Circle Cemetary

On June 16, 2010, Circle Cemetery became America’s first National Pagan natural burial ground and the first contemporary Green cemetery to be platted and recorded in Wisconsin.




Circle Cemetery is a 20 acre site located at Circle Sanctuary Nature Preserve, a 200 acre Pagan Nature sanctuary established in 1983 and located near Barneveld, Wisconsin. Circle Cemetery is owned and operated by Circle Sanctuary, a Shamanic Wiccan church that has been serving Pagans worldwide since 1974. Rev. Selena Fox, senior minister of Circle Sanctuary and founder of Circle Cemetery, is the Cemetery’s director.



Circle Cemetery was founded and dedicated as a National Pagan cemetery in 1995 shortly after Circle Sanctuary paid off the mortgage on its land. Circle Cemetery is one of the first contemporary conservation, or “Green,” cemeteries to be established in North America.



For its first fifteen years, Circle Cemetery took the form of an area on a ridge top where cremains were placed and Green funerals were conducted. In 2005, Selena, along with her husband Dr. Dennis Carpenter, Circle Sanctuary church attorney Chip Brown and others in the Circle Sanctuary Community began the legal process of permitting body burials and expanding the size of the cemetery to 20 acres. Circle Sanctuary minister Rev. Nora Cedarwind Young of Washington State assisted with Green cemetery platting research.



In Spring of 2010, Selena, Dennis, and Chip took the expanded cemetery proposal before local government officials through a series of meetings. Circle Cemetery zoning was approved by the Town of Brigham Zoning Committee on April 20, by the Brigham Town Board on May 4, and the Iowa County Zoning and Planning Committee on May 26. On June 15, Circle Cemetery’s plat was approved by the Iowa County Board, and the following day the remaining official signatures were added to the plat and the plat was recorded, completing the process.



A celebration of the establishment of Circle Cemetery as a Pagan natural burial ground will be held as part of this year’s Pagan Spirit Gathering Summer Solstice festivities in Missouri as well at the Solstice Full Moon evening at Circle Sanctuary Nature Preserve in Wisconsin.



For more information about Circle Cemetery and some photos, see:

www.circlesanctuary.org/cemetery



Please help us spread the news – forward this email to others, post on blogs, e-lists, and websites. Thanks!



Circle Times: Thursday, June 17, 2010.

New Website!

Well I did it!  I created a website for my writings as an author!
It's brand spanking new, so I do not currently have a web domain.  I am trying this service out to see if its what I need. 

Please check it out and let me know what you think!  You willl be directed to it by clicking the title link "New Website!" above.

Thanks and Goddess Bless!

Sincerely,
Crystal

Litha Honey Lemonade

On another website that I subscribe too (http://www.pagancenter.com/) there was a post about Lemonade.  It is that time of year when the lemons go on sale, so I thought I would share my fav lemonade recipe.  I don't know where I got it (thinking that the recipe was given to me by an ol' coven sister) so I am not sure if it was an original of hers, or if she got it off the net or out of a book. 

Description:


Litha Honey Lemonade

Ingredients:

6 lemons

1 cup sugar

1 cup honey

2 quart pitcher

ice

1 cup boiling water

water to fill pitcher afterwards

Directions:

Cut lemons. Squeeze out juice and discard seeds.

Place lemons in large bowl and drizzle with 1/2 cup of sugar and all of honey. Let sit for 20 to 25 minutes. Do not exceed 30 minutes or it will turn sour. Add 1 cup boiling water to dissolve sugar and honey on lemons. Stir until dissolved. Remove lemons and and place liquid into pitcher. Add reserved lemon juice into pitcher and add remaining 1/2 cup of sugar. Add ice and fill with water until pitcher is full. You may also use another lemon in slices to garnish. Enjoy.