It looks like The Independent wanted a second opinion of Richard Rudgley’s new book “Pagan Resurrection” after it was thoroughly drubbed by David V Barrett back in October. Rudgley’s psuedo-Jungian meditation on the spirit of “Odin” in our modern age and how it empowers racist groups (even Christian racist groups) was labeled the worst kind of scholarship in the original review.

“…he is committing the ultimate sin of any anthropologist or historian, back-projecting from highly selective examples of unpleasantness today and photo-fitting them to a distorted image from the mythological past…a catalogue of racist individuals and organisations whose only connection with Odin, through very dubious links, is by assertion rather than argument.”

But the second review by Gary Lachman glosses over these criticisms and spends quite a lot of time talking about the smallest portion of the book, the 45 pages that detail the (potential) positive impacts of modern Paganism.

“The ecological and cultural aspects of the new paganism, Rudgely hopes, will promote a “global awareness”, which is different from “globalisation”, which he sees as the dark side of the web, threatening to reduce the world’s complexity to a bland uniformity. The jury is still out on that, but if our second Odin experiment isn’t to end like the first, then books like this will certainly be a help.”

Why these two very different opinions? A look at the authors of the two pieces will shed some light. The negative reviewer, David V Barrett, is a former teacher of Religious Studies and wrote a book on new religious movements. He is looking at this work as an academic, specifically an academic with an interest in modern Paganism. The generally positive review was by Gary Lachman, a former member of Blondie turned sensationalist writer on the occult. His most famous work is “Turn Off Your Mind” a look into the “dark” side of the occult in the 1960s.

So who to believe? While I don’t want to cast aspersions on Lachman or his work, I think it is telling that a negative review of his book makes this specific critique.

“Lachman further engages in questionable practices when it comes to trying to weave some of this together. He tries to connect various figures and ideas, but his links are tenuous, and he often engages in simple, reprehensible, guilty by association.”

Which sounds a lot like the criticism Barrett made of “Pagan Resurrection”. So while the Independent is willing to give us a second opinion, I think my opinion of this book will remain the same as when Barrett’s review came out.

“Rudgley has created and released a work that is sure to be avidly read by Christian apologists looking to erase the taint of racism from their own faith, and by pundits and public intellectuals looking to discredit the wider modern Paganism movement. A book to be avoided, or at best, read to better discredit its arguments.”

So remember to always check where an opinion is coming from, and when looking at books on modern Paganism written by outsiders, buyer beware!

The Santa Cruz Sentinel profiles the struggle with uterine cancer of author, songwriter, and elder in the Goddess spirituality movement Shekinah Mountainwater.

Shekinah Mountainwater
Photographer Peter Hughes

“Mountainwater is a key figure in the history of Santa Cruz’s alternative spiritual culture. She’s a musician and songwriter who emerged early on as a leading proponent of Goddess worship, a parallel discipline of paganism centered on an archetypal feminine world view. She’s the author of “Ariadne’s Thread: A Workbook of Goddess Magic,” and she’s led classes and workshops and conducted rituals and tarot-card readings.”

The local community is gathering to hold a benefit for her treatment on December 1st and 2nd at Motion Pacific in Santa Cruz.

“On Dec. 1 and 2, a community of performers and artists are coming together in a show called “Viva Shekhinah,” a variety show aimed celebrating the guest of honor. Among the performers will be Miranda Janeschild and her dance company Mir & A Company, singer/songwriter Molly Hartwell, fellow healer and singer Copperwoman, and acclaimed dancer and choreographer Frey Faust, who happens to be Shekhinah Mountainwater’s son.”

For Mountainwater, this has been a deeply “revelatory” experience, and has lead her to reconnect with the Santa Cruz Goddess community.

“It’s been hard, but it’s also been wonderful. It’s the most amazing experience, to have a life-threatening disease. The support, the community around cancer is phenomenal. There’s so much love and compassion to people with cancer.”

I hope that Mountainwater experiences a full recovery from her cancer, and lives on to be an elder to her community for many years to come.

The New York Times takes a closer look at the most famous literary creation of P. L. Travers, Mary Poppins. The article is quick to point out that the Disney version we all know is a far cry from the real personality of Ms. Poppins. In the books, Poppins is strict, acerbic, and averse to being touched. But as the Times points out, this outer appearance was necessary to house the magic contained within.

“She is a caricature of the most authoritarian form of adulthood; she is outraged by any suggestion that things might be otherwise. Eventually the children learn that “Appearances are Deceptive.” They learn, that is, that there is a split between the inner life and outward appearance, between the magic of Mary Poppins and her thoroughly adult facade. This is not a reflection of hypocrisy. Both realms are necessary. Authority, order, precision – mocked in the film and on Broadway – are intertwined with her magic. In part this reveals how children perceive adulthood. Children are asked to submit to formal restrictions they don’t fully grasp; they see exaggerated manifestations of responsibility and authority. Yet underneath the adult exterior they also sense strange, half-threatening and half-alluring forces that promise a realm of magical freedom. Travers captured that double vision – that confusion and melding of realms – that makes childhood so powerful.”

