-
Learning Lunar
Learning Lunar: The Waxing Crescent Welcome to the next instalment in our Learning Lunar series, and the second about waxing moons, this time looking at the waxing crescent. The crescent moon is such an evocative image, found throughout history in the form of Roman pendants, Greek goddess statues, and even 16th century Christian manuscripts. Understanding the meaning of the waxing crescent moon could help hone your moon magic skills and increase your connectedness with the cycles of the moon and the seasons. What Does a Waxing Crescent Moon Mean? A crescent shape is instantly recognisable, and is basically a sliver of the moon—less than half, but beyond the dark…
-
Book Review – The Green Witch’s Guide to Magical Plants & Flowers by Chris Young and Susan Ottaviano
Book Review The Green Witch’s Guide to Magical Plants & Flowers by Chris Young and Susan Ottaviano Publisher: Skyhorse 280 Pages Publication date: June 6, 2023 Plants are my bag, so any book aimed at “Green Witches” is going to be hitting my shelves, sooner or later. The subtitle for this one is, “26 love spells from apples to zinnias,” which startled me a little, as the main title seems to indicate it’s a general guide, rather than a book specifically on love spells. Oh well—as with all things, I approached it with an open mind! First impressions, this book is gorgeous. The artwork from the cover design…
-
Book Review – Moon Phases by Cecilia Lattari
Book Review The Green Witch’s Guide to Magical Plants & Flowers by Chris Young and Susan Ottaviano Publisher: Skyhorse 160 Pages Publication date: April 26, 2022 The tagline for this book is “Use the lunar cycle to connect with nature and focus your intentions,” which straight away seems right up my street. I love moon magic, and indeed the science and astronomy surrounding the moon itself. I also focus on keeping my spiritual and magical path as connected to the seasons and nature as possible, so was keen to get a look at this book. There are thirteen chapters for the thirteen moons of the year, many of…
-
Notes from the Apothecary
Notes from the Apothecary: Asparagus June is the final month for harvesting asparagus in many places, which makes it an ideal plant to look at for our Summer Solstice edition of Notes from the Apothecary. This unusual vegetable crops up in plenty of mythology and folklore throughout the ages, and is used by many modern witches and pagans for love, lust, and luck magic, among other things. Asparagus, or Asparagus officinalis, is a perennial which means it grows back year after year. It’s a flowering plant, and, if left to mature, may produce small white or yellow flowers and orange berries. It’s one of those plants that looks wildly different…
-
Learning Lunar: Moon Magic and Mystery
Learning Lunar: Waxing Gibbous Welcome back to Learning Lunar, Pagan Pages’ column on everything moon-related! Last time around, we looked at the power of the Dark Moon and some of the differences between the dark moon and the new moon. Check it out here. This time, we’re looking at the Waxing Gibbous moon (not the new moon as previously advertised!) because that’s what phase the moon will be around the time of the Irish festival of Beltaine. What Does Waxing Gibbous Mean? A waxing moon means that the moon appears to be getting larger in the sky each night. Of course, it doesn’t actually expand and contract. The…
-
Notes from the Apothecary
Notes from the Apothecary: Columbine The columbine, or Aquilegia, is a striking flower, with hooked spurs that resemble either eagle’s talons or the heads of doves gathered together. It’s in the same family as buttercups (Ranunculaceae), which while isn’t obvious in the shape of the flowers, becomes more apparent when you look at the hairy stems and the lobed leaf shapes. There are up to 70 species of columbines that we know about, with colours ranging from bright blue to deep red. Also known as Granny’s Bonnet, these fantastic flowers carry a wealth of folklore and magical associations. The Kitchen Garden Columbine are one of those plants that…
-
Learning Luna: Moon Magic and Mystery
Welcome to Learning Luna, the new column exploring the moon, its mysteries, magic, folklore and other associations. The moon is revered in numerous cultures and spiritual practices, and is an important part of many Pagan paths. This column will take a look at the different phases of the moon and ways each phase may affect you, your magical or spiritual practice, or even the world around you. As Spring Equinox 2023 falls on a dark moon, this is the phase I’ve decided to explore in this issue. The equinox is March 20th 21:24 UTC, so check your own time zone for variations. Dark Moon versus New Moon This can…
-
The Road to Runes
The Road to Runes News: Possible Oldest Runestone Found in Norway What could possibly be the oldest known rune stone has been found in Norway by archaeologists from the Norwegian Museum of Cultural History. The stone is a chunk of sandstone, with clear examples of Elder Futhark runes inscribed upon it. The Historical Museum, connected to the University of Oslo, is calling this find “…a runic scholar’s dream.” The stone will be on display at the museum until February 26th. What are Runestones? The term runestone can be applied to any piece of rock that is found with runic inscriptions on it. There are thousands of runestones across Scandinavia that…
-
Equinox of the Heart – Exclusive Poem from Author Mabh Savage
A Brand New Poem from Author Mabh Savage, Exclusive to PaganPagesOrg. Equinox of the Heart March winds come before April showers May flowers Cleaning the earth Blowing away Winter’s chilling dust Remnants of rot Leaf piles dead Slushy, slimy heaps of Seasonal trash Yet busting out with life Wood lice, slugs, snails, early caterpillars Then birds that come to feast Blackbirds, robins, and now the mistle thrush Pecking industriously Through a compost carnival Early spring’s banquet Against a backdrop of Cautious blossom. My heart, my heart blooms like the Snowdrop the Crocus the Narcissus Waiting to be plucked To plunge me down into the Earth…
-
Notes from the Apothecary
Notes from the Apothecary: Wild Garlic Wild garlic or Allium ursinum is a fragrant perennial plant with tiny clusters of white flowers atop long, lush green leaves that don’t grow any higher than most people’s ankles. It’s also known as ramsons in Europe and ramps in the United States. Other related plants such as Allium canadense and Allium tricoccum are also called ramps or wild garlic, and just to be more confusing, you might also hear them called wild leeks or wood leeks. Whatever you call them, there’s no escaping the fact that these plants are one of the most delicious smelling harbingers of spring. In the woods…
