• Monthly Columns

    Peeking in the Shadows: Crafting a Book of Shadows and Light

      A Journey Through the Witch’s Wheel of the Year 2022! The Witch’s Wheel of the Year     We Continue Our Journey Through the Witch’s Wheel and celebrate the Harvest of Lughnasadh….   Lughnasadh (aka Lammas) is here! We share the bounty of the Season and the Sacrifice of Tailtiu….     The blade is sharp Scythe swings in Flashing arc as Sheaf of wheat And apples fall The Harvest now begun. Gather the grain Leave what you must Fill carefully woven baskets With the overflowing bounty. Consume the energy Swallow the light Feel the great Blessing of living grain’s Sustaining of all life. No time to linger Fields…

  • Monthly Columns

    Brambling – A Poem for the First Harvest

    Brambling     Caught red handed, Well, purple really, Juice dripping down Guilty chin.   Bucket half full Promising wine, crumbles pies All lies If I don’t stop eating them Along the trail.   These jewels are not just mine I share them with Doves, pigeons, blackbirds Lon Dubh shouting As I invade His sacred space.   So I leave enough To feed the feathered folk Even knowing this means Imminent purple plopping On the bonnet of my Long suffering vehicle.   Dodging nettles Spiky brambles Benevolent thorns They take my juice As I seek theirs.   Caught red handed Purple hand gang States the seven-year-old As we fill our…

  • Monthly Columns

    Celebrating the Old Ways in New Times

    Celebrating the Old Ways in New Times for August 2022   (Photo by Markus Spiske on Unsplash)   Bright Blessings! Lughnassadh is upon us, the first harvest of the Wheel of the Year, and I don’t know if I have ever felt less like writing about harvest before! Something is weighing on my mind heavily I feel needs written about and writing about harvest being all about how we reap what we sow, and to keep working hard at our goals will take a different tone this time. This is the hottest Summer I can ever remember having in Central Ohio and I know why it’s happening. Global Warming. Yes,…

  • This Month's Holiday

    Lughnasadh/Lammas Correspondences

    (Lammas Holiday Cross Stitch Autumn Pattern pdf Created by Olga of SmartyOwl on Etsy.) Major Sabbat (High Holiday) – Fire Festival August 1, 2   Other Names: Lunasa (meaning August), Lughnasaad, Lughnasa Celtic),First Harvest, August Eve, Feast of Cardenas, Feast of Bread, Tailltean Games(Irish), Teltain Cornucopia (Strega), Ceresalia (Ancient Roman) Harvest Home, Thingtide (Teutonic), Lammas (Christian). Laa Luanys, Elembious, Festival of Green Corn (Native American) Animals and Mythical beings: Griffins, Basilisks, Roosters, Calves, Centaurs, Phoenix Gemstones: aventurine, citrine, peridot, sardonyx, yellow diamonds, citrine Incense and Oils: wood aloes, rose, rose hips, rosemary, chamomile, eucalyptus, safflower, corn, passionflower, frankincense, sandalwood Colors: red, orange, golden yellow, green, light brown, gold, bronze, gray Tools, Symbols, and Decorations: corn, cornucopias,…

  • Monthly Columns,  Spells & Rituals

    Celebrating the Old Ways in New Times

    Celebrating the Old Ways in New Times for September 2021 Bright Blessings, I write this on the day the plans I’ve had since 2009 have finally started to come to fruition, and it’s not entirely hit me just yet. I’ve been trying to move out of the condo where we live since then. I even left my husband for nearly two years at one point because I wanted to leave so badly! After a disastrous encounter with one of the neighbors who is a dangerous criminal, we busted our backsides for a few months- and we got this place sold. We sacrificed our time, our money, and our energy- but…

  • Monthly Columns

    MagickalArts

    A New (Witch’s Year)! The Space of Integration   A Harvest of Return Lammas – Lughnasaadh August 1 ..Excerpted from my online course – A Year and A Day on the Wiccan Path….   Another turn of the Great Wheel and the first harvest is upon us. This Sabbat is known as Lammas or Lughnassadh depending on where and how it is celebrated. Lammas is derived from the words “loaf mass” and refers to the harvesting of the grains, preparation and baking of bread in celebration of the gifts of the season. The God may take the form of the Green Man, the Harvest King or Grain Father. Lughnassadh gives…

  • Monthly Columns

    An Irreverent Lughnasadh

    Lughnasadh is my least ‘religiously’ observed festival. That seems pretty irreverent for a practicing Pagan, I guess, but my reasons are thus: Lughnasadh tends to fall at the time of year that I am busiest; either with my lovely children, or with camping, or catching up with friends, or all of the above. It can be a busy time in the garden, and it also falls right bang in the middle of the first section of the foraging season. We’ve just run out of wild elder flowers and are moving onto raspberries and blackberries, some of Lugh’s favourite offerings, although that’s from personal experience and not attested to in Irish…

  • This Month's Holiday

    Lughnasadh/Lammas/First Harvest Correspondences

    (Lammas Folklore Zine created by Through The Hagstone of ThroughTheHagstOne on Etsy where it may be purchased.)   Major Sabbat (High Holiday) – Fire Festival August 1, 2 Other Names: Lunasa (meaning August), Lughnasaad, Lughnasa Celtic),First Harvest, August Eve, Feast of Cardenas, Feast of Bread, Tailltean Games(Irish), Teltain Cornucopia (Strega), Ceresalia (Ancient Roman) Harvest Home, Thingtide (Teutonic), Lammas (Christian). Laa Luanys, Elembious, Festival of Green Corn (Native American) Animals and Mythical beings: Griffins, Basilisks, Roosters, Calves, Centaurs, Phoenix Gemstones: aventurine, citrine, peridot, sardonyx, yellow diamonds, citrine Incense and Oils: wood aloes, rose, rose hips, rosemary, chamomile, eucalyptus, safflower, corn, passionflower, frankincense, sandalwood Colors: red, orange, golden yellow, green, light brown, gold, bronze, gray Tools, Symbols,…

  • Monthly Columns

    GoodGod!

    Meet the Gods: Lugh     The Celts, who lived in central Europe, worshipped Lugh (or Lug) as their Sun god. He is one of the most prominent gods from Irish mythology with many skills including fierce warrior, master craftsman, harpist, poet, and king. Fulfilling a prophecy, he grew up to kill his grandfather, Balor, the god of the underworld. Lugh (pronounced Loo) is associated with the festival of Lughnasadh (pronounced Loo-NA-sah), which bears his name. It is celebrated as the first harvest – traditionally August 1 – by those who keep the tradition alive. Astrologically, it falls on August 6, 2020.     He is depicted as a tall,…

  • Monthly Columns

    Celebrating the Old Ways in New Times Lughnasadh/Lammas

    Celebrating the Old Ways in New Times for August 2020 Lughnasadh/Lammas Bright Blessings! This year is flying by. I can hardly believe it’s almost Lammas or Lughnassadh, depending on which you celebrate. Both are first harvest, celebrating first fruits, some being wheat, some being corn or berries, and all giving thanks for the beneficial harvest from hard work. Today’s Pagans seldom grow wheat and corn, since nowadays, we buy it! For us, our harvests are symbolic! Let’s do a bit of history before talking about personal harvests!   Lughnasadh Halfway between Summer Solstice and Autumn Equinox, Lughnasadh is an old Pagan holiday celebrated in Scotland, Ireland, and the Isle of…