A have a few items that just can’t wait till Saturday! Starting with a rather awful editorial from The Chicago Tribune’s “The Seeker” blog that seemingly equates tolerance towards Pagan soldiers within the military with a look-the-other-way atmosphere that led to the horrendous Fort Hood murders.

“Fast forward to 1999, when an Austin, Texas newspaper published photos of a Wiccan ceremony at Fort Hood. Theologically conservative Christian clergy joined with indignant Congressmen to protest the Army’s acceptance of Wiccan practice. As reported in Hannah Rosin’s contemporaneous account for The Washington Post, these clergy threatened to disrupt the protests, going so far as to call on Christians not to enlist or reenlist in any branch of the military until Wicca was banned from military posts. But the Army brushed off the threatened protests. Again, according to the Washington Post article, Fort Hood spokesman Lt. Col. Ben Santos said at the time that as long as a religious minority does not interfere with discipline, the military will help it find an off-base leader and a place to practice its beliefs … in light of the fact that the Army and various government agencies appear to have disregarded warning signs about the shooter’s contact with religious radicals who have since praised his murders, a tragic irony bubbles to the surface: might the emphasis on religious inclusion and interfaith acceptance have allowed the sinister to walk, undaunted, disguised as the spiritual?”

It is hard to tell what, exactly, author Tom Levinson is suggesting. That the military should be less accommodating to religious minorities? That only certain faiths should be allowed or tolerated? That their fair treatment towards Pagan soldiers inevitably led to these shootings by a disturbed Major Nidal Malik Hasan? Frankly, using the story of the Fort Hood Pagans in conveying his “tragic irony” is insulting to the Pagan men and women who serve, and have served, in the military. Already several Pagans and Pagan vets have spoken out against Levinson’s badly-thought-out piece with more, no doubt, to come.

The James Arthur Ray sweat-lodge death saga continues to have repercussions. While the police investigation is still ongoing, the Lakota Nation has filed a lawsuit against Ray and the Angel Valley Retreat Center for fraud and the “desecration of our Sacred Oinikiga by causing the death of Liz Neuman, Kirby Brown and James Shore”.

“In the aftermath of the tragedy at Angel Valley Retreat Center, where an incompetently conducted “sweat lodge” held by Californian self-help guru James Arthur Ray killed three participants, political steps are being taken by several native people across the United States. While local Indians from Arizona are forming a Council for Indigenous Traditional Healing to reclaim native ceremonies, the Lakota tribe of North and South Dakota has filed a lawsuit against the United States, the state of Arizona, James Arthur Ray and the Angel Valley Retreat Center.”

This issue seems to have truly galvanized some tribal nations and activists, leading to actions that could have long-standing repercussions in the often tense relations between Native peoples and New Age communities. Meanwhile the daughter of one of the victims wants Ray behind bars and is filing a wrongful death lawsuit. So it looks like only a matter of time before Ray is brought before a judge. Hopefully before his next “spiritual warrior” retreat, scheduled for September 18-23rd.

In a final note, blogger Rob Taylor has alerted me to a group of anti-pedophile activists who have allegedly uncovered the identity of a Wiccan man who brags of his sexual involvement with children and until recently was advertising for a coven on Witchvox.

“He is Wiccan and participates in and goes to Wiccan festivals in which he likes to view children running around naked.”

It seems Witchvox (or the person in question) may have removed the listings since word went out at the beginning of November, as they are now gone. Sadly, there isn’t a picture, or further outside confirmation, so we have no way of telling who exactly this man is at public gatherings (as he could no doubt use a variety of aliases if he wanted). I was planning use this information within the context of a longer investigation of predators within the Pagan community, but I felt it was important to pass this information along now if it could potentially help parents and children be safer at gatherings. As always, be careful, do your own research, and leave law enforcement to law enforcement officials.

That’s all I have for now, have a good night, see you tomorrow.

Today is Veterans Day in America, a day when military veterans are honored for their service to our country. In addition to acknowledging the sacrifices and service given by our own co-religionists in years past, and the battles to see them properly honored, it is also an excellent time to look to the Pagan soldiers currently serving at home and overseas. On this Veterans Day Circle Sanctuary is kicking off its annual Operation Circle Care project to send Pagan-themed care packages to Pagan soldiers serving in war zones. This year, due to the horrible tragedy at Fort Hood, they are including the over 150 Pagan and Wiccan soldiers and their families living and serving there as well.

“Operation Circle Care is currently gearing up to collect and send gift packages for Yule for Pagan troops for the third year in a row. This year, we will be including in our program gifts for over 150 Pagan and Wiccan soldiers and their families at Fort Hood, Texas in addition to deployed soldiers serving in warzones.”

You can find a list of needed items, contact information, and how to submit the name of a Pagan soldier serving oversees at the Operation Circle Care web site. They welcome “gently used” Pagan books, so this is a great way to do a good deed and clean out your bookshelves for those new acquisitions. So as you honor those who served this year, take the time to also think ahead to those currently serving, and how we can let them know that our communities care about them.

