The BBC has a story that could, if the allegations turn out to be true, have implications to the Pagan and Witchcraft communities that go beyond the crimes themselves: Some of the alleged victims say they were abused as part of pagan ceremonies by men purporting to be white witches, Truro Crown Court was told.… Continue reading ‘Witches’ link to Cornwall sex abuse cases
Today Medievalists.net calls our attention to a paper by Stephen A. Mitchell (author of the excellent Witchcraft and Magic in the Nordic Middle Ages, which I’ve read and consider to be a wonderful treatment of the subject) from Scandia in 1997 entitled Nordic Witchcraft in Transition: Impotence, Hersery and Diabolism in 14th-century Bergen. I’ve been fascinated with… Continue reading Nordic Witchcraft in Transition
In 1993, Jay Sekulow, chief council for the American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ), argued a case before the U.S. Supreme Court entitled Lamb’s Chapel v. Center Moriches Union Free School Dist. The ACLJ was formed by conservative Christian leader Pat Robertson as a counterpoint to the liberal ACLU. Lamb’s Chapel established the at-the-time… Continue reading Careful What You Wish For
When they think of “the runes”, most non-Heathens will immediately think of a set of 24 runic symbols, each of which has a set form (perhaps with very minor variations) and a “meaning”. These runes are used for divination and decoration mostly, and as such are one of a large number of divinatory tools including… Continue reading Runology, Part 1: One Man’s Futhark is another’s Futhork
Over at Sciencenordic.com, there’s a spiffy article about sports and entertainment among the Vikings: In a new study, Leszek Gardela uses archaeological findings and careful reading of Viking sagas to describe how Vikings killed time when they were in mood for entertainment. The archaeologist paints a vivid picture of Viking life, but the familiarity of… Continue reading How the Vikings Killed Time
For those who aren’t “hep to the jive”, UPG is a term that means, alternately, Unverified Personal Gnosis, Unattributed Personal Gnosis, Unusual Personal Gnosis, etc. It’s a term that is current in the Asatru community, and has made its way into other reconstructionist and neopagan communities as well, that basically serves as a catch-all for… Continue reading UPG Sucks