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Wicca | The-Complete-Uncut-Book-of-Shadows | 1,214 | this day, to speak now or forever hold your peace.
% (There shall be a short pause for any response)
MINISTER: (N) and (N), life has no singular meaning so much as it is
made up of many meaningful events, some of which may be
specified and planned for. One of these is Marriage. As you know,
no minister, no priest, no rabbi, no public official can marry
you; you can only marry yourselves. By a mutual commitment to
love each other and to create an atmosphere of considera-
tion and respect, you can make your marriage come to life.
1527
MINISTER 2: On this, the day of your marriage, you stand somewhat
apart from all other human beings. You stand within the
charmed Circle of your love, and this is as it should be, b u t
love is not meant to be the possession of two people alone.
Rather it should serve as a source of common energy, a form in
which you can find the strength to live your lives w i t h
courage. From this day onward, you must come closer together
than ever before, yet your love should give you the strength
to stand apart; to seek out your own unique des tinies, and to
make your own special contribution to that which is always a
part of us, and more than us.
MINISTER: A marriage that lasts is one which is continually develop
ing, in which each person is continually developing while
growing in understanding of the other. Deep knowledge of
another is not something that can be achieved in a short time.
Real understanding can only develop fully with years of in-
timacy. This wonderful knowledge of another grows out of really
caring for the other so much, that one wants to understand as
completely as possible the intricacies of the other.
MINISTER 2: May you be blessed with this deep knowledge of each other
through all the days of your lives.
Would you now give your vows?
BRIDE/GROOM: We will.
MINISTER: What tokens do you give that you will keep these vows?
BRIDE/GROOM: We give these rings.
% (The rings shall be given to the Minister, who shall take
them in hand.)
MINISTER 2: The ring is used in this ceremony because the Circle is
our symbol for Spirit; that which was in the Beginning, is now,
and ever shall Be, Love, without end. In this ceremony, it is
that love which is deathless and eternal.
% (Both Ministers shall join hands, holding the Rings, and
shall say:)
MINISTER: We ask now the Blessing of the One upon these rings. They
are bands of silver with the Tree of Life cast in relief upon |
Wicca | The-Complete-Uncut-Book-of-Shadows | 1,215 | their surfaces. Let the bands represent eternity, love
without end, and let the trees represent the nurturement you will
share in that Love, now and always.
BOTH: And so it is.
% (The Rings shall be taken by the second Minister.)
% (And if it is a Swordfasting, then the Minister shall take
up the Sword, and flourish it aloft, and then place it
point-down in front of him.)
1528
% (The Bride and Groom shall face each other, and place their
% hands upon the Sword's pommel, with both Ministers placing %
their hands over the Bride and Groom's.)
% (the Minister #2 shall turn to the Groom, and say:)
MINISTER 2: (N), repeat after me:
(N), I take you as my wife.
I pledge to share my life openly with you
To speak the truth to you in love
And to honor and cherish you all the days of our lives.
I promise to love and tenderly care for you
For better and for worse
For richer and for poorer
In sickness and in health
In all storms and fair days we may weather together
For as long as we both shall live.
I promise to respect your needs,
To support you in your endeavors
And encourage you as an individual
Through all the changes of our lives.
With these words, I pledge my love.
% (The Groom shall take the Ring)
And with this ring I seal my vows
Now and forever.
% (The Groom shall place the Ring upon the Bride's finger.)
% (The Minister shall then turn to the Bride, and say:)
MINISTER: (N), repeat after me:
(N), I take you as my husband.
I pledge to share my life openly with you
To speak the truth to you in love
And to honor and cherish you all the days of our lives.
I promise to love and tenderly care for you
For better and for worse
For richer and for poorer
In sickness and in health
In all storms and fair days we may weather together
For as long as we both shall live.
I promise to respect your needs,
To support you in your endeavors
And encourage you as an individual |
Wicca | The-Complete-Uncut-Book-of-Shadows | 1,216 | Through all the changes of our lives.
With these words, I pledge my love.
% (The Bride shall take the Ring)
And with this ring I seal my vows
Now and forever.
% (The Bride shall place the Ring upon the Groom's finger.)
1529
% (Both Ministers shall then say:)
MINISTER: May you never hunger.
MINISTER #2: May you never thirst.
% (Here there may be an interlude of music)
MINISTER 2: At this time, I would like to speak of some of the things
that many of us wish for you.
First,wewish foryou aLove thatmakes youboth better
people, That continues always to give you joy
And a zest for living,
Andprovidesyouwith theenergytoface theresponsibili
ties of life.
Wewish foryoua Home,notaplace ofstoneor wood,butan
island of serenity and sanity.
Wehopethat thisHome isnot justaplace ofprivate joy
and retreat, But rather serves as a Castle wherein the
values of your life and family are generated and upheld.
We hope your home stands as a symbol of humans living
together in Love and peace, Seeking Truth and nurturement
through each other.
We hope that it has within it the elements of Simplicity,
Exuberance,Beauty,Silence,Colorandaconcordancewith
the Rhythms of Life.
We wishforyou aHomewith Books,Poetryand Music,Fora
home with all the things that represent the highest striv ings
Of men and women.
Finally, we wish that your lives be blessed with Spiritual
Abundance, and that your spiritual involvement be enhanced
through This marriage.
% (The Minister shall turn to the congregation, and shall
say:)
MINISTER: Let us all stand together for the closing benediction, and
the passing of the Light.
% (The congregation shall stand. The Bride and Groom shall go
% to the Altar and light the single candle from their candles, |
Wicca | The-Complete-Uncut-Book-of-Shadows | 1,217 | % and then shall light their attendant's candles, and shall %
light the candles of the first person in each row of the %
congregation. They shall then return to the altar, and %
extinguish their candles, placing them on the altar, and %
return to their place before the Ministers.)
MINISTER 2: May we all recognize that the Presence of the One has
already blessed you with the presence of each other. Keep in your
rememberance the sacredness of this trust and the love that
knows no end. May that Peace, which passes all human
understanding abide with you now, and for always.
BOTH: And so it is.
1530
MINISTER 2: And forasmuch as (N) and (N) have expressed their desire
to be husband and wife, showing their love and affection by
joining hands, and have made promises of faith and devotion, each
to the other, and have sealed these promises by giving a n d
receiving of rings:
MINISTER: In the presence of this company of witnesses, by virtue of
my sacred stewardship and the power vested in me by the State
of Arizona, I now pronounce you Husband and Wife.
You may kiss the Bride.
% (The Bride and Groom shall then recess from the altar, %
followed by their attendants. The congregation shall be %
released by rows.)
% (Here ends the Order Of Solemnization Of Marriage (General)
1531
Weasel Wicca: a Toon Trad
by fara Shimbo, Diane Darling and the European Land Otters
(Green Egg, Issue 95, Yule '91, p. 21.)
The Great Mothers of this tradition are Galanthus, who was
turned into a weasel for lying to Juno; and Eris, both Goddess and
Ferret incarnate, who are IN CHARGE.
This is the Holy Sacred Oath of the Weasel Tradition:
"I don'tbelieve anythingunless Iwant to.Mymind issubject
to change within reason and without notification at any time. We will
always have Paris. (But not paris of sox.) I can do without my socks.
Other than that there are absolutely no absolutes."
Sacred Objects of the Weasel tradition include:
* A Floppy Witch Hat (double sided, single density)
* The nearest operational refrigirator
* Dirty Socks
* Tubes made of cardboard or plastic
* Rubber erasers and squeaky toys
* Loud plastic bag and ping pong balls
* The Golden Apple of Eris
* Silk Top hat. |
Wicca | The-Complete-Uncut-Book-of-Shadows | 1,218 | In order tobe initiated into the WeaselTradition, a new ber-
serker must:
* Co-habit with a Ferret; at least one.
*Acquireyourtoolsin
asomewhatless-than-entirely-scrupul-
ous manner- stopping short of Genuine Theft. Use your imagination.
*Sacrifice aSock toGalanthus. Itmust bea goodSock, one
you wouldn't otherwise throw away, and you must have the other one in
your possession.
* Bake some holyFhood, with Weasel Help,which includes
raisins and chocolate chips.
*Write aritual containingat leastthree thingswhich are
obviously or blatantly lifted, word for word, from somewhere else.
Anywhere else.
* Let a weasel lick your lips while you sing:
The Weasel Help Song:
Everyone needs Weasel help,
Weasel Help, Weasel Help
Everyone needs Weasel help,
to get them through the day!
I don't need no Weasel Help,
Weasel Help, Weasel Help,
I don't need no Weasel Help,
no matter what you say!
The Sacred Holidays of the Weasel tradition are any holidays
which have even the slightest thing to do with Fhood.
1532
A Weasel Wiccan Witual
======================
Participants infloppy witch hatsenter, bearing theHoly Fhood
and Drinkh. Arrange tastefuly around altar area. Prominent should be
the Golden Apple of Eris, which is set upon the altar by itself.
Call Watchtowers, lighting quarter candles at each. Suggestion
invocations:
EAST,being Air,signifies mediaand masscommunications. Invite
the Marx brothers, Firesign Theatre, Douglas Adams, and Robert Anton
Wilson, and, of course, the Illuminati, as representatives of Chaos.
(Squeeze squeaky toys)
SOUTH, for Fire, signifies fidelityto ideals. I suggest John
Lennon and our witch ancestors, whose bravery in defense of the Sacred
Right To Be Strange led to the ultimate sacrifice. May we be as brave,
but luckier. (Hide the Matches.)
WEST,for Water, signifies herethe Waters ofLife, ie: Bhooze.
Invite W.C. Fields along with Dionysius and Osiris (inventors of wine
and beer, respectively.) (Slug some eggnog.)
NORTH, for Earth, signifies the Ultimate Mystery: Life, the
Universe and Everything. Toast the Mystery itself and invite it to
relax, take off its cloak and join us for awhile. (Hide a cookie.)
And to provide a fifth point: SKY, for Eris, Our Mother,Lady
Luck Herself, Lady of Chaos and Dealer of the Inside Straight. Hold up
the Golden Apple, hail Her enthusiastically and invite Her to the
party.
Close theCircle, whichis,of course,semi-permiable toweasel-- |
Wicca | The-Complete-Uncut-Book-of-Shadows | 1,219 | kind.
Lightaltarcandle; assume*ahem* seriousdemeanor. Whoeveris to
read, don silk hat and drape a sock for a priest's vestement. Proceed:
"For unto us is born a Saviour, who is Coyote, Pan, loki, Raven,
Dionysius, and Robin Hood; to save us all from Santa's power when we
have come to play, o tiding of chocolate and toys. And Io, neither is
his Mother a Virgin, for She believeth in a good time. And when He
came forth, She wrapped him in a National Enquirer and cradled him in
her top hat, which holdeth all the stars of all the skies plus 500
foolproof card tricks; and the Wise came to Marvel (and to DC) because
indeed and forsooth, they knew trouble when they beheld it."
And Eris, the Great and Terrible, said to her son:
"Kid, this is a special occasion; how should we celebrate?"
And the TinyOne spoke, surprising all butthe Mother of the
Unexpected:
"let's have lots of Fhood, and create the most chaotic and
demented animal of all to play with. And since I have a feeling that
this party will be repeated many, many times, let's make that a rule:
anyone celebrating My birthday should do the same. For I am the Glitch
and the Song and the Gambler's Luck, and I love Surprises--which will
never be lacking with Them around. Let them do this in honor of Me."
1533
And Eris was pleased and created The Weasel (hold one up).
"This is the SacredWeasel, beloved little monster, honored
pest, dearest of Holy Terrors and Agent of Entropy Everywhere. May it
always remind us that Eris and the Kid love Surprises."
(Holdup plateof cookies:)"This isthe HolyFhood; weshare it
in Their names, and with the wish that we should always keep Life as
interesting and strange as possible."
(Hold upHoly Bhooze:)"This isthe HolySpikedEggnog; weshare
in with the understanding that reality can always use a little bend-
ing."
Share all,generalhailing,toasts,silliness,woozlesnoozling,
tricks and demonstration of weasel arranging. Guard honored guests of
all species from overindulging in and/or diving into eggnog. Songs
excellent idea.
Open circle whenever you feel like it.
=================================================================
Fara Shimbo, an ethologist living outside Boulder, Colorado with her
husband Robert, ferret, Ruby, Siamese cat, mong, and Thoroughbred
Hunter, Oficial Dude (AKA Chewie). She is main honcho of _Ferret unity
and Registration Organization (FURO)_, a weasle warrior of reknown and
author of "The Ferret Book" (see review GE83) and, with Bill Phillips,
of _Ferrets and the New Inquisition_, published by the California
Domestic Ferret Association (Box 1861, healdsburg, CA 95448. She is
editor-in-chief of _The Weasle Help Monthly_, (wonderful!) newsmagazi-
ne of FURO, available by joining FURO, PO Box 18193, greensboro, NC
27419.
1534
This is the story of Rabbit. |
Wicca | The-Complete-Uncut-Book-of-Shadows | 1,220 | A long time ago- No one knows how long ago it was-- rabbit was a brave
and fearless warrior. Rabbit was befriended by Eye Walker, a witch.
The witch and Rabbit spent much time together sharing and talking.
One day EyeWalker and rabbitwere walking alongand thesat
down on the trail to rest. Rabbit said "I'm thirsty." Eye Walker
picked up a leaf and blew on it... it turned into a gourd of water...
he handed it to Rabbit. Rabbit drank the water and didn't say any-
thing. Than he said "I am hungry"
Eyewalker pickedup astone andblew onit... itturned intoa
turnip. She gave the turnip to Rappit... He tasted it and than ate
the turnip with relish... but didn't say anything.
Thetwo continued along thetrail, which ledinto the moun-
tains. Near the top, rabbit tripped and fell and rolled almost to the
bottom. Rabbit was in very sad condition when Eye Walker got to him.
She used a magick salve on Rabbit to heal his great pain and mend his
broken bones. Rabbit didn't say anything.
Several days laterEye Walkerwent searchingfor herfriend.
She searched high and love but Rabbit was nowhere to be found.
Finally Eye Walkergave up.She met Rabbitquite byaccident
one day. "Rabbit, why are you hiding and avoiding me?" the witch
asked.
"becauseI amafriad ofyou. I amafraid ofmagick," Answered
Rabbit, cowering in fear. "Leave me alone!"
"I see." SaidEye Walker. "I haveused my magical powerson
your behalf and now you turn on me and refuse my friendship."
"I wantnothing more to dowith you oryour powers," Rabbit
countered. He did not even see the tears his words were bringing to
Eye Walkers eye's. "I hope we never meet and that I never see you
again." Rabbit continued.
"Rabbit" Eye walker said. "We oncewere great friends and
companions, but no more. It is within my power to destroy you, but
because of the past and the medicines we have shared together I will
not do this. But from this day on I lay a curse on you and your tribe.
From now on, you will call fears and your fears will come to you. Be
on your way, for the sweet medicines that bound us together as friends
are now broken."
1535
Modern Wiccan Concepts based in Literary Satanism
By: Diane Vera
As I pointed out to Warren Grant in the PAGAN echo recently, Charles
G. Leland mentions Michelet in the Appendix to _Aradia:_
_Gospel_of_the_Witches_: "Now be it observed, that every leading
point which forms the plot or centre of this _Vangel_ [...] had
been told or written out for me in fragments by Maddalena (not to
mention other authorities), even as it had been chronicled by Horst
or Michelet" (pp.101-102, 1974 Weiser paperback edition).
.
In _A_History_of_Witchcraft_, Jeffrey B. Russell writes: |
Wicca | The-Complete-Uncut-Book-of-Shadows | 1,221 | "Michelet's argument that witchcraft was a form of social protest
was adapted later by Marxists; his argument that it was based on a
fertility cult was adopted by anthropologists at the turn of the
century, influenig Sir James Frazer's _Golden_Bough_, Jessie
Weston's _From_Ritual_to_Romance_, Magaret Murray's _Witch-
Cult_in_Western_Europe_, and indirectly T.S. Eliot's
_The_Waste_Land_" (_A_History_of_Witchcraft_, p.133).
.
Russell states further: "Neopagan witchcraft has roots in the
tradition of Michelet, who argued that European witchcraft was the
survival of an ancient religion. This idea influenced Sir James
Frazer and a number of other anthropologists and writers in the late
nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. The publication of
Charles Leland's _Aradia_ in 1899 was an important step in the
evolution of the new religion of witchcraft. [...] The doctrines
and practices of the witches as reported by Leland are a melange of
sorcery, medieval heresy, witch-craze concepts, and political
radicalism, and Leland reports ingenuously that this is just what he
expected, since it fitted with what he had read in Michelet"
(Russell, p.148).
.
As far as I know, it's possible that Michelet's influence on Gardner
was only indirect, via the other above-named writers. This would
not invalidate my point, which is that Michelet played a key role in
the development of the ideas in question.
.
Michelet has had a more direct influence on feminist Goddess
religion than on Wicca proper. Michelet's _La_Sorciere_
(_Satanism_and_Witchcraft_) is listed in the bibliography of
_Woman,_Church,_and_State_ by Matilda Gage (19th-century Women's
Suffrage leader and the founder of pre-Wiccan feminist Goddess
religion) and, more recently, in _Witches,_Midwives,_and_Nurses:_
_A_History_of_Women_Healers_ by Barbara Ehrenreich and Dierdre
English (1973).
.
In my opinion, Michelet's most important contribution to both Wicca
and feminist Goddess religion was that, as far as I know, he was the
first well-known writer (in recent centuries, anyway) to use the
word "Witch" (capital W) with its present-day positive connotations
of healing and opposition to tyranny.
1536
Intro to Satanism
By: Diane Vera
As promised in the PAGAN RELIGIOUS STUDIES echo, here's my brief
introductory essay on Satanism (though Corwynt won't be seeing it,
alas). I'll confine myself to discussing _serious_occultists_ who
identify as Satanists. I have no interest in the teen-age glue-
sniffing "Satin rulz" crowd, who are into "Satanism" as a way to
shock the grown-ups, and who usually (as far as I know) outgrow it.
Nor am I interested in criminals who say the Devil made them do it
(often, I suspect, as a way to get themselves declared insane).
.
Since I don't know how much you don't know, perhaps I should start
with the usual elementary disclaimers:
.
(a) Most Satanists do not think of themselves as "worshipping evil".
Satan is associated with a variety of human traits and magic(k)al
energies which Christianity traditionally considers "evil", but |
Wicca | The-Complete-Uncut-Book-of-Shadows | 1,222 | which the Satanists themselves do not consider "evil" -- though some
Satanists may describe themselves as "evil" in an ironic sense.
.
(b) In what there is of a Satanist subculture (for serious
occultists), nobody advocates sacrificing animals or babies,
sexually abusing children, or other horrific activities described in
fundamentalist propaganda. As Anton LaVey explains in
_The_Satanic_Bible_, such activities serve no useful magic(k)al
purpose.
.
(c) Although Satan is, obviously, a figure from Christian mythology
(derived from Judaism and Zoroastrianism), Satanism is not just
"reverse Christianity". I have yet to meet even one Satanist who
believed in Christian theology, or a simple reversal thereof. (I've
heard that such Satanists do exist, but they don't seem to be part
of the organized Satanist scene.) All Satanists I've ever
encountered have some alternative explanation of who/what Satan is.
.
There are many alternative explanations and, correspondingly, many
different kinds of Satanism. Following is a list of _some_ of the
many different possible interpretations of who/what Satan is:
.
(1) Satan is the Christian-era guise of some pre-Christian deity,
e.g. Set or Pan.
.
(2) Satan is not a real entity at all, but just a symbol of human
individuality, pride, thinking for oneself, sensuality, etc.
.
(3) Satan is an actual discarnate intelligence, and is the bringer
of wisdom in a form of Gnosticism with the Christian "God" cast as
the Demiurge. This idea is based on a form of Gnosticism that
actually existed in the early centuries C.E., which venerated the
serpent of the Garden of Eden myth.
.
(4) Satan is not an actual discarnate, sentient being, but is more
than just a symbol. Satan is, at the very least, today's most
powerful magic(k)al egregore. "Satan" is present-day society's
number-one magic(k)al Name of Power.
1537
(5) Satan is an impersonal "Dark Force in Nature".
.
(6) Satan is one of many gods, all of whom are in some sense real.
There is no one all-powerful "God" like the Christian idea of "God".
There are many gods who are powerful, but not all-powerful.
.
Of the above possiblities, my own personal beliefs lean toward a
combination of interpretations #4, 5, and 6. The Church of Satan,
founded in 1966 C.E. by Anton LaVey, usually espouses interpretation
#2 and sometimes #5. The Temple of Set is into _something_like_
(but not quite) a combination of #1 and #3.
La> If you haven't been around other satanists, how do you know
La> what is being practiced, is what you would do? I could call
La> myself a Dianic Wiccan, but what I might practice is not what
La> is generally practiced...and there is no way for me to really
La> learn "right way" from "wrong way".
.
It doesn't matter. Satanism isn't really just one religion, but a
category of religions, some of which are radically different from |
Wicca | The-Complete-Uncut-Book-of-Shadows | 1,223 | each other. (See my message to Deborah Kest on "Satanism 101".)
Since most forms of Satanism do celebrate individuality, the lack of
standardization is just fine, in my opinion. The only "right way"
or "wrong way" has to do with _what_works_, and this will vary from
one individual to another.
.
La> The reason you are being "punished" I think ostracized is
La> a better word, is that most Satanists, and people who follow
La> left-handed Magick/spirituality (folks I know it is not a fair
La> term, but it works for this arguement) are considered by many
La> of us the true enemies of Spiritualism that we would practice.
.
The term "Left-Hand Path" is OK. We use it too. You and I would
probably define it very differently, however. What's your
definition?
.
La> Even more than Christaniaty folks who follow your system of
La> believes are very differnt than we. Pagan and Christanity,
La> have very similar ideas and ethics, and while not at all
La> tolerant of each other (generally) can live and let live.
La> Satanists et.all on the other hand, have such a different view
La> of life, love and the pursuit of the Divine, it is hard for us
La> to accept you into our midsts.
.
Could you please be more specific? _What_ do you see as the
similarities between neo-Paganism and Christianity?
.
I too see some profound differences between Satanism and neo-
Paganism. And I too see enough similarities between neo-Paganism
and Christianity that one can meaningfully use a term like "Right-
Hand Path", which includes both Christianity and neo-Paganism but
not Satanism.
1538
But I _also_ see some profound similarities between Satanism and
neo-Paganism (especially Wicca) as well, which set them both apart
from Christianity. For example, Satanism and Wicca-based Paganism
are both much more tolerant toward sexual variety than Christianity
traditionally is. (To be more exact, Wicca is _now_ tolerant toward
sexual variety, though there was a time when it was quite
homophobic.) And in general, Satanism and Wicca-based Paganism both
emphasize individuality in ways that Christianity doesn't.
.
Also, as I've discussed at length both here and in the PAGAN and
PAGAN RELIGIOUS STUDIES echoes, Satanism and most forms of neo-
Paganism (especially Wicca) are both part of the family of modern
Western magic(k)al religions, with many common roots and many basic
magic(k)al concepts in common. We have natural reasons to be part
of the same magic(k)al community (e.g. occult bookstores and this
computer network). It would be much more pleasant for everyone
concerned if neo-Pagans could get used to Satanists, because you are
going to keep running into more and more of us whether you like it
or not.
1539
Satanism, A Personal Definition
By Delphine |
Wicca | The-Complete-Uncut-Book-of-Shadows | 1,224 | Please keep in mind that Satanism is a *very* individualistic
religion, and if you asked 50 Satanists what Satanism is, you'd
probably get 60 different responses. As a solitaire Satanist, I'll
have a go at this.. but I'm pretty bad at trying to summarize what I
believe, so please feel free to ask me questions.
For me, these are the most important things I believe as a Satanist:
*I believe in Satan as a literal entity. Many other Satanists do not,
esp. those from the LaVey school of thought.
*Satan is NOT a fallen angel, or a lesser created being, but instead a
deity with as much power (for lack of a better word) as any other. He
is the Shadow, a Destroying Deity.. and by such destruction,he purif-
ies, for death of anything leads the way for rebirth. He is a symbol
of rebellion, of pride, and of righteous anger. He brings freedom, in
many different ways.
* My first care is to myself, for if I am unable to serve myself, I
have no basis by which to judge the actions of others. I strive for
excellence, in a sense, very close to what Setians call "Xeper".
*I believe in free will, with the understanding that "with freedom
comes responsibility". I do not accept the threefold law, or any
specific prohibitions like "harm none". In relating to others, I use
the rule "do unto others AS they do unto you". If I am harmed or
treated with dishonor, I will not continue to treat such persons in a
way that is more than they deserve. Revenge, at the proper time and in
a fitting manner, is acceptable behavior. If there are consequences to
such revenge, I will accept them responsibly.
*I will endeavor to be honorable about my own actions, and I will
expect the same behavior from others.
*I see Satan in Nature, in the floods, hurricanes, volcanoes, and
tidal waves. I see fundamental laws in Nature, that death is as
necessary as life. I am humbled and empowered by this, for though it
blindly destroys, it is yet a part of me, as deity is immanent and
transcendant to me. Satan the transcendant is that excellence that I
strive for, Satan the immanent is the spark in me that strives.
* I am polytheistic. The divine, to me, is like a jewel with many
facets, each a part of us, each with something to teach us. No such
lesson, to me , is greater or lesser than any other; but are instead
more or less appropriate for a person at a given time.
There is a great deal more I could say, and in greater detail, but
this covers a large part of Satanism to me. Of course, I'm sure that
Diane Vera, Sheryl, Balanone, and others will have different beliefs
than I do. It seems that individualism and personal pride seem to be
the link between most serious Satanists.
-Qapla'
Delphine
1540
The Wiccan Rede (WCC)
Bide ye Wiccan laws ye must,
in perfect love and perfect trust |
Wicca | The-Complete-Uncut-Book-of-Shadows | 1,225 | Live ye must and let to live,
fairly take and fairly give
Form the circle thrice about,
to keep unwelcome spirits out
To bind the spell well every time,
let the spell be spake in rhyme
Soft of eye and light of touch,
speak ye little, listen much
Deosil go by the waxing moon,
sing and dance the Wiccan rune
Widdershins go by the waning moon,
chanting out the baleful tune
When the Lady's moon is new,
kiss the hand to her times two
When the moon rides at Her peak,
then the heart's desire seek
Heed the north wind's mighty gale,
lock the door and trim the sail
When the wind comes from the south,
love will kiss kiss thee on the mouth
When the wind blows from the west,
departed souls will have no rest
When the wind blows from the east,
expect the new and set the feast
Nine woods in the cauldron go,
burn them quick and burn them slow
Elder be the Lady's tree,
burn it not or cursed you'll be
When the wheel begins to turn,
soon the Beltain fires will burn
When the wheel has turned to Yule,
light the log the Horned One rules
Heed ye flower, bush and tree,
by the Lady blessed be
Where the rippling waters flow,
cast a stone and the truth you'll know
When you have and hold a need,
hearken not to others' greed
With a fool no season spend,
nor be counted as his friend
Merry meet and merry part,
bright the cheeks and warm the heart
Mind the threefold law ye should,
three times bad and three times good
When misfortune is anow,
wear the star upon thy brow
True in love you must ever be,
lest thy love be false to thee
These eight words the Wiccan Rede fulfill,
An Ye Harm None, Do What Ye Will
1541
Orphic invocations of Goddess & God
Bright Blessings to all...
Here are invocations to the Goddess and God that I have used
quite successfully in ritual. They are from the Orphic Hymns,
for those who like historical accuracy, but have been updated just
a tad, for those who like ritual with modern applications.
Hope you enjoy them. |
Wicca | The-Complete-Uncut-Book-of-Shadows | 1,226 | Invocation to the Goddess
Divine are Your honors, Oh Mother of the Gods and Nurturer of All.
Yoke your swift chariot drawn by bull-slaying lions and,
O Mighty Goddess who brings things to pass, join our prayers.
Many named and reverend, You are the Queen of the Sky.
In the cosmos, Your throne is above all others, for You are
Queen of the Earth, and You give gentle nourishment to mortals.
Goddesses, Gods, and mortals were born of You,
And You hold sway over the rivers and all of the sea.
Hestia, Gaia, Demeter, Inanna, Isis, Astarte, Ishtar, Persephone,
Diana,
Giver of prosperity who bestows upon mortals all manner of gifts,
Come to this Rite, Queen whom the drum delights.
Honored and loving Nurturer of Life,
Joyfully and graciously visit our deeds of piety.
Blessed Be.
Invocation to the God
Hear Our Prayer, O best and Many-Named God.
Fine-haired, solitary, and full of lovely song;
Many shaped and noble nurturer of all,
Maiden and yout in one, unwithering bloom, O Adonis
You vanish and grow again in the fair seasons' turn.
Kurnunnos, Pan, Myrddhn, two horned Spirit of growth and blooming;
Much loved and wept for are you,
O Fair and Youthful Hunter of the luxuriant mane.
Desire is in Your mind and You come to the Goddess
in reverence and respect,
in sensuous joy is your desire fulfilled
You are the seed planted in the depths of the Underworld
That springs forth, the Green God, that we may sustain our lives.
You sacrifice Yourself in gentleness when you are grown.
Come Kind-Hearted One, Come Blesseed God,
and bring much joy to all.
Blessed Be.
Hope you find these beneficial...
Briget Bless...Phaedra.
1542
EAST
(INVOCATION)
Facing East:
Guardians of the watchtower of the east, we do summon, stir, and
call thee up to protect us in our rite. Come to us now on the cool
breath of Autumn's sigh which
heralds the advent of Winter and the close of harvest time. Breathe
into us the spirit of the pure joy of life. So mote it be!
Responsorial: So mote it be!
AIR (invocation)
(Celebrant with the incense burner symbolizing the element of air) :
"I am everywhere. I fill the fleshy pouches of your lungs, I
stir all things from the smallest blade of grass to the tallest tree. |
Wicca | The-Complete-Uncut-Book-of-Shadows | 1,227 | I cool you with my breezes and
destroy you with my storms.
Without me you would die. Am I not holy and worthy of praise? "
EAST
(BANISHMENT)
Facing East:
"Guardians of the watchtower of the east, return now to the brisk
Autumn breezes which are brimming with the excitement of the year's
climax. Take with you our
blessings and thanks. Hail and
farewell!
Responsorial: Hail and farewell!
1543
SOUTH (invocation)
Facing South:
Guardians of the watchtower of the south, we do summon, stir, and
call thee up to protect us in our rite. Come forth from the cook
fires and smokehouses where food is being made ready for the coming
cold months. Kindle within us the flame of spiritual awakening. So
mote it be!
Responsorial: So Mote it Be!
