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Yule On a Budget
Wondering how you’re going to make it through Yule when you’re working on a tight budget or fixed income? Here are some of my top tips on how to make Yule a budget-friendly part of your year. 1. Look At How Much You’ve Got to Spare First, figure out how much you’re going to spend on gifts for others, and for your family. If cash is tight, think about making gifts instead of buying them. Also, pare down the gift list — is there someone you constantly buy a gift for that you really don’t want or need to? Ask them if it’s okay to skip the exchange this year.…
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Surviving the Holidays with Your Non-Pagan Family
In some families, the holiday get-together is something we look forward to. In fact, it may be the only time you even see some members of your family. However, if you’re a Pagan and the rest of them aren’t, there are times when the winter holidays can be a bit awkward. So what can you do to make the season’s celebrations a bit more harmonious? First of all, remember that this is a day for families to get together and enjoy themselves. It’s not a day to battle about religion or anything else. If your extended family celebrates a Christian holiday, no matter how you feel about Christianity, don’t choose this…
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Don’t Let Yule Stress You Out
It should be the happiest time of year, right? After all, the Yule season is when we celebrate the return of the sun, and the days start to get a little brighter. The mundane world is observing Christmas and Hanukkah, gifts are being given all over the place — it should be a season of great joy. Yet for many people, late fall and early winter are a time when frustrations begin to build, and anxiety (and often depression) set in. Between getting together with family, preparing big meals, shopping for gifts, decorating the house, and spending money on others, for many people Yule can be a time of overwhelming stress. Here…
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Make a Blessing Bag
Does your group or coven ever do a service project to help others? Each year during the Yule season — or at least, when we’re not in the middle of a global pandemic — my group comes up with a community-based project to work on. We’ve adopted needy families, done a hat drive for underprivileged schools, and sent toys to kids who might not have had any otherwise. We’ve given new clothes, diaper packs, feminine hygiene supplies, grocery store gift cards, turkey dinners, you name it. And each year, this simple contribution makes a huge difference in the lives of someone in our community. A few years back, however, my…
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12 Days of Reading for Yule
I love everything about the Yule season — from covering my tree with tiny pentacles and my ever growing collection of Krampus decorations, to decking my altar with boughs of holly, this is one of my favorite times of year. One of the things I always do is drag out my pile of Yule-oriented books and leave them scattered around so that guests can check them out — and so that I can revisit some of my annual traditions. There’s something comforting about curling up under a blanket with a cup of warm tea, flipping through pages that remind me of where many of our current customs originate. So, I’ve…
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19 Random Acts of Kindness for the Holidays
When the Yule season rolls around, it’s easy to find ourselves frustrated and anxious because of the frenzy of the holidays. Sometimes, it’s a good idea to take a step back and just perform small random acts of kindness, to help put things back into perspective. Doing nice things — even small ones — for other people not only helps them, but can help get you back on track, focusing on what Yule means to you. Obviously, there are so many more things you can do besides the ones on this list, but just to get you started, here are 19 random acts of Yuletide kindness. 1. Drop off pet food at…
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What Authors Need From You
So last month I released my SEVENTH book on modern witchcraft, Wicca Journal for Beginners, and I’ve gotten a TON of really great positive feedback on it. A big thanks and so much gratitude to everyone who took the time to leave me a review and say such nice things about it! I totally appreciate you! One thing that you may have noticed, if you follow me on any of my social media platforms, is that any time I release a new book, you’ll see a LOT of posts about it from me—usually in the two to four weeks leading up to the on-sale date, and then for a few weeks…
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I’m Giving Stuff Away!
To celebrate the release of my newest book, Wicca Journal for Beginners, I’m hosting a giveaway over on my About Paganism Facebook page! I’ll be giving one lucky winner a copy of the new book, as well as three of my other titles – Wicca Practical Magic, Herb Magic, and Witchcraft for Healing. Winners must live in the US – for other rules, legal stuff, and how to enter, head over to About Paganism on Facebook! If you haven’t ordered your copy yet, you can learn more and get one here: Wicca Journal for Beginners
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Pre-order Your Wicca Journal for Beginners!
Wondering what kind of magic you’ll find in my new book, Wicca Journal for Beginners? In addition to twenty unique journal prompts, there are a ton of all-new spells crafted for beginners and experienced practitioners alike! Here are just a few of what you’ll find inside: Love Letter Spell for Attraction Syrup Spell to Smooth a Relationship Happy Harmony Herbal Bath Minty Motivation Magic Circle of Friends Spell Gratitude Bowl Hands Tied Binding Spell It’s a little different from most of my other books, but I’m so psyched about it — it’s not a book on how to practice, but instead it’s a journal that can serve as a sacred space for…
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Plan a Cemetery Visit for Samhain
In many cultures, the late fall is a time in which the dead are honored with great ceremony. There are a number of ways you can do this, and if you’re fortunate enough to have your kinfolk buried nearby, you can incorporate a visit at your family’s cemetery into your Samhain festivities. My family isn’t buried anywhere near me, so I’ve sort of adopted the cemetery up the road from me, which is where a previous owner of my house is buried, along with several generations of her family. I walk up there every couple of weeks just to do some maintenance, say hello, and leave small offerings. I also…
