Pagan Community Notes: Most Impactful Pagan News of 2018 and more!

TWH – This week we take a look back at a few of the new stories in the mainstream that we covered that had an impact on the collective Pagan, Heathen, and Polytheist communities.  

The Parliament of World Religions hosted a larger amount of programming featuring Witches and Pagans than in the past. TWH spoke with four Pagans who planned to attend PoWR to get their perspective and what they hoped to accomplish by attending. After the conference, guest contributor, Karen Dales gave us aa bird’s eye view of some of the activities in her article. As a lead up to PoWR, the Global Wicca Summit cyber conference was held in early September and centered around the theme “Wicca as a Global Faith” with the primary purpose of providing the community with open discussion and worldwide networking.

Pagan Community Notes: Dr. Bones, Canada Witchcraft, and more

This weekend, a now former writer for Gods and Radicals, “Dr. Bones” a self-described anarchist / egoist-communist, occultist, and gonzo journalist, was accused of sexual misconduct in a lengthy Twitter thread. Gods and Radicals promptly responded to the accusation and tweeted a brief statement early Sunday morning supporting the accuser and announcing that they would be removing all of Bones’ articles. Gods and Radicals added that they would no longer be distributing his book. Later on Sunday, Dr. Bones posted an apology on his blog site, The Conjure House, stating “This will be my last post, and it is not to ask for pity. It is to firmly and clearly state I have committed unforgivable actions, and as such will retire completely from both writing and politics.”   He further added that “I have violated not only the trust of my readers, of my comrades, but most of all my wife.

Pagan Community Notes: The Harm of “Witch Hunt”, PantheaCon, and More!

This morning The Daily Beast published an article about the reactions from the Witch and Pagan community regarding president Trump’s repeated use of the term “witch hunt” to describe the Mueller investigation. While many in the Pagan community have been having this conversation since Trump began shrieking out “witch hunt” across social media starting in 2017 and often in all caps,  the use of the term remains a concern for many. Author David Salisbury, who is based in DC, and one of the organizers for Firefly House, was interviewed and said, in part, “It is particularly horrifying because many modern practitioners of witchcraft devote their lives to seeking compassion and justice.” Salisbury has a new book, “Witchcraft Activism: A Toolkit for Magical Resistance” due to be released the beginning of March 2019, and was reviewed by Publisher’s Weekly last week. The Daily Beast also spoke with author Kitty Randall [aka Amber K]. “To have him compare his situation to the worst period in our history is just infuriating,” Randall said.

Notes and Hounds: Australia Edition

This month, TWH’s Australian correspondent Josephine Winter brings us the latest news snippets from the Australian Pagan Community.  

Western Australia: Combined Covens Participates in PrideFest WA
Last month, Perth-based non-profit Pagan social group Combined Covens participated in PrideFest, Perth’s LGBTQI+  arts, culture and community festival for the second year running. Members of Combined Covens dressed as gods and goddesses for the parade through Northbridge, which marked the conclusion of the festival. PrideFest is organised and facilitated by Pride WA. Originally incorporated in 1993 as Lesbian & Gay Pride (WA) Incorporated, Pride WA began in its earliest form during the 1989 march on Parliament, during the contentious debate about the Law Reform (Decriminalisation of Sodomy) Act 1989 which decriminalised private sexual acts between two people of the same sex.

Pagan Community Notes: World Druid Survey and more!

A major survey project by Larisa A. White, M.S.Ed., Ph.D. of Quercus Academy in Central California late was announced last month.  The survey project intends to gather data on how modern Druidry has evolved and how practices have shifted around the world. The survey will track how Druidry has spread around the globe as a major nature spirituality path and examine what practicing Druids hold in common, and how their practices differ. White is seeking input from Druids of all levels of practice, from beginners to those who have decades of experience.  World Druidry Survey is supported in part by the OBOD’s Mount Haemus Award program. The findings of the project are set to be published at Beltane 2021 and presented at Mount Haemus Day in 2024 in conjunction with other publications.  
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Lilith Dorsey who authors the blog Voodoo Universe on Patheos discussed cultural appropriation and the recent controversy at Pantheacon.  Doresy allowed Witchdoctor Utu and his mentor, Baba Teddy Olujimi Jauw, to both make statements clarifying their practices, the history of African Traditional Religions (ATRs), and address the accusations of cultural appropriation.  Dorsey add her own analysis in the matter.