[You can read part one of this entry, here.]

05. Discrimination, Harassment, Hate Crimes, and Firings: Last year one of my picks for a top story was “Growing animosity and tensions between Christians and Pagans”, and while this year didn’t appear to be quite as bad, there seemed to be plenty of animosity to go around. Christians extremists fought for the right to intimidate us, Witches were beaten and stabbed in Canada, a Pagan store-owner had a noose left on her doorstep, and the FBI reported that hate crimes towards religious minorities is on the rise.

“A couple things become immediately clear, one, that Christians (both Protestant and Catholic) experienced the fewest religiously-motivated hate crimes of any faith grouping (despite claims of widespread anti-Christian activity by some conservative Christians), and two, that a large number of religious hate crimes (coming in third behind Muslims and Jews) are towards faiths that check the “other” box in surveys. In fact, the number of incidents against “other religions” have risen since 2005, with 41 more victims of a religious-motivated hate crime in 2006.”

But it wasn’t just threats and physical attacks, this year saw quite a few firings that seemed to be motivated by an anti-Pagan bias. In some cases rumor-mongering seems to have replaced due process, and people who were a bit too odd being labeled as “Witches”.

“The same early December day a fellow substitute teacher asked if she was Wiccan, Harmon found herself in Principal Jamie (Rene) Tolbert’s office answering questions about her appearance and whether she had discussed religion with students.”

I wish I could say this particular story will diminish in 2008, but I think that as we continue to enter the mainstream, a certain minority of religious believers will do all in their power to shove us back into our “broom closets”.

04. Pagans in Politics: This year, more than any other I have witnessed, saw modern Pagans involved with, and affected by, our political process. This year saw the Chair of the Kennebec County Democratic Committee in Maine outed as a Pagan by a conservative Christian group, who then stalked her and attempted to incite vandalism against her. When that didn’t work they went after the vice-chair (who is also a Pagan). But you don’t have to be a Pagan to get smeared politically, you only have to associate with them. An Asheville City Council found herself the victim of an attack ad based around her participation in a “save the trees” event, and subsequently lost her bid.

However, one of the biggest political events directly involving a modern Pagan has to be the scandal involving a deputy of Stuart Bowen, the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction.

“[Ginger] Cruz, a former spokeswoman for the governor of Guam, originally joined SIGIR as a contractor working for the accounting firm Deloitte & Touche. Current and former SIGIR employees have told investigators that Cruz threatened to put hexes on employees and made inappropriate sexual remarks in the presence of staff members. Cruz is a self-described wiccan, a member of a polytheistic religion of modern witchcraft. “We warned Ginger not to talk about witchcraft, that it would scare people,” a former SIGIR employee said.”

In addition to these events, 2007 saw politics become ever-more Christian focused and identified. With non-Christian expressions of faith being shoved to the margins by Presidential candidates, and non-Christian prayer getting shouted down in our halls of government. With monotheist modes of belief becoming more blatant and forceful across the political spectrum, will there be a place for Pagans (or any religious outsiders) in the near future?

03. Salem’s Psychic Wars (plus other psychic legal developments): Divination and psychic services were all over the news in 2007. With many modern Pagans making a portion of their living from providing tarot readings or other divination methods, laws regulating, taxing, or outlawing these services can become a big issue (fiscally and religiously). Michigan recently started taxing psychic readers claiming it was a “high-income” service, a local Wiccan was successful in getting Caspar, Wyoming to remove its ordinance against fortune telling, Philadelphia used a previously unenforced state law to close down psychics, tarot readers, and other diviners in the city, and Livingston Parish in Louisiana passed a religiously-motivated ordinance against all forms of fortune-telling despite objections from local Pagans.

But the biggest story involving psychics, the law, and modern Pagans had to be the “psychic wars” in the “Witch City” of Salem, Massachusetts. With 10% of Salem’s population practicing Witches, and a large amount of Salem’s tourist income based on Halloween traffic, proposed licensing regulations on psychic readers became a heated debate between rival factions. A debate that took a criminal turn, when one couple decided to use intimidation tactics. A situation that gained national attention, and was even reported on in Time Magazine. The Salem story points to the growing cultural relevance of Pagan faiths (especially when big money is involved) in America. As regional Pagan populations grow, expect to see more conflicts (and cooperation) with local governments over divination services, religious freedom, and local laws.

