Back in the beginning of October I reported that Wiccan Cliff Eakin had been successful in his efforts to have a local anti-fortune telling ordinance overturned in Livingston Parish, LA. Now MagickTV has produced a four-part series that features interviews with Eakin and his lawyer, and includes footage of the party held for the official signing of the settlement papers (and featuring Raymond Buckland as an official witness).

Here are links to all four episodes: part 1, part 2, part 3, part 4. Kudos to the MagickTV crew for doing this important primary-source journalism and creating a document of this win for the broader Pagan community.

A federal judge has tossed out a Livingston Parish Council ordinance barring all forms of fortune-telling. The ordinance was challenged by local resident Cliff Eakin, a Wiccan who believed the ban violated his religious freedoms.

“A Livingston Parish Council ordinance outlawing fortunetelling and soothsaying is unconstitutional, a federal judge ruled Tuesday. A Wiccan minister, Cliff Eakin, sued the parish over the ordinance, asserting inspiration from the divine transmitted by a Wiccan minister should be treated legally the same way as a message from God transmitted to a congregation by a Christian minister. “I would highly recommend that the council not appeal it,” Blayne Honeycutt, the council’s attorney, said of Tuesday’s ruling.”

The Livingston Parish Council, despite warnings from their lawyer telling them they would lose, decided to fight removing the ordinance on religious principle.

“Harrell and councilmen Jimmy McCoy and Eddie Wagner said they have no plans to change their votes. Other council members did not comment on where they stand. ‘I got elected to represent my constituents,’ McCoy said. ‘I am a Christian and I love the Lord, period. We can vote today or next month, my vote won’t change.’”

This case is just the latest in a string of successful legal and political challenges to outdated or religiously biased laws and ordinances banning fortune-telling. As I said when this case first emerged, today’s fortune-tellers and diviners aren’t simply grifters on the make, but a growing assortment of men and women who have a deep religious investment in their trade.

“While banning psychics was once seen as an easy political move to garner an image as a moral crusader fighting fraud (and activities that carry a Biblical injunction), in the last thirty years the business has changed. It isn’t simply a bevy of frauds peddling fake “curses” and a smattering of sweet old ladies making a buck on the side, the business has been steadily infiltrated by modern Pagans, Afro-diasporic faiths (VooDoo, Santeria, etc), and the New Age movement, many of whom see divination work as a spiritual calling. These groups on the whole are more affluent (relatively speaking), more aware of their legal rights (and hence more litigious), and more rooted in their communities than the stereotypical image of the fly-by-night con-man (or woman) who makes a living grifting from the margins.”

Laws explicitly banning psychics and other diviners from plying their trade are outdated and discriminatory, and the growing legal consensus has favored overturning such bans. Religious favoritism masquerading as social concern can no longer be tolerated in a free and multi-religious society. Congratulations to Mr. Eakin for his victory.

Psychic Wars in Livingston: It looks like a legal battle over a religiously-motivated Livingston Parish ordinance banning fortune telling will be headed to court. Despite being warned by their lawyer that they would most likely lose a lawsuit, the Parish Council decided to not address the issue at their most recent meeting, much to the dismay of some Parish residents.

“Taxpayers might question the council’s insistence on spending public money to fight a lawsuit on an issue that has no purpose other than to pacify a particular religious group. The council’s attorney, Blayne Honeycutt, has advised that it probably would lose the Wiccan suit if it persists in defending the ordinance. When no member of the council would offer a motion to repeal the soothsaying ordinance, Honeycutt advised the council it needs to hire special counsel to handle such a case. Parish government, which has a history of being strapped for funds, could be putting that money to proper uses on roads, drainage, water and sewage rather than waging war for or against particular religious groups. Instead, the council will spend money it says is in short supply defending a lawsuit against a problem its attorney told council members apparently doesn’t even exist in the parish.”

