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? The Official Erisian Heresy ?
? Newsletter ?
? Volume 1 of: MANY ?
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????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????
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? Editor in Chief: Farrell McGovern?
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The Following is an adaptation of an APA (Amateur Press Association)
Contribution for _The Messenger_ an Ottawa, Ontario, Canada local Pagan APA.
If you want more info about ^ or about the upcomming publishing of the
_Principia Discordia Canadiana Eh?_ or to get on the Mailing list of "The
Official Erisian Heresy Newsletter" send E-Mail to FIDO 163/5, Data/SFnet.
If you don't have access to E-Mail, then you can reach me via Post Offal and
U.S. Snail at:
Farrell McGovern
P.O. BOX 11431, Station "H",
Nepean, Ont.,
Canada.
If you would like to contribute to TOEHN (but only the electronic
version) drop me a line, or if you feel that your long distance phone bill is
not big enough, then you can call my board (Data/SFnet) at (613) 726-1100
after 9 pm till mailtime. Don't Yell for me, since it is an office and I am
not there after 8 pm!
8704.12
I guess I should introduce myself, I am Farrell James McGovern. I
work with computers, and thus consider myself a techno-Pagan. I have an
interest things Celtic, and quantum physics. I am an Erisian Priest and thus
have no authority over anyone. I despise any type of totalitarian structure
be it government, job, or rigidly stratified priesthood of any
religion. That was a non-prophet, postage paid, political statement.
And now onto more mundane matters...
I am 24, male, and prefer females (Sian said that I should state my
preferences).
Besides Paganism and things concerning it, I have two other major
interests:
One of the two major interests is music. I am fairly musically
oriented, in that I play most types of guitar (except for bass), I fiddle
with synthesizers (I own a couple including a Sampling Syth), I intend to
learn Harp, Lute, drums and virtually anything musical that catches my eyes.
Groups/Artists I like: FM (w/ & wo/ Nash the Slash), Nash the Slash, Rush,
Pink Floyd, Berlin, Heart, Walter/Wendy Carlos, Queen, Tangerine Dream,
Tomita, The Monkees, Jethro Tull, Vangelis, Manfred Mann's Earth Band, The
Alan Parsons Project, Styx, Supertramp, Spoons, Klaatu, Martha and the
Muffins/M+M, Peter Gabrial, and Kate Bush. Have you ever noticed how the
last two artists always seem to be mentioned in the same breath?
The other of my two major interests is Science Fiction/Fantasy. I have
been attending SF cons for about 8 years now,hitting mainly East Coast cons,
predominatly in New York City area, and Boston. I have been reading the
stuff since I was about 5 years old. Started out on a book of SF stories
that was part of a leather bound hardcover series of childern's books. There
was a Bolo Story by Keith Laumer, and that is about all that I remember from
that book. I had a hard time going though school, since I was very
intellegent (in the top five percentile or some other nonsence like
that)(and yes, I have still intellegent contrary to popular belief). The
labeled my "hyper-active" and put me on rittelyn (I don't know the correct
spelling for it) which acted as a downer. So I spend most of my grade school
depressed, a habit that I have almost gotten rid of...anyways, back to SF.
The first author that I became aware of was Arthur C. Clarke. You see, I
was very young when I saw 2001: A Space Odyssey, and it had a heavy impact on
my mind. Since then I have read just about every ACC book that I can get
my hands on. Fav Authors: ACC, Harlan Ellison (he is shorter than I am!),
Issac Asimov, David Gerrold, Venor Vinge (not to be confused with Joan
Vinge, author of the Snow Queen, who I have met and had many conversations
with, and is a terrific person, but whose books I cannot stand!), Marion
Zimmer Bradley, Patricia Kenneley, Rudy Rucker, Robert Anton Wilson, and
about a dozen more...
And now, back to the Pagan portion of this contrib...
And now, for you entertainment and enjoyment, the story of how I became
a Pagan.
I guess it all started at a con I attended in New York City. It was a
STrek con of all things, and there I met a girl, her name is Heidi Heyman, a
person with whom I share 4 common interests, Science Fiction, Star Trek,
Harlan Ellison, and Supertramp. We fell in love over the phone and though
letters. The next year I asked what she wanted for Christmas, and she told
me that she was Jewish. This caused me to rethink my whole universe. I had
never investigaed religion before, and I started to do so in earnest.
About this same time I discovered that there was one area in Physics
that I was not very knowledgeable, and that was the area of quantum physics.
So I went to the library and looked up quantum physics. I read stuff like
_The Dancing Lu Wi Masters_, and such, then in the Science Fiction section I
found a trilogy called _Schreodenger's Cat_, by Robert Anton Wilson. Then in
the religion section I came across a copy of _Drawing the Moon_. In it I
found that Erisians/Discordians really existed! And that was when I became a
Pagan and a Discordian.
