Musical Selections:
Heartbeat, Medicine Man, Dragonfly
PaganFM Prayer List
Mike, Joseph, Allen, Ray, Rae, Nancy
News
A new project has been launched, called The Pagan History project.
The Pagan History Project (PHP) is an oral history project created to collect, store, share and preserve the history of the American Pagan Movement.
Description
Mission Statement:The Pagan History Project (PHP) is an oral history project created to collect, store, share and preserve the history of the American Pagan movement in accordance with techniques of current anthropological and historical methods.
“All Pagans are Storytellers”
The primary purpose of this project is to collect the oral history of the generation of American Pagans who built the movement into what it has become today:one of the fastest growing new religious movements. Many of these elders are now in their 60s and 70s. Once gone, their stories, and the history they experienced will be lost forever. For community members and scholars seeking to understand the roots of these religions,
such a loss would be incalculable.
PHP- Parameters and Procedures
Pagan here is used in its widest sense and includes groups and magical orders such as: the Golden Dawn, BOTA and American OTO; NROOGD and CAW; cultural-religious and Reconstructionist groups as ADF, Asatru/Heathenry, Hellenic , Hexen , etc.; Wiccan groups (descending from British lines of Gardnerian and Alexandrian); as well as Traditional Witches and Witchcraft groups (non-Gardnerian currents such as British or Celtic Traditional Witchcraft, 1734, etc.) ; Dianic and Goddess spirituality, LGBT groups; as well as, cunning craft, Theosophy, Afro-Diaspora groups, fraternal orders and others as they interrelated, pollinated and crossed over with the Pagan Movement.
The timeframe and context for collection commences with the origins of the American Pagan Movement from its inception up to the mid-1990′s in Phase One. Post-internet era collection will be Phase Two. Many early 20th century groups and individuals have not been well documented previously and their contributions are deserving further study. These include, the Ancient Order of Druids in America;the Temple of Aphrodite; and Ella Young’s Fellowship of Shasta,among others.
The dawn of the Internet era in the mid-1990s changed the dynamic of the American Pagan Movement. While some practices,practitioners and communities become easier to document,others went “underground” and documenting these less well-known members of the Movement is crucial.
Results:
The project to collect, preserve and share our histories is intended to increase the knowledge of and between our diverse Paganisms (magico-religious groups)and is a resource for scholars and community members alike. We will collect oral histories using video, audio and digital recording technologies–including pre-existing historic material. We use narrative techniques of history; take oral histories using an anthropological model and ethnohistorical methods. We will record verifiable history as well as mythic history (so called “grandmother stories”_ because both inform who we are as Pagans. Religions have “origin stories” which give important information about their nature and purpose. The interviews will be available on a secured website, Cloud based, and will be supplemented with images, document scans and contextual information. We are actively working towards locating the project at Major University.
In a very important case today, the Supreme Court announced their decision regarding the patenting of genes. The nation’s highest court ruled, unanimously, that genes that exist in nature cannot be patented. The case came about when Myriad Genetics was awarded a patent on the BRCA 1 and BRCA 2 genes, which are responsible for some types of cancer. With a patent on the actual genes, no other company could look for tests to determine whether some women were more likely to develop those forms of cancer.
The court did uphold patents which are used to test for the particular mutations which lead to cancer, as those are actual inventions, but they stated that “…separating that gene from its surrounding genetic material is not an act of invention.”
Hopefully, this decision will establish some precedent in patent law, and that mere discoveries will not be granted the status of inventions.
Thoughts on some present events
So here in the US, the name Edward Snowden seems to be well-known today. For those who haven’t heard of him, he is the man responsible for divulging the nature of a few government surveillance programs to the Guardian and the Washington Post. Some people are trying to tie the surveillance practices of the NSA to what went on with the IRS and even the attack at Benghazi, but the truth is that these programs have been going on at the NSA since before President Obama ever took office.
Now some people might ask why I’m even talking about this issue on a Pagan program. Well, here is my take on that. Paganism, to me, implies that I am responsible for my own life. If I wish to have privacy, I need to insure that privacy. I can never depend on the promises of someone else who will say they will never reveal a secret. As Benjamin Franklin, a man whom I hold in high regard, once said; “Three people can keep a secret – if two of them are dead”.
