“What potent blood hath modest May.”
- Ralph W. Emerson

Tonight and tomorrow (in the northern hemisphere) are the traditional dates for many of the major spring/summer festivals in modern Paganism. Beltane, Bealtaine, May Day, Floralia, Protomayia, and Walpurgis Night, to name just a few. This fire festival heralds the coming of summer and is a high holiday, a liminal time when the barriers between our world and the otherworld were thin. In many traditions and cultures it is a time of divine union and fertility.

Walpurgis Night bonfire, near lake Ringsjo, Sweden
Photo by David Castor

“We celebrate the new crops coming in, celebrating initiation and fertility. It is a sharing of Appalachian traditions. West Virginia is among the most Appalachian of the states. A lot of the traditions that were here tonight were celebrated here not even a hundred years ago.” – George Fain, president of Marshall University Pagan Association

“On the night itself, hundreds of performers lead a fire-lit procession around [Calton Hill]. They move through a fire gate and round points representing earth, air, water and fire. The festivities reach a climax when the Green Man, a symbol of the first growth of summer, arrives and is crowned by the May Queen.” – Martin Couper, The Edinburgh Evening News

“Beltane, meaning bright fire, is one of the four Celtic cross-quarter festivals celebrating the changing of seasons. ‘People have, as far as we can tell, [always] celebrated the changing of the seasons,’ Dr. Robin Larsen, co-founder and director of the Center for Symbolic Studies says. Beltane, an ancient festival typically celebrated on the last two days of April and the first two days of May is a time to awaken the earth’s spirit to get ready for spring. ‘March doesn’t feel so spring like,’ Larsen says. ‘When you get to the end of April you’re really there and you know summer is coming.’” – Tara Quealy, Chronogram Magazine

“Each year, in the evening of April the 30th, Swedes and Finns celebrate Saint Walpurgis, one of the most popular festivities during the year alongside of Christmas and Midsummer. Walpurgis Night receives the name of “Valborg” in Sweden and “Vappu” in Finland, and is a very lively celebration where people spend the night together and sing traditional songs to welcome spring.” – Scandinavica.com

“Thursday is May Day, which, depending on your leanings, is a pagan pole-dancing holiday, a day of labor solidarity against The Man, a day off for immigrants and their supporters, or some combination of all three, a grab-bag of un-American activity. (To the latter group, Happy Law Day!)” – Swati Pandey, Los Angeles Times

“The festival of May Day (May 1st) has been widely celebrated for centuries, even millennia. Essentially a seasonal and floral festival concerned with the spring rebirth of vegetation after its death in winter, it is a festival of all things green in nature … our modern May Day holiday has a rich past, redolent with symbolism and meaning. Whether we take a deep historical view, or whether we just have fun in the sun, May Day (Beltaine) is one of the key turning points of the ritual year.” – Rob Tillett, Astrology on the Web

“The Earth softens under the caress of the sun and all the world is new. We emerge from the darkness of a long, difficult winter; our eyes drink in rolling green hills budding branches and tender shoots. We breathe deeply the fresh fragrance of radiant blossoms. We have survived!” – Selena Fox, Circle Sanctuary

May you all be especially blessed this evening and tomorrow.

The Edmonton Sun reports on the growing population of Pagans in Canadian prisons. Internal estimates show adherence numbers have tripled in the last five years, and those numbers may be “woefully understated” according to Richard James of the Wiccan Church of Canada.

“According to figures obtained by Sun Media under Access to Information, the number of practising Wiccans and Pagans behind bars has tripled in the last five years. In 2002 there were just 25, compared to 77 in 2007, data from the Correctional Service of Canada show … Richard James, the Toronto-based founder and high priest of the Wiccan Church of Canada, has been involved in prison outreach programs and believes the official count is “woefully understated.” More and more inmates are turning to Wicca because they’ve been let down by other faiths, he said.”

Unlike the prisons of their American neighbors, which are rife with “endemic discrimination” against religious minorities, the Canadian prison system seems quite accommodating.

