The Language of Rape in Our Culture and Ill Mannered Warlocks: Christian Day

 Guess he's following the Harm All Who Question You Rede?

He and his followers are carefully scouring the internet for any peep on this issue.  We will not let you pretend that this did not happen and go back to business as usual Christian Day.  Be a man and own what you did.  If your apology is truly sincere, donate some time to a battered women's shelter, get some counseling on anger management, and allow people to openly discuss the issues at hand. Most importantly STOP THREATENING PEOPLE!!!  Lawyering up against those who should have the right to discuss what happens in our community does not look like you are really sorry for your mistakes.  Bragging about telling Z. Budapest off while "stroking your cock" just doesn't ring well with your 'heartfelt apology'    http://cowardlychristianday.tumblr.com/ Outing everyone's legal names and addresses, having their posts and accounts removed, these actions are a continuance of your bullying. Just stop it. You do not get to be both victim and bad ass attacker in the same breath. 

I have considered for a few days whether to post publicly on this topic or not.  Stirring the pot of a hyper emotional man known to threaten people with curses and attorneys and rapists... along with his rabid fan girl base have given me pause- do I want any trouble or not?  A few have already said something so should I express myself or not?  Well that is what abusive people count on.  That no one will say anything, take a stand, or want to be associated with something so distasteful as abuse.  The perpetrator knows the bystander will worry that they themselves might become a target if they speak up.  That everyone will go "but he is so funny and popular", it was a "mistake", it was "just one time", the girl "put herself in that situation", and my favorite "that's his mode of operation, everyone just knows how he is".  This is how cyber bullies, stalkers, and rapists hope we will react.  Really I don't want trouble.  I want the magickal community to be a safer place without predatory sexually based attacks, verbal or physical.  We must not tolerate this type of behavior.

It is possible that Christian Day was simply having a bad hair day, had diarrhea of the mouth when he made those threats, and is truly sorry. But as a public figure who writes books, teaches, organizes festivals, appears on tv and radio shows, and calls himself an Elder Warlock- he must know that he is accountable for what he says and will be held to a higher standard.  I personally am disgusted by this very public face of Paganism and Witchcraft. His behavior should in no way represent what our spiritual movement is.  Rape language directed at either male or female victims is abhorrent under any condition.  Practitioners should be able to have discussions and disagreements without digressing to threats of rape or other forms of violence. 

What did he do and say?

The infamous screen shot of his message sent to another Craft practitioner after having a disagreement with her online.  He decided to lash out by reporting that she was using an alias due to a past violent stalker situation. He outed her publicly online and then mocked her with the above message.

Where I first found out about the situation. http://amethystlashiec.tumblr.com/
The victim's own post.  http://amorellamoon.tumblr.com/post/96578428283/so-this-is-a-thing-that-happened-christian-day
And the continued bullshit she deals with from his loyal followers.  http://amorellamoon.tumblr.com/post/97685208353/ritual-coffee-getting-real-sick-of-this-shit-pagans

 

What are the responses?

I don't care what started the argument, whether the victim should have even been online or not since she has suffered from stalking, whether Mr. Day uses too much eyeliner, and all the other issues circling around the fiasco. His words and actions constituted a sexually based threat against another person.  This is intolerable. To say that he is an 'Elder' and therefore cannot be questioned is ridiculous. Only the Pope is infallible and I left the Catholic Church long ago.  Anyone's behavior can be questioned.

Even the Satanists spoke out on the idiocy.  http://satanicviews.wordpress.com/2014/09/06/christian-day-warlock-flushed-down-toilet/

Heathens speaking out against him.  http://fromthelabyrinth.wordpress.com/2014/09/03/beware-christian-day-pagan-predator/

Well known Pagan blog the Wildhunt did have a thoughtful article condemning hate speech and Christian Day's actions but it has since been taking down.  A search on the site for his name only pulls up past interviews and shows.  Disappointing. Does he have that much pull or did he zip off a cease and desist letter?
 http://wildhunt.org/2014/09/editorial-addressing-outings-and-community.html

Inciting a Riot blog asks if all of this was another one of Mr. Day's media grabbing stunts. Considering past behavior that's very possible.  http://www.incitingariot.com/2011/03/thanks-christian-day-and-screw-you-too.html