FIRE (invocation)
(Celebrant with the candle symbolizing the element of fire):
"I live in the guarded embers of campfires and the pilot lights
of stoves, I spring from the lightning and the hands of men, I warm
you and I destroy you. Without me you would die. Am I not holy and
worthy of praise? "
SOUTH (banishing)
Facing South:
"Guardians of the watchtower of the south, return now to the
dying fires of Autumn's heat soon to give way to Winter's chill. Take
with you our blessings and thanks. Hail and farewell!
Responsorial: Hail and farewell
1544
WEST (invoking)
Facing West:
Guardians of the watchtower of the west, we do summon, stir, and
call thee up to protect us in our rite. Come forth from the rainbow
hued morning dew that covers the fields, and is soon to be frost.
Asperge us with your diadems and water our deepest roots that we may
find peace of mind. So mote it be!
Responsorial: So mote it be!
WATER (invocation)
(Celebrant with the water vessel symbolizing the element of water): |
Wicca | The-Complete-Uncut-Book-of-Shadows | 1,228 | "I rise from the moist crevices of the Earth, I beat on the shores of
Her body, I fall from the skies in silver sheets. Without me you would
die. Am I not holy and worthy of praise? " (Celebrant asperges the
circle with water)
WEST (banishing)
Facing West:
"Guardians of the watchtower of the west, return now to the
Autumn rains which cool the Earth's fevered brow baked in the heat of
Summer afternoons. Take with you our blessings and thanks. Hail and
farewell!
Responsorial: Hail and farewell!
1545
NORTH (invoking)
Facing North:
Guardians of the watchtower of the north, we do summon, stir, and
call thee up to protect us in our rite. Come forth from the fertile
bosom of our Blessed Mother Earth, and nourish us so that our hopes
may grow to fruition. So mote it be!
Responsorial: So mote it be!
EARTH (invocation)
(Celebrant with the salt vessel symbolizing the element of earth):
"I am your Mother. From me come the fruit and grain and animals
which feed you. I am your support, and my pull on your bodies keeps
you held firmly to me. Without me you would die. Am I not holy and
worthy of praise? "
NORTH (banishing)
Facing North:
Guardians of the watchtowers of the north, return now to the
Earth where worms burrow deeper and seeds nestle awaiting the long
sleep of Winter. Take with you our
blessings and thanks. Hail and farewell!
Responsorial: Hail and farewell!
1546
Wiccan History
Wicca is a relatively modern attempt (approximately 50 years old)
at reviving and reconstructing the old pre-Christian religions of
Europe. In a mythopoetic sense it is many centuries old. However,
the Witch of 200 years ago would not recognize what is called "witch-
craft" today. Modern Wicca may have some of its roots in some of the
local folk-magic and "family witchcraft" of mid 20th Century England.
It does have traceable roots in the Golden Dawn magical society of
late 19th century England, some of Aleister Crowley's magickal work
and some Ceremonial Magic dating back to Elizabethan times. For a
modern history of English Wicca, the reader can most profitably |
Wicca | The-Complete-Uncut-Book-of-Shadows | 1,229 | consult the works of Janet and Stuart Farrar and Doreen Valiente.
PREHISTORY
Up until recently, the earliest known remnants of human society
that give us any clues to the spiritual dimension of prehistoric man
are those belonging to the Gravettian-Aurignacian cultures of 2500-
1500 B.C.E. This is called the Upper Paleolithic Period. Though most
of the sites so far discovered have been found in Europe, a very
important site in Anatolia (modern Turkey) has also been found and is
the (so far) the first or oldest City of Catal Huyuk (pronounced
chatal Hoo-Yook),they form a conjectural foundation for the religion
of the goddess as it emerged in the later Neolithic Age of the Near
East. There have been numerous studies of these Paleolithic cul-
tures, including extensive explorations of the sites occupied by these
peoples, including the apparent rites connected with the disposal of
their dead.
The earliest remains of ancient civilization indicating some form
of Goddess worship were in the caves in Lascaux, France. Here, the
first and earliest non-anthropomorphic divine figures were symbolized
by the horse for female Divinity and the Bison as the male divine
influence. This portion of the cave was painted in approximately
17,000 B.C.E. and sealed approximately 10,000 B.C.E. The anthropo-
morphic Goddess figures appear sometime approximately 7,000 B.C.E. The
earliest remains in Catal Huyuk have been reliably carbon dated to
6,500 B.C. and show some interesting parallels in that the horse was
replaced with an anthropomorphic goddess and the Bison (an ice age
animal) has been replaced with the aurochs bull, ancestor of modern
cattle. The anthropomorphic Goddess is an Earth Mother and the nearby
volcanoes (then active) were considered her breasts.1
One major conjecture has been that the concept of the
creator of
all human life may have been formulated by the clan's image of women.
The reasoning behind this conjecture lies in the observations in this
century of the few remaining Paleolithic type cultures. These Paleo-
lithic cultures tend to be woman centered since it is from the women
that babies come and the women are absolutely essential for the
continuation of the tribe or clan. Current information also indicates
that it is also probable that the mother was regarded as the sole (or
at least primary) parent of children in this culture, and that there
was a definite pattern of ancestor worship. It is also very probable
that ancestry was matrilineal.
1547
The most tangible evidence that these very ancient cultures and
their predecessors worshipped a goddess is the numerous sculptures of
women found throughout most of Europe and the Near east. Some of
these sculptures date as far back as 25,000 B.C.E.! Small female
figurines, made of stone, bone and clay (most seemingly pregnant) have
been found throughout the widespread Gravettian-Aurignacian sites as
far apart as Spain, France, Germany, Austria, and Russia spanning an
apparent period of at least 10,000 years. Erich Neumnann, in "The
Great Mother" (p.95) says- "Of the Stone Age sculptures known to us,
there are fifty-five female figures and only five male figures. The
male figures, of youths, are atypical and poorly executed, hence it is
certain that they had no significance for the cult. This fits in with
the secondary character of the male godhead, who appeared only later
in the history of religions and derived his divine rank from his
mother, the Goddess." |
Wicca | The-Complete-Uncut-Book-of-Shadows | 1,230 | Johannes Maringer, in his book the "Gods of Prehistoric Man"
says- "it appears highly probable then that the female figurines were
idols of a Great Mother cult, practiced by the non-nomadic Aurignacian
mammoth hunters who inhabited the immense Eurasian territories that
extended from Southern France to Lake Baikal in Siberia." It was
from the Lake Baikal area in Siberia that tribes are believed to have
migrated across the Bering land bridge to North America about this
time period, and formed the nucleus of what was to become the race of
North American Indians. In some primitive societies known to history,
the male role in procreation was not known. Intercourse and pregnancy
both begin with puberty, and there was no evident reason to regard one
as the cause of the other. Women were believed to conceive from the
light of the moon or from ancestral spirits.
Neolithic cultures have left a bit more evidence for study and
the images are a bit clearer and less speculative. One good instance
of this is the stone age painting of a priestess officiating over a
group of worshippers along with a male wearing a horned headdress. An
interesting point here is that the priestess pictured is wearing a
garter and wielding a ceremonial dagger, much like the ones used in
modern witchcraft. Of course much has been made of this, including a
lot of unfounded speculations on the "ancient connections" of modern
witchcraft, but that is a topic beyond the scope of the present work.
The beginnings of Roman religion are sure to have been based on the
Etruscan culture. Ancestor worship was the earliest form of religion
in Rome. Another interesting fact relating to ancient Matrilineal
forms influencing present society is reflected in the Jewish custom
current today that membership comes from the mother's side of a
marriage.
The above mentioned goddess images, some as old as 7000 BC, offer
silent testimony to the most ancient worship of a great goddess in the
land that is most often remembered today as the homeland of Judaism
and Christianity. In exploring the influence and importance of the
worship of the Goddess in Canaan in biblical times, we find that as
Ashtoreth, Asherah (perhaps the origin of the tribe of Asher?),
Astarte, Attoret, Anath, or simply as Elat or Baalat, she was the
principal deity of such great Canaanite cities as Tyre, Sidon, Asca-
lon, Beth Anath, Aphaca, Byblos, and Ashtoreth Karnaim.
1548
In Egypt, the Hebrews had known the worship of the Goddess as
Isis or Hathor. For four generations they had been living in a land
where women held a very high status and the matrilineal descent system
continued to function at most periods.
Judging from the number of Hebrews who emerged from Egypt in
the Exodus, as compared with the family of the twelve sons who sup-
posedly entered it four generations earlier, it seems likely that a
great number of those Hebrews known as Israelites may actually have
been Egyptians, Canaanites, Semitic nomads and other Goddess-worshipp-
ing peoples who had joined together in Egypt. Archaeological records
and artifacts reveal that the religion of the Goddess still flourished
in many of the cities of Canaan long after the Hebrews invaded.
What are some of the modern day applications of this long history
of Goddess worship? For an answer to this, let's look at an encap-
sulation of the "herstory" of the legend of the Universal Goddess as
taught to the new entrants to the Faerie Tradition in 20th Century
America. |
Wicca | The-Complete-Uncut-Book-of-Shadows | 1,231 | According to the legends of the Faerie, Witchcraft and magick
began more than 35 thousand years ago, when the last ice age in europe
began and small bands of nomadic hunters followed the free-running
reindeer and bison herds. They were armed with but primitive weapons
( Stone Age, remember?), and had to lure or chase the animals over a
cliff or into a pit to kill and eat them. As Starhawk says,"...some
among the clans were gifted, could "call" the herds to a cliff side or
a pit, where a few beasts,in willing sacrifice, would let themselves
be trapped."
As the last ice age retreated the tribes of nomadic hunters
worshipped the Goddess of the Wild Things and Fertility and the God of
the Hunt.Semipermanent homes were set up in caves carved out by the
glaciers. Shamans and Shamanka conducted rites within hard to reach
portions of the caves, which were painted with scenes of the hunt,
magical symbols and the tribes totem animals.
The transition from Hunter-Gatherers to agriculturists was
reflected in the change of the "Lady of the Wild Things and Fertility"
to the "Barley Mother" and the "God of the Hunt" to the "Lord of the
Grain". The importance of the phases of the moon and the sun was
reflected in the rituals that evolved around sowing, reaping, and
letting out to pasture.
Villages grew into towns and cities and society changed from
tribal to communal to urban. Paintings on the plastered walls of
shrines depicted the Goddess giving birth to the Divine Child - Her
son, consort and seed. The Divine Child was expected to take a
special interest in the city dwellers, just as His Mother and Father
had taken an interest in the people who lived away from the cities.
Mathematics, astronomy, poetry, music, medicine, and the understanding
of the workings of the human mind, developed side by side with the
lore of the deeper mysteries.
1549
Far to the east, nomadic tribes devoted themselves to the arts of
war and conquest. Wave after wave of invasion swept over Europe from
the Bronze Age onward. Warrior gods drove the Goddess' people out
from the fertile lowlands and the fine temples, into the hills and
high mountains, where they became known as the Sidhe, the Picts or
Pixies, and the Fair Folk or the Fairies. The mythological cycle of
Goddess and Consort, Mother and Child, which had held sway for 30,000
years was changed to conform to the values of the conquering patriar-
chies.
In Canaan, Yahweh fought a bloody battle to ensure that his
followers had "no other gods before me." The Goddess was given a
masculine name and assigned the role of a false god. Along with the
suppression of the Goddess, women lost most of the rights they had
previously enjoyed.
In Greece, the Goddess in Her many aspects, was "married" to the
new gods resulting in the Olympic Pantheon. The Titans, who the
Olympians displaced were more in touch with the primal aspects of the
Goddess.
The victorious Celts in Gaul and the British Isles, adopted many
features of the Old Religion and incorporated them into the Druidic
Mysteries. The Faerie, breeding cattle in the stony hills and living |
Wicca | The-Complete-Uncut-Book-of-Shadows | 1,232 | in turf-covered round huts preserved the Craft. They celebrated the
eight feasts of the Wheel of the Year with wild processions on horse-
back, singing and chanting along the way and lighting ritual bonfires
on the mountaintops. It was said that the invaders often joined in
the revels and many rural families, along with some royalty, could
claim to have Faerie blood. The College of the Druids and the Poetic
Colleges of Ireland and Wales were said to have preserved many of the
old mysteries. ***
In the late 1400's the Catholic Church attempted to obliterate
its competitors, and the followers of the Old Religion were forced to
"go underground." They broke up into small groups called Covens and,
isolated from each other, formed what would later be known as the
Family Traditions. Inevitably, parts of the Craft were forgotten or
lost and what survives today is fragmentary.
After nearly five centuries of persecution and terror, came the
Age of Disbelief. Memory of the True Craft had faded as non-members
who could remember how they once had met openly died and those who
came after never knew of them. All that was left were the hideous
stereotypes which were ludicrous, laughable or just plain tragic.
With the repeal of the last Witchcraft Act in England in 1954, the
Craft started to re-emerge as an alternative to a world that viewed
the planet as a resource to be exploited.
1550
Janet and Stewart Farrar, in the introduction to The Witches
Goddess say of the modern re-emergence of the Goddess " ..may well
prove to be one of the most significant spiritual, psychic and psycho-
logical developments of our lifetime". They have since done a wonder-
ful job of presenting an overview of the ascendancy and history of the
expression of the masculine principle of deity as e pressed by Male
God-forms and Gods with their book The Witches' God. What do the
Farrars consider this "masculine principle" to be? "...it represents
the linear-logical,analyzing, fertilizing aspect, with its emphasis on
Ego-consciousness and individuality, while the feminine principle
represents the cyclical-intuitive, synthesizing, formative, nourishing
aspect, with its emphasis on the riches of the unconscious, both
Personal and Collective, and on relatedness."
As mankind started to develop his cultures in directions that
were more male dependent in the nature of the cultures, the emphasis
in religion shifted to become more male god than female goddess
oriented. As this happened, the Goddess(es) lost ground to the
God(s). At first, the female aspect merely became secondary to the
male, but eventually the male took over and dominated to the total
exclusion of the female, particularly in western society as we know it
today. "The first major god-form to claim a monopoly of divinity was
the Hebrew Yahweh, from which in due course sprang the Christian and
Moslem forms." "Dr. Raphael Patai, in his books Man and Temple and
The Hebrew Goddess shows that the Goddess Asherah was worshipped
alongside Yahweh as his wife and sister in the Temple at Jerusalem for
240 of the 360 years the temple complex existed, and her image was
publicly displayed there." There is also evidence that the Jewish
community at elephantine in egypt acknowledged two goddess-wives of
Yahweh, and also there still remains in Ezekiel (xxiii)a metaphorical
reference to a pair of wives, where Yahweh condemns the "whoredom" of
two sisters who "became mine and bore me sons and daughters". |
Wicca | The-Complete-Uncut-Book-of-Shadows | 1,233 | 1551
MY WICCA
By Durwydd MacTara
My RELIGION is Wicca, my LIFE-STYLE is Witchcraft! I believe in
a supreme being that is both Immanent and Transcendent, that is
expressing itself within AND without. However, I also believe that
trying to define/describe such an infinite Divine Being in finite
terms to be a waste of time and energy. I CAN describe my perceptions
of the Ultimate in terms of the energies that I work with and find
significant in my daily living. My style and methods of relating to
what I can perceive of these Divine Energies are what I describe as my
RELIGION. How I apply these insights gained via my religious prac-
tices, I term my CRAFT.
The name for my religion is derived from the Saxon root "wicce"
(pronounced "witchy") and is loosely translated as "Wise". The word
"Wicca" was first used in modern times in England by Gerald B. Gardner
to describe/define an attempt at restoring "the old wisdom" of pre-
Christian beliefs and practice into a modern context in the 1940's.
Ergo, I could call my religion "wisdom" and my style of application of
this wisdom "wise-craft" or more simply, "The Craft of the Wise".
For the sake of convenience and easy understanding, I divide the
expressions of the Divine Energies into two groups; that of the active
positive (symbolically "male") energies represented to me by the stag
horned Lord of the Forest, and those of a more passive, nurturing, or
"negative" polarity represented to me by the Threefold Goddess.
Approaching my perceptions of the universe and its energies in this
way allows me to break them down into "bite sized chunks", applicable
to my daily life in a mundane world, and what good is ANY belief
system if it is not of immediate and practical use here and now?
So what are some of the beliefs and practices of this religion
called Wicca, and how do I apply them to my daily life? What does it
all mean? The following explanation is based on a press statement
released by the American Council of Witches released in the early
1970's, with some editing on my part to reflect my own beliefs and
practices.
=================================
BASIC PRINCIPLES OF THE CRAFT
1. The first principle is that of love, and it is expressed in the
ethic,
"AN IT HARM NONE, DO AS THOU WILL"
a) love is not emotional in it's essence, but is an
attribute of the individual as expressed in relation
to other beings;
b) harming others can be by thought, word, or deed.
Thought is included here, because for the Witch,
"thoughts are things" and every action, even thoughts,
can become magical actions, whether consciously intended
or not;
c> it is to be understood the "none" includes oneself,
though it is permissable to harm self in helping others,
should one so choose;
d) the harm which is to be regarded as unethical is
gratuitous harm; war, in general, is gratuitous harm, |
Wicca | The-Complete-Uncut-Book-of-Shadows | 1,234 | 1552
although it is ethical to defend oneself and one's
liberty when threatened by real and present danger,
such as personal defense or defense of another WHEN REQUESTED.
2. The Witch must recognize and harmonize with the forces of the
universe, in accord with the Law of Polarity: everything is dual;
everything has two poles; everything has it's opposite; for every
action there is a reaction; all can be categorized as either active or
reactive in relation to other things.
a) The Infinite and Ultimate Godhead is one unique and
transcendent wholeness, beyond any limitations or expressions;
thus, it is beyond our human capacity to understand and identify
with this principle of Cosmic Oneness, except as It is
revealed to us in terms of It's attributes and operation.
b) One of the most basic and meaningful attribute of the One
that we, as humans, can relate to and understand, is
that of polarity, of action and reaction; therefore
Witches recognize the Oneness of the Divinity, but
worship and relate to the Divine as the archetypal
polarity of God and Goddess, the All-Father and the
Great Mother of the universe. The Beings are as near as
we can approach to the One within our human limitations
of understanding and expression, though it is possible to
experience the divine Oneness through the practices of the
Mysteries.
c) Harmony does not consist of the pretty and the nice,
but the balanced, dynamic, poised co-operation and
co-relationship.
3. The Witch must recognize, and operate within the framework of
the Law of Cause and Effect; every action has it's reaction, and
every effect has it's cause. All things occur according to this law;
nothing in the universe can occur outside this law, though we may not
always appreciate the relation between a given effect and it's cause.
Subsidiary to this is the Law of Three, which states that whatever
goes forth must return threefold, whether of good or ill; for our
actions affect more than people generally realize, and the resulting
reactions are also part of the harvest.
4. As Above, So Below. That which exists in the Macrocosm exists, on
a smaller scale and to a lesser degree, in the Microcosm. The powers
of the universe exist also in the human, though in general instance
they
lie dormant. The powers and abilities can be awakened and used if the
proper techniques are practiced, and this is why initiates of the
Mysteries are sworn to guard the secrets from the unworthy: Much harm
can be done by those who have power without responsibility, both to
others and to themselves according to the Laws of Cause and Effect and
of Threefold Return.
a) Since our philosophy teaches that the universe is the
physical manifestation of the Divine, there can be
nothing in the universe which does not partake of the
nature of the Divine; hence, the powers and attributes
of the Divine exist also in the manifest, though to much
smaller degree. |
Wicca | The-Complete-Uncut-Book-of-Shadows | 1,235 | 1553
b) These powers can be awakened through the various
techniques of the Mysteries, and, although they are only
capable of small effects in and of themselves, it is
possible to use them in order to draw upon the forces of
the universe. Thus humanity can be the wielders of the
power of the Gods, a channel for Godhead to act within
It's own manifestation. This, many feel, is further reason
for the oath of secrecy.
c) Since the universe is the body of the One, possessing
many of the same attributes as the One, it's Laws must be the
principles through and by which the One operates. By
reasoning from the known to the unknown, one can learn
of the Divine, and thus of oneself. By experiencing the Mysteries
a person can truly LEARN more about the One. Thus the Craft is a
natural religion as well as a MYSTERY religion, seeing in Nature
the expression and revelation of Divinity.
5. We know that everything in the universe is in movement or vibration
and is a function of that vibration. Everything vibrates; all things
rise and fall in a tidal system that reflects the motion inherent in
the universe and also in the atom. Matter and energy are but two
poles of one continuous phenomenon. Therefore the Witch celebrates,
harmonizes with, and makes use of the tides of the universe and of
life as expressed through the cycle of the seasons and the motion of
the solar system. These ritual observances are the eight great
Festivals of the Year, referred to as the Wheel of the Year. Further,
the Witch works with the forces and tides of the Moon, for this body
is the mediator of much energy to our planet Earth and thus to oursel-
ves.
6. Nothing is dead matter in the universe. All things exist,
therefore all things live, though perhaps in a different manner from
that which we are used to calling life. In view of this, the Witch
knows that there is no true death, only change from one condition to
another. The universe is the body of Godhead, and therefore
possesses one transcendent consciousness; all things partake of the
consciousness, in varying levels of trance/awareness.
a) Because of this principle, all things are sacred to
the Witch, for all partake of the one Life.
b) Therefore the Witch is a natural ecologist, for Nature
is part of us as we are a part of Nature.
7. Throughout the development of the human race, civilizations have
seen and worshipped many and various attributes of the Divine. These
universal forces have been clothed in forms which were expressive to
the worshipper of the attribute of the Godhead which they expressed.
Use of these symbolic representations of the natural and divine forces
of the universe, or god forms, is a potent method for contacting and
utilizing the forces they represent. Thus the Gods are both natural
and truly divine, and man-made in that the forms with which they are
clothed are products of humanity's striving to know the Godhead.
1554 |
Wicca | The-Complete-Uncut-Book-of-Shadows | 1,236 | a) In keeping with the Law of Polarity, these god-forms
are brought into harmony by the one great Law which
states: All Gods are one God. All Goddesses are one
Goddess. There is one Initiator. This law is an
expression of our understanding that all of the forces of
the universe, by whatever ethnic god-form is chosen to
clothe and relate to whichever force, can be resolved
into the fundamental polarity of the Godhead, the Great
Mother and the All-Father.
b) It is the use of differing god forms, of differing
ethnic sources or periods, which is the basis of many of
the differences between the various Traditions of the
Craft. Each Tradition uses the forms, and thus the names,
which to that Tradition best express and awaken an
understanding of the force represented, according to the
areas of emphasis of the Tradition.
c) Because we know that differing names or
representations are but expressions of the same divine
principles and forces, we require our members to swear
that they will never mock the names by which another
honors the Divine, even though those names be different
from and seemingly less expressive than the names and god
forms used by our Tradition (for to the members of
another Tradition, using it's names, ours may easily seem
equally less expressive).
8. A Witch refuses to allow her/himself to be corrupted by the great
guilt neuroses which have been foisted on humanity in the name of the
Divine, thus freeing the self of the slavery of the mind. The Witch
expresses responsibility for her/his actions, and accepts the conse-
quences of them; guilt is rejected as inhibiting to one's self-actual-
ization, and replaced by the efforts of the Witch to obey the teach-
ings of harmlessness, responsibility for the consequences of one's
actions, and the goal of actualizing the full powers of the individ-
ual.
a) We refuse to believe that a human being is born
innately sinful, and recognize the concepts of sin and
guilt are tremendously inhibiting to the human potential;
the consequences of the Law of Cause and Effect, called
karma by some, are not punishment, but the recurrences of
situations and their effects because the individual has
not gained the Wisdom needed to handle or avoid such
situations.
b) There is no heaven except that which we ourselves make
of our life on Earth, and likewise there is no hell
except the effects of our unwise actions. Many of us believe
in a "waiting place" sometimes called Summerland where we rest,
recuperate and prepare for our next sojurn in the earth. "Death
is not followed by punishment or reward, but by life and the
continuing personal evolution of our human potential.
1555
c) One cannot damn the divine in oneself; one can,
however, cut oneself off from it through the rejection of
wisdom and a refusal to strive for self-realization.
This cutting off does not lead to personal suffering in |
Wicca | The-Complete-Uncut-Book-of-Shadows | 1,237 | "hell", for there is no Self to suffer if the tie to
one's own divinity has been severed; what remains is
merely an empty shell, a "personality" or thought-form
devoid of it's ensouling Spark of the Divine Fire.
9. We know of the existence of the life-force which ensouls all
living things, that is, all that exists. We know that a spark of
this Divine Fire is within each and every thing that exists, and that
it does not die; only the form of it's existence changes. We know that
this spark of the life-force returns to manifestation again and again
in order to fully realize and actualize it's potential, evolving
finally to the peak and essence of existence which is pure being. In
this process of reincarnation each form returns in the same type of
form, though it's ever-increasing actualization may lead to higher
levels of existence of that form. Man returns as man, cat as feline,
mineral as mineral, each class of form evolving as the individual
forms of that class evolve.
10. This process of evolution through successive incarnations in
manifest form works through the utilizations of wisdom gained, the
essence of the life-experience. This essence of experience, or Wisdom,
is an attribute of the spark of life itself, one and inseparable.
11. We must care for the body, for it is the vehicle of the spark of
life, the form by which we attain. Thus we must heal the body of it's
ills and keep it a tuned and perfected tool; so must we heal others
(both physically and psychologically) as far as it is within our power
to do so. However, we cannot interfere with the life of another, even
to heal, except at their request or with their express permission.
The reasoning behind this apparent limitation is that we are endowed
with Free Will, and what the Gods themselves hesitate to infringe
upon, is best left alone by us "mere" mortals.
13. Harmony with, and utilization of, the great natural forces of the
universe is called magick. By magick we speak, not of the super-
natural, but of the superbly natural, but whose laws and applications
are not as yet recognized by the scientific establishment. The Witch
must strive to recognize these forces, learn their laws, attune
her/himself to them, and make use of them. The Witch must also be
aware that power corrupts when used _only_ for the gains of the self,
and therefore must strive to serve humanity: Either through the
service in the Priesthood, or by example and effects of his/her life
on others. The choice must be made in accord with the true nature of
the Witch.
1556
MONISM, One Wiccan Perspective
Durwydd MacTara
"Henotheism n. Belief in one god without denying the existence of
others." (American Heritage Second College Dictionary)
"Monism n. philos. A metaphysical system in which reality is conceived
as a unified whole." (American Heritage Second College
Dictionary)
"Monotheism n. The belief or doctrine that there is only one God."
(American Heritage Second College Dictionary)
"Pantheism n. 1. The doctrine identifying the Deity with the various
forces and workings of nature. 2. Belief in and worship o f |
Wicca | The-Complete-Uncut-Book-of-Shadows | 1,238 | all gods." (American Heritage Second College Dic tionary)
"Polytheism n. The worship of or belief in more than one god." (Ameri
can Heritage Second College Dictionary)
"To witches, deities manifest in different ways and can be
worshipped and contacted through any form suitable to local
conditions and personal needs. Wicca does not believe, as do
the patriarchal monotheisms, that there is only one correct
version of God and that all other God forms are false: the
Gods of Wicca are not jealous Gods. We therefore worship the
personification of the male and female principles, the God and
the Goddess, recognizing that Gods are aspects of the One God
and all Goddesses are different aspects of the one Goddess,
and that ultimately these two are reconciled in the one divine
essence."
(Vivianne Crowley, WICCA: The Old Religion in The New Age,pp.
11-12)
Vivianne Crowley, a very capable spokesperson for British Traditional
Wicca, identifies the core belief of Wicca (at least BTW) as Monism in
the piece quoted above. However, she also opens the door to defining
Wicca as duotheistic in principle with the subdivision of the monist
reality into the praxis of worshiping both Lord and Lady.
However, there is yet a THIRD level of obscurity in Wiccan Praxis!
Most Wiccans worship a threefold Goddess (Maid, Mother, and Crone) and
many also worship at least a twofold God. So, are the Wicca REALLY
polytheists or perhaps pantheists or even modified Henotheists as some
have claimed? Or, perhaps, a new category altogether needs to be
invented to accurately describe Wiccan belief and practice.
One suggestionhas beenmade toadd aword to ourThea/Theo-logi-
cal lexicon, perhaps "Cthonotheism" (provided we MUST have a "Theism")
to describe "Theistic Wicca". One advantage is that it makes the
assumption of worshipping that which was there to be found and wor-
shipped, NOT a Deity or deities invented in 1939! (More on this
later.)
1557
The following is the only published copy of the (Gardnerian) Blessing
Prayer that I know of.
"In the name of Dryghtyn, the Ancient Providence,
Who was from the beginning and is for eternity,
Male and Female, the Original Source of all things;
all-knowing, all-pervading, all-powerful;
changeless, eternal.
"In the name of the Lady of the Moon,
and the Lord of Death and Resurrection.
"In the name of the Mighty Ones of the Four Quarters,
the Kings of the Elements.
"Blessed be this place, and this time,
and they who are now with us."
("Witch Blood! The Diary Of A Witch High
Priestess!" by Patricia Crowther in chapter |
Wicca | The-Complete-Uncut-Book-of-Shadows | 1,239 | four (paperback edition 1974, House Of Collec-
tibles, Inc.).) Courtesy of David Piper
The Gawain Poet (the poet who wrote Sir Gawain and the Green
Knight in Middle English) used the term 'Dryghtyn' to refer to the
Lord God.
At the start of fit IV -
"Now neghes the Newe Yere and the night passes,
The day drives to the derk, as Dryghtyn biddes."
("Now approaches the New Year and the night passes,
The daylight comes up on the darkness, as the Lord God bids."
or from Brian Stowes verse translation (Penguin Classics, 1974) -
"Now the New Year neared, the night passed,
Daylight fought darkness as the Deity ordained.")
Grendel Grettison, an Asatruar from Seattle suggests the "Dryghtyn"
may be an alternative spelling of the Teutonic "Drighten" meaning
"Lord". I admit this is interesting, to me, as the closeness of the
linguistic link between the Old English and Old German languages has
been a scholarly "fact" widely known for many years. Supporting this
view, the Anglo-Saxon (Old English) word was actually 'dryhtin', meant
'lord, the Lord' and is linguistically related to 'dreogan' meaning
'to perform, to serve'.
1558
As a side issue, this might be some evidence that runs contrary to the
thesis put forth by Aidan Kelly that Gerald Gardner "manufactured"
Wicca in 1939. From personal experience, I have found that one unique
distinction of the non BTW strains of Witchcraft (some times called
"FamTrads" of Family Traditions) is the incorporation of old Christian
Imagery, often including ArchAngels for the four directions or elem-
ents. Though this instance does not include Archangels, it DOES
include archaic (and relatively unknown) Christian terminology. If
Gardner did discover a remnant of the Old Religion upon which he based
his modern reconstruction effort, it is this sort of linguistic
"artifact" which would have survived. Perhaps a more scholarly
investigation than mr. Kelly's will "turn up" more evidence?
