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Thursday, August 08, 2024

Tom Cruise at Olympics would be 'disgrace', say French anti-cult groups

Agence France-Presse
August 8, 2024

Tom Cruise (AFP)

Anti-cult activists have condemned the likely appearance of Hollywood actor and well-known Scientologist Tom Cruise at the Paris Olympics closing ceremony on Sunday.

While his attendance has not been confirmed, the "Mission Impossible" star is widely expected to be part of the Games' final show, angering a French umbrella group for cult victims.

"The simple fact that we are talking about his presence is an insult to victims," said Catherine Katz, a former French judge who heads UNADFI, a group dedicated to defending victims of cults. "It really is a bad message."

Charline Delporte, the president of victims' association Caffes, called it "a disgrace".

Anti-cult activists like Katz and Delporte accused Scientologist of recruiting outside Olympic venues, including the Stade de France north of Paris, which will host the closing ceremony.

"They are very present at the big sporting events, they will no doubt reach many young people, I am very worried," Delporte said.

The movement describes itself as a religion but is considered a cult in France.

- 'Sock puppets' -

Miviludes, a French government agency tasked with dealing with cult movements, said it had received reports of Scientology-linked "No to drugs" brochures being handed out across Paris.

While the 30-page leaflets do not explicitly mention the Church of Scientology, the campaign is connected to it via a Scientology-sponsored organisation, Foundation For a Drug-Free World, Katz said.

"They are sock puppets," he told AFP. "If you don't know who they are, you can fall for their grand values. They say they're here to help drug addicts, but in fact it enables indoctrination."

Miviludes said the flyers even turned up in some Parisian pharmacies.

"We worry that this could be a proselytizing approach that has nothing to do with prevention," its chief Donatien Le Vaillant told AFP.

The agency warned against the "risks of psychological destabilization, exorbitant financial expectations" and people being split from their families and friends associated with Scientology, whose members have previously been convicted of fraud in France.

The movement opened a centre in Saint-Denis, where the Stade de France is located, in April.

The Church of Scientology, which was founded by American Sci Fi writer L. Ron Hubbard in the early 1950s and counts Cruise and John Travolta among its members, is well-established in Hollywood and Los Angeles, where it owns multiple sprawling properties.

It claims between 40,000 and 45,000 members in France, but one expert estimated the figure was more likely to be in the hundreds.

Hubbard was sentenced in his absence to four years in prison for fraud in France in 1978, according to Miviludes.

Two of the movement's main structures in France were also convicted of fraud, extortion and racketeering in 2013.

AFP attempted to contact the Church of Scientology's European head for comment.

Sunday, June 30, 2024

Assange’s Freedom Is Also Ours: To Tell the Truth

After 12 years – including five years of solitary confinement at Belmarsh Prison in London – Julian Assange is free. God bless America! He wasn’t extradited to the U.S. to stand trial, where he faced a sentence of 170 years in prison for violating the so-called Espionage Act.

Instead, he took a plea deal with the U.S. government, pleading guilty to one count of violating that act – you know, threatening America’s freedom – for which he had paid by his time already served. He was officially pronounced free at a U.S. federal court in Saipan, capital of the Northern Mariana Islands (a U.S. territory), after which he flew home to his wife and two children in Australia.

My emotional relief at his escape from the clutches of this government far outweighs my feelings about the broader implications of the guilty plea, which has justifiably stirred concern and controversy. The government got its little triumph: a “legal” acknowledgment of its right to keep monstrous secrets about what it does and punish any unauthorized spilling of the beans as “espionage.”

“He’s basically pleading guilty to things that journalists do all the time and need to do,” according to Jameel Jaffer, executive director of the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University, quoted by the New York Times.

And Matt Taibbi said the decision “will remain a sword over the heads of anyone reporting on national security issues. Governments have no right to keep war crimes secret, but Assange’s 62-month stay in prison is starting to look like a template for Western prosecutions of such leaks.”

While such concerns are no doubt worrisome, I don’t think the legal system is a mechanism for seriously addressing them. Assange, the founder of WikiLeaks, was hardly an equal in this hellish controversy. He was in the legal crosshairs of the most powerful country on the planet, which he had had the nerve to defy, by publishing an enormous amount of “classified” – that is to say hidden – data, given to him by government-employed whistleblowers.

This is called journalism, no matter that part of the U.S. case against Assange was that he doesn’t count as a real journalist. Mainstream, corporate journalists know how to behave themselves, I guess. They’re far more likely to “respect” the do-not-cross lines the government establishes.

As I wrote in 2010, at the beginning of the WikiLeaks controversy:

“In a time of endless war, when democracy is an orchestrated charade and citizen engagement is less welcome in the corridors of power than it has ever been, when the traditional checks and balances of government are in unchallenged collusion with one another, when the media act not as watchdogs of democracy but guard dogs of the interests and clichés of the status quo, we have WikiLeaks, disrupting the game of national security, ringing its bell, changing the rules.”

