Posts Tagged ‘Pagan’

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News & Submissions 5/25/2010

Tuesday, May 25th, 2010

Pagans use fest to show their beliefs
VALPARAISO — Lizz Frenzel was drawn to the first May Faire Sunday at Taltree Arboretum and Garden because of the maypole.

Fresh from a trip to the Bavarian region of Germany, Frenzel, of Valparaiso, saw maypoles in many of the small towns, though she missed the May 1 celebration of the ancient tradition there. Read full story from post-tribune.com

Mummies galore: 57 ancient Egyptian tombs discovered in secret underground network
Archaeologists have unearthed a labyrinth of rich Egyptian tombs that had been hidden under the ground for thousands of years.

Most of the 57 ancient tombs contained an ornately painted wooden sarcophagus with a mummy inside, Egypt’s Supreme Council of Antiquities said. Read full story from dailymail.co.uk

Separation of church and state: fact or fiction?
Not so very long ago, “separation of church and state” was as American as motherhood and apple pie. Despite perennial debates over the degree of separation, public support for the principle itself has been strong for much of our history. Read full story from firstamendmentcenter.org

‘God must have something specific in mind for me’
From CNN’s Sara Sidner in Mangalore, India: It’s puzzling how we human beings can fight so fiercely over our differences, but when it boils down to it we are all so similar. No matter what religion we believe in or don’t believe in, it never escapes me that in life’s most extreme circumstances our differences suddenly fade away and what is left are the simple human traits we all share. Read full story from cnn.com

Using humor to bridge religious divides

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News & Submissins 5/24/2010

Monday, May 24th, 2010

Holy water allegedly sprinkled on atheist teacher
POMPANO BEACH — Two teachers accused of sprinkling holy water onto an avowed atheist colleague have been removed from the classroom, and may be fired. Read full story from sftimes.com

Calif. bill would block Texas textbook changes
SACRAMENTO, Calif.—California may soon take a stand against proposed changes to social studies textbooks ordered by the Texas school board, as a way to prevent them from being incorporated in California texts. Read full story from mercurynews.com

You Have The Right To Your Own Religion
There are many religions and faiths in this world. Which one do you wish to choose? Lots of people believe Jesus is God, while others acknowledge him only as The Son of God. If your comfortable in believing that Jesus is God, then you have that right, to feel so. Read full story from modernghana.com

Tribute to Kiva’s sacredness
The cities of Albuquerque, N.M. and El Paso, Texas have erected bronze monuments that glorify a violent time in American Southwest history. Albuquerque’s monument, “La Entrada” (the entrance), was dedicated in May 2005 and placed in front of the Albuquerque Museum of Art in Old Town, N.M. Likewise, the world’s largest bronze monument, the “Equestrian” in El Paso, Texas was dedicated in April 2007 at the El Paso International Airport, under protest by Indian rights groups against honoring a “genocidal conquistador,” Juan de Onate. Read full story from indiancountrytoday.com

Shamans use their unique perspectives to seek healing
A group of 20 shamans gather in a circle, bringing totems that connect them with their ancestors and other spirits. They summon these forces with drums, crystals, meditation and song, hoping the energy of the circle transmits vibrations of love and compassion around the globe. Read full story from sunsentinel.com

Take a tour of the new CNN Belief Blog

Shamans use their unique perspectives to seek healing

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News & Submissions 5/20/2010

Thursday, May 20th, 2010

Sefton and West Lancashire Pagans hit out at UKIP attack over holidays
The region’s Pagan community has reacted with uproar this week after a political party branded moves to let police officers celebrate their festivals as “madness”. Read full story from champnews.com

BP Contractors and Coast Guard Prevent CBS From Filming Oil Spill Devastation
CBS News reporters have been turned away and threatened with arrest, prevented from reporting on the impact of oil coming ashore in Louisiana, by contractors from BP, apparently working in conjunction with the US Coast Guard. Earlier in the drama of the Gulf oil disaster, US Fish & Wildlife Service cut off access to certain wildlife refuges to limit the impact of troops of journalists marching over nesting habitat, but this seems different. Read full story from treehugger.com

