"Talisman or Amulet Believed to have magical powers. Usually has a drawing or writing with the name or image of a deity."[148] "Talisman," originally a French word, is derived from the Arabic term "tilsam," which was a magic figure or horoscope. It may also be related to the Greek word "telesma" ("incantation"). It is an object believed to have magical properties, such as a charm or amulet, and many people besides Satanists use them.



"Thaumaturgic Triangle Used for magical purposes in casting of spells and the summoning of demons. Found near ritual sites. Believed to be the door through which the demon will be called."[149] Like the hexagram, the triangle has become an ubiquitous symbol in Satanic conspiracy myth literature. Triangles are a very common symbol in the various spiritual paths of the world. A red triangle is the Tattwic symbol of Tejas or Fire. A metal triangle is one of the instruments played in Vodoun ritual. In the magickal system of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, the triangle is a symbol associated with Saturn. In Occidental Ceremonial Magick a triangle is often traced on the ground outside of the magick circle into which the magician will call the entities conjured in his ritual. An example of this is the Triangle of Solomon in the Lemegeton. This is a triangular symbol drawn upon the ground outside of the magickal circle in the quarter appropriate to the spirit called. Of course the triangle has had many different meanings in many different cultures. For example: Australian aboriginies worshipped the Goddess Kunapipi ("Old Mother") in a triangular dancing area. In some cultures triangular cakes are baked for religious festivals, examples being triangular hamantaschem for Purim. You'd never guess any of this from the minimalist captions and definitions that most fundamentalist authors supply us with.



"Trident Symbol of enforcement among occult groups. there are many variations."[150] In the two decades that I've been doing anti defamation research I've yet to encounter any occult group that used the trident as a "symbol of enforcement". If there are so many variations as Bissell suggests here, why haven't I ever seen even one?



"Unincursive Hexagram: Designed by Aleister Crowley as the symbol of his Order of the Silver Star, Astrum Argentum or AA."[151] There's that hexagram again. Crowley didn't design this symbol: He and others such as Israel Regardie adopted its use as it was easier to draw or trace in one motion. Crowley wasn't a Satanist and the AA wasn't a Satanic organization.



"Veve Designs used in Voudoun to summon the various Loa or spirit deities. Symbol for Baron Samadi [sic], Lord of the graveyard and death."[152] Its Baron Samedi (Samedi is the French word for Saturday), not "Samadi". Baron Samedi is the Guede of graveyards in Vodou and probably the most well known Vodou Guede (q.v.) outside of Vodou. I'm guessing that since this is the only symbol or information on Vodou in the entire site, that this is the extent of their knowledge concerning Vodou. Vodou is an Afro-Caribbean religion which has nothing to do with Satanism.

Another section in this Exposing Satanism and Witchcraft web site is "Occult Involvement".[153] This is basically a check list of things to look for in order to identify "POSSIBLE involvement in the Occult."[154] Watkins indicates that he believes that "the Occult" is one big religious group, as they describe the objective of people involved in what they call the occult as "to hide the true meaning of their religion, which is Satan worship."[155] Watkins' 25 point list includes:

"1 An unusual interest in the bible. (learning of Satan)"[156] This is an interesting twist. Most lists of this sort indicate the opposite. Isn't a fanatic interest in the Bible exactly what these people are promoting here?

"2 Mocking Christianity.

"3 Interest in Occult movies and books.

"4 "Into" heavy metal music---

"5 Speaking in Rhyme and backwards talking.

"6 Reading Poems or other writings with themes of blood, death, murder, satan, suicide or anything evil.

"7 Unusually long finger nails (painted black)

"8 Eating raw meat in front of peers.

"9 Violent rebellion (Jeckyl and Hyde personality)

"10 Occult drawings on books or Tattoos--See Signs and Symbols

"11 Use of drugs.

"12 Dressing in Black or Unusual dress.

"13 An Alter [sic] in basement, yard, trees, room, etc..." I'm pretty sure that they meant to say "altar" here.

"14 Occult objects in room.. candles, knives etc..

"15 Boys wearing evil appearing make-up.

"16 Cruelty to innocent people or animals.

"17 Bizarre haircuts and or hair color.

"18 Withdrawal from family

"19 Interest in days with no special meaning.

"20 Behavior changes. depression, paranoia etc..

"21 Deep fears, nightmares, walking in sleep.

"22 A sudden change of friends.

"23 Obsession with Occult games, Dungeons & Dragons, the Ouija board.

"24 Interest in Horoscopes, Palmistry, Tarot cards, spells, curses etc..

"25 Books such as "The Book of Shadows" , "The Satanic Rituals" and "The Satanic Bible"

Watkins' web site also has a Holidays page, which attacks celebrations other than Halloween. One that Watkins goes after is Christmas, on a page with the caption "Is it Christian or Pagan?"[157] The majority of this page is devoted to proving that Christmas is Pagan in origin, which is true. Watkins also points out that Easter has Pagan origins, which is equally true. The point of the exercise is that Watkins believes that Christmas "should not be in the church or a born again Christians life."[158]This is followed by links describing the Pagan origin of the Yule Log[159] and common Christmas traditions[160]. One of the links, to a page with the title "Christmas and Lady Day" is not functioning.

