“The month of May was come, when every lusty heart beginneth to blossom, and to bring forth fruit; for like as herbs and trees bring forth fruit and flourish in May, in likewise every lusty heart that is in any manner a lover, springeth and flourisheth in lusty deeds. For it giveth unto all lovers courage, that lusty month of May.” – Sir Thomas Malory, Le Morte d’Arthur

Tonight and tomorrow (in the northern hemisphere*) are the traditional dates for many of the major spring/summer festivals in modern Paganism. Beltane, Bealtaine, May Day, Floralia, Protomayia, and Walpurgis Night, to name just a few. This fire festival heralds the coming of summer and is a high holiday, a liminal time when the barriers between our world and the otherworld were thin. In many traditions and cultures it is a time of divine union and fertility.

Walpurgis Night bonfire, near lake Ringsjo, Sweden
Photo by David Castor

Here are some quotes from the press, and from fellow modern Pagans, on the holiday.

“April could not end more dramatically: bonfires rage across the country in aggressive farewell to winter cold. Walpurgis Night, the 30th of April, is a breathtakingly pagan rite, with choruses gathering round pyres to dispel the cruel winter and conjure up a good harvest year. Romance in the air and empty bottles in the gutter.” - Kim Loughran, The Local (Sweden)

“…while Samhain began one kind of yearly cycle, Bealtaine began another, and both could be construed as a kind of “New Year”. In ancient Ireland the High King inaugurated the year on Samhain for his household (and, symbolically, for all the people of Ireland) with the famous ritual of Tara, but in nearby Uisneach, the sacred centre held by the druids in complementary opposition to Tara, it was on Bealtaine that the main ritual cycle was begun. In both cases sacred fires were extinguished and re-lit, though this happened at sunset on Samhain and at dawn on Bealtaine. Bealtaine was a time of opening and expansion, Samhain a time of gathering-in and shutting, and for herd-owners like the Celts this was expressed with particular vividness by the release of cattle into upland pastures on Bealtaine and their return to the safety of the byres on Samhain.” – Alexei Kondratiev, Samhain: Season of Death and Renewal

“Japanese Taiko drummers are to join this year’s spring rituals at the annual Beltane Festival in Edinburgh. Mugen Taiko Dojo fuses ancient the Japanese spiritual practice, traditionally used to frighten away evil spirits, with Celtic traditions. Beltane 2010, which is held on Calton Hill, is expected to be a sell-out as the party falls on Friday night. A crowd of 12,000 people is expected to watch the pagan-inspired spring ritual…” – BBC News

“Beltane begins at sundown, April 30, and extends until sundown May 1.  Those fortunate enough to be able to meet outside in the country will often have bonfires on the 30^th, which young couples can jump through, celebrating their hopes for love and perhaps fertility.  That night, weather permitting, many will sleep outside, and fertility will have another chance to manifest … Before dawn many of us will be up, myself among them, to watch and applaud Morris Dancers who symbolically dance up the summer sun.” – Gus diZerega, Beliefnet

“In the words of Witchcraft writers Janet and Stewart Farrar, the Beltane celebration was principally a time of “unashamed human sexuality and fertility”. Such associations include the obvious phallic symbolism of the Maypole and riding the hobbyhorse. Even a seemingly innocent children’s nursery rhyme “Ride a cock horse to Banburry Cross …” retains such memories. And the next line, “to see a fine Lady on a white horse”, is a reference to the annual ride of Lady Godiva through Coventry. Every year for nearly three centuries, a skyclad village maiden (elected “Queen of the May”) enacted this Pagan rite, until the Puritans put an end to the custom.” – Mike Nichols, The Witches’ Sabbats

“You start in April and cross to the time of May
One has you as it leaves, one as it comes
Since the edges of these months are yours and defer
To you, either of them suits your praises.
The Circus continues and the theatre’s lauded palm,
Let this song, too, join the Circus spectacle.”
- Ovid, Fasti (V.185-190)

May you all be especially blessed this evening and tomorrow.

