“An Arizona homicide investigation now includes three deaths after a woman died more than a week after participating in a sweat lodge ceremony that hospitalized nearly two dozen people. Liz Neuman of Minnesota died Saturday at a Flagstaff hospital, Yavapai County sheriff’s spokesman Dwight D’Evelyn said. The 49-year-old suffered multiple organ damage during the Oct. 8 ceremony at a resort near Sedona, a resort town 115 miles north of Phoenix that draws many in the New Age spiritual movement. Authorities were treating all three deaths as homicides, but no charges have been filed.”

According to the report, Neuman was a true-believer in Ray’s teachings, attending several of his workshops and leading a local Ray-centric discussion group. One wonders how long before Ray’s time gallivanting to speaking engagements and describing these deaths as a “test” for him will come to an end, and he’s brought in for questioning.

Turning to something a bit more pleasant the Pagans for Archeology blog interviews scholar Susan Greenwood concerning her upcoming book “The Anthropology of Magic”.

“When Berg first invited me to write a book on anthropology and magic I didn’t initially think much about it as a project, but after a while I realized that as an undergraduate, and as a postgraduate doctoral student, I’d really struggled to find anything that tackled the issue of the experience of magic. Since childhood, I had always felt a sense of magic – the thrill of a thunderstorm, the fascination with being in nature, and the ‘make-believe’ of creating stories in my head. When I was older I had explored witchcraft and went to university as a mature student to find out more about my magical experiences. During a final year anthropology and sociology project on women’s spirituality I realized that I wanted to explore magic through PhD research (this ended up as Magic, Witchcraft and the Otherworld). During my time of studying I found books that were helpful in some ways but nothing that really dealt with the issues of studying the experience of magic. I wrote The Anthropology of Magic in the hope that it might help students and others to think about magic as an aspect of consciousness – it was the book that I’d wanted when I first started studying anthropology.”

The whole interview is well worth a read, and you may also want to check out Greenwood’s previous works “The Nature of Magic: An Anthropology of Consciousness“, and “Magic, Witchcraft and the Otherworld: An Anthropology“.

In a final note, we have yet more crazy from our favorite Australian crazy, Danny Nalliah, head of Catch the Fire ministries. I’ve indirectly mentioned him a couple times recently, but this one deserves full credit.

“Media reports of this “prayer offensive” have become the darling of the off-beat section, ridiculing the event and its prayer vs. black spells premise. But this being the age where you can be believe in spells and be totally in touch with media and the interwebs, Catch the Fire has cottoned on to the rest of Australia’s mocking pretty quickly (see here).  In response, Pastor Danny went on radio to explain this act of “spiritual warfare”. He said witches have cast spells on our politicians to make more liberal laws about homosexuals and abortions and if we don’t do something soon (like a mass prayer to ask God to get back on our side) we’re going to have more natural disasters, including bush fires.”

As for his spiritual warfare? Don’t worry, his fifty-member team was vastly outnumbered by protesters sporting slogans like “I am what you are afraid of”, easily counter-acting his malfeasance (though they claim to have The Holy Spirit accomplished “great and mighty things”). So the liberal laws (and brush fires I suppose) will no doubt continue!

That’s all I have for now, have a great day!

In South Africa, News 24 interviews Damon Leff of the South African Pagan Rights Alliance (SAPRA) concerning recent comments by ANC MP Adrian Williams (an “out” Pagan politician) that modern Pagans in South Africa should abandon attempts to reclaim the term “Witch” due to its (sometimes violently) negative associations in the country.

“SAPRA rejected Williams’s views on the use of the word “witch”, saying communities must be educated about other people’s religious beliefs and practices. “While Williams self-identifies as pagan, it should be noted that he has no mandate to speak on behalf of all the witches in South Africa,” said SAPRA director, Damon Leff.”

The piece also interviews a representative of the Traditional Healers Organisation (THO) who sympathizes with SAPRA’s goals, and feels that while it might be possible for the term to be used and reclaimed among white South Africans,  colonialist framing of the term “witch” has made reclaimation all but impossible among black South Africans. What’s clear is that this issue isn’t going away any time soon, and it remains to be seen if some sort of “dual understanding” equilibrium over terminology can be reached.

