Top Story: Is eclecticism and syncretism part of America’s religious DNA? A recent survey by the Pew Forum seems to suggest just that. While America is dominated by various forms of Christian belief, many adherents also partake in different religious practices and subscribe to various beliefs outside the theological boundaries of their faith.

“In total, upwards of six-in-ten adults (65%) express belief in or report having experience with at least one of these diverse supernatural phenomena (belief in reincarnation, belief in spiritual energy located in physical things, belief in yoga as spiritual practice, belief in the “evil eye,” belief in astrology, having been in touch with the dead, consulting a psychic, or experiencing a ghostly encounter). This includes roughly one-quarter of the population (23%) who report having only one of these beliefs or experiences. More than four-in-ten people (43%) answer two or more of these items affirmatively, including 25% who answer two or three of these items affirmatively and nearly one-in-five (18%) who answer yes to four or more. Roughly one-third of the public (35%) answers no to all eight items.”

This increasing trend of heterodoxy undermines the idea that the Religious Right, and other vanguards of religious orthodoxy, have much sway outside their main base of support. When nearly a quarter of America Christians say they believe trees possess spiritual energy, I’m far more convinced we’ll see a post-Christian culture than some sort of Family-style conservative Christian coup in the years to come. This transition may upset some, but I suspect that most Pagans, especially the eclectic and syncretic, will feel right at home.

In Other News: Pagans seem to be the ultimate test of how “open” your local city council’s opening invocations are. When a government body is accused of engaging in primarily sectarian prayer, as is the case in Bakersfield California, they usually point out that the invocation slot is welcome to any faith tradition that wants a turn. But as Americans United senior policy analyst Rob Boston points out, that openness often grinds to a halt when a Wiccan signs up.

“When communities try to set up a totally open forum for prayers, “what usually happens is that sooner or later someone comes along from a religion that is unpopular or misunderstood” — such as a Wiccan or Pagan — “and the conservative Christians throw a fit,” he said in an e-mail.”

Councilmember Jacquie Sullivan says Bakersfield is ready to pass the Pagan test, stating that “it would be their turn”. Did you hear that Bakersfield Pagans? Time to step up! They are ready. It’s your turn! Whether the “include a Wiccan” gambit would help them in a lawsuit is still an open question.

In Toronto, a con-artist who bilked a woman out of tens-of-thousands of dollars isn’t just up on charges of fraud, but also on charges of pretending to be a witch.

Det. Constable Jones says it’s rare to charge someone under Section 365, but the circumstances of this case fit. “It’s a historical quirk,” says Alan Young, a professor at Osgoode Hall Law School. Some sections of the Canadian criminal code reflect offences that were more prevalent centuries ago. When the code was enacted in 1892, witchcraft per se was no longer a punishable offence, he says, but lawmakers wanted to ensure witchcraft wasn’t used as a cover for fraud. Section 365 states that any one who fraudulently pretends to exercise or to use any kind of witchcraft, sorcery, or enchantment or who “undertakes, for a consideration, to tell fortunes … is guilty of an offence punishable on summary conviction.” “It’s not really about occult activity,” Prof. Young says. “It’s about defrauding people.”

One would assume that a real Witch would be immune from such charges. One would also hope that this near-forgotten law won’t be abused in a crusade against honest psychic practitioners, as they have been in America.

The Daily Grail features an excerpted essay from Greg Taylor that is very close to my heart, the history of occult practices in rock music.

“There is a vast amount of related material we could cover: from the influence of the occult upon Norwegian Black Metal, to Iron Maiden singer Bruce Dickinson’s interest in Aleister Crowley, which has recently resulted in a feature film. Or perhaps even The Mars Volta’s use of an Ouija Board in the creation of their 2008 album The Bedlam in Goliath (considering the mayhem that allegedly resulted, perhaps they should have listened to David Bowie’s advice…). But, ultimately, rock music is about transcending the intellect, and just losing yourself in a maelstrom of sound and feeling.”

