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Pagan News
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Wicca News: Wiccan Web
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Newbrough Witches
It’s known that the village could boast three amazingly long-lived residents at that time – Jane Hogarth lived to 106, Alice Wilson made 111, and Ann Simons kept going to the amazing age of 115. But had these wonderful old crones lived in Newbrough 150 years earlier, they might not have been so celebrated. Records show that at least 22 local women – and one man – were executed in this county between 1604 and 1682 for alleged indulgence in the Black Arts.
In the 17th century, to be an old woman with a snaggle tooth, hooked chin and flyaway grizzled hair was often enough to get you marked down for a witch. Old Meg of Newbrough was one of these unfortunate senior citizens, burned at the stake and buried with an iron spike through her charred heart to stop her ghost wandering. It’s not known whether Meg was found guilty of wishing boils on the butcher’s wife or giving a neighbour’s donkey the staggers. All we know today is that her ashes were buried in the watery dene that now bears her name, and a pink thorn tree is supposed to blossom each spring over her grave. Meggie’s Dene burn runs just to the west of Lane House.And poor old Meg was far from the only Northumberland witch to encounter a tough stake.
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Doing It 'Buy' The Book
by Link (Anthony)
I looked in the yellow pages for a Pagan public school. I didn't find any. Not one. But I did find a variety of metaphysical bookstores and magical supply shops. I went to a few of these stores. And there on the book shelf, I found all the secrets of the universe. Soft-cover, only $9.99.
So now I can do it by the book! I tried calling the four directions, but it took me so long to memorize the exact words verbatim. I tried purifying my sacred space, but I couldn't pronounce all those ceremonial words. (It was some kinda foreign language; it sounded like what my Uncle Irving and Aunt Sadie used to yell when the old station wagon wouldn't start.) I tried meditating too, but by the time I got comfortable enough, it was time to flip the cassette tape over. I'd like to just say a simple prayer to the Goddess, but I didn't get to that chapter in the book yet, so I guess I'll have to wait.
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Nature-based Wicca misunderstood
By STACY BYRNE
Sheri Metcalf's house is pretty ordinary, for the most part. There's an entertainment center with a television tuned to HGTV and several DVDs on the shelf. Cozy chairs sit around the room along with a bookshelf and computer desk. Family photos adorn the walls. But there's also a shiny pentacle sitting on the old wooden cabinet in front of the picture window. To the right of the magic symbol is a double-edged knife, called an athame, and to the left a small black cauldron holding a bundle of sage. Crystals, glass containers of sea salt and holy water, a pendulum, and tarot cards sit on the cabinet as well. Two candles stand at the back — the silver candle is representative of the moon and the goddess, and the other gold for the sun and the god. A small pine tree on the corner of this altar also represents Metcalf's god Pan, Greek god of the hunt. The goddess she worships is Diana, goddess of the hunt. Metcalf is a witch. You also could call her pagan or Wiccan. She, along with dozens of others in Great Falls, practices the often-misunderstood religion, Wicca.
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Ghost Chat Comes to Public Access Television
by Suzanne Thompson
Cindy Corriveau of Salem and Nancy Krissoff of Norwich are kindred spirits: Both are paranormal investigators, about 48 years old, and members of the Salem Lions. They are also co-hosts and producers of Ghost Chat New England: History, Mystery, Legends, and Ghosts, a zany local television show all about anything that has happened— or will be happening—in Connecticut and beyond. The show is carried on public access cable channels in Groton and Norwich and on the Internet. With 39 episodes under their belts and still counting, Ghost Chat New England holds the distinction of being Google Videos’ seventh most-shared video across the globe in April 2008. It also has hit the Top 100 and Google’s Movers several times.
The two gals dreamed up the show after Kerrie O’Connor, a professional medium in Salem, hooked them up with Rapid Freeman, the producer and host on The Witchen’ Hour, another cable access show. Guests have included SciFi ghosthunter Carl Johnson; Laurie Cabot, the U.S. matriarch of Wicca, the pagan religion; Anna Robles, an international medium; and young author Estevan Vega.
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Paganism and sexuality
by Tony the Prof
Are Pagans More Sexually Open? My pagan friends suggest that they can be, and in debates I've seen usually Christianity comes in for a bashing. Actually matters are more complex than that. A few historical notes....
The ancient pagan world had many kinds of different beliefs and practices regarding sexuality. According to Julian the Pagan Emperor, Attis was an orphan left by his mother on the bank of the river. He became a handsome youth, who was in love with Cybele who forbade him to love any other woman. Nevertheless, Attis fell in love with the river nymph Sangaria and had a sexual intercourse with her in a cave. Cybele made him mad, and during this time of madness he castrated himself. Then he was pardoned by Cybele, who caused him to ascend to the celestial worlds.
