(Pagan) News of Note

My semi-regular round-up of articles, essays, and opinions of note for discerning Pagans and Heathens.

A Boy Scout troop helps clean up a local graveyard in Florida and finds three "authentic Voodoo/Santeria" poppets hanging from a tree. Cue superstitious Hollywood-fueled misconceptions of folk magic in 3... 2... 1...

"That's when they spotted the strange objects on a nearby Spanish moss-draped oak. Three 5-inch-tall voodoo dolls, hung in a vertical line on the tree's bark. "They looked nothing like dolls," said Bryan McDonough, 12. "They were kind of like ugly creatures that would eat you alive," added his 10-year-old brother, Kevin, a Webelos Cub Scout. Nails peeked through their stuffing. Rusty pins stuck in their faceless heads, arms and legs. "It freaked out a couple of the boys," said scoutmaster Marty Robertson. "Some thought it was kind of cool." ... One curious adult claimed she touched one of the dolls, and her friend wrecked his scooter that same day. Was there a connection? Cue spooky music."

I'm glad they admitted that some of the kids thought it was cool, I mean, real Voodoo dolls? How awesome is that? Thankfully, the rest of the article is fairly even-handed, with one Boy Scout investigating the dolls and telling the press that they can be used for healing in addition to hexing, and a local professor of religion talking about the context of poppets used for magic.

The Independent looks back at the bizarre occult and death-obsessed life of artist Robert Lenkiewicz. Lenkiewicz, at his death, left behind a huge library of texts on witchcraft and the occult, a well-preserved corpse hidden in a bookcase, and a large assortment of children, legitimate and otherwise.

"In the six years since his death, Lenkiewicz's estate has been gradually sold off to the tune of more than [5 million Euro]. While sales of his enormous collections of books at Sotheby's - the occult and witchcraft were among his favourite subjects - account for about [1.6 million Euro] of the total, the rest of the money has been generated through sales of his paintings ... Luckily, in his work, as in all other areas of his life, Lenkiewicz was prolific. 'There are some incredible statistics about Robert,' recalls Jojo, a local photographer who knew Lenkiewicz for 20 years and has now written a play about the artist's life, The Man in the Red Scarf, which will be performed at Plymouth's Barbican in December. 'He produced 10,000 works, had relationships with, if you believe him, in the region of 3,000 women, was married three times...' And how many children did he have? 'I think the official count was 11.'"

You can see some examples of Lenkiewicz's work at his official Internet site.

The conservative Catholic blog Churchill's Parrot indulges in the sin of bad satire to warn us Pagans of the "spy nuns" infiltrating our ranks.

"We have recently uncovered a development to which we are compelled to alert you with utmost urgency. It is our belief that armies of Catholic nuns have been dispatched by the Vatican to infiltrate, mimic, subvert, and corrupt the sacred beliefs, rituals, and practices of your family of Earth Religions. Their goal: to arrest Neo-paganism in its present ascent in contemporary society and banish it - yet again - to the ill-regarded fringes of mainstream culture."

The key piece of "evidence" for his "charges" are the Catholic orders who signed on to the Earth Charter. Hitting on all the usual pantheist, God-denying, "worshiping the creation not the Creator" charges religious conservatives have been prattling on about for decades. Of course, the Roman Catholics appropriated just about everything else from the pagans, so why not religiously-motivated environmentalism too? Oh, and you can't truly "subvert and corrupt" a religious movement that has no hierarchy, single liturgy, or uniform conception of the divine. The dominant monotheisms on the other hand...

The Houston Chronicle documents the growing trend of "ayahuasca tourism". But unlike other kinds of drug-related tourism, these aren't kids looking to get high legally in foreign lands.

"But this is not some Amazonian Kool-Aid Acid Test and these are not Merry Pranksters. LSD and other recreational drugs are not for them, and many shun alcohol. Ranging in age from early 20s to late 50s, they work as university professors, marketing executives and environmental activists. Then there's Heather, a tall, muscular woman who competes in Ironman races. With the help of ayahuasca, they hope to address persistent emotional, physical or psychological afflictions that Western medicine has failed to alleviate. Others seek more spirituality in their lives."

This "spiritual psychotherapy" is very close to what LSD pioneers like chemist Albert Hofmann envisioned (albeit in far more clinical settings). A "medicine for the soul" used to make major breakthroughs.

In a final note, the "Witch City" of Salem is bracing itself for another October tourist season, and trying to tackle the ongoing logistical problems that have plagued the New England seaport.

"Mayor Kim Driscoll, who moved recently to have 25 percent of the revenue the city receives from the hotel/motel tax dedicated to tourism promotion, spoke of the difficulty she faces balancing the effort to keep the industry healthy against the burden visitors sometimes place on the city's services and neighborhoods - especially during October. Those concerns, she added, are heightened by the fact that the next three Halloween nights are on a Friday, Saturday and Sunday respectively. As Salem's Halloween festival has grown in popularity, so have the problems. Driscoll cited efforts - which this year could include the hiring of an events planner - to keep the month-long celebration both fun and orderly. One of the big concerns: After people are here, especially on Halloween night, how do you tell them the party's over and it's time to go home?"

Some suggested improvements included better signage and more toilets. Still no word yet on how to signal "the party is over". A fireworks display last year didn't seem to do the trick. Maybe you could have Salem's Witches do a big closing ritual?

That is all I have for now, have a great day!

Labels: art, ayahuasca, Catholicism, Christianity, enviornmentalism, occult, Pagan News of Note, Paganism, Robert Lenkiewicz, Salem, Voodoo

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(Pagan) News of Note

My semi-regular round-up of articles, essays, and opinions of note for discerning Pagans and Heathens.

DVD Talk reviews the documentary series "Women and Spirituality", which was recently released in the DVD format.

"There's little doubt that goddess worship has actually picked up significant cultural steam since the original release of these pieces close to 20 years ago. While they're all a little dated, they provide an earnest look into the history and continued observance of gynocentric worship practices and will be appreciated by those interested in the history of religion and especially women's movements. Recommended."



The Women and Spirituality project also maintains a blog featuring several participants from the original documentary series.

Religion Dispatches looks at the recent (somewhat controversial) appointment of a "Supreme Chief" within Haitian Vodou, and the ongoing quest for respect by practitioners.

"Voodoo suffers from a flaw built into both scholarly and popular typologies of religion, that of hierarchical thinking about religions. Beauvoir argues that Voodoo's character derives from its location as a "popular religion." But lacking a sacred text, law codes, or traditions of written commentary, Voodoo is a marginalized tradition - marked as "primitive," as if religions evolve along a given trajectory-compared to those "world religions" that come to dominate empires."

While a tiny, and until recently, officially unrecognized, religion, the article points out that Vodou has a "capacity to persist" that may allow the faith to weather the current social and political storms raging in their country.

The caretaker of a Taoist temple in Taiwan has a problem. Too many deities!

"Yang Liang, who takes care of the small Suxi Temple, said yesterday he used to tend to only five land gods, the lowest deities in folk Taoism. Last February, Yang said, he found two statues of Avalokitesvera, or the Goddess of Mercy, abandoned in front of his temple in west Suao ... Sheltering the abandoned Goddesses of Mercy probably encouraged those who wanted to get rid of their deities to dump them at the temple ... Altogether 12 statues, ranging from Avalokitesvera to Third Prince or San-tai-zhi, were left at the door of the temple Monday. "I can't take care of that many gods," Yang protested."

Yang has posted bulletins around his village imploring locals to please take their gods back, as he doesn't have the space and resources to care for them all. Perhaps he could ship them to willing polytheists outside Taiwan?

As modern Paganism continues to grow, more local journalists start to notice the Pagans in their own backyard. This coverage starts with the inevitable "meet the Pagans" piece. Here, we have a classic example of this phenomenon from Great Falls, Montana.

"...like the others [Melinda Berry] keeps her faith to herself around here. "I came from California, where no one really cares," Berry said. "In the UK they were really open and didn't care. In the military no one really cares. In Great Falls, Montana, people care." But there is a growing pagan population locally and around the state. At least five to 10 people regularly attend the monthly Great Falls Pagans meetings at Hastings. Some area gatherings have drawn upward of 40 people..."

Though "people care" if your a member of a minority faith in Great Falls, Montana, this introduction is far more friendly than the one that arose in Great Falls, South Carolina.