That essay, and others, is from Darklore volume 2, available now from Amazon.com. Also, in a somewhat related note, Thee Temple Ov Psychick Youth’s “Thee Psychick Bible” (a project initiated by Industrial music pioneer Genesis P-Orridge) has been re-released in an updated, expanded, corrected edition. Perfect gifts for the occult music-lover in your family, and if all this talk of occult and Pagan music has you wanting to listen to some, why not check out my weekly podcast?

In a final note, the Houston Chronicle looks at the massive December pilgrimages in Mexico, with many traveling to the Basilica of the Virgin of Guadalupe (her feast day is on Saturday), located on a former pagan shrine. While nearly a million travel to gain the blessings of the “goddess of Mexico”, the local priests want you to know that there is no trace of pre-Christianity left in the rites and traditions surrounding this popular saint.

“Arriving by bus, car or bicycle, the faithful first stop at the artesian stream springing from the roots of a huge and ancient cypress tree. They don crowns made of fresh flowers and leave petitions to God hanging from the fence posts, wash in or drink from the spring and dance before the statue in a small chapel … When their dance is finished, the pilgrims ride a few miles down the mountainside to the village of Chalma itself, where they walk through a gantlet of vendors and restaurants to arrive at the church. There they attend Mass, get blessed by priests and leave petitions or letters of thanks to God hanging on walls. “It is 100 percent Catholic,” Manzanares said of the pilgrimage, “based in Catholic belief for the Catholic faithful.” Chalma’s shrine was erected by Spanish friars in the 1530s conquest in a cave that the Aztecs once worshipped as the dwelling of Ozteatl, a god represented by a large man-sized black boulder they believed had healing powers. The friars destroyed the stone, according to some accounts, and a Christ statue appeared in its place.”

Catholic perhaps, but grown from “pagan” soil and tradition. Whether Guadalupe is “100% Catholic” or a Christianized version of the Aztec moon goddess Tonantzin, she is still the most-venerated goddess/saint in the Americas, and neither Catholic nor Pagan should take that lightly.

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

While the heyday of SRA (Satanic Ritual Abuse aka “Satanic Panic”) in North America and the UK is now past us, we continue to be haunted by it. A core of true-believers await vindication, many law enforcement officials and politicians involved remain unrepentant, occult “experts” still give talks to police and community leaders, and there are still people in jail, despite evidence that they are innocent. As for those who were sent to prison and then later released (some years later), many are just happy to be free again, content to sink into seclusion lest they draw attention. However, one man caught up in a famous Canadian SRA case decided that being free and having charges dropped wasn’t enough, and he sued the government prosecutor, the police, and the therapist who coached the children for malicious intent.  Now, nearly twenty years after the whole ordeal began, the last trial has finished, with the Canadian Supreme Court deciding that the Crown prosecutor in the case did not act maliciously, overturning a previous ruling against him.

“The Saskatchewan man at the centre of a malicious prosecution case says he respects the decision of the Supreme Court of Canada dismissing his lawsuit but still believes the Crown lawyer acted inappropriately. Richard Klassen led a lawsuit alleging malicious prosecution after he and others were accused of incredible acts of sexual abuse against children in the early 1990s. The children told police that they had been sexually abused and forced into satanic rituals including the mutilation and killing of animals, dismemberment of babies and drinking of human blood. None of the stories were true and the children later admitted they had lied.”

The overturning of the previous judgment against Crown prosecutor Matthew Miazga is seen by some as a protective act by the Supreme Court, freeing many prosecutors of the worry that they could be liable if their “professional judgment” ends up convicting an innocent man or woman.

“Every precaution possible should be taken to prevent the prosecution of innocent people, but prosecutors must be allowed to exercise professional judgment without fear of personal liability when they are doing their jobs…”

Despite the government and courts circling their wagons to protect prosecutors with obviously poor “professional judgment”, this has ultimately been a victory for Richard Klassen and the other plaintiffs who sought to clear their names. They not only received high-profile vindication of their innocence on multiple occasions, but they did win their initial malice trial, and the Canadian government has paid out over two million dollars in settlement to Klassen and the others.

