THE CRAZY SEASON BLUES
by Vicki Copeland
Very soon, "Crazy Season" will be upon us. What is this Crazy Season, you ask? It is the time of year surrounding Halloween when massive amounts of disinformation and misinformation are spread in all forms of media concerning Witches, Witchcraft, Satanism, and the holiday of Halloween. The public will hear about the "Great God Samhain, Lord of the Dead." They will be horrified with tales of ritual child abuse, human sacrifices, and told that even though Witches repeatedly deny any involvment with criminal activity and there is no evidence to substantiate these rumors, they are worshipping Satan, the Father of Lies, and of COURSE anything they say is a lie and cannot be trusted.
But WAIT!!! What is wrong with this picture? There ARE lies and misinformation here, but they are being spread by someone other than the Witches. Consider the following examples:
John Todd (aka Lance Collins) was quite a celebrity on the anti-occult circuit in the 1970s. Speaking at numerous churches Todd told of the dangers of the occult and warned of an international conspiracy known as the "Illuminati". He attached many well-known Christian ministries, accusing them of being in league with the Illuminati. This phenomena was so wide-spread that "Christianity Today" finally did an expose which uncovered many of Todd's fabrications and deceptions and Southwest Radio Church, a noted conservative Christian organization, denounced his deception and lies.
"Dr." Rebecca Brown (aka Ruth Bailey) author of He Came to Set the Captives Free and Prepare for War had her license to practice medicine revoked by the Indiana State Medical Board for addicting patients to Demerol and other unethical practices. She was also found to be injecting the same drug into her own body. She is promoted by Jack Chick Publications, the same organization that promoted Todd in the '70s.
(Continued next page)
In This Issue:
Re-Defining Satanism
Final Report on Larson Symposium
Attacks on Pagans on Increase
News From England
Letter to the Editor
And MUCH more.....
CRAZY SEASON BLUES cont'd.
Lyle J. Rapacki, speaker and founder of "Intel" and "Cross-roads Counseling" in Flagstaff, Arizona, claims degrees and training which he does not have and was removed from the reserve officer roster of the sheriff's department in Flagstaff for wearing his uniform while attempting to collect past due rents at his apartment complex. He was also enjoined by the Arizona State Supreme Court from claiming to be a member of their training faculty after several requests to cease and desist failed to relieve the situation.
In Satan's Underground, author Lauren Stratford (aka Laurel Rose Wilson) told horrifying tales of child abuse and human sacrifice, but was exposed as a fraud by Bob and Gretchen Passantino in the highly respected Christian publication, "Cornerstone Magazine". The Passantinos' research revealed that although Lauren claimed to have been repeatedly raped as a child by vagrants and pornographers, her former husband stated for the record that she was a virgin when she married him at age 21. Other instances of deception and unstable behavior also emerged. Many former associates of Lauren's told tales of an emotionally disturbed woman who brought havoc and upheaval into the lives of everyone who tried to help.
These people are not unknown nobodies. They are the people who frequently speak at conferences and seminars for law enforcement, health care professionals, and clergy! The lies they tell are causing harm and hysteria among lay people and untold misdirection of time, money, and man power, not to mention clouding the issue for those professionals trying to cope with social problems entirely new to them.
Accurate, factual information in the area of the occult is VITAL to law enforcement, health care, and religious communities of the country, but opportunists who are "on the circuit" simply to get attention and make money (of which there is a great deal to be made) help no one. Many fine Wiccans and other Pagans have offered their help to professionals in these areas. I sincerely hope that our readers and the law enforcement, health care, and religious communities at large will look closely into the backgrounds of anyone presuming to teach seminars or offer other training material on occultism and/or occult related crime. A close background check might reveal some VERY enlightening things.
LETTER TO THE EDITOR:
DEAR CWR:Referring to CWR Vol. 2 No. 2, you stated that DL had severed relations with two Satanic mags because their editors supported pedophilia. Neither of the two were Satanic; I think they could be described as Ritual Magick or Crowleyan. I should be very grateful if you could print a correction. Genuine Satanists could not be involved with pedophilia, though some of the phoneys do it.