As long as “national security” includes the waging of war, honest – a.k.a., real – journalism will be a nuisance to those in charge, because it includes actual reportage, not simply press-releases and public-relations blather. In the real world, war equals murder. War is not an abstract game of strategy and tactics. War itself is a “war crime” – especially when it’s waged not to gain freedom from an oppressor but to maintain control over the oppressed.

WikiLeaks releases were outrageous acts of espionage – from a war-waging government’s point of view – because the data was raw, real and unsanitized. They included 90,000 classified documents on the US war in Afghanistan and nearly 400,000 secret files on the Iraq war, which… uh, bled beyond the official propaganda and, among other things, showed that civilian deaths in the two wars were, according to Al-Jazeera, “much higher than the numbers being reported.”

In addition, WikiLeaks released data that, as Al-Jazeera noted, “unearthed how the Geneva Conventions were being violated routinely in the Guantanamo Bay prison in Cuba. The documents, dating from 2002 to 2008 showed the abuse of 800 prisoners, some of them as young as 14.”

And then, of course, there was the infamous “collateral murder” video, which showed a U.S. helicopter firing at people on a street in Baghdad, killing seven of them, including a Reuters journalist, and wounding a number of others, including two children, who were sitting in a van that had pulled up to aid the wounded people in the street. And all this happened as helicopter crew members snickered about the deaths. This was the United States in full view, waging its “war on terror” by unleashing terror at the level only a superpower could commit.

Showing snippets of truth about the war on terror is Julian Assange’s crime: his act of espionage. And I get the government’s point of view. Assange put war itself into the forefront of collective human awareness – as a hideous reality, not a political abstraction. What he did bears striking similarity to what Emmett Till’s mother did. She exposed the raw horror of Southern racism by insisting that her son, a 14-year-old boy who was beaten and drowned by Mississippi racists for allegedly speaking to a white woman, have a public funeral with an open casket, so the whole world could see what had been done to him. This was in 1955. Not long afterward, the Civil Rights Movement was fully underway.

Human evolution isn’t a legal issue, decided by the courts. It involves humanity facing and transcending its own dark side, which can be a messy and chaotic process. This is the nature of truth.

Robert Koehler (koehlercw@gmail.com), syndicated by PeaceVoice, is a Chicago award-winning journalist and editor. He is the author of Courage Grows Strong at the Wound, and his newly released album of recorded poetry and art work, Soul Fragments.

Julian Assange is finally free – but it is far from the end of the story

Nimo Omer

THE GUARDIAN
Tue, 25 June 2024

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange arrives at a United States District Court in Saipan, Northern Mariana Islands, US.Photograph: Kim Hong-Ji/Reuters

After 12 years of confinement, seven in the Ecuadorian embassy and five in a high-security prison in south London, Julian Assange has been freed. The WikiLeaks founder, who faced 18 charges for helping and encouraging Chelsea Manning to leak military files, has pleaded guilty to one criminal count of conspiring to obtain and disclose classified US national defence, as part of a plea deal struck with the US justice department. Assange was sentenced by Judge Ramona V Manglona to time served on the island of Saipan in the Northern Mariana Islands and is now on a flight back to Australia. The US ambassador to Australia, Caroline Kennedy, said his return “brings this longstanding and difficult case to a close”. Assange’s wife said she is “elated” at the news of her husbands’ release.

It is the latest twist in the story of Assange, who spent years leaking documents that exposed government and military secrets, as well as less obvious targets like the actor Wesley Snipes, the Church of Scientology and the Church of the Latter-day Saints.

For today’s newsletter I spoke with writer and journalist Duncan Campbell about the final chapter of his legal drama.

In depth: ‘It’s good news for Assange … but not particularly good news for journalism’

Julian Assange, who was an expert hacker by the age of 16, has always had a bit of a rebel streak. In the late 80s he was accused of stealing half a million Australian dollars from Citibank.

But it was the website WikiLeaks that brought him to international attention. Major news outlets including the Guardian published leaks about Guantanamo Bay and classified Pentagon documents in collaboration with Assange. And in 2010 (when the picture above was taken) WikiLeaks published a video titled “Collateral Murder”, showing two US helicopter gunships in Iraq shooting Iraqi Reuters journalists. That devastating footage was followed by the publication of hundreds of thousands of documents, many in collaboration with numerous mainstream media outlets from the wars in Afghanistan, the war in Iraq, and Democratic party operatives in the run up to the 2016 election.

What followed were claims of dealings with Russian intelligence services, allegations of sexual assault in Sweden – which were ultimately dropped – and relentless calls for his imprisonment and even execution by US politicians. For years, prosecutors in America grappled with how to get a hold of Assange and prosecute him – the impulse to squash Assange became so strong that in 2017 senior CIA officials reportedly discussed plans to kidnap or assassinate him.

Journalists, human rights groups and press freedom organisations have been criticising the US for years, arguing that the pursuit of Assange represents a huge assault on freedom of expression. Amnesty International said prosecution could have a chilling effect on journalists who might self-censor for fear of punishment.

