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Gael Song Second Edition
The Hidden Gem of Solitude With most folks staying at home during this pandemic, I thought an article about solitude might be helpful. I’ve lived a contemplative life for twenty years now, mostly by myself, writing, meditating, in complete silence 90% of every day. Besides three mornings of volunteer work a week, my life is very, very quiet. When my last daughter went off to college twenty years ago, I chafed against the isolation but within a very few months, I began to cherish it and still do. What I discovered fairly quickly is that silence opens the doorway to the Otherworld. In general, beings on the other side…
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Pagan Events At Home Online Events
The UK Pagan Federation has put together a wealth of activities to join in with whilst safe at home. Every day of the week has had a different focus, with May looking to be the home for a range of Beltane themed “Garden Party” events, videos and talks. Over the last few weeks the Pagan Federation has run a mammoth schedule of daily events aimed at keeping the Pagan community engaged, supported and entertained. The schedule ran Monday to Friday as follows: Monday: Videos from various members of the Pagan Community Tuesday: A weekly online ritual to promote strength, peace, wellness, hope and resilience. Wednesday: Batty Nan’s Crafty Circle,…
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MagickalArts Second Edition
Creating Sacred Space The Experience of Sacred Space makes possible the “founding of the world”: where the sacred Manifests itself in space, the real unveils itself, and the world comes into existence … Mircea Eliade … What is Sacred Space? Read and re-read the quote above. Take it into your space of meditation. Analyze, dissect and observe it from all angles, perspectives and meaning. Try to feel the weight and breath of its meaning and allow the words to gently wash over you. Digest it and then simply sit with the feeling of satiety its inner essence provides. And, once you have done these things, redo them, one by…
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Book Review – Modern Wicca: Beliefs and Traditions for Contemporary Life by Rowan Morgana
Book Review Modern Wicca Beliefs and Traditions for Contemporary Life by Rowan Morgana 170 Pages I have never thought of Wicca as “modern”. In fact, back in the mid-to-late 1980’s, when I first began to explore this religion – and its co-religions Paganism, Heathenism, Druidism, and various forms of Witchcraft – it was routinely called “the Old Religion”. After reading books by scholars like Margaret Murray, Merlin Stone and Monica Sj??, among others, it made perfect sense to me that the ancients revered a great goddess over all and the rise of a patriarchal society gradually changed this to where the god ruled alongside the goddess but eventually took over…
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Tarot Talk 2
Comparing The 5 & 7 of Swords (image: The Rider-Waite tarot deck) Many Tarot cards have such strong and unique meanings that we can easily tell them apart. However, there are cards that are similar enough to each other that interpreting them when they both show up in a spread can be challenging. One method for coming to know cards in-depth is to break them down to their components; we have been using this method to study each of the 78 cards of a traditional Tarot deck. Now that we have completed our study of the individual cards, it’s time to use another method: comparison. This month, we…
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Book Review – Witchcraft: A Secret History by Michael Streeter
Book Review Witchcraft A Secret History by Michael Streeter 256 pages From Ancient Times until Today, magic has always been an important aspect of human life. Witchcraft: A Secret History explores the relationship between humans and magic, witchcraft and religion throughout the Ages. In Part 1 The Ancient World, Michael Streeter teaches the reader about the origins of witchcraft through stories of Hebrew witches and magicians to the Gods and Goddesses that were revered in ancient civilizations. Discussion is given to how these once revered Pagan entities fell out of favor and were replaced with the new religion of Christianity. Part 2 The Medieval World, explores the growth of…
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Book Review – Let Your Spirit Guides Speak: A Simple Guide for a Life of Purpose, Abundance, and Joy by Debra Landwehr Engle
Book Review Let Your Spirit Guides Speak A Simple Guide for a Life of Purpose, Abundance, and Joy by Debra Landwehr Engle 218 Pages “‘Let Your Spirit Guides Speak’ is a book about what it means to live a life that’s divinely guided by direct experience with Spirit,” written by author Debra Landwehr Engle. In it, she shares what she’s “learned about developing a collaborative relationship with guidance and the practical steps you can take to deepen your connection to a conscious, co-creative conversation.” Some people call these helpers spirit guides, others refer to them as angels, God, and light beings, in addition to entities with other names.…
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Pixie Witch Kitchen … A Second Helping
Yorkshire Pudding I thought for this months recipe I would do one of my favorite sides. Yorkshire Pudding. Nope its not a pudding at all, the name sure does confuse a lot of people. Its like an American popover but much, much better. Why do they call it Yorkshire pudding? The Yorkshire pudding was known as a “dripping pudding” because of its use of the juices from the meat — and was served as an appetizer to fill up the person due to the relative scarcity and usually small portions of meat that would be served. It is a British recipe started about 1737. It has been changed up a…
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Aether: A Magazine for Families
The Pagan Federation Community Support Team is always working hard to support Pagans and their families, and now there’s a special online magazine packed with stuff for families, kids and young people. The first issue came out around Imbolc and the next issue is due out at the Summer Solstice. The articles in the magazine are helpfully colour coded to show what age range they are recommended for, and it’s in a practical PDF form so you can view it on just about any device. And… it’s free! Articles from the current issue include: How to make your own oracle cards Pagan cooking with Kitchen Witch, Rachel Patterson Community reviews…
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Book Review – Pop Magick: A Simple Guide to Bending Your Reality by Alex Kazemi
Book Review Pop Magick A Simple Guide to Bending Your Reality by Alex Kazemi 208 Pages … Magick is the art of utilizing natural forces around us to bring about change. I stand for change. That ‘s what this book does. It brings change-change of thought, change of action, change of spirit…. Magick is neutral-neither good nor evil. Take this book for what it is: a look behind and beyond the mirror. Come on the journey…. – Foreward by actor, Rose McGowan Pop Magick: A Simple Guide to Bending Your Reality by Alex Kazemi is a compact hard cover book that covers a very broad and diverse selection…