Pellet reviews of some recently released books of interest.

Barbara Jane Davy’s “Introduction to Pagan Studies” is an essential overview and distillation of current academic thought concerning the history, beliefs, and practices of modern Paganism. Accessible and written as an introductory textbook, Davy provides an excellent starting point to people wanting to know more about Paganism, and to Pagans wanting to explore the burgeoning realm of Pagan Studies. Highly recommended, and I’m not just saying that because my writing is referenced in one of the chapters.

“Savage Breast: One Man’s Search For the Goddess” by Tim Ward, is an unflinching look into one man’s psyche as he goes on a quest for the divine feminine. Ward travels the world investigating holy sites dedicated to ancient goddesses, while working out his own personal issues with women along the way. I don’t say “unflinching” lightly, Ward goes through some pretty ugly emotional purging and realizations about how he has viewed women, and ultimately comes to feel that the absence of goddesses has created an unhealthy cultural and spiritual imbalance that must be corrected. This is a uniquely powerful and emotionally honest work.

Lisa McSherry’s book “Magickal Connections: Creating a Lasting and Healthy Spiritual Group” tackles the thorny issue of Pagan group dynamics and offers some solid advice in building and maintaining spiritual groups. McSherry draws from a variety of sources both religious and secular (including the excellent “Antagonists in the Church”) to help overcome common problems found within the small worship and ritual groups that typify our communities. This is a wonderfully functional and useful book that deserves wider attention.

America’s religious illiteracy is becoming dangerous, and something needs to be done. That is the basic thesis of Stephen Prothero’s “Religious Literacy: What Every American Needs to Know–And Doesn’t”. Prothero’s book looks at the roots of our country’s religious illiteracy (and measures equal blame to both the idealogical “left” and “right”) and advocates for a renewed commitment in our public schools to religious education. Prothero envisions a “fourth R” (religion) to help students grapple with the religious underpinnings of important social and political issues that face us today. While I do quibble a bit with how “literate” in religion early Americans truly were, I do agree that classes dealing with the prominent religions in our world are increasingly necessary. But the needed compromise between the secular left and Religious Right to make Prothero’s proposals happen may not be coming any time soon.

It looks like the negative backlash over the President’s “oversight” of not inviting Wiccan widow Roberta Stewart, but inviting her husband’s extended family to a private meeting, has resulted in an apology call from the President.

“Fernley resident Roberta Stewart, widow of Wiccan soldier Sgt. Patrick Stewart, received an apology from President Bush Thursday morning for not being invited to meet with him during a recent visit by the president to Reno. Stewart received a message from White House staff Thursday morning asking her to return a call from President Bush. After receiving the message, Stewart said she called the White House and was patched directly to the president. During a seven-minute phone conversation, the president extended his apologies for all Stewart’s grief over nearly two years since her husband Sgt. Patrick Stewart’s death in Afghanistan in September 2005. Bush asked Stewart to accept his apology for the oversight, she said. Bush said he admired Stewart hoped they would meet someday. He seemed truly sincere as he apologized, she said, accepting his apology. “I am happy that I was able to speak with him and hope that now I can truly move forward and close this chapter,” said Stewart.”

No word on if Stewart asked Bush why her husband was dishonored by his administration, as she said she would if able to meet the President. But still, it is nice to see George Bush do the right thing and apologize. If this private chat with a modern Pagan represents a new attitude towards modern Pagan political concerns remains to be seen.

ADDENDUM: American’s United has a press release out on the apology. When Stewart was asked if the Wiccan religion was touched on in their conversation, she replied that Bush said “he would not discriminate against someone because of their religion.” Let’s hope that statement holds true for Bush and his administration from now on.

It seems that our President isn’t one to forgive a political loss, or make nice with religious minorities, even if they are they are married to a soldier killed in the war on terror.

“When President Bush took time Tuesday to meet family members of some of the fallen soldiers from Northern Nevada, a woman whose husband made the ultimate sacrifice was notably absent. Roberta Stewart of Fernley, who lost her husband, Sgt. Patrick Stewart, when the helicopter he was in was shot down in Afghanistan in September 2005, said she was not invited to the meeting that followed Bush’s speech to the American Legion’s national convention in Reno. Other members of the Stewart family were invited to the brief, private meeting, including her husband’s parents and brother, as were family members of others who have been killed in Iraq and Afghanistan.”

For those not up on current events in Pagandom, Roberta Stewart is the woman who successfully challenged the government on allowing the Pentacle on veteran’s gravestones and markers (after her husband’s grave marker was initially denied a requested Pentacle emblem). It seems that George “witchcraft isn’t a religion” Bush is petty enough to snub war-widows (while inviting the rest of the family) if they don’t meet his personal criteria of allegiance (or he just hates Wiccans that much), a behavior that Americans United director Rev. Barry W. Lynn called “shabby”.

