As I’ve mentioned before, many social theorists and theologians believe that Western culture has gone through a period of “disenchantment” in the post-Enlightenment era and the resulting rise of secular government, perhaps culminating in the “death of God” theology so popular in the 1960s. But while many were pondering the “death” of God, some started to notice a new “re-enchantment” (one that includes the magic-embracing Pagans) coming to fill the void left by this newly minted “post-Christian” era. But is “re-enchantment” necessarily a rebellion against secularism and reason? Keir Martin of The Guardian doesn’t think so.

“However, what both Weber’s analysis of disenchantment and counter-claims as to the importance of contemporary re-enchantment often share is a tendency to make an easy association between religion and enchantment on the one hand and secular rationalism/scientific atheism and disenchantment on the other. In fact there is a long history of occasions when very modernist secular events seemed highly enchanted to many of those participating in them. Wordsworth’s response to the French Revolution, containing a reference to “reason” as the “prime enchantress” of the earth, being but one famous example. Likewise, organised religion can often be experienced as profoundly disenchanting, as the work of generations of writers, from James Joyce to Jeanette Winterson testifies.”

In short, the old binary of religious=enchantment and secular=disenchantment may be too reductive in today’s world, in fact, as one recent academic collection of essays argues, the new forces re-enchanment have no problem with “secular rationalism”.

“…enchantment continues to be understood as anti-rational and quasi-mystical, a source of cognitive deception and affective indulgence … modernity produces an entirely new array of strategies, compatible with secular rationality, for re-enchanting a disenchanted world. We perceive this as being an exciting new trend in current conceptualizations of Western modernity…”

To Pagans, the “spiritual but not religious”, the scores of “no religion” agnostics who believe in God, and the many other groupings taking part in the West’s re-enchantment, it isn’t a choice of Dawkins or Pope Benedict. Instead, it is melding of the best aspects of rational and secular progress with the immanent and transcendenat spiritual experiences provided by various religions and philosophies. While the old binary view of religioun and rationalism continues to duke it out, Pagans are having their (secular re-enchantment) cake and eating it too.

Two bloggers at The American Conservative mull over a recent article in Free Inquiry (not available online) by Canadian academic Shadia Drury. In “Against Grand Narratives”, Drury, according to TAC blogger Leon Hadar, argues for a rejection of linear monotheist grand narratives and a return to a “pagan” worldview.

…she [Drury] argues that “Since the triumph of Christianity over the pagan civilizations of Greece and Rome, the West has suffered from the inability to affirm life in the world without an overarching purpose to give it meaning and make it worthwhile.” The Abrahamic religions, Judaism, Christianity, and Muslim provided such grand narratives as part of an effort to “destroy the pagan view of life as an endless cycle” and replacing it with “the cyclical view of history with a linear view that has a magical beginning, an arduous middle, and a very splendid finale.” … Drury promises to explain in her next piece “why grand narratives must be transcended in favor of a return to pagan sobriety.”

While this argument fascinates Hadar, a noted critic of the neoconservative grand narrative, Jack Ross at TAC’s Post Right blog begs to differ that Judiac monotheism should be lumped in with Drury’s criticisms.

“As a practicing Jew following the examples of Isaac Mayer Wise and Will Herberg, I have to take exception to cavalierly lumping Judaism into this mix.  As Philip Rieff argued, against the cant of both “Athens and Jerusalem” and “Judeo-Christian values”, the greatness of Hebraic civilization was that it placed man squarely under the authority of death, the most powerful reproach imaginable to immanentizing the eschaton. Even in the case of Zionism, it is narrowly nationalist in the extreme and therefore can not be considered “world redemptive” in any sense.  As such, it is exuberantly pagan, as yesterday’s blood-and-soil oration by Netanyahu should make abundantly clear. In the ideal, therefore, Judaism stands for rationalism over paganism and for humility before the infinite over the redemption of the world by man.”