Magdalen Graham, Editor, DARK LILY
CHILD ABUSE - OR OCCULT RITUALS?
Rosie Waterhouse
Satanic cults: how the hysteria swept Britain
FROM: The Independent On Sunday 16-09-90, Page 3
TWO WEEKS before satanic child abuse was "diagnosed" on a Rochdale council housing estate, social workers and a police officer from the area attended a seminar on the subject.
At the course in London in March, they and the council director of social services were warned of a nationwide increase in satanic sexual abuse and given literature on the signs and symptoms to watch for. They soon thought they had found them.
An investigation by the Independent on Sunday has revealed that the subsesequent chain of events is becoming frighteningly familiar in other towns and cities. A pattern has emerged which suggests the Rochdale case will not be the last.
Some children undoubtedly suffer sexual abuse. But the suggestion that covens of witches and satanists are luring children in bizarre black magic rituals, sacrificing babies, drinking their blood and eating them has become a dangerous new phenomenon.
Since the lurid stories first appeared in Britain in 1988, it is possible to trace the spread of what has become an outbreak of hysteria through a network of contacts. Police in Rochdale and other forces which have found themselves dragged into similar investigations are convinced that after being propounded and perpetuated by a core of believers, the satanic child abuse myth has taken a life of its own, and is out of control.
In Rochdale it led, over six months, to 20 children being taken from their families, made wards of court and put into council care. Five have been returned, but remain wards of court.
When the council applied to the court for care orders, the allegations included "satanic" sexual abuse. But, last Tuesday, Gordon Little More, Rochdale's director of social services, said: "We are dealing with allegations of emotional abuse, degredation, humiliation and exposure to acts of violence which would not necessarily result in physical injuries."
On Thursday, Greater Manchester police said that the case of the last three children, taken into care on 7 September, was still being investigated. But in the case of 17 children, no evidence of satanism or sexual abuse had been found, and there would be no criminal charges. Yet the parents of the 12 children who remain in council care and foster homes have no prospect of getting their children back until January, when the case is expected to be heard.
As the Independent on Sunday revealed last month, the satanic childabuse myth originated in the US in the early 1980s after the publication of a book by a "survivor". Stories spread, largely in Fundamentalist Christian circles, and satanic abuse is accepted as fact by many psychotherapists and police officers.
The first British story of satanic abuse appeared in the Colchester Evening Gazette in January 1988 in the form of an interview with "Satan's Cop": Sandi Gallant from San Francisco police department was in England on a conference circuit to issue warnings that in the US satanic cults were sacrificing animals and killing children, and it was likely to happen here.
During 1988 a group of loosely connected people began telling newspapers increasingly ghoulish stories about how satanic cults were luring children into the occult and how animals were being sacrificed.
Teenage girls, they said, were being used as "brood mares"; they were deliberately impregnated and the foetus was aborted for sacrifice and, in come cases, eaten. The Evangelical Alliance, which represents one million Christians in Britain, set up a committee to investigate. It included those spreading the stories. Maureen Davies, director of the Reachout Trust based in Rhyl, North Wales, a charity to help people who have been involved with the occult; the Reverend Kevin Logan, a vicar from St Johns Church, Great Harwood, near Blackburn who had written a book, Paganism and the Occult; Doreen Irvine and Audrey Harper, who confessed to being former witches who had survived satanic abuse; Diane Core, founder of a charity called Childwatch, who compiled a dossier of cases.
The first suspected cases investigated by social workers and police appeared like a rash late in 1988, in Kent, Nottingham, and Congleton, Cheshire.
In Kent, a two year old boy was showing signs of disturbed behaviour. He kept wanting to take his clothes off, would laugh hysterically, and told about strange drinks that made him feel funny. Norma Howes, an independent social worker from Reading, was brought in. She consulted an American expert on child abuse, Pamela Klein, who diagnosed a classic case of satanic abuse.
A list of "satanic indicators" was sent by Ms Klein to help social workers. Classic signs and symptoms are said to include an unusual preoccupation with urine and feces, fear of ghosts and monsters, aggressive play, and the child being "clingy", reciting nursery rhymes with indecent overtones, suffering from nightmares and bed wetting, preoccupation with "passing gas", using mouth to make "gas sounds" and wild laughter when the child or someone else "passes gas".
