Culture

Beyoncé, the latest female singer to be accused of Witchcraft: an analysis

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TWH – Singer and songwriter Beyoncé is the latest star to be accused of Witchcraft. News stories published by online media sources and tabloids explain that former drummer Kimberly Thompson is suing the singer for using “extreme Witchcraft” to control her and her finances. The reports also state that the ex-band member claims that Beyoncé used dark magic to stage a campaign of harassment against her. Beyoncé has not made a public statement in response, and Thompson was denied the requested restraining order. However, now Beyoncé joins a long list of other female performers who have been accused of Witchcraft for one reason or another.

News

Katy Perry accused of stealing song, turning it Pagan

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ST. LOUIS –Pop music star Katy Perry may be going to trial over allegations she used a Christian hip-hop composition as the basis of her 2014 hit, “Dark Horse.” The artists behind the 2007 piece entitled “Joyful Noise” not only say Perry used it without permission, but that she “irreparably tarnished” their work by associating it with Pagan imagery in her music video. The judge in the case thinks it’s close enough that it’s worth having jurors make the call. The song “Joyful Noise” was created by Marcus Gray (Flame), Lecrae Moore, Emanuel Lambert, and Chike Ojukwu in 2007; it was published the following year.

Hounds

Unleash the Hounds! (link roundup)

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There are lots of articles and essays of interest to modern Pagans and Heathens out there, more than our team can write about in depth in any given week. Therefore, The Wild Hunt must unleash the hounds in order to round them all up. 

We start today’s roundup with religious freedom stories:

The Florida Senate approved SB 436 “Religious Expression in Public Schools.” As with many religious freedom bills, SB 436 seeks to protect people from discrimination related to their practice of religion. However, according to Americans United, this senate bill and the corresponding Florida House Bill 303 “would erode the separation of church and state in Florida’s schools in violation of the First Amendment.” Americans United goes on to say that, “both versions of the bill would put Florida’s public schools in a bind, as they would be forced to choose between violating the new state law and violating the U.S. Constitution.”

Culture

Guest Post: Katy Perry, Dark Horse, and Bigger Fish

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[The following is a guest post from Michelle Mueller. Michelle Mueller is a doctoral student researching polyamory in Pagan communities. She has integrated women’s and gender studies throughout her study of religion, and thinks it’s never a bad idea to think about representations of women in the media, as well as messages about queer culture and Pagans.]

As many of us in the Bay Area (and beyond) reintegrate into the “mundane world” after PantheaCon, it feels timely to turn an eye towards images of Witchcraft in pop culture. Some Wiccans were upset about Katy Perry’s performance of “Dark Horse” at the Grammys three weeks ago, during which she invoked theatrical imagery to refer to “the Burning Times.” In her grand finale, she attached herself to a broom (basically stripper pole style); the pyrotechnics produced a blazing fire around her, a reference to witch-burning.
I missed the Grammys but my good friend, Assembly of the Sacred Wheel member, Shelly Graves brought the performance to my attention with a Facebook post the next morning, “Did anyone just see that performance by katy perry?