The Pagan Connection

If, like me, when looking at astrological symbols you have trouble telling your Aries from Uranus, The Signs and Symbols Bible: The Definitive Guide to the World of Symbols in the Godsfield Bible series, is the kind of book that can help...

A witches’ coven leader has accused the Roman Catholic Church of prejudice after her group was banned from a parish social club. Sandra Davis, 61, high priestess of the Crystal Cauldron group, booked Our Lady’s club in Stockport, Greater Manchester for a Halloween Ball...

There is a lunar eclipse during the full moon on July 7. It is the second of four lunar eclipses this year, but is unlikely to be visible to the naked eye because it is only a partial eclipse of the southern most tip of the earth’s penumbral shadow...

The author Terry Pratchett is lending his support to a bill going through the House of Lords to legalise assisted suicide in England. The Wiltshire-based fantasy writer has Alzheimer’s Disease...

Lammas Blessings! Pagan Connection are pleased to announce there will be a Woodspirit Lammas Camp in Silverdale in the lakes, on Friday 24th July - Sunday 26th July 2009. It is in woodland with a stone circle next to the North Lancashire coast...

Date: 25th July, 11:30 am Place: Cromer beach, meeting at the pier The Norwich Pagan Moot will be celebrating Lammas by hosting an open social event for pagans in the East Anglian region. The even itself will be in the form of a picnic where friends and family are more than welcome...

Gaia-Sol - the deities of the earth and the sun - were chosen for the name of Pagan Federation London’s third convention on the Gaia theme, which took place in London yesterday. Last year it was Gaia-Fortuna and the year before that was simply called Gaia...

PAGANISM, EDUCATION AND THE ACADEMY - Educational Conference Saturday 18 July 2009 The Festival of the Edge Wenlock Edge, Shropshire The conference is about all aspects of paganism and how they are studied and taught in the UK and internationally, particularly but not exclusively in the British...

Myth is at the heart of most religions and belief systems - it is a poetic, artistic and literary way of understanding the world through stories that are rich in symbolism. Myths tell tales of gods, goddesses, heroes, monsters and men in ways that reflect our own desires, fears, feelings and hopes...

It’s a shame, Newt Gingrich was saying the other day, that he and his fellow born-again pilgrims have to live “in a period where we are surrounded by paganism.” I don’t know what the qualifications or dues for paganism are, but I got the feeling Bro...

The discovery of a decapitated red deer has sparked fears that devil worshippers are at large in one of England’s sleepier corners...

If you use crystals for healing or for spiritual or psychic work you probably know about The Crystal Bible. You quite likely own a copy, as it is one of the best selling books about crystals. Now publisher Godsfield Press is bringing out a second volume - The Crystal Bible V2, by Judy Hall...

Many of us will be just doing our own thing next weekend to celebrate the sumer solstice next weekend, according to a poll on A Bad Witch’s Blog...

This Saturday, as well as being the birthday of Gerald Gardner, founder of modern Wicca, is the date of a Roman festival sacred to Minerva, goddess of war and wisdom. Minerva was the Roman equivalent of the Greek goddess of wisdom, Athena...

Comfrey is the traditional herbalist’s remedy for broken bones. In fact, it was often called knitbone or boneset...

A prehistoric complex, including two 6,000-year-old tombs, has been discovered by archaeologists in Hampshire. The Neolithic tombs, which until now had gone unnoticed under farmland despite being just 15 miles from Stonehenge, are some of the oldest monuments to have been found in Britain...

Stonehenge ... still harbouring its secrets. Photograph: Sam Frost/Sam Frost There is a hollow in the fields to the north of Stonehenge where time stops. As sheep trot away from the intruder, their baas are barely interrupted by the distant rumble of traffic...

Scientist have scrutiniseda 17th-century witch bottle, whichhas been found in London, to analyse the contents. Witch bottles were once used all over Europe as wards against curses. They were usually buried in homes, or just outside the front door, often upside down...

As the world marks the first UN Oceans Day, marine scientist Erich Hoyt says too little of the oceans has been set aside to protect marine life...

“You can do anything you want to do, so long as you don’t hurt anyone.” My grandma said that to me when I was about five years old. She didn’t tell me it was the Wiccan Rede, but as a child I thought it was the best advice an adult had ever given me...

The sea is a force for transformation, for change and for purification. River waters pour into the sea, evaporate into the air and fall as rain onto the earth to begin the cycle once more...

While beachcombing the other day I found an oyster shell. No pearl inside it, sadly, but to me it was still a small treasure from the sea. I have always loved collecting shells, but some are easier to find than others...

Pagans rallying for Pentacle grave markers for soldiers. St. Paul, 2007. Photo by the author. Sgt. Jason A. Schumann was killed May 19, 2007 when a bomb exploded near his vehicle in Ad Diwaniyah, Iraq. He is bured at Fort Snelling cemetery, where his headstone is marked with a pentacle. Sgt...

COURTESY Mike Mahaffey used a red cedar tree that had been topped at Combs Cemetery to carve the "Praying Lady" sculpture. Like a guardian angel, a sculpture carved of red cedar by a former St. Paul resident watches over Combs Cemetery...

