Pagan News Of Note

Happy 4th of July
I’m taking the day off from blogging, enjoy the fireworks! Oh, and thanks to the precise wordsmiths who wrote the Declaration of Independence.
(Pagan) News of Note
My semi-regular round-up of articles, essays, and opinions of note for discerning Pagans and Heathens. Move over Long Man of Wilmington and Cerne Abbas Giant, a mining company is carving a 400-yard goddess figure into the Northumberland landscape. “Dubbed the “Goddess of the North”, Northumberlandia will be made from two million tonnes of earth dug out from [...]
Quick Note: Recycling Journalism
I know Pagans are usually pretty pro recycling, but this is ridiculous. The Atalanta Journal Constitution re-runs a not-very-funny article by Charles Yoo about Pagans from October, no, not October 2008, October 2006. “Oh, Great Spirit of the Forest, hear this prayer. Among us, the mortals, walk lonesome souls whose devotion to thee must be hidden. [...]
Quick Note: A Bit of Pagan Ballet
Mythical and Arcadian motifs in opera, classical music, and ballet are nothing new, but it’s always nice to remember that choreographers and composers have been mining these rich themes for generations. For instance, The New York Times reviews the American Ballet Theater’s revival production of “Sylvia” (aka “Sylvia ou La Nymphe de Diane”) and revels [...]
Hidden, In Plain Sight, Hated, and Desired
One of the unique things about the modern Pagan movement in North America is that because it is spread across the country adherents can encounter a variety of reactions to their chosen faith. For instance, in Odessa, Texas, local Pagans feel the need for secrecy, giving anonymous interviews and working to dispel old stereotypes. Aratkis and [...]
Amendment That Would Eliminate 6 Sources Defeated
This past weekend in Salt Lake City, Utah was the Unitarian-Universalist Association’s yearly General Assembly. This year, in addition to electing a new president, members of the UUA voted on a proposed amendment to its bylaws. The amendment, composed by the Commission on Appraisal, would have eliminated the now-familiar “6 sources”, which included the long-campaigned [...]
Quick Note: New BBC Documentary Featuring Pagans?
The Iceland Review notes that the BBC was recently in the country to film a number of Asatru ceremonies. “A documentary film crew from the BBC attended two weddings, two naming ceremonies and one coming-of-age ceremony undertaken by Asatruarfelagid, the pagan society in Iceland, which honors the Norse gods, at Thingvellir national park on Thursday.” Sadly, we [...]
A Few Quick Notes
A few news items I wanted to share with you this Saturday morning. We start off with a glowing profile of the Starwood Festival from Mark Mansfield of Stereo Subversion. “The best festival I’ve ever participated in, I heard about through word of mouth fifteen years ago. Festival has many different meanings depending on the person. [...]
A Druid’s Guide To Glastonbury
British music site The Quietus (which is quite good btw) has decided to forego its usual tips for attending the massive Glastonbury Festival, and has instead sought the advice of Druid leader Emma Restall Orr. The author of “Living With Honour: A Pagan Ethics” gives sensible advice about not minding the rain, avoiding greasy junk-food, [...]
Bungling Poachers, Not Satanists
It seems to happen with almost every strange animal death, law enforcement and journalists start wondering if the event had “occult” or “Satanic” connotations. Since a “Satanic” (or Santeria/Voodoo) headline sells more papers than “disturbed teenagers”, we rarely get an injection of common sense in these proceedings. Often, the more mundane truth is briefly reported [...]