Hysterical Anti-Potter Hoax fools Xtains

Harry Potter: LETTER FROM AN EX-WITCH WRITING ABOUT HARRY POTTER

It seems a hoax, based on a parody once featured in "The Onion", is being taken seriously by Dominionists. Hoaxes like this have be about for a while, check-out Snopes. However, even if all you know about Wicca & Witchcraft is from a few minutes googling, you can spot this as a fake. Then again, some people are easily fooled and lying about the Potter books is a cottage industry among Dominionists. For the benefit of those who know how to configure their spam filters, here's some of the knee-slapping highlights:

...By means of spells and magic...and fly upon the night winds transcending the astral plane...

Damn, so I suppose I'm the only witch that can't fly!

...Halloween was my favorite time of the year...

Guilty as charged!

...As time went on, I watched the so-called “Christian” churches compromising and unifying.

I think I must have missed the commandment, "Thou shall not compromise". And the blaspheme of "unifying"--well, perish the thought!

...The occult songs of the 1960’s launched the Luciferian project of capturing the minds of an entire generation. In the song “Sound Of Silence” by Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel...

Yup, "The Sound of Silence" is the Mark of the Beast. The boogie man of the "1960's" frequently raises it's head in such Dominionist screeds.

...real witches greet each other by saying “Blessed be”, and when they part, they say “The Force be with you.”

Don't you hate it when someone mixes low budged genre horror with Science Fiction!

I hope the good folks over at PrayerWeb are aware of some of the other nightmares lurching towards Bethlehem, such as the spider nest in a cactus, or the fact you might wake up in a hotel room without your kidneys.

She paints with a feather of Quetzalcoatl

My friend and fellow covener Moya is a painter. She integrates features of Wicca and Neo-Paganism (such as the various Goddesses & Gods, totems & Elements) into her impressionistic visions. The pic above is "Hecate".

A Clockwork Tucker

When self-loathing bloviator Tucker Carlson is not out organizing "Tucker Squads" and policing pubic bathrooms with his Droogs, he's preaching religious intolerance over at MSNBC. Trying to rain on the parade of a Wiccan who won a lottery jackpot, he offered this:

"...You're saying basically the U.S. government is subsidizing some kind of devil worshiper, Satanism ... That's perfect."

As skillfully pointed out over at Wild Hunt, this is not the first time Tucker has parroted Dominionist taking points. But it seems what really got Tucker's panties in a twist was the fact that the winner of the lottery, accountant and part-time teacher of Wicca Elwood "Bunky" Bartlett, actually prayed to Pagan Gods and Goddesses for the win:

...Bartlett, an accountant from Dundalk, said he made a bargain with the multiple gods associated with his Wiccan beliefs: "You let me win the lottery and I'll teach." Both tickets he purchased had numbers chosen randomly from the computer....

Now he can teach Wicca full time. What a beautful way to honor the Goddess and God...and piss off lots of Dominionsts in the process! Heh!

Didge freaks-out Bush

Welcome to the Dreamtime

It figures that the sounds of the Earth would strike the fear of God in Bush.

It appears our xenophobic president was frightened by the sounds didgeradoos and clapsticks, as well as by the appearance of the Yolngu people of Arhnern Land:

"...The meeting took place at the Australian National Maritime Museum on Darling Harbour against a background of 80 spectacular bark paintings featuring snakes, crocodiles, fish, turtles and birds..."It is very important for us to have our own rights", Djambawa Marawili, an elder from Blue Mud Bay, told a slightly puzzled President. Mr Bush politely nodded in vigorous agreement as he wondered what would happen next...But the sound of boomerangs being suddenly clapped together made the Secret Service nervous..."

It's sometimes risky for a business to take a political stand, so I want to send out a shout-out to LA Outback. They sent the above item out in their newsletter. A short while ago I purchased an awesome eucalyptus Didge from them. I had 'no worries', as the owner of this shop played different instruments over the phone for me to help with my selection.

Whatever the Yulongu people did to Bush, it seemed to work. Afterwards, he was plagued by hysterical and embarrassing missteps throughout his visit. I know what I'm doing---I'm purchasing a pair of clapsticks!

