(art by Sarah Mcmenomy*)   It is October and Samhain is drawing near. Who among us who observes the Wheel of the Year doesn’t get excited about this most sacred of witchy days?  At Mabon we entered the dark half of the year, a time for reflection and looking within.  Not only is the world around us darkening, it is time for us to face our own inner darkness.   Darkness.  It’s a word we throw around a lot, but what does it mean for us as we move deeper into fall and toward winter?  We hear that “dark” doesn’t necessarily mean “bad,” but then, why is darkness sometimes associated…

What I Find In the Winter    Everywhere I look lately, I see snow. We’ve been enveloped by winter lately, and I’ve begun to dream of the time when spring will finally come and I can head to the park with my journal and tarot cards. I used to have this vision of myself heading outdoors and communing with nature all winter long. Just taking regular walks and checking in with the unique energies of the season. “A blizzard, you say? Sounds like an amazing opportunity to learn about the harsher aspects of Mother Nature!” Only, that’s not what I say. I say, “Oh  God, it’s cold. I’m staying inside…

Note: When I first started writing here at Pagan Pages, I decided to write about how I came to paganism.  But as I sat down and began writing, I realized just how messy a story it really was. It felt too deeply personal for my first column here, so instead, I published a different, somewhat lighter article on the topic. I have received some comments on my posts since then and feel blessed to know that my articles are touching readers. Writing, for me, is about being raw, about being real, and I believe that I am at my best as a writer when I am those things. This is…

How a New Age Book and a Cookie-Scented Candle Made Me a Better Pagan   It was after the days had started growing longer and everything was pitch black both when I got out of bed and before I got home at night.  Anxiety and depression have a way of flowing like a wave for me: life is pretty okay; nope, not anymore. Up, down, up, down.  I was distinctly down, listening to “Tennis Court” by Lorde on repeat because I realized it just sounds so sad.  And sad people like things like that.  I thought about being pagan and I wondered what it had to offer me now, when…

Ready or Not: Claiming the Title of Witch   I’m pretty rash about most things. I get an idea and I’m gone. Even if that idea might only last for a little while, while I have it, it’s my world. So it’s a little surprising that I’m taking my time with paganism. I dip my toes in, then I step back. I read lots of books, and then I take a break from books. This works for me because paganism isn’t going anywhere. It’s a constant for me to dance around as I learn more about myself and my place within it and within the world. Sometimes the dance is…

Dismissing Paganism      A woman I was talking to the other day was telling me about how she’d been involved in a Wiccan women’s group back in her college days.  She went on enthusiastically about how Goddess spirituality is very affirmative for women.  That’s cool, I thought.  Remarkably positive, compared to the sort of vague, confused nod a lot of people give me when they find out I’m pagan. “Paganism is really good for you right now,” she said. Right now? I wondered.  Well, okay, I guess so. “It gives you a lot of room to grow and is a great thing for now.” Wait a minute.  She didn’t say…

   Not too long ago, I was pondering something that had been on my mind for some time.  As a past conservative creationist Christian, it had been somewhat difficult for me to reconcile my spirituality with evolution.  Not because paganism conflicts with evolution in any way. In fact, I’ve found that most pagans love science and are quick to point out just how well it can coexist with new scientific knowledge.  So if there was no contradictory theology, what was the problem?  It was something that built up slowly, with every biology teacher who taught about humans’ place in evolution as if we came along just like any other animal,…

When Dreams Grow Old   Summer is a charged time for me. It feels like the air is crackling with desire and potential. Maybe it’s because we planted our hopes in the spring and the time for manifestation has come. Or because the moon has moved into Cancer and my watery spirit cries out in recognition. Old dreams spark to life, and I begin to think about making new ones. We’ve all had dreams since we were little kids. They evolved as we grew older, until we were finally old enough for the people in our lives to take them seriously. Dreams are a big deal in our culture, especially…

I came to paganism, like many of us, by way of books. They intrigued me, and once I got my nose into them, one led to another, which led to another. Many of these books were written by brave, public pagan figures who had recorded their knowledge so that I, an inheritor of that knowledge, could follow their bread crumb trail on a journey of my own.   The very first books I plucked off of the bookstore shelves and brought home with me were introductory Wiccan books. They did their best to describe just what Wiccans are and what they do, saying that “Wiccans believe this” and “Pagans do…

I came to paganism, like many of us, by way of books. They intrigued me, and once I got my nose into them, one led to another, which led to another. Many of these books were written by brave, public pagan figures who had recorded their knowledge so that I, an inheritor of that knowledge, could follow their bread crumb trail on a journey of my own.   The very first books I plucked off of the bookstore shelves and brought home with me were introductory Wiccan books. They did their best to describe just what Wiccans are and what they do, saying that “Wiccans believe this” and “Pagans do…