News

Scott Dyleski seeks reduced sentence; Wiccan conversion mentioned

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MARTINEZ, Calif. –After being handed a life sentence for the so-called “Goth murder” of Pamela Vitale in 2006, Scott Dyleski unsuccessfully tried to get his conviction overturned in 2011. Coverage of the case largely focused on occult practices and Paganism, with the prosecutor asking prospective jurors about Wicca. Now Dyleski is seeking a reduced sentence, and that same prosecutor is suggesting that his conversion to Wicca behind bars is nothing but a hail Mary play. The murder of Vitale, who was the spouse of well-known attorney Daniel Horowitz, had all the elements needed to fire the imagination.

News

Mystic South participants rise to challenge when water fails

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ATLANTA –The first Mystic South conference may be remembered as a time when Pagans, Heathens, and polytheists came together to put their collective best foot forward. It may be remembered as the year when the hotel lost all running water, and its staff had to go far beyond the normal call of duty to keep the environment safe and comfortable for guests. It may even be remembered as the conference with the free ice cream. The conference ran July 21-23, and attendance topped out at about 250 people. That was confirmed by Star Bustamonte, the self-described “chief bottle-washer and lightning bug herder” for the conference, which was her way of saying that she was in charge.

News

A conversation with Jason Mankey

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SUNNYVALE, Calif –Jason Mankey credits his public visibility as a Pagan to the blog he writes on the Patheos Pagan channel, Raise the Horns. He is also currently that channel’s editor, a position which has put him in the crosshairs during the sometimes-tense ownership transition to BN Media, a company with a strong Christian influences. He has been praised as a devoted priest of Pan and derided as a corporate minion. In the following conversation, a portrait emerged which is more nuanced than one can often glean from blog posts for and about an individual. The Wild Hunt: Do you do anything with your life other than manage a blog channel at Patheos?

Living

Grandmother Elspeth, “Crone on the Road”

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DARLINGTON, Md. — Beneath a tree at Ramblewood, Grandmother Elspeth regales a cluster of students with her stories and philosophy. While she did not discover Paganism until middle age, she’s been living a Pagan life for 46 years, more than half of her existence, and has touched countless others with her rituals, stories, books, and outspoken attitude. Elspeth Odbert, better known as Grandmother Elspeth, has been traveling to different Pagan festivals and conferences for decades. In recent years her longtime partner Nybor has curtailed his own travel for health reasons, but many a Pagan will still say “Elspeth and Nybor” as if it’s a single word.

News

Pagan scholarship winners, literal and figurative

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DETROIT, Mich. — Pagan high school students in this state have a college scholarship just for them, which is at best a rare and unusual opportunity. The Michigan Pagan Scholarship Fund has its roots in the story of a young girl who met a tragic end due to bullying, and her mother’s determination to transform that legacy into a something positive. At this moment, the idea of Pagan scholarships is on the cusp of becoming a movement which could transform lives throughout the country, and perhaps beyond. It’s an appropriate time to remember the history which led to this moment, celebrate this year’s winner, and look at where the building momentum may lead in the years to come.