There are lots of articles and essays of interest to modern Pagans out there, sometimes more than I can write about in-depth in any given week. So The Wild Hunt must unleash the hounds in order to round them all up.

• First off, congratulations to all same-sex couples in the state of New York, who will soon have the right to get married. Huzzah! New York is the sixth, and largest, state to legalize gay marriage. I’m sure there are plenty of Pagan officiants ready and willing to perform the matrimonial honors! You can read my Washington Post piece about religious exemptions to the just-passed bill, here. For more on Paganism and gay marriage, click here. Is this the tipping point? I’m hoping to spotlight some voices from New York on this issue soon!
• An article on environmentalism and religion has a somewhat odd assertion by Celtic Reconstructionist LaQuetta Purkiss, who claims that while “Wiccans tend to be liberal and favor government restrictions, Celtic Reconstructionists like herself lean more conservative and often oppose federal government intervention, unless industries or individuals refuse to regulate themselves.” Which made me scratch my head, since that doesn’t seem to accurately describe the political/environmental stances of prominent Celtic Reconstructionists like Kathryn Price NicDhàna, Erynn Rowan Laurie, or P. Sufenas Virius Lupus. Here’s what the CR FAQ has to say about the movement’s ethical basis. Is there a strong libertarian streak in CR concerning environmental policy that I’ve missed?
• CNN”s Belief Blog highlights more Native voices in the wake of the James Arthur Ray verdict. Valerie Taliman, who I quoted in my recent round-up of reactions, tells CNN that “according to our teachings, what he’s done to these people will come back on him over a lifetime [...] let’s see how spiritually grounded he is now.” In related post-verdict news, the Atlantic Wire looks at people who bought Ray’s shtick (Oprah,  Larry King, The Today Show, and the American public), and Time Magazine does a reactions piece as well. Remember, this case isn’t over. There’s sentencing, and the inevitable appeals down the road.
• Is there anything more charming than Christian rappers? The Calgary Herald spotlights MashetiMoses, a Catholic rapper who talks about escaping from his godless ‘pagan’ past. “He describes being raised in a ‘pagan’ household with no religion whatsoever. His mother used to make a living reading Tarot cards and being a psychic. ”We had all sorts of weird idols in the house,” he says.” Sadly, even the best of upbringings sometimes can’t stop someone from following in the footsteps of DC Talk.
• Speaking of Christians, some of them are holding vigils outside a pub in Dorset. Why? “We aim to hold peaceful vigils outside occult events, in the hope of turning people away from the path of evil towards God’s love.” Look, if you really want to turn us away from the path of wickedness, maybe you should have a pint (or two) with us, instead of praying and going on like some cartoon stereotype.
• According to High Mountain Tempel, they are the “San Diego’s most occult band.” Sounds like the gauntlet’s been thrown down! Then again, I assume that would be an easier hill to climb than being the “most occult” band in the Bay Area. I merely remark.
• Come to Iceland! Attend a Pagan ceremony!
• Is Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia really ignorant about the doctrine of discovery?
• Amy Levin at The Revealer looks at occult practices and Islam in Iran.
• Damon Albarn (Gorillaz, Blur) has written and will star in a new opera about John Dee. You know, the guy who gave us the Enochian language, and consulted Queen Elizabeth I.

That’s it for now! Feel free to discuss any of these links in the comments, some of these I may expand into longer posts as needed.

Top Story: The planned movie adaptation of Starhawk’s novel “The Fifth Sacred Thing,” has officially launched its Kickstarter fundraising campaign (complete with fundraising pitch video featuring Starhawk). They are looking to raise $60,000 dollars in 60 days. There has been just over $10,000 dollars pledged in the first two days. The money will be used to make a professional pitch video to the major film studios.

