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Learning Luna: Moon Magic and Mystery
Welcome to Learning Luna, the new column exploring the moon, its mysteries, magic, folklore and other associations. The moon is revered in numerous cultures and spiritual practices, and is an important part of many Pagan paths. This column will take a look at the different phases of the moon and ways each phase may affect you, your magical or spiritual practice, or even the world around you. As Spring Equinox 2023 falls on a dark moon, this is the phase I’ve decided to explore in this issue. The equinox is March 20th 21:24 UTC, so check your own time zone for variations. Dark Moon versus New Moon This can…
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Focus Pocus
Focus Pocus: Deviating from the Norm Whatever “the norm” even is! (Photo by Natasha Connell on Unsplash) My practice has changed a lot in the past few years. Not only have I wanted to closely examine what I believe, who to learn from and follow, and what environments feel comfortable to me, I have also needed to adapt my practice to work for me in new ways as my Neuro Spiciness took a new direction which was triggered by the start of the pandemic. When the world stopped, so did my ability to keep track of where I was in space and time. After trying to get back…
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Stay in Your Magic, Keep in Your Power an Excerpt from “Happy Witch” by Mandi Em
Stay in Your Magic, Keep in Your Power (Excerpted from “Happy Witch” by Mandi Em) Magic can help you feel powerful, but there can be a big difference between the way you feel post-ritual and the way you feel as you’re going through your mundane life. The feeling of connectedness and otherworldly magic can get lost in the shuffle sometimes when the day-to-day chaos starts piling up, leaving you feeling zapped and depleted. No more! Cultivating a magical life can be the antidote to feeling pressed by the mundane and disconnected from your power. This is the big secret of the craft: It allows you to keep perspective of the…
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Witch Hunt
There are witches all around us. You can find them anywhere… The Witch on Wheels has been documenting her findings. Meet Cheyenne Falls I met Cheyenne and her fiancé as they began building their skoolie at the homestead in Georgia I visit twice a year. We got to talking about our paths. One of the things I liked is that she, too, worked with death, and was not squeamish about bones and such. I also enjoyed the meals we shared, typically with her doing the cooking. Working in the lodge kitchen, the range was her altar, a wooden spoon her wand, pots and pans her cauldron, food her…
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Poetry by Angela C Wood
Witch’s Trance counting down from 5 to 1 relax your body and mind reaching down to number 4 seeing 3 so you see more for 2 it takes you to the deep finding love and finding peace I will bring you to this dance fully charged in the Witch’s Trance release your worries and your woes feeling lifted as your light grows charging up to find the truth getting rid of what’s no use enjoying peace and harmony in this place will show your power, strength and ability to nurture the seeds you sow a time for you, your needs are met goals and…
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Good God!
Meet the Gods: Attis One of the gods associated with Ostara is Attis (also spelled Atys, Attis, Attin), the mythical consort of Cybele, the Great Mother of the Gods. The two, most likely indigenous to Asia Minor, were worshipped annually upon the return of spring. While there are several different myths, all end with Attis castrating himself and either dying under a tree or being transformed into a fir tree. Zeus is said to have granted that his youthful body never decay. In some of the many tales, Cybele is Attis’ mother; in others Attis is a young, handsome, human shepherd whom Cybele loved and made her priest,…
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Jazz’s Gems
Apache Tears Apache tears I find to be an underrated stone. Personally, I have relied on it to get me through some tough times, and it is certainly one of my favourite and most useful in my collection. I suffer from trauma issues, and if you do too- get yourself some Apache tears! If you suffer from depression, anxiety or are going through grief or loss, this is also very helpful as it brings supportive energies that can provide relief. Apache tears are a form of Obsidian but are more lightweight and porous. They are volcanic glass and are classed as a mineraloid. It consists mainly of silicon dioxide, and…
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Crystal Magick
Imbolc also called Saint Brigid’s Day or Candlemas or Oimelc, is the Pagan Sabbat based on a Gaelic traditional festival celebrating the Spring. It symbolizes the halfway point between the winter solstice (Yule) and the spring equinox (Ostara). The word “imbolc” means “in the belly of the Mother,” because the seeds of spring are beginning to stir in the belly of Mother Earth, or Gaia. To celebrate Imbolc, some modern day pagans focus on celebrating Brigid by setting up an altar with the symbols of Brigid, like a corn husk doll, white fowers, a bowl of milk, and candles. Other pagans aim their rituals towards the cycles of…
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Equinox of the Heart – Exclusive Poem from Author Mabh Savage
A Brand New Poem from Author Mabh Savage, Exclusive to PaganPagesOrg. Equinox of the Heart March winds come before April showers May flowers Cleaning the earth Blowing away Winter’s chilling dust Remnants of rot Leaf piles dead Slushy, slimy heaps of Seasonal trash Yet busting out with life Wood lice, slugs, snails, early caterpillars Then birds that come to feast Blackbirds, robins, and now the mistle thrush Pecking industriously Through a compost carnival Early spring’s banquet Against a backdrop of Cautious blossom. My heart, my heart blooms like the Snowdrop the Crocus the Narcissus Waiting to be plucked To plunge me down into the Earth…
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Notes from the Apothecary
Notes from the Apothecary: Wild Garlic Wild garlic or Allium ursinum is a fragrant perennial plant with tiny clusters of white flowers atop long, lush green leaves that don’t grow any higher than most people’s ankles. It’s also known as ramsons in Europe and ramps in the United States. Other related plants such as Allium canadense and Allium tricoccum are also called ramps or wild garlic, and just to be more confusing, you might also hear them called wild leeks or wood leeks. Whatever you call them, there’s no escaping the fact that these plants are one of the most delicious smelling harbingers of spring. In the woods…