Top Story: I’m very pleased to present, as part of my coverage of the Pagan presence at the Parliament of the World’s Religions in Melbourne, Australia, an interview with Pagan scholar Michael York. Michael York is Professor of Cultural Astronomy and Astrology at Bath Spa University College, UK, an instructor at Cherry Hill Seminary, and author of “Pagan Theology: Paganism as a World Religion”. We discussed the evolving place of modern Paganism at the Parliament, the importance of the Pagan voice in interfaith interactions, and how polytheism promotes democracy.

If you are a Pagan podcaster, or host a Pagan-friendly radio show, you are welcome to download this file to play on your program. Be sure to credit the Pagan Newswire Collective as the audio source. For more Parliament-related audio, check out my discussion with Ed Hubbard, a PNC correspondent, as well as host of MagickTV and Pagans Tonight. There are more scheduled Parliament interviews, so stay tuned to the Pagans at the Parliament blog for the latest news.

In Other News: William Booth at the Washington Post looks at the oft-misunderstood cult of Santa Muerte, or Saint Death. An anthropologist interviewed for the piece makes the argument that this growing, and controversial, faith is a true reflection of contemporary Mexico.

“The authorities have condemned Santa Muerte as a “narco-saint,” worshipped by drug traffickers, cartel assassins and dope slingers. But the worship is more a reflection of contemporary Mexico, says the anthropologist J. Katia Perdigón Castañeda, the author of “La Santa Muerte: Protector of Mankind.” The cult is an urban pop amalgam, New Age meets heavy metal meets Virgin of Guadalupe. It is no accident that it is also cross-cultural — that the centers of worship are the poor, proud heart of Mexico City and the violent frontier lands of Laredo, Juarez and Tijuana. The cult borrows equally from Hollywood and the Aztec underworld. Altars, necklaces and tattoos honoring Santa Muerte also make appearances in Mexican American neighborhoods from Los Angeles to Boston. “The believers may be drug dealers, doctors, carpenters, housewives. The cult accepts all. No matter the social status or age or sexual preference. Even transsexuals. Even criminals. That’s very important, that the cult of Santa Muerte accepts everyone,” Perdigón told me, “because death takes one and all.” Where mainstream Mexican Catholicism promises a better life in the hereafter, “central to the devotion of Santa Muerte is the fact that the believers want a miracle, a favor, in the present, in this life, not when they are dead,” Perdigón said.”

I find it very interesting that while many modern Pagan religions are quite self-conscious of mixing pop-culture with our Paganism, or of modernizing ancient sacred imagery, the followers of Santa Muerte seem to do it instinctively. Focusing more on necessities than proprieties. I wish I could read J. Katia Perdigon Castaneda’s book, but it appears to be only available in Spanish, a language I have not mastered.

I have an update on the case of Ali Sibat, a former Lebanese television presenter who was arrested and sentenced to death for sorcery in Saudi Arabia by the Mutaween (religious police) in Saudi Arabia, but I’m afraid it isn’t good news.

“He was condemned to death last month, and the religious court may confirm the sentence as soon as Thursday. The family’s lawyer, May Khansa, has tried desperately to persuade Lebanese politicians to intervene to save Mr Sbatt’s life – the Prime Minister, Saad Hariri, and President Michel Sleiman are aware of his case and so is the Sunni Grand Mufti, Sheikh Abdul Amir Qabalan – but so far without success. Sheikh Qabalan did, however, say that what Mr Sbatt did on television was merely psychological help for people who have lost hope and did not involve black magic. The family wisely appealed to Sunni prelates for help rather than dignitaries from their own Shia background. Their local member of parliament has been asked to assist – uselessly, it appears – and Ibrahim Najjar, the Minister for Justice, has said he has done “the necessary”, whatever that is.”

Saudi lawyers have asked for a million dollars to make a legal appeal, and it seems only the intervention of King Abdullah could save his life at this point. I’ll have more on this case as it develops, but it looks like another innocent person will soon be killed by a government for alleged supernatural crimes.

Why do white supremacists feel the need to subvert Pagan, Heathen, and Christian faiths? Because their own sad attempts at building a “religion” are so transparently political that federal district court judges have no problem denying them equal treatment in court cases.

