Top Story: Word is now emerging that pioneering feminist theologian Mary Daly passed away yesterday, after suffering from poor health for the last two years. With books like 1973′s “Beyond God the Father: Toward a Philosophy of Women’s Liberation”, Daly became hugely influential on the then-emerging field of feminist theology, and in turn, hugely influential on certain strains of modern Paganism in America.

“The Goddess Movement would not be the same without her. Contemporary Paganism would not be the same without the Goddess Movement. The radical essentialism of thinkers like Daly was a challenge to the pole that said “only men can communicate with the divine”. That pillar that she went up against? Mostly it has changed, leaving behind laughable relics, some of whom unfortunately still hold a measure of power. Yes, inequality still exists and yes, I am still a feminist, but things have gotten better. Much, much better. I don’t know if Mary Daly was able to see the battles she actually won.” – T. Thorn Coyle

To be sure, Daly will be well-remembered not only as an ardent foe of patriarchy, but also as someone who passionately wanted to remove the idea of God from an exclusively male definition. She gladly “went overboard” in service of her cause, but did so with her wit and humor intact. May she rest in the arms of a Goddess.

In Other News: The New York Times makes a new-year visit to the Original Products Company in the Bronx, the East Coast’s largest botanica and ritual supply emporium (they reportedly take in around three million dollars per year). The report does a nice job of giving a sense of the place’s scale, and also conveys the religious diversity of their clientèle.

“This is the busiest time of the year for Original Products and the many other botanicas around the city and country — purveyors of herbs, amulets and other items used in Afro-Caribbean religions and occult practices including Santería, voodoo and Wicca … The company has turned over the second floor, rent free, to the Pagan Center of New York, which holds witchcraft rituals overseen by a Wiccan high priestess named Lady Rhea … A short plump man missing half his teeth approached the counter to speak with Mr. Allai, the Santería priest…”

What I also found interesting was that the owners, descendants of Sephardic Jews who emigrated from Turkey, don’t share in any of the belief systems of their customers.

Jason Mizrahi, a co-owner of the company, which was started in 1959 by his father, the son of Sephardic Jews who emigrated from Turkey. The business, which fills a former A.&P. supermarket on Webster Avenue near Fordham University, claims to be the largest botanica on the East Coast … Mr. Mizrahi does not follow any of the faiths his store provides for, but said he subscribed to the “concept of spirituality and keeping a positive attitude by using these products.” “These things are daily needs, staples,” he continued. “Milk, eggs, bread, incense, candles, in that order. Sometimes incense and candles are ahead of milk and eggs, on a day like today.”

Perhaps the owner not being directly involved cuts down on drama? There’s no hint that the customers mind this arrangement. Whatever they are doing, it sure seems to be working. I’d just like to take a stroll through a botanica that large some day, it must be quite the experience.

Can you get anthrax from attending a drumming circle? The answer is apparently yes.

“A New Hampshire woman who is critically ill with gastrointestinal anthrax most likely swallowed spores while participating in a community drumming circle, state health officials said Tuesday.”

So how exactly do you get anthrax from drums? I got the following answer via e-mail from Michael Lloyd, who has some knowledge and experience of this phenomenon.

“When I am not writing about Paganism or running a Pagan men’s gathering, my real-world job is as an engineering consultant in the fields of risk management and security/anti-terrorism. One tidbit of information that I ran across several years ago was that shipments of improperly tanned hides from certain countries (notably Haiti) are routinely screened for anthrax contamination. Now while the exact cause of the anthrax infection in NH was not released, I suspect that one or more of the drum heads was made of anthrax contaminated hide. This appears to be bolstered by the article, which notes that several of the drums were contaminated. With the drum circle being held indoors during the winter, this would have increased the chances of exposure in the confined space by concentrating the spores. One good reason to use a synthetic drum head, at least when indoors. But this also points to a potential problem during other times of the year when the drummer has cuts, blisters, or abrasions on their hands that could allow anthrax from a contaminated head to gain entry to the body. Something to think about.”

Now scientists say the chances for infection from drums is very low, but it’s always good to know where your natural-hide drum-skins are coming from, and take proper precautions.

Apple growers in Somerset are getting ready to Wassail their orchards for a good harvest come the Spring.

