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Lughnasadh/Lammas/Lunasa Correspondences
Major Sabbat (High Holiday) – Fire Festival August 1 Other Names: Lunasa (meaning August), Lughnasaad, Lughnasa Celtic),First Harvest, August Eve, Feast of Cardenas, Feast of Bread, Tailltean Games(Irish), Teltain Cornucopia (Strega), Ceresalia (Ancient Roman) Harvest Home, Thingtide (Teutonic), Lammas (Christian). Laa Luanys, Elembious, Festival of Green Corn (Native American) Animals and Mythical beings: Griffins, Basilisks, Roosters, Calves, Centaurs, Phoenix Gemstones: aventurine, citrine, peridot, sardonyx, yellow diamonds, citrine Incense and Oils: wood aloes, rose, rose hips, rosemary, chamomile, eucalyptus, safflower, corn, passionflower, frankincense, sandalwood Colors: red, orange, golden yellow, green, light brown, gold, bronze, gray Tools, Symbols, and Decorations: corn, cornucopias, red, yellow flowers, sheaves of grain (wheat, barley, oats), first fruits/vegetables of garden labor, corn…
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Mindful Living: A Connection of Mind, Body and Spirit
The Wheel turns towards Lughnasadh (August 1st) and in the United States the Midwest is in the height of Summer. Vacations and day trips are scheduled to make one more summer memory before the grind of school and school related activities becomes the primary focus of many for the bulk of the year. Gentle buds and blossoms have given way to the hearty heat loving plants and flowers. Solace can be found under shade trees, in creeks, pools and water parks. Those who live in accordance with nature often split their days to rise early to work outside then afternoon rest and work later in the day as the heat…
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Communing with the Essence
The Key to Respectfully Communing Essence-ly — Our sensitivity can at first feel as though it is a curse, a defect that proves there is something wrong with us. It can also lead us into the dissolve of barriers and boundaries, naming us as Empaths, where we feel and sense, and oftentimes absorb the world around us even to our detriment. Our sensitivity can make us sick and take on other peoples troubles. It can also lead us into understanding that we are energetic Spiritual Beings that are ultimately One. It can also remind us that we are uniquely separate entities choosing to be alive as an individual at…
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Book Review – The Evil Eye: The History, Mystery, and Magic of the Quiet Curse by Antonio Pagliarulo
Book Review The Evil Eye: The History, Mystery, and Magic of the Quiet Curse by Antonio Pagliarulo Publisher: Weiser Books 256 Pages Release Date: May 1, 2023 The more occult books I read, the more I enjoy those which get really specific and focus on just one practice, going into detail and exploring it thoroughly. The Evil Eye: The History, Mystery, and Magic of the Quiet Curse is a perfect example of this type of book: one which takes a long, deep dive into the history and practices surrounding the Evil Eye. This book presents its singular topic with both depth and breadth, looking at the…
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Weyland’s Whey – That Old Familiar Feeling
That Old Familiar Feeling They’re a basic ingredient. When you’re a witch you gotta have the robe. An altar. And a familiar or two. Now, full disclosure time here: I’m no scholar or expert. I haven’t seriously researched this topic, nor do I intend to. But I deal with familiars on a daily basis (or at least I believe I do) and I’m happy to share my own experiences. I suppose familiars come in all genders and species or whatever, but I only deal with my boys Jinx and Spirit. They’re a couple of stray cats my girlfriend Sparkle took in long before she and I met. We hit…
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Summer Solstice/Litha Correspondences
Wed, Jun 21, 2023 10:57?AM Also known As: Midsummer, Midsommer, Summer Solstice, Litha, Alban Hefin, Sun Blessing, Gathering Day, Feill-Sheathain, Whit Sunday, Whitsuntide, Vestalia, Thing-tide, St. John’s Day Purpose Rededication to the Lord and Lady, beginning of the harvest, honoring the Sun God, honoring the pregnant Goddess Dynamics/Meaning Crowning of the Sun God, death of the Oak King, assumption of the Holly King, end the ordeal of the Green Man Tools, Symbols & Decorations The sun, oak, birch & fir branches, sun flowers, lilies, red/maize/yellow or gold flower, love amulets, seashells, summer fruits & flowers, feather/flower door wreath, sun wheel, fire, circles of stone, sun dials and swords/blades, bird feathers,…
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Book Review – Celtic Tree Mysteries by Steve Blamires
Book Review Celtic Tree Mysteries By Steve Blamires Publisher: Crossed Crow Books 248 pages Publication Date: May 16, 2023 Author Steve Blamires gives readers a wealth of detailed information about the Tree Alphabet and Ogham script – how the two systems differ and how they may be used together for magical purposes. Celtic Tree Mysteries also serves a manual to connect and communicate with twenty magical trees, bringing about heightened spiritual awareness. The book begins with an academic overview of Ogham, an ancient alphabet comprised of a series of notches and short horizontal or diagonal lines spaced along the vertical edge of a stone found throughout…
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Webcomic – An’ It Charm None
** About the Cartoonist: Sarah McMenomy is a visionary artist, author, and witch. Pulling inspiration from trance states, dreams, auras, psychedelia, and the natural world, she weaves together themes of nature and the occult in her artwork and writing. She has created art and written for books, magazines, games, and more, as well as producing digital fine art prints and acrylic paintings. She is the creator of The Entanglement Tarot, a hex-shaped occult Tarot deck designed for spell-craft. She is co-runner of Pagan Pages, for which she also writes articles and book reviews, and she also publishes art on her Portfolio site and other work on her Tumblr.
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Book Review – Celtic Tree Mysteries by Steve Blamires
Book Review Celtic Tree Mysteries Written by Steve Blamires Publisher: Crossed Crow Books 250 Pages Release Date: May 16, 2023 A Llewellyn author, Steve Blamires has traveled to all the continents and is known as an authority in Celtic mythology and paganism. He has worked for National Geographic and he leads group tours to Scotland, hosts a radio show, and is on the Board of Directors of American Center for Folk Music. The Llewellyn site wrote this about him: “Steve Blamires was born in Ayr, Scotland, and is one of the foremost Celtic scholars in the world. He is a co-founder of The Company of Avalon,…
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Poetry – Lúnasa
We come to eat, we come to play To revel in the joy of the sun The heat of the height of the year The Solstice has come and gone. We bring in the first grains And pick first fruits to share We store away for later months We pickle and prepare. And while we feast and compete We honour those who came before By being better Being kinder Being something more For this green and graceful world Fragile in some ways But She’ll go on after us Nature stays, always stays… Let us hold the sun in our hearts Let us give space for the wild Let us…