02. Pagans in the Public Square: A late development this year, but an important one nonetheless, is the recent eruption in the “Christmas Wars” involving modern Pagans. Three separate cases involving public property, religious Nativity displays, and Wiccan participation, have placed modern Pagans on the forefront of the debate over the separation of Church of State, religious freedom, and pluralism. One case is heading for litigation, while another appears to be drawing out into the Spring. Expect these cases to loom large in 2008, and set the stage for next Winter’s battles.

01. The Veteran Pentacle Win, and Pagans in the Military: My top story for 2006 was the Veteran Pentacle Quest, and the biggest for 2007 is the successful win in getting the Pentacle symbol approved for Veteran headstones and markers. In addition, we saw Pagan groups forming coalitions in order to expand that recognition to other Pagan symbols, and an ongoing struggle to get a Pagan military chaplain approved. Aside from activism, we also saw stories about Pagans in the military, and how safe they are in an increasingly Christian military.

The legal and social struggles concerning Nativity displays and Pagan soldiers have some of the farthest-reaching implications for modern Pagans in America. Situations that have gained international attention, and in the case of the Veteran Pentacle Quest, President Bush. 2008 will very likely see even more important developments involving these stories.

That wraps up my top ten news stories about or affecting modern Paganism in 2007. Thanks for reading, and I hope you’ll join me for another year of sifting through the news and views of interest to our communities. See you in 2008!

As we reach the close of 2007, it is time to stop for a moment and take stock of the previous year. When you look at (and for) news stories regarding modern Paganism (and related topics) every day of the year, you can sometimes lose focus on the larger picture. So it can be a helpful thing to look at the broad strokes, the bigger themes, the events and developments that will have lasting impact on the modern Pagan movement. What follows are my picks for the top ten stories from this past year involving or affecting modern Pagans.

10. Important passages within the Pagan and occult communities: 2007 saw the passing of some highly influential and respected members of our extended community, the most notable being the visionary philosopher, author, and mystic, Robert Anton Wilson.

Robert Anton Wilson

Wilson is perhaps best-known for his work on “The Illuminatus! Trilogy” with co-author Robert Shea. The books incorporated elements of Discordianism, conspiracy theory, magick, and various 60s counterculture references to create a “fairytale for paranoids”. Since then Wilson published several books exploring philosophy, science, and religion. Most notably his “Cosmic Trigger” series. But RAW was hardly the only notable passing in 2007, we also saw key Goddess spirituality movement figure Shekhinah Mountainwater (author of “Ariadne’s Thread: A Workbook of Goddess Magic”) cross the veil after a long struggle with cancer, and Tim Sebastion, chief of the Secular Order of Druids, who died after a long illness.

Other notable passages include artist Lady Jaye Breyer P-Orridge (partner to Genesis Breyer P-Orridge, and member of Psychic TV), influential Salem Witch and event organizer Shawn Poirier, and Starwood organizer, musician, and SubGenius, Chas Smith.

09. Witch School in the News: This past year saw quite a lot of coverage for the (in)famous Internet-based Witch School. The year began with news that the SCI FI Channel was planning a reality television series set in the school’s campus (then located in Hoopeston, IL), but this development seemed to fall apart when Ed Hubbard announced he was selling the school through E-Bay.

“Imagine, if you could buy Harry Potter’s Hogwarts? Well, the world’s first and largest public school of Wiccan and Witches has become available for sale. Starting Tuesday, April 10th, WitchSchool.com will be auctioned off to the highest bidder during an eBay Auction. If you ever wanted to have your very own cyber school of magick and witchcraft, this is the auction for you. So you can own and run your very own Academy for Magick and Witchcraft. If you would love to become the next Dumbledore, this is your chance to do so.”

After a flurry of controversy, mixed-signals, and announcements concerning them leaving their physical campus in Hoopeston (due to the alleged unfriendliness of the town) Witch School was sold to a coalition of buyers from the Correllian Nativist Tradition with Don Lewis at the head. I thought that would be the last we head from the school in 2007, but Witch School ended up gaining national press attention after the tiny troubled town of Rossville, IL went on the offensive following the school’s relocation there. While tensions have since eased up, it was certainly a PR coup for the Internet business. It remains to be seen if Witch School will manage to gain the publics attention in 2008, or if they will return to relative obscurity sans tales of persecution. But they certainly made a mark on Pagan-related news in 2007.