The Parish is being sued by local businessman and Wiccan Cliff Eakin, who wishes to offer fortune-telling and divination services at his store, Gryphon’s Nest Gifts. Eakin maintains that the ordinance is an attempt to promote Christianity over Paganism.

Thelemites Fight Pedophillia Charges: Australian couple Vivienne Legg and Dyson Devine have been released from prison after apologizing to a judge for defying an order to remove material from their website that groundlessly implicated a local O.T.O. organization in an underground pedophile ring. The couple served two months of a nine-month sentence for contempt of court.

“Yesterday both apologised to Judge Harbison and the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal, and undertook not to repeat, or help anyone else to publish, the vilifying material about the Ordo Templi Orientis (OTO). But David Leggatt, for the OTO, complained that the vilification had a “grapevine effect”. It had been removed from the pair’s website, Gaiaguys.net, in December, but soon appeared on Adam Dodson’s site. Simon Moglia, for Mr Devine and Ms Legg, said they had not helped the new website. He said they at first saw their non-compliance as individuals standing for their beliefs. But when they realised that resisting the tribunal encouraged others to disobey the law, they closed down their website.”

While the OTO in Australia have certainly won this battle, they may find themselves pestered by dozens (if not hundreds) of conspiracy theorists who see Legg and Devine as martyrs in the quest for “the truth”. The original actionable paper written by Dr Reina Michaelson inflated in importance and virally spread across the Internet.

Fighting For (Christian) Religious Expression: Arizona joins Oklahoma in trying to pass a “student religious expression” law similar to the one recently passed by Texas.

“On Wednesday, the Arizona House Education Committee narrowly approved, and sent on to the full House of Representatives, HB 2713, a bill that would prohibit public schools from discriminating against students on the basis of their religious belief or expression. It permits students to engage in prayer and religious activity on an equal basis with other activities, but does not permit the school to require participation in religious activities. It includes provisions prohibiting banning of religious attire and jewelry when similar secular items are permitted and another section that prohibits discrimination for or against a student in grading coursework in which the student expresses a religious viewpoint or religious content.”

While these laws may sound innocuous enough to some, they ultimately benefit the religious majority, a point driven home by the Texas House’s own research organization who stated: “the bill could serve as a tool to proselytize the majority religious view”. These proposed laws claim to protect a student’s freedom to express religious viewpoints, but I fear they instead encourage a hostile environment towards religious minorities, dis-empower teachers from keeping order in their classrooms, and give Christian students a sense of immunity from consequences. I encourage Pagan groups in in Arizona (and Oklahoma) to send a message to their representatives ensuring them that Pagans, Witches, and Heathens oppose this legislation, but will gladly use their new “rights” as often and as loudly as possible if it is enacted.

The Tulsa City Council has decided to change their “unwritten” policy concerning opening prayers to now allow references to specific deities.

“Tulsa’s City Council voted Thursday to change an unwritten policy so that people can name a deity when praying before the council’s regular weekly meetings … The council’s previous prayer policy, which prohibited the use of the name of Jesus, Allah or other religious figures, had prompted complaints. Councilor Rick Westcott, who sponsored the change along with Councilors Bill Christiansen, John Eagleton and Cason Carter, said it was warranted because of Tulsa’s rich history of a variety of faiths. “I think it’s important for this council to open this meeting with prayers that allow people to express the fullness of their faiths,” Westcott said.”

The new policy passed 7-2 despite critics invoking conservative Christianity’s ongoing fear that their “religious freedom” chickens will eventually come home to roost.

“Tulsa Metropolitan Ministry Executive Director James Mishler also spoke against the change, questioning who would decide what is a “recognized congregation.” “I think the very people who have been encouraging you to make this change are going to be very uncomfortable when the priest from the Hindu temple is standing here chanting in the name of Krishna or when someone from the Wiccan community offers prayers to the earth mother,” he said.”

