, Clark had some scale deformities on his feet.
As a result of these deformities which could result in him being more vulnerable to cold and frostbite, and possibly losing toes, Clark became ineligible for release into the wild.
Instead, he became a flying ambassador for the Sanctuary’s Eagle Flight Team after months of intensive training. He initially flew at the St. Louis Cardinals baseball games during the national anthem and has since performed his flights at a variety of events nationwide.
The Sanctuary lists him as one of only four bald eagles that perform flights at events. He had performed at the Methodist University and High Point University for the student convocation ceremony and a crowd of 1600 attendees.
Tarot of the week by Star Bustamonte
Deck: The Gill Tarot, by Elizabeth Josephine Gill, published by U.S. Games Systems, Inc.Card: Princess of Wands – Transformation
This week is liable to hold elements of the phoenix rising from the flames – That which was thought to be lost and gone returns, renewed and empowered.
Conversely, denial or a refusal to acknowledge the shifts and changes occurring will not stop them from happening.
Decks generously provided by Asheville Pagan Supply.
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