8.10.2008
(Pagan) News of Note
My semi-regular round-up of articles, essays, and opinions of note for discerning Pagans and Heathens.
The Richmond Times Dispatch in Virginia reports on CaribFest, and speaks with Haiti's ambassador to the U.S. about Vodou/Voodoo.
"Raymond A. Joseph, Haiti's ambassador to the U.S., was quite conversant on the subject of voodoo. 'When people think of voodoo, they think about the pins and the dolls. . . . That is sorcery and witchcraft,' Joseph said. In reality, he said, 'voodoo is a religion, like any other.'"
In a fortunate piece of kismet, the public radio program Speaking of Faith aired its "Living Vodou" episode this week, which features an interview with Vodou scholar and practitioner Patrick Bellegarde-Smith.
Tropaion reports that the National Archaeological Museum of Athens, in partnership with the Onassis Cultural Foundation in New York, will be presenting an exhibition in December that may be of great interest to modern Pagans.
"Worship, Women’s Ritual and Reality in Classical Athens, is the forthcoming exhibition by the National Museum and the Onassis Cultural Foundation in New York for the following year ... The exhibition will hold 158 artifacts from the National Museum, Acropolis, Kerameikou, Thebes and others including with 29 artifacts from the British, Metropolitan, Louvre, Vatican, Berlin and other foreign Museums. The exhibition is going to be divided in four main categories / themes: goddesses, priestesses, women and ritual, festivities and women on the circle of life. The visitor will be initially introduce with the Athena Parthenou, Artemis of Brauron, Demeter and Persephone who are presented with artifacts of their temples. Then, there are the mythical priestesses like Theano, who retain the key to further discover the practical aspect of worship (sacrifices, libations and choes). The exhibition ends with the section of the cycle of life (birth, adulthood, marriage and death), which run all stages of life in relation to religion and a woman."
You can read more from this Greek paper. A formal press release hasn't been issued, but once it is, I'll provide a link.
Speaking of exhibitions in New York, the Museum of Biblical Art in Manhattan is currently hosting a traveling exhibit of 106 Albrecht Dürer prints. The famous German painter and print-maker, while devoting much of his work to Christian themes, also explored Greco-Roman myth, and did several witch-themed works. Reflecting the the growing concern (and eventual panic) that would engulf his homeland.
Excerpt from "The Four Witches" 1497
You can read more about the exhibition (which runs through Sept. 21) in this Lower Hudson Journal news article.
The Washington Post does a profile on the Hex signs of the Pennsylvania Dutch, and interviews Don Yoder, co-author of "Hex Signs: Pennsylvania Dutch Barn Symbols & Their Meaning", artist Eric Claypoole, and Patrick J. Donmoyer, a student at Kutztown University who studies hex paintings.
"Some of the symbols, he said, date to Norse, and even pagan, art. And it is no coincidence that the hub of hex sign activity is in Pennsylvania rather than, say, New York or New Jersey. "There was freedom of religion in Pennsylvania," he said. "People were afraid of so many things. Even 'witches' were protected here." The argument that hex signs couldn't have mystical meanings because they're so public and out there for the world to see is misleading, Donmoyer said."
Pennsylvania Dutch "Pow-Wow" folk practice and magic has gained popularity among some modern Pagans (to varying degrees of authenticity and success). So a thoughtful exploration of one aspect of this culture is welcome.
Druid leader King Arthur Pendragon's protest at Stonehenge has entered its second month.
"Demonstrating on behalf of the Council of British Druid Orders, King Arthur Pendragon has vowed to remain at the site, living in his caravan, until the historic site is opened fully to the public ... Pendragon, 54, has been camping close to the World Heritage Site since the Summer Solstice on June 21 and is hoping his protests will encourage the Government to remove the fences around the monument, build a tunnel under the A303 and grass over the A344."
It is unclear if Pendragon's protest, or the ongoing public consultation, will produce much needed changes in time for the 2012 Olympics.
In a final note, it looks fairly certain that Natalie Portman will be starring in a remake of Dario Argento's occult-horror masterpiece "Suspiria" (featuring an evil coven of witches).
"Handsome Charlie Films, which is headed by Natalie Portman (pictured inside) and Annette Savitch, will be producing the remake of Dario Argento's Suspiria. In addition, word has it Portman will topline the film that David Gordon Green is attached to direct. Green's PINEAPPLE EXPRESS hits theaters tomorrow."
