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

Looks like all is not happy in the land of the Cabot Witches, it seems that Laurie “Official Witch of Salem” Cabot accused her daughter Jody Cabot (also a Witch) of forging a check in her name two years ago. A restitution agreement was made, but due to non-compliance and failing to appear in court, a bench warrant was issued for her arrest.

“Last year, Jody Cabot was granted a general continuance in the case on the condition that she pay restitution of $1,328 to her elderly mother. Had she done that, the charges would have been dismissed. But earlier this year, Jody Cabot defaulted on the agreement and the case was put back on the court’s docket, where it was heading for trial. Attorney Steve Reardon tried to convince Judge Richard Mori not to issue a warrant for his client, saying she had stayed home because she had a severe headache that was a result of a past head injury.”

However, this tale doesn’t end in tragedy, Jody Cabot went to court the next day and thanks to her mother’s current reluctance to testify against her daughter a new plea agreement was made. According to reports Jody, as her mother has in the past, appeared in “traditional witch garb” for the hearing. Now that this unpleasantness is done with for the moment, lets remember Jody from (seemingly) happier times when she posed for pictures with sister Penny (taken by photographer Stephen Muskie).

Two teenage female ringleaders of a racist gang accused of orchestrating a spate of brutal attacks against non-Slavic foreigners were sentenced to jail terms of up to ten years. The gang is believed to be an offshoot of a Slavic Pagan group called “Native Belief”, a group accused of bombing a McDonalds and murdering several people.

“The verdicts were the latest convictions of young people for racist attacks in Russia and come amid growing concern over the frequency of attacks on non-Slavic foreigners in the country. The presumed ringleaders, Yevgenia Zhikhareva – a 17-year-old girl linked to pagan sects that worshipped ancient Slavic gods – and Ilya Shutko, 19, were jailed for eight and 10 years respectively, Russian news agencies reported … Zhikhareva is also suspected of involvement in a series of blasts in Moscow between 2008-09, including at a branch of US fast food chain McDonalds, carried out by a pagan group calling itself ‘Native Belief.’ The gang members were accused of carrying out up to four attempted murders and one actual murder of citizens of China, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan between February 12 and March 7, 2008.”

Sadly there is a strong undercurrent of racism and antisemitism within some Slavic Pagans groups, though that isn’t  universally true. However, it seems that the groups who do espouse racism are becoming increasingly strident and violent. No doubt economic hardship and social upheaval have much to do with this development, but these excuses don’t justify distorting pre-Christian beliefs for racist political causes.

Religion Dispatches brings us two interesting articles on African diasporic faiths, starting with an interview with sociologist Salvador Vidal-Ortiz concerning the recent animal sacrifice court victory for Santero Jose Merced, the place made for gays and lesbians within Santeria, and how perceptions of Santeria are (slowly) evolving in America.

“Generally speaking, when we are talking about racial and ethnic minorities, the United States’ racial (and racist) system tends to find much of what is non-white “suspicious.” That’s why Santería continues to be categorized as a cult by some, and why the media usually frame practitioners as somehow “criminal” in the coverage we see in the news. That tendency is mirrored in entertainment media. For at least the past two decades, portrayals of Santería practitioners in movies and television shows have resisted the opportunity to represent them as religious people and focused instead on Santería as a hypersexual space, recalling earlier representations of Africans as savages. That does seem to be changing, at least incrementally.”

Then, religion scholar Michelle Gonzalez Maldonado takes possession of a Vodou doll/poppet that had several seemingly rational faculty members at her university seriously spooked.

“The doll who sits in my office is not the type of doll you stick needles in. I am not even sure he is a Vodou doll. And yet, his black cloth skin and his scarf evoked feelings of fear and mistrust among a group of university professors. The mythology of evil surrounding Vodou, surrounding black religion, remains. I have nestled him between an image of the Mayan god Maximon and an image of the Yoruban orisha Bablú Ayé. I decided he would feel at home with other marginalized and often misinterpreted religious figures. He has been with me now for twenty-four hours. I am happy to say, as a type this reflection, that my computer is working fine.”

A simple rule to remember is that most mysterious dolls aren’t actually magical poppets, and even if they were, not every poppet is aimed at you. If it were simply some child’s toy I’m glad it ended up on her shelf, where it could be reclaimed some day, and not buried in a hole with rum and gunpowder as on faculty member suggested.

The Taliban are now targeting the Kalash in Pakistan, Indo-European pagans believed by some to be descended from a commingling of Alexander the Great’s army and local peoples, who have survived in prominently Muslim areas thanks to living in remote valleys. Now, an outsider who had been raising money for the Kalash has been kidnapped.

