News

Culture and Community Special Edition: The Unfolding of Ferguson

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On Monday the grand jury announced that it would not indict officer Darren Wilson for the Aug. 8 shooting death of 18-year-old Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri. While protests were already in full swing prior to the announcement, there was an immediate and intense increase in activity on streets of Ferguson when the news broke. By Tuesday morning, 1500 National Guard joined the already 700 present to contain the explosive reactions to the decision. Protests were not isolated to Ferguson.

News

Impressions from PACO, a Pagan Activist Conference Online

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This past weekend, more than fourscore Pagans attended the first Pagan Activism Conference Online, or PACO. The event was sponsored by the Pantheon Foundation, which also serves as fiscal sponsor for The Wild Hunt, and included a total of nine sessions on how activism fits into Pagan lives. Having been given a press pass to the conference and experiencing some of the sessions firsthand, I’ve elected to depart from my usual style of journalistic third person, and write about what I learned at the conference, as well as pull together reactions from other people. These conversations bring us closer together as a community, even though we’re only coming together in virtual space. #PACO #RITEAction

— Rhiannon (@GypsyMamaRhi) November 24, 2014
On a technical level, the conference was a success.

Paganism

Culture and Community: The Impact of Real Name Policies in Paganism

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[Crystal Blanton is one of our talented monthly columnists. If you like her work and want to support her writing here at The Wild Hunt, please consider donating to our fall funding drive and sharing our IndieGoGo link. It is your continued support that had made it possible for us to feature Crystal and her insightful column, Culture and Community, each month. Will you donate now? Thank you.]

Facebook’s “real name” policy has caused a recent storm of responses from many social media consumers, increasing the number of people who have started the process in taking their social media loyalty someplace else.

News

Pagans Speak Out for Detained Border Children

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The immigration of unaccompanied minors is not new to the U.S. border patrol or the country as a whole. However, as reported by the U.S. Customs and Border Protection agency, the number of these children has more than doubled over the past year from 31,491 to 62,998. According to reports, the recent wave is due to an increase in refugees from Central American countries. Many of these children are victims of domestic or civic violence, drug wars and other forms of extreme abuse. Obama has called the problem an “urgent humanitarian situation.”

Living

A Blessed Lughnasadh

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This week, many modern Pagans are observing the summer festival of Lughnasadh, also called Lammas or Lughnassa. One of the yearly fire festivals, Lughnasadh marks the first of three harvest celebrations and, traditionally, honors Lugh, the Celtic god of light and many talents, and his foster-mother, Tailtiu. The day is often celebrated with feasting, songs, games, thanksgiving and the reaping of the first fruits or grains of the season. This Friday night when I break bread with my coven and give thanks to the Earth and the gods for Summer’s first fruits I won’t be dwelling on whether or not the celebration of Loaf-mass is a Christian or a Pagan one. I will be reflecting on the chain of beliefs that links me to my nominally Christian ancestors in the Middle Ages and my pagan ancestors before them.