Buzz Coil: October 2011

A look at some posts of interest from our blogroll and sometimes beyond:

Hail Columbia posted a release on Oct. 13 about the Dominionist-related "Turtle Island 42 Initiative," and also posted the same press release we ran here on Oct. 19, about the Lafayette Park "Halloween Celebration" in DC, in response to the Dominionist DC40 crusade.
[The Lafayette Park release has also appeared on Katrina’s Joy , HecateDemeter , Works of Literata, Capital Witch ,WitchVox , and others.]

Works of Literata: In her Oct. 23 post, blogger Literata points out that "Beliefnet shows anti-Pagan bias" in its reporting about "the upcoming Celebration of the Divine Feminine and Religious Freedom." Literata shares a comment that she wrote for the Beliefnet site, which she wasn't sure they would publish. Here’s a small part of Literata's comment:

The "prayer campaign" that we are reacting against is not simply "for America." That statement is so disingenuous it’s not even funny. Would you write that the Occupy Together movement is demonstrating against people who are "for the economy?" The DC40 campaign is very, very specifically a prayer campaign aimed at recreating the US as a theocracy of conservative Christians. That’s not "for America," it’s against the fundamental values enshrined in our Constitution.

Hecatedemeter: Blogger Hecate’s Oct. 21 post, "Lafayette, Nous Sommes Ici!" (en anglais: Lafayette, We Are Here!) gives a brief history, including a personal view, of what has led up to the planned Oct. 30 celebration in DC's Lafayette Park.

Witches Brew: In her Oct. 3 post, "Countdown to Spiritual Warfare," Sophie Gale mulls over some possible unintended (by the Dominionists) outcomes of the DC40 activities.

Wild Hunt: In his Oct. 25 post, "Blood Libel, Abortion, and Modern Paganism," Jason Pitzl-Waters, after giving a brief summary of the use by a variety of religions against other religions of "blood libel" (the false accusation that a group is sacrificing babies), moves on to examples of how this accusation continues to be leveled today, particularly by some Christian individuals and groups who include abortion in their definition of child sacrifice. UPDATE 10/30:"The Hail Columbia Movement," a guest post by Literata explains the movement, including political implications of NAR voter registration effort.

Feminism and Religion: These are just some of this blog many posts of interest from many different people on varying spiritual paths:
—In an Oct. 5 post, "Mary Daly’s Letter to Audrey Lorde", Gina Messina-Dysert publishes a 1979 once-thought-not-to-exist letter from Mary Daly responding to a letter from Audre Lorde. This prompts Carol P. Christ’s Oct . 7 post, "What Does It Mean to Say that All White Feminists Are Racist?...." , in which Christ calls the publication of Daly’s letter, "a correction of a piece of feminist history."
—In an Oct. 10 post, Marguerite Rigoglioso responds to the question, "What Is This Virgin Birth Business All About?" by discussing her theory that Mary [Mother of Jesus] may have been one of a number of priestesses attempting to conceive without sperm.
—In an Oct. 12 post, "Sister Wives, The Terrible Taboo, and Agency", Xochitl Alvizo reflects on the issues presented by the reality show "Sister Wives" and other TV takes on Mormon polygamy.
—In an Oct. 20 post, "Pink Smoke, Call to Disobedience, and a Holy Shake-up....", Michele Stopera Freyhauf tells of the attempt by representatives from several Roman Catholic women’s groups to deliver a petition to the Vatican "supporting full and equal participation of women. . ." After describing how the women were barred from entering St. Peter’s Square, Freyhauf refers to a Vatican statement declaring that ordaining women is a canonical crime as grave as pedophilia. The statement was made in response to the film "Pink Smoke Over the Vatican." The post also includes a summary of R.C. movements worldwide that voice objections to Vatican views and policies.
—In an Oct. 21 post, "Forty Years and Counting: Women and Religion In the Academy," Carol P. Christ writes about receiving an invitation to the 40th Anniversary Celebration of the Women’s Caucus of the American Academy of Religion and Society for Biblical Literature, and shares her memories of the first meeting of women theologians in 1971. Though not a comic post, I found myself LOL at several of the antics she describes.

Radfem Hub: In an Oct. 19 guest post, "Man’s Dominion," Sheila Jeffreys offers background on her new book about the rise of religion and the eclipse of women’s rights. Jeffreys, an atheist, is critical of all Abrahamic religions and maintains that "the ideas and practices of multiculturalism" have protected religion from criticism."

The Village Witch: In her Oct. 22 post, "The Long Black Veil," Byron Ballard writes about a mini-workshop she conducted about death, dying, and body preparation. The mini-workshop was part of Mother Grove Temple’s Samhain preparations.

Dirt Worship: Starhawk has been participating in the Occupy Movement this month, from DC to Oakland . I’ve seen some of the tactics she posted in "Short Consensus Summary" used on the livestream from NYC .

The Retiring Mind: In an Oct. 14 post, "A Lesson in Violence, " Wendy Griffin writes of being admitted to an ER with heart attack symptoms (a false alarm) and discovering some upsetting as well as some reassuring details related to domestic violence.

Did we miss an item you think is important? We’d like to know about it, so please leave it as a comment.