“In Conner v. Tilton, 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 111892 (ND CA, Dec. 2, 2009), in a decision unusually detailed in its analysis for a case brought by a prisoner pro se, a California federal district court held that the White supremacist Creativity Movement is not a “religion” for purposes of the First Amendment or RLUIPA. In the case, an inmate sought the right to practice various aspects of his purported religion in Pelican Bay State Prison. In deciding the case, the court relied on the definition of “religion” articulated by the 3rd Circuit in Africa v. Pennsylvania.”

In short,”what’s good for white people is good” just isn’t a comprehensive world-view that addresses “fundamental and ultimate questions having to do with deep and imponderable matters”. There may be (and are) racist Heathens, Pagans, Muslims, and Christians, but they at least have the fig-leaf of an actual faith-tradition when considering legal matters. This sadly means that racists will continue to distort our faiths for their own ends, but at least the misguided may have some chance of interacting with genuine non-racist permutations of those faiths as they move through life.

In a final note, Bartholomew’s Notes on Religion, who has been covering the plight of child witches in Nigeria, brings us the news that notorious (and popular) witch-hunting mega-pastor Helen Ukpabio is suing a local activist and witch children charity. Why is she suing them? For making Ukpabio look bad when her followers raided a conference on Witchcraft and Child Rights.

“Helen applied to the Federal High Court in Calabar for the enforcement of her fundamental rights. She claimed, among other things,that the conference on Witchcraft and Child Rights, held on July 29 in Calabar – which her members disrupted- and the arrest of her church members on the said date constituted an infringement on their rights to practice their christian religious belief relating to witchcraft. She asked the court to issue perpetual injunctions restraining me and others – From interfering with their practice of christianity and their deliverance of people with witchcraft spirit … From holding seminars or workshops denouncing the christian religious belief in witchcraft … From arresting her and her church members etc.”

The activist, Leo Igwe, has sent out a press release regarding the lawsuit. Due to oppressive British libel laws, Bartholomew wasn’t able to reprint the entire thing, so I’m making it available here. I’ll try to keep you posted as new developments in this case arise, but I strongly suggest you also read Bartholomew’s Notes on Religion for the latest updates as well.

That’s all I have for now, don’t forget to check the Pagans at the Parliament blog for the latest updates and links from Melbourne,  and have a great day!

While Saturday is just beginning for us in America, it is already finished in Australia, and a large influx of updates and reports from the Pagan delegations at the Parliament of the World’s Religions have appeared. Let’s start with Dave Linton of Circle Sanctuary’s report of Patrick McCollum’s Saturday-morning ritual at the Parliament.

“Today started with the Solstice Sites and Celebrations program and ritual, which was held outdoors at 8:00 am under a sparkling blue sky, next to the Yarra river, and outside the massive glass walls of the Melbourne Convention Center. Patrick McCollum started the session with a discussion of the combined Northern Hemisphere Winter Solstice and Southern Hemisphere Summer Solstice celebration. This led to how Solstices have been celebrated through the ages, and sacred places where these celebrations have been held historically, and are today.”

But that wasn’t the only Pagan observance happening at Parliament, EarthSpirit’s blog brings us an account of Friday afternoon’s “Peace at the Heart of the World” ritual, co-facilitated by Deirdre Pulgram Arthen, Andras Corban Arthen and Angie Buchanan.

Peace ritual procession. Photo by Moira Ashleigh.

“In the ritual many Pagan presenters offered a spoken piece including T Thorn Coyle, River Higginbotham, Drake Spaeth, Anna Korn, Don Frew, Patrick McCollum, Sue Curewitz Arthen, Kaye Hughes Kittredge, Chris LaFond, Moira Ashleigh and several of the Queensland Pagans. The sacred waters of the worlds were brought to bless everyone as well as the sacred symbolic rattles by Julee Higginbotham. MotherTongue led several chants and closed with a Gaelic Blessing.”