Jim Taylor, an Eastern Orthodox Theologian, also makes two (to me)
illuminating statements, concerning "The Dryghtyn Prayer":
1. "'In the name of Dryghtyn, the Ancient Providence,
Who was from the beginning and is for eternity,
Male and Female, the Original Source of all things;
all-knowing, all-pervading, all-powerful;
changeless, eternal.'
This would be, entirely, an acceptable way of describing God, both for
most Jews and for most Christians."
AND
2. "'In the name of the Lady of the Moon,
and the Lord of Death and Resurrection.'
The Lord of Death and Resurrection would seem, to any Christian to
refer to Jesus Christ."
This evidence of a possible mixing of an older (unrecorded) Christian |
Wicca | The-Complete-Uncut-Book-of-Shadows | 1,240 | Prayer may lend further credence to Gardners' claims of building on an
older, hidden, traditional remnant.
I, personally, also agree with Mr. Taylors' statement that "the idea
of Wicca being 'manufactured' in 1939 is far too pat, and ignores a
great deal which ought not to be ignored. At the very least, some
degree of recognition should be accorded to the obvious fact that
most Wiccan practices and attitudes predate Wicca by considerable
periods of time--possibly even millennia".
The existence of Monism, Duotheism, and Polytheism simultaneously in
the belief structure of Wicca is one good example of one of the Five
Mysteries of Wicca, that of Union. Wicca is a mystery religion, a
PARTICIPATORY religion, and much of its symbology must be lived and
practiced to have meaning because much of the real (some say hidden
meaning is based on the knowledge of experience and not the intellec-
tual knowledge of mere logic and conscious thought processes.
I am an eclectic Wiccan with strong ties in my beliefs and practice to
British Traditional Wicca. I am a Monist, yet I have had strong
direct experience with Brigid, Danu, and the Morrigan as well as the
Earth Mother and the Horned Lord of the Forests. So my personal
answer to the question of "What kind of Theism fits Theistic Wicca?"
is "several, or none; it is not really a valid question in those
limited terms"! But perhaps the concept of "Cthonotheism" would give
a better label to this concept when attempting to discuss the idea of
the peculiar theism unique to Wicca?
Blessed Be,
Durwydd MacTara
1559
Air Meditation
(taken from the WICCA echo on Sun 24 Jan 93 22:17)
It is dawn. I find myself in a forest filled with Aspen trees.
I raise my eyes and look for the sky, but the boughs looming
overhead hide it from my view. As I look up, feel the cool
breeze of spring brush my face, and hear the sound of the
rustling leaves. Blowing, laughing from the east, Eurus brings
thoughts of renewal and life. I follow the wind further into the
soft shadows of the forest, inhaling deeply the strong scent of
the trees. I smell, too, the wafting hints of fragrant incense.
I follow where my senses lead me and come to a small clearing
circled by burning censers filled with sweet-smelling oils.
Toward the east end of the circle is a staff. I walk over to the
place and sit on the ground before it. I take the staff into my
hands and close my eyes. First come swirling colors of white
then yellow then fading darker into lavender. Then, out of the
swirling fog of colors come dozens of small, lithe figures who
swirl around as if carried on the wind itself. They dance around
my head and body, swirling around as if caught in a dance to
unheard music. Then, taking my attention from the spirits of the
air, I look up to find further figures emerging from the mist.
First comes a woman with the beauty of the dawn. As she steps
forward, each of the four winds, in turn, hasten from around here
and fly, one to each of the four corners of the earth. As she
fades, there comes another whose form seems insubstantial, and
seems to constitute both the image of a woman and a cow at the |
Wicca | The-Complete-Uncut-Book-of-Shadows | 1,241 | same time. I look closely the attempt to solidify one form, but
I cannot. As this image fades, I am presented with the forms of
two women who immediately remind me of the nighttime sky. One
glows with the pale light of the full moon, and her eyes hold the
fullness of hidden knowledge. The other, whom also seems to
radiate cool starlight, seems to embody the possibilities of many
lifetimes. In due course, these figures too fade and I am left
with only the mist of the elemental world of air. Suddenly,
three male figures issue from the mist. They seem to be three
aspects of one man, but each's attributes differ. The first
glows with the light of the moon, seeming to be its protector.
The second and third appear almost identical, except that one has
a winged helmet and shoes. As I sit and study the sameness and
difference of the three, they begin to fade, as does the fog.
When the mist clears, I find myself sitting within the circle
still clutching the staff in my hands. I place the staff once
again on the ground and rise. I thank the element of air, and
all it is associated with for sharing with me its wisdom, and
leave the circle.
Charis
---
* PALLAS ATHENA, Atlanta, Georgia 404-920-1349
(93:9603/0)
1560
Re: Symbolism
Classification: IT.IV.C.2.e
Title: Symbolism
Author: Grand Master of the Order of Shuti
Temple of Set
Date: December, XXIV
Published: Dialogues I.3
(The section on "Neters" was published in
issue I.4)
Subject: Symbolism
Reading List: 2L, 2V
[copyright 1989, Temple of Set. Permission for electronic distr-
ibution by echo and on PODS has been given by the author. Do not copy
or distribute further without permission of the author or the Temple
of Set.]
The first session of the year-XXIV Order of Shuti Workshop discussed
symbolism.
While the study of symbolism itself is not a primary concern of the
Order of Shuti, several of the Order's activities do involve working
with forms of symbolism, or are discussed using various symbols.
The symbols of the twin lion gods, Shu and Tefnut, who together are
Shuti, are obviously of importance in understanding the activities
of the Order. The topic of symbolism was therefore chosen for the
introductory session of the workshop. |
Wicca | The-Complete-Uncut-Book-of-Shadows | 1,242 | Application
In discussing this session and what would be discussed, the Grand
Master stressed that symbolism wasn't to be discussed simply as an
intellectual exercise, but that all participants should try to
apply the Setian yardstick of "application" to this discussion.
Each and every topic of this session (and all sessions in the
workshop) should be measured by the questions of a) Can it be
applied? b) Is it useful? c) Does it work?
What is symbolism?
One answer suggested by workshop participants is that symbolism is
a language of the unconscious.
It is a dynamic language in which one image, a single symbol, can
conjure up archetypical impressions, complex or complete concepts
and/or meanings, rather than being a structured language in which
many words and/or several sentences are needed to put together an
equivalent concept or meaning.
Another purpose of symbolism offered by the participants is to
serve as a metalanguage which has two levels or multiple levels of
meaning.
1561
Each symbol or set of symbols can have one meaning to the
initiated, and another meaning to the uninitiated. That symbol or
set of symbols could also have /different/ meanings to the
initiated, depending upon how the symbols are communicated, and how
they are mixed with other symbols. A statement in a symbolic
language could even have multiple meanings communicated at the same
time to the same person.
A lot of the symbols Setians use in our writings are like that.
When we read through the _Scroll of Set_ or the jewelled Tablets,
those of us who have been using the language of the Temple of Set
for a while will see certain words, and will know just from the way
the words are used that the author is writing symbolically as well
as grammatically, and he therefore means "this type of thing".
This symbolic use of language lets us add meaning to an article
without adding substantially to the size of that article.
Those who haven't been in the Temple of Set long enough to pick up
on that symbolic use of language will miss almost all of that
meaning on their first reading.
This is one of the reasons why we all find it useful to reread past
issues of the _Scroll_ and to reread Tablet articles. It enables
us to read meaning in an article that we may have missed on an
earlier reading.
It sometimes happens that "unintended" meaning is found in an
article during such a rereading.
Even though the author may not have consciously intended to convey
a certain meaning, that author's Higher Self may have influenced |
Wicca | The-Complete-Uncut-Book-of-Shadows | 1,243 | the writing in such a way as to symbolically give a specific
message in the writing. These messages remain hidden except for
those who can perceive and understand them.
On the other side of the scale, if our writings are read by someone
totally unfamiliar with occult symbolism, then the message can be
totally lost, and the reader may never see it.
Symbolism can be visual (examples are the Pentagram of Set,
pictures of the Egyptian Neters, etc), and verbal (the closing we
use on our letters, "Xeper and Remanifest", is a statement and
reminder of our dedication to this Formula, a way of developing and
keeping the habit of Xeper and Remanifestation going strong).
Each Word itself is a symbol (Xeper, Indulgence, Thelema, etc.),
as is each Neter (Shu, Tefnut, Sekhmet, Bast). A lot of principles
can be used as symbols which have more meaning to the initiated
than they do to those who just read about them in a dictionary.
Visual and verbal/written symbols involve just one of our senses
(sight). If you include verbal/spoken symbols, we then involve a
second sense (hearing). We then asked the question, "Are there
symbols which are perceived and communicated through each of our
other senses?"
1562
The first examples offered by workshop participants were incense
and music: Incense can bring about different emotions and responses
through the sense of smell. Music can bring about different
responses through the sense of hearing, in ways totally different
than the verbal symbols do (the difference between right brained
behavior and left brained behavior).
Where does symbolism come from?
When dealing with incense and music, we are leaving the mental
processes and intellectual reactions that visual symbols will
evoke, and going instead to the more reactive, bodily, reactions.
We react to the smell of bodily feces with distaste because of the
body's reaction to that sort of an input. We find the fragrance
of a rose very pleasing.
One of the reasons we use fragrant incenses during a ritual is to
bring about bodily reactions which enhance a ceremony because of
the smells and our reactions to the smells.
The discussion of one question leads to another. We learn the
reactions / interpretations / meanings of visual and verbal symbols
(at least those discussed above). Do we also learn reactions to
incenses and music, or are those reactions more innate?
The first response was that our reactions and interpretations, even
our likes and dislikes of music are learned.
The example given was classical music, which strikes some people
as very soothing and relaxing, and which is likely to put these
people to sleep. But others who are aware of the intelligent
dynamics and many other ingredients of classical music will find
the same music very stimulating. |
Wicca | The-Complete-Uncut-Book-of-Shadows | 1,244 | (We believe that the workshop participant was thinking about the
lighter classical pieces, such as "Tales from the Vienna Woods,"
and not the more active pieces such as "Night on Bald Mountain.")
The second response disagreed with the first, pointing out that
regardless of whether they are used in classical, modern, or any
other form of music, harps and strings tend to evoke emotional
(peaceful) moods, while drums are more primal and physical, evoking
more active responses.
The next example we discussed referred to the sense of smell. To
a farmer, feces and fertilizer are pleasing and filled with
promise, a smell of promised growth and life, a totally different
reaction than most people will have (especially after scraping a
dog's refuse off the bottom of one's shoe).
Similarly, an inlander's first pleasant reaction to sea gulls on
wing, grace in motion, can be compared to the reaction of those who
live on the beach and have to live with the noise and the mess and
the droppings left behind by those very same sea gulls.
These examples tend to support the theory that we learn our
interpretations of the sounds and smells around us.
1563
It seems from these examples that our reactions to inputs are
learned, or at least they arise from our experiences. The question
then becomes, can symbols have innate visceral responses, or is the
response to a symbol necessarily a learned one?
To look at innate responses, the original responses to stimuli, we
necessarily looked at children.
For instance, children generally have no innate response to feces,
and will often eat them until they learn not to. They later learn
to either react with disgust to feces, or to view them as
fertilizer and the source of life.
The first example of a possibly innate response brought to the
discussion was that of the ephemeral beauty of a butterfly on the
wing. None of the participants could envision any child's reaction
other than awe and delight at such beauty (or at least none would
admit to any other vision).
This brought forth remarks concerning innate childish "awe", where
almost everything is new and wonderful.
Children as they begin to distinguish between the multiple events
and objects in their world are simply delighted at the beauty and
diversity they find around them. There is no "evil" during this
time -- only the beauty of nature.
Few of us have any reason to unlearn this initial response to the
butterfly. These reactions can therefore be considered innate,
stemming from the earliest days of our consciousness. Other
reactions, unpleasant reactions and also more complex reactions,
seem to be learned over time.
Therefore, there's some of both types of reactions. People will
have initial reactions to many meaningful symbols and inputs, but |
Wicca | The-Complete-Uncut-Book-of-Shadows | 1,245 | their reactions can be modified by their experience and training.
This discussion raised yet more questions, for which no answers
were attempted during this workshop. The questions were, how much
of our symbolism is learned, and how much of our symbolism is
innate? And if some form of consciousness or memory can survive
from one life to another, then how much might be remembered from
past lives?
Symbols may or may not come to one's attention. An extremely
visually-oriented person may not notice or respond to other types
of symbols, such as a room's smell, or a background level of music,
while those who are oriented towards those senses will respond to
those inputs, but perhaps not to others.
Symbolism may have personal and/or experiential meaning (such as
the manure used to plant your garden or that you step in), or
symbolism may be abstract (learned and used in writing, teaching,
or jewelry, but not something that's impacted upon you in the
past). This is the difference between a) the visceral response,
which may be innate and may also be a learned response, modified
through experience or training, and b) the mental response which
must always be learned or developed.
1564
The Grand Master wishes to note that the discussion at this point
had unintentionally left the strict topic of symbolism, and was
dealing instead with experience and reaction to stimuli, on the
unspoken assumption that these reactions applied to our use of
symbolism.
We feel this to be a valid assumption, since the pleasant reaction
we have to a butterfly or to a unicorn extends to and impacts our
use of those images as symbols. Those with differing reactions to
sea gulls as described above would similarly have different
reactions to Johnathon Livingston Seagull's story.
Also, by concentrating on experience and reaction rather than
symbolism, we temporarily lost sight of the most important measure
of symbolism -- that of meaning.
Yes, music has impact, but that music is symbol only if its impact
includes meaning, such as the sense of freedom and power that
accompanies the visual image of the "Flight of the Valkyries" and
similar images of meaning those who are familiar with the movie
will get from various pieces in the sound track from 2001.
Likewise incense is symbol only if its impact includes meaning.
That meaning may be supplied by the smell, or that meaning may be
supplied by knowledge of the ingredients within the incense.
Meaning may also be supplied by the words used during the censing
of the chambre. Without some meaning, incense is not symbol, but
only smell.
Closely related to the sense of smell is the sense of taste, and
it's fairly easy to see that certain tastes can have meaning as
well.
During Passover Seder, a ritual meal of thanksgiving and freedom |
Wicca | The-Complete-Uncut-Book-of-Shadows | 1,246 | (celebrating the Exodus), Jews will dip greens into salt water and
eat the salty greens, to remind them of tears shed by the Jews in
bondage. They will eat bitter herbs to remind them of the
bitterness of slavery.
Likewise, there can be kinesthetic symbols as well.
We feel different when we hold a sword in ritual as opposed to when
we hold a dagger. We feel different when we are standing up than
we feel when we are sitting down, and different still when we are
kneeling or laying down. We feel different in charged rooms, dry
rooms, wet rooms, hot rooms, cold rooms, still rooms, breezy rooms.
Uncontrolled, these latter experiences are just stimuli.
Controlled and used meaningfully, these latter experiences can be
symbols, manipulated and understood as such.
How should symbolism be used?
The first obvious use of symbolism is in the communication of
ideas, whether written, spoken, or communicated through one or more
other senses.
1565
Based on the idea that a single symbol can have a whole galaxy of
meaning, a useful communications skill is the ability to use
symbols in the proper places, in the proper ways, to communicate
more meaning in a smaller package (with fewer words).
Perhaps of greatest importance within the Temple of Set are the
magical aeonic Words: Xeper, Remanifestation, and Xem, and the
preceding Words of Indulgence and Thelema. By using these Words
in writing or other forms of communication, we communicate the
meanings associated with those Words.
If I say the word "Xeper" to an initiate, it means something
totally different than it would mean to someone off the street, and
it means something totally different to a Setian than it would mean
to an Egyptologist who /thinks/ he knows the Egyptian god Xepera.
Our use of the Word is quite different and the symbol carries so
much more meaning than just the word "Xeper" would carry in a
modern Egyptian dictionary.
This use of symbolism doesn't apply just to magical Words or
Formulae, but applies to symbols of many different kinds, in many
different uses.
You'll sometimes find certain words capitalized in text, as are
"Words" and "Formulae" above. When not overly used, this is a
clear indication that the author wishes you to view these words
with their symbolic meanings, rather than their normal meanings.
During group ritual, certain words will be spoken more
flamboyantly, perhaps louder, perhaps longer, and often with more
gesturing. These words are then generally being used symbolically,
with special meaning at least to the speaker, if not to other
participants.
Symbolism can also be used in Lesser Black Magic, as tools to
influence certain people (singular or multiple) in certain ways.
The magician (or politician or religious leader or arts director |
Wicca | The-Complete-Uncut-Book-of-Shadows | 1,247 | or other manipulator) will use lighting, music, fragrance, and
other symbols in ways particular to their audience's response to
the symbols.
Symbolism can be used upon ourselves in a similar manner, to bring
out responses from us that we want to bring out, as in ritual or
as an aid to Xeper.
Words which have become symbols to us can be used as a means of
increased concentration, as a visual mantra or as a sensual mantra.
Such mantras can be used in ritual, in nonritual meditation, or
whenever we choose to remind ourselves of the principles carried
within that symbol.
Over time, some symbols can become richer and can carry more and
more meaning to those people who work with the symbol.
These symbols can become "magnetic", in that each use of the symbol
brings forth yet another repetition of the symbol. Each reference
brings forth a constellation of meaning, with one meaning and use
leading to another. Each use of the symbol sparks, or attracts,
another use of the symbol.
1566
In these cases the symbols will often be repeated over and over
throughout a conversation or other communication, each time
exercising one or more of those meanings, and through the course
of the communication this symbol can almost hold or reflect an
entire world view. This is the way the people influenced by the
symbol see their world.
At a political rally the symbol might be "America", "Democracy",
or "the Party" (citizens of other countries may substitute those
symbols meaningful in your domain). To some, the symbol might be
"the Environment".
The symbol "Xeper" has a similar impact within the Setian culture.
Group consensus is important for communication through symbols.
Different groups can have differing uses of symbols, and attempts
to communicate between these groups using the symbols particular
to one group (or those symbols which are viewed differently by
different groups) can result in confusion or worse.
Because Setians come from such diverse backgrounds, we have various
communication problems related to these diverse backgrounds.
Members from the O.T.O. may know all of the Qabalic
correspondences, while members from the Wiccan background couldn't
care less about the Qabalic attributions, and have correspondences
which are totally different. Numerologists apply different
meanings to their numbers than do the Qabalists. And all of these
symbolic systems work.
But very, very few of them work for all Setians.
Qabalists within the Temple of Set who write articles and/or
letters steeped in Qabalic symbolism find that very few others care
enough about their symbols to wade through the text. Those from
other backgrounds with intensive use of symbols similarly find
difficulty communicating within the Temple of Set, since our |
Wicca | The-Complete-Uncut-Book-of-Shadows | 1,248 | symbolic vocabulary is so much less cohesive.
This lack of similarity in symbolism affects not only written
communication, but also ritual activity.
Each pylon seems to develop its own pattern of symbolism, and
inter-pylon rituals can at times be very difficult. Fitting many
diverse magicians with their diverse backgrounds into one
meaningful ceremony can be a challenge, a challenge faced at each
Conclave, and at each activity like the Order of Shuti Workshop.
1567
Language of the Unconscious?{fn 1}
The first question asked by the Grand Master was, "What is
symbolism?" The first answer received was, "A language of the
unconscious."
Parts of the workshop's discussion might seem to support this
definition, while others contradict it. So let the Grand Master
speak:
Symbols have many attributes. Among the more important of these
attributes is their ability to cause reaction in their audience,
visceral if not innate reactions, as discussed above.
Elizabeth S. Helfman, in her book _Signs and Symbols around the
World_, defines symbol as being: "anything that stands for
something else."
Look in your dictionary. Mine includes several definitions of
symbol and symbolism, including:
>> Symbol: 2: something that stands for or suggests something
else
by reason of relationship, association, convention, or accidental
resemblance. 5: an act, sound, or object having cultural
significance and the capacity to excite or objectify a response.
>> Symbolism: 1: the art or practice of using symols esp. by
investing things with a symbolic meaning or by expressing the
invisible or intangible by means of visible or sensuous
representations; as a: the use of conventional or traditional
signs
in the representation of divine beings and spirits, b: artistic
imitation or invention that is a method of revealing or
suggesting
immaterial, ideal, or otherwise intangible truth or states. 2: a
system of symbols or representations.
Symbolism is an art, a practice, something which is done. It is
used to communicate meaning. It is a language.
Our visceral responses to symbolism may be unconscious, but if
that's all there is, then have we received and/or responded to
meaning?
The transmission and communication of *Meaning* requires some
form
of consciousness. |
Wicca | The-Complete-Uncut-Book-of-Shadows | 1,249 | Let's use the word /Awake/ to mean the highest form of
consciousness. Remember -- the capital letter indicates I'm
using
a symbol; Setian use of this specific symbol (Awake) most often
refers to Ouspenski's heightened state of consciousness and
awareness, a state of being totally awake.
1568
For simplicity, let's assign a whole range of various levels of
conscious awareness to the name "conscious". This name can apply
to heightened states of consciousness which those we would call
Awake, those that barely miss being Awake, down to the almost
somnabulent states in which most of mankind spends their day.
Finally, I would call the preconscious state one of consciousness
in this case, a state in which meaning can be received,
interpreted, and acted upon, without the individual being
"consiously" aware that this has happened. But if the
individual's
attention is brought to the subject, then the symbol and its
meaning can be recalled and the process repeated without any
difficulty.
If symbols are generated and communicated, if they are
transmitted
and received, in one of these three states, then I believe we can
correctly talk about symbolism, about language.
However, if the generation and/or reception of the symbol is
unconscious, and/or totally unintended, then I propose that that
instance is not an example of symbolism, not language or
communication, but rather the accidental generation of and/or
visceral response to sensory input.
[Now let us return to the discussion as it took place in the
workshop...]
Planetary Symbol System?
We know there are differences in the meanings of many symbols.
"Patriotism" can be exceedingly important to a Republican and
also
to a Libertarian, but the meanings that this symbol will have can
be quite different in many ways.
This leads us to ask the question of whether there might perhaps
be a "planetary symbol system" in which some symbols at least can
be found commonly used in many or all cultures.
The cross, square, circle, and most or all simple symbols have
been
found in use all over the earth. We therefore can ask whether
their meanings are similar, or are the symbols used simply
because
they are simple geometric figures, but with meanings arbitrarily
assigned by the individual cultures?
One participant brought forth Ouspenski's example that "Table"
has |
Wicca | The-Complete-Uncut-Book-of-Shadows | 1,250 | a function, an innate form or essence, which can be perceived
beyond words, and beyond a learned experience.
"Table" provokes an image, feeling, or essence that is evoked
through a willed perception that extends beyond the actual set of
tables that a person may have ever experienced.
1569
Ouspenski claims that at a certain state of consciousness the
Aware
individual can see this deeper meaning or essence, and that this
deeper meaning or essence can be commonly perceived by all who
reach this level of consciousness.
Similar ideas were offered by Plato, and the concept of Platonic
Forms is very prevalent throughout the Setian use of symbolism.
We often speak of the Egyptian Neters as being Forms, the
original or specific essence of an Ideal.
This is certainly an area that needs deeper investigation. The
workshop session discussion however left the topic of abstract
Forms, and instead investigated the historic use of symbols in
various cultures.
Looking first at the more complex god forms, it seems each major
culture has a "trickster" god: Coyote fills this niche in several
Amerindian cultures, Loki in the Norse mythos, and Thoth (Hermes
and Mercury) in the Egyptian (Greek and Roman) mythologies.
The Trickster is that Spirit who makes you Think. He is the Spirit
who is unpredictable in his actions or reactions, who gets himself
and everyone else into trouble. In the process of doing so -- most
often after everyone is already in trouble -- he makes people
Think, and in the end he generally gets everyone out of trouble by
thinking.
To represent the Trickster, each culture used that type of symbol
or god form which for them was most appropriate for that type of
character.
The coyote is a fairly independent and hard to track animal in
America, requiring more than the usual amount of intelligence and
stealth to catch. Monkeys similarly were appreciated for their
seeming intelligence and playfulness, and so Egyptians assigned the
Trickster attribute and the monkey's form to Thoth.
The question becomes ... is this type of being, this symbol,
something which is universal, cross-cultural, or is it something
which happens in just a few cases, and many other societies never
had any use for it?
Jung was exploring this area. He defined specific symbols which
he felt were common to many or all cultures. They were fairly
common within his culture and Jung did manage to validate them with
some cross-cultural study.
We still need to ask how complete his studies were, how extensive
and wide spread.
Given people in extremely different environments, such as the |
Wicca | The-Complete-Uncut-Book-of-Shadows | 1,251 | Eskimo, Hawaiian, Indian, Tibetan, etc., cultures where the people
have many different experiences, totally different social and
physical environments, it can be expected that these people would
have very different reactions to the symbols that Jung thought he
had commonality on.
1570
Jung's _Man and his Symbol_ was recommended by one participant as
containing documentation on his cross-cultural studies in this
area.
Not having access to any resource materials that would answer our
questions at the time, the workshop session then proceeded into the
topic of Egyptian Neters and the use of Neters in symbolism.
Neters
The Workshop discussion of Egyptian Neters started with a brief
discussion of the Egyptian languages.
The ancient Egyptians used three different written languages, the
hieroglyphic, hieratic, and demotic.
The demotic language was a mostly alphabetic language used for
common communications among those who could read and write. Its
primary uses were for social and business reasons.
The hieratic language was a pictographic language related to the
hieroglyphic, but in which the pictographs were abbreviated and
simplified to speed writing. It was used for important state
documents and many later religious texts.
The hieroglyphic language was the most ornate of the three
languages, the most ancient of the three languages, and the most
symbolic. It was used for the most important religious and
philosophical statements, and for the most important state
declarations.
Many of the symbols used to form the hieroglyphic language had
assigned sounds, and many others did not. In addition to the
sounds and symbols used to form words, the Egyptians used
determinatives, signs added to specifically identify each word.
Through the use of the determinative, it was impossible to mistake
one written word for another, even if verbal sounds were the same,
even if the letters used were the same.
This use of a purely symbolic, picture-oriented language encouraged
the ability in the learned ancient Egyptians to think with right
brained methods while doing the left brain activity of reading.
It also encouraged these educated and intelligent Egyptians to work
with symbols as they worked with language. They were able to
communicate ideas and ideals in a language particularly well suited
to this purpose.
Setians use the ancient Egyptian neters as symbols, representing
aspects of the world, or aspects of the individual. We feel this
is very close to the way the higher initiates of the ancient
Egyptian Temples, the priests of the Temples, and the smarter
pharaohs used and viewed their neters. The neters were concepts |
Wicca | The-Complete-Uncut-Book-of-Shadows | 1,252 | that could be communicated to and shared among the initiated,
rather than being actual gods and goddesses.
1571
The common man may very well have believed in the literal existence
of his many gods and goddesses, but we believe the elite of the
Egyptian society understood that these neters were purely symbols.
When the Egyptian elite paid homage to the neters, they paid homage
to the aspects of the universe or of the self represented by those
neters.
One neter of obvious importance is Set. In dealing with this
symbol, we try to identify the original meaning of the symbol, and
try to eliminate the corruptions of the symbol imposed by the later
rule of Osirian religion.
Rather than take space here to discuss the corruptions and
distortions that were applied to the symbol of the neter Set
through the Osirian culture, we'll simply refer the interested
student to appropriate books in the reading list: 2A, 2E, 2G, 2W,
and 2AA.
It is rather clear that the use and peripheral meanings of the
neter Set changed over time. The study of Set must therefore
include the careful consideration of the source of whatever
writings are being studied. Fortunately most other Egyptian
symbols/god forms did not change significantly over time, and such
care need not be used in studying and working with them.
The neters were used and viewed as symbols. But the Egyptian
temples _were_ temples, and were recognized as religions, not
simply as centers of enlightened philosophy. This brings up the
question: Do/did the Egyptian Neters actually exist? Were these
religions founded to worship or work with beings that actually
existed? Or were they simply the creations of the ancient Egyptian
priesthoods?
Rather than tackle immediately the question of whether the Neters
actually existed, workshop participants first chose to examine ...
Egyptian Priesthoods
The first statement made about these priesthoods was that each
temple in Egypt taught a different area of philosophy or knowledge.
Those temples dedicated to a major neter or god taught that their
primal Form was the First Cause. These were the major temples of
the land, and an initiate who studied at temple after temple would
be presented with the opposing claims that each god was the god,
The Creator.
We noted in our discussion that the priesthoods of several of the
"minor" neters did not make any such claims. Thoth as a single
neter never seemed to be treated as the creator god; nor was Geb.
However, many of the major neters were treated as creator gods, and
many gods were intentionally combined into units (such as
Amon-Thoth-Ra) in order to form a god which would be powerful
enough to qualify as The creator god. |
Wicca | The-Complete-Uncut-Book-of-Shadows | 1,253 | 1572
Neters as Symbols
We returned to discussing the neters as ways of viewing possibility
and potentiality, and ways of viewing different aspects of the
universe and of the individual.
For example, Ra, the sun god, was a most pervasive and powerful
being, since every single day, there he is in the sky. Ra was
consistent, reliable, and therefore powerful.
Similarly each force in nature was given a personality, because
each force in nature has a personality (or seems to, to those who
humanize such things). This is the basic principle behind most
spirits of most animistic religions.
These personalities are generally reliable. A rain cloud is going
to rain; it isn't going to add to the day's heat. The Nile was not
going to dry up -- it was going to overflow once a year, and
deposit good, rich, fertile earth upon the ground. Each force of
nature, each personality, was given a name, a face, and a story.
The most powerful stories, faces, and names are those that belong
to the creator gods. There are so many creator gods, that it's
really difficult to pin down an actual order of precedence.
This brings up the fact that there are many apparently conflicting
stories within the Egyptian mythology.
The Grand Master pointed out that in several Egyptian myths, Shu
and Tefnut are self-created. In others they were created by tears
of the master creator god (whoever he happened to be according to
the story teller). In yet others they were created by the master
god's masturbation.
Shu and Tefnut by definition are the first male and female. The
master god's masturbation in these latter stories was always male
masturbation, but Shu is the first male. Shu and Tefnut begat Geb
and Nut, but Nut was the all-pervasive universal sky that preceded
the first god...
This confusion is the result of centuries of Egyptian story
telling, and while some of it appears to be contraditory, most of
it is useful. We certainly must hesitate to consider this
mythology as one consistent symbolism, and must be careful if we
wish to communicate consistent meanings using these symbols, but
we have found value in this mythology.
Each story is a different way of looking at the world, a different
way of looking at the first cause, and of looking at the symbols.
