Top Story: As I first mentioned back in September, the snarky fashion show “What Not to Wear” (on the increasingly misnamed TLC network) shot a Salem-themed episode starring Salem Witch and shop co-owner Leanne Marrama. Now it’s finally being aired this Friday.

“The show’s cast and crew descended on Salem in September, where they filmed Marrama’s look being “put on trial” — reminiscent of Salem’s infamous 1692 witch trials — by a jury that included other members of the city’s psychic community. The show then swooped Marrama — and all of her clothes — to New York for a week, where “What Not to Wear” hosts Stacy London and Clinton Kelly weeded out her wardrobe and gave her $5,000 to start anew, and redid her hair and makeup. The results will air Friday at 9 p.m. “I’m so excited to see the episode,” Marrama said. “It’s going to be very funny, and I hope other people can learn something from it.” CinemaSalem will host a free public viewing of the episode as it airs live. Marrama plans to attend, along with her family and friends.”

The article also notes that locals hope the town will be prominently featured, but not everyone in Salem is happy with all the witch-focused attention it gets. Ward 3 Councilor Jean Pelletier, during a discussion over what to name a new bypass road, heaped scorn on the idea of naming it after “stupid witch stuff”, drawing the ire of some Salem residents.

“I hate to tell you, Councilor, but that “stupid witch stuff,” along with the Salem power plant, is the engine that drives the Salem economy. Instead of downplaying those two money-makers, you should promote them. Which would you choose: “Stupid witch stuff” or raising taxes?”

Want to know why non-witchy residents tolerate the massive Halloween-flavored mardi gras every October? Why they don’t seem to mind all the reality television, migrating Witches, and plastic capes? One word: revenue. No, make that two words: revenue and taxes. So long as Witches are good for business, everyone will find a way to get along.

In Other News: A few days ago I highlighted an article about Ugandan anti-sacrifice campaigner Polino Angela, who claims that he himself sacrificed several children, including his own son. Some Ugandans, perhaps unused to the old Christian “Satanic Panic” media-spin where “saved” confessed mass-murderers are somehow allowed to walk free, are straying off-message in an article for the Observer.

“His preaching can’t take away the crimes he has committed against humanity, if there is evidence of the offences against him he may not escape the law,” said Anselm Wandega, the head of policy advocacy at ANPPCAN Uganda Chapter.

Moses Binoga, head of the Police anti-Human Sacrifice Task Force, has also opened an investigation in the Amolatar District, were Angela is said to be living. Uh-oh! Looks like some countries actually take you seriously when you claim to have killed 70 people as a former witch doctor. Will Angela backtrack on his somewhat dubious claims of an organized child-sacrifice network now that he might actually get in trouble? We’ll have to wait and see, but it’s looking more and more like my suspicion over this story was warranted. Religion-blogger Richard Bartholomew is also skeptical, and he notes that one of the supportive government officials in the original story is a notorious homophobe more  interested in the length of mini-skirts than in police corruption. Just as some Western conservative Christian organizations are quietly funding and supporting Ugandan efforts to pass a draconian anti-homosexuality law, perhaps there are others quietly importing that old Satanic Panic?

Over at EarthSpirit Voices, Andras Corban Arthen shares with us the story of  how Nigerian citizen Wande Abimbola, the selected spokesman of the Yoruba religion in Western Africa, had his deities seized from him by an Australian customs agent on his way to the Parliament of the World’s Religions in Melbourne.

“Finally, the metal doors of the Customs area parted one more time, and Wande Abimbola, his American-born wife Ifaboyede, and their eight-month-old son made their way into the terminal, looking troubled and dismayed. “They have taken our deities away,” they informed their greeters. The Abimbolas were scheduled to offer several presentations on the spiritual traditions of the Yoruba, and they were bringing with them several objects which manifested particular orisas, the ancestral spirits whose veneration is central to Yoruban religion. The objects are not considered to be mere symbolic representations, but extensions and abodes of the orisas themselves — sacred emanations of sacred beings, to be treated with honor and respect. But this was obviously irrelevant to the Australian Customs agents in Melbourne, who unceremoniously confiscated the objects.”

Though Abimbola was able to retrieve his deities on his way back out of the country, the event cut through the idealism of the event for Arthen, reminding him of the hostility, ignorance, and discrimination that exist outside the walls of interfaith gatherings like the Parliament.

“For me, though, this episode continues to ring a sour note in what was mostly a very harmonious event. It’s very easy, when attending a function such as the Parliament, to get so wrapped up in the beauty and idealism present all around us that we can forget some of the harsh realities that lie in wait just beyond these walls. The quarantined gods of the Yoruba were, this time, a constant reminder of the arrogance, the prejudice and the fear that continue to cause so much conflict among nations and cultures, and a reminder as well of how much we need to continue to talk, and teach, and learn from one another, as we do in the Parliament of the World’s Religions.”

I suppose another lesson is that interfaith activities are a first step, not the last step, in normalizing relations and establishing mutual respect between different faith groups. It’s easy to move past differences when most everyone around you is willing to do so, it’s quite another thing to engage a far more hostile and cynical wider world on a regular basis.

