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What is the Grail to you?! The Grail stands as a beacon of hope and wholeness in the midst of the Wasteland created by modern Western materialism.  The potency of this symbol beckoning us back to living in harmony with both ourselves and the land around us is a myth very much of our time.  It speaks directly to wholeness and connection and reminds us that to bring the Wasteland back to fertility and lush abundance we must return to the Source that nourishes it. Our modern Society and education systems gives us few really useful tools to take with us on the great journey of Life.  We need knowledge…

The Road to Runes: Hagalaz, the Coming of Hail So, it was the turn of a different friend to pull a rune this time, and I wasn’t expecting it. On the spot divination, she pulled out the polished, burnt piece of hazel and looked at me quizzically. I had to admit to her that my studies had not taken me this far, and thus, my latest article was born. Pictured is the rune she pulled: Hagalaz, also known as Haglaz or Hagala. This rune literally means ‘hail’, and by what I have learnt, is a pretty fierce and somewhat scary rune to see in any divination. The Elder Futhark (the…

The Wild Rose of Druidry The Celtic path is unlike any other, unique in ways that mean so very much to me. The first blossom of this path is that it imposes absolutely no restrictions, except that one should not harm another (which seems like quite a sensible restriction to me!) In the Celtic pagan tradition, all paths are good, and everyone has total freedom to be, to wander into darkness and shadows, if one wishes, then out again into light. I searched for many years for a spirit tradition that would allow me the freedom I longed for, going through Congregational, Presbyterian, and Quaker phases over the past thirty…

Book Review – QUEEN UP! Reclaim Your Crown When Life Knocks You Down: Unleash the Power of Your Inner Tarot Queen by Angela Kaufman In our current atmosphere of #Time’sUp and #MeToo, this is the perfect book to come along. The Queens that are spoken of in this book are the Queens of the Tarot, but it also fits in with so many, adding the term “Queen” to the three-fold aspect of the Goddess. The author uses the archetypal energies of the four Queens in the Tarot, each representing a different element, to help us to meet, and work with, our Inner Queen(s), using a tarot deck and our intuition.…

Pagan Portals- Pan: Dark Lord of the Forest and Horned God of the Witches     Author: Melusine Draco Publisher Moon Books Length:96 Pages   I found this book to be a fascinating read. The author opens with The Orphic Hymn to Pan. She talks about the Coven of the Scales, of which she is the Principal Tutor, they worship Aegocerus “the Goat-God” and not Cernunnos. Ms. Draco puts forth the question, “How did the pre-Olympian Deity find his way into traditional witchcraft of Britain?” No other foreign Deity has been added to Traditional British Old Craft, so why Pan? Ms. Draco goes into some great depth on the history…

Book Review “The Tradition of Household Spirits: Ancestral Lore and Practices” by Claude Lecouteux, translated by Jon E. Graham Published by Inner Traditions English translation copyright 2013 Pages: 228 “A house is much more than a building. It is a microcosm, a living being with both a body and a soul. It speaks, even if its language is only creaking and cracking noises for the profane,” Claude Lecouteux writes in the introduction to “The Tradition of Household Spirits: Ancestral Lore and Practices.” “It speaks, even if its language is only creaking and cracking noises for the profane. Its wailings are evidence of an attack by hostile forces. … The house…

(en)LIV(en)ING with the Muses:The Hymns of Polyhymnia   (Image: Sculpture from the State Hermitage Museum) This is the Sixth posting of the (en)LIV(en)ING with the Muses Series Each time I have lost myself in the beauty of music, Polyhymnia has been whispering in my ear. Her name is derived from the Greek, “poly” meaning “many” and “hymnos” which means “praise. Her name is alternately spelled Polymnia. She is attributed with many gifts and depending on the territory of Greece that she oversaw, her garb and visage was adapted. Her primary creativity flowed through music, song and dance and in the more traditional sense she became the muse specifically of religious…

Beltane   (Hexenringe limited edition fairy ring screen print on handmade paper, by artist April Llewellyn of April H L Etsy shop.)   Also known as: May Day, Bealtaine, Beltane, Bhealtainn, Bealtinne, Festival of Tana (Strega), Giamonios, Rudemass, and Walburga (Teutonic), Cetsamhain (opposite Samhain),Fairy Day,Sacred Thorn Day, Rood Day, Roodmas (the Christian term for Rood Day, Old Beltane, Beltain, Baltane, Walpurgis Night, Floriala (Roman feast of flowers from April 29 to May 1), Walpurgisnacht (Germanic-feast of St. Walpurga), Thrimilce (Anglo-saxon), Bloumaand (Old Dutch) Date: May 1 Animals: Swallow, dove, swan, Cats, lynx, leopard Deities: Flower Goddesses, Divine Couples, Deities of the Hunt, Aphrodite,artemis, Bast, Diana, Faunus, Flora, Maia, Pan, the…

Judging Women – Ourselves & Others One of the things that stand out for me in the everyday world is how women judge themselves, and other women, so harshly. It happens between friends when one is unintentionally hurt by the words of others. In a friendship, for the most part, although there are exceptions, no one ever wants to hurt the other, but it happens. You apologize and, with hope, move forward.    Stop a moment and think about how much and how often we judge others; those we know, and more often, those we do not know.  This is especially prevalent in women; women judging ourselves and women cruelly…

Book Review Earth- Astrology’s Missing Planet by Chrissie Blaze Chrissie Blaze is a Spiritual teacher, professional astrologer, and columnist. She is an international speaker and radio show host of On the Edge with Chrissie Blaze, and Aetherius Radio Live with Body Mind Spirit Radio. Her new book, Earth: Astrology’s Missing Planet is a fusion of the traditional and spiritual perspectives applied in using astrology as a tool for discovery and growth. Earth is often left out of most traditional astrology readings; the thought being that we as beings of earth view the cosmos from the center-point of earth as our home planet. Chrissie brings the more esoteric approach, which includes Earth…