“While Sikhs, Hindus, and Christians were slowly driven out of Pakistan’s North West Frontier Province by Muslim militants, the Kalash were free to drink their own distilled spirits and smoke cannabis. But the militant maulanas of the Taliban have finally caught up with them and declared war on their culture and heritage by kidnapping their most devoted supporter. Taliban commanders have taken Professor Athanasion Larounis, a Greek aid worker who has generated £2.5 million in donations to build schools, clinics, clean water projects and a museum. They are now demanding £1.25 million and the release of three militant leaders in exchange for his safe return.”

I don’t know if this is a sign of desperation on the part of the Taliban in Pakistan, or simply an escalation in their fervor to eliminate any group that theologically deviates from their extremist form of monotheism (or maybe both). Kalash leaders are attempting to negotiate a release, and it remains to be seen what the government of Pakistan can really do to help, especially amidst recent accusations that the government’s spy organization can’t disentangle itself from the Taliban and that US aid money has been going towards anti-Indian defenses.

In a final note, Boing Boing reports on a legal ruling that may make some Pagan festival/event organizers rest easier.

“The California Supreme Court has denied the appeal of Anthony Beninati, the Los Angeles real estate manager who unsuccessfully sued Burning Man organizers for failing to restrain him from walking into a fire.”

So if some idiot waltzes, jumps, or walks into a fire-pit, you aren’t liable for their stupidity concerning “obvious dangers”.

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

There’s good journalism and bad journalism, and then there are articles that simply bend your brain with how astoundingly far they travel from the fields of acceptable news-gathering. Tell me good readers, what comes into your mind when you read the following sentence.

“A Voodoo priest who was linked to the death of a young woman is coming to Wales to preach about his bizarre “religion”.”

That sounds horrible! Some woman-killing Voodoo priest teaching his “bizarre” faith in Wales?!?  But wait, there’s more…

“Wales on Sunday can reveal that mysterious Hector Salva – who compares voodoo to Catholicism – will be in Cardiff later this month to hold secret meetings about his faith.”

Secret meetings! Oh no! We have to… wait a second… did you say “Hector Salva”? I know that name.

“Authorities are awaiting results of a toxicology test to determine the cause and manner of Hamilton’s death, which has not been deemed suspicious. No charges have been filed, and Salva, who goes by “Houngan Hector,” said he is “100 percent confident” there was no wrongdoing on his part. Salva, soft-spoken and polite with a constant smile, said that no drugs were involved in the spiritual cleansing called the Lave Tet, but that small amounts of rum sometimes are consumed. “Maybe a sip,” he said, but he added that Hamilton had “passed on the rum.” …  “She was happy, very positive,” he said. “She seemed very fine as far as everyone knew.” What happened about 11 p.m., Salva said, is the same scenario he told dispatchers during a frantic 9-1-1 call. “She was taking a nap and we woke her up to see if she was hungry, and she was nonresponsive,” he reiterated yesterday. “We kept calling her name and she wouldn’t respond.” The other participants in the ritual could not be reached for comment. Salva declined to provide their names.”

In fact, the Wales on Sunday piece does grudgingly admit later on in the piece that New Jersey Vodou practitioner Hector Salva isn’t under suspicion for the woman’s death, and that the meetings are “secret” because the organizers are worried about “religious fanatics” (ie Christian protesters) gate-crashing the event.

“No charges are expected to be brought against Salva and police say they are not treating it as suspicious. But neighbours of Salva – who converted to being a voodoo priest in Haiti in 2003 – said there were often strange smells and foreign chanting coming from the house. Now Salva, whose followers call by his spiritual name Hougoun Hector, will be arriving in Wales to hold three clandestine gatherings in which he will talk about his religion. The location is being kept secret, as the organisers are worried religious fanatics might turn up and gatecrash.”

Well, if there weren’t any Christians looking to infiltrate and protest before, they may well want to now thanks to this article. Andrew Dagnell should be ashamed of this piece, littered as it is with half-truths, distortions, and moral judgements. Frankly, this horrible little article is an affront to good journalism. Is Wales on Sunday a gossip tabloid to allow such things to run? If Salva or Baron’s Magic (the shop sponsoring the talks) runs into trouble we’ll know who will be on our list to “thank” for it.

UK women’s magazine Fabulous (a News of the World production) lets us know that Kabbalah (of the Madonna-practicing variety) is so out, and that “kooky, sexy, cool” Paganism is the “hot new religion”.

