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2600
"Bring to me
what I see
By thy power
Hecate.
Altar power
Must it be
Earth and Air
Fire and Sea
Bring to me
What I see
By thy power
Hecate."
Place the bag inside your cloting and wear it every day for 7 days.
Leave it on your altar every night visualizing prosperity. On the 7th
day, hide it in the eastern portion of your house.
There it is. It's a complicated spell, but it does work.
BB
Rowan
Spell for contacting a friend
Rowan Moonstone
This spell should be used to cause someone with whom you have lost
contact to contact you. It is not manipulation so much as an astral
call for contact when you have no other way to reach them that you know
of.
You will need:
White candle annointed w/ sandalwood oil
Sandalwood incense
photo of the person
small glass of water.
salt
Light the white candle and the incense. Place the picture of the person
on your altar. Put 2 heaping tablespoons of salt in the palm of your
right hand. Let a small amount of salt trickle into the glass while
making the sign of the equal armed cross of the elements. Make this
cross 3 times. Say " Call me" three times as yo do this. Then set the
glass on the altar and say "Get in touch with me, please." They
should contact you by the time the water has evaporated from the glass.
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2601
Coming of Age Ritual Notes
Malakus
Over the past weekend during an emotional upheaval I "Birthed" the
concept for the ritual. I thought I would pass the concept on to you
and see what you think. I have the ability to visualize a ritual from
beginning to end, sometime with brief snatches of dialogue. It's like
watching a play from the catwalks.
This is how I see this ritual unfolding. The boy who is entering
into Manhood will be abducted from the encampment where he is staying.
The women of his Mother Grove will try to fight the men off from
abducting the boy. When this skirmish is over and the boy is being
taken off by the men the women will mourn the loss of the child. The
boy will be stripped of his clothing and dressed in a deerhide loin
cloth. He will then be blindfolded and his journey will begin. Where
this ritual is being held there is approximately 5 miles of paths which
the boy will journey over. He will be led by his Father who will carry
a lamp to light his and his son's way. At the first prescribed stop the
boy will be addressed by Herne. Herne, will speak to the boy of his
wild nature, what it is like to be the hunter and the hunted. He will
charge the boy with the responsibilities of becoming a man through Him.
He will then tell the boy that He will meet him at the appointed place
in the appointed hour. Never revealing when and where that is. Herne
will withdraw into the woods as the Father and son begin to journey
again.
At the second stop the Father and boy will meet the Green Man. He
represents the boy's earthy nature. He is the boy sexual responsibility
as a carrier of sacred seed which is necessary to begin life. That he
must act intelligently when it comes to the act of procreation. The
Green Man as well will tell the boy that they will meet in the appointed
placed at the appointed hour. The Green Man will stand in silence as
the Father and boy leave.
At the third stop the Father and boy will meet Loki\Rainbow Dancer.
When I visualized the archetype I saw a myriad number of colours and
flashed of refracted light. Loki will speak to the boy of his dreams,
wishes and hope He will inform the boy that these are necessary even as
a man. That he should not give them up but allow them to mature as he
matures. Loki will also tell the boy that they will meet at the
appointed place in the appointed hour.
The Father and son will continue there journey until they reach the
last stop on their journey. Here they will meet the Magus who is robed
in black and you are unable to see his face. The Magus will speak to
the boy of his inner true self, his highest ideals, his magical self.
He symbolizes Divine Wisdom. When he is finished speaking he will also
tell the boy of meeting in the appointed place in the appointed hour.
All the archetype will be wearing masks that will be indicative of
them. Herne with horns, Green Man with a mask made of leaves, Loki with
the face of the fox, and the Magus with a black mask which entirely
covers his face. All the other masks will not cover the mouth area. My
Spirit Brother in Akron, OH is creating the masks and the staves for the
four archetypes. After the journey has been completed he will be
brought to the gateway of the ritual are Prior to the ritual itself the
boy will be asked to select something that symbolizes his childhood and
that he should bring it with him. When the boy is abducted those who
abduct him must be sure to acquire this childhood symbol to be given to
the father to take on the journey. At the gateway the father will stop
the boy and inform him that he must now give up this childhood symbol in
order to enter into the world of men. The boy must surrender the symbol
before the rite can continue. The symbol will be left at the gateway.
2602
I didn see a traditional circle being cast, rather a ring of men hand in
hand passing energy to form the circle. I keep hearing "a hand to a
hand, to feed a hand" or a "brother to a brother". The circle will open
to admit the father and boy The boy is still blindfold and will be place
before the balefire facing the gateway through which he just entered.
I see four men at various stage of the lives serving as Priests. One is
just past puberty, the next has himself just become a father, the next
being around 40-50 years (the age of the God at the
time of his decline in power) and the last being the Grandfather. The
four will each evoke one of the four achetypes that spoke to the boy
during his journey. The Priest just past puberty will evoke Loki, the
new father will evoke the Green Man, the 40-50 year old will evoke
Herne, and Grandfather will evoke the Magus. Each will be evoked
separately and when each has been evoked will enter the circle from
where they have been waiting out of sight of the circle itself. Each
will speak further to the boy of his mystery and present the boy with a
"gift" which will enable the boy to commune with the archetype
in times of trial in his life as a man. The last to speak will be
Herne. Just as he is is finishing what he has to say he will be
interrupted by the final archetype. This is the Great Mother. She will
speak to the boy of his union with her and to truly become a man he must
understand her magics as well. Herne and the Great Mother will argue
(choice of words, maybe not the best) over who this boy/man belong. The
Great Mother informs Herne that the boy/man belongs to Her. Herne
informs Her that She was there at his conception and birth and that She
will have him in death but now the boy/man belongs to Him. My Spirit
Brother has a staff with a deer hoof end which I see being placed on the
boy's heart while Herne claims him as his. During the claiming the
boy's blindfold will be removed and the boy/man will see Herne for the
first time with his hoof on his chest over his heart. After the
claiming is finished the boy will be approached by the four Priests for
the anointing.
I have an anointing already written for this part of the rite.
While the anointing is being done the four persons who are taking the
roles of the archetypes will leave and return dressed as they wish. The
boy will be taken to his father who will first greet the boy/man now as
a fellow man and a guardian of the male mystery. The father will then
take the newly made man to the North quarter where the Great Mother will
speak to the newly made man bestowing Her gift to him. When the Great
Mother speaks She will be heard only and not seen as if Her voice were
being carried on the wind.
The the newly made man will be taken to each man in turn in the
circle who will give the newly made man a gift. I see the gift being
wisdom something that they have learned of life and that they wish to
pass on to help the newly made man's journey through life. As each man
has an occupation which requires particular tools so does life require
its tools.
When all have granted their gift the newly made man will be asked
to bestow his blessing upon a horn of ale which symbolized the cup of
brotherhood of all peoples. The cup will be shared with all in the
circle and will symbolized the universality of men.
This is where I see the ritual ending. I see a simple feast being
held where the ritual has been. More cups will be filled, stories share
in the spirit of brotherhood. As the night wears on towards dawn the
newly made made will be left to himself, the balefire and the night. He
will return to the campsite from which he was abducted no longer as a
child but as a man with all the responsibilities of a man.
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2603
Lupercalia
She-Wolf
Lupercalia ia a Roman ritual of purification and fertility dating from
such an ancient time that even the Romans of the first century B.C.E.
had forgotten its origin and to which Gods it was dedicated and even the
meaning of some of its symbolism. (Contrary to Z Budapest's statements,
it was not known whether it was to Faunus and in fact I think it may
have been sacred to the more ancient founding Goddess, Rumina, the
She-Wolf of Rome.) Central to the ritual is the lustration (light
flogging) with a goat skin scourge (see, Gardner didn't
invent it). This was often accompanied by much rowdiness and horse-pla-
y. The purpose was the purification of the people from curses, bad luck
and infertility. The ritual is performed on February 15. The name of
the month comes from the februa, anything used in purifying including
wool (used for cleaning), brooms, pine boughs (which make the air sweet
and pure), etc.
The rite began in the cave of the She-Wolf in the city of Rome where
legend had it that the founders of the city, Romulus and Remus, had been
suckled by the wolf before they were found by a shepherd. The sacred
fig tree grew in front of the cave. Vestals brought to the site of the
sacrifice the sacred cakes made from the first ears of the last years
grain harvest. Two naked young men presided over the sacrifice of a dog
and a goat. With the bloody knife, their foreheads were smeared with
blood, then wiped clean with wool dipped in milk. The young men laughed
and girded themselves in the skin of the sacrificed goat. Much
feasting followed. Finally, using strips of the goat skin, the young
men ran, each leading a group of priests, around the base of the hills
of Rome, around the ancient sacred boundary of the old city called the
pomarium. During this run, the women of the city would vie for the
opportunity to be scourged by the young men as they ran by, some baring
their flesh to get the best results of the fertility blessing (you can
see why the Christian church tried so hard to get this ritual banned,
but it was so popular that it continued for quite some time under the
new regime.)
Except for the intrusion of foreign cults, this was the only Roman
ritual where a goat was sacrificed. Dogs were only offered to Robigus
(a guardian associated with crops), the Lares Praestites (the guardians
of community), and Mana Genata (ancestral guardians).
Because of the cave, the fig tree, the milk, and such, I suspect the
very oldest forms of this rite honored a Goddess. Unlike some of the
other Roman rites like the October Horse sacrifice, there is no other
Indo-European equivalent in Vedic, Scandinavian, Irish, or Indo-Iranian
traditions.
With modifications, the Temple of Pomona performed Lupercalias and has
a great time.
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2604
Stones, A Short Catalog
Tandika Star
BLOODSTONE
SCIENTIFIC INFORMATION: Bloodstone is a member of the Chalcedony
family.It is a variety of quartz (silicon dioxide) often with some iron
and aluminum. The chemistry is SiO2. It is dark, bright green spotted
with red inclusions. The streak is white. This is considered a microcry-
stalline variety of quartz and is not found in crystal form.
ENVIRONMENT: Chalcedony is formed in several environments, generally
near the surface of the earth where temperatures and pressures are
relatively low. It commonly forms in the zone of alteration of lode and
massive hydrothermal replacement deposits and as bodies of chert in
chemical sedimentary rocks.
OCCURENCE: India, Germany.
NAME: This stone is also referred to as "heliotrope," which is derived
from two Greek words which signify "sun-turning". It was given this name
because of a notion that when immersed in water it would turn the sun
red. Chalcedony is derived from Chalcedon, an ancient Greek city of Asia
Minor.
LEGEND and LORE: This is one of the birthstones for March.
"Who in this world of ours, her eyes
In March first opens, shall be wise.
In days of peril, firm and brave,
And wear a Bloodstone to her grave." (5)
Ancient warriors often carried an amulet of bloodstone which was
intended to stop bleeding when applied to a wound.
MAGICAL PROPERTIES: Because it is green, it can be used for "money
spells". It is also considered a "lucky" stone for atheletes because it
imparts courage and stamina.
HEALING: Heliotrope is used today in conjunction with anything having to
do with blood.
PERSONAL EXPERIENCE:I consider the ancient uses of bloodstone in line
with what I use it for today. In addition, I consider it a "cholesterol
buster", and wouldn't hesitate to apply it to any with this type of
problem. Generally I would use it at the Heart Chakra. I've also used it
successfully in situations where I needed "courage" to accomplish
something. I will just carry a piece of it in my pocket for this
purpose.
NOTE: Chrysoprase, carnelian, jasper and agate are all forms of
Chalcedony.
-------bibliography-------
1. Scientific, Environment, Occurance and Name are from (or paraphrased
from) "The Audobon Society Field Guide to North American Rocks and
Minerals".
2605
2. Legends and Lore, Magical Properties are from "Cunningham's En-
cyclopedia of Crystal, Gem & Metal Magic", by Scott Cunningham.
3. Some of the healing information may come from "Color and Crystals, A
Journey Through the Chakras" by Joy Gardner.
4. Personal Experience is from MY personal experience, journals and
notebooks, by <grin> Tandika Star.
5. Birthstone poem from "The Occult and Curative Powers of Precious
Stones" by William T. Fernie, M.D.
an interesting experiment (BLOODSTONE cont.)
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This is more about bloodstone, but I didn't want to include it in the
main text. Read on, and you'll see why...
A few years ago, I had a discussion with my daughter (who was about 13
at the time) about the "spiritual essence" of plants and stones. I
explained to her that different people "see" this spiritual essence in
various forms. Somehow, this led to a discussion of "devas", which she
interpreted as "people, but without a body that we can see with mundane
eyes."
A few days later, I was reading a novel, reposed on the sofa in my
livingroom. She was sitting on the floor by the coffee table, drawing
in her sketchbook with her pastels.
On the coffee table were several stones in a dish. One was an amethyst,
one a bloodstone, one was some yellow/green crystal that someone had
loaned to me because they wanted my "impressions" ...and there were some
others that I don't remember now.
I glanced over at my daughter, and she was holding one of the stones in
her hands, with her eyes closed. She apparently had achieved some form
of "altered state" because her little eyeballs were just wigglin' away
(REM).
A while later, I glanced over, and she was drawing a portrait. After she
seemed finished and satisfied with what she was doing, I questioned her
about it. She said she was drawing the "spirit/deva" of the stones in
the dish.
The one for bloodstone was an elf-like, male person. He had dark/black
hair, green, slanted eyes, "Spock" eyebrows, and pointed ears. Because
of the expression on his face, I asked her what she thought of him. Her
comments were:
"He is very fierce. I'm kind of afraid of him, because it seems like he
is pretty strong and could get mad. He uses weapons...and can fight."
My daughter didn't know anything about the "lore" connected with the
stones. In addition, I found that "bloodstone" was very different from
any of the other "stone portraits" that she did...The rest were much
more "human"...
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2606
BROWN (PICTURE) JASPER
SCIENTIFIC INFORMATION: Brown Jasper, sometimes called "picture" Jasper
because of the beautiful variations in coloring, is a type of Chal-
cedony. It is closely related to Quartz, with the chemistry of SiO2. The
color variations are from trace amounts of other minerals, usually iron
and aluminum. The hardness is 7.
ENVIRONMENT: Chalcedony is formed in several environments, generally
near the surface of the earth where temperatures and pressures are
relatively low. It commonly forms in the zone of alteration of lode and
massive hydrothermal replacement deposits and as bodies of chert in
chemical sedimentary rocks.
OCCURENCE: Montana, Utah and Wyoming are prolific locations for Brown
Jasper in the U.S. In addition, fine specimens have come from Brazil,
Uruguay and Egypt. Other colors and forms of Jasper are abundant in
California, Texas and Arkansas.
NAME: The name Chalcedony is from Chalcedon, an ancient Greek city of
Asia Minor.
LEGEND and LORE: Beautiful Jasper, with light and dark brown markings
was referred to as "Egyptian Marble". Various Native American tribes
used Jasper as a rubbing stone and some called it "the rain bringer".
MAGICAL PROPERTIES: Brown Jasper is balancing and grounding. This stone,
carved into an arrowhead, is worn to attract luck. It is a good stone to
use after completing a ritual to help you regain your center and become
grounded.
HEALING: Jasper is stabilizing. It will help to reduce insecurity, fear
and guilt.
PERSONAL EXPERIENCE: I use a piece of Montana Picture Jasper, which is
mostly brown and tan with a slight bit of sky or navy blue as a strong
grounding stone for those who have an excess of energy at the Splenic
Chakra.I've also used the stone as a basis for a "journey"...The stone
looks like a scene of the Rocky Mountains. Finally, I've used Picture
Jasper as a psychological tool:I will ask someone who is "looking for an
answer" to gaze into the stone and describe all the symbols they see.
Then I work with the client to form the "symbols" into some sort of
answer.
NOTES: Agate, Jasper, Flint, Sardonyx, and onyx are all forms of
Chalcedony. In addition, particular colors of Chalcedony have specific
names, such as Heliotrope, Bloodstone, Chrysophrase and Moss Agate.
-------bibliography-------
1. Scientific, Environment, Occurence and Name are from (or paraphrased
from) "The Audobon Society Field Guide to North American Rocks and
Minerals".
2. Legends and Lore, Magical Properties are from "Cunningham's En-
cyclopedia of Crystal, Gem & Metal Magic", by Scott Cunningham.
3. Some of the healing information may come from "Color and Crystals, A
Journey Through the Chakras" by Joy Gardner.
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2607
CARNELIAN
SCIENTIFIC INFORMATION:Carnelian is the clear red to brownish red member
of the Chalcedony family. It is a microcrystalline variety of Quartz(Si-
licone Dioxide) and may contain small amounts of iron oxides. The
hardness is 7, and the streak is white.
ENVIRONMENT: Chalcedony is formed in several environments, generally
near the surface of the earth where temperatures and pressures are
relatively low. It commonly forms in the zone of alteration of lode and
massive hydrothermal replacement deposits and as bodies of chert in
chemical sedimentary rocks.
OCCURENCE: Fine carnelian comes from India and South America.
GEMSTONE INFORMATION:Carnelian is used as an alternate birthstone for
the month of May.It is normally cut into cabochons, engraved, or made
into seal stones or rounded, polished, and pierced for necklaces and
other items of jewelry.
NAME: The name means "flesh-colored", from [caro], meaning "genitive"
and [carnis], meaning "flesh".
LEGEND and LORE: Carnelian has long been associated with courage and
cleansing of the blood. It was beleived that the stone would improve
one's outlook, making the individual cheerful and expelling fears.
MAGICAL PROPERTIES: Katrina Raphaell says that Carnelian can be used to
"see into the past". The "Crystal Oracle" says that Carnelian referrs to
the Self, and Current Conditions. It is a grounding stone, and associ-
ated with the Earth. As such, it is considered practical, sensible and
balanced. Cunningham associates the stone with the element of Fire. He
suggests it as a talisman against Telepathic invasion.
HEALING: It is recommended for infertility or impotency. In addition it
is used for purification of the blood. It has also been suggested that
this stone will stop nosebleeding.
PERSONAL EXPERIENCE: I call this the "sexy" stone...since I beleive it
stimulates sexual appetites. I use it in the lower Chakras for infer-
tility and impotency for men(I use Coral as the feminine counterpart.)
I always get a good chuckle when I notice a man wearing a LARGE
Cornelian belt buckle. In addition, I would use this stone for relief of
pain from arthritis in men.
-------bibliography-------
1. Scientific, Environment, Occurence and Name are from (or paraphrased
from) "The Audobon Society Field Guide to North American Rocks and
Minerals".
2. Precious and semi-precious gemstone information may come from
"Gemstones" by E. H. Rutland.
3. Other Precious and semi-precious gemstone information may come from
"Gem Cutting", sec. ed., by John Sinkankas.
2608
4. Legends and Lore, Magical Properties are from "Cunningham's
Encyclopedia of Crystal, Gem & Metal Magic", by Scott Cunningham.
5. Some of the healing information may come from "Color and Crystals, A
Journey Through the Chakras" by Joy Gardner.
6. Some of the healing information may come from "A Journey Through the
Chakras" by Joy Gardner.
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CORAL
SCIENTIFIC INFORMATION: CaCo3, or calcium carbonate in the form of
calcite, is the main constituent of calcareous corals; minor con-
stituents are MgCo3, or magnesium carbonate and proteinaceous organic
substances, which act as binding agents. At 2.5 to 4, the hardness is
slightly higher than that of calcite. The skeletons of corals vary in
color: from bright to dark red, slightly orange-red, pink and white.
ENVIRONMENT: In all cases, coral consists of the branching skeletons of
animals which live in colonies planted on the seabed at depths varying
from tens to hundreds of meters. They are typical of warmish to very
warm seas.
OCCURENCE: The most famous of these organisms is Corallium rubrum, which
lives in the waters of the Mediterranean and, despite its name,provides
not only red, but orange, pink, and white coral. Similar to this are
Corallium elatius, C. japonicum, and C. secundum, which maily live off
the coasts of Japan, China, Indochina, the Philippines, and other
archipelagos of the Indian and Pacific Oceans. Coral colonies occupy
large areas especially in the Pacific, but also near the coast of South
Africa, in the Red Sea, and to the east of Australia. These latter
colonies, however, consist of madrepore, which has little in common with
the corals used as ornaments.
GEMSTONE INFORMATION: Most of the coral used since antiquity as an
ornamental material comes from the calcareous skeletons of colonies of
marine organisms of the phylum Cnidaria, order Corgonacea, genus
Corallium. Corals take a good polish. They also have a certain degree of
elasticity and can be heated and bent into bangles. Thin brancehes were
and still are polished, pierced, and threaded, unaltered, into neck-
laces. Larger pieces are cut into spherical or faceted necklace beads,
pear shapes for pendant jewelry, or cabochons. It is also used for
carved pieces and small figurines, in both oriental and western
art styles. The most highly prized varities of coral are those that are
a uniform, strong bright red.
NAME: The name is derived from the Latin [corallium,] related to the
Greek [korallion].
LEGEND and LORE: The oldest known findings of red coral date from the
Mesopotamian civilization, i.e. from about 3000 BC. For centuries, this
was the coral par excellence, and at the time of Pliny the Elder it was
apparently much appreciated in India, even more than in Europe.Red coral
has traditionally been used as a protection from the "evil eye" and as
a cure for sterility. One of the Greek names for Coral was Gorgeia,
from the tradition that blood dripped from the Head of Medea, which
Perseus had deposited on some branches near the sea-shore; which blood,
2609
becoming hard, was taken by the Sea Nymps, and planted in the sea. (8)
MAGICAL PROPERTIES: Coral is associated with Venus, Isis and Water. It
has been used as a form of protective magic for children for hundreds of
years. Cunningham recommends it as a luck-attractor for living
areas.Sailors use it as a protection from bad weather while at sea.
Red-orange coral is one of the four element gemstones of the Pueblo
Indians. It is one of the four colors used for the directions in the
Hopi/Zuni Road of Life. Coral is considered a representative of the warm
energy of the Sun, and the southern direction.
HEALING: Coral's healing properties are mostly associated with Women,
young children and the elderly. For women it is said to increase
fertility and regulate menstration. For young children, it is recom-
mended to ease teething and to prevent epilepsy. For the elderly, it is
used as a cure for arthritis.
PERSONAL EXPERIENCE: I use coral at the lower Chakras for "Women's
Healing." In particular, I will use it for disorders relating to female
reproductive organs. I also use it magically, to represent female
fertility.I have used it with some success for arthritis, but only for
women. This is one of the stones that I "reserve" for female/feminine
use. (I use Carnelian as the "male" counterpart.) I have not had an
opportunity to try it for a young child.
-------bibliography-------
1. Scientific, Environment, Occurence and Name are from (or paraphrased
from) "Simon & Schuster's Guide to Gems and Precious Stones".
2. Precious and semi-precious gemstone information may come from
"Gemstones" by E. H. Rutland.
3. Other Precious and semi-precious gemstone information may come from
"Gem Cutting", sec. ed., by John Sinkankas.
4. Legends and Lore, Magical Properties are from "Cunningham's En-
cyclopedia of Crystal, Gem & Metal Magic", by Scott Cunningham.
5. Some of the healing information may come from "Color and Crystals, A
Journey Through the Chakras" by Joy Gardner.
6. Some of the healing information may come from "A Journey Through the
Chakras" by Joy Gardner.
7. Personal Experience is from MY personal experience, journals and
notebooks, by <grin> Tandika Star.
8. Some occult lore is from "The Occult and Curative Powers of Precious
Stones" by William T. Fernie, M.D.
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2610
EMERALD
SCIENTIFIC INFORMATION:Emerald is a type of Beryl, Beryllium aluminum
silicate, frequently with some sodium, lithium and cesium.It's chemistry
is Be3Al2Si6O18. Beryls range in color from Bright green (emerald),
blue, greenish blue (aquamarine), yellow (golden beryl), red, pink
(morganite) to white. The streak is colorless. It's hardness is 7-1/2 to
8. The crystals are Hexagonal and they are common. Fine emeralds have
velvety body appearance; their value lies in their even distribution of
color. Inclusions are common in emerald, but other stones of this group
are usually most valuable when free of flaws.
ENVIRONMENT: Beryl develops in pegmatites and certain metamorphic rocks.
It occurs with quartz, microcline, and muscovite in pegmatites, and with
quartz, muscovite, and almandine in schist of regional metamorphic
rocks.
OCCURENCE: Best emerald comes from Colombia.(NOTE: it is not necessary
to spend thousands of dollars for a tiny chip of emerald to add to your
healing/ magical collection. If you look around in rock shops, you may
be able to come across some "less than perfect" stones that aren't
faceted. I've found 4 of them, slightly larger than my fingernail and
they were about $3.00 each.)
NAME: The name is from the Greek [beryllos] indicating any green
gemstone.
LEGEND and LORE: Emerald is considered a birthstone for the month of
May.
"Who first beholds the light of day,
In spring's sweet flowery month of May,
And wears an Emerald all her life,
Shall be a loved, and happy wife." (5)
MAGICAL PROPERTIES: "If you wish to bring a love into your life, buy an
emerald and charge it with your magical need through your visualization,
perhaps while placing it near a green candle. After this ritual, wear or
carry the emerald somewhere near your heart. Do this in such a way that
it cannot be seen by others. When you meet a future love, you'll know it
wasn't the visible jewel that attracted him or her." (3) The Greeks
associated this stone with the Goddess Venus. It has come to represent,
for many people, the security of love. Emerald, like allmost all of the
green stones, is also advantageous for business/money ventures.
HEALING: Emerald is said to aid perception and inner clarity. Because of
this, they are also associated with healing diseases of the eye, and
problems affecting eyesight. It was believed that emeralds could
counteract poisons and cure disentary.
PERSONAL EXPERIENCE:I sometimes use Emeralds in a stone layout. I will
use them for their psychological/spiritual values of clarity and
perception. If I am using them for this purpose, I use them in the area
of the Heart Chakra, in conjunction with Rose Quartz, or Rhodochrosite
for balanced energy. I've also used them for prosperity consciousness.
????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????
2611
-------bibliography-------
1. Scientific, Environment, Occurance and Name are from (or paraphrased
from) "The Audobon Society Field Guide to North American Rocks and
Minerals".
2. Legends and Lore, Magical Properties are from "Cunningham's En-
cyclopedia of Crystal, Gem & Metal Magic", by Scott Cunningham.
3. Some of the healing information may come from "Color and Crystals, A
Journey Through the Chakras" by Joy Gardner. Other sources may be "Stone
Power" by Dorothee L. Mella.
4. Personal Experience is from MY personal experience, journals and
notebooks, by <grin> Tandika Star.
5. Birthstone poem from "The Occult and Curative Powers of Precious
Stones" by William T. Fernie, M.D.
---
GARNET (PYROPE)
SCIENTIFIC INFORMATION: Pyrope Garnets are from a group of very closely
related aluminum silicates. The Chemistry for the Pyrope variety is
Mg3Al2Si3O12. These Garnets range in color from deep red to reddish
black and on rare occasions from purple and rose to pale purplish red
(sometimes called [rhodolite].) The hardness ranges between 6-1/2 and
7-1/2.
ENVIRONMENT: Pyrope occurs with olivine and hypersthene in peridotite of
plutonic rocks.
OCCURENCE: Pyrope Garnets occur in peridotite in Kentucky, Arkansas,
Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. In the latter half of the nineteenth
century, most Pyrope came from Bohemia, where it is still found today.
The main sources nowadays, however, are South Africa, Zimbabwe,
Tanzania, the United States, Mexico, Brazil, Argentina, and Australia.
GEMSTONE INFORMATION: The garnet species with red or purple varieties,
including Pyrope are considered gemstones. Usually bright red, Pyrope
can be a much less attractive brick or dark red. It can be perfectly
transparent, but this feature is less visible in dark specimens. It is
either made into fairly convex cabochons, or faceted, with an oval or
round mixed cut or, more rarely, a step cut. The faceted gems have good
luster, rather less obvious in cabochons. The most valuable types are,
of course, the transparent ones with the brightest red color. Pyrope is
relatively common, although less so than almandine. Very large stones,
up to several hundred carats have been found; but these are rare and are
found in museums and famous collections.
NAME: The name comes from the Greek [pyropos,] meaning "fiery." The name
"Garnet" comes from the Latin [granatus,] meaning "seed-like".
LEGEND and LORE: Pyrope Garnet has long been associated with love,
passion, sensuality and sexuality. Some Asiatic tribes used red garnets
as bullets for sling bows because they pierced their victims quickly,
and could not be seen well in the body when they mingled with the blood.
2612
Throughout the ages, Pyrope has been used as a curative for all types of
ailments dealing with blood.
MAGICAL PROPERTIES: Pyrope is directly linked with the Will. As such, it
is a strong stone for the Magician and Shaman. It is associated with
Fire and Mars, Strength and Protection. It will help the practitioner
tap into extra energy for ritualistic purposes.
HEALING: While all Garnets are associated with the Root Chakra, Pyrope
is particularly symbolic. It is used for healing when the subject
involved has "lost the will to live", since it is directly related to
the desire to live and achieve in this lifetime. This stone warms and
aids blood circulation, rouses sexuality and heals the reproductive
system and the heart.
PERSONAL EXPERIENCE: If you are already a strong willed individual or
have a fiery temper that you need to learn to control, I suggest that
you work with the Alamandine Garnets, rather than the Pyropes. This is
a good stone to use for treating depression. Very often, when I've
"worked" on an individual who has suffered a heart attack, I find that
the individual is rather severely depressed (which I think is a side
effect of the medication) and has lost the will to continue in this
lifetime. I've found that fiery red Pyrope Garnets are a great help in
this situation.
ADDITIONAL NOTES: The Latin name [carbunculus,] (small coal or ember),
is attributed to all red transparent stones. It is more often applied to
Pyropes when they are formed into cabochons than any other stone.
-------bibliography-------
1. Scientific, Environment, Occurence and Name are from (or paraphrased
from) "The Audubon Society field Guide to North American Rocks and
Minerals".
2. Other scientific information may be from "Simon & Schuester's Guide
to Gems and Precious Stones".
3. Precious and semi-precious gemstone information may come from
"Gemstones" by E. H. Rutland.
