Admittedly, a heart stuck with pins isn't an everyday find in a cemetery, but I don't think I've ever seen such an odd collection of theories put forth to explain the simple bit of folk magic* a caretaker stumbled upon in a Yonkers cemetery. Day of Mars? Influences of Saturn? Palo?

I've never seen such an offbeat collection of theories together in one place before, although I suppose it could be worse- if this were 1987, we'd be hearing the "black magic" comments from the local evangelical "occult expert" instead of the local Pagan, et al. The African religious experts seem to have done a pretty good job explaining why these items are not part of a Voodoo or Santeria ritual, but the rest of this business (black=black magic?) is about as helpful as the old-fashioned "- is an occult number" rigamarole. A good rule of thumb is, if you don't know what it is, don't speculate- especially to the media, who just love those "Voodoo in the cemetery" headlines.

*A good old fashioned hoodoo- sticking needles in a heart is a millenia-old practice for everything from gaining a lover to getting justice to a spiritual whack-job. No religion, pagans, or Satanic cults necessary.