“Welcome to the world of paganism. Walk into any high-street bookshop and, alongside the usual chick-lit best-sellers, there’s another set of books flying off the shelves, all about how to find your inner witch. Yes, really. Hot on the heels of best-selling vampire saga Twilight and new US drama Eastwick, it seems all things weird are wonderful. Pagan culture has arrived in the 21st century – and young women are behind its growing popularity. Intrigued by its mystery and underlying sexuality, 20-somethings are converting in their droves, making paganism the UK’s fastest growing religion. According to the Office of National Statistics, there were 31,000 pagans living in the UK in 2001. Just eight years later, the Pagan Federation estimates there are now around 360,000.”

Fabulous goes on to interview three women (a Wiccan, a Celtic Pagan, and a practitioner of Vodou) about why they left more mainstream expression of religion for these “hot” belief systems, and they even interview “kooky, sexy, cool” British historian Ronald Hutton on why younger women are attracted to Pagan religions.

“As women become more empowered in their relationships and careers, they’ve begun to look for a set of beliefs that reflects this,” he says. “In paganism, women are given an equal role to men – and in some branches, they’re actually dominant. Women want a religion that empowers them.”

It is certainly true that young women in the UK are abandoning Christianity at a impressive rate, and that many of them are turning to Wicca and other forms of modern Paganism, but we’ll have to wait till the next census to see if modern Paganism is really the fastest-growing religon in Britain. In the meantime, we can all be assured that our faiths are the in thing to be, at least according to Fabulous magazine.

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

The BBC Radio 4 program “Beyond Belief” devoted yesterday’s program to Witchcraft, ancient and modern, complete with unnecessary links by the host to the latest Harry Potter film.

“Ernie Rea and guests discuss the beliefs underpinning witchcraft. Do modern witches have anything in common with their forebears? And, have the Harry Potter books and films inspired greater interest in the craft?”

Among those interviewed are Christina Oakley Harrington of Treadwell’s bookshop in London, who handled the rather salacious questions of Ernie Rea quite well. You can listen to the program online, here.

Over at the Washington Post’s “On Faith” blog, Pagan panelist Starhawk weighs in on Jimmy Carter’s recent stand against the religious justifications for discrimination against women, pointing out a basic assumption prevalent through much of modern Pagan thought.

“Why does it matter if women can hold positions of responsibility and leadership in spiritual and religious life and communities? Many years ago, Mary Daly wrote: “If God is male, then the male is god.” That which is sacred to us is what we most deeply value and care about. It sets the pattern for what we value, all down the line. So if our only images of the sacred are male, and all positions of spiritual authority are held by men only, inevitably women will be devalued.”

One of the great disconnects between women (and men) attracted to various forms of Paganisms and the patriarchal monotheisms is the role of women. Despite our many flaws, feminine conceptions of the divine aren’t placed into a subordinate (or non-existant) role, and women are given full access to positions of spiritual leadership. This assures us that while we may take an occasional misstep, the institutional discrimination and devaluing of women won’t be among them.

In an update to a story I mentioned on Saturday, the Vodou priest at the center of a mysterious death during a cleansing ritual breaks his silence and speaks to the press.

“Authorities are awaiting results of a toxicology test to determine the cause and manner of Hamilton’s death, which has not been deemed suspicious. No charges have been filed, and Salva, who goes by “Houngan Hector,” said he is “100 percent confident” there was no wrongdoing on his part. Salva, soft-spoken and polite with a constant smile, said that no drugs were involved in the spiritual cleansing called the Lave Tet, but that small amounts of rum sometimes are consumed. “Maybe a sip,” he said, but he added that Hamilton had “passed on the rum.” …  “She was happy, very positive,” he said. “She seemed very fine as far as everyone knew.” What happened about 11 p.m., Salva said, is the same scenario he told dispatchers during a frantic 9-1-1 call. “She was taking a nap and we woke her up to see if she was hungry, and she was nonresponsive,” he reiterated yesterday. “We kept calling her name and she wouldn’t respond.” The other participants in the ritual could not be reached for comment. Salva declined to provide their names.”

The report also says that Hector Salva did contact Lucie Marie Hamilton’s mother (something friends of Lucie criticized him for not doing), and sent flowers to her funeral. Due to the firestorm of press, and negative speculation from neighbors, Salva is moving out of his current home to a new location.

In a less serious update to a previous post, the folks at Wookey Hole caves in Somerset, England have found their new professional full-time witch, Carole “Carla Calamity” Bohanan.

In the end, the judges opted for 40-year-old estate agent Carole Bohanan, of Shepton Mallet, Somerset. She will resign from her job and go by the name of Carla Calamity. Carole – or Carla – said: “I am going to be a great witch. All it takes is a little bit of magic and a little pizzazz. It’s a natural progression from my old job as an estate agent. I have been using my witching skills to sell houses for a long time.”

Bohanan apparently won over judges with a song about Wookey Hole and throwing candy snakes to the audience. While many “real” Witches seemingly applied for the job (you can see some pictures, here), there is no official word on if “Carla Calamity” is “one of us” as it were.

In a final note, Louis A. Ruprecht at Religion Dispatches ponders the Christian roots of the New Age movement, specifically “The Aquarian Gospel of Jesus the Christ” by Levi H. Dowling. This 1908 publication set the stage for numerous trance-induced gospels to come and helped spark interest in the new idea of an “Age of Aquarius” to come.

“Among the papers Levi Dowling left at his death was one explaining his conviction that the Earth and our Sun were entering the Dispensation of Aquarius, a literal New Age. Aquarius is an air sign, he noted, and the triumphs of the twentieth century were destined to be aerial rather than watery. Think of the Wright Brothers; think of humanity’s first tentative steps into outer space.”

While the “New Age” is often thought to be something that smacks of Paganism (or Eastern mysticism), it’s good to remember that Christianity had a key role in the formation of the “New Thought”.

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

Now that I’ve safely arrived in the Pacific Northwest (the journey was only a little like this), unloaded my relocubes, and started the long and arduous process of unpacking my books, it’s time to resume my duties here at The Wild Hunt. I would first like to deeply thank all the wonderful folks who filled in at my blog while I was gone, they made my life much easier, and raised the bar for the writing on this blog in the process. I hope you’ll continue to follow their work at their own blogs and web sites. As for me, I’ve got a lot of catching up to do, it’s amazing how much Pagan news you can miss in eleven days. So here’s a quick catch-up of some news of note that emerged during my sojourn.

Professor Ronald Hutton (author of “Triumph of the Moon”), scholar of modern Witchcraft, Druidry, and the English ritual year, has been named a Commissioner of English Heritage.

“The Minister for Culture has appointed Professor Ronald Hutton as the historian to sit on the commission that governs English Heritage. The commission has overall charge of the affairs of the official national body concerned with heritage, and its members act as statutory advisors to the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport (and so effectively to the government) in all matters that involve the understanding and conservation of England’s past. As such, the appointment carries with it a broader responsibility of acting as an advocate for the importance of history in national life. It will commence in October and last for four years with the possibility of renewal.”

Pagans for Archeology called the news “fantastic” and a “well-deserved honour”. To have such a sympathetic voice for the modern Pagan movement advising the government on England’s heritage could change the existing dynamic over issues of access and preservation for sites like  Avebury and Stonehenge.

Speaking of Ronald Hutton, he makes a brief appearance in a preview for a new documentary about Druids (ancient and modern) produced by the Holistic Channel (no doubt to be re-edited soon for a History Channel program).

This, among other recent developments we’ll get to in a moment, have really peeved off a British academic blogger who calls for more discrimination of modern Pagans (they must, in his mind, prove themselves worthy of “respect”), and resorts to quite a bit of name-calling. He also describes Ronald Hutton as Paganism’s “brain in a jar”, excusing the rest of us from developing critical thinking skills. I personally think my “intellectual depth and rigour” is doing just fine.

Before we leave the isle of Britain, I would be amiss in not noting the fact that there are now enough Pagan police to necessitate the formation of a Pagan Police Association, complete with time off for the various high-holidays (oh, and two official Pagan chaplains serving officers on the force).

“Most recently, the Pagan Police Association has been created, allowing police officers to explore their beliefs with other officers. Alongside this, in some forces, officers are being allowed the opportunity to move away from traditional Christian holidays. In practice this means that Pagan officers, rather like those from more mainstream faiths, can take their holidays on the dates which support their beliefs.”

Not everyone is happy about this, but the growing prevalence of Paganism in Britain seems unavoidable lately. Even the Scottish government has more Pagan civil servants than it does Jews, Sikhs, or Hindus. Maybe the British soul really is Pagan.

Turning our eyes back to the USA, specifically Philadelphia, sensationalism seems almost unavoidable in the case of a trans-gendered woman who died while at a three-day Vodou cleansing ceremony in New Jersey. While no charges have been filed, and no apparent wrong-doing has yet been discovered (nor did any harm come to the six other clients undergoing the same process), that hasn’t stopped the press from airing requests from friends of the deceased for “accountability” from “Houngan Hector” over the matter.

