Category: Gods, Spirits & Magic
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Joy and the Wolf of Fascism
Two years ago, at a pagan gathering near Atlanta, Ga, during a Seiðr ritual the god Loki made a stunning entrance. The Volva (the oracle who, in a trance state, connects with Otherworld beings to answer questions for and give messages to attendees) was suddenly possessed by the god, dancing and laughing in a manner…
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Embracing Animism
When our ancestors stepped outside, they saw a world teeming with spirits. Trees, stones, rivers, plants – all were embodied by living beings that could visit good or ill upