• Monthly Columns

    MagickalArts

    What Are the Magickal Arts? When I began this column for PaganPagesOrg many years ago, I had a vision of filling it with writings focused on exploring the magickal weavings of artistic endeavor. I am after all a former professional ballerina. One of my children is a trained fine artist, another is a classically trained musician, and all five of my children are excellent writers and artists in their own rights including the sciences- a pediatrician, a biomedical engineer and a veterinarian. As the years continued forward I have come to using the term Magickal Arts as an expression of the artistic and refined nature the Craft requires. As magickal…

  • Monthly Columns,  Spells & Rituals

    Celebrating The Old Ways in New Times

    Celebrating The Old Ways in New Times for June/July 2022 Bright Blessings! By the time you read this, you may be saying, “It’s too HOT!!!!!” and are wishing for Fall time again! Think about just weeks ago, wishing Wintertime away because it was SO cold! Well…the weather will get hotter in Summer, and by the time you read this article, you may have your Summer Solstice plans underway! For some, this will be the first Summer in a couple of years they have felt safe to gather for Sabbat. What a wonderful feeling it is again to see soul kin. What better time than on a Solstice in Summer when…

  • Monthly Columns,  Spells & Rituals

    Celebrating the Old Ways in New Times

    Celebrating the Old Ways in New Times for October 2021   Bright Blessings and Happy Fall!!!!! I write this two days before fall Equinox, knowing you will read it after it occurs, and we are headed to Samhain, final harvest. In years past, I have written on many things from historic and modern observances to how to prep the garden for winter in ways that benefit wildlife. This year, I have something different on my mind I’d like to focus on. Being thankful. Before I delve into that topic more, I will write about some of the history of Samhain, however.   What is Samhain? Samhain is a Pre-Christian Pagan…

  • Monthly Columns,  Spells & Rituals

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

      This month continues a series of exploration about Our Relationship to the Divine….   Our Relationship to the Divine Part Four: A Ritual of Calling to the Divine     …. The Divine flows within me. The Limitless All supports me. All Beings of Spirit and Essence are my teachers. I AM the corporeal out-picturing of the Divine’s desire…   Ritual brings us closer to whomever or whatever we are hoping to deepen a connection with. It is through ritual that we learn more of ourselves and step more fully into the true nature of who we are as Divine Beings learning the ways of physical and corporeal existence.…

  • Monthly Columns,  Spells & Rituals

    Celebrating The Old Ways in New Times

    Celebrating The Old Ways in New Times for August 2021 Bright Blessings! Lughnasadh is upon us, and is it ever hot! We are due to have heat advisories the next two, possibly three days in my town, and the dog is displeased with how short of a distance I allow her for walks. Exacerbating that is the fact they decided to pour asphalt on our street, so I don’t even want to go outside at all. I spend a lot of time outdoors but truthfully, I don’t remember ever having the issues with heat that I have this year. Have I ever changed! I can remember I thought my mother…

  • Monthly Columns,  Spells & Rituals

    Celebrating the Old Ways in New Times

    Celebrating the Old Ways in New Times for March 2021 Bright Blessings! It’s below freezing outside, and we may get up to eight inches of snow in the next three days. I have been shoveling my backside off this month, because we’ve already gotten PLENTY of snow already, as The Cailleach reminds us it’s still her domain. Not for long!   (Photo by Johannes Plenio on Unsplash)   In just over a month, it will be Spring Equinox, and, according to weather reports, it will have warmed up significantly by then. Already, the days are longer, and seeds are out in stores…YES we got some seeds. Those who have read…

  • Monthly Columns

    Celebrating the Old Ways in New Times Second Edition

    Celebrating the Old Ways in New Times for December 2020 Bright Blessings! We have had an unusually warm November this year, and I have taken full advantage of it to sit and visit outdoors as much as possible with people who I know I am not going to see again until March or April. Covid-19 has hit us hard this month. I am in Franklin County, Ohio, and our county hit purple warning level of public emergency in regards to the levels of Covid19. For the first time, shops and even our Metro Parks are enforcing mask use, and we are back on a curfew again. Next, they may shut…

  • Reviews

    Book Review – Elemental Magic: Traditional Practices for Working With The Energies Of The Natural World, 3rd Edition by Nigel Pennick

    Book Review Elemental Magic Traditional Practices for Working With The Energies Of The Natural World 3rd Edition by Nigel Pennick 144 Pages     Elemental Magic: Traditional Practices for Working With The Energies Of The Natural World by Nigel Pennick is a classic text of introduction to and practical application of nature in magical practice. Mr. Pennick’s books can be found in the libraries of both the scholars and those who follow the ways of the pagan path and he is an expert in the details of European folk magic. This is the 3rd Edition of a timeless book that provides a comprehensive and thorough teaching of the expression of…

  • Reviews

    Book Review – 10-Minute Moon Rituals: Easy Tips for Working with Each Astrological Sign to Develop Your True, Lunar Nature by Simone Butler

    Book Review 10-Minute Moon Rituals Easy Tips for Working with Each Astrological Sign to Develop Your True, Lunar Nature by Simone Butler 208 Pages     “10-Minute Moon Rituals” has two parts. The first is an introduction to the eight monthly phases of the moon and the characteristics of each. This link to author Simone Butler’s site http://astroalchemy.com/your-moon-power/ will determine your moon sign at birth so you can read up on your emotional nature, needs, wisdom from previous lives, and what can trip you up. Other sites, including this one, https://www.astrocal.co.uk/find-out-your-moon-phase/ will give you the phase of the moon. I was born under a waning gibbous moon. According to Simone,…

  • 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…