Pagan Tama
Top stories in Paganism and Shinto this week:
- Buckland Museum in Cleveland lends helping hand to Witchcraft & Magic Museum in England
- Norway: Vodou symbol and beheaded rooster left at ancient standing stones
- Japan: 4,000 wind chimes displayed in hopes of large catch in city hit by 2011 tsunami
Read more below…
Pagan News
Buckland Museum in Cleveland lends helping hand to Witchcraft & Magic Museum in England
The Wild Hunt
On Tuesday, The Buckland Museum Of Magick and Witchcraft announced they are holding a fundraiser to benefit the Museum of Witchcraft and Magic in Boscastle, England…
Norway: Vodou symbol and beheaded rooster left at ancient standing stones
The Wild Hunt
A beheaded black rooster, discarded plastic candles, and a Voudou symbol drawn out on the ground has been discovered at a 1500-year-old heritage site…
US: Modern witchcraft shop shatters society’s prejudices against the ancient practice
The American Reporter
MydnytBlu aims to shatter the prejudices against witchcraft and pagan practices and reveal what they are indeed about…
US: Pagan minister speaks about being a ‘death midwife’
Alecia Sarashun Veach became a certified death midwife in November. She is also a Pagan minister and High Priestess with the Spiral Tree Tradition…
Why society brides are opting for “New Age” weddings
Tatler
Practices such as crystal blessings and sage smudging are becoming de rigueur, with higher-minded brides turning to shamans, and crystal healers…
Working magic: Creating a poppet
Patheos Pagan: Rachel Patterson
When most people think of a poppet, they automatically think of the Voodoo doll, thanks to this item’s negative portrayal in movies and on television….
Magic was once seen as equal to science and religion – a bit of magical thinking could help the world now
The Conversation
Rumours of the death of magic have frequently been exaggerated…
‘Charmed’: Here’s how much ‘The Book Of Shadows’ is actually worth
The Things
One reason for the massive price tag on the Book of Shadows is the market for potential buyers: it’s full of actual Wiccans who consider those types of items to be sacred…
Shinto News
4,000 wind chimes displayed in hopes of large catch in Japanese city hit by 2011 tsunami
The Mainichi
Some 4,000 wind chimes are on display in this northeastern Japan fishing community hit hard by tsunami triggered by the March 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake, in a new event expressing hope for a good catch and to drive away bad luck…
Shizuoka City orders mysterious torii of unknown origin torn down
SoraNews24
According to the city records, it was erected 45 years ago to replace an older torii when the road underneath it was built, but that’s about all that’s known about it…
Kyoto bonfire festival held on smaller scale amid pandemic
Japan Times
A traditional bonfire festival in Kyoto, western Japan, was held Sunday night on a smaller scale than usual due to the novel coronavirus epidemic…
With less bustle from festivals, an opportunity to focus on prayers
Japan Forward
It is quiet this summer, with no pedestrian zones marked out for the Gion Matsuri’s Yoiyama (three nights of festivities before the main procession). And there are no customary fireworks for the Tenjin festival. Instead, it is a good time to think about the wishes of all those who have cherished these traditions and reflect the calm and quiet…
Hiroki Muto-designed ‘library of priests’ extends shrine residence in Nagano, Japan
Design Boom
Architect Hiroki Muto has designed a wooden structure that extends the rural residence of two married Japanese Shinto priests…
Gion Festival amid the pandemic: Smaller events, closer communities
Japan Forward
On April 20, the organizers officially announced that the Gion Festival’s highlight — the Yamahoko Junko, which are the famous processions involving various yama and hoko floats — would be canceled this year…
The Men of Koiyama: Keeping the Gion festival tradition for the next generation
Japan Forward
“No matter what happens, this is what I have always been doing, what I have always been a part of.” These are the confident words of Kojiro Yoshida, former chief director of the Gion Festival Yamahoko Association…
Other News
UK: Firefighters called out after alarm triggered by sage burning for ‘exorcism’
Nottinghamshire Live
A spokeswoman for Nottinghamshire Fire and Rescue Service said they found a small group of people “dressed in religious wear undertaking an exorcism”. It turned out the alarm had been triggered by the burning of sage, which some believe acts as a barrier for negative energy and spirits…
US: An Exhibit on the Mysteries of Stonehenge Is Coming to Denver in March 2021
Our Community Now
Step back 5,000 years to understand the people who built Stonehenge, as well as learn about modern scientific discoveries…
UK: Spellbook forms part of exhibition of Hebrew works at British Library
The Guardian
A 16th-century spellbook containing 125 recipes is about to go on public display at the British Library as part of its delayed Hebrew Manuscripts exhibition…
Ancient Egypt: Mummified animals ‘digitally unwrapped’ in 3D scans
BBC
Three mummified animals from ancient Egypt have been digitally unwrapped and dissected by researchers using high-resolution 3D scans…
Disney confirms character in cartoon about witchcraft is bisexual
The Daily Wire
Disney confirmed its cartoon about a teenage girl who takes up witchcraft after stumbling into the demon realm is the first to feature a lead character who is bisexual…
Brazil: Missionaries gain access to Amazon’s Indigenous peoples, despite pandemic
Religion News Service
When the first COVID-19 cases hit Brazil in March, the government agency in charge of protecting the country’s Indigenous peoples, the National Indigenous Foundation, ordered all civilians to leave the Indigenous reservations. But a new law has made an exception for one group: Christian missionaries…
Amazon ‘women warriors’ show gender equality, forest conservation go hand in hand
Mongabay
Recognition of the role that Indigenous land plays in forest protection, biodiversity conservation and environmental health has been growing, but less attention has been paid to the role of women…
Black cat ‘bad omen’ notion hard to break in Cameroon
Yeni Safak
The cat in general is celebrated Aug. 8, and international day is dedicated Aug. 17 to the black cat. This is because throughout the world the species a victim of all kinds of beliefs…
UK: Magic Circle conjures up its holy grail
The Times
A rare first edition of The Discoverie of Witchcraft by Reginald Scot that dates to 1584 has come home to the headquarters of the society, where it will go on public display…
10 incredible stone circles and megaliths around the world
The Mirror
The world’s most incredible stone circles and megaliths from Stonehenge in the UK to Mongolia’s Deer Stones…
9 things you can do to end fundamentalism
Patheos Pagan: John Beckett
Christian fundamentalism in the United States has been losing for the last couple of decades…
Worldwide ‘witch hunts’
Ghana: Parliament to pass ‘witchcraft’ law to end abuse, speaker hints
Modern Ghana
The Speaker of Parliament, Professor Mike Oquaye, has hinted the passage of a law to help protect people accused of witchcraft…
UK: ‘Witchcraft’ related child abuse increases in Bolton
The Bolton News
Abuse of children based on faith or belief — which includes ‘witchcraft’, ‘spirit possession’ and ‘black magic’ — increased from eight in 2017/18 to 38 in 2018/19…
South Africa: Man arrested for murder of woman and her daughter after accusing them of ‘witchcraft’
News24
A Limpopo man has been arrested for the brutal murder of a 90-year-old woman and her 54-year-old daughter…
India: Woman accused of practising ‘witchcraft’ beaten to death
Hindustan Times
A woman was beaten to death for allegedly practising ‘witchcraft’ in Jharkhand’s Giridih district on Monday, police said…
Zimbabwe: ‘Witch hunters’ wreak havoc in Binga during lockdown
Bulawayo 24
A group of self-styled ‘witch hunters’ are extorting livestock, cash and other property from Binga villagers, taking advantage of Covid-19 restrictions that have reduced police visibility to enrich themselves…
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