1701
AphroditeofferedHelen, mostbeautifulofall Humans.She
won and thus caused the Trojan War. Eros was the primordial god of in-
stinct. When Aphrodite appeared he adapted himself and joined forces
with her. At this time the sexes became distinct. Aphrodite's kingdom
was the place of desire. Young girls were said to pass from the place
of Artemis (chastity and games) to the place of Aphrodite, where they
become women. Considered by some to be an affliction or madness that
women must bear. She represents female lust and passion, and demonstr-
ates its potential for destructive effect. Young girls gave their vir-
ginity to the Goddess by living in her temples and offering themselves
to passing strangers.
ARTEMIS (DIANA)-Daughter of Zeus and Leto. The huntress, she is seen
as the forever young goddess. She is proud of her shapeliness and
keeps her virginity to protect it. She was a warrior, joining Apollo
to kill Python and other exploits. Anyone who offended her or tried to
win her virginity paid dearly. They were killed, transformed, or
mutilated. She defended modesty and punished illicit love and exces-
ses. She avenged rape. She also took out her anger on those virgins
who gave in to love. She did not mind marriage, but when a virgin
married she was to give up all the things of childhood, toys and
dolls, locks of hair, etc., leaving them on her altar.
ATHENA (MINERVA)- Daughter of Zeus and Metis. Metis was swallowed by
Zeus, and when it was time for Diana's birth, he had Hephaestus crack
open his skull and she came forth in full armor shouting a war cry.
Also a virgin Goddess, she lived among men without fear due to her
warrior's skills. She was the protectress of Odysseus and other men.
She was a warrior who used strategy, ambush, cunning, and magic rather
than brute force. Her shield bore the head of a gorgon and she paraly-
zed her adversaries and made her companions invincible. She was
against excess, both in war and every day life. She taught men to
control their savagery and to tame nature. Was the initiator of all
skills. Taught Pandora to weave, trained horses and invented the
chariot. She was the patroness of blacksmiths and carpenters. She
built the first ship and the boat of the Argonauts.
CYBELE- Was born as Agditis, a hermaphrodite monster, from a stone
fertilized by Zeus. The Gods decided to mutilate him(?) and made the
Goddess Cybele from him. Her love for Attis, a human shepherd, drove
him insane and he castrated himself for her. Her priests were eunuchs
dressed as women. It is from the temple of Cybele that the reference
in the Wiccan Charge of the Goddess to "At mine Altars, the youths of
Lacedæmon in Sparta made due sacrifice.", comes.
DEMETER (CERES)- Daughter of Cronos (Saturn) and Rhea, the Goddess of
corn and grain. Demeter bore Persephone. She renounced her duties as
goddess and began a fast and went into exile from Olympos when her
daughter was abducted into the underworld until her daughter should be
returned to her. She caused the spread of the knowledge of the cul-
tivation of corn.
During herexilethe earthbecamebarren untilZeusdemanded
that Hades return Persephone. She had eaten from a pomegranate,
however, and was forever bound to the underworld. As a compromise, she
was allowed to rise up into the world with the first growth of spring
and return to the underworld at seed sowing in fall. And so the Earth
is barren in the winter, while Demeter mourns, and becomes fruitful
again when Persephone is released. Demeter made herself known to the
children of Eleusis, who raised her a temple and instituted the
1702
Eleusinian mysteries. In Sept.-Oct., the candidates for initiation
purified themselves in the sea, then processed down the sacred path
from Athens to Eleusis. The rites remain secret, but involve a search
for a mill for grinding corn, and a spiritual experience. During the
rites, men women and slaves were all treated as equal.
ERINYES, THE- Alecto, Tisiphone, and Megaara. They were born from
drops of blood that fell from Uranus's severed Penis, and did not
recognize the authority of the gods of Olympos. They hounded and
tortured their victims, driving them mad. Also called the Eumenides,
The Good Ones, to divert their wrath. Assimilated by the Romans as the
Furies. They were implacable and demanded punishment for every murder.
To them murder was a stain. The murderer had to be banished and driven
mad before purification could occur. They were blind and carried out
their punishments indefinitely.
HARPIES- Greek genii/spirits- Daughters of Thaumes and Electra:
Nicotho or swift-footed, Ocypete or swift of flight, and Celaeno, the
dark one. Were either women with wings or birds with the heads of
women. Called the 'hounds of Zeus' and seized children and souls.
Skillful at torture, they could pester a victim into madness.
HERA (JUNO)- Daughter of Cronos (Saturn) and Rhea brought up by
Oceanus and Tethys. Married Zeus. It was claimed that each year Hera
regained hervirginity by bathing in the spring of Canathus. According
to some traditions Hephaestus, Aries, and Hebe (Youth) were conceived
by her alone without male assistance. As Zeus' legitimate wife, her
fury at his infidelities was boundless, and she took vengeance on his
lovers and any progeny of the affair without distinction. Zeus was
often reduced to hiding or disguising his children to protect them.
HESTIA/VESTA- Daughter of Cronos (Saturn) and Rhea. Goddess of the
hearth, she had the privilege of retaining her virginity forever. Her
symbol was the fire, which was never allowed to go out. The young
bride and newborn child were presented to her and she was invoked
before each meal. Her temple in Rome was served by the young vestal
virgins.
MOERAE (PARCAE)- The Three Fates. Atropos, Clotho, Lachesis, daughters
of Zeus and Themis. The first spins a thread symbolizing birth. The
second unravels it, symbolizing life's processes, and the third cuts
it, symbolizing death. They too were blind and ruled destiny. They
were also symbols of a limit which could not be overstepped. Were
connected to their sisters, the furies, who punished crime.
MUSES- Nine daughters of Zeus and Mnemosyne (Memory). Calliope ruled
epic poetry, Clio ruled history, Polyhymnia mime, Euterpe the flute,
Terpsichore dance, Erarto lyric art, Melpomene tragedy, Thalia comedy
and Urania astronomy. They delighted the Gods and inspired poets. The
Muses created what they sang about. By praising the gods, they com-
pleted their glory, by boasting of valiant warriors, they wrote their
names in history.
Theywerecelebrated bythe Pythagoreansasthe keepersof the
knowledge of harmony.
1703
NEMESIS- Daughter and Night. Ruled over the distribution of wealth,
looked after balance, took revenge on arrogance and punished excess,
including excessive happiness, riches and power. Moderation in all
things was her creed.
NYMPHS- Daughter of Zeus and usually part of a greater god(esses)
entourage. Not immortal, though long lived. Mostly lived in caves.
Were dark powers whose beauty alone could lead to madness. Were
seducers of many of the gods. Were considered secondary deities.
THETIS- Daughter of the old man of the sea. Very beautiful. Mother of
Achilles. Saved Zeus from a plot to overthrow him and was an ally of
Hera. Saved the Argonauts as they passed between the clashing rocks.
1704
Against The Witch Hunters
Robin Culain
"All this has happened before. And all this will happen again. But
this time it happened to ..."
Well, us.
Thebeginning of Sir James Barrie's PeterPan must echo what many of
us are feeling, as we watch a new and loosely-knit conglomerate of
yellow journalists, right-wing eco-spoilers and Evangelical and
Fundamental Christians move slowly towards a Witch hunt for the 90's.
Our spiritual ancestors faced similar problems in many times and many
lands.
Recall the Priestesses of Eleusis, last of an ancient line, in
decline, falling at last to the stratagems of Theseus and his new
Attic Gods. Recall the Etruscans, their vision of sexual-political
balance overpowered by the might and organization of the husband-
headed Roman empire. And most tender to the touch, recall the agony of
the middle ages, as the Catholic, then Protestant churches consolidat-
ed their grip on the rural population, killing six million alleged or
actual Witches in the process.
The hunt is in a beginning stage and beginnings are important. The
formal focus of the television specials, Redbook articles, diatribes
in the LaRouchite New Federalist, "Occult Crime" seminars and newspap-
er articles is some thing called "Satanism", which bears little or no
relationship to Wicca and Neo-Paganism.
In fact, media "Satanism" bears little resemblance to any histori-
cally verifiable Satanism. It is neither classical Egyptian Set-
worship", Romantic Ceremonial Satanism a la Huysmanns nor modern
Egoist flamboyance per La Vey. Sometimes it's heavy metal sullenness,
drugs and violence, but that's usually only for starters. The heavy
metal boys, we're usually told, are just dupes of the Great Conspira-
cy. And when you get down to the real stuff, the genuine complaint,
it's generally the stuff of horror movies and nightmare -- baby-
eating, virgin-sacrificing bloodsucking monsters!
All this has happened before. And all this will happen again.
There's a limited range of things that can be used to stir up the
anger of a populace against a group, or deaden moral sensitivity to a
persecution. It pretty much boils down to baby-eating, virgin-sacrifi-
cing and bloodsucking.
This has been the century of Hitler's Holocaust. but the Russians
who butchered entire Jewish villages in the Pogroms, the inhabitants
of York who slaughtered nearly every Jew in the city in the 1100's
didn't merely think the Yiddim dressed and talked funny. The accusa-
tions were the same. By Jesus, those Jews ate babies! They were just
like Satanists, with one exception.
You could find the Jews.
