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Nov. 6th, 2007 10:32 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
badstarSo...no doubt most people have by this point heard about the Wiccan guy from Maryland who won the lottery and is planning to open some sort of witch school thing....it's constantly in the news around here still so it's kinda hard to miss.
I don't know Bunky personally, I know quite a few people who do though. but I have to say, I'm kinda sick of hearing about it. Do I wish at all that it were me who won? I'd be lying if I said I didn't kinda wish I had...but then I also don't buy lottery tickets, so I have no right to complain that I didn't win.
But seriously, can we go a day without a major news story? I don't think there's been a day since he first won that he hasn't been in the media. And none of the stories ever say anything new.
Then I saw this story...and well, they've all been irritating. They've all said pretty much the same thing...but this one? Okay...first of all, you'd think that he was some sort of guru from the way they talk about people sitting around him and asking questions...
"Wearing a polo shirt, black jeans and white sneakers, his fingers decked out in gold rings, Bartlett answered all kinds of questions from the dozen or so seekers who showed up."
and
"One woman told the group how Bartlett had helped her cleanse her house of bad energy - energy that was streaming in from certain items her ex-husband had left behind that she didn't realize were there. Others asked serious questions about Summerland, the Wiccan equivalent of heaven, and what it feels like to have a transformational experience."
and
"Asked his opinion on drug use, he said, "If you can't get there on your own, you aren't supposed to be there."
and
"On spirituality: "People ask me, 'How long does it take to become a Wiccan or whatever?' And the answer is, 'It takes a lifetime.'"
Then farther down, there's the comment that essentially boils down to "Wicca is whatever you want it to be"- it's not something quoted of anyone, but if there was anything in the article I could have taken seriously, this is enough to cancel it out. That and the fact that he can't make up his mind if he believes in curses or not. One would think that a Wiccan High Priest would have decided that by now.
The future Willow Springs Sanctuary and Community Center - likely to be somewhere in Baltimore County, but Bartlett doesn't yet know where - will teach classes about all religions, offer technology courses for those seeking better jobs and counseling for those seeking to make sense of their lives. And, the $33 million winner hopes, it will help demystify a religion that for most of the public remains shrouded in myth - a fast-growing faith that millions of Americans share, even if they're not always open about it.
"When I won, I had a choice. I could have stayed quiet or I could take the bull by the horns and use this as an opportunity to educate," Bartlett said. "I chose to educate. I believe that's what the gods wanted."
It doesn't really seem in Bartlett's nature to be quiet. His monthly coffee klatch yesterday at Mystickal Voyage, a New Age shop across from the Food Lion in a White Marsh shopping center, went long past the noon hour when it was supposed to end.
Wearing a polo shirt, black jeans and white sneakers, his fingers decked out in gold rings, Bartlett answered all kinds of questions from the dozen or so seekers who showed up.
Asked his opinion on drug use, he said, "If you can't get there on your own, you aren't supposed to be there."
On spirituality: "People ask me, 'How long does it take to become a Wiccan or whatever?' And the answer is, 'It takes a lifetime.'"
And upon realizing that he had spent the past 10 minutes talking with his arm leaning on his chocolate muffin?
"Move the muffin," Bartlett bellowed. "It's all good!"
One woman told the group how Bartlett had helped her cleanse her house of bad energy - energy that was streaming in from certain items her ex-husband had left behind that she didn't realize were there. Others asked serious questions about Summerland, the Wiccan equivalent of heaven, and what it feels like to have a transformational experience.
Though the Wiccan religion has several major holidays and festivals, it has very little doctrine. The faith is, in a lot of ways, what the practitioner wants it to be.
That's one reason pagan practitioners like Sherry Marts are excited about Bartlett's plans. Few training opportunities exist for pagan clergy, and what is available is mostly through the Internet.
"Folks who have wanted to serve in a leadership capacity have managed to cobble together an education through Christian divinity schools, counseling programs, and the Unitarian Church," said Marts, a practicing witch and spokeswoman for the Open Hearth Foundation, a pagan community center in the Washington area. "It's been kind of a piecemeal. It would be great to have a pagan seminary."
Practitioners like Marts say the Harry Potter books have made more people curious about Wicca. But they have also helped to spread misconceptions that the religion is all about magic spells and pointy hats. Indeed, after he won the lottery, many people stopped by Bartlett's coffee klatch at Mystickal Voyage, hoping he would reveal the spell he cast to win the lottery.
Some religious experts say the number of people practicing Wicca is around 200,000. But Ed Hubbard, founder of the Witch School International in Rossville, Ill., said the number is closer to several million. The truth is, nobody really knows because so many practitioners keep their beliefs to themselves.
The Witch School International offers weekend workshops and plans to open a campus in Salem, Mass., next year. There is also a pagan seminary in Vermont. But Hubbard thinks there is a need for a prominent college-type institution.
