The Wild Hunt (https://wildhunt.org/tag/paganicon/page/5)
SACREMENTO, Calif. — Activist and witch Andy Conn died unexpectedly Feb. 2. Conn was an active member of the Bay Area Pagan community, involved with the Church of All Worlds and activist movements such as Occupy Sacramento and Earth First!. His son Nick wrote in a memorial, “My father was a complicated, dynamic man that shone so bright in his short life.
During the hustle and bustle of the holiday season, members of Solar Cross Temple took some time out to offer assistance and comfort to others within the Portland community. Hosted by Direct Action Alliance and Rose City Black Guards, the event brought people together to support “those most in need.” The two groups invited people “to come out to [Battleship Memorial Park] and support each other in the best way we know how, by helping.” They offered hot meals, and were collecting living essentials and clothing to give to the houseless. The gathering was held between 12-3pm, which happened to be the scheduled time of another event: Patriot Prayer rally. In the Facebook event invitation, DAA and RCBG said, “They are trying to hide their hate fueled fascist ideology behind a banner of Jesus and religiousness.
MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. – While the official theme of Paganicon 2017 was A Journey into the Underworld, a sub-theme of healing ran throughout the entire Midwest 3 day conference. There was, of course, the expected workshops covering such things as Reiki, but there was also a class on healing through movement, a round table on Pagans with cancer, and a room set aside specifically for healing work. The unofficial sub-theme theme wove its way through the art selections in the gallery and the songs sung by musicians.Paganicon Director of Programming and Entertainment, Becky Munson said the healing sub-theme wasn’t created by design, “Everything happened pretty organically; everything that was presented was submitted in the public call for submissions.”
Ms. Munson says each year there are submissions for presentations that seem to cluster around a topic that is simmering in the community consciousness. “I think it’s a by-product of what’s going in in our society right now,” said Munson.
UNITED STATES — After the widespread attention given to a binding spell action against President Donald Trump, members the Facebook-based group Pagans for Trump began talking about doing a counter-spell. At the same time, it was reported in various media outlets that a group of Christians were planning to “pray the hex away.” In describing her own work to counter the binding, Lori Lyttle, a member of Pagans for Trump said, “It’s a blocking and protection spell.” She used black and white candles, incense, and “many, many gems,” which were all laid out on her altar. Trump supporter Katie Roberts was also planning to work against the mass binding spell.
ST. LOUIS PARK, Minn.. — When the doors to Paganicon open next March, attendees will have the opportunity to hear from two important representatives of native peoples, Sharon Day and Arvol Looking Horse. What makes their attendance particularly unusual is that the cost of bringing in these speakers was raised directly by members of the community, and in relatively short order. Headliners at Paganicon are usually selected a year in advance and have their expenses paid for by the convention budget, but Looking Horse and Day were only confirmed within the last few weeks.