1705
There probably aren't any "Satanists" as portrayedin the articles,
seminars and diatribes. If there are, they're certainly not Neo-Pagans
or Wiccans. But in the lucrative atmosphere in which the press,
missionaries and so-called "Crime Advisers" publicize and proselytize,
the word "Witch" creeps in every third sentence.
Naturally,we Witches and Neo-Pagans have spent a certain amount of
effort pointing out that we love children like anybody else, have no
particular attraction to virginity, and tend, in the most extreme of
our diets, to vegetarianism. In short, we have tried to educate our
detractors and the media to our harmlessness.
This tactic is true, andthis tactic is good, but I thinkthat if it
becomes our primary response to persecution we will ultimately fail to
endure.
Imagine a Witch inthe Middle Ages in front of aCatholic or Protes-
tant tribunal. In some cases she has been denounced by a business
competitor, or an envious rival in love, or a spiteful neighbor. In
other cases she has been brought to the dock by an expert in "Occult
Crime" -- the traveling Witch Finder.
She stands bound before her Inquisitors,plain or pompous depending
on their religious persuasion. Perhaps there's a crowd around. She
tries to educate them to the simple fact that she's a worshipper of
the Old Gods, loves children like anybody else, has no particular
attraction to virginity, and tends, in the most extreme of her diets,
to vegetarianism.
They, in turn, accuse her of worshipping a living fiend, blighting
the cattle, and eating babies.
She doesn't stand a chance.
Now picture another scene, one that has not occurred often. She
stands before those assembled, and begins, shall I say, to point out
some facts. She points out the medieval physician with the two per
cent live delivery rate who wants the local midwifery practice shut
down. She points out the priest and bishop who are terrifying the once
fun-loving populace into penury and pestilence with the twin threats
of damnation and the noose. She denounces the Christian nobles who
will brook no interference with their rule, least of all from the old
Nobility of the land.
She'd be shut up in short order, but in a different way, for she
would be addressing the real issues. The nonsense about babies, Black
Men and cattle was then, and is now nothing more than a smoke screen
to mask real and significant religious and political differences. It's
all a cheap trick, a coward's cheat, a way of throwing muck until some
sticks. It is only used when the real terms of debate cannot stand the
light of day, and it works only if we permit it!
Our situation is in no way as dire as that of our ancestors. Only
now have things moved to the stage where one group, the far-right and
sometimes farcical Limonites, actively bait Wiccans and Neo-Pagans as
being "as bad as Satanists". And unlike our ancestors, we have a
freedom of speech they could only dream of. We will not be silenced if
we speak, certainly not at this time.
1706
So let's not waste our opportunity! Whenever the "Witch-Hunters"
bait us or attempt to smear us with their cannibal taunts, let's find
out what the real agenda is, and address it. Make the Lyndonite defend
himself against whipping up the population against a minority religion
as Hitler stirred hatred against the Jews. Make the entire La Rouche
crew explain their suicidal environmental policies, and their editori-
al statement that "the worship of Mother Earth does indirectly lead to
mass murder ..." Engage them on the real issues -- just what the
worship of the Mother really means, and what people are really like
that scapegoat innocents and despise nature!
Likewise with the "Occult Crimewatch". Ask them about theirsources
of revenue. About their religious agendas and connection with Evan-
gelical missions. Ask the if they support religious freedom, and if
non-Evangelical religious belief, in their opinion, is a hazard to the
public. Ask them, if you can corner them into a frank reply, what on
earth they are doing lecturing hate to police officers sworn to
protect all the public, Christian and Pagan!
The media deserve the same. Let's not spend more than a breath
denying lurid charges. Instead, ask them why they are sensationalizing
and smearing a legitimate religion to make sales. Inquire as to
whether the German press in the 30's had a responsibility for the
slanders on the Jews that they printed. Ask them how they'll feel if
harm comes to one Pagan woman or man, girl or boy through their
negligence, indifference to non sensational fact and search for sales.
In every case we have an opportunity to turn the tide, by coming
right out with our real differences in front of the public, and
insisting that the terms of debate be on genuine issues. We must
refuse to be backed into a defensive posture, denying ever wilder
charges.
Instead let us bring our active advocacy and love of our Gods, of
Mother Earth, of our families and children and ourselves to the fore
in every debate. We must require our opponents to bare their genuine
beliefs and motives, and contrast them clearly with our own in full
view. We must sharpen the terms of debate so keenly that no person can
leave the scene without having to make a clear and conscious choice
about what they value and believe is right.
There's no point in lecturing to the Cardinal. The audience for
every debate is not the Witch Hunter, it is the neutral observer. Let
them see the love of the Earth, and contrast it to nearsighted greed
and poverty of emotion. Let them see the love of the Old Gods and
contrast it to a cringing fear of the Father's judgment. Let them see
generosity and intelligence and refusal to be sacrificed, and contrast
them to venality, cunning and scape goating. In every debate, let us
rise to the height of our capability, and let our opponents have it
in the Values -- right where it hurts!
1707
Charging Crystals
Ian Kesser
Crystals,as many of you know, are extremely useful for practition-
ers of the Magickal arts. They can be used to channel power, to store
power, to heal, and many other ways. Due to space considerations, I
have chosen to limit myself to the charging aspect in this article.
Thefirst and most important part of charging a crystal is choosing
the crystal itself. For most general uses, Quartz is the best one. For
specific use, there are many others. I have found that Diamonds are
useful in storing Good energy, and Zircons (my birthstone!!) for Evil
energy. If you have a specific purpose in mind, please consult one of
the many fine tables of crystal affinities.
The next step, and also important, especially the first few times,
is to prepare yourself for the actual channeling of energy. In my
case, music helps, as well as pranayama and other forms of breath
control. The first one I used is simple
.
Pranayama, simply, is control of breath. Most forms amount to
hyperventilation or subventilation. The one I used first, and still
use, is this: take four quick inhalations, filling the lungs. This
should be over the space of about one and a half seconds. Then exhale
in four short bursts, again over one and a half seconds. Repeat as
necessary. The first few times this is done, I recommend you desist
after about one minute. Over the course of time, this can and should
be increased, but until you are used to the effect this gives, a
shorter time is suggested.
Now that you're in the mood, take the crystal in your right-hand
(left hand for those of you who are lefties). Visualize a door within
the heart of the crystal. Until this visualization is firm and steady,
wait. Then open the door. Behind it you should see a store of diffuse
energy, which varies with the type of the crystal. Some crystals,
usually the inferior ones, have little or nothing back here. These are
generally not good to use.
Close the door, but keep it in mind. That was just to check on its
energy. Decide which energy you wish it to house. Usually only one
will be needed, such as for talismans and storage of energy for later
use, but in some cases, such as a divination tool, more is suggest-
ed/required. DO NOT TRY THIS ON YOUR FIRST ATTEMPT! YOU WILL FAIL! The
energy you will be handling is powerful, and trying to handle more
than one world at a time is strenuous. Trying to handle all three,
plus personal and other energies, is straining to the limit. As with
all other bodily systems, an ability used beyond its capacity will
overload and break or refuse to perform, as with a man trying to lift
300lb barbells on his first try at weight lifting.
For general use, I find nature's energy is best for multipurpose
storage. Those in the Church of Set would probably find differently,
as would those in the Church of Christ. Use what you feel comfortable
with.
1708
Now, the fun part. For the three major energies, I find there are
certain ways of drawing them tat are easiest on the practitioner. For
Good energy, try it like this: Form a cone with the base connecting to
your skull in the region just between and above your eyebrows. "suck"
the energy (visualize it as you will, I use a light, golden yellow)
into the cone, then through a tube into your brain. The visualization
on this is a bit tricky, but it can be done.
For Nature's energy, visualize a "hose" going down into the Earth
from the base of your spine. This hose should ideally connect with the
center of the Earth, but some people simply cannot conceive the
distance involved with that, and can therefore not visualize it. Go as
deep as you can, with time, you should improve. I "see" this energy as
a ruddy, glowing red, as with magma. Use what works. Draw this energy
up the tube, then through your spinal column into the brain.
Now, the Evil energy. This is trickyfor me, but here's how I doit.
Place the feet together (if they already are, so much the better! It
means this isn't uncomfortable for you, as it is for me.) and visual-
ize a siphon, with the hose connecting to a cone connecting to your
feet, about two inches in diameter, one inch on either foot. Then, on
the other end, a hose entering a black, inky void(or whatever color
you perceive evil energy to be). One last connection: another hose
running from that area of your feet to the previously mentioned area
in the skull. This aligns nicely with the Chakra theory, to which I
subscribe, in that a Chakral spinal-type column connects all the major
power centers of ones body. If you know this system, so much the
better! Draw the energy through the siphon(sometimes visualizing the
bulb on the siphon squeezing helps) into the feet, then into the
skull, then into the brain.
Other objects you wish to draw energy from, use the door anal-
ogy/visualization given above( for powerful things such as the Tarot,
I see it as a gate more than a door. Again, whatever works for you),
and draw from your use hand. If you plan on using that object again,
take only a token amount of energy, and DON'T FORGET TO CLOSE THE
DOOR!
Personal energy: This varies so much with the individual! Some
people draw from their auras, some from the Chakras, some from the
Astral Body. Just use the method you feel most comfortable with. For
those of you who have no preference, or no knowledge of such things, I
use the Astral approach. I draw a bit of the substance of the Astral
body, generally the feet, into the brain. After I finish all else, I
"spread out" the Astral body to make up for this loss. Astral bodies
DO heal.