Another addition to the large pile of horrid horror remakes (think "The Wicker Man"), or new classic for a new generation? I suppose only time will tell.
That is all I have for now, have a great day!
Labels: art, Arthur Pendragon, Druidry, folklore, goddess, Greece, movies, New York, Pagan News of Note, Paganism, Stonehenge, Vodou, Witchcraft
5.08.2008
The ACLU, South Carolina, and Religious Minorities
As I have reported previously on this blog, South Carolina is quickly becoming one of the "hot zones" in battles over church and state. You had Wiccan Darla Wynne's victory over sectarian prayer in Great Falls, the ongoing plan by conservative Christians to legislate around that judgment, and a controversial "I Believe" specialty license plate created solely for Christians about to be approved. So it is troubling to hear that the local chapter of the ACLU has become so dysfunctional that the national organization has swooped in to take over.
"If there is one state that can ill afford an ineffective chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union it arguably is South Carolina ... in recent years [the SC ACLU chapter] been hampered by ideological squabbling among its board members, staff leadership turnover, lackluster membership and fundraising numbers and a virtually nonexistent media presence. Aware of the problems for some time, the national ACLU board has decided to step in and try to right the ship. The decision made national news."
The only comfort here is that with the national ACLU board "driving", we may see a revitalized ACLU chapter in South Carolina, and greater resources being poured into the looming legal battles developing in the state. Over the years the ACLU has been an important resource for modern Pagans seeking redress against discriminatory or unconstitutional policies and practices. Without the ACLU, and similar organizations like Americans United and the FFRF, many of the seminal legal cases that have helped establish precedents and decisions favoring the growth and free exercise of modern Paganism in America may not have happened.
Of course modern Pagans and church-state separation organizations don't always see eye to eye. In New York, the town board of Greece is defending its sectarian prayer policy by making the opening prayers inclusive of all faiths. This has allowed a local Wiccan to deliver a sectarian Pagan prayer before a recent board meeting.
"In just a few seconds' time during the April Town Board meeting, Jennifer Zarpentine made Greece history. Zarpentine, a Wiccan, delivered the first-ever pagan prayer to open a meeting of the Greece Town Board. Her hands raised to the sky, she called upon Greek deities Athena and Apollo to 'help the board make the right informed decisions for the benefit and greater good of the community.' A small cadre of her friends and coven members in the audience chimed in 'so mote it be.'"
Americans United, who recently helped win the veteran Pentacle case, is suing the town board in order to force it to switch to nonsectarian prayer (or no prayer at all). A move Wiccan Jennifer Zarpentine disapproves of.
"Zarpentine said she was pleased by the opportunity to pray at the meeting. 'I thought the invocation went well,' she said. 'The board was respectful;, they all bowed their heads.' As far as the lawsuit goes, Zarpentine said the town isn't being discriminatory. 'They are including everybody,' she said. 'They asked me.'"
Which illustrates a point where there is some divergence between groups like the ACLU and modern Pagans. Most modern Pagans are fine with religious expression so long as there is full and consistent inclusion. While the AU, and similar organizations, take a harder line of enforcing nonsectarian or nothing.
"We're glad to see that the (Town Board) is now cognizant of the diversity of the community, and it's too bad it took a lawsuit to get them to see the light ... While the Wiccan prayer will likely be more inclusive than prayers offered in the past, that doesn't change that what we want is for the town to adopt a policy that prayer-givers offer nonsectarian prayers."
Despite these differences, our faith groups have generally experienced a net gain in allying ourselves with church-state separation advocacy organizations. This will most likely continue until modern Pagan organizations gather sufficient fiscal and political power to form their own legal advocacy groups. Even then, I don't foresee a day where Pagans will be unhappy with the ACLU or AU fighting to keep religion out of politics in America. A truly democratic and secular country is one where the religious minority doesn't have to fear outright discrimination or persecution.
Labels: ACLU, AU, discrimination, law, litigation, New York, Paganism, prayer, Religious Freedom, South Carolina, Wicca
3.27.2008
Hoopeston Documentary Premieres at NYUFF
The upcoming 15th (and final) annual New York Underground Film Festival will be hosting the international premiere of the documentary "Hoopeston". The film looks at a formerly prosperous Illinois town as it deals with a declining economy, drugs, and the controversy caused by Witch School (and the Correllian Tradition that runs it) moving in.
Hoopeston - Trailer from Synydyne on Vimeo.
