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A World Re-Enchanted December 2025
December in the Tolkienian Imagination: The Waning Light and the Hallowed Stillness In a rendering of Middle-earth shaped for mortal understanding, the month that corresponds to December stands beneath the long shadow of the year’s turning. Though the Eldar do not reckon time by the same divisions as Men, they nonetheless perceive this portion of the cycle as an interval of profound quietude—a deep inhalation of the world itself before the sun begins its slow return. Among the Eldar, this season aligns with the late passage of Hrívë, the Winter season, when the air lies sharp with memory and the light thins like pale gold upon frost-covered lands. For the…
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Weyland’s Whey December 2025 Cold Moon/Supermoon Column
This Moon is a Bright Mistress The name Cold Moon comes from the Mohawk tribes, due to December temps. (Think “brr”.) The Mohicans called it the Long Night Moon since it rises in the lengthiest evenings of the year, around the Winter Solstice, and lingers above the horizon like a drone. It symbolizes transition and renewal. A time to ponder our dreams and goals. A supermoon is a full moon which happens when the Moon is at its nearest point to Earth in its orbit. Supermoons are energy boosters for traditional full moon esbats, magnifying psychic abilities while making possible the manifestation of fond desires. This will be the last…
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Our Favorite Places to Get Witchy Shit: The Modern Merlin
Hello everyone! It’s a snow day here in my neck of the woods in Northeast Ohio, so I decided to take the initiative this morning and kick off a new column series that we’re super excited for. This is going to be a collaborative column, with all or many of us here at the PaganPages family participating. As the holidays approach, many are traveling out of town to visit family, and we figured we could share our favorite witchy/occult/spiritual shops and businesses-whether a brick and mortar, small business, or online. Given the state of our politics in the U.S., we’re also looking at this as a form of protest-favoring small…
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Book Review: The Apothecary of Belonging
Title: The Apothecary of Belonging: Seasonal Rituals & Practical Herbalism; Reconnecting to the Land, Our Bodies & Our Communities Author: Alexis J. Cunningfolk Publisher: Weiser Books Date: November 3, 2025 Pages: 272 “The Apothecary of Belonging: Seasonal Rituals & Practical Herbalism” acquaints readers with plants that serve as allies, teachers, and companions, guiding us through the seasons as they flow within and around us. Working with the premise that “we are all land,” Alexis Cunningfolk, an intersectional herbalist and witch, facilitates connections between plants and people. She presents an overarching theme for each season, with in-depth information about three primary botanicals and short profiles of dozens of herbs that address…
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Book Review — The Divine Nature of Plants: A Medical Intuitive’s Guide to Plant Spirit Medicine by Laura Aversano
Publisher: Destiny Books, a division of Inner Traditions 288 Pages Release Date: July 8, 2025 Content warning: This book contains extensive writing about mediumship, aka, speaking to the dead, including deceased children. If you’re a regular Pagan Pages reader, you know I love plants. I write the column Notes from the Apothecary and love to explore the ways we use plants as medicine, food, and magical companions for all sorts of everyday aspects of life. That respect for plant medicine comes from a scientific viewpoint, for example, looking at the folklore medicine of plants or what Mrs Grieve wrote in her Modern Herbal, and seeing how modern research now backs…
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Time to Cut the Shit: The Rant About Magick, Paganism, the Occult and Witchcraft That No One Else Wants to Have
My first entry in a little while is going to be brutally honest, and I’m not apologizing about it, either. I’m going to cuss, talk a little shit (from a place of love), and hopefully get some gatekeeping assholes to get off their fuckin’ high horse! To be frank, I’m fed up with the toxicity I see in the online Pagan community, and the Pagan community at large. It’s absolutely fucking ridiculous; some of y’all are out here acting less mature than a toddler throwing a temper tantrum! This is a rant about, and to, the Pagan community, the witch community, the occultist community, and the magickal community. It’s time…
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Book Review – Pagan Portals Brigantia: Warrior Goddess by Pauline Breen
Book Review Brigantia: Warrior Goddess By Pauline Breen Publisher: Moon Books 112 pages, Kindle and Paperback Release Date: August 1, 2025 This book presents itself with a fascinating topic a powerful Celtic Warrior Goddess, but if this was a battle field the book falls to a sword while still in the introduction pages. The author repeatedly uses the phrases I think, I feel, In my opinion, It appears, Maybe and so forth. It becomes glaringly obvious that there sadly is not much substance to the book overall. The author while still in the introduction section admits that there is scant information upon which to draw from for the writing…
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A Final Word. A practical guided journal for you and your loved ones
My 1st impression of this book is the quality. The book has a nice weight and the cover isn’t a glossy cover, but more like a heavy weight linen which adds to the level of importance of the contents. Throughout the book there are quotes and gorgeous artwork. Each section is labeled and prompts are given to guide you in completing each prompt. The flow of the book makes sense starting with early life, moving to present time and finishing with the future. I like the fact that this book helps with the policy of if it isnt in writing it isnt enforceable. Each propmt gives the owner a good…
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A World Re-Enchanted November 2025
November and the Dawning of Hrivë In the reckoning of the Elves, Hrivë signifies “Winter,” one of the six seasons recognized in the Calendars of Arda. Although Tolkien’s Elves did not align their seasons precisely with our Gregorian months, Hrivë is typically associated with the period that begins in late October and reaches fully into November. Thus, in a spiritual or symbolic adaptation for modern practice, November may be understood as the month in which Hrivë truly awakens—when the slow, inward-turning breath of the world becomes unmistakable. November marks the threshold where the vitality of Quellë—the fading of autumn—gives way to the stillness and clarity of winter’s rule. In Tolkien’s…
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Weyland’s Whey, November 2025 New Moon Column
New Moon Be advised, Pilgrims: the next new moon will be on Thursday November 20th (that’s tomorrow for the befuddled. Like myself). Its Moon Sign will be in Scorpio. It will signify a time of intentional transformation and emotional renewal. A time of manifestation, ideal for setting intentions and beginning new projects. I’d ask for a raise, but then my boss might set some new intentions for me! (www.fullmoonology.com, Astrology King) MUSIC Review Touch on Me. By October London, from his October Nights album. 2024. (Today’s R&B on Music Choice.) 4 1/2 broomsticks. Happy Thanksgiving! Crystal Clear A limited series by Mihos Light and Lighting, Part Two Light therapy, also called…