Bakersfield, California District Attorney Ed Jagels is retiring from public office after 26 years. Jagels became notorious for his prosecution of  several (46) innocent men and women over bogus child-abuse (and “Satanic” child abuse) cases. A situation that was covered in the documentary “Witch Hunt”. Several spent years in prison, some even decades, before finally being freed. A situation that still haunts some of the children coached into giving testimony.

“What Jagels did not witness was the aftermath of his actions. All the children who testified against Stoll and my mother have had to deal with years of life-altering guilt. I was forced to believe that I was molested by my mother, taken from my home and placed into mandatory therapy, where I spent years in counseling trying to recover “blocked” memories.”

Jagels now admits that mistakes may have been made, but seems to feel little remorse for the lives he destroyed.

“If those cases came today, we would have handled them differently,” Jagels said. “But what we had at the time, I think we handled them the best we could.”

Attorney Michael Snedeker of Portland, Oregon, who helped free many of the accused says that “truth and justice meant nothing to him”, meanwhile, Jagels’ supporters are already trying to whitewash his career. This whole story illustrates how the officials who allowed the SRA panic to go forward, to pursue questionable evidence and testimony, go unpunished. Some of them may even become Senators if they play their cards right.

In a final note, more religion-beat reporters are moving on. Boston Globe reporter Michael Paulson is being promoted, so he’s leaving the God-beat behind, and there’s no word yet on who, if anyone, is going to replace him. Meanwhile, AP religion reporter Eric Gorski is also moving to a different beat. All this isn’t making Mollie at Get Religion feel very optimistic about the future of religion reporting.

What a major change. I suppose it is good, in both Paulson’s and Gorski’s cases that they will be moving to new positions with an eye toward the importance of religion coverage. If only we could put former religion beat pros throughout every paper. Still, I have to agree with what another Godbeat pro said about the changes — that they’re “devastating to Godreporting.”

I suppose you can insert my now-standard “this is why we need a robust Pagan-grown journalism” speech, but I’ll save it for Pantheacon and PSG (though I will still throw in a link to the Pagan Newswire Collective, because I can). In any case, it seems to be yet another sign of the incredible shrinking God-beat.

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

As we reach the close of 2009, it is time to stop for a moment and take stock of the previous year. When you look at (and for) news stories regarding modern Paganism (and related topics) every day of the year, you can sometimes lose focus on the larger picture. So it can be a helpful thing to look at the broad strokes, the bigger themes, the events and developments that will have lasting impact on the modern Pagan movement. What follows are my picks for the top ten stories from this past year involving or affecting modern Pagans.

10. Counting (and not counting) the Pagans: Just as the Pew Forum’s 2008 U.S. Religious Landscape Survey gave us new insights into just how many Pagans there are in America, so too does the release of Trinity College’s American Religious Identification Survey data in March of this year. The ARIS survey, like the Pew Forum, showed that modern Pagan religions remain vital and growing.

“As you can see, ‘New Religious Movements and Other Religions’ packed on over a million adherents since 2001, and over 1.5 million in the last twenty years. That brings the total of “others” to nearly 3 million … Both Pew and ARIS give “other” faiths 1.2% of the (American) pie. That in turn seems to back up my earlier assertion that there are at least one million modern Pagans in America (probably more like 1.5 million), add in the over half-million UUs (around 20% of whom are “earth-based” or Pagan) close to a million practitioners of Santeria (in North America), and a few hundred thousand indigenous practitioners, and it seems clear that notions of our continued (slow and steady) growth aren’t unfounded.” in some respect),

Paganism’s healthy growth among the “others”, wasn’t the only survey or poll that was of interest. We also saw proof that America is far more religiously eclectic than some might have imagined, that quite a few Pagans are politically active, and that around half of Americans have heard of Wicca (and aren’t too impressed).

However, not all polling organizations thought Pagans (and other “others”) were worth counting.

“Why were “other” non-Christians not included? No Muslims, no Buddhists, no Pagans. Nothing. They must have that data, so why not release it with the rest? It can’t be simple numerical preferences since the recent ARIS data puts “NRMs and Other Religions” on par with religiously observant Jews and just behind the Mormons, two groups that were included in the released data. Is it down to political influence? I’ve sent a request to Gallup to release the “others” data, but haven’t received a response yet.”

Of course, if you want something done right, why not do it yourself? Pagan scholar Helen Berger, co-author of “Voices from the Pagan Census: A National Survey of Witches and Neo-Pagans in the United States”, along with fellow researchers James R. Lewis and Henrik Bogdan, revisited the Pagan Census project this year. I very much look forward to seeing what the updated data will say about our movement.

09. Modern Paganism Goes Global: Even though the emergence of modern Paganism is a well known story in places like Britain, America, and Australia, we saw this year that the modern Pagan impulse has become a truly global phenomenon. Receiving press attention in places like India, Israel, Russia, and South Africa, where an out Pagan serves as an MP.

