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    On Holy Silence

    I’m not a big tv watcher, and if I do have it on, it’s typically on in the background while I do something else, like crochet or paint. Recently – after bingeing my way through both seasons of House of the Dragon in a single week – I decided I needed something peaceful and gentle to counterbalance it, so I settled on a couple of seasons of Call the Midwife. And yes, I realize I am super late to that party but also let me say how delightful Chummy is and I want to be her bestie. Anyway, I was toodling along, crocheting my way through a Taylor Swift-inspired cardigan, and I…

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    Witchcraft and Mental Health

    If you were one of the zillion people following the 2024 Olympics in Paris this past summer – or if you opened any form of social media – you know that Simone Biles absolutely earned the title of GOAT after just killing it in gymnastics. Four years ago, Biles made the news when she pulled out of the team competition at the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo, stating that she needed to prioritize her mental health over the needs of the team. And you know what? Good for her! Because mental health has become a critical aspect of our overall well-being, and it’s just as important as taking care of our…

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    Join Me at Hallowed Harvest!

    Join me this weekend on Sunday, September 15, at DogTap Columbus for the Central Ohio Pagan Alliance‘s first ever Hallowed Harvest celebration! We’ve got thirty great vendors and readers lined up for you, as well as workshops – and the best part? It’s totally free! Come hang out and visit with me for a spell!

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    Join Me at the Universal Energy Expo!

    One of my favorite events is happening this weekend, July 27 & 28! Come down to Florence, KY, and visit the Universal Energy Expo in its new home at Turfway Racing and Gaming, 7500 Turfway Road in Florence. I’ll be there both days, along with other special guests – and all of these workshops are FREE with your admission! SATURDAY 12:00 PM – “How To Work With Your Ancestors”, Queen Zoaya Counts- Hoodoo Practitioner, Conjurer, Certified Death Doula.  1 PM “How I Overcame 7 Mental Diseases & Intellectual Disorders Through Manifesting”, Jay Hollingshed – Shaman, Healer, Speaker 2 PM – “Elemental Magic”, Patti Wigington – Author and Friendly Neighborhood Witch 3 PM “Appalachian…

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    Praying Mantis Magic

    I just love praying mantises. I think they’re lovely, and I have a ton of them around where I live. I usually spot them in the garden tucked into the wildflowers, but they’re just as likely to appear on my garage door, the porch steps, or even the hood of my car. The praying mantis is a beautiful insect can also be deadly if you’re another praying mantis. The female sometimes eats her male partner after they mate, so many people associate the praying mantis with aggressive sexual power. But I’m willing to overlook the post-coital cannibalism of the praying mantis, which seems to happen mostly in a laboratory setting.…

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    Why I Adopted an Abandoned Ancestor

    As most of you know, I work with my ancestors a lot. For me, in a spiritual context, an ancestor doesn’t have to be someone you’re directly descended from – it can be a person you’re related to by blood or marriage, by adoption or foster kinship, or even someone who is what we’d call family of the heart. But as a person who has a tendency to take in strays and the unwanted, I’ve recently found myself as the de facto keeper of a branch of my family that ended nearly a century and a half ago. Let me tell you the tale of Stephen Atkins – the short…

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    Learn Your Magic Before You Need It

    I can’t even begin to tell you how many times I get messages from people on various social platforms who need some sort of magical assistance, and the conversation always goes something like this: Them: Can you please help me I’m having a problem with [insert crisis thing here] Me: I’d be happy to offer some suggestions, what’s going on? Them: [lots of really big details that tell me this is something major] Me: Wow, ok. You could try [X, Y, or Z magical solutions] Them: How do I do that? Me: Well, before you [X, Y, or Z] I’d recommend first you need to [beginner-level magical stuff] Them: How…

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    Bountiful Basil

    I love me some basil, and here in Middle Earth, those shiny green leaves are blooming all over the gardens — and I just harvested a metric ton of it this past weekend. I’ll put fresh basil on anything, and I’m a total whore for pesto sauce. Basil, part of the mint family, is known far and wide as a culinary herb, but it also contains some interesting magical properties. In Mediterranean countries, it is strewn on floors to purify a home. It also can bring luck to people moving into a new residence — a gift of a potted basil plant guarantees good fortune, so if a friend is…

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    Making Magical Charms for the Workplace

    I don’t know about you, but even though I love my job, I’ve found over the years that the workplace can be a source of significant stress and challenges, from tight deadlines and high expectations to difficult coworkers and a fast-paced environment. Navigating these pressures often requires professional skills and resilience, to be sure. But sometimes we also need to take a holistic approach to maintaining well-being and productivity. So what’s a working witch to do? This is where magical charms can come in super-handy. By adding a few small, enchanted objects into your professional life, you can cultivate a more positive, focused, and harmonious work environment for yourself. Protection…

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    Witchcraft & Tech – Merging Tradition with Modern Methods

    In an era where technology permeates every aspect of our lives, it’s only natural that witchcraft, too, evolves to incorporate digital methods. Far from detracting from the mystical essence of the craft, technology is another tool in the arsenal, much like an athame, a Book of Shadows, or a collection of herbs and crystals. From apps and cell phones to digital rituals and online communities, we have a ton of resources at our fingertips. And look, I get it… some people don’t like new things. There are plenty of people reading this right now – you might be one of them – who are thinking Pshaw, our ancestors didn’t have apps…

Patti Wigington