Jennifer's Alternative Religions Blog April 2008 Archive

May Day, Walpurgis
The first of May has been a holiday the world over for millenia. Beginning sunset tonight, Zoroastrians celebrate the beginning of Ghambar Maidyozarem, a feast for the creation ... Read More

Wednesday April 30, 2008 | permalink | comments (1)

Friday Links: Blame the Witches!
Let's see if you can follow the bizarre logic used to link an animal mutilation in rural England to witchcraft. A local stag was found mutilated and headless, a ... Read More

Friday April 25, 2008 | permalink | comments (4)

Satanic Hysteria Fashionable in Rome
This is a hoot- a Catholic priest who claims that Rome is home to over 600,000 Satanists, a claim that's been made many times in the last few years, as ... Read More

Tuesday April 22, 2008 | permalink | comments (5)

Jason Beghe Scientology Interview
Despite the teaser having been yanked unceremoniously from Youtube last week, the interview with celebrity Scientology defector Jason Beghe has appeared in its entirety, and it's very interesting stuff. ... Read More

Monday April 21, 2008 | permalink | comments (4)

Going Wild, Amish Style
Amish children attend schoolWilliam Thomas Cain/Getty Images I grew up in the Northeast, and when I was young, I spent a lot of ... Read More

Friday April 18, 2008 | permalink | comments (0)

When They Part, They Say "The Force Be With You."
I'm not sure how I missed this, but while poking about in the dark corners of Laura Mallory's anti-Harry Potter crusade site, I found this amusingly ignorant gem of a ... Read More

Thursday April 17, 2008 | permalink | comments (19)

The Dark Side of Don Juan
Over the last twenty years, I've watched numerous friends and acquaintances drift in and out of infatuation with the work of supposed anthropologist and would-be sorceror Carlos Castaneda, whose best-selling ... Read More

Wednesday April 16, 2008 | permalink | comments (6)

Celebrity Scientologist's Public Defection
Actor Jason Beghe was one of a long list of celebrity Scientologists, even appearing in advertisements promoting the Church. After reaching the so-called "higher levels," Jason is disillusioned. ... Read More

Tuesday April 15, 2008 | permalink | comments (2)

Leonardo's Birthday
Today is Leonardo Da Vinci's birthday, or would be if he were here to celebrate one. It's only taken five hundred odd years now to figure out how he painted ... Read More

Tuesday April 15, 2008 | permalink | comments (0)

Vaisakhi, Sommarsblot, Liberalia
A number of religious holidays are observed today. The best known is Vaisakhi, celebrating the founding of the Sikh Khalsa by Guru Gobind Singh in 1699. The pre-existing ... Read More

Sunday April 13, 2008 | permalink | comments (4)

Mahavir Jayanti, The Burning of Major Weir
Jains today will celebrate Mahavir Jayanti, the birthday of Lord Mahavir, the founder of the religion. Mahavir Jayanti is observed with the decoration of the temples, and the statues ... Read More

Friday April 11, 2008 | permalink | comments (4)

Theocracy at the Grocery Store
(Or, Mom, There’s a Dominionist Lawyer in my Juice!) If you follow Church/State separation issues, you've probably heard of the Alliance Defense Fund, the funding arm of the Right's legal ... Read More

Sunday April 6, 2008 | permalink | comments (37)

Another Controversial Courthouse Monument?
The city of Crossville, Tennessee definitely deserves credit for good humor. The city recently honored a request by a local "Pastafarian" chapter to erect a statue of the ... Read More

Friday April 4, 2008 | permalink | comments (6)

The Kybalion & The Supreme Court
If Paul Case were alive today, I wonder what he would make of the Supreme Court's decision to hear arguments from the town of Pleasant Grove, Utah, which is seeking ... Read More

Thursday April 3, 2008 | permalink | comments (0)

The Emerald Tablet
An introduction to Hermetic Philosophy The text of the Emerald tablet is brief- only thirteen lines- but it is the cornerstone of the Hermetic movement. The origin of this mysterious ... Read More

Wednesday April 2, 2008 | permalink | comments (1)