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

It seems like a given nowadays that if some dead animals turn up, practitioners of Santeria or Vodou will get blamed by a police officer, animal shelter spokesman, or speculative/lazy/bored journalist, even though most of these cases bear little resemblance to the actual religious practices of African diasporic faiths (and it usually ends up being teenagers). Journalistic coverage of these animal killings, and the assumed religious angle, has gotten so bad that press watch-dog blog Get Religion has started asking for some needed clarification.

“Say what? Let’s read that quote again, the one in which it is claimed that the number of ritual animal sacrifices spike at this time of year because of “a lot of high holidays that different groups celebrate.” … what in the world are these words supposed to mean? Are we to believe that there is a wave of beheaded animal corpses because of (a) the arrival of Advent/Nativity Lent, (b) approaching observances of Hanukkah, (c) Kwanzaa festivities, (d) some alleged connection to Solstice? Is the goal to link this to voodoo or something? But before you go there, please note that the story says absolutely nothing that would point toward Santeria and, even if it did, there is no discussion of whether these sacrifices in any way fit patterns of worship in that tradition. You see, it’s wrong for journalists to say, “Behold, beheaded animals. Those Santeria people are at it again.” That’s too simplistic. So let me ask the obvious question and ask readers to weigh in: Precisely what “high holidays” are we supposed to assume are being discussed here? I honestly do not have a clue. What does this strange sentence mean? Just asking.”

The quote referenced above, from an AP story, and left unexamined, is from another representative of an animal cruelty center, making me wonder what kind of workshops on ritual killings (or horror movies) these people are attending. I’m very glad to see the issue of the horrible reporting concerning mysterious animal deaths and their alleged connection to Santeria or Vodou is being picked up on by more religion-news watchers. Maybe now we can finally inch away from pure sensationalism whenever a dead animal turns up.

Over at the Times, Cambridge classics professor Mary Beard visits a famous Clootie well near he village of Munlochy and wonders if the practice of tying rags to branches for healing really is an ancient pagan custom.

“The notice nearby, put up by the Scottish Forestry Commission (for like most shrines it’s a tourist attraction too), claims that this tradition goes back to pre-Christian times, and is a reflection of the power of water in pagan Celtic religion. It is, in other words, an amazing survival across the millennia. I found myself thnking that this was really rather hard to believe. If most other customs are invented in the nineteenth century, then why nt this pagan one too. How far back does it really go, in this form. Does anyone have any real hard evidence?”

I’ll leave it to my Celtic reconstructionist readers to look into the matter and let me (and Mary) know. While we’re on the subject of Ms. Beard’s skeptical nature, she also takes aim at the theory that ancient Greek temples were deliberately built to face the rising Sun. I’ll leave it to my Hellenic Pagan readers to weigh in on that one (I’m quite the delegator today).

Author and techgnostic Erik Davis has posted an essay adapted from the introduction to the new photography collection “Tribal Revival” that deals with the West coast neotribal festival culture.

“Every summer, tens of thousands of participants descend upon dozens of festivals and gatherings, great and small, that occur on the West Coast of North America: Shambhala, Oracle, Moontribe, Lightning in a Bottle. The names of these clans and crews are legion: hippies, ravers, pagans, crusties, free spirits, burners, seekers, travelers, eco-warriors. They gather together to dance, to escape, to hold ritual, and to craft a visionary culture based on community, creative self-expression, and a celebratory earth wisdom. Labels are always dangerous, but an honest name for the scene is neotribal. These are the new tribes, recreating and reinventing patterns of organic culture that are inspired by the premodern past but designed for a high-tech planet hurtling through a period of unprecedented global change.”

Something of a neotribal himself, Davis waxes Utopian about the the “festival [as] foundation of world renewal”, and the “earthy communion” these interweaving groups partake in. Whether this subcultural phenomenon will truly equip us for an uncertain future remains to be seen, but I’m certainly open to there being more festival, “feral joy”, and liminality in our lives.

