Psychics may face regulations that help tell which is witch
Possibly they saw it coming, but after decades of lenient regulation, British mediums, psychics and healers will this month find themselves subject to tougher consumer protection laws.
Possibly they saw it coming, but after decades of lenient regulation, British mediums, psychics and healers will this month find themselves subject to tougher consumer protection laws.
These laws leave them open to legal action if they don't provide a series of disclaimers before performing their services.
Motivated by concerns that some spiritualists prey on the vulnerable, inducing or prolonging emotional suffering, Australian sceptics are calling for a similar toughening of legislation here.
Seventy people have contacted Consumer Affairs Victoria over the past year seeking advice or lodging complaints about psychics, clairvoyants and fortune tellers.
Lynne Kelly, Melbourne author of The Skeptics Guide to the Paranormal, says regulating spiritualists is difficult, but the damage they may do, intentionally or unwittingly, can be immense.
Bell Witch Cave Becomes National Historic Site
Caves don't often make the list. Visitors first came to the cave in Robertson County 1817.
It made the prestigious list due to its rich role in local legend and culture.
Each year, about 17,000 people visit the cave looking for the spirit of the Bell Witch.
John Bell, Sr. owned the land where the cave sits and reported seeing the witch in 1817.
Czechs celebrate 'Čarodějnice' – an annual witch-burning festival
Dancers hop and skip about to welcome in spring at Ladronka park in Prague 6. Wednesday's 'Čarodějnice' or witch-burning is an annual event in this country, which is said to put a definitive end to winter. On Wednesday, the weather was suitably sunny, and hundreds of children and parents turned out to take part in the festivities.
Rush for stickers in support of Warboys witch
After more than 200 individual letters of protest, a petition with over 900 signatures and sales of car stickers at an all-time high, the Warboys witch is still not safe.
Warboys Primary School said yesterday (Tuesday) it has still not reached a decision about the future of the witch, a logo that has been on the school uniform for 60 years.
As reported by The Hunts Post, the school governors decided in March to "ditch the witch" from the school, causing uproar in the village, particularly from parents.
The logo, on the school sign, the sweatshirt, the fleece and the school bag, goes back to 1946 - when it was chosen by a schoolboy who won a competition to design it.
News on the future of the witch was expected following a governors' meeting on Monday, but the village and the children are still awaiting a decision.
Aid workers teach Sierra Leone's poor to shun witch doctors' malaria remedies
They don't look like witches, whatever witches are supposed to look like. They are often old, shrivelled, hardy farm workers who toil with the rest of the villagers, bent over in the searing heat of the sun. Sometimes they are young and bounding, in trainers and bright, funky shirts, displaying their wares with the eager eyes of an entrepreneur. And, in any case, many of these witch doctors have a point.
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John Bell, Sr. owned the land where the cave sits and reported seeing the witch in 1817.
Czechs celebrate 'Čarodějnice' – an annual witch-burning festival
Dancers hop and skip about to welcome in spring at Ladronka park in Prague 6. Wednesday's 'Čarodějnice' or witch-burning is an annual event in this country, which is said to put a definitive end to winter. On Wednesday, the weather was suitably sunny, and hundreds of children and parents turned out to take part in the festivities.
Rush for stickers in support of Warboys witch
After more than 200 individual letters of protest, a petition with over 900 signatures and sales of car stickers at an all-time high, the Warboys witch is still not safe.
Warboys Primary School said yesterday (Tuesday) it has still not reached a decision about the future of the witch, a logo that has been on the school uniform for 60 years.
As reported by The Hunts Post, the school governors decided in March to "ditch the witch" from the school, causing uproar in the village, particularly from parents.
The logo, on the school sign, the sweatshirt, the fleece and the school bag, goes back to 1946 - when it was chosen by a schoolboy who won a competition to design it.
News on the future of the witch was expected following a governors' meeting on Monday, but the village and the children are still awaiting a decision.
Aid workers teach Sierra Leone's poor to shun witch doctors' malaria remedies
They don't look like witches, whatever witches are supposed to look like. They are often old, shrivelled, hardy farm workers who toil with the rest of the villagers, bent over in the searing heat of the sun. Sometimes they are young and bounding, in trainers and bright, funky shirts, displaying their wares with the eager eyes of an entrepreneur. And, in any case, many of these witch doctors have a point.
T
he treasures hidden deep in the jungles of Sierra Leone are powerful. Potions cooked up from bits of bark in bubbling vats genuinely have healing properties. But they can also kill, and this is why medical charities are going into battle with the witch doctors of the west African country.
