Since Patrick didn’t actually cast the literal or metaphorical snakes out of Ireland, I see no issue in wishing my Irish, Irish-descended, and Irish-loving readers a happy St. Patrick’s Day. Avoid the green beer, that stuff is just nasty.

“St. Patrick casting out the serpents”

Meanwhile, check out the interesting blog responses by James R. French and Brendan Myers to a recent Witchvox essay entitled “Where Have All the Gardners and Crowleys Gone”.

On Friday Reclaiming activist Tristan Anderson was critically injured at a demonstration against Israel’s separation barrier (called the “Apartheid Wall” by activists, and deemed a breech of international law by the ICJ) in the West Bank village of Ni’lin. Anderson was shot in the head by a high-velocity tear gas canister. According to the Israeli military the canisters were fired in response to thrown rocks, witnesses on the scene say that Anderson was not near, and took no part in any violent action. A video of the shooting has been posted to YouTube (warning: the images are bloody and disturbing).

“Tristan Anderson from California USA, 37 years old, has been taken to Israeli hospital Tel Hashomer, near Tel Aviv. Anderson was unconscious and bleeding heavily from the nose and mouth. He sustained a large hole in the right part of his forehead where he was struck by a tear gas canister. The heavy impact from the tear gas canister being shot directly at him, from about 60 meters, also caused severe damage to his right eye, which he may lose. Tristan underwent brain surgery in which part of his right frontal lobe and shattered bone fragments were removed. As of 16 March, Tristan is in stable condition, has been taken to the neurological department and is in intensive care.”

Currently, Anderson’s condition has improved somewhat, though the long-term effects of his brain injury at this point are unknown. Supporters of Anderson in the Bay Area are holding a demonstration in solidarity with his efforts today, and Reclaiming co-founder Starhawk has released a statement concerning the incident.

“Tristan is always there, at every demonstration, every mobilization, every fight for justice. He has always seemed fearless to me, with that young man’s confidence in his physical body that I now envy. He’s not so young—thirty-eight, still, I have twenty years on him and he seems young to me, strong, hardy, willing to sit in a tree for months to protect a grove of oaks at UC Berkeley, willing to camp out and show up early to clean out the convergence space, to eat bad pasta and dumpster-dived vegetables for weeks on end. Tall, slim, with dark eyes and olive skin, and a sharp, aquiline nose that starts off in one direction, then changes its mind and heads in another, he comes regularly to our rituals as well as actions, and helps build the North altar every year at the Spiral Dance. Softspoken, unassuming, more than anyone else I know he embodies a certain ideal of rigorous equality, never pulling rank nor trumpeting his considerable street cred, never asking for attention, simply showing up again and again and pitching in to get the work done.”

Tristan Anderson’s parents are hoping to return him to America as soon as he’s well enough to be moved. For more background on why Anderson was in Ni’lin, this blog links to a fact-sheet put out by an anti-barrier organization. I understand that the issues of land and sovereignty in Israel and the Palestinian territories are one of those “third rail” topics that can lead to heated and incendiary rhetoric from both sides (indeed, some commenters on the web are already calling Anderson a terrorist sympathizer who got what he deserved), but when (by all accounts) peaceful activists are getting shot I think we need to acknowledge that something fundamental in the process of dialogue and finding a mutual resolution has broken down. The answer to this tragedy can’t be “protestors shouldn’t protest” or sweeping generalizations about either side in this conflict. We can only hope that leaders on both sides eventually find a way through the endless cycles of violence to some sort of lasting peace accord.

Note: I know this is going to be a controversial topic, so I want everyone to keep it reasoned and polite in the comments. Any sign that someone on either side is about to enter Godwin’s Law territory, engage in racist bromides (subtle or not) concerning Israelis or Palestinians, or anything resembling “he got what he deserved” regarding a man with a traumatic brain injury will find themselves off this thread and their comments deleted.

