Pagan Tama
Top stories of the week in Paganism and Shinto:
- UK: King Charles’ coronation invite becomes engulfed in ‘paganism’ debate over prominent use of ancient Green Man
- US: Iowa House starts day with Wiccan invocation
- Pan-African Parliament Guidelines seek an end to ‘witchcraft’ accusations
And more… see all stories below.
Pagan News
UK: King Charles’ coronation invite becomes engulfed in ‘paganism’ debate over prominent use of ancient Green Man
Mail Online
Invitations to King Charles’s coronation have started a debate over their use of the symbol of The Green Man, with some saying it is a Pagan symbol but others arguing it has appeared in churches for centuries…
US: Iowa House starts day with Wiccan invocation
The Des Moines Register
The Iowa House began its work session on Thursday with a modern pagan blessing by a Wiccan faith leader as a group of Christians elsewhere in the state Capitol solemnly recited their own prayers…
UK: Tickets on sale now for the Beltane Fire Festival
The Edinburgh Reporter
The Beltane Fire Festival takes place on Calton Hill on 30 April 2023…
Asatru UK gears up for growth
The Wild Hunt
After transitioning from being an online community to a bonafide in-person organization, AUK has managed to coordinate the publication of several books as well as set up festivals and other live events…
US: Motown witch celebrates spring with the ancestors
Michigan Chronicle
Vodun and Hoodoo join other earth-based or goddess-based faith practices, such as Wiccans and Druids, in marking Spring as the beginning of the new year…
“I can be both”: an Easter conversation with Christian Witches
The Wild Hunt
As Christian Holy Week comes to a close with Easter, the faithful gather to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Among those faithful will be some Witches, Druids, and polytheists who maintain their Christian faith while practicing their Pagan tradition…
Nordic countries celebrate Easter with witch-themed rituals
iNews
Children mark the occasion by dressing up as witches and going door-to-door knocking for sweets…
US: Self-proclaimed ‘witch’ & ‘Egyptian goddess’ charged in fatal fire pleads not guilty
WJAC
Authorities in Blair County say a woman, who police described as a self-proclaimed “white witch” and “Egyptian goddess,” has entered a not guilty plea to charges related to a deadly house fire from last year…
UK: I found love after a painful divorce – and we moved to an uninhabited island
The Guardian
John King retired early, and was teaching yoga when he met his partner Lynn. She opened up a spiritual path that led to three years off-grid in the beauty of the Inner Hebrides…
Shinto News
World Heritage shrine in Hiroshima to ban tourists during G-7 summit
Kyodo News
A Japanese island famous for its UNESCO World Heritage shrine will be closed to tourists for three days in May to make way for a potential visit by leaders of the Group of Seven nations during their summit in Hiroshima, according to the local municipality…
Survey ranks Fushimi Inari Shrine in Kyoto as one of the world’s worst tourist attractions
Time Out
The historical Kyoto shrine was given a significantly lower score than Disneyland Paris…
Lavish floats put sparkle back in Inuyama festival after 4-year gap
The Asahi Shimbun
Lavish floats are once again a key feature of the famed Inuyama Matsuri street parade festival here, a sure sign that people have put the COVID-19 pandemic behind them…
Kanamara Matsuri: Everything you wanted to know about Japan’s Penis Festival
Euro News
Every spring, thousands of tourists flock to Kawasaki, Japan, to celebrate one thing – the penis…
7 must-see spring festivals in Japan to experience in 2023
Forbes
Springtime in Japan is a magical time of year, when the country comes alive with the pink and white blossoms of cherry trees…
Cherry blossoms can soothe our weary souls
The Seattle Times
The ephemeral blossoms of Yoshino and other varieties of cherry trees inspire admiration and the occasional haiku…
UK hopes to emulate Japan with cherry blossom tourism plans
The Guardian
Increasing number of trees draw large crowds as National Trust plans 4m blossoming trees across England…
