4.21.2008
(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
4.20.2008
Le Guin Explores Lavinia's Perspective
The Oregonian reviews a brand new book by Ursula K. Le Guin that explores the perspective of Lavinia (daughter of Latinus, wife of Aeneas) from Virgil's "Aeneid". Giving a feminine perspective to the male-centric Roman epic.
"Lavinia, an 18-year-old princess in "The Aeneid," Vergil's 2,000-year-old epic poem about the origins of Rome, gets little attention from Vergil as a background figure. He gives her not a single speech in his shimmeringly melodious, 10,000-line poem, despite that she is daughter to King Latinus, who rules the region; that multitudes of men die over who should marry her; and that her eventual marriage is crucial to the founding of Rome. The book "Lavinia" (Le Guin's 56th!) repairs Vergil's lapse and is also a loving tribute to the poet. It's an earthy retelling of the last six books of the 12-book poem, told from the point of view of Lavinia herself."
According to the review, Le Guin explores her "rich, pagan life", and brings a feminine "balance" to Virgil's work while avoiding outright revisionism. A work on par with Robert Graves's "I, Claudius", according to Publishers Weekly.
In an interview with Le Guin about the work, the author explains that she isn't trying to improve on Virgil, merely telling tales he didn't have time to get to.
"Virgil didn't have time for little Lavinia," Ms. Le Guin says. Virgil died in 19 B.C. and many scholars believe he still planned to do some work on the Aeneid. "I didn't feel I was correcting Virgil, but here was something he didn't have the time to do, and I did."
"Lavinia" promises to be an interesting exploration of the early mythic history of Rome. You can read an excerpt of the book, here.
Labels: books, Lavinia, Myth, Paganism, Rome, Ursula Le Guin, Virgil
4.19.2008
600,000 "Satanists" in Rome?
While America is distracted by the Pope's visit, the Christian Broadcasting Network (home of Pat Robertson's "The 700 Club") spotlights the growing popularity of exorcisms in Italy (a topic I've touched on before).
"In this predominantly Catholic nation the devil is gaining a foothold. "There is a greater openness towards the devil," Rev. Gabriele Amorth, the Vatican's chief exorcist, said. In fact, Rome has been called the most 'satanized' city in Italy. "Satanism and the occult are in fashion," said Father Pedro Barrajon, a professor of theology."
None of this rhetoric is new or unusual (indeed, the good Rev. Amorth seems willing to talk to any news outlet that will give him the time of day), but what did draw my eye was an un-sourced statistic thrown out by the CBN reporter.
"There are an estimated 800 satanic cults operating in the country, with more than 600,000 followers. And their numbers are growing."
Over half a million Satanists? Really? That seems like an awfully big number. To get some perspective, I checked in with theistic Satanist Diane Vera's web site, where a whole section has been devoted to Satanic panic in Italy. According to Vera, these high numbers may be including Satanists, occultists of all stripes, Pagans, psychics, and other "heretical" individuals (teenage metal heads, for example).
"Among Christians, including Catholics, an increased emphasis on demons and exorcism leads inevitably to an increased fear of all non-Christian spiritual practices ... All the "We're not Satanists" disclaimers in the world will not stop conservative Christians from associating non-Christian spiritualities - especially the more "magical" spiritualities - with demons and/or with Satanism. Even in the eyes of those relatively few conservative Christians who are well-informed about the beliefs of Pagans, occultists, etc."
This view is backed up by the blog Bartholomew's Notes on Religion, who dug into census data and found that there were only 240 or so "organized" Satanists (as of 2003).
"Therefore, despite the many more relevant numbers often supplied by mass media - those who propose such numbers should, of course, be capable of supporting their statements with evidence as far as we can see from the numbers right now - the groups of organized satanists only represent an insignificant percentage of the Italian population even if, of course, the experience lived can be extremely hard for the people involved. The organized satanism is therefore a phenomenon that is often overrated, as a matter of fact, it concerns only a few thousands of people all over the world."
Taking all this into account, it becomes clear that exorcisms aren't simply a tool against "demonic possession". No heroic Father Merrin casting out the demon in little Regan. Instead, we have a struggle against all forms of non-Catholic thought. If you embrace a theology outside the bounds of the dominant monotheisms, or simply want to divorce your Catholic husband, you are demon-haunted and ripe for spiritual torture-tactics.
"Typical cases, he said, include people who turn away from the church and embrace New Age therapies, alternative religions or the occult. Internet addicts and yoga devotees are also at risk, he said."