Copies of these satanic indicators were given to social workers in Kent, whose team leader is chairman of the Social Workers' Christian Fellowship. Police found no evidence of satanism.
Copies of the satanic indicators were also given to Ray Wyre, who trained to become a baptist minister and who now runs a clinic for sex offenders. He passed a copy to social workers in Nottingham who were investigating an incest case. In November 1988 they concluded that the case involved a satanic ring. Nine adults were later jailed for sex offenses against children and 21 children are still in care. Police found no evidence of satanism.
The satanic indicators were passed to social workers in Congleton, Cheshire, who were also dealing with a case of incest. One social worker associated with the Congleton case is the secretary of the Social Workers' Christian Fellowship. The Congleton social workers sought advice from their counterparts from Nottingham, Christine Johnson and Judith Dawson, who are widely consulted on satanic abuse.
Three key conferences on satanic abuse for social workers, police officers, psychotherapists and other childcare groups, followed in April and September 1989. The first was organised by the Association of Christian Psychiatrists. Norma Howes and Pamela Klein the organised two more conferences, in Reading and at Dundee University.
Main speakers included Ms Klein and a Chicago police officer who told how four babies were cooked in a microwave oven (a week later a rumour surfaced that this had happened in Derbyshire, and the NSPCC later reported it had been encountered by a child protection team). At the Reading conference the Nottingham social workers first went public with their claims that their child abuse case involved a satanic ring. Maureen Davis of Reachout said she knew of 35 cases of satanic abuse.
A series of investigations followed: in November 1989 in Trafford, Greater Manchester, where social workers had the list of satanic indicators; also late in 1989 in Manchester, where social workers had attended the Reading conference and received advice from the Reachout Trust and the Mr [Rev] Logan, police were also advised by Judy Parry from Manchester, who was trained by Maureen Davies; in December 1989, in Knottingley near Pontefract in west Yorkshire, where Childwatch campaigner Diane Core passed on literature; in March 1990 in Rochdale, after social workers and a police officer attended a London seminar and received satanic indicators originally circulated by the Reachout Trust.
Judy Parry was also consulted by some parents; in June 1990 in Liverpool, where social workers sought advice from the Congleton social workers and police were advised by Maureen Davies, the Mr.[Rev] Logan and Diane Core; at the end of July 1990 in Strathclyde where social workers attended the Dundee conference and took advice from the Nottingham social workers.
In these cases a total of 52 children have been made wards of court, most remain in care, three men face charges including child abuse, but police have found no evidence of satanic abuse.
Virtually every British police force has received the satanic indicators. And although they might regard them as absurd, the social services inspectorate has sent similar "memoranda" to every social services department in Britain.
One Rochdale policeman involved in the case has a theory: "What I think is happening is there are some cranks among social workers. They are getting wind of these documents and they are trying to tie it up with routine abuse cases. If social workers came to us with allegations of this nature we have to investigate. I don't see how it can be stopped from happening again."
* Additional reporting by Adam Sage and Sarah Strickland.
(The following article reprinted with permission from the Dark Lily. CWR thought it might be of interest to our readers to see how some Satanists define themselves.)
The slogan "Evil is Live spelt backwards" was effective (though "Devil" on the same principle put us in the past tense) but its shock value and therefore usefulness has long since receded. It is now counter productive if being evil is regarded as a necessary qualification to be a follower of the left Hand Path. So let us relegate that myth to the junk heap, along with the other nonsense about Satanism being an offshoot of Christianity (even the Christians' Bible testifies against that). Satanism is no longer a hook on which the unenlightened can hand their guilt complexes. Two thousand years of being the "scapegoat" has inevitably left us on the defensive. In any statements for public consumption, we have expended too much time and energy in explaining what we are not, and this preponderance of the negative has created a void rather than a valid exegesis. Now we are once again being accused of sacrificing babies and indulging in illegal sexual acts. People assume that we gain some advantage by so doing, though no one has ever detailed how such acts could increase Knowledge, and Knowledge is what Satanists are seeking.