Goodnight, wise Beerhunter

The great Micheal Jackson (aka: The Beerhunter) has passed on to SummerIsle. Most people came to know Mr. Jackson through his excellent "The Beer Hunter" series, aired on PBS. Through him, we learned about Belgium Lambic beer, created by brewers who practically worship spiders as gods. What could be cooler than that!!! :)

The link above is from a beer site. Lots of people are commenting on the passing of this great fellow. If you wish to find out about the man, you'll get a much better idea there, than from any MSM news outlet.

I was fortunate enough to actually attend a beer tasting with Mr. Jackson. During the tasting (we sampled and rated about 10 beers..burp!), he captivated us with his encyclopedic knowledge of beer, brewing and history. Near the end of the tasting, when all of us were well in the embrace of Bacchus (heh), he started to spin a rather long story. Eventually, he got so off topic, his main point seemed to escape him. "Well, I digress," He said, "But digression is one of the finer points of beer tasting." The entire audience erupted in laughter and applause.

Perseid Meteor Shower

From Spaceweather.com:

...The Perseid meteor shower has begun. Although the display will not peak until August 12th and 13th, sky watchers are already counting as many as a dozen meteors per hour (including some nice fireballs) during the darkest hours before dawn. Rates could increase 5- to 10-fold when the shower reaches maximum on Sunday night and Monday morning. Advice: Get away from city lights. While many Perseids will be bright enough to see from light-polluted urban areas, the shower's full grandeur is reserved for places with dark and starry skies. This is a good weekend to go camping...

For skymaps and observing hints, go to spaceweather.com for all the info.

Angel releases album

Sinead O’Connor releases ’Theology’ album 15 years after tearing pope photo

The always fascinating Sinead O'Conner has released a new album, titled 'Theology', inspired by religion and Biblical scripture:

"...There’s a lot that’s beautiful about religion," she said. "It’s just you get some ... nutters that misinterpret it..." Islam "essentially at its core is a very beautiful religion," she said. "You’ve got a very small bunch of fruitcakes bringing that religion into disrepute. Same in the States, you’ve got people like George Bush bringing Christianity into disrepute..."

It figures that a woman with the vocal cords of an angel would come up with something like this. I've always been mesmerized by her voice. I think she'd reduce me to a quivering blob of jelly, just reading the lunch specials in some greasy spoon diner.

Witch's Broom studied by Hubble

Veil Nebula Pierced by Hubble's Gaze

Saw a post about this over at toomanytribbles. The Veil Nebula (aka: 'The Witch's Broom') has been studied in detail by the Hubble Space telescope:

...The Hubble close-ups reveal the rope-like filaments of gas in the nebula, which resulted from enormous amounts of dusty debris plowing into gaseous surroundings. Thicker filaments of material result from viewing the supernova's shock wave edge-on, while more wispy and diffuse views correspond to a face-on view of other parts of the shock wave from Earth...

Check out the link for a number of great photos.

A great Lugh/Lammas

Just wanted to say what a great Lugh/Lammas/MidSummer I had! Spent the evening of the Aug 28th at the festival held at the Center for Symbolic Studies. They did a great job this year, and the Wicker Man they built was impressive. I was asked to call the North Quarter this year, which was a real honor. Congrats to Hrana and all the rest for making this Sabbat memorable.

The next evening was spent with my fellow coveners at a BBQ & ritual hosted at the home of our High Priestess. It was a fun ritual and the food was great. I got to crack my whips a bit, doing a 'black lite' routine under ultra-violet lights using my fluorescent whips. Although the day started out rainy, by evening we were welcomed by the stars and bright Moon.

(I want to thank Moya and Jess for the pics of the Wicker Man.)

Barnabas Collins no longer chained in his coffin!

Depp lights up 'Dark Shadows'

I use to love the horror soap opera "Dark Shadows" as a kid. I'd race home from school to see it. Frid's portrayal of the vampire Barnabas Collins rates up there with Lugosi and Lee. Now, it looks like it's Johnny Depp's turn:

...Warner Bros. is teaming with Depp's Infinitum-Nihil and Graham King's GK Films to develop a feature based on the '60s daytime supernatural sudser "Dark Shadows...Depp has said in interviews that he has always been obsessed with "Dark Shadows" and had, as a child, wanted to be Barnabas Collins, the vampire patriarch of the series...

...Over 1,225 episodes, "Dark Shadows" was a highly atmospheric, spooky soap that featured gothic horror staples like vampires, monsters, witches, werewolves, ghosts and zombies. The show has a continuing rabid fan base that populates Dark Shadows Festival conventions...

Yup, one of my childhood influences.