FEMA Photographer Asked Church Volunteers Not to Wear Religious T-Shirts in Video on Tornado Aftermath
Jackson, Miss. (AP) – The top officer for FEMA said one of the agency’s videographers was “absolutely wrong” to ask Mississippi church volunteers not to wear religious T-shirts for a video about tornado cleanup. Read full story from cnsnews.com

Onondaga Nation and environmental partners win prestigious EPA award
NEW YORK – The Onondaga Nation and its environmental partners were honored by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency with the highest recognition presented to the public. Read full story from indiancountrytoday.com

Gathering of Nation’s glucose testing flawed
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – People who received free blood glucose testing at the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center April 24 may have been exposed to blood borne diseases and are being urged by public health officials to contact the University of New Mexico for follow up risk assessment and care. Read full story from indiancountrytoday.com

Did My Dog See Something Paranormal?
It was about 1:38 am and my girlfriend and I were sound asleep. The blinds were all closed, blocking the city lights and creating a very dark atmosphere. The only light was from our DVR’s blue LED glow. It illuminates our couch and rug in the living room just enough so that you don’t stub your little toe on the leg of the couch when clumsily walking around in the middle of the night. Read full story from ghosttheory.com

Indigenous Tribesmen Storm Brazilian Congress
In a dramatic scene of protest today in the Brazilian Capitol Building, several dozen indigenous tribesmen clashed with security outside the chamber of the House of Representatives–some armed with batons and sticks. Capitol Police managed to hold back the protesters, most of whom were dressed in traditional garb, from their attempts “to invade the House.” The leader of the indigenous group, however, claims their motives were peaceful, and that they wanted simply their voices to be heard by the governing body over issues of encroachment on their native lands. Read full story from treehugger.com

Archaeologists Unearth 7,000-Year-Old Swastika in North-western Bulgaria
20 May 2010 | A pottery fragment with the image of a swastika, dating to 7,000 years ago, and an ancient female adornment with a phallus are among the artefacts shown for the first time as part of the on-going exhibition “Gods, Symbols and Ancient Signs” in the museum in Vratsa in north-western Bulgaria. Read full story from balkantravellers.com

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News & Submissions 5/19/2010

Wednesday, May 19th, 2010

Gulf Oil Again Imperils Sea Turtle
The sea turtle, affectionately nicknamed Thelma by a National Park Service employee, has already beaten some terrible odds. Still in the egg, she was airlifted here from Mexico in the years after the 1979 blowout of the Ixtoc 1 rig, which spilled millions of gallons of oil into the Gulf of Mexico and covered the turtles’ primary nesting place. Read full story from nytimes.com

Panel moves ‘Religious Freedom Act’
A Senate panel narrowly approved legislation Tuesday whose supporters say reaffirms constitutional guarantees of freedom of religious expression. Read full story from 2theadvocate.com

New designation would protect an ancient site
PAGOSA SPRINGS, Colo. – Every 18.6 years, the moon rises between ancient twin pinnacles in an event known as the Northern Lunar Standstill, inspiring awe among those who witness it in southwestern Colorado’s San Juan National Forest near the Southern Ute Indian Reservation. Read full story from indiancountrytoday.com

Former Erin cult leader headed back to prison again
OTTAWA — A former Erin resident who once led a sex cult made up of teenage boys has been sent back to prison for threatening to kill his parole officer. Read full story from guelphmercury.com

Ann Phillips: A ‘self-absorbed crackpot shaman’ responds
In his Saturday feature (May 8, 2010 Delusional: Movement to depose psychiatry emerges from the shadows), writer Joseph Brean referred to me as a “self-absorbed crackpot shaman”. This has spurred me to share some of the rich traditions of shamanism that I have been learning for the past few years. Read full story from nationalpost.com

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News & Submissions 5/18/2010

Tuesday, May 18th, 2010

Humanists join Hertfordshire Police chaplaincy team
The chaplaincy team has 20 members from a range of faiths, including Judaism, Christianity, Islam and Paganism. Read full story from bbc.co.uk

