Pagan Tama
Top stories of the week in Paganism and Shinto:
- Norway: Pagan metal vocalist among five people killed in terrorist attack
- Japan: Princess Mako visits imperial Shinto sanctuaries ahead of marriage
- Egypt: New mummy find could rewrite history
Read more below…
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Pagan News
Norway: Pagan metal vocalist among five people killed in terrorist attack
The Pit
Meyer, 52 at the time of her death, created and performed pagan metal music under the names Nebelhexë, Hagalaz’ Runedance, and Andrea Nebel…
Wiccans in the US military are mourning the dead in Afghanistan this year as they mark Samhain
The Sun Chronicle
Samhain this year will be particularly poignant for Wiccans who are members or veterans of the U.S. military as they remember the fallen and process the aftermath of the 20-year war in Afghanistan…
Witch Tok has billions of views. The witch explains why.
Texas News Today
Now 19 years old, Mann shares what he has learned with 883,000 TikTok followers, from fortune-telling like tea leaves to tarot cards, runes and bone throws…
Brit witchcraft thriving with live-streamed spell tutorials and candle magic online
Mirror
On social media platform TikTok the hashtag #witchtok has had more than 11 billion views, while on Instagram there has been a 50 per cent rise in followers of witches over the past year…
‘Anyone can bring more magic into their lives, and anyone can become a green-fingered witch’
The Telegraph
Dr Hannah Sanders, a practicing ‘green witch’, talks about the pagan plant traditions behind Hallowe’en…
UK: Meet the Lincolnshire woman who is a self-proclaimed witch
Lincolnshire Live
A self-proclaimed Lincolnshire witch has said she has been able to see spirits since the age of four and that she has always been drawn towards witchcraft…
UK: Witch reveals why she won’t cast love spells – even though her powers can scare off men she dates
Wales Online
Alexa Thompson believes using witchcraft to find love can place a curse on yourself…
Real-life witches on the misconceptions they face and using magic as a form of self-care
Yahoo! Life
The number of people who practice Wiccan or pagan religious rituals has increased dramatically over the last few decades…
UK: Canterbury druid speaks about rituals taking place at Coldrum Stones
Kent Online
Last Sunday at midday, a small cluster of druids met in the shadow of the North Downs, at the site of an ancient tomb built over 1,000 years before Stonehenge, to perform a sacred ritual…
Lorraine O’Dwyer discovers her true calling in ancient tradition of witchcraft
Independent.ie
Witchcraft is often a misunderstood craft but it comes naturally to Lorraine O’Dwyer, who discovered it when she was a teenager…
Poland’s witches find healing in performing
The Christian Science Monitor
This group of outlandish witches are a lifeline for women in all kinds of trouble…
What is the history behind the Celtic festival of Samhain and what does it have to do with Halloween?
History Extra
Historian Mark Williams explores the history of Samhain, from its Celtic heritage to its association with modern Halloween…
Why Halloween is celebrated with such spirit in Ireland
RTE
Halloween is one of many festivals that Irish emigrants exported abroad, and it has now taken root across the world…
Shinto News
Princess Mako visits imperial Shinto sanctuaries ahead of marriage
The Japan Times*
Princess Mako on Tuesday visited sanctuaries that enshrine the imperial family’s ancestors to offer prayers privately ahead of her controversy-hit marriage to partner Kei Komuro…
New shimenawa rope graces Miho Shrine in Shimane, western Japan
The Japan News
The shimenawa rope at Miho Shrine’s gate was replaced for the first time in 16 years on Saturday in Matsue, as parishioners and visitors watched the work progress…
The philosophy and magic of Hayao Miyazaki’s Studio Ghibli
Big Think
Studio Ghibli movies celebrate the natural world using a very Japanese mixture of Shinto, Buddhist, and Daoist themes…
Why the land-and-sea mindset is so important for Japanese meals
The Japan Times*
Ancient Shinto ritual feasts — consecrated naorai offerings to be shared with the gods — always included items such as konbu (kelp) from the sea and rice from the land…
Other News
Mummy’s older than we thought: new find could rewrite history
The Guardian
Discovery of nobleman Khuwy shows that Egyptians were using advanced embalming methods 1,000 years before assumed date…
Man attempting to demolish ancient sphinx in Cairo caught
ABC News
A man attempting to demolish one of four ancient sphinxes adorning the Tahrir square in Cairo was caught by security personnel, an eyewitness reports…
How the ancient world’s scented sorceresses influence ideas about magic today
The Conversation
As a classics scholar who studies both magic and the senses in the ancient world, this idea of a witch-inspired perfume fascinates me – and “Hecate” is just one of many magic-inspired fragrances available today…
What do mermaids have to tell us about climate change?
The Washington Post*
The roots of mermaid tales actually provide a warning about the dangers of rising seas…
‘Witch Hunts’ Past & Present
Older people in Kenya must be protected from witchcraft accusations
HelpAge UK
Four older women accused of being “witches” were lynched and murdered by members of their community in Kenya this week…
Odisha continues its long fight against witch-hunting
The Hindu
Awareness and sensitisation are key to eradicating the evil practice that has claimed 362 lives in eight years…
How do you spot a witch? This notorious 15th-century book gave instructions
The Washington Post*
One book that was quite popular from the 15th to 17th centuries, and infamously so, is literally about spells: what witches do, how do identify them, how to get them to confess, and how to bring them to swift punishment…
Why the witch-hunt victims of early modern Britain have come back to haunt us
The Guardian
The women killed as witches centuries ago are starting to receive justice. But let’s not glamorise the murder of innocents…
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