“According to an internal CSC manual on religious practices, inmate witches are required [I think they mean "allowed"] to have an altar with candles and incense for worship. They should also be permitted a wooden wand, robe, tarot cards, figurines, oils and natural objects such as shells, feathers, stones and crystals, the manual reads … Rick Burk, CSC’s associate to the director general of chaplaincy, restorative justice and victims‚ services, said inmates have a Charter right to practise their faith. In turn, institutions work to foster understanding and tolerance for all faiths inside the wire. ‘There are cultural and spiritual differences in all kinds of traditions and we are constantly engaged in dialogue about respect and diversity and managing the community within a context of diversity,’ he said. ‘Whether there is the word ‘witch’ involved or not, we try to manage diversity.’”

Perhaps the open dialog-focused Canadian model would be preferred to the currently repressive American model where constant litigation for rights is a normal occurrence?

Speaking of American prisons and constant litigation, an interesting prisoner rights case was recently decided. In a ruling by the U.S. Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals on Koger v. Bryan, it was found that prisons can’t demand proof of requirement, or verification from clergy, regarding a reasonable religious request.

“…the court held that a former prisoner’s claim based on the denial of his request for a vegetarian diet substantially burdened the prisoner’s religious exercise. In particular the court found inappropriate the prison’s requirement that the religious practice be required by the inmate’s religion and that this be verified by a member of the clergy.”

This is one more legal step towards true religious self-determination for prisoners. A development that may make some people very uncomfortable, but one that will ultimately benefit modern Pagans and other religious minorities serving jail time. To make this case even more relevant, the former prisoner, Gregory Koger, is an adherent of Aleister Crowley’s Thelema. A fact that has sparked snarky comments from the law-blogs and one of the presiding judges.

“Clearly, without RLUIPA, this case would have been dead in the water when it was filed because declining Koger’s request for a nonmeat diet would not have violated the United States Constitution … A waste of time? Some may disagree, but I lean towards saying ‘yes.’”

Of course that “waste of time” has helped create a precedent that favors personal gnosis and followers of non-hierarchal faiths. A lawsuit that may not have happened if prisons in America worked more towards dialog and granting reasonable risk-free requests instead of dragging its heels in court every time a non-Christian wants something outside the norm.

Modern Reformation magazine profiles the growing movement of Quaker Pagans, and interviews Cat Chapin-Bishop of the Quaker Pagan Reflections blog.

“In the last decade, this dual faith has sprung up around the country, including Quaker-pagan gatherings, seminars, an extensive presence on the Internet, and even explicitly Quaker-pagan congregations. There may be only several hundred Quaker pagans, but among American Quakers, their presence can be distinctly felt.”

The article also speaks to Pagan-turned-Christian Carl McColman, and Stasa Morgan-Appel of the Musings of a Quaker Witch blog. The tone of religion journalist Matthew Streib seems to be intrigued but cautious, noting that the dwindling number of Quakers could receive an infusion of new blood from curious Pagans, but that the tradition (specifically the Friends General Conference) risks losing its focus on Christ (and thus its Christian identity).

“[Cat Chapin-Bishop] says many pagans find Quakerism attractive because it allows them to appear more mainstream. Still, she worries that if their commitment doesn’t deepen, that could weaken Quaker beliefs. “I see the pagan world waking up and saying, `Wow, there’s Quakers, and maybe we could be Quakers and pagans — cool!’” she said. ‘If it stays on that superficial level, that’s not good news, and threatens Quakerism with real dilution. But if there are some leadings and people … take in the wisdom that people have to teach us, then it’s a wonderful thing for both pagans and the Society of Friends.’”

Could the more liberal strains of Quakerism slowly evolve into a post-Christian faith? It isn’t an unheard-of event. Unitarian-Universalism, once two distinct liberal Christian traditions, has embraced a post-Christian identity and now happily includes a number of theological points of view (including Paganism) within its ranks. Whether these theological shifts are ultimately healthy is a topic that is still being debated, though even conservative Quakers are hesitant to take an action that would make Pagans feel unwelcome.