4. Other precious and semi-precious gemstone information may come from
"Gem Cutting", sec. ed., by John Sinkankas.
5. Basic Legends, Lore and Magical Properties are from "Cunningham's
Encyclopedia of Crystal, Gem & Metal Magic", by Scott Cunningham.
6. Other Magical and Healing information may come from "\crystal Wisdom,
Spiritual Properties of Crystals and Gemstones" by Dolfyn.
7. More legends and lore may come from "Stone Power" by Dorothee L.
Mella.
8. Healing information is from "The Women's Book of Healing", by Diane
Stein.
9. Additional healing information may be from "The Occult and Curative
Powers of Precious Stones" by William T. Fernie, M.D.
---------------------------------------------------------------
GARNET (ALMANDINE)
SCIENTIFIC INFORMATION: Almandine Garnets are from a group of very
closely related aluminum silicates. The Chemistry for the Almandine
variety is Fe2/3+Al2Si3O12. These Garnets range in color from deep red
to brown and brownish black. The hardness ranges between 6-1/2 and
7-1/2.
2613
ENVIRONMENT: Almandine occurs in diorite of plutonic rocks, and with
andalusite, hornblende, and biotite in hornfels and schist of contact
and regional metamorphic rocks.
OCCURENCE: Well-formed crystals of Almandine have come from Wrangell, SE
Alaska; from Emerald Creek, Benewah Co., Idaho; and from Michigamme,
Michigan. Gemstone quality material is obtained in large quantities
from Sri Lanka and India, where it is also cut; other sources are Burma,
Brazil, Madagascar, Tanzania, and Australia.
GEMSTONE INFORMATION: Most red garnets come under the name Almandine,
even when their composition is midway between that of Pyrope and
Almandine and similar, in many cases, to that of Rhodolite. The reason
for this is the similarity in their color and absorption spectrum
characteristics. Almandine has a brilliant luster, but its transparency
is frequently marred, even in very clear stones, by excessive depth of
color. The cabochon cut is widely used, often being given a strongly
convex shape and sometimes a concave base, in an effort to lighten
the color by reducing the thickness. Rose cuts have also been used,
particularly in the past. Nowdays, when the material is quite transpare-
nt, faceted cuts are used as well, and sometimes square or rectangular
step cuts. Gems of several carats are not uncommon. Faceted or even
barely rounded pieces of Almandine, pierced as necklace beads, were very
common in the recent past, but are now considered old-fashioned.
NAME: The name Almandine comes from [carbunculus alabandicus,] after the
city of Alabanda in Asia Minor, where gems were traded at the time of
Pliny theElder.
LEGEND and LORE: All red Garnet has long been associated with love,
passion, sensuality and sexuality. Garnet is considered a birthstone for
those born in January:
"By her in January born
No gem save Garnets should be worn;
They will ensure her constancy,
True friendship, and fidelity."
MAGICAL PROPERTIES: The darker Garnets are associated with the Will and
the Source of Life Incarnate. This is who and what we are in this
lifetime. This stone is worn for protective purposes, and is thought to
drive off demons and phantoms.
HEALING: Almandine Garnets are used to heal skin conditions associated
with poor circulation. They improve vigor, strength and endurance.
PERSONAL EXPERIENCE: Almandine Garnets are particularly effective when
healing "traumas" that are carried over from a past life and deal with
sexuality and heart/love problems.
-------bibliography-------
1. Scientific, Environment, Occurence and Name are from (or paraphrased
from) "The Audubon Society field Guide to North American Rocks and
Minerals".
2. Other scientific information may be from "Simon & Schuester's Guide
to Gems and Precious Stones".
3. Precious and semi-precious gemstone information may come from
"Gemstones" by E. H. Rutland.
2614
4. Other precious and semi-precious gemstone information may come from
"Gem Cutting", sec. ed., by John Sinkankas.
5. Basic Legends, Lore and Magical Properties are from "Cunningham's
Encyclopedia of Crystal, Gem & Metal Magic", by Scott Cunningham.
6. Other Magical and Healing information may come from "\crystal Wisdom,
Spiritual Properties of Crystals and Gemstones" by Dolfyn.
7. More legends and lore may come from "Stone Power" by Dorothee L.
Mella.
8. Healing information is from "The Women's Book of Healing", by Diane
Stein.
9. Additional healing information may be from "The Occult and Curative
Powers of Precious Stones" by William T. Fernie, M.D.
10. Personal Experience is from MY personal experience, journals and
notebooks, by <grin> Tandika Star.
GARNET (SPESSARTINE)
SCIENTIFIC INFORMATION: Spessartine Garnets are from a group of very
closely related aluminum silicates. The Chemistry for the Spessartine
variety is Mn3Al2Si3O12. These Garnets range in color from brownish red
to hyacinth-red. The hardness ranges between 6-1/2 and 7-1/2.
ENVIRONMENT: Spessartine occurs with albite and muscovite in granite
pegmatites and with quartz and riebeckite in blue schist or regional
metamorphic rocks..
OCCURENCE: Large corroded crystals of Spessartine have come from the
Rutherford No. 2 Mine, Amelia, Amelia Co., Virginia; crystals up to 1"
in diameter have been found in several pegmatites in the Ramona
District, San Diego Co., California; sharp, dark-red, well-formed
crystals occur in cavities in rhyolite near Ely, White Pine C., Nevada;
and brilliant crystals of Spessartine have been found with topaz at Ruby
Mt., near Nathrop, Chaffee Co., Colorado. Gem material comes from the
gem gravels of Sri Lanka and Burma. It is also found in Brazil and
Madagascar.
GEMSTONE INFORMATION: The gem variety of Spessartine Garnet is uncommon.
It tends to be midway between spessartine and almandine in composition.
The "aurora red", orange-red or orange-pink color is typical. It has
good transparency and considerable luster. It is normally given a mixed,
round, or oval cut. The weight does not normally exceed a few carats.
Gems of about 10 carats are extremely rare and usually of an atypical,
rather dark, unattactive color.
NAME: Spessartine is named after an occurrence in the spessart district,
Bavaria, Germany.
LEGEND and LORE: In the 13th century garnets were thought to repel
insect stings. A magical treatise, "The Book of Wings", dating from the
thirteenth century says "The well-formed image of a lion, if engraved on
a garnet, will protect and preserve honors and health, cures the wearer
of all diseases, brings him honors, and guards him from all perils in
traveling."
MAGICAL PROPERTIES: Spessartine is normally considered to be red-orange
to orange-pink. Thus it links the "will" with the "desire". It is a good
stone to use when casting a spell for your "heart's desire", especially
if it is of the orange-pink" variety.
2615
HEALING: The orange garnets are linked to the root and the belly chakra.
They are beneficial in instances of infertility, dealing with reproduc-
tive organs. Mentally, it inspires confidence in personal creativity and
self-worth.
PERSONAL EXPERIENCE: Spessartine is not as effective as Carnelian for
instances of infertility. But it DOES help the mental attitude of the
individual experiencing the difficulty. It is a warming stone, and works
well for increasing circulation in the lower part of the body.
-------bibliography-------
1. Scientific, Environment, Occurence and Name are from (or paraphrased
from) "The Audubon Society field Guide to North American Rocks and
Minerals".
2. Other scientific information may be from "Simon & Schuester's Guide
to Gems and Precious Stones".
3. Precious and semi-precious gemstone information may come from
"Gemstones" by E. H. Rutland.
4. Other precious and semi-precious gemstone information may come from
"Gem Cutting", sec. ed., by John Sinkankas.
5. Basic Legends, Lore and Magical Properties are from "Cunningham's
Encyclopedia of Crystal, Gem & Metal Magic", by Scott Cunningham.
6. Other Magical and Healing information may come from "\crystal Wisdom,
Spiritual Properties of Crystals and Gemstones" by Dolfyn.
7. More legends and lore may come from "Stone Power" by Dorothee L.
Mella.
8. Healing information is from "The Women's Book of Healing", by Diane
Stein.
9. Additional healing information may be from "The Occult and Curative
Powers of Precious Stones" by William T. Fernie, M.D.
10. Personal Experience is from MY personal experience, journals and
notebooks, by <grin> Tandika Star.
---
GARNET (GROSSULAR)
SCIENTIFIC INFORMATION: Grossular Garnets are from a group of very
closely related calcium silicates. The Chemistry for the Grossular
variety is Ca3Al2Si3O12. These Garnets range in color from yellow, pink
and brown through white and colorless. The hardness ranges between 6-1/2
and 7-1/2.
ENVIRONMENT: Grossular occurs with wollastonite, calcite, and vesuviani-
te in hornfels of contact metamorphic rocks.
OCCURENCE: Being the commonest of all garnets, it is found in a variety
of locations. Fine colorless crystals up to 1/2" across occur in
Gatineau and Magantic Cos., Quebec, fine lusterous pale brown crystals
2616
up to 3" across were found near Minot, Androscoggin Co., Main, and
beautiful white and pick crystals up to 4" across have been found near
Xalostoc, Morelos, Mexico.
GEMSTONE INFORMATION: Grossular also has the typical crystal form of
garnets, occuring in isolated crystals which are often complete, in the
shape of a rhombic dodecahedron, sometimes combined with a trapezo-
hedron. They vary from transparent to semiopaque. The typical color is
light (gooseberry) yellowish green; but they can be a strong to bluish
green, honey yellow or pinkish yellow, or even colorless. When transpar-
ent, the crystals have good luster. Like other garnets, they have no
cleavage. The greenish to yellowish varieties are used as gems.
Grossular is not a rare mineral. The types used as gems mainly come from
the gem gravels of Sri Lanka (honey yellow variety); the the United
States, Canada, Mexico, Madagascar, Kenya. The green variety of
grossular garnet, discovered a few decades ago and found mainly in
Kenya, near the Tsavo National Park, is also known as Tsavorite (or
Tsavolite) It is a light, verdant, or dark green, similar to the color
of the better green tourmalines and sometimes, it is said, even
comparable to African emerald. It has good luster. These gems, which are
usually given a round or pear-shaped mixed cut, or occasionally a
brilliant cut, are generally small, rarely exceeding one carat and never
more than a few carats.
NAME: Grossular is from the New Latin [grosssularia,] "gooseberry,"
because some Grossular crystals are pale green like the fruit.
LEGEND and LORE: I do not find anything referring specifically to yellow
or green garnets in my sources.
MAGICAL PROPERTIES: While deep red garnets focus on "Will" and orange--
red garnets focus on "Desire", yellow garnets are focused on Personal
Power and Personality. In addition they are (because of their color)
associated with athletic prowess and Oriental philosophies.
HEALING: Being linked to the Solar Plexus Chakra, yellow garnets are
energizing. They can be used for the digestive organs, the diaphram (and
the breath) and eyesight. Green garnets center their healing on the
Heart Chakra.
PERSONAL EXPERIENCE: It is difficult to find a green stone that works
well for the lower chakras and the lower half of the body. When I do
total layouts for individuals with Aids, I use all green stones,
whenever possible. The Green garnets work well for this. Since Garnet is
the stone of the Root Chakra, the Will, and green is the color of the
Heart Chakra, love, circulation, general healing, this stone works
exceptionally well. I find that the yellow garnets work better for
magical purposes than healing. For healing, there are several
yellow stones that seem to work better for me.
NOTES: Garnets are used in industry as an abrasive.
-------bibliography-------
1. Scientific, Environment, Occurence and Name are from (or paraphrased
from) "The Audubon Society field Guide to North American Rocks and
Minerals".
2617
2. Other scientific information may be from "Simon & Schuester's Guide
to Gems and Precious Stones".
3. Precious and semi-precious gemstone information may come from
"Gemstones" by E. H. Rutland.
4. Other precious and semi-precious gemstone information may come from
"Gem Cutting", sec. ed., by John Sinkankas.
5. Basic Legends, Lore and Magical Properties are from "Cunningham's
Encyclopedia of Crystal, Gem & Metal Magic", by Scott Cunningham.
6. Other Magical and Healing information may come from "\crystal Wisdom,
Spiritual Properties of Crystals and Gemstones" by Dolfyn.
7. More legends and lore may come from "Stone Power" by Dorothee L.
Mella.
8. Healing information is from "The Women's Book of Healing", by Diane
Stein.
9. Additional healing information may be from "The Occult and Curative
Powers
of Precious Stones" by William T. Fernie, M.D.
10. Personal Experience is from MY personal experience, journals and
notebooks,
by <grin> Tandika Star.
-----------------------------------------------------
LAZURITE (LAPIS LAZULI)
SCIENTIFIC INFORMATION: Lazurite is a silicate of sodium calcium and
aluminum, with some sulfur. It is a member of the sodalite group. It's
chemistry is (Na, Ca)8(Al,Si)12O24(S,SO)4. The color ranges in shades of
blue from violet blue and azure blue thru greenish-blue. Lazurite is
distinguished from sodalite by its deeper color and fine grain. It is
also softer and lighter in weight than lazulite. It is dull to greasy
and the streak is pale blue. The hardness ranges between 5 and 5-1/2.
ENVIRONMENT: Crystals are rare. It is usually granular, compact,
massive. It forms in association with pyrite, calcite, and diopside in
hornfels of contact metamorphic rocks. The opaque, vivid blue, light
blue, greenish-blue, or violet-blue stone, consisting largely of
lazurite but with appreciable amounts of calcite, diopside, and pyrite,
is a rock called [lapis lazuli.] The stone is usually veined or spotted.
Its value depends largely upon excellence and uniformity of color and
absence of pyrite, although some purchasers prefer lapis with pyrite.
OCCURRENCE: Lazurite is a rare mineral in North America, but it does
occur on Italian Mt. in the Sawatch Mts. of Colorado; on Ontario Peak in
the San Gabriel Mts., Los Angeles Co., and in Cascade Canyon in the San
Bernardino Mts., San Bernardino Co., California. The finest lapis lazuli
has come from Badakshan in Afghanistan, and less valuable material has
come from Russia and Chile.
NAME: The name is from the Arabic [lazaward], "heaven," which was also
applied to sky-blue lapis lazuli.
2618
LEGEND and LORE: Lapis Lazuli was a favorite stone of the ancient
Egyptians. In the past Lazurite has been burned and ground to form the
pigment "ultramarine." It was consider an aid to childbirth, and has
long been associated with altered states of consciousness and trance
work. Lapis is sometimes designated as a birthstone for December,
although turquoise is most common.
MAGICAL PROPERTIES: To quote Cunningham: "This stone is used in rituals
designed to attract spiritual love. Take an untumbled piece of lapis
with a sharp edge. Empower the stone and a pink candle with your need
for love. Then, using the lapis lazuli, carve a heart onto the candle.
Place the stone near the candleholder and burn the candle while
visualizing a love coming into your life." Actually, the most important
magical aspect of lapis is it's ability to strengthen psychic awareness.
Cunningham says "Despite its somewhat high price, lapis lazuli is one
stone every stone magician should own and utilize."(2)
HEALING: This stone is used at the Ajina, the Brow Chakra. It's related
gland is the pituitary. The pituitary gland is also referred to as the
"master gland" because it regulates all of the others. This location is
also the center for the eyes, ears, nose and brain.
PERSONAL EXPERIENCE: I don't often use Lapis for physical healing,
unless I feel that there is a "link" between what is manifested as
disease, and some conflict of the "higher self". I have used it for
brain disorders (tumors, inflammation, etc.) More often, I use it in
layouts where the client is trying to achieve an altered state of
consciousness.
-------bibliography-------
1. Scientific, Environment, Occurrence and Name are from (or paraphrased
from) "The Audobon Society Field Guide to North American Rocks and
Minerals".
2. Legends and Lore, Magical Properties are from "Cunningham's En-
cyclopedia of Crystal, Gem & Metal Magic", by Scott Cunningham.
3. Some of the healing information may come from "Color and Crystals, A
Journey Through the Chakras" by Joy Gardner.
4. Personal Experience is from MY personal experience, journals and
notebooks, by <grin> Tandika Star.
--------------------------------------------------
LEPIDOLITE
SCIENTIFIC INFORMATION: Lepidolite a potassium, lithium, aluminum
fluorsilicate mica. Its chemistry is complex: K(Li,Al)3(Si,Al)4O10-
(F,OH)2. It is pink, lilac, yellowish, grayish white or a combination of
all of these. The streak is colorless. It is one of the softer stones,
with a hardness of 2-1/2 to 3.
ENVIRONMENT: Lepidolite is confined to granite pegmatites, where it
occurs either as fine-granular masses near the core of the pegmatite or
as stubby or tabular crystals in cavities. It is commonly associated
with microcline, quartz, and tourmaline.
2619
OCCURENCE: Large fine masses of lepidolite have been mined at the
Stewart Pegmatite at Pala, and superb sharp crystals have been obtained
from the Little Three Pegmatite near Ramona, both in San Diego Co.,
California. It has also been mined in substantial amounts in several New
England states and in the Black Hills of South Dakota.
NAME: The name comes from the Greek [lepidos], meaning 'scale', in
allusion to the scaly aggregates in which the mineral commonly occurs.
????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????
2620
LEGEND and LORE: Lepidolite is a stone that could certainly be con-
sidered "new age" in the sense that it is just now coming into recogni-
tion by healers and magicians. There is no "past lore" on this stone, to
the best of my knowledge. Part of this may be due to the fact, that it
is native to the United States.
MAGICAL PROPERTIES: "This stone soothes anger, hatred or any other
negative emotion. To quiet the entire house, place lepidolite stones in
a circle around a pink candle." (2)
HEALING: Lepidolite is also know as the "Dream Stone". It will protect
the individual from nightmares, especially those caused by stress or an
upset in personal relationships. It can be used in the same types of
circumstances as Kunzite, namely for manic depression or schizophrenia.
PERSONAL EXPERIENCE: This is one of the most soothing and relaxing
stones I've ever held. It is a beauty to look at, and calms the mind
enabling it to concentrate on the TRUE source of a problem...instead of
running around in frantic circles accomplishing nothing. The more
rubellite in the stone, the better it will help the heart and mind work
together.
NOTES: Lepidolite has been used as a source of lithium. The above
description of the appearance of this stone may be deceiving, as I found
Cunningham's to be, also. All of the specimens of this stone that I have
seen so far have been grey to a pale lavendar grey with "sparkles" of
the lithium mica embedded in it. The heart-shaped cabuchon that I have
also has very distinctive crystals of rubellite (pink tourmaline) and
veins of white running through it. I was originally looking for a MUCH
brighter lavendar stone. It is unusual, also, to find specimens that are
cut and polished. Usually the stone is too "crumbly" to take a good
polish. However, it is equally handsome in rough form.
-------bibliography-------
1. Scientific, Environment, Occurence and Name are from (or paraphrased
from) "The Audobon Society Field Guide to North American Rocks and
Minerals".
2. Legends and Lore, Magical Properties are from "Cunningham's En-
cyclopedia of Crystal, Gem & Metal Magic", by Scott Cunningham.
3. Personal Experience is from MY personal experience, journals and
notebooks, by <grin> Tandika Star.
------------------------------------------------------
MALACHITE
SCIENTIFIC INFORMATION: Malachite is a basic copper carbonate. It's
chemistry is Cu2CO3(OH)2. It ranges in color from emerald green thru
grass green to shades of silky pale green. The streak is light green.
It's hardness is 3-1/2 to 4. Crystals are rare. Most gem specimens
display distinctive concentric colorbanding; (alternating dark green and
light green bands.)
ENVIRONMENT: Malachite is a secondary copper mineral and develops in the
zone of alteration in massive, lode, and disseminated hydrothermal
replacement deposits. Associated minerals are azurite, limonite, and
2621
chalcopyrite.
OCCURENCE: The copper mines at Bisbee, Chochise Co., Arizona, are famous
for their fine specimens of massive malachite and pseudomorphs of
malachite after azurite. Mines at Morenci in Greenlee Co., and at Globe
in Gila Co., Arizona, have yielded beautiful malachite specimens, of
which some consist of alternating layers of green malachite and blue
azurite. Fine malachite has also come from copper mines in California,
Nevada, Utah, Pennsylvania, and Tennessee.
NAME: The name is from the Greek [moloche], "mallow," an illusion to the
mineral's leaf-green color. Malachite is used as an ore of copper and as
a gemstone.
LEGEND and LORE: It is said that if malachite is worn, it will break
into pieces to warn the wearer of danger.
MAGICAL PROPERTIES: Used to direct power towards magical goals.
Protective, especially towards children. According to Cunningham, "Small
pieces of malachite placed in each corner of a business building or a
small piece placed in the cash register draws customers. Worn during
business meetings or trade shows, it increases your ability to obtain
good deals and sales. It is the salesperson's stone." (2)
HEALING: If the malachite is of the blue-green variety, it can be
associated with the Sacral Center, or Splenic Chakra (Svadisthana).
Here, it's energy branches to the left, to the spleen. (It is intended
in this position for those who are celebate.) In addition, if it is
grass-green, it can be used at the Lumbar/Solar Plexis Center. "When the
malachite is placed at the solar plexus and a piece of green jade is
placed at the heart center and a double-terminated quartz crystal is
placed between them, people may remember events that have been blocked
for years. They may cry or scream. As these buried emotions are brought
to the surface and released, a great weight is lifted and they soon feel
renewed." (3)
PERSONAL EXPERIENCE: I am very careful about using Malachite. It has
been my experience that the emotions that it releases can be very
powerful, to the point of overwhelming some people. On the other hand,
if the individual is ready to deal with them (in a "growth" period) it
may work out just fine. You could "balance" the emotional content with
a pink stone (such as rose quartz) to cut down some on the intensity.
A few years ago, I broke my arm. To do so, I damaged the muscles and
nerves in my wrist. I was in a lot of pain, and was searching for what
I could do to help the situation. During a journey, I saw malachite, so
I found a malachite heart which I held in the palm of the broken arm
while meditating. I got a lot of relief from it. Now, if the wrist acts
up, I use the heart, taped over the wrist area when I go to bed at
night. It seems to help quite a bit. I now recommend malachite for
nerve/muscle damage with some success. (4)
-------bibliography-------
1. Scientific, Environment, Occurance and Name are from (or paraphrased
from) "The Audobon Society Field Guide to North American Rocks and
Minerals".
2622
2. Legends and Lore, Magical Properties are from "Cunningham's En-
cyclopedia of Crystal, Gem & Metal Magic", by Scott Cunningham.
3. Some of the healing information may come from "Color and Crystals, A
Journey Through the Chakras" by Joy Gardner.
4. Personal Experience is from MY personal experience, journals and
notebooks, by <grin> Tandika Star.
--------------------------------------------------
MOONSTONE
SCIENTIFIC INFORMATION: Moonstone is one variation of Orthoclase. It
owes its beautiful silvery to bluish sheen ('adularescence' or 'schil-
ler') to its composition of extremely thin plates of orthoclase and
albite. The thinner these plates are, the bluer is the sheen. There are
also moonstones consisting mainly of albite. These are less translucent,
but they can occur in a variety of colours: grey, blue, green, brown,
yellow and white. There are also moonstone cat's-eyes. The chemical
composition is KAlSi3O8 and the hardness is 7. The streak is white.
ENVIRONMENT: The potash feldspars are important rock-forming minerals in
plutonic, volcanic, and metamorphic rocks. Adularia and sanidine are
found usually in volcanic rocks.
OCCURENCE: The main countries of origin are Ceylon, southern India (the
district near Kangayam), Tanzia and Malagasy which, together with Burma,
produces some of the finest stones with a deep blue schiller. White
adularia crystals up to 2.5 cm (1") across have been found in gold-bear-
ing quartz veins at Bodie, Mono Co., California, and in the silver mines
of the Silver City district, Owhyee Co., Idaho.
GEMSTONE INFORMATION: Moonstone is always cut into cabochons, to display
the cat's-eye, or schiller.
NAME: Adularia (another name for Moonstone) comes from the locality in
Switzerland, the Adula Mts.
LEGEND and LORE: This stone has always been revered because of its lunar
attraction. It was believed that the shiller in the stone would follow
the cycles of the moon. (Becoming greatest when the moon was full.) In
addition, it has always been considered a "feminine, or Goddess" stone.
MAGICAL PROPERTIES: Meditation with moonstone calls into consciousness
the three-form moon phase goddesses, Diana/Selene/Hecate, the waxing,
Full and waning Moon. These are woman as goddess in her ages and
contradictions, Maiden/Mother/Crone. Cunningham favors this stone for
spells involving love. In addition he has a longish essay on using it
for a "diet" stone.
HEALING: Because of it's feminine nature, Moonstone has long been
considered a "womans healing stone". It is used traditionally for
healing/balancing of female organs and hormones.
PERSONAL EXPERIENCE: I use Moonstone at the Transpersonal Point, for
connection to the Goddess and Universal Feminine Energy. This is the
connection to dreams and dreaming, feminine "intuition", and "cycles".
There are cycles of time, seasons, the moon, stars, etc. I also use/give
2623
this stone for those clients who are having difficulty being in tune
with the feminine side of their nature. (Everyone has a masculine and
a feminine side.)
NOTES: In the past, this stone has also been called "Cylon Opal".
-------bibliography-------
1. Scientific, Environment, Occurence and Name are from (or paraphrased
from) "The Audobon Society Field Guide to North American Rocks and
Minerals".
2. Precious and semi-precious gemstone information may come from
"Gemstones" by E. H. Rutland.
3. Other Precious and semi-precious gemstone information may come from
"Gem Cutting", sec. ed., by John Sinkankas.
4. Legends and Lore, Magical Properties are from "Cunningham's En-
cyclopedia of Crystal, Gem & Metal Magic", by Scott Cunningham.
5. Some of the healing information may come from "Color and Crystals, A
Journey Through the Chakras" by Joy Gardner.
6. Some of the healing information may come from "A Journey Through the
Chakras" by Joy Gardner.
7. Personal Experience is from MY personal experience, journals and
notebooks, by <grin> Tandika Star.
8. Birthstone poem from "The Occult and Curative Powers of Precious
Stones" by William T. Fernie, M.D.
-----------------------------------------------
OBSIDIAN
SCIENTIFIC INFORMATION: Obsidian occurs as volcanic lava flows that are
thick and of limited area. Its black, glassy, lustrous, and often
flow-banded appearance makes it rather easy to distinguish from the
other volcanic rocks with which it is commonly associated. This mineral
forms when a silica-rich magma of granitic composition flows onto the
earth's surface, where it solidifies before minerals can develop and
crystallize. It is, therefore, an amorphous solid or glass rather than
an aggregate of minerals. The hardness of Obsidian is between 6 and 7;
it will scratch window glass. Although generally black, it is more or
less smoky along translucent to transparent edges; other colors are
gray, reddish brown, mahogany and dark green. When it has small white
"flower" designs in it, it is called Snowflake Obsidian. It is also
possible to find pieces with a sheen, or chatoyance. This is often
called Rainbow Obsidian.
ENVIRONMENT: Obsidian is an environment for very few minerals. Lithophy-
sae and spherulites may contain small but beautiful crystals of
feldspar, tridymite, and cristobalite.
OCCURENCE: Some locations of Obsidian bodies are California (Inyo,
Imperial, and Modoc Cos.), Oregon (Crater Lake), Wyoming (Yellowstone
Park), and Mexico (near Pachuca.)
2624
NAME: The name is dervied from the latin name for the mineral, [obsio.]
LEGEND and LORE: Polished pieces of black Obsidian have been used for
Scrying. Primitive peoples once valued obsidian highly, chipping and
flaking it into knives, spearheads, and many other implements with
razor-sharp edges resulting from the intersecting conchoidal fractures.
MAGICAL PROPERTIES: Obsidian is a very protective stone. It is also
associated with the inner mysteries of the Goddess, symbolizing entrance
to the labyrinth, the womb or the subconscious self.
HEALING: Because of its protective qualities, Obsidian is a good stone
for those who are soft-hearted and gentle. It will help to guard them
against abuse. This stone cleanses toxins from the liver, so it is also
good for people who are exposed to environmental pollutants.
PERSONAL EXPERIENCE: This is the "balance" stone for Clear Quartz
Crystals. We jokingly refer to it around here as a "dark sucker"...mean-
ing it will absorb all sorts of negative things. It is also a grounding
stone, and I use it at the Base Chakra (below the feet) at the beginning
of a layout to keep my client "grounded". In India, the women wear
obsidian toe rings for the same purpose. I use Black Obsidian in
conjunction with Quartz. If I'm not using Clear Quartz, I use Snowflake
Obsidian. I also have a piece of Rainbow Obsidian, but it is relatively
new and I haven't finished "conversing" with it, so I have no advice
as to how to use it...at the moment.
-------bibliography-------
1. Scientific, Environment, Occurence and Name are from (or paraphrased
from) "The Audobon Society Field Guide to North American Rocks and
Minerals".
2. Legends and Lore, Magical Properties are from "Cunningham's En-
cyclopedia of Crystal, Gem & Metal Magic", by Scott Cunningham.
3. Some of the healing information may come from "Color and Crystals, A
Journey Through the Chakras" by Joy Gardner.
4. Personal Experience is from MY personal experience, journals and
notebooks, by <grin> Tandika Star.
----------------------------------------------
OPAL
SCIENTIFIC INFORMATION: Opal is hydrous silica, often with some iron and
aluminum. Its chemistry is SiO2.nH2O; amount of water varies up to 10
percent. It ranges in color from White, yellow, red, pink, brown to
gray, blue and even colorless. It is most easily recognized by its rich
internal play of colors (opalescence). Its hardness ranges from 5-1/2 to
6-1/2. It is vitreous and pearly. The streak is white. It is not found
in crystal form, rather is is usually massive, botryoidal, reniform,
stalactitic, and/or earthy.
ENVIRONMENT: Opal is a low-temperature mineral and usually develops in
a wide variety of rocks as cavity and fracture fillings. It requently
develops as amygdules in basalt and rhyolite of volcanic rock and
replaces the cells in wood and the shells of clams.
