I like the new year. I like new things, new spaces, and new shifts in my own awareness and action. The invitations to do something different, to make something better, and to expand who I am in my heart — and in the world. At Samhain, I am grateful for the end of the turn of the wheel. I look over the months to see what has happened since the previous year, what has grown and died. I look at... Read more
Solstice morning, I will go to the ocean. I will go to the place of water, sky, and land — the place of connection and the place where my shadow tips into light. I will go the place where the moon will shine down on me, even if She is behind clouds. I will go to the place of cold and waves. To the place of dreaming and becoming awake again. I will breathe in the morning and release the... Read more
I am guided by the moon. The shadows, the brightness, the way She is clouded and way She hides. And while I look to the sky for Her wisdom, So, when I got a chance to review* the Queen of the Moon Oracle by Stacey Demarco, I was more than a little eager. Moon Wisdom, in All of Her Phases When you open up the deck and start to flip through it, what strikes you (or at least struck me)... Read more
It usually happens the first week of December — the Yule tree. We clear away all of the altars and dust that accumulates in the North corner of the living room and make room for the tree. And the magick of Yule. We pull out an old cast iron tree stand that we found at a thrift store. We take down the box of decorations from the top shelf of the garage. And my partner and I steel ourselves for... Read more
Hecate walked over to me. Covered in a thick black cloak, hooded. Her eyes were shadowy, her skin was paler than I expected. “I don’t know what you think you need to do right now, but I have something to tell you.” A priestess was aspecting Hecate. I was drumming. I stopped to listen. “You need to build a foundation.” I did. I do. I nodded. Crossroads. Build a Foundation to Support Self and Others “Your vulnerability is... Read more
As solstice nears, the nights have become unbearably long. I can’t wait to go to bed just so I can wake up and find the sun again. All I want to do is sleep through the stretched shadows, to hide from the way the year unfolds, again and again. To hibernate. To dream. And the dreams come, surely and swiftly. And sometimes they escape in nights of insomnia, the nights when I wake up and don’t know what to do... Read more
An elder in my tradition once told me, “Even if you described the initiation ritual in detail to someone, they wouldn’t understand unless they’d been through it. They wouldn’t believe you.” It was a day much like today, but there were clouds in the sky. I added an umbrella to my pack, along with the things I was told the night before to bring with me on the journey. I saw my ride come up to the door. The doorbell... Read more
The world burned last year too. Fire around me. Near me. Close enough. Too close. And my body froze. I sat on the floor of my house, with everything I loved in the trunk of my car. Aphrodite statues. My initiation gifts. My djembe. Photos. An ancestor altar that a beloved of mine gave me. So many things. Always ready to leave. I covered the windows and fireplace and doorways with thick blankets, hoping to stop the smoke from the... Read more
Artemis was the first goddess to call to me. She was between the branches and in the shuffle of leaves. And she called to me to a lake in British Columbia. She called me in story and song and clear night sky. Artemis inspired me during a Reclaiming Witchcamp in 2015. And I saw Orion in the space above my house before I left to join the group of teachers. To join the witches. To join the space between and beyond time.... Read more
When the North Bay Samhain ritual was over, we wished everyone a happy new year. Maybe a fresh start. Maybe a new page. And then we broke down the altars, put things away, and cleaned up the space, sweeping up any lingering pieces and energies. Another priestess and I thanked the space before we left, we thanked the ghosts of those who came before and who would come after before we locked the door, the gate, and before we drove... Read more
Charged by the Goddess
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