Well, that's most of it. Draw the energy you need, then draw from
the crystal. Take it in your use hand again, open that door, and take
out the energy, and bring it to the brain. Generally, I use the hose
again, connecting to that spot in the skull, but this one generally
runs INSIDE y body, such as along the arm bones, then up the neck
bone. Mix the energy up. If it helps, visualize a cosmic Cuisinart or
whatever. If it won't mix, like oil and water, you have failed. This
crystal will not hold this energy. Give up, put back the crystals
power, ground yourself(later...), and try again later with another
energy.
1709
Once you've achieved the mix, refill the crystal. Sometimes, the
energy won't go back in. This usually means you've put too much of the
energy you're using in, and not enough of the crystal's own energy.
Bring it back to the brain, and remix. How do you refill the crystal,
you ask? Switch hands on the crystal, then visualize that handy hose
again, but this time flow backwards, through the door. There will come
a point, especially early on in your practice, that the crystal is
full when you have energy left over. Slam that door and ground your-
self(later...), don't overfill it! Doors have their bursting point,
and that's a wonderful way to destroy a good crystal.
OK, it's later. You've finished the job at hand (Applause, you've
earned it!) but have all this energy left! There are many ways of
grounding energy, use the one you are comfortable with(I know I keep
saying that, but it bears repeating. Don't do anything against your
Will). The one I use is simply grounding it. Take that handy-dandy
all-purpose hose again, connect it to the base of the spine, and
thence into the Earth. Flip the switch to reverse, and push that
energy out! Be careful not to let out yourself as well!
That's it. I hope you find this helpful to you.
1710
Tarot Divination
Tuppence
Not long agoan on-line friend told methat he saw no reasonto use
the Tarot in divination; in fact, he felt that no one should use them
for divination as this was a profane use of the cards. He preferred to
use the cards solely for contemplation.
At the time Idid not feel inclinedto respond to thisnarrow view,
but after a night of thinking about it, I was prompted to write the
following in defense of Tarot Divination (and I don't mean fortune
telling!)
Divination:
1) The art or practice that seeks to foresee or foretell future
events or discover hidden knowledge usually by means of augury
(divination from omens) or by the aid of supernatural powers
2)Unusual insightor intuitiveperception (thesedefinitions from
Webster's)
According to theBrotherhood of Light there are fourmain uses for
the Tarot:
1) Science of Vibration
2) Divination by cards
3) Divination by number
4) Spiritual Science (themethod of putting the resttogether to
develop a philosophy)
Is it wrong to USE the cards?
1) Playing cards is fun! Without such use perhaps Tarot would long
ago have died as other games have faded from use. Chess may be
considered to be a child's game or a highly developed intellectual
discipline. The same is true of using the Tarot card's.
2) Have you ever played Taroc? It is a very interesting game like
bridge using the Major Arcana as Trumps...in profane decks the
court cards and majors may have two heads (to be read either up or
down.) Some versions of the game have certain mystical aspects.
3) In studying the history of the Tarot you will see that the
decks (except those belonging to aristocrats who had hand-painted
decks made for them by great artists) used long ago were very
primitive and made from wood cuts. We have come far from those
crude representations...but the ideas expressed in the Tarot
remain the same - they are still there in those early decks.
4) Where did the Tarot come from? We have only theory and conjec-
ture:
a) Ancient Egyptians
b) They always have existed buthave been revived from timeto
time
c) Gift of Divine Origin
d) etc.
1711
It's validity and usefulness are what count
a) it works when used
b) it contains Universal symbology and archetypes found elsewhere
c) it is numerically correct and corresponds with ancient systems
of wisdom (especially to the Qabala)
10 = sephiroth (ace through 10 in the Minor Arcana)
22 = paths (22 Major Arcana cards)
4 = elements (four suits)
(etc.)
The Tarot is MUCH MORE than mere pictures on pasteboard. The
pictures on the Tarot cards are physical symbols for spiritual con-
cepts. One definition I use for the Tarot is as follows:
Asymbolic representationof ArchetypalForces and/orBeings which
have always existed and have been identified and passed on to us by
ancient initiates and which provide a focus for us to use in self-
initiation, spiritual development, and the perception of hidden
wisdom.
A few notes regarding the above........
1) Jung says of Archetypes that they exist for us at birth...they
emanate from the collective unconscious....they are NOT self-crea-
ted or generated.
2) Aleister Crowley says in his book the Book of Thoth:
"Each card is, in a sense, a living being." "It is for the student to
build these living stones into his living Temple."
"...the cards of the Tarot are living individuals..."
"Howis he to blendtheir life with his? Theideal way is that of
contemplation. But this involves initiation of such high degree that
it is impossible to describe the method in this place. Nor is it
attractive or suitable to most people. The practical everyday com-
monplace way is divination."
3) In Magick without Tears he says:
"...theTarot itself as a whole is an universal Pantacle...Each
card, especially this is true of the Trumps, is a Talisman; ...It is
evidently an Idea far too vast for any human mind to comprehend in its
entirety. For it is 'the Wisdom whereby He (God) created the worlds.'
"
As regards these Lively Forces:
1. These Forces can communicate with us...or rather we can
interpret their currents through our subconscious intuitive
minds....this is one use of divination (and contemplation). This
is the level, as Jung says, at which we are all connected.
2. These Forces can be directed by us Magickally if we are so
trained. First we must master divination; then direction.
1712
3. The Tarot is a Magickal Weapon In the hands of a trained
initiate the mere placement of one card between two others can
alter the forces involved and affect physical (and ethereal)
reality.
4. The Tarot is a philosophy as well, with an Ancient Message
about the Soul's journey.
5. Yes, the Tarot is useful to study and contemplate....the colors
and symbols are specifically designed and arranged to stimulate
things within us (forces, archetypes, subconscious).
6. The Major Arcana are especially sacred to us because they
represent the Paths, Steps, Forces which are necessary for us to
rejoin the Godhead and attain enlightenment.
I maintain that the best wayto understand that the Tarot cards
are ALIVE and ACTIVE FORCES is to USE/HANDLE/EXPERIENCE them and so
Divine (and perceive) what they are all about. The cards are a focus
for our minds upon forces which are ever-changing and evolving (even
as humankind is evolving).
We are fortunate that modern printing is so good and that the
Tarot decks and books which we have today are easily available to us.
This was not always the case for our brothers and sisters in times
past. Today one can afford to smile and say: "I only need to con-
template the cards to understand them." But there is more to the use
of the cards in Divination than many have been taught; for it is a
mysterious process.
Just as one muststudy and practice upon amusical instrument to
become a virtuoso, so too the Tarot takes many years of study and
practice to use correctly. One must be well developed spiritually,
emotionally, and intuitively, or (as in music) naturally gifted to
make full and accurate use of the cards in divination. In the hands of
a gifted Diviner or Initiate the Tarot is a formidable weapon. It can
even talk and spell out sentences! Hence the Hebrew letters correspon-
dence to the Major Arcana. However, since we do not all learn in the
same ways....the Tarot may not be the DIVINATORY METHOD for everyone.-
..although everyone can learn from it and should study it.
Other methods which may suit:
a) Astrology
b) Numerology
c) I Ching
d) Pendulum
e) Runes
f) etc.
Ashumankind evolves spiritually (and in other ways) so too the
Tarot evolves. Take for example the reconstruction of The Chariot
(Arcanum VII) and The Devil (Arcanum XV) cards by Levi. He gave them a
new presentation based upon his advanced knowledge at the time. Also,
note how The Lovers (Arcanum VI) has changed from earlier decks. It
still has the same basic meaning, but the symbols have changed. No
longer are there two women...one good one bad...with the man in
between...now it is two people with an Angel above them. New Tarot
decks continue to be made as our knowledge and understanding evolves.
1713
A noteon The Book ofThoth, Aleister Crowley's Tarotdeck, is as
seen by him from the Astral Plane. This is why it is so different from
many decks; why it is so striking; and, why the energy felt has such
strong effects upon many people.
Some cardscome and go....thereare morecards on theastral plane
than we have on the physical....between the cards, above and below the
cards are others...as with the Quaballa.
When workingwith the Tarot ifone is in aMagickal State (Asana,
etc.) and reads the cards it is a Magickal or Divine (hence the term
divination) operation. I take the forces into myself when using the
cards thus they affect me and I them.
Because ofthis knowledge, I respect the Tarot as a Living Thi-
ng/Force and I do not bother it with profane questions. I treat it as
a Magickal Weapon and thus with care and respect. Fortune telling,
while not wrong, is the profane use of the cards.
Contemplationof thecards isuseful; withoutDivination, however,
one could not experience the forces within them in the same way. Also,
there are hidden uses for the Tarot. The Tarot is indeed a Teacher. It
is also a door, a gateway, an entryway into other realms which is
partly how it was used in Egyptian Initiation Rites. We may use it in
some of the ways listed below:
1) Scrying/meditation
2) Ritual (invocation and evocation)
3) Works/spells
4) Talisman use/focus
5) Divination
Some of the goals of initiates(after perfecting divination and
the Tarot's philosophy) are 1) to read with a blank deck and to use a
spread with no set meanings, and 2) to develop one's own Astral Deck.