“Klassen said he was satisfied to have another set of judges re-affirm his innocence. “I didn’t lose anything here,” he said. “I’ve already won. They paid me, they gave me back my dignity.” In 2004, the Saskatchewan government negotiated a settlement with Klassen and the other plaintiffs to acknowledge the accused had suffered from the false accusations … He added that the long struggle to clear his name was worthwhile. “It was worth it for me,” he said. “I couldn’t live with this. I would have killed myself a long time ago.”"

In contrast, many of the American victims of Satanic panic are lucky to simply have their freedom, and some still don’t have that. Despite the court clearing the prosecutor of malice, the story reaffirms just how badly justice and law enforcement faltered during the moral panic that imprisoned so many. It is a reminder to those that would see this time come again, or create some new scape-goat, that not all of their potential victims will be content to hide away broken while allowing such madness to thrive. This court case involved cops, lawyers, and therapists, but we are all responsible in seeing that this sort of hysteria never rises again.

For those interested in finding out more about the Klassen SRA case Religious Tolerance has a nice time-line and overview.

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

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!

I’m sure many of you have already seen this story over at Witchvox, but I just couldn’t help but mention the case of a woman in a “energy healing” program at Langara College in Vancouver that claimed she was kicked out for being a Wiccan. However, the B.C. Human Rights Tribunal thought otherwise, and rejected her complaint. After reading the two journalistic accounts of the events leading up to the tribunal, it seems pretty clear that Sally Wild isn’t fully in touch with reality. Moreover, she makes a startling claim to “disability” status.

“She later elaborated as part of her complaint that she was mistreated because of her hereditary gifts of intuitive power and perception … she suffers from a disability that her lawyer described as ‘extraordinary gifts of intuition and perception that require significant accommodation.’”

Now I’ve seen plenty of flamboyant Pagans in my day play up their psychic sensitivity, but I can’t seem to remember any of them actually trying to have their “gifts” classified as a disability that required “significant accommodation”. That’s a new one on me. You can read the whole complaint, conclusions, and decision of the tribunal, here, and decide for yourself if that case had any real merit to it.

There is one related point I’d like to make about all this fuss, and that is why two major news organizations thought it was even worth covering. Any in-depth reading of the case seems to point to this being rather frivolous, an opinion the tribunal reached when looking at the evidence, so why the coverage? Surely there were other rulings by the B.C. Human Rights Tribunal that were more newsworthy? The answer I fear is that journalists were looking for a juicy story full of Witches and wacky goings-on and found one. While I can understand that impulse, it isn’t good journalism. All these stories have done is call attention to a young woman with some issues, issues that will be that much harder to deal with and put behind her now that she’s been accorded her 15 minutes of journalistic infamy.

I’m out on the road today, but I did want to share a few news items of interest. First off, the Chicago-based web publication Gapers Block features a review of a recent Pagan unity ritual and appearance by Oberon Zell-Ravenheart. While starting off pretty snarky, the journalist is ultimately taken in by the experience.

“People are circling the candlelit altar, clapping and stomping and screaming with abandon. Suddenly, the chant drops out, giving way to a wordless, pulsating hum. It’s a totally spontaneous, genuinely moving moment, and it sends shivers down my spine. I forget, for a moment, all about wizards and unicorns, forget that I mostly came here looking for a cheap laugh; the simple joy of being in a room full of people, singing and dancing and feeling at one, is more magic than I could have hoped for, and if this is the sort of spell that Oberon Zell-Ravenheart is capable of casting, then perhaps his claims to wizardry are not as far-fetched as I’d believed.”

You have to wonder how many skeptical journalists have been won over by better-than-expected rituals over the years. If you want to see the ritual in question, it’s up on Youtube.

Meanwhile, in New Jersey, Lisa Rose of the Star-Ledger explores if the economic downturn has been good for  New Age and Pagan belief systems and businesses.