“Meet Adrian Williams, the only pentacle-wearing witch in parliament. But the card-carrying ANC and South African Communist Party member, 43, from Mpumalanga has renounced the terms “witch” and “witchcraft” because he maintains the issue needs to be treated with sensitivity in South Africa. Williams practises “magick”, but calls himself a pagan or eclectic wiccan.”

As we move forward, we’ll need to start considering what it means that modern forms of Paganism are now truly “world” religions, and adjust our expectations and views of global events in light of that fact. Problems “over there” do affect us, because “we” are now “over there” too. In tomorrow’s top-five, we’ll explore some of the issues that a global Paganism faces, and what that may mean for us in interfaith settings.

08. Our Media Landscape and the Shifting Sands of Religious Journalism: The whole idea of a “top ten stories” list hinges on there being enough stories about modern Pagans to read and evaluate, and 2009 certainly made some wonder if that prospect might become harder in the near future. With the combination punch of an ascendant new-media and a lousy economy, lots of newspapers eliminated their religion beats (or shuttered completely), and some religion journalists anticipated the future being rather bleak.

“Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Michael Paulson called religion-beat reporters a “dwindling band” who have suffered a “serious reversal of fortune” compared to a decade ago. Meanwhile, veteran religion-reporter Gary Stern blogged about his paper eliminating the religion beat, and Mollie at Get Religion wondered how these shake-ups will change the way that blog analyzes religion reporting.”

What does that mean for us? It could mean a lot less attention being paid to Pagans on the ever-dwindling religion-beat. That could be a big problem for those of us who want to stay informed, because our Pagan-created sources of news have had a rough time of things this year as well.

“After the recent merger of PanGaia and newWitch into Witches & Pagans, and the announcement of Thorn magazine ceasing their print edition, I decided to take the temperature of various Pagan periodicals and the resulting picture is rather grim. Of the 32 periodicals listed at the Witches’ Voice, only a handful seem to still be active, operating on a regular publishing schedule, and dealing primarily with Pagan subject matter. Modern Witch Magazine is “out of publication” after one year and three issues, Witch Eye: A Journal of Feri Uprising promises to return in 2009, but the clock is quickly running out for that deadline, and the two best-known Pagan newspapers PagaNet and Widdershins have been out of commission for years.”

We all need to get our content from somewhere, and while the best blogs and podcasts have been doing more and more primary-source journalism, we face a major deficit of news and information if our community doesn’t pull together to pick up some of that slack.  Projects to address this issue are still in their infancy, and it will take a serious amount of collaboration and cooperation to see a robust and thriving Pagan journalism emerge from these troubled times.

07. Paganism in Pop-Culture, The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly: While serious news may be hurting, the past 12 months have been one of the biggest in recent memory for Pagan themes in popular media. There was the Wiccan-centric episode of “The Simpsons”, the (awful) Wiccan-centric episode of “The Mentalist”, Santeria on “CSI”, a maenad on “True Blood”, and we remained popular on a variety of reality television programs. Still, it wasn’t all awful on the little screen, Ken Burns’ “The National Parks: America’s Best Idea” was a beautiful endorsement of American-grown pantheistic nature religion.

“While the bulk of the twelve hours is spent recounting various grass-roots efforts and political struggles over park creation, almost the entire first episode is devoted to the spiritual dimension of nature (called, appropriately enough, “The Scripture of Nature”). Briefly referencing the influence of works by Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau, Burns makes ground-breaking naturalist and preservationist John Muir the centerpiece. “National Parks” clearly illustrates how his unique brand of Christian-colored pantheism (along with a keen scientific mind) would go on to inspire many, including President Theodore Roosevelt, to preserve vast swathes of American wilderness. The early episodes also take care to mention Native American spiritual and political perspectives, and extensively interviews National Parks superintendent, and Mandan-Hidatsa Indian, Gerard Baker (who says that John Muir would have made a good Medicine Man).”

Meanwhile, on the big screen, most of the big news were about films that we won’t see until 2010. There was news of the long-awaited companion/sequel to “The Wicker Man”, entitled “The Wicker Tree”, that is now filming. The film “Agora”, about the famous Neoplatonist philosopher Hypatia of Alexandria, was adrift looking for an American distributor for months despite positive box office and reviews in Europe. Many thought it was because distributors were worried it might offend Christians. In addition, two upcoming Greek-myth-drenched films “Clash of the Titans” and “Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief” may make 2010 the year of pop-polytheism.

2009, however, seems to be the year of rampant Hollywood pantheism according to the various conservative critics who saw the blockbuster “Avatar”.

“So I guess the conservative intelligentsia has spoken (David Brooks must not have gotten the memo). Pantheism is bad, Hollywood is bad, Americans are foolish eclectic-syncretic Eckhart Tolle-reading dupes who love pantheism, and we (and our souls) are all in big (I assume) trouble. Of course this reading of Hollywood’s output is a tad skewed, and relies on a rather scatter-shot selection of films (“Dances With Wolves”, Disney’s “Pocahontas” and “The Lion King”, “Star Wars”, and, well, “Fern Gully”, I guess) to convince us that pantheism is the with-it thing in Hollywood and beyond. But it just doesn’t seem to line up as well as they seem to think it does.”