Magick (in Theory and Practice), Crowley's famous book, calls
Divination an important branch of Magick, and defines it thusly:
1. "We postulatethe existence of intelligence's, either within or
without the diviner, of which he is not immediately conscious. (It
does not matter to the theory whether the communicating spirit so-
called is an objective entity or a concealed portion of the divi-
ner's mind.) We assume that such intelligence's are able to reply
correctly - within limits- to the questions asked."
2. "We postulate that it is possible to construct a compendium of
hieroglyphs sufficiently elastic in meaning to include every
possible idea, and that one or more of these may always be taken
to represent any idea. We assume that any of these hieroglyphs
will be understood by the intelligence's with whom we wish to
communicate in the same sense as it is by ourselves. We have
therefore a sort of language...."
3. "We postulate that the intelligence's whom we wish to consult
are willing, or may be compelled, to answer us truthfully."
1714
He goes on to discuss divinationas shown in some of the quotes
below:
"In a system of divination each symbol stands for a definite
idea."
"As regards theHoly Quaballa, based as it ison pure number, (it)
evidently possesses an infinite number of symbols. Its scope is
conterminous with existence itself; and it lacks nothing in precision,
purity, or indeed any other perfection. But it cannot be taught, each
man must select for himself the materials for the main structure of
his system."
"It is always essentialfor the diviner to obtainabsolute magical
control over the intelligence's of the system which he adopts."
"Experienceis the only teacher. One acquires what one may almost
call a new sense. One feels in one's self whether one is right or not.
The diviner must develop this sense."
"In order to divine without error,one ought to be a Master ofthe
Temple. The faintest breath of personal preference will deflect the
needle from the pole of truth in the answer."
"One mustprepare oneself by generalpurification and consecration
devised with the object of detaching oneself from one's personality
and increasing the sensitiveness of one's faculties."
"The muscles with which hemanipulates the apparatus ofdivination
must be entirely independent of any volition of his. He must lend them
for the moment to the intelligence whom he is consulting."
(note:one of the first steps indivination is the invoking of the
Angel HRU)
"He must have succeeded in destroying the tendency of the ego to
interfere with the object of thought. He must be able to conceive of a
thing out of all relation with anything else."
"He should allow the question entire freedom to make for itself
its own proper links with the intelligence directing the answer."
"Hemust sink his personality in that of the intelligence hearing
the question propounded by a stranger to whom he is indifferent, but
whom it is his business to serve faithfully."
"He should exhaust the intellectual sources ofinformation at his
disposal, and form from them his judgment. But having done this, he
should detach his mind from what it has just formulated, and proceed
to concentrate it on the figure as a whole, almost as if it were the
object of his meditation."
"The concluding operation istherefore to obtain a judgmentof the
figure, independent of all intellectual or moral restraint. One must
endeavor to apprehend it as a thing absolute in itself."
1715
"Divination is in one sense an art entirely separatefrom that of
Magick; yet it interpenetrates Magick at every point. The fundamental
laws of both are identical. The right use of divination has already
been explained: but it must be added that proficiency therein, tremen-
dous as is its importance in furnishing the Magician with the informa-
tion necessary to his strategic and tactical plans, in no wise enables
him to accomplish the impossible. It is not within the scope of
divination to predict the future with the certainty of an astronomer
in calculating the return of a comet. There is always much virtue in
divination."
"One must not assume that the oracle is omniscient."
"The Magician ought therefore to make himself master of several
methods of divination; using one or the other as the purpose of the
moment dictates. He should make a point of organizing a staff of such
spirits to suit various occasions. These should be 'familiar' spirits,
in the strict sense; members of his family."
"Divination ofany kind is improper inmatters directly concerning
the Great Work itself. In the Knowledge and Conversation of his Holy
Guardian Angel, the adept is possessed of all he can possibly need. To
consult any other is to insult one's Angel."
"Although the adept is in daily communication with his Angel, he
ought to be careful to consult Him only on questions proper to the
dignity of the relation. One should not consult one's Angel on too
many details, or indeed on any matters which come within the office of
one's familiar spirits. One does not go to the King about petty
personal trifles. The romance and rapture of the ineffable union which
constitutes Adeptship must not be profaned by the introduction of
commonplace cares."
Thus wemay use Divinationfor those worthy questionswhich we need
answered but cannot find out in any other way...either through our own
research or by the contacting of one's Holy Guardian Angel. If we can
attain the necessary magickal states discussed above and if we com-
plete the necessary study and work which he suggests, we can become
masters of Tarot Divination.
1716
The Dangers Of Magical Thinking In Magick
Nihasa
.
Magicalthinking is a psychological term for making a naive assump-
tion of cause and effect without consideration of intervening mechan-
isms. In plain English, it is the assumption that if I do THIS, then
THAT will happen even though I have no idea how or why. Prominent
examples of magical thinking can be found in Economics (if we cut
taxes on the Corporations, they will invest more money in upgrading
their production facilities and create more jobs) and Politics. It is
typical of the world-view of very young children, who have a somewhat
simplistic model of How-Things-Work.
.
To many outsiders,most Magick seems to bebuilt on this basis...so-
me guy mutters some weird words and waves his hands and expects to get
a lot of money soon (sounds like a Management Consultant, come to
think of it), or to make it rain, or to be rid of an enemy. Then they
shake their heads, call the Magick-users children or worse, and go on
with their lives.
.
Within real Magick-use, this sort of sloppy thinking can lead to
anything from disappointing 'fizzles' to disastrous misfires of
spells. Our cultural heritage's are filled with "monkey's paw" type
stories of the results of ill-thought-out Magick use. While dilettante
New Agers are more likely to blindly 'cookbook' a spell or ritual,
some of us have been known to skip a few steps in the process as well.
.
Just think of the consequences of invoking Diana or Aphrodite in a
ritual designed to "keep those foolish women in their place." (Anyone
remember "Good-bye, Charlie"?)
.
While I am not saying thatyou need to understand thephysics/chemi-
stry/etc. of each step down to the subatomic level, I am suggesting
that you think through each step and each mechanism (and likely
consequences) of any major working BEFORE you perform it. A black-box
understanding (detailed knowledge of the inputs and outputs of a
mechanism and the relationship between them without an understanding
of the internal details of the mechanism) is usually enough for mot
purposes. For instance, if invoking or evoking a deity, make sure you
know the strengths, weaknesses, character, and personality of that
deity. If using herbs (ingested or in balms or incense) be sure you
know the pharmacological and combinational effects of each. Most of
all, when going for a long-term effect think of the ecology of that
effect: where it can come from and what it may causelater. You can't
always anticipate all side effects, and you certainly can't always
avoid them, but with a bit of work you can give yourself a shot at
handling them.
.
Do a reality check before you start a working. If you just pay
attention to the beginning (the ritual or working) and the end (the
desired effect) and leave the rest to wishful thinking, you are asking
for trouble.
.
NOTE: The above is an excerpt of a 1988 seminar on Magick and
Psychology: Insights and Interactions.
.
1717
Satanism As Media Hype
News article:
From the Phoenix Gazette 24 June, 1989
SCAPEGOAT: Satanism scareis mostly hype, experton cults says....
by Michelle Bearden
Judging by Satan's popularity in news accounts and police reports
these days, you'd think Satan had been elected to Congress or won the
Pulitzer Prize. But it's not true, says J. Gordon Melton, director of
the Institute for the Study of American Religion in Santa Barbara,
Calif. and one of the country's leading experts on cults. In fact,
there is no surge at all in Satan's popularity. "The only surge we're
seeing is the spread if mis-information," Melton says. "Malicious,
suspicious, and ritualistic acts are being attributed to satanism, and
people are buying into it."
Melton has launched a one-man crusade to get what he considers the
truth out to the public. Using an extensive survey he completed in
1986 as his guide - "The Evidences of Satan in Contemporary America" -
Melton makes his case frequently before groups and in interviews. Most
misinformation regarding satanism comes out of police agencies, Melton
maintains. That's because, in the absence of true satanic groups, law
officials have to blame "something concrete," he says.
"What we've got is creation of imagination, paranoia, and general
ignorance," Melton says. "We've got wild speculation and jumps in
logic. What we don't have is the truth. One story perpetuates another,
and, before long, 'experts' in police departments are conducting
seminars on a topic they don't really understand."
At the Phoenix Police Department, police spokesman Andy Hill says
the agency analyzes every incident that has satanic overtones. He
blames a majority of these crimes on "kids caught up in experimen-
tation." "It's safe to say that most of it isn't hard-core. We're
usually dealing with copycat crimes," he says. " I wouldn't consider
satanism a big problem here in Phoenix. We know it exists, but it's
more underground than anything else."
According to Melton, onlythree established satanic cults exist:The
Church of Satan, a San Francisco based group headed by founder Anton
LaVey; a splinter group, the Temple of Set, also in San Francisco and
headed by Michael Aquino; and the Church of Satanic Liberation in New
Haven, Conn., led by Paul Douglas Valentine. Total membership in all
three groups is "probably less than 3,000," Melton says. Those fol-
lowers are the true satanists, and their numbers haven't varied much
in the last two decades, he says.
Many of the acts blamed on satanism are committed by teenagers who
are bound together b drugs and violence rather than demons. While they
may use satanic imagery in their deeds, Melton says they are "play-
acting" the role of worshipping the Prince of Darkness. "It's true
we're hearing a lot of satanic references in today's music, but that's
pure commercialism," he says. "Just because your teenager gets wrapped
up in certain rock'n'roll doesn't mean he's into the occult."
