• Reviews

    Book Review – The Full Moon Yearbook by Julie Peters

    Book Review The Full Moon Yearbook: A Year of Ritual and Healing Under the Light of the Full Moon Written by Julie Peters Illustrated by Lauren Spooner Publisher: David & Charles Pages: 144 Rerelease Date: November 28, 2023     The subtitle for this book is A year of ritual and healing under the light of the full moon, which is bound to be attractive to anyone who follows a spiritual path linked to the moon in any way. I love the moon, and writing about the moon, reading about the moon, and even singing about the moon! So, yeah, I’m pretty excited to read any book that comes out…

  • This Month's Holiday

    Samhain Correspondences

      Evening of Tue, Oct 31, 2023 – Wed, Nov 1, 2023   Other Names: celtic ~ Summer’s End, pronounced “sow” (rhymes with now) “en” (Ireland), sow-een (Wales) – “mh” in the middle is a “w” sound – Greater Sabbat(High Holiday) – Fire Festival Oct 31-Nov 1(North Hemisphere) – Apr 30-May 1 – The Great Sabbat, Samhiunn, Samana, Samhuin, Sam-fuin, Samonios, Halloween, Hallomas, All Hallows Eve, All Saints/All Souls Day(Catholic), Day of the Dead (Mexican), Witches New Year, Trinoux Samonia, Celtic/ Druid New Year, Shadowfest (Strega), Martinmas or Old Hallowmas (Scotttish/Celtic) Lá Samhna (Modern Irish), Festival of the Dead, Feile Moingfinne (Snow Goddess), Hallowtide (Scottish Gaelis Dictionary), Feast of All…

  • Spells & Rituals

    SpellCrafting: Spells & Rituals

    New Year’s Intentions Merry meet! With Samhain marking the end of one year, it’s a time to focus our intentions on the witches’ new year ahead – and help them manifest. This spell will match a wish to each of the elements.     Prepare an altar for Samhain with a candle for each of the elements. Have four small pieces of paper and, to put them in, four envelopes or small glass jars. Add sacred objects, and perhaps items related to your intentions. Put the four aces from the Minor Arcana, which will represent the elements, and the Nine of Cups, the wish card, on the altar.   Burn…

  • Spells & Rituals

    The Rite Way

    A Ritual for Samhain   This Samhain ritual is written for a solitary practitioner, but can be adapted for more than one. In sacred space, you will be writing your own Charge of the Dark Goddess or God … or both. Because I prefer to spread out materials, I will be setting up a minimalist altar on my dining room table with a black candle; a pentacle; objects representing each of the elements; books, papers, and computer, a cup of a psychic tea blend, and pumpkin bread. To begin, cleanse your space by ringing a bell, clapping your hands, or smudging the area. Create sacred space to protect you and…

  • Spells & Rituals

    The Rite Way

    A Ritual Making Harvest Stew   To celebrate the second harvest, this ritual consists of making a vegetable stew infused with magical intentions. It is written for a solitary practitioner, but can easily be adapted to a group. You will need more than an hour to complete this ritual. Read through it to know what you will need, making changes to suit your circumstances. Begin by purifying and cleansing your ritual space of any energy not aligned with the highest good; in this case it will most likely be the kitchen. You can sweep the space, ring bells, smudge it with herbs, or asperge the perimeter with water or other…

  • Spells & Rituals

    SpellCrafting: Spells for Your Craft

    Lughnasadh Candle   Merry meet! This issue’s spell coordinates with Lughnasadh, but is also appropriate anytime you wish to offer gratitude. It can be done without a ritual, or it can be substituted for the magickal working in the Lughnasadh ritual published in this edition. Choose a candle that is yellow, golden, orange, red, or color of your choice to represent the first harvest of summer. If you wish to dress it, consider rosemary, safflower oil, chamomile, frankincense, and sandalwood – all correspond to the sabbat. Aventurine, citrine, peridot, yellow diamonds, and citrine are gemstones associated with Lughnasadh. You may also want something with which to write on or carve…

  • Monthly Columns

    A Spiritual Alternative to Baby Showers, “Mother Blessings”

    Mother Blessings are special and sacred ceremonies for mothers-to-be. The ceremony originated with indigenous traditions of “blessing way” ceremonies, which were traditionally held for women about to embark on a birthing journey. On their passage, one was blessed with song and dance during the ceremony. Keeping this in mind, we strive to respect other cultures and not appropriate their traditions. Thus, we hold our own modified version of this event within our community, not using the exact same title, but always acknowledging the roots of this ceremony.  The concept of a Mother Blessing is similar to that of a Baby Shower, but there are major di?erences between the two events.…

  • Monthly Columns

    Magic Myrtle

    Hello Myrtle! I’m middle aged and have “started again” multiple times. I’m not too bad at it, but I’m getting tired of changes if I am honest. I understand that times change and I will get left behind if I don’t roll with the changes, but this time, I really don’t feel like it. I have settled comfortably into a new career I’m good at…but the job is changing again in such a way I feel pushed to literally get another degree because I can tell my skills need sharpened. I am good at what I do, but I am going to have to learn more so I am not…

  • Spells & Rituals

    The Rite Way

    A Ritual to Honor the Fae     It is perhaps most common to work with the sun on the summer solstice because, after all, it’s the day with the most hours of sunlight. Litha, though, is also a good time to work with the fae. It is one of the “between times” along with equinoxes, dawn, and dusk. The veil between the worlds is thin, and they often cross over to take part in the battle between the Oak and Holly kings. That makes this a good time to reach out to them. I wrote the ritual below for the solo pagan to do just that – by leaving…

  • Reviews

    Book Review – Rituals for Life: A Guide to Creating Meaningful Rituals Inspired by Nature by Isla Macleod

    Book Review Rituals for Life: A Guide to Creating Meaningful Rituals Inspired by Nature by Isla Macleod Publisher: Laurence King Publishing 192 pages Release Date: November 29, 2022         I strongly believe in the power of rituals, which play an important role in my spiritual practice, so I was excited to review Isla Macleod’s book, “Rituals for Life: A guide to creating meaningful rituals inspired by nature.” It makes a wonderful manual for beginners because it goes into depth explaining the their purpose and potential, their gifts, essential components, how to prepare for them, and instructions for creating twenty rituals plus suggestions for variations. With its many…