I can only imagine that my 2010 round-up will be even more full of surprises, disappointments, and opportunities than 2009. Oh, and speaking of pagan-ish pop-culture in 2009, some guy named Dan Brown released a book about Masons, it also made some conservatives unhappy.

06. Equal Treatment at Work and School, and the Litigation that Follows: This year has seen a lot of high-profile cases of discrimination (and alleged discrimination) of Pagans in the news. You had the Witch who was fired from the University of Nebraska receive a settlement, the Bath & Body Works manager who was fired for making a pilgrimage to Salem, and a Pagan employee of Google who claims he was mocked and fired for his faith. In addition to those cases, you had the school child who was accused of threatening demon possession, though the parent was not allowed to examine the evidence.

“Denise DeSadier was not allowed to read the accusations made against her son that got him suspended, and their veracity was seemingly never questioned by the principle (who assured a reporter from the local college paper that the matter was investigated fully) . Further, Shaun was forced to undergo an evaluation of his mental stability before being allowed to return to class, and this incident was placed in his permanent record, marking him as some sort of potential safety risk. Short of pursuing a lawsuit against the school, or dropping out altogether, there is no recourse for these accusations that have marred Shaun’s record.  Wishing only to finish high-school and move on to college, Shaun has jumped through the necessary hoops, and wants to move on with his life.”

In our search for equal treatment, in our slow integration into the mainstream, there will be those who want to destroy lives simply for being different. Who will use our litigation victories as a pretext to fan the populist flames to further their own careers. But I think these cases, disturbing as some of them are, are a sign of progress. That they highlight just how far we’ve come, a place where the ACLU readily fights for us, where our standing as “real religions” are usually taken as a given. We’ll no doubt see more cases like this in 2010, but I also think we’ll see fewer than 2009, and we’ll see even more victories establishing our equal protection and equal treatment under the law. These cases are big news, but I think we’ll see a day where they are truly rare.

Tomorrow I will post the top five Pagan stories for 2009. In the meantime, I invite you to check out the top religion stories from some different perspectives. Here are the Religion Newswriters Association’s picks, the top 10 from Time, the top 10 from The Telegraph, US News and World Report, and the Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Freedom.

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

The city of Euless has had its request for a rehearing in federal appeals court over the matter of animal sacrifice rejected.

“A federal appeals court has rejected Euless’ request for a rehearing on a decision that paves the way for a Santeria priest to resume sacrificing animals in his home during religious ceremonies. Jose Merced sued Euless, saying his First Amendment religious freedoms were violated when the city banned him from slaughtering goats in 2006. The city contended that such sacrifices jeopardized public health and violated slaughterhouse and animal-cruelty ordinances.”

Short of an appeal to the Supreme Court, which Euless seems to be considering, this case is done. If it does go to the Supreme Court, and Merced wins again, it could affect animal slaughter laws across the country. Clearing the way for religions like Santeria to sacrifice animals at their rites largely free from the threat of arrest or harassment. To read all my coverage of this case, click here.

At The Nation Max Blumenthal publishes an excerpt from his forthcoming book that concerns the tragic case of Matthew Murray, a deeply disturbed young man who took a gun to a Youth With A Mission missionary training center and opened fire, killing four, then himself. Blumenthal tells how Murray grew up indoctrinated and abused by his charismatic Pentecostal parents, and how his attempts to break free of their programming led him first to the teachings of Aleister Crowley, then to drug abuse, and ultimately to a complete breakdown that led to the tragic shootings.

“Murray had been indoctrinated so thoroughly into charismatic Pentecostal culture, however, that even while he railed against his religious upbringing, he could not abandon his ingrained attraction to religiosity. So instead of fleeing hardcore Christian culture for secular humanism, a natural position for jaded skeptics like him, he traded his former faith for Crowley’s occultism. Crowley’s philosophy of sex “magick,” narcotic hallucination, and self-degradation (he allegedly ordered his followers to have oral sex with goats and drink the blood of cats) was forged in reaction to his parents’ Puritanism and, in fact, was first practiced in English boarding schools, where homosexual experimentation was practically de rigueur. Crowley became Murray’s new lodestar. Like Jesus, who was so impressed by the ardor of a pagan Roman centurion whom he met that he remarked, “I have not found such great faith, even in Israel,” Murray yearned for spiritual practice in its purest form. Now he practiced Crowley’s faux faith as fervently as his parents wished he had worshipped their neo-evangelical macho Christ. But the occult only led Murray into a confusing new world of cheap thrills.”

