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ecosophia
Well, the self-proclaimed Magic Resistance just scored another impressive own goal. Today's hex party at a Brooklyn pagan bookstore, dedicated to cursing Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh (and everyone and everything else the attendees happen to be upset about), got plenty of advance media publicity -- and thus came to the attention of conservative Roman Catholics. (That's Kavanaugh's religious affiliation, after all.) As a result, Catholics have broken out their own substantial arsenal of ritual weaponry to protect Kavanaugh: exorcists are performing masses on his behalf, and ordinary Catholic laypeople are fasting and praying the rosary with the same end in view. I'm not a fan of the Roman Catholic church, for a variety of reasons. (First among them: my wife is an ex-Catholic, and like nearly everyone else I know who's left that church, she bailed after watching repeated, appalling abuses of power on the part of Catholic clergy and religious, which were condoned and covered up by the hierarchy.) That said, we're talking about the world's largest single religious denomination, which has getting on for two thousand years of experience crafting rituals to deal with hostile nonphysical powers. The moral failings of the Catholic hierarchy, serious as they are, don't affect the efficacy of Catholic ritual forms or the potency that competent priests and devout believers can put into them.
(This probably deserves a few words of further comment. An embarrassingly large number of people on the leftward end of things seem to think that their magic has to work because they're the good guys, y'know, and the other side is doomed to inevitable failure because they're so eeeeeeevil. That shows the bad influence of cheap fantasy novels on modern thought. One plumber, let's say, can be a perfectly competent plumber and and be a rotten person; another can be a really nice person with all the right opinions, and still do a lousy job of fixing your sink. The same is true in magic. Moral virtue is no substitute for competent ritual backed by a thorough knowledge of magical principles -- or vice versa, for that matter.)
In other words, by neglecting one of the basic rules of effective magic and blathering their intentions far and wide, the Magic Resistance has just recruited an 800 pound gorilla for the other side. You can bet that in the weeks and months and years to come, conservative Catholics will keep a sharp eye out for any other magical working aimed at Donald Trump, Brett Kavanaugh, or any other conservative targets that attract hostile magical attention, and break out their own well-honed cache of ritual workings to counter it. I doubt the results will be particularly welcome to Trump's Neopagan enemies.
yup
Date: 2018-10-20 02:18 pm (UTC)Re: yup
Date: 2018-10-20 03:15 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2018-10-20 03:15 pm (UTC)Feel good ritual
Date: 2018-10-20 04:14 pm (UTC)In a recent article here: https://wildhunt.org/page/2
Michael Hughes acknowledges that the ritual to keep Kavanaugh out of office did not seem to be effective, however he did go on to say that more importantly the ritual made people feel empowered and powerful, and gave them a channel for their anger. To me, the latter point is key. I highly suspect the real point of these rituals for a lot of people -if they realise it or not- is to give them a sense of peace about their hates. I wonder if deep down they don't want to actually do anything at all about Trump, Kavanaugh, et al., because then there would be no outlet for their said hate. They just want to *feel* good about it.
Dean Smith
Pray FOR the Neo-Pagans
Date: 2018-10-20 05:00 pm (UTC)Tidlösa
(no subject)
Date: 2018-10-20 05:00 pm (UTC)Not just historically, a year or two ago my father-in-law's sister-in-law was accused in rural Africa of uaing witchcraft (evil magic, in local context) and told by police that either she must leave town or she would be put in jail for her own safety. (I haven't met her, but knowing the family, she's probably guilty of being too educated and praying too effectively.)
If you simply must go casting spells against people, shut up for everyone's safety! Because what's going to happen if you've publicised your actions and then something happens to the person? As high profile as these actions are, you have visits from Secret Service as a starting point-did you incite that? Were you involved in plotting? And that's just to start with. What conclusion will other folks come to, after the SS is done talking to you?
Either this magics' practitioners are really short-sighted and/or foolish, or they don't believe what they're doing actually can work. Given what's been said here by several others about the sloppiness of the spells, I'm coming to the conclusion that the soi-disant Resistance does NOT believe magic works. If it doesn't really work, then it doesn't matter if you invoke the wrong powers in the wrong ways, and since it doesn't work, you don't need to worry about getting some stuck on you.
Now, I'm reminded of the story of Balaam's Ass. It doesn't matter what you believe, if you're wrong about it, you'll get consequences. It might be just as well for these magicians and everyone else if their priuses up and start telling them to knock it off with the curses.
