Another candidate for Atlantis

A German archaeologist thinks that he has found the site of lost Atlantis, the BBC reports.

Satellite photos of a salt marsh region known as Marisma de Hinojos near the city of Cadiz show two rectangular structures in the mud and parts of concentric rings that may once have surrounded them.

“Plato wrote of an island of five stades (925m) diameter that was surrounded by several circular structures–concentric rings–some consisting of Earth and the others of water. We have in the photos concentric rings just as Plato described,” Dr Kuehne told BBC News Online.

Psychological polytheism

The Juggler links to a piece by a writer discovering the psychological polytheism of James Hillman.

“Hurray,” I say. But I have to say too that Hillman’s psychological writing takes some getting used to. The best introduction might be the collection A Blue Fire, introduced and edited by Thomas Moore.

And let me put in a plug for Ginette Paris’ books Pagan Grace and Pagan Meditation too.

Psychological polytheism rejects the idea of a single, true “self,” instead admitting that we all function as a collection of selves, Hillman seems to suggest too that “soul” (one of his favorite words, and used in his own way) is made over time rather than bestowed by a creator deity.

Hillman’s thinking is often capital-A Archaic; in other words, more in line with the previous 30,000 years of human culture than with 20th-century psychology. But he also does what philosophers should do: tell you how to live. Here’s a sample from the Scott London interview linked above:

Hillman: It’s important to ask yourself, “How am I useful to others? What do people want from me?” That may very well reveal what you are here for.

London: You’ve written that “the great task of any culture is to keep the invisibles attached.” What do you mean by that?

Hillman: It is a difficult idea to present without leaving psychology and getting into religion. I don’t talk about who the invisibles are or where they live or what they want. There is no theology in it. But it’s the only way we human beings can get out of being so human-centered: to remain attached to something other than humans.

Somehow I always suspected . . .

The Salt Lake City Weekly has a feature story on how Jay’s Journal, that staple of the nice-kid-caught-up-in-the-occult genre, is basically a fake. (Go Ask Alice is another.)

Titled Jay’s Journal: The shocking diary of a 16-year-old helplessly drawn into a world of witchcraft and evil … the book changed Alden from a sensitive, questioning young man with a high school girlfriend and sympathies toward Eastern religion to a curious teenager who unwittingly finds himself participating in vile satanic rituals, crazed sex with a girlfriend named Tina and outrageous acts of supernatural black magic. The book remains true to Alden’s fate, however. By book’s end, Jay kills himself.

Me, I was never caught up “the occult.” It’s because I knew that “occult” is an adjective–as in “the occult what?” (Sheesh, talk about a “disease of language.”)

Thanks to The Pagan Prattle.

War is not just between soldiers

Sometimes I play computer games. Tropico, also known as “SimCuba,” was a favorite, as were Atomic Games’ Operation Crusader and Stalingrad. I played every variation on the latter, until I was convinced that I could have won the Battle of the Don and saved most of the Romanian forces too. (Just take Gen. Von Manstein’s advice: stage a “communications breakdown” with Berlin and then evacuate Stalingrad, no matter what Der Fueher says.)

But I digress. The point here is that this article, using the language and humor of computer war- gaming, makes some valid points about not only the current Iraq and Afghanistan fighting, but on whatever will follow them as well.

Thanks to Belmont Club for the link.

The Goth menace and bureaucrats at play

What happens when a town gets a six-figure federal grant to study the pseudo-problem of Goth kids? Not much, except that people in charge get to travel to lots of conferences.

Instead, the draft report shows that $54,000 was spent on salaries for Ford and her secretary, whose duties included buying furniture and equipment to set up their office; doing research “utilizing the Internet, library, Barnes & Noble bookstore, A-to-Z Comics, Spencer Gifts and Hot Topics”; interviewing police and school personnel; poring over police and school reports for any instances of goth-related criminal activities (they found none); and creating checklists and a brochure about goths.

The whole story is here.

After Troy, Alexander

The official site for a new movie about Alexander the Great, starring Colin Farrell and directed by Oliver Stone, accompanied by a fan/critic’s site.

“Sampling Paradise” revisited

Writer Erik Davis rewrote his article on Goan trance music, “Sampling Paradise,” for a new anthology out from Routledge, Rave Culture and Religion, edited by Graham St. John.

Read the whole thing here; meanwhile, a sample paragraph:

Techno historians already know that English working-class kids brought raves back from Ibiza, the cheap vacation island off of Spain whose weather, slack, and lack of extradition treaties made it a Goa-style hippie colony decades ago. The original Ibizan DJs were certainly freaks, mixing Tangerine Dream in with their disco. But the holders of bohemian lore will tell you that the esoteric lineage of electronic trance dance lay further east, in Goa. When I spoke to Genesis P. Orridge, the leader of the magickal techno/industrial outfit Psychic TV, he said that “the music from Ibiza was more horny disco, while Goa was more psychedelic and tribal. In Goa, the music was the facilitator of devotional experience. It was just functional, just to make that other state happen.”

“Rebutting” Wicca

I did write to National Public Radio reporter Barbara Bradley Hagerty to share my question about why only Wicca, of the various new religious movements covered in her series, deserved to have someone outside its faith community comment on what was wrong with it–in other words, evangelical Christians.

Here is her response. Actually, at least the first two paragraphs are from the “boilerplate” response that she used for everyone who wrote in to criticize her reporting, and apparently there were quite a few of those. You might say that I am somewhat appeased, but not entirely convinced. (The lack of capital W on Wicca is hers.)

Dear Chas,

Barbara

Maxine Sanders interview

The Wiccan/Pagan Times has an interview with Maxine Sanders, another pioneer of the Craft. It was her often nude and then-blonde self who appeared skyclad in so many late-1960s and early-1970s books and articles, such as the Time-Life Books Man, Myth and Magic encyclopedia, not to mention various British tabloids, who loved the combination of her good looks and the persona of her former husband, Alex “King of the Witches” Sanders.

Left: Maxine and Alex Sanders in the late 1960s.

In the 1980s, Maxine seemed to drop out of sight. All I heard was that she was living somewhere in London. So this interview is a treat.

She remembers: In the sixties, word of mouth found a covenstead, or chance, if you believe in such like, which made the process of seeking Initiation somehow more magical. Most covens were extremely secretive. Fear of persecution was real, which made the coven bond extremely strong and the words “Perfect Love and Perfect Trust” passwords that were upheld. Persecution could result in job loss, family upset or worse, and more frequently, violence.

Thanks to The Juggler for the link.