News & Submissions 11/25/2009

November 24th, 2009 by sivodd

Solitary or Social Pagan?
Pagans practice in one of three ways: solitary (alone), socially (in a group), or semi-socially. Here are some ideas of what these three entail and tips on if you are a pagan and want to change from solitary to social. Read full story from The Examiner

ENA and content filtering categories for the Indianapolis Public Schools
Based on Content Filtering Categories for the Indianapolis Public Schools opt-in listed at http://www.ena.com/help/BlueCoat/InSchools/, anything with a single asterisk (*) is content that is blocked by Indianapolis Public Schools. Anything with a double asterisk (**) is always allowed by Indianapolis Public Schools. On this page, it is also stated that, “Websites that are categorized in this way are always allowed regardless of multiple categorizations.” Read full story from The Examiner

Islam in the Land of the Rising Sun
Everyday the call to prayer is made in different corners of the predominantly Buddhist country – unobtrusively within the confines of its 50 or so mosques and approximately 100 musollas or communal prayer rooms. Read full story from aljazeera.net

Nepal’s bloodbath fair claims three Indian infants
Kathmandu, Nov 25 (IANS) At least three Indian infants died due to cold in Nepal’s most controversial religious fair, where thousands of animals and birds are being slaughtered by Indians and Nepalis, mostly in the hope of getting a son or wish fulfilment. Read full story from sindhtoday.net

U of A offering occult course
For about 15 years Bruce Miller taught Witchcraft and the Occult at the University of Alberta as a credited course.
It was so popular that the university had to split the class in two and hire another teacher. Read full story from metronews.ca

Family group declares victory in ‘Christmas’ battle
The American Family Association has tentatively declared a victory in its battle to keep Christmas in American culture, suspending its boycott of Gap, Inc., after the clothing retailer announced an upcoming pro-Christmas commercial campaign. Read full story from wnd.com

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News & Submissions 11/24/2009

November 24th, 2009 by sivodd

Tony Alamo Gets Locked Up Forever
Tony Alamo, 74, is convinced that a demon possessed FBI and the pope are behind the plot to put him in prison, but this defense didn’t exactly impress the judge who sentenced him to nearly two centuries of hard time. Read full story from unreasonablefaith

Pagan spirituality group offers opportunity to explore beliefs, rituals
With a multitude of churches in the Whitewater area, most people don’t have a problem finding a supportive environment for their religious and spiritual beliefs. Read full story from royalpurplenews.com

Going to Extremes A&E’s new paranormal show takes different approach to investigation
Count one-time Norwalk resident Nathan Schoonover, now of Danbury, in that first group. He’s one of the stars of A&E’s new show, “Extreme Paranormal,” which the cable network says investigates haunting legends by provoking spirits. Schoonover’s job as the team’s occult specialist is to assist investigator Shaun Burris and technical expert Jason Gowin as they ferret out paranormal activity found in the nation’s well-known haunts. Read full story from wiltonvillager.com

Saudi Arabia: Witchcraft and Sorcery Cases on the Rise
(Kuwait City) – The cassation court in Mecca should overturn the death sentence imposed on Ali Sabat by a lower court in Medina on November 9 for practicing witchcraft, Human Rights Watch said today. Human Rights Watch called on the Saudi government to cease its increasing use of charges of “witchcraft” which remains vaguely defined and arbitrarily used. Read full story from hrw.org

Goodness just feels good; no gods or devils need apply
Q: What do you think of the American Humanist Association’s new “Godless Holiday” campaign? The ads will say: “No God? . . . No Problem! Be good for goodness’ sake. Humanism is the idea that you can be good without a belief in God. Read full story from washingtonpost.com

Ugandan anti-homosexuality bill, radical and heinous
Uganda has taken a large step backward in the past month, with the introduction of an anti-homosexuality bill. This issue not only has stirred up controversy in international rings, but also poses the greatest threat to Uganda’s stability. As outlined in the draft bill, “aggravated homosexuality” would be punishable by death, with different tiers of punishment being allotted to homosexuals and even heterosexuals who fail to report homosexual activity. Read full story from The Manitobin