Following up on a story I blogged about a year ago, the Delhi High Court in India has ruled that naked paintings of Hindu goddesses aren't necessarily blasphemous.

"Maqbool Fida Husain, 92, a Muslim who has been dubbed "the Picasso of India", was served with seven private criminal complaints by Hindu groups for the painting Bharat Mata (Mother India), a work representing the nation as a nude woman. The Delhi High Court judged that the picture, for which Mr Husain has apologised, carried no religious content and could not be construed as offensive. "A painter has his own perspective of looking at things, and it cannot be the basis of initiating criminal proceedings," Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul said."

This is a big step forward for artistic freedom in India, where Hindu-nationalist "moral police" (essentially the Indian equivalent to the Religious Right in America, only more powerful) are on the constant lookout for violations against their conception of "cultural purity". These Hindu-nationalist groups vow to keep on fighting against Husain and others who transgress against their moral outlook.

That is all I have for now, have a great day!

Labels: art, goddess, Hinduism, law, M.F. Husain, Max Beauvoir, Pagan News of Note, Paganism, Taiwan, Taoism, The Goddess, Vodou, Voodoo, Women and Spirituality

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(Pagan) News of Note

My semi-regular round-up of articles, essays, and opinions of note for discerning Pagans and Heathens.

A new issue of the occult e-zine Rending the Veil has been posted. Leading off their Beltane installment is an article co-written by Taylor Ellwood and Lupa on the subject of advanced occult books.

"We think it's important to encourage the writing of advanced books on occultism. There's a small, but steadily growing interest in advanced occult texts. Writing a blog post or a single article, while it can cover an interesting topic, just doesn't provide the needed depth or volume that a book can bring. And while there are some excellent sites for occult writing, including this one, actual texts are needed in order to fully capture and develop some of the more advanced ideas in more detail. Additionally, there's definitely benefit to having your work edited, whether in a (hardcopy or online) magazine, or through the editing staff of a publisher. With all the unedited drek that floats around on the internet, peer-reviewed information, especially advanced, is even more necessary."

Speaking of "advanced" books, keep your eyes peeled for articles and interviews on this blog concerning some groundbreaking new Pagan books by authors like Brendan Cathbad Myers, Emma Restall Orr, and Gus diZerega.

Laura Miller at Salon.com gives Ursula K. Le Guin's new book "Lavinia" a favorable review. Calling it "a tribute to a relatively uncelebrated culture, that of early Rome".

"'Lavinia' is an old writer's book -- Le Guin is 79 -- in the best sense of the word; it is ripe with that half-remembered virtue, wisdom. This, Le Guin seems to be saying, is what it feels like to be the personification of your land and your people, to speak the words and perform the rites of "the old, local, earth-deep religion," to be the sacred guardian of harmony and plenty for a handful of rustic villages and farms, and to carry their past and future in your body. It's not a life any of us know how to live anymore, and most likely not one that most of us would choose, but some of us can still imagine it, and imagine that it was good."

I am very much looking forward to reading this book. You can read my previous post on Le Guin's "Lavinia", here.

Rocketing world food prices aren't just causing concerns over hunger, in India, it has become a serious religious issue as well.

"With prices soaring for staples such as cooking oils, wheat, lentils, milk and rice across the globe, priests like Atrey say they are seeing the consequences in their neighborhood temples, where even the poorest of the poor have long made donations to honor their faith. 'But today the common man is tortured by the increases in prices,' Atrey lamented during one early morning prayer, or puja, adding that donations of milk were down by as much as 50 percent. He had recently met with colleagues from other temples, along with imams from local mosques, who reported similar experiences. 'If poor people don't even have enough for bread, how will they donate milk to the gods?' he said. 'This is very serious.'"

Within Hinduism, milk is seen as a holy substance and is an integral part of daily religious life in India (not to mention dietary life, since many Indians are vegetarians). If a solution isn't found soon, a major crisis of hunger and faith in the country seems inevitable.

Ohio State University's religious studies program has been hosting a lecture series entitled "Through a Glass, Darkly: Public Interest in the Occult." Student paper The Lantern reports on the closing lecture by Lynn Schofield Clark on the intersection of the occult and popular television programs.

"Delving into the topic of current television shows, she attempted to explain why interest exists in them. Television shows about mysterious things have now evolved from scripted shows to reality shows such as SciFi's "Ghost Hunters" and the Canadian series "Ghost Trackers," highlighting the increasing popularity of this genre, she said. Clark connected the popularity of the shows to the nation's attitude post-Sept. 11. She said after the unexpected terrorist attacks, the nation's interest piqued in pop culture that shows unresolvable issues."

The lecture series also featured a talk by Pagan academic Sabina Magliocco, author of "Witching Culture: Folklore and Neo-Paganism in America". As for "occult television", I don't care how "occult" it gets, I refuse to watch "Ghost Whisperer" (though I do admit to watching "Moonlight" now and then).

A Pagan woman was convicted of conspiracy to commit murder after she told a group of teens and twenty-somethings (that she met regularly with at local Pagan gatherings) that a local man (and fellow practitioner) had raped her and her daughter (she also provided materials used in the attempted murder).

"'This is a group of young people with some strange beliefs ... being led by the passionate, distraught histrionics of an older - and in their eyes, much more powerful - mother figure,' York-Poquoson Commonwealth's Attorney Eileen Addison said. 'They got carried away ... but they got carried away because she encouraged them to do so.' According to testimony, Davidson met co-defendants Stephen Walters, 26, Dianna Breznick, 18, Thomas Rogers, 24, and Aaron Meadors, 23, at a shop in Norfolk that advertises itself as carrying Wiccan and pagan supplies. The group regularly attended a pagan drum circle there on Monday nights. Davidson was known to the group as "Red Phoenix." Barron, who was known as "Lord Othis," also attended the circle."

No proof or charges have been brought against Barron/Othis for his alleged assaults, nonetheless two of the attackers were unrepentant calling his maiming/torture "justice". No matter what the real chain of events that lead to this situation were, the outcome is a shameful one that mocks true justice and brands these Pagans as criminals who replace due process with unrestrained savagery.

In a final note, further memorials to Cora Anderson, who crossed over yesterday, have been posted at The Witches' Voice and the Acorn Guild Press web site. The latter contains a short eulogy from Starhawk.

"Cora was a great inspiration, a wonderful teacher, and a pioneer in the Craft at a time when it was a very hard and lonely path. I will always remember her stories, her humor, and her wonderful blend of mysticism and sheer common sense. I know that she will continue to guide and inspire now, wherever her soul journeys."

Further tributes can be found, here.

That is all I have for now, have a great day!

Labels: academia, books, Cora Anderson, Hinduism, Lavinia, law, Lupa, occult, Pagan News of Note, Paganism, Taylor Ellwood, Television, Ursula Le Guin

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(Pagan) News of Note

My semi-regular round-up of articles, essays, and opinions of note for discerning Pagans and Heathens.

To start off, happy birthday to Rome, which was founded by the mythical twins Romulus and Remus on April 21, 753 BC. On that day a pagan festival ensues that some call the "Christmas of Rome", and hundreds dress in traditional Roman military garb.



The 'Natale di Roma' includes parades, fireworks, banquets, and gladiator shows. For more information check out this Italian web site devoted to the holiday.

The Wall Street Journal shows that gods and goddesses can indeed change over time. Representatives and mediums of anticommunist ancestor deities residing in Taiwan are softening their stance towards China as political relations thaw between the two nations.

"...after being anti-China for decades, some of the gods around here are having a change of heart. At least that's what their representatives say. The keeper of the temple of Lee Kuang-chi'en, a colonel in the Nationalist army who died fighting the Chinese in the 1940s, says Mr. Lee now wants to return to his homeland in peace. Su Ai-chih, a 67-year-old retiree and spiritual medium, says a woman who was drowned by Chinese soldiers and turned into a goddess has even asked believers for help in reconnecting with her family on the mainland. 'The goddess possessed me and told me that she wanted to go home,' she adds."

This is a perfect illustration of polytheistic theology in action. Gods can change, practice can change, and those who do not change risk losing worship. There is no singular text or law holding these faiths in a static position.