Framingham witch hunt asylum given historic nod
A house that offered asylum from what Selectman Ginger Esty called the "worst part of human nature," was given a refuge of its own at Town Meeting last night.
Meeting members approved establishing a historic district for the Sarah Clayes property at 657 Salem End Road.
Framingham witch hunt asylum given historic nod
A house that offered asylum from what Selectman Ginger Esty called the "worst part of human nature," was given a refuge of its own at Town Meeting last night.
Meeting members approved establishing a historic district for the Sarah Clayes property at 657 Salem End Road.
The designation could open up state funding for the property and give the Historic District Commission a seat at the permitting table with potential developers.
Clayes was persecuted during the Salem witch trials of the 1690s.
Clayes was persecuted during the Salem witch trials of the 1690s.
She escaped the gallows and fled to the house on what would later become Salem End Road. Two of her sisters were not as fortunate - they were hanged for witchcraft.
Later, it was discovered the witchcraft persecutions were a facade for the corrupt politics of a local minister who branded as witches those who did not support him, said Esty.
Later, it was discovered the witchcraft persecutions were a facade for the corrupt politics of a local minister who branded as witches those who did not support him, said Esty.
The house, which has been expanded and renovated several times, was originally built around 1693.
They thought 'she was a witch', so left baby girl to die
The Dahod police have succeeded in tracing a couple who had abandoned their 15-day-old girl on April 15. The girl later died in a Vadodara hospital on April 17.
The couple, Bhalu Damor and Sukhiben, arrested from a border village in Madhya Pradesh, confessed that they had abandoned their baby girl born with a deformity on her back. The reason: they thought "she was a witch".
Woman branded witch, beheaded
A man in Jharkhand beheaded a woman he thought was a witch and surrendered to the police after walking with the severed head for five kilometres, police said on Monday.
They thought 'she was a witch', so left baby girl to die
The Dahod police have succeeded in tracing a couple who had abandoned their 15-day-old girl on April 15. The girl later died in a Vadodara hospital on April 17.
The couple, Bhalu Damor and Sukhiben, arrested from a border village in Madhya Pradesh, confessed that they had abandoned their baby girl born with a deformity on her back. The reason: they thought "she was a witch".
Woman branded witch, beheaded
A man in Jharkhand beheaded a woman he thought was a witch and surrendered to the police after walking with the severed head for five kilometres, police said on Monday.
Jairam Hansda, 37, killed Renti Hansda, 40, on Sunday in Tirildih village of Jamshedpur district, around 190 km from here. He then picked up her head and walked to the Mousabini police station.
Jairam told the police that the dead woman was into black magic, which he claimed killed his father and brother.
Liberia: Mobs Burned Witch, Wizards' Homes
Reports gathered by this paper indicate that the homes of people accused of witchcrafts activities were burned down by angry residents following their release on the orders of Solicitor General, Cllr. Tiawon Gongloe.
Reports gathered by this paper indicate that the homes of people accused of witchcrafts activities were burned down by angry residents following their release on the orders of Solicitor General, Cllr. Tiawon Gongloe.
The accused were reportedly chased out of the town by angry residents, most of them are youths. Some times ago, four persons were arrested in connection with the disappearance of Yonjay Togba in Manneh Town, Timbo District, Rivercess County.
Those arrested included the paramount Chief Dixon Nyeneh, his wife Mowee Dixon, Jay Payleh, and Nyensieh Woen. However, during his visit, Cllr. Gongloe reportedly ordered their release on grounds of the lack of evidence against them was not enough.
He is quoted as saying that the practice of using Iron Wood Bark as ordeal is no longer acceptable in the country. According the Program Director of the Rivercess Radio, Perry Chea, the accused were resisted by the youths of the Beach Town.
Writer witch may be a warlock
The witchhunt for which witch wrote the new veiled Channel 9 tell-all Boned has taken a new turn - is the author a warlock, not a witch, after all?
While the protagonist in the Penguin novel is a female who has worked in the Australian TV industry for 20 years, the latest rumour from within book circles is that the anonymous writer is actually a bloke.
The other kind of witch: Wiccans, Pagans discuss their spiritual life
When TV Land first wanted to place a Samantha Stephens statue in downtown Salem in honor of "Bewitched," and the controversy was just winding up, Salem resident Jerrie Hildebrand was asked to look into what the local Wiccan and Pagan community thought.
