Guest Post: Nick Ritter on Theodish Belief

Last updated on: June 9, 2012 at 10:27 am By Jason Pitzl-Waters

[The following is the first of two guest posts from Nick Ritter, a member of Axenthof Thiâd, and The Wild Hunt’s resident expert on all things Théodish. Given the rise of Dan Halloran, a Republican New York City Councilman, congressional candidate, and Théodish Heathen, I thought it best spotlight a truly informed voice on the subject of his religion. This post will deal with Théodish belief, while a second post, published tomorrow, will deal with Dan Halloran specifically.] While Théodish Belief has been “public” for... Read more

How Beliefnet Apologizes to Pagans

Last updated on: June 8, 2012 at 8:22 am By Jason Pitzl-Waters

This past April I wrote a piece criticizing the religious portal site Beliefnet for a news item that conflated the recent Cornwall controversy over teaching Paganism in religious education classes with the troubling trend of witch-hunts and witch-killings in places like Africa and the Middle East. The article, written by Beliefnet Senior Editor Rob Kerby, not only drew criticism from me, but from Beliefnet’s only Pagan blogger, Gus diZerega, and several Pagans who commented on the original article at Beliefnet.... Read more

Pagan Media Links: Oregon Vortex Edition

Last updated on: June 7, 2012 at 4:13 pm By Jason Pitzl-Waters

I’m out of town today, attending a doctor’s appointment in Ashland, Oregon, so I don’t have the time to do my usual exploration and analysis of news of interest to the Pagan community. Instead, I’d like to offer some links from across the Pagan media world that have drawn my attention. So enjoy, I’m hoping to hit the Oregon vortex on my way home! Here at Patheos, columnist Eric Scott looks at the Missouri Public Prayer Amendment noting that “this language... Read more

Ray Bradbury and The Halloween Tree

Last updated on: June 6, 2012 at 9:47 am By Jason Pitzl-Waters

Famed fantasy and science fiction author Ray Bradbury died on Tuesday night at the age of 91. His works have penetrated our consciousness, the mere mention of their titles, “The Martian Chronicles”, “The Illustrated Man”, “Fahrenheit 451”, “Something Wicked This Way Comes”, “Dandelion Wine”, evoke a range of emotions and memories. Like many, I absorbed his works, in school, on television, in movies, and even in the town which I used to live. For a time I lived in Waukegan, Illinois, the birthplace... Read more

Pagan Community Notes: Teo’s Sacred Electric Grove, Starhawk on Wisconsin, Sharon Knight at Faerieworlds, and More!

Last updated on: June 5, 2012 at 12:00 pm By Jason Pitzl-Waters

Pagan Community Notes is a series focused on news originating from within the Pagan community. Reinforcing 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! Teo Bishop’s Sacred Electric Grove: Pagan blogger Teo Bishop of Bishop In The Grove fame has launched an IndieGoGo campaign to... Read more

Money, The New Age, and Esalen’s Midlife Crisis

Last updated on: June 4, 2012 at 11:33 am By Jason Pitzl-Waters

Don Lattin, author of “The Harvard Psychedelic Club” and “Following Our Bliss,” reports on growing pains at the Esalen Institute in Big Sur, California, for the Religion News Service. According to Lattin’s piece, there are growing complaints about the “corporatization” of Esalen, long a haven for spiritual seekers, with some claiming it is “turning into a spa for the 1 percent.” “David Price, the son of the late Richard Price and a former general manager of the institute, is one of many... Read more

How Pagans Got Their News Before the Internet

Last updated on: June 3, 2012 at 2:33 pm By Jason Pitzl-Waters

Recently, the magazine Witches & Pagans, a print periodical that has served the Pagan community for many years (albeit under a different name), added the feed for this site (with my permission) to their website. I see this as somewhat momentous, as it cements, at least in my mind, the new normal of Pagan-oriented media in the 21st century. There will always be a place for print magazines and journals in our community, see newer efforts like Modern Witch Magazine... Read more

Pagans and Books (Yes, There’s a List Involved)

Last updated on: June 2, 2012 at 1:54 pm By Jason Pitzl-Waters

There’s an old chestnut in our community that goes something like this: If Christians are “people of the book,” then Pagans are people of the library. In short, we love books; reading them, writing them, arguing about them, and listing them (we’re a highly educated and literate bunch). Recently the Huffington Post posted a reader-recommended list of 27 essential Pagan texts which almost instantly set off a chain-reaction within our online communities. I saw several complaints as to what was omitted,... Read more

Unleash the Hounds! (Link Roundup)

Last updated on: June 1, 2012 at 12:28 pm By Jason Pitzl-Waters

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. Through June 17th the Observatory in Brooklyn is featuring “Sigils and Signs,” a group show the explores the intersection of magic and the occult with fine art. Erik Davis interviews show organizer Pam Grossman on his “Expanding Mind” radio show. If you can’t... Read more

Yet Another Ex-Witch “Taken From the Night”

Last updated on: May 31, 2012 at 11:56 am By Jason Pitzl-Waters

There must be something uniquely unsettling to certain factions of Christianity about the existence of modern Pagan religions, something that makes them over-react. It can’t be our sheer numbers, despite consistent growth Pagans account for only 0.4% of the population (around a million people) in the United States. No matter what the odd conspiracy theory might say, Pagans don’t pull the strings of any powerful politicians, and there is no Pagan lobbying organization in Washington DC. Despite these reassurances of Christian... Read more