08. “Bunky” the Multi-Millionaire: The media became positively entranced when Wiccan Ellwood “Bunky” Bartlett won over 30 million dollars in the Maryland State Lottery “Mega Millions” drawing. This encouraged witty bon mots like “Dude, talk about blessed be” and “Christians who pray for lucky lottery tickets but never win might consider switching over to Wicca.” Of course the press soon wanted to know how he was going to spend his newly-won loot, and Bunky announced that he plans to build a Pagan-run seminary. While there have certainly been rich or well-off Pagans before (though they are most-often “in the broom closet”), Bartlett is the first to gain a high-profile, and will certainly continue to gain press attention if (or when) he starts spending that money to benefit his religion.

07. Pagans in Prison (and the books they can read): Incarcerated Pagans and Heathens made the news in increasingly large numbers this past year. I personally blogged eight such stories, and I know for a fact that more occurred that I never got a chance to report on. Virtually all the claims regarded the issue of religious free exercise and what materials a Pagan prisoner should/would be allowed. But while those legal struggles mainly happened on the journalistic sidelines, Pagans, prisons, and their religious rights hit center stage when the Federal Bureau of Prisons enacted a controversial new policy that purged every religious book in Federal Prison libraries that wasn’t on a then-secret list (in order to inhibit “extremism”).

“Government does have a legitimate interest to screen out things that tend to incite violence in prisons,” Mr. [Douglas] Laycock [professor of law at the University of Michigan Law School] said. “But once they say, ‘We’re going to pick 150 good books for your religion, and that’s all you get,’ the criteria has become more than just inciting violence. They’re picking out what is accessible religious teaching for prisoners, and the government can’t do that without a compelling justification. Here the justification is, the government is too busy to look at all the books, so they’re going to make their own preferred list to save a little time, a little money.”

Massive controversy ensued amongst religious groups both liberal and conservative, which only intensified when the amazingly flawed lists leaked to the public. The BOP soon reversed their actions and restored the pulled books, but the policy has only been postponed, and come early 2008 we could be faced yet again with the majority of books for (Federal) Pagan prisoners being pulled, and an approved list made by unnamed “experts” put in its place. So expect the rights of Pagan prisoners to continue to make the news in 2008.

06. Paganism (Ancient and Modern) Continues to Influence Pop-Culture: Pagan and occult themes continued to make headway into popular culture in 2008. The television series “Rome” (which had one of the most accurate portrayals of Roman polytheism to date) aired its second (and final) season, the masterful adult fairytale “Pan’s Labyrinth” took home three Academy Awards, while films like “300″, and “Beowulf” looked to a pre-Christian era to find its heroes (while a certain Pirate franchise invoked a goddess to help wrap up their story). 2007 also saw the release of documentaries concerning notorious occultist Aleister Crowley, and cultural appropriation within New Age communities, and a new-found emphasis on occult and supernatural themes in television.

“The prevalence of supernatural plots ‘is reflective of increasing anxiety – personal, economic and national’ that pervades the American mood, said Mr. Rash, who was in New York last week to attend the networks’ presentations … Most of the coming new shows ‘are playing to viewers’ desire to be in fantasyland,’ said Shari Anne Brill, senior vice president and director of programming at Carat USA in New York, part of the Carat division of the Aegis Group, adding, ‘The real world has become such a horrendous place that people are looking for magic to avoid the tragic.’”

Pagans continued to make appearances on reality television, and exploitive daytime talk-shows, while a film full of Scottish myths and folktales (shot entirely in Gaelic) gained rave critical reviews. In addition, production news surfaced about a feature film concerning Aleister Crowley, a re-envisioning of the classic cult-film “The Wicker Man”, and a possible television show starring Greek gods. Meanwhile, Walden Media learned that if you cut the pagan elements out of a classic story, the movie will flop.

This has been a great year for Pagan-themed music, from Wyrd-folk compilations to Bjork and Tori Amos. Loads of great Pagan and occult books came out this year as well. Oh, and the last Harry Potter book came out, but didn’t you hear it was all a Christian allegory? But in any case, popular culture continues to become increasingly Pagan-friendly, and I don’t see the trend slowing down any time soon.