Turning briefly to pop-culture, the io9 blog has a clip from the upcoming Percy Jackson movie “The Lightning Thief” featuring Uma Thurman as Medusa. I’ve written about the pagan-ness of Percy Jackson previously, which follows the adventures of young Greek demigods. “The Lightning Thief” is due out in February. Meanwhile, the highly literate/geeky indie rock band The Decemberists is putting out a full-length animated film of their recent myth-drenched pagan-y concept album “The Hazards of Love”.

“…next month, Colin Meloy and co. will push The Hazards of Love to full-on The Wall status, releasing the album as a full-length video. Here Come the Waves: The Hazards of Love Visualized premiered at a show in Los Angeles on October 19, and on December 1, it’ll be available exclusively via iTunes. Filmmakers Guilherme Marcondes, Julia Pott, Peter Sluszka and Santa Maria created animations to accompany individual sections of music from the album.”

That trailer looks pretty cool/trippy. If you want to acquaint yourself with the music before considering the movie, you can download it at Amazon.com (they also have it in vinyl for those that want to kick-it old-school).

In a final note, no matter how much I deplore the idea of sparkly vampires, if Vatican spokesmen and evangelical anti-occult book-peddlers don’t knock it off soon, I’ll have to see the darn things just to spite them.

“Monsignor Franco Perazzolo, of the Pontifical Council of Culture, said: ‘Men and women are transformed with horrible masks and it is once again that age-old trick or ideal formula of using extremes to make an impact at the box office. This film is nothing more than a moral vacuum with a deviant message and as such should be of concern.’ ”

Man, if sparkly celibate-till-marriage Mormon vampires are a “moral vacuum” I’d hate to hear what he thinks of “True Blood”.

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

“Next, he introduced a 10-minute (rough cut, the sound was incomplete) clip of The Wicker Tree (2010), which follows The Wicker Man in “style” and slightly in story. The clip was not a 10-minute chunk but rather snippets of various scenes in the film. Beth (Brittania Nicol) is a born-again Christian music star with a haughty Britney Spears past and a cowboy boyfriend, Steve (Henry Garrett). Both are missionaries sent by their reverend to bring the “Lord’s love” to Scotland. During their trip, Beth’s beau takes a dip in some sacred springs with a voluptuous libertine only to find himself in another scene cornered by the strange townsfolk singing and out for blood.”

Sounds like fun! Lets hope it holds a candle to the original movie, and doesn’t fall in the horribleness of the ill-advised 2006 remake. They also seem to all-but-confirm that Sir Christopher Lee will be making a cameo as Lord Summerisle, linking the two films together into the same shared universe. Needless to say I await more news of the film, including its release date.

Turning from fictional Pagans looking for a sacrifice to a famous pagan trying to escape Christian mobs, we look at the status of the film “Agora”, which centers on the life (and death) of Neoplatonist pagan philosopher Hypatia. The film, while winning critical accolades, has experienced trouble in finding an American distributor, and was encountering protests in places like Spain due to its “anti-Christian” tone. Well, it seems that the film has been a smash-hit in Europe, and it’s looking like Sony may put in a bid for American distribution.

“Sony Pictures Worldwide Acquisitions Group is considering a bid for U.S. distribution rights to Alejandro Amenabar’s ancient historical epic “Agora,” starring Rachel Weisz. “Agora’s” boffo performance at the Spanish B.O. in recent weeks has sparked renewed interest in the film, which is being shopped domestically by John Sloss’ Cinetic Media and overseas by Focus Features Intl. … Bowing in Spain on Oct. 9, “Agora” scored the highest opening of the year, and to date has cumed $25 million dollars. It’s topped the box office there over the past four weekends, and even bested the debut of Michael Jackson topliner “This Is It,” from Sony, during the Oct. 30-Nov. 1 frame. Pre-AFM, other territories Focus Intl. had sold include France, Germany, Scandinavia and Greece. Rights have been sold for Taiwan and Thailand as well.”

Director Alejandro Amenabar is apparently also willing to cut 20 minutes from the film in order to make it run a tidy two hours, further tempting the bean-counters at Sony (and Fox, who are also expressing interest). Could we be lucky enough to see a winter release here in America? Or possibly early Spring? We’ll keep our eyes open.

Finally, the long-awaited (well, by some of us) remake of “Clash of the Titans” has released a trailer!