The rhetorical slight-of-hand that turns all non-Catholic thinking into demon-possession hasn't escaped the notice of Pagan groups around the world, who condemn this new commitment to "curing" people who may simply be happier as Pagans.
So while Benedict XVI makes nice at an inter-religious gathering in America, those under his purview continue to ignore his wish to "discuss our differences with calmness and clarity", and instead label anyone in Rome rejecting Christianity as "Satanists". But then, perhaps Benedict's call for "sincere dialogue and cooperation" was only extended to the religions big enough to be invited to the party. Pagans, Heathens, and assorted polytheists, on the outs since the time of Theodosius, need not apply.
Labels: Catholicism, exorcisms, Italy, occult, Paganism, Rome, Satanic Panic, Satanism
3.29.2008
Robert Fagles 1933 - 2008
Professor, poet, and academic Robert Fagles passed on Wednesday, March 29th, from prostate cancer. Fagles is best known for his masterful translations of Homer's epics the Iliad and the Odyssey.
Robert Fagles
"He was a quiet man, diligent and decorous, yet one who was unexpectedly equal to the swagger and savagery of Homer's 'Iliad' and 'Odyssey' in a way no one had managed before him," - Princeton humanities professor and Pulitzer Prize-winning poet Paul Muldoon
Robert Fagles' contribution to translations of Greek and Roman classic literature and poetry can't be understated. His translations of Homer sold over 4 million copies worldwide, and helped re-introduce the greatness of pre-Christian epic poetry to a new generation.
"Homer gave me new modes of expression, but I wanted to capture as much of him as I could, making him available and, with luck, compelling to a modern audience. I set the same task for myself when I translated Aeschylus and Sophocles."
His most recent translation was Virgil's Aeneid, released in 2006, a project he wasn't sure he would be able to finish due to his cancer. When released, Fagles called it "unexpectedly timely and relevant".
"It says that if you depart from the civilized, then you become a murderer ... The price of empire is very steep, but Virgil shows how it is to be earned, if it's to be earned at all. The poem can be read as an exhortation for us to behave ourselves, which is a horse of relevance that ought to be ridden."
For any Pagan who has taken inspiration from the classics, Fagles performed a great service. May his virtuous soul find rest and joy on the Elysian fields.
Labels: classics, Greece, Homer, Passings, Robert Fagles, Rome
12.11.2007
The New English Metamorphoses
The Sun Chronicle highlights Joel Relihan, a Wheaton College classics professor, who recently finished the first new American English translation of The Metamorphoses of Lucius Apuleius (aka The Golden Ass) by Apuleius in forty years.
"Spending more than a year reading a book word by word tested the patience of Joel Relihan, a Wheaton College classics professor. The end result was the first American English translation of a certain Latin classic in about 40 years ... Set in the second century A.D., the story follows a young man whose fascination with witchcraft results in his transformation into a donkey, Relihan explains. The donkey spends a year trying to get the antidote to the spell. Although unfamiliar to most readers, the story is considered one of the "big name Latin classics," Relihan says."
"The Golden Ass" is famous for being the only intact full-length Latin novel to survive from ancient Rome to the present day, and equally famous within modern Pagan circles for the speech the goddess Isis gives to Lucius (trapped in the form of a donkey due to meddling in Thessalian magic).
"All the perfumes of Arabia floated into my nostrils as the Goddess deigned to address me: 'You see me here, Lucius, in answer to your prayer. I am Nature, the universal Mother, mistress of all the elements, primordial child of time, sovereign of all things spiritual, queen of the dead, queen also of the immortals, the single manifestation of all gods and goddesses that are."
Isis' speech (here translated by Robert Graves, and included in the essential "The Paganism Reader") is thought by some modern Pagans and Pagan scholars to be a direct influence on the revival of religious Witchcraft in England, and prefigures many concepts found within today's Goddess worship communities. A new, easily obtainable, English translation is certainly welcome so that a new generation of students and curious seekers can follow the exploits of Lucius, and hear the words of the Goddess.
You can find the new translation on Amazon.com, here, and audio excerpts of Joel C. Relihan reading from his translation, here.
Labels: Apuleius, Isis, Joel Relihan, Paganism, Rome, The Goddess, The Golden Ass, Wicca
11.30.2007
Theological Fun With Pope Benedict
Pope Benedict XVI has released his newest encyclical on the theme of Christian hope. Entitled "Spe Salvi" (saved by hope), the work muses on Christian salvation, redemption, and the role of prayer in Christian life, but it wouldn't be Benedict (the artist formerly known as Cardinal Ratzinger) without inflating the triumphal claims of Catholicism at the expense of polytheist forms of religion!