Meanwhile, Don Frew from COG gives us a behind-the-scenes look at the chaos sometimes involved in putting such a ritual together. In fact, the COG Interfaith Reports blog has been refreshingly candid about the frustrations and hectic-paced nature of an event of this magnitude. I’m amazed at how often they’ve been able to update. According to a communication I’ve had from author and Cherry Hill Seminary teacher Michael York, there’s barely time to breath, let alone eat, due to the oft-times frenzied pace. Perhaps that’s why Thorn Coyle wisely decided to share short vignettes in her latest update, rather than even attempt a longer narrative.

“Saami in embroidered clothing. Orange robes. Grey robes. Business suits. Saris. Brown robes. Golden robes. Celtic patterns. Jeans. Turbans. Hijab. Bare heads. Skin of many hues and hair of many textures. Many, many smiles.”

As for local Pagans, they shared their hospitality at Friday’s Parliament Local Community Night, where the Melbourne Reclaiming group organized a ritual and local Pagan rock-star Wendy Rule (among others) performed. There hasn’t been much written about it (yet), but I’ve heard nothing but good things from the folks who’ve been in contact with me.

Turning briefly to mainstream coverage of the Parliament, Pagans haven’t been mentioned all that much, save for a brief aside in an article about the items for sale in the exhibitor’s hall.

“The sceptics are the only ones missing in action. But the pagans have set up shop with a contingent of about 50 from the United States. At their stall they sell celebratory music for the winter solstice – a bargain at $20.”

I suppose our lack of impression on the global media (so far) is understandable considering the many religious (and political) heavy-hitters presenting and giving talks at the Parliament. This state of being lost in a sea of religious voices only underscores why it’s important for Pagan organizations and journalists to work together in getting the word out, something that I think is starting to happen with events like this.

As always, stay tuned to the Pagans at the Parliament blog for more updates, I expect we’ll be hearing from more folks as the paces starts to slow down a bit, and attendees have a moment to collect their thoughts and report in. I’m still arranging audio interviews, so more on that as it happens.

Top Story: Outed Pagan political candidate Alice Richmond has closed down her local-issues blog, Page County Watch, and is seemingly retiring from the public eye.

“Last week the voice of the Page County Watch Blog went silent as Alice Richmond, the resident who started the blog, decided to move on. “I’m moving on to other things,” said Richmond. “I don’t want anyone to Google my name anymore.” The site gained attention most recently in September when on a local radio show, Richmond was questioned about her religion and the author known as “Lady Raya.” Richmond later admitted she was using the name Lady Raya as a pseudonym to write books on Wiccan practices.”

Richmond’s race for a seat on Page County Virginia’s Board of Supervisors seemed to get hostile from the start, with the staged ambush-outing of her “Lady Raya” pen-name by political opponents on a local talk show shrouding her candidacy with sensationalism. After a losing the election by a wide margin, a palpably disappointed Richmond inferred that the county was suffering from “Stockholm Syndrome”, noting that the vote wasn’t close. Considering the emotional wringer she’s been through, I don’t blame her for wanting to withdraw from public, though I do mourn the loss of a Pagan willing to enter into the political fray.  I fear that her campaign, and Dan Halloran’s, proves that out (or outed) Pagan candidates will have to deal with ugly smears from opponents (even if the tactic backfires) unafraid to exploit religious fears.

In Other News: Kathy Nance at the St. Louis Post-Dispatch brings us a local angle to the “Pagans at the Parliament” story by focusing on the ceremonial rattles created by local artist Julee Higginbotham for the interfaith event.

“On this first full day of the Parliament of World Religions (PWR) in Melbourne, Australia, a group of Pagans met to give blessings to four rattles created by St. Louis artist Julee Higginbotham. The rattles, called “Bridge to the Meeting Place,” were created to symbolize the coming together of religions and people from around our planet. Julee has blended Aboriginal and Neo-Pagan symbols into a clay prayer for understanding. They will be given to Pagans from North America and Australia, and to two PWR delegates. She got the idea from Pagan delegate and PWR board member Angie Buchanan.”

You can read more about these rattles at the Pagans at the Parliament blog, where you can see daily updates about the Pagan presence at the Parliament of the World’s Religions in Melbourne.

