9.03.2008
Asheville Witches Win
For over a year, Dixie Deerman (aka Lady Passion), a Wiccan from Asheville, North Carolina, has been a driving force in trying to save a century-old magnolia tree from being cut down by local developers. The tree has become a galvanizing issue in Asheville, gaining support from local environmentalists and community members, and being used as a political football in City Council elections. Recently, Lady Passion and others had been keeping a 24/7 vigil at the tree in order to protect it.
Lady Passion under the magnolia tree.
"The Magnolia Tree has become a modern-day Liberty Tree. Citizens of every description -- wealthy and homeless, developers and Earth Firsters, seniors and teens, Christians and Pagans, liberals and conservatives, even the mayor, several councilpersons and the police chief -- have stopped by to "sit a spell," share their troubles caused by corrupt government and a collapsing economy, and give us their heartfelt thanks for what we are doing. Many leave offerings for the tree, which seems to exert a magically peaceful aura -- partly because, as conservative councilman Carl Mumpower noted when he visited the tree, magnolia bark is known to have anti-depressant qualities. And they add their signatures to the thousands of others on a Stop Parkside! petition."
Now it seems that the Witches (and their allies) have won. On Aug. 28, Superior Court Judge Marlene Hyatt ruled in favor of the family who had originally donated the land to the county, saving the tree, and the surrounding park, from further development.
"The lawsuit asserted that Pack had donated the land on the condition that it be preserved in perpetuity for public use—and that it would revert to his heirs if it were ever sold for private purposes, as the county did in 2006. Coleman had planned to build the nine-story Parkside condominium project on that land and an adjacent parcel he’d previously purchased. “George Pack made it abundantly clear exactly what the purpose of this land was: It was meant for a courthouse, for county offices or for public purposes,” Ferikes told the court."
Lady Passion and Coven Oldenwilde are naturally quite happy with this ruling.
"We are thrilled with this unprecidented win, and very appreciative of the over 9,000 people who signed the Stop Parkside petition, the hundreds who actively enabled our tree sit in innumerable ways, and the God/desses who answered our hearfelt pleas: All hail Hecate, Herne, Themis, Maat, Flidais and Nike! We remain vigilant in preventing retribution against the tree until Hyatt signs the official order restoring the land into public use (she's on vacation at present). Please help us continue to defend the magnolia if you're nearby; if you live afar, do so by viewing the tree 24/7 via webcam..."
So it looks like those "Barbarous Words of Power to thwart the developer", and a lot of local activism, have won the day. Congratulations to Lady Passion, Coven Oldenwilde, and the Stop Parkside coalition on saving the tree, and the land surrounding it, from development.
Labels: Asheville, Coven Oldenwilde, enviornmentalism, Lady Passion, North Carolina, Paganism, Wicca, Witchcraft
5.16.2008
(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
4.22.2008
Earth Day
"There is a love of wild nature in everybody an ancient mother-love ever showing itself whether recognized or no, and however covered by cares and duties." - John Muir, 1924
Today is Earth Day. Originally spearheaded in 1970 by Wisconsin Senator Gaylord Nelson as a national "teach-in" on urgent environmental issues, it has since become an internationally recognized holiday in 174 countries. Earth Day is partially credited with jump-starting the modern environmentalist movement, and helping to pass legislation like the Clean Air and Clean Water acts.
The Earth flag.
Today, with immense environmental challenges facing us, from climate change and the destruction of natural ecosystems to the impending fresh water shortages, the ideals and message of Earth Day are more vital than they have ever been.
Modern Pagan and Heathen faiths, whether they identify as "nature religions" or not, have a special sacral relationship with the natural world. Our gods and goddesses can be found in oceans, rivers, forests, and mountains (indeed, in many cultures, Earth is the primal mother of most acknowledged gods and powers), some pre-Christian cultures envision a World Tree that binds reality together. Our rites often mark the changing seasons, and once tracked the progress of crops essential to our survival. Deity is not merely a transcendent force separate from creation, deity is everywhere and within every thing. Each of us holds the potential to be like the gods, and we acknowledge that the gods and powers walk and exist among us still. So it isn't surprising that many Pagans feel a special urging to advocate for the environment and the protection of the natural world.
The Pagan notion of a sacred and interconnected Earth still persists today, and continues to make some people, both Christian and secular, uncomfortable. But as the true magnitude of potential ecological crisis becomes ever more plain, bridges are being built between Pagans and monotheists, to work for mutual benefit and survival.
On this Earth Day, here are a few Pagan thoughts about the Earth, immanence, environmentalism, and our involvement in the environmentalist movement.
"The spirit of Earth Day 1970 did not just happen; its roots could include the gradual stirring of environmental consciousness that accelerated in the 1960s, but that stirring itself had deeper roots in an American consciousness of a special relationship with the land, even if that relationship was often abusive. Still, if there was a year when Wicca (in the broad sense) became "nature religion," as opposed to the "mystery religion" or "metaphorical fertility religion" labels that it had brought from England, that year was 1970." - Chas Clifton, Her Hidden Children: The Rise of Wicca and Paganism in America
"When it comes to climate change and other environmental crises, it is increasingly clear that we can't afford to wait; we can't let it get too late. That may seem obvious, but too often the slightest glimmer that we might fail is a significant de-motivation to action. We quiver with indecision, only to resolve that it won't be worth the struggle. For many, the salient information provokes a deep dread, and fear is never a sound motivation for the kind of profoundly creative, imaginative and co-operative action that is now required. To the Pagan then, it isn't about urgency, about last ditch attempts to save the world: what is needed is that we continue to take each step, ethically awake, with as much honour as we can draw into consciousness." - Emma Restall Orr, Living With Honour: A Pagan Ethics
"A truly vicious act is one which does not allow the dialogue with the Immensity to take place. Against the Earth, the vicious person thinks nothing of urban sprawl, pollution, and destructive forms of waste disposal or resource development. He may even deny the reality of global warming and climate change, as some major corporate interests have done." - Brendan Myers, The Other Side of Virtue
"For most of our history, we slept on the dirt, perhaps cushioned by a thin layer of leaves or animal skins. We rested on Earth as on the bosom of our mother. Until we polluted the lakes and streams, we sipped the water, our lives utterly dependent on it, as we sucked the milk from our mothers' breasts. The food we require for life either grows directly from the soil or the waters or else consists of herbivores and omnivores who eat plant life and whom we eat in turn. Earth nurses us and feeds us as do our mothers, who themselves in turn are dependent on Earth." - Jordan Paper, The Deities Are Many: A Polytheistic Theology
"...environmental care and action play an important part in the Wiccan ethic. That is why Witches get angry - and active - when oxygen-creating trees are cut down faster that they are planted, when whales and seals are massacred for commercial profit, when chemical fertilizers and pesticides are used regardless of their ecological impact, when indifferent industries pollute the atmosphere and the rivers and the seas with their waste products and when the concrete jungle (often with more concern for commerce that for housing) spreads like a rash over the Earth's complexion." - Janet and Stewart Farrar, A Witches Bible: The Complete Witches' Handbook
Want to get active? Find out where you at, reduce your carbon footprint (and your water footprint), support small farms and eat ethically, teach on global climate change as a moral issue, invest green, vote green, and go green. Make every day Earth Day.
PS - Check out Grist's third annual Earth Day list of the year's goodies, oddities, and inanities.
Labels: Earth Day, enviornmentalism, Paganism
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
10.15.2007
Pagans and the Environment
[This post is part of Blog Action Day]
Often when people talk about modern Pagan religions terms like "earth-centered", "earth-honoring", and "nature religion" get used as a descriptor. These terms mean different things to different people, and some modern Pagan faiths reject such terminology altogether, but few can deny that modern Pagan religions have long been tied to environmental causes and concerns.
"Climate change calls us to become humble - a virtue most religions preach and a word which has the same roots as humus. We must literally return to earth, let go of our hubris and pride, and begin to honor and respect those things that sustain our lives. When we do, when we work within nature and take natural systems as our teacher and model, we also find strong allies in some of the most humble creatures. To heal toxic soil, to restore fertility, to break down pathogens, bacteria and fungi are powerful helpers. The sun, the wind, falling water and moving tides can generate energy. Nature gives us all that we need, and more, to provide lives of abundance, balance, and beauty for all - but She does not give us enough to waste or to satisfy endless greed or addictive need." - Starhawk, "Climate Change: A Moral Imperative to Act"
While there is a diversity of viewpoint, a large majority of modern Pagans view our planet and ecosystem as containing a divine life all its own. This can take the form of acknowledging a sacred intelligence within rivers, trees, and mountains, or seeing the earth as a whole as a vast living organism.