Orthodoxy substitutes Faith for Knowledge. No one can form an objective judgment without experience, but experience is forbidden to the folowers of establishment religions. Belief is demanded. Centuries ago, this may have been a useful contribution to the stabilisation of Society (though the excesses of the Inquisition and similar efforts in all European countries and their colonies give rise to some doubt about this method being justified).
However, in the present day, it is illogical to think that the survival of nations and alliances would be affected by people's belief or lack of belief in any religions system. Freedom is today's demand, and freedom of thought is one of the essential liberties.
Probably the greatest question on Earth is the inescapable fact of death. Freed from the tenets of orthodoxy and its improbable placebos, we want to know what really happens when our mortal body ceases to function. We also wish to learn how to become more effective whilst on Earth, how to achieve in many ways. Myths and legends do not interest us. We are concerned with Reality. We want to know. Those four words summarise the Satanic quest.
We do not believe that some mysterious and awesome deity (whether or not he has horns and tail) is going to hand us that Knowledge in return for our allegiance (or that problematic entity the "soul"). Knowledge is acheived by learning, working, experimenting, experiencing, and thinking. That is why the orthodox religions fulminate against us, because they are aware of the insecure foundations of their own dogma. It is our existence that threatens them.
Faith is the true evil. Blind, unquestioning faith in a religion or a cause has made men go to war, commit unspeakable acts of persecution and terrorism against other human beings. The Satanist does not offer such allegiance. It is his principle to ask "Why?" One little word that could shatter empires. No wonder they are so afraid of us.
TEEN PANEL CONCLUDES LARSON SYMPOSIUM
by Vicki Copeland
The teen panel consisted of 5 kids live and Sean Sellers via phone hookup from McAllister Prison in Oklahoma. The panel was composed of Sally, who was a supposed ritual abuse survivor; Laurie who had studied various branches of Metaphysics, including Wicca; Dragon, a Heavy Metal street preacher and former white supremacist gang member; Jay, a Satanic High Priest; and Jeff, who had recently been initiated into Satanism at Samhain(Halloween).
Sally spoke first. She was supposedly a member of a family that had been involved with Satanism for 28 generations since the 15th century. Her earliest memory is around the age of 5 when a rabbit was killed in her presence and she was told not to talk about it. She says it was her father's family that was involved with this, and her mother got her out of it, although her brother is still involved. Sally claims to have seen her first human sacrifice when she was 12 years old, to have witnessed over a dozen more in her years as a member of the cult and argues that she didn't go to the police because 80% of the police in her town were involved with the cult. Incest is supposedly a big part of the practices of the group. She claims to have been impregnated by her father, but says that the child was lost in something that was a sacrifice to Satan "in a way." She claims that victims don't get out with evidence.
Supposedly, one of the leaders in the group showed her a computer printout of a listing of "keymasters" who made up a computer network of cultists. She says this printout stretched the length of the room.
Laurie says she used to be a "white witch" although she is not currently practicing. She uses crystals, tarot cards and various other tools the Christians deem part of the "occult". She says she has many friends who are Wiccan, but that she is leaning more back towards her Catholic roots. Laurie has studied many religions and says that her knowledge is a weapon against fear and ignorance.
Mike or "Dragon" as he prefers to be called, is involved with promoting of Christian Heavy Metal music. He used to have the idea that "Christians are wimps". His dad's job took the family to Afghanistan where he saw a lot of other religions. He was angry with his Mom because she was a strict disciplinarian and spanked him naked in the yard in front of his friends as a child. With no way to deal with the emotional abuse, he turned to KKK groups for companionship. His dad was an alcoholic and he had friends involved with the occult. He didn't relate how he got "saved."
Jay was a wellspoken, welldressed 19 year old from Colorado Springs. His opening comments were, "I'm not a cat killing Satan worshipper." He is an ex-Lutheran who feels that "God failed me. He showed me nothing." He says that Satanism gives him peace of mind. When asked "How can Satanism resolve anger?" his reply was "by not building up a pipe dream." "What do you do for the Devil?" Larson asked him. Jay replied that he performs ceremonies and rituals.
In reference to Sean Sellers, Jay commented that he thought Sellers was mentally disturbed.
