Pagan Tama
Top stories of the week in Paganism and Shinto:
- 4 in 10 people worldwide believe in malicious witchcraft
- Soccer fans pray for Japan’s victory at shrine of 3-legged crow
- Fragment of Egyptian Goddess found at ancient Spanish site
Read more below…
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Pagan News
UK: Winter Solstice at Stonehenge 2022: Everything you need to know
Wiltshire Live
The festival offers a unique opportunity to visit Stonehenge with no restrictions and draws massive crowds every year…
US: ‘Spirit Walk’ through downtown Ojai
Ojai Valley News
The Commons of Modern Pagans and Spiritual Seekers invite the public to a free “Spirit Walk” through downtown Ojai…
Shinto News
Soccer fans pray for Japan’s victory at shrine of 3-legged crow
NHK World
Fans and supporters of the Japan squad are praying for the team’s victory in the FIFA World Cup soccer tournament at a shrine which features the symbol of the Japan Football Association…
Dazaifu Tenmangu shrine set for 1st major renovation in 124 years
The Japan News
Dazaifu Tenmangu shrine in Dazaifu, Fukuoka Prefecture, announced Tuesday that its honden main hall will be significantly renovated for the shrine’s grand refurbishment ceremony in 2027…
700-yr-old central Japan festival with ogres publicly staged for 1st time since 2019
The Mainichi
The Hana Matsuri, an ancient festival designated as a national important intangible folk cultural property, is being publicly staged here for the first time in three years following a hiatus due to the coronavirus pandemic, enlivened by dancing ogres…
Fire breaks out at shrine in Japan, but hall with oldest ‘shochu’ graffiti survives
The Mainichi
The main hall of a Shinto shrine here, and the oldest known mention of Japanese “shochu” distilled liquor scrawled as graffiti inside it, has survived a Nov. 23 fire that gutted the shrine’s office…
Izanagi-Jingu Shrine: Rumored to be the first shrine in Japan
Japan Today
While many shrines and temples exist in Japan, one of the most major historical shrines is hidden on an unassuming island in Hyogo prefecture. The shrine is called Izanagi Shrine and is intimately connected with Japanese mythology…
Other News
Fragment of Egyptian Goddess found at ancient Spanish site
ARTNews
An artifact believed to be used for a depiction of an ancient Egyptian goddess has been discovered at a 2,700-year-old site in Spain…
Egypt: Archaeologists uncover mummies with precious metals in their mouths
Daily Mail
Egyptian archaeologists have discovered ancient tombs containing mummies with golden tongues in their mouths – a possible mythological token to the afterlife…
Egypt: Shrine containing headless falcons found at Berenike
The Past
The discovery dates to the Late Roman Period when the city was occupied by a nomadic people known as the Blemmyes…
India: Tiny clay figurine found under farm land ncould be Neolithic ‘mother goddess’
The Indian Express
A tiny clay figurine found in Telangana has stumbled history enthusiasts as experts believe it could be the most primitive form of the “mother goddess”, dating back to the Neolithic age…
India’s tribes seek official religion status for belief system
The Diplomat
Apprehensions have grown over Hindu nationalist groups seeking to bring these nature worshippers into the Hindu fold…
UK: A303 Stonehenge tunnel billions over budget, report finds
ITV
Enhancements to England’s motorways and major A roads will cost billions of pounds more than planned, a report has found. This includes plans to build a tunnel underneath the Stonehenge World Heritage Site in Wiltshire…
Tourist mobbed after climbing ‘sacred’ Mayan pyramid in Mexico
The Sunday Times*
The temple of Kukulcán in Mexico became a site of ritualistic humiliation after a tourist was doused with water and booed for scaling the sacred monument…
How this Greek feminist goddess inspired NASA to name its moon mission after her
The Print
Zeus’ daughter and Apollo’s sister, Artemis was a major deity in ancient Greece—the strong, courageous goddess of wilderness and hunting…
Nigeria: Why the goddess of the sea is accorded much respect
Nigerian Tribune
The worship of Olokun is peculiar to Yoruba communities that live near the sea, or had lived near the sea before the sea receded to where it currently is, or before the communities migrated from their original lands…
‘Witch hunts’ past and present
4 in 10 people worldwide believe in malicious witchcraft
Live Science
Worldwide, more than four in 10 people believe in witchcraft, a new survey suggests. However, witchcraft, or the concept that people can use supernatural abilities to cause harm is a belief that varies dramatically between nations…
Saudi Arabia has executed four people in last 10 years for ‘witchcraft and sorcery’
Daily Star
As the world celebrates Saudi Arabia’s shock underdog victory against Argentina in the World Cup, the country’s human rights record casts a huge shadow over the good times…
UK: Larne councillor questions ‘guilt or innocence’ of those subjected to last witchcraft trial as plaque to be placed at Gobbins site
Belfast Telegraph*
A Larne councillor has raised questions over whether eight women and a man who were found guilty of witchcraft in the 18th century were actually innocent…
UK: Maternity care in Aberdeen from ‘witches’ to women’s rights
The Herald*
As a starting point for the history of maternity care in the north-east of Scotland, you would struggle to find a stranger or more nightmarish tale than that of Margaret Bane. The local midwife – or “howdie” – was strangled and burned at the stake for ‘witchcraft’ and sorcery in Aberdeen in 1597…
Advocacy For Alleged Witches and freedom of religion or belief misunderstood
Sahara Reporters
There is an intersection between freedom of religion or belief (FORB) and witch persecution or ritual attacks…
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