I just spent a week in the redwoods with more than one hundred witches. We invited along the Baba Yaga, Vasalisa, a dolly, three riders, a firebird and a cat. Part of the magic that makes California WitchCamp so special is being able to hold a myth for seven straight days, to participate in at least one ritual every day, to tease out the nuances at the edges of the story, to practice magic with community and to re-imagine boundaries.... Read more
By and large, the Pagan community we’ve come to know, is willing to have frank and open discussions about sex; which includes all of the assumptions, variations, and wonderful expressions that come along with those discussions. Read more
A Witchcamp is a retreat unlike any other. There are plenty of Pagan gatherings, conventions, celebrations, camping trips, and so on, but a Witchcamp is something different. Read more
Summer Solstice celebrations often coincide with Father’s day and although neither of us care much for the Hallmark holidays, we’ve found a way to blend these two. Read more
Sex. Pride, Self, Power and Passion – Look at the myths from practically any culture and these themes are right there, up front and center stage. Ask any family therapist, spiritual counselor, life coach, or mentor what they spend most of their time talking with their clients about and you’ll find the lists to be amazingly similar. Looking at our own relationship and what we discuss, debate, and flat out argue about, it’s no surprise that sex, pride, self, power,... Read more
Beltane; the birds are chirping, the bees are buzzing, the flowers are blooming, it seems that all of nature is heating up (in more ways than one). Read more
Through the magic of modern technology, Phoenix and I have been co-writing this piece on two separate continents. She’s been writing it tomorrow and I’ve been writing it yesterday, depending on which of us you ask! And, just as this installment ofThe Witches Next Door is landing in your news feed and on Patheos, Phoenix is arriving back from her two-week trip to Australia. We began writing this a week ago while she was in Brisbane during a particularly trying time.... Read more
One of us is the most beautiful of social butterflies. The other is not. The extroverted one walks into a party and jumps right into the center, while the introverted one finds a nice corner to settle into. We are a good balance for each other in this way. The introvert reminds the extrovert to ground and slow down. The extrovert exposes the introvert to new and different experiences, encouraging the introvert to break out of their shell. We see... Read more
You like strawberry cheesecake.They like strawberry cheesecake. They think Spring is the coolest time of year and so do you. You are a Pagan and they’ve always been Pagan, and you even practice in the same tradition. The organic cherry on top of the Pagan Sundae is that you and they have made a life together. Walking the same religious/spiritual Pagan path is awesome. Or is it? Although our routes and approaches to Paganism were quite different, we’ve ended up walking a... Read more
Have you ever come back from a vacation or a spiritual retreat and had the world just sort of slap you in the face? Reality can be harsh. We refer to this process as “re-entry”. It’s that adjustment period when we need to remember that there won’t be someone else preparing our meals or making our beds or reminding us where to be for our next amazing discussion. Laundry and grocery shopping and picking up the kids are actually extremely important... Read more
The Witches Next Door
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