I like to think I’m a rather tolerant guy when it comes to religious freedom. I have no trouble with religions that practice humane animal sacrifice, I could care less what consenting adults want to get up to in the privacy of their own homes, and I tend to range from permissive to supportive on the issue of entheogens. All that said, this sicked me out more than a little.

“Authorities are investigating a Hialeah man who allegedly smuggled illegal Giant African Snails into Florida and convinced his followers to drink their juices as part of a religious healing ritual. State and federal authorities in January raided the home of Charles L. Stewart after learning he had a large box full of the snails — which grow to be up to 10 inches long — according to a search warrant filed recently in Miami-Dade Circuit Court … One witness told investigators that during the ritual, Stewart grabs a snail from the cage, then would “hold it over the devotee, then cuts the [snail] and pours the raw fluid directly from the still live [snail] into the mouth of the devotee.” Several followers became violently ill, losing weight and developing strange lumps in their bellies…”

Giant African Snails. Photo from the IL Dept. of Public Health.

I’ll give you all a moment to collect yourselves. OK. So, why (oh dear gods why) am I writing about this? Because the man claims that this snail-drinking ritual is part of his Yoruban faith.

Stewart, 48, who court documents describe as “El Africano” or “Oloye Ifatoku,” said he practices the traditional African religion of Ifa Orisha [aka Yoruba religion], which is often confused with the Cuban Santería, a blend of Yoruba and Catholic practices. “I did not invent this. It’s something that is part of our religion,” he told The Miami Herald. “It’s not something meant to hurt anybody.” He declined to comment further.

Meanwhile, Santería spokesman and advocate Ernesto Pichardo is quick to distance his religion from this practice, saying he has never come across such a ritual, and that it isn’t a part of Santería. As for Yoruba, there is plenty of textual/cultural evidence for the possible inclusion of snails in Yoruba ritual, but I couldn’t find anything specific about the drinking of “snail water” for the purposes of healing. I suppose it’s possible, and if the snails were legal, he might have a great religious freedom case for the court system. The problem though is that they are illegal, Stewart and an accomplice knowingly smuggled them in, and these snails are a hugely invasive species that could wreak havoc with our ecosystem.

“…these snails can do extensive damage to the environment if released outdoors. They are known to eat at least 500 different types of plants.”

Oh, and they breed like nobodies business. In addition, the snails, especially if they are smuggled in directly from Africa, can make you seriously ill if you decide to partake in a “healing ritual” involving one.

“Giant African snails can carry a parasite that can cause illness in humans,” Dr. Whitaker said. “I strongly encourage anyone aware of the existence of these snails to call their local health department.” … The parasite can be transmitted to humans when snail mucous comes into contact with human mucous membranes, such as those of the eyes, nose and mouth when touched by an unwashed hand or by ingesting improperly cooked snail meat.

That most likely explains why followers became “violently ill”. Let’s hope they didn’t catch meningitis, one of the possible side-effects of being exposed to the parasite these snails can carry.

In the end, this isn’t really a religion story. Sure, religion plays a role in the motivations, but that isn’t why this man is in trouble. He’s in trouble for  knowingly smuggling in contraband, endangering Florida’s ecosystem, and making his followers violently ill in the process. Claiming religious exemption only works if the needs and demands of your faith are reasonable and don’t endanger those around you. Once Charles L. Stewart has answered for his crimes, he’ll have to stick with native snails for his rituals, maybe explore the culinary wonders of escargot, instead of serving up giant snail “water” to his followers.

The Tribeca Film Festival, one of the most prominent independent film festivals in the world, has announced the twelve entries in their World Documentary Feature Competition for 2010, one of which prominently features modern Pagans. That film is “American Mystic”, directed and co-produced by Alex Mar of Empire 8 Productions.

“Set against a vivid backdrop of American rural landscapes, Alex Mar’s meditative documentary artfully weaves together the stories of three young Americans exploring alternative religion: a pagan priestess in California mining country, a Spiritualist in upstate New York, and a Native American father and sundancer in South Dakota, all yearning for fulfilling spirituality in disparate but often strikingly similar ways.”