Are you a Pagan metal-head? If so, this is your lucky day, because two documentaries that touch on Pagan/Heathen religion within different metal subcultures are being released. “Pagan Metal:  A Documentary”, and “Until the Light Takes Us”, which focuses on the controversial Norwegian black metal scene.

“In addition to exploring the origins and ideology of black metal, Aites and Ewell examine black metal as what Norwegian visual artist Bjarne Melgaard calls “Norway’s only culturally relevant phenomenon.” Melgaard, who recontextualizes black metal aesthetics in his art, explores the striking parallel between the emotional extremes of Norwegian painter Edvard Munch’s “The Scream” and the album cover of Darkthrone’s “Transilvanian Hunger.” “Until the Light Takes Us” succeeds because it neither idolizes nor patronizes the artists involved.”

Considering the fact that a movie is being made about one of black metal’s most controversial figures, a less sensationalist documentary, academic in tone, certainly seems welcome at this point. As for “Pagan Metal: A Documentary”, it’s more informal, and had a reviewer comment that “you will feel like you have made new friends”. Both seem welcome assets for those wanting to explore Pagan and Heathen spirituality in underground subcultures.

The Good Blog gives props to Archdruid (and blogger) John Michael Greer for a piece he wrote on adopting a new model of “energy productivity” instead of the per-worker-hour standard.

“This isn’t the first time our common economic metrics have been challenged. GDP gets criticized all the time (and for good reason). But Greer makes a great point about the need for resource efficiency—especially energy efficiency—to be incorporated into the statistics we use to measure our country’s economic success. After all, we live in a world of limited resources. Acknowledging that in our numbers isn’t just about giving environmentally-friendly countries a pat on the back. It’s a real indication of how well-prepared a country is to deal with costly constraints. Apparently these days it takes a druid and Tarot grandmaster to point that out to all the Ivy League B-school grads on Wall Street. Strange times.”

Indeed it does sometimes take a different view-point to actually think “outside the box”, and who better than a (wise) Druid to address issues of resource efficiency and economics as we approach the end our the industrial age? For more on Greer’s religious activities, check out the Ancient Order of Druids in America (AODA) web site.

In a final note, I think the University of Iowa may have the coolest name ever for their Pagan student organization.

“The mention of the term “pagan” often connotes thoughts of the dark arts, ritual sacrifices, and any number of Goth stereotypes. But for UI senior Kirk Cheyney, it’s not about any such thing. It’s more about nature and a deep personal spirituality that he can share with his family. Cheyney serves as the president of the Society of Pagans Invested in Reviving Ancient Lifestyles, which bills itself as the UI’s pagan student union.”

I think we could use more creative acronyms in modern Paganism, especially for college students! Congrats to S.P.I.R.A.L. for making it happen (all you other campus groups better step up).

That’s all I have for now, don’t forget to check the Pagans at the Parliament blog for the latest updates and links from Melbourne. We have a new post now up from Selena Fox, and Thorn Coyle has just sent in another dispatch as well. You can also stay on top of things with the Pagans at the Parliament Twitter feed and Facebook page. Have a great day!

By the time you read this, the first day of the Parliament of the World’s Religions in Melbourne will have ended (there’s quite a large time difference for those of us in America), and the first reports from journalists abroad will be tricking in. I urge all of you interested in this massive (over six thousand people) interfaith event to keep an eye on the Pagans at the Parliament group-blog as initial reports and observations from Pagan participants and delegates get posted.

Anna Korn, Donald Frew, and River Higginbotham at the Parliament. Photo by Ed Hubbard.

I’ve gathered some initial thoughts and pre-Parliament musings from Pagans heading to Melbourne on the importance of our participation. Starting with Thorn Coyle’s blog, where she shares her hopes for what she will experience, and why she came.

“Here is a preliminary answer: I am hoping for some magic. I have come to Melbourne, and we representatives of Solar Cross have come here, because religious pluralism is important. This parliament is a gathering, I hope, in which people of different religious beliefs will share ideas and meals with one another. This gathering, I hope, is one in which mutual respect can be fostered even in the midst of basic disagreements. There is work to be done here. There are conversations to be had. There are things to be learned.”