By using these symbols, we can then indicate not only a symbol, but
also which way we are looking at the world.
Hence, if in ritual or other communication we call upon
Ptah-Geb-Nu, we are calling upon the creator of the earth and sky,
the god who created the physical universe. If instead we call upon
the Neter Ra-Ptah-ankh, we are calling upon the god who brought
light and life to this planet.
1573 |
Wicca | The-Complete-Uncut-Book-of-Shadows | 1,254 | Having discussed these differing views of the world as expressed
by the many symbolic neters, we felt that this was a good point
from which to launch into a discussion of one of the ways in which
we look at Neters.
Set, the prime source of intelligence and the ageless intelligence
himself, is a wee bit complex for someone a mere 20 or even 200
years old to understand, regardless of whether we look at Set as
an actually existing being or instead as a master symbol.
So rather than try to encompass all of Set, intellectually or
emotionally, rather than try to understand all of Set, we can work
with neters which are facets of Set's being, facets of Set's
symbolism. Each neter can be thought of as a specific element of
Set.
As examples, Shu is one set of symbolism, one set of ideas, that
an initiate can work with to "get somewhere" with, to accomplish
certain initiatory goals. Tefnut is another set of ideas, as is
Geb, Isis, etc.
Rather than trying to encompass and work with the entire universe
simultaneously, grab whatever you can hold onto, work with that
handful, study that symbol or symbols, and see what it leads to.
We had originally intended to discuss whether or not the Neters
might or might not exist in their own right. Having discussed the
above, it seemed somewhat unimportant as to whether the Neters
actually exist. That topic will be left for a later discussion.
Bibliography
While the following books and papers were not necessarily discussed
nor referenced during the workshop discussion (or in completing
this article), the initiate interested in studying symbolism as a
subject on its own would be well advised to begin with this
bibliography. Additions to this bibliography are welcome, and
should be sent to the Grand Master. (_RT_ entries are from _The
Ruby Tablet of Set_.)
Barrett, Ronald K., "Book of Opening the Way (Key #4)". _RT_
IT.II.A.5.b.(1).(d).
Barrett, Ronald K., "Stele of Xem". _RT_ IT.II.A.4.a.(3).
Cavendish, Richard, _The Black Arts_. 4C (TS-3).
Crowley, Aleister, _The Book of Thoth_. 9L (TS-4).
De Lubicz, Isha Schwaller, _Her-Bak_. 2L (TS-1).
De Lubicz, Isha Schwaller, _Symbol and the Symbolique_. 2V (TS-4).
Fisher, Leonard Everett, _Symbol Art: Thirteen Squares, Circles,
and Triangles from Around the World_. NY: Four Winds Press,
MacMillan Publishing Company, 1985.
Helfman, Elizabeth S., _Signs and Symbols Around the World_. NY:
Lothrop, Lee & Shepard Co., 1967. |
Wicca | The-Complete-Uncut-Book-of-Shadows | 1,255 | 1574
Jung, Carl G., _Man and his Symbols_. Garden City: Doubleday &
Co., 1964, 1968. Also NY: Dell Publishing Co., 1968, and London:
Aldus Books, 1964.
Menschel, Robert, "Remanifestation: A Symbolic Syntheses", _RT_
IT.II.B.3.e.(2).
Menschel, Robert, "Tarot Primer", _RT_ IT.II.B.3.e.(3).
Norton, Lynn, "Golden Section Tarot Working", "Atu XV: The Devil",
and "The Dialogue". _RT_ IT.II.A.3.k.(1), 4.h.(1), and 4.h.(2).
Regardie, Israel, _777 and Other Qabalistic Writings of Aleister
Crowley_. 9M (TS-4).
Schaefer, Heinrich, _Principles of Egyptian Art_. 2R (TS-4).
=========
Footnote:
=========
1. The Grand Master wishes to digress temporarily from the
workshop's discussion, and to comment at this time on one of the
first statements offered during this discussion.
1575
***********************************************************
INVESTIGATOR'S GUIDE TO ALLEGATIONS OF "RITUAL" CHILD ABUSE
***********************************************************
January 1992
Kenneth V. Lanning
Supervisory Special Agent
Behavioral Science Unit
National Center for the Analysis of Violent Crime
Federal Bureau of Investigation
FBI Academy
Quantico, Virginia 22135
*************************************************
TABLE OF CONTENTS
1. Introduction.
2. Historical Overview.
-- a. "Stranger Danger".
-- b. Intrafamilial Child Sexual Abuse.
-- c. Return to "Stranger Danger".
-- d. The Acquaintance Molester.
-- e. Satanism: A New Form of "Stranger Danger".
3. Law Enforcement Training.
4. Definitions.
-- a. What is Ritual?
-- b. What is "Ritual" Child Abuse?
-- c. What Makes a Crime Satanic, Occult, or Ritualistic? |
Wicca | The-Complete-Uncut-Book-of-Shadows | 1,256 | 5. Multidimensional Child Sex Rings.
-- a. Dynamics of Cases.
---- (1) Multiple Young Victims.
---- (2) Multiple Offenders.
---- (3) Fear as a Controlling Tactic.
---- (4) Bizarre or Ritualistic Activity.
-- b. Characteristics of Multidimensional Child Sex Rings.
---- (1) Female Offenders.
---- (2) Situational Molesters.
---- (3) Male and Female Victims.
---- (4) Multidimensional Motivation.
---- (5) Pornography and Paraphernalia.
---- (6) Control through Fear.
-- c. Scenarios.
---- (1) Adult Survivors.
---- (2) Day Care Cases.
---- (3) Family/Isolated Neighborhood Cases.
---- (4) Custody/Visitation Disputes.
-- d. Why Are Victims Alleging Things that Do Not Seem to be True?
6. Alternative Explanations.
-- a. Pathological Distortion.
-- b. Traumatic Memory.
-- c. Normal Childhood Fears and Fantasy.
-- d. Misperception, Confusion, and Trickery.
-- e. Overzealous Intervenors.
-- f. Urban Legends.
-- g. Combination.
1576
7. Do Victims Lie About Sexual Abuse and Exploitation?
-- a. Personal Knowledge.
-- b. Other Children or Victims.
-- c. Media.
-- d. Suggestions and Leading Questions.
-- e. Misperception and Confusion.
-- f. Education and Awareness Programs.
8. Law Enforcement Perspective.
9. Investigating Multidimensional Child Sex Rings.
-- a. Minimize Satanic/Occult Aspect.
-- b. Keep Investigation and Religious Beliefs Separate.
-- c. Listen to the Victims.
-- d. Assess and Evaluate Victim Statements.
-- e. Evaluate Contagion.
-- f. Establish Communication with Parents.
-- g. Develop a Contingency Plan.
-- h. Multidisciplinary Task Forces.
-- i. Summary.
10. Conclusion.
11. References.
12. Suggested Reading.
1. INTRODUCTION
Since 1981 I have been assigned to the Behavioral Science Unit at
the FBI Academy in Quantico, Virginia, and have specialized in
studying all aspects of the sexual victimization of children. The
FBI Behavioral Science Unit provides assistance to criminal justice
professionals in the United States and foreign countries. It
attempts to develop practical applications of the behavioral
sciences to the criminal justice system. As a result of training and
research conducted by the Unit and its successes in analyzing |
Wicca | The-Complete-Uncut-Book-of-Shadows | 1,257 | violent crime, many professionals contact the Behavioral Science
Unit for assistance and guidance in dealing with violent crime,
especially those cases considered different, unusual, or bizarre.
This service is provided at no cost and is not limited to crimes
under the investigative jurisdiction of the FBI.
In 1983 and 1984, when I first began to hear stories of what sounded
like satanic or occult activity in connection with allegations of
sexual victimization of children (allegations that have come to be
referred to most often as "ritual" child abuse), I tended to believe
them. I had been dealing with bizarre, deviant behavior for many
years and had long since realized that almost anything is possible.
Just when you think that you have heard it all, along comes another
strange case. The idea that there are a few cunning, secretive
individuals in positions of power somewhere in this country
regularly killing a few people as part of some satanic ritual or
ceremony and getting away with it is certainly within the realm of
possibility. But the number of alleged cases began to grow and grow.
We now have hundreds of victims alleging that thousands of offenders
are abusing and even murdering tens of thousands of people as part
of organized satanic cults, and there is little or no corroborative
evidence. The very reason many "experts" cite for believing these
allegations (i.e. many victims, who never met each other, reporting
the same events), is the primary reason I began to question at least
some aspects of these allegations.
1577
I have devoted more than seven years part-time, and eleven years
full-time, of my professional life to researching, training, and
consulting in the area of the sexual victimization of children. The
issues of child sexual abuse and exploitation are a big part of my
professional life's work. I have no reason to deny their existence
or nature. In fact I have done everything I can to make people more
aware of the problem Some have even blamed me for helping to create
the hysteria that has led to these bizarre allegations. I can accept
no outside income and am paid the same salary by the FBI whether or
not children are abused and exploited - and whether the number is
one or one million. As someone deeply concerned about and
professionally committed to the issue, I did not lightly question
the allegations of hundreds of victims child sexual abuse and
exploitation.
In response to accusations by a few that I am a "satanist" who has
infiltrated the FBI to facilitate cover-up, how does anyone (or
should anyone have to) disprove such allegations? Although reluctant
to dignify such absurd accusations with a reply, all I can say to
those who have made such allegations that they are wrong and to
those who heard such allegations is to carefully consider the
source.
The reason I have taken the position I have is not because I support
or believe in "satanism", but because I sincerely believe that my
approach is the proper and most effective investigative strategy. I
believe that my approach is in the best interest of victims of child
sexual abuse. It would have been easy to sit back, as many have, and
say nothing publicly about this controversy. I have spoken out and
published on this issue because I am concerned about the credibility
of the child sexual abuse issue and outraged that, in some cases,
individuals are getting away with molesting children because we
can't prove they are satanic devil worshippers who engage in
brainwashing, human sacrifice, and cannibalism as part of a large |
Wicca | The-Complete-Uncut-Book-of-Shadows | 1,258 | conspiracy.
There are many valid perspectives from which to assess and evaluate
victim allegations of sex abuse and exploitation. Parents may choose
to believe simply because their children make the claims. The level
of proof necessary may be minimal because the consequences of
believing are within the family. One parent correctly told me, "I
believe what my child needs me to believe."
Therapists may choose to believe simply because their professional
assessment is that their patient believes the victimization and
describes it so vividly. The level of proof necessary may be no more
than therapeutic evaluation because the consequences are between
therapist and patient. No independent corroboration may be required.
A social worker must have more real, tangible evidence of abuse in
order to take protective action and initiate legal proceedings. The
level of proof necessary must be higher because the consequences
(denial of visitation, foster care) are greater.
1578
The law enforcement officer deals with the criminal justice system.
The levels of proof necessary are reasonable suspicion, probable
cause, and beyond a reasonable doubt because the consequences
(criminal investigation, search and seizure, arrest, incarceration)
are so great. This discussion will focus primarily on the criminal
justice system and the law enforcement perspective. The level of
proof necessary for taking action on allegations of criminal acts
must be more than simply the victim alleged it and it is possible.
This in no way denies the validity and importance of the parental,
therapeutic, social welfare, or any other perspective of these
allegations.
When, however, therapists and other professionals begin to conduct
training, publish articles, and communicate through the media, the
consequences become greater, and therefore the level of proof must
be greater. The amount of corroboration necessary to act upon
allegations of abuse is dependent upon the consequences of such
action. We need to be concerned about the distribution and
publication of unsubstantiated allegations of bizarre sexual abuse.
Information needs to be disseminated to encourage communication and
research about the phenomena. The risks, however, of intervenor and
victim "contagion" and public hysteria are potential negative
aspects of such dissemination. Because of the highly emotional and
religious nature of this topic, there is a greater possibility that
the spreading of information will result in a kind of self-
fulfilling prophesy.
If such extreme allegations are going to be disseminated to the
general public, they must be presented in the context of being
assessed and evaluated, at least, from the professional perspective
of the disseminator and, at best, also from the professional
perspective of relevant others. This is what I will attempt to do in
this discussion. The assessment and evaluation of such allegations
are areas where law enforcement, mental health, and other
professionals (anthropologists, folklorists, sociologists,
historians, engineers, surgeons, etc.) may be of some assistance to
each other in validating these cases individually and in general.
2. HISTORICAL OVERVIEW |
Wicca | The-Complete-Uncut-Book-of-Shadows | 1,259 | In order to attempt to deal with extreme allegations of what
constitute child sex rings, it is important to have an historical
perspective of society's attitudes about child sexual abuse. I will
provide a brief synopsis of recent attitudes in the United States
here, but those desiring more detailed information about such
societal attitudes, particularly in other cultures and in the more
distant past, should refer to Florence Rush's book _The Best Kept
Secret: Sexual Abuse of Children_ (1980) and Sander J. Breiner's
book _Slaughter of the Innocents_ (1990).
Society's attitude about child sexual abuse and exploitation can be
summed up in one word: *denial*. Most people do not want to hear
about it and would prefer to pretend that child sexual victimization
just does not occur. Today, however, it is difficult to pretend that
it does not happen. Stories and reports about child sexual
victimization are daily occurrences.
1579
It is important for professionals dealing with child sexual abuse to
recognize and learn to manage this denial of a serious problem.
Professionals must overcome the denial and encourage society to deal
with, report, and prevent sexual victimization of children.
Some professionals, however, in their zeal to make American society
more aware of this victimization, tend to exaggerate the problem.
Presentations and literature with poorly documented or misleading
claims about one in three children being sexually molested, the $5
billion child pornography industry, child slavery rings, and 50,000
stranger-abducted children are not uncommon. The problem is bad
enough; it is not necessary to exaggerate it. Professionals should
cite reputable and scientific studies and note the sources of
information. If they do not, when the exaggerations and distortions
are discovered, their credibility and the credibility of the issue
are lost.
-- a. "STRANGER DANGER".
During the 1950s and 1960s the primary focus in the literature and
discussions on sexual abuse of children was on "stranger danger" -
the dirty old man in the wrinkled raincoat. If one could not deny
the existence of child sexual abuse, one described victimization in
simplistic terms of good and evil. The "stranger danger" approach to
preventing child sexual abuse is clear-cut. We immediately know who
the good guys and bad guys are and what they look like.
The FBI distributed a poster that epitomized this attitude. It
showed a man, with his hat pulled down, hiding behind a tree with a
bag of candy in his hands. He was waiting for a sweet little girl
walking home from school alone. At the top it read: "Boys and Girls,
color the page, memorize the rules." At the bottom it read: "For
your protection, remember to turn down gifts from strangers, and
refuse rides offered by strangers." The poster clearly contrasts the
evil of the offender with the goodness of the child victim.
The myth of the child molester as the dirty old man in the wrinkled
raincoat is now being reevaluated, based on what we now know about
the kinds of people who victimize children. The fact is a child
molester can look like anyone else and even be someone we know and
like.
There is another myth that is still with us and is far less likely |
Wicca | The-Complete-Uncut-Book-of-Shadows | 1,260 | to be discussed. This is the myth of the child victim as a
completely innocent little girl walking down the street minding her
own business. It may be more important to dispel this myth than the
myth of the evil offender, especially when talking about the sexual
exploitation of children and child sex rings. Child victims can be
boys as well as girls, and not all victims are little "angels".
1580
Society seems to have a problem dealing with any sexual abuse case
in which the offender is not completely "bad" or the victim is not
completely "good". Child victims who, for example, simply behave
like human beings and respond to the attention and affection of
offenders by voluntarily and repeatedly returning to the offender's
home are troubling. It confuses us to see the victims in child
pornography giggling or laughing. At professional conferences on
child sexual abuse, child prostitution is almost never discussed. It
is the form of sexual victimization of children most unlike the
stereotype of the innocent girl victim. Child prostitutes, by
definition, participate in and often initiate their victimization.
Furthermore child prostitutes and the participants in child sex
rings are frequently boys. One therapist recently told me that a
researcher's data on child molestation were misleading because many
of the child victims in question were child prostitutes. This
implies that child prostitutes are not "real" child victims. In a
survey by the _Los Angeles Times_, only 37 percent of those
responding thought that child prostitution constituted child sexual
abuse (Timnik, 1985). Whether or not it seems fair, when adults and
children have sex, the child is always the victim.
-- b. INTRAFAMILIAL CHILD SEXUAL ABUSE.
During the 1970s, primarily as a result of the women's movement,
society began to learn more about the sexual victimization of
children. We began to realize that most children are sexually
molested by someone they know who is usually a relative - a father,
step-father, uncle, grandfather, older brother, or even a female
relative. Some mitigate the difficulty of accepting this by adopting
the view that only members of socio-economic groups other than
theirs engage in such behavior.
It quickly became apparent that warnings about not taking gifts from
strangers were not good enough to prevent child sexual abuse.
Consequently, we began to develop prevention programs based on more
complex concepts, such as good touching and bad touching. the
"yucky" feeling, and the child's right to say no. These are not the
kinds of things you can easily and effectively communicate in fifty
minutes to hundreds of kids packed into a school auditorium. These
are very difficult issues, and programs must he carefully developed
and evaluated.
In the late 1970s child sexual abuse became almost synonymous with
incest, and incest meant father-daughter sexual relations.
Therefore, the focus of child sexual abuse intervention became
father-daughter incest. Even today, the vast majority of training
materials, articles, and books on this topic refer to child sexual
abuse only in terms of intrafamilial father-daughter incest.
Incest is, in fact, sexual relations between individuals of any age
too closely related to marry. It need not necessarily involve an
adult and a child, and it goes beyond child sexual abuse. But more
importantly child sexual abuse goes beyond father-daughter incest. |
Wicca | The-Complete-Uncut-Book-of-Shadows | 1,261 | Intrafamilial incest between an adult and child may be the most
common form of child sexual abuse, but it is not the only form.
1581
The progress of the 1970s in recognizing that child sexual abuse was
not simply a result of "stranger danger" was an important
breakthrough in dealing with society's denial. The battle, however,
is not over. The persistent voice of society luring us back to the
more simple concept of "stranger danger" may never go away. It is
the voice of denial.
-- c. RETURN TO "STRANGER DANGER".
In the early 1980s the issue of missing children rose to prominence
and was focused primarily on the stranger abduction of little
children. Runaways, throwaways, noncustodial abductions, nonfamily
abductions of teenagers - all major problems within the missing
children's issue - were almost forgotten. People no longer wanted to
hear about good touching and bad touching and the child's right to
say "no". They wanted to be told, in thirty minutes or less, how
they could protect their children from abduction by strangers. We
were back to the horrible but simple and clear-cut concept of
"stranger danger".
In the emotional zeal over the problem of missing children, isolated
horror stories and distorted numbers were sometimes used. The
American public was led to believe that most of the missing children
had been kidnapped by pedophiles - a new term for child molesters.
The media, profiteers, and well-intentioned zealots all played big
roles in this hype and hysteria over missing children.
-- d. THE ACQUAINTANCE MOLESTER.
Only recently has society begun to deal openly with a critical piece
in the puzzle of child sexual abuse - acquaintance molestation. This
seems to be the most difficult aspect of the problem for us to face.
People seem more willing to accept a father or stepfather,
particularly one from another socio-economic group, as a child
molester than a parish priest, a next-door neighbor, a police
officer, a pediatrician, an FBI agent, or a Scout leader. The
acquaintance molester, by definition, is one of us. These kinds of
molesters have always existed, but our society has not been willing
to accept that fact.
Sadly, one of the main reasons that the criminal justice system and
the public were forced to confront the problem of acquaintance
molestation was the preponderance of lawsuits arising from the
negligence of many institutions.
One of the unfortunate outcomes of society's preference for the
"stranger danger" concept is what I call "say no, yell, and tell"
guilt. This is the result of prevention programs that tell potential
child victims to avoid sexual abuse by saying no, yelling, and
telling. This might work with the stranger hiding behind a tree.
Adolescent boys seduced by a Scout leader or children who actively
participate in their victimization often feel guilty and blame
themselves because they did not do what they were "supposed" to do.
They may feel a need to describe their victimization in more
socially acceptable but sometimes inaccurate ways that relieve them
of this guilt. |
Wicca | The-Complete-Uncut-Book-of-Shadows | 1,262 | 1582
While American society has become increasingly more aware of the
problem of the acquaintance molester and related problems such as
child pornography, the voice calling us back to "stranger danger"
still persists.
-- e. SATANISM: A NEW FORM OF "STRANGER DANGER".
In today's version of "stranger danger", it is the satanic devil
worshipers who are snatching and victimizing the children. Many who
warned us in the early 1980s about pedophiles snatching fifty
thousand kids a year now contend they were wrong only about who was
doing the kidnapping, not about the number abducted. This is again
the desire for the simple and clear-cut explanation for a complex
problem.
For those who know anything about criminology, one of the oldest
theories of crime is demonology: The devil makes you do it. This
makes it even easier to deal with the child molester who is the
"pillar of the community". It is not his fault; it is not our fault.
There is no way we could have known; the devil made him do it. This
explanation has tremendous appeal because, like "stranger danger",
it presents the clear-cut, black-and-white struggle between good and
evil as the explanation for child abduction, exploitation, and
abuse.
In regard to satanic "ritual" abuse, today we may not be where we
were with incest in the 1960s, but where we were with missing
children in the early 1980s. The best data now available (the 1990
_National Incidence Studies on Missing, Abducted, Runaway, and
Thrownaway Children in America_) estimate the number of
stereotypical child abductions at between 200 and 300 a year, and
the number of stranger abduction homicides of children at between 43
and 147 a year. Approximately half of the abducted children are
teenagers. Today's facts are significantly different from
yesterday's perceptions, and those who exaggerated the problem,
however well-intentioned, have lost credibility and damaged the
reality of the problem.
3. LAW ENFORCEMENT TRAINING
The belief that there is a connection between satanism and crime is
certainly not new. As previously stated, one of the oldest theories
concerning the causes of crime is demonology. Fear of satanic or
occult activity has peaked from time to time throughout history.
Concern in the late 1970s focused primarily on "unexplained" deaths
and mutilations of animals, and in recent years has focused on child
sexual abuse and the alleged human sacrifice of missing children. In
1999 it will probably focus on the impending "end of the world".
Today satanism and a wide variety of other terms are used
interchangeably in reference to certain crimes. This discussion will
analyze the nature of "satanic, occult, ritualistic" crime primarily
as it pertains to the abuse of children and focus on appropriate
*law enforcement* responses to it.
1583
Recently a flood of law enforcement seminars and conferences have |
Wicca | The-Complete-Uncut-Book-of-Shadows | 1,263 | dealt with satanic and ritualistic crime. These training conferences
have various titles, such as "Occult in Crime", "Satanic Cults",
'Ritualistic Crime Seminar", "Satanic Influences in Homicide",
"Occult Crimes, Satanism and Teen Suicide", and "Ritualistic Abuse
of Children".
The typical conference runs from one to three days, and many of them
include the same presenters and instructors. A wide variety of
topics are usually discussed during this training either as
individual presentations by different instructors or grouped
together by one or more instructors. Typical topics covered include
the following:
-- Historical overview of satanism, witchcraft, and paganism from
ancient to modern times.
-- Nature and influence of fantasy role-playing games, such as
"Dungeons and Dragons".
-- Lyrics, symbolism, and influence of rock and roll, Heavy Metal,
and Black Metal music.
-- Teenage "stoner" gangs, their symbols, and their vandalism.
-- Teenage suicide by adolescents dabbling in the occult.
-- Crimes committed by self-styled satanic practitioners, including
grave and church desecrations and robberies, animal mutilations, and
even murders.
-- Ritualistic abuse of children as part of bizarre ceremonies and
human sacrifices.
-- Organized, Traditional, or Multigenerational satanic groups
involved in organized conspiracies, such as taking over day care
centers, infiltrating police departments, and trafficking in human
sacrifice victims.
-- The "Big Conspiracy" theory, which implies that satanists are
responsible for such things as Adolph Hitler, World War II,
abortion, illegal drugs, pornography, Watergate, and Irangate, and
have infiltrated the Department of Justice, the Pentagon, and the
White House.
During the conferences, these nine areas are linked together through
the liberal use of the word "satanism" and some common symbolism
(pentagrams, 666, demons, etc.). The implication often is that all
are part of a continuum of behavior, a single problem or some common
conspiracy. The distinctions among the different areas are blurred
even if occasionally a presenter tries to make them. The information
presented is a mixture of fact, theory, opinion, fantasy, and
paranoia, and because some of it can be proven or corroborated
(symbols on rock albums, graffiti on walls, desecration of
cemeteries, vandalism, etc.), the implication is that it is all true
and documented. Material produced by religious organizations,
photocopies and slides of newspaper articles, and videotapes of
tabloid television programs are used to supplement the training and
are presented as "evidence" of the existence and nature of the
problem.
1584 |
Wicca | The-Complete-Uncut-Book-of-Shadows | 1,264 | All of this is complicated by the fact that almost any discussion of
satanism and the occult is interpreted in the light of the religious
beliefs of those in the audience. Faith, not logic and reason,
governs the religious beliefs of most people. As a result, some
normally skeptical law enforcement officers accept the information
disseminated at these conferences without critically evaluating it
or questioning the sources. Officers who do not normally depend on
church groups for law enforcement criminal intelligence, who know
that media accounts of their own cases are notoriously inaccurate,
and who scoff at and joke about tabloid television accounts of
bizarre behavior suddenly embrace such material when presented in
the context of satanic activity. Individuals not in law enforcement
seem even more likely to do so. Other disciplines, especially
therapists, have also conducted training conferences on the
characteristics and identification of "ritual" child abuse. Nothing
said at such conferences will change the religious beliefs of those
in attendance. Such conferences illustrate the highly emotional
nature of and the ambiguity and wide variety of terms involved in
this issue.
4. DEFINITIONS
The words "satanic", "occult", and "ritual" are often used
interchangeably. It is difficult to define "satanism" precisely. No
attempt will be made to do so here However, it is important to
realize that, for some people, any religious belief system other
than their own is "satanic". The Ayatollah Khomeini and Saddam
Hussein referred to the United States as the "Great Satan". In the
British Parliament a Protestant leader called the Pope the
Antichrist. In a book titled _Prepare For War_ (1987), Rebecca
Brown, M.D. has a chapter entitled "Is Roman Catholicism
Witchcraft?" Dr. Brown also lists among the "doorways" to satanic
power and/or demon infestation the following: fortune tellers,
horoscopes, fraternity oaths, vegetarianism, yoga, self-hypnosis,
relaxation tapes, acupuncture, biofeedback, fantasy role-playing
games, adultery, homosexuality, pornography, judo, karate, and rock
music. Dr. Brown states that rock music "was a carefully
masterminded plan by none other than Satan himself" (p. 84). The
ideas expressed in this book may seem extreme and even humorous.
This book, however, has been recommended as a serious reference in
law enforcement training material on this topic.
1585
In books, lectures, handout material, and conversations, I have
heard all of the following referred to as satanism:
-- Church of Satan
-- Ordo Templi Orientis
-- Temple of Set
-- Demonology
-- Witchcraft
-- Occult
-- Paganism
-- Santeria
-- Voodoo
-- Rosicrucians
-- Freemasonry
-- Knights Templar
-- Stoner Gangs
-- Heavy Metal Music
-- Rock Music |
Wicca | The-Complete-Uncut-Book-of-Shadows | 1,265 | -- KKK
-- Nazis
-- Skinheads
-- Scientology
-- Unification Church
-- The Way
-- Hare Krishna
-- Rajneesh
-- Religious Cults
-- New Age
-- Astrology
-- Channeling
-- Transcendental Meditation
-- Holistic Medicine
-- Buddhism
-- Hinduism
-- Mormonism
-- Islam
-- Orthodox Church
-- Roman Catholicism
At law enforcement training conferences, it is witchcraft, santeria,
paganism, and the occult that are most often referred to as forms of
satanism. It may be a matter of definition, but these things are not
necessarily the same as traditional satanism. The worship of lunar
goddesses and nature and the practice of fertility rituals are not
satanism. Santeria is a combination of 17th century Roman
Catholicism and African paganism.
Occult means simply "hidden". All unreported or unsolved crimes
might be regarded as occult, but in this context the term refers to
the action or influence of supernatural powers, some secret
knowledge of them, or an interest in paranormal phenomena, and does
not imply satanism, evil, wrongdoing, or crime. Indeed,
historically, the principal crimes deserving of consideration as
"occult crimes" are the frauds perpetrated by faith healers, fortune
tellers and "psychics" who for a fee claim cures, arrange
visitations with dead loved ones, and commit other financial crimes
against the gullible.
1586
Many individuals define satanism from a totally Christian
perspective, using this word to describe the power of evil in the
world. With this definition, any crimes, especially those which are
particularly bizarre, repulsive, or cruel, can be viewed as satanic
in nature. Yet it is just as difficult to precisely define satanism
as it is to precisely define Christianity or any complex spiritual
belief system.
-- a. WHAT IS RITUAL?
The biggest confusion is over the word "ritual". During training
conferences on this topic, ritual almost always comes to mean
"satanic" or at least "spiritual". "Ritual" can refer to a
prescribed religious ceremony, but in its broader meaning refers to
any customarily-repeated act or series of acts. The need to repeat
these acts can be cultural, sexual, or psychological as well as
spiritual.
Cultural rituals could include such things as what a family eats on
Thanksgiving Day, or when and how presents are opened at Christmas. |
Wicca | The-Complete-Uncut-Book-of-Shadows | 1,266 | The initiation ceremonies of fraternities, sororities, gangs, and
other social clubs are other examples of cultural rituals.
Since 1972 I have lectured about sexual ritual, which is nothing
more than repeatedly engaging in an act or series of acts in a
certain manner because of a *sexual* need. In order to become
aroused and/or gratified, a person must engage in the act in a
certain way. This sexual ritual can include such things as the
physical characteristics, age, or gender of the victim, the
particular sequence of acts, the bringing or taking of specific
objects, and the use of certain words or phrases. This is more than
the concept of M.O. (Method of Operation) known to most police
officers. M.O. is something done by an offender because it works.
Sexual ritual is something done by an offender because of a need.
Deviant acts, such as urinating on, defecating on, or even
eviscerating a victim, are far more likely to be the result of
sexual ritual than religious or "satanic" ritual.
From a criminal investigative perspective, two other forms of
ritualism must be recognized. The _Diagnostic and Statistical Manual
of Mental Disorders_ (DSM-III-R) (APA, 1987) defines "Obsessive-
Compulsive Disorder" as "repetitive, purposeful, and intentional
behaviors that are performed in response to an obsession, or
according to certain rules or in a stereotyped fashion" (p. 247).