The Pagan priestess in question is Morpheus Ravenna, who, along with her husband Shannon, operates the Stone City Pagan Sanctuary in California’s Diablo Range, just outside the San Francisco Bay Area.

“Stone City was founded by Morpheus and Shannon on their land in Santa Clara County, California, beginning in 2002. Our purpose is to provide gathering space and facilities for Pagan community events, and permanent sacred spaces dedicated to the Old Gods. Stone City does not serve one single tradition or subset of the community exclusively – our intention is to be available to multiple traditions as a place for gathering, worship and support. Our community of friends and supporters is wonderfully diverse, representing people with backgrounds and practices including witches from many traditions (Feri, Gardnerian, Reclaiming, California Eclectic, and more), Druids, Thelemites, practitioners of Celtic and Norse faiths, Kemetics, members of NROOGD and CAW, shamans and animists, Buddhists, and others. We are dedicated to fostering ties between traditions and strength within the Pagan community.”

I had the distinct pleasure of not only meeting Morpheus and Shannon at this year’s Pantheacon, but to also talk at some length with director Alex Mar concerning the project (during the Pandemonaeon concert of all places). I was left with the impression that Mar, while not a Pagan, seemed genuinely fascinated with our interlocking communities, and clearly respected the work being done by Ravenna and the Stone City Pagan Sanctuary. I came away from our interactions very encouraged that this will be a worthy documentary that respects the beliefs and aspirations of its subjects (a rare thing).

As this project gets closer to its premiere, I’m hoping to showcase a trailer for the documentary as soon as it’s made available. I’m also hoping to conduct an interview with Alex Mar about the documentary for this blog at some point in the near future. I think it’s very exciting that a documentary featuring the accomplishments of modern Pagans in such a positive way is going to be getting a lot of attention from film-lovers, industry professionals, and the press. You can be sure I’ll be keeping you up-to-date concerning this film.

This past Summer the Supreme Court of the United States denied certiorari in the case of Navajo Nation v. Forest Service. This action meant that a long battle over whether an Arizona ski resort could clear-cut 74 acres of rare alpine ecosystem & create a 14.8 mile long pipeline up the San Francisco Peaks to a 10 million gallon storage pond in order to create snow from treated (but non-potable) wastewater was effectively over from a legal standpoint. The plan was fought by a coalition of 13 Native American Tribal Nations who consider the land sacred ground, and repeatedly said that using waste-water on it would be “like putting death on the mountain”. Since then, it appears that Flagstaff city officials and the U.S. Department of Agriculture have been holding secret talks in order to effect some sort of compromise agreement over the plan.

“A federal agency is pressing the city of Flagstaff to offer potable water for snowmaking at Arizona Snowbowl that does not come directly from reclaimed wastewater. In addition, Snowbowl could get government aid to cover the $11 million in higher costs for the water over 20 winters. Arizona’s two U.S. senators are blasting the plan as a waste of taxpayer money and a violation of court decisions in favor of making snow at Snowbowl with treated effluent. The proposal comes in response to tribal concerns that making snow with reclaimed wastewater desecrates the San Francisco Peaks, which they hold sacred.”

Naturally John McCain is all for spraying the mountain with wastewater, which isn’t particularly surprising, what is surprising is that some of the tribes seem to have been kept completely out of the loop.

“Among the litigants opposed to the project was the Hopi tribe, which feared snowmaking with any kind of water could interfere with the home of spiritual beings and ancestors responsible for creating snow on the San Francisco Peaks and the rain on Hopi farmlands. Hopi Chairman Le Roy Shingoitewa had heard nothing of the new proposal as of Monday.”

