Thorn Magazine and the Future of the Medium

July 27, 2009 By Jason Pitzl-Waters 2 Comments

The latest issue (#3) of Thorn Magazine is now out, featuring wonderful writing from Thorn Coyle, Sannion, Erynn Rowan Laurie, Phillip A. Bernhardt-House, Lupa, and yours truly (among many others). Of special note is an article on the future of Pagan journalism and magazine publishing by Jack Lux and Michael Night Sky. In it, the authors interview Ann Newkirk Niven about her recent decision to merge PanGaia and newWitch (into the new Witches and Pagans), Oberon Zell about the up-and-down history of Green Egg, and Keter Elan, former editor of the now-defunct Mezlim magazine. In their conclusion, Lux and Night Sky wonder if Pagan publications are stuck in a transitional time due to the influence of the Internet.

“…the purpose of a magazine changes to suit its audience, and Pagan journalism may be fixating on a role for which it is no longer useful … perhaps the most useful goal of Pagan publications is no longer to disseminate information about outer limits, but to delve deeper into the ideas of the past forty years and fill the gaps between them. With the Internet and the growing festival network, magazines are best suited not for community building, but for culture building.”

In these recessionary times, where niche magazines are folding left and right, it may be hard for the surviving Pagan publications to successfully re-position themselves and weather the economic storm. Which brings us to the sad news that Thorn Magazine is ceasing print publication after its fourth issue.

“…perhaps inevitably, certain market forces have caught up with us at last: the declining economy and the ailing state of print journalism in general. Despite strong enthusiasm for and interest in the work we’re doing, businesses have been unable to afford extra expenses for advertising and potential readers have had their pockets stripped by the Great Recession. Coupled with the usual enormous cost of printing and the spiraling postage rates, these circumstances have finally cornered us into an inescapable conclusion: we no longer have the cashflow available to continue printing this quarterly magazine. The October 2009 issue, Vol 1 Issue 4, will be our last in print.”

They do note that Thorn will survive in an online-only format, with quarterly “issues” and monthly updates, but it remains to be seen how successful that new incarnation will be. As a columnist for Thorn I certainly wish them all the best but the question has to be raised, if a Pagan magazine of such high quality can’t survive for more than a year, what does that say about the appetite for new magazines among the larger Pagan community, and the ability of Pagan businesses to support such endeavors with ad revenue? How many full-size quarterly magazines can our community feasibly support? Will the revamped Witches and Pagans push to the forefront of Pagan publications? Or will it too run into problems?

While I’m certainly a proponent of the Internet for disseminating information and generating discussion, I would find it sad if the world of Pagan publications were to continue to contract. Not everyone reads the Internet, and without a high-quality and well-edited inter-generational touchstone publication we could see the level of discourse within our communities suffer. This doesn’t mean I excuse publishers who remain hostile or obtuse to the new economies and realities of a post-Internet publishing world, only that print vehicles do serve, and should continue to serve, a purpose to modern Pagans. So good luck to the new online-only Thorn Magazine, and the soon-to-be-launched Witches and Pagans, it looks like they’ll need it.

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Another Look at Wicca in India

July 26, 2009 By Jason Pitzl-Waters 2 Comments

Sangeeta Krishnan (aka Ashtoreth), an Indian Wiccan, has written in to let me know that she (and the religion of Wicca) has been been profiled twice in the last week. First for the Mumbai Age (link to full article, here), and then for the Times of India (link to full article, here).


A clipping from the Times of India article.

“Sangeeta Krishnan, whose collective is called Astral Hub, screens films like “The Secret”, plans day trips to Madh Island with psychic games and Maypole dances, and initiates debates like the forthcoming one called Harry Potter versus Real Witches. “Wicca is a calling and I’d say there are about 50 dedicated Wiccans in Bombay,” she says. And the headcount may keep growing as Wiccans bravely come out on social networking sites.”

The article also gives credit to Ipsita Roy Chakraverti (whom I’ve covered at this blog previously) with bringing Wicca in India out of the “Indian broom closet” in the 1980s, and interviews an Indian Wiccan who received her initial training from the US-based Witch School. While the number of Indian Wiccans is still very small, the tone of these articles very much reminds me of the early profiles of Wicca in Britain and America, and we all know how our population exploded in the years after the faith was introduced in those countries.

