There are lots of articles and essays of interest to modern Pagans out there, sometimes more than I can write about in-depth in any given week. So The Wild Hunt must unleash the hounds in order to round them all up.

• Early reviews of “The Wicker Tree” from its Fantasia 2011 screening are emerging. Fangoria says it “can’t match the impact of its predecessor.” Twitch opines that it “is going seen as horrific and blasphemous to those who saw the original film as an act of horror and blasphemy.” Sound on Sight opines that it is “not only a great genre film, but a film that pushes the boundaries of cinema itself.” All the reviews point out that this is a far more broadly comic film than it’s spiritual predecessor. You can read all of my “Wicker Tree” coverage, here.
• A documentary is being made about writer and conservationist Sigurd F. Olson. According to his biographer, Olson “was an apostle of awe, a witness for wonder, and an icon of the modern wilderness movement whose words will continue to stir hearts and souls for generations to come.” Something for pantheists and Pagan nature-lovers to keep an eye out for.
• The BBC presents “The Ancestors are Calling,” a radio documentary of a South African woman weighing the decision of whether to become a traditional healer and provide “a channel for the power of the ancestral spirits,” or “get on with her life as a young African woman in the 21st Century.”
• A Kickstarter campaign is under way to produce a memorial documentary project about sculptor and art historian Merlin Stone, who passed away earlier this year. Stone was the author of the seminal book “When God Was A Woman.” You can find our more about the project, here.
• Reality Sandwich features and essay by Starhawk about the ongoing effort to produce a film version of her novel “The Fifth Sacred Thing.” With 30 days to go, $44,733 of the $60,000 goal has been pledged. You can find out more at the project’s website.
• The Quietus features an interview with writer and magician Alan Moore. In it Moore talks about his magazine Dodgem Logic and why he’s not on the Internet: “I don’t want to be connected to that kind of all pervasive kind of cyber culture any more than I want to be connected to the physical world more than I can help it.” We all still await the “future release” of his “The Moon and Serpent Bumper Book of Magic.”
• There’s more good news in the ongoing Sacred Paths Center story: PNC-Minnesota reports that Earth House Project has presented Sacred Paths Center with $978.62 in fulfillment of a pledge to donate 25% of the proceeds from their Midsummer Gather. SPC has now raised $9795 towards their goal of $12,000 by July 31st.
• Rick Perry’s ever-controversial “The Response” event continues to make news. Finally questioned about all the controversial endorsers by the press, Perry  said that he appreciates “anyone who’s going to endorse me, whether it’s on The Response, or whether it’s on a potential run for the presidency of the United States,” and that “just because you endorse me doesn’t mean I endorse everything that you say or do.” I don’t think endorsements work that way. You can’t accept all endorsements, but only welcome the parts you agree with. If that were the case Obama and McCain would have simply brushed away their pastor issues in 2008 with no worry. Now we learn that Perry may not even speak at the event he helped create.
• The latest TheoFantastique Podcast features an interview with Erik Davis, author of “Nomad Codes: Adventures in Modern Esoterica”.
• Check out the amazing collection of photos from Life Magazine on Haitian Vodou. The photos are from a June 2011 Haitian Vodou ceremony. Meanwhile, Christian groups continue to wage “Spiritual Warfare” on Vodou, showing just how toothless the new missionary guidelines really are.
• Seattle PI reports on a story involving a doctor, heroin addiction, threats, shamanism, and a substance illegal in the United States. A documentary was made about the shaman arrested, Dimitri “Mobengo” Mugianis.  More about this as I unravel it. Thanks to C. Vermeers for the tip-off.

That’s it for now! Feel free to discuss any of these links in the comments, some of these I may expand into longer posts as needed.

There are lots of articles and essays of interest to modern Pagans out there, sometimes more than I can write about in-depth in any given week. So The Wild Hunt must unleash the hounds in order to round them all up.

