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 Radio1 - The Body
Provided By: ElvenMead
Composer: Loreena McKennitt
Title: Between the Shadows (Persian Shadows)
Radio2 - The Mind
Radio3 - The Soul
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The latest surveys shows that 3 out of 4 people make up 75% of the worlds population.
-- Anon
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· Using Witchvox – a walkthrough
(Sep 02, 2009)
· Nutritionist Stephen Heuer Arrested in FDA Raid
(Jan 19, 2009)
· Spelling it like it isn't
(Aug 09, 2008)
· Funding the pagans
(Mar 08, 2008)
· Giuliani gets Robertson Endorsement
(Nov 12, 2007)
· The Dangers Of Feminism
(Aug 30, 2007)
· The secrets behind crazy airfare prices
(Aug 27, 2007)
· Petition To Rename Stretch Of 401 'Highway Of Heroes'
(Aug 24, 2007)
· Mummified Toronto child a newborn boy
(Jul 27, 2007)
· Quick Summer Meals without all the heat!
(Jul 18, 2007)
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 Topic: History, Legend & Myth
The new items published under this topic are as follows.
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The Myth of the Green Man
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Posted by: Makarios on Saturday, March 20, 2010 - 02:00 PM
24 Reads
By Ana
The Green Man has become one of the iconic figures of the neo-pagan movement. No; I would go further -he has become the iconic figure; he has been ever since the 1930s when he had that name bestowed on him. Rather ironic, really, for the simple reason that he has nothing at all to do with traditional paganism. The Green man, rather, is a Christian symbol, a personification of evil, not of benevolence and fecundity.
No sooner had the latest issue of History Today landed through my post box with its usual reassuring and heavy thump than my attention was drawn to the lead article, Ballad of the Green Man by Richard Hayman, an excellent overview of the genealogy of a myth. It the whole thing fascinates me on a number of levels; but most particularly, and most immediately, in the way that history becomes myth and myth history, one feeding of the other in and endless cycle of reinforcement. Here we have 'tradition', here we have Olde England, where the Green Man walks hand-in-hand with Robin Hood, another figure of the wild woods, closely accompanied by the Queen of the May or the Lord of Misrule. I think it's time to get back to basics.
The Green Man, as Hayman says, first made his appearance in the eleventh century, a face sprouting foliage from his mouth, to be found in church carvings and decorations. He was part of a Medieval iconography which disappeared with the Reformation only to make a reappearance during the nineteenth century Gothic revival. Modern interpretations-entirely alien to the Medieval mind-saw him as an earth figure. William Anderson in The Green Man, published in 1990, saw him as "the archetype of our oneness with the earth", while John Williams in the more recent The Green Man Tree Oracle, says that he promises "ancient wisdom from the spirit of nature." And thus something is conjured from nothing in a fog of cloudy an essentially meaningless words!
Read the complete article: Ana the Imp
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Idhunna’s Day: March 20
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Posted by: Makarios on Saturday, March 20, 2010 - 08:00 AM
28 Reads
By boudiccaandarta
March 20th in the Norse Tradition is the day of the goddess Idhunna who is the personification of the light half of the year. Also known as Idhunn, Iduna or Idun (Germanic), She is a Nordic-Icelandic goddess. The consort of Bragi (the Poet God), she was widely worshiped during the Viking period (700 AD) and earlier until the Christianization around 1100 AD. Some historians say that She is strongly connected to the Norse Tree of Life, the Axis Mundi, Yggdrasil. On this day, She brings joy to humankind by appearing in the form of a sparrow. Her name means “the Renewer” because she is a goddess of healing. Associated with the Viking Runes Eihwaz and Gyfu (the gift), She bestows the gift of rejuvenation and holistic balance.
As the Keeper of the Golden Apples of Immortality, Idhunna is the bearer and guardian of the magickal fruit of Aesir (the principle group of gods of the Norse pantheon). This is the fruit of life and eternal youth for the gods of Asgard, supplying them with immortality. Because of this role, she is known as the “Goddess of Eternal Renewal” and the “Goddess of Youth”. As you can imagine, Idhunna and her apples were in high demand.