"Fortunately, Chinese folk religion -- a widely practiced mix of indigenous beliefs and elements of other religions -- is remarkably forgiving. Not only does it often co-exist alongside other beliefs, its worshippers can create, discard or modify gods. That's particularly true of gods who aren't considered to be ling -- effective or powerful. As ties between China and Taiwan improved, Kinmen's anticommunist gods started to lose their ling. 'Chinese folk religion doesn't have a scripture, so everyone has his way of interpreting a god,' says Chi Chang-hui, an anthropologist on Kinmen who has studied anticommunist cults. 'And nowadays, that is less hostile to the mainland.'"

The gods and worshipers remain, but to survive in different eras, they adapt and adjust (or they fade away). A common event throughout the history of polytheism, one that can seem alien to those growing up in a culture dominated by a "religion of the book".

If you think the myth of "The Burning Times" is overblown and harmful, wait till you start to explore the Christian persecution complex. A "discursive entity", according to Professor Elizabeth A. Castelli, "impervious to critique, self-generating and self-sustaining."

"This trend mobilizes the language of religious persecution to shut down political debate and critique by characterizing any position not in alignment with this politicized version of Christianity as an example of antireligious bigotry and persecution. Moreover, it routinely deploys the archetypal figure of the martyr as a source of unquestioned religious and political authority."

The article is wide-ranging and covers a growing spiritual militarism within Christianity that is fueled by a deep-seated (though often illusory) sense of persecution. The Reveler web site offers only an excerpt, for the entire article head over to the Differences journal page, where you can download the entire piece, along with several related works.

Speaking of "The Burning Times", Christian blogger John Morehead interviews Christopher S. Mackay about his brand new translation of the infamous "Malleus Maleficarum" ("The Hammer of Witches"). A tome that is blamed for enabling the execution of thousands of innocent men and women for the crime of "witchcraft".

"I'd say that the Malleus was responsible for the acceptance of a new "paradigm" (in the sense advocated by Thomas Kuhn) about witchcraft. That is, the dissemination and widespread acceptance of the point of view (or world view) that underlay and instigated the so-called "craze" of witch hunting in the sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries can be attributed (ultimately) to the Malleus."

The new version, which is apparently far more coherent and readable than previous translations, gives us a means of understanding how this establishment of "diabolism" (Satanic witchcraft) still lingers in our world today, and helped inform such tragedies as the "Satanic panics" of the 80s and early 90s. An important text to have, though I think I'll wait for the soft-cover edition, since the two-volume hardcover runs for several hundred dollars.

Over at "Blog o' Gnosis", Anne Hill criticizes efforts by Reclaiming to reach out to racial minorities in order to make the group more "diverse". Hill questions why the organization should be on a diversity recruitment drive when they don't even have their own "house" in order.

"...the obsession with proselytizing, I mean bringing in new blood - no, I mean reaching out to others who could be helped by people like us. As several people at my table mentioned, other religions are not diverse, and they seem to have no problem with it. Wasn't the point of a spiritual community to give aid to its members? Why were we even discussing strategies for bringing different kinds of people in, when we were gathered for a rare opportunity to meet each other face to face? It was at this point that I had to point out the essential backwardness of our discussion topic. Reclaiming is insular. Painfully so, embarrassingly so. We really needed to be asking the opposite question: why don't we get out more? Why aren't more of us involved in interfaith activities? There's plenty of diversity there, but that would involve going to meet others rather than reeling them in to us. Why don't more folks even make the trek to San Jose for Pantheacon each year? Isn't there anything we can learn from other Pagans?"

The issue of expanding racial diversity (and similar issues) is, according to Hill, a "red herring" that prevents Reclaiming from working through deep divisions that already exist within the community. A state of affairs that has distanced several Reclaiming veterans from the tradition they helped create.

In a quick final note, a Llewellyn Journal article tells you what you really need to do.

"The only thing that we as new magickians really need to do is rely on a made-by-reputation company like Llewellyn Publications, because nothing is as easy as it seems."

Indeed, nothing is as easy as it seems.

That is all I have for now, have a great day!

Labels: China, Christianity, John Morehead, Llewellyn, Pagan News of Note, Paganism, Polytheism, Reclaiming, Rome, Satanic Panic, Taiwan, The Burning Times, Witch

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(Pagan) News of Note

My semi-regular round-up of articles, essays, and opinions of note for discerning Pagans and Heathens.

Jane Baker, from the Australian paper The Yass Tribue, holds up Hypatia of Alexandria as a beacon of inspiration when confronting various fundamentalisms and maintaining independent thought.

"In a time darker than ours, a time when reason was held hostage to fundamentalism, when only one form of thought and belief was permitted, when scholars were denounced and their works destroyed, Hypatia kept teaching and standing up for reason. "Reserve your right to think, for even to think wrongly is better than not to think at all," she told her students. Those words should stay with us when we read the papers, listen to the news, hear the latest demagogue spruiking his zealotry. We have to think. We have to question. We cannot accept what we are told without thought and consideration. That is what stands between us and the darkness of ignorance and fanaticism."

Now that Hypatia's story is being adapted into a film, one wonders if the famous Neoplatonist will indeed become a sort of Pagan saint, invoked against intolerance and religious extremism by a variety of groups.

Students from Pagan/Wiccan club and Native American club at Joliet Junior College, inspired by one of their teachers, joined forces to create a Relay for Life team and raise money for Cancer research.

"Students from the Native American Club and the Pagan Wiccan Club joined together to create the JJC Thunderbirds team for the All-College Relay for Life being held this weekend at Lewis University in Romeoville. In a final push to raise funds for the walk, they created an event - 'Clips for a Cure' - on the JJC bridge Thursday afternoon. Anyone donating a foot of hair to Locks of Love was eligible for a free hair cut; others were given a hair cut with a donation as small as $5. Hairstylists from J&M Hair Salon in Joliet donated their time and talent to the cause, cutting both men's and women's hair."

Thanks in part to the efforts of these clubs, Joliet Junior College has raised over $25,000 for cancer research in the past two years. This is a wonderful example of young Pagans involved in making the world a better place, and showing that the future of our religious movement is in good hands.

The Florida Sun-Sentinel re-tells the myth of Eos and Tithonus.

"Naturally Tithonus loved Eos. Who could resist the love of such a beautiful goddess? Just as she does today, in those years long ago, Eos woke the world each morning with curling rings of light, and every morning she mystically brought the world out of darkness. Whenever Tithonus looked at her, he felt a glow, the way so many people feel at dawn - as buoyant as an April morning on those days when the first buds begin to bloom."

Just the myth. No commentary, no moral lesson, just the story. If re-printing the great stories and myths in newspapers is a new trend, I approve! Perhaps they can run a serial of the Trojan War?

A Druid from Portsmouth has turned in his ritual sword to the police in order to make a statement on the recent growth of stabbing incidents in the UK.

"A Druid who had to fight a legal battle to get his sword back after police confiscated it has now handed the weapon in to promote world peace. Merlin Williams used his blunt sword, Taliesin, to create a circle of safety around members of the druid order at ceremonies ... He said: 'The thought to hand the sword in to police came to me when I was meditating and thinking about world peace and the stabbings you read about in the papers all the time. 'I wanted to show that druids are peace-loving and although the sword was never used for violence, I thought handing it in to the police station where it was confiscated would be a good way of doing this. I also want to discourage others from carrying knives as it can lead to violence and people being hurt.'"

Williams is a member and chief bard of the The Insular Order of Druids, an organization that has had more than one run-in with the law over confiscated ritual blades.

The Oshawa Public Library in Ontario has generated a bit of scandal over providing a tarot workshop to local teens.

"It's not often that a school librarian takes issue with a library program. But Oshawa's Susan Packer said she was driven to act last week, after learning Oshawa's public library will be offering tarot card workshops for teens later this month. "I believe that tarot reading is a dangerous practice. Teenagers who might attend the program offered at the library will be dabbling in the occult," said Ms. Packer, who is the parent of three teenagers and a teacher-librarian at an Oshawa elementary school ... Ms. Packer shared her concerns with the Durham District School Board and sent a letter to the library board and local politicians last week, asking that the program be dropped."

While such a controversy might have played out differently in America, it seems that Canada has little tolerance for religious hysteria. A librarian at OPL said that "we don't let small groups of people dictate what large groups of people can see or do or learn", and they plan to go ahead with the workshop. The workshops are being held on April 19th and 26th, and will feature Zsuzsana, author of "The Now Age".

In a final note, a couple people passed along a link to a story from late last year that I missed. It concerns an ongoing rivalry between two Baltimore candle stores on the same street "Grandma's Candle Shop" and "Lucky Star Candles: Home of Old Grandpa."

