Protest
“Scotland’s Wildest Pagan Festival”
A short documentary on Edinburgh’s annual Beltane Fire Festival, a revival of the ancient Celtic custom whose more recent roots dates back to the 1980s, when Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher attempted to crack down on rave culture in the United Kingdom.
Thanksgiving/Day of the Dead in Cicely, Alaska (Northern Exposure, 1992)
The good people of Cicely, Alaska enjoy their eccentric, Day of the Dead-inflected version of Thanksgiving in this scene from Northern Exposure (1992). As explained by Marilyn Whirlwind (Elaine Miles), the indigenous people of Cicely do not regard the orthodox Thanksgiving as a day of celebration. In fact, they carry a lot of ancestral anger … Read moreThanksgiving/Day of the Dead in Cicely, Alaska (Northern Exposure, 1992)
“The Satanic Abortion Clinic That’s Pissed Off Pretty Much Everyone…and Might Beat the Bans Anyway”
Arielle Domb writes for Cosmopolitan on the Satanic Temple’s telehealth abortion service: Never mind that Satanists don’t actually worship the devil. There are no ritual sacrifices or quests for supernatural powers at TST. In reality, Satanism is a nontheistic faith in which TST’s roughly 1.5 million global members view Satan more like a mascot, one … Read more“The Satanic Abortion Clinic That’s Pissed Off Pretty Much Everyone…and Might Beat the Bans Anyway”
Goose and Crow: Urban Magic
Poet and playwright John Constable, sometimes known as the urban shaman John Crow, relates some of his communions with The Goose – the spirit of a medieval sex worker whose apocalyptic visions spurred the creation of the Crossbones Memorial Garden in Southwark, London.
“Paganism is a potent force in Ireland’s conservation movement”
Juju Lane writes for Psyche on the curious relationship between eco-activism and the faery faith: It may seem that Paganism has returned to Ireland. But the truth is, it never really went away. What is new about this modern resurgence is that it has become an Indigenous European response to ecological destruction. Paganism in Ireland … Read more“Paganism is a potent force in Ireland’s conservation movement”