Pagan Culture

Paganism, witchcraft and druidism are being included in some school lessons in southern England.Cornwall has a long history of druidic and pagan beliefs, so much so that the advistory group for religious studies in schools has opted to include lessons on modern paganism as part of its syllabus. Pupils will learn about the significance of prehistoric sites such as Stonehenge and the difficulties apracticising pagan may face in the present day.

Not everyone agrees with the change however, Christian Institute spokesman Mike Judge wasn"t impressed. "Introducing paganism is just faddish and has more to do with the political correctness of teachers than the educational needs of children," he said. Cornwall Council has told its schools that pagan beliefs, which include witchcraft, druidism and the worship of ancient gods such as Thor, should betaught alongside Christianity, Islam and Judaism.  

View: Full article |  Source: Daily Mail  

Druidry has been recognised as an official religion in the UK for the first time in history.Druids have been a part of Britain"s history for thousands of years but its taken until now for it to be officially recognised as a religion. "It was a long and at times frustrating process," said Phil Ryder,Chair of Trustees for The Druid Network.

The Druid Network has been given charitable status by the Charity Commission for England and Wales, the quango that decides what counts as a genuine faith as well as regulating fundraising bodies.  

View: Full article |  Source: Telegraph  

Austrian motorway bosses have hired druids to drain the negative energy from infamous accident black spots.An initial trial conducted to see if the concept had merrit produced impressive results, now officials are rolling out the scheme nationwide in an attempt to reduce traffic accidents. Motorowaybosses in Austria secretly hired a full-time team of druids to drain "negative energy" from accident blackspots.

The team is said to have reduced fatal accidents at one notorious crash site to zero after restoring its "terrestrial radiation".

View: Full article | Source: Orange.co.uk

There are countless deities associated with love and/or sexuality in every culture throughout history, here are some..

Aphrodite: In Greek mythology, Aphrodite is the goddess of love, beauty and sexual rapture. According to Hesiod, she was born when Uranus (the father of the gods) was castrated by his son Cronus . Cronus threw the severed genitals into the ocean which began to churn and foam about them. From the aphros ("sea foam") arose Aphrodite, and the sea carried her to either Cyprus or Cythera. Hence she is often referred to as Kypris and Cytherea. Homer calls her a daughter of Zeus and Dione. After her birth, Zeus was afraid that the gods would fight over Aphrodite's hand in marriage so he married her off to the smith god Hephaestus the steadiest of the gods. He could hardly believe his good luck and used all his skills to make the most lavish jewels for her. He made her a girdle of finely wrought gold and wove magic into the filigree work. That was not very wise of him, for when she wore her magic girdle no one could resist her, and she was all too irresistible already.

 She loved gaiety and glamour and was not at all pleased at being the wife of sooty, hard-working Hephaestus. Aphrodite loved and was loved by many gods and mortals. Among her mortal lovers, the most famous was perhaps Adonis . Some of her sons are Eros, Anteros, Hymenaios and Aeneas (with her Trojan lover Anchises. She is accompanied by the Graces. Her festival is the Aphrodisiac which was celebrated in various centers of Greece and especially in Athens and Corinth. Her priestesses were not prostitutes but women who represented the goddess and sexual intercourse with them was considered just one of the methods of worship. Aphrodite was originally an old-Asian goddess, similar to the Mesopotamian Ishtar and the Syro-Palestinian goddess Ashtart. Her attributes are a.o. the dolphin, the dove, the swan, the pomegranate and the lime tree. In Roman mythology Venus is the goddess of love and beauty and Cupid is love's messenger...