College pays fired witch $40,000 to settle discrimination charge
A former University of Nebraska employee who claimed she was fired for being a witch has agreed to settle her case for $40,000. Read full story from walletpop.com

Pet owners turn to massage, yoga to help furry friends
Keri Block and her dog Bailey take part in a class at the City Arts Factory in Orlando. She credits massage and other holistic therapies with calming Bailey’s nervous energy. (CASSI ALEXANDRA/SPECIAL TO THE SENTINEL / November 15, 2009) Read full story from orlandosentinel.com

Dalai Lama begins teaching for Russian Buddhists
Dharamsala, November 24: Hundreds of Buddhists from Russia and its neghbouring countries are currently in Dharamsala to attend His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s three-day teachings and Buddhist initiation. Read full story from phayul.com

Dalai Lama says Obama not soft on China
NEW DELHI — The Dalai Lama defended President Barack Obama from criticism that he has been too soft on China, saying Sunday that the U.S. leader just has a different approach to dealing with the Asian giant. Read full story from Google/AssociatedPress

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News & Submissions 11/23/2009

November 23rd, 2009 by sivodd

Witch Bottle Discovered; Made to Ward Off Evil Spirits?
October 29, 2009—In time for Halloween, a beer bottle-turned-talisman against malicious spirits has been found buried near a former pub in England, archaeologists say. Read full story from nationalgeographic.com

Ten-year-old refuses to stand for Pledge of Allegiance
When ten-year-old Will Phillips, of West Fork, Ark., found a principle he couldn’t stand up for––he sat down. And the repercussions from that action have spread across the country. Read full story from uuworld.org

Interview with Autumn Breeze, 5th Generation Witch
Personal Note: As I was heading to Butch and Nellie to interview Autumn Breeze, something very odd happened. Electric Avenue by Eddy Grant played three times on 3 different radio stations. Two times going to Butch and Nellie and one time leaving Butch and Nellie. Was I getting a message from the great beyond? Read full story from sacramentopress.com

Nativity scene proposed in Clarksville draws ire
The pastor at Grace Church of the Nazarene says he and his congregation will present their “Christmas on the Cumberland” Nativity scene despite objections from the American Civil Liberties Union. Read full story from theleafchronicle.com

TWISTED HISTORY: Pilgrims gone wild: A reality check on the early settlers
With the approach of Thanksgiving, and thoughts of pumpkins, turkey, cranberry sauce and mashed potatoes, I wanted to share a little information about the people who came up with this delicious bacchanal of food and drink that we enjoy so much. Read full story from registercitizen.com

Talks Julia Sweeney on letting go of God
Video on TED

Islam in Europe: Swiss to vote on banning minarets
The European backlash against Islam has entered a new phase. This Sunday, there’s a referendum in Switzerland on whether to add the sentence “The construction of minarets is forbidden” to Article 72 of the Constitution. Needless to say, Muslims, churchmen and Amnesty International are all pleading with the Swiss to vote against the ban.Read full story from telegraph.co.uk

Thanksgiving for all faiths
Like many other religious groups, Wiccans have a tradition of giving thanks in connection with the harvest season, said the Rev. Selena Fox, of Circle Sanctuary, a Wiccan church near Barneveld. Read full story from madison.com

Different faiths gather to mark annual interfaith celebration
The 25th annual Interfaith Thanksgiving Service and Celebration on Sunday began with a Muslim chant and the blowing of a ram’s horn from the second floor of the First Baptist Church of Austin. Dancers leading a procession wore bright purple dresses, green-and-white robes, Wiccan symbols, crosses, hijabs and yarmulkes. Read full story from statesman.com

Atheist groups flourish on college campuses
Bodnar is the happy face of atheism at Iowa State University. Once a week at this booth at a campus community center, the PhD student who spends most of her time researching the nutritional traits of corn takes questions and occasional abuse while trying to raise the profile of religious skepticism. Read full story from everydaychristian.com

Channel 4 returns to Africa’s witch children
Tonight’s Dispatches special shows intrepid Brit Gary Foxcroft returning to the Nigerian region where he uncovered widespread cruelty to children accused of witchcraft by rogue church pastors. Read full story from mirror.co.uk