2625
OCCURENCE: Common opal is widespread and can be readily obtained at many
places, but localities for precious opal are rare and seem to localized
in W United States and Mexico. Magnificent examples of opalized wood can
be found in Idaho, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, and Washington, and lively
green fluorescing opal (hyalite) occurs in seams in pegmatites in New
England and North Carolina and in cavities in basalt near Klamath Falls,
Oregon. Beautiful precious opal, as a replacement in wood, has been
obtained in Virgin Valley, Humboldt Co., Nevada. Excellent fire and
precious opal occur in laval flows in N Mexico. Nevada, Australia, and
Honduras are sources for black opal; Australia and Czechoslovakia
for white opal; Mexico and SW United States for fire opal.
GEMSTONE INFORMATION: Black, dark blue, dark green opal with dark gray
body color and fine play of colors is called [black opal;] opal with
white or light body color and fine play of color is called [white opal;]
and transparent to translucent opal with body color ranging from
orange-yellow to red and a play of colors is called [fire opal.] Play of
colors depends upon interference of light and is not dependent upon body
color. Black opal is the most highly prized, and fire opal is the most
valued of the orange and red varieties. Most opal is fashioned into
cabochons, but some fire opals are faceted.
NAME: The word is from the Sanskrit [upala,] meaning "precious stone."
LEGEND and LORE: Opal is a birthstone for October.
"October's child is born for woe,
And life's vicissitudes must know;
But lay an Opal on her breast,
And hope will lull those foes to rest." (5)
Opals have traditionally been considered "lucky" stones...but only for
those born in the month of October. It has been considered bad luck to
wear them if you were born in any other month.
MAGICAL PROPERTIES: Opal is considered to be able to confer the gift of
invisibility on its wearer. To accomplish this, Cunningham says "The gem
was wrapped in a fresh bay leaf and carried for this purpose." He also
says, "Opals are also worn to bring out inner beauty. A beauty spell:
Place a round mirror on the altar or behind it so that you can see your
face within it while kneeling. Place two green candles on eithe side of
the mirror. Light the candles. Empower an opal with your need for beauty
-- while holding the stone, gaze into your reflection. With the scalpel
of your visualization, mold and form your face (and your body) to the
form you desire. Then, carry or wear the opal and dedicate
yourself to improving your appearance." (2)
HEALING: Opals contain all the colors of the other stones, thus, it
could be used in place of any of them. (They are akin to quartz
crystals, in this aspect.) Generally speaking, Opal is used more
frequently for healing the spirit, rather than the physical body.
PERSONAL EXPERIENCE: Opals are probably my favorite stone. This may be
partially due to the fact that they are my birthstone, and I have been
surrounded by them all of my life. For me, they are protective and
invigorating. I normally use them during Journeying, and when doing
"readings" for other...anything where I am using altered states of
consciousness. I find that they help me to understand the symbols of my
2626
visions in a way that makes them meaningful for others.
-------bibliography-------
1. Scientific, Environment, Occurance and Name are from (or paraphrased
from) "The Audobon Society Field Guide to North American Rocks and
Minerals".
2. Legends and Lore, Magical Properties are from "Cunningham's En-
cyclopedia of Crystal, Gem & Metal Magic", by Scott Cunningham.
3. Some of the healing information may come from "Color and Crystals, A
Journey Through the Chakras" by Joy Gardner.
4. Personal Experience is from MY personal experience, journals and
notebooks, by <grin> Tandika Star.
5. Birthday poem from "The Occult and Curative Powers of Precious
Stones" by William T. Fernie, M.D.
-----------------------------------------------------
VESUVIANITE (IDOCRASE)
SCIENTIFIC INFORMATION: Vesuvianite is composed of calcium, magnesium
and aluminum silicate, often with some beryllium and fluorine. The
chemistry is Ca10Mg2Al4(SiO4)5(Si2)7)2(OH)4. Specimens range from brown
and green to a rare yellow or blue. The hardness is 6-1/2.
ENVIRONMENT: Vesuvianite forms by igneous and metamorphic processes. It
commonly is metamorphic and occurs with grossular, wollastonite, and
calcite in hornfels of contact metamorphic rocks; with chromite and
magnetite in serpentinite of hydrothermal metamorphic rocks; and with
wollastonite, andradite, and diopside in carbonatites.
OCCURENCE: Gem-quality Vesuvianite has been obtained from a pegmatite in
marble near Sixteen Island Lake, Laurel, Argenteuil Co., Quebec, and
beautiful micromount cyrstals of purplish-pink color occur in massive
Vesuvianite at the Montral chrome pit at Black Lake, Megantic Co.,
Quebec. The blue variety called [cyprine] has been obtained at Franklin,
Sussex Co., New Jersey. Fine crystals up to 1-1/2 inches across occur in
pale-blue calcite at Scratch Gravel, near Helena, Lewis and Clark Co.,
Montana, and spectacular material of similar nature occurs at quarries
near Riverside, California. Beautiful pale-green massive Vesuvianite
([californite]) occurs in California at Pulga, Butte Co.,
and near Happy Camp, Siskiyou Co., and crude yellow prismatic crystals
occur with grossular at Xalostoc, Morelos, and Lake Jaco, Chihuahua,
Mexico.
GEMSTONE INFORMATION: Translucent gray to green or nearly colorless
Vesuvianite with green streaks is called [californite], and is often
sold as "California Jade." Californite is fashioned into cabochons.
Principal sources are the USSR, Italy, Canada and California.
NAME: The name "Vesuvianite" is from the original locality at Mt.
Vesuvius, Italy. The alternate name, "idocrase," comes from the Greek
[eidos,] "form", and [krasis,] "mixture," because Vesuvianite may appear
to combine the crystal forms of several other minerals.
2627
LEGEND and LORE: None found.
MAGICAL PROPERTIES: Dolfyn associates this stone with Passion, enthus-
iasm, warmth and devotion.
HEALING: No specific information found, other than what Dolfyn states.
PERSONAL EXPERIENCE: None. I do not have a specimen of Vesuvianite.
-------bibliography-------
1. Scientific, Environment, Occurence and Name are from (or paraphrased
from)"The Audubon Society field Guide to North American Rocks and
Minerals".
2. Other scientific information may be from "Simon & Schuester's Guide
to Gems and Precious Stones".
3. Precious and semi-precious gemstone information may come from
"Gemstones" by E. H. Rutland.
4. Other precious and semi-precious gemstone information may come from
"Gem Cutting", sec. ed., by John Sinkankas.
5. Basic Legends, Lore and Magical Properties are from "Cunningham's
Encyclopedia of Crystal, Gem & Metal Magic", by Scott Cunningham.
6. Some magical and healing information from "Crystal Wisdom, Spiritual
Properties of Crystals and Gemstones" by Dolfyn.
7. More legends and lore may come from "Stone Power" by Dorothee L.
Mella.
8. Healing information is from "The Women's Book of Healing", by Diane
Stein.
9. Additional healing information may be from "The Occult and Curative
Powers of Precious Stones" by William T. Fernie, M.D.
10. Personal Experience is from MY personal experience, journals and
notebooks, by <grin> Tandika Star.
????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????
2628
AUTHOR: Jon Trott and Mike Hertenstein
SOURCE: Cornerstone, vol. 21, iss. 98, pp. 7-9,11-14,16-17,19,30,38
DATE: 1992
TITLE: Selling Satan: The Tragic History of Michael Warnke
NOTES: Copyright 1992 by Cornerstone Communications, Inc.
"I always wanted to write him a letter and
say, `Mike, when were you able to have this
coven of fifteen hundred people?' About the
most exciting thing we used to do was play
croquet."
??One of Mike Warnke's college friends
SELLING SATAN:
The Tragic History of Michael Warnke
by Jon Trott & Mike Hertenstein
This is the story of well-known comedian, evangelist, and professed
ex-Satanist Mike Warnke.
Known as "America's Number One Christian Comedian," Mike Warnke has
sold in excess of one million records. June 29, 1988, was declared
"Mike Warnke Day" by the governor of Tennessee. The Satan Seller has,
according to its author, sold three million copies in twenty years.[1]
His 1991 Schemes of Satan quickly climbed the best-seller list. Mike
Warnke's press material includes credits for appearances on "The 700
Club," "The Oprah Winfrey Show," "Larry King Live," "Focus on the
Family," and ABC's "20/20." Mike has won numerous awards from the
recording industry, including the 1992 Grady Nutt Humor Award. He
continues to perform two hundred live shows a year. He is truly a
figure of national prominence.
Mike Warnke's ministry and public profile are based upon the story
he tells of his previous involvement with Satanism. As written in The
Satan Seller, the story goes like this: a young orphan boy raised in
foster homes drifted from whatever family and friends he had to join a
secret, all-powerful satanic cult. First, he descended into the hell of
drug addiction. Then he ascended in the satanic ranks to the position
of high priest, with fifteen hundred followers in three cities. He had
unlimited wealth and power at his disposal, provided by members of
Satanism's highest echelon, the Illuminati. And then he converted to
Christ.
A generation of Christians learned its basic concepts of Satanism
and the occult from Mike Warnke's testimony in The Satan Seller.
Based on his alleged satanic experiences, Warnke came to be recognized
as a prominent authority on the occult, even advising law enforcement
officers investigating occult crime. We believe The Satan Seller has
been responsible, more than any other single volume in the Christian
market, for promoting the current nationwide "Satanism scare."[2]
Through the years, Cornerstone has received many calls from people
2629
who felt something was not right concerning Mike Warnke. After our
lengthy investigation into his background, we found discrepancies that
raise serious doubts about the trustworthiness of his testimony. We
have uncovered significant evidence contradicting his alleged satanic
activity. His testimony contains major conflicts from book to book and
tape to book, it contains significant internal problems, and it doesn't
square with known external times and events. Further, we have
documentation and eyewitness testimony that contradict the claims he
has made about himself.
The evidence we present here includes testimony from Mike's closest
friends, relatives, and daily associates ??people whose names Mike
disguised or omitted entirely in his "official" testimony. These people
knew the real Mike Warnke, who was not a drug fiend or a recruiter for
Satanism. But he was a storyteller.
Michael Alfred Warnke was born November 19, 1946, to Alfred "Al"
Warnke and his wife, Louise. Mike's parents lived in Evansville,
Indiana, and according to their son's confirmation certificate, had
Mike baptized at St. Anthony's Catholic Church.[3]
When Mike was five, the Warnkes moved to Manchester, Tennessee,
where Al opened Warnke's Truck Stop.[4] Located on Highway 41, north of
town, the diner soon became part of the local landscape. On January 15,
1955, Louise, on her way home from town, lost control of the family's
brand-new Packard and was killed. She was thirty-seven; Mike was eight
years old.[5]
Mike had other family, too, from his father's previous marriage. His
half sister, Shirley Schrader[6] was twenty-two years older than he
was. She first met Mike in 1954, when Al brought his family to
California on a visit. As Shirley recalls, "Dad, Louise, and Michael
came out to California in the mid-fifties. Prior to that, I wasn't
writing my father. I didn't even know where he was. My dad had
abandoned me when I was little. He was an alcoholic, and maybe twice in
my childhood did he make any effort to communicate with my mother. So I
was working and they came to my office, very unexpectedly. He says,
`I'm your father,' and he came on big and strong, `Oh, my daughter, my
daughter.' They spent maybe a week in California, and then went back to
Tennessee."
When Mike's mother was killed, Al flew Shirley to Tennessee for the
funeral. During that visit, Al Warnke asked Shirley if she and her
husband, Keith, would move to Manchester and help run the truck stop.
"You always think, Wouldn't it be neat to know your own dad? That was
probably one of the biggest mistakes I ever made."
Shirley, Keith, and their six-year-old son Keith, Jr., came out to
Manchester in February of 1955. But Al and Shirley soon had their
problems. "He had me working days, with Thursday off, and he had my
husband working nights, with a different day off. Then there was the
fact that my father was a drunk. We weren't there but a few days when
he went off on a big binge and didn't show up again for a week. There
would have been enough money to support us all. But he forgot we were
supposed to be paid."
Al Warnke seems to fit the description given him by his son in his
books and records. But what about Mike Warnke? Shirley recalls Mike as
2630
a little boy who spent a lot of time "sitting two feet from the
television. I tried to tell my dad, `Hey, the boy can't see.' And he'd
say, `Don't try to tell me about my son!' And my dad would give the kid
ten bucks and send him uptown. That was a lot of money for those days."
Disgusted with Al and his truck stop, but feeling empathy for Mike,
the Schraders returned to California. Two years later, Al Warnke was
dead of heart failure.[7]
Mike Warnke's story of his life, The Satan Seller, opens just
after Al's funeral, with adults discussing Mike's future as he
eavesdrops. As the book indicates, the eleven-year-old boy was
initially placed with his two aunts, Dorothy and Edna, who lived in
Sparta, Tennessee. Warnke has a segment on his Mike Warnke Alive![8]
album called "Tennessee Home and Blankety-Blank," in which he describes
how he raised one aunt's dander with his crude, truck stop ways.
The first night I was up there this lady came out and she
said, "Well, honey, how do you think you're gonna like it
here?" And I said, "Well, this is a pretty nice
blank-blankety-blank place. We oughta get along pretty
blank-blankety-blank well as long as you feed me
blank-blankety properly."
Aunt Edna Swindell[9] denies any such child appeared at her
Tennessee home. "He was just a typical boy. We had no problems." What
about his claims about being a foulmouthed brat? "He wasn't that here."
Meanwhile, Shirley Schrader was trying to get custody of young Mike.
"We wanted Michael," Shirley recalls. "And we fought through the
courts for Michael for months before they let him come out here."
Aunt Edna notes, "He stayed with me seven months. I guess if I
wanted him, I could have kept him the entire time. His half sister in
California wanted him, and that's where he wanted to go."
Mike Moves in with the Schraders
During the summer of 1959, Mike went to live with his half sister
and her family near Riverside, California. Shirley confirms Warnke's
story of how his Aunt Edna sent him to California loaded down with
anti-Catholic materials.
Shirley Schrader took the boys to church ??that is, she took her
eleven-year-old son Keith with her to Catholic mass and allowed
thirteen-year-old Mike to attend a nearby Protestant church. "And that
was fine for as long as he wanted to do it, because we weren't going to
force religion on him."
In Riverside, Keith, Jr., attended a parochial school??St. Francis
deSales. Mike eventually decided he wanted to go to that same parochial
school. "He went for a year, until we moved up on the mountain," says
Shirley.
In February of 1961, the Schraders and fourteen-year-old Mike moved
to Crestline, a small community planted among the pine trees atop the
San Bernardino Mountains overlooking the vast San Bernardino Valley.
The Schraders were well respected in Crestline. Community pillars,
2631
they ran a tight ship at home. Keith, Sr., head of the Pilot Rock
Conservation Camp, was in charge of minimum security inmates assigned
to fight forest fires. "We took the boys on camping trips. We rock
hounded. We did things together," recalls Shirley. "We sat them down
and had the sex talk. We had the talk about alcohol. We were a regular
family."
Keith, Jr., recalls, "Mike and I had a good time growing up
together. We were real close during high school??when we weren't
fighting."[10]
Mike Warnke attended Rim of the World High School. His best friends
through these years were Tim Smith[11] and Jeff Nesmith.[12] "We'd
spend lots of time at each other's houses," says Jeff Nesmith, "go to
school dances together, proms, and one summer Mike and I worked for my
dad in the construction business. We weren't hellions, but we weren't
angels either. We had our parties, gate crashed some dances."
All of Mike's friends and family we were able to contact denied his
assertion that he drifted at one point to a "rougher" crowd. In fact,
most of the kids Mike hung out with were, by all reports, good, clean,
Catholic boys. Tim Smith and another local boy, David Goodwin,[13] were
altar boys at St. Francis Cabrini Church. "Tim and I went to morning
mass every day before school," says Goodwin. "Sometimes Mike Warnke
attended mass with us." Tim's sister Terri explains, "I believe Mike
got interested in Catholicism from hanging out with us. He was like a
piece of furniture at our house."[14]
One day Mike announced to the Schraders that he, too, wanted to
become a Catholic. In the spring of his senior year in high school,
Warnke was confirmed in the Catholic Church. His sponsor was Tim's dad,
Paul "Jerry" Smith.[15] Two months after being confirmed, Mike
graduated with the rest of his class at Rim High in the class of '65.
Everybody we talked to who knew Mike Warnke at "Rim" remembers him
first and foremost as a chronic storyteller. His high school partner in
various escapades was Jeff Nesmith. Once, says Jeff, Mike had a date
but no car, and Jeff had his parents' Lincoln. "Mike talked me into
dropping him and his date off at a restaurant and then picking them up
after dinner. Before we picked up Mike's date, we stopped at a local
uniform store and got me a chauffeur's cap. From the moment the girl
got into the car, Mike spun this wild tale about me being an orphan boy
and how his family had taken me in, and how I sometimes performed
various services for them such as being their chauffeur. She just
soaked it all in."
The thing that always struck Nesmith about his pal was that Warnke
would never break out of character. "We'd go into some restaurant, and
Mike would pretend to be a Russian immigrant who couldn't speak
English. I'd translate Mike's order into English for the waitress.
Sometimes ??just to get him?? I'd order something I knew he'd hate. But
Mike was always enough of a pro that he'd stick with it and wouldn't
say anything . . . until we got outside the restaurant and he'd yell at
me."
The Schraders also knew Mike as a boy with the gift of gab. "Michael
is a showman," says Shirley. "He is an actor, and he always swore he
would never make a living with his hands, that he would make his living
2632
with his mouth." Keith, Jr., adds: "Mike is the kind of guy that can
sell somebody the Golden Gate Bridge. Or swamp land in Florida. I gotta
hand it to him. I wish I was as good a salesman."
In high school, storytelling had been a diversion, a way to get by.
According to his friends in college, it would increasingly become a
part of Mike Warnke's identity.
Mike Warnke at College
Here begins the critical period described in The Satan Seller, the
defining moment of Mike Warnke's later testimony and ministry??his
involvement with and subsequent banishment from a satanic cult.
On September 13, 1965, Mike Warnke began school at San Bernardino
Valley College, a two-year school.[16] Mike writes in The Satan
Seller that it was after he started college that he first was
introduced to drugs, sex, and finally Satanism. And, he continues, it
was only after the Satanists threw him out of their coven that he
joined the navy. Warnke's military records say he entered the navy on
June 2, 1966.[17] Therefore, whatever happened in Mike's life regarding
Satanism had to have happened between September 13, 1965, and June 2,
1966. (See sidebar "Under a Full Moon," p. 9.)
Mike, in his 1991 book, Schemes of Satan, claims to have had no
close friends at college and to have virtually disappeared:
In my own case, being away from home at college and not
having any close friends there meant that almost no one could
have known what was happening to me except, of course, the
members of the Satanic Brotherhood, and they were not
telling![18]
In reality, Mike Warnke simply did what countless other freshmen
have done: he found a new circle of friends. We found that new circle,
and they were not a part of the Satanic Brotherhood. None of these
people are mentioned by Warnke in The Satan Seller or anywhere else.
Greg Gilbert[19] was one of Mike's first and closest friends at
college. Today an English professor at a southern California
university, Greg reflects upon the notoriety of his old college
roommate. "After Mike became a star, I assumed that since he had gotten
this far with his Satan story, he'd always get away with it. I never
knew what to do. Who could you tell?"
Right around the time college started in 1965, Greg met Mike through
a mutual friend, Dennis Pekus.[20] Greg was living with his elderly
grandparents in San Bernardino and took Warnke to meet them. "When my
grandparents said they were from Tennessee, Mike said, `I come from
Tennessee, too,' " Greg recalls. "Before the evening was over he had us
all convinced he was a long-lost relative. Next thing we knew, he'd
talked his way into living with us."
Greg's college girlfriend, Dawn Andrews,[21] gave us her assessment.
"The first time I saw Mike Warnke was at Greg's house. He was
introduced to me as Greg's cousin," says Dawn. "He told everybody he
was. I remember how upset I was when The Satan Seller came out,
because what Warnke said was a lie. He has a very fertile imagination."
2633
Dyana Cridelich[22] was another of Mike Warnke's college friends
introduced by Greg. "After he got famous, I always wanted to write him
a letter and say, Mike, remember me? The one you gave the silver cross
to? When were you able to have this coven of fifteen hundred people?
Don't you remember, about the most exciting thing we used to do was
play croquet in Greg's backyard?' "
In The Satan Seller, Mike never mentions croquet. He was too busy
becoming a teenage alcoholic.
I attended classes regularly at first, but I wasn't about
to cut down on my drinking. As the days went by, it became
harder to concentrate on what the professors were saying, but
I could still talk my way out of anything, and this carried me
through. I was drinking so much by now, it was starting to
wreck my stomach."[23]
Was Mike a heavy drinker? Not according to those who knew him. "We
drank occasionally," says Greg, "but mostly we just talked about it. We
weren't of age, and alcohol was hard to come by."
This group of college freshmen often sat on the lawn between
classes, or got together in the student union cafeteria, The Tomahawk
Room. It was there that Lois Eckenrod,[24] a girl who was soon to be
his fiancee, joins the story. "Mike and I met in September or October,
that first semester at Valley," Lois said. "It was only a couple of
months before we got engaged. Hardly a day went by that we didn't see
each other."
His friends remember Mike Warnke as thin, with thick glasses and
short hair. He was bright, he was mainly happy ??though Lois remembers
he could swing easily to depression. Yet Mike says in The Satan
Seller that when college started, he was a "heavyset, jovial guy" who
only later lost weight due to drug use. His hair, he writes, was
already collar length. Within a short time, he claims to have become a
full-fledged hippie:
I made a return trip to the Salvation Army and bought some
black pants and freaky shirts. My hair was longer than ever,
and I bleached it blond. I was really craving attention, and I
got it. You know, weird people attract chicks.[25]
"He looked like everybody else," says Greg. He did have one constant
accessory, a silver cross. (This cross Warnke gave to Dyana, she says.)
Warnke writes in The Satan Seller that he frequented a coffeehouse
called Penny University, where he danced, obtained hard liquor, and got
acquainted with the owner while practicing his fake English accent.[26]
Lois says that she and Mike did go to Penny University, "quite a bit
because Mike really liked folk music. But there was no room for
dancing. The place was full of tables and stuff."
Cornerstone also talked with John Ingro,[27] who in 1965 not only
owned Penny U., but also was a district attorney (currently he is a San
Bernardino judge). "You couldn't dance there. It was very small, and
packed with chairs. As far as alcohol, we only served coffee at a penny
a cup. That's where the place got its name." As for remembering Mike
2634
and the fake English accent? "No. Is this a joke?"
Storytelling in the Tomahawk Room
Storytelling developed into an art form among the Tomahawk Room
crowd. One student, Gary Manbeck, is remembered as having some of the
best stories. "Gary always told stories about being in the Green
Beret," says Dawn. "He was very good, but I never thought any of it was
true."
Mike Warnke joined right in. "Gary and Mike vied for attention with
stories, trying to be the life of the party," says George Eubank,[28]
another of the Tomahawk crowd. "Who can one-up ya. That's a real good
description of the two of them together."
Warnke produced a never-ending stream of tall tales. "He claimed he
had some kind of white witchcraft background," recalls Greg Gilbert.
"He claimed he'd been reincarnated any number of times, that he was
born in the Irish Moors in the 1570s. Along with his other stories, he
claimed he'd once been a Trappist monk."
In The Satan Seller, Warnke paints himself as a freshman guru,
dispensing wisdom to an eager audience of disciples:
Most of my friends were the pseudo-intellectual type. We
liked to lie out on the lawn in the quad after classes and
discuss psychology, philosophy, religion, art, and politics.
Other students began coming around, and they seemed to look to
me for answers to their questions. Anything I said was okay
with them. And it was certainly okay with me. If they were
that hung up for a leader, I was happy to oblige." [29]
Greg Gilbert remembers things this way: "We sat out under the trees
at school, all right. And there were times we listened to Mike tell his
tall tales. But if Mike thought we believed what he was saying, or that
we looked at him like some kind of guru, he was greatly mistaken. We
were all part of the same bragging team."
It was difficult, at times, to know whether Warnke believed his own
stories or not. "I don't think it was in fun. I think he himself wanted
to believe it," says Phyliss Catalano,[30] Lois's best friend. "I used
to sit there and be embarrassed, because I'd think, How could somebody
that young have done all these things? He'd done everything. And
everything he told was with a straight face."
Phyliss's mother, Mary Catalano,[31] saw Warnke on a regular basis
when the gang gathered at the Catalano house. "He was a likable young
man when he visited our house," she says, "but anything brought up in
conversation ??he'd done it. He said he'd been a Greek dancer, and he'd
dance for us, round and round. He said he'd been a professional
ambulance driver. And he was a monk??he'd come to the house all dressed
in black. Of course, we never believed him. We just said, `Boy, is he
one big liar.' "
In college, as he'd done in high school, Warnke continued to costume
himself for his roles. Mike particularly liked being a priest. "I
remember at Halloween he dressed up like a priest and went around
pretending," says Dawn. "My parents saw him ??they're very Catholic?? so
2635
I heard about it." Another occasion for the priest impersonation was a
double date with Lois and Phyliss and her boyfriend David Gibbet. "I'll
never forget when he went dressed as a priest to Jay's Coffeehouse,"
says Lois. "He met us there, and came walking in wearing robes and a
white collar. I about died."
Yet another student, Tom Bolger,[32] recalls Warnke boasting how
he'd dressed as a priest and gone panhandling in downtown San
Bernardino. "He said he'd made fifty dollars." And finally, Greg
recalls Mike unsuccessfully using the priest bit to get drinks. "He got
the robes at a costume shop, went to Corky's Liquor Store, and tried to
get Christian Brothers wine for the mass. They just laughed him out."
"The Satan Seller" And the Way Things Really Were
According to The Satan Seller, though, things are by now getting
serious. The story is set in motion by the mysterious college-age
individual named "Dean Armstrong," who Warnke alleges was a satanic
high priest. Mike says Dean lured him into drug use, sexual
promiscuity, witchcraft, and Satanism. We will examine these elements
of the story, then compare each with what witnesses remember. For
starters, Mike's associates at school affirm that none among them
remotely resembled the Dean character in The Satan Seller.
????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????
2636
According to the book, Mike was encouraged by Dean to quit drinking
so much and start smoking marijuana. Mike tells Dean no, but later an
unnamed roommate brings up the subject again:
My stomach was still hurting. I tried everything I could think
of, except giving up drinking. My new roommate suggested I try
. . . [grass], and not wanting to be left out, I finally went
along with it. . . .
. . . I really liked marijuana.[33]
Regarding drug use, Greg laughs. "Drugs? No way, not at Valley, and
not in 1965. Two years later there was plenty of grass around, but back
in '65 we still believed Reefer Madness."
Did Warnke ever talk about drugs around anybody else? "None of us
were into drugs," says Dyana. "We didn't even smoke cigarettes." Yet in
The Satan Seller, Warnke and his friends are allegedly full-blown
into drug use early in the year:
When we tried the peyote, we decided it was better and
heavier than pot. We also started eating mescaline in our food
in increasing quantities, and from there we went on to reds. .
. . . . . Some doctors came to the campus to conduct
controlled group experiments on [LSD]. My friends and I
decided to volunteer for the tests.[34]
Not only do Mike's friends deny controlled or uncontrolled
experimentation with drugs, but according to the records, no LSD
experiments took place on the campus of San Bernardino Valley College.
This was underscored in our conversation with Dr. George Zaharopoulos,
head of the Social Sciences Department at Valley. "I taught here during
those years, and we never, ever, asked for or had any LSD experiments
take place here. This is only a junior college."
In ?The Satan Seller? Mike not only claims to have used drugs, but
to have been a major-league drug trafficker:
One time I took some money for a drug payoff down to El
Centro, a burg in the desert of California, not far from the
border town of Mexicali. A really big load was involved, and
this caused quite a flap. It was the most money I had ever
seen at one time ??fifty thousand dollars in bundles of
hundred-dollar bills.[35]
On his Mike Warnke Alive! album, Mike further claims:
I'd had hepatitis four times from shooting up with dirty
needles. I had scabs all over my face from shooting up
crystal. I was a speed freak. I weighed 110 pounds soaking
wet. My skin had turned yellow. My hair was falling out. My
teeth were rotting out of my head. I'd been pistol-whipped
five or six times. My jaw had been broken. My nose had been
almost ripped off. I had a bullet hole in my right leg. Two
bullet holes in my left leg.
Greg Gilbert and the others saw Mike on a daily basis, and say that
it is totally impossible for Mike to have had hepatitis, facial scabs
from injecting "crystal," and wounds from being shot three times.
2637
"Without us knowing it? It's a lie," Greg says.
Lois's reaction to Mike's tale? "That's just make-believe," she
states. "Mike never fell in with drugs. My dad was an alcoholic, and
because of our family situation, I'd had to move in with the Catalanos.
So I was really sensitive to things like that. Second, I was training
to be a nurse, and I think I would have known if he was using drugs. I
wouldn't have dated Mike if he was drugged. I didn't even allow people
to drink around me."
In The Satan Seller, drugs and sex were the magnet that drew Mike
Warnke along. Warnke gradually found himself running errands for Dean,
attending occult discussion meetings, until, finally, Dean decided his
charge was ready for the real thing: a satanic ritual service.
The Black Mass in an orange grove turned out to be just what anybody
would expect who's seen ?Rosemary's Baby? or other films of this genre:
black robes, a naked woman on the altar, blasphemy and incantations.
"After the Invocation of Satan, I listened intently to the Offertory,
where the members offered their souls to Lord Satan."[36]
According to ?The Satan Seller?, Warnke signed his name in blood to
give his soul to Satan, and a few pages later took over the coven from
Dean as the new High Priest.
I swung the now screaming cat over the smoking caldron and
then over the heart of the girl on the altar. Then, when the
sword point touched the cat's belly, I thrust it in.
