California lawmakers approved legislation expanding protections for Native American religious practices and sacred sites on state lands, while provisions requiring tribal consent for certain state actions have raised concerns over potential impacts on infrastructure and water projects.

#pagan #nativetribes #indigenousrights #religiousfreedom #indigenousland #california

Two separate religious-freedom disputes in Tennessee—one involving religious practice and eligibility to foster and the other involving Ten Commandments displays in public schools—raise questions about government involvement with religion and protections for minority faiths.

#pagan #fostercare #Tennessee #adoption #religiousfreedom #religion #tencommandments #schooldisplay

“Film audiences have spent all summer describing Obsession a story about the dangers of witchcraft,” writes Beatrix Kondo. “Nothing in it, however, has anything to do with sorcery. What Bear does? That’s shopping.”

#pagan #witchcraft #moviereview #obsession #horrormovie

Karl E.H. Seigfried travels through American landscape and American history, and considers how Heathen values reflect and intersect with both.

#pagan #heathen #politics #history #americanrevolution

Belanger reflects on public mourning, the shrines we build, and what Pagans may understand about honoring a life that touched millions and left “a palpable impact upon the state of our world going forward.”

#pagan #grief #mourning #remembrance #dollyparton

In this week’s Pagan Community Notes: Fall 2026 is shaping up as a season of the witch on screen, Ardantane offers a course in Pagan leadership, Star’s Tarot of the Week, and corgis… yes, corgis. Did we say corgis?

#pagan #witchcraft #witchmovies #practicalmagic2 #hexed #ahs13 #maebashiwitches #tarot #corgis

Archaeologists investigating a 6,500-year-old sanctuary in the Czech Republic have identified entrances aligned with solar and lunar cycles, revealing a monumental ritual landscape that predates Stonehenge by more than a thousand years.

#pagan #uncoveringthepast #archaeology #chleby #Neolithic #ancientmonuent #ritualpractice

A new study reports high rates of likely AI-generated books in religious publishing, with Witchcraft among the most affected categories, amplifying concerns from Pagan authors and leaders about artificial intelligence, creativity, accuracy, spiritual practice, and relationships with the sacred.

#pagan #paganism #witchcraft #artificialintelligence #AIGenerated #books #publishing #aigeneratedcontent

[Editorial] A federal settlement protecting Christian employers and a Southern Baptist appeal to the Justice Department raise a broader question: Will the government’s expanding religious-liberty framework offer minority faiths the same protections in the workplace?

#pagan #paganism #eeoc #EqualEmployment #religiousfreedom #wicca #theworkplace

“Children make up rituals,” writes Meg Elison in this retrospective on Zilpha Keatley Snyder’s novel. “They make up stories. Like the kids in The Egypt Game, they make up religion, even if their parents assure them that they have religion at home.”

#pagan #paganism #theegyptgame #zilphakeatleysnyder #bookreview #ancientegypt

Storm Faerywolf offers recommendations on a number of recently published, reissued, and forthcoming books, including titles by Jason Mankey, Janet Farrar, Chris Allaun, Jake Morningstar, Heron Michelle, and Kaelan Strouse.

#pagan #paganism #witchcraft #books #bookreviews

TWH welcomes back Alan U. Dalul, who describes how being kept in limbo for nearly a year waiting for his green card, unable to work, taught him new truths about being a Witch.

#pagan #greencard #venezuela🇻🇪 #immigration #transphobia #citizenship #witchcraft

In this week’s Pagan Community Notes: the Covenant of the Goddess addresses AI and sacred practice, the community mourns Priestess Miriam Chamani and philosopher Brendan Myers, and, on a lighter note, rescue pug Jinny Lu claims a crown.

#pagan #covenantofthegoddess #ArtificialIntelligence #crossingtheveil #priestessmiriamchamani #brendanmyers #jinnylu

From hundreds of mice deposited at an ancient sanctuary on Crete to Bronze Age offerings in a Czech wetland and a ceremonial landscape surrounding an English spring, this week’s Hounds Archaeology explores new evidence of ancient ritual practices.

#pagan #labrujulaverde #unleashthehounds #apollo #archaeology #bronzeage #delphi #forestryengland

The Marine Corps has released an administrative message advising personnel of the Pentagon’s revised religious affiliation codes, requiring Marines to update their records by September 30 as minority faiths previously represented individually are consolidated into religious categories.

#pagan #paganism #marinecorp #religiousaffiliationcodes #minorityfaiths #christiannationalism #pentagon #interfaith #petehegseth #militarychaplaincy

[Letters to the Editor] As the Religious Liberty Commission reviews public comments, The Pagan Solidarity Alliance examines Pagan representation in the federal record and argues that meaningful religious liberty depends on ensuring minority faiths remain visible in government policy and practice.

#pagan #religiouslibertycommission #religiousliberty #politics #christiannationalism #pagansolidarityalliance #SeperationOfChurchAndState

Drawing on decades of experience in Pagan and occult communities, Sef Salem reflects on the enduring importance of in-person gatherings, arguing that face-to-face connections can foster understanding, respectful disagreement, collaboration, and community across traditions.

#pagan #sefsalem #thelema #alestercrowley #anniversary #theinternationalthelemicsymposium

[Letters to the Editor] A Greek priestess’ thoughts on increasing wildfires, and how you can witness and motivate change for the better.

#pagan #paganism #LettersToTheEditor #elysewelles #wildfires #greekwildfires #EnvironmentalStewardship #theenvironment #greece

In this week’s Pagan Community Notes: Io Diana Lucifera! Mortellus shares their experience running for local office, National Geographic explores the revival of Braucherei, Star’s Tarot offers the week’s reading, and The Wicker Man receives a new spiritual successor.

#pagan #paganism #mortellus #natgeo #Braucherei #tarot #thewickerman #wrathofthegods

The Supreme Court will hear a challenge to Colorado’s universal preschool rules that could reshape how religious accommodations interact with nondiscrimination protections, with potentially significant consequences for Pagan and other minority religious communities.

#pagan #paganism #scotus #StMaryCatholicParish #religiousfreedom #preschool #nondiscrimination #civilrights #religion

Ancient DNA has overturned two centuries of assumptions about a Bronze Age burial near Stonehenge, revealing that a renowned goldworker, long believed to be a man, was a woman who may have held spiritual authority.

#pagan #archaeology #uncoveringthepast #shaman #stonehenge #uptonlovellshaman #stoutman #wiltshire #science

Italy has granted new protections to Monte Cavo, the ancient sacred mountain of Jupiter Latiaris, safeguarding the Temple of Jupiter site, the Via Sacra, and a landscape central to the religious life of ancient Latium.

#pagan #paganism #montecavo #jupiterlatiaris #archaeology #albanhills #ancientrome #nemi #witchcraft

After surgery forced her to stop, rest, and reconsider what failure means, Clio Ajana reflects on listening to the body, accepting change, and finding grace when life refuses to follow our carefully made plans.

#pagan #surgery #recoveryjourney #grace #reflections #failure #sacrifice

The United Nations marks the International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples by celebrating Indigenous midwives, ancestral knowledge, cultural continuity, and spiritual traditions while calling for stronger recognition, protections, and support for Indigenous-led care.

#pagan #indigenousmedicine #midwife #unitednations #internationaldayofworldsindigenouspeoples #indigenousknowledge

From seasonal festivals to public rituals, communal gatherings may offer measurable psychological benefits. A new study finds shared ritual experiences can foster awe, strengthen community identity, and even expand participants’ sense of connection to humanity.

#pagan #sacredexperience #rituals #humanity #connection #carnavaldenegrosyblancos #psychology #effervescence #science