So what, exactly, is the proposed compromise? To use “stored” water, that is, untreated well-water that comes from natural sources (rain, snow, ground) instead of wastewater from the sewer system (opposed by the tribes), or potable freshwater (which would face opposition from local residents). There’s no word as to if the tribal nations are OK with such a compromise, or who was included in the “private negotiations with regional tribes”. But now that the cat’s out of the bag, and Arizona’s Senators are vowing to block any compromise, it remains to be seen if some sort of deal can be reached.

Meanwhile, the Save the Peaks Coalition hasn’t exactly been idle, a new lawsuit has been filed to force the federal government (the ski resort is on forestry service land) to study and divulge the potential effects of ingesting snow made from treated sewage effluent.

“According to Arizona Department of Environmental Quality regulations, treated sewer water can be graded A+ even when it contains fecal matter in three out of every ten samples. This same effluent has been found to contain pharmaceuticals, hormones, endocrine disruptors, industrial pollutants, and narcotics. It may also contain bio-accumulating antibiotics, such as triclosan and triclocarban, and pathogens, such as e. coli, hepatitis, and norovirus. The human and environmental health risks, which have been largely ignored by the media, have their roots as far back as 2001 in the scoping comments made to the Forest Service about Arizona Snowbowl’s proposed expansion and upgrade. Plaintiffs involved in this lawsuit have consistently insisted that the Forest Service take a hard look at what might happen to the people, land, plants, and wildlife when they come in contact with or eat snow made from treated sewage effluent.”

No doubt the Obama Administration were hoping to effect a compromise that would mollify the tribes, allow for expansion on the mountain, and make the new lawsuit moot, but that may all fall apart now. So far Snowbowl owners and Flagstaff officials seem cautiously optimistic that some sort of compromise can still be made, but it remains to be seen what public reaction to these secret dealings will be among the activists and tribal nations fighting this battle.

To catch up on this story, you can read all my previous posts on this matter, here.

It’s time for the Pagan hysteria watch, where we spotlight some stories and editorials that get a wee bit over-excited in their rhetoric. Let’s start with an obvious source, conservatives defining environmental activism, and agreement with the scientific consensus concerning climate change, as a “new paganism”.

“As many commentators and “global warming skeptics” have observed, climate science has metamorphosed into a religion—or, more accurately, a cult in religious dress. It has its high priests (Al Gore, David Suzuki, James Hansen, Rajendra Pachauri), its sacred texts such as computer models whose inconsistencies and disparities are blithely ignored by the myriads of true believers, its prevailing orthodoxies that cannot safely be questioned or violated…”

Yes, it must be a “religion”, because “more and more evidence is surfacing against global warming claims”, even though the majority of that “evidence” has been overblown and distorted in the media, and the scientific community is being increasingly bullied by activists and politicians for not changing their position on global warming. Maybe they want to prove it’s a religion by producing martyrs? In any case, while times are tough for Al Gore (a “high priest” of the “new paganism”), our current President doesn’t escape accusations that he’s involving us all in paganism!

“For some Americans, Easter is a religious holiday to pay homage to the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, whom they consider to be the Son of God. But for President Barack Obama, this is a day to worship the environmental pagan goddess of ‘Mother Earth.’ No word yet, on whether the government-sponsored pagan worshippers at the Air Force Academy have been invited to attend ceremonies at the White House Easter Egg Roll ceremonies this year.”

When did the traditional White House Easter celebration become a ceremony for Gaia? Apparently when he decided to use environmentally friendly easter eggs in the ceremony! Gasp! Choke!

“A White House announcement Monday said the eggs at this year’s April 5 roll will be made from paperboard that contains no wood fibers from endangered forests, is recyclable and features vegetable-oil based inks and a water-based coating.”

Not paperboard! Nooooo! It’s like “The Wicker Man”, only not.

Of course “pagan” hysteria isn’t relegated to politics or scientific theories, real-live actual Pagans  also spark it. Just look at this bizarre story in the Queensland (Australia) Southern Star, which brings us the shocking story of two Pagan teenagers getting married … with the consent of their parents!