"Now!" I suddenly shouted. . . . I drew an upside-down star
on the girl's stomach, with the freshly spilled blood. From
the weird utterances that now came from her mouth, I knew we
were being graced by the presence of one of the denizens of
hell.[37]
Just before he published The Satan Seller in 1973, Warnke brought
manuscript copies to his old high school friends Jeff Nesmith and Tim
Smith, and asked them to sign affidavits swearing the events depicted
were true. Jeff Nesmith had lost track of Warnke after high school and
had little idea what he did during college or who he hung out with. On
a rare visit to Mike's apartment during his college days, Mike asked
Jeff to join a "coven." But Jeff laughed it off, thinking it was one of
Mike's stories. In any event, when Warnke asked Jeff to sign the
affidavit, he refused.[38] "My initial reaction to the book was, `Come
on, Mike! This is poppycock!' "
Tim Smith dropped out of college after only two months, but notes,
"I had contact with Mike off and on all the way through the fall of
1965 until the summer of 1966." Tim states he never saw Warnke with
long hair or in the drug-induced emaciated state he claimed to be
during that period. "Sign the affidavit? I told him, `Nope. Can't do
that.' "
Warnke's two high school buddies saw him sporadically throughout the
year, but not every day. Yet Mike brought Jeff and Tim the affidavits,
but not Lois, Greg, Dawn or the others. It does not speak well for the
veracity of Warnke's claims that he did not ask those who knew him on a
daily basis in San Bernardino Valley College to endorse his story.
2638
The College Crowd and the Occult
Interestingly, most of Mike's college friends did dabble in occult
activities. "Some of them were into seance and Ouija board type stuff,"
says George Eubank. "But it wasn't serious, just the kind of stuff
freshmen in college play with. Especially sheltered freshmen in college
that are all of a sudden free from their parents, spreading their
wings, so to speak."
Bill Lott,[39] another college student who is now a Christian,
took the experimentation more seriously. "People were messing around
with stuff like reincarnation, tarot cards, Ouija boards. Mike was one
of those people. But he never talked about Satanism or being a devil
worshiper," Lott says.
"People talked about witches and Ouija boards," says Dawn. "It was
that era. None of us belonged to a coven, and none of us were witches.
If we'd have thought anybody was serious, it would have scared us to
death. We did table tipping once, and the table tipped and that was
that. No more table tipping for me."
Warnke and a few of the guys created a not-so-secret society. "We
started a club called The Royal Order of the Lantern," says Greg. "We
played chess, drank beer, and told tall tales. It was a group that
really never took off."
Adds George Eubank, "The Royal Order of the Lantern had to do with
this lamp we'd stolen from somebody's driveway. Warnke wanted to get an
apartment and have a group of guys. I don't think it was supposed to be
secret. It was supposed to be fun and games. It flopped because nobody
was willing to put the effort into it. Mike carried it as far as he
could at the time. It was kind of a defunct fraternity that never got
anywhere." The Royal Order of the Lantern is a far cry from ?The Satan
Seller?'s fifteen hundred followers in three cities, financed by a
worldwide network of Satanists.
Mike eventually did get his own apartment, and the place became a
favorite hangout for the Tomahawk Room crowd ??the guys in particular.
Mike gave both Greg Gilbert and Bill Lott keys. The apartment "was
above a garage," says Greg. "There was an exterior stairway that went
up to a room with an open-beam ceiling, the gable coming to a point."
In The Satan Seller, Warnke describes the exterior of his
apartment in this way: a second-floor apartment approached by an
outside stairway. The interior, however, was redecorated by the
Satanists after Warnke became high priest:
A long, low, oxblood leather couch replaced the sagging old
brown horsehair one, and there were two sets of bookshelves
full of books [on the occult]. . . . The biggest surprise was
on the floor ??two chicks sitting on a white rug . . . .
. . . "We hope you like it, Mike, because we come with the
apartment," said the blonde one named Lorraine.[40]
The two women allegedly remained at Warnke's beck and call, rarely
leaving the apartment unless it was to get groceries or drugs. "It's a
fantasy," says Dennis Pekus, who knew Mike in both high school and
2639
college. Greg Gilbert says he never knew Mike Warnke to have a
girlfriend in college besides Lois Eckenrod. None of the college
friends who frequented the apartment ever saw occult books, an oxblood
leather couch, or two love slaves.
Mike says plenty of "soft pink sex"[41] is at the center of his
satanic experiences. These begin with the orgies Warnke says initially
drew him into the coven:
Then they split off into couples. It was great, because there
was a girl for every guy, not like most places I had been
where there is a chronic chick shortage.
Cool-looking, sexy girls, too. . . . These chicks were
free-lovers. . . .
"Come on over here, Mike," a blonde said.[42]
Then there's the sexual recruiting Mike says he helped organize and
rituals that degenerate from cat killing to the rape of an innocent
virgin. (Warnke is careful to exclude himself from direct participation
in the rape, though he writes that it was his idea.)
In a later book, Schemes of Satan, Warnke suggests that sex was a
routine part of the rituals:
On more than one occasion, I regret to admit, we participated
in ritual sexual abuse that even involved rape. Most of the
time I was too doped up to perform sexually, but I would watch
these lust rituals with great desire.[43]
Such tales of perversion and criminal activity raise serious
questions. If Mike led in acts of rape and other violent crimes, why
(after his conversion) didn't he turn himself in and aid the police in
apprehending his old satanic friends? If, on the other hand, his rape
and abuse stories are not true, what does this say about the
imagination of their author?
Mike's college crowd completely rejects these stories of violence
and sexual perversion. "Oh, my goodness, no," says Phyliss. "To talk
about sex orgies and all these drug parties. He didn't do them with
Lois and me, that's for sure!"
"I never slept with him," says Lois. "We kissed and hugged, but I
never would have had sex with him because I was a very devout Catholic,
and I wanted to be a virgin till I got married. Thank God I didn't
marry him."
There always seemed to be a story. In college, as in the high school
role-playing with Jeff Nesmith, Warnke refused to drop out of
character. "He played it to the end," says Greg. "He never gave up.
That was the remarkable thing about him. We'd question him about his
stories and he always came up with some half-baked answer. And you
couldn't disprove what he was saying ??that was the common thread. It
was never anything we were likely to have the real answer for or the
time to check into. So he could say anything he wanted."
Warnke's refusal to admit to his own storytelling made him
2640
untrustworthy in the eyes of some members of the group. "I didn't know
anything about his past, so I didn't know what was true and what
wasn't," says Dawn. "I didn't feel like he was sincere in anything he
did. If the situation required him to be macho, he was macho. If it
required him to be mean, he was mean. He just sort of blended into the
situation and tried to monopolize everyone. There was nothing real
about him."
Mike and Lois Plan Their Marriage
By Christmas of 1965, Mike and Lois were seeing each other on a
daily basis. "It was pretty fast that we said we were going to get
married," says Lois. "Within two or three months of school starting, he
gave me a rose ring with a diamond in it. It cost $60. He had to make
payments on it. I thought he really loved me. And I thought I loved
him, too."
In The Satan Seller, Warnke has gone through his drugs, sex, and
promotion to high priest before Christmas of 1965. (Trying to fit the
long list of his claims onto a real calendar is a challenge. See
sidebar, p. 18) Shirley Schrader says Mike had Christmas dinner in
Crestline with the family. "He didn't seem emaciated by drugs to me,"
she says.
College records show Mike Warnke left school after the first term.
"Most of us dropped out after the first semester," recalls Lois. The
group continued to hang out together at Mike's apartment, the
Catalanos', and elsewhere. What about the Mike in The Satan Seller
who flew around the country on satanic business trips to San Francisco
(where he allegedly met Anton LaVey), New York, and Salem,
Massachusetts? "You're a real traveling salesman for Satan, Mike, and
we want you to go to Salem and get more hip with some really serious
organization."[44]
"How could he fly when he didn't have two pennies?" asks Lois, who
adds that Mike never went anywhere, and when he did it was with her.
"If he says he was a Satanist between September of 1965 to June of
1966, he's lying. How could I not know my boyfriend was into Satanism?
I don't remember there ever being a time when we didn't see or talk to
each other every day."
Every day? "Yes," says Lois. "We went to movies together, I went to
the country club with him in the mountains, we went to the beach. We
used to go to Jay's Coffee Shop in San Bernardino. That was the big
thing. He introduced me to hot fudge sundaes. I spent the majority of
that year with him."
Lois says she and Mike used to play pool over on Highland Avenue in
San Bernardino. We read her a story from Warnke's book Hitchhiking on
Hope Street. In it Mike writes that he got into a gunfight with Ray, a
local pimp, at the pool hall:
I was drunk as a skunk when I shot at him with the .44,
because I missed him by a country mile and blew off the corner
of the pool table. . . . The two of us went roaring down the
street, screaming and shooting. . . .
. . . he . . . got off a lucky shot. It hit me in the leg and
2641
knocked me down.[45]
The predictable reaction: "Oh, my goodness. You're kidding. . . ."
Lois dissolves into laughter.
According to The Satan Seller, Mike Warnke's reign as a satanic
high priest ends, apparently sometime in the spring of 1966, when
Warnke crumples under the strain of too much responsibility and too
many drugs. On a "Focus on the Family" radio broadcast, he described
his appearance at this time: "I had white hair. It was about down to my
belt. . . . I had six-inch fingernails; I painted them black."[46] (See
picture, p. 8, taken April 30, 1966.)
Warnke says he was intentionally overdosed with heroin by one of his
live-in love slaves and thrown, naked, on the steps of a local
hospital. After a few weeks of drying out at the hospital, Warnke
escaped by joining the Navy.[47] On the ?Mike Warnke Alive!? album, he
describes his hair length the night before boot camp: "It hit me just
below the pockets." He continues:
The night before I went to boot camp I went to this
party. . . . I smoked a bunch of dope and ate a bunch of reds
and got crashed out in a corner. . . . But the girl I was with
decided the thing that would really be cute is if she braided
my hair. . . . She put beads with the first bunch, feathers
with the next bunch, a piece of red ribbon about that long
with the last bunch, braided it all together, and hung a
jingle bell on the end of each braid.
Lois says she was the girl who gave Mike his going-away party.
When she heard this story for the first time in 1979, she was furious.
"I couldn't believe it when I heard that!" she says. "I'm the one who
gave him the going-away party! We never touched drugs. He never had
long hair ??his hair was short, short, short!"
Greg and Dawn, who had just gotten married, offered Lois the use of
their apartment for the party. "I bought a big cake decorated with a
navy boat," Lois remembers. "It said `Ship Ahoy, Mike.' Dawn and I made
food and pop, and we had a bunch of people over. It was just clean fun.
I took him to the bus stop, put him on the bus to go to boot camp,"
Lois says. "We were supposed to get married when he finished."
Mike, Sue, and Campus Crusade
On June 2, 1966, Mike Warnke joined the U.S. Navy. During the time
he was there, he and Lois stayed in touch by letter. According to
Warnke's official story, boot camp is where he meets two Christians who
are such a bold witness for Christ that the ex-Satanist converts to
Christianity.
According to his service records, Mike Warnke graduated from boot
camp August 22, 1966.[48] His fiancee, Lois, and the Schrader family
attended graduation. "I went down with a friend and gave Mike a St.
Christopher medal," says Lois. There was a fifteen-day leave after camp
ended. During this time Lois noticed a change in Mike. "He was
different. He was carrying a Bible. I asked him about it, and he said
he'd found Christ at boot camp. He was real excited about being a
Christian, finding God." Within days Mike told Lois "he'd had this
2642
Christian conversion and he had to go on. That this was it. I didn't
see him anymore after that."
The Satan Seller, once again, tells a different story. There is,
of course, no mention of Lois Eckenrod before or after boot camp.
Instead, when Warnke returns home from boot camp, he begins dating Sue
Studer, a fellow Rim High alumnus who was soon to become his first
wife. "I turned around and was surprised to see Sue Studer, the girl
who had always dated the football heroes. Sue was still as pretty as
ever."[49]
Warnke writes that he then told Sue of his recent conversion to
Christ, and to his delight Sue replied she, too, had become a
Christian. "Sue had worked on the staff of Campus Crusade for Christ at
the Arrowhead Springs Headquarters."[50]
In The Satan Seller, Mike Warnke says that he was chased by Campus
Crusaders attempting to convert him when he was the campus Satanist.
However, Lois and several others do remember Mike Warnke taking some
interest in religion and Campus Crusade before boot camp. "I remember
him starting to get interested in religion," Lois says. "He'd go up the
hill to Campus Crusade's headquarters."
Just how early Mike dabbled with Christianity is unclear, but at
least one witness says she saw him proclaiming faith in Christ in 1965,
a whole year before The Satan Seller says he became a Christian.
Charlotte Tweeten,[51] a 1964 Rim graduate who attended Valley College,
told Cornerstone, "It was in the fall of 1965. I know that because by
winter I had already left school. Mike Warnke came up to me while I was
sitting there drinking coffee and started proselytizing me. It was the
born-again thing. Mike was doing his religious thing and Sue Studer was
with him."
On September 7, 1966, Mike Warnke reported to Hospital Corps School
in San Diego.[52]
Mike gives us our choice of stories as to why he chose to become a
medic. In The Satan Seller he writes he joined the Hospital Corps
because "I could be of more use to God mending guys than swabbing
decks."[53] On the album Hey, Doc!, he says he joined the Hospital
Corps because of drugs and nurses: "Dope and women . . . for pay . . .
far out!"[54]
In late 1966, Warnke graduated from medic school and, after training
with the marines at Camp Pendleton, went to work at the naval
dispensary in San Diego.[55] Marriage records show Mike and Sue Studer
were married May 13, 1967, in Crestline.[56] Soon after, the couple
moved onto San Diego's Louisiana Street.
While in San Diego, the Warnkes visited Scott Memorial Baptist
Church, pastored by now well-known church leader and author Tim LaHaye
and his wife, Beverly. In The Satan Seller, Warnke offers one version
of what happened when the LaHayes visited the Warnke home. Mike says he
told Tim LaHaye about the Illuminati.
I had already told him I had been to an occult conference.
"There were some weird guys that seemed to be the real backers
of the whole thing. . . . I heard the word Illuminati."[57]
2643
"The conversation really wasn't like he put it in his book," says
Dr. LaHaye.[58] "I brought up the term Illuminati first. I had been
reading a book on the subject, and I tried testing him to see if he
really knew anything about it. He didn't seem to have ever heard the
word before."
"Mike gave us a little of his testimony," says Beverly LaHaye,[59]
who is now the head of Concerned Women for America. "He said a book
about the leaders of the Satan church had disappeared off his shelf
when he became interested in Christianity." Dr. LaHaye sums up, "His
type of personality tells stories for effect, not for accuracy."
Mike in Vietnam
In November of 1967, the Warnkes moved back to Camp Pendleton and
Oceanside. In May of 1969, Warnke was transferred from Pendleton to the
Third Marine Division, Vietnam.[60] Warnke says he spent his time in
Vietnam, like so many who served there, anesthetized from the
experience of war by drugs.[61]
The following is a list of the other things Mike Warnke says
happened to him while in Vietnam:
My faith was weakening fast![62] A buddy of mine was
killed??a mortar shell landed directly on him, disintegrating
him except for his shoes.[63] I was existing from one bottle
to the next.[64] The message [a spy] was carrying was a
detailed description of myself and the skipper, identifying us
as prime targets for the Viet Cong. . . .
. . . I shot a spy, went to my tent, cooked dinner, and
ate. And something died inside of me.[65] I was the first to
enter the tent [of marines who had been "fragged"??killed by
their own people]. [66]
Anyway, one day we were into this fire fight. . . .
Everybody is shooting at each other. . . .
. . . All of a sudden: zooooom, zonk, and my arm is
pinned to the ground with an arrow! I look over at this other
Marine Corps sergeant, who goes, "Only you, man, only
you!"[67]
One time I went through a village and was handing out
candy bars to little kids. Just standing in the back of my
Jeep. . . .
When I get done, I'm putting the box back and this
twelve-year-old kid goes in his house, comes back out with a
gun, and shoots me.[68]
Add to the list this story from Keith Schrader, Jr.: "Mike told me
that he killed a man in a bar fight in the Philippines."
Despite the impression such a long list may give, records show
Warnke was in Vietnam for only six months.
In The Satan Seller Mike says that he was wounded twice. In his
2644
second book, Hitchhiking on Hope Street, he says he was wounded five
times.[69] Military records obtained by Cornerstone show that Mike
Warnke, hospital corpsman, second class, service number B98 05 49,
received one Purple Heart, and, along with the rest of his unit,
several additional medals. The Third Marine Division he was connected
to was withdrawn from Vietnam in October of 1969 and sent to
Okinawa.[70]
Warnke was sent back to the U.S. in the spring of 1970 and for the
first time was able to see his infant son, Brendon Michael, born
December 2, 1969, while Mike was overseas. In return for reenlisting
for six more years, Mike was enrolled in cardiopulmonary school. The
Warnke family settled in San Diego.
George Wakeling,[71] who worked with young drug addicts, says he was
contacted by Mike around this time. George was the founder of the Drug
Prevention Center, or "the Hotline," a ministry to addicts at the
Melodyland Christian Center in Anaheim. Mike started spending time at
the Hotline, and getting instruction from Hotline speaker Dick Handley.
It was through the Hotline that Mike made his first contacts with
Jesus Movement-era Christianity.
Mike Meets the Jesus Movement
Melodyland was one of the Southern California centers of the
charismatic renewal movement then sweeping the Church. The ex-addicts
and others who ran the Hotline were among the original Jesus People,
part of a new youth counterculture uniquely compatible with the
charismatics. Both preferred informal gatherings and a vital,
experience-oriented faith. The culturally conservative Melodyland crowd
thus understood when the exuberant young hippies suggested "getting
high on Jesus."
Both groups majored on the theme of acceptance. The mainstream
church was sadly out of touch with the needs of counterculture youth
and, even more sadly, unwilling by and large to reach out to them. But
Pentecostal denominations such as the Assemblies of God seemed to grasp
what God was doing among children of the sixties. Uncritically, without
attacking the cultural preferences of the young, many charismatics and
Pentecostals shamed their mainstream peers by being (in Paul's words)
all things to all men.
But as with nearly all revivals, there were problems with the newly
revived. The mix of uncritical acceptance plus emphasis on experience
was easily taken too far. It opened the door for various cults among
the Jesus People; it also opened the door for those with fascinating
though unprovable conversion stories.
"A lot of people came to the Hotline and told their drug
testimonies," says Ron Winckler,[72] a leader there. "Mike Warnke came
with the added attraction of the Satanist experience, which was a big
hit with the Full Gospel Businessmen and charismatics. The times were
right for that sort of testimony."
Hotline speaker Dick Handley and friends in Crestline had introduced
Mike Warnke to the baptism in the Holy Spirit. Through Handley, Warnke
met Dave Balsiger, a writer who had done promo work for Melodyland and
now was media director for charismatic evangelist Morris Cerullo.
2645
After starting a youth ministry in San Diego, Cerullo had come in
contact with kids dabbling with the occult and decided to write a book
on the subject. Balsiger was assigned the job. It was during this time
he met Mike Warnke and enlisted his aid. The book was to be called
?Witchcraft Never Looked Better.?[73] They also created a specially
outfitted trailer, purchased to house "research materials" such as
voodoo oil, graveyard dust, and fortune-telling spray. The vehicle,
dubbed the "Witchmobile," was to be unveiled at an upcoming Morris
Cerullo convention, The Seventh Deeper Life Conference.[74]
Cerullo's vision, Warnke's story, and Balsiger's media talents
combined to make the January 1972 meeting a smash. A twelve-page
tabloid on Cerullo was inserted into the ?San Diego Evening Tribune.?
Warnke and the Witchmobile were introduced to the media at a press
conference, and at the Saturday night youth rally.[75]
Christianity Today covered the event, noting that Cerullo "bore
down heavily on the theme that satanic forces are loose in the
nation."[76] Mike Warnke, who gave a seminar on the occult, was one of
the newsmen's favorites.
After the January 1972 conference, Warnke and Balsiger parted with
Cerullo and decided to write a book together about Mike's Satanist
experience. We asked Dave Balsiger about evidence for the story told in
the book. Was he concerned about that? "Oh, yes." And what was the
evidence Mike offered for The Satan Seller's fifteen-hundred-member
cult; the all-powerful Illuminati, the intricate rituals complete with
various knives, candles, books, and robes? "Mike took me to some of the
sites." (The reader should recall that Mike's experiences had allegedly
occurred six years before the book was written.) "I saw where there had
been a fire started. And there were some indications of cultic writings
and graffiti."[77]
During the first half of 1972, Warnke had been working hard (with
the help of Morris Cerullo's organization) to get out of the navy so he
could go full-time into the ministry. "I helped him write letters,"
recalls Cerullo staffer Jean Jolly,[78] "and I got hold of
[Congressman] Del Clawson's office. We got him out of the navy." On
June 2, Warnke was granted an early discharge on conscientious-objector
basis.[79]
"As soon as he got out, Mike sent a letter to Morris Cerullo's
headquarters and said we were forbidden to use his name or his
material," recalls George Eckeroth,[80] who headed Jolly's department.
"And Balsiger left Cerullo around the same time."
Mike launched his ministry under the banner "Alpha Omega Outreach."
In mid-June, Warnke went to Explo '72 in Dallas, a sort of Campus
Crusade version of Woodstock attended by over eighty thousand.[81]
Guideposts was running a feature on Warnke's story,[82] and his book
was due in the fall.[83]
"The Satan Seller" a Best-seller
Logos International released The Satan Seller in early 1973.[84]
At that moment, Christian publishing was in the midst of an
unparalleled boom with the success of blockbusters like The Late Great
Planet Earth by Hal Lindsey and the Praise books by Merlin Carothers.
2646
While the party lasted, Logos was the life of the party, the industry
leader in both output and income.[85]
Yet, as a former Logos editor has admitted, the boom-time books were
often "too quickly written."[86] That same year, Logos published
Michael, Michael, Why Do You Hate Me?,? the purported story of
born-again rabbi Michael Esses. A later expose revealed Esses' bogus
credentials and immorality.[87]
Into this heady atmosphere The Satan Seller was born. The book was
positively reviewed in publications ranging from Moody Monthly to
The Christian Century, with nary a question as to its
credibility.[88] "The only thing I remember about that book is that it
sold better than we thought it would," says Logos founder Dan Malachuk.
Indeed, by April 1973, The Satan Seller was a religious
best-seller.[89]
Other ex-Satanist testimonies followed Warnke's. John Todd's
warnings about the Illuminati and a conspiracy of witches were promoted
in a series of Jack Chick comic books. According to Ron Winckler, Todd
visited the Hotline once with a group of underlings to check out Mike
Warnke. "There was a backstage confrontation," says Ron Winckler."Todd
accused Warnke of stealing his material about the Illuminati."
Another alleged ex-Satanist, Hershel Smith, purchased the
Witchmobile from Morris Cerullo and began his own tour. Smith's
testimony, seen in the 1974 book The Devil and Mr. Smith, coauthored
by Dave Hunt, was an apparent effort to one-up The Satan Seller.[90]
Hershel Smith eventually dropped out of sight. Todd's story was
later discredited. When a book debunking Todd was written, Mike Warnke
wrote the forward. "We as Christians have to be careful of those who
take the name of the Lord in vain," said Warnke. [91] In Ron Winckler's
analysis, "Mike Warnke had the jump on John Todd. He understood the
Full Gospel mind-set better."
Now a published author, Mike Warnke found increasing demand for his
story and told it in coffeehouses and churches beyond the West Coast.In
August of 1973, Warnke spoke at a Christian music festival in
Pennsylvania. The Jesus Movement had spawned its own music, and Warnke
gravitated toward this fraternity of musicians. Tim Archer of the group
The Archers, told the crowd at Jesus '73, "Mike Warnke is the Chaplain
of Gospel Rock."[92]
In his travels, Warnke had met Charles Duncombe, an elderly
Pentecostal evangelist. "Brother D," who started in the ministry under
English preacher Smith Wigglesworth, was loved and respected by all who
knew him. In 1974 Mike, Sue, four-year-old Brendon, and newborn
Jesse[93] all moved to Oklahoma near Duncombe's small school, Trinity
Bible College. Mike would attend school while Sue tended children.
Trinity Bible College was a nine-month preparation for ministry,
located in a big country house outside Tulsa, Oklahoma. The thirty
students were mostly new converts, many from a counterculture
background and eager to learn. "Within two weeks of our conversion my
wife and I were in Trinity," says John Witty,[94] who with his wife
Vicki Jo had been a nightclub comedian.
2647
Fellow students Bob and Karen Siegal[95] ran a Jesus People ministry
in southern Illinois and had met Brother D at a Full Gospel
Businessmen's meeting. "We were the token hippies at FGBM," says Karen.
"They'd bring us in there and have us give our testimonies." Student
Bill Fisher, known as "Wild Bill," was a colorful local who later
became Mike Warnke's traveling partner and confidant.
In some ways Mike Warnke was the star pupil, since he was already
doing what everybody else was just learning to do: ministering in
churches around the country. "Here was a guy who was going out on the
weekends and leading hundreds to Jesus," says John Witty. "He was a
hero to us all."
On local gigs, Trinity students would tag along, sometimes even
joining Warnke on stage. "Mike liked to introduce me as a former hippie
or drug addict ??which I'd been, but I wasn't proud of," Karen Siegal
says. "Then he started introducing me as a former prostitute, which I'd
never been. I had to ask him to stop."
Another new convert at Trinity, one with a sensational testimony of
her own, was to see her real-life story blended with Mike Warnke's.
"Part of the program at Trinity was tell your testimony," she says. "I
got up and said, `My name's Carolyn Alberty and I'm third-generation
Mafia. My father ran gambling houses, and my mother ran brothels. We
had connections in political circles and the entertainment
business.'"[96]
This story caught Warnke's interest, says Carolyn. "Mike told me he
knew me from some parties I had given in California." He convinced her
he'd been to some, though she didn't remember him. "Then he started
inquiring about my connections and ability to promote."
Carolyn rattled off a list of things Warnke needed to do to further
his ministry. "Mike brought me to his home, introduced me to Sue, and
said, `I really think Carolyn can help us.' " Carolyn assembled his
first real promotional package and called churches to make connections
for speaking engagements. She says she told Mike, "Ease up on the
satanic stuff and concentrate on the funny stories you've started to
tell."[97]
It didn't take long for the relationship to move beyond a
professional level. "Mike started telling me he and Sue had different
ideas about what they wanted out of life, and that he didn't love her
anymore," says Carolyn. "Mike began passing notes to me in class, with
stuff like `Hubba, hubba' written on them."
As the year wore on, Karen Siegal realized something was up.
"Carolyn and Mike started getting really hot and heavy," says Karen. "I
confronted them and said, `This is not godly.' They basically told me
it was none of my business." Karen took her concerns to fellow
students, but they suggested she was being judgmental.
Brother D was taken by Warnke's sincerity, says Karen. John Witty
adds that the rest of the class was too naive to realize what was
happening. "Back then, Mike and Carolyn seemed to be just what Jesus
freaks would call `brothers and sisters in the Lord.' I now realize the
relationship had warning signs all over it from the beginning."
2648
Karen Siegal protested one last time. "I'd repeatedly told Mike he
needed to clean up his act with Carolyn," she says. "One time he came
over to our house when nobody else was home. I made the mistake of
confronting him again. All of a sudden, he said, `It's not Carolyn or
Susie I love. It's you.' He grabbed me. It freaked me out and I pushed
him away. I yelled, `Get out of here! I love my husband!' "
Carolyn Alberty admits her relationship with Warnke took the
inevitable turn near the end of the school year. "We'd been assigned to
paraphrase the book of Isaiah. Mike rented a cabin outside Tulsa to do
his work, and he offered to help me with my homework there. I thought
that sounded reasonable, since I was living with the Siegals and had no
privacy."
After they'd worked at the cabin for awhile, Carolyn says, the two
went for a drive, and Warnke stopped at a convenience store. "He asked
what kind of cigarettes I used to smoke, and I said, `Pall Mall Gold.
Why?' He just shut the door and kept on walking. I went, `Uh-oh.' "
Warnke returned to the car, says Carolyn, with "two bottles of Annie
Greensprings wine, two packs of cigarettes, and a package of peanut
butter cookies." That day they began an affair that would lead to
marriage two years later and divorce two years after that. "I guess
from day one I was wrong," says Carolyn.
Meanwhile, recalls John Witty, "Mike's testimony was just starting
to break nationally. He was beginning to get calls from big churches."
Among the churches calling Warnke during this time was the Golden
Heights Christian Center in Brockport, New York.[98] Pastor Don Riling
tried his best to disciple the young Christian musicians and speakers
who came to his church. "I loved Mike Warnke as a son," he says. But
soon problems cropped up. "We had a woman in the church who'd just
become a Christian. She began to hang out with Mike Warnke??he seemed
to have an eye for people with weaknesses," Riling says. "Later, she
confessed to me she'd met him a number of times in hotels for sex when
he was in the area."
The Syro-Chaldean Connection
During the Trinity '74-'75 school year began one of the strangest,
and longest-running, chapters of the Mike Warnke story. Elijah Coady,
an independent bishop in an Eastern Orthodox splinter group called the
Syro-Chaldean Church, ordained Warnke a deacon.[99]
Warnke had met Coady on the road, and expressed interest in the
bishop's brand of independent Eastern Orthodoxy. Several Trinity
students remember Bishop Coady's visit to Tulsa. A few were present
when Coady ordained Warnke at a local church. "The bishop wore a
strange hat, like a stack of pancakes," says Bill Fisher, who adds that
Charles Duncombe expressed some concerns about Coady. "Brother D told
us to be cool. He'd gotten a real check in the spirit about the guy."
Another ordination was bestowed upon Warnke by Brother Duncombe on
his graduation from Trinity in the spring of 1975. After graduation,
Carolyn says Warnke made promises to her but would not be rushed. "He
told me he was going to divorce Sue, that I should wait and be patient,
that he needed to set up his escape."
2649
Soon afterwards, Warnke did a show at The Happy Church in
Denver,[100] where he met Pastor Wally Hickey and his wife Marilyn.
