Word has come from Jo Carson that Lady Svetlana, co-founder of Feraferia along with her partner Fred Adams, passed away last week due to complications from pneumonia. Lady Svetlana, born Svetlana Golubeff, was instrumental in keeping the traditions of Feraferia alive, and wrote many essays and liturgical pieces for the faith.
Fred Adams and Lady Svetlana in the mid-60s. Photo by Harold Moss.
“Feraferia emerged from a utopian California subculture of simple living, minimal clothing, and “natural” foods that predated the better-known 1960s counterculture by at least thirty years … Feraferia’s theology celebrated humans’ erotic union with nature, expressed through an annual ritual cycle … To Feraferia … the Maiden aspect was most important – Kore Soteria, the Holy Maiden Savioress. The unique characteristic separated Feraferia, Adams wrote, from other Pagan groups…” – Chas Clifton, “Her Hidden Children: The Rise of Wicca and Paganism in America”
“Plagued by occasional panic attacks since a frightening dream in her teens, Svetlana was increasingly fearful during her last eight years. However after Fred died in 2008, she gradually lost her fear of death, partly due to dreams wherein she saw Fred sitting by the gates of a Feraferian Paradise, urging her to come on over. She would answer him “I’m not ready”. But finally, she was ready. May the Maiden Goddess bless her on her way.” – Jo Carson
May she be reunited with Fred in paradise, and find the blessings of her goddess.
“We are sad to report the passing of Barbara Stacy, Associate Editor of The Witches Almanac. Barbara met Elizabeth Pepper when they both worked for Gourmet Magazine in the 1960′s. Barbara was a master of the English language and a wordsmith of astounding ability. She practiced copy editing Alchemy regularly turning submitted articles from base metal into Gold. She authored many of the articles in the Almanac as well as several books for us. “Greek Gods In Love” was her last major work and stands as testimony of her talent. Barbara passed on May 5th just a few days short of her 84th birthday which is today May 9th.” – Statement from The Witches’ Almanac
“We will miss her unmatched skill at making our books the best they could be. Elizabeth and Barbara were both publishing professionals of the highest caliber. They built a foundation for the Almanac which has stood the test of time and brought readers back year after year for over thirty five issues.” - Owen Rowley
May she rest in the arms of her gods, and find peace and fulfillment in her journey beyond this veil.
“Saturday’s event, which turned from fundraiser to private gathering, was organized by a Wiccan group and offered speakers, workshops and other activities. “We’re sharing our love and peace,” said Valli Harry, president of the Louisiana Alliance of Wiccans. For Rhye Gray, a high priest of Spiritwheel Coven, a Wiccan for 22 years and Baton Rouge resident, the gathering aimed to raise consciousness “for our community to connect to one another and to have a positive experience with one another.” The gathering also was designed to raise community awareness “that we are very much like others,” Rhye Gray said.”
“Mukunda Datta, of Baton Rouge, a practicing Hindu, decided to attend Saturday’s gathering after reading about it in the newspaper. He said he was hoping to find “some like-minded individuals at the event.” “When I moved here from New Orleans to Baton Rouge, everyone thought I was some kind of demon or something,” Datta said. “Now, they all love me. They know that I’m not a threat.” His advice for others who may be skeptical of the pagan religion was simple: “Be open and don’t close your mind off before you find out. There’s a lot to offer in all of the traditions,” Datta said.”
“April 30, the day Bankagaon’s dalits pledged to learn the English language as well as worship it as a goddess. It was the day they laid the foundations of a temple dedicated to “English, the Dalit Goddess”. One of those listening to Gangania was Chandra Bhan Prasad, a self-taught Dalit social psychologist who thought up the idea of worshipping English as a goddess … The dalits’ new appreciation of English highlights the new class divide in modern India — between a minority of the English-speaking elite and others. For dalits, the medium is the message. Prasad says Indians have figured out that English is the password that can open the doors to a better life … the message of the English Goddess is simple: “Come to me, I will empower you.” That is why the temple ceremony was an all-dalit affair. The premises of a dalit-run school are being used for the temple.”
