Saint Stevie Nicks Prayer Candle Patron Saint by GreaserCreatures

Etsy find. There is also an Elvis and a Bowie, among others. Saint Stevie Nicks Prayer Candle Patron Saint by GreaserCreatures

'Saudi religious police hunt down Twitter witchcraft accounts'

​Saudi religious police hunt down Twitter ‘witchcraft’ accounts — RT News: Saudi Arabia, which has the largest number of Twitter users relative to internet users in the world, has formed a special task force to track users of the popular social media who are accused of spreading vice and witchcraft.
The Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice, which serves as the religious police of the conservative Gulf kingdom, is conducting surveillance of Twitter accounts in an effort to reign in heightened interest in subjects related to sorcery. 
The religious public watchdog is keeping a lookout for those accounts which “are spreading vice and witchcraft” through the community, said Ahmed Al Jardan, the Commission’s spokesman, as quoted by the Saudi news network Al Arabiya.

Amnesiac Nun Dream

Discussion last night at the weekly pagan-earth centered group I participate in centered around shamanism. One side topic that briefly came up was my highly integrated mish-moshed ancestry. I had said that until recently -- past few years -- I felt like a crazy pin ball, bouncing around. Am I Native American? Do I embrace the Roman Catholic, Latino side of my family? How about the Russian Jewish side? Then there's the Spanish, and the Celtic. Don't forget about the Buddhist side, or the 32nd degree Masonic side. And that's all just going back three generations. (Great grandparents on down.)

To top it off, there's a very huge elephant in the room concerning blood ancestry, and so, aside from the Scottish/English lineage (on both sides) is the (maybe) Irish side. But no one's talking. There's also a Japanese blood line in my family. And by extension, Korean.

As one person said, and it was supported by the "vision" of another, I "...worked very very hard to choose the parents and family I came to in order to get all these connections." That resonated with me and made quite a bit of sense.

source: Wikipedia nun, Ireland, 1964

So all this energy -past life- present life path stuff was swimming in my head. Last night I had this dream:

One of my recurring dreamscapes. This one is what is labeled "downtown" or "East L.A." in my dream, but it isn't really. It's my own dreamscape; a large boulevard, busy with traffic, pedestrians, lots of theaters and shops and restaurants. It's considered the "poor" section and sort of the "end" of town/dream place, but it doesn't seem that way. I'm a little nervous every time I'm here; I'm in the minority for one thing. A woman, white, alone. But no one really cares. It's slightly hilly here, and while the boulevard is very big and bright and busy, just across the way are residential streets; lots of homes. Hills in the distance.

So I'm roaming around here, a little lost, as I always am when in this place. Not too familiar with the location. This time, I'm a nun. Completely outfitted in a black and white habit. I know I'm a nun, but I also seem to have some kind of amnesia. I don't know where I "work" or what my name is. I don't know why I'm a nun, or how it all works. I just know I am. I'm okay with being a nun and feel sure of what that's all about, even though I don't know the name of my order, or even if I belong to one. 

I'm aware of the looks I'm getting; people are fine with me being a nun but they assume I won't "get" things. That I won't enjoy the Klezmer musicians and their fantastic music as I walk by them playing in a storefront. That I won't think the slightly off color jokes passengers tell on the bus are funny. Etc.

I'm on this bus, and a little worried, because really, I have no idea where I'm supposed to go, let alone know how to get there. Hell, let alone know who I am!

But while I'm lost and am not sure of who I am, I seem to be all right, considering. I am very sure of my "nun-ness" even though I'm not sure if my idea is what other nuns might think. I assume there are other nuns -- as I say, I just find myself here and without an order, without a name for that order, or even if there is an order. I'm a sort of lone nun.

Interesting dream in context: Years ago, a group of us were using the Ouija board. I managed to tick everyone off not because I didn't believe we were getting real messages, but because I doubted the honesty of those messages. No, I wasn't debunking the experience but rather, questioning the energies that were coming through. However, some things did come through that seemed to be more honest than other things. One was the "message", as were discussing past lives, that in one of my former lives I was a nun. This was in the late 1800s in the U.S. west. I was not just any nun, but one thrown out of her order -- or possibly left. I was on my own, still a nun, but more a friend of the "ladies of the night" than any town preacher.

“An onna-bugeisha (女武芸者?) was a female warrior. Members of the samurai class in feudal Japan, they were trained in the use of weapons to protect their household, family, and honor in times of war.”