Will later generations of Wiccans in India look towards Chakraverti and Krishnan the way we now look at figures like Alex Sanders or Starhawk? Whatever the outcome, it looks certain that modern Paganism has indeed found fertile soil among this predominately Hindu country (which brings up all sorts of interesting questions about Indian Pagans and Western Indo-Pagans), and that Wicca has truly become a world religion, with thriving communities of practitioners located across the globe (in Brazil, South Africa, India, Russia, Australia, and Mexico for instance). When the modern Pagans go to the Parliament of World Religions in Melbourne this December, they can truly claim that they have a personal stake in what happens outside the Western countries we are normally associated with.

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Back in the Saddle Again…

July 25, 2009 By Jason Pitzl-Waters 14 Comments

Now that I’ve safely arrived in the Pacific Northwest (the journey was only a little like this), unloaded my relocubes, and started the long and arduous process of unpacking my books, it’s time to resume my duties here at The Wild Hunt. I would first like to deeply thank all the wonderful folks who filled in at my blog while I was gone, they made my life much easier, and raised the bar for the writing on this blog in the process. I hope you’ll continue to follow their work at their own blogs and web sites. As for me, I’ve got a lot of catching up to do, it’s amazing how much Pagan news you can miss in eleven days. So here’s a quick catch-up of some news of note that emerged during my sojourn.

Professor Ronald Hutton (author of “Triumph of the Moon”), scholar of modern Witchcraft, Druidry, and the English ritual year, has been named a Commissioner of English Heritage.

“The Minister for Culture has appointed Professor Ronald Hutton as the historian to sit on the commission that governs English Heritage. The commission has overall charge of the affairs of the official national body concerned with heritage, and its members act as statutory advisors to the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport (and so effectively to the government) in all matters that involve the understanding and conservation of England’s past. As such, the appointment carries with it a broader responsibility of acting as an advocate for the importance of history in national life. It will commence in October and last for four years with the possibility of renewal.”

Pagans for Archeology called the news “fantastic” and a “well-deserved honour”. To have such a sympathetic voice for the modern Pagan movement advising the government on England’s heritage could change the existing dynamic over issues of access and preservation for sites like  Avebury and Stonehenge.

Speaking of Ronald Hutton, he makes a brief appearance in a preview for a new documentary about Druids (ancient and modern) produced by the Holistic Channel (no doubt to be re-edited soon for a History Channel program).

This, among other recent developments we’ll get to in a moment, have really peeved off a British academic blogger who calls for more discrimination of modern Pagans (they must, in his mind, prove themselves worthy of “respect”), and resorts to quite a bit of name-calling. He also describes Ronald Hutton as Paganism’s “brain in a jar”, excusing the rest of us from developing critical thinking skills. I personally think my “intellectual depth and rigour” is doing just fine.

Before we leave the isle of Britain, I would be amiss in not noting the fact that there are now enough Pagan police to necessitate the formation of a Pagan Police Association, complete with time off for the various high-holidays (oh, and two official Pagan chaplains serving officers on the force).

“Most recently, the Pagan Police Association has been created, allowing police officers to explore their beliefs with other officers. Alongside this, in some forces, officers are being allowed the opportunity to move away from traditional Christian holidays. In practice this means that Pagan officers, rather like those from more mainstream faiths, can take their holidays on the dates which support their beliefs.”

Not everyone is happy about this, but the growing prevalence of Paganism in Britain seems unavoidable lately. Even the Scottish government has more Pagan civil servants than it does Jews, Sikhs, or Hindus. Maybe the British soul really is Pagan.

Turning our eyes back to the USA, specifically Philadelphia, sensationalism seems almost unavoidable in the case of a trans-gendered woman who died while at a three-day Vodou cleansing ceremony in New Jersey. While no charges have been filed, and no apparent wrong-doing has yet been discovered (nor did any harm come to the six other clients undergoing the same process), that hasn’t stopped the press from airing requests from friends of the deceased for “accountability” from “Houngan Hector” over the matter.

