Paganism

Honoring our veterans

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UNITED STATES – November 11th – the “11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month,” as noted by former TWH journalist and veteran Cara Schulz – is a federal holiday in the United States for reflecting upon the sacrifice and honoring the work of those who have served the country in the US Armed Forces: Air Force, Army, Coast Guard, Navy, and Marines. Prior to being formally named Veterans Day in 1954, during the Eisenhower Administration, the day was known as Armistice Day. Armistice Day continues to be celebrated around the world in commemoration of the end of World War I. 2018 marks 100 years since that cease fire. Today is often celebrated with poppies. Poppies symbolize eternal sleep, as present in Hellenic and Roman religions; this symbolism is echoed in The Wizard of Oz where magical poppies were used to cause sleep.

News

ATC leaders carry sacred message around country

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TWH –Belladonna LaVeau and Dusty Dionne of the Aquarian Tabernacle Church (ATC) are on the road right now, bringing a message from Demeter out from their Washington state headquarters to Pagans as far and wide as they can reach. At its core, it’s a message to step up efforts to care for the planet, and it’s being delivered in ritual form at venues ranging from living rooms to festivals. It’s been dubbed the “World Love Tour.” Belladonna LaVeau, the church’s archpriestess, explained that several threads were woven together in creating this plan. She and Dionne had been planning to visit a number of ATC groups this year as a way to help members of this wide-reaching organization maintain a common culture.

Paganism

Column: We Know Time

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I woke up this morning – one of the first mornings where I was able to sleep with the window open, the surest sign that Spring has finally arrived – and found it was still dark. I rarely wake up so early, and I took a moment – well, more like fifteen minutes – to lay there in the darkness, still beneath the covers, and listen to the birds calling in the dawn. After a few minutes in which my universe consisted only of birdsong and darkness, a sentence came into my head and began swirling around, like a song with an inescapable tune. “We know time.” It’s a koan that Dean Moriarty, Jack Kerouac’s trickster saint, repeats again and again throughout On the Road.