Prague Spring

To quote Wiki:

In April 1968, Dubček launched an "Action Program" of liberalizations, which included increasing freedom of the press, freedom of speech, and freedom of movement, with economic emphasis on consumer goods and the possibility of a multiparty government. The program was based on the view that "Socialism cannot mean only liberation of the working people from the domination of exploiting class relations, but must make more provisions for a fuller life of the personality than any bourgeois democracy." The program would limit the power of the secret police and provide for the federalization of the ČSSR into two equal nations. The Program also covered foreign policy, including both the maintenance of good relations with Western countries and cooperation with the Soviet Union and other communist nations. It spoke of a ten year transition through which democratic elections would be made possible and a new form of democratic socialism would replace the status quo.


Like all great plans that come to naught, so was my mother’s yearning to revisit the heart and soul of her ancestral domain. It was no longer the “golden city”. The age of Stalinism had reduced its former glory to utter dilapidated grey. Even the areas permitted access by western tourists showed the obvious signs of strain under the meagre coats of paint and plaster. Beyond those buckling facades, much of the city was in total disrepair- as if time had stood still there in the aftermath of WWII. Ironically, “Solidaria” was the name of the hotel where we stayed. What the tourists didn’t know was that two floors of the huge building had been quartering a contingent of red army troops. We had just got back from our own shopping venture, when a strange kind of fatigue overcame us. I distinctly remember a strangely sweet odor before passing out. We came to, only to discover 24 hours missing. Whatever the gas was, my mother took a seizure and suddenly the place was in a panic. I asked the other travellers if they noticed anything peculiar, but as I might expect they were completely oblivious, assuming we had gone off on our own. Fortunately the hotel manager had retrieved our passports and took us to a floor still under construction, where he could explain it to us, away from any listening devices. My mother carrying a Canadian passport with a NATO stamp in it, had obviously aroused suspicion, being as the Red Army was preparing to lay the city under seige. Nothing like being in the wrong place at the wrong time. How we ever managed to get out of that one I’ll never know, but I was only too glad when we were back in West Germany. It was bad enough enduring my mother’s horrific tirades about her past, but nearly winding up in the clutches of some secret police, no thanks.

Rude Awakenings

I was going through a very dramatic phase of adolescence, and the peer expectations of the community I was stuck in at the time was not helping things. It was a Canadian army community on the fringe of the German Ruhr District. A political island obsessed with some rather inane ideas about “God and Country”of the dreaded WASP variety (White Anglo-Saxon Protestant). They seriously believed anything outside of their mind-set was of subhuman nature if not satanic. My father was responsible for the domestic needs of the personnel married quarters there. He was a sergeant in the construction engineers, and by this time quite cynical towards the rather banana republic attitudes that prevailed in that insular hierarchy. Needless to say, his headstrong obstinance and point-blank forthrightness made me the unwitting target of the many retributions against him. Although berserker blood runs thickly in his family, having to perpetually beat sense into bullies on all levels of that strange society gave me a lot of serious doubts about humanity as a whole. I think what really blew me away though, was how they used Christianity as a ruse to justify their extreme prejudice for anything that differed, no matter what the circumstances. To make matters worse my mother was a refugee from Selesia (once Prussia) left brain damaged by an attempt on her life in 1953. So here I was with no one for moral support. It was at that point I had serious doubts about survival against the overwhelming odds. Came April 1968, my mother dragged me off on a bus trip to Prag. I remember her stories about how she had hid out there upon going AWOL from the German Luftwaffe. She had been involutarily drafted upon the incarceration of her father in a labour camp. He was a devout conservative who despised the national socialist regime. When confronted by the authorities demanding he salute Hitler, he shook his fist in the air, yelling out “Hitler verrecke!” (may Hitler die miserably). The fact is that powerful clairvoyant ability has always predominated both sides of the family. Of course given the circumstances of my mother’s untimely fate, I suspect nature made some pretty major compensations in my psychic means of self defence. Thus that trip to Prague was truly an eye opener. It was the Spring before the Red Army laid seige and deposed Dubchek in October 1968. I have never seen such a once beautiful city in so much terrible destitution. Although I was only 14, it became clear to me that these were all the classical consequences of megalomanic control freakdom. The blind desire for omnipotence through sheer ideological parasitism. A special kind of soul-sucking greed, so insatiably driven, that at the end of its resources will devour itself.

