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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, orange…

Beltane   A young virile hunter, this balefire: Enveloped in a red orange cloak of passion, Arms stretching eagerly towards Her dark tresses, Growing aggressively with the gentle caress of Her breath. He is impatient, the way he prepares   The entire clan of gathered pagan folk Merry, lusty and carefree In their celebration of fruitfulness and prosperity, The sacred marriage of Cernunnos and Gaia Nothing is more joyous   Giving everyone a purifying blessing. They all should pass between the fire, bathe in juniper smoke. This is time for feasting, rejoicing and frivolity. When they tie the bells, they jingle. Their brilliant, cheery song   Chasing wee folk, faery…

Western Coltsfoot Petasites palmatus                              Several weeks ago I enjoyed a day off work by becoming re-acquainted with a lovely state park not far from my house. The day was pleasantly warm and sunny for March. As I wandered alongside the Lewis River, I was startled by the appearance of Western Coltsfoot, right there next to the path. Western Coltsfoot belongs to the Asteraceae or sunflower family and is one of our earliest blooming native plants here in the Pacific Northwest. The plant sends up stalks of white to pink flowers before the leaves make their debut, earning its colloquial name, “son before the father”.  The leaves are basil shaped…

  This is the first article for this new monthly series. The intention is to explore their myth’s, symbols and sacred objects, and other interesting information addressing an individual Goddess each month.   Since this is the first of this series I decided to start with Artemis: Goddess of Light and Protector of the Vulnerable. I have been drawn to Artemis for years, and have been fortunate enough to have received her assistance.   In Greek mythology Artemis was the daughter of Zeus, ruler of the Olympian gods. The first story we hear of Artemis is that her mother, Leto, gave birth to her after a short and painless labor,…

Welcome Readers to the April Issue of PaganPages   We have quite a treat for our readers this month!  Orion Foxwood has blessed us with another FANTASTIC Interview!  He shares with us his thoughts behind his newest book The Candle and the Crossroads     Also, in this month’s issue a Book Review on Book Review: Mystery Teachings from the Living Earth by John Michael Greer       Of course we have all your favorite columnists, correspondences, and information!    Don’t forget, you can shop PaganPages Etsy at:  https://www.etsy.com/shop/PaganPagesOrg     We are currently looking for writers for the following columns: Divination Herbs Tarot Crafts If you are interested…

Pauahtun and the Bacabs This Mayan god is the cause of many debates, even to this day. This is because of the vast differences between the Classic era and the Postclassic era.In the classic era he is simply Pauahtun. I’m going to touch base on him first. Pauahtun is a god of four incarnations called the Bacab. Each stands at one of the four corners of the world, holding up the sky. Even with such an important job he was seen as a drunk and unpredictable. He would also control thunder and wind. He is connected to Mam, who is an ancient highland earth deity. He is usually depicted as…

Chance, Work or Choice?   No one falls in love by choice, it is by chance. No one stays in love by chance, it is by work. And no one falls out of love by chance, it is by choice.   The above was one of those photo statuses on facebook that I encountered recently and while I understand the sentiment is meant to be inspiring I find that it does just the opposite for me. It elicits a feeling of disempowerment within me that I just will not accept. It seems to embrace the idea that there are things in my life experience that I have no control over…

“Some Debts are Hard to Pay” Many of us have visited a casino at least once for a number of reasons- perhaps some time in the limelight with friends at the slots amid conversation and drinks or walking in the shadows feeding the crave of a gambling addiction. Gambling conjures up some rather strong images and opinions on all sides; this is neither the time nor place to debate those points- I only mention this because there arise, from time to time, some bizarre events that are connected with this highly-charged activity. On these rare occasions, such events can leave a chill running up your spine and a lingering wonder…

Sometimes I check out some of the Wiccan chat rooms, and I have done my fair share of taking a new Witch or two under my wing and I have noticed that a lot of novice Witches get really nervous when it comes to writing their own circle casts and Quarter-calls.  More often than not the reason seems to be that they are afraid it “won’t be good enough”, or “respectful enough.” I think of Wicca as a joyful religion, and have always felt that if it is truly heartfelt, and done with respect, there’s no such thing as “good enough”.  I also believe that in the event we should…

Dry, Draw and Shrink-The Magic of Astringents Recently during a hike to check out the awakening green of Oak Bottom Wildlife Refuge with a few like-minded plant-lovers, our discussion turned to the subject of astringents. Stopping at a young Oak (Quercus garryana), our leader shared how a decoction of Oak bark could be used as an oral rinse for treating mouth infections and bleeding gums. He then asked if anyone could describe how astringents worked. Although I was able to give an adequate explanation of what astringents do, our leader summed up their actions quite succinctly: “dry, draw and shrink”. The word astringent is derived from the Latin word, adstringere…