“Like Reynolds, who is a Wiccan, a growing number of Jerseyans are exploring alternate routes to their spiritualilty — rather than joining a church, synagogue or mosque — to cope with the economic tailspin. While she’s been studying the stars and worshiping the earth for decades, there are plenty of novices shopping for inner wisdom at New Age stores and botanicas. “People are looking for something,” says Kim Sandak, owner of Whispers of Enlightenment, a New Age store in Hewitt. She reports healthy sales since she opened in October.”

Apparently “green”, “healthy”, and other counter-cultural businesses are also weathering the current downturn well. Whether this perceived trend continues, or even really exists outside individual cases, remains to be seen.

In a final note, we have an update on the controversial case of a Canadian mother and Odinist who had her child taken away after she was sent to school with a swastika and “white supremacist symbols” drawn on her arm.

“On Tuesday, another social worker testified the girl said she was missing school because her mom and stepfather didn’t wake her up on time. She told the social worker that her stepfather made the rules in the house, that he was angry and would get drunk, and that he didn’t make meals, or change her brother’s diaper often enough. The girl, now eight years old, went to school with white supremacist symbols drawn on her skin in March 2008. Her teacher scrubbed them off in the afternoon, but the girl showed up again the next day with another one, along with other white supremacist symbols drawn on her body. CFS caseworkers were alerted and went to the family’s apartment, where they found neo-Nazi symbols and flags, and took custody of the couple’s two-year-old son. CFS officials picked up the daughter at her school. The children have been in foster care since then.”

The stepfather is filing a constitutional challenge, while the mother is hoping to tell “her side of the story” and says that the social workers are lying about her and her daughter. You can read my original coverage of this issue, here.

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

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

We start off with the sad news that author and surgeon Dr. Leonard Shlain passed away on Monday at the age of 71. Shlain is perhaps best known within the Pagan, Goddess, and New Age communities as the author of “The Alphabet Versus The Goddess: The Conflict Between Word and Image”.

“In this groundbreaking book, Leonard Shlain, author of the bestselling Art & Physics, proposes that the process of learning alphabetic literacy rewired the human brain, with profound consequences for culture. Making remarkable connections across a wide range of subjects including brain function, anthropology, history, and religion, Shlain argues that literacy reinforced the brain’s linear, abstract, predominantly masculine left hemisphere at the expense of the holistic, iconic feminine right one. This shift upset the balance between men and women initiating the disappearance of goddesses, the abhorrence of images, and, in literacy’s early stages, the decline of women’s political status. Patriarchy and misogyny followed.”

You can read obituaries for Leonard Shlain at Boing Boing and on his own web site. My condolences to his friends and family, may his spirit find rest and comfort.

If a journalist “outs” your religion to the wider world in the process of an investigation and you lose revenue because of it, is the journalist liable for your losses? A judge in Quebec thinks so, and has ordered Sun Media Corp. to pay 9000.00 dollars to two members of the Raelians.

“When newspaper reporter Brigitte McCann spent nine months undercover as a member of the Raelian sect in 2003, the resulting articles caused a stir in Quebec and won her the province’s top journalism prize. Her Journal de Montréal reports revealed a darker side of a group generally dismissed as UFO-believing clowns: Its leader believes he has been targeted for assassination by the CIA, he demands generous contributions from his 55,000 followers and his entourage includes “angels” prepared to die to protect him … The plaintiffs, whose names are withheld in the published judgment, both said they had suffered embarrassment and loss of revenue after being identified as senior figures close to sect leader Claude Vorilhon, who goes by the name Raël. Their photos, taken from a pamphlet distributed at a Raelian gathering, were published.”

Naturally the Raelian Movement hails this decision, though some journalists and lawyers are saying that this chills the exercise of free speech. However, the judge ruled that these individuals’ expectation of privacy had been violated because information about the sect was freely available, making an undercover infiltration excessive and unjustified. You can read an unofficial English translation of the court’s decision, here. This decision could have wide ramifications in Canada regarding the investigation and reporting on non-mainstream and minority faiths. After all, even loony UFO cultists deserve some expectation of privacy, don’t they?