"Grandma's and Grandpa's have both been caring for the spiritual health of downtown Baltimore for three decades, squabbling like an old married couple the whole time. The feud isn't as hot as it was when Old Grandpa ran his store, but despite their similarities, there's no love lost between the candle merchants."

This story has it all: drama, allegations of intellectual property theft, bad blood, and different religious backgrounds (Grandma's is Pagan-friendly, Grandpa's is decidedly Christian in tone). Both uneasily co-exist while selling mojo and magical supplies to the locals. A must-read!

That is all I have for now, have a great day!

Labels: activism, Baltimore, Canada, candles, Druidry, Druids, Hoodoo, Hypatia, Myth, Pagan News of Note, Paganism, Tarot, UK, Wicca

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(Pagan) News of Note

My semi-regular round-up of articles, essays, and opinions of note for discerning Pagans and Heathens.

The weekly Indian paper Mainstream takes a look at the recent protests and conflicts in Tibet, and discusses them as a conflict of rival faiths. Placing Communism in the same idealogical family as the Abrahamic faiths.

"Abrahamic religions, whenever they conquer a territory, convert the inhabitants and try to suppress their ancestral culture. Ancestral history becomes a prohibited subject. In Afghanistan and Pakistan pre-Islamic Hindu-Buddhist history is not permitted in schools. China is doing the same in Tibet..."

The author closes the piece by calling on the Indian government to abandon their "chicken-hearted" stance towards China and support autonomy for Tibet.

If you were looking forward to Robin Hardy's "Cowboys For Christ", a re-imagining of the cult classic film "The Wicker Man", you may have a long wait. Work on the film has been halted due to a loss of financial backing.

"Cameras were due to start rolling in Dumfries and Galloway this month on the follow-up to the 1970s film starring Edward Woodward and Christopher Lee. However, a statement from the local council confirmed that producers had cancelled the shoot due to last minute difficulties with finance. Councillor Gill Dykes described the news as 'bitterly disappointing'."

Alternative financing is currently being sought, but there is a very good chance that the entire project will be scuttled and the film never made.

Followers of the Taoist sea goddess Matsu are planning to seek UN protections for their religious and cultural heritage.

"Followers of the folk deity Matsu from both sides of the Taiwan Strait are planning to seek United Nations approval to have the Matsu culture declared intangible world cultural heritage, a promoter said yesterday."

UN heritage declarations are usually made for tangible places or monuments. The awarding of world heritage status to a belief system would raise a host of questions and issues, conceivably pitting UN calls for protections and preservation against conversion attempts by monotheistic faith groups.

Is George Clooney's girlfriend Sarah Larson a Witch? Her ex-boyfriend seems to certainly hint at the prospect in a lurid accounting he gives to the tabloids.

"Rock musician Tommy McKaughan reveals how the former Las Vegas waitress used to spice up their moonlit romps in the woods with a spot of witchcraft ... 'Sarah's a total hippy at heart, heavily into all the spiritual, mystic stuff - crystals, tarot cards, healing. And along with her witch-like charms she's a brilliant fun girl with no inhibitions. She loves nothing more than getting naked in a forest.'"

Of course, with anything printed in the gossip rags, a huge grain of salt should be taken along with the sensationalist assertions.

In a final note, BostonNOW reviews an upcoming novel by A.W. Gryphon entitled "Blood Moon", another entry into Wicca-inspired fiction.

"Blood Moon is Gryphon's first book, and it is also the first novel in the planned Witches Moon Trilogy. As with several other books I've read recently, this one is hard to categorize. It deals with Wicca and Witchcraft, so it could be paranormal or urban fantasy, yet Blood Moon is also a mystery, and it could also fit as a women's fiction novel as we uncover a woman's childhood and the facts of her mother's life. Regardless, this is a book that will capture your interest from the beginning, and it will be hard to put down before the story is complete."

With this, and a recent fiction release by Druid priestess Ellen Every Hopman, the small but vital "Pagan fiction" genre continues to grow.

That is all I have for now, have a great day!

Labels: books, Cowboys For Christ, India, Matsu, movies, Pagan News of Note, Paganism, Sarah Larson, The Wicker Man, Tibet, UNESCO, United Nations

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(Pagan) News of Note

My semi-regular round-up of articles, essays, and opinions of note for discerning Pagans and Heathens.

A Connecticut-based animal cruelty task force is leaping into action after six beheaded chickens were found in a parking lot. Some speculate the animals were the results of a Santeria ritual.

"The eight-member Task Force on Animal Cruelty and the Circle of Violence will consider a growing number of animal abuse incidents in the state and their relationship to domestic violence, child abuse and other types of aggression, said Rep. Diane Urban, D-Stonington, who chairs the task force The group hopes to report back with possible policy changes including tougher consequences that could deter animal cruelty, by late this year, Urban said ... 'There is a lot of information that indicates those who display this kind of behavior might escalate it toward wives and children.'"

While actual animal cruelty might be a warning sign for escalating violence, there is no basis for making the same claim regarding ritualized animal sacrifice in a religious context. A point seemingly lost on Rep. Urban, who conflates sacrificing chickens with dog fighting.

"Whether it's beheading chickens or dog fighting, it is an alarming sign of people not recognizing the sanctity of an animal's existence."

In reality, proper animal sacrifice pays very close attention to the sanctity of that animal's existence, something your local KFC can't claim. It should be interesting to see how this unfolds, and if the task force will target ritualized animal sacrifice in the interest of stopping animal cruelty.

The Chicago ABC affiliate reports on the publishing of "The Funniest One in the Room: The Lives and Legends of Del Close", and recounts some of the exploits of this seminal improvisational comedian.

"A small-town Kansas boy, his early life included stints as a carnie and traveling horror show assistant. Close hung out with a pre-Scientology L. Ron Hubbard, and also became the embodiment of the Beat Generation. He overcame alcohol addiction using an extreme form of aversion therapy and gave up cocaine with the help of a banishing ceremony performed by a Wiccan coven."

Considering the fact that pre-Scientology Hubbard was heavily into ritual magick, and the fact that a Wiccan coven performed a banishing ceremony for him, you have to wonder if Del Close was a practitioner himself.

It looks like the new BBC-produced television series "Merlin", starring "Buffy" alum Anthony Head, will be appearing on American network television come the Fall/Winter season.

"While most of NBC's new shows had been previously reported, Peacock surprised with its acquisition of "Merlin". FremantleMedia is distributing the series, which is being produced by Elisabeth Murdoch's Shine for the BBC. Murdoch recently acquired the Silverman-founded Reveille. BBC will air the show this fall, with NBC running it in the winter. It's a reversal of the usual Blighty-U.S. programming pipeline."

NBC will also be pulling in the supernatural Canadian drama "The Listener" and the Biblically inspired "Kings" (about a modern-day King David). Kudos to the network for pulling in some talent from Canada and the UK, lets hope it's a trend that continues.

George Phillies, a candidate for the Libertarian nomination for President of the United States in the 2008 presidential race, is courting the Pagan vote.

"Bigotry is a key theme of right-wing Republicanism, going back to the KKK and Concerned Citizens Councils," Phillies said. "Like all other patriotic Americans, Libertarians believe that Freedom of Religion is for everyone. No real Libertarian will ever ask that a religion's harmless practices be banned. This Fall, please take a stand against Republican bigotry. Please vote Libertarian."

If Phillies actually clinches the Libertarian nomination, which seems a bit unlikely at this point, he could be the first openly Pagan-friendly presidential candidate to appear on a nationwide ballot. You can head over to Phillies web site to learn more about his campaign.

In a final note, an interesting exchange is taking place on the Christianity Today web site. Rabbi Yehiel E. Poupko, Judaic Scholar at the Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Chicago, calls out Stan Guthrie, an editor at CT, for his endorsement of the "The Gospel and the Jewish People - An Evangelical Statement". A document signed by several prominent evangelical leaders that advocates a "loving" and "respectful" re-dedication to converting the Jews. Poupko's response is forthright, blunt, and gets right to the heart of the cultural and spiritual dilution and eradication at the heart of most monotheistic missionary efforts.

"The basis of interfaith conversation must be mutual sacred rejection, a clear understanding of the irreconcilable differences between the faith communities ... I reject what is most sacred to the Christian. I am prepared to die for it, as have my ancestors before me. The Christian rejects what is most sacred to me, and is likewise prepared to die for it. Only after respectful mutual sacred rejection, can we identify those beliefs that we share in common ... I don't want Christians to instruct me on what to believe."