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U.S. consumers the least 'green'
by Elsa Wenzel
U.S. consumers have the least 'green' habits in the world in terms of energy use, transportation, travel, and goods, according to the National Geographic polling firm GlobeScan. Canadian and French consumers didn't appear much better than those in the United States.
Blame the American appetite for large, two-car, gadget-packed homes located far from work, along with a general disregard for conservation and eco-friendly products. The Greendex results, released Wednesday, are based on online surveys earlier this year examining the shopping habits and attitudes of 14,000 consumers in 14 countries. Among Americans' un-green daily habits, 59 percent said they drive alone, and a trifling 5 percent use public transportation. Seventy-eight percent eat beef weekly, and only 5 percent attempt to reduce the use of fresh water. U.S. shoppers were also far more likely than others to own multiple new TVs, PCs, and energy-hogging household appliances.
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Leaves of Gold: Finding Those Rare Occult Books
by Peg Aloi
It will certainly come as no surprise to anyone reading this to learn that (gasp!) PAGANS LIKE BOOKS. We like reading them, sure, but oddly enough a lot of us just like having them around too. Margot Adler, in Drawing Down the Moon, referred to modern pagans as (among other things!) "bibliophiles." Yes, we love books. How many of you have fairly vast libraries? Or know other witchy friends who need a whole separate room for just their books? Do your fr iends groan when you ask for help moving to a new apartment because they know there will be many small but heavy boxes of books to lug up and down the stairs? Do you frequent used bookstores? Have your own "wish list" on Amazon.com? Know the local librarian by name? Do the folks at the used bookstores you frequent know your interests and recommend new acquisitions to you?
OLDIES AND GOODIES... Lots of goodies! Now, you may notice that not one of these books has "Wicca" in the title. That's because people were not widely referring to what modern witches do as "Wicca" until the mid-to-late 1980s. Gerald Gardner more or less invented this term in the 1940s and used it in his Book of Shadows to describe the ritual practices he created; prior to the 1980s, witches tended to refer to what they did, even if it followed what Gardner did, as witchcraft, or simply "the craft." Some of these books are history or folklore texts that have influenced many modern witches, and many of our contemporary "classics" have in many cases borrowed heavily from these books which came first. I will leave it to you to decide if the original authors' work has been sufficiently acknowledged.
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Code Pink Protesters Try Witchcraft at Anti-Marine Rallies
By Jana Winter
Code Pink is now resorting to witchcraft to beef up the number of its supporters protesting Berkeley's controversial Marine Corps Recruiting Center. The women's anti-war group has told ralliers to come equipped with spells and pointy hats Friday for "Witches, clowns and sirens day," the last of the group's weeklong homage to Mother's Day. "Women are coming to cast spells and do rituals and to impart wisdom to figure out how we're going to end war," Zanne Sam Joi of Bay Area Code Pink told FOXNews.com.
Code Pink — which was given parking and noise permits by the city council and is allowed to protest during the recruiting center's business hours — has been protesting daily since September. The group frequently announces bizarre theme weeks in front of the office, but their numbers have been dwindling and the events get little media attention. Now, after three months of continual protest, their actions barely capture the attention of even the Marines at the recruiting center. Capt. John Paul Wheatcroft said he's unfazed by Code Pink's antics. As for what's brewing outside his recruiting center this week, Wheatcroft responded, "I think witches won't shock me, but it'll be a change of pace, so that's nice. "Do you think they'll bring their cauldron?"
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The Urban Pagan
by Thomas Polkinghorne
There is a tendency among modern Pagans - many of whom live in cities - to revere the wilderness as a source of magical power and dismiss the cities in which they live as spiritually dead places. The city is simply a place where they live and work, while the countryside is a sacred place to travel to and perform rituals. The idea that magic can be performed in the city using tools and ingredients native to that environment is one often ignored by many spiritually inclined Pagans. But spells can still be cast while doing the washing up, and Pagans can still revere their Gods from the city.
What some members of the neo-Pagan scene forget is that many of the ancient Pagans from whom they draw inspiration from were city-dwellers. Whole cities in Ancient Egypt and Greece were built around temples dedicated to Gods and Goddesses before the advent of monotheistic religions. The Egyptians built Karnak around the the temple of Amun, that city’s patron god. In ancient Greece, legend stated that deities would often compete over the patronage of cities. Athena and Poseidon were said to compete for the patronage of the city of Athens. These and countless other examples show that the practice of Paganism was not restricted to the country by our ancestors. The use of the country as a ritual backdrop is a modern invention, and we do not have to stick to it for fear of breaking tradition. In fact, breaking tradition may be necessary at times for practicality, especially for the urban Pagan.
