Coyote Magic
There are many sounds of night that lend a sense of order to the world: a train whistle in the distance, a chorus of peepers, the music of coyotes. Some find coyote ruckus eerie, but for me it’s like traveling … Continue reading →
Tag Archives: Pagan Blog Project
The Origins of Candlemas
While there are many longstanding Pagan holidays observed in the beginning of February, the Christian holiday of Candlemas grew out of a specific Roman Pagan observance. February was an important festival month on the Roman calendar and thus began with … Continue reading →
Baba Yaga and the Pelican
When I was a little girl I liked to hang out at the boat dock where my retired grandfather earned a few extra dollars cleaning “grouper” caught by tourists on deep-sea outings. As my grandfather pushed aside the entrails of … Continue reading →
Las Brujas
Most people who meet my casual acquaintance struggle with where to place me. Many file me with “must be Native American.” A few ask point blank if my parents were hippies. When I lived in southern Arizona, I was surprised … Continue reading →
The Alder Tree
What can no house ever contain?Answer: The piles upon which it is built.This riddle refers to the alder wood base that ancient houses were built upon, before the concrete cinder blocks or stone-and-mortar that are used today. Alder was the … Continue reading →
A Look Ahead
This week marks the one year anniversary of this blog. I started with the goal of producing one post each Friday, and I more than realized this objective with sixty-eight posts for 2012, only a few of them past my … Continue reading →
The Y-Junction
The goddess Hecate is often referred to as “Goddess of the Three-Formed Crossroads,” a title which strengthens my belief that she was originally a goddess of the waterways. By “three-formed” the title refers to a junction of three roads meeting … Continue reading →
A Yule Gift I Knew You Wouldn’t Have
This Winter Solstice I thought I’d get you something more original than a partridge in a pear tree. This is a bird-of-paradise (Manucodia comrii) from New Guinea, singing a song you’ve probably only heard on a space music soundtrack. The … Continue reading →
The Yule Fire
In early December, the equivalent in Pagan households to “Where did we store the Christmas lights?” is “What did we do with the Yule log?” A piece of wood from last year’s Winter Solstice ritual fire is always saved to … Continue reading →
Consecrating the Ritual Broom
To finish up the broom series, I will share some tidbits about consecrating the magical broom (also called a besom). There is no consensus about how this should be done, but many witches believe consecration is important. Carrie Moonstone says … Continue reading →