Once again, thank you to everyone who has donated so far in our Winter Pledge Drive. Your support is essential in keeping this site open, ad-free, and updated daily. As we head into the drive’s final days, I’d like to post a reminder for those who haven’t given yet, and share some quotes from Wild Hunt supporters.

“We have developed ourselves in nearly every aspect of media, and I for one love and appreciate this facet of living the Pagan life. But by far my favorite is The Wild Hunt. I have said it many times and will continue to say it: It is the pinnacle of professional Pagan journalism. It is the CNN of Paganism. Jason provides an invaluable resource to our community, and as a community we have an obligation to support and sustain these resources if we have any hopes for the future of Paganism.

Last year I donated to The Wild Hunt Pledge Drive, and challenged my readers to do the same. This year I have upped the ante and and my organization has the honor of becoming and affiliate underwriter for The Wild Hunt. Again I challenge you to do the same, make a donation, support a valuable member of our community, support the the invaluable service he provides to us all.” – Joseph Merlin Nichter, chaplain, founder of the Mill Creek Tradition and Seminary.

“The reason there is so little exemplary new media journalism that reaches the bar set by The Wild Hunt is that few can afford to put as much work into it on a daily basis like Jason does and yet earn so little for their efforts. This is our opportunity to show that we want quality reporting and we’re willing to pay for it – I hope many take it! There is so little good reporting to be found anywhere these days, I am so grateful for The Wild Hunt and I am willing to put my money where my mouth is. This is real and powerful work that Jason is doing, he deserve to earn a living doing it and if we all do our little part to support his work it is very possible. What we invest in we manifest. Awesome work, Jason. I’ve just become a monthly donor.” – J. Hannah

If you’re a regular reader of The Wild Hunt, if you find yourself forwarding the stories, or sharing them on the various social networking sites, please consider donating this year. Even if it’s only a few dollars, a little bit from a lot of people truly does make a big, big difference. My life is dedicated to reporting on our interconnected communities, and I can only keep doing that with your support. If you’ve given already, thank you! Please help spread the word by writing about the drive on your blog, journal, Twitter, or Facebook account.

Word has come to us that San Francisco poet and Druid elder Jehanah Wedgwood passed away on Monday, November 15th. A cherished member of the SF community, James L. Bianchi from the House of Danu, an alliance of OBOD Groves and Seed groups, shares this obituary.

Jehanah Wedgwood

When the House of Danu emerged, we were blessed with a formidable grove of elders who offered guidance, inspiration, artistic prowess, and scholarly wisdom: our Druid Grove. Jehanah Wedgewood was the foremost poet of our Druid Grove and our House. We mourn her passing on November 15, 2010.

Jehanah came to us as grove mother of the oldest and most revered OBOD grove in the West, Manannan Mac Lir, in San Francisco, operated by Dr. Rodney Karr that presides over the sacred stones of Monarch Bear Grove in Golden Gate Park San Francisco. She was there at the first planning retreat in the Santa Cruz redwoods when we formed the vision for the House of Danu, was active on the Gorsedd committee, and an esteemed member of our governing Council.

Jehanah was born as Stephanie Virginia ‘Jenna’ Wedgwood on January 28, 1941, and upon her passing, is survived by her children, Mary Shea, Thomas Wedgwood, and Susannah Wedgwood, her daughter-in-law Jill Raznov, and grandchildren Ely, Colby, and Evan.

She received Bachelor’s degree at Indiana University 1968 for Comparative Literature, and spent a year in graduate school studying Creative Writing at Texas Christian University. Jehanah continued her studies at the Gestalt Institute of Multiple Psychotherapy, and the San Francisco Gestalt Institute, followed by an internship with Ron Kurtz (Gestalt Psychotherapist), and an internship with Dr. Rodney Karr (Jungian psychotherapist) five years. Jehanah also relished the workshops of R.J. Stewart.

Jehanah was Rolfed, learned Feldenkreis exercises, Tai Chi, studied nutrition and herbal healing. She developed special interests in the areas of Celtic Studies, Druidry and Faery tradition, anthropology, ancient history and philosophy, comparative esoteric literature, brain function and evolution, New Age healing, environmental concerns, and International relations and world power structure. Special influences: Joseph Campbell, Alan Watts, William Shakespeare, Gertrude Stein, the poets Jack Micheline and Allen Ginsberg.