• Not too long ago hardliner Iranian clerics accused associates of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad of “witchcraft” and “summoning genies.” If you’re President Ahmadinejad how do you respond to that? By launching a “non-governmental organisation to identify those engaged in divination and exorcism as well as ‘deviant schools of thought and false Gnosticism’”. They are hoping an attack on “nonconformist youth culture, Sufi sects, [and] non-Islamic Gnostic groups such as popular Indian theosophical cults” will distract the public from their own “occult” scandal.
• Kathryn Price NicDhàna links to a transcription of the closing prosecution arguments in the almost finished trial of New Age prosperity guru James Arthur Ray, accused of negligent homicide in the deaths of three participants in a sweat lodge ceremony gone horribly wrong. For a wrap-up of the marathon closing argument by Ray’s defense team, click here. Once we have a verdict you can expect a long wrap-up with commentary at The Wild Hunt.
• The Tarotpuu blog reprints a 1942 lecture by artist and occultist Lady Frieda Harris, who is best known for providing the artwork for Aleister Crowley’s Thoth Tarot. Thanks to Mary K. Greer for the link.
• Mississippi Justice Court Judge Theresa Brown Dearman has been sanctioned by Mississippi Supreme Court for, among other things, “ordering someone to attend church, on pain of being sent to jail if he doesn’t comply.” It seems, thankfully, that compulsory worship is still unconstitutional.
• Juxtapoz finds some occult-themed street art. More here.
• Salon.com travel column Trazzler (Trazzler? Really?) features a slide show of places to celebrate tomorrow’s Summer Solstice. They note that “the primal desire to be outside dancing and carousing late into the night is irrepressible at this time of year.”
• K.C. Hulsman updates us on the ongoing effort to to have the U.S. Army recognize and add Asatru/Heathenry as a religious preference for the official U.S. Army database. This is being spearheaded by the Open Halls Project, who says they need “one thing from you, the soldiers, former soldiers, and military spouses. We need you to send use your name, rank, Status (active, reserves, national guard, veteran, or spouse) to our email. heathenopenhalls@gmail.com” So spread the word!
• PZ Myers infamously doesn’t like religion or the belief in magic all that much, but he seems pretty OK with Alan Moore. In response The Daily Grail calls Moore “one huge gateway drug to the woo,” while  Technoccult thinks the real question may be “whether what he describes as magic is truly ‘magic’ at all.” All I know is that “Promethea” is one of the best comics ever.
• Ann Coulter rips into Ron Paul, and uses Wicca to illustrate her point about Paul’s marriage plan: “Under Rep. Paul’s plan, your legal rights pertaining to marriage will be decided on a case-by-case basis by judges forced to evaluate the legitimacy of your marriage consecrated by a Wiccan priest — or your tennis coach.” This makes it so Paul’s defenders have to mention Wicca too. Keep this up and soon every prominent conservative will be dropping Wicca into their conversations.
• Our best wishes to the on retreat Buddhists at the  Diamond Mound Retreat Center near Bowie, Arizona, who are currently right in the path of the Arizona wildfires.

That’s it for now! Feel free to discuss any of these links in the comments, some of these I may expand into longer posts as needed.

A few quick news notes to start off the week.

The Case of the Disappearing Library Books: The Lewiston Sun Journal in Maine tackles an oldie but goody, which books “have legs” in the local public library, that is, which books are most often stolen.

“It’s like you know as soon as you order them; it’s almost like you have a betting pool. Anything to do with Wicca, witchcraft, supernatural, things like that. Especially the spells.” At her library, those books seem to bolt before they’re checked out, taken directly off the shelves. The library simply reorders every once in a while. Increased use of eBooks will help, she said — there’s nothing physical to lose. Her best guess on why it happens? “You know, I think there probably is just a little bit of fear that somebody’s going to judge. ‘They’re going to think I’m into something weird,’” Neal-Shaw said. “It’s almost like they’re trying to hide it from themselves; they haven’t come out of the Wicca closet.”

An informal survey conducted in 2001 by the American Library Association found similar results, books on Witchcraft, Paganism, and the occult get nicked on a regular basis. Why? Well, there’s the shame theory, as elucidated above, and there’s the anti-occult thievery theory as well.

“People take them because they don’t want other people to read about witchcraft, and people use them without returning them. I think we have a little bit of both going on.”

While there’s no doubt that some library Pagan/occult sections are getting thinned due to anti-Pagan sentiment, those perpetrators usually like to make a public statement regarding their actions. I think in many cases it is simply individuals who believe they have a right to keep a book, and lack the moral clarity to see how their actions harm other library patrons. It’s hard enough finding decent occult and Pagan-oriented library collections, and these thefts only make it harder. After all, why waste money on books that will simply get stolen?

