Weekend Music Review: Canyon Storm by Gwain Nighthawk

gwainnighthawkandblakeoc

I will start this review off with a statement that I know Gwain Nighthawk, initially through my online friendship with his husband Blake Octavian Blair.  I also contributed to the Kickstarter campaign that made the release of this album possible. Because of my contribution, and according to the campaign's set-up, I received a copy of the CD.  I will also say that I am generally not a fan of music that falls into the Pagan genre.  I am, for good or bad, stuck in the 80's musically.  Give me … [Read more...]

Thanks for Joining Me Here!

Welcome to my new location as a part of Patheos!  Besides the location, not much is going to change.  My old URL is going to be redirecting here, so no worries about your bookmarks and such! I'll still be posting about all things Pagan, family stuff, books and the occasional funny cat photo.  I'm so thrilled to join the Patheos family!  Stay tuned for Monday when I'll be kicking off officially! … [Read more...]

Last Friday’s Seance

If you follow me on Facebook, you probably heard about my plans to go to Asbury Park's Paranormal Books & Curiosities for a seance that happened this past Friday.  It was my first time at the shop and my first "formal" seance, though I've participated in several more casual ones with friends through the years.Photos courtesy of Paranormal Books & CuriositiesI was looking forward to this event for so many reasons.  It was a night out with a couple of great friends, which I don't … [Read more...]

Review: The Girls’ Ghost Hunting Guide

  My daughter, Miss M., has had a love of cryptozoology for several years now.  In the last year or so, this has developed into a slight interest in paranormal investigations - while at the same time, at 13, she's still not quite ready to go into full ghost hunter mode - or even watch Ghost Hunters after dark, lol. When I was around seven, living in Alabama, I used to ride my bike up to the graveyard to sit in silence.  In my teens my friends and I had numerous spooky haunts, places … [Read more...]

Counter to “Dear Prudence”

There's a video making the rounds of Pagan facebook pages and twitter feeds.  It concerns slate.com and their advice columnist "Dear Prudence" written by someone named Emily Yoffe.  I admit that I'd never heard of the site, much less the writer until yesterday, when I spotted the video.  Here it is if you'd like to check it out:http://c.brightcove.com/services/viewer/federated_f9?isVid=1&isUI=1I'm sure many of you will see what's obviously supposed to be someone satanic … [Read more...]

Household Witchery: Baking Soda for the Mundane and Magical

Photo: http://www.armandhammer.com/ Whether you are whipping up magic or just scrubbing a pot, there are few products that work as well and are as affordable as a box of baking soda.  In fact, if you have baking soda, salt and vinegar, you have the base for all sorts of household witchery - both magical and mundane. For this post, however, we'll stick to the baking soda.  A four pound box of the name brand costs about $2 - store brand or generic is even cheaper! It's natural, … [Read more...]

The Zombie Tarot

I don't think it will come to any surprise to anyone reading this that I love zombies.  From The Walking Dead on TV to Pride and Prejudice and Zombies to Zombie kits to dressing up as a zombie for Halloween.  This past Yule my daughter even got her own zombie apocalypse bug out bag (which sits by her bedroom door, ready to go).  So when I heard that there was a new tarot deck coming out called The Zombie Tarot: An Oracle of the Undead with Deck and Instructions? … [Read more...]

International Pagan Coming Out Day

Today is International Pagan Coming Out Day!  In it's honor, I'm reposting a past post, discussing my own "coming out".  I'd love to hear your coming out stories in comments - or feel free to post links to articles you've written on the subject!Read more at http://pagancomingoutday.org/May 2008I have been actively "out of the broom closet" with many of my friends and neighbors for about a year now. It happened in small ways -- a question about which church my kids would be going … [Read more...]

Everyday Magick by Rayne Storm

Everyday Magick by Rayne Storm Everyday Magick * is a book book by Rayne Storm for families who practice earth-based spiritualism.  The book is geared towards kids around 6 years old and up.  Saying this is just a book, however is selling it short.  Everyday Magick is 64 color pages of delightful poems, activities, questions that make you think and all sorts of challenges.  Though geared toward the younger set, the book is really meant to be read and shared by families as a whole, … [Read more...]

More Rupert!

You might remember we met Rupert a while ago in Rupert's Tales: The Wheel of the Year Beltane, Litha, Lammas, and Mabon.  He's the adorable bunny creation, from author Kyrja and illustrator Tonia Bennington Osbborn, who goes on merry adventures with his friends to learn about the Pagan holidays. More recently I was able to get my hands on Rupert's Tales:: The Wheel of the Year - Samhain, Yule, Imbolc, and Ostara - and it doesn't disappoint!  As with the first book, the story is done in a … [Read more...]