The Poison Apple radio show discussing "Pagans Behaving Badly" and using "outing" someone publicly as a tactic in arguments.   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9VVIWhWrK-A

Poison Apple's follow up show was focused less on the sexual threat aspect and more on the complaint that many Pagans and Witches have concerning Mr. Day's theatricality. That he is somehow hyping up and cheapening 'true' Witchcraft.  Folks, let's not lose site of the real issue: a sexually based verbal threat that followed an actual action which outed a single mother to her stalker.  That is the only issue. Not his hair, his makeup, or his sound bytes against Charlie Sheen.
 http://www.blogtalkradio.com/poisonappleradio/2014/09/14/pagans-behaving-badly-follow-up

Big Name Pagans behaving badly http://thehouseofvines.com/2014/09/03/another-day-another-bnp-behaving-badly/

Criticizes Mr. Day's brief blanket apology that didn't even mentioning the victim herself. http://www.blogtalkradio.com/stalkybananas/2014/09/04/big-name-paganbig-pile-of-shit

Gangleri's Grove questioning his claim to 'Eldership' in the magickal community as well as his misogyny.   http://krasskova.weebly.com/blog/appalling-offensive-and-intolerable

A Stand Against Abuse by Polytheist.com  http://polytheist.com/a-stand-against-abuse/

The Reddit Thread fall out from the threats http://www.reddit.com/r/pagan/comments/2fbt1g/christian_day_rape_threat/

And Rev. Ronald French vowing to keep the issue visible so this Warlock cannot just go along his merry way as if nothing happened. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gZJDEWvcrR4&list=UU_vpR3WcBzSSzU3wfBHXP_A

Rev. Ronald French's follow up is interesting after the initial song.  Mr. Day actually called him and continued threats against uninvolved 4th parties. Threats seem to be his mode of magic.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8_4E_H98iIw&list=UU_vpR3WcBzSSzU3wfBHXP_A

Has he apologized?

At this point I'm thinking why didn't Mr. Day apologize directly to her?  Why does he claim it was simply words at the heat of the moment because the threatening words came AFTER his ACTIONS of reporting her alias? Then he follows up his less than heart felt apology with this bit:

To get a taste of the extreme responses by his followers and his own thread of comments visit Cowardly Christian, a blog by a disillusioned fan.  I cannot believe people in our community think it is ok to speak to one another in this fashion.  http://cowardlychristianday.tumblr.com/

Has he threatened anyone in the past?

It's also come out that he had his fortune telling license revoked in Salem for making threats against other businesses. He finally gave Salem a break and left but poor NOLA got him. Throwing threats then crying like the victim are part of this guy's "mode of operation". http://www.salemnews.com/.../article_fe531c5d-ab39-532f...

The issue of "outing" someone online.

Is this a viable and respectable tactic that "Elders" and public figures should be allowed to use against those who question, argue, or otherwise displease them? Absolutely not.  We must respect each one another's Craft names as part of respecting the basic tenents of Witchcraft, of being members of this often maligned community.  It used to be punishable by death for one Witch to name another publicly or give up another to the authorities. We might not have to suffer being burned on the stake now days but family issues, loss of jobs, child custody issues, treatment by neighbors, attacks by conservative religious groups, and stalkers are all dangers any online Pagan or Witch potentially faces.  No Witch that is "out" should force another to be as well.  To have done just this is itself a terrible offense.

Supporting your freedom to choose the name you use on social networks and other online services.
http://mynameisme.org/

Google understands online dangers and has rethought it's "Real Name Policy".  Facebook should also reconsider their own online identity policies. http://www.slate.com/blogs/future_tense/2014/07/17/google_plus_finally_ditches_its_ineffective_dangerous_real_name_policy.html

Performers and public personas onlne. http://sfist.com/2014/09/11/drag_queens_other_performers_outrag.php

Is he tacky and is that the issue?

Yes to the first, no to the second question.  As for allegations that he is a fraud in the Craft, that is between him and the Spirits.

Why would anyone defend him?

