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The Modern Merlin’s Corner: Owls and Oaks: Wisdom of the Seen and Unseen
My personal spiritual journey has been zig-zagging lately, between different topics, practices, pantheons and spirits. Lately, I’ve been on a path of deepening my connection with the land, the animals that inhabit it, and the spirits, too. When I began reading Celtic Goddess Grimoire for my review, which you can read here, I began sensing an even deeper appreciation for nature than I already had. I felt a deep connection with the trees, animals and land that I see everyday, and I can only explain this as Nemetona’s presence, one of the Goddesses in that book that really came through, along with Melusine, as I live in a town that was literally…
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Teachings of the Mythic Past: A Bit About Bees in Slavic Magic and Culture
Bees, wax and honey have a long history that has been cultivated into traditions, calendars and family customs for Slavic nations. Honey’s primary and ceremonial function is to act as a go-between for humans and our ancestors, bridging the gap between this world and the next as we go through the various life stages. Honey has served in ritual settings, including its role as a protective agent and a symbol of fertility. It has been used for greetings, erotic gestures, and magical symbolism. The Symbol of Honey Honey is a symbol of sweetness and gentleness, an offering to deceased ancestors and deities, and a powerful healing and cleansing tool. If…
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Review: Breath Practice Cards
Breath Practice Cards are 50 breathwork meditations for mind, body and self by Rebecca Moore. These cards are a beautiful resource for anyone wanting to incorporate or expand their knowledge of breathwork into their self care. The 50 cards are organized into the following categories: Focus (grounding and centering)Relax (calming and restorative)Elevate (energizing and uplifting)Release (cleansing and clearing)Connect (harmonizing and meditative) The categories are color coded. Each card has the name of the technique, description of practice and a tip for optimal success of this technique. The front of each card has its name and a lovely illustration. These techniques have been used by myself and my family. The cards…
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Weyland’s Whey, May 27th, 2024
Working on My Dreams The Weylander has many interests. Coffee! Pizza! And dreaming. Especially lucid dreaming, in which you realize you’re dreaming while you’re actually doing so. This can help you achieve a sort of control over events in your dreams. I can do it once in a blue moon. In the most recent one, Sparkle and I were walking down a road at night. I told her we needed a car. She said we didn’t have one. I said, “I’ll make one.” And suddenly we were cruising down that country road. (I didn’t notice what kind of a car it was, but the steering wheel was on the right. Maybe…
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Book Review – Slavic Deities & Their Worship: The Roots of Slavic Magic – Book 1 by Patricia Robin Woodruff
Teachings of the Mythic Past – Book Review on Roots of Slavic Magic Book 1 , Deities and Their Worship by Patricia Robin Woodruff The Roots of Slavic Magic Book 1 is an excellent resource for students and curious individuals who are interested in learning a great deal of fascinating information about pre-Christian Slavic beliefs and about a wide variety of Slavic deities. I recommend this book as a guide and tool for deep and thorough information and research when it comes to Slavic Magic and Paganism and learning about Slavic deities. Since much of Slavic Pagan beliefs were not written down (in comparison to Greek or Norse for example),…
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Book Review – Bogowie: A Study of Eastern Europe’s Ancient Gods by T.D. Kokoszka
Teachings of the Mythic Past – Book Review on Bogowie: A Study of Eastern Europe’s Ancient Gods by T.D. Kokoszka If you’re looking for an easy read or beginner’s book on Slavic myth, folklore, and Paganism you might want to look elsewhere. This book features tons of advanced information on traditional Slavic Pagan beliefs. Chapter 6 of Bogowie is called Advanced Concepts in Indo-European Mythology, but I think this would not have been such a bad way to describe the book itself! T.D. Kokoszka focuses greatly on Slavic mythology and folklore in this very in-depth study. But with that being said, the book is certainly not for beginners who are…
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Book Review: Celtic Goddess Grimoire by Annwyn Avalon
Overview of Celtic Goddess Grimoire Celtic Goddess Grimoire: Invoke the Enduring Power of the Celtic Feminine Divine by Annwyn Avalon is packed with spells, rituals, sacred practices, and meditations with a litany of Celtic goddesses from areas like Gaul, Wales, Ireland, Scotland, and other continental Celtic goddesses. The book covers some well known Celtic goddesses, as well as some that aren’t as well known to witches, but are to Druids, like Nemetona. Celtic Goddess Grimoire also covers some faery woman as well, such as Morgan le Fay and others. Avalon artfully weaves the the mythologies and known information about each goddess, and then follows each with a section of spells, rituals, invocations and…
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Book Review: Astrolations! by Jill Carr
Overview of Astrolations! Astrolations!: A Unique Astrological Guide For You and All Your Relationships by Jill Carr definitely lives up to its title, as Carr fuses Tropical (Star Sign) Astrology, as well as Sidereal (Astrology that uses more current dates for when the sun is in a sign, thus moving the sign dates forward), and Chinese astrology. The Book opens with a brief, yet thorough explanation of the Star Signs, the sign most of us know, and then also covers the Sidereal sign dates, as well as the Chinese zodiac signs, and gives a list of Chinese sign years starting in 1900, going until 2032, also giving the Chinese element of that sign…
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Book Review: Fortuna: The Sacred and Profane Faces of Luck by Nigel Pennick
Overview of Fortuna Nigel Pennick, a well known expert and author of pagan and occult subjects, published Fortuna with Destiny Books, a division of Inner Traditions Publishing. The material presented is historically accurate and informative, going through periods of humanity and how luck was perceived, as well as different oracle systems throughout the ages. Pennick does include some practical information that a modern practitioner of divination could use, such as geomantic figures, numerology lists, and a list of common epithets of Fortuna that could be called upon by a modern pagan, or anyone looking for divine help navigating life’s decisions and ups and downs, with simple but effective techniques. With Fortuna, Pennick…
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Weyland’s Whey
Weyland’s Whey by Weyland Smith For Your Deliberation Cody’s Wish Cody Dorman was born with a rare genetic disorder called Wolf-Hirschhorn syndrome. It severely impacts growth and development. During a Make-a-Wish visit to Gainsborough Farm, Kentucky, in 2018, a 5-month-old weanling came over to Cody and his wheelchair and placed its head in his lap. They bonded. The horse’s owners decided on the name Cody’s Wish. Cody and his family often journeyed to watch the horse compete. At the 2023 Breeder’s Cup, the horse’s final race before retirement, expectations were low. Too many great horses. No way Cody’s Wish could win. When the bell rang, he started out at the…