I find it interesting that Blumenthal, in damning extremist Christianity, feels the need to misrepresent Aleister Crowley, and by implication, to insult anyone who leaves Christianity for an occult practice instead of the “natural” choice of secular humanism. He ultimately blames an abusive Christian upbringing for Murray’s descent into madness, and rightfully criticizes attempts of Christian apologists to paint this as an “occult” or “Satanic” attack, but couldn’t avoid his own preconceived notions concerning what the O.T.O. and the philosophies of Aleister Crowley are truly about. In his failure to hide his disdain for an occult practice he doesn’t understand, to paint it as a sign of illness, he sounds more like the Christians he criticizes than he would most likely care to admit.

SF Gate’s In Marin blog profies Cerridwen Fallingstar on the publication of her new book “White as Bone Red as Blood, The Fox Sorceress”, a book that is “based” on Fallingstar’s past life in 12th century Japan.

“The first book, which was released in 1990, was based on Cerridwen’s past life as a Scottish witch in 16th-century Scotland.   It took a full fifteen years before she released her current book, White as Bone, a compelling read about a sorceress in the royal palace in Japan during the mid-1100s. Why so long? Cerridwen says it takes a long time to cultivate the memories and even longer to do the research.  She says she is able to enter a trance, summon the memories and put them to tape. After transcribing them, she’ll research them by conventional means; by reading as much as she can find on that particular time in history, and by visiting the locales.”

Will this new book find favor within the Pagan community? Are past-life accounts still popular, or have we grown more skeptical of such things in the twenty years since Fallingstar’s last book? I guess we’ll find out. In the meantime, if you want to find out more about Cerridwen Fallingstar and order a copy of the book, click here.

The Odinist group that was kicked out of a public park in Bakersfield, California say they are filing a lawsuit with the ACLU against the North of the River Parks and Recreation Department.

“Roger Perez, NOR public relations director, said, “I believe there was a claim that the religion was being disrespected, and we take those types of claims seriously. But in our internal investigation, that wasn’t believed to have been said, was not said, by our deputy. And unfortunately, I think it just got blown out of proportion.” But the Odinists were not satisfied. They began the process to file a civil lawsuit with the ACLU which is considering whether to take the case.”

So it looks like this one will most likely be going to court. The KERO 23 story also includes the two 911 calls from neighbors that brought the police to the scene, one of which sounds confused about what exactly is going on, and another that alleges they were shouting “white power” to non-white passerby. The Odinist group has denied that they are a racist organization.

In a final note, with Autumn on its way we are quickly approaching the Halloween/Samhain season, and that means reality television programs are skulking about Salem looking for a willing Witchy participant. This time the  snarky fashion show “What Not to Wear” (on the increasingly misnamed TLC network) has its sights set on Salem shop co-owner Leanne Marrama.

“TV fashion gurus Stacy London and Clinton Kelly were in Salem filming an episode of their show, in which they stage weekly style interventions on a victim of bad fashion. Leanne Marrama, a member of Salem’s witch community, was in their sights yesterday. Dressed in a black gown with wide lacy sleeves, a black corset, black combat boots and a black purse with a skull, Marrama is set for a complete fashion, hair and makeup makeover.”

Also in the program will be Marrama’s friend and business associate Christian Day. While I’m sure many Pagans in New England have at times wished the more flamboyant Salem Witches would get a makeover, I don’t think this is what they had in mind. Shows like this aren’t laughing with us, they are producing content so that people can laugh at us (not to mention imposing a more rigid idea of “normalcy” concerning dress and appearance).

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

One of the unique things about the modern Pagan movement in North America is that because it is spread across the country adherents can encounter a variety of reactions to their chosen faith. For instance, in Odessa, Texas, local Pagans feel the need for secrecy, giving anonymous interviews and working to dispel old stereotypes.

Aratkis and Foxfire said pagans tend to keep their beliefs under the rug where society cannot see them, lest they be treated like pariahs. “A lot of times they’re afraid of us – you know, we ‘worship the devil’ – but we don’t worship the devil,” Foxfire said. “We don’t sacrifice animals to small children. A lot of that is TV.” … “You go up north, and they are having huge pagan festivals with thousands of people,” Foxfire said. “Down in the Bible Belt here, a lot of people practice, but they do it privately.”

Meanwhile, way up north in Canada, Pagans are less anonymous, but immature reporters are disappointed when they aren’t bombarded by Pagans engaging in some sort of imaginary Harry Potter-esque version of Wicca.

“When I first visited Chinatown’s Fan Tan Alley, I half expected the tiny, foreboding laneway to require a certain stone-tapping entrance ritual, akin to that of Harry Potter’s Diagon Alley. OK, OK, fine, I admit it. I didn’t “half expect” it to ask for a magical pass code — I totally hoped it would.”

It is perhaps one of the truly disconcerting things about being a Pagan here, in some places they would try to drive you out, and in others they are trying to recruit you for reality television shows.

“I am a casting producer for ABC’s “Wife Swap” and we are looking to feature a Wiccan or Pagan family on the show. If you are interested or know someone that might be interested in the following opportunity, I’d love to hear from you.”