Such compulsive behavior frequently involves rituals. Although such
behavior usually involves noncriminal activity such as excessive
hand washing or checking that doors are locked, occasionally
compulsive ritualism can be part of criminal activity. Certain
gamblers or firesetters, for example, are thought by some
authorities to be motivated in part through such compulsions. Ritual
can also stem from psychotic hallucinations and delusions. A crime
can be committed in a precise manner because a voice told the
offender to do it that way or because a divine mission required it.
1587
To make this more confusing, cultural, religious, sexual, and
psychological ritual can overlap. Some psychotic people are
preoccupied with religious delusions and hear the voice of God or
Satan telling them to do things of a religious nature. Offenders who
feel little, if any, guilt over their crimes may need little
justification for their antisocial behavior. As human beings,
however, they may have fears, concerns, and anxiety over getting
away with their criminal acts. It is difficult to pray to God for
success in doing things that are against His Commandments. A
negative spiritual belief system may fulfill their human need for
assistance from and belief in a greater power or to deal with their
superstitions. Compulsive ritualism (e.g., excessive cleanliness or
fear of disease) can be introduced into sexual behavior. Even many
"normal" people have a need for order and predictability and
therefore may engage in family or work rituals. Under stress or in
times of change, this need for order and ritual may increase.
Ritual crime may fulfill the cultural, spiritual, sexual, and
psychological needs of an offender. Crimes may be ritualistically
motivated or may have ritualistic elements. The ritual behavior may
also fulfill basic criminal needs to manipulate victims, get rid of
rivals, send a message to enemies, and intimidate co-conspirators.
The leaders of a group may want to play upon the beliefs and
superstitions of those around them and try to convince accomplices
and enemies that they, the leaders, have special or "supernatural"
powers. |
Wicca | The-Complete-Uncut-Book-of-Shadows | 1,267 | The important point for the criminal investigator is to realize that
most ritualistic criminal behavior is not motivated simply by
satanic or any religious ceremonies. At some conferences, presenters
have attempted to make an issue of distinguishing between "ritual",
"ritualized", and "ritualistic" abuse of children. These subtle
distinctions, however, seem to be of no significant value to the
criminal investigator.
-- c. WHAT IS "RITUAL" CHILD ABUSE?
I cannot define "ritual child abuse" precisely and prefer not to use
the term. I am frequently forced to use it (as throughout this
discussion) so that people will have some idea what I am discussing.
Use of the term, however, is confusing, misleading, and
counterproductive. The newer term "satanic ritual abuse"
(abbreviated "SRA") is even worse. Certain observations, however,
are important for investigative understanding.
Most people today use the term to refer to abuse of children that is
part of some evil spiritual belief system, which almost by
definition must be satanic.
Dr. Lawrence Pazder, coauthor of _Michelle Remembers_, defines
"ritualized abuse of children" as "repeated physical, emotional,
mental, and spiritual assaults combined with a systematic use of
symbols and secret ceremonies designed to turn a child against
itself, family, society, and God" (presentation, Richmond, Va., May
7,1987). He also states that "the sexual assault has ritualistic
meaning and is not for sexual gratification".
1588
This definition may have value for academics, sociologists, and
therapists, but it creates potential problems for law enforcement.
Certain acts engaged in with children (i.e. kissing, touching,
appearing naked, etc.) may be criminal if performed for sexual
gratification. If the ritualistic acts were in fact performed for
spiritual indoctrination, potential prosecution can be jeopardized,
particularly if the acts can be defended as constitutionally
protected religious expression. The mutilation of a baby's genitals
for sadistic sexual pleasure is a crime. The circumcision of a
baby's genitals for religious reasons is most likely *not* a crime.
The intent of the acts is important for criminal prosecution.
Not all spiritually motivated ritualistic activity is satanic.
Santeria, witchcraft, voodoo, and most religious cults are not
satanism. In fact, most spiritually- or religiously-based abuse of
children has nothing to do with satanism. Most child abuse that
could be termed "ritualistic" by various definitions is more likely
to be physical and psychological rather than sexual in nature. If a
distinction needs to be made between satanic and nonsatanic child
abuse, the indicators for that distinction must be related to
specific satanic symbols, artifacts, or doctrine rather than the
mere presence of any ritualistic element.
Not all such ritualistic activity with a child is a crime. Almost
all parents with religious beliefs indoctrinate their children into
that belief system. Is male circumcision for religious reasons child
abuse? Is the religious circumcision of females child abuse? Does
having a child kneel on a hard floor reciting the rosary constitute
child abuse? Does having a child chant a satanic prayer or attend a |
Wicca | The-Complete-Uncut-Book-of-Shadows | 1,268 | black mass constitute child abuse? Does a religious belief in
corporal punishment constitute child abuse? Does group care of
children in a commune or cult constitute child abuse? Does the fact
that any acts in question were performed with parental permission
affect the nature of the crime? Many ritualistic acts, whether
satanic or not, are simply not crimes. To open the Pandora's box of
labeling child abuse as "ritualistic" simply because it involves a
spiritual belief system means to apply the definition to all acts by
all spiritual belief systems. The day may come when many in the
forefront of concern about ritual abuse will regret they opened the
box.
When a victim describes and investigation corroborates what sounds
like ritualistic activity. several possibilities must be considered.
The ritualistic activity may be part of the excessive religiosity of
mentally disturbed, even psychotic offenders. It may be a
misunderstood part of sexual ritual. The ritualistic activity may be
incidental to any real abuse. The offender may be involved in
ritualistic activity with a child and also may be abusing a child,
but one may have little or nothing to do with the other.
The offender may be deliberately engaging in ritualistic activity
with a child as part of child abuse and exploitation. The
motivation, however, may be not to indoctrinate the child into a
belief system, but to lower the inhibitions of, control, manipulate,
and/or confuse the child. In all the turmoil over this issue, it
would be very effective strategy for any child molester deliberately
to introduce ritualistic elements into his crime in order to confuse
the child and therefore the criminal justice system. This would,
however, make the activity M.O. and not ritual.
1589
The ritualistic activity and the child abuse may be integral parts
of some spiritual belief system. In that case the greatest risk is
to the children of the practitioners. But this is true of all cults
and religions, not just satanic cults. A high potential of abuse
exists for any children raised in a group isolated from the
mainstream of society, especially if the group has a charismatic
leader whose orders are unquestioned and blindly obeyed by the
members. Sex, money, and power are often the main motivations of the
leaders of such cults.
-- c. WHAT MAKES A CRIME SATANIC, OCCULT, OR RITUALISTIC?
Some would answer that it is the offender's spiritual beliefs or
membership in a cult or church. If that is the criterion, why not
label the crimes committed by Protestants, Catholics, and Jews in
the same way? Are the atrocities of Jim Jones in Guyana Christian
crimes?
Some would answer that it is the presence of certain symbols in the
possession or home of the perpetrator. What does it mean then to
find a crucifix, Bible, or rosary in the possession or home of a
bank robber, embezzler, child molester, or murderer? If different
criminals possess the same symbols, are they necessarily part of one
big conspiracy?
Others would answer that it is the presence of certain symbols such
as pentagrams, inverted crosses, and 666 at the crime scene. What
does it mean then to find a cross spray painted on a wall or carved
into the body of a victim? What does it mean for a perpetrator, as |
Wicca | The-Complete-Uncut-Book-of-Shadows | 1,269 | in one recent case profiled by my Unit, to leave a Bible tied to his
murder victim? What about the possibility that an offender
deliberately left such symbols to make it look like a "satanic"
crime?
Some would argue that it is the bizarreness or cruelness of the
crime: body mutilation, amputation, drinking of blood, eating of
flesh, use of urine or feces. Does this mean that all individuals
involved in lust murder, sadism, vampirism, cannibalism, urophilia,
and coprophilia are satanists or occult practitioners? What does
this say about the bizarre crimes of psychotic killers such as Ed
Gein or Richard Trenton Chase, both of whom mutilated their victims
as part of their psychotic delusions? Can a crime that is not
sexually deviant, bizarre, or exceptionally violent be satanic? Can
white collar crime be satanic?
1590
A few might even answer that it is the fact that the crime was
committed on a date with satanic or occult significance (Halloween,
May Eve, etc.) or the fact that the perpetrator claims that Satan
told him to commit the crime. What does this mean for crimes
committed on Thanksgiving or Christmas? What does this say about
crimes committed by perpetrators who claim that God or Jesus told
them to do it? One note of interest is the fact that in handout and
reference material I have collected, the number of dates with
satanic or occult significance ranges from 8 to 110. This is
compounded by the fact that it is sometimes stated that satanists
can celebrate these holidays on several days on either side of the
official date or that the birthdays of practitioners can also be
holidays. The exact names and exact dates of the holidays and the
meaning of symbols listed may also vary depending on who prepared
the material The handout material is often distributed without
identifying the author or documenting the original source of the
information. It is then frequently photocopied by attendees and
passed on to other police officers with no one really knowing its
validity or origin.
Most, however, would probably answer that what makes a crime
satanic, occult, or ritualistic is the motivation for the crime. It
is a crime that is spiritually motivated by a religious belief
system. How then do we label the following true crimes?
-- Parents defy a court order and send their children to an
unlicensed Christian school.
-- Parents refuse to send their children to any school because they
are waiting for the second coming of Christ.
-- Parents beat their child to death because he or she will not
follow their Christian belief.
-- Parents violate child labor laws because they believe the Bible
requires such work.
-- Individuals bomb an abortion clinic or kidnap the doctor because
their religious belief system says abortion is murder.
-- A child molester reads the Bible to his victims in order to
justify his sex acts with them.
-- Parents refuse life-saving medical treatment for a child because |
Wicca | The-Complete-Uncut-Book-of-Shadows | 1,270 | of their religious beliefs.
-- Parents starve and beat their child to death because their
minister said the child was possessed by demonic spirits.
Some people would argue that the Christians who committed the above
crimes misunderstood and distorted their religion while satanists
who commit crimes are following theirs. But who decides what
constitutes a misinterpretation of a religious belief system? The
individuals who committed the above-described crimes, however
misguided, believed that they were following their religion as they
understood it. Religion was and is used to justify such social
behavior as the Crusades, the Inquisition, Apartheid, segregation,
and recent violence in Northern Ireland, India, Lebanon and Nigeria.
1591
Who decides exactly what "satanists" believe? In this country, we
cannot even agree on what Christians believe. At many law
enforcement conferences The _Satanic Bible_ is used for this, and it
is often contrasted or compared with the Judeo-Christian Bible. The
_Satanic Bible_ is, in essence, a short paperback book written by
one man, Anton LaVey, in 1969. To compare it to a book written by
multiple authors over a period of thousands of years is ridiculous,
even ignoring the possibility of Divine revelation in the Bible.
What satanists believe certainly isn't limited to other people's
interpretation of a few books. More importantly it is subject to
some degree of interpretation by individual believers just as
Christianity is. Many admitted "satanists" claim they do not even
believe in God, the devil, or any supreme deity. The criminal
behavior of one person claiming belief in a religion does not
necessarily imply guilt or blame to others sharing that belief. In
addition, simply claiming membership in a religion does not
necessarily make you a member.
The fact is that far more crime and child abuse has been committed
by zealots in the name of God, Jesus, Mohammed, and other mainstream
religion than has ever been committed in the name of Satan. Many
people, including myself, don't like that statement, but the truth
of it is undeniable.
Although defining a crime as satanic, occult, or ritualistic would
probably involve a combination of the criteria set forth above, I
have been unable to clearly define such a crime. Each potential
definition presents a different set of problems when measured
against an objective, rational, and constitutional perspective. In a
crime with multiple subjects, each offender may have a different
motivation for the same crime. Whose motivation determines the label
for the crime? It is difficult to count or track something you
cannot even define.
I have discovered, however, that the facts of so-called "satanic
crimes" are often significantly different from what is described st
training conferences or in the media. The actual involvement of
satanism or the occult in these cases usually turns out to be
secondary, insignificant, or nonexistent. Occult or ritual crime
surveys done by the states of Michigan (1990) and Virginia (1991)
have only confirmed this "discovery". Some law enforcement officers,
unable to find serious "satanic" crime in their communities, assume
they are just lucky or vigilant and the serious problems must be in
other jurisdictions. The officers in the other jurisdictions, also
unable find it, assume the same. |
Wicca | The-Complete-Uncut-Book-of-Shadows | 1,271 | 5. MULTlDlMENSlONAL CHILD SEX RINGS
Sometime in early 1983 I was first contacted by a law enforcement
agency for guidance in what was then thought to be an unusual case.
The exact date of the contact is unknown because its significance
was not recognized at the time. In the months and years that
followed, I received more and more inquiries about "these kinds of
cases". The requests for assistance came (and continue to come) from
all over the United States. Many of the aspects of these cases
varied, but there were also some commonalties. Early on, however,
one particularly difficult and potentially significant issue began
to emerge.
1592
These cases involved and continue to involve unsubstantiated
allegations of bizarre activity that are difficult either to prove
or disprove. Many of the unsubstantiated allegations, however, do
not seem to have occurred or even be possible. These cases seem to
call into question the credibility of victims of child sexual abuse
and exploitation. These are the most polarizing, frustrating, and
baffling cases I have encountered in more than 18 years of studying
the criminal aspects of deviant sexual behavior. I privately sought
answers, but said nothing publicly about those cases until 1985.
In October 1984 the problems in investigating and prosecuting one of
these cases in Jordan, Minnesota became publicly known. In February
1985, at the FBI Academy, the FBI sponsored and I coordinated the
first national seminar held to study "these kinds of cases". Later
in 1985, similar conferences sponsored by other organizations were
held in Washington, D.C.; Sacramento, California; and Chicago,
Illinois. These cases have also been discussed at many recent
regional and national conferences dealing with the sexual
victimization of children and Multiple Personality Disorder. Few
answers have come from these conferences. I continue to be contacted
on these cases on a regular basis. Inquiries have been received from
law enforcement officers, prosecutors, therapists, victims, families
of victims, and the media from all over the United States and now
foreign countries. I do not claim to understand completely all the
dynamics of these cases. I continue to keep an open mind and to
search for answers to the questions and solutions to the problems
they pose. This discussion is based on my analysis of the several
hundred of "these kinds of cases" on which I have consulted since
1983.
-- a. DYNAMICS OF CASES.
What are "these kinds of cases"? They were and continue to be
difficult to define. They all involve allegations of what sounds
like child sexual abuse, but with a combination of some atypical
dynamics. These cases seem to have the following four dynamics in
common: (1) multiple young victims, (2) multiple offenders, (3) fear
as the controlling tactic, and (4) bizarre or ritualistic activity.
---- (1) MULTIPLE YOUNG VICTIMS.
In almost all the cases the sexual abuse was alleged to have taken
place or at least begun when the victims were between the ages of
birth and six. This very young age may be an important key to
understanding these cases. In addition the victims all described
multiple children being abused. The numbers ranged from three or |
Wicca | The-Complete-Uncut-Book-of-Shadows | 1,272 | four to as many as several hundred victims.
---- (2) MULTIPLE OFFENDERS.
In almost all the cases the victims reported numerous offenders. The
numbers ranged from two or three all the way up to dozens of
offenders. In one recent case the victims alleged 400-500 offenders
were involved. Interestingly many of the offenders (perhaps as many
as 40-50 percent) were reported to be females. The multiple
offenders were often family members and were described as being part
of a cult, occult, or satanic group.
1593
---- (3) FEAR AS CONTROLLING TACTIC.
Child molesters in general are able to maintain control and ensure
the secrecy of their victims in a variety of ways. These include
attention and affection, coercion, blackmail, embarrassment,
threats, and violence. In almost all of these cases I have studied,
the victims described being frightened and reported threats against
themselves, their families, their friends, and even their pets. They
reported witnessing acts of violence perpetrated to reinforce this
fear. It is my belief that this fear and the traumatic memory of the
events may be another key to understanding many of these cases.
---- (4) BIZARRE OR RITUALISTIC ACTIVITY.
This is the most difficult dynamic of these cases to describe.
"Bizarre" is a relative term. Is the use of urine or feces in sexual
activity bizarre, or is it a well-documented aspect of sexual
deviancy, or is it part of established satanic rituals? As
previously discussed, the ritualistic aspect is even more difficult
to define. How do you distinguish acts performed in a precise manner
to enhance or allow sexual arousal from those acts that fulfill
spiritual needs or comply with "religious" ceremonies? Victims in
these cases report ceremonies, chanting, robes and costumes, drugs,
use of urine and feces, animal sacrifice, torture, abduction,
mutilation, murder, and even cannibalism and vampirism. All things
considered, the word "bizarre" is probably preferable to the word
"ritual" to describe this activity.
When I was contacted on these cases, it was very common for a
prosecutor or investigator to say that the alleged victims have been
evaluated by an "expert" who will stake his or her professional
reputation on the fact that the victims are telling the "truth".
When asked how many cases this expert had previously evaluated
involving these four dynamics, the answer was always the same: none!
The experts usually had only dealt with one-on-one intrafamilial
sexual abuse cases. Recently an even more disturbing trend has
developed. More and more of the victims have been identified or
evaluated by experts who have been trained to identify and
specialize in satanic ritual abuse.
-- b. CHARACTERISTICS OF MULTIDIMENSIONAL CHILD SEX RINGS.
As previously stated, a major problem in communicating, training,
and researching in this area is the term used to define "these kinds
of cases". Many refer to them as "ritual, ritualistic, or ritualized
abuse of children cases" or "satanic ritual abuse (SRA) cases". Such
words carry specialized meanings for many people and might imply |
Wicca | The-Complete-Uncut-Book-of-Shadows | 1,273 | that all these cases are connected to occult or satanic activity. If
ritual abuse is not necessarily occult or satanic, but is "merely"
severe, repeated, prolonged abuse, why use a term that, in the minds
of so many, implies such specific motivation?
Others refer to these cases as "multioffender/multivictim cases".
The problem with this term is that most multiple offender and victim
cases do not involve the four dynamics discussed above.
1594
For want of a better term, I have decided to refer to "these kinds
of cases" as "multidimensional child sex rings". Right now I seem to
be the only one using this term. I am, however, not sure if this is
truly a distinct kind of child sex ring case or just a case not
properly handled. Following are the general characteristics of these
multidimensional child sex ring cases as contrasted with more common
historical child sex ring cases [see my monograph _Child Sex Rings:
A Behavioral Analysis] (1989) for a discussion of the
characteristics of historical child sex ring cases].
---- (1) FEMALE OFFENDERS.
As many as 40-50 percent of the offenders in these cases are
reported to be women. This is in marked contrast to historical child
sex rings in which almost all the offenders are men.
---- (2) SITUATIONAL MOLESTERS.
The offenders appear to be sexually interacting with the child
victims for reasons other than a true sexual preference for
children. The children are substitute victims, and the abusive
activity may have little to do with pedophilia [see my monograph
_Child Molesters: A Behavioral Analysis_ (1987) for a further
explanation about types of molesters].
---- (3) MALE AND FEMALE VICTIMS.
Both boys and girls appear to be targeted, but with an apparent
preference for girls. Almost all the adult survivors are female, but
day care cases frequently involve male as well as female victims.
The most striking characteristic of the victims, however, is their
young age (generally birth to six years old when the abuse began).
---- (4) MULTIDIMENSIONAL MOTIVATION.
Sexual gratification appears to be only part of the motivation for
the "sexual" activity. Many people today argue that the motivation
is "spiritual" - possibly part of an occult ceremony. It is my
opinion that the motivation may have more to do with anger,
hostility, rage and resentment carried out against weak and
vulnerable victims. Much of the ritualistic abuse of children may
not be sexual in nature. Some of the activity may, in fact, be
physical abuse directed at sexually-significant body parts (penis,
anus, nipples). This may also partially explain the large percentage
of female offenders. Physical abuse of children by females is well-
documented.
---- (5) PORNOGRAPHY AND PARAPHERNALIA.
Although many of the victims of multidimensional child sex rings
claim that pictures and videotapes of the activity were made, no |
Wicca | The-Complete-Uncut-Book-of-Shadows | 1,274 | such visual record has been found by law enforcement. In recent
years, American law enforcement has seized large amounts of child
pornography portraying children in a wide variety of sexual activity
and perversions. None of it, however, portrays the kind of bizarre
and/or ritualistic activity described by these victims. Perhaps
these offenders use and store their pornography and paraphernalia in
ways different from preferential child molesters (pedophiles). This
is an area needing additional research and investigation.
1595
---- (6) CONTROL THROUGH FEAR.
Control through fear may be the overriding characteristic of these
cases. Control is maintained by frightening the children. A very
young child might not be able to understand the significance of much
of the sexual activity but certainly understands fear. The stories
that the victims tell may be their perceived versions of severe
traumatic memories. They may be the victims of a severely
traumatized childhood in which being sexually abused was just one of
the many negative events affecting their lives.
-- c. SCENARIOS.
Multidimensional child sex rings typically emerge from one of four
scenarios: (1) adult survivors, (2) day care cases, (3)
family/isolated neighborhood cases, and (4) custody/visitation
disputes.
---- (1) ADULT SURVIVORS.
In adult survivor cases, adults of almost any age - nearly always
women - are suffering the consequences of a variety of personal
problems and failures in their lives (e.g., promiscuity, eating
disorders, drug and alcohol abuse, failed relationships, self-
mutilation, unemployment). As a result of some precipitating stress
or crisis, they often seek therapy. They are frequently hypnotized,
intentionally or unintentionally, as part of the therapy and are
often diagnosed as suffering from Multiple Personality Disorder.
Gradually, during the therapy, the adults reveal previously
unrecalled memories of early childhood victimization that includes
multiple victims and offenders, fear as the controlling tactic, and
bizarre or ritualistic activity. Adult survivors may also claim that
"cues" from certain events in their recent life "triggered" the
previously repressed memories.
The multiple offenders are often described as members of a cult or
satanic group. Parents, family members, clergy, civic leaders,
police officers (or individuals wearing police uniforms), and other
prominent members of society are frequently described as present at
and participating in the exploitation. The alleged bizarre activity
often includes insertion of foreign objects, witnessing mutilations,
and sexual acts and murders being filmed or photographed. The
offenders may allegedly still be harassing or threatening the
victims. They report being particularly frightened on certain dates
and by certain situations. In several of these cases, women (called
"breeders") claim to have had babies that were turned over for human
sacrifice. This type of case is probably best typified by books like
_Michelle Remembers_ (Smith & Pazder, 1980), _Satan's Underground_
(Stratford, 1988), and _Satan's Children_ (Mayer, 1991). |
Wicca | The-Complete-Uncut-Book-of-Shadows | 1,275 | 1596
If and when therapists come to believe the patient or decide the law
requires it, the police or FBI are sometimes contacted to conduct an
investigation. The therapists may also fear for their safety because
they now know the "secret". The therapists will frequently tell law
enforcement that they will stake their professional reputation on
the fact that their patient is telling the truth. Some adult
survivors go directly to law enforcement. They may also go from
place to place in an effort to find therapists or investigators who
will listen to and believe them. Their ability to provide verifiable
details varies and many were raised in apparently religious homes. A
few adult survivors are now reporting participation in specific
murders or child abductions that are known to have taken place.
---- (2) DAY CARE CASES.
In day care cases children currently or formerly attending a day
care center gradually describe their victimization at the center and
at other locations to which they were taken by the day care staff.
The cases include multiple victims and offenders, fear, and bizarre
or ritualistic activity, with a particularly high number of female
offenders. Descriptions of strange games, insertion of foreign
objects, killing of animals, photographing of activities, and
wearing of costumes are common. The accounts of the young children,
however, do not seem to be quite as "bizarre" as those of the adult
survivors, with fewer accounts of human sacrifice.
---- (3) FAMILY/ISOLATED NEIGHBORHOOD CASES.
In family/isolated neighborhood cases, children describe their
victimization within their family or extended family. The group is
often defined by geographic boundary, such as a cul-de-sac,
apartment building, or isolated rural setting. Such accounts are
most common in rural or suburban communities with high
concentrations of religiously conservative people. The stories are
similar to those told of the day care setting, but with more male
offenders. The basic dynamics remain the same, but victims tend to
be more than six years of age, and the scenario may also involve a
custody or visitation dispute.
---- (4) CUSTODY/VISITATION DISPUTE.
In custody/visitation dispute cases, the allegations emanate from a
custody or visitation dispute over at least one child under the age
of seven. The four dynamics described above make these cases
extremely difficult to handle. When complicated by the strong
emotions of this scenario, the cases can be overwhelming. This is
especially true if the disclosing child victims have been taken into
the "underground" by a parent during the custody or visitation
dispute. Some of these parents or relatives may even provide
authorities with diaries or tapes of their interviews with the
children. An accurate evaluation and assessment of a young child
held in isolation in this underground while being "debriefed" by a
parent or someone else is almost impossible. However well-
intentioned, these self-appointed investigators severely damage any
chance to validate these cases objectively.
1597
-- d. WHY ARE VICTIMS ALLEGING THINGS THAT DO NOT SEEM TO BE TRUE? |
Wicca | The-Complete-Uncut-Book-of-Shadows | 1,276 | Some of what the victims in these cases allege is physically
impossible (victim cut up and put back together, offender took the
building apart and then rebuilt it); some is possible but improbable
(human sacrifice, cannibalism, vampirism ); some is possible and
probable (child pornography, clever manipulation of victims); and
some is corroborated (medical evidence of vaginal or anal trauma,
offender confessions).
The most significant crimes being alleged that do not *seem* to be
true are the human sacrifice and cannibalism by organized satanic
cults. In none of the multidimensional child sex ring cases of which
I am aware have bodies of the murder victims been found - in spite
of major excavations where the abuse victims claim the bodies were
located. The alleged explanations for this include: the offenders
moved the bodies after the children left, the bodies were burned in
portable high-temperature ovens, the bodies were put in double-
decker graves under legitimately buried bodies, a mortician member
of the cult disposed of the bodies in a crematorium, the offenders
ate the bodies, the offenders used corpses and aborted fetuses, or
the power of Satan caused the bodies to disappear.
Not only are no bodies found, but also, more importantly, there is
no physical evidence that a murder took place. Many of those not in
law enforcement do not understand that, while it is possible to get
rid of a body, it is even more difficult to get rid of the physical
evidence that a murder took place, especially a human sacrifice
involving sex, blood, and mutilation. Such activity would leave
behind trace evidence that could be found using modern crime scene
processing techniques in spite of extraordinary efforts to clean it
up.
The victims of these human sacrifices and murders are alleged to be
abducted missing children, runaway and throwaway children,
derelicts, and the babies of breeder women. It is interesting to
note that many of those espousing these theories are using the long-
since-discredited numbers and rhetoric of the missing children
hysteria in the early 1980s. Yet "Stranger-Abduction Homicides of
Children", a January 1989 _Juvenile Justice Bulletin_, published by
the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention of the
U.S. Department of Justice, reports that researchers now estimate
that the number of children kidnapped and murdered by nonfamily
members is between 52 and 158 a year and that adolescents 14 to 17
years old account for nearly two-thirds of these victims. These
figures are also consistent with the 1990 National Incident Studies
previously mentioned.
We live in a very violent society, and yet we have "only" about
23,000 murders a year. Those who accept these stories of mass human
sacrifice would have us believe that the satanists and other occult
practitioners are murdering more than twice as many people every
year in this country as all the other murderers combined.
1598
In addition, in none of the cases of which I am aware has any
evidence of a well-organized satanic cult been found. Many of those
who accept the stories of organized ritual abuse of children and
human sacrifice will tell you that the best evidence they now have
is the consistency of stories from all over America. It sounds like
a powerful argument. It is interesting to note that, without having
met each other, the hundreds of people who claim to have been |
Wicca | The-Complete-Uncut-Book-of-Shadows | 1,277 | abducted by aliens from outer space also tell stories and give
descriptions of the aliens that are similar to each other. This is
not to imply that allegations of child abuse are in the same
category as allegations of abduction by aliens from outer space. It
is intended only to illustrate that individuals who never met each
other can sometimes describe similar events without necessarily
having experienced them.
The large number of people telling the same story is, in fact, the
biggest reason to doubt these stories. It is simply too difficult
for that many people to commit so many horrendous crimes as part of
an organized conspiracy. Two or three people murder a couple of
children in a few communities as part of a ritual, and nobody finds
out? Possible. Thousands of people do the same thing to tens of
thousands of victims over many years? Not likely. Hundreds of
communities all over America are run by mayors, police departments,
and community leaders who are practicing satanists and who regularly
murder and eat people? Not likely. In addition, these community
leaders and high-ranking officials also supposedly commit these
complex crimes leaving no evidence, and at the same time function as
leaders and managers while heavily involved in using illegal drugs.
Probably the closest documented example of this type of alleged
activity in American history is the Ku Klux Klan, which ironically
used Christianity, not satanism, to rationalize its activity but
which, as might be expected, was eventually infiltrated by
informants and betrayed by its members.
As stated, initially I was inclined to believe the allegations of
the victims. But as the cases poured in and the months and years
went by, I became more concerned about the lack of physical evidence
and corroboration for many of the more serious allegations. With
increasing frequency I began to ask the question: "Why are victims
alleging things that do not *seem* to be true?" Many possible
answers were considered.
The first possible answer is obvious: clever offenders. The
allegations may not seem to be true but they are true. The criminal
justice system lacks the knowledge, skill, and motivation to get to
the bottom of this crime conspiracy. The perpetrators of this crime
conspiracy are clever, cunning individuals using sophisticated mind
control and brainwashing techniques to control their victims. Law
enforcement does not know how to investigate these cases.
It is technically possible that these allegations of an organized
conspiracy involving taking over day care centers, abduction,
cannibalism, murder, and human sacrifice might be true. But if they
are true, they constitute one of the greatest crime conspiracies in
history.
1599
Many people do not understand how difficult it is to commit a
conspiracy crime involving numerous co-conspirators. One clever and
cunning individual has a good chance of getting away with a well-
planned interpersonal crime. Bring one partner into the crime and
the odds of getting away with it drop considerably. The more people
involved in the crime, the harder it is to get away with it. Why?
Human nature is the answer. People get angry and jealous. They come
to resent the fact that another conspirator is getting "more" than
they. They get in trouble and want to make a deal for themselves by
informing on others. |
Wicca | The-Complete-Uncut-Book-of-Shadows | 1,278 | If a group of individuals degenerate to the point of engaging in
human sacrifice, murder, and cannibalism, that would most likely be
the beginning of the end for such a group. The odds are that someone
in the group would have a problem with such acts and be unable to
maintain the secret.
The appeal of the satanic conspiracy theory is twofold:
---- (1) First, it is a simple explanation for a complex problem.
