Ardantane and Kerr Cuhulain present ‘Dealing With Hate Crimes’

TWH – In the wake of Tuesday’s U.S. Presidential election, talk of racism, bigotry, misogyny and hatred has been sweeping conversations, both public and private. In some circles, the rise of President Elect Donald Trump has been compared to the rise of Hitler, and the phenomenon of his success has been compared to that of the Nazi party of the 1930s. With this energy feeding public discourse around the world, Pagans and practitioners of similar earth-based paths are preparing to deal with the possible changes that could come from such a seemingly dramatic shift within the government of the world’s leading superpower. As a response to the increasing frequency of hate and hate crimes in North America, the New Mexico-based Ardantane Pagan Learning Center invited Canadian Pagan Kerr Cuhulain, to deliver a two-part online class, “Dealing With Hate Crimes”. Cuhulain lives on the Sunshine Coast of British Columbia, Canada.

Pagan Community Notes: Cherry Hill Seminary; Tarot Ban Lifted; TWH Fall Fund Drive and more!

COLUMBIA, S.C. — Cherry Hill Seminary (CHS) has announced the launch of a new Community Ministry Certificate. In partnership with the Sacred Well Congregation, the new 15-month program is designed to lead to ministerial credentials. The program covers such topics as ethics, leading ritual, diversity understanding, family dynamics, addiction and more. As we previously reported, CHS has recently found itself at a crossroads. Director Holli Emore has said, “Unpredictable cash flow has compromised our ability to be sustainable.

West Virginia man found guilty of murdering Wiccan woman

TAOS, NM — After four hours of deliberation a Taos jury found 51-year-old West Virginia native Ivan Dennings Cales Jr. guilty of the murder of Roxanne Houston and of tampering with evidence. During the investigation as was brought forward during the trial, the state found data and gathered testimonies, suggesting that the accused may have been on a modern day Witch hunt. Houston, a Wiccan practitioner from Colorado, disappeared in July 2014 after moving to New Mexico. Her body was found by a hiker near the “Two Peaks area” in December of that same year. According to a local news agency, “Elizabeth Hagerty said she was walking with her husband, Robert, and their two dogs when one canine began rolling on what appeared to be a burnt part of a brassiere.”

Pagan Community Notes: Environmental Statements, Raven & Crone, Christopher Lee and more!

On Thursday June 18, Pope Francis is scheduled to release a “teaching letter,” also called an encyclical, on the environment. This highly anticipated document will most likely become big news of the week as the Pope enters the debates on climate change. A recent New York Times article suggested that, through this work, he is “seeking to redefine a typically secular discussion within a religious framework.” Many activists, around the world, stand ready to applaud his efforts to publicly engage in the global Earth Stewardship conversation and, thereby, hopefully increase pressure on communities, businesses, organizations and governments to enact change. To some Pagans and others, who already position the Earth or a connection to natural systems of place, at the center of their spiritual practice, the need for such a document might seem superfluous.

Pagans challenge Bloomfield New Mexico’s Ten Commandments monument

BLOOMFIELD, N.M. — It is all over the mainstream news from local papers to The Washington Post: “Wiccans Sue City over Ten Commandments.” Yes this story is true. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of New Mexico filed a lawsuit in February on behalf of two Wiccan practitioners who were offended by the installation of a Ten Commandments monument on City Hall property in their hometown of Bloomfield, New Mexico. The lawsuit went before a U.S. District Court Monday drawing national media attention. The narrative isn’t new but the players are. Wiccans fill the plaintiffs role instead the widely expected Atheists or Humanists.