Happy Yule! A Special Message for Yuletide 2020 from The Occult Files

In this special audio-video message for Yule 2020, Sophia DiGregorio wishes you a happy and successful Yule, which this year will be Monday, December 21st. Yule is always an important time for doing work with the new year in mind, however, this Yule is a special one because the planet Jupiter will be in conjunction with Saturn, in an arrangement that hasn’t been seen since 1226 when Genghis Khan was wreaking havoc in Europe and Asia. This astrological harmonic makes this Yule a time for tearing down old established orders and establishing new structures, which will have a long-lasting effect. This is an ideal time to work witchcraft for your own benefit, for your health and wealth, and to the detriment of our historical enemies. They used to call us poisoners and slayers of infants, but look at them now. You can bet they will doing their own workings during the time surrounding the solstice, as well.

Like Halloween, Christmas and the time surrounding this holiday, including Yule–which the longest night of the year–is associated with visitations from beyond the grave. In the winter season, the earth seems to sleep, especially in the icy north, and when everything is dark and quiet, it is easier to connect with spirits.

Sophia will be back in another longer video for Christmas in which she will be talking about ghosts. She’s not going to tell ghost stories, but she will tell you about some of her own experiences–some recent ones and some from years ago.

Thank you for listening, please join me in the next episode of My Occult Files, in which Sophia will come back to help you celebrate Christmas.

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The Illegal Establishment of Religion is a Fast-Growing Trend in the U.S. as Religious Zealots Abuse State and Federal Legislatures and Courts

Note of 8/7/2019: Most of this article, the real substance of it, has been removed by the author. The original article is going to be incorporated into a longer work on this subject, which will be available at a later date.

Despite the existence of the United States as the oldest living republic and the first secular republic on the face of the earth, attempts to force religion, especially that of the Sinister Trinity (this is the author’s term for the major world religions as one entity), upon the people persists unabated. In fact, it seems that the effort has gathered steam, especially in the past few years.

Efforts to force Americans to submit to the God of the Sinister Trinity by passing dubious legislation seem to have begun in earnest about the time of the First World War, which is when a number of government, quasi-government, and private entities with that aim were created. (In the book, Traditional Witches’ History of the Occult Banking System, the author calls this the ‘In God We Trust System,” which has been illegally forced on Americans for over a century.) Such efforts gained more steam in the 1950s during the Red Scare, even more so during the 1970s, when Christian Evangelicals became more blatantly political, and then, again, in 2001, when George W. Bush signed an executive order establishing the White House Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives (OFBCI). This organization makes illegal use of illegally obtained Federal taxpayer funds to pay off and influence religious leaders in ways that benefit religious entities harbored both within and outside of the U.S. government.

Presently, different factions of the Sinister Trinity are openly fighting with each other for supremacy in the government and for cultural dominance, a circumstance which has proven to be gravely dangerous for witches and occultists in the past because we get caught in the crossfire. They are using the Federal and state legislatures, the courts, even the executive office, as well as tech companies and financial companies to wage this conflict.

It is important for witches, occultists, and other heretics to be aware of what is happening, to recognize the familiar patterns from our history, and take steps to increase your privacy and protect yourself from this growing existential threat. In this article, the author will attempt to give you a brief overview of recent developments, beginning with a look at the past, which is not really behind us. It is still with us in more ways than one.

Anti-Blasphemy Laws

While the Sinister Trinity’s centuries-old history of persecuting witches in the New World is well known, you may still be surprised to learn that in the U.S., despite the Bill of Rights, six states still maintain anti-blasphemy laws: Michigan, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Wyoming, Pennsylvania, and Massachusetts. To “blaspheme” means to speak or write with contempt, irreverence, or disrespect toward God and related things.

As an example of such legislation, Massachusetts‘ General Laws, Part IV, Title I, Chapter 272, Section 36 of the Massachusetts General Laws, reads as follows:

Whoever willfully blasphemes the holy name of God by denying, cursing or contumeliously reproaching God, His creation, government or final judging of the world, or by cursing or contumeliously reproaching Jesus Christ or the Holy Ghost, or by cursing or contumeliously reproaching or exposing to contempt and ridicule, the holy word of God contained in the holy scriptures shall be punished by imprisonment in jail for not more than one year or by a fine of not more than three hundred dollars, and may also be bound to good behavior. (https://malegislature.gov/Laws/GeneralLaws/PartIV/TitleI/Chapter272/Section36)

The word, “contumeliously,” is used three times in this short paragraph of law. This is a word no longer commonly in usage in modern English. According to Merriam-Webster online, the word from which it is derived, “contumelious,” means “insolently abusive and humiliating.”

Also, notice that the paragraph refers to God’s “government.” This is because the Sinister Trinity believes that governments are ordained by their God and that government and law enforcement officials are God’s servants or agents. The idea of a secular state, a secular government, is radical and inherently “Satanic” in the view of the Sinister Trinity and they insist that the U.S. government comes from God, is the work of Christians, and is based on Judeo-Christian law. This is one reason they keep illegally erecting their contemptible “Ten Commandments” monuments on government property. It’s why they insist on the religious slogan, “In God We Trust,” being stamped on everything, public and private, and it was religious fanatics, in particular, Eisenhower, who passed an illegal Federal law in the 1950s declaring this statement to be the official motto of the United States of America.

This blasphemy law in Massachusetts, is similar to the kind of laws that exist in Pakistan and now modern-day Europe. Concepts of hate speech, which are incompatible with American laws, are being enforced in the U.S., upon American citizens, through private corporations in control of communications in the U.S. Increasingly, vital technology companies, first developed in the U.S., are now directly in the hands of those who are historically dangerous enemies to witches, occultists, and pagans outside the U.S. To learn more about these developments, please, listen: The Occult Files of Sophia diGregorio, “The First Monologue of 2018,” which may be heard, free-of-charge, by visiting The Occult Files of Sophia diGregorio WordPress blog at this link or it may be read in the book, The Occult Files of Sophia diGregorio, The Public Monologues of 2018, available from Amazon, other popular retailers, or in paperback directly from Winter Tempest Books in exchange for cryptocurrency.)

Numerous American States Require a Belief in “God” or the “Supreme Being” as a Condition of Employment

Traditional Witches’ History of the Occult Banking System: How Witches and Occultists Can Use Bitcoin and Altcoins for Privacy and Anti-Discrimination

For a long time now, a number of states require their government employees to profess a belief in “God,” aka. “The Supreme Being” as a condition of employment. The implications of this are described in, Traditional Witches’ History of the Occult Banking System: How Witches and Occultists Can Use Bitcoin and Altcoins for Privacy and Anti-Discrimination.

In some states, such as Arkansas, you are not allowed to be a witness in court or serve on a jury unless you profess a belief in “God” or the “Supreme Being.”

Recent attempts to overturn such pernicious, obviously unconstitutional laws have failed! Instead, we are getting more such laws.

Theoretically, there is no religious test for office. But, let us now count how many known witches hold public office. … [the sound of crickets]… You won’t find many garden variety atheists in office in this secular nation, either. The reason for this seems clear and the implications are sinister, to say the least.

By way of a conclusion to an article like this, you might expect to see some call to organize a protest or perhaps call your local senator or congressman, but the futility of such advice is self-evident. It was once said that unless you can mail a donation check to your representative in the tens of thousands of dollars, don’t bother to write because your letter will go into the waste basket. But, at this point, there is no amount of campaign bribery that would be effective in turning back this trend, even if you had millions of dollars at your disposal. The deck is absolutely stacked in the favor of the same powerful religious interests that have plagued W. Europe and subsequently the Americas for centuries.

Religious Fanatics Don’t Care If They Violate the Law or Your Inherent Rights

There are plenty of legislators, judges, and employers who do not care about Title VII of the Civil Rights Act or what the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission ( EEOC) says. Furthermore, they are serving their dark lord, getting brownie points to get into Heaven, and looking good in public to their fellow fanatics by discriminating against you. Even if you are a member of a well-establish witchcraft-based or pagan religion, they don’t care. They are all the more convinced that by fighting you they are “doing the Lord’s work.” You’ll have a lot of trouble getting your legal rights recognized in a government and a judicial system that is run, from top to bottom, by religious fanatics who, time after time, put their religion and their God, above the law, as repeatedly illustrated in the above examples.

Dangerous religious fanatics, who worship a composite of mostly malignant, blood-thirsty and flesh-hungry entities, which date back thousands of years in Mesopotamia and northern Africa and have been known throughout time as “God,” “The Lord,” and by many other names, have taken complete control of our government and the governments of many other rightly secular or pagan nations. The author calls the Sinister Trinity “sinister,” which means “left hand,” for good reason. It is all the things they—their doctrines and their followers—project at witches! Consider for a moment the things they commonly accuse witches of. Naturally, you are familiar with them. They are the ones doing these things. Consider the ongoing crimes of the Roman Catholic Church alone! They are the masters of inverting the truth, projecting, and scapegoating. (The 2nd Public Monologue of 2019, which is called “Scapegoating: or, How the Devil Got His Horns,” is available as a free audio file at The Occult Files of Sophia diGregorio WordPress blog.)

Centuries ago, the Sinister Trinity took control of our pagan civilizations. While there are no reports of anyone being dragged out of his or her house and burned at the stake just yet, our situation is not improving. Right now, they have entered the later stages of tyranny, similar to that which they have perpetrated against us in the past. If circumstances continue on, if we follow where this road inevitably leads, they will become ever more bold and aggressive.

Silence is Golden

The Wise are Silent

In the face of these unsettling developments, along with corresponding cultural developments of the past few years, it is imperative for witches, occultists, and other heretics to maintain privacy. Take care in your use of social media, other methods of high tech communication, and transaction. Change the way you communicate and do business to protect yourself from the zealots, who have taken control of these things.

