Jennifer's Alternative Religions Blog February 2008 Archive

Kalevala Day


Thursday February 28, 2008 | permalink | comments (1)

Rudolf Steiner
Today is thre birthday of Rudolf Steiner (1861), the influential scholar and spiritual teacher who created the Anthroposophical Society and the Church of Spiritual Science, and whose teachings on education, ... Read More

Monday February 25, 2008 | permalink | comments (0)

Melusine (Alchemical Siren)
This creature is associated with numerous stories and legends, and is imbued with symbolic meaning in alchemy. The most common iteration of the siren is as Melusine, a creature from medieval ... Read More

Sunday February 24, 2008 | permalink | comments (0)

Nails of the Passion- Cheap!
They say you can get anything on Ebay, and apparently some people really believe it. Offered for auction on Ebay Belgium: the nails of the Passion. Check out ... Read More

Friday February 22, 2008 | permalink | comments (0)

The Emerald Tablet
The text of the Emerald tablet is brief- only thirteen lines- but it is the cornerstone of the Hermetic movement. The origin of this mysterious text is shrouded in antiquity, ... Read More

Thursday February 21, 2008 | permalink | comments (3)

Martyrs to Pointlessness
The couple in New South Wales, Australia who were ordered to remove material defaming the OTO from their website have since refused to do so, and now face jail time. ... Read More

Wednesday February 20, 2008 | permalink | comments (3)

Fashionably Sikh?
Western Sikhs are applauding fashion designer Kenneth Cole, whose newest ad campaign features a nattily turned out model sporting Cole's spring line alongside his own neatly wound turban. The ... Read More

Tuesday February 19, 2008 | permalink | comments (2)

Mike Huckabee's Very Personal God
Anyone who's been following the Republican presidential race (okay, so that's not so many as in previous years) knows that Mike Huckabee's Evangelical Christian beliefs figure big in his politics. ... Read More

Monday February 18, 2008 | permalink | comments (10)

Giordano Bruno
Today marks the anniversary of the death of Giordano Bruno, the Renaissance kabbalist, philosopher, and martyr for truth who ran afoul of the Church and was burned at the stake ... Read More

Sunday February 17, 2008 | permalink | comments (1)

Time Running Out for Saudi "Witch"
Fawza Falih is scheduled to be executed by beheading, after exhausting all appeals in the Saudi courts. This 25-year old illiterate was convicted of witchcraft after being accused of ... Read More

Thursday February 14, 2008 | permalink | comments (0)

The Ouroboros
The Ouroboros is a greek word, and means "tail swallower." The ouroboros is usually depicted in the form of a ... Read More

Wednesday February 13, 2008 | permalink | comments (1)

Love Magick
Love spells and charms are a universal phenomenon throughout human history- from ancient times, when love and fertility were both considered whims of the gods who ... Read More

Tuesday February 12, 2008 | permalink | comments (1)

Excommunicated? (And More Scientology Strangeness)
Jenna Hill Miscavige, neice of Scientology president David Miscavige, is more or less being officially shunned for her public support of Tom Cruise biographer and Scientology critic Andrew Morton. ... Read More

Thursday February 7, 2008 | permalink | comments (4)

The Real Valentine
Every year in February, well meaning churches will explain the pious origins of Valentine's day, citing the ancient Catholic Saint Valentine, a Roman priest who bravely defied an emperor's marriage ... Read More

Thursday February 7, 2008 | permalink | comments (9)

Oni wa soto! Fuku wa uchi! (Devils out, happiness in)
Japan's Shinto adherents celebrate Setsubun today, marking the coming of spring by throwing hot soybeans from doorways to frighten evil spirits (and, presumably, passers-by) in preperation for the lunar New ... Read More

Sunday February 3, 2008 | permalink | comments (2)

Imbolc
Today (tomorrow, according to some calendars) is the day of Candlemas, the Festival of Lights, a Midwinter Festival. Known to Neopagans and ancient Celts as Imbolc (Gaelic ... Read More

Friday February 1, 2008 | permalink | comments (4)