***********************
Like the Bards of my Celtic ancestors, I constantly seek truth in all
that I do and see, but I have seen some hypocrisy in Paganism, and
specifically in some Craft people that drives me right around the bend
almost to the point of acquiring a H2O Uzi.
Although there are many different Craft laws, and many interpretations
of them, there is one that is common to almost all Wiccans, and most Pagans
as well, although the exact words may differ slightly, they are essentially
the same for all:
An ye harm none, do as ye will.
-from the Code of Ethics of the Covenant of the Goddess, quoted in _Drawing
Down the Moon_ rev 2., Chap. 5.
But there are people, ones who say they follow the above rule, who
smoke! Not only that, but they insist do doing it when there are other
people in the room! Talk about a lack of Celtic hospitality or what!
It has been proven beyond a shadow of a doubt that second hand smoke is a
health risk to non-smokers, and a it certaintly that it harms the person who
smokes. Either I have grossly mis-interpreted the meaning and spirit of that
law, or there are a number of hypocrites in the Craft.
To them I ask, do you live your religion, or do you simply adopt the
parts that you like and skirt the responiblities? I do not intend this as an
insult to the people I am talking about, but I think it weakens the fabric
of what we are trying to create; a better world for our children, in harmony
with the Mother Earth. That is what I see is the goal of Paganism in all of
it's forms, either that, or I have mistaken what this whole thing is
about...
***********************
_Drawing Down the Moon_ rev 2
By Margot Adler
In March I attended Lunacon, the New York City regional SF con, and had a
terrific time. A pleasant contrast to Boskone a month prior. As with any
con there are always hordes of new books, ones that won't hit the stands for
another few weeks, and it was here that I acquired a copy of the second
editon of _Drawing Down the Moon_. This is a book I know well, having
given away one copy, and worn out another through successive lendings
and readings. But because of it's nature, it was becoming very out
dated, and archaic. So it has been updated.
The first thing that one notices is the size of the book. It has been
reprinted in standard trade paperback size (it fits nicely beside your trade
copy of _The Mists of Avalon_), and with the additions, is nearly as large
as ?the previously mentioned book. ?The next thing that one notices is ?the
cover, ?a ?beautiful photo of a priestess standing in the center of a circle
of candles on a beach. ?She is faced seaward with her arms upraised in ?that
classic half moon crescent. ?It appears to be dawn or dusk, ?and the photo
has ?been ?taken with a long exposure time, ?causing the candles ?to ?be
over-exposed, ??but ?giving ?a ?vividness to the picture ?that ?might ?have
otherwise been lost. ?The lettering is also well down. I ?mean, ?tanj this
cover LOOKS good! ?This cannot but help to attract people to the book, ?to
either ?inform or re-awaken them to something that they have either lost ?of
forgotten, or are seeking.
On the inside there have been some changes, but in the spirit of
preserving history, most of the book has not been changed, but many
additions have been made to reflect the current trends in the Pagan movement
of today.
It would be a waste of space to attempt to review _DDtM_, since I hope
that most of you have read the book, if you haven't, run, don't walk, to
the Wiccan Rede (we need to support members of our community!), and if they
don't have it, trundle down to Sunnyside Books (which is not on Sunnyside,
herein lies a great Erisian Mysteree) and pick up a copy. Then you can see
what I (and practically every one else who has read the book) has been
saying about the book.
There is now a section on Norse Paganism (have you noticed the number
of Thor's Hammers around peoples necks lately?) and the various
contraversies arising around it. The Norse flavour of paganism tends to
attract the more conservitive element of the people who get involved with
paganism (if that is true, then I would not like to meet an Odinist from
this area, they would probably try to shoot me for being a long haired hippy
type ?freak HHO1/2K), ?and the problems with their image and the ?influx ?of
undesirables, mainly people who are into Nazism, and the presevation of the
Great White Way (ie. KKK types).
Another new section is a chapter on men's spirituality, something I
will not go into here since I am planning an article about this in an
upcomming issue (Watch for it in a FeMail box near you...)
Perhaps the greatest gems in this revsion are two of the three
appendices. The first is based on a 1985 questionnaire that was handed out
at some Pagan gatherings and was published in a newsletter, Panegyria. One
hundread and ninety five were handed in. Without going into the results,
something that could take a who contrib, I will note that the largest
percentage of the respondants were computer people. Now wether this is an
indication that computer people like to fill out forms, or that there is
something more it than that will be dealt with in a later piece about
techno-paganism.
The next appendix is a listing of Pagan Rituals, a carryover form the
previous edition. It is the final appenix that is the diamond of the trio.
It is an excellent resource for Pagan newsletters, groups and Festivals.
Wic-Can Fest, Margot describles it this way: "This has become "the" festival
in Canada." Nice endorsment, don't you think?
Well, I guess it is time to get going, it is 11:29 pm and I have been
at this contrib for about 4 hours, on and off. The current music is Rodger
Hodson, ex of Supertramp and I have not had supper yet...so I will leave you
people to spending more type at something else...
ttyl
Farrell