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News & Submissions 3/17/2011

Thursday, March 17th, 2011

Pagans and the census
Sunday 27th March will be Census Day in Scotland and Northern Ireland.

As you all know, the census is conducted every 10 years to gather a broad range of information about people and households across the countries of the UK.

In 2001, the census included questions on religion, that made it possible, for the very first time, to prove that there were many thousands of Pagans in these islands. That we were, in fact, the seventh largest religion in Scotland and that our numbers were growing rapidly as other religions diminish. Census data on the number of Pagans proved to be of tremendous value in winning greater respect and recognition for Paganism.

This year, the census will again include a question on religion. And the Scottish Pagan Federation appeals to all Pagans in this country to enter “PAGAN” – in the “Another Religion” box provided. Read full story from shetlandtimes.co.uk

Divine control-freakery can go to hell
To claim – as John Richardson appears to – that eternal punishment in hell is necessary to make this a just universe is illogical and incoherent. Justice has of its nature to be proportionate – and eternity is infinite, whereas the most horrific crimes of human beings are of their nature limited. Moreover, the ideas about hell held historically by most religious believers are of disproportionately severe punishments. You look at the imaginatively foul tortures being dished out in the hells of Hieronymus Bosch, or some Buddhist art, and reflect that the worst people in human history do not deserve to be endlessly devoured and shat out by a canary-shaped demon.

Of course, however, those who believe in hell are a very long way from reserving it for Hitler and Pol Pot. Many believers think that most sins – or things they regard as sins – lead straight to hell. The inadvertently hilarious comic-book tracts of Jack Chick make this very clear – playing Dungeons and Dragons? Leads to hell. Reading Harry Potter? Leads to hell. I am quite a nice person – kind to people, only over-eat occasionally and give money to beggars – but there are so many reasons why many believers think I am on my way to the eternal bonfire that it would be tedious to rehearse them. Ah, but, they say, the real sin is not what you do – it is your disobedience of God’s commands, however arbitrary. So we are not talking about justice, we are talking about divine control-freakery. Read full story from guardian.co.uk

The rise of Europe’s religious right
Europe is generally regarded as the most secularised continent in the world. But in few EU member states is there a complete separation between church and state. The old interweaving of religious and worldly authority still makes itself felt in many countries today.

In England, the head of state is also titular governor of the church and bishops are members of the House of Lords. Finland and Denmark still have an official state religion, and in Greece up until recently, the Orthodox church was in charge of the public civil status register. Everywhere, churches maintain a firm grasp on education, the care and medical sectors, and the media. Churches have formal and informal positions of exception by law, which are sometimes used to refuse public services such as abortion or same-sex marriage, or to evade secular authority in cases of child abuse. Read full story from guardian.co.uk

Report: Nantucket child killed in exorcism
NANTUCKET — The woman accused of killing her 3-year-old daughter earlier this week believed God had instructed her to stick a rose in the young girl’s throat to ward off the devil, according to documents filed in Nantucket District Court.

Dora Alicia Tejada Pleitez, 26, of 13B Pine Tree Road was held without bail pending a mental competency hearing following her arraignment Tuesday on a murder charge. She was taken off the island Tuesday for the evaluation and is scheduled to appear in Nantucket District Court on Monday for a pretrial hearing.

The police were called to the family’s home at about 12:40 p.m. Monday, according to a six-page narrative describing police interviews in the investigation.

Officers found Pleitez’s daughter, Nicole Garcia, lying on a table inside the home and attempted to resuscitate her until paramedics arrived.

The girl was taken to Nantucket Cottage Hospital, where she was pronounced dead at about 1:18 p.m. Read full story from capecodonline.com

The Roman Ninth Legion’s mysterious loss
The disappearance of Rome’s Ninth Legion has long baffled historians, but could a brutal ambush have been the event that forged the England-Scotland border, asks archaeologist Dr Miles Russell, of Bournemouth University.

One of the most enduring legends of Roman Britain concerns the disappearance of the Ninth Legion.

The theory that 5,000 of Rome’s finest soldiers were lost in the swirling mists of Caledonia, as they marched north to put down a rebellion, forms the basis of a new film, The Eagle, but how much of it is true?  Read full story from bbc.co.uk

6 other calamities blamed on divine retribution
Age-old questions about divine punishment are back. Again.

On Tuesday, the governor of Tokyo apologized for saying the earthquake and tsunami that killed thousands of Japanese were divine retribution for national egoism.

Television and media personality Glenn Beck, meanwhile, has sent mixed messages about whether he thinks God is behind Japan’s natural disaster. “I’m not saying God is, you know, causing earthquakes,” he said Monday, adding he’s “not not saying that, either.”

“Whether you call it Gaia, or whether you call it Jesus, there’s a message being sent and that is, ‘Hey, you know that stuff we’re doing? Not really working out real well,’” Beck said. “Maybe we should stop doing some of it.”

Blaming human sinfulness for natural and man-made disasters is nothing new. “This kind of thinking is actually typical rather than atypical in world history,” says Stephen Prothero, a Boston University religion professor and CNN Belief Blog contributor. Read full story from cnn.com

Estranged son of anti-gay Westboro pastor says father does ‘evil’ (source cnn)

Dog in Japan stays by the side of its ailing friend in the rubble
It’s a universal truth that dogs are man’s best friend, but they’re pretty darn loyal to their own as well. Case in point: this tear-inducing video, via the website Jezebel, showing a dog, shivering and disoriented, remaining loyally by the side of a stricken fellow canine amid the devastation of the Japanese tsunami. Read full story from yahoo.com

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News & Submissions 3/16/2011

Wednesday, March 16th, 2011

DOCTORS WITHOUT BORDERS – Japan Disaster Relief (Click to Donate)

Deja Vu: What Does the Gulf Oil Spill Tell Us About the Japanese Nuclear Crisis?
For the second time in under a year, a large-scale energy disaster is unfolding before our eyes. Two different industries. Two different crises. Can we apply any lessons from the Gulf Oil Spill, and what can we expect for the nuclear industry moving forward?

It was just over a year ago that the Macondo well erupted in a ball of flames in the Gulf of Mexico. For many of us, this disaster was a poignant reminder of the tradeoffs we make every day for energy resources. Oil production is a dirty industry that has been artfully hidden away halfway around the world along the coastlines of Nigeria or deserts of the Middle East. For decades, Americans have been largely disconnected from the consequences of oil production until a blowout preventer failed to prevent a blowout and sent millions of gallons of petroleum into the ocean and onto our shores.

Fast forward to March 2011 and it seems to be an eerie repeat of recent history where explosions rock a major energy facility and safety and backup systems fail to contain a disaster while we watch as the events unfold over the Internet and Twitter. As of 5pm Tuesday (Texas time), a small team of Japanese technicians is wrestling the nuclear plant back under control. Details are still scarce and the situation is still developing. It really is too early to tell how long the plants will out of control. Read full story from scientificamereican.com

Lesson From Japan: There’s No Avoiding Nature
Japan is a country lauded for its emergency preparedness, and yet, as the world has seen in terrifying and scary images since the 8.9 earthquake struck last Friday, there are limits to what us humans can do in the face of Nature.

