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Like many others my age, the first witch I saw on TV was Samantha on the show Bewitched. But there was real life witch in my area whom I saw on TV several times. Jeffrey B. Cather RN, better known as Lady Circe of Toledo, OH, was respected by the media when they turned to her as the unofficial representative of the Pagan community. She was well spoken, knowledgeable and had an air of leadership about her. When I saw her on TV in the 70s and 80s, I was not yet studying the old ways, but it was in the back of my mind and the knowledge that such…

The Search for the Mary Gloster “I’ve paid for your sickest fancies; I’ve humoured your crackedest whim — Dick, it’s your daddy, dying; you’ve got to listen to him! Good for a fortnight, am I? The doctor told you? He lied. I shall go under by morning, and — Put that nurse outside. ‘Never seen death yet, Dickie? Well, now is your time to learn, And you’ll wish you held my record before it comes to your turn. Not counting the Line and the Foundry, the yards and the village, too, I’ve made myself and a million; but I’m damned if I made you. Master at two-and-twenty, and married at…

Diving Deep This is the second in my Elementals Perspectives series for PaganPages.  For those who didn’t read the first one in the series last month, let me briefly review what I’m trying to do with these articles. Most of us have a working knowledge of the classic four Elements (Air, Fire, Water, and Earth) and the so-called fifth one, Spirit.  It’s a handy way of categorizing the universe and that’s useful when we work magic or even for just getting a handle on what’s going on.  It’s easy to think of the classical Elements in much the same way as we were taught to think about the Periodic Table…

Beltaine, also called May Day by many Christians. This Sabbat celebrates the fertility and union of the Horned God and the Goddess. At this time, life is renewing itself. Birds and animals are mating. In the fields, newly planted seeds are beginning to grow. Great fires are lit honoring the fertility God Belenos. Some leap the fires to show the exuberance of the season. A Maypole is erected and bright ribbons are hung on it. The Maypole, a phallic symbol, represents the masculine. The soft colored ribbons are the feminine. The union of the two symbolizes the union of the God and Goddess. This is the time to fertilize your…

Broadcasting from The Grave Rave… Reporting directly is C.H. Scarlett… Well my little darling, Darklings of Darkness, it has been a poltergeist of a week. A few little articles, steeped in the ink of my own blood, of course, caused quite a storm of fury. They were nothing, I thought, concerning religious tolerance, slash some Christian Witchery, slash some Satanic controversy, slash a dash of battle concerning the Warlock definition of all fearful-hysterias. But alas, my regular blog was jumping with furious readers who made sure to flood my inbox with deliciously, malicious intent. Needless to say, I was shivering in my own grave with pure-untainted euphoria. Who knew so…

Isis:  Healer, Mother, Egyptian Goddess Isis was a goddess in Ancient Egyptian religious beliefs, whose worship was adopted by other20ancient cultures such as Rome.  She was the wife and sister of Osiris, daughter of Seb and Nut and mother of Horus. Worshiped as the ideal mother and wife, patron of nature, magic and sailors; friend of slaves, sinners, artisans, the downtrodden, as well as listening to the prayers of the wealthy, maidens, aristocrats and rulers.   Isis was known to be compassionate to all, no matter what their social class.  Isis also is known as the goddess of simplicity, from whom all beginnings arose, and was the ruler of bread, of…

It’s an old joke:  How he walked thirty miles to school each day… in the snow… uphill… both ways.  The image that goes along with it is of some old guy, maybe sitting in an easy chair or on a park bench, lecturing the youngster about how ‘easy’ they’ve got it.  Everybody laughs at that joke because we’ve all had at least one moment when we were that youngster and some grownup gave us a speech about how we didn’t know how tough things were ‘back then’ and we didn’t appreciate how much better off we were, growing up in the time that we were.  The implication was that… somehow……

Other Names: celtic ~ Summer’s End, pronounced "sow" (rhymes with now) "en" (Ireland), sow-een (Wales) – "mh" in the middle is a "w" sound – Greater Sabbat(High Holiday) – Fire Festival Oct 31-Nov 1(North Hemisphere) – Apr 30-May 1 – The Great Sabbat, Samhiunn, Samana, Samhuin, Sam-fuin, Samonios, Halloween, Hallomas, All Hallows Eve, All Saints/All Souls Day(Catholic), Day of the Dead (Mexican), Witches New Year, Trinoux Samonia, Celtic/ Druid New Year, Shadowfest (Strega), Martinmas or Old Hallowmas (Scotttish/Celtic) Lá Samhna (Modern Irish), Festival of the Dead, Feile Moingfinne (Snow Goddess), Hallowtide (Scottish Gaelis Dictionary), Feast of All Souls, Nos Galen-gae-of Night of the Winter Calends (Welsh), La Houney or Hollantide…

April Legends and Lore April, the fourth month of the current Gregorian calendar and the second month of Spring’s rule, derives its name from Aprillis, the Latin name for the ancient Roman love goddess Aphrodite. Other reference sources give aperite, the Latin word meaning “to open,” as the origination of the month’s name. The traditional birthstone amulet of April is the diamond, and the daisy and the sweet pea are the month’s traditional flowers. April is shared by the astrological signs of Aries the Ram and Taurus the Bull, and is sacred to the following Pagan deities: Aphrodite, Artemis, Astarte, Erzulie, Terra, Venus, and Ying-Hua. The name April comes from…

Parilia: the Ancient Roots of Earth Day Parilia is a Roman holiday in honor of the god Pales (whose gender is uncertain).  As the guardian of the flocks and herds, April 21st was set aside as a day for shepherds to cleanse both himself and his flock.  Rural in nature and predating the founding of the city of Rome, in time it became more urban over time and instead of being officiated by a shepherd, the ceremony was led by a priest.    In more recent times, this holiday became Earth Day, where we set aside time to remember our responsibility to the environment. When in the hands of the shepherd,…