Living

Treating depression in a Pagan context

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(Editor’s Note: This article was originally published in January 2015. It has been one of our most popular articles since that date.)

UNITED STATES — It’s become fairly commonplace for articles about Blue Monday to come up at this time of year. According to a formula concocted for a now-defunct travel network, the third Monday in January is the most depressing day of the year. While that designation was most likely created to sell vacation packages, it does serve to focus attention on a complex, often intractable condition. Pagans are certainly not unusual in suffering from depression, but since their worldviews can differ widely from that of the over culture, the tools and techniques for treating depression may also differ.

Culture

Palmyran goddess recreated for U.N. exhibit

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NEW YORK –A replica statue of a goddess sometimes equated with Athena, destroyed in Palmyra in 2015, is the centerpiece of an exhibit on display at the United Nations headquarters. While the destruction of that historic Syrian city by members of Daesh led to near-universal outrage, the display of this and other reproductions is not without controversy of its own. When Daesh troops occupied Palmyra, they set about on a systematic destruction of all traces of that city’s Pagan history. They accomplished this with brutal efficiency, using hammers and explosives to accomplish the task, which was carried out in August 2015. Violence was also part of formula; Khaled al-Asaad, head of antiquities there, hid many valuables and died rather than disclose where they were.

Angelo Nasios

Pagan Voices: Ελευθέριος, Steve Miller, Angelo Nasios, and more

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Pagan Voices is a spotlight on recent quotations from figures within the Pagan community. These voices may appear in the burgeoning Pagan media or a mainstream outlet, but all showcase our wisdom, thought processes, and evolution in the public eye. Is there a Pagan voice or artist you’d like to see highlighted? Contact us with a link to the story, post, audio, or image. When two polytheistic cultures meet, they compare (and often also share) their gods and traditions.

News

Pagans, pipelines, protests, and the public trust

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UNITED STATES –Despite oil prices hovering some $80 a barrel below all-time highs, the push to build new pipelines to bring petroleum to refineries, and then to market continues to make headlines. Most every major pipeline proposed in recent years has been met with some level of resistance by environmentalists, on the ground or in the courts. Two Pagans, each of whom has been engaged on one of those fronts, spoke about what they’re fighting for and the challenges faced in opposing oil pipelines. When attorney Robin Martinez was interviewed in 2015, the future of the Keystone XL Pipeline was uncertain; President Obama announced in November of that year that the pipeline was being rejected for a variety of reasons. Martinez was representing a coalition of groups in South Dakota opposing the pipeline locally.

News

Georgia resident pressured not to pursue Pagan after-school club

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DEMOREST, Ga. –One resident of this small town in Georgia says he has gotten resistance to the idea of starting an after-school religious club for children like his daughter, whom he is rearing Pagan. Elijah Gragg said that when he asked about the possibility, the only response he got was a local Boy Scout leader warning that all after-school activities would be cancelled before a Pagan club would be approved. Gragg, who says he’s been a Pagan since he was 12 years old and now identifies as Kemetic, said he got curious when his kindergartner brought home a flyer promoting the local Good News Club chapter. This club is one of the missions of the Child Evangelical Fellowship, and it has chapters in thousands of schools around the country.