Have I mentioned my fundy background? I just learned on a pagan site that I'm part of the "3rd Wave of the Holy Spirit", loosely. See, I attained K&CHGA after being born again while immersed in the outpouring of the Spirit that was popping up here and there around the country in 2003.
So Jason mentions Palin today on FB, and I ended up at the Wild Hunt blog through Joe's blog, and there's another article on Palin, this one pointing out her affiliation with a group of Christians who used "imprecatory prayer" to allegedly give a witch cancer and drive her out of Alaska.
Now, on the one hand, I personally write Palin off out of hand. She's a gimmick, and she's distracting America from the next real Republican candidate. And that shit about her receiving the mantle of the presidency that's been prophesied over her... who really believes any of that shit? Like Christians have any access to divination, or the power to set destiny through concentrated prayer...
Right. Which brings us back to the Wiccan who went bline in her left eye, was diagnosed with cancer, and fled Alaske while this coven of Christian busybodies "prayed against the spirit of witchcraft in Alaska."
Am I the only person who has seen the power of Charismatic Christian Magic? Come on! There's more healing going on in the name of Christ than you can shake a stick at. Prayed for rye grew taller than not-prayed for rye. Prayer affects bacteria. Whatever model of magic you adhere to, the results are the proof.
I know these people. I know what they're capable of, and what their ambitions are. In many ways I agree with the Ideal they strive for. I don't trust them an inch to be able to accomplish their goals when faced with the temptations that come with power.
Palin's Power base is an effective team of experienced "prayer warriors" who are not above praying down fire and brimstone, locusts and plague, and cancer and blindness. There are even teams of these people working on killing Obama. It's easy to sit in liberal educated armchairs and laugh at the imaginary threat of the ignorant Christian True Believers, writing them off as "nut-jobs" and staying hidden, safe, watching Oprah alone in your little apartment when Palin's at the local Barnes and Noble signing her book.
But don't get so wrapped up in your comfy blanket of smug dismissal that you can't get unglued long enough to trace out a circle and mutter a few eldritch phrases from musty old tomes you've tracked down on the Internet. Rest assured there are ladies on arthritic knees sequestered amongst their pleather shoes in their closets, calling on God to empower Palin and anoint her in the mantle of the Presidency. Whether it's God or whatever spirits they've got at their beck and call, bet your ass that something is doing everything in its power to make sure Palin gets elected.
What are you going to do about it?
Here's a clue for would be spiritual warriors: expect a lot of the spirits around her to be Nepheshim, the hungry ghosts of the dead. These and similar spirits are the most abundant resources that respond to prolonged prayer. Check the Greater Key for sample Solomonic rites that require nine days of careful prayer to gather the spirits local. These are the kinds of spirits you'll be facing.
Bring a brass pot, or the equivalent. No point in letting the little buggers go to waste.
(Picturing a Hermetic Exorcism of Palin at a book signing; dude in robes reciting the Headless rite over her. As amusing as it may be, he'd have an interesting discussion waiting for him with the Secret service after pulling that stunt. The Black and Tans wear shiny black shoes.)
Their magic is powerful there is no doubt about that - and they know it. For instance, look at the rolling back of civil rights for GLBT people against all odds. Its driven by these mass imprecatory prayer-spells; directed by fundamentalist preachers like metaphysical nukes. Can you imagine the force of that? The right has an exceedingly potent magical weapon in the evangelicals.
ReplyDeleteRIGHT ON MAN!!!
ReplyDeleteYour tactics and stratagies differ from mine, but I do not underestimate these people, nor the power that they corral. Anyone who does so, puts us all at risk.
ReplyDeleteIts true, theres so much power in Christian magic,i call Jesus a ultra grand egregore- if he wasnt alive before( im not debating that ), he sure is now and able to affect people places and things independent of the believers because of the power of the numbers or believers, then dont even get started on the saints and the like . that's my take.
ReplyDeleteH
So, the question is, what do we do if the Christians are intent on a hostile takeover?! Elect Sarah Palin? Kill Obama? WTF?!
ReplyDeleteWhy didn't you mention that evil cabal focus on the family? ;)
ReplyDeleteI've been on the receiving end of a group of "prayer warriors" praying against me because I was involved with the occult. I can thank a fundy relative that tracked me down via the internet for that attack. It crossed me up BADLY for about a year before I figured out what was going on (yes, I should have realized it sooner than I did - but at the time I was going through alot of personal stuff and not really practicing heavily). Took alot of effort to clean up that mess. That same group prayed against the ex-wife of my step father who was causing strife in his new marriage, and her engine exploded while she was on the highway and she almost died. They ENJOY doing this kind of work.
ReplyDeletePeople who discount the power of those kinds of activities have never been in the midst of it. Growing up in a fundy church I heard my fair share of those kinds of prayer sessions. They are spooky powerful. Believe it!
I think this is an excellent post about a fascinating topic.
ReplyDeleteIt seems that the element of Faith is the key element. Curiously, I only truly learned this lesson while I was in Alcoholics Anonymous. That's where I saw peoples' lives changing regardless of their religious preference -- there were folks that had faith in a Purple Elephant, but they prayed, and they believed, and their lives changed.
It really shook me up to begin understanding that my prior experience with faith was not the only valid approach, as it was made abundantly clear to me in AA. They teach you to "seek conscious communication with the God of your own understanding", and there are no rules or stipulations about what that God may be. The implications this had for me when it came to magick were mind altering, totally. Most people expect it to be a Christian program, and it's not at all. It openly operates on the power of Faith in a Higher Power alone.
Anyway, good writing -- it got me thinking.
I agree with the others. Excellent post.
ReplyDeleteI was actually somewhat of a Fundamentalist Christian, more accurately an Evangelical Christian, for about five/six years.
Prayer is powerful in that there's faith, like someone else had said, but also because they beleive firmly that the Holy Spirit, God's Spirit pervading the Earth, will change hearts and minds. Add into the mix that their God is an entity who is Lord over all and is a jealous God who demands worship wrapped in love, and you've got yourself a magical torpedo.
Also, I think something else that makes this so potent is that they believe their God is the only God.
I agree with the others. Excellent post.
ReplyDeleteI was actually somewhat of a Fundamentalist Christian, more accurately an Evangelical Christian, for about five/six years.
Prayer is powerful in that there's faith, like someone else had said, but also because they beleive firmly that the Holy Spirit, God's Spirit pervading the Earth, will change hearts and minds. Add into the mix that their God is an entity who is Lord over all and is a jealous God who demands worship wrapped in love, and you've got yourself a magical torpedo.
Also, I think something else that makes this so potent is that they believe their God is the only God.