Note: Witchmoot~http://www.witchmoot.com/main.php/2010/03/05/idhunna-s-day-march-20{Notes)
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Daughters of the Witching Hill: In Search of Historical Cunning Folk
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Posted by: Makarios on Sunday, March 14, 2010 - 08:00 AM
199 Reads
By Mary Sharratt
In 2002, I moved to East Lancashire in northern England—the rugged Pennine landscape that borders the West Yorkshire Dales. My study window looks out on Pendle Hill, famous throughout the world as the place where George Fox received the ecstatic vision that moved him to found the Quaker religion in 1652.
But Pendle Hill is also steeped in its legends of the Lancashire Witches. Everywhere you go in the surrounding countryside, you see images of witches: on buses, pub signs, road signs, and bumper stickers. Visiting friends found this all quite unnerving. “Mary, why are there witches everywhere?” they’d ask me.
In the beginning, I made the mistake of thinking that these witches belonged to the realm of fairy tale and folklore, but no. They were real people. The stark truth, when I took the time to learn it, would change me forever.
Read the complete article: Witchvox
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Valhalla I’m Coming!
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Posted by: Makarios on Saturday, March 13, 2010 - 02:00 PM
185 Reads
By Bernulf Oswin
Thought I would take the opportunity to address something I feel is a misconception of Heathenry…a misconception held not only by many non-Heathens, but some Heathens as well. The misconception I’m talking about is that being Heathen is all about fighting, battling and getting drunk…all in the names of our gods, of course…and that the ultimate goal of any Heathen should be to enter Valhalla.
This may have actually been true at the height of the Viking Age, specifically among nobles and warriors who were going out to the slaughter every year. Odin – who was originally equated to Mercury by the Romans – was transformed into a furious battle god, who demanded blood, death and mayhem to beef up his ranks of Einherjar. The Christian chroniclers of the age would certainly have agreed…anything that would demonize a Heathen god was to be put in writing, so that people for a thousand years and more would instantly believe the lies. The Christians who wrote a few hundred years after the Christianization would have been obliged to continue these lies, to demonstrate how bloodthirsty and uncivil the Heathens were until they accepted Jesus into their Heathen hearts. But it’s possible that Christians weren’t the only ones who manipulated the truth to their own favor…it is just as possible that Heathen chieftains, eager to increase their wealth and prestige and in need of young warriors to accomplish this, may have also ‘tweaked‘ a little here and there. After all, we can see plainly today the effects of manipulating a religion so as to glorify killing and death.
Read the complete article: A Heathen Blog
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The Leprechaun Watch
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Posted by: Copperwoman on Friday, March 12, 2010 - 11:00 AM
139 Reads
 Not far from the town of Thurles, in a picturesque part of Tipperary, is nestled the enchanting Glen of Cloongallon. To the north rise the Silvermine Mountains, and on a clear day it is possible to see the fabled seat of the kings of Munster. The mighty Rock of Cashel dominates the surrounding the plain.
A fairy ring lies in the heart of the Glen. (view the location...) This prehistoric earthwork, some 500 ft (170m) in diameter and averaging 10 ft (3m) in height, encloses an neolithic dolmen. It is here, following mysterious events on a nearby farm, that irelandseye.com has been invited to establish a live cam Leprechaun Watch. We have set up a video camera connected via a satellite phone to the Internet. The apparatus is located in a 'hide' on the edge of the ring. The area has a reputation as a haunt for supernatural beings of various types. These include leprechauns, sheeries and pookas. They are regarded as being particularly active in the spring.
Read the complete article: Irelands Eye
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Gwyddbwyll, a Chess-type game from ancient epics
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Posted by: Makarios on Monday, March 08, 2010 - 02:00 PM
233 Reads
Considered a “lost Game”, Fidchell appears in several ancient Irish epics and chronicles. Under the name of Gwyddbwyll it also appears in the Welsh Mabinogion and seems to have been held in peculiar reverence throughout the British Isles.
The playing of Fidchell was essentially a royal pursuit, restricted to the nobility and druids, as they often prove their noble rank by showing they can play the game. Also that the boards were sometimes, despite the game’s name, made of gold or silver and set with precious stones; and that it was believed that sometimes the game could magically play by itself.
