The blogosphere is abuzz over the news that two people died, and several more sickened at a retreat held by New Age huckster, “Secret” booster, and two-time Oprah guest James Arthur Ray. The deaths occurred as a result of the careless use of a large plastic “sweat lodge” that held 64 people at the time of the incident (you can hear the 911 calls, here), and was the culmination of  a 9695.00-per-head “spiritual warrior” workshop.

In all, 21 of the 64 people crowded inside the sweat lodge Thursday evening received medical care at hospitals and a fire station. Four remained hospitalized Friday evening – one in critical condition and the others in fair condition … Among those sickened were a middle-aged man and a woman who were unconscious, according to a 911 call, and a third person who was found not breathing. “It’s not something you’d normally see at one of the resorts there, and it’s unfortunate regardless of the cause,” D’Evelyn said. Investigators were working to determine whether criminal actions might have been a factor in the incident, D’Evelyn said. The Angel Valley Retreat Center sits on 70 acres nestled in a scrub forest just outside Sedona, a resort town 115 miles north of Phoenix that draws many in the New Age spiritual movement. Self-help expert and author James Arthur Ray rented the facility as part of his “Spiritual Warrior” retreat that began Oct. 3 and that promised to “absolutely change your life.”

Well it certainly did change several people’s lives, two it changed rather permanently. It makes Chas Clifton wonder if you can sue your shaman, especially if you signed a lengthy liability-release form beforehand. Meanwhile, Gus diZerega and Kathryn Price NicDhana point out the dangers of this kind of ignorant appropriation.

“The newage, pyramid-scheming, scam artist crammed 21 people into a plastic sweatlodge. In the hot, wet dark with the man who had no idea how to lead an Indian ceremony, and no connection to any culture that could have taught him how (or told him this was a really bad idea), they sweated for two hours… till two were dead, three were unconscious, and everyone else went to the hospital.  Hazmat teams and crime scene tape now surround the site. Native American ceremonial people from the area are saying that, by imitating a ceremony he was not trained to perform, this newage plastic shaman killed these people. I agree. They used materials in this fake ceremony that should not be used, they used things that were physically and spiritually dangerous. They payed $9,000 for a sad death at the hands of a greedy con man.”

The Beyond Growth blog, a longtime critic of James Ray, points out that these “large group awareness trainings” often push people past their safe limits through peer pressure and the fear of failure.

“I know several people who have gone to the hospital for various reasons after “large group awareness trainings” such as Ray’s “Spiritual Warrior Event.” … It’s time we brought these gurus to justice and demanded that personal change workshops be safe for all. When something goes wrong in such a seminar due to it being overly intense and dangerous, usually the victims are blamed for “not taking 100% responsibility,” thus dodging the responsibility of the seminar leaders. Personally, I think we should hold James Arthur Ray 100% personally responsible for the death of these two seminar participants, up to and including going to jail. Seminar leaders are responsible for making their workshops both effective and safe for all.”

Beyond Growth’s post also has a screen-shot of Ray’s creepy death-haunted Twitter posts made before and during the event, since deleted after the sweat-lodge debacle. I highly recommend reading his follow-up post “The Dark Side of The Secret” for more insight.

This mixture of cultural appropriation, magical thinking, New Age brainwashing, and a success at all costs mentality ends up creating unsafe environments for those merely looking to improve themselves. I’m not sure his liability release forms will protect Ray (not to mention Michael and Amayra Hamilton, who hosted the event) from the coming storm of inquiries, litigation, and increased scrutiny that are sure to follow. Lets hope this tragedy opens the eyes of those gulled by the Secret-peddlers and Plastic Shamans interested only in improving their bank-accounts, not your life.

A legal gambit in the battles over the separation of Church and State has been that the Christian cross is a “secular” symbol, removed from its original religious meaning by time and history. This has resulted in some rather insulting assumptions by cross-defenders and involves a good bit of historical revisionism. Now with the Supreme Court of the United States hearing arguments in the case of Salazar v. Buono, we may finally see if there can truly be a “secular cross”.

Mr. Eliasberg said many Jewish war veterans would not wish to be honored by “the predominant symbol of Christianity,” one that “signifies that Jesus is the son of God and died to redeem mankind for our sins.” Justice Scalia disagreed, saying, “The cross is the most common symbol of the resting place of the dead.” “What would you have them erect?” Justice Scalia asked. “Some conglomerate of a cross, a Star of David and, you know, a Muslim half moon and star?” Mr. Eliasberg said he had visited Jewish cemeteries. “There is never a cross on the tombstone of a Jew,” he said, to laughter in the courtroom. Justice Scalia grew visibly angry. “I don’t think you can leap from that to the conclusion that the only war dead that that cross honors are the Christian war dead,” he said. “I think that’s an outrageous conclusion.”