"Two and a half hours south of Chicago near the Illinois- Indiana border, once the global capital of sweet corn production, Hoopeston, according to residents, went from a town of "overachievers to underachievers in the span of just ten to fifteen years." Church. Meth. Republicans. That's about what's left when town officials, hoping to create jobs, start offering to give away prominent downtown buildings to anyone with a business plan ... but - whoops - guess who's coming to dinner: a displaced Wiccan sect shopping downmarket for a good spot to open the "nation's first witch school," Witch School. A beads industry mover and shaker from Virginia Beach; a pagan CEO with a checkered romantic past; the Orson Welles-esque leader of the Corellian Tradition, since age thirteen... take a trip with these egos to the dork side."
While the NYUFF description is somewhat mocking, the filmmakers seem quite sincere in wanting to impartially tell the story of the conflicts that emerged between Witch School and the heavily Christian town.
"The directors of the school faced stiff opposition from religious conservatives (Hoopeston has over a dozen churches - its other nickname is "The Holy City"). But the Witch School is now a fixture in Hoopeston, one that forces the town to ask whether its future lies in traditional industry or internet wand sales. Hoopeston tells the story of the former Sweet Corn Capital through the lives of its residents. A laborer struggles to find work, a young entrepreneur buys the only motel in town, the police chief battles a drug epidemic, and the Correllian Chancellor lays plans for a vast Crystal Web."
The Hoopeston story doesn't have a happy ending for Witch School. Due to a number of factors, including the ongoing lack of acceptance by locals, the school (and the Correllians) moved to the even smaller town of Rossville, Illinois to make a new start of building a "Salem of the Midwest" (a plan that seems increasingly unlikely, as Rossville seems even less enthusiastic than Hoopeston at Witch School's presence). "Hoopeston" should be an interesting exploration of what happens when religious cultures clash outside the (mostly) tolerant (and secular) urban areas most Pagans flock to.
The New York Underground Film Festival runs from April 2nd through the 8th at the Anthology Film Archives in New York City's East Village. "Hoopeston" is scheduled to screen on April 3 at 8:45 PM, with a repeat showing on April 8 at 9:30 PM. No word yet on other festival appearances or a DVD release.
Labels: Correllian Wicca, documentaries, Don Lewis, Ed Hubbard, Hoopeston, New York, Paganism, Witch School
3.25.2008
More Church-State Issues (With a Wiccan Twist)
The town of Greece in New York is the latest flash-point in battles over the separation of Church and State. There, due to predominately Christian prayers (all but two since 2004 were explicitly Christian) said before the Greece Town Board meeting, Americans United is bringing litigation to force them to switch to non-sectarian opening prayers.
"Americans United sued the Greece, N.Y., Town Board and its supervisor, John Auberger, on behalf of two local residents who object to government-sponsored religious activities that favor one faith over others. The lawsuit alleges that almost all of the board’s opening prayers are explicitly Christian, and that since 2004, only a single non-Christian has been invited to deliver the opening prayer."
Stepping into the ring to do battle with Americans United is the Alliance Defense Fund, a conservative Christian legal organization.
"The case is a matter of religious freedom, said Joel Oster, senior litigation counsel for Alliance Defense Fund. The Arizona-based nonprofit Christian group litigates court cases involving religious freedom, the sanctity of human life and traditional family values. 'The town of Greece is following a long-standing tradition established by our founding fathers, and that is to pray before events and ask for divine guidance,' he said. 'The town is just following in line with the great history and tradition of America.'"
Of course that "long-standing tradition" seems to have omitted non-Christians almost completely. The town, sensing their problem, scurries to become as inclusive as possible. How do you do that? You invite a Wiccan, obviously.
"[Greece deputy town supervisor Jeff] McCann said the town has long used a list of worship services published in a local newspaper to extend invitations to local clergy for the meetings. The list offers little diversity, he said, and the town has had difficulty locating people from nontraditional faiths who may not have a physical church building they attend. "Now that the issue has gotten some publicity, we've had people call up and say they have an interest in delivering a prayer," he said, adding that nonclergy, the nonreligious and anyone else who wishes to speak the pre-meeting prayer is welcome. "If a private person wants to come and say a prayer, they can come and do it." Indeed, he said, next month's Wiccan prayer was initiated by local resident Jennifer Zarpentine, who called town offices to ask whether she would be welcome at a meeting."