*A very happy Samhain to those of you living in the southern hemisphere!

Is the Christian cross a secular symbol? The Supreme Court of the United States took a step towards that assertion yesterday in a decision on the case Salazar v. Buono, which challenged the constitutionality of a eight-foot Christian cross war memorial situated on public lands in California’s Mojave National Preserve (and the legality of a land-swap scheme that Congress enacted to avoid a court battle). In truth, the decision is something of a mess, with six different opinions being written on the case, but with the plurality overturning the 9th Circuit decision and remanding the case for further possible legal challenges. Still, the conservative majority did take a step towards revisionism in taking the Christian cross out of an explicitly religious context.

“The Supreme Court saw it differently Wednesday. Though the five justices in the majority wrote three separate opinions, delineating three different rationales, the principal opinion, written by Justice Anthony Kennedy, spoke in broad terms. Although the cross is “a Christian symbol,” said Kennedy, it was not placed on sunrise rock in the Mojave Desert to send “a Christian message.” Nor was it placed there to put a government “imprimatur on a particular creed.” Rather, he said, “those who erected the cross intended simply to honor our nation’s fallen soldiers.” “The Constitution does not oblige government to avoid any public acknowledgment of religion’s role in society,” Kennedy said.”

The assertion that the Christian cross doesn’t always send a “Christian message” is nonsense, and Justice John Paul Stevens, the court’s only wartime veteran, said as much.

“The nation should memorialize the service of those who fought and died in World War I … But it cannot do so lawfully by continued endorsement of a starkly sectarian message.”

Rev. Barry W. Lynn of Americans United calls the decision “alarming”, while conservative groups, like the American Center for Law and Justice see this as a clear sign to move forward with more sectarian religious monuments.

“If you look at this case, coupled with the Ten Commandments case,” [Jay Sekulow of the conservative American Center for Law and Justice] said, “it’s becoming very clear that the public display of monuments, even religious monuments, is not a per se violation of the Constitution.”

During oral arguments in the case, conservative justices, most notably Justice Scalia seemed willfully obtuse on how non-Christian veterans and citizens would perceive a Christian cross memorial.

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.”

Defenders of the “secular cross” idea have repeatedly made insulting assumptions about what other religions would feel honored by, and often employ outright historical revisionism to “secularize” explicitly Christian memorials. But as Steven Waldman pointed out, this tactic could backfire on those currently pressing the idea in order to get crosses erected (or protected) on public lands.

“…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?“

Returning to Rev. Barry Lynn, in an editorial for the American Constitution Society he points out the absurdity of claiming the cross can represent all who died in duty during WWI, and making the only national memorial for WWI’s war dead (declared as such during this battle) a Christian cross.

“…several members of the court seem to be moving toward embracing a most curious stance: The cross, the central symbol of Christianity for two millennia, isn’t necessarily always religious. Sometimes, the justices assert, it’s just a way to memorialize war dead. Really? How many non-Christians request that crosses be put on their tombstones? How many adopt the symbol as part of their personal expression?”

This is a narrow ruling, but one that chips away at the ban on government-endorsed religion, and one that will embolden Christian groups to erect further “secular” crosses in hopes of sparking further legal decisions to widen that narrow ruling. But the more Christian groups try to bend the law in their favor, in an attempt to return to a mythical pre-secular era of Christian dominance,  the more they make it possible for other faiths to eventually benefit from their labors. I somehow doubt these cross secularizers are going to stand in our corner when someone tries to erect a Wiccan or Asatru war dead memorial.

It looks like a 1985 ordinance banning fortune-telling, spiritualism, and other psychic services in Centerville, Georgia,  has been dropped after Courtney Bibb, the owner of Energy Among Us, filed a lawsuit against the city.

