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Experts I
very quickly discovered that although there is a great deal of interest in
the subject of “occult crime” in certain quarters of the law enforcement
community, there was very little quality information out there for
investigators to work with. The investigation of “occult crime” is a subject
surrounded by mystery and sensationalism, which gives it an enticing
image. Witness the number of
television series like “X Files” that exploit the public’s interest in this area. Some few of those in law enforcement have
diligently pursued their interest and even fewer have produced useful manuals
on investigating occult crime. Many
police officers and pastors with little to recommend themselves other than
the ability to quote Biblical passages bill themselves as “experts” in this
subject area. Most of these “experts”
have never spoken to a real Witch (never mind a Satanist) or witnessed one of
the many open Pagan celebrations.
They’ve never read a grimoire of Ceremonial Magic or a book on
Wicca. Often this is simply because
they are afraid to. Instead, these
“experts” simply rehash newspaper articles and approved literature that other
self appointed experts of the same ilk have produced. It becomes a self-supporting closed loop or
urban legends. Wittingly or
unwittingly, these experts and their manuals are another factor leading
creation of the fear and hysteria that my Wiccan friends and I have
experienced. Such
“experts” point to mysterious symbols scrawled on back street walls and tell
us that this graffiti is proof that youth in the area are involved in
Satanism. The same experts tell us that children are being drawn into
Satanism by fantasy role playing games, Saturday morning cartoons, Rock
music, Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings trilogy and Rowling’s Harry Potter
books. We are told that the number of
press reports is proof that the problem is widespread, despite the paucity of
hard facts. We are told that the
groups supposedly responsible are part of a highly secretive, highly
organized international Satanic religion that is slowly taking over the
world, even though they admit that they’ve yet to find any evidence to
support this belief. Often we are told that the solution to the problem that
these “experts” describe to us is for us all to go to (their) church. I
have collected many manuals on “occult crime” over the years I spent in
police work. Almost all of them are
appallingly inaccurate. The few that
have any factual basis are so short that they are virtually useless. Many are so bad that one could find them
quite humorous if it was not for the havoc that they are responsible for
creating. Ultimately
other investigators take these inadequate manuals and waste a great deal of
their time on unproductive wild goose chases trying to put the “information”
in them to use. As a result, expensive
investigative hours are wasted, innocent people are falsely accused and
investigators are embarrassed. One
of the first “occult crime” manuals that I acquired was Sergeant Edwin
Anderson’s, Law Enforcement Guide to
Occult-Related Crime.
Anderson was a member of the California State University Police in San
Jose, California. To the uninformed,
Anderson’s manual looks very professional.
Yet to the informed it is full of surprises. For example, under the entry "Zodiac,
signs of", Anderson lists 24 symbols, none of which are labeled (see
below). Those of you with an interest in astrology will certainly have already spotted the error. Those with no knowledge of astrology should take a look in the horoscope section of your local newspaper and count the signs of the zodiac listed there. If Anderson had done this, he would have discovered, as you have, that there are only twelve signs of the zodiac, the belt of constellations through which the sun passes as it circles the sky. Unfortunately for Anderson, only two of the symbols that he has listed are actually identifiable as signs of the zodiac: The symbols for the constellations of Libra and Aries. The symbols of the other ten (Taurus, Gemini, Cancer, Leo, Virgo, Scorpio, Sagittarius, Capricorn, Aquarius and Pisces) |
Experts
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e-mail: webmaster@officersofavalon.com |
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To contact us: |
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Many police officers and pastors with
little to recommend themselves other than the ability to quote Biblical
passages bill themselves as “experts” in this subject area. |
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Volume 1 No. 2 Beltaine/May Day/Galan
Mai/Cetshamain/Rudemas/ Walpurgisnacht 2007
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Supposed
signs of the zodiac from Anderson’s manual (left) |