"Rather than trying to be revived ancient Somebodies-or-Other, rather than trying to adapt or adopt Native spirituality (which is itself inconsistent and in a state of flux with many variations), I would rather see my fellow Pagans focus on becoming rooted. I am not proposing some agrarian fantasy of instant peasant-hood here, nor am I ruling out people's needs or desires to move around occasionally. But when we are in a place, let's be in. Let us truly learn from it and learn about it. Let us feel its tides and changes in our lives. I think that someone who knows the flow of water, the songs of birds, and the needs of grasses has a basic store of knowledge that puts flesh on the claim she makes that something is 'sacred.'" - Chas Clifton, Nature Religion for Real
A continuing theme in today's environmental movement is that changing individual hearts and minds is the key to making lasting change in the way we interact with the natural world. To make people understand that this earth is the only one we get, and that if we don't honor its limits, it will no longer support us. This idea is an ongoing struggle within the dominant religious traditions, where some see no obligation to control the exploitation of a world created for their use, and offering an alternative view of our relationship with the planet is a reason why modern Pagan faiths have seen such tremendous growth.
"Make no mistake about it, the most effective environmental activism is inspired, fed and sustained by spiritual sensibility and magical practice! Every legislated environmental gain remains subject to both the whims of the electorate and the manipulations of the corporate paradigm, therefore any lasting healing or return to balance depends upon a revival of Earth-consciousness and nature-honoring values, species-inclusive ritual, spell and prayer. This is our calling, the calling of all fully aware and deeply empathic beings, and of those of us devoted to a magical life." - Earthen Spirituality Project and Women's Center
As we look forward at the challenges that face us when dealing with climate change and other environmental issues, it is important to remember that we aren't simply fighting for our survival, but for the survival of an interwoven and interconnected web of life that has sustained us for thousands of years and can only continue to do so if we properly honor its gifts. Modern Paganism offers one way (but not the only way) to re-think our place and purpose on our Mother Earth.
"There is a love of wild nature in everybody an ancient mother-love ever showing itself whether recognized or no, and however covered by cares and duties." - John Muir, 1924
The next ten years will be vital in deciding what path we choose to take. We must ask our elected leaders to take our concerns seriously, we must do simple things at home to reduce our environmental impact, and we must see that the sacred isn't only "up there", but also "in here".
Labels: Blog Action Day, enviornmentalism, Paganism
4.22.2007
Earth Day
Today is Earth Day. Originally spearheaded in 1970 by Wisconsin Senator Gaylord Nelson as a national "teach-in" on urgent environmental issues, it has since become an internationally recognized holiday in 174 countries. Earth Day is partially credited with jump-starting the modern environmentalist movement, and helping to pass legislation like the Clean Air and Clean Water acts.
According to Chas Clifton's book "Her Hidden Children: The Rise of Wicca and Paganism in America" the Earth Day celebrations of 1970 also marked an important turning point in American Paganism.
"...if there was a year when Wicca (in the broad sense) became "nature religion," as opposed to the "mystery religion" or "metaphorical fertility religion" labels that it had brought from England, that year was 1970 ... Wicca and other forms of new American Paganism stepped right through the door that Earth Day had opened for them - or, perhaps more accurately, the door whose opening the first Earth Day merely marked."
Back in 1970 most of the dominant American religious traditions (especially many Christian traditions) were indifferent to environmental concerns, which allowed Paganism in America to position itself as almost singularly concerned (from a religious perspective) with the environmental well-being of our planet. In the nearly forty years since Earth Day's founding that has changed, and now environmentalism of one form or another can be found in most of America's religious traditions.
"In February, the Evangelical Climate Initiative released a statement, "Climate Change: An Evangelical Call to Action," that argues global warming is real and that it will devastate the earth's poor. The statement was criticized by conservative Christian groups, especially some leaders of the National Association of Evangelicals. Since then, the NAE leadership has had a change of heart and now publicly supports protection of the environment, what they call 'creation care.'"
But as previously antagonistic sections of our population start to come around to a more environmentally conscious point of view, some environmental activists are wondering if Earth Day has outlived its usefulness.
"Earth Day, which every year has become less and less the revolutionary event it once was, seems this year to have entered a new phase of meaninglessness ... The biggest problem with Earth Day is that it has become a ritual of sympathy for the idea of environmental sanity. Small steps, we're told, ignoring the fact that most of the steps most frequently promoted (returning your bottles, bringing your own bag, turning off the water while you brush your teeth) are of such minor impact (compared to our ecological footprints) that they are essentially meaningless without larger, systemic action as well ... the solar bikinis and greenwashing campaigns cluttering up this Earth Day no longer look benign or amusing. They're taking attention and costing us time we might spend creating real change -- and time lost is catastrophe brought nearer."
Larger systemic change isn't being held up by the will of the people, recent polls suggest that a majority of Americans are aware of and worried about global warming, clean air, clean water, and sustainability. What is holding us up are entrenched corporate interests and their allies in government who want to sustain profits at the expense of everything else. It will take electing politicians with the political will (and voting out those who don't) to make the necessary changes for our long-term benefit.