Then again, considering how reality television treats modern Pagans, maybe those differences aren’t so vast. But to return to my point, which is that the “mainstreaming” or “normalization” (for lack of a better term) of modern Paganism varies wildly depending on your geography. As impatient as I sometimes feel reading yet another rote “meet the Pagans” article in some local paper, I understand that these pieces do serve a purpose and are important in places like Odessa, Texas (less so in Victoria). Those of us who live in a Pagan-rich and tolerant community can often forget that our experiences aren’t repeated everywhere. That said, no matter how desperate you are to push us into the mainstream stay away from reality television, they’ll just make you look like an idiot. Seriously.

I think I have been more than clear concerning my views on reality television. Far too often naive (or greedy) Pagans have been exploited in this sensationalist and bottom-feeding genre, providing snarky laughs to a growingly cynical audience. However, I’m not blind to nuance, and realize there is some difference between horrid shows like “Wife Swap” and generally harmless fare like “The Amazing Race”. So having said that, I’d like to pass along information (that was passed along to me from Peg Aloi)  that the MTV documentary series True Life is looking for Wiccan teens and young adults (aged 14-25) for an upcoming episode.

…we are casting for an upcoming episode of the award-winning series True Life. For this episode, we are looking for people who are in the process of converting to Wicca, or who have recently converted.  We are focusing on how parents deal with these changes, and how it affects relationships. People should email their situations to Parents@mtvnmix.com with their name, age, location, phone number, and recent photo of themselves I would really appreciate it.

If you are selected it looks like you’ll be worked into an upcoming episode entitled “I’m Clashing With My Parents”.

Are you clashing with your parents? Going against their wishes? Defying them even? Are you an Americanized teen growing up in a household with immigrant parents whose conservative cultural values are at odds with your modern viewpoints and lifestyle? Perhaps your religious beliefs are setting you and your parents at odds. Are you abandoning the beliefs they instilled in you as a child? Or is your deepening passion for faith and religion concerning your more secular-leaning parents? Maybe the conflict between you and your parents is a classic old disagreement over the guy or girl you’re dating. If you’re personally living through any of these scenarios, or an equally compelling conflict with your mother & father, we’d like to hear from you. MTV is working on a new episode of “True Life” that will explore the impact on young adults, and their families, when grown children challenge their upbringing and defy their parents.

If that sounds like a program you’d like to be a part of, be my guest. But caveat emptor: while True Life has tackled serious subject matters and won some awards for their work, they also have a suspiciously high number of programs that deal with nudity, partying, the sex industry, porn, people wanting more sex, and people who’ll do anything for money. So this isn’t a serious sit-down with PBS, don’t be surprised if things get edited to be more dramatic than they really are.

An announcement has come forth that Rev. Kendra Vaughan Hovey, elder high priestess of Duxbury’s First Church of Wicca, and star (along with her family) of the reality television program “My Unique Family”, has converted to (some form of) Christianity and is opening a new church. In a letter sent to members of the church (thanks to Kat for forwarding it to me), Hovey takes time to explain her conversion from Wicca, pointing out her former faith’s (perceived) shortcomings.

I have come to see the serious failings of the Wiccan faith. A major problem with the faith is that there is no unity among the followers of the faith which makes it very challenging to define exactly what Wiccans do and do not believe in. Wiccans have a very open “do what you will” or “live and let live” perspective in life which very easily can cause harm to oneself and others without one actually knowing it until it is much too late. Additionally, there is no unified moral code of ethics. This puts up huge red flags for society-at-large because no one can really be quite sure of what any group’s intentions are. Society would have no way of knowing, for example, if you are a Wiccan that practices the Great Rite or polyamory, to name only two examples. Also, they would have no way of knowing just what “Do what ye will and harm none” means, and quite frankly, neither does each individual Wiccan. We are left to make moral and ethical decisions for ourselves rather than realizing that by human nature we are going to do anything that feels good to us, not what is best for us, and also not necessarily what is best for society as a whole. This makes for a very dangerous and faulty moral code of ethics. In addition, Wicca teaches primarily about how we can change the world and have all that we want. Spells, magick, etc. all prove to cause us to think selfishly instead of putting others before ourselves and more importantly instead of putting God before anyone else, including ourselves. It is very understandable that one would be close to nature and the earth, as well as, feel a need to call “God” the “God and Goddess;” however, the actual rote and complicated spells involved in Wicca can prove to be a huge distraction in one’s spiritual growth. We do not need all of the “ritual things” in order to have a relationship with God – all we need is a sincere and thankful heart.

While I respect the decision of any Pagan to leave for a faith or philosophy that better suits them, Hovey’s little rant to her followers seems to point to someone who wanted Wicca to be something other than it was, and didn’t really understand (or want to understand) the theology, morality, and practice of modern Paganism as it is. Perhaps her desire to shoehorn Wiccan practice into a congregationalist model, complete with sermons on Sunday and clerical collars, bespoke a long-standing desire to fully embrace Christianity. Now that she’s moved on, her new church is aiming to heal the wounds of “inequity from past religions”.

…helping people heal from their experiences of inequity from past religions and religious institutions, using Jesus Christ and his teachings in the Bible as the foundation of how to have a meaningful relationship with God, as well as, holistic health of mind, body, and soul.