The corporate social media structure, just like the corporate banking structure and the government, is centralized. It is the nature of the beast to be easily compromised. It is beneficial to witches, occultists, and other vulnerable individuals to move away from centralized, authoritarian structures so that you can regain the personal and financial sovereignty to which you are inherently entitled.

While technology is often scapegoated as the cause of loss of privacy, it is, in fact, technology that provides a solution to many problems we are all facing. New technology now exists to take witches off the “In God We Trust System.” All you have to do is recognize it and start using it. It’s really that simple.

Please, read more about the “In God We Trust System” and solutions to the problems it presents in Sophia diGregorio’s book,  Traditional Witches History of the Occult Banking System: How Witches and Occultists Can Use Bitcoin and Altcoins for Privacy and Anti-Discrimination, (paperback) (Kindle) (Nook) (Paperbacks may now be purchased directly from Winter Tempest Books, P2P, in exchange for cryptocurrency.)

Please, read Sophia diGregorio’s free ebook, The Occult Files of Sophia diGregorio Bitcoin and Altcoins Patronage Program: How to Join our Cryptocurrency-Based Patronage Program and Why We Are Doing Things This Way. The free ebook is available in .pdf, .mobi, and .epub formats. (No opt-in or any such nonsense.)

Listen to The Occult Files of Sophia diGregorio, the Public Monologues of 2018 and 2019, absolutely free at The Occutl Files of Sophia diGregorio WordPress Blog.

Purchase the transcripts of The Occult Files of Sophia diGregorio: The Public Monologues of 2018 in paperback or ebook formats at Amazon and in ebook form at Smashwords.

Traditional Witchcraft and Occultism: The Importance of the Black Santa Muerte for Protection, Revenge and Cursing

The problems of injustice and impunity in Mexico have been well-publicized and this is clearly one important reason for the rise of Santa Muerte in popularity there. But, here in the U.S. and in other supposedly more peaceful and just countries many people, especially those who are members of traditionally disenfranchised groups, live daily with injustice and the fear of crime and corruption.

Enemies of Santa Muerte malign her devotees, calling us criminals and prostitutes. But, this is malignant ignorance because the vast majority of devotees of Santa Muerte are not criminals or prostitutes, but are simply not members of the establishment and do not enjoy the privileges of being part of the in-group. The truth is many people become devoted to Santa Muerte after they are victimized by criminals of one class or another. Very often they discover her immense power only after turning to her as a last resort. Very often, they are people without special privileges and without a voice.

There are those who must suffer in silence because giving voice to what is happening to them will only open the door to more crimes against themselves – those who are victims of domestic violence, rape, harassment, stalking and other violent crimes that far more often than not go unpunished. Those people whose lives have been sabotaged over and over again, who have had to rebuild over and over again that which their enemies have destroyed will most understand and appreciate the value of the black aspect of Santa Muerte.

Grimoire of Santa Muerte: Spells and Rituals of Most Holy Death, the Unofficial (Santa Muerte Series) (Volume 1) by Sophia diGregorio

This is why the black aspect of Santa Muerte is very important. The color, black, represents the most important and powerful aspects of Santa Muerte‘s primordial powers. Before there can be healing, love, prosperity and the other necessities of life, there must be peace.

Before a seed can grow in the soil, it must be covered in darkness and protected, it must not be deprived of its nourishment by thieves, its young shoots must not be trampled by the feet of the wicked.

The cover of darkness in which to work on your plans without falling subject to envy, jealousy, greed and sabotage. Secrecy is important for people who may be targeted in some way.

Santa Muerte, working through her black aspect, can help you to establish your privacy and protect you from those who would harm you in any way. Santa Muerte works in secret, in the darkness, to right wrongs, to protect the innocent, to avenge those who love her and to conceal you from anyone who might wish to do you harm.

Not only does the black aspect of Santa Muerte have the power of stopping dangerous and powerful enemies, even causing the death of enemies who wish devotees harm, but provides extremely powerful protection under the cover of darkness. The great owl companion of Santa Muerte provides eyes in the night with which to see an approaching enemy, to learn of his plots and thwart his sabotage.

Grimoire of Santa Muerte, Vol. 2: Altars, Meditations, Divination and Witchcraft Rituals for Devotees of Most Holy Death

Keepers of the status quo warn against the evils of revenge. They admonish the wronged parties to forgive their oppressors. They taunt the victims’ because of their need for anonymity. But, there is no peace without justice.

And, to go forward with your life, to pursuit happiness and fulfill your life’s purpose, you must first have peace. You must not be tormented by evil-doers and those who perpetrate evil against you.

This place of peace is a protected one from which you can live and work in safety. All people are naturally entitled to that kind of peace and opportunity to live their lives without sabotage, without betrayal, without constant victimization.

The black Santa Muerte is the most powerful aspect for all those who have been denied justice, who have been left behind by the established system in some way, those who were not born to privilege, those who do not have the benefit of equality under the law, those who have no representation in places of power, those who are oppressed. Santa Muerte is our greatest ally and a source of personal power.

Differences Between Traditional Witchcraft and Wicca: How Wicca Became Mainstream Modern Witchcraft

by Sophia diGregorio

There are many differences between traditional witchcraft and Wicca and while there are numerous articles on this subject – in fact, I’ve written a couple of others on this topic elsewhere – it doesn’t hurt to stress it all the more, especially for newcomers to “the craft.”

The term “traditional witchcraft” is one that has evolved in recent years to try to distinguish more historically-based and folk practices from the modern witchcraft-based religion Wicca, which has become very popular in recent decades. Wicca began in Britain in the 1950s, but was not fully exported to the U.S. until the 1970s. Wicca was first very popular on the west coast, in Colorado, Massachussetts and a few other isolated regions until it became part of mainstream pop culture with the release of the movie, “The Craft,” in 1996.

At this point, Wicca became the loudest and proudest voice among those who practice witchcraft, which has generally remained a secret or, at least, private practice for most people. But, this movie made witchcraft – or, at least, a form of it – popular, especially among high school and college aged people. Since then Wicca has remained relatively popular and it is now very often the first introduction many people have to the occult.

But, there are fundamental differences between this modern form of witchcraft, Wicca, and traditional witchcraft.

Those who wanted to take witchcraft mainstream created a “kinder, gentler” form of witchcraft for mass consumption back in the 1970s.

Click here to visit Psychic Powers and Magic Spells

How Witchcraft in the Form of Wicca Entered Mainstream Popular Culture

In 1974 there was a meeting of some neo-pagans in Minneapolis, Minnesota at which they attempted to codify the beliefs of witches, but they weren’t really talking about witches as much as Wiccans. These people claimed to speak for all witches, but they were actually a group of Wiccans looking for a way to make witchcraft more palatable to Christians.

The following is the result of their attempt to codify and define the beliefs of witches:

“Principles of Wiccan Beliefs” 1974 Council of American Witches

Wiccan priestess preaching in a temple.
Date: 26 August 2007
Source: The Priestess in the Temple.
Flickr user bluheron / Heron Herodias.
Image Lic.: Creative Commons 2.0

We practice rites to attune ourselves with the natural rhythm of life forces marked by the phases of the Moon and the seasonal Quarters and Cross Quarter.

We recognize that our intelligence gives us a unique responsibility toward our environment. We seek to live in harmony with Nature, in ecological balance offering fulfillment to life and consciousness within an evolutionary concept.

We acknowledge a depth of power far greater than that apparent to the average person. Because it is far greater than ordinary, it is sometimes called supernatural, but we see it as lying within that which is naturally potential to all.

We conceive of the Creative Power in the universe as manifesting through polarity — as masculine and feminine — and that this same Creative Power lies in all people, and functions through the interaction of the masculine and feminine. We value neither above the other, knowing each to be supportive to the other. We value sex as pleasure, as the symbol and embodiment of life, and as one of the sources of energies used in magickal practice and religious worship.

We recognize both outer worlds and inner, or psychological, worlds sometimes known as the Spiritual World, the Collective Unconscious, Inner Planes, etc. — and we see in the interaction of these two dimensions the basis for paranormal phenomena and magickal exercises. We neglect neither dimension for the other, seeing both as necessary for our fulfillment.

We do not recognize any authoritarian hierarchy, but do honor those who teach, respect those who share their greater knowledge and wisdom, and acknowledge those who have courageously given of themselves in leadership.

We see religion, magick and wisdom in living as being united in the way one views the world and lives within it — a world view and philosophy of life which we identify as Witchcraft — the Wiccan Way.

Calling oneself “Witch” does not make a Witch — but neither does heredity itself, nor the collecting of titles, degrees and initiations. A Witch seeks to control the forces within her/himself that make life possible in order to live wisely and well without harm to others and in harmony with Nature.

We believe in the affirmation and fulfillment of life in a continuation of evolution and development of consciousness giving meaning to the Universe we know and our personal role within it.

Our only animosity towards Christianity, or towards any other religion or philosophy of life, is to the extent that its institutions have claimed to be “the only way” and have sought to deny freedom to others and to suppress other ways of religious practice and belief.

As American Witches, we are not threatened by debates on the history of the Craft, the origins of various terms, the legitimacy of various aspects of different traditions. We are concerned with our present and our future.

We do not accept the concept of absolute evil, nor do we worship any entity known as “Satan” or “the Devil”, as defined by the Christian traditions. We do not seek power through the suffering of others, nor accept that personal benefit can be derived only by denial to another.

We believe that we should seek within Nature that which is contributory to our health and well-being.