“A small victory for a Centerville store is making a big impact on how the owner views her community. “People just stopping by and saying how proud they are that I’m standing by in what I believe in; It’s astronomical, I can’t explain it. I’m very very gracious and very thankful for all the support I’ve gotten.” –Courtney Bibb/Store Owner Energy Among Us has been providing services ranging from yoga classes to tarot card readings since January of this year. After attention was brought to local officials about the spiritual practices taking place, owner, Courtney Bibb was told to cut it out or else. In response to the warning, Courtney answered back with a lawsuit, ready to fight for her business and her cause … Stated in a letter from her lawyer, Charles Cox, “The city council has agreed to repeal ordinance 85-1, which was enacted back in 1985, and Ms. Bibb is looking forward to continuing business in Centerville.” Without stepping foot in federal court, Courtney was able to achieve her goal, and keep her store’s integrity in tact.”

This lawsuit came after mayor John Harley claimed he was deceived as to the true nature of the business at the grand opening reception he (and other city officials) attended, and the city ordered Bibb stop offering psychic services in exchange for money. Many thought it was suspicious that the letter came shortly before a planned Mind, Body, and Spirit Expo that was being organized by Bibb, raising questions of religious bias, and locals quickly mobilized on her behalf.

The agreement between Bibb and the city will be formalized on May 4th, though city officials still insist that this case had nothing to do with religion or Bibb’s freedom of speech.

Centerville officials met Monday for an executive session, where the settlement was hashed out. Centerville City Administrator Patrick Eidson said the city will formalize its agreement with Bibb at the May 4 council meeting. “From our perspective it was always a business license and ordinance compliance issue,” Eidson said. “She’s now going to comply with rules for any other businesses in Centerville.”

You can view the lawsuit, here. You can view a copy of the original cease and desist letter to Bibb, here. Read a particularly enjoyable and blistering column against the ordinance, here.

It all boils down to this, whether you think fortune-telling and other spiritual services are legitimate, or simply a fraud to fleece the gullible, laws that specifically target these services have been found to be unconstitutional on a regular and consistent basis. If you want to crack down on fraud, pass laws concerning fraud that apply to all business ventures, but there is a big difference between outlawing deceptive business practices, and outlawing the cover some con-artists use. Banning psychics is easy because they usually don’t have the money to challenge laws, and often thrive on the margins of society, but as I’ve pointed out before, that is quickly changing.

“While banning psychics was once seen as an easy political move to garner an image as a moral crusader fighting fraud (and activities that carry a Biblical injunction), in the last thirty years the business has changed. It isn’t simply a bevy of frauds peddling fake “curses” and a smattering of sweet old ladies making a buck on the side, the business has been steadily infiltrated by modern Pagans, Afro-diasporic faiths (VooDoo, Santeria, etc), and the New Age movement, many of whom see divination work as a spiritual calling.

These groups on the whole are more affluent (relatively speaking), more aware of their legal rights (and hence more litigious), and more rooted in their communities than the stereotypical image of the fly-by-night con-man (or woman) who makes a living grifting from the margins. As such, laws against all forms of divination are being met with fierce resistance, and are being overturned or having enforcement dropped due to social and legal pressures.”

Banning psychics makes about as much legal sense as banning Realtors because some con-artists engage in real-estate scams. We are quickly approaching the day were such laws will be completely wiped out, or made unenforceable, and if places like Cook County, Illinois persist in making new ordinances against psychic services, we may even get a SCOTUS decision someday to reinforce all the lower court decisions striking down these discriminatory laws.

Finally, congratulations to Courtney Bibb, Energy Among Us, and all her supporters!

Roy Mayall at the Guardian seems ready to vote for Druid leader King Arthur Pendragon (no, not that Arthur Pendragon), running to become an independent MP in Salisbury, as the May elections loom.

