Also known as: May Day, Bealtaine, Beltane, Bhealtainn, Bealtinne, Festival of Tana (Strega), Giamonios, Rudemass, and Walburga (Teutonic), Cetsamhain (opposite Samhain),Fairy Day ,Sacred Thorn Day, Rood Day, Roodmas (the Christian term for Rood Day, Old Beltane, Beltain, Baltane, Walpurgis Night, Floriala (Roman feast of flowers from April 29 to May 1), Walpurgisnacht (Germanic-feast of St. Walpurga), Thrimilce (Anglo-saxon), Bloumaand (Old Dutch) Date: May 1 Animals: Swallow, dove, swan, Cats, lynx, leopard Deities: Flower Goddesses, Divine Couples, Deities of the Hunt, Aphrodite, artemis, Bast, Diana, Faunus, Flora, Maia, Pan, the Horned God, Venus, and all Gods and Goddesses who preside over fertility.Tools: broom, May Pole, cauldron Stones/Gems: emerald, malachite, amber, orange…

The Storm Moon Spring sowing The name March came from the God Mars, for this month was sacred to him. Mars is much like the other God’s – Ares’s (Greek), Tiu or Tiwaz (Central Europe), Teutates (celts), and Tyr (Norse). Astrological Signs: Pisces, February 19 – March 20, Aries, March 21 – April 20 Birthstones: Aquamarine Nature Spirits: Mer-people, Air and Water beings who are connected with spring rains and storms. Animals: Cougar, hedgehog, boar Birds: Sea crow, sea eagle Trees: Alder, dogwood Flowers: Jonquil, daffodil, violet Herbs: Broom, High John Root, yellow dock, wood betony, Irish moss Scents: Honeysuckel, apple blossom Colors: Pale green, red-violet Stones: Aquamarine, bloodstone God/dess:…

Clear Quartz Clear Quartz works like a battery.  It absorbs, stores, releases, and regulates energy. This amplifying power can increase the power of other stones, but Clear Quartz can also take their place, when programmed.  It is very versatile and once charged can have the qualities of any stone.  Energy can be raised; scientists have show that holding Quartz in your hand doubles your bio-magnetic field. Shamans have been using Clear Quartz for thousands of years.  Ancient people believed Clear Quartz to be solidified water or ice.  In Britain they were sometimes called “Star Stones” to protect from illness.  Modern Wiccans wear Quartz during full moon rituals.  Clear Quartz has…

Discovering the Self As a follow up to last month’s piece, I wanted to talk more about taking chances and risks and living life to the fullest. I tried. Our family went away recently for a skiing vacation, up in gorgeous Maine, and I signed up for a 3 hour Learn-to-Ski lesson.  I already had a helmet, and I’d rented boots and skis and poles.  I was all set.  I kept the giant ball of fear locked away in a closet in the back of my mind, and I went into the lesson with every intention of skiing out of it at the end of those three hours. Things started…

Grounding and Centering: A Basic and Essential Concept I bid welcome to all of you who have returned (or are just finding me) to read my second column posting on the topic of “Grounding and Centering.”  It is a gift to have the opportunity to share some of my knowledge and even a greater pleasure to have made the acquaintance of those who have sent me e-mails.  In this posting we are going to discuss a topic that I view as essential to spiritual development whether within the guise of the craft or not.  The practice of grounding and centering is employed by not only those of us who consider…

Painting is a passion. It is what keeps my blood flowing. I’m  full of many visions that coil around my heart. having opened my emotions in a deeper light these paintings are portraits of my inner creature. being a self taught artist for some time now, I realize that it is truly the core of creativity that binds the colors and figures used in my work and feel very proud to make my art come to life. To Escape is to Dream Lovers Color My Eyes

This past month has certainly been an interesting one for myself. I completed my degree on January 30 so I found that I had a lot of extra time on my hands. It didn’t take long for me to find something to fill that extra time with. An interesting thing about a person’s spiritual journey is that you never know when a thought will enter your mind and force you to face it until it is resolved. It may keep popping in off and on, but eventually resolution will be reached which was the goal to begin with. I had a couple of moments like that this past month, but…

Diet and Psychic Ability What are the aura and chakras, and why are they important? The aura is the energy field around your body. It contains three layers- the body, mind, and spirit. They are separate but affect each other. If there is a problem in one it can manifest a physical problem in another. For instance if you neglect an emotional issue, it can create a physical illness. The chakras are points along the center line of our body where the energy lines connect and cross. There are seven- the root, belly, solar plexus, heart, throat, third eye, and crown. When these energy centers are blocked they can also…

A Major Distraction I’ve always known that the blog The Wild Hunt [1] was full of interesting and provocative stuff, but lately I’ve been reading it a bit more and realize just how good it is.  One of the entries caught my eye and I thought it would be worth discussing it [2]. The background is that Colorado State Senator Dave Schultheis apparently has a pretty fuzzy idea of what religious tolerance is [3].  He came out on twitter deploring the religious intolerance of Egyptian Muslims toward Egyptian Christians.  Then, not 20 minutes later he tweeted:  “Wicca and Druidism to be given chapel space in Air Force Academy Chapel…Where will…

Well, I thought we would start things off with Oils. But as we discuss this wonderful art of making, using, as well as the different ingredients that can be used; we are also going to delve into why these things can be used to truly help lift our spirits, bring us money, open our heart to love and magic and a whole bunch of other wonderful things. Oils are not “just” scents, they truly can change and help our “sensibilities” to keep us grounded and happy. I will be using a number of different references but I’d like to make it clear right off, that other than the internet, and…