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Create a Mindful Life to Know Thyself
The wheel of the year turns to Yule or Winter Solstice. In the Northern United States, we have watched the leaves fall, our daylight grow shorter while our nights have grown longer. Frost has covered the ground and remaining leaves. We may or may not have had snow and ice. But we have the return of darkness and the natural introspection that comes with this time of the year. Our ancestors would gather around fires and practice rites and rituals to encourage the rebirth of the Sun and the return of longer days. We can connect with our ancestral wisdom by honoring the old practices. Turning off the lights and…
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Book Review – Sacred Actions Journal: A Wheel of the Year for Sustainable and Spiritual Practices by Dana O’Driscoll
Book Review Sacred Actions Journal: A Wheel of the Year Journal for Sustainable and Spiritual Practices by Dana O’Driscoll Publisher: REDFeather 200 Pages Release Date: January 24, 2023 The Sacred Actions Journal is an excellent resource for anyone seeking to deepen their connection with nature, explore sustainable living practices, and cultivate a more meaningful spiritual practice. – Amazon.com Sacred Actions Journal is organized by the Wheel of the Year. Each turn of the wheel has a focal point for deepening your spiritual practice, relationships and self-knowledge. After the introduction the journal is divided into 8 sections for the wheel of the Year and a conclusion. Content…
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Beltaine Correspondences
Also known as: May Day, Bealtaine, Beltane, Bhealtainn, Bealtinne, Festival of Tana (Strega), Giamonios, Rudemass, and Walburga (Teutonic), Cetsamhain (opposite Samhain),Fairy Day,Sacred Thorn Day, Rood Day, Roodmas (the Christian term for Rood Day, Old Beltane, Beltain, Baltane, Walpurgis Night, Floriala (Roman feast of flowers from April 29 to May 1), Walpurgisnacht (Germanic-feast of St. Walpurga), Thrimilce (Anglo-saxon), Bloumaand (Old Dutch) Date: May 1 Animals: Swallow, dove, swan, Cats, lynx, leopard Deities: Flower Goddesses, Divine Couples, Deities of the Hunt, Aphrodite, artemis, Bast, Diana, Faunus, Flora, Maia, Pan, the Horned God, Venus, and all Gods and Goddesses who preside over fertility. Tools: broom, May Pole, cauldron Stones/Gems: emerald,…
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Celebrating The Old Ways in New Times – Final Edition
Celebrating The Old Ways in New Times 2023 – Final Edition Bright Blessings! Since 2016, I have written about the Sabbats in this column. As the Wheel turns, and seasons change, so do we, and this old witch wants a new topic. This will be my final Celebrating The Old Ways in New Times, and starting with the next issue, I will be writing a column about Tarot. I’m a Tarot reader and have been for years. I was lucky enough to be one of the readers at the psychic fair that was this past weekend at the shop where I get to read, and let me tell you, being…
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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…
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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 In the February Issue we began exploring the Sabbats of the Witch’s Wheel of the Year and beginning a journey of filling our BOS with information about how we celebrated and what we found to be true of our practice. For a review of what the Wheel of the Year is take a look at February’s posting here: Peeking in the Shadows: Crafting A Book of Shadows and Light-February2022 An excellent resource for suggestions, visuals and ideas for making your Sabbat celebrations rich and visually beautiful, check out the…
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Peeking in the Shadows: Crafting a Book of Shadows and Light
We begin a journey through the Witch’s Wheel of the Year for 2022! The Witch’s Wheel of the Year What is the Wheel of the Year? The Wheel of the Year marks the Sun’s journey across the sky, the solstices, equinoxes and the Earth’s changing seasons. Each spoke of the wheel marks an important moment of progression and change in the Earth and in accord with that progression a celebratory festival is aligned. These celebrations are called Sabbats. The Wheel of the Year is also a reflection of the recurring cycles of the Natural world. Traditionally, these celebrations were very closely tied to the cycles of…
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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…