–

Tomorrow I will post the top five Pagan stories for 2007. In the meantime, I invite you to check out the top religion stories from some different perspectives. Time magazine’s top ten religion stories, the 2007 Top Religion Stories as selected by Religion Newswriters, the Barna group’s four “mega-themes” from their 2007 research, Christianity Today’s top stories of 2007, and Terry Mattingly gives us his vote for 2007’s top religious story.

Wiccan author Gus diZerega (“Pagans & Christians”, “Beyond the Burning Times”) gives an account of a public Solstice ritual, and the elements within it that troubled him concerning how modern Pagan faiths (specifically Wicca-derived models) may be changing themselves to become more palatable to a mainstream audience.

“Every new spiritual movement faces the challenge of enabling people unfamiliar with it to partake of its message, its approach to celebrating and connecting with the sacred. What is important is what is new, and what is off-putting and most easily misunderstood to others is also what is new. The more familiar the practice the more accessible the tradition – but at the same time in promoting greater accessibility the tradition might lose what it truly once had to offer. This dilemma is unavoidable when a tradition grows. How a religion handles this task is vital to its future. History is replete with people seeking to institutionalize their spiritual tradition to make it “more relevant” to ever more people, and in the process losing track of its initial message … During this Solstice Sabbat I saw this danger raise its head for the NeoPagan community.”

So what did he see and experience that troubled him? First off, the ritual leaders stopped the active involvement of participants to present a “short sermon”.

“The Sabbat’s major organizer strode forward and gave a “short sermon.” This was the speaker’s own description, not my interpretation of them. Sermons are a central aspect of Christian practice. They imply a specific kind of relationship between deity, the sermonizer, and those hearing the message. Deity is distant. The sermonizer is an expert at theological interpretation, at least compared to the audience, who are essentially passive receptacles … Like any viable spiritual practice, sermons have their strengths and weaknesses, but their strengths are not in keeping with Pagan approaches to relating with the Divine, and their weaknesses undermine the vitality of Pagan spirituality.”

This was followed by a “guided meditation” in which standard scientific explanations for life on earth were laid out for the attendees. The author claims that it was so free of religious elements that Richard Dawkins would have enjoyed it. These two elements, according to diZerega, effectively canceled out the Pagan elements of the ritual and could pose a disastrous harbinger of “mainstream” modern Paganism.

“Changes like these when repeated and institutionalized are how a religion with a new focus is gradually tamed, and brought into harmony with the status quo. If sermons become a component of Pagan ceremonies, participants will increasingly be called upon to become passive vessels filled by whatever words the preaching Priest or Priestess feels called upon to say. If the altered awareness of trance and ecstasy is replaced with hypnotic introductions to scientific orthodoxy, we end up being more dependent on the competence of those giving the sermons and less on the Gods.”

I encourage you to read the entire essay, to fully understand diZerega’s concerns and critiques. The inclusion of a sermon (with left-leaning political messages) and a science-heavy creation story seems to fit right in with your basic humanist-friendly Unitarian-Universalist service. Not that there is anything inherently wrong with such a structure, but as diZerega points out, it comes from a fundamentally Christian understanding of religion and doesn’t accurately capture the modern Pagan mode of practice.

I wonder if any of my readers have experienced similar public rituals? Do you think there is a danger that modern Pagans are watering-down (or altering) practice to make it more palatable to a mainstream audience? If so, what should our reaction be?

Lakota Freedom: Starting off with an update on the Lakota Freedom story, the Standing Rock Sioux Tribal Council says that it will consider the recent declaration of withdrawal from treaties spearheaded by Indian activist Russell Means.

“Avis Little Eagle says she understands the frustration that led Lakota activists to announce a plan to withdraw from the tribe’s treaties with the U.S. government. However, the vice chairwoman of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribal Council advocates holding the federal government to the provisions in those treaties, rather than withdrawing from them. “I see where they’re coming from,” she said of American Indian Movement leader Russell Means and other members of the Lakota Freedom Delegation who declared the Lakota people’s independence to the State Department last week in Washington, D.C. “But we, as elected officials, on a daily basis we refer to those treaties because to us they are living documents,” Little Eagle said Wednesday from the tribe’s headquarters in Fort Yates, N.D. Little Eagle said council members will probably discuss the delegation’s letter, ‘and I can’t say what action they will take.’”