Religion, Bigotry, and Political Hypocrisy
Pat Buchanan, in his usual less-than-charming manner, brought up a point last week about the religious diversity (or lack thereof) of the Supreme Court. Buchanan pointed out that, if Elena Kagan is confirmed to the highest court (as seems likely), there will be only two religions represented on the court — Judaism and Catholicism. He further points out that the court will be one-third Jewish, when Jews account for only two percent of the American population. Now, aside from the highly amusing spectacle of right-wingers advocating some sort of quota system, I think there’s a deeper point here than Buchanan’s “pity the unrepresented Protestant majority” theme. Because, even though virtually no politician would ever admit it, there is indeed a widespread (but unacknowledged) religious bigotry in America. Read full story from huffingtonpost.com

Pagan police ‘madness’
The right for pagan police officers to celebrate their festivals has been described by a Euro MP as “politically correct madness.” Read full story from rochdaleonline.co.uk

Have a voodoo curse? You can call police, but there’s not much they can do
Delray BeachMost people would have walked right by the small rock sprinkled with orange dust. But Farel Paul became paralyzed with fear. He was convinced someone cast a voodoo spell on him by leaving the rock by his car door. Read full story from sun-sentinel.com

Does postcard solve ghost riddle?
One of Shropshire’s most sensational mysteries – the spooky riddle of “The Wem ghost” – may at last have been solved by eagle-eyed Shropshire Star reader Brian Lear. Read full story from shropshirestar.com

Malawi convicts couple for being gay
A Malawi gay couple have been convicted of having a criminal relationship and could face up to 14 years in jail under the country’s colonial-era laws. Read full story from independent.co.uk

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News & Submissions 5/14/2010

Friday, May 14th, 2010

Wiccan priestess: “Pagans mean no harm”
Many Livingston Parish residents want to keep a pagan festival from coming to Killian.
But one woman wants to set the “spell-casting” and “devil-worshipping” rumors straight.
Emily Turner sat down with a member of the pagan faith, who says she’s part of a community whos beliefs are far from evil. See Video from nbc33tv.com

Tolerance of paganism now a symbol of civilized society
A sign that paganism has come of age is that there are now lapsed pagans — heretics who resort to scientific explanations for phenomena formerly attributed to the supernatural. Read full story from timesonline.com

LOCH MEMORIAL TO FORFAR WITCHES
VISITORS to Forfar Loch Country Park have been intrigued by the appearance of a headstone which has been erected in a small clearing.
Inscribed with the words “The Forfar Witches, Just People”, it sits in a simple stone circle and is sheltered beneath a hawthorn tree. Read full story from kirriemuirherald.co.uk

Satire is Religion
Scatological humor. Crude drawings mocking revered religious figures. I am speaking, of course, of Lucas Cranach’s Birth and Origin of the Pope, one in a series of woodcuts commissioned by Martin Luther in the 1540s under the title “The True Depiction of the Papacy.” In it, an enormous grinning she-devil squats in the foreground, excreting the Pope along with a heap of bishops while in the background another infant pontiff suckles at the teat of a serpent-haired wet nurse. Read full story from religiondispatches.org

The Merest Christianity
ARLINGTON, VA – - The lower house of Belgium’s Parliament voted unanimously on April 29 to outlaw full-face veils. The Senate must also pass the measure. Read full story from newsblaze.com

Europe Under the Ash
Eyjafjallajokull, that unpronounceable volcano, prompted inevitable chatter about nature’s awesome fury and the inadequacy of human invention to deal with it. Few Europeans had even heard of the volcano before, and they marveled at, but mostly grumbled about, how such widespread havoc could be caused by such teensy particles of ash, adrift from Iceland. On the whole, Europeans tend to forget about Iceland until some fresh calamity compels their attention. The last was the banking implosion, and a line making the rounds in Europe has it that Iceland’s final wish after its economy kicked the bucket was to spread its ashes across Europe. Read full story from nytimes.com

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News & Submissions 5/13/2010