For the past few weeks, some sections of the local media have been engaged in a measure of speculation fuelled by an apparently not-so-well-informed member of the clergy about a conference for witches in St. Lucia...

At daybreak in the New Forest, fog curls eerily upward from bracken and fern, then drifts in vaporous swirls into the uppermost branches of a 37,635-hectare spread of ancient oak, beech and pine. Out of the mist, the ghostly shapes of New Forest ponies materialize as they graze on patches of heath...

Visitors to Rome will soon be able to discover a world of ancient treasures beneath their feet when the city opens dozens of previously unseen underground sites to the public...

Beachy Head, with its red-and-white lighthouse standing before it, just out to sea, are icons of the English coast...

Witchfest South, The Children of Artemis’ newest addition to its calender of pagan events and festivals, took place last Saturday at Stanley HallsLondon’s South Norwood...

I saw a copy of the book Irish Folk Cures by writer and folklorist Padraic O’Farrell in a charity shop the other day and had to buy it, even though my bookshelves have long run out of space...

This spell is great to cheer someone up who is unwell, and speed their way to recovery. You need a candle, which could be green or white, and a lovely bunch of flowers or a potted plant such as chrysanthemums, which symbolise cheerfulness...

Several mornings over the past week I have seen mummy vixen and three little cubs playing on my lawn. This has usually been when I am quickly making a cup of coffee in my kitchen before rushing off to work, or to visit my mum who has a broken wrist; no time to get my camera...

Awonderful phoenix picture comes from a 13th century illustrated manuscript known as the Aberdeen Bestiary...

Crawling around in a dark, dusty attic and carrying heavy boxes down a wobbly ladder is not my ideal way to spend the May Day Bank Holiday weekend. But I had to. Workmen are coming to insulate my loft this week, and the loft had to be empty. So that meant hours of shifting years of family clutter...

On May Day, the foliage-clad figure of Jack in the Green, accompanied by musicians and people in fancy dress, is now almost a familiar sight on the streets of London and other towns in southern England...

I’ve long been a fan of Linda Ravenscroft’s pictures of fairy creatures - sometimes mischievous, sometimes poignant, but always beautiful. So, when I found out a new book of her artwork had just come out, I wanted a copy...

I bought my ticket for the London Lore conference back in January, and had been really looking forward to it, but it was still a tough decision to go there rather than head into the woods for the Pagan Federation London’s Beltane festival last Saturday, April 25...

England doesn’t exist, it is more fantasy than reality. The English believe in ghosts, built follies, founded Wicca - the modern religion based on witchcraft - and love to watch re-enactments of history that may or may not really have happened...

Today English people everywhere will be celebrating St George’s Day and feeling a little national pride as they honour the patron saint of England. But why am I, a pagan and a witch, talking about a saint...

All over the world today people are working together to help the planet, so why not join in - with a little magic. Every year, April 22 is Earth Day, a global event to raise awareness of ecological issues and encourage environmental projects...

Gaia, the Greek Goddess of the Earth, is for many pagans today the spiritual embodiment of our planet. And because Earth Day - a worldwide event intended to inspire appreciation for the Earth and the environment - is on April 22, I have chosen Gaia as The Bad Witch’s Goddess of the Week...

Host: Dionysian Underground on Facebook Type: Education - Workshop Network: Global Date: Sunday, May 10, 2009 Time: 12:00pm - 9:30pm...

Dear PF Londoners I imagine most of you are enjoying the fantastic sunshine.. and some of you are suffering hayfever (like me!) but still enjoying the sun...

Chris Crowley Talks on The Breton Male Witch Burning Chris Crowley is vice-president of the Pagan Federation. He is also a published author and co-runs London’s popular Wicca Study Group with his wife, Vivianne Crowley...

This is lifted in its entirity from Ancestral Pagan Paths. Yes! You can order directly fromCafe Press and be the proud owner of a copy of the “Pagan Paeans” anthology in a matter of days...

By David Rankine & Sorita d’Este Published by Avalonia, 2007 RRP £17.99, 306 pages, PB, ISBN 978-1905297108 The British Isles have long been seen as a place of mystery & magic...

A County Tyrone family could be in line for a reward after finding a rare Bronze Age gold bracelet on their land. Farmer Gary Sproule accidentally unearthed the precious artefact while ploughing over a field at Castlegore near Castlederg last April...

April 16 is the birthday of Margot Adler, author of the highly influential pagan book Drawing Down the Moon: Witches, Druids, Goddess-Worshippers, and Other Pagans in America. The book, which first came out in 1979, was a study of neopagan beliefs and practices in America at that time...

An evening of storytelling and music from the dynamic duo of the spoken word: Steve (Ardan) Gladwin… Honourary Chief Bard of the Order of Bards Ovates and Druids and Andy Harrop-Smith…...

I’ve just come across the very sad news that New Aeon Books in Manchester has closed. We assume by now that everyone knows about the demise of New Aeon Books in Manchester. For those who don’t, New Aeon has sadly gone into liquidation after 15 years of business, three addresses and one IRA bomb...