Haunted by ghost monkeys
The owners and employees rarely ventured down to the basement as they went about their business in the 100-year-old building that had become the Candle Shoppe of the Poconos. There just was not very much need to head down there, and besides, there was some seriously creepy stuff in that basement. Read full story from poconorecord.com

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News & Submissions 11/19/2009

November 19th, 2009 by sivodd

Spiritual festival in the cards
Ann Marie Beale, minister of Unity Center of Tulsa, demonstrates a tarot reading in her home. She will read the tarot cards during Saturday’s Spirit Fair at the Unity Center of Tulsa. Karen Shade / Tulsa World Read full story from Read full story from tulsaworld.com

Boost morale and spirituality for Pagan soldiers overseas — send a Yule package
Most of us are probably aware of Circle Sanctuary, Lady Liberty League , and all Selena Fox’s other work for the Pagan community at large. Her work towards the success of acquiring the pentacle as an accepted symbol on veteran’s headstones was a wonderful achievement that is still fresh in our minds. Read full story from examiner.com

‘The mass sacrifice of animals is barbaric’
Pramada Shah, president of the Animal Welfare Network Nepal and wife of the king’s nephew, explains what will happen during the Gadhimai Jatra festival on November 24-25, at which half a million animals and birds are expected to be sacrificed Read full story from gaurdianweekly.com

War on Christmas comes to Minnesota
The religious right’s annual “War on Christmas” is ramping up early this year, and at least one Minnesota-based company is on its hit list. For the past few years, the American Family Association has targeted retail corporations that use the word “holiday” instead of “Christmas” in their holiday marketing. On Thursday, the group said it’s a trend that began with the Nazis. Read full story from minnesotaindependent.com

Postal Service Cancels Letter To Santa Program
Starry-eyed children writing letters to the jolly man at the North Pole this holiday season very likely won’t get a response from Santa Claus or his helpers. Read full story from npr

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News & Submissions 11/18/2009

November 18th, 2009 by sivodd

Martin Lecture Series explores Neo-Paganism
Magliocco is an old friend of Wheaton Professor of Religion, Jonathan Brumberg-Kraus. Magliocco was recently inaugurated into a group of Neo-Pagan “witches,” after years of researching the Neo-Pagan reclamation movement in San-Francisco Bay Area. Read full story from thewheatwire.com

How the Nazis tried to take Christ out of Christmas
For the perfect Nazi Christmas you had to hang glittering swastikas and toy grenades from the pine tree in the living room and, in your freshly pressed uniform, belt out carols urging German women to make babies for the Führer rather than worship the Jewish Baby Jesus. Then came the moment to light the pagan candle-holders — hand-made by labourers at Dachau. Read full story from timesonline.co.uk

Witch School Moved
The Witch School witches prepare their brooms for a long flight because Witch School is on the move. The mostly witches’ virtual school has been operating from Roseville, Illinois for the past several years. They’ve been trying to teach live classes in Roseville, but apparently it’s not the most witch friendly town in the USA. Read full story from examiner.com

Northern California tribal leader airs concerns with Obama
(MCT) – Leslie Lohse, leader of a small band of Indians in Tehama County, recently found herself speaking directly to President Barack Obama – one chief of state to another. Read full story from indiancountrytoday.com

Choosing a domestic deity for the Pagan household
Every domestic witch will eventually look into the subject of a household deity. Traditionally, there are two types of domestic deities: a major god or goddess or the minor or local entities called animistic deities. You’ve probably heard of at least a few of the goddesses used as deities in the household: Hestia, Frigg or Brigid are some of the most popular used today. But have you heard of the tomte, domovoi or cofgodas? These are but a few of the animistic deities that have been worshipped in the past. Read full story from examiner.com

Yoga helps even little ones channel energy, emotion
Decatur, Georgia (CNN) — Gigi reaches up into her sun salutation. She steps back into her high lunge and kicks her legs straight into plank pose, a push-up she holds without wobbling for 10 seconds before looking up impatiently at her yoga teacher. Read full story from cnn.com

The Evolution of the God Gene
IN the Oaxaca Valley of Mexico, the archaeologists Joyce Marcus and Kent Flannery have gained a remarkable insight into the origin of religion. Read full story from nytimes.com

(MCT) – Leslie Lohse, leader of a small band of Indians in Tehama County, recently found herself speaking directly to President Barack Obama – one chief of state to another.

