Wicca

Bewitching plans for 400th anniversary of Pendle witch trials
A YEAR-long programme of events is being proposed to mark the 400th anniversary of the trial and execution of the Pendle witches. Read full story from lancashiretelegraph.co.uk

Scientologists in Haiti: A Firsthand Account
We’ve spoken to someone who traveled to Haiti on a Scientology plane — and witnessed firsthand the ineptitude, quackery and irresponsibility of the church’s minions in a disaster zone. Here’s his account. Read full story from gawker.com

Pagan Spirit Gathering 2010:“Spirals of Spirit and Light”
The Pagan Spirit Gathering (PSG) is one of America’s oldest and largest Nature Spirituality festivals. Since its inception in 1980, PSG has been bringing together hundreds of people from throughout the United States, plus other countries, to create community, celebrate Summer Solstice, and commune with Nature in a sacred environment. Sponsored by Circle Sanctuary, PSG is open to long-time practitioners as well as newcomers of a wide range of Nature religion traditions, including Wiccan, Contemporary Pagan, Druidic, Heathen, Celtic, Baltic, Greco-Roman, Isian, Shamanic, Hermetic, Animistic, Egyptian, Native American, Afro-Carribean, Taoist, Pantheistic, Ecofeminist, and Nature Mystic. PSG is an opportunity for personal renewal, networking, education, and cultural enrichment. Get more details at circlesanctuary.org

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