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Sweet Potato Pie: How Not to Make it!   Okay, I’ve really been off my game lately. I’ve been traveling a lot and I haven’t been doing a lot of cooking – I’ve been eating a lot of salads and quick pasta dishes or beans and rice – things I can whip up in a jiffy. But I got home from visiting my son and my elderly parents the other day in Buffalo and I thought that I would make something different – I had some yams that needed to be used, so I thought, oh, I’ll make a Sweet Potato Pie. If you have heard of “Granny Moon’s Morning…

The Eight Limbs of Yoga The column last month discussed the YAMA’s. This month we will continue with the NIYAMA’s. NIYAMA means rules or laws. Here it becomes the way to fully live your yoga practice through “personal observances”. (Photo Credit: Pinterest) The NIYAMA are much more personal than the NAMA’s. These become our personal rules for living with our spirit, our kindness and compassion. (Photo Credit: Pinterest) Sauca/Saucha – Purity Sauca, or Saucha, means cleanliness and purity. Outwardly, we practice proper hygiene. Inner cleanliness is the way we think and behave. We can use pranayama (breathwork), which cleanses our lungs, bloodstream and nervous system. Practicing asana (postures) and meditation…

Notes from the Apothecary: Crocus     As we move further into spring in the Northern Hemisphere, a wealth of flowers is bursting from the warming soil. Some of this treasure appears in royal gold and imperial purple, and occasionally even snow white, like a throwback to winter. These are the crocuses, a tiny, beautiful flower named for the Sanskrit word for saffron, the expensive spice made from its stigmas and styles. The first crocuses of the year always fill me with excitement. They show that winter is truly ending, and that the wheel is turning towards warmer days, woodland walks and those magic mornings of wind and sunshine. Crocuses…

Herb Beads Merry meet. One of the first witchcrafts I ever made were herb beads. It was at a pagan festival workshop in the woods. The idea is to choose herbs, flowers and other botanicals based on their magickal properties, and to infuse them with your intent while making them with mindfulness. The recipe is tucked in a safe place somewhere in my small condo, under a dozen years of other articles, journals, handouts and books, but I did find one I think is similar that was published online by the herbal academy. The first thing is to choose ingredients that match your intention. If you wish to make beads…

  To Follow or Not to Follow, That is the Question Merry meet. “Eye of newt, and toe of frog, Wool of bat, and tongue of dog, Adder’s fork, and blind-worm’s sting, Lizard’s leg, and howlet’s wing,– For a charm of powerful trouble, Like a hell-broth boil and bubble.” So said the 2nd Witch in Macbeth (IV, i, 14-15), as she and two other ugly witches stir the bubbling contents of their cauldron. It’s one of the most familiar spell castings associated with witchcraft. In Shakespeare’s time, people believed in witches and their powers to do evil. Every culture has magick in its history. Some oral traditions and written documentation…

Brigid’s Arrival When she comes She comes in the room Like a gulp of cold air A hurricane to the face A slap so soft and sharp So caring and cold So great and so bold So young yet so old Every atom sings This lady; this goddess; this spirit This sidhe, from beyond the hills She came to see What you had put out for her Sheep’s milk, oats and apples Whiskey, candles and hope. She blasts through the door A draught of delight In spring’s awakening. We hold hands and shake As her powers leaves us quaking. Motherly but not gentle; Feminine and strong and wise; Changing the…

    APPRENTICE OF THE WIND I made this painting in the year 2012 after being told by my helping spirits that I am an Apprentice of the Wind. Crow is one of my power animals. When I undertake shamanic journeys (soul flight) I often fly with crows. For that reason I have painted a segment of this vision on my shamanic drum. I find it very interesting that the Hebrew word ruach means wind but also breath and spirit. As a teacher of Norse Shamanism and Seidr I have a particular affinity with the North Wind. Being an Apprentice of the Wind is a journey, always bringing me new…

Purification Rituals Purification is important to do on a daily basis, for witches and Pagans alike. Witchcraft is really not different from Pagan religion in general; it is just a special discipline within that religion, like the ancient mysteries. It is, first of all, a more efficient use of energy. Our energy tends to manifest in cycles, and during each cycle we will experience one or more peaks and troughs of available energy. We have different cycles for different types of energy, but their number is fixed by habit and they tend to operate unobserved by us; we just know when we are ‘up’ or ‘feeling down’. Witches observe their…

The Morrigan: Bloody Queen of Battle Streaming red Cloak of hair Like yarn spun wild For a coat of dreams Of war and time To pass the line The blood along Like velvet wine Lady great and fierce of heart Builds you up then tears apart Protect thyself but know her if you can. (Devotional verse for the Morrigan, 2012)

  April is the mid-time between Spring’s growth and May’s burst of new life ripe with fertility and form. April, has also been for many years now a time to celebrate the Earth; most notably on Earth Day (April 22.2017). In that spirit, this month’s offering is an excerpt from my new book and a pathworking to use to deepen your connection to our most sacred home. Find a quiet spot, settle in and awaken all of your senses as we stand in Gaia’s Temple…. Earth, My Home Turn your focus and attention to your breath. Allow your consciousness to move with the rise and fall of your chest and…