Merry Meet Everyone!! We hope the summer heat doesn’t have everyone down. Take some time to sit in the air conditioning or in front of the fan and have a good read!! In this Issue: A Review of Raven Grimassi’s book “Crafting Wiccan Traditions“ A New Column “Reaching Reiki with ReikiAwakening.com’s Alice Langholt” Lori Baratta shares her work with our Readers. August Monthly horoscope 2009 for Leo and Virgo (22 July – 22 September) by Michele Burke Leo’s at this time you are you are at your most charming. You are a smooth talker. Your compliments will flow freely. All month you will feel like you are on top of…

Most people are very much acquainted with Bram Stoker’s Dracula but are unaware of other important literary vampires that preceded him.  These literary vampires include Lord Ruthven, Varney, and Carmilla.  In this series, these vampires and their respective authors will be introduced and show how these lesser known characters greatly impacted both Bram Stoker and other authors such as Anne Rice. Dr. John Polidori was originally hired as a medical advisor to the infamous Lord Byron.  Polidori was to be his travelling companion as well.  However, his greater mission was to chronicle Byron’s journeys because he was commissioned to do so from Byron’s publisher.  One would figure such an arrangement…

DEMETER ~ THE FIERCE MOTHER I have always loved Demeter, the Greek goddess of agriculture. Normally, I celebrate her at Harvest. This year, I have reasons for thinking of her earlier… August is the height of late summer.  That is why, in the central image of this painting, we see Demeter, a gloriously fruitful goddess, bearing golden sheaves of wheat against a background of blazing summer skies, poppies, and flowing rivers. Everything symbolizes the fertility and abundance she showers on a hungry world. How beautiful she is! In her left hand, however, she bears a torch. And vignettes that tell a less sunny story surround her. It is that story…

ABRACADABRA! Well hello again my fellow pagans. Summer has greeted us finally, and, as is normal in many a pagan life, the magic of life is awake and stirring. With the celebrations and sacred rituals of Beltane, Summer Solstice, Lugnasadh and much more, summer is without a doubt an eventful time of year. In light of this integral part of pagan way, I felt that the topic of magic was an interesting one for this article. Many people, upon hearing the word pagan, immediately reflect upon thoughts of magic. Why is that? Yes magic is an integral part of pagan life, but the magic that people view related to those…

The Ritual Connection From time immemorial we have desired guidance from the God/dess, and sought ways in which we can connect with and honor those powers we hold in reverence.  Many in the mainstream find prayer or meditation to fulfill their needs in this area, or they attend services where they can participate to a limited extent in the ceremonies led by the priests of their congregation.  The purpose of such rituals is to enact symbolic events that the observers understand to hold a deeper meaning than the actions themselves.  Realization of that meaning on the mental, emotional, and spiritual levels unites the individual with the divine.  But while churches…

In last month’s column The Indigo Child I announced that this column will be a place where parents of Indigo Children as well as Indigo adults will be able to come for advice and or ask questions about the world of the Indigo and if need be connected with services in your area. Well there has been several replies since last month so there is nothing further to do than to just jump right into it and start answering questions. Question #1 Blades Kiss wrote:  Do indigo’s seem to suffer from chronic pain illnesses?? I have talked with many many other people who are indigo who have fibro, rsd etc……

Tools of the Trad, The Wand Back say in the 1600’s those who practiced witchcraft didn’t have the local metaphysical shop to run down to for purchasing their needs. The tools of the trade, were found in the way they were first intended, first by need, then by intuition. Often a practitioner could be found walking amongst the trees of a forest, just enjoying the sun filtering it’s way through the leaves above. Maybe the witch is thinking about how lonely they feel. Maybe the thoughts running through their minds were about how to heal a particularly bad cold, or some other need stealing their attention. Often these thoughts would…

Reaching Reiki with ReikiAwakening.com’s Alice Langholt Hello there! I’m honored to have been asked to write the Reiki column for PaganPages.org! I’d like to use this first column to introduce myself and talk about what Reiki is and why I do it. First, let me say that the strongest reason that I’m a huge Reiki advocate is that I am a regular person. That is to say, I did not have any special abilities growing up, and I wasn’t born with intuition or anything beyond wishing to be special. When I learned Reiki, things changed for me completely. Learning Reiki gave me access to spiritual energy, not only for myself,…

Pagan Theology Short:  Pagan Finances Past surveys of Pagans say that we work mostly in the computer, education, and “helping” professions.  Thus the economy may not be impacting us as much as it is others.  However the question of how our religion relates to the economy, and economic difficulties, is an interesting one.  The Christian religion has it relatively easy, the manual they were given from the Jewish tribe has a lot of passages that repute to tell them how to build wealth, and go about asking their god for wealth.  We are in a slightly different situation, with little or no guidance about practical matters in any historical document,…

Odin’s Ordeal Odin, like the Greek Zeus, is the principle deity of the Norse pantheon.  Spelled Odin, Odinn, Odhin, Othin or Odhinn; his name is derived from Old Norse meaning “wind” and “spirit”.  One of his nicknames is “Thundur” which means “one who thunders” or “the stretched one”.  Odin received this title after what we now call “Odin’s Ordeal” where, according to the Edda, he hung himself from the Tree of the World for nine days and nights. The World Tree, also called Yggdrasil, is where Odin sacrificed himself in an initiatory manner to gain the knowledge of the Runes.  For nine long days and nights, hungry, thirsty and in…