Recently I cleared out my garage. Well, I cleared out a chunk of it anyway, there’s plenty more cardboard and old notebooks in there to sort. The part of my garage I was clearing was the things I’d inherited from family members. Not the things I’d lovingly chosen and held onto, or that had been given to me by living family, but instead the extra boxes I didn’t know what to do with, and neither did anyone else. In my... Read more
When you join a spiritual path as part of a group, you join a network of people who support each other. You’re learning together, asking questions together. You’re part of a community. When that path involves magic and spellcraft, much of that magic may be completed as part of the group. Where it is separate, a member may choose to discuss with the group before they proceed. But what happens when you learnt your spirituality as a solo practitioner? Or... Read more
Cutting cords is a tried and tested practise within modern shamanism, neo paganism and witchcraft. It’s something I learnt early in my witch journey and really, just continued to do. But over the past year I’ve been starting to question it. Originally, much of my magic was very direct. Simple straight lines and shaping and refocusing energy. I still work in this way for much of my practise, but through learning more about psychology and trauma therapy I’ve embraced the... Read more
So, this year there’s no reason not to gather for Samhain, so we can gather big! But for many of us, going outside for our Halloween rituals still isn’t an option. In previous blog posts I’ve discussed why working with the Ancestors is an all-year-round practise for me, but I always spend some time at Halloween remembering and honouring the dead. I created for my online Ancestor Healing course which is now on it’s third cohort. The final session is... Read more
Working with Abundance has been a big part of my magical practise recently, and what better time to work with abundance than at the Autumn (or Fall) Equinox. The three runes I’ve been working with are Feoh (for the easy come – easy spent wealth), Jera (bringing a bountiful harvest from all my hard work), and Wunjo (for inviting the abundance of pleasure into my life) For the first time in many years, next month I’ll be running an in... Read more
I’ve always been fascinated by the concept of Past Lives. The thought we might reincarnate over and again and have unexplained memories and experiences sparked intrigue for me. The stories of instant bonds with strangers, and a feeling of safety and connection with some places and a disconnect in others resonated with me. I was desperate to learn about my own past lives. And also, to learn how to use hypnosis or journeying to take others into their own past... Read more
I’ve run an online pagan moot for about a year now. It’s like your everyday in person pagan/ witchy meet up but has attendees from around the world. And is in your own living room. We meet on the last Sunday of the month with no expectation for attendees to be there every month and explore a different pagan or spirituality inspired theme each time. You can find out more about it here Bennu’s Table started back in September 2022... Read more
Just the thought of Mercury Retrograde can instil all kinds of anxiety. But as a hypnotherapist, I often realise Mercury is in retrograde because I’m suddenly much busier. That’s because it often dredges up issues from the past, or issues which have roots in the past. Phobias for example, are often rooted in past experiences, either our own or the experiences of our ancestors. (We can inherit phobias by watching our parents fear, but there’s also research showing we can... Read more
Whilst I’ll always be a witch and a pagan, I’ve found my rituals are a lot more simplified than they once were. The beliefs and practises are so far within me, I don’t need to externalise to internalise anymore. Magic and ritual is just a part of my everyday life. A few years back I looked at the traditional pagan wheel of the year and realised it didn’t reflect my modern-day life as closely as I’d like it to. Whilst... Read more
Firstly, there’s no wrong way to write a ritual. You can design your witchcraft and pagan rites any way that works for you. But if you aren’t part of a tradition or you’d like to do things differently to the traditions you’ve trained within, how do you start over? When I first started practising paganism (many moons ago!) most books (websites were fewer back then) used ritual formats which were based on the Wiccan style: Purify your space Cast a... Read more
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