New Look for the Website!

The official website just received 

a facelift.  Go to 

http://www.lvpaganpride.org/ 

to see for yourself!

We Las Vegas Pagans are proud of the fact that our Crystal City is not only a world-class destination for shopping and entertainment, but also for our unparalleled natural beauty. 

Red Rock Canyon, 30 min away

http://www.vegas.com/attractions/outside_lasvegas/redrock.html

Lake Mead (30 min away)

http://www.vegas.com/attractions/outside_lasvegas/lakemead.html

Valley of Fire, 1 hr away

http://www.vegas.com/attractions/outside_lasvegas/valleyoffire.html

Death Valley (2 hrs away)

http://www.vegas.com/attractions/outside_lasvegas/deathvalley.html

Grand Canyon (6 hrs away)

http://www.vegas.com/attractions/outside_lasvegas/grandcanyon.html

Area 51 & the Extra-Terrestrial Highway 

(3 hrs away)

http://www.vegas.com/attractions/outside_lasvegas/extraterrestrial.html

Well, I don't know if this last one counts as part of the "natural" beauty of the land surrounding Las Vegas, but it is certainly one of the things that points to the "universal" popularity of Las Vegas. 

Important: All Pagans Advised to Attend

Why should I go?

There are lots of reasons to attend this year's
Las Vegas Pagan Pride Event!  

First of all, you don’t need to be Pagan to be welcome at this event.  Friends and family of Pagans, those who believe in equal rights for all persons regardless of their professed faith, and those who are just curious are equally welcome. 

The purpose of Pagan Pride Day is to show, like the Gay Pride Day it is modeled after, residents of the area the best of what the Pagan sub-culture has to offer.  By putting our best foot forward in a public way, we as a group are educating people.  

We are PROUD of who we are and what we believe!

We refuse to hide!

Like our GLBT brothers and sisters before us, we are coming out of the broom closet to make our presence known.  We Pagans have been maligned for the last two thousand years or so, and as such, there are a lot of negative stereotypes that continue to be believed as fact by the American culture at large.  Every time we participate in a public event, we are showing the world we are proud of who we really are.

If you don’t show your face, negative stereotypes will continue, and you will witness a deterioration of your civil rights because people from the larger culture will believe that the stereotypes are archetypes, and by majority vote, limit your freedom.

It is the squeaky wheel that gets the oil.  If we want to be treated as equals, we must show non-Pagans that we are equal to them.  The greater Las Vegas metro area needs to see how many of us there are.  

They need to see our happy, healthy children.  

They need to see that we don’t sacrifice animals in our rituals.  

They need to SEE that we believe in and worship God and Goddess in ways that are not so different from them.  They need to experience the best of what the Pagan culture has to offer.  This can only happen if every person who self-identifies as Pagan, or Witch, or Druid or Shaman comes to this event. 

But, I’m afraid someone I work with will recognize me and that as a result I will loose my job.  

These Pagans are not afraid.  WHY ARE YOU?

Is this fear is proof that we as Pagans, Witches, and other adherents to minority religions have not escaped the persecution of the Burning Times?  Just like our GLBT brothers and sisters, we face the real possibility that we will be ostracized by our family.  What other members of a religious community fear the loss of their livelihood?  Do Hindus worry that if they are seen at a Diwali festival, they will loose their job?  Do Jews fear that if they tell their employer they need time off to attend a Bar Mitzva they will be fired?  Why do we live in fear?  We live in a free country, but it is only as free as we ourselves make it.  If we continue to hide in the shadows and allow ourselves to be marginalized, the culture at large will believe that the discrimination against Pagans is acceptable to us. 

Still not convinced?

The Pagan Community needs to 

take a stand, 

like the GLBT Community. 

The bigger our event is, 

the more anonymity it can afford us.  

If you are afraid of being recognized, wear a mask, and join us!  There is a long standing tradition of Masked Shamans, Masked Witches, Masked Pagans of every stripe. 

Community Unity -- the theme of this year's event

This year’s Las Vegas Pagan Pride Day theme is “Community Unity”  Now, I understand the point the organizers are trying to make, but perhaps I should clarify for those who may be new to, or unfamiliar with the Pagan Faith.

You see, by “Unity”, what is really being discussed is the idea of Solidarity.  Unity, in its most common usage, means “the state of being united or joined as a whole, especially in a political context”, whereas Solidarity means “agreement of feeling or action, especially among individuals with a common interest; and/or mutual support within a group”.  The latter clearly eschews any political motivation, as does Pagan Pride Day.  Solidarity also underlines a very important point about Pagan Pride Day.  We as Pagans have a common interest in showing our love of our Faith and lifestyle, although we do not necessarily practice our Faith in the same way.  Much like the different denominations of Christianity, there are different denominations or Paths of Paganism.  A common way of explaining this is:

“Though there are many paths up the mountain,
the view from the top is the same”.