I know it, like the original, completely mangles Greek myth, but I have to admit that I had a little geek-tingle from the younger Jason who watched the original like a million times on cable when I was a kid. I also kind of hope they keep the symphonic metal soundtrack they utilize in the trailer, I mean, it’s not historical anyway, so let’s go all out! “Clash of the Titans” is due out in March.

Let’s start off with the latest news in the ongoing James A. Ray sweat-lodge death saga. The AP has an interview with one of the survivors, and it isn’t good news for Ray or his lawyers.

“More than 50 followers of spiritual guru James Arthur Ray had just endured five strenuous days of fasting, sleep-deprivation and mind-altering breathing exercises when he led them into a sweat lodge ceremony … When participants exhibited weakness, Ray urged them to push past it and chided those who wanted to leave, she said. “I can’t get her to move. I can’t get her to wake up,” Bunn recalls hearing from two sides of the 415-square-foot sweat lodge. Ray’s response: “Leave her alone, she’ll be dealt with in the next round.” … Looking back, she said it’s easy to see how so many people were overcome. No one was well-hydrated, the sweat lodge was poorly ventilated, no safety tips were provided and appropriate medical care wasn’t available, she said.”

To put it simply, Ray is in big big trouble. Despite that, his spokesman is actually arguing that since some had “amazing experiences,” he shouldn’t be arrested for negligent homicide immediately. Meanwhile, as the faux-Native American spirituality of the ceremony has been confirmed (“he led the group in chants and prayers in a Native American tongue”), American Indians in Arizona are “appalled” by the demeaning commercialization of their rites. Somehow I don’t think Ray will ever be invited back on Oprah again, do you?

Speaking of Oprah, that titan of promoting the New Age flavor-of-the-month will be having a rather unexpected guest on her show in November. That’s right, not a dream! Not an imaginary story! Former vice-presidential candidate Sarah “blessed by Muthee” Palin will be on Oprah to promote her new book!

“Oprah Winfrey, on a campaign to climb back from last season’s ratings slump, will attempt to kiss and make up with conservative viewers on Nov. 16 when she has Sarah Palin on her syndicated talk show. You may have noticed that the appearance by the former Alaska governor and Republican vice presidential candidate is happening smack dab in the middle of the November ratings derby. It’s also the day before Palin’s new book, “Going Rogue: An American Life” is scheduled to hit bookstores.”

I guess we’ll finally learn what the world’s most famous New Ager and an infamous politician with deep ties to extremist anti-Pagan forms of Christianity have in common. Maybe they’re both fans of Jenny McCarthy? But seriously folks, I guess this proves that money, fame, and power trump all ideological barriers in the end.

Moving away from Oprah, Palin, and Ray, let’s revisit another story that has been extensively covered on this blog. The legal battles, and subsequent victory, of Santero Jose Merced to practice animal sacrifice in his home. The Dallas Observer checks in with Merced after the legal dust has settled and he’s once more able to perform his rites.

“It’s been nearly three and a half years since he stopped the ritual slaughter of four-legged animals in his home to pursue litigation against the city over his right to do so. With a decision from the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in his favor and against the city’s health and safety concerns, Merced, a flight attendant, will resume his full religious practices tonight.”

Merced speaks at length about the struggles with his fellow Santeros/Santeras over issues of secrecy and support, his long battle with neighbors, police, and politicians, and becoming “the face of Santería in North Texas”. It’s engrossing reading, and you should take the time to read the whole thing.

Two years after two Pagans, the Rev. Angie Buchanan, director of Gaia’s Womb, and the Rev. Andras Corban-Arthen, a director of the EarthSpirit Community, were elected to the executive council of the Parliament of the World’s Religions, a third joins them. Priestess, author, and attorney, Phyllis Curott.

“…it is my honor and privilege to announce the newest member of the Board of Trustees for the Council for a Parliament of the World’s Religions; Pagan Priestess, Author, Attorney, and dear friend — Ms. Phyllis Curott. This makes the third Pagan to join the largest, oldest and one of the most well respected Interfaith organizations in the world; Myself in 2002, Andras Corban-Arthen, in 2006, and now Phyllis. The current Chair, a Lutheran minister, made the statement that he believed “Paganism to be the most misunderstood religion on the planet”.”

