Open Hearth Foundation Signs Lease on Community Center: On Thursday, PNC-Washington DC reported that the board of the Open Hearth Foundation, a 501(c)3 non-profit organization founded in 1999, signed a lease for a long-planned DC Pagan Community Center. This places the foundation ahead of schedule in its goal of opening a community center by Imbolg 2012 (February 1st).

An interior shot of the new space.

“The property is on the second floor of a stand alone building at 1502 Massachusetts Avenue NE, in the Eastern Market neighborhood of DC. The space has two partitioned rooms that will be reservable, one of which will double as a library, a foyer area, full bathroom, a kitchen, and two refrigerators.  Build out is minimal and will include a fitting one room with book shelves, installing an electric stove, as well as installing a wheelchair lift. The two-year lease begins on October 1 and the official date the center is open for business is still to be determined. It likely will not be until November 1st or later.”

Stay tuned to PNC-Washington DC (aka Capital Witch) for future updates on the progress of this community center. As for the Open Hearth Foundation, they are in the midst of fundraising to meet their fiscal needs once the center is open. You can view their goals checklist, here, and the OHF business plan, here. Our congratulations go out to the Open Hearth Foundation on this major step forward!

Gender and Earth Based Spiritualities Conference: Today, September 24th,  is the 1st Annual Conference on Earth-Based, Nature-Centered, Polytheistic & Indigenous Faiths. The theme for the one-day conference in San Francisco is “Gender & Earth-Based Spiritualities,” and  speakers will include Vicki Noble,  T. Thorn Coyle, Joi Wolfwomyn, Lady Yeshe Rabbit, Diana Paxson, and acclaimed social theorist Judy Grahn. The recently revamped PNC-Bay Area has an article up on the conference, interviewing Bay Area Pagan Alliance Board President JoHanna White, joi wolfwomyn, who is representing the Holy Order of the Epicene, and Yeshe Rabbit, Presiding HPS of Come As You Are Coven.

JoHanna White, Board President of the Bay Area Pagan Alliance

“The issue of gender inequality in the pagan community addresses a problem, to be sure: a problem of education,understanding, privilege, and biological determinism. But the issue that really showed itself to be the disease of which the gender issue is but one symptom was that of a lack of shared set of guidelines with which we can approach challenging topics together safely, compassionately, and mindfully.” – Lady Yeshe Rabbit, CAYA Coven

This event is being cosponsored by Circle of Dionysos, Solar Cross Temple, Institute for Transpersonal Psychology, CAYA coven and the Earth Medicine Alliance. You can learn more about the issues that led to this conference happening, here. I look forward to more reports and reporting from PNC-Bay Area on this event, and hope to get reflections from organizers after the fact.

Merlin Stone Memorial: A memorial benefit celebration for influential author and art historian Merlin Stone, who died earlier this year, is being held today, September 24th, in Clearwater, Florida (Facebook event link). Stone was author of the seminal book “When God Was A Woman,” and a successful Kickstarter campaign was recently held  to produce a memorial documentary project in her honor. Speaking at the event will be Selena Fox of Circle Sanctuary.

Poster for the Merlin Stone Memorial.

“Merlin Stone was an artist, art historian, author, and visionary feminist. She focused attention on Goddess reverence of the ancient past. She gathered together Goddess imagery, symbols, and lore from many peoples and shared with others through her books, radio appearances, and other endeavors. She inspired the emergence of multicultural Goddess spirituality in contemporary times. Her memorial is an wonderful opportunity to celebrate Merlin Stone, her works, her life, and her legacy”

Other speakers include Z Budapest, Ruth Barrett, Barbara Walker, Susun Weed, and Margot Adler. The memorial will also include music by Hecate’s Wheel, Emmet Bondurant, and Ruth Barrett. The memorial, which is open to women and men, will take place 11:30 am – 3 pm EDT at Unitarian Universalists of Clearwater, 1470 Nursery Road in Clearwater. Free, open to the public. Donations welcome, but not required. For those who cannot attend there will be live-streaming of Merlin Stone’s memorial. For more information, head to the official Merlin Stone site.

