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MABON RITUAL - OUR METHODOLOGY |
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| SECURING PERMISSION TO PERFORM THE INVESTIGATION Before an investigation can even happen...someone has to conceive of the idea. Then you must convince a property manager, a property owner, or a responsible party to allow you access and permission to investigate. The road to this investigation was a long one...with many twists and turns. First, Edward Kann, a Ghost Vigil investigator and our occult advisor suggested the idea of applying our investigation techniques and equipment. He mentioned how hard it might be to earn the trust of a group of pagans/wiccans, but that it would be very interesting to see if we could detect or measure any energies they may gather during their rituals. |
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Edward Kann - Ghost Vigil Investigator and Occult Advisor |
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| Edward looked into finding a group or coven that was interested in participating, but as he predicted, it was a difficult task. | ||||||
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| AutumnWolf suggested that we investigate at the Witches Meetup's Samhain Ritual, towards the end of October. He invited me to the July Meetup, so that I could described what Ghost Vigil planned to do during the investigation and what we hoped to find. | ||||||
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| Jamie King, also from Ghost Vigil, attended this meeting. There were about 50 people present at the meeting. We distributed computer disks with past Ghost Vigil investigation reports on them, and explained our methodology and the tone of our investigations. We answered some questions and we seemed fairly well received. | ||||||
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Jamie King - Ghost Vigil Membership Director and Investigator |
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| Due to scheduling conflicts, investigating the Samhain Ritual in late October was
not going to work. AutumnWolf, Lord Pegasus, and I exchanged many phone calls and e-mails over the next few weeks,
and we concluded that the Mabon Ritual on September 23rd would work well for everyone. Lord Pegasus and I met together,
and discussed how the investigation would work. It was decided that Ghost Vigil should come to the next Witches
Meetup and explain our intentions in more detail. Ghost Vigil investigator Mark Stinson attended his 2nd Witches Meetup in August. There were about 50 people at this Meetup as well. We passed our electromagnetic field and temperature measuring equipment around the room, and explained exactly how our investigation would work. |
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| Prior to the investigation, we created the About Wicca, Pagan Terminology, and Meaning
of Mabon sections of this investigation report, in order to show Lord Pegasus and AutumnWolf the general tone our
investigation report would take. The process of securing permission to conduct this investigation was one of our most involved. I personally attended four different meetings, read three books, sent scores of e-mails, and had innumerable telephone conversations. But the actual investigation, the knowledge we gained, and the friends we made were more than worth it. -Mark Stinson |
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An investigation methodology involves two elements...(1) the overall approach and philosophy of the investigators and (2) the specific steps taken during the investigation. For this investigation, we are OVERALL APPROACH AND PHILOSOPHY OF THE INVESTIGATORS There were slight differences in the approaches that Shawn Geabhart, Mark Stinson,
Jamie King, Edward Kann, Jon Filer, Trish Felix, Michelle Kelley, and Dave Bryant individually brought to the investigation
of an Pagan Mabon Ritual and the surrounding activities at Gaea Retreat. But one thing remained very consistent...
So while we all differed a little in our approach or motivations, our standards
and scientific approach were consistent throughout the investigation. SPECIFIC STEPS TAKEN DURING THE INVESTIGATION Our investigations usually occur at historic locations, such a large museums, mansions, etc...or at private homes or cemeteries where paranormal activity has been encountered. This investigation was completely different. Our mission was to take equipment normally used to investigate hauntings, and apply that equipment to a living, active, ritualistic event. Could our equipment measure whatever energies the ritual participants were attempting to gather and direct? Could we conduct an investigation of this nature and maintain our science-based approach? This is the plan we created and how we followed it during the investigation:
We are very grateful to Lord Pegasus, AutumnWolf, Aislinn Firehawk, the members of Kansas City Witches Meetup, the Heartland Spiritual Alliance, and the staff of Gaea Retreat for allowing us this opportunity. We felt like we were among friends the entire time. We can only hope that our analysis and our investigation report are worthy of their welcoming trust.
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