The Lancaster Sunday News has the official follow-up from the showdown in Stoudtburg Village, which pitted a planned Pagan festival against Christian protesters and shop-owners closing to avoid serving Pagan customers.

“Witches and pagans who traveled to Adamstown on Saturday for a festival “Celebrating Earth Spirituality” were greeted by a steady rain and praying Christians in a silent protest. The gathering held at Stoudtburg Village and hosted by Reading Pagans & Witches proved to far less controversial than the debate that brewed in the days leading up to it … Jen Anderson-Wenger, president of Reading Pagans & Witches, said several church groups “laid hands on us and prayed.” She said she was pleased at the turnout, and said her group was received “very peacefully”.”

You can read Jen Anderson-Wenger’s report on the festival, here. The Reading Pagans & Witches site has also posted a list of businesses that stayed open for them. It should be interesting to see what the long-term ramifications of this event will be. Will some stores that closed down end up regretting it? Have local perceptions of who modern Pagans are changed any? It would nice to see some follow-up on those questions.

The Boston Globe’s Articles of Faith blog reports on the massive new Hindu Temple of Minnesota, and the various issues that the growing numbers of American Hindus (1.5 – 2 million estimated) face.

“This temple is unlike anything you would see in India — there, temples are typically centered on a single deity, but because this is the U.S., where the Hindu community hails from all over India as well as the Hindu diaspora, the temple opted for a variety of shrines to meet the needs and devotional practices of a diverse group of worshipers … The biggest challenge, of course, is transmitting the faith from immigrants, most of whom grew up in a predominantly Hindu society, to their children, who are growing up in a predominantly Christian society.”

Reporter Michael Paulson also notes that the Hindu community in America is used to worship being a personal matter, and is still adjusting to the American tradition of clergy speaking out publicly on social and political issues. In the coming years it should be interesting to see how Hindu clergy in America start to adapt to Western expectations of what religious leaders do, and what the leaders that do spring to the forefront want to say. I wanted to highlight this article because there are some strong similarities between the Hindu community’s emergence into the American mainstream and our own. We should pay attention to how they grow and change, because the modern Pagan movement will be facing similar issues as our numbers start to rival theirs.

Canadian magazine The Walrus takes a look at the Theosophist and Transcendentalist beliefs of the Group of Seven,  a fellowship of influential landscape painters in the 1920s who were influenced by European Impressionism.

“Cosmic consciousness might seem an awfully thin rod to hang a flag from, but given the checkered history of nationalist experiments in the twentieth century, that may have been a godsend. During the 1920s and ’30s, when Germans were falling for a myth of the mystical superiority of the Nordic race, Canadian Theosophists were promoting a quaint, aristocratic mysticism that privileged the wisdom of colonized peoples and taught the values of internationalism and universal brotherhood.”

It’s a fascinating exploration of how the Canadian art world became infatuated with Theosophy and how that relationship influenced the art that was made. “New Age”, occult, indigenous, and modern Pagan religions and philosophies have had such a great impact on the history of art that I’m surprised we haven’t seen more explorations of the topic. It’s certainly true that we still await a good overview of fine art and illustration influenced (and created) by modern Paganism, something that I hope I don’t have to wait too long to see remedied.

Three Roman-era statues of Aphrodite have been discovered at the Israeli archaeological site of Hippos, excavators speculate they were hidden by worshipers of the goddess during the rise of Christianity in the 4th century CE.

“It is possible that during the fourth century [CE], when Christianity was gradually becoming the governing religion in the Roman Empire, there were still a number of inhabitants in Sussita who remained loyal to the goddess of love and therefore wished to hide and preserve these items,” suggests Prof. Segal.

No word yet on what will be done with the statues, or if they’ll eventually be put on display. If I were a devotee of Aphrodite I might see the recovery of these intact statues as some sort of sign or miracle, proof of her enduring power. It is, after all, how many Christians see the recovery of their ancient artifacts.

In a final note, there’s a new Pagan e-zine starting up called “Eternal Haunted Summer”.

“Eternal Haunted Summer is the only ezine of its kind: one which gives voice to modern devotion to the many Gods and Goddesses of our ancestors. Poems and stories celebrating the Deities and heroes of the Celts, Norse, Germans, Romans, Etruscans, Greeks, Phoenicians, Canaanites, Sumerians, Egyptians and many, many, many others are all welcome. If you have been inspired to write a poem honoring Apollo or Brigid or Enki; or a short story about Inanna or El or Jove; or if you have written a review about a book or journal with a Pagan focus, please consider submitting it here. Our first official issue will go live on the Winter Solstice 2009, with quarterly updates on each subsequent Equinox and Solstice.”

I wish them every success and hope the poets and writers who read the The Wild Hunt will check them out.

That’s all I have for now, have a great day!

“To fully explore both tensions and universalities, Kidd has collaborated with other parts of the university to move observers past a simply visceral, visual experience and stimulate community conversation. The most ambitious and prominent of these efforts will come at a national symposium on Oct. 16 and 17. Diane Apostolos-Cappadona, author and Georgetown University professor, will be the keynote speaker. Apostolos-Cappadona has been interviewed on television and in documentaries, discussing her take on the books of “The DaVinci Code” author Dan Brown. The event will incorporate both distinguished local scholars — MU Professors Robert Baum and Kristin Schwain — and experts from other major universities, speaking on topics almost as wide-ranging as the exhibit itself — everything from African female prophets to the cult of virgin martyrs, Cleopatra’s divinity to the role of females in Tantric sex rituals.”

Perhaps inspired by Kidd’s efforts to build such a far-reaching conversation concerning the sacred feminine, the Columbia Daily Tribune sent out questionnaires concerning gender and religion to area women. The first two respondents were artist Gennie Pfannenstiel, who is giving talks at the exhibit and holding a showing of her own work exploring the sacred feminine at a local gallery, and Taz Chance, a member of the local Wiccan church and nature preserve Ozark Avalon. The contrasting answers between an artist who feels the “sacred feminine is a divine source of knowing the feminine aspect of creation and existence”, and an explicitly Pagan goddess-worshipper are fascinating.

Pfannenstiel: Knowing that we are all children of our Earthmother makes me more compassionate and allows me to see more clearly the importance of my path for serving others, especially children — a Madonna role. My spirituality grounds me by revealing to me my true self so that I can stand tall and strong as a pillar, Isis-like. I am Grandmother Spider spinning my web of life.

Chance: Because I worship an Earth-centered religion I find that I am more connected to the ideals of the sacred feminine than those women who are in the more traditional spiritual roles. I am allowed to openly recognize my connection to the Goddess without and the Goddess within.

I assume that these respondents are merely the first to be profiled in the paper, and that more will be run as questionnaires trickle in during the exhibition’s run. Kudos to the Columbia Daily Tribune for going the extra mile in seeking out community voices for this piece, and including a Pagan perspective right off the bat. As for the exhibition and forthcoming symposium, they both sound fascinating, and will no doubt be a special treat for those living in or near Columbia, Missouri.

A Sydney native who calls Melbourne home, Rule says, “It’s not such an unusual thing for music to have a magical and spiritual purpose. All the ritual music of traditional cultures — Aboriginal Australian and Native American shamans, folk music from across the globe, Gregorian chants and gospel music — share this same goal: to alter our consciousness and bring us in contact with the divine.” But, she adds, “I’m no more a Wiccan songwriter than I am a Scorpio songwriter, or an Australian one, or a female one. I’m just living and writing and singing and exploring my heart and soul — and I happen to be an Australian Scorpio Witch.”

While it’s nice that the paper decided to give some ink to Wendy Rule’s upcoming shows in America, you’d think they would bother to do more than simply cut-and-paste from her web site while implying they interviewed her. Maybe a long-distance phone call was too expensive for their operating budget? After all, these are hard times for newspapers.

