Category: Editorial

Anubis Sighted in St Paul

Anubis at Landmark Plaza - Photo by Valerie Gallagher

An icon of Anubis, Protector of the dead and Judge of souls, was spotted at Landmark Plaza. This 26-foot, 10-ton statue was installed to advertise Tutankhamun: The Golden King and the Great Pharaohs, a major exhibit opening February 18 at the Science Museum of Minnesota.

Having Anubis precede King Tutankhamun makes sense on two levels. Anubis is the protector of the deceased and their tombs and one of His names is He who is in the place of embalming. As Tutankhamun is one of the few royals to survive the centuries with his body undefiled and his tomb intact, Anubis has shown him special favor and appears to be continuing His protection over the young king. Less known to all except scholars and Kemetic Pagans, Anubis marched at the head of all public processions in Egypt. It would be sacrilegious for the Pharaoh to travel across the world without Anubis leading the way.

Interesting that Anubis is honored in His traditional role by those who profess not to believe in His existence, even if the honoring is not done in a traditional manner. When Anubis arrived on November 24th, St. Paul Mayor Chris Coleman was on hand to greet Him and welcome Him to the city. Mayor Coleman also placed a St. Paul sticker on the suitcase which lays at Anubis’ feet. The sticker isn’t incense and the suitcase isn’t a golden vessel, but it is an offering just the same. I see this as one more sign that the Gods of old are once more fully active in our world, after receding during the rise of Christianity. Our prayers and offerings are calling to Them, and They once again walk the earth.

Editorial – Christ is NOT the Reason for the Season

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Editors note:  This editorial is reprinted with permission from the Pagan Portal at Patheos. Patheos is a site committed to giving balanced views of religion and spirituality.  Patheos is also a partner of the Pagan Newswire collective.  The Pagan Portal is updated daily with some truly quality content.

Once upon a time I was Christian, specifically I was a devout Born Again Baptist. Yes, I have read the Bible from cover-to-cover six different times. I can still sing a number of hymns from memory, as well as modern Christian songs, and I can quote Bible verses and Church history at you better than some ministers I’ve met through the years (though certainly not all). Long before I ever even conceived of converting, when people would say “Christ is the reason for the season” it irked me, because even then and as a Christian I knew that it simply wasn’t true.

Now that I am Pagan (specifically Heathen) it especially irks me, since so many people who say that phrase do so while they rage for their Christian rights on the winter holidays while running roughshod over the rights and beliefs of countless other people and religions out there. Every year there’s some new boycott enacted by outraged Christians because a store clerk didn’t wish someone a “Merry Christmas” or a particular store didn’t use the words Merry Christmas in their advertising. The Christian values American Family Association has been known to call for boycotts in the past, and this year they’ve already blacklisted Dick’s Sporting Goods for perceived snubs against “Christmas” this year.

So why the confusion?

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Pagans Hunting, A Sacred Way – Editorial

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This is the season filled with special holidays for Pagans. Besides Sabbats, special Moon celebrations and feast days, this Saturday some will be experiencing what has become a most sacred day… dawn on the opening of deer season in Wisconsin. For Pagan hunters, this is both a time of excitement and a spiritual marking of the wheel of the year. It is a time of purification and blessing, prayer and thanks giving.

I interviewed three Pagan hunters, and also share my own experience as a hunter. On the surface the main stream culture of the hunt is a merchandising boom catering to ego based dreams of prowess fulfilled, and a wall trophy to prove it. For Pagans, it is a special time of connection to one’s self, family, nature and its cycles.

For 2 million years we were hunters; for 10,000 years we were farmers; for the last 100 years we have been trying to deny it all.” Stephen Budiansky, The Covenant of the Wild

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Editorial – Pagans and Non Profit Corporations

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There is a growing trend in our Pagan community to incorporate as non profit corporations and seek federal 501c3 status. Some of the well founded reasons for this trend are to gain the implied legitimacy this status implies, to protect volunteer staff and members from some liability issues, accept tax deductible donations, and to establish spiritual, service, and community organizations that endure. What has not kept pace, in my opinion, is an awareness of the terms upon which our government grants this special corporate status, and the duties and obligations leading these organizations then requires.

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People of the Book – Editorial

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I had an invitation to attend a young womans Bat Mitzvah at Beth El Synagogue last Saturday, with my wife, Judy. I approached it with a bit of dread, three hours of the unknown. I had been exposed to some reformed Jewish ritual practice, A Seder and Passover rite, transformed to accommodate a secular world. This experience was a complete surprise.

This is just an account of what I experienced, with my insights and the ‘technical’ information at the end as footnotes.

We were welcomed and made to feel comfortable in the foyer, and given a ‘program’ of the service. Invited to just, walk in and find a place, it was no interruption. We entered just in time to see Maddie, our twelve year old friend, speaking to the congregation with sincerity and reason. She offered her interpretation of the meaning for her, Continue reading →