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Showing Our True Colors Merry meet. Maya Angelou said, “We are more alike, my friends, than we are unalike.” This ritual illustrates that. A pagan discussion group that meets at True Colors, a non-profit organization in Connecticut that supports sexual and gender minority youth, planned a ritual that drew nearly 20 individuals. Looking at the circle that formed, you would probably notice the diversity in ages, genders, skin tones and styles. The broom we decorated became a symbol of how much we had in common. We got a large selection of yarns in various colors and cut 20 pieces each to a length longer than the broom we intended to…

LIBERTAS As I write this, it is the day after the presidential inauguration of 2017, and the day of the Women’s March(es) across the country and around the world. Millions of people, the majority of them women, took to the streets to protest what many see as a threat to the personal freedom of many communities, not only in the US, but everywhere around the globe. They see a threat to justice. They see a threat to liberty and freedom. They are afraid, and rightfully so. With this in mind, it seems a perfect time to speak of Libertas. Libertas was a Roman Goddess; her name is the Latin word…

Pagan Portals: Brigid by Morgan Daimler Published by Moon Books, 2016     Morgan Daimler’s books tend to flutter around the higher reaches of the Amazon charts (other book sellers are available) and for good reason. She writes in a very accessible way whilst backing up her historical fact and mythology with sources, and pointing out when something is based solely on her own experience. My last foray into her books was Pagan Portals: The Morrigan- Meeting the Great Queens. This appealed greatly to my own passion for Celtic spirituality and deities, in particular the different ways these deities are interpreted and honoured by different people. This volume whetted my…

              Welcome   ____________________________________________________________   Happy New Year!!  We have a wonderful new issue for you this month to start the year off right, with great features like..     A Tarot Deck Review of The English Magic Tarot Deck.   The theme of the deck is set in the 100 years or so beginning with the Reformation Period and the reign of King Henry VIII and running through the end of the reign of Elizabeth I.       An Interview with Barbara Meiklejohn-Free: The Highland Seer.  Author and Shamanic practitioner, she has a variety of hats, including flautist, singer, and seer.  She was recently…

    February 1, 2 Other Names: Imbolg (im-molc)(em-bowl’g) (Celtic), Candlemas (Christian), Brigantia (Caledonii), Oimelc, Festival of Light, Brigid’s (Brid, Bride) Day, La Fheill, An Fheille Bride, Candelaria (Mexico), Chinese New Year, Disting-tid (Feb 14th, Teutonic), DisaBlot, Anagantios, Lupercalia/Lupercus (Strega), Groundhog Day, Valentines Day. Animals & Mythical Beings: Firebird, dragon, groundhog, deer, burrowing animals, ewes, robin, sheep, lamb, other creatures waking from hibernation. Gemstones: Amethyst, garnet, onyx, turquoise. Incense/Oil: Jasmine, rosemary, frankincense, cinnamon, neroli, musk, olive, sweet pea, basil, myrrh, and wisteria, apricot, carnation. Colors/Candles: Brown, pink, red, orange, white, lavender, pale yellow, silver. Tools,Symbols, & Decorations: White flowers, marigolds, plum blossoms, daffodils, Brigid wheel, Brigid’s cross, candles, grain/seed for…

  January – Hand with Seeds: Holding Power in your hands You hold the seeds of change and growth. This is your time for a new start. A new way of being. The seeds of change aren’t far away. They are within your grasp. Now what are you going to do with them? Will you fling them away? Will you grasp them tightly to you? Or, will you plant them and allow them to grow? February – Ewe: Self-Worth Somewhere you learned to not trust in yourself. Somewhere you learned that you do not have worth. Your worth is not in who you know. Or the money you have accumulated.…

Resolutions It’s the time of year for making New Year’s Resolutions. Promises to one’s self that are invariably broken before the first crocuses and snow drops push up from the Earth at Imbolc. This year, as I consider once more resolutions and people around me talk of their hopes for the coming year, I have been looking more closely at what resolution actually means and where the word comes from: late 14c., “a breaking into parts,” from Old French resolution (14c.) or directly from Latin resolutionem (nominative resolutio) “process of reducing things into simpler forms,” from past participle stem of resolvere “loosen”. Sense of “a solving” (as of mathematical problems)…

    The English Magic Tarot is a Tarot deck created through the combined efforts of Rex Van Ryn, the creator of the thinking behind the deck and the original artwork, and Steve Dooley, the talented artist who provided the vibrant palate of colors found in this deck, and Andy Letcher, the author of the companion book, with plenty of cross-pollination of talents between them all. This 78 card deck and the soft-cover companion book are published by Weiser Books, and they come in a sturdy and brilliantly colored box, the cover of which pictures The Fool of the Major Arcana, a fitting first look at this exciting deck for…

Four Paths of Yoga   (Photo: elsavier.com)   Last time, I spoke of the Five Paths of Wisdom within Kundalini Yoga, the yogic tradition that I follow. This month, I will be talking of the Four Paths of Yoga, in general. Karma Yoga is the path of action. It is represented by mindfulness and service to others. It is very good for those whose personalities are more outgoing. Those who practice Karma Yoga give no thought to themselves or to any type of reward for what they do. They do the best that they can, tuning in to their own inner teacher and to Divinity itself. “Karma Yoga is the…

GoodGod! Meet the Gods: Janus (Image by Samantha Sullivan) Merry meet. January is named for Janus, the Roman God of Gates and Doors. His name comes from the Latin word ianua, which means door. Gates and doors divide two places. Going through them, you leave one space and enter another. That makes it fitting that Janus presides over New Year’s Day, when we close the door on one year and open the door to another. The god Saturn bestowed upon Janus the ability to see into the future as well as the past, thus it is appropriate that he is depicted as having two faces – one looking behind looking…