What I find fascinating here is that two noted conservative thinkers are willing to (critically) entertain the idea that we might be better off with a cyclic pagan sobriety than a triumphalist Christian narrative. Now, it is to be certain that neither Leon Hadar or Jack Ross are considered part of the conservative mainstream, but if the conservative mainstream is currently being defined by Gingrich, Huckabee, Limbaugh, and Cheney, perhaps on the sidelines (or “underground” if you prefer) is the best place for them to be. In the meantime, I think I might track down this essay by Drury.

Pagan author and blogger Lisa McSherry reacts quite strongly to a Salon.com article about the infiltration of Neo-Nazis into the military, specifically the assertion that an avowed Neo-Nazi’s Celtic Cross tattoo is racist.

“Excuse me, but there is NOTHING to relate the Celtic culture, and specifically the so-called Celtic Cross with Neo-Nazism, white supremacy, or any of that ilk. I mean, it’s totally wrong to do, but at least it’s understandable when people mistake Viking or Norse symbols for “white power’ symbols. But the CROSS? (Celtic or not)”

Here’s the offending passage in question from the article.

“Over a plate of chicken wings, he tells me about his path into the white-power movement. “I was 14 when I decided I wanted to be a Nazi,” he says. At his first high school, near Los Angeles, he was bullied by black and Latino kids. That’s when he first heard Skrewdriver, a band he calls “the godfather of the white power movement.” “I became obsessed,” he says. He had an image from one of Skrewdriver’s album covers — a Viking carrying a staff, an icon among white nationalists — tattooed on his left forearm. Soon after he had another white power symbol, a Celtic cross, emblazoned on his stomach.”

I don’t know if Lisa knows this, but the Celtic Cross has indeed been widely appropriated as a racist symbol. It is, in fact, the official symbol of the extremist/racist web community Stormfront.

“This is one of the most popular symbols for neo-Nazis and white supremacists. First popularized by the Ku Klux Klan, the symbol was later adopted by the National Front in England and other racists such as Don Black on his Web site, Stormfront, and the racist band Skrewdriver to represent international “white pride.” It is also known as Odin’s Cross. It is important to note that the Celtic Cross is used widely today in many mainstream and cultural contexts. No one should assume that a Celtic Cross, divorced from other trappings of extremism, automatically denotes use as a hate symbol.”

Because the Celtic Cross is so ubiquitous, and holds various meanings among various groups, it’s an easy symbol to explain away to military recruiters and other groups that screen for racist/extremist affiliations.

“Army regulations prohibit soldiers from participating in racist groups, and recruiters are instructed to keep an eye out for suspicious tattoos. Before signing on the dotted line, enlistees are required to explain any tattoos. At a Tampa recruitment office, though, Fogarty sailed right through the signup process. “They just told me to write an explanation of each tattoo, and I made up some stuff, and that was that,” he says. Soon he was posted to Fort Stewart in Georgia, where he became part of the 3rd Infantry Division.”

Of course, according to this Salon.com report, recruiters are so desperate to meet their quotas that they are willing to overlook swastikas and “SS bolts”, two symbols that are overwhelming associated with racist/Nazi idenity in the West. Further, the Celtic Pagan community has long had to deal with racist appropriation and racist authors trying to drum up support and sow dissention and confusion within the maintream of modern Paganism. So as much as it galls us to admit it, we must face the reality that many of our symbols, and not just Nordic/Germanic symbols, have and are being appropraited to the cause of racists. This is why it’s so important to constantly educate people, remain in the public eye, and speak out against the misuse of pre-Christian symbology.

Queen Elizabeth, finally recognizing Lord Summerisle’s Christopher Lee’s contributions to culture, philanthropy, and the preservation of Britain’s unique religious heritage, has awarded him a knighthood.

Sir Christopher Lee

“Golf legend Nick Faldo and veteran horror actor Christopher Lee were both made knights in Queen Elizabeth II’s birthday honours list released Saturday … Lee, 87, has spent his career terrifying cinema-goers. As well as appearing in classic horror films such as 1958′s “Dracula” and 1959′s “The Mummy“, Sir Christopher also played memorable baddie Scaramanga in the 1974 James Bond classic “The Man With The Golden Gun“. In recent years he starred as Saruman in “The Lord Of The Rings” trilogy and Count Dooku in the “Star Wars” prequels.”