In Other Community News:

• At PNC-Minnesota, Nels Linde interviews Roger Williams of Magus Books & Herbs on the store’s 19th anniversary. The secret to their success? “What you need is to be persistent. You can have all the talent in the world, if you are not persistent, you are not really going to make a difference.”
• Writing for Patheos, Gus diZerega tackles the issue of mainstreaming modern Paganism. Quote: “I suspect we will see a deep differentiation within our community. There will be the “shamans,” those who work with little institutional connection and who have developed a reasonably reliable set of skills, be they healing, divination, something else, with which to interact with the spirit world for the benefit of others. I suspect they will do more psychological work than physical healing, but the best can do both. There will hopefully in time be priests tending temples, such as exists today in Japan. That may be a good model for what will develop here. And there will be a rank and file, people focused primarily on other activities, but hoping to live in better harmony with the more-than-human by some involvement in Pagan community activities and a more mindful living of their day to day life.”
• This Sunday Raven Radio will be holding a live panel discussion between Folkish, Universalist, Moderate, and Tribal Heathens. Quote: “We have an outstanding panel.David Carron, Randolf Millesson, Camille Klein, Cynthia Norris-Brooks and Mike Smith. As fine of panel of Heathens as one could ask for, This show can and will touch nerves, but I expect all to act with Frith and do not disrespect OUR house.” More information can be found, here.
• P. Sufenas Virius Lupus discusses what is reasonable and what’s insane when it comes to religion. Quote: “Absolutism of one religious viewpoint over another is the real problem, not the assertions themselves.”
• Scott at The Juggler watches the debut episode of The Secret Circle so you don’t have to.
• Lupa on social justice and the shaman as intermediary.

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

Singer-songwriter SJ Tucker being very tall.

Lupa, author of "Skin Spirits," at her shop.

Bonfire lighting ceremony (members of Woodland are playing near the fire).

Stellamara playing on the main stage.

Faun playing on the main stage.

Another photo of Faun playing at Faerieworlds Harvest.

I hope you enjoy the photos. Websites for those featured: Faun, S.J. Tucker, Woodland, Lupa, and Stellamara. If you’d like to experience Faerieworlds for yourself, but aren’t in the Pacific Northwest, Mythic Events throws similar events across the United States, so check it out!

