“…a whole list of disclaimers must be added to the spiritualists’ spiel if they are to avoid an avalanche of writs following the repeal next month of the Fraudulent Mediums Act, to be replaced by the new Consumer Protection Regulations. Promises to raise the dead, secure good fortune or heal through the laying on of hands are all at risk of legal action from disgruntled customers. Spiritualists say they will be forced to issue disclaimers, such as ‘this is a scientific experiment, the results of which cannot be guaranteed’. They claim the new regulations will leave them open to malicious civil action by skeptics.”

The new Consumer Protection Regulations also places the burden of proof on the psychic or practitioner in accusations of fraud. A very different scenario than under the old Fraudulent Mediums Act (which replaced the repealed Witchcraft Act).

“For the past half-century, ‘genuine’ mediums have been protected by the 1951 Fraudulent Mediums Act, under which prosecutors had to prove fraud and dishonest intent to secure a criminal conviction, which was difficult. There have been fewer than 10 convictions in the past 20 years. With that protection gone, there will now be nothing between the medium and the trading standards officer – and no need to prove fraud. Instead it will be up to the trader, in this case the medium, to prove they did not mislead, coerce or take advantage of any ‘vulnerable’ consumers.”

Those most upset over these impending regulations are the Spiritualist churches in Britain (which, according to latest census, has over 30,000 members), who rankle at having to describe sacred rites as “experiments”, in effect denying their own beliefs in order to avoid accusations of fraud.

“Carole McEntee-Taylor, a spiritualist healer in Essex, said having to stand up and describe the invoking of spirits as an ‘experiment’ was forcing spiritualists to ‘lie and deny our beliefs’. She added: ‘No other religion has to do that. And how can you tell if someone is vulnerable? You would have to ask them if they felt vulnerable, or had mental health issues, or were of a nervous disposition’ … ‘It is taking a religion, a way of life, and making it a commercial transaction,’ said David McEntee-Taylor. ‘If we hold a service in a village hall, we have to charge or ask for a donation to cover the cost of hiring the hall. There are bad mediums out there, and we would like to regulate them. But this is unfair on genuine spiritualists. Some people are very nervous of entrapment.’”

These regulations would also have an immediate effect on British Pagans and occultists as well. Did you charge for a healing? A tarot reading? Did you pass the hat to cover rent at a public gathering where a Priestess invoked the Goddess and gave advice? You could be held liable for fraud if the advice or healing doesn’t work out. The British government, in response to criticisms, claims that no religious services “in themselves” will be affected, only “misleading” business transactions. Some are holding out hope that the regulations will only, as the government claims, affect the scam-artists. Leaving Spiritualists and other practitioners in peace.

“All that Spiritualism needs to do is to ensure that it’s mediums operate within the new law regarding any services which involve transactions that could be interpreted as a “consumer contract”. This may require some precautions such as verbal disclaimers and possibly in the case of private sittings, signed indemnity statements, but surely this is perfectly possible for any responsible Spiritualist medium to arrange … In my opinion, the sky is definitely not falling, and the new legislation will serve to eliminate the undesirables, the fortune tellers and the con artists.”

In truth, no one is quite sure how these new regulations will be enforced. Will it only target “undesirables”, or will it create a litigation nightmare for anyone engaged in psychic practice, mediumship, or spiritual healing work. Is it fair to make a Pagan or Spiritualist call practices tied to their religion “experiments” that the “gullible” or emotionally “vulnerable” should avoid? Since it seems likely that these regulations will be put in place without much opposition in Parliament, we’ll all just have to wait and see.
]]> http://www.patheos.com/blogs/wildhunt/2008/04/first-shot-fired-in-british-psychic.html/feed 3 http://www.patheos.com/blogs/wildhunt/2007/01/last-witch-convicted.html http://www.patheos.com/blogs/wildhunt/2007/01/last-witch-convicted.html#comments Tue, 02 Jan 2007 13:50:00 +0000 Jason Pitzl-Waters http://patheos.com/blogs/wildhunt/2007/01/the-last-witch-convicted.html Portsmouth Today reports on the efforts of local Spiritualists lead by local psychic and astrologer Pamela Ashenda to clear the name of Helen Duncan, the last woman to be convicted of witchcraft in Britain.

“During the Second World War she moved to Portsmouth to give comfort to anxious wives of Royal Naval sailors who feared their loved ones were lost at sea. On the evening of January 19, 1944, she was conducting a seance in a private house in the city when police stormed in. The following morning Helen, known as Hellish Nell, was charged under section four of the 1735 Witchcraft Act by Portsmouth magistrates. Officials had ordered her arrest amid fears she would reveal top-secret plans for the D-Day landings. They had been monitoring her since she had revealed the British battleship HMS Barham had sunk earlier in the war, with the loss of 861 lives. The government had suppressed the news to maintain morale. It took a jury 30 minutes to find her guilty and she became the last person to be convicted of witchcraft in Britain. She was sentenced to nine months in London’s Holloway Prison.”

Her conviction is notable for it helped boost the already growing sympathy for Spiritualists, mediums, astrologers, and other “cunning folk”. This changing attitude finally lead to the repeal of the Witchcraft Act in 1951, a moment long awaited by author and civil servant Gerald Gardner. Gardner had already published a fictional account of religious Witchcraft before Duncan’s conviction, and one five years after. Once the repeal went through he felt it safe to expose his adherence to the religion of Witchcraft or “Wica” (later “Wicca”) to the general public. The rest, as they say, is history.

Sadly, Duncan’s fate after her arrest in 1944 isn’t a happy one. She stopped working as a medium for many years, but was coaxed out of retirement for a seance in 1956. She was arrested (most likely under the notorious Vagrancy Act of 1824), strip-searched, and went into shock. She was hospitalized and died five weeks later. I wish her advocates luck in clearing her name.
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