He not only won the hearts of many Pagans (including mine) for his role in “The Wicker Man”, he is also, in the words of Wired Magazine’s “Underwire” blog, “King of All Nerd Franchises”.

“Lee can lay claim to the unofficial additional title of King of All Nerd Franchises. In addition to his several battles with Peter Cushing in Hammer Films’ Dracula movies, he was a Bond Villain (The Man with the Golden Gun), Fu Manchu in a bunch of movies, a Lord of the Rings baddie (Saruman), the eerie villain in The Wicker Man (the original) and Count Dooku in the Star Wars series. Along the way, he appeared on The Avengers, Space: 1999, multiple Tim Burton movies and more video games than you’ve had hot dinners.”

Sir Christopher, who is now 87 years old, is still working. He is set to appear in Tim Burton’s adaptation of “Alice In Wonderland” as The Jabberwock, and is finally participating (if current accounts are correct) in the filming of Robin Hardy’s long-delayed sort-of sequel/re-imagining of “The Wicker Man” entitled “Cowboys For Christ”.

The inevitable collision of The Wild Hunt and the Pagan Centered Podcast has finally happened. In the just-posted episode 107: New Media In Paganism, I spend over an hour chatting with Dave about Pagan unity, the Pagan blogosphere, why the legal struggles of Santeria practitioners are important to Pagans, and the future of Pagan journalism. You can download the show directly, here. The show is also streaming at the Pagan Radio Network (as is my own podcast, A Darker Shade of Pagan).

In other “stuff that I do that isn’t The Wild Hunt” news, my article on influential Pagans for the 50th (and last) issue of PanGaia is available for free download from the PanGaia web site. Oh, and I almost forgot to mention, author J.C. Hallman, who I interviewed a couple years ago on this site, has released a new short story collection entitled “The Hospital For Bad Poets”. In one of the stories, “Dalyrmple”, Hallman honors me by giving one of the characters my last name (Pitzl-Waters). A shame though that my fictional existence had to be cut so short!

Religion journalist David Waters, at the Washington Post’s “Under God” blog, weighs in on the First Amendment and separation of Church and State in the wake of Pace High School in Florida being forced to keep their ceremony secular (and several students saying the Lord’s Prayer in protest).

“I don’t know why so many (particularly conservative evangelical) students, parents and school employees find these distinctions so difficult or distressing. How would they feel if their Christian child were at a school where administrators or teachers were leading prayers to Allah? Or organizing activities to honor all gods and goddesses on Earth Day? Or inviting a Voodoo priest or priestess to cast an opening spell at their son’s or daughter’s graduation ceremony? They’d be the first ones calling the ACLU for help.”

This is a point I’ve made before, many Christian activists are all about “religious freedom” (the fake kind) until they’re presented with the consequences of real inclusion and religious freedom. You want Christian prayer at your governmental/or governmentally-funded meeting? You better invite the Wiccans, Hindus, Buddhists, and atheists along too. Better still, just avoid the problem altogether, and keep these functions on the task(s) at hand.

Back in 2008 I reported on the innovative theater company, The Motion Group, and their efforts to put together a stage musical of the classic 1973 film “The Wicker Man”. While they’ve only sold about half of the “shares” they made available to help fund the project, it looks like the ambitious play is hitting the stage in Scotland this August.

In the woods there grew a tree…

“Previews, opening and tour all coming into shape…. Previews at the Brunton Theatre in Musselburgh: 4th and 5th August. Previews at the Pleasance Two in Edinburgh: 7th, 8th and 9th August – 11pm – 12.30am Run at the Pleasance Two in Edinburgh: 10th – 31st August (apart from the 18th) – 11pm – 12.30am Then Perth Rep, Eden Court in Inverness and the Glasgow Citizens Theatre in September and October….”

If you want to see the previews, you have to buy a “share” of the play, but tickets for the Edinburgh performances are on sale now. I can only hope, that if this adaptation is successful, it will end up in America someday. In the meantime, I urge my UK readers to catch the show, and tell me how it was.