***

Years of pursuit

In 2010, the Swedish authorities put out an arrest warrant for Assange over separate allegations of rape and molestation – Assange has always denied the allegations. To avoid extradition, Assange requested political asylum at the Ecuadorian embassy in 2012, stating his fear that he would be sent to the US through Sweden, where he could face a lifetime in prison or death. His claim was granted and specific diplomatic laws protected him from arrest in the UK, as long as he stayed inside the building, which is where he remained for seven years. During this time he was visited by a host of celebrities – Lady Gaga, John Cusack and Pamela Anderson among them. He was also visited by Nigel Farage, in secret, on a number of occasions.

In 2017, Sweden dropped its allegations stating that “at this point, all possibilities to conduct the investigation are exhausted”. Eventually Ecuador rescinded its asylum offer, paving the way for Assange to be arrested and sent to Belmarsh prison where he has been held ever since.

***

Why has he been released?

After so long avoiding extradition, his supporters and loved ones will no doubt be relieved at the end to this saga. It makes sense that he accepted the deal, Campbell says, “given the appalling conditions that he’s been held in, the fact that he has been deprived of seeing his two small children and wife for five years, often left in a cell for 23 hours a day. I think it’s shocking that the United States have insisted on that when he has not breached the Espionage Act.” His family have also said that his physical and mental health were deteriorating for a number of years.

For the US, and Joe Biden’s administration, it makes sense to wrap things up. In April Biden said that he was “considering” dropping the charges and extradition attempt against Assange, avoiding the complications and potential loss of a court case in the UK that could drag on through the most crucial part of the election race. Pursuing the charges against Assange was becoming damaging for Biden when a big part of his platform this campaign has been about providing a guard-rail against Donald Trump’s attacks on democracy and freedom of speech.

The quiet but forceful diplomatic pressure from Australia has also played a significant role in securing the release of Assange. Australian politicians have long expressed their opposition to the extradition charge and lobbied for a plea deal.

***

Press freedom

As noted by Trevor Timm, a plea deal is less troubling than a conviction and appeals court ruling, which could have created an official precedent that potentially binds other courts to rule against journalists in future cases. But he adds that it is certainly not the best case scenario for press freedom.

Campbell echoes this sentiment. “It’s good news for Assange and his family, but it’s not particularly good news for journalism as a whole,” he says. “It still means that the US believes that if a journalist, who is not American or in the United States, publishes damaging information about them they can issue an extradition order and seek to have people from different countries stand trial in America.”

The criminalisation of Assange’s conduct through a guilty plea of the Espionage Act before a potential Trump presidency is particularly troubling given that Trump has repeatedly suggested that he would use the courts to retaliate against the media. In his opinion piece, Campbell notes that all over the world, journalists are facing unprecedented threats to their safety.

“From Haiti to Hong Kong, from Russia to Saudi Arabia, journalists are faced with pressures similar to those placed on Assange. That specious argument that Assange was ‘not really a journalist’, and thus not worthy of media support can surely now be finally buried.” Assange may be free, and Campbell understands why he has accepted the deal after so long behind bars, but “the situation for journalists is not great right now and the decision to release Assange doesn’t make it much better”.

Monday, February 26, 2024

TEXAS

Austin witches create community at witch markets, tiny home agrihood

One natural witch lives at Green Gate Farms’ tiny home agrihood, where she feels safe to openly practice her craft.

By Emily HernandezFeb 25, 2024

FWW said the animals that live at Green Gate Farms, like this goose named Goldie, have been an important part of her daily connection with nature as a witch.

Emily Hernandez

Though you may not be aware, a vibrant witch community is thriving in the heart of Texas. It's a community full of magic practitioners who may just entrance you with their welcoming lifestyles and curated spellwork.

Despite a general lack of knowledge about such alternative spiritualities in the U.S., many witches in the Capital City told MySA that Austin feels situated to become a safe space.

“(Witch) is a word that some people don't feel comfortable being described. It's very loaded,” Jessica Beaver, a self-described natural and folk magic witch, told MySA. “In a lot of other countries, witchcraft (is) literally the word for bad, evil, greedy magic. But it is something more in the Western world, more in America, where witchcraft itself has been reclaimed as something that does not equal (evil magic).”

Beaver is the owner of Yarrow & Sage, a metaphysical shop that sells magical offerings like runes, tarot cards, crystals, herbs, and other ritual tools. She also runs the Austin Witches Markets, which have evolved since their founding in 2015 to become a space for all kinds of magic practitioners to source ingredients, connect with like-minded people and grow their small businesses.

Shea Curtis, a vendor at the February 3 Austin Witch Market, sells handmade artwork filled with pressed flowers and paper insects from her shop Dark Whimsy.

Emily Hernandez

Amanda Aguilar, one of the vendor’s at the Austin Witches Market, offers customers oracle readings and connects people with their spirit guides by working with deities, ancestors, and guardian angels through her business Runic Rose Oracle.