Again, I wish Ms. Hovey well in her conversion and ministry, too bad her healing journey towards Christ had to begin by misrepresenting and bad-mouthing her former faith. She’ll no doubt be far happier in her new role, though I doubt it will get her the attention she sought while running a Wiccan church.

As we get closer to Halloween, Witch-themed media becomes a more and more popular subject for television programmers. We already know about the upcoming Salem-themed episode of “Opportunity Knocks” featuring Laurie “Official Witch of Salem” Cabot, but now cable television will be getting into the act. The Biography channel will be airing a special on Witches (ancient and modern) on October 30th (part of their October “Boo-ography” promotion).

Witness the disembodied floating head of Silver! Spooky!

According to Llewellyn Worldwide publicist Jennifer Spees, the show will be “an exploration of witchcraft from medieval times through the present”, and feature interviews with Christopher Penczak, Stefani “Spiral” Barner, and Silver Ravenwolf. It isn’t known at this point who else the Biography team interviewed, but it has been confirmed that they visited Salem (naturally), so it wouldn’t be too surprising to see Laurie Cabot or Christian Day pop up as well. I’ll refrain from speculating on what the sensationalism/accuracy ratio will be.

For those wanting to see some real live Witches on the big screen, you might want to head over to the 15th Annual Chicago Underground Film Festival, and check out the Midwest premiere of the documentary “Hoopeston” (screening, coincidentally, on October 30th). The film, directed by Thomas Bender, looks at the struggling town of Hoopeston, Illinois, and the conflicts that emerged when Witch School (and the Correllian Tradition that runs it) moved in (check out my original post on this documentary).

Hoopeston – Trailer from Synydyne on Vimeo.

“Witches will come out a day early this year. “Hoopeston,” a feature-length documentary about an Illinois town and its Witch School, will play in the Chicago Underground Film Festival on October 30, the night before Halloween. Produced by SYNYDYNE, “Hoopeston” tells the story of the former Sweet Corn Capital of the World through the lives of its residents: a laborer struggles to find work, a young entrepreneur buys the only motel in town, the police chief battles a drug epidemic, and the Correllian Chancellor lays plans for a vast Crystal Web. The film balances the stark beauty of rural Illinois with candid and moving interviews from a variety of subjects. It features an original score by composer Todd Mazierski.”

After the Midwest premiere, Synydyne will start selling DVDs of the film. They have a mailing list you can sign up for to be notified when copies are available. As for the Witch School folks, they’ll be in Salem teaching free classes through November 1st.

So whether you want to attend a movie out (in the greater Chicagoland area), or stay inside and curl up on your couch (if you have cable television), you’ll be able to gage how far forward (or back) depictions of modern Pagans have come since the days of fog-machines, strobe lighting, and the morning talk-show circuit. Happy viewing!

The new game show “Opportunity Knocks” premiers tonight on ABC, and an upcoming episode will feature a segment where contestants will have to pick “which Witch is a Witch”. Why? Because the traveling game show was shooting in Salem.

Laurie Cabot

“Laurie Cabot took the stage with three witch imposters during a taping of a new TV game show in Salem Saturday night. They billed the segment “Which Witch is a Witch?” An ABC TV crew comes to Salem close to Halloween and sets up a stage in the middle of the Witchcraft Heights neighborhood. Of course, there would be a witch question.”

Considering how (in)famous Laurie “official Witch of Salem” Cabot is in Salem, it was probably an easy question to answer. I can’t wait to see how the “ringers” were dressed. No doubt this particular episode will be airing sometime in October.

Speaking of Laurie Cabot, she is apparently fending off some controversy after unintentionally posting some alarmist information concerning the Large Hadron Collider. It seems her assistant was having problems with Google that day.

“I wanted people to be informed about the experiments and sadly what we ended up posting was a very one sided alarmist position which was not what I intended and Google was not our friend this day either with the links it provided to my assistant.”

Meanwhile Cabot’s tradition (“The Cabot Tradition”) has initiated author Christopher Penczak and Sully “lead singer of Godsmack” Erna into their priesthood. I don’t know if they have formally changed their names, but the site now lists them as “Christopher Cabot Penczak” and “Sully Cabot Erna”. So congratulations to both of them.

A wise man once said that there is a sucker born every minute. How else to describe the phenomenon of people eagerly lining up to be demeaned on reality television shows? I guess the promise of easy money and a fleeting amount of infamy is too much for some people to deny. Doubly saddening for me is those who place their faith up for mockery, abuse, and exploitation. It seems like madness. How else to describe the new UK television show “Make Me A Christian”?

“The Reverend George Hargreaves thinks Britain is in a state of moral decline and that a return to a more ‘Christian’ way of life would stop the rot. He and his team of mentors aim to show how by convincing a group of non-Christian volunteers to live by the teachings of the Bible for three weeks. In this three-part series, a group of volunteers from around Leeds in West Yorkshire give up their normal lives and attempt to live like Christians for three weeks.”