Someof the conclusions that support Melton's studies to combat the
theory of international satanic conspiracy include:
1718
* The existence of a large number of nonconventional religions, such
as cults, that have nothing to do with occultism, much less
satanism.
* The growth of witchcraft as a new religion and how it is confused
with satanism. Melton labels contemporary Wicca as a nature
religion that places great emphasis upon the preservation of life
and non- violence.
* Reports of cattle mutilations, which ignore the facts that most
are mistaken observations of predator damage.
* The discovery of common symbols, such as an inverted cross,
pentagrams, and bloody altars, which lead investigators to con-
clude that satanic activity has taken place. However, no evidence
of any conspiracy involving the kidnapping and transportation of
children for ritual purposes has emerged.
* Fantasies of people who make "confessions" of their involvement on
satanic cults.Typically, they cannot supply independent corrobora-
tion of the stories.
Moreover,a good portion of the mis-information on satanism - which
Melton says is really a "parody of religion" - comes out of evangeli-
cal Christian publishing houses. With that bias, "it;s easy to see how
misinformation breeds," he says.
Melton contends that opensatanic groups pose no publicthreat. If
there is cause for concern, it would be the small, ephemeral satanic
groups, mostly consisting of young adults or teenagers and possibly
led by psychopaths or sociopaths. "These are the groups that cause
immediate danger to themselves and society at large. That's where
police should be concentrating their efforts," he says. "In the
meantime, we've got to get out of this satanic mentality and get our
labels straight."
1719
Why I Don't Believe The "Survivors" Of Occult Groups
by Rowan Moonstone
Recently onthis echo, several people have taken Pagans to task for
naysaying the Christian sources dealing with former practitioners of
various occult disciplines. I have researched this area thoroughly for
the past five years. I've bought or read all the Christian books on
the subject that I can get my hands on. I have over 1,000 clippings in
the files dealing with this subject, I've got over 100 audio tapes and
20 videotapes on this subject, and I've got reams of Christian litera-
ture, and police training material to draw from. In addition to this,
I grew up as a Southern Baptist and was a Sunday School teacher at the
age of 16. I know whereof I speak when it comes to Christian sources.
I've also been a Witch for nigh on to 8 years now, and have net-
worked with other Pagans all across the country, attended festivals in
various states, and subscribed to many Pagan publications both in this
country and abroad. I've read many books on modern and ancient Pagan
religions, and can furnish a complete bibliography for anyone that's
interested.
After a concentrated search through this material, I must conclude
that most of the allegations of the "survivors" are fabricated and
insupportable. In the rest of this report, I will give documented
reasons why I believe this to be true.
6-17-82 -Province Victoria Bulletin - "A misunderstanding appeared
to be the root of a satanic scare in Victoria this weekend, police
sources said Wednesday. Police, hospitals and human resources ministry
workers had gone on the alert following a report that a satanic group
was planning Tuesday to sacrifice a human baby. The report came
through the child abuse prevention HELP line in Vancouver. Victoria
police said they had traced the source of the report to a church group
in Vancouver. The group apparently had heard rumors of a rise in
satanic activities in Victoria and had prayed that no atrocities would
occur. Somehow someone interpreted that to mean that a sacrifice was
actually planned, police said. That was the report that got to the
HELP line. However, Tuesday passed peacefully with no evidence of any
satanic activity. "
5-4-86 - New York Times-" Derry Knight told an astonishing story
about his membership in a secret Satanic cult called the Sons of
Lucifer and his heroic efforts to take over the leadership of the cult
to free himself and 2,000 members from the coils of the devil. As he
told it, it was an incredibly dangerous mortal struggle he was waging
against the most evil forces in the universe, personified by some
prominent politicians, including Viscount Whitelaw, the deputy Prime
Minister, who were, he said, the secret masters of Britain's Satanic
orders ... In little more than a year, before Mr. Knight's activities
aroused the suspicions of Bishop Eric Kemp of Chichester, who called
in the police fraud squad, the support group contributed at least
$313,000 to the anti-Satanism struggle. A jury that convicted Mr.
Knight April 25 of 19 counts of fraud heard that much of the money
raised by Mr. Baker had been spent by his supposedly struggling friend
on call girls, fast cars, and a life of dissipation."
1720
January 1988 New York Folklore"Satanism, Where are thefolklorists?
by Phillips Stevens, Jr. p 12 ( Mr. Stevens is referring to a murder
of a 13-year =old girl in this incident) "While preparing me for the
taping of some commentary to be aired locally following the National
Geraldo Rivera TV special on Satanic cults on October 25, 1988, an
investigative reporter for a Buffalo TV station was discussing That
incident [the murder]. There were 13 people at that party, he said,
the murdered girl being the 13th. Since the murder, six of the party
goers had committed suicide.....I noted that it was strange that six
suicides with such a factor in common had not been reported in the
news; how did he know the details? The mother of the most recent
suicide had told him. ...I advised him to wait and check out the facts
before airing this story; he called me a few days later saying no, the
other suicides could not be confirmed."
1-19-89 Joplin Missouri Globe News (front page) - "Jasper County
Sheriff Bill Pierce said he had no figures available on how much time
and money that department has spent investigating claims. He cited a
November case as an example of the fruitless searches that have been
undertaken because of claims eventually fount to be false. ...a
Blytheville, Ark. woman told authorities there she had watched satanic
cultists cut the stomach of an infant, pour gasoline on the baby, and
set it on fire....After agreeing to take a polygraph examination, the
woman admitted the story was false. She told deputies she made the
false accusations to get attention."
3=6=89 - HoustonChronicle - "A Houston -area womanwho claims to be
a former satanic priestess and has told audiences she witnessed the
ritualistic murder of an 8-year-old Tomball girl has left law enforce-
ment officers frustrated in their attempts to investigate her allega-
tions. 'We have no homicide to link it to. Why she would make those
claims and then be hesitant to talk with authorities is reason to
question her motives,' Harris County Assistant D.A. Casey O'Brien
said"
The previous three messages should tell you why I don't believe in
the hysteria being generated. If anyone wants to see the entire
articles that these quotes were taken from, send a SASE with 3 stamps
to P. O. Box 1842, Colorado Springs, Co 80901. BB Rowan
1721
"22 Commandments" For The New Age
Ann Waldrum
1. You shall learn of Honesty and attempt to heal your fear of it,
to use this in daily living.
2. You shall learn to Love Unconditionally--beginning with your-
self.
3. You shall help all people in your worlds come to physical heal-
ing.
4. You shall dwell on things of high and pure energy in others and
self to change Earth.
5. You will learn and practice Pure Service -- unconditional and
with love energy.
6. You will release Judgment into the Void--You will see, identify
and choose for yourself Only.
7. You will Recognize One God --the God that corresponds to your
vision.
8. You will destroy no one in any way -- through gossip -- through
killing their gifts -- discouraging self love by injuring the
physical body by foreign substance -- incorrect foods -- incorrect
labor.
9. You will use your mind in the way the Source prepared -- by
faithfulness of prayer -- by study and spiritual growth.
10. You will learn self discipline so that you respond to the Earth
with wisdom.
11. You will take full responsibility for your own life -- blaming
no other.
12. You will seek to learn about your God -- seeing the Connection
clearly.
13. You will be known for your Gentleness, your Loyalty, your
Kindness, according to your beliefs.
14. You will grow in Peace by change of attitude and understanding
of others.
15. You will learn to respond and act from the Highest Center of
Inner God -- the Love Response.
16. You will learn to Love All Mankind by seeing the Highest in all
people without exception.
17. You will promote the healing of Mind, Body, and Spirit by
teaching and living the belief in Man's Divinity.
18. You will show faithfulness in your study of yourself and your
persona (masks) in order to Free All Parts of Self.
19. You will Live your life as ordained by your faithfulness to the
Truth, as you understand the Truth.
20. You will Speak in Love, Honesty and Wisdom.
21. You will Think in Love, Honesty and Wisdom.
22. You will live in Moderation (Balance) in All Areas of your
life.
1722
Theforegoing was delivered on July 20, 1989, through the trance-
mediumship of Carla Neff Gordan by the Spirit Guide "Mary." Mary
stated that these ideas will also be released through other mediums in
six different areas of the world. In preface to these "Commandments"
Mary said the following:
"Youare a loving,connected community oflike-minded souls assist-
ing through our inner connection. You are becoming a profound source
of awakening for your world. These rules are to open your hearts, to
teach you self-love, to calm your emotion to help you to live in
reality that you have wished. To grow, first you must become a source
of service. There must be a difference in earth because you have
walked here. Now is the time of shifting your energy into a higher
place through unconditional love. A part of your purpose is to heal
the earth through holy, or wholeness, relationships. You will begin
now."
1723
Risk Assessment Within The Craft Community
By Weyland Smith
There seems to betwo schools of thought within the "Craft Com-
munity" concerning the dangers faced by Pagans in general and witches
in particular. One school thinks that we are now in the Age of Aqu-
arius and that all danger has passed. The other camp seems to feel
that we are beset with dangers and that our only safety lies in
remaining "the hidden children of the Goddess", telling no one of our
religious faith (including our fellow practitioners), and being ready
to fly or fight on a moment's notice. Who's right? Do we know? Have we
even tried to find out?