The Council that came up with this supposedly did so to counteract misinformation and dispel stereotypes, but actually they succeeded in making more of this very thing. Interestingly, this witches’ council was assembled by Carl Llewellyn Weschcke, President of Llewellyn Publishing. They have been the primary publishers of books on Wicca and Neo-paganism since, at least, the 1970s. And, it is their books that are common sources of confusion about what witchcraft -at least, traditional witchcraft – is. This is because their Wiccan authors do not usually acknowledge and have even worked to deny the truth about witchcraft.

Not surprisingly, this Council of Witches, which was founded in 1973 ceased to exist by 1975 because of differences among its members.

Click here to visit Psychic Powers and Magic Spells

Black Magic, Demons and Other Spirits

“Bide the Wiccan Rede, ye must; in perfect love and perfect trust.”

Mother Goose: A Traditional Witch

A fundamental difference between traditional witches and Wiccans is that traditional witches do not acknowledge or accept the Wiccan Rede or any other moral code. The Wiccan Rede became popular with many non-Gardnerian Wiccans. Gardnerians have never acknowledged it, their “code” is the Charge of the Goddess.

The Wiccan Rede has roots that stretch all the way back to the late 1960s and seems to stem from something said by Doreen Valiente in speech she gave.

On the other hand, traditional witches are entirely self-autonomous and do not acknowledge any code or authority, therefore, they usually have no problem with the practice of black magic. In fact, traditional witchcraft is quite a lot darker than Wicca and the the slick, glittery popular culture conception of modern witchcraft from the movies.

In contrast to traditional witchcraft, Wiccans eschew black magic. Some go a little further and declare that anyone claiming to practice black magic or work with demonic entities is not a real witch. Some, also, claim that Satanists and Luciferians are not real witches. Some Wiccans are very reactionary to this aspect of traditional witchcraft and expend a lot of energy trying to convince people that real witches don’t practice black magic or commune with the devil.

On the other hand, many traditional witches don’t consider Wiccans to be real witches. And, in recent years, some Wiccans do not consider themselves to be witches and do not practice spell casting, rather they just celebrate the earth and its yearly cycles.

As stated in the “Principles” above, Wicca does not recognize evil, ascribing these characteristics to forces of nature. Furthermore, most Wiccans do not believe in the existence of demons or devils. By contrast many traditional witches work with spirits of all kinds and of different natures.

Traditional witches, also, employ familiars, but they are not cats or dogs – they are spirits. By contrasts, many Wiccans translate “familiar spirit” to mean a pet.

Click here to visit Psychic Powers and Magic Spells

Traditional Witches Look and Act Like Everyone Else

Most traditional witches, unless they’re in business as witches, do not dress any differently from other people. They, also, typically do not use telltale phrases like, “Merry Meet” and “Blessed be.” The closer we fit to the witch living alone on the edge of town with a black cat stereo-type, the more circumspect we tend to be with regard to our lives and our activities because people knowing anything about our personal business has not worked out well for us in the past.

By contrast, Wiccans tend to be very social and they dress in certain ways and use certain phrases so they can recognize each other in social settings. They are the vocal majority who are “out of the broom closet.

Wicca and the Self-help Movement

Traditional witchcraft is not a self-help movement. It is not about personal empowerment through positive thinking or affirmations. It about changing the outer world. Traditional witches are very serious about altering circumstances in the outer environment, yes, even manipulating other people. Traditional witches understand that there is a an occult science that makes this possible. Witches have a natural power to cause changes in the outer environment and they spend a lot of time studying the occult and trying to improve upon and perfect their natural abilities.

By contrast, many aspects of Wicca focus on self-help and changing things about one’s self as opposed to changing things in the outer environment. Some even forbid using witchcraft for healing without the subject’s permission.

Click here to visit Psychic Powers and Magic Spells

Wicca’s Earth-Centeredness

Traditional Witchcraft

Unlike Wicca, traditional witchcraft is not an earth-centered religion or, for that matter, an earth-centered anything else. In fact, it’s not a religion, either. Traditional witches do not worship anyone or anything.

Traditional witches tend to rely more on history, old documents and old practices, whether from old grimoires, the writings of the Hermeticists or from folklore.

On the other hand, Wiccans tend to rely more on their own books on the subject of Wicca, which is really a completely different thing. The Llewellyn Publishing Company is probably the most important publisher to shape present-day thoughts about both Wicca and witchcraft. But, Wicca is in many ways the converse of everything that both traditional witchcraft and historical witchcraft represent.

Read a related article at this blog: What is Traditional Witchcraft? How to Know if You are a Wiccan or a Traditional Witch.

Click here to visit Psychic Powers and Magic Spells

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Green Man Nature Spirit Symbolism in George Romero’s Movie “Season of the Witch” or “Jack’s Wife”

by Sophia diGregorio.

Young Pan by L. Bakst

(This is my third review and analysis of “Season of the Witch.” The first one is entitled, “Traditional Witch’s Review of the 1973 George Romero Movie, “Season of the Witch,” aka. “Hungry Wives” and “Jack’s Wife” and the second one is entitled, “Review of “Season of the Witch” (1973) or “Hungry Wives.”)

The Green Man is a nature spirit who represents licentiousness and liberation in the untamed wilderness. He represents mankind’s untamed nature. You’ll see  images of the Green Man in a lot of people’s gardens because he’s a spirit of growth and abundance.

He represents the difference between the “civilized” town-life and life in the wild, untamed forest. The pagans and the wise ones usually lived outside the city and were closer to nature, so he might be seen as a representation of paganism vs. Christianity. He is sometimes associated with Cernnunos, Pan, “The Horned God” or the Satyr.

Christian doctrine is opposed to the natural man. It is something I heard often among the Mormons. They said that god doesn’t like “the natural man” and his natural desires must be subordinated to the will of god. We find it in the Bible in the King James version of 1 Corinthians 2:14 “But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.

To many neo-pagans, Wiccans and other modern witches, the Green Man may be seen as a symbol of personal transformation. His face sprouting with new growth is a representation of a person transforming from a Christian (city-dweller) to a pagan (natural man or woman of the forest).

The Green Man motif is seen often in English literature. In Shakespeare’s “Midsummer Night’s Dream,” he is the fairy Puck, who places a spell on all of the people of the forest, including the fairy queen, the actors and the four lovers. The Green Man is a god of the Spring, of renewal and rebirth.’

Robin Goodfellow or Robinhood is another example of the use of the Green Man motif. Robin Goodfellow is a natural man, a law unto himself. He is a trickster and a little devil in the classic sense of the term, who gets the best of the evil Sheriff of Nottingham.

Another classic use of the Green Man motif can be seen in “Sir Gawain and the Green Knight.” The Green Knight is a representation of the unknown dangers of the forest. We see J.R.R. Tolkein make use of this theme in the first book of “The Lord of the Rings” when the hobbits first leave the shire and meet Tom and his wife.

In Season of the Witch, we see writer and director George Romero make use of this classic literary motif to show what is happening to the main character, Joan. Joan is a Catholic who is slowly transforming into a natural woman – a witch.

Click here to visit Psychic Powers and Magic Spells

Green Man Symbolism in Season of the Witch

If you haven’t already read my review of Season of the Witch, you’ll find them here: The first one is entitled, “Traditional Witch’s Review of the 1973 George Romero Movie, “Season of the Witch,” aka. “Hungry Wives” and “Jack’s Wife” and the second one is entitled, “Review of “Season of the Witch” (1973) or “Hungry Wives.”) These reviews discuss more of this movie’s theme and its overall use of symbolism.

Romero lamented in the documentary footage of the DVD for this movie that he didn’t have the money to shoot the scene where the main character, Joan, is being pursued in a nightmare by a man wearing a Green Man mask. He compares it to a similar scene in Rosemary’s Baby, which achieves a film effect closer to what he probably had in mind. But, the corresponding scene in Season of the Witch has marvelous symbolism in it and this really makes up for the whole thing. Romero’s use of symbolism throughout this movie is nothing short of brilliant.

You’ll want to pay close attention right from the opening sequence on because there’s nothing in this movie that’s not supposed to be there. The Green Man transformation happens to the main character, Joan, who is apparently a pretty heavily indoctrinated Catholic. While we’re all born witches, those who’ve been indoctrinated by the Christians have to find their way back to the forest and that’s symbolically what this movie is about… and it’s about women finding their freedom at the same time.

There is a sexual theme, but this has always been part of “selling your soul to the devil” – it’s in all the old witch trial accounts and folk lore about witches. Women who are witches are sexually free because they understand they are not owned by the church or a man. This is part of the green man transformation theme in this movie, which Romero really wrote to express his views on the Women’s Movement in the early 1970s.

Romero’s “Season of the Witch” is a movie is about both sexual liberation and witchcraft and these two things are intertwined throughout the movie. For example, in the ritual she conjures “Virago” – The term means a powerful, Amazon-like woman. So, she is conjuring her own power, essentially (this was adapted from Huson’s book and the original entity’s name is Vassago). And, the actress who plays this role is very statuesque and powerful-looking like an Amazon-woman, but her power has been usurped by her white, middle-class suburban life, which is what she has been told is an ideal. This was supposed to be the thing that made women happy, but she’s not happy, at all. Joan is about 40-years old and her life-choices were not very broad. Her friend Shirley is a little older and feels this even more intensely, that life has passed her by, she’s lost her sex appeal and she’s not ready for things to be over because there are so many things she wants to “cut loose” and do.

The man in the mask coming after her in her dreams is her own sexual liberation coupled with her interest in the occult, which subconsciously really scares her. She verbalizes her fear of the occult at the tarot reading and again before the conjuration. But, we really see her fear of both the occult and her own sexuality in the nightmare of the man in the Green Man mask.