I’m back from the wilds of Florida! Before I begin my lengthy Pagan-news catch-up, I’d like to thank the folks at the Florida Pagan Gathering who were excellent hosts, and all the folks who attended my talks, they made my first time at such a gathering a truly memorable one. As time allows, I hope to write further about my experiences there, but for now it’s down to brass tacks!

We start off with the horrible tragedy that occurred when U.S. Army major Nidal Malik Hasan opened fire on a military processing center at Fort Hood in Texas, killing 13 people and wounding several more. For an in-depth analysis of the various religious angles in this story, I urge all of you to check out the recent posts at Get Religion dealing with the matter, meanwhile I’d like to briefly explore a Pagan angle that has emerged since the incident. As many of you may know, Fort Hood is famous within our communities for its large and active Pagan population (more than 150 live in and around Fort Hood). It is the Fort Hood Pagans who weathered a storm of controversy that prompted George W. Bush to famously opine back in 1999 that “witchcraft isn’t a religion”. So when I heard of the shooting in Florida my first instinct was to ask after the safety of our Pagan troops, luckily a reliable source assured me that none were harmed during the incident. But while no Pagan soldiers or their families were hurt or killed in the rampage, the loss and shock following such an event can often be crippling, so Circle Sanctuary has stepped up to offer counseling to local Pagans stressed by the tragedy.

“A team of Pagan spiritual counselors has been formed by Circle Sanctuary to provide free telephone counseling support this month for Pagans, Wiccans, Druids, Heathens, Pantheists, and other Nature religion practitioners distressed by the shootings at Fort Hood in Texas this past Thursday … Circle Sanctuary formed this Pagan counseling support team as part of its services to Wiccans, Druids, Heathens, and other Pagans in the US Military. This special response team consists of sixteen Pagan leaders from across the nation who are among those doing various forms of Pagan ministry through Circle Sanctuary. The team is collaborating with other Pagan leaders in the Fort Hood area in providing help. Circle Sanctuary is offering free Pagan oriented counseling by telephone to supplement grief counseling resources at Fort Hood. Circle Sanctuary’s Fort Hood Tragedy response counseling services are for Pagans in and around Fort Hood as well as for Pagans at other US military installations and elsewhere who have been adversely impacted by the Fort Hood shootings. The counseling work being offered is specific to distress resulting from the Fort Hood shootings and will be offered throughout the month on November.”

You can find contact information for the support team, here. I’m glad to see a national Pagan organization willing to jump into action in times of hardship and need, blessings on Circle Sanctuary for this quick response. You can be sure that if any further Pagan angles emerge to this story I’ll do my best to bring them to your attention.

Let’s turn to the ongoing reverberations caused by Republican Heathen Dan Halloran getting elected to the New York City Council. Double X blog the XX Factor claims that Paganism was the real winner that night, while the New York Times analyzes the demographics of Halloran’s win. Meanwhile, a blog called “Queens Crap” unearths a document that pretty convincingly proves that Democratic opponent Kevin Kim was indeed trying to use Halloran’s religion against him in the race.

“…not only is it a new low, but making it appear that the church mailed these out to voters could have serious consequences for both the church and the candidate. It puts the church’s 501c3 in jeopardy and opens up the possibility that Kim could be prosecuted for mail fraud. Federal postal rules prohibit printing an address other than your own on a piece of mail bearing your prepaid postage stamp.”

You can read the document, here. While accusations of mud-slinging came from both camps, it appeared that Kim participated to a larger scale, and that the (overwhelming Democratic) voters of that district, sick of the mud-slinging, decided to send a message. Again, more proof that we may be seeing religion-fatigue on the part of voters? Making Paganism not so much the political liability some may think it to be? As for Halloran, we continue to look forward to paying close attention to his career.

Did you realize it’s been ten years since Ronald Hutton’s “Triumph of the Moon” was first published and changed the way we look at Pagan scholarship and the history of Wicca? To celebrate that anniversary Hidden Publishing has released a collection of essays entitled “Ten Years of Triumph of the Moon”.

“Ten years on from the groundbreaking Triumph of the Moon: A history of Modern Pagan Witchcraft by Professor Ronald Hutton, a selection of worldwide scholars, some ‘big names; some newer in the field, with nearly two centuries of hands-on pagan research experience between them, present a collection of researches inspired by, deriving from or just celebrating the immense impact of that seminal book. The topics cover many historical periods, many academic disciplines and it provides a wealth of information of use to academic scholar and interested freelance reader alike. Includes an extended essay by Ronald Hutton on the history of such scholarship, the state of it today and some of his thoughts for the future.”

The collection includes essays from Sabina “Witching Culture” Magliocco, Caroline Tully, Henrik “Western Esotericism and Rituals of Initiation” Bogdan, Phillip Bernhardt-House, and Ronald Hutton himself. Sounds like a must-have to me!

