January 1 - First Quarter Moon 9 - Full Moon 16 - Last Quarter Moon 23 - New Moon 31 - First Quarter Moon February 7 - Full Moon 14 - Last Quarter Moon 21 - New Moon March 1- First Quarter Moon 8 - Full Moon 15 - Last Quarter Moon 22 - New Moon April 8 - Full Moon 13 - Last Quarter Moon 21 - New Moon 29 - First Quarter Moon May 6 - Full Moon 12 - Last Quarter Moon 28 - First Quarter Moon June 4 - Full Moon 11 - Last Quarter Moon 19 - New Moon 26 … [Read more...]
Have you met Rupert?
October 11, 2011 By 13 Comments
If you are a Pagan parent or someone who buys books for Pagan kids, you're probably already aware of the lack of books - and quite frankly a lack of quality books - in the genre. While both fiction and non-fiction books in this area for teens has really been starting to come around in the last few years, books for the younger set really lag behind. That was the first reason that I was excited to get a copy of Rupert's Tales: The Wheel of the Year - Beltane, Litha, Lammas, Mabon by Kyrja. … [Read more...]
Today is Rhea’s Day!
July 11, 2011 By 6 Comments
Today is one of Rhea's sacred days. Called "The Great Mother" or "Mother of the Gods", Rhea is a patroness of fertility; petition her for all things pregnancy and childbirth related. Her name actually means "flow", indicating the menstrual flow, birthing waters, the ocean's tide, the moon and mother's milk. Rhea is mother to Hestia, Hera, Demeter (all great domestic deities!) and Hades, Poseidon and Zeus. She is daughter of Gaia (the Earth) and Ouranos (the Heavens). Her Roman … [Read more...]
Seasonal Eating in July!
July 5, 2011 By 6 Comments
Photo by Kintaiyo via Wikimedia Commons One of the easiest (not to mention healthiest and most economical!) ways to feel close to the earth and deity is to make a conscious effort to eat in season. Peruse the local farm markets to find the most ripe, full of flavor fruits and veggies. When you buy from local farms, you are not only supporting your community and avoiding the pollution associated with trucking fruit all over the country, you can … [Read more...]
Domestic Witchery: Hestia 101
June 10, 2011 By 15 Comments
Hestia full of Blessings: From 1945 book Documents of Dying Paganism There are many, many domestic deities from which to choose from when looking for one to invite into your home. From well known Greek Goddesses to little know Chinese oven Gods to animistic gods of ancient Rome. One of the most well known and popular is Hestia, Greek Goddess of the hearth, home and domestic duties. Background and History: Hestia is daughter to … [Read more...]
First Garden Update for 2011!
May 23, 2011 By 10 Comments
Though the weather in NJ isn't really cooperating with getting too many new plants in the ground, we did manage to weather over some of last years herbs. They are doing really well, and we are already starting to dry some. Here's a little of what's going on in the garden so far: The mugwort is nearly 4 foot tall already. This is my very favorite plant. Hard to kill, lol! Mugwort has so many uses, and is so easy to grow, there's just no reason not to have it somewhere in our garden … [Read more...]
A Witch’s Book of Shadows Part 2
May 16, 2011 By 12 Comments
Last week I shared my main Book of Shadows. You'd think that would be enough, right? But no. I have several more. First up is the oldest of all my current books, my kitchen witchery book. I don't really use this one much anymore. It was a book that I started very early on in my Pagan path, and was mostly used to collect chants and information from various authors. It's got tons of information that I've gathered on kitchen deities from various countries, with a large amount of … [Read more...]
A Witch’s Book of Shadows
May 11, 2011 By 26 Comments
Inspired by the answers to today's Question of the Day on Facebook, I thought I'd share some photos of my own collection of Books (and boxes) of Shadows. Because of all the photos, I'll break this up into a couple of different posts. First up is what Mr. B. calls The Big Book of Power. I found this great 3 ring binder with the most awesome cover that you can bind closed and has a carrying handle - which is great because this thing literally weighs about 8 or 10 pounds, it's so … [Read more...]
Summer Solstice Around the World
May 10, 2011 By 2 Comments
On or around June 21st every year, you'll find a host of activities around the world as people celebrate either the Summer Solstice (Northern Hemisphere) or the Winter Solstice (Southern Hemisphere). Here are a few of the various names that the solstice is known by, with a few links to a few sites/books of interest. Litha (Saxon) Alban Hefin (Druid) Feill-Sheathain (Scotland) Whit Suntide (Christianity) Vestalia (Rome) Szentiván-éj (Hungaray) ThingTide (Scandinavia) An … [Read more...]
Magic 101: The Elements
May 5, 2011 By Leave a Comment
The Four Elements (l to r: earth, water, air fire) by D. Stolcius von Stolcenberg, 1624 Each of the four directions has a corresponding element that can be asked to stand outside of your invoked circle to guard or witness your rituals or magical workings. They can all be called for general rituals, but you can also choose to just work with one individual element when working on a specific need. Magical circles are often started and ended in the East. Below is a short list of … [Read more...]
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