While the Lakota Freedom group claims years of consultation with elders and tribal leaders, at this point I still can’t find any reports of local tribal leaders stepping forward to support treaty withdrawal. Considering the comments of Avis Little Eagle, it seems unlikely the Standing Rock Sioux Tribal Council will take any action to support a withdrawal from treaties.

–

Sorry, We Thought You Were A Witch: A substitute teacher in Shreveport, Louisiana has been fired from her job for her alleged religious affiliation. Jennifer Harmon, who has blue hair, was asked if she was a Wiccan by a fellow substitute teacher (she isn’t), and shortly thereafter was called in by the Principal and dismissed.

“Jennifer Harmon. The 39-year-old mother of one recently was told her blue hair was unacceptable after nearly a week of substitute teaching at Vivian Elementary/Middle School. But Harmon, whose appearance has remained the same since early 2006 and was evident during her substitute application process, doesn’t think it was her hair color or an accompanying nose piercing that got her in trouble. Rather, it was religion. The same early December day a fellow substitute teacher asked if she was Wiccan, Harmon found herself in Principal Jamie (Rene) Tolbert’s office answering questions about her appearance and whether she had discussed religion with students. ‘Not only was I extremely confused and upset because I was never made aware of any policy prohibiting teachers from having blue hair and nose piercings, but when (Tolbert) asked me about religion I started to panic,’ said Harmon, who said she is not Wiccan and does not subscribe to any particular religious faith. ‘Of course, I never spoke to the children about religion. I would never do such a thing.’”

The complaint (or possibly complaints) against the teacher seem like a bizarre game of telephone (a parent told a teacher who told the Principal), and could come down to the gossip of a single parent. Meanwhile Harmon, who outside of her blue hair dressed modestly while teaching, has gotten support from other parents and staff over the issue. Can the mere rumor of Pagan allegiance endanger your job as a teacher? Similar cases have occurred this year, and it leaves the victim in a legaly murky area where you can’t claim religious discrimination for a “perceived” faith. It remains to be seen if Harmon will be able to continue teaching in the area.

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Guillermo del Toro Watch: It has been announced that the Pan’s Labyrinth director is co-producing a new movie with Clive Barker entitled “Born”.

“Clive Barker and Guillermo del Toro are getting ready to explore the dark side of Claymation” Twitch reports that the duo will be co-producing Born, a film adaptation of Barker’s story about a family who gets more than they bargained for when they move to the English countryside. Dan Simpson, who adapted the source material, is directing; Jennifer Connelly and Paul Bettany have signed on to star.”

The film is described as a mixture of The Sixth Sense, The Wicker Man, Rosemary’s Baby, and Straw Dogs, which seems like a good combination for those who love occult-laced thrillers. Guillermo del Toro is also slated to direct an upcoming adaptation of H.P. Lovecraft’s “At the Mountains of Madness”.

In recent years a small island in the UK with a rich pagan history has become internationally famous for its apples. No, it isn’t Summerisle, but a small island off the coast of Wales. Around ten years ago Ynys Enlli (aka Bardsey Island) became the home of the rarest apple tree in the world, and sparked a sensation.

Ian Sturrock with his children and Bardsey Apples

“One of the world’s rarest trees has become a must-have for green-fingered Welsh patriots. Nearly 10 years ago a birdwatcher noticed an apple tree growing beside a house on Bardsey, off the Lln Peninsula, and alerted Welsh orchard expert Ian Sturrock. One of the world’s leading authorities on apple species, based in Kent, later declared it the rarest apple tree in the world. Now Mr Sturrock – who specialises in growing native Welsh fruit trees by grafting small pieces of them onto rootstock – cannot keep up with demand for Bardsey apple saplings. Having sent them across Britain and overseas, he is now sending wood from a Bardsey tree to a nursery in the US – for grafting on the other side of the pond.”

It isn’t just any rare apple tree on a small Welsh island, Bardsey Island has been a pilgrimage place for pre-Roman pagan Celts and for early Christians, it is rumored to be the final resting place of Merlin the magician, and some claim it may be Avalon itself.