Q: Larson - "What assurances do we have living near you that the evil powers wouldn't make you slip over the edge?"
A: Jay - "Because I don't have a brain disorder. I'm not mentally disturbed."
Jeff is a 19-year-old who was initiated into Satanism on Samhain of this year. He opened his segment by saying, "Except for religious views, I am a normal person. I'm not a leper. I'm a normal human being. You can come and talk to me."
Larson tried to get him to say that during his initiation blood was used, but Jeff maintained that it was a mixture of Bacardi and Mt. Dew in the chalice. Larson and the audience did not believe this .
Q: Larson - As a Satanist, who do you invoke?"
A: Jeff - "The 4 powers of Hell."
Q: Larson - "Why do you do this?"
A: Jeff - "I wanted to be totally committed to my religion. I now feel better about myself."
Q: Larson speaking to Sean Sellers via satellite hookup -"Sean, did you hear the suggestion that you're crazy?"
A: Sellers - "Yes."
Q: Larson - "And are you?"
A: Sellers - "No."
Q: Jay - "Were you."
A: Sellers - "Maybe. I don't think so."
At this point Larson motioned for the CWR people to come to the microphone. He began by making references to the fact that we were sort of an "anti defamation for the Witches."
I replied by stating that that was exactly right. We were the BOD of Cult Watch Response, which Det. Jones had mentioned earlier, and that I was the area coordinator for the Wiccan Information Network. Larson seemed a bit taken aback that his intended joke turned out to be more true than he knew. He asked us what we were doing there and we replied that we had come to see what was being said and to tell people what Witches were REALLY about. He wanted to know what kind of misinformation that I thought he was spreading and I told him that we didn't murder babies and hold wild orgies and that he darn well knew it. Larson agreed. We chatted a bit more and finally agreed to disagree theologically. He wanted to know if we had any parting words, and we told him that the audience had no idea of the kind of courage it took to stand in front of an audience of 500 people who thought we were after their kids and tell them that we were not what they thought we were. Also, in the course of our conversation, Larson mentioned that the kids were not following La Vey because they claimed not to do certain things outlined in The Satanic Bible. I pointed out to him, that just because La Vey said it, didn't make it true.
Questions and Answers:
Q: Eddie Unknown location) to Laurie - "You say knowledge is your weapon. Do you find anything subversive in the Bible?"
A: Laurie - "I have found instances of human sacrifice in the Bible."
Q: (couldn't hear the name or location) - What about moral values. Do you set them yourselves? If so, if society changes, do your values change?"
A: Jay - "Possibly yes, possibly no, it depends."
Q: Larson - "Is there anything that you believe is always wrong?"
A: Jay - "Yes, rape. I don't think there's ever a time when it's right."
Q: Police detective from Loveland to the Satanists - This was a statement that he thought the Satanists were being wishy-washy. He was quite vehement in his viewpoints, often shouting at the kids.
Q: Larson to Jay - "Did you call upon the devil before you came here today?"
A: Jay - "I called upon myself."
Sally - "Anton La Vey did not start Satanism."
VIOLENCE AGAINST PAGANS INCREASES
(Ed. Note: In keeping with the trend we started in the last issue, we hereby further document cases of misinformation concerning occult related crime and/or violence directed at Pagans.)
1. Rocky Mountain News 9 Aug.
"Two men were charged with conspiring to murder a neighbor they thought was a witch, Beulah, N.D.,authorities say. Karina Singer, 61, said she had no idea some of her neighbors suspected she was a witch until two armed men were arrested on her farm last week. Jim Reppen, who works for a tire service company, and farmer Dean Unterseher were charged with conspiracy to commit murder. The charge carries a possible life term."
