Culture

Interview with Abby Willowroot, Pagan artist and writer

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SAN FRANCISCO –When members of the Wilmington city county approved a new prayer for opening meetings, there was some interest in the Pagan priestess who penned that prayer, Abby Willowroot. While that name is not well-known to Pagans and polytheists who have come of age since the dawn of Facebook, Willowroot was shaping the Neopagan movement for decades. She agreed to talk to us about her many contributions. “I was really thrilled to hear about Delaware,” she said, where one of her prayers will be used to open meetings for at least the next four years. Willowroot wrote a series interfaith prayers for public meetings because she was frustrated by the non-demoninational prayers that are frequently offered; the term “non-denominational” refers to denominations of Christianity, and therefore are not inclusive of anyone following a non-Christian path.

Canada

Pagan shop owner feels targeted, ignored in Canada

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WINNIPEG, Manitoba — Until she turned to the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation last week, Dominique Smith did not feel like she was being heard. Now, the story of her Pagan-themed shop being vandalized is repeatedly being shared widely, and she’s found allies in Pagan communities. What she’s yet to gain, however, is an investigation of these incidents as hate crimes. Smith owns Elemental Book & Curiosity Shop in Winnipeg, the provincial capital. It caters to the needs of local Pagans and polytheists, but she’s also become an “unintentional social worker,” pointing locals to resources for addiction, food insecurity, and other issues.

News

Trademark application for “Yule” spurs controversy

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TORRANCE, Calif. — A dispute over product packaging and branding has been raised to an unusual level for the intertwined Pagan communities, with one party filing an application to trademark the name Yule in an attempt, as reported, to protect its product from copycats. The response, which is largely driven by a that many common uses of the word would be forbidden if the trademark is approved, has come in the form of a campaign to educate the trademark examiner on the issues before any final decision is made. The companies at the center of the dispute are Sage Goddess, Inc. and Wyld Witchery. Sage Goddess Inc is described by one of its principals Dave Nicely, as”family owned and operated.”

Canada

Threats to Jewish community centers concern Pagans

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TWH — Jewish facilities have been targeted with vandalism and bomb threats in recent weeks, and that has some of their Pagan neighbors on edge even as they stand ready to assist. Hundreds of headstones were damaged in two Jewish cemeteries this month, and 100 bomb threats have been reportedly called into Jewish community centers and temples in the United States and Canada in what’s being called “telephone terrorism.” It was enough to get a mention by President Trump during his first speech before a joint session of Congress, although those remarks have been criticized for not outlining to plan to stop the attacks. While most of the bomb threats targeted community centers in the eastern United States, they were located in a total of 33 states as well as two provinces of Canada. The calls may have originated overseas, authorities believe, and used voice-masking technology, as in this example posted online.

News

President Trump attracts magical ire; binding spells planned

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UNITED STATES — President Donald Trump continues to raise hackles among progressives — as well as some conservatives — during these first hundred days of his term in office. Some of his opponents in the Pagan and polytheist communities are working magic against the 45th president, and in the tradition of hexing Brock Turner, some of that work is being done very publicly. Gala Darling broadcast a “bind Trump” ritual on President’s Day, capitalizing on the holiday to focus energy on the effort. Based on the participant locations she rattled off, the effort was an international one. Binding is a form of magic that is less ethically problematic for practitioners who subscribe to the threefold law or similar injunctions against manipulative magic.