News

Pagan merchants continue to wrestle with occult bans

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TWH –It’s still not a good time to accept credit cards while Pagan. As was reported in March, terms of service forbidding fortune telling and other “occult” practices are enforced arbitrarily, and sometimes without warning. A new twist in the tale was discovered by Yeshe Rabbit, who was advised that not using a particular processor for the forbidden transactions is not enough. She was told to remove the offending services from her business web site. The Sacred Well, her shop with two West Coast locations, now uses a different provider, but she’d like to work on clearing this climate of uncertainty once and for all.

News

Outback Steakhouse at center of latest occult conspiracy theory

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TAMPA, Fla. — Outback Steakhouse became the focus of the latest social media meme craze when a Twitter user suggested that the Tampa-based restaurant chain was connected to the Illuminati and had occult leanings. The claim was backed up by a series of map images demonstrating how the chain’s locations around the country always form pentagrams.

The initial tweet, dated July 27, resulted in a firestorm of speculation as can only manifest in a social media environment. Users began creating their own pentagram maps with responses such as ,”Hold the damn phone,” “I’m scared,” “What is going on here?,” and “Illuminati Confirmed.” Most of those memes do appear to have been created tongue-in-cheek, some more obviously than others.

News

Paranormal research group seeks to include occult practices in studies

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JEFFERSONVILLE, Ind. — The Institute for the Study of Religious and Anomalous Experience (ISRAE) is looking for a home base from which to conduct its studies. The organization, founded by psychology professor Brian Laythe in 2009, is primarily a paranormal and parapsychology research group. However, as Laythe describes, they are also interested in occult practice and want to include the Pagan community in their work. “Much of parapsychology studies ESP or the movement or influence of objects as well as hauntings and paranormal phenomena,” said Laythe in an interview with The Wild Hunt.

News

The high-risk digital world of occult sales and psychic services

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TWH –The explosion of online platforms has been a boon to many in the polytheist and Pagan communities who can now sell crafts, books, and esoteric services more easily than ever before. At the same time, owners of all-sized businesses must be able to accept electronic payments in an increasingly cash-free society. Sometimes, vendors fall afoul of rules against the sale “occult” items or “fortune-teller” services, which now seems to be near-ubiquitous in the industry’s user agreements. The Witchery is such an online business. Its owner, who declined to give a name, was unaware that the popular processor Square is one of those no-occult zones.

Culture

Honoring the body through the occult with artist Allan Spiers (part two)

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CHICAGO — Photographer Allan Spiers is a self-taught artist whose life began in Peru surrounded by the magic and religious beliefs of its culture. After moving to the United States at the age of 13, he carried a natural call and love of Witchcraft and the occult into adulthood and, eventually, into his professional career. As highlighted in part one of our interview, Spiers recently merged his artistic talents with his spiritual beliefs to launch several multi-image projects, allowing for a new level of artistic freedom. In his newest project The Sabbath, Spiers explores both the male form and occult expression. In part two of our interview, he talked with us about the specifics of the project, its inspiration, and how his unique and evocative imagery fits into the extensive canon of traditional western-based Witch visuals. TWH: Considering the attention given to the female body and sexuality with regard to Witchcraft imagery, your use of male fitness models creates an irony.