"Paul reminds the Ephesians that before their encounter with Christ they were "without hope and without God in the world" (Eph 2:12). Of course he knew they had had gods, he knew they had had a religion, but their gods had proved questionable, and no hope emerged from their contradictory myths. Notwithstanding their gods, they were "without God" and consequently found themselves in a dark world, facing a dark future ... Here too we see as a distinguishing mark of Christians the fact that they have a future... Myth had lost its credibility; the Roman State religion had become fossilized into simple ceremony which was scrupulously carried out, but by then it was merely "political religion". Philosophical rationalism had confined the gods within the realm of unreality. The Divine was seen in various ways in cosmic forces, but a God to whom one could pray did not exist."
There are quite a few problems with Benedict's argument, a primary one is the confusion of mythological stories with the living and breathing religion being practiced at the time. The assumption that Roman polytheists had no hope for a pleasant afterlife, when in fact they had a systematic afterlife that included judgment, rewards, and punishments, and the characterization of Roman religious ritual as a clockwork obligation that had no belief or passion. The bugbear here for Benedict is the specter of "philosophical rationalism", which along with relativism leads (in his view) to all manner of horrors, including the destruction of Christianity (and which, in his view, drained the life out of Roman polytheism).
Not that we should expect a fair hearing from the Pontiff, after all, this is the same Pope who claims that the Nazis were a "Neo-Pagan" invention, and not a product spawned from centuries of Christian antisemitism. Having said that, there were some other interesting things said in the Pope's latest missive to the world, including some words on prayer that won't make certain evangelical Christians very happy.
"He emphasized that prayer should not be isolating and should not focus on superficial objectives. Nor can people pray against others, he said. "To pray is not to step outside history and withdraw to our own private corner of happiness," he said."
It seems very likely that he is pointing his finger at prosperity gospel folks and certain stripes of "prayer warriors", who "target" people of influence with prayer. It should be interesting if any reporters pick up on this jab at non-Catholic forms of Christianity. As for the Pope and Paganism, you would think that a man as learned as Benedict would hesitate to create religious straw-men to bat down. There are plenty of valid criticism of polytheistic systems, but portraying Roman polytheists as without hope and "lost" to nihilistic darkness is petty and untrue.
Labels: Benedict XVI, Catholicism, Myth, Paganism, Polytheism, Rome
11.27.2007
Updates on Past Stories
My Chemical Wedding: "Chemical Wedding", the film about Aleister Crowley written by Iron Maiden lead singer Bruce Dickinson, has finished shooting and is now in post-production.
"...principal photography on Chemical Wedding, which was written by Iron Maiden frontman Bruce Dickinson and directed by Julian Doyle, has completed and the film is now in post ... Simon Callow stars as a stuttering, shy professor who accidentally reanimates the spirit of famed Satanist Aelister Crowley, dubbed "The most evil man in Britain", transforming into a charismatic, but seriously depraved, reincarnation of Crowley. He wreaks havoc among the students of the Cambridge campus he works for."
Judging by the poster, I dare say that "havoc" may include some gratuitous nudity (perhaps even inside an inverted pentacle). Not that Crowley, ever a lover of controversy, would necessarily disapprove (though considering Crowley's open bisexuality, one hopes it is equal-opportunity nudity).
As for the quality of the finished picture, we'll have to wait and see. Who knows? Perhaps Aleister Crowley will become a new cinematic villain/antihero spawning scores of "Chemical Wedding" sequels. For my original post of this project, click here.
The Cave of Romulus: It looks like Cambridge classics professor Mary Beard isn't the only one skeptical about the veracity of a site in Italy that some are claiming to be the Cave of Romulus (aka the Lupercal). Adriano La Regina, Rome's superintendent of archeology from 1976 to 2004, says he is certain that this grotto isn't the site of the mythical founder's cave.
"La Regina ... said ancient descriptions of the place suggest the Lupercale is elsewhere - 50 to 70 metres northwest of the cave discovered near Emperor Augustus' palace. "I am positive this is not the Lupercale," Mr La Regina told Reuters in an interview. Instead, he believes the cave - which ministry pictures show is decorated with well-preserved seashells and coloured mosaics - was a room in Nero's first palace on the Palatine Hill, which burnt down in 64 AD in the great fire of Rome."
Interior view of the grotto.
La Regina was also quoted as saying that this is still an important find, even if it isn't the Lupercal, due to the well-preserved state of the site (which he believes was a nymphaeum used to entertain guests). No word yet from the Italian Culture Ministry, who said they were "reasonably certain" this was the Lupercal. You can read my original post on this subject, here.