It looks like the micro-blogging service Twitter has finally hit the mainstream. NPR journalists participate and discuss it on the radio, mega-stars like Ellen Degeneres plug their accounts in an attempt to get a million followers, and politicians across the ideological spectrum are “tweeting” to their constituents in an attempt to stay relevant. So it would stand to reason that the Pagan community would also coalesce around this social networking phenomenon. It would be madness and folly to try and give any sort of definitive list of Pagans using the service (as there are probably thousands), but I can give some “highlights” for newcomers just starting to dip their toe into the service.

First, two of the largest Pagan/occult publishers Llewellyn and Weiser have Twitter feeds (and their follower lists are a fairly decent way to find other Pagans at the site) that are regularly updated. In addition to the publishers, several notable Pagan and esoteric authors, writers, and leaders are utilizing Twitter. This includes Corrine Kenner, Mama Donna Henes, Damh the Bard,Kerr Cuhulain,and the famous ancient Greek philosopher Bias of Priene. If that isn’t enough, you can also find a variety of Pagan vendors using Twitter, including Lodestone and Lady’s Mantle, Bell, Book, and Candle Supply, and Pagan Wholesale (just to name a few). You can also track Pagan conversations on Twitter through the PaganFeed, a gathering of Pagan-tagged tweets.

If you want to do some more general spiritual exploring,  Beliefnet has a feed, you can get a daily dose of Buddhism, the FON Spiritual Center tweets, and there is an enormous variety of “Twitter of Faith” posts. Finally, since Twitter is an engine for self-promotion I feel compelled to mention that you can follow The Wild Hunt on Twitter, and there is a Twitter feed for A Darker Shade of Pagan as well. I’m told that following both is an excellent way to become smarter and more attractive! So what Pagan or religious-themed Twitter feeds have you found useful or entertaining? Feel free to plug your own Twitter account if you’d like.

After the critical panning that the Aleister Crowley-centric horror film “Chemical Wedding” (aka “Crowley”) recieved last year, you’d think that filmmakers would be hesitant to drink from that same well again. Well, you’d be wrong. LAShTAL tips us off that another director is looking to place Crowley back in the horror-film limelite.

The recent UK chiller CROWLEY (a.k.a. CHEMICAL WEDDING) took cues from the occultist’s life to tell a contemporary story of possession, but [director Nicolas Winding] Refn is aiming for more of a twisted biographical piece. “I am not knowledgeable at all about Crowley’s life,” Refn admits, “and I will need a good writer to put all these ideas in formation. But the moment I called Tom and suggested the project, he didn’t hesitate to say yes. His only question was, ‘When do we start?’ We had a great working relationship on BRONSON, and finally, after many years of trying to break through, I believe he’s now on his way to real stardom. I couldn’t think of anyone better to play the young Crowley. I have no title as yet, and will not be able to get around to it until after the proposed PUSHER 4 at least. But there’s definitely a far-out, sexy, trippy, horrifying movie to be made out of this notorious, Satan-worshipping cult personality. Think Charles Manson times a billion, and that’s what I want to depict on screen.”

Now, we all know that  Crowley had no trouble courting controversy, but he certainly wasn’t “Satan-worshipping” or anything resembling “Charles Manson times a billion”. It seems like a lazy shorthand to take this brilliant yet deeply flawed notoriety-chasing libertine and turn him into some sort of maelific embodiment of pure cultic evil. Conservative Christians have worked for a long time to spread the “Satanic Crowley” meme, and to see modern fans of the magician (or at least fans of the idea of the magician) gleefully endorse this narrative is somewhat troubling. For all the objectively terrible things Crowley may have done, he was also a nuanced and sensitive thinker who helped spark (directly and indirectly) the modern Pagan and occult resurgence. I think there is a great movie waiting to be made about Aleister Crowley (who, by all accounts, led a truly interesting life), but I’m not sure horror is the context in which we’ll find it.

Back in November I wrote a post about the remaining “occult crime experts” that still travel the country informing local law enforcement, parents, and community leaders about the “evil” that lurks within their neighborhoods. That particular post singled out retired police officer (and occult “expert”) Don Rimer. Rimer was singled out in the past by Kerr Cuhulain (himself a former police officer) as someone with a decidedly mixed track record of being fair and accurate.

