Mysteria Misc. Maxima: December 14th, 2012

Mysteria Misc. Maxima is a weekly feature which brings together links on religion and esotericism from around the internet.

• Real Mayans are pushed out of the way as tourists flock to Mesoamerican archaeological sites in anticipation of the Mayan apocalypse. (The Wild Hunt)
• Meanwhile, others stock up on survival gear and build bomb shelters because we are all going to die next week. Well, all of us without bomb shelters, that is. (Telegraph via @mystic_medusa)
• The Vatican says don’t worry about the apocalypse–worry about eternal damnation instead. That, my friends, is a message of hope. (HuffPo)
• According to the recent British census, the newest religion in the UK is…Heavy Metal. Adherents report a complex ritual praxis of fist-shaking, head-banging, and rocking the fuck out. (Loud Wire via @paultoner)
• But seriously, that census also lists British Pagan numbers at over 80,000 persons. That’s a lot of people putting on their robes and wizard hats. (The Wild Hunt)
• Quebec schools now teach a compulsory religion course which says Paganism and other non-traditional faiths are just as legit as Christianity. (National Post)
• The Netherlands gets rid of its blasphemy laws. In related news, the Netherlands had blasphemy laws to get rid of. (Reuters)
• The Mormon church says homosexuality is wrong, but it’s OK to be nice to the gays. (CNN)
• Similarly, Israel will grant you a gay divorce, but don’t even think about getting married on the kibbutz. (Reuters)
• If you’re a scholar of the afterlife, this conference at the University of Bristol may be right up your alley. Bonus: The keynote speaker is Ronald Hutton, whom the blog has much love for. (Bristol University)
• Afterlife not your thing? Then how about a conference on grimoires? (H-Net)
• Can you sell anything yoga products without hot, flexible mega-babes? (The Elephant via @littledeathblog)
• So yeah, this public performance of the Bartzebel Working happened. (Cartwheel)
• And Jason Pitzl-Waters asks if this means we’re going to see more ritual as performance art. Or perhaps we’ll see more performance art as ritual. Woah. (The Wild Hunt)
• Finally, the Swaziland government says witch doctors need to pay more taxes since their services have quadrupled in price. Witch doctors are responding by reading Atlas Shrugged and holding tea parties. Also, sorcery.  (Business Insider)

Photo by don’t ever leave me.