Having seen all this, my return to that foolish community was not a relief. Rather, I came to realize the true proportions dilemma I was in. A choice between evils, neither of which I wanted any part. Nonetheless, deep in my mind, resolution was already taking shape. Over the course of the months to follow, a war raged in my head over human worth amidst so much futility. At the same time the peer abuses and harassments of course escalated. Little did they realize though, I had one passage of escape they didn’t reckon on, and that was the Germans of my age group. It was from there on in I began to distance myself from that ghetto and adapt to German civilian life. With German as my mother tongue, this was not a problem and my Prussian grandfather lived nearby. Typically this was not well received by most of the Canadians who all too avidly called me a traitor. Still I stuck to my guns and told the lot of them off- children, adults, the military police, even the base commander and the general if I had to. At least amongst the Germans I was treated with respect and responsibility as a young adult should.

It was in this awakening I had a most extraordinary dream on the question of the great unknown. It was the first and only time I ever went sleep walking. As there wasn’t much in the line of open spaces in that densely populated region, instinct took me to a baseball field at the edge of the community. There I looked up into the sky and for once it was clear enough to see the great deep sea of stars. I watched amazed as their light began to stream down, and each seemed to represent a soul spirit. I could hear the thoughts and prayers of millions calling out from the darkness. I could hear the sounds and calls of different creatures as it all merged into a great wind and then a surge like the ocean. By this time the decending rays of light formed a great aurora of all colours across the sky. Then all the sounds merged into one breezy voice that assured me that not all was futile. It explained to me the true order of the cosmos, in that there can be no absolute. That like the stars that evolve out of the depths of the void, through change there is continuity. It is through nature’s will to make a difference that integity is dynamical maintained. The many different things that make the whole. Many things were explained to me that night. The real surprise however came when a friend approached me a week later to ask if it was me she had seen out in the baseball field that night. As her family’s apartment was next to that field, she had been witness to my escapades. What I did not expect is that she had also been witness to the strange goings on in the sky. Being as I took this for more of a personal vision than a shared visual experience, I was quite lost for words. It was just as well, because she also had told her mother of what she saw. Her mother was the president of the Protestant woman’s league and extremely pious about it. As I might expect, she did not allow her daughter to even so much as say hello to me anymore. From thereon in I became branded public enemy no.1, so it’s not like any love was lost turning my back on them.

Definitions of Wyrd

It was November 29th, 1963 around 6 p.m. We had supper early as my parents planned an evening on the town in Ste. Thérèse to celebrate their wedding anniversary, as well as my mother’s birthday the following day. We had been living in Camp Bouchard for about a year then, deep in the woodlands north of the city towards St. Jerôme. It was dark and utterly pouring outside with nil visibility. I was heading upstairs to my room as my parents were dressing up to leave. Suddenly there were strange sounds overhead as the house shuddered. A cuckoo clock fell from the wall. I could distinctly hear a sizeable aircraft going into an engine stall. This was truly eerie, as the approach route to Dorval Airport was about 7 miles north of us. Their glimmer in the distance always caught my eye, as I would while away the time on the back doorstep. This one was way off course. I ran up to the window, but couldn’t see or hear anything more. Just a dismal red glow appeared from somewhere beyond the dense wood. My parents didn’t make much of it, and proceeded with their plans to leave for the evening. They were barely gone 20 minutes when they came back complaining that all the roads were blocked, and no one could leave the base. By all accounts a DC8 had crashed in a field just short of the woods at the main auto route. The fear was a forest fire as our camp was a large munitions depot. Mind you, it rained so heavily, there was little chance of that. Nonetheless, my father, being the camp engineering foreman, got called to the scene. In the weeks to follow he and his men had to dig up what was left of all 118 aboard. Two kids were witness to the scene from their farm on the other side of the autoroute, and claimed the aircraft exploded just above the ground. Needless to say, not much was found in one piece. It took three weeks to recover the bodies, assemble and identify them. After about a week of this the recovery team dwindled down to just my father and a forensic specialist from McGill. Although my father was not known to grim out easily, for about a year after that he couldn’t stand the sight of raw eggs. Indeed, to spare the graphic details it was not at all a pretty sight. In retrospect though, it was quite amazing that the crew managed to keep the plane aloft long enough to avoid hitting the camp. We could have easily been amongst the fatalities.

Pseudopaganisms

Well it's pretty clear who's behind this charter trying to synthesize all "accepted" British pagan paths into one religious standard. As I might expect, its the Christian end of the OBOD... never mind the Archbishop of Canterbury himself. So, I know exactly where this is heading. Just so you know what I'm talking about, have a gander at this:

The primary quest of the spiritual person is to seek the truth and gain understanding within a growing relationship with spirit and to reflect this in the way we live our lives, to the benefit of our natural world, ourselves and the people/s we interact with. Light and dark, the cycles of growth and decay are natural, and not to be confused with evil. Evil is that which wilfully destroys without need, controls, removes freedom, spreads lies, causes pain and brings imbalance. Evil is not found in nature. Evil is an unnatural form of darkness.

