Last year I devoted several posts to a local struggle in Salem over the licensing of psychics. One group, led by Laurie Cabot, wanted to limit licenses and inhibit traveling “psychic fairs” (which they felt “poached” their profits), the other, led by Christian Day, wanted more relaxed rules that would allow for a greater number of licensed psychics. Eventually a compromise measure was reached, but in the process, remains from a dead raccoon were left on the doorsteps of two local metaphysical shops.

“The remains of a mutilated raccoon were left at the doorways of two of the city’s psychic shops. At 12:41 a.m. yesterday, John Ray of Salem flagged down police Sgt. Richard Gagnon and alerted him to a raccoon’s skull and a pile of intestines that had been left at the entrance to Angelica of the Angels, a shop at 7 Central St. While patrolling Essex Street about an hour later, Gagnon discovered more remains at the door to The Goddess’ Treasure Chest at 172 Essex St.”

Some Salem residents cast suspicion on Day, accusing him of working malignant magic, but it soon came to light that the perpetrator was psychic and Salem Witch Sharon Graham, who had been nursing a grudge against Christian Day.

“Richard Watson said he went back to his Bridge Street apartment on the night of May 26 to a disturbing scene: his roommate, Sharon Graham, dressed in black, surrounded by four young men, also all in black, standing around a jar. Inside that jar was the eye of a raccoon, police say. And in two trash bags in Watson’s refrigerator was the rest of the critter, which had been dismembered.”

Now, nearly a year later, and after further accusations of witness intimidation, it looks like we have some closure. Sharon Graham, in a plea agreement, has admitted to a judge that she placed the raccoon remains in front of those shops, though she claims to not know why she did so.

“A self-described Wiccan high priestess admitted yesterday that she had placed pieces of an eviscerated raccoon on the doorsteps of two local businesses last year. But Sharon Graham said she still can’t explain why. Graham, 47, formerly of Salem , admitted during a hearing in Salem District Court that prosecutors had sufficient evidence for a conviction on charges of littering and wanton destruction of property. Judge Dunbar Livingston called the case “certainly a somewhat bizarre and troubling incident” but agreed to go along with a plea agreement that called for the charges to be continued without a finding for a year on condition that Graham perform 20 hours of community service and remain in counseling. If she complies with those conditions and stays out of further trouble, the charges will be dismissed in a year. Prosecutors also agreed to drop the most serious charge against Graham, a count of witness intimidation.”

Graham has moved out of Salem, is receiving counseling, and is being supervised by a probation officer. Christian Day has gone on to become an even bigger fish in Salem’s pond, working with the city to promote Halloween season tourism, and co-running his own Witch shop Hex. Laurie Cabot continues to be as famous (infamous?) as ever, celebrating her 75th birthday in March with Godsmack frontman Sully Erna, among others, in attendance. So it looks like this matter is finally closed, and life in Salem, in all its Witchy glory, can continue.

The Los Angeles Times brings us another edition of the ever-familiar “meet the Pagans” article. It has many of the usual “clever” lines journalists use when reporting on Pagans, allusions to Stevie Nicks, allusions to Harry Potter, Pagan Witches don’t all wear pointy black hats, you get the idea. But Matthew DeBord’s article rises from mere mediocrity into truly bad journalism thanks to some outright falsehoods and bizarre assumptions.

“Contemporary paganism doesn’t draw its inspiration from the multiple-gods worship of ancient Greece and Rome so much as from less classical, earthier antecedents (although pagans can and do worship different gods and goddesses). Think Druids, or the shamanistic traditions of Native Americans. Satanism, being associated with the post-Christian world, is not usually considered part of the neo-pagan movement although neo-pagans, being exceedingly tolerant, would probably not object to Satanists being allowed to do their thing, as well.”

Really? What does that mean for members of Feraferia, Hellenismos, the Supreme Council of Ethnikoi Hellenes, and Nova Roma? What about the large swathes of modern Pagans, including the Druids, who engage in “multiple-gods worship” (we call it “polytheism” round these parts). I also love that shamanism is somehow “earthier” than “classical” paganism. I wonder how one measures the “earthy” quotient of a spiritual/religious system. Is their an earthy hierarchy I’m missing out on?