• If the embryonic Rick Perry candidacy has done one thing of real merit, it has been to inspire mainstream media coverage of the New Apostolic Reformation. Wednesday’s edition of Rachel Maddow’s show on MSNBC featured an interview with Forrest Wilder of the Texas Observer, who has been closely covering Rick Perry’s new religious allies. This has led other outlets, like Salon.com’s War Room to also take note. In fact, those of us who’ve been early adopters in following this pernicious religious movement have been spoiled for choice lately. The question now is if this spike in coverage is adequate sunlight antiseptic against their infection of spiritual warfare tactics? As for Wilder, he says coverage of “The Response” has been shallow, at best.
• Peter Dybing, National First Officer of Covenant of the Goddess, has issued a call “for ministers of all faiths and political persuasions to take a stand” against Dominionists who “seek to enslave the entire nation to their religious values for their own good.”
• A judge in Illinois has denied an inmate’s request for a copy of Anton LaVey’s the Satanic Bible. The State Department of Corrections argued that the book encouraged “hatred and violence.” Beth Winegarner at the Backward Messages blog weighs in on the case, saying that “only in a society where some religions are favored over others could a judge — whose salary is paid by the people — tell a member of one faith that he cannot have access to his holy text, when access to such texts while imprisoned is otherwise protected by law.”
• Did you like Thor comics but wish they were more Celtic? Well, today is your lucky day, Marvel Comics has announced that the Celtic thunder-god Tanarus will be (no doubt temporarily) replacing the Norse god after the current major crossover epic wraps up. I’m personally waiting for the debut of Lugus: Lord of the Lightning Flash!
• Religion Dispatches reports that the Human Rights Committee of the United Nations has issued General Comment No. 34, which explores freedom of speech under international law, and says that “prohibitions of displays of lack of respect for a religion or other belief system, including blasphemy laws, are incompatible with the Covenant.” The document also rejects “any restrictions on the operation of websites, blogs or any otherinternet-based, electronic or other such information dissemination system.” Austin Dacey sees this as a serious step forward in eliminating blasphemy laws, saying it will give a legal framework for those trying to push reforms.
• I’m a little behind the curve on this one, but fantasy author Mercedes Lackey released a new collection of novellas at the end of 2010 entitled “Trio of Sorcery” that revisits fan-favorite (and Pagan-favorite) character Diana Tregarde. It’s been twenty years since the last book in that series, “Jinx High,” was published, and Lackey had long-soured on publishing any more stories with that character due to obsessive stalkers and death threats by disturbed individuals who thought Lackey was a documentarian and not a fantasy novelist. With the current boom in the urban fantasy genre, and with some water under the bridge, is Lackey thinking of returning to her Witchy protagonist again for new full-length novels?
• Former political candidate and (alleged) Witchcraft-dabbler Christine O’Donnell is making news again thanks to the publication of her new book “Troublemaker,” where she addresses the “dabble-gate” missteps of her 2010 Delaware senate campaign. O’Donnell calls the infamous “I’m not a Witch” ad “a wrong-headed move, made for all the wrong reasons, but it was mine.”
• At Witchvox, Heather Awen addresses of issue of using strip-mined crystals as spiritual tools, prompting a thoughtful meditation on the subject from Lupa at her Therioshamanism blog. At her own blog, Awen gives tips on greening your rituals.
• Here at Patheos P. Sufenas Virius Lupus asks “what does sexual liberty look like?” Lupus notes that “as polytheists, and as people who claim to be “earth-based” and “nature-based” in their spiritualities and theologies, there is absolutely no reason to view gender variance or diversity of sexual orientation—which exists in abundance in non-human animal natures—as anything to be upset over or worried about, so long as it is carried out in ways that are also appropriate to human nature and social conventions.”
• Finally, let me give a warm welcome to the Pagan Newswire Collective’s news bureau: PNC-Texas (aka Lonestar Pagan)! They’ve already got some great stuff up, and I look forward to their future participation. Oh, and while I’m on the subject of the PNC, we’re looking for a motivated media-savvy volunteer to be our new Bureaus Coordinator, if you’re interested in this important role, do drop us a line.

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.