For those not familiar with India’s caste/class system, the Dalits are members of several caste groups that were once labeled as “untouchable”. While the caste system was formally outlawed in India’s constitution, these groups still face prejudice, discrimination, and barriers to social and fiscal advancement. In the past, Dalits have performed mass conversions to Buddhism or Christianity as a method to transcend the specter of untouchability. Will worshiping the English Goddess, and learning her language, bring them the advancement they seek?
“It had been in my mind to do another movie,” Hardy says, “and when they made the Nicolas Cage version, I thought they missed the point of the first film completely. I say point, but I mean points, really. They just used the plot and threw away all the atmosphere and charm, the things which lulled you into a sense of this being a marvelous, fun kind of community, and then wham!—at the end you get the nasty surprise of how wicked people can be en masse when they feel they’ve got a good reason. And that made me want to do the other one that had been in my mind for a few years. Since I’d already written the book, COWBOYS FOR CHRIST, I decided to make a movie of it.”
I suppose it was only a matter of time before it came up. Outside of maybe abortion or gun control, one of the most contentious political issues in the United States (one that creates divisions in both major political parties) is how to handle the issue of illegal immigration from our Southern border. This simmering issue exploded recently when Arizona passed a controversial new law that allowed law enforcement to demand papers from anyone they “reasonably suspect” could be an illegal immigrant. Since then, accusations of racism, calls for boycotts, promises to tackle immigration reform this year, and quiet adjustments to the law, have followed. While this controversy rages, the larger question of what immigration reform would/should look like is ongoing. Most pragmatic pundits and politicians (including George W. Bush) agree that some form of amnesty and path to citizenship should be provided to the millions of illegal immigrants already living and working in America, but that has also sparked violent (mostly rhetorical) push-back from the conservative base. Unfortunately, and why this issue is getting mentioned here, some of this push-back seems to be demonizing Santeria in an attempt to “poison the well” of public opinion for any plan that includes a path to citizenship (aka “amnesty”).
“Obama will make instant American citizens out of 20 million illegal aliens and encourage millions more to cross our borders. What does that mean for you and me? For starters, he makes legal citizens of the 20 million illegal aliens now dwelling in America. They become US citizens—making them eligible for unemployment, food stamps, welfare, driver’s licenses, drug rehab … It means we’ll make citizens out of people who practice ‘santeria’ or animal sacrifice in city parks in Florida and along the East Coast. It means we’ll legalize people in our country that practice dog female genital mutilation, fighting, cock fighting and horse tripping. As their numbers grow, so will their voting power so they can vote their Third World rituals into law.”
Frosty Wooldridge, the writer of the editorial linked above, is hardly the only person to invoke Santeria in order to scare people out of supporting a path to citizenship for the illegal immigrants already living here.
“I will provide you photos of “Santeria” worship with mutilated carcasses of animals in our community atop Mobile Homes. Further animal offenses including cock fighting and dog fighting abound as well in Saluda with these Illegals.”
“So, let’s assume there was some religious purpose in this horror, a primitive and degraded upwelling that bullied its way into view. It’s pretty easy to judge, not so easy to live with. And there is no excuse.”
“According to experts, like local anthropologist and folklorist Dr. Eoghan Ballard, and Dr. Randall Lockwood, senior vice president of anti-cruelty services for the American SPCA, sacrificial remains found in parks, especially those adorned with talismans like candles or pennies, are most often the work of religious novices, teens or satanic dabblers.”
This blog won’t take a stance on the larger issue of immigration reform, but I will condemn any attempt to demonize Santeria in order to affect the political discourse over this issue. So should any person of conscience, no matter what your stance is on immigration. Santeria is a legal and recognized faith in this country, and animal sacrifice, while abhorrent to some, has been ruled a legal practice by our courts in two landmark cases. What one feels about Santeria should in no way influence whether illegal immigrants are granted a path to citizenship in reform legislation. Anyone who does engage in vilifying Santeria has lost the moral high ground for their arguments, and should be treated accordingly.
Note: I expect the comments to remain civil. This is not the place to get into a flame war over the issue of immigration.