The Damage Could Have Been Much Worse

There a couple of provisos here: the damage could have been much worse, like that we saw recently in China and Haiti; also the Japanese emphasis on preparedness has been in the southern part of Honshu island, after the 1923 Great Kanto earthquake that burned down more than sixty percent of Tokyo and killed 145,000 people. This quake struck of the coast of north-east Japan. Read full story from care2.com

Soapbox Mike Lake: Why are some schools still promoting Christianity over all other beliefs?
EVEN an evangelical atheist like me supports religious education in schools – as long as children are taught about different beliefs.

I represent Humanism on the Derby Standing Advisory Council on Religious Education and, as an ex-teacher myself, I helped with the latest revision of the RE syllabus followed by all schools in the city.

I am pleased to say that non-belief, atheist Humanism, is represented on that syllabus and on the syllabus for all county schools.

I am also pleased that things have come a long way from the days when Christianity was promoted, no matter what you believed.

It came as a shock, therefore, to find that some local schools seemed to promote one religion over others. Read full story from thisisderbyshire.co.uk

Tibetan monk burns himself to death in protest against Chinese rule
A Tibetan Buddhist monk has burned himself to death in western China, triggering a street protest against government controls, according to a group campaigning for Tibetan self-rule.

Phuntsog, 21, was a monk in Aba, a mainly ethnic Tibetan part of Sichuan province that erupted in defiance against Chinese control three years ago. The monk “immolated himself in protest against the crackdown”, said Kate Saunders of the International Campaign for Tibet, a London-based organisation.

The self-immolation and subsequent demonstrations mirror the protests that gripped Tibetan areas of China in March 2008 when Buddhist monks and other Tibetans loyal to the exiled Dalai Lama confronted police and troops. Read full story from guardian.uk.co

Police chase nets suspected thief of pagan sign from Santa Cruz shop
SANTA CRUZ – A man who stole a shop sign with a pentagram on it was arrested about 4:30 p.m. near Morrissey Boulevard and Fairmount Avenue after a 20-minute car chase, Capitola police reported.

About 4 p.m. in front of The Sacred Grove, a metaphysical bookstore and pagan community center at 924 Soquel Ave., a black Isuzu Trooper screeched to a stop, book shop representatives said. A man got out and took a sign – which said “Witchcraft wares and magical supplies, potion brews and unique gifts” with a pentagram on the back, said Sacred Grove owner Michael Correll. Read full story from mercurynews.com

Magick Spells Can Be Fun to Cast!
I am a Wiccan witch and go by the Wiccan Crede. I believe it is safe to cast lovers spells, money spells and what have you, s long as it is not harming another person. I have been casting spells all my life, so it seems, since I was fourteen years and now in my early 40s’: I have learned to appreciate casting magick spells even more.

I believe in many gods and goddesses and all my magick spells have come true for myself and others. I cast a spell for all my poems to become published ans within a month tops, they wore published. I know magick works splendidly for myself as well as my family and friends. Many people write me asking for a spell and I usually cast spells for free and all that is required is a witch book sent to me, if they wish to do so, as payment. Yes, magick can be so much fun!

I enjoy casting spells during the daytime as well as the night time. You may wish to cast some of your own magick as well. Here are some free spells of mine you may wish to try! Read full story from modernghana.com

Witch shop opens in downtown Amesbury
AMESBURY — You won’t find bat blood, unicorn horns or an eye of a newt inside this witch’s cauldron.

After all, Forest Rangel is a white witch — think Glinda in “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz.”

While witch shops may seem more appropriate in Salem, one has come to downtown Amesbury with the opening of The Witches Cauldron.

Why Amesbury?

“You have lots of different people of different denominations,” Rangel said.

Rangel opened up her store at 19 Main St., where you’ll find candles, oils, books, tarot cards and even fairies, in the form of figurines. Read full story from newburyportnews.com

Man tells police he set fire because of Satan
LYNNWOOD — Convinced that he was sharing a motel room with Satan, a man set his blankets ablaze in Lynnwood on Friday, according to what he told police.

The man, 52, of Redmond, had been staying at the Days Inn on 196th Street SW for about a month, according to a police affidavit filed in Snohomish County Superior Court.

Fire crews were called about 8:30 a.m. Friday when smoke began pouring out of the second floor room where the man was staying.

The fire was contained to one room because of fire sprinklers, officials said. About six rooms were damaged in all, as well as guests’ personal property.

The man told police that he set the room on fire because Satan was in there, according to the affidavit. He reportedly said he wanted to protect “the good people” by setting the fire. Read full story from heraldnet.com

ACLU Defense of Religious Freedom Lost on Virginia Students
Here’s a fascinating story for people who struggle to understand the difference between individual expression and government-endorsed displays of religion – and why the two are not the same.

The Giles County School District in Floyd, Va. has been embroiled in a back-and-forth battle over the religious displays in all its schools of the Ten Commandments. In the latest controversy over the issue, 200 students walked out in protest Monday over the school board’s latest decision to ban them.

The whole brouhaha started in December when the school board voted to remove the displays after the Freedom from Religion Foundation sent the district a letter notifying it that it was in violation of the Constitution. In response, the board voted to take down them down. Read full story from religiondispatches.org

Skulls found during Utah drug raid
(NBC) — Utah police involved in a drug investigation came across human skulls and animal bones allegedly used as part of a religious shrine.

Now investigators and attorneys are trying to decide if the animal carcasses and remains constitute religious freedom or if it is against the law.

The Weber-Morgan Narcotics Strike Force served a warrant Sunday to search in Clearfield as part of an ongoing drug distribution investigation.

While there, narcotics detectives discovered at least two human skulls and several hundred pounds of animal bones and flesh in a shed in back. Read full story from wcsh6.com

The Buzzards return to Hinckley
HINCKLEY TOWNSHIP, Ohio — Whether you believe the legend of a massive critter kill that turned into a buzzard buffet, or the one about the dying curse of an Indian woman, the Cleveland Metroparks marked the annual Return of the Buzzards Tuesday. Read full story from cleveland.com

Teen creator of ‘Note to God’ app in coma (source cnn)

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News & Submissions 3/15/2011

Tuesday, March 15th, 2011

Split family blamed on maid’s sorcery
A Saudi family who suffered from a series of problems has accused its Indonesian housemaid of causing them by using witchcraft to punish them for bad treatment of her, a newspaper reported on Tuesday.

The maid had confessed to the police that she did cast a malicious spell on the family but later retracted her confession after colleagues warned her she could be executed for sorcery in the conservative Gulf Kingdom. Yet the court sentenced her to five years in prison.
Just a few weeks after she was jailed, police told her she would be released under a pardon of thousands of prisoners announced by King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia following his return from a treatment trip abroad. Read full story from emirates247.com

Aiding Children Accused of Witchcraft
Over a year ago, Selene’s 9-year-old daughter Emma began waking up every morning and saying that witches were taking her to the woods at night to teach her witchcraft. Selene, a gentle farmer in rural Malawi and fiercely protective mother, soon noticed that Emma was also experiencing weight loss, mood swings and chronic morning fatigue. Determined to help her daughter, Selene tried to save enough money to bring Emma to a powerful witchdoctor, despite her nagging suspicion that many are charlatans. And then Selene heard about our mobile legal-aid clinic, which was offering free legal services for witchcraft cases in her rural community. She came to us for help.