That being said, with all the different Pagan Paths existent in the world today, it can be somewhat baffling for the newcomer.  Even those of us who are considered Old-Tymers see new groups forming, changing dissolving and reforming, sometimes with new names, sometimes not.  It is all part of the fluid and dynamic evolution of this beautiful Faith.  For all their differences, Pagans as a whole tend to agree on a few crucial points:

1.     NON-INTERFERRENCE.  We believe people have the right to believe as they see fit, without being prosthelized. Simply stated, this is a “live and let live” attitude that has room for not only all types and expressions of Paganism, but also of any other religion. 

2.     DIVINE FEMININE. We believe in the existence of not only Masculine, but also Feminine Divinity.  Some worship a pantheon of Goddesses and Gods, while others offer fidelity to only a pair, or to the Goddess alone.

3.     SACRED EARTH.  We believe the Earth in its entirety is sacred, although it is agreed that some geographic areas are more so than others.

4.     MAGICK. We believe magick is as natural a phenomenon as rain or the sense of smell.  Furthermore, Pagans believe that, either through initiation or through epiphany, they are able to effect change in their material environment through the use of magick.  Magick includes but is not limited to spell-casting, healing, divination, telepathy, psychokinesis, astral travel and other types of psi phenomona.

5.     DIVINE SPARK. We believe that within us is the Divine Spark.  It is variously termed soul, spirit and/or astral body.  It is through development of the Divine Spark that skill in magick is developed.  The Divine Spark is eternal, and whether it is reincarnated or not, continues after death of the physical body.

Sun and Moon Data for Pagan Pride Day

I've taken the time to number the celestial events in the order that they occur.

The following information is provided for Las Vegas, Clark County, Nevada (longitude W115.2, latitude N36.2):

        Saturday 
        15 September 2012     Pacific Daylight Time          

                         SUN
        Begin civil twilight       5:58 a.m.                 
        Sunrise                    6:24 a.m.                 
        Sun transit               12:36 p.m.                 
      2.Sunset                     6:47 p.m.                 
      4.End civil twilight         7:13 p.m.                 

                         MOON
        Moonset                    5:47 p.m. on preceding day
        Moonrise                   5:59 a.m.                 
        Moon transit              12:14 p.m.                 
      1.Moonset                    6:21 p.m.                 
        Moonrise                   7:06 a.m. on following day

 

3.  New Moon on 15 September 2012 at 7:11 p.m. Pacific Daylight Time.

Autumnal Equinox is on 22 September 2012 at 6:49 a.m. Pacific Daylight Time.

There will be a total of 12 hours, 24 minutes of daylight on this day.

BUT REMEMBER, PAGAN PRIDE DAY ONLY LASTS FIVE SHORT HOURS (3-8pm)!


COME EARLY, AND STAY LATE TO GET THE MOST FACE-TO-FACE TIME WITH OUR BELOVED BROTHERS AND SISTERS IN THE PAGAN COMMUNITY!

WHAT IS PAGAN PRIDE DAY?  

It's a lot of different things to different people.  According to former Local Coordinator Peter "Bear" Beaulieu, it is especially dedicated to inter-community harmony, both within the Greater Las Vegas Metro Area, and the country as a whole.The Pagan Pride Day phenomenon is a celebration of diversity, culture, differences and similarities.  The community is full of different beliefs and practices and together each one contributes to the whole.  Each city or region's observance reinforces the fact that the community respects everyone who choses to self-identify as Pagan, Pagan-friendly, relatives or friends of Pagans, or simply curious. 


Las Vegas Pagan Pride Day, or LVPPD, is an affiliate of The International Pagan Pride Project, a non-profit organization dedicated to the elimination of prejudice and religious discrimination through education, activism, charity and community.  By providing accurate information, and showing the greater community a glimpse into the Pagan culture, there is hope to lessen the view of prejudice.  Pagans are business professionals, homemakers, artists and students.  Pagans don't always fit the steriotypes given to them.  Pagan Pride celebrations are held annually around the world.


Items of non-perishable food will be accepted and donated to 3 Square Food Bank.  The food drive provides participants the ability to share with others while making a positive statement about Paganism. Pagans have been wrongly accused of practicing devil-worship and performing "black magic".  Most Pagans enjoy a religion emphasizing respect for nature, humanity, and oneself.  Modern Paganism is a grorowing religious movement based on combinations of ancient polytheism, modern eco-spirituality, and reverence for the Divine as both masculine and feminine.


The event is sponsored by Agave Spirit Grove, Well of the Moon, Grove of the Sacred Springs, Unitarian Universalist Congregation and the Toteg Tribe.  Las Vegas Pagan Pride Day and The International Pagan Pride Project are not affiliated with any specific pagan tradition or religion.  


For more information about the event you can visit the website at www.lvpaganpride.org or for in-depth reports, interviews, tips and suggestions for event participants you can also keep checking back to this blog.