As some of you know, I like to keep track of Pagan and witchcraft-related themes in the world of high fashion design. Well, another line of clothing has come to my attention that you may want to check out. An Allure article trumpets that goth is back in fashion (again) and mentions in passing a “Witches” line of clothing by Lauren Alexander and Gabby Applegate as part of the trend. So I tracked down some photos and exposition concerning the line at NOTCOT.

“Promising… “WITCHES” the new shadowy, supernatural, and chic collection from Lauren Alexander and Gabby Applegate. An incredible editorial presentation in vignette style to showcase the occult collection. Friday, the Thirteenth of March, Seven to Ten in the evening. Chateau Marmont, Bungalow 4”… fascinating part, not even the Dietch PR folks had seen the line before this evening… the designer’s description? “”This line is a modern take on Goth, Grunge, and Victorian dressing. The entire line is comprised of black lace, velvet, silk, and spandex. The collection includes everything from floor length velvet cloaks to lace cocktail dresses with rope details. The goal has been to combine all of these style elements to create something that we feel has been missing in our closets. This collection truly embodies the idea of a “modern witch”.”

The line is very occult-goth chic, do go check out the photos if that’s your bag.

Remember how we all rushed to embrace actress Cybill Shepherd for thanking “the Goddess” at an awards ceremony years ago? Well the FoxNews “Pop Tarts” column talks with Shepherd about Prop. 8, Obama, and her rather complex personal theology.

“I’m a Christian Pagan Buddhist Goddess worshiper, but I’m also a feminist. I think the ultimate glass ceiling is God, in another words, if we think God is a man, then we make man a God, and I studied and learned that there is a whole other history of the worshiping of the great mother,” she explained. “I really think that probably God is a woman, that helped me to break through that celestial glass ceiling.”

So she is a confirmed Goddess-worshiper, but in a Christian/Pagan/Buddhist sort of way. I suppose she has all her bases covered no matter what lies beyond this life.

Earlier this week Brownsville, Texas held an election for three seats on its City Commission, and if you believe local reverend and activist Alex Resendez, no withcraft or brujeria were involved in shaping the outcome.

“During Resendez’s April 28 invocation, candidates stood ready to address the standing-room-only crowd in the Brownsville Public Library. But after Resendez’s invocation, today’s election should be free of unknown, unwarranted and unwel-come intervention after he banished evil spirits from affecting the candidates and electoral contest. Resendez, a reverend and political activist, is different in his approach to politics. He believes that evil spirits are real in the world and wants to keep them out of the electoral process. He fervently believes in the democratic process … He also believes that witchcraft, or brujeria, has no place in elections and, just prior to the forum’s start, beseeched Christ during the invocation to banish any witchcraft attempts against the candidates and the election. “Si existe (it exists),” Resendez said Thursday of brujeria, in which one casts spells for a given out-come.”

Resendez also casts out demons as part of his ministry, but not from any of the candidates (so far). Of course we have no way of knowing if the reverend’s invocations were truly effective, perhaps they can poll any local witches or brujas living in the area? Were their spells thwarted? Did their preferred candidates lose? These are the kinds of things I want some follow-up on!

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

Just in case you thought that it was only Pagans who got sensationalist Christian books written about them, fear not! Spero News wants you to know that the Christian publishing industry are very worried about the Native Americans who still hold onto pre-Christian beliefs as well.

Dreamcatchers, sweat lodges, ancestral spirits, alcoholism, and abuse: author Nanci Des Gerlaise grew up with them all. Her new book, “Muddy Waters: An Insider’s View of North American Native Spirituality,” which according to a news release exposes the current awakening and popularity of occult concepts borrowed from her Native roots. “The focal point of my book is an appeal to the Christian audience to turn away from Native Spirituality and its demonic influences; I also want to equip them with the knowledge of how to deal with those in bondage to Native Spirituality.”

One wonders what the extended Métis community in Canada (to which she claims membership, and that she is descended from a “long line of medicine men”), not to mention members of the First Nations and Inuit think of her proclaiming Native spirituality and religion as “demonic”. Of course she doesn’t stop there, you see Nanci Des Gerlaise is that special kind of Christian who also thinks Catholics are demonic too.