On theone hand, we live in a countrywith a Bill of Rights. Times
have certainly changed since witchcraft was a hanging offence in
Massachusetts. People have been known to proclaim their faith and live
unmolested. On the other hand, there are about 3 million people in the
United States who profess themselves to believe that the Bible is the
literal word of God. If Leviticus says "Thou shalt not suffer a witch
to live.", then there should be 3 million people out there ready to
drag me out of my house and kill me.
Fortunately, the answer does not lie with either extreme and
therefore our reaction should likewise avoid either extreme position.
We live in a world beset by dangers. We could be in a traffic ac-
cident. We could have our house burglarized. Our child could be
abducted on the way home from school. We could be struck by lighten-
ing. Do we stay home, guard the house and family and avoid living? Of
course not!
What we DOis to act in sucha way as to recognize therisks we run
and to minimize them. We try to live in reasonably safe neighborhoods.
We keep good locks on our doors. We drive defensively and wear seat
belts. We teach our children to run from threatening situations. This
isn't paranoia, just good sense.
Is thereany danger that we as witches and pagans might be sub-
jected to another violent suppression? Any Jew with an eye to recent
history would tell you that of course there is! Is that danger great
here in this country? Not at present, but we do live in a world
subject to rapid changes. Within my lifetime, people of Japanese
extraction in this country were summarily rounded up and shipped off
to remote camps. This action was contested all the way up to the
Supreme Court to no avail.
1724
So what should we do?
Well for a start, recognize that there is SOME residual risk
whenever anyone takes an ethical position. We must understand that
this risk is present whether we think it should be so or not. Further,
we must each decide what level of hazard we are personally willing to
run and to which we would subject our families. Finally, we should
avoid doing anything which might subject ourselves and those around us
to risks when such risks are avoidable. Especially, we should respect
one another's right to manage his own dangers. Just because I choose
to take a risk doesn't give me the right to endanger you!
Should wereturn to living ourlives under perpetual cover?I hope
not. But I do respect the individual rights of my brothers and sisters
of the Art to each make that decision on their own. It is on this
middle ground where I suggest we should all try to live for the
present.
1725
Supreme Court And Peyote (Articles)
The following 13 messages, retrieved from PeaceNet, discuss the
recent Supreme Court ruling permitting states to prohibit sacramental
use of peyote.
Supreme Court Continues Chipping Away At Citizen's 1st Amendment
Rights, Part 1.
Excerpts fromthe following articledetailing the April17th ruling
by the US Supreme Court which decided that Native Americans could no
longer use peyote in their religious practices:
"For all practical purposes,a majority of the SupremeCourt has
eliminated the Free Exercise clause of the First Amendment from our
Bill of Rights," said American Jewish Congress Executive Director
Henry Siegman.
"The court's decision in the peyote case can have the most far-
reaching consequences for all religions, but primarily for religious
minorities," continued Siegman. "It is precisely such minorities the
Bill of Rights sought to protect, for it is they who are particularly
vulnerable to the depredations of momentary and localized majorities."
Dr.Robert L. Maddox, executive directorof Americans United for
Separation of Church and State, said the "Smith" ruling is cause for
concern...
"We are concerned," he continued, "that this ruling will have a
negative effect on minority religions. Mainstream faiths will probably
have little difficulty getting the exemptions they need; smaller
groups with less political influence will have a tougher time of it.
That is unfortunate. Religious freedom should not be left to the whim
of state and federal lawmakers.
"No one wants anarchy in the name of religion," headded, "but do
we really want more and more government regulation of religion? What
bothers us most is the movement away from individual liberty and
toward statism--whatever the government wants, goes."
[2]
The following article appeared in the June 1990 issue of "Church
and State", a publication of Americans United for Separation of Church
and State, 8120 Fenton St., Silver Spring, MD, 20910, and is reprinted
here w/permission.
1726
The Day 'Sherbert' Melted
by Rob Boston
Discarding A 27-Year-Old Test For Religious Liberty Cases, The
Supreme Court Says Government May Restrict Religiously Motivated
Conduct
Alfred Smithconsiders himselfapolitical; he's noteven registered
to vote. But, in light of what the Supreme Court did April 17, the 70-
year-old Oregonian is ready to jump into politics in a big way.
The highcourt ruled 6-3 thatday that Native Americansdo not have
a constitutional right to use the drug peyote during their religious
ceremonies. Smith, one of the plaintiffs who helped bring the case
before the nation's highest court, is angry enough to take his fight
to the polls.
"I'm encouraging all peopleto register and vote thisyear," Smith
said. "This is the time for it. I have never voted before because I
don't care to condone the system, but I have made a stand here with
this case."
The political route Smith proposes may be one many members of
minority religions are forced to take in the future, thanks to the
Supreme Court's decision in the "Employment Division v. Smith" case.
The justices' ruling marks an abrupt shift in free exercise jurisprud-
ence, granting government broad new powers over religious practices.
What makes the "Smith"decision so significant is thatin reaching
it five justices voted to abandon the court's doctrine of "compelling
state interest," a move with far-reaching implications for religious
liberty.
In a nutshell, the 27-year-old doctrine says that the government
can restrict religious freedom only when it proves there is a compell-
ing interest to do so and that there is no less intrusive alternative
available to achieve the state's goals. The judicial rule grew out of
the 1963 "Sherbert v. Verner" decision and is usually called the
"Sherbert" Test.
Inthe recent peyote case the court rejected the "Sherbert" stan-
dard in favor of a much narrower test, holding that government may
offer religiously based exemptions from generally applicable laws if
it chooses, but it is under no constitutional obligation to do so.
Wrote Justice Antonin Scaliafor the majority, "We havenever held
that an individual's religious beliefs excuse him from compliance with
an otherwise valid law prohibiting conduct that the State is free to
regulate."
Scalia went on to say that applying the doctrine of compelling
state interest in the peyote dispute and similar cases would create
"a private right to ignore generally applicable laws [which would be]
a constitutional anomaly." Rigorous application of the "Sherbert"
approach, he said, would be "courting anarchy."
1727
Later in the opinion, Scalia admitted that the ruling will force
minority religious groups to seek relief from oppressive laws by
lobbying elected officials, and some may fail in their efforts. But he
excused this as unavoidable. "It may fairly be said," observed Scalia,
"that leaving accommodation to the political process will place at a
relative disadvantage those religious practices that are not widely
engaged in; but that unavoidable consequence of democratic government
must be preferred to a system in which each conscience is a law unto
itself or in which judges weigh the social importance of all laws
against the centrality of all religious beliefs."
The court majority acknowledged that judicial exemptions from
neutral laws have sometimes been granted for religious reasons. But,
Scalia argued, such exemptions have generally been granted in conjunc-
tion with another constitutional right--such as free speech. He called
these examples "hybrids" and implied they are special cases. Other
than that, said Scalia, the only legal disputes where the "Sherbert"
analysis has been applied consistently and usefully are unemployment
compensation rulings, such as the line of decisions approving jobless
benefits for workers who are fired for refusing to work on their
sabbath.
Ironically the "Smith" case involved just such an unemployment
controversy. It started in 1984 when Smith, a Klamath Indian, and
another man, Galen W. Black, a non-Indian, were fired from their jobs
as drug counselors after the agency they worked for learned the pair
had used the drug peyote during ceremonies in the Native American
Church.
The Council on Alcoholand Drug Abuse Prevention Treatment(ADAPT)
had a policy stating that all employees must be drug free. Smith and
Black thought an exemption would be made for their religious use of
peyote, a mild hallucinogen derived from some cactus plants, but ADAPT
officials saw things differently: Both men were dismissed.
When Smithand Black subsequently appliedfor unemployment bene-
fits, they were turned down. Officials with the state Employment
Dvision said the two had been fired for misconduct and therefore did
not qualify. The duo took the case to the courts.
Fouryears later the OregonSupreme Court ruledthat the ceremonial
use of peyote is permissible under state law and is even protected by
the First Amendment. The Supreme Court's recent action overturns that
decision.
The "Smith" majority drew upon a somewhat unusual alignment of
justices. Scalia, Chief Justice William Rehnquist and Justices Anthony
Kennedy and Byron R. White were predictable allies. All four have
argued for a narrower reading of the First Amendment's religious
liberty clauses.
Justice John Paul Stevens, however, provided the key fifth vote.
Stevens, often thought of as a member of the court's liberal wing,
favors a strict separationist reading of the Establishment Clause, but
has argued in past cases for a less expansive reading of the Free
Exercise Clause.
1728
Justice Sandra Day O'Connor concurredin the "Smith" outcome, but
wrote a separate dissent that accused the majority of going too far.
"Although I agree with the result the Court reaches in this case, I
cannot join its opinion," asserted O'Connor. "In my view, today's
holding dramatically departs from well-settled First Amendment jurisp-
rudence, appears unnecessary to resolve the question presented, and is
incompatible with our Nation's fundamental commitment to individual
religious liberty." The free exercise of religion, O'Connor added, is
a "preferred constitutional activity," entitled to "heightened judi-
cial scrutiny." The "Sherbert" Test, she continued, has worked well to
"strike sensible balances between religious liberty and competing
state interests."
