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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

I’ve written before about how witchcraft persecutions have become an international problem, how that fanaticism is slowly being exported to the “civilized” West and is cross-pollinating with the first-world churches that support them, but that hardly prepares one for the shock and horror of knowing that these (often American-funded) Christian churches are directly responsible for the death, mutilation, and exile of children.

“His family pastor had accused him of being a witch, and his father then tried to force acid down his throat as an exorcism. It spilled as he struggled, burning away his face and eyes. The emaciated boy barely had strength left to whisper the name of the church that had denounced him — Mount Zion Lighthouse. A month later, he died. Nwanaokwo Edet was one of an increasing number of children in Africa accused of witchcraft by pastors and then tortured or killed, often by family members. Pastors were involved in half of 200 cases of “witch children” reviewed by the AP, and 13 churches were named in the case files. Some of the churches involved are renegade local branches of international franchises. Their parishioners take literally the Biblical exhortation, “Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live.” “It is an outrage what they are allowing to take place in the name of Christianity,” said Gary Foxcroft, head of nonprofit Stepping Stones Nigeria.”

Many of these witch-hunting pastors belong to churches that are members of the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN) who say they can’t police their membership, though they can find it within themselves to collect membership dues. Indeed, the persecution of children for witchcraft is so “mainstream” in places like Nigeria that even the popular mega-pastors admit to horrid abuses.

“Helen Ukpabio is one of the few evangelists publicly linked to the denunciation of child witches. She heads the enormous Liberty Gospel church in Calabar … Ukpabio makes and distributes popular books and DVDs on witchcraft; in one film, a group of child witches pull out a man’s eyeballs. In another book, she advises that 60 percent of the inability to bear children is caused by witchcraft … “Witchcraft is real,” Ukpabio insisted, before denouncing the physical abuse of children. Ukpabio says she performs non-abusive exorcisms for freeHowever, she then acknowledged that she had seen a pastor from the Apostolic Church break a girl’s jaw during an exorcism. Ukpabio said she prayed over her that night and cast out the demon. She did not respond to questions on whether she took the girl to hospital or complained about the injury to church authorities.” and was not aware of or responsible for any misinterpretation of her materials. “I don’t know about that,” she declared.

Ukpabio is very much like the “spiritual warriors” here in America, except that her accusations of witchcraft and demonic possession fuel a trend of death and sorrow.

“Pastor Joe Ita is the preacher at Liberty Gospel Church in nearby Eket … There are nearly 60 branches of Liberty Gospel across the Niger Delta. It was started by a local woman, mother-of-two Helen Ukpabio … Many people in this area credit the popular evangelical DVDs she produces and stars in with helping to spread the child witch belief. Ita denies charging for exorcisms but acknowledges his congregation is poor and has to work hard to scrape up the donations the church expects. ‘To give more than you can afford is blessed. We are the only ones who really know the secrets of witches. Parents don’t come here with the intention of abandoning their children, but when a child is a witch then you have to say “what is that there? Not your child.” The parents come to us when they see manifestations. But the secret is that, even if you abandon your child, the curse is still upon you, even if you kill your child the curse stays. So you have to come here to be delivered afterwards as well,’ he explains patiently.”

The plight of “child witches’” is well known now, so where is the outrage and orchestrated refusal to send money to witch-hunting churches? Where is the Pentecostal-led movement to reverse this trend and isolate people like Helen Ukpabio? It seems almost non-existent, instead, acknowledged witch-hunters have been feted in America, giving blessings to prominent politicians. As for Ukpabio, she is no longer isolated to West Africa, and has a church in Rome. How far will this madness spread before the hundreds of church-bodies who have a stake in Africa do something?

“Please stop the pastors who hurt us,” said Jerry quietly, touching the scars on his face. “I believe in God and God knows I am not a witch.”

For those who want to help the witch-children, two good organizations to send money to are Stepping Stones Nigeria and CRARN (Child’s Right and Rehabilitation Network). We can also urge the press to continue to ask difficult questions of American churches that support witch-hunters but plead ignorance.

Yesterday a coalition of U.N. officials, NGOs, and representatives from affected countries addressed the United Nations asking for governments to face the full extent of witch hunts across the world. Far from being a localized phenomenon in “primitive” or isolated villages, witch hunts and witch killings are now global in nature and spreading.

(Trigger Warning!) An Indian “witch” being beaten and paraded through her village.

“Murder and persecution of women and children accused of being witches is spreading around the world and destroying the lives of millions of people, experts said Wednesday … “This is becoming an international problem — it is a form of persecution and violence that is spreading around the globe,” Jeff Crisp of the U.N.’s refugee agency UNHCR told a seminar organized by human rights officials of the world body.”