Someone posed this question to me.  Mostly he is known in Wiccan circles.  I'm not Wiccan, being interested in other forms of Witchcraft, as are most of my friends who hadn't even heard of him.  Still, he's a face on tv and that is part of the problem.  Our society craves confrontation, competition, and flipping tables. We pay stupid beautiful people to bitch at each other on 'reality' tv.  The same peeps that like him are probably watching the Kardashians.  It's noise that most intelligent people I know tune out.  He has a lot of very loyal fans and they are circling their wagons right now, outing anyone who speaks his name or posts about what he did. I and at least 4 other people I know on facebook had our accounts turned in because we used an 'alias', exactly the tactic he used that started all the shenanigans.  Funny, my Craft name is my real name.  I am Rowntree. Whether I use my real first name Jana or my nickname Grim doesn't matter. I own what I say.

The issue of "rape culture" and "rape language" in our society.

The 4 of Wands  http://4ofwands.wordpress.com/2014/09/05/never-advocate-rape/

What is rape culture? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rape_culture

What is rape language? http://www.holysmoke.org/sdhok/rape003.htm

It took a lot of pressure on facebook to have rape joke pages banned. Although Mr. Day certainly wasn't joking.  FB actually removed the posts by some of my friends discussing Mr. Day's threat and the screen shot of his note to the victim.  As someone making these threats and placing someone in actual danger to her stalker, he should have been removed from the social site I think.  Instead he and his followers have been trolling around that HE is the victim of "lies, gossip, and slander".  I think he's just worried about how well his next book will sell after the public backlash.  Thanx facebook for keeping your community of users so safe.
http://www.alternet.org/story/153305/when_is_it_ok_to_tell_rape_jokes

What is associated with Christian Day?

If you wish to boycott Christian Day do not go to:

Hex: Old World Witchery in Salem, MA
Hex: Old World Witchery in New Orleans, LA
OMEN in Salem, MA
Or attend any of the Festival of the Dead festivities throughout October in Salem, MA, including the Psychic Faire.
Don't buy his books or listen to his podcasts.

How to burn granular resin and other loose Incense

 Smoke carries our energy, prayers, and petitions upwards to the Gods and the sweet scents are most pleasing to them.

 "But we will certainly do whatsoever thing goeth forth out of our own mouth, to burn incense unto the Queen of Heaven, and to pour out drink offerings unto Her, as we have done, we, and our fathers, our kings, and our princes, in the cities of Judah, and in the streets of Jerusalem: for then had we plenty..."

Like most who have been raised Catholic, the smell of frankincense brings back memories of heavy white clouds of incense rolling through somber Church services, sitting on hard backed wooden pews and trying not to fidget under mother's watchful eye as the priest intones his prayers whilst splashing holy water about.  When I left the church after my second year in college, I greatly missed the peace and the sanctity of ritual.  I craved that moment when you felt outside of yourself, in connection with something so much greater.  The scent of incense always brought it crashing back to me.  Cheap incense is burned in copious amounts throughout the dorms, flats, and dingy apartments across our campuses.  Kids experiment with new spiritual traditions and various mind altering chemicals.  Buddha statues, puffing dragon burners, Ganesh t-shirts... all part of the scene.  The scent of genuine incense always transported me beyond either kitschy college experimentation or the droll worldly authority of the church.  Flickering candles, sanctified water, and perfumed air... I was trained to be a Witch before I even knew what it meant to be of the Craft.

Although I do have a few longtime favorite incense stick brands, I much prefer to work with raw natural resins.  I go out of my searching for organic fair trade resin incense, having several varieties from different regions in my collection.  Some are so expensive and precious that I might only burn a bit once a year.  I've learned how to make traditional Egyptian Kapet, or Kyphi as the Greeks called it.  These heavily scented resin pellets take many days to manufacture, adding one ingredient a day.  I also make several types of herbed incense blends, combining granular resin, aromatic woods, dried spices, flowers, and essential oils for specific purposes.

Resins incense is obtained from barks, saps, roots or woods in their natural form. Resins will not burn on their own. They require charcoal and a heat resistant burner.  Some plants need to properly dry before being burned.  You can also add drops of essential oils to granular resin, wood, or dried herbs before burning to layer scent and energy.