Labels: Aleister Crowley, Chemical Wedding, Italy, Lupercal, movies, Rome, Romulus
11.21.2007
The Cave of Romulus?
The international press has been buzzing over an archaeological find in Italy that some believe is the cave of Romulus, the mythical founder of Rome. Romulus, along with his twin brother Remus were the sons of Rhea Silvia (descendant of Aeneas, and possibly a former forest goddess) who bore the twins after being raped by the god Mars (one of the principal Roman deities, and very different from his Greek counterpart Ares).
Rhea Silvia, a sworn virgin priestess, was sentenced to death, but her twins were rescued and set adrift on the river Tiber where they eventually took shelter in the cave of the she-wolf Lupa, who nursed them. Ever after, the cave (called the Lupercal) was a sacred place to the Romans and the starting point for the major festival of Lupercalia. But has the legendary cave really been found? Italian experts seem fairly certain its the right place.
"Presenting the discovery, Italian Culture Minister Francesco Rutelli said archaeologists were "reasonably certain" that the newly unearthed cave could be the Lupercal. "This could reasonably be the place bearing witness to the myth of Rome, one of the most well-known cities in the world - the legendary cave where the she-wolf suckled Romulus and Remus, saving them from death," he said ... The ancient cave was found 16m (52ft) underground in a previously unexplored area during restoration work on the palace of Augustus, the first Roman emperor."
Interior view of the cave.
But some aren't so certain, including Cambridge classics professor Mary Beard. Beard fears the Italians may be rushing to judgment in their haste to find the legendary spot.
"What has been discovered is a rather elegant underground cavern on the Palatine hill, with a nicely decorated vault, inlaid with seashells, mosaics and marble ... The place is Roman all right, and it looks for all the world like one of those decorated underground grottoes that Roman toffs went wild about. But that doesn't mean it's the "Lupercal", as the Romans called the cave where they thought the twins had been found by the wolf (lupa). The mysterious entrance is a problem for me. One thing we know about the Lupercal is that it was easily accessible. It was, for example, the starting point of one of the major - and strangest - rituals of Roman religion: the Lupercalia ... So I shall be reserving judgment until I see a bit more of this grotto."
Has one of the most important religious and cultural places in Rome truly been found? No doubt the passage of time will eventually reveal if this is the she-wolf's cave (digging begins next year), or simply a random grotto.
Labels: Italy, Lupercal, Lupercalia, Mary Beard, Rome, Romulus
10.16.2007
(Pagan) News of Note
My semi-regular round-up of articles, essays, and opinions of note for discerning Pagans and Heathens.
We are saddened to report that Lady Jaye Breyer P-Orridge, the musical and spiritual partner of Psychic TV founder Genesis P-Orridge, passed away on October 9th due to a previously undiagnosed heart condition.
"Genesis Breyer P-Orridge and her reactivated Psychic TV aka PTV3 are terribly sad to announce the cancellation of their November North American tour dates. This decision is entirely due to the unexpected passing of band member Lady Jaye Breyer P-Orridge. Lady Jaye died suddenly on Tuesday 9th October 2007 at home in Brooklyn, New York from a previously undiagnosed heart condition which is thought to have been connected with her long-term battle with stomach cancer. Lady Jaye collapsed and died in the arms of her heartbroken "other half" Genesis Breyer P-Orridge."
A visual and conceptual artist, Lady Jaye spent more than a decade exploring the concepts of "pandrogeny" in which she and Genesis strove to become one being incorporating all sexes and sexualities. The P-Orridges and Psychic TV were instrumental in the development of music that explored occult concepts and imagery.
Several interesting stories have emerged that touch on environmental issues. In England, there is a plan developing to save Sherwood Forest, which is in increasing danger due to storms, forest fires, and vandals which are killing the ancient oak trees at an alarming rate.
"For the people who care for Sherwood Forest it is like a death in the family when one of the ancient oaks falls, a tragedy that is now becoming depressingly frequent. They used to lose an average of one a year, now it is usually five, and the rate is accelerating. The appalling calculation, which almost breaks the foresters' hearts, is that in 50 years' time the greatest collection of ancient oaks in Europe, many 1,000 years old and more, may be no more."
The foresters hope to plant 250,000 oaks on 350 acres, in order to help preserve and protect the ancient oaks. The article also discusses the folkloric history of the forest, including tales of Robin Hood and Druidic rites.
Why are environmentalists like Al Gore and Wangari Maathai winning a prize dedicated to peace? According to Slate.com, sudden environmental shifts may be one of the biggest contributors to war and strife.
