• Elysia Gallo at Llewellyn showcases the latest addition to the Pagan convention circuit, Paganicon, held on March 25th-27th in St. Louis Park, Minnesota. The guest of honor this inaugural year is John Michael Greer, Grand Archdruid of the Ancient Order of Druids in America.
• Over at The Revealer Jack Downy suffers through all 12 parts of the Christian anti-environmentalist opus “Resisting the Green Dragon,” where he learns that “Paganism, atheism, deep ecology, pantheism, panentheism (thought of as a sort of gateway drug for backsliding soon-to-be-environmentalist Christians), and animism are all interchangeable spiritual orientations.” For more on the “Green Dragon” see my posts here, and here.
• The Maetreum of Cybele responds to the recent New York Times profile of their multi-year battle with the Town of Catskill over religious property tax exemptions, noting that the town’s legal councel had indeed questioned the legitimacy of their religion despite protests to the contrary. For tips on how to help, see here.
• Jim Towey, former director of the White House Office of Faith-Based & Community Initiatives (now the Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships) during the George W. Bush era has been named president of the traditionalist-minded Ave Maria University, a culturally and theologically conservative private school founded by Tom Monaghan (of Domino’s Pizza fame). Towey was made (in)famous to modern Pagans for his 2003 comment that “fringe” religions like Paganism aren’t predisposed toward charity, and that he’d never encountered a Pagan group that cared for the poor.
• The Associated Press covers the Unitarian Universalist Association’s “National Standing on the Side of Love Day.” An event inspired by the 2008 shooting at Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist Church, an attack that was motivated by the hatred of liberal and Democratic policies. Events will be held this Sunday and Monday. FAQ for those interested in learning more or participating.
• M. Macha Nightmare remembers and honors former coven sister Bone Blossom (Ardath Elizabeth Saunders Stanford), a member of the Holy Terrors coven (along with Sophia Sparks and Cerridwen Fallingstar) and founder of Ouroborous Isis Gnosis coven, who crossed the veil two days ago.
• TheoFantastique Podcast, Vol. 2, no. 1 features a special emphasis on exorcism film “The Rite,” with contributions from Douglas Cowan (“Sacred Terror: Religion and Horror on the Silver Screen”), Paul Meehan (“Horror Noir: Where Cinema’s Dark Sisters Meet”), and Scott Poole (“Satan in America: The Devil We Know”). For more on “The Rite” and the priest who inspired it, see my post, here.
• British actor, mixed-martial-artist, and reality show contestant Alex Reid went to Stonehenge recently to “find peace and draw energy from the earth,” after a public breakup with wife Katie Price. Reid reportedly donned a “druid-style hood” for this process.
• Belgorod province in Russia is urging bans on Halloween and Valentine’s day as “measures to provide for spiritual security,” an effort blessed by the local Russian Orthodox Bishop. The Russian Orthodox Church has been getting increasingly political and heavy-handed in its efforts to control the religious destiny of Russia.
• Will drumming sessions help heal the vandalised Holy Thorn in Glastonbury?
• More testimony in the alleged Thelemic pedophile cult case.
• Can a Witch help the Cleveland Cavaliers win?
• Kali gets a credit card.

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.

“…our research into the hush-hush tag team efforts of the Billy Graham Evangelical Association and Samaritan’s Purse found millions of USAID dollars going to Samaritan’s Purse aid stations in Haiti. Their mission: a coordinated effort by BGEA chaplains to evangelize to and convert the trapped, weak and suffering.”

Reporter Abe Sauer notes that Franklin Graham (president of Samaritan’s Purse), son of Christian evangelist Billy Graham, is especially fixated and obsessed with eliminating Vodou in Haiti.

“…in the case of Samaritan’s Purse, whose Haiti work is being heavily funded by the taxpayer-funded USAID, it could be to “take back their country from voodoo, despair, and sin,” one of the charity’s stated goals for the “Festival of Hope.” As Graham said of Haiti in his address at the Festival, “…the biggest need is the spiritual need.” (Graham and his crew are especially obsessed with the elimination of voodoo, as it comes up again and again in Purse literature. A recent personal update on work in Haiti from Franklin Graham himself reads, “Through our partnership, the three original churches have been able to establish 28 more—including one in a village that was infamous for voodoo….”) Video of the heavily promoted fundraising event has been erased from the Samaritan’s Purse website as a result of our questions to USAID.”