Now the case could be decided narrowly, simply on the legality of the land-transfer that Congress approved to keep the cross standing, or, if Scalia gets his way, the court could decided that Christian crosses can be defined as a “common symbol” of the dead, ending several potential lawsuits over the issue. However, while Christians may welcome a sweeping victory here, Beliefnet founder Steven Waldman warns of the spiritually unwise slippery-slope implications of a “win”.

“…the more you want Christian symbols in the public square, the more you have to prove they’re lacking religious meaning. A question for devout Christians: Do you really want the cross and the creche to become akin to the Christmas tree — or the Easter Bunny? The “secular purpose” trap isn’t the only reason the “pro-religion” position can end up hurting Christianity. Legal cases pressing Christian symbols tend to argue that these efforts are acceptable as long as the government isn’t excluding other faiths. That’s how we’ve ended up with town squares with Menorahs alongside the creches. But this is the ultimate slippery slope. The Courts cannot and should not say that pluralism is limited only to Jews. Over time, Islam, Buddhism, Paganism will inevitably end up having greater public displays, too. That means conservative Christians need to ponder a more subtle theological point. If you believe visible public displays convey important social messages, doesn’t a pluralistic scene convey a second message: that all faiths are equal?“

In other words, a secular cross would create more theological problems for the Christians who desire such a decision than they would care to currently admit. Remember the Green Bay nativity case? You could expect a lot more like that, because other religious groups in America, as they grow in size and prominence, are going to want full inclusion as well. The legal loopholes that Christian advocacy groups are trying to create will eventually, no doubt to their dismay, benefit the Wiccans, Buddhists, and Hindus who won’t be contented to simply stand by and be represented by “secular” symbols of Christianity. They should be careful about how “secularized” they want their cross.

Catholic groups in Spain are protesting the soon-to-open film “Agora” (about the death of Hypatia of Alexandria) saying it is “biased” and “anti-Christian”.

“The president of the Religious Anti-Defamation Observatory, Antonio Alonso Marcos, has sent an open letter to Amenabar, also know for his pro-euthanasia film “The Sea Inside,” denouncing the film’s anti-Christian bias. “The reason for my letter is to make you realize something that you already know but have dismissed as unimportant: your film is going to awaken hatred against Christians in today’s society. You present a biased view of the relationship between science and the Church, between faith and reason. It has been pointed out to you directly and indirectly, and you have used a somewhat vague excuse and looked the other way,” Marcos wrote.”

Spanish Catholics would obviously prefer that the past misdeeds of Christianity be forever tucked away and never mentioned. To do otherwise is to be “biased” against them (they also claim it will “awaken hatred against Christians”). Of course it’s just fine for Catholics to constantly criticize paganism, both ancient and modern, they have no concerns about being seen as “anti-pagan” (indeed it is a point of pride). Despite these attacks, Oscar-winning director Alejandro Amenabar makes it clear that his movie is about violent extremists not common believers.

“The movie denounces people who at a certain moment stop debating ideas, set aside reason, have no room for dialogue and resort to violence. This happened 1,600 years ago and it continues happening today…”

As for the film, it is still looking for distributors in America, and once/if it does, expect more cries of protest from those who would like everyone to forget that Christians weren’t always the persecuted, but instead acted as persecutors as well.

If you have over 160,000 Euro (235,551 USD) to spend, have I got a hot property for you! Wouldn’t you like to build a cabin right next to the famous Boleskine House on Scotland’s Loch Ness? Hadn’t heard of it? Well then, you must not be up on your Aleister Crowley-lore, for it once belonged to the master-mage and is apparently considered to be the Thelemic Qiblah, the direction O.T.O. Lodges, Profess-Houses and Gnostic Mass Temples are ideally to be oriented towards.

“A beautiful plot on the shores of Loch Ness, next to Jimmy Page and Aleister Crowley’s old property Boleskine House is for sale. A wonderful plot on the shores of Loch Ness with planning permission for a three-bedroom log cottage has come onto the market. The plot, which comes to just under two acres, used form part of the Boleskine House estate which was previously owned by Aleister Crowley, the famous master of the occult, and subsequently by Led Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page.”

Oh, and some lad in a rock band once owned the place too. Once there you can build a nice three-bedroom cottage, enjoy the tranquil scenery, go Nessie spotting, plan major Thelemic workings, and try to avoid “King Kevin” as he traipses about Loch Ness drumming up publicity in a red bathrobe.The only real drawback is, well, it’s only accessible by boat.

“The only drawback is access which is only available by boat from along the shore and materials to build the property must also be transported by barge; on the plus side the property is guaranteed to provide peace and quiet amongst the hills.”

But if you’re into privacy while you pursue the Great Work, that’s an asset not a drawback! So contact Strutt and Parker today to make your bid.

