• Reviews

    Tarot Deck Review – Black Violet Tarot by Heidi Phelps

    Tarot Deck Review Black Violet Tarot by Heidi Phelps Publisher: Rockpool Publishing 80 Card Deck & 176 Page Guide Book Release Date: June 4, 2024       The Black Violet Tarot: 80-Card Deck and Book, by Heidi Phelps is a beautifully drawn black-and-white tarot deck which is one of the most original and innovative tarot decks I have seen in a long time. As someone who has been creating a collage-style deck of her own for several years now, I have been collecting images of every card of tarot for over fifteen years – I have almost 600 images of The Fool alone – to inspire my own creativity…

  • Reviews

    Oracle Deck Review – Heaven and Hell: Harness the Power of the Angels and the Demons by Travis McHenry

    Oracle Deck Review Heaven and Hell Harness the Power of the Angels and the Demons by Travis McHenry Publisher: Rockpool Publishing 72 Card Deck & 168 Page Guide Book Release Date: April 2, 2024   You might be forgiven for thinking that angels are both male and female – there are plenty of images of female angels, or at least angels that appear to be feminine. But officially, angels have no gender. They are not like humans – they were not created as we were, born from the sexual act between a man and a woman – they were not born at all. No one proclaims, “It’s a boy!” or…

  • Crafting Articles

    In the Kitchen with Skarlett – To Your Health!!

    With the wear and tear of the Holidays behind us and a long, cold (at least in the northern hemisphere) winter ahead of us. We will be most likely up against the dreaded cold and flu season. Now would be a good time to focus on a bit of rest and self care to get you through to Spring. Do keep in mind that these practices are no replacement for professional medical help. But used in concert with sensible medical care, these should help provide relief and healing. There are several deities you can call on to aid you in healing. The big one being Brighid. Her festival of Imbolc…

  • Crafting Articles

    The Kitchen Witch – Salmon-Topped Dinner Salad

    Salmon-Topped Dinner Salad   This is, without a doubt, one of my favorite things to eat lately. I love salads anyway – I eat a salad every day, whether it’s a salad for my lunch or a small salad to accompany a larger meal or maybe a fruit salad for a dessert or just a snack! And I maintain that there is no right way to make a salad – the only correct way is the way that is going to make you enjoy eating it. You and whomever you invite to share in this culinary joy. You start with a piece of salmon. I buy the big pack of…

  • Monthly Columns

    Weyland’s Whey, Grey Strega Interview, Part Three, Conclusion. December 28th, 2024.

    Last Father’s Day, my girlfriend Sparkle arranged Tarot card readings for us.  And Cyn was great!  But don’t take my word for it–see for yourself! The Frequency of Divinity, Part Three 15:  Any theories on how all this works? I don’t think any of us are here by accident.  I believe this world is a spiritual school, and our ability to learn the self through that journey is the experience over the course of a lifetime.  The tarot helps us orient on that path: what we have experienced, how far we have come, and what we will encounter along the way. 16:  Best outcome of a reading? When a client leaves a…

  • Fiction

    Our Sally Is Gone

    Rural USA, December 21, 1927 Sally May climbed the carved granite steps, careful not to slip on the damp stone. The cave walls wept, and cool drops fell from the ceiling. She could already hear her parents scolding her. They might even send her to bed without supper. Daddy would say, “Sarah, how many times have we told you? Don’t go wanderin’ like that.” Momma would tell her, “Go on to bed, Sally.” In the thirteen years since momma birthed her, they still couldn’t agree on the name. She loved the way grandma said her name with that drawl. SallaMay. Skeletal trees scratched at the cave’s mouth, as if trying…

  • Monthly Columns

    Weyland’s Whey 2024 “Have a Cool Yule!” Column

    Yule A Wiccan Sabbat observed at the Winter Solstice; Yule is the second Sabbat of the Wheel of the Year (Samhain being the first).  It’s a fire festival observing the God’s rebirth and the return of the light. (Newsflash: after the Solstice, days start getting longer again, Pilgrim.  Trust me.) For Your Deliberation Sparkle doesn’t believe in idle hands or paws, so Delinquent the dog and I were out at five a.m. this morning for our first Yuletide walk of the day.  I stopped within the warren of pathways in our communal back yard, stunned by the beauty of Sabbat.  Snow was falling silently, turning the ground a speckled white. …

  • Fiction,  This Month's Holiday

    In a Forest of Winter Enchantment: A Special Fiction Piece by The Modern Merlin

    Good afternoon and Frohes Muttersnacht to you all! For those who don’t know, Mother’s Night is celebrated the night before Yule (the Winter Solstice) in many traditional Germanic customs. Not only are our earthly and ancestral mothers honored, but also the mother goddesses. This part of my Winter holiday celebration is when I switch into a more ancestry-based practice, incorporating various Celtic, Germanic and Anglo-Saxon beliefs concerning the winter solstice tradition. All this, while still honoring Saturnalia, which in essence welcomes in “Jack Frost” or “Old Man Winter” as he is now called. This fiction piece is inspired by the energy of Mother’s Night, and is in celebration of all mothers out…

  • Reviews

    Book Review-Pagan Portals: Maman Brigitte: Dark Goddess of Africa and Ireland by Pauline Breen

    Book Review Pagan Portals: Maman Brigitte: Dark Goddess of Africa and Ireland By Pauline Breen Publisher: Moon Books 104 page E-Book Release Date: December 1st, 2024 Pagan Portals: Maman Brigitte is a fascinating exploration of an oft-misunderstood goddess within the Vodou traditions of Haiti and Louisiana. Breen makes clear that she has no “in” with these cultures that have been the subject of centuries of exploitation, from slavery to the appropriation of their beliefs. I appreciate the author’s intent to avoid an attempt at appropriation, but rather the exploration of the Goddess, in this case, Brigid, as she evolved to meet the needs of peoples who had been exploited and sold…

  • Gods & Goddesses,  Monthly Columns,  This Month's Holiday

    The Modern Merlin’s Corner-December 2024: Saturnalia, Yule and Winter Celebrations

    IO Saturnalia! I hope my readers are having a joyful and blessed Saturnalia and start of the holiday season. Before getting into the subject of this month’s column, I want to take a moment to address some changes coming in 2025 to this column. Rest assured, I will still be contributing this column to our publication, but I will be re-defining it in some ways, excluding certain subject areas, as they will be touched on by other columns I will be writing, and add in other subject areas into this one. This column will still remain fairly eclectic, but I will be expanding it to include more on the subjects…