Mike and Sue Warnke decided to move to Denver with their two children,
and Mike invited Bill Fisher and Carolyn to join him there. The
entourage arrived in Denver in August of 1975, where Mike and Sue
settled.[101] Mike had promised Fisher and Carolyn jobs with Happy
Church, but the jobs didn't materialize. Mike leased a 270-acre
mountain retreat called Joy Ranch in Evergreen, Colorado. "Mike would
go catch the plane in Denver, and I would keep the place together up
there," notes Bill Fisher.[102]
The relationship between Warnke and Happy Church is unclear. Bill
Fisher says Mike was "a kind of evangelist for them," not on the
payroll but working under Marilyn's Life for Laymen organization. An
article in the ?Denver Post? in October '75 identifies Warnke as "an
evangelist with Life for Laymen, a Denver-based movement."[103] The
Hickeys refused to talk with us, but their spokesperson said Warnke and
his wife attended the church during the seventies, primarily for
counseling.
According to Carolyn, Warnke now began to push for a divorce from
Sue. The Hickeys tried to reason with him. "Mike told them he and Sue
would try to work it out," says Carolyn. "But he told me he wanted out
of the marriage." Not long after, the relationship was broken between
Mike Warnke and The Happy Church.
In November 1975, Mike was invited to do a show at the Adam's Apple
coffeehouse in Fort Wayne, Indiana.[104] Christian artists Nancy
Honeytree and Phil Keaggy were recording a concert that night. The tape
kept rolling during Warnke's part of the show. A proposed
Keaggy/Honeytree live album didn't materialize, but the Warnke tape
found a buyer in Myrrh Records, a subsidiary of Word, Inc.[105]
Another Christian artist Mike had done concerts with on the road was
Randy Matthews. Randy, along with Wes Yoder, was co-owner of Dharma
Artists Agency, a fledgling Christian management company based in
Matthews' garage in Nashville. After talking with Matthews, Warnke and
Carolyn flew to Nashville, where he signed with the company.[106]
"While Wes was signing Mike, he asked me to work with Dharma," says
Carolyn. "Wes said he'd split my bookings down the middle, fifty-fifty.
Mike said, `I can't beat that. He may get half of me, but I get half of
it back.' So I became a working member of the team."
During this time Brockport, NY, pastor Don Riling[107] continued to
befriend Warnke. He was growing more and more concerned over what was
going on in Mike and Sue's marriage. "On several occasions Mike had
told me and my wife??crying and the whole bit??`Sue doesn't love me.
She's kicked me out,' " Riling says. "Mike kept saying how all he
wanted to be was a family man, to raise his two boys. I told him he'd
have to choose between the road and his family." According to pastor
Riling, Marilyn Hickey then visited the Rilings. "I asked Marilyn,
`Isn't there anything we can do to persuade Sue to go back to Mike?'
Marilyn about fell out of her chair. She said, `What are you talking
about? Sue loves Mike. She wants to save their marriage. Mike is the
one who wants to end it.' Then it was my turn to be surprised. All I'd
known about the marriage problems before this was that Mike said Sue
was cheating on him."[108]
2650
Riling flew to Denver in the late summer of 1976 on a desperate
mission to try to save the marriage. On arriving, Riling said he found
Mike had left Sue and the two children and had moved into an apartment
with Carolyn. So Riling met with Sue. "She wanted to get back together
with Mike. Sue said at one time she had dated another man, but she was
plugged into Hickey's church and her attitude was `I just want to be
with my husband.' I think Mike saw it as his chance to dump Sue."
(Carolyn told us that Mike had urged both Sue and herself to go out
with others when he was away on the road. Finally, Carolyn says, Sue
did go out once with her to a dance hall.)
After talking with Sue, Pastor Riling stayed with the Hickeys but
spent most of his time with Mike and Carolyn. Riling got his
information about Carolyn from Warnke: "Mike was out on the road, and
he had supposedly led this gal Carolyn to Jesus. Before then, she had
run these houses of ill repute. Mike told me he had to bring her home
to help rehab her, and she lived right there with Sue."
During the visit, Riling didn't let up. "Every opportunity I could,
I pleaded with Mike to go back to Sue??for the sake of his marriage,
for the sake of his ministry. Mike wouldn't hear anything about leaving
Carolyn." Riling was in a restaurant with Warnke when Mike told him Sue
was being served with divorce papers that very moment. (The summons is
dated August 20, 1976.)[109] His mission a failure, the pastor returned
to New York.
Upon receiving the divorce petition, Sue Warnke called Ron Winckler
and George Wakeling, along with others, and asked for prayer, saying
Mike had run off with another woman.
It was at this point that Dr. Walter Martin, a well-known
counter-cult apologist and founder of Christian Research Institute
(CRI), was asked to speak to Mike about his marriage difficulties. (Dr.
Martin died in 1989.) Gretchen Passantino was Martin's senior research
consultant at the time, in charge of CRI's research staff, [110] and
her duties included overseeing Walter Martin's travel arrangements.
"Dr. Martin had a speaking engagement near Denver and asked me to
book a couple extra days so he could speak with Mike Warnke and his
wife, Sue," says Gretchen. "When he got back, he took me aside. He
said, `I had this real difficult meeting with Mike and Sue Warnke. I
hope what I did was enough.' Realizing that Mike was determined to
leave the marriage, Dr. Martin had prayed and counseled with both of
them, advising Mike he needed to leave the ministry."
Mike & Carolyn in Music City
?Harmony? magazine was ?the? Christian music magazine in the
mid-seventies, and in September 1976, Mike Warnke was on the
cover.[111] During this era, Mike relocated to what was becoming the
center of the contemporary Christian music business. Jesus music began
to be shaped by the powerful influence of Nashville, country music
capital and home of the Gospel Music Association (GMA). The "music"
part was welcomed in Music City. As for Jesus, insiders there have a
saying: "Nashville has changed more Christians than Christians have
changed Nashville."[112]
Mike and Carolyn pulled into town with a U-Haul trailer. "Mike and I
2651
moved into an apartment together," says Carolyn. "Once we'd moved in,
Mike went and bought cases of whiskey, different wines, and beer." At
the time, of course, Warnke was still married to Sue. Among their
Nashville Christian music friends, the only ones to protest Mike and
Carolyn's living arrangements was a couple they had met on the road,
Mike and Karen Johnson.[113]
Though many of our readers may be unacquainted with Mike Johnson, he
was a Jesus music pioneer, starting his first Christian band in 1968.
According to many Jesus music historians, Johnson never received
recognition equal to the dues he paid and miles he and Karen logged on
the coffeehouse and church basement circuit.
When Mike Warnke came to town with Carolyn, Karen Johnson wanted to
know what was going on. "We said, `Hey, what about Sue?' Mike told us,
`She's running around on me.' I called Sue, and she said that wasn't
true. She said Mike found this other woman and he wanted to marry her.
And the only way you could get a divorce in the Christian community was
to say somebody had been unfaithful."
Out of their concern, the Johnsons orchestrated another meeting with
mutual acquaintance Don Riling. "We thought Mike Warnke was a mess and
wanted him to get help," says Karen. "Don Riling was the only pastor
that Warnke opened up to and submitted to in any form. He was like a
father figure to Mike." Mike Johnson told the Rilings that Warnke had
asked him to be best man in his wedding with Carolyn. "We pushed for a
meeting," says Karen Johnson. "Wes set it up. Don Riling flew to
Nashville."
The meeting was held at the Dharma offices. Riling, Mike Johnson,
Wes Yoder, and Mike and Carolyn were there. "You'd have never guessed
that this was a meeting of Christians," says Riling. "Mike and Carolyn
were swearing the whole time, and they must have gone through a whole
pack of cigarettes." The meeting went on for hours in an effort to get
everything out on the table with Warnke. "He moped around, saying his
life was a mess," says Riling. "I tried to convince him to go back to
Sue and save his ministry."
At one point in the meeting, Carolyn brought up Warnke's continuing
affair with the woman at Riling's church in Brockport. "Mike was still
very involved with her," says Carolyn. Pastor Riling was struck by the
bizarreness of the situation: "I'm sitting there listening to this
woman Warnke was committing adultery with talk about how Mike was
cheating on her."
As the meeting bogged down, Riling took Wes Yoder aside and tried to
make him understand the gravity of the situation. "Wes wouldn't deal
with it," says Riling. "He knew Mike Warnke had a problem, but Wes was
young and inexperienced. Wes said to Mike, `Do whatever you want to.
Stay with this woman. Go back to your wife. It's okay. I'm behind you,
because we have to keep the ministry going.' Mike Johnson was horrified
by this," says Riling.
Carolyn says she also gave Wes advice: "I thought Mike Johnson was
being sanctimonious and Don Riling was a joke. Wes came to me and said,
`What's going on?' I said, `Look, the guy's a joke. He's trying to get
his paws on Mike, but you've got him signed and if you don't keep him
it's your fault.' So it was really us against them."
2652
Wes Yoder says of those days, "I should have run Warnke out of town
when he first showed up with Carolyn. I was stupid. I didn't miss it. I
just didn't know what to do about it. I was sinful in allowing him to
use me as a cloak of decency for what he was doing. The Lord doesn't
bless in things like that."[114] Karen Johnson forgives Wes for his
part in the debacle, saying, "Here he was, this young guy trying to be
a part of Christian music, and he's involved with all these crazy
people."
Carolyn says the meeting accomplished nothing. "Nobody I ever met
who was around or who was connected with Mike Warnke in any way ever
had any effect on him." The day after the meeting, Mike Johnson left
Dharma. His path then began to lead downward by degrees. It was also
after this meeting, says Carolyn, that Mike Warnke initiated her in
what he called an Indian ceremony. "We were at a motel, and he said,
`I'll show you how much I love you.' He took a pocket knife and cut his
wrist, and cut mine, and mixed our blood. He said, `Now we are one.' He
gave himself the name Many Horses ??because I was part American Indian."
Bill Fisher said, "Mike told me he got the name Many Horses from an
Indian medicine man." Bill Fisher told us, explaining the Indian
identity as one of Warnke's many "mojos": "Mike would personify himself
as various characters at times. Mike had his Indian mojo, or sometimes
he'd be a Scotsman, or Jewish, or a Catholic priest, or Jeremiah
Johnson, or black ??he wanted to think he had black blood because Andre
Crouch told him he had soul."
The divorce of Mike Warnke from Sue was finalized on December 3,
1976.[115] Mike and Carolyn were married four months later.[116]
Instead of Mike Johnson, Wes Yoder was best man.
Downhill into the Bigtime
In his books and on his records, Mike Warnke goes from Satan to
Christ. In Nashville, the path led from rags to riches. Warnke had no
money or credit when he came to town, says Carolyn. The bang-up
combination of a hit record and the Dharma Agency soon changed
that.[117] And the money started rolling in. "Lots of money," says
Carolyn. "Not all of a sudden. But it wasn't uncommon for us to make
five thousand dollars on the road, spend two to three thousand a day,
buy whatever we wanted, go where we wanted, do whatever we wanted."
The Dharma Agency prospered. During this period, they moved their
offices from Randy Matthews' garage to Music Row, and later to a
penthouse suite in the United Artists Towers. They hired additional
booking agents.[118] Dharma's star rose with the fortunes of something
that was now called contemporary Christian music.
Writes Christian media observer William D. Romanowski, "The industry
scaffolding began to go up as concert halls replaced coffeehouses and
church fellowship halls, as record labels replaced custom recordings,
and as contemporary music radio formats replaced tapes of
preachers. . . .
Christian entrepreneurs were building a Christian entertainment
industry that paralleled its secular counterpart not just in musical
styles and trends, but in marketing techniques, management, concert
production, publicity, and glamorization."[119]
2653
The whole atmosphere surrounding the music changed. "We took our
eyes off what had been very precious and innocent," says industry
veteran, Dan Hickling, "the joy of being a Christian and going around
and singing music for people that would bring them closer to God."[120]
Buddy Huey, Word Records' artists and repertoire man, who had signed
Warnke, was part of the big change.[121] "What we were trying to do was
have better distribution to get the Word out. We ended up compromising
lots. When I was with Word, the intent of the company was nothing more
than trying to find those people who had a voice or a platform. And
then all we could go on was what they told us." Including Warnke's
satanic story? "It was just accepted," says Huey. "That's one of the
things you'll find in the industry. You see something that might be
salable, marketable ??that's what you look at. It saddens me that I was
a part of setting up things in the industry that I wish I had a chance
to undo."
Romanowski writes, "Evangelism was the rhetoric, business became
reality." The manipulation of language, he says, transformed
"money-making into ministry, easing the consciences of those few who
earn healthy incomes off the music."[122]
"You could see a kind of downhill slide," says Larry Black, a
one-time Christian deejay who is now an actor.[123] "To see the
marriages dissolve, to see them slowly begin to justify various vices."
Was this behavior common knowledge in the industry? "Yeah. I think
there was general knowledge. But you're caught in that old trap of not
wanting to criticize a brother."
We asked Buddy Huey if there was any company policy regarding
Christian artists who were exhibiting non-Christian behavior. "No,
there really wasn't," says Buddy Huey. "I didn't personally do cocaine,
for instance, but I was present when others did cocaine. Looking back
at that, I think my silence was worse than them doing the drugs."
Scott Ross, who now works for CBN Television and back then was the
country's foremost Christian disk jockey, recalls how kinky things had
gotten. "There was a lot of immorality, drugs, and booze."
Says Karen Johnson, "Mike [Johnson] tried to stay so straight, for
eight years. Then everything fell apart after we'd been in Nashville
for awhile. Mike looked around and realized that Warnke and his friends
were making lots of money and fooling around on their wives. My husband
thought, `What difference does it make?' He started drinking, smoking
grass. He started hanging around with these Christian music people that
didn't care if you were moral or not."
Says Mike Johnson, "I was one big mess." Adds Karen, "When my Mike
came home from being on the road with Warnke, he'd confess??all in the
name of repentance ??to all this drinking and going to discos.
In the fall of 1978, the future seemed bright for Mike Warnke. His
albums were "the most popular Christian comedy records ever produced
anywhere, with sales reaching to nearly 200,000."[124] Doubleday
Publishing was assembling a book of material from the first three
albums. With dates around the world, 1979 was slated to be his biggest
tour ever. Mike asked Bill Fisher to travel with him.
2654
At home, Carolyn says she and Mike had been fighting, and that
several times he had hit her. Because of this, Carolyn's mother, Peggy
Alberty, had moved to Nashville to be near her daughter.
Enter Rose, Exit Nashville
Warnke was on the road almost constantly. "We figured it out one
time," says Bill Fisher. "We traveled over 280,000 air miles in about
ten months that year, with three days off a month." About halfway
through the whirlwind ten-month tour, Warnke performed in Hazard,
Kentucky.[125] It was there, says Rose Hall, that she first met Mike
Warnke.[126]
Carolyn confirms this story. "While Mike and I were still married,
he went to Kentucky to do a show, and that's where he met Rose."
Carolyn says Mike came home very excited about something. "Then he went
down to a jewelry store where we'd established credit and began buying
jewelry for someone else, who I later found out was Rose."
The story of Mike Warnke's romance with Rose Hall is told in her
book, The Great Pretender. Rose never mentions Carolyn or the fact
that Mike was married to Carolyn during his courtship with Rose. She
says she met Warnke in various cities and stayed in the hotel with
him??in separate rooms. "Looking back, it had never occurred to me to
say, `You're a minister, an evangelist; are you married?' It never
entered my mind."[127]
During the time she was traveling around with Warnke, Rose says she
went with him to Nashville. There, she writes, both his road manager
and his agent objected to the relationship.[128] Wes Yoder says, "Rose
came along before Mike and Carolyn were divorced. The whole thing with
Carolyn, I couldn't deal with personally. With Rose I did. But I was
still there. I was so wrong."
Mike Warnke's relationship with the Johnsons went from bad to worse.
As Karen Johnson tells it, "Mike called on the phone and said he wanted
to come over, because he knew I was angry at him over what had happened
to my Mike. I told him no, that I felt he was leading people astray,
and I didn't want him associating with my husband because he was
helping destroy our marriage. But later Warnke came over anyway and
said, `Karen, I don't want you to dislike me. I want us to be friends.'
I said, `Then change what you're doing. You're deceiving people. You're
committing adultery.' He said, `I can't change.' "
After Karen told Warnke to get out, "He came at me like he was going
to kill me." Mike Johnson says of this episode, "I was in pretty good
shape back then, and I was ready to go at it there in the living room."
Warnke left, says Karen, "screaming obscenities at me."
The end for Mike Warnke and wife Carolyn was, as she tells it, the
stuff of melodrama. "We were fighting and he threw me into a wall and
split my head open. He said, `If you go to a local hospital and tell
them what your name is, I'll kill you. I don't have to do it
physically. I can do it from another room or another state.' "
"There was a revolver in the nightstand," Carolyn says. "I took it
out and said, `If you hit me again Mike, I'm gonna kill you, because
I'm tired of your beatings. I just can't take any more.' " Carolyn says
2655
she jumped into her car, started driving, and didn't stop until she
reached Pensacola, Florida.
Tom Carrouthers found Carolyn in a convenience store in Pensacola
that summer night in 1979, dazed and bleeding. "Carolyn said she and
her old man had gotten into it," says Carrouthers.[129] "She had a big
gouge on the top of her head, and a wad of dried blood. I took her to
the hospital. When we got there, she was like a kid and didn't want me
to leave. She stayed with my sister and me for a week or so."
Carolyn gave us a note she received from Mike. "Dear Carolyn," it
reads, "I don't know how we ever got to this place. All I know for sure
is that we are here. . . . I can't blame you for not wanting to be
around me right now. Nor can I condemn your disgust at my rages and
tantrums. I'm trying hard to get control. . . . I'll always be there
when you need me. The scar on my wrist will never fade. . . . Peace
to you. Many Horses."
Carrouthers remembers Carolyn talking with Warnke on the phone
during the two weeks she was there; things seemed to be improving. But
when Carolyn finally returned to Nashville from Florida, she was in for
a surprise. "I came home and there was a `For Sale' sign on the house.
All the locks had been changed, and everything in the house was gone.
In just a matter of days, I had no funds, no furniture, nothing," she
says.
Carolyn didn't go back to Dharma. She felt most of the people she
knew in the industry had been siding with Mike, who was telling
everyone the stories about her unfaithfulness. In a bizarre twist,
Carolyn got a job working as an undercover narcotics operative with the
Regional Organized Crime Information Center, a law enforcement
organization in Nashville.
Mike and Carolyn's divorce was final on November 29, 1979.[130] Mike
Johnson says Warnke told him that Carolyn was rubbed out by the mob,
"bludgeoned to death in a ditch." A friend from the Trinity days,
Clarence Benes, heard from Warnke that Carolyn had been killed in a
boating accident.[131] Don Riling says he was told by Warnke that
Carolyn had drowned.
From Carolyn's viewpoint, "Mike is one of the greatest con artists
I've ever known in my life. And coming from my background, that says
quite a bit."
Mike and Karen Johnson divorced two years later, and he is no longer
in Christian music. "Mike Johnson has really reaped what he has sown,"
says ex-wife Karen. "He has no family, no friends, no career, no money,
no life. It makes me angry that Mike Warnke, on the other hand, seems
to be making money, going on with life, and continuing to deceive
people."
Among the friends that took a different path than Warnke at the end
of 1979 was Bill Fisher. "Mike and I parted when he moved to Kentucky
to be with Rose," says Bill. "He was divorced, but that's not grounds
for moving in with someone. Mike said, `We married each other before
the Lord.' I said, `Do it before the state, too.' "
Holy Orthodox Catholic Church in Kentucky
2656
Mike Warnke married Rose Hall in Paintsville, Kentucky, on January
2, 1980.[132] It was his third marriage, her fourth. With the marriage
came several changes: Rose was often onstage and on record with
Mike;[133] Warnke left Dharma Agency and began to book his own
concerts; the public focus shifted from onstage concerts to the
ministry back home.[134] As Mike has said: "When you get right down to
it, I'm just a glorified cheerleader. The real work of our ministry
goes on back there."[135]
The name of the "ministry back there" was Warnke Ministries; its
nonprofit status was listed under "The Holy Orthodox Catholic Church in
Kentucky" (HOCCK). This built on Warnke's previous 1974 ordination in
Tulsa by Bishop Elijah Coady while Warnke was attending Trinity Bible
School. With HOCCK, Mike Warnke joined the ranks of "independent"
Eastern Orthodox churchmen who founded their own autonomous
denominations. During the early eighties, Warnke met James Miller, a
local bishop in the American Orthodox Church. Miller told us he
ordained Warnke a deacon and then a priest in early 1983. He suspended
the ordination later when Warnke failed to submit regular reports.
And then Mike Warnke became a bishop. This final ecclesiastical step
occurred when another independent bishop, Richard Morrill, consecrated
Warnke ??an event we have verified by speaking to three other bishops
who say they were told by the late Morrill that he had indeed made Mike
Warnke a bishop.[136]
Bishop Richard Morrill had officiated over Mike and Carolyn's
marriage in Nashville.[137] According to Elijah Coady, Morrill was an
itinerant cleric given to flamboyance and the founding of
organizations, many of which seemed to exist only on paper. In 1981,
Morrill incorporated in Texas under the name "The Holy Orthodox
Catholic Church, Eastern and Apostolic."[138] One year later, Mike and
Rose incorporated as "The Holy Orthodox Catholic Church in Kentuck-
y."[139]
HOCCK's offices were located at first in a converted garage behind
the Warnkes' Versailles home.[140] As time went on, they staffed it
with a series of Christian women whose opinions of the Warnke ministry
were much higher when they joined than when they left. In the summer of
1983, Dorothy Green heard Rose on a Lexington Christian radio station
and invited her to speak to the Danville, Kentucky, Women's Aglow.[141]
Soon afterwards, "Dot" was hired to answer letters and do phone
counseling. Dot's friend, Jan Ross, joined later as Rose's personal
secretary. Roxanne Miller and Phyllis Swearinger eventually worked in
the bookkeeping department.
All four women were nonplussed by Mike's preference for High Church
"chapel" services. Dot remembers an early chapel service with Mike: "He
had incense, and he'd come down the aisle with his robes, swinging it
in this thing."
Roxanne Miller's opinion had less to do with the High Church
trappings than with an event where Mike's ritual got in the way of a
few friends' prayer time. "We used to go down to the park for lunch,"
Roxanne recalls.[142] "Dot, Jan, myself, a few others . . . and we'd
just talk about what God had done in our lives. What He still was
doing. Mike was usually out of town, but one day he just showed up and
said, `I'm gonna do the teaching this week.' So we sang, and then Mike
2657
put on his robes. I thought he was plain ridiculous. It was like
dressing up to be something you're not. It made me feel sad. He wants
to be so much, and he isn't. I can still see him standing there in his
robe, all velvet and dark."
The Ministry and the Money
Another point which perplexed the women was HOCCK's finances.
Roxanne Miller had been hired to get control of the finances and says
that while she was there (1985-1986) HOCCK covered various expenses for
Mike and Rose. "We paid for the car, we paid for the gas, we paid for
the parsonage, we paid for their clothes and their food," she says. Yet
she says her job was a continual battle of the budget. Mike seemed to
have no concept that money made by a nonprofit ministry is different
than personal income. Once, she says, Mike Warnke responded to her
efforts to curb his spending this way: "He told me, `Every bit of the
money is mine. I earned it. If I wasn't out front, there would be no
money.' "
Jan Ross told us, "On several occasions Rose said to me that anybody
who was in the position she and Mike were in deserved to have the best
of everything because of who they were and what they had given up to be
where they were. I thought, `What did you give up?' "[143]
Phyllis Swearinger said there were problems making ends meet.[144]
"I'd worked at banks before, so I was used to handling large amounts of
money. But the amount that came in here every week sort of threw me.
And then to find out it just wouldn't go far enough! Once Mike called
me, upset because he needed some trees pruned at his home, and I
wouldn't write a check for it because we didn't have enough money in
the account at the moment. What struck me about this conversation is
Mike told me he felt he deserved to make as large a salary as Jimmy
Swaggart was making."
The Warnkes' home was certainly in line with his high aspirations.
Back in July of 1983 Rose's mother, Blanche Hall, had purchased a huge
mansion (at one time a plantation) near Danville. "Lynnwood Farm" was
leased to HOCCK for several years and later sold to Rose, who with Mike
referred to it as "the parsonage."[145]
Tax returns indicate HOCCK's total revenue for 1984 was over
$900,000. In 1985 HOCCK grossed over $1,000,000, with over $500,000 in
love offerings alone. In 1986, the total went over two million: love
offerings brought in over $1,000,000; product sales (i.e., books and
records) grossed over $180,000; and direct public support totaled over
$450,000. The 1987 total was $2,239,927. Revenue figures for 1988
through 1990 continued at slightly over $2,000,000.[146]
HOCCK tax returns show that the Warnke's personal salaries[147]
steadily rose (see Table 1).
==============================================
Table 1: Warnke's annual income
----------------------------------------------
MIKE ROSE
1984: $ 34,500 $ 11,500
1985: $ 95,617 $ 83,417
1986: $163,632 $155,418
2658
1987: $177,450 $177,450
1988: $183,917 $183,917
1989: $204,383 $204,383
1990: $239,291 $230,291
==============================================
The growth of Warnke Ministries in the mid-eighties paralleled a
sudden explosion of public fears about Satanism. In March of 1985, Mike
Warnke appeared on an ABC "20/20" report called "The Devil
Worshippers," part of a deluge of talk shows and books on contemporary
Satanism. Stories of hideous satanic crimes were often woven together
by self-proclaimed "experts" to demonstrate the existence of a
worldwide satanic conspiracy similar to the Illuminati network outlined
in The Satan Seller.
Each year, goes the theory, thousands of children are being
sacrificed in satanic rituals laced with sex and violence. Alleged
adult survivors of satanic ritual abuse testify to the hidden cult's
existence. The Satan Seller seems tame in comparison. Yet when
evidence for the conspiracy is requested, true believers (including a
few therapists and police officers) often refer skeptics to Warnke and
his book as a final authority.[148]
In the early eighties, when Mike and Rose began to speak about their
Kentucky ministry to audiences on the road, they offered descriptions
typically centered around their work helping victims of the occult
??like "Jeffy."
"Supposedly, Jeffy was this little boy who had become a vegetable
because of all the satanic abuse he'd had," says Jan Ross. "The story
was used to raise money to `help all the Jeffys of the world, so there
wouldn't be so many Jeffys.' Mike would say, `What if your child was
sent to preschool and this happened? How'd you like this to happen to
your child?' "
The home office would always know when Mike was telling the Jeffy
story, says Dot Green. "People would write on the offering envelopes,
`This is for all the children like Jeffy.' It was amazing how many
envelopes would come back with Jeffy's name on it. Mike always had to
count the money after a concert and call Rose to give her an idea of
what was there," Dot continues. "She'd ask if he'd told the Jeffy
story. If he hadn't, she'd say, `You tell the Jeffy story tomorrow
night.' " Several staffers say the Warnkes' interest in the at-home
ministry never made it home from the road. Says Dot, "I'd try to tell
them about somebody who wrote needing help, and they didn't want to
hear."
Adds Jan Ross, "We didn't get that many calls, maybe four or five
actual calls a day. Some people just wanted attention, but every once
in a while there'd be people with real problems. Mike and Rose just
didn't want to deal with them. They'd go on the road and say, `We're
here to help you,' but when you called they didn't want to deal with
you."
For a while, Dot Green tried to ignore everything at Warnke
Ministries that wasn't connected to her counseling duties. "I loved my
job so much," she says. "I fooled myself into thinking it was my
2659
ministry, since Mike and Rose didn't seem to have any interest in it.
But I started realizing the people I was writing to were sending in
offerings. I always put a pink offering envelope in with each letter. I
began marking my envelopes so I could tell which came back with my
mark. The month I left, my letters brought in over $21,000. At that
point, the Lord let me know I was just as guilty as they were as long
as I stayed."
Jan Ross was in the midst of her own struggle. The staff attended a
series of Warnke shows in Cincinnati. "We did this concert; it was just
a super evening. Then we walked out and went to a bar. The Warnkes were
buying rounds of drinks, dancing. I kept thinking the whole time, I
wonder if anybody's going to come in and recognize them."
Roxanne remembers that trip. "We went to Cincinnati once. It just
grossed me out. They went out and drank and carried on afterwards, Mike
and the road guys. I said, `I just can't handle this.' "
Dot Green and Jan Ross left Warnke Ministries at the end of 1985.
Roxanne Miller was fired in February 1986 (for refusing to give Rose
several signed, blank checks, she says), and Phyllis quit soon after.
"It's not been something we have forgotten easily," says Jan Ross.
"It's scary to think you can get involved with something like that with
a pure heart, to serve God, and then find out it's run on deception,
lies, and thievery."
Warnke Ministries continued to expand. In October of 1986, the
Warnkes purchased property in Burgin, Kentucky, which they then sold to
HOCCK.[149] A newsletter announced that a long-promised "Center" was
about to become a reality. Plans included rehab and medical facilities.
"Phase I" was the construction of an administration building.[150]
The fund-raising campaign began. "This Center is fast becoming a
reality and will be a reality if ?you? make it one," said Mike in a
ministry newsletter. "Your gifts, offerings, and prayers enable Warnke
Ministries to continue its missions."[151]
By April of 1987, Warnke Ministries was able to move to Burgin and
into their beautiful new colonial-style brick office complex.[152]
Dr. John Cooper worked for a short time in this building. In the
late eighties, Warnke Ministries opened a seminar department to teach
police and others the gruesome facts about Satanism and occult crime.
Dr. Cooper, a former college professor and author of twenty-nine books,
was hired in 1989 as director.
Cooper has this to say about the Warnkes' "Center": "They were
raising money for a children's center for refugees from Satanism. Phone
calls would come to my office, people wanting to send kids there. I'd
explain to them that there wasn't any such thing there, only a building
with offices. The only parts of that building not dedicated to getting
Mike speaking engagements or handling receipts were a large room set up
like a Greek Orthodox Church and a library."[153]
Cooper disputes the Warnkes' claim of 50,000 counseling calls and
letters a month.[154] "There isn't any way in the world for that to be
so," he says. "My guess would be, on a daily basis, they might get 6
calls." (Such a figure, if accurate, would translate to 120 calls per
2660
month.) "The only ministry I know of that went on there was one fellow
who worked part-time answering the phone. And he'd usually just give
out other ministry numbers and tell people to call them."
