6.30.2008
(Pagan) News of Note
My semi-regular round-up of articles, essays, and opinions of note for discerning Pagans and Heathens.
Getting excited about Hellboy II yet? I sure am! The film, directed and co-written by "Pan's Labyrinth" director Guillermo del Toro, is chock-full of pagan-friendly elements. To whet your appetite for the July 11th release date, an animated comic prologue has been released.
For more pre-release fun, check out the multiple trailers at the Apple site. You might also want to read some advance reviews from Variety, Hollywood Reporter, and Cinematical.
While I'm on the subject of movie news, a recent Virgin Media survey places "The Wicker Man" in the top ten best British films of all time.
"Four Weddings And A Funeral has been named best British film of all time in a survey out yesterday. The 1994 romantic comedy just beat Monty Python's Life Of Brian, and made a star of Hugh Grant, who comes fourth in the Best Actor poll. Trainspotting, Casino Royale, starring Daniel Craig as James Bond, Guy Ritchie's Lock Stock And Two Smoking Barrels, Lawrence Of Arabia, Withnail And I, Atonement, The Wicker Man and Get Carter completed the top 10 in the Virgin Media survey."
Speaking of "The Wicker Man", star Christopher Lee has lashed out in the press about ageism in the film industry after his role in the Scottish movie "Stone of Destiny" was edited out.
Presidential candidate Barack Obama seems to embody the religious hopes and fears of America. He's been called a secret Muslim, spurred claims that he might be the messiah, or a perhaps a "light worker", pissed off James Dobson, gained the support of a Pagan delegate (and had supposed Pagan ties used against him), and was formally adopted into the Crow Indian Nation. Now Hindus think he might be one of them.
Spot the Monkey God!
"If charges of being a “secret Muslim” weren’t enough, Barack Obama may now need to prove he’s not a secret Hindu as well. According to the Times of India, a group of supporters in New Delhi have sent Obama a two-foot, gold-plated statue of the monkey god Hanuman. According to Indian politician Brijmohan Bhama, “Obama has deep faith in Lord Hanuman and that is why we are presenting an idol of Hanuman to him.” The apparent source of this pronouncement of Obama’s newly-discovered faith is this photo from Time magazine, which shows a collection of lucky charms Obama carries with him, including a small Hanuman charm."
What better way to debunk "secret Muslim" smears than to have the Hindus claim you! Of course Obama is actually a liberal Christian, but this swirl of activity proves just how far America has moved from its "Christian" identity.
The Miami Herald has put out a very nice story about the shrine of la Ermita de La Caridad, a place where Cuban refugees come for solace and to pray. Though technically a Catholic shrine, it also attracts followers of Santeria who see la Caridad as a manifestation of Ochun.
"At the northern end of the seawall, where historic Vizcaya serves as a foreground to the glossy towers of Brickell Avenue, a stone Eleggua (the Santeria god known as the opener of paths) with cowrie-shell eyes gazes up toward the water's surface. At the southern end, near Mercy Hospital, someone's Santeria necklaces cling to a rock, a school of little silver fish brushing by the yellow and amber beads for Ochun, the blue and white ones for Yemaya ... As Catholic as the shrine is, many of the devoted who come here are also followers of Santeria. In the religious syncretism of Cuba, la Caridad, an apparition of the Virgin Mary, is also called Ochun, one of the orishas, the Santeria gods. "A sanctuary is precisely a place where the Catholic religion makes contact with el pueblo," Roman says. "We know there are people who perform rituals out there by the seawall. But they do it very respectfully. They don't let us see it."
A touching and balanced story about how culture and shared experience can sometimes overcome the barriers erected by religion.
In a final note, Religion Clause links to a story about how legal peyote used for religious purposes by Native Americans is becoming increasingly scarce due to local land being leased to oil speculators.
"South Texas property owners have realized there is profit in leasing their land as oil or hunting preserves. Suddenly, the small pittances peyoteros could pay for access didn't seem worth it. "Now, it's getting to where the ranchers don't want to give permission for us to look on their land," he said. "You have to keep going back to the same patches and waiting for it to grow again." This presents a conundrum. If Morales and his colleagues keep revisiting the same patches, the cactus doesn't have enough time to re-grow. Repeated overharvesting also affects the potency of the plant, said Martin Terry, an assistant professor of biology at Sul Ross University in Alpine. "If the demand continues to increase - even slowly - and the supply continues to decrease, then the amount available to the church will just keep continuing to decrease," he said."
