Ceremony purges White House of evil spirits

January 21, 10:58 PMDC Corporate Ethics ExaminerJim Cunningham

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Thousands participated in the saging of the White House.

On Monday I witnessed, firsthand, the Saging of the White House. The White House is now free of any evil spirits that may have still been lingering from the Bush/Cheney Administration. And, I have to admit – I feel a little bit better myself.

On Monday, January 19th at 6:00 pm, hundreds gathered at Dupont Circle for this frivolous, yet remarkable, ceremony. A shaman was there to perform the ceremony. Rabbi Sharon Klein delivered the invocation. Together with organizer, Kate Clinton, they took on the gargantuan task of cleansing the White House of evil spirits.

“Our purpose here tonight is to celebrate the end of the Bush regime with the saging of the White House”, bellowed Kate Clinton, kicking off the event before a crowd of about 2000 people. Kate Clinton had explained on the Rachael Maddow show last week that the idea arose out of a trip Bush made to Machu Picchu two years ago. After Bush spent time dancing with the natives there, a shaman was called in to “sage” the area and, thereby, cleanse it of evil.

Our purpose here tonight is to celebrate the end of the Bush regime with the saging of the White House”

Saging is a process by which bundles of Sage herb are ignited and left to smolder. This creates a thick, pleasant-smelling, blue smoke which, according to Wiccan tradition, has a cleansing effect, thus removing the area of unwanted energy.

Clinton explained that security prevented them from infiltrating (my words, not hers) the White House to perform the ceremony on site. Therefore, it necessarily had to be performed from elsewhere and Dupont Circle was chosen because, according to Clinton, it’s the gay center of Washington DC.

Just before the ceremony Clinton fired up the crowd by introducing a mock chant like Catholics do during mass. She would chant/sing distasteful parts of the Bush legacy and the crowd would sing back, “Na na naa na, na na naa na, hey hey hey. Goooobyyyye!”

“Signing statements!” she would shout, and the crowd would answer, “Na na naa na, na na naa na, hey hey hey. Goooobyyyye!”

“Guantanamo Bay!” The crowd would answer, “Na na naa na, na na naa na, hey hey hey. Goooobyyyye!”

“Anti-gay Constitutional Amendments!”

“Na na naa na, na na naa na, hey hey hey. Goooobyyyye!”

“Intelligent Design!” (The crowd laughed.)

“Na na naa na, na na naa na, hey hey hey. Goooobyyyye!”

This went on for about ten minutes before we got right down to the business at hand and the shaman took the stage and lit sage on stage which, when combined with that already smoldering in the crowd, made for the most aromatic political gathering I’ve ever attended. Approximately one in every twenty people held a bundle of smoldering sage which created a cool effect in the crowd, like a sea of lighters during a power ballad at a heavy metal concert – and the smoke rolled over the heads of all in attendance and filled our noses.

When that was nearly done, Clinton lit a heap of sweet grass to invite the positive spirits in and invited everyone in the crowd to introduce themselves to the strangers around them, hug, and make peace. Then we sang and danced. It was beautiful. And cleansing.

No one is certain whether the event occurred in close enough proximity to the White House to have any effect. But if the mindset and spirit of the crowd can have the effect of amplifying the cleansing effects of sage, I’m absolutely certain it was a success. The people in attendance couldn’t have been more into the moment. The crowd radiated so much positive energy, I’m not sure the sage was even necessary. We sent the Bush Administration packing, and the evil spirits along with them

See for yourself. I shot these videos at the height of the festivities:
(Still gallery below.)

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