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Yearning for Yuletide *Exclusive Poem by Mabh Savage
Yearning for Yuletide *A poem from Mabh Savage written exclusively for PaganPagesOrg The kids want to skip the time away Get to Solstice quick! Get to the presents The food The merriment; Get to Solstice Eve boxes, Packed with blankets Hot chocolate Warmth and love Wrapped with tired hands But full hearts. Get to unwrapping Paper everywhere Ribbons dangling from trees Books and pens and music Crafting supplies and tokens For things we do for each other Yes, the kids yearn for Yuletide And so do I, but while I also love The presents The food The merriment; I long to run to the woods Stand at the crossroads…
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Turning to the Dark – An exclusive poem for PaganPagesOrg by Mabh Savage
Turn to the dark, my love, Shield your eyes from the dying sun’s glare Give me your weathered hands, here Thrust them into my darkening hair Stroke my locks, my love, Twine them in your fingers tight Now you may look, open up, Take your first step into the night. Walk with me, my love, Take each faltering step Seeks the stars, the moon, Find where the secrets are kept. Take a breath of this air, so chill, Watch the ghosts in your steaming sigh, Turn again, this way, up the hill, Let us strive toward the sky. Feel the heart of the cooling Earth Feel the thrum of…
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Equinox of the Heart – Exclusive Poem from Author Mabh Savage
A Brand New Poem from Author Mabh Savage, Exclusive to PaganPagesOrg. Equinox of the Heart March winds come before April showers May flowers Cleaning the earth Blowing away Winter’s chilling dust Remnants of rot Leaf piles dead Slushy, slimy heaps of Seasonal trash Yet busting out with life Wood lice, slugs, snails, early caterpillars Then birds that come to feast Blackbirds, robins, and now the mistle thrush Pecking industriously Through a compost carnival Early spring’s banquet Against a backdrop of Cautious blossom. My heart, my heart blooms like the Snowdrop the Crocus the Narcissus Waiting to be plucked To plunge me down into the Earth…
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Abroad at Samhain
A New Samhain Poem by Mabh Savage Exclusive to PaganPagesOrg A halfway house Twixt autumn and winter Cold for us Frozen for others Yet warm and barely golden For some. So many different Samhains So many calls to the dead So many nods to ancestors Mentors Friends of fur and feather Or those family we chose For ourselves. Wherever in the world You celebrate the turn Towards darkness Remember turnips Painstakingly carved Apple peels thrown over shoulders Candles lit while looking in the mirror The butter and cream left out For those who come Perhaps uninvited But never spurned or mocked. Be safe Walk well Ward well Hold…
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Raising the Next Generation to be Environmentally Kind – An Excerpt from the Upcoming Book ‘Practically Pagan: An Alternative Guide to Planet Friendly Living’ by Mabh Savage
As we move into warmer months and hopefully have more access to the outside world, I thought it would be timely to share these thoughts about raising kids in a Pagan family to be respectful for Planet Earth. This excerpt is from my upcoming book, Practically Pagan: An Alternative Guide to Planet Friendly Living, available to pre-order now at Amazon and other book stores. Kids are our greatest teachers when it comes to appreciating the world around us. Anyone who has children or has the chance to interact with children will know that there is nothing more magical than seeing them become enthralled with nature. That look of…
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Practically Pagan: An Alternative Guide to Planet Friendly Living
I’m excited to announce that my new book about environmentally kind paganism is just about finished, and I hope to have a publication date soon! This is an absolutely exclusive peek at the brand new book, never before seen, so I hope you enjoy it! Earth The smell of the spring Is a wondrous thing Air simply alive With bacteria sporing That warm rainy smell That’s the time you can tell That the wheel has now turned; On the flip side we dwell. Day outlives night The warm golden light Gives way to the stars And the nocturnal sight Of the moon and the owl And the fox…
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The Bee – An Excerpt From Pagan Portals: Celtic Witchcraft by Mabh Savage
The following includes an excerpt from Pagan Portals: Celtic Witchcraft by Mabh Savage An animal that has had many sacred associations throughout the aeons, yet is mentioned all too infrequently in Celtic texts, is the bee. We know the Celts ate honey and drank mead, so they must have had skill with bees, yet it is rarely written of by the scholars of the middle ages who gave us most of the Celtic literature we now refer to. The bee is a dangerous animal that simply needs to be respected. Yes, a bee can sting you and undoubtedly it will hurt. It can even kill, if you are sensitive…
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Lambs in the Belly – An Excerpt from A Modern Celt by Mabh Savage
(Image via Unsplash) Brigid, who is also known as Persephone Rises like an epiphany From the womb of Winter’s death. One of the year’s turning points is Imbolc, celebrated at the start of February; roughly half way between winter solstice and spring equinox (in the Northern hemisphere anyway- in the southern hemisphere this would be around the start of August, around the time we are celebrating Lughnasadh). This is the time of year when you really start to notice that yes, the days are getting longer and lighter, and the air is beginning to warm. Imbolc is a celebration of the coming spring, making it through the harshest part of…
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Modern Yuletide Tales
**This is an excerpt from my first book, A Modern Celt: Seeking the Ancestors. The Winter Solstice has always been an incredibly magical time for me, despite not being (as far as we know) typically a Celtic festival. Here are some of my more mysterious experiences during the shortest day and longest night. My most precious memories of the winter solstice all seem to be of going to a specific lakeside on the longest night. I remember it always feels later in the day than it is, because despite it only being early evening it is already pitch black, and once you move away from the roads there…