Pagan

BREAKING NEWS: Former Cherokee Nation Chief Wilma Mankiller dies
TAHLEQUAH, Okla. – Former Cherokee Nation Principal Chief Wilma Mankiller died in the morning hours of April 6 at her home in rural Adair County, Cherokee Nation officials confirmed to the Cherokee Phoenix. Read full story from cherokeephoenix.org

April is Disaster Preparedness Month
There’s a reason April is Disaster Preparedness Month: hurricanes, tornadoes, earthquakes, floods, drought, wildfires, disease outbreaks. Are you ready for the unexpected? Read full story from indiancountrytoday.com

The pagan roots of Easter
Easter is a pagan festival. If Easter isn’t really about Jesus, then what is it about? Today, we see a secular culture celebrating the spring equinox, whilst religious culture celebrates the resurrection. However, early Christianity made a pragmatic acceptance of ancient pagan practises, most of which we enjoy today at Easter. The general symbolic story of the death of the son (sun) on a cross (the constellation of the Southern Cross) and his rebirth, overcoming the powers of darkness, was a well worn story in the ancient world. There were plenty of parallel, rival resurrected saviours too. Read full story from guardian.co.uk

Through permaculture, becoming one with nature
Amy Antonucci’s farm in Barrington is not your run-of-the-mill set up. Her backyard is a mixture of garden beds with the first sprouts of garlic of the season just starting to rise from the soil, bee hives, tapped maple trees, medicinal herb gardens and piles and piles of woodónext to the tree stumps that they have been cut from. Read full story from tnhonline.com

Dead roosters were religious sacrifice in Vineland
VINELAND — Cumberland County Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals officials stated on Wednesday they cannot prosecute a case involving two dead roosters found in a bag over the weekend. Read full story from nj.com

Wistful about Wicca
What do you think about Wicca? Does it make you think: “Yikes! Evil witches!” or grounding earth-based ritual or stoned bare-foot hippies or some manner of something in between? Let me know, I am really interested. And don’t hold back. Read full story from women24.com

Derry couples seeking Pagan weddings - claim
Raymond MacSuibhne, of the Pagan Federation of Northern Ireland (PFNI), says the peace process has allowed “interest and participation in Paganism” to flourish in Derry and across the North over recent years. Read full story from derryjournal.com

Marine’s Father Ordered To Pay Church’s Court Costs
BALTIMORE –The father of a Marine who died in Iraq and whose funeral was picketed by anti-gay protesters said a court has ordered him to pay the protesters’ appeal costs. Read full story from wbaltv.com

Experts: Christian militia part of growing trend
The actions of the Christian militia group raided in Michigan are part of a growing trend of militant activity across the U.S. because of the weak economy and an African-American president, experts and a civil rights group said today. Read full story from freep.com

Millions around the globe set to observe ‘Earth Hour 2010’
Millions of homes around the world are geared up to observe the ‘Earth Hour 2010’ on Saturday, March 27, 8:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. in order to conserve energy and pay attention towards global warming. Read full story from themoneytimes.com

Albuquerque police and media take steps to learn about Wiccan religion after stabbing
30 year old Angela Stanford has been accused of stabbing a man to death on March 22 in Albuquerque, New Mexico.  Claiming self-defense, the woman told police that she had taken the man into the woods near a hiking trail to perform what she claims was a Wiccan ritual for spring.  Sanford says when the man sexually assaulted her, she stabbed him with a “Wiccan dagger” to save herself.  Early news reports and statements from police showed a lack of understanding by the media and police force of the Wiccan religion. Read full story from examiner.com

TV presenter gets death sentence for ‘sorcery’
(CNN) – Amnesty International is calling on Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah to stop the execution of a Lebanese man sentenced to death for “sorcery.” Read full story from cnn.com

Asheville Mother Grove Goddess Temple to celebrate spring equinox
ASHEVILLE — After making it through the harsh winter, people in Western North Carolina are looking forward to the warm sun of spring. Some are preparing to celebrate the season’s change with an ecumenical ritual. Read full story from citezen-times.com

Avatar Is The Work Of The Devil, Says Idiot Pastor
Pastor and shit-stirer Mark Driscoll claims that Avatar is the devil’s work, aimed at promoting paganism and primitive lifestyles. Sounds like somebody just needs to make “Tsaheylu.” Of course, after watching the “Na’vi” on chatroulette, he’s got a point. Read full story from io9.com

Tribes need to prepare for inflationary future
NEW ORLEANS – American Indian tribes achieving unprecedented economic progress in the past decade now must brace themselves for future inflation, delegates attending a recent Native American finance conference were warned. Read full story from indiancountrytoday.com

March 17th Celebrate All Snakes Day!!! & Support your local and global pagens and the Return of the Snakes.
As the snakes remind us, remember to embrace the random and to ride the spiral ’till it ends as it may just go where no one’s been. Do this by being fully present as much as you can, and always remember to evolve responsibly and feed your will organic optimism. Read full story from evolver.net

St. Patrick’s Day: Did Patrick become Christian for the tax breaks?
We credit St. Patrick for bringing Christianity to Ireland and banishing the island’s snakes. But post-glacial Ireland never had snakes and the saint recognized on March 17 is actually a combination of two men, Patrick and Palladius, with the latter being the first to bring Christianity to the Celts. Read full story from csmonitor.com

Celebrating “Under God” Whether There is a God or Not
The Ninth Circuit did a good thing by upholding the propriety of reciting the words “under God” in the Pledge of Allegiance. And before everyone starts screaming, let me explain both why I make that claim and why the upside for those who value religious freedom is actually far greater than immediately presumed. Read full story from huffingtonpost.com