News

Centenary Celebrations held for Fellowship of Isis founder Olivia Robertson

By |

UNITED KINGDOM — Over the past month, there have been a number of memorial celebrations dedicated to Olivia Melian Robertson, one of British and Irish Paganism’s most enduring figures and the head of the long-standing Fellowship of Isis (FOI). Olivia was often seen around and about in London and Glastonbury, as well as in her native Ireland and the US. The recent celebrations were held around the world in British, Irish, German and American locations. Born April 13, 1917 in Reigate, Surrey, Olivia and her clergyman brother Lawrence moved to the 400 year old Huntington Castle, also known as Clonegal Castle, in Ireland when her father inherited it from a relative. “The IRA had occupied the castle, and treated it very well,” Olivia recalled, “although they locked the cook in the dungeon, and court-martialled the butler.”

Olivia’s childhood was spent at the castle where her family entertained a number of early 20th century luminaries, including Robert Graves and W B Yeats.

News

After Vandalism, Pagans and Polytheists make pleas for a relabeling of “ISIS”

By |

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. –The spate of worldwide attacks attributed to the terrorist group al-Dawlah al-Islamīyah fī al-ʻIrāq wa-al-Shām in recent days has sent ripples of shock and fear in their wake: the downing of a Russian passenger plane leaving Egypt, suicide bombings in Beirut, and the Parisian attacks which topped the trifecta with a bloody bow. The fact that these attacks all took place outside of war-torn Syria and neighboring Iraq led to rampant speculation that the terrorists were concealing themselves in the massive crush of refugees fleeing those areas, and reports confirm that one of the Paris attackers did possess a Syrian refugee passport. While US elected officials and presidential candidates reacted with plans to stop accepting refugees or even start labeling Muslims already in this country, one anonymous person took matters into their own hands, tossing a brick through the sign of Isis Books & Gifts. //

Dear friends, this happened to us over the weekend. We humbly request that you send protective energy to us, as this is…

News

ISIL or ISIS? Pagans Join Debate Over Islamic Militia’s Name

By |

In recent months, a controversy has been brewing around the name and the acronym for the militant Islamic group Al-Dawla Al-Islamiya fi al-Iraq wa al-Sham (DAASH). The most common English translations of that name are The Islamic State of Iraq and Syria or The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant. More commonly, the militant group is referred to in the media as ISIS. Both the translations and the common acronym have caused significant frustration for many, including Pagans. A  New York Times article, dated June 18, explained the problem from a linguistic perspective.