Alan Moore on Austin Osman Spare: Writer and practicing magician Alan Moore (Promethea, Watchmen) discusses the British fine artist and magician Austin Osman Spare on BBC2.

The tribute to Spare was in timed to the closing of an exhibition of his art at Cuming Museum. You can find some of Spare’s occult writings, here. You may also want to check out this profile in the Fortean Times.

Christine O’Donnell Dominates: She didn’t win the election, but she did win more election-season coverage than any other political figure short of the President. Thanks to “dabble-gate”, and other embarrassing incidents, Delaware Senate candidate Christine O’Donnell dominated the news cycle, dragging a large number of Pagans into the spotlight with her.

What does it mean? Well, that there is such a thing as bad press, and that the mainstream media was more interested in talking about O’Donnell’s tenuous ties to “witchcraft” than about the real issues Americans actually cared about. Certainly this isn’t what I was hoping would be the most-reported story involving modern Pagans this year. In my heart I’d like to think this could be a wakeup call for the press, but I highly doubt it.

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

Every year, a fundraising conference called TAM (The Amazing Meeting) is held for the James Randi Educational Foundation (home of the famous one million dollar challenge), an organization founded by James “The Amazing” Randi, a former stage magician who has dedicated his life to debunking paranormal, occult, and supernatural claims. As one might expect, these conferences draw famous skeptics, free-thinkers, and atheists to give talks, and this year is no different. Headliners this year include Richard “The God Delusion” Dawkins, PZ Meyers, Cory Doctorow, Stephen Fry, and Alan Moore.

Wait a minute …  Alan Moore?!?

“Richard Dawkins is of course author of The Selfish Gene, a volume that popularised the reinterpretation of Darwinian thinking to explain altruism. He is also the number one evangelical atheist in the media. Alan Moore, of course, worships a snake god, describes himself as a magician and has outlined a number of spells that he has cast. Which should be interesting.“

Yes, interesting would certainly be the word. One of Moore’s upcoming works is a “a clear and practical grimoire of the occult sciences,” and his ground-breaking comic series Promethea is, in essence, a primer on magickal thought and theory from the very basics to an extended journey through the Kabbalah.

Depending on when you ask him, Moore is also quite convinced as to the reality of Glycon, the snake god.

He shows me his altar to the Roman snake god Glycon. “He was exposed as a glove-puppet in the second century”. And he explains how he used to accompany his magical experiments with psychedelic drugs but now finds he doesn’t need them. “It’s frightening. You call out the names in this strange incomprehensible language, and you’re looking into the glass and there appears to be this little man talking to you. It just works.”

So this leads us to speculate on the nature of Moore’s support for the foundation, and what the organizers think of his rather unique ideas concerning the efficacy of magic. Perhaps he, like myself, wishes there was more skepticism amongst those who practice magic and worship strange gods. Maybe he just thinks James Randi is fun guy, and is doing him a favor. Or maybe, he’s enjoying the best of both worlds by telling the skeptics and the believers what they want to hear. After all, he did say that  “everything everyone says about magic is true as long as you understand it’s all in their mind.” So everyone’s right, and Moore can invoke Glycon and raise some cash for Randi’s foundation without too much bother. Still, makes you wonder what the hardcore atheists in attendance will make of it.

I don’t know if you’ve heard, but there’s this gigantic blockbuster film featuring dystopian super-heroes coming out later this week called “Watchmen”. Perhaps you’ve seen an ad or two. The film is an adaptation of one of the most critically lauded comics of all time. It, and several other works from writer/creator Alan Moore, have been turned into would-be blockbusters against his wishes. This reluctance to play the Hollywood game, and his outward eccentricities, guarantee a run of profiles by journalists often amazed that he doesn’t want to cash in.

At 55, the Northampton hermit will take no more credit for the film than he did for From Hell, the screen adaptation of his Jack the Ripper comic book, which starred Johnny Depp, or for the anodyne film version of his League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. Moore’s name will not appear on the credits of Watchmen and his share of the cash goes to his illustrator on the series, Dave Gibbons.