Jehanah lived in the Haight Ashbury neighborhood for 39 years where she became a cornerstone of San Francisco’s literary culture, presiding over weekly poetry readings at the Sacred Grounds Café for over three decades. Jehanah was editor of the Sacred Grounds Anthologies 1-15, published chapbooks of her own poetry, Mother of Winter, The Sun Colors, and Song for the Day, and her final work, Next Century’s Child (Meridian Press Works), that was published just days before her passing.

Her literary life was an integral part of her spiritual life. She was grove mother of the Monarch Bear Grove, and the Manannan Mac Lir Grove in San Francisco, minister of Shamanistic Poetry, and ordained by the Association for the Integration of the Whole Person. Jehanah was always a teacher, and so she will remain.

What is remembered lives.

James L. Bianchi, Council
House of Danu

Blessings to all who knew her, may she rest and return to us again. What is remembered lives. Details of her memorial event on November 21, 2010 at 10:00a.m. in Golden Gate Park in San Francisco can be found on the House of Danu (Official) Facebook page.

• Reminder: We are in the midst of our second annual Winter Pledge Drive! If you value this blog, its mission, and its content, please consider making a donation to keep The Wild Hunt open, ad-free, and updated daily. Spread the word, and thanks to all who have donated so far!

Glenn Beck calls him “one of the most important men in America,” People For the American Way call him the “right’s favorite pseudo-historian, “ and Time Magazine listed him among the 25 most influential evangelicals in 2005. He’s David Barton, founder and president of WallBuilders, and Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann wants him teaching the freshman class of recently elected Republicans all about the U.S. Constitution.

“Rep. Michele Bachmann announced last month that she wants to hold “Constitution classes” for new members of Congress in the hopes of preventing them from being “co-opted into the Washington system.” She’s already announced several people she wants to teach the classes, including David Barton, a controversial figure whose ideas about the constitution and the founding fathers have drawn sharp criticism from both the religious and secular communities. “Every week the hour before we take our first votes, we have our weekly class so that we are reminded of our constitutional jurisdictional limits,” Bachmann told Glenn Beck in a recent radio interview. She mentioned Barton as a key figure in those weekly classes.”

Anyone who pays attention to the nomination and approval of Supreme Court nominees knows that there are different schools of thought regarding the constitution and how it should be applied in court cases, but Barton’s interpretations and views go beyond whether we have a “living constitution” or not, they are something far more radical and dangerous. In short, Barton has a theocracy-tinged exceptionalist view of America that would see the equal treatment of non-Christian religions eliminated. That isn’t hyperbole on my part, I’ll let Barton speak for himself.

“The true historic meaning of “religion” excludes paganism and witchcraft, and thus, does not compel a conclusion that McCollum has state taxpayer standing … paganism and witchcraft were never intended to receive the protections of the Religion Clauses. Thus, in the present case there can be no violation of those clauses … Should this Court conclude that McCollum has taxpayer standing … this Court should at least acknowledge that its conclusion is compelled by Supreme Court precedent, not by history or the intent of the Framers.”

That quote is from an amicus brief written by Barton in the case of Patrick M. McCollum; et al., v. California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, currently before the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals. McCollum v. CDCR centers on the state of California’s discriminatory “five faiths” policy, which limits the hiring of paid chaplains to Protestant, Catholic, Jewish, Muslim, and Native American adherents.

It’s unsurprising that Rep. Michele Bachmann is so keen on Barton since she tried to funnel tainted contribution money into an anti-Pagan charity (which they later returned), one that has ties to the virulently anti-Pagan New Apostolic Reformation. Indeed, Barton and Bachmann have been chummy for years.

“Bachmann and Barton have a long relationship going back to Bachmann’s time as state senator. Barton was invited to Minnesota to help Bachmann with legislation on school history standards, she’s appeared his radio show numerous times and she and Barton have conducted tours in Washington, D.C., to demonstrate to tea partiers how religious the Founding Fathers were.”

Sadly, Bachmann isn’t the only politician Barton has on his speed-dial. He helped Republican candidate Marco Rubio win a senate seat, and Mary Fallin the governor’s chair in Oklahoma, this November. He’s also close to potential 2012 Republican presidential candidates like Mike Huckabee and Sarah Palin.

