Pagans demand greater respect as it is revealed they are the seventh largest religion in UK - Chronicle Live

Pagans are demanding greater respect for their beliefs after it emerged they are the seventh largest religion in the country – with 1,802 adherents in the North East.

They include 681 in Tyne and Wear, with 202 pagans living in Newcastle alone.

And the number of people in England and Wales who identify themselves as pagans has almost doubled during the past 10 years, according to the 2011 census.

The growth in numbers has led the Pagan Federation to call for an end to negative stereotypes.

~ Chronicle Live

Decoration on a ceramic jug.

Ars Speculum | G StM Nottingham

This new work covers in detail the creation, consecration and use of the mirror in practical magic. 

• Developing the clairvoyant faculty
• Working with the four elements
• Contacting other levels of being
• Binding and ligature
• Create a powerful tool for healing & protection
• Conjuration of spirits

AGRICULTURE, RELIGION AND THE CONCEPT OF TIME IN THE CELTIC WORLD

‘ Celtic’ Wheel Symbolism: The Archaeological & Iconographical Evidence For The Links Between Time, Agriculture, & Religious Ideas In The Celtic World From Later Prehistory To The Roman Period.

One in ten Scots men descended from Picts - Scotland - Scotsman.com

A RECENTLY discovered DNA marker suggests that 10 per cent of Scottish men are directly descended from the Picts, it is revealed today.

Mystery has long surrounded the fate of the tribe of fierce enigmatic people who battled with Rome’s legions before seeming to disappear from history.

Read the whole article at The Scotsman.

thehebrides:

I hope you all enjoyed episode 1 of Hebrides: Islands on the Edge.

If you missed it, watch the repeat next Sunday at 16:35 on BBC1 Scotland or catch it on BBC iPlayer.

EDIT: The series will not be available on iPlayer until it is aired throughout the entire country as the series is currently only being shown in Scotland.

New excavations to find lost Pictish kingdom - Heritage - Scotsman.com

ARCHAEOLOGISTS are planning a major dig to uncover one of the lost Kingdoms of the ancient Picts, the tribe of legendary warriors whose empire stretched from Fife to the Moray Firth before they mysteriously vanished from history.

Until recently historians had believed that Fortriu - one of the most powerful Kingdoms of the “painted people” - had been based in Perthshire.

But recent research has now placed the Pictish stronghold much further north to the Moray Firth area.

~ The Scotsman

“A new website containing a database of 3D images of Ogham stones from all around Ireland has been launched in Dublin. The Ogham 3D Project, based at the Dublin Institute of Advanced Studies, has used laser scanning equipment to capture and digitise more than 50 Ogham stones across the country. The images, along with maps, background and other information about each of the stones have been placed on a free website, ogham.celt.dias.ie. It is hoped the catalogue, which will be added to over time, will be used by academics, archaeologists, tourists and students as a resource into the future. It is thought there are around 400 Ogham stones in Ireland. The perpendicular cut stones carry inscriptions in the uniquely Irish alphabet, using a system of notches and horizontal or diagonal lines and scores to represent an early form of the Irish language. The stones were often inscribed with the names of prominent people and sometimes tribal affiliations or geographical areas. The inscriptions are considered to be the earliest recorded form of Irish and date back to the 5th Century. The project has been funded by the Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht.”

Ogham stones digitised for new database - RTÉ News

scotianostra:

Starting tonight on BBC1 Scotland if you have virgin cable you can watch it on 862 and Sky viewers on 851