“Now we’re asking for your support.  What will we do with the money?  You’ve seen in the video some of the brilliant artists who inspire us, and who want to work with us.  With your help, we’ll be able to create the next phase; designs for sets and costumes, visuals of key scenes, and storyboards for the action.  We can secure the rights to the music and art we need, and do those dull but oh-so-necessary things like finalizing contracts, budgets and financial plans.  To ensure that we are able to continue to develop the strongest possible project, we estimate that we’ll need about double our Kickstarter campaign goal of $60,000, and we’re certain that with your help, along with the tremendous support we’ve been receiving from our entire community, we can do it.”

The official website for the film is here.  They are also encouraging folks to connect with them on Facebook and Twitter. If this succeeds it will be the largest sum of money collectively raised on the Internet for a campaign originating with modern Pagans. Doubling what was raised earlier this year for Japan relief. I’ll have more on this project soon, hopefully including an interview with Starhawk about the proposed film.

Interview with Iceland’s Allsherjargoði: Dr. Karl E. H. Seigfried at The Norse Mythology Blog interviews Hilmar Örn Hilmarsson, chief priest of Iceland’s Ásatrúarfélagið. In the interview they discuss art, mythology, working with Sigur Rós, and the question of pre-Christian survivals (among other things).

KS – Do you see contemporary Ásatrú in Iceland as a continuation of a living tradition that goes back to ancient times, as a recreation and revival of a practice that had ended, as a descendent of 19th century nationalist romantic mysticism, as a post-war rejection of modernity, or as a post-1960s counterculture movement?

HÖH – I think, probably, I would say “yes” to all those things. The influence of this seems to resonate with Icelanders. The poems never really went away, and they’ve been treasured ever since they were handed down orally and written down. I’m pretty certain that the people in the learned places of Oddi and Reykholt and [elsewhere] were reading Ovid and Roman mythology, and they realized, “My god, we have this thinghere which is a living and vibrant thing, and this is what my great-grandfather believed in,” and stuff like that. I think it never really went away.

It was said – after the conversion in 1000 or 999 – that you could not worship the old gods except in secrecy. That was part of the truce. People carried on secret worship for at least two centuries. I don’t think it ever really went away. To illustrate that, I met this old man in the shop yesterday. He came up to me and shook my hand, and he told me that – when he was confirmed in the early 1920s – his grandmother came to him and gave him a book with the Eddic poems and said, “You should read that, because this is what we also believe.” She thought, “Christianity is okay, but you should not forget your roots.” Ha! I think that’s really a telling story.

The whole thing is worth a read, and that’s only part one! Check out the entire blog, which is chock-full of interesting interviews, including one with Jóhanna G. Harðardóttir of the Ásatrúarfélagið.

A Wiccaning at PSG: Cara Schulz from PNC-Minnesota has posted a brief report and pictures of a Wiccaning that took place earlier this week at the 2011 Pagan Spirit Gathering in Illinois.

“Rev. Fox blessed the child with element of earth, air, water, fire, and spirit and gifted Arden with a feather found on site.  Arden enjoyed the first half of the ceremony, especially when Fox played peek-a-boo with him.  But as the sun came out, so did some tears.  Rev. Fox noted that was just what Arden should expect from  life, times of laughter and times of tears.  The parents, Kidril and Twitch, then gave their baby his first drum and gave him their blessings.  The community was then invited to grant Arden blessings such as friendship, comfort, peace, and love.”

I realize that a Wiccaning (or ‘saining’) at a festival isn’t the biggest news, but I don’t feel enough attention is paid to our faiths outside of big events or inadvertent scandals. Depictions of modern Pagans living their faith, going through life’s many transitions, can be an important tool for outreach and understanding. I’d like to thank Selena Fox, Kidril, Twitch, and Arden for agreeing to share this moment with the world.

My Take on Religious Exemptions: My latest panelist response for the Washington Post’s On Faith section is now up. This time I tackled the issue of religious exemptions in New York’s proposed gay marriage bill.

