The Establishment's Blog (116)

Black Witch: "Okay, Mr. Illuminati: Redux"

If you’ve been a long time reader of this blog, you most likely saw my first (and only?) mention of secret societies on BW: “Okay, Mr. Illuminati” (Afro-Punk's Version). I still think that is among one of my favorite posts. This is a revisit…

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Added by The Establishment on May 25, 2012 at 6:30am — No Comments

Black Yale Students Take A Field Trip To... Cuba, Get A Taste Of "Revolution"

Director Robin J. Hayes is sharing his 'Black and Cuba' project with the Afro-punk community. Hayes says: "It shows how communities of color work together to overcome obstacles and create change." "At Yale ten years ago, I started the journey of making 'Black and Cuba' with a vibrant, brilliant group of friends. Feeling like misfits at this elite institution, we banded together and adventured to Cuba to see how revolution lives. During our journey, we discovered how love will…

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Added by The Establishment on May 23, 2012 at 8:00am — 1 Comment

Opinion: Race & Class - Is There Liberation In Trying to Be Like Those Who Oppress You?

"The master's tools will never dismantle the master's house." - Audre Lorde- Sister Outsider

I got into a discussion about race and class and a question was posed- in this society, are we enslaved mentally according to race and/or class? I took this to mean- does race and class dictate our "social mobility". Does it confine us in the social (and private!) spheres? Do we buy into these arbitrary confines and are we therefore mentally enslaved by them?

Hmph. Race.…

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Added by The Establishment on April 27, 2012 at 1:30pm — 9 Comments

Black Witch: "Bedknobs and Broomsticks" (Paganism & Sex)

Paganism in general is pretty sex-positive. In that sex is seen as part of nature and that it’s natural to have sexual drive and desire. We have at least two holidays for it on the Wheel of the Year, Beltane and Ostara (Spring Equinox). We’re pretty open to contraception, the first use of contraception was used in Mesopotamia and early Egypt – Egyptians invented the first condom, actually. Sexuality is seen as natural so if you’re heterosexual, homosexual, bisexual,…

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Added by The Establishment on April 11, 2012 at 7:50am — 2 Comments

Ask Black Witch: Furry Dreams?! (Another Off Day...)

Hey! Black Witch: Life from the Black Pagan Perspective, vol. 1is out now! It's for sale in both hardbound book (which I made by hand thanks to doing bookbinding as a teen) and e-book form in the Black Witch Etsy shop! More details below! Onward with the column! Not really any questions to answer, it’s been a slow month for Black Witch. But that’s kinda a good thing as the book version of this…

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Added by The Establishment on March 9, 2012 at 5:37am — No Comments

Black Witch: "A Different View" (Black Atheists)

Did any of you read the feature in the New York Times or even on The Root where they interview…

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Added by The Establishment on February 10, 2012 at 1:26pm — 8 Comments

Black Witch: "The Invisibility Cloak: Race and the Pagan"

Awwww yeeeaaahh. A topic I’ve been meaning to get at for a long ol’ time. I was just reading a book I had recently gotten, The Magical Household: Spells & Rituals for the Home, penned by Scott Cunningham and David Harrington. I kinda wanna take it back to the store. I bought it because I just recently moved into a new apartment and I was so stoked about it that I pretty much bought practically any crap that was witchy and pertained to it. I would have purified my…

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Added by The Establishment on January 13, 2012 at 12:00pm — 4 Comments

Movie: The Upcoming Release of 'Red Tails' Raises Questions About Black Representation In The Media, And War

The upcoming release of the feature film 'Red Tails' raises question about how Hollywood treats Black History, what gets made and what doesn't: "A crew of African American pilots in the Tuskegee training program, having faced segregation while kept mostly on the ground during World War II, are called into duty under the guidance of Col. A.J. Bullard." Executive producer George Lucas said that he had trouble getting funding for the movie, due to the fact that most of the main…

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Added by The Establishment on January 11, 2012 at 9:30am — 17 Comments

Black Witch: "Coming Out of the Broom Closet and Choosing Your Supporters"

Coming out of the broom closet – revealing that you are a Pagan or a Witch – is not an easy thing to do. I am all for doing it, but please keep in mind, it's just as risky as coming out of the closet, if not more because there are still stronger stigmas out there that don't get addressed. Plus Hollywood needs something to run to when they're fresh out of ideas and apparently Witches and psychics do the trick. A lot of thought should go in revealing your religion to whom, how and…

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Added by The Establishment on December 2, 2011 at 12:24pm — 8 Comments

Black Witch: "How Romantic"

I talk about a lot of things here on Black Witch, and believe you and me I have more up my sleeve, but ever notice I’m not very flowery in my talking? As in, I don’t talk about the positive energies that are in rivers and how I would love to wash my clothes in said river because it connects me to mother earth and how I wish I could fetch wood from a forest to heat my simple home out in the empty but lush wilderness?