According to some U.N. experts tracking the issue “at least” tens of thousands have died due to witch hunts, while millions have been beaten, abused, isolated, and turned into refugees. While economic hardship is given as a reason for the recent escalation in witch-related violence, experts at the UNHCR also claim that the rise can also be attributed to”religious practitioners” who exploit local fears and superstitions.

“Some religious practitioners make a living from exorcising alleged witches and charging exorbitant fees to those who request the ritual. In Foxcroft’s experience, the most vulnerable members of society – children and the elderly – are often the victims of these accusations.”

Who, exactly, are these “religious practitioners”? The IHEU is far more specific.

“Witchcraft is still widely practiced in many countries in Africa by witchdoctors who often use human body parts in their spells. Some witchdoctors employ gangs of young men to attack and kill victims, often young children, for their body parts, which are frequently removed while the victim is still alive. An estimated 300 people are killed each year in South Africa alone as a result of this practice. But horrific though this practice is, it is only part of the problem. In Nigeria, in both the Muslim North and the Christian South, witch hunts are not uncommon and this has led to a second form of abuse. Some unscrupulous pastors, many linked to Pentecostal churches, have a lucrative trade in making unfounded accusations of witchcraft against young children. [The pastors then agree to “cure” the witches for a substantial fee. Many children are being ostracized and abandoned by their parents as a result of these accusations.]“

These Christian pastors aren’t isolated to Africa, they tour churches in America bragging about their battles with the occult, and have established ministries in Ireland and the UK. Commingling with an increasing anti-occult fervor among some Western Christian groups. Meanwhile, actual modern Pagan communities in places like India and South Africa are facing the possible ramifications of intensifying witch-hunts and witch persecutions.

If this trend isn’t seriously addressed soon, we may find this madness turning its eye towards “safe” occultists and Pagans in places like America, the UK, Australia, Brazil, and Canada. Don’t think it could happen? All it takes is a pseudo-militant occult-fighting Christian movement cross-pollinating with a reviving “Satanic Ritual Abuse” movement, stir in some anti-government populist anger and frustration, and you have all the makings for an American witch-lynching.

“When Bill Sparkman told retired trooper Gilbert Acciardo that he was going door-to-door collecting census data in rural Kentucky, the former cop drew on years of experience for a warning: “Be careful.” The 51-year-old Sparkman was found this month hanged from a tree near a Kentucky cemetery with the word “fed” scrawled on his chest, a law enforcement official said Wednesday, and the FBI is investigating whether he was a victim of anti-government sentiment.”

The anger and hardship that cries out for a scapegoat is right here in our backyard. Right now “socialism” or “the government” may be the popular/populist nightmare,  but that can change. A global epidemic of witch-hunts is our issue, not because we share some theological bond with a “witch” killed in Nigeria, or imprisoned in Saudi Arabia, but because we don’t live in an enlightened vacuum, free from the troubles of the “third world”. Nor will outraged Internet petitions stem the tide, what we need is a concerted international campaign of education, aid, and better policing in the “hot” spots like Nepal, Kenya, India, and Nigeria. Those who have grown powerful on witch-hunting rhetoric won’t go quietly, and only the surety of secular law can ensure some semblance of safety. Meanwhile, those of us who are “safe” need to realize that what happens to “witches” in India and Papua New Guinea is no longer a string of  isolated incidents that will always stay “over there”. A “global” problem means it could indeed happen here, and perhaps sooner than any of us would want to admit.

Last year many modern Pagans got involved in the struggle to save Fawza Falih Muhammad Ali, a Saudi woman who was sentenced to death for the crime of “witchcraft”. The “proof” for these acts were completely happen-stance, attributing sorcerous causes to everyday occurrences, and her “confession” (since recanted) coerced through a string of beatings by the Mutaween (religious police). But while a variety of religious leaders called for her release and signed a petition to sway King Abdullah to show mercy, Fawza Falih remains on death row, and a new report has just been released showing that the Mutaween is stepping up anti-witchcraft/sorcery activities.

“Saudi Arabia’s morality police are launching a programme to combat witchcraft and sorcery, the official SPA news agency reported on Saturday. The Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice, also known as the muttawa, will create teams especially trained to eradicate the practices, Deputy Commission President Ibrahim al-Hoiml told SPA. “The plan is aimed at developing people to work in the field on cases of witchcraft and sorcery to protect the society and raise public awareness,” he said. Saudi ulema are concerned about the operations of self-described fortune-tellers, mystics, magicians and others who operate outside the rules of Islam.”

But don’t worry, the Committee for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice (CPVPV) did a study on the matter before this heightened crack-down could take place in order to ensure that only the best “scientific” methods were used to determine if someone was a witch.

“The rationale behind the CPVPV study, was to seek to fill the vacuum by making legal and regulatory determinations, as well as clarify the burden of evidence for magic and witchcraft cases as being scientific and practical, while also increasing the number of those involved in combating such cases, from the security agents on the ground, including the men of the CPVPV, to investigators, and judges.”