In addition, Buchanan and Corban-Arthen are planning to meet with leaders from the Greek Orthodox Church to create a new understanding after the Greek Orthodox walked out of the 1993 Chicago meeting due to the presense of Pagans. Considering the Greek Orthodox view of the Pagans in their own back yard, we’ll see if this brings any success. Buchanan, Corban-Arthen, and Curott are all planning on attending the December Paliament gathering in Melbourne, Australia along with several other Pagan representatives, including Margot Adler, Thorn Coyle, and Patrick McCollum.

In a final note, the East Bay Express spotlights a new documentary “Power Trip: Theatrically Berkeley” by Emio Tomeoni that explores what happens when various forms of spirituality and ideology mix with local politics.

“These and other scenes in Tomeoni’s new documentary Power Trip: Theatrically Berkeley reveal what happens when matters of the body and soul mix with politics. In the film, which will screen at the Berkeley Art Museum/Pacific Film Archive (2575 Bancroft Way, Berkeley) on Monday, October 26, tree-sitters and other dreamers anguish over pollution, civilization, and human alienation from plant and animal spirits. And their agendas drown each other out.”

Sounds like an excellent study, and I can’t wait to Netflix-it.

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

“The president of the Religious Anti-Defamation Observatory, Antonio Alonso Marcos, has sent an open letter to Amenabar, also know for his pro-euthanasia film “The Sea Inside,” denouncing the film’s anti-Christian bias. “The reason for my letter is to make you realize something that you already know but have dismissed as unimportant: your film is going to awaken hatred against Christians in today’s society. You present a biased view of the relationship between science and the Church, between faith and reason. It has been pointed out to you directly and indirectly, and you have used a somewhat vague excuse and looked the other way,” Marcos wrote.”

Spanish Catholics would obviously prefer that the past misdeeds of Christianity be forever tucked away and never mentioned. To do otherwise is to be “biased” against them (they also claim it will “awaken hatred against Christians”). Of course it’s just fine for Catholics to constantly criticize paganism, both ancient and modern, they have no concerns about being seen as “anti-pagan” (indeed it is a point of pride). Despite these attacks, Oscar-winning director Alejandro Amenabar makes it clear that his movie is about violent extremists not common believers.

“The movie denounces people who at a certain moment stop debating ideas, set aside reason, have no room for dialogue and resort to violence. This happened 1,600 years ago and it continues happening today…”

As for the film, it is still looking for distributors in America, and once/if it does, expect more cries of protest from those who would like everyone to forget that Christians weren’t always the persecuted, but instead acted as persecutors as well.

“Directed by Harry Potter veteran Chris Columbus, the film is a fantasy based on the first book in Rick Riordan’s popular series. In the story, a young modern-day boy named Percy Jackson learns that he’s the half-human/half-god son of Poseidon and embarks on a journey of adventure and self-discovery that also involves warring gods.”

You can see the official film web site, here. It is scheduled for release February 12, 2010. Can a film tied so deeply to the pre-Christian Greek mythos find the kind of mega-success that Potter did? One thing’s for certain, if you thought certain Christians went nuts over a bunch of English boarding-school kids casting spells, wait till their kids want to see a film about the children of pagan gods.

“It is now all the rage in the Age of Al Gore and Obama, but can you remember when everyone in America was not “Going Green”? Visually stunning, vastly entertaining and awe-inspiring, Earth Days looks back to the dawn and development of the modern environmental movement—from its post-war rustlings in the 1950s and the 1962 publication of Rachel Carson’s incendiary bestseller Silent Spring, to the first wildly successful 1970 Earth Day celebration and the subsequent firestorm of political action.”

Aside from the natural interest many Pagans have in environmental conservation and activism, the movement that produced the 1970 Earth Day celebration also had a fundamental impact on Wicca and modern Paganism in America.