“Often overlooked in this wrangling over exemptions are religious groups that fully support equal rights and protections for all American citizens, even the gay ones. Gay marriage is almost wholly uncontroversial among modern Pagan faiths. Druid group Ar nDraiocht Fein (ADF)has “never believed that the institution of marriage could possibly be threatened by the existence of married people of any gender,” while Pagan scholar Michael York, author of “Pagan Theology: Paganism as a World Religion,”underlines that sentiment by proclaiming that “freedom has to be the highest Pagan goal and virtue.” Gay marriage has been endorsed by notable Pagan leaders like my fellow co-panelist Starhawk, along with leading Pagan organizations like Covenant of the Goddess (COG) and Cherry Hill Seminary. Yet, despite this, few seem unconcerned that one religious moral view concerning marriage is allowed to override another. The simple fact is that certain Christian and Catholic groups are used to getting their way, and it matters little to them if a moral world-view they endorse overrules the world-views of other religious groups. So the more exemptions granted, the more we’re tacitly saying a socially conservative Judeo-Christian approach to these issues is the de facto “religious” perspective.”

You can read my entire response, here. You can responses from the entire panel, here.

In Other News:

• Deadline for submissions to the book “Gender and Transgender in Modern Paganism” has been extended until July 4th. You can see my previous post about this collection, here.
• Congratulations to Wendy Griffin, Academic Dean of Cherry Hill Seminary, who recently received official Certificates of Recognition from the City of Long Beach and the California State Senate. Griffin recently retired from her position at California State University Long Beach.
• A Finnish Pagan group is applying for official recognition in their country.
• Australian Pagan priestess and Witch Eilish De’Avalon, who garnered international attention last year for dragging a cop by the arm during a routine traffic stop, is going to prison for two months.

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

There are lots of articles and essays of interest to modern Pagans out there, sometimes more than I can write about in-depth in any given week. So The Wild Hunt must unleash the hounds in order to round them all up.

• T. Thorn Coyle and Solar Cross reiterate their support for Pagan chaplain Patrick McCollum in the wake of his official statement regarding the recent Ninth Circuit Court ruling.
• The seemingly annual article about Salem trying to branch out from its Witchy image has been posted. Unsurprisingly, tourism is the city’s largest money-maker, bringing in an estimated $99 million per year.
• The Austrian highway Druids return! This time they are peeved that the budget that was paying them to use their “mystical divining rods” to discover “negative rays” has been eliminated. This, they say, is a “fatal mistake.”
• I present to you “Slapping Medicine Man” from the Native American sketch comedy troupe 1491s.
• Defenders of the Law of Attraction (aka “The Secret”) tell us why James Arthur Ray‘s situation doesn’t undermine the belief/practice. I catch a slight whiff of “no true Scotsman” in this defense.
• Over at Patheos.com Drew Jacob goes into greater depth as to why he decided to shut down the Temple of the River.
• The perils of following “psychic” tip-offs.
• Eygló Svala Arnarsdóttir writes about the coexistence of pagan and Christian belief systems in Iceland.
• Patch covers this past weekend’s St. Louis Pagan Picnic, billed as the largest free Pagan festival in America.
• Is Arizona’s drive to eliminate ethnic studies courses the “final reduccion?”
• Local Christians in Idaho are in an uproar over a Ganesha statue made by a local artist, displayed as part of a local art-on-loan program.
• I09 spotlights “Americus,” a web series and soon-to-be-published book that takes a fictionalized look at the Harry Potter controversy, and how some Christians mobilized against the books for promoting “witchcraft.”
• Looks like Neil Gaiman’s “American Gods” will be coming to HBO.
• A big welcome to Kari Tauring, who has joined the PNC-Minnesota staff.

That’s it for now! Feel free to discuss any of these links in the comments, some of these I may expand into longer posts as needed.

A few quick news notes for you on this Thursday Thor’s Day.