I’m not sure if DeBord’s assumptions are born from misinformed interview subjects or his own preconceived notions, but if your sweeping statements can’t pass the Wikipedia test, then it’s time to reevaluate your journalistic abilities. Then again, maybe modern Paganism has been taken over by earthy Druid-shamans and nobody told me.

On Monday, Denessa Smith, well known in the Pagan community for her activism and commitment to tolerance, passed away after struggling with complications relating to a recent gall bladder surgery. Smith is perhaps best known as the mother of Tempest Smith, and founder of the Tempest Smith Foundation, an organization dedicated to fostering tolerance and eliminating teen bullying.

Denessa and Tempest Smith

“Daily, students surrounded Tempest singing “Jesus Loves You” and other hymns in a mocking gesture. Her choice of clothing was scrutinized as being “Goth” though, according to Denessa, Tempest seldom wore black. Even taunts such as “Wiccan whore” and “Satan worshipper” were regular occurrences.”

Smith, an Agnostic, partnered with the local Pagan community, and started speaking in public about the need to eliminate bullying. For schools, parents, lawmakers, and community members to work together to build a more tolerant world. A world where Tempest’s tragedy isn’t repeated. In turn, she became a pillar of support within her community, and a beacon of hope to teens feeling trapped in the nightmare world of bullying, intimidation, and intolerance.

In addition to Denessa Smith’s work with the Tempest Smith Foundation, she has also spoke out for organ donation, supported charities benefiting Pagans in need, worked with the Order of DeMolay, and participated in the Meals on Wheels program.

“Her work in the community and with The Tempest Smith Foundation will be a lasting tribute to the difference one woman can make. Denessa devoted her energy and her drive towards making our community a more tolerant place and her impact will stay with us.” – The Magical Education Council

A memorial service will be held on Sunday, August 3rd, from Noon to 8pm at the American Legion Hall, 1430 Southfield Rd, Lincoln Park, MI. The Magical Education Council has provided a comments area for those who wish to pass a message on to Denessa Smith’s family.

May the gods bless her, may she be reunited with her daughter and know peace.

In England, the Birmingham City Council is coming under fire for a new web-filtering policy that blocks access to atheist and Pagan sites, but allows free access to mainstream Christian, Islam, and Hindu web sites.

“The authority’s Bluecoat Software computer system allows staff to look at websites relating to Christianity, Islam, Hinduism and other religions but blocks sites to do with “witchcraft or Satanism” and “occult practices, atheistic views, voodoo rituals or any other form of mysticism”. Under the Employment Equality (Religion or Belief) Regulations 2003, it is unlawful to discriminate against workers because of their religion or belief, which includes atheism.”

Bluecoat Software manufactures K9 Web Protection, which, like other cyber-nanny programs, is designed to protect children from “unwanted” Internet content. Some of these programs have an “occult/cult” option which blocks sites that Christian parents might find troubling. It looks like Bluecoat and the Birmingham City Council may have decided that their employees were children as well, or simply didn’t care what got filtered so long as they can easily “monitor internet usage”.

“We are currently implementing new internet monitoring software to make the control of internet access easier to manage. The aim of this is to provide greater control for individual line managers to monitor internet usage, and for departments, such as trading standards and child protection, to gain access, if needed, to certain sites for business reasons.”

The National Secular Society has called the new filtering software “discriminatory”, and said that they would “consider legal action” if steps aren’t taken to correct the issue.

“National Secular Society president Terry Sanderson said the city council’s rules also discriminated against people who practise witchcraft, which is also classed as a legitimate belief. He said the society would initially contact the council and ask for the policy to be changed, and otherwise pursue legal action. He said he believed he would have a “very strong case”. Mr Sanderson said: “It is discriminatory not only against atheists but they also are banning access to sites to do with witchcraft. “Witchcraft these days is called Wicca, which is an actual legitimate and recognised religion.”

A “very strong case” indeed considering the fact that this is a government-run facility, and beholding to stringent anti-discrimination policies. Either all access to religious sites need to be banned, or the infantilizing software must go.