Religious prohibitions prevent greenhouse-grown peyote, and trips to Mexico, where the cactus is still plentiful, is wrought with legal entanglements. With only a few legal peyoteros left, and available land dwindling, it remains to be seen if the Native American Church can find a way to solve this problem.
That is all I have for now, have a great day!
Labels: American Indian, Barack Obama, entheogens, Florida, Guillermo del Toro, Hellboy II, Hinduism, law, Native American, Pagan News of Note, Paganism, Religion Clause, Santeria, The Wicker Man
2.04.2008
Around the Blogosphere
Some great Pagan and Pagan-friendly content has been popping up lately in the blogosphere, so I thought I would take some time to highlight some posts that I found particularly interesting.
To start off, Mollie at Get Religion takes a look at recent press coverage concerning the entheogenic plant ayahuasca, and the surge in popularity of shamanistic therapy sessions among upper-class suburbanites in Southern California.
"Piccalo explains that ayahuasca, meaning "vine of the soul" has been used for hundreds of years or more by tribes in Central and South America. In countries where it is legal, pilgrims flock to ceremonies. She notes that Allen Ginsberg and William S. Burroughs introduced the plant concoction to pop culture in the 1960s but that it has remained a largely underground phenomenon - until now. A community shepherded by shamans is emerging in the United States ... Unfortunately, the religious component of ayahuasca isn't really explored. Most of the piece deals with Truenos, who comes off more Elmer Gantry than devout believer. He has a shady past and can't answer Piccalo's questions in a straightforward manner. In an area where New Age practitioners have found fertile ground for preying on the wealthy, he seems perfectly Californian."
Mollie and I both share the sentiment that journalists should further explore the religious ties to this plant and its usage. You can read the original Los Angeles Times article, here.
An the artistic front, classics professor Mary Beard reports on the opening of a new show of neo-classical sculpture at Tate Britain called "The Return of the Gods".
"Highlight of the show, but not for me (I actually think it's a bit irritating), is Canova's Three Graces. I decided to talk about some of the less well known pieces. The aim was to explain why what may look like slightly insipid white marble, recreating some serenely voluptuous male and female flesh, is actually a lot cleverer and a lot more intellectually engaged with the Greco-Roman sources on which it is based than most people ever imagine."
Meanwhile the Treadwells blog announces a new exhibition at the Transition Gallery (in London) entitled "Sex and Witchcraft"
"A sinister beauty pervades the work of seven artists from London, Manchester and Budapest in Sex and Witchcraft. Working across media, often incorporating the use of found materials and tabletop techniques, the artists engage in a disturbing alchemy. Dabbling in the chemistry of first sighting and the magical fusion of opposing elements, the artists reveal a dark underbelly to the world of love and flowers, white horses and watercolours."
The "Sex and Witchcraft" show also features a specially commissioned essay from punk-pioneer turned occult historian Gary Lachman.
Over at MetaPagan, Cat Chapin-Bishop notices a "spontaneous blog carnival" concerning interactions between Paganism and Christianity.
"It must be something in the aether...Discussions of Christianity are breaking out on Pagan blogs everywhere. It's odd, but whenever I post anything related to the subject of Christianity at my own blog, the number of hits and comments--from Pagans--goes way up. Maybe I'm not the only person to have noticed this, because over the last few days, numerous members of the Pagan/Heathen blogosphere have posted entries on the topic of Christo-Paganism and related topics. Some bloggers are concerned, some are puzzled, and some are embracing at least some Christian concepts, if not Christianity, per se."
My coverage of Christo-Pagan inmates is included in this accidental blog carnival, as are entries from Gus DiZerega and Chapin-Bishop's own Quaker Pagan Reflections.
Over at Paganachd Bhandia, Kathryn Price NicDhana points to updates on direct action protests taking place in Ireland in a bid to save Tara from further development.
"We still need bodies on the line, supplies sent to the camps, and fierce magic in support. See my earlier posts for more details if you're new here."
For this blog's previous coverage concerning the fight to preserve the Hill of Tara, click here.
In a final note, author Erik Davis reviews the book "Romantic Religion" by R.J Reilly, and explores romanticism, sacred plays, the Inklings, and what really attracts him to religion.
