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Pagan News Beagle: Watery Wednesday, February 22 2017

Pagan students organize in Texas. A discussion of "familiar spirits." And one Pagan writer explains why, for him, his "gods cannot come first." It's Watery Wednesday, our segment about news in the Pagan community worldwide. All this and more for the Pagan News Beagle!

Most college campuses feature Christian student organizations of one kind or another. Many might feature Jewish or Muslim organizations too. But how often do you encounter Pagan organizations? In San Marcos, Texas one group of students is trying to create one such organization. You can read more about the subject at The Wild Hunt.

With the overt rise in violent acts against religious and ethnic minorities in recent years, many in the Pagan community have felt it is their responsibility to speak up. In Canada, group of Canadian Heathens have helped "spearhead" a Canadian Pagan declaration against violence, which you can read about here.

What exactly are familiar spirits? If you've read fantasy works featuring witches, wizards, or magicians of another kind you may have heard the term. At Patheos, Kelden explains how it applies to Pagan belief and practice.

Who is Ishtar? Also known by her Sumerian name Inanna and identified to some degree with the Levantine goddess Astarte, Ishtar was the goddess of both love and war in ancient Mesopotamia (modern-day Iraq). At his blog In the Desert of Seth, G.B. Marian writes about the goddess and her various representations throughout Western culture.

Do your gods come first in your Paganism? Or are they secondary to other considerations? It's a subject that many Pagans differ over and one that it is unlikely to result in a consensus any time soon. For her part though, Sophia Fate-Changer Martinez explains at Gods & Radicals why they come second for her.


Top image by Nino Barbieri

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Aryós Héngwis (or the more modest Héngwis for short) is a native of the Pontic-Caspian steppe, born some 5000 years ago, near the village of Dereivka. In his youth he stood out from the other snakes for his love of learning and culture, eventually coming into the service of the local reǵs before moving westward toward Europe. Most recently, Aryós Héngwis left his home to pursue a new life in America, where he has come under the employ of BBI Media as an internet watchdog (or watchsnake, if you will), ever poised to strike the unwary troll.

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