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CultWatch Response
Vol. I, Issue 1
Samhain, 1988
WHY CULTWATCH RESPONSE?
It seems like anyone can get away with saying anything these days, so long
as they hate something enough. We at CultWatch Response have seen article
after article hating paganism and witchcraft, with no facts and not even
very good fantasies, merely because pagans are a convenient group to hate.
Many of these articles were directed straight at police, others were for
various fundamentalist groups.
Why? Because hate is an offspring of fear, and people always fear what
they do not know -- and they do not usually know much about paganism.
Further, their hatred drives pagans into hiding, for fear of a return of
the Burning Times of the Inquisition.
It is the primary goal of CultWatch Response to supply at least one
reasonable, well-thought-out, and FULLY RESEARCHED article per issue, in
order to promote understanding, because we do not believe that the
followers of a God of Love should spend so much time hating something that
they know nothing about. This first issue includes an excellent article on
Samhain (Halloween) by Rowan Moonstone, and a set of "the laws of the
Craft" that show how much different we pagans are than most Christians
believe us to be.
WE ARE NOT SATANISTS!
Basically, Satan did not reach Europe until the coming of Christianity in
the 3rd to 5th Centuries C.E. Paganism is a wide group of religions that
existed in Europe prior to the Christianization of Europe; the fact that it
was an extremely viable religion caused the Church to decide it needed to
be eliminated, and so one major deity was singled out as being the
equivalent of Satan and the persecutions went forth. This is not an act of
God, but rather one of very greedy men who were pursuing temporal power in
the guise of ecclesiastical power.
There ARE Satanists in the world. Most of them are harmless, and most of
them do NOT consider themselves pagans. As pagans, we abhor criminal acts
such as murder, child abuse, and the torturing or slaughtering of animals
(not including feedlots, of course, although many of us are vegetarians and
others have worked for more humane treatment of animals AT feedlots). We
regard people who do these types of things as sick. Prosecute them, get
them help, do something to stop "ritual crime". Most of us are willing to
do our part to help find and prosecute these people, and it is evident to
most police officers around the country that ritual crime does not involve
pagans. It is usually found in gangs of children, led by other children or
by sick adults.
WHAT DOES "GOD" MEAN TO WITCHES?
Nearly all Witches and pagans in America believe in one God. However, that
God is usually felt to be totally beyond our understanding, and can only be
understood by humans by looking at "parts" of God that we CAN understand.
The first division is obvious; Masculine and Feminine. We call these God
and Goddess, and sometimes attach names from our heritage or from mythology
to these aspects. (Indeed, most pagans prefer the Mother aspect of God to
that of the Father, and use the term Goddess for the highest understandable
form of God.)
We also look at what the highest attributes of ourselves are, and
sometimes separate these into masculine and feminine (Hunter Aspect might
be Herne for the masculine or Diana for the feminine). While we call these
aspects and attributes "gods", most of us never lose sight of the fact that
they are merely small parts of the one God. (C.G. Jung called these aspects
"archetypes", and his theories have blazed new territory in understanding
what it means to be human.) We also consider everybody (not just witches)
to be a part of God. Our God is not merely everywhere, but even everyTHING.
A common greeting in one branch of paganism is "Thou art God". This does
not mean that we believe that every person is a god, but rather that all
things are a part of God.
We even have our trinities. The Triple Goddess consists of Maiden,
Mother, and Crone aspects; the Triple God might consist of Lover, Hunter,
and Grandfather. Each group or individual might use different names for
these individual aspects of God.
WITCHRAFT IS NOT AN ORGANIZED RELIGION.
Each individual is trained in the "Tradition" he or she finds access to,
and upon completion of training is usually initiated into that "Tradition".
Once that process is complete, it is expected of each person to think for
and be responsible for themselves. There are no mind control games, no
brainwashing techniques, no death threats, and, in most cases, no authority
figures. There is usually a couple named High Priest and High Priestess for
a ritual, but in MOST groups, this function is rotated among the members of
the group.
American paganism has its roots mainly in English and Welsh forms of
paganism, but we seem to have picked up extra material from a variety of
sources (including American Indians), as well as pruning some of the things
we found to be unnecessary and adding new material as it strikes us. Some
American traditions sprang from the imaginations of people from seemingly
nowhere, and other follow the "Old Ways" fairly strictly.
WE ARE NOT AFTER YOUR CHILDREN...
It is against our religion to proseletize (recruit). We do have bookstores
open to the public, and we may be involved in open religious debates, but
our gods do not need your souls.