Turning to film, Fangoria interviews Robin Hardy about the upcoming sequel/companion to “The Wicker Man”, now entitled “The Wicker Tree”, and currently filming.

“It isn’t a sequel or a prequel, it’s another film in the same vein,” he says. “What I’m interested in saying is that this approach still works. The way THE WICKER MAN was constructed and the way most horror films today are constructed are totally different, and I believe it was a quite interesting alternative. It makes the film more intriguing. You can have more things in it than just horror.”

Hardy goes into some depth about how modern gore-fest “horror” movies aren’t really all that scary, and how the build-up of suspense along with the use of music and humor can often lead to a more successful film. I’m sure the folks raking in the dough from the ultra-low-budget film “Paranormal Activity” agree.

Showing how complex the issues can be when an increasingly global modern Paganism meets the current global epidemic of witch-killings, the South African Pagan Rights Alliance has put out a press release criticizing the International Humanist and Ethical Union’s recommendation to the UN that law suppressing the practice of witchcraft be enacted.

“The call for the “fight against the twin evils of those practising witchcraft and those claiming to find and cure witches in Africa”, encourages not only the suppression of those using the excuse of so-called “witchcraft” to commit criminal acts, it also has the unfortunate effect of encouraging African governments to suppress Witchcraft as identified by actual self-identified adherents of the Craft and Religion of Witchcraft. Many South Africans already openly identify themselves as Witches. Witches are already a visible and recognizable religious minority in Southern Africa. We have our own religious council, represented on various interfaith bodies, and we have our own government appointed religious marriage officers. A blanket and unqualified call for the suppression of “Witchcraft” in Africa is a call for the suppression of religious belief, something our own constitution protects under freedom of religion and association clauses in our Bill of Rights.”

SAPRA points out that the most witchcraft-murders in South Africa are against alleged practitioners, not perpetrated by them. That “muti” murders, when carried out, aren’t done by “witches”, but instead by traditional herbalists, and that blanket statements of the “twin evils” only encourages laws that will outlaw Wicca alongside African conceptions of witchcraft. One can certainly understand why a humanist organization might equally damn these two separate phenomena as one madness, but I wonder if other NGOs and officials are striving to “equalize” muti murders with the mainly Christian-led network of anti-witchcraft forces in order to not offend the politically and fiscally powerful churches. It may be a mater that needs closer investigation.

In a final note, I received word that on October 28th scholar Owen S. Rachleff passed away due to complications from Parkinsons. Rachleff wrote a scathingly critical work in the early 1970s on the occult and modern Pagan movement entitled “The Occult Conceit”, which won him the ire of many Pagans and occultists at the time. Quotes like the following in this 1972 article  of  Time Magazine didn’t help much either.

“Most occultniks,” says Rachleff, “are either frauds of the intellectual and/or financial variety, or disturbed individuals who frequently mistake psychosis for psychic phenomena.”

Despite his dim view of occult practitioners, he was willing to engage with them and  went on a nationally syndicated radio program in December 1973 with practicing Witch Leo Martello. This was, according to author Michael Lloyd, very likely the first nationally broadcast debate on the subject of Witchcraft and the occult between a skeptic and a practicing Witch. It no doubt helped spread word of modern Paganism, and exposed many to its ideas and concepts. So while Rachleff was a skeptic and a critic, he also played a vital part in our history in America.

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

Bob Smietana of the Nashville Tennessean reports on Thomas Dyer, the first-ever Buddhist Army chaplain. Dyer was able to bypass some of the strict (and Christian-clergy favoring) military chaplaincy standards due to his former life as a Baptist pastor.

“A potential chaplain must have a master’s degree in religion. But some faiths, such as Buddhism and Wicca, don’t have seminaries, so they struggle to find chaplain candidates. Dyer qualified as a chaplain because already he had earned a master’s degree as a Baptist pastor before converting to Buddhism. Chaplains also need to be endorsed by a civilian religious group. The Department of Defense has approved few non-Christian endorsement groups.”

If this all sounds somewhat familiar it is because it deeply echoes the case of Don Larsen, a former Pentecostal Army chaplain in good standing who tried to become the first Wiccan Army chaplain only to get caught in a variety of spiteful bureaucratic actions from his former endorsing body and military superiors leaving him in a procedural limbo.

“While in the process of switching faiths within the chaplaincy (normally a routine process, involving some paperwork), a senior Army chaplain disclosed to the Pentecostal Church exactly what Larsen was switching to and as a result pulled their endorsement of Larsen before Sacred Well’s endorsement could be approved … Retired Army colonel Jim Ammerman, the president and founder of Chaplaincy of Full Gospel Churches admits that the church went against longstanding agreements among endorsers in pulling Larsen’s papers.”

Now, in light of this new breakthrough, could we see a second chance for Larsen or renewed hope for another would-be Wiccan Army chaplain? It remains to be seen, but some have wondered if the Army’s chaplaincy program is fundamentally broken, unable to adapt to a multi-religious reality.

