by Susan Brinkmann, OCDS
Staff Writer
Unknown to most Americans, on the night before the Inauguration of President Barack Obama, a crowd of more than 1,000 people gathered in the heart of Washington, DC to witness a shaman perform a pagan ritual known as a “saging” to rid the White House of evil spirits.
According to a report by the DC Progressive Examiner, the ceremony took place at 6:00 p.m. on Jan. 19 in Dupont Circle, a neighborhood in the heart of the District’s nightlife which is popular with college students and homosexuals.
“Our purpose here tonight is to celebrate the end of the Bush regime with the saging of the White House,” announced the event organizer, comedian Kate Clinton.
She explained that the idea for the saging arose out of a trip President Bush made to the Peruvian ruins of Machu Picchu two years earlier. After the President danced with the natives, Clinton alleges that shamans were called in to “sage” the area and cleanse it of evil spirits.
The White House cleansing began after Rabbi Sharon Klein delivered the invocation. A shaman then performed the ceremony, called a “saging,” a Wiccan ritual that involves burning bundles of sage and fanning the smoke in the four directions. While this is being done, the shaman prays to the gods and goddesses and asks them to remove all unwanted energy from the area.
As Clinton explained to the crowd, security prevented them from performing the exercise any closer to the White House.
The political nature of the rally was more than evident. Before the ceremony, Clinton led the crowd in a chant mocking the Catholic practice of prayers for intercession. Clinton would shout statements such as “Anti-gay Constitutional Amendments” or “Guantanamo Bay” and the crowd would answer, “Na na na na, na na na na, hey hey hey, goodbye.”
“The crowd radiated so much positive energy, I’m not sure the sage was even necessary,” wrote Jim Cunningham of the DC Progressive. “We sent the Bush Administration packing, and the evil spirits along with them.”
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