Pagan

Sue St.Clair and Matthew Didier’s Paranormal Blog
The question of whether or not Ouija boards are “dangerous” has caused some recent debate on our paranormal forums that was based around a US group that are trying to have them banned for sale as a children’s toy. Read full story from seminars.totontoghosts.org

Author to discuss paganism at Pacific
STOCKTON – Margot Adler, an author and correspondent for National Public Radio, will lecture about paganism in America at 8 p.m. next Tuesday at the Long Theatre at University of the Pacific. Read full story from recordnet.com

Billboards on Tampa Bay roads duel over existence of God
Two billboards, in Hillsborough County near Fowler Avenue and 17th Street and in Pinellas County near Ulmerton Road and U.S. 19, are the latest in a publicity blitz over religion. They are part of a national advertising campaign by the United Coalition of Reason. Read full story from tampabay.com

State senator puts hit on hallucinogenic herb
It’s salvia divinorum. And while the herb with hallucinogenic properties is legal in Pennsylvania, state Sen. Lisa M. Boscola wants to change that. Read full story from phillyburbs.com

Fire in the head, Spirit in the heart
I had originally intended this as just a short response to fellow blogger Edward Smith’s comment on my Imbolc posting. But that would not allow me to share the lovely images, which so well illustrate our common point. Read full story from stltoday.com

Turkish girl, 16, buried alive for talking to boys
Turkish police have recovered the body of a 16-year-old girl they say was buried alive by relatives in an “honour” killing carried out as punishment for talking to boys. Read full story from guardian.co.uk

Colonel tells cadets ’lack of respect’ for pagan site will not be tolerated
A top official at the Air Force Academy warned cadets Wednesday that religious discrimination “will not be tolerated” — an admonishment that came nearly three weeks after an airman reported that someone left a large wooden cross at the site of a pagan worship area. Read full story from gazette.com

Christian Serbia maintains its faith in folklore
While Serbia is a deeply religious nation, it also happens to be steeped in superstition. The BBC’s Mark Lowen finds that folklore and tales of medieval military glory are part of daily life for many Serbians. Read full story from bbc.co.uk

Cat predicts 50 deaths in RI nursing home
Dr David Dosa, a geriatrician and assistant professor at Brown University, said that five years of records showed Oscar rarely erring, sometimes proving medical staff at the New England nursing home wrong in their predictions over which patients were close to death. Read full story from telegraph.co.uk

US Baptists ‘knew taking children out of Haiti was wrong’
Prime Minister Jean-Max Bellerive said some of the children have parents who are alive. The government is attempting to locate them. He says a judicial system needs to determine whether the Americans were acting in good faith – as they claim – or are child traffickers. Read full story from independent.co.uk

How to make a Brigid’s Cross

“Thirteen Moons on A Turtles Back” And “Punxsutawney Who?”
The term actually comes from the number of plates on the shell of a snapping turtle.  The Native Americans used it as a way of keeping track of the moons in a year.  I know you are thinking, “Aren’t there twelve moons in a year?”  That is true if there were not occasionally two full moons in one month approximately every 2.5 years.  I am sure you have head of ‘Once in a Blue Moon’. Read full story from findlayliving.com

Brace yourself for St Brigid
She’s our female patron saint yet St Patrick gets all the parades, but with her name coming back into favour maybe it’s time for St Brigid to shine, writes FIONA McCANN Read full story from irishtimes.com

**Is The First Amendment for Monotheists Only?**A case coming before the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals could end up having major legal ramifications for all religious minorities in the United States. Wiccan chaplain Patrick McCollum has been fighting for years to overturn the State of California’s “five faiths policy”, which limits the hiring of paid chaplains to Protestant, Catholic, Jewish, Muslim, and Native American adherents. While McCollum has suffered setbacks in his quest, with a California federal district court ruling in early 2009 that he had no standing to bring his suit, he recently gained support on appeal from several civil and religious rights groups who argue that his case should be heard. Read full story from wildhunt.org

Mystery as century-old Swiss watch discovered in ancient tomb sealed for 400 years
Archaeologists are stumped after finding a 100-year-old Swiss watch in an ancient tomb that was sealed more than 400 years ago.

They believed they were the first to visit the Ming dynasty grave in Shangsi, southern China, since its occupant’s funeral. Read more from dialymail.co.uk

Capricology: Television, Tech, and the Sacred
Television’s latest contribution to the cultural intersection of science and religion — with bonus themes to include: the body, artificial intelligence, paganism, original sin, immigration, and race. Join Diane Winston, Anthea Butler, Salman Hameed and Henry Jenkins every week as they delve into deep exegesis of Caprica. Read full story from religondispatches.org

Pagan Events and Festivals
Pagan events you’ll want to save the date for are the festivals that are coming up. Read full story from examiner.com

Paganist protests as health visitor tells her to move items
A follower of paganism claims a health visitor told her she should put her religious items away because of the effect they could be having on her son. Read full story from portsmouth.co.uk

Religious Imperialism
We’re all aware of the stupid things about Haiti that Pat Robertson said recently, but just to recap: