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Holbrook pleads no contest, citing legal cost

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GASTON, N.C. –Druid Daniel Scott Holbrook pleaded no contest Apr. 4 to dissemination of obscenities, accepting a suspended sentence as well as six months of probation. While Holbrook’s claims of innocence ring true for some members of his community, others are withdrawing contact in the wake of what is functionally similar to pleading guilty. Holbrook, who has maintained all along that the images were downloaded unintentionally, agreed along with his wife and a family friend to speak about what happened over that July 4th weekend. He also wrote about what happened in a recent blog post, in which he recounted how he and his wife were entertaining an old friend from out of town and decided to download a movie using a peer-to-peer BitTorrent client.

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Kenny Klein convicted on child pornography charges

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NEW ORLEANS — An Orleans Parish jury found musician and Blue Star priest Kenny Klein guilty of child pornography charges yesterday. The verdict was for possessing one count of pornography involving a juvenile under the age of 13, and 19 counts of possession with intent to distribute pornography involving juveniles under the age 17. When he is sentenced Apr. 20, the penalty could be from 105 to 420 years in prison if imposed successively. When news broke of Klein’s arrest in 2014, it rocked the Pagan world.

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Network established to mentor Pagan professionals

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TWH –A Young Professionals Network has just been launched under the auspices of Circle Sanctuary, but that name might be misleading because the services offered could benefit any Pagan with professional training or credentials. The new group manifests the desire of Circle member Mandie Zopp to create opportunities for mentoring. “My passion is mentoring college-aged people and recent graduates,” she explained. In the years that she has been a Circle member, “A lot of millennials have come through, looking for professional guidance and mentorship,” but there has never been anything in place to facilitate those relationships until now. Zopp believes that providing this service may give young adults reason to be part of Circle Sanctuary.

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Herbalism safety: working with plants that harm and heal

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SAN FRANCISCO –Last week, officials announced that a woman here had died after ingesting a toxic herbal tea, and a man who also drank a brew prepared from herbs sold at the same shop, was hospitalized in critical condition before recovering. According to local news coverage, the culprit was the herb aconite, which has a variety of common names including wolf’s bane and fuzi. While this plant can be highly toxic without processing, with proper care it is a staple of Chinese herbal medicine. The two victims in San Francisco purchased different tea blends that were mixed at Sun Wing Wo Trading Company, each of which included unprocessed aconite. Tests of both the herbal blends and the victims’ blood confirmed aconite as the toxic agent.

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The high-risk digital world of occult sales and psychic services

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TWH –The explosion of online platforms has been a boon to many in the polytheist and Pagan communities who can now sell crafts, books, and esoteric services more easily than ever before. At the same time, owners of all-sized businesses must be able to accept electronic payments in an increasingly cash-free society. Sometimes, vendors fall afoul of rules against the sale “occult” items or “fortune-teller” services, which now seems to be near-ubiquitous in the industry’s user agreements. The Witchery is such an online business. Its owner, who declined to give a name, was unaware that the popular processor Square is one of those no-occult zones.