Pagan Community Notes

Pagan Community Notes: BBC petition, Cherry Hill Seminary, Arnold Crowther, and more

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As we reported in the past, a U.K.-based petition has been making its way around the internet. Its mission is to urge the BBC to be more considerate of Pagan religious views. Created in January 2018 by Druid Stuart Jeffrey, the petition, which is titled BBC should make Pagan voices heard, has garnered closed to 2,000 signatures. Jeffrey believes that the station should contain occasional programming that explores Paganism and that “they should feature a Pagan voice on Thought for the Day at least once a year.” He writes, “The BBC recently published a review of its religious programming however despite getting the views from a range of religious leaders, no Pagans were consulted. Thought for the Day (T4tD) goes out on Radio 4 and despite it being multi-faith it has no Pagan voices on it.”

In a press release, Jeffrey announced that the petition will be delivered to the BBC Tuesday, July 17 at 11am. He said, “Almost 2,000 people have call [sic] on the BBC to make Pagan voices heard.

Pagan Community Notes

Pagan Community Notes: Doug Hoffman, Cherry Hill Seminary, Samuel Wagar and more.

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CHARLOTTE, N.C., –  It was announced May 6 that Doug Hoffman, a Druid, clairvoyant, tarot reader, teacher, and active member of the local Pagan community, died after suffering a sudden bilateral stroke. According to one bio, Hoffman was taught mysticism and symbolism by his mother and grandmother. “Over the years, Doug worked with many different teachers learning Celtic mythology, herbal healing, spiritualism and many [other] different types of divination.” Despite living in many places, Hoffman reportedly always found time to be involved with the local Pagan community. His most recent location, in Charlotte, made him a regular member of the Piedmont Pagan Pride Day event and organization.

Pagan Community Notes

Pagan Community Notes: Damh the Bard, Nature’s Path, Mountain Magic and more

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GLASTONBURY, England — Popular musician Damh the Bard made mainstream headlines last week after delivering a talk at the Occult Conference in Glastonbury. During that talk, Damh discussed a ritual that he once co-led during a weekend camp back in 2005. The Daily Express published the story synopsis with the headline, “Top druid ‘slit people’s throats’ in bizarre Pagan sacrificial death ritual held in U.K.” Writer John Austin writes that Damh said in his talk that the attendees “were left convinced they had died after his mock execution,” which was done when Damh ran his fingernail across their throats. The Wild Hunt contacted with Damh to find out what exactly happened at the conference and what he said in his talk. In an email interview, he told us that the reporter sat quietly, observing the entire conference without asking questions.

News

Beliefnet acquires Patheos; Pagan bloggers guardedly optimistic

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ENGLEWOOD, Co. — Last week came the announcement that religion site Beliefnet has acquired Patheos, the far more popular home of a wide variety of religious blogs, include a vibrant Pagan channel. While Beliefnet also once hosted Pagan bloggers, since being acquired by the Christian-focused BN Media company, those writers all eventually moved on. With the new purchase, it has been stated that plans thus far are to keep the two sites independent of each other.  A Wild Hunt investigation into BN Media buying Beliefnet in June, 2016, disclosed the company’s focus:
BN Media seems to be a different sort of owner, if their two largest initiatives, Affinity4 and Cross Bridge, are any indication.