“Her friends there say they want answers and an apology from Salva, who goes by the name “Houngan Hector” on his Gade Nou Leve Society Web site. “I’m certain no one meant to hurt anyone, but she was in their care and there has to be some accountability,” said Randi M. Romo, executive director of the Center for Artistic Revolution, a Little Rock-based nonprofit agency for which Hamilton worked as a youth counselor. “They haven’t even contacted her mother.” No one answered at the door of the Loch Lomond Drive townhouse yesterday, and Salva, who claims he was initiated as a senior priest in Haiti, did not respond to e-mails for comment.”

Considering they may not know why she died, going around and taking responsibility for her death seems a little premature. Plus, with the press running headlines like “Voodoo became a fatal obsession”, and the health department and child services being called on them, I doubt the residents of that house are feeling like opening up. I wonder, if tests reveal that this poor woman died of a brain aneurysm, heart defect, or some other natural cause that had nothing to do with Vodou, will the Philadelphia Daily News vindicate Houngan Hector, or simply move on?

In a final note, for years many Pagans have been trying to separate themselves from the “New Age” label, but in an increasingly shifting economy and world, it looks as if  some New Agers, like The Edge editor Tim Miejan, want that seperation to happen too (much to the chagrin of some).

“Miejan favors articles on stress reduction and spiritual quests … But even Miejan’s open mind sometimes snaps shut. Channelers — people possessed by spirits of the dead — are out. So is the belief that reptile-like aliens have taken over the bodies of celebrities, including Queen Elizabeth and — according to one Web site — former Minnesota U.S. Rep. Bill Luther. Paganism? Out. “I am not saying that because paganism offends anyone,” Miejan said. “But it is a complete niche by itself.” Other New Age leaders are appalled. “He is excluding channeling? Yikes. Or pagans? He should not be doing that,” said Kathy McGee, editor of the Washington-state-based magazine New Age Retailer.”

Call it a result of the Oprah-fication of the New Age section, it’s all about personal growth (and “The Secret”) now, not Atlantean masters or Pagan gods. Those who want to keep Pagans (and Chiropractors, and organic farmers) under the “New Age” rubric are probably more concerned about a shrinking pool of markets to target, rather than if we truly belong with the newly-mainstreamed gurus of self-actualization.

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

The downside to being in a faith that avoids public scrutiny is that the paranoid and the gullible will often ascribe dark and evil motives to your actions, invent lurid details while describing your rites, and cause law enforcement and journalists to engage in a distorted religious/ethnic profiling when investigating crimes. Such is the case with Afro-Carribean/African diasporic faiths like Santeria/Lukumi, Haitain Vodou, and Palo. Regularly misrepresented in the press, assorted crimes and misdeeds are often attributed to them incorrectly, even when far more mundane scenarios are likely. This isn’t to say that adherents to these faiths are immune from committing horrible acts, only that there is a huge imbalance in the way they are depicted and treated.

“…it is perhaps reasonable to be reminded of the view held by American Protestant missionaries who performed their evangelizing work in Cuba at the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th. That is because this has to do with perceptions that have themselves been recycled to the margin of the numerous and deep cultural changes experienced by the US society since then. For these people this involves “satanic cults,” “demon worship” and atavistic and savage African practices, perceptions that originated in the “civilizing mission” of the white man and, ultimately, in racism and the disparagement of that which is different.”

That imbalance is on display once more, and the press seems to revel in the sensationalism and conclusion-jumping that comes with possible crimes committed by members of these diasporic faiths. For instance, the case of three adults who were arrested for endangering the welfare of a 7-year-old child (one of those adults is the mother) after she was allegedly cut, stripped,  and “forced” to watch animal sacrifices.

“Investigators arrested two people who live there — Julio and Zahira Cano — and another woman — Yenitza Colichon — for allegedly cutting Colichon’s seven-year-old daughter with a razor blade. The prosecutor’s office says they sliced the young girl’s clothes from her body and then slaughtered animals in front of her. The ritual apparently happened in May and the arrests were Tuesday, authorities said. Neighbors tell us several children live in the home. A search of the place uncovered a shrine, religious statues, bones, and machetes…”

What the reporters don’t ask is if the child was indeed “forced” to participate, or if she was there by choice. What kind of cut did she receive? Where? In what context were her clothes removed? Was she naked, or were outer garments symbolically removed? If this was child endangerment, why did it take two months for an arrest to happen? What do the other children think? None of these questions are asked or answered in the reports which are happy to leave things at interviews with “shocked” neighbors and re-worded police reports. Perhaps these people truly are guilty of endangerment and abuse, but if they aren’t, they are now vilified in their neighborhood and in the court of public opinion. No greater understanding is reached, no experts consulted. Then again, even when an academic or expert is brought in or quoted, there is no guarantee of a balanced accounting of possible events. As is the case of a recent grave-robbing in New Jersey.