Here the Green Man is a representation of Joan’s freedom from both Christianity (Green Man is a representation of the god of the witches) and her life in “the dog pound,” which is the prison of the middle-class existence of women. As much as Joan wants what he represents, she is afraid of him, so she her subconscious mind produces these nightmares about him chasing her though the house.

The ending is a little ironic, if that’s the right word. She ends up shooting her husband. As much as she’s afraid of witchcraft and all it represents, she is even more afraid of staying trapped in her present situation. Her fears drive her to accidentally shoot her husband.

Joan doesn’t like swearing and in the extended version, she and Shirley are about to leave Greg and Nikki during the discussion about witchcraft because of his use of foul language – in the theatrical version he uses the “F” word, which we’re used to now, but was really out of line, especially in the company of women in the 1970s. Also, at the dinner table, when she’s wearing the ashes on her head, the tea pot starts shaking (as if from her annoyance or anger) at her husband who is swearing on the phone. And, then the last thing we hear from her husband as he’s trying to open the door downstairs in the rain is “Son of a …” – and then there’s the shotgun blast and he’s dead!

I urge you to see Season of the Witch, especially if you like complex horror or have an interest in the subject of witchcraft because this movie portrays it very well.

The movie was done in Philadelphia in 1972 and released in 1973. But, it wasn’t promoted properly and maybe it was a little too deep for some audiences, especially those who were expecting a porno movie, which was one of the ways they tried to promote it. That’s why they called it “Hungry Wives.” The original title was “Jack’s Wife.” It wasn’t re-released again until 2005 under the title “Season of the Witch.” By this time people knew who George Romero was. But, this movie isn’t much like his later work. It’s much better, I think.

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What’s Next After Wicca? Non-Wiccan and Traditional Witchcraft

What’s Next After Wicca? Non-Wiccan Occult Practices and Traditional Witchcraft

What’s Next After Wicca? Non-Wiccan and Traditional Witchcraft was written to show the true history of Wicca in Britain and the development of neo-Wicca in the U.S. It tells the benefits and the drawbacks of what has become the most popular, accessible and socially acceptable form of witchcraft. Wicca is the most popular aspect of the occult today, but it is certainly not all there is. This book encourages readers who want more to continue their exploration of witchcraft and their study of its origins.

It was written by a metaphysical bookstore owner who often heard the question, “What else is there?” Find “What’s Next After Wicca? Non-Wiccan and Traditional Witchcraft“ by Sophia diGregorio at Amazon, Barnes & Noble.

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Review of “Season of the Witch” (1973) or “Hungry Wives”

by Sophia diGregorio

 

(This is my second review and analysis of this fascinating film. The first one is entitled, “Traditional Witch’s Review of the 1973 George Romero Movie, “Season of the Witch,” aka. “Hungry Wives” and “Jack’s Wife, and the third one involves an analysis regarding Green Man symbolism, entitled, “Green Man Nature Spirit Symbolism in George Romero’s Movie “’Season of the Witch or Jack’s Wife’”, which follows this post.)

About Season of the Witch or Hungry Wives

“Season of the Witch” was originally filmed and directed by George A. Romero in 1972, but not released to theaters until 1973 as “Hungry Wives.” The original title was “Jack’s Wife,” which really describes the main character, Joan Mitchell (played by Jan White), who, as a suburban, middle-class housewife has no real identity of her own.

Although, the director has expressed regrets about this film, which was one of his earliest efforts, it is truly an amazing work of art and one I just can’t stop watching. It is outstanding for its script and its actors, but possibly the first amazing thing about the movie is the opening dream sequence, which makes wonderful use of symbolism to tell us almost everything about the main character in just a few minutes.

Although, Romero denies any personal belief in “the devil,” it is evident that someone was familiar with the work of Paul Huson and his book, “Mastering Witchcraft,” which is quoted throughout the film. Rituals are taken verbatim from the book, in fact, the exact symbol of the Goetic demon Vassago from Huson’s book is used in the conjuration rite, along with other spells for new witches.

Season of the Witch seems to tell two stories depending upon the viewer’s perspective. Based on the deeply divided reviews of this film, it seems that those unfamiliar with witchcraft see a completely different movie than those familiar with the subject.

Other viewers are confused about the kind of witchcraft that is portrayed in the film, which is not Wicca. Wicca, although not entirely unknown in the U.S. at the time this film was made, was not very popular. It was certainly not popular with the author Paul Huson, who was originally from England and familiar with British Traditional Wicca. Wicca, mainly in the form of Neo-wicca, would not become popular in the U.S. for another 20 to 25 years.

This movie is, at least, as relevant now as it was back in the early 1970s when the Women’s Movement was first getting underway. It may be even more relevant now as women’s basic human rights in the U.S. are more threatened than ever by extremist Christian organizations and the increasing violence of the secular patriarchy.

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The Representation of Witchcraft in This Movie

Some reviewers have complained that there is too little about witchcraft in this film because we only see a couple of ritual scenes at the end. But, the theme of witchcraft runs throughout this film from beginning to end, if you know what you’re looking at. This film is not an in-your-face kind of horror film and it is sure to disappoint people who are looking for something sensationalistic. What it is is a remarkably realistic movie about real witchcraft.

From the beginning, we see that Joan has the power to dream things that later happen in one way or another. For instance, her dream of being locked up at the dog pound by her husband is realized that night at the cocktail party. They do a Mad Lib reading wherein,”Jack Mitchell works at the dog pound.” Joan’s psychiatrist, who locked her into the kennel in her dream, is present at the party, too. And, while these things are subtle, they are the kinds of things that happen to people when their psychic abilities begin to open up.

At the cocktail party, Joan’s best friend Shirley mentions a friend of theirs who is involved in witchcraft. The following night, the two of them visit this lady and Shirley has a tarot reading. Joan expresses both an interest in and fear of witchcraft. The tarot reader gives a very accurate reading, acknowledging to Shirley that her husband has been having an affair and describing the woman involved. This is something Shirley already knew about, but had not told anyone else.

After the tarot reading Joan and Shirley return to Joan’s house where her daughter Nikki and her boyfriend, Greg get into a discussion about the power of the mind. Joan has never met Greg before, but she’s had a dream about him, in which his sexual services were offered to her. During the discussion Greg expresses his doubts about the reality of witchcraft and says its effects can all be explained psychologically.

Joan’s dreams continue to carry a great deal of meaning, especially to the viewer, because they tell a lot about her life and her state of mind, however, they become increasingly frightening and violent. Some of the nightmares feature an intruder wearing a Green Man mask. Interestingly, this mask has been interpreted as a “devil mask” by some viewers. But, the Green Man is Puck or Robin Goodfellow, a familiar motif in pagan literature and lore as a spirit of the forests and nature, also, at times associated with lust and licentiousness.

Read more about Green Man Symbolism in Season of the Witch at the hub: “Green Man Nature Spirit Symbolism in George Romero’s Season of the Witch or Jack’s Wife.”

From time to time throughout the film, when something significant to the plot happens, we see a shot of of an interesting bull figurine, which represents the pre-christian era. It is a representation of the Sacred Bull of Mesopotamia and has been used to represent pagan gods and goddesses, such as Moloch of Canaan and Hathor of Egypt.

After Joan comes home early and overhears her daughter having sex with her boyfriend, the girl runs away. Her husband is angry at Joan’s response to the situation and hits her across the face. As Joan’s oppression becomes more profound, her interest in witchcraft deepens and she continues to read more about it.

With the song, “Season of the Witch,” by Donovan playing in the background Joan shops for all the ritual items and things she needs to set up her altar, paying for it all with MasterCard!

When her husband returns from his most recent business trip, Joan has to pretend that she’s still Catholic. But, we see that her witch powers have grown because as her husband speaks angrily on the phone with a colleague during dinner, a pitcher on the table rocks back and forth.

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Joan Performs a Conjuration from Paul Huson’s “Mastering Witchcraft”

Joan does a ritual, as recommended in Paul Huson’s “Mastering Witchcraft,” to renounce Christianity. We see her opening up a page of the bible and writing the Our Father prayer backwards. Afterward, she attempts to bring her daughter’s boyfriend Greg to her by means of witchcraft. When this fails or, at least, doesn’t work quickly enough, she calls him on the phone.

To many viewers this appears as just a little extra-marital sex justified by dabbling in witchcraft, but it is far more than that. We know from Joan’s own words that she is very sexually repressed. This programming is related to her relationship to the conventional morality of the patriarchy and the Catholic church. Reversing this kind of repression is not a simple matter, but anyone who has done it will recognize the procedure in the film. After doing the ritual to renounce her Christianity, she embraces witchcraft by having sex with Greg and breaking down the psychological and emotional barriers she has attached to sex.

In other words, this is not sex simply for the sake of sex. At least, it isn’t to Joan. She is using him for her own purpose. Although, Greg (and a lot of viewers) believe this is just a “cop out.” It isn’t. It is a method of deprogramming one’s self that is used by many women who escape a misogynistic mind control cult.

Joan tries to conjure a spirit with the help of Greg. The sigil of the Goetic demon Vassago will be immediately recognized by anyone who is familiar with it. Although, the spirit is renamed “Virago.” The word “virago” means a strong, brave or war-like, Amazon woman, which seems to indicate that this entity represents her own power.

The conjuration is a success. We know this because we see a cat (the form taken by familiar spirits) entering through a basement window and crawling up the stairs. When Joan leaves the room and comes back, she sees a strange cat standing in the middle of the circle and she screams.

In the final scenes, Joan’s nightmares seem to come true in a very real and violent way. These scenes are woven in between scenes of Joan being initiated into the coven.