What’s unique and especially frightening about these developments is that unlike the “witch”-murders in places like Papua New Guinea or India, Saudi Arabia’s government is empowering and reinforcing these witch-hunting squads. It is state-sponsored murder of those who perform fortune-telling or cast spells, or those who are simply accused of doing so.

The message here is clear, our petitions and good intentions won’t save these poor souls from deadly superstition. The Saudi government is unmoved by the cries of moderate Muslims, modern Pagans, and spiritual progressives living in the decadent West. Only real pressure from outside governments could, perhaps, make some progress but the same Realpolitik that stops the U.S. (and other governments) from doing anything about exiled Tibetans will also stop them from interfering in the Saudi government’s human rights abuses. They are a key Middle East ally and oil supplier after all. Only in (relatively) open and free governments like South Africa and India can those who care about this issue do some actual immediate good. For those poor souls in Saudi Arabia, they can only hope that this hysteria recedes, while those of us on the outside keep vigil.

Johann Hari at Slate.com, heartbroken by witnessing the ongoing brutal persecution of women and children as “witches” throughout Africa, reads through two recently released books, “The Enemy Within: 2,000 Years of Witch-hunting in the Western World”, and “The Last Witch of Langenburg: Murder in a German Village”, for insight.What he finds are some haunting commonalities as European, American, and African people from different eras find the “other” within their own ranks. Scarred communities responding to collective trauma by lashing out at the primal giver of life.

“Yet this doesn’t explain why witch hunting keeps taking the same form every time, with only mild variations. Why, in particular, is it almost always targeted at women? … Demos [author of "The Enemy Within"] believes there is a primal reason for this. “A mother—a woman—is the primal Other, the nonself from which the self is progressively distinguished; further, she disposes a kind of absolute power to meet, or reject, infantile need,” he writes. “As such, she retains forever afterward an aura of what a discerning psychologist has called ‘magically formidable’ qualities.” So when we begin to suspect all-powerful dark forces, we suspect women first—because our mothers once held all-encompassing powers over us.”

So perhaps the two sides arguing over who exactly were killed during the European witch-hunts are both (to differing extents) right. There most likely wasn’t a surviving witch-cult dating to before the advent of Christianity, but perhaps women were especially targeted because on some level they became representatives of the primal mother. A communal subconscious rebellion against a dark Creatrix who they blamed for their suffering and torment. So the Mother (and her young offspring) must be cleansed and destroyed. Of course Hari points out a far simpler reason for why women were targeted, they were easy prey.

“I think this misses a starker and simpler explanation. Women are generally weaker than men. They are less able to defend themselves from braying mobs. They are easier to pin down and turn into a screaming, denying receptacle of evil. The mobs usually choose the weakest women of all—old women and little girls.”

Hari’s article ends with the “Satanic Panic” and “Satanic Ritual Abuse” madness of the 1980s (a madness we are still feeling the ramifications of) as proof that it can still happen in advanced and “rational” America. Indeed, Hari references former VP candidate Sarah Palin’s interactions with self-proclaimed “witch-hunter” Thomas Muthee as proof that this madness never fully goes away (it can be of little coincidence that Palin’s Third-Wave pals, with their anti-goddess rhetoric get along so well with a man who lies/brags about terrorizing women). That example, and the (so-far) isolated cases of witch-related abuse here on our own shores, should keep us ever vigilant (especially when it is very dangerous to be a “witch” in a recession). We must, as Hari writes, in times of hysteria and panic demand hard evidence and settle for nothing less.

“…the hysteria will happen again. We don’t know yet who the victims are, but they are out there, oblivious. There is an enemy within—dormant in our own fragile minds and emerging with paranoid intensity at times of stress. Our only antidote is to insist on evidence. Whenever there are charges against a person or group, we must ask insistently: How do we know? Show me the proof. Show me three times. Show me 10.”

A reoccurring question at The Wild Hunt has been: “why should Pagans care about witch-hunts in Africa or the Middle-East”? While I have argued (somewhat pragmatically) that as modern Pagans and Witches spread around the globe, we will have no choice but become a factor in places that are persecuting “witches” (as is already happening in India and South Africa), there is another possible answer emerging. That all witch-hunts are connected by a common thread of fear and hatred, and if they aren’t addressed and stopped by the forces of tolerance and rationality, they become like a virus spreading beyond the “host” community.

I certainly don’t agree with everything Starhawk says, but she does have a point that modern Pagan Witches have chosen to reclaim the label “witch” for themselves. It is folly to think the African or Middle-East witch-hunts will forever stay safely away from the “real” Witches in America, Europe, or Australia, or that when it is exported it will be forever contained in immigrant communities. Someday, if we continue to insist that women and children being killed as “witches” if faraway lands isn’t a “Pagan” problem, we might wake up to find our own communities poisoned by a need to find “the other” within their own ranks. What better place for the panicked and hysterical to look than the increasingly public and “out” community of self-proclaimed “Witches”?

