Witch wants to start ‘coven’ on campus
By MIKE LEE
Ol the Emerald
Robert Artison wants to take
witchcraft out of the broom
closet.
Artison is a High Priest of the
Wiccan religion, an ancient sect
of witches that he claims is
enjoying a modern resurgence.
And why not? “It’s only been
legal to be a witch since 1951,”
he says.
Just to set things straight,
‘'witches" can be either male or
female. “A warlock is a traitor of
oaths,” Artison explains.
aartison is in town to promote
the religion and start a “coven”
on campus. And though he
wants more publicity for his
cause, he declines to say how
many witches live in Eugene —
“it's such a high figure that it
sounds sensational" — or list
any prominent witches, or even
tell his age.
So it’s natural to be skeptical
about Wicca’s true following.
But Artison doesn’t mind — he
says Wicca is the natural
religion for skeptics.
“If you know someone who's
witty, intelligent, successful,
well-read and more than a little
skeptical," Artison says, "chan
ces are good they’re a witch."
Which means they can man
ipulate physical environment
telekinetically, he says. For
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example, if a witch is late to
work, he can change stoplights
to green merely by concentrat
ing on the switchbox, Artison
claims.
‘ It's no more difficult than
making a pair of dice come up
seven,” he says.
Because of his notoriety, Arti
son says he served as “Official
Witch” to the Los Angeles
Dodgers. Years back the
Dodgers had a talented pitcher
who was suffering a slump, run
ning into all sorts of bad luck.
When the local sportscaster
asked Artison for help, he com
plied by asking for a piece of the
pitcher’s uniform, a baseball
pitched solely by him, a lock of
hair, and other articles.
On top of that, Artison asked
all the fans to burn a green
candle — signifying regrowth —
before each of the pitcher’s
games.
"The guy set a number of
Photo by Steve Dykes
records for his career that
year," Artison claims. And the
pitcher was a born-again Chris
tian.
Besides this kind of "low
magick," witches practice a
meditative "high magick” dir
ected at making the soul more
holy, Artison says.
The result is a deeper appre
ciation of the earth and nature.
“You won’t find witches killing
off whales," he says. "You
won't find witches killing off
harp seals."
You will find them criticizing
Christianity. Artison says what
he calls the male-oriented holy
FRIDAY
8:30 a.m. Parents attend classes with students.
11 a.m. - 7 p.m. Art Exhibit, 167 EMU.
Noon Lunchtime Entertainment, EMU
Breezeway: “lnner-Urge’’-12:30 - 2 p.m.
3:30 p.m. Parents’ Registration, EMU.
4 p.m. Beer Garden, EMU.
6 p.m. Canoe Fete, Mill Race.
8 p.m. Jazz Ensemble, Beall Hall. Bill Cosby
Concert, McArthur Court.
SATURDAY
8 a.m. - 5 p.m. Footbag Tournament, Howe
Field.
8 a.m. - Noon Late Registration, EMU.
8-9 a.m. Parents’ Association Board Meeting,
EMU.
8 a.m. - 4 p.m. Special Olympics, Hayward
Field.
9 -10 a.m. Parents’ Association General
Meeting, EMU.
9:30 a.m. All-Campus Tour, Open House:
Fraternities/Sororities/Dormitories, EMU.
--)
10:30 -11:15 a.m. EMU, Prof. Sharon Sherman,
“Oregon Folklore.” Prof. Robert Smith, “The
Economic Outlook for the Future.”
11 a.m. - 7 p.m. Residence Hall Carnival for
Parents, 15th and Agate. Art Exhibit, 167 EMU.
11:30 a.m. -12:15 p.m. Prof. Gordon G. Goles,
“A Look at Mt. St. Helens.” Dr. Richard Hill,
“Crisis of Higher Education.”
12:30 p.m. Luncheon, EMU.
5 p.m. Northwest Relays, Hayward Field.
6:30 and 9:30 p.m. Movie: “Apocalypse Now,”
EMU Ballroom.
7 p.m. Parents’ Association Wine and Cheese
Reception, Gerlinger Alumni Lounge.
8 p.m. Jing-Chih Chang, Piano Doctoral
Recital, Beall Hall.
SUNDAY
A.M. Local religious centers have services.
Noon-Dusk First Annual Music Festival, 18th
and Agate. Soccer Field.
4 p.m. Saxophone Recital, Beall Hall.
8 p.m. “Rites (Rights) of Spring,” humorous
musical sketches by UO graduate students,
Beall Hall.
Duck Week/Parents’ Weekend presented by S.U.R.C. and the Parents’ Association.
trinity is sexist, and the choice
of Mary to bear Jesus only came
about because she was a virgin.
But Wicca, he says, recog
nizes both a god and a goddess.
The soul on earth rounds out
the trinity, he says. And he says
the religion as a whole is much
more peaceful than Christianity.
"Jehovah is jealous," he
says, "Jehovah is warlike.
Jehovah feels not the slightest
bit of whim in causing the
deaths of thousands of millions
of people.”
With recruiting, too Artison
says witchcraft has a much
more low-key approach.
"We’re non-proselytizing,"
he says. “We’re not out there at
the airport handing out
pamphlets, and we’re not
knocking on your door giving
you a copy of the ‘Witchtower,’
and we don't jump up and down
on the streetcorner with
drums.”
They plan to set up a table in
the EMU Main Lobby soon,
though, along with the other
religions. Anyone who wants a
head start can call Jack Green
at 683-5055 for information on
witch workshops.
Artison says the workshops,
which purportedly include
lessons in low magick, offer
people a chance to investigate
the religion’s claims to their own
satisfaction.
“You’ve always had a certain
percentage of people who say,
‘I’m tired of bullshit — don’t give
me something that's hased on
faith, give me something that I
can prove,’ ” Artison says.
"Witchcraft is just the right
ticket for those sort of people.”
Joe Austin
to appear
on talk show
Joseph Austin, a University
instructor who teaches the
SEARCH course “War and the
Nuclear Age,” will be a panelist
on a Portland talk show to dis
cuss the proliferation of nuclear
weaponry.
Austin will join several guests
on the Gerry Pratt show, which
will be aired Sunday at 6 p.m. on
KGW channel 8.
Joining Austin will be Massa
chusetts Institute of Technology
political science Prof. Paul
Walker, a member of the Union
of Concerned Scientists.
Walker is the author of several
articles on the politics of nucl
ear arms and has written a book
called “Price of Defense.”
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