At the end of the film, Joan is sitting among her friends at a cocktail party, again. But, this time she looks very regal and powerful. Someone comments about how good she looks an her last words are, “I’m a witch.” According to Romero, during the filming of the scene as she said these words, the ceiling cracked above her head. He called this one of many coincidences that occurred during the filming.

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The Theme of Misogyny

Throughout the film, we see hints of the varying types and degrees of repression the women suffer from. Joan has a daughter, thus fulfilling what woman’s purpose was thought to be by some people at this time. In fact, there are still people who think this way. She finds her role as Jack’s wife unfulfilling and lonely and she feels more like the family dog than a real human being.

At the beginning, we see a woman at the party being assaulted and degraded. While this man should have been prosecuted or, at least, chastised for what he did, it is just brushed off. Anyone who has been in this situation knows that all of the blame always falls on the victim or she is told that it’s no big deal and just something she knows she has to put up with.

The sexualized sense of ownership that Jack has of his daughter Nikki is disturbing, although it is subtle. It, too, is the sort of thing that many people might write off as just the words and actions of a concerned, loving father. But, it is in fact a form of sex abuse and we can imagine that it is something he has made a habit of. In the patriarchy, wives and children, especially daughters, are property. As Jack tells us when he hits Joan, they are to be brutalized into conformity, if necessary.

Some of the last lines of the film are from misogynistic police who say that “she’ll get away” with what’s she’s done to her husband. “Women always get everything in the end,” one of them says bitterly.

This film depicts something that was really happening in the 1970s and is still happening today, which is the fusion of the original Women’s Movement with witchcraft. This is why “Season of the Witch” is mentioned in “What’s Next After Wicca? Non-Wiccan Occult Practices and Traditional Witchcraft,” in reference to the growing interest in this subject of witchcraft as a social under-current in the 1960s and ’70s in the U.S.

I can’t recommend “Season of the Witch” strongly enough to anyone interested in the portrayal of witchcraft in movies or witchcraft, in general. This film has been called “feminist” by some and maybe it is, given the era it portrays and the way in which this is done. But, more than this, it is a film about the lives of women and about witchcraft. It depicts both realistically. It has as much value as a lot of great literature that gives us historical insights into the lives of people. Although, it is hard to imagine a film more relevant to many women’s lives.

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What’s Next After Wicca? Non-Wiccan and Traditional Witchcraft

What’s Next After Wicca? Non-Wiccan Occult Practices and Traditional Witchcraft

What’s Next After Wicca? Non-Wiccan and Traditional Witchcraft was written to show the true history of Wicca in Britain and the development of neo-Wicca in the U.S. It tells the benefits and the drawbacks of what has become the most popular, accessible and socially acceptable form of witchcraft. Wicca is the most popular aspect of the occult today, but it is certainly not all there is. This book encourages readers who want more to continue their exploration of witchcraft and their study of its origins.

It was written by a metaphysical bookstore owner who often heard the question, “What else is there?” Find What’s Next After Wicca? Non-Wiccan and Traditional Witchcraft by Sophia diGregorio at Amazon, Barnes & Noble.

Amazon.com: “What’s Next After  Wicca?  Non-Wiccan and Traditional Witchcraft“

See other books by Sophia diGregorio

 

Witchcraft and the Occult: Good Reasons for Staying in the Broom Closet and How to Keep Your Private Business Private

The following is an old witch’s advice for other witches, atheists, Satanists and independent thinkers who do not live in a supportive environment.

Since, at least, the 1990s when a form of witchcraft, Wicca, became mainstream, there has been a lot of discussion about “coming out of the closet” as a witch. This is usually a big question for teenagers or college students whose lives may be heavily dominated by their parents. But, it’s, also, a problem for many adults whose families, employers or general environment is dominated by religious fanatics.

Coming out of the closet is not a light consideration, nor should it be approached with a cavalier attitude. Once you’re out, it’s hard to get back in and the consequences can be very unpleasant, depending on your particular circumstances.

A lot of bigotry, some of the dangerous kind, remains in parts of the U.S. where Christianity dominates, although, if you live in a bigger city or a place like Salem, Massachusetts where witchcraft is celebrated, you might find it hard to believe. Similar intolerance may exist in other countries, as well.

If you happen to live in a less than forward-thinking place, considering the following ideas while you make your decision may be beneficial.

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Good Reasons for Staying in the Broom Closet

Even if the climate is not bad where you are now, this can change – and it has. The churches are businesses that exist with the benefit of billions of dollars annually in U.S. government taxpayer funds since George W. Bush signed the Faith Based Initiative into law by executive order. Many, also, enjoy 501-C-3 status with the IRS, which means they are classified as non-profit organizations. By claiming to be religious organizations and meeting certain standards, they are exempt from Federal and State taxation. This gives them a great advantage over other types of businesses and, as a result, they have grown abundantly in the past few years while other businesses have failed under the burden of taxes and, in some cases, the domination of Christian “morality.”

As they have grown fat on the back of the American taxpayer, they have grown more powerful. This means that where their influence was problematic a few years ago, in some places, it is becoming unbearable. In some parts of the Midwest, the South and in the Mormon Corridor, it is a challenge to find an employer or an employment situation that isn’t dominated by Christians, often very tyrannical, fundamentalist ones. If you are out of lockstep with them, you can lose your job. If you have a business, you can lose your customer base, if they find out you are not one of them.

If you conform or appear to conform to their “standards,” you won’t encounter many problems.

If you can run your business without it interfering with the laws established by the churches with regard to alcohol sales or certain types of entertainment, you are better off doing so.

For most people, witchcraft is a quiet personal practice and there is really no need to discuss it with anyone else. In your interactions with other people, let them make the first move toward any open discussion about the occult. Never initiate the discussion.

If you do have a few friends and hold meetings at your house, be discreet. If you have a spiritual development group, for example, you have a few friends who gather together each week to practice mediumship development or discuss occult-related subjects, try to keep your meetings low-key. You might even devise a cover story and tell outsiders that it is a “Bible Study” group. Religions are given special status and if people think you’re holding a Christian religious meeting, you won’t have any problems.

If you live in a heavily Christian area where people’s lives revolve around their church, you may want to devise a story to tell people who inquire about your “faith.” Usually, if you tell people you’re Catholic, the questions stop there. Many protestants don’t really like the Catholic Church, but they will respect a Catholic enough not to nag or harass them. Tailor your choice of cover story based on the area you live in.

Make a game out of dealing with Christians. If you have religious co-workers, keep them off the scent by throwing a little “Bless You,” or “Thank the Lord,” into the conversation at appropriate times. You can laugh quietly to yourself once their backs are turned, knowing that your privacy is being maintained and you are secure from being hassled.

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Tips for Staying Safely in the Closet Online and In Real Life

The following are some ideas to consider if you want to guard your privacy online and remain in the broom closet, both online and in real life:

If you have a job working for a Christian-dominated company, do not post on “anti-Christian” sites while at work. It can be traced by your employer and people have lost their jobs this way.

Always stay anonymous online. Never use your real name, disclose your location or family relationships or anything else that could identify you to someone who knows you. There are millions of people online, but it can become a very small world in some online communities. Furthermore, never post pictures of yourself, your family, your pets. Never talk about your work place or your school. People who know you may be able to identify you just from you giving too many details.

•     Use different UserIDs.
•     Do not integrate social networking sites with other social networking sites or your e-mail account.
•     Use multiple e-mail accounts.
•     Never give personal information that could identify you.
•     Do not give information about your location.
•     If you suspect someone is tracking you, leave disinformation crumbs.
•     If cornered by your employer or anyone who could do damage to your life, remember the words of Bill Clinton, “Deny, deny, deny!”

What is bad about following this advice is that when everyone follows it, it can prevent you from connecting with people you know.

For instance, I joined a closed online witchcraft group once and recognized someone I knew and was friends with by his moniker and photo. I introduced myself and we re-established contact after a couple of years. If everyone is in the closet, it’s much more difficult to make these kinds of positive connections. But, especially, if you are vulnerable, you are better off staying in the closet and letting those who have less to lose by being out (for example, this guy is the head of a Satanic order and is something of an intimidating figure to many people) do so, then you can connect with them, as you like.

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Other Reasons for Staying in the Closet

Peace of Mind: By staying in the closet, you enjoy more peace of mind. Not wasting time and energy dealing with people you don’t want to deal with gives you more time to focus on your personal goals.

Privacy: Privacy is part of safety and security, online, at your job and in every aspect of your life. People cannot attack you very easily if they know nothing about you.
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Efficacy: It is often easier to get things done and to have influence, for example, within an organization, if you appear to be a team player. It is an easier position from which to try to persuade others to see things your way. If you come out of the closet in an “in your face” fashion, this will predispose others to oppose you in all matters.

You’re not going to change the minds of religious fanatics by being a good person or setting a good example as a witch (or an atheist). It is their goal to dominate other people and force them to conform to their “standards.” They don’t consider morality, decency, goodness or the content of a person’s character. If you have not accepted the redeeming blood of Jesus, they will regard you as “Satan.” Again, you may have a better chance of influencing them by remaining in the closet and playing along.

All of this advice is meaningless if you are fortunate enough to be living in a place dominated by educated, non-superstitious people who are grounded in reality. If you are not so fortunate, then you really must consider the danger that being out of the closet could pose to you, your safety, you family’s safety and your financial well-being.

Notes on the Regional Nature of The Problem of Intolerance of Witchcraft in the U.S.

The decision to come out of the broom closet or not is absolutely an individual choice. Each witch will have to realistically evaluate the environment he or she lives in to come to the right decision.

Coming out can be liberating and really seem like a relief. But, it can cause some problems, too.