• I don’t know if you’ve heard, but apparently Osama bin Laden was killed. PNC-Minnesota has reactions from the local Pagan community. Zaratha “will not apologize for rejoicing in Osama bin Laden’s death, “ Lori Dake thanks the troops, Star Foster is conflicted, and Erynn Rowan Laurie wonders if that means the troops get to come home now.
• The town of Bel Air in Maryland has overturned its total ban on fortune telling. They have also removed the word “occult” from existing laws on fortune telling, no doubt to protect themselves from religiously-motivated lawsuits. Bans on fortune telling in Maryland have been dropping at a regular pace since the Maryland Court of Appeals ruled that fortunetelling and other psychic services are protected speech and cannot be outlawed by local ordinances.
• Yesterday was Pagan Coming Out Day, check out some reflections on the event from P. Sufenas Virius Lupus, Sia at Full Circle, Kayleigh, Star Foster, Serenity Athenina, Diana, and GG from the Pagan Princesses. Coverage of local events no doubt coming soon from our PNC bureaus.
• A woman in Texas is filing a religious discrimination lawsuit after being fired for allegedly threatening to curse her coworkers. Victoria Vaughan says the alleged spiritual threat is a “mischaracterization of events,” and that her supervisor at Texas Health and Human Services Commission overreacted to Vaughan explaining her “deeply held religious beliefs.” I can’t find a copy of the complaint that isn’t behind a paywall, if any of my readers who practice law or have access to such things can help out it would be most appreciated.
• The American Spectator dings the “Evangelical Left” via a book review of Peter Leithhart’s “Defending Constantine: The Twilight of an Empire and the Dawn of Christendom”. Being something of an apologist for Constantine, Leithhart notes how the Emperor “ameliorated some of Rome’s pagan savagery.” Blame for later anti-pagan excesses are squarely on his descendants, while Constantine is praised for trying to build a harmonious society.
• Both Jeff Lilly and Cat Chapin-Bishop endorse the term “Pagan” in response to Scott Reimers’ piece at Patheos suggesting that our movement find a new collective label. For more on this topic, you may also want to check out T. Thorn Coyle‘s two-part essay discussing some questions and one possible answer to the issue of calling ourselves Pagan.
• Investigation Discovery will be airing a special on the West Memphis 3 case this Thursday. New attention has been focused on this case since the WM3 (Damien Echols, Jason Baldwin and Jesse Misskelley Jr.) won the right to new evidentiary hearings scheduled to begin on December 5th. In addition to new DNA evidence the defense wants to look at jury misconduct in the case.
• I09 examines the television commercial for Time-Life’s Mysteries of the Unknown book series and is convinced it is secretly some sort of subtextual New Age porno. Is this true? Read the book!
• Over at Killing the Buddha Beatrice Marovich (with illustrations by Krista Dragomer) meditates on how we use the skins of animals and how she created a secular “animal altar” to pay respects to some mink skins that were given to her.
• Lupa has a thought-provoking two-piece essay on being a (white) American Shaman. Part 1, Part 2. Do check it out, and add your thoughts and comments.
• Congrats to No Unsacred Place for being named The Druid Network’s featured site for May!

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.

• PNC-Washington DC reports that the short film “The Pagan Path – A Short Documentary” was awarded the ”Proclamation of Belief” prize at the The 2011 InterFath Film Festival (sponsored by the North American Interfaith Network). Congratulations to Iris Firemoon and David Salisbury on this success! You can see all the entries, here.
• If you buy or sell animal parts for the purposes of creating artwork or ritual items it’s important that you know what the law is in your state. Author and artist Lupa has compiled a guide to relevant laws and regulations in the United States. This looks like an excellent resource, though do be aware that Lupa is not a lawyer and that site does not constitute legal advice. When in doubt, contact your state fish and wildlife department.
• The Winnemem Wintu Tribe in Northern California is coordinating a petition drive to close a small section of the McCloud River so they can hold their coming-of-age ceremony in peace. In previous years a “voluntary closure” was ignored by local power-boaters who shouted racist and threatening epithets at the Tribe. You can read more about this issue at a special blog devoted to the topic.
• The Temple of Witchcraft’s (co-founded by Christopher Penczak) Imbolc 2011 edition of their newsletter The Temple Bell features a profile of Brigid’s flamekeepers. Erynn Rowan Laurie is one of several people quoted for the piece.
• Christianity Today looks at the “parareligion” of celebrity culture and profiles the new book “Gods Behaving Badly: Media, Religion, and Celebrity Culture” by Pete Ward. While CT and Ward sees this phenomenon as a sort of collective longing for a connection to something larger than themselves, I wonder if there’s also an element that polytheism suppressed will always find ways to manifest.
• A parole board denied a murderer’s request for “unescorted temporary absences” for the very appropriate reason of denying that the killing of his grandmother was financially motivated. However, I was somewhat troubled to read that he was also denied unsupervised day-passes because James Blum wouldn’t admit that his “interest in weaponry and the occult contributed to your violent actions.” That seems like a rather slippery slope. Lack of clarity and remorse is one thing, but not agreeing that an interest in the occult caused him to be violent?
• People For the American Way have issued a lengthy critique of Christian pseudo-historian David Barton. Sadly, the section on religious minorities doesn’t mention his animus towards modern Pagans.
• Suhag Shukla, co-founder of the Hindu American Foundation, writes about the power of Hindu women, referencing a recent incident where a group of women stormed the male-only inner sanctum of the Shri Mahalakshmi Temple of Kolhapur in Maharashtra, India and performed puja (offering).
• Christianity Today re-posts their 2009 article debunking claims that Easter is borrows from ancient paganisms. My favorite bit is when defend the “contextualization” of the early church in pagan cultures, noting it does not entail a “doctrinal compromise.”
• Christian blogger Matt Stone gives tips on talking to Pagans. Perhaps you’d like to add your own?

