From:	MHILLIARD@******.BITNET
Subject:	Re: Vampires and Holy Stuff
Date:	Mon, 30 Nov 92 15:49:00 EST

>>>>>[Holy Symbols are indeed not a reliable defense. There is no inherent
power in, say, a crucifix. In the case of Vlad Tepes, I would guess that his
strong reaction to the crucifix was due to some lingering guilt and/or fear of
the Christian god's wrath. He was an adherent of the Catholic Church before his
"death", and that god is not known for the well-treatment of apostates. The
vampires I know in Seattle never succumbed to any silly superstitions, but a
water-pistol loaded with Blessed water was QUITE effective. The water was
blessed by a Witch, so it doesn't have to be a Christian effect. I will say
that real vampires exhibit a far wider range of temperment and personality than
the media, past or present, gives them credit for.
The water brings up a point not really explored yet, even forty+ years into
the Awakening: religious magick. While the Shamanic traditions of the Native
Americans may count, neither Christanity nor Witchcraft (and doubtless many
other religions) bear any real resemblence to it. And they certainly work
magick. The Catholic exhorcism (sp?) ritual is magickal in nature, even if
they won't admit it, and no one can deny the power of Wiccan magick.
I am not a magician; I would like to hear about this from someone who knows
what they're talking about. Comments?]<<<<<
Raven <I'm back!/Nevermore!>