Born into a Canadian Métis family, Nanci Des Gerlaise struggled through years of dysfunctional relationships before discovering the freedom of the pure Gospel, unadulterated by mixtures of spirituality, animism or Roman Catholicism.

Many Christians tend to shy away from damning Native Americans, it’s bad for publicity and makes them look like “haters”. But make no mistake, the Christians who spout off about Pagans feel exactly the same about indigenous belief systems, they just know to be more polite about it. So in a way we should all thank Ms. Des Gerlaise for reminding the public exactly what those certain Christians really think of the “Great Spirit”.

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

At Canada’s National Post, commentator Barbara Kay learns the downsides to introducing compulsory religious education into public schools.

“Since September all Quebec students from primary school entry to high school graduation, whether enrolled in public or non-funded private schools, must attend Quebec’s new Ethics and Religious Culture course (ERC). And teachers, regardless of their beliefs, must teach it … Paganism and cults are offered equal status with Christianity. Witches “are women like any other in daily life;” … And considering that of the 80,000 ethnic aboriginals in Quebec only 700 self-identify with aboriginal spirituality (the vast majority of ethnic aboriginals are Christian), aboriginal spirituality (falsely equated with environmentalism) is accorded hugely disproportionate space and reverence.”

Consider this a warning to those in America who keep insisting that the Bible and “Christian thought” be given equal time in schools. The contortions to make such desires legal in a pluralistic society may bring you down a road you don’t want to follow. We wouldn’t want anyone thinking Pagans are equal to Christians would we?

Teresa Nielsen Hayden at the Making Light blog compares Iraqi journalist Muntadar Zaidi (you know, the guy who threw his shoes at President Bush recently) with the archetype of the Holy Fool and predicts unhappy things for those who don’t allow him to go free.

“Clearly, Muntadar Zaidi is manifesting some aspect of Holy Fool. Granting him mercy and tolerance is guaranteed to make you look good, and is generally the Right Thing to Do. Oppressing him will at absolute minimum make you look bad, and it’ll be the kind of bad that sticks. Furthermore, if I believed in magic, which I don’t, I’d say that with both the turn of the year and a change in leadership coming up, this is no time to go oppressing Holy Fools. Do you have any idea what that can do to your luck? … will someone please tell George that he has two choices? He can either grab a moment’s grace in the midst of the sorry spectacle that is the end of his administration, or he can have people sending shoes in his direction for the rest of his life.”

While Americans play video games based on the event, Zaidi has been reportedly beaten and denied due process of law over an event that Bush reportedly has “no hard feelings” about. Remember, the fool is also the trickster, and they can do all sorts of crazy things if not appeased.

I’m not sure if the reviewer in question is simply exaggerating, but apparently one of the extras for Joss Whedon’s DVD release of “Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog” has a decidedly Pagan twist.

“Plenty of subtitles to cover a healthy chunk of world viewers (the DVD is region free): English, Spanish, French, German, Wiccan, Japanese, Chinese. Notably missing: Portuguese, Dutch, Swedish.”

This feature isn’t verified in the Amazon listing, but that doesn’t necessarily mean it isn’t true. If it is, I’m curious exactly what “Wiccan” subtitles would look like. Theban script maybe? For a completely unbiased review of the upcoming DVD, click here.

Its time once again to play… Santeria or Deranged Teens! Yes, that’s right, local authorities in Philadelphia have found a decapitated goat and two chickens lying in a cemetery. Even though experts in Afro-Caribbean religions have stated that such treatment of animals isn’t a part of any mainstream practice of Santeria, local animal cruelty agents know better!

“‘Tis the season for – animal sacrifice. So says a local animal-cruelty agent who believes that the Afro-Caribbean practice of Santeria is responsible for the sacrifice of a beheaded goat and two chickens found in Greenmount Cemetery within the past several days. The dead animals were slaughtered in the cemetery using a makeshift altar surrounded by candles and pennies, said George Bengal, director of investigations for the Pennsylvania Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. “This is the time of year,” in the weeks around Christmas, “for a lot of religious sacrifices,” including satanic rituals, Bengal said. Muslims also practice animal sacrifice this time of year, he said.”

