During Palenville Pagan Pride Day in August, the agenda reflected the goddess-centered theology of the Divine Feminine, which members say has its roots 12,000 years ago in the Goddess Cybele in Central Anatolia, in Turkey.<\/p>\n
So after the opening ritual at 9 a.m. and sandwiched around \u201cLunchtime with the Priestesses,\u201d\u009d the schedule at the old Central House inn included \u201cThe Goddess in Antiquity,\u201d\u009d \u201cPagans in the Mundane World\u201d\u009d and sessions on sacred drumming patterns, dragon rituals and the Cybeline Revival.<\/p>\n
Still, it was the least celestial item that perhaps mattered most. That would be \u201cDiscussion of Maetreum of Cybele v. Town of Catskill, N.Y.,\u201d\u009d a legal case dating to 2007 after the town first approved and then denied tax-exempt status for the group, which has been certified by the federal government as a tax-exempt religious charity. The goddess may rule the universe, but the lawyers will help decide whether the pagans of Palenville have a future in this historic old town just down the snowy hills from Hunter Mountain.<\/p>\n