“The president should issue an apology to Roberta Stewart … She stood courageously for religious freedom for all soldiers, and the president was wrong to treat her so shabbily … President Bush seems to be continuing a pattern of hostility toward the Wiccan faith … That’s an outrage.”

As for Stewart, she isn’t surprised at the snub, and guesses that Bush wanted to avoid criticism for his part in blocking approval of the Pentacle.

“I would have loved to have spoken to President Bush and ask him why he dishonored my husband. That’s probably why I wasn’t invited.”

I sincerely doubt that any apology will be forthcoming, Bush has made his distaste for Pagan religion and deserved criticism (even in private) quite clear. But this would be an excellent chance for any of the Presidential candidates (Republican or Democrat) to weigh in on this issue, and rise above such small-minded partisanship and religious bigotry. As for the Veteran Pentacle Quest, a coalition has formed to work on getting the Thor’s Hammer and Druid’s Awen approved next, and any military families involved in this campaign now know what behavior to expect from the Bush administration.

ADDENDUM: A Department of Defense official claims it was an “unfortunate oversight” and not an intended snub, but AU director Rev. Barry Lynn isn’t buying the excuse saying “so called oversights often cover up a multitude of sins.”

For those interested in Pagan and Pagan-friendly music, Woven Wheat Whispers (a legal folk music downloading service) and Cold Spring Records have recently released a groundbreaking compilation of darker folk music that explores the mythic past of the British Isles entitled “John Barleycorn Reborn”.

“We are keen to highlight the authentic, stark aspects of the folk tradition, uncensored by Victorian sensibilities, allowing the harshness of our earlier existence and the rawness of our traditional stories to be expressed. Through this we hope to reveal some of our early history from the pre-Roman era and the archetypes of belief that still resonate today. The existence of the working people in the past was harsh, their toil hard and respite short. Their imaginations were fired by the aural tradition that merged foundation myths, morality tales, historical lore and seasonal celebration. Woven into the pre-Puritan church and the folk celebrations were unexplained traces of primitive British belief that continues today through the folk arts.”

While the compilation outright states that it is “totally unrelated” to modern Paganism or occultism, the thematic elements of the songs are right up the alleys of Pagan music connoisseurs.

“…is about evoking the mystery of our ancient past, the strangeness of their beliefs and the remnants of this carrying down the centuries. Folk music is full of seasonal veneration, fertilising sacrifice, symbolic murder, nefarious crime, false accusations of witchcraft, extreme poverty, early death and injustice for the common people. It is interwoven with the myths and iconography of Arthur, Gawain, Beowulf, Druids, Robin Goodfellow, the Green Man, Jack In The Green, animal guising and John Barleycorn.”

In addition, the three-disc lineup includes Pagan songwriter Damh the Bard and a variety of Pagan-friendly artists that have seen play on my “A Darker Shade of Pagan” podcast (including Cunnan, Peter Ulrich. and Sieben). To hear samples from the set, check out the MySpace page created for the compilation, or check out the FolkCast interview with curator Mark Coyle which also features songs from “John Barleycorn Reborn”. While I haven’t gotten a copy for myself yet, it seems like a perfect Samhain gift for the music-loving Witch, Druid, Heathen, or fan of “The Wicker Man” soundtrack in your family.

John Morehead has posted a brand new interview with author and academic Douglas Cowan (author of “Cyberhenge: Modern Pagans on the Internet”) concerning the interface of religion and horror films on his excellent TheoFantastique blog. In the interview Cowan discusses popular Pagan-themed films like “The Craft” and “The Wicker Man”, and how movies and other popular entertainment mediums have helped reinforce the notion of the religious “Other” as dangerous.

“In terms of new religious movements – or any religion, really – three things are significant here: a basic religious illiteracy that is pandemic in our society; the sociophobic power of the word ‘cult’; and three decades of media stigma and stereotyping that has contributed to both of these.”

While exploring these topics, Cowan mentions Stephen Prothero’s recently released book “Religious Literacy: What Every American Needs to Know-and Doesn’t” (which I’m currently reading) which posits that religious education has deteriorated to dangerous levels in our society. As a side effect, many people learn about Catholicism through films like “The Exorcist” or Wicca through “The Craft”.

“People who watch The Exorcist or The Craft – the former allegedly based on a true story, the latter which had a real Witch as a consultant on the production – cannot discern which are the ‘real bits’ and which are pure Hollywood. In The Craft, actual lines from the First Degree Initiation into Gardnerian Wicca is mixed with more sensationalized action sequences. The problem is that many people seem unable (or unwilling) to make adequate distinctions between these, and this is something filmmakers can exploit.”

