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Witch & Popcorn
Review of Little Naz X- Montero Bright Blessings, Film Lovers, I’d like to use space in Witch and Popcorn to review a music video this month instead of a film or TV show. It’s done by an enterprising 22-year-old who was raised by a gospel singer, and self-isolated quite a bit on his teen aged years. Time Magazine named him one of the 25 most influential people for his internet presence in 2019 and he was the first openly gay person to win a Country Music Association Award. He’s been nominated for and won Grammys, and was listed as a 30 Under 30 on the Forbes list. While we…
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Video Book Review – Doctoring the Devil: Notebooks of an Appalachian Conjure Man by Jake Richards
Video Book Reviewed Doctoring the Devil Notebooks of an Appalachian Conjure Man by Jake Richards Publisher: Weiser Books 288 Pages Publication Date: 4/01/2021 Bright Blessings, The Appalachian Mountains stretch from Canada, through New York, and into the South, clear down to the Cumberland region and cover over 200,000 square miles. This includes 420 counties in 13 different States and are home to more than 25 million people. It’s where tons of European settlers from mostly Germany, Scotland, Ireland, and parts of Eastern Europe set down roots to call home when they immigrated to The Americas. Many Indigenous Native Americans, and people of African descent made the Appalachias home as…
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Celebrating the Old Ways in New Times
Celebrating the Old Ways in New Times for May 2021 Blessed May 2021! By now, many will have had Beltane celebrations, but some will hang back this year, continuing to social distance for safety during Covid times. A friend I met recently was asking me if I’d done online meetings for Sabbats, and I said I had not. Locally, the druid grove has kept up with that, and many are enjoying those broadcasts. Xtian groups have done many church services online due to the pandemic, but I wonder who remembers the earlier days of televised worship services. The Magic of Television (Photo by Bruna Araujo on Unsplash)…
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Celebrating the Old Ways in New Times
Celebrating the Old Ways in New Times for April 2021 Bright Blessings, I write this a little more than a week before the Spring Equinox, and I have exciting news. For the first time since falling ill a little over 6 years ago- I have found a sustainable job and reliable income. Not Full Time- but this is something I can do for as long as the job is available to me and even if I were to become extremely ill once again. The empowerment of accomplishing something I feared I never would gave me the courage to DO something for myself. I bought myself a necklace as a congratulatory…
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Book Review – The Grim Grand Grammarye: Making Sense of The PGM and Joining the Sabbatic Ecstasies by Coemgein Gowdie
Book Review The Grim Grand Grammarye Making Sense of The PGM and Joining the Sabbatic Ecstasies by Coemgein Gowdie 230 Pages Publication Date: 1/14/2021 Published originally on May 5, 2020, this book can be had, conveniently through Amazon’s Kindle as well as paperback through Amazon.com. It is confusing that on one Amazon site, it states the author is Isobel Gowdie, and another lists it as Coemgein Gowdie. Isobel Gowdie was accused of witchcraft and confessed in 1662 in Auldeare, Scotland. Her testimony was used extensively by Margaret Alice Murray, which in turn inspired Gerald Gardner’s Wicca, and scholars consider her vivid testimony of dealings with the devil as…
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Witch & Popcorn
Review of The 13th Warrior This beautiful film opens in the splendor of the ancient Middle East and we find our hero, Ahmad ibn Fahdlan, cast far away from home for having an affair with a married woman. He is banished for having an affair with a king’s wife to the land of what is called the home of the “barbarians” aka the Norsemen- Odin’s men, pagan Heathens! He and his hosts are told by a holy woman 13 men must go to the aid of Kind Hrothgar- yeah ANOTHER Hollywood take on the epic Beowulf- and the 13th Warrior will be no Northman. As a daughter of Odin,…
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Celebrating the Old Ways in New Times
Celebrating the Old Ways in New Times for March 2021 Bright Blessings! It’s below freezing outside, and we may get up to eight inches of snow in the next three days. I have been shoveling my backside off this month, because we’ve already gotten PLENTY of snow already, as The Cailleach reminds us it’s still her domain. Not for long! (Photo by Johannes Plenio on Unsplash) In just over a month, it will be Spring Equinox, and, according to weather reports, it will have warmed up significantly by then. Already, the days are longer, and seeds are out in stores…YES we got some seeds. Those who have read…
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Witch & Popcorn
Review of My 600 Pound Life Bright Blessings! The show I am reviewing addresses sensitive topics: body image, health, and the identity all of this creates. Magically, it addresses transformation, and the fact magic is a process that takes time. It’s not flinging one spell, uttering a few words, or “putting the energy out to the Universe” and then going off and forgetting about it. My 600 Pound Life streams on Hulu, and my husband and I have watched several episodes. Multiple individuals open up to share their struggles, and successes with the public. Some allow people to see them nude. They allow camera crews into their everyday personal…
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Celebrating the Old Ways in New Times
Celebrating the Old Ways in New Times for January 2021 Bright Blessings, and happy 2021! As it is between Sabbats, I get to pick what to write about, and I decided there is something I want to say to my Pagans. Without further ado… An Open Letter to My Pagans It has been over a year since I have seen some of you who I see regularly. Last Winter, we did craft gatherings, and Circles- and in January and February, we died back with the earth for a bit. I was planning to have more craft gatherings, and then Beltane. Then the virus hit. I canceled everything. A…
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Witch & Popcorn
Review of Behind You Bright Blessings, film lovers! I am reviewing yet another horror film! My favorite genre! This one was not as fun as some others I have reviewed, but it’s still a good film to discuss magical topics. It’s called Behind You, and here is a trailer to watch! The 2020 film follows sisters Olivia and Claire, whose mom has just died. They are brought to stay with their Aunt Beth, who they don’t know, while people try to reach their father. Right off the bat, their Aunt informs them they are not welcome, and it turns out she has good reason for this. While Aunt…