"If he's really serious about investing real money, he'd have the first Wicca university, easily, with 10,000 students in the first five years," said Hubbard. "It could be the first of its kind in modern times."
Starting a pagan worship and education center isn't easy, he added. The Witch School International, for example, hasn't always been warmly welcomed by those who live near its headquarters in Illinois.
It might help, then, that Bartlett wants to incorporate other religions into the center, and that he and his fellow devotees seem so, well, normal.
On a Sunday morning, they sit around sipping coffee, occasionally checking cell phones and BlackBerries. They drive regular cars and wear Sunday morning dress-down clothes. And they have a sense of humor - one woman sported a T-shirt that said "Aberzombie and Witch, 666."
Like any normal guy who just won $33 million, Bartlett is also doing a little spending - he's become a regular at a certain Ford dealer. But ask him if he knows about the "lottery curse" - the bad luck that seems to befall those who become multimillionaires overnight - and Bartlett the witch just smiles his Cheshire-like grin.
"Oh, I don't believe in curses," he said, then paused. "No, I have the ability to deflect the curses that come my way."
In the end, I just wish he would find some space and get on with it and stop with the media parade. Or at the very least, have SOMETHING new and substantial to say.
I don't know Bunky personally, I know quite a few people who do though. but I have to say, I'm kinda sick of hearing about it. Do I wish at all that it were me who won? I'd be lying if I said I didn't kinda wish I had...but then I also don't buy lottery tickets, so I have no right to complain that I didn't win.
But seriously, can we go a day without a major news story? I don't think there's been a day since he first won that he hasn't been in the media. And none of the stories ever say anything new.
Then I saw this story...and well, they've all been irritating. They've all said pretty much the same thing...but this one? Okay...first of all, you'd think that he was some sort of guru from the way they talk about people sitting around him and asking questions...
"Wearing a polo shirt, black jeans and white sneakers, his fingers decked out in gold rings, Bartlett answered all kinds of questions from the dozen or so seekers who showed up."
and
"One woman told the group how Bartlett had helped her cleanse her house of bad energy - energy that was streaming in from certain items her ex-husband had left behind that she didn't realize were there. Others asked serious questions about Summerland, the Wiccan equivalent of heaven, and what it feels like to have a transformational experience."
and
"Asked his opinion on drug use, he said, "If you can't get there on your own, you aren't supposed to be there."
and
"On spirituality: "People ask me, 'How long does it take to become a Wiccan or whatever?' And the answer is, 'It takes a lifetime.'"
Then farther down, there's the comment that essentially boils down to "Wicca is whatever you want it to be"- it's not something quoted of anyone, but if there was anything in the article I could have taken seriously, this is enough to cancel it out. That and the fact that he can't make up his mind if he believes in curses or not. One would think that a Wiccan High Priest would have decided that by now.
The future Willow Springs Sanctuary and Community Center - likely to be somewhere in Baltimore County, but Bartlett doesn't yet know where - will teach classes about all religions, offer technology courses for those seeking better jobs and counseling for those seeking to make sense of their lives. And, the $33 million winner hopes, it will help demystify a religion that for most of the public remains shrouded in myth - a fast-growing faith that millions of Americans share, even if they're not always open about it.
"When I won, I had a choice. I could have stayed quiet or I could take the bull by the horns and use this as an opportunity to educate," Bartlett said. "I chose to educate. I believe that's what the gods wanted."
It doesn't really seem in Bartlett's nature to be quiet. His monthly coffee klatch yesterday at Mystickal Voyage, a New Age shop across from the Food Lion in a White Marsh shopping center, went long past the noon hour when it was supposed to end.
Wearing a polo shirt, black jeans and white sneakers, his fingers decked out in gold rings, Bartlett answered all kinds of questions from the dozen or so seekers who showed up.
Asked his opinion on drug use, he said, "If you can't get there on your own, you aren't supposed to be there."
On spirituality: "People ask me, 'How long does it take to become a Wiccan or whatever?' And the answer is, 'It takes a lifetime.'"
And upon realizing that he had spent the past 10 minutes talking with his arm leaning on his chocolate muffin?
"Move the muffin," Bartlett bellowed. "It's all good!"
One woman told the group how Bartlett had helped her cleanse her house of bad energy - energy that was streaming in from certain items her ex-husband had left behind that she didn't realize were there. Others asked serious questions about Summerland, the Wiccan equivalent of heaven, and what it feels like to have a transformational experience.
Though the Wiccan religion has several major holidays and festivals, it has very little doctrine. The faith is, in a lot of ways, what the practitioner wants it to be.
That's one reason pagan practitioners like Sherry Marts are excited about Bartlett's plans. Few training opportunities exist for pagan clergy, and what is available is mostly through the Internet.