“A TEENAGER plans to marry a schoolgirl in a pagan ceremony next month with the bride’s mother officiating … Holland Park High School student Jenni, 16, said of the handfasting: “We’ll just see how it goes.” Jenni’s mother and pagan high priestess Sue Birch, of Lawnton, will perform the ceremony.”

Shocking! Wait, why is this a story again? Don’t teenagers get married with the consent of their parents all the time? This is obviously not meeting the desired hysteria quotient, better bring in a rabid anti-Pagan nutter to close out the article.

Pagan marriage is not recognised under Australian law, which stipulates those marrying must be 18 years or older. Christian Democrat Party leader and anti-pagan campaigner Reverend Fred Nile said: “(Handfasting) can’t be in any way acknowledged by the state and should not be listed as a genuine wedding. Our party will do what it can to stop pagan weddings and witchcraft or Wicca activities.’’

There we go, that’s better. We wouldn’t want things to get too reasoned and uncontroversial around here. But even if Wicca becomes utterly useless in drumming up hysteria, we’ll still have Santeria and Vodou to exploit.

“Raised in violent ghetto neighborhoods, Ramirez grew up despising his father for his careless disregard of his family. He learned to live like a street animal to survive the cold, harsh streets of the South Bronx. Looking for love and validation, he eventually found it in a new “family” of witches and warlocks who groomed him to become a high priest in their occult religion. Ramirez’s plunge into the dark side reached a boiling point on the night he sold his soul to the devil in a diabolical, blood-soaked ritual. With renewed fervor–and the mark of the beast now cut into his right arm–he actively recruited souls into this “unholy kingdom,” haunting the bars and clubs of NYC by night to find his next victims, including those who professed faith in Christ. His life continued on this dark path for 25 years until God intervened through a larger-than-life dream, revealing Himself for who He really is and snatching Ramirez back from the pit of hell.  Out of the Devil’s Caldron walks you through the dark alleys of the occult religions of Santeria, Palo Mayombe, and espiritismo (spiritualism) while exposing the hidden secrets of darkness.”

There’s always a new “other” to point the finger at, another form of “paganism” to demonize, wouldn’t want the fear and hysteria to die out would we? If we start having civil discussion about these issues, who knows what could happen? Maybe we’d all become Pagans?

Asatru Fight Misconceptions: Just a few quick notes for you today, starting with a look at depictions of Asatru in the media. The Southern Poverty Law Center, in a spotlight on the racist criminal organization European Kindred, mentions the religious split between Asatru and Christian Identity within its ranks.

One of the law enforcement officers in the audience asked [EK founder David] Kennedy about a rumored split between EK members along religious lines. Kennedy replied that as far as he knew, the rumors were false. “Most of the guys in EK are into Asatrú [a neo-pagan faith that is not fundamentally racist, but is practiced by some racists], but then we also have guys who are into Christian Identity [an anti-Semitic theology based on a bizarre reading of the Bible], so it varies,” Kennedy said. “Overall it’s about brotherhood. It’s about blood, not religion.” The ex-gang leader paused for a moment before correcting himself. “Well, actually, the dope comes first. The meth. Then the brotherhood. That’s the reality.”

See that nice little qualifier there about Asatru not being “fundamentally racist”? It wasn’t always like that. The descriptor initially said “a racist neo-pagan faith”, but was changed after several Asatruar, including David Carron of Ravencast, and a few African American adherents, wrote in to protest the SPLC’s definition. Too bad it most likely wasn’t changed in the print version of The Intelligence Report, a publication that is “offered free to law enforcement, journalists, scholars and community activists”. One wonders what the SPLC will do to enlighten the police officers, journalists, and activists that only read the print version that Asatru isn’t “fundamentally racist”. What should the South Dakota man trying to educate people about his new-found faith in Asatru say when someone tells him the SPLC think he’s a racist?

Funeral for an Irish Thelemite, Metal Musician, and Drug Dealer: The Belfast Telegraph keeps it classy in their report on the funeral for Jason Barriskill, an influential metal musician in Ireland who was also an active Thelemite, and apparently, a drug dealer as well.