- Wikipedia

There's also my Catholic background; growing up in a Jewish-Buddhist household, as a Catholic, and constantly causing scandal by my questions ending in my refusal to stand up and take the pledge during confirmation.

Whats the difference between Hoodoo and Voodoo? - Yahoo! Answers

Whats the difference between Hoodoo and Voodoo? - Yahoo! Answers
"Hoodoo and Voodoo are both practiced in Louisiana and have many things in common. However, there are differences between the two. Voodoo is a religion and Hoodoo is an African American system of folk magickal practice that has typically been handed down from generation to generation. Many Hoodoo practitioners in Louisiana are Roman Catholic and also practice some form Spiritualism or Spiritism. They do not typically invoke the loas (African deities) as in Voodoo, and instead use Catholic Saints that represent the loas. This Catholic shroud is the result of a historical atmosphere wherein the only legal religion permitted in the state of Louisiana from the 1600s to 1812 was Roman Catholicism. There is no conflict between those who practice Voodoo and those who practice Hoodoo in Louisiana and they are perfectly complementary. "

Saudi Arabia executes woman convicted of 'sorcery' - Yahoo! News

What can one say about this, except the obvious: sick bastards:Saudi Arabia executes woman convicted of 'sorcery' - Yahoo! News

The London-based al-Hayat daily, however, quoted Abdullah al-Mohsen, chief of the religious police who arrested the woman, as saying she had tricked people into thinking she could treat illnesses, charging them $800 per session.

Article added that a "female investigator" was involved, in an attempt to distance everyone from the barbarism of this crime.

Lucky Mojo Curio Site

I love this site: Lucky Mojo Curio Site. It's been around for years, and still going. Have fun exploring religious, folk art and folk religious items from around the world. Truly wonderful ... Images shown: Saint Wallet Package Amulet

---

Oh My God It's Real! "Jesus Ween Christian Festival"

Apparently some Christians have moved on from the "they're stealing Christmas" whine and are busy with attempts to rid the nation of Halloween. (As long as Christians continue to freak over Christmas being "stolen" while at the same time doing their best to obilerate Halloween, I'm going all out every Halloween; wherever I can, however I can. Stuffy hypocrites.) So, now there's "Jesus Ween" and it doesn't appear to be a joke. Jesus Ween Christian Festival:

JesusWeen is a God-given vision which was born as an answer to the cry of many every October 31st. The dictionary meaning of Ween is to expect, believe or think. We therefore see October 31st as a day to expect a gift of salvation and re-think receiving Jesus.

Every year, the world and its system have a day set aside (October 31st) to celebrate ungodly images and evil characters while Christians all over the world participate, hide or just stay quiet on Halloween day. Being a day that is widely acceptable to solicit and knock on doors, God inspired us to encourage Christians to use this day as an opportunity to spread the gospel. The days of hiding are over and we choose to take a stand for Jesus. “Evil prevails when good people do nothing”. JesusWeen is expected to become the most effective Christian outreach day ever and that is why we also call it” World Evangelism Day”.

I discovered "Jesus Ween" via a link in an article by Mary Valle: All Candy, No Jesus: Halloween in America. Valle is a bit sympathetic to the idea of Jesus Ween and other like minded Halloween Harvest Fest type observances, like "Trunk or treats" etc. Valle correctly points out that many Christians do participate in Halloween, as long as the Halloween part is removed. As in witches, devils, "evil spirits," etc. Because, cough, they're not "fictional characters." Valle interviews both Christians and pagans/Wiccans for their thoughts on Jesus Ween.

Valle points out that as a culture, we in the States have a huge issue with death: we don't deal:

We Americans don’t like to talk about death or the dead, though, really. Our bodies are disappearing in clouds of ash and our oldish cemeteries crumble, untended. One of my aunts recently offered to send me some old letters and a picture of her parents if I wanted them, and I was thrilled. I told her I don’t actually have a picture of my grandparents. A Catholic brother, Jeffrey Gros, told me that since most English-speaking American Catholics no longer practice the old-world customs, and “since many Protestants have difficulty with Catholic practices around prayer to the saints and prayers for the dead, our practices around All Saints’ and All Souls’ days have drifted in very different directions, leaving more space for the secular, non-religious practices around these festivals: Halloween.”