“Her friends there say they want answers and an apology from Salva, who goes by the name “Houngan Hector” on his Gade Nou Leve Society Web site. “I’m certain no one meant to hurt anyone, but she was in their care and there has to be some accountability,” said Randi M. Romo, executive director of the Center for Artistic Revolution, a Little Rock-based nonprofit agency for which Hamilton worked as a youth counselor. “They haven’t even contacted her mother.” No one answered at the door of the Loch Lomond Drive townhouse yesterday, and Salva, who claims he was initiated as a senior priest in Haiti, did not respond to e-mails for comment.”

Considering they may not know why she died, going around and taking responsibility for her death seems a little premature. Plus, with the press running headlines like “Voodoo became a fatal obsession”, and the health department and child services being called on them, I doubt the residents of that house are feeling like opening up. I wonder, if tests reveal that this poor woman died of a brain aneurysm, heart defect, or some other natural cause that had nothing to do with Vodou, will the Philadelphia Daily News vindicate Houngan Hector, or simply move on?

In a final note, for years many Pagans have been trying to separate themselves from the “New Age” label, but in an increasingly shifting economy and world, it looks as if  some New Agers, like The Edge editor Tim Miejan, want that seperation to happen too (much to the chagrin of some).

“Miejan favors articles on stress reduction and spiritual quests … But even Miejan’s open mind sometimes snaps shut. Channelers — people possessed by spirits of the dead — are out. So is the belief that reptile-like aliens have taken over the bodies of celebrities, including Queen Elizabeth and — according to one Web site — former Minnesota U.S. Rep. Bill Luther. Paganism? Out. “I am not saying that because paganism offends anyone,” Miejan said. “But it is a complete niche by itself.” Other New Age leaders are appalled. “He is excluding channeling? Yikes. Or pagans? He should not be doing that,” said Kathy McGee, editor of the Washington-state-based magazine New Age Retailer.”

Call it a result of the Oprah-fication of the New Age section, it’s all about personal growth (and “The Secret”) now, not Atlantean masters or Pagan gods. Those who want to keep Pagans (and Chiropractors, and organic farmers) under the “New Age” rubric are probably more concerned about a shrinking pool of markets to target, rather than if we truly belong with the newly-mainstreamed gurus of self-actualization.

That’s all I have for now, have a great day!

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Brushwood Ramblings

July 24, 2009 By peg 5 Comments

(Guest post by Peg Aloi)

Brushwood Folklore Center

Sherman, NY

July 2009 (Sirius Rising and Starwood)

The origin of the witch’s cackle: people sitting in the woods at night around campfires, telling stories, and lobbing good-natured barbs at each other, laughing with loud, lusty abandon, their voices raspy with smoke and gravelly from drink, barley bread and wine, stones and water, bleating into the night among the mist-shrouded in dew-soaked copses. This laughter is in fact indistinguishable from the screams of witches burning on byres or twisting under thumbscrews, their knowing humor indistinguishable from their cunning spells or wily seductions, the disruption of forest silence indistinguishable from the shattering of families and homes, atunement with nature indistinguishable from communion with the devil. Comedy is tragedy plus time; neo-paganism is the witchcraft of antiquity plus mod cons. Persecution? It may still exist; but witch wars are worse. Our laughter is wiser now, but also meaner.

***

We retreat to the woods for rustic pleasures; but now the forest has wi-fi and cellular service. We compensate with archaic food and drink: home-brewed ale and mead, spit-roasted meats, potatoes baked in the embers. Likewise, we dress in anachronistic clothing. Someone oughta start an organization celebrating this spirit of inventive nostalgia, a society for creative anachron–oh, wait.

***

Jogging offsite today, I saw two birds I’ve never seen in this area, where I’ve been camping for a decade and a half: a scarlet tanager (which I at first mistook for a red-winged blackbird) and a bluebird (which I mistook for a bluejay). Buebirds, the state bird of New York, are in fact becoming quite rare. In this week’s event, Sirius Rising, daily elemental rituals are held. Today, Tuesday, is Fire day, so the red bird sighting is a thrill, followed by tomorrow’s color, blue for Water. I won’t see yellow birds, signifying Air, until Thursday, whn I spy two goldfinches. So far, a week later, no green Earth-appropriate birds have been sighted.