You would think that regular announcements at meetings, or perhaps a small ad in the local newspaper, would have helped flush out some non-Christian prayer-leaders before this whole mess started. Because now, inviting a Wiccan won't be enough to stop litigation.
"We're glad to see that the (Town Board) is now cognizant of the diversity of the community, and it's too bad it took a lawsuit to get them to see the light ... While the Wiccan prayer will likely be more inclusive than prayers offered in the past, that doesn't change that what we want is for the town to adopt a policy that prayer-givers offer nonsectarian prayers."
Unfortunately for the town of Greece, the law isn't on their side. Several Supreme Court and Circuit Court rulings, including a prominent case involving a Wiccan, all point towards a requirement for non-sectarian prayer by legislative bodies. So if don't want sectarian prayers to leave your city council or town board, you better become radically inclusive now, or else you'll end up with enforced non-sectarian prayer and (most likely) a hefty legal bill.
Labels: Alliance Defense Fund, AU, Christianity, law, litigation, New York, prayer, Wicca
1.01.2008
"It wasn't a hate crime..."
WIVB in New York reports that an anonymous caller to the Olean police department claims to be the man who ran over a holiday Pentacle display in early December.
"Police believe they've received a phone-call confession from the person who ran-over a holiday pentacle display in olean. This all started earlier this month in Olean. The city allowed people to put up religious symbols in front of city hall..but not long after someone erected a Wiccan pentacle sign.. Someone ran it over."
The vandalized Pentacle display.
Here is the content of the caller's message:
"Hello there, this is a tough call for me to make... We were in Olean shopping.. We had dinner.. We were on our way home.. my girlfriend said, hey, there's the symbol that was on the news I wish someone would run it over I had a few beers in me.. and was showing off, so I backed into it. I am truly sorry it wasn't a hate crime..just an off color prank."
See? It isn't a hate crime if you had a few beers in you and did it to impress your girlfriend. This "beer + girlfriend" defense seems to be winning over the local police, who say that they only plan to charge the man with misdemeanor charges of criminal mischief (if they catch him). No word on if further charges will be entertained (like drunk driving for instance). What do you think? Is this a hate crime or an "off color prank", what punishment do you think the driver (and possibly the girlfriend) should receive?
Labels: Christianity, hate crime, Nativity Display, New York, Oleans, Paganism, Pentacle, War on Christmas, Wicca
12.12.2007
Update: The Holiday Pentacle Saga Ends
It looks like the saga of a controversial Nativity display in Olean, New York, and the resulting Holiday Pentacle display has come to an end. Just three days after the installation of the Pentacle by a local Wiccan (and one day after it was run over by a truck), Mayor David J. Carucci has decided to re-locate the Nativity to a nearby Baptist Church.
"The battle of the Nativity - and the pentacle - came to an end in Olean on Tuesday, at least for now. A day after the large lavender and silver wooden pentacle sign was driven over and later stood back up - a hole in the front and tire tracks notwithstanding - the adjacent Nativity scene was moved a block down the street from the City Hall lawn to the front of a Baptist church. Later Wednesday afternoon, John Garlow went to City Hall and removed the pentacle he and his wife, April, had placed there as a Wiccan response to the Nativity scene."
It looks like a storm of criticism, and an investigation into a possible hate-crime were more heat than the defiant Mayor wanted to deal with. Mayor Carucci claims that the incident with the Pentacle was mere vandalism, but John and April Garlow, who erected the Pentacle, claim there were threats made against them.
"Garlow said it had been suggested on Internet message boards that his wife should be beaten ... Shortly after 4 p.m., the battered pentacle was removed by John Garlow, aided by Gan, and strapped to the luggage rack of a station wagon. Passing motorists offered comments and a woman onlooker, bearing a placard with the words 'God Will Win,' stood nearby."
Oh, if only the reporter transcribed some of the "offered comments". Does anyone really believe this was random vandalism? For now, at least, it looks like the controversy that started this is over. There is still the matter of catching the "vandal" who ran over the Pentacle display, and making sure he is brought to justice. Lets hope the Police follow through on their promise to investigate this as a possible hate crime.
As for the Garlows, I salute their courage and determination. I hope the Pagan community in Olean is rallying around them. While many talk about doing something, they acted and demanded a place at the table. The Garlows have opened a door, and it would be rude of us to refuse to follow when similar situations present themselves.