“Barber & Pykitt identify Ynys Enlli with the Isle of Avalon where King Arthur was taken to be healed of his wounds after the Battle of Camlann. The battle, they place at nearby Porth Cadlan on the mainland. Merlin’s “Castle of Glass” on Ynys Enlli would appear to be the “Chamber of Glass” where Queen Morgan (or Modron) Le Fay lived and worked with her nine sisters (Merlin’s companions) to heal King Arthur on the Isle of Avalon. Avalon, meaning “Place of Apples,” was an aspect of the Celtic Otherworld, usually called Annwfn…”

As a result both modern Pagans and Christians are eager to get their hands on the famous Afal Enlli (Bardsey Apple).

“Christian people want it because it’s got the Bardsey connection, … Pagan people like it because of the original Bardsey connection.”

So how does an apple from an apple tree growing on what might be the Isle of Apples taste? According to fans it has a tangy taste with a slight hint of lemon. But it may be awhile before enough is grown to satisfy an international demand (there is already a two-year wait for more saplings). In the meantime, 150 trees were sold to a Gwynedd business in hopes of producing a cider from the apples, and residents of other islands are buying the strain in hopes it will be hardy enough to thrive in that rugged environment. This includes residents of Hebridean islands off the coast of Scotland. So who knows, perhaps we will see a Sumerisle strain of apple sometime in the future.

For more information check out the official web site for Yns Enlli, and the official web site for Afal Ynys Enlli (the apples of Bardsey Island).

Usually the “Christmas Wars” die down quickly once the calendar hits December 26th, but this time around religious minorities (and various Church-State organizations) aren’t going gently into that good night. In Green Bay, where a controversial Nativity display was at first announced to be interfaith, but then restricted to a solely Christian display, a lawsuit has been filed.

“The Nativity scene at Green Bay City Hall will come down today, but the controversy it created won’t go away anytime soon. The Freedom From Religion Foundation, a Madison-based group that advocates for the separation of church and state, and 12 Green Bay residents moved to file a lawsuit Monday challenging the display on the roof of a City Hall entrance. The lawsuit claims the display depicting the birth of Jesus is an unconstitutional governmental endorsement of religion. It claims City Council President Chad Fradette and Mayor Jim Schmitt allowed the display to provoke and marginalize those who would object.”

The charge of provocation is easily proven, since Fradette went on record as saying the Nativity display was meant to start a fight.

“I’m trying to take this fight to the people who need to be fought. I’ll keep going on this until this group imposing Madison values crawls back into its hole and never crawls out.”

Also damning to Green Bay’s City Council is the revocation of an interfaith display (while leaving the Nativity up), including the refusal to restore a vandalized wreath donated by Wisconsin Wiccan organization Circle Sanctuary. Mayor Jim Schmitt later claimed he had no idea Wicca meant Witchcraft and that such a display wouldn’t be appropriate near a Nativity. The situation has become so heated that some are suggesting drastic measures.

“Only Christians should be obliged to pay taxes in Green Bay as the ignorant bigots running that city appear to represent them and only them. Perhaps non-Christians in Green Bay should go on a taxpayers strike!”

But instead of a taxpayers strike, perhaps groups in Green Bay might want to pay attention to what is happening in Ohio, where a similar set of circumstances have transpired.

“Zoroastrians and pagans, both claiming roles for their faiths in the Christmas tradition, won’t stop fighting to have their nontraditional holiday displays placed alongside nativity scenes in Ohio state parks. Efforts by both have so far been rejected by the administration of Gov. Ted Strickland, an ordained Methodist minister, who recently ordered Christian creches placed back in two state parks that had disallowed them due to religious concerns.”

But instead of localizing the battle to the Winter festivals, a local resident is preparing to take the fight over public displays of religion into the Spring.

“Tammy Miller was thwarted in her attempt this year to have the parks also display the “happy humanist” of the Humanists, whose philosophy favors human rationality and morality over belief in a higher power. She said she is now preparing a Wiccan pentagram, with help from Tarot card artist Robin Wood, that she wants to see displayed on the next pagan holiday, Imbolc, in February.”

Now that is some creative thinking! If these State and City governments want to “put Christ back into Christmas” so badly, let them, so long as they will allow us to put the Samhain back into Halloween. Flood representatives who insist on their “legal” Nativity displays to respect our need to see Pagan religions properly honored (legally of course) on the same property. Their refusals will only weaken whatever case they had for erecting Christian displays in December.