“New evidence in the case of a toddler who was exhumed from her grave and dumped in a New Jersey river this week leads police to believe the body was taken for ritualistic purposes. Capt. Richard Conklin of the Stamford Detective Bureau said Wednesday that police are targeting people of African, Central American, Haitian, Cuban or Caribbean decent who practice satanic rituals as potential suspects in the grave robbing. “We’re starting to look at this as a ritualistic-type incident,” said Conklin … Conklin said evidence recovered at the grave site and in New Jersey indicate the body was taken for ritualistic reasons. For fear of compromising the investigation, he would not go into specifics … they now believe that a person, or persons, practicing a dark form of black magic known as Santeria or Palo Mayombe may be responsible. “Because the baby had some mysticism to it, we believe that it was targeted,” Conklin said. According to Columbia University adjunct professor, Daniel Dawson, who has written extensively on the subject, Palo Mayombe originated in the Congo of Cuba.  Palo Mayombe is rooted in the use of elements from the natural world and is based on the belief that all natural elements have distinctive powers that can be harnessed for protection and for healing, Dawson has written.”

First of all, “Satanic” Haitains and Cubans? They don’t even try to mask their ignorance of African diasporic ritual.  As for Daniel Dawson, whose specialty seems to lay in art and cultural matters, she isn’t directly interviewed, and gives no opinion as to whether she thinks the culprits are practitioners of Palo. Her credentials are merely used by the writer to build the case for a ritualistic grave-robbing. We are left to guess what “evidence” led the authorities to guess it was a ritualistic matter, and what, exactly, makes them point the finger at “Santeria” or “Palo Mayombe”. While people of “African, Central American, Haitian, Cuban or Caribbean decent” lay low, will we eventually find out it was some disturbed teen? Why only people of color? Is it because these police know that white people never do crazy things and give them a ritualistic veneer? Again, this is a recipe for misinformation, stereotyping, and ultimately, discrimination. If reporting on crimes that may be linked to African diasporic religions don’t get better, all those dark rituals we don’t understand could lead us to do some ugly things we may regret later.

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

Thinking of holding a Pagan conference at a resort on the island of St. Lucia in the Caribbean? You might want to think twice. It seems the mere rumour of a “witchcraft conference” caused a huge controversy.

“The State-owned Radio St. Lucia first alerted listeners about the supposed meeting, when it claimed that witches from around the world were gathering here for the conference that would also involve members of the island’s elite. The radio station said that the conference had created “a media sensation” and that a local pastor, Anderson Cato of the Stream of Power Tabernacle, had condemned the authorities for allowing the gathering. “I think we have to consider what we allow ourselves to be exposed to as a people. There is a God and there are certain things that he is pleased with and others he can’t be pleased with.  In the Bible it is clear that God has spoken against witchcraft, sorcerery, adultery and sin,” Cato said. President of the St. Lucia Hotel and Tourism Association (SLHTA) Anthony Bowen said while he was unaware of such a conference, the “witches” were within their right if they decided to meet in St. Lucia.”

The rumour-mill and finger-pointing caused loads of political strife and angry denials. So if you’re thinking of going to St. Lucia, you might want to tuck in that Pentacle/Hammer/Awen/etc necklace.

Canadian paper The Star lists Wicca, witchcraft, and Sybil Leek as selling-points for visiting the recently created New Forest National Park in Britain.

“It’s common knowledge that the forest is still home to Hedgewitches, women who continue their Wicca practices in a solitary way. Witches’ spells, the best-sellers in the local witchcraft shop, are made by local Hedgewitches. There was a time when Sybil Leek, a past resident of Burley and a well-known “white witch” of the 1950s, incurred the wrath of the locals when she started dressing like the more sinister variety of witch, which made her, uh, unwelcome with the superstitious locals. She moved to America where she had a long and successful career as an occult writer and restaurant owner.”

What, no mention of Dorothy Clutterbuck and the (in)famous New Forest Coven? The British tourism industry should put together a comprehensive “history of modern Witchcraft” tour ASAP.

A woman from Louisiana visits Portland, Oregon and finds that it isn’t so bad. Of special note in her sojourn in “Hippie Land” is an encounter with a Wiccan on a bus.

“…a pagan/Wiccan evangelist on the bus. He started his pitch with “Do you like my rose quartz?” while brandishing a crystal worn around his neck. He then told a young woman on the bus that his quartz held special “mother goddess powers” and asked if she believed in the mother goddess. The answer? A very awkward “kinda.” Can’t really argue with that.”

