Our Family’s Samhain Traditions Samhain is my favorite of the eight annual Sabbats that my family and I observed as part of the Wheel of The Year. It is a time for us to let go of the old and look ahead to the new, to break out of negative habits and to begin a healthier way of being. We understand that in dark silence comes the whisperings of new beginnings. We reflect on nature’s cycle of life, death, and rebirth as it marks the end of the harvest season. Samhain is our spiritual new year. Our family celebrates this festival together. The children begin to look forward to it…

Charging For Magickal Practices Is it wrong to accept money for magickal items, services and teachings? Or is it a form of an energy exchange? Once upon a time humans bartered for what we needed and desired. We would exchange an item, such as a blanket, or loaf of bread, for a service provide by the village mid-wife or wise-woman. This was seen as an equitable exchange. Today, currency in the form of money, is an updated form of this long standing tradition. When one offers a magickal service they have put time and personal energies into what they are offering. How can someone who feels the “call” to support…

Should Children Remain in the Broom Closet? I am certain that I am raising my children in the way that is most beneficial for them. I believe that children need to be taught spirituality from a young age and it should be the same beliefs that are held in their home; for us that spirituality is Eclectic Wicca. We practice our faith daily and interact openly with other pagans within our community. I am “out of the broom closet” as I run a home based business that is centered around our beliefs. My children are aware of what I do and will speak about “Mommy’s Tarot Reading business” as easily…

This is the third part in an ongoing experience titled – Entity. My husband and I decided that we would begin researching the history of our historical home. Perhaps discovering who had lived here would uncover clues that might lead us to a better understanding of what we were experiencing in the residence. Maybe there was a Sarah who dwelled here years ago. Our search might uncover nothing of importance but I knew it would be interesting at the least. Our first visit would be to the library Archives where they kept historical records. We began compiling a list of residence and discovered the following history: From the Assessors Office…

Why do bad things happen to good people? Well, first we need to understand what the word “bad” and “good” mean to humanity. Bad is defined as unfavorable, disagreeable, unpleasant, harmful, unhealthy, diseased and evil. Good being the opposite of bad is defined as favorable, agreeable, pleasant, honorable, loyal, wholesome and benevolent. Things we label as bad evoke negative emotions from us. They make us feel hurt, angry, disappointed, irritated, depressed. And good things evoke positive emotions such as happy, joyful, cheerful, wonderful, pleased and blissful. What we need to understand is that these are labels that we have placed on circumstances, people and situations we encounter in our lives.…

Eight words the Wiccan Rede fulfill: An’ it harm none, Do what ye will. What exactly does the Wiccan Rede advise with those words? Let’s look first at the definition of harm. The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines it as; physical or mental damage. I would not hasten to add spiritual damage to that definition as well. Okay. Got it. What about the word – none? The same dictionary goes on to define that as; not any, not one, nobody, not any such thing or person, no part, nothing. Huh. Now really, if you think about it, that’s a pretty broad spectrum. But what is the ‘it’ in the Rede’s phrasing? What…

With God All Things Are Possible I had a recent conversation with someone in reference to preparedness and being ready for the unexpected whether it is a medical emergency or, on a grander scale, a national disaster. The individual I was speaking with didn’t mean for it to be a spiritual conversation, however for me, everything evolves around spirituality. I pointed out to this individual, who happens to be Christian, that if he had faith in God then he would have faith that God would provide for him in his greatest time of need. In fact Scripture tells us so. In 1 Peter 5:7 of The New American Standard Bible…

This is the second part in an ongoing experience titled – Entity The latest experience I’ve had with our entity was early December 2009. I had awoken on a snowy Sunday morning with a headache and a general ill feeling. After feeding the family lunch and setting up a DVD in the living room for the children I returned upstairs to rest hoping to take a short nap and rid myself of the headache. I requested that my husband wake me in an hour as dinner still needed to be prepared before it was put in the oven. He agreed to wake me but lay with me for a short…

This is the first part in an ongoing experience: My children, spouse and I have been renting the house will currently reside in since July 1, 2008. We discovered that the two story dwelling was built around 1883 by checking the New Bedford’s city assessors’ website. The house has three bedrooms, one bathroom, a living room, dining room and kitchen. We have an attic which is currently full of our landlady’s things that she left behind and a basement which accommodates the boiler, hot water heater and a washer and drier. Off the kitchen we have a deck which leads to a small backyard where we often hold Esbat and…

Happy Birthday Each of us was born at a particular time, on an exact day, in a specific month, in a certain year. This day is commonly known as our birth date. With our birth date and the coordinates of the place we were born, we are able to establish the alignment of the planets, sun and moon. This information is used to determine our individual natal chart. This chart has the ability to establish our path in life by graphing the patterns of energy that were brought into this dimension by our birth. A witch would find this chart beneficial for determining which type of magick he or she…