"I asked Maathai what reforestation had to do with ending conflict. "What the Nobel committee is doing is going beyond war and looking at what humanity can do to prevent war," she answered. "Sustainable management of our natural resources will promote peace." ... The idea of a connection between conflict and climate change is fairly new, and one that had been mostly relegated to academic journals until earlier this year. Then, in June, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon went on record to suggest global warming as a cause for the fighting in the Darfur region of Sudan."
More proof that everything is interconnected. A rise in temperature doesn't only mean running your air conditioner more in the summer, it can mean drastically changing whole cultures and peoples, a point that is further explored in a column by Jodi Rave. Rave reports on how climate change is affecting the way indigenous populations struggle to live and interact with a quickly changing landscape.
"I was in Alta, Norway, as an invited speaker at an international indigenous journalists' conference. Indigenous people - communities whose homelands have been invaded by colonizers yet still maintain distinct languages, cultures and customs - share common concerns, including a right to live off the land ... But global warming is changing their landscape ... In Alaska, sea ice is melting and the permafrost is thawing. Native Inuit villages are being destroyed ... What will happen in Scandinavia and other parts of the Arctic when snow disappears little by little?"
Some indigenous groups are now working with scientists in order to understand and adapt to the changes, hoping to meld science with traditional wisdom.
As Samhain approaches, those hoping to save the Hill of Tara in Ireland from highway development are planning magical and symbolic actions to help raise awareness and stop the planned M3 expansion. The TaraWatch organization is raising funds to create a "protective light shield" around the historic spiritual and political center.
"Tara Light will consist of an elaborate light show with beams of white light illuminating Tara valley the home and source of the Celtic Halloween festival (the Celtic New Year), while a live radio broadcast will provide an audio backdrop to those viewing the event from Tara and others tuning in around the valley, surrounding area, Ireland and beyond ... The objective of the lighting event is to show the positioning and significant quantity of sacred sites throughout the complex, in relation to the motorway route proximity and to show the importance of immediately halting the destruction to maintain the integrity, balance and beauty that has existed here for over 5000 years of history."
Meanwhile, Celtic Reconstructionists from around the globe are planning rituals to help protect the site. A web site for the "I Stand With Tara" ritual is now up, and details are going to be posted soon.
Since I brought up Al Gore earlier in this post, I thought I would mention that Pagan author and pundit Isaac Bonewits is calling for magical action to urge Al Gore to run for President.
"As a Druid and as a priest of the Earth Mother I know how important it is to use both magical and mundane methods to draft Al Gore, kicking and screaming if necessary, to run. There is no other position from which he could have the power and influence he will need to push major American corporations, our national and state governments, and other nations of the world to take the drastic action that will be needed to avert the worst of the already tipped-over climate."
Finally, the blog Tropaion links to a BBC documentary concerning "Togas on TV", a look at how ancient Rome is viewed in popular culture.
"The question that the narrator asks is what is Rome for us today and how we conceive it, and whether or not that is right or wrong. Enjoy it, as I must confess I enjoy it, especially with the marvelous points by our Mary Beard."
That is all I have for now, have a good day.
Labels: Celts, enviornmentalism, Hill of Tara, indigenous, Isaac Bonewits, Lady Jaye Breyer P-Orridge, Pagan News of Note, Paganism, Robin Hood, Rome
8.12.2007
Review: Stardust and Rome
My schedule allowed me to see the film adaptation of Neil Gaiman's "Stardust" during its opening weekend (a rare occurrence in my household), and since I plugged the movie on my blog earlier this week I thought I would provide a review. But let me preface by quoting a small bit from Roger Ebert's review that mirrored many of my own feelings concerning "Stardust".
"There are lots of other good things in the movie, but they play more like vaudeville acts than part of a coherent plot. It's a film you enjoy in pieces, but the jigsaw never gets solved. I liked it, but "The Princess Bride" it's not."
There are many good small things in the film. Michelle Pfeiffer is charming as the witch Lamia, and the Greek chorus of dead brothers are entertaining throughout, but the film itself is something of a mess and the romance lays the syrup on so thick diabetics should be warned. Though it has been some time since I read Gaiman's original work, I don't believe it was so openly mushy and sentimental. That more than anything else separates this film from the modern classic of swashbuckling fantasies "The Princess Bride" (which it has been compared to several times), a film that wasn't afraid to add a generous dose of cynicism, sarcasm, and doubt (not to mention a script as tight as a steel drum).
