Pagan Community Notes

Pagan Community Notes: Wendy Griffin, Allegations in Canada, Athens Pagan Pride, and more

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LONG BEACH, Calif. — It was recently made public that author and teacher Wendy Griffin suffered a major stroke. After the announcement was made public, friends began lighting candles and offering prayers. While her condition is designated as critical, Cherry Hill Seminary administrators reported yesterday that she is showing signs of awareness.  In a post, they said, “Wendy seems to have rallied slightly the last few hours … Her first smile since the stroke was when told about requests for healing going out to lists like this one.” Specific details on her condition are still not available to the public.

Paganism

2017 Wild Hunt retrospective

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TWH – Now that the season has turned and we are nearing the end of the 2017, we look back, one last time, to review this historic year. What happened? What didn’t happen? What events shaped our thoughts and guided our actions? In our collective worlds, both big and small, what were the major discussions?

Pagan Community Notes

Pagan Community Notes: Memorial Day, Manchester, Pagan Dawn, and more!

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TWH – Today marks Memorial Day in the United States. It is a day to honor the many men and women who have died in military service. According to a news report on ABC, the Department of Defense and the Department of Veterans Affairs together state that at least “1.2 million people have died fighting for America during its wars dating back 241 years.” The VA has a breakdown of the losses per conflict since the American Revolution. In a 2016 blog post, Druid John Beckett wrote, “Let us remember our warrior dead. Let us remember those who answered the call to do what had to be done and who sacrificed all they had. It is right and good to celebrate their courage and valor.”

Many Pagans, Heathens and polytheists have served and are serving in the U.S. military, and still others are members of military families.

Hounds

Unleash the Hounds! (link roundup)

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There are lots of articles and essays of interest to modern Pagans and Heathens out there, more than our team can write about in depth in any given week. Therefore, The Wild Hunt must unleash the hounds in order to round them all up. 

Ken Ham’s organization, Answers in Genesis (AiG), has filed a suit, making the claim that the National Park Service denied to one of its members a research permit due to his Christian beliefs. According to the case filed this month, Dr. Snelling of AiG was interested in collecting rock samples at the Grand Canyon National Park to “investigate geological phenomena from the perspective of one who believes in the truth of the Old and the New Testaments.” Park officials denied the permit, offering him alternative sites and reportedly calling the proposal “outlandish.” Americans United agrees with the decision, saying, “AiG as an organization has little regard for sound science.

Paganism

South African Witches face obstacles in the public practice of magic

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[The following article is a joint project between The Wild Hunt and Damon Leff, a human rights activist, Witch, and editor-in-chief of Penton Independent Alternative Media. Leff is also the director of the South African Pagan Rights Alliance, and owns his own pottery studio called Mnrva Pottery. He is currently studying Law at the University of South Africa, and lives in the Wilderness, Western Cape, South Africa.]

SOUTH AFRICA — Michael Hughes, the unofficial face of the recent February 24 mass binding ritual against the 45th President of the U.S. Donald Trump, described it as a tool for political resistance against “the Devil.” In the wake of the numerous international headlines around the world, South African Witches were left wondering whether such public magical resistance against a sitting head of state will in any way influence, or reinforce their own government’s existing negative perception of Witches. South African Witches live in a country that is still hostile to any notion of “witchcraft” as a valid spiritual pursuit. For most South Africans, including influential Traditional Healers and Traditional Leaders, Witchcraft is viewed as a wholly negative practice.