Did you feel that? The shift in the temperature? The shift in the energy? Spring is here! Notice the daffodils, the forsythia, the tulips popping up? Spring is coming, and for many people in the Northern Hemisphere, Ostara season marks the Earth’s return to life. This year, perhaps more so than in that last century, … Read more
Thoughts on Imbolc and the Perseverance of Hope The last six-ish weeks of Winter is known as Imbolc or Candlemas. There is a feeling, an impulse rustling at the edge of crocus buds jutting, verdant, out of the frosty ground. You catch it in the sudden song of returning robins, something offbeat, upbeat, swift. Like … Read more
WINTER SOLSTICE The Sun now approaches its lowest point on The Wheel. At Yule, even The Sun dies. But like many deities, Death is not The End, and after three days, a miracle takes place. This Quarter-Day festival season known by Pagans, Heathens, and Witches as Yule. But it is recognized by nearly every belief … Read more
Halloween. The word conjures images of caramel apples, jack-o’-lanterns, costumes, and of course all things “spooky.” This is one of those holidays that, try as the Catholic church may have, it never could separate from its Pagan roots. Another name for Halloween is Samhain—usually pronounced “sow-iyn”—and, for many folks who identify as Pagan, like Witches … Read more