Do you lead a Pagan congregation in Tulsa? I encourage you to contact the city council and volunteer to give an opening prayer. Councilor Bill Martinson has said that he wants “varied” faiths to participate so that “one denomination does not dominate the prayer week after week.” Lets see how strong their commitment to religious freedom really is.

Brief Updates on Past Stories

I would also like to give a couple brief updates on stories I have reported on previously. First off, Livingston Parish in Louisiana has decided to hold an open hearing on Feb. 11. to discuss repealing its anti-soothsaying ordinance.

“Councilman Randy Rushing, who said the ordinance is “not going to hold up” in court, made the motion to hold a hearing on the proposal to repeal the ordinance, which was enacted last year. Rushing’s proposal was approved 5-2. The hearing will be held during the council’s next meeting at 6 p.m. Feb. 11.”

This move comes after a local Wiccan brought federal litigation against the parish, and the parish’s lawyer advised the council that they would most likely lose in court. I’m no soothsayer, but I predict that ordinance will be repealed before the end of February.

Secondly, police investigators in San Diego have ruled that the death of Wiccan priestess Mimi Rohwer is indeed a homicide, and not accidental.

“Investigators ruled the death a homicide Thursday after the autopsy, which showed she was strangled by hands and not with an object, according to the Medical Examiner’s Office.”

The prime suspect is Julio Cesar Jacobo-Curiel, a day-laborer who had been staying with Rohwer, and who has been missing since her death. Witnesses claim that Rohwer had been having problems with Jacobo-Curiel, and wanted him to move out. Crime Stoppers is offering a $1,000 reward for information that leads to an arrest. To leave an anonymous tip, call (888) 580-TIPS.

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

Police in San Diego are investigating the possible homicide of great-grandmother and Wiccan priestess Mimi Rohwer.

“San Diego County sheriff’s deputies found 75-year-old Mimi Rohwer dead in her mobile home early Wednesday morning … She “appeared to have some injuries” that could have been caused by either violence or an accidental fall, according to Homicide Lt. Dennis Brugos. Brugos mentioned no specific leads, but neighbors and friends told of recent feuds she had with a neighbor and a migrant worker who lived with her.”

Friend and fellow adherent to Wicca, Bill Eade, told the press that while he was sad, he knew her spirit would return in another body.

A case of grave-site disturbance during Halloween in New Hampshire, once theorized to be the work of some sort of occult practitioner, has instead turned out to be a trio of prankster teens.

“Police have arrested three teenagers in connection with the disturbance of a nearly two-century-old gravesite at the remote Bible Hill Cemetery around Halloween … At the time, Police Chief Brian Brown said he did not believe teenagers were involved. “If it was teenagers, they’d be talking.” That led investigators to study up on magic and witchcraft, hoping they’d find some link or motive in the case. But the suggestion that the body of a woman who died more than 180 years ago might be desirable to practitioners of witchcraft prompted a flurry of angry telephone calls from all over the country and Canada.”

One wonders if a “mea culpa” will be forthcoming from Hillsborough Police Chief Brian Brown for smearing Pagans and occult practitioners.

Thinking of banning fortune telling in your town? You better listen to the lawyer for Livingstone Parish in Louisiana first.

“Livingston Parish officials have been advised by their lawyer that they would likely lose a lawsuit over the parish ordinance against soothsaying. A Wiccan minister, Cliff Eakin, has sued the parish over the ordinance … Blayne Honeycutt, the council’s attorney, has advised council members to repeal the ordinance, a move that was to be considered Thursday night. He recently told the council it would probably lose if it attempted to defend the suit.”

Looks like Wiccans and other fortune-tellers will be able to play their trade very soon in Livingston Parish. Will this result in other towns withdrawing bans to avoid lawsuits? As I have stated before, look for the “psychic wars” to continue to rage as religious minorities who lean on income from divination to get along grow in size. For more on this specific story check out my previous post on the subject.

Over at the On Faith blog, Starhawk points out the problems of amending America’s Constitution to be more in line with “God’s law” (as Mike Huckabee recently claimed he wanted to do).