Thursday, May 13th, 2010

From Muslim to Pagan
“Mum, Dad, I’m not a Muslim any more.” My mother looks up sharply, bristling with annoyance. “Don’t be ridiculous, of course you are.” My father doesn’t look up, assuming this is just the latest in a long line of pronouncements about religion that began with me age 10 spending a whole summer with a black scarf on my head to demonstrate my desire to become a Catholic nun. It was a phase that he was convinced would pass, like the Baha’i boyfriend or Bhangra-based Punjabi militancy. “You’re still culturally Muslim,” he said. I know the subtext of that: believe what you like in your heart but socially don’t run around telling family and friends that you’ve renounced the faith. Read full story from guardian.co.uk

Exposition shines light on healing energy
They call Andrea Mattson the singing psychic, and she is the force behind this weekend’s Victoria Energy Expo. The operator of Red Gate Intuitive Arts Centre, Mattson hopes to join together people seeking healing, enlightenment, wisdom, peace and love in a fun atmosphere. Read full story from timescolonist.com

Bizarre horse incidents baffle police
WHITE witches or would-be thieves may be behind a spate of bizarre incidents in West Fife in which horses have had their manes plaited. Read full story from dunfermlinepress.com

Why my baby really is magic: Woman claims fertility spell helped her conceive after six years of trying
The daughter of a ‘white witch’ has claimed she gave birth after six years of trying because her mother cast a fertility spell on her. Read full story from dailymail.co.uk

Thieves take Mojave Desert cross
Two weeks after the Supreme Court said it could stay, the Mojave Cross war memorial has been ripped out of and stolen from its rocky embankment in the California desert. Read full story from washingtontimes.com

Hex Appeal
Snaking around the outer wall of the courthouse in Mbaiki, Central African Republic, is a long line of citizens, all in human form and waiting to face judgment. It’s easy to imagine them as the usual mix of drunks, reckless drivers, and check-bouncers in the dock of a small American town. But here most are witches, and they are facing criminal punishment for hexing their enemies or assuming the shape of animals. Read full story from theatlantic.com

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News & Submissions 4/20/2010

Tuesday, April 20th, 2010

Supreme Court rejects animal cruelty law, upholds free speech
The US Supreme Court on Tuesday struck down a federal law that criminalized photographs and other depictions of animal cruelty, saying the law violated free speech rights protected by the First Amendment. Read full story from csmonitor.com

Man faces sexual assault charges in wake of ‘cleansing ritual’
DECATUR – Two 17-year-old women told police they were sexually molested by a 40-year-old man involved in a witchcraft group known as the “Order of the Seeing Eye.” Read full story from herald-review.com

Sherpas set out to clear Everest of garbage – and corpses
A team of 20 Sherpa mountaineers plans to remove bodies of climbers who died in Mount Everest’s “death zone,” a treacherous stretch that has claimed some 300 lives since 1953. Read full story from theglobeandmail.com

Orthodox experts considers Iceland volcano eruption a sign of God’s wrath
They noted that Iceland “has recently become a center of European neo-paganism of Aryan occult kind, which has Nazi character” as Iceland has headquartered the Association of European Ethnic Religions that has recently worked out a draft of merger between the World Pagan Assembly and International Pagan Alliance. Read full story from interfax-religion.com

Heritage week big at North Idaho College
COEUR D’ALENE, Idaho – The American Indian Student Alliance at North Idaho College brought a full week of events revolving around Indian heritage to the entire student body. Most activities were free but two events had a small fee and raised $2,000 which will go into an American Indian student scholarship fund. Read full story from indiancountrytoday.com

Medicine men, MDs partner for native care
TUBA CITY, Ariz. – The hospital stands in the midst of a world of traditions: of Hopi clowns dancing around centuries-old villages, of Navajo elders tending their sheep, of customs as ancient as the winds that buffet the mesas and desert lands that stretch to the horizon. Read full story from msnbc-msn.com

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News & Submissions 4/15/2010

Thursday, April 15th, 2010

Witches to Open New Museum in Salem, Massachusetts

Salem, MA (PRWEB) April 15, 2010 — Witches opening a new museum in Salem, Massachusetts, aka The Witch City, wouldn’t seem to be newsworthy, as there are many quality museums in the city already. What makes The World of Witches Museum different is that its exhibit will be dealing with real world witches and operated by practicing witches. This Museum will be a place of learning for and about the global Witch movement, and will tell their story. With Witchcraft, Witches, and Wiccan cultures on the rise worldwide, the World of Witches Museum tells the story of their struggles, history, and beliefs from a witch’s point of view. The museum, under its curator Rev. Donald Lewis, will tell the story of Witches from the past, present, and those Witches who are walking among us today. Read full story from prweb.com

Witch Magick
Did you know that if a witch sees or spots a black cat or black dog that this is a good omen for a witch to see.

