Druid Religion officially recognised in England and Wales

Here is an anouncement from the stonehenge-druids

"...Happily The Druid Network persevered with their application and today announced that they have achieved Charitable Status under the objects of religion. Druidry now has equal status with other accepted religions in all areas including the workplace. A huge and historic step forwards and a cause for great celebration.

For the first time since AD54, and our repression under Roman occupation, we are recognised and free from persecution.

For my efforts in helping to make this day a possibility I’m today feeling very proud.

I cannot praise the Druid Network highly enough for persisting with this struggle for around 10 years, despite many setbacks and delays along the way. Theirs has been a huge effort of patience and endurance for the benefit of all Druids and they fully deserve the honourable place in the history of the Druids they have earned for themselves."

Coverage as well at The Wild Hunt.

Radio interview with Linda Slack of CoG's Texas Local Council

Kevin Foresman of Raw Soul Radio Live on the Enlumnia Radio Network from Dallas, Texas interviewed Linda Slack of CoG's Texas Local Council

"Join me as I talk with Linda Slack about The United Earth Assembly (UEA), one of the oldest pagan seminars in the United States, and The Covenant of the Goddess (CoG), a non-profit 501c3 international religious organization founded in 1975 to increase cooperation among Witches and to secure for Witches and covens the legal protection enjoyed by members of other religions. CoG is one of the largest and oldest Wiccan religious organizations whose members generally agree on the Wiccan ethical code known as the Wiccan Rede, “An it harm none, do as ye will,” which honors the freedom of each individual to do what they believe is right, but also recognizes the profound responsibility that none may be harmed by one’s actions."

It takes time to load but you can here that interview here.

A reply to Christian bashing in our community

Keeping with an interfaith theme I noticed over at the Magic of the Ordinary blog,  author - Peregrin has an interesting and thought provoking response to what she perceives as Christian bashing in the pages of a recent Green Egg article by Frank J Ranelli on page 38.

"...I suggest Mr Ranelli and those carried along with his invective read some works by Thomas Merton, Matthew Fox, Richard Rohr, John Shelby Spong and Marcus Borg to name just a few. Or just go to the Living the Questions channel on YouTube.

Neo-pagans are very good in wanting (and occasionally demanding) non believers and journalists to go beyond the stereotyped and cultural view of our spiritual forms. We do not want to be seen in pointy hats casting curses or in graveyards raising the dead. We expect outside observers to be open to hearing the ‘truth’ about our traditions, to go deeper than the outer forms and common misconceptions. However, we do not seem to do the same justice to Christianity." ...(Cont.)...

Interfaith leaders respond to Shamanism question

Religious writer - Stephanie Murphy of the Canadian paper - The Ottawa Citizen asked the following question to a number of religious and non-religious "experts."

"What do you make of ancient indigenous systems of wisdom, such as aboriginal and Celtic shamans?"

Their answers were quite thought provoking. Here is one of many examples from RAY INNEN PARCHELO - a novice Tendai priest and founder of the Red Maple Sangha, the first lay Buddhist community in Eastern Ontario:

"The greatest dangers I see for those seeking spiritual direction from ancient wisdom are three.

First, there is a tendency of novices to mix-and-match, borrowing an idea here and there, to assemble something that they cling to or present as “ancient wisdom,” but which has little authenticity. Sadly too, there is no shortage of charlatans who do so and present themselves as “master” for some combination of self-aggrandizement and exploitative marketing.

The second is to propose that ancient wisdom is superior to modern wisdom, simply by virtue of its age. As someone wrote, “If wisdom always comes with a grey beard, every goat would be Plato.”

Third, many people disconnect teaching from practice and action, leaving themselves with a collection of pithy sayings with little practical context, little expert direction and no sustaining ritual support." ...(Cont.)...

Listen to ancient Babylonian online

Here is an interesting archaeological article:

"Almost 2,000 years after its last native speakers disappeared, the sound of Ancient Babylonian makes a comeback in an online audio archive. The recordings include excerpts from some of the earliest known works of world literature, dating back to the first years of the second millennium BC.

Prompted by the enquiries of curious colleagues and friends, Dr. Martin Worthington, an expert in Babylonian and Assyrian grammar from the University of Cambridge, has begun to record readings of Babylonian poems, myths and other texts in the original tongue."  ...(Cont.)...

CoG First Officer on ABC News

Our First Officer - Silvia Web was quoted extensively in this ABC News report:

"It leads me to believe she's making it up completely out of whole cloth with poor information," said Sylvia T. Webb, the first officer of the Covenant of the Goddess, a national non-profit organization.

Comments like O'Donnell's, she said, are "bizarre" and contribute to misinformation about the religion....
Webb scoffed at O'Donnell's claims.

"It's very hard to worship something you do not believe in and Satan is a Christian concept," she said. "Wiccans don't have Satanic altars." ...(Cont.)...

Autumn Equimox - Mabon - Lore, Music and Ritual

Mabon blessings to everyone


Web Pages
Mabon by Akasha
Autumn Equinox
Mabon - About.com
Mabon
Mabon
Mabon Lore
Harvest Hone - Mike Nichols
Ancient Greek & Roman Fall Festivals
British Kitchen - Harvest Festival
The Elders Speak about Autumn 
Autumn Greetings Customs & Lore

Video
Mabon
An ode to the Autumn Equinox
Lisa Thiel - Mabon
Mabon - Omnia
Mabon
Impressions of Autumn
MabonMabon Tribute
The Mabon - Damh the Bard
Mabon Ritual
PaGaian Mabon 2009

Patrick McCollum Interview on anti-Pagan discrimination

Patrick McCollum has just now received the Mahatma Gandhi Award for the Advancement of Religious Pluralism at the Hindu American Foundation's annual Reception in Washington D.C..

CoG Members working for community around the country

It has been a busy week for many CoG members.  I will begin with the Texas Local Council's sponsorship of an upcoming  Autumn Equinox Celebration.  Also in Texas Raw Soul Radio with Kevin Foresman had a segment with "Linda Slack of The Covenant of The Goddess to discuss Wicca and the upcoming United Earth Assembly"..

The Calafia Local Council was active with a booth at Pagan Pride San Diego 2010. 

Chamisa Local Council is busy getting ready for the Magic Mountain Mabon Festival on September 16, 17, 18, & 19,

Rachael Watcher just announced at our Interfaith Blog:  "we have begun a series of dialogues called "The Witch and the Preacher's Kid". Each month we will be having a half hour dialogue loosely based on a particular topic. This month we kicked off our program with the topic of Evil and what it looks like from a Christian and from a Wiccan perspective. This program does not suppose to speak for every Christian nor every Pagan but really is only a dialogue between two friends who have found deep kinship despite our different religions."

Peter Dybing, our NFO elect was busy with a 911 Ritual for Tolerance and Remembrance.  He performed this ritual publicly in the Virgin Islands where he lives, and received positive local news coverage.

Margot Adler our CoG member and NPR reporter filed this report this week - 9/11 Anniversary Marked By Anger, Controversy.

I am sure that many of our members are busy doing good work for the community, but you need to let your NPIO know so I can get the word out.

Brave Heart Women’s Society

Brave Heart Women's Society from The Kitchen Sisters on Vimeo.

“I was part of the first group who went through this Isnati coming-of-age ceremony 13 years ago,” Brook recalls. Brook’s mother, Faith Spotted Eagle, is one of the women who re-established the Brave Hearts. With American and European contact many such societies and ceremonies have been lost over the last 100 years. In 1994, Faith and the Brave Hearts interviewed grandmas from three states about what they remembered of the Isnati coming of age ceremony.

“In the old days,” Faith Spotted Eagle says, “as soon as a girl had her first moon, her menses, she would immediately be isolated from the rest of the camp and begin a four-day ceremony where she was taught by other women. So we symbolically set up one camp a year and have the girls come in for four days.”

More information at:
Brave Heart Women’s Society
NPR - Four Days, Nights: A Girls' Coming-Of-Age Ceremony
Audio interview with girls and women from Brave Heart...
Waterlily by Ella Cara Deloria

Sámi singer and activist Mari Boine speaks

"Norwegian and Sámi singer Mari Boine speaks about her personal experiences with the religious ban of joik. Joik is traditional Saami chanting, for entertaiment, joy, meditation, mental linking, description, memory, sagas, extasy, for magic and as calls for the spirits, also of the Highest."

More Mari Boine:
Mari Boine - Vuolgge mu mielde Bassivárrái
Mari Boine video
Mari Boine - It Sat Duolmma Mu
Mari Boine - Elle (Live)
Mari Boine - Elle
Mari Boine - Gulan Du
Mari Boine - Uldda Nieida
Mari Boine - Guovssahasaid ajagattis
Mari Boine - Goaskinviellja / Eagle Brother
Mari Boine - Idjadiegas (In the hand of the Night
Mari Boine - I Come From the Other Side

M. Macha NightMare quoted in South African Pagan publication

M. Macha NightMare from Northern California Local Council of CoG and Cherry Hill Seminary was featured in an article in the South African Pagan publication - Penton. She is quoted extensively in the article by Damon Leff - Witches on Witchcraft.

"Like most Witches of my vintage, I searched for years for a spirituality that made sense to me before I found the Craft. I encountered Witchcraft at the meeting point of three paths in my life, at the sacred trivia of the goddess Hekate. The first path was Second Wave Feminism; [5] in Craft I had my first experience of a feminine image of the divine. Secondly, my concerns for the environment (before I’d ever heard the word “ecology”) were accorded a theological foundation in Craft. Third was an acknowledgment and respect for intuitive ways of knowing. These concerns, spiced with the flavors of mythology and folklore, seeking knowledge of my personal ancestral heritage, and engaging constructively in society to help make a better world, continue to inform my theology and praxis."  ...(Cont.)...