They note that Samaritan’s Purse, working hand-in-hand with the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association (BGEA), is able to benefit from government funds by skirting along on paper-thin technicalities, confirmed by USAID officials, but who seem to lack the political will to do anything about it. This is a stark confirmation of several isolated reports and allegations regarding the activity of missionaries in Haiti. It’s bad enough that some Christian groups are taking advantage of the chaos in Haiti in order to win souls, but now it seems we’re paying for it as well.

No Pagan Drivers for Lowery: Former Democratic state Representative John Lowery is being taken to court by Eugene Keeler after he was allegedly fired from Premier Well Services (owned by Lowery) for being a Pagan only hours after being hired. Keeler has the backing of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, and is being heard by a judge who’s dealt with Lowery before.

The EEOC case has been assigned to U.S. District Judge Susan Webber Wright, which could be interesting. When Wright ruled that a winter solstice display could be put up on the state capitol grounds — along with the traditional nativity scene — Lowery led the Arkansas Legislative Council denouncement of her decision, saying, “When this is allowed to happen in high places by people in authority societies become chaotic, economies collapse and nations are taken over by other nations.”

The Arkansas Democrat Gazette interviewed Selena Fox of Lady Liberty League about the case, though the article is behind a paywall if you want to read it. It should be interesting to see what happens in this case, hopefully it will be reported more widely, and more accessibly, than it has so far.

Do Religious Symbols Count Even If You’re a Racist? The Jewish Chronicle notes that a jailed racist, convicted of inciting racial hatred in the UK, had his Thor’s hammer pendant confiscated because it had “fascist meaning and neo-Nazi overtones.” After a complaint, it seems that Michael Heaton, an Odinist, had the pendant returned. The piece closes with a quote from a CST (Community Security Trust) spokesperson that seems to imply that, in their opinion, Odinism doesn’t meet the “relevant criteria” for equal treatment as a religion.

A CST spokesman said: “Norse and Odinist symbolism features extensively in Nazi and Pagan circles. Legislation on religious rights can make questions such as this a complex matter. But you might well question if this kind of symbolism should meet the relevant criteria.”

While I personally believe that Heaton is a vile, foul, sad, criminal, his odious beliefs don’t wipe away his rights under the law. To call into question whether genuine religious symbols appropriated by racists are still valid is to glide down a slippery slope that would eventually ban all religious symbols. Also, for an organization like the CST, who are watchdogs against antisemitism, to conflate Nazism and Paganism in such a casual way is troubling, to say the least.

The Boundaries of Civil Religion: Former Wild Hunt guest contributor Lee Gilmore, author of “Theater in a Crowded Fire: Ritual and Spirituality at Burning Man”, writes an essay for the USC blog The Scoop about the recent memorial for the victims of the Tucson shooting, and reactions (or non-reaction in some cases) sparked by the opening invocation of Dr. Carlos Gonzales.

The media response–or rather the general lack thereof–was telling. Those motivated to comment publicly on the blessing were mainly conservatives troubled by its implications. For example, Brit Hume of Fox News was baffled, saying, “By the time it was over with, he had blessed the reptiles of the sea, and he had prayed to the four doors of the building, and while I’m sure that all has an honorable tradition with his people, it was most peculiar.”  TheWashington Examiner went much further and called it a “a stark statement of  pantheistic paganism” and “a blatant violation of church and state.”

Glossing over the apparent hypocrisy–the biblical references in Obama’s eulogy did not seem to touch off a similar nerve–perhaps Gonzales’ invocation can be read as a vague nod to a loose, politically correct “spirituality” appealing to the so-called “liberal elite.” Yet the left wing of the blogosphere also had little to say about Gonzales’ invocation. (There was some insightful discussion from this vantage point taking place on a popular and intelligent Pagan blog called the Wildhunt.)

Gilmore notes that many American aren’t used to being taken outside “a generic and lightweight form of ceremonial deism,” as was done by Gonzales’ Native blessing. A transgression that may have sparked the absurd over-reaction is some quarters. She also touches on the “othering” of religious minorities in the United States, such as was done in this case, and that mainstream journalism has done a poor job in enlightening the public to their worldviews. The whole essay is worth a read, and you should check it out.

Seeing the Future in Russia: The AFP reports on the popularity of doing fortune telling in Russia between Christmas and Epiphany, and why that tradition endures to this day.

Psychologist Svetlana Fyodorova puts the faith in fortune-telling down to Russians’ close links to their pagan past. ”Russians love fortune-telling because it frees their subconscious,” she told AFP. ”As compared to Europe, in Russia Christianity is young and the traces of a pagan traditions can still be felt here,” she said.

Something that no doubt worries the Russian Orthodox Church, who are increasingly testing the waters of social control now that they are ascendant once more. With signs of a crack-down against religious minorities intensifying, those who look for signs in the wax, or throw shoes out the window, should be careful.

