From The Huffington Post… By Jahnabi Barooah 12/20/2012
In 2012, the winter solstice in the Northern Hemisphere will occur on Dec. 21, 2012 at 6:12 a.m. Officially the first day of winter, the winter solstice occurs when the North … Read the rest
Category: Paganism (Page 7 of 9)
Miho Museum near Lake Biwa is holding a special exhibition of ancient clay figurines known as Dogu, dating from literally thousands of years ago. They’re weird and fascinating, possibly early fertility figures. The maple colours at this time … Read the rest
Animism is sometimes cast as primitive, or seen as outmoded by contrast with ‘sophisticated religions’ like Christianity and Buddhism. But with the rise of paganism and neo-shamanism, animism is again gaining ground in the West. Perhaps it never really … Read the rest
Today is Obon in Kyoto, when ancestral spirits are welcomed back home before being sent off with a grand fire ceremony called Daimonji, about which I’ve written previously. (See here.) The festival appeals to the syncretic sentiments of … Read the rest
Ties and knots
On my final day in Glastonbury, the annual Goddess Festival took place to coincide with ancient Lammas. It allows me to tie up some loose ends, beginning, suitably enough, with knots. It’s said that ties in the … Read the rest
Ley lines
In 1921 an amateur archaeologist named Alfred Watkins noticed on a map that various ancient monuments and spiritual places were aligned in a straight line. He spent the following years researching the phenomenon of what he termed ley … Read the rest
Japan. past and present
Go to a shrine and one thing you’re sure to see: fortune slips tied up on a tree. The preoccupation with fortune-telling of young Japanese, females in particular, is striking. Where does it stem from? One … Read the rest