Sometimes, when I start talking about F(a)er(i/y), someone will look confused and ask, “What does that have to do with fairies?” Nothing. Everything. Read more
Sometimes, when I start talking about F(a)er(i/y), someone will look confused and ask, “What does that have to do with fairies?” Nothing. Everything. Read more
If your imagination can't stretch to accommodate another human being whose background is different from yours, or to understand the agency of a squirrel, then what's going to happen when you try to approach the Mysterious Ones, whose ways are very, very different from our own? Read more
Feri can look rather Wiccany from a distance, but the closer you get, the less certain you are likely to be of anything, much less what manner of creatures we are. (We don’t call it “Faery” for nothin’.) Read more
There is a large and growing body of evidence in anthropological and historical literature that historical European-style witchcraft was a form of shamanism. What does all this mean for a modern witch? Read more
A funny thing happened in Margot Adler's cabin one night... Read more
This is the second installment in the Shades of Faith series, and brings together a diverse array of authors from different traditions and backgrounds who are at different stages in their respective paths, from young people still questing to those reflecting on a lifetime of Pagan practice. The strongest offerings combine a depth of knowledge with a solid grounding in the personal experiences of the authors, all of whom are Pagans of color. Read more
We are already much further over the edge than anyone seems to realize, partially because the petroleum industry has very deep pockets, a PR budget, and a vested interest in keeping everyone confused. Our best hope, if hope there be, lies outside the comfortable light of human civilization's campfire. And yet, and yet...the other side of a traditional witch or shaman's dual allegiance is her human community. That duality has never been, will never be easy. Read more
This blog, I am told, is meant to be about traditional witchcraft. Or Traditional Witchcraft. It says it right there in the tag line. However, that immediately prompts a question, which is...what do you mean by that? Jason Mankey entered the fray not too long ago, and quoted yours truly among others. I've since considered the matter further, in light of what I actually intend to be writing. I want you to know that I considered starting out by posting a clip of the song “Tradition!” from Fiddler On the Roof, but decided against it. You're welcome. Read more
I was born and raised, as the phrase goes, in the desultory tail end of the Appalachian mountain chain as it swings through north Georgia on its way to Alabama, and the twangy lilt of Appalachia persists in my voice through graduate school and nearly thirty years down from the mountains. Since I reached adulthood, I have lived both in the rolling Piedmont and in the sandy-soiled, pine and palmetto strewn coastal plains, and spent most of my time in... Read more
I love Yule vigils, because they are kind of like a slumber party for grownups. I live in the kind of place where I could walk over to someone else’s Solstice event before mine really got going (she also showed up at our house after hers wound down). People appeared in waves, so it wasn’t one party but a series of them; some raucous, some quiet and full of contemplation, some full of witty banter. There was food, dancing, poetry,... Read more
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