“When I first heard the news, even before anything about the gunman’s motives were known, I couldn’t help but guess that it was because the UU *is* the sort of church it is – welcoming, and accepting of pagans, of religious diversity, of glbt, and human diversity.” – Sangrail

As we continue to learn more about the tragic shooting at the Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist Church, the Unitarian-Universalist blogosphere, and its allies, react.

“Sunday’s horrifying episode reminded me that as a liberal I was, and am, part of the culture wars—and that those culture wars are sometimes far more than just “culture.” They are, by now, a deeply rooted part of the split in American life, whereby those who legitimately seek inclusion and change are pitted against those who legitimately wish to conserve the best of our culture. The divide is so deep that those who are already unstable and prone to violence can draw upon those culture wars to justify violence—the same way that anti-Semitism or anti-Muslim sentiments have surfaced in violent acts perpetrated by unstable (and some alarmingly stable) people in recent memory, such as the shooting at the Jewish Community Center in Seattle and attacks on the mosques in the wake of 9-11.”

David Neiwert at the Orcinus blog notes that threatening to kill liberals is no longer ‘just a joke’.

“In Tennessee this weekend, the chickens came home to roost when a gunman named James David Adkisson walked into a Unitarian Universalist Church and began shooting. So far, two people are dead, and seven more were wounded. He was saying “hateful things,” according to all the news reports … Right-wingers love to “joke” about mowing down, rounding up, and otherwise “wiping out” all things liberal. It’s become a standard feature of conservative-movement rhetoric. And whenever anyone calls them on it, they have a standard response: “Aw, c’mon — it’s just a joke!” In reality, of course, rhetoric like this has historically played a critical role in some of the ugliest episodes in American history, as well as thousands of little acts of xenophobic brutality: functionally speaking, it gives violent — and frequently unstable — actors permission to act on these impulses.”

Transient and Permanent looks at the history of violence against UUs.

“Domestic terrorism has been an ongoing threat to Unitarian-Universalists because they tend to embody cutting edge trends that society is slowly, painfully moving toward. The issues change through the decades–integration, civil rights, women’s rights, pacificism, gay rights, environmental conservation, universal healthcare, religious pluralism, and so on–but the Unitarian-Universalists remain ahead of the pack year after year. Even though society generally catches up with them in time (by which point the UUs have typically already moved ahead once again), being on the fringe of the mainstream is a dangerous place, in America and in most any country. At various times and in their homes, churches, and out in public, UUs have been beaten, stabbed, shot, or blown up simply for their beliefs, and there is no reason to assume this will ever come to a complete end.”

Finally, Sara Robinson, also at the Orcinus blog, puts lie to the myth that UUs are “weak” or “soft”.

“Conventional wisdom says that we’re soft in all the places our society values toughness. Our refusal to adhere to any dogma must mean that we’re soft in our convictions. Our reflexive open-mindedness is often derided as evidence that we’re soft in the head. Our persistent and gentle insistence on liberal values is evidence of hearts too soft to set boundaries. And all of this together leads to a public image of a mushy gathering of feckless intellectuals that somehow lacks cohesion, backbone, focus, or purpose. You can only believe this if you don’t know either the history or the modern reality of Unitarian Universalism.”

For more reactions from the Unitarian-Universalist blogosphere, head over to the definitive UUpdates. The UUA has set up a special blog entitled Supporting Our Friends in Knoxville where you are invited to leave comments of love and support.

Considering recent troubles in Florida, relations between Florida police and practitioners of Santeria haven’t been the best. So it is encouraging to hear that Miami-Dade County police officials are taking a progressive step in bettering relations between law enforcement and this often-misunderstood faith.

“…leaders of the [Santeria] faith are hailing a recent decision by Miami-Dade County police officials to include in their Law Enforcement Handbook a reminder that the U.S. Constitution protects the humane killing of animals in religious ceremonies. Yeyefini Efunbolade, a Santeria priest who lives in Hollywood, expressed hope that the message will spread to Broward and Palm Beach counties, and other jurisdictions with reputations for less tolerance for animal sacrifices.”

Lt. Sherry Schlueter of the Broward Sheriff’s Office special victims and family crimes unit was quick to point out that police would still prosecute those who do not engage in humane animal sacrifice, a stance that local Santeria leaders endorse as well.

