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Also known as: May Day, Bealtaine, Beltane, Bhealtainn, Bealtinne, Festival of Tana (Strega), Giamonios, Rudemass, and Walburga (Teutonic), Cetsamhain (opposite Samhain),Fairy Day ,Sacred Thorn Day, Rood Day, Roodmas (the Christian term for Rood Day, Old Beltane, Beltain, Baltane, Walpurgis Night, Floriala (Roman feast of flowers from April 29 to May 1), Walpurgisnacht (Germanic-feast of St. Walpurga), Thrimilce (Anglo-saxon), Bloumaand (Old Dutch) Date: May 1 Animals: Swallow, dove, swan, Cats, lynx, leopard Deities: Flower Goddesses, Divine Couples, Deities of the Hunt, Aphrodite, artemis, Bast, Diana, Faunus, Flora, Maia, Pan, the Horned God, Venus, and all Gods and Goddesses who preside over fertility. Tools: broom, May Pole, cauldron Stones/Gems: emerald, malachite, amber,…

This month, we will move back to the Major Arcana, and talk about The Hermit. Let’s quickly define and describe some terms. There are 22 Major Arcana cards in a Tarot deck, with numbers from 0 to 21; the Majors usually deal with broader and more far-reaching life experience issues, archetypes that are easy for us to identify with and connect with at some point in our lives. An archetype (pronounced “ark eh type”) is a generic, idealized model of a person, an object, or a concept which can be copied, patterned, or imitated. The term archetype often refers to one of two concepts: a “stereotype,” a personality type observed…

Notes from the Apothecary: Aloe Vera     I’ve already written about horsetail, sometimes called ‘England’s Aloe Vera’, due to its incredible healing properties. This month I want to look at the real Aloe Vera, or similar species that many of you will have growing in pots on your window sill. Aloes are succulents. This means they have fat, fleshy leaves designed to store large amounts of fluid in arid environments. It is the large amount of water stored within the cells of the leaves that gives us the sticky gel that is used for so many healing and beauty processes. The photos in the article are of my own…

Saturn still Retro in Sagittarius – 4 degrees Wednesday, April 1, 2015 – 12:01 am EST Goes Direct on Sunday, August 2, 2015 – 4:55 am EDT The Planet of caution takes a break from its conservative ways. When it goes retrograde, the Planet actually lightens up on the reins a bit. It allows people to explore further than they normally would. Sagittarius allows it to open its mouth and to say things out of control. It’s time to make sure the brain is engaged before the mouth blurts away. Saturn goes Direct again in August.     April Fools Day – Sun in Aries – 11 degrees Wednesday, April…

Spiralled Edges: Seeds of Change We are moving out of winter, a season of potential and stillness, a time for reflecting on the past and planning for the future. There may still be days with snow and frost, or where I live rain and chilly mornings, but the subtle signs of a month ago that the Earth was waking from slumber are now clearly visible. I saw a magnolia tree in bloom the other morning, and every day I pass dozens of patches of blooming daffodils and crocuses. I’ve noticed that I am becoming more fully awake as well right now. Ideas and thoughts which I had begun ruminating over…

Visualization Visualization within meditation is a wonderful tool, used for a specific goal or purpose. For those of us who also walk the Pagan path, it can also be used in ritual, in deep inner journeys, and in our magick. Visualizations can be as simple as closing your eyes and imagining yourself on the beach, to a complex guided meditation that takes you deep within yourself. For example, if you make or use candles for specific purposes in your workings, let’s say for healing, you would visualize a healing energy going into the making of the candle, and again when you charge it for your working. Another example of visualization…

Bibliomancy: divination with books As a writer, I have often gone through periods of writer’s block. Some periods have been worse than other periods. Sometimes I all am able to do is a few lines – maybe an entire paragraph – in my daily journal. Sometimes it’s just jottings in the little notebook I carry with me everywhere I go. But sometimes I cannot produce anything at all. No poetry, no prose, no song, no dance. The merest email is like pulling teeth. Last month, I wrote about the I-Ching and the only reason I wrote about this subject was because, unable to come up with any ideas at all,…

Try ’n scry Merry Meet. This month’s column will be about how to make a divination tool: a scrying mirror. Even if you’re not on a budget, it’s always nice to make your own tools. Creating something by hand puts your magical energy into the tool, making it an extension of yourself. Scrying is one of the oldest forms of divination. The shiny surface of water – in pools and bowls – is a common medium. Mirrors (“Mirror, mirror on the wall, who is the fairest of them all?” in “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.) and crystals (often polished balls) are also often used as a clairvoyant aid to…

This month’s Bardic Song is called “Spirit Song”. It is a simple tune that has 4 lines for easier repetition and the melody line is rather easy. It can be used to call Spirit as you see fit – replacing the word “Spirit” with the name of a Deity will also work. You might have play with syllables and timing, though. This song came to me initially in a dream. I used to hum it all the time and never had words for it. Several years went by (and I was still humming it), and the words just came to me in a flash. When you read the words, there…

                          Welcome   ____________________________________________________________________   In this Issue…   An interview with author and Shamanic Healer Yvonne Ryves.     A Review of the Book “Breaking The Mother Goose Code: How A Fairy-Tale Character Fooled the World for 300 Years” by Jeri Studebaker       Learn about the Fae this month in Witches Soul Work     This month’s herb in the Apothecary is Rosemary.     …and finally…   We say a fond farewell to one of our favorite columns this month, Nelland Living, as Nella Nuora takes her final bow and leaves us with her thoughts.  Blessings on…