Benedict XVI has become the first pope in hundreds of years to resign. The last pope to do so was Celestine V. Celestine tried to flee but was captured by the next Pope, Boniface VIII, and arrested. He died in jail. The name Celestine has never been used by a Pope again. So, could you […]
The meaning of some ancient Chinese superstitions
A simple but effective video that helps explain the meaning of some ancient Chinese superstitions and their relevance today. In Pure Spirit Are there any superstitions of Chinese origin that you pay attention to today?
Photographs of Vodun in Benin
Benin is a former French colony in West Africa. It’s bordered by Togo, Nigeria, Burkina Faso and Niger but also has a small coast line of its own. DUring the 17th to the 19th century, the area now called Benin was ruled by the Kingdom of Dahomey and was often referred to as the Slave […]
Polish Church warns of Halloween occult risk
The Polish Press Agency is reporting that the archbishop of Szczecin-Kamien, of the Polish Catholic Church, will read out a letter at Sunday sermons that warns against the dangers of Halloween. The archbishop is expected to say; “This kind of fun, tempting children like candy, also poses the real possibility of great spiritual damage, even […]
Paralympics Closing ceremony secretly included Druid verse
Greywolf of the British Druid Order has blogged to say that the closing ceremony of the Paralympics included words from the gorsedd ritual. The gorsedd rital was written by Emma Restall Orr and Greywolf (formally Philip Shallcrass) was written in 1993 and designed to bring together many different faiths and cultures for a multi-faith conference […]
Funny video gives us a crash course in Islam and the Five Pillars
This video is from a series of crash-course history lessons. It starts by making the case that in the West the history of Islam is not well known. It’s hard to debate that. John Green is charismatic and funny in this video – and yet it quickly covers the history of Islam without religious bias and judgement. […]
Video from the Holi Festival of Colours in Utah
The Festival of Colours originates as a Hindu festival. In the main day is Holi (or Dhuli in Sanskrit) and is celebrated by crowds of people throwing dye and powder into the air. Thousands of Hindus celebrate Holi but the practise is not evenly spread across India, Bangladesh, Pakistan and Nepal. The video below was […]
Crystal magic: Healing mugs
Donna Rollins is an artisan potter and she’s hand-thrown a small collection of “Healing stone mugs”. Firstly, these mugs infuse clay with a number of minerals during the firing process. The next step is to crown each mug with a healing stone to help channel your energy. The blue mug uses clear quartz which is […]
Banned Ad: Red Bull and Jesus
This advert was intended for Brazil. You’ll probably be familiar with the art style and recognise it as an advert for Red Bull. You’d be spot on – it’s a Red Bull ad. The video is going viral today because it has (apparently) been banned by Brazilian regulators who found it offensive. At the time […]
5 Chinese Dragons to celebrate New Year
When is the Chinese New Year in 2012? The Chinese New Year is Monday, 23 January. That’s right. Chinese New Year is today. There are five different time zones in China. They range from UTC+5 to UTC+8. That means the first parts of China celebrate New Year at about 4pm GMT on Sunday the 22nd. […]
