(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!
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