Date: 2012-10-15
Ritual. The very word is evocative, conjuring images of everything from mysterious robed figures sketching arcane runes in the air to joyous women dancing skyclad around a bonfire. Ritual comes in many different forms—and that’s good, because ritual is a highly personal thing, and what suits one person perfectly will leave another cold. But done correctly, it’s…well…magickal. Deborah Blake, author of the Everyday Witch series and the new book Everyday Witch Book of Rituals, discusses just why rituals are so important...and magickal.
Date: 2010-07-26
We are all feeling the effects of a tough economy and having to make difficult choices about how we spend whatever money we still have. And this concern can affect our Witchy lives as well as our mundane one. Let’s face it—Witchcraft can cost you a lot of money if you’re not careful: ritual garb and velvet cloaks, athames and wands, crystals, magickal candles, herbs, and oils can all add up to a...
Date: 2009-05-18
Most of us would agree that there is more to being a Witch than celebrating the Sabbats or casting a spell under the full moon. That being said, many modern Pagans struggle to find ways to integrate their spiritual beliefs with their busy and often stressful mundane lives. Work, family, significant others, and all the responsibilities that come with everyday survival can make it difficult to...
Date: 2009-01-06
Soon the lovely and commercialized holiday of Valentine’s Day will be upon us, openly mocking those among us who are not in romantic relationships. I remember hating the entire month of February for this perceived injustice – why create a holiday in which not everyone can equally share and celebrate? What kind of sadistic Hallmark writer came up with that?! Even though I now have a permanent...
Date: 2008-09-29
The harvest festivals are one of the most important traditions handed down to us from our earlier Pagan ancestors. These holidays may seem irrelevant to the modern Witch, who often doesn’t even have a garden, but I actually think that they serve an important purpose. Deborah Blake, author of Circle, Coven & Grove and the newly-released Everyday Witch A to Z, discusses the importance of the harvest festivals to today's Witch.
Date: 2007-11-30
If you look at almost every ritual, you will at some point find an instruction that tells you to “ground and center.” For instance, you may be told to drum and raise energy, send that energy into your spell, then ground and center. No problem, right?
Except for one thing: hardly anybody actually tells you how to do it. Maybe Witches are supposed to be born knowing how to ground and center? But...
Date: 2007-10-31
As I told you last time, we have a TON of new fall books, so I had to find some way of categorizing them to make your browsing easier. Since Fall is the theme, I’m going to do a fruits of the harvest metaphor (or maybe it’s Thanksgiving). You’ll find easy links here to skip to the section that sounds most appetizing to you.
First, you’ll get “crispy fall goodies” – the yummy ones that, like...