Nothing is more simple than "the devil made them do it". If we do
not understand something, we make it the work of some supernatural
force. During the Middle Ages, serial killers were thought to be
vampires and werewolves, and child sexual abuse was the work of
demons taking the form of parents and clergy. Even today, especially
for those raised to religiously believe so, satanism offers an
explanation as to why "good" people do bad things. It may also help
to "explain" unusual, bizarre, and compulsive sexual urges and
behavior.
---- (2) Second, the conspiracy theory is a popular one. We find it
difficult to believe that one bizarre individual could commit a
crime we find so offensive. Conspiracy theories about soldiers
missing in action (MlAs), abductions by UFOs, Elvis Presley
sightings, and the assassination of prominent public figures are the
focus of much attention in this country. These conspiracy theories
and allegations of ritual abuse have the following in common: (1)
self-proclaimed experts, (2) tabloid media interest, (3) belief the
government is involved in a coverup, and (4) emotionally involved
direct and indirect victim/witnesses.
On a recent television program commemorating the one hundredth
anniversary of Jack the Ripper, almost fifty percent of the viewing
audience who called the polling telephone numbers indicated that
they thought the murders were committed as part of a conspiracy
involving the British Royal Family. The five experts on the program,
however, unanimously agreed the crimes were the work of one
disorganized but lucky individual who was diagnosed as a paranoid
schizophrenic. In many ways, the murders of Jack the Ripper are
similar to those allegedly committed by satanists today.
If your child's molestation was perpetrated by a sophisticated
satanic cult, there is nothing you could have done to prevent it and
therefore no reason to feel any guilt. I have been present when
parents who believe their children were ritually abused at day care
centers have told others that the cults had sensors in the road,
lookouts in the air, and informers everywhere; therefore, the
usually recommended advice of unannounced visits to the day care
center would be impossible.
1600
6. ALTERNATIVE EXPLANATIONS
Even if only part of an allegation is not true, what then is the
answer to the question "Why are victims alleging things that do not
*seem* to be true?" After consulting with psychiatrists,
psychologists, anthropologists, therapists, social workers, child
sexual abuse experts, and law enforcement investigators for more
than eight years, I can find no single, simple answer. The answer to
the question seems to be a complex set of dynamics that can be
different in each case. In spite of the fact that some skeptics keep
looking for it, there does not appear to be one answer to the |
Wicca | The-Complete-Uncut-Book-of-Shadows | 1,279 | question that fits every case. Each case is different, and each case
may involve a different combination of answers.
I have identified a series of possible alternative answers to this
question. The alternative answers also do not preclude the
possibility that clever offenders are sometimes involved. I will not
attempt to explain completely these alternative answers because I
cannot. They are presented simply as areas for consideration and
evaluation by child sexual abuse intervenors, for further
elaboration by experts in these fields, and for research by
objective social scientists. The first step, however, in finding the
answers to this question is to admit the possibility that some of
what the victims describe may not have happened. Some child
advocates seem unwilling to do this.
-- a. PATHOLOGICAL DISTORTION.
The first possible answer to why victims are alleging things that do
not *seem* to be true is *pathological distortion*. The allegations
may be errors in processing reality influenced by underlying mental
disorders such as dissociative disorders, borderline or histrionic
personality disorders, or psychosis. These distortions may be
manifested in false accounts of victimization in order to gain
psychological benefits such as attention and sympathy (factitious
disorder). When such individuals repeatedly go from place to place
or person to person making these false reports of their own
"victimization", it is called Munchausen Syndrome. When the repealed
false reports concern the "victimization" of their children or
others linked to them, it is called Munchausen Syndrome by Proxy. I
am amazed when some therapists state that they believe the
allegations because they cannot think of a reason why the "victim",
whose failures are now explained and excused or who is now the
center of attention at a conference or on a national television
program, would lie. If you can be forgiven for mutilating and
killing babies, you can be forgiven for anything.
Many "victims" may develop pseudomemories of their victimization and
eventually come to believe the events actually occurred. Noted
forensic psychiatrist Park E. Dietz (personal communication, Nov.
1991) states:
1601
"Pseudomemories have been acquired through dreams (particularly if
one is encouraged to keep a journal or dream diary and to regard
dream content as 'clues' about the past or as snippets of history),
substance-induced altered states of consciousness (alcohol or other
drugs), group influence (particularly hearing vivid accounts of
events occurring to others with whom one identifies emotionally such
as occurs in incest survivor groups), reading vivid accounts of
events occurring to others with whom one identifies emotionally,
watching such accounts in films or on television, and hypnosis. The
most efficient means of inducing pseudomemories is hypnosis.
"It is characteristic of pseudomemories that the recollections of
complex events (as opposed to a simple unit of information, such as
a tag number) are incomplete and without chronological sequence.
Often the person reports some uncertainty because the pseudomemories
are experienced in a manner they describe as 'hazy', 'fuzzy', or
'vague'. They are often perplexed that they recall some details
vividly but others dimly. |
Wicca | The-Complete-Uncut-Book-of-Shadows | 1,280 | "Pseudomemories are not delusions. When first telling others of
pseudomemories, these individuals do not have the unshakable but
irrational conviction that deluded subjects have, but with social
support they often come to defend vigorously the truthfulness of the
pseudomemories.
"Pseudomemories are not fantasies, but may incorporate elements from
fantasies experienced in the past. Even where the events described
are implausible, listeners may believe them because they are
reported with such intense affect (i.e. with so much emotion
attached to the story) that the listener concludes that the events
must have happened because no one could 'fake' the emotional aspects
of the retelling. It also occurs, however, that persons report
pseudomemories in such a matter-of-fact and emotionless manner that
mental health professionals conclude that the person has
'dissociated' intellectual knowledge of the events from emotional
appreciation of their impact."
-- b. TRAUMATIC MEMORY.
The second possible answer is *traumatic memory*. Fear and severe
trauma can cause victims to distort reality and confuse events. This
is a well-documented fact in cases involving individuals taken
hostage or in life-and-death situations. The distortions may be part
of an elaborate defense mechanism of the mind called "splitting" -
The victims create a clear-cut good-and-evil manifestation of their
complex victimization that is then psychologically more manageable.
Through the defense mechanism of dissociation, the victim may escape
the horrors of reality by inaccurately processing that reality. In a
dissociative state a young child who ordinarily would know the
difference might misinterpret a film or video as reality.
1602
Another defense mechanism may tell the victim that it could have
been worse, and so his or her victimization was not so bad. They are
not alone in their victimization - other children were also abused.
Their father who abused them is no different from other prominent
people in the community they claim also abused them. Satanism may
help to explain why their outwardly good and religious parents did
such terrible things to them in the privacy of their home. Their
religious training may convince them that such unspeakable acts by
supposedly "good" people must be the work of the devil. The
described human sacrifice may be symbolic of the "death" of their
childhood.
It may be that we should anticipate that individuals severely abused
as very young children by *multiple* offenders with *fear* as the
primary controlling tactic will distort and embellish their
victimization. Perhaps a horror-filled yet inaccurate account of
victimization is not only not a counterindication of abuse, but is
in fact a corroborative indicator of extreme physical,
psychological, and/or sexual abuse. I do not believe it is a
coincidence nor the result of deliberate planning by satanists that
in almost all the cases of ritual abuse that have come to my
attention, the abuse is alleged to have begun prior to the age of
seven and perpetrated by multiple offenders. It may well be that
such abuse, at young age by multiple offenders, is the most
difficult to accurately recall with the specific and precise detail
needed by the criminal justice system, and the most likely to be |
Wicca | The-Complete-Uncut-Book-of-Shadows | 1,281 | distorted and exaggerated when it is recalled. In her book _Too
Scared to Cry_ (1990), child psychiatrist Lenore Terr, a leading
expert on psychic trauma in childhood, states "that a series of
early childhood shocks might not be fully and accurately
'reconstructed' from the dreams and behaviors of the adult" (p. 5).
-- c. NORMAL CHILDHOOD FEARS AND FANTASY.
The third possible answer may be *normal childhood fears and
fantasy*. Most young children are afraid of ghosts and monsters.
Even as adults, many people feel uncomfortable, for example, about
dangling their arms over the side of their bed. They still remember
the "monster" under the bed from childhood. While young children may
rarely invent stories about sexual activity, they might describe
their victimization in terms of evil as they understand it. In
church or at home, children may be told of satanic activity as the
source of evil. The children may be "dumping" all their fears and
worries unto an attentive and encouraging listener.
Children do fantasize. Perhaps whatever causes a child to allege
something impossible (such as being cut up and put back together) is
similar to what causes a child to allege something possible but
improbable (such as witnessing another child being chopped up and
eaten).
1603
-- d. MISPERCEPTION, CONFUSION, AND TRICKERY.
Misperception, confusion, and trickery may be a fourth answer.
Expecting young children to give accurate accounts of sexual
activity for which they have little frame of reference is
unreasonable. The Broadway play _Madame Butterfly_ is the true story
of a man who had a 15-year affair, including the "birth" of a baby,
with a "woman" who turns out to have been a man all along. If a
grown man does not know when he has had vaginal intercourse with a
woman, how can we expect young children not to be confused?
Furthermore some clever offenders may deliberately introduce
elements of satanism and the occult into the sexual exploitation
simply to confuse or intimidate the victims. Simple magic and other
techniques may be used to trick the children. Drugs may also be
deliberately used to confuse the victims and distort their
perceptions. Such acts would then be M.O., not ritual.
As previously stated, the perceptions of young victims may also be
influenced by any trauma being experienced. This is the most popular
alternative explanation, and even the more zealous believers of
ritual abuse allegations use it, but only to explain obviously
impossible events.
-- e. OVERZEALOUS INTERVENORS.
*Overzealous intervenors*, causing intervenor contagion, may be a
fifth answer. These intervenors can include parents, family members,
foster parents, doctors, therapists, social workers, law enforcement
officers, prosecutors, and any combination thereof. Victims have
been subtly as well as overtly rewarded and bribed by usually well-
meaning intervenors for furnishing further details. In addition,
some of what appears not to have happened may have originated as a
result of intervenors making assumptions about or misinterpreting
what the victims are saying. The intervenors then repeat, and |
Wicca | The-Complete-Uncut-Book-of-Shadows | 1,282 | possibly embellish, these assumptions and misinterpretations, and
eventually the victims are "forced" to agree with or come to accept
this "official" version of what happened.
The judgment of intervenors may be affected by their zeal to uncover
child sexual abuse, satanic activity, or conspiracies. However
"well-intentioned", these overzealous intervenors must accept
varying degrees of responsibility for the unsuccessful prosecution
of those cases where criminal abuse did occur. This is the most
controversial and least popular of the alternative explanations.
1604
-- f. URBAN LEGENDS.
Allegations of and knowledge about ritualistic or satanic abuse may
also be spread through *urban legends*. In _The Vanishing
Hitchhiker_ (1981), the first of his four books on the topic, Dr.
Jan Harold Brunvand defines urban legends as "realistic stories
concerning recent events (or alleged events) with an ironic or
supernatural twist" (p. xi). Dr. Brunvand's books convincingly
explain that just because individuals throughout the country who
never met each other tell the same story does not mean that it is
true. Absurd urban legends about the corporate logos of Proctor and
Gamble and Liz Claiborne being satanic symbols persist in spite of
all efforts to refute them with reality. Some urban legends about
child kidnappings and other threats to citizens have even been
disseminated unknowingly by law enforcement agencies. Such legends
have always existed, but today the mass media aggressively
participate in their rapid and more efficient dissemination. Many
Americans mistakenly believe that tabloid television shows check out
and verify the details of their stories before pulling them on the
air. Mass hysteria may partially account for large numbers of
victims describing the same symptoms or experiences.
Training conferences for all the disciplines involved in child
sexual abuse may also play a role in the spread of this contagion.
At one child abuse conference I attended, an exhibitor was selling
more than 50 different books dealing with satanism and the occult.
By the end of the conference, he had sold nearly all of them. At
another national child sexual abuse conference, I witnessed more
than 100 attendees copying down the widely disseminated 29 "Symptoms
Characterizing Satanic Ritual Abuse" in preschool-aged children. Is
a four-year-old child's "preoccupation with urine and feces" an
indication of satanic ritual abuse or part of normal development?
-- g. COMBINATION.
Most multidimensional child sex ring cases probably involve a
*combination* of the answers previously set forth, as well as other
possible explanations unknown to me at this time. Obviously, cases
with adult survivors are more likely to involve some of these
answers than those with young children. Each case of sexual
victimization must be individually evaluated on its own merits
without any preconceived explanations. All the possibilities must be
explored if for no other reason than the fact that the defense
attorneys for any accused subjects will almost certainly do so.
Most people would agree that just because a victim tells you one
detail that turns out to be true, this does not mean that every
detail is true. But many people seem to believe that if you can
disprove one part of a victim's story, then the entire story is |
Wicca | The-Complete-Uncut-Book-of-Shadows | 1,283 | false. As previously stated, one of my main concerns in these cases
is that people are getting away with sexually abusing children or
committing other crimes because we cannot prove that they are
members of organized cults that murder and eat people.
1605
I have discovered that the subject of multidimensional child sex
rings is a very emotional and polarizing issue. Everyone seems to
demand that one choose a side. On one side of the issue are those
who say that nothing really happened and it is all a big witch hunt
led by overzealous fanatics and incompetent "experts". The other
side says, in essence, that everything happened; victims never lie
about child sexual abuse, and so it must be true.
There is a middle ground. It is the job of the professional
investigator to listen to all the victims and conduct appropriate
investigation in an effort to find out what happened, considering
all possibilities. Not all childhood trauma is abuse. Not all child
abuse is a crime. The great frustration of these cases is the fact
that you are often convinced that something traumatic happened to
the victim, but do not know with any degree of certainty exactly
what happened, when it happened, or who did it.
7. DO VICTIMS LIE ABOUT SEXUAL ABUSE AND EXPLOITATION?
The crucial central issue in the evaluation of a response to cases
of multidimensional child sex rings is the statement "Children never
lie about sexual abuse or exploitation. If they have details, it
must have happened." This statement, oversimplified by many, is the
basic premise upon which some believe the child sexual abuse and
exploitation movement is based. It is almost never questioned or
debated at training conferences. In fact, during the 1970s, there
was a successful crusade to eliminate laws requiring corroboration
of child victim statements in child sexual abuse cases. The best way
to convict child molesters is to have the child victims testify in
court. If we believe them, the jury will believe them. Any challenge
to this basic premise was viewed as a threat to the movement and a
denial that the problem existed.
I believe that children *rarely* lie about sexual abuse or
exploitation, if a lie is defined as a statement deliberately and
maliciously intended to deceive. The problem is the
oversimplification of the statement. Just because a child is not
lying does not necessarily mean the child is telling the truth. I
believe that in the majority of these cases, the victims are not
lying. They are telling you what they have come to believe has
happened to them. Furthermore the assumption that children rarely
lie about sexual abuse does not necessarily apply to everything a
child says during a sexual abuse investigation. Stories of
mutilation, murder, and cannibalism are not really about sexual
abuse.
Children rarely lie about sexual abuse or exploitation. but they do
fantasize, furnish false information, furnish misleading
information, misperceive events, try to please adults, respond to
leading questions, and respond to rewards. Children are not adults
in little bodies and do go through developmental stages that must be
evaluated and understood. In many ways, however, children are no
better and no worse than other victims or witnesses of a crime. They
should not be automatically believed, nor should they be |
Wicca | The-Complete-Uncut-Book-of-Shadows | 1,284 | automatically disbelieved.
1606
The second part of the statement - if children can supply details,
the crime must have happened - must also be carefully evaluated. The
details in question in most of the cases of multidimensional child
sex rings have little to do with sexual activity. Law enforcement
and social workers must do more than attempt to determine how a
child could have known about the sex acts. These cases involve
determining how a victim could have known about a wide variety of
bizarre and ritualistic activity. Young children may know little
about specific sex acts, but they may know a lot about monsters,
torture, kidnapping, and murder.
Victims may supply details of sexual and other acts using
information from sources other than their own direct victimization.
Such sources must be evaluated carefully by the investigator of
multidimensional child sex rings.
-- a. PERSONAL KNOWLEDGE.
The victim may have personal knowledge of the sexual or ritual acts,
but not as a result of the alleged victimization. The knowledge
could have come from viewing pornography, sex education, or occult
material; witnessing sexual or ritual activity in the home; or
witnessing the sexual abuse of others. It could also have come from
having been sexually or physically abused, but by other than the
alleged offenders and in ways other than the alleged offense.
-- b. OTHER CHILDREN OR VICTIMS.
Young children today are socially interacting more often and at a
younger age than ever before. Many parents are unable to provide
possibly simple explanations for their children's stories because
they were not with the children when the events occurred. They do
not even know what videotapes their children may have seen, what
games they may have played, or what stories they may have been told
or overheard. Children are being placed in day care centers for
eight, ten, or twelve hours a day starting as young as six weeks of
age. The children share experiences by playing house, school, or
doctor. Bodily functions such as urination and defecation are a
focus of attention for these young children. To a certain extent,
each child shares the experiences of all the other children.
1607
The odds are fairly high that in any typical day care center there
might be some children who are victims of incest; victims of
physical abuse; victims of psychological abuse; children of cult
members (even satanists); children of sexually open parents;
children of sexually indiscriminate parents; children of parents
obsessed with victimization; children of parents obsessed with the
evils of satanism; children without conscience; children with a
teenage brother or pregnant mother; children with heavy metal music
and literature in the home; children with bizarre toys, games,
comics, and magazines; children with a VCR and slasher films in
their home; children with access to dial-a-porn, party lines, or
pornography; or children victimized by a day care center staff
member. The possible effects of the interaction of such children |
Wicca | The-Complete-Uncut-Book-of-Shadows | 1,285 | prior to the disclosure of the alleged abuse must be evaluated,
Adult survivors may obtain details from group therapy sessions,
support networks, church groups, or self-help groups. The
willingness and ability of siblings to corroborate adult survivor
accounts of ritual abuse varies. Some will support and partially
corroborate the victim's allegations. Others will vehemently deny
them and support their accused parents or relatives.
-- c. MEDIA.
The amount of sexually explicit, occult, anti-occult, or violence-
oriented material available to adults and even children in the
modern world is overwhelming. This includes movies, videotapes,
television, music, toys, and books. There are also documentaries on
satanism, witchcraft, and the occult that are available on
videotape. Most of the televangelists have videotapes on the topics
that they are selling on their programs.
The National Coalition on Television Violence News (1988) estimates
that 12% of the movies produced in the United States can be
classified as satanic horror films. Cable television and the home
VCR make all this material readily available even to young children.
Religious broadcasters and almost all the television tabloid and
magazine programs have done shows on satanism and the occult. Heavy
metal and black metal music, which often has a satanic theme, is
readily available and popular. In addition to the much-debated
fantasy role-playing games, there are numerous popular toys on the
market with an occult-oriented, bizarre, or violent theme.
Books on satanism and the occult, both fiction and nonfiction, are
readily available in most bookstores, especially Christian
bookstores. Several recent books specifically discuss the issue of
ritual abuse of children. Obviously, very young children do not read
this material, but their parents, relatives, and therapists might
and then discuss it in front of or with them. Much of the material
intended to fight the problem actually fuels the problem and damages
effective prosecution.
1608
-- d. SUGGESTIONS AND LEADING QUESTIONS.
This problem is particularly important in cases stemming from
custody/visitation disputes involving at least one child under the
age of seven. It is my opinion that most suggestive, leading
questioning of children by intervenors is inadvertently done as part
of a good-faith effort to learn the truth. Not all intervenors are
in equal positions to potentially influence victim allegations.
Parents and relatives especially are in a position to subtly
influence their young children to describe their victimization in a
certain way. Children may also overhear their parents discussing the
details of the case. Children often tell their parents what they
believe their parents want or need to hear. Some children may be
instinctively attempting to provide "therapy" for their parents by
telling them what seems to satisfy them and somehow makes them feel
better. In one case a father gave the police a tape recording to
"prove" that his child's statements were spontaneous disclosures and
not the result of leading, suggestive questions. The tape recording
indicated just the opposite. Why then did the father voluntarily
give it to the police? Probably because he truly believed that he
was not influencing his child's statements - but he was. |
Wicca | The-Complete-Uncut-Book-of-Shadows | 1,286 | Therapists are probably in the best position to influence the
allegations of adult survivors. The accuracy and reliability of the
accounts of adult survivors who have been hypnotized during therapy
is certainly open to question. One nationally-known therapist
personally told me that the reason police cannot find out about
satanic or ritualistic activity from child victims is that they do
not know how to ask leading questions. Highly suggestive books and
pictures portraying "satanic" activity have been developed and
marketed to therapists for use during evaluation and treatment.
Types and styles of verbal interaction useful in therapy may create
significant problems in a criminal investigation. It should be
noted, however, that when a therapist does a poor investigative
interview as part of a criminal investigation, that is the fault of
the criminal justice system that allowed it and not the therapist
who did it.
The extremely sensitive, emotional, and religious nature of these
cases makes problems with leading questions more likely than in
other kinds of cases. Intervenors motivated by religious fervor
and/or exaggerated concerns about sexual abuse of children are more
likely to lose their objectivity.
-- e. MISPERCEPTION AND CONFUSION.
In one case, a child's description of the apparently impossible act
of walking through a wall turned out to be the very possible act of
walking between the studs of an unfinished wall in a room under
construction. In another case, pennies in the anus turned out to be
copper-foil-covered suppositories. The children may describe what
they believe happened. It is not a lie, but neither is it an
accurate account of what happened.
1609
-- f. EDUCATION AND AWARENESS PROGRAMS.
Some well-intentioned awareness programs designed to prevent child
set abuse, alert professionals, or fight satanism may in fact be
unrealistically increasing the fears of professionals, children, and
parents and creating self-fulfilling prophesies. Some of what
children and their parents are telling intervenors may have been
learned in or fueled by such programs. Religious programs, books,
and pamphlets that emphasize the power and evil force of Satan may
be adding to the problem. In fact most of the day care centers in
which ritualistic abuse is alleged to hate taken place are church-
affiliated centers, and many of the adult survivors alleging it come
from apparently religious families.
8. LAW ENFORCEMENT PERSPECTIVE.
The perspective with which one looks at satanic, occult, or
ritualistic crime is extremely important. As stated, sociologists,
therapists, religious leaders, parents, and just plain citizens each
have their own valid concerns and views about this issue. This
discussion, however, deals primarily with the law enforcement or
criminal justice perspective.
When you combine an emotional issue such as the sexual abuse of
children with an even more emotional issue such as people's
religious beliefs, it is difficult to maintain objectivity and |
Wicca | The-Complete-Uncut-Book-of-Shadows | 1,287 | remember the law enforcement perspective. Some police officers may
even feel that all crime is caused by evil, all evil is caused by
Satan, and therefore, all crime is satanic crime. This may be a
valid religious perspective, but it is of no relevance to the
investigation of crime for purposes of prosecution.
Many of the police officers who lecture on satanic or occult crime
do not even investigate such cases. Their presentations are more a
reflection of their personal religious beliefs than documented
investigative information. They are absolutely entitled to their
beliefs, but introducing themselves as current or former police
officers and then speaking as religious advocates causes confusion.
As difficult as it might be, police officers must separate the
religious and law enforcement perspectives when they are lecturing
or investigating in their official capacities as law enforcement
officers. Many law enforcement officers begin their presentations by
stating that they are not addressing or judging anyone's religious
beliefs, and then proceed to do exactly that.
Some police officers have resigned rather than curtail or limit
their involvement in this issue as ordered by their departments.
Perhaps such officers deserve credit for recognizing that they could
no longer keep the perspectives separate.
1610
Law enforcement officers and all professionals in this field should
avoid the "paranoia" that has crept into this issue and into some of
the training conferences. Paranoid type belief systems are
characterized by the gradual development of intricate, complex, and
elaborate systems of thinking based on and often proceeding
logically from misinterpretation of actual events. Paranoia
typically involves hypervigilance over the perceived threat, the
belief that danger is around every corner, and the willingness to
take up the challenge and do something about it. Another very
important aspect of this paranoia is the belief that those who do
not recognize the threat are evil and corrupt. In this extreme view,
you are either with them or against them. You are either part of the
solution or part of the problem.
Overzealousness and exaggeration motivated by the true religious
fervor of those involved is more acceptable than that motivated by
ego or profit. There are those who are deliberately distorting and
hyping this issue for personal notoriety and profit. Satanic and
occult crime and ritual abuse of children has become a growth
industry. Speaking fees, books, video and audio tapes, prevention
material, television and radio appearances all bring egoistic and
financial rewards.
Bizarre crime and evil can occur without organized satanic activity.
The professional perspective requires that we distinguish between
what we know and what we're not sure of.
The facts are:
-- a. Some individuals believe in and are involved in something
commonly called satanism and the occult.
-- b. Some of these individuals commit crime.
-- c. Some groups of individuals share these beliefs and involvement
in this satanism and the occult. |
Wicca | The-Complete-Uncut-Book-of-Shadows | 1,288 | -- d. Some members of these groups commit crime together.
The unanswered questions are:
-- a. What is the connection between the belief system and the
crimes committed?
-- b. Is there an organized conspiracy of satanic and occult
believers responsible for interrelated serious crime (e.g.,
molestation, murder)?
After all the hype and hysteria are put aside, the realization sets
in that most satanic/occult activity involves the commission of *no*
crimes, and that which does usually involves the commission of
relatively minor crimes such as trespassing, vandalism, cruelty to
animals, or petty thievery.
1611
The law enforcement problems most often linked to satanic or occult
activity are:
-- a. Vandalism.
-- b. Desecration of churches and cemeteries.
-- c. Thefts from churches and cemeteries.
-- d. Teenage gangs
-- e. Animal mutilations.
-- f. Teenage suicide.
-- g. Child abuse.
-- h. Kidnapping.
-- i. Murder and human sacrifice
Valid evidence shows some "connection" between satanism and the
occult and the first six problems (#a-f) set forth above. The
"connection" to the last three problems (#g-i) is far more
uncertain.
Even where there seems to be a "connection", the nature of the
connection needs to be explored. It is easy to blame involvement in
satanism and the occult for behaviors that have complex motivations.
A teenager's excessive involvement in satanism and the occult is
usually a symptom of a problem and not the cause of a problem.
Blaming satanism for a teenager's vandalism, theft, suicide, or even
act of murder is like blaming a criminal's offenses on his tattoos:
Both are often signs of the same rebelliousness and lack of self-
esteem that contribute to the commission of crimes.
The rock band Judas Priest was recently sued for allegedly inciting
two teenagers to suicide through subliminal messages in their
recordings. In 1991 Anthony Pratkanis of the University of
California at Santa Cruz, who served as an expert witness for the
defense, stated the boys in question "lived troubled lives, lives of
drug and alcohol abuse, run-ins with the law ... family violence, |
Wicca | The-Complete-Uncut-Book-of-Shadows | 1,289 | and chronic unemployment. What issues did the trial and the
subsequent mass media coverage emphasize? Certainly not the need for
drug treatment centers; there was no evaluation of the pros and cons
of America's juvenile justice system, no investigation of the
schools, no inquiry into how to prevent family violence, no
discussion of the effects of unemployment on a family. Instead our
attention was mesmerized by an attempt to count the number of
subliminal demons that can dance on the end of a record needle" (p.
1).
1612
The law enforcement investigator must objectively evaluate the legal
significance of any criminal's spiritual beliefs. In most cases,
including those involving satanists, it will have little or no legal
significance. If a crime is committed as part of a spiritual belief
system, it should make no difference which belief system it is. The
crime is the same whether a child is abused or murdered as part of a
Christian, Hare Krishna, Moslem, or any other belief system. We
generally don't label crimes with the name of the perpetrator's
religion. Why then are the crimes of child molesters, rapists,
sadists, and murderers who happen to be involved in satanism and the
occult labeled as satanic or occult crimes? If criminals use a
spiritual belief system to rationalize and justify or to facilitate
and enhance their criminal activity, should the focus of law
enforcement be on the belief system or on the criminal activity?
Several documented murders have been committed by individuals
involved in one way or another in satanism or the occult. In some of
these murders the perpetrator has even introduced elements of the
occult (e.g. satanic symbols at crime scene). Does that
automatically make these satanic murders? It is my opinion that the
answer is no. Ritualistic murders committed by serial killers or
sexual sadists are not necessarily satanic or occult murders.
Ritualistic murders committed by psychotic killers who hear the
voice of Satan are no more satanic murders than murders committed by
psychotic killers who hear the voice of Jesus are Christian murders.
Rather a satanic murder should be defined as one committed by two or
more individuals who rationally plan the crime and whose *primary*
motivation is to fulfill a prescribed satanic ritual calling for the
murder. By this definition I have been unable to identify even one
documented satanic murder in the United States. Although such
murders may have and can occur, they appear to be few in number. In
addition the commission of such killings would probably be the
beginning of the end for such a group. It is highly unlikely that
they could continue to kill several people, every year, year after
year, and not be discovered.
A brief typology of satanic and occult practitioners is helpful in
evaluating what relationship, if any, such practices have to crimes
under investigation. The following typology is adapted from the
investigative experience of Officer Sandi Gallant of the San
Francisco Police Department, who began to study the criminal aspects
of occult activity long before it became popular. No typology is
perfect, but I use this typology because it is simple and offers
investigative insights. Most practitioners fall into one of three
categories, any of which can be practiced alone or in groups:
1613 |
Wicca | The-Complete-Uncut-Book-of-Shadows | 1,290 | -- a. "YOUTH SUBCULTURE.
"Most teenagers involved in fantasy role-playing games, heavy metal
music, or satanism and the occult are going through a stage of
adolescent development and commit no significant crimes. The
teenagers who have more serious problems are usually those from
dysfunctional families or those who have poor communication within
their families. These troubled teenagers turn to satanism and the
occult to overcome a sense of alienation, to rebel, to obtain power,
or to justify their antisocial behavior. For these teenagers it is
the symbolism, not the spirituality, that is more important. It is
either the psychopathic or the oddball, loner teenager who is most
likely to get into serious trouble. Extreme involvement in the
occult is a symptom of a problem, not the cause. This is not to
deny, however, that satanism and the occult can be negative
influences for a troubled teenager. But to hysterically warn
teenagers to avoid this "mysterious, powerful and dangerous" thing
called satanism will drive more teenagers right to it. Some
rebellious teenagers will do whatever will most shock and outrage
society in order to flaunt their rejection of adult norms.
-- b. "DABBLERS (SELF-STYLED).
"For these practitioners there is little or no spiritual motivation.
They may mix satanism, witchcraft, paganism, and any aspects of the
occult to suit their purposes. Symbols mean whatever they want them
or believe them to mean. Molesters, rapists, drug dealers, and
murderers may dabble in the occult and may even commit their crimes
in a ceremonial or ritualistic way. This category has the potential
to be the most dangerous, and most of the "satanic" killers fall
into this category. Their involvement in satanism and the occult is
a symptom of a problem, and a rationalization and justification of
antisocial behavior. Satanic/occult practices (as well as those of
other spiritual belief systems) can also be used as a mechanism to
facilitate criminal objectives.