If you want to brag once and for all that you’re as smart as (or possibly smarter than) Oberon “Grey School of Wizardry” Zell and Don “Witch School” Lewis you’ll get your chance at the upcoming St. Louis Pagan Picnic. According to a press release, they will be holding a trivia contest about “all things magical” open to all comers.

“Oberon Zell of Grey School and Don Lewis of Witch School have agreed to a trivia contest about all things magical to test their students and all comers. They plan to meet on June 13th & 14th at the St. Louis Pagan Picnic, held at Tower Grove Park. The St. Louis Pagan Picnic is the largest Pagan gathering in the Midwest, and brings together thousands for a weekend of friendship, fellowship, entertainment, teaching and merchants. The Wizards and Witches Trivia contest will be just one of the many parts to this wonderful event, but for the students of Grey School and Witch School, it is a highly anticipated one.”

The winners will receive unspecified “prizes”, one hopes that it isn’t a gift certificate to their respective schools. After all, would the winner of such a contest really need such a thing?

In a final note, workmen in Florence, Italy, while digging a hole for a new water cistern in the courthouse, stumbled across a temple to Isis.

“Workmen inside Florence’s courthouse have stumbled across a spiral column and hundreds of multicoloured fragments that experts believe may have belonged to a Roman temple dedicated to the Egyptian goddess Isis.  According to Roman news agency ANSA, the remains, dating back to the second century AD, were discovered as the men dug a five by three meter hole, barely four meters deep, for a new water cistern for the courthouse’s anti-incendiary system … the remains were “comparable” to others found over the last three centuries in the immediate area that have also been attributed to the temple of Isis, the Egyptian goddess of motherhood and fertility who was later adopted by the Greeks and Romans.  The location of the temple is unknown, but it is believed to have been built just outside the Roman part of the city, near the current courthouse building…”

Florence’s archeology superintendency is currently overseeing the discovery, no announcements have been made as to what will ultimately be done with the find. Interesting that a courthouse was unwittingly built over the temple of a goddess that the Book of the Dead calls “She who seeks justice for the poor people”.

That’s all I have for now, have a great day!

A CT scan of the Witch Bottle

“CT scans and chemical analysis, along with gas chromatography conducted by Richard Cole of the Leicester Royal Infirmary, reveal the contents of the bottle to include human urine, brimstone, 12 iron nails, eight brass pins, hair, possible navel fluff, a piece of heart-shaped leather pierced by a bent nail, and 10 fingernail clippings.”

While several old Witch Bottles have been found in the past, and recipes for how to make a Witch Bottle exist from folklore and old records, this is the first time an intact specimen has been available for study. According to Massey the bottle illustrates the extent that people during that time were wary of malicious magic.

“Massey believes witch bottles “emphasize just how frightened people were of the ‘black arts’ — the early settlers even took their superstitions to the New World with them as excavated witch bottles demonstrate.” The general time period of the bottle coincides with the Salem Witch Trials, which happened in late 1600’s America. Archaeologist Mike Pitts, the editor of British Archaeology, told Discovery News, ‘The discovery of something so apparently bizarre, indicating a clear belief in witchcraft and forces that have nothing at all to do with conventional, approved religion, remind us that early modern England did not belong to the same world we now inhabit.’”

One wonders how long before the exact receipe discovered here finds its way into a Pagan-written book. Oh, and in case you were wondering, the cool Pagan-looking bottle decoration is actually the face of Catholic Cardinal Roberto Bellarmino. If you want to know more about Witch Bottles, including how to make your own, check out this article by Faerie K. from The Cauldron: A Pagan Forum.

“The Iraqi government plans to open Babylon to visitors on 1 June, according to news reports. Iraq’s state board of antiquities and heritage is opposing the move, on the grounds that the site needs further protection and investigation before being reopened. This follows the controversial reopening of Baghdad’s National Museum on 23 February, after a government decision to proceed with this, defying opposition from curators who felt that it was too early.”