The Chief Godi in Translation: A couple days ago I featured a link to a story concerning the thoughts of Hilmar Örn Hilmarsson, Chief Godi of Ásatrúarfélagið in Iceland, on the new “Thor” movie. I could only get a rough gist of the piece since it was in Icelandic, and asked for a translation. Now, thanks to the Old Norse Network (ONN), Dr. Jane Sibley, Ravynne, and Merrill Kaplan, I’ve received a couple of accurate (and understandable) translations of Hilmarsson’s comments.

“I‘d see it mostly as a fan of bad movies,” says Hilmar Örn Hilmarsson, Allsherjargoði and leader of Iceland’s Ásatrúarfélag, when asked whether he had already or intended to see the newest Hollywood movie about the thunder god Thor. The movie is based on the Marvel comic book series and was premiered here in Iceland this week. He says that the Ásatrúarfélagið hadn’t taken any particular stance on literary and artistic works surrounding Ásatrú. “Then you’d have to begin in the eighteenth century. People have been drawing on this heritage for two, three hundred years. Sometimes it’s been successful and sometimes not. We can certainly be grateful that Edward Elgar composed beautiful music with these “motifs,” and Wagner did too. And naturally some heavy metal bands have appropriated it in much worse ways than will be the case in this film by Kenneth Branagh,” says Hilmar Örn. He said he didn’t regard the movie itself as any kind of misrepresentation of the faith. “If you take some kind of fundamentalist stance towards it, then some people are going to be offended. People have been drawing on this heritage for many hundreds of years, and we haven’t opted to organize any kind of protest about it the way it might happen in other religions. We’re a little more relaxed about it, I think,” says Hilmar Örn.

So there you are! Thanks to everyone who helped get me a translation. In addition, Kjell from the ONN list also points out reactions to Thor from Norway and Denmark (no translations, though). You might also be interested in this column from Religious New Service writer Cathleen Falsani.

COG and the Prayer Breakfast: The Covenant of the Goddess Interfaith Reports blog features a report from Don Frew on the Marin Interfaith Council Prayer Breakfast, at which Frew was a featured presenter. Here’s an excerpt from the talk Frew gave to an audience of over 180 local representatives of different faith communities.

“The easiest way to understand modern Neopaganism is to think of something like Nataive American spirituality or Japanese Shinto, but coming out of pre-Christian European and Mediterranean cultural settings.  There are Druids, reviving the religion of the ancient Celts.  There are Heathens, taking their inspiration from the religions of the Norse and Germanic peoples.  But by far the largest branch of Neopaganism is the Witches, coming out of the fusion of Celtic, Anglo-Saxon, and Graeco-Roman spiritualities that occurred in the British Isles.  This led many modern Witches to use Anglo-Saxon word – “Wicca” – instead “Witchcraft”.  Some found it easier to avoid one “w-word” by replacing it with another, especially when explaining things to their parents.  [chuckles]“

Apparently feedback for the presentation was very good, and most likely helped change some misconceptions that are held about our family of faiths. Congratulations to Don Frew on the successful interfaith experience. I encourage my readers to head over and give your feedback on the talk.

The Digital Divide on Native Reservations: MediaShift at PBS looks at the digital divide in Indian Country, and interviews Sascha Meinrath, director of New America Foundation’s Open Technology Initiative, about the struggle to bridge that divide and bring new media opportunities to tribal communities.

“You have a community that perhaps treasures media and cultural production more than almost any other constituency in the country, and you have an entire dearth of access to new media production and dissemination technology,” Meinrath said. Since 2009, New America Foundation has worked with Native Public Media, which supports and advocates for Native American media outlets, to help tribal communities take advantage of new media platforms. In January, the organizations formalized their partnership, and this fall, they plan to launch a media literacy pilot project that will train Native radio broadcasters in at least four communities to tell stories using digital tools.

This is a hugely important issue, and a chance to break “a pattern of historical exclusion from media and communication services” according to Loris Ann Taylor, president of Native Public Media. Amplifying and enriching indigenous voices is something that all of us should support and welcome, a road towards increasing self-determination and changing a dominant media narrative that often ignores the voices of Native Americans.