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

Doctor Gonzales Speaks Regarding Native Blessing: Following the wave of criticism from conservative pundits regarding a traditional Native blessing given at a memorial service for those killed and injured in the horrific shooting in Tuscon, Arizona last week, Dr. Carlos Gonzales, the Pascua Yaqui Indian who gave the blessing, talks to CNS News to give some context.

“I was asked by the university to give a traditional Native American blessing,” Gonzales told CNSNews.com late Thursday. “This is the type of blessing that we give at memorial services to open up a ceremony. A medicine man will do a variation of it to open up a pow-wow. It’s basically a recognition of the powers of the seven directions and how they influence human beings-and how each direction has a certain characteristic; that when you pray to that direction, you ask for the inspiration that comes from that direction.”

Gonzales noted that the blessing should not be confused with religion, that is was “more of a way of appreciating spirituality,” and the Pascua Yaqui Indians have been predominately Catholic for generations now.

“I’m Yaqui and Yaquis have been Roman Catholics since 1650. We were one of the first tribes in Mexico to actually peacefully absorb Catholicism; however we have always practiced Catholicism in our own unique manner, incorporating traditional beliefs, and so I grew up as a Roman Catholic with a Yaqui variation. In reality, I’m Catholic, but the spirituality I’ve come across with traditional healers is one of the most beautiful things I’ve seen, and it’s a way of approaching people and it’s an additional way of healing that has actually helped me to be a better family doc.”

Sadly, even with this disclaimer firmly in place, many in the comments of the article expressed distaste for the Yaqui’s syncretism, with some calling the blessing “demonic.” Proving that any dialog and understanding between Western Christian and indigenous forms of religious expression has a long way to go. As for the wave of criticism towards Gonzales from various pundits, only one has recanted and apologized.  Perhaps satirist John Stewart, as always, has the final word on all this.

The Savage Fury of Savage: While some were paying close attention to the recent memorial service, others are still trying to pin Tuscon assassin Jared Lee Loughner into an easy-to-understand political left-right narrative. Conservatives and Tea Party groups have been arguing that they were incorrectly blamed by the Left for inspiring Loughner’s violence, but right-wing pundits have their own narratives of blame out in full force. This isn’t anything new in our world of divisive partisan politics, but I mention it now because one popular conservative talk-radio host, Michael Savage, who boasts an audience of 8 to 10 million listeners, making it the 3rd most listened to radio talk show in the country, has seemingly bought into the “occult” angle first brought up by the NY Daily News.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=qZnUvvrrKYI

“The man was an occultist, of course that didn’t make it into your local paper. Your going to start talking about banning handguns why not just ban the occult in America? Why don’t we get congressmen talking about banning Wicca in the Army? Banning the occult in America. I mean, did you see what came out today about the shooter? I’m sure you haven’t because your friends at CNN, NBC, and Fox News haven’t shown it to you. The man was a stone-hearted devil worshipper. Take a look at the thing [Gives web site information.] look at the altar in the shooter’s backyard [...] he’s not a troubled young man, he’s a devil-worshipping left-wing pot-head.”

You can listen to the whole excerpt if you want, but lower the volume, and be prepared for a weird pot-Hashshashin-assassin narrative, and the usual “Obama is a Marxist” stuff. I usually ignore talk radio, but when someone with an 8-10 million person strong megaphone starts talking about banning Wicca or the occult in the United States, even rhetorically, it can have a dramatic effect on the lives of modern Pagans. Because, and Savage may not know this, but people really did try to ban Wiccans from the Army. It isn’t mere inflated rhetoric, this stuff really happened to us. The players, largely unrepentant. Savage, of course, is free to fling his various conspiracy theories and partisan bromides wherever he pleases, but dragging Wicca and “the occult” into the narrative to shove Loughner into a “left” narrative is playing with fire.

The Troubling Persistence of “Occult Crime” Experts: As if on cue, what with terms like “occult” and “New Age” being thrown around in the Tuscon shooting case, our old friend, “international expert on occult crime” Dom Rimer rises to the surface once more.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=bIE0JFmNzIU

Some critiques of Gonzales’ traditional blessing were mostly puzzled and relatively mild, like Fox News anchor Brit Hume, who described the invocation as “peculiar,” and setting a strange tone for the rest of the memorial.

Certainly the mood in that auditorium suggested that the sense of mournfulness that you might have expected and sobriety you might have expected was not to be found tonight. And of course, I think, the whole thing is attributable in part to the remarkable opening blessing that was delivered by, what was his name, Carlos Gonzales, who by the time it was over with, he had blessed the reptiles of the sea, and he had prayed to the four doors of the building, and while I’m sure that all has an honorable tradition with his people, with it was most peculiar.