Years ago I worked at an art gallery that put on a Day of the Dead exhibit every year. School groups were invited to come and tour the many altars and related artwork, and get a bit of history on the ideas behind the Day of the Dead. We had altars created by children whose parents, grandparents and other family parents had died among the altars displayed. Of all the hundreds of children, from 1st grade on, that came, I never had a child become upset or otherwise "freaked" at the images of altars, the stories of loved ones passed on, skeletons, etc. I did have many children talk, sometimes shyly, sometimes almost happily, about the family members or friends in their lives that had died. Children loved the idea of creating altars to remember their grandparent, or other relative. Yet, as I led groups around the center, talking about the Day of the Dead, I saw many grimaces among the adults. At the end of one tour, I had a teacher come up to me, who was returning later that afternoon with another class. She asked me to "not talk about death so much" during the next tour.

As one Latina artist said to me once, about "gringos" integrating Dia de los Muertos into their lives: "Oh, we don't mind, it's great! But one thing we really wish you gringos would do: lighten up!"

(hat tip to one of my favorite blogs, Mystic Politics, for the link.)

Happy Halloween!: Devil and Owl in Moon

Devils dancing with pumpkin head pumpkin and witch/crone...all underneath the moon, and an owl. The owl of course: icon of abduction stories, missing time and screen memory accounts,  and UFO encounters. . .

Mary and Buddha in Cellophane, and a New Tradition

The Virgin, Buddha, silver sequin, conquistador

I bought this a few years ago during Dia de los Muertos. It's very small, about 2 1/2 inches all around. Inside the little cellophane packet is an image of the Virgin of Guadalupe, what I think is a horse shoe, a Buddha, what looks to be a conquistador, sequins and glitter.

I found this tucked away in the room of doom that I'm cleaning out. Glad I found it; I started a new tradition for myself last year, and am already working on it for this year. It started out with an altar during Dia de los Muertos , but then I extended it and ended up keeping the altar -- which I turned the whole mantel piece into -- through to Hanukkah-Christmas. This year, I'll have my altar up Oct 1st, and take it down when Hanukkah starts.

Back: "Hecho en Mexico: made in Mexico"

The elements in my altar are from many traditions that I either grew up with: Roman Catholic, Latino, Jewish, Celtic, or later discovered as part of my heritage: Native, pagan-Wiccan... and a bit of Halloween motifs thrown in as well.

Last year, having the altar gave me a peaceful, connected feeling. I was surprised at that, I didn't expect to have the altar up for so long or to have it resonate so deeply with me.  I'm looking forward to assembling the altar again this year.

On Brane Space: Pastor Mike Makes the Atheist Blogs!

Pastor Mike wants you! (if you're an atheist) on the National Atheist Registry.

Brane Space: Pastor Mike Makes the Atheist Blogs!

The pastor puts non-believers in the same thought-bubble (don't think of pink elephants) as sex offenders and other loathsome dregs of humanity:

Brothers and Sisters , I have been seriously considering forming a ( Christian ) grassroots type of organization to be named “The Christian National Registry of Atheists” or something similar . I mean , think about it . There are already National Registrys for convicted sex offenders , ex-convicts , terrorist cells , hate groups like the KKK , skinheads , radical Islamists , etc..

He doesn't go so far as suggesting addresses and other "known personal information" should be on the list, but photos "could be." Pastor Mike is truly befuddled as to why anyone would object:

Frankly , I don’t see why anyone would oppose this idea – including the atheists themselves ( unless of course , they’re actually ashamed of their atheist religion , and would prefer to stay in the ‘closet.’ )

So I wonder where I'd fit in? I'm not a Christan, religious Jew, or member of any traditional formal religion. I don't believe in a mono-theistic daddy god in the sky, the divinity of Christ, eternal damnation, purgatory, limbo, or a magical heaven. I am not an agnostic, as in, "Gee, don't know if there's a xian God or not.." but I'm not an atheist either. Richard Dawikns can stuff it. I guess Pastor Mike would consider me a pagan heathen New Age pawn of the Illuminati (sorry Mike, too old and hep for that) but he'd put me on the list anyway no doubt. Because, like all religious nuts, if you don't believe in their system, you're not only out, you're damned. And they'll do all they can to help you get there.

Speculative Realms: The Enduring Love of the Woman-Girl: Who Are We to Disregard Her?