Perhaps the greatest sin of "Stardust" is that it doesn't trust the audience to make connections for themselves, everything is explained and narrated to a point where the characters don't have a chance to expand and breathe. We all know that fairy tales involving dashing heroes will (generally) end up with a happy ending, but most of us don't watch for the pay-off happy ending, we watch to see how well the storyteller convinces us that it might NOT work. In "Princess Bride" we are shown an array of characters with their own fully-formed motivations helping, hindering, or confusing the main quest for true love, in "Stardust" every plot point seems like just another tick on a check-list to "happily ever after". "Stardust" isn't a bad film per-say, like I said before there some bright moments that can charm you, but I was hoping for a classic and ended up with a trifle.
On a completely different note, I started watching the second (and last) season of the HBO television drama "Rome", which recently came out on DVD. I don't have cable, so it has been quite awhile since I visited these characters, and I must say that I had forgotten how fresh "Rome" is in its ambition and scope. The aftermath of Ceasar's death (which happened at the end of the first season) is handled very well (though history is always fudged a bit in this show), and as always religion is everywhere in the series.
"If the past is a foreign country, then ancient religion may be its most exotic locale. The HBO series "Rome," which returns for its second season on Sunday, is hardly "Fodor's Guide to Paganism," but by venturing off some well-worn cinematic paths, the show has given the worship of the gods a generous treatment in a genre dominated by stories of gladiators and the advent of Christ. The creators of the serial drama, which focuses on the power struggles during the last days of the Roman Republic in the first century B.C.E., wanted to portray Roman religion not as a doomed prologue to Christianity but as a vibrant and meaningful part of everyday life."
Religion is taken so seriously that when a character commits a major act of blasphemy in the second episode, you feel truly shocked by the action. It is a shame that "Rome" will not see a third season (due to the staggeringly large budget), but we can at least enjoy the two soap-operatic seasons of the Roman Empire's rise.
Labels: film, HBO, Neil Gaiman, Paganism, review, Rome, Stardust
7.11.2007
Pagan Fashions For Peace
Lately it seems that everything old is new again in the world of high fashion. Earlier this year you had the witch-themed fashion line by British designer Alexander McQueen, then last month their was reporting on "antler chic", now one of the world's most famous fashion designers is making an explicitly pagan statement ... for peace.
High fashion and high ideals merge for Valentino's 45th anniversary.
"As bombs fell during the first Gulf War, Valentino designed a simple, white column dress with the word 'Peace' embroidered on it in 14 languages. That 'Peace' dress is now the centerpiece of Valentino's 45th anniversary fashion exhibition, surrounded by 300 more of his most glamorous evening gowns at Rome's Ara Pacis monument commissioned by Emperor Augustus. 'This monument is so amazing that we decided if you can't beat it, join it,' Giancarlo Giammetti, Valentino's business partner, said to reporters before the opening. 'We decided to create a pagan procession of women honoring the Ara Pacis.'"
The Ara Pacis Augustae (altar of majestic peace) personifies peace as a Roman goddess, and celebrated the Pax Romana, an era of relative tranquility after a number of wars (both civil and foreign). According to the organizers of the event, the show is mean to be a "spiritual journey" with the gowns embodying "floating ideas", and unlike the hostilities to pagan displays in Greece, Italy seems to have no compunction at such an "unChristian" display of extravagance.
"Among the visitors to the exhibit was Italian Premier Romano Prodi. On hand to congratulate the designer at the opening was Rome's Mayor Walter Veltroni, who announced the opening of a museum dedicated to Valentino and his fashion in a former city garage near the Roman Forums. 'Rome is making an effort to keep up with the beauty of Valentino's work,' he said."
Also attending the gala event were Sienna Miller, Sarah Jessica Parker, Joan Collins, Mick Jagger and Annie Lennox. Proving that while the UK and America may have jump-started the modern Paganism movement, the Italians remember that ancient paganism walked hand-in-hand with pomp, glitz, and high ideals, just like in the (very) old days.
Labels: Ara Pacis Augustae, fashion, Italy, Paganism, Rome, Valentino
3.08.2007
The Golden Rule
Philip Harland, Assistant Professor in the Humanities Division at York University, offers a corrective to those who still think ancient pagans were amoral hedonistic party-goers concerned solely with gladiator battles and orgies.
"Despite what you may have heard about the "pagan" Greeks or Romans (a friend of mine - perhaps representative - thought they were all about wild orgies), "pagans" too were very concerned with proper behaviour as they defined it, and sometimes they defined it in similar ways. Educated philosophers, in particular, focussed their attention on questions of what behaviors were most fitting, desirable, or appropriate in particular circumstances. Such philosophers were often very concerned with "family values", and so they spent considerable time thinking about what were the appropriate relationships among members of the household..."