Wiccans! How exotic! How unlike the South! Well, except for the hundreds of Pagans from Louisiana, not to mention the thousands of Pagans living in the Southern states. In fact, the entire column seems less about Portland, and more about her defensive excuses for not recycling, and how bums in Louisiana know their place.

Should an unsanctioned Santeria ritual in a cemetary get you ten years in prison? A woman in Massachusetts sacrificed a rooster at an old grave and then set it on fire, prompting a call to the police. The Eagle-Tribune lays out exactly what she could face if prosecuted to the full extent of the law.

“Officer Ariel Montas was sent to the scene and after an investigation arrested Portalatina, charging her with malicious damage to property over $250, animal cruelty, willful and malicious killing or poisoning of an animal, willful destruction of a gravestone and setting a fire in the open without the permission of the Fire Department. The malicious damage to property charge carries a penalty of up to five years in state prison, two and a half years in the house of correction, and a fine of not more than three times the value of the damaged property. The charges of animal cruelty, willful and malicious killing of an animal, and willful destruction of a gravestone each carries a penalty of up to five years in prison, two and a half years in the house of correction, and up to $5,000 in fines.”

Sacrifice a rooster, lose years of your life in prison? Yet another reason why we need a sane set of regulations and guidelines for those who want to engage in animal sacrifice.

In a final note, we take a look at the dark side of magic and religion. Authorities in Spain have broken up a Nigerian human trafficking ring that used Vodou to intimidate women in prostitution.

“The traffickers lured their victims with promises of a better life in Europe and took them to a voodoo priest before departure, the police said in a statement. The traffickers then smuggled them to Spain, where they told the victims they had to become prostitutes to repay a hefty debt for their journey or face the wrath of voodoo spirits. Musikilu Mojeed, a journalist for the Nigerian online newspaper 234Next.com who has written about voodoo and human trafficking, said voodoo, known in Nigeria as juju, was a fairly common tool of intimidation used by traffickers. Women were taken to a voodoo shrine and made to swear before a priest that they would never reveal the identities of the traffickers, he said. The priests took pieces of fingernails or hair from the women as part of the ritual.”

A reminder that pre-Christian, alternative, or minority religions are also capable of committing abuse and instilling terror. No faith is immune from human weakness or evil intentions.

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

The South Florida Sun-Sentinel reports on a resurgence of interest in Vodou among younger Haitian-Americans. Looking to reconnect with their cultural heritage, they are often drawn by half-remembered childhood memories of their parents and grandparents attending rituals and practicing Vodou.

It is hard to quantify the religion’s growth because Vodou is often practiced at home, said Elizabeth McAlister, a professor of religion at Wesleyan University, who has written extensively about Vodou. But research shows the religion is becoming more prevalent among well-heeled first and second generation Haitians, as well as people of various backgrounds, she said. Ruby LaCroix, 39, of West Palm Beach became intrigued by Vodou when she began to study Haiti’s history in college. She left Haiti when she was 8 years old and had questions about some of the traditions she grew up watching her grandmother practice. “I was looking to find out more about myself, about being Haitian and what that means,” she said.

One thing that I felt was striking about the article was the attitudes of these new practitioners. Much like the largely European-based modern Pagan faiths, there is an emphasis on fighting misconceptions, taking pride in their religious choices, and a slow shedding of insularity among practitioners.

Gone, for most, is the shame that used to be associated with the stigmatized religion. Unlike some of their parents who practiced Vodou in secrecy, the newcomers to the religion invite friends to Vodou ceremonies, have altars in their homes and work to shatter the stereotypes.

One wonders if a similar trend also manifesting among younger Hispanic, Latino, and Brazilian-American practitioners of Santeria, Candomble, and other related traditions, or if this is a uniquely Haitian-American phenomenon. Whatever the extent of this new interest in African diasporic faiths among younger people, it does seem to signal a willingness to step outside a purely Catholic/Christian identity among immigrants within a generation or two.

Ricardo Petit-Homme left Haiti when he was 4, and was raised a staunch Catholic. “From christening to penance and then confirmation, I did it all,” the 30-year-old interior decorator said. But not that long ago, he felt spiritually disconnected. He had dreams that needed to be interpreted, questions about his purpose and a burning desire to connect more deeply with his roots. He turned to Vodou.

It’s interesting that even younger Haitian-Americans who had no prolonged exposure to Vodou see that faith as a more genuine expression of their culture and roots than the Catholicism that is so dominant throughout the Caribbean. It is little wonder that I see Haitian Vodou (and other diasporic faiths) as a “cousin” to the modern Pagan faiths. There is so much overlap, not only in matters of theology and praxis, but in the motivations and attitudes of the newer converts. It should be interesting to see how this trend develops, and if we’ll see a gradual growth of networking, activism, and shared resources not only among the various African diasporic faiths, but with other religious minorities who have similar goals.