Painting by Jusepe de Ribera 1636

Gary Haden at Speculative Realms on Mary Magdalene. Very comprehensive. And addresses the popular myth that Mary was a prostitute, and why that idea, believed still by so many, is a problem...

There is much more to Haden's article than that point, but read it for yourself.

Druids Recognized as a Religion

England has officially recognized Druidism as a bona fide religion.

Druidry is to become the first pagan practice to be given official recognition as a religion.

The Charity Commission has accepted that druids' worship of natural spirits could be seen as religious activity.
The Druid Network's charitable status entitles it to tax breaks, but the organisation says it does not earn enough to benefit from this.
The commission says the network's work in promoting druidry as a religion is in the public interest.

More here.

Jellyfish UFOs, Fata Morgana and the Watery Depths

 Micah Hanks on Jellyfish UFOs and Fata Morgana
Another intriguing piece from Micah A. Hanks at The Gralien Report on a UFO case from 1954. In Attack of the Flying Gople: UFOs, Jellyfish and Arthurian Witches, Hanks discusses a UFO jellyfish sighting from 1954 off the Labrador coast, and its possible explanation.  As Hanks points out, the sighting seemed similar to the "Danish Flying Gople" and the sighting was, according to researcher UFO Martin Shough, a weather phenomena. But, as Hanks points out, and what I also like about Hanks perspective, the esoteric elements are too inviting to ignore:

The mirage phenomenon referred to here, in one of its various forms, has a rather Fortean name, “Fata Morgana,” which at present I find preferable due to its esoteric allusions. Fata Morgana refers to none other than Morgan Le Fay, the witch prominent in Arthurian legends and “fairy mistress of the of the salt sea.”

Fata Morgana/Morgan Le Fay, is responsible for marine imagery in the skies:

Tying Fata Morgana in with Howard’s sighting of a Jellyfish UFO, of particular interest here are legends that state how Morgan created “boats that fly above the sea and never approach the shore and caused golden castles to float in the air above the straits of Messina, ..."

Jellyfish UFOs
A search for "jellyfish UFOs" reveals dozens of stories and images of jellyfish type ufos seen in the skies.

A review of Russian researcher Paul Stonehill's  and Phillip Mantle's 2006 Mysterious Sky: Soviet UFO Phenomenon refers to:

In 1977 the 'Petrozavodsk Phenomenon' was notable for the number of different kinds of aerial craft that were observed with the launch of Kosmos-955 - spheres and jellyfish-like craft (which are again being observed in other parts of the world)

In the Watery Depths
Following the theme of the "fairy mistress of the sea" that Micah Hanks writes about, is the following encounter Stonehill and Mantle describe in Mysterious Sky, where Russian divers met up with strange beings in the water, encountering

'swimmers' - humanoid creatures three metres tall garbed in tight fitting silver suits with helmets, but minus any breathing equipment. It was decided to attempt to capture one of the creatures, but the seven divers sent to undertake this task were propelled back to the surface of the lake, consequently suffering from pressure changes resulting from the rapid ascent. Three of the divers died as a result, the remaining four becoming invalids. Similar creatures along with underwater UFOs have been reported in deep water lakes all over Russia.

 The Candy and Jellyfish Sky
Last July I had a UFO-jellyfish dream that I posted on my blog Saucer Sightings. I called it   The Candy and Jellyfish Sky. After observing the skies with a group of people we see large jellyfish above us:

Then I see several huge jellyfish in the sky swarming right above us. This is so amazing, so beautiful! They're about the size of orcas, they're dancing and swirling and "swimming" in the sky/clouds. I get everyone's attention and we watch the jellyfish, then it dawns on us that "Hey, wait just a minute . . . jellyfish don't belong in the sky!" I, we, quickly understand that the jellyfish aren't "real" jellyfish but UFOs. I suddenly seem to be full of knowledge that the jellyfish appearance is "how they cloak themselves" I tell everyone. "They've been doing this for years," I say.

After awhile, the Jellyfish UFOs morph into something else; candy, and most of the people are relieved. Believing that the UFOs weren't UFOs after all, just a fun, simple ad for candy in the sky. But I know better. Things take a surreal turn:

Oh," everyone laughs, relieved. "It's just an ad for candy!"

I can still see, faintly, a few jellyfish/UFOs in the sky, but they've gone dim and are in the background a bit. I tell everyone "No, you're wrong! That's what they want you to think! It's not real."

Someone says "Of course they're not real; it's a commercial for candy!"