“…some faith groups are overrepresented among chaplains. For example, there are 54 members of the Independent Fundamental Churches of America in the military, and 22 chaplains from the denomination. That’s one chaplain for every 2.5 church members. By contrast, there’s one imam per 353.5 Muslims, and one priest for every 1,086 Catholics. And there are no chaplains to serve the 3,214 Wiccans in the military. Recruiting chaplains from diverse faiths is a challenge, in part because the recruiting system favors Christians and Jews … In the end, Bergen, the Toronto professor, wonders if creating a diverse chaplain corps is possible…”

In a chaplaincy overrun with conservative evangelicals can any other faith grouping find a place or expect fair treatment? Is the case of Thomas Dyer a fluke or the beginning of a new trend to allow more religious diversity into the Army’s chaplaincy? What we do know is that modern Paganism is quickly approaching a time when it will have its own masters-granting seminaries in conjunction with several willing sponsoring organizations. The current maze of red-tape and various organizational “catch-22s” will not last forever, and we will soon find out if the Army is equally dedicated to serving the needs of its Wiccan soldiers as its Christian ones. Until then, I wish Thomas Dyer good luck, and hope he is the beginning of a brighter future.

The Washington Post reports on a Quaker who, with the help of the ACLU, is suing the U.S. Government for not providing a way to note conscientious objector status when fulfilling the requirement to register with the Selective Service System.

“The United States, which has an all-volunteer military, has not had a draft since 1973. But the Selective Service System collects information from men ages 18 to 25 in case Congress reinstates conscription into the armed forces. [Tobin] Jacobrown, of Indianola, Wash., said he has not filled out his Selective Service forms, as required by law, because they do not have a space for him to indicate his status as a conscientious objector. As a Quaker, he said, he cannot sign the forms without such a provision. Although Quakers do not have a specific creed, pacifism is a long-standing belief.”

The ACLU points out that adding a line to state a desired CO status would be “easy as pie”, and that Selective Service forms up till 1980 provided a way to record conscientious objector claims. It is currently against the law for any male to refuse to participate in the Selective Service process (and those who do are denied government benefits). It should be interesting to see how this plays out, suing the government into doing anything, no matter how easy it may be for them to accomplish, is a slow and difficult process. As for Tobin Jacobrown, he is already well-positioned to avoid military service in the event of a draft. The Quakers (aka the Religious Society of Friends), with their Peace Testimony and long history of active resistance to military service, are usually given CO status when brought before their local Selective Service board. The contentious issue here, and why I think the government will fight making this “easy” change, is how adding this line might assist members of other religious groups who embrace some form of pacifism, like certain Catholics or various Pagan individuals.

Currently, if you want to get CO status for ethical or religious reasons (CO status isn’t granted for political reasons) you have to appear at a Selective Service board hearing, and you are expected to prove a long-standing commitment to non-participation or resistance to war in all forms. Many religious groups, in anticipation of a new draft, have instructions and forms to prepare in the event that a draft is called and you must prove your CO status. Gathering the proper documentation can be difficult, and division over the issue within religious communities have been used against aspiring objectors. Recent court cases have moved things further into the direction of individual (rather than institutional) matters of conscience that don’t require proof of “rigorous study”, but that doesn’t mean the process is a cake-walk. Allowing teens to indicate a CO claim on the Selective Service form would establish a definable paper-trail of anti-militaristic intent, and could bolster CO cases if a new draft should ever be called. At this time, would-be COs who write objector statements on their Selective Service forms create no paper-trail as the forms are destroyed after the information is recorded.

“Other Quakers, he said, write that they are conscientious objectors on the forms, even though the information is not collected by the government and the documents are discarded. The objectors keep copies of the forms to prove that they raised the issue when they registered.”

For modern Paganism, which encompasses many different religions and traditions, and many different attitudes towards military service, being able to make the government record your individual beliefs regarding service is important. Otherwise a pacifist Pagan could be confronted with the fact that many Pagans serve in the military and that our communities have been very active in having Pagan soldiers acknowledged and honored. As we move away from top-down hierarchical religious institutions, getting to acknowledge that a single religion (or interconnected group of religions) can encompass both pacifists and warriors (and various shades in-between) is an important step, a step that may be taken by Mr. Jacobrown and the ACLU.

Pagan author and blogger Lisa McSherry reacts quite strongly to a Salon.com article about the infiltration of Neo-Nazis into the military, specifically the assertion that an avowed Neo-Nazi’s Celtic Cross tattoo is racist.

“Excuse me, but there is NOTHING to relate the Celtic culture, and specifically the so-called Celtic Cross with Neo-Nazism, white supremacy, or any of that ilk. I mean, it’s totally wrong to do, but at least it’s understandable when people mistake Viking or Norse symbols for “white power’ symbols. But the CROSS? (Celtic or not)”

Here’s the offending passage in question from the article.