“One of the counts I will be most interested in following on election night will be the one down in Salisbury, where the ever-colourful King Arthur Pendragon is standing. You’ve got to love him: a man in a dress who rides a motorbike and carries a dirty big sword called Excalibur around … He’s a sort of wayward son of the Druid movement – the armed proletarian wing – with a taste in wild women and flashy silver jewellery and a kind of persistent stubbornness that is almost Churchillian in its scope. I think there may be other candidates, but I’ve already forgotten who they are.”

Pendragon has been a perennial political candidate for well over a decade now, and while he’s outperformed the BNP, he’s never gotten close to actually getting elected. Many of Pendragon’s political forays stem from his quest to have regulations concerning Stonehenge changed, and to advocate for its protection.

The Guardian profile comes right when writer CJ Stone’s autobiography of Arthur Uther Pendragon is being re-released, with a sequel in the works. In a recent interview, Stone talks about what makes Pendragon such a compelling figure to those covering national politics.

“It’s the name that has the magic. The name is resonant of so many things. For a start, it represents something ancient in the British landscape and in the British psyche: something real and authentic. So what Arthur does is to challenge the modern world – this criminal world of corporate irresponsibility – from the position of something more ancient, more authentic, more true. True justice as opposed to fake justice. Real truth, real honour. So when the man, Arthur, calls upon the name he is activating some deep reality which calls us all to rise up and challenge the corporate takeover of our world and to get back to our deeper selves.

No, he has to be Arthur, otherwise it doesn’t make sense. Otherwise he’s just a politician. It’s like when he stands for election. He’s got this keen political and legal brain. He’s very bright, and he could easily be a politician. If he wasn’t going round calling himself King Arthur, if he had a shave and joined some political party – maybe the Green Party – you could even imagine him getting himself elected. But this is the point. The whole political world is fake. Politicians are fake. Political parties are fake. They’ll say anything to get elected. They lie to you. And then you have this guy who says he’s King Arthur – claiming to be some imaginary King, some legendary figure from a mythological past that might not ever have existed – and he’s more real than they are. He’s not fake. He’s not lying. He’s never going to get elected, of course, but he’s there, offering the alternative, this grubby biker-king who lives in a caravan on the outskirts of Amesbury and who smells of damp and decay, who is simply not tempted by money or the corporate world, who is living his life according to his beliefs and not according to someone else’s greedy agenda.”

Of course, not everyone who’s met King Arthur is under his spell, and he’s come under some criticism from Pagans in the UK for his lifestyle and methods, but he’s also managed to impress many skeptical Pagans who thought he might be simply a joke.

“Maybe Arthur is a bit of a nutter, but he is an intelligent, good-hearted and compassionate man (I’ve met him) who has more activist spirit in his little finger than the majority of the pagans I have met have in their entire bodies, and that includes me. So when people who mock him are ready to get arrested multiple times in service to a cause (a cause intended to raise awareness of the modern pagan movement, among other things), maybe they’ll get their names in the news, too.”

So, in an election where the normal Tory-Labour trade-off is looking to be up-ended by Nick Clegg and the Liberal Democrats, who knows? Maybe Salisbury will elect a King.

Religion professor Stephen Prothero, author of the new book “God Is Not One: The Eight Rival Religions That Run the World–and Why Their Differences Matter”, writes an editorial for The Boston Globe warning of the dangers inherent in what he calls “Godthink”, the idea that all religions are essentially the same.

For the most part, mainstream media has moved on from earthquake-ravaged Haiti, few want to dwell on the chaos and misery that still permeates the country. Even fewer want to think about the quiet religious war that is now raging amidst the tent cities and humanitarian efforts.

“But in the three months after the earthquake, the relationship among faiths has evolved from one of rare unity to a fight for the Haitian soul. All hope to increase followers even as they assign blame for the quake. In the makeshift camps, along rubble-filled streets, Protestant preachers are battling Catholics as well as followers of Vodou, hoping to lure more congregants. “When I hear some of the Protestant churches in the neighborhoods, you have the impression that only Catholics lost people in the earthquake,” said William Smarth, a theology professor and diocese priest who was part of the liberation theology movement that helped oust former dictator Jean-Claude “Baby Doc” Duvalier.”