“A cabin burns down in the woods revealing two bodies, one of a modern-day witch and one from the days of the Salem Witch Trials, leading Booth and Brennan into the world of Wicca to find a killer.”
So let’s start off with the good stuff, the robes the Wiccans wore were immaculately tailored, very nice. Not a red bathrobe in sight! There was also a very cool pentagram-candle special effect that I thought was well done. There were the usual Wizard of Oz jokes, which was to be expected, but the problems didn’t really start until the Wiccans opened their mouths. Every member of the coven (female-only, naturally) had a weird affect in their speech, which I imagine was supposed to make them sound spiritual? Or maybe to imply that they were somewhat cultish? I’m not sure. But it was distracting, since I’ve never heard a real Wiccan talk that way, especially to an FBI officer investigating a murder.
The way the Wiccans talked, on the whole, wasn’t that big of a deal, the real head-turners came from what they said about their practice. At one point a potential suspect said that bat bones were an integral part of her faith (you traditionalists are totally holding out on me). But a bat-bone-buying coven was nothing compared to the revelation that came with the reveal of the killer(s). You see, the Witch that was murdered was apparently a “dark Witch” who did curses and sacrificed animals, and the entire “good” coven, hopped up on ergot-tainted rye flour (just like the original Salem witches), ritualistically killed her because they mistook her for a demon, or something. So, case closed, let’s… wait a minute, rye flour? How did the entire coven get ergot poisoning from rye flour? Apparently, according to the high priestess, they “often use rye flour in their ceremonies”. Which has got to be one of the sloppiest wrap-ups I’ve seen in an hour-long procedural, unless the rye-flour ceremony is some sort of 3rd degree secret that I’m not privy to. Is Kathy Reichs an oath-breaker!?! Revealing the sacred rye mystery?
So the episode was pretty unintentionally hilarious, though I doubt most Bones fans noticed, since the Wiccan stuff was mainly a distraction from the major romantic breakthrough of two main characters. Really, they shouldn’t have even bothered with the Witch/Wiccan case, and just made the episode about the romance. Honestly, I would rather have had accurate satire than the clumsy bat-bones and rye-flour coven.
Does this mean I’m mad at Bones and want you to write angry letters or boycott? No. I don’t think it’s worth the effort. But I do feel it’s important to critically engage with popular culture when they bother to depict modern Pagan individuals. This stuff does inform folks about us, whether we like to admit or not, so the least we can do is offer a corrective when people try to learn more. Television distorts, but that distortion can be managed to a certain extent by engagement. It’s why I bother to watch these shows, and make posts about it even though it isn’t as serious as other topics I cover.
“Supervisor Peter Markou on Tuesday promised to review whether town officials have illegally prevented reinstatement of tax-exempt status for the neo-pagan group Maetreum of Cybele, Magna Mater for its 3-acre Palenville property. Organization founder Cathryn Platine complained during a Town Board meeting that officials needed to do more than send a form letter when providing notification that for the fourth consecutive year a 2006 exemption was not reinstated. “Once again we’ve been denied, once again we’ve not been given a legitimate reason, just a check on ‘property use,’” she said. “I’m sorry, you’ve been notified. This is capricious and arbitrary. You need to give us an actual reason that we can address in the grievance hearing and then in court because obviously we’re going to court with you.” Platine said the group was granted 501C3 religious corporation status by the Internal Revenue Service in 2005.”
Here is an update/press release just sent to me from the Maetreum of Cybele.
Last fall we were still trying to just find an attorney to represent us. Thanks to those who spread the word far and wide, we finally did find an attorney and a reasonably priced one at that. Thanks to a couple of very generous donations, our legal fees were also covered.
But that money is gone, the case is still in court as the Town of Catskill pulled out all legal stops to file motion after motion to dismiss. Recently the Judge ruled on those motions, in our favour. All that is required for us to do to keep the case before the court is re-serve the Town Assessor and now the County and School Board as well. This is happening right now. The attorney for the Town admitted in court, on the record, that the real reason for the denials of our property tax exemption (which is a lot of money btw) was to prevent “opening the floodgates to similar groups”. This is an open admission of discrimination. At this point, every single ruling by the Judge has been in our favour and we anticipate eventual victory.