"Folks who have wanted to serve in a leadership capacity have managed to cobble together an education through Christian divinity schools, counseling programs, and the Unitarian Church," said Marts, a practicing witch and spokeswoman for the Open Hearth Foundation, a pagan community center in the Washington area. "It's been kind of a piecemeal. It would be great to have a pagan seminary."
Practitioners like Marts say the Harry Potter books have made more people curious about Wicca. But they have also helped to spread misconceptions that the religion is all about magic spells and pointy hats. Indeed, after he won the lottery, many people stopped by Bartlett's coffee klatch at Mystickal Voyage, hoping he would reveal the spell he cast to win the lottery.
Some religious experts say the number of people practicing Wicca is around 200,000. But Ed Hubbard, founder of the Witch School International in Rossville, Ill., said the number is closer to several million. The truth is, nobody really knows because so many practitioners keep their beliefs to themselves.
The Witch School International offers weekend workshops and plans to open a campus in Salem, Mass., next year. There is also a pagan seminary in Vermont. But Hubbard thinks there is a need for a prominent college-type institution.
"If he's really serious about investing real money, he'd have the first Wicca university, easily, with 10,000 students in the first five years," said Hubbard. "It could be the first of its kind in modern times."
Starting a pagan worship and education center isn't easy, he added. The Witch School International, for example, hasn't always been warmly welcomed by those who live near its headquarters in Illinois.
It might help, then, that Bartlett wants to incorporate other religions into the center, and that he and his fellow devotees seem so, well, normal.
On a Sunday morning, they sit around sipping coffee, occasionally checking cell phones and BlackBerries. They drive regular cars and wear Sunday morning dress-down clothes. And they have a sense of humor - one woman sported a T-shirt that said "Aberzombie and Witch, 666."
Like any normal guy who just won $33 million, Bartlett is also doing a little spending - he's become a regular at a certain Ford dealer. But ask him if he knows about the "lottery curse" - the bad luck that seems to befall those who become multimillionaires overnight - and Bartlett the witch just smiles his Cheshire-like grin.
"Oh, I don't believe in curses," he said, then paused. "No, I have the ability to deflect the curses that come my way."
In the end, I just wish he would find some space and get on with it and stop with the media parade. Or at the very least, have SOMETHING new and substantial to say.
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Curses....
Date: 2007-11-07 04:41 am (UTC)I'm a Wiccan HP. Do I believe in curses? I don't believe that I, or any one else, can directly affect the physical world via curses, pleas to the gods, etc. That doesn't mean that I believe that curses are ineffectual, just that they work indirectly, via changing peoples attitudes, actions, etc. If someone believes they are cursed, then anything which goes wrong (and lets face it, dozens of things go wrong on any average day) gets credited to the curse, making it every effective.
Does that mean I believe in curses? Or not? I dunno, but I can understand (in my own way) his statement, and sorta agree with it.
Re: Curses....
Date: 2007-11-07 05:37 am (UTC)What I'm understanding from what you're saying, and please correct me if I'm way off base, is that, despite being unsure of whether you believe in curses or not, you do actually believe in curses in a way- but you don't believe that they are what most people think they are- that they're essentially psychosomatic and self-fulfilling to the believer, which is also for the most part what I believe them to be.
On the other hand, he says that he doesn't believe in them, and then says that he can deflect the ones that come his way. Each statement in and of itself is pretty black and white- he doesn't believe in them, but he can deflect them. To be able to deflect those coming at him would require some sort of belief in them, whether it's a refusal to give them power over him, some sort of active anti-cursing, reflecting it back to the sender, or otherwise negating its effects. If he didn't believe in them, why would he need to deflect them?
Call me crazy, but it seems to me that you have to at least believe that something exists- be it in commonly assumed form or otherwise- to be able to have any effect on it (in this case, deflecting).
I see what you're saying, and it's not looking to me like the same thing. What you're saying makes far more sense to me logically.
Re: Curses....
Date: 2007-11-07 12:36 pm (UTC)I don't believe in curses in the same sense that the popular media would portray curses. I don't believe in the classical portrayal of a witch giving a cow "the evil eye" and it falling dead a week later in some causal relationship. I believe that the majority of the work done by "curses" is done in the mind of the recipient.
Unless you've thought about it ahead of time and aren't caught off guard by the question, the above nuanced view could come out as a bald "I don't believe in curses."
However, since I believe that the effects of curses are psychosomatic, it is easy for me to avoid their effects simply by not letting myself get rattled by them. A firm foundational disbelief in the actual effects of curses helps that. It makes it easier to laugh off the the so-called effects.
That, too, unprepared and caught offguard can come out as "but I can deflect them".
Having dealt with the media, I'm willing to give him the benefit of the doubt on that point.
What I'm more surprised about is that he didn't have a canned answer to the question.
no subject
Date: 2007-11-07 10:35 pm (UTC)