BoysMom, annoyed that supposed adults can't think through consequences as well as an elementary child!
Neighborhood Protection
Date: 2018-10-20 05:12 pm (UTC)Blowback
Date: 2018-10-20 05:40 pm (UTC)If say Trump had fired someone unfairly and they did a working to have him fired too, would there be blowback on them?
I agree that the so-called Magical Resistance is a farce and will hasten the end of Neopaganism. It is also another example of the pollution of politics into spirituality. Keep the spheres separate!!
I have just discovered your work - very interesting.
(no subject)
Date: 2018-10-20 06:02 pm (UTC)Re: Feel good ritual
Date: 2018-10-20 06:04 pm (UTC)But you're probably right -- they want someone to hate. If that's widespread enough, expect a GOP victory in the midterms...
Re: Pray FOR the Neo-Pagans
Date: 2018-10-20 06:05 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2018-10-20 06:07 pm (UTC)Re: Neighborhood Protection
Date: 2018-10-20 06:08 pm (UTC)Re: yup
Date: 2018-10-20 06:11 pm (UTC)On a related note, the place I always thought was most in need of cleansing is the National Shrine (now Basilica) of the Little Flower, which was Father Coughlin's church in Royal Oak, Michigan. It gives the friends and acquaintances of mine who are sensitives the creeps. That it's across the boulevard from a cemetery probably doesn't help. I used to live down the street from it and would drive past it every work day, causing me to reflect on Coughlin's legacy as the original right-wing radio star. Unfortunately, since it's a Catholic church, it will probably never be cleansed in the way I think it needs.
BTW, Royal Oak is the same town where Bonewitz was born, probably a mile up the street in the other direction. Interesting coincidence.
Re: Blowback
Date: 2018-10-20 06:11 pm (UTC)As for the separation of politics and spirituality, agreed. Mixing the two is always a bad idea.
Re: yup
Date: 2018-10-20 06:13 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2018-10-20 06:54 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2018-10-20 07:55 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2018-10-20 08:29 pm (UTC)"I call upon you
To bind
Donald J. Trump
So that his malignant works may fail utterly"
It would appear that the magic Hughes has marshaled to further his own malignant works of leading mass hexes has, increasingly, failed utterly. I imagine with some fear how much more utterly he may fail over time...
Re: Neighborhood Protection
Date: 2018-10-20 08:38 pm (UTC)Catholic Revitalization
Date: 2018-10-20 09:13 pm (UTC)Secrecy
Date: 2018-10-20 09:14 pm (UTC)How does the importance of secrecy here work? The Catholic rituals are entirely public--both in this case and in general. What is it that is important about secrecy, but applies differently between the "Magical Resistance" and the Catholics? I feel like I'm misunderstanding the word in this context.
On another context, I'm a convert to the Catholic Church, and entirely get your wife's point; Belloc's comment about "no merely human enterprise carried out with such knavish imbecility would have lasted a fortnight" comes to mind frequently.
SamChevre
dangers of being know magic worker
Date: 2018-10-20 09:16 pm (UTC)Rita
(no subject)
Date: 2018-10-20 11:49 pm (UTC)A few questions that came to my mind while reading your post: Every now and then I am wondering why the Catholic Church is such a stable construct despite the long list of abuses and crimes committed and condoned over such a long time. From a magical perspective, does its power stem from the fact that it's kind of an umbrella organization which incorporated (or assimilated?) a large variety of spiritual streams that were and are praying and performing rituals to the same god?
And secondly: How did western occultism manage to survive the continuous presence of that powerful 800 pound gorilla over the centuries?
Lastly (I am still mulling over what to make about that coincidence...) just yesterday evening I stumbled over some beautiful interpretations of medieval Christian music. Powerful. Maybe you and / or the other readers find as much delight in it as I do:
Llibre Vermell - Stella splendens (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2lw8nH6dQIo) (Latin and English lyrics in the comments)
A Madre de Jesu Cristo (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rBP8SuZgETk) (If you enjoy it, the full concert can be found here: Sacred Music From Medieval Spain: The Llibre Vermell And The Cantigas De Santa Maria (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Ios-NT0fNI))
Greetings from Germany,
Nachtgurke
Re: Feel good ritual
Date: 2018-10-20 11:51 pm (UTC)