“Wassailing is an ancient pagan tradition held on Old Twelfth Night which falls on 17 January. Although many are held on this date, others observe the Gregorian calendar where Twelfth Night falls on 6 January. The Wassail is held to scare off worms and maggots that are regarded as ‘evil’ spirits and to attract the ‘good’ spirit embodied by the robin. The ceremony takes place around the oldest orchard tree where it is toasted and traditional Wassail songs are sung.”

Of course you can’t have a good Wassail without some Morris dancing too! Any Pagans out there planning to do some Winter-time Morris-dancing or Wassailing? Let us know in the comments.

In a final note, the Washington Post wonders if the movies are getting more religious.

“In movies as varied as the dead serious “The Road,” the uplifting family picture “The Blind Side,” the biting comedy “The Invention of Lying” and even James Cameron’s sci-fi opus “Avatar,” issues of faith and morality and mankind’s place in the universe are all the rage.”

It’s a shame that the article seems to equate the “religious audience” with the “Christian audience”, even though they mention the pantheistic “Avatar” as part of the trend. With films like films “Agora”, “The Wicker Tree”,  “Clash of the Titans” and “Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief” coming up in 2010, it seems rather obvious there is a market for non-Christian “religious/spiritual” films.

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

Each year there is a gathering of Santeria priests in Cuba where they perform Ifa readings for the coming year. While they generally try to stay apolitical, this year was a bit different.

“Their prediction: a year of social and political unrest, struggles for power, and treachery. They also warned that there could be a coup d’etat or other sudden political change. Speaking about their findings, one of the leading babalawos, Victor Betancourt, said it was time for a new generation of leaders to take over. “Times change. The older generations should pass their experience on to young people because they are better prepared,” he said.”

Naturally these sorts of predictions don’t sit well when your country is being ruled by a pair of increasingly elderly brothers. So the only thing to do when your power is thus threatened, short of imprisonment and murder, is to release some predictions of your own to muddy the waters.

“A rival Santeria group, which enjoys official sanction from the government, came out with its own predictions later Saturday, saying 2010 would be a year of improving health.”

That rival Santeria group knows where its bread is buttered.

Naturally the meeting of Babalawos and Santeros in Cuba isn’t the only new-years predictive ceremony that’s held.

“Mexico’s ”Brujo Mayor” or ”Great Witch” is scheduled to announce his predictions on world events and celebrity affairs on Monday, and Venezuela’s Santeria priests are expected to make their own New Year’s predictions.”

I’m sure that’s only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to predictions for 2010. So let’s turn to the Pagan community. Did you do any readings about the coming year? Have any predictions you want to share with the world? Feel free to post them in the comments. But be warned! We’ll be looking back in 2011 to see how accurate you were!

When you use tarot cards are you engaging in an “occult science”, or are you providing “spiritual counseling”? Who gets to make that distinction? Chesterfield County in Virginia thinks that they get to, but a lawsuit by a local tarot card reader is challenging that assumption.

“Sophie King, who said she offers spiritual counseling, filed the lawsuit in the belief that the county’s classification of her business as “engaged in the occupation of occult sciences” is wrong. She also said the business tax and zoning rules that come with the classification are unfair and violate her First Amendment rights. In Chesterfield, businesses considered to be fortune-telling establishments must pay a $300 tax to get a business license, while nightclubs and adult businesses pay only a $100 tax for a license. Fortune-telling businesses must submit five references from the county to the police chief for approval. They are limited to one zoning designation – the same one reserved for adult businesses, scrap yards and pawn shops. And they must get a conditional-use permit for that zoning.”

You can read the full case filing, here. The current zoning regulations are designed for just one thing, to discourage tarot readers, psychics, astrologers, and other practitioners of “occult sciences” from opening up a shop in Chesterfield. That licensing for this classification is more onerous than for a strip club or pawn shop, and relegates them to the “red light” district (not to mention the character references), tells you a bit about the priorities of the county. In an interview with a local NBC affiliate, King says she’ll fight these regulations for as long as it takes.

“This sort of thinking, it’s very middle ages in terms of thinking about what I do … I’m being looked at in a negative way before I’ve even gotten out the starting gate … [I'm willing to fight for] As long as it takes.”