The following is a famous example of what could go wrong:

Brandi Blackbear is a woman who was persecuted at a public school in Tulsa, Oklahoma back in 1999-2000, when she was 15-years old. Lifetime Movies did a dramatization of her story called “Not Like Everyone Else” in 2006. Brandi was not a witch, but her trouble began when she was caught reading a book on the subject of witchcraft from the library. Brandi suffered persecution at her school to an extreme until she received help from ACLU and hers became a landmark case upholding the 1st Amendment. She gave an interview in which she commented that what happened to her was partly related to the region of the country in which she lived. If she had lived in Seattle, WA or Salem, MA, it probably wouldn’t have happened.

Other Instances of Anti-Witch Discrimination and Modern Witch Persecution

You may notice that most of the victims listed below are Wiccans. Wiccans are often encouraged to live openly in Wiccan books, which is just not safe for everyone everywhere, as you can see.

The woman in this story objected to having to stand and bow her head in prayer to Jesus before city council meetings in South Carolina. She was prevented from speaking, then things got worse.

‘Wynne … said her home has been vandalized and townspeople have tried to forcibly “exorcise” demons out of her, poisoned her cats and threatened to burn her house. “They flipped over my refrigerator. They squirted ketchup and mustard everywhere. They’ve written ‘Die, witch.'” (“South Carolina: Witch Persecuted by Christians” By Austin Cline, About.com GuideAugust 11, 2004. http://atheism.about.com/b/2004/08/11/south-carolina-witch-persecuted-by-christians.htm)

Burnet, Texas has been the scene of two cases of witchcraft persecutions in 2003 and, again, in 2009.

In the first instance in 2003, Wiccans who ran a store in Burnet were threatened and eventually forced to leave town by the local Christians. The original KXAN report cannot be found, but an article, “The Persecution of Wiccans” by Austin Cline, remains at About.com:

“The group says they relocated to Burnet in April after pressure to leave from community groups in Kingsland. They say they’re receiving threats in one case to burn down their business.” (http://atheism.about.com/b/2003/08/03/persecution-of-wiccans.htm)

The original Austin-Statesman article about the 2009 event cannot be found, but a brief article by the same author as referenced above is found at About.com: Austin-American Statesman:

“Over the past 10 months, Allen said, threatening phone calls have poured in and strange cars have followed her home from her store at night. The police dismissed her requests for protection, she said. Allen also claims that in March, one Llano County sheriff’s deputy told her daughter that “we had a family practicing witchcraft awhile back, but we ran them out of town.” (http://atheism.about.com/b/2003/08/06/more-on-the-persecution-of-wiccans-in-texas.htm)

In South Carolina, a Wiccan couple endured extreme harassment from their neighbors and a government agency, DHHR, took their children. They had to sue the government to try to get them back after being accused of engaging in the human sacrifice of their own children.

“A family of Wiccans falsely accused of sacrificing their children during religious ceremonies sued the state’s Department of Health and Human Resources for allegedly harassing them and taking possession of their children.”

“The couple contends they have been continually harassed since moving to West Virginia in 1999.”

“On one occasion, DHHR officials and a State Police trooper were called to investigate an allegation that the couple had killed their youngest child in a sacrifice and were carrying the boy’s body with them. A later DHHR visit came from another false report that the couple’s children had been sacrificed.” (“Wiccan family files suit against DHHR” by Charles Shumaker “The Charleston Gazette,” July 28, 2004 http://wwrn.org/articles/9560/?&place=north-america&section=occult)

Another case from 2008 highlights the dangers of living openly as a witch when you have children and how government agencies that purport to protect children can be manipulated by persecutors. A family was completely torn apart and forced to flee as fugitives because of false reports to the Department of Social Services (DSS) by their Christian neighbors. (“Pagan Persecution a National Travesty” by Lady Passion, High Priestess, Coven Oldenwilde, Asheville, NC Published February, 2008, in Oracle 20/20 Magazine. http://oldenwilde.org/oldenwilde/members/lady-passion-articles/pagan-persecution-a-national-travesty_part-1.html)

Sometimes the harassment is not as overt, but it can still be very damaging. The following is an example of how witches may be undermined or sabotaged at work. TSA worker, Carole Smith was fired from her job under the pretense of poor job performance, but it seems likely there were other reasons. As a person of integrity, she was concerned about lax security at the airport and became a whistleblower. She was, also subjected to witchcraft accusations by co-workers:

“A co-worker even complained that Smith cast a disabling spell on the heater of her car one snowy evening,” (“Wiccan Lawsuit: Carole Smith claims TSA fired her for being a ‘witch'” by Larry McShane, Daily New Staff Writer, March 31, 2011 http://articles.nydailynews.com/2011-03-31/news/29386452_1_tsa-wiccan-witch-hunt)

Some witches do not feel safe or comfortable telling their own family members about their witchcraft practice. The following article is from the New York Times:

“A stay-at-home mother of two in Northern Virginia who was raised Southern Baptist keeps her Wiccan faith secret. Not even her mother knows.” (“Wiccans Keep the Faith With a Religion Under Wraps” by Stephanie Kuykendal, The New York Times, May 16, 2007. http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/16/us/16wiccan.html)

Learn More About Staying Securely in the Broom Closet

Learn more about importance of privacy, especially financial privacy and how to obtain more of it when you read Sophia diGregorio’s newest book, Traditional Witches’ History of the Occult Banking System: How Witches and Occultists Can Use Bitcoin and Altcoins for Privacy and Anti-Discrimination, available for sale on Amazon.com for Kindle readers and in paperback.  Also, it is available from Barnes & Noble for Nook.

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(Note: This article was updated on January 10, 2019.)

Traditional Witchcraft and the Occult: What is Initiation?

by Sophia diGregorio

There are two basic types of initiation:

1) Initiation into a group, religious or secular in which you learn more about the organization, more responsibilities or degrees. This kind of initiation is largely symbolic of information and knowledge that is to come.

2) Initiation by the acquisition of knowledge about the occult – includes personal research, study and experimentation. This kind of initiation does not involve a ceremony, but it is a true initiation into the occult.

The Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn is a very good example of how initiation works in free masonic groups, covens and other secret societies. We can see how it worked because the Golden Dawn was intentionally transparent unlike its predecessors or most other such contemporary organizations.

In the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn’s original organization, initiates were both ceremonially initiated into the order and subsequently initiated to various levels of it, however, they were, also, expected to undergo a specific course of study in order to graduate to each level. But, you do not have to be an ceremonial initiate into the Golden Dawn, any other Hermetic order or a coven to become an initiate into traditional witchcraft and the occult.

You can do it yourself.

Now, when I say you can do it yourself, I don’t mean this the same way Raymond Buckland meant it when he said it. (Buckland was an earlier Wiccan author who advocated self-initiation into the Wiccan religion.) You can skip right over any ceremony and right onto true initiation by making your own personal study into the occult.

All true initiation is self-initiation because study, research and experimentation are the only ways to truly know the truth about witchcraft and the occult. This is not something that can be conferred in any ceremony or by any coven leader, master or guru.

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The Meaning of the Word “Profane”

The word, “profane,” is derived from the Latin words, “pro fanum,” meaning “outside the temple.” This word has evolved to mean a lot of different things, but in witchcraft it simply means a non-initiate or a person who lacks the knowledge to understand the true meaning of something.

To the profane certain works read differently than they do to the initiate. For example, as you make your personal study of the Kabbalah and initiate yourself into that knowledge, you will find that works by authors who belonged to Hermetic organizations read very differently than they did before you had that knowledge. As another example, the Bible used by the Christians, especially the New Testament and some of the last books of the Old Testament, also, reads differently after a study of the Kabbalah, which may explain why it seems so contradictory with just a superficial reading. The purpose of the book does not seem to be what most religious folks think it is.

Your understanding of the tarot, astrology and things related to Western alchemy, also, appear completely different to someone who has initiated himself or herself into the esoteric sciences. Things that once appeared arbitrary or nonsensical now appear to make logical sense.

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Importance of True Witchcraft Initiation

Unfortunately, a lot of ego is often involved in the concept of initiation and degrees of mastery in formal organizations. Covens and other initiatory orders can become playgrounds for narcissists and more often than not the social dynamics of such organizations often gets in the way of a person’s true witchcraft initiation, which cannot be conferred by another person and can only be attained through diligent study and personal experimentation.

Traditional Witches’ Formulary and Potion-making Guide: Recipes for Magical Oils, Powders and Other Potions

For this reason, independent study is usually the best method of attaining true witchcraft initiation. The leadership of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, who recognized the dawning of this new age and the easy availability of published material to a relatively educated public, rendered most of the functions of initiatory orders irrelevant.

Now, anyone can find the writings of the Hermeticists and study witchcraft and occult subjects entirely on their own. There is no need to find an order or coven or look for a master or guru because this is literally a new age. You how have the power and ability to initiate yourself through the acquisition of knowledge, once held for only a select few, which is now readily available to anyone who seeks it out.

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Interview with the author of “Black Magic for Dark Times: Spells of Revenge and Protection”

The following interview was conducted on July 17th, 2013 with A. Kaelin, author of Black Magic for Dark Times: Spells of Revenge and Protection

Winter Tempest Books: So, tell us about the book, Black Magic for Dark Times. What’s it about?

Black Magic for Dark Times: Spells of Revenge and Protection

A. Kaelin: It’s a unique spell book for crime survivors and people who have gone through some kind of trauma. I don’t think there’s anything else quite like it. I partly wrote it for my own catharsis and it contains some of the techniques I’ve personally used to deal with criminals and to cope with the aftermath of surviving crimes. I’ve personally dealt with most of the situations in the book or I’ve known other people who have. I, also, rail against the acceptance of the culture of crime, victim-blaming and the expectation that victims should exercise Christian precepts of turning the other cheek. It’s really harmful for victims. It’s great for criminals, of course, but it’s really hard on the victims.

