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Excerpt from the Book ‘The Modern Witchcraft Guide to Fairies’
When you hear the word “fairy,” what image comes to mind? A miniature girl with gossamer wings and a sparkly dress, a la Disney’s version of Tinker Bell? A benevolent creature who flits about sprinkling fairy dust everywhere, waving her wand to make children’s wishes come true? If so, you’re in for a surprise. Like unicorns and mermaids, these magickal entities have been denatured by pop culture, robbed of their mystique and majesty. The fairies of old were nothing like the sugar-coated cartoon characters we envision today. They were powerful beings of a semi-divine nature, who may have descended from the gods and goddesses. According to some tales, they…
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As Above So Below (How the Stars Became Our Hearts)
Confessions of a Dark Witch 2 Dark Instinct Everyone inherently understands how important the play between the light and dark is. Your shadow is longer when the light is at its highest. If you’ve been to a rave, or have ever experienced Christmas lights, you’ll note that the lights are prettiest in the dark. When the sun is out, you can’t see the stars. And as a witch, we love the moon. If there was no darkness, her splendor would constantly be washed out by the radiance of the sun. The universe doesn’t value light or dark. It values balance. In a cake recipe, each ingredient is…
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Book Review – The Ancestral Power of Amulets, Talismans, and Mascots: Folk Magic in Witchcraft & Religion by Nigel Pennick
Book Review The Ancestral Power of Amulets, Talismans, and Mascots Folk Magic in Witchcraft & Religion by Nigel Pennick Publisher: Destiny Books 352 Pages Publication Date: May 11, 2021 Crosses. A rabbit’s foot. Bells. The Cimaruta. Bones. Four-leaf clovers. Bluebirds. Horseshoes. The mandrake. Runes. An Ankh. Pentagrams. Hag stones. Lucky numbers. Sigils. Emblems. Down through the centuries, people have worn, carried, and displayed hundreds of these as well as amulets, talismans, charms and mascots for protection, luck, love, good health, and more. In this book, Nigel Pennick presents the origins, meanings, traditions, and folklore for each magical artifact – plus pictures of some from his vast collection. Information…
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Book Review – The Way of the Seabhean: An Irish Shamanic Path by Amantha Murphy with Orla O’Connell
Book Review The Way of the Seabhean An Irish Shamanic Path by Amantha Murphy with Orla O’Connell Publisher: Womancraft Publishing 240 Pages Publication Date: January 28, 2021 I was so very excited to get this book into my hands. As a daughter of the Goddess and a woman of Portuguese/Azorean descent, which is the home of my heart, I have always been pulled by Celtic/Welsh spirituality, which is the home of my spirit. I have always had an interest in England and Scotland, but for some unknown reason, have never felt that pull to Ireland. It is my hope that this book is the beginning of unlocking that…
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Tarot Deck Review – The Sasuraibito Tarot by Stasia Burrington
Tarot Deck Review The Sasuraibito Tarot By Stasia Burrington Publisher: Independently Published 78 Card Tarot Deck The Sasuraibito Tarot is the masterful work of Stasia Burrington. Handmade and self printed since 2015, this 78 card deck is a beautiful and complex mixture of ancient Asian reverence, and millennial body positivity. The perfect expression of today’s mystic. Drawing heavily from Japanese as well as Western themes. Paganism encompasses many walks of life. If you believe in any very old, or new age belief system that is NOT Christianity, you might be Pagan. Every habitable land on Earth had some form of paganism. When it comes to tarot, you find…
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Book Review – Journey of a Shaman by John Norseman
Book Review Journey of a Shaman by John Norseman Publisher: Balboa Press 382 Pages Publication Date: May 26, 2015 In Journey of a Shaman, John Norseman has written his autobiography, beginning with his early life in England during World War II. He takes us in detail in the first quarter of the book through his education and coming of age, his marriage and romances and his work in the insurance industry ”that lead him to become the CEO of four major companies,” and to live and travel internationally. In 1992, he met the woman who became his business partner and second wife. Their work together, subsequent retirement and journeys…
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Faery Story – The Land of Cassari
Juicy Gossip! by Kelpie Sunpearl Hi everyone! Hope everyone is having a good day! If not, I hope these JUUUUUICY bits of gossip from Birchwood Grove distract you and help you have a better day! I was talking to Twig Magpie the other day. He helps his father run The Magpie’s Nest, the general store in BG. He also finds neat artifacts and odds n ends for the fairies and is THE best person to go to for the latest rumors or gossip going around! SO here we go! Twig told me that the last couple of days has been CRAAAAZY for the Rainbow Animal Care Clinic (RAAC)! Some…
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Tarot Talk
Comparing The Knight of Pentacles & The Knight of Swords For this month’s comparison we are going back to the Court Cards. Let us examine a Tarot “Royal” pair by getting to know the Knights via the Knight of Pentacles and the Knight of Swords. Just in case this is the first time you are reading my column, we will first review some basic information. A Tarot deck has 78 cards. There are 22 Major Arcana cards dealing with broader and more far-reaching life experience issues, archetypes that are easy for us to identify with and connect with at some point in our lives. There are 56 Minor…
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Witch Hunt
There are witches all around us. You can find them anywhere… The Witch on Wheels has been documenting her findings. Meet Theron Baker I met my fellow PaganPagesOrg columnist at a homestead in Georgia. We both had skoolies. We both had a thing for crystals and nature. We both smudged the entire perimeter and set up a crystal grid that calmed the chaotic energy. In the months we spent in the same community, we got to do a couple of rituals together and I got to see him perform kitchen witchery, serving up what was needed in the food he prepared. Learn more about my fellow…
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Peeking in the Shadows: Crafting a Book of Shadows and Light
This month continues a series of exploration about Our Relationship to the Divine…. Our Relationship to the Divine Part Four: A Ritual of Calling to the Divine …. The Divine flows within me. The Limitless All supports me. All Beings of Spirit and Essence are my teachers. I AM the corporeal out-picturing of the Divine’s desire… Ritual brings us closer to whomever or whatever we are hoping to deepen a connection with. It is through ritual that we learn more of ourselves and step more fully into the true nature of who we are as Divine Beings learning the ways of physical and corporeal existence.…