It’s time to revisit a hoary chestnut within Pagandom, getting an apology from the Catholic Church for their role in the witch trials of Early Modern Europe (and for other ills against pre-Christian religious adherents). Some of you may remember that this was quite the big deal back in 2000, when the Catholic Church celebrated its Jubilee Year and then Pope John Paul II issued a series of apologies for sins committed by the Church.

“Christians have often denied the Gospel; yielding to a mentality of power, they have violated the rights of ethnic groups and peoples, and shown contempt for their cultures and religious traditions: be patient and merciful towards us, and grant us your forgiveness!  We ask this through Christ our Lord … let us pray for women, who are all too often humiliated and emarginated, and let us acknowledge the forms of acquiescence in these sins of which Christians too have been guilty.”

In the lead-up to these apologies a group of prominent Pagans (including Selena Fox, Oberon Zell-Ravenheart, and  Philip Carr-Gomm) asked the Pope to apologize to “Witches and Pagans” harmed by the Inquisition.

“…for more than a year now, the Vatican has publicly indicated that the Pope plans to make a broad-ranging international as well as interfaith apology for the Inquisition. According to press coverage, this Vatican-initiated apology is to be to Protestant Christians, Jews, Muslims, and others. Thus far, Pagans have not been specifically named, even though practitioners of Pagan folkways in Europe were prominent among those persecuted by the Inquisition—especially on charges of witchcraft. Pagans, scholars, Christian clergy, and others have joined together in writing the Pope with hopes that this historic international interfaith apology is indeed inclusive, and that the apology extends to Nature religions practitioners as well as to Christians, Muslims, and Jews.”

It is highly debatable that there were scores of “Witches and Pagans” (as we understand the term) still around during the time of the Inquisition to be tried for heresy so their “prominent” victim-hood is rather in doubt, but this was 1998-99 before the dramatic rise of (readily available) Pagan scholarship and books like “Triumph of the Moon” and various witch-hunt debunking books seeped into the general Pagan consciousness. Still, the group claimed a victory of sorts for the apology to “ethnic religions” and the whole issue generally faded into the background.

Now, flash forward to Pope Benedict XVI issuing recent apologies for clergy sex abuse scandals and promoting a Holocaust denier, prompting Pagan activist and On Faith panelist Starhawk to enter the apology queue.

“…if apologies are being given out, Witches would like one. It’s more than time that the Catholic and Protestant Churches both apologized for centuries of persecution of Witches, Pagans and those they deemed ‘heretics’ for believing something different than standard dogma. How about an apology for the Papal Bull of Pope Innocent the Eighth, in 1484, that made Witchcraft an heresy and unleashed the Inquisition against traditional healers, midwives, and any woman unpopular with her neighbors for being too uppity? It’s high past time to apologize for the Malleus Maleficarum, a vicious document written by two Dominican priests in 1486 that created a whole mythology of Satan worship, attributed it mostly to women, and unleashed a wave of accusations, torture, and judicial murder that have haunted us ever since. An apology won’t do much good, now, to those accused, tormented, and destroyed because someone coveted their property or needed a local scapegoat, nor to their children left motherless or fatherless centuries ago. But it might clear some air.”

This leads religion writer and Catholic convert (and Beliefnet blogger) David Gibson to accuse Starhawk of wrapping herself in a cloak of victim-hood, distorting history, and ignoring the Jubilee apologies. He also, strangely, makes this all about the witch-related killings in Africa (which Benedict XVI recently commented on).

“But it is also important to examine one’s own conscience before judging another. And while “witches” (or those who are slottled in various related categories) are too often victims, and the pope acknowledged that in Africa, the “imagination, intution, and magic” that Starhawk cites also fuel terrible abuses and horrific crimes against innocents in Africa and elsewhere. The pope also spoke against that. Did Starhawk? Perhaps she or her clan spoke out against abusive withcraft and superstition and neo-paganism during the papal visit to Africa, but I didn’t see it.”

Gibson making this about African witch-related killings when Starhawk never brings up the subject makes him seem a tad defensive (and he’s also wrong that modern Pagans haven’t addressed the issue), and his blog post prompts resident Beliefnet Pagan blogger Gus diZerega to weigh in on the subject.

“And so I am not convinced that the African examples Gibson would have us denounce are properly criticized.  Maybe, maybe not.  All I know of them is what their detractors have said. When those describing them are also associated with an institution having a long history of distorting and maligning indigenous spirituality, I’ll reserve judgment as to whether we are getting accurate information on those African examples … I think while we all must acknowledge the dark sides of our respective histories in order to inoculate ourselves against the disease of self-righteousness, the true task of our time today is to build our communities on what is best in our own traditions, and let others do the same in theirs, relying in Interfaith to promote mutual respect, while enabling friendly relations with different religions to marginalize those within any particular tradition who seek to gain power within their own community  through sowing divisions and distrust towards others.”