“It’s all very well to propose amending the Constitution to be in line with ‘God’s standards’ – the question is always, which God? What set of standards? And who gets to decide? I’m a Pagan. We have many Gods, with widely varying sets of standards. Are we going to amend the Constitution in favor of Hera, Goddess of marriage, or Aphrodite, Goddess of unbridled love? Do we mandate the wild, ecstatic worship of the goat-god Pan, or the more sedate contemplation of Sophia, Goddess of wisdom?”

Our founders knew that having a State religion could lead to State-sponsored oppression of minority faiths (at the time, it meant tensions between different Christian sects), its a shame that so many of our current politicians seem to have thrown away that wisdom.

In a final note, for those of you keeping track of religious freedom cases within our court system, the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals has given a definition of “religious exercise” within the constrains of the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act.

“The Court of Appeals held that “religious exercise” means a particular practice within a religion – here attending group services – and not merely the general practice of one’s religion. So a substantial burden on that practice is enough to create a RLUIPA problem.”

In other words, prisons would have to provide proof that bans on group practice constitute the “least restrictive” method of providing adequate security. Expect several cases to develop from this new ruling, including litigation from incarcerated Pagans.

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

One of my top stories for 2007 concerned the legal (taxation, regulation, and outright bans) battles over psychic readings. While some places, like the city of Salem (or the entire state of Michigan), see psychic readers and other divination services as a fiscal boon, others, like Livingston Parish in Louisiana, view the banning of psychic readings as part of a holy endeavor.

“Harrell and councilmen Jimmy McCoy and Eddie Wagner said they have no plans to change their votes. Other council members did not comment on where they stand. ‘I got elected to represent my constituents,’ McCoy said. ‘I am a Christian and I love the Lord, period. We can vote today or next month, my vote won’t change.’”

But it looks like “loving the Lord” will wind them all up in court, since Wiccan store owner Cliff Eakin has filed a federal lawsuit challenging the anti-fortune telling ordinance.

“In Baton Rouge, Louisiana on Tuesday, a local business that wants to offer fortune telling has filed a federal lawsuit challenging on constitutional grounds a Livingston Parish ordinance that prohibits it. KATC News reports that Gryphon’s Nest Gifts Inc. filed suit alleging in part that the ban on “soothsaying, fortune telling, palm reading, clairvoyance, crystal ball gazing, mind reading, card reading and the like for money or other consideration” was an attempt to promote Christianity over paganism. The complaint alleges that the ban “primarily affects pagan leaders and pagan church members who are most likely to support themselves or increase their income by performing divination for consideration.” The suit also raises vagueness and free speech claims.”

While banning psychics was once seen as an easy political move to garner an image as a moral crusader fighting fraud (and activities that carry a Biblical injunction), in the last thirty years the business has changed. It isn’t simply a bevy of frauds peddling fake “curses” and a smattering of sweet old ladies making a buck on the side, the business has been steadily infiltrated by modern Pagans, Afro-diasporic faiths (VooDoo, Santeria, etc), and the New Age movement, many of whom see divination work as a spiritual calling.

These groups on the whole are more affluent (relatively speaking), more aware of their legal rights (and hence more litigious), and more rooted in their communities than the stereotypical image of the fly-by-night con-man (or woman) who makes a living grifting from the margins. As such, laws against all forms of divination are being met with fierce resistance, and are being overturned or having enforcement dropped due to social and legal pressures.

The truth is, you can’t ban an activity simply because there is the chance of fraud, lest almost any other capitalistic venture be banned as well. You certainly can’t (perhaps “shouldn’t” is the more correct term here) ban an activity because one religious text outlaws it. As religious minorities who lean on income from divination to get along grow in size, it will become increasingly hard to enforce or pass laws against it. Livingston Parish is on the wrong side of history with their misguided actions, and even if they manage to fight off this legal challenge, it is only a matter of time before the ordinance is struck down or rendered unenforceable.