Besides being an intellectual pastime for the nobility, Fidchell had a prophetic dimension, echoes of which linger in the Mabinogion account of King Arthur’s game with Owein in the midst of battle.
Read the complete article: Irish Genealogy Blog
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Flowers for a Period Wedding
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Posted by: Makarios on Sunday, March 07, 2010 - 02:00 PM
267 Reads
By Sarah Dressler
Plants and flowers have been used to decorate weddings since at least the time of the ancient Greeks. In many ancient cultures, the Greeks included, paid homage to the gifts of nature by incorporating them into all of their celebrations. Brides from the earliest records wore a crown of flowers upon her head. This circlet of flowers is seen in cultures from all over the world have been a part of wedding attire since weddings have been celebrated.
With the advent of the British Navy bringing treasures to honor Queen Elizabeth more then gold and coffee reached England. This was the dawning of the plant hunters. With each ship that entered the British ports new plants were introduced to the English. Ever since the countryside became a place of relative peace and people no longer needed to live within protective town walls gardens grew. Life was still hard, by modern standards, but the pleasure garden came into its own during this period. Landowners set aside areas simply to plant for beauty and pleasure. This timed well with the influx of plant materials. Weddings bore witness to this new trend in gardening, as nosegays were being made up with roses, dianthus, foxgloves, and even daffodils.
Read the complete article: Handfasting Info
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The Banshee
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Posted by: Makarios on Sunday, March 07, 2010 - 12:00 PM
225 Reads
By Kathryn Cranston
The banshee, from the Irish bean sídhe meaning “faerie woman” or “woman of the faerie mounds,” is a troublesome being when it comes to classification. Although it would seem the banshee should clearly be classified as a faerie based on the meaning of the name alone, it isn’t that simple, although the banshee is clearly of the same “Other World” to which the faeries belong.
The origin of the banshee may be the Morrigan herself, a triple Goddess and one of the Tuatha Dé Danann. Banshees have been called a “Badbh,” the death and battle aspect of the Morrigan, and legends say if a warrior heard the Morrigan’s song, he was destined to die in battle. The Morrigan was also said to wash the entrails of those about to die in a stream and to choose only the loveliest maidens to become banshees.
Read the complete article: Pagan Pages
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Straight From the Horse's Mane
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Posted by: Copperwoman on Friday, March 05, 2010 - 05:00 PM
240 Reads
 by Patrick Harpur
Horses across the country have been found with plaits in their manes. Everyone from horse thieves to Pagan witches has been blamed, but might the real culprits be familiar figures from fairy lore?
<snip>Sergeant John Bleasdale of Bridport threw his hat into the ring: “The fact that we have experienced plaiting in October coincides with Pagan rituals,” he is quoted in the Marshwood Vale as saying. “I would also stress that we have not had any horses reported stolen as yet, and therefore this would support the Pagan theory.” PC Tim Poole, quoted on the Isle of Man website, is more hesitant: “There doesn’t seem to be any pattern, but we’d love to get to the bottom of it.” He adds that he has had ‘intelligence’ from the Avon and Somerset police that mane-plaiting is a gypsy trick which, says PC Poole – clearly a fair man – “it may or may not have been.” He then plays his ace: “But we have some very good information from a warlock that this is part of white magic ritual and is to do with ‘knot magick’… the fact that this rash of plaiting coincides with one of their ceremonial times of year adds weight to the theory.” As with ‘panics’ down the ages, all the usual suspects are present and correct: people who are ordinary, but hoaxers or ‘thieves’; people who are outsiders, such as gypsies; people who are extraordinary, such as witches or ‘Satanists’. The next step is supernatural – I expect to hear of funny lights hovering over fields where plaiting has taken place.
Read the complete article: Fortean Times
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Hexes and Their History
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Posted by: Makarios on Thursday, March 04, 2010 - 02:00 PM
206 Reads
By Lady Steele
With the exception of love and money spells, nothing fascinates like a mean, wicked spell. Magick power used so benevolently to draw health, wealth, stability, love and fertility can also be used as aggressive, punishing conduits of frustration, anger, and resentment toward others, hence the hex. These spells define why some fear magick.
