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BOOK REVIEW “The Key to Spirit Animals from Communication to Meditation” by Dawn Baumann Brunke “The aim of this book is to engage spirit animals in more conscious ways.” So, the author says, and so it is. “The Key to Spirit Animals” is exactly what this book is. It begins with explaining what a spirit animal is and how we may all have several spirit animals, as well as a lifelong Spirit Animal, which we can discover following her guided meditation. Ms. Brunke suggests keeping a Spirit Animal Journal and includes *journal prompts* throughout the book. The author explains how we can work more closely with nature to establish a…

Spring Equinox (March 20-22 in Northern Hemisphere)     (Oh-star-ah) – Lesser Sabbat – Spring/Vernal Equinox, March 20-21st – when the Sun enters Ares Other Names: Ostre, Oestre, Eostre, Rites of Spring, Eostra’s Day, Lady Day, First Day of Spring, Easter, St. Patrick’s Day, Alban Eiler, Bacchanalia, Mean Earraigh, Pasch, Caisg, Pess Date: Spring Equinox (March 20-22 in Northern Hemisphere) or when the Sun is 1 degree Aries. Symbolism: The beginning of spring, new life and rebirth, the God and Goddess in Their youth, balance, fertility Goddesses: all love, virgin, and fertility Goddesses; Anna Perenna (Roman), Aphrodite (Greek), Astarte (Canaanite, Persia, GrecoRoman), Athena (Greek), Cybele (Greco-Roman), Blodeuwedd, Eostre (Saxon Goddess…

      “Look into the eye of the Dragon and despair.” – Merlin initiating Morgan la Fey in the film “Excalibur.” A Druid of my acquaintance put this short dialogue into my hands. He refused absolutely to comment on it, but said I might do with it what I wished. So I am laying it before all of you: A red-haired lady came to see me the other day. She said she had been having visions of angels, and she told me her visions in great detail. Among other things, she said that they control the weather. She was a nice lady. I said that I did not doubt…

    When we awake in the morning, we undergo a change in consciousness, and at first we bring with us vestiges of the dream-state, including the voices and moods associated with dream figures. As these fade, we often experience a temporary state of clear calm, when we say “I haven’t woken up yet.” Then the morning moods begin, and if there is anything troubling us about our current lives, it often makes itself known at that time. Because our culture, which inherits the Medieval injunction against “traffic with spirits,” conditions us to believe that whatever occurs in private experience belongs to us alone, we have a tendency to identify…

Elen Sentier: British Shaman     Elen Sentier walks in the Deer Trods of Elen of the Ways, and has written about this and many other magical topics. She is awenydd, spirit keeper, and keeps old British ways alive, passing them on for future generations. Elen spoke to Mabh here at Pagan Pages about her books, her magical life and more. Mabh Savage: Your most recent release is Merlin: Once and Future Wizard. What inspired you to write this volume? Elen Sentier: Well, actually, my publisher had the idea and commissioned it. It was great fun, and it seemed that he was thinking about Merlin at the same time as…

Meet the Gods: Mars (Image by Samantha Sullivan) Merry meet. In Roman mythology, Mars is the god of war; he was the most prominent of the Roman’s military gods and the most important god in the pantheon after Jupiter, the supreme god. Most of his festivals – featuring with chariot races and animal sacrifices – were held in March, the month named for him. His priests would honor him by dancing – clad in full armor – at the site of his altar in the Field of Mars, a floodplain of the Tiber River, that was also home to the temple of Apollo. More festivals were held to honor Mars…

Notes from the Apothecary: Narcissi     Most of us will be familiar with narcissi in the form of the daffodil; spring’s signpost. Those yellow heads, nodding towards the returning sun, have provided seasonal inspiration for centuries. Wordsworth, in 1802, was moved to write: Continuous as the stars that shine And twinkle on the milky way, They stretched in never-ending line Along the margin of a bay: Ten thousand saw I at a glance, Tossing their heads in sprightly dance. Which perfectly describes (as does the rest of the poem) the way in which daffodils are able to blanket an otherwise green or brown area, almost as if they are…

      In addition to the practices of witchcraft usually discussed, such as divination and herb lore, there are practices which support a witch’s overall efforts. The following seven sections describe practices I have found useful for tuning up my Craft practice and keeping it properly focused. 1: Cycles Witches follow cycles in everything they do, out of respect for their overall balance of health. They don’t work all year, and then try to relax through a brief vacation; witches take little mini-vacations all the time. They sometimes appear to be laid back and lazy, but they respond well in a crisis, and they somehow get their tasks done.…

Yemaya   (Photo Credit: the divinemoon.com)     Yey Oma Eja – *Mother Whose Children are the Fish”, or as She is more commonly known, Yemaya, *Mama Watta*, Mother of Waters, Queen of the Sea, Mother of the Fishes, Ocean Goddess of the Crescent Moon, Lady of the Rain, Daughter of the Sea, Constantly Changing Woman, Creator Mother, Patroness of Witches, Sirena. Yemaya. She is known by all of these names and more. (Photo: Pinterest) She was originally a River Goddess of the Ogun River in Yoruba. She was a powerful guardian and nature spirit, a Goddess of the African diaspora. When the people of Africa were stolen and brought…

To See or Not to See: What is Your Preference?     I was going to write more about Runes for this month’s column, having worked diligently with my new set all month long and even found a way to use my pendulum with them. But yesterday I read an article in The Guardian that made me think about divination in general and I want to discuss that today. The Guardian is one of my favorite sources of news nowadays – like The Huffington Post, it posts articles that were originally posted on another site. The article I read, “Want to Know the Future? Most People Don’t, Study Suggests,” by…