New Worlds of Body, Mind & Spirit Since 1901
Many Witches associate Samhain/Halloween with ancestors and lost loved ones, but such rites can be practiced at any time of year. Most years on September 11, I think a great deal about my family and those I’ve lost over the years. Reaching out to loved ones who have moved beyond the veil is not complicated and can be done whenever you need their guidance or presence. Place a picture of your deceased loved one on your altar (or write their name on a piece of paper), and place something ...
The Akwambo festival, which is celebrated in Ghana in early September, is an occasion when paths to streams, shrines, and holy places are swept. I think it’s disrespectful when New Agers and Neopagans read about a ritual that sounds interesting and just pick it up and celebrate it however they want. Doing this is taking a ritual—and a belief system—entirely out of its proper context. But we’re all guilty of this, aren’t we? While the idea of path cleaning and ...
There is something about August that makes tempers and troubles rise. Whether because of hot, strong winds or high temperatures, or the gaze of Leo the Lion, August seems to bring an uptick in violence and disagreements. To keep your cool, head to your freezer and grab an ice cube. (You may wish to wrap it up in some cloth or use tongs when you do this spell.) With the ice cube, draw the shape of a pentagram at each part of the body as named here, saying: When violence threatens, maymy hands ...
It doesn’t matter whether this is clutter that’s messing up your home, emotional baggage that’s messing up your life, or a belief system you’ve outgrown: if it has outlived its purpose, it has to go. You can’t open the doors to abundance if they’re cluttered with things that are in the way! You’ll need a pen and paper, a black candle on a heatproof surface, something to light the candle with, and tweezers. Write down what you want to be rid of on the ...