-- c. "TRADITIONAL (ORTHODOX).
"These are the so-called true believers. They are often wary of
outsiders. Because of this and constitutional issues, such groups
are difficult for law enforcement to penetrate. Although there may
be much we don't know about these groups, as of now there is little
or no hard evidence that as a group they are involved in serious,
organized criminal activity. In addition, instead of being self-
perpetuating master crime conspirators, "true believers" probably
have a similar problem with their teenagers rebelling against their
belief system. To some extent even these Traditional satanists are
self-stylized. They practice what they have come to believe is
"satanism". There is little or no evidence of the much-discussed
multigenerational satanists whose beliefs and practices have
supposedly been passed down through the centuries. Many admitted
adult satanists were in fact raised in conservative Christian
homes."
1614
_Washington Post_ editor Walt Harrington reported in a 1986 story on
Anton LaVey and his Church of Satan that "sociologists who have
studied LaVey's church say that its members often had serious
childhood problems like alcoholic parents or broken homes, or that |
Wicca | The-Complete-Uncut-Book-of-Shadows | 1,291 | they were traumatized by guilt-ridden fundamentalist upbringings,
turning to Satanism as a dramatic way to purge their debilitating
guilt" (p. 14).
Some have claimed that the accounts of ritual abuse victims coincide
with historical records of what traditional or multigenerational
satanists are known to have practiced down through the ages. Jeffrey
Burton Russell, Professor of History at the University of California
at Santa Barbara and the author of numerous scholarly books on the
devil and satanism, believes that the universal consensus of modern
historians on satanism is (personal communication, Nov. 1991):
"(1) incidents of orgy, infanticide, cannibalism, and other such
conduct have occurred from the ancient world down to the present;
(2) such incidents were isolated and limited to local antisocial
groups; (3) during the period of Christian dominance in European
culture, such groups were associated with the Devil in the minds of
the authorities; (4) in some cases the sectaries believed that they
were worshiping Satan; (5) no organized cult of Satanists existed in
the Christian period beyond localities, and on no account was there
ever any widespread Satanist organization or conspiracy; (6) no
reliable historical sources indicate that such organizations
existed; (7) the black mass appears only once in the sources before
the late nineteenth century."
Many police officers ask what to look for during the search of the
scene of suspected satanic activity. The answer is simple: Look for
evidence of a crime. A pentagram is no more criminally significant
than a crucifix unless it corroborates a crime or a criminal
conspiracy. If a victim's description of the location or the
instruments of the crime includes a pentagram, then the pentagram
would be evidence. But the same would be true if the description
included a crucifix. In many cases of alleged satanic ritual abuse,
investigation can find evidence that the claimed offenders are
members only of mainstream churches and are often described as very
religious.
There is no way any one law enforcement officer can become
knowledgeable about all the symbols and rituals of every spiritual
belief system that might become part of a criminal investigation.
The officer needs only to be trained to recognize the possible
investigative significance of such signs, symbols, and rituals.
Knowledgeable religious scholars, academics, and other true experts
in the community can be consulted if a more detailed analysis is
necessary.
Any analysis, however, may have only limited application, especially
to cases involving teenagers, dabblers, and other self-styled
practitioners. The fact is signs, symbols, and rituals can mean
anything that practitioners want them to mean and/or anything that
observers interpret them to mean.
1615
The meaning of symbols can also change over time, place, and
circumstance. Is a swastika spray-painted on a wall an ancient
symbol of prosperity and good fortune, a recent symbol of Nazism and
anti-Semitism, or a current symbol of hate, paranoia, and adolescent
defiance? The peace sign which in the 1960s was a familiar antiwar
symbol is now supposed to be a satanic symbol. Some symbols and
holidays become "satanic" only because the antisatanists say they
are. Then those who want to be "satanists" adopt them, and now you |
Wicca | The-Complete-Uncut-Book-of-Shadows | 1,292 | have "proof" they are satanic.
In spite of what is sometimes said or suggested at law enforcement
training conferences, police have no authority to seize any satanic
or occult paraphernalia they might see during a search. A legally-
valid reason must exist for doing so. It is not the job of law
enforcement to prevent satanists from engaging in noncriminal
teaching, rituals, or other activities.
9. INVESTIGATING MULTIDIMENSIONAL CHILD SEX RINGS.
Multidimensional child sex rings can be among the most difficult,
frustrating, and complex cases that any law enforcement officer will
ever investigate. The investigation of allegations of recent
activity from multiple young children under the age of seven
presents one set of problems and must begin quickly, with interviews
of *all* potential victims being completed as soon as possible. The
investigation of allegations of activity ten or more years earlier
from adult survivors presents other problems and should proceed,
unless victims are at immediate risk, more deliberately, with
gradually-increasing resources as corroborated facts warrant.
In spite of any skepticism, allegations of ritual abuse should be
aggressively and thoroughly investigated, This investigation should
attempt to corroborate the allegations of ritual abuse. but should
*simultaneously* also attempt to identify alternative explanations.
The only debate is over how much investigation is enough. Any law
enforcement agency must be prepared to defend and justify its
actions when scrutinized by the public, the media, elected
officials, or the courts. This does not mean, however, that a law
enforcement agency has an obligation to prove that the alleged
crimes did not occur. This is almost always impossible to do and
investigators should be alert for and avoid this trap.
One major problem in the investigation of multidimensional child sex
rings is the dilemma of recognizing soon enough that you have one.
Investigators must be alert for cases with the potential for the
four basic dynamics: (a) multiple young victims, (b) multiple
offenders, (c) fear as the controlling tactic, and (d) bizarre or
ritualistic activity. The following techniques apply primarily to
the investigation of such multidimensional child sex rings:
1616
-- a. MINIMIZE SATANIC/OCCULT ASPECT.
There are those who claim that one of the major reasons more of
these cases have not been successfully prosecuted is that the
satanic/occult aspect has not been aggressively pursued. One state
has even introduced legislation creating added penalties when
certain crimes are committed as part of a ritual or ceremony. A few
states have passed special ritual crime laws. I strongly disagree
with such an approach. It makes no difference what spiritual belief
system was used to enhance and facilitate or rationalize and justify
criminal behavior. It serves no purpose to "prove" someone is a
satanist. As a matter of fact, if it is alleged that the subject
committed certain criminal acts under the influence of or in order
to conjure up supernatural spirits or forces, this may very well be
the basis for an insanity or diminished capacity defense, or may
damage the intent aspect of a sexually motivated crime. The defense
may very well be more interested in all the "evidence of satanic
activity". Some of the satanic crime "experts" who train law |
Wicca | The-Complete-Uncut-Book-of-Shadows | 1,293 | enforcement wind up working or testifying for the defense in these
cases.
It is best to focus on the crime and all the evidence to corroborate
its commission. Information about local satanic or occult activity
is only of value if it is based on specific law enforcement
intelligence and not on some vague, unsubstantiated generalities
from religious groups. Cases are not solved by decoding signs,
symbols, and dates using undocumented satanic crime "manuals". In
one case a law enforcement agency executing a search warrant seized
only the satanic paraphernalia and left behind the other evidence
that would have corroborated victim statements. Cases are solved by
people- and behavior-oriented investigation. Evidence of satanic or
occult activity may help explain certain aspects of the case, but
even offenders who commit crimes in a spiritual context are usually
motivated by power, sex, and money.
-- b. KEEP INVESTIGATION AND RELIGIOUS BELIEFS SEPARATE.
I believe that one of the biggest mistakes any investigator of these
cases can make is to attribute supernatural powers to the offenders.
During an investigation a good investigator may sometimes be able to
use the beliefs and superstitions of the offenders to his or her
advantage. The reverse happens if the investigator believes that the
offenders possess supernatural powers. Satanic/occult practitioners
have no more power than any other human beings. Law enforcement
officers who believe that the investigation of these cases puts them
in conflict with the supernatural forces of evil should probably not
be assigned to them. The religious beliefs of officers should
provide spiritual strength and support for them but should not
affect the objectivity and professionalism of the investigation.
1617
It is easy to get caught up in these cases and begin to see
"satanism" everywhere. Oversensitization to this perceived threat
may cause an investigator to "see" satanism in a crime when it
really is not there (quasi-satanism). Often the eye sees what the
mind perceives. It may also cause an investigator not to recognize a
staged crime scene deliberately seeded with "satanic clues" in order
to mislead the police (pseudo-satanism). On rare occasions an
overzealous investigator or intervenor may even be tempted to plant
"evidence of satanism" in order to corroborate such allegations and
beliefs. Supervisors need to be alert for and monitor these
reactions in their investigators.
-- c. LISTEN TO THE VICTIMS.
It is not the investigator's duty to believe the victims; it is his
or her job to listen and be an objective fact finder. Interviews of
young children should be done by investigators trained and
experienced in such interviews. Investigators must have direct
access to the alleged victims for interview purposes. Therapists for
an adult survivor sometimes want to act as intermediaries in their
patient's interview. This should be avoided if at all possible.
Adult survivor interviews are often confusing difficult and
extremely time-consuming. The investigator must remember however
that almost anything is possible. Most important the investigator
must remember that there is much middle ground. Just because one
event did happen does not mean that all reported events happened,
and just because one event did not happen does not mean that all
other events did not happen. Do not become such a zealot that you |
Wicca | The-Complete-Uncut-Book-of-Shadows | 1,294 | believe it all nor such a cynic that you believe nothing. Varying
amounts and parts of the allegation may be factual. Attempting to
find evidence of what did happen is the great challenge of these
cases. *All* investigative interaction with victims must be
carefully and thoroughly documented.
-- d. ASSESS AND EVALUATE VICTIM STATEMENTS.
This is the part of the investigative process in child sexual
victimization cases that seems to have been lost. Is the victim
describing events and activities that are consistent with law
enforcement documented criminal behavior, or that are consistent
with distorted media accounts and erroneous public perceptions of
criminal behavior? Investigators should apply the "template of
probability". Accounts of child sexual victimization that are more
like books, television, and movies (e.g. big conspiracies, child sex
slaves, organized pornography rings) and less like documented cases
should be viewed with skepticism but thoroughly investigated.
Consider and investigate all possible explanations of events. It is
the investigator's job, and the information learned will be
invaluable in counteracting the defense attorneys when they raise
the alternative explanations.
1618
For example, an adult survivor's account of ritual victimization
might be explained by any one of at least four possibilities: First,
the allegations may be a fairly accurate account what actually
happened. Second, they may be deliberate lies (malingering), told
for the usual reasons people lie (e.g. money, revenge, jealousy).
Third, they may be deliberate lies (factitious disorder) told for
atypical reasons (e.g. attention, forgiveness). Lies so motivated
are less likely to be recognized by the investigator and more likely
to be rigidly maintained by the liar unless and until confronted
with irrefutable evidence to the contrary. Fourth, the allegations
may be a highly inaccurate account of what actually happened, but
the victim truly believes it (pseudomemory) and therefore is not
lying. A polygraph examination of such a victim would be of limited
value. Other explanations or combinations of these explanations are
also possible. *Only* thorough *investigation* will point to the
correct or most likely explanation.
Investigators cannot rely on therapists or satanic crime experts as
a shortcut to the explanation. In one case, the "experts" confirmed
and validated the account of a female who claimed to be a 15-year-
old deaf-mute kidnapped and held for three years by a satanic cult
and forced to participate in bizarre rituals before recently
escaping. Active investigation, however, determined she was a 27-
year-old woman who could hear and speak, who had not been kidnapped
by anyone, and who had a lengthy history of mental problems and at
least three other similar reports of false victimization. Her
"accurate" accounts of what the "real satanists" do were simply the
result of having read, while in mental hospitals, the same books
that the "experts" had. A therapist may have important insights
about whether an individual was traumatized, but knowing the exact
cause of that trauma is another matter. There have been cases where
investigation has discovered that individuals diagnosed by
therapists as suffering from Post-Vietnam Syndrome were never in
Vietnam or saw no combat.
Conversely, in another case, a law enforcement "expert" on satanic
crime told a therapist that a patient's accounts of satanic murders |
Wicca | The-Complete-Uncut-Book-of-Shadows | 1,295 | in a rural Pacific Northwest town were probably true because the
community was a hotbed of such satanic activity. When the therapist
explained that there was almost no violent crime reported in the
community, the officer explained that that is how you know it is the
satanists. If you knew about the murders or found the bodies, it
would not be satanists. How do you argue with that kind of logic?
The first step in the assessment and evaluation of victim statements
is to determine the disclosure sequence, including how much time has
elapsed since disclosure was first made and the incident was
reported to the police or social services. The longer the delay, the
bigger the potential for problems. The next step is to determine the
number and purpose of *all prior* interviews of the victim
concerning the allegations. The more interviews conducted before the
investigative interview, the larger the potential for problems.
Although there is nothing wrong with admitting shortcomings and
seeking help, law enforcement should never abdicate its control over
the investigative interview. When an investigative interview is
conducted by or with a social worker or therapist using a team
approach, law enforcement must direct the process. Problems can also
be created by interviews conducted by various intervenors *after*
the investigative interview(s).
1619
The investigator must closely and carefully evaluate events in the
victim's life before, during, and after the alleged abuse.
Events to be evaluated *before* the alleged abuse include:
---- (1) Background of victim.
---- (2) Abuse of drugs in home.
---- (3) Pornography in home.
---- (4) Play, television, and VCR habits.
---- (5) Attitudes about sexuality in home.
---- (6) Extent of sex education in home.
---- (7) Activities of siblings.
---- (8) Need or craving for attention.
---- (9) Religious beliefs and training.
---- (10) Childhood fears.
---- (11) Custody/visitation disputes.
---- (12) Victimization of or by family members.
---- (13) Interaction between victims.
Events to be evaluated *during* the alleged abuse include:
---- (1) Use of fear or scare tactics.
---- (2) Degree of trauma.
---- (3) Use of magic deception or trickery.
---- (4) Use of rituals.
---- (5) Use of drugs.
---- (6) Use of pornography.
Events to be evaluated *after* the alleged abuse include:
---- (1) Disclosure sequence.
---- (2) Background of prior interviewers.
---- (3) Background of parents.
---- (4) Co-mingling of victims.
---- (5) Type of therapy received.
-- e. EVALUATE CONTAGION. |
Wicca | The-Complete-Uncut-Book-of-Shadows | 1,296 | Consistent statements obtained from different multiple victims are
powerful pieces of corroborative evidence - that is as long as those
statements were not "contaminated". Investigation must carefully
evaluate both pre- and post-disclosure contagion, and both victim
and intervenor contagion. Are the different victim statements
consistent because they describe common experiences or events, or
because they reflect contamination or urban legends?
The sources of potential contagion are widespread. Victims can
communicate with each other both prior to and after their
disclosures. Intervenors can communicate with each other and with
victims. The team or cell concepts of investigation are attempts to
deal with potential investigator contagion. All the victims are not
interviewed by the same individuals, and interviewers do not
necessarily share information directly with each other. Teams report
to a leader or supervisor who evaluates the information and decides
what other investigators need to know.
1620
Documenting existing contagion and eliminating additional contagion
are crucial to the successful investigation and prosecution of these
cases. There is no way, however, to erase or undo contagion. The
best you can hope for is to identify and evaluate it and attempt to
explain it. Mental health professionals requested to evaluate
suspected victims must be carefully selected. Having a victim
evaluated by one of the self-proclaimed experts on satanic ritual
abuse or by some other overzealous intervenor may result in the
credibility of that victim's testimony being severely damaged.
In order to evaluate the contagion element, investigators must
meticulously and aggressively investigate these cases. The precise
disclosure sequence of the victim must be carefully identified and
documented. Investigators must verify through active investigation
the exact nature and content of each disclosure outcry or statement
made by the victim. Second-hand information about disclosure is not
good enough.
Whenever possible, personal visits should be made to all locations
of alleged abuse and the victim's homes. Events prior to the alleged
abuse must be carefully evaluated. Investigators may have to view
television programs, films, and videotapes seen by the victims. It
may be necessary to conduct a background investigation and
evaluation of everyone, both professional and nonprofessional, who
interviewed the victims about the allegations prior to and after the
investigative interview(s). Investigators must be familiar with the
information about ritual abuse of children being disseminated in
magazines, books, television programs, videotapes, and conferences.
Every possible way that a victim could have learned about the
details of the abuse must be explored if for no other reason than to
eliminate them and counter the defense's arguments.
There may, however, be validity to these contagion factors. *They
may explain some of the "unbelievable" aspects of the case and
result in the successful prosecution of the substance of the case.*
Consistency of statements becomes more significant if contagion is
identified or disproved by independent investigation. The easier
cases are the ones where there is a single, identifiable source of
contagion. Most cases, however, seem to involve multiple contagion
factors. |
Wicca | The-Complete-Uncut-Book-of-Shadows | 1,297 | Munchausen Syndrome and Munchausen Syndrome by Proxy are complex and
controversial issues in these cases. No attempt will be made to
discuss them in detail, but they are documented facts (Rosenberg,
1987). Most of the literature about them focuses on their
manifestation in the medical setting as false or self-inflicted
illness or injury. They are also manifested in the criminal justice
setting as false or self-inflicted crime victimization. If parents
would poison their children to prove an illness, they might sexually
abuse their children to prove a crime. "Victims" have been known to
destroy property, manufacture evidence, and mutilate themselves in
order to convince others of their victimization. The motivation is
psychological gain (i.e. attention, forgiveness, etc.) and not
necessarily money, jealousy, or revenge. These are the unpopular,
but documented, realities of the world. Recognizing their existence
does not mean that child sexual abuse and sexual assault are not
real and serious problems.
1621
-- f. ESTABLISH COMMUNICATION WITH PARENTS.
The importance and difficulty of this technique in extrafamilial
cases involving young children cannot be overemphasized. An
investigator must maintain ongoing communication with the parents of
victims in these abuse cases. Not all parents react the same way to
the alleged abuse of their children. Some are very supportive and
cooperative. Others overreact and some even deny the victimization.
Sometimes there is animosity and mistrust among parents with
different reactions. Once the parents lose faith in the police or
prosecutor and begin to interrogate their own children and conduct
their own investigation, the case may be lost forever. Parents from
one case communicate the results of their "investigation" with each
other, and some have even contacted the parents in other cases. Such
parental activity is an obvious source of potential contamination.
Parents must be made to understand that their children's credibility
will be jeopardized when and if the information obtained turns out
to be unsubstantiated or false. To minimize this problem, within the
limits of the law and without jeopardizing investigative techniques,
parents must be told on a regular basis how the case is progressing.
Parents can also be assigned constructive things to do (e.g.
lobbying for new legislation, working on awareness and prevention
programs) in order to channel their energy, concern, and "guilt".
-- g. DEVELOP A CONTINGENCY PLAN.
If a department waits until actually confronted with a case before a
response is developed, it may be too late. In cases involving
ongoing abuse of children, departments must respond quickly, and
this requires advanced planning. There are added problems for small-
to medium-sized departments with limited personnel and resources.
Effective investigation of these cases requires planning,
identification of resources, and, in many cases, mutual aid
agreements between agencies. The U.S. Department of Defense has
conducted specialized training and has developed such a plan for
child sex ring cases involving military facilities and personnel.
Once a case is contaminated and out of control, I have little advice
on how to salvage what may once have been a prosecutable criminal
violation. A few of these cases have even been lost on appeal after
a conviction because of contamination problems. |
Wicca | The-Complete-Uncut-Book-of-Shadows | 1,298 | -- h. MULTIDISCIPLINARY TASK FORCES.
Sergeant Beth Dickinson, Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department,
was the chairperson of the Multi-Victim, Multi-Suspect Child Sexual
Abuse Subcommittee. Sergeant Dickinson states (personal
communication, Nov. 1989):
"One of the biggest obstacles for investigators to overcome is the
reluctance of law enforcement administrators to commit sufficient
resources early on to an investigation that has the potential to be
a multidimensional child sex ring. It is important to get in and get
on top of the investigation in a timely manner - to get it
investigated in a timely manner in order to assess the risk to
children and to avoid hysteria, media sensationalism, and cross-
contamination of information. The team approach reduces stress on
individual investigators, allowing for peer support and minimizing
feelings of being overwhelmed."
1622
The team approach and working together does not mean, however, that
each discipline forgets its role and starts doing the other's job.
-- i. SUMMARY.
The investigation of child sex rings can be difficult and time
consuming. The likelihood, however, of a great deal of corroborative
evidence in a multivictim/multioffender case increases the chances
of a successful prosecution if the crime occurred. Because there is
still so much we do not know or understand about the dynamics of
multidimensional child sex rings, investigative techniques are less
certain. Each new case must be carefully evaluated in order to
improve investigative procedures.
Because mental health professionals seem to be unable to determine,
with any degree of certainty, the accuracy of victim statements in
these cases, law enforcement must proceed using the corroboration
process. If some of what the victim describes is accurate, some
misperceived, some distorted, and some contaminated, what is the
jury supposed to believe? Until mental health professionals can come
up with better answers, the jury should be asked to believe what the
*investigation* can corroborate. Even if only a portion of what
these victims allege is factual, that may still constitute
significant criminal activity.
10. CONCLUSION.
There are many possible alternative answers to the question of why
victims are alleging things that don't seem to be true. The first
step in finding those answers is to admit the possibility that some
of what the victims describe may not have happened. Some experts
seem unwilling to even consider this. Most of these victims are also
probably not lying and have come to believe that which they are
alleging actually happened. There are alternative explanations for
why people who never met each other can tell the same story.
I believe that there is a middle ground - a continuum of possible
activity. Some of what the victims allege may be true and accurate,
some may be misperceived or distorted, some may be screened or
symbolic, and some may be "contaminated" or false. The problem and
challenge, especially for law enforcement, is to determine which is
which. This can only be done through active investigation. I believe |
Wicca | The-Complete-Uncut-Book-of-Shadows | 1,299 | that the majority of victims alleging "ritual" abuse are in fact
victims of some form of abuse or trauma. That abuse or trauma may or
may not be criminal in nature. After a lengthy discussion about
various alternative explanations and the continuum of possible
activity, one mother told me that for the first time since the
victimization of her young son she felt a little better. She had
thought her only choices were that either her son was a pathological
liar or, on the other hand, she lived in a community controlled by
satanists.
Law enforcement has the obvious problem of attempting to determine
what actually happened for criminal justice purposes. Therapists,
however, might also be interested in what really happened in order
to properly evaluate and treat their patients. How and when to
confront patients with skepticism is a difficult and sensitive
problem for therapists.
1623
Any professional evaluating victims' allegations of "ritual" abuse
cannot ignore or routinely dismiss the lack of physical evidence (no
bodies or physical evidence left by violent murders); the difficulty
in successfully committing a large-scale conspiracy crime (the more
people involved in any crime conspiracy, the harder it is to get
away with it); and human nature (intragroup conflicts resulting in
individual self-serving disclosures are likely to occur in any group
involved in organized kidnapping, baby breeding, and human
sacrifice). If and when members of a destructive cult commit
murders, they are bound to make mistakes, leave evidence, and
eventually make admissions in order to brag about their crimes or to
reduce their legal liability. The discovery of the murders in
Matamoros, Mexico in 1989 and the results of the subsequent
investigation are good examples of these dynamics.
Overzealous intervenors must accept the fact that some of their
well-intentioned activity is contaminating and damaging the
prosecutive potential of the cases where criminal acts did occur. We
must all (i.e., the media, churches, therapists, victim advocates,
law enforcement, and the general public) ask ourselves if we have
created an environment where victims are rewarded, listened to,
comforted, and forgiven in direct proportion to the severity of
their abuse. Are we encouraging needy or traumatized individuals to
tell more and more outrageous tales of their victimization? Are we
making up for centuries of denial by now blindly accepting any
allegation of child abuse no matter how absurd or unlikely? Are we
increasing the likelihood that rebellious, antisocial, or attention-
seeking individuals will gravitate toward "satanism" by publicizing
it and overreacting to it? The overreaction to the problem can be
worse than the problem.
The amount of "ritual" child abuse going on in this country depends
on how you define the term. One documented example of what I might
call "ritual" child abuse was the horror chronicled in the book _A
Death in White Bear Lake_ (Siegal, 1990). The abuse in this case,
however, had little to do with anyone's spiritual belief system.
There are many children in the United States who, starting early in
their lives, are severely psychologically, physically, and sexually
traumatized by angry, sadistic parents or other adults. Such abuse,
however, is not perpetrated only or primarily by satanists. The
statistical odds are that such abusers are members of mainstream
religions. If 99.9% of satanists and 0.1% of Christians abuse |
Wicca | The-Complete-Uncut-Book-of-Shadows | 1,300 | children as part of their spiritual belief system, that still means
that the vast majority of children so abused were abused by
Christians.
Until hard evidence is obtained and corroborated, the public should
not be frightened into believing that babies are being bred and
eaten, that 50,000 missing children are being murdered in human
sacrifices, or that satanists are taking over America's day care
centers or institutions. No one can prove with absolute certainty
that such activity has *not* occurred. The burden of proof, however,
as it would be in a criminal prosecution, is on those who claim that
it has occurred.
1624
The explanation that the satanists are too organized and law
enforcement is too incompetent only goes so far in explaining the
lack of evidence. For at least eight years American law enforcement
has been aggressively investigating the allegations of victims of
ritual abuse. There is little or no evidence for the portion of
their allegations that deals with large-scale baby breeding, human
sacrifice, and organized satanic conspiracies. Now it is up to
mental health professionals, not law enforcement, to explain why
victims are alleging things that don't seem to have happened.
Professionals in this field must accept the fact that there is still
much we do not know about the sexual victimization of children, and
that this area desperately needs study and research by rational,
objective social scientists.
If the guilty are to be successfully prosecuted, if the innocent are
to be exonerated, and if the victims are to be protected and
treated, better methods to evaluate and explain allegations of
"ritual" child abuse must be developed or identified. Until this is
done, the controversy will continue to cast a shadow over and fuel
the backlash against the validity and reality of child sexual abuse.
XI. REFERENCES.
American Psychiatric Association, _Diagnostic and Statistical Manual
of Mental Disorders_ (3rd Ed., Rev.). Washington, DC: 1987.
Breiner, S.J., _Slaughter of the Innocents: Child Abuse Through the
Ages and Today_. New York: Plenum Press, 1990.
Brown, R., _Prepare for War_. Chino, CA: Chick Publications, 1987.
Brunvand, J.H., _The Vanishing Hitchhiker_. New York: Norton, 1981.
Harrington, Walt, "The Devil in Anton LaVey". Washington, D.C.: _The
Washington Post Magazine_, February 23, 1986, pages #6-17.
Lanning, K.V., _Child Molesters: A Behavioral Analysis_ (2nd Ed.).
Washington, D.C.: National Center for Missing and Exploited
Children, 1987.
Lanning, K.V. (1989). Child sex rings: A behavioral analysis.
Washington, DC: National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.
LaVey, Anton, _The Satanic Bible_. New York: Avon Books, 1969.
Mayer, R.S., _Satan's Children_. New York: Putnam, 1991. |
Wicca | The-Complete-Uncut-Book-of-Shadows | 1,301 | Michigan Department of State Police, _Occult Survey_. East Lansing,
Michigan, 1990.
_National Coalition on Television Violence (NCTV) News_, June-
October 1988, page #3.
_National Incidence Studies on Missing, Abducted, Runaway, and
Thrownaway Children in America_. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department
of Justice, 1990.
Prattanis, A., "Hidden messages", _Wellness Letter_. Berkeley,
California: University of California, January 1991, pages #1-2.
1625
Rosenberg, D.A., "Web of Deceit: A Literature Review of Munchausen
Syndrome by Proxy", _Child Abuse and Neglect_ #2, 1987, pages #547-
563.
Rush, E., _The Best Kept Secret: Sexual Abuse of Children_. New
York: McGraw-Hill, 1980.
Smith, M., & Pazder, L., _Michelle Remembers_. New York: Congdon and
Lattis, 1980.
Siegal, B., _A Death in White Bear Lake_. New York: Bantam, 1990.
"Stranger-Abduction Homicides of Children", _Juvenile Justice
Bulletin_. Washington, D.C.: U. S. Department of Justice, 1989.
Stratford. L., _Satan's Underground_. Eugene, Oregon: Harvest House,
1988.
Terr, L., _Too Scared to Cry_. New York: Harper & Row, 1990.
Timnik, L., "The Times Poll", _Los Angeles Times_, August 25-26,
1985.
Virginia Crime Commission Task Force, _Final Report of the Task
Force Studying Ritual Crime_. Richmond, Virginia.
12. SUGGESTED READING.
-- a. Cooper, John Charles, _The Black Mask: Satanism in America
Today_. Old Tappen, N.J.: Fleming H. Revell Company, 1990.
Probably the best of the large number of books available primarily
in Christian bookstores and written from the Christian perspective.
This one, however, is written without the hysteria and
sensationalism of most. Recommended for investigators who want
information from this perspective.
-- b. Hicks, Robert D., _In Pursuit of Satan: The Police and the
Occult_. Buffalo, NY: Prometheus Books, 1991.
Undoubtedly the best book written to date on the topic of satanism
and the occult from the law enforcement perspective. Robert D. Hicks
is a former police officer who is currently employed as a criminal
justice analyst for the state of Virginia. Must reading for any
criminal justice professional involved in this issue. Unfortunately, |
Wicca | The-Complete-Uncut-Book-of-Shadows | 1,302 | in the chapter on "Satanic Abuse of Children", the author appears to
have been overly influenced by extreme skeptics with minimal or
questionable credentials in this area. The book is easy to read,
logical, and highly recommended.
1626
-- c. Richardson, James T.; Best, Joel; & Bromley, David G.; Eds,
_The Satanism Scare_. NY: Aldine de Gruyter, 1991.
The best book now available on the current controversy over satanism
written from the academic perspective, The editors and many of the
chapter authors are college professors and have written an
objective, well-researched book. One of the great strengths of this
book is the fact that the editors address a variety of the
controversial issues from a variety of disciplines (i.e., sociology,
history, folklore, anthropology, criminal justice). Because of its
academic perspective it is sometimes harder to read but is well
worth the effort. The chapter on "Law Enforcement and the Satanic
Crime Connection" contains the results of a survey of "Cult Cops"
and is must reading for law enforcement officers. The chapter on
"Satanism and Child Molestation: Constructing the Ritual Abuse
Scare" was written, however, by a free-lance journalist who seems to
take the position that these cases involve little or no real child
abuse.
-- d. Terr, Lenore, _Too Scared to Cry: Psychic Trauma in
Childhood_. New York: Harper and Row, 1990.