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When Did Fairies Get Wings?
by Willie Meikle
While there are various explanations of the origins of fairies and the nature of them and their lands, there is little explanation in any studies of where the modern conception of fairies has come from. None of the books suggest that fairies have wings like dragonflies or butterflies. The wee-folk of Celtic mythology are generally thought to be the size of small children or dwarfs, rather than the size of insects as they are thought of today. They also tend to be suitably disproportionate, like chunky hobbits rather than the tiny but perfect adult fairies in modern storybooks. It is likely that these modern depictions of fairies sprang more from the minds of individual humans than any specific culture or mythology.
For almost as long as people have been seeing fairies, people have been writing about them. The countries of the world have a wide variety of myths and legends, but the “little people” crop up in a great many of them. Into more modern times, we have Spenser’s “The Fairie Queen”, and Shakespeare’s “A Midsummers Night’s Dream” in Elizabethan times, both of which did much to cement the modern conception of what a “fairy” is. A wide variety of cultures believe in fairies similar to the Celtic version, and some cultures see fairies as the animistic spirits of nature.
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Pagan News : Pagan News |
Correspondences for Friday
Light Green candles. Burn incense of Saffron, Verbena, Sandalwood, Myrtle. Friday is ruled by Venus, and is a good day to work with Love, friendships, affection, partnerships, money, sex.
Fri, 9 May 2008 01:02:02 MST
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Sun is in Capricorn, Moon is in Cancer
Light Green candles. Burn incense of Saffron, Verbena, Sandalwood, Myrtle. Friday is ruled by Venus, and is a good day to work with Love, friendships, affection, partnerships, money, sex.
Fri, 9 May 2008 01:02:02 MST
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Today's Herb: Selfheal
Description: Downy perennial with square stems that grow up to 12 in. Long narrow ovular leaves are pointed and toothed. Bears pink, purple or white flowers in dense whorls in midsummer.
Uses: Use green flowering plant fresh or dried in the shade. Used in the middle ages to treat throat cond...
Fri, 9 May 2008 01:02:02 MST
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Review: The Lost Treasure of the Knights Templar
Review of the book by Steven Sora in our "Western Mystery Tradition" section
Fri, 9 May 2008 01:02:02 MST
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Today we honor Corn Maiden
The Corn Maiden is the youthful female deity parallel to the Blue God. She is considered a trickster. Despite her child-like and innocence, she is considered very powerful. She is the spirit of growth in plants and animals for a lack of power.
Fri, 9 May 2008 01:02:02 MST
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Interview: Michelle Belanger
Interview with Michelle Belanger, author of "The Psychic Vampire Codex"
Fri, 9 May 2008 01:02:02 MST
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Article: Disease of Denominationalism
Article by Rev. Terry Power
Fri, 9 May 2008 01:02:02 MST
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Wicthcraft News : Yahoo News
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Woman beaten for 'witchcraft' (The Times of India)
Over 20 people beat a 75-year-old woman mercilessly on Wednesday in a Rajasthan village accusing her of practising witchcraft.
Thu, 08 May 2008 15:20:40 GMT
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Saudi school headmaster imprisoned for witchcraft (Russian Information Agency Novosti)
RIYADH, May 6 (RIA Novosti) - A court in the Saudi Red Sea port of Jeddah has sentenced the headmaster of a local school to six months in prison and 500 lashes for practicing witchcraft, the Al-Madina daily said on Tuesday.
Tue, 06 May 2008 12:40:03 GMT
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Statistics could be the end of the sports we know and love (The Salem Gazette)
Everyone remembers the old cliché, “It’s not whether you win or lose, it’s how you play the game.” Kids have been spoon-fed this approach to athletics since gym class in elementary school or sooner — at least that’s how I remember it being at Witchcraft Heights right here in historic Salem.
Thu, 08 May 2008 19:43:29 GMT
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Uganda: Districts Warned On Diverting UPE Funds (AllAfrica.com)
District finance officers have been warned against diverting school grants to finance other activities.
Fri, 09 May 2008 07:12:11 GMT
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Nature-based Wicca misunderstood, practitioners say (Great Falls Tribune)
Sheri Metcalf's house is pretty ordinary, for the most part.
