Yesterday I alerted my readership to a special Witch-themed episode of the crime procedural The Mentalist, and it looks like most of you shared my own negative reactions to the show. I suppose it’s inevitable when you have the star of The Craft on your show that you’ll eventually have to do something “witchy”. Too bad that “something” perpetuated so many bad stereotypes.

The “Witch” in the show, Tamzin Dove (played by Azura Skye), is portrayed as a smart but somewhat delusional woman caught up in a murder investigation. When a local football star is found dead, surrounded by ritualistic trappings, the investigation immediately turns to the “only Witch in town” (In California, really?). What’s frustrating is that the show’s writers obviously read a book on Wicca, they just didn’t read it hard enough. Tamzin believes in the “horned god and the goddess”, and calls non-Wiccans “cowans”, but she also admits to using a secret Wiccan “killing spell” on the victim because he killed her cat (I obviously haven’t risen high enough in the ranks to learn this secret spell of death). Dove also seems to have no problem secretly gathering a coven of underage kids, and is revealed to have had a “history of minor psychiatric problems” while in custody.

The take-home message is that Wicca is a balm for wounded psyches, and that magic is simply a (sometimes comforting) delusion. Indeed, the show’s star Patrick Jane (played by Simon Baker) seems to have sympathy for Dove (saying that she’s been “hurt enough”) while going out of his way to prove that a belief in magic is nothing but superstition. He proves this by casting his own “spell” to reveal the killer (and by making fun of a superstitious co-worker). The real killer is caught, and Wiccans are proven to be little more than the “nerds in cloaks” a cop in the show describes them as.

What’s dangerous about the inaccuracies here isn’t that it might hurt the feelings of a few Wiccans, but the messages it sends to parents and non-Pagans watching the show. Beliefs that many of us have been trying to debunk for ages. That we recruit children without the knowledge of the parents, that we work malicious magic (and work it capriciously), and that we came to Wicca because we’re damaged or troubled. Luckily we aren’t also murderers, but aside from that this show only confirms what many people already believe about modern Pagans. I was prepared for cheesy inaccuracies, but this went a bit too far in my opinion. If you want to give CBS a (polite) piece of your mind, you can contact them through this form.

I’ve noticed that the IntenseDebate commenting system has been acting a little buggy today. Specifically, I’ve noticed that some previously posted comments have disappeared. I’ve sent in a service request, and I’m hoping things will clear up shortly. My apologies if you’re having problems, if this persists I’ll look into suitable replacements that offer similar features.

Hey there (American) TV watchers! Be sure to tune into the “he’s not psychic, just really observant” crime procedural The Mentalist for tonight’s episode: “Red Rum”. Featuring witches, “killing spells”, and murder!

Patrick Jane and the CBIs investigate the murder of a high school football star and a self-proclaimed witch who claims she put a death spell on him, on The Mentalist. Patrick Jane sets a mentalist trap to find out who is responsible for the murder of a high school boy who antagonized the local self-proclaimed witch by killing her cat…

Will the local Witch be revealed to be a ignorant dupe? A dippy New-Ager? An evil schemer? A Red Herring for the real killer? Will Pagan beliefs be discussed at all? Tune in to be sure! Then come back here and write a review, tell us what you thought of how “witchcraft” and the occult were portrayed in the show. Airs tonight, CBS, 8pm Central, 9pm Eastern.

Update: Just watched the program. Secret Wiccan killing spells? A ‘coven’ of underage kids? Mental illness? More on all this tomorrow…

Conservative Christian polling organization The Barna Group has released the results of a new study that claims a majority of Americans no longer believe Christianity is America’s “default” faith.

For much of America’s history, the assumption was that if you were born in America, you would affiliate with the Christian faith. A new nationwide survey by The Barna Group, however, indicates that people’s views have changed. The study discovered that half of all adults now contend that Christianity is just one of many options that Americans choose from and that a huge majority of adults pick and choose what they believe rather than adopt a church or denomination’s slate of beliefs. Still, most people say their faith is becoming increasingly important as a source of personal moral guidance.

According to their numbers, 50% of those polled think Christianity is no longer the automatic faith of people born in America (44% disagreed, 6% did not know).  What does all that mean? Maybe nothing. Attitude isn’t the same as reality, and Christianity (of various denominations) is still the overwhelmingly dominant faith choice in America, but it could mean that people are less likely to assume that everyone around them is Christian. Such a shift could change the way battles over religion in the public square are handled, and maybe usher in a more inclusive era (or maybe not).

While most American Pagans are already looking towards Imbolc,  Lupercalia (or Valentines Day) and the Spring holidays, England is still finishing up their Winter observances, specifically the wassailing of trees. Timed around the old Epiphany feasts, this Anglo-Saxon tradition is undergoing a revival of sorts, with participants aware and comfortable with the pagan history of this event.

