Clipmarks | wiccantexan's 'wicca' clips

University gets attention for pagan recognition

Fri, 05 Sep 2008 04:28:23 GMT

clipped by: wiccantexan
clipper's remarks: "House, while not a pagan himself, said it is essential for his friends who share these beliefs to get the same respect as followers of other faiths."

Clip Source: media.www.marshallparthenon.com

Marshall University's recognition of Paganism has garnered media attention on a national level and abroad.

Paganism is a religious movement that consists of many different religions such as Wicca, the mystical traditions of Kabbalism, Native American shamanistic traditions and religions from the African Diaspora like Voodoo. Last year, Marshall recognized pagan holidays as a reason for excused absences, producing a great deal of interest.

"I conducted a search a few weeks after the articles hit and found that while there was some small negative response, the overwhelming response was very positive from people of all religions and none," said Marty Laubach, professor of sociology and faculty advisor to the Marshall University Pagan Association said. "The story was picked up internationally. It was seen as an example of American openness and religious pluralism."

"I think it's kind of strange, all the attention it's gotten,"

Tags: university, pagan, religion, belief, wicca, holiday

People misunderstand what paganism is about

Wed, 27 Aug 2008 00:35:58 GMT

clipped by: wiccantexan

Clip Source: www.canada.com

It takes a lot to surprise me when it comes to human nature, but last night I met a woman in her 60s at a coffee shop who warned the people at our table about a 'devil' that was going to be at Departure Bay today.

At first I thought she was joking but she said no, she was serious there was going to be a group of devil worshippers gathering there today. She said groups from all the churches were gathering to protest. I asked her if it was the Pagan Pride festival and when she said yes' I said, 'well, my daughter is Wicca and I'm proud of her."

She had nothing to say to that. I really thought that self-righteous people like her had disappeared in the era when witches were being burned.

It's religious fanatics like her who cause destruction in this world because of the fervour of the their beliefs.

I had one daughter become a Catholic and one daughter become Wicca and I'm proud of both of them for making choices that were right for them (I'm Anglican).

Tags: pagan, witch, witchcraft, church, wicca, religion, belief

Bob Barr recants his position on Wicca in the military?

Thu, 31 Jul 2008 03:44:08 GMT

clipped by: wiccantexan

Clip Source: www.independentpoliticalreport.com

Ed Brayton (Dispatches from the Culture Wars) asked Barr if he would now, as Libertarian candidate, repudiate his 1999 attempt to prohibit the practice of Wicca, a neo-Pagan religion, on military bases. Barr said that he has changed his mind, citing “reports” that the practice of Wicca was causing problems that are apparently not an issue now.

I did ask him for any specific problems that were reported to him back in 1999 by these military leaders, but he said he didn’t want to get into specifics. I’m sure that’s because there are no specific incidents and those military leaders who complained to him did so out of bigotry, or because the problems it caused were really caused by bigotry against Wiccans. He likened it to his stance on Don’t Ask Don’t Tell for gays, which he previously supported but now that it’s clear that allowing gays to serve doesn’t really cause any problems with unit cohesion and good order, he thinks it should be repealed and they should be allowed to serve openly.

Tags: politics, wicca, pagan, military, bob barr

Woman injured by sword in Wiccan ceremony

Fri, 25 Jul 2008 01:47:23 GMT

clipped by: wiccantexan

Clip Source: www.jconline.com

A woman accidentally stabbed herself in the foot with a 3-foot-long sword while performing a Wiccan good luck ritual at a central Indiana cemetery.

Katherine Gunther, 36, of Lebanon, pierced her left foot with the sword while performing the rite at Oak Hill Cemetery, police said.

Gunther said she was performing the ceremony to give thanks for a recent run of good luck. The ceremony involves the use of candles, incense and driving swords into the ground during the full moon.

Gunther said was aiming to put the sword in the ground, but hit her foot instead.

"It wasn't the first time I performed the ritual, but it was the first time I put a sword through my foot," she said.

No charges were filed, police said. The Wiccans were warned that being in the cemetery in the city about 20 miles northwest of Indianapolis after posted visiting hours constitutes trespassing.

Tags: religion, wicca, pagan, humor, ceremony, ritual

Bob Barr wins Libertarian presidential nod

Mon, 26 May 2008 00:27:00 GMT

clipped by: wiccantexan
clipper's remarks: This is the fellow who tried to actively put forth legislation in 1999 to ban Wicca from military bases.

Clip Source: politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com

(CNN) — Former Republican Rep. Bob Barr is now the Libertarian Party's presidential nominee — and a potential headache for John McCain, as he reaches out to conservative voters who might otherwise vote for the GOP nominee in November.

