The Not-So Lonely Hearts Religion

Australian Witch Caroline Tully responds to my post on her interview in The Age. It seems her words were heavily edited and reworked by the paper.

“There was so much stuff that was paraphrased, or totally peripheral to what the journalist and I were talking about. I’m really cross about the “weak and opressed” angle, because that came from a little side comment I made about magic, (not the religion of witchcraft) but magic, being a technology often resorted to by the powerless, which I felt that I illustrated quite well with an example of Islamic women using magic as domestic power (the topic of a lecture I recently attended) – obviously that was simply a dumb thing for me to have said at all, seeing what became of that comment. Also, a friend of mine said that it looked like Witches were a pile of women out for sex, which is also plain embarassing as I’m not single or desparate – if I was, I certainly wouldn’t be confiding in some reporter!”

So a word of warning to those being interviewed by the press. Make sure the editor and the paper don’t have an agenda!

Will Religion (and Sex) Enter The Case?

Robert Petrick, a Wiccan currently being held on charges for the murder of his wife Janine Sutphen has requested that any information regarding his religious beliefs or his sexual and relational preferences be barred from being used as evidence in the trial.

“Petrick wants to bar evidence dealing with his sexual habits and preferences, including books, films, clothing, “sexual appliances” and e-mail messages, according to his motion. He also wants all references to paganism and witchcraft prohibited. Petrick was married to two people in a pagan wedding ceremony, according to participants in that ceremony. Petrick contends that the introduction of such evidence would be unfair to him.”

Much has been made of Petrick’s polyamorous relationships since the discovery of Sutphen’s body. Though the press hasn’t made much of Petrick’s religious affiliation up to this point.

If his religious choice is allowed as “evidence” in the murder trial it could set a precedent where one’s affiliation with a Pagan (or minority) faith becomes a “strike” against you in a criminal proceeding.

While I hope justice is served in this case, I don’t want that justice to be served by trampling on our legal rights. There is no modern Wiccan or Pagan material that could be relevant in a murder trial. If there is no “religion test” for Christian murder suspects, there shouldn’t be one for Pagan faiths.

The Living Gods

The Grey Lodge Occult Review is offering a torrent to download the famous documentary film of Haitian Vodou, Maya Deren’s “Divine Horsemen: The Living Gods of Haiti”.

“Not long after arriving in Haiti Deren decided on extensive documentation of Haitian Voudoun ceremony. Retakes within this material are extremely rare. On the back of Deren’s Bolex was taped “Speed Stop Focus Finder Motor”. These prompts allowed her to safeguard shots that could never be redone as she would “shoot to cut ” to eliminate post-editing and “plan by eye “- prepare a visual shorthand of the pro-filmic event. The traditional use of footage accompanied by expert witness and testimony was rejected for a film with music. Aware of the potential of documentary film to create a fiction through editing, Deren was determined to represent Voudoun rituals with respect to their mythic origin. With this goal, she was successful which not only the footage but “Divine Horsemen” confirms.” – Moira Sullivan, An Anagram of the Ideas of Filmmaker Maya Deren, ? 1997

Don’t know what a “torrent” is or how to download one? Here is a good place to learn all about it.

I Really Want This To Happen!

The Bishop of Bolton, the Rt Rev David Gillett is worried that Hallowe’en is becoming too “Pagan” to be celebrated by good and decent Christians.

“There has been a widespread increase in New Age spiritualities and connections with dark occult happenings have surfaced in certain areas,” he says. “Hallowe’en has, in many ways, reverted to its pre-Christian days.”

He wants to create a new holiday for Christians. “Lite-Nite”. No. Really.

“Hallowe’en has become associated with the occult and should be reclaimed by Christians and even renamed “Lite-Nite”, a Church of England bishop says.”

I really, really, want for Christians to celebrate “Lite-Nite”. I fully endorse this. Please Christians, stop celebrating the sinful, Paganistic Hallowe’en. Instead you should all gather for “Lite-Nite”. You can sing “Lite” carols, and drink apple cider. It should be great FUN.