Our contestant has picked Santeria! Unless it was Satanists or Muslims. But it certainly wasn’t deranged teenagers getting their kicks (we all know that never happens). Join us next time as we continue to allow uneducated guesswork and bias to enter into journalistic accounts of a crime on …. Santeria or Deranged Teens!

In a final note, the Aegisub editor blog compares programming languages with different religions.

“Ruby would be Neo-Paganism – A mixture of different languages and ideas that was beaten together into something that might be identified as a language. Its adherents are growing fast, and although most people look at them suspiciously, they are mostly well-meaning people with no intention of harming anyone.”

He also compares Wicca with the programming language Lua, and Ancient Paganism with COBOL. I’ll allow the more programming-savvy readers of my blog to pass judgment on how accurate his comparisons are.

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

The Montreal Gazette sends reporter Al Kratina to cover a Yule Fair presented by the Montreal Pagan Resource Centre. What did he learn? That Pagans didn’t conform to his pop-culture associations and had their own winter religious observances!

“…paganism, it seems, involves neither Griselda the Witch from the Hilarious House of Frightenstein or minor key guitar solos on Viking metal records, as I had believed. “The word pagan is very generally used,” explained Robyn Stroll, a manager at occult shop Le Mélange Magique, which hosted the fair. “One can use ‘pagan’ to refer to anyone who follows a non-traditional religion, but more specifically it’s people who have a religion based in … a balance with nature.” This balance often includes a celebration of the Dec. 21 solstice.”

While the article on the whole is friendly, I still get hives when reporters try to be funny by cracking wise about some pop-culture witch or wizard while writing about Pagans. I can only imagine how a story about a local Catholic parish that repeatedly referenced “Father Ted” would be received by the faithful. But why settle for a fair and pageant when you can directly participate in a carefully secularized Winter Solstice celebration out in nature? That’s what’s on offer at Wisconsin’s Aldo Leopold Nature Center on December 19th.

“On Friday Dec. 19, the non-profit environmental education group Nature Net will hold the 8th annual Winter Solstice Celebration at the Aldo Leopold Nature Center in Monona. Under the night sky, participants will take part in a nighttime hike through the preserve, enjoy Yule log cake and hot cocoa and gather around a Yule log fire to learn about Solstice traditions from around the world, many of which have been celebrated for more than a millennium … While the norm during the winter season is to stay indoors and warm up on the couch, not being outside means missing out on some of the wonderful aspects of the season — including the other activities planned by Nature Net, including making Green Man masks (another legendary figure of the return of spring, growth and vitality), the Wassail Ceremony (drinking wassail “brew” and blessing the apple tree) and the Candlelight Ceremony (voicing gratitude for the good things in our lives during the past year and expressing our hopes for the new year).”

That actually sounds more robust and better planned than some explicitly Pagan celebrations I’ve attended! Looks like the nature center decided to graft in a little nature religion. Is this increased attention to pre-Christian traditions and Pagan groups during the winter a sign of our growth and inevitable mainstreaming? A secular yearning for tradition without the baggage and dogma of organized religion? A natural by-product of our increasingly post-Christian world? Perhaps it is a mixture of all these things. Next thing you know Italy’s La Befana will start replacing St. Nick!

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

The Vancouver Sun looks at how colleges in Canada are adapting to the changing realities of our religiously diverse society.

“At Carleton University and the University of Western Ontario, the official calendar listing holy days when students can be excused from classes or exams includes those central to Wicca and Zoroastrianism, an ancient religion that originated in Iran and is now estimated to have about 200,000 members worldwide … In an effort to serve students’ spiritual needs, the University of Toronto counts two pagans, two Hindus, two Buddhists and a First Nations spiritual leader among more than 20 chaplains associated with the new multi-faith centre that opened last year. It features half a dozen prayer, meeting and worship rooms, says director Richard Chambers, along with facilities for foot-washing and a de-pressurized space that allows for fire and incense during worship ceremonies.”

