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Signs & Omens July 2026 – Where Divination Began: A History from the Bone to the Bird
Long before anyone wrote down the word for it, people were already reading the world. The problem for anyone who wants to tell the history is that the practice is much older than the record of it. Divination almost certainly reaches back into prehistory, into a human past that left us no texts, only objects. So a true history cannot begin where divination began. It has to begin where the evidence begins, and the evidence begins in bone, entrail, and clay. This is the first installment of Signs & Omens. Since we are only now meeting, a brief word about who is writing. My name is Kat Marshall, and I…
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Weyland’s Whey July 8th-August 14th Holly Tree Month Column
Holly. The tree, Pilgrim, not the Stephen King book. It’s an evergreen symbolizing protection, eternal life and the victory of light over darkness. Since it was rumored to repel lightning, it was frequently planted near homes. (Thor, the God of Thunder, is Himself associated with Holly.) The wood is quite strong and was used for spears and other weapons. Holly isn’t usually employed for wands, although the wood has been known to “select” a witch who is on a quest which requires protection. Think Harry Potter. (www.celebratepaganholidays.com/summer/celtic-tree-month-holly-july 8-august 4) The Third Quarter Moon, AKA the last quarter moon or a waning gibbous moon, symbolizes a time of introspection, translations and endings.…
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A World Re-Enchanted June 2026 – The Enchanted Road: A Tolkienian Spirituality of Daily Errands
One of the greatest shifts that occurs when moving from a modern magical worldview to a Tolkienian one is that nothing becomes magical because we impose meaning upon it. Rather, things become enchanted because we awaken to the meaning they already possess. This distinction is fundamental. In much of modern occultism, errands are considered interruptions to one’s “real” spiritual life. Grocery shopping, collecting prescriptions, driving across town, taking an Uber, waiting in queues—these are treated as spiritually empty intervals to be endured. Within Tolkien’s Legendarium, such a division scarcely exists. The world of Arda is not divided into sacred places and ordinary places. It is one great creation whose every…
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Weyland’s Whey June 2026 Litha/Strawberry Full Moon Column
Say it LEE-tha. It’s a Lesser Sabbat observed at the Summer Solstice, which is the longest day of the year. The 8 sabbats are divided into 2 categories–lesser and greater. Yule, Ostara, Litha and Mabon are the former, pagan seasonal holidays aka equinoxes and solstices. Greater Sabbats Imbolc, Beltane, Lammas and Samhain mark the midpoints of each season. Also called Midsummer, Litha honors the sun at its highest point in the sky. This holiday is linked to vitality, fire, growth and abundance, and marks when our days begin getting shorter again. Colors associated with Litha include green, gold, orange, red and yellow. This year Litha will occur on Sunday, June…
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Weyland’s Whey June 10th-July 7th, 2026 Oak Moon Column
Oak Moon Month. Fast facts: a Mighty Oak is also known as “The Father of the Woods”. They’re often strong enough to survive lightning strikes! Oaks represent wisdom, strength and nobility. Mistletoe frequently grows on Oak trees. The Summer Solstice falls during Oak Moon month. The Oak is associated with power and protection spells, fertility and good fortune, success and money. (www.karnreligous.com/celtic-tree-months-2562403, www.celebratepaganholidays.com/general/13-celtic-tree-months, sarahwayt.com/events/oak-moon-celtic-tree-months/) Weyland’s Interpretation: You’ve got potential this month, Pilgrim–the potential to truly improve yourself and draw more quality blessings into your life. Don’t try to do everything, select wisely and work to attract less of what you think you want and more of what you actually need. You know the difference. I…
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Art & Academia for June: An Ancient City older than Mesopotamia, Faerie Tale Theatre, & Salem Mass
It’s been a while, apologies! As many of you might be able to relate, I’ve found it so difficult to do much of anything due to the state of the world. Art & Academia is (what should be) a monthly article I write from curated art and academic topics that either directly relate to the pagan/witchy community or relate in the sense that I think the community would enjoy it. Since I love almost all forms of art and academia, I thought it would be fun to share with the world some of the pieces I discovered so we can all embrace our inner Renaissance Man. For the month of…
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A World Re-Enchanted May 2026 – Grocery Shopping and Cooking Mundane to Sacred
To approach this faithfully, one must begin from Tolkien’s metaphysical foundations: in Arda, sub-creation is the proper work of the Children of Ilúvatar. Even the most ordinary acts—making, tending, preparing—participate in a greater harmony when aligned with purpose, gratitude, and right intention. Thus, what modernity calls “mundane” would, for Elves, Dwarves, Men, and Hobbits, become extensions of their inner nature and their relationship to the world. The Hidden Unity Across all four races, the elevation of these tasks rests on three Tolkienian invariants: Right Relationship — to source, to material, to purpose Integrity of Action — doing the task well, not merely quickly Presence of Mind — awareness that even…
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Weyland’s Whey May 2026 Blue Moon Column
The Next Blue Moon will be on Sunday, May 31st. It’ll be the sixth full moon of the year. There are two kinds of blue moons. The best known and most common is when two full moons happen in the same month. (The second one is a blue moon, natch.) The other kind is when a season has a quartet of full moons. The third one of the four is a blue moon–actually, a seasonal blue moon. This month’s blue moon will be the last full moon of Spring and will be in Sagittarius. That will add power to an already formidable situation. A blue moon is magically stronger than a…
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A Stoic Discourse for Modern Pagans, Polytheists, and Magickal Folks
You have power over your mind-not outside events. Realize this, and you will find strength ~Marcus Aurelius, Meditations Stoicism has gotten its fair share of criticisms throughout history; oft misunderstood as a “stone cold, calculated” philosophy, many believe that Stoics, both ancient and modern, are unfeeling, cold and calculated people. That’s farthest from the truth; Stoics, both now and in the times of Aurelius, Seneca and Epictetus, do most certainly feel and process their feelings, just not in the way that current society expects them to do so. Instead of suppressing those emotions, the modern, and thus, Christian, practice of “turning the other cheek”, we instead remove ourselves (how about you look…
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Weyland’s Whey Hawthorne Tree Month (May 13th-June 9th) 2026 Column
Hawthorne, along with Ash and Oak, is a “faerie triad” month–ones especially inviting to the fae. C’mon down! (Ya think?) The Huathe symbol represents the energies of cleansing and preparation; it’s used in Celtic Reiki and has been known to clear the mind of negativity and confusion. (Sign me up!) No other tree in this calendar better represents the terrible struggle the Celts endured when they were forced to choose between Christianity and their old ways. The Hawthorne was known for healing and death. Some Celts saw hope and rebirth when adopting the new religion while others predicted the passing–as in demise–of their very race. (Yeah, that kind of choice.) (www.thegypsythread.org/sacred-tree-calendar-celtic/) Pluto stationed…