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.

In the United States, we have achieved what is possibly the most hyperindividualized culture in the history of our species. Some of the effects of this have benefited people, particularly minorities of various sorts who, while still facing oppression, are able to find more footholds for asserting their unique identities amid the masses. However, we’ve taken the archetype of the Rugged Individualist to such an extent that most of us no longer really know how to function as a cohesive community. More and more of us no longer live in the same state, let alone city or neighborhood, as our extended or even nuclear families. The average American moves over a dozen times in their lifetime.

Culturally, we feel rootless as well. Dissatisfied with mainstream (generally white) American culture, more people, neopagans included, are seeking connection with other cultures as a substitute for strip malls, reality television, and the aggressive competition associated with hyperindividualism. Unfortunately, this often results in varying degrees of cultural appropriation, in which an individual draws whatever isolated elements of a culture’s practices they prefer, while ignoring the context provided by what they’ve left behind.

I can personally speak only from an American perspective. However, while we’re not in a situation where “As goes the United States, so goes the world”, neopaganism has developed largely in individual-based Western cultures, and neopagan religions retain that influence to some degree, even when practiced in more communal settings.

I’ve run into countless pagans who want to form “tribes”, “families”, or other sorts of communities. Some may want to create intentional communities on land that no one yet owns; others just want some connection in their city or region. Many are inspired by the Temporary Autonomous Zones created in the context of pagan festivals, and wish they could extend that permanently. Unfortunately, community doesn’t just happen overnight. Nor can it be forced or even necessarily planned neatly. It’s an organic thing that happens at its own pace. Wanting to have a community doesn’t automatically confer the social and practical skills necessary to make it happen.

We aren’t used to being part of a community because our culture has slid so far into individualism. We’re used to being in groups of people, we’re used to making friends and other relationships, but we have a tendency to isolate ourselves outside of our preferred social circles. Many Americans today, pagan and otherwise, couldn’t tell you who most of the people who live on their street are—something that was very different even a couple of generations ago. Some of the pie-in-the-sky plans for intentional communities I’ve heard cooked up over the years have included “pagan communes”, self-sufficient and detached from “Christian America”.

Community requires interdependence with a variety of people, not just the ones we like. Yes, often communities are formed out of reaction to a lack of safe space due to being a minority of some sort. However, what keeps us from being able to create that safe space in the form of pagan-centric community is the intense focus on the self. We can see this in the common sabotage of attempts to create covens and other small groups, as well as other organization efforts. One or more people, miffed that the project isn’t going their way, will instead turn their actions towards destroying it out of spite—putting their own needs over that of the group as a whole. Personal disagreements take precedence over the greater goal. It’s not just isolation from non-pagans that is problematic—it’s the fact that we’ve been conditioned to prioritize our own needs over the needs of others to an unhealthy degree, even to the point of damaging one-on-one relationships.

These one-on-one relationships are the building-blocks of community, which also requires starting small. Relationships have to be established and built up over time if the people involved are going to survive the stressors of being in close proximity on a long-term basis. The most naïve daydreams I’ve seen often include a bunch of people who have little, if any, connection with each other, other than perhaps being friends with the ringleader(s). If your biggest concern is making sure that your needs get met, and you aren’t all that invested in the needs of most of the other people in your “community”, are you really going to be willing to temporarily set aside your needs in order to listen to everyone else’s as a way of facilitating group communication?

Conversely, “community” doesn’t always have to include every single member of the community all the time. Some of the strongest moments of a community are when one person with a problem simply knows that they can go to another person and get a solution. An example is the practice of borrowing a cup of sugar; we’ve so lost track of interconnectedness that very few of us feel we have an option in that instance beyond going out to the store, or doing without. While one’s pagan community may be scattered far enough apart across an area that borrowing that sugar may be difficult, there are other small but significant interactions that can still happen.