Labels: Christianity, Christmas, Nativity Display, New York, Oleans, Paganism, Pentacle, War on Christmas, Wicca
12.11.2007
Update: The Holiday Pentacle
It looks like the press missed a beat here. At the end of November, a Wiccan was granted permission to erect a Pentacle display next to a controversial Nativity display in Olean, NY. I was very excited by this prospect, but the next day the Wiccan in question backed down from erecting the display.
"April Garlow said she won't erect the Wiccan symbol. Garlow made the request after being outraged that the mayor allowed a group to place a nativity scene, a Christian symbol, on the municipal building's lawn. "I couldn't believe they would put it on public property. I'm a homeowner in Olean, I pay taxes," Garlow said ... Garlow has said she will not place her Wiccan symbol at the building because of the possibility of lawsuits from outside organizations. Carucci said the offer remains for her and anyone else wishing to display their religious symbols."
But it seems that Garlow changed her mind, and took Carucci up on his offer, erecting a Pentacle next to the Nativity display last weekend. This development didn't make it to the news-wires, but news has been made again now that the display was destroyed by vandals.
The vandalized Pentacle display.
"Police are investigating vandalism aimed at a symbol of the Wiccan religion set up next to a Nativity scene in front of city hall. Officials in this city 60 miles south of Buffalo say someone in a pickup truck backed over the Wiccan pentacle around 10:15 p.m. Monday, then sped off. The pentacle, a pentagram within a circle, was placed last weekend near the Nativity scene Olean Mayor David Carucci allowed to be set up outside city hall last month."
Looks like some Christians aren't as committed to religion in the public square as they claim. I hope the culprit is caught and made to personally restore the symbol, and I hope that every Pagan and Heathen in the Olean area comes forward to erect their own Winter-themed displays. Let the Nativity exist in a sea of religious imagery, or remove it from public property.
ADDENDUM: A further report on the incident can be found at the WIVB site, including a picture of the Pentacle display.
Labels: Christianity, Christmas, Nativity Display, New York, Oleans, Paganism, Pentacle, War on Christmas, Wicca
11.28.2007
The Holiday Pentacle
Remember my post the other day when I said Pagans should take advantage of public Nativity display clauses allowing for other religions to "add their symbols"?
"The city of Menominee is trying to legally protect itself by having a provision stating that "non-Christians be allowed to add their symbols". I can only hope that this means an enterprising Pagan group or two are getting public displays ready to sit next to the nativity scene. What about a baby Mithras? A mini-temple to Saturn? How about a Yule Goat? Lets get creative here!"
Well it looks like some Pagans in Olean, New York (near Buffalo) have decided to test the waters and do exactly that.
"The Nativity scene outside a municipal building near Buffalo could soon be sharing space with a Wiccan pentacle. Olean Mayor David Carucci has given a local resident permission to set up a pentacle next to the Nativity scene outside the Olean Municipal Building."
Carucci's decision to allow a Pentacle display comes shortly after facing criticism from local Jewish groups for setting up a Christian symbol on municipal property. At the time he made the promise often made after a controversial religious display is placed on public property:
"Mayor Carucci, who is Christian, said any other religious group is also welcome to put a display outside the City Building. He said he decided to allow the Nativity, which depicts the birth of Jesus Christ, after a group of private individuals asked him for permission to put it up."
So now Carucci's convictions will be put to the test, and a holiday-themed Pentacle symbol will be placed next to the Nativity. One wonders how passerby will know it is Pagan, since Christmas stars are often portrayed as five-pointed. Will there be other elements? Maybe they should have gone with the giant Yule goat instead. But since this is a Wiccan display it leaves openings for Asatru and other Pagan faiths to stake out a piece of municipal land as well. Lets see a plethora of (Pagan) holiday religious displays!
UPDATE: The Wiccan who got permission to erect the holiday Pentacle display is backing down from doing so, due to fear of litigation.
"Despite getting the mayor's permission to place a pentacle at Olean's City Hall, April Garlow said she won't erect the Wiccan symbol. Garlow made the request after being outraged that the mayor allowed a group to place a nativity scene, a Christian symbol, on the municipal building's lawn ... Garlow has said she will not place her Wiccan symbol at the building because of the possibility of lawsuits from outside organizations. Carucci said the offer remains for her and anyone else wishing to display their religious symbols."
She does realize that any litigation would most likely be aimed at the City right? This is disappointing, I want my Pagan Winter Festival display! Come on Olean Pagans, step up!
Labels: Christianity, Christmas, Nativity Display, New York, Oleans, Paganism, Pentacle, War on Christmas, Wicca
