Great rebuttal! Thank you. I hope she sees your work here. I wrote a comment as well. It is No. 1040 or so, so here it is so you don't have to go there to read it:
Must we fall into the trap of presuming all the ancient gods, because they are not the alleged One True God, are demonic? That is what I see happening here. As early as June of 2020, I wrote a five part series of essays about mass demonic infestation because I wanted to get ahead of monotheists who repeatedly attempt to swing the religious pendulum towards Neo-Satanic Panic. I sincerely hope that someone reading this comment will take the time to read these and other essays: https://kimberlysteele.dreamwidth.org/tag/demonic+infestation+of+the+left
The TL;DR is that you cannot defeat demons with curses, hatred, and ignorance. You have to focus on amplifying the true good within yourself and become completely unlike the hypocrite you despise. Only then will you defeat the Enemy.
The curse of fear is that it is a Wendigo. The more it eats, the thinner and hungrier it gets. For the record, I do believe the vaccines are demonic, but it is not the simple matter of a broken covenant:
What is going away right now in violent spasms is the notion that there can be One True God to Rule Them All. The horrors of Stalinism and Maoism were how that urge expressed itself after the death of Christianity in the mid-1800s. The egregore of communism (Christian eschatology with the serial numbers scratched off) dies hard, and this latest round of vaccine/mask/lockdown nonsense was its last gasp. Much of the current malaise is a symptom of monotheism having run its course for the time being. Monotheism tries to prop itself up with the fear of demons and the otherization of any competing divine force as "the Devil".
You could do far worse than to invoke Apollo, Athena, and Hermes if you have a loved one in the clutches of a vaccine-believer. Please stop lumping deities in with demons because of monotheist bias. They are NOT the same.
I know this sounds batshit crazy but Greer, Wolfe, and Cahn sitting around a table with a really good moderator would be jaw dropping.
I regularly read Greer, occasionaly read Wolfe, and actually read Cahn's book. He posits that three "gods" (feel free to insert the word demons, powers, principalities for gods) Moloch, Baal, and Asherah are reawakened in today's world. The book is slanted (obviously) and he goes to far in places. But what is stunning is he wrote it *before* the Balenciaga scandal in which the word "Baal" is on a rolled up measuring tape, and the woman behind the campaign Lotta Volkova posted images on Instagram with the hashtag Moloch. His book, taken with a grain of salt, is thought provoking.
As for who would be mad about GMOs and the targeting of farmers, from the 🇬🇷 pantheon, I’d nominate Demeter…the last time anyone seriously upset her, we got winter.
I am not as learned as you or many of your followers in the study of religion or religious history. What I can see is the reality becoming more and more nonsensical. My intuition tells me this is to force everyone’s hand, to force the choice to either go along with it or reject it and stand your ground. Might not be fun but it definitely won’t be boring.
As a non-pagan, I appreciate your take here - are you familiar with Rhyd Wildermuth? Seems like you would be. Can't remember who explained this to me, but I went through a phase of investigating Garlic polytheism nearly 10 yrs ago, and someone very clearly elucidated that the Gaelic gods were land deities & had nothing to do with feverish religious European imagination of demonic beings. As for Cahn, seems like he's gone pretty far afield from his own ancestral mystical traditions into wild imaginings. (I just heard on another podcast that Naomi's husband is pals with Erik Prince, he of Blackwater mercenary infamy - maybe the war demons getting too close to home?) I'll never forget hearing a professor of Hebrew Studies years ago quote passages from the Torah about how during a time of war, the Israelites were NOT to lay waste their opponents' fields or fruit trees. Sort of a "now fight fair, guys, not against their land, just against their warriors" doctrine.
Oh dear, I can't tell you exactly what they were beyond their being in the earlier part of the Torah. I heard this professor speak at Purdue University in the early 1990's - he was a younger male professor, don't even remember the name - but I was struck by it at the time. I was working in an agricultural regulatory office on campus, and few there were concerned about the land or fruit trees. I guess I would consult someone like Rabbi Gershon Winkler, an unusual Rabbi who at least used to be earth-protective, and ask if he would agree there were such scriptures. He might even know the source. Sorry. I wasn't in the habit in those days of writing down sources for future reference.
I did a quickie search and found that Deuteronomy 20:19-20 is cited as the scripture where Moses tells the Israelites not to cut down the enemy's fruit trees, but not because of concern for the tree or the enemy (sorry, Professor, you kind of misrepresented it) but so that the Israelite warriors would have something to eat. The Egyptians apparently destroyed everything alive, & Moses said don't do that. I won't go on to note how different modern warfare strategy is ...
I'm very glad Notes led me here. I remember being quite hopeful when I saw the title of Naomi Wolf's piece but very disappointed by where it went..
As a recent immigrant from Wordpress, it's a real pleasure to come across articles like this. (And your title is one I couldn't resist because, while I don't have any theories about *where* the gods have gone, I have definite ideas about *why* they went: https://malcolmramsay.substack.com/p/divine-madness).