When it comes to the Internet or the telephone system, I don’t trust those services at all when I’m looking for privacy. When you get a phone bill, it’s absolutely clear that the phone company knows who you’ve called, and when you called. The same goes for your cell phone. Each month that you get a bill, it’s clear that they know who you called and when.
Likewise, if you use an on-line email service like Yahoo or Hotmail or Gmail, those emails aren’t on your computer, and the companies you are using have access to them. To believe these things are private is folly. If your facebook account or any other account has been hacked, you should have already learned your lesson – these things aren’t private. And any expectation of privacy in the electronic world, if you haven’t taken steps to insure it, is foolish.
I don’t blame the government at all. The citizens of the United States have tasked our government to keep us safe from terrorism. And if we want our government to actually prevent terrorist attacks, rather than to merely hunt down the people who commit them, it will take the sort of intelligence that agencies such as the NSA are gathering. Our other choice is to accept more terrorist attacks as a way of life. Prevention of crime requires the gathering of intelligence, and that requires some level of eavesdropping. In the military world, there are different types of intelligence; there is HUMINT, or information gleaned from people. There is SIGINT, or Signal intelligence. This is information gleaned from radio and other electronic sources. There is also CYBINT, information from Cyberspace. There are other sources, but we can’t expect the government to protect us from threats without expecting them to gather the intelligence necessary to do so.
On the other hand, we can still look for privacy. But doing so requires not that we tell the government that they can’t do their job. If we want privacy, it’s up to us. If you don’t want people snooping on you, then take matters into your own hand. Don’t save your email on somebody else’s servers, encrypt your email, and ask your friends to do the same. There are plugins for Mozilla that will encrypt email. There are anonymous browsers and search engines. You can use proxy servers for further anonymity.
Some people might think that if you start encrypting things, that might make the government suspicious. Maybe it will, but they will need a search warrant to investigate further. And sooner or later they’ll figure out that they need other methods to gather intelligence. It actually pushes the improvement of technology. Now surely, bad actors will be looking to use that sort of technology, but there is still valuable information to be gleaned from the meta-data, and I really don’t care who knows who else I’m talking to. If the government or Google or Verizon or anyone else knows that I’m communicating with a friend in Australia or Korea or anywhere else, so what? But if I want that conversation to be private, that doesn’t come about because I expect the government to not listen. If I want a conversation to be private, I’ll talk to that other person in private – by either encryption, or by simply meeting with them in a place where I can’t be overheard.
The same principle applies in spell-work. If we want something to be effectively secret, it’s up to us not to blab it. That’s how secret traditions work – you only confide in an individual sworn to secrecy. And even that has its failings. In the end, we are responsible, not somebody else, no corporation, no government, no infrastructure, for keeping our own secrets and anonymity. And that applies to our spell-work as well as our email and phone calls.
PaganFM almanac
Please note that times are in Eastern US time, and all moon void of course data is courtesy of www.drstandley.com
Today is June 13, 2013. It’s the 164th day of the year. The moon was new earlier this week, and it’s currently waxing crescent, and is in Leo.
The moon will be void on Friday, tomorrow morning at 6:35 am, and will enter Virgo at 6:16 pm.
The moon reach first quarter, and will be void on Sunday, June 16 at 3:47 pm, and will enter Libra on Monday at 2:49 am.
Tuesday the 17th is the Birthday of Wiccan author Starhawk also known as Miriam Simos, who was born on this day in 1951. She is very well-known for her activism and numerous books, including The Spiral Dance, which has been responsible for bringing many to a first, or better understanding of Wicca, feminist spirituality and neo-Paganism.
Some of her titles include:
The Spiral Dance: A Rebirth of the Ancient Religion of the Great Goddess (1979, 1989, 1999)
Dreaming the Dark: Magic, Sex, and Politics (1982, 1988, 1997)
Truth or Dare (1988)
With M. Macha Nightmare and the Reclaiming Collective: The Pagan Book of Living and Dying] (1997)
>Webs of Power: Notes from the Global Uprising (2003)
The Earth Path (2004)
The Empowerment Manual: A Guide for Collaborative Groups (2011)
The moon will be void on Tuesday, June 18 at 9:29 pm, and will enter Scorpio on Wednesday at 7:47 am.
The moon will be void on Thursday, June 20 at 11:40 pm.