However, pundits like Michelle Malkin and Power Line’s Paul Meringoff were far more harsh. Using adjectives like “babbles,” “rambling,” and “ugly.”

“Native American gives rambling speech while holding a feather. His remarks are frequently interrupted by whoops and cheers. He gives a shout-out to his son serving in Afghanistan. Brags about his ethnic Mexican background. Babbles about two-legged and four-legged creatures and the feminine energy that comes from Mother Earth. Mercy.” - Michelle Malkin

“As for the “ugly,” I’m afraid I must cite the opening “prayer” by Native American Carlos Gonzales. It was apparently was some sort of Yaqui Indian tribal thing, with lots of references to “the creator” but no mention of God. [...] In any event, the invocation could have used more God, less Mexico, and less Carlos Gonzales.” - Paul Meringoff

Mark Tapscott at the Washtington Examiner went even further than Malkin and Meringoff, calling the invocation a “stark statement of pantheistic paganism,” that was “a blatant violation of separation of church and state” that sent “a message of exclusion to the many.” Sadly, this mean-spirited and ignorant commentary didn’t stop with a few big names.

“In fact, a whole weird vibe was set at the very beginning of the memorial with pseudo-Native American medicine man Carlos Gonzales. He began the off kilter scene with his pseudo-blessing of rocks and trees, northern doors, and — well, whatever he was blessing, anyway. His self-referential promotion was also quite off-putting.”

Cathy Lynn Grossman at USA Today wonders if you were “annoyed” or in “agreement” with the blessing given by Gonzales, while pointing out the rationale for his inclusion in the program.

“Gonzales was a fitting choice for several reasons, says Patty Talahongva, who is Hopi and past president of the Native American Journalists Association. The tribal reservation is in the district of gravely injured U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords. And he’s a symbol of Arizona’s diversity — part of the university president Robert Shelton’s ongoing campaign to bring all streams of thought, culture and tradition into the campuses. (Hence the title “Together we thrive” on the funeral programs).”

Talahongva expands on this in an essay for Youth Radio.

“So tonight it comes down to words from an aboriginal man, from a race of people who have consistently helped this nation in times of strife. Arizona is home to the Navajo and Hopi Code Talkers who are credited with creating codes in their traditional languages which were never broken by the enemy during World War II. They helped save countless American lives. Quite often the words and voice of the American Indian/Alaska Native is lost in America, their indigenous homeland, but tonight the country will hear from a man who clearly represents America and her rich diversity… Words matter. Words can sometimes save lives. And when words are spoken in prayer, in a positive way, they can surely do more good than harm.”

What’s troubling about this wave of criticism towards Dr. Carlos Gonzales is that it shows how little tolerance there is in some corners for any expression of religion that isn’t Christian or some flavor of ceremonial deism. Even during a memorial that many felt was uniting and uplifting, the wave of scare quotes, snide remarks, and insults against indigenous religions couldn’t be held back. This is the same impulse that led to the disruption of Rajan Zed’s Senante invocation, the ignorance and arrogance that only comes from almost total religious and cultural power and privilege. These hectoring voices darkly reinforce the attitudes that continually place Arizona’s recreation over the sacred land of its indigenous peoples. They are a sour note in what was, on the whole, a moment where our country, in all its diversity, came together.

ADDENDUM: Power Line’s Paul Meringoff has issued an apology:

“In a post last night, I criticized the use of a Yaqui prayer as the invocation to the memorial service in Tucson. In doing so, I failed to give the prayer the respect it deserves. Although I did not intend this as a slight to the religion or to the Yaqui tribe, it can clearly be interpreted as one. For this, I sincerely apologize to my readers, to the Yaqui tribe, to all tribal leaders and Indian people, and, specifically, to Carlos Gonzales who delivered the prayer. I regret my poor choice of words, and I have removed the post.”

It seems that being disrespectful can be bad for business.

“I doubt people who say this is about politics have a good understanding of mental illness,” said Dr. Bob Dolgoff, medical director of Alta Bates Summit Medical Center‘s mental health division. “It could be conspiracy theories or men from outer space. The important thing here is, why wasn’t he in treatment?”

In the words of media consultant Andrew Sprung, who has analyzed Loughner’s Youtube ramblings, “this unfortunate insane individual is of no party or clique.” So it is dismaying that the NY Daily News, holding exclusive pictures of Loughner’s home, seems to be trying on an “occult” angle to see if it fits.

