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Celebrating The Old Ways in New Times
Celebrating The Old Ways in New Times for July 2021 Bright Blessings! The Summer Solstice is hitting hard with steamy days, muggy nights, and gorgeous gardens right now! I trust you have already enjoyed your Summer Solstice gatherings or solitary rituals, and enjoying all the joys of Summer in all its splendor! As it is in between Sabbats, I get to pick what to write about, and I’d like to discuss the Heathen virtue of hard work. It’s not exactly what we’d think it is, but it’s just as important as people say. Industriousness Industriousness and determination are other words used to express this, and I admit,…
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Notes from the Apothecary
Notes from the Apothecary: The Orange Oranges: juicy, bright globes filled with vitamin C and sunshine. The orange is a citrus fruit that’s one of the most cultivated fruits in the world, and may have been cultivated by humans for around 2,500 years. The sweet orange as we know it today is a hybrid of mandarins and pomelos, and is very different from bitter oranges, the likes of which often line the streets of towns in Mediterranean countries. I once made the mistake of plucking and peeling a juicy looking orange while in Spain, only to have my mouth shrivelled by the intense bitterness! Sweet oranges, in comparison,…
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WitchCrafting: Crafts for Witches
Walking With Magick Merry meet. This month’s column features a job I commissioned by Kerry Bower of Kerry’s Creations. I knew what I wanted, but I didn’t have the materials, patience or artistic ability to turn shoes and boots into works of Pagan Art. First she cleaned the shoes with Angelus brand leather cleaner. Using Angelus brand paint, she freehanded her designs. There are other brands of acrylic-based paints created specifically for leather you can use. Do not mix brands, and never apply heat to help the paint dry. “The key to bright colors is to paint multiple layers and let each…
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The Sacred Spoon
Balancing Meals – Heart Chakra Vinegar Roasted Greens The heart chakra represents and manages love, compassion, understanding, patience, and above all empathy. A closed or blocked heart chakra can show itself as a lack of empathy, depression, anxiety, and stress. An open one helps us connect to nature and those around us. A well balanced heart chakra is important in our day to day life and helping your family have a balanced one should be of high importance for a happy and healthy home. In this recipe we have a lot of benefits for our loved ones. It is packed with vitamins A, B6, and C along with healing…
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Tarot Talk
Comparing The Emperor & The Hierophant We have already compared The Empress and The High Priestess. This month, we will return to the Major Arcana, and compare The Emperor and The Hierophant. Before we begin breaking them down, let’s define and remind ourselves of some terms. There are 22 Major Arcana cards in a Tarot deck, with numbers from 0 to 21; the Majors usually deal with broader and more far-reaching life experience issues, archetypes that are easy for us to identify with and connect with at some point in our lives. An archetype (pronounced “ark eh type”) is a generic, idealized model of a person, an object,…
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Book Review – Tarot by the Moon: Spreads & Spells for Every Month of the Year by Victoria Constantino
Book Review Tarot by the Moon Spreads & Spells for Every Month of the Year by Victoria Constantino Publisher: Llewellyn Publications 264 Pages Publication Date: August 8, 2021 Tarot by the Moon: Spreads & Spells for Every Month of the Year by Victoria Constantino, is due for release in August 2021. It will be published by Llewellyn Publications, 2143 Wooddale Drive, Woodbury, MN 55125-2989. Because this book will not publish until next month, I am previewing and reviewing a pre-release digital copy. The published version will be a 7.5 inch by 9.25 inch paperback, with 264 pages. Copywrite by Victoria Constantino, ISBN: 978-0-7387-6712-3. Tarot by the Moon begins…
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As Above So Below (How the Stars Became Our Hearts)
Christianity: The Great Misunderstanding Now, in the last entries, I’ve aimed a lot of criticism at the Christian faith. Setting aside the purpose of the religion now, and whether or not Jesus was real or divine, let’s examine the lore with a more open mind. Let us assume that Jesus was very real, and his words were truth. Then with that lens, examine Christianity once again from the perspective of the man with whom the religion places it’s namesake. Jesus’ message was very much different from what we find in the Old Testament. Which seemed to be a collection of lore stories centered around sin and blood. The tribulations…
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She Who Is All – The Goddess & The Divine Female
Sphinx (Image Credit & Following Quote: The Goddess Oracle by Amy Sophia Marashinsky) “If I ask the question that provokes will you stretch to find the answer Will you take up the gauntlet flung boldly and defiantly answer the call Will you meet my challenge with tingling in your blood with your hair blowing electric in the wind with all your being knowing that every challenge is an opportunity every challenge presents a gift every challenge is there to serve you or not It’s your choice” The Sphinx may have started out as male, and is still perceived as such today, in Egypt, built as the Guardian of…
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Book Review – Pagan Portals: Iris, Goddess of the Rainbow and Messenger of the Godds by Irisanya Moon
Book Review Pagan Portals: Iris, Goddess of the Rainbow and Messenger of the Godds by Irisanya Moon Publisher: Moon Books-John Hunt Publishing 96 Pages Publication Date: July 1, 2021 Iris, Goddess of the Rainbow and Messenger of the Godds* by Irisanya Moon is a new release that is part of the Pagan Portals collection of books published by Moon Books, an imprint of John Hunt Publishing. I must say that given all that we have been through with politics, global affairs, COVID-19 and more this past 18+ months, the timing of this title speaks to me of hope and the fresh and beautiful start a rainbow provides at the…
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Book Review – I Can Believe In Myself by Jack Canfield, Miriam Laundry, & illustrated by Eva Morales
Book Review I Can Believe In Myself by Jack Canfield and Miriam Laundry Eva Morales (illustrator) Publisher: Health Communications Inc. 32 Pages Publication Date: 2/23/2021 I can believe in myself is a children’s book that focuses on a girl named Molly who struggles with believing that she is capable of making a presentation to her class. She focuses on the words “I can’t” and doubts herself and her capabilities. All she can focus on is speaking in front of the class and it consumes her. She comes up with various excuses to give her teacher to get out of it, but her teacher is patient and supportive. As the…