2. The Lughnasadh issue of "Green Egg" reports the following in an article titled "No Compromise in Defense of Mother Earth." Earth First activists Judi Bari and Darryl Cherney were injured in a firebombing of their car May 24, 1990. The Santa Rosa Press Democrat received an anonymous letter from someone calling themself the "Lords Avenger" which claims, "I built with these Hands the bomb that I placed in the car of Judi Bari...This woman is possessed by the Devil ...The Lord...revealed this unto me outside the Baby Killing clinic when Judi Bari smote with Satan's words the humble faithful servants of the Lord. ... This possessed demon Judi Bari spread her Poison to tell the Multitude that trees were not God's gift to Man but that trees were themselves gods and it was a Sin to cut them... I felt the Power of the Lord stir within my Heart and I knew I had been Chosen to strike down this Demon...all those who would come to the forest and worship trees...If you Heed not this Warning and go into the forests to do Satan's Bidding, surely you will Suffer the Punishment of the demon Judi Bari." While CWR does not condone the operating methods of the Earth First! organization, we also do NOT condone violence against anyone, especially for religious reasons.
3. After a past history of problems with their neighbors, including death threats and vandalism to the coven's out-door temple, Lothlorien Coven in New Port Richey, Florida was fired upon while holding a Circle on private land. The coven was in the process of conducting a protection ritual on a private island in Moon Lake when shots rang out and bullets whizzed through the underbrush. The case is still being investigated at this time and CWR will keep you informed as to new developments.
MORE CHANGES AT CWR
We wish to WELCOME a new staff member. Our new secretary (who wishes to remain anonymous) is a most welcome addition. She is assisting Vicki in updating the master files of the clipping list (which have been SADLY neglected), keeping mailing lists current and renewal notices mailed. As our first non-Pagan staff member, this Christian enjoys working on challenging and interesting projects. WELCOME and THANKS!!
You may have already noticed that this issue is larger then previous issues. Costs of mailing a 16-pages compared to 12-pages are the same, so we decided to bring you more of what you pay for with each issue. This is going to mean we need more quality researched articles, reviews, etc. to print.
We have also received inquiries about placing CWR in retail outlets. If there is an outlet in your area you think would be interested in carrying CWR, please have them contact us.
Finally, inquiries continue to come in from all around the world to CWR. Our latest contacts are in Australia. This means that CWR is being read in 6 countries and on 3 continents.
NOTICE:
Due to severe procedural differences, Our Lady of the River, First Wiccan Church of Algonquin (formerly Nova Coven), it's High Priest and High Priestess, Lee and Bonnie Darrow, (aka Duncan and Nimue) have resigned from and severed all ties with the Midwest Pagan Council.
CALIFORNIA OFFICE OF CRIMINAL JUSTICE PLANNING NOTES MISINFORMATION
(Ed. Note: The following is an excerpt from "Occult Crime: A Law Enforcement Primer" by the Office of Criminal Justice Planning, State of California. The publication is reviewed in this issue.)
RUMOR OR REALITY?
The following article appeared in the July 28, 1989, issue of "The Pantagraph", a Pontiac, Illinois newspaper:
Goat Near Pontiac Possibly a Sacrifice. A mutilated goat found in the Vermilion River near Pontiac was "probably" the victim of satanic activity, Livingston County Sheriff's police said yesterday. The 50-pound male goat was found Wednesday in the Vermilion River ...after the county veterinarian received an anonymous tip, police said. The goat, which had been dead for three to four days, was castrated and its horns were cut off, police said, adding that small animal sacrifice is common among devil worshipers. However, no indications of Satanic worship were found near the goat, and police said there was no indication the animal was killed in Livingston County. Although both county and city police have received reports of satanic meetings, rituals, and animal sacrifices, little physical evidence has supported those reports...
On July 29th, this follow-up article appeared:
Goat Killed in dog attack. German shepherds, not devil worshippers, were responsible for the mutilation of a goat found Wednesday in the Vermilion River near Pontiac, Livingston County Sheriff Don Wall said yesterday. A McLean County resident whom Wall declined to identify, admitted yesterday that he dumped the 50-pound goat in the Vermillion River. Wall said the man contacted police after reading news stories that authorities believed the animal was sacrificed by members of a satanic cult... Police originally believed the goat was castrated and has its horns cut off by satanists, who often sacrifice small animals. However, Wall said the goat was injured when the dogs attached and its horns had previously been removed...
REVIEW: Research Update - Occult Crime: A Law Enforcement Primer from Office of Criminal Justice Planning, State of California, Gayle Olson-Raymer, writer)
Of all the training manuals that have come across the CWR desk, this is by far the most objective and best documented that I have been privileged to see. The California Office of Criminal Justice Planning has good reason to be proud of an excellent resource tool.