"I have also begun to suspect that, a lot of the time, what has really attracted me to religion was less the glimmer of supernatural knowledge, of some answer to the irascible longing in my heart and the mercurial confusion in my mind, than the creative imagination that channels so much of this stuff in the first place. At root, my spirit resonates with to aesthetic dimension of religion - the pungent bite of frankincense, the swelling gallop of Mozart's requiem mass, the comic book arcana of cosmological maps, the turn of phrase in a lost gospel, the spare decor of the zendo. It is not that I am interested only in aesthetics, or story, or figurative art - I have spent tons of time with doctrine and history, and I love the experience of some model or argument about the nature of existence or God or the afterlife worms its way into my quotidian mind. But the real alchemy happens when the creative imagination soars beyond itself, towards matters of final import. I cannot imagine an awakened genuine religion without flavor and taste, without vivid figures and surprise. I rarely read wisdom books unless they are engaging as literature."
To find more great Pagan-friendly blog content, check out Blog Elysium for an extensive list of blog links, and MetaPagan for a human-edited look at content from other (Pagan) blogs.
That is all I have for now, have a great day!
Labels: art, ayahuasca, Blogosphere, Christopagans, entheogens, Erik Davis, Get Religion, Hill of Tara, Mary Beard, Metapagan, Pagan Blogs
1.26.2008
Indigenous and Native News
There have been some stories of note concerning indigenous faith and politics that have been popping up recently that might be of interest to my modern Pagan audience. Starting off, Reuters has a wonderful article about the Bolivian celebration of Alasita (which, according to some, translates as "buy me"), the festival of abundance that takes place on January 24th.
"Bolivians are crowding the steep cobbled streets of La Paz these days to pay homage to Ekeko, the squat mustached Andean god of abundance. They load down colourful Ekeko statues with tiny items representing prosperity, something elusive in South America's poorest country. It's the annual festival of Alasita, the time when Bolivians like to buy trinkets representing their wishes for the new year in the hope Ekeko will make them come true."
In addition to giving symbolic offerings to Ekeko, people also have their gifts blessed by a local shaman or Catholic priest (and very often, both). Evo Morales, the first fully indigenous president of Bolivia, was given a tiny hen so he can find a partner during the coming year, and a tiny copy of the controversial new constitution he is proposing.
Back in August I reported on how the presidential front-runners seemed to be avoiding taking a stand on issues directly affecting minority faiths in America. This indifference seemed to culminate with the seminal "Prez on the Rez" Democratic debate, in which all the presidential front-runners declined to attend, all stating "scheduling conflicts".
"If they won't come talk to us now, they certainly won't be responsive to us if they get in the White House," said Kalyn Free, a Choctaw from Oklahoma who is organizing the Democratic forum, called "Prez on the Rez."
But now that several "Super Tuesday" primaries are coming up that could be swayed by votes from Indian Country things are a bit different, most notably, Barack Obama has been making great gains among American Indians despite doing "everything wrong".
"He hasn't attended the annual National Congress of American Indians meet, or rolled out a comprehensive Native American agenda, or even addressed the rumors of his own Native heritage - but he has still, somehow, managed to capture the imagination of Indian Country, say Native American commentators and community activists. Whether that wave of goodwill is enough to carry him to "Super Tuesday" primary victories in the states of Alaska, New Mexico, Oklahoma, North Dakota and Arizona, remains to be seen. 'Obama represents a break from the old - something fresh and new,' says Paul DeMain, managing editor of the Northern Wisconsin-based newspaper News from Indian Country. 'Native people are looking at him as someone who can empathize with other people of color.'"
Obama's rising star among Native voters seems to have made the candidate more receptive to issues within Indian Country, as evidenced by a recent Q&A in Nevada.
"Sen. Barack Obama (D-Illinois) said he would meet regularly with tribal leaders if he were elected president ... Obama said he would work to improve the health and welfare of Native Americans. He is a co-sponsor of the Indian Health Care Improvement Act that is being debated in the Senate this week."
None of this means that Obama has a lock on the Native vote, many American Indian leaders look fondly on the Clinton years and support Hillary Clinton. One thing is for certain, American Indians will play a crucial role in this year's primaries and candidates ignore them at their own peril.
In a final note, initial announcements have been made for the 4th Amazonian Shamanism Conference held July 19th - 27th in Peru. Guests include writer Peter Gorman, noted ayahuasca researcher Luis Eduardo Luna, 15 different native curanderos/shamans, and two Brujos.
"During the Conference Presentations you will have ample opportunities to hear the many shamans speaking alone as well as in panel discussions. It is during this time that you will get a sense of which healer you would like to be in Ceremony with. Especially during the question and answer times. There are three evenings set aside for you to be in Ceremony with the shaman - curandero or your choice. All Ceremonies are held outside of Iquitos, either up or downriver or way out on the Iquitos to Nauta highway and then a short 15 minute walk into the various Compounds."