If there were a Pagan blogging ecosystem I would be near the top of that food-chain. I don’t say this to brag, but to explain that because of this I’ll often receive complimentary items from folks interested in reaching my audience. This is a standard practice. People with stuff to sell send out free copies to media outlets and taste-makers hoping that their (hopefully) positive reviews will generate increased revenue. Similar principles apply to movie reviewers, radio and club DJs, and other media professionals. It is so prevalent that it is, for the most part, simply assumed that Roger Ebert didn’t pay to see “Transformers 2″, and the New York Times doesn’t have to take a trip to Borders to buy Dan Brown’s new novel. But according to the Federal Trade Commission I can no longer assume you know that I got my copy of  “Grimoires: A History of Magic Books” for free (I did), and could risk hefty fines if I don’t reveal the “compensation” they gave me.

“Today the Federal Trade Commission revised their “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials” (click here to download), urging bloggers who review products, from a book to a video game system, to disclose if they received the product for free when giving an endorsement. According to the Washington Post, breaking these new guidelines could generate up to $11,000 in fines.”

What’s causing a controversy about these new rules is the double-standard in which bloggers have to obey these new rules, but newspapers and other traditional media outlets do not. In a revealing interview with FTC official Richard Cleland, Edward Champion lays bare the undistilled ignorance and bias of the people making these new guidelines.

“In the case of books, Cleland saw no problem with a blogger receiving a book, provided there wasn’t a linked advertisement to buy the book and that the blogger did not keep the book after he had finished reviewing it. Keeping the book would, from Cleland’s standpoint, count as “compensation” and require a disclosure. But couldn’t the same thing be said of a newspaper critic? Cleland insisted that when a publisher sends a book to a blogger, there is the expectation of a good review. I informed him that this was not always the case and observed that some bloggers often receive 20 to 50 books a week. In such cases, the publisher hopes for a review, good or bad. Cleland didn’t see it that way. “If a blogger received enough books,” said Cleland, ‘he could open up a used bookstore.’”

So if a newspaper receives a book, gives it a good review, and posts a link to purchase it, it isn’t compensation. But if I get a book, post a link to Amazon, and give it a good review, I’m being “compensated” because the publisher has the “expectation of a good review”. It’s simply ridiculous. As if the publisher doesn’t have the same expectation from the newspapers and magazines it sends comp copies to. Do they really think that newspapers were simply keeping these free books in a underground library or returning them to the publisher? It’s a well-known industry “perk” that reviewers get to keep the book/movie/cd they review (and just as often those “pro” unbiased newspaper reviewers sell their comp-copies to used bookstores).

Media critic Jeff Jarvis notes that the new regulations were supposed to target hated pay-per-post “sploggers”, but instead regulates speech and is a “monument to unintended consequence”.

“…the FTC assumes – as media people do – that the internet is a medium. It’s not. It’s a place where people talk. Most people who blog, as Pew found in a survey a few years ago, don’t think they are doing anything remotely connected to journalism. I imagine that virtually no one on Facebook thinks they’re making media. They’re connecting. They’re talking. So for the FTC to go after bloggers and social media – as they explicitly do – is the same as sending a government goon into Denny’s to listen to the conversations in the corner booth and demand that you disclose that your Uncle Vinnie owns the pizzeria whose product you just endorsed. Insanity and inanity. And danger. The regulations raise no end of questions. For example: How much do I have disclose? Before I say anything nice about anyone, do I need to list every advertiser I’ve ever had? Every possible business relationship? You think my disclosures are comical now, just wait.”

So from now on, under the FTC’s assumption that I would be so tickled by Llewellyn sending me a copy of “Priestess of the Forest: A Druid Journey” that I’d have no choice but give it a positive review (when in reality I left it to gather dust because I thought it just wasn’t that good) I will be posting a disclaimer with every review stating whether I received a promotional “compensation” copy. As for the many blogging Pagan book reviewers out there who receive promotional copies, you better start crafting your disclaimer statement now. This, along with plans in congress to exempt citizen journalists and bloggers from the shield law protections is quickly creating a journalism class-system that privileges money and institutions above content and context.

For the three or four of you who don’t read Boing Boing, that compendium of wonderful things is currently in the midst of hosting guest-blogger Mitch Horowitz author of “Occult America: The Secret History of How Mysticism Shaped Our Nation” (which I mentioned recently here). So far he’s blogged about what the occult is exactly, classic esoteric texts, the American spirit, and the popularity of Saint Expedite.

“One of the most interesting aspects of folk religion in America is the enduring figure of Saint Expedite … Simply put, Saint Expedite is the patron of those who need help in a hurry: with jobs, relationships, money, etc. In Brazil, he is the venerated helper of people looking for work; in America, so says Wired magazine, he is the “patron saint of the nerds,” i.e., a figure who can help untangle internet connections and the keep communications networks flowing; to church authorities he is merely an icon of “popular religiosity” who never historically existed.”