At the end of the exchange, Rabbi Yehiel E. Poupko exclaims that Guthrie, as a Christian, is "capable of understanding me only in your terms." A common evangelical attitude that can deeply damage healthy dialog and relations between faiths. Poupko's refusal to acknowledge Jewish conversion attempts as "loving", while coming from a very different perspective than the Pagan one, is nonetheless an attitude shared by many who wish to grow their faiths in peace without worrying over ever-evolving evangelistic tactics to thwart that growth.

That is all I have for now, have a great day!

Labels: animal sacrifice, Christianity, Del Close, evangelism, Judaism, Libertarian, Merlin, Pagan News of Note, Paganism, Presidential election, Santeria, Television

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(Pagan) News of Note

My semi-regular round-up of articles, essays, and opinions of note for discerning Pagans and Heathens.

Spring is (sorta) here, and UU World reprints an article by Patricia Montley explaining why myths are often better received than coldly rational explanations for natural events (like the changing seasons).

"Why this cold, dreary season when birds abandon us and gardens stop producing their fruits and flowers ... What have we done to deserve this? Surely someone has offended the gods. "Poppycock!" say the scientists, who propose some lame theory about the Earth going around the sun. But that can't really be it. What's the point of misery if there's no one to blame? Besides, their story lacks imagination. Perhaps an explanation that we might find more appealing is one offered by the Greek poet Homer some 27 centuries ago."

Montley then briefly retells the myth of Persephone, and explains that without the "gray" of Winter, "there is no joy in color". While I might quibble with the idea of Winter being "gray" and "fallow", after enduring a snow storm the other day, I truly hunger for the "joy" of a true Spring.

Meanwhile, in Ohio, a local reporter profiles a Druid group performing their Spring rites.

"The only thing the ritual shared with Easter was timing - and a few brightly colored eggs constituting an offering to the "shining ones." They purified their ceremony by making a banishment offering to the "out-dwellers and tricksters." They chanted, their voices ever rising and ever faster, to "open the gates," a sign they had formed a spiritual center around their three altars. They drank apple juice from a communal horn in accepting the blessings of the "waters of life" from kindred gods and goddesses of the Celts, Romans, Gauls and Norse."

The Three Cranes Grove is an ADF group, which explains the pan-Indo-European focus of the ritual.

The Beijing Olympic Flame was lit today in the Temple of Hera in Olympia. A ceremony marred by two protesters who managed to break through a cordon of about 1,000 police officers.


Actress Maria Nafpliotou lighting the torch.

"Two protestors breached a cordon of about 1,000 police officers at Ancient Olympia to display a flag demanding a boycott of the Olympics amid mounting controversy over China's crackdown in Tibet ... The incidents occurred despite drastic security measures taken by Greek police to avoid incidents that would internationally discredit the event, which was televised across the world."

I don't know about you, but when two protesters are able to break through 1,000 men to disrupt a tightly-controlled ceremony in the temple of Hera, I would take that as a bad omen. Perhaps the goddess is displeased? Too bad the "high priestess" is simply an actress, and unable to interpret the will of Hera.

The Manchester Evening News interviews popular novelist Sara Paretsky about her new novel "Bleeding Kansas", and the real-live Wiccans who served as the inspiration for the Wiccan characters in the book.

"For eight years, I'd fiddled with this concept, on and off, of writing about the part of Kansas where I grew up," explains Paretsky, ahead of a visit to book stores in Manchester and Cheshire. "When my parents got frail they sold the house to two women who were both Wiccan - followers of pagan religions - and lesbians. They thought that they could lead an anonymous life in the countryside, where their nearest neighbour was over a quarter of a mile away. "But they were wrong. There was talk of pagan rituals. Some people said they were naked and one neighbour started pursuing them in a really angry way, and my brother, who was a lawyer, decided to represent them on a pro bono basis."

It's rare that a novelist as popular as Paretsky makes a lesbian Wiccan a major character in a novel. "Bleeding Kansas" may open more minds than a dozen titles in the metaphysical section.

In a final note, Scottish hares (as opposed to "silly old rabbits"), which have been steadily dying out, seem to be on the rebound due to a variety of efforts.

"The problem was that - while Scottish rabbits were happily breeding with the enthusiasm for which they are renowned - the "bunny" we have historically associated with Easter is actually the hare, a creature whose prospects were for a while far more precarious. Long before the rather mixed-up imagery we now see on Easter cards of cute bunnies bearing baskets of eggs, the hare had a far more potent symbolism. In pagan mythology the creature represented love, growth and fertility ... for the true meaning of the original celebrations surrounding the vernal equinox, only the hare will do. Wild, abandoned and universally appealing, these beautiful creatures are at long last reclaiming their rightful place."

So welcome back to one of Britain's (and Europe's) sacred animals,

That is all I have for now, have a great day!

Labels: ADF, Druids, hare, Hera, Myth, Olympics, Pagan News of Note, Paganism, Persephone, Sara Paretsky, Spring Equinox, Wicca

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(Pagan) News of Note

My semi-regular round-up of articles, essays, and opinions of note for discerning Pagans and Heathens.

A conference of indigenous leaders from Mexico, the United States, and Canada met in Palenque, Mexico to discuss traditional solutions to environmental problems. The event, 'Indigenous People to Heal Our Mother Earth', gathered 200 leaders from 71 American Indian nations, and was supported by Mexico's environment secretary, Juan Elvira Quesada.

"Our Mother Earth is being polluted at an alarming rate, and our elders say that she is dying," said Raymond Sensmeier, a Tlingit leader from Yakutat, Alaska. "The way the weather is around the world ... a cleansing is needed" ... "I sometimes talk to scientists," said Sensmeier, "and they compartmentalize things, put things in boxes and disconnect them, and doing so promotes disharmony and imbalance." Kuetlachtli Texotik, a Nahuatl healer from Mexico whose name means "Blue Wolf," agreed. "Our grandfathers taught us to have an integrated vision," he said. "The important thing is to look for balance. We should take care of what does not belong to us, for the future, because it is only ours temporarily."

Organizers hope that indigenous American leaders can become guides in "restoring balance and harmony in the world". To "wake up the world" to the environmental problems surrounding them.

Reuters interviews David Domke, co-author of the new book "The God Strategy: How Religion Became A Political Weapon In America," who explains just how entwined (predominately Christian) religion has become in our political process.

"The reality is that in American presidential politics not willing to publicly emphasize your faith will mean you will not be a serious candidate on either side of the partisan aisle ... the fusion of religion and politics is absolutely contrary to what the founders desired for the country. They fled religious sectarian violence, religious persecution and they set out build a new place where God would be part of the equation but there wouldn't be a state, a national religion."

A political atmosphere like this is decidedly hostile to religious minorities taking power, an exclusive "Christ-centered" politics that transcends the usual Republican party suspects to include Democratic presidential candidates as well. Can the wall of separation between Church and State remain strong when both political parties now "emphasize their faith" as a campaign tool?

The Boston Herald reports on Laurie "Official Witch of Salem" Cabot's 75th birthday-bash over the weekend. The extravagant affair included a dancing snake charmer, fire-spinning, and the attendance of Godsmack frontman Sully Erna.

"Godsmack frontman Sully Erna was among the 100 Wiccans who flew in from around the country over the weekend for a surprise 75th birthday party for Laurie Cabot, the Official Witch of Salem. "Before I met Laurie, I was in a really low point in my life," Sully told the crowd. "I owe Laurie everything. (She) changed my life around." Apparently, the headbanger and the high priestess of witchcraft have been tight for years ... Cabot's bewitching birthday bash was thrown by fun couple Tom Lang and Alexander Westerhoff at their Manchester-by-the-Sea stone villa."

A happy birthday to Ms. Cabot, may she enjoy happiness and good health.

Kathryn Price NicDhana brings us the latest in the ongoing struggles to halt the M3 motorway expansion through the Tara-Skryne valley, the spiritual heart of Ireland.

"As bulldozers and chainsaws cut into the forest and hill of Rath Lugh - one of a number of ancient tombs and holy wells in peril due to the road work in the Tara-Skryne Valley - protesters have announced that they have dug tunnels under the proposed roadway, and are willing to risk their lives in defense of the land."