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

Chas Clifton (via Caroline Tully) links to a video excerpt featuring part-time Anglican Vicar Peter Owen Jones participating (skyclad) in an Australian “Urban Witchcraft” ritual. This journey into “darkness” is part of the ongoing BBC documentary series “Around the World in 80 Faiths”, where Owen Jones ventures into the rituals and rites of religions across the globe.

For more on this program, check out my original entry on the subject (which includes a comment from a member of the coven Peter Owen Jones visited). As for the rest of the series, I suppose I’ll have to wait for the DVD.

Are Vodun leaders and converts in Benin “impenetrable” to HIV education? That’s the allegation of local health officials in a UN news report, but local priests deny they are “closed off and autocratic”, and insist that the problem is a lack of commitment, funding, and consistency from non-profits.

Efforts to convince voodoo followers to abandon dangerous and deadly practices are sporadic, underfunded and inadequate said voodoo priest and a leader in traditional practices, Dah Alligbonon Akpochihala. He told IRIN he has been trying to change how things are done in the religious rituals he leads, but that overall, people do not realise the danger their traditions pose.

Similar problem were faced during the “Bird Flu” scare of 2006. The simple answer to this problem is to win trust and pose solutions that don’t overtly threaten long-standing traditions. Vodun can modernize and change, but it takes a path of mutual respect and dialog to get there.

The Post Chronicle cribs from a CBN report on the rise of “Satanism” in Italy from April of last year.

The seat of Roman Catholicism is now regarded as the chief office for the devil. “‘Rome has been called the most satanized city in Italy’” per George Thomas of CBN News. Instead of worshiping Christ as Savior God, people are talking to the devil, acting out his wishes and teaching others how to communicate with the dark powers. Magicians in particular have become quite popular, that is, not the traditional stage performers but those equipped to connect with demons.

The article goes on to chatter some nonsense about 800 Satanic groups and that there are over half a million Satanists operating in the country. Stuff that several people have already debunked (try 240 Satanists instead of 600,000). Sometimes I wonder if Christians like this would actually be happier if all this stuff were true, if Satanists and Pagans were taking everything over… tomorrow!

Need to spice up a story in the UK? See if Marina Pepper is involved somehow. A second-generation Witch, and former Playboy/Page 3 model who got involved in local politics, Pepper-related headlines almost write themselves.

Playmate, witch and now eco warrior trying to shut down Heathrow … One of the organisers of a mass protest trying to shut down a Heathrow terminal is a former soft-porn model turned witch … The Evening Standard can reveal today that a leading member of protest group Climate Rush is a former Playboy playmate of the month.

The story is more about Marina Pepper showing up than it is about her involvement with Climate Rush, or why people are protesting the Heathrow expansion. But I suppose all publicity is good publicity (especially when you’re talking a protest).

In a final note, the New York Times looks at Italy’s own version of Santa Claus, the witch La Befana.

The story of La Befana has been told in Italy since around the time Leonardo da Vinci painted the “Mona Lisa.” Origins of the legend, some say, are far older and rooted in a pagan goddess. But last Tuesday, a modern incarnation of the story played out in the cafeteria of a Roman Catholic school in Forest Hills, Queens, with a hint of the day’s lunch of ziti with meatballs and red sauce lingering in the air. La Befana is a character in Italian folklore, sometimes referred to as the Italian Christmas witch. A soot-covered old woman, she is said to fly on a broom to the homes of sleeping children, entering through the chimney and bearing gifts.

Why bother with those “Santa Shaman” claims when we have a living breathing Winter tradition involving a witch? I expect some serious La Befana meme-spreading come next Winter.

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

The Australian has an excellent article by Graham Lloyd about Vodun in West Africa. I was particularly taken with his description of how the faith intertwines with all aspects of day-to-day life in Benin.

In Benin, the birthplace of voodoo, from where it spread to Haiti and Cuba with the slave trade, elaborate drumming and dance rituals are still widely practised. They are tolerated by the post-Marxist Benin Government as well as by church leaders on the basis of a shared belief in a primary god. At the village level, the local Catholic priest will often visit his voodoo equivalent after mass to seek the help of voodoo gods to ensure a healthy congregation. Pregnant women would not think of going into labour without first seeing the oracle, the local Fa priest, who will foretell the outcome of the pregnancy by casting a string of cowry shells.

Lloyd also meets Legba at the crossroads, and receives healing aid for a friend from the Loa, which seems to go rather well. I recommend giving the entire article a read.