California "Shaman" Charged for Wildfires

If this article is to be believed, it sounds like Florida Man has some competition. A self-proclaimed "shaman" from California is being charged with starting several of the wildfires that have recently been ravaging the state. According to court documents, she was trying to boil bear urine - so she could drink it. She claims she was unable to start a fire and drank the urine anyway, while authorities allege that she did start a fire and it got out of control. You can't make this stuff up, folks.

Alexandra Souverneva, 30, could be sentenced to up to nine years if convicted of starting the Fawn fire, according to officials. The blaze has destroyed roughly 41 homes and 90 small structures while endangering another 2,340, officials said.

Souverneva pleaded not guilty but is now reportedly thought to have ignited several fires across California. The self-proclaimed shaman said she had been hiking to Canada as the blaze approached Shasta County on Wednesday, documents noted.

When she became thirsty and approached a puddle of what she claimed to be bear urine, she told forest officials she attempted to make a fire to purify it. The wood she hoped to use was "too wet for the fire to start," documents said. Souverneva then drank the animal urine and proceeded on her journey, according to the report.

She allegedly became caught in some brush and had to call the local fire department for assistance. The firefighters requested she empty her pockets and fanny pack, to which she presented CO2 canisters, a lighter, and "a green, leafy substance she admitted to smoking that day," California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection officer Matt Alexander said.

One of the things that drives me nuts about New Agers and "shamanism" is that the term has shifted from meaning a particular style of magick to meaning drug use. That's not to say entheogens have no place in magick, even if they aren't my thing. But just getting high is not the same thing. Magick is a specific technology employing consciousness to accomplish particular objectives - and I'm pretty sure there aren't a lot of situations where that objective should have anything to do with drinking bear urine.