Pagan Community Notes

Pagan Community Notes: Doug Hoffman, Cherry Hill Seminary, Samuel Wagar and more.

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CHARLOTTE, N.C., –  It was announced May 6 that Doug Hoffman, a Druid, clairvoyant, tarot reader, teacher, and active member of the local Pagan community, died after suffering a sudden bilateral stroke. According to one bio, Hoffman was taught mysticism and symbolism by his mother and grandmother. “Over the years, Doug worked with many different teachers learning Celtic mythology, herbal healing, spiritualism and many [other] different types of divination.” Despite living in many places, Hoffman reportedly always found time to be involved with the local Pagan community. His most recent location, in Charlotte, made him a regular member of the Piedmont Pagan Pride Day event and organization.

News

Wendy Griffin retires as academic dean of Cherry Hill Seminary

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COLUMBIA, S.C. –After serving as academic dean at Cherry Hill Seminary since 2011, Wendy Griffin retired from that position on Jan. 31 and has been proclaimed “academic dean emerita” by that institution’s board members. During her tenure at the seminary, a number of new programs introduced and behind-the-scenes infrastructure changes were made, and important steps taken on the difficult path to accreditation. When she was readying to retire from the California State University system after more than 30 years in higher education, Griffin did not intend on taking a new position. However, she experienced one of those coincidences that make some elders nod sagely.

Pagan Community Notes

Pagan Community Notes: theoi.com, Greening of Religion, Mountain Magic, and more!

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DEVENTER, Netherlands — The online resource theoi.com, a repository of information about Hellenic myth and practice derived from ancient sources, will be sold rather than shut down. That’s according to site creator and owner Aaron Atsma, who reports getting a considerable amount of email when he briefly announced its closure or sale via a banner on the site. Atsma intends on selling the site through a broker later in the year. “People have been emailing me directly about the sale of the site over the last week which has caught me a bit off guard. Most boil down to, ‘I might be interested, how much?'” he wrote.

Pagan Community Notes

Pagan Community Notes: Martin Luther King Jr., Isaac Herrera, Wicked Grounds, and more

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UNITED STATES —  On this day each year, the U.S. honors Martin Luther King Jr. Public schools, government offices, and many businesses are closed in order to recognize his work and sacrifice, as well as the staggering influence that his message has had on American society. Many Pagans, Heathens and polytheists across the country participate in local activities, both small and large, and privately in ritual to recognize Dr. King and his influence. In honor of this day, we publish these timeless words written by King in 1963 in his Letter from a Birmingham Jail, which has since become the focal point of an artist’s 2018 meme: “I am cognizant of the interrelatedness of all communities and states. I cannot sit idly by in Atlanta and not be concerned about what happens in Birmingham. Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.

Pagan Community Notes

Pagan Community Notes: Lady Cybele, American Academy of Religion, PantheaCon and more

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HOLMEN, Wis. — The Wisconsin Pagan community lost one of its elders last month. Carol Lee Wiggins Olson Gainer, known as Lady Cybele of Rowangrove, died Nov. 26 at her home. Lady Cybele followed the Family Tradition Craft, was a longtime member of Circle Sanctuary and the Society for Creative Anachronism.  She regularly attended Pagan Spirit Gathering until her health made it difficult.

Lady Cybele was born in 1942 in Winona, Minnesota to Leland Edward Wiggins and Mabel Cecilia Johnson. After high school, she earned a bachelor’s degree from LaCrosse State University and a law degree from the University of Wisconsin Law School in Madison.