“The spirit of Earth Day 1970 did not just happen; its roots could include the gradual stirring of environmental consciousness that accelerated in the 1960s, but that stirring itself had deeper roots in an American consciousness of a special relationship with the land, even if that relationship was often abusive. Still, if there was a year when Wicca (in the broad sense) became “nature religion,” as opposed to the “mystery religion” or “metaphorical fertility religion” labels that it had brought from England, that year was 1970.” – Chas Clifton, Her Hidden Children: The Rise of Wicca and Paganism in America

“Earth Days” is scheduled to start hitting theatres on August 14th (today!), so be sure to check it out when it hits your neck of the woods (if it doesn’t hit your neck of the woods, don’t despair, it’ll air on PBS in April). Having seen some of Robert Stone’s other documentaries, most notably “Guerrilla: The Taking of Patty Hearst” and “Oswald’s Ghost”, it is clear he has a keen perspective of the cultural threads weaving in and out of America in the 1960s. For some early reviews check out this Salon.com critic’s pick, and three perspectives from The Daily Green.

We now turn to a film that takes an entirely different perspective on “caring for the Earth”, the long-awaited Robin Hardy-directed companion to the 1973 cult-classic movie “The Wicker Man”. That film “Cowboys For Christ” “The Wicker Tree” is currently shooting in Scotland, and Shock Till You Drop has an exclusive set report from Susan Granger.

After coaxing British Lion chairman and CEO Peter Snell out of retirement to become his producer, Hardy and Snell joined forces with Peter Watson-Wood and his partner, Alastair Gourlay, to bring The Wicker Tree to the screen for a tight $3 million budget. Last year, Hardy shot some exteriors in Texas and had preliminary talks with Christopher Lee and Joan Collins. Then Lee developed back problems when he tripped over a cable on a movie set in Mexico, leaving him unable to tackle the physically demanding role of Lachlan, and Joan Collins made other plans for this summer. So Hardy chose Scottish actor Graham McTavish (Rambo) who says, “I feel in some ways, a great responsibility to Christopher Lee, to Robin and to the legacy of The Wicker Man. As someone who was inspired by that film, it’s tremendously exciting and challenging to fill the shoes of Christopher Lee -- and I only hope I can do it. For an actor, Lachlan is a role you seize with both hands.”

For those greatly disappointed by Sir Christopher Lee getting hurt and not being able to play the leading role of Lachlan fear not! According to the report he’ll still be appearing in a “pivotal” and “instantly recognizable” role in the film. Could this mean a direct connection to “The Wicker Man”? Could Lee be reprising the role of Lord Summerisle in a cameo? The thought of waiting till 2010 to find out seems torturous. I recommend reading the whole set report for some Robin Hardy quotes bagging on the horrid Nicolas Cage “Wicker Man” re-make (apparantly Cage is clueless as to why it failed), and some short interviews with some of the other stars of “The Wicker Tree”. Be sure to also check out the gallery of production stills.

ADDENDUM: Oh! How could I forget that Hayao Miyazaki’s new film “Ponyo on the Cliff By the Sea” is out in theaters now!

With Cate Blanchett as a sea-goddess (in the English dub) how can you go wrong?

Seth Rogen, Jonah Hill, Anne Hathaway, Jackie Mason, Neve Campbell and the late Eartha Kitt are among the guest voices on the upcoming 21st season of THE SIMPSONS airing Sundays (8:00-8:30 PM ET/PT) on FOX … Neve Campbell plays “Cassandra,” a Wiccan accused of blinding the town with a spell (a la “The Craft”) in “Rednecks and Broomsticks.”

Makes you wonder if Rachel True has been up to anything occult-ish lately. I would say that this is all leading up to a big Craft reunion, but the planned direct-to-DVD sequel (which wasn’t to feature any of the original stars) is dead in the water. Still, if they can make a “The Witches of Eastwick” television series (called simply “Eastwick”) 22 years after the original film, you never know when “The Craft” will come back.

The title of this post is, of course, from Wicca-curious Lisa Simpson, in “The Simpsons” episode “Catch ‘em If You Can”.

