At this time of looking back, memories and retrospect I want to share a wonderful experience I had a few years ago. I received an intriguing invitation: a workshop in making a death mask on Samhain with a small group! I didn’t have to think long and decided I’d definitely want to be there. We ended up being with 6 ‘wyld & wicked women’! Some had met each other before. At the time I only knew the hostess beforehand, so I had the privilege to get to know 4 wonderful women. First we had dinner at a beautiful Samhain-decorated table. We had a very yummy salad, delicious pasta with pesto…

Wendy Rule & The Green Album A month ago I went to a workshop and a living room concert by Wendy Rule in Haarlem. She is a ‘visionary songstress who creates spiritual music for the soul, taking listeners on mythic journeys of healing, love and magic with her pagan music’. I love her music and her way of teaching, so I was really looking forward to the day. The workshop was called The Magic of the Elements (a dark moon ritual for lovers of nature, magic and the moon). Sounds great, doesn’t it? And it was! Wendy was accompanied by her husband Timothy, also a very gifted musician. We were…

The Making of… Mr. & Mrs. Deer A few years ago after a full moon celebration with friends we were drumming and talking about making our own drums. Most of us had never done that before, but together we shared some experience. We decided then and there to get this show on the road! We had no idea what we were getting ourselves into though…. We prepared the best way we could and started fresh. We couldn’t find a lot of info on the www, except for some video’s on YouTube. I decided to document the process in pictures, for ourselves and for others that might be interested. Here’s the…

Tarot I have always had a love-hate relationship with the tarot. I love the beautiful imagery and symbolism, but it’s hard to be any good in it for a perfectionist like me! It intrigued me at an early age when I noticed tarot cards in a series or movie (I think it was ‘Live and Let Die’, James Bond), although most series, books and movies don’t paint a great picture of tarot… It is mostly portrayed as something strange and/or dangerous, used by dark characters, gypsies and other ‘strange folk’. The cards Death and The Lovers are often depicted and not always in their true meaning. Still, this sparked my…

About Foofur and Familiars 17 years ago I spent quite some time in the local pet shelter. I was a member of the foundation board and the local SPCA, but I also worked in the shelter itself, cleaning the kennels and everything else that needed to be done. One day a little dog was brought in for surrender with just another lame excuse. His name was Bambi and he was a crossbreed Jack Russell / Welsh Corgi, just 8 weeks ‘old’. It was love on first sight for both of us. I instantly loved the little bundle of joy that almost fitted on one hand. We were meant to be…

Spoon-fed Witchcraft I have always been interested in witchcraft, spirituality and related stuff. Since my teens I read lots of books, magazines and later on websites. When I wanted to actively start experiencing it, it was quite a struggle. It was hard to find good info and even, how could I know which info was good? There weren’t many books available in my local library about these kinds of subjects. One of the first books I read was ‘Book of Shadows’ by Phyllis Curott. It was a personal account of how the author discovered her path, but could also be used to try out things for yourself. Both sides of…

Witch Balls The last few months a certain object demanded my attention. In books, in my dreams, on the internet in places you wouldn’t expect… It took me some time before I figured it out, but in the end the message was clear: ‘the universe’ wanted me to pay attention and learn about… witch balls! Of course I had heard about them but I never really did something with it. Witch balls are hollow spheres of coloured glass that often contain a few thin fibres strung inside. They seem to originate in cultures that believe in harmful magic , evil spirits and such, to ward those off by hanging a…

About Devil Worship, Flying Besoms and Such. Or Not? Ever since I took my first steps on the pagan path I have been open about it. I’ve never really been in the broom closet. I don’t walk around brandishing it to everyone, but I don’t hide it. Being pagan is an integrated part of me; you can’t separate the witch from the woman, they’re one. I’ve never felt like hiding it, why should I? Of course I’ve had mixed reactions, but most of it was positive or neutral. People don’t have to like it, as long as they respect it. Nowadays people know more about modern witchcraft, thanks to the…

What’s in a Name? When I first got an internet connection years ago in the nineties, it was still in its infancy for private individuals. It was exciting and I was a bit insecure. There was so much to explore and I discovered lots of websites and forums. People told me “Don’t interact on the net with your own name, that’s dangerous!” So I had to choose a nickname on the spot. I couldn’t come up with anything at first. Then I looked at my little collection of Tinkerbell stuff that I had been collecting since I was a kid, so I decided I would use Tinkerbell. Hmm, there already…

House Cleansing and Blessing From time to time I cleanse and bless my home. We are living in an old house (1918) and a lot of people have lived here before us. It has been a dairy shop and later several families lived in 3 apartments. During the rebuilding I put a blessing in one of the walls downstairs and did some other stuff to claim it as OUR home. I had noticed other energies from the beginning, but most of them didn’t bother me at all. With a friend I did an extensive cleansing and blessing ritual. Together we went to every room in the house to remove old…