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Frolicking with the Fairies My friend Elsa always talked to plants. I thought she was crazy. Safely insane, but definitely disassociated from reality. Until the plants laughed at me. Autumn of 1980, returning home from a rare dinner out after a healing intensive at my land in the Catskills, I stopped to get my mail. An unusual envelope contained a $500 money order, signed “Mother Nature” and this note: “It’s my birthday and I could think of no better gift than giving you the means to build a shelter for your teaching.” How wonderful. How perplexing. Even way back then, $500 would not put down a floor, let alone walls…

The Orb: A General Overview When is s a spirit entity not a sprit entity? While mentioned previously in this manual it is necessary  to devote at least some more time to the subject of “orbs”. In recent years a number of people have reported finding anomalous circular images, often called “orbs,” in photos taken at night with a flash, under seemingly ordinary conditions. The photos have been taken both outdoors and indoors. These photos were not taken under “conventional UFO,” conditions, i.e., there were no strange lights or objects visible to the photographer. These images first turned up in photos taken for various reasons other than to photograph “orbs,”…

The Winter Solstice or Yule is one of the Lesser Wiccan Sabbats, and it is also the shortest day of the year, and hence – the longest night. This usually takes place on December 21st. Other than the most common name of Yule, various other names for the Winter Solstice include Midwinter, Yuletide (the Teutonic version), Alban Arthan (Caledonii Tradition, or the Druids), Feill Fionnain (Pecti-Wita Tradition, which falls on December 22nd). Yuletide lasts from December 20th through December 31st. It begins on “Mother Night” and ends twelve days later, on “Yule Night”, hence the “Twelve Days of Christmas” tradition. Alban Arthan, unlike all the others, is not considered a…

Probably one of the most striking differences between modern Paganism and the more predominant western religions is the fact that we have multiple gods and goddesses.  More than any other, this difference is the most disturbing to the monotheistic / revealed religions espoused by millions in Western and Middle Eastern cultures.  It rankles and offends them in most cases and they find such ideas impossible to comprehend.  And, for many folks within the Pagan religious expressions, it is difficult to explain in any way other than to say, “Well, that’s what I believe.”  That’s hardly comforting to the monotheists and it usually doesn’t sit well even within our own minds. …

Raymond Buckland is a familiar name in our magical circles. Known as The Father of American Witchcraft for the instrumental role he played in introducing Wicca to the U.S., he is a respected occultist and the author of around 60 books, including the pagan classic Buckland’s Complete book of Witchcraft. He’s now turned his pen toward the fantasy genre, with the recent release of his first fantasy novel, The Torque of Kernow (Galde Press, Buckland Books, 2008). Buckland’s decades of magical practice add a strong dose of realism to his fantasy fiction; the Torque of Kernow is a fantastic tale, but the magical acts the characters perform throughout the story…

Card #1, RECENT PAST: TWO OF COINS Reversed: You have either been offered or have found that you need a different job, be it a transfer or promotion or even a completely new job or position.  It is a time of change and upheaval, just what you don’t really want added to the mix with all the holiday stress, but you need to deal with it.  It is the reality of today, it is just a change and needs to be though of in that way. Card #2, CURRENT: JUSTICE: You have accepted that there are things you cannot control or change, and this has given you a new sense…

Kitchen/Cottage Witchery Kitchen witchery or Cottage witchery is a special kind of magick. Many times you can be in the home of a kitchen/cottage witch and never know it. You may never see a pentacle or any other sign of witchery. We are just your normal every day people. If you sat at our table you would see many of the same things you would see in your home… only we may use them differently. But the earmark of a kitchen /cottage witch’s home is the “feel” of it. Here you will be at peace. Calm, centered, comforted. That is what many of us infuse our homes with. For Kitchen/cottage…

Hope and Audacity Ah, my friends, the door once again beckons.  Let us push on. “The bad news is, there is no key to happiness.  The good news is, the door was never locked.” – Swami Beyondananda Hope.  With it, we can do anything.  Without it, or with the perception of being without it, we feel lost, and many of us choose this time to attempt to “end it all”.  Sometimes we need attention, sometimes one of our friends catches us and kicks our ass and we get back to it. There is hope around us.  For some of us, it may be the first time we have allowed ourselves…

Prosperity Wheels The new year is coming…It’s  time to reflect on the past and set goals for the future.  This tool gives you an easy ability to focus your energy on changing what it is you want to change, and to help achieve the goals you want to make! What you need: 1. Paper plate, or circle cut out of poster board or card stock. 2. paint, markers, crayons, colored Pencils 3. Ruler or straight edge 4. magazine pictures, actual picture, talent for drawing or sketching 5. Glue or tape 6. A paper fastener(I’ve always called them brads) 7. An idea of what you want your Wheel to represent! Ok…

For our puzzle lovers’ yuletide gift, please click here.