My law students and I were in southern Malawi partnering with a Malawian N.G.O., the Center for Human Rights Education Advice and Assistance, to run the mobile legal-aid clinic. In the months before our arrival, the students researched the legal and social contours of witchcraft accusations in Malawi and other African countries, guided by our Malawian partners who work on witchcraft cases year-round. Read full story from huffingtonpost.com

Gearing up for the Gathering of Nations
One of the largest pow wows in the world, the Gathering of Nations in Albuquerque, New Mexico, draws over 100,000 visitors a year.  Last year’s Gathering also brought an address from President Obama, the first sitting president ever to do so. President Obama’s visage was visible via satellite connection to the jumbotron at the University of New Mexico’s football field. Last year’s Gathering also featured in this year’s Grammys – the winning album for Best Native American Music Album was 2010 Gathering of Nations Pow Wow: A Spirit’s Dance. This album was the work of many talented artists who recorded live during the weekend event.

This kind of momentum means this year’s Gathering could be even bigger then usual.  And that’s saying something considering more than 500 tribes from all over the country and Canada converge on Albuquerque in late April (this year’s Gathering is on April 28, 29 and 30).  With the 2010 census putting Albuquerque’s population at roughly 870,000, each year’s Gathering balloons the population by roughly ten percent. This means if you want to take in this legendary pow wow, you need to plan ahead and know what you’re doing before you get down there. Read full story from indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com

Becoming a Witch and Learning Magick!
One does not have to know magick to become a witch or even be initiated into a coven or secret coven to become a witch whether it be a wiccan or even a pagan witch. I used to own and operate six wiccan sites and offered free spells to other individuals. I know that I have been practicing witchcraft at the tender age of 14. Although I was baptised and my grandmother wanted this for me, still…I took the Wiccan Crede, and ”harm ye none” and live by this golden rules. I do not like to cast black magick on other people, even though..in the past, I have to those I thought or felt wore deserving of it. I know of folks that stole jewels and a good sum of money from me, but still..I do not wish anything bad to befall them, or bad luck of any kind. I wish them well and hope that one day, they will come forth and admit to me they stole from me. I can only guess whom did these dasterdly deeds to me.

All and all, becoming a wiccan witch or even a pagan witch, to back track here for a moment, does not require a lot of effort, you may worship gods or goddesses during all your ritual magic. If you prefer to not worship a deity, then this is entirely up to the individual. I much more prefer to worship Isis and Aphrodite, as they both are kind and good Goddesses or so I feel they are. Read full story from modernghana.com

Exiled lawmakers to debate Dalai Lama’s devolution plan
New Delhi, India (CNN) — Exiled Tibetan lawmakers are set to hold a historic debate on the Dalai Lama’s offer to shed his political role, the speaker of their parliament said Monday.

The statement came after the speaker read to the legislators the spiritual leader’s proposals to accord greater powers to their elected representatives.

“The essence of a democratic system is, in short, the assumption of political responsibility by elected leaders for the popular good. In order for our process of democratization to be complete, the time has come for me to devolve my formal authority to such an elected leadership,” the Dalai Lama said in his message to Tibet’s parliament-in-exile, which is meeting at Dharamsala, India. Read full story from cnn.com

Traditional medicine a source of shame?
The use of traditional ‘muti’ today, unlike in the past, has been made a secret such that many people would not even admit to using it. Many people are ashamed of using traditional medicine and would rather go for consultations at the coven late at nights or early in the morning so as not to be seen by other people. They will not even talk openly about it for fear of being stigmatised by the society.

Research from the Traditional Health Organisation website indicates that the use of traditional medicine is confused with witchcraft, citing the abuse of the gifts of God has given to cause harm or influence another’s life to their own benefit with traditional healers. A true healer could not take part in any action that can harm another person. According to Head Mountain Church preacher, Goitseone Mperi Chidubi, people would rather apply traditional medicine in things like Vaseline, food, and lotions, and face powders and creams which other people would not be suspicious about. Read full story from mmegi.bw

So-called ‘vampire’ in Chandler gets 3 years probation in stabbing
PHOENIX – A man that police say stabbed his roommate who refused to let him suck his blood in Chandler was sentenced to three years probation Monday morning.

Aaron Homer was arrested in October after Chandler police found him and his girlfriend Amanda Williamson at an apartment near Alma School and Ray roads with a large amount of blood inside.

Homer reportedly told police a man had attacked Williamson, who stabbed the man in self defense. Read full story from abc15.com

‘I need to carry knife for my religion’ says Llangollen warlock
A SELF-PROCLAIMED warlock has told why he carries a five-inch knife for his moonlit rituals.

Llangollen’s Cerwyn Jones last week had a night-time curfew lifted so he can go out when there is a full moon.

The 52-year-old dad-of-three was in court because his blade was seen as an offensive weapon.

Sympathetic magistrates accepted he was a genuine follower of the religion of Wicca – or white witchcraft. Read full story from dailypost.co.uk

How Japan’s religions confront tragedy
Proud of their secular society, most Japanese aren’t religious in the way Americans are: They tend not to identify with a single tradition nor study religious texts.

“The average Japanese person doesn’t consciously turn to Buddhism until there’s a funeral,” says Brian Bocking, an expert in Japanese religions at Ireland’s University College Cork.

When there is a funeral, though, Japanese religious engagement tends to be pretty intense.

“A very large number of Japanese people believe that what they do for their ancestors after death matters, which might not be what we expect from a secular society,” says Bocking. “There’s widespread belief in the presence of ancestors’ spirits.” Read full story from cnn.com

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News & Submissions 3/14/2011

Monday, March 14th, 2011

Healing for Japan – A Sacred Mists “Window of Time” Global Event
In an effort to organize a healing event that involves Sacred Mists members as well as inspire others around the world to participate, we have set aside a window of time that will provide us all the ability to take part in the event wherever we are in the world and at any time that is most convenient for us to do so. During this window of time, we ask that you take as much time as you are able to send healing, …strength, and focus of will to those in Japan affected by this tragedy.Click here for more information.

Many faiths, one goal: Teens ask, listen and learn
Local teenagers, more than 100 of them, gathered at a Charlotte church on Sunday to share the basics – and dispel the stereotypes – about their various religions.

The meeting, organized by Mecklenburg Ministries’ Interfaith Youth Council, began with the high school students forming into circles outside and then … playing games.

Depending on the circle, they hopped around on one leg, performed the moves of a Ninja warrior, clapped and sang, joined hands to form twisty tunnels, and, in classic “Duck, Duck, Goose,” tapped someone on the head, then ran as that someone gave chase. “Ice-breakers,” organizers called these get-acquainted games. Read full story from charlotteobserver.com

Witchcraft accused flee
THE Tzaneen municipality in Limpopo is frantically trying to locate two families who allegedly fled from a temporary shelter after being accused of practising witchcraft.

The municipality had offered the families shelter at a farm near Tzaneen after they were banished from their villages two weeks ago.

Though the buildings on the farm are dilapidated, the municipality had erected tents to accommodate the affected families.

In the first incident the Shipalanas from Julesburg village were banished after the head of the family was suspected of practising witchcraft following the mysterious death of a local person.

The Shipalana family was temporarily housed on Adam’s farm, while their problems with the community were being attended to by municipal officials.