“Over a plate of chicken wings, he tells me about his path into the white-power movement. “I was 14 when I decided I wanted to be a Nazi,” he says. At his first high school, near Los Angeles, he was bullied by black and Latino kids. That’s when he first heard Skrewdriver, a band he calls “the godfather of the white power movement.” “I became obsessed,” he says. He had an image from one of Skrewdriver’s album covers — a Viking carrying a staff, an icon among white nationalists — tattooed on his left forearm. Soon after he had another white power symbol, a Celtic cross, emblazoned on his stomach.”

I don’t know if Lisa knows this, but the Celtic Cross has indeed been widely appropriated as a racist symbol. It is, in fact, the official symbol of the extremist/racist web community Stormfront.

“This is one of the most popular symbols for neo-Nazis and white supremacists. First popularized by the Ku Klux Klan, the symbol was later adopted by the National Front in England and other racists such as Don Black on his Web site, Stormfront, and the racist band Skrewdriver to represent international “white pride.” It is also known as Odin’s Cross. It is important to note that the Celtic Cross is used widely today in many mainstream and cultural contexts. No one should assume that a Celtic Cross, divorced from other trappings of extremism, automatically denotes use as a hate symbol.”

Because the Celtic Cross is so ubiquitous, and holds various meanings among various groups, it’s an easy symbol to explain away to military recruiters and other groups that screen for racist/extremist affiliations.

“Army regulations prohibit soldiers from participating in racist groups, and recruiters are instructed to keep an eye out for suspicious tattoos. Before signing on the dotted line, enlistees are required to explain any tattoos. At a Tampa recruitment office, though, Fogarty sailed right through the signup process. “They just told me to write an explanation of each tattoo, and I made up some stuff, and that was that,” he says. Soon he was posted to Fort Stewart in Georgia, where he became part of the 3rd Infantry Division.”

Of course, according to this Salon.com report, recruiters are so desperate to meet their quotas that they are willing to overlook swastikas and “SS bolts”, two symbols that are overwhelming associated with racist/Nazi idenity in the West. Further, the Celtic Pagan community has long had to deal with racist appropriation and racist authors trying to drum up support and sow dissention and confusion within the maintream of modern Paganism. So as much as it galls us to admit it, we must face the reality that many of our symbols, and not just Nordic/Germanic symbols, have and are being appropraited to the cause of racists. This is why it’s so important to constantly educate people, remain in the public eye, and speak out against the misuse of pre-Christian symbology.

If one fact refutes the idea that modern Paganism in America is merely some sort of 1960s holdover full of pacifists, rebellious teens, and aging baby-boomers (though we have plenty of all three) it is that so many of our number have been, and are, active members of our military services. There are active military (and military family) Pagan groups from Aberdeen, Washington to Camp Arifjan in Kuwait. There has been a Military Pagan Network since 1992, and they are joined by Circle Sanctuary’s robust military ministries, and a nascent Pagan Veterans group. So today, Memorial Day, isn’t just a day for those Christian soldiers who marched off to war, but for their Pagan brothers and sisters-in-arms who marched with them. It is a day to not only honor our coreligionists who fell in the line of duty, but to continue to work towards seeing that they are properly respected and honored in death, and given the support they need in life.

We here at The Wild Hunt honor those who gave their lives, and salute those who have served and are serving. May your gods and goddesses watch over and protect you. I leave you now with some thoughts from other Pagans on this day.

“The right for Pagans soldiers and veterans to have the pentacle inscribed on their headstones and memorials was one fought for very hard by Pagan communities throughout the country over the course of several years. Instigated by Veterans’ Affairs refusal to grant the late Sgt. Patrick Stewart a pentacle on his grave marker after he was shot down in Afghanistan, his widow, Roberta Stewart, and Circle Sanctuary’s Lady Liberty League spearheaded an anti-discrimination action against the VA. Pagan communities nationwide joined the fight, and this issue was the formative one that brought together the Upper Midwest Pagan Alliance (UMPA) here in the Twin Cities. UMPA organized a a protest action in in February 2007 in a freezing cold blizzard on the St. Paul Capitol steps at the same time other communities held marches and rallies in support  …  It has been a bittersweet victory; celebrating a hard-won right also brings with it the acknowledgment of the growing number of Pagan military folks and the sacrifices that they are making in order for this and other rights to be upheld. UMPA is continuing to send care packages of religious reading and supplies as well as maintaining correspondences with Pagan soldiers who are still fighting in Afghanistan and Iraq.” – Murphy Pizza, Minneapolis Pagan Examiner

“I will be going to the Lafayette war memorial on Monday, because people are still killed in war. We will place a pentacle for Sgt. Jason Schumann, enlisted at 17 and dead at 23, father and husband. We shall also recall Sgt. Joseph Ford, a Pagan member of Nova Roma who died in Iraq last May. Memorial Day, for me, is also a day to remember the 100,000 estimated civilians killed in Iraq since 2003, the more than 2,000 dead in Afghanistan just last year, the close to 5,000 US soldiers dead in Iraq and Afghanistan and the 30,000 wounded, and countless others with psychological and emotional distress.” – T. Thorn Coyle, Peacock Dreams