Legal pressures can be married with social pressures until these officials realize they don’t preside over a “Christian nation”. They are supposed to represent every religious manifestation (not to mention those who choose to not have a religious manifestation), not privilege a majority faith in order to score political points. Public displays must be open to all (Nativity + Menorah doesn’t equal diversity), or they shouldn’t happen at all. No doubt 2008 is going to be spent arguing this very question.

Due to family obligations I won’t be blogging today, but I’ll be back tomorrow with my regular daily dose of modern Pagan-related news and commentary. In the meantime I wish a very happy holiday season to you all, and a very happy birthday to Jesus of Nazareth, Mithras, Carlos Castenada, Sol Invictus, Robert Ripley, and Annie Lennox among many others.

Sol Invictus

Happy Holidays! Back tomorrow.

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

The National Post discusses the “trouble with Mary” (specifically her virgin birth), and archetypes of belief that collectively influence us.

“Christ is born at the darkest time of the year. That’s not an accident. There are a lot of extremely complex ideas behind that. So here’s one: the redeeming hero emerges when the need is greatest. The hero is born not only when things are darkest but also when tyranny has reached new heights. There are dozens of examples like that which underlie the way these stories are constructed; they are stunningly profound and people relive them all the time.”

That quote, from psychologist Prof. Jordan Peterson, ties into his theory that belief is as “necessary as air and water” (and also echoes a point Pagans have been making during this time of year for ages). That everyone, no matter their philosophic orientation, holds onto core beliefs (because the universe “is far more complicated than we are smart”) to steer them through life.

American Indian columnist Dorreen Yellow Bird weighs in on the recent “Lakota Freedom” movement, and admits it is a good idea, but a good idea come too late.

“Means and his group have some points – perhaps 200 years too late, but they do have some points … We have, however, gone beyond those years. We have taken on the federal government as our government, too. That means the government also provides us funding and supplies for programs such as Head Start, housing, social services and so on – just like it does for the rest of the country … Finally, there the treaties. For the Three Affiliated Tribes, the Fort Laramie treaties of 1851 and 1886 provided land. True, the U.S. government took some of that land rather surreptitiously, but we were able to hold the line because of that legal document – a treaty. Those documents are important, shouldn’t be abrogated and should be taken seriously. Means and his group are seemingly out of step, but they remind us of our tragic history.”

The Baltimore Chronicle & Sentinel has printed an editorial from Jason Leopold that paints a chilling picture of Christian indoctrination at basic training camps.

“The Christian right has been successful in spreading its fundamentalist agenda at US military installations around the world for decades. But the movement’s meteoric rise in the US military came in large part after 9/11 and immediately after the US invaded Iraq in March of 2003. At a time when the United States is encouraging greater religious freedom in Muslim nations, soldiers on the battlefield have told disturbing stories of being force-fed fundamentalist Christianity by highly controversial, apocalyptic “End Times” evangelists, who have infiltrated US military installations throughout the world with the blessing of high-level officials at the Pentagon. Proselytizing among military personnel has been conducted openly, in violation of the basic tenets of the United States Constitution.”

Leopold says that much of the military evangelism is carried out by Military Ministry, who have gained unprecedented access to places like Fort Jackson Army base in Columbia, South Carolina. The question remains on how safe our Pagan solidiers (and other religious minorities) will be if this increasingly Christian military is left unchecked.

Coming back to the Green Bay Pentacle wreath controversy, Muskego Mayor John Johnson explains why his city won’t be dealing with the problems Green Bay now has.

“You have to be respectful of all religions and if you start putting one display up, you have to put up displays for everybody,” Muskego Mayor John Johnson said. “If you put up a Nativity scene and then a group asks you to put up a Hanukkah display or a display for the Muslim holiday, do you tell them no? You can’t.”

Always refreshing to hear from someone in Wisconsin who understands how to manage a Constitutional holiday display. In related news, you can now download the NPR program Here On Earth featuring interviews with Circle Sanctuary’s Selena Fox (who put up the Pentacle wreath in Green Bay) and Graham Harvey, professor of Religious Studies at the Open University, UK, discussing the Winter Solstice.

“This hour on Here on Earth: Radio Without Borders, Lori Skelton and her guests celebrate winter solstice, the longest night of a year with stories from different religions and cultures around the world.”

You can download the show, here (mp3 link).

That is all I have for now, may your celebrations of the returning sun be festive tomorrow.

