Bountiful Beef Salad I eat salad every day. Usually for lunch, but sometimes for dinner, my salads are small meals in and of themselves. My base salad is a bowl of mixed greens, sliced red onion or Vidalia, slices of seedless cucumber, garbanzo beans and chunks of cheese – usually sharp New York State Cheddar, but sometimes Colby-Jack or Swiss. Depending on what I have on hand, I may add chunked or sliced tomatoes, salad shrimp, pieces of cooked chicken, ham or turkey, albacore tuna, avocado, sliced green pepper, celery, carrot or whatever other strikes my fancy. One thing I always thought was strange – you see salads with almost…

Celebrating the Old Ways in New Times January 2018 Bright Blessings, and Happy 2018! Time flies when you are an old adult, doesn’t it? It seems like just yesterday, I was looking forward to Summer Solstice! I write this on Winter Solstice 2017, and my Yule gathering is two days away. We are rearranging the menu and scheduling rides for everybody. As it is in between Sabbats, I get to pick a topic! I decided to write about Winter itself. Specifically, I’d like to write some Winter survival tips. Unlike some people like my husband- who LIVE for winter (psychos!), the rest of us suffer various issues due to cold…

This is a very sincere and beautiful book, about ceremonial work in a magical place. It is based on decades of personal experience working closely with plants and their spirits. The author uses her own unique method, (that is to say: I had not heard of it before!), called plant dieting. Essentially this involves making an elixir from parts or extracts of the physical plant and then drinking this ceremonially as well as (intentionally and intensely!) connecting with the spirit of the plant for a certain amount of time. Generally speaking this is done ceremonially as a group while people are fasting during that time. That fact alone will bring…

Themis Statue of Themis at Chuo University (Photo Credit: Brittanica.com) The Goddess Themis – We see her everywhere as the personification of blind justice. Her image is used in courtrooms, attorney’s offices, anywhere justice is served. As one of the Titans, She was the daughter of Gaia and Uranus, and is the representation of the natural and moral order of everything, which was extremely important to the ancient Greeks. She was the second wife of Zeus, and as the Goddess of Wisdom, sat at his right hand as one of his councilors. Her name “Themis” means “divine law”, and it was She who instructed mankind in the laws of justice…

Meet the Gods: Boreas     Merry meet. When the wind would blow and the windows or the screen door would startle her dog, my aunt would say, “That’s Maria,” referring to Kingston Trio song from the ’60s, “They Call The Wind Maria.” When you hear the cold north wind blow this winter, you can call it Boreas, the Greek god of the cold north wind and the bringer of winter. His name meant “North Wind” or “Devouring One” and is the source of the adjective boreal, meaning of, relating to, or located in the northern region. Like Maria, he will wail, whine, blow the stars around and set the…

As I was considering what to write for this column this month, I thought there was so much to choose from: the @MeToo phenomonen, more political attacks against reproductive freedom and women’s agency, attacks on LGBTQ, attacks on our Mother Earth, and so much more……you get the picture, I am sure. But then I came across this, and it said in a few words what I probably would have written in two pages. This is short, sweet and simple, and yet gets the message across. *** About the Author: Susan Morgaine is a Daughter of the Goddess, Witch, Writer, Teacher, Healer, and Yogini. She is a monthly columnist with PaganPages.org Her writings can be found in The…

  *’Knackered’ is a British slang term meaning ‘extremely tired’, in this context anyway.   Put away the crackers, Can’t you see I’m knackered*? Too many ‘small’ sherries So many Holly berries! It isn’t Solstice any more So clear the fake snow off the floor Sweep the hearth and lock the door. No more carols, no more knocks; No more callers: check the locks! Pull down festive Solstice Socks. But leave the ivy, leave the oak Leave the promises we spoke To truly honour Sol’s return To let the midnight fires burn To cherish love and cherish hope Even though right now I just can’t cope With sales and queues…

(Calliope 1) This is the second posting of the (en)LIV(en)ING with the Muses Series The Muse, Calliope is the oldest of the Muses and according to the Theogony of Hesiod was foremost of the muses. Holding this preeminence, suggested her creative gifts were many with specific association with music and song and is often depicted playing the harp in early art work. In many mythological tales, Calliope is the mother of the Bard and player of the lyre, Orpheus. Calliope’s gifts of eloquence and music moved through her child Orpheus, considered to be the greatest musician and poet of Greek mythology having the ability to stir the emotions of God and man,…

The Awakened Dreamer: How to Remember & Interpret Your Dreams Author: Kala Ambrose Publisher: Llewellyn Publications Copyright: 2017 241 Pages “The Awakened Dreamer” is the second book by Ms. Ambrose that I have read. “Spirits of New Orleans: Voodoo Curses, Vampire Legends, and Cities of the Dead,” was the first book by Ms. Ambrose that I read. (I got that book before returning to New Orleans for my husband and my 5th anniversary. We used her book as a tour guide.) Her writing style is very personal. She loves to share her stories with you, the reader. I like that about her. Ms. Ambrose is an excellent writer; she is…

When I was at my hungriest for a teacher one did not magically appear with the answers I wanted to know. Well not in the way I expected. In hindsight I had many teachers. I was passionate, curious and worked hard to understand. I picked up two practices from two different authors that served me very well. One was to question. “The right question is a key.” The other said “do the work, the rest will come, have faith.” Through my work with spirit in my teens I had already been in a teaching position and I seemed to gather students, or at least people who wanted me to teach…