But the Shipalana family allegedly spent one night in the tents. They are now nowhere to be found. Read full story from sowetanlive.co.za

Colorful, meaningful craft rich in European tradition
Bonnie Balas of Uniontown remembers pysanky, the traditional decorated eggs common in eastern Europe, as an expression of her Carpatho-Russyn heritage.

For nearly 30 years, she has kept the art form alive by teaching it to others at St. John’s Byzantine Catholic Church in Uniontown.

Balas, a special-education teacher, was inspired to learn to make pysanky by one of her student’s mother, who also took the course.

“I had seen pysanky occasionally as a child,” she said. “I wanted to learn about this part of my Carpatho-Rusyn heritage.”

She then began making pysanky to raise money for St. John’s. The Rev. Eugene Yackonick, who then led the St. John’s parish, encouraged her to teach the art to other people. Read full story from pittsburghlive.com

Signs, signs, everywhere signs: Seeing God in tsunamis and everyday events
It’s only a matter of time—in fact, they’ve already started cropping up—before reality-challenged individuals begin pontificating about what God could have possibly been so hot-and-bothered about to trigger last week’s devastating earthquake and tsunami in Japan. (Surely, if we were to ask  Westboro Baptist Church members, it must have something to do with the gays.) But from a psychological perspective, what type of mind does it take to see unexpected natural events such as the horrifying scenes still unfolding in Japan as “signs” or “omens” related to human behaviors? Read full story from scientificamerican.com

Richard Wiseman Paranormality Interview (BBC Breakfast)

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Sunday Morning Post

Sunday, March 13th, 2011

Aleister Crowley’s influence on Colin Batley and his followers
A WELSH expert on the occult said Colin Batley and his disciples weren’t true followers of satanist Aleister Crowley – they were just perverts.

Oxford-educated Mogg Morgan, of Newport, who runs Mandrake Publishing, said Batley and his followers just blamed the notorious writer for their own moral failings.

At their homes in Clos yr Onnen, Kidwelly, Batley and his followers laminated copies of texts by Crowley, who died in 1947, so they could be read out.

Crowley, who established his own cult called Thelema, was known as the “Great Beast”. His favourite saying was: “Do what though wilt”.

His fans claim Crowley’s bisexuality, fascination with the occult and use of drugs was just a rebellion against the socially rigid conventions of his time. And he has been cited as an influence by famous figures including Led Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page, who bought Crowley’s former home and set up an occult bookshop and publishing house which reprinted some of his writings. Read full story from walesonline.co.uk

Move over Charlie Sheen, meet Wales’ real-life warlock
Move over Charlie Sheen… meet a real warlock.

Hollywood’s bad-boy star may have made headlines declaring himself a tiger-blood drinking warlock, but Llangollen’s Cerwyn Jones is the real deal.

The 52-year-old father-of- three, who carries a five-inch ceremonial knife for moonlight rituals, this week appeared in a North Wales court because his blade was seen as an offensive weapon.

Sympathetic magistrates accepted he was a genuine follower of the religion of Wicca – or white witchcraft – and agreed to lift the nighttime curfew imposed as a punishment whenever there is a full moon.

Jones told Wales on Sunday he discovered his faith during four years living in a tent at the stunning Horseshoe Pass near his home in Llangollen.

Speaking at his house surrounded by his neo-pagan imagery, including a pentacle, his holly wood staff, a carving of the lord of the woods and dressed in his pilgrim’s garb, he said the fundamental basis of his belief was to harm no-one, and that he spent his time peering into other people’s dreams. Read full story from walesonline.co.uk

Martha Corey
Who are you? Bonita McCoy, 60, South Heidelberg Township, a registered nurse and director of the surgical technology program at the Reading Hospital School of Health Sciences.

Who are you portraying? Martha Corey (1630-1692), a respected member of Salem, Mass., society and of the local church.

Why is this woman historically significant? In early 1692, three women were accused of witchcraft by young girls in the town. These women were perceived as social outcasts, misfits, and were not members of the church. However, Martha Corey was a respected citizen.

She was critical of the young girls and had the audacity to publicly and vehemently denounce the witch trials and the judges involved in the hearings.

Corey was then accused of witchcraft by the girls on March 11, 1692. She was tried and convicted of witchcraft and was hanged Sept. 22, 1692. Read full story from readingeagle.com+

‘Ghost’ forces Kondhwa school to shut
Sultan Shaikh of Kondhwa is not willing to send his children to school. The children say they are scared to even step into the school as they feel it is haunted. Last Monday, almost all students of Lady Haleema Begum Urdu School, Kondhwa, fled after what they claim was supernatural activity in school. Read full story from indianexpress.com

Dear St Patrick . . . Love, Ireland
Dear St Patrick – First of all, congratulations on 1,600 years of achievement. You’re probably in the top five most famous saints worldwide. Dublin has expanded your feast day into a week-long festival. You still stop traffic on Fifth Avenue every March 17th. And all this despite the fact that you were never formally canonised.

You even have a cross named after you: the red diagonal one on the Union Jack. My sources tell me that a saint normally had to be martyred, like George and Andrew, to earn such an honour, whereas, by all accounts, you died of natural causes. In one version you were 119 at the time. Anyway, I’m not asking how you got the rules bent. Just well done.

The success of your global brand aside, there’s bad news too. Paganism has made a big comeback in Ireland, although you’ll be glad to know that, except at certain music festivals and anti-motorway protests, druids are a thing of the past. Is it true, by the way, that the “snakes” you banished were just a metaphor for the druids’ serpentine symbols, or did Wikipedia make that up? Read full story from isrishtimes.com+

Court allows ‘warlock’ out to break curfew on full moon nights to perform Wicca ritual
For  a warlock who worships the goddess of the moon,  curfews can be a bit of a hindrance.

So when Cerwyn Jones found himself being punished by a court for carrying a five-inch ceremonial knife in a pub he was quick to plead special Wiccan circumstances.

The 52-year-old was sentenced to four months of staying indoors between the hours of 7pm and 7am.

But magistrates agreed to suspend the order on four nights after hearing he needed to go out during a full moon to practise his Wicca faith.

Wicca – or white witchcraft – is a neo-pagan religion which saw a resurgence in popularity in the 20th century.

Its followers believe the whole cosmos is alive and as such the waxing, waning and full moon are extremely important.

During the full moon, ‘magic’ ceremonies are performed and the gods and goddesses of Wicca are honoured. These ceremonies may be officiated by a chosen warlock and most groups meet at least once a month, timing celebrations to coincide with the full moon. Read full story from mailonline.co.uk

Where doomsday fears come from (source NECN)

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News & Submissions 3/10/2011

Thursday, March 10th, 2011

Dalai Lama to retire from political life
The Dalai Lama has announced he will retire from political life within days.

In a speech posted on the internet and delivered in the northern Indian hilltown of Dharamasala, the veteran Tibetan Buddhist spiritual leader said that he would ask the Tibetan parliament in exile to make the necessary constitutional changes to relieve him of his “formal authority” as head of the Tibetan community outside China.

The assembly, which meets early next week, is expected to approve his request. Though long-anticipated, the move away from the limelight by one of the world’s best known political figures signals a dramatic change. Read full story from guardian.co.uk

Chillicothe looks to add diversity to invocations
CHILLICOTHE — Chillicothe City Council has no intention of removing prayer from its formal meetings, but it likely will draft formal plans to make prayers more diverse and keep them separate from official business.