So what? Aren’t “Hollywood botches the book” or “Hollywood cashes in against the wishes of the writer” stories a dime a dozen? What’s different is that Moore is, for all intents and purposes, “one of us”. By that I mean he’s an occultist/magician who possibly worships the “sock-puppet god” Glycon, and is currently hard at work writing a “a clear and practical grimoire of the occult sciences”. In addition, he also wrote an outstanding 32-issue comic series that doubled as primer in magic entitled “Promethea”. Yet, despite all that, Moore isn’t really a figure of much discussion outside the small subsection of comic-book collecting Pagans and occultists. Neil Gaiman in contrast, who has a comparable track-record of critical and mainstream successes, has a huge Pagan following. Perhaps it’s that Gaiman is far more outgoing, Internet-savvy, and willing to work with Hollywood? Whatever the reason, you’re far more likely to hear a Pagan talk about “Coraline” (which was great) than the fact that Moore’s upcoming “League of Extraordinary Gentlemen” comic sequel (due out in April) will prominently feature fictional/literary versions of Aleister Crowley.

“…an apocalyptic plot masterminded by obscure W. Somerset Maugham villain Oliver Haddo, a parody of Aleister Crowley; it almost goes without saying that Moore seizes the moment to populate Haddo’s entourage with fictional creations of the actual, prolific Crowley, while steeping the diabolist’s scheme in arcana from Crowley’s 1917 novel Moonchild.”

So when you head off to the theatre to see “Watchmen”, keep in mind that what you see on the screen is merely an echo, a fannish recreation (warning: spoilers at that link) of a work specifically created for the comics medium. A work not intended to be adapted to big-screen action. Or better yet, why not spend the weekend (and the money you might have spent on admission, a large popcorn, and soda) getting to know one of most brilliant writers of his generation. A writer who happens to share with us an interest in the practice of magic. I think that in retrospect, historians of our wider religious and philisophical movement will pay far more attention to the influence of people like Moore than the dozens of “Wicca 101″ niche writers we currently argue and debate over. Perhaps it’s time more of us got a jump on those historians.

A brief look at happenings in the world of film, television, comics, and novels.

Well, the first episode of the BBC’s new series “Merlin” premiered yesterday, what did the critics think? I think it’s safe to say that Mark Pickavance at Den of Geek hated it.

“…it’s all over the place. One minute it’s legend, then slapstick, then panto, then drama, horror and then mystery – they missed out the science fiction and western genres, but we’ve another 12 episodes of this for that to be rectified.”

Meanwhile, TV Scoop was far more kind.

“…for those of us who were holding our breath and hoping against hope that Auntie’s latest Saturday night blockbuster series wouldn’t be another turkey like Robin Hood, or, worse, another Bonekickers, that bated breath was released in a rousing cheer of appreciation. This time, they’ve really pulled it off.”

It seems the more you’re expecting historical realism or accuracy, the more you’re going to be disappointed. Something to keep in mind when it debuts this Winter in America.

Speaking of Brits who practice magic, the Los Angeles Times interviews Alan Moore, author of “League of Extraordinary Gentlemen”, “Promethea”, “V For Vendetta”, and “From Hell” about his upcoming projects and his opinion about the currently-in-litigation film adaptation of his critically acclaimed work “Watchmen”.

“Moore has no intention of seeing the film and, in fact, he hints that he has put a magical curse on the entire endeavor. “Will the film even be coming out? There are these legal problems now, which I find wonderfully ironic. Perhaps it’s been cursed from afar, from England. And I can tell you that I will also be spitting venom all over it for months to come.” Moore said all that with more mischievous glee than true malice…”

In addition to cursing Hollywood (a regular pastime for Moore) he also plugs a recent documentary made about him entitled “The Mindscape of Alan Moore”, and his upcoming book of magical instruction and history entitled “The Moon & Serpent Bumper Book Of Magic”.

While I’m on the subject of Hollywood ruining good stories, Neil Labute thinks his atrocious and wrong-headed remake of the cult-classic “The Wicker Man” is misunderstood.

“The director thought he was taking his personal battle-of-the-sexes theme to its logical extreme by presenting “the uber male nightmare of ‘Here’s an island of women, and this is what happens when they rule the world.’” But many folks couldn’t get past Nicolas Cage in a bear suit. “I’d been very used to polarizing people, and there would be as many benefactors as detractors, but people sort of got together on that one and said, ‘You know what? I think we’re all in agreement. We just don’t care for this,’” LaBute reflected matter-of-factly.”

