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“Indigenous people don’t learn by looking outside themselves; instead, they learn how to remember the knowledge they already possess.” –Malidoma Somé (Dagara elder and shaman) I’ve been practicing and studying earth-based spiritual systems since 2000. In the process of trying to heal from deep depression and addiction, I’ve worked with many different teachers from many of the world’s traditions. In my darkest moments, I needed older, wiser, and mostly healed guides who could help me learn to listen to my inner wise one (A.K.A. Dreamer, High Self). When I was struggling the most on my life journey, I leaned heavily on their knowledge to get through those times and I…

Book Review The Bardic Book of Becoming An Introduction to Modern Druidry by Ivan McBeth with Fern Lickfield Ivan McBeth died peacefully at home on September 23.2016, and his name and work remains as that one of the penultimate Druids. Reading the introduction and the words of his partner, Fern Lickfield drew me into this book well before the actual meat of the book. And, the closing words of Orion Foxwood, completed a beautiful book of hope, teaching and wisdom in the way of the bard. This is a book of beginnings that offers those new to the path of Druidry solid foundation in a style of mystery and magick…

Crystals For Self Love & Drawing Love Into Your Life Well its February & we know what that means….love, hearts, chocolates and…..crystals!! Crystals are an amazing tool to use yourself if you are focusing on self love, and great for gifting to loved ones as well. There are crystals for drawing love of all kinds into your life. I feel its important to not get caught up in just relationships & partnerships on Valentine’s day. Not everyone is currently in a relationship, and some are not able to spend the holiday with their partners. None of these people should  be left out. Love is for the self first & foremost…

Baking Basic Bread I absolutely adore baking bread. To me, there is nothing more magical than the mixing of yeast and water and flour and sugar and salt to make a loaf of something nourishing and nutritious. If you have only had “Wonder Bread”-type bread, then you don’t know how fabulous real bread can be. I usually invoke Isis before I start a batch of bread. To me, Isis is the preeminent goddess of bread. According to Patricia Telesco, the Egyptians were the originators of leavening to make bread rise and that they had over thirty different kinds of breads. (Telesco, 53). They were also adept at brewing beer, which…

Contemplative Druidry During these dark winter days, when the pull inward is strongest, I want to bring up the topic of a contemplative branch of druidry. On my own path, I’ve been led into a silent lifestyle with two half-hour meditations a day, one focused on healing the planet and the other on whatever has arisen in my life that day. This practice has led me through a steady spirit ascension process, planes of light moving down into my aura for 2-3 weeks, then moving out as another color took its place from above. There have been 363 of these planes over 23 years of this continuing spirit practice, always…

The King of Wands (The King of Wands card is from the artist Ciro Marchetti http://www.ciromarchetti.com/)** We haven’t looked at the Court Cards of the Tarot for a while. This month we will return to the Tarot “royals” and get to know the King of Wands. First, we should review some foundational information. The 78 cards of a Tarot deck consist of 22 Major Arcana cards (dealing with broader and more far-reaching life experience issues, and archetypes that are easy for us to identify with and connect with at some point in our lives) and 56 Minor Arcana cards (customarily grouped into four categories or suits that represent the four…

Book Review Santa Muerte: The History, Rituals, and Magic of Our Lady of the Holy Death by Tracey Rollin I have always had a great attraction for the image of Death. When I was eleven, I received a Dover coloring book of Medieval prints and a box of watercolor paints. Many of the pictures I painted and used in collages but the picture of “Death and the Maiden”, I put on my wall after I painted it and it has been on one of my walls of whatever house I have lived in ever since. Let this sink in – I was eleven in 1971 and I am now fifty-eight…

3 Pagans and a Cat Podcast3 Pagans and a Cat Podcast Three Paths, One Journey, No Cat In this highly informative & entertaining podcast, three family members embroiled in wildly divergent traditions gather in one room to discuss, debate, and flat-out argue about their magical, mythical, and mundane lives, all for our education and pleasure. *** Each Month… we will share the previous month’s episodes with you from their site to help keep you up-to-date with their impressive podcast. While there, don’t forget to listen to this month’s as well, we wouldn’t want you to miss a thing! January 2019 Podcasts Episode 28: Fire Festival – Imbolc: You thought Car,…

Book Review The Green Witch: Your Complete Guide to the Natural Magic of Herbs, Flowers, Essential Oils and More by Arin Murphy-Hiscock Published by Adams Media Copyright 2017 Pages: 235 If you are starting down the path of a green witch, you will appreciate this complete introduction to the natural magic of herbs, flowers, essential oils, gems and more. This book is a slightly edited version of her book, “The Way of the Green Witch: Rituals, Spells, and Practices to Bring You Back to Nature,” published in 2006, also by Adams Media. The information is easily understood and put into practice. Arin Murphy-Hiscock describes the path of a green witch…

The Bad Witch’s Guide to Pagan Prayer (Photo by A L L E F . V I N I C I U S ? on Unsplash) A lot of people assume I don’t pray. This is wrong. I have a daily practice and that means I connect in some degree to what is sacred to me and within me, usually daily. My prayers can look like regular praying, or dancing, or cooking or nothing at all. Let us talk about what I mean when I say prayer. To me a prayer is the mental and spiritual and sometimes physical seeking of connection to the Divine within and outside of the…