While these new actions have succeeded in delaying construction, it remains to be seen if this expensive (and increasingly unpopular) project can ultimately be stopped. Irish Poet Laureate Seamus Heaney recently called the M3 construction a "ruthless desecration", and the site has been declared an "endangered monument" by the World Monuments Fund.

In a final note, two recent legal decisions affecting modern Pagans have come to my attention. First, Tropaion reports that the European Court of Human Rights has ruled that Greece can not require a statement of religious belief as part of the admission ceremony to the state bar.

"Legal Court rulings are one of the few forums where precedents are truly set. This landmark decision by the European Court of Human Rights in the case of Alexandrididis vs Greece (application number 19516/2006) will definitely make it much easier for others in the legal and other professions to follow suit. It will mean that people will not have to state their religious beliefs in what are clearly state matters."

This is an important precedent for the small groups of Hellenic polytheists (and other religious minorities) in the Orthodox Christian dominated State. Further updates to this story are expected to be posted, here.

Meanwhile, another prisoner free-exercise case involving a member of the Asatru faith has made the news. A judge has recommended the dismissal of a lawsuit brought by inmate Darrell Hoadley. Hoadley, who is serving a life sentence for a 2000 torture-killing, brought suit requesting items he says are necessary for his faith.

"The penitentiary has allowed several Asatru items since settling a 2000 lawsuit - including a ritual drinking horn, wooden wand and wooden hammer - but Hoadley wanted more, such as horse meat and a plastic sword. In a motion to dismiss, prison officials said some requests are 'too outrageous to merit serious consideration.' U.S. Magistrate Judge John Simko, who was taken off the case in favor of U.S. District Judge Lawrence Piersol, said in a report filed Wednesday that the case should be dismissed."

I can't think of any Asatru tradition that requires a sword and the partaking of horse meat in order to honor the gods. Considering Hoadley's security status (he is isolated from the general population), and the concessions already made, it doesn't look like he has much of a case. The judge looks on solid ground for recommending dismissal.

That is all I have for now, have a great day!

Labels: American Indian, Asatru, Christianity, Greece, Hill of Tara, indigenous, Laurie Cabot, law, litigation, Pagan News of Note, Paganism, politics, Prison, Salem

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(Pagan) News of Note

My semi-regular round-up of articles, essays, and opinions of note for discerning Pagans and Heathens.

The Staten Island Advance reports on a dispute between neighbors that involves a Pagan family and charges of religiously-motivated harassment.

"Ivy Colmer Vanderborgh, her husband and her mother live in one half of a duplex on Oceanview Avenue. Their Annadale neighbors say they are disrupting the neighborhood. But the Colmer Vanderborgh family claims those same neighbors are persecuting them because of their religion. Ms. Colmer Vanderborgh and her mother, Marlene Colmer, both practice Wicca. They contend that since their appearance on a Staten Island Community Television show about their religion in June 2006, neighbors have they have been verbally harassed, their car has been vandalized, their property damaged and their dog poisoned."

The neighbor charged with masterminding their harassment denies any wrongdoing, claiming the family is loud, obnoxious, and paranoid. At this point all evidence in the case is circumstantial, so we have no idea if these Wiccans are truly being persecuted, or if they simply have a persecution complex.

It is reported that The Church of England has "serious reservations" about the looming abolishment of Britain's blasphemy laws. While the archbishops, Dr Rowan Williams and Dr John Sentamu say they won't oppose abolishment, they are "concerned" about the meaning and timing of the move.

"[The archbishops] say the government needs to be clear as to precisely why the offence is being scrapped. They argue that it should not be seen as a "secularising move" or as a general licence to attack or insult religious beliefs and believers. They say it is still too early to be sure how the new offence of incitement to religious hatred, which applies to all faiths, will operate in practice and that laws which carry "a significant symbolic charge" should not be changed lightly."

These laws, while rarely invoked today, were once used to persecute Quakers, atheists, Unitarians, and other groups who threatened (or appeared to threaten) the Anglican Church's primacy in England. They belong in the dust-bin of history along with laws against "witchcraft".

Slate.com explores the history of the crotch-grab in Italy.

"It's the seat of fertility. The crotch grab goes back at least to the pre-Christian Roman era and is closely associated with another superstition called the "evil eye" - the belief that a covetous person can harm you, your children, or your possessions by gazing at you. Cultural anthropologists conjecture that men would try to block such pernicious beams by shielding their genitals, thus protecting their most valued asset: the future fruit of their loins. Over the centuries, the practice shifted. Men covered their generative organs not only to defend against direct malevolence but also in the presence of anything ominous, like a funeral procession."

The article also explains the ever-popular "corno" necklaces and the corna hand-sign (aka the "devil sign") in the same context.

Groundbreaking Gaelic film "Seachd: The Inaccessible Pinnacle" has finally acquired international distribution through Altadena Films.

"Young Films has secured a deal with Altadena Films, an international sales agent, to sell Gaelic feature film Seachd - The Inaccessible Pinnacle, around the world. Altadena will represent the film at the Berlin Film Festival then at markets and festivals around the world thereafter. For the international market the English title will be Seachd - The Crimson Snowdrop."

For those who can't wait that long, the DVD has been released in the UK, which means that Americans will need a region-free player to watch it. For my previous coverage of this film, click here.

Nobel Prize-winning Irish author Seamus Heaney has lashed out at the Irish government for their road construction through the sacred Tara Skreen valley (home of the Hill of Tara), calling it a "ruthless desecration".

"I think it literally desecrates an area - I mean the word means to de-sacralise and for centuries the Tara landscape and the Tara sites have been regarded as part of the sacred ground ... If ever there was a place that deserved to be preserved in the name of the dead generations from pre-historic times up to historic times up to completely recently, it was Tara ... Tara means something equivalent to me to what Delphi means to the Greeks or maybe Stonehenge to an English person or Nara in Japan, which is one of the most famous sites in the world..."

While it looks like nothing can stop road construction now, campaigners are still working to halt construction and limit further development in the area.

In a final note, The Hamilton Spectator reviews a new e-book by Neil Jamieson-Williams entitled "A Field Guide to Modern Pagans in Hamilton, Ontario", which resulted in an angry reply from the author over errors and "yellow journalism".

"Ms. Fragomeni made no attempt to contact me either by telephone or email to inform me of when the article would be printed - in all probability, she boldly lied to me in our last phone call, knowing full well that the article would be in the Saturday paper. The presentation my book and myself in the article was a smear campaign. No mention is made of the publishing company or where the book is available. Finally, it is clear to me that Ms. Fragomeni has, at best, only scanned portions of the book -- she has written an article about a book that she has not read."

Maybe there is such a thing as bad publicity? In any case, I suppose that should be a warning to be careful where you send promotional copies.

That is all I have for now, have a good day!

Labels: books, Church of England, crotch-grabbing, discrimination, Hill of Tara, Italy, movies, Pagan News of Note, Paganism, Seachd: The Inaccessible Pinnacle, Seamus Heaney, UK, Wicca, Witchcraft

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(Pagan) News of Note

My semi-regular round-up of articles, essays, and opinions of note for discerning Pagans and Heathens.

As if sensing that the recent Pew Forum study of America's religious landscape would show that modern Paganism continues to grow, while Christianity's majority status is eroding, a growing number of anti-Pagan articles have appeared warning the faithful of our growth. One comes from Janice Crouse, a senior fellow with Concerned Women for America, who warns of the growth of Wicca and "Earth Worship" among the Christian youth.

"Janice Crouse, a senior fellow with Concerned Women for America, says it's disturbing that many young people in evangelical churches are experimenting with the Wiccan religion. Church leaders and Christian parents, she warns, must be ready to counter that growing interest among their youth. Crouse cites an article in Religion Journal which said youth pastors in the Southern Baptist Convention were worried about large numbers of evangelicals taking part in Wicca, a religion that involves nature worship, stresses moral autonomy, and includes remedies and spells ... [Crouse] says the interest in Wicca can be traced to recent books featuring witchcraft and similar topics."

Meanwhile, WorldNetDaily prints the cover story from their recent Whistleblower magazine issue dedicated to the growth of Witchcraft in America. Besides including a strange obsession with author Neale Donald Walsch, it is your typical anti-Wiccan piece, complete with the "feminism/lesbianism encourages Wicca" argument.

