Pagans.net Blogs

Watch as witch becomes wicker woman

Watch as witch becomes wicker woman: “Meet the late 16th century gaoler as he prepares a witch for her execution at a re-enactment this Saturday [18 July] at 11am, 12noon, 2pm and 3pm at The Tolbooth Museum, Castle Street, Aberdeen.

Meet local woman Janet Walker as she waits to be burned at the stake in 1597 after being convicted of being a witch. Her daughter Isobel and Mistress Kerr - one of Janet’s accusers will also be at the museum.

Burnings for witchcraft were comparatively rare in Aberdeen apart from one particular year, 1597. Encouraged by King James VI there was a wave of persecutions against so called witches throughout Scotland during that year with over 20 people executed in Aberdeen.

“

(Via AberdeenCity.gov.uk.)

Pagans litter Stonehenge as 35,000 celebrate the summer solstice

mirror.co.uk: “The summer solstice passed off peacefully at Stonehenge with only a few arrests and litter proving the biggest bugbear from the record 35,000 crowd.

There was a carnival atmosphere as pagans, Morris dancers and others gathered at the ancient stone landmark on Salisbury Plain to celebrate the longest day of the year yesterday.

Druid Jim Saunders, 33, from Reading, said: ‘It is upsetting to see so much litter, and some people can be disrespectful. But it is nice to see a lot of people here. There is no better place to learn about our culture and history.’

Crowds began to gather at 7pm on Saturday.

There was music and dancing all night and cheers to greet the 4.58am sunrise.”

Summer solstice at Stonehenge

The Frame: Summer solstice: “STONEHENGE, England (AP) — Pagans and partygoers drummed, danced or gyrated in hula hoops to stay awake through the night, as more than 35,000 people greeted the summer solstice Sunday at the ancient stone circle of Stonehenge. Despite fears of trouble because of the record-sized crowd, police said the annual party at the mysterious monument was mostly peaceful. Stonehenge, which sits on Salisbury Plain about 80 miles southwest of London, is one of Britain’s most popular tourist attractions, visited by more than 750,000 people a year. It was built in three phases between 3,000 B.C. and 1,600 B.C. Mystery surrounds the monument’s original purpose. The solstice is one of the few times during the year that visitors can get close enough to touch the rocks. (25 images)”

(Via http://www.sacbee.com.)

Swan Feathers linked to Cornish Witches’ Fertility Rituals

SF Restaurant Examiner: “Jacqui Wood, a British archaeologist has been digging at the site at Saveock Water, where remains of what appears to be witchcraft rituals have just been discovered. Swan feathers, human hair, the remains of 57 unhatched eggs and nail clippings are among some of the offerings found in a 17th century stone-lined pit that could have been a ‘holy well.’ There was additional evidence that the well had been filled to hide what went on there.

     Pagan rituals had been all but wiped out in 17th Century Britain, but not in Cornwall. There such pagan ‘bird rituals’ appear to have continued and many were thought to be linked to fertility spells. It is possible that these offerings, such as the unhatched bird eggs were left and then nine months later, if there was a conception, the person would return to empty the pit.”

(Via Examiner.)

Struggling to organize witches to celebrate Halloween

By Lee Ann Kinkade - Slate Magazine: “In a grove near you, pagans are gathering to celebrate Samhein, the night when the veil between the living and the dead, between this world and others, is thin. We will wear cloaks and have ritual daggers, called athemes, at our waists. The prerequisite silver jewelry will gleam in the firelight. Natural fabrics flow as freely as the mead. There will be an unfortunate excess of tie-dyed material. In other words, we will look most like your picture of witches.

This picture leaves out an important detail, and I don’t mean the whole human-sacrifice-and-stealing-Christian-babies thing. Planning a ritual, whether it’s for Halloween or any other holiday, is a conflict-filled battle. It’s like trying to herd jack rabbits on horseback. Those who practice witchcraft tend to be strident nonconformists, and the very nature of paganism, which has no unifying body or text, means that we have no obligation to believe the same thing or listen to anything beyond the dictates of our own consciences to unite in perfect accord. Often we flow together, achieving unity in which we are transported beyond ourselves, connected with the earth we love and the energy we feel from it.”

(Via Slate.)

British Paganism Alive and Well

British Paganism Alive and Well: “lad in floor-length white robes, members of The Druid Order of London marched up Primrose Hill in London’s west side to participate in the pagan celebration of the Autumn Equinox on September 22. It is the only time during the year in which there are equal amounts of daylight and dark.

Originally founded in Oxford in 1245, the group dates its first official ceremony to 1717, when the Order was established at one of the highest points in the city, Primrose Hill. Since then, it has established several other annual seasonal celebrations in and around London, including the Spring Equinox Ceremony at Tower Hill and the Summer Solstice at Stonehenge.”

(Via RealTruth.)

Celebrating the Harvest Season

Llewellyn Journal: “This is one of my favorite times of year. Like me, most Witches observe the Wheel of the Year—eight Pagan holidays, or Sabbats, that follow the ebb and flow of the changing seasons. Starting with Lammas (also known as Lughnasadh), on August 1st, we celebrate three harvest festivals, culminating with Samhain on October 31st.

Each of these holidays focuses on a different aspect of the harvest season and each is associated with a new phase of the journey that the god and goddess travel in their changing forms throughout the year. But they all celebrate our gratitude for the abundance and joy in our own lives, and signal the wrapping up of that year’s magick efforts. After all, we are harvesting the fruits of our spiritual endeavors now too, not just the vegetables we heap on our tables.”

(Via Llewellyn Journal.)

Greece: Pagans call on Athena to protect the Acropolis

The Guardian: “Thrusting their arms skywards and chanting Orphic hymns, Greek pagans yesterday made a comeback at the Acropolis as they added their voices to protests against the imminent inauguration of the New Acropolis Museum.

Ignoring a sudden rainstorm and irate officials, white-clad worshippers gathered before Greece’s most sacred site and invoked Athena, the goddess of wisdom, to protect sculptures taken from the temples to the new museum. It was the first time in nearly 2,000 years that pagans had held a religious ceremony on the site.”

(Via Guardian UK.)

White witch casts bad weather spell on Cromwell celebrations

The Ely Standard: “More than 300 English ‘witches’ died during a two-year reign of terror between 1645 and 1647, orchestrated by Cromwell’s self-titled Witchfinder General, Matthew Hopkins. Twenty people of both sexes were imprisoned in Ely Gaol (now Ely Museum on Market Street), accused of witchcraft.

Records survive documenting a woman from Sutton known only as Moore, was reported to the authorities for ‘bewitchings’ by two male villagers, but historians speculate the men, who were related to the lord of the manor, were involved in a dispute over common land and the woman was in fact, innocent. “

(Via Google.)

After 1,500 years, pagans plan Acropolis prayer

The Associated Press:: “A small group of pagans pledged Thursday to hold a protest prayer among the ruined Acropolis temples, more than 1,500 years after Christians stamped out worship of the ancient Greek gods.”

(Via AP.)