Despite being engaged in various scandals and outrages, nothing seems to have slowed Barton’s ascent to a position of influence in national politics. That he may be in a position now to “educate” unexperienced politicians elected with a largely fiscal mandate by an unhappy electorate is chilling. If Barton gathers enough “students” among holders of high political office, how long before his distorted perspectives on the Religion Clauses start to carry real weight? As recently as 1999 there was a congressional effort to ban Wiccans from serving in the military. Who’s to say that the next time an anti-Pagan (or minority-religion) amendment gets attached to a vital spending bill it won’t sail through the House and get ignored by the Senate?

What is certain is that any politician who counts Barton as a friend or mentor can’t be guaranteed to have the best interests of religious minorities in America at heart. If your representative, governor, or senator was endorsed by, or takes “lessons” from, Barton, maybe you should ask them if they agree with his stance on the Religion Clauses.

“The Wild Hunt is a vital service to the Pagan community and is supported entirely by reader donations. If you value The Wild Hunt and having access to a daily Pagan news update, then please consider making a donation. I make a monthly pledge because I feel The Wild Hunt is an important part of modern Paganism. I hope you feel the same!” – Star Foster, Pagan Portal Manager, Patheos.com

To everyone who has given so far during my second annual Winter Pledge Drive, I want to thank you for your generosity and for sharing my vision of a Pagan new-media model that can eventually grow to support not just The Wild Hunt, but a variety of media and journalism projects originating from within the modern Pagan movement. To all my wonderful readers who haven’t had the opportunity or time to donate to this effort yet, please consider taking a few minutes before this week is done to become part of a growing community of support for quality Pagan news and commentary. Ask yourself, if The Wild Hunt was a magazine or newspaper, what would I pay to have access to it year-round?

“Is the Wild Hunt important? YES. And so is our responsibility to support the Pagan Press.” – Peter Dybing, National First Officer, Covenant of the Goddess

I’d also like to take this opportunity to thank everyone on Twitter and Facebook who have helped spread the word about the pledge drive, and shared why they think The Wild Hunt is worth supporting.

Your voice is being heard! The drive lasts until Sunday, so please keeping spreading the word! Again, thank you to all the individuals who have given so far. No matter what the size of your donation, know that it is appreciated. I’d also like to recognize and thank all the groups, like Silver Cauldron Coven in Maine, who have pooled money together and chipped in to this effort. Finally, I’d like to mention our amazing underwriters, Pagan organizations that have dedicated themselves to nurturing Pagan journalism. Thanks to all of you.

So please support The Wild Hunt this week, and keep our site full-access, non-commercial, and updated daily. Donate once, in any amount, or, if you prefer, commit to a small monthly subscription to keep us going throughout the year.

• Reminder: We are in the midst of our second annual Winter Pledge Drive! If you value this blog, its mission, and its content, please consider making a donation to keep The Wild Hunt open, ad-free, and updated daily. Spread the word, and thanks to all who have donated so far!

Laughing Squid and io9 link to an inadvertently (I hope) creepy clip from the “Law Enforcement Guide to Satanic Cults”.

Here’s another clip from the same video.

While it’s (very) easy to mock and laugh at these videos now, we can’t forget the part programs like this played in ruining the lives of hundreds of people in the 1980s and 1990s. While the “Law Enforcement Guide to Satanic Cults” seems blatantly fabricated and made-up on-the-fly today, programs like it were no doubt instrumental in miscarriages of justice like the West Memphis 3 case, or the Kern County California arrests. Then, and today still, self-appointed “occult experts” ride a circuit of town halls, police gatherings, and church halls to share their “expertise” in an always-alleged but never conclusively proven occult crime underground. Updating their schtick to include the latest fads (lately, that means vampires).

Both serious journalists and talk-show hosts (even Oprah) at the time dived right into the hysteria.

As I pointed out in my recent piece on the mainstreaming of exorcisms, all the “silly” talk about Satanism primes the pump for new moral panics breaking out, especially in hard times. The next time it emerges it could come from within the Hip-Hop community, or be directed at the fans of a popular pop starlet. It all seems bizarre and unlikely until you realize that federal money was spent to combat “goth culture” in the wake of Columbine. So yes, it’s easy to laugh at these videos now, but lets not forget that all comedy is tragedy plus timing.