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News & Submissions 11/17/2009

November 17th, 2009 by sivodd

2009 Wild Hunt Winter Pledge Drive, Nov 16-22
Since it started in 2004, the Wild Hunt has become a vital news source for modern Pagans, and a crucial resource for those outside the Pagan movement who want to explore the issues that are important to us. Read full story from The Wild Hunt

Retired policeman speaks in Farmville on occult
FARMVILLE — Juggalos, Wiccans, Satanists and vampires are all subcultures of the occult that are on the periphery of the mainstream. Read full story from timesdispatch.com

Satan, the great motivator
What makes economies grow? It’s a question that has occupied thinkers for centuries. Most of us would tick off things like education levels, openness to trade, natural resources, and political systems. Read full story from boston.com

ACLU: Bibles passed out, prayer encouraged in Cheatham County schools
A lawsuit has been filed against the Cheatham County School Board alleging that school officials have promoted their own religious beliefs and allowed and encouraged public prayers at school events. Read full story from tennessean.com

Indianapolis Public Schools Block the Pagans
The Wisconsin-based Freedom From Religion Foundation, you may remember them from the Green Bay Nativity case, is demanding that the Indianapolis Public School system change its current web access policy which bans access to “occult”, “Wiccan”, “Voodoo” and “mysticism”-boosting sites. Read full story from The Wild Hunt

The wonders and worries when traditions converge
We’ll get ready, soon, to decorate the Christmas tree. Or light the menorah. Or celebrate Kwanzaa. Read full story from washingtonpost.com

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PagansWorld New Site Features!

November 16th, 2009 by sivodd

PagansWord.org is happy to announce that the site has been moved to the popular WordPress platform. The decision to move away from the old site was driven by our desire to make the site more accessible, full featured, and give our readers the opportunity to participate. With that in mind, here are some of the new features you’ll discover on the site:

  • Blog post style updates.
  • RSS Feeds for news and posts.
  • Commenting system from Disqus that allows commenters to login using their Facebook, Twitter, OpenID, or Yahoo! identities.
  • A social media tracking engine that scours the popular sites to see who’s talking about our content.
  • Tag cloud to highlight trending content keywords.
  • A search box to help you find the content you’re looking for.
  • Content categories to help us better organize our information.
  • Much, much more beneath the hood features that will help us get Pagan content from around the web to you.

If you have some suggestions as to how we can make the site better, please leave a comment or reach out via the “Contacts” page.

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News & Submissions 11/16/2009

November 16th, 2009 by sivodd

Wisconsin: Man-Wolf sightings
You all know how skeptical we here at GhostTheory are. Sometimes we even come off as being too tough on people. For example take the case with “Extreme Paranormal“. Read full story from ghosttheory.com

Be a good Christian: Say ‘Happy Holidays’
Here’s a fun mind game just in time for the year’s biggest shopping season: If Jesus were a clerk ringing up your purchase at The Gap, would he wish you “Merry Christmas” or “Happy Holidays”? What would Jesus do? Read full story from post-gazette.com

Flying Oskar: “I Believe” In Political Pandering
Score one for the good guys. After months of waiting on what was an absolutely inevitable decision, It was finally time on Wednesday for the rational people of South Carolina to stand up and cheer after U.S. District Judge Cameron Currie ruled that South Carolina’s state-issued “I Believe” license plate is unconstitutional. It was a good week for the separation of church and state here in the Palmetto State. Read full story from spartanburgspark.com

The origin of witchcraft
Christian leaders who believe in the story of creation say the craft of witches was a result of man straying from worshipping the one true God. Because man has an insatiable desire to worship a supernatural being and to look to the supernatural for help in times of calamities like drought, misfortunes, floods and epidemics, people formulated images that they found unique, captivating and alluring, like the rainbow, extraordinarily smooth stones etc. Maybe these held the answer to their problems, they thought. Read full story from monitor.co.ug

