Black Gate

The Roman Catholic Church has always been a bit cagey on their stance regarding possession. They haven’t exactly confirmed they believe it exists in the modern day, nor have they denied it exactly. After a bit of online research, I discovered that even “official” Catholic websites seem to indicate that yes, demon possession ran rampant in ancient times, but today is extremely rare and most often the symptoms of mental illness.

Rumors of there being an official “head exorcist” at the Vatican have for years been the stuff of urban legend and movie plots, which is why this most current information is a bit astounding. Apparently, the Roman Catholic Church has been hosting an annual exorcism class in Rome for the past fourteen years and this year, due to the rising tide of demonic forces worldwide, opened up the class up to all major Christian faiths.

“The idea is to help each other, to establish best practices if you will,” Father Pedro Barrajon, 61, one of the organizers of the 14th edition of the “Course on Exorcism and Prayer of Liberation,” taking place at the Pontifical University of Regina Apostolorum, told the Telegraph News in the UK. “This is the first time that different denominations have come together to compare their experiences on exorcisms.”

Described as the first of its kind in the world that proposes academic and interdisciplinary research of exorcisms, the one-week course, taught exclusively in Italian, from May 6 to 11, was priced at $450.

Accommodations and meals not included.

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When I built my current house, I had my heart set on planting a Rowan tree in the front yard. I learned about the tree’s long, sacred history when visiting Scotland; that since ancient times people have been planting a Rowan beside their homes.  It is known as the Tree of Life and symbolizes courage, wisdom and protection.

Celtic mythology says that when the goddess Hebe lost her chalice of youth, an eagle fought to recover the cup and return it to her. Wherever the bird shed a drop of blood or feather, up sprang a Rowan tree. Another legend states how the Rowan tree bent over a fast-flowing river and rescued Thor from being swept away into the Underworld. There are several recurring themes of protection offered by the Rowan. Pieces of the tree were carried by people for personal protection from black magic, and sprigs of Rowen were worn inside clothing and fastened above door frames to ward off evil. My favorite story has Merlin’s wand being made from the branch of a Rowan.

So, after a lot of research and effort, I determined that the climate in Chicago would be hospitable to a Rowan tree and ordered one. I positioned it in my front yard right outside my office window where it grew pretty quick for a tree, maybe because I regularly talked to it. To its credit, my house was pretty evil-free for nearly ten years, considering what I do as a side job, so it was fairly heartbreaking when my Rowen started looking a little sick. I contacted an arborist who informed me that though the climate in Chicago was good for the tree, the soil of Northern Illinois was not. Alas, my Rowan tree was dying and could not be saved.

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