“In September of last year I posted about the Order of the Pentacle, of which I am a very proud member. This Memorial Day I will have the Honor and Privilege of representing the Order in a ritual in remembrance of our fallen soldiers. This Memorial Day, Monday May 25th the Pagan Alliance and the Order of the Pentacle will assemble at the War Memorial near the Lafayette BART station we will remember our Pagan Brothers and Sisters who who gave their lives in Iraq and Afghanistan. We will dedicate a new Pentacle for Sergeant Jason A. Schumann of Hawley, Minnesota. Sgt. Schumann was killed by an Improvised Explosive Devise in Ad Diwaniyah, Iraq. I myself have survived several trips through Diwaniyah, and will proudly carry his Pentacle.” – Joseph Merlin Nichter, WitchDoctorJoe’s RattleBone

“My monument to the cost of the recent wars will be adorned with flowers and a paper red poppy tomorrow.  And today, I will walk through the beauty of early summer in the Nor’west, thinking of eyes that cannot see it and holding each image in trust for them.  Oh, that we would be wiser and more careful of lives that stand in harm’s way at the order of others!” – Labrys, Walk of the Fallen

Blessings to you this Memorial Day.

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

An advice column for the Washington Times highlights the struggles of a Wiccan military family after the children are outed at their local school.

…my children are being discriminated against by their teachers and administrators because we are Wiccans. It all started when other children at their school found out we are Wiccan. The students now call my children witches and warlocks. I know my children are being harassed, and this is not fair to them. Their grades are now falling tremendously. I have complained about this to the teachers, counselors, assistant principal and the principal. They have done nothing about it. I wanted to use this experience as a learning tool, to teach others about our lifestyle without imposing our views on others. It was my desire to stay calm and educate only to stop the fear and harassment. I asked to do a professional development session for the staff and a presentation to my children’s classrooms. I know this would help others understand, so they would stop judging and name-calling. The teachers would not hear of this. They all said it would infringe upon the rights of other students who do not want to hear about Wiccans.

The columnist “Ms. Vicki” Johnson advises the mother to climb higher on the administrative ladder with her concerns, and to seek counselling in order to deal with the emotional stress, but I fear that this is a far deeper problem than a few uncaring teachers. The military culture has become downright hostile to non-Christian faith expressions, often exploiting loopholes to keep Pagans (and other faiths) from gaining legitmacy and equal treatment. It wasn’t simply because of Bush that the veteran Pentacle quest took so long to achieve victory. I don’t know if there’s an easy solution to this problem, but one can hope that things will open up a bit under the Obama administration.

Darin Najor, who assulted a teacher and threatened to set her on fire for being a “witch” after she assigned the class to read “The Crucible”, is undergroing a competency hearing to see if he can stand trial.

Police said the assignment to read and discuss “The Crucible” apparently set Najor off. The teacher had been discussing the play in class for a while before she was assaulted. Najor questioned the teacher the day before the assault, police said, and she told him she didn’t believe in witchcraft and that the play was an allegory about persecution. The following day, Najor came up behind the teacher chanting what sounded like religious verses and poured water over her that he carried in a Gatorade bottle, Denmark said. Najor was also carrying a large barbecue lighter and told the teacher she was a witch who needed to be purified, police said. Najor ran from the room and the teacher and a security guard followed him outside where he was smoking a cigarette, Denmark said. The suspect ran at the teacher and said he was going to “burn the witch” when he was restrained by the guard, police said.

While Najor certainly seems delusional, one wonders where he got the idea that a witch needed to be purified by fire? It’s too bad this account doesn’t dig a bit into his background. What’s his home life like? What religious instruction did he receive? I would like to know these things, just in case the water-bottle was simply a trial run.

Speaking of innocent teachers and witches, a Texas man has finally been cleared of all charges after being accused of confining two girls to a classroom because he thought they were witches.

It has not been an easy three years for Jose Ramos. The 45-year-old Spanish teacher has been unemployed and under a felony indictment for most of that time, chafing against what he saw as an ongoing injustice he could not seem to clear. Some days, it was hard to tell what was worse: That he was being accused of confining two scared teenage girls to a classroom, or that the Rio Grande Valley thought he’d done it because he thought the girls were witches. On Thursday, prosecutors dropped the last of his criminal charges and, with an apologetic shrug from a county court-at-law judge whose children had been his students, Ramos was once again free, innocent and employable.

In the span of three years the truth slowly came out, the girl’s stories changed, and they no longer wanted to testify. In fact, it seems that it was Ramos who was trying to protect the girls from fellow classmates who accused the girls of casting malicious spells. The tragedy is that this man’s life and livelyhood were ruined while under the shadow of these charges. Resentful, he’s now looking for a job far away from the town in which he once worked.

