BLACKCAT'S SPECULUM

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by BlackCat

Wiccan Blessing At Dallas City Council

For the first time in Texas history, a Wiccan priest has given the Dallas city council's opening blessing. In keeping with a custom of inviting various religious ministers, Bryan Lankford, first officer in the Covenant of the Goddess (COG) Texas Council was asked to offer a religious invocation at the start of the Dallas, Texas, city council meeting.

Bryan was to have delivered the invocation a week earlier, but the invitation to do so had at first been withdrawn, then reinstated. Despite a few outbursts from one attendee and several speakers who took the microphone to speak out against him, the Wiccan Priest proceeded with the blessing.

"May we show compassion for those whose lives are not as easy as our own.we pray for honesty, love, compassion and faith.We ask this of deity in whatever form each of us perceives it. We ask this city be transformed with the harmony and balance that faith in a greater power brings," Bryan's invocation stated in part.

The occasion was marked with controversy, as one might expect in the state of Texas, whose governor George W. Bush stated on ABC Television's "Good Morning America" last June, that he believes witchcraft is not a legitimate religion. In response to the US Army's decision to allow Wiccan practices on its bases, Bush said, "I don't think witchcraft is a religion, and I wish the military would take another look at this and decide against it."

Support from the pagan community was mustered by Maeven Eller of "Betwixt and Between," the Dallas Pagan Community Center. Various local newspapers and television crews were also investigating why the offer for the pagan invocation had at first been cancelled. After a phone call campaign, the mayor Ron Kirk offered an apology to city pagans. "From the standpoint of us being a government, we are not in the business of choosing religions," he said. "We just didn't know anything about them. Period."

After the council meeting, the mayor of Dallas, which is the nation's ninth largest city, stated, "The City Council is not in the business of choosing one faith over another. We have sought to have a representation of all religious faiths. I was moved by the invocation that was given today, as I have been before."

Wiccans File Suit Over Fortunetelling Ban

In Houma, Louisiana, Monte Plaisance and Anthony Foret have filed suit with the assistance of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) challenging a ban on fortunetelling that affects their Tarot card reading practices.

Monte said he is an ordained minister of the Wiccan faith. He said he leads a 20-member Wiccan congregation in Houma and also operates a business in Houma where he performs Tarot card readings for members of his congregation and others on request. Tarot readings are an integral part of the Wiccan faith, Monte said. Anthony is also a member of the group and practices palmistry.

Monte, who is also the Louisiana state director of Witches Against Religious Discrimination (WARD), said, "I just feel that this ordinance is outdated. I don't see that what I do is a threat to anyone."

"Fortunately, it's not against the law to be a witch," Anthony added.

Ancient Ritual Cave Discovered

An international team of archaeologists has discovered the remains of an ancient Illyrian sanctuary dating from 1000 B.C.. The Illyrians, who were contemporaries of the ancient Greeks, lived in what is today Croatia along the Adriatic Coast. Little is known of the Illyrian peoples. They traded often with the Greeks, who regarded them as "barbarians."

Because the cave has been sealed for over 2000 years, the excavation offers an unprecedented look at ancient Mediterranean culture. The Illyrians were a loose federation of Indo-European tribes who appeared around 1000 B.C. in the western part of the Balkans. Archaeologists were surprised when they unearthed a hidden middle chamber to the cave. At the center of the chamber is a phallic stalagmite approximately 10 feet in length that had purposely been placed in a spot that allowed for a shaft of light from the cave entrance to shine directly upon it during certain times of the year.

It has been concluded that the site was a focus of celebratory ritual activity, perhaps of an orgiastic nature, as evidenced from many pottery fragments placed around the phallic stalagmite. Among them were cups and vessels of the highest quality at the time, many with dedications to Aphrodite and to love etched on them. Artifacts dating from as far back as 6000 B.C. have also been found in the cave, suggesting that this site was of importance for a very long time.

More Prehistoric Discoveries

German researchers have unearthed the remains of a huge prehistoric temple comparable to but earlier than England's Stonehenge.

The early Bronze age temple was discovered near Kyhna in the Eastern part of Germany and is believed to have been built around 5000 B.C., making it about 2000 years older than Stonehenge. The site is laid out in precise alignment with the rays of the sun at the summer solstice.

Scottish researchers have reported a most unexpected find. Archaeologists working on a remote Scottish island revealed they have discovered a stone age tomb. The well preserved tomb is approximately 5000 years old and was discovered on the Orkney island of Westray.

In Sweden the site of the oldest known pre-Christian temple was opened for public viewing. The pentagon-shaped building excavated near a known burial site at Vasterhaninge 18 miles south of Stockholm is believed to date back to the early iron age in Sweden.

Sources include The Witches Voice, Alternative Religions Education Network (AREN), Texas Pagan Association Online (TPAO), The Advocate and Canada Newswire.

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