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Communing with the Essence
Gaia’s Creation Story of You — Lately I’ve been pondering the idea of what I used to believe was a “masculine” God up in the heavens out of my awareness of ordinary and earthly reality. I am now considering God might be deeply feminine or androgynous and the Essence of Earth otherwise known as Gaia. This view of God of course is very much within our scope of awareness and perceived reality as Earthlings and not “out there”, somewhere inconceivable. I realize this is not a new thought and not solely mine, however it feels like a huge epiphany for my embodied perception. If what I was taught to…
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Turning to the Dark – An exclusive poem for PaganPagesOrg by Mabh Savage
Turn to the dark, my love, Shield your eyes from the dying sun’s glare Give me your weathered hands, here Thrust them into my darkening hair Stroke my locks, my love, Twine them in your fingers tight Now you may look, open up, Take your first step into the night. Walk with me, my love, Take each faltering step Seeks the stars, the moon, Find where the secrets are kept. Take a breath of this air, so chill, Watch the ghosts in your steaming sigh, Turn again, this way, up the hill, Let us strive toward the sky. Feel the heart of the cooling Earth Feel the thrum of…
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Notes from The Apothecary
Notes from the Apothecary: Petunias Petunias: Both a beautiful garden flower and a star of the RNA-focused scientific community. Way back in the 1990s, scientists tried to create deep purple petunias by inserting the gene associated with this colour. Instead, the flowers just came out white! Further studies into this led to big discoveries concerning RNA interference and gene silencing, for which scientists Andrew Fire and Craig Mello received the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. But it all started with the petunias. Petunia is not a single species, but a genus of flowers that contains around 35 distinct species. They’re all in the Solanaceae family, which also includes…
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The Chrysalis – Poetry
A time of harvest, And a time of shedding. Of death, and beginning anew. Dark nights bloom as ravens song. And moon on ravens wings. The chill of the air and the crunch in the leaves. Crisp apples and the scent of decay. The lingering smoke of spent candles. Coalesces with the smoke of the fires. Tears, as we honor the memories, Those who have gone before us. The fetch the water for the next generations. As I shed my skin, As I crawl into this cocoon. I dissolve. Knowing my depths. Demons of the deep ocean, And stygian deep. Grand chaos.…
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From the minds of Aeor, a Series of Shorts
The Braleigh Affair There was a pounding at the door, late in the night. The gatekeeper tried to ignore it at first as it was too late for visitors, and too early for the morning deliveries. That only left one possible cause for such an incessant knocking: trouble. The Magus Institute was greatly appreciated and respected by most, but there were still some who feared magic and wanted to drive them out of town. Therefore, the gatekeeper felt well within his right to let the hoodlums banging on his door freeze in the cold night wind for however long it took them to finally give up and leave. That…
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Stellar Applications
Current Astrology Using Hermetic Applications Welcome to this issue’s Stellar Applications…. In this issue of PaganPagesOrg we are celebrating Samhain, the season of divination and seeking answers from the ancestors. Traditional Samhain (aka: Halloween) is celebrated on October 31st and Astrological Samhain occurs this year on November 5th. The Astrology of Samhain The energetic astrological imprint of Samhain is one of mystery, intuitive gifts, secrets, passion and more. The solar month of Scorpio holds the space for the parting of the veils and the celebration of Samhain on either date; the more traditional of October 31st or the astrological point that falls on November 5th –…
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Learning Lunar
Moon Magic and Mystery The Waning Gibbous Moon Welcome back to Learning Lunar, our regular column looking at different phases of the moon and how you can work them into your spiritual practice. For this Samhain edition of PaganPagesOrg, we’re looking at a waning phase of the moon for the first time: The Waning Gibbous Moon. What Does Waning Gibbous Mean? A waning moon is one that appears to be getting smaller each night, eventually culminating in a dark moon or new moon. As soon as the moon becomes full, the days beyond this are considered the time of the waning moon. A waning gibbous moon falls between the…
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The Halloweenification of Black Cats
As the proud kitty mama of my own feline void, we are going to discuss the associations that black cats have with witches and more especially, Samhain. Black cats are most often associated with Halloween, Samhain or witchcraft. In most Western cultures, black cats have typically been looked upon as agents of misfortune. In a lot of other cultures, black cats are seen as lucky. Bringers of prosperity and happiness. So just how did cats become so intertwined with witches? A number of Pagan deities hold the cat in high esteem. Bastet tops the list with being pictured as a being with a woman’s body and a black cat’s…
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Weyland’s Whey
For Your Deliberation If you were on trial for being a witch, would there be enough evidence to convict you? Goodbye, My Friend Our feline companion and familiar, Jinx, crossed over the Rainbow Bridge this morning. Old, gaunt and confused, we knew it would be selfish to keep him with us any longer. He was a champion. And he will be missed. Friendship Is Magic, Too by Weyland Smith It had been a while since I’d talked to my compadre Mihos. We’d been in the old coven together and had managed to stay in sporadic contact over the years. It would be fun to talk witchery with him…
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Pagan Prompts: Journal Prompts for a Witch’s Self Reflection – No. 1
No. 1: Environment is Everything Environment has everything to do with your magical and mundane success & health. This month’s Pagan Prompt: what does home look, feel, sound, taste, and smell like for you? How can your home be more energetically receptive and conducive to your work? This prompt is great to do in your environment as an observational exercise. And you can take this as a step toward exploring ways you can make your environment more your own. In Ayurvedic medicine, the first step to healing is identifying the flaws in the environment. It’s not uncommon for an Ayurvedic healer to visit the home of a patient, or…