He thinks the film, like the original, was simply marketed wrong. With that I can only agree, Labute’s remake should have been marketed as a comedy. In a separate interview, Labute actually disses the original Wicker Man, proving he just didn’t “get it”.

“I love this movie, love the ending, but it’s not that well made. The songs are goofy. I can do something else with this.”

Well, he certainly did “something else” with it.

In a final, not-really-pop-culture note, go check out the saga of an angry Wiccan taking down a scam money-for-spells online site. This one has it all, multiple identities, drama, intrigue, and pro-anorexia ties!

“FastSpells.com is a scam website that claims they will cast Magick on your behalf for various sums of money. They claim to be able to find you love, give you an abortion, cure your cancer, grant you immortality, and change you sex organs. No, I’m not kidding about any of those.”

Make sure you read the comments, here. It looks like his expose has resulted in the offending sites being taken down by the scam-artists.

That is all I have for now, have a great day!

A brief look at happenings in the world of film, television, comics, and novels.

Well, the first episode of the BBC’s new series “Merlin” premiered yesterday, what did the critics think? I think it’s safe to say that Mark Pickavance at Den of Geek hated it.

“…it’s all over the place. One minute it’s legend, then slapstick, then panto, then drama, horror and then mystery – they missed out the science fiction and western genres, but we’ve another 12 episodes of this for that to be rectified.”

Meanwhile, TV Scoop was far more kind.

“…for those of us who were holding our breath and hoping against hope that Auntie’s latest Saturday night blockbuster series wouldn’t be another turkey like Robin Hood, or, worse, another Bonekickers, that bated breath was released in a rousing cheer of appreciation. This time, they’ve really pulled it off.”

It seems the more you’re expecting historical realism or accuracy, the more you’re going to be disappointed. Something to keep in mind when it debuts this Winter in America.

Speaking of Brits who practice magic, the Los Angeles Times interviews Alan Moore, author of “League of Extraordinary Gentlemen”, “Promethea”, “V For Vendetta”, and “From Hell” about his upcoming projects and his opinion about the currently-in-litigation film adaptation of his critically acclaimed work “Watchmen”.

“Moore has no intention of seeing the film and, in fact, he hints that he has put a magical curse on the entire endeavor. “Will the film even be coming out? There are these legal problems now, which I find wonderfully ironic. Perhaps it’s been cursed from afar, from England. And I can tell you that I will also be spitting venom all over it for months to come.” Moore said all that with more mischievous glee than true malice…”

In addition to cursing Hollywood (a regular pastime for Moore) he also plugs a recent documentary made about him entitled “The Mindscape of Alan Moore”, and his upcoming book of magical instruction and history entitled “The Moon & Serpent Bumper Book Of Magic”.

While I’m on the subject of Hollywood ruining good stories, Neil Labute thinks his atrocious and wrong-headed remake of the cult-classic “The Wicker Man” is misunderstood.

“The director thought he was taking his personal battle-of-the-sexes theme to its logical extreme by presenting “the uber male nightmare of ‘Here’s an island of women, and this is what happens when they rule the world.’” But many folks couldn’t get past Nicolas Cage in a bear suit. “I’d been very used to polarizing people, and there would be as many benefactors as detractors, but people sort of got together on that one and said, ‘You know what? I think we’re all in agreement. We just don’t care for this,’” LaBute reflected matter-of-factly.”

He thinks the film, like the original, was simply marketed wrong. With that I can only agree, Labute’s remake should have been marketed as a comedy. In a separate interview, Labute actually disses the original Wicker Man, proving he just didn’t “get it”.

“I love this movie, love the ending, but it’s not that well made. The songs are goofy. I can do something else with this.”

Well, he certainly did “something else” with it.

In a final, not-really-pop-culture note, go check out the saga of an angry Wiccan taking down a scam money-for-spells online site. This one has it all, multiple identities, drama, intrigue, and pro-anorexia ties!

“FastSpells.com is a scam website that claims they will cast Magick on your behalf for various sums of money. They claim to be able to find you love, give you an abortion, cure your cancer, grant you immortality, and change you sex organs. No, I’m not kidding about any of those.”

Make sure you read the comments, here. It looks like his expose has resulted in the offending sites being taken down by the scam-artists.

That is all I have for now, have a great day!