While the United Nations pledges money for Haiti’s reconstruction, and the government, along with major aid organizations, try to shift away from handouts towards a slow rebuilding of its economy and infrastructure, several protestant Christian groups are flooding in to exploit the chaos and win souls.

“The new airport is a surly chaos of duffel bags and boxes. Most of the people milling helplessly appear to be groups of American fundamentalist Christians. There are a lot of kids on God-sanctioned adventures dressed in African safari gear and T-shirts proclaiming their goodness. They are excited and crass … a group of excited Baptists passed huge bags of beef jerky over the heads of the people they were coming to offer holy succour to.”

There seems to be an almost unconcealed glee from some corners of protestant Christianity over Haiti’s circumstance, witness this gloating, chipper, editorial from Cindy Jacobs in Charisma Magazine.

“On December 31, 2009, the Holy Spirit spoke through me and said: “I’m going to shake the earth. You will begin to see earthquakes—I am going to shake everything that can be shaken. Look where the earthquakes are hitting because God is going to release a wind of Pentecost in those places.” Since that time we have seen an increase in earthquake activity on a large scale. Haiti experienced horrible devastation during a recent quake. But afterward, the president called for three days of fasting and prayer for the nation. This was a miracle in a country that had formerly been dedicated to voodoo. With only five days’ notice, Christian leaders were able to gather about 1,000,000 people for a prayer meeting. On that day, the winds of Pentecost did indeed blow. Three thousand people were saved—among them 101 voodoo priests. It seems the back of the strongman of the occult was broken in that land, and I believe a new Haiti will arise.”

Yes, hundreds of thousands of people have died, but the “miracle” is that prayer is happening and (alleged) Vodou priests are converting. Only a person who has never experienced true personal horror or tragedy could be so blithe about so much death. Who is this happy doom-sayer? It turns out that Cindy Jacobs is a Third Waver, and one of the leaders of C. Peter Wagner’s New Apostolic Reformation. You know, the folks who regularly engage in spiritual warfare against Pagans, and helped nurture the career of Sarah Palin. When she isn’t putting a smiley face on mass tragedy, Jacobs shares a stage with Virginia’s Republican attorney general, burns indigenous art, and casts out homosexual spirits.

The question now, is with Haiti “awash” with Christian aid organizations and missionaries, how many are simply there to help and show charity, to witness through their good works, and how many are busy calculating the number of souls they can add to their tally in a quest to transform Haiti into a protestant-dominated nation.

“…religious leaders feel an urgent need to act while Haitians’ hearts are open to spiritual transformation, said the Rev. Revenel Benoit, who leads approximately 200 Lutheran churches in Haiti…”

I’d feel more optimistic about all this if “open to spiritual transformation” didn’t simply seem to be a somewhat crass euphemism for easily influenced due to post-traumatic stress, and there weren’t reports of literal witch-hunts taking place against Vodouisants that may be partially instigated by the missionary groups handing out jerky and prayer. It gives an impression that Christian organizations and churches are glorying in natural devastation, so it can do the work that a post-Enlightenment secular Western culture will no longer allow them to do without repercussions.

The Cook County Crackdown: If you thought unconstitutional and redundant laws against fortune telling only happened down south, think again. The Cook County Illinois board of commissioners (that would be the county Chicago is located in) are proposing a new ordinance that would ban “fraud” under the guise of spiritual services for pay.

“The proposal, from Commissioners Edwin Reyes, Bridget Gainer and Gregg Goslin, includes a swath of spirituality. It would affect mediumship, palmistry, card reading, astrology, seership, “crafty science,” and fortune telling that might take place as gatherings, circles and seances. “This was something that was highlighted to say there is a variety of different things out there that could be covered by certain deceptive practices,” Gainer says. She says the measure was suggested by the sheriff’s department, and that more people dealing with a tough economy might be hoodwinked by frauds posing as spiritual leaders.”