Gus diZerega’s reasonableness seems to disarm Gibson a bit, making him take a more thoughtful tone.

“Beliefnet’s own Gus diZerega, author of “A Pagan’s Blog,” has a very thoughtful (he’s nicer than I am, that is) response to my post below on Starhawk calling on Pope Benedict XVI to apologize for the church’s persecution of witches. I appreciate his response, both spirit and in content … in his wrap up I was put in mind of how all religions can get tarred by the actions of the few, especially leaders, or the misdeeds (or worse) of those fringe or even mainstream few who claim to be acting in the name of their tradition. Even though they are hardly doing so.”

If I were to take a meaning from these recent exchanges, perhaps it would be that the age of Pagans demanding apologies from large Christian institutions should come to a close. Instead, we should take the example of Gus diZerega here and focus on mutual communication, responsiveness, and understanding (facilitated in part by a new-media paradigm that encourages more open discourse). Demanding respect and equal treatment because we exist here and now in secular societies that guarantee us religious freedom, not because we might have existed during a time of persecution hundreds of years ago. I’m far more worried about injustice now than whether some poor woman persecuted centuries ago was really a Witch or not. I don’t need a persecution narrative in my Paganism.

[You can read part one of this entry, here.]

05. The Business of Paganism: Modern Paganism fuels a multi-million-dollar market. Books, trinkets, festivals, music, and conventions maintain a small (though lucrative for some) cottage industry. 2008 was a mixed bag for that industry, one that was rocked by corporate greed, businesses shutting down, and contraction. If all this sounds familiar, it just proves that “as above, so below” relates to economic matters too. The “New Age” market, which sees quite a lot of overlap with our own, rushed to embrace a post-Oprah reality though it wasn’t enough to avoid a major trade show cancellation for 2009. Meanwhile the Internet book-selling giant Amazon sent ripples through the Pagan publishing world when they threatened to remove the “buy” button for non-Amazon print-on-demand books (a case that has resulted in an antitrust lawsuit).

“So why not just switch over to [Amazon's] Booksurge, you may ask? Two reasons … They’re more expensive – they want a significantly larger cut of the profits than many others … Their distribution isn’t as good … So why not just have accounts at both Lightning Source and Booksurge? Because the cost to upload books would double … So why not just use offset and other traditional forms of printing? Because you need thousands of dollars up front, even for a small run, plus warehousing space–and you have to hope that they all sell or else you’re out a good deal of money. Given that the big box stores are already biased against small presses, big losses are a major possibility …” – Lupa, author and employee of Immanion Press.

In addition to all that, two Pagan-friendly music labels shuttered, niche magazines find themselves hanging on by a thread, and journalists are looking into just how recession-proof psychic and occult services really are. All this could add up to some belt-tightening for the Pagan world in the years to come.

04. Salem Becomes the Epicenter of Halloween in America: While the economy may be bad all over, the town of Salem, at least this year, seemed immune. Famous for putting women to death for being “witches” in generations past, this sea-side New England town has morphed into a haven for Pagans and Witches (who purportedly make up 10% of the local population) and a tourist draw of Mardi Gras proportions.

“For better or worse, this change from cheesy wax-works and trial re-enactments into a massive cultural (and money-making) multi-week event is partially due to the emergence of Witches and modern Pagans injecting a sense of the sacred (and the psychic) into the proceedings. It may never be officially called a Samhain festival, but for all intents and purposes this is America’s tribute to Summer’s End.”

Given these factors it is little wonder that Salem continues to make the news on a regular basis, from game shows to pop-documentaries, everyone wants in on the action. Like it or not (and some very much don’t like it), this town casts a long shadow on our communities and on the public perception concerning modern Pagans.

03. Witch-Hunts, Witch-Killings, and How it Affects Us: While there is still much debate over how modern Pagans and Witches should feel concerning the persecution of “witches” in Africa, India, and the Middle East, 2008 saw the issue affect our communities more than ever before. The most notable case of this phenomenon were efforts by lawyer, author, and activist Phyllis Curott to bring attention to the plight of Fawza Falih, an illiterate Saudi woman sentenced to death for crimes of “witchcraft”.

“I get articles about killings from the African and Indian press almost every day. People – so often women – are singled out and murdered just because of an accusation of Witchcraft. We know what that means. That is part of our history. I think we need to respond to that dangerous persecution wherever it arises. It has to be stopped before it spreads. But it may be years before our community is large enough, has enough resources and enough presence in the global community to affect these situations. Working to save Fawza can teach us how to be effective the next time something like this happens — we’ll have better skills, better organization, better contacts, more wisdom.”

