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Spiralled Edge: Setting Time Aside for Ritual Rituals are a part of our daily lives. They are the traditions that bind us together as a people and that bring a semblance of order to what may otherwise be a chaotic life. So why is it so difficult to make time to actually do rituals? Every once in a while, I start getting an urge to make time for ritual in my daily life. There is the part of me inside that tells me, “You’re not being authentic in your spiritual and religious life if you don’t include ‘real’ rituals.” By real ritual, I mean clearing a space, doing a full…

Summer Solstice Bright Blessings. As I reviewed my past Summer Solstice materials, I was deep in thought about community, the upcoming Pride march, which I wrote a bit about last time, and I wanted to learn something new I could share. I had thought to do an article about some aspect of healing used at Solstice time, but all I could find was that some people did pilgrimages to find medicinal herbs- because they were in season and it is time to go get them. Somehow, that just did not spark my interest enough to dig much deeper. I am a flighty, finicky person, and I write best when inspired…

Skillet Pork Chops with Rice and Tomatoes There is nothing like an heirloom recipe. I cherish the ones I have from both of my grandmothers and my mother. To me, it’s a way of preserving the magic that they instilled in me from an early age – that of kitchen witchery. I doubt that they would have looked at it in that way – I know my mother wouldn’t! – but magic in the kitchen is magic in the kitchen, no matter how you term it. This is an old recipe of my Gramma Mac’s. Like so many recipes of that era, it doesn’t give very good directions and in…

The Making of… Mr. & Mrs. Deer A few years ago after a full moon celebration with friends we were drumming and talking about making our own drums. Most of us had never done that before, but together we shared some experience. We decided then and there to get this show on the road! We had no idea what we were getting ourselves into though…. We prepared the best way we could and started fresh. We couldn’t find a lot of info on the www, except for some video’s on YouTube. I decided to document the process in pictures, for ourselves and for others that might be interested. Here’s the…

Raven Grimassi: Communing with the Ancestors I was sent a copy of Raven Grimassi’s latest book, Communing with the Ancestors: Your Spirit Guides, Bloodline Allies and the Cycle of Reincarnation, and was immediately intrigued by the beautiful style of writing and the inclusive nature that encompasses people of all paths. A full review of the book will be available on Pagan Pages next month, but in the meantime, I was lucky enough to get the chance to ask Raven some questions about this fascinating volume. Mabh Savage: Tell us about Communing with the Ancestors. What was your main aim with the book, and what type of reader will get the…

IX CHEL (Photo Credit: fullmoonhealingarts.com) Ix Chel is the Mayan Snake Goddess of the Water. She is the Goddess of the moon, childbirth and weaving. She is also a Fertility Goddess, who brings the rain to feed the crops and who insured fertility by overturning her sacred urn. She is the weaver of the circle of life. She is the Goddess of the Moon and healing, overseeing the medicinal plants and herbs, healing and the phases of the moon. Her name Ix Chel is broken down to Ix = Goddess of the feminine and Chel = Rainbow or Light. Some of her many names are: Lady of the Rainbow or…

Tangle-wood   Photo by Vivienne Moss   As I walk along the moss covered earth, I find myself lost in thought. The worries of my mundane life slowly fall from my shoulders as I soak in the rich scent and the sweet sound of Nature. At times I feel like an imposter among the untouched trees of the forest. But not today. Today I feel connected to the wooded land I find myself in. Tendrils of Willow reach out to tap me on my shoulder, reminding me to wake up to the wondrous world that I am blessed to be a part of. This is that magical moment I have…

Creating Effective Quarter Calls   If you look in any book on magickal practice or on the internet and you will quite easily find all manner of prose for calling or inviting the energies of the cardinal quarters into your sacred space. The positive in this is that it gives a variety of personalization and adaptation to you to use as points of comparison for your own versions suited specifically to your working. This very benefit is also the biggest detriment. Simply reciting a call to the energies because you thought it was powerful, well written or sounded very mysterious and “witchy” is reckless. Moreover, words – more so, when…

Notes from the Apothecary: The Elder Tree     We’ve always had elder trees in the garden, for as long as I can remember. As you get to my parents’ house there is one hanging over the privet hedge into the street. The branches home to birds ranging from tiny tits to massive woodpigeons; the roots threatening to burst through the tarmacadam of the pavement. As you walk through the gate there are four more elder trees guarding the side of the house, and every year there is an enormous harvest of both flowers and berries, and still plenty left for the every-hungry birds. When I was quite small, a…

      Kiara Episode: 10 Perhaps because their two hearts were now linked by love, as Kiara slipped into fever, so did Jeremiah. Although miles apart, even in their fevered dreams they sought each other out. For days they both wandered lost, through the nightmare world of fever that some call the land of the dead. Jeremiah was to remember later, that he had seen her. There was an image in his head of her reaching out to him. He could see her pale hands almost touching him before she was swept away like leaves in the wind. He heard her call out that she would find him. He…