NY Daily News photo.

“A sinister shrine reveals a chilling occult dimension in the mind of the deranged gunman accused of shooting a member of Congress and 19 others. Hidden within a camouflage tent behind Jared Lee Loughner’s home sits an alarming altar with a skull sitting atop a pot filled with shriveled oranges. A row of ceremonial candles and a bag of potting soil lay nearby, photos reveal. Experts on Sunday said the elements are featured in the ceremonies of a number of occult groups.“

Of course neither the Daily News journalists, nor the unnamed “experts” consider the possibility that the altar has no formal occult meaning. That it could be a product of his imagination, a manifestation of his distress, or playful seasonal potpourri left to rot as his mind deteriorated. Considering the fact that millions of people build altars every year with skulls and fruit, to ascribe a “chilling occult dimension” to this scene is jumping the gun to say the least. No doubt sensing an opportunity, I predict that it won’t be long before various “occult experts” start slithering out of the woodwork to give their “expert opinion” on the “occult” nature of Loughner’s short-lived reign of terror.

ADDENDUM: More on this from Star Foster at Patheos and USA Today.

First, I’d like to echo Circle Sanctuary’s Selena Fox, who is calling for healing support for Giffords and the others wounded by the shooter.

“Joining others across the USA & around the world in sending healing support to US Congresswoman Giffords, others wounded, killed in the mass shooting in Arizona today, & support to their loved ones & all impacted by this tragedy.”

At her blog, T. Thorn Coyle urges us to, in the words of Alasdair Gray, “work as though we lived in the early days of a better nation.”

“I may not agree with every stance Rep. Giffords supported – there are several points on which we would part company – but I do know that this assassination attempt is yet another sign that we live in troubling times.

And yet, to not work as though we lived in the early days of a better nation would be to fall into despair. I have felt this particularly keenly since the news of the atrocities at Abu Ghraib began to appear. The world of humans, of political machinations, of greed, and the torture and enslavement of others is one of sickness and disease. And yet, last night I walked with friends among the small galleries of Oakland California, in a city considered one of the most violent in the US. It is also a city of activists, artists, musicians, and growers of gardens. The crowd was lively, the art was inspired and inspiring, and people played music on the street. A better nation was being created last night, because a better nation is filled with citizens who create art.”

At Patheos, Pagan portal manager Star Foster attempts to give a Pagan perspective to political violence.

“As Americans we have inherited the democracy of Greece and Rome, and we value the political process. We value the idea that the people elect people to represent them, that we choose our avatars to work for us at every level of government. Political assassination is not only cowardly, but it is sacrilegious. It violates that which we hold sacred. It brings dishonor upon us all.

Part of democracy is the very Pagan tradition of talking smack and rooting for our “own team”. It is good to take pride in your party and be loyal to their ideals. Yet I hope that at this moment we recognize that even as we engage in speculation and political gossip that this is an act that goes against the core of what we all hold sacred. Our battles take place at the voting booth and we all respect the score and hold the scorekeeper to a high standard. To attempt to “change the score” by an act of violence because you disagree with a representative’s views on politics or religion is shameful.”

I’ve been personally troubled over the years at the rhetorical brinkmanship within our country, while realizing that attempts to legislate away such speech would be abhorrent to our very values. It’s part of why I continue to work on projects like Pagan+Politics, because I believe we have to able to reason and work together in our society, even if we don’t agree on the methods or goals. I hope we can all avoid falling into the trap of using this tragedy to validate our worldview or political goals. Right now, in the first few days following this tragedy, this crime, this political violence, the only thing we can do is support the victims, call for justice, and continue to “work as though we lived in the early days of a better nation.”

ADDENDUM: More Pagan reactions from Gus diZerega and Peter Dybing.

“This was a symbolic killing,” Adkisson wrote. “Who I wanted to kill was every Democrat in the Senate and House, the 100 people in Bernard Goldberg’s book. I’d like to kill everyone in the mainstream media. But I knew these people were inaccessible to me. “I couldn’t get to the generals and high-ranking officers of the Marxist movement so I went after the foot soldiers, the chicken (expletive) liberals that vote in these traitorous people.”

By all accounts Adkisson was remorseless during the trial, and while his defense attorney claimed he could have argued an insanity plea, prosecutors say they had clear evidence of extensive planning and premeditation before the murders. For extensive coverage of the shootings, check out the Knoxville News Sentinel’s special page devoted to the incident. With this murderer behind bars forever, here’s hoping that healing and closure can come to the Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist Church and the friends and family of those affected by this tragedy.