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Welcome
Welcome *** (This month’s cover graphic is created by 11 year old artist Lilia Portuguez. She enjoys drawing and playing with her cat. Do you have Pagan art you would like to share? email us at [email protected]) *** This June Issue of PaganPagesOrg is…
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Rev. H.P. Anuj Elvis, A Wiccan in India
Since childhood H.P. Anuj Elvis was attracted to spirituality and occultism. He used to think of it as some deep hidden art that very few can learn and practice. His questions started in earnest when he was 13 soon after he succumbed to jaundice. His state became so severe that the doctors gave up his recovery, but leaving no stone unturned Anuj’s mother took to mystics, contacting a local yet powerful Tantra practitioner who claimed that he could bring her son back to health. Soon after Anuj did indeed recover, and when the young Anuj Elvis went back to this tantra practitioner and thanked him for his recovery,…
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Book Review: Pagan Magic of the Northern Tradition; Customs, Rites and Ceremonies by Nigel Pennick
This is a brilliant book and an absolute treasure trove of esoteric information you will not easily find elsewhere! I was pleased to be asked to review it as I had already set the intention to post a review – because this author deserves more readers. In this book Pennick describes how magic was deeply embedded in the everyday life of pre-Christian societies in Northern Europe. People believed in magic both because it worked and because their whole worldview was inherently magical. In this book Pennick examines the underlying principles of this work and how different forms of magic are powered and used. When we speak of the…
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Notes from the Apothecary
Notes from the Apothecary: Apple The apple is a fruit that is either revered or maligned, depending on which tradition or religion you look at. For Christians, it is the forbidden fruit, the ultimate temptation in the Garden of Eden. Strangely, the bible itself never names the type of fruit as an apple, and some studies suggest it may actually have been a fig, a pomegranate or even a grape. Despite this, the image of the apple as a fruit of seduction and forbidden knowledge has persisted into the modern age. For the Celts, however, there was nothing sinful about the apple at all. The fruit was associated with…
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Inspiration from the Elf Mounds
So what winds whisper from the elf mounds; what wind breathes from beneath the hollow hills where fairies dwell and myths were born? In other words, how many of us today still feel inspired by the tales of ancient Celtic warriors and wise folk? Which parts of our lives do these stories creep into the most? What do our ancestors still truly have a hand in? What is the meat of modern Celtic influence? Well a quick “Google” search on the word “Celt” will find you brewing techniques that are based on Celtic history; BBC Wales has a site dedicated to the history of the Iron Age Celts and the…
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Yoga, Meditation & Wisdom
The Eight Limbs of Yoga This Month: Pratyahara & Dharana (Photo Credit: Pinterest) The Fifth Limb is Pratayahara – “prata” means “away” or “retreat”; “ahara” means “nourishment” or what feeds the senses. Pratayahara translates into withdrawing from that which nourishes our senses. This forms the basis of “non-attachment”. Instead of our emotions controlling us with what it desires/craves, we become the controller of those emotions. When we are unable to stop the flow of these emotions, they very often cause an emotional imbalance, which in turn can, and in most cases, will, result in physical illness. Yoga, and more to the point, meditation is the means to…
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Crystal Connections
The Seven Archetypal Stones: Their Spiritual Powers and Teachings As the daughter of a rockhound, and a mineral lover myself, I have quite a few books on crystals. What makes this book special is that it focuses specifically on seven minerals, Obsidian, Jade, Lapis Lazuli, Emerald, Amethyst, Quartz and Diamond. Published by Destiny Books, and written by Nicholas Pearson, this 293 page book offers an in depth exploration that includes each stones spiritual uses, history, lore, chemical make up and geology. What is an archetype and how does it pertain to crystals? Pearson explains, “Archetypes serve as the original blueprints, the master molds, the perfected state for any…
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She Who is All – The Goddess of Ten Thousand Names
Cliodnha (Photo Credit : Pinterest) Cliodnha, known as the Queen of the Banshees, or Queen of all the Fairies of the HIlls, is part of the Tuatha Du Danaan, subject to the Goddess Danu. Cliodnha presides over Tir Tairngire, or the Land of Promise, a place of happy feasting, with no aging, violence, death or decay, which some say is the Celtic Otherworld. She has three colorful birds, who eat apples from a tree in that Otherworld, that can heal the sick with the beauty of their song. (Photo Credit: wolfanita@deviantart) She is a Goddess of love and beauty. She would take the form of an enchantingly beautiful human woman…
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Book Review of Epona: Hidden Goddess of the Celts by P.D. Mackenzie Cook
Book Review of Epona: Hidden Goddess of the Celts by P.D. Mackenzie Cook The author, P.D. Mackenzie Cook, a life-long pagan, has written an amazing book. While it is a book of the Goddess Epona, it also contains a wealth of information about early Goddess worship and the birth of patriarchy. He discusses how the changes to a male dominated culture came about slowly and changed the landscape of civilization and *attempted* to wipe out the Goddess, and Her worship. Mr. Cook’s love of Epona shines forth in every word, as he discusses Her symbolism, the animals and plants associated with Her, as well as, of course, the…
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Litha Correspondences
Also known as Summer Solstice, Litha, Alban Hefin, Sun Blessing, Gathering Day, Feill-Sheathain, Whit Sunday, Whitsuntide, Vestalia, Thing-tide, St. John’s Day In addition to the four great festivals of the Pagan Celtic year, there are four lesser holidays as well: the two solstices, and the two equinoxes. In folklore, these are referred to as the four ‘quarter-days’ of the year, and modern Witches call them the four ‘Lesser Sabbats’, or the four ‘Low Holidays’. The Summer Solstice is one of them. Date 21/22 Purpose Rededication to the Lord and Lady, beginning of the harvest, honoring the Sun God, honoring the pregnant Godddess Dynamics/Meaning Crowning of the Sun God, death of…