The prime ethic: Be not evil. To pursue the primary quest of the spiritual person without indulging in evil deeds, be these magical, spiritual or physical in expression. What we do should be natural and therefore of the good ‘Light’. The sacred five principles that express the above: Truth and Honour; Strength and Courage; Justice and Balance; Beauty and Creativity; Love and Responsibility. Our Code of conduct is based upon the principles illuminated above, which we believe will come naturally and be familiar to most people within our tradition already. They are founded upon natural lore and the principles expressed in the stories of our Celtic ancestors.

Code of conduct

Truth and Honour: Undertake to work for the good, to protect and defend the vulnerable, never working magically or otherwise to harm or to seek alliance with or knowingly accept power from evil sources.
Recommended: Respect life at all times and in all of its forms Encourage others to believe in themselves and to grow in confidence Magically use only willing and natural sources of energy.
Prohibited: Sacrifice of animal or human life Capture of spirits Cursing Worship of and/or Releasing of evil entities Sorcery Sexual exploitation or coercion Spreading hate, lies or fear Misleading, tricking, or coercing others within your duty of care.

Strength and Courage: Strive to be the best that you can be, showing courage in difficult circumstances, standing by the truth and a sense of right even when under pressure to do otherwise.
Recommended: Undertake to simply do their best and set their own standards for this, encouraging others to do likewise.
Prohibited: Any action that disempowers others or removes from them the freedom to express their own conviction about right and wrong. For example do not participate in ‘Cults’ whereby people are required to surrender personal freedom on pain of social or spiritual exclusion or worse.

Justice and Balance: There is no justice without balance. Strive to be defenders of the Earth, a beneficial (to all) natural order and preservers of truth. This requires considered effort to make fair decisions both for oneself and one’s own actions and when considering the actions of others.
Recommended: You are reminded that in nature balance is not achieved by repression of forces, simply by the measure of one force against another. It is recommended that you try as part of your spiritual endeavours to apply yourself in a measured, considered and balanced way toward others. It is recommended that at the point of conflict, positions should be stated clearly and without adding insult, and temporary accommodations should be reached (ideally compromise) until the causal issues can be decided upon once the initial heat has dissipated. When asked to judge or state an opinion about the actions of others, you are advised to avoid speculation and gossip, and to seek the facts as seen by both (all) sides before reaching a judgement.
Prohibited: Using disproportionate force Giving false testimony Making judgements on others without declaring any partiality Malicious gossip Bringing the tradition into disrepute.

Beauty and creativity: One of the signs of the work of the Gods is the beauty within our natural universe. As one becomes adept in our tradition, observing the cycles of nature and learning to hear her ‘song’ it is frequently the case that we experience the need for creative expression.
Recommended: Encourage and assist the creative process to awaken in others Use your creative skills to reflect beauty, inspire, entertain and educate. Appreciate all that is beautiful.
Prohibited: Deliberately discouraging or repressing artistic expression in others Deliberate destruction of beauty within others The use of your arts to spread misery or discord.

Love and responsibility: In spiritual terms we are one with all and all are one with us. This realisation impacts the way we feel about all things around us and all beings. Some adepts refer to universal love being the force of connection between all things. Love does not require us to be passive whilst we or our loved ones are under attack, but it does require that we leave room for honour in how we act and the possibility of redemption. We have responsibility for our actions, the actions that effect that which is about and around us.
Recommended: Take responsibility for your actions Be mindful of the needs and circumstances of others Do not forget that we are all kin within the natural universe
Prohibited: Actions that are irresponsible and which needlessly and unreasonably threaten the wellbeing of that/those which surround us.

Well now, if this doesn't smack of a christian interfaith agenda, I don't know what does...especially this nonsense about sorcery and unnatural evil. What has been defined as “evil” here not only goes on the naive assumption that contrary behaviour is willfully destructive, but the generalization that destructive behaviour is without natural cause. If anything is unnatural here, it's the attempt to relate “evil” to darkness and good to “light”. Anyone in their right mind knows that predators come in all tints and shades, especially the most dazzling....and what's this about bringing "tradition" into disrepute? Are we talking about actual Celtic tradition or those romantic plagiarisms under the artistic license of Monmouth? Is this not cult dogma assuming Celtic lore as its principle gospel?..However, I have yet to come across the authenticity of their preposterous claims anyway. As for animal sacrifice,  it was the blood made the offering while the rest was eaten at the feast. Somehow they’re confusing the issue with old Abrahamic traditions of “burnt offerings”. Trying to distort history and the laws of physics around some ideological schism is no different than creationists trying to deny evolution...and aside from all that claptrap about black magic, who gave them the right to redefine what is already in the criminal code? Sharija law for pagans? Heh, you wish.