BUT PAGANS ARE DANGEROUS, AREN'T THEY?
No. We believe different things than most Christians, but the differences
are not great enough to cause the misunderstandings that exist. In fact, we
are not very much different from the Unitarian Universalist Church or the
Society of Friends (Quakers). We believe in going where our own conscience
takes us, and each Tradition teaches ethics at a level not usually found in
Christian denominations.
We hope that you enjoy CultWatch Response. Please let us know how you feel;
you may wish to fill out and return the questionnaire in this issue. Please
also read the Editorial Policy listed elsewhere in this issue.
Subscriptions are free to police departments and organizations; this will
make for limited free distribution in some areas. Others are welcome to
write for the current subscription price or to make arrangements to help
with distribution.
Gerald Bliss, Editor and Co-Founder
CultWatch Response
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The Origins of Halloween
by Rowan Moonstone
In recent years, there have been a number of pamphlets put out by various
Christian organizations dealing with the origins of modern day Halloween
customs. Being a Witch myself, and a student of the ancient Celts, from
whom we get this holiday, I have found these pamphlets woefully inaccurate
and poorly researched. In an effort to correct some of this erroneous
information, I have spent several months researching the religious life of
the ancient Celtic peoples and the survivals of that religious life in
modern day times. Listed below are some of the most commonly asked
questions concerning the origins and customs of Halloween. Following the
questions is a lengthy bibliography where the curious reader can go to
learn more about this holiday than space in this small pamphlet permits.
1. Where does Halloween come from?
Our modern celebration of Halloween is a descendant of the ancient
Celtic fire festival called "Samhain". The word is pronounced "sow-
in", with "sow" rhyming with cow.
2. What does "Samhain" mean?
The Irish English dictionary published by the Irish Texts Society
defines the word as follows: "Samhain, All Hallowtide, the feast of the
dead in Pagan and Christian times, signalizing the close of harvest and
the initiation of the winter season, lasting till May, during which
troops (esp. the Fiann) were quartered. Faeries were imagined as
particularly active at this season. From it the half year is reckoned.
also called Feile Moingfinne (Snow Goddess).(1) The Scottish Gaelic
Dictionary defines it as "Hallowtide. The Feast of All Souls. Sam +
Fuin = end of summer."(2) Contrary to the information published by many
organizations, there is no archaeological or literary evidence to
indicate that Samhain was a deity. The Celtic Gods of the dead were
Gwynn ap Nudd for the British, and Arawn for the Welsh. The Irish did
not have a "lord of death" as such.
3. Why was the end of summer of significance to the Celts?
The Celts were a pastoral people as opposed to an agricultural people.
The end of summer was significant to them because it meant the time of
year when the structure of their lives changed radically. The cattle
were brought down from the summer pastures in the hills and the people
were gathered into the houses for the long winter nights of
story-telling and handicrafts.
4. What does it have to do with a festival of the dead?
The Celts believed that when people died, they went to a land of
eternal youth and happiness called Tir nan Og. They did not have the
concept of heaven and hell that the Christian church later brought into
the land. The dead were sometimes believed to be dwelling with the
Fairy Folk, who lived in the numerous mounds or sidhe (pron. "shee")
that dotted the Irish and Scottish countryside. Samhain was the new
year to the Celts. In the Celtic belief system, turning points, such as
the time between one day and the next, the meeting of sea and shore, or
the turning of one year into the next were seen as magickal times. The
turning of the year was the most potent of these times. This was the
time when the "veil between the worlds" was at its thinnest, and the
living could communicate with their beloved dead in Tir nan Og.
5. What about the aspects of "evil" that we associate with the night
today?
The Celts did not have demons and devils in their belief system. The
fairies, however, were often considered hostile and dangerous to humans
because they were seen as being resentful of men taking over their
lands. On this night, they would sometimes trick humans into becoming
lost in the fairy mounds, where they would be trapped forever. After
the coming of the Christians to the Celtic lands, certain of the folk
saw the fairies as those angels who had sided neither with God nor with
Lucifer in their dispute, and thus, were condemned to walk the earth
until judgment day.(3) In addition to the fairies, many humans were
abroad on this night, causing mischief. since this night belonged
neither to one year or the other, Celtic folk believed that chaos
reigned and the people would engage in "horseplay and practical
jokes".(4) This served also as a final outlet for high spirits before
the gloom of winter set in.
