Camp for Nude Witches Fights Closing

Reuters ^ | 11-28-2001

[Cagey]

LEAVENWORTH, Kan. (Reuters) - A Kansas retreat that caters to witches and pagan rituals is fighting for survival amid community talk that naked witches may be weaving magical spells in the moonlight.

The owners of the Gaea Retreat Center, a 168-acre camp west of Kansas City that is home to such annual events as the Gaea Goddess Gathering and a "Heartland Pagan Spiritual event" filed suit on Monday in Leavenworth County District Court after county commissioners effectively put the retreat out of business by denying it a renewal of its land use permit.

"They say they're afraid of us, what we do here, the sound of drums. ... They don't know how lucky they are to have us as their neighbors," caretaker Wanda Roths said. "We're very quiet, very peaceful. There has never been any trouble out here."

The Leavenworth County commissioners denied the renewal for the permit, issued six years ago, in late October after a community petition raised accusations that the retreat fostered public nudity, pedophilia, and illegal drug and alcohol use. Neighbors also expressed concern about devil worship.

The suit claims the commissioners' denial is illegal and unconstitutional, as well as violating laws protecting freedom of religious expression and practice.

Lawyers for the county declined to comment.

The retreat denies any illegal activity, and county officials say there is no evidence of any.

Roths said there are "clothing optional" locations on the retreat grounds, and witches, Wiccans and other pagans do sometimes hold nighttime meetings around bonfires. But the retreat at times also attracts more traditional religious followers, she said.

Gaea, which means "Mother Earth," offers sanctuary to a variety of alternative religions and lifestyles, according to Roths. "We accept anybody," she said.

Before its current incarnation, the sprawling site was a church camp.

[discostu]

It's the Vatican, they have an official position about just about anything. Pretty much they lump it in with every other Christian movement that isn't Catholic. They've always frowned upon the (tough word choice here) external signs of the charismatic movement. Tongues, quaking, stigmata (well, they can kind of handle stigmata, if there's no wounds left behind) they don't really like any of that stuff. At one point in the history of The Church they actually considered that stuff demonic posession, now they mellowed and just consider it gauche. But you have to remember that according to Catholic doctrine God almost never talks to anybody but the Pope (and not him very often, they're real fuzzy on that) so the idea of normal people being imbued with the Holy Spirit is pretty much in direct contradiction to how they see the universe working. That's one of the things that's really made it hard for Catholicism in recent decades, they're so stodgy and stuffy, it's not a fun church. Personally I don't think church is supposed to be fun, eternal bliss in heaven is the reward there clearly needs to be a price here on earth and church being no fun seems like a pretty small loss leader, but these are softer times and people just aren't into that stiff exterior The Church projects.

[MitchellC]

Camp Hairy Potter

Camp Horny Potheads

[Cyber Liberty]

I was pretty extreme at times myself, GG, so I don't feel that I've been treated unfairly...

[VietVet]

"Amorality is part of Witchcraft."

Let's not over generalize here. I happen to have known a number of neo-pagans, including some wiccans (no Satanists, though), and they have their rules of morality. The principle one is 'reciprocity', which generally means that 'what you do unto others will be done unto you.' This leads to the admonition to follow the Golden Rule in initiating any actions which effect others, but allows them to return good for good and evil for evil.

There is among the general catagory, a sub-group which tends towards sexual licience: fetility cultists, kundalini-energy exchangers, that sort of thing. I cynically concluded that a fair percentage of these had no particular interest in neo-paganism as a belief system, but were mainly interested in the 'sex, drugs and rock-and-roll.'

As with anything involving human beings, there is a very broad range of beliefs, social attitudes, and practices. Some of them were very socially conservative, others more like the libertarians on this board, and some very rebellious and anti-social. I gather from their writings that the Satanists and the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn (Crowleyites) were/are considered outrageous and negative even by their standards. (L. Ron Hubbard, the founder of Scientology, was said to have been a Crowleyite back in the 40's).

[Zorobabel]

"I heard about the banning frenzy, but wasn't aware that folks such as yourself had been affected to such a degree. It used to be that only the most streme of the extreme got booted around here. I guess for a while there was something of a crackdown... "

It was probably a female moderator having her monthly PMS. You know how they get. Even when they're not PMSing and you give them a little authority it goes to some women's head. LOL

[He Rides A White Horse]

ping

[He Rides A White Horse]

I think the only ignorance on display here is yours.

[He Rides A White Horse]

Ignorant as to how much fun sex could actually be when you dont allow artificial religion-based embarassment and guilt to prevent you from enjoying what is possibly Gods greatest gift to man.

You don't even know what a gift............."embarrassment"........."guilt"..................I listen to you liberals all the time here, and it's always the same. Some strawman nonsense, some repetition of what some liberal told you some time ago. Which of course is always the wrong information. Which of course you would never bother to check up on for yourself. It's so much easier that way, isn't it?

[Michael_S]

Naked women most always cast a spell on me. They do not even have to be witches.

[He Rides A White Horse]

I'll point it out all right..........you are a rambling idiot spouting nothing but the same old tired (and incorrect of course) information.

[Outlaw76]

A witch with the name biblewonk? How odd. You are a witch aren't you? You seam to know exactly how they feel about things. Surely you wouldn't be talking out of your behind. Would you?

It would take a great fool to speak of things he knows nothing about and pretend he is an expert. Either that or James Carville. You don't strike me as being James Carville.

[biblewonk]

Gee, that's certainly a recipe for peaceful coexistence, isn't it?

Welcome to planet Earth. I suppose you think that you don't have a religion. That is the biggest lie of all.

[eastsider]

It makes it clear that any form of birth control, even natural family planning, AKA Vatican Roulette, seems to be unwelcome in his home.

Logically, of course, it isn't clear at all -- you simply can't rule out the possibility that biblewonk might have actually wanted those children. Shocking, isn't it?

[He Rides A White Horse]

You see, ignorance takes many forms, but i have yet to meet anyone MORE ignorant about life in general than a religious fundamentalist of ANY religion.

Try a secular humanist regurgitating things that were, well.........passed down to him from, well....his secular humanist masters

Free thinking idiot.

[biblewonk]

Just because you believe it doesnt make it real. Consider also just how much it would really suck for you if upon your death you discovered God really thought your views were a pile of steaming bovine excrement. Being arrogant about your faith being the one true faith with no room for others to believe as you see fit is an unhealthy and narrow minded view which could backfire on you something fierce.

A blind man is trying to describe a room to me that I can clearly see. How sad for you. Maybe one day the Lord will show you His mercy and open your eyes.

[JenOPCer]

You mean the "wisest man in the world", King Solomon who had hundreds of wives would be arrested in America today?

Well he ticked God off enough to be cursed by Him over it. Maybe Solomon would have preferred a little jail time than having his descendants lose the kingship over all of Israel except Judah.

[VietVet]

"If gay people want to get together at bathhouses and have sex, why would you want to stop them?"

There are public health issues, at the very least, but I think this is straying from the topic of the thread.