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Learning Lunar: Moon Magic & Mystery – Imbolc
Imbolc, Full Moon into Waning Gibbous Imbolc or Imbolg is a very special time of year for many people on a Pagan or spiritual path. It’s also a continuously celebrated Irish festival, although many people celebrate Saint Brigid’s Day instead, which occurs at around the same time. Because there is no hard and fast date for Imbolc, the moon phase will move from full to waning gibbous during the time that people are celebrating this festival. Let’s take a look at what that might mean, magically, astrologically, and practically. Note: Imbolc is happening in the Northern Hemisphere. If you live in the Southern Hemisphere, you’ll be enjoying your full-to-waning gibbous…
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Weyland’s Whey New Moon and January 21st–February 17th 2026 Rowan Moon Column
The Thirteen Months of the Celtic Tree Calendar are associated with sacred trees. They symbolize qualities and individual growth through the cycles of nature. This calendar is a modern construct which comes from the work of Robert Graves, poet and author of The White Goddess (1948). He based his ideas upon his own interpretations of the Ogham alphabet, Celtic mythology, selenic cycles and poetic symbolism. The Rowan Moon is frequently called “The Tree of Protection”. It’s aligned with spiritual strength and intuition, shielding and higher knowledge. The Celts thought Rowan trees–which have red berries and white flowers–were good for magical work due to their protective traits. These trees are useful for meditation and…
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Notes from the Apothecary: Clematis
Clematis is known as a climbing plant that produces glorious, beautiful blooms in summer. In fact, there are so many types of clematis, many of which bloom in spring and some even in early autumn. Some have petite, pretty flowers, while others produce huge discs of colour. Some grow extremely fast, while others are more ponderous, ideal for small pots in limited space. Like humans, clematis plants embody diversity. Let’s take a closer look. The Kitchen Garden If you’re looking for a tasty addition to a practical kitchen garden, veer away from clematis. Every part of this plant is toxic, and you should encourage children and pets to stay away…
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Weyland’s Whey, December 24th-January 20th 2026, Birch Moon Column
The Celtic Tree Calendar, often used by modern Neopagans and Druid practitioners as a way (no pun intended) to connect with nature and olden Celtic spirituality, was inspired by Celtic and Druidic traditions. It’s primarily based on work of the poet Robert Graves, assigning a different tree to each of the thirteen lunar months, based on the Ogham alphabet, which was a medieval script used to write early Irish. Graves used letters of the Ogham to correspond to different trees, which he employed to develop the calendar. Modern pagans often use fixed dates for each of these lunar months instead of the waning and waxing selenic cycle to prevent this…
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Yuletide, Saturnalia and Closing Out 2025
Hello everyone, I hope you’re all enjoying your holiday season, and that it continues to go well for you. For many, this time of year is difficult for a multitude of reasons, including myself. While I won’t get into why, I do want to offer some closing thoughts for those who have had a less-than-spectacular 2025. For many, 2025 is the final shedding of the skin (it is the year of the Snake, after all), and that skin shedding process can be painful. Loss, death, change, and even dramatic life altering events are likely to have happened. Whatever 2025 brought you, I wish you resolution, peace, and joy as the…
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Cody’s Column: Cernunnos
A long time ago, before the old stories were recorded, in a land now far away from my own, deep in the forest…a shadow emerged from the underworld. A large hulking presence with antlers for a crown. He was calm, the forest creatures seemed to congregate around, and a glowing metal torc encircled his neck. He looked deep into my ancestors’ souls and reminded them that they were connected to everything around them and that the passage of death was but a bridge. The Antlered One and Hooved One they began to call him…Cernunnos, Cernunnos, Cernunnos. He blessed the fertility of the land and its people. A name that would…
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Weyland’s Whey Yule 2025 Column
Yule and the New Moon This Sabbat happens between December 20th and 23rd. The precise date varies according to Earth’s tilt and orbit. This year Yule will be observed on December 21st, a date that marks the longest night and shortest day of 2025 and symbolizes the move from darkness to light as the days grow longer again. The New Wolf Moon is going to be the last new moon of autumn (not a typo, Pilgrim–winter doesn’t start until December 21st, and Wolfie rises on the 19th) and will encourage setting new intentions as well as thoughts about personal growth and expansion, due to its association with the Sagittarius New…
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A World Re-Enchanted December 2025
December in the Tolkienian Imagination: The Waning Light and the Hallowed Stillness In a rendering of Middle-earth shaped for mortal understanding, the month that corresponds to December stands beneath the long shadow of the year’s turning. Though the Eldar do not reckon time by the same divisions as Men, they nonetheless perceive this portion of the cycle as an interval of profound quietude—a deep inhalation of the world itself before the sun begins its slow return. Among the Eldar, this season aligns with the late passage of Hrívë, the Winter season, when the air lies sharp with memory and the light thins like pale gold upon frost-covered lands. For the…
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Weyland’s Whey December 2025 Cold Moon/Supermoon Column
This Moon is a Bright Mistress The name Cold Moon comes from the Mohawk tribes, due to December temps. (Think “brr”.) The Mohicans called it the Long Night Moon since it rises in the lengthiest evenings of the year, around the Winter Solstice, and lingers above the horizon like a drone. It symbolizes transition and renewal. A time to ponder our dreams and goals. A supermoon is a full moon which happens when the Moon is at its nearest point to Earth in its orbit. Supermoons are energy boosters for traditional full moon esbats, magnifying psychic abilities while making possible the manifestation of fond desires. This will be the last…
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Our Favorite Places to Get Witchy Shit: The Modern Merlin
Hello everyone! It’s a snow day here in my neck of the woods in Northeast Ohio, so I decided to take the initiative this morning and kick off a new column series that we’re super excited for. This is going to be a collaborative column, with all or many of us here at the PaganPages family participating. As the holidays approach, many are traveling out of town to visit family, and we figured we could share our favorite witchy/occult/spiritual shops and businesses-whether a brick and mortar, small business, or online. Given the state of our politics in the U.S., we’re also looking at this as a form of protest-favoring small…