I suggest reading the entire interview, which goes into quite a bit of depth on these subjects. You should also check out the first interview (part one, part two) Moorehead conducted with Cowan that covered similar ground. Douglas Cowan also has a book coming out soon entitled “Sacred Terror: Religion and Horror on the Silver Screen” that explores these subjects further. Perhaps Cowan’s work (and Moorehead’s) marks a positive step towards de-emphasizing the unhealthy “sociophobic” effects of these films on minority faiths by encouraging a more critical attitude towards religious themes exploited for popular entertainment, and advocating for better religious literacy across the board.

Harvard Law Professor Noah Feldman writes an opinion piece for the New York Times in which he proposes a solution to preventing lawsuits over accommodating religion in public schools.

“The source of the confusion is the mistaken notion that the categories “religious” and “secular” are strictly binary, like an on-off switch. It’s true that some things are inherently religious, like a prayer or a church or a Torah scroll. (It would be impossible to make heads or tails of them without reference to their religious nature.) But it’s also true that many things that are not inherently religious are not inevitably secular either: they can be infused with religious meaning through the intention of a believer. A gymnasium or a warehouse has a perfectly secular use but also can be consecrated by worshipers who invoke God’s name there for purposes of worship. Examples of what you might call “dual use,” such things can be at once secular to one person and religious to another.”

Will an emphasis on “dual use” really solve most religious-based lawsuits? It seems to me that looking back at some recent cases that involved modern Pagans in a school setting, the real problem (for us at any rate) isn’t the usual secular/Christian (or other dominant monotheism) split you usually see, but the issue of inclusion. Will a multi-purpose prayer room (or a “wellness” room as discussed in the article) trying to avoid lawsuits really open its doors to Pagan practice? If school administrators aren’t willing to be broad-minding enough to realize that “dual purpose” (or “religious speech” provisions) can’t be just secular students AND monotheists then the courts will continue to hear plenty of lawsuits over religion in school. Dual use spaces, if they are going to work in preventing lawsuits, must be completely inclusive or must not exist at all.

ADDENDUM: To further illustrate my point is an editorial from today’s Dallas Morning News, concerning the new law in Texas that “protects” religious speech in schools.

“Consider some scenarios. When a Wiccan student council president closes morning announcements each day with a prayer to the Mother Goddess, will Christian families object? What happens when the captain of the football team decides to use his pep rally speech to mock the faith of opposing players – and, potentially, the faith of some students in his own school? Under this law, the hands of school officials are tied.”

Can Christians fighting for more religion in school allow for Pagan involvement in order to keep it Constitutional? The jury (as they say) is out.

Just when you thought things had calmed down, another police report is filed in the ongoing Salem psychic wars. To briefly recap, two camps of Witches, Pagans, and psychic practitioners in the “Witch City” of Salem, Mass had been in opposition on the issue of licensing psychics. One camp wanted tight regulations that benefited long-time residents and shop-owners, while the other preferred looser restrictions that would allow for non-residents to work at “psychic fairs” (eventually a compromise measure was passed by the city). While this debate was going on in the city, two metaphysical shops had mutilated animal parts left at their doors. Several months later, the perpetrators of this malicious magical intimidation were caught and arrested.

“A woman claiming to be a Salem witch and her housemate have been charged with mutilating a dead raccoon and leaving the remains on the doorsteps of two psychic businesses. Self-proclaimed high-priestess Sharon Graham, 46, and her roommate, Fredrick Purtz, 22, both of Salem, were arrested Monday in connection with the May 27 incident. They both pleaded not guilty Wednesday morning in Salem District Court on littering and malicious destruction of property charges.”

Now the witness who came forward to give information on the two suspects has had his house ransacked.

Richard Watson

“The lead witness in Salem’s raccoon mutilation case returned home yesterday afternoon to find his apartment ransacked, with valuables – including his crystal balls – gone. Salem police are investigating the break-in at the home of Richard Watson and said yesterday they didn’t know if it was linked to the allegations against Watson’s former roommate, Sharon Graham, and an associate, Frederick Purtz … “Of course, it raises your eyebrows because it’s coincidental with the main suspect being released,” he said. “But as far as her being connected right now, I can’t answer that because the incident’s too fresh.” Watson said he doesn’t know who broke into his apartment at 100 Bridge St. “I feel that it is in retaliation, though, of me coming forward,” he said.”

Coincidence? Or revenge for going to the police? If evidence can be found linking the break-in and theft to Sharon Graham or Fredrick Purtz, the charges are going to be a lot more serious than littering. Watson has already claimed that Graham threatened him to keep quiet, and had an order of protection taken out against her. Certainly any friends of Graham who may have been motivated to retaliate aren’t doing her a favor by attacking this witness. At this point we’ll have to see if things escalate from here, or if Salem will finally see a respite from the infighting that has developed.