Samhain is probably the most celebrated and most controversial of the witch’s holidays. Samhain is sometimes referred to as “THE Great Sabbat” and perhaps the most important of the four High Holidays (Nichols, 1988). This holiday is known to many in the Wiccan world as the time of year when the veil between the physical world and the spiritual world is the thinnest. Laurie Cabot (1989) writes that originally Samhain was the Celtic feast of the dead and celebrated to honor the Aryan Lord of Death known as Samana. Over time, this celebration developed into festivals to celebrate the spirit world, rather than any one deity. It was also to mark the “ongoing cooperation between that world and our own of denser matter.” Offerings to ancestors is also an important Samhain tradition; in modern times it is to reflect on those who have passed and honoring any important aspect of their teaching, life, relationship, etc. However in ancient times, offerings were made with the belief that unhappy or disgruntled ancestors would take advantage of a thin veil and come to our world to do harm t...
Yardley, Meg. "Social Work Practice With Pagans, Witches, And Wiccans: Guidelines For Practice With Children And Youths." Social Work 53.4 (2008): 329-336. SocINDEX with Full Text. Web. 24 Nov. 2013.
Hanukkah is a religious holiday celebrated by the Jewish, it involves the burning of eight candles, one each day. Some people say that Hanukkah is basically a Jewish Christmas, but its not, no holiday is celebrated is the same way as Hanukkah. Also, what holiday has more than three names, Hanukkah does. Its names are Hanukkah, Chanukah, Festival of Lights, the Feast of Dedication, and the Feast of the Maccabees.
Liz, Kelly. “Moving in the Shadows: Violence in the Lives of Minority Women and Children” 10. Stonehocker, Kolbie“Witches, Wiccans and Pagans” Rita Morgan: Daily Life, Not Religion 2012 www.cityweekly.net 11. Annemaire de Waal Malefijt, “Religion and Culture: An Introduction to Anthropology of Religion” The United States of America 1989.
In discussing the Jewish sentiment about paganism, Plaskow reveals that hatred of other religions, reinforced by religious texts and aspects of culture can cause Jews to not know how other traditions have shaped their own. Plaskow argues that by hating paganism, the Jewish community misses out on parts of their own history. By pushing away paganism, Jews disguise “the important role that concrete artifacts played in ancient Jewish practice” (Plaskow, [Jewish Anti-Paganism], 1999, 111-112). By ignoring this fact, Jews prevent themselves from seeing the entire picture and the history of their tradition’s beginnings. Additionally, by being uneducated on how women played roles such as “dancers and diviners, musicians and priestesses” in the early days of their religions, Jews have allowed their tradition to exclude “women from religious leaderships” (Plaskow, [Jewish Anti-Paganism], 1999, 112). While Plaskow does not believe that paganism be directly incorporated into the Jewish tradition, only that the paganism should be attended more “closely and critically” in order for the tradition to not suppress “real human beings and distort our understanding of ourselves” (Plaskow, [Jewish Anti-Paganism], 1999,
The growing practice of Neo-Paganism in America has caused many to turn their heads. The misunderstanding of the religion has caused many to equate the practitioners with the popular conception of typical "witches," that perform black magic rituals, satanic sacrifices, and engage in devil-inspired orgies. After many years, the Neo-Pagan community has cleared up many misconceptions through the showing that many of them do not engage in activities, and are rather participating in a religion, just as those would that participate in a Christian community. It's unacceptance continues, perhaps due to its non-conformity to the ideal of worshipping a Christian God. Through the use of ethnography, anthropologists and sociologists are able to present the public with a much different view than what we are bombarded with in popular media.
She also represents death, which is necessary for rebirth. The Wiccan God is a horned God, and the sun is his symbol. He is also the lord of the underworld who tends souls until they are reborn (Sabin, 2011, p 235). Wiccans pray to the Goddess and God (Sabin, 2011, p233). These Gods created witches for the soul purpose to help heal.
The Wiccan religion is one of the fastest growing religions in the United States as well one of the most misunderstood due to the controversies surrounding its history and mystery shrouding its beliefs and doctrines. Due to a series of popular TV series that have shown Witchcraft in a positive light, such as Sabrina, the Teen-aged Witch and Charmed, the popularity of Wicca has grown, especially amongst teenagers; but sadly this popularity has not been partnered with a growth in understanding and respect (Kaminer). Although Wicca offers a nature-oriented, egalitarian belief system with a rich collection of customs and rituals, ignorance and historically-rooted misconceptions still dominate public opinion.
Wicca has gone down through the history with its many trials and tribulations. It has a very colorful history, that can’t be covered all in one research paper.
At Yule time Wiccans and other witches hold rituals to celebrate the balance of light and dark, the warmth from the healing rituals bs warmth back to our world; which brings us all a little closer together. We also host parties and celebrate in many other ways like host parties, visit with our families or have big meals with all the family together.
An Evening with the Pagans~ A brief history of paganism~ Over 25,000 years ago, our ancestors across the continent practiced an ancient form of religion known as paganism. During the Neolithic and Paleolithic time era, our ancestors were in awe of the great manifestations of nature. Due to lack of scientific thought, they were riddled with ignorance and superstition. Everything had a supernatural explanation.
Service Article (revised) T'S MARDI GRAS - YES! Yes, New Orleans' famous Carnival season is this years' never-ending party and you're invited. Mardi Gras, famous for its colorful and cultural parades, is an experience you can't go any longer without!
Russell, Jeffrey. A History of Witchcraft: Sorcerers, Heretics, and Pagans. New York: Themes and Hudson Inc. 1983.
In order to explain, this we need to go back to the very beginning of this creepy holiday. Long ago, a people known as the Celts celebrated a holiday they called Samhain. The Celts lived two thousand years ago in what is now Ireland, the United Kingdom, and Northern France. Celts began each new year on November first; This is the day that ends the harvest and marks the beginning of winter, cold and hard, which many then feared they had not stored enough food to survive. With that in mind it is no small wonder that this time of year was often associated with death. So the day before, Samhain , Celts believed that this world and the Deadworld boundaries blurred and th...
Diwali, the festival of lights, is one of the important and widely spread holidays celebrated in India. It is a celebration of lights, and for many, it is truly a sensory experience; some families decorate their houses with all sorts of lights and open up to the neighbors, sharing their love and their food.
III. Smithson, Jayne. “Magic, Witchcraft, and Religion.” Class lectures. Anthropology 120. Diablo Valley College, San Ramon 2004.