This was hardly the only instance – intentional or not – of modern Pagans getting involved in the issue of international witch persecutions. India continues to religiously cross-pollinate with Western esotericism and Paganism and Indian Pagans there see witch persecutions as “their” issue, while Pagans in South Africa continue to fight vaguely-worded anti-witch laws. Meanwhile some have warned that witch-persecutions are being exported to the West, and the controversies over Thomas Muthee (and his connection to fringe Christian movements in America) seem to at least partially verify this concern. So while there may be no theological or cultural connection between us the “witches” persecuted across the world, our communities may find that we have no choice but to get involved.

02. The Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist Church Shootings: On Sunday morning, July 28th, Jim Adkisson, who defined himself to neighbors as a “Confederate” and a “believer in the old South”, walked into the Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist Church and opened fire with a shotgun. Seven people were inured by gunfire, two died. He later told police that he targeted the church for its liberal beliefs, and that if he couldn’t kill liberal leaders he would instead kill those who voted them into office. While I suppose this isn’t necessarily a “Pagan” story, it is one that has a deep resonance for all Pagans who have found sanctuary or a spiritual home within a Unitarian-Universalist Church, a place of welcoming in areas of the country not so friendly to modern Pagans.

“Friends of mine were in the church at the time of the shooting. I am feeling so fortunate that they were not injured, but I have heard so much about the sad loss of Greg McKendry, who evidently put himself between the gunman and members of the congregation. There’s no ifs here, there are pagans and members of CUUPS in that congregation. When I first heard the news, even before anything about the gunman’s motives were known, I couldn’t help but guess that it was because the UU *is* the sort of church it is – welcoming, and accepting of pagans, of religious diversity, of glbt, and human diversity.” – Sangrail

Over the years some have found it easy to mock Unitarian-Universalists for their “wishy-washy” faith or their over-earnest attempts at inclusion, but few realized what a target their theological openness and political bravery had made them. I’m proud of the time and energy I’ve spent within the UUA, and the Pagan community should never forget what an ally and asset they have been to us. This attack was on a UU Church, but it was also an attack on those who would stand with us, and we shouldn’t forget that.

01. Pagans and Politics: By far the biggest story of 2008 involving Pagans was our political interactions. I’ve never seen so much news related to, involving, or dealing with modern Pagans in a political context. Things started early as influential figures in the Women’s Spirituality movement split over who to support in the Democratic primaries, while pundits on the right started to see Paganism as an illness that could be “cured” (like homosexuality). Barack Obama seemed almost magical to some Pagans, and was dubbed a “lightworker” by Mark Morford. Pagans ran for mayor of Sacramento and South Carolina’s Great Falls Town Council (neither won), while the Democratic Party saw two openly Pagan delegates go to their national convention.

“We’ve got a great opportunity here, a chance to make our mark on a campaign for change, a chance to be a constant reminder that we expect “Change We Can Believe In” means an America that treats Pagans fairly and equally….from an ensured right to worship for military Pagans (including Pagan chaplains), to true enforcement of the separation of Church (Grove?) and State.” – Rita Moran, Change Who Can Believe in?

Democratic Pagans seemed to really like Obama, and some tried to use that affection against him (they liked that strategy so much they used it in other elections as well). Meanwhile Bob Barr kinda-sorta recanted of his anti-Pagan past in an attempt to gain the votes of disaffected Pagan libertarians while McCain doubled down on Christian nuttery by picking a VP candidate with ties to a rabidly anti-Pagan fringe sect (meanwhile, outside, Pagans protested). The press realized that Oregon had quite a few Pagan voters, a Republican in Paganistan won reelection despite ties to anti-Pagan groups, and an Witch Doctor correctly predicted Obama’s win. Oh? Did I mention that that Obama won, and that an overwhelmingly large number of Pagans voted for him (and we even influenced the people who like us to vote for him too)? Well he did (though Pagans aren’t too happy about the guy they picked to give the invocation at his inauguration). Like it or not, politics and Paganism are enmeshed and will most likely stay that way for some time to come.

That wraps up my top ten news stories about or affecting modern Paganism in 2008. Thanks for reading, and I hope you’ll join me for another year of sifting through the news and views of interest to our communities. See you in 2009!

Since I first posted about Republican VP nominee Sarah Palin’s troubling co-religionists, the mainstream press and several major blogs have homed in on the blessing Palin received from the African Bishop Thomas Muthee.

“Palin describes the visit of Pastor Thomas Muthee to the Wasilla Assembly of God in 2005. “As I was mayor and Pastor Muthee was here and he was praying over me, and you know how he speaks and he’s so bold. And he was praying ‘Lord make a way, Lord make a way,’” Palin remarked. “And I’m thinking, this guy’s really bold, he doesn’t even know what I’m going to do, he doesn’t know what my plans are,” she continued. “And he’s praying not ‘oh Lord if it be your will may she become governor,’ no, he just prayed for it. He said, ‘Lord make a way and let her do this next step. And that’s exactly what happened.’” “So, again, very very powerful, coming from this church,” she added.”