The Independent gives a decidedly lukewarm review to Gary Lachman’s new book “Politics and the Occult: The Left, the Right, and the Radically Unseen”, calling it “stodgy” and “uncontroversial”.

Gary Lachman has certainly done his research. This history of how the occult has influenced national politics – and not just wacky, fascist politics but mainstream and progressive political movements too … It could be fascinating, but the prose is stodgy, and the actual aims of these secret societies, where revealed, are often uncontroversial and bland – to create a better world, that sort of thing. It’s never entirely clear whether Lachman believes that occult study is a real means of acquiring knowledge, providing an alternative to “the hard-nosed empirical approach [of] science”. This book offers no evidence that it is; but then doubts are raised about Lachman’s commitment to rationality when he claims that “in 1960, aliens took an interest in US politics and backed a candidate for the presidency”.

For more on Lachman’s work (which tends toward the sensationalistic), you should check out this (slightly edited) excerpt from “Politics and the Occult”.

How did ancient Greeks choose their temple locations? According to Gregory J. Retallack of the University of Oregon in Eugene, it’s all about the soil.

No clear pattern emerged until he turned to the gods and goddesses. It was then that he discovered a robust link between the soil on which a temple stood and the deity worshiped there. For example, Demeter, the goddess of grain and fertility, and Dionysos, the god of wine, both were venerated on fertile, well-structured soils called Xerolls, which are ideal for grain cultivation. Artemis, the virgin huntress, and her brother Apollo, the god of light and the Sun, were worshiped in rocky Orthent and Xerept soils suitable only for nomadic herding. And maritime deities, such as Aphrodite, the goddess of love, and Poseidon, the sea god, were revered on Calcid soils on coastal terraces too dry for agriculture. The pattern suggests that the deities’ cults were based on livelihood as much as on religion. And, says Retallack, temple builders may have chosen sites to make the deities feel at home.

So if you’re looking to build a new Pagan temple, better check out the local dirt first.

In a final note, mega-rockstars U2 may be dedicated Christians, but that hasn’t stopped them from wondering if the patriarchy is all its cracked up to be.

“[The song "Get On Your Boots" is] based around the idea that men have f****d things up so badly, politically, economically and socially that it’s really time we handed things over to women.”

You can see the video for the song, here. Careful guys, you keep this sort of sentiment up, and you might lose some of your ardent patriarchy-loving Christian followers (but who knows, you might also gain some goddess-lovers to replace them).

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

A somewhat slow news day today, but there were a few things of interest. Starting off with an update on a story I mentioned in last week’s News of Note. It seems that the South African Air Force and Pagan chaplain Donna “Darkwolf” Vos have reached a settlement concerning her dismissal from a position she was initially hired for until they found out she was a Witch.

“She applied for the position at Ysterplaat Air Force base in 2003. Vos claimed the colonel who interviewed her called Paganism a cult and said he could not “unleash” Vos on people. The two parties appeared in the Equality Court on Friday, where a settlement was reached, according to Vos. “We are very happy with the outcome, and their attitude to everything was very amenable,” she said of the Air Force, which has conceded to consultation and negotiation around paganism. “There is scope to work together.” She said she would not pursue the case any further.”

While this settlement means the legal case has been postponed indefinitely, Vos retains the right to take it up again should the SAAF renege on their agreement concerning “consultation and negotiation around paganism”. It should be interesting to see exactly what shape that consultation will take.

Turning from the courtroom to network television, word has come out that ABC has ordered a pilot based on Bill Willingham’s award-winning comic series “Fables”.

“ABC has commited to a pilot for a series based on the comic, written by Six Degress Stu Zicherman and Raven Metzner and directed by David Semel. The pilot will be produced by Warner Bros. TV and will take the form of an hour-long drama.”

“Fables” concerns the lives of famous storybook characters (the Big Bad Wolf, Snow White, Little Boy Blue) living in America, exiled from their fictional homelands by “The Adversary”. One can only hope they do the comic justice, as the stories are filled with magic, intrigue, romance, and the occasional mythological figure.

In a final note, did you know that Ludwig van Beethoven was a tool of the conspiracy?

“In 1779, a composer, writer, teacher, and dreamer named Christian Neefe arrived in Bonn, Germany, to work for the Electoral Court … Before long in his new post, Neefe found himself mentoring a genius. Meanwhile, in his spare time, he signed on with a plan to, as it were, rule the world.”

Yes, that’s right, Beethoven’s tutor was a member of The Bavarian Illuminati. Jan Swafford claims that nothing much came of this other than the famous composer taking up Schiller’s Ode to Joy for the Ninth Symphony, but is exactly what they want you to think!

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

Donna “Darkwolf” Vos will be meeting the South African Air Force in court over claims that they unfairly dismissed her from chaplaincy work due to her religion.

