With less than four years to go, stories of what the Mayan Calendar means for us and what may happen on December 21, 2012 have created a lot of apocalyptic fear about the 'end of the world.' Global news about irreversible climate change, economic instability and impending collapse only heighten those fears of doom and peril.

To dispel fear and encourage a sense of optimism and greater understanding around this time of great global change and the coming of a new era, The Institute for Cultural Awareness (ICA) has organized a pilgrimage to bring together indigenous elders and future wisdom keepers from around the world for what's called The Return of the Ancestors' Gathering throughout Northern Arizona, beginning on Earth Day weekend, April 18th, 2009, through the 28th. This culmination of world elders will be the fourth official gathering of the Continental Council of Indigenous Elders and Spiritual Guides of the Americas.
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Neopaganism — a modern form of the ancient, pre-Christian religion that honors the intelligent forces of nature and its associated gods and goddesses — is now among the fastest growing religions, roughly doubling every 18 months in the U.S., Canada, and Europe.

It is especially popular among teens who reject what they see as the "autocracy, paternalism, sexism, homophobia and insensitivity to the environment" of some more traditional religions, according to the Ontario Consultants on Religious Tolerance, a group that follows religious trends.
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Archeologists working in Greece in the area once known as Arcadia recently made a startling find. On the summit of Mount Lykaion — which some believe to be the birthplace of the greek god, Zeus — ashes, bones, fragments of pottery, and other evidence of animal sacrifices were uncovered last summer.

The pottery appears to originate from pre-Zeus times, dated around 3000 B.C., approximately 900 years before today's Greek ancestors settled in the area.
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