Events:
Pagan Pizza Party at La Festa Brick and Brew, Thursday, July 11, 7:00 to 9:00
Cherry Hill Seminary’s Summer Learning Series, Foundations, Certificate and Master’s Level Courses will be offered from May 20 to August 25. Courses include Contemporary Global Paganisms, Goddess: Prehistory to Present, Introduction to Fundraising, Paganism 101, Goddess & God: Archetypes in Arthurian Legend and more.
More information is available at www.cherryhillseminary.org
Buddhism & The American Dream is a program taking place at the Portsmouth Buddhist Center on Wednesday nights in the months of June and July, 7 – 9 pm.
Join Candradasa and Eric for this thought-provoking series exploring conditionality and identity in the light of what the Buddha says about different aspects of the American Dream.
The Portsmouth Buddhist Center is located at 40 Congress St. in Downtown Portsmouth NH, and more information about this program can be found at www.portsmouthbuddhistcenter.com or by calling 603-817-2285
A Pagan Retreat During the Summer Solstice
A Midsummer’s Night Dream
Friday, June 21 – Sunday, June 23
Being a Pagan can be a lonely existence at times. Often, rituals are held in small groups or performed alone. Although your spiritual home is easy to find in nature, it can be difficult to find others with whom to be in spiritual community. Come celebrate Midsummer at Star Island, and create for yourself a spiritual community and a spiritual home. We will gather together in ritual, in workshops, and in community. Whether you define as Wiccan, Goddess worshipping, Druid, or Pagan, this is the retreat for you.
http://starisland.org/conferences/2013-conference-listing/a-midsummers-night-dream/
Wendy Rule Adelaide Spiritual Developement Workshop
The Blessed Gaia Solstice Sound Festival is presenting this 3 hour evening workshop.
Venue: Uniting Church Address: Cnr Semaphore Rd & Young Street, Exeter, Adelaide
6:30pm until 9:30pm in UTC+09:30 Thursday, June 20
“Drawing on over 20 years of dedicated practice in Nature Based Spirituality, Wendy’s workshops offer each participant an opportunity to deepen and reawaken their own Spiritual Path, celebrating the Magic of Nature, and the divine wisdom that we can all find within us. At this time of the Winter Solstice, Wendy invites us to honour the cycles of Nature, and discover the gifts of Winter, darkness, solitude, hibernation and rest. Combining ritual, meditation, mythology and Magic, Wendy leads us on a journey of depth and growth that culminates in an awakening of laughter and light. Limited places are available for this transformative and joyful workshop.
Bookings: email petta@blessedgaia.com or call Petta KneeLah on 0412 986 426
If you’d like to celebrate the Solstice with some marvelous music, Arborea, just returned from their European tour, will be performing at A Higher Energy in Somersworth on June 21. They’ll be playing from 7:00 – 8:30 pm, and doors open at 6:00 PM. This is a BYOB event – please drink responsibly. Tickets are available at http://www.ahigherenergy.com/Store/tabid/243/ProdID/5/Arborea.aspx#.UZ6nyj6HDgl
Pagan Spirit Gathering will be held this year at Stonehouse Farm in Northern Illinois from June 16-23
The Pagan Spirit Gathering (PSG) is one of America’s oldest and largest Nature Spirituality festivals. Since its inception in 1980, PSG has been bringing together hundreds of people from throughout the United States plus other countries, to create community, celebrate Summer Solstice, and commune with Nature in a sacred environment. Sponsored by Circle Sanctuary, PSG is open to long-time practitioners as well as newcomers of a wide range of Nature religion traditions, including Wiccan, Contemporary Pagan, Druidic, Heathen, Celtic, Baltic, Greco-Roman, Isian, Shamanic, Hermetic, Animistic, Egyptian, Native American, Afro-Carribean, Taoist, Pantheistic, Ecofeminist, and Nature Mystic. PSG is an opportunity for personal renewal, networking, education, and cultural enrichment.
Registration is now open and more information is available at https://www.circlesanctuary.org/index.php/pagan-spirit-gathering/pagan-spirit-gathering.html
The Orpheus Pagan Chamber Choir will be hosting their famous Orpheus Cup Mead Fest on September 28 from 4 to 7 pm at the Clubhouse at the French Quarter Condominiums on S. Monaco Parkway between Mississippi and Evans Avenues in Denver. More info can be found at http://www.orpheuspcc.org/orpheus-cup-mead-fest.html
The Moon Pool Coven in Salem, NH and Haverhill, MA has regular events. http://www.meetup.com/NorthShoreWitchesMeetup/
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