Over at my podcast site A Darker Shade of Pagan, I have just posted a Winter Festival music special, featuring songs from Gwydion Pendderwen, Unto Ashes, Faith and the Muse, Dar Williams, and more!

[direct download]
[subscribe via iTunes]
[podcast feed]

For a semi-extensive accounting of news and commentary concerning Yule and the Winter Solstice, check out Wren’s Nest. Also, for an interesting discussion concerning news coverage of Solstice events, check out this Get Religion post.

As for me, I’ll be taking the rest of the day off from blogging to spend time with family. I’ll be back tomorrow, though blogging will be lighter than usual until after Dies Natalis Solis Invicti (the birthday of the unconquered Sun, AKA December 25th). Plus, be on the lookout for my posts concerning the top Pagan stories of the year come the end of December.

Today* is the Winter Solstice, the longest night and shortest day of the year.

Sun Halo at Winter Solstice

This time of year is held sacred by many modern Pagan and Heathen traditions, and has a rich history in ancient pagan religion.

The solstice time was marked as special by pre-historic peoples in both Ireland and England. While there is scant evidence of specific celebrations, it is generally thought that the pagan Celts did mark the solstice time.

Germanic pagans and modern Heathens celebrate Yule at this time. During this holiday the god Freyr was honored. Several traditions we associate with Christmas (eating a ham, hanging holly, mistletoe) come from Yule.

The ancient pagan Romans celebrated Saturnalia which typically ran from December 17th through the 23rd. The festival honored the god Saturn and featured lavish parties and role-reversals. From Saturnalia we can see the traditions of exchanging gifts and decorating evergreen trees indoors that would be adopted as Christmas traditions. Following Saturnalia were the birth celebrations in honor of Sol Invictus (the unconquered sun) and Mithras both held on December 25th.

Many modern Pagans, including Wiccans, Witches, several Druidic traditions, and their many off-shoots hold this time as one of the eight Sabbats/holy days. Usually called Winter Solstice or Yule. It is a time when many of these traditions celebrate the re-birth of the god by the mother goddess.

Here are some recent press quotes on our winter observances.

“Shops catering to pagan customers have been busy selling items which are familiar to any Christian, including candles, incense, and scents like frankincense and myrhh. The similarities between Christmas and solstice are widely attributed to the fact that both festivals are really a celebration of life.” – CBC News

“Solstice celebrations began with pre-Roman Empire pagans and were centered around agriculture, food, nature and the cyclical seasons of the universe, Burton said. Romans exchanged candles and figurines in celebration. In 274 A.D., Christians in the Roman Empire adopted some of the solstice’s pagan traditions (also known then as The Unconquered Sun) in an effort to convert pagans to their religion. Anglo Saxon Christians in the Middle Ages did the same.” – Jennifer Crossley, The Times Daily

“Traditionally the log that celebrated Yule – a name that may have been derived from an old word for wheel, as the wheel of the year turned – was big enough to light 12 days of feasting. A fragment would be saved to light next year’s log, symbolizing continuity and rebirth. We still light our homes and neighborhoods in an effort to bring cheer against the gathering gloom of deepest winter.” – Michael Babcock, Great Falls Tribune

“Celebrating during the darkest days of the year near the winter solstice goes back to ancient times, Blackmer said, when people met for large feasts and placed evergreens in their homes. It is these original traditions that interest Mike Morse of Gaithersburg, who attended the ceremony Tuesday. Many people don’t realize that Christmas has roots in such ancient practices, Morse said. The coming of the light to world, whether literally or metaphorically in the Christian sense, ‘is all a take off from the [winter] solstice,’ he said. ‘This kind of experience seeks to take back the wonder and awe of the coming of light.’” – Katherine Mullen, The Business Gazette

“What has become of our holy Saturnalia, fellow pagans? I go into my local Wal-Mart, greeted by all the familiar holly and ivy of yore, and am welcomed not with the rousing “Io, Saturnalia!” of simpler times, but with some made-up newfangled, supposedly “non-offensive” substitute: this “Christ-Mass” thing.” – Garrett Eisler, The Huffington Post

No matter what your religion or tradition, may this year’s winter celebrations and observances bring you peace and joy!

* The Winter Solstice happens on December 22nd at 06:08 UTC. Which means that it happened at approximately 12:08 AM CST for me. You can calculate the time for your own neck of the woods, here.