“‘The most important word here is humane,’ Schlueter said. “If a person kills an animal in a cruel manner, if the knife is not sharp or the kill is not done swiftly, that would be a crime, regardless if it was done as part of a ritual.” [Ernesto] Pichardo and [Yeyefini] Efunbolade said they agree. “We believe that the spirit of the animal will come back to haunt you if you make a sacrifice incorrectly,” Efunbolade said. Santeros, or priests, must undergo extensive training before they are qualified to conduct sacrifices, Pichardo said.”

As the Pagan community has learned over the years, incorrect or incomplete information can lead to unnecessary conflicts and misunderstandings between law enforcement and practitioners of minority faiths. This has led some unscrupulous opponents of our faiths to supply law enforcement with misinformation in order to intimidate us, and further their own religious/political goals. One remedy is to support Pagan organizations that engage in and advocate better communications between service personnel and modern Pagans. There may be times when we can’t avoid having the police at our door, but we can hope to avoid incorrect perceptions and hostile interactions through better education and information.

On Sunday morning Jim Adkisson, who defined himself to neighbors as a “Confederate” and a “believer in the old South”, walked into the Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist Church and opened fire with a shotgun. Nine people were inured by gunfire, two have died.

“KPD Chief Sterling Owen said … that mental illness is not believed to be a factor in the suspect’s actions. Owen also said the FBI is now involved in the investigation. Owen confirmed witness reports indicating that the suspect arrived on the scene with a large quantity of ammunition. He also noted that the suspect had attempted to conceal the 12 gauge shotgun he used in the shooting by carrying it in a guitar case.”

There were around 200 people in attendance, and children were singing songs for the congregation when the shooting started. Four members of the congregation managed to tackle and subdue Adkisson. The minister of TVUUC has asked people to “pray for us”. Knox County Mayor Mike Ragsdale has issued a written statement of support and sympathy:

“When we go to our places of worship, we go expecting to have a time of reflection and fellowship. Today’s violence is the worst sort of desecration and should be renounced by citizens of all faiths. I join all Knox Countians in offering our prayers to the families affected by this terrible tragedy. This is a time for all of us to come together to lend our complete support to this church family.”

As a member of the extended UU family, I want to say that my thoughts and prayers go out to the TVUUC community, may they find the strength to recover and move forward. May healing come to those still in the hospital, and may justice be done.

More information: CNN, Knoxville News Sentinel, Reuters, New York Times, Statement from Rev. William G. Sinkford, President, Unitarian Universalist Association.

ADDENDUM: From Philocrites: Gunman targeted the UUs for their ‘liberal stance’ and their acceptance of gays.

We often take libraries and museums for granted, thinking them permanent fixtures, places for tourists to visit, or grad students to research. But as recent economic concerns stretch across the world, collections vital to understanding our place in history become jeopardized as funding is cut. Such is the case with the Harry Price Library of Magical Literature, based at the University of London.

“A remarkable collection of rare and ancient volumes on the arts of magic and summoning ghosts could be broken up and sold off due to a funding crisis. The Harry Price Library of Magical Literature, based at the University of London, is the UK’s largest of its kind … The collection is under threat after the university’s grant for its specialist library was slashed by more than 60 per cent by the Higher Education Funding Council. The £1m cut means the library could cease to exist.”

If this collection were to be broken up and sold, it would be a huge blow to scholarship concerning the roots and history of modern Pagan religion. The Harry Price library contains such works as the “Malleus maleficarum” (five different editions), correspondences with Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and Harry Houdini, Reginald Scot’s “Discoverie of Witchcraft”, and a work by the astrologer Arcandam.

“The collection has a very wide interest. Some of the material about witchcraft is now very relevant to areas such as gender studies and how women have been portrayed over time.” – Christine Wise, head of special collections at Senate House Library

Students across England are now lobbying their colleges to donate funds towards keeping the collection together, but things aren’t looking bright. A report is to be issued in November that will survey the extent of necessary cuts, and if the library will need to be sold off.

