The Wild Hunt (https://wildhunt.org/category/news)
The Department of Defense has reduced its recognized religious affiliation codes from more than 200 to just 31, eliminating Pagans, Asatru, Druidry, and Wicca, along with numerous other minority faiths and secular worldviews, in a move officials say will streamline chaplaincy support for service members.
In this week’s Pagan Community Notes: a Church of England court allows the Green Man on a headstone after ruling the image compatible with Christian symbolism, Indigenous communities in Brazil unite to protect endangered forests, Pan’s Labyrinth returns in a restored edition, Star shares her Tarot of the Week AND House of Black Cat Magic earns a national cat café nomination!
New research suggests the healing effects of forests may not come from tree scents alone. A study on essential oils found little measurable benefit, reinforcing growing evidence that immersion in living ecosystems, not bottled nature, may be what truly restores human well-being.
Pope Leo XIV’s first encyclical warns about artificial intelligence, exploitation, and dehumanizing systems — but beyond its Catholic framework, Magnifica Humanitas may also offer an unexpected invitation for interfaith cooperation around human dignity, ecology, labor, and shared ethical concerns.
In this week’s Pagan Community Notes: Tactical Nuclear Penguins as well as some unexpected Eurovision moments with witchy vibes, the National Secular Society weighs in on events in Kent, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation explores the resurgence of witchcraft in Canada, plus Star’s Tarot of the Week.
A new neuroscience study found that virtual reality “flying” with wings altered how participants’ brains processed body imagery, suggesting immersive VR experiences may partially reshape the brain’s sense of embodiment, identity, and functional body representation.