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Shadows Hello darkness, my old friend, I’ve come to talk with you again…. As I told you before I’ve always been a moonchild. I love the night. The dark gives me a safe, cosy and peaceful feeling. Life slows down, I slow down. I enjoy walking my dogs in the middle of the night. Deserted streets, the sound of silence, soft moonlight. A ship blows its horn in the distance. A lone cyclist races home through the dark. A pub owner turns off the light and closes the door. He smiles and nods. He knows me, a fellow night owl… I really don’t understand why ‘dark’ or ‘black’ has a…
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Charmed Forever The last year or so I have been re-watching the whole Buffy The Vampire Slayer, Angel and Charmed series. I have them all on dvd. I was (and still am) a huge fan of all three of them. They came out around the time I was getting more active on the pagan path for quite some time. So they weren’t my first encounter with wicca and witchcraft, but they arrived at the right time for me. They complemented my interests at the time and furthermore I just love fantasy series. Above all, Buffy and Charmed are about girls/women that take matters into their own hands. No being dependent…
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Beginnings A few days ago I was chatting with some pagan friends about our first steps on this path. I have always been interested in paganism, spirituality and related subjects. Due to all kinds of circumstances it lasted quite a long time before I acted on that interest. In the meantime I had read a lot of books. That’s always a good thing of course and I still read a lot about it, but the real first steps are when I started to act, to do, try out things I read about in the books, etc. In the very first beginning it was a solitary path for me. I…
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Moonchild The moon is a fascinating subject. Magically of course, but also in a scientific way. I like to learn facts about the moon, but I’m also interested in moon lore, moon deities, etc. I’d like to share some of my thoughts, facts and feelings about the moon. It often surprises me that quite a few witches know lots about the magic moon part, but lack any (f)actual knowledge. There’s so much interesting stuff to explore! The NASA moon website can keep you busy for hours: facts, pictures, projects, special kids programs, etc. Or go to the Wikipedia moon portal and start from there. Just some teasers, but…
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My Power Animals Some refer to them as totems, totem animals, spirit guides, animal guides, etc. I simply call them power animals. There are several definitions and uses to distinguish. I learned several, but to me my power animals are always with me. In meditations they accompany and/or guide me. I can ask them questions, or to bring me somewhere or to someone. I want to share with you how I met my power animals. I know a person can have temporary power animals too, but at the moment I have two permanent ones with me. Years ago I was at a workshop with Gavin Bone (author, lecturer…
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Crafty witch On the internet and around me in real life I see a lot of crafty witches. I like to make things too. I’ve made my own runes from willow wood, made my own drum, several brooms, etc. In the past I’ve done a lot like making paper cards, creative journaling, using all kinds of techniques. So… it’s not that I’m not creative or something. There’s a part of the crafty world though that I can’t find my way in, although I’ve tried several times. On Pinterest and Facebook I see lots of beautiful wool work: crocheted and knitted mostly. My mum learned me how to knit when…
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Holey stones Years ago, in my early days of walking the pagan path, I heard about holey stones for the first time. I thought they were called ‘holy stones’ until I heard the explanation: stones with one or more naturally formed through-and-through hole(s) in it. I was instantly intrigued by the idea, although I didn’t know anything yet of the meaning and uses. I started looking everywhere. I love stones and have always collected them. Crystals, but definitely common stones too. Even as a child I already drove my parents nuts by taking home lots of stones. So I was used to look for stones, but I had…
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The ones who came before When the wheel is turning towards Samhain I feel the veils between the worlds are getting thinner. Ancestors are always present and I honour them all year through, but their special time is coming… Samhain is one of my favourite pagan holidays, a major sabbat. The Halloween part with spooky features, pumpkins and the whole shebang are nice and enjoyable, but the other part is much more important to me. There are different groups I incorporate in honouring the ancestors. Of course there’s my own bloodline, but I also see it in a broader sense: the ones who came before. People that have…
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Pagan festivals During the last two months Ron (my husband) and I visited two more or less pagan festivals in The Netherlands. Very different, but at both we had a great time! In July we went to the Heartbonds Festival. It is a fairly new festival, this was the second edition. Created from enthusiasm, creativity and passion by two young women with a little help from their friends in a wonderful meadow in the forest. Ron is one of the volunteers. The festival is meant to be low-budget and affordable for almost everyone; meals and camping space included. Small-scale with free workshops and an inspiring market with artists…
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Dress code A few weeks ago I joined a discussion in a pagan Facebook-group about ‘what pagans/witches wear’. Almost at the same time I was asked to do a photo-shoot ‘as a witch’ so to speak. I really didn’t get it. Pagans are normal people that wear whatever they feel like. Do clothes make the witch? I don’t think so. Well, not in my case anyway… In my daily life I don’t dress ‘witchy’, whatever that may be. I’m most comfortable in jeans and a shirt (warm weather) or jeans and a sweater (cold weather). After some reading and asking around I found out what was meant by ‘witchy’…