Witchcraft charge dismissed against traditional healers in Samoa
The Supreme Court in Samoa has dimissed one count of witchcraft against a couple standing trial for the death of a 44 year old woman who was severely burnt in a hot water treatment allegedly as a result of the witchcraft. Read full story from rnzi.com

Tarot cards could spell out your future
Marcus Katz is a scholar magician who is leading today’s witchcraft session, which is to promote a new TV series, Eastwick, starring the beautiful Rebecca Romijn of Ugly Betty and X-Men fame. Read full story from metro.co.uk

The DIY spiritual practice
I often envy people who practice a spiritual discipline. It almost doesn’t matter what they do. Zen, maybe, or yoga. Shamanic drumming. Sufi dancing. Kaballah. Ceremonial magick. Pagan witchcraft. Or even something as mainstream as regularly praying to God. Read full story from uuworld.org

Anti-gay church sets its sights on Jews
WASHINGTON — For more than a decade, Westboro Baptist Church has raised a ruckus with the message that God hates gays, posting itself outside government buildings, college campuses and even the funerals of American soldiers. But in recent months, the Topeka, Kan.-based church has been moving toward other targets, predominantly in the American Jewish community. Read full story from usatoday.com

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News & Submissions 11/15/2009

November 15th, 2009 by sivodd

Here Come The Werewolves…
Every few years there’s an ever changing fad in Hollywood. Whether the fad is on dystopian stories, Sci-fi, dogs or the most recent, Vampires; we always see the trickle-down effect. It starts in the most impressionable of sources. Books. Read full story from ghosttheory.com

The Sunday (Pagan) Movies Round-Up
Some big-screen news for those with Pagan views! We start off with an update on “The Wicker Tree”, the currently-shooting spiritual companion/sequel to the 1973 cult-classic “The Wicker Man”. On Halloween in New York, a special screening of “The Wicker Man” was held (along with a cool concert featuring Silver Summit), and director Robin Hardy was on hand to talk about the cult-classic and screen ten minutes of footage from the new film. Lucky for us all, Dread Central was there and files a report. Read full story from The Wild Hunt

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News & Submissions 11/14/2009

November 14th, 2009 by sivodd

Strange satanic chruch posters cause concern
STRANGE posters that apparently promote the Church of Satan have caused concern in Worcester. Read full story from worcesternews.co.uk

Police worker fired for backing psychic investigations claims religious discrimination
Alan Power, who has been a member of a Spiritualist church for 30 years, argues that his belief in the power of mediums should be placed on a par with more mainstream religious and philosophical convictions. Read full story from telegraph.co.uk

Vampire clubs, covens and lairs spring up following Twilight craze
Stephanie Meyer’s Twilight saga, hit TV show True Blood, and The Vampire Diaries have taken hold of popular culture, reviving interest in the age-old legend of immortal blood-suckers, The Sunday Telegraph reports. Read full story from news.com.au

Faith & Works | Faiths debate whether tattoos are appropriate
It wasn’t that long ago that tattoos, if they had any religious meaning, were viewed mostly in the West as pagan. In “Moby Dick,” Herman Melville describes the pagan harpooner Queequeg as having covered his body with tattoos depicting “a complete theory of the heavens and the earth, and a mystical treatise on the art of attaining truth.” Read full story from courier-journal.com

Questioning a ‘commander-in-chief’ for focusing on Indians
WASHINGTON – In the waning minutes of the day-long White House Tribal Nations Conference, held Nov. 5, President Barack Obama performed two duties: He said goodbye to the hundreds of leaders of sovereign Indian nations whom he invited to Washington, and addressed the horrific shootings at Fort Hood. In doing so, he created a controversy that has perplexed some in Indian country. Read full story from Indian Country Today

7 Questions you should never ask a Quija Board
When planning a seance it is crucial that you devise a ‘safe’ list of questions that you’ll ask the board, before starting the session. This is why it’s important not to use the Ouija when intoxicated as it can cause you to ask some potentially dangerous questions. Here is a quick list of 7 questions that you should never ask the board under any circumstances whatsoever. Read full story from ezinearticle.com

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