Even more interesting is that Mary Poppins (now the subject of an award-winning musical) was a product of the same era in Britain that produced Wicca. Travers had many similar interests to the founders of Wicca. This included a fierce devotion to the poet and mystic William Butler Yeats (a member of the Golden Dawn), and becoming a student of the mystic G. I. Gurdjieff*. These influences (among others) blended to help create her unique version of a magical woman.

“With Mary Poppins, though, she turned that mystical conception into a domestic one, and actually made it more compelling. Mary Poppins regularly opens a door into dimensions outside ordinary space and time for the benefit of her charges: a star from the Pleiades constellation comes to Earth in the form of a girl, a statue of a Greek god comes to life to play with Jane and Michael, an ancient crone grows fingers made of barley-sugar. Mary Poppins herself seems a creature of the heavens temporarily brought to Earth.”

It is easy to imagine that if these influences had been a shifted a bit, Mary Poppins could easily have been an adherent of the “old religion” of Pagan Witchcraft. Travers, only ten years younger that Gerald Gardner, and traveling in some of the same mystical subcultures could easily have gone that direction. For more on the mystical (and poetical) subcultures percolating at that time, Ronald Hutton’s “Triumph of the Moon” is a decent place to start. Imagine how close we came to a Pagan Poppins!

* Fun fact: Both Gurdjieff and Yeats shared an extreme dislike of Aleister Crowley. Read about Gurdjieff’s account, here, and an account of Crowley’s and Yeats’ mutual dislike can be read, here.

While for many today is a day of Thanksgiving and celebration (and eating too much turkey and watching televised sports), there are others who see this time as a time for mourning.

Since 1970, indigenous American activists have gathered on Coles Hill in Plymouth to draw attention to the ongoing discrimination, revisionist history, and inequities visited towards Native peoples in America. On this day I offer some indigenous (and indigenous-friendly) voices in the news. Consider it a counter-balance of sorts to the consumerist status-quo.

“It’s been said that the winners get to write history. Not that Mashpee Wampanoag consider themselves losers. They don’t – especially now that the tribe is on the cusp of being granted federal recognition…Mashpee Wampanoag Tribal Council Chairman Glenn Marshall said that while he has plans to have a “regular” Thanksgiving meal with his family, he can’t help but feel torn about the holiday. “I have a meal with my family like everybody else, but it’s still a day of mourning for me. I compare it to 9/11 – an attack on a way of life and a loss of innocence. That’s how Wampanoags felt,” said the Vietnam War combat veteran.” – Sean Gonslaves, Cape Cod Times

“While millions of Americans sit down to turkey dinners or watch the big football game, nearly 1,000 American Indians will gather in Plymouth for their National Day of Mourning…”We want people to know the truth about Thanksgiving,” James said. “Plymouth Rock is nothing more than a monument to racism and genocide.” But James said he’s not “anti-Thanksgiving.” “I think people should give thanks 365 days a year,” he said. “This is also a day of celebration for us. We remember our ancestors. We celebrate the fact that we’re still around.” The Day of Mourning is scheduled to begin at noon Thursday at the statue of Massasoit on Cole’s Hill, Plymouth.” – Gerry Tuoti, The Taunton Gazette

“When we dare to stand up for our rights, we are considered unreasonable. When we speak the truth about the history of the European invasion, we are often told to “go back where we came from.” But we came from right here, our roots are here. They do not extend across any ocean.” – Moonanum James and Mahtowin Munro, Z Magazine

“History does matter, which is why people in power put so much energy into controlling it. The United States is hardly the only society that has created such mythology. While some historians in Great Britain continue to talk about the benefits that the empire brought to India, political movements in India want to make the mythology of Hindutva into historical fact. Abuses of history go on in the former empire and the former colony. History can be one of the many ways we create and impose hierarchy, or it can be part of a process of liberation. The truth won’t set us free, but the telling of truth at least opens the possibility of freedom. As Americans sit down on Thanksgiving Day to gorge themselves on the bounty of empire, many will worry about the expansive effects of overeating on their waistlines. We would be better to think about the constricting effects on the day’s mythology on our minds.” – Robert Jensen, Austin American-Statesman

“Traditional people dedicate their harvest to the gods or their people. Each has a different thing: ‘I’m thanking the creator,’ and ‘Appreciate what you have and spread your wealth, rather than hoarding and selling everything.’ In tribal beliefs, it’s almost a socialist type of society. No one is richer or poorer than anyone else.” – Sundust Teocuauhtli Martinez, New American Media

I hope all of you enjoy a day of both reflection and thanksgiving.