• THOUSANDS FLOCK TO EDINBURGH PAGAN RITUAL'
  
  

- - - EDINBURGH, U.K. (Edinburgh News) - May 5, 2008 - Organisers of the Beltane Fire Festival have declared the 21st anniversary event a success despite torrential rain.

The producer of the outdoor pagan festival said the children's event Family Beltane in particular had been well received in its inaugural year.

More than 8000 people attended the Calton Hill festival, which has become known for its semi-clad dancers, druid spirit guides and massive fire sculptures.

Children enjoyed face-painting, storytelling and performances at Family Beltane, set up to give youngsters a less racy flavour of the main event.

Festival producer Pete Renwick said: "The rain made things a little tricky but we were amazed that people stayed on the hill given the conditions.

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• IT'S MAY - TIME TO PROTECT YOUR HOME FROM THE THREAT OF WITCHES
  
  

- - - BERWICK ST. JAMES, U.K. (Darlington and Stockton Times) - May 2, 2008 - May has long been known as the month of blossom. There can be little doubt that it is the most beautiful month of the year so far as new growth and floral splendour is concerned.

In Anglo-Saxon times it was known as Thri-Milch because the lush growth of this period meant the cows could be milked three times each day.

The present name of May might be derived from the Roman festival in honour of Maia. She was the legendary mother of Mercury, the messenger god, and sacrifices were offered to him on the first day of the month we know as May.

Another possibility is that May evolved from the Sanskrit mah meaning growth, and yet another is that the month's name could result from it being dedicated by Romulus to the Roman senators.

They were known as majores.

Whatever the source of the name, the month of May has always been a cause for celebration, with May Day sporting hundreds of different events and ceremonies throughout the country. These range from maypole dancing to lie-telling contests, not to mention dock-pudding-making competitions and the election of May Queens.

May 1 has, therefore, been given lots of different names including May Gosling Day, Birch Twig Day, Robin Hood's Day, Yellowhammer Day and Cattle Anointing Day.

May 2 is also rather special, because it is Rowan Tree Day, which is sometimes called Rowan Tree Witch Day. In times not too far past, Yorkshire folk would decorate their horses, cattle and houses with sprigs of rowan tree leaves, otherwise known as the mountain ash, witchwood or wicken tree. Their purpose was to prevent witches, fairies and other evil spirits from harming the house, the people and their livestock.

In some areas, this custom was undertaken on May 3, but in either case it was essential that the sprigs were cut with a domestic knife, not a saw or axe, and that they were collected from a tree never previously used for this purpose.

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• ARE THE QUAKERS GOING PAGAN?
  
  

- - - (Matthew Streib - Religion News Services) - April 29, 2008 - When his partner died in 2004, Kevin-Douglas Olive reached a crossroads in his faith. Even though he had been a Quaker for almost two decades and put his trust in Jesus, he began to explore other ways of tapping into the divine.

"I had this experience of (my partner) after death, and he spoke to me and woke me up out of my sleep," Olive says. "It freaked me out, because I really didn't believe in that stuff; … my faith in God had disappeared when my partner died."

He started to explore Wicca, a nature-based pagan religion, surrounding himself with pentacles, candles and incense. But that didn't stick. "It seemed like more make-believe on top of the Christian make-believe," he says. "I was rejecting one; I didn't want to bring in another."

Even after Olive found his way back to Jesus, he retained some elements of paganism. While he upholds the standard traditions of his local Quaker meeting hall, he privately incorporates pagan ritual into his prayer.

He's part of a small but growing movement of Quakers who also identify as pagan — a trend that may or may not exist in other Christian traditions, but certainly not in such an organized, public fashion.

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• HEALER FOUND HANGED AT HOME
  
  

- - - BLACKFORD U.K. (TheWestonMurcury) - April 24, 2008 - A legendary healer and ghost hunter who helped thousands of women, men and children was found hanged on Monday afternoon.

Blackford resident Bill Harrison was thought to have hung himself in the shed at the bottom of the field on his land.

Bill, who died aged 60, lived in Corner Cottage in Hozzard Lane and was famed for his healing weekends.

His son Sean, who travelled over from the Isle of Wight on Tuesday, said: "We haven't had much time to take this all in at the moment and we are still getting our heads round it.

"My dad was a very giving person and did so much for charities like Secret World Wildlife Rescue."

Bill was due to hold an open weekend in July and in February this year he had an animal healing workshop.

Now the family hope to hold some sort of memorial event in July, when Bill's healing weekend should have taken place.

A tribute written on his website reads: "Bill was a unique person who has travelled all over the world working in his own way, from the Great Wall of China to the Witch Doctors in Africa.

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• CANADA TO DECLARE PLASTIC BOTTLE CHEMICAL TOXIC
  
  

- - - OTTOWA CANADA (Reuters) - April 18, 2008 - Canada intends to ban the import and sale of plastic polycarbonate baby bottles, which would be the first such step in the world, Health Minister Tony Clement said on Friday.

Polycarbonate is a plastic made with the chemical bisphenol A, widely used in food and water containers. Clement said the ban would only extend to bottles used by newborns and infants, as evidence is strongest that early development may be sensitive to it.

Major Canadian retail chains have already started removing bottles and containers containing bisphenol A, citing public concerns about possible health risks.

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• FURY AS SCHOOL MAY DROP WITCH LOGO
  
  

- - - Cambridge U.K. (Cambridge News) - April 17, 2008 - Villagers in Warboys are up in arms about plans to drop a witch logo from the local school over fears that it is putting off potential pupils and staff.

Angry residents packed a meeting of the parish council where the move was under discussion and the council is now writing to the school governors expressing the residents' concerns.

But head teacher Martin Kelsey said the proposal was part of a wider package of measures to improve the school which had been struggling with poor standards.

The witch image comes from darker times in the history of the village which was said to be the last place in England where witches were hanged, with three members of a family being sent to the gallows in the 16th Century.

A village football team is known as the Witches and there is a witch weather vane on the clock tower.

Parish council chairman Steven Kessel said the future of the logo was put on the agenda for discussion because of concerns being raised in the village and that about 45 residents were present at the meeting.

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