Top stories in Paganism and Shinto this week:
- Green Shinto blog features Paganism and Wicca in Japan
- Japanese folk rituals approved for UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage list
- Prince Akishino questions Japanese government financing of Shinto rite

Pagan News
Pagan practice in Japan
Green Shinto
These extracts are taken from a paper written by a postdoctoral researcher at Kyoto University, Eriko Kawanishi. She has an interest in Western paganism, particularly British Wicca and Celtic forms or paganism…
A Japanese Wiccan
Green Shinto
Author and Japanologist John Dougill meets a Wiccan – who’s Japanese
Owner of UK’s first pagan burial ground in 5,000 years told he must pay business rates as a ‘storage unit’
The Telegraph
Tim Daw, the owner of the burial ground used by Pagans, has been told by the Valuation Office Agency that he must pay between £4,500 to £5,000 a year in business rates for his burial mound where people pay to inter the ashes of their loved ones…
The Barrow and the State
The Wild Hunt
Earlier this week, BBC News reported that a burial chamber designed as a replica of Neolithic-style long barrows had been designated as a Druidic place of worship…
60 lottery winners will witness Winter Solstice sunrise at Newgrange
Irish Central
28,595 people entered into the lottery that grants access to the inside of Newgrange during the 2018 winter solstice…
Feminist Julie Burchill says “Pagans are perverts” in online rant
Spiked
Burchill says Pagans are “generally perverts, and not even sexy ones” and “actual Nazis were actual pagans” in piece entitled “Spare me this pagan revival”…
Mummers prepare to mark longest night and shortest day
East Anglican Daily Times
They will perform their latest play and seasonal offering, Return of the King, at 7.30pm beneath the ‘Sacred Oak’ on Rendham Knoll on December 21…
Big Data and the Pagan World
The Wild Hunt
Recently, The Wild Hunt searched Google Ngram Viewer. This search sought to learn how the use of the words “Pagan,” “Wicca,” “Druid,” and “Heathen” has changed over time. For ease of comparison, this search was restricted to the years between 1800 to 2008…
The Tea Drinking Witches of Flint
The Wild Hunt
In October, the Witches Tea Flint hosted not one but two successful events to raise money for Domestic Violence Awareness…
When the Witch in the Office Asks for the Solstice Off, Don’t Laugh, She’s Not Joking
JD Supra
Recent studies reveal that 0.4 percent of Americans (which is between 1 and 1.5 million) identify as Wicca or Pagan, which is more than the people who identify as Presbyterian. What does this mean to you?…
Spanish Wiccans Share Chilling Forecasts On Climate Change
Blue And Green Tomorrow
Some of the most vocal wiccans speaking out against climate change live in Spain…
The witch is she who dares to act alone
Mail & Guardian
Women are burnt — across diverse locations, for different reasons, in both metaphorical and material ways…
The stones that heal
Sun Community News
McKee, whose ancestors include members of the Abenaki tribe, said her mother taught her about nature and herbs, but it wasn’t until she was recovering from a painful bone break that she discovered the power of the stones, which fit in with her metaphysical upbringing…
When is the Winter Solstice 2018 and how is it celebrated?
The Sun
The winter solstice is fast approaching with the event marking the day with the shortest amount of daylight hours…
10 of the greatest ancient and pagan holidays
Big Think
Explore the many holidays and festivities once celebrated throughout the ancient and pagan world…
Shinto News
Namahage among Japanese folk rituals approved for UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage list
Japan Times
A set of Japanese folk rituals, in which people dress up as gods and visit homes, was approved Thursday for addition to UNESCO’s Intangible Cultural Heritage list, a committee of the U.N. body said…
Prince Akishino questions Japanese government financing of Shinto rite
Japan Times
Prince Akishino, the younger son of Emperor Akihito, has questioned whether the state should finance one of the Shinto-linked rituals to be held following the Imperial succession…
Emperor Akihito performs last harvest ritual before abdication
The Asahi Shimbun
Emperor Akihito gave thanks to the gods for a bountiful autumn harvest, the last time he will perform one of the most important annual palace rites before abdicating next spring…
License plate design inspired by Shinto mythology proposed
SoraNews24
The Yamata no Orochi is ready to leap out of the annals of mythology and onto your car…
Jinja Shinpō and Shinto Scandals
Mimusubi
In the 12th November issue, Jinja Shinpō ran an editorial about the trouble at Yasukuni, in which they explained their policy on such issues, and said something about their view of the Yasukuni problem. Both parts were very interesting…
Other News
Ceres Statue Once Again Adorns The Vermont Statehouse’s Golden Dome
VPR
Hundreds of people flocked to the Statehouse Friday to see the goddess of agriculture reclaim her perch atop the golden dome…
Cave paintings were an ancient zodiac mapping the skies, say experts
Yahoo News
New research suggests humans had a sophisticated knowledge of the stars as long as 40,000 years ago, tens of thousands of years earlier than previously thought…
Concert to bridge Celtic and Indigenous cultures
Regina Leader-Post
A cross-cultural concert featuring a collection of area poets, dancers, musicians and artists representing both First Nations and Celtic traditions will be taking place in Point Edward on Dec. 2…
Satanic sex cult with secret ‘Eye of Horus’ tattoos raped kids in sickening reign of terror
The Sun
One woman — raped by the cult leader Colin Batley at 11 — said he told her she would “go to the abyss” if she did not have sex with him…
Stone pavement find at Daisen Kofun, Japan’s largest ancient tomb, makes it ‘overwhelmingly unique’
The Japan Times
Excavation work at Japan’s largest mounded tomb has revealed that one of its surrounding greenbelts — not just the tomb itself — was paved with many stones, indicating the massive manpower required to build it, experts said Thursday…
How mead went mainstream: why sales of the ancient drink are soaring
iNews
Mead was once a favourite in medieval monasteries, now it’s fast becoming a hit with the bar crowd…
The Jomon Period: Modern Japanese art with ancient beginnings
The Japan Times
Jomon figurines, known as dogū, have a prevailing theme, unvarying over thousands of years: pregnant women…
Witch Hunting Is Not Yet History
The Citizen
Growing up, I cannot recall a single week when I did not read of a witch hunt crime in the newspaper…
Her Husband’s Mistress Branded Her A Witch
VICE
The ‘other woman’ pretended to be possessed by her and accused her of practising witchcraft…
Malawi: Mob Kills Man Over Witchcraft in Mulanje
Nyasa Times
A mob in Mulanje on Tuesday killed a 55-year-old Mandson Benson on allegations that he was practicing witchcraft…
Kenya: Elderly woman killed by unknown attackers
Daily Nation
There are suspicions that the deceased could have fallen victim to a vigilante-style attack following similar killings in the area targeting elderly people suspected of practicing witchcraft…
India: Woman shot dead on speculations of witchcraft in Saharanpur
Web India 123
A woman was shot dead in Teetaro area on speculations of witchcraft, police said…
India: Elderly woman beheaded in own home on suspicion of being a witch
Mirror Now News
Gujarat police arrested a 21-year-old man on Wednesday for the murder of an elderly woman at the Bhorgha village…
Nigeria: Christian couple ‘cast witchcraft out’ of owl before burning it
Pulse NG
Alongside cats, rats cockroaches Nigerians have always held owls to the evil standard of animal witches and wizards possess easily…