PAGANS IN THE NEWS
Local ~ National ~ Foreign
Solstice at StonehengeUK Pagan police officers get time off for Pagan holidays
Millions of women attend Kerala Festival in India
Iceland Heathens work for country's benefit
Evangelicals attack Vodou ceremony in Haiti
Burning Times 2010: Witchcraft in India
Pagan holidays approved in New Jersey
Earth religions get worship area at AF Academy
The Wild Hunt Blog (Pagan religious freedom watch)
New Agers, neo-pagans see Stonehenge solstice
Los Angeles Times
June 21, 2010SALISBURY, England —
Thousands of New Agers and neo-pagans danced and whooped in delight Monday as a bright early morning sun rose above the ancient stone circle Stonehenge, marking the summer solstice.About 20,000 people crowded the prehistoric site on Salisbury Plain, southern England, to see the sunrise at 4:52 A.M. (1152 EST), after an annual all-night party.
The event typically draws thousands of alternative-minded revelers to the monument, as they wait for dawn at the Heel Stone, a pockmarked pillar just outside the circle proper, which aligns with the rising sun.
Click here for entire article.
Pagan Police Officers granted days off for religious festival
By Sean Williams, The Independent
Wednesday, 12 May 2010Britain's pagan policemen and women have been given the right to take time off to celebrate their ancient festivals. The Pagan Police Association (PPA) has been recognised as a 'diversity staff support organisation' by the Home Office, a move which has polarised the force.
The PPA is thought to have up to 500 members, including Wiccans and Druids. Co-founder Andy Pardy has hailed the group's progress, which will see members allowed time off to observe dates like the recent Beltane Fire Festival and Spring Equinox at Stonehenge.
Click here for entire article.
Millions of women throng Kerala festival
By John Mary, BBC News, Tuesday, March 2, 2010
Trivandrum, KeralaIndia's southern state of Kerala may have hosted the largest gathering of women ever seen on the planet.
Clad in traditional Kerala saris and bearing offerings of food, more than two million women—perhaps more—thronged the state capital Trivandrum on Sunday.
The women braved searing heat to offer a special meal at the Attukal temple to Hindu goddess Bhagavathy—one incarnation of the potent goddesses Kali and Saraswati.
Click here for entire article
Don’t Mess With Heathens in Iceland
Wild Hunt Blog, 2/24/10The Iceland Review reports on an act of sorcery against Iceland’s enemies, and high chieftain Hilmar Örn Hilmarsson (a friend of both Bjork and Sigur Ros) claims that the working is, well, working.
“An act of sorcery against “Iceland’s enemies,” undertaken by members of the pagan society Ásatrúarfélagid in Iceland at the beginning of the economic crisis, finally seems to be delivering the desired results, as high chieftain Hilmar Örn Hilmarsson pointed out on the news yesterday—the Dutch government has collapsed and British Prime Minister Gordon Brown’s political career is hanging by a thread.”
You can read more about the initial ritual, here. The moral of this story? Don’t mess with the Asatru in Iceland, unless you want your economy to crumble and your politicians to falter.
Voodooists attacked at ceremony for Haiti victims
The Associated Press, Tuesday, Feb. 23, 2010, 1:57 p.m.Angry crowds in a seaside slum attacked a group of Voodoo practitioners Tuesday, pelting them with rocks and halting a ceremony meant to honor victims of last month's deadly earthquake.
Voodooists gathered in Cite Soleil where thousands of quake survivors live in tents and depend on food aid. Praying and singing, the group was trying to conjure spirits to guide lost souls when a crowd of Evangelicals started shouting. Some threw rocks while others urinated on Voodoo symbols. When police left, the crowd destroyed the altars and Voodoo offerings of food and rum.
Click here for complete article.
The Burning Times 2010: Witchcraft in India
Paula Jean West, Pagan Travel Examiner, February 22, 2010Last October 2009, according to BBC news, five women were paraded naked, beaten and forced to eat human excrement by their neighboring villagers after being labeled as witches. All five victims were Muslim widows, according to the local police. The incident occurred in a village in Pattharghatia. India. In parts of India, there are people who believe that certain women in their village posses a "holy spirit" and this gives them the ability to identify those who practice witchcraft. These "holy women" identified five women in the village of Pattharghatia who they alleged were bringing misery to the area. The real outrage came when it was found that footage of the incident was captured and aired on television in India causing country-wide outrage. The police investigated the incident and eleven villagers have been indicated, six of whom are women. Four people have been arrested as a result of this incident.
Click here for complete article.
Pagan holidays approved for excused absence in New Jersey
From Amie, PPD Nationals, 2/20/10I just got a call from the NJ Board of Education. They are adding 8 Wiccan/Pagan holidays to the "official" BoE calendar! They just wanted to double check the dates with me, in response to my letter to them in December. They said it will be adopted as official policy next month at the March BoE meeting!! our holidays plus a couple Jewish ones they apparently missed.
For those of your that were unaware, this issue came up in November/December of last year, when a Salem County School and then the BoE denied my friend's child the excused day off for Yule. A few of us took up a letter writing campaign in response...
Never underestimate the power of a strongly worded (but polite) letter!
Earth religions get worship area at AF Academy
DAN ELLIOTT, Associated Press Writer Dan Elliott, Associated Press Writer
Mon Feb 1, 5:53 pm ETDENVER – The Air Force Academy has set aside an outdoor worship area for Pagans, Wiccans, Druids and other Earth-centered believers, school officials said Monday.
A double circle of stones atop a hill on the campus near Colorado Springs has been designated for the group, which previously met indoors.
"Being with nature and connecting with it is kind of the whole point," said Tech. Sgt. Brandon Longcrier, who sponsors the group and describes himself as a Pagan. "It will dramatically improve that atmosphere, the mindset and the actual connection."
Click here for complete article.
Pagan Radio
Pagan Perspective Radio
Host: Tim WorkmanSundays from 2-4 p.m. EST. A place to listen to discussion and theory about Paganism.
Voices of the Sacred Feminine, hosted by Karen Tate
From your home altar to the voting booth, relearn and rethink the ideals of the Divine Feminine with scholar, speaker, sacred tour leader, and workshop presenter, Karen Tate, author of Sacred Places of Goddess: 108 Destinations and Walking An Ancient Path: Rebirthing Goddess on Planet Earth.
Every Wednesday night Karen hosts "Voices of the Sacred Feminine," which features interviews with women and men who discuss Goddess as deity, archetype and ideal, the rising interest in the Feminine Consciousness and Right Brain Thinking. At the bottom of the hour, hear WHAT'S THE BUZZ, the insightful and sometimes controversial, always timely news segment relevant to our shifting values and ideas embracing the Sacred Feminine.
For more information or to listen to the show on Blog Talk, go to Voices of the Sacred Feminine Radio.
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