Muthee is feted by fellow Christians in America and in Africa for driving out the “spirit of witchcraft” that resided in the village of Kiambu, Kenya. Now it seems this wasn’t purely spiritual warfare on the part of Muthee, but involved stirring up mobs and driving a local fortune-teller out of town.

“According to the Christian Science Monitor, six months of fervent prayer and research identified the source of the witchcraft as a local woman called Mama Jane, who ran a “divination” centre called the Emmanuel Clinic … after Pastor Muthee declared Mama Jane a witch, the townspeople became suspicious and began to turn on her, demanding that she be stoned. Public outrage eventually led the police to raid her home, where they fired gunshots, killing a pet python which they believed to be a demon. After Mama Jane was questioned by police – and released – she decided it was time to leave town, the account says.”

As I pointed out previously, this isn’t some isolated third-world preacher, Muthee has toured America, received mainstream press coverage, and gave 10 consecutive sermons at Wasilla Assembly of God (Palin’s former church). He is a strong proponent of the spiritual warfare tactics endorsed by “Third Wave” Christian churches. Knowing that she was willingly blessed by an anti-witch fanatic, someone who has helped stir up the kind of mobs responsible for the horrific deaths of innocent men and women in Kenya, makes me reiterate my previous closing statement on this matter.

“What Pagans need to know, especially those who are considering voting Republican, is if Palin condemns or rejects the spiritual warfare teachings of the Third Wave movement. A movement that essentially espouses malicious Christian magic. Pagans have seen first hand that the religious opinions of Presidents have been used in the past by government agencies to deny us our legal rights. What would happen if our vice president thought we should be supernaturally eradicated?”

Does Palin still credit Muthee (via the power of “Jesus”) with “making a way” to power for her? Does she know and approve of Muthee’s spiritual war against “witches”? I think it would be important to know these things before election day.

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

I want to start with an update on an older story. Rachel “Reverend Magdalen” Bevilacqua, a Subgenius who has gone through nearly two years of custody battles, is making a final push to ensure the legal system is no longer used against her arbitrarily by her ex-husband. Bevilacqua has endured a truly bizarre chain of events that included defending her involvement in adults-only Subgenius events.

“We’ve made it so far from the days when I lived in a 10 by 12 box apartment crying myself to sleep every night, never knowing how my son was, never knowing if I would ever get him back. We’re so close to being free from the threat of being compelled to return to Orleans County, which has hung over our heads since my son was a baby. All we need is $2,500 to get started, with a full retainer of $5,000. Of course, if things go badly, it could run into another $80-$100,000, but I’m focusing my slack waves on the thought that this new Judge Griffiths is going to be reasonable and let us go. If everyone who receives this email donates just $10, it would easily cover Mr. Goewey’s fees. I realize this is the worst possible time to ask for money again, with gas prices and food prices and unemployment the way they are, but I can’t raise more than about $1,500 on my own, not by September 26 anyway. I’m forced to once again appeal to you, who’ve helped our family so much in the past, or one more push to finally get free.”

I recommend reading the exhaustive run-down of this case at Modemac’s The High Weirdness Project: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3. Cases like this are indicative of the struggles faced by parents who are adherents to minority religions. As more parents use religion as a “wedge” in custody battles, Reverend Magdalen’s case threatens to become a mere statistic in a larger trend of parents having to defend their faith in court.

Tim Harford at The Financial Times looks at the economics of witch-hunts and (unsurprisingly) finds that hard times often translate into dangerous times for people who live on the margins of society.

“Edward Miguel, an economist at the University of California, Berkeley, and co-author of Economic Gangsters, a book about the economics of crime, corruption and war, has studied the Tanzanian situation. He argues that there is a direct economic motive for the attacks. Tough times in a Tanzanian household may well result in starvation, and the elderly – especially women – are at risk of being sacrificed to free resources. As evidence, Miguel points out that victims of witch attacks in Meatu district – almost all old women – tend to be from the poorest households. The murders are much more common during years of drought or flood.”

Harford also notes the research of Emily Oster, who ties the European witch-hunts to extremely cold weather during the “Little Ice Age”. So if economic hard times translate into witch-hunts, what is the solution? A more robust social safety net.

“If the problem truly is an economic one, the solution might be, too. One possibility is to give the elderly generous pensions. Witch-killings all but stopped in South Africa’s North Province after such a pension scheme was introduced in the early 1990s.”

In other words, the more secure people feel, the less likely they are to look for a suspicious neighbor to persecute.