John Cooper spent several months preparing a seminar presentation,
which he premiered in May. Shortly afterwards, he was fired. He later
tried suing the Warnkes, but the case died in court.
A more important court case for Warnke Ministries was the 1991
divorce of Mike and Rose. According to the Warnkes' new book,
?Recovering from Divorce,? the serious problems in the marriage date as
far back as November 1984. In the book, Rose notes an "It's over, isn't
it?" talk with Mike that took place in his office in December of
1984.[155]
Some comparison with Rose's previous book is enlightening. Written
in mid- to late 1985, The Great Pretender reveals how Rose caught
Warnke in an "affair" in 1984. "We had a situation this last year when
we felt there was nothing left between us. We weren't communicating,
and Satan provided a woman to fill the gap in Michael's life."[156]
The conversation in the first book goes like this:
He began to tell me there's nothing to this and that I'm
misunderstanding it all.
"Okay, okay," I growled, "I don't want to hear it. If you're
not going to tell the truth, don't say anything. . . . You're
throwing your ministry away, your life, the whole works. I'll
guarantee you, people will not accept this. You're not going
to go through another divorce and people accept it."[157]
Rose says she threatened on Christmas Eve to call the woman, and
Mike responded by moving out. Later, after Warnke had promised to end
the relationship, Rose found out he was still calling the woman. Says
Rose, "He hid all the guns. Michael's a big gun collector, and I know
how to shoot. . . . I said, `I'll continue running the ministry, I'll
get myself established ministry-wise, then I don't care what you do.
You're not going to wreck my life. I'll establish myself. You do what
you want."[158]
These incidents go unmentioned in the new book. Instead, Recovering
from Divorce presents a rather psychologized story of a marital
mismatch, doomed from the start. While the Warnkes are evasive on the
exact reasons, they make it clear their marriage was a painful
experience for both of them. Court records say the couple last lived
together in October of 1989.[159]
Despite her earlier warnings in The Great Pretender about how
people would not accept another divorce, Rose Warnke filed for divorce
on September 4, 1991. A property settlement agreement drawn up by
Rose's attorney and signed by both Mike and Rose was filed the same
day.[160]
Blanche Hall had deeded Lynnwood Farm to Rose in April of 1991. In
the divorce property settlement, Rose was also awarded 327 additional
acres surrounding the farm, which the couple purchased in April 1991
for $525,000 (despite the fact that they hadn't lived together there
2661
since October, 1989.)[161] Mike Warnke also agreed to pay half the
mortgage for the new acreage.[162]
Additionally, Rose got a condominium the Warnkes owned in Stewart,
Florida (purchased in May, 1986, for $398,000), and another condominium
the couple owned near Danville (purchased in July, 1989, for
$231,500).[163] Further, Rose got everything in all the houses
mentioned above, plus the Yamaha piano, the 1985 Cadillac, and the
couple's four horses.
Mike also agreed to pay Rose $8,000 per month ($96,000 per year) for
the rest of her life via a wage assignment out of Mike's salary from
HOCCK. Mike agreed to assume responsibility for paying various liens,
pay for the education of Rose's daughters until the year 2001, divide a
$15,000 IRA with Rose, and also split the debt to their accountant.
Rose also got 65 percent of Warnke's ownership of his copyrights for
and royalties from absolutely everything he will make from his books
and recordings. Mike agreed to keep various existing life insurance
policies and take out an additional $2 million life insurance policy on
himself, with Rose as the beneficiary, for the next fifteen years.
Finally, Mike agreed to pay Rose $20,000 to equalize the division of
property.
In the same property settlement, Mike Warnke was awarded whatever
property was located at the condo where he was staying, his motorcycle,
and visiting rights to the horses.
October 2, 1991, the Warnkes' divorce was granted.[164] The local
paper quoted a ministry spokesman who said nothing would change. Rose,
who was identified as the music director and an administrator, would
continue to do separate shows and possibly make joint appearances with
Mike.[165]
When it came time for Mike Warnke to announce his third divorce
officially to the friends of Warnke Ministries, he used a rationale
which he was sure his fellow believers would respect: He did it, he
said, for the ministry.
"As many of you know," wrote Warnke, "Rose and I, after seeking the
Lord's guidance, and two years of intensive Christian counseling,
accepted the fact that our marriage was beyond reconciliation, and the
only hope of saving the Ministry we have poured our lives into, was
divorce."[166]
Six weeks after his divorce was finalized, on November 18, 1991,
Mike Warnke married Susan Patton, an old Rim High classmate, and moved
to California.[167]
As of this writing, Mike and Rose are scheduled to appear together
at the Christian Booksellers Association convention in late June, where
they will be promoting their new book, Recovering from Divorce.
According to CBA press material, the Warnkes will be available for
interviews to discuss their "unique perspective on the troublesome
issue of divorce."
Their unique perspective: forgive and forget. In the book, Mike and
2662
his ex-wife share the pain of their relationship and parting; then the
experiences are interpreted by their editor, Lloyd Hildebrand, and
therapist, John Joy. There is much talk of how sad divorce is, and much
assigning of blame to dysfunctional backgrounds and a codependent
relationship. Although they could not be married, Mike and Rose
conclude, they can now be friends.
"Perhaps no one is ready for this book," writes Mike. "Could being
`up front' about our failure cost it all? That's the chance I must
take. Rose feels the same way. We both have come to the place where we
know that the only real choice we have is to go on ?as
ourselves.?"[168]
For those who would raise objections to what is, indeed, in the
Christian Church a "unique" perspective, Mike Warnke fires a preemptive
blast. "So I messed up. Does that change who Jesus is?"[169] Likewise,
he decries "the Gospel Gestapo" who feel bound to discover and
publicize the failures of those in ministry, "even if the evidence
proves to be true."[170]
After our research was complete, we contacted Mike in early May to
set up an interview with him, to which we had invited some other
Christian leaders (Ron Enroth, Don Riling, and others). Mike declined
our interview and said he would only meet with us at his attorney's
office in Kentucky. We considered this a matter for the Body of Christ,
with no lawyers being necessary, and asked about the possibility of
meeting somewhere convenient for everyone. Mike's response: that we
have no further contact with him except through his attorney. This
ended our communication.
????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????
2663
This concludes a long and painful survey of the life and ministry of
Mike Warnke. We did not prepare it lightly, but solemnly and with
counsel from many dedicated ministers.
A Biblical Plan of Action
We would be remiss in our duty as Christian journalists if we could
not offer some concrete suggestions and reflections.
Some of our readers will expect us to have followed the steps of
Matthew 18:15-17, starting with a private confrontation. This passage
gives Christ's instructions on what to do "if your brother sins against
you," and the process stops if the brother repents privately. We have
two remarks on this passage.
First, Mike has already been confronted numerous times over the
years by many concerned Christian friends, acquaintances, and church
leaders. Mike knows what the Bible says about truthfulness, integrity,
and fidelity. He is responsible to put into practice what he already
knows.
Second, this is not a private dispute between Mike Warnke and a
magazine. A public figure is susceptible to public scrutiny and
criticism. Matthew 18 is not violated when public figures are publicly
rebuked. (However, other scriptures are violated if the rebukes being
made are not fair, true, or applicable to the person.)
Mike has sinned against the public for years, and the public is
entitled to know the truth about his claims and actions. The
misinformation about Mike's testimony is still in circulation,
influencing how Christians view contemporary Satanism. For the sake of
the Church and the watching world, it must be corrected. (A more
complete discussion of the biblical grounds for Christian reporting
appears in the article, "Public Trust," on page 5.)
The statements made in this report are factual and verifiable.
Anybody can read Mike's book, study its time line, and see that there
is no way for him to have done the things he claimed in ?The Satan
Seller.? Mike's former fiancee, his roommates, relatives, and cohorts
in school emphatically contradict his claims on everything from hair
length to drug use and from out-of-town trips to "love slaves" in his
apartment. Mike's own friends refused to sign an affidavit that his
Satanism testimony was true.
If Mike has any real evidence to disprove what we've offered here,
we're willing to print it. However, the evidence we have uncovered
leads us to the conclusion that Mike doesn't have any. One thing is
certain: the Church should not let the master storyteller get by with
telling just another story: "There really ?was? a satanic coven; they
just didn't talk to the right people. . . ."
At this stage, excuses aren't sufficient. Mike needs to provide
either evidence or repentance. It is not enough to make religious
excuses for sin or sophisticated attempts to change the subject: "Those
girls came on to me, and I was at a vulnerable point in my life. . . ."
"The person who said `the Christian Church is the only army to shoot
its own wounded' was totally right. . . ." "It's not up to you to judge
my actions. Last time I read my Bible, Jesus was sitting on the throne,
2664
and He's not about to get off and let you take His place. . . ."
This is sidestepping. It's a move to change the subject and get away
from calling one's actions sin and asking for forgiveness. The issues
are whether Mike has told the truth, whether he is fit for public
ministry, and whether he meets the standards for biblical leadership.
Like it or not, by addressing thousands of people he is assuming a
pastoral role, regardless of what he calls himself.
If Mike were to seek forgiveness and restoration, what could the
Church expect to see as evidence of the genuineness of his repentance?
The following principles should apply to any Christian leader who has
manifestly fallen.
Repentance. Repentance is fundamental to Christianity. It denotes a
complete turnaround, heading in the opposite direction than previously.
Like "to love," to repent is a verb denoting action. Nobody wants to
see another Jimmy Swaggart crying crocodile tears on camera but
returning to save "the ministry" three months later . . . and returning
to the same sin after that. In Mike Warnke's case, true repentance
would necessitate complete withdrawal from public ministry.
Confession. If Mike is repentant, he should make an open admission of
guilt. On the other hand, Mike Warnke has built a career of telling us
about past and present sins. The Church must not allow him to emerge as
a new authority on fraudulent testimonies.
Restitution. True moral change involves some attempt to undo past
wrongs and to provide some kind of restitution. Perhaps the best kind
of restitution Mike Warnke could perform would be to take ?Satan
Seller? and all his other products off the market.
What about the rest of us? Accountability is a public as well as a
personal matter. Christian publishers have an obligation to validate
the books they print, whether nonfiction or historical fiction books.
At the same time, it is ?our? responsibility as the book-buying public
to ask for evidence before accepting a story.
After Warnke's testimony began circulating, those few who knew the
truth kept silent: they felt powerless against the immensity of the
story. Where could they turn? Well, the publisher would be a place to
start. We need the active participation of all members of the Body of
Christ in provoking each other to righteousness and, where necessary,
in providing biblical confrontation and counsel.
Sometimes a twisted man can preach a straight gospel. Through the
years, we've known many people who could speak truth while ignoring it
in their personal lives. Scripture testifies that God may bless or
anoint a sermon even while condemning the deeds of the preacher (Num.
23-24, 2 Pet. 2:15, Matt. 23:3).
Yes, the love of God is truly as infinite and wondrous as Mike
Warnke has been telling us for twenty years. God loves Mike Warnke as
he really is ??ex-Satanist, war hero, Ph.D.??or not. His choice now is
no different than it has ever been: losing the whole world or losing
his soul. For no one can know the love of God whose heart is closed to
the truth.
2665
Perhaps he has never stopped feeling like an outsider, and even when
Christianity opened its arms to him, he would not give up his
storytelling. His adolescent flirtation with the occult was exaggerated
into a postadolescent fantasy of having incredible amounts of money,
sex, prestige, and power as a Satanist. He later achieved money, sex,
prestige, and power. Sadly, it was in the name of Christ.
It's not too late for Mike to change, if he wants to. The secular
press may scoff, and those who consider themselves real Satanists may
snicker, but the Jesus of the Bible is still the God of truth. The
Lord, who makes ruined lives whole and restores purity to harlots and
liars, offers each of us forgiveness and acceptance. Not on our terms,
but His.
To Mike, and all others, who have been tempted to sacrifice the
truth for the sake of "the ministry," we can offer no better words than
these of the apostle Paul:
Therefore, since we have this ministry, as we have received
mercy, we do not lose heart, but we have renounced the hidden
things of shame, not walking in craftiness nor handling the
word of God deceitfully, but by manifestation of the truth
commending ourselves to every man's conscience in the sight
of God. (2 Cor. 4:1-2)
ENDNOTES
1. Coauthor David Balsiger, in his biographical sketch, says The
Satan Seller has sold only 500,000 copies.
2. So-called satanic panic has led to tragedy in many cases. For
further information, see Jon Trott, "Satanic Panic," Cornerstone 20,
iss. 95 (1991): 9.
3. Mike Warnke marriage licenses. Interview, Fr. Bob Nagler, St.
Francis Cabrini Church, Crestline, CA.
4. Interview, Mildred Warnke Jordan; Al Warnke obituary, Manchester
Times, 17 Oct. 1958.
5. Mildred Warnke Jordan; Larry Nee, Manchester Times, 16 Oct. 1991,
spoke with local undertaker, who referred to his notes on Louise
Cooper.
6. Interview and letter, Shirley Schrader.
7. "Final Rites for A. J. Warnke," Manchester Times, 17 Oct. 1958.
8. Mike Warnke Alive!, Mike Warnke, Myrrh Records, 1976.
9. Interview, Edna Swindell.
10. Interviews, Keith Schrader, Jr.
11. Interview, Tim Smith.
12. Interviews, Jeff Nesmith.
2667
13. Interview, David Goodwin.
14. Interview, Terry Smith Perry.
15. Confirmation certificate (see above).
16. Charles Donovan, San Bernardino Valley College ref. librarian.
17. Warnke, Michael Alfred, USN, #B98 05 49.
18. Mike Warnke, Schemes of Satan (Tulsa, OK: Victory House, 1991),
87.
19. Interviews, Greg Gilbert.
20. Interviews, Dennis Pekus.
21. Interviews, Dawn Andrews.
22. Interview, Dyana Cridelich.
23. Mike Warnke, with Dave Balsiger and Les Jones, The Satan Seller,
(Plainfield, N.J.: Logos International, 1972), 18.
24. Interviews, Lois Eckenrod.
25. Satan Seller, 19.
26. Satan Seller, 14.
27. Interview, John Ingro.
28. Interviews, George Eubank.
29. Satan Seller, 19.
30. Interview, Phyllis Catalano.
31. Interview, Mary Catalano.
32. Interview, Tom Bolger.
33. Satan Seller, 19.
34. Satan Seller, 19, 20.
35. Satan Seller, 30.
36. Satan Seller, 33.
37. Satan Seller, 100, 101.
38. In 1981, Logos went bankrupt and sold its titles to Bridge
Publishing, which has since been purchased again. The new owners were
unable to locate any affidavits, signed or otherwise, for The Satan
Seller.
39. Interviews, Bill Lott.
2668
40. Satan Seller, 64, 65.
41. Satan Seller, 29.
42. Satan Seller, 28.
43. Schemes of Satan, 73.
44. Satan Seller, 90, 91.
45. Mike Warnke, Hitchhiking on Hope Street (Garden City, NY:
Doubleday & Company, 1979), 63, 64.
46. "Focus on the Family" broadcast, 16 March 1985.
47. Satan Seller, 112-114, 116, 121.
48. Naval records show Warnke was transferred out of Recruit Training
Command on 22 August 1966. This is also the date he gives on his video
Do You Hear Me? as the day he became a Christian.
49. Satan Seller, 135.
50. Satan Seller, 137.
51. Interview, Charlotte Tweeten.
52. Navy Records.
53. Satan Seller, 136.
54. Mike Warnke, Hey, Doc!, 1978, Myrrh Records; Also, Hitchhiking
on Hope Street, 34.
55. Completed Hosp. Corps School 12/22/66; Reported to Field Med.
Serv. School, Camp Pendleton; 1/5/67; Reported to Naval Adcom, San
Diego, 2/7/67.
56. Certificate of Registry of Marriage, San Bernardino co., CA.
57. Satan Seller, 149, 150.
58. Interviews, Tim LaHaye.
59. Interview, Beverly LaHaye.
60. Transferred to Third Marine Division, Vietnam, 5/2/69.
61. Warnke Ministries Newsletter, 1 (1991), 4.
62. Satan Seller, 163.
63. Ibid., 165.
64. Ibid., 166.
65. Ibid.
2669
66. Ibid., 168.
67. Hitchhiking on Hope Street, 42, 43.
68. Ibid., 45.
69. Ibid., 42.
70. "Decorations and Awards: Good Conduct Medal, Combat Action Ribbon,
Vietnam Service Medal, Purple Heart, Republic of Vietnam Campaign
Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Republic of Vietnam Meritorious
Unit Citation; Warnke transferred home 3/1/70.
71. Interview, George Wakeling.
72. Interview, Ron Winckler.
73. Don Musgraves, director of Cerullo's Youth Action Center in San
Diego, interview: "It was during those times that I began to have heavy
contact with people coming out of the occult . . . "; Peter Brown,
"Dropout Heads WitchcraftFight," San Diego Union, 15 January 1972, 1;
"Evangelism Group Fights Witchcraft," San Diego Union, 22 January
1972, p. 5B; Dave Balsiger, "Charismatic Insider's Report," Logos
Journal, May/June 1972, 39, 40.
74. Interview, Morris Cerullo; Balsiger, "Insider's Report;" Christian
Life, March 1972, 12.
75. Dave Balsiger, et al., "It's Happening Now," insert, San Diego
Evening Tribune, 17 January 1972. (See Roddy, below: " . . . Cerullo,
surprisingly unassuming in contrast to the image created by his flashy
PR people . . . ") Peter Brown, "Dropout Heads Witchcraft Fight"; John
Dart, "Converted `Priest' Offers Guided Tour of Satanism," Los Angeles
Times, 19 January 1972, Sec. C, Part II, 1; "Evangelism Group Fights
Witchcraft"; Balsiger, "Insider's Report."
76. Lee Roddy, "Morris Cerullo Crusade: A New Anointing?" Christianity
Today, 18 February 1972, 52-53.
77. Interview, Dave Balsiger.
78. Interview, Jean Jolly.
79. Navy Records, date of discharge, 2 June 1972.
80. Interview, George Eckeroth.
81. "YEAR END REPORT and APPEAL FOR ASSISTANCE," Alpha Omega Outreach,
Rev. Mike Warnke, president, January, 1973.
82. Michael Warnke, "When Evil Fights Back," Guideposts, Nov. 1972,
22-26.
83. Dave Balsiger, "Charismatic Insider's Report," Logos Journal,
July-August 1972, 54.
84. Dave Balsiger, "Charismatic Insider's Report," Logos Journal,
Nov-Dec 1972, 56.
2670
85. John P. Ferre, "Searching For the Great Commission: Evangelical
Book Publishing Since the 1970s," in American Evangelicals and the
Mass Media, ed. Quentin J. Schultze (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Zondervan,
1990), 99-101.
86. David Hazard, "Decatrends in Christian Publishing," Charisma,
August 1985, 140.
87. Michael Esses, Michael, Michael, Why Do You Hate Me?
(Plainfield, NJ: Logos International, 1973); Betty Esses DeBlase,
Survivor of a Tarnished Ministry (Santa Ana, CA: Truth Publishers,
1983).
88. James Danne, "Demonic Spirits," Christian Century, 4 July 1973,
738; Paul Nevin, "On Selling Your Soul to the Devil," Moody Monthly,
July-August 1973, 52.
89. Dave Balsiger Biographical Sketch.
90. James E. Adams, "Regards Peril of the Occult As Worse Than That of
Drugs," St. Louis Post-Dispatch, 29 November 1972; Hershel Smith with
Dave Hunt, The Devil and Mr. Smith (Old Tappan, NJ: Fleming H. Revell
Company, 1974); James H. Brewster, "Rolling Along with the
Witchmobile," Probe the Unknown magazine, March 1973, 22-25;
Interview, Jean Jolly.
91. Darryl E. Hicks and Dr. David A. Lewis, The Todd Phenomenon
(Harrison, AK: New Leaf Press, 1979), foreword by Doug Wead and Mike
Warnke.
92. Don Cusic, "Mike Warnke: Jester in the King's Court,"
Contemporary Christian Music, June-July 1979, 130; Paul Baker,
"Two-Fold Laughter from Mike and Rose," Contemporary Christian Music,
December 1982, 14.
93. Jesse Joshua Warnke was born 4/18/74, according to Susan L. Warnke
Response, Civil Action D17252, District Court, Adams County, CO.
94. Interview, John Witty.
95. Interview, Karen Siegal.
96. "Holdup Victim Named as Call Girl's Queen," Long Beach
Press-Telegram, Evening Final, 8 January 1971, identifies Carolyn's
mother as "kingpin of a local prostitution racket . . . " Police call
incident "the latest rounds in a mob war over control of prostitution
in the LB-LA area."
97. Bill Hance, "That One-Liner Religion is Good Enough for Him," The
Nashville Banner, January 13, 1978, 30: "Until four years ago, he was
`just one of those preachers. . . . So, I started lightening my
testimony by telling jokes . . . '"
98. Bill Fisher says he flew with Warnke to Brockport while they were
still in Trinity (Fall '74-Spring '75). Fisher has a photo of himself
and Warnke on stage in Brockport, dated October 1975, and another photo
of himself and Warnke there, dated June 1976.
2671
99. See Dave Medina, "Former Rabbi Named Chaldean Archbishop," Logos
Journal, Nov-Dec 1972, 58.
100. Carol O'Connor, "Ex-Satanist Happier with Christ," The Denver
Post, 20 June 1975, 4BB.
101. Petition For Dissolution of Marriage, D-17252, confirm Warnke
moved to Colorado in August 1975.
102. March 1976 is the date on a photograph of Bill Fisher at Joy
Ranch.
103. Virginia Culver, "Devil-Worshippers Called Possible Cattle
Mutilators," The Denver Post, 5 October, 1975, 31.
104. The back cover of Mike Warnke Alive! notes "Recorded Live at:
Adam's Apple, Fort Wayne, Indiana, November 14, 1975."
105. The story of the recording of the album is told in Cusic, "Jester
in the King's Court," 28; Paul Paino interview.
106. Affidavit with Respect to Financial Affairs, Civil Action
D-17252, Adams County District Court, CO, 8/6/76. Warnke lists his
employer as "Dharma Productions, 807 Redwood Cr, Nashville, TN."
107. Interview, Dan Riling.
108. According to Petition for Dissolution, D-17252, Mike and Sue last
lived together January 1, 1976.
109. Date based on Mike Warnke's statement to Don Riling that Sue was
served while Riling was in Denver. The Affidavit of Service says Sue
Warnke was served Aug. 20, 1976, at 8:42 am.
110. Interviews, Gretchen Passantino. Two other CRI staffers also
contributed information regarding this meeting.
111. Cover story by Peggy Hancherick, "Mike Warnke, Jester in the
King's Court," Harmony, vol. 2, no. 3, 8-9. Full-page ad for "Mike
Warnke Alive!", 11.
112. This saying was related to us by Frank Edmonson (aka Paul Baker),
ex-DJ, writer, and popular historian of Jesus Music. Edmonson worked
for Word at the time Warnke was signed, and played a key role in the
signing.
113. Interview, Mike and Karen Johnson.
114. Interview, Wes Yoder.
115. Decree of Dissolution of Marriage, Civil Action D-17252, Adams
County District Court, CO, 12/3/76.
116. Marriage Certificate, Davidson County, Tennessee, 4/25/77.
117. "When Mike Warnke Speaks, the World Listens!", Myrrh records ad
in Contemporary Christian Music (hereafter, abbreviated CCM),
Februrary 1979, 26.
2672
118. See 21-page commemorative section celebrating Dharma Agency's
10th anniversary in the February 1982 issue of CCM.
119. William D. Romanowski, "Contemporary Christian Music: The
Business of the Music Ministry," in American Evangelicals, Quentin
Schultze, ed., above, 152, 155.
120. Interview, Dan Hickling.
121. Interview, Buddy Huey.
122. Romanowski, 144, 151.
123. Interview, Larry Black.
124. "When Mike Warnke Speaks, etc."
125. Itinerary in May 1979, CCM.
126. Rose Hall Warnke with Joan Hake Robie, The Great Pretender
(Lancaster, Pa.: Starburst Publishers, 1985), 73-74.
127. Rose Hall Warnke, The Great Pretender, relates her romance with
Mike, 73-85; quote cited on page 79. Carolyn is never mentioned, nor
that Warnke was married during this time, only the note, "He, too, had
been previously married." Final Decree, Sumner County Court, 11/29/79,
shows Warnke filed for divorce from Carolyn on 8/27/79, summons served
8/30/79. cf. The Great Pretender, 83: "In September of 1979, Michael
said, `I want to marry you.'" CCM itinerary shows Mike Warnke
scheduled to play Sept. 28-29, 1979, in Canada. Rose says she went to
Canada with Mike (p. 83).
128. Rose Hall Warnke, The Great Pretender, 81-82.
129. Interview, Tom Carrouthers.
130. Final Decree, Circuit Court for Sumner County, TN, 11/29/79.
131. Interview, Clarence Benes.
132. Certificate of Marriage, Johnson County, Kentucky, 1/2/80.
133. Mike and Rose Warnke, "First-Hand Rose," CCM, April 1981, 50;
"Road Rap," CCM, July 1982, 51; Paul Baker, "Twofold Laughter from
Mike & Rose," CCM, December 1982, 14.
134. Warnke, Great Pretender, on booking, 119, on accounting, 148.
135. Television interview with Mike Warnke, "Believer's Lifestyles,"
Channel 52, Orlando, Florida, 2/2/91, air-date 2/22/91.
136. Interviews, Elijah Coady; Joseph Morse; William Schillereff.
137. Marriage Certificate, Davidson County, Tennessee, 4/25/77.
Marriage "was solemnized by Mar Apriam I."
138. Articles of Incorporation, The Holy Orthodox Catholic Church,
Inc," dated 12/23/81. Pamphlet "This We Believe, Holy Orthodox Catholic
2673
Church, Eastern and Apostolic" is dated 1977, copyright by "His
Beatitude, Mar Apriam I, Patriarch."
139. Articles of Incorporation, 11/19/82, for "The Holy Orthodox
Church in Kentucky, Inc."; Certificate of Assumed Name, 11/4/83, HOCCK
authorized by to do business under name "Mike Warnke & Associates.";
Certificate of Assumed Name, 3/1/88, HOCCK authorized to do business
under name "Warnke Ministries." "HOCCK, Inc. dba" appears on Warnke
Ministries letterhead.
140. Mike Warnke, "The Root of the Problem," CCM, Februrary 2, 1981;
Rose Warnke, "Little Keys Unlock Big Doors," CCM, July 1981, 54; Land
Contract, 7/1/81, for 153 Elm Street, Versailles, between Warnkes and
Virginia Wiglesworth, her husband James, for $180,000.
141. Interviews, Dorothy Green.
142. Interviews, Roxanne Miller.
143. Interviews, Jan Ross.
144. Interviews, Phyllis Swearinger.
145. Deed, Equitable Relocation Management Corporation and Blanche
Hall, 7/29/83, for $235,000. Deed, Blanche Hall and Rose Hall, 3/1/91,
for "the sum of One ($1.00) dollar, cash in hand paid, and the
Grantor's love and affection for her daughter."
146. Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax, HOCCK, 1984-1990
Forms.
147. Ibid.
148. One well-known example: James G. Friesen, Ph.D., Uncovering the
Mystery of MPD (San Bernardino, Calif.: Here's Life Publishers, 1991),
uses Warnke's book in both text and footnotes to bolster far-reaching
claims concerning a satanic cult conspiracy.
149. Deed, Lelia Mann Brown, et al. and Michael A. Warnke and Rosemary
H. Warnke, 10/28/86, for $20,395.70. Deed, Michael Warnke and Rosemary
Warnke and HOCCK, for "the sum of $1.00 and as a gift, contribution,
and donation."
150. Warnke Ministries Newsletter, 1st Quarter, 1987, 1.
151. Ibid.
152. Warnke Ministries Newsletter, 1st Quarter, 1988, p. 2 " . . .
by the time you receive this newsletter, we will be moved into the new
building."
153. Interviews, Dr. John Cooper.
154. Cf. Rose Warnke, Great Pretender, 181, "At ministry
headquarters we get some 50,000 letters and telephone calls each
month."
155. Michael A. Warnke & Rose Hall Warnke, Recovering From Divorce,
2674
(Tulsa: Victory House, Inc.), 22-25.
156. Rose Warnke, Great Pretender, 86.
157. Ibid, 87-88.
158. Ibid, 88-90.
159. Petition for Dissolution of Marriage, 9/4/91.
160. Petition for Dissolution of Marriage, Mercer Circuit Court,
Kentucky (#91-CI-00274), Rose Hall Warnke vs. Michael A. Warnke,
9/4/91; Response, Entry of Appearance, and Waiver by Respondent,
9/4/91; Separation and Property Settlement Agreement, 9/4/91.
????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????
2675
161. Lynnwood Farm, see above note. Deed, Land Owners, L.P., and
Michael A. Warnke and Rose H. Warnke for new acreage, 4/19/91, for
$525,000.
162. Mortgage, American Fidelity Bank & Trust, Corbin, KY, 9/10/91,
Rose Hall Warnke and Michael A. Warnke for $250,000. Mortgage, State
Bank & Trust Company, Harrodsburg, KY, 9/27/91, Rose Hall Warnke and
Michael A. Warnke, for $31,500.50.
163. Deed, Charles W. Pistole and Michael and Rose Mary Warnke,
5/30/86, for 2001 Salifish Point, Apt. 308, Stuart, FL for $398,000.
Deed, Mary & Clinton Woodard and Michael A. Warnke and Rose H. Warnke,
7/24,89, for Chimney Rock property for $231,500.
164. Final Decree of Dissolution of Marriage, Mercer Circuit Court,
Kentucky (#91-CI-00274), Rose Hall Warnke vs. Michael A. Warnke,
10/2/91.
165. Amy Wolfford, "Official downplays effect of Warnke divorce on
ministry," Danville Advocate-Messenger, 24 Oct. 1991, 1.