6. What about "trick or treat"?
During the course of these hijinks, many of the people would imitate
the fairies and go from house to house begging for treats. Failure to
supply the treats would usually result in practical jokes being visited
on the owner of the house. Since the fairies were abroad on this night,
an offering of food or milk was frequently left for them on the steps
of the house, so the homeowner could gain the blessings of the "good
folk" for the coming year. Many of the households would also leave out
a "dumb supper" for the spirits of the departed.(5) The folks who were
abroad in the night imitating the fairies would some- times carry
turnips carved to represent faces. This is the origin of our modern
Jack-o-lantern.
7. Was this also a religious festival?
Yes. Celtic religion was very closely tied to the Earth. Their great
legends are concerned with momentous happenings which took place around
the time of Samhain. Many of the great battles and legends of kings and
heroes center on this night. Many of the legends concern the promotion
of fertility of the earth and the insurance of the continuance of the
lives of the people through the dark winter season.
8. How was the religious festival observed?
Unfortunately, we know very little about that. W.G. Wood-Martin, in his
book, "Traces of the Elder Faiths of Ireland" states, "There is
comparitively little trace of the religion of the Druids now
discoverable , save in the folklore of the peasantry, and the
references relative to it that occur in ancient and authentic Irish
manuscripts are, as far as present appearances go, meager and
insufficient to support anything like a sound theory for full
development of the ancient religion."(6) The Druids were the priests of
the Celtic peoples. They passed on their teachings by oral tradition
instead of committing them to writing, so when they perished, most of
their religious teachings were lost. We DO know that this festival was
characterized as one of the four great "Fire Festivals" of the Celts.
Legends tell us that on this night, all the hearth fires in Ireland
were extinguished, and then re-lit from the central fire of the Druids
at Tlachtga, 12 miles from the royal hill of Tara. This fire was
kindled from "need fire" which had been generated by the friction of
rubbing two sticks together as opposed to more conventional methods
common in those days.(7) The extinguishing of the fires symbolized the
"dark half" of the year, and the re-kindling from the Druidic fires was
symbolic of the returning life hoped for, and brought about through the
ministrations of the priesthood.
9. What about sacrifices?
Animals were certainly killed at this time of year. This was the time
to "cull" from the herds those animals which were not desired for
breeding purposes for the next year. Most certainly, some of these
would have been done in a ritualistic manner for the use of the
priesthood.
10. Were humans sacrificed?
Scholars are sharply divided on this account, with about half believing
that it took place and half doubting its veracity. Caesar and Tacitus
certainly tell tales of the human sacrifices of the Celts, but Nora
Chadwick points out in her book "The Celts" that "it is not without
interest that the Romans themselves had abolished human sacrifices not
long before Caesar's time, and references to the practice among various
barbarian peoples have certain overtones of self-righteousness. There
is little direct archaeological evidence relevant to Celtic
sacrifice."(8) Indeed, there is little reference to this practice in
Celtic literature either. The only surviving story echoes the story of
the Minotaur in Greek legend. The Fomorians, a race of evil giants said
to inhabit portions of Ireland before the coming of the Tuatha de
Danaan, or "people of the Goddess Danu", demanded the sacrifice of 2/3
of the corn, milk, and first born chil- dren of the Fir Bolg, or human
inhabitants of Ireland. The De Danaan ended this practice in the second
battle of Moy Tura, which incidentally took place on Samhain.
11. What other practices were associated with this season?
Folk tradition tells us of many divination practices associated with
Samhain. Among the most common were divinations dealing with marriage,
weather, and the coming fortunes for the year. These were performed via
such methods as ducking for apples and apple peeling. Ducking for
apples was a marriage divination. The first person to bite an apple
would be the first to marry in the coming year. Apple peeling was a
divination to see how long your life would be. The longer the umbroken
apple peel, the longer your life was destined to be.(9) In Scotland,
people would place stones in the ashes of the hearth before retiring
for the night. Anyone whose stone had been disturbed during the night
was said to be destined to die during the coming year.
12. How did these ancient Celtic practices come to America?
When the potato crop in Ireland failed, many of the Irish people,
modern day descendents of the Celts, immigrated to America, bringing
with them their folk practices, which are the remnants of the Celtic
festival observances.
13. We in America view this as a harvest festival. Did the Celts also view
it as such?
Yes. The Celts had 3 harvests: Aug 1, or Lammas, was the first harvest,
when the first fruits were offered to the Gods in thanks. The Fall
Equinox was the "true harvest". This was when the bulk of the crops
would be brought in. Samhain was the final harvest of the year.