Meanwhile, Ed Hubbard from MagickTV and Pagans Tonight is already posting photos and video from Australia, but before that, he explained why our presence and active role in this year’s Parliament is so vital.

“Yet, for me, the greatest reason for Pagans to attend is to demonstrate bravery and courage. By being present at this world-class event is to say that Pagans are not afraid of what others think of our beliefs, that we will no longer hide them out of fear of persecution, and that the Pagan ideals have value. By attending, Pagans are claiming equality and a right to openly practice; not by demanding them, but by demonstrating we can take responsibility to participate in the Parliament of the World’s Religions. Our attendance and subsequent actions as a community shows that we are ready to become a active and cooperative force for creating good in the world. This is why I feel this is important to the Pagan community and why I am truly humbled and awed to be attending the Parliament of the World’s Religions.”

The Pagan Newswire Collective-sponsored Pagans at the Parliament project won’t be the only place to receive updates, reflections, and thoughts regarding this event. Circle Sanctuary has set up the Circle Interfaith News blog for updates from their delegation, Spiritual Resources, in association with Interfaith Center at the Presidio, will be doing live web-casts, C.O.G. has their COG Interfath Reports blog (New post up by Don Frew, check it out!), and EarthSpirit has the EarthSpirit Voices blog, where EarthSpirit founder Andras Corban Arthen discusses his work within the Indigenous Task Force.

“The Indigenous Task Force named me as one of the speakers for the European traditions, and gave me the task of finding others to bring to the Parliament. The first person I invited was Jonas Trinkunas, krivis (chief high priest) of Romuva, the pagan religion of Lithuania. I have known Jonas for a long time, and in 1997 he attended our annual Rites of Spring celebration. He is quite a remarkable man, who has maintained his ancestral tradition alive in spite of opposition not only from the Catholic church, but also from the Soviet Union during its occupation of his homeland. I am glad to report that Jonas readily accepted the invitation.”

That’s just the beginning of the flood of news and information that’s expected! In the coming days I’ll be doing my best to give you all an ongoing overview of the various reports and reflections here at The Wild Hunt, and I’ll also be arranging some audio interviews with folks in Australia that I plan to post as well. So stay tuned! Also, for those who want to experience the Parliament more directly, they have set up their own social networking site called PeaceNext. Pagans there and abroad are already signing up, so check that out if you are interested in interfaith interactions. This is shaping up to be a historic event for modern Pagans within the context of global interfaith relations, and I’m excited about what the coming days will bring.

Top Story: Wiccan chaplain Patrick McCollum’s ongoing fight to overturn the California prison system’s “five faiths policy”, which limits the hiring of paid chaplains to Protestant, Catholic, Jewish, Muslim, and Native American adherents, has gained some new allies. Though a judge recently ruled against McCollum in February (twice), saying he had no standing to challenge the policy , his federal-court appeal is gaining support from groups like the Anti-Defamation League (PDF) and Americans United (PDF).

“The court said a legal challenge to the prison’s chaplain policy can only be brought by an inmate, not someone seeking to be hired. In addition, the court denied McCollum’s claim because he could not prove he would be hired even if the state policy was changed. The court also denied McCollum’s standing as a taxpayer. AU’s brief disputes these arguments, stating that the Constitution and civil rights law demand that McCollum have his day in court.”

Other groups filing amicus briefs in support of McCollum’s appeal were The Interfaith Alliance, the Hindu American Foundation, and Pagan organizations like Cherry Hill Seminary (among others, I’m working on getting a full list). McCollum has been struggling for years to see that Pagan chaplains and inmates receive fair and equal treatment within the American prison system. In his 2008 testimony before the US Commission on Civil Rights McCollum described an “endemic” level of discrimination against Pagan inmates, and the chaplains who try to serve them, in our prisons.