While this certainly isn’t Boing Boing’s first foray into all things occult, it does seem to be the first time they’ve approached the topic in such a enthusiastic and sympathetic manner, so kudos to them. To keep track of Horowitz’s posts, you can follow Boing Boing’s guest-blogger tag. As for Mitch Horowitz himself, he’s been just about everywhere promoting his new book, from The Washington Post to NPR. I guess releasing your book about America’s occult roots right around the same time a mega-popular fiction writer is tackling some of the same subjects does pay off.

Here I thought I was done talking about New York City Council candidate, and “outed” Theodsman, Dan Halloran until after the elections. However, a loyal Wild Hunt reader alerted me to this recent op-ed in the Queens Chronicle where Halloran decides to talk about his faith journey. It starts, as all good stories do, at the beginning.

“I was raised a Roman Catholic right here in Auburndale. I was baptized into the Catholic Church and took my confirmation at 13.I attended Jesuit schools.Then and now, faith is a cornerstone of my life.”

OK, good so far, many Pagans/Heathens started out as Catholics. Next we come to a moment of personal tragedy and the resulting changes that it brought to Halloran’s religious perspective.

“The death of my father and its aftermath was very difficult for our family. I took comfort in my family’s history and our heritage, yet through all of this pain and hardship, I never lost faith in God.”

That’s certainly terrible about his father, but he never lost faith in “God”? Doesn’t he mean that he gained faith in many gods? Halloran is a polytheist, isn’t he? Lets go to an article Halloran wrote for The Witches’ Voice to make sure.

“The Theodish religious philosophy can be described as three interlocking sets of thews: A) The Votive Thews – i. Sacral Kingship, ii. Theodish Affinity – the Web of Troth and Oaths, and iii. worship of the Germanic Gods and Ancestors; B) The Criterial Thews – i. Life as a process of Ordeal, ii. Worthing and Becoming, and iii. its context of the Three Wynns – Wisdom, Generosity and Honor; and C) the Existential Thews – i. Freedom of Conscience, ii. Right Good Will, and iii. Sovereign Tribal Weal. These Three Rings of Thew [the “TRT”] are what binds together each tribe’s Theodsmen and makes possible the Theodish theological construct. Each of the thews interlock and are co-dependant, they are likewise situational and dependant on context for expression.”

That sounds pretty polytheist to me, maybe he’s just warming up people unfamiliar with Theodism. Let’s read on.

“Last week, I was attacked for my faith in the Queens Tribune.These attacks happened on the eve of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, the holiest time of the year for the Jewish people. Having been raised in a Catholic household that shares its religious roots with the Jewish faith, I was deeply offended that religion would be used for political gain … I am a man of faith – and now my faith is under attack by a newspaper working for my opponent.”

Huh? He’s trying to imply that the timing of the outing was offensive because it was near Jewish high holidays and he was raised Catholic? That makes almost no sense. Further, he keeps referencing “my faith” and that he’s a “man of faith” but does not once mention what, exactly, his faith is. I get that he doesn’t want his faith to be used against him in this race, but the nature of that faith is out of the bag, repeatedly invoking a singular “God” while talking about Catholicism and Judaism to the exclusion of his actual chosen faith simply reinforces the notion that he’s hiding something. Anyone reading this remains entirely unclear as to what Halloran’s current faith is, unless he’s saying that Theodism is more a cultural practice for him, and that he remains a Judeo-Christian-style monotheist. Is that what he is saying?

Whatever Halloran’s actual beliefs are at this point, he needs to be clear about them. Misdirection or invocations of family history, however noble, won’t erase the questions people have. Will perceived political necessities make someone who once openly advocated for Pagan rights keep quiet?

ADDENDUM: Dan Halloran, in a letter to me, offered the following clarifying statement.

“I honor my Ancestors and cling to my Hiberno-Norse Culture’s Worldview. I revere my God (Tiw)- and henotheistically I may add- a fact NEVER HIDDEN from ANYONE who has had a theological discussion with me ANYTIME in the last 10 years- and I respect the Gods of the North and Wights of Middenyard. I have been part of the Heathen community in New York for 20 years and particularly Theodish for over 12 years.  I have served the Troth for over 18 years in a variety of religious and secular ways. Whatever necessary political discussions take place – I have never hidden my religion- it’s on my facebook, in courts – judges and counsels in the Courts I practice are aware, I’ve been the corporate counsel for a variety of pagan groups- and have lectured and discussed theology all over the US.  I disclosed my religious affiliations to the Queens County GOP prior to running.  My license plate on both my car and truck are Tiw Tru and Tyr Tru respectively.”

So that should clear up at least some of the questions folks have.