As an example, Harland focuses on the ethic of reciprocity (aka "the golden rule") and quotes the work of 2nd century Stoic philosopher Hierocles.
"The first bit of advice, therefore, is very clear, easily obtained, and common to all people. For it is a sound word which everyone will recognize as clear: Treat anybody whatsoever as though you supposed that he were you and you he."
Hierocles the Stoic wasn't the only pagan philosopher to endorse the ethic of reciprocity, similar statements have been made by Seneca, Aristotle, Epictetus (also a Stoic), Socrates, and his student Plato.
"May I do to others as I would that they should do unto me." - Plato
In fact the earliest known written version of the golden rule is from an ancient Egyptian piece of literature entitled "The Tale of Sinuhe", written nearly two thousand years before the birth of Jesus.
"This is an ordinance: Act for the man who acts, to cause him to act. This is thanking him for what he does."
This is a far cry from some evangelical commentators who have claimed that ancient pagans existed in a fatalistic world view devoid of morality. In fact, Christianity would have had a very hard time taking root in such societies. The truth is that our modern world (and its advanced "ethics" and "morals") is more in debt to ancient paganism than many people realize. Something to remember the next time someone tells you how lost we would all be without the dominant monotheisms.
Labels: ethics, Greece, morals, Paganism, philosophy, Rome, The Golden Rule
2.15.2007
A Fertile Lupercalia To You!
Today is the festival of Lupercalia, the ancient Roman observance of fertility and the coming spring. Not to be confused with the commercialized martyr's celebration held yesterday, Lupercalia is a holiday sacred to the god Faunus, and the mythical she-wolf who reared Romulus and Remus the semi-mythical founders of Rome. It was considered an important holiday of religious observance and purification.
"Lupercalia " by Domenico Beccafumi
There are many lurid accounts of what goes on during Lupercalia, some make it seem like an excuse for copulation and frivolity. One of the best descriptions I have found on the web comes from W. J. Kowalski's excellent Roman Calendar page.
"The rites of this day included the sacrifice of a goat or a dog at the cave-grotto known as the Lupercal. With the sacrificial blood wiped across their foreheads, the youth partaking in this ceremony would then run the circumference of the Palatine hill, perhaps about 5K, tracing the traditional route of the city boundary traced by Romulus the day he founded Rome. In the process, girls who approached the runners would be brushed or splattered with the februa, thongs of sacrificial goatskin, presumably bloody, symbolically blessing them with fertility. Red is the color of the day as it is with Valentine's Day, the day invented to replace the Lupercalia. Fertility and sexuality were likewise replaced with the puritanical pipedream of sexless Love."
Most (non-Pagan) people wouldn't even know about Lupercalia if it were not for the constant stream of Valentine's Day articles in the press. The favorite trend amongst bored newswriters and editorial columnists seems to be talking about the ancient pagan influences of a particular holiday. This has done more to further an awareness of ancient (and modern) paganism than any Pagan advocacy group could hope to attain. So as more people grow sick and tired of the Valentine's Day expectations, perhaps I'll be hearing more "blessed Lupercalias" in the future.
A very blessed and fertile Lupercalia to you all!
Labels: Lupercalia, Paganism, Rome
2.13.2007
Greco-Roman Fantasy
Salon.com reviewer Gary Kamiya analyzes (and praises) the sweeping historical cable television drama "Rome". The show, now in its second (and last) season, is playing out the rise of Octavian (Augustus) the first Emperor of Rome. Kamiya seems especially impressed with the boldly un-Christian woldview of the show.
"'Rome' is based on solid historical research. But what makes it draw imaginative blood is the fact that it's uncensored scholarship, audacious history. "Rome" is incredibly entertaining, while also being incredibly shocking. It's history porn. It dares to depict an alien worldview, one untouched by Christianity and the moral ethos introduced by that strange little sect. Perhaps those Catholic watchdog groups should stop worrying about heretical fluff like "The Da Vinci Code" and pay more attention to 'Rome.'"
Kamiya also favorably compares "Rome" to the BBC series "I, Claudius" and declares it the better work of the two.
"The key here is "graphic." This is where "Rome" separates itself from such earlier efforts as the superb BBC series "I, Claudius." A highly intelligent work, "I, Claudius" might in certain ways be superior to "Rome" -- its intrigues are more exquisitely intricate, and it avoids certain melodramatic narrative clichés. But it cannot match the way the new series violently immerses the viewer in history. Based on Robert Graves' novels, "I, Claudius" is essentially a work of theater, not film; it uses language, not action or setting, to pull in the viewer. It is a subtler approach to history, brilliant in its own way, but it does not succeed like "Rome" in truly evoking the past in all its radical and banal otherness."
