____________________________________________________________________________________________ Cover art: Witch’s Christmas Kitchen by Victoria Thorpe of Victoria Thorpe art. Hello, my name is Victoria Thorpe & I’m a fantasy artist from the UK! I am inspired by magic, myths, history & I love to add gothic & alternative themes into my work. I work mainly with watercolours & acrylic paints. I love to experiment with my techniques & never follow the rules!  For Yule/Christmas this year I created “Witches Christmas Kitchen” inspired by the origins of Christmas using traditions of hanging up stockings ,holly & pine branches along the fireplace. The original painting also features a silver coloured pentagram on the cauldron which shimmers in the light.  I wanted to capture a…

Mexican Wedding Cakes When it comes to holiday cookies, Mexican Wedding Cakes are among my very favorites. I do have to admit – I only eat the ones that I make myself. The reason is this – I use my mother’s recipe and her recipe is the only one that has honey in it. Every other recipe for this little snowball of a cookie omits this important ingredient and the result is a dry, crumbly cookie. I know people who hate Mexican Wedding Cakes and refuse to eat them because they’re like eating “rolled up dust and nuts,” as one of my boyfriends once complained. But these cookies will melt…

  The Bad Witch’s Guide to Yule I’m always a bad witch, but apparently I really suck at this Yuletide thing. I mean I make my own gifts! I like snow! When people say “season’s greetings” or “Merry Christmas” I smile and mean it! I’m a monster! The cynical average British Pagan just sort of rolls their eyes at me. I don’t Cringle early. I spend November and December making gifts and decorations (I’m a bit slow this year but we have been adjusting to new medication this year, but I have plans)! I don’t even go and get really drunk! I mean I clearly suck at this witching thing!…

What your Pagan Teacher wants you to know …     About Meditation Meditation is a weird thing. It is seen as this perfect thing that a few people can actually do. In reality even after 30 years of meditation there are days I struggle. Not because I’m bad at it but because life happens! Much like falling asleep (a different kind of brain activity) there are layers and stages to meditation. I am sure they have proper names and titles somewhere. This is how I experience them, still. Brain Radio. Brain radio is the weird ambient noises inside my brain often a mix of 80’s cartoons, toy advert jingles,…

Book Review – Crystals for Beginners by Karen Frazier I love books and I adore crystals. If you know someone who feels the same way, then this book would be the perfect choice for them. While Ms. Frazier states that this book is for beginners, there is plenty of information here, as well as, for the more advanced among us. The author starts with the basics – what a crystal is and what it is not, how to shop for a crystal, feeling its’ energy, how to pair one crystal with another that it will work with particularly well. Of course, it is mandatory to talk about how to clear,…

Shamanic Journey or Meditation #1 Please see my related feature in this edition explaining what The Global Apology Project is! In the Closed Facebook group I have started for this project we have decided to post a suggested shamanic journey or meditation every week, inviting others to focus on a particular aspect of this work. In this short article I will share Journey #1. The link for this group is: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1902301606465391/?fref=nf Journey or Meditation #1 (posted on Sunday 26 November 2017) Today I invite everyone here to undertake a journey to your Helping Ancestors and ask to be shown if there is apology-and-healing work to be done on acts they…

(image from: https://hiveminer.com/Tags/fraktur%2Clettering)   Lesser Sabbat – Winter Solstice, circa Dec 21 Other Names: Jul (“wheel”, Old Norse), Saturnalia(Rome ~December 17 & 18), Yuletide(Teutonic), Midwinter, Fionn’s Day, Alban huan, Christmas (Christian~December 25), Xmas, Festival of Sol, Solar/Secular/Pagan New Year Animals/Mythical beings: yule goat (nordic), reindeer stag, squirrels, yule cat, Sacred White Buffalo, Kallikantzaroi-ugly chaos monsters(greek), trolls, phoenix, yule elf, jule gnome, squirrels, wren/robin Gemstones: cat’s eye, ruby, diamond, garnet, bloodstone Incense/Oils: bayberry, cedar, ginger, cinnamon, pine, rosemary, frankincense, myrrh, nutmeg, wintergreen, saffron Colors: gold, silver, red, green, white Tools,Symbols, & Decorations: bayberry candles, evergreens, holly, mistletoe, poinsettia,mistletoe, lights, gifts, Yule log, Yule tree. spinning wheels, wreaths, bells, mother & child…

The Witches’ Almanac is not so much a book as a yearly almanac, much like The Old Farmer’s Almanac. Almost everyone knows The Old Farmer’s Almanac. Sold in the smallest country store as well as the largest supercenter, it is the one of the most recognizable almanacs in the United States. It was always a mainstay in my parents’ home. Another almanac that I remember being in our home was The World Almanac and Yearbook – when we went on vacations, we would play trivia games in the car during the long drive to our cabin in the mountains of Maine and the World Almanac was our reference. Looking through…

Celebrating the Old Ways in New Times December 2017 Bright Blessings! With Yule just around the corner, you are likely planning festivities, gatherings, and family nights! Growing up, of course, my family celebrated Christmas, and large scale was the rule. Everybody sent cards, bought gifts, planned dinners and lunches, and I can say Christmas for many of my family members was one of the biggest events of the year. After I moved out, and started my own traditions, I scaled back the complicated Christmas festivities, and after converting to Paganism, reduced it further to just a single day for Sabbat. The Winter Solstice is a big deal for me, because…

Three Books About the Tarot If you are like me, the best gifts under the Yule tree are books. I like historical novels – Elizabeth Chadwick and Sharon Key Penman are favorites of mine – and books about goddess religions and divination – especially cartomancy. As I shop, I look for books that I want to give to my loved ones but I always find ones for myself. Here are three books about the tarot that might interest you – either as gifts for another person, or to give to yourself! Here are three books about the Tarot that would make great gifts for any Tarot enthusiast. The first one…