Burners made of soapstone or clay readily disperse heat.  Metal versions in brass, copper, or iron are fine too but be very careful about handling them as they hold the heat.  Although many Witches prefer to use little black iron cauldron, I generally use a Mayan style clay bowl with a short thin leg under it that I can easily handle and move about the room with.

There are many brands of charcoal tablets but I like swift-lite.  These can be ordered online or found locally in Christian stores, metaphysical shops, smoke shops, hookah cafes, and middle eastern grocers. Usually I will break a tablet in half or even quarters. Again a little goes a long way.

Fill the burner with a bed of sand, rice, or rock to absorb the heat.  I've made lovely colored censor sands using aquarium ingredients, marbles, & crystals.  

Place the burner on a protective surface that is nonflammable and heat resistant.  Marble coasters, flat rocks, or porcelain tiles will protect the tabletop surface from the heat. If burring stick or cone incense go ahead and place lit incense on or in the rocks. If burning resin incense, light the charcoal and once the spark has traversed the entire charcoal and the briquette is glowing hot (you can tell by blowing on it a little), it's time for the resin to be placed on the charcoal. You can also put a layer of table salt over the charcoal to reduce the heat, slowing the burning process to produce a heavier fragrance. Start by burning a very small amount of resin at a time as this type of incense can smoke more heavily than powdered herbs or stick incense.  A little will go a long way. Then add more as desired. For beginners, I recommend starting the process outdoors, or on the stove top under the exhaust fan to control the amount of incense fragrance and smoke being released. 

At no time should you touch the charcoal briquette once lit.  It is very hot and will burn you. If you need to move the charcoal once lit, us tongs, or a metal spoon or fork. Be cautious when touching or moving the soapstone container during or after the charcoal has been burning on it. Be aware of how hot the bottom of the burner is getting so that it does not damage the surface it is on. If the bottom is hot, you need to add more non-flammable material such as rice, rocks or sand. Or put a thicker barrier between the bottom of the burner and your surface.  

I suggest beginning with frankincense.  It is readily available, has a range of prices, and burns easily.  You can then begin to sample myrrh, benzoin, dragons blood, copal, and any number of other types of resin.  Consider what you have in your own environment. Pine sap and green juniper cones are very fragrant.  Learn the associations, the energies, and the history of different resins.  Far from being simply a 'dressing' on a ritual, the resin can lead to deeper understanding within any working.  They come from living plants and are a gift to us.

Hag Stone Lore

What is a Hag Stone?

A Hag Stone is simply a stone with a natural hole through it.  In folk magic systems, these are often believed to ward off the dead, curses, witches, sickness, and nightmares. They are also used as windows or doorways to see 'otherworlds', invisible spirits, or how a being 'really' looks beyond their glamoury. I've been collecting such stones for many years now.  They have always been rare finds that I've treasured.  I've long kept a reddish sandstone piece that I found around Lake Erie when I was in my twenties.  Occasionally I think of tying it onto one of my staffs to sell but I just can't seem to part with it.  Recently, I've acquired several large hag stones however and will be offering some of these in our shop.  While helping a friend clean out an old garage I came across a window sill with a row of these.  I also found an old paint bucket full of them.  Then, not even a week later, I found 3 more laying around a grocery store parking lot.  Finally, in a trek down an old dry riverbed, I found loads of them - more than I could carry and even boulder sized hag stones!  I guess it was my time to look into the Otherworld.  On the full moon this month, I started doodling little designs and symbols on them, just working with the stone.

This is the riverbed area in McAllister Park, San Antonio TX that I found these in.

Warding Night Hags

In old Europe, this stone kept the "evil hag" spirit away in order to prevent her from stealing horses and children.  The hag stone is especially used as a favorite talisman by Cunning Folk to dispel the evil eye. Many people still hang this stone in bedrooms to prevent the succubus-hag from ridding on their chests during nightmares

The Nightmare by Johann Heinrich Füssli

Seeing into the land of the Fey

In Italian Witchcraft the holed stone is associated with fairies, and often referred as the holy stone. It is considered a doorway, or key to the doorway, into the fairy kingdom. It Italian folk magic, it is believed these stones have the power to bind a fairy to one's service for a length of time.

