Wiccans' 'Barbarous Words' meant to save a magnolia

Reaction to the potential loss of a single magnolia tree has left developer Stewart Coleman baffled.

[Bloody Visigoths]

Wicca is not also known as Paganism; Paganism is an umbrella that encompases Wicca, Witchcraft, Druidism, and all other pre-Christian, Earth-based spiritual beliefs. I hope the spell works.

[C Rob]

What about Biltmore Lake development at Enka Lake? No one word has been heard in opposition to what they are doing to a beautiful forest there.

[BuncombeBred]

Good grief. Asheville sure has changed over the last 50 years.
Natives, does anyone long for the days before we were "discovered" by the rest of the world?

[Free]

BuncombeBred wrote:

Good grief. Asheville sure has changed over the last 50 years.
Natives, does anyone long for the days before we were "discovered" by the rest of the world?

Waving arm over here....

[JacksonCounty NC]

Bloody Visigoths wrote:

Wicca is not also known as Paganism; Paganism is an umbrella that encompases Wicca, Witchcraft, Druidism, and all other pre-Christian, Earth-based spiritual beliefs. I hope the spell works.

I hope so too.

[Radar]

This is just too funny. The big bad developer is met by a circle of spell-casting Wiccans. I can see it now: Big Bad Developer has his enormous dozers and evil tree equipment poised for the kill while the Wiccans are encircling the tree, chanting their spells, and blocking his access. Its got to be a made-for-TV movie, right?

[rick]

lokel wrote:

I say chop it down and take the Wiccans and Elaine Lite with it!
It is ONE tree!

yeah, it's one tree..... and it shows the mentality of the builder to be a typical shoulder-shrugging buck-passer.... the tree is a significant part of the landscape and its place should be preserved. the county commissioners already gave away this property in a very suspicius move, so the developer has, as they say,'skinned the cat' and gotten a great deal, so he should acquiesce and give back something. many, many trees have fallen in the redevelopment of the square, and it is time for this one to be saved. this thoughtless development has to STOP!

[mel]

"yeah, it's one tree..... and it shows the mentality of the builder to be a typical shoulder-shrugging buck-passer...."

I agree. I'm not a "tree-hugger" but too many people say "It's just one tree." Our mountains are being chopped to the ground by too many developers that one, usually come from out of town, two, are just looking to make money from a beautiful area, and three, don't care about our area and don't have to listen to us because we don't have the money to stop them.
I have a neighbor who took out a huge, old oak tree because she "didn't like the way the leaves fell." When are we going to stop??

[Kethry]

Brightest Blessings to you Dixie Deerman, I hope all goes well for you your coven and friends, Be it one tree or one hundred trees, This lady is right to want to protect it, these Devolopers think they can build property anywhere they like, destroying everything natural and green that gets in thier way.

[Kethry]

Sherry Austin wrote:

Do you all live in houses or in hollowed out trees or in caves? Don't you think a tree was moved to make room for your dwelling place?

Some of us would rather live on the drom,(road) in caravans, but the developers make it impossible for us to do so,there are no green spaces left to park our caravans anymore, give me a primitive hut anyday to this brick built kenna i have to put up with.

I have a 3 bedroom house, ten of us live here, my hubby, me and my 8 children, the council have offered me a bigger house, im happy to stay where i am, not much space but we manage. Its those that want massive homes and 3 garages and huge gardens that are selfish. And as for cars, they are necessary, because jobs now are so far away, but do familys of 4 really need one car each. I have a car, unfortunatly, rather have a horse mind you, to pull my vard, but again, no green land left keep horses on. The world has gone mad for developement. Here in the UK, traffic is at a standstill, pollution is causing serious asthma in children, farms are going bust,every one has to drive to work because the local shops are all closing because of these massive shopping centres, to breath fresh air and sit in green fields you have to drive for miles cuasing more pollution along the way. So to answer your question, yes, many trees were moved to make way for our homes, but what other choice do we have? These developers have given ups no other choice. brightest blessings.x

[ncbengal]

Aren't y'all glad this is a free country!

[Windfeather]

lokel wrote:

I say chop it down and take the Wiccans and Elaine Lite with it!
It is ONE tree!

I would expect a response like that from the state of fruits and nuts. I am not Wiccan but I like the possiblity that the property will have a reputation of being cursed and would be condo buying types will avoid buying there. Why does everybody that moves here want to change it? None of the condos being built downtown are attractive and no effort is being made to design them to blend with the existing architecture.

Go Elaine Lite!!! She has huge support from folks like me that want Asheville to remain the unique city that it is and protect the history and culture of the area. This will never be Atlanta. If this is what you want its about a 3 hour drive south. Have a nice trip!!!

[Stephanie]

Wicca is NOT also known as Paganism - get your facts straight. Those of us with earth-based faiths that are NOT Wiccan don't necessarily want to be associated with Wicca. That's like saying Baptists are also known as Catholics.

[Nolan McKinney]

OK city=buildings, country=trees. Everyone needs to stop razing the country so they can have their doll house on a 1/4 acre. Everyone needs to stop opposing developement in the city limits. Everyone needs to keep an eye on unnecessary annexation by the city.

Imagine a city full of people, with opportunites for work, socialization, and recreation. A habitat for humans to thrive. Then imagine the country side full of trees and carefully planned farms, a habitat for nature which ultimately sustains us all.

Can everyone just wake up and realize dense urban developement (yes even in Asheville, NC) is the best thing for the planet?

[Webster]

Sherry Austin wrote:

Do you all live in houses or in hollowed out trees or in caves? Don't you think a tree was moved to make room for your dwelling place?

I AM a tree-hugger, but I believe that downtown development is good for the environment. High density and taller buidings (within reason) in-town avoids the low density, mountain side sprawl outside of downtown. That type of development takes out many, many more trees. The developers comments seem reasonable to me.

Though I think County Commissioners really F-ed up by selling this parcel of land.

As for wiccans casting spells being the top story on AC-T, that made me laugh my a$$ off!

[Nolan McKinney]

Zone the city for nothing under 10 stories. Zone the county for nothing but organic farms and forest. Its my vision for the future.

[Bead babe]

I do like the tree and where it is. It is a part of the areas history. It’s a difficult balance between property owner’s rights and what the community would like. I just wonder if there would be as much notice if it was the Daughters of the American Revolution trying to protect a piece of local history as apposed to Dixie and her group.

[local and fed up]

To the public who doesn't know any better, here's a tip:

Prayer to God trumps a spell by a heathen anytime of the day or night.

The power that is ours through Christ is always stronger than the power those pathetic attention-seekers think they have.

They chose that arena for their activities because it is public and they will get the most attention that way.

(How sad it must be to need a public display! And to appear so desperate!)

So when you're wonderin' why your spell don't work so good, it might be because of that little Christian in her old truck across the street who is prayin' that GOD'S will be done.

[Barry]

Leave the tree. It is time draw the line.

[Barry]

Leave the tree. It is time to draw the line.