PaganPages.org

Faeries, Elves, and Other Kin: The Woman of Peace and the Spirit of the Air (Bean sidhe (Banshee) Announcing mortal’s deaths with her keening cries Piercing throughout the night rising and falling like the oceans waves White Lady of Sorrow spirit of the air Mourning and forewarning the ancient Celts and their decedents with her unearthly cries Woman of peace, her voice blending in with the mournful cries of loved ones left behind The Faery woman contrasts against the nights black skies Eyes red from crying, her face pale Cloaked in a raiment of grayish-white clinging to her tall slender frame Her hair of silver and gray streaming down to…

WHAT DO YOU CALL SPIRITUALISM? I recently had the privilege of being asked to collaborate on a project in helping create a difference, globally. I met some amazing women that brought home how the awareness of our spiritual self is becoming increasingly familiar and common. It is refreshing to be able to talk openly with these successful and intuitive women about metaphysics, auras, and understanding the power of each of our energies. I can tell you the room was so hot as we all commenced talking about what it is that brought us there. After this, it got me thinking about spiritualism in general. We can give thanks to “The…

Yule The sun was setting over the hills, casting warm yellows and pinks across the early evening sky. The snow that had fallen lightly throughout the day shone like a lake of diamonds The trees down by the creek had caps of white, knit by the delicate snowflakes of winter. The high priestess stood in the doorway of her cottage, Herne and Sebastian taking their positions on either side of her feet. She waved happily as the coven members cars pulled down her drive. As each disembarked from their cars, she could feel the energies rising all around. This Yule ritual was going to be truly a magical experience. Everyone…

Although best-known for her fantasy work such as the Westria series, Diana Paxson recently came out with a book on shamanic journeying and trancework called Trance-Portation which came into my hands recently and quite swept me away. A frequent reader on the topic on altered states of consciousness and both traditional and neoshamanism, I found her take on the subject fascinatingly fresh and exiting, and couldn’t wait to ask her some more questions. PaganPages: Firstly, could you tell us more about yourself? Diana Paxson: I grew up in southern California, but have lived in Berkeley since graduating from Mills College. I also did an M.A. in Comparative Literature at UC…

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…