A long time ago, black cats wore destroyed as they wore thought to be devils, and this is why the Christians would kill them. Read full story from modernghana.com

Tomb Of Ken-Amun, Royal Scribe, Unearthed In Egypt
Dating to the 19th Dynasty B.C (1315-1201 BC), the burial is the first ever Ramesside-period tomb uncovered in Lower Egypt, Dr. Zahi Hawass, Secretary General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities, said on Wednesday. Read full story from discovery.com

Breaking: Some Psychics May Be Frauds
Last year, psychic to the stars Azra Shafi-Scagliar was convicted of grand larceny. Then a couple of months ago, Sylvia Mitchell of Zena Psychic was accused of tricking her customers into giving her large sums of money by telling them that they needed to cleanse their spirits. Then “psychic investment adviser” Sean Morton was charged by the SEC with fraud. And now, “intuitive” psychic Laura Day is being sued by her ex-boyfriend, Princeton Review founder Adam Robinson, who claims that she manipulated him into writing her best-selling book for her out of “virtually unusable” notes and then used her powers of intuition against him. Read full story from mymag.com

Rosemary For Remembrance
A sprig of Rosemary worn in the lapel on Anzac Day is a form of remembrance to those who have served this country in times of conflict. In fact, the commonly used phrase is ‘Rosemary for Remembrance.’ Read full story from narrowminenewsonline.com

Brunswick commissioners may abandon insistence on prayers
The consideration of changing from an opening invocation to a moment of silence comes after a StarNews report on a late-night board meeting in which commissioners vehemently opposed Commissioner Charles Warren’s request to allow outside clergy to pray before the board meetings. Traditionally the commissioners have given the invocation. Read full story from starnewsonline.com

Massive fireball reported across Midwestern sky
(CNN) — Authorities in several Midwestern states were flooded Wednesday night with reports of a gigantic fireball lighting up the sky, the National Weather Service said. Read full story from cnn.com

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News & Submissions 4/13/2010

Tuesday, April 13th, 2010

Your Hatred Will Make Me Famous: Making Sense of a Republican Vampire
The aphorism that “politics makes strange bedfellows” gained new meaning last month when self-identified vampire, Satanist, and “Hecate witch” Jonathan “The Impaler” Sharkey announced he would run for president in 2012 as a Republican. Read full story from religiondispatches.org

New Hilton Village store caters to witches, Pagan culture
Apr 11, 2010 (Daily Press – McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) — As you might suspect in a store called The Magickal Attic, brooms, wands and caldrons decorate the space, waiting to be sold. And the owner, Melissa Kepley, is a witch. Read full story from callcenterinfo.tmcnet.com

Pagans and social justice
While Pagans do not have a set creed or unified code of beliefs, our traditions hold in common the understanding that we are all deeply interconnected, all part of the sacred weave of the world. The Goddess is immanent in this world and in all human beings, and part of our service to the sacred is to honor one another and take care of one another, to fairly share nature’s bounty and to succor one another in facing the hardships of life. We must create justice in this world, not wait for redress of grievances in the next. REad full story from washingtonpost.com

Finding the right path
A 13-week course offered in New Britain promises to make you a spiritual leader of no particular religion.

Cindy Peto found herself in several religions before finally choosing to start one of her own. Read full story from phillyburbs.com

Scientists ponder NAGPRA lawsuit
The rule, published March 15 and open for comment for 60 days, is a clarification from the Interior Department to the 1990 Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act. It states that after appropriate tribal consultation, transfer of culturally unidentifiable remains is to be made to a tribe from whose tribal or aboriginal lands the remains were excavated or removed. Civil penalties are proposed for museums and learning institutions that do not follow the law. Read full story from indiancountrytoday.com

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