• Reminder: We are in the midst of our second annual Winter Pledge Drive! If you value this blog, its mission, and its content, please consider making a donation to keep The Wild Hunt open, ad-free, and updated daily. Spread the word, and thanks to all who have donated so far!

My latest response at the Washington Post’s On Faith site is now up.

Here’s this week’s panel question:

What beliefs ban gays? Despite public and military support for overturning Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, the legislation which bans openly gay service members, political, military and religious leaders cite a variety of objections to changing the law.

Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) worries that allowing gays to serve openly would impact troop “morale;” Marine Corp Commandant Gen. James Amos says that a policy change may affect “unit cohesion” and “combat effectiveness.” Among the religious leaders opposed to overturning Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell is Catholic Archbishop for the Military Services Timothy J. Broglio, who fears that chaplains would be forced to compromise their principles in accepting “objectively disordered” homosexuality, adding that he “can never condone -even silently -homosexual behavior.”

What beliefs are behind banning gays in the military? What’s the role of religion in this debate?

Here’s an excerpt from my response:

What beliefs? At the risk of engaging in repetition here at On Faith, I think we know “what beliefs” are behind banning gays in the military. Is it really such a puzzle that conservative forms of Christian belief are at the center of this debate? That Christian views regarding homosexuality fueled “blue discharges” in previous eras and now fuels opposition to overturning Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell? Terms like “unit cohesion” or “combat effectiveness” are thrown around by those who are now afraid to give voice to their true feelings, that homosexuality, in the words of the Catholic Archbishop quoted above, is “objectively disordered.” The fact that this religiously motivated anti-gay animus is increasingly refuted, most notably by the recently leaked Pentagon study group findings, which found that allowing gay service members would create “only minimal and isolated incidents,” doesn’t phase opponents who keep moving the goalposts for ending DADT.

I hope you’ll head over to the site and read my full response, and the other panelist responses, and share your thoughts.

• Reminder: We are in the midst of our second annual Winter Pledge Drive! If you value this blog, its mission, and its content, please consider making a donation to keep The Wild Hunt open, ad-free, and updated daily. Spread the word, and thanks to all who have donated so far!

Pagan Community Notes is a companion to my usual Pagan News of Note, a series more focused on news originating from within the Pagan community. I want to reinforce the idea that what happens to and within our organizations, groups, and events is news, and news-worthy. My hope is that more individuals, especially those working within Pagan organizations, get into the habit of sharing their news with the world. So lets get started!

Women and the Changing Face of Paganism: Thorn Coyle’s Elemental Castings podcast has a new installment posted that brings us audio from a panel at the recent Florida Pagan Gathering. Entitled “Women and the Changing Face of Paganism”, the panel brought together Thorn, Margot Adler, Diana Paxson, and Grandmother Elspeth.

“Thorn Coyle hosts a panel on Women and the Changing Face of Paganism at Florida Pagan Gathering. Guests include Margot Adler, Diana Paxson, and Grandmother Elspeth. Topics include the evolution of the Feminist movement, the importance of preserving our history, activism and politics from a Pagan worldview, and gender roles.”

You can download the podcast, here. You can also subscribe to the podcast via iTunes or RSS. The panel is very much worth a listen, especially considering the concentration of wisdom and experience on hand. While you’re there, you may also want to check out the recording Thorn made of the Pagan Leadership Panel at this year’s Pagan Spirit Gathering (which I moderated).

A Discussion on Pagan Health: While I’m on the topic of Pagan podcasts, be sure to check out the Pagan Centered Podcast this Friday where their guest will be Dr. Kimberly Hedrick of the TriWinds Institute. Dr. Hedrick recently completed a Pagan health survey, the results of which were presented at the annual meeting of The American Public Health Association (APHA) in November.

“The results of the Pagan Health Survey indicated that there are significant differences between Pagan views of physical and mental health, health care treatment options, and health care practitioners and the tenets of biomedicine and treatments available. This is particularly apparent in mental health, where substantial discrepancies in views of mental wellness combined with non-mainstream spiritual practices can lead to patients feeing misunderstood. The overarching holistic worldview, which sees health as an integrative endeavor (both in unifying body, mind, and spirit and in unifying environmental and personal health), can cause dissatisfaction with standard health care options and public health policies and lead to seeking alternative treatments and practitioners.”