These are not socially respectable spells, to say the least. Lest you take them to represent the state of modern magick, let me emphatically add that in the current cultural climate of twenty-first-century witchcraft, hexes, curses, and other malevolent spells are incredibly depasse. Modern Wicca passionately emphasizes the three-fold law: as you reap, so you shall sow. Whatever magickal intention and energy you put forth will come back to you at least three times over, if not seven, nine or twenty-one times. Many modern Wiccan hesitate before casting a reasonably innocuous love or employment spell on the off-chance that the other part’s free will might be compromised. In that context spells that deliberately attempt to cause someone strife, misery and unhappiness are perceived as abhorrent indeed.
These are the spells that have earned magick its evil reputation—or are they?
Read the complete article: The Witching Hour Approaches
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Did Haitians Ever Make a Pact with the Devil?
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Posted by: Copperwoman on Tuesday, March 02, 2010 - 11:00 AM
209 Reads
by Catherine Beyer
There is absolutely no evidence that a group of Haitian revolutionaries performed a ceremony directed toward the Devil, much less making a pact with such a being for success in their revolution. On January 13, 2010, in the wake of a massive earthquake in Haiti, Christian Evangelist Pat Robertson publicly stated that 200 years ago Haitians "got together and swore a pact to the devil. They said, 'We will serve you if you will get us free from the French.' True story. And so, the devil said, 'OK, it's a deal.'" Robertson continued by stating that Haiti has been "cursed by one thing after the other" since this pact was formed.
Origin of the Rumor - The rumor refers back to a purported ceremony held at Bois Caiman in 1791 on the eve of a major uprising. The actual ceremony was a Vodou ceremony dedicated to Petro lwa, which are destructive and angry spirits who originated in the rage of brutally treated Haitian slaves. Vodou was a powerful revolutionary force. The white colonists were eager to demonize anything associated with Vodou, and even black leaders who rose to prominence after the successful rebellion subjugated Vodou both to gain credibility among white nations and to keep people away from the potentially revolutionary forces that simmered at Vodou ceremonies.
Read the complete article: About
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Could Coventry be named after water goddess?
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Posted by: Copperwoman on Tuesday, March 02, 2010 - 09:00 AM
210 Reads
COVENTRY could be named after a water goddess, according to ex-pat David Fletcher, now living in Australia. Coventry kid David, aged 64, has been researching the link between the city’s name and the Celtic water goddess Coventina.
While it’s not a new idea that the name may come from Coventina, David believes Lady Godiva’s famous ride was connected to the goddess and also influenced the name of the city. David, who grew up in Coventry but now lives in Clarinda South, Victoria, said: “Is it possible that Lady Godiva’s ride owes much to the real source of the name Coventry? "The name is almost certainly not derived from Coffa’s tree or from Convent tree as some assert. “The ‘try’ part of the name has no connection with an arboreal asset but probably arises from the use of ‘try’ as a place to lie, or an assembly point (from which the word ‘tryst’ is also obtained.” He believes the goddess Coventina is almost certainly the Lady of the Lake Sir Thomas Malory writes about in his Arthurian stories.
Read the complete article: Coventry Telegraph
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Mermaids in Myth and Art
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Posted by: Copperwoman on Saturday, February 27, 2010 - 05:00 PM
297 Reads
 By Gail-Nina Anderson
Like angels, mermaids belong to that category of beings we might just hope to see, though almost certainly we haven’t and won’t. Still, we recognise them at once, a familiar image in our culture if not our experience. Unlike angels, however, mermaids don’t exist within a theological framework that “explains” them. There’s no mermaid dogma, nor even a central text setting out quite what they are. Appropriate to their ambiguous nature, mermaids are slippery creatures, at home in a surprising range of contexts, from the oral traditions of folklore to the most officially approved manifestations of high art. It’s impossible to track a consistent path down which our idea of the mermaid has developed – her natural element is, after all, far more fluid than any graph or wall-chart. Fish-people are probably an imaginative inevitability. We have populated the sea, as the sky, with creatures recognisably like ourselves yet also different because of the element they swim in. And we can add to this a trait that, as mythologies across the world attest, seems basic to the human imagination – we create the unknown from the familiar, envisaging hybrid creatures whose morphology offers a potent combination of recognisable parts.
Read the complete article: Fortean Times
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by VICTORIA LEGGETT
