Living

Column: Pagan Pride Day – A Good Place to Find a Mentor

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Pagan Perspectives

September lies in the heart of Pagan Pride season, where communities large and small come together to celebrate all that it means to be Pagan. On Pagan Pride Day in many places, one of the public components is the act of giving back, such as hosting a food drive for the homeless. Many Pagan Pride Day celebrations are held in parks, as one requirement of these events is that the festival be held in a public venue. At these times, those who have little to no knowledge of Paganism can find the best of any local community in one place during one day. Whether through the variety of rituals, music, vendors, or religious organizations on display, a local person who might have an interest in Paganism can seek and find answers to questions.  For those who already consider the Pagan community home in some sense or another, Pagan Pride events are also the perfect places to find role models or mentors.

Pagan Community Notes

Pagan Community Notes: Mountain Magic, Raleigh Pagan Pride Day, Vanessa Goldman, and more

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RICHLANDS, Vir. —  Mountain Magic and Tarot Shop will not be offering tarot readings within the store any time soon. The shop owners, Jerome VanDyke and Mark Mullins, challenged a local zoning regulation that prohibits “fortune telling” in the store. They asked the city council to consider changing the code so that divination would be permitted. At a standing-room-only meeting Feb.

Pagan Community Notes

Pagan Community Notes: American Heathens, Gen-Hex, Starhawk, U.S. Army and more!

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A new book American Heathens: The Politics of Identity in a Pagan Religious Movement will is now available from Temple University Press. Written by Professor Jennifer Snook, the book “is the first in-depth ethnographic study about the largely misunderstood practice of American Heathenry (Germanic Paganism).” Snook traces the trajectory of the movement itself and highlights stories from modern practitioners. Snook is a professor of sociology at the University of Mississippi, and has been a practicing Heathen since the age of eighteen. Because of her perspective, the book “treats Heathens as members of a religious movement, rather than simply a subculture reenacting myths and stories of enchantment.”