Justices Harry A. Blackmun, William J. Brennan Jr. and Thurgood
Marshall indicated agreement with O'Connor's opinion, although they
said they would have gone further and upheld the Native American
Church members' claim. The court's liberal wing criticized the maj-
ority for "mischaracterizing this Court's precedents" and engaging in
a "wholesale overturning of settled law concerning the Religion
Clauses of our Constitution."
Wrote Blackmun, "One hopes that the Court is aware of the conse-
quences, and that its result is not a product of over-reaction to the
serious problems the country's drug crisis has generated."
The justice insisted that ritual peyote use by Native Americans
could be tolerated without jeopardizing the nation's campaign to curb
drug abuse. He noted that the federal government allowed the Roman
Catholic Church to employ sacramental wine at masses during Prohibi-
tion.
Said Blackmun, "Ido notbelieve the Foundersthought theirdearly
bought freedom from religious persecution a 'luxury,' but an essential
element of liberty--and they could not have thought religious in-
tolerance 'unavoidable,' for they drafted the Religion Clauses precis-
ely in order to avoid that intolerance."
Even though the case dealt with the sensitive issue of drug use,
several religious organizations had sided with the Native American
Church members, most notably the American Jewish Congress, which filed
a friend-of-the-court brief in support of Smith and Black.
"For all practical purposes, a majority of the Supreme Court has
eliminated the Free Exercise clause of the First Amendment from our
Bill of Rights," said AJC Executive Director Henry Siegman.
"The court's decision in the peyote case can have the most far-
reaching consequences for all religions, but primarily for religious
minorities," continued Siegman. "It is precisely such minorities the
Bill of Rights sought to protect, for it is they who are particularly
vulnerable to the depredations of momentary and localized majorities."
Three weeks after the decision the AJC and an extraordinarily
diverse coalition of religious and civil liberties groups filed a
petition for rehearing before the Supreme Court. The petition urged
the justices to hear the case again so the organizations will have the
opportunity to address their free exercise concerns in friend-of-the-
court briefs.
1729
Groups joining the AJC include: the Baptist Joint Committee on
Public Affairs, the National Council of Churches, the National As-
sociation of Evangelicals, People for the American Way, the Pres-
byterian Church U.S.A., the American Civil Liberties Union, the
Christian Legal Society, the American Jewish Committee, the Unitarian-
Universalist Association, the General Conference of the Seventh-day
Adventist Church, the Worldwide Church of God and the Lutheran Church,
Missouri Synod. Americans United for Separation of Church and State
also signed the petition.
Attorney OliverS. Thomas of theBaptist Joint Committee saidit is
important that religious and civil liberties groups have the oppor-
tunity to express their views to the court. He said the court's
abandonment of the "Sherbert" Test could have a wide impact.
"Taxation ofchurch assets, regulationof church schoolsand child-
care centers, zoning and other land-use questions are all areas of the
law where we've relied upon the compelling state interest test to
provide churches with exemptions," Thomas told the Baptist Press.
"With a stroke of his pen, Justice Scalia has overturned 27 years of
legal precedent and made the 'first liberty' a constitutional step-
child."
The Rutherford Institute, a conservative legal aid group that
frequently litigates free exercises cases, was also dismayed by the
ruling. Said Institute President John W. Whitehead in a press state-
ment, "Justice Scalia's opinion rejects the notion that free exercise
of religion is a preferred right. Rather, in most situations it is
valid only when coupled with another constitutional right.
"Armed with this opinion, a state may draft a law that violates
religious liberty, claim it is `religiously neutral' and those af-
fected by it may have no recourse under the Constitution."
Constitutional scholars wereparticularly amazed that themajority
in the peyote case relied heavily on "Minersville School District v.
Gobitis," a 1940 Supreme Court decision that said Jehovah's Witness
children in public schools could be forced to say the Pledge of
Allegiance. "Gobitis" was overturned three years later in the "Ba-
rnette" decision and has been roundly criticized ever since as one of
the court's biggest mistakes.
Observed Douglas Laycock, law professor at the University of
Texas, "The court repeatedly quotes "Gobitis" without noting that it
was overruled in "Barnette," and without noting that it triggered a
nationwide outburst of violence against Jehovah' s Witnesses. Until
the opinion in this case, "Gobitis" was thoroughly discredited."
But not all courtwatchers were chagrined by the ruling. Jules B.
Gerard, a constitutional law professor at Washington University in St.
Louis, told Religious News Service there has been a lot of overreac-
tion. Gerard said the decision "overturns very little" and accused
those who have protested it of "hysterical talk."
Bruce Fein, a conservative constitutional scholar, went even
further, applauding the ruling in a column in "The Washington Times."
Fein wrote, "It is both counter-intuitive and contrary to American
political experience to suppose the "Smith" ruling portends an epitaph
for religious tolerance and accommodation in generally applicable
1730
legislative enactments. And when religion must yield to secular law,
the former continues to prosper."
Fein went on to saythat religions can drop fundamentaltenets and
still survive, pointing out that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-
day Saints (the Mormons) in 1890 dumped its support for plural
marriage after the Supreme Court refused to allow the practice for
religious reasons.
Conservative columnist George Will also was pleased with the
"Smith" decision. "A central purpose of America's political arrange-
ments is the subordination of religion to the political order, meaning
the primacy of democracy," he observed. "The Founders, like Locke
before them, wished to tame and domesticate religious passions of the
sort that convulsed Europe....Hence, religion is to be perfectly free
as long as it is perfectly private--mere belief--but it must bend to
the political will (law) as regards conduct."
However, Dr. Robert L. Maddox, executive director of Americans
United for Separation of Church and State, said the "Smith" ruling is
cause for concern.
"If a majority ofthe justices did not believe theNative American
Church members had a valid claim, they could have rejected them by
relying on the doctrine of compelling state interest," said Maddox.
"But a majority chose to go much further, effectively weakening the
protection the court has extended to religious free exercise.
"We are concerned," he continued, "that this ruling will have a
negative effect on minority religions. Mainstream faiths will probably
have little difficulty getting the exemptions they need; smaller
groups with less political influence will have a tougher time of it.
That is unfortunate. Religious freedom should not be left to the whim
of state and federal lawmakers.
"No one wants anarchy in the name of religion," he added, "but d
we really want more and more government regulation of religion? What
bothers us most is the movement away from individual liberty and
toward statism--whatever the government wants, goes."
The decision has already had a practical consequence for one
minority faith. Just six days after the "Smith" ruling, the justices,
by a 7-2 vote, ordered the Minnesota Supreme Court to reconsider a
recent decision it made exempting an Amish group from complying with a
highway safety law.
Members of theOld Order Amish had protesteda state law requiring
them to display orange safety triangles on their horse-drawn buggies.
The Amish said the bright symbols violated their belief in a plain
lifestyle. The Minnesota high court agreed in 1989, but now may be
forced to reverse the "State v. Hershberger" decision in light of the
"Smith" ruling.
In Eugene, Ore., meanwhile, Al Smith has no more faith in the
courts. After joining about 100 people in a protest of the decision
that bears his name at a Eugene federal building April 20, Smith told
reporters he is backing proposed legislation suggested by state
representative Jim
1731
Edmunson of Eugene thatwould allow Native Americans touse peyote
in religious rituals in Oregon. If that fails, Smith said, the Oregon
Supreme Court could decide Native American peyote use is permissible
under the state constitution.
Smith told"Church & State" heis also working withNative American
groups in the United States that are considering filing a protest
before the International Court of Justice (commonly called the World
Court) in The Hague, Netherlands.
"The UnitedStates is saying theoriginal people of thisland can't
worship," Smith told Church & State. "We were worshipping a long time
before the white man ever set foot on this turtle island.
"The issue is not dead, by no means," continued Smith. "I'm not
giving up; I have committed no crime. It's not a crime to pray in the
old way."
KOYAANISQATSI ko.yan.nis.qatsi(from theHopi Language) n.1. crazy
life. 2.life in turmoil. 3. life out of balance. 4. life disintegrat-
ing. 5. a state of life that calls for another way of living.
__________________
Excerpts from the following article analyzing the effects the US
Supreme Court ruling on the Native American Church's use of peyote as
being illegal:
--------------------------------
Native American churchmembers stripped oftheir rights underthe
Constitution are now subject to the will of the legislative branch of
our state and federal governments. Not an enviable place for Indian
people; as a distinct racial and religious minority Indians have
always had an uphill struggle in the halls of Congress and elsewhere
to have their rights recognized and respected.
The legislativebranch ofany governmentis anexceedingly unusual
place for individuals to look to have their rights under the First
Amendment vindicated. Courts are traditionally looked to as protectors
of these rights, against majoritarian legislatures. Justice O'Connor,
in a separate concurring opinion which joined the result of the
majority but sharply criticized its method, reasoned that "the First
Amendment was enacted precisely to protect those whose religious
practices are not shared by the majority and may be viewed with
hostility."
As a result of "Smith," minority religions, in Justice Scalia's
opinion, may be at a disadvantage in the political arena. But that is,
in his estimation, "an unavoidable consequence of democratic govern-
ment," preferable to "a system in which each conscience is a law unto
itself." Justice Scalia had to strain to defend his decision, citing
the need to prevent "anarchy" in our democratic society. Indian
people simply want to be left alone in our societyto worship the
god of their choice. Is that asking too much? The Court's decision in
"Smith" strips Indians of their pride and integrity, and makes many of
them criminals in the eyes of the law. Only history will judge the
Court's decision in "Smith;" but for now the remote specter of anarchy
may very well have been the preferred choice.