166. Undated Warnke Ministries letter (begins "Dear Ministry Family,
It is again the start of a New Year, PRAISE GOD!").
167. License and Certificate of Marriage, Santa Cruz County, CA, 18
Nov. 1991. 43. "Authors Available for Interview," Christian Booksellers
Convention, Dallas, Texas, June 29--July 2, 1992, 15.
168. Warnke & Warnke, ?Recovering From Divorce,? 63.
169. Ibid, 164.
170. Ibid, 159.
????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????
2676
The Threefold Goddess
I
To understand the concept of Goddess requires more than the
ability to visualize God as a woman. The Goddess concept is built
around the myth and mystery of the relationship between God and
Goddess, and beneath that, and part of it, Her Threefold Aspect ...
Maiden, Mother and Crone.
One of the oldest recognized Goddess forms is the first Greek
Goddess - Gaia, the Earth Mother; the Universal Womb; Mother of All.
The most ancient Goddesses were most often Earth and Mother Goddesses.
The were worshipped and revered as bearers of life ... fat, healthy,
pregnant and fruitful. As the Goddess concept developed, then came the
Harvest Goddesses, who were also Earth Goddesses. Understand that
this was a time when people did not even understand the basic
mechanics of procreation. Life was very sacred and mystical indeed!
Gradually, myth and mystery developed and revealed themselves,
creating the legend which we honor in the modern Wiccan Craft.
We recognize the Goddess as the mother of all, including her
Mighty Consort, the God. To Her he is Lover and Son, and together
they form the Ultimate, the Omniverse, the Dragon, the Mystery.
Now that is a pretty tough concept all things considered.
Especially in our society as it sounds rather incestuous. From a
mundane perspective, it gets worse as the Wheel of the Year Turns, and
the Oak and Holly Kings battle ... eternal rivals and
sacrificial mates.
In the pages that follow, we will explore the Goddess foundation
concepts and try to reach an understanding of the basis of the
Mystery.
I don't want to get off into all the names of all the Goddesses
in all the mythology in all of history. While that is certainly a
noble endeavor, it is not the objective here. What I do want to do is
look at the Goddess, in whole and in part, and see just who and what
she is.
First and foremost, the Goddess is the symbol of the Cycle of
Everlasting. She is constant, ever present, ever changing, and yet
always the same. She could be compared in that respect to the oceans.
As a part of that, she is that from which we have come, and to
which we will return. She is the Universal Mother, the Cosmic Womb.
While those are largely symbolic images, as opposed to literal ones,
they are important to bear in mind about any aspect of the Goddess.
She never harms, she is Mother.
One of the most difficult throwback mentalities to dispell in a
student is the difference between "dark and light" and "bad and good".
Societally, and often religiously, we are trained to see bad and dark
and evil as being the same. Hence, we are also taught to hate and
fear our own mortality. All too often I see practicing Wiccans, who
ought to *know* better, fall back on these concepts when trying to
2677
explain or understand a concept.
The Goddess is dark, she is light, she is birth, she is death,
and she rejoices in all things. With death comes joy, for with death
comes renewal. With life comes joy, for with life comes promise.
With growth comes joy for with growth comes wisdom. Sorrow and fear
are not a part of her, not the way we feel those emotions. She is
incapable of sorrow without joy, she fears nothing, because fear is
not real. It is a creation of the mind.
Whether you see the Goddess as a Warrior Queen, or like the Good
Witch of the North in the Wizard of Oz, she is the Goddess. And she
has many parts and facets which defy comprehension as "One". She
simply IS, and in that, can be whatever you need her to be in order to
establish a relationship with her. But none of that changes what she
IS.
"I greet thee in the many names of the Threefold Goddess and her
Mighty Consort. Athe, malkuth, ve-guburah, ve-gedulah, le-olam, Amen.
Blessed Be."
So here, at the Circle Door, greeted by the High Priest or
Priestess we first see mentioned the Threefold Goddess. Full-sized
covens have three priestesses who take the specific roles of Maiden,
Mother and Crone, the High Priestess being Mother.
The Threefold Goddess however is NOT three entities, she is one.
Her aspects represent Enchantment, Ripeness and Wisdom.
Taking first things first is usually best, so we shall start
with a look at one side of the Maiden.
Quoting "The Myth of the Goddess" as found in Gardenarian Wicca
(Gerald B. Gardner, The Meaning of Witchcraft, Aquarian Press, London,
1959.):
Now Aradia had never loved, but she would solve all the
Mysteries, even the Mystery of Death; and so she journeyed to the
Nether Lands.
The Guardians of the Portals challenged her, "Strip off thy
garments, lay aside thy jewels; for naught may ye bring with ye into
this our land."
So she laid down her garments and her jewels and was bound, as
were all who enter the Realms of Death the Mighty One. Such was her
beauty that Death himself knelt and kissed her feet, saying, "Blessed by
thy feet that have brought thee in these ways. Abide with me, let me
place my cold hand on thy heart." She replied "I love thee not.
Why dost thou cause all things that I love and take delight in to fade
and die?"
"Lady," replied Death, "it is Age and Fate, against which I am
helpless. Age causes all things to wither, but when men die at the
end of time I give them rest and peace, and strength so that they may
return. But thou, thou art lovely. Return not; abide with me."
But she answered, "I love thee not."
2678
Then said Death, "An' thou receive not my hand on thy heart
thou must receive Death's scourge."
"It is Fate; better so", she said, and she knelt, and Death
scourged her and she cried "I feel the pangs of love."
And Death said, "Blessed be" and gave her the Fivefold Kiss,
saying "Thus only may ye attain joy and knowledge."
And he taught her all the Mysteries. And they loved and were
one, and he taught her all the Magicks.
For there are three great events in the life of Man: Love,
Death and Resurrection in a new body, and Magick controls them all.
For to fulfill love you must return again at the same time and place
as the loved one, and you must remember and love them again. But to
be reborn you must die, and be ready for a new body; and to die you
must be born; and without love you may not be born. And these be all
the Magicks.
So there in the Gardnerian Myth of the Goddess we have her
Maiden aspect, seeking, searching and opening herself to the
mysteries. But it is well to remember that the Goddess herself is a
mystery, and the primary gift of the Goddess is intuitive Wisdom.
Beltaine (Bealtain) is the only Sabbat where the Goddess is
entirely devoted to the Maiden. Here, she revels in the enchantment,
in the joy of coming into fullness and mating with the God. Here, she
is maiden bride and we can most easily understand that facet of the
Maiden aspect. I should probably note here that some see this
festival as maiden turning into mother, with the maiden being in full at
Candlemas, but I do not agree with that.
Youth, newness, innocence and beauty are fundamental facets of
the Maiden aspect. But beneath those are seeking, and love, and love of
seeking. There is more to understand of the Maiden though.
Enchantment does not end with maidenhood, it is simply the beginning
of the Mystery of Life, for that, above all, is what the Goddess
stands for.
In Circle, in the Balanced Universe, the Maiden takes her place
in the East. In examining this most comfortable quarter, you learn
more about the Maiden Aspect. East (Air) rules the free mind and
intellect. It is the place to seek the ability to learn and to open
spiritually, to open your mind and find answers. It is a masculine
quarter, ruled by intellect, and analytical logic, but she brings to
it an intuition which is required to use these to best advantage.
"The river is flowing, flowing and growing, the river is flowing
back to the sea. Mother carry me, a child I will always be. Mother
carry me, back to the sea."
This Circle chant, sung in joy, sung in sorrow, is a cry to the
Mother Aspect for comfort and warmth, a power chant calling upon the
steady power and fullness of the Mother and a plea for guidance.
While the Earth Mother, and the fully aspected Goddess are placed
North in the Earth quarter, the Mother aspect alone belongs in the
west.
2679
Comfort and love rule here. Emotions, sorrow, joy, tears, these
belong to the ripeness of the Mother. Caring and loving for all her
children, watching in pain and pride as they struggle to gain their
own, knowing full well she could reach out and do it for them, but
being both bound and desirous to let them do it for themselves.
There is a considerable difference, as you might have interpreted
from the above, between the Earth Mother and the Mother Aspect of the
Goddess. That is why we've started with her quarter, because it
reveals the limitations of the Aspect.
The Mother aspect is ripeness, the ancient bearing of fruit,
child and grain. She represents emotion and sexuality. The Goddess
in that aspect is most of the altar (as discussed in the Great Rite
lesson.) It is interesting to note the practice in numerous ancient
cultures of lovemaking or outright sex magick in cornfields to help
make the corn grow.
The Dark Mother should also be placed here, although culturally, I
have a tendancy to think of the Dark Mother as more in keeping the
Crone Aspect. It is a bit of work to see the Dark Mother in the West,
to separate Dark Mother from Crone, but it is worthwile. If you have
any background with the tarot I would suggest you take it in that
context, it is beyond the scope of this text.
Our exploration of the Goddess and her Aspects brings us now to
the Crone. For me, the Crone is the most fascinating of the Aspects
of the Goddess. Partly I suppose because she is the most mysterious
and paradoxical.
"Blessed Goddess, old and wise, open mine, thy child's, eyes.
Speak to me in whispered tones that I may know the rune of Crones."
With life and growth comes age and wisdom, and the Crone is this
in part. She holds fire and power, which wisely used can be of great
benefit, but hold great danger for the unaware. Hers are the secrets of
death and of life, and the mystery beyond the mystery.
Part of the pleasure in knowing the Crone aspect is that while,
unlike the fully aspected Goddess, she is not also Maiden and Mother,
she does retain the experiences of both those Aspects in order to be
Crone. The Crone, wizened though she is, must still be able to reach
into herself and recall the innocent joys and high passions of the
Maiden and the love and warmth of the Mother. To be Crone and to not
have forgotten, to still be able to experience Maiden and Mother is,
to me, very appealing. More importantly, to be comfortable in that
Aspect, where you have truth and knowledge but have left youth and
physical beauty behind, and to still _feel_ youth and beauty without
being desirous of them is an admirable quality.
Crone is the least paralleled Aspect of the Goddess to our human
society. We discard our old and wise, not understanding their value
as teachers and models, and fearing their appearance as a reminder of
our own mortality.
Knowing Crone is a door we much each open for ourselves for to know
and love her is to cast aside a great many of our cultural and societal
malteachings.
2680
While the individual Aspects of Threefold Goddess are certainly
valid concepts and paths to knowing Goddess, I should caution that most
mythological Goddess figures are composite Goddesses. Earth Mother
Goddess figures are fully aspected Goddess by definition because they
represent the full cycle of the Wheel. Most other Goddess figures can
be classified as having a dominant (or operative) aspect and recessive
(promised, or in some cases past) aspect. Future and past should not be
taken literally, mythological Goddess figures are always whatever they
are eternally, they do not tend to change (ie age).
Maiden Goddesses possessing their operative in the Huntress or
Warrior aspects most often have a promise of Crone. Maiden Goddesses
expressing their dominance in beauty and/or love usually have their
recessive aspect as Mother. For example, Athena is a Maiden Goddess
with Crone attributes (the combination produces many Mother-type
qualities, and this results in the Crone aspected Maiden being the
most complete of the Mythological Goddesses, with the exception of
Earth Mother Goddesses.) Aphrodite is of course a Maiden Goddess with
Mother attributes.
Similarly, Dark Mother Goddess figures mostly find their promise in
Crone and Light Mother figures their recessive in Maiden. Crone
recessives work the same way, although sometimes it takes a bit of
close examination to find the "hidden" aspect.
One should note that this is not a formula, rather a tool to
assist in examining and understanding Goddess figures and creating
one's own personal spiritual link with Goddess. It is also a useful
consideration when invoking a specific Goddess with purpose in ritual.
The purpose of this course has been to open avenues of approach
in discovering and developing a relationship with Goddess. For me
personally, I do not "believe" in the reality of mythological Goddess
figures as they were presented, but I do believe they are a valid way to
establish communication with Goddess. I also believe Goddess will
appear in whatever form we are most ready to accept. The real
Goddess, by my belief (and this is personal, not trad) is an entity
beyond my comprehension, perhaps composed of light (could 5000 sci-fi
films be wrong?), most assuredly unlike anything I could ever imagine in
true form. However, I do find mythological Goddess figures highly
useful for ritual, and of some help in my personal relationship with
Goddess. I hope you will too.
Blessed Be
Eileen
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2681
Being A Witch in Britain Today
by James Pengelly
Written for the Newcastle University Conference; Encounters of
Religion
I am regional co-ordinator for the Pagan Federation (PF) for
Humberside, North Yorkshire and the counties that form the
northeast of England up to the Scottish Borders. The PF was
founded in 1971 by a group of Gardnerian Witches, the object of
it being to counter what was perceived as being popular
misconceptions about Witchcraft.
The main reason for the existence of the PF remains largely
unchanged, as the last few years have seen what can only be
described as an onslaught by various fundamentalist Christian
organisations who have latched on to the unfortunate and sad
matter of child abuse to which they have added the word "Satanic'
as a means by which they can attack and defame the occult in
general, and Witchcraft in particular.
I will return to this matter elsewhere in this lecture, but I
mention it now to illustrate the importance of our
anti-defamation work. In addition, the Pagan Federation acts as
a networking organisation to put people who share views on
religious and spiritual matters in touch with one another, to
enable them to get together, discuss and learn, and experience
further.
The third important aspect to our work is to increase awareness
of the spiritual and cultural heritage of this country. Given
that many, if not most, of our customs and traditions have their
roots set deep in our Pagan past and that our countryside is rich
in the physical remains of this we feel that a positive promotion
of this inheritance is vital to a fuller understanding of who we
are.
The topic of this lecture is Being A Witch In Britain Today. Now
I think that when one mentions the word, "Witch" to the average
member of the public, the image that is immediately conjured up
is one of a wizened old hag boiling up an extremely noxious brew
in some bubbling cauldron, probably on a windswept moor
somewhere. This is of course Shakespearian in its perception, but
unfortunately, whatever his intentions were at the time he wrote
Macbeth, William Shakespeare did Witchcraft a considerable
disservice, because this image has stuck. In addition, the public
is very much subject to conditioning laid down in the Middle Ages
by the Church, through historical accounts of Witch trials, which
were heavily biased. Consequently it is hardly surprising that
the image the general public has is of nasty, evil, thoroughly
bad people riding around on broomsticks at dead of night creating
havoc all over the place, poisoning people right left and centre,
doing unspeakable things with goats, not to mention chickens,
frogs, toads, cats, and sundry other animals. All in all not very
nice people!
It is interesting to note that even in this day and age, many
people are still very superstitious when it comes to magic, the
occult, Witchcraft and so on. In addition to the historical
2682
misconceptions about Witches and Witchcraft, I would go as far
as saying that people still have a deeply rooted superstitious
attitude, and that while some may automatically dismiss out of
hand Witches having any sort of magical power, deep down, the
majority of people still harbour deep rooted fears about this
sort of thing being possible.
At a time when mankind has seemingly achieved so much in the
field of science, when there is so little mystery left in life
because everything has been rationalised and explained, and
developed beyond that which our ancestors were able to
comprehend, the fact that people do still harbour superstitions
and worries about Witchcraft and the occult in general does not
altogether surprise me. If one removes the mystery from life, one
has nothing left with which to replace it, and one has to look
to that which one cannot explain. The problem being that man has
for countless generations been frightened by that which he cannot
explain. And this is why we are now living in the scientific age,
because man has purposely set out to explain that of which he is
afraid. The thing being that there is very little left that man
cannot explain. And one of the areas that he cannot explain is,
of course, magic, Witchcraft and the occult.
Let us for a moment, examine the term, "occult". Occult simply
means 'that which is hidden'. The term has been used for
centuries to explain the general workings of the universe. The
creation of fire would have, at some point in time, been regarded
as magic. Why things moved when they were subject to certain
power sources such as steam would have been deemed magic before
the principles were understood. Illnesses were originally
considered to be occult based. You could impose an illness on
a neighbour or friend if you had the magical power to do it. But
of course, none of these things were actually magical in any
sense. The magic lay in the fact that a lot of people didn't
understand what was going on. Those who did have an understanding
of what was going on were perceived as having some sort of power.
The biblical phrase, "Thou shalt not suffer a Witch to live", is
in this context quite revealing because in its original format,
the word, "Witch", did not actually translate as Witch, it
translated as "poisoner". And there is no doubt that the original
village Witch would have in her own way been a doctor of sorts,
in that she or he would have understood the uses of various herbs
for good purposes and for bad purposes. And could quite probably
been paid to use that knowledge to achieve the results for which
she was being paid, to either kill or cure. Consequently, the
village Witch, was someone to be feared, and respected.
As the Christian Church took hold, the older Pagan ways were
perceived as something to be got rid of. I do not think this was
particularly a spiritual battle. It was a power battle. It was
simply a matter of one religious-political system wishing to gain
control over another. And as Christianity grew in strength,
largely through fear and oppression, the old ways were presented
as being evil and wicked, and not to be tolerated.
????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????
2683
This situation remained largely extant until 1951, when the last
laws remaining on the English statute book against Witchcraft
were repealed, and what is now commonly referred to as the
British Revivalist Craft came to light. The fact that it had, in
some form or another, managed to survive over countless
generations was, in itself, quite a surprising thing. But we now
know that what are often referred to as the Hereditary Craft and
the Traditional Craft were to a certain extent passed down from
generation to generation either within specific families or
small, invariably farming, communities. It was this that the late
Dr Gerald Gardener is thought to have discovered, and built up
into what is today known as the Revivalist Craft. His work was
later developed by others such as Alex Sanders who founded the
Alexandrian Craft and, more recently, by Janet and Stewart
Farrar. Their works are very well known, popular, and easily
available, and they have created what is sometimes jokingly
referred to as the Farrarian Craft; a hybrid mixture of
Gardenerian, Alexandrian and their own methods of working.
Being a Witch today in this country is not necessarily a hard
thing, but nor is necessarily an easy thing. There is still a
great deal of superstitious prejudice and nonsense held against
Witches. And this is fermented, and that is the only word I can
think of, to a large extent by certain areas of our national
media, in particular the more lurid tabloid press, and of course
Christian fundamentalist groups, who have over the last few years
started to expand at a rather alarming, and for many
non-Christians, a rather frightening rate. The phenomena of
Christian fundamentalism is something which has largely been
imported to this country from America, where it has been a
populist Christian movement for many, many years. One only has
to look at the news over the last few years concerning some
American fundamentalist leaders to realise that basically, they
are like so many of us human beings, subject to all the little
foibles that human beings are generally subject to, that they are
just as easily led astray as any of us can be. The rising issue
of fundamentalism is, as I say, quite a frightening thing because
it seeks to impose a set of standards, a set of behaviour, and
a set of religious beliefs, on everyone, which no-one is
permitted to question. This is one reason why we find so many
people are now turning to Paganism in its broadest sense, and to
Wicca in particular. (Wicca being the commonly used modern term
for Witchcraft.) They turn to us because they are disillusioned
with the level of dogma and the level of imposition they find
within established Christian traditions, be they Church of
England, Roman Catholic, Baptist, Methodist, or some of the more
extreme fundamentalist sects.
People seem now to be dividing into groups. There are those who
are 'the led' and they search for leaders. And when they find a
leader who is prepared to tell them what to do, when to do it,
how to think, how not to think and so on, they latch onto that
and they go on quite happy in their own way because they want to
be told. On the other hand there are an increasing number of
people who are prepared to listen to what others have to say but
then like to go away and make their own minds up about things,
and work things out for themselves. And we are finding more and
more that this is what Paganism in general and Wicca in
2684
particular is providing. It is providing people with the means
by which they can form deeply personal relationships with their
own particular perceptions of deity. They can work with that
perception. They can utilise it within a framework that is,
generally speaking, of a very high moral and ethical standard.
And the idea that Witches are evil, nasty, wicked people who go
around sticking pins in little lumps of wax shaped into the form
of a person containing lumps of fingernail and pieces of hair and
other sundry bodily parts, is being increasingly recognised as
grossly untrue. We have to bear in mind that a lot of the popular
perceptions of the Witch are, as I have already said, largely
determined by historical records. Historical records written by
people in whose interest it was to defame the Witch, and to
register her, or him, as an evil person, but even these are now
being challenged by more and more people.
So, as I've said, being a Witch in this country today is not
always an easy thing. On the one hand, you can meet with extreme
prejudice, on the other hand you can equally meet with extreme
derision. A number of perfectly normal, sane, rational people
that I know of think that the fact that I am a Witch is a huge
joke. I am very used to people asking me "When can I come round
to your house and take all my clothes off?." My usual response
to which is "Any time you like providing I'm not having my tea
at the time, or watching Coronation Street, but believe me pal,
you're on your own." I personally find that this is the best way
to approach this sort of thing. If you can turn the question into
a joke aimed at yourself, people are happy with that and feel
comfortable with that, and will go away thinking that basically
you're a pretty decent sort of person with just some very strange
ideas. If, on the other hand, you become intensely defensive, the
opposite can be true because they will assume that you have
something to hide, something which you don't wish to talk about.
And we all know that faced with that sort of situation the human
mind is capable of conjuring up all sorts of unpleasant images.
So I stand before you today proclaiming myself to be a Witch. I
do not particularly like using the term, but it is a term with
which most people are familiar, so within the context of this
lecture, I am happy to use it. And I stand before you here, not
a wizened old crone, dressed in rags and tatters with a big wart
on the end of her nose, but, I hope, a fairly presentable man in
his early middle age, who has a very respectable job. I have a
house, a mortgage, a small daughter, I am like many people of my
generation, separated from my wife, for purely personal reasons.
I am, to all intents and purposes an ordinary person. And yet I
stand before you here, and tell you I am a Witch.
What does this mean for me personally? Basically, like most
Witches, I am a Pagan. I believe in the Old Religion. The
religion that was worldwide before Christianity or Hinduism, or
Islam took a hold on large areas of the world. Once upon a time,
whether people like to admit it or not, the whole world was
Pagan. Paganism then was vastly different from Paganism today.
There are those who go round saying that they are practising
pre-Christian Paganism. I would say, that while they are not
necessarily deluding themselves, they are mis-leading themselves.
What we are practising today is the spirit of ancient Paganism.
We cannot possibly practise ancient Paganism, because if we were
2685
doing so, we would be indulging in such things as blood
sacrifice, and so on and so forth, which forms no part of modern
Pagan tradition.
Witchcraft is a sub-system of broad Paganism. Most Witches regard
it as the mystery aspect of Paganism. The mystery aspect being
that one searches for the spark of the ultimate divine source,
which is inherent in each one of us, in the hope that one can
find it, come to terms with it, and accept it as part of
ourselves.
Most Pagans believe in an ultimate creative source. Christians
call it God. We believe that there exists, somewhere out there
in the wider universe, the source of all creation. We do not
give it a name, we do not give it a form. It is, to our way of
thinking, entirely neutral. It is all things in one thing. It is
all things and it is nothing. It is largely beyond our reach.
Some people aspire to attain union with the ultimate, very, very
few people ever reach it. Consequently, most Pagans will choose
to leave it alone.
It is unreachable. And it is unaware of our existence, because
it is neutral in form. What we do is we aspect it; we split it
into the various components which form it. The ultimate split is
gender, male and female. If the ultimate creative source is all
things, then it must have male and female aspects. So the
ultimate male aspect is 'The God', the ultimate female aspect is
'The Goddess'. Below this one can continue splitting into various
other aspects as one chooses, until one gets down to a level of
elementals, nature spirits, and so on and so forth. The idea
being, that all natural things coming from the ultimate creative
source contain a spark of that creative source, and consequently
all things are inherently sacred. We reject entirely the
Christian concept that man is born sinful, and has to spend the
whole of his life begging forgiveness for sins real and
imaginary. We believe that it is because of this attitude that
mankind does a lot of the things he does. If you bring somebody
up and condition them to believe that they are inherently bad,
they are going to react in that way.
Pagans and Witches believe that man is born inherently sacred,
and it is what he himself does with his life that makes him bad
or good. It is nothing to do with God, the Gods, the Goddesses
or anything else. Consequently, Paganism and Witchcraft are
extremely responsible forms of religious practice in that they
teach that we are responsible for what we do and the effect that
it has for those around us, both immediately and out in the wider
world. We believe in what is commonly referred to as 'the ripple
effect'. Drop a stone in a pond, and it will create ripples which
will go on and on until they reach the bank and are forced to
stop. If you regard the universe as a very large ocean, everytime
one of us does something, we create a ripple effect. The ripples,
on a universal scale, may be imperceptible, but they are there
none the less. And if we regard life in that way, we need to
immediately take stock of that which we do and act upon it.
Now obviously it is not possible to take this sort of philosophy
to an extreme, otherwise, one would literally do nothing. If one
flushes the toilet one is potentially adding to sea pollution.
2686
If one turns an electric light on, one is potentially adding to
air pollution. Whatever one does, somewhere along the line is
likely to have a detrimental effect on someone.
The Witch or Pagan will judge what he or she is doing with his
or her life and will try and determine the least harmful way of
living. It requires a great deal of thought, it requires a great
deal of honesty and self analysis and not a small amount of
self-sacrifice. it forces one to look at how one relates to
oneself, and life around us, because we believe that all natural
things on this world are sacred, and therefore to be treated with
respect.
So, what then, is our relationship with our perception of
divinity? As 1 have already mentioned, we personalise aspects of
the ultimate creative source. These personalisations can be drawn
from one or another of the existing Pagan pantheons, such as
Norse, Greek, Roman or Egyptian, or they can be done on a much
more personal level where the individual will somehow personalise
whatever aspect of divinity they wish to work with in that moment
in time. Most Witches have the Great Goddess, and the Horned God.
(The horns, incidentally have absolutely nothing to do with the
concept of the devil having horns. And are usually, in this
country, personified as being deer's antlers being simply symbols
of power and strength.) The Great Goddess is seen as being the
Mother of all things, the Horned God, her consort who is also
frequently linked with the Sun as the All Father.
Below that, we have the Triple Goddess, whose symbol is the Moon,
the Maid, the Mother, and the Crone. And then there are any
number of other personifications largely based on the individual
preference of the person or group, doing whatever it is they're
doing. This may seem to be an immensely complicated system, and
indeed it sometimes takes a great deal of understanding. But you
have to relate it to the natural seasonal cycle, or festivals,
that most Pagans, whatever their traditions, will follow.
The seasonal cycle basically follows the agricultural and solar
cycle of the year. We have eight major festivals.
The first, and possibly the most important, is Samhain, spelled
S-A-M-H-A-I-N, commonly known as Hallowe'en, and is thought to
have been the time when the ancient Celts celebrated the new
year. It was the end of one agricultural year and the beginning
of the next. It was the final onset of Winter. It was, as it is
commonly regarded today, also a festival of the dead. The modern
concept today of ghosts and ghoulies and long-leggedy beasties
and things that go bump in the night, stemmed directly from the
Celtic feast of the dead. This is not some necrophiliac intention
of summoning up spirits for evil purposes, it was/is simply a
time when one reflects on the memories of lost loved ones, lost
friends, and hopes to gain some insight into one's own life from
the lessons that we can learn from those who have gone before us.
It is interesting to note that, even in its christianised form,
Halloween, or All Hallows Eve is still a festival of the dead.
The mid-Winter Solstice is, of course, Yule, an Anglo-Saxon word
so old its meaning is now completely forgotten. It has been
suggested that that it could mean 'wheel', and within a Pagan or
2687
a Wiccan context the year is often referred to as "the wheel of
the year", in that it turns on, and on. Yule celebrates the
re-birth of the Sun. It is indeed interesting that Christians
should have taken this festival to mark the birth of Christ, when
what historical evidence we have seems to suggest that Christ was
actually either born in March or September.
From then we move on to Imbolc, christianised as Candlemas, which
represents the first stirring of Spring and the gradual return
of light. We then have the Spring Equinox, which when the earth
comes back fully to life, and has become largely associated with
Easter. Many people today do not realise that Easter is a
moveable feast because the date of Easter is set on the first
Sunday after the first full Moon after the Spring Equinox. And
if that isn't a Pagan concept, I really don't know what is. In
fact, the very name "Easter" comes from the Anglo-Saxon fertility
Goddess "Eostre" and many of the items traditionally associated
with Easter such as eggs and rabbits are directly derived from
Pagan ideas and symbols.
Then follows Beltane, which is interesting in that it is the only
Pagan holiday which does not have a Christian counterpoint. This
is probably because of its overtly sexual nature. It is
interesting that children conceived at Beltane were invariably
born on or around Imbolc, which is lambing time in the sheep
farmers year. Ewe's milk would have been important in the past
to strengthen children for the last part of Winter and to give
them strength to grow through the Spring and Summer.
After Beltane we have of course the Summer Solstice, mid-Summer,
which represents the Sun at its height. Solstices and Equinoxes
all being solar festivals. The union of Sun and Earth to produce
the harvest that is to come. Lugnassadh, commonly referred to as
Lammas, which literally means loaf-mass from the Anglo-Saxon, is
the start of the harvest. It is the time when we prepare to cut
down that which the union of the Sun and the Earth Mother has
provided for us. The Autumn equinox is the harvest festival. A
time to rest and relax after the harvest has been collected. And
then we come back again to Samhain, or Halloween.
So as you can see, we follow a very natural cycle. Rituals and
ceremonies can vary immensely from group to group, or individual
to individual. But each one, whenever it is done, will consist
of some sort of symbolic, what I can only describe as 'drama',
that reflects what we see going on in the world around us, and
how we perceive the Gods and Goddesses of Paganism or Witchcraft
as playing a part in that. There is a lot of talk about the use
of spirit powers and so on and so forth, and many Christians
perceive this as being inherently very, very dangerous.
Spiritualism, as it is commonly perceived, plays very little part
in Wicca. It is not something that we believe should be played
around with. We will invoke on one another the spirit of a
particular God or a particular Goddess dependent on what we are
doing at the time. But all we are asking that particular God or
Goddess to do is imbibe us with something of their power,
something of their insight. It is basically an intensely
psychological thing. Because, as we all know, if one stands in
front of a mirror saying "every day and every way, I am getting
2688
better and better", then one is likely to grow in
self-confidence. The concept is pretty much the same.