But while "Rome" is winning accolades on cable television, according to some, the "swords and sandals" epic films in theaters are in trouble and the upcoming film "300" is the last chance to save the genre from slipping back into obscurity.
"Hollywood is pinning hopes on 300 to rediscover the kind of success enjoyed by Ridley Scott's Oscar-winning Gladiator in 2000. Since then the ancient epic has suffered setbacks with Troy, starring Brad Pitt and Orlando Bloom, which was derided by critics as a travesty of Homer, and Alexander, with a bleached-blond Colin Farrell, which flopped at the box office and earned director Oliver Stone some of his worst reviews. Both films were made by Warner Brothers, as is 300. Another turkey could destroy studios' willingness to invest in the genre, just as in 1963 when the Richard Burton-Elizabeth Taylor version of Cleopatra killed such productions for decades."
300's ultra-stylized version of the Battle of Thermopylae seems to be winning over advance test audiences, so it looks like this won't be the last film to venture into our ancient Greco-Roman (pagan) past.
1.13.2007
The Gods of Rome
Beliefnet takes a look at the portrayal of religion in the critically acclaimed HBO series "Rome" (just in time for the beginning of the second season). Though the series tends to play fast and loose with history at times, they do try to portray just how important (and ever-present) religion was in that culture.
"If the past is a foreign country, then ancient religion may be its most exotic locale. The HBO series "Rome," which returns for its second season on Sunday, is hardly "Fodor's Guide to Paganism," but by venturing off some well-worn cinematic paths, the show has given the worship of the gods a generous treatment in a genre dominated by stories of gladiators and the advent of Christ. The creators of the serial drama, which focuses on the power struggles during the last days of the Roman Republic in the first century B.C.E., wanted to portray Roman religion not as a doomed prologue to Christianity but as a vibrant and meaningful part of everyday life."
The articles references the now-infamous Taurobolium scene, and hints at what might have been if the budget had allowed.
"The show's creators also had to bow to the pragmatics of TV production in the 21st century. One important and well-known festival was not included in "Rome" largely because it was too costly: The Lupercalia, which traditionally fell on February 15, was a fertility ritual the show scripted and then scrapped. 'We had Mark Antony rushing through the streets in a wolf skin whipping fertile young women, but it was not to be," Heller says. "If you're going to get those rituals right, you need to do them grandly, because that would have been an amazing spectacle and we didn't want to do it half-assed with a couple of guys running around in circles.'"
Ah, the opportunities lost. While some of the nuance of Religio Romana is lost to the soap-operatic story-lines, "Rome" is still one of the best attempts to portray the "pagan" past. Better by far than the endless films and television specials where Romans are played as decadent agnostics or foils to Christians. I can't wait to rent these once they come out on DVD.
12.14.2006
Aeneas: Patsy For Imperialism?
Was Aeneas, the mythical survivor of the Trojan War and founder of Rome, a hero of civilization or an apologist for imperialism? Edward Rothstein of the New York Times examines the question on the occasion of Robert Fagles new translation of the Aeneid.
"But in recent decades, when even the notion of civilization has come under challenge for its claims of ethical and social superiority, Aeneas has sometimes been portrayed as a kind of patsy for imperialism, mouthing higher goals while succumbing to reckless fury as he spills the bowels of his enemies on the earth. The argument has been made that Virgil's project was actually ironic, anti-Augustan: he showed how civilization itself is drenched in blood, with self-celebratory history being written by the victors."
In the end, after weighing the case, Rothstein agrees with translator Robert Fagles's assessment. That the story of the Aeneid (in the hands of Virgil) is something of a cautionary tale.
"The Aeneid, he has suggested (thinking, he had said, of contemporary events), exhorts empires to behave. But it does not dismiss the ideal of civilization or the labors demanded or the persistent dangers faced; it offers a realist prophecy of war and peace, heralding civilization along with its discontents."
Was Virgil trying to flatter Rome (and Augustus) while at the same time trying to warn of the excesses of empire? It seems a likely scenario, Virgil, though a supporter of Augustus, was reluctant to take on the writing of a "national epic" and was pressed into the service by Augustus. One thing is certain, the influence and relevance of Virgil and his Aeneid remain vital to our present day understandings of power and civilization.
Labels: Aeneas, Aeneid, Empire, Paganism, Robert Fagles, Rome, Virgil
