Pagan Tama
Top stories of the week in Paganism and Shinto:
- Ireland: Government to propose new bank holiday from Imbolc (St Brigid’s Day) 2023
- Japanese brave icy waters for New Year Shinto ritual at Tokyo shrine to pray for end of pandemic
- Despite COVID-19 impact, Coming of Age Day ceremonies go ahead in Japan
Read more below…
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Pagan News
Ireland: Government to propose new bank holiday from Imbolc (St Brigid’s Day) 2023
RTE
Government is working on a proposal to have a “double bank holiday” for St Patrick’s Day this year and a new bank holiday for St Brigid’s Day on 1 February, according to the Tánaiste…
UK Law Commission findings have implications for handfasting
The Wild Hunt
The UK Law Commission published a consultation paper in 2020 which sets out provisional proposals for reform of the law governing weddings. This has, potentially, an impact on handfastings…
UK: ‘How being a Pagan police officer helps me spot right-wing extremists and occultists’
iNews
The founder of the Police Pagan Association tells Kasia Delgado about the surprising cases he helps investigate, and the stereotypes about Paganism as ‘all sex and naked dancing’ that he’s working to change…
The secrets of Stonehenge
The Times*
As the British Museum prepares for a show about the prehistoric site, Rachel Campbell-Johnston pays a visit and asks why it still resonates…
Positive vibrations, chakras and star signs – what spiritual beliefs do Britons hold?
YouGov
Women are much more likely to describe themselves as spiritual than men…
Shinto News
Japanese brave icy waters for New Year Shinto ritual at Tokyo shrine to pray for end of pandemic
Mail Online
Dozens of worshippers wearing only loincloths and bathrobes with headbands and facemasks plunged themselves into icy waters as part of a traditional ritual in Tokyo on Sunday, in which they also prayed for an end to the pandemic…
Despite COVID-19 impact, Coming of Age Day ceremonies go ahead in Japan
The Japan Times*
Across the nation, an estimated 1.2 million young people celebrated becoming an adult on Coming of Age Day on Monday in an annual rite of passage for 20-year-olds that has taken a direct hit from the COVID-19 pandemic…
Other News
Have archaeologists discovered the Temple of Hercules?
Greek Reporter
Researchers in Spain believe that they have found the Temple of Hercules Gaditanus, long-lost, in the remains of a series of buildings in Andalusia…
Croatia: 1800-year-old Roman goddess Venus statue in Zadar discovered at future hotel site
Total Croatia News
A statue of the Roman goddess Venus was found on the construction site of a future hotel in the center of Zadar, about a meter high, preserved from the knees to below the chest, made of marble, and about 1800 years old…
A festival of witches and rituals in the Basque Pyrenees
The Sunday Times*
In the mountain village of Ituren each January, residents have a unique way of banishing winter…
Italy: A long-overlooked necropolis in Naples reveals the enduring influence of ancient Greece
Smithsonian
The Ipogeo dei Cristallini’s well-preserved tombs will open to the public as soon as summer 2022…
Why people believe Covid conspiracy theories: could folklore hold the answer?
The Guardian
Researchers use AI – and witchcraft folklore – to map the coronavirus conspiracy theories that have sprung up…
‘Witch Hunts’ Past & Present
India: Elderly Jharkhand woman branded ‘witch’, set afire
India Today
A 60-year-old woman was set on fire by residents of a village in Jharkhand’s Simdega district on the suspicion that she practised ‘witchcraft’…
Zimbabwe: Zaka man killed in ‘witchcraft’ wrangle
ZimEye
The Zimbabwe Republic Police has confirmed the death of a 75-year-old Zaka man who was fatally assaulted by his nephew early Sunday morning following an altercation over alleged ‘witchcraft’…
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