So, as we can see, Witches are not horrible evil people, but
generally, quite ordinary nice decent people who have chosen to
try and relate more to the natural things around us than some far
distant imperceptible god-form. But what of magic? Witchcraft
is obviously very closely associated with the use of magic. So
what is magic?
Magic was once described as 'the art of causing change in
conformity with will'. Put more basically, this simply means mind
over matter. Causing something to happen simply by the strength
of your own mind. This is perhaps a bit too far fetched for a
great many people to accept, but when one considers the nature
of prayer, one has a concept which is easier to understand. For
most Witches, an act of magic is simply a form of prayer. You
will seek the attention of a particular God or a particular
Goddess, and you will ask her or him to assist you in something
that you want done. Surely, this is no different from anyone
going into a church or synagogue, kneeling down, and saying,
"please God, help me".
It is true that Witches will dress that up in some way and use
items of equipment and paraphernalia which are alien to a church,
mosque, or synagogue. These are primarily nothing more than
psychological props, means by which the individual can focus
their attention on something. Using the appropriate equipment at
the appropriate time aided by appropriate colours and scents are
all means by which one can focus one's mind onto a specific
point. Like anything, our acts of magic do not necessarily always
produce the desired result. But we choose to believe that if it
does not happen, it is because it is not meant to happen, rather
than we are not worthy of it happening.
Many people talk of white and black magic. This is an entirely
Christian concept; we do not accept the terms white or black
magic. Magic is a neutral force which is used by the individual
and it is what the individual does with it that makes it white
or black. But most Witches, in using the powers that they have
available to them will consider the implications of what they are
doing, and will think very seriously about undertaking any act
of magic which could prove detrimental to any-one or anything
which cannot be justified morally and spiritually.
If the Craft has any "laws" as such they apply to the use of
magic in a more obvious way than any-where else, and there are
basically two such "laws".
The first is more of an ethic - "An it harm none-do what thou
will". On the face of it this seems to offer carte-blanche to do
what you want as long as no-one gets hurt but if regarded within
the context of the "ripple effect" mentioned earlier the
relevance and importance of it becomes clearer.
In addition to this, most Wiccans subscribe to what is usually
referred to as the "Law of Threefold Return" which basically
means that the result of an act will reflect on the instigator
times three. As you will possibly appreciate, this is worth
2689
serious consideration if what one is undertaking is potentially
or deliberately harmful.
Between the clearly "white" or "black" areas of magic however
lies the "grey" area. This is hard to define as it depends
largely on the conscience of the individual but whatever the
shade, a Witch will never undertake any act of magic without
serious consideration of all the matters and questions
surrounding it.
To go back to the matter of Satanic child-abuse, the suggestion
that there exists some sort of organised conspiracy of Satanic
based child abuse is nonsense. It is a myth created entirely by
so-called Christian extremists whose intention is to ferment a
modern Witchhunt in exactly the same way as the Nazis fermented
action against the Jews. There is no question of that. Whilst I
would not deny that there may be some sick, criminal perverts,
who utilise the cover of the occult in general and Witchcraft in
particular, to abuse children, these people are not Witches, they
are sick and evil perverts who deserve the full weight of the law
to fall upon them.
To specifically identify Wicca with child abuse is criminally
irresponsible as it brands a huge number of totally innocent
people as potential child abusers, and given that it is an
intensely emotive issue, there is a real risk of a lynch mob
mentality being provoked, with all the horror that it implies.
If we are to judge a whole belief system on the strength of the
activities of a few perverts, one could equally point the finger
at the Anglican Church and the Roman Catholic Church, both of
whom have suffered from the publicity of members of their own
clergies being caught for this very crime.
Recently, in this country alone, there have been several
instances of Church of England and Roman Catholic clergy abusing
children, and there is evidence to suggest that it is rife within
the Roman Catholic church in America. I pass no judgement on the
churches for that. This is down to individuals, and again, we
come back to the concept of individual responsibility for one's
own actions.
For a Witch to abuse a child is total anathema. It is contrary
to everything that we hold close to our hearts. Our children are
our future. If we abuse them, we run the risk of turning them
into abusers. Apart from the fact that in abusing them, we abuse
that which is part of the sacred, the ultimate divine source.
Children born in love and unity are sacred and to be treated as
such. There is no evidence, other than in the minds of those that
make the allegations, that so-called Satanic abuse exists.
As to the future, and what we would like; basically all we seek
is the acceptance of society to be what we are, and to practise
what we choose to practise. We do not seek to impose ourselves
on anybody, or anything. We wish more than anything else, to
exist in harmony with members of other religions, who have the
perfect right to believe what they choose to believe. All we ask
is that they afford us that same right. Nobody has the right to
impose their values on any other person, other than in a purely
secular sociological situation where rules and regulations are
2690
necessary to avoid total anarchy.
On the spiritual level, the individual has the right to choose
what form of religion he or she will follow, and how he or she
will perceive his/her own God. When one looks around the world
today, one can see that many of the conflicts going on in places
like Yugoslavia, and Northern Ireland have a religious basis.
They are based on one group of people trying to impose its
religious form on another. This, we feel, is entirely wrong.
Since the onset of Christianity, it has been the fact that one
religion has tried to impose itself on another. Millions of
people have died in modern times for this very reason. And so
much harm, and so much suffering, and so much pain could have
been avoided if mankind only accepted that one person has no
right to impose his religious will on another. We do not ask for
converts. We do not actively seek converts. All we ask is that
we be left alone in peace, to do that which we feel is right. We
would dearly love to work in harmony with members of other
religions, towards a greater good. Surely, although we walk along
different paths, our ultimate aim should be the same - to achieve
a world that can live in peace with itself.
We believe that our way is one way to achieve that. We do not say
that it is the only way, we say that it is one way. Our paths may
not meet, they may certainly not cross, but they run in parallel,
and if we can hold hands across the divides that exist between
us, surely, the world will be a better place. We have a great
deal in common. Each religion professes a love of humanity. Each
religion professes a love of the world that surrounds us, and yet
so few of those religions that profess those beliefs, do very
much about it. We do not say, as I have already said, that ours
is the only way, the one way, the true way. There is no one true
way. The Arabs I think have a saying, and I may have this wrong,
that there are a million ways to God, and it is for each one of
us to find his or her own way. This, we feel, is a fundamental
truth. We believe passionately, that the world could be a better
place if half the people in it stopped trying to impose their
will on the other half. We have no desire to do this. We wish to
move forward with others who may or may not share our beliefs to
a better world.
This paper may be freely copied or re-published providing it is
copied or re-published in its entirety without changes, and
authorship credited to James Pengelly, Pagan Federation.
James Pengelly
The Pagan Federation,
BM Box 7097,
London WCIN 3XX.
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RITUAL THEORY AND TECHNIQUE
Copyright Colin Low 1990
(cal@hplb.hpl.hp.com)
1. Introduction
2. Magical Consciousness
3. Limitation
4. Essential Steps
5. Maps & Correspondences
6. Conclusion
1. Introduction
These notes attempt to say something useful about magical
ritual. This is difficult, because ritual is invented, and any
sequence of actions can be ritualised and used to symbolise
anything; but then something similar can be said about words and
language, and that doesn't prevent us from trying to communicate,
so I will make the attempt to say something useful about ritual,
and try to steer a path between the Scylla of anthropology and
sweeping generalisations, and the Charybdis of cultish
parochialism. My motivation for writing this is my belief that
while any behaviour can be ritualised, and it is impossible to
state "magical ritual consists of this" or "magical ritual
consists of that", some magical rituals are better than others.
This raises questions of what I mean by "goodness" or "badness",
"effectiveness" or "ineffectiveness" in the context of magical
work, and I intend to duck this with a pragmatic reply. A magical
ritual is "good" if it achieves its intention without undesired
side effects, and it is "bad" if the roof falls on your head.
Underlying this definition is another belief: that magical ritual
taps a raw and potentially dangerous (and certainly amoral)
psychic force which has to be channelled and directed;
traditional forms of magical ritual do that and are not so
arbitrary as they appear to be.
An outline of ceremonial magical ritual (in the basic form
in which it has been handed down in Europe over the centuries) is
that the magician works within a circle and uses consecrated
tools and the magical names of various entities to evoke or
invoke Powers. It seems to work. Or at least it works for some
people some of the time. How *well* does it work? That's a fair
question, and not an easy one to answer, as there is too much ego
at stake in admitting that one's rituals don't always work out.
My rituals don't always work - sometimes nothing appears to
happen, sometimes I get unexpected side effects. The same is true
of those magicians I know personally, and I suspect the same is
true of most people. Even at the mundane level, if you've ever
tried to recreate a "magical moment" in a relationship, you will
know that it is hard to stand in the same river twice - there is
an elusive and wandering spark which all too often just wanders.
In summary, I like to know why some rituals work better than
others, and why some, even when that elusive spark is present, go
sour and call up all the wrong things - these notes contain some
of my conclusions. As I have tried to lift the rug and look
underneath the surface, the approach is abstract in places; I
2692
prefer to be practical rather than theoretical, but if magic is
to be anything other than a superstitious handing-down of mumbo-
jumbo, we need a model of what is happening, a causality of magic
against which it is possible to make value judgements about what
is good and bad in ritual. Traditional models of angels, spirits,
gods and goddesses, ancestral spirits and so on are useful up to
a point, but these are not the end of the story, and in
penetrating beyond these "intermediaries" the magician is forced
to confront the nature of consciousness itself and become
something of a mystic.
The idea that the physical universe is the end product of a
"process of consciousness" is virtually a first principle of
Eastern esoteric philosophy, it is at the root of the Kabbalistic
doctrine of emanation and the sephiroth, and it has been adopted
by many twentieth century magicians as a useful complement to
whatever traditional model of magic they were weaned on - once
one has accepted that it is possible to create "thought-forms"
and "artificial elementals" and "telesmic images", it is a small
step to admitting that the gods, goddesses, angels, and spirits
of traditonal magic may have no reality outside of the
consciousness which creates and sustains them. This is what I
believe personally on alternate days of the week. On the
remaining days I am happy to believe in the reality of gods,
goddesses, archangels, elementals, ancestral spirits etc. - in
common with many magicians I sit on the fence in an interesting
way. There is a belief among some magicians that while gods,
goddesses etc may be the creations of consciousness, on a par
with money and the Bill of Rights, such things take on a life of
their own and can be treated as if they were real, so while I
take the view that magic is ultimately the manipulation of
consciousness, you will find me out there calling on the Powers
with as much gusto as anyone else.
2. Magical Consciousness
The principle function of magical ritual is to cause well-defined
changes in consciousness. There are other (non-magical) kinds of
ritual and ceremony - social, superstitious, celebratory etc -
carried out for a variety of reasons, but magical ritual can be
distinguished by its emphasis on causing shifts in consciousness
to states not normally attainable, with a consequence of causing
effects which would be considered impossible or improbable by
most people in this day and age.
The realisation that the content of magical ritual is a
means to an end, the end being the deliberate manipulation of
consciousness, is an watershed in magical technique. Many people,
particularly the non-practicing general public, believe there is
something inherently magical about ritual, that it can be done,
like cooking, from a recipe book; that prayers, names of powers,
fancy candles, crystals, five-pointed stars and the like have an
intrinsic power which works by itself, and it is only necessary
to be initiated into all the details and hey presto! - you can do
it. I believe this is (mostly) wrong. Symbols do have magical
power, but not in the crude sense implied above; magical power
comes from the conjunction of a symbol and a person who can bring
that symbol to life, by directing and limiting their
2693
consciousness through the symbol, in the manner of icing through
an icing gun. Magical power comes from the person (or people),
not from the superficial trappings of ritual. The key to ritual
is the manipulation and shifting of consciousness, and without
that shift it is empty posturing.
So let us concentrate on magical consciousness, and how it
differs from the state of mind in which we normally carry out our
business in the world. Firstly, there isn't a sudden quantum jump
into an unusual state of mind called magical consciousness. All
consciousness is equally magical, and what we call magical
depends entirely on what we consider to be normal and take for
granted. There is a continuum of consciousness spreading away
from the spot where we normally hang our hat, and the potential
for magic depends more on the appropriateness of our state for
what we are trying to achieve than it does on peculiar trance
states. When I want to boil an egg I don't spend three days
fasting and praying to God; I just boil an egg. One of the
characteristics of my "normal" state of consciousness is that I
understand how to boil an egg, but from many alternative states
of consciousness it is a magical act of the first order. So what
I call magical consciousness differs from normal consciousness
only in so far as it is a state less appropriate for boiling
eggs, and more appropriate for doing other things.
Secondly, there isn't one simple flavour of magical
consciousness; the space of potential consciousness spreads out
along several different axes, like moving in a space with several
different dimensions, and that means the magician can enter a
large number of distinct states, all of which can be considered
different aspects of magical consciousness.
Lastly, it is normal to shift our consciousness around in
this space during our everyday lives, so there is nothing unusual
in shifting consciousness to another place. This makes magical
consciousness hard to define, because it isn't something so
extraordinary after all. Nevertheless, there is a difference
between walking across the road and walking around the world, and
there are differences between what I call normal and magical
consciousness, even though they are arbitrary markers in a
continuum. There is a difference in magnitude, and there is a
difference in the "magnitude of intent", that is, will. Magic
takes us beyond the normal; it disrupts cosy certainties; it
explores new territory. Like new technology, once it becomes part
of everyday life it stops being "magical" and becomes "normal".
We learn the "magic of normal living" at an early age and forget
the magic of it; normal living affects us in ways which the
magician recognises as magical, but so "normal" that it is
difficult to realise what is going on. From the point of view of
magical consciousness, "normal life" is seen to be a complex
magical balancing act, like a man who keeps a hundred plates
spinning on canes at the same time and is always on the point of
losing one. Magical consciousness is not the extraordinary state:
normal life is. The man on the stage is so busy spinning his
plates he can spend no time doing anything else.
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2694
A characteristic of magical consciousness which
distinguishes it from normal consciousness is that in most
magical work the magician moves outside the "normally accessible"
region of consciousness. Most "normal people" will resist an
attempt to shift their consciousness outside the circle of
normality, and if too much pressure is applied they panic, throw-
up, become ill, have hysterics, call the police or a priest or a
psychiatrist, or end up permanently traumatised. Sometimes they
experience a blinding but one-sided illumination and become
fanatics for a one-sided point of view. Real, detectable shifts
in consciousness outside the "normal circle" are to be entered
into warily, and the determined ritualist treads a thin line
between success, and physical and psychical illness. A neophyte
in Tibet swears that he or she is prepared to risk madness,
disease and death, and in my personal experience this is not
melodramatic - the risks are real enough. It depends on
temperament and constitution - some people wander all over the
planes of consciousness with impunity, some find it extremely
stressful, and some claim it never did them any harm (when they
are clearly as cracked as the Portland Vase). The grosser forms
of magic are hard to do because body and mind fight any attempt
to move into those regions of consciousness where it is possible
to transcend the "normal" and create new kinds of normality.
The switch into magical consciousness is often accompanied
by a feeling of "energy" or "power". Reality becomes a fluid, and
the will is like a wind blowing it this way and that. Far out.
There are several traditional methods for reaching abnormal
states of consciousness: dance, drumming, hallucinogenic and
narcotic substances, fasting and other forms of privation, sex,
meditation, dreaming, and ritual, used singly and in combination.
These notes deal only with ritual. Magical ritual has evolved
organically out of the desire to reach normally inaccessible
regions of consciousness and still continue living sanely in the
world afterwards, and once that is understood, its profundity
from a psychological point of view can be appreciated.
3. Limitation
The concept of limitation is so important in the way magical
ritual has developed that it is worth taking a look at what it
means before going on to look at the basics of ritual.
We are limited beings: our lives are limited to some tens of
years, our bodies are limited in their physical abilities, and
compared to all the different kinds of life on this planet we are
clearly very specialised compared with the potential of what we
could be, if we had the choice of being anything we wanted. Even
as human beings we are limited, in that we are all quite distinct
from oneanother, and guard that individuality and uniqueness as
an inalienable right. We limit ourselves to a few skills because
of the effort and talent required to acquire them, and only in
exceptional cases do we find people who are expert in a large
number of different skills - most people are happy if they are
acknowledged as being an expert in one thing, and it is a fact
that as the sum total of knowledge increases, so people
(particularly those with technical skills) are forced to become
2695
more and more specialised.
This idea of limitation and specialisation has found its way
into magical ritual because of the magical (or mystical)
perception that, although all consciousness in the universe is
One, and that Oneness can be perceived directly, it has become
limited. There is a process of limitation in which the One (God,
if you like) becomes progressively structured and constrained
until it reaches the level of thee and me. The details of this
process (sometimes called "The Fall") lies well outside a set of
notes on ritual technique, and being theosophical, is the sort of
thing people like to have long-winded arguments about, so I am
not going to say much about it. What I *will* say is that
magicians and mystics the world over are relatively unanimous in
insisting that the normal everyday consciousness of most human
beings is a severe *limitation* on the potential of
consciousness, and it is possible, through various disciplines,
to extend consciousness into new regions; this harks back to the
"circle of normality" I mentioned in the previous section. From a
magical point of view the personality, the ego, the continuing
sense of individual "me-ness", is a magical creation with highly
specialised abilities, an artificial elemental or thoughtform
which consumes all our magical power in exchange for the kind of
limitation necessary to survive, and in order to work magic it is
necessary to divert energy away from this obsession with personal
identity and self-importance.
Now, consider the following problem: you have been
imprisoned inside a large inflated plastic bag. You have been
given a sledghammer and a scalpel. Which tool will get you out
faster? The answer I am looking for is the scalpel: a way of
getting out of large, inflated, plastic bags is to apply as much
force as possible to as sharp a point as possible. Magicians
agree on this principle - the key to successful ritual work is a
"single-pointed will". A mystic may try to expand consciousness
in all directions simultaneously, to encompass more and more of
the One, to embrace the One, perhaps even to transcend the One,
but this is hard, and most people aren't up to it in practise.
Rather than expand in all directions simultaneously, it is much
easier to *limit* an excursion of consciousness in one direction,
and the more precise and well-defined that limitation to a
specific direction, the easier it is to get out of the bag.
Limitation of consciousness is the trick we use to cope with the
complexity of life in modern society, and as long as we are
forced to live under this yoke we can make a virtue out of a
necessity, and use our carefully cultivated ability to
focus attention on minutiae to burst out of the bag.
What limitation means in practise is that magical ritual is
designed to produce specific and highly *limited* changes in
consciousness, and this is done by using a specific map of
consciousness, and there are symbolic correspondences within the
map which can be used in the construction of a ritual - I discuss
this later. The principle of limitation is a key to understanding
the structure of magical ritual, and a key to successful
practice.
2696
To summarise the last two sections, I would say the
characteristics of a "good" ritual are:
1. Entry into magical consciousness and the release of
"magical energy".
2. A limitation of consciousness to channel that energy in
the correct direction, with minimal "splatter".
Without the energy there is nothing to channel. Without the
limitation, energy splatters in all directions and takes the path
of minimal psychic resistance to earth. A magical ritual is the
calculated shifting and limitation of consciousness.
4. Essential Steps
There is never going to be agreement about what is essential
in a ritual and what is not, any more than there will ever be
agreement about what makes a good novel. That doesn't mean there
is nothing worth discussing. The steps I have enumerated below
are suggestions which were handed down to me, and a lot of
insight (not mine) has gone into them; they conform to a Western
magical tradition which has not changed in its essentials for
thousands of years, and I hand them on to you in the same spirit
as I received them.
These are the steps:
1. Open the Circle
2. Open the Gates
3. Invocation to the Powers
4. Statement of Intention and Sacrifice
5. Main Ritual
6. Dismissal of Powers
7. Close the Gates
8. Close the Circle
4.1 Open the Circle
The Circle is the place where magical work is carried out.
It might literally be circle on the ground, or it could be a
church, or a stone ring, or a temple, or it might be an imagined
circle inscribed in the aethyr, or it could be any spot hallowed
by tradition. In some cases the Circle is created specifically
for one piece of work and then closed, while in other cases (e.g.
a church) the building is consecrated and all the space within
the building is treated as if it is an open circle for long
periods of time. I don't want to deal too much in generalities,
so I will deal with the common case where a circle is created
specifically for one piece of work, for a period of time
typically less than one day.
The Circle is the first important magical limit: it creates
an area within which the magical work takes place. The magician
tries to control everything which takes place within the Circle
(limitation), and so a circle half-a-mile across is impractical.
The Circle marks the boundary between the rest of the world
(going on its way as normal), and a magical space where things
2697
are most definitely not going on as normal (otherwise there
wouldn't be any point in carrying out a ritual in the first
place). There is a dislocation: the region inside the circle is
separated from the rest of space and is free to go its own way.
There are some types of magical work where it may not be sensible
to have a circle (e.g. working with the natural elements in the
world at large) but unless you are working with a Power already
present in the environment in its normal state, it is useful to
work within a circle.
The Circle may be a mark on the ground, or something more
intangible still; my own preference is an imagined line of blue
fire drawn in the air. It is in the nature of consciousness that
anything taken as real and treated as real will eventually be
accepted as Real - and if you want to start a good argument,
state that money doesn't exist and isn't Real. From a ritual
point of view the Circle is a real boundary, and if its
usefulness is to be maintained it should be treated with the same
respect as an electrified fence. Pets, children and casual
onlookers should be kept out of it. Whatever procedures take
place within the Circle should only take place within the Circle
and in no other place, and conversely, your normal life should
not intrude on the Circle unless it is part of your intention
that it should. Basically, if you don't want a circle, don't have
one, but if you do have one, decide what it means and stick to
it. There is a school of thought which believes a circle is a
"container for power", and another which believes a circle "keeps
out the nasties". I subscribe to both and neither of these points
of view. From a symbolic point of view, the Circle marks a new
"circle of normality", a circle different from my usual "circle
of normality", making it possible to keep the two "regions of
consciousness" distinct and separate. The magician leaves
everyday life behind when the Circle is opened, and returns to it
when the Circle is closed, and for the duration adopts a
discipline of thought and deed which is specific to the type of
magical work being undertaken; this procedure is not so different
from that in many kinds of laboratory where people work with
hazardous materials. The circle is both a barrier and a
container. This is a kind of psychic sanitation, and in magic
"sanity" and "sanitary" have more in common than spelling.
Opening a Circle usually involves drawing a circle in the
air or on the ground, accompanied by an invocation to guardian
spirits, or the elemental powers of the four quarters, or the
four watchtowers, or the archangels, or whatever. The details
aren't so important as practicing it until you can do it in your
sleep, and you should carry it out with the same attitude as a
soldier on formal guard duty outside a public building. You are
establishing a perimeter under the watchful "eyes" of whatever
guardians you have requested to keep an eye on things, and a
martial attitude and sense of discipline creates the right
psychological mood.
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4.2 Opening the Gates
The Gates in question are the boundary between normal and
magical consciousness. Just as opening the Circle limits the
ritual in space, so opening the Gates limits the ritual in time.
Not everyone opens the Gates as a separate activity; opening a
Circle can be considered a de-facto opening of Gates, but there
are good reasons for keeping the two activities separate.
Firstly, it is convenient to be able to open a Circle without
going into magical consciousness; despite what I said about not
bringing normal consciousness into the Circle, rules are made to
be broken, and there are times when something unpleasant and
unwanted intrudes on normal consciousness, and a Circle can be
used to keep it out - like pulling blankets over your head at
night. Secondly, opening the Gates as a separate activity means
they can be tailored to the specific type of magical
consciousness you are trying to enter. Thirdly, just as bank
vaults and ICBMs have two keys, so it is prudent to make the
entry into magical consciousness something you are not likely to
do on a whim, and the more distinct steps there are, the more
conscious effort is required. Lastly - and it is an important
point - I open the circle with a martial attitude, and it is
useful to have a breathing space to switch out of that mood and
into the mood needed for the invocation. Opening the Gates
provides an opportunity to make that switch.
4.3 Invocation to the Powers
The invocation to the Powers is often an occasion for some
of the most laboured, leaden, pompous, grandiose and turgid prose
ever written or recited. Tutorial books on magic are full of this
stuff. "Oh glorious moon, wreathed in aetherial light...". You
know the stuff. If you are invoking Saturn during a waxing moon
you might be justified in going on like Brezhnev addressing the
Praesidium of the Soviet Communist Party, but as in every other
aspect of magic, the trick isn't what you do, but how you do it,
and interminable invocations aren't the answer. On a practical
level, reading a lengthy invocation from a sheet of paper in dim
candlelight requires so much conscious effort that it is hard to
"let go", so I like keep things simple and to the point, and
practice until I can do an invocation without having to think
about it too much, and that leaves room for the more important
"consciousness changing" aspect of the invocation.
An invocation is like a ticket for a train, and if you can't
find the train there isn't much point in having the ticket.
Opening the Gates gets you to the doorstep of magical
consciousness, but it is the invocation which gets you onto the
train and propels you to the right place, and that isn't
something which "just happens" unless you have a natural aptitude
for the aspect of consciousness you are invoking. However, it
does happen; people tend to begin their magical work with those
areas of consciousness where they feel most at home, so they may
well have some initial success. Violent, evil people do violent
and evil conjurations; loving people invoke love - most people
begin their magical work with "a free ticket" to some altered
state of consciousness, but in general, invoking a specific
aspect of consciousness takes practice and I don't expect
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immediate results when I invoke something new. If interminable
tracts of deathless prose work for you, then fine, but I find it
hard to keep a straight face when piety and pomposity combine to
produce the sort of invocations to be found in print. I name no
names.
I can't give a prescription for entering magical
consciousness. Well devised rituals, practised often, have a way
of shifting consciousness which is surprising and unexpected. I
don't know why this happens; it just does. I suspect the peculiar
character of ritual, the way it involves the senses and occupies
mind and body simultaneously, its numinous and exotic symbolism,
the intensity of preparation and execution, involve dormant parts
of the mind, or at least engage the normal parts in an unusual
way. Using ritual to cause shifts in consciousness is not
exceptionally difficult; getting the results you want, and
avoiding unexpected and undesired side-effects is harder. Ritual
is not a rational procedure. The symbolism of magic is intuitive
and bubbles out of a very deep well; the whole process of ritual
effectively bypasses the rational mind, so expecting the outcome
of a ritual to obey the dictates of reason is completely
irrational. The image of a horse is appropriate: anyone can get
on the back of a wild mustang, but reaching the point where horse
and rider go in the same direction at the same time takes
practice. The process of limitation described in these notes
can't influence the natural waywardness of the animal, but at
least it is a method for ensuring that the horse gets a clear
message.
4.4 Statement of Intention and Sacrifice
If magical ritual is not to be regarded as a form of
bizarre entertainment carried out for its own sake, then there
has to be a reason for doing it - healing, divination, personal
development, initiation, and the like. If it is healing, then it
is usually healing for one specific person, and then again, it is
probably not just healing in general, but healing for some
specific complaint, within some period of time. The statement of
intention is the culmination of a process of limitation which
begins when the Circle is opened, and to return to the analogy of
the plastic bag, the statement of intention is like the blade on
the scalpel - the more precise the intention, the more the energy
of the ritual is concentrated to a single point.
The observation that rituals work better if their energy is
focussed by intention is in accord with experience in everyday
life: any change involving other people, no matter how small or
insignificant, tends to meet with opposition. If you want to
change the brand of coffee in the coffee machine, or if you want
to rearrange the furniture in the office, someone will object. If
you want to drive a new road through the countryside, local
people object. If you want to raise taxes, everyone objects. The
more people you involve in a change, the more opposition you
encounter, and in magic the same principle holds, because from a
magical point of view the whole fabric of the universe is held in
place by an act of collective intention involving everything from
God downwards. When you perform a ritual you are setting yourself
up against a collective will to keep most things the way they
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are, and your ritual will succeed only if certain things are
true:
1. you are a being of awesome will.
2. you have allies. The universe is changing, there is
always a potential for change, and if your intention
coincides with an existing will to bring about that change,
your ritual can act as a catalyst.
3. you limit your intention to minimise opposition; the
analogy is the diamond cutter who exploits natural lines of
cleavage to split a diamond.
Suppose you want to bring peace to the world. This is an
admirable intention, but the average person would have no more
effect (with or without magic) on the peacefulness of the world
than they would if they attempted to smash Mount Everest with a
rubber hammer. Rather than worry about the peacefulness of the
whole world, why not use your ritual to create a better
relationship with your spouse, or your boss, or someone who
really annoys you? And why not work on the specific issues which
are the main source of friction. And try to improve things within
a specified period of time. And do it in a way which respects the
other person's right to continue being a pain in the arse if they
so wish? This is the idea behind focussing or limiting an
intention. Having said all this, there are a lot of people in the
world who would appreciate some peace, and perhaps your grand
intention to bring peace might catch a wave and help a few, so
don't let me put you off, but as a general principle it is
sensible to avoid unnecessary opposition by making the intention
as precise as possible. Think about sources of opposition, and
about ways of circumventing that opposition - there may be a
simple way which avoids making waves, and that is when magic
works best. Minimising opposition also reduces the amount of
backlash you can expect - quite often the simplest path to earth
for any intention is through the magician, and if there is a lot
of opposition that is what happens. [The very act of invoking
power creates a resonance and a natural channel through the
magician.]
I try to analyse the possible outcomes and consequences of
my intentions. There is a popular view that "if it harms none, do
what you will". I can think of many worse moral principles, and
it is better than most, but it is still naive. It pretends that
it is theoretically possible to live without treading on another
person's toes, it leaves me to make unilateral decisions about
what is or is not harmful to others, and it is so wildly
unrealistic, even in the context of everyday life, that it only
seems to make sense if I intend to live in seclusion in a
wilderness living off naturally occuring nuts and berries (having
asked the squirrels for permission). If it is used as a moral
principle in magic, then it draws an artificial distinction
between magical work and the "push me, push you/if it moves,
shoot it, if it doesn't, cut it down" style of contemporary life.
It completely emasculates free-will. I prefer to believe that
just about anything I do is going to have an impact on someone or
something, and there are no cute moral guidelines; there are