An excellent book written by a psychiatrist that provides important
insights into the nature and recallability of early psychic trauma.
For me, Dr. Terr's research and findings in the infamous Chowchilla
kidnapping case shed considerable light on the "ritual" abuse
controversy.
1627
PERSECUTION: ANCIENT AND MODERN
This is the text of a talk entitled PERSECUTION: ANCIENT AND MODERN.
Written by Julia Phillips, it was presented by Julia and Matthew
Sandow at the Wiccan Conference, Canberra, September 1992, and was
illustrated with slides of medieval woodcuts, paintings and documents.
To begin, an example of religious persecution:
I am told that, moved by some foolish urge, they consecrate and
worship the head of a donkey, that most abject of all animals. This
is a cult worthy of the customs from which it sprang! Others say that
they reverence the genitals of the presiding priest himself, and adore
them as though they were their father's... As for the initiation of
new members, the details are as disgusting as they are well-known. A
child, covered in dough to deceive the unwary, is set before the
would-be novice. The novice stabs the child to death with invisible
blows; indeed, he himself, deceived by the coating of dough, thinks
his stabs harmless. Then - it's horrible! - they hungrily drink the
child's blood, and compete with one another as they divide his limbs.
Through this victim they are bound together; and the fact that they
all share the knowledge of the crime pledges them all to silence. Such |
Wicca | The-Complete-Uncut-Book-of-Shadows | 1,303 | holy rites are more disgraceful than sacrilege. It is well-known too
what happens at their feasts.... On the feast day they forgather with
all their children, sisters, mothers, people of either sex and all
ages. When the company is all aglow from feasting, and impure lust has
been set afire by drunkenness, pieces of meat are thrown to a dog
fastened to a lamp. The lamp, which would have been a betraying
witness, is overturned and goes out. Now, in the dark so favourable to
shameless behaviour, they twine the bonds of unnameable passion, as
chance decides. And so all alike are incestuous, if not always in
deed, at least by complicity; for everything that is performed by one
of them corresponds to the wishes of them all... Precisely the secrecy
of this evil religion proves that all these things, or practically
all, are true. (Minucius Felix: Octavius)
Although the language is not modern, the description of the practices
could have come straight from last week's "Picture" magazine! And this
is the point that I wish to make; the facts of persecution have not
changed in almost 2,000 years, for that piece was written in the 2nd
century AD. Moreover, the religion it condemns is Christianity, not
Paganism, for Paganism at that time was the dominant state religion.
In fact the author is a Christian apologist, and is attempting to
rebuke what he sees as unfair criticism, by parodying the offences
which Pagans accuse Christians of perpetrating.
Persecution of religious minorities is quite simply that; it is
persecution by a large body of people - generally those who represent
"society" - against a smaller one; generally comprised of those who
have either rejected, or for one reason or another, fall outside of
the social "norm".
1628
Let us look at the medieval picture of the witch; society's scapegoat
par excellence: here we see her - for it is most often "her" - an old,
ugly woman, most likely poor, and most likely on the fringe of the
society in which she lives. This is the stereotype of the witch. We
know it is false; we know it has no basis in fact; however, it became
an integral part of the mindset of medieval Europe, and through fairy
tales, drama and literature, and more latterly, cinema, the media and
television, it has remained an integral image in modern society. One
has only to look to Roald Dahl's "Witches", or Frank Baum's "Wizard of
Oz", for proof of this. It came as a surprise to me to learn that
"The Wizard of Oz" was in fact a deliberate propaganda exercise,
released just at the beginning of World War II. If you remember, the
magic words are: "There's no place like home"; and where was "home"?
Kansas! that epitome of the WASP culture.
When looking at medieval persecution of heresy, the waters are muddied
by the many different causes and effects which permeate the whole
matter. There was no single cause, and no single victim. It is a fact
that far more women than men were persecuted; there are a number of
reasons for this, not least that throughout this period, Europe was
engaged in one war after another - most notably The Crusades - and men
were in rather short supply. There were also several epidemics of the
plague, not to mention other diseases such as dysentery and cholera,
which in the Middle Ages were sure killers. Another reason is the
rampant misogyny which, begun with the earliest Christians, has
permeated their theology ever since:
"What else is woman but a foe to friendship, an
inescapable punishment, a necessary evil, a nat-
ural temptation, a desirable calamity, a domestic |
Wicca | The-Complete-Uncut-Book-of-Shadows | 1,304 | danger, a delectable detriment, an evil of nature,
painted in fair colours... The word woman is used
to mean the lust of the flesh, as it is said: I
have found a woman more bitter than death, and a
good woman more subject to carnal lust... [Women]
are more credulous; and since the chief aim of the
devil is to corrupt faith, therefore he rather
attacks them [than men]... Women are naturally
more impressionable... They have slippery tongues,
and are unable to conceal from their fellow-women
those things which by evil arts they know....
Women are intellectually like children... She is
more carnal than a man, as is clear from her many
carnal abominations... She is an imperfect animal,
she always deceives.... Therefore a wicked woman
is by her nature quicker to waver in her faith,
and consequently quicker to abjure the faith,
which is the root of witchcraft.... Just as th-
rough the first defect in their intelligence they
are more prone to abjure the faith; so through
their second defect of inordinate affections and
passions they search for, brood over, and inflict
various vengeances, either by witchcraft or by
some other means.... Women also have weak mem-
ories; and it is a natural vice in them not to be
disciplined, but to follow their own impulses
without any sense of what is due... She is a liar
by nature... (Malleus Maleficarum, edited by
Jeffrey Russell).
1629
It is easy to comprehend the persecution of women when one is con-
fronted with such obvious hatred and fear of the sex. But perhaps the
most powerful impetus of the witch trials era is one which is subtly -
and sometimes not so subtly! - present in all the trials; that of a
pursuit of power or wealth. For an example we can look to Gilles de
Rais, who as the wealthiest man in Europe (as well as Joan of Arc's
military Captain), was a prime victim for a charge of heresy. Found
guilty, his lands, properties and wealth were confiscated by his
accusers. Curiously though he was buried on consecrated ground in the
Churchyard; normally forbidden to heretics. In "The Encyclopaedia of
Witchcraft and Demonology", Russell Hope Robbins says:
"At first, Gilles dismissed their accusations as
"frivolous and lacking credit", but so certain
were the principals of finding him guilty that on
September 3, fifteen days before the trial began,
the Duke disposed of his anticipated share of the
Rais lands. Under these circumstances, it is
difficult to place any credence in the evidence
against him, among the most fantastic and obscene
presented in this Encyclopaedia."
Charges included the now obligatory conjurations of devils and demons
- Satan, Beelzebub, Orion and Belial are mentioned by name - and the
practice of that dreadful art: geomancy! And of course the charges
included human sacrifice and paedophilia; no self-respecting Christian
could exclude these crimes from charges against a confirmed heretic!
There were not many who had the wealth of Gilles de Rais, but in |
Wicca | The-Complete-Uncut-Book-of-Shadows | 1,305 | a small parish, even the meanest property was eagerly seized, and
the witch hunts became a profitable business. The victims were even
required to pay for the fuel upon which they were burnt. But the laws
were not consistent throughout Europe, and in some areas, if the
victim confessed, then his or her property could not be confiscated,
but was inherited by the next of kin. However, many of these victims
were in fact devout Christians, who would be loath to confess to
heresy just so that their family could inherit their land! Of course
many were tortured to the point were they would admit to being any-
thing demanded of them, although technically, they were only allowed
to be tortured once. This is why you will read in trials records that
the torture was "continued", which, of course, gets round the problem
of the poor torturer missing out on his lunch and dinner.
Although most heretics were women, a great many men were also taken,
tortured, and put to death. This is a letter from one such victim at
the notorious Bamberg in Germany; a poignant epitaph to one of Eur-
ope's most hideous crimes:
Many hundred thousand good-nights, dearly beloved
daughter Veronica. Innocent have I come into pris-
on, innocent have I been tortured, innocent must I
die. For whoever comes into the witch prison must
become a witch or be tortured until he invents
something out of his head - and God pity him -
bethinks him of something.
I said: "I have never renounced God, and will
never do it - God graciously keep me from it. I'll
rather bear whatever I must."
1630
And then came also - God in highest heaven have
mercy - the executioner, and put the thumbscrews
on me, both hands bound together, so that the
blood spurted from the nails and everywhere,
so that for four weeks I could not use my hands,
as you can see from my writing. Thereafter they
stripped me, bound my hands behind me, and drew me
up on the ladder. Then I thought heaven and earth
were at an end. Eight times did they draw me up
and let me fall again, so that I suffered terrible
agony.
All this happened on Friday June 30th and with
God's help I had to bear the torture. When at last
the executioner led me back into the cell, he said
to me: "Sir, I beg you, for God's sake, confess
something, whether it be true or not. Invent some-
thing, for you cannot bear the torture which you
will be put to; and, even if you bear it all, yet
you will not escape, not even if you were an earl,
but one torture will follow another until you say
you are a witch."
The author of this letter, Johannes Junius, did indeed confess to
being a witch, and in August of 1628, was burned at the stake. He
managed to send his final letter to his daughter, which ended by
saying:
Dear child, keep this letter secret, so that peo- |
Wicca | The-Complete-Uncut-Book-of-Shadows | 1,306 | ple do not find it, else I shall be tortured most
piteously and the jailers will be beheaded. So
strictly is it forbidden... Dear child, pay this
man a thaler... I have taken several days to write
this - my hands are both crippled. I am in a sad
plight. Good night, for your father Johannes Jun-
ius will never see you more.
This letter describes more accurately than any historical treatise
just how uncompromising the ecclesiastical courts were in their
hunt for heretics. Witches, of course, were only one kind of heretic.
I mentioned earlier that there are many causes, and many effects, to
the period which is commonly referred to as "The Burning Times", or
the Great Witch Hunt. It is often assumed by many people today that
Christianity has been the dominant western religion for 2,000 years.
This is not so. The death of Christ, which probably occurred in the
year AD 30, may have heralded the new religion, but there was cert-
ainly not an immediate conversion of the world to Christianity. Parts
of Scandinavia remained wholly Pagan until as late as the 12th cen-
tury. The British Isles and mainland Europe were converted to Chris-
tianity over a lengthy period covering mainly the 4th to 9th cen-
turies. Some parts have never truly been converted, and with the
opening up of the Eastern bloc countries, we are now re-discovering a
wealth of Pagan tradition and folklore that has been hidden for
hundreds of years: initially from the invading Christian mission-
aries, and then later from the various communist regimes.
1631
As the new religion of Christianity began to spread, many different
sects and cults appeared within its ranks. The Pope in Rome was the
nominal head, but rarely was the Pope a person of spiritual purity and
ascetic tastes; the political scene in Rome has always been cut-throat
and devious. A truly spiritual person would have lasted approximately
two seconds amongst the clever and calculating politicians who in-
fested the Papal See! The enormous wealth and power controlled by the
Pope was an incentive to the most grasping and corrupt of men at that
time to aspire to the Papacy. Pope Alexander VI (1492) is a superb ex-
ample of the type who made it to Europe's foremost political seat of
power: otherwise known as Rodrigo Borgia; father (yes, we all know
Catholics practise celibacy!) of Cesare, Juan, Lucrezia and Jofre,
and supreme commander of a private army of which any modern dictator
would be proud.
Because of their sumptuous lifestyle, their obvious disregard and
contempt for vows of poverty and chastity, and their abuse of the
spiritual authority invested in them, many spiritually inclined
Christians rejected the Catholic Church, and instead followed
leaders who lived simple, ascetic lives in accordance with the
teachings of Christ. Some of these sects became very popular,
and were soon perceived by the Pope as a threat to his status and
power. It has been suggested that the witch trials were a direct
result from the persecution of these sects. Rather than incorporate a
discussion of the different sects within this talk, handouts are
available which very briefly describe the main ones.
The main thrust was against the Cathars or Albigensians, and the
Waldensians (Vaudois), and it was their persecution which gave rise to
the legal machinery which developed into the Inquisition, and the
so-called witch hunts. It began with Pope Lucius III and the emperor, |
Wicca | The-Complete-Uncut-Book-of-Shadows | 1,307 | Frederick I Barbarossa; they met at Verona in 1184, and issued the
decree "Ad abolendam", which excommunicated sects like the Cathars and
Waldensians, and laid down the procedures for ecclesiastical trial,
after which the accused would be handed over to the secular author-
ities for punishment. The punishment decreed was confiscation of
property, exile, or death. By the 12th century, burning had already
become the established means of execution for heretics, and so this
became enshrined in law.
At the beginning of the 13th century, the Dominican Order of Friars
was established, and its members were instructed by the Pope to
investigate and prosecute heresy. From this simple beginning grew the
awesome machinery of the Inquisition, which although never aimed
particularly at witches, became a byword for terror in parts of
Europe.
As you can see, the motives for the heresy persecutions were not to
stamp out Paganism - although that was certainly a by-product - but
to remove the threat of any competition to the power of the Church
(and thus to the Pope), in Rome. And the greatest threat came from
other "Christian" sects, not the Pagans. The change from an accusatory
to an inquisitorial process became established, and the legal mach-
inery which allowed - indeed encouraged - individual psychopaths and
religious maniacs to persecute at will, was in place.
1632
Have you got a neighbour who annoys you? plays loud music, or who
keeps their smelly refuse next to your garden fence? Now your recourse
is to the local council or the police; in the Middle Ages, you simply
denounced the offender as a witch or heretic, and let the Church deal
with them for you. Not only did it cost you nothing, if you were
lucky, you might also inherit their property!
For once you were taken as a witch or a heretic, there was little
chance of escape. Certainly some victims were pardoned and released,
but the vast majority were not so lucky. When you consider the style
of questioning, this is not surprising:
1 How long have you been a witch?
2 Why did you become a witch?
3 How did you become a witch and what happened on that occasion?
4 Who is the one you chose to be your incubus? What was his name?
5 What was the name of your master among the evil demons?
6 What was the oath you were forced to render to him?
21 What animals have you bewitched to sickness and death, and
why did you commit such acts?
22 Who are your accomplices in evil...?
24 What is the ointment with which you rub your broomstick
made of...?
This set of questions came from Lorraine, and was used consistently
throughout the three centuries of the main persecutions. Bearing in |
Wicca | The-Complete-Uncut-Book-of-Shadows | 1,308 | mind that the accused HAD to answer - no answer at all, or a denial,
was tantamount to guilt - you can see how easily the composite picture
of the witch evolved. As Rossell Hope Robbins says: "The confessions
of witches authenticated the experts, and the denunciations ensured a
continuing supply of victims. Throughout France and Germany this
procedure became standardised; repeated year after year, in time it
built up a huge mass of "evidence", all duly authorised, from the
mouths of the accused. On these confessions, later demonologists based
their compendiums and so formulated the classic conceptions of witchc-
raft, which never existed save in their own minds."
As the new religion of Christianity began to spread, many different
sects and cults appeared within its ranks. The Pope in Rome was the
nominal head, but rarely was the Pope a person of spiritual purity and
ascetic tastes; the political scene in Rome has always been cut-throat
and devious. A truly spiritual person would have lasted approximately
two seconds amongst the clever and calculating politicians who in-
fested the Papal See! The enormous wealth and power controlled by the
Pope was an incentive to the most grasping and corrupt of men at that
time to aspire to the Papacy. Pope Alexander VI (1492) is a superb ex-
ample of the type who made it to Europe's foremost political seat of
power: otherwise known as Rodrigo Borgia; father (yes, we all know
Catholics practise celibacy!) of Cesare, Juan, Lucrezia and Jofre,
and supreme commander of a private army of which any modern dictator
would be proud.
1633
It is also rather disturbing to discover just how important individual
religious maniacs appear to have been in the persecutions. Rather like
today, where a crusading tele-journalist, or evangelical vicar, can
cause untold harm to innocent people. Without exception, these accus-
ations are by those with an unhealthy mania against anyone whose
theology or practices differ from their own. In the words of one
modern evangelist: "if you're not fighting and winning, you're los-
ing.".
Conrad of Marburg, described by Norman Cohn as, "a blind fanatic", was
a severe and formidable persecutor. As confessor to the young 21
year-old Countess of Thuringia, he would trick her into "some trivial
and unwitting disobedience, and then have her and her maids flogged so
severely that the scars were visible weeks later". (Cohn). Conrad
became Germany's first official Inquisitor, and his zeal in denouncing
heretics was unsurpassed. Another Conrad, a lay-Dominican Friar, and
his sidekick Johannes, were also vigorous in denouncing heretics. As
they moved from village to village, they claimed to be able to iden-
tify a heretic by his or her appearance, based on nothing but their
own intuition. They were responsible for the burnings of many people,
and said, "we would gladly burn a hundred if just one among them were
guilty". (Annales Wormantiensis).
Their comment about appearance is an important one; as we saw earlier,
the stereotype of the witch hasn't changed much in hundreds of years.
We know it is false; we know that it exists only in the imagination of
the persecutors, and yet how powerful and enduring this stereotype has
proven to be.
If we think about this stereotype, what images do we conjure up? An
old woman - occasionally an old man; or perhaps a young and alluring
temptress? Flying through the air on a broomstick; worshipping a
devil, often in the form of a goat; trampling upon the sacred symbols
of Christianity; and of course our old friend the Sabbat, with its |
Wicca | The-Complete-Uncut-Book-of-Shadows | 1,309 | practices of sexual license, debauchery, drunkenness and ritual
murder; the latter often of children.
But persecution does not restrict itself to witches; the similarities
between this stereotype and that of the Jew are obvious: Jews have
been persecuted throughout their history, but it is interesting to
compare some aspects of their persecution with that of witches.
In the 12th century, the word "Synagogue" was used for the first time
to describe the meeting place of heretics. Professor Russell says
that: "This usage, obviously designed to spite the Jews, was common
throughout the Middle Ages, being replaced only towards the end of the
15th century by the equally anti-Jewish term 'sabbat'.
The Encyclopaedia Britannica says on the subject of Jewish persecution
that: "To reinforce racial and religious prejudice, the preposterous
ritual murder accusation became common from the 12th century." The
third and fourth Lateran Councils had already prohibited gentiles from
entering Jewish service, or being employed by Jews, and further
ordered that Jews should wear a distinctive badge, and live only in
Jewish settlement areas. This of course was the beginning of the
ghetto.
1634
As we have seen though, the ritual murder accusation was already over
a thousand years old, before it was used against either the Jews or
the heretics and witches. Most people know of the expulsion of Jews
from Spain in the 15th century, but perhaps not so commonly known is
that for about 200 years prior to the expulsion, the Jews had been
massacred and persecuted. Indeed, it was against the Jews that the
infamous Spanish Inquisition of the 15th century was directed. The
persecution of Jews in 20th century Europe is too well-known to
require further comment here, but perhaps a few comments about its
encouragement would be useful.
We are discussing persecution in this talk, and how persecution is
manifested. Throughout history, the written word has been invaluable
as a means of spreading propaganda. Even in the Middle Ages the
"crimes" of the heretic were publicised by records of trials, where
the "confessions" were made known to the general public. The infamous
"Malleus Maleficarum" became highly influential in Europe mainly
because its publication coincided with the introduction of mass
printing. It had little effect in England because no English transla-
tion was available until 1928. This fact alone demonstrates the power
of the written word.
In medieval Europe, a pamphlet describing the crimes of a convicted
heretic would be pinned to a post in the town square, and those who
could not read had it read to them. In 20th century Europe, pamphlets
were still used by one group to spread lies about another. As we
approach the 21st century, this technique is still used with very
great success; for the persecutor needs to make only a glancing nod to
the truth, and the lies which are published (or more frequently broad-
cast) are far more scandalous than the reality!
An example: soon after the launch of the Pagan Alliance, Sydney radio
2MMM broadcasted a news story about the sexual abuse of children by
occultists and witches. Matthew responded immediately, and provided
the station with copy documents and news clippings from Britain,
proving the story to be without foundation, and a scheme by the Chris- |
Wicca | The-Complete-Uncut-Book-of-Shadows | 1,310 | tian fundamentalists to discredit Pagans. The news editor and chief
journalist were impressed by the material, and agreed that they had
been used by the fundies. However, they refused to broadcast a retrac-
tion because it would be "old news". So, the damage had been done,
and the fundamentalists achieved their objective.
This technique was used with very great effect in the early part of
the 20th century, with the circulation of a pamphlet called, "The
Protocols of the Elders of Zion". This purported to be, "an account
of the World Congress of Jewry held in Basel, Switzerland in 1897,
during which a conspiracy was planned by the international Jewish
movement and the Freemasons to achieve world domination." (M Howard).
German nationalists made very great use of the Protocols, which it
was claimed were "smuggled out of Switzerland by a Russian journalist
who had placed the documents in the safe keeping of the Rising Sun
Masonic Lodge in Frankfurt." (ibid) They were widely disseminated, and
writing in "Mein Kampf", Hitler "denounced the Jews as agents of an
international conspiracy devoted to world domination...". (ibid) We
all know what happened next.
1635
The point is that although the Protocols were confirmed as a fraud in
1921, they continued to have an effect, and once published, could not
effectively be retracted. This is the aim of today's fundamentalist
Christian, who believes that if he or she throws enough dirt at their
opponents (basically anyone who does not agree with their uncomprom-
ising version of Christianity), then some will stick, and the battle
will be won. This is the strategy which has been used for thousands of
years to persecute minorities, and has always been successful. The
formula is simple: discover what most people fear most, and then
accuse your enemies of practising it. It is an interesting comment on
humanity that those things which occur time and time again are consis-
tent: conspiracy, buggery, paedophilia, sacrifice (human and animal)
sexual license, drunkenness and feasting. More specific charges
relating to a pact with a devil or desecrating sacred objects are
additions to these core accusations.
A further interesting aspect is that many of the accusations were
made by children; interesting parallels can be drawn to modern accusa-
tions by children "encouraged" to reveal information about occultism
and witches. It has been widely recorded that Hitler's "Youth Army"
required children to spy upon their parents, and report any indiscre-
tions; modern social workers use an identical process for identifying
Pagan parents - children are asked about what their parents do, and
leading questions are commonly used. And of course there have always
been children who, for one reason or another, tell the most fantastic
tales. It is unlikely today that the victims of these child fantasies
will be burned at the stake, but there have been families torn apart,
children placed in detention centres, and untold misery for parents
and children alike, based upon no more than the verbal report of a
child.
Commentators on this aspect of persecution have suggested that the
children wish to be the centre of attention; or to direct punishment
for their own misdeeds elsewhere; or are simply reacting in a hyperac-
tive manner to the onset of puberty. Whatever the cause, the effects
are dramatic, and have caused severe suffering, and in the middle
ages, loss of life, on many occasions. |
Wicca | The-Complete-Uncut-Book-of-Shadows | 1,311 | In medieval England, there were many occasions where children's "evid-
ence" (sic) was used to convict witches. "The Leicester Boy", "The
Burton Boy" and "The Bilson Boy" were a few of many who claimed to be
bewitched by witches. Eventually proven to be a fraud, at least ten
women died as a result of the accusations of The Leicester Boy, and
the Burton Boy caused the death of at least one of the women whom he
accused. In the 17th century a number of women were executed on the
allegations of hysterical children, even though fraud was often
discovered during the course of the trial. It is a fact that the
delusions of delinquent or disturbed children were often used by
judges to confirm their own prejudices; how little things have chang-
ed!
1636
Salem (1692) is probably the best known of all the cases where child-
ren were the chief accusers. Although in fact, the "children" were
more like young adults, with only one under the age of ten, and most
in their late teens or early twenties. However, as the panic grew, a
great many more were sucked into the web of lies, and Martha Carrier
was hanged on the "evidence" (sic) of her 7 year-old daughter. At the
height of the hysteria almost 150 people were arrested; thirty-one
were convicted, and nineteen hung. Some died in jail, and others were
reprieved. As was common in Europe, the accused were required to pay
their expenses whilst in jail, even if they were subsequently found
innocent. Sarah Osborne and Ann Foster both died in jail, and costs of
œ1 3s 5d and œ2 16s 0d respectively were demanded before the bodies
would be released for burial.
The chief of the accusers, Ann Putnam, confessed fourteen years later
that the whole thing was a fraud. In 1697 the jurors publicly con-
fessed they had made an error of judgement, and ten years after the
executions, Judge Samuel Sewall "confessed the guilt of the court,
desiring to take the blame and shame of it...". By then of course it
was too late for those who were dead, or whose lives had been dest-
royed by the accusations.
But we are getting ahead of ourselves here, for Salem is the last of
the great witch trials, coming as it does towards the end of the 17th
century.
We mentioned earlier that in Continental Europe, the heresy trials
appeared to arise from the persecution of the Christian sects of the
Bogomils, Cathars, Albigensians, and others such as the Jews, Walden-
sians, and even the Knights Templars. The stereotype of the witch was
compounded from many different sources, and gradually became the
composite figure of the shape-shifting hag, who flew through the air
on a broom, and flung her curses at all and sundry.
The concept of the pact with the devil existed as early as the 8th
century, and as we have seen, sexual license, buggery and ritual
sacrifice have long been seen as activities supposed to be practised
by those outside of society's norm, whether they be Christian or
Pagan. During the 9th century, shape-shifting, maleficia and the
incubus/succubus became more commonly reported, and by the 10th cen-
tury, the idea of nocturnal flight was established. Published in 906,
the Canon Episcopi described how some women were deluded in the belief
that at night they could fly behind their Goddess, Diana (Holda or
Herodias):
"Some wicked women are perverted by the Devil and |
Wicca | The-Complete-Uncut-Book-of-Shadows | 1,312 | led astray by illusions and fantasies induced by
demons, so that they believe they ride out at
night on beasts with Diana, the pagan goddess, and
a horde of women. They believe that in the night
they cross huge distances. They say that they obey
Diana's commands and on certain nights are called
out in her service..."
1637
Echoes here to Maddalena's story recounted by Leland in Aradia: Gospel
of the Witches:
"Oncein the month, and when the moon is full, ye
shall assemble in some desert place, or in a for-
est all together join to adore the potent spirit
of your Queen, my mother, great Diana".
Carlo Ginzburg has also published a remarkable book about the Witches'
Sabbath, and the night flight, where he suggests that these are in
fact based on genuinely ancient shamanic practices; nothing new in
this concept to modern Witches, but a novel observation in the acad-
emic circles in which Ginzburg moves.
In 1012, Burchard's Collectarium was published: the first attempt to
assemble a book of Canonical Law. Book number 19 of this vast collec-
tion was called the Corrector, and chapter five deals with various
sins, and their respective penances. As we might suppose, Maleficia is
prominent in this chapter! It enshrines in law the notion of night
flight, together with murder, and the cooking and eating of human
flesh. Although both the Canon Episcopi and Burchard's Corrector are
specific in attributing the powers of flight to Witches, it is not
until 1280 that the first picture of a witch riding upon a broom
appears. This is found in Schleswig Cathedral.
In 1022, the first burning occurred: at Orleans, the victims were
accused of, "holding sex orgies at night in a secret place, either
underground or in an abandoned building. The members of the group
appeared bearing torches. Holding the torches, they chanted the names
of demons until an evil spirit appeared. Now the lights were extin-
guished, and everyone seized the person closest to him in a sexual
embrace, whether mother, sister or nun. The children conceived at the
orgies were burned eight days after birth, and their ashes were
confected in a substance that was then used in a blasphemous parody of
holy communion."
Strange how these charges appear to have changed so little in so many
years! Compared with our first example, and indeed with the accusa-
tions of modern day fundamentalists, one would be forgiven for believ-
ing that time is a figment of our imagination, and that nothing ever
really changes; certainly not human nature.
The 14th century saw a steady growth in the number of accusations and
trials, and by the 15th century, the idea of the Devil's (or Witch's)
mark had become established. So too was the idea of a flying ointment,
and a consistent image of The Devil became common in trials liter-
ature.
The Papal Bull of 1484, Summis Desiderantes Affectibus, and then two
years later, publication of the Malleus Maleficarum, further establis-
hed the "crime" of witchcraft as a heresy, and confirmed Papal support |
Wicca | The-Complete-Uncut-Book-of-Shadows | 1,313 | for its eradication. This infamous work - The Hammer of the Witches -
was incredibly influential in establishing a code of practice by which
witches were to be denounced, tried, convicted and executed. There was
no escape from this dreadful fate. The third part of the book desc-
ribes how to deal with one who will not confess to the charges:
"But if the accused, after a year or other longer
period which has been deemed sufficient, continues
1638
to maintain his denials, and the legitimate wit-
nesses abide by their evidence, the Bishop and
Judges shall prepare to abandon him to the secular
Court; sending to him certain honest men zealous
for the faith, especially religious, to tell him
that he cannot escape temporal death while he thus
persists in his denial, but will be delivered up
as an impenitent heretic to the power of the sec-
ular Court.
It is also in this section that our friendly Dominican monks refer to,
"witch midwives, who surpass all other witches in their crimes... And
the number of them is so great that, as has been found from their con-
fessions, it is thought that there is scarcely any tiny hamlet in
which at least one is not to be found."
Despite its incredible influence in Europe, the Malleus had little
effect in England, Wales or Ireland, where witchcraft accusations
and trials were very different to those of the continent and Scotland.
In fact Wales and Ireland seemed to escape from the witch persecutions
almost entirely, with very few trials, and even fewer executions.
Although many laws have been enacted in England against witchcraft,
there has never been anything like the hysteria about witches common
in mainland Europe. The earliest known person accused of sorcery in
England was Agnes, wife of Odo, who in 1209 was freed after choosing
trial by ordeal of grasping a red-hot iron.
Until 1563, commoners accused of witchcraft in England met light (if
any) punishment. Those of noble birth were treated rather more severe-
ly, as the crime could easily be one of treason, and any action which
implied a threat to the monarch was treated very seriously indeed.
This resulted in the charge of witchcraft being used to remove polit-
ical opponents with great expediency. There were certainly laws
against the practice of witchcraft or sorcery: Alfred the Great
(849-899 AD), King of Wessex and overlord of England, decreed the
death penalty for Wiccans (that was the word he actually used), and
Aethelstan - perhaps one of the most compassionate of Saxon Kings,
ordered those who practised Wiccecraeft to be executed, but only if
their activities resulted in murder.
Under Henry VIII's Act of 1546, the penalty for conjuration of evil
spirits was death, and the property of the accused was confiscated
by the King. However, this was in effect for only one year, being
repealed by Edward VI in 1547, and only one conviction under this
Act is recorded. In 1563, the statute of Queen Elizabeth I was es-
tablished, which also made death the penalty for invoking or conjuring
an evil spirit, but those who practised divination, or who caused harm
(other than death) by their sorceries, were sentenced to a year's
imprisonment for a first offence. Subsequent offences could be punish-
able by death, and in some cases, the confiscation of property as |
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