Richard Carpenter, creator of “Robin of Sherwood,” dies aged 78

Last updated on: March 3, 2012 at 8:10 am By Jason Pitzl-Waters

On Sunday, February 26th, British screenwriter and author Richard ‘Kip’ Carpenter died at the age of 78 after suffering a heart attack. While Carpenter first came to popular acclaim in Britain thanks to his 1970 children’s show “Catweazle,” about a time-traveling 11th century sorcerer, for most people (particularly Pagans of a certain age) he’s known as the head writer and creator of “Robin of Sherwood.” That show, which ran on British television in the mid-1980s, and then later broadcast in... Read more

Guest Post: Patrick McCollum in India

Last updated on: March 2, 2012 at 9:22 am By Jason Pitzl-Waters

[The following story was sent to us by the Patrick McCollum Foundation. It brings us highlights of Patrick McCollum’s current sojourn through India, part of his larger ongoing interfaith and World Peace work. Patrick McCollum has been working as a Pagan chaplain and activist for well over twenty years. He was one of the founding members of the Lady Liberty League, and has been involved in numerous legal struggles involving modern Pagans. You can read more about Patrick’s accomplishment’s, here.] Rev. Patrick... Read more

Vote on Religious Materials in Buncombe County Schools Tonight

Last updated on: March 2, 2012 at 8:32 am By Jason Pitzl-Waters

Tonight, the Buncombe County School Board in North Carolina is scheduled to vote on a new policy regarding the distribution of religious material in public schools. This vote, if it happens, will be the culmination of controversy that began this past December, when North Carolina Pagan Ginger Strivelli challenged her child’s school’s policy regarding the distribution of religious materials. Strivelli felt that the manner in which Gideon Bibles were made available violated the Establishment Clause, and ostracized non-Christian students who didn’t want... Read more

Update: Yoga Scandals and Sex Cults

Last updated on: February 29, 2012 at 11:25 am By Jason Pitzl-Waters

Since I first took note of the “Wiccan coven” sex scandal that has engulfed John Friend, head of the popular Anusara hatha yoga school in America, the story has left the confines of the American Yoga community and been picked up by larger media outlets. William J. Broad, author of “The Science of Yoga: The Risks and the Rewards”, informs readers of the New York Times that no one should be surprised that this has happened. “Yoga teachers and how-to books seldom mention that... Read more

Constitution Classes and Christian Indoctrination

Last updated on: February 28, 2012 at 12:14 pm By Jason Pitzl-Waters

Considering the fact that I just wrote about religion, pluralism, and the pagan roots of American democracy mere days ago, it seems ironic that a scandal would break out over classes for government employees that assert the essential Christian character of this nation. This past Thursday, the Baltimore Sun reported that Carroll County commissioners asked county employees to attend a class run by a conservative Christian preacher on the Maryland State Constitution. httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f5qMxQuw3PM “David Whitney, pastor of a Pasadena church and a... Read more

Gender, Transgender, Politics, and our Beloved Community

Last updated on: February 27, 2012 at 10:08 am By Jason Pitzl-Waters

In a continuing effort to keep my readers up to date on the ongoing conversations centered around the 2012 PantheaCon in San Jose, where debate, protest, and controversy emerged around a scheduled “genetic women only” ritual led by Dianic elder Z. Budapest, I have rounded up another round of statements and meditations on the subject. For those just coming to this discussion, I advise you start with my February 21st post, then move on to my first discussion round-up, before engaging with this latest... Read more

The Pagan Alliance and the Importance of a Witches Ball

Last updated on: February 26, 2012 at 12:55 pm By Jason Pitzl-Waters

Sometimes, the best way to understand an issue, particularly in the Pagan community, is in microcosm. One of the biggest issues many Pagan communities face today relates to providing services and infrastructure, how we fund the things we say we collectively need. With the current focus by Pagan media and social networks on the question of gender within our rituals, communities, and events, my mind immediately turned to The Pagan Alliance-organized conference from last year. That event, the 1st Annual Conference... Read more

Our “Pagan” President and our Pagan Democracy

Last updated on: February 24, 2012 at 9:07 pm By Jason Pitzl-Waters

Earlier this month, Professor Anouar Majid, author of “We Are All Moors: Ending Centuries of Crusades against Muslims and Other Minorities”, wrote a guest column for Informed Comment. In this column, Majid noted that “democracy and republicanism arose in pagan, polytheistic cultures, ones whose people could live with many gods.” In Majid’s mind, no culture can truly embrace and enjoy the values of democracy, of representative government, without also embracing the “religious pluralism and cultural diversity” inherent in this political model’s building... Read more

Unleash the Hounds! (Link Roundup)

Last updated on: February 24, 2012 at 10:16 am 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. Artist Lauren Raine is holding a Kickstarter campaign to create 21 new pieces in her Masks of the Goddess series. Previous collections in this series have been used by several Pagan groups for ritual purposes, most notably Reclaiming. The new collection will be held... Read more

The PantheaCon Gender Conversation Continues

Last updated on: February 23, 2012 at 11:53 am By Jason Pitzl-Waters

In the interests of keeping my readers abreast of the conversations centered around the 2012 PantheaCon in San Jose, where debate, protest, and controversy emerged around a scheduled “genetic women only” ritual led by Dianic elder Z. Budapest, I have rounded up a number of statements and meditations on the subject. I will start by sharing essays and posts by those who were at the 2012 PantheaCon, and then move to opinions and commentary by interested parties who were not in attendance. Jonathan... Read more