“Christ is not the sort of person who would drive people away — I don’t know that it’s our job to stop it … Our job is to seek to know the will of the living Christ and to obey it the best we can. When we humans try to fix one another, we just make things much, much worse.”

Whether its fate is to remains essentially Christian, or evolve into something else, the Religious Society of Friends will most likely avoid hostile cries of heresy and fights over blasphemy that would be greeted if this trend manifested in a more mainstream Christian church. Instead, the Quakers will most likely do what they have always done, listen in silence, and wait for the “leading of the spirit”.

The Baltimore Sun profiles Robert Murch, a man obsessed with the history of the Ouija board, and the two brothers who helped manufacture and popularize the parlor game/spiritual tool around the turn of the 20th century.

The Ouija Board

“On the phone, through e-mail and in repeated visits to Baltimore, he pestered newspaper librarians for access to yellowing clip files and century-old articles on microfilm, pushed caretakers for access to their cemeteries and directions to gravesites, and prodded curators of historical societies and museums for any pieces they might have to the puzzle. Much of Murch’s time, though, has been spent researching family trees, seeking descendants of the men who first manufactured the Ouija Board – chief among them, William and Isaac Fuld, the two brothers whose falling out would lead to a 100-year silence between the two sides of the family.”

In addition to Murch’s in-depth research into William Fuld and his estranged brother Isaac (who, for a time, manufactured competing “Oriole Boards”), he has also raised money for a Ouija-themed gravestone for Elijah Bond, the Baltimore attorney who first patented the board, and is planning a “coffee-table-type book” compiling his research. In short, his own life and history have become intertwined with the history of this “oracle”.

“…he’s still immersed in his quest to document the history of “The Mystifying Oracle” – that diviner of the future, that gateway to the spirit world, that simple lettered board, born in Baltimore, that went on to become an icon of both pop culture and occult subculture.”

Today, while not as popular as it once was, the Ouija board retains its place in pop-culture. The original Ouija board rights were bought by Parker Bros./Hasbro and they (quietly) manufacture a glow-in-the-dark version. Meanwhile, smaller “spirit board” manufacturers have emerged to cater to those with more “occult” tastes. Even Murch got into the business for a short time with “Cryptique”, a Salem-themed board that promised to be an update on the Ouija concept (Cryptique stopped being manufactured in 2005).

As for the future? Spirit boards and similar tools have been around since ancient times, and will likely be around for some time to come. Whether Ouija itself persists is a different matter, and no doubt only the spirits have the answer.

While we wait for the Supreme Court to decide if public parks and lands are an “open forum” for donated monuments (specifically religious monuments), another case has arisen dealing with many of the same issues. It seems that the Red River Freethinkers in North Dakota are suing the city of Fargo after refusing to allow them to erect a “sister monument” next to a 10 Commandments monument on the City Hall mall.

“Opponents of Fargo’s Ten Commandments monument have filed a civil lawsuit against the city, asking that the granite marker be removed. The attorney for the Red River Freethinkers, Bruce Schoenwald, filed the complaint in federal court Friday. It accuses the city of “unconstitutional conduct.” The lawsuit contends the Freethinkers’ rights were violated last year when Fargo refused to allow the group to put up its own monument near the Ten Commandments monument on city property. The Freethinkers also are seeking unspecified damages and attorney fees.”

What would be engraved on this monument? A line from the Treaty of Tripoli, a historical document unanimously approved by the US senate and signed by our second president John Adams*. A line that warms the hearts of religious minorities and secularists everywhere.

“…the Government of the United States of America is not, in any sense, founded on the Christian religion…”

You can understand then why the City Commission, who were pressured by local Christians to not remove the 10 Commandments monument, would be hesitant to allow a “sister monument” that questions the status of America as a “Christian nation”. Which brings us back to the case currently pending before the Supreme Court, Pleasant Grove City, Utah v. Summum. This case should definitively decide if those overseeing public lands can favor one religious or philosophical monument over another.