“A pagan rocker died at his drug-den farmhouse after a witchcraft ritual went nightmarishly wrong. Junkie Jason Barriskill — who worked in the Tayto Castle food lab — was found slumped at his isolated home in Tandragee, Co Armagh, a fortnight ago.”

After a ritual went “nightmarishly wrong”? Really? All the other press says it was a heart attack. Is the Belfast Telegraph a tabloid? Even if he was a drug-dealer, is it normal to dub a dead man “Junkie Jason”? What is certain is that he was indeed a Thelemite, and an “occult funeral”, as the Belfast Telegraph would put it, was indeed held.

“It was also great that one of the Priestesses from the Ard Macha Grove of EGC (which Jason founded many years ago) helped to officiate at the formal service. The Grove celebrated his ‘Greater Feast’ that night, with many friends and colleagues. It was a beautiful ceremony and was nice to give him a full send off in the traditions of Thelema-of which he was a dedicated magician for many years. One of the most moving aspects of the ceremony was a time for everyone to share their stories of the man. Much like what has happened on here.”

I really wish I had access to the rest of the article so I could see if the paper has any basis for its claim that he was killed by a ritual that went “nightmarishly wrong”. If any of my Irish readers have seen the full article, please clue me in. As it stands, even if he was a criminal, or simply harboring criminals, this is sensationalism at its worst.

The Vodou Blame-Game: It seems the religious blame-game in earthquake-ravaged Haiti is still going strong, with various Christian sects accusing Vodou as incurring God’s wrath.

“Their cult, a form of west African polytheism that came to Haiti with the slave trade, is being blamed by some followers of the rapidly growing Christian denominations – evangelicals, Seventh-Day Adventists, Baptists – as the cause of God’s anger in smiting their country. “They say we’re the ones who caused the earthquake. But we know ourselves that we didn’t cause the quake, because it was a natural catastrophe,” said Willer Jassaint, one of the priests, or houngans, leading the Voodoo ceremony.”

The piece goes one to reference the Cite Soleil incident, though no other major religious skirmishes have broken out since then, and local Houngans and Mambos are planning more public rituals for the dead, despite these new tensions.

“Back in the Voodoo shed, as the chanting and dancing and rum-fuelled flames faded, the houngans somberly laid out their plans for bigger, more public ceremonies in the days to come. They owe the spirits of the dead that release, they say – and they owe themselves that show of defiance. “We have to maintain our religion now… Because our religion is our soul, it’s part of us,” Jassaint said.”

I suppose we’ll soon find out if Cite Soleil was a truly isolated incident, or if we’ll see more Christian-spurred violence in the near future. Hopefully, as the rebuilding continues, and the government stabilizes, the tensions we see now will subside to pre-earthquake levels.

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

I have a confession to make, I love award shows. I’m not sure why, maybe it’s the pomp and pageantry, maybe it’s the idea of a shared cultural experience, maybe I’m just drawn to fabulously wealthy people giving each other statues. Whatever the reason, barring a few exceptions, if there’s an award show on, I’m generally watching. So it’s a given that I’ll be tuning into the 82nd Annual Academy Awards tonight. So as long as I’m doing that, why don’t we examine the nominees from a Pagan perspective.

Avatar’s pantheism vs. monotheistic morality: If there’s one dominant theme this year, it’s James Cameron’s “Avatar” vs. just about everybody else. Will the highest grossing movie of all time, the one that sends conservative Christians into fits, also take home the critical accolades of its peers? Most critics are split on whether Avatar, up for nine Oscars, will sweep the big awards, or if it will be shut out by critical darling “The Hurt Locker”. What’s fascinating when looking at the best picture, best director, and top acting awards, is that if Avatar is a showpiece for pantheism, then it’s up against a slate of films very much centered in Judeo-Christian morality (to different extents). From the evangelical dark-horse hit “The Blind Side”, to the vengeful Jews of “Inglourious Basterds” (and the suffering Jew in “A Serious Man”), to the redemption-song of “Precious”. We’ll have to wait and see if the pagan CGI blue people can win it, though Vanity Fair seems pretty certain of “Avatar” bringing home the best picture award.