The conference is sponsored by Soga del Alma ("vine of the soul"), a church that advocates for the use of "power plants" (entheogens like ayahuasca) in a religious context.
Labels: American Indian, Bolivia, Ekeko, entheogens, indigenous, Native American, Peru, Presidential election, shamanism
12.30.2006
Religious News 2006 (Part 2)
Yesterday I wrote about what the mainstream press thought were the top religion stories of 2006, and today I present the first part of my top ten news stories that involve or affect modern Paganism. A ongoing theme this year seems to be legal issues and discrimination, but there were some interesting quirks and stories that fall outside the issue of litigation. 2006 has been an eventful year, and it was difficult narrowing it down to just ten stories, but I think I have picked the ones that had the greatest impact now and for the future. What follows are my picks for the bottom six stories of 2006, the top four will follow tomorrow.
10. The Rachel Bevilacqua custody case. What happens when your religion is used against you? Rachel "Rev. Magdalen" Bevilacqua was barred from all contact with her son after photos of her at an adults-only Subgenius event were submitted by her son's father as proof that she was an unfit parent. The original judge called Bevilacqua "perverted" and "mentally ill" before stepping down under a growing scrutiny of his actions. The case is still in litigation (for nearly a year now) as the biological father's lawyers keep trying to delay a final decision on custody. This case is emblematic of the ongoing issues Pagans and other minority religions face in divorce and custody cases. Part of this problem is the fact that many adherents of minority faiths don't have the money to hire decent lawyers, while often facing the combined wealth of the Christian families on the opposing side.
9. Supreme Court allows entheogenic tea. In a unanimous decision the Supreme Court ruled (full opinion, here) that members of O Centro Espirita Beneficiente Uniao do Vegetal may legally import and use the entheogenic tea hoasca. The tea which contains traces of DMT is banned by the Controlled Substances Act. This is seen as a blow to the Bush administration who has been actively fighting this case for years. The court ruled that the government has failed to supply a "compelling interest" to limit the religious practices of the group, Justice Roberts said that the government was taking a "zero tolerance approach." This is widely seen as a triumph of the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, and could also open the doors to other religious groups who feel that the ritualized use of entheogenic substances are an important part of their practice.
8. Religious Right tactics backfire in favor of Pagans. We are used to different factions of the Religious Right fighting to put Christianity "back" into schools and other government-funded areas, but this year we witnessed this tactic backfire (at least) twice and the true ramifications of their actions become more clear. First the Brunswick County Board of Education in North Carolina tried to approve a new policy that would allow the disbursement of religious tracts in their schools. But after Llewellyn publications offered to disburse free Pagan books through local groups, the board got cold feet, tabled the vote, and spawned one of my favorite news photos of the year. Then later this year Falwell's Liberty Counsel threatened an elementary school in Charlottesville with legal action if it didn't allow two children to distribute Bible-school flyers, the school board fearing legal action started allowing religious material which opened the way for a local Pagan group to advertise their Yule event (much to the chagrin of local Christians). Do you think that since their fingers have been singed they will have learned their lesson?
7. Growing freedoms for Pagans outside America. This year saw all sorts of positive news for Pagans outside of America. Greek Pagans were allowed the right to perform public rituals and legally exist in the Orthodox-dominated country, Romania has officially recognized Witchcraft, and Iceland has increased the number of Asatru priests who can perform legal ceremonies. Meanwhile, a recent examination of census data makes modern Paganism the fastest growing religious category in Australia. It looks like the re-birth of Paganism is growing strong roots just about everywhere it exists.
6. American teens are experimenting with Wicca/Witchcraft in ever-growing numbers. The evangelical polling organization The Barna Group found in three national studies of over 4000 teens that an overwhelming majority of (73%) have participated in "psychic or witchcraft-related activity, beyond mere media exposure or horoscope usage." This was so remarkable that the organization listed it as one of their most significant findings of the year. It may not be a "phase" either. The recently released Baylor study on American religion found a "surprising level" of paranormal belief and experience amongst adults as well. Figures that could signify a continuing growth of modern Pagan faiths.
5. First imprisoned modern Pagan executed. Michael Lenz, an Asatruar on death row for the killing of a fellow inmate was executed in July of this year. Reporters examined the Asatru faith in and out of prison, and Asatru bloggers tried to explain their theology to a press that seemed to not "get" their religion.
Stay tuned tomorrow for the top 4!
Labels: Asatru, entheogens, Paganism, Religious Right, Subgenius, Top 10 religion stories of the year, Wicca, Witchcraft