Hildebrand agreed, but there was small problem: She wasn't entirely sure who or what the local Wiccan and Pagan community entailed. Things had come a long way for people of that spiritual orientation, especially in Salem, but there remained many residents who still weren't "out" to the world.
And with good reason, Hildebrand explained at a No Place for Hate panel discussion held April 12, because there are still so many stigmas against Wicca and Paganism. During the stir over the "Bewitched" statue, someone who knew little about Hildebrand's faith labeled her a modern-day Samantha.
[ ... ]
A major part of the public's confusion is the word "witch," used sometimes to describe a Wiccan. While Salem is home to many who cast spells and wear pointy hats, that's not what Wiccan and Pagan faiths are about. And although lovers of the magic and psychic world are fairly well received in Salem, in the larger world that type of witch has a bad reputation.
As a result, there's a debate in the Pagan faiths over whether the word witch can be salvaged for them, since "as well all know, this word witch has such negative connotations in our society," said panelist Margot Adler, an NPR host, author and 35-year Wiccan priestess.
In the simplest form, Wicca is a religion, said Adler. Many of the faith arrived at it the way Adler did, born to more mainstream cultures and searching for people with beliefs like her own. While there are many variations, as with any religion, their common faith is ecology based and focuses on a communion with nature with an emphasis on ritual.
"I was constantly looking for an 'ecological religion,'" Adler said of her youth.
The author of the landmark 1979 Wicca book "Drawing Down the Moon," she notes that much of the modern religion is based on customs from ancient times when paganism was the norm. Many of the beliefs and rituals have been passed down, so for some people, paganism is a return to one's roots.
"There have always been earth traditions, always been indigenous traditions …" she said.
Woman branded witch by villagers, set ablaze
Suspecting that a woman was practising witchcraft, villagers set her ablaze at a remote village in Dibrugarh district on this Thursday.
Writer witch may be a warlock
The witchhunt for which witch wrote the new veiled Channel 9 tell-all Boned has taken a new turn - is the author a warlock, not a witch, after all?
While the protagonist in the Penguin novel is a female who has worked in the Australian TV industry for 20 years, the latest rumour from within book circles is that the anonymous writer is actually a bloke.
The other kind of witch: Wiccans, Pagans discuss their spiritual life
When TV Land first wanted to place a Samantha Stephens statue in downtown Salem in honor of "Bewitched," and the controversy was just winding up, Salem resident Jerrie Hildebrand was asked to look into what the local Wiccan and Pagan community thought.
Hildebrand agreed, but there was small problem: She wasn't entirely sure who or what the local Wiccan and Pagan community entailed. Things had come a long way for people of that spiritual orientation, especially in Salem, but there remained many residents who still weren't "out" to the world.
And with good reason, Hildebrand explained at a No Place for Hate panel discussion held April 12, because there are still so many stigmas against Wicca and Paganism. During the stir over the "Bewitched" statue, someone who knew little about Hildebrand's faith labeled her a modern-day Samantha.
[ ... ]
A major part of the public's confusion is the word "witch," used sometimes to describe a Wiccan. While Salem is home to many who cast spells and wear pointy hats, that's not what Wiccan and Pagan faiths are about. And although lovers of the magic and psychic world are fairly well received in Salem, in the larger world that type of witch has a bad reputation.
As a result, there's a debate in the Pagan faiths over whether the word witch can be salvaged for them, since "as well all know, this word witch has such negative connotations in our society," said panelist Margot Adler, an NPR host, author and 35-year Wiccan priestess.
In the simplest form, Wicca is a religion, said Adler. Many of the faith arrived at it the way Adler did, born to more mainstream cultures and searching for people with beliefs like her own. While there are many variations, as with any religion, their common faith is ecology based and focuses on a communion with nature with an emphasis on ritual.
"I was constantly looking for an 'ecological religion,'" Adler said of her youth.
The author of the landmark 1979 Wicca book "Drawing Down the Moon," she notes that much of the modern religion is based on customs from ancient times when paganism was the norm. Many of the beliefs and rituals have been passed down, so for some people, paganism is a return to one's roots.
"There have always been earth traditions, always been indigenous traditions …" she said.
Woman branded witch by villagers, set ablaze
Suspecting that a woman was practising witchcraft, villagers set her ablaze at a remote village in Dibrugarh district on this Thursday.
Agitated villagers pounced on Champa Bora (55) this morning accusing her of "casting evil spells" and thrashed her severely, police said, adding someone from the group then set her ablaze.
Bora was badly burnt before she could be rescued and was shifted to Assam Medical College and Hospital, where her condition is stated to be critical, they said.
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