“It’s just been very accepting and loving, and I’ve noticed that that translates to the customers because they feel accepted…which is really important, especially if you’re navigating the spiritual journey,” Aguilar told MySA.

Austin Witch Market vendor Tiffanie McKinnie and her son sell crocheted oddities from her shop Knoddities at the February 3 market. Emily Hernandez

Market vendor Tiffanie McKinnie sells handmade crocheted anatomical hearts, Baphomets, and cryptid lovies from her shop Knoddities. As both a Christian and a magic practitioner, she believes everyone is a witch in their own way.

“If people think that prayer isn’t a form of magic, I mean, come on!” McKinnie told MySA.

“You’re talking to a God and it magically somehow sends it up to him,” her son added.

Another witch who has sourced spell ingredients from the witch markets is FWW, who goes by her spiritual pseudonym. As someone who comes from a long line of witches, she feels the magic running through her veins daily.

“I try to live my life as acutely aware of the magic that is around us naturally,” she told MySA. “Even just this morning…I saw two hawks, which happen to be my spirit animals. Whenever I see a hawk, or especially a peregrine falcon, I know that it's going to be a good day.”

Natural witch FWW sits on a couch in the community farmhouse at Green Gate Farms, where she lives in a tiny home agrihood.

Emily Hernandez

FWW describes herself as a natural witch who lives in a tiny home at Green Gate Farms agrihood— which is a residential neighborhood centered around community farming. Since moving to Austin in 2016, she feels like she finally has a place to put down roots and openly practice her craft in her witchy cottage. She also found that she has two familiars on the farm: the barn cat Millie and a gray kitten.

Growing up in Massachusetts, FWW said she couldn’t really come out of the “broom closet” because of close-minded attitudes about alternative spiritualities. However, she started her journey when she was 13 under the guidance of a magic practitioner she affectionately calls The Seeker. She recalls a time when he taught her how to summon air.

“I put my hands out, and I really felt it and summoned it. I watched this pile of leaves literally start to spin upward like this up to where my eyes were and then it went the opposite way down back,” FWW said. “I was sold immediately. I'm enjoying reliving it actually.”

Her daily rituals include meditation in her loft and grounding, which FWW describes as touching the earth and imagining that she is taking in energy she needs and pushing her roots deeper into the ground to solidify her connection with the earth.

“Depending on my mood, I will go full out and do the full circle and all the candles and all the chants and all the things,” FWW said. “And then other times when I'm doing spellwork, if I find a seed that lands in my hand, I'll put my intention into that and let it go to the wind and plant itself.”

For her, following a specific deity isn’t necessary to feel fulfilled as a witch.

“For certain days of the year (like) solstices and Sabbots, I will reach out to Goddess as a whole, and God as a whole, and then the Universal Spirit that comes around that,” FWW said. “I use the pantheons as a guide more so than worship. Because nature is the worship.”

Feb 25, 2024
By Emily Hernandez is a Dallas native who graduated with a journalism degree from the University of Texas at Austin. She covers trending news about the Capital City’s culture and beloved Austin staples. She has interned with The Daily Beast, The Texas Tribune, KUT News and the Austin American-Statesman, writing on topics ranging from the church of Scientology trying to silence rape victims to white nationalism within the 2022 Texas gubernatorial race.

Saturday, December 23, 2023

Alpha, beta, theta: what are brain states and brain waves? And can we control them?

The Conversation
December 22, 2023

Brain

There’s no shortage of apps and technology that claim to shift the brain into a “theta” state – said to help with relaxation, inward focus and sleep.

But what exactly does it mean to change one’s “mental state”? And is that even possible? For now, the evidence remains murky. But our understanding of the brain is growing exponentially as our methods of investigation improve.
Brain-measuring tech is evolving

Currently, no single approach to imaging or measuring brain activity gives us the whole picture. What we “see” in the brain depends on which tool we use to “look”. There are myriad ways to do this, but each one comes with trade-offs.

We learnt a lot about brain activity in the 1980s thanks to the advent of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).

Eventually we invented “functional MRI”, which allows us to link brain activity with certain functions or behaviours in real time by measuring the brain’s use of oxygenated blood during a task.

We can also measure electrical activity using EEG (electroencephalography). This can accurately measure the timing of brain waves as they occur, but isn’t very accurate at identifying which specific areas of the brain they occur in.

Alternatively, we can measure the brain’s response to magnetic stimulation. This is very accurate in terms of area and timing, but only as long as it’s close to the surface.
What are brain states?

All of our simple and complex behaviours, as well as our cognition (thoughts) have a foundation in brain activity, or “neural activity”. Neurons – the brain’s nerve cells – communicate by a sequence of electrical impulses and chemical signals called “neurotransmitters”.

Neurons are very greedy for fuel from the blood and require a lot of support from companion cells. Hence, a lot of measurement of the site, amount and timing of brain activity is done via measuring electrical activity, neurotransmitter levels or blood flow.

We can consider this activity at three levels. The first is a single-cell level, wherein individual neurons communicate. But measurement at this level is difficult (laboratory-based) and provides a limited picture.

As such, we rely more on measurements done on a network level, where a series of neurons or networks are activated. Or, we measure whole-of-brain activity patterns which can incorporate one or more so-called “brain states”.

According to a recent definition, brain states are “recurring activity patterns distributed across the brain that emerge from physiological or cognitive processes”. These states are functionally relevant, which means they are related to behaviour.

Brain states involve the synchronisation of different brain regions, something that’s been most readily observed in animal models, usually rodents. Only now are we starting to see some evidence in human studies.

Various kinds of states

The most commonly-studied brain states in both rodents and humans are states of “arousal” and “resting”. You can picture these as various levels of alertness.

Studies show environmental factors and activity influence our brain states. Activities or environments with high cognitive demands drive “attentional” brain states (so-called task-induced brain states) with increased connectivity. Examples of task-induced brain states include complex behaviours such as reward anticipation, mood, hunger and so on.

In contrast, a brain state such as “mind-wandering” seems to be divorced from one’s environment and tasks. Dropping into daydreaming is, by definition, without connection to the real world.

We can’t currently disentangle multiple “states” that exist in the brain at any given time and place. As mentioned earlier, this is because of the trade-offs that come with recording spatial (brain region) versus temporal (timing) brain activity.
Brain states vs brain waves

Brain state work can be couched in terms such as alpha, delta and so forth. However, this is actually referring to brain waves which specifically come from measuring brain activity using EEG.

EEG picks up on changing electrical activity in the brain, which can be sorted into different frequencies (based on wavelength). Classically, these frequencies have had specific associations:gamma is linked with states or tasks that require more focused concentration

beta is linked with higher anxiety and more active states, with attention often directed externally

alpha is linked with being very relaxed, and passive attention (such as listening quietly but not engaging)

theta is linked with deep relaxation and inward focus

and delta is linked with deep sleep.

Brain wave patterns are used a lot to monitor sleep stages. When we fall asleep we go from drowsy, light attention that’s easily roused (alpha), to being relaxed and no longer alert (theta), to being deeply asleep (delta).

Brainwaves are grouped into five different wavelength categories. Shutterstock

Can we control our brain states?

The question on many people’s minds is: can we judiciously and intentionally influence our brain states?

For now, it’s likely too simplistic to suggest we can do this, as the actual mechanisms that influence brain states remain hard to detangle. Nonetheless, researchers are investigating everything from the use of drugs, to environmental cues, to practising mindfulness, meditation and sensory manipulation.

Controversially, brain wave patterns are used in something called “neurofeedback” therapy. In these treatments, people are given feedback (such as visual or auditory) based on their brain wave activity and are then tasked with trying to maintain or change it. To stay in a required state they may be encouraged to control their thoughts, relax, or breathe in certain ways.

The applications of this work are predominantly around mental health, including for individuals who have experienced trauma, or who have difficulty self-regulating – which may manifest as poor attention or emotional turbulence.

However, although these techniques have intuitive appeal, they don’t account for the issue of multiple brain states being present at any given time. Overall, clinical studies have been largely inconclusive, and proponents of neurofeedback therapy remain frustrated by a lack of orthodox support.

Other forms of neurofeedback are delivered by MRI-generated data. Participants engaging in mental tasks are given signals based on their neural activity, which they use to try and “up-regulate” (activate) regions of the brain involved in positive emotions. This could, for instance, be useful for helping people with depression.

Another potential method claimed to purportedly change brain states involves different sensory inputs. Binaural beats are perhaps the most popular example, wherein two different wavelengths of sound are played in each ear. But the evidence for such techniques is similarly mixed.

Treatments such as neurofeedback therapy are often very costly, and their success likely relies as much on the therapeutic relationship than the actual therapy.

On the bright side, there’s no evidence these treatment do any harm – other than potentially delaying treatments which have been proven to be beneficial.

Susan Hillier, Professor: Neuroscience and Rehabilitation, University of South Australia

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

AND OF COURSE LETS NOT FORGET THE

THETA OR E-METER OF SCIENTOLOGY

1958

Monday, October 30, 2023

Mapped: Modern Britain’s witchcraft hotspots revealed as 13,000 declare as witches in UK..

UK News
by Express IN UK News - ( 29-10-2023 )

Map: Ollie CorfeSource: ONSMap data: © Crown copyright and database right 2021 Get the dataCreated with Datawrapper

With sorcery more popular than ever, how weary of real life witches should you be in ., by Press24 Uk, where many people are interested in watching and following the news,Mapped: Modern Britain’s witchcraft hotspots revealed as 13,000 declare as witches in UK, and now to the details.With sorcery more popular than ever, how weary of real-life witches should you be in your neighbourhood this Halloween?

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Mapped: Modern Britain’s witchcraft hotspots revealed as 13,000 declare as witches in UK

With sorcery more popular than ever, how weary of real-life witches should you be in your neighbourhood this Halloween?

By OLLIE CORFE

Sun, Oct 29, 2023 |

Wiccan high priestesses praying around a fire pit to the Celtic goddess Brigid (Image: GETTY)

Conducted every 10 years, the census is the most wide-ranging and revealing survey about the residents of England and Wales carried out by the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

An important endeavour for social scientists and policymakers going back two centuries, its seriousness was undermined in 2001 when a voluntary question about religion was first included – which just under 400,000 Brits answered “Jedi”.

The “Any other religion, write in” box has endured, and today provides reliable insights into the lesser-known faiths practised around the country.

Perhaps most interestingly of all is the growing group of self-proclaimed witches, who numbered 13,858 in 2021 – up 6.3 per cent over the past decade.

Check Express.co.uk’s interactive map below to see how many Wiccans and practitioners of witchcraft are in your area this Halloween.

Social media platforms like TikTok have amplified interest in sorcery in recent years. #WitchTok videos have collectively gathered 30 billion views, while #babywitch, catering to newcomers, has amassed over 600 million.

Even back in 2019, the surging popularity of “The Craft” prompted The New York Times to ask: “When Did Everybody Become a Witch?”

The “when” may be elusive, but at least on this side of the pond we have the answer to “where” – and it’s Cornwall, with 267 people observing Wicca or witchcraft.

This may come as little surprise to those with knowledge of the South Western county’s fantastical reputation as a land apart once inhabited by pixies, fairies and giants. The village of Boscastle on the north coast pays homage to this lore with the Museum of Witchcraft and Magic.

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With social media groups and community meetups, we are far more tolerant of witchcraft nowadays (Image: GETTY)

Wicca and witchcraft are part of the larger contemporary pagan movement, including druids, heathens and many others, which celebrates pre-Christian beliefs.

In some ways, they are ripe for these modern, progressive times: deferring to a Goddess as well as a God, and referring to all practitioners as “witches” regardless of gender. In practical terms, their belief in magic and mass rituals aimed at establishing direct contact with the divine seem hopelessly anachronistic.

And yet, people all over the country openly subscribe to such “spiritual paths”, as they are known. The Yorkshire city of Leeds is home to the second-largest witch population, with 187 followers.

Birmingham came in third place (175), followed by Wiltshire (170) and Plymouth (140).

This is how many witches and

Satanists there are in Southampton

James Butler
Mon, 30 October 2023

A witch in the shadow of the moon (Image: Radar)

Dozens of modern witches are living in Southampton, according to the latest census figures.

As Halloween looms, a look at the most recent census figures shows there are a surprising number of folks who identify as witches, pagans, and even Satanists across England and Wales.

In Southampton, 63 people selected Wicca as their religion in Census 2021. The religion developed in England during the first half of the 20th century with its name deriving from the Old English 'wicca' and 'wicce', the masculine and feminine term for witch.

READ MORE: Southampton satanic witch makes a living on OnlyFans

The number of people identifying as wiccan is down from 94 in the 2011 census.

Across England and Wales, over 12,800 people opted for Wicca as their religion – a slight jump from 11,800 in 2011.

Separately, the number of people selecting Witchcraft as their religion has fallen from nearly 1,300 in 2011 to under 1,100 in the recent census.

The figures show seven people selected Witchcraft as their religion in Southampton in 2021.

While the witch population has not soared, there has been a 30% rise in pagans - from 56,600 people in 2011 to over 73,700 two years ago. In Southampton, 465 people said they were pagan.

Halloween, which has roots in paganism, originated from the Celtic celebration of Samhain that marked the end of summer and the beginning of the winter. Celts believed the boundary between the worlds of the living and the dead became blurred on this night.

Celtic priests would build bonfires, where the people gathered to burn crops and animals as sacrifices to the Celtic deities.

Eventually, the influence of Christianity spread into Celtic lands and All Soul's Day and All Saint's Day – or All-hallows – was created, incorporating some of the original pagan traditions. To celebrate the days, people would light bonfires, throw parades and costume as saints, angels and devils.

Speaking of the devil, Satanism is also on the rise across the nations. Nearly 5,100 people identified as Satanists in the recent census – more than doubling from 1,900 a decade prior.

Despite the name, not all Satanists believe in a literal Lucifer. Instead, it is often a metaphor for questioning authority and rejecting mainstream religion.

In Southampton, 32 people said they were Satanists.

The number of witches living in

Bradford has risen, figures reveal

Daryl Ames
Sun, 29 October 2023

THE latest Census figures have revealed that there are a rising number of Wiccans living in Bradford.

As Halloween looms, a look at the most recent Census figures show people identify as witches, pagans, and even Satanists across England and Wales.

In Bradford, 121 people selected Wicca as their religion in the 2021 Census. The religion developed in England during the first half of the 20th century with its name deriving from the Old English 'wicca' and 'wicce' - the masculine and feminine term for witch.

The number of people identifying as Wiccan is up from 106 in the 2011 Census.

Across England and Wales, more than 12,800 people opted for Wicca as their religion – a slight jump from 11,800 in 2011.

Separately, the number of people selecting Witchcraft as their religion has fallen from nearly 1,300 in 2011 to under 1,100 in the recent Census.

The figures show two people selected Witchcraft as their religion in Bradford in 2021.

While the witch population has not soared, there has been a 30 per cent rise in pagans - from 56,600 people in 2011 to over 73,700 two years ago. In Bradford, 559 people said they were pagan.

Halloween, which has roots in paganism, originated from the Celtic celebration of Samhain which marked the end of summer and the beginning of the winter. Celts believed the boundary between the worlds of the living and the dead became blurred on this night.

Celtic priests would build bonfires, where the people gathered to burn crops and animals as sacrifices to the Celtic deities.

Eventually, the influence of Christianity spread into Celtic lands and All Soul's Day and All Saint's Day – or All-hallows – was created, incorporating some of the original pagan traditions. To celebrate the days, people would light bonfires, throw parades and costume as saints, angels and devils.

Satanism is also on the rise across the nations. Nearly 5,100 people identified as Satanists in the recent Census – more than doubling from 1,900 a decade prior.

Despite the name, not all Satanists believe in a literal Lucifer. Instead, it is often a metaphor for questioning authority and rejecting mainstream religion.

In Bradford, 46 people said they were Satanists.

More people identify as witches and

Satanists in BCP

Matt Simpson
Sun, 29 October 2023

There has been a rise in witches, pagans and Satanists in Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole, census data reveals.

Figures from the government’s largest citizen survey suggest 101 people selected Wicca as their religion – up from 99 a decade ago.

Wicca is a religion which developed in England during the first half of the 20th century, with its name deriving from the Old English 'wicca' and 'wicce', the masculine and feminine term for witch.

There has also been a 30 per cent rise in pagans nationally, from 56,600 people in 2011 to over 73,700 two years ago, with 698 people saying they were pagans in BCP.

Halloween, which has roots in paganism, originated from the Celtic celebration of Samhain which marked the end of summer and the beginning of the winter.

Celts believed the boundary between the worlds of the living and the dead became blurred on this night.

Celtic priests would build bonfires where people gathered to burn crops and animals as sacrifices to deities.

Eventually, the influence of Christianity spread into Celtic lands and All Soul's Day and All Saint's Day – or All-hallows – were created, incorporating some of the original pagan traditions.

To celebrate, people would light bonfires, throw parades and dress up as saints, angels and devils.

The figures also show seven people selected Witchcraft as their religion in the conurbation while 34 people said they were Satanists.

Satanism is also on the rise across England and Wales, with nearly 5,100 people identifying as Satanists in the recent census – more than doubling from 1,900 a decade prior.

Meanwhile, in the rest of Dorset 83 people selected Wicca as their religion, up from 79, 11 people decided Witchcraft was their religion and 19 people said they were Satanists.

Revealed: The number of satanists,

witches and pagans living in Sussex

Savannah Nicholson
Sat, 28 October 2023

Census figures have revealed the number of witches living in Sussex.

As Halloween looms, a look at the most recent census figures shows there are a surprising number of people who identify as witches, pagans and even Satanists across England and Wales.

In Brighton and Hove, 111 people selected wicca as their religion in the 2021 Census. The religion developed in England during the first half of the 20th century with its name deriving from the Old English wicca and wicce, the masculine and feminine terms for witch.

The number of people identifying as wiccan in the city is up from 84 in the 2011 census.

In Worthing, 25 people selected wicca as their religion in Census 2021, down from 52 in the 2011 census.

In Eastbourne, 42 people selected wicca as their religion, up from 29 in the 2011 census while 28 people in Hastings selected it, up from 25.

Across England and Wales, more than 12,800 people opted for wicca as their religion – a slight jump from 11,800 in 2011.

Separately, the number of people selecting witchcraft as their religion has fallen from nearly 1,300 in 2011 to under 1,100 in the recent census.

The figures show 13 people selected witchcraft as their religion in Brighton and Hove in 2021, one person selected witchcraft as their religion in Worthing, seven people in Hastings as well as one person in Eastbourne.

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While the witch population has not soared, there has been a 30 per cent rise in pagans - from 56,600 people in 2011 to over 73,700 two years ago.

In Brighton and Hove, 612 people said they were pagan, In Worthing 201 people, 240 in Hastings and 213 in Eastbourne.

Halloween, which has roots in paganism, originated from the Celtic celebration of Samhain that marked the end of summer and the beginning of the winter. Celts believed the boundary between the worlds of the living and the dead became blurred on this night.

Celtic priests would build bonfires, where the people gathered to burn crops and animals as sacrifices to the Celtic deities.

Eventually, the influence of Christianity spread into Celtic lands and All Souls Day and All Saints Day – or All Hallows – was created, incorporating some of the original pagan traditions. To celebrate the days, people would light bonfires, throw parades and costume as saints, angels and devils.

