______________________________________________________________________________ Cover art: Wild Harvest By: Michelle Maiden of ElementalOtherworld  Michelle Maiden is an English illustrator inspired by myth, folklore, ancient cultures, archaeology, shamanic and mystical traditions, the forms and forces of nature, and her own imagination. Her painting ‘Wild Harvest’ shows a wild woman decorated with the harvest from native northern European trees and hedgerows; blackthorn sloes, hawthorn and elder berries, crab apples and hazelnuts. The image was created in vivid Autumn colours using artists watercolour and pencil crayon. You can find the Wild Harvest Print, as well as the Colouring Page, to purchase at ElementalOtherworld on Etsy. ______________________________________________________________________________   First I would like to mention that our site has won…

Continue the Work of the Shadow     Last Month I offered you a look at one way of doing shadow work and exploring the hidden recesses within. And, I promised a pathworking this month to accomplish that. Read through the paragraph below for suggestions on getting the most from a pathworking… Pathworkings differ from guided meditations in that, if skillfully constructed, each component, object, location or color is meant to open your subconscious to a deeper level of understanding. Each word and the way in which you arrive at, leave or interact with a space calls up a stored memory of experience in this or other lifetimes that reveals…

  (Free Graphic from https://www.vecteezy.com)   The name is derived from Novem, the Latin word for nine, as November was the ninth month in Rome’s oldest calendar.   THE SNOW MOON   The ninth month in the old roman calandar.   In Celtic traditions it is the beginning of the new year, considered a month of beginnings and endings.   Astrological Signs: Scorpio, Sagittarius.   Nature Spirits: Banshees and other beings who carry messages between worlds.   Herbs: Ginger, hops, wormwood, hussop, patchouli, mugwort, nutmeg, star anise.   Colors: Black, white, purple.   Flowers: White lily, dahlia, chrysanthemum.   Scents: Rosemary, dragons blood, lilac, pine, wisteria.   Stones: Topaz, obsidian, onyx, Apache tear. Trees: Pine, cypress, yew, elder.…

“Me too” or ~ #MeToo spread virally as a two word hashtag on social media this month (October 2017) to denounce sexual assault and harassment. The context for this is the wake of sexual misconduct allegations against Harvey Weinstein. Obviously similar allegations have recently been made against the current president of the US, Donald Trump. The phrase was coined to be used in this particular sense by social activist Tarana Burke as part of an awareness campaign in 2016. More recently it was popularized by actress Alyssa Milano who encouraged women to “tweet” (repost and publicize this on social media) to demonstrate the widespread nature of abuse and misogynistic behaviour.…

Meet the Gods: Vishnu   (art by Samantha Sullivan)   Merry meet. Vishnu (pronounced Vish-nuu) is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is one of the Hindu trinity along with Brahma and Shiva. Brahma is the creator of the universe; Vishnu is the preserver, protector and keeper of the universe; Shiva is the destroyer. It is said that during troubled times when the world is threatened by evil and chaos, Vishnu returns to restore righteousness. So far, he has reincarnated nine times: Matsya (fish), Kurma (tortoise), Varaha (boar), Narasimha (half lion, half man), Vamana (dwarf sage with the ability to grow), Parasurama (fierce man/hunter), Rama (greatest warrior/perfect man), Krishna…

The Witches’ Ointment The Secret History of Psychedelic Magic By Thomas Hatsis This is a fascinating and unique offering! And a book I will definitely recommend to others, especially colleagues and students. It is well-researched and written in a scholarly yet very accessible way. In this book the author Thomas Hatsis embarks on a quest to research and tell the (until now largely) untold story of a magical substance called “witches’ ointment.” In this book you will also encounter other names for this mysterious concoction. Along the way he provides a detailed, thought-provoking account of witchcraft, magic and the use of hallucinogenic herbs. This book is underpinned with many footnotes…

Learning the Lenormand I can’t remember when I became interested in Lenormand cards. In the past thirty years, I have mainly focused on Tarot cards but my search for original and artistic decks lead me to many different kinds of cards – Oracle cards, vintage playing cards, and of course, Lenormand cards. I was immediately attracted to Lenormand cards because of what I saw as the combination of playing card imagery with pictorial symbolism. At the time, I thought that it was the marriage of playing cards and the Tarot. But that’s not what the Lenormand is. They have absolutely nothing to do with the Tarot, other than being a…

    Just in time for Halloween, Nikki Wardwell Sleath self-published “You Might Be a Witch.” It provides a simple overview of the Craft, defining what modern day witches think and what they practice, dispelling myths along the way. In the first half of the 103-page book, she talks about her own life, going from a child with no magickal exposure to a woman in her 40s who is the founder and High Priestess of the Society of Witchcraft and Old Magick. The second half of the book covers such topics as the general belief systems of a witch, the ethics of magick and how to speak to skeptics. It…

Notes from the Apothecary: Nasturtium     My seven year old suggested this beautiful flower for November’s Apothecary notes. He planted some seeds towards the end of summer, and despite us worrying that it was a little late for our reasonably cool climate, they flourished, and I have seen many more across my home town this month, trailing out of gardens like fire tipped vines.   Confusingly, the Latin name nasturtium refers to a type of watercress. Whilst delicious, I am going to ignore the watercress in favour of tropaeolum, the plant we commonly refer to as nasturtium. The plant originated in South America, and was imported to Mediterranean Europe…

To Protect the Witches Home “We will set to work on that” said Hansel, “and have a good meal. I will eat a bit of the roof, and though, Gretel, canst eat some of the window, it will taste sweet.” Hansel reached up above, and broke off a little of the roof to try how it tasted, and Gretel leaned against the window and nibbled at the panes. Then a soft voice cried from the room. “Nibble, nibble gnaw, Who is nibbling at my little house?” The children answered, “The wind, the wind, The heaven-born wind,” and went on eating without disturbing themselves…. From Hansel and Gretel—Grimm’s Complete Fairy Tale…