Pagan & Shinto News: VA Patient Reports Witchvox Blocked By Hospital Wifi Service

Top stories in Paganism and Shinto this week:

• VA patient reports Witchvox blocked by hospital wifi service
• Emperor Naruhito conducts 1st Shinto rice harvest ceremony since ascension
• British military rugby team apologises after visiting Yasukuni Shrine for war criminals

Read more below…

Pagan News

VA patient reports Witchvox blocked by hospital wifi service
The Wild Hunt
A patient at one VA hospital found that “Alternative Beliefs” are not included as part of that religious content, at least in terms of web searches using VA wifi…

Rose McGowan writes foreword for witchcraft book
New York Post
Rose McGowan, who played a witch in the supernatural TV series “Charmed” on the WB network, is writing the foreword for “Pop Magick: A Simple Guide to Bending Your Reality,” which explores the real-life world of witchcraft as practiced by its 25-year-old author, Alex Kazemi…

Nashville’s 17th Pagan Pride Day on September 28
Out & About Nashville
NPPD encompasses a wide spectrum of the local neo-Pagan Community…

6 Ways Paganism Provides Comfort For The Immensities of Life
Patheos Pagan: John Beckett
One of the primary things any religion must do is help its adherents deal with what Brendan Myers calls “the immensities of life” – pain, suffering, loss, and the greatest immensity, death…

Mystery of the equinox auroras
The Times
This is a good time to look out for auroras in the night sky. Around the autumn equinox, on September 23 this year, the northern lights can be seen, especially around the Arctic Circle…

Autumn equinox 2019: When is the first day of autumn and what does it mean?
Mirror
After the autumnal equinox, the days will grow shorter and the nights will grow longer…

Shinto News

Emperor Naruhito Conducts 1st Rice Harvest since Ascension
Nippon.com
Japanese Emperor Naruhito on Thursday conducted his first rice harvest at the Imperial Palace since he assumed the throne on May 1…

British military rugby team apologizes after visiting controversial shrine for war criminals in Japan
ABC News
A British military rugby team on tour in Japan has apologized for visiting a controversial military shrine honoring Japanese soldiers, among them war criminals…

Rugby World Cup: TJ Perenara moved by visit to Japanese shrine
Stuff.co.nz
All Blacks halfback TJ Perenara has spoken of his spiritual journey as he and two team-mates visited a shrine in Tokyo’s Chuo City…

Students explore Japanese religion through anime and manga in new Penn course
The Daily Pennsylvanian
A new class lets students learn about Japanese culture and religion by watching anime and reading manga…

Other News

Historic Scottish lighthouse to be reconstructed as national witch trial victims’ memorial
The Scotsman
Plans have been revealed to rebuild a lighthouse in Fife as a national memorial to victims of Scottish witch trials during the 16th to 18th centuries…

Mystery penis statue found buried at ‘ancient animal sacrifice site used for fertility rituals’
The Scottish Sun
A large stone penis that may have been used for sacrificial fertility rituals has been uncovered in Sweden…

Why Mary Katrantzou is bringing her catwalk show to Greece’s Temple of Poseidon
Harpers Bazaar
Next month, Mary Katrantzou will stage a show at the Temple of Poseidon in Greece, becoming the first designer to do so…

Fortune teller promising curse removal defrauds medical student
The Wild Hunt
A Florida woman proclaiming to be a Romani “gypsy healer” has been sentenced to 40 months in prison U.S. District Judge Rodolfo A. Ruiz, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for Southern District of Florida…

Dark crystals: the brutal reality behind a booming wellness craze
The Guardian
Demand for ‘healing’ crystals is soaring – but many are mined in deadly conditions in one of the world’s poorest countries. And there is little evidence that this billion-dollar industry is cleaning up its act…

The Christian converts who are setting fire to sacred Aboriginal objects
ABC News
Christian missionaries are causing a fresh wave of upset in outback Australia, promising to bring people back from the dead, and promoting the idea traditional Aboriginal culture is a type of devil worship…

Wicked! Modern Art’s Interest in the Occult
Frieze
Contemporary art’s resurgence of interest in magic has a powerful art-historical precedent…

Man lynched near Hyderabad for suspected witchcraft
New Kerala
A 24-year-old man was lynched near here on the suspicion of practicing witchcraft…