Chesterfield County is another in a long line of towns, cities, and counties who either enforce antiquated laws, or enact new regulations that try to curtail or ban the practice of any divinatory art. In the end, most of these regulations are found to be unconstitutional when challenged in court, but they get passed anyway, hoping no one will risk their time and resources with a legal battle. Any hey, if the discriminatory law or regulation gets struck down, at least they looked good to conservative Christian voters. After all, it’s only taxpayer money they’re spending, so why not go all out?

Things are just getting stranger in the case of a Philadelphia home that was raided by PSPCA officials after complaints about malnourished dogs were made. The home, which contains dead animal remains,  was initially said to be the base of “satanic worship and Santeria rituals”. This later was clarified to simply Santeria, and the home of Santero Ramon Cruz, who is apparently in Mexico recuperating from H1N1 flu. What doesn’t seem to be in dispute among reports is that an awful lot of bones and animal remains have been found.

“The officers found what was believed to be a human skull, but it turned out to be fake. But they did find what appear to be the remains of small monkeys. “The house was covered in bones,” Bengal said … Bengal said the man who lived at the house and probably performed many of the killings is believed to now be in Mexico. However, his wife may still be in the city and she is being sought for questioning, Bengal said.”

From the very beginning I’ve been skeptical of the reports I’ve been receiving because George Bengal, director of law enforcement for the Pennsylvania SPCA, has said some things to the press in the past that make me think he may have some biased notions of what adherents of Santeria (not to mention Satanists) actually do.

“Mr. Bengal said there is usually an increase in ritual animal sacrifices at this time of year because of  “a lot of high holidays that different groups celebrate.” But he said most of those sacrifices involve goats and chickens.”

Then, a commenter on this blog, who claims to know Ramon Cruz, spoke out on the matter.

“Baba Ramon is a highly respected Babalawo. He is not in this country and the person that was watching his dogs for him lost the only key to the house in this country and didn’t know what to do. PSPCA has been called out to Baba’s house in the past so this was no “huge find” for them nor anything that the organization was not clearly aware. They have personally walked through this same house before. It is a nosey neighbor that does not understand our religion that constantly calls PSPCA. This was not an intential act of animal cruelty. Baba Ramon loves his family pets and is completely beside himself that he’s unable to come back stateside to clear this up. This is clearly a case of media hype and public ignorance of our spirituality.”

Since this story emerged, it has now gone international. Getting coverage at CNN, and the Herald Sun in Australia (who re-inserted claims of “Satanism”). We also have more pictures from local news affiliates, though, again, they are more speculative and sensationalist than conclusive as to the true nature of the house.

So we have two competing narratives. One, is that Ramon Cruz, and possibly some others, have been engaged in a twisted orgy of animal sacrifice. Leaving an offal and blood-encrusted house that simply confounds local animal welfare officers.

“Chicken feathers covered the scene, and among the remains were satanic books, buckets of blood and approximately 100 knives, MyFox Philadelphia reported. It was not a one-time act. George Bengal, a director of the Pennsylvania Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, told reporters he couldn’t even identify some of the carcasses because they were so badly decomposed. Officers also found an AK-47 assault rifle at the Feltonville, Pennsylvania two-story house, though it was not clear that it had been used to kill any animals, the Philadelphia Daily News reported. “There’s all kinds of stuff in there,” Officer Jerry Czech of the Pennsylvania Game Commission told the paper. “Dead animals, dead critters, wax, feces, candles. It’s a nightmare.” It is not illegal to sacrifice animals for religious purposes as long as it is done humanely, Mr Bengal told reporters.”

The other narrative is that Cruz’s house has long been a target of the PSPCA, and that the malnourished dogs were the casus belli they were looking for in order to take down a known center of Santeria worship. So we have to decide, bloody death-pit, or anti-Santeria vendetta by biased officials? Perhaps the truth is somewhere in between? Reports say that Cruz has been out of the country for nearly a year, could the current state of the house be because no-one was taking care of the place while he has been stuck in Mexico? That certainly makes him negligent, but it also may explain reports of people going through the house, and remains scattered and “smeared” everywhere. Was his house vandalized? Answers may be months in coming. In the meantime, local media are feeding off the controversy, rarely seeking out alternative narratives.