“I’d like to start with a few true examples of discrimination to illustrate the severity of the problem: A Wiccan inmate has cancer and the prison guards refuse to transport him to his chemotherapy treatments unless he removes his religious pentacle medallion which they have objections to. He chooses to forgo his chemotherapy and keep his pentacle. A Wiccan inmate has been trying to go to Wiccan services for months, but the guard at her dorm refuses to give her a pass. The guard says it is for the good of the Wiccan inmate’s soul. Another dying Wiccan writes his volunteer chaplain that he needs to see him before he crosses over. The chaplain makes numerous attempts to reach prison staff to receive the necessary clearances, but no one responds. But worse, prison mailroom staff refuse to forward the chaplain’s mail, so that the inmate knows why his chaplain isn’t coming. Over more than a decade, I’ve had the opportunity to interact nationally with both administrators and inmates on religious accommodation issues. While practices differ from state to state, I found discrimination against minority faiths everywhere.”

The mistreatment of minority faiths in prison is an ongoing crisis, and I hope that these amicus briefs from prominent religious and civil rights groups help sway the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals into allowing the case to be heard, and McCollum’s evidence presented. More on this story as I have it. If you want to send Patrick McCollum magical healing and support, Circle Sanctuary has set up a special page for that purpose.

In Other News: Two weeks ago I told you about a controversy brewing over the Pagan and atheist-blocking web-access policy of the Indianapolis Public School system that  resulted in the Freedom From Religion Foundation threatening a lawsuit. Since then, Indianapolis Pagan Issues Examiner Andrah Wyrdfire has been doing journalism proud by going after some answers from local officials.  First she got a statement from Dr. Eugene White, Superintendent of Indianapolis Public Schools, who claimed the software blocked all religions, not just the Pagans, then she got a hold of Dorothy Crinshaw, CIO of the Indianapolis Public Schools, who said Pagan sites weren’t blocked at all!

“When asked if she could verify whether or not IPS was censoring Pagan/Wiccan (alternative spirituality) websites, Dorothy stated that she was unaware of that being the case and asked for an example of a website so that she could look for herself.  Upon searching for Wicca on her IPS computer, she found that she was able to not only obtain results but click on any of the results and open the pages … Dorothy emphasized that, as far as she knows, no religious web content is being censored from the schools’ computers based on any specific religion; it would only be censored if it had a blog or social networking option.”

Crinshaw seemed to imply that the offending document that started this was simply standard boilerplate and didn’t actually reflect day-to-day policy at the schools. However, considering how many religious organizations now use blogs, I’m not exactly reassured about what content students actually have access to. Wyrdfire is now pursuing Education Networks of America to find out where their content-blocking categories and lists come from, and I can’t wait to find out the answer. No update yet on if FFRF is going to actually pursue litigation or not, so this story is still ongoing.

Speaking of Examiner.com, many Pagans (including Z. Budapest) have turned to the service in hopes of pursuing local issues while making some money, but what they may not know is that the individual holding the purse-strings of the enterprise is ultra-conservative Christian billionaire activist Philip Anschutz. AlterNet features an article from Jamison Foser of Media Matters for America that wonders if Anshutz is laying the ground-work to own a big chunk of locally-focused journalism’s future.

“Anschutz launched Examiner.com about a year and a half ago as an Internet-only local news portal; it currently reaches 129 markets and its traffic ranks 21st among U.S. news sites — with the fastest traffic growth of any site from August of 2008 to August of 2009. And just a few weeks ago,Examiner.com bought NowPublic, a Canadian citizen-journalism site with reporters in more than 140 countries … Given the newspaper industry’s struggles, it isn’t inconceivable that Examiner.com could quickly become a key source of news and information for many Americans. At which point, based on Anschutz’s history, it’ll be like having a local version of Fox News Channel in every city in America.”

So what’s the big deal? Well, besides the insinuation that Anshutz may one day do an ideological/theological purge of his local news new-media empire, there’s the fact that many unassuming progressive-leaning Pagans are driving traffic and revenue towards Anshutz’s goals for the promise of a small cut of the action. What, exactly, are his goals? Denying gays the right to marry, working against discrimination laws that include sexual orientation, promoting “intelligent design”, stopping medical marijuana, and working to elect politicians like George W. Bush. Obviously some Pagans may have no trouble with many of these goals, but I wonder how many Pagan Examiners know who they are working for?