Anything left on the vines or in the fields after this date was
considered blasted by the fairies, or "pu'ka", and unfit for human
consumption.
14. Does anyone today celebrate Samhain as a religious observance?
Yes. many followers of various pagan religions, such as Druids and
Wiccans, observe this day as a religious festival. They view it as a
memorial day for their dead friends, similar to the national holiday of
Memorial Day in May. It is still a night to practice various forms of
divination concerning future events. Also, it is considered a time to
wrap up old projects, take stock of ones life, and initiate new
projects for the coming year. As the winter season is approaching, it
is a good time to do studying on research projects and also a good time
to begin hand work such as sewing, leather working, woodworking, etc.
for Yule gifts later in the year.
15. Does this involve human or animal sacrifice?
Absolutely NOT! Hollywood to the contrary, blood sacrifice is not
practiced by modern day followers of Wicca or Druidism. There may be
some people who THINK they are practicing Wicca by performing blood
sacrifices, but this is NOT condoned by reputable practitioners of the
modern day NeoPagan religions.
-----
FOOTNOTES:
(1) Rev. Patrick Dineen, "An Irish English Dictionary" (Dublin, 1927), p.
937
(2) Malcolm MacLennan, "A Pronouncing and Etymological Dictionary of the
Gaelic Language" (Aberdeen, 1979), p. 279
(3) W.G. Wood-Martin,"Traces of the Elder Faiths of Ireland" (Port
Washington, 1902), p. 5.
(4) Kevin Danaher,"The Year in Ireland", (Cork,1972), p. 214
(5) Alwyn & Brinley Rees,"Celtic Heritage" (New York,1961), p. 90
(6) Wood-Martin, p. 249
(7) Rees & Rees, p. 90
(8) Nora Chadwick, "The Celts" (Harmondsworth,1982), p. 151
(9) Madeleine Pelner Cosman, "Medieval Holidays and Festivals," (New
York, 1981), p. 81
-----
BIBLIOGRAPHY:
Bord, Janet & Colin, "The Secret Country", London: Paladin Books, 1978
Chadwick, Nora, "The Celts", Harmondsworth: Penguin Books, 1982
Coglan, Ronan, "A Dictionary of Irish Myth and Legend", Dublin, 1979
Cosman, Madeleine Pelner, "Medieval Holidays and Festivals", New York:
Charles Scribner's Sons, 1981
Danaher, Kevin, "The Year in Ireland", Cork: The Mercier Press, 1972
Dineen, Rev. Patrick S.,M.A, "An Irish English Dictionary", Dublin: The
Irish Texts Society, 1927
MacCana, Proinsias, "Celtic Mythology", London: The Hamlyn Publishing
Group Limited, 1970
MacLennan, Malcolm, "A Pronouncing and Etymological Dictionary of the
Gaelic Language", Aberdeen: Acair and Aberdeen University Press,
1979
MacNeill, Maire', "The Festival of Lughnasa", Dublin: Comhairle
Bhealoideas Eireann,1982
Powell, T.G.E., "The Celts", New York: Thanes & Hudson,1980
Rees, Alwyn and Brinley, "Celtic Heritage, Ancient Traditions in Ireland
and Wales", New York: Thanes & Hudson, 1961
Sharkey, John, "Celtic Mysteries", New York: Thanes and Hudson, 1975
Spence, Lewis, "British Fairy Origins", Wellingborough: Aquarian Press,
1946
Squire, Charles, "Celtic Myth & Legend, Poetry & Romance", New York:
Newcastle Publishing Co, Inc. 1975
Toulson, Shirley, "The Winter Solstice", London: Jill Norman & Hobhouse,
Ltd, 1981
Wood-Martin, W.G., "Traces of the Elder Faiths of Ireland, Vols I & II,
Port Washington: Kennikat Press, 1902
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ALTERNATIVE CRAFT LAWS
Introduction:
1. These laws are guides and aides to a better understanding of
ourselves and the Craft.
2. The Craft is made of the interaction of people and divinity.
3. This interaction must be in perfect love and perfect trust.
4. The foundation of perfect love and perfect trust is found in
balance.
5. Balance is achieved through understanding of the cycles of life and
death.
Organization:
6. A coven is a group of two or more people who have joined together
for the purpose of interacting with one another and divinity.
7. There shall be no limit to the number of members a coven has, but
balance becomes more difficult to achieve as the number of members
increases.
