The Witches Next Door – Our Five Favourite Posts Of 2017

For the past few years, The Witches Next Door have listed our favourite posts written by other people. This year, we thought we’d mix it up and list posts that we wrote and really loved. A couple of these entries were super well received, got lots of attention, and were share many times. Others, not so much, but we thought they were worth a second look.

An Old Tradition For The New Year

Every year for nearly 15 years, we’ve recreated this New Year’s Day ritual. It’s simple and profound. This ritual reminds us that one doesn’t need all kinds of fancy trappings to participate in a meaningful and important ritual. We don’t plan what we’re going to say. Neither of know exactly how long the ritual will take. All we know is that we need two pennies and each other to make this ritual happen.

Five Indespensible Non-Pagan Books For Pagans

This post started quite a trend with several other Patheos bloggers recounting their top books as well. Since writing the article, we’ve had many people approach us and comment that they’ve added a few of the selections to their bedside table or glowing electronic device for the reading of the books. This is a blog we could revisit and revise and add to many times over and the original list still holds up too!

Children And Pagan Rituals – Get Down On Your Knees And Play

Some posts take days or even months to write. This one took about ten minutes. Initially, it’s a blog about children and rituals. The more we’ve read and re-read this piece, the more we realized it applies to almost any group of folk that are present at public/community rituals that aren’t always welcomed, truly welcomed. Public ritual and community based rituals carry a certain amount of risk and there’s no pleasing everyone that attends. How our pagan communities thrive is honest reflection and starting with who attends our rituals is a great starting place.

I’m Kinda Over Beltane

This was one of our most read blogs and cracked the “Top Read Blogs at Patheos Pagan 2017” list. It’s a short post but packs a real punch. We think you could substitute the word “Beltane” for any sabbat or change the the title to “I’m Kinda Over Tuesday” and it would make sense. As the last line of the piece says, “May you find the passion of the season this Beltane. May you know what is worth fighting for.”

My Witchcraft is Wild

Magic happens every day. Much of our magical practice is daily practice. You know, the things you do every day like dusting altars and reading magical books and breathing. There’s something quite delicious about the small acts of magic that we do each and every day. And then there’s the BIG magics, the wild magics, the tear my clothes off and how at the moon magics. That’s what this selection points to and, to be quite honest, this is the magic we LOVE to do but don’t write about too much.

Thank you, dear readers, for following our blog or occasionally stopping by for a quick read and commenting on our posts when something stirs you to. We love the comments, even the ones that make us go back and reexamine our own work and assumptions (maybe, especially those).