Fri, 09 May 2008 11:06:15 GMT
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The chiel (Daily Dispatch)
THE spotted eagle owl is South Africa’s Bird of 2008 – to enjoy a deserving limelight and to focus on conservation of the species. Perhaps all owls will benefit from the publicity. Those with the interests of our shrinking flora and fauna populations will hope so.
Fri, 09 May 2008 02:56:12 GMT
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Limited Movie Runs (Seattle Post-Intelligencer)
Three films in limited runs this week, two worth seeing.
Thu, 08 May 2008 18:25:15 GMT
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More Choice for Women Means More Sustainability (Environmental News Network)
Washington, D.C.-Unwanted childbearing is a greater demographic force than the desire for large families, and may have been for centuries, suggests Robert Engelman, Vice President at the Worldwatch Institute, in his new book More: Population, Nature, and What Women Want. Expanding the capacity of all women to choose when to bear children is thus the surest route to achieving an environmentally ...
Thu, 08 May 2008 12:31:41 GMT
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When winning just isn’t good enough: Statistics could be the end of the sports we know and love (Hamilton-Wenham Chronicle)
Everyone remembers the cliché, “It’s not whether you win or lose, it’s how you play the game.”
Thu, 08 May 2008 14:52:52 GMT
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Sampling of bills that won and lost (Boston Globe)
From capping greenhouse gas emissions to banning smoking in the Indian casinos, the state legislature debated a variety of issues in the 2008 session. But many measures failed because leaders ultimately decided not to tinker with the budget that takes effect July 1.
Thu, 08 May 2008 04:24:45 GMT
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Pagan News : Magick.com.au |
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Pagan News: Pentacle Magazine
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Articles : Llewellyn Journal
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The Wiccan Rede and the Art of Persuasion
The Wiccan Rede has the distinction of being a core tenet of the faith. The origin of this creed and its rhetorical influence are explored in an academic capacity by Arcane Static, which can help you to better understand the fundamentals of this spiritual movement.
Mon, 26 Mar 2007 15:00:00 CST
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Stones in the Mystic Foundation
Christopher Penczak, author of The Mystic Foundation, discusses the greatest spiritual blessing and greatest spiritual curse of our time, and offers a meditation exercise to work with the five elements and find balance in your life.
Mon, 11 Dec 2006 15:00:00 CST
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Images of the Mother Goddess: Healing Your Inner Child
I have a dark confession to make. I have been a mother for 20 years now, and I am not perfect. My mother and grandmother were not perfect either, although according to the family joke, we are all andquot;almostandquot; perfect! In fact, I donand#39;t know anyone ...
Mon, 03 Jul 2006 15:00:00 CST
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The Magical Art of the Well Worn Path
When the phone in my little magical shop rang on that chilly day in February of 2004, I figured it was someone asking for directions or looking for a certain hard to find item or book. But the voice on the other end said, andquot;Hi, this is Raven ...
Mon, 30 Jan 2006 15:00:00 CST
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Basic Shielding for Meetings
Youandrsquo;re attending an intense, focused business meeting where everyone is shouting their ideas. You feel disconnected, chaotic, confused. A committee is formed, and two people volunteer to chair the position. When it comes to a vote, the person who ...
Sat, 31 Dec 2005 15:00:00 CST
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Winter Solstice Wishing Candle
There is a tradition of making a wish at the Winter Solstice, of burning pieces of paper with wishes or affirmations written on them. When creating a Winter Solstice candle, you will infuse the molten wax with your wish or intent and release it with ...
Mon, 28 Nov 2005 15:00:00 CST
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Seven Steps to Self-Devotion
Seven Steps to Self-Devotion This article is based on some of the main themes presented in my book Sexy Witch. If you are interested in wandering more deeply into this landscape, pick up a copy and dive right in! 1. Your Body is a ...
Mon, 03 Oct 2005 15:00:00 CST
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Researching Wicca for Teens
Teens are often misguided when they first learn about Wicca, believing that a mentor or coven is needed to jump start their practice. This is far from the case, in fact many young people start as a solitary practitioner researching the path on his ...
Mon, 12 Sep 2005 15:00:00 CST
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The Gods of Witchcraft
When I got involved in Wicca, I found that most of my teachers emphasized the Goddess. Many people have been raised with traditions that emphasized the male aspect of divinity. These same people often come to nature-based religions with a desire to ...
Tue, 17 May 2005 15:00:00 CST
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The Witch's Cradle
This is an article from Carland#39;s previous blog, Conversations Across the Table, originally posted on Friday, May 13, 2005 Seabrook wrote about another sensory depreviation device believed to aid Extra Sensory Perception in Witchcraft: Itandrsquo;s Power in ...
Fri, 13 May 2005 15:00:00 CST
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