And it’s these small interactions involving trust and communication that are the building blocks for making community happen on a larger scale. I’ve been privileged enough to be able to go to festivals at permanent pagan sites, and observe the interactions among long-term residents, volunteers, and other staff. They get to be human beings, with errors and problems, but there’s a cohesion that’s impressive to behold. It took a lot of time, and weathering a lot of challenges to temper those relationships. But it can happen.

Admittedly I can only speak so much in practice at this point. I don’t live in an intentional community, and much of my time is taken up with personal pursuits (the Master’s Degree That Ate My Life being a primary one). However, that Master’s degree will be in counseling psychology, from a program with an emphasis on community involvement—not just taking on the clients who are most like me. And in my personal life, I’m attempting to make the first steps in creating an environment in which community can hopefully develop; last month, for example, my husband Taylor and I hosted a pot luck and swap meet in our home where people not only shared food but excess resources. Granted, our collection of “resources” looked more like the fodder for a yard sale, but it was a start. And while I’m not yet the greatest gardener in the world, I’ve planted some extra onion sets in anticipation of a barter with a friend of mine who raises quail. It just so happens that a large portion of my social circle happens to be pagan—but my goal isn’t necessarily a specifically pagan community.

That’s where I’m at right now, and I’m fine with that. I have a lot of individualistic tendencies to move past, and I have a lot of practical and relational skills I need to develop. But I can also learn from those who have made community—whether pagan or otherwise—so successful, and I can put those lessons into practice. And that’s what I’d suggest to those who want to build community: learn from those who have made it happen. There’s work to be done, but it can be done—it is being done.

July 14th – Brendan Myers

Dr. Brendan Myers, Ph.D. is the author of several critically acclaimed books on the subject of ethics and philosophy, environmentalism, Celtic and European mythology, folklore, society and politics, and spirituality. They have been used as inspirational and educational resources by college professors, social activist groups, interfaith groups, Celtic cultural associations, and even humanist societies, in many countries around the world. Brendan’s work has appeared in numerous magazines, podcasts, and radio shows (including America’s NPR). He is the 2008 recipient of OBOD’s prestigious Mt. Haemus Award for recent research in Druidry.

July 15th – Elysia Gallo

Elysia Gallo is an Acquisitions Editor at Llewellyn Worldwide, the oldest and largest independent New Age publisher in the United States. She acquires books for publication in such topics as Witchcraft, Wicca, Paganism, magic(k), herbalism, and the paranormal. She lives in St. Paul, MN with her husband and two cats.

July 16th – Cat Chapin-Bishop

Wiccan since the late ’80s, Cat Chapin-Bishop has also been Quaker since 2001. Cat’s essays have appeared in Laura Wildman’s “Celebrating the Pagan Soul”, “The Pomegranate: The Journal of Pagan Studies”, the Covenant of the Goddess newsletter, and “Enchante: The Journal for the Urbane Pagan”. In addition to her work as a Wiccan HPs, Cat is the former Chair of Cherry Hill Seminary’s Pastoral Counseling Department, and she currently serves on the Ministry and Worship Committee of Mt. Toby Quaker meeting. Cat and her husband maintain Quaker Pagan Reflections, a blog dedicated to exploring the connections between Pagan spirituality and Quaker practice. They reside in Northampton, Massachusetts, where they attempt to live peacefully in the midst of chaos.

July 17th – Lupa

Lupa is the author of “Fang and Fur, Blood and Bone: A Primal Guide to Animal Magic” and “A Field Guide to Otherkin”. She’s also the co-author of “Kink Magic: Sex Magic Beyond Vanilla” with Taylor Ellwood, and a contributor to the “Magick on the Edge” anthology and “Manifesting Prosperity: A Wealth Magic Anthology”. Additionally, Lupa works as an associate editor, layout tech, and nonfiction publicity/promotions manager for Immanion Press/Megalithica Books. Lupa uses the term pagan for simplicity’s sake, though more accurately she describes herself as a totemist, an animist and a pantheist. She has been studying pagan religions and magical topics for twelve years and practicing for ten years. Currently she is developing and training in therioshamanism.