Black Magic for Dark Times, also, discusses the inherent witchcraft powers of people who have been deeply wronged. This is a very old belief and there’s a reason why. I talk about that.

Winter Tempest Books: Isn’t black magic evil?

A. Kaelin: Witchcraft can be used for nefarious purposes or beneficial ones. Black magic usually involves some ideas that society as a whole, especially Christian-influence society, might object to. But, Black Magic for Dark Times is about making justice in a world where criminals more often than not act with impunity. There can be no peace for crime survivors if they never receive justice. If things aren’t made right, they can heal properly. Just the message in this books seems to help some people because they’re being told they shouldn’t be angry about what has happened to them. Also, they’re facing invalidation from people who should be supporting them. Things go on in this world that are outside the conditioned norms and a lot of them are really frightening, so often people close to the victim go into denial and this is really harmful to survivors. If you’ve ever had something bad happen to you and you go to tell your family or a close friend and they just refuse to believe you – this is something a lot of people deal with and they have to do it alone. Sometimes the reaction from people you once trusted is almost as bad or worse than the crime, itself. Black Magic for Dark Times can be a real comfort to people in these situations and that’s exactly why I wrote it.

Winter Tempest Books: So, would you say that both of your books, Magical Healing and Black Magic for Dark Times are actually both about healing?

A. Kaelin: Yes. That’s correct. In fact, Magical Healing really complements Black Magic for Dark Times because the same techniques shown there and the exercises can be used either to heal a person or to harm them. But, it’s all witchcraft, so it’s not accepted – either by the allopathic medical establishment or by law enforcement authorities. You can use the techniques to help yourself, to help others or to harm your enemies when you don’t have any other recourse.

Black Magic for Dark Times: Spells of Revenge and Protection A. Kaelin

Winter Tempest Books: How were you first introduced to the ideas you write about in these books?

A. Kaelin: I suppose it was over 25 years ago that I first recognized the cause and effect that was going on. It doesn’t work in every circumstance – if for example, you are in the throes of a violent physical attack, you have to do whatever you must to survive and witchcraft isn’t necessarily the thing that’s going to help you. But, if you are in a situation where, for example, you are being harassed by someone, it is possible to sabotage those people before they have the chance to harm you. It’s a matter of focusing your very strong, nearly physical, energy at the perpetrators and causing something to happen that disrupts their activity. Conversely, you can remove energy from the perpetrators to get them to stop doing something. The first few times I did it, it just happened. When I began seeing a pattern of cause and effect developing, I began to analyze why it was happening and mastering the skill of making it happen intentionally.

I got into the healing aspects after a health crisis. I think that’s a pretty common experience. Healing is really at the core of all occult practices, in my opinion. It is really the key discipline that will help you to master all of the others. If you can heal, then you can do all kinds of other things, including harming people who want to harm you. By mastering the concepts in Magical Healing: How to Use Your Mind to Heal Yourself and Others, you are proving the reality of witchcraft to your conscious mind.

Witchcraft to me is not a matter of faith. It’s not a religion. It is really a science, a hidden set of working scientific theories. It’s how the world really works.

Winter Tempest Books: What about the question about ethics with regard to black magic and healing. There are those who say black magic is evil and healing should never be done without someone’s permission. How do you respond to those concerns.

A. Kaelin: Well, first of all, black magic can be used for truly evil purposes. There are some things–things that are beyond the imagination of decent people–which I do not discuss because they are so exceedingly wicked and depraved.

But, it is precisely because such people and practices exist that knowledge of black magic is needed and it’s why people shouldn’t be afraid to use it against their enemies. Self-defense is your right and it is not wicked or evil. It’s my personal belief that you should protect yourself and all other innocent people from harm whenever possible.

There are some Christian and New Age moralists who disagree with me, but any position that denies innocent people the right to protect themselves or denies them justice when they have been grievously wronged is obviously immoral. I don’t argue with such people because there’s nothing to argue about. Furthermore, I don’t let such people around me because they’re dangerous people – they are victim-blamers and criminal enablers.

When people tell you they hold such values as “forgive and forget” and “turn the other cheek,” this means they allow the abuse of other people and expect them to shut up and take it – if someone you know is telling you something like that, you should probably listen carefully.

As far as having to have someone’s permission to heal them goes–No. I don’t believe suffering teaches people a lesson. This is a Christian belief that has crept into some New Age philosophies. It’s very wrong. Pain and suffering are not normal or natural conditions and if you see someone in pain, someone suffering and you can help them, then you should do everything you can to help them. You don’t need the person’s permission. That’s ridiculous.

Some of these New Age Christian types feel the same way about crime and they won’t intervene if they see a crime taking place because they think this is part of the victim’s life journey, part of their life’s lesson. That’s sociopathic. It’s evil to see evil going on and not intervene to help the victim, if you can. Their non-intervention philosophy is an excuse for not doing the right thing.

No one needs to experience crime, pain or suffering as part of a life lesson. I have run into a lot of people with this philosophy, especially among the Unity Church members, the positive thinking cult members who believe they can control their environment and other people with their thoughts, those who are into the Secret or the Law of Attraction and some of what we jokingly call the “White Lighters.”

People who are part of the “you attract what you’re thinking” philosophy are very dangerous because they make excuses for all kinds of evil and they will not intervene to help anyone in any way. It’s a dangerous philosophy. If they commit a crime against someone, they blame the victim for attracting the experience by their wrong thoughts. It’s insane. The philosophy of the Left Hand path is extremely generous and kind by comparison.

Black Magic for Dark Times: Spells of Revenge and Protection A. Kaelin

Winter Tempest Books: So, what is your moral philosophy?

A. Kaelin: I don’t really have a moral philosophy. I know myself and I trust myself and that’s all I need to know. There’s no rule book. But, I know evil when I see it, as a crime survivor, I have come face to face with it and with death. Once that happens to you, you cannot deny its existence.

Winter Tempest Books: So, do you have to have a belief in god or gods and goddesses to successful perform black magic?

A. Kaelin: No. It really has no relationship to that. You don’t have to believe in anything, really. You just have to have an open mind and a curious nature.

There are people who say that atheists have no psychic abilities or that they can do certain things like dowse, but that’s absolutely not true. If anything, religion tends to be a hindrance to genuine, open-minded inquiry.

Winter Tempest Books: What if I am not a crime survivor, can I still use the things in Black Magic for Dark Times?

Black Magic for Dark Times: Spells of Revenge and Protection

A. Kaelin: Yes, you can. But, crime survivors and anyone who has experienced any amount of prolonged trauma, whether because of an accident, a death in the family or about with fraud and official corruption, which is now rampant, can more easily use them than someone who has not experienced such a trauma. The wronged party in such a case has a natural power, which I discuss in the book, and they really don’t have to go to as much effort to make witchcraft work for them – it’s an inherent form of self-defense.

I wrote Black Magic for Dark Times especially to help people who really have no other help. Witches don’t often have churches, pastors, counselors or even close family members who have any capacity to understand what they are going through if they have been the target of criminals. Furthermore, we all live in a society that punishes victims and rewards and encourages criminal behavior. So, there are some aspects to this book that will be irrelevant to those who are not crime survivors. But, it is still usable by other people and might be of interest to them.

Magical Healing: How to Use Your Mind to Heal Yourself and Others

Winter Tempest Books: Well, that’s all the questions we have for now. Thank you!

A. Kaelin: Thank you.

Learn more about developing your witchcraft abilities with the following Winter Tempest Books:

Magical Healing: How to Use Your Mind to Heal Yourself and Others  by Angela Kaelin

Black Magic for Dark Times: Spells of Revenge and Protection by Angela Kaelin, the only spell book especially written for crime survivors.

 

The Dangers of Wiccan Covens and Other Neo-Pagan Groups to Women and Children

by Sophia diGregorio

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This article deals with the potential dangers of joining Wiccan and neo-pagan groups that I have written about elsewhere, but in less graphic terms than I plan to in this article. Whenever you discuss a topic like this, there is a risk of offending someone, but I think this is something that should be discussed so that people – especially women, who are most often the targets of such machinations – can be warned.

The fact is this: There are people who create religious societies, covens, orders or groups so they can use them to lure women, children and sometimes men into situations for their own depraved sexual pleasure.

Often, their targets are women who have just left Christianity and who are sometimes in a traumatized and highly suggestible state from their experiences at the hands of Christian abusers. They try to get to these women, lure them into their discussion groups and give their own version of what paganism means. Some men target women who are already pagans because they have the opinion that such women are morally “loose” and lack the societal protections that Christian women enjoy. They see them as easy targets because they may be persuaded that paganism or other aspects of the occult are really about cavorting around naked in the woods having sex.

When Joseph Smith founded the Mormons (Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints), he essentially founded a witchcraft-based sex cult and put the wrapping of Christianity on it to lure girls as young as 14 and to persuade men to hand over their wives to him. The Mormon organization was not the first, but may be regarded as a standard prototype for how sexual perverts successfully lure victims by establishing religious cults. Smith was a black magician and a con man from an entire family of witches and witchcraft accusers going back to Salem, Massachussetts. Many other cult leaders like Jim Jones and David Koresh have used the same pattern. Although their lure was Christianity, the model is the same except that with modern Wiccan and neo-pagan groups the leaders promise women freedom from Christianity – something better and more liberating.

