Unleash the Hounds (Link Roundup)

There are lots of articles and essays of interest to modern Pagans and Heathens out there, sometimes more than our team can write about in-depth in any given week. So The Wild Hunt must unleash the hounds in order to round them all up. CHICAGO — Wiccan inmate Gilbert Knowles sued the warden of the Pontiac Correctional Center, located in Pontiac, Illinois, for refusing to allow him to wear his pentacle necklace. According to Appellate Briefs, the facility was concerned that the “star” was gang-related or would promote gang activity. Other sources say the same, reporting that the correction center had banned “all inmates from possessing five- and six-point star symbols” for that reason.

2015 Wild Hunt Retrospective

Now that the season has turned and we are nearing the end of the 2015, we look back, one last time, to review the year. What happened? What didn’t happen? What events shaped our thoughts or guided our actions? In our collective worlds, both big and small, what were the major discussions?

Pagan Community Notes: The Green Album, Witches at COP21, Scott Walters and more

This fall, a new music project was officially launched called “The Green Album.” The project will result in a single album featuring many popular Pagan music talents sharing songs “themed toward celebrating and drawing awareness to the World that nurtures us.” It is “a collaborative concept album featuring Tuatha Dea, Wendy Elizabeth Rule, Sj Tucker, Sharon Knight, Winter JP Sichelschmidt, Celia Farran, Bekah Kelso, Ginger Doss, Damh The Bard, Kellianna Girouard, Spiral Dance, Spiral Rhythm, Murphey’s Midnight Rounders, Brian Henke and Mama Gina LaMonte.” On the project’s Facebook page, Mama Gina wrote, “I am so excited to be part of this amazing collaboration! I have a brand new song that I’ll be recording […] – but it’s still a secret.” Each of the contributors will be sharing one song, either new or old, for that is inspired by the theme.

Pope’s Environmental Encyclical Elicits Pagan Responses

VATICAN CITY — Many, if not most, Pagans consider the Earth to be sacred. This has been true for at least as long as Wicca and other modern Pagan religions have been in the public eye. For many in the mainstream media, this is considered an identifying characteristic of Paganism. Pope Francis of the Roman Catholic Church has finally released his long-awaited 180+ page encyclical on the environment, called Laudato Si. This one document has been in the news for some weeks and is the strongest message about the subject ever released by that Church.

New York’s #Flood11 and the Landmark Climate Change Ruling

NEW YORK CITY – On Friday, March 6, #Flood11, as they have been labeled, were found not guilty of disorderly conduct. The ruling not only vindicated the activists, declaring that their actions were within their rights as citizens, but it also set a striking legal precedent. The court openly recognized climate change as a legitimate threat. On Sept. 21, the U.S witnessed the largest organized march against climate change.