Pagan & Shinto News: Nikko Shrine Cuts Hours After Warnings

Top stories in Paganism and Shinto this week:

Japan: Nikko shrine cuts hours after warnings from labor authority
US: Multi-state legislative agenda may impact rights of minority faiths
Australia: Full-size Stonehenge replica hits the market for $2.1million

Pagan News

US: Wiccan minister and academic testifies in ‘Blue Moon’ trial
Penascola News Journal
Paul Larson explained that modern-day Wiccans practice neither animal nor human sacrifices…

What Chilling Adventures Of Sabrina Gets Right & Wrong About Modern Witchcraft
Refinery29
Please allow a practicing witch with two decades’ of experience to summarise what this show is doing right, and where it needs to burn the midnight oil…

Canada: Vancouver author’s ‘occult self-help book’ casts spell on Rose McGowan, Taylor Swift
The Province
Alex Kazemi describes his book as “a coming-of-age, nonfiction memoir that teaches you how to do magic”…

UK: Pagan witch details her practice of ‘sex magic’
Mail Online
A pagan witch has opened up about the ritualistic ‘sex magic’ she practices with her husband several times a day, saying it’s ‘the most amazing thing that you can ever engage in.’…

US: Clair-void-ants: Why millennial women are seeking psychics to explain the voids in their lives
New Statesman
For decades, seeing a psychic was predominantly considered a scam. But now millennial women are paying big to have their futures told…

UK: I had my ‘soul healed’ at Glastonbury Goddess House
Somerset Live
The session involves connecting to the centre of the soul and to the healing energies of the Goddess…

Imbolc Coverage

Ireland: Uisneach Sunset Tour to celebrate Brigid’s Day
West Meath Examiner
The Herstory Light Festival, which takes place on the weekend of Brigid’s Day, Friday January 31 to Monday February 3, will be marked with a fantastic array of events throughout the length and breadth of the country…

Ireland: The Celtic and Catholic traditions of St. Brigid and her cross
Irish Central
St. Brigid’s Day, February 1, is when Ireland remembers the Celtic goddess Brigid and her immense power in both the Irish mythological and religious imagination…

US: Yes, Even Groundhog Day Has Pagan Origins
The Mary Sue
The American tradition started in Puxatawny, Pennsylvania in 1887 as a bit of a publicity stunt for the town, but the trek to Gobbler’s Knob to talk to a groundhog to see if he saw his shadow has much older origins…

Shinto News

Japan: Nikko shrine cuts hours after warnings from labor authority
The Asahi Shimbun
Following numerous warnings from labor standards inspectors for having staff work long hours, Nikko Toshogu shrine said it will open one hour later from Feb. 1…

Japan: Kids’ performance led by Exile star at Olympic flame ceremony to draw on Japan’s culture and myths
The Japan Times
Around 140 schoolchildren will combine a variety of dance forms from Japanese festivals, Shinto ritual and modern street dance, while energetically waving red and yellow flags, to present scenes from Japanese mythology featuring the sun goddess Amaterasu Omikami and multi-headed serpent Yamata no Orochi…

Japan: Demon-slaying Dojigiri, one of Japan’s Five Swords Under Heaven, now on display at Kasuga Shrine
SoraNews24
Legendary blade is a an official natural treasure, and presented in a uniquely beautiful way…

Japan: Olympian joins bean-scattering ‘Setsubun’ ceremony at Osaka’s Tsutenkaku Tower
The Mainichi
An annual bean-scattering ceremony for the annual “Setsubun” good luck festival was held at the iconic Tsutenkaku Tower in this western Japan city’s Naniwa Ward on Jan. 31…

Other News

US: Multi-state legislative agenda may impact rights of minority faiths
The Wild Hunt
Across the United States, some proposed state legislation intends to codify a conservative Christian worldview that may undermine the rights of Pagans and other non-Christians…

Australia: Full-size Stonehenge replica on a cattle farm hits the market for $2.1million
Mail Online
A full-size replica of Britain’s world famous Stonehenge monument has hit the market for $2.1 million in Western Australia…

UK: Ocean fish farm plans defeated by locals and fairies
The Wild Hunt
he approval of a fish farm near the Isle of Skye was rejected by local council planners because – among other reasons – of a danger posed by deep-sea fairies…

UK: Stephen Fry announces musical project based on his book about Greek mythology
Herald Series
Stephen Fry has teamed up with the composer behind the BBC’s adaptation of Wolf Hall to record an album based on his book about Greek mythology…

UK: Grave of Iron Age ‘warrior’ buried 2,000 years ago in Roman Britain uncovered
The Sun
Inside the grave were iron weapons, including a spear and a sword with a decorated scabbard…

US: Trump’s spiritual adviser calls for ‘all satanic pregnancies to miscarry now’
Indy100
The 53-year-old also called on her followers to “break the strange winds sent against our president” and to “cancel every surprise from the witchcraft in the make-believe kingdom.”…

France: A Modern Witch’s Guide to Paris: Where to Find the Occult and Esoteric
Frenchly
Paris has a long history of fascination with the occult, particularly in its Belle Époque heyday, and there are still a few places in the city rife with witchiness and wonder…

India: Two sisters assaulted on suspicion of practising witchcraft in Rayagada
Ommcom News
Police on Wednesday rescued two sisters from Mankadjhola village in Rayagada district after they were allegedly thrashed by locals and locked inside a room on suspicion of practising witchcraft…