Montine Rummel
Montine is an astrologer, tarot reader, and occultist living on unceded Duwamish land that some call Seattle. A forever student, journalist, and queer gender-nonconforming femme, she spends her time listening to the stories people tell with the hope of understanding many more perspectives than her own. Recently diagnosed with ADHD and self-diagnosed as autistic, she is rediscovering the world through a neurodivergent lens and transforming her life to work smarter and not harder. She writes an annual called Book of My Shadows which explores different ways to use the energy of New and Full Moons for personal growth and exploration and one of her current hyperfixations is studying the Greek Magical Papyri.
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Focus Pocus
Focus Pocus: Deviating from the Norm Whatever “the norm” even is! (Photo by Natasha Connell on Unsplash) My practice has changed a lot in the past few years. Not only have I wanted to closely examine what I believe, who to learn from and follow, and what environments feel comfortable to me, I have also needed to adapt my practice to work for me in new ways as my Neuro Spiciness took a new direction which was triggered by the start of the pandemic. When the world stopped, so did my ability to keep track of where I was in space and time. After trying to get back…
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Book Review – The Light of Hermes Trismegistus: New Translations of Seven Essential Hermetic Texts by Charles Stein
Book Review The Light of Hermes Trismegistus New Translations of Seven Essential Hermetic Texts by Charles Stein Publisher: Inner Traditions 352 Pages Publication Date: December 6, 2022 This book is a unique compilation of seven texts and excerpts/fragments of texts that Stein considers to be essential to Hermeticism. These texts have never been published together and are translated by Stein from Greek or Latin. The included works are: The Theogony of Hesiod The Homeric Hymn to Hermes The “Poem of Parmenides” The Chaldean Oracles “The Vision of Isis” from the Metamorphosis of Apuleius “On Divine Virtue” by Zosimos of Panopolis The subject is introduced at the start of…
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Book Review – The Anticonsumerist Druid: How I Beat My Shopping Addiction Through Connection With Nature by Katrina Townsend
Book Review The Anticonsumerist Druid How I Beat My Shopping Addiction Through Connection With Nature by Katrina Townsend Publisher: Moon Books 168 Pages Publication Date: December 1, 2022 Most of us participate on social media either curating content about our own lives or following the curated content of others, or both. These moments shared are typically the happier and more positive side of the human existence, and even when they are not, they are still not usually any deep struggles that someone might face. This book is not that. It is an honest introspection regarding the author’s shopping habits, the impact these habits have on her family, and…
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Focus Pocus
My Life is Not a Greek Drama, but Thank You Anyway Eris During my year-long journey reading the Iliad and the Odyssey as part of Jack Grayle’s course Godsong, I noticed the way I perceive some of the gods in the stories differently than when I studied the texts when I was in college. Over the years life experience and therapy has shaped how I understand the actions of others and recently I found myself relating to the Goddess of Strife in a way I never expected. She is referred to as Strife in the Iliad Book 4, “whose fury never tires, sister and friend of murderous Ares,…
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Book Review – Pagan Portals: Abnoba: Celtic Goddess of the Wilds by Ryan McClain
Book Review Pagan Portals: Abnoba: Celtic Goddess of the Wilds by Ryan McClain Published by Moon Books 112 pages Publication date: October 1, 2022 Ryan McClain’s Abnoba: Celtic Goddess of the Wilds is a straight-to-the-point guide to learning about Abnoba, the Gaulish goddess of the hunt. McClain provides historical evidence of her with examples of artifacts found in the Black Forest region of Germany and references in ancient literature. He discusses similar goddesses of the hunt to help illustrate who Abnoba could have been, and also adds his own UPG to fill in the rest. The book includes epithets and…
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Focus Pocus
Working With the Gods When You Have ADHD Athena I recently took Jack Grayle’s online course Godsong, which is a year-long study of Homer’s the Iliad and the Odyssey and the spiritual takeaways that can still be made in today’s world (and I HIGHLY recommend it to anyone who is into mythology and/or classical literature!). One of my key learnings from this course, and particularly from the Odyssey, is how powerful the goddess Athena can be as an ally to those who have ADHD, like myself. First of all, Athena is a great shapeshifter who takes on the form of birds and humans as a method of persuasion and she…
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Focus Pocus
Working With the Gods When You Have ADHD Hekate “Goddess of transitions and thresholds, help me switch my tasks.” One of the fun symptoms of ADHD that I experience on the regular is difficulty with tasks. It’s not just doing the task that can be difficult but initiating the task and moving on to another one can all be equally difficult. For example, it’s hard for me to get out of bed unless I must, like my cats are absolutely starving or I must start work. Not too long ago I was standing in my kitchen annoyed with myself struggling to get something done that needed to be and…
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Focus Pocus
(Photo by Milad Fakurian on Unsplash) Spirituality & ADHD Brains are weird. It is the machine that keeps our body alive. Sometimes, it is the computer that has crunched the numbers and tells us, “Hey there’s a chance that thing you are about to do could kill us,” and other times it is the decision maker which determines maybe we are better off without knowing any of the details. It helps us understand the world and the people in it and helps us make the connections that are essential to our well-being and survival. It is also the part of us that can make us feel disconnected at times,…
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Book Review – Empty Cauldrons: Navigating Depression Through Magic and Ritual by Terence P. Ward
Book Review Empty Cauldrons: Navigating Depression Through Magic and Ritual by Terence P. Ward Publisher: Llewellyn Publications 288 Pages Publication Date: January 8, 2022 It is very difficult for many people who suffer from depression to talk about it. Some can discuss it with friends and family, some reach out to professionals, and the rare few share their journey on social media and other public forums. There is still a lot of stigma attached to depression and many choose to keep their depression a secret out of fear of being stigmatized or to prevent feelings of being further ostracized. Empty Cauldrons is a pagan perspective that takes a…
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Book Review – Naming the God – edited by Trevor Greenfield
Book Review Naming the God edited by Trevor Greenfield Publisher: Moon Books 248 Pages Publication Date: May 1, 2022 Naming the God is the latest anthology brought to us by Moon Books who published Naming the Goddess in 2014. This latest work is a collaboration of 70 essays that explores attributes of male deities and individual gods. The first part of the book offers 12 essays where the authors share their perspectives and personal practice working with various gods of different aspects. The rest of the book is arranged with a focus on one god. Many traditions and cultures are represented in this anthology and on its pages,…