"I have also heard it said that if one looks through the actual hole of a hex stone then it is possible to see the piskies which normally are invisible to the human eye"

Sailors & Hagstones

In the UK, Dorset fisherman also adopted the Hag Stone as protective charm against malevolent witchcraft and still use it today.  Dr. H. Colley March in his article on "Witched Fishing Boats in Dorset" in Somerset and Dorset Notes and Queries, vol. X, pp .49- 50 (1906) interviewed a Abbotsbury fisherman about the custom of Hag Stones.

"Well within my remembrance, I think in the forties, certainly in the late thirties it was not uncommon for row-boats at Weymouth to have 'holy stones' tied to nails or staples in the bows, close beneath the gunwale. I once saw a man in the act of doing this at the quayside. Holy stones were beach-pebbles with a natural hole through them, such as are not uncommon among the shingle. Whether holy from having a hole through them, or from being sacred, or both, I know not.

Farmers & Hagstones

According to the Legendary Dartmoor page:  “If ever you happen to be around any old Dartmoor farm buildings you may possibly notice a small holed stone or pebble sat on a window ledge. Occasionally if the building has a lock with a key still in it there may well be a similar looking holed stone tied to the end of it. These are known as Hex, or more commonly elsewhere, as Hag Stones and their tradition dates back to the time when witches rode along the hedgerows at night. Amazingly enough, although no farmer today would admit to keeping such a stone for any superstitions reasons they will be hard pushed to part with one. In many cases the actual stone with a hole through it will be flint which means as such a stone is not naturally occurring on Dartmoor it was 'imported'. In a similar light the hex stone may well be a pebble which again had clearly been brought to the moor, probably after a visit to the seaside. Either way they were physically brought back to serve a special purpose and that was for protection from witches and witchcraft.

At one time there was a genuine fear that a local witch may cast an evil spell, or wisht on ones livestock. It may be that the spell ended up in the cows giving no milk or sour milk, possibly the result might be the hens stopped laying. If horses were on the farm there was a strong belief that witches stole them away at night and 'hag rode' them hard across the moor. When they re-appeared the next morning the poor beast would be in such a state that it was useless for any kind of work. Basically there was a whole range of 'nasties' that a witch could inflict on farm animals should her wrath be incurred. So to counteract any such witchcraft it was thought that a stone with a naturally weathered hole in it would, when placed in a byre, dairy or stable protect all the animals inside. Hence the reason that today you can still see the remnants of this tradition in some of the old farm buildings on the moor. Below is a photograph of one such stone that comes from an old farm building just outside Chagford. As can be seen this one resembles an animals skull for some strange reason, maybe this form afforded an even greater degree of protection."

Amulets

When worn around the neck a hex stone acted as an amulet and protected the wearer from the 'evil eye'. The theory being that anyone who attempted to use the the evil eye would have their attention drawn to the stone and therefore be unable to work their black magic. Around the Sheepstor area it was thought that wearing the hex stone would protect against the chances of being piskie-led. If anybody suffered from repeated nightmares the simple remedy was to hang a hex stone on the bedstead, its powers would then stop any visits from the 'Night Mare'.

"Some the nightmare hath prest,

With that weight upon their brest,

No returns of the breath can passe,

But to us the tale is addle,

We can take of her saddle,

And turn the night mare out to grasse."

 As if all the above was not enough it was often thought that rheumatic pains could be eased by placing a hex stone under the mattress. So all in all a hex stone was a very useful addition to the plethora of amulets often used in and around moorland farms for protection against the black arts. The belief in holed stones predates any historic traditions and probably stretches back into prehistoric times on Dartmoor with the huge stone known as th Tolmen stone, Teign-o-ver.

Numerous superstitions have grow around the stone and its curative powers. Again it is the belief in a naturally weathered holed stone only on this occasion it is much larger and has been 'holed' by the river Teign. The similarity between the Tolmen and Hex Stones is that by passing or looking through the hole one is seeing into or being transported to another realm, maybe the hole could be described as a portal between two worlds?

 By Grimdeva Oct. 30, 2012