So what is the answer to this problem? It seems unlikely that the governments and universities funding these collections will suddenly rearrange their priorities concerning early esoteric texts and papers. Nor is England the only place where this problem is emerging. Is digitizing these artifacts the answer? That seems to be a growing consensus. Several works from the Victorian era in the Harry Price collection have been digitized, and the National Library of Ireland has recently digitized a rare book of occult correspondence between poet (and former Golden Dawn member) William Butler Yeats and Irish revolutionary Maud Gonne.

“Bound in white vellum, the notebook served as their metaphysical marital bed. Yeats used it to keep track of their shared fixation with the occult and each other … Now, a century later, that book is on display at the National Library of Ireland, opened to a page that is just barely visible under the indirect lighting prescribed for aged ink treasures. Yet every syllable – every comma-deprived sentence, every curve in her script, every ampersand – is legible. Next to the display case the entire notebook has been digitally reincarnated…”

Of course digital media, if housed in a single place, can be destroyed too, which would make the next step of digitial preservation to disperse thousands of copies to servers at libraries and universities across the world. Something I don’t see institutions like the National Library of Ireland doing any time soon. In the meantime, we shouldn’t allow the existing hard copies of rare and unique works to disperse into the homes of rich collectors, denying scholars and students easy access, forcing them to accede to the wishes of private individuals (or private trusts). We need to preserve our heritage and history for future generations despite the fiscal inconveniences, lest those tests, letters, and objects become little more than matters of conjecture and we lose an important physical link to our past.

The Law and Magic blog’s coverage of a recent ruling concerning a defamation lawsuit against Magic Magazine, and an angry magician, caught my eye. What does the world of stage magic have to do with practitioners of Paganism? As it turns out, quite a bit, at least in my opinion. The case involved Magic Magazine’s review of a card trick magician Bill Nagler was selling, in short, the review wasn’t favorable.

“The Court noted that the plaintiff, Mr. Nagler, alleged two causes of action, defamation and product disparagement, against Mr. Henderson, and the publisher of Magic Magazine. Mr. Nagler apparently thought that Mr. Henderson “bought in” to the notion that Mr. Nagler was guilty of exposing the secrets behind other magicians’ tricks and thus wrote a negative review. He accused Mr. Henderson of making false statements of fact concerning the magic trick under review. Mr. Henderson and Magic Magazine defended by saying that the statements were protected opinion, and also that they did not “concern” Mr. Nagler.”

The court, in its wisdom, rejected the accusations of defamation and disparagement.

“The Court examined the statements to which Mr. Nagler objected and said that they were either ‘rhetorical hyberbole’ or unverifiable ’supported interpretation.’”

So why is this important to us? Aren’t there loads of legal precedents protecting negative reviews? What is important is the circumstances and language used. While couched in the world of stage magic, this case reminded me of the many negative reviews I’ve read of “magickal” books by authors like Silver RavenWolf, Douglas Monroe, and Ed Fitch. In fact, I’m surprised we haven’t seen some vengeful Pagan/occult author let fly with a lawsuit with charges almost identical to the ones seen here . Oath-bound material, wounded egos, and “massaged” facts are certainly found in both communities.

The court’s decision that ‘rhetorical hyberbole’, even if it is insulting or unkind, is protected so long as the opinions are grounded by ’supported interpretation’ of facts should be welcome news to any Pagan magazine or web site that regularly publishes reviews. In other words, you can say things like this…

“Personally, I believe one of the biggest problems we face today is Silver Ravenwolf. Particularly ironic is the fact that the “Craft Code of Honor” that she displays on her own website includes “Respect the religion of others.” So she’s a bigot and a hypocrite.”

And you should be protected under the law so long as you support your interpretation with facts (as you see them) that led you to that opinion. That doesn’t mean that the target of your negative review can’t file a lawsuit, it just means he or she isn’t likely to win.

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

The recent arrest of Bosnian Serb war criminal Radovan Karadzic, who was posing as a New Age guru named “Dragan David Dabic”, has sparked some eager pundits to form a link between the New Age movement and mass murder!

“The New Age Dr Karadzic was not a disguise; it was a peep at what could have been, an alternative history. If Pol Pot had come to Britain, he might have opened a respectable stall at the Stoke Newington farmers’ market. If Dr Karadzic had moved to Camden market he could have become a quiet and harmless guru. As it was, he butchered half a country. The lesson is: keep an eye on those health stores.”

