2010: Facing Forward

Happy New Year! This is a time when many people throughout the world consider that which will be and that which has been. So let's begin by looking forward and saying hello to 2010 before looking back and saying goodbye to 2009.

Here are some dates to mark on your new calendars (If you have not yet gotten your new calendar, go to your nearest metaphysical shop and get one right away before they're out of stock): Read the rest of this entry »

If you haven't been following the ongoing Parliament of World Religions in Melbourne, Australia, Pagans at the Parliament is pretty much the definitive place to get updates.  There's another three days (it runs through Dec 9th) for you to follow the event. Several BNPs (Big Name Pagans) are posting articles there.   The Wild Hunt Blog is another of the best places to get a rundown of how pagans are being represented. If you aren't familiar with this event, the short version is that this is the great interfaith get-together which won't happen again for another five years.  So it's kind of a big deal. The official Parliament on World Religions website says:

The Council for a Parliament of the World's Religions was created to cultivate harmony among the world's religious and spiritual communities and foster their engagement with the world and its guiding institutions in order to achieve a just, peaceful and sustainable world.

To accomplish this, we invite individuals and communities who are equally invested in attaining this goal.

The other place to check for info about the pagan presence there is a new blog added to our links. It's the Covenant of the Goddess Interfaith Blog.

Those of you following the Pagan Blogosphere have probably heard about the Wiccan who was fired from Bath and Body Works because she was Wiccan. The best article I've seen so far on the issue is one written by Ellen MacInnis: Wiccans Don't Deserve Scorn, maybe because it gets into how one person was shocked by this illegal move and a little about her story of coming out as Neo-Pagan. This was also reported at: about.com.

Yes, the person is suing the company, and their official position is not to discriminate, but since it is a court case, they aren't making a statement.  Though I'm sure they would if it were such a clear case of discrimination against someone who was Jewish or Muslim.  But we're fringe and don't have much power.  Or do we? It seems pagans are writing into the company and boycotting the store.  The Wild Hunt talks a bit about the boycott and provides a handy link for contacting the company to state your displeasure.

Why am I writing about this old news?  Well, I think if you are boycotting Bath and Body Works during the gift-giving season, you should tell all your friends and family that you are doing so and do not want gifts originating from them.

One of a kind grape vines were stolen from the U of M test fields.

Everything indicates it was someone who knew a thing or two about the program, and even that these vines had been marked as particularly promising. My guess it is someone who is hoping to profit from either the sale of the vines, or more likely, planting, growing and harvest the fruits of someone else's labor.  The police are treating it as a theft of intellectual property.  I know it isn't uncommon these days to hear about companies trying to patent or trademark a particular plant variety, but I just find it hard to believe any plant is someone's intellectual property. Those particular vines were, but not their DNA.   I think this is a place where nature and modern science seriously clash, and what do pagans think of it?  Big companies are not only trying to claim ownership of strains that they have created, but some are trying to claim heirloom strains and require royalties for planing and harvesting.

In this case, the theft is clear, but not the way it is framed.   Personally, I think the concept of ownership has gone to far. But I don't know where to draw the line, either.