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

In the day-to-day nature of Internet news, it’s often difficult to keep track of stories as they develop. So here’s a round-up of follow-ups, updates, and recent developments in stories previously reported here at The Wild Hunt.

About that Icelandic Curse: I recently mentioned that the Icelandic Heathen organization Ásatrúarfélagid, led by Chief Godi Hilmar Örn Hilmarsson, had made the news for a high-profile (and apparently successful) curse against Iceland’s enemies. Pagan Newswire Collective reporter, and host of the popular Asatru podcast Ravencast, David Carron, spoke with Hilmarsson about the article and brings us the following statement.

“The article in Iceland Review is somewhat slanted, as the TV interview cited was based on the assumption that we had ritually cursed named members of the British and the Dutch governments. The ritual in question was a protective one ( with the subtext that those who would try to harm our nation would be exempt from the protection / sanctuary ) and its intent was to push aggression back to where it belongs. However some people observing the ensuing developments have given us credit for all sorts of things including Gordon Brown’s unstable temper, the freak winter in Britain, and the troubles befalling and in the end collapsing the Dutch government.

I did own up to writing a scathing poem about Gordon Brown in the time honoured tradition of “níðvísa” and I am sure that long after his name is forgotten on the British Isles there will be Icelanders dancing on his grave and and finding inventive and practical ways of pouring / spraying ale upon it.”

So there you are, not so much a “curse” as protection working that is successfully pushing aggression back to its source. Carron is currently arranging an interview with Hilmar Hilmarsson for Ravencast, and I’ll keep you posted as to when that’s available.

The Air Force and Pagans: A lot of news has been made recently regarding the Air Force Academy and its new stone circle dedicated to Pagan services, but this ethos of acceptance and accommodation stretches beyond the academy to the Air Force itself. A memo has been brought to my attention that shows Major General Cecil Richardson, Chief of Chaplains for the USAF, listing Wiccan and Pagan Spring holidays along side other faiths as deserving of accommodation by all commanders.

“Thank you for your continued support of Airmen who request religious accommodation. Airmen who are allowed to practice their First Amendment rights to freedom of religion are generally more spiritually fit and better able to handle the rigors and stressors that come with deployments and a high OPSTEMPO (Operations Tempo) … Wiccans and other followers of Earth-based religions will observe Ostara, the spring equinox, on 21 March followed by Beltane, a celebration of the abundance of the fertile Earth, on 1 May.”

So it looks like the Air Force really is taking the inclusion and accommodation of Pagan airmen to heart. I’d love to know if any of the other US Armed Forces have released similar memos. If they have, please feel free to drop me a line so I can share them with my readers.

The Syracuse Pagan College Chaplain: Student paper The Daily Orange follows up on the appointment of Mary Hudson as Syracuse University’s first Pagan chaplain. While Hudson says that she’s only received positive feedback, reporter Rebecca Kheel finds a more mixed response on the Internet.

“Mixed reactions arose since Hudson was recognized as a chaplain. Hudson herself has only received positive feedback, but there has been an online backlash in comments sections of articles about Hudson’s appointment. Other chaplains said it is too early to make a judgment about whether they agree with Hudson’s appointment … Hudson said she has seen the negative comments in online articles about her appointment, including one that suggested she eats bats. Some others said her appointment will make SU look unattractive to potential students. But that was to be expected, Hudson said.”

Eats bats? Really? As the article points out, it’s still early days, and we have no idea how well Hudson will perform in her role, or if she’ll encounter any real resistance to her chaplaincy. What is important at this stage is that the needs of Pagan students are being acknowledged and respected, and that feedback from that community has been positive.

Covering the Vodou Attack in Haiti: Mollie at Get Religion takes a look at coverage of the recent attack on Vodouisants by evangelical Christians in Haiti, and its aftermath, and finds it wanting.

