I am, admittedly, not the most devout and practicing Pagan, aside from Samhain, which has always been my favorite holy day. But today marks the Winter Solstice, the start of the twelve days of Yule. I’ve always loved a good fire, and in ancient tradition, the Yule fire burned for twelve days. This can be
There is just the hint of autumn on the air this week. It is different here in California from the autumns I remember as a kid. Back then, this time of year brought the smell of dry leaves and apple cider, the cool temperatures that kissed the grass with frost in the early mornings and
Happy Beltane, my friends. Traditionally a holiday associated with fertility and sexuality, Beltane is a celebration of life. It marks the start of the growing season, at least here in the northern hemisphere, when we turn our attention to planting gardens and the birthing period for many animals, both of the domestic variety and the
As someone who was at one time an Evangelical Christian, my relationship with Easter is, at best, problematic. At one time in my life, I considered this to be the most sacred of holy days. Today, it represents all that I came to despise about Christianity. Unlike Christmas, which I can sink into as a
I grew up in Upstate New York, where the very first signs that spring was on the horizon were the daffodils that poked intrepid little heads up through the snows that wouldn’t yet melt for a few weeks (or more). For the longest time, daffodils were my favorite flowers because of that, and they still
I don’t know about you, but this entire year has been ten years long and filled with awfulness, from people proving that we’ve become a selfish, greedy nation that doesn’t care about the less fortunate to the government abdicating its duty to take care of its people to the actual pandemic that has killed nearly
I am, admittedly, a lazy sort of Pagan. I keep an altar and I light candles and burn incense on the holidays and sometimes at other times, but I don’t go all out like I used to when I was newly arrived in pagandom. My daily meditation practice is pretty lax in the best of
This time of year, as the air begins to cool enough for mornings to need socks and the darkness seems to deepen so that the nights are black and still, a sense of peace starts to settle over me. As I shuffle tarot cards for folks who seek guidance and wisdom or light candles on
There are two times of the year when the veil that separates this plane from the next grows thin, making communication with the dead easier, among other things. At Samhain we often invite our dead to sup with us, preparing their favorite foods and drink and setting them out on our tables. Our rituals tend
Hey there, Readers! I hope this Easter Sunday finds you well and in good spirits. I haven’t celebrated Easter in over 20 years, but I have many friends and family who still do. I have a complicated relationship with Easter, to be honest. Living alone, as I do, and not having kids around has done
Natalie J Case 