The University of Toronto’s Pagan chaplains are Brian Walsh, who serves Celtic and reconstructionist groups on campus, and Catherine Starr, who serves the Wiccan community there. So if your thinking of going to college in Canada, this article is practically a guide for potential Pagan students.

A South African teen who killed a classmate with a sword and blamed it on Satan has brought forth the old “Satanic Panic” peddlers.

“[Pastor of Destiny Harvest Church in Umhlanga, Marc] Bredenkamp, who has been helping children involved in Satanism for the past 20 years and has housed recovering witches, said Satanic groups operated on fear and people could not get out because the group threatens to kill their family or do something to them. Apart from numerous death threats and attacks from Satanic groups, Bredenkamp recalled the time his eight-year-old son was abducted by Satanists. He said they threatened to kill his son and wanted him to offer his life in exchange for his son’s. He approached the young girl who had abducted his son and began praying for her. In so doing, he helped expel the evil spirits from her.”

“Uncle Marc” is a classic Satanic Panic con-man who used to be a part of the now-disbanded South African Police Service Occult Unit, and loves to warn of the dangers of heavy metal (and wearing black clothing). Bredenkamp is no doubt enjoying the renewed media attention, though he is “disappointed” that schools no longer tolerate his nonsense.

The Danville Commercial News in Illinois reports on the Correllian tradition Lustration ceremonies taking place this weekend in Rossville.

“[Rev. Don] Lewis conducts the ceremony, but a First Elder — a woman from Danville — performs the actual Lustration blessing. During the ceremony, Lewis also invokes an oracle, which means he receives a prophecy or message from the ancestors. Messages may involve events taking place in the next year or next few years. Some messages might talk about emotions.”

This event of “purification and blessing” will also highlight a new clothing line entitled “Wycked Velvet” (not to be confused with the similarly-named erotica web site).

While I’m on the subject of central Illinois, my former employer, the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, is featuring an exhibit on the paranormal and occult sciences at its Main Library.

“…the occult collection contains more than 16,000 items relating to occult sciences and parapsychology and was originally endowed by Merten J. Mandeville in 1966, a retiring professor of commerce. Not all the items that are part of the exhibit today were around when the collection started, but it continues to grow. “(The exhibit) is everything ‘X-Files,’” said JoAnn Jacoby, former selector for the Merten J. Mandeville collection. “It includes works on paranormal phenomena, werewolves, the possibility for occult powers, witchcraft, astrology and 19th century spiritualism,” she said.”

For more information about UIUC’s occult book collection, check out The Merten J. Mandeville Collection in the Occult Sciences’ web site.

Greek Pagan group Ellinais (aka The Holy Association of Greek Ancient Religion Believers) is planning to hold a service to Athena at the Acropolis this Sunday to protest the removal of statues and ask the goddess to protect the sacred site.

“Peppa’s Athens-based group, Ellinais, is campaigning to revive ancient religion and has defied Culture Ministry bans to hold prayers at several ancient temples. She said she would not seek state permission for the ceremony, to be held near the ancient Parthenon temple, built between 447-432 B.C. in honor of Athena. ‘We will just sing three hymns. It won’t be a big ceremony,’ Peppa said. ‘I don’t know how many of us will be there. People are afraid. The fact is that we are subject to religious persecution.’”

It was only in 2006 that Ellinais was granted the legal right to exist in the Orthodox-controlled country. There is still great resistance to the group, and they have had to partake in civil disobedience in order to worship at the old sacred sites.

The Delaware News Journal interviews Cherry Hill Seminary co-founder Kirk White at the sixth annual Delmarva Pagan Pride Festival.

“[Pagans] having outgrown the stages he called “forming and storming,” paganism now is “norming,” or becoming like some religions. Although pagans may continue to believe in magic, he said, “if we’re not careful, we’ll become the big white circle on Main Street where all the pews face forward.” He urged listeners to be of service — whether their calling is dance, music, drumming, ministry or filling out paperwork for government agencies so events such as the festival can take place.”

Also interviewed is author and Wiccan elder Ivo Dominguez Jr., who helped organize the event.

That is all I have for now. Have a great day!