• Reviews

    Mindful Souls Subscription Box Review

    Mindful Souls   I absolutely adore getting subscription boxes, and this one was an impulse buy after seeing the company advertised on Facebook. *Note: This box was not provided free in exchange for review. This review is entirely impartial and the opinion of the author only. Mindful Souls at mindfulsouls.com is a pretty, minimalist website offering crystals, jewellery, and other spiritual wellness products. The one that caught my eye was the Mindful Box, promising “Self-love and self-care” via a monthly subscription of crystals, aromatherapy products, and mindful jewellery. The price was more than I would usually have liked to have paid, but there was a special offer on: Usually £39.99…

  • Monthly Columns

    Notes from the Apothecary

    Notes from the Apothecary: Snowberry   Snowberry, or Symphoricarpos, is the name for 15 or so shrubs that boast gorgeous white berries. The plant is part of the honeysuckle family, and is also known as waxberry or the beautifully evocative name, ghostberry.     The inspiration to write about this plant came from my 13-year-old, who sent me this cute WhatsApp message on his way home (pictured). It’s lovely to be the “go-to” person for plant info, and nice to be able to give some fast advice on a potentially toxic plant! The interesting thing about snowberries is that, while they can be toxic, they’re also used medicinally in some…

  • Reviews

    Book Review – The Full Moon Yearbook by Julie Peters

    Book Review The Full Moon Yearbook: A Year of Ritual and Healing Under the Light of the Full Moon Written by Julie Peters Illustrated by Lauren Spooner Publisher: David & Charles Pages: 144 Rerelease Date: November 28, 2023     The subtitle for this book is A year of ritual and healing under the light of the full moon, which is bound to be attractive to anyone who follows a spiritual path linked to the moon in any way. I love the moon, and writing about the moon, reading about the moon, and even singing about the moon! So, yeah, I’m pretty excited to read any book that comes out…

  • Monthly Columns

    Turning to the Dark – An exclusive poem for PaganPagesOrg by Mabh Savage

      Turn to the dark, my love, Shield your eyes from the dying sun’s glare Give me your weathered hands, here Thrust them into my darkening hair Stroke my locks, my love, Twine them in your fingers tight Now you may look, open up, Take your first step into the night. Walk with me, my love, Take each faltering step Seeks the stars, the moon, Find where the secrets are kept. Take a breath of this air, so chill, Watch the ghosts in your steaming sigh, Turn again, this way, up the hill, Let us strive toward the sky. Feel the heart of the cooling Earth Feel the thrum of…

  • Monthly Columns

    Notes from The Apothecary

    Notes from the Apothecary: Petunias   Petunias: Both a beautiful garden flower and a star of the RNA-focused scientific community. Way back in the 1990s, scientists tried to create deep purple petunias by inserting the gene associated with this colour. Instead, the flowers just came out white! Further studies into this led to big discoveries concerning RNA interference and gene silencing, for which scientists Andrew Fire and Craig Mello received the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. But it all started with the petunias. Petunia is not a single species, but a genus of flowers that contains around 35 distinct species. They’re all in the Solanaceae family, which also includes…

  • Reviews

    Book Review – Icelandic Plant Magic: Folk Herbalism of the North by Albert Björn

    Book Review Icelandic Plant Magic: Folk Herbalism of the North by Albert Björn Publisher: Crossed Crow Books Pages: 306 Rerelease Date: June 27, 2023   There are, without a doubt, plenty of books out there on magical herbalism or green witchery. However, this is the first I have spotted specifically singling out the herbs of Iceland in a magical context. As the author notes, while the mysterious-seeming country of Iceland offers many folk tales and hidden beings, the plants of the island aren’t usually picked out as a point of interest. Albert Björn Shiell has neatly corrected that oversight with this animistic, practical, and beautiful book. This book is laid…

  • Monthly Columns

    Learning Lunar

    Moon Magic and Mystery   The Waning Gibbous Moon Welcome back to Learning Lunar, our regular column looking at different phases of the moon and how you can work them into your spiritual practice. For this Samhain edition of PaganPagesOrg, we’re looking at a waning phase of the moon for the first time: The Waning Gibbous Moon. What Does Waning Gibbous Mean? A waning moon is one that appears to be getting smaller each night, eventually culminating in a dark moon or new moon. As soon as the moon becomes full, the days beyond this are considered the time of the waning moon. A waning gibbous moon falls between the…

  • Divination Articles

    Road to Runes

    Road to Runes: Making a Rune Set Runes have been used for divination for many years, and are often incorporated into Norse-inspired magic and spiritual practices. While there are many digital tools for drawing runes, it’s normal to want to have a physical set of your own if you want to use them regularly. That way, you can draw a rune wherever you are, even if you’re in the middle of the woods or high up a mountain—although perhaps don’t go as far as to try and use them while hanging from a tree!     One of the cheapest and most satisfying ways to get your own runes is…

  • Reviews

    Book Review – Storyland: A New Mythology of Britain by Amy Jeffs

    Book Review Storyland: A New Mythology of Britain by Amy Jeffs Publisher: Andrews McMeel Pages: 384 Rerelease Date: August 23, 2023   Storyland is a collection of tales about Britain, from its origins to much more recent times. This book started as a collection of illustrations, then became a series of articles for Country Life magazine. Those original illustrations have made it into the book, and what illustrations they are! Striking images of otters and boats and giants hauling rocks make this volume a stunning visual feast. Unsurprising, considering that in the introduction the author explains how her experiments with linocut printing were inspired by illuminated medieval manuscripts. I agree…

  • Monthly Columns

    Poetry – Exclusive for PaganPagesOrg by Mabh Savage ‘Summer’s Last Hurrah

    An exclusive poem for PaganPagesOrg by Mabh Savage celebrating the last heady days of Summer before the Autumn Equinox and the final harvests, via the wanderings of a lone witch.     I say hi to the crows Perched on slate roofs Raucously gossiping   I admire the bees Purposeful in purple Claiming the lavender I dodge the ants Single minded march Carrying more than I   I nod to the magpies Superstition on wings Black and white made grey   I shiver in the breeze Late summer caress A promise of fall (But someone to catch)   I sigh in the sun Warm honey-pour bright The last, loving light…