There are few references in the Exposing Satanism and Witchcraft web site and most of those are to fundamentalist Christian sources that engage in similar activity. Hardly any evidence is presented to support Watkins' claims. Typically, most of the "evidence" offered to the reader on the Exposing Satanism and Witchcraft site is a "Testimonies" page. This includes links to a page by Sean Sellers (who claimed that his robbery of a convenience store, resulting in the death of the clerk, was a Satanic ritual) and the Son of Sam (David Berkowitz, who many have tried to use as an example of a Satanist). The other links take you to the following pages:

1. Candace A. Caldwell: Deliverance from Witchcraft, Satanism and Occultism.[161] Candace's e-mail is listed in the page: notmanydevils@aol.com Caldwell says that she came from a Pentecostal family. She describes her mother as "a paranoid schizophrenic, in and out of mental hospitals".[162] She says that her parents "fought about anything and everything"[163] including "knife fights, broken bones, chairs and TVs thrown through walls."[164] She describes herself as "the victim of incest and child abuse to the point of torture."[165] Caldwell claims that when she was 15 she found an Encyclopedia of Demonology and Witchcraft in the school library (she doesn't identify the author). She claimed that she learnt how to "cast natal horoscopes" and "palmistry". Caldwell claims that "A strong level of psychic ability ran in my mother's family, and I soon discovered I also had the family 'gift'." This is interesting, because she's just told us her mother was a paranoid schizophrenic: I suspect that any "psychic" ability her mother had was more likely to be attributed to her illness. Caldwell claims that she then "became associated with a couple of different witch covens, non-sectarian druidic, and I was entranced with their religion [sic]. They had such a strong comittment [sic] to the earth and nature, and didn't go around hiding the fact that they too had strongly developed psychic powers." She doesn't identify these groups. She claims that she got tired of them because "They didn't believe in satan or demons." She then claims that she "then flirted around with satanism, and found out that they didn't hack it, either." So she "dumped satanism too, and began compiling [her] own magickal systems." While all this was happening Caldwell claims that she was "being forced to go to first a fundamentalist Baptist school and then a fundamentalist college", and that she "met a boy at the christian college, we got married and had three girls, and I graduated to become a high school English teacher. I was a respected wife, mother, and professional, but I was getting further and further involved in the real dark side of demon worship." All of this without anyone being the wiser.

At this point the story turns grandiose, with Caldwell claiming that she had "begun to learn from great occultists like Bennett and Waite, Regardie, Fortune, and Crowley" and that she "started working with thelemic magick, which is the science of demonolatry."[166] She claims that "the point that the mention of God's name would send me into a foaming at the mouth fit, because I hated him so bad."[167] She claims that "I not only evoked the demons, I invoked them. (To evoke is to command to appear in front of you: to invoke is to command to come into you.)"[168] She then discovers that her "husband came from a long line of alcoholics." After nine years of marriage she walks into a healing meeting with Charles and Frances Hunter. They cure her back pain and she starts going to their charismatic church, where she "began a double life of occultism and christianity."[169] She then learns that the Baptist college had not finished their accreditation procedures, meaning that her degree was worthless. She then starts using and selling cocaine, using "hashish, reefer, angel dust, hash oil, and two or three hits of acid at a time. Curiously, I never did any of this in front of my kids." Certainly curious. She gives up on trafficking when "my business partner got popped buying two kilos from undercover DEA agents." She goes back to church regularly, which upsets her husband, as it turns out that he is a cocaine addict too. She claims that she "[came] out as a crusader against [the occult], and was on TV and talk shows and held meetings teaching about the New Age Movement and the dangers of cults and the occult" while secretly still practicing Satanism. Her husband leaves her for another woman. One of her children is involved in a gang and becomes a crack addict. She has conversations with God in which he tells her that her being in the occult hurts Him. The fact that she is hurting Jehovah finally motivates her to become a great person, get a good job, and never practice Satanism again. She says that she now runs a deliverance ministry and that "casting out devils is one of the joys of my life."

2. Lynne "Jesus, Get me out of here! Delivered from Satanism, Witchcraft and Buddhism."[170] Lynne's e-mail is also listed: Lynlaine@aol.com Lynne tells of her father abandoning her family when she was young. Like Caldwell, Lynne alleges that "When he was home I was constantly being physically abused as well as emotionally, mentally and sexually abused." She claims that her family practiced Buddhism. Lynne says that as a teen she developed an interest in the occult, "reading books and buying ingredients to cast spells."[171] At fifteen she decides to "give my life and will to Satan."[172] She claims that she practiced Buddhism in public and "secretly worshipped demons and Lucifer." She continued this after she got into a relationship and had a daughter. Her first relationship implodes and she gets into a second relationship which Lynne describes as "on-again/off-again and abusive". Lynne claims that ultimately she became "suicidal and was hospitalized twice for severe depression." A friend in the Army comes to her and tells her that he is praying for her.