"In many ways, the interest in Wicca among women (at least two-thirds of Wiccans are female) parallels the growth in feminism and lesbianism – all fueled by disillusionment with and alienation from men. Indeed, sociologist Helen Berger, who spent 10 years researching and writing the authoritative book "A Community of Witches: Contemporary Neo-Paganism and Witchcraft in the United States," reports the astounding conclusion that at least 40 percent of Wiccans and neopagans are homosexual or bisexual. Clearly, Wicca has become the spiritual home for many feminists, including lesbians. It's also the most graphic, in-your-face example of a much more universal phenomenon - the increasing feminization of the Christian church and of Western culture."

Articles like these (and others) seem to point to an increasingly nervous conservative Christian population. A group of believers concerned with their looming irrelevance. A future where politicians no longer feel the need to pander to them, and where they are just another voice in diverse chorus of religious voices.

The blog Newspaper Rock links to an article put out by the United Methodist Church discussing their problems ministering to Native Americans, and the long history of (justified) distrust among Native peoples towards the Christian religion.

"No more than 6 percent of the 2.7 million Native Americans in the United States identify themselves as Christian--a statistic often blamed on mistrust of the church. Mission schools operated on Indian reservations from the late 1800s through the first half of the 20th century, many of them founded by Methodists. Children were forced to adopt Anglo-European culture, abandon their tribal languages and convert to Christianity. Today the Native American Church, an indigenous denomination that mixes elements of Christian faith with tribal sacraments, thrives in Native communities where mainline churches don't."

Newspaper Rock blogger Rob Schmidt says that there is another very good reason, aside from distrust, why Christianity has problems making inroads into Native Country.

"I suspect most Natives eschew Christianity not because they mistrust the church but because they already have perfectly good religions."

A point not often conceded by the missionary-minded.

In the wake of a woman being sentenced to death in Saudi Arabia for "witchcraft", the European Union is criticizing a draft penal code in Iran that would order death for anyone convicted of "witchcraft".

"The European Union has called on Iran to drop provisions in a draft penal code stipulating the death penalty for apostasy, heresy and witchcraft. "These articles clearly violate the Islamic Republic of Iran's commitments under the international human rights conventions," the Slovenian EU Presidency said in a statement."

Are Muslim nations ushering in a new era of witch hunts? How will the international community react once innocent women are being put to death for the "crime" of witchcraft?

Diane Slawych travels to Catemaco, Veracruz (in Mexico) and surrounding areas to witness the annual Congreso Internacional de Brujos, a convention of shamans, witches, Brujos, Santeros, and other traditional healers in the region.

"Another local tells me witches can be found in more than a dozen towns in the area and are often consulted by locals seeking a spiritual cleansing or help with various life problems. But why have all the witches congregated in the same region I wonder. One guidebook offers a possible explanation. Until the 1940s the area was dense jungle and so folk traditions survived longer here than elsewhere ... the witches festival isn't heavily promoted, though many Mexicans, who make up most of the visitors, seem to know about it. The weekend event begins this year on Friday, March 7. Ask for details of shows and other activities on arrival. And if you want to meet a practitioner of folk medicine, keep in mind you don't have to come during the festival. In the towns of Los Tuxtlas you can meet a witch at any time of year!"

Its too bad the article is written as a light piece of "spiritual tourism", instead of actually taking an interest in the indigenous and syncretic faith practices of the area.

The Interfaith Alliance has compiled a video outlining the "Top 10 Moments in the Race for Pastor-in-Chief and the unholy use of religion in the presidential campaigns."



Number one? Mike Huckabee tells a crowd: "What we need to do is to amend the Constitution so it's in God's standards rather than try to change God's standards". With all the Christian rhetoric flying this primary season, its hard to know which candidate will really hear the concerns of minority faiths in America.

In a final note, Slate.com reports on the growing popularity of mead, a drink made from fermented honey, popular throughout the ancient world.

"...the recent interest in fermented honey has morphed it from an esoteric item that only a few bearded Dungeons & Dragons players indulged in to a small yet legitimate commercial enterprise ... Is mead, last popular around King Arthur's table, poised for a comeback?"

Sadly this interesting article is marred by the harping on the drinks "image problem" due to its popularity with SCA members and Renaissance fairs (as if this were some insurmountable obstacle). In the end, the author admits that he just doesn't like mead all that much, claiming mead is the perfect beverage for Winnie-the-Pooh should he ever take to the bottle. Perhaps next time an article of this nature could be written by someone who actually enjoys mead.

Labels: American Indian, Brujeria, Christianity, Islam, mead, Mexico, Native American, Pagan News of Note, Paganism, Presidential election, Witch Killings, Witchcraft, WorldNetDaily

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(Pagan) News of Note

My semi-regular round-up of articles, essays, and opinions of note for discerning Pagans and Heathens.

A paper in Livingston County, Michigan reports on the closing of a Pagan/Metaphysical shop in downtown Howell. The paper cites a depressed local economy and competition from larger retail and outlet stores as the primary reasons for the shop's failure, achieving what Christian protesters failed to do eight years ago.

"Wisdom of the Ages has withstood a religious protest against the store's Wiccan tradition and set up shop in mostly Christian Livingston County, but has fallen victim to Michigan's struggling economy ... The year Wisdom of the Ages opened, two Howell-area churches protested outside the building, praying for the souls of Lindsay and store staff. The Daily Press & Argus and television stations in Detroit, Lansing and Jackson picked up the story. Business spiked as a result, Lindsay recalled. "They wanted us shut down. It was the best thing that could have happened to us," she recalled."

The owner, Mona Lindsay, will be opening a smaller shop (called "Moon Magick") in nearby Hamburg Township, where no doubt rents are cheaper and the chances for success in a struggling economy a bit better.

Student Newspaper The Appalachian explores divination, magick, and Paganism, through the lens of a new class taught by anthropology professor Dr. Gregory G. Reck.

"As an outgrowth of Reck's anthropological interests, this spring semester he instructs a 'Magic, Witchcraft, and Religion' course that strives to understand different theoretical approaches to religious behaviors and beliefs. 'We use religion and magic as a kind of prism through which we can explore questions of the nature of the human experience,' Reck said. It is through that prism that such individuals as psychics, tarot card readers, or Pagans regard their world."

The article also talks to James Crew, an interdisciplinary studies major with a concentration in contemporary Pagan studies, and local tarot card readers Cheryl and Sage.

The American Muslim has posted a petition to appeal the execution in Saudi Arabia of Fawza Falih Mumammad Ali, a woman who has been accused of "witchcraft, recourse to jinn, and slaughter of animals". Among the signatories are Pagan leaders like Phyllis Curott, Ellen Evert Hopman, and Selena Fox.

"Surely it is the wisdom of God who is, as so many of the verses of the Qur'an teach, much-forgiving, a dispenser of grace, which must inspire mercy for Fawza Falih, and it is you who embodies that compassion in this realm where the least of humanity most needs your protection. In the name of God, please, halt the execution of Fawza Falih immediately and release her from the Quraiyat Prison."

You can add your signature, here. The New York-based Human Rights Watch has also written to King Abdullah asking for clemency. I'm still wondering why Abdullah's good pal George W. Bush hasn't responded to this controversy.

Executive Pagan points out that two major Druid organizations now have regular podcasts. OBOD's Druidcast, hosted by Damh the Bard, and Tribeways, the official podcast of the ADF.

"ADF's very first podcast, Tribeways, was released into the wild on February 19, 2008! You can download the podcast directly from our host, or through iTunes ... The February Feast features the following contributions: "Make Offerings, Dammit!" by Rev. Kirk Thomas ... "Comparative Mythology - Why Bother?" by Rev. Jenni Hunt ... "Trance Meditation" by Archdruid Emeritus Ian Corrigan"

The Tribeways podcast also comes with "liner notes", featuring notes and transcripts from the show.

In a final note, last week was Pantheacon, one of the largest indoor Pagan-themed conventions in America, and reports, pictures, and videos have been trickling in from the event. Cherry Hill Seminary has photos and commentary, Deborah Oak discusses embracing paradox at Pantheacon, Chas Clifton shares the news of who won the Llewellyn and BBI Media co-sponsored Pagan fiction contest, T. Thorn Coyle discusses the magic of possibility, and M. Macha NightMare leads us to some videos of the WOW Besom Brigade.



That is all I have for now, have a great day!

Labels: academia, discrimination, Druidism, Druidry, Druids, law, Metaphysical Shops, Pagan News of Note, Pagan Studies, Paganism, Pantheacon, podcast, Witch Killings, Witchcraft

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(Pagan) News of Note

My semi-regular round-up of articles, essays, and opinions of note for discerning Pagans and Heathens.

