Thoughts on the EA Koetting arrest (Living God arrested)

On Friday, November 14, 2014, Matthew Joseph Lawrence (the real name of the black magic occultist E. A. Koetting) was arrested by the Washington County Drug Task Force (St. George, Utah) and sent to the Purgatory Correctional Facility. Both his vehicle and residence were searched, and he was charged with five charges of drug possession (cocaine, methamphetamine, marijuana and other drugs), one count of possession of drug paraphernalia, and one count of restricted possessor of a firearm. The arrest came about due to information provided by a confidential informant. Lawrence and his roommate (who was also arrested) were sent to the Purgatory Correctional Facility with bail set at $31,174 each---I understand both made bail and were released. Rumor has it that Lawrence could receive ten to fifteen years in jail, due to Utah's law, and having priors.

News stories are here and here.

My regular readers and friends know that I am not fond of E. A. Koetting. I feel that he is a black hat marketer, and generally not the world's best representative of the black arts. And I made my feelings perfectly clear last year when he headlined an event sponsored by one of the Golden Dawn Orders---I could not reconcile the traditional Golden Dawn oath (which includes a clause about not doing black magic) with the idea that a highly advertised speaker was actually a well-known black magician.

Cartman from South Park reminds me of Koetting.

But I do have a couple of thoughts about this situation that might surprise you.

For instance, I have seen some fuss over the fact that E. A. Koetting is a pen name. Sorry, but a lot of occult writers write under pen names---it is nothing new. And Koetting's real name has been known for awhile. Get over the fact that Koetting is a pen name.

There has also been jokes made that Koetting works a day job---a carpet cleaner---again, get over it. I cannot name a single occultist, who does not have a day job. Even when you are charging big money for workshops and merchandise, occultism does not pay well. And yes, Koetting's day job is not glamorous. Well, none of my day jobs have been glamorous (minimum wage restaurant work, writer of forbidden taboo erotica, house husband). And for some reason, magic---even black magic---is not really useful for acquiring money without a path for the money to come though.

Now I will admit that I am appalled that Koetting got arrested---it makes all occultists look bad to a certain extent. It is probably worse because Koetting talked about avoiding cops and doing illegal things in at least one of his videos. If you are a Living God and know that you could be arrested, one would think that one would take steps not to be arrested.

But the charges---I have mixed feelings about the actual charges. On one hand, getting arrested with a gun when you legally unable to own one, just makes you look suspicious. On the other hand, I am not really on board with the United States extended war on drugs. At the very least, I think that marijuana should not be illegal (the other drugs, I am not so sure about---honestly, I am not up on the research of how much damage they actually cause). I voted in favor of both medical and recreational marijuana---so in my mind, at least one of the drug charges should not even exist.

And are we really surprised that Koetting takes drugs? I think that we could have all made a fair bet on that one.

Besides, the usual offense that occultists seem to arrested for is sexual misdeeds. This incident looks almost positive compared to the normal offense. It could have been worse, much worse.

And before you ask, I am still not an E. A. Koetting fan---but no one should be surprised by that one.

Someone is going to be upset



Fuck you---I am Cat.

[This post was originally written in April 2012, and was not posted because I decided to be nice. It is being posted today because David Griffin and his Order will be demanding an apology from me in the future because of a project that I had in the pipeline for a couple of years that they will claim is ripping off their ideas because they openly stated that they are mixing science with the esoteric mysteries before the first part of my project was ready to be published. So I am just going to state the fact that I will not be apologizing for that project...or any other thing that I might do that upsets them in the future. The stuff in red was written today.]

There are days when you know that someone is going to be upset with you...and your friends...and your lodge...and your Order. This is one of those days. I imagine that they are also going to be upset with my cats.

Why?

Because my lodge looked at my notice of resignation, heard why I had to resign (because Griffin and company thought my opinion of them and their actions in the great book banning of 2012 were the "vilest"), and then proceeded to point out that my oath was not to Griffin's HOGD/AO, but rather to the BIOGD/BIORC and the IIOGD (which had given a previous HOGD/AO version the bird).

[Yes, there were groups calling themselves HOGD/AO before Griffin took out his trademark---shocking, but true. Even more shocking is the fact that my lineage may actually trace to Mathers. There are days I pray that it doesn't.]

Therefore, given that my oath was not to Griffin and his Order, and my duties likewise, the membership of the lodge did not see how the opinion of people outside our Hall had anything to do with whether or not I should remain a member of the lodge and Order. At that point, they set fire to my notice of resignation.

And you know that there is going to be a horde of people upset about this.

[For some reason, the members of Bast Temple do not consider the members of the HOGD/AO to be their brothers and sisters in the Work, I wonder why that feel that way.]

I am not really surprised by this. The people who join Bast Temple who do not like me and my actions tend to rapidly leave and join another Denver Golden Dawn lodge. My fellow and lady lodge members are used to my "in-your-face" opinions. In fact, they pointed out that the "vilest" language I used was actually polite compared to some of the things that I have said over the years.

They also did not think that I owed Griffin and company an apology over my honest opinion. In fact, it turns out that the lodge's opinion of the situation and the players would really upset some people.

The angry horde is going to be appalled that I am the polite, rational member of the lodge.