Gerald Gardner’s neo-pagan cult of Wicca is another example of this same model. He used the lure of paganism and the occult to get his hands on women, denigrate and ritualistically rape them. Despite the Wiccan’s “We’re not Satanists,” claim, the original Wiccan organizations looked very much like Satanic covens.

This brilliant model was copied by men who came after Gardner, such as Alex Sanders. There are some old videos him performing his pornographic rites still circulating. You’ll find them once in a while on YouTube before they’re pulled for violating the Terms of Service. The rite shown in the video at the following link, which is very disturbing, is similar to the Five Points of Fellowship washing and anointing rite performed by Mormons in the LDS temples as they were performed in the 1990s.

Women who have been sexually objectified and abused in Christian churches often have no idea what to expect from Wicca or paganism, which when compared to Christianity is more accepting of women. New mini-cult leaders have popped up everywhere. They advertise at sites like WitchVox and pretend to be spiritual leaders, they hold discussion groups, perform handfastings, etc. But, their real purpose is to have perverted sex or to watch as others have sex in a ritualistic setting. Or, simply to get their hands on women and children who make up the vast majority of people interested in paganism and the occult.

We see this same gender dynamic at work in Christianity, interestingly. It is usually women who are most interested in spiritual matters, but it is men who are most often the spiritual leaders. In Christianity, this can be explained by its inherent misogyny and prohibition of women in leadership roles – or even to speak in churches, in some cases. But, in neo-paganism, it’s a little harder to explain away. In both instances, the result is often the same – the men use their leadership positions and their authority to sexually abuse women and children.

Present-day Wiccan apologists justify these problematic aspects of Wicca’s origins by pointing out that Wicca (and many aspects of neo-paganism) was absorbed by the women’s movement by the 1970s. It is true that by the 1960s witchcraft, in general, was becoming very appealing to a lot of women who were awakening to the harsh realities of life in the conventionally accepted social structure. This is illustrated in the movie, “Season of the Witch,” also, entitled “Jack’s Wife” and “Hungry Wives ,” (Please, see the related article, entitled “Season of the Witch,” aka. “Hungry Wives” and “Jack’s Wife.” It is, also, true that a feminist named Z. Budapest took Wicca in hand and molded it into a women’s religion. Although her style of Wicca still has some very strong sexual overtones, hers was the first documented women-only coven.

Read the book, “What’s Next After Wicca? Non-Wiccan Occult Practices and Traditional Witchcraft” by Sophia diGregorio.

My Personal Experiences

I was very young when I escaped the Mormon cult. At that time, it was relatively rare for people to leave the organization and there was no formal procedure in place for doing so. Fortunately, this has now changed, but few people leave this organization without having to leave behind family members and other important aspects of their lives. I was both relieved to be out of the cult, but traumatized by my experience with them. A friend directed me toward a weekly meeting of elderly women who sat around a table and taught and discussed occult subjects. These ladies were witches, but they were a traditional variety and not Wicans and I remember that many of them were very skeptical about it when the subject of Wicca was first brought up to us.

This was the early 1980s, so Wicca had not come to be the popular cultural phenomenon it is today. In fact, it had only been fully introduced to the U.S. by Raymond Buckland about 10 or 15 years earlier. Wiccans were personae non gratae at this time. Possibly this was not true on the west coast, which is where Wicca seemed to take hold in the U.S., but I was not in in California. I was in one of the original Voodoo centers of the U.S (we call it Hoodoo now to distinguish from other practices), a hotbed of Satanic activity and Spiritualist and metaphysical studies in years past. I was a very young person among a group of this old stronghold of occultists from that time.

What’s Next After Wicca? Non-Wiccan Occult Practices and Traditional Witchcraft

I had been involved with this group for a year or two before the subject of Wicca was brought up by a new member, who had been studying this subject. She offered to demonstrate a ritual for us and a few of us participated in this sort of mock Wiccan ritual. I became friends with this lady for a short while until it occurred to me that she seemed to be questioning her sexuality and exploring a lot of new things after being newly sprung from a very aggressive anti-woman religion, which I won’t name lest anyone reading this might recognize the people involved. I think she was very traumatized at this time and was open to all kinds of new ideas that she might have rejected out of hand before her departure from this mind control religion. She was the one who suggested I read the book, Drawing Down the Moon, and suggested I stay far away from the work of Aleister Crowley. She said to avoid Crowley because he had perverted Wiccan rites and rituals. As it turns out, this is not true, rather Gardner’s rites and the foundation for Wicca seem to have come almost entirely from Crowley’s work, although, much seems to be derived from freemasonry (Gardner like Joseph Smith was a low level initiate who claimed to be a high level one).

Of course, I read them both. Adler’s Drawing Down the Moon tells the story of neo-paganism in the U.S since the early 1970s, a movement I was unaware of and with which I did not resonate. I found it very hippyish and bizarre, but my friend was originally from the southwest and closer to the age group that accepts the ideas of the hippy era, which my own generation very much rejected. (I’m part of the tail end of the “Me Generation” – Dress for Success, Just Say No to Drugs and all that.)

When I know nothing about a public figure, I like to start with their autobiographies and fortunately, Crowley wrote his own hagiography (biography of a saint), entitled The Confessions of Aleister Crowley, which is now, unfortunately, out of print last time I checked. Since then I’ve read numerous others–the man was brilliant, a talented writer and an accomplished occultist who has the ability to convey his own personal discoveries with regard to the Kabbalah, meditation and ritual in a very straightforward and instructional yet friendly way. I have different feelings about Crowley’s personal life, but unlike Gardner, Sanders, Cochrane and others who followed in his footsteps, Crowley was a genuine occultist–yes, admittedly a pervert–but, also, a serious student and teacher of the occult and students of witchcraft can learn a great deal from his writings and those of his associates.

I didn’t hear much more about Wicca until I journeyed westward. I had read about the neo-paganism in Colorado in Drawing Down the Moon and as it turned out, by the late 1980s and early 1990s, Colorado Springs and Denver were still strongholds of Wicca and neo-paganism stemming from the 1970s. It was here that I learned more about what these people are all about.

Since I was an occultist, a professional psychic and a witch, when I met people who told me that they too were witches and were going to some meeting or other, I was interested in going along. Up to this point my experiences with other witches had actually revolved around the study of witchcraft, that’s what I expected to find – other students of the occult, other psychics, other witches, but this is not what I found.

My experiences among neo-pagans were varied, but weird, as follows:

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One one occasion I was invited to a Wiccan drumming circle. I was expecting an outdoor event, but instead it took place inside an older home in an older residential area, with a large open room (probably ordinarily the dining room). Once inside, there was little conversation unless it was down in the kitchen or some other room of the house. In the main room a good twenty or more people sat around on chairs patting various types of drums, despite their lack of rhythm. After a while, we left. I have no idea what the purpose of the drumming circle is. The people involved were the furthest thing from musicians I’ve ever seen, so it can’t be about music.

On another occasion, a man invited me to a pagan event that was taking place at someone’s farm house on the outskirts of town. When I arrived, I saw a bunch of guys leaping over a fire. They looked pretty drunk and, in fact, there was a keg or two of beer on the premises. After the fire was put out, I was informed by my host that the participants were now going inside to join a “puppy pile.” I had never heard this term before, so I had to have it explained to me. This is where the people lie around in a “pile” engaging in hugging, caressing and touching. I quickly jumped in my car and got the hell out of there.

Another time, I attended a pagan discussion group, which began with a few people sitting on the floor of a Unity church after hours discussing paganism This first meeting seemed fine. Some time passed and the man conducting this pagan group had begun to amass a few followers. The next time I attended one of his meetings he was standing up at the front of the church like a preacher, which offended some of the pagans in attendance, who left and did not return. But, a few others–all newbies without a clue–were intrigued by what this man had to say.

What was odd about this man was that as he got more power, he got more “familiarity” with women in attendance. The second and last time, I attended his meetings he said “good-bye” to me by pawing me up and down. Shortly after this he began hosting discussions on subjects like “Pagan Sexuality,” clearly trying to feel out (no pun intended) new prospects to see how susceptible they were to his sexual suggestions. As it turns out, he was conducting a swing club in the name of paganism, luring unsuspecting and often traumatized women while disguised as a knowledgeable pagan spiritual leader.

They went on to form a coven of sorts, in which they practiced the Great Rite in a very literal sense. They actually went into the woods, gathered around in a circle and watched as two people had ritualistic sex. Paganism and ritual was the backdrop for their particular sexual fetish. This is all fine and good, except that some of the people this man had lured were women who had recently been exposed to Christian spiritual abuse and were in a state of high suggestibility and completely ignorant about paganism, apart from the perversions being preached by this man.

My position on this matter is this: If you want to have a swing club or any other kind of sex club whose participants are informed and consenting adults, that’s your business, but represent it for what it is. Do not try to disguise it as a pagan group, call yourself a witch, a spiritualist, etc. and try to lure unsuspecting women so that they can be pawed and coerced into sexual activity.

Just as in every other instance, these pagan men and witches some of whom ran around in their robes and other garb carrying staves, were extremely unattractive men who devised this ruse in order to avail themselves of the bodies of innocent and often vulnerable women. It’s not much different from what Christian churches have been doing forever, but it is no less repugnant.

Furthermore, many people who have been abused by the churches and turn to some form of paganism, tend to harbor the same wide-eyed innocence as many church-goers. They have the idea that their spiritual leaders are knowledgeable and have good intentions, however, just as with Christians, this is all too often not the case.

This article is to be continued in the next article, entitled “How to Study Traditional Witchcraft and Occultism:Witchcraft Versus Witchcraft Theater.”

“What’s Next After Wicca? Non-Wiccan Occult Practices and Traditional Witchcraft” by Sophia diGregorio