A Spiritualist/Wiccan shop in Crewe (a town in south Cheshire, England) is being forced out of business by continual harassment from local Christians.

"Lunacy at Sarah's in Market Street opened 18 months ago but since then it has suffered a barrage of protests and even had Bibles thrown at the shop. Now co-owner Lucy Molyneux says it can't stay open for more than a couple of months longer. She said: 'We are still having the same problems we always had. People are now coming in and putting flyers and notices inside our products, saying that what we are doing is wrong.'"

You know, I love that part in the Bible where Jesus tells his followers to harass people until their dream is destroyed. It really shines a light on Christian ethics.

The American Civil Liberties Union of Pennsylvania has filed lawsuits on behalf of three couples who had their marriages nullified due to an officiant who wasn't the head of an established congregation. Two of those marriages were performed by officiants who received their credentials from the Internet-based Universal Life Church.

"The American Civil Liberties Union of Pennsylvania filed the first three lawsuits today in a planned statewide challenge of a recent judicial declaration stating that marriages are invalid if presided over by a minister who does not regularly serve a church or preach in a physical house of worship. The ruling potentially endangers thousands of marriages in Pennsylvania."

Considering the fact that many modern Pagans across the country lean on ULC ordinations to perform legal wedding ceremonies, and because many Pagan groups don't have a "congregation" in the sense that a Christian priest does, the outcome here should be closely watched. For a previous post on this issue, click here.

On Faith does a brief spotlight on Ernesto Pichardo, founder of the Church of Lukumi Babalu Aye, and his quest to bring the rare book of Santerian/Yoruban knowledge "The Book of Diagnosis in Ifa Divination" to the eyes of scholars.

"Sometimes, says Cuban-born Ernesto Pichardo, it seems like he's been campaigning nonstop for 30 years. Twenty-one years ago Pichardo, a Santeria priest, took a fight for the right to practice his religion all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court -- and won. Now he wages a different campaign. The priest is leading an effort to make his religion's sacred text, the Book of Diagnosis in Ifa Divination, widely available for scholars. Written in Spanish and Yoruba, the book combines Yoruba and Afro-Cuban history with culture, philosophy, metaphysics, religion, and spiritual knowledge..."

For previous coverage of this issue, click here.

International outcry has developed over the case of Fawza Falih in Saudi Arabia. Falih was arrested in 2005 and convicted of "witchcraft". An order of execution "in the public interest" was placed despite a an appeal court decision saying she should not be executed.

"In a letter to King Abdullah, the rights group described the trial and conviction of Fawza Falih as a miscarriage of justice. The illiterate woman was detained by religious police in 2005 and allegedly beaten and forced to fingerprint a confession that she could not read. Among her accusers was a man who alleged she made him impotent."

Only the direct involvement of King Abdullah (George W. Bush's good pal) can now save the woman. Will Abdullah defy the courts over the life of an illiterate woman? More importantly, is this case the harbinger of worse yet to come?

In the wake over fears concerning the establishment of sharia law in places like England and Canada, The Economist wonders how much of a right faiths should have to run their own affairs and regulate their adherents' lives.

"In every democratic and more-or-less secular country, similar questions arise about the precise extent to which religious sub-cultures should be allowed to live by their own rules and 'laws'. One set of questions emerges when believers demand, and often get, an opt-out from the law of the land. Sikhs in British Columbia can ride motorcycles without helmets; some are campaigning for the right not to wear hard hats on building sites. Muslims and Jews slaughter animals in ways that others might consider cruel; Catholic doctors and nurses refuse to have anything to do with abortion or euthanasia."

This issue affects modern Pagans as well. Our moral codes are often freer, and based on personal responsibility (or a guiding ethos), instead of a list of rigid "commandments". An ethic that often flies in the face of Christian lawmakers. Restrictive marriage ordinances, the ban on entheogens, bans on divination, what is allowable on private property, and "religious freedom" laws that privilege the majority have all affected our communities in the past. So we should navigate this issue carefully, because while many of may find sharia codes distasteful, laws made to control them could also end up controlling other religious minorities as well.

In a final note, today is the start of Pantheacon, the largest indoor Pagan-oriented convention on the west coast (just in time to celebrate Lupercalia). If you are attending, be sure to stop by Anne Hill's Serpentine Music booth where you'll find some great A Darker Shade of Pagan-approved merchandise and swag. Including copies of Monica Richard's masterful "InfraWarrior" CD, and a chance to pre-order a physical copy of the amazing "John Barleycorn Reborn" compilation. Plus, if you give the "secret blog-reader handshake" Anne may show you my list of music recommendations!

That is all I have for now, have a fertile Lupercalia, and a great day!

Labels: A Darker Shade of Pagan, discrimination, law, litigation, Lupercalia, Pagan News of Note, Pantheacon, Religious Freedom, Santeria, UK, Universal Life Church, Wicca, Witch Killings

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(Pagan) News of Note

My semi-regular round-up of articles, essays, and opinions of note for discerning Pagans and Heathens.

Yesterday was the Chinese New Year (the year of the Rat), and April Rabkin of Slate.com details how China's Communist government has worked over the years to eliminate Taoist and indigenous religious traditions associated with the holiday.

"Perhaps the most significant blow to Chinese New Year was the government's decision to forbid the annual burning of the Kitchen God, whose paper effigy hung above the stove ... for more than 50 years, the Kitchen God's effigy has been censored material. While low-ranking gods like the Lords of the Door, who guard courtyard gates and inner doorways, were more tolerated, the Kitchen God was not. In the more traditional countryside, peasants evaded censors by printing the Kitchen God at home on crude wooden blocks. But many young Beijingers I recently asked had never heard of the Kitchen God. Others laughed sheepishly, as if he were a national embarrassment - the equivalent of still believing in Santa Claus as an adult."

Some Chinese are hopeful that Hu Jintao's recent announcement concerning an easing towards Marxist attitudes on religion might translate into allowing a return to more traditional forms of New Year's celebrations. However, it remains to be seen if the Chinese government, long an enemy of religious freedom, will truly change course on this matter or if it is simply a public-relations gesture.

Turning from China to Venezuela, the Associate Press reports that an influx of Cubans into the country has helped spur a rising interest in Santeria.

"[Santeria] rituals have become an attractive option for Venezuelans seeking a unique spiritual path, including healing ceremonies aimed at curing everything from illness to heartache. Some even believe certain gods will offer protection from Venezuela's rampant violent crime. The surge in Santeria, which is practiced by many in Cuba, can partly be explained by the arrival of thousands of Cuban doctors in Venezuela. President Hugo Chavez has been providing Cuba with subsidized oil in exchange for thousands of physicians who come to the South American country to treat poor people ... The Santeria movement nowadays cuts across racial groups and class lines and includes lawyers and other professionals as well as the unemployed among its adherents. In spite of rapid economic growth propelled by Venezuela's key oil industry, people here face problems from crime and inflation."

The article also mentions the local folk religion surrounding the Indian goddess Maria Lionza (a subject this blog has covered before), which has also been flourishing under the reign of President Hugo Chavez. For more on Venzuela, check out Slate.com's recent travelogue of the country.

On the political front, American's United has issued a statement calling on the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee to reject a federal court nominee partially because of his hostile stance towards minority religions.

"On Feb. 12, the Senate Judiciary Committee is scheduled to consider the nomination of Richard H. Honaker to the U.S. District Court for the District of Wyoming. The Rock Springs, Wyo., attorney promotes the idea that the U.S. Constitution creates a Christian nation and that government need not remain neutral on religion ... [AU executive director Rev. Barry W. Lynn] argued that Honaker has also shown a striking callousness to minority faiths. The Wyoming lawyer has suggested that democracy and freedom prosper only because of Christianity and that other faiths pose a danger to such freedom. 'A judge with such an opinion of minority faiths is unlikely to be able to fairly and objectively adjudicate issues affecting their freedoms and rights,' wrote Lynn."

I doubt anyone is surprised that George W. Bush has nominated a judge who has an "abrasive" view of non-Christian faiths. Honaker's appointment to the federal bench would be completely detrimental to the health and safety of minority (non-Christian) religions in the United States. Let us hope that the Democrat-controlled Senate Judiciary Committee (chaired by Patrick J. Leahy)