Celebrations, Herbs, Stones, and Symbols of Samhain

Samhain HistoryMentioned from the 10th century onward in Old Irish literature, the 4th fire festival marking the beginning of Winter. Ways to celebrate Samhain Herbs, etc. Stones Symbols **Information shared from my personal Book of Shadows

Celebrations, Herbs, Stones, and Symbols of Mabon

Mabon HistoryLesser Irish holiday named after the Celtic God of the same name. The name ‘Mabon’ is a recent usage, though harvest festivals on the Autumnal Equinox are ancient and universal. Also known as ‘Pagan Thanksgiving’. Ways to celebrate Mabon* Creating a huge, festive feast for friends and family* Taking a walk in nature to…

Celebrations, Herbs, Stones, and Symbols of Lughnasadh/Lammas

Lughnasadh HistoryOne of the Old Irish seasonal festivals marking the beginning of the harvest season. Named after the Irish god Lugh. Mentioned in some of the earliest Irish literature. Ways to celebrate Lughnasadh* Bake bread* Make a seasonal feast with tomatoes, cucumbers, squash, corn and other Summer veggies* Make a corn dolly* Meditate on abundance…

New Sabbats/Wheel of the Year Notion Template!

Have you always wanted to keep track of the Wheel of the Year electronically? Use Notion! It’s a great way to track information about the Sabbats on your phone, computer, or tablet. This is part of my larger Book of Shadows Template that’s being offered separately. There’s plenty of room to record your findings about…

Sabbat Altars Series

So now that I’ve moved and things are calming back down, I have a dedicated space for an altar. I’ve been wanting to keep a seasonal altar (after numerous failed attempts to keep up with it), and I’ve found the perfect shelf on which to build it. I’ll keep my permanent shrines to Hecate and…

Magickal Month- November

November was originally the 9th month in the old Roman calendar, but became the 11th month in the updated Julian and Gregorian calendars when January and February were added to the beginning of the year. Here in the Southeastern US, it’s finally getting chilly. We may have a few sunny, warm days here and there,…

Magickal Month- September

September is such an exciting month for those of us who love Autumn. While the season doesn’t actually start until the Equinox on the 22nd (at 9:54pm here in the EDT zone), September still feels like that gateway month. We’ve suffered through the heat of June, July, and August, and we can feel the nights…

Magickal Month- August

August was originally named Sextilis in Latin because it was the sixth month of the Roman year. Now it’s the eighth month, but October (Octo= 8) was already taken. Because… Because… *sigh* Here in Georgia, we’re all pretty grateful to have gotten through July. August tends to be a little drier and less humid than…

Autumntide Priorities

The days are getting shorter, there’s a nice breeze in the night air, and DragonCon marks the beginning of the end of Summer.  We have Mabon and Samhain to look forward to, which are my two favorite sabbats! While Autumn is usually seen as a time of going within, taking stock, and relaxing into Winter,…

Vegan Beltane menu

We celebrated Beltane a little late this year.  I needed a combination of time and money to come together, and that didn’t come together until Tuesday the 3rd.  As that also happens to be Billy Ocean day, we were doubly festive. We’ve been eating mostly vegan, all vegetarian for a while now.  I love eating…

Mabon, balance, and bipolar

Mabon is normally one of my favorite sabbats.  It signifies a turning toward the dark half of the year, which I love.   The weather is slightly cooler, and it’s thrilling to think of the beautiful Autumn and Winter to come.  I start thinking about apples and grapes and all the soups and chili I’ll…

Beltane 2015

The only tradition I have on Beltane is the tradition of all my plans falling apart.  I rarely ever celebrate the way I plan, and I rarely, if ever, get to have sex on Beltane.  This year, as per usual, my plans all fell apart.  Except for the sex.  I’ll leave off of the details,…

My Ostara

Ostara has always been an important holiday. I wrote in THIS POST last week a little about why, but the gist is that it’s kind of my Pagan birthday. As such, it’s probably the holiday that I feel most connected to, and the one that enlivens my spirit. I’m not a huge fan of warm…

The Witches Reel

I have a confession.  I’m obsessed with this song.  I found it in the very earliest days of Napster, and have never been able to find the same version again, though all versions seem to be pretty good.  Here are a few.     I have to say that this last group looks like a…

Where I’m going and where I’ve been. (Holiday debriefing)

The holidays were strange this year. That’s relatively typical. It seems there’s always something going on during the holidays that keep me from being able to relax into them. The past 2 years, I worked retail, and I was stressed, overworked, undersleeping, and in a lot of pain. This year seemed to be a little…