So why is the government pushing for this re-opening despite experts saying that there is “considerable evidence of damage” from the years of occupation and war? The best guess would be a combination of prestige, tourism revenue, and the appearance of a return to normalcy in the country. What better way to transmit that Iraq is stabilizing than to re-open its archaeological treasures to the world? Further, Babylon has a huge place in our cultural memory, it was the home to the Hanging Gardens, it had a huge influence on the Abrahamic faiths (to the point where it became a favorite Biblical villain), and it would draw tourists interested in Biblical history, archaeology, and pre-Christian Assyro-Babylonian religions. Let’s just hope that in their haste to draw in tourist dollars once more, they don’t furhter damage a site that has already endured the ham-fisted rebuilding efforts of Sadam Hussein and years of war (including one site being used as a helipad for American forces).

The NSS believes that the National Trust and English Heritage have abdicated their clear responsibility to the nation to turn down the requests from the Council of British Druid Orders (CoBDO), an unelected and unaccountable group, for the reburial of ancient human remains at the Alexander Keiller Museum in Avebury. It is important that the demands of one small group are not allowed to overwhelm those of the general public and interested groups, including those of scientists seeking to understand and to spread understanding of the lives of our ancestors in prehistory. Rather than take issue with the theology of the various “druid” groups represented by the CoBDO, the NSS wishes to stress the danger of creating a precedent in this case, whilst also refuting any claims that one specific religious group has over important scientific material which is the property of everyone.

The NSS goes on to call the demands, and the process of CoBDO setting itself up as “indigenous” spokespersons “an act of political expediency” rather than stemming from any real grievence. This particular criticism is echoed by cultural sociologist Dr Tiffany Jenkins in a recent article for Spiked.

CoBDO is an organisation which represents some Pagan groups. The request fronted by Paul Davies claims a genetic relationship with the human remains that are aged between 4,000 and 5,700 years old. But the demands are less about old bones than about winning affirmation of the legitimacy of Paganism from cultural organisations. These are, fundamentally, claims for recognition.

In the end, if the demands by some modern British Druid groups are met, it will raise a host of issues about the future of archeology in the UK and who exactly gets to speak for remains that are thousands of years old. Even if there was proof of some sort of spiritual link between these bones and modern Pagan practice, is CoBDO (or ‘CoBDO West’ for that matter) the organization that British Pagans want representing their interests and views? While secularists and scholars can be needlessly snarky about this issue, they do raise awareness of some important problems with these issues of identity and ownership. There has to be a better way of introducing a measured Pagan perspective to these debates than to allow scattered (and often self-appointed) individuals to claim the authority to speak with our collective voice.

The ‘row’ concerns a small breakaway group of druids (known to some as COBDO West) who’ve requested the museum release the remains so they can rebury them where they came from. King Arthur and mainstream COBDO want the same thing — but are upset that COBDO West have taken matters into their own hands. ‘COBDO West are just a joke — three men and a dog, without even the dog,’ splutters King Arthur.

Further sniping between CoBDO and CoBDO West can be seen in the comments section of this article. And yes, I too instantly thought of the “splitters” scene from Life of Brian. Needless to say, other British Pagan and Druid groups are increasingly embarrassed by the public fighting.

‘A lot of people are embarrassed by it all — very embarrassed,’ says Emma Restall Orr, a druidic teacher and priestess from Warwick-shire. ‘They’re feisty, burly lads who are very much on the edge of druidism but are rowing in public and giving druids a bad name.’

It should also be noted that neither CoBDO nor CoBDO West speak for all British Pagans or Druids on the issue of reburial and archeology. PEBBLE (The Public Bodies Liaison Committee for British Paganism), and the related group HAD (Honouring the Ancient Dead), are pursuing a more nuanced course that acknowledges the need and importance of archaeological study.

HAD is not declaring one policy in terms of action. HAD’s focus is to ensure that there is discussion, consultation and shared decision-making around ancient human remains. In this way, all interested parties, including local communities and Pagans, will be heard when it comes to human remains (ancestors) exhumed within their landscape, ensuring that the spiritual, religious and social value of these remains is presented alongside any scientific, monetary or political value discerned by those funding or carrying out that excavation.

