Pagans.net Blogs

Witchfinder General: Low budget but highly accurate

Witchfinder General is the story of the infamous Matthew Hopkins

Witchfinder General: Low budget but highly accurate: ”
Technically, torture was illegal in England by 1645. The film follows the real Hopkins in applying a very broad definition of what isn’t torture, putting suspected witches through sleep deprivation and ducking in water. The only thing Hopkins did that probably isn’t on the menu at Guantanamo Bay was to find and pierce the devil’s mark. This was supposedly a teat that witches used to suckle imps, usually concealed as a mole or wart. It was said the mark would not hurt or bleed if pricked with a pin. The film shows Hopkins’s assistant going at people’s freckles with a dagger, but the fact that they’re yelling and bleeding all over the place would have been little use. The real Hopkins facilitated matters by having a special retractable pin made, ensuring a very high conviction rate.”

(Via The Guardian UK.)

Pagan Pride Day Sept. 27 | Lifebeat | projo.com | The Providence Journal

Pagan Pride Day Sept. 27: “Get your broom out of the closet, and maybe yourself, too. Saturday is Rhode Island Pagan Pride Day.

Make way for witches, and heathens, too.

‘A lot of Pagans are not out of the closet, so to speak,’ says Jane Driscoll or Woonsocket, coordinator of the event. ‘They are afraid of retribution in the workplace.’”

(Via ProJo.com.)

Salem, Massachusetts, Features Witch School, Expo

Salem, Massachusetts, Features Witch School, Expo - Associated Content: “No city in the world is better known for Witches than Salem, Massachusetts. Originally known for the Salem Witch Trials, Salem has become a world class Halloween Tourist destination, where hundreds of thousands of people will visit in the coming month of October, seeking out history, entertainment and real answers about Witches. In this historic place, also known as ‘Witch City’, Witch School International will be exhibiting at the Annual Psychic Fair And Witchcraft Expo presented by Festival of the Dead, bringing their educational mission to teach Wicca and Magic to a broad audience of enthusiastic seekers.

This is part of the amazing backdrop that is Salem during Halloween. It is a time when Witches and Wiccans have the opportunity to reach out to people, with a chance of helping them understand what Witchcraft is. It is a time to plant seeds of tolerance and education among people from all over the world, while giving them a great celebration to enjoy. “

(Via Associated Content.)

US election: Sarah Palin featured in church video denouncing witchcraft

US election: Sarah Palin featured in church video denouncing witchcraft: “A new video has emerged showing Sarah Palin, John McCain’s running mate, playing a central role in a church service in Alaska in which witchcraft is denounced.

Thomas Muthee, a Kenyan who is a regular preacher at Palin’s local Pentecostal church in Wasilla, made a passionate plea to defeat witchcraft and other supposed enemies of Palin during a sermon three years ago.

The role of the witchfinder in Palin’s life raises new questions about how much McCain’s team investigated her background before naming her as his vice-presidential running mate.

The new video, available on YouTube, shows Palin standing in front of him at the service, head bowed, her hands held by two members of the congregation.”

(Via Guardian UK.)

Mass Distribution of ‘Obsession’ Raises Flags| Christianpost.com

Mass Distribution of ‘Obsession’ Raises Flags| Christianpost.com: “‘The Interfaith Alliance is profoundly disturbed to hear that 28 million copies of the three-year old film ‘Obsession’ are being distributed via special advertising inserts into newspapers through September,’ expressed the Rev. Welton Gaddy, president of the Interfaith Alliance, in a statement last week. ‘The film’s targeted distribution is focused on presidential battleground states, and the sponsor, the Clarion Fund a non-profit 501(c)(3), offers no public information on their sources of funding, board of directors, or membership.’

While Gaddy affirmed his group’s belief that everyone has a right to an opinion, the interfaith leader said ‘when a cynical attempt is made to influence our nation’s presidential election by stoking fear of one religious group we believe the media along with public officials, such as the Federal Election Commission, must establish who is trying to influence our politics through religious bigotry.’”

(Via The Christian Post.)

The benefits of autumn planting.

The benefits of autumn planting.: “The landscape around us is obviously winding down as the days grow colder and the nights get longer. Mid-to-late fall sees most of the plant world going from mellow to muted to moribund. But, contrary though it seems, this is the best time of the year to plant new things and to work in the garden.

[more ...]

(Via Slate Magazine.)

Billboard urges questioning of religion

Billboard urges questioning of religion: ‘Imagine No Religion,’ the billboard message from the Freedom from Religion Foundation, has come to Harrisburg.

The invocation of John Lennon’s lyrics, set as if in stained glass, greets commuters along a busy city corridor at South Second and Mulberry streets.

The campaign to question religions value is focused mostly on state capitals so legislators will be aware they have a free-thought constituency, said Annie Laurie Gaylor, a co-president of the atheist and agnostic group.

(Via PennLive.)

Stonehenge birthdate discovered by archaeologists

Stonehenge birthdate discovered by archaeologists - Telegraph: “Before the project it was believed the first stone circle dated from between 2600 BC and 2400 BC. The new testing has rounded this down to between 2400BC and 2200 BC - and a more precise date is expected by the end of the project.
‘We told the world we were going to date Stonehenge. That was a risk, but I was always confident,’ said Prof Darvill.
Experts said the new discovery was a major milestone in the history of Britain’s most famous monument.
Dr Simon Thurley, the chief executive of English Heritage - which maintains Stonehenge - described the dig as ‘tremendously exciting’.
He said: ‘The bluestones hold the key to understanding the purpose and meaning of Stonehenge.”

(Via The Telegraph.)

Lubbock pagans celebrate Autumnal Equinox

Lubbock pagans celebrate Autumnal Equinox at local park - La Vida: “It is time for pagans to reclaim what we are and who we are,’ said Cindy Wilson, a pagan priestess from Roswell, N.M., who spoke about being a responsible pagan at Saturday’s event. ‘It’s time for us to stand up and be proud.’

She spoke for nearly an hour under an oak tree to a gathering of about 20 people, including a woman who said she traveled an hour to attend Saturday’s event in Lubbock, about the importance of embracing paganism and not being afraid to openly celebrate her beliefs.

Aaron Brocklehurst, a coordinator of the event and a staff member at Texas Tech, said the local celebration is an opportunity for Lubbock’s pagans to come together and collectively rejoice in their beliefs, which vary greatly under the umbrella term of ‘pagan.’”

(Via DailyToreador.com.)

Celebration unites East Tennessee pagans : Religion : Knoxville News Sentinel

Celebration unites East Tennessee pagans : Religion : Knoxville News Sentinel: “A Pagan Pride Festival raised $750 to benefit the victims of the Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist shooting and sent an SUV full of food, blessed in a harvest ritual, to Second Harvest Food Bank on Saturday at Westside Unitarian Universalist Church in Farragut.

The event was sponsored by the East Tennessee Wyrdoes, a group organized on Internet meeting sites and associated with the international Pagan Pride organization, which works to give Pagans a chance to celebrate rituals together, help the community and correct public misconceptions.

‘It’s sort of an evolving subculture, fraught with misunderstanding,’ said Archer Luxley, who led a workshop and had copies of his book, ‘A Field Guide to the Gods,’ for sale. He explained that there is no formal head or organization to Paganism. It’s an umbrella that encompasses countless religions or paths from Wicca to American Indians’ beliefs to Shamanism. Almost all of them hold a love of nature in common. Satanism is completely unrelated, Luxley noted.”

(Via KnoxNews.com.)