In Loudoun County, Virgina, residents of Leesburg  are wrestling with the issue of religious Winter holiday displays on public lands. After a local committee’s attempts to (I assume) avoid legal trouble led to total ban, a local uproar started that has led to petitions and a defiant assertion that some may later regret.

“At Monday night’s meeting, Loudoun residents — some in holiday garb and carrying signs that read “Keep Christ in Christmas” — argued that the new rule would curtail religious speech. “We don’t care if the courthouse lawn looks like a cafeteria of different religious symbols. We don’t want to lose our holiday,” said Barbara Curtis, 61, of Bluemont, who runs a parenting blog, Mommy Life.”

Since then the ban has been overturned and Curtis waxes triumphant at her blog, but I know from history that this loving embrace of an open public square by certain Christians has quickly faded once tested. Shall we remember the Green Bay Wiccan wreath that was vandalized and never replaced? How about the ran-over holiday pentacle display in Olean? What about the South Carolina politician who welcoming “any” religion, so long as it wasn’t Wiccan. Dare we even go into the “open” public invocations that didn’t want to include Pagans? While I certainly welcome a truly open public square, too often “religious freedom” means “freedom for our religon”, not freedom for every religion. I’ll try to give the pro-Christmas folks the benefit of the doubt, but I’d also like know if any local Pagans would like to put a display up in Leesburg?

In a final note, Hellenic polytheist Kate Winter has launched a fascinating new site entitled Girls Underground that explores a rather unique yet pervasive archetype.

“In which a young girl travels to an otherworldly place, far from home, where she is surrounded by strange creatures ~ some helpful and others very dangerous indeed ~ and must navigate her way past obstacles in time to defeat her adversary and reach her goal… gaining wisdom, power, and perhaps even love, along the way.”

The site has a regularly updated blog, and the whole project winds it way through pop-culture, literature, and mythology. You don’t see too many in-depth topic-focused Pagan blogs like this, so it’s always refreshing when a new one comes along. I encourage my readers to check it out.

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

It figures that the one time The Simpsons have an episode centering on Wiccans I miss out. Luckily Hulu has it on-line, so I was able to catch up. You may remember me mentioning the episode “Rednecks and Broomsticks” some time ago, when it was announced that Neve “The Craft” Campbell was going to be one of the star voices of the episode.

So how was it? It was OK. The show just doesn’t have the heart it used to, and relies ever-more on “Family Guy” style gags that can be pretty hit-or-miss (thought I do agree with Idol Chatter that the “her Buddhism has led directly to witchcraft” line was pretty funny). As for the Wiccans, they came out looking about as good as any stereotyped group on a cartoon can look, which seems to be the consensus of television critics who’ve watched the show.

“Poor Wiccans, they’re so misunderstood. And the three girls representing them weren’t really representing Wicca so much as they were representing wayward teens looking for something to latch onto … The writers did a nice job of tying the two stories together with the town’s blindness being blamed on the Wiccans. Can we even really call them that, though? Pretentious kids trying to be cool by pretending they understand Wicca. Yeah, that feels better. I enjoyed the whole Salem witch trial tone of it, including the ridiculous witchcraft testing contraption. I’m with Homer on that one; it looks like a fun ride.”

The Pagan Mom Blog runs down the Wiccan stereotypes used in the show, but ultimately finds that it would be hypocritical to get outraged about any of the slights.

“As a pagan I would find it hypocritical to be upset about this one episode and not every single episode ever done. Take a look at the next door neighbor, Ned Flanders. A Christian man whom they make fun of just about every show. I mean he was in this one claiming Buddhism leads to witchcraft. Is it ok for us to take offense only at what affects us directly? Or should we be taking offense at everything that affects us indirectly? I may not be Christian but it is a religion. And if we can’t laugh at religion of any kind, including our (or my) own then I should be offended by it all.”

So Wiccans, while obviously caricatured, seem to escape The Simpsons spotlight relatively unscathed. Or at least no more scathed than any other mainstream show that mentions Wiccans, and it was certainly better than that horrible episode of The Mentalist from last year. What did you think? Good? Bad? Funny?