One of the things I love to do is visit churches and cathedrals.  Amongst the pews of a Christian church is not the obvious place to find a Pagan but I find them quite compelling. I have a love of history which makes England the perfect place for me to live.  With the arrival of Christianity in the 1st century A.D. there’s probably no other invasion which has had such an impact on our history.  By the 10th century the rich land owners were beginning to build chapels on their land so the common folk could have the services of a priest.  However, the Lords who owned the land wanted…

Embracing the Wolf Moon For me, every full Moon represents an opportunity to peer into an aspect of nature and try to find the spiritual relevance for the path I seek to walk.  There are many names given to the full Moons of each month and I believe that each of us must decide which best fits the place we live. In doing so, remember to acknowledge the memories of the past, while maintaining an awareness of the present and casting an eye toward the future. This month, January, I am going to share how I celebrate and understand the Wolf Moon, through my ritual. I set my altar basically…

Brightest Blessings to all.  Let me start by introducing myself.  My name is Rachel Tingler and I am the new writer for this column.  I am an Indigo adult and am the proud mother of one Indigo daughter who is 14 years old, and two Crystal kids, ages 10 and 7.  I am very excited for this opportunity and look forward to answering any questions you may have. Hopefully everyone has had a Blessed Solstice and a wonderful start to the new year. Susan writes: Was your daughter taught to control her empathic abilities? That is equally important to embracing them. Every person who is an independent thinker could answer…

Onyx Onyx is a member of the Quartz family.  It can have bands of layered color.  Black Onyx is most often dyed gray Chalcedony.  Ancient Greeks claim that Cupid cut Aphrodite’s nails and threw the pieces into the Indus River.   These pieces turned into Onyx.  Because of this connection to the Greek goddess of love, Onyx has the property to cool the ardors of love, but if you wear it for too long, it can cause the couple to part ways.  This could be because Onyx quells desire.  It can heal old wounds, grief, and sorrow. The stone Onyx represents vigor, steadfastness, stamina, strength, and self-control.  It is a grounding…

The Wheel turns once again, bringing with it the silly season. Recently a well-meaning acquaintance asked me what did I have planned for the holidays. This sort of got me thinking… what was I going to do? I don’t claim to have a complete understanding of the Athenian calendar system. However I’ve read that in parts of ancient Greece there’s a month that roughly corresponds to our December/January that’s called Poseidon for the sea god of the same name. Why honour Poseidon? Isn’t he just a mood-swinging meathead surfer dude chasing booty as much as waves? To start with the basics Poseidon was most notably the god of the sea.…

February 1, 2 Other Names: Imbolg (im-molc)(em-bowl’g) (Celtic), Candlemas (Christian), Brigantia (Caledonii), Oimelc, Festival of Light, Brigid’s (Brid, Bride) Day, La Fheill, An Fheille Bride, Candelaria (Mexico), Chinese New Year, Disting-tid (Feb 14th, Teutonic), DisaBlot, Anagantios, Lupercalia/Lupercus (Strega), Groundhog Day, Valentines Day. Animals & Mythical Beings: Firebird, dragon, groundhog, deer, burrowing animals, ewes, robin, sheep, lamb, other creatures waking from hibernation. Gemstones: Amethyst, garnet, onyx, turquoise. Incense/Oil: Jasmine, rosemary, frankincense, cinnamon, neroli, musk, olive, sweet pea, basil, myrrh, and wisteria, apricot, carnation. Colors/Candles: Brown, pink, red, orange, white, lavender, pale yellow, silver. Tools,Symbols, & Decorations: White flowers, marigolds, plum blossoms, daffodils, Brigid wheel, Brigid’s cross, candles, grain/seed for blessing, red…

The Old Guard Dies… Or Do They There are two roads that lead from Mamontovka to Moscow. One of them is the M-8… a modern, four lane highway that is part of the North-South National Highewy System. It is soothe, well maintained and usually crowded. The other… the old, original Moscow-Yaroslavl road, is small, narrow and empty most of the time. Called the “Payanee Doroga” or “Drunken Road”, it twists and curves it’s way through switchback after switchback, as it meanders seemingly through every tiny village and hamlet in the North-eastern end of Moskovski Oblast. In the summer, it is a pleasant drive, if you have the time, and even…

Oracles and omens have been around since the dawn of time. It has been well documented. Some, for instance, such as Plato, Pythia the famous Priestess of Apollo at Delphia, the Priest of Dodona, and Clarus and Notradomus. Pythagorus was a guru who founded a philosophy religion, gathered disciples and performed miracles and made prophecies. Apollomus Of Tyana who lived in the first century A.D., performed many miracles and after he died he was worshipped as a God. Socrates was another, who thanks to his familar, knew things before they happened. Pagan supernatural powers back then guided everything. The moving of the sun, where lightening hit, the path that birds flew, door banging,…

Twelfth Night and the Fae by Kathryn Cranston It has long been acknowledged that the Christian church, not knowing the date of the birth of Jesus, chose December 25th in order to combat “infernal” pagan celebrations by subsuming those celebrations into their own.  Thus, “Yuletide” and “Saturnalia” turned into “Christmas” wherever Christianity held dominion.  Although the converted people retained many of their ancient customs, these customs often survived only by being renamed or disguised. Along with Christmas came a whole plethora of activities, including the Twelve Days of Christmas.  During the Middle Ages, people were free to make merry and feast throughout these twelve days, with the Twelfth Night marking…

Grounding into the Elements The holidays can be a hectic and trying time.  There is always someplace to go or something that needs to be done.  So, as the new year comes and things start to settle down we often start to feel melancholy because we deal with the loss of friends and family as we gravitate back to our own lives. It can be difficult to readjust and find the balance.  When that happens it’s often good to get back to basics.  I can’t think of anything more fundamental and more basic to most pagans than the elements.  In almost every path they are honored. So, in that respect…