Friends honor Wiccan with Halloween burial
BARNEVELD — On a warm, sunny Halloween day, a group of 20 people drove up a rural road at Circle Sanctuary, a nature-based pagan church and ecological preserve here, to spread and inter the ashes of one of their own.
Bruce Parsons, of Milwaukee, who identified as a Wiccan or pagan, died in June at age 63, but his Circle Sanctuary ceremony was held Sunday afternoon, coinciding with the sanctuary’s green cemetery dedication. Read full story from madison.com
The PC’s guide to arresting a witch: It’s normal for people to be naked, bound and blindfolded and whatever you do, don’t touch their book of spells
When out pounding the beat for a spell, a policeman never knows when he might bump into a witch.
So it’s best to be prepared – with a 300-page guide which includes instructions on how to deal with members of the pagan community.
The Metropolitan Police has produced a diversity handbook offering officers a range of dos and don’ts when it comes to followers of a range of religions and beliefs, from atheism to Zoroastrianism, druidry and shamanism. Read full story from dailymail.co.uk
Arizona retiree says, ‘My witchery is my faith’
“It’s our new year. It’s the beginning of the new year for us. It’s the end of what we call the wheel of our year,” she said.
“Samhain to us is when the veil between the worlds are at the thinnest. It’s when you can call your ancestors, when you can honor the dead, when you can have more contact with the netherworlds and the other beings that are out there.” Read full story from lvrj.com
Magic circle charms visitors
SALEM — For Tammy Honickman and Lori Ann Busel, both practicing Wiccans, no place beats Salem for Halloween, which is their religion’s New Year.
“My best friend and I thought it was the best way to celebrate Samhain,” Honickman said. Samhain is the name for the Wiccan holiday on Oct. 31 when the dead are remembered. Read full story from salemnews.com
BBC accused of neglecting Christianity as it devotes air time to pagan festival
The BBC has been criticised for extensive coverage of a pagan festival to mark Halloween and accused of neglecting Christianity.
The corporation’s 24-hour news channel devoted considerable time to the celebrations in a riverside meadow where witches gathered to celebrate mark Samhain, the turning of the year from light to dark.
Dressed in hooded gowns, women were seen standing in a circle around a cauldron while ritualistic acts were conducted. Read full story from dailymail.com
Native Americans fill out census forms
Census Bureau and South Dakota tribes say new tactics to encourage American Indians to fill out the 2010 Census forms appear to be paying off.
Data recently released show the Yankton Sioux reservation had 55 percent of households mail back their forms, and the Flandreau Santee Sioux reservation had 53 percent.
That’s lower than the overall state participation rate of 76 percent but officials tell The Argus Leader they’re still pleased. Read full story from indiancountrytoday,com
Uprooted in hail’s wake, tribe wants help
KEWA PUEBLO, N.M. (AP) – For the first time in more than two years, Dominique Martinez, 2, has been able to sleep through the night.
Dominique, who suffers from cerebral palsy, had been struggling to breathe at night because of mold in her family’s home. After a hailstorm earlier this month damaged the family’s 1916 adobe home at Kewa Pueblo, Dominique was displaced along with four family members, including her sickly grandmother, Andrea Calabaza.
For the past week, they have been staying at the Love Your Heart Program administrative building, where offices are filled with cots, blankets and a few personal items for several displaced pueblo families. Read full story from indiancountrytoday.com