Furthermore, the members of the lodge want Griffin to know that they do not care about what I say about him and his. They understand that Griffin has appointed himself (or is it the Secret Chiefs and the Third Order?) judge and jury over all things Golden Dawn, but they would like to point out that they voted a long time ago not to join Griffin's Order. (Long story, mostly boring---and sad because they decided that they preferred a different devil in charge---it recently came back up with the revelation of new superior teachings which they voted not to learn.) And they want Griffin to know that his opinion is not welcome in matters concerning the actions of the membership of Bast Temple.

The angry horde, armed with pitchforks and flaming torches, want my head on a platter. And they are going to have to settle for calling me bad names. And that is really going to make them upset.

[Furthermore, I would like to add that my lodge knew about my bringing science into the esoteric mysteries project for the last two years, therefore I am quite sure that they not consider my project to be ripping your Order off.]

[One of the results of this demand for an apology is a new "tradition" where I am not allowed to bring myself on charges based on demands from Griffin's group. The membership of Bast Temple have stated that they will only consider bringing me up on charges on things that they discover on their own; by the way, they do not read Griffin's blog or forum...so demands for my head will be met with indifference by me.]

Sasquatch and the law

I learn something new everyday. Today, I learned that it is illegal to kill a sasquatch (Big Foot) in several parts of the world. In Skamania county (Washington), if you plan a "premeditated, wilful and wanton slaying of such creature," it is a gross misdemeanor and can get you a year in jail and a thousand dollar fine. There is also a Whatcom county law (again Washington state) declaring Whatcom county to a Sasquatch protection zone---I am not sure what the penalty for capping a Big Foot in a protection zone would be...but I am guessing that you will no longer be allowed to eat pizza. It is also illegal to kill a sasquatch in Britsh Columbia (Canada). So if Dean and Sam Winchester ask you to help them kill a murderous Big Foot, just say no.

Jail or Church

Starting next week, if you are a resident of Bay Minette, Alabama, and commit a non-violent misdemeanor, you can choose between serving jail time (along with paying any related fines), or going to church for a year.

Now, being a pagan, the whole idea of the ROC (Restore Our Community) program just gives me the screaming willies. It is right up there with politicans claiming that the United States is a Christian nation (implying that if you are not straight and a Christian, then you are not an American).

But I do understand where the community of Bay Minette is coming from, considering that it costs 75 dollars to keep someone in jail (your local costs may vary).

Nevertheless, as a pagan, the idea of the program brings up some importnat questions.

Here are the questions I have about the program:

What happens to those offenders who are already attending church every week?
Are all non-violent misdemeanors worth 52 church visits, and how was this decided?
Isn't this like making these new church attendees wear a scarlet letter that screams criminal?

I sure hope that Colorado communities do not install a law like this. I would hate to be sentenced to going to church for the crime of jaywalking and overdue library books.

Birds Sage and Handcuffs

A bird-watcher Robin Brown is suing the Broward State Attonrney's Office for being arrested over a sage smudge stick. Actually, the lawsuit states "negligence and malicious prosecution" as well as "public humiliation, mental pain and suffering." Yes, she got arrested for possession of a smudge stick---sage.

Brown was bird-watching one day in March 2009, and used a smudge stick during the course of her outing that day for praying and giving thanks. On the way back to her vehicle, she met a couple of people; one from the Sheriff's department;  the other from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. Explaining that she was bird-watching, she opened up her backpack to show them her binoculars and bird manual. That is when the sheriff's deputy spotted her smudge bowl and sage.

Ok, obviously this woman is not a criminal. If you are a criminal, you never open up your backpack in front of the cops...you don't give them an excuse to arrest you.

A field test gave a positive for marijuana. But she was not arrested that day. The smudge stick was sent to the lab for testing. Ninety days later, Brown was arrested at work, very publicly.

Her lawyer in the course of defending her learned that the smudge stick was never actually tested by the lab. When it was finally tested, the lab concluded that the sage was not marijuana. Charges were dropped. Gee, shouldn't this have been tested before she was arrested?

Honestly, I do not think that Robin Brown will win her case, which is currently in appeal.

But what I would like to point out is that something like this could happen to many of my readers. Most kitchen spices will give a false positive in a marijuana field test. And how many of us have walked around with a smudge stick in our backpack or purse? I am guessing many of us.

It is just another one of those sad events that make the cops look like complete morons when it comes to dealing with alternative religious practices.

You can read the original newsreport that I used as a reference on The Palm Beach Post News website.

Car Thief Transforms into a Goat

Here is a weird news story from Nigera. According to a newspaper in Nigera, two men tried to steal a car; and when the citizens chased them, one of them turned into a goat (the other man got away).

Reading this story, I must admit that I am amazed that anyone can believe this. But then again, we are talking Nigera where witches are still being hunted and killed.

I don't know any magician, witch or lunatic that can do it in the western world. Maybe we don't have strong enourgh magic to do such, or maybe I just have not encountered it.

The historian in me asks what type of drugs and toxins are in their food supply. Or is it just religion that makes them believe this.

Then again, in recent days, we saw a bad president try to turn himself into a good one; not that it worked, in my opinion.

Of course, one has to wonder if we don't have criminals who can do this in the western world. Makes one wonder what type of animals some of our disgraced politicians will turn themselves into.

The AP article that brought this weirdness up is:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090123/ap_on_fe_st/odd_goat_thief