Why does Wolf quote Cahn, ignoring so many other rabbis and rebbes, all the Jewish theologians (eg Martin Buber)? Why pick Cahn??? What about Jewish neo-paganism https://forward.com/news/1743/jewish-paganism-oxymoron-or-innovation/? What non-Jewish paganism has in common with Judaism and Christianity is the emphasis on right relationships - justice with compassion - between humans and everything else - all 'beings' - earth water, roses, lions, powers of nature itself seen as gods, angels, sefirot....This aspect of relationship is seen as central by Jews like Buber and Levinas, and Christians like Niehbur, Tillich and others. Ya-At-eeh, Luke
As far as I can see, it is true that Cahn (and Wolf) were wrong where the Greek gods are concerned. But does that make any difference to the core of their story? It seems to me correctly established that since 2020 we are dealing with a death cult and a lie cult and that these are partly enabled by extrasensory evil powers. In anthroposophy, those powers are called Ahriman and Lucifer, among others. Whether you give them these names or other names is again not the most essential thing. What is essential is acknowledging that they exist. Then, see Wolf, we can also stop denying the existence of good supersensory powers and can fight by their side, including through spiritual activities such as prayer and meditation.
A good colleague of mine follows Earth religions, and insists that male and female principles must be in balance, and they exist in all beings. But I tend to agree with you we are dealing today with more than an imbalance between male and female principles, but something like you indicate - forces of chaos out of control, perhaps partly because of an imbalance between male and female, but not solely so. Blake's convoluted mythic poems deal with something similar to Jung's archetypes, and he describes how each archetype/principle can become 'evil' if not counterbalanced correctly with all the others
‘All of this, Guenon believes, is part of a deliberate “counter-initiation” or an “anti-tradition” that was devised by beings from the lower worlds, allied with humans. This plan has unfolded over many centuries, if not millennia.’
Great rebuttal! Thank you. I hope she sees your work here. I wrote a comment as well. It is No. 1040 or so, so here it is so you don't have to go there to read it:
Must we fall into the trap of presuming all the ancient gods, because they are not the alleged One True God, are demonic? That is what I see happening here. As early as June of 2020, I wrote a five part series of essays about mass demonic infestation because I wanted to get ahead of monotheists who repeatedly attempt to swing the religious pendulum towards Neo-Satanic Panic. I sincerely hope that someone reading this comment will take the time to read these and other essays: https://kimberlysteele.dreamwidth.org/tag/demonic+infestation+of+the+left
The TL;DR is that you cannot defeat demons with curses, hatred, and ignorance. You have to focus on amplifying the true good within yourself and become completely unlike the hypocrite you despise. Only then will you defeat the Enemy.
The curse of fear is that it is a Wendigo. The more it eats, the thinner and hungrier it gets. For the record, I do believe the vaccines are demonic, but it is not the simple matter of a broken covenant:
https://kimberlysteele.dreamwidth.org/tag/demons
What is going away right now in violent spasms is the notion that there can be One True God to Rule Them All. The horrors of Stalinism and Maoism were how that urge expressed itself after the death of Christianity in the mid-1800s. The egregore of communism (Christian eschatology with the serial numbers scratched off) dies hard, and this latest round of vaccine/mask/lockdown nonsense was its last gasp. Much of the current malaise is a symptom of monotheism having run its course for the time being. Monotheism tries to prop itself up with the fear of demons and the otherization of any competing divine force as "the Devil".
You could do far worse than to invoke Apollo, Athena, and Hermes if you have a loved one in the clutches of a vaccine-believer. Please stop lumping deities in with demons because of monotheist bias. They are NOT the same.
Kimberley was also a recent guest on this recent episode of the Dodcast: https://flintandsteel.substack.com/p/dodcast-38-kimberley-steele#details
I know this sounds batshit crazy but Greer, Wolfe, and Cahn sitting around a table with a really good moderator would be jaw dropping.
I regularly read Greer, occasionaly read Wolfe, and actually read Cahn's book. He posits that three "gods" (feel free to insert the word demons, powers, principalities for gods) Moloch, Baal, and Asherah are reawakened in today's world. The book is slanted (obviously) and he goes to far in places. But what is stunning is he wrote it *before* the Balenciaga scandal in which the word "Baal" is on a rolled up measuring tape, and the woman behind the campaign Lotta Volkova posted images on Instagram with the hashtag Moloch. His book, taken with a grain of salt, is thought provoking.
Now *that* would be an interesting panel.
As for who would be mad about GMOs and the targeting of farmers, from the 🇬🇷 pantheon, I’d nominate Demeter…the last time anyone seriously upset her, we got winter.
I am not as learned as you or many of your followers in the study of religion or religious history. What I can see is the reality becoming more and more nonsensical. My intuition tells me this is to force everyone’s hand, to force the choice to either go along with it or reject it and stand your ground. Might not be fun but it definitely won’t be boring.
Interesting takedown! I once met Wolf, back in her 90s feminist phase. Her intellectual turns have been... at times puzzling.