If you guessed they found a Witch (or at least a reasonable facsimile thereof) to be involved in this farce, you would be correct.

Take Fay, the occult lapdancer. George takes one look at her lifestyle (spangly bras and tarot cards) and announces she’s “on a trajectory to hell”. Sobbing, Fay slinks away to her boyfriend’s house for a few days of comforting. When she emerges later, George bollocks her for having sex outside marriage. “While the world might call it ‘making love’,” he says, “the Bible calls it fornication.”

No prizes for guessing what George “founder of The Christian Party” Hargreaves does with her “occult” possessions.

“The lap-dancing manager is discovered to have more than a passing interest in witchcraft and magic – her books and ceremonial paraphernalia are taken away.”

Shocking, of course, but I try to remember that Fay willingly signed up for this indoctrination boot-camp. One wonders how far Witches and Pagans have to go down this road before we collectively realize how toxic these programs are and refuse to be the playthings of television producers. As for the “Christians” involved, it seems that their savior isn’t Jesus Christ, but Mammon. Their pride and vanity ensures that this is the only reward they shall receive.

Speaking of Witches and reality television, Australian show “The One: The Search for Australia’s Most Gifted Psychic” has picked a “winner”.

“Charmaine Wilson edged out Ezio De Angelis and Amanda Rousetty to take out the prize which was decided by audience vote. She promised to represent the spirit world and the psychic community as best she can.”

The Witch contestant, Shé D’Montford, didn’t make it to the final round. Perhaps the gods were sending a message? You can listen to interviews with all the contestants, and the judges, at the Ghost Radio site.

Hard to believe its been nearly a year since I had to post about modern Pagans appearing in a trashy reality television program! I should have known that the siren-call of money and fame/infamy would be too much for some in our extended community to miss. This time its an Australian program entitled “The One: The Search for Australia’s Most Gifted Psychic”, a game show/reality television program in the vein of “America’s Got Talent” or “Hell’s Kitchen”, only with psychics.

The host and contestants of “The One”.

“English statutes against witchcraft were repealed in 1736 and public executions are no longer sanctioned as entertainment, at least not in Australia, but Channel Seven has devised an alternative ordeal – a televised quest for Australia’s top psychic. Seven contestants – mediums, psychics, clairvoyants, a “medical intuitive” and a witch – undergo tests to prove their paranormal abilities. They have to find a lost boy in the bush with a bit of help from his teddy, examine memorabilia from celebrities and deduce who they belong to, and find contraband inside a shipping container.”

So this spoon-bending Survivor already has one Witch as a contestant, but we get a double-dose this time around, because one of the two judges is a Witch too!

“Using the good cop-bad cop formula loved by reality TV, two judges – Richard Saunders, vice-president of the Australian Skeptics, and Stacey Demarco, a practising witch and author – decide each week who stays or goes until three contestants are left. The winner will be chosen by a public vote … Stacey Demarco, who teaches metaphysics and has written books on how to apply witchcraft in the boardroom and the bedroom, is the believing panellist. “I’m a rational type of expert, I’m not the purple tie-dye type of witch. I just want people to come into this with a really open mind. It’s not a circus act or an act of any kind. “The contestants are normal people, they’ve got husbands, wife, kids, pets, a house in the suburbs and they are considered weirdos, freaks, satanists just because they have these abilities.” Only a couple of episodes have been shot but, Demarco says, the show lives up to its billing that it will make “hairs stand up on end”.”

So who is Stacey Demarco? Well, she authored two books for Llewellyn, “Witch in the Bedroom: Proven Sensual Magic”, and “Witch in the Boardroom: Proven Business Magic”, was initiated as a solitary Witch (though I’m not sure what she means by that), and has a background in PR and marketing (which most likely explains how she got this gig). Demarco’s role marks something of a step up for Pagans in reality television, from mere entertainment fodder to playing a role in the selection/elimination process. Of course the larger question is if modern Pagans should be participating in the vapid, soulless, and cheapening reality television market in the first place.

While shows like “Wife Swap” and its ilk have portrayed Wicca and modern Paganism as bizarre lifestyle choices (instead of, say, a serious religious faith), “The One” will most likely portray Witchcraft as an enhancement/byproduct of possessing psychic powers (though I suppose I could live in hope…). Neither of these approaches does much to broadcast an accurate picture of our family of faiths, or give insight into the fact that we worship multiple gods, have our own holidays, and are (generally speaking) rather pedestrian in our lifestyle choices and attitudes. The saddest thing is that every time our faiths get run into the ground on one of these programs, there is always another Witch or Pagan out there who thinks “I’ll be different”. To them I say, no one is more powerful than the video editors, those great powers who decide which of your words to emphasize, and actions to highlight.

I suppose there is always the chance that this program will be different. But I’ve been down this road before, and don’t hold out too much hope that our faiths won’t be trivialized for the sake of entertainment. To my readers in Australia, keep an eye on this show (which premieres on Tuesday) and fill me in on how it is. Who knows, maybe we’ll all get lucky for a change.