***

Decadent tastes, textures, scents and sounds abound at any pagan festival. Today (Wednesday) I tried Dickel Tennessee Bourbon: it has a sweet, sugary, syrupy burn to it, an aftertaste of an Appalachian Hades. Other firsts this week: legally-obtained absinthe, and bacon-infused chocolate.

***

I am always amazed at the sheer lack of preparation for the weather that is on display here. We’re camping, after all. People who have lived in the Northeast all their lives come here for a festival and don’t appear to know what wool is or what shoes are; thy wander around in a sarong when it’s a damp 50 degrees outside. I have thus formulated the following hypothesis, hereafter referred to as the  Wet Rayon Corrollary: The amount of clothing worn on a chilly night by certain pagan gathering attendees  is directly proportional to the temperature but inversely proportional to (fill in the blank with whatever you think is appropriate).

***

A chipmunk, upon discovering the nectarine pit covered in juicy pulp I threw onto the forest floor to compost and perhaps eventually sprout into a glorious fruit tree: OH NOM NOM NOM.

***

The mist is a carnival, enhancing and amplifying our meanderings through the night landscape. Lights are softened, facial features made fey, words and footsteps jumbled and rearranged with new meanings, new recognition. The memory of this night is now living in the mist, inaccessible in the parched heat of afternoon or the clearheaded consciousness of morning, or even at the sultry zenith of midday. The mist is dismembered by such heat and clarity. At dawn, at twilight, as the sun scatters it, as the encroacing night summons it, the mist remembers its place, and us, and we re-member ourselves.

***

Dream: I’m in a college photography/film class. Our assignment is to make a short film on the theme of “nature.” We only have a day to do this. I come up with some simple ideas: a rose in the sunlight, a tree with birds. I don’t finish my film on time but go to class anyway, where completed assignments are shown. One female student’s film stands out: a female scarecrow/goddess figure standing in a field, skirts made of cornhusks, waist wreathed in flowers, her face a giant sunflower. She appears to dance in the field, and then there is a circle of people standing in a pool of water, flowers floating all around them. I’m shaken by the beauty of this short visual feast, the power of its themes, its pagan simplicity and intricate colors. I feel jealous and awed, my own ideas so paltry compared to hers. I awaken from this dream, the images still fresh, and realize, in that odd hybrid state between dreaming and wakefulness, that the creative vision that inspired the film within my dream is actually my own. This reminds me of an ongoing discussion that’s been happening this week, about originality and creativity in the pagan community, and the irritating and demoralizing practice of stealing the ideas and words of others: plagiarizing workshop titles, book ideas, ritual texts, website code and images…is there really such a lack of ideas and ethics in our community? For such a creative and vibrant spiritual movement, this dishonesty and mediocrity is disheartening. I want more scarecrow goddesses, an endless array of them, lined up like acres of corn, but I want them all to have a separate persona and all the flora and colors of the known universe. I don’t think it’s too much to ask.

***

There’s been a great deal of rain. The last time it rained this much during festival the event became known as “Squishwood.” Three truckloads of gravel bought and delivered today to deal with the muddy roads. Many tents on the field are surrounded by water. The porto-potties are becoming, if not dangerous, horrifying to access. Still…pagans stay positive. Chanting the names of the sun gods at the cafe. Applauding when the sun finally poked out from behind the clouds. Last week at the labyrinth ritual during Sirius Rising, some kids started chanting that old classic, “Rain, Rain, go away, come again some other day.” Alas, it didn’t work. I am always amused at the degree to which pagans, witches and other magical types think they can control or influence the weather. Maybe they’re capable of picking up on weather vibes and display an uncanny knack for timing. But I think that may be the extent of it. Still, I’ll take the intermittent sunshine to dry out our duds and watch people cheer up as their living situations improve dramatically. I’ll even chalk it up to the chants for Chango, Ra, Apollo and Helios. Hail to the sun gods! Suns for us and rains for us and dry beds for us. A dry place to sleep; funny how little we really need to feel satisfied…and magically accomplished.

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