“So, you’re left with Avatar vs. The Hurt Locker. One made mega-billions; the other isn’t even posting its box-office results for its Oscar re-release. One ends with its hero suffering shell-shocked ennui and masochistically heading once more into the breach; the other ends with a bulimic blue Ewok rave party and true love conquering all, even American capitalism. Because that’s what connects today’s Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences with Louis B. Mayer’s, faith in a simple movie formula that never seems to wear: boy meets girl, boy gets girl, boy turns into giant blue alien. All in 3-D!”

There’s a part of me that still has a hard time believing that box-office populism (and “rampant pantheism”) will win out at the Oscars, but then, the lightweight but popular “Shakespeare in Love“ did win best picture once, as did “Dances With Wolves”, which “Avatar” is compared to quite often.

Other films to watch for: It’s often the smaller categories where we find interesting films for a Pagan sensibility. For instance, in the Animated Feature Film category you have Neil Gaiman’s darkly inviting otherworld-traveling “Coraline” and the (for better or for worse) Voodoo-drenched Disney production “The Princess and the Frog”. There’s also the little-seen Celtic myth-drenched film “The Secret of Kells”.

You may also want to see if “Food, Inc”, which examines food production in America, wins an award.

Beyond that, pickings get even slimmer. Will the imagination vs. base desires weirdness of “The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus” take home a statue? Will they throw a bone to the latest Harry Potter flick? Will the Golden Dawn/Masonic occult conspiracies of “Sherlock Holmes” garner an art direction award? Will they give an award to Helen Mirren simply because she’s so awesome? We’ll find out tonight. See you at the red carpet!

The March edition of the CUUPS Bulletin talks with David Green, the consulting minister for the Amarillo UU Fellowship, in the wake of several stories on the Christian militant group Repent Amarillo. The Christian “soldier group” have targeted the fellowship on their “warfare map” for being a haven to Pagans, and according to Green, have already been protesting Pagan events there.

“They have protested at Pagan events at the Fellowship. Repent Amarillo is apparently a very small organization whose members also use the name “Raven Ministries.” Their respective websites are fairly clear on their agenda, but their efforts have had the unintended effect of drawing positive attention to our Fellowship; many of our newer members and guests learned of the Amarillo Unitarian Universalist Fellowship due to Repent Amarillo’s well-publicized activities and website.

While we might keep a wary eye on Repent Amarillo, they have not prevented us in the least from growing and moving forward into an exciting future. We’ve discovered that plenty of folks in the Amarillo area are seeking a place to share a progressive, tolerant, and welcoming religious experience.”

So it looks like their intimidation tactics haven’t been as effective, and may actually be backfiring, in regards to the UU Fellowship and the Pagans who call it home. As Green points out, this doesn’t mean there is no threat, or that we shouldn’t be watchful, only that they haven’t found the same traction in attacking the religious “other” as they have with swingers and strippers.

Meanwhile, Rachel Tabachnick at Talk To Action examines Repent Amarillo’s origins and affiliations, and gives a history of the spiritual warfare technique known as “spiritual mapping” that these groups engage in.

“Repent Amarillo’s spiritual mapping and militant spiritual warfare tactics have drawn attention, but they are not much different than those being practiced by “prayer warriors” all over the country.  The spiritual mapping techniques are the same as those introduced by C. Peter Wagner and other New Apostolic Reformation (NAR) leaders.  Pastor Bohn actually appears to disagree with much of the NAR theology but, like many aggressive ministries, has adopted their unorthodox methods nevertheless.”

It’s an interesting essay, and Tabachnick is quick to warn us against complacency simply because groups like Repent Amarillo tend to be small and isolated, pointing out that these warfare groups are spreading quickly, and she predicts a rise in “spiritual” Christian vigilantism in the years to come.