Listener interaction is encouraged for this program. You can find instructions on participation, here. You can also e-mail Dave at PCP directly with any questions you’d like to see asked during the show. This work by Dr. Hedrick could really provide data that helps our communities in the long-term, and I’m enthused to see PCP tackling this story.

Mount Franklin Milestone: While several American and UK-organized Pagan events have hit the milestone of operating for 30+ years, Pagan Spirit Gathering in 2010 for instance, Australia is also starting to see its gatherings grow up along with their community. In 2011 the Mount Franklin Annual Pagan Gathering (in central Victoria) hits its 30th anniversary, and they’ve put up a special blog to collect tributes and remembrances in honor of the upcoming occasion.

“For overseas readers Mt Franklin is a small but perfect dormant volcano, with a crater that is totally intact except for a small gap where the entrance road is sited. Inside the crater is a flat area of about five acres, planted out with a variety of native and northern hemisphere trees, including a couple of young but thriving California Redwoods. The whole area has been declared an Arboretum, and the combination of Australian natives and trees from Europe and America serve to make Western Pagans feel right at home.

October is Spring in this part of Australia, and because we enjoy a four season climate here many of our traditional northern plants are heralding the onset of Beltane. At the base of the mountain wild Eglantine Roses are blooming, planted by who knows which homesick settler. On the slopes of the mountain itself a huge and lovely Hawthorn is covered in its white blossom. The bush all around us is filled with blooming eucalypts and masses of brilliant yellow wattles (Acacia to you northern types). Mt Franklin itself is in central Victoria, the most Southerly mainland state in Australia. We have hot, dry summers, cold wet winters and glorious springs and autumns.”

Australia has a diverse and thriving Pagan community, and their role in hosting Pagans from around the world at the recent Parliament of the World’s Religions in 2009, helped remind Pagans that “down under” has a lot to teach and share with us in the Northern Hemisphere. While there are some efforts at outreach, I’d love to see more community-generated journalism from places like Australia and New Zealand in the years to come. Congratulations to Mount Franklin Annual Pagan Gathering on their upcoming milestone.

Reconsidering Hutton: At his Talking About Ritual Magick blog, Frater Barrabbas notes an ongoing debate over the issue of historian Ronald Hutton’s theories concerning historical veracity within modern Witchcraft and Paganism. In the process he discovers Ben Whitmore’s recently self-published critique of Hutton’s history of Wicca, “Triumph of the Moon”, entitled “Trials of the Moon: Reopening the Case for Historical Witchcraft”.

“The ‘creation myths’ of modern witchcraft and Paganism were decisively toppled at the turn of this century in Ronald Hutton’s celebrated book, Triumph of the Moon. But did Hutton topple more than just myths? Are some truths also hidden in the rubble? Did paganism really die out centuries ago? Was witchcraft really no more than a fantasy? Were the Gods of Wicca really born out of the Romantic movement? Did Gerald Gardner lie about his initiation into witchcraft? Ben Whitmore has retraced many of Hutton’s steps, critically evaluating the evidence, and he now suggests that the truth may be quite different and even more fascinating. Drawing on a wealth of scholarly material, Whitmore demonstrates that the field of Pagan history is anything but barren ground — it is rich and fertile, and we have barely begun to cultivate it.”

The result of reading Whitmore’s work has put Frater Barrabbas’ ideas on the matter “in flux”, and he seems convinced that “the case for a historical witchcraft and paganism is anything but closed.” You can read an extremely long excerpt, nearly the entire book, for free, as a pdf download. It should be very interesting to see what comes from this, and what Hutton’s response to Whitmore’s criticisms might be. Will a larger-scale reevaluation of Hutton’s works within modern Paganism happen?

Isaac’s Legacy: In a final note, William Seligman, with the blessings of the family, is engaging in a research project regarding the influence of the recently passed Pagan leader Isaac Bonewits.

“I am working on a research project and I could use your help. I’ve often read that Isaac Bonewits was an important influence on the Neopagan, Druid, and Wiccan communities. I agree with that statement, but exactly how did he affect them? In pursuit of that answer, I’d like to ask those who feel they were influenced by Isaac to send me their stories.”

If you have stories about Isaac and his influence, please share them with Seligman for this project. Contact and format information can be found at the link.

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