“A SCOTUS decision here could all but force local government bodies to enact a fully-open policy concerning religious displays on government-controlled property. In other words, the local city council or mayor couldn’t pick and choose which religious displays are worthy to be placed with a Nativity Scene or Ten Commandments monument. It would be all or nothing.”

If the SCOTUS case ends up leaning towards public lands being “open spaces” the city of Fargo will have to either remove all religious monuments, or allow the Freethinkers their Tripoli monument. It will also further challenge the notion that displays of the 10 Commandments are somehow “not religious speech” because some Christians think our own laws were founded upon them. Recent SCOTUS rulings make it clear that 10 Commandments monuments are only admissible as part of “a broader moral and historical message.”

Fargo’s reluctance to compromise puts them on uneasy legal footing. They are clearly favoring one viewpoint over another, and it could end up costing the city quite a bit of money. Regarding the larger issue, the days of anti-Communist patriotic Christian fervor are over. The national mood that once allowed the government to insert “Under God” into the pledge of allegiance, and litter the landscape with 10 Commandments monuments (many of which were placed to help promote a film) is long past. The era of a religious “don’t ask, don’t tell” norm (if you weren’t a Protestant Christian) has given way to a multi-religious society in an increasingly post-Christian world. Christians can retain their place in the public forum, in the interchange of ideas, but only so long as they are inclusive of other viewpoints and religions sharing that same space.

* John Adams, a Unitarian, also called the Christian cross an “engine of grief” and insisted that America was founded by “the natural authority of the people alone, without a pretence of miracle or mystery”.

A hot-button issue in conflicts concerning the separation of church and state is sectarian prayer before a governmental body. Since Darla Wynne’s final legal victory in 2005 forcing the South Carolina town of Great Falls to abandon sectarian prayers to Jesus, conservative Christian opponents in the state have been looking for a way around the ruling. Last year, with the help of the Alliance Defense Fund, state legislators introduced a “Public Prayer and Invocation Act”. A law designed to circumvent sectarian restrictions, and make it harder for litigation against sectarian prayer to win.

“It becomes clear from reading the bill that its authors are trying to navigate the legal waters created by two cases involving Wiccans and public prayers: Darla Wynne (a resident of South Carolina who won her case against Great Falls) and Cynthia Simpson (a Virginia resident who ultimately lost hers). In other words, they are trying to bring back prayers to Jesus at government meetings without the lawsuits … if this bill becomes law, the Darla Wynnes of this world can’t sue the local city council for exclusively praying to Jesus without bringing litigation against the entire state. Its clear that the authors are hoping that their emphasis on context will win over content (ie Jesus), and in turn create a legal fog of what can or can’t be allowed.”

Now that bill has made it through the South Carolina senate, and is heading to the house.

“The South Carolina Senate has approved a bill that would allow prayers before public meetings. In 2001, a Wiccan priestess sued the town of Great Falls, claiming it violated the separation between church and state when “Jesus Christ” was used in prayer. The town lost the lawsuit. This legislation says public bodies can adopt policies to let members take turns giving an invocation, elect a chaplain, or create a pool of speakers from faith groups to offer the prayer. The bill also calls for the state attorney general to defend public bodies if they face constitutional challenges. The public prayer bill now heads to the House.”

Since the Republican party in the South Carolina House of Representatives has a commanding 22-member majority, it seems very likely this bill will soon head to governor Mark Sanford’s desk. Sanford, while occasionally displaying a libertarian streak, tends to make conservative Christians happy and is likely to sign the bill into law. If this happens, the resulting legal mess could take decades to untangle, all to the benefit of Christians wanting to re-introduce sectarian prayers to Jesus.

“It intentionally gives no direction on whether a prayer can mention a deity, instead suggesting boards seek local legal advice on that. “I think this might actually add to the constitutional confusion,” said professor Josie Brown of the University of South Carolina Law School.”

