• Reviews

    Book Review-From Elder To Ancestor: Nature Kinship for All Seasons of Life by S. Kelley Harrell

    Article Photo Credits: Stock Photo of Cover of From Elder to Ancestor, via Publisher From Elder to Ancestor: Nature Kinship for All Seasons of Life by S. Kelley Harrell is a 184 page paperback book published by Destiny Books, an imprint of Inner Traditions Publishing. From Elder to Ancestor is a book of animism in that it takes the belief that many Pagans, Witches and others walking a nature spirituality path hold, and expands it past nature spirits, spirits of place, etc., and moves it forward into tending community and leaving a legacy for future generations. Harrell leaves exercises, journal prompts and even suggestions for rituals. From Elder to Ancestor can be seen as a blueprint…

  • Monthly Columns

    Spiritual First Aid

    Magick for Dealing with the Holidays Last time I went over what to do in one of the many different spiritual emergencies you may find yourself dealing with. In this installment, I want to talk more about how to use magick to deal with the craziness that life throws at you. Since this is the Yule issue, I am going to do a deep dive into how to use magick to cope with what can be the most emotionally charged time of the year- the holidays. Holidays are usually joyous occasions marked by joy, frivolity, and feasting, but for many others the holidays can be extremely emotionally triggering or overloading.…

  • Monthly Columns

    MagickalArts

    What Are the Magickal Arts? … As magickal practitioners we are all “artists” in our own ways, honing our skills of creating magick, weaving patterns of energy that affect change and calling to the most Divine of our natures as we align with cosmos, greater earth and all of the many Beings that inhabit those realms. And, I like where this trend is taking us in exploring the craft in all of forms….   Samhain brings the opportunity for reconnecting with our deceased Beloveds and acknowledge our place in the cycles of life and death. This issue we honor…   Magickal Art of Becoming the Ancestors!   Who Are the…

  • Interviews,  Reviews

    Book Review and Interview – The Bones Fall in a Spiral: A Necromantic Primer by Mortellus

    Book Review The Bones Fall in a Spiral: A Necromantic Primer by Mortellus  Publisher: Crossed Crow Books 272 Pages Publication: October 3, 2023     “The purpose of an author is to preserve knowledge… the purpose of any who work with the dead is to preserve the history of humanity in flesh and headstone.” – Mortellus I recently had the privilege of talking with Mortellus, author of the newly released title, The Bones Fall In A Spiral: A Necromantic Primer. I had the pleasure of reading their previously published title, Do I Have to Wear Black: Rituals, Customs & Funerary Etiquette for Modern Pagans and was anticipating another great read.…

  • Reviews

    Book Review – Ancestral Grimoire: Create Your Personal Book of Shadows by Nancy Hendrickson

    Book Review Ancestral Grimoire: Create Your Personal Book of Shadows by Nancy Hendrickson Publisher: Weiser Books 222 Pages Published: September 1, 2022     What is an Ancestral Grimoire? Where do I start with this magickal book? It was hard to read it just for review reasons, I wanted to drop everything and run for a Tarot deck and a beautiful blank journal to turn into my own Ancestral Grimoire, after reading just a few pages into the book! This isn’t one of those books full of theory without much hands on experiences, this is the opposite. This book is a workbook full of amazing knowledge about working with your…

  • Monthly Columns

    MagickalArts

    What Are the Magickal Arts?   … As magickal practitioners we are all “artists” in our own ways, honing our skills of creating magick, weaving patterns of energy that affect change and calling to the most Divine of our natures as we align with cosmos, greater earth and all of the many Beings that inhabit those realms. And, I like where this trend is taking us in exploring the craft in all of forms…. Let’s continue honing our skills as we explore the Art of Honoring Our Ancestors…   When we speak of the Magickal Arts, the focus may go more naturally to the Hermetic disciplines embedded in the practice…

  • Monthly Columns

    Nurturing Your Wild Child

      Costumes, Candy, and Carving Galore! Every year we adorn our houses with the spookiest decor, search for the largest pumpkin in the patch, and enjoy fun crafts with our families. It’s no surprise that introducing our children to Samhain is a smooth lesson. We find so much excitement in this time of year yet it has little connection to the Secular Faiths and we find that it’s roots are actually Irish Celtic in nature! Inside this Tradition, we also find some areas of apprehension when it comes to teaching our children the purpose for our Rituals. Death, Spirits, and Magickal things that we let them hold on to with…

  • Monthly Columns

    Celebrating the Old Ways in New Times

    Celebrating the Old Ways in New Times for October 2020 Bright Blessings! After a very hot, muggy end to Summer, cool weather has set in. I have not heard anybody complain about that. By the first week of September, local folks were busy buying pumpkins, mums, cornstalks, and gourds to liven up their yards, patios, porches, and to celebrate the beauty of Fall. Here in central Ohio, not only do we get brilliant foliage, but gorgeous apples! We celebrate with apple and pumpkin goodies! This is the first fall in 44 years I will not be partaking of such delicacies. I’ve had to give up a lot of foods for…

  • Reviews

    Witch & Popcorn

      Indian Horse   Years ago, I was a tour guide at a place called The Olentangy Indian Caverns in Delaware, Ohio. It’s a small cavern, and so the tour script had to be good. We could not just take people on a LONG walk underground for an hour. You can walk the whole thing is five minutes- not counting the breathless climb back to the top! After being hired, the first thing we were given was our employee handbook, and tour script. We could not give tours until we demonstrated to a staff person we knew that script. I realized, after doing this for a few Summers on my…

  • Monthly Columns

    Gael Song Second Edition

    The Hidden Gem of Solitude   With most folks staying at home during this pandemic, I thought an article about solitude might be helpful. I’ve lived a contemplative life for twenty years now, mostly by myself, writing, meditating, in complete silence 90% of every day. Besides three mornings of volunteer work a week, my life is very, very quiet. When my last daughter went off to college twenty years ago, I chafed against the isolation but within a very few months, I began to cherish it and still do. What I discovered fairly quickly is that silence opens the doorway to the Otherworld. In general, beings on the other side…