Pagan Tama
Hello, this is Megan, writer of the Pagan Tama blog and the one who compiles these round-ups of Pagan and Shinto news each week.
I’m sorry for this rather unusual post and the rather alarming headline. In fact, I’ve compiled the usual round-up of Pagan and Shinto stories from around the world below.
But I wanted to draw your attention to new legislation by the European Union that may mean I won’t be able to provide this round-up in the near future.
This week, EU lawmakers voted for changes to copyright laws (the Copyright Directive) that will severely restrict what we’re able to share online. In fact, it may very well mean the end of the internet as we know it.
This is thanks in particular to two provisions in the changed laws, Article 11 and Article 13.
Article 11, aka the “link tax”, would force news aggregation and search sites to pay publishers for showing news snippets or linking to news stories on other sites. This would include things like this blog. Because I can’t afford to pay publishers a fee for sharing a sentence of text and a link, I wouldn’t be able to do this round-up anymore.
Article 13, the “anti-meme” provision, is perhaps even more worrying. It would make all platforms that allow posts or uploads directly liable for copyright infringements by users. Yes, that includes blogging platforms. It may force any upload-based website to use automated software for blocking any copyrighted content. This can result in non-copyrighted work being blocked, in addition to things like memes. What this might mean for Patheos is unclear.
I think I should make readers aware that recent changes to EU legislation have already affected my ability to do these round-ups. I’m located within the EU (the UK), and due to the launch of the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), I can no longer view many news sites from outside the EU. (This is very unlikely to change if and when the UK leaves the EU).
For example, take this article at The Southern about a local Pagan event in Illinois.
I cannot read this article. I had to ask some American friends to tell me what it was about. If I click the link, this is what I see:
Because GDPR regulations are so burdensome, and the penalties for breaking them so severe, many news sites outside the EU have simply decided to block EU users in order to avoid get around the laws. That’s right: even though GDPR is an EU law, countries all over the world are subject to it.
Naturally, I’m very concerned that the Copyright Directive will further reduce online freedoms of people within the EEA, and around the world too. That’s why I’ve decide to use my blog to give this message today. If you’re in the EU, or even if you’re not, please do raise your concerns with your representatives.
And now, the news…
Top stories in Paganism and Shinto for September 10th – 16th:
- Gion Festival float bound for Japanese garden in Oregon
- Archaeologists Unearth More Than 800 Tombs At Ancient Egyptian City Of The Dead
- Pagans support petition to protect the UK’s ancient yew trees
Pagan News
Pagans support petition to protect the UK’s ancient yew trees
The Wild Hunt
A new petition is seeking the protection for the Yew trees of region, some of which date back over 5000 years and have a history that is both sacred and rich as the culture itself…
Galliford Try boss says firm won’t touch Stonehenge tunnel
New Civil Engineer
Highways England has been trying to de-risk the Stonehenge tunnel project to attract more contractors…
DJ Paul Oakenfold plays set at Stonehenge
BBC News
Paul Oakenfold has become the first DJ to play a set at the ancient Stonehenge monument in Wiltshire…
Hazel Hill Wood celebrates Celtic Wheel of the Year
Salisbury Journal
Living with the Heartbeat of the Land is a program encouraging guests to come to the woodland site to learn about and enjoy changes in the seasons and nature…
Coven ready: from Instagram to TV, why are witches so popular?
The Guardian
Occult dramas from The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina to Strange Angel are a theme of the new season’s TV. Is this a response to the uncertainty of contemporary politics?…
A look at the Minoan Brotherhood and the men who “walk among worlds”
The Wild Hunt
Many paths and traditions make up contemporary Paganism. The Wild Hunt recently spoke with Ceos of the Minoan Brotherhood. That tradition offers a spiritual path for gay men…
‘Waking the Witch’ exhibition at Oriel Davies
Powys Country Times
The exhibition reflects the British Isles’ strong relationship to magic and the occult with the chants of witchcraft echoing throughout its history…
Why is there a wizard at the top of this Melbourne building?
ABC News
Yes, he looks like Gandalf, with the big beard, robes and staff, and the general impression is that you wouldn’t mess with him if you were a goblin. But he’s not really a wizard — he’s a druid…
Can you really balance an egg during the autumnal equinox and when does it take place in 2018?
The Sun
Here’s everything you need to know about the autumnal equinox and whether you can actually balance an egg on this day…
Shinto News
Gion Festival float bound for Japanese garden in Oregon
The Asahi Shimbun
The Ayagasa Hoko float, featured during the “saki matsuri” (preceding festival) of the Gion Festival, will make the long journey to Portland, Ore., to be put on display in a Japanese garden from this month…
Major exhibit on animals in Japanese art coming to National Gallery of Art next spring
The Washington Post
The religious and historical influences of animals in Japanese culture will be the focus of a major exhibition next spring at the National Gallery of Art…
Abdullah Ibrahim’s music resonates deeply with an Eastern way of life
IOL
Ibrahim, who understands the spirit of ancient Japanese body techniques and culture, naturally succeeded to resonate with the sacred ground of Japan…
The torii reexamined
Green Shinto
Green Shinto has written before about the possible origins of torii, and about the different forms that they take. Now in the latest posting, we take a renewed look at the evocative gateway and consider some deeper psychological elements…
A Japanese-Jewish feast for Tsukimi and the High Holy Days
San Francisco Chronicle
“Some people are afraid of butchering their traditions, but we have to adapt and update them if we want them to survive”…
Other News
Archaeologists Unearth More Than 800 Tombs At Ancient Egyptian City Of The Dead
IFL Science
An expedition co-led by the University of Alabama-Birmingham and Egypt’s Ministry of Antiquities found 802 tombs buried in the massive cemetery, which is nestled between two pyramids, one positioned to the north and the other to the south…
Rabbi condemns rebuilt Arch of Palmyra as “idolatory”
Breaking Israel News
The reproduction of the Arch of Palmyra, a Roman victory arch that stood as the entrance to a pagan temple for almost 2,000 years, will make an improbable appearance in Washington D.C. and the International Criminal Court in the Hague as a “symbol of Peace and Resilience”…
Taking no bull in retelling of a Greek myth
Portsmouth.co.uk
Sign up Co-created by Lucy J Skilbeck and an ensemble of queer, trans and drag performers, the Milk Presents troupe brings its cabaret-inflected take on the myth of the minotaur to Hampshire…
There’s Another New Lesbian Witch Show Coming Out Because “All Witch Shows Are Gay”
Into
The most obvious answer to the age-old question of “Why is witchcraft lesbian?” is, of course: sisterhood.
‘They said my twin was a witch and deserved to die’: How Britain is tackling the female genital mutilation of schoolgirls
The Telegraph
FGM is often performed without anesthesia as part of a “coming of age” ritual…
‘I Am Not a Witch’ debuts from Zambian-born director Rungano Nyoni
Amsterdam News
Zambian-born, Welsh-raised director Rungano Nyoni steps boldly into this bizarre world, awash in superstition, in modern Zambia…
Villagers attack Vihiga family over ‘witchcraft’
Media Max
Property worth millions of shillings was destroyed in Epuche village, Vihiga county, after residents attacked a family in the area for allegedly bewitching their children…
Woman Poisoned Daughter Accused of Witchcraft in Liberia
The Bush Chicken
Police in Maryland’s Pleebo Sodoken Statutory District have arrested a 35-year-old woman for poisoning and killing her nine-year-old daughter, Toane Thompson…
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