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Book Review – Practically Pagan: An Alternative Guide to Health & Well-Being by Irisanya Moon
Book Review Practically Pagan An Alternative Guide to Health & Well-Being by Irisanya Moon Moon Books 160 Pages I have always been a practical person, possessing a sense of self-preservation that has allowed me to live for over sixty years in relatively good health. When I saw this book, I was quite naturally intrigued. I expected to read about holistic ways of keeping oneself hale and hearty in body and mind and spirit, and I wasn’t disappointed in that at all. Practically Pagan: An Alternative Guide to Health & Wellbeing certainly delivers. The thing is – there isn’t very much about it that’s pagan. No mention of gods or…
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Celebrating the Old Ways in New Times
Celebrating the Old Ways in New Times for October 2020 Bright Blessings! After a very hot, muggy end to Summer, cool weather has set in. I have not heard anybody complain about that. By the first week of September, local folks were busy buying pumpkins, mums, cornstalks, and gourds to liven up their yards, patios, porches, and to celebrate the beauty of Fall. Here in central Ohio, not only do we get brilliant foliage, but gorgeous apples! We celebrate with apple and pumpkin goodies! This is the first fall in 44 years I will not be partaking of such delicacies. I’ve had to give up a lot of foods for…
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GoodGod!
Meet the Gods: Dhanvantar With the country still reeling from a pandemic, demands for racial justice and calls to end police brutality, meet Lord Dhanvantari, the Hindu god of healing. He is one of the greatest deities because he gave people the knowledge of Ayurveda, the traditional Hindu system of medicine. In his four hands, the physician god carries a bowl of amrit (the nectar of immortality), a discus or chakra (a divine weapon to cut away evil), a conch shell (when ground it’s used in some medicines), and herbs. He is dressed in yellow clothes, with a wreath of herbs and flowers around his neck. His eyes…
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Notes from the Apothecary
Notes from the Apothecary Special: Five Antiviral Plants to Eat at Home *Disclaimer: Eating any amount of plants and herbs cannot protect you entirely from catching any sort of illness. Healthy eating is great and boosts your immune system but should complement, not replace, good hygiene, prescribed medication, and safe social distancing measures where appropriate. Take a holistic approach to your well-being and always follow guidelines from medical practitioners and qualified experts. Stay safe! Even prior to the current pandemic, there has been a lot of scientific research into what sort of plants might have significant antiviral properties. Antiviral plants are plants which help boost your body’s…
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Earth-based Tools for Allaying Emotion Contagion
Emotions are…older than spoken language, and simply put, they are smarter than words, they’re deeper than any technique, and they can help you in ways you cannot imagine…Emotions are not created out of thin air, and they’re not created by your thoughts (emphasis mine); emotions have evolved over millions of years to help you understand and respond to the world. Emotions exist within you, and they are evoked, not created, by specific stimuli. -Karla McLare Recently, I was traveling and watching the news from one of the busiest airports in the United States when I saw that the World Health Organization had declared COVID-19 a global pandemic. As…
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Spiritual Gaslighting: Structures that Prevent It (Part 2)
(art by Kathleen Dalrymple) In…2020, we may feel as if the world comes to a halt. This huge global crossroad polarizes the forces of humanitarian consciousness and goodwill, for one, versus ancient and outdated forces of control, manipulation, and abuse of power, on the other hand. The fight can be fierce! One of the most noticeable changes we may observe is that in the coming few years, we’ll see more and more individuals taking full responsibility for their role within the society, living in harmony with one another and with the environment. This is how globally humankind will graduate from the state of teenager/young adult to a fully…
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Surrendering to the Spiral Dance of Depression
(art by Emma Strybis) From galaxies in the sky to diminutive shells on the beach, the spiral is found extensively in the natural world. Its shape and form of a coiled serpent has been used since ancient times as a tool for growth and transformation. The spiral is a guide for entering deep into one’s consciousness and the unknown, and then extending far out into the heavens. It is crucial to surrender to this journey until the exhausted paradigm dissolves in the depths of the psyche and its energy is released to give birth to a new reality…The spiral announces a descent to the depths and a rebirth.…
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Notes from the Apothecary
Notes from the Apothecary: Celery Celery (Apium Graveolens) is an easily recognisable vegetable, available in most supermarkets or grocery stores. It’s a relative of carrots and parsley, part of the apiaceae family. It’s loved by dieters thanks to its high water content and low calorie content, plus it’s amazing for dipping into hummus or salsa. But is celery a medicinal or magical plant? Let’s take a look. The Kitchen Garden Celery can be grown from seed and in fact can be planted at this time of year (February-March-April) as long as it’s kept warm until frost has gone. It needs to be kept moist so is ideal…