One important voice of dissent on the reburial issue  is fellow Pagan blogger Yewtree, who is a member of Pagans For Archeology. Check out the article “Finding a Compromise – Keeping Places” for some of her views on the subject (an article by Jenny Blain and RJ Wallis is also worth a look). As for the warring CoBDO’s, they may soon find themselves left behind by a modern Druidry that doesn’t want to be associated with punch-ups at the pub and media stunts.

Terry Dobney has been a druid for 50 years and has been Chief Druid and Keeper of the Stones at Avebury for the past 11. He wears long white robes and an antler on his belt, clasps a hazel staff and has a rook’s feather in his cap. ‘Druids are supposed to have a balanced view and see both sides of the argument,’ he explains. ‘But there are some strong egotistical characters who need keeping in check. We’re drawing up a code of conduct for being a druid.’

Looks like some “egotistical characters” better watch out before they are seen in the same light as Kevin Carlyon, and become leaders of nothing more than a fancy acronym.

Word has come from Turkey that the famous Temple of Artemis at Ephesus is going to be rebuilt and restored to its former glory.

Artemis of Ephesus

The project will cost an estimated 150 million dollars, and will involve sculptors from around the world. The government of Turkey, while not directly financing the project, is supportive of Ileri’s efforts. The new temple will be 1,500 meters from the original temple, and is expected to break ground once official permission is granted. Ileri hopes the rebuilt temple will become a new “center of world sculpture”.

The Temple of Artemis at Ephesus was one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, and was initially destroyed by the world’s first fame-seeker (who shall not be named here) in 356 BCE. The temple was rebuilt in 323 BCE, only to be destroyed once more by Goths (the Germanic tribes, not the clove-smoking black-clad subculture) in 262. The Ephesians rebuilt it once again (you have to admire their dedication), only to have it dismantled by a mob led by St. John Chrysostom in 401 CE. Some of the columns were then used to build the Hagia Sophia.

While I’m certain the new temple will be a hive for tourism and the arts, I can only imagine how rebuilding one of the most famous goddess temples will resonate culturally around the world. Will it become a place of pilgrimage? Will a new cult to the Ephesian Artemis revive? Will it signal a new trend in not simply preserving old temples and landmarks, but actually rebuilding them to their former glory? Could we see a new Delphi or Colossus of Rhodes? An embracing of our pre-Christian heritage slipped through the side-door of “tourism”, “art”, and “culture”.
]]> http://wildhunt.org/blog/2008/10/temple-of-artemis-to-be-rebuilt.html/feed 7 http://wildhunt.org/blog/2008/10/for-sale-temple-of-cybele-slightly-used.html http://wildhunt.org/blog/2008/10/for-sale-temple-of-cybele-slightly-used.html#comments Fri, 17 Oct 2008 15:55:00 +0000 Jason http://wildhunt.org/blog/2008/10/for-sale-temple-of-cybele-slightly-used.html Are you a Pagan who has a spare 700,000 Euro burning a hole in your pocket? Then why not head to Bulgaria where Boris Kushlev is selling a 680-square-meter plot in downtown Balchik, home to a recently-discovered temple to the goddess Cybele.

Statue of Cybele from Balchik.

The Director of the Balchik History Museum is calling the proposed sale a “sacrilege”, and is disappointed both with Kushlev’s asking price (too expensive for the city, who have already paid 100,000 BGN to secure and cover the site), and the lack of movement by the Bulgarian state to nationalize the site. Unless the state makes a move, anyone can now swoop in an claim this former temple, and the statues and artifacts within it, for themselves. Potentially robbing Bulgaria of a unique archaeological find.

“The temple of the goddess Cybele is preserved really well, and according to archeologists, is the only one of its type in Europe. The temple is also the best-preserved building from the Hellenic Age in the Balkans. It includes a number of statutes of Cybele, coins from the time of the Roman Emperor Valens, and other ancient artifacts.”

Scientists believe that this temple, unlike other finds from the Hellenic era, can be completely restored and opened to the public. It would truly be a shame if it were dismantled and spread around to museums and private collections across the globe. Will the goddess show her hand and stop the destruction of her temple, preserved for so long beneath the earth? Only time (and an influx of money or political will) will tell if this temple is destroyed, or turned into a place of pilgrimage and learning.
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