In short, South Carolina is trying to undo Darla Wynne’s victory, reinstate Christian prayer through a legal fog, and make it extremely difficult for litigation to be brought against a local legislative body (since any such case would instantly be taken up by the state). This is all part of a larger plan instituted by Christian conservative groups to chip away at the legal victories won by religious minorities and secular groups in the last thirty years.

Student speech “protection” laws, ordinances banning psychics, attempts to dominate chaplaincy positions (in prisons and the military), arbitrary laws concerning animal sacrifice, a rigorous defense of evangelists who cross the line, battles over public religious displays, and the enshrinement of Christianity as the official faith of America all point to a larger trend of fighting and rolling back advances religious minorities have made in the name of their “religious freedom”. Killing real religious freedom and full access of all faiths to the public square with a thousand tiny cuts instead of single mighty stroke.

“Perhaps it’s just as well that you won’t be here tomorrow, to be offended by the sight of our May Day celebrations here.” – Lord Summerisle, “The Wicker Man”

Next week, thanks to a quirk of the calendar, one of the biggest religious festivals within modern Paganism will coincide with the yearly National Day of Prayer. The National Day of Prayer, in theory a time for all Americans of faith to unite and pray (in their own manner) for the well-being of the country, has long been co-opted by conservative Christian evangelicals who operate a “task force”. This group (essentially run by Focus on The Family) runs the bulk of NDP events, and excludes non-Christians from active participation.

“The National Day of Prayer Task Force was a creation of the National Prayer Committee for the expressed purpose of organizing and promoting prayer observances conforming to a Judeo-Christian system of values. People with other theological and philosophical views are, of course, free to organize and participate in activities that are consistent with their own beliefs. This diversity is what Congress intended when it designated the Day of Prayer, not that every faith and creed would be homogenized, but that all who sought to pray for this nation would be encouraged to do so in any way deemed appropriate. It is that broad invitation to the American people that led, in our case, to the creation of the Task Force and the Judeo-Christian principles on which it is based.”

Sounds reasonable, right? Can’t the non-Christians throw their own party? The problem is that the NDPTF bills itself as the “official” site for the National Day of Prayer, and attacks any governor who won’t support their efforts with an official proclamation. In addition, Christian coordinators who attempt to throw an inclusive event under the NDPTF auspices are barred from running future events. So JewsOnFirst is calling for citizens to lobby their governors to shun the NDPTF, and either not issue a proclamation, or issue an inclusive statement that doesn’t empower such a narrow view of acceptable public prayer (or crib talking points from Focus on the Family).

“The National Day of Prayer has been hijacked! What began in 1952 as President Truman’s declaration of a National Prayer Day for all Americans is now excluding and dividing us on religious lines. The “Task Force” excludes Jews, Muslims, Catholics and even mainline Christians from participation in the events it coordinates around the country. Many of those events are staged in government venues with elected officials, in a deliberate affront to the separation of church and state.”

You can find contact information for your governor, here. You can find a sample telephone script and sample letter on the inclusive prayer day site. You can also find a listing of proclamations already issued.

Let’s hear it for inclusive prayer!

While I encourage my readers to participate in this call for inclusiveness, I think the fact that the National Day of Prayer falls on May Day/Beltane is far too good an opportunity to pass up! If there is a NDP event being held at your state capitol, why not take a gaggle of Pagans and Heathens in their best May-finery? Or why not hold an event as near as possible to the “official” NDPTF-organized shin-dig? Imagine May-poles and hobby-horses prancing while the evangelicals studiously pray against gay marriage. If the NDPTF is given a government building to hold their meeting, demand one for a really inclusive gathering! Invite anyone who’ll show up! Pray to your assorted gods and goddesses!

We’re a deeply religious people.

If all else fails, hold a procession past the capitol reminding the lawmakers that a “National Day of Prayer” includes all faiths, not just the ones with the political clout to co-opt it for their own ends. When a prayer event hijacked by conservative Christians falls on May Day, who knows what could happen!