July 18th – John Morehead

John Morehead is a researcher, writer, and speaker in intercultural studies, new religious movements, theology and popular culture. He has an M.A. degree in intercultural studies from Salt Lake Theological Seminary which included a thesis on Burning Man Festival. He also has an avid interest in aspects of pop culture, particularly myth and archetype as well as the social, cultural and religious dimensions of fantasy, sci fi,and horror. John lives in the greater Salt Lake City area with his wife and two children. Be sure to check out his excellent TheoFantastique blog!

July 19th - Caroline Kenner

A longtime Washington D.C. activist in in feminism and environmentalism, Caroline Kenner now uses her skills to advocate for modern Pagans. In 2006 and 2007 Kenner called pan-Pagan rallies in Washington D.C. to demand religious freedom and equality. The 2007 rally was particularly auspicious as it celebrated the recently-won right to place the Pentacle, equivalent to the Cross, Star, or Crescent, on military grave markers. The event united several large Pagan organizations working to establish Pagan military chaplains and the approval of other specific Pagan symbols worn by Pagan and Heathen veterans. In addition to her activism, Caroline is a graduate of The Foundation for Shamanic Studies‘ Three Year Program in Advanced Shamanism and Shamanic Healing. Caroline also holds an A.B. from Bryn Mawr College and a M.S. from Boston University. She has practiced shamanism since 1989.

July 20th - Chas Clifton

Chas S. Clifton has been blogging since 2003, when he converted his Pagan magazine column, “Letter from Hardscrabble Creek,” into a blog. A widely published Pagan writer, he is the author of “Her Hidden Children: The Rise of Wicca and Paganism in America”. He also edits “The Pomegranate: The International Journal of Pagan Studies”.

July 21st – James R. French

James R. French has been interested in Magick and Paganism since adolescence. He is an Adept of the Open Source Order of the Golden Dawn and a Reiki Master. (Mr. French wants us to understand that “Adept” and “Master” are titles within these respective lineages. They do not necessarily indicate anything beyond that.)

July 22nd – Thorn Coyle

T. Thorn Coyle is a magic worker, mystic, musician, and author of “Evolutionary Witchcraft” and “Kissing the Limitless.” She teaches internationally. Her blog can be found at yezida.livejournal.com or http://www.thorncoyle.com/musings.html.

July 23rd – Sannion

H. Jeremiah Lewis, also known by his religious name Sannion, is a Greco-Egyptian polytheist who has been actively honoring the gods since around 1993. He has lived all over the country, including Alaska, Nevada, New York, Montana, Washington and Oregon (where he currently resides), and has worked the standard assortment of odd jobs that every aspiring author needs to get by with. Mr. Lewis divides his time between an insanely intense religious practice, writing, research, helping to organize the activities of Neos Alexandria, and directing the Bibliotheca Alexandrina. There isn’t much time for anything else.

July 24th – Peg Aloi

Peg Aloi is a Pagan and a scholar who works in both the academic and popular arenas. She is a writer on Paganism and the media for Witchvox, is the co-editor with Hanna E. Johnston of the new volume “The New Generation Witches: Teenage Witchcraft in Contemporary Culture” (Ashgate, 2007), and is currently co-authoring a book with Hannah titled “The Celluloid Bough: Cinema in the Wake of the Occult Revival”.

Please give all of them a warm and hospitable welcome, I’m certain they will all contribute something special to The Wild Hunt. The gods and my new DSL service willing, I should be back to my regular posting schedule by July 25th. Make sure to keep things respectful and polite in the comments while I’m gone, the assorted hells hath no fury like a vacationing blogger who has to log in to a WiFi spot in Idaho to engage in some blog moderation.