Wicca

Holy water allegedly sprinkled on atheist teacher
POMPANO BEACH — Two teachers accused of sprinkling holy water onto an avowed atheist colleague have been removed from the classroom, and may be fired. Read full story from sftimes.com

Calif. bill would block Texas textbook changes
SACRAMENTO, Calif.—California may soon take a stand against proposed changes to social studies textbooks ordered by the Texas school board, as a way to prevent them from being incorporated in California texts. Read full story from mercurynews.com

Wiccan priestess: “Pagans mean no harm”
Many Livingston Parish residents want to keep a pagan festival from coming to Killian.
But one woman wants to set the “spell-casting” and “devil-worshipping” rumors straight.
Emily Turner sat down with a member of the pagan faith, who says she’s part of a community whos beliefs are far from evil. See Video from nbc33tv.com

Tolerance of paganism now a symbol of civilized society
A sign that paganism has come of age is that there are now lapsed pagans — heretics who resort to scientific explanations for phenomena formerly attributed to the supernatural. Read full story from timesonline.com

Witches to Open New Museum in Salem, Massachusetts

Salem, MA (PRWEB) April 15, 2010 – Witches opening a new museum in Salem, Massachusetts, aka The Witch City, wouldn’t seem to be newsworthy, as there are many quality museums in the city already. What makes The World of Witches Museum different is that its exhibit will be dealing with real world witches and operated by practicing witches. This Museum will be a place of learning for and about the global Witch movement, and will tell their story. With Witchcraft, Witches, and Wiccan cultures on the rise worldwide, the World of Witches Museum tells the story of their struggles, history, and beliefs from a witch’s point of view. The museum, under its curator Rev. Donald Lewis, will tell the story of Witches from the past, present, and those Witches who are walking among us today. Read full story from prweb.com

Your Hatred Will Make Me Famous: Making Sense of a Republican Vampire
The aphorism that “politics makes strange bedfellows” gained new meaning last month when self-identified vampire, Satanist, and “Hecate witch” Jonathan “The Impaler” Sharkey announced he would run for president in 2012 as a Republican. Read full story from religiondispatches.org

New Hilton Village store caters to witches, Pagan culture
Apr 11, 2010 (Daily Press - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) – As you might suspect in a store called The Magickal Attic, brooms, wands and caldrons decorate the space, waiting to be sold. And the owner, Melissa Kepley, is a witch. Read full story from callcenterinfo.tmcnet.com

BREAKING NEWS: Former Cherokee Nation Chief Wilma Mankiller dies
TAHLEQUAH, Okla. – Former Cherokee Nation Principal Chief Wilma Mankiller died in the morning hours of April 6 at her home in rural Adair County, Cherokee Nation officials confirmed to the Cherokee Phoenix. Read full story from cherokeephoenix.org

April is Disaster Preparedness Month
There’s a reason April is Disaster Preparedness Month: hurricanes, tornadoes, earthquakes, floods, drought, wildfires, disease outbreaks. Are you ready for the unexpected? Read full story from indiancountrytoday.com

Through permaculture, becoming one with nature
Amy Antonucci’s farm in Barrington is not your run-of-the-mill set up. Her backyard is a mixture of garden beds with the first sprouts of garlic of the season just starting to rise from the soil, bee hives, tapped maple trees, medicinal herb gardens and piles and piles of woodónext to the tree stumps that they have been cut from. Read full story from tnhonline.com

Dead roosters were religious sacrifice in Vineland
VINELAND — Cumberland County Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals officials stated on Wednesday they cannot prosecute a case involving two dead roosters found in a bag over the weekend. Read full story from nj.com

Wistful about Wicca
What do you think about Wicca? Does it make you think: “Yikes! Evil witches!” or grounding earth-based ritual or stoned bare-foot hippies or some manner of something in between? Let me know, I am really interested. And don’t hold back. Read full story from women24.com

Derry couples seeking Pagan weddings - claim
Raymond MacSuibhne, of the Pagan Federation of Northern Ireland (PFNI), says the peace process has allowed “interest and participation in Paganism” to flourish in Derry and across the North over recent years. Read full story from derryjournal.com

Marine’s Father Ordered To Pay Church’s Court Costs
BALTIMORE –The father of a Marine who died in Iraq and whose funeral was picketed by anti-gay protesters said a court has ordered him to pay the protesters’ appeal costs. Read full story from wbaltv.com

Experts: Christian militia part of growing trend
The actions of the Christian militia group raided in Michigan are part of a growing trend of militant activity across the U.S. because of the weak economy and an African-American president, experts and a civil rights group said today. Read full story from freep.com

Millions around the globe set to observe ‘Earth Hour 2010’
Millions of homes around the world are geared up to observe the ‘Earth Hour 2010’ on Saturday, March 27, 8:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. in order to conserve energy and pay attention towards global warming. Read full story from themoneytimes.com

Albuquerque police and media take steps to learn about Wiccan religion after stabbing
30 year old Angela Stanford has been accused of stabbing a man to death on March 22 in Albuquerque, New Mexico.  Claiming self-defense, the woman told police that she had taken the man into the woods near a hiking trail to perform what she claims was a Wiccan ritual for spring.  Sanford says when the man sexually assaulted her, she stabbed him with a “Wiccan dagger” to save herself.  Early news reports and statements from police showed a lack of understanding by the media and police force of the Wiccan religion. Read full story from examiner.com

TV presenter gets death sentence for ‘sorcery’
(CNN) – Amnesty International is calling on Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah to stop the execution of a Lebanese man sentenced to death for “sorcery.” Read full story from cnn.com

Asheville Mother Grove Goddess Temple to celebrate spring equinox
ASHEVILLE — After making it through the harsh winter, people in Western North Carolina are looking forward to the warm sun of spring. Some are preparing to celebrate the season’s change with an ecumenical ritual. Read full story from citezen-times.com