Igor Toronyi-Lalic’s correlations become ever-more perilous, performing mental acrobatics to link organic farming to murder because Pol Pot liked it, and claiming that New Age stores readily carry copies of “The Protocols of the Elders of Zion”. If this extended Reductio ad Hitlerum points to any conspiracy theorist, it must be the author himself.

Speaking of conspiracy theorists, want to dig up the “Harry Potter leads children to the occult” argument again? No? Too bad! Joe Max e-mailed me a link to a dazzlingly tunnel-visioned editorial from 2003 entitled “Heresy in the Hood II: Witchcraft among Children and Teens in America”. Heresy in the hood! Gods that tickles me. That should be the title of a movie.

“Any Web–savvy child can be indoctrinated into a pagan worldview and start casting spells before a parent catches on to this new interest.”

And they are probably downloading their records for free! Truly Satan is powerful! But why am I mocking an article from five years ago? Because the Christian anti-abortion hub LifeSiteNews references it extensively in a recent editorial by Hilary White.

“As of June 2008, the seven book Potter series has sold more than 400 million copies and the books have been translated into 67 languages. The phenomenal success of the books has made their British author, J.K. Rowling, the highest-earning novelist in history. Three years after Harry Potter, Harvey writes, a review of television programs, major children’s book publishers, and popular youth websites, ’should more than confirm our initial warnings.’”

Blah, blah, blah, Harry Potter, blah, blah, Buffy, blah, blah, Satan, blah blah. Really I can’t even muster the energy to debate this stuff any more. Especially if they don’t even go to the trouble of writing a new piece, instead of simply paraphrasing one from five years ago. Perhaps both sides are stricken with Harry Potter outrage fatigue?

The Richmond Times Dispatch features a column from A. Barton Hinkle that looks at a recent decision by the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upholding non-sectarian prayer in the town of Fredericksburg (it was challenged by a Christian pastor who wanted to say the “J-word”). Hinkle explains how the ACLU could press for non-sectarian prayer in this instance, yet fight for the inclusion of Wiccan Cynthia Simpson in a different public prayer case.

“There is a defensible rationale for the stance the ACLU has taken, and it goes like this: Governmental bodies should not allow invocations, period. But given the fact that Chesterfield had done so, then it was obliged to treat all religions equally by allowing prayers from other faiths: Buddhist, Shinto, Wiccan, or Spaghetti Monster. Having opened the door to Abrahamic faiths, it couldn’t slam the door on non-Abrahamic ones. In the Fredericksburg case, the ACLU doesn’t want the door opened at all.”

In other words, if you want sectarian prayer, you have to invite the Pagans.

Paging Llewellyn! Remember your hilarious moral victory in North Carolina? Well, you just might get your chance to repeat it in Arizona.

“Alliance Defense Fund yesterday announced that it had filed a lawsuit in federal district court in Arizona on behalf of the First Baptist Church of Maricopa and its pastor, Jim Johnson, challenging Maricopa County school district’s policy on distribution of literature by nonprofit groups … School policy permits nonprofit groups to have their literature promoting various events and activities made available to students in schools. However the policy excludes literature from any sectarian organization or literature that promotes a particular religious belief or participation in religion.”

Network with some Arizona groups now, contact the local media and tell them that if First Baptist Church of Maricopa wins, you’ll be happy to distribute Pagan books and flyers to the kids. As I mentioned earlier, if you include sectarian religious content, you have to let everyone in!

In a final note, Technoccult points to an amazing in-depth look at the relationship of Throbbing Gristle/Psychic-TV founder Genesis P-Orridge, and Lady Jaye Breyer P-Orridge, who tragically passed away last year due to an undiagnosed heart condition.

“If we can be with this woman as lovers, as partners, for the rest of our lives, thought the front man of the legendary bands Throbbing Gristle and Psychic TV, who’d easily piled up enough experiences and enough identities to justify that royal “we”—it’s all we’ll ever want in the universe.”

A true tale of magick, love, gender, music, and the art of becoming one being.

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