The strain on our internal resources and deflection from our charitable mission has been considerable. Despite the fact the Town has failed to answer a single legal point and restricted itself to technical objections, once again we filed for 2010 exemption and were once again denied without a valid reason given. The county has sent us a notice that they will cease our property on Dec 31 of this year for the 2009 taxes we are still in litigation over and the 2010 taxes that are still in the appeals process. They did not say may or could, the letter clearly stated they would. Once they are served as party to this legal action in the next 48 hours we will file with the Judge for an injunction against them.
We feel we are fighting this cause not just for ourselves, but all minority religions. What we are asking of the Pagan communities at this point is this.
We need your continued spiritual support.
We could use your help raising addition money for legal fees. You can paypal a donation to centralhouse@gallae.com directly or use the donation button on our website at gallae.com
And one last thing. The “Board of Review” hearing for this year’s exemption is May 25 4-6 pm and 7-9 pm at the Town Hall in Catskill. We need a show of force, peaceful demonstrators because while we may and most likely will win this in court, they won’t stop every year unless we make the cost of that too high in bad public relations. Already I have started attending the Town meetings and calling them out and the press is taking notice. The local press will be at the Board of Review hearing.
If you can join us, please assemble at the Maetreum of Cybele in Palenville the afternoon of May 25. We need at least 15 or more to pull this off. If you can, make signs ahead of time with slogans such as “freedom of religion means all religions”
We are extremely grateful for the help we’ve received before, it made the difference between having our case dismissed and keeping it active. Our sincere thanks to the angels who donated before and especially to Jason of the Wild Hunt who really got the word out for us.
This seems like an excellent opportunity for Pagans in the upstate New York area to show solidarity, and win this organization the same legal considerations that are granted to the “mainstream” faiths in America. As always, I’ll be keeping track of this story as it develops.
“No one in Livingston Parish wants any witches here, and it IS our right, and our DUTY to make the experience of anyone attending this gathering as educational as possible. We are praying for the salvation of all the people in attendance. We are also gathering people to bring the gospel to these attending. We hope many people will learn about the true Lord while they are in our parish. – Longtime resident of Livingston Parish, anxiously waiting to meet all of you!”
Once again, the headlines in Livingston Parish, Louisiana are ablaze because Wiccans are standing up for their right to choose to follow a religion that isn’t Christianity. This time, however, the problem is not with the Parish leaders, but rather some extremist[s] who appear to claim to be Christians. They have attempted to stop two Pagan festivals scheduled in Livingston Parish through a program of defamation of Wicca and Wiccans and they are apparently calling others to take acts that appear to be designed to terrorize the festivals and their speakers. Presently, each of the Pagan festivals will now be forced to provide security for these events, and it is thought that turnout will be low or non-existent as a result of the actions of these defamers.
The festivals that have been attacked are the Gryphon’s Nest Campground Grand Opening scheduled for Memorial Day Weekend. The other festival attacked was the Annual LAW Festival set for May, 8, 2010. LAW is a non-profit organization which has just received 501(c)(4) tax exempt status by the IRS, whose purpose includes protecting the legal rights of Wiccans. The organization grew from the support received by local Wiccan groups, including The CPWC and the Coven of the Gryphon, in the fight against the Livingston Parish Anti-Divination Ordinance, which suit resulted in victory for the Wiccan community. Subsequently, LAW has retained legal counsel for individuals whose religious rights or problems have been at issue in the Court system in Louisiana and those individuals have had problems in Jefferson Parish, St. Tammany Parish, Livingston Parish, and Ascension Parish.
As the attorney who will be representing both Gryphon’s Nest and LAW in the planned suits against the extremists referred to above, I urge pagans not to post messages on the Internet regarding any of the matters described above. Such postings will not help my clients.
