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The Wheel turns once again, bringing with it the silly season. Recently a well-meaning acquaintance asked me what did I have planned for the holidays. This sort of got me thinking… what was I going to do? I don’t claim to have a complete understanding of the Athenian calendar system. However I’ve read that in parts of ancient Greece there’s a month that roughly corresponds to our December/January that’s called Poseidon for the sea god of the same name. Why honour Poseidon? Isn’t he just a mood-swinging meathead surfer dude chasing booty as much as waves? To start with the basics Poseidon was most notably the god of the sea.…

Onyx Onyx is a member of the Quartz family.  It can have bands of layered color.  Black Onyx is most often dyed gray Chalcedony.  Ancient Greeks claim that Cupid cut Aphrodite’s nails and threw the pieces into the Indus River.   These pieces turned into Onyx.  Because of this connection to the Greek goddess of love, Onyx has the property to cool the ardors of love, but if you wear it for too long, it can cause the couple to part ways.  This could be because Onyx quells desire.  It can heal old wounds, grief, and sorrow. The stone Onyx represents vigor, steadfastness, stamina, strength, and self-control.  It is a grounding…

February 1, 2 Other Names: Imbolg (im-molc)(em-bowl’g) (Celtic), Candlemas (Christian), Brigantia (Caledonii), Oimelc, Festival of Light, Brigid’s (Brid, Bride) Day, La Fheill, An Fheille Bride, Candelaria (Mexico), Chinese New Year, Disting-tid (Feb 14th, Teutonic), DisaBlot, Anagantios, Lupercalia/Lupercus (Strega), Groundhog Day, Valentines Day. Animals & Mythical Beings: Firebird, dragon, groundhog, deer, burrowing animals, ewes, robin, sheep, lamb, other creatures waking from hibernation. Gemstones: Amethyst, garnet, onyx, turquoise. Incense/Oil: Jasmine, rosemary, frankincense, cinnamon, neroli, musk, olive, sweet pea, basil, myrrh, and wisteria, apricot, carnation. Colors/Candles: Brown, pink, red, orange, white, lavender, pale yellow, silver. Tools,Symbols, & Decorations: White flowers, marigolds, plum blossoms, daffodils, Brigid wheel, Brigid’s cross, candles, grain/seed for blessing, red…

The Old Guard Dies… Or Do They There are two roads that lead from Mamontovka to Moscow. One of them is the M-8… a modern, four lane highway that is part of the North-South National Highewy System. It is soothe, well maintained and usually crowded. The other… the old, original Moscow-Yaroslavl road, is small, narrow and empty most of the time. Called the “Payanee Doroga” or “Drunken Road”, it twists and curves it’s way through switchback after switchback, as it meanders seemingly through every tiny village and hamlet in the North-eastern end of Moskovski Oblast. In the summer, it is a pleasant drive, if you have the time, and even…

Twelfth Night and the Fae by Kathryn Cranston It has long been acknowledged that the Christian church, not knowing the date of the birth of Jesus, chose December 25th in order to combat “infernal” pagan celebrations by subsuming those celebrations into their own.  Thus, “Yuletide” and “Saturnalia” turned into “Christmas” wherever Christianity held dominion.  Although the converted people retained many of their ancient customs, these customs often survived only by being renamed or disguised. Along with Christmas came a whole plethora of activities, including the Twelve Days of Christmas.  During the Middle Ages, people were free to make merry and feast throughout these twelve days, with the Twelfth Night marking…

Oracles and omens have been around since the dawn of time. It has been well documented. Some, for instance, such as Plato, Pythia the famous Priestess of Apollo at Delphia, the Priest of Dodona, and Clarus and Notradomus. Pythagorus was a guru who founded a philosophy religion, gathered disciples and performed miracles and made prophecies. Apollomus Of Tyana who lived in the first century A.D., performed many miracles and after he died he was worshipped as a God. Socrates was another, who thanks to his familar, knew things before they happened. Pagan supernatural powers back then guided everything. The moving of the sun, where lightening hit, the path that birds flew, door banging,…

Grounding into the Elements The holidays can be a hectic and trying time.  There is always someplace to go or something that needs to be done.  So, as the new year comes and things start to settle down we often start to feel melancholy because we deal with the loss of friends and family as we gravitate back to our own lives. It can be difficult to readjust and find the balance.  When that happens it’s often good to get back to basics.  I can’t think of anything more fundamental and more basic to most pagans than the elements.  In almost every path they are honored. So, in that respect…

Are you cyclically confused? In a ceremonial quandary? Completely clueless? Wonder no more. Ask Your Mama™ The What, When, Where, Why, How, and Who of Ceremony & Spirituality by ©Mama Donna Henes, Urban Shaman A Question of Spell Casting Dear Mama Donna, This has been a nightmare year for me. One terrible thing after another has been happening. My whacko neighbor keeps hinting that she has put a spell on me. Things have been so incredibly horrendous that I am beginning to believe her. I am totally spooked. Can you put the spell back onto her? -Helpless in Brooklyn Dear (Not-So) Helpless, No, no, a thousand times no! Your question…

with ReikiAwakening.com’s Alice Langholt Welcome to this month’s Reaching Reiki column. This month’s topic is Self Healing. The holiday season is stressful for many, and brings to mind the need for us to remember to care for ourselves as we are thinking of others. Malls, in particular, are sources of negative energy. Family tensions can recur during extended holiday visits. Money woes can affect our decisions when purchasing gifts. All can affect our energy system in negative ways. Self care and energetic self healing are most important this time of year. So how is this done? For a Reiki practitioner, remembering to use Reiki on oneself is sometimes a chore…

Tool Time In the TV sitcom Home Improvement, the father Tim Taylor was obsessed with tools and “more power.”  We Wiccans use tools in our spiritual practice and magick and they are means of representing and channeling power.  But, there are misunderstandings as far as their necessity, cost and purpose. I met one of my online friends because of a message she posted on a board regarding tools.  She asked if it was necessary to have every tool in order to be a Wiccan and if it was necessary to spend a lot of money on them because someone told her both things were true.  I posted a reply explaining…