Rather than taking sides on the controversial issues of occult related crime, this manual first defines the problem, then proceeds to objectively present the arguments of all sides in the debate.
The manual defines seven issues surrounding the question including "Historical Depictions of Witchcraft - Reality or Myth?", "Dabbling in Music, Games, and the Occult - contagion or Adolescent Maturation?", "Definitions of Occult Crime - Necessary or Superfluous Criminal Categories?", "Perpetrators of Ritualistic Abuse - Actions of True Believers or True Criminals?", "The Extent of Ritualistic Abuse - National Conspiracy or National Hysteria", "Adult Victims of Ritualistic Abuse -Survivors or Delusionaries", and "Child Victims of Ritualistic Abuse - Abused or Indoctrinated?" Without taking sides in the issues, the manual then proceeds to investigate all viewpoints, complete with references.
Another section presents extensive case studies of four legal decisions regarding some aspect of occult crimes.
In each section, massive amounts of resource material is referenced and more than adequate contact addresses are given for collecting further information. The text is written in an easy to understand manner that is readily understood by a layman who is not familiar with legal and/or police terminology.
All in all, I would highly recommend this publication to our readers. The copy we received had no pricing information, but more information can be obtained by writing the Office of Criminal Justice Planning, 1130 K Street, Suite 300, Sacramento, CA 955814 or calling (916) 324-9100.
REVIEW: Deputy Sheriff's Association Manual a Disappointment
"An Informational Aid to Understanding Gangs, Groups, And Cults," by The San Diego Deputy Sheriff's Association, published by Stuart-Bradley Productions, Inc.
After viewing the manual from the Department of Criminal Justice, I had high hopes for this manual as well. Unfortunately, those hopes were not realized. This manual is plagued with misinformation, urban legend, and typographical errors.
Take, for example, the definition of "Witchcraft" found on page 115, "The term witchcraft (sic) and sorcery are commonly interchanged. However, there is a hairline distinction between the two. Though both do harm, a sorcerer is motivated by ill will, whereas a spirit possession causes a witch (sic) to do harm..."
On page 134 in an article entitled "The Satanic Calendar Explained", we find the following "February 25 signals Beltane, a blood ceremony. Communions are held with blood filling the chalice. Animal dismemberment and sacrifices are common in this ceremony." To begin with, any historian will tell you that Beltane is April 30-May 1. The date of February 25 had NO significance to Pagan religions. Secondly, the festival of Beltane is one of reaffirmation of life, being based on the return of Spring and the birth of the baby animals. Magickally speaking, blood sacrifices and death would be entirely inappropriate at this time of year.
My final objection to this work has to do with the references used. Passport Magazine, "America's Best Kept Secret" and "Dr." Rebecca Brown's He Came to Set the Captives Free are hardly my idea of objective, well informed source material for the training of police officers. Were I a resident of San Diego County, I would complain about misuse of my tax dollars.
Editorial Policies
CultWatch Response is published by CultWatch Response, Inc., a non-profit Corporation under the laws of the State of Colorado. We publish many original works in the interest of supplying law enforcement officials with information on the Craft in the United States and Canada; we also republish (with permission) articles from other sources.
We welcome articles, reviews, etc. We do ask that our contributors not UNFAIRLY promote any race, cultural group, either sex, or any magickal group or tradition above another. We emphasize careful research and/or well-thought-out opinions, and will not consider articles suggesting harm to anyone or anything.
CultWatch Response, Inc., is supported only by subscription revenues and sales of our booklets and brochures; any short falls are made up from the pockets of Board members. CWR is not supported by any religious, political, or business group. We are in the business of promoting understanding about the Craft and about occult related crime.
NEW COMPUTER NETWORK FORMED
A new computer echo on the Fido network system has been formed. Cult Information Network is being moderated by Vicki Copeland, (aka Rowan Moonstone) and has been formed for the purpose of discussing various groups which might be thought of as cults. If you would like to have this echo sent to a computer BBs near you, contact us here at CWR and we will make the necessary arrangements.
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