• Monthly Columns,  Spells & Rituals

    Celebrating The Old Ways in New Times

    Celebrating The Old Ways in New Times for June/July 2022 Bright Blessings! By the time you read this, you may be saying, “It’s too HOT!!!!!” and are wishing for Fall time again! Think about just weeks ago, wishing Wintertime away because it was SO cold! Well…the weather will get hotter in Summer, and by the time you read this article, you may have your Summer Solstice plans underway! For some, this will be the first Summer in a couple of years they have felt safe to gather for Sabbat. What a wonderful feeling it is again to see soul kin. What better time than on a Solstice in Summer when…

  • Monthly Columns,  Spells & Rituals

    Notes from the Apothecary

    Notes from the Apothecary: The Beech Tree   The common beech, or Fagus sylvatica, is a majestically large deciduous tree, native to North America and Europe, and a vital part of the ecosystem thanks to being home and food to many forms of wildlife. There are other beech species, all in the Fagus genus, with some native to Asia, including Fagus japonica, the Japanese blue beech, and Fagus engleriana, the Engler or Chinese beech. In the U.K. where I live, we often see “Copper Beeches”, which have distinct, purple-bronze leaves and look like they’re straight out of a fantasy tale. Interestingly, this isn’t a different species, but a carefully cultivated…

  • Monthly Columns,  Spells & Rituals

    Peeking in the Shadows: Crafting a Book of Shadows and Light

      We begin a journey through the Witch’s Wheel of the Year for 2022!   The Witch’s Wheel of the Year     What is the Wheel of the Year? The Wheel of the Year marks the Sun’s journey across the sky, the solstices, equinoxes and the Earth’s changing seasons. Each spoke of the wheel marks an important moment of progression and change in the Earth and in accord with that progression a celebratory festival is aligned. These celebrations are called Sabbats. The Wheel of the Year is also a reflection of the recurring cycles of the Natural world. Traditionally, these celebrations were very closely tied to the cycles of…

  • Spells & Rituals

    SpellCrafting: Spells & Rituals

    Easy Imbolc Merry Meet! I celebrate sabbats on the astrological dates. This year, astrological Imbolc falls on Thursday, February 3. Below is a list of easy ideas I’ve collected to help you do something simple yet meaningful for the sabbat. Light a candle at dawn to greet the sun, or at some point during the day, light every candle in the house and offer a short blessing. Gather up all your candles and bless them. Prepare for the coming spring with some house cleaning. Rather than doing the whole house, which is overwhelming, pick one thing: organize a bookcase, clean a cupboard, or strip the bed and wash the linens,…

  • Spells & Rituals

    Dream Achievement Spell

        I have always felt a pull to live off the land, like it’s my life’s purpose to homestead. I’ve always sought a deeper connection with the earth around me and have wanted to be able to have a long term connection with a specific piece of nature with time to nurture and build it. Because of this pull I have fashioned my entire life around this goal, thankfully finding a wonderful partner and friends to do it with. We live out of a skoolie, my friends out of their own, which is almost fully converted specifically to find the place we feel a pull or need to call…

  • Monthly Columns,  Spells & Rituals

    Celebrating the Old Ways in New Times

    Celebrating the Old Ways in New Times for October 2021   Bright Blessings and Happy Fall!!!!! I write this two days before fall Equinox, knowing you will read it after it occurs, and we are headed to Samhain, final harvest. In years past, I have written on many things from historic and modern observances to how to prep the garden for winter in ways that benefit wildlife. This year, I have something different on my mind I’d like to focus on. Being thankful. Before I delve into that topic more, I will write about some of the history of Samhain, however.   What is Samhain? Samhain is a Pre-Christian Pagan…

  • Monthly Columns,  Spells & Rituals

    Peeking in the Shadows: Crafting a Book of Shadows and Light

      This month continues a series of exploration about Our Relationship to the Divine….   Our Relationship to the Divine Part Four: A Ritual of Calling to the Divine     …. The Divine flows within me. The Limitless All supports me. All Beings of Spirit and Essence are my teachers. I AM the corporeal out-picturing of the Divine’s desire…   Ritual brings us closer to whomever or whatever we are hoping to deepen a connection with. It is through ritual that we learn more of ourselves and step more fully into the true nature of who we are as Divine Beings learning the ways of physical and corporeal existence.…

  • Monthly Columns,  Spells & Rituals

    GoodGod!

    Meet the Gods: Nun   The oldest of ancient Egyptian gods is Nun (also Nu), the father of Ra, the sun god. Nun means “primeval waters.” Although the Egyptians had many creation myths, all agreed the universe came from Nun’s primordial waters. The sun rising from the sea each morning was considered a reenactment of the creation myth. Legends have said at the end of the world, everything will sink beneath the waters of chaos from which creation begun. No priesthoods, cults, or temples were devoted solely to Nun, but when digging foundations for temples, Egyptians dug down until they reached water so the temple was literally rising out of…

  • Monthly Columns,  Spells & Rituals

    Celebrating the Old Ways in New Times

    Celebrating the Old Ways in New Times for September 2021 Bright Blessings, I write this on the day the plans I’ve had since 2009 have finally started to come to fruition, and it’s not entirely hit me just yet. I’ve been trying to move out of the condo where we live since then. I even left my husband for nearly two years at one point because I wanted to leave so badly! After a disastrous encounter with one of the neighbors who is a dangerous criminal, we busted our backsides for a few months- and we got this place sold. We sacrificed our time, our money, and our energy- but…

  • Monthly Columns,  Spells & Rituals

    Celebrating The Old Ways in New Times

    Celebrating The Old Ways in New Times for August 2021 Bright Blessings! Lughnasadh is upon us, and is it ever hot! We are due to have heat advisories the next two, possibly three days in my town, and the dog is displeased with how short of a distance I allow her for walks. Exacerbating that is the fact they decided to pour asphalt on our street, so I don’t even want to go outside at all. I spend a lot of time outdoors but truthfully, I don’t remember ever having the issues with heat that I have this year. Have I ever changed! I can remember I thought my mother…