That isn't to say that changes in lifestyle aren't important (they are), but that lifestyle changes alone are no longer enough. Our government has to reflect our growing concern with these issues. Lets stop making this holiday a photo-op and start making it an opportunity to hold their feet to the fire (that is melting Greenland).
PS - Check out Grist's second annual Earth Day list of the year's goodies, oddities, and inanities.
Labels: Earth Day, enviornmentalism, Paganism, Wicca
1.08.2007
(Pagan ) News of Note
My semi-regular round-up of articles, essays, and opinions of note for discerning Pagans and Heathens.
A group of Pagans and other well-wishers gather in the UC Berkeley campus to celebrate the one month anniversary of three tree-sitters living in an oak tree.
"About 50 well-wishers turned out Saturday afternoon to commemorate three tree sitters' monthlong perch in an oak tree just outside Memorial Stadium on the UC Berkeley campus. Part of a group called Save the Oaks, they say they will stay in the tree until the university agrees to abandon its plan to cut down 38 oaks to make way for a new athletic training facility...They chanted "Om," someone began drumming and then it began: an ancient pagan ritual known as the spiral dance."
Their legal request for an injunction is scheduled to be heard on Thursday.
Anna Kaplan of Recordnet profiles Rick Nafzinger, a convert to Hinduism, and leader of a local interfaith Goddess-worshipping group.
"Nafzinger leads the Circle of the Feminine Divine, a Stockton group that takes an interfaith approach to revering the feminine side of deities ranging from the Virgin Mary to the Hindu Goddess Radharani to the Wiccan Earth Goddess...Nafzinger is currently the chairman of the Interfaith Council of San Joaquin County, where he uses his experience with these different faiths to bring people in the community together."
The article also states that he has "ordinations" in Wicca, Christianity, and Hinduism, but doesn't mention exactly what traditions or groups he received these ordinations from. A little more checking on his credentials would have been nice.
The Italian police and the Vatican have created a new special forces unit to deal with the problem of Satanism in Italy!
"A specialist Italian police squad has been set up to combat a growing tide of Satanism sweeping the country. Vatican officials have become worried at the number of churches being desecrated by Satanists and there have been several grim murders linked to devil worship. As a result, church officials have given Italian police help to set up a special unit to deal with the phenomenon, named the Squadra Anti Sette (SAS) Anti Sect Squad.... officers... will go undercover to infiltrate the sects, the SAS units will work with psychologists. They will have help from Vatican experts on Satanism and a special freephone hotline has been set up to report occult activities."
A Vatican official claims there are "8,000 Satanic sects across the country with more than 600,000 members". I would love to see the hard data for that figure. It looks like Satanic panic is alive and well in Italy. Though, I can't help but think this would make a great television show. Imagine a "Law and Order" but with priests instead of lawyers.
Guillermo del Toro, writer and director of "Pan's Labyrnith" is still awesome.
"I love writers and artists who are concerned with the pagan as a form of knowing the subconscious...I've circled this theme all my life, with 'Cronos' with 'Devil's Backbone.' And I felt that it was finally a time to be brave and try it, you know?"
Conservative Catholic Susan Beckworth continues her hunt for heretics within the Church and names the "Enneagram" and "Centering Prayer" as pagan/Satanic things of Witchcraft!
"Centering Prayer is neither Catholic nor prayer, yet it is offered at most retreat centers. Nowadays, most retreat centers can scarcely be called Catholic and are notorious for adopting New Age and other non-Catholic techniques and philosophies. The New Age practices offered at retreat centers are insidious, but remember, Satan thrives in subtlety...Tarot card reading and use of the Enneagram are witchcraft and purely demonic; yet most people do not even know that all of these "New Age" practices are entirely forbidden by God in the First Commandment."
Clearly Catholics must
Finally, speaking of Catholics and Satanic temptations, an Italian scholar is fed-up with the re-purposing of Mary Magdalene for "new age" groups and has written a stern book decrying the heretical notions.
"Mario Arturo Iannaccone, an Italian scholar whose previous works have touched on themes of Gnosticism and alleged Biblical conspiracies, reports that in modern times Mary Magdalene - depicted in the Gospel as a repentant sinner and follower of Christ - has emerged in a new light as the representative of 'the sacred feminine and a spirituality of the goddess.' This radically altered view of the Christian saint...has been promoted by pagan influences including Wicca and New Age spirituality, the book says."
No doubt Iannaccone hopes that his book will inspire Catholics to
That is all I have for now, have a good day!
Labels: Catholicism, enviornmentalism, Guillermo del Toro, Mary Magdalene, Pagan News of Note, Paganism, Pan's Labyrinth, Satanic Panic, Satanism, The Goddess
