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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Book Review – Pagan Portals – Frigg: Beloved Queen of Asgard by Ryan McClain
Book Review Pagan Portals – Frigg: Beloved Queen of Asgard by Ryan McClain Published by Moon Books 112 pages Publication date: February 1, 2024 Ryan McClain is back with his second book, Frigg: Beloved Queen of Asgard, published by Moon Books. Like his first book Abnoba: Celtic Goddess of the Wilds, his latest work is a deep dive into one goddess, exploring the origins, lore, roles and symbols, relationships with other gods and goddesses, and suggestions for those who wish to venerate the goddess. Frigg has been a large part of McClain’s practice for seven years and the book is a result of the studying he has done to incorporate…
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Focus Pocus
Finding Inspiration When You’re Overwhelmed (Litha 2023) Everyone has probably felt overwhelmed from time to time, but those who are neurodivergent might experience overwhelming feelings differently, more frequently, or both. It’s easy for us to feel overwhelmed in overstimulating environments, our brains are always scanning the world around us, thinking at what feels like five times the speed of light, making connections upon connections, and our neurodivergent brains don’t help us filter a lot of the noise out. This can leave us anxious, paralyzed, and feeling like we’re stuck or out of control and can act like a huge barrier when we are trying to get ourselves together, especially…
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Focus Pocus
Odysseus Probably Had ADHD Ever since I was diagnosed with ADHD, I’ve been looking for role models I can learn from. There are many celebrities, athletes, and influencers who speak out about their experiences and I find it inspiring to hear their stories. Simone Biles, Emma Watson, and Scott Kelly are just a few of the famous people I admire and hearing about their struggles and their achievements helps me remember that I can achieve a lot of things myself. I also like to observe other people and see if any ADHD-like characteristics emerge, or any other neurodivergent traits. I do this with the intention of better understanding someone…
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Book Review – Church of Birds: An Eco-History of Myth and Religion by Ben Gagnon
Book Review Church of Birds: An Eco-History of Myth and Religion by Ben Gagnon Publisher: Moon Books 248 Pages Publication Date: April 1, 2023 Church of Birds is a compendium of myths, artifacts, and observations of birds throughout the history of humankind and their role in helping our ancient ancestors survive, thrive, and strive to be more connected to the gods and the natural world. Chapter 1: The Language of Birdsong discusses the similarities between the songs birds sing and the evolution of human speech. The author mentions myths from civilizations around the world that have humans descendant from birds at the time of creation. It has myths…
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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…
