Imbolc 2016 for Celebrating the Old Ways in New Times Bright Blessings! It’s about a week before my Yule Celebration with friends, and already, I am putting together my 2016 Imbolc article. Time does fly. Last year, I wrote about the ancient focus on the goddess Brigid, and how modern Catholics keep her traditions alive. The ritual I submitted focused on self-change at the time of Spring’s first awakenings. That article can be found here: https://paganpages.org/emagazine/2015/02/celebrating-the-old-ways-in-new-times-6/ My article had a working to initiate self-change. My own self- change was focused on eating better. I improved some, and then I did not improve any further. Something happened a couple of months ago…

The Rites of Death for Celebrating the Old Ways in New Times I get to pick the topic this time! It is one that addresses a major rite of passage, and perhaps the one that is most frightening and painful. Death. Over the course of human civilization, beliefs as to what happens to us after our bodies die have changed drastically. Many favor the belief that upon death, we go to a beautiful place and are reunited with loved ones. This is certainly what I like to believe. Not everybody has seen it that way over the years, and we all know monotheistic faiths tend to favor a belief in…

  On Initiation and The Old Ways   As we are in-between Sabbats, I thought I would submit an article on a different topic. Initiation. It is certainly a sacred event in and of itself, and it is also a hot debate topic in Paganism today. Introduction I had a couple of conversations recently that made me think deeper on the topic of initiation and the way Pre-Christians did things. One source I am too lazy to dig up states that the earliest discovered human burial was from about 100,000…ish years ago, and it is believed by some to be the first evidence of religion. It is said this shows…

Samhain 2015 for Celebrating the Old Ways in New Times   This article is cheating. I admit it. I was looking over last year’s article to ensure I did not write close to the same thing this year, and I stumbled upon the file for the talk and ritual I gave at our Samhain last year. It was conveniently and entirely different from last year’s article. Of course, memories came flooding back. Each Sabbat and gathering is packed with good memories with loved ones. Samhain, the time for honoring the dead, is a good time to connect with the living as well. In pre-Christian times, it was a time of…

Celebrating the Old Ways in New Times Mabon 2015 I have been so busy gardening and learning about seeds, soil, and planning next year’s planting that Mabon, or second harvest, snuck up on me this time. I just can’t believe how fast this year is going by! Friends all shared their first harvests at Lughnasadh time. Some grew veggies, others flowers and herbs. Everybody gave thanks for the first things they harvested. My husband was so proud to bring the first tomato and the first berries of the season in to eat. Fast forward a month and a half, and we are cleaning up some garden debris and saving seeds…

I live in Westerville, Ohio. In the past weeks, big things have happened that have reminded me that I was a historic tour guide and am the daughter of a cemetery worker. My understanding of the dead and the past is unusual due to these things. First off, as to the cemeteries, mom sold cemetery property and directed funerals for over twenty years. I went along for appointments in people’s homes while they were discussing grave markers, caskets, what type granite they preferred, what size urn or vase they preferred, etc. I knew how to behave at a funeral and how to be a comfort to strangers mourning the death…

Lughnassadh 2015  The warm season is going by fast, isn’t it? Can you believe Lughnasadh, the beginning of harvest is nearly upon us? This year’s harvest will not be so great for some of us. El Nino began messing things up for some of us in March. Drought in California, flooding in Texas and Oklahoma, and the first four months of this year were the highest on record, according to NASA. Some would say this is global warming and that we should recycle and ride our bicycles more. Regardless of what is causing this, harvests will be drastically affected. Even in my own garden in Ohio, I lost almost all…

Midsummer 2015 for Celebrating the Old Ways in New Times The Summer Solstice is the longest day of the year, and afterwards, the days begin to shorten. The Sun is at it’s highest point, and at it’s strongest this Sabbat. It is still going to get warmer, and the wheel is turning towards harvest time. If you are in Finland, “the land of the midnight sun”, this is the time of year there is practically no darkness at all due to location. All Winter, some of us look forward to this time of year when it is warm, the sun rises early, everything is green and growing, and it feels…

Celebrating the Old Ways in New Times Midsummer 2015   Ladies and Gentlemen, I have done something completely out of character as Midsummer approaches. I have come to the conclusion it is not important to be right. Not always. Like many of you, I have opinions. Strong ones. Opinions I always said you were all entitled to. Before you tell me opinions are like toes, we all have them, and mine don’t make me special, let me assure you that I have always worked very hard to ensure my opinions are the best possible ones! You see, I am an educated person. I back up my opinions with facts and…

Spring Equinox Here comes Vernal Equinox! Thankfully! I don’t know about you folks, but I am dog tired of wintertime. This winter has been especially trying because I am struggling with an illness. I begin this months article on the day I saw a specialist it took me over six months to get in to see, and who is finally taking the steps needed to initiate my healing. New life and growth are certainly on my mind right now! The illness started just after Beltaine, and although it was the warm season when I first began struggling with this, the wintertime has made it all the more difficult. I do…