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No, Salem Ancestry Doesn’t Make You Special
A reader says, “I just found out that I’m descended from one of the witches from the Salem witch trials and I feel like this makes me have witchcraft in my blood. I went to a Pagan event not too long ago, and when I told everyone about this they acted like it was no big deal. I feel like I deserve a little more respect since my ancestors were Salem witches.” I know it’s very exciting to discover that your ancestry contains people who were interesting, or even famous. And sometimes, when we make a discovery like that, we want to share it with others, and we want them…
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Shell Powder
I wanted to share with you one of my favorite magical ingredients, which I’ve always referred to as shell powder, or at least that’s what I called it when I started making it nigh on thirty years ago, and the habit done stuck. However, since that time I’ve learned that people who practice hoodoo, Santeria, conjure, and a number of other ATR magical systems call it cascarilla powder. Since I’m not a practitioner of those traditions, for me, it’s just plain ol’ shell powder. Although cascarilla powder has its roots in the West African diaspora, it has started to gain popularity in quite a few neoPagan magical practices – probably…
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The Celebration of the Silly Sacred School Supplies
This is a ritual that I originally posted on my About.com site, but it has vanished into the aether, after About became ThoughtCo. However, school is starting up again for a lot of us, so I wanted to share this, because it’s ridiculously fun, and it’s a great way to transition your kids into a new year with a new teacher, and celebrate your spirituality in a goofy and irreverent way. The Silly Celebration of the Sacred School Supplies In many Pagan traditions, it’s customary to consecrate your magical tools before beginning your practice. This creates a magical link between you, the tools, and the divine, and even the universe…
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Swipe Left! Why New Members Can Jinx Your Group’s Dynamics
So you’re part of a Pagan group that already has a really good feel to it – maybe it’s a small group of only a few people, or perhaps there are dozens of you. Anyway, at some point, you open up your membership to new folks, and as you’re vetting potential candidates… well. That’s when it hits. You’ve got concerns about one of the individuals who wants to join up and be part of the group, because you know them and they’re chronically negative and needy. You find yourself asking if you should talk to the other members about your concerns, but don’t want to cause unnecessary drama. What do…
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Make a Mabon Cleansing Wash
This herbal infusion is one of my favorite things to make in the late summer and early fall, and can be used as a skin wash or a cleanser for your ritual space. By infusing the herbs in water, you can take advantage of the medicinal properties as well as the magical ones. A quart-sized jar, like the type used in food canning, is ideal for this because it allows for a tight seal, and they hardly ever break. To make this cleansing wash, we’ll be using herbs that are in full bloom in the weeks before Mabon. You’ll need a handful of each of the following: Spearmint or peppermint…
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Pagans and Monogamy
I love letters like this one, because I get to embrace my inner Dan Savage for a few moments. A reader writes in with an interesting dilemma. He says, “Recently my girlfriend and I began hanging out with a local coven. She is spending a lot of time (without me) in the presence of one of the group’s other male participants. She has said that she’s very attracted to him, and even hinted that she wouldn’t mind sleeping with him. I objected to this because honestly, I’d like our relationship to remain monogamous, but she seems to think that since “all acts of love and pleasure are my rituals,” that…
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Apple Butter for Mabon
One of my favorite things to do every August and September is to go to the local apple orchard and pick fruit straight off the tree. Last weekend, my guy and I went and picked peaches, and sometime in the next few weeks, we’ll be returning for apples. LOTS OF APPLES. The great thing about apples is that they’re super easy to pick, and you end up with a ton of them. The downside? YOU END UP WITH A TON OF THEM. I mean, you can only eat so many apples before you’re tired of them, so I like to do a lot of different things with apples, just to…
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Pagans and Renaissance Festivals
Every year, especially in the fall, I get a few emails from people asking why Pagans seem to really dig the cultural phenomenon of the Renaissance Festival or Faire. This got me wondering – I myself go to a nearby RenFest each year. I pick a weekend in September, get dressed up in full garb, and drive two hours to spend a day with my friends in the town of Willy-Nilly On the Wash. We drink mead, flirt with large jousters, and we helpfully point confused, non-garbed visitors to the nearest privy (there seems to be an assumption at RenFest that if you’re in garb, you automatically know where stuff…
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When You’re Outed Online
With the popularity of social networking sites, it’s no surprise that some members of the Pagan community who are still in the broom closet are finding themselves accidentally “outed.” A reader writes in and says, “I have a Facebook page, and there’s a spot for “religion” and I put “Pagan.” Now all these people that I hardly even know are looking at my Facebook page and sending me emails asking me if I’m really a witch and telling me I might go to hell and they’re going to pray for me. It’s none of their business! What do I do?” Well, first of all, accept the fact that you’ve outed…
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5 Reasons to Support Your Local Pagan Shop
Many towns and cities are home to Pagan shops, but unfortunately they tend to come and go. It’s a rare Pagan shop indeed that lasts more than a few years – your favorite store may be there one day, and vanish the next. That’s partly because, like any small independent business – a locally-run Pagan shop depends on local customers for its livelihood. If customers don’t patronize these shops, they vanish, because it’s not cost-effective to run a business that’s doesn’t make a profit. Here are five reasons you should support local Pagan businesses if possible: Local businesses build the local economy. It’s a no-brainer that local businesses help the…
