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Mugwort Artemisia vulgaris-photo by Louise Harmon 2012 It seems long-overdue for our column’s namesake to be the center of attention. So this month’s herbal star is Mugwort-Artemisia vulgaris.   Mugwort is well known for its magickal properties. Added to a dream pillow with other herbs such as Hops and Lavender, Mugwort can enhance prophetic dreaming and astral projection. An infusion of Mugwort is often used to wash crystal balls and other divination tools. It can be added to fluid condensers: complex mixtures which include gold flakes or tincture of gold that help attract and hold energies.  A small pillow stuffed with Mugwort is an excellent cushion on which to rest…

The name is derived from Novem, the Latin word for nine, as November was the ninth month in Rome’s oldest calendar. THE SNOW MOON The ninth month in the old roman calandar. In Celtic traditions it is the beginning of the new year, considered a month of beginnings and endings. Astrological Signs: Scorpio, Sagittarius. Nature Spirits: Banshees and other beings who carry messages between worlds. Herbs: Ginger, hops, wormwood, hussop, patchouli, mugwort, nutmeg, star anise. Colors: Black, white, purple. Flowers: White lily, dahlia, chrysanthemum. Scents Rosemary, dragons blood, lilac, pine, wisteria. Stones: Topaz, obsidian, onyx, Apache tear. Trees: Pine, cypress, yew, elder. Animals: Bat, wolf, sow, dog, snake. Birds: Owls,…

My oldest daughter is very happy to know that we are witches. She isn’t really all sure what that entitles her to, but she is happy to tell the world about it. I often find myself telling her that it isn’t the best to tell people we are witches. It isn’t like the Halloween witches she is used to. People aren’t all nice and friendly. To her, witches are like mommy. They are special people in your life that have the ability to kiss away the bad things and know how to bake sweet treats to ease the rest of the pain.  They are healers and magic beings that can…

A Time for Thanksgiving While there are no Sabbats to celebrate this month, we do have the American Thanksgiving.  So, I’ve decided that for this month I’d give you a few great recipes for some healthy eating!  Whether you’re American or not I hope you find them interesting and are willing to give them a try! Homemade Pumpkin Butter Homemade pumpkin butter is extremely easy to whip up on your stove.  It is also extremely easy to put to good use.:)Spread it on toast and waffles, or package it up for a gift from your kitchen. Some people even mix it with yogurt or cottage cheese for a nutritious snack.…

WOLF SONG ~ Gift of Communion ~   “I live to hold communion with all that is Divine, to feel there is a union ‘twixt Nature’s heart and mine.” ~ George Linnaeus Banks, Poet and Playwright (1821-1881)   Through the valley of the mountain, and deep within its hidden hollow caves, the hypnotic echo of a lone Wolf Song can be heard in the distant land. Wolves howl to locate eachother, to assemble the pack, to sound alert, and to communicate across great distances, which can be heard for up to a 50 square-mile radius. As highly intelligent and social animals, wolves are naturally eloquent and easily adapt to a group…

Are you cyclically confused? In a ceremonial quandary? Completely clueless? Wonder no more.                                   *Ask Your Mama™                          Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Spirituality and Didn’t Know Who to Ask™   by ©Mama Donna Henes, Urban Shaman     A Question of Occupation   Dear Mama Donna,   I can’t turn on the TV anymore, because I get so upset listening to the news and the manipulative commercials. Is the world going to explode or implode or just shrivel up and die? It is so depressing out there. What can I do to feel better?   So Upset in Chicago   Dear One,   You are not…

IN ALL THINGS I DWELL When the Culdees sat by the standing stone, where the sidhe was the chosen home, at the top of a rugged mountain peak, deep in the valley where insects speak, a man travelled into a future time recreating himself in a poets’ rhyme. It was long ago, when the world was new, with fewer choices of what to do, this man sat gazing in his chair, he wasn’t here, he wasn’t there, he’d gone to the place of in between where imaginary thoughts can be seen. he sat for hours. Until he thought to lie down flat, take himself from where he sat, to a…

Happy & Safe Samhain  

The Variable of Free Will   There is no doubt that change is coming. For some it is a simple, gentle reminder felt within the wind or the rain. For others it is the not so subtle metaphysical baseball bat to the head that something big is about to happen.   The purpose of change varies for many. For some it means the opportunity to grow, evolve and raise the vibration. For some it can mean letting go of old energies that are no longer serving them. Whatever the case change is imminent within life and it can be a choice of enabling this to do as it needs to…

Yes it was me, I was the one chosen to share the morning sun, I heard the voice through other lips touched by invisible fingertips. The songs selected lingered there amongst the pages and tangled hair. I’d had the dream years before the meanings laced in metaphor able to unlock, open the door, setting me off on a path to explore. Putting in play, a script unwritten improvised with a touch of intuition, a rhythmic humming mystery dance, inducing hidden senses within it’s trance. Awareness shined off reflected glass enabling a certain clarity to pass between what was known once to be real, exposing many new sensations to feel, revealing…