1732
1733
------------------------
The following article appearedin the Spring 1990 issueof "Native
American Rights Fund Legal Review", a publication of the Native
American Rights Fund,
1506 Broadway, Boulder, CO 80302, andis reprinted here w/permis-
sion.
------------------------
Supreme Court Deals Devastating Blow to Native American Church
by Steve Moore
On Tuesday, April 17,1990, the United States SupremeCourt struck
a gut wrenching blow to the religious lives of many of this country's
Native Americans, in a decision which invites the return to an era of
religious persecution one would hope a presumably enlightened and
tolerant society such as ours had left behind. In the case of "Oregon
Department of Employment v. Alfred Smith," Justice Antonin Scalia,
writing for a five member majority, and describing the First Amend-
ment's Free Exercise Clause as little more than a "negative protection
accorded to religious belief," held that a member of a religious faith
may not challenge under the free exercise clause of the First Amend-
ment to the United States Constitution a legislature's criminal
enactment of otherwise general application which produces infringement
on a particular religious practice. In the "Smith" case this amounted
to a challenge to the constitutionality of an Oregon drug law which
the Court Interpreted as a general criminal prohibition on all uses of
the drug peyote, considered by Indian members of the Native American
Church as an essential sacrament, the physical embodiment of the Great
Spirit.
The Native American Church, which claims over 250,000 members
nationwide, and additional Indian practitioners in Canada and Mexico,
and which can be traced back archaeologically several thousand years
in North America, was not absolutely destroyed or driven underground
by the Court's action. The Court did not go so far as to rule that any
state or federal law exempting the religious, sacramental use of
peyote was an unconstitutional establishment of religion, at the other
end of the religion clauses of the First Amendment. In the Court's
terms, a peyote exemption, while constitutionally *permitted*, is
neither constitutionally *required* or *prohibited*. A kind of con-
stitutional limbo-land for the Native American Church and its members.
In real terms the decision leaves the fate ofthe peyote religion
to the whim of majoritarian legislatures and Congress. Eleven states
currently have exemptions on the statute books protecting the relig-
ion; another twelve tie their exemption to a federal Drug Enforcement
Agency regulation which rests on questionable foundation since the
decision. A small handful of states, notably California and Nebraska,
in which are located some of the largest Indian and Native American
Church populations, have based their protection on court decisions.
The others, and the federal government through Congress, have no
statutory or common law protection. Indian reservation lands will
provide some safe haven from possible prosecution, given the par-
ticular Public Law 280 configuration in any given state, but problems
of transportation of the sacrament into Indian country through "il-
legal" territory will reduce peyote ceremonies to complex and danger-
ous liaisons.
1734
Native American church members strippedof their rights under the
Constitution are now subject to the will of the legislative branch of
our state and federal governments. Not an enviable place for Indian
people; as a distinct racial and religious minority Indians have
always had an uphill struggle in the halls of Congress and elsewhere
to have their rights recognized and respected.
The legislative branchof any government is anexceedingly unusual
place for individuals to look to have their rights under the First
Amendment vindicated. Courts are traditionally looked to as protectors
of these rights, against majoritarian legislatures. Justice O'Connor,
in a separate concurring opinion which joined the result of the
majority but sharply criticized its method, reasoned that "the First
Amendment was enacted precisely to protect those whose religious
practices are not shared by the majority and may be viewed with
hostility."
A noted scholar of Indian law and philosopher, Felix Cohen, was
quoted several decades ago as saying: "Like the miner's canary the
Indian marks the shifts from fresh air to poison gas in our political
atmosphere; and our treatment of Indians, even more than our treatment
of other minorities, reflects the rise and fall in our democratic
faith " Cohen's words become even more prophetic after the Court's
decision in "Smith." The "Smith" decision may perhaps portend even
greater persecution for other forms of Indian religious expression.
Examples which come to mind include: the wearing of long hair by
Indian students in public schools, and by Indian prisoners in federal
and state prisons; missing school on a regular basis for cultural/rel-
igious ceremonial purposes; the taking of game by Indians out season,
when not otherwise protected by treaty; burning wood to heat rocks for
sweat- lodge ceremonies, when burning is otherwise outlawed by local
ordinance during times of high pollution; and body piercing as part of
the Sun Dance ceremony. If these forms of religious expression are
otherwise prohibited by general criminal laws, the First Amendment no
longer provides a basis from which to claim protection from religious
infringement. As with peyote use, reservation boundaries will provide
a buffer from the application of state law, except where Public Law
280 legitimizes intrusion.
As a result of "Smith," minority religions, in Justice Scalia's
opinion, may be at a disadvantage in the political arena. But that is,
in his estimation, "an unavoidable consequence of democratic govern-
ment," preferable to "a system in which each conscience is a law unto
itself." Justice Scalia had to strain to defend his decision, citing
the need to prevent "anarchy" in our democratic society. Indian people
simply want to be left alone in our society to worship the god of
their choice. Is that asking too much? The Court's decision in "Smith"
strips Indians of their pride and integrity, and makes many of them
criminals in the eyes of the law. Only history will judge the Court's
decision in "Smith;" but for now the remote specter of anarchy may
very well have been the preferred choice.
1735
Statement From Pacific Northwest Church Leaders
Who Support Indian Religious Rights
Re: Employment Division, State of Oregon v. Al Smith, Galen Black,
88-1213
-----------------
The recentU.S. Supreme Court decisionregarding the sacramental
use of peyote in Native American religious rites is unfortunate and
deeply disappointing. We support the right of Native Americans to
practice their religion as they have for centuries. We concur with
Justice Harry Blackmun, who writing for the dissent, called the
decision a "wholesale overturning of settled law concerning the
religious clauses of our Constitution." The decision jeopardizes the
fundamental right of all citizens to exercise freedom of religion free
from government restraint. We will continue to work with Native
Americans to help them protect their religious rights.
The Most Rev. Raymond G. Huthausen Archbishop of Seattle Roman Cath-
olic Archdiocese of Seattle
The Right Rev. Vincent W. Warner, Bishop Episcopal Diocese of Olympia
The Most Rev. Thomas Murphy, Coadjutor Archbishop Roman Catholic
Archdiocese of Seattle
The Rev. John Boonstra, Executive Minister Washington Association of
Churches
The Rev. Calvin D. McConnell, Bishop United Methodist Church Pacific
NW Conference
The Rev. W. James Halfaker, Conference Minister Washington-Idaho
Conference United Church of Christ
The Rev. Lowell Knutson, Bishop NW Washington Synod Evangelical
Lutheran Church In America
The Rev. Dr. William B. Cate, President Director Church Council of
Greater Seattle
The Rev. Gaylord Hasselblad, Executive Minister American Baptist
Churches of the Northwest
These church leaders issued an apology to Indians that was carried in
the Winter 1988 NAF Legal Review
1736
Channeling For Fun And Prophet
Farrell J. McGovern
Channelling is one of the more popular parts of what is call the
"New Age". It is also one of the most controversial aspects of this
movement.
To properly channelsomeone, be itMarylin Monroe, AliesterCrowley
(I have been told this doesn't work well...) or Devine, one must know
something of this person. The easiest way is by reading about this
person. Autobiographies are the best, of course, but biographies, news
reports, or even old photos are almost as good. You need some connec-
tion...
InPagandom, and Wicca, popular beingsfor channelling are various
aspects of the God and the Goddess. Again, one must know as much as
possible about the Lady or Lord that you are going to bring into
yourself for the enjoyment, edification and education of the others in
the Circle with you.
The most popular source of information on Gods and Goddesses is
again in books. Since there are many aspects of deities, there is a
great deal of literature about these beings. Most of this literature
that is over a couple of hundred of years old is usually in the form
of Fables or Epics, which have more literary content than reality. One
could easily call these works Docu-dramas, but they are still fiction.
"But..." I hear you ask,"How can they channel these beingsif all
they know about them is fictional?" Well, there seems to be enough
consensus on certain deities, but not on all. But these rituals work,
as anyone who has attended the beautiful "Drawing Down the Moon"
ritual of Wicca.
So it seems to me that the idea of a "consensual reality" is
created from the energies that all these people put into their concept
of whatever God or Goddess they believe in. There are hundreds of
thousands, maybe even millions of people who believe in Cerwdwin,
Eris, Hecate, Cherenous, and others. But...are there not also millions
of people who believe in Captain James T. Kirk? Arthur Dnt? Catwoman?
Batman? Smurfs?.....or even Peewee Herman?
Imaginesome Circle performing the DrawingDown The Moon ceremony,
and due to a lack of concentration by the priestess, she channels, not
Athena, but Marry Tyler-Moore?!?!?!? Or the priest channeling PeeWee
Herman?!?!?!
Weshall leave the furtherexploration of thisto some experimental
coven...but please! If you manage to channel Papa Smurf....we DON'T
want to hear about it!
1737
Bibliography Of Magick In Science Fiction
Magenta Griffith
Abbey, Lynn Daughter Of The Bright Moon
The Guardians
Anderson, Poul Operation Chaos
Mermaid's Children
Blish, James Black Easter
Bradley, Marion Z Darkover series, especially The Forbidden
Tower
Crowley, Aleister Diary of a Drug Fiend
Moonchild
DeCamp, | | |