No doubt these are beautiful notions that harken back to a…

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Added by The Establishment on November 9, 2011 at 1:18pm — No Comments

Occupy The Hood: Reflecting All of the 99% - Getting People Of Color Involved

Occupy Wall St. has gotten quite a bit of steam since the last Afro-punk coverage of the ever-expanding protests but I know some of you have remarked that it has one flaw that I’ve noticed too: It looks rather White. The very people out there who should be saying something, the Blacks, Latinos, Asians, Native Americans, etc., etc., are sparse. This is why… Continue

Added by The Establishment on October 20, 2011 at 4:47pm — 18 Comments

Black Witch: "Stop Asking Me!"

As a diviner, I love getting a plethora of questions – but not always. Sometimes I'd rather be much left alone instead of sought out for advice or getting a constant question and/or from a constant person which makes me wanna pack up and go home.

The question that I get waaaaaaaaaay too constantly as a diviner? Love or death but love has got to take the cake along with the pastry shop it sits in and the bakery it came from. Too many love questions, far too… Continue

Added by The Establishment on October 6, 2011 at 6:00pm — 2 Comments

Color Me Goth: Acceptance

Being part of a subculture, I know all too well that there are people out there that will not accept you based on who you associate with or how you talk or how you look; way before they get to know you. Being a goth of color just adds to how people perceive you. Most, if not all, Goths can tell you a story of a rude encounter with someone outside of the sub culture who hassled them for being goth. Some younger goths can tell you of their struggle to prove themselves as non poseurs… Continue

Added by The Establishment on September 12, 2011 at 7:00pm — 12 Comments

Black Witch: "I Dun Wanna Die!"

What’s a fairly common question I get when doing divination? Death. “Am I gonna die?”, “When am I gonna die?”, “Can you see when my death is?” Seriously wanna make you speed up the process while doing Darwinism a favor. First and foremost: Yes, you’re going to die. Everyone is. It’s a terrible fact of life that is not easy to come to grips with but everyone you know and love, including yourself, is going to kick the bucket hardcore one day. It’s not a fun fact but a true fact.… Continue

Added by The Establishment on September 7, 2011 at 1:00pm — 4 Comments

DO It YOURSELF: Internet Radio Program "Live From Main Street", by ‘Digital Dramatist’ James Gibbs

Playwright/filmmaker James Gibbs is a Bronx native who has the demeanor of someone who's hung around boxing rings, eternally perplexed by our pop culture, and the solemnity of a hole-in-the wall bar. And he has the scowl to prove it. A prolific dramatist, Gibbs has primarily written for the stage, but over the past couple of years has grown frustrated with the limitations of what the theater can offer him. His Internet radio program,… Continue

Added by The Establishment on August 31, 2011 at 5:00pm — 1 Comment

Celebrate Originality, Give The Bird To Bullying

Gravity defying hair, a quirky taste in clothing, and not-so-conventional interests are unique characteristics to be celebrated. It’s not every day you come across someone that stands above the crowd like an ink spot on crisp, white paper. Those very things that make me special however brought me grief. Rather than commemoration I became a victim of what millions of Americans suffer through daily – bullying.

Words by…

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Added by The Establishment on August 29, 2011 at 6:30pm — 7 Comments

Black Witch: "I Am Such An Enigma"

Lord, I saw this on my twitter feed a few weeks back, someone had a dream about Janelle Monae and they thought it was yet another one of their “layered, complex, and seemingly random” dreams (I seriously quoted that, copy and paste, no edit). Monae was a Marvel comic-styled superhero. Not something mega far-fetched, mate. Y’see, I don’t mean to single this one person out but he resembles a people that I all too commonly come across as a dream interpreter, the… Continue

Added by The Establishment on August 8, 2011 at 2:00pm — No Comments

Black Witch: "Get Off the Bus"

Bus preachers. I don’t know if they exist anywhere else but they’re a staple in the Black community. They’re Christians who either are pastors doing unnecessary overtime, or wannabe pastors preaching to what is not entirely their flock. They believe everyone should hear the word of God – regardless of whether everyone wants or needs to or not.

Words by Black… Continue

Added by The Establishment on July 25, 2011 at 11:30am — 10 Comments

Black Witch: "Faker Faker - How to Spot a Con"

This mini guide is basically for those who want to seek out a psychic parlor to get a reading and not want to be jipped. I made these tips when I was the president of my university’s Pagan Student Union. Now while I do personally suggest people simply learning divination on their own since it’s a lot cheaper and not that difficult, some folks would like to still go to a diviner for guidance. Here are the tips.

Words by… Continue

Added by The Establishment on July 8, 2011 at 4:00pm — 4 Comments

GOTH. The Aesthetic and The Subculture: Getting Past the Stupid Shit.

A while back I went through an ugly experience as a result of joining a goth chat line. To begin with, I was new to a conscious identification with the subculture and new to chat lines too, so I had some hurdles to jump. I didn't expect I'd have to jump them in a mine field though. The worst of it: Three attacks were made on my computer (files stolen, virus planted, I lost a lot of stuff). This whole experience was my first encounter with goth as a subculture. I didn't expect the… Continue

Added by The Establishment on June 29, 2011 at 2:36pm — 24 Comments