As a non-pagan, I appreciate your take here - are you familiar with Rhyd Wildermuth? Seems like you would be. Can't remember who explained this to me, but I went through a phase of investigating Garlic polytheism nearly 10 yrs ago, and someone very clearly elucidated that the Gaelic gods were land deities & had nothing to do with feverish religious European imagination of demonic beings. As for Cahn, seems like he's gone pretty far afield from his own ancestral mystical traditions into wild imaginings. (I just heard on another podcast that Naomi's husband is pals with Erik Prince, he of Blackwater mercenary infamy - maybe the war demons getting too close to home?) I'll never forget hearing a professor of Hebrew Studies years ago quote passages from the Torah about how during a time of war, the Israelites were NOT to lay waste their opponents' fields or fruit trees. Sort of a "now fight fair, guys, not against their land, just against their warriors" doctrine.
Would like to read those passages - thank you
Oh dear, I can't tell you exactly what they were beyond their being in the earlier part of the Torah. I heard this professor speak at Purdue University in the early 1990's - he was a younger male professor, don't even remember the name - but I was struck by it at the time. I was working in an agricultural regulatory office on campus, and few there were concerned about the land or fruit trees. I guess I would consult someone like Rabbi Gershon Winkler, an unusual Rabbi who at least used to be earth-protective, and ask if he would agree there were such scriptures. He might even know the source. Sorry. I wasn't in the habit in those days of writing down sources for future reference.
I did a quickie search and found that Deuteronomy 20:19-20 is cited as the scripture where Moses tells the Israelites not to cut down the enemy's fruit trees, but not because of concern for the tree or the enemy (sorry, Professor, you kind of misrepresented it) but so that the Israelite warriors would have something to eat. The Egyptians apparently destroyed everything alive, & Moses said don't do that. I won't go on to note how different modern warfare strategy is ...
Thanks!!
Great answer, wolf is brilliant at times but fanatic.
Glad you took the time to write a rebuttal. 👍🏼
I'm very glad Notes led me here. I remember being quite hopeful when I saw the title of Naomi Wolf's piece but very disappointed by where it went..
As a recent immigrant from Wordpress, it's a real pleasure to come across articles like this. (And your title is one I couldn't resist because, while I don't have any theories about *where* the gods have gone, I have definite ideas about *why* they went: https://malcolmramsay.substack.com/p/divine-madness).
Thanks for the thoughtful comment and piece, Malcolm.
Very thought provoking article. Thank you.
Well analysed and written. Wolf is a bit fanatic at times.
Why does Wolf quote Cahn, ignoring so many other rabbis and rebbes, all the Jewish theologians (eg Martin Buber)? Why pick Cahn??? What about Jewish neo-paganism https://forward.com/news/1743/jewish-paganism-oxymoron-or-innovation/? What non-Jewish paganism has in common with Judaism and Christianity is the emphasis on right relationships - justice with compassion - between humans and everything else - all 'beings' - earth water, roses, lions, powers of nature itself seen as gods, angels, sefirot....This aspect of relationship is seen as central by Jews like Buber and Levinas, and Christians like Niehbur, Tillich and others. Ya-At-eeh, Luke
Jonathan Cahn's book on Shemitah is worth a read for a different perspective on the financial side of things. Hope you're well Thomas
As far as I can see, it is true that Cahn (and Wolf) were wrong where the Greek gods are concerned. But does that make any difference to the core of their story? It seems to me correctly established that since 2020 we are dealing with a death cult and a lie cult and that these are partly enabled by extrasensory evil powers. In anthroposophy, those powers are called Ahriman and Lucifer, among others. Whether you give them these names or other names is again not the most essential thing. What is essential is acknowledging that they exist. Then, see Wolf, we can also stop denying the existence of good supersensory powers and can fight by their side, including through spiritual activities such as prayer and meditation.
Gods are what got us into this mess, especially that one in particular. It's going to take a Goddess to get of out of this downward spiral.
If you're looking for confirmation of your ideologically-driven spirituality, then you've come to the wrong blog. Sorry.
I just expressed an opinion on a public post. I don't need your confirmation, thanks, but I did expect civility. Won't happen again.
A good colleague of mine follows Earth religions, and insists that male and female principles must be in balance, and they exist in all beings. But I tend to agree with you we are dealing today with more than an imbalance between male and female principles, but something like you indicate - forces of chaos out of control, perhaps partly because of an imbalance between male and female, but not solely so. Blake's convoluted mythic poems deal with something similar to Jung's archetypes, and he describes how each archetype/principle can become 'evil' if not counterbalanced correctly with all the others
‘All of this, Guenon believes, is part of a deliberate “counter-initiation” or an “anti-tradition” that was devised by beings from the lower worlds, allied with humans. This plan has unfolded over many centuries, if not millennia.’
https://open.substack.com/pub/danielpinchbeck/p/kali-can-you-hear-me?r=2di9ru&utm_medium=ios&utm_campaign=post
Rudolf Steiner goes into detail describing these demonic beings. Anthroposophy.eu