At a community affairs committee meeting Wednesday, council members met with Columbus attorney Matthew Burkhart, a member of the Alliance Defense Fund, a group that has helped communities across the country adopt policies to keep invocations as part of their meetings.

“This policy would see those invocations continuing and formalizing the procedures,” Burkhart said. Read fulls story from chillicothgazette.com

Pagan holidays in modern Ukraine
For the most flavourful celebration of pagan rituals, visit Ukraine in the summer for the Ivana Kupala festival of making wreaths, jumping over bonfires and peeking into the future. In December, Saint Andrew’s Day is another chance for some quality palm reading while saying goodbye to the sun for the winter. Epiphany, celebrated in January, helps wash sins away – in icy rivers and lakes – but not before another healthy dose of fortunetelling. And when decadent parades sweep European and American streets for Mardi Gras, Ukrainians stand by their forefathers munching on pancakes during the Pancake Week celebrations.

The easiest way to experience the supernatural is booking a trip to Kiev in July. Celebrated after the summer solstice on 6 July, Ivana Kupala refers to the god of the fruits of the earth. Legend has it that if you venture into the forest and find a fern in bloom – although it is nearly a botanical impossibility – start digging. This magic fern allegedly indicates a hidden treasure. The rite has found its way into films, cartoons and children’s books, all contributing to its mass popularity across the country. Read fulls tory from bbc.com

The deity by any other name: Army resilience program gets a thumbs down from atheists
The best thing about writing a story as a journalist is that you get to interact with astute readers who are never reticient about telling you what you missed in your reporting. My story, “The Neuroscience of True Grit,” the cover in the current issue, talks about what we know, and what we’re still trying to find out, about psychological resilience: the thing that  allows you to slog through when S**T happens.

Even though there’s a lot that we still don’t know, the U.S. Army has launched a gargantuan program to teach resilience to soldiers and their families, an effort that encompasses more than one million people. There is a software training module in one segment of the program to teach “spiritual” fitness. The Army is smart and they emphasize that the program is oriented toward the “human” side of spirituality. Translation: we are not violating separation of church and state. Secular, secular, secularissimo.

Here’s where it gets interesting, though. The atheists don’t really buy the official interpretation as handed down by the Army. “Spiritual,” to them, can’t be construed as anything but the sotto voce mouthing of the letters “G-O-D.” I got several e-mails about my uncritical mention of the spiritual fitness module, one of which contained a press release from The Freedom From Religion Foundation , the nation’s largest atheist organization (actually, they call themselves ‘nontheists’ because they also have agnostic members) that stated: Read full story from scientificamerican.com

The True Language of a Pow Wow Drum
The pow wow season is under way, and the sound of drums—the universal “heartbeat of the nation”—will reverberate in dance arenas around the country.

But in Denver, a major crossroads in Indian country, surprisingly few pow wow-goers may actually understand the words that accompany some drum songs—veterans’ songs, for example– rather than just hearing the vocables, or syllabic sounds, that accompany others. The same gap is likely true at other pow wows.

Doug Goodfeather, Lakota, leads a drum group that carries his grandfather’s drum’s name, Rock Creek Drum, from the South Dakota side of the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation. His name, Goodfeather (“Wiyaka Waste’”), was derived from both who he is as a Hunkpapa Lakota and also from who he is in terms of his personal character. It was given him as a small boy in ceremony by his grandmother after an eagle flew at him in attack mode and then shot skyward, leaving a feather behind.

The values of his Hunkpapa band are embodied in Sitting Bull, to whom Goodfeather’s grandmother always referred to as “Grandpa Sitting Bull” not “Chief Sitting Bull,” he said, adding he has not done the genealogy that might describe lineal descent.

He estimates that only a very small percentage of the 40,000-some Native residents along the Rocky Mountains’ Front Range are regular pow wow attendees or participants who really know and understand the songs. Read full story from indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com

Human remains found in Bronze Age pots
wo Bronze Age burial pots containing human remains have been found at the base of a standing stone in Angus.

Archaeologists excavated the ground around the Carlinwell Stone at Airlie, near Kirriemuir, after it fell over earlier in the winter.

Both pots – known as collared urns – could be up to 4,000 years old and were typically used in early Bronze age cremation burials.

The 7ft (2.1m) high monolith will be re-erected on Friday.

One of the pots is about 4in (10cm) in diameter, and the other is about 8in, the archaeologists said.

Melanie Johnson, from CFA Archaeology of Musselburgh, said: “The pots are typical of early Bronze Age cremation burials. Read full story from bbc.co.uk

Satanic sex cult paedophile guilty
AN “EVIL” paedophile and three women are facing years in jail today for establishing a satanic sex cult to abuse children and young adults in a quiet Welsh town.

Former Tesco security guard Colin Batley, 48, presided over the depraved “quasi-religious” sect which indulged in occult Egyptology-inspired rites from his home in Kidwelly.

A jury at Swansea Crown Court found him guilty of carrying out a series of perverted sexual acts on children and adults, including 11 rapes. Read full story from walesonline.co.uk

Dalai Lama ready to give up political power (soiurce cnn)

Al Qaeda trying to radicalize U.S. Muslims, congressman claims (source cnn)

Students walk out of high school to bring Ten Commandments back in (source wdbj7)

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News & Submissions 3/9/2011

Wednesday, March 9th, 2011

“Black Death” a treat for medieval history buffs
LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) – You can’t quarrel with that title, “Black Death.” The film is black all right, pitch black, and death is everywhere.

The story is set in 1348, after all, when the plague began to sweep through Europe, decimating its populace by as much as half and spreading panic to every corner. Yet what a strange land for a horror filmmaker to pitch camp in since he has little to add when horror is a fact of everyday life.

Sure enough, Christopher Smith (“Creep,” “Severance”) plays with the notion of necromancers and demons lurking within the pestilence, but winds up retreating into a kind of historical morality tale told with documentary flourishes and a grim attraction to violence and cruelty.

All of which leaves “Black Death” without a reliable audience. Horror film buffs like to giggle as much as scream but there’re no giggles here. To its credit, the film doesn’t indulge in visual-effects devilry as a very similar plague film, “Season of the Witch,” did just two months ago. So it’s up to medieval history buffs to fill the theaters when it opens on Friday. Lots of luck.

The coincidence of storylines between “Season of the Witch” and “Black Death” is rather striking and in every instance Black Death is the superior film. In both films, the church, seeing its grip on the population severely loosened by this inexplicable plague, sends Christian knights into a remote region to determine if witches, demons or non-believers are the source of this frightening scourge. Read full story from reuters.com

Bulgarian Mayor: ‘Dog Spinning’ Ritual Harmless Folklore, Not Barbarian!
The “dog spinning” ritual practiced in a southeastern Bulgarian village is misinterpreted by the society and the international community, according to Tsarevo Municipality Mayor Petko Arnaudov.

In dog spinning, which is practiced in Brodilovo, a southeastern Bulgarian village, at the beginning of March, a dog is suspended above water on a rope.

The dog is turned repeatedly in a given direction to wind the rope, then released so that it spins rapidly in the opposite direction as the rope unwinds, until the dog falls into the water. The locals claim that the dog is not supposed to be physically hurt.

