Pagan Tama
Top stories of the week in Paganism and Shinto:
- Oldest known reference to Norse god Odin found in Danish treasure trove
- UK astrologer Mystic Meg dies aged 80
- UNESCO-listed Shinto festival divided over letting girls ride floats
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Pagan News
UK astrologer Mystic Meg dies aged 80
BBC
TV astrologer Margaret Lake, better known as Mystic Meg, has died aged 80. She was a well-known TV figure in the 1990s, appearing on the National Lottery, and has written horoscopes for the Sun for more than two decades…
US: Mayor speaks in opposition of Centralia shop owner with white supremacist Asatru ties
The Chronicle
Tanner Thayer, owner of a music shop at 223 S. Tower Ave. in Centralia, authored “Asatru Folk Hymns,” which is sold by “Asatru Folk Assembly,” a Norse mythology-based religious group that touts its desire to “preserve” whiteness openly…
Horror shows like ‘Mayfair Witches’ hire occult consultants to cast their spells
The Washington Post*
Occult consultants have assisted on film and television sets at least since a well-known witch named Raymond Buckland was brought into the 1972 production of “Necromancy,” starring Orson Welles…
UK: Belfast set to celebrate age-old mythology surrounding the Spring Equinox
Belfast Live
The first ever Belfast Equinox event will take place later this month, celebrating age-old mythology surrounding the Spring Equinox…
US: Southern Illinois Pagan Alliance holds first indoor ritual of the year to celebrate spring
KFVS
The Southern Illinois Pagan Alliance welcomes spring with an indoor ritual known as Ostara…
UK: ‘Alternative’ night market full of crystals, trinkets and ‘witchy’ gifts coming to Teesside
Gazette Live
Wolf and Witch craft market is run by friends Claire Keen and Jane Burn, who have previously taken their alternative craft stalls to events all over the North East…
Witchcraft is revolutionary
The Royal Gazette
Bermuda has a long history with witchcraft — indeed, from our alias as the “Isle of Devils”, to the prominence of the witch Sycorax, mother of Caliban in Shakespeare’s The Tempest, based on the wreck of the Sea Venture in 1609…
Shinto News
UNESCO-listed Shinto festival divided over letting girls ride floats
The Japan News
Opinion is divided over whether to break a 400-year tradition and allow girls to ride on floats during the Takaoka Mikurumayama Matsuri festival, which is listed as a UNESCO intangible cultural heritage…
Ear Festival held at Oyama Shrine in Hiroshima Pref.
The Japan News
An annual festival to pray for ear health was held at Oyama Shrine in Onomichi, Hiroshima Prefecture, on Sunday…
Historical aristocratic ceremony reenacted under plum blossoms at Japan shrine
The Mainichi
The “Kyokusui no En” outdoor poetry party, a reenactment of a court ceremony in the Heian period (794-late 12th century), was held at Dazaifu Tenmangu shrine in this southwest Japan city on March 5…
Plum Blossom Festival at Kairakuen: Full of color and history
Japan Forward
Kimono-clad plum blossom ambassadors welcome visitors to the display of red, white and pink flowers in bloom and the festival of flower candles at night…
US military families make Girls’ Day at Zama Shrine a family tradition
Stars and Stripes
Once a year, hundreds of ornate dolls decorate the steps of a Shinto shrine near the U.S. Army’s headquarters in Japan…
Cherry blossom parties allowed at Tokyo’s most popular sakura spots for first time since pandemic
SoraNews24
Rules are still in place for how late parties can go, though…
Why is the cherry blossom experiencing a ‘generational shift’?
Japan Forward
As early-blooming cherry blossom trees herald the arrival of spring, reports have emerged of an alarming change in Japan’s most popular sakura, Somei Yoshino…
The Japanese folklore that inspired Spirited Away
Screen Rant
Hayao Miyazaki is fascinated with Japanese folklore and religion and its influences can be seen in many of his films including Spirited Away…
Other News
Oldest known reference to Norse god Odin found in Danish treasure trove
The Guardian
Gold disc represents first solid evidence of main Norse god being worshipped in fifth century…
UK: Shrine believed to be dedicated to the ancient Greek god Dionysus discovered in Leicester
Greek City Times
Archaeologists have discovered a Roman shrine, which could be dedicated to the ancient Greek god Dionysus, buried beneath a former graveyard next to Leicester Cathedral…
UK: 1,900-year-old Romano-Celtic temple discovered in northern England
The Jerusalem Post
The temple was found near Lancaster Roman Fort, which was first built around 80 CE…
UK: Celtic fertility figure found in Lincolnshire sells for £2,200
BBC
A Celtic fertility figure discovered in a Lincolnshire field by a metal detectorist has sold at auction for £2,200…
Remains of ancient temple with hieroglyphic inscriptions discovered in Sudan
Live Science
Archaeologists in Sudan have uncovered the remains of a temple dating to 2,700 years ago…
Ancient ‘demonic’ temple with painted human remains found in Peru
The Jerusalem Post
A Spanish explorer from the 17th century described the temple as being used for demonic summonings and mentioned a witchcraft university nearby…
Vatican returns 2,500-year-old Parthenon sculptures to Greece
CNN
The Vatican has signed an agreement to return three sculpture fragments that have been part of the Vatican Museums’ permanent collection for the past 200 years…
Archaeologists uncover sphinx-like statue and shrine in Egypt
CNN
A new sphinx-like statue has been discovered in Egypt — but this one is thought to be Roman…
The pagan origins of Women’s Day
The Commune
As with any other “International Day”, women’s day has its origin in history, particularly Greco-Roman that got transmogrified into Catholicism as we know it today…
Witch lit: how modern writers are reinventing the witch
The Conversation
Unkempt and warty, the witch of our childhood was generally a repulsive creature flying on a broomstick beside her toad or black cat. Yet recent years have marked a reinvention of this ancient character, giving her a modern twist in a new subgenre of literature that some are calling “witch lit”…
Inside the black mass of Mexican sorcerer Enrique Marthen
El Pais
On the first Friday of March, tourists flood the town of Catemaco to celebrate its annual witchcraft festival…
Greek tragedies like Medea are an ethical nightmare. That’s why we need them
The Guardian
Ancient classics can reinforce patriarchal lies about women, but they also take us back to the origins of pernicious narratives…
10 best witch video games, ranked
CBR
Gamers who want to cast spells and harness other magical abilities will find satisfaction in witch-centric video games…
‘Witch Hunts’ Past & Present
South Africa: Mother of two stoned to death as a result of ‘witchcraft’ accusations suffered cracked skull
IOL
In January Nontlahla Matoso was taken from her home at Malacca Road informal settlement allegedly by her neighbour and three other armed men after they had assaulted her in front of her children and their father, accusing her of witchcraft…
India: Three held for removing teeth of man on suspicion of ‘practising witchcraft’ in East Godavari
The Hindu
Three persons including a woman have been arrested for reportedly removing four teeth of a 52-year-old man on the suspicion that he was practising ‘witchcraft’ at Neeladriraopeta village under Gandepalli police limits in East Godavari district…
Rethinking the issue of ‘witchcraft’-related violence
Modern Diplomacy
On 12 July 2021, the United Nations Human Rights Council adopted the historic resolution on the elimination of harmful practices related to accusations of witchcraft and ritual attacks…
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