Don Rimer

“I believe that Rimer is sincere … I think that he is making some effort to properly define Wicca to selected audiences. I think that he is doing this because he knows that people like me are watching and he is concerned about liability. I don’t believe for a minute that he knows the difference between Neo-Pagan religions and Satanism. Rimer has said that he is willing to listen and learn and I will endeavor to educate him.”

After my post Rimer appeared to defend his reputation in the comments section.

“I teach parents the warning signs. If that is fear, yes I teach fear … I teach law enforcement about the rituals. If that is fear, yes I teach fear … I will continue to teach, consult, and investigate Ritual Crime as long as those crimes are committed. I provide that service to local, state, and federal agencies across the United States and Canada.”

Since then he has popped up now and then to take issue with how I report on a story.

“You have written about me before, accusing me of hating Wiccans. Wrong, wrong, wrong.”

Well here we go again. WAVY in Virginia reports on the “vampires” in our midst, and guess who pops up as an “expert” in all things evil and vampiric? You guessed it!

“With the advent of Twilight and TrueBlood, we’re seeing people, not just children, not just teenagers, but people are starting to take on that kind of a lifestyle,” says [Don] Rimer. “Very reminiscent of what people did when Ann Rice wrote Interview with a Vampire . Now people are playing games.  New games are coming out. There’s new merchandising that is associated with this and as long as they play their games and conduct their behavior lawfully, no one has a problem with that, but we’re having crimes associated with it.”

The text really doesn’t do justice to the sensationalistic television segment, complete with strange camera angles, spooky lighting, fog, and sound effects. Rimer goes on to depict a couple high-profile crimes as connected to the vampire craze, and inserts only the barest whisp of a disclaimer regarding the millions of people who enjoy vampire-themed media or participate in the vampire subculture/lifestyle and don’t commit horrendous crimes.

“Like in any society, we have good and evil. There are people involved in that that have no intention of committing crimes and then those who do.”

After that CYA (cover your assets) moment, he quickly veers back into how dangerous the vampire life is.

“There are people in that culture (who) believe they have the right to take human blood by whatever means necessary.  Then others are just playing a game. It’s just a game. It’s a movie, it’s a book and we just want to look that way. We’re just going to go to a club, but there’s all kinds and children getting involved in that don’t know the difference.”

Oh, and like all occult “experts”, Rimer gives the vague checklist of “warning signs”. Wearing black, writing backwards, strange new friends, “dark” make-up, and the number “7″ (which he claims is the vampiric number). The kind of list that gives parents the excuse they need to ship their children off to boarding schools, and not face that the problem could be with them, not their kids. I’m not saying that the occasional occultist loon-bat doesn’t occasionally pop a gasket and do something horrible, but these “trends” of occultic crimes are all correlation without causation (and very often have very mundane motivations behind them). In fact, many “occult” crimes could have just as easily been “crazy Christian” crimes if the troubled souls in question had picked up a Bible instead of “Twilight”. Yet you don’t see retired police officers traveling the country informing people of the hazardous effects of improper Bible-reading, giving lists of Christian “warning signs” (prays a lot, starts quoting the Bible randomly, sees demons), and intoning darkly about the dangers of unsupervised Bible study.

By linking troubled teens and isolated crimes with any vague occult angle they cand find, ritual crime experts create a comforting fantasy world of a pervasive directed evil that can be fought. It is a narrative that says “if only we can prevent our children from reading/watching media concerning vampires/werewolves/the occult then we will be safe”. But like all fantasies it isn’t true. Horrible things still happen. They happen even when you remove all troubling literature and occult-laced media from the public eye. It is a fact that the remaining “ritual crime experts” fear to engage with, because they’d be out of a job if all of this was believed to be truly random and had more to do with isolated cases of mental illness than with what movies these people watch. No doubt Don Rimer will be along in the comments shortly to tell me how wrong I am…

Openly gay actress Megan Cavanagh, star of such films as A League of Their Own and Robin Hood: Men in Tights, recently talked to the Bay Area Reporter about her upcoming stint as Madame Arcati in the musical High Spirits. In the process Cavanagh also reveals a bit about her personal belief system.

