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Signposts:  My First Look at Druidry Being Pagan means we are always learning.  As soon as I think I grasp something that I feel comfortable with I learn about something new.  Although I’m not as green as I was when I started this path I’m also certainly no expert in any part of it.  The amount of information and the number of paths to choose from is frankly overwhelming yet somehow still exhilarating.  There is always more to learn. A friend of mine recommended a book on Druidry to me – The Druidry Handbook: Spiritual Practice Rooted in the Living Earth by John Michael Greer, a Druid in the Ancient…

Celebrating the Earth   This past month was known as Earth Month and is a time to celebrate all that the earth provides for us. This combination of earth, air, fire and water provides the ideal conditions for life to flourish. The biodiversity of the earth and the interactions between different species is remarkable.     As spring progresses, life emerges and everywhere we look, something new appears. The more we notice the little things, the more we have an appreciation for the earth as a whole and how important it is to coexist with all living things. It’s essential to our survival.     Every great dream begins with…

Merry Beltane! Tis the Season to be Merry! Here are some recipes to get your celebration of to a good start. This May Wine Recipe is a bit different than the norm but sounds yummy: May Wine *Woodruff is easy to grow in a shady spot in a garden or in a container. It is good ground cover and a pretty plant. 2 fifths semisweet white wine (such as Sauterne or Rhine) 1 cup woodruff leaves and blossoms, washed and stems removed Early in the day the May wine is to be served, place the woodruff leaves and flowers in a container large enough to hold all the wine, then…

Be Your Own herbal Expert – Part 8 Healing sweets: herbal honeys, syrups, and cough drops – Part 1 HONEY Honey has been regarded as a healing substance for thousands of years. Greek healers relied on honey water, vinegar water, and honey/vinegar water as their primary cures. An Egyptian medical text dated to about 2600 BCE mentions honey 500 times in 900 remedies. What makes honey so special? First, honey is antibacterial. It counters infections on the skin, in the intestines, in the respiratory system, or throughout the body. Second, honey is hydroscopic, a long word meaning “water loving”. Honey holds moisture in the place where it is put; it…

This month, we will talk about the Major Arcana card called Judgement. If you haven’t read last month’s essay on Justice, please do so now. At the beginning of that essay, you will find a brief description of the Major Arcana, as well as a review of some terms, such as archetype, stereotype and epitome. Each Major Arcana card contains many ingredients to aid in interpretation; besides the symbolism found in the traditional images associated with each card, a Major Arcana card corresponds to a number, an archetype, an element, an astrological sign or planet, a Hebrew letter, and a Path on the Tree of Life joining two Sephiroth. Because…

Beltaine (traditional) – Sun in Taurus – 11 degrees Thursday, May 1, 2014 – sunrise, 6:12 am EDT   Beltaine (Rudemas) Names: Beltane, Beltaine, Baltein, May Day, Rood Day, Walpurgisnacht, RudemasGwyl Galan Mai (Welsh) Date: May 1st (sometimes celebrated on the eve – Apr 30th) Astro Correspondence: 15 degrees Taurus Color: reds for (menstrual) blood of the Goddess, whites for semen of the God Food: fresh fruit and veggies, veal, ham, chicken, (but rarely any meat), pasta, breads, cakes, jams/jellies, wine/mead Common Info: Maypole dancing to entwine the ribbons of red and white representing Goddess and God (phallic symbol and World Tree lore), Handfasting, Spiral Dancing, Bel Fires, last Fertility Fest,…

Crowns Merry Meet. This month I hope to inspire you to crown yourself with flowers. It’s a wonderful way to bring out the Goddess within. Flowers are also a sign of fertility, quite in keeping with Beltane, making this a perfect time to start. In most areas, plants are just beginning to bloom. As I write this in central Connecticut towards the end of April, forsythia is just about to peak while daffodils are waning. Grape hyacinth and early tulips are just starting to bloom, and crab apple and a few other bushes and trees are just starting to bud, so it won’t be long. We have vetch and Hebit…

People interested in the Craft nowadays generally regard it as a set of skills and formulae of words whereby they can lure magical energy to themselves, as it were, and so be empowered to gain their desires through casting of spells.  When one book of recipes fails to satisfy them, they do not lack a dozen others to choose from, and if none serves their purpose, most will repudiate the Craft as superstition and turn to other pursuits.  But some few seem to have developed the knack of achieving some sort of results, though what these are appear to be subtle and difficult of description, and moreover to have little…

Rituals: Why, When, Where, Who and How? ‘Let’s do a ritual!’ These words are usually greeted with much enthusiasm. We Pagans do love our rituals! The opportunity to get together with like minded folk and honour our beloved Deities or celebrate the turning Wheel of the Year – what’s not to like? And yet how often do rituals fall short of our expectations, fail to hit the mark, fizzle rather than spark, leave us feeling unsatisfied or disappointed? We’ve probably all been there. Most rituals are the wonderful, moving, transformative experiences we hope for. Yet there will always be those which don’t quite work (and a handful that are outright…

Dream Goddess: Mari I’m tired this morning and it’s not because I didn’t sleep. I feel as if I was dreaming all night about doing Shamanic healing for people. It seemed in my dreams that many people needed help, especially extraction of dangerous and unwanted entities and soul retrieval. One person needed help to pass over. In my dreams I was using a jam jar with no lid as my Shamanic tool. I also looked really good in my new shoes! When we sleep our mind relaxes and processes our day. People would die if they did not sleep and all who sleep, even if they don’t remember, dream. Dream…