Never Burn A Witch: A Rowan Gant Investigation Read Online Free PDF Page A

right
now...”
     
    I wasn’t exactly late, but it was close. I didn’t
arrive at the Saint Louis city police headquarters until five
minutes to ten.
     
     
     
     

CHAPTER 2
     
    “R eally. Trust me on
this,” I said in a calm but very firm tone. “Witches DO NOT have
lurid orgies by the light of the full moon for the purpose of
spawning demon children. I don’t care WHAT that newsletter
says.”
    The bulk of the lecture was finished
and by all accounts had gone very well. For the better part of
ninety minutes, I had outlined the philosophy of WitchCraft and the
Wiccan religion. Taking great pains to stress their benevolence, I
recited the Wiccan Rede and
focused on its most important covenant— An
it Harm None, do what ye will . I had covered the
rituals and the symbols of the two, most especially, the Pentacle
and Pentagram. For centuries, negative connotations had been placed
on the five-pointed star hemmed by a circle. It had obviously come
as a shock to the group that the true meaning of the symbol, no
matter how you turned it, was that it represented man and his
relationship to the elements. Nothing evil. Nothing Satanic. Of
further distress to their preconceived notions was the fact that
Witches don’t even believe in Satan. They weren’t entirely sure
what to do when I informed them that Lucifer wasn’t our boy, but
theirs and theirs alone. That fallen angel was simply a deity more
closely associated with Judeo-Christian practices and held no place
in the Wiccan faith. Even so, there was still at least one of them
who remained unconvinced. Because of him, I was now explaining to a
room full of blue-uniformed police officers why a particular
right-wing publication he flaunted like a shield was factually
incorrect.
    “My best guess on this would be that
they are drawing an incorrect conclusion from two basic facts. One,
that Witches and Wiccans often hold their ritual circles on the
full moon... And two, that there are certain groups which hold
their meetings in a manner known as skyclad . And yes, that very simply means that
they are ‘in the buff’ so to speak.”
    “So you are confirming what the article says
then.”
    The cocky challenge issued from the young
buzz-cut-sporting officer who was responsible for bringing the
literature in question. He had made it obvious from the beginning
that he intended to discredit me in some fashion consistent with
his own beliefs. His momentary false impression of victory told me
that he sincerely believed he had just caught me in a lie. Thick,
red anger was seeping through from his comments, and I was certain
that I wasn’t the only one aware of the obvious chip on his
shoulder. In the back of my mind, it frightened me that someone as
prejudiced as he was allowed to wander the streets with a loaded
gun on his hip.
    “No, I am not,” I returned, biting back
my own rising impatience. “ Skyclad means just what I said. They aren’t wearing any clothes.
Being nude does not presuppose sexual activity.”
    “So you’re saying you are completely nude
when you practice this religion?” Another officer interjected her
question. “Doesn’t it get a little cold for that this time of
year?”
    A light-hearted chuckle hopscotched through
the room, rending a hole in the balloon of tension and deflating it
to a much less explosive level. I added my own laugh to that of the
group.
    “Yes, I suppose it is a bit chilly on a
day like this. But I, personally, am not nude when I perform a
ritual or practice my religion. There are some groups who do
worship skyclad , and there are
many others who don’t. I happen to be one of the don’t crowd.” I smiled back at her.
Though we were still on the subject of nudity, her query was of
great relief to me. “Like I told you earlier, there are several
traditions of The Craft and Wicca, as well as many other Pagan
and/or alternative religions.” I made quote symbols in the air with
my fingers to punctuate the word alternative .