Ironically, Cavanagh, 48, came out less than 10 years ago. “I knew in my late 20s that I was attracted to women, but I was completely in denial about it,” she said. “I had wanted to be the greatest child ever in my parents’ eyes, and I realized I was OK and didn’t need to do that. There was a lot of therapy, and being in a goddess group really helped. There are a lot of dykes in my goddess group, and every person I wanted to hang out with was a dyke. I thought, hello?” Her experiences in the goddess group are finding their way into her interpretation of Madame Arcati, an eccentric medium who inadvertently summons up the spirit of an English gentleman’s late wife, both to his and his current wife’s considerable consternation, in the musical adaptation of Noel Coward’s Blithe Spirit. “I’m incorporating some of the things we do in our rituals, not things that the audience are going to know, but I’m doing it for me.”

Always nice to encounter another high-profile goddess-worshiper! Here’s hoping Cavanagh inspires other film and television stars to also come out of the “broom closet”. If you happen to be in (or near) the Bay Area, you can catch Cavanagh in High Spirits at the Eureka Theatre March 19-April 12. Cavanagh also stars in the Logo series Exes & Ohs, and the Nickelodeon series The Mighty B!.

A relatively slow news day today, but there were a few Pagan-related items I wanted to share with you. First, we have another “psychics doing well in the recession” story, this one starring an actual Witch!

For Barbara the Gray Witch, tarot cards are the tools of the trade, and she’s been using them for clients more often. She said, “For me, the more that they cry ‘the sky is falling, the economy is looking bad,’ the bigger my clientele.” She says business has tripled. The questions people ask Barbara aren’t about love anymore, as lately, it’s been about finances … So what’s in the cards? “I say the future is bright, but people have to stop whining about everything and panicking about everything,” she said. “It’s time to get your head out of the clouds, stop charging constantly and living out of your means.”

Barbara seems a bit more honest and pragmatic than some of the other professional psychics enjoying a mini-boom in this economy. Let’s just hope she’s right, and the future does turn out to be bright (I fear we might be beyond a bit of belt-tightening). If you want to know more about her, she has a MySpace page hawking her services.

Recently a UK paper reported on a Grantown Baptist church that has been receiving harassing notes (and the occasional dead animal). The local deacon (and the paper) described the notes as “pagan” and “heathen” in nature (partially due to the notes bearing the “all-seeing eye” symbol). This, in turn, has sparked an angry reaction from the local Pagan community.

“Pagans have criticised a Grantown church deacon for blaming them for a series of “attacks” culminating in an incident in which a dead animal was used to deliver a message. They insist that no-one with their beliefs would be guilty of such behaviour, and that deacon Bob Fishwick was out of line to make the claim. Some even go as far as to say that the bizarre attacks could be the work of a disgruntled Christian.”

The paper apparently sought an official comment from The Pagan Federation on the matter, but they were not able to reach anyone. At any rate, good on the local Pagans for not allowing these accusations to stand unanswered.

In a final note, last year I reported on a Pagan shop that survived Christian protests only to be done in by the local economy. Now the Daily Press and Argus reports that the owner has opened a new shop in a nearby town where the costs are cheaper.

“Mona Lindsay, like most people, only asks that you don’t prejudge her. If you’re interested, she’ll give you a peak into her world. Lindsay, a practicing Wiccan — a religion that follows the cycle of the moon and seasons and the sun rather than one central deity — is perhaps best known for running Wisdom of the Ages, a Howell store that closed last year, where she sold herbs, incense, crystals, oils and other items. She soon after opened Moon Magick, 4780 E. M-36 in Hamburg Township.”

Here’s hoping that Moon Magick is able to weather our economic troubles better than Wisdom of the Ages. As for the space that used to house Wisdome of the Ages, a neighboring hair salon has expanded into it.

That’s all I’ve got for now, have a great day!