The Wild Hunt (https://wildhunt.org/category/the-wild-hunt/page/2)
National Religious Freedom Day marks a legal tradition meant to restrain government power over belief. But the 2026 proclamation signals a shift, recasting religious liberty from constitutional protection into a state-driven project promoting public faith and privileging one religious tradition.
In this week’s Pagan Community Notes, we remember Dolores Ashcroft-Nowicki, a pioneering teacher and mentor whose influence shaped generations within the esoteric community. We also report on a new safeguarding initiative announced by the Police Pagan Association in the United Kingdom, highlight new Spring courses from Cherry Hill Seminary, share the latest episode of Spelling the Heka-Tea with Marcus and Evanne, and elevation in ATC’s Southern Delta Church of Wicca, and bring you Star’s Tarot of the Week.
A new study suggests the Voynich Manuscript’s famously unreadable text may have been produced using a historically plausible cipher, one that even incorporates playing cards and early Tarot, bringing scholars a step closer to understanding the manuscript’s mystery.
As artificial intelligence reshapes science, culture, and power, Pagans find themselves navigating a world where algorithms influence creativity, civil rights, and governance. From Project Genesis to grassroots resistance, the stakes of AI’s expansion are no longer abstract—but deeply personal.
New Pew research shows most Americans who change religions do so by age 30, often drifting away rather than rejecting belief outright. As religious affiliation declines, many are not abandoning spirituality but reshaping faith, meaning, and identity outside traditional institutions.