Jeffrey Weiss at the Dallas Morning News religion blog mocks the inflated growth estimates for Wicca touted in the book “Generation Hex”, calling it the “least plausible” claim for fastest growing religion he’s ever heard.

“2012 is, hm, four years from now. Wicca currently represents, hm, less than 0.3% of Americans. For that prediction to come true would take some serious magic.”

Weiss turned to the Pew Forum’s landmark U.S. Religious Landscape Survey for data instead of uncritically using the conclusions of Steve “Hour of the Witch” Wohlberg, as the book’s authors did. For more on “Generation Hex”, check out this post.

Did you know that most Wiccans don’t actually practice Witchcraft? So says The News Herald’s Ryan Young.

“Liars and practitioners of the “dark arts” have given Wicca a bad image. Most wiccans don’t practice witchcraft and the ones who do have a firm belief in using magic only for good or to survive.”

I suppose I should appreciate the sentiment instead of pointing out that Wicca is religious Witchcraft, or that the term “Wicca” is an antecedent of the word “Witch”.

Conservative commentator Bob Parks apparently had nothing better to talk about on Saturday, so he decided to mock Pagan supporters of Barack Obama.

“I am so glad Republicans aren’t this messed up. I wouldn’t be able to show my face in public.”

I hope no-one clues him in on the “messed up” beliefs of Sarah Palin’s co-religionists and supporters or else he would have to go into isolation. A friendly tip: never underestimate how weird “your side” can be, it will save you considerable heartache in the future.

In a final note, volunteers are gathering to re-chalk the famous Cerne Abbas giant.

“Britain’s most famous fertility symbol is having a makeover of epic proportions. Volunteers have been drafted in to re-chalk the 180ft tall (55m) Cerne Abbas giant, after accusations that he had become the invisible man … conservationists became concerned the naked figure had disappeared under a mass of grass and weeds, after an unusually wet summer and lack of grazing sheep from local farms.”

20 tons of chalk will be used to spruce the giant up. The efforts should be done in ten days, and locals have arranged for 50 sheep to temporarily graze the land. After all, we wouldn’t want one of Britain’s most famous fertility symbols to fall into disrepair.

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

While Starhawk’s meditation on McCain gets top billing from The Wild Hunt today, it isn’t the only story of interest to our communities happening right now. Here are some links to other stories of note.

New Jersey’s Packet Online looks at the careers of Darlene Prestbo and Hazel Staats-Westover, elders within the women’s spirituality movement, who contribute a chapter to the recently released work “WomanSoul: The Inner Life of Women’s Spirituality”.

“Because of their longtime involvement in women’s spirituality, their professional reputations and friendships, Ms. Prestbo and Ms. Staats-Westover were invited by Carole A. Rayburn, a noted research psychologist who had visited the women’s spirituality groups and been touched by the experience, to contribute a chapter to Womansoul: The Inner Life of Women’s Spirituality. Ms. Rayburn co-authored the book with Lillian Comas-Diaz, also a respected psychologist and educator. The icing on the cake for the two local women was an invitation to the 116th Annual Convention of the American Psychological Association in Boston, where they spoke Aug. 15. The book explores and advances the concept of “womansoul” — a gender specific way of embracing spirituality. It discusses the personal and professional impact of spirituality in the lives of women from a variety of ethnic, religious and cultural backgrounds — Muslim, Hindu, Christian, Jewish, Buddhist, Native American and more.”

Prestbo and Staats-Westover also co-founded (in 1987), and help run, a Princeton area women’s spirituality group called the Daughters of Gaia.

If you happen to be institutionalized, you have a right to write letters in “Atlantean” undisturbed, so long as it is integral to your belief system.

“DeSimone v. Bartow is a lawsuit by plaintiff who has been civilly committed to a mental health facility operated in part by the Department of Corrections. A Wisconsin federal district court permitted him to proceed with a claim that his 1st amendment and RLUIPA free exercise rights were violated when he was prohibited from writing in his Atlantean language, a practice plaintiff said was central to his religious belief. Officials said it took too long to translate the writings, and untranslated writings posed security risks, even though they did not impose the same restrictions on others who wrote in different foreign languages.”

I can only assume that letters written in Enochian, Theban, Angelic, and Malachim scripts would be similarly protected. I wonder, is the “Atlantean” alphabet he is using the one invented by Disney?

In a final note, Switzerland has exonerated Europe’s last beheaded witch.

“Swiss officials have granted a pardon to Europe’s last beheaded witch – more than 220 years after she was executed. The parliament of the Swiss canton (state) of Glarus decided unanimously today to exonerate Anna Goeldi as a victim of “judicial murder,” said Josef Schwitter, a government spokesman. Goeldi was executed in 1782 for an alleged case of poisoning.”

Goeldi, who is something of a (in)famous figure in Swiss history, had a museum opened in her honor, and the Swiss government is donating $118,000 towards the creation of a play about her life.