This ancient ritual of pagan origin is performed in order to prevent rabies and is a part of the traditional Kukeri rituals. Read full story from novinite.com

Blair launches new faith films contest for youth
Last year, Tony Blair ran a film contest for young people, inviting them to make films about faith.

His Faith Foundation was overwhelmed by the response: hundreds of entries, from Jews and Christians, Muslims and Hindus, Sikhs and humanists, on five continents around the world.

Buoyed by the success of the first “Faith Shorts” film contest, Blair is now doing it again.

He was impressed not only by the quality of the films, he said, but what they said about the people who made them.

“I think the fascinating thing about young people and the films that they sent us about faith… is that for them their faith isn’t just about a personal relationship with God, it’s also motivating them to do things, to get active, to have a purpose in life,” he told CNN. Read full story from cnn.com

Muslim-Christian clashes in Cairo leave 11 dead
Clashes between Muslims and Christians in the Egyptian capital, Cairo, have left 11 people dead and more than 90 wounded.

The clashes broke out on Tuesday night as thousands of Christians protested against the burning of a Cairo church last week. The church was set on fire after tensions escalated over a love affair between a Muslim and a Christian that set off a violent feud between the couple’s families.

Security and hospital officials said six Christians and five Muslims died from gunshot wounds and 94 people – 73 Muslims and 21 Christians – were wounded. Read full story from guardian.co.uk

“An inoffensive, vanilla Christianity”
Paris, France (CNA) — Addressing a gathering of European church officials on March 4, Archbishop Charles J. Chaput of Denver warned that many contemporary Christians have reduced their faith to a convenient “form of paganism,” which cannot compete with the widespread “idolatry” of modern consumer culture.

Archbishop Chaput offered his observations at a conference in Paris honoring the late Cardinal Archbishop Jean-Marie Lustiger, a Jewish convert to Catholicism who was the Archbishop of Paris from 1981 to 2005.

The Denver archbishop described Cardinal Lustiger as “an unsentimental realist” who dared to speak about disturbing trends in the Church and society – including a lack of faith among professed Christians, leaving a vacuum that would be filled by other “gods” such as sex and money. Read full story from calcotholic.com

Fort Bragg says atheist concert was treated the same as Christian group
Fort Bragg’s garrison commander said Tuesday he supports an atheist concert on post, but the concert’s organizer said the colonel’s refusal to allow it on the Main Post Parade Field or to provide funding effectively canceled it.

Sgt. Justin Griffith was planning an event called Rock Beyond Belief for April 2 on Fort Bragg. British atheist Richard Dawkins was to be the keynote speaker in a day that included other speakers and bands, Griffith said.

Rock Beyond Belief was, in part, a response to Rock the Fort, a concert sponsored by the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association that was held on the parade field in September.

In a letter dated Sept. 22, Lt. Gen Frank Helmick wrote in response to protests of Rock the Fort that Fort Bragg would be “willing to provide similar support to comparable events sponsored by similar nonfederal entities that address the needs of the soldiers on this installation.”

Col. Stephen Sicinski, the garrison commander, and Griffith disagree over whether Fort Bragg is holding true to that statement.

Sicinski said he has received overwhelmingly negative feedback since the concert’s cancellation, and he believes that in part is because people aren’t aware of the facts.

“It disheartens me a little bit to think that we’re being misrepresented,” Sicinski said.

Sicinski said Fort Bragg’s market analysis determined that Griffith’s event would draw, at best, hundreds of people. Events at the parade field need an expected crowd of 5,000 or more, Sicinski said. On March 1, Sicinski wrote to Griffith that the event could be held at the Main Post Theater or the York Theater. Read full story from fayobserver,cin

Why won’t pagans accept trans women?
At a pagan gathering in February, the Pantheacon in San Jose, California, trans women were excluded from a Dianic ritual in honour of Lilith. Many of the defenders of this position – the veteran witch Z Budapest, for example – argue from an essentialist position (“you have to have sometimes in your life a womb, and ovaries and moon bleed and not die”) but also by an appeal to tradition, which is a bit rich from a religious standpoint invented or at best recreated within the past 50 years.

Most of the really bad things that happen to trans women could happen to all women – rape, murder, unequal pay. Some of them happen to trans women more, proportionately; when there aren’t many of us to begin with, a murder rate worldwide of one every two or three days is something we notice.

So being snubbed or made to feel unwelcome in women’s space really is not all that important. After all, some hostile feminists will say – have always said – there are so few of us, why are we demanding all the time that we have this conversation? As if excluding us were not starting that conversation pretty definitively. Read full story from guardian.co.uk

Early humans began in southern Africa, study suggests
Modern humans may have originated from southern Africa, an extensive genetic study has suggested.

Data showed that hunter-gatherer populations in the region had the greatest degree of genetic diversity, which is an indicator of longevity.

It says that the region was probably the best location for the origin of modern humans, challenging the view that we came from eastern Africa.

The study appears in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

“Africa is inferred to be the continent of origin for all modern human populations,” the international team of researchers wrote. Read drull story from bbc.co.uk

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News & Submissions 3/8/2011

Tuesday, March 8th, 2011

Witchcraft casts its spell over a growing community in Thanet
ALTHOUGH they were almost hunted to extinction during the Middle Ages there is a growing community of witches in Thanet.

Three covens, with up to 13 witches in each one, regularly meet either behind closed doors or outside at night.

Witch and Doyle’s Psychic Emporium owner Robert Doyle, 35, dabbles in what were once considered the dark arts. He said: “I have taken part in different rituals. In one, we welcome the four elements – earth, air, fire and water. Sometimes we meet in people’s homes and sometimes on the beach.”

Robert explained that witchcraft is deeply rooted in paganism. He added: “One ritual is called the rites of cake and ale where we say goodbye to winter and hello to summer. We pass cake and ale in a clockwise direction saying, ‘May you never hunger or thirst.’”

Witch Wendy Starr, 54, who co-owns a psychic shop called Magik in Ramsgate with Serena Lowman, 58, has started her own gathering of pagans called Magik Cafe. She said: “We had our first night last week and we had 30 people come along. I started it because I wanted to bring together the pagan community and give them somewhere to go when they meet up.” Read full story from thisiskent.co.uk

The Origins of Monothiesm in Hindu Dharma
The dialogue which Raja Ram Mohun Roy had started in the third decade of the nineteenth century stopped abruptly with the passing away of Mahatma Gandhi in January 1948. The Hindu leadership or what passed for it in post-independence India was neither equipped for nor interested in the battle for men’s minds. It believed in ‘organising’ the Hindus without bothering about what they carried inside their heads. It neither knew nor cared to know what Hinduism stood for. Its history of India began with the advent of the Islamic invaders. The spiritual traditions, ways of worship, scriptures and thought systems of pre-Islamic India were beyond its mental horizon.

The Christian missions, as we have seen, had never had it so good. Unchallenged ideologically, they broke out of the tight corner in which Mahatma Gandhi had put them and resumed the monologue which had characterised them in the pre-dialogue period. A number of mission strategies were dressed up as ‘theologies in the Indian context’. The core of the Christian dogma remained intact, namely, that Jesus Christ was the only saviour. The language of presenting the dogma, however, underwent what looked like a radical change to the unwary Hindus, particularly those in search of a ‘synthesis of all faiths’.