The former Georgia congressman — who left the Republican Party two years ago, citing differences over fiscal policy and concerns over civil liberties — was nominated on the sixth ballot at the party’s convention in Denver. The vote on the sixth ballot was 324 for Barr, and 276 for Mary Ruwart, the last remaining candidate out of 14 originally seeking the Libertarian nomination.

Tags: politics, pagan, wicca, libertarian

The Portrayal Of Paganism In The Media

Sun, 25 May 2008 04:43:18 GMT

clipped by: wiccantexan

Clip Source: www.informativepost.com

Hi. I'm a Pagan. Yes, you heard me right. What image jumps into your head right now? Is it a person dressed all in black, with large pentacles, dragons and ankhs hanging around their necks? Did you picture me as a hippie who can't seem to escape the Swinging 60s?

Guess what? I'm a normal person. I wear jeans and t-shirts, I have a 9-5 job, and I'm studying to achieve my high school diploma at a mature-age level.

The media has done a fantastic job at portraying Pagans (including Wiccans and Witches) as these ugly women with long fingernails, warts and green skin, tall pointy hats and all dressed in black. Look at the popular film, 'The Craft' - it's portrayal of young witches, all in black, with supernatural powers. What about 'The Wicker Man'? Makes us all out to be lovers of sacrifice, huh?

In all actuality, we're normal people, and my personal mission (as I've come to discover) is to break down this stereotype of modern Pagans. So let's start with the basics...

Tags: pagan, faith, religion, media, wicca, witchcraft, witch

Greece Sued Over Sectarian Prayer

Wed, 14 May 2008 01:19:46 GMT

clipped by: wiccantexan
clipper's remarks: Note: Greece here is a town in the United States, not the country.

Clip Source: www.democratandchronicle.com

In just a few seconds' time during the April Town Board meeting, Jennifer Zarpentine made Greece history.

Zarpentine, a Wiccan, delivered the first-ever pagan prayer to open a meeting of the Greece Town Board.

Her hands raised to the sky, she called upon Greek deities Athena and Apollo to "help the board make the right informed decisions for the benefit and greater good of the community."

Greece is embroiled in a legal battle over the prayers delivered before the meetings. In March, national church-state watchdog group Americans United for Separation of Church and State, filed suit against the town in state Supreme Court.

their

The suit claims the practice of allowing explicitly religious prayers — regardless of the religion — during the public meetings is a violation of the U.S. Constitution.

Tags: religion, belief, legal, wicca, prayer

Pagan Weddings Attract More Than A Cult Following

Mon, 05 May 2008 05:08:08 GMT

clipped by: wiccantexan

Clip Source: www.modbee.com

Supporters and critics of pagan weddings -- like Kemper's -- often describe the ceremonies as beautiful, mystical, bizarre and even evil, all descriptions Kemper has heard. But, according to some experts, there is one word they can no longer use: uncommon.

A 2001 survey by the Graduate Center of the City University of New York found that the number of followers of Wicca, one of the many religions that fall beneath the pagan umbrella, increased from 8,000 in 1990 to 134,000 in 2001, making it the fastest-growing religion in America in terms of percentage increase.

Marty Laubach, a sociology professor at Marshall University, says the number of followers of pagan religions is even higher now, citing a 2008 U.S. Religious Landscape Survey that put the estimate at 1.2 million.

Tags: religion, marriage, pagan, mainstream, wedding, wicca

My first YouTube video

Thu, 10 Apr 2008 06:33:43 GMT

clipped by: wiccantexan
clipper's remarks: My first attempt at making a video using my digital camera. Somewhat grainy, but we have to play with iMovies to see how we can get the quality higher while still remaining within the upload limit.

Clip Source: www.youtube.com

[Video]

Tags: youtube, video, wicca, pagan

Wicca Finally Proven to Be a Hoax

Mon, 24 Mar 2008 04:23:13 GMT

clipped by: wiccantexan

Clip Source: www.thespoof.com

New documents have surfaced in the world of religion. Specifically, the Wicca religion. The chronicles in question, shed some light on the formation of the "world's oldest religion".

Taking a first initiative, President George Bush, in a new faith based initiative, located the resting place in Tunisia of the reputed cult's leader, and had his body exhumed last month in an effort to settle the question of the would-be cultist's death. "These Wickers are a threat to the security of the United States, and intelligence reports that they may have weapons of mass destruction." Bush said at a White House press conference. "They have been using spells and fortune-casting to reveal national security secrets to the Islamic Jihad. Just like Helen Duncan, who in 1944 was using séances to spy on allied troops, we need to stop this threat before we have another 9/11.

What Mrs. Rice and her taskforce found was a surprise, even to faithful Wiccans.