“ShockTillYouDrop have been informed that Robin Hardy’s long awaited Cowboys For Christ is finally in production. Some shooting has already taken place in the US and the filmmakers are reportedly in the midst of the Scottish shoot right now. Hardy’s 1973 directorial debut The Wicker Man is truly one of the most jubilantly beloved films in the pantheon of British genre pictures. I still see it doing abundant business as late night screenings, and pretty much everybody I speak to holds it close and dear, including those of us all too aware of its shortcomings. For a good few years now, Hardy has been touting Cowboys as a kind of follow up, a ’spiritual successor’ to feature a number of the same ingredients as Wicker Man: a clash between pagans and Christians, a remote rural location, Christopher Lee as a mysterious aristocrat.”

That there will be a continuity of director and lead actor (Hardy and Lee) from the original film is certainly promising, as is the prospect of a another folk-centric soundtrack. This time headed by Scottish musician Keith Easdale of the band Calasaig. If this production finds success, or at least an appreciative cult audience, we might get the full “Wicker Man Trilogy” that Hardy mentioned back in 2007 (the proposed third film “Twilight of the Gods” would be set in Iceland and deal with Norse pagan themes). Then again, considering the 36-year wait between “The Wicker Man” and “Cowboys For Christ”, Hardy might not make it to a third installment, he’s no spring chicken you know.

In any case, I’ll be queuing up to see the film once it sees the light of day, and who knows? Perhaps the subcultural love for the original film, a love that has spawned a musical in England, and a rock opera in California, might just erase the bad taste of the misguided 2006 remake and spur a big sequel-demanding payday for “Cowboys For Christ”.

Sir Christopher Lee

“Golf legend Nick Faldo and veteran horror actor Christopher Lee were both made knights in Queen Elizabeth II’s birthday honours list released Saturday … Lee, 87, has spent his career terrifying cinema-goers. As well as appearing in classic horror films such as 1958’s “Dracula” and 1959’s “The Mummy“, Sir Christopher also played memorable baddie Scaramanga in the 1974 James Bond classic “The Man With The Golden Gun“. In recent years he starred as Saruman in “The Lord Of The Rings” trilogy and Count Dooku in the “Star Wars” prequels.”

He not only won the hearts of many Pagans (including mine) for his role in “The Wicker Man”, he is also, in the words of Wired Magazine’s “Underwire” blog, “King of All Nerd Franchises”.

“Lee can lay claim to the unofficial additional title of King of All Nerd Franchises. In addition to his several battles with Peter Cushing in Hammer Films’ Dracula movies, he was a Bond Villain (The Man with the Golden Gun), Fu Manchu in a bunch of movies, a Lord of the Rings baddie (Saruman), the eerie villain in The Wicker Man (the original) and Count Dooku in the Star Wars series. Along the way, he appeared on The Avengers, Space: 1999, multiple Tim Burton movies and more video games than you’ve had hot dinners.”

Sir Christopher, who is now 87 years old, is still working. He is set to appear in Tim Burton’s adaptation of “Alice In Wonderland” as The Jabberwock, and is finally participating (if current accounts are correct) in the filming of Robin Hardy’s long-delayed sort-of sequel/re-imagining of “The Wicker Man” entitled “Cowboys For Christ”.

Heather Graham

“I have this group of friends and we get together and we call ourselves The Goddesses and we wish for things and then a lot of amazing things have happened to all of us,” Heather admitted.   “We burn things — honoring the elements of earth, wind, air and fire. You do spells. “We did this thing where we were calling on the wind and the air and this whole storm started on my roof… It was amazing… empowering.”

Graham joins the ranks of fellow actresses Megan Cavanagh and Cybill Shepherd in publicly admitting to some sort of Goddess worship or magical/witchcraft practice. Graham, in addition to admitting her participation in a spell-working group, and performing “good sex spells” with her boyfriend, also talks about doing workings to get Barack Obama elected.

“My friends really wanted Obama to be elected so we all did a spell and then he got elected,” … “It worked out good.”

So there you go. Heather Graham is a Witch, or perhaps a Goddess worshipper, or maybe just into casting empowering spells with her friends. Whatever the circumstance, it seems she’s “one of us” for the moment (though at least one gossip blogger thinks she’s just a “sad” wannabee). That’s two “outings” this year, will 2009 be the big moment for Hollywood to come out of the broom closet? Will we soon hear tales of extravagant high-powered covens, decked out in the finest witchy fashions? I guess we’ll just have to wait and see.