It was the second Wassail held at the orchard, which is run by volunteers. Events co-ordinator Yvette Grindley told the Mail: “The ceremony has certainly worked for us in the past. “We got a bumper harvest the year of the floods, even though we lost 10 per cent of the trees, and last year we also got a great harvest because of all the rain, with apples as big as saucers. “It’s all a bit of superstition and fun, but it’s great to bring back this tradition back to the area. In parts of the south, where there are more orchards this is a big event.” Visitors were entertained by the Raving Mae morris dancers and kept warm with hot mulled cider and apple tea.

You can see a short video of the proceedings, here. Other wassailing bands are far more deliberate in their Paganism, as evidenced by the festival held at Kenninghall.

Drummers beat out a wild rhythm and the moon glistened in the night sky as scores of revellers held a Pagan wassailing festival. Led by outlandish characters the Lord of Missrule and the Green Man, villagers gathered at the community orchard at Kenninghall, near Diss, for an ancient ceremony to honour the fruit trees and bring about a bumper crop this year. Gifts and lanterns were hung on an apple tree planted by local Scouts, as parish council chairman Steve Gordon ordered out the old year – in his guise as Green Man – and urged the gathering to toast the spring when new life comes creeping in.

It seems that there is a growing acceptance and acknowledgment among non-Pagans of the “pagan” origins of seasonal festivities (whether real or imagined), and a shift towards more celebratory observances. I’m not sure if this a grass-roots shift in attitude, or if the growth of modern Paganism and the recent journalistic trend towards finding/exploring pagan origins have influenced things a bit, but as tough fiscal times continue I bet people are going to look for more excuses to party, escape their day-to-day worries, and maybe propritiate the powers that be in the process.

The print medium is changing irrevocably. Any clear-eyed assessment concerning the state of magazines and newspapers would see a widespread and unforgiving culling taking place. So many magazines are going under that a regularly updated blog has been created to keep track of the carnage, while digital-age pundits predict that the surviving niche publications will soon have to make hard choices about their future. While I’m no futurist, I’ve seen some of these changes coming for some time now, the struggling economy only hastening a transition already underway. It is part of the reason that the bulk of my writing is focused on this blog, rather than in the more “traditional” outlets for a writer/journalist (though I do admit to a certain romantic attachment to being in print, and I currently write for Pagan publications like PanGaia and Thorn).

Given these shake-ups in the world of print, I think it is entirely timely that I recently received a review copy of “Green Egg Omelette: An Anthology of Art and Articles From the Legendary Pagan Journal”. This book, a compliation of excerpts from one of the most influential Pagan magazines ever printed, shows just how vital and necessary the format once was. While books published for Pagans usually stuck to the “101-isms” of Wicca and other Pagan faiths, it was in the magazines that this loose network of Witches, Pagans, magicians, free-thinkers, and philosophers started to communicate, hash out ideas, argue, and push the boundaries of what they knew. It was a place where Pagan filk could rub shoulders with treatises on magic(k) by Robert Anton Wilson, and initial attempts at describing a Pagan theology could have a place next to explorations of polyamory. It is little wonder that even today Green Egg is remembered fondly by almost all who came across it in their journey.

I suppose it is at this point that I should share my own “discovering Green Egg” story, but I fear there is little to tell. I came across it in the 90s, after it had returned from a 12-year hiatus. I had heard famous stories about the legendarily volatile letters column, but as the Internet age dawned, most of the good (and bad) arguments were moving online, and the ones that remained made it seem like you walked into a dinner party at 1am (completely lost on what all the fuss was about). Still, I did like many of the editorials and articles, and picked it up whenever I could. When I discovered that it had folded, I was already fooling around with my first blog, and starting my journey towards what would eventually become The Wild Hunt. I had obviously missed out on something.

Receiving this “omelette” fills in for me why Green Egg was so important and pivotal. To say that this is an essential collection really doesn’t do it justice. So many BNPs (big-name Pagans) and influential thinkers have contributed to this magazine that reading this collection is like watching a time-lapse movie of our history. If books like Chas Clifton’s “Her Hidden Children” or Ronald Hutton’s “Triumph of the Moon” give you the essential outline of our history, “Green Egg Omelette” fills in many of the questions about who these people were. What did they think about? Who did they love? What kind of jokes did they tell, or songs did they sing? What (and who) were they passionate about? This is an invaluable document that rescues our living history from the memory hole, and presents it to a newer generation unfamiliar with where many of the ideas they hold (and argue about) come from. So consider this my endorsement to run out an buy several copies.

