This blog is a rather quiet place. The world outside is not, hell, it seems to be on fire lately. I therefore feel that my little corner of the internet needs an update, to get by with the times. This website has mostly been about the history of paganism in what we now call the … Continue reading Inspirational fire: pagan voices, inspiration, and action
social issues
Zwarte Piet/Black Pete, a short history+update on the cultural debate
As many undoubtedly know, the celebration of Sinterklaas has been the centre of a heated cultural debate in the Netherlands in the past years. It was not so much about Sinterklaas himself, but mostly about his help, Zwarte Piet - or Black Pete in English. According to some (and later many) Piet was sorely in … Continue reading Zwarte Piet/Black Pete, a short history+update on the cultural debate
National witch monument – a ritual of commemoration
In the last couple of weeks there has been a lot of discussion among Dutch witches, pagans and heathens about the initiative of the “Nationaal Heksenmonument”, the national witch monument. I wrote a bit more about it here. In short, this project is meant to commemorate the people who died in the Netherlands during the … Continue reading National witch monument – a ritual of commemoration
A national witch monument in the Netherlands
The face of witchcraft has greatly changed throughout the centuries. The last few decennia, it has grown fast as a (for some religious) way of life, as a form of Art. Some people however see witchcraft merely as superstition and then there are some who still see witchcraft as of the devil. Worldwide, people still … Continue reading A national witch monument in the Netherlands
Witch hunts are not of the distant past
I just finished the Dutch translation of Monica Black’s A Demon-haunted land: witches, wonder doctors, and the ghosts of the past in post-WWII Germany. Up until then I thought that Western belief in witches in the twentieth century and later was either based on wicca or based on individual cases of wise women or cunning … Continue reading Witch hunts are not of the distant past
thimsternisse 