“I applied (for the SAAF job), got it and worked for two weeks. My focus was to be on HIV and Aids, the problem of Satanism among the youth, and drugs and sex among the youth,” Vos said. She was due to undergo training in military routines in Pretoria, but was first called to a meeting with the official, a colonel. “I was told the meeting with this guy was a formality.” He was initially impressed by her qualifications, Vos said. But the conversation soured when she told him she was a pagan. “He was quite taken aback…I gave him a copy of my book (a guide to paganism in a South African context) and he said, ‘We can’t unleash you on 8 000 men’.” The colonel stopped their interview, Vos said, and promised to contact her within two weeks. But instead of phoning her, she said he sent her an e-mail in which he described paganism as ‘a cult’.”

Vos is hoping her complaint will force the South African military to change their “unconstitutional religious policies”, making it safe for Pagans in the military to be open about their faith. However, one strange twist in the case is that it happened in 2003, she didn’t file her complaint until 2006, and then “left the matter dormant” until 2008 according to the Bellville Equality Court. In fact, the current trial is to see if the Equality Court even has jurisdiction to hear this case, so it remains to be seen if things progress in Vos’s favor.

Art critic Jonathan Jones wonders if today’s spandex-wearing superheroes are equivalent to the gods and heroes of ancient myth.

“Is there any difference between the modern pantheon of superheroes and the myths of the Greeks or the Vikings? The sheer richness and resonance we find in these fabulous beings – the darkness of Batman, the sensitivity of Spiderman, the purity of Superman – resembles the richness of interpretation and portrayal that has made the Greek myths survive into modern times … The point is, these modern myths do resemble true myths – they have taken on the endurance of the great legends, they rival Robin Hood and King Arthur. What does this say about modern culture? Probably that it is far more in touch with its ancient, primal roots that either fans or detractors of modernity tend to admit.”

The “superheroes = gods of ancient myth” meme isn’t a new one. Artists and writers have been mining this territory for some time now. It is an idea that first gestated in the mind of Kirby and subsequently explored by modern comic-writers like Morrison and Moore. The question now is what does that mean? Should we approach these pop-culture figures as distinct entities of power, or see them as the result of a natural polytheism denied? Perhaps both?

To reiterate something I have said before: Witchcraft isn’t a warning sign! Sadly, a glowing piece on Florida’s early-intervention youth centers uncritically peddles the “alternative religion as mental health warning sign” meme.

“The Cookseys’ relationship with Amanda had deteriorated in the two years since they had adopted her at 15. (Her birth mother, already struggling, sustained a brain injury and could not provide adequate care.) The girl was defiant, lying and even dabbling in witchcraft, Ms. Cooksey said. After their fight in February, Amanda ran back to her biological mother’s house. The policeman who picked her up said he could take her home to the Cookseys or to the Capital City shelter.”

This is dangerous. Involvement in Wicca, Paganism, or some other non-Christian faith, shouldn’t be a check-box on some list of bad behavior. For someone who is truly troubled, clinging to Witchcraft or Paganism might be the only empowering thing in an otherwise unmoored life. For older foster kids, their religious individuality could be quashed or seen as illness/bad behavior if they are placed with a Christian household (and the chances of that are quite high). Will we end up with social services that promise stability for troubled youth only so long as they toe a certain religious line?

It looks like the Rev. Rapid Cabot Freeman’s fifteen minutes haven’t quite run out yet. The local Norwich Bulletin seems quite intent on following Freeman after his discrimination claims were marred by his being arrested for harassment.

“Rusty Freeman, also known as the Rev. Rapid Cabot Freeman and the “Witch of Baltic,” entered a not guilty plea Wednesday to a second-degree harassment charge in Norwich Superior Court. Freemen, a Wiccan who hosts a public access show, gained attention recently when he accused the town of Sprague of religious discrimination when he was denied use of a public building to hold a witchcraft demonstration on Halloween. Town officials said they rejected the request based on procedural problems. His arrest by Norwich police was based on allegations that he made repeated unwanted calls to a Norwich woman this summer, according to an arrest warrant affidavit in the case. Freeman told police he was trying to contact the woman to attend his divorce proceedings.”

The drama continues in court on December 31st, bring popcorn.

In a final note, Asatru in Iceland celebrated their country’s sovereignty on Monday by honoring the land’s protective spirits.

“Members of AsatrUarfelagid, a religious association which honors the old Norse gods, celebrated Iceland’s Sovereignty Day on Monday by honoring the country’s protective spirits, the landvaettir as described in Snorri Sturluson’s Heimskringla. According to Heimskringla, the landvaettir thwart a sorcerer disguised as a whale from swimming ashore and thus prevent him from spying on the Icelandic people for the Danish king. During the ceremony, high chieftain of AsatrUarfelagid Hilmar Orn Hilmarsson said these guardian spirits are still protecting the Icelandic country and nation…”

The ceremony took place in five ritually significant points in the country, one of which burned a picture Prime Minister Geir H. Haarde. The story doesn’t say if this was a measure of protection, or one of antagonism against the politician. Considering the recent fiscal woes there, I can’t think it’s a good sign.

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