Welcome   We have another wonderful issue of PaganPages for you this month featuring two great book reviews… In SpellCrafting, Lynn Woike introduces us to The Big Book of Practical Spells by Judika Illes and her thoughts on the big book, indeed!     Susan Morgaine Reviews A lovely photographic journey book, A Year at Stonehenge by James O. Davies   Notes from the Apothecary this month features the Maple and you can learn how to make these lovely Maple Leaf Roses! Plus much more!!   Join…

Time to head back to the Minor Arcana; let’s talk about the Seven of Pentacles this month. As stated above, the Seven of Pentacles is a Minor Arcana card, so we know right away that the message offered by this card will most likely be more immediate in nature, or will most likely be connected to more day-to-day issues. We should remember however that every message, no matter how insignificant or mundane on the surface, can also possibly be a symptom of a deeper or wider issue; nothing in the Minor Arcana is in any way minor in nature. The image on the Seven of Pentacles can give us valuable…

Spiralled Edges: Do Pagans Have Free Will? Every time I think I have something figured out about myself, my Pagan practice, or the Gods something invariably happens to make me thing – do I still believe that? Recently, I’ve been considering the idea of Free Will. Philosophers and religious scholars from every religion have been cussing and discussing it for centuries. Free Will or Pre-Destiny? Do we make the choices in our life, or are out paths laid out for us well in advance of our arrival. Or, is it somewhere between these two extreme ideas?   Many years ago, I was talking to a friend (Religion and culture: Hindu)…

Mabon 2016 for Celebrating the Old Ways in New Times Bright Blessings! Mabon, or Autumnal Equinox always sneaks up on me. It is August 19, and while our tomato and cucumber harvest is going well, I can hardly believe that in a little over a month, we will be harvesting even more, and we’ll be quickly headed to Samhain! An especially harsh Winter is forecast for this year. I suppose that is the price some of us in Central Ohio will just have to pay for the fact last year’s Winter was quite mild! I was told the insects were heavier this year as a result of the mild Winter-…

MAY-bon, MAY-bun, MAY-bone, MAH-boon or MAH-bawn, – Lesser Sabbat Fall/Autumn Equinox, September 21-23 Michaelmas (September 25th, Christian), Second Harvest Festival, Witches’ Thanksgiving, Harvest Home (Anglo-Celtic), Feast of Avalon, Wine Harvest, Festival of Dionysus, Cornucopia, Equinozio di Autunno (Strega), Chung Chiu (China), Night of the Hunter, Alban Elfed “The Light of the Water”(Caledonii/ Druidic-celebrates Lord of the Mysteries), Winter Finding (Teutonic, from Equinox ’til Winter Night or Nordic New Year, Oct 15th.) Mabon is considered a time of the Mysteries. It is a time to honor Aging Deities and the Spirit World. Considered a time of balance, it is when we stop and relax and enjoy the fruits of our personal…

  Mabon Kitchen Magic Merry meet. You have to eat something, so why not make it magical to celebrate the second harvest? It could be a dessert, something for cakes and ale, dinner or a feast. Making it yourself makes it thrifty, and allows you to infuse it with your intentions. Whatever the food is for, apples are a Mabon staple in any form: applesauce, apple butter, baked apple chips, baked apples with caramel sauce, apple cake, apple and acorn or butternut squash soup, apple muffins, apple pie, apple pound cake, apple fritters, applesauce cake, apple crisp, apple cider doughnuts, apple cobbler or Waldorf salad. Where I live, the last…

This month the MagickalArts has an offering of flash fiction. Enjoy! Tessie’s Gift Tessie was a sprite. Not just any sprite, mind you but one who could craft the most pleasant of magicks. Her magick was one of bestowing gifts to those who would otherwise remain in need and despair. She was able to command all of the elements; something quite unusual as all of the other sprites were only able to weave their magick with one. Her favorite magick was gently coaxing the winds to do her bidding and she loved watching a golden haired child named Sasha dancing with the gentle breezes Tessie created in the fields.  …

Creating your own Pantheon Merry meet. The Greeks, Romans, Celts, Norse, Egyptians, Mayans and other ancient civilizations had a plethora of deities that helped with a host of specific conditions related to daily life. There were gods of war, fire and the sea, and goddesses of agriculture, wisdom and the hunt. While most religions now demand worship of only one god, it remains customary for pagans to pick and choose among the many pantheons. This column suggests a third option – to create your own gods and goddesses. In 2005, I participated in a goddess swap that broadened my horizons when I realized that in addition to existing deities, I could…

  Cooking in a Small Area   I just moved into a new apartment. I am not quite where I want to be, nor is the apartment what I really wanted. But it’s okay for now. I like the city in which I am living – Lowell, Massachusetts – which has a lot of beautiful old buildings and historic places to explore and photograph. I eventually want to find a place nearer to the ocean. My main problem with this place is the kitchen – or the lack of a kitchen. The “Kitchen” There are so few cupboards that I didn’t even unpack most of my dishes. And I have…

Notes from the Apothecary: Maple   How beautiful the maple tree is. Also known as acers (from the Latin for sharp, due to the points on the leaves), maples range from small shrubs to 45-metre-high trees, are spread all over the world and although can be evergreen, are normally renowned for their spectacular colour show in the fall. The picture to the left is a collection of autumn leaves my boy and I collected a couple of years ago. As you can see, the maple leaves (from Norway maples) are very prominent in the display. Well known as the symbol of Canada, and also the state tree of Vermont and…