8. The final arbitrator of the membership of a coven is the membership.
Authority:
9. The authority of a coven comes from the interaction of its
membership with one another and divinity.
10. Authority must be balanced by the total membership of the coven.
11. Imbalance of authority will corrupt individuals and destroy the
effectiveness of the coven.
12. Balance is achieved through taking responsibility for your actions
and the actions of the coven.
13. Because each member of a coven is responsible for self and coven,
the only authority the coven can exercize is authoritative authority.
14. No one can assume the leadership of a coven without the approval of
the membership.
15. The membership is the final authority of a coven.
16. A coven which is in balance has little need of perpetual leadership
from one person or couple.
17. Each full member of a coven must facilitate some aspect of the
coven.
18. If only a small percentage of a coven's membership is actively
responsible and facilitating within the coven, there is little chance
of balance. (NOTE: A coven may choose to maintain a hierarchy,
priesthood, system of initiation grades or other similar devices to
encourage individual development. These trappings often cause imbalance
in a coven through the combination of unnecessary authoritarianism and
the relinquishing of personal responsibility.)
19. A coven has need of only two ranks: Probationer, a member who is
still in training, and Initiate, a member whose training is complete.
(NOTE: This should not be construed as having ended studies, but rather
as having begun them by virtue of having gained basic information.)
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EDITORIAL POLICIES
Each issue of CultWatch Response is published by CultWatch Response, Inc.
(a non-profit Corporation organized under the laws of the State of
Colorado), under a Public Domain Copyright, which entitles any person or
group of persons to reproduce, in any form whatsoever, any material
contained therein, so long as articles are not condensed, abbreviated, nor
excerpted in any fashion and credit is given the original author. In
addition to these provisions, we encourage groups to republish each issue
for the purpose of distribution to police and community organizations and
the media, but would ask that you coordinate with us before doing so to
prevent over-saturation of an area. We welcome articles, reviews, etc. We
reserve the right to correct obvious mistakes in spelling, syntax, and
grammar, and to edit where necessary to fit available space; any edited
material will be returned for the author's approval prior to publication.
We do ask that you not UNFAIRLY promote any race, cultural group, either
sex, or any magickal group or tradition above another. Articles with
careful research and a positive emphasis will be considered ahead of all
others. We would prefer that you use your real name if you feel comfortable
doing so, but this preference will never be a major factor in deciding
whether or not to publish your article. The above policies have been agreed
to by the current staff of CultWatch Response, although much of the wording
was borrowed from Rocky Mountain Pagan Journal. We are not affiliated with
either the Rocky Mountain Pagan Journal nor its parent corporation, High
Plains Arts and Sciences, but we are grateful for whatever groundwork they
have provided us in the fields of Public Domain Copyright and editorial
policies.
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The staff at CultWatch Response would like to know what we can do to help
you in dealing with the issues we are faced with; if you would please
fill out the following questionnaire and return it to us, it will be a
great help. You need not include your name or address; of course we would
like to have it if you feel comfortable giving it to us.
1. Did you find this material informative?
2. Are you interested in receiving more material such as this?
3. What type of information would you like to receive regarding Witches
and their religion?
4. Have you ever met a Witch?
5. Have you read any books or other literature dealing with Witchcraft or
other aspects of the "occult"? Please list as many titles as you
feel comfortable mentioning.
6. Who (speaker, minister, colleague, etc.) or what (book, movie,
article, etc.) has most influenced your personal views regarding
Witches and their religion?
7. Do you believe that Witchcraft encourages or incorporates unlawful
activities in its belief structure? If yes, please specify
which types of problems you have in this area.
8. Do you feel that "occult-influenced" crimes should be of major concern
in law enforcement?
9. Has there been evidence of "occult-influenced" crime in your area?
10. Have you personally been involved in the investigation of an "occult-
influenced" crime?
11. Does your agency sponsor, or encourage attendance of, "occult crime"
seminars? Have you ever attended one of such seminars? If you
feel comfortable, please list which seminars you have attended.
12. Does your agency receive assistance in "occult-influenced" crime
investigations from Witches in your area?
13. Would your agency welcome contact and/or assistance from legitimate
Witches in your area? If yes, who should they contact (please give
name and address, or office phone)?
Additional comments or questions:
Thank you for helping us make an impact. If you have further questions,
feel free to contact us. Please return this questionnaire to: CultWatch
Response, P.O. Box 1842, Colorado Springs, CO 80901-1842.