First off, there are already laws against fraud and deceptive business practices in Illinois, and I can’t see how this new ordinance would have protected a recent high-profile Chicago-area victim of the old-as-the-hills “cursed money” scam. Further, how will this ordinance, if passed, be enforced, and who gets to decide what’s fraud? If you pay for a reading at a party, can you call the cops the next day? If you drop $20 when the local Pagan group passes the hat and you later have buyers remorse, can you press charges? The language is so broad (“circles”, “gatherings”), that it easily includes any Pagan ritual where any sort of money changes hands. Since this proposed ordinance doesn’t seem to ban charging for “spiritual services” per-se, how will it actually prevent the most outrageous instances of blatant grifting?

Another Interview with Alex Mar: “American Mystic” director Alex Mar is interviewed by MTV Tr3s about her documentary, which features Pagan priestess Morpheus Ravenna, and discusses gaining the trust of her subjects, her own background, and resources for folks interested in modern Paganism.

“That’s an interesting question. First off, let me say that I’m not advocating any one spiritual path over another. But that said, I know WitchVox to be a useful site for pagans or people who are pagan-curious to connect locally. I was told over and over again how much easier it’s become for people who are curious about different forms of witchcraft to find mentors now that the Internet exists. The Wild Hunt is a widely read pagan blog about the latest politics and culture that’s relevant to the pagan community. And there are major conventions a few times a year where young witches, warlocks, Druids, you name it, get together and mix and network and learn new techniques and dance to gothic metal bands.”

I’d like to thank Alex for the plug, and note that the “gothic metal band” she’s most likely referring to is Pandemonaeon, who played at this year’s Pantheacon. “American Mystic” is currently playing at the The Tribeca Film Festival, and is one of twelve entries in the festival’s World Documentary Feature Competition for 2010.

Guess Who Else Didn’t Like That Episode of  Supernatural: It wasn’t just Pagans who were a bit annoyed by the Supernatural episode “Hammer of the Gods”, where various non-Christian deities were portrayed as shallow flesh-eaters getting worked over by Satan, Hindu activist Rajan Zed (you may remember him as the Hindu priest who got heckled by Christians on the Senate floor) blasts the show for its portrayal of Ganesha and Kali.

“Acclaimed Hindu statesman Rajan Zed, in a statement in Nevada (USA) today, said that Lord Ganesh and Goddess Kali were highly revered in Hinduism and such absurd depiction of them with no scriptural backing was hurtful to the devotees. Ganesh and Kali were meant to be worshipped in temples or home shrines and not to be thrown around loosely in reimagined versions for dramatic effects in TV series.”

Even Annalee Newitz at io9, a fan of the show, slammed the episode, saying it should never have been made.

“My point is just that this episode, in attempting to answer that “what about other gods?” question, made things infinitely worse than if we’d just been left wondering. Now we’re left thinking that somehow Christian deities are more powerful than any other deities in the world. Dean goes so far as to call them “just monsters.” Which A) doesn’t really fit the show’s premise, which is that Christianity is one mythological system among many; and B) makes it seem that Supernatural buys into the idea that Christianity is somehow the “best” or “most powerful” mythological system out there. Thumbs down on that one.”

Many have defended Supernatural as an “equal opportunity offender”, but I’m not sure that’s true. While Christian themes are treated lightly and irreverently at times, it still acknowledges and reinforces the inherent supreme power of the Christian mythos. It has also been careful to steer clear of the third rail of secular pop-culture fantasy portrayals of Christianity by not making Jesus (or even God for that matter) a character. Supernatural, in other words, doesn’t mind being flip about Hinduism, Taoism, Vodou, or Paganism, but won’t court real controversy by having Jesus (or the Virgin Mary) show up and throw down.

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