In the days of old, the missions had denounced Hinduism as devil-worship and made it their business to save the Hindus from the everlasting fire of hell. Now they abandoned that straight-forward stance. In the new language that was adopted, Hinduism was made a beneficiary of the Cosmic Revelation that had preceded Jehovah’s Covenant with Moses. Hinduism was also credited with an unceasing quest for the ‘True One God’. The business of the missions was to direct that quest towards Christ who was ‘hidden in Hinduism’ and thereby make them co-sharers in the final Covenant which Jesus had scaled with his blood. That was the Theology of Fulfilment. A number of learned treatises were turned out on the subject. The labour invested was perhaps praise-worthy. The purpose, however, was deliberately dishonest. Read full story from chakranews.com

International Women’s Day reminds us why feminism must not lose its bite
This is International Women’s Day and it is a great moment to take the temperature of the women’s movement in the UK. For quite a while it’s been clear that the long-predicted demise of feminism has not happened; on the contrary, over the last few years there have been sparks of new life that have surprised many observers.

You can map those sparks in the growth of grassroots events, such as the Million Women Rise march, launched three years ago, and the Feminism in London conference, whose thousand cheering delegates surprised me with their numbers and energy last year.

You can also map them in the increasing readiness of influential organisations and individuals, from the UN to Judi Dench, to be associated with what might once have been seen as stridently feminist rhetoric. To see the grassroots and the establishment coming together is to witness a movement with a great legacy taking on new energy.

International Women’s Day has not, historically, been a huge deal in the UK. It kicked off in 1911 in more idealistic and embattled times, when women all over the western world were seeking basic political and employment rights. With its roots in the international socialist movement, it is perhaps unsurprising that we hear it has more of a profile in China and Russia than in Britain. Read full story from telegraph.co.uk

International Women’s Day: how rapidly things change
A century ago International Women’s Day was associated with peace, and women’s and girls’ sweated labour – which votes for women were to deal with. Not a celebration, but a mobilisation. And because it was born among factory workers, it had class, real class. Later it came to celebrate women’s autonomy, but changed its class base and lost its edge. This centenary must mark a new beginning.

We live in revolutionary times. We don’t need to be in North Africa or the Middle East to be infected by the hope of change. Enough to witness on TV the woman who, veiled in black from head to foot, led chants in Cairo’s Tahrir Square, routing sexism and Islamophobia in one unexpected blow. She and the millions moving together have shaken us from our provincialism, and shown us how rapidly things can change. Women in Egypt have called for a million women to occupy Tahrir Square today. Who would have predicted that a month ago?

Feminism has tended to narrow its concerns to what is unquestionably about women: abortion, childcare, rape, prostitution, pay equity. But that can separate us from a wider and deeper women’s movement. In Bahrain, for example, women lead the struggle for “jobs, housing, clean water, peace and justice” – as well as every demand we share. Read full story from telegraph.co.uk

Museum of Natural History Lecture Explores Ancient Animal Remains Burial Cave In Israel
The Connecticut State Museum of Natural History presents “Feasting with the Dead on the Eve of Agriculture: Ancient Animal Remains from a Burial Cave in Israel,” a lecture by Dr. Natalie Munro from the Department of Anthropology at UConn. The lecture will be held in the Biology/Physics Building, Room 130, UConn Storrs Campus, on Sunday, March 20, 3 p.m.

Zooarchaeological evidence from a small burial cave in Israel reveals evidence that prehistoric funerary feasts and shamanism were practiced as early as 12,000 years ago, at the very beginning of human transition from hunter-gatherer to agriculturalist. The site of Hilazon Tachtit in Israel, where Dr. Munro has conducted her research for several years, contains a variety of unusual deposits of animal associated with funeral practices. Read full story from courant.com

Stone Age walkers cause a stir
WALKERS clad in Stone Age costumes attracted plenty of modern-day interest as they made their way from Avebury to the Ancient Technology Centre in Dorset.

The fur-wearing wanderers were recreating a Walk of the Ancients which took them via Stonehenge, Old Sarum and the city centre.

On the way they visited St Michael’s School in Figheldean and met children and parents at Larkhill to answer questions about Stone Age life. Read full story from salsburyjournal.co.uk

Mexicans seek spiritual solace amid chaos (source YouTube – AlJazeeraEnglish)

Road trip to the end of the world (source cnn)

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News & Submissions 3/7/2011

Monday, March 7th, 2011

An interview by Raymond Buckland by Bernadette Montana
It is with great pleasure that I post this interview today! Raymond Buckland has always been a huge influence on me, and is someone who has helped to shape our wiccan community today. Read full story from sacredmistsblog.com

Merlin Stone Memorial Sept. 24th
On April 10th, Z Budapest has called for a global remembrance of Merlin Stone. Here’s what Z posted to her Facebook account:

After i have considered the possibility that we all do a ritual for Merlin Stone at the same time, found it not doable. What we should do is a Parenthalia, find it in my “Grandmother of Time” or “Holy Book of Women’s Mysteries” books.

A dumb super to celebrate her life.

I talked to Lenny (Merlin’s life-partner) again today, asked what her favorite foods were. She was a vegetarian; she liked quesadias, and black coffee – no milk, no sugar.

So if you get together, serve strong black coffee and eat something vegetarian.

Lenny is sending me a box filled with her pictures, memorabilia, unpublished articles. Bobbie will put it up on her page (here on the MerlinStone.net site) and include it in the Merlin Stone Projects we are doing with your help. It seems her daughter is getting her royalties, so that’s all cool.

Counting 49 days and nights from the 25th of Feb, till 1oth of April – she is sleeping. On that day, we should all have a party in her honor to celebrate her rebirth on the other side. This elevates the soul.That’s what we can do – elevate her soul. Read full story from merlinstone.net

Faith and yoga in Roanoke: Is yoga compatible with Christianity?
Christians stand on mats at a church hall on Roanoke’s bustling Williamson Road, stretching their arms to the heavens and bending to their toes. They lay their palms on the floor, the soles of their feet perfectly flat. Chants spill from a stereo.

It looks and it sounds like the downward dog — but it isn’t. This group meets Saturday mornings to bend into poses they call the Tallit, not the Big Toe, and the Dove, not the Pigeon.

A debate over yoga’s compatibility with Western religions has torn through exercise and meditation studios across the United States in recent months, with conservative Christians denouncing yoga as pagan and demonic. Yogis respond that it isn’t. In between, some Christians practice yoga on weekdays and go to church on Sundays. Read full story from roanoke.com

New book Secret Symbols about West Wycombe Caves released
A PUB landlord has completed ‘a kind of Da Vinci Code journey’ through the notorious Hell Fire Caves – and written a book to dispel some of the myths surrounding the West Wycombe tourist attraction.

Eamonn Loughran, 42, has published ‘Secret Symbols of the Hell Fire Club’ after living for 20 years on West Wycombe Road and looking up at the Dashwood Mausoleum every day.

He says the much-published ‘history’ of the Hell Fire Club adds up to little more than gossip, adding: “The idea that Sir Francis Dashwood dug these caves simply to get drunk and worship the devil is absolute rubbish.

“There were a lot of very bad books written about the club from early 1900s onwards, mostly by journalists who sensationalised the stories.”