Shortly after this she finds that her father in law is dying of cancer. She prays to God to take him "home to you". He dies in Lynne's home 36 hours later. This motivates her second husband to finalize their divorce. After a period of depression she runs into the Army guy again, who tells her that he is still praying for her. She starts watching televangelists on TV. All this finally convinces her to become a Christian, but Satan speaks personally to her: "That's not real. I put that on to taunt you, to show you what you could of had but instead you gave your life to me. You're in hell and you're mine forever." She screams for the help of Jesus and Satan departs. Another voice tells her "He's a liar! Everything he has ever told you is a lie."

Lynne then tells the reader that "everything in the occult can be found in the Bible. Everything from gem stones to consulting psychics to conjuring the dead to sacrifices. Satan had taken all these things and twisted them into perversity."

3. Kimberly -from Wicca to Christ.[173] Kimberley is from Pennsylvania and her e-mail is coree_79@hotmail.com Kimberley says she came from a happy family, but became rebellious as a teen. At thirteen Kimberley says she started smoking cigarettes and marijuana, drinking, engaging in sex and staying out late. She got pregnant at 16. The biological father rejected her. She got depressed. In an attempt to reverse her situation she says she developed an interest in Wicca. She and her 3 year old daughter cut off relations with the father of the child and apparently everything seemed to be getting better. Kimberley says she prayed to the God and Goddess for someone to love her. An apparently perfect guy comes along. He turns out to be less than perfect, sleeping with her for two weeks and then disappearing. This leads her to "sneaking into bars and taking guys home I didn't even know for meaningless sex." After numerous encounters she meets Jeff, who is a Christian. After a year of Jeff teaching her, Kimberley "accepted Jesus Christ and became a Christian" and is now happy.

4. Katina's Testimony.[174] Katina says that she "grew up in church all my life" and at 17 "accepted Jesus Christ as my personal Lord and Savior." This lasts until she is 20 years old and in college. She meets a guy who lures her away from the church. At 27 years Katina says that she had strayed "so far away from the Lord that I experimented with Witchcraft." By this she means she experimented with Tarot, candle magic and a Ouija board. She says that she has since learned that the person speaking to her through the Ouija board was "Satan himself." She describes the ouija board as becoming an addiction. She starts hearing things. "In the middle of the night I'd awaken by the sound of someone running down the hallway and opening or slamming the front door. I would get up to check it out, but there was nothing to see," Katina explains, "There were times when I would hear someone walking up my bedroom steps and walking across my floor towards me in bed. I would turn around thinking it was my mom, but no one was there. I would lye [sic] in bed and feel the entire bed shake as if it were pushed. Shadows would move across my walls when there was nothing to cast a shadow. A lamp that sat securely on my desk catapulted out at me. These were just the beginnings of more terrifying things that were yet to come." This goes on for a year and a half. Finally she gets an urge to put all of this "occult" stuff aside and throws it all away. That night she has a dream in which Jesus stands next to her and says "I'm so jealous. You have time for your friends, you have time for your work, you have time for everything else, but you don't have any time for me." Jesus then weeps. She rededicated her life to Christ. Satan doesn't approve of this plan, so every time she goes to church she gets a headache. She purchases an unnamed "spiritual warfare" book and discovers her problem: "Sometimes people who have practiced Witchcraft end up getting a 'mind control' spirit attached to them." She prays to Jesus and the headache goes away.

Watkin's Exposing Satanism and Witchcraft web site is simply a collection of tired urban legends and recycled misinformation that has been around for decades. It is yet another attempt to label anything other than their denomination of Christianity as "Satanism and Witchcraft."

[174] http://www.exposingsatanism.org/katinatest.htm

Article Specs Article ID: 8650 VoxAcct: 230739 Section: whs Age Group: Adult Days Up: 3,199 Times Read: 35,618 ABOUT... Kerr Cuhulain Location: Surrey, British Columbia Website: http://www.officersofavalon.com Bio: Kerr Cuhulain the author of this article, is known to the mundane world as Detective Constable Charles Ennis. Ennis, a former child abuse investigator, is the author of several articles on child abuse investigation that appeared in Law & Order Magazine. Better known to the Pagan community by his Wiccan name, Kerr Cuhulain, Ennis was the first Wiccan police officer to go public about his beliefs 28 years ago. Kerr is now the Preceptor General of Officers of Avalon. Kerr went on to write four books: The Law Enforcement Guide to Wicca (Horned Owl Publishing), Wiccan Warrior and Full Contact Magick: A Book of Shadows for the Wiccan Warrior. (Llewellyn Publications), as well as a book based on this series: Witch Hunts: Out of the Broom Closet (Spiral Publishing). Email Kerr: cuhulain@telus.net Related Websites Spiral Publishing: www.spiralpublishinginc.com Llewellyn Publications: www.llewellyn.com Officers of Avalon: www.officersofavalon.com Other Articles: Kerr Cuhulain has posted 182 additional articles- View them? Other Listings: To view ALL of my listings: Click HERE Email Kerr Cuhulain... (Yes! I have opted to receive invites to Pagan events, groups, and commercial sales) To send a private message to Kerr Cuhulain ...