“I find it fascinating that the first article begins with a call to war by Beauvoir while the second article has him saying he hopes it doesn’t come to war. I’m not saying that both quotes aren’t accurate but it kind of reminds you how much power a reporter has in shaping a story.”

Mollie kindly quotes me on the subject of Vodou leader Max Beauvoir, and in the comments I elaborate my feelings on his leadership, and the need for journalists to approach decentralized minority faiths differently from the dominant monotheisms they are used to.

“The frustrating thing is that we have no real way of telling exactly how important or influential Beauvoir is among Vodou practitioners in Haiti. There’s a number of reasons for this, an important one being the lack of probing and analysis that followed after Beauvoir was first put forward as the “supreme chief” of Haitian Vodou (and, as Mollie mentioned, was called a “pope”).

However, two things are clear that all journalists covering Vodou in Haiti should know. One is that Vodou is, by its nature, a decentralized faith. It is largely organized around different “families” of initiates. No matter how large Beauvoir’s coalition may be, he simply cannot speak for the entirety of Haitian Vodou. The second is that thanks to the reporting so far, Beauvoir’s title has become prophecy. His willingness to interact with the press, to become the spokesman, has cemented his place as the go-to person for the “Vodou voice”. No doubt many families will rally to him in these uncertain times, and he may very well become, for a time, something close to the central figure the press portrays him as.

The lesson here is that journalistic assumptions about religion can shape religions, especially in times of crisis and trouble. Reporters like having a singular go-to leader when discussing a faith, it makes info-gathering and quote-seeking far easier. But minority faiths are very often different from the Protestant denominations or Catholic churches they are used to covering, and they often lack a clear leadership structure (or they have a clear leadership structure, but not one that applies across the board). The best policy is to always seek out multiple voices when dealing with a decentralized faith, and to always take claims of supremacy within a decentralized faith with a grain of salt.”

We all need to do a better job of covering religion in Haiti. Trying to assemble a clear picture from the assorted claims, incidents, and reports is difficult, and we run the risk of giving an incorrect, or even harmful, analysis of current events. If I error, and I probably will considering the trickle of good information, I hope it’s in favor of preserving and respecting Haiti’s indigenous faith traditions.

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

Top Story: The Associated Press reports that a mob of Haitian Christians threw rocks and drove out a small group of Vodou practitioners who were trying to perform a ritual for the dead.

“Voodooists gathered in Cite Soleil where thousands of quake survivors live in tents and depend on food aid. Praying and singing, the group was trying to conjure spirits to guide lost souls when a crowd of Evangelicals started shouting. Some threw rocks while others urinated on Voodoo symbols. When police left, the crowd destroyed the altars and Voodoo offerings of food and rum.”

A member of the anti-Vodou mob claimed the Vodouisants “came and took over” while they were preparing for prayer, drawing the ire of the tent-city inhabitants. This latest incident seems to only highlight the increasing religious tensions in Haiti as several Christian missionary groups see an opportunity to expand and evangelize. Some Christian aid groups are allegedly using baptism certificates as identity papers for the purpose of distributing food.

“People see rice being distributed in front of churches and those homeless now needing papers are being offered baptism certificates that can act as identity documents,” Voodoo priest Max Beauvoir told The Associated Press before speaking at Friday’s service. “The horrible thing though is that by rejecting Voodoo these people are rejecting their ancestors and history. Voodoo is the soul of the Haitian people. Without it, the people are lost.”

There is a very real chance that post-earthquake Haiti could see a massive, and unreported, crack-down on Vodou in the weeks and months to come. Further threatening an already misunderstood and demonized faith. Leaving us with the question of what ideology will guide the hand that rebuilds Haiti? We can only hope that Max Beauvoir and other emerging Haitian Vodou voices can keep the international community aware of Haiti’s native faith.