Rumours of black magic, satanic rituals and orgies surrounded Dashwood’s club when it was around in the 1750s and 60s. Read full story from bucksfreepress.co.uk

The Sacred Practice of Understanding Religious Difference
Last week I piled my books and student papers in my bag and headed out to The Flying Joe, a local coffee shop where the excellent mocha takes some of the pain out of grading undergraduate and seminary papers. While my visits there are inconsistent, I do notice the regulars, and the baristas obviously have taken the time to learn the details of every order, including mine.

Learning those details takes a good listener, someone invested in bringing you back for another espresso hit. It is a practice that takes patience. And it is a practice that I require of students in my world religions and non-religious worldviews classes. One of their assignments is to step outside of their bubbles and interview someone of a different worldview. They are required to return their report to the original interviewee for input before they submit it to me for their grade, which encourages them to present the view fairly. The kicker for many of them is that they cannot proselytize during their interviews, forcing them to listen and to get the details right about the other person’s views. Read full story from huffingtonpost.com

The Salem Witches conduct a Ritual to Heal and Bind Charlie Sheen (source YouTube – ChristianDay)

Meet America’s top exorcist, the inspiration for ‘The Rite’ (source cnn)

Road trip to ‘doomsday’ (source cnn)

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Sunday Morning Post

Sunday, March 6th, 2011

17th century witch chronicles published online
LONDON — A 350-year-old notebook which documents the trials of women convicted of witchcraft in England during the 17th century has been published online.

The notebook written by Nehemiah Wallington, an English Puritan, recounts the fate of women accused of having relationships with the devil at a time when England was embroiled in a bitter civil war.

The document reveals the details of a witchcraft trial held in Chelmsford in July 1645, when more than a hundred suspected witches were serving time in Essex and Suffolk according to his account.

“Divers (many) of them voluntarily and without any forcing or compulsion freely declare that they have made a covenant with the Devill,” he wrote. Read full story from msnbc.msn.com

Krause probes Renaissance witchcraft
“‘She confessed and was burned’ was a refrain,” Virginia Krause, an associate professor of French at Brown University, said during her lecture yesterday, titled “Under the Witch’s Spell: Demonology in Renaissance France.”

During the lecture, held in the Mandel Center for the Humanities and sponsored by the Mandel Center for the Humanities, the Romance Studies Department, the History of Ideas Program and the Comparative Literature Program, Krause focused on the intangible evidence that many courts required while prosecuting witches.

Her main focus was on Jean Bodin, the 16th-century French author, who wrote treatises advising the French courts to rely on auricular evidence rather than visual, believing that the auricular was more trustworthy than the visual.

Due to this belief, most witches were prosecuted with their own confessions, obtained after torture. Bodin wrote that a confession “must pass from the mouth of the witch to the ears of the judge.” Read full story from thebrandeishoot.com

Woman attacked for ‘witchcraft’
Dungarpur (Rajasthan), March 5 : Rajasthan police Saturday began probing an alleged attack on a woman by villagers who labelled her as a witch. Five villagers, including two women, have been charged in the case, an official said.

According to police, Kamla of Modar village in Dungarpur district complained that she was being tagged as a witch and was tortured by some villagers. Read full story from topnews.in

NASA scientist finds evidence of alien life
Aliens exist, and we have proof.

That astonishingly awesome claim comes from Dr. Richard B. Hoover, an astrobiologist at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center, who says he has found conclusive evidence of alien life — fossils of bacteria found in an extremely rare class of meteorite called CI1 carbonaceous chondrites. (There are only nine such meteorites on planet Earth.) Hoover’s findings were published late Friday night in the Journal of Cosmology, a peer-reviewed scientific journal.

“I interpret it as indicating that life is more broadly distributed than restricted strictly to the planet earth,” Hoover, who has spent more than 10 years studying meteorites around the world, told FoxNews.com in an interview. “This field of study has just barely been touched — because quite frankly, a great many scientist would say that this is impossible.” Read full story from yahoo.com

A look at the ways the world could end
Think you’ve got a prediction for when and how the world will end? Get in line.

Throughout time, and across continents and belief systems, humankind has dished out enough end dates to fill a doomsday menu.

The backgrounds of the people who serve them up may differ, as might the details of what will unfold, but the general apocalyptic worldview is nothing original, says Lorenzo DiTommaso, an associate professor of religion at Concordia University in Montréal, Quebec and author of the forthcoming book, “The Architecture of Apocalypticism.”

“It’s a philosophy that explains time, space and human existence,” DiTommaso says. And by buying into this sort of outlook, a person can find comfort in a “comprehensive answer.”

Having studied apocalyptic movements for nearly 12 years, DiTommaso has strong opinions. He calls the apocalyptic worldview “adolescent” because it’s “a simplistic response to complex problems” and one that “places responsibility for solving these problems with someone else or somewhere else.” Read full story from cnn.com

The war that must be lost
In every religious domain, every geographical sector of the world, every culture and in every organised human endeavour, the ‘maximum patriarch’ has historically declared war on everyone who was privileged to be born with a vagina.

This unholy, cruel, oppressive, evil, anti-development, well-organised and systematically executed war has used every weapon in the patriarch’s arsenal to remove the inherent human rights and dignity of every woman in the global village.

Of course, the historical records of this universal war against the female of the species has been noted, documented and passed on in the religious tracts, the oral history, the artefacts, legal records and other documented facts from generation to generation.

In more recent times, the areas in which the women of the world have blunted the patriarch’s weapons have not only been documented but have set the stage for strategising around the female war plans in the continuing search for effective antidotes to relieve battle fatigue and the conservation of the positive energies to neutralise the enemy forces through love, compassion, determination and the best qualities of the human spirit. Read full story from jamaica-gleaner.com

Sex swap prisoners get right to bras and make-up
A detailed new policy document drawn up by Kenneth Clarke’s Ministry of Justice sets out the rights of sex change inmates, saying they must be allowed to purchase “gender appropriate” clothing from a home shopping catalogue.

Jail warders, who are already required to address inmates by courtesy titles such as Mister, must call transsexual prisoners “Miss” or “Ms” under the new mandatory guidelines, which come into effect later this month.

The document also offers advice on other problematic issues when dealing with transsexual prisoners – such as access to prison showers – and urges officers to contact the Ministry of Justice’s dedicated “gender recognition policy team” if they have questions about the policy.

The 20-page guidebook, issued to prison governors last week, says: “An establishment must permit prisoners who consider themselves transsexual and wish to begin gender reassignment to live permanently in their acquired gender.” Read full story from telegraph.co.uk

Deborah Harkness And A Discovery Of Witches
Once upon a time, science and the supernatural were pretty much the same thing. The stars, Haley’s Comet, eclipses, mysterious diseases, chemical reactions, it all seemed pretty paranormal to the wizards and monks and scholars who studied them.

Historian Deborah Harkness has thought a lot about the science and the supernatural. Now, she’s written her first novel, a fantasy about modern-day scholarly witches & research scientist vampires fighting great battles in our midst. And it has become a runaway best-seller.

This hour, On Point: Writer Deborah Harkness and A Discovery of Witches. Read full story from wbur.org

TheTrue Blood: Season 4 “Waiting Sucks” Eric (HBO) (soiurce Youtube – HBO)

Thanks for stopping by! Well wishes to you all, have a great Sunday!

Lisa

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