Exasperated, I say "Not that! I mean, the jellyfish are real, it's the candy that isn't!"

"Why would the jellyfish pretend to be candy?" Someone asks me, suspiciously, as if I've somehow caused the whole thing. Worse, that I'm up to no good.

Somehow I know things I didn't realized I knew, as if the jellyfish are sending information to my head. "I mean, the government knows about the jellyfish, and they're using the candy to distract us from the jellyfish UFOs."

I end up in Trickster land to be sure, trying to out think the whys of the jellyfish mind:

Later, I briefly wonder why, if the jellyfish don't want to be seen, are they appearing as jellyfish in the sky? Isn't that contrary to where jellyfish reside? Then again, this reversal of jellyfish habitat might be so that we do pay attention. After all, they're aware that they will be denied, so appearing as jellyfish or some other out of place object would be sure to get noticed.

Which brings us back to what Micah has to say in his article about Trickster in relation to Fata Morgana/Morgan Le Fay.

Visions Of The Virgin Mary by Courtney Roberts,takes an astrological journey into BVM apparitions.

ChristoPaganism

My Llewellyn catalog arrived yesterday, and in it is a full page ad for the book ChristoPaganism, by Joyce and River Higginbotham. I've never heard of ChristoPaganism before. From the little bit of reading I've done it seems to share basic ideas with Gnosticism. I think. But, if you're interested, the book is available on the usual site; Amazon.com etc. and a Google search turns up a lot of interesting places.

Catholics Ordered To Keep Quiet Over Virgin Visions

Reporters Jerome Taylor and Simon Caldwell discuss the Vatican's latest in regards to Marian apparitions:Catholics ordered to keep quiet over Virgin visions

This is one aspect of the phenomena of Marian Apparitions that intrigues me: the Church's history of denial and suppression around Marian apparitions. Currently, the Vatican is exercising its power by mandating Catholics stay mum about visitations:"Catholics who claim they have seen the Virgin Mary will be forced to remain silent ..." waiting until the visitations have been investigated by "psychologists, theologians, priests and exorcists." The goal of this renewed effort is to "stamp out false claims of miracles."

Obvious questions come to mind. Why is the Vatican so focused on this now? What is it about the timing of these "new guidelines" in terms of BVM apparitions? Why have "new guidelines" at all? Who decides what's a "false claim" and what isn't?

I can't keep from thinking that there is a connection between this and the Vatican's positive acknowledgement that ET exists. An odd juxtaposition: the BVM, and the effort put forth by the Church to keep her hidden, and the overt acknowledgement that aliens are real. Not angels, demons and Satan, which are also acknowledged to exist of course, but literal ET, aliens, from outer space. The distinction between aliens and angels is made by the Church.

"It is entirely credible that in the enormous distance between Angels and humans, there could be found some middle stage, that is beings with a body like ours but more elevated spiritually. If such intelligent beings really exist on other planets, only science will be able to prove; but in spite of what some people think, we would be in a position to reconcile their existence with the Redemption that Christ has brought us.” (Vatican theologian Monsignor Corrado Balducci)

This new directive from the Vatican is called the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. That may sound reasonable enough,except this used to be known as the Holy Office Of The Inquisition. This update will renew the version from 1978s. In other words, the Inquisition has been kept alive in various forms right up to the present.

Aside from the relationship between Mary and ET, a comparison can be made between the image of "The Lady" and witches. During the Inquisition, women were tortured and killed under the premise that they were witches.

Witnesses to miracles, including Marian apparitions, can talk about it and "will be believed" as long as they stay quiet and don't seek a public forum. If they don't keep quiet, they won't be believed, according to this new mandate. The person making the claim of miracle, stigmata, or BVM visit, will have to endure examinations by psychiatrists, exorcists, etc. to: exclude the possibility that Satan is hiding behind the apparitions in order to deceive the faithful.

This is chilling on a lot of levels of course. From the context of the new guidelines itself,(Inquisition) to the suppression of the individuals mystical/paranormal experience, the war between authoritarian keepers of experience (whether it's the Vatican, the JREF, Skeptical Inquirer, CSI, or the government) and the "folk" continues.


Dialogue in Bellaria:
SITCHIN AND VATICAN THEOLOGIAN DISCUSS UFO's,
EXTRATERRESTRIALS, ANGELS, CREATION OF MAN, Report by Zecharia Sitchin