Typhoid Mary

Mary Mallon, also known as Mary Brown and famously as 'Typhoid Mary' died on this day in 1938. She was an Irish cook who moved to America in the late 1800's and one of the first people identified as an asymptomatic carrier - someone who can carry and pass on a disease without succumbing to it themselves - of a pathogen, in her case, typhoid fever. It is thought that she infected 51 people in her life, three of whom died. She was forcibly isolated twice by public health authorities after she refused to provide blood samples or cooperate.

Cases of typhoid fever followed Mallon wherever she worked as a cook, suspicions were alerted when incidents of typhoid occurred in areas when it was very rare. She died from pneumonia whilst in isolation where she had ultimately spent nearly 30 years of her life. During the post mortem, live typhoid bacteria were found in her gall bladder.

Petronilla de Meath

Petronilla de Meath was the maid of noblewoman Dame Alice Kyteler. Following the death of Kyteler's fourth husband, she was accused of practicing witchcraft, and as her maid, Petronilla was accused of being her accomplice.

Poor Petronilla was taken and tortured until a 'confession' was forced from her stating that she and Alice were witches. She was then flogged and finally burned at the stake on this day in 1324 in Kilkenny, Ireland.
Petronilla became the first person to be put to death by fire for heresy in Ireland and Great Britain, many would follow.

Artist Judy Chicago featured a place setting for Petronilla at the table in her art installation 'The Dinner Party' which has the names of 39 mythical and historical women around it. It is on display in New York.

What is Neo-Paganism?

The term "Neo-paganism" encompasses a very broad spectrum of organizations, groups and beliefs. A neo-pagan (sometimes referred to simply as ‘pagan’) religion is a relatively modern faith which has been reconstructed from philosophies , symbols and practices of a much more ancient religion, particularly those influenced by the pre-Christian values of Western Europe that include a wide range of beliefs such as animism, polytheism and pantheism.

The word "pagan" comes from the Latin ‘paganus’, originally meaning "country-dweller" or "rustic" but the term ‘neo-pagan’ appeared first in the 19th century in reference to Renaissance and the classical revival where culture was challenged with a new way of thinking. It has found particular growth in the USA and Britain, but also in many parts of Europe. 

Many neo-pagan religions observe spirituality that is very modern in origin, while others tend to focus on trying to accurately revive traditional, ethnic religions as can often be found referenced in historical texts and in folklore worldwide, these group often reject the ‘neo’ part of the title as it is seen to modernise their objective unnecessarily . The largest neo-pagan religion today is ‘Wicca’ – a form of modern witchcraft, but there are other significantly sized neo-pagan faiths which include Neo-druidism who draw on several belief systems and inspirations from the ancient Druids and Germanic Neo-paganism which has really grown since the 1970s. 

The fundamental beliefs of neo-pagan faiths are those of peace, ritual, tradition and a reverence for nature, although many groups practice polytheism – a belief in multiple deities – the figure of a ‘Mother Earth’ or ‘Gaia’ goddess is usually the most revered, associated with fertility, growth and rebirth. The misguided, ignorant view  of many is that ‘Satanism’ or ‘devil-worship’ is involved in pagan rituals, these are fundamentally Christian ‘inventions’ and have no recognition in the belief systems of any pagan faith. Many neo-pagan religions incorporate the use of ceremony and magic into their ritual practices and these are more often than not observed outdoors to encompass the power of nature and the moon. There seems to have been a sort of neo-pagan revival in the 1960s and 1970s - Wicca especially was influenced by feminism. 

During the 1980s there was the popular use of the term ‘new-age’ to describe neo-pagan groups and many festivals began to appear to bring people together. Today, any new religion that encompasses nature-worship and/or pantheism (the view that the nature and God are as one) are grouped under the umbrella term of neo-paganism. The development and rapid growth of the internet in the 1990s has aided the spread of the religion throughout the world as people from different countries communicate and share their beliefs on a wider scale. 

Folklore of brooms.

With halloween approaching, the image of witches flying on brooms across the night sky will be a familiar one, but broom folklore is very interesting with many superstitions relating to them.
When moving into a new home, finding a broom was considered to be lucky, although one should never sweep towards the door of a new abode for fear of sweeping out the good luck. In days gone by, old brooms were never thrown away, but were burned or buried so as not to anger the hearth spirits.
Brooms were seen as an emblem of the home, and of womanhood, in England, joinings and celebrations were often marked by people jumping over a broom handle.
So love your broom, no home is complete without one...and they aren't just for witches!