An Anatomy of Cult Group-Think

I’ve been told that a particular lobby in the British pagan community has been on a strange kind of crusade. While the obvious agenda has been to assimilate all “valid” belief groups into one religious standard- its validity inclines to be based purely on written dogma than any personal gnosis. Especially when it involves a specific code of ethics, its experts naturally assume this gives them authority above all the rest. Ironically, the ethics emphasized smack so heavily of Christian interfaith, the hidden agendas are all too obvious...and of course any rights and privileges only apply to the “valid” belief groups. While the general suspicion is that Rowan Williams has his hands in this, much of the blame falls on Tony Blair’s attitude that the average public lacks the incentive for responsible decision making. Indeed, this very bias seems to prevail amongst many who presume to hold a responsible position in the British pagan community. In essence, dissent is simply written off  as childish disobediance- and failing this, surrepititiously blackballed as anarchic conspiracy.  In the study of cult mind control, this is referred to the tactics of “self-fulfilling conspiracy”. In other words the dissenters are conveniently made to look like the trouble makers, so as to justify their removal. Having seen such draconian tactics being employed by a number of popular forums there, I reckon its only a question of time before a few internet authorities get wise to it. On the other hand, when people fail to see the signs, it’s time to bugger off as far away as possible before the impact. Such inept fools have that paranoid habit of trying shoot the messenger to hide their mistakes.

Back in 2006 on a California based witchcraft forum, the whingeing of too many young fluffies had an ugly habit of attracting trouble, and this time it smacked of a sexual predator with a drug-related delusional problem. Although some of the older members also realized something amiss, they weren’t quite sure how to deal with it. Although the admin was known to arse the fluffies with a few false identities, this was hardly the case, but either way I wasn’t gonna stick around to hear the screams. In the case of three British forums, however, there were just too many loose cannons coming from all sides every time shit happened- and this while I had quite enough problems on the home front. After four and a half years of nursing a severely stroke-debilitated father, I felt utterly ragged. What they called "prolonging life" was more like an unnaturally drawn out and agonizing death. The gradual and systematic shut down of every self-sustaining function left him mere skin and bones in the end. The last thing I needed was another tacky remake of “Charmed” trying to get on my case. The same goes for that plastic shaman and his alleged medicine woman who doesn’t know the geographical differences between Lakota, Dakota and Nakota. Guess that shows how far she got in her so-called medicine wheel teachings. As for those who think some new age course is gonna teach them amazing powers of perception, try the wilderness instead of pagan camp to learn what that inner voice is really trying to tell you.

Robert Jay Lifton's Eight Point Model of Thought Reform

1. ENVIRONMENT CONTROL. Limitation of many/all forms of communication with those outside the group. Books, magazines, letters and visits with friends and family are taboo. "Come out and be separate!"

2. MYSTICAL MANIPULATION. The potential convert to the group becomes convinced of the higher purpose and special calling of the group through a profound encounter / experience, for example, through an alleged miracle or prophetic word of those in the group.

3. DEMAND FOR PURITY. An explicit goal of the group is to bring about some kind of change, whether it be on a global, social, or personal level. "Perfection is possible if one stays with the group and is committed."

4. CULT OF CONFESSION. The unhealthy practice of self disclosure to members in the group. Often in the context of a public gathering in the group, admitting past sins and imperfections, even doubts about the group and critical thoughts about the integrity of the leaders.

5. SACRED SCIENCE. The group's perspective is absolutely true and completely adequate to explain EVERYTHING. The doctrine is not subject to amendments or question. ABSOLUTE conformity to the doctrine is required.

6. LOADED LANGUAGE. A new vocabulary emerges within the context of the group. Group members "think" within the very abstract and narrow parameters of the group's doctrine. The terminology sufficiently stops members from thinking critically by reinforcing a "black and white" mentality. Loaded terms and clichés prejudice thinking.

7. DOCTRINE OVER PERSON. Pre-group experience and group experience are narrowly and decisively interpreted through the absolute doctrine, even when experience contradicts the doctrine.

8. DISPENSING OF EXISTENCE. Salvation is possible only in the group. Those who leave the group are doomed.