In Other News:

The Rise and Fall of Bill Schnoebelen: I recently mentioned professional ex-Witch/Satanist/Mormon/Mason/Vampire Bill Schnoebelen in the context of a Christianity Today article looking at the popularity of vampires. Now, author and ritual magician Frater Barrabbas, who actually worked with Schnoebelen for several years while he was still a Witch, is reprinting a long essay about his experiences in several parts on his blog.

“Bill proceeded to involve the whole coven in his personal magick and his personal pathos, seeing himself as the ultimate authority in all situations, and perhaps this is where things went wrong. However, we did not indulge in child pornography, rape, murder, larceny, kidnaping, torture, animal sacrifice, blood drinking, and shooting up strange evil drugs. Bill claims that this is what witches do, that he whole-heartedly participated in them, and it’s possible that he did indulge in some of the milder of these practices. Yet the more outrageous were realized exclusively within the confines of his imagination.”

This may be the definitive behind-the-scenes look at the man who would eventually pen  ”Wicca: Satan’s Little White Lie“. I recommend that everyone read through the posts, and subscribe to Frater Barrabbas’ intelligent and well-written blog. On the same subject, I’d also urge you to check out John Morehead’s criticisms of using Schnoebelen as a source from a Christian perspective.

Don’t Mess With Heathens in Iceland: The Iceland Review reports on an act of sorcery against Iceland’s enemies, and high chieftain Hilmar Örn Hilmarsson (a friend of both Bjork and Sigur Ros) claims that the working is, well, working.

“An act of sorcery against “Iceland’s enemies,” undertaken by members of the pagan society Ásatrúarfélagid in Iceland at the beginning of the economic crisis, finally seems to be delivering the desired results, as high chieftain Hilmar Örn Hilmarsson pointed out on the news yesterday—the Dutch government has collapsed and British Prime Minister Gordon Brown’s political career is hanging by a thread.”

You can read more about the initial ritual, here. The moral of this story? Don’t mess with the Asatru in Iceland, unless you want your economy to crumble and your politicians to falter. At least they didn’t call for a blight on their lands.

Johnny Depp & The WM3: Superstar actor Johnny Depp is diving head-first into advocacy on behalf of the West Memphis 3, the actor will appear on CBS’s ’48 Hours to call for their release. The case, in which three teens were convicted of murdering three children, has long drawn criticism for using “Satanic Panic” to gain convictions.

“Depp is not alone in his belief that the men were convicted on flimsy or fabricated evidence. He joins stars like Eddie Vedder, Winona Ryder, the Dixie Chicks and Disney teen star Demi Lovato in insisting the men were actually found guilty for their fascination with heavy-metal music, Stephen King and the occult. “I firmly believe Damien Echols, Jason Baldwin and Jessie Misskelley are totally innocent. It was a need for swift justice to placate the community,” Depp says on Saturday’s show.”

Momentum has long been building for something to be done in this case, not only among actors and activists, but by many legal organizations as well. With Damien Echols on death row, and legal appeals running out, one can only hope that real justice emerges before it’s too late.

Telling the Story of the Pendle Witches: The Lancashire Telegraph spotlights author Mary Sharratt, who’s forthcoming historical novel, “Daughters of the Witching Hill”, tells the story of the infamous Pendle witches.

“Set during the infamous witch trials of 1612, which took place at Lancaster Assizes, the novel features the people involved and according to Mary, a large amount of her research involved scrutinising the transcript recorded by Thomas Potts, a clerk at the court.”

You can read more about the book, and why she wrote it, here. I’ve received an advance copy of the book, and I can heartily recommend it. I’ll be featuring an interview with Sharratt at The Wild Hunt in April as part of her promotional tour for the novel. So keep an eye out for that!

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

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 don’t know much else. Is it a documentary about Iceland? About religion? Paganism? This would have been a great time for a follow-up question or two. I suppose we’ll just have to scour BBC press releases until we find out. In the meantime, here’s a NextTV special on Asatru in Iceland.