Tags: wicca, pagan, spoof, satire, humor, religion

The Burning Times

Fri, 28 Mar 2008 00:39:37 GMT

clipped by: wiccantexan

Clip Source: wicca.timerift.net

or the More Persecuted than Thou Syndrome

The Burning Times is a term referring to the witch persecutions in Europe during the late medieval and renaissance periods. According to Wikipedia, it was first coined by feminist Mary Daly in 1978, who depicted the witch-hunts as a persecution against women. However, the "burning times," without captitalization, does, in fact, appear in Gardner's Witchcraft Today, which predates Daly by about 20 years. Whatever the origin, Wiccans and some other Pagans have certainly adopted the term, and today the phrase generally refers to the theory that Christian witch-hunters were, in fact, attempting to root out practitioners of older pagan religions.

Not only is the myth of the Burning Times false, it's disrespectful to the real victims of the witch-persecutions who were, at first, heretics and then were generally Christians unfortunate enough to be swept up in a hysteria that swept half a continent.

Tags: wicca, pagan, history, witch, witchcraft, religion, christian

Neighbors blame Wiccans for bringing plague of pests

Mon, 10 Mar 2008 03:37:54 GMT

clipped by: wiccantexan

Clip Source: www.chron.com

A nasty brew of cross-allegations has engulfed a New York neighborhood where a family that practices a witchcraft religion is at odds with neighbors who complain that the family's penchant for feeding stray cats is attracting rats and pigeons.

Ivy Colmer Vanderborgh and her mother, Marlene Colmer, say their adherence to Wicca made them a target.

People who live near them on Oceanview Avenue in Staten Island's Annadale section dispute that. They maintain their concern is that food left out for cats has brought scavenger critters to the neighborhood.

"It's a situation whereby one neighbor's actions or behaviors are clearly aggravating other people on the block. However, it does not appear that these behaviors are in violation of the law, nor does it appear that the religious practices of the family have anything to do with the neighbors' frustrations with the family," said Capt. Richard F. Gutch, commander of the 123rd Precinct.

Tags: wicca, faith, religion, neighborhood, law, animals

The Christian Church and Wicca

Sat, 01 Mar 2008 01:05:16 GMT

clipped by: wiccantexan

Clip Source: wicca.timerift.net

Q: How many Pagans does it take to change a light bulb? A: Six. One to change it and five to sit around and complain that light bulbs never burned out before those damned Christians came along.

Wicca is NOT about confronting or combating Christianity. Rebuking their beliefs or soiling their historical legacy is not our purpose, nor should it be the purpose of any religion. Those who are turning to Wicca simply because they wish to leave Christianity, or they object to Christianity, or they just want to shock their Christian family should look elsewhere. Religion, ANY religion, is about belief, not negating another's belief.

The "We're Better than Them" theory.

The Purpose of Christianity or Get Over Yourselves

The Theft of Pagan Holidays

We've replaced these people's pagan gods with Folgers Crystals. Let's see if they notice.

Tags: wicca, pagan, christian, christianity, church, religion, history, belief

'Earth worship' on the rise among evangelical youth

Wed, 27 Feb 2008 01:42:48 GMT

clipped by: wiccantexan

Clip Source: www.onenewsnow.com

Janice Crouse, a senior fellow with Concerned Women for America, says it's disturbing that many young people in evangelical churches are experimenting with the Wiccan religion. Church leaders and Christian parents, she warns, must be ready to counter that growing interest among their youth.

Crouse cites an article in Religion Journal which said youth pastors in the Southern Baptist Convention were worried about large numbers of evangelicals taking part in Wicca, a religion that involves nature worship, stresses moral autonomy, and includes remedies and spells -- beliefs that Crouse points out are distinctly different from orthodox Christianity, not to mention incompatible with the Bible.

According to Crouse, "earth worship" -- as she describes Wicca -- appeals to people who do not want to be bound by any book of authority or have imposed on them any requirements to be "believers."

Tags: religion, wicca, nature, evangelical, youth, christian, earth

First Wiccan Chaplain in History To Meet With U.S. Commission On Civil Rights

Thu, 07 Feb 2008 23:22:35 GMT

clipped by: wiccantexan

Clip Source: bbsnews.net

A Wiccan Chaplain and Statewide California Department of Corrections, Patrick McCollum will speak at a briefing on prisoners' religious rights at the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights in Washington, DC on Friday, February 8, 2007. This marks the first time that a Wiccan expert has spoken on religious freedom issues at a Commission briefing.

"It is an honor to be invited to participate in the dialogue and to share a Wiccan's point of view," said McCollum. "Those in minority faiths are seldom given the opportunity to be heard, even when the issue concerns their rights. I am hopeful this invitation is indicative of what we can expect going forward and that there truly is a desire on the part of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights to ensure that inmates receive equal treatment, and a willingness to better serve minority religions."

Tags: wicca, religion, civil rights, prison, government, freedom