Bright Blessings! Lughnassadh is upon us. Already, those of us who garden have been proudly plucking things from branches, vines, and stems, and bringing them to loved ones to share. In our garden grows tomatoes- OF COURSE- blackberries, cucumbers, snap peas, potatoes, mint, lavender, sage, thyme, nasturtiums, cabbages, blueberries, and PLENTY of flowers as well. Snap peas, our herbs, blueberries, and nasturtiums have already been picked, and shared, and enjoyed. The cabbage leaves are folding into themselves nicely to form little purple balls that will grow huge by fall. We are waiting for the greens to die back, indicating the potatoes are ready to pull from the ground. Already, we…

Originally written as a talk for the Pagan Federation Online Lughnasadh Festival 2016. Feel free to view the whole talk here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dE5fPKOmp2k Lughnasadh is more or less the mid-point between the summer solstice and the autumn equinox, and as such a point of transition, of change and of transformation. I’m going to talk to you a little bit about my own experiences with pregnancy, motherhood, and how my spirituality transformed alongside my own transforming body and mind. It was a complete shock to me, finding out I was pregnant. I had experienced a few odd symptoms; dizziness, alternately low and high blood pressure, not wanting to smoke or drink any…

A Ritual In Song “music is the strongest form of magic.” –Marilyn Manson Merry meet. In my practice, I accept that everything has a vibration, be it an object such as a besom, or a sound such as a bell. Our own voices put out vibrations that are like no other. Your voice is your unique signature. As was explained on the Wicca Spirituality website, “When you sing magical chants and songs, you bind your intention to the vibrations of your voice, vibrations which you send out into the ever-vibrating world.” It’s reflected in the word enchantment, as your magical intention is wrapped into a chant – or a song…

Wendy Rule & The Green Album A month ago I went to a workshop and a living room concert by Wendy Rule in Haarlem. She is a ‘visionary songstress who creates spiritual music for the soul, taking listeners on mythic journeys of healing, love and magic with her pagan music’. I love her music and her way of teaching, so I was really looking forward to the day. The workshop was called The Magic of the Elements (a dark moon ritual for lovers of nature, magic and the moon). Sounds great, doesn’t it? And it was! Wendy was accompanied by her husband Timothy, also a very gifted musician. We were…

Book Review: “Witchcraft on a Shoestring” Merry meet. If this column has been of interest to you, then Deborah Blake’s book, “Witchcraft on a Shoestring: Practicing the Craft Without Breaking Your Budget,” is worth a read. The 200-page paperback published in 2010 by Llewellyn Publications offers inexpensive suggestions for everything from altars to wands. There are chapters on a variety of craft mediums to make a variety of items including clay (pentacle plaque), fabric (protection charm for the home), wood (a speaking stick) and glass (scrying mirror). There are directions for making rune stones and parchment spell paper, and recipes for feast foods for each of the Sabbats as well…

divination during a neptune retrograde If you spend any kind of time on Facebook or Twitter, you will no doubt have seen all the minacious memes preceding a Mercury Retrograde – back up your files! Cross your T’s and dot your I’s! Beware of long-distance travel! – and so on. While fear-mongerers exist in every community, including the Pagan ones, I find it amusing that even the reasonable memes concerning Mercury Retrograde – such as the “5 R’s” – Redact, Renew, Reflect, Reevaluate & Reconcile – seem to forget one very important fact: there are six other planets that have the ability to move in a retrograde fashion throughout the…

Temple Grandin   Imagine being smart. Really smart. HaHa. Just kidding. You are smart. Imagine being super intelligent, a brainiac extraordinaire. Imagine being autistic. Imagine being Temple Grandin. Ms Grandin is a fascinating woman. She has accomplished a great deal, on many levels, and possesses a stunning command of two areas dear to her heart: autism and animal science. Two utterly disparate subjects, you’d think. But, no. Temple Grandin not only colours outside the lines, but, moves them around, if necessary. Mary Temple Grandin was born on August 29, 1947, in Boston, Massachusetts. At the age of two years, Grandin’s parents were told she was autistic and recommended she be…

Eucalyptus Radiata for Aromatherapy   Eucalyptus radiata, commonly known as the Narrow-leaved peppermint or Forth River Peppermint. Eucalyptus Radiata has a sweet, soft scent and is used for infections higher in the respiratory tract. It is highly effective when used with Ravansara aromatica, against colds, flu and sinusitis.A refreshing camphorus oil with a scent that is lighter than Eucalyptus Globulus. This is the most useful Eucalyptus as it has a pleasant smell and is easily assimilated. It has many of the same uses as Eucalyptus Globulus but it is milder in its chemical composition and gentler in action. Despite its mild chemical composition, it is highly anti-bacterial and anti-viral. Eucalyptus Radiata…

Bright Blessings! We are in-between Sabbats and I had thought that perhaps I’d write a very Wiccan article about a Moon phase or something. But the more I thought about it, the more I thought I’d like to write about something the Summer months brings that we are all both blessed and plagued by. That is… H-E-A-T. Summer is in full swing- the Solstice just behind us- and while the days might be getting shorter, they WILL be getting hotter! This weekend was a scorcher for us here in Columbus, Ohio, and the heat really got to me. It was easy for me to escape into air conditioned spaces and…

Last month we talked about The Empress, one half of the Sacred Feminine within the Major Arcana. If you have not already read that essay, please do so now. The other half of the Sacred Feminine in the Tarot is The High Priestess, and we will talk about her this month. First, let’s review some terms. There are 22 Major Arcana cards in a Tarot deck, with numbers from 0 to 21; the Majors usually deal with broader and more far-reaching life experience issues, archetypes that are easy for us to identify with and connect with at some point in our lives. An archetype (pronounced “ark eh type”) is a…