Instead, I urge you to write your elected representatives to create laws that will protect Wiccans’ values and to add stiff criminal penalties for those who commit terrorist acts to promote their religion at the expense of Wicca. Please feel free to contact LAW to obtain sample letters to send to your elected representatives and to help you identify your elected representatives. LAW can be contacted at vharry@hughes.net
Further, I urge you to help both Gryphon’s Nest Campground and LAW to mitigate its damages by attending the festivals.
Furthermore, the problems faced by residents of Livingston Parish, Louisiana are not unique to this community. The work done here sets precedents in the rest of the country. On behalf of my clients, I beg our National Leaders, our Founders, our Authors, and all those who can garner the attention of other Wiccans to rally to our aid by contacting me through LAW’s email address above. Wiccans have made excellent progress in obtaining the respect and tolerance of the government here. If we stand together, we can show everyone that we will not be whipped by the bible belt.
James A. Harry
Attorney at LAW
So there you have it. Taking the advice of LAW’s attorney, I urge all who want to support the Wiccans and Pagans in Livingston Parish (and surrounding areas) to coordinate with them on the matter. I will, of course, be keeping an eye on press coverage, and have been in contact with local organizers should they need to get the word out to the wider Pagan community.
Today at The Wild Hunt I’m featuring a guest-post from Amanda Armstrong.
Amanda Armstrong is a pagan celebrant with Celtic leanings who performs professional clergy services in the Nashville area. She lives with her husband and four cats.
Higher Ground
We were warned of heavy rains for days before it began, but no one thought this could happen. Spring is the rainy season in Middle Tennessee, the season of sudden downpours my father calls “toad chokers” followed by intense afternoon sunshine. Nothing could have prepared us for the nearly 14 inches of rain that fell in the next 48 hours. Nashville has a lock and dam flood control system that was built in the 1960′s and has suffered only a few major flood events since that time. Our biggest worry during these seasonal downpours is flash flooding from the many creeks that crisscross the wide basin that defines the Greater Nashville Area. The storms began early Saturday and inched across the state. Warnings were issued and those that live in flood prone areas kept watch.
My husband and I were visiting the eastern part of the state Friday night and decided to drive back to Nashville early on Saturday morning. I had gotten a call from my father before we left, warning us of torrential rain on the way, but nothing unusual for this time of year. Most people went ahead and rescheduled weekend Beltane plans for the following weekend. Unusually, the annual Tennessee Renaissance Faire was shut down due to the heavy downpours. Saturday evening we headed west of town on I-40 to have dinner with family and saw the Harpeth River rising dangerously high near the interstate, but it was along the normal floodplain and I had seen this happen many times before. Traffic then stopped about 45 minutes west of Nashville. The interstate was closed completely, in both directions. I thought perhaps there was a terrible accident. We later found that the interstate was completely flooded the next county over. When we arrived at my aunt’s house, we watched a local newscast showing live footage of a portable classroom floating down the I-24 in Nashville, hitting semis and cars before breaking apart. 70 vehicles were stranded in rapidly rising water with desperate drivers standing on the concrete median and the roofs of cars. It was as if we were watching one of the ever popular apocalyptic big-budget films, except this was my home.
Sunday morning, Nashville awoke to a nightmare. All of the major creeks and rivers were at or near flood stage and rising with 7 more inches of rain expected through the evening. Parts of Nashville that have never flooded in living memory were underwater or at risk. Thousands were without power, internet or cell phone service. My husband and I decided to try and get some groceries and cat food before the interstates became impassable. We live right below a flood control dam and never worried about our own home being flooded. Our house sits just 40 feet below the top height of the dam on a fairly large hill. By the time we got home, we were very worried. Whole neighborhoods were submerged, roads destroyed. Train tracks were washed out or buckled. Bridges were swept away. The normally quiet Stones River, which runs 200 yards from my back patio, was perhaps 20 feet away. The river rose an astonishing 45 feet in less than two days, below a dam meant to control just that.