As for the future of Pagan magazines, I wish success on all that survive, but I believe an era is ending. I don’t think something as vital as Green Egg can come around again (the magazine’s recent attempt to re-launch on the Internet seems to somewhat miss the point of the new medium), and the magazines that do survive aren’t as influential as they once were (sorry guys, it’s just my opinion). Thanks to blogs, podcasts, social networking, and message-boards a savvy reader could get a “Green Egg” every week (complete with an assortment of “big names” and big arguments) for free without trying too hard. The challenge now for publishers and content creators wanting to venture into this brave new world is to find the magic formula for making a living while reaching their audience, a problem that many are now trying to solve (and a problem I have faith we’ll eventually solve). While that happens, amidst the “death pools”, and (possibly) folding newspapers, why not read “Green Egg Omelette” and remember why magazines and newsletters were once so darn important to our development.

Does religion harm or heal? Believers and skeptics have long argued over the benefits and drawbacks regarding a belief in unseen forces and powers for ages. Confusing the issue further are those times when faith commingles with mental illness and breeds murderers and monsters. Pagan religions and other minority faiths are hardly immune from these tragedies. One year ago Lawrence Douglas Harris, who had been involved in modern Paganism (and later Satanism), killed his two young step-daughters in what he called a spell that “had gone bad”. On the anniversary of these tragic slayings, the Sioux City Journal provides a narrative of that fateful day from Marla Stroman, the mother of the two girls.

At the house, police immediately begin questioning Larry, who tells them he was practicing witchcraft. The girls died, he tells them, while he was casting a spell that “had gone bad” and that “could have had severe consequences.” There’s blood on his hands. In the basement, officers find candles, Larry’s ritual knife, stained with DNA from one of the girls, a symbol of Baphomet, representing Satan and believed to have occult power, bells and an amulet with an inverted pentagram — all items used in rituals described in “The Satanic Bible.” Larry tells police he has a spell notebook in his and Marla’s bedroom closet. The notebook contains drawings from the book “Pagan Ways,” references found in the occult fiction book “Necronomicom” and page numbers corresponding to “The Satanic Bible,” including one specific spell … Larry tells police he was possessed by Kali, the Hindu goddess of time and change.

Harris, who had a history of self-harm, social isolation, and mental illness, had stopped taking his medications in the lead-up to that horrific day, and had become threatening and scary. Shortly after the murders, journalists interviewed a variety of “experts” (from local Wiccans to Mega-Church pastors) to get a handle on why this happened, but none of them could really satisfy a public hungry for answers. In the end, mental illness doesn’t have to follow rules, be logically consistent, or provide a “good reason” for why those afflicted do the things they do. Once a mind has completely broken from reality, anything can be twisted (Bibles, Korans, books on Wicca, books on Satanism) into providing a road-map for their subsequent deeds. The mind, when turned towards such unrestrained violence, is like an opportunistic infection. Grabbing at any nearby “host” to provide it motivation.

If these psychotic breaks involving religion are ultimately inconclusive in answering the question of religion being harmful, can religion, specifically Pagan religion, heal? That seems to be a part of the questions involving a convicted murderer in the UK. Twenty five years ago Randall Lee McArthur killed another man in a drug-fueled rampage and was sentenced to a 25-to-life prison term. He  was recently denied bail despite claims that he is a reformed man.

Randall Lee McArthur says it’s time he was paroled. “I was a kid. I was irresponsible,” former Marysville resident McArthur, 44, told the state Board of Prison Terms about the 1982 murder of Bradford Lee Howland, 26, of Olivehurst. “I was wild, you know. I was out for myself.” McArthur contends he now poses no threat to the public if released from prison. But a filing Friday in the Yuba County Superior Court by the state Attorney General’s Office agrees with the prison board’s decision to deny parole for McArthur, sentenced in 1983 to a term of 25 years to life. He remains a danger to the public because of the nature of the murder along Forty Mile Road — “shooting a helpless, unarmed victim,” the state Attorney General’s Office said.

Part of McArthur’s process of reform has apparantly included the study and practice of Wicca, an aspect of his life that gained scrutiny at his parole-board hearing.

McArthur said he is pursuing a college degree in ancient religions in correspondence courses with the New Mexico Institute of Spiritual Studies and that his own beliefs involve Wicca, an ancient, Pagan-based religion. A member of the state prison board, noting McArthur’s references to Wicca along with Druidism, said some people view them as evil religions. McArthur was asked if he was discovering something different. McArthur responded in the affirmative, describing Wicca as a nature-based religion closer to Native American culture and traditions.

Was his adherence to Wicca a point in his favor, or used as a strike against him? Can the study of Pagan religion improve the moral compass of a murderer? Would you feel comfortable living next to Mr. McArthur should he be released? Why or why not? Should the study of religion even factor into it, should the nature of the murder, as the Attorney General’s Office attests, preclude him ever being paroled? Religion has long been used as proof of a criminal’s reformation, perhaps we should just acknowledge that the eternal questions of religion hurting or healing will always be somewhat subjective, and remove faith considerations from issues of conviction and parole altogether. There will always be murderers and madmen, and at times, especially as we continue to grow, they will be Pagan in some for or another.  Better to acknowledge that, and continue to push for a truly equal and secular justice system free from bias for or against religon (or lack of religon).