Suzukis across Japan donate $530,000 to restore name’s ‘birthplace’
The Mainichi
The Suzuki family is said to have served as Shinto priests in the Kumano region in west Japan, and moved to present-day Kainan at the end of the Heian period (794-1185)…
Illness-healing statue stolen from Nagano temple recovered
The Asahi Shimbun
A man was arrested on suspicion of stealing a sacred statue at the Zenkoji temple…
An inside look at miko (shrine maiden) school in Japan
Unseen Japan
What does it take to become a certified Shinto shrine maiden? A certified miko gives us an insider’s look at a miko school in Japan…
Other News
Israel: Goddess symbol adorns 1,800-year-old gold jewellery from Jerusalem Cave
IFLScience
Decorated with the symbol of the Roman goddess Luna, the 1,800-year-old jewelry was intended to ward off evil spirits and provide protection for a young girl in the afterlife…
New exhibit in Mexico City celebrates discovery of Mexica lunar goddess monolith
Fox News
A new exhibit hosted by Museum of Templo Mayor in Mexico City marks the 45th anniversary of the discovery of a monolith depicting Coyolxauhqui, the Mexica lunar goddess…
UK: Medieval pendant with ‘magical’ Hebrew words found
BBC
A medieval gold and garnet pendant inscribed with a “magical” Hebrew phrase has been declared treasure…
Ancient Egyptian pit of severed hands ‘could be evidence of battle ritual’
Yahoo!
A pile of severed right hands found buried beneath an ancient Egyptian palace may be evidence of a grisly ancient battle ritual, researchers have said…
UK: Wildflowers to be planted at Stonehenge and other sites
BBC
One hundred wildflower meadows are to be created at historic sites across England, including Stonehenge…
Gigantic ‘earth monster’ finally heads home after mysterious US seizure
Science Alert
Mexico has recovered from the United States a giant stone statue known as an “Earth monster” that dates to the Olmec civilization before the Christian era, authorities said…
US: How drunken revelers and ‘witches’ likely inspired the naming of Merrymeeting Bay
Sun Journal
Merrymeeting Bay, one of the great natural wonders of Maine, likely got its name four centuries ago from gatherings along its long shoreline of drunken revelers and strange characters often called witches…
A look at rain-making rituals and prayers
Yahoo!
Human history is speckled with instances of masses getting together to pray for rainfall – the life supply of agrarian civilizations…
Religious freedom for all means sacred Indigenous sites, too
The Hill
There is a concerning double standard that many political leaders perpetuate when it comes to acknowledging and respecting Indigenous cultures and religions…
45 best witch movies of all time
Your Tango
Luckily, there are plenty of witch films all about covens, warlocks, witchcraft, and spellcasting, ranging from fantasy to horror and everything in between…
‘Witch Hunts’ Past & Present
Pan-African Parliament Guidelines seek an end to ‘witchcraft’ accusations
The Wild Hunt
The Pan-African Parliament released and adopted new human rights guidelines to eliminate ‘witchcraft’ accusations and stop attacks on that can lead to torture and death in many parts of the content and the world…
US: Taylor Swift accused of promoting ‘witchcraft and satanism’ on tour
Screen Geek
It appears that celebrity Taylor Swift is now being accused of promoting witchcraft and satanism on the stage of her Eras tour…
India: Tripura woman killed on suspicion of being ‘witch’, eight arrested
Telangana Today
Eight people have been arrested on the charges of kidnapping and killing a 45-year-old tribal woman suspecting her to be a ‘witch’…
India: Elderly woman hacked to death over suspicion of ‘witchcraft’ in Alirajpur
The Free Press Journal
A man killed an elderly woman over suspicion of practising ‘witchcraft’ in yet another barbaric incident related to superstition in the tribal district of Alirajpur…
Nigeria: Mum returns 8 years after abandoning son over accusations of ‘witchcraft’
Legit
Destiny was a young child growing up in Nigeria when his world was turned upside down following accusations that he was a witch…
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