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

Professor Ronald Hutton (author of “Triumph of the Moon”) gives his expert opinion about the occult practices of murdered parish councillor Peter Solheim.

“What was so remarkable about the collection of things found in Peter Solheim’s attic was that it was a vast assemblage of ingredients for casting spells, with almost no relevance to religion at all. It was all about power, about his ability to exert his will over others and over other things…I have met literally thousands of modern pagan witches and the deceased man’s trial is the first I have ever encountered that actually practiced what might be called bad magic, or in old fashioned terms, black magic.”

For more on this strange and sordid case click, here.

Speaking of “sordid”, conservative commentator Joshua Trevino gets downright apocalyptic about the rise of modern Paganism in Greece (and everywhere else too).

“The Orthodox hierarchy of Greece is upset about the pagan gathering, as well it might be. “What their worshippers symbolise, and clearly want, is a return to the monstrous dark delusions of the past,” says Father Eustathios Kollas in the story. True enough. But it’s not within the power of Greek Orthodox Christianity to bring sanity to the West. Only the West can do that. Until it does, it will send forth increasing numbers of its own to worship dead gods of antiquity and stone.”

Won’t anyone think of the children!!!

Tom Proebsting, writing for the Huntington News, has a nicely inclusive Independence Day message for us.

“Our citizens need to believe in something besides work and government. We must get our minds off ourselves. We need someone to look up to besides TV characters and other people. The America of the 21st century must embrace their spiritual side, whether it be through Christianity, Judaism, Muslimism, Buddhism, Paganism, whatever their creed. No person’s choice of worship should be disparaged by anyone.”

Meanwhile, Nikole Dugger brings forth a mandate!

“If the new Billy Ray Cyrus album doesn’t make your day, you may want to consider paganism.”

I expect the converts will be rolling in now!

Andrea Rose covers the current book tour of Wiccan authors Dorothy Morrison and M.R. Sellars as they reach Maine.

“Morrison and Sellars, who are both practicing witches, are sorcerers of the written and spoken word. Interactions between the two are like spell casting battles of who can be funnier, who can come up with the best insult and who can take the other to task. If one makes a mistake or misspeaks, the other is immediately on top of it with a correction that probably includes a demeaning name.”

Bookslut (rightly) pans the wildly ahistorical novel “The Burning Time” by Robin Morgan.

“…in the 14th century. The Irish had happily been practicing both Catholicism and what is referred to in Morgan’s book as the Craft, or Wicca, for thousands of years, while the Church looked on indulgently. Then they were sent a bishop with a grudge and boom!, the whole country ends up plagued by religious strife for centuries.”

Altogether now…the ancient Celts never practiced “Wicca”, nor was there likely to be much in the way of direct pagan survivals in the 14th century. This sort of historical revisionism is no longer needed or helpful. At least the book is listed as fiction.

In a final note, if you happen to be in (or near) New Jersey, you might want to check out what sounds like a very cool event.

“Czech choreographer Dusan Tynek brings an evening of his own works to New York next week. The two-part program begins with “Kosile,” a collection of dance vignettes based on folk ballads, whose lyrics relate pagan legends and ominous tales of the supernatural. The second half is equally mysterious. “ScENes,” set to the music of contemporary composer Michael Galasso, presents the dancers of the company in a series of dream sequences. Each letter of the title “ScENes” has inspired a choreographic meditation examining such subjects as “Scintillation,” “Entropy” and the ever-popular “Nympholepsy” (frenzy induced by nymphs).”

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

Tags: Paganism