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The Seven Archetypal Stones: Their Spiritual Powers and Teachings     As the daughter of a rockhound, and a mineral lover myself, I have quite a few books on crystals. What makes this book special is that it focuses specifically on seven minerals, Obsidian, Jade, Lapis Lazuli, Emerald, Amethyst, Quartz and Diamond. Published by Destiny Books, and written by Nicholas Pearson, this 293 page book offers an in depth exploration that includes each stones spiritual uses, history, lore, chemical make up and geology. What is an archetype and how does it pertain to crystals? Pearson explains, “Archetypes serve as the original blueprints, the master molds, the perfected state for any…

Cliodnha (Photo Credit : Pinterest) Cliodnha, known as the Queen of the Banshees, or Queen of all the Fairies of the HIlls, is part of the Tuatha Du Danaan, subject to the Goddess Danu. Cliodnha presides over Tir Tairngire, or the Land of Promise, a place of happy feasting, with no aging, violence, death or decay, which some say is the Celtic Otherworld. She has three colorful birds, who eat apples from a tree in that Otherworld, that can heal the sick with the beauty of their song. (Photo Credit: wolfanita@deviantart) She is a Goddess of love and beauty. She would take the form of an enchantingly beautiful human woman…

  Book Review of Epona: Hidden Goddess of the Celts by P.D. Mackenzie Cook   The author, P.D. Mackenzie Cook, a life-long pagan, has written an amazing book. While it is a book of the Goddess Epona, it also contains a wealth of information about early Goddess worship and the birth of patriarchy. He discusses how the changes to a male dominated culture came about slowly and changed the landscape of civilization and *attempted* to wipe out the Goddess, and Her worship. Mr. Cook’s love of Epona shines forth in every word, as he discusses Her symbolism, the animals and plants associated with Her, as well as, of course, the…

Also known as Summer Solstice, Litha, Alban Hefin, Sun Blessing, Gathering Day, Feill-Sheathain, Whit Sunday, Whitsuntide, Vestalia, Thing-tide, St. John’s Day In addition to the four great festivals of the Pagan Celtic year, there are four lesser holidays as well: the two solstices, and the two equinoxes. In folklore, these are referred to as the four ‘quarter-days’ of the year, and modern Witches call them the four ‘Lesser Sabbats’, or the four ‘Low Holidays’. The Summer Solstice is one of them. Date 21/22 Purpose Rededication to the Lord and Lady, beginning of the harvest, honoring the Sun God, honoring the pregnant Godddess Dynamics/Meaning Crowning of the Sun God, death of…

Foreword This is a story about a chance experiment in consciousness I suddenly tried at the age of twenty-two which turned my life in a different direction. Over thirty-two years later, the experiment is still going on. Or was it chance? Accounts of similar experiments were certainly in the air: in 1968, a graduate anthropology student named Carlos Castaneda published The Teachings of don Juan: a Yaqui Way of Knowledge, describing his experiences learning native American sorcery from an alleged Yaqui brujo named don Juan Matus. I picked it up at the Aztec bookstore at San Diego State University. Wisdom from this hemisphere was a novelty to me back then.…

  GUARDIANS OF SOUL This painting was made while I was enrolled in Sandra Ingerman’s shamanic teacher training program in Santa Fe (in 2012 – 2013). She is the author of the seminal book Soul Retrieval: Healing the fragmented self. It describes how the ancient technique of soul retrieval is used to return soul essence that ‘runs for safety to the spirit world’ when severe trauma or a great shock occurs. Really this is a safety mechanism, our ability to feel pain is reduced in that moment, but it is not a healthy solution long-term. For that reason shamanic practitioners spend a fair amount of time returning precious soul essence…

SEAL MOTHER OF SOULS https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5t5VP0Me24Q&t=4s This short video was inspired by a powerful dream I had in California, October 2015. In the early 19th century the native Chumash and Tongya people were forced to leave the Channel Islands off the coast of California. They were taken to Spanish missions and pueblos on the mainland. One teenage girl ran back to look for her baby and the ship left without her. She lived alone on San Nicholas Island for 18 years, when she was ‘rescued’. Her name was Juana Maria. I had a powerful dream in which she appeared and showed me images of her life in those 18 years of profound…

Not so much a circle… We talk a lot about circles. Holding ritual circles. Creating a sacred circle. Building a power circle. And different Pagan paths have their own ideas on how circles should be created, crossed, and taken down. Circles serve one of three purposes. They are either built to keep things in, to keep things out, or both. Going back to 101 basics, for those who are still learning, circles built to contain are generally used when doing energy raising for spellcasting or healing. Circles built to keep out are used when doing work that may attract unwanted energies. And those which do both, well that’s pretty self-explanatory,…

The Heart of Light     This month the focus turns to one of community, service and cultivating a heart of light. Service often evolves and is generated by a heart that remains hopeful and deeply connected to the world and all of its inhabitants. From the cultivation of that heart centered consciousness the idea of community and ways to engage in communal efforts for the good of all becomes a path of service and the home in which we discover more about ourselves. In practice, both of these states have at their core the requirement of being fully present, thus becoming more observant of opportunities that present themselves daily.…

There’s a black feather floating on the wind Gasp it in, sigh it out Breath of blood, hot iron in my nostrils Suck it in, steam it out Long red hair that catches on the fence post Tie it back, pull it out Great club beating on the fractured bed rock Call him o’er, call him out Passion spanning over secret rivers Hold it in, let it out Pacts and wars are sealed with silver kisses Throw it in, hurl it out Death of hero, dog meat bile in belly, Gulp it in, spew it out Crows are circling; Badb, Macha and Nemain; Hear them out Hear them out Hear…