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DOCTORS WITHOUT BORDERS - Japan Disaster Relief (Click to Donate)

Events:

Pagicon - Friday, March 25th through Sunday, March 27th, 2011. Doubletree Park Place in St. Louis Park, MN.

Festival Invites Public to Stand With Japan - Beginning at 6:30pm on March 24, people will gather at Sylvan Theater (15th Street and Independence Avenue, SW) before walking the Tidal Basin. All donations received throughout the fundraising effort will go directly to the National Cherry Blossom Festival Red Cross Online Donation Site, benefiting the Japan Earthquake and Pacific Tsunami fund.

Pagans and the census
Sunday 27th March will be Census Day in Scotland and Northern Ireland.

As you all know, the census is conducted every 10 years to gather a broad range of information about people and households across the countries of the UK.

In 2001, the census included questions on religion, that made it possible, for the very first time, to prove that there were many thousands of Pagans in these islands. That we were, in fact, the seventh largest religion in Scotland and that our numbers were growing rapidly as other religions diminish. Census data on the number of Pagans proved to be of tremendous value in winning greater respect and recognition for Paganism.

**Toronto’s one-stop Occult Shop**The next time you’re satisfying a serious ice-cream craving at Dutch Dreams on Vaughan Road, wander a little bit north and you’ll find a large, white building containing an inconspicuous store framed by clouded windows. The red, weather-beaten, wooden sign hanging above the entrance reads, “The Occult Shop,” and despite its humble facade, the store serves as a gathering place for a range of spiritual subcultures in Toronto.

Fact and fiction of Paganism
THE cult film The Wicker Man has a lot to answer for. It featured a naked Britt Ekland tempting virgin cop Edward Woodward on a remote Scottish island before he is burned alive as a sacrifice to appease their Pagan Gods because of a crop failure – a bit different from your average Christian harvest festival. Now there are calls for Paganism to be put on the school curriculum. Should we be worried? Mike Kelly reports

‘Goddess Temple’ planned at Wellsprings
ASHLAND — Nearly 20 local women plan to open an Ashland Goddess Temple dedicated to the “sacred feminine” in a dome at Jackson Wellsprings north of town.

The temple, founded by Graell Corsini and 18 others, will open under a full moon on the spring equinox, the women say.

It will enshrine the great goddess mother of ancient times, working in equal partnership with the “sacred masculine” God to “celebrate the divinity in everything,” Corsini said.

‘I’m Not A Witch’ Picked As Top Quote Of Year
Christine O’Donnell’s TV ad declaration “I’m not a witch” during her U.S. Senate campaign topped this year’s best quotes, according to a Yale University librarian.

O’Donnell’s quote is cited by Fred Shapiro, associate librarian at Yale Law School, who released his fifth annual list of the most notable quotations of the year. In the ad, O’Donnell was responding to reports of her revelations that she had dabbled in witchcraft years ago. Read full story from npr.org

Reindeer ‘cruelty’ slammed by rights group Reindeer are being tormented when slaughtered, according to the animal rights organisation World Society for Protection of Animals (WSPA).

• Dead goat scares recycling depot visitors (31 Oct 10)
• Outrage after rabbit slaughter broadcast (28 Oct 10)
• 17,000 minks set free in southern Sweden (4 Oct 10)

WSPA released a video on Monday that shows reindeer in distress when herded and transported, and while at the slaughterhouse.

Shamans and sorcerors booted off Russian TV
Having a sixth sense will no longer be enough to advertise legally – from now on only a license will allow fortune tellers, faith healers, magicians and shamans to practice.

Anyone who wants to use their traditional or occult gifts to promote a business will be forced to get a licence – and it’s up to the media to check out the credentials of their clients. Read full story from mn.ru

Candle rituals a symbolic form of prayer, a way to ask for change
In Wicca, and other pagan (nature-based) and mystical belief systems, burning candles is one of the simplest forms of magic. Not the “hocus-pocus, pull-a-rabbit-out-of-a-hat” variety of magic, but rather focusing and directing mental energies to manifest a change in the physical world. Read full story from winnipegfreepress.com

“Jesus is the ONLY reason for the season” Billboard
I saw a billboard here in San Diego (on University in Hillcrest), which reads “Jesus is the ONLY reason for the season,” apparantly sponsored by two businessmen. To paraphrase Jeff Dunham’s Achmed the Dead Terrorist: “Don’t say Merry Christmas, it only irritates the other infidels.”. That is a very profound statement. Read full story from sandiegoreader.com