pagan

12 Stories

Move Over, Pastafarians: Guy Wears Goat Horns to DMV

Pagan Phelan Moonsong wins argument with Maine that they're 'religious attire'

(Newser) - Phelan Moonsong has worn a pair of goat horns since 2009, and he's not about to take them off for you or for the Maine DMV—a religious attire argument he's recently won, reports the Washington Post . "As a practicing Pagan minister and a priest of Pan,...

Etsy Bans Sale of Spells, Irks Witches, Pagans

Some claim cultural or religious bias

(Newser) - Back in 2012, when eBay banned the sale of spells, potions, and other metaphysical goods, many witches and pagans set up shop with Etsy instead. But they're going to have to shuffle their goods and services yet again, now that Etsy—which went public in April—has quietly banned...

Iceland Erecting First Norse Temple in 1K Years

Membership in neo-pagan tribe has recently tripled

(Newser) - Norse paganism fell by the wayside in Iceland when Christianity swept through some 1,000 years ago. Now a modern movement—which views gods as metaphors with lessons to impart, reports the Guardian —is erecting the first temple to Norse gods since the age of the Vikings. "I...

Historian: Stonehenge Builders Botched the Job

Ronald Hutton says they were careless 'cowboys'

(Newser) - Stonehenge: Monumental human achievement, or total screwup? It's pretty much both, professor Ronald Hutton argued this week at a Daily Mail history festival , saying the structure was built by incompetent builders and left unfinished. For example, he said, one of the stones had clearly broken in half. "If...

Pagan Prisoners: Let Us Wear Robes or Go 'Skyclad'

British prisoner says hooded robe should be kosher, too

(Newser) - Pagans say they're fed up with prejudicial treatment in British prisons. Two in particular are complaining that prison rules won't let them pray as Pagans traditionally do—either wearing a druidic robe or going "skyclad" (known to the rest of us as naked). Other prisoners can wear...

Pagans, Hippies Celebrate Solstice at Stonehenge

Thousands gather to witness traditional ceremonies

(Newser) - More than 18,000 people gathered at Stonehenge to celebrate summer solstice, witnessing sunrise on the longest day of the year. The Telegraph ’s article on the event is full of fun little tidbits: The revelers are described as “an eclectic mix of sun worshippers, hippies, and pagans,...

The Dark Past of Valentine's Day

Roman festival involved voluntary beatings for fertility

(Newser) - Valentine's Day may seem awash in saccharine, wine, and roses, but its origins are darker than its modern-day Hallmark reality—they lie partially in the pagan Roman celebration of Lupercalia, a fertility festival wherein bachelors sacrificed a goat and dog, ripped the skin off, and whipped women with them. Women...

Witches Furious With O'Donnell
 Witches Furious With O'Donnell 
Sep 21, 2010 2:20 AM CDT

Witches Furious With O'Donnell

Don't count on the Wiccan vote in Delaware, Christine

(Newser) - Senate candidate Christine O'Donnell apparently didn't realize she was risking votes when she denounced her witchcraft-dabbling past as a brief fling with "questionable" people. Now witches are furious. "She is defaming Wiccans," High Priestess Selena Fox told the Huffington Post . "America needs to be a place...

Pagans Flock to Stonehenge Solstice

Welcome to the longest day of the year

(Newser) - Thousands of New Agers and neo-pagans danced and whooped in delight this morning as a bright early morning sun rose above the ancient stone circle Stonehenge, marking the summer solstice. About 20,000 alternative-minded revelers crowded the prehistoric site in southern England to see the 4:52am (11:52pm ET)...

Air Force Builds Wiccan Center; Someone Erects a Cross

So much for efforts to boost religious tolerance at academy

(Newser) - The Air Force Academy's newly opened outdoor worship area for Wiccans was supposed to signal a new era of religious tolerance at an institution long plagued by complaints of Christian bias. Until, that is, a cross was planted in the middle of it two weeks ago. Now angry religious freedom...

Vatican Opens Ancient Pagan Tomb
Vatican Opens Ancient
Pagan Tomb
May 28, 2008 12:11 PM CDT

Vatican Opens Ancient Pagan Tomb

After a year of restoration, public sees necropolis gem

(Newser) - After a year of restoration work, the Vatican has unveiled one of the most luxurious pagan tombs buried in the necropolis beneath St. Peter’s Basilica, the AP reports. Built by Emperor Marcus Aurelius in the second century, the once open-air tomb was buried by Emperor Constantine in the fourth...

Solstice Shines at Stonehenge
Solstice Shines at Stonehenge
Jun 21, 2007 4:02 PM CDT

Solstice Shines at Stonehenge

Thousands gather to welcome longest day of the year

(Newser) - Spiritually inclined crowds converged on Stonehenge this morning to celebrate the summer solstice, greeting the dawn of the longest day of the year with dancing, drumming, and drinking. The mystical monument shone with floodlights and the glow of the rising sun as more than 20,000 druids, pagans, and other...

12 Stories