Satanism is also on the rise across the nation. Nearly 5,100 people identified as Satanists in the recent census – more than doubling from 1,900 a decade prior.

Despite the name, not all Satanists believe in a literal Lucifer. Instead, it is often a metaphor for questioning authority and rejecting mainstream religion.

In Brighton and Hove, 61 people said they were Satanists, in Worthing 18 people, Hastings 20 and Eastbourne seven.

Halloween 2023: Dozens of witches living in South Kesteven

Dozens of modern witches are living in South Kesteven, according to the latest census figures.

By Sonja Tutty, Data Reporter

Published 27th Oct 2023,

Dozens of modern witches are living in South Kesteven, according to the latest census figures.

As Halloween looms, a look at the most recent census figures shows there are a surprising number of folks who identify as witches, pagans, and even Satanists across England and Wales.

In South Kesteven, 37 people selected Wicca as their religion in Census 2021. The religion developed in England during the first half of the 20th century with its name deriving from the Old English 'wicca' and 'wicce', the masculine and feminine term for witch.

The number of people identifying as wiccan has remained the same since the 2011 census.

Across England and Wales, over 12,800 people opted for Wicca as their religion – a slight jump from 11,800 in 2011.

Separately, the number of people selecting Witchcraft as their religion has fallen from nearly 1,300 in 2011 to under 1,100 in the recent census.

The figures show two people selected Witchcraft as their religion in South Kesteven in 2021.

While the witch population has not soared, there has been a 30% rise in pagans - from 56,600 people in 2011 to over 73,700 two years ago. In South Kesteven, 197 people said they were pagan.

Halloween, which has roots in paganism, originated from the Celtic celebration of Samhain that marked the end of summer and the beginning of the winter. Celts believed the boundary between the worlds of the living and the dead became blurred on this night.

Celtic priests would build bonfires, where the people gathered to burn crops and animals as sacrifices to the Celtic deities.

Eventually, the influence of Christianity spread into Celtic lands and All Soul's Day and All Saint's Day – or All-hallows – was created, incorporating some of the original pagan traditions. To celebrate the days, people would light bonfires, throw parades and costume as saints, angels and devils.

Speaking of the devil, Satanism is also on the rise across the nations. Nearly 5,100 people identified as Satanists in the recent census – more than doubling from 1,900 a decade prior.

Despite the name, not all Satanists believe in a literal Lucifer. Instead, it is often a metaphor for questioning authority and rejecting mainstream religion.

In South Kesteven, seven people said they were Satanists.

Halloween 2023: Number of witches and pagans is on the rise in Portsmouth, Fareham, Gosport and Havant, say latest figures

Chris Broom
Mon, 30 October 2023

A person holding a witch's hat watches the Blue Moon rise over Castle Hill in Huddersfield, the last full moon to fall on Halloween until 2039. (Photo: Danny Lawson)

A look at the most recent census figures shows there are a surprising number of folks who identify as witches, pagans, and even Satanists across England and Wales.

In Portsmouth, 68 people selected Wicca as their religion in Census 2021, with 30 more in Fareham, 37 in Gosport and 44 in Havant for a total of 179. The religion developed in England during the first half of the 20th century with its name deriving from the Old English 'wicca' and 'wicce', the masculine and feminine term for witch.

The number of people identifying as wiccan is slightly up from 178 across the region in the 2011 census.

Across England and Wales, over 12,800 people opted for Wicca as their religion – a slight jump from 11,800 in 2011.

Separately, the number of people selecting Witchcraft as their religion has fallen from nearly 1,300 in 2011 to under 1,100 in the recent census.

The figures show five people selected Witchcraft as their religion in Portsmouth in 2021.

While the witch population has not soared, there has been a 30 per cent rise in pagans – from 56,600 people in 2011 to over 73,700 in the last census. In Portsmouth, 359 people said they were pagan with 163 in Fareham, 186 in Gosport and 198 in Havant.

Halloween, which has roots in paganism, originated from the Celtic celebration of Samhain that marked the end of summer and the beginning of the winter. Celts believed the boundary between the worlds of the living and the dead became blurred on this night.

Celtic priests would build bonfires, where the people gathered to burn crops and animals as sacrifices to the Celtic deities.

Eventually, the influence of Christianity spread into Celtic lands and All Soul's Day and All Saint's Day – or All-hallows – was created, incorporating some of the original pagan traditions. To celebrate the days, people would light bonfires, throw parades and costume as saints, angels and devils.

Speaking of the devil, Satanism is also on the rise across the nations. Nearly 5,100 people identified as Satanists in the recent census – more than doubling from 1,900 a decade prior.

Despite the name, not all Satanists believe in a literal Lucifer. Instead, it is often a metaphor for questioning authority and rejecting mainstream religion.

In Portsmouth, 42 people said they were Satanists, with 10 in Fareham, eight in Gosport and 10 in Havant.

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