We spent the next 24 hours watching the water rise to within a couple of yards of the house and then recede a few feet, only to rise again. The neighbors all made hourly walks down to the path leading to the Greenway park that runs along the river to check water levels which we tracked using makeshift gauges of sticks and stones. I sat at the computer for hours refreshing the water level data page from the Army Corps of Engineers website praying that the numbers would fall instead of the incessant rising. We spent 24 hours in constant fear of hearing the floodgate sirens go off if the dam started to fail and had to be completely opened. I am so grateful that we made it through with no damage to house and home. So many have losts homes, cars and jobs. Most of our family and friends have checked in but no one has been spared some kind of loss.
I called my Community Supported Agriculture contact to let her know there was no way we could possibly get to our drop off site for our weekly food pick up. She sounded heartbroken as she told me they had lost their entire flock of pastured laying hens. I later found out that they have no idea if any of the Spring crops survived and they cannot reach many of the other farmers who work with them. We have hundreds of small farms in the Middle Tennessee area experiencing much of the same.
Local news stations were out and reporting immediately but could only access most of Nashville by air. The images were astonishing.
Very few times in my life have I seen what I would call awesome in the old fashioned use of the word, but this was it. We watched the Cumberland River in downtown creep inch by inch up to the old historic district downtown, cresting Monday night at a near record 51 feet flooding the historic buildings all along the waterfront. We watched hundreds and hundreds of rescues by boat of people trapped in second stories or the small islands they now live on. We watched horses, cows and mules coaxed into flat bottomed boats or standing on tiny pieces of land waiting for the water to recede. And yet, we heard almost nothing from the national news. As Keith Olbermann says in the clip, there is nothing worse than to have a disaster at home when another, bigger disaster is ongoing. I understand why all eyes are on the Gulf, it’s heartbreaking and horrifying.
So many major buildings have been heavily damaged or nearly destroyed. Titans Stadium is full of water, as is the hockey arena. The Country Music Hall of Fame is flooded. The Opryland Hotel has 10 feet of standing water and the Grand Ole Opry House is much the same. The Parthenon with it’s 50 foot statue of Athena is closed due to Mayor Dean’s request for citizens to stay home. I have not been able to verify whether there was damage to the structure, but I’m sure it would have been mentioned by the local news if there had been anything significant. Sri Ganesha Temple in Bellevue is on a large hill, but no one is answering calls. Power and phone service is still out in many areas so getting information is still difficult. Our excellent Greenway Park system will be devastated as all of these parks run along the waterways.
The death toll is currently at 22 from this storm system. One of those lives was a member of the pagan community, Joshua Landtroop. He leaves behind two children and many friends. Joshua left work on foot Saturday to check on his two children at home when flood waters started to rise. His body was found Sunday morning. The waters rose so quickly in some areas that no one could have survived being swept away. There will be a memorial service on Saturday night for Joshua at the annual Pagan Unity Festival held May 13th the 16th in Burns, TN at Montgomery Bell State Park. Memorials are encouraged for the Joshua Landtroop Trust Fund for his two sons Heath and Tristan at Family Advantage Federal Credit Union, P. O. Box 39, Spring Hill, TN 37174. For more information on PUF, please visit http://paganunityfestival.org/ .
The Red Cross is accepting donations for flood relief. Donations can be made at www.nashvilleredcross.org or by calling (615) 250-4300.
The Community Foundation of Nashville is accepting donations to support flood relief, restoration and clean up online at www.cfmt.org/floodrelief or by calling (615) 321-4939.
The Bellevue Chamber of Commerce has established an account to help flood victims. Donations can be sent to 177-A Belle Forest Circle, Nashville, TN 37221, payable to Bellevue Flood Aide. For further information, call (615) 662-2737.
Regardless of which side of the climate debate you are on, it is hard to deny that both the climate and weather pattens are changing. We have dammed our rivers and we build housing developments on our farmland, fooling ourselves into a false sense of security because we think we can predict or even control what Nature will do. These last couple of months have been filled with news stories of earthquakes, volcanoes and now floods. As a pagan I cannot help but wonder what lies ahead as Nature continues to show her true strength. But now, as both a pagan and a Tennessean, I ask that you remember us here in the Athens of the South. The waters will recede, and I pray the healing will be swift.
