16C BASKETBALL PREVIEW
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 25, 2007
Nine former Jayhawks are in the NBA, two of whom have become NBA champions. Paul Pierce, top left, joined the Boston Celtics in 1998. Brew Gooden, top center, was drafted to the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2002. Kirk Hinrich, top right, Kirk
the Chicago Bulls in 2003, and Nick Collison, bottom left, was drafted to the Seattle SuperSonics in 2003.
in the NBA
BY Bryan Wheeler Four former Jayhawks have gone Currently there are nine
JAYPLAY = 10.25.2007
halloween
A mannequin displaying items for sale from "Village Witch" stands in front of the store co-owners and their friends during Pagan Pride Day in Burcham Park
PHOTO BY JON GOERING
A few Halloween oaks, kerry Johnson, a practicing Wiccan and co-owner of the Village Witch, 311 N 2nd St, was in the middle of an interview with a journalist from Channel 6 News. Extra media attention around Halloween is something she's accustomed to. On this day, Johnson was checked out in a stereotypical witch costume, with a black point hat, cloak and green face make-up.
The Journalist asked her if it bothered her that so many people sport similar get-ups as Hallowen costumes, perhaps
making a mackery of her and her religion, "I had to say to her, 'Uh, clearly not. This is my Halloween costume.' She thought that was how I dressed on a normal basis." Johnson says, "Every Halloween, I dress up, hand out candy, and then once the trick-or-treating is over, we celebrate our own way."
This wasn't the first—or last—time Johnson has had to debunk stereotypes about Wicca, especially around this time of year. Culturally, the terms "Halloween" and "witch" are tied closely together for most in the Joe-Christian tradition.
Niccan Words
BOOK OF SHADOWS*W:hand-copied book of recipes, rituals and training techniques that are vital for a witch or a coven.
ESBAT: A coven's weekly or bi-weekly meeting, traditionally taking place on the full moon or the new moon.
"I call myself a witch, yes," Johnson said. "It's just that this term has been so skewed by Christianity."
**PENTACLE:** a metal disc that symbolizes the earth element among the witch's working tools.
DRAWING DOWN THE MOON: Ritual that invokes the spirit of the Goddess into the body of the High Priestess.
world. Johnson says, though, the confusion and the bastardization of the term "witch" doesn't really bother her.
**SCRYING:** A form of divination that uses methods such as crystal gazing, incense smoke, or water as opposed to tarot or other manipulative means.
Source: http://www.msu.edu/~rohdemar/earth/gloss.html
Wicca is a Pagan, earth-based religion that worships a God and a Goddess, whose spirits are found in everything in nature. The cornerstone of Wicca is the "Law of Three," meaning that any harm one places on a living creature will come back to you three times. A group of practicing Wiccans is called a coven. It is led by a high priest and a high priestess, although it is the female who holds more authority. Individual covens tend to be small—the traditional number of members is 13—and they meet on a regular basis, much like any other religion. There are eight "high holy days" in Wicca, all of which fall on or around a key Judeo-Christian religious holiday. It is worth noting, though, that Wicca and its traditions date back to Christianity, with the earliest development of Wiccan gods and ideals beginning in Europe around 7500 B.C., according to www.wicca.ch.com.
For Wiccans, Oct. 31 is called Samhain (pronounced SAU-WIN).
their highest holy day. On this day, the veil between the two worlds—life and death—is at its thinnest. The coven—a group of Wiccans with a high priest and a high priestess—lays out what is called a dumb feast, and invite their deceased loved ones to join them and share the meal. Although the menu is extremely varied and flexible, staples include bread, ale, wine and apples, Kacey Carlson, co-owner of The Village Witch, lays out dog and cat food every year, too, to connect with past pets. Beyond that, a Samhain celebration can take on many shapes. Wicca and its celebrations are much less structured than other religions, says Susie Kingman a high priestess for a coven in Topeka.
"Our religion is about doing as you will and harming none." Kingman says. "If you ask 10 Wiccans to describe Wicca you'll get 15 different responses."
What all Wiccans have in common, though, is the feeling they were born this way. Many were raised Christian, but never felt like that belief system fit. Johnson said what led her to straying from her Southern Baptist church was the image of an angry vindictive Christian God. "A divine power wouldn't behave that way."
Carlson says she made her own deck of tarot cards at the age of 11, even though she didn't know the official term for the cards at the time. She found Wicca in college, and finally realized where this interest in mysticism came from." It wasn't that I became a Wiccan at age 19," Carlson says. "I have always been one, I was born this way."
In Lawrence, most Wiccans aren't even sure of how many covens are active. Carlson knows of three that practice openly, but says that many Wiccans in Lawrence probably practice in solitude because they aren't in contact with others like them. She knows more covens exist, but more often than not, they prefer to stay secretive. Events like Pagan Pride Day, which took place for the first time in Lawrence on Oct 6, provide an occasional common gathering place, but those events are far and few between.
But next week, organizedcovers and individuals alike, whether they're underground or not, will celebrate the biggest Wiccan day of the year. Along with marking the day where the vell heart of life and death is at its thinnest, the day also represents the final Harvest and the Celtic New Year. Most in Lawrence will march around neighborhoods toting an ever-
growing bag of cardy, a certain few will be dancing to the beat of a different drum, hidden away in unknown temples or basements and summoning their dead loved ones to feast with them.
"A lot of religions and people are fearful of that part of the circle (death)," Kingman says. "We're not."
MALE WITCHES?
Yes, they do exist, even here in Lawrence. Wicca is a more goddess-based belief system, the male role is key for finding harmony. "We must maintain that male-female balance," says Alfred Willockh, a male Wiccan in Lawrence. But that balance can't be found in the majority of local covens. Johnson says she's begging for more men to join her coven, Nine Roses, Of the 11 members, only three are male, she says. "This whole stigma that we're a women's religion got started in the 1970s during the feminist movement. There was a rise in Wicca popularity, and since then, it's been seen as sort of a knee-jerking reaction to male supremacy."
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