Pentagram

How did a Diverse Group of Followers Lead to the Modern Practice of Wicca? What is Wicca? Wicca is a religious movement that stems from both Christian beliefs and practices to Christian fear of witchcraft practices. This had mostly derived on several islands of Great Britain and Ireland, but later evolved in American events, such as the Salem Witch Trials in the seventeenth century. Though many religions fear forms of witchcraft and sorcery, often Christians (Who’s Afraid of…

Another famous preschool abuse case is Fort Bragg Preschool, in Fort Bragg, California. Similar accusations were made in this case as with the McMartin case, but on top of all of the McMartin accusations, teachers and staff members were also accused of more. There were accusations of having children being buried in coffins or boxes and lowered onto the ground with a tube or hose for them to breath. Being tortured with water, similar to waterboarding or being sprayed with power hoses was another…

Jill M. Hebert considers the duality of Morgan Le Fay in her book Morgan Le Fay, Shapeshifter. Hebert explains that the contradicting characterizations of Morgan stem from authorial manipulation; in each story that mentions Morgan, the author has slightly changed her character traits and personality to fit the author's vision of who she should be. Morgan is a complex legend and that is exactly why Hebert claims that to limit her as either a witch or a goddess would be undermining who she is. Her…

A renowned symbol all over the world notorious for the representation of anti-semitic sentiment and mass-genocide during WWII, the swastika. The mere mention of this hate symbol seems to be taboo in many schools in California, simply due to how educational system intentionally defines it. However, if schools were not to assume the malicious connotation of this symbol, what would it symbolize? UCSC, like many other colleges seem to forget the true meaning behind this once genial symbol, or are…

For most of us, religion is a way to be able to tell right from wrong, and a guidance to how to be a good person. While it is open to interpretation, some people take religious matters into their own hands, and form crazy ideologies which are quite scary to think of. Welcome to the Top 5: Creepiest Religious Cults. Number 1: The small town of Fall River, Massachusetts may seem like any ordinary town, but it's got a very dark, and disturbing history. It all started with the brutal murder of 17…

Jack the Ripper: the Monster of White Chapel, by playwright Joe Dickinson. This play was honestly like nothing I’ve ever seen before. There were so many great elements to the show, the humor, audience interaction, props and just full of character to name a few. I had the pleasure of viewing this piece with several apparent regulars to the Pocket Sandwich Theatre off of East Mockingbird, Dallas Tx, on 10/15/15. Overall, this show was fantastic. It had the element of audience interaction that…

The fear that swept Salem, Massachusetts in 1692 was like a plague. Thousands of men, women, and children were put on trial for supposed witchcraft. Many innocent people were actually killed during these events. Everyone was on their toes about the mass of events happening in Salem. The Salem Witch Trials were unfair, odd, and caused way too much confusion. The trials were very odd considering the history behind it. Witchcraft began making its appearance around 560 B.C., although it wasn’t such…

When looking at the history of graphic design its clear how impactful design has been. There has been plenty of inspiring designers who have continued to embark creativity. There have been designers such as Stefan Sagmeister, who developed “Lou Reed” poster design, Michael Bierut, “The Architectural League of New York Light Years” poster design, there is also Massimo Vignelli who created “New York City Transit Authority” subway map. From these innovative designers the main connection they share…

You see the numbers 666 and fear the devil, you notice a pentagram and imagine witchcraft, and with no doubt you associate the triangle formed by your hands with The Illuminati— an elite organization of leaders around the world. The Illuminati’s mysterious persona and ominous presence has turned into an enticing, yet fearful conspiracy theory around the world. I am going to discuss one of the most popular conspiracy theories of the 21st century regarding The Illuminati, or The New World Order,…

Origins of The Plague Death metal is a sub-genre of heavy metal that started in the early to mid 80s. Most of death metal 's influence came from another sub-genre of heavy metal, thrash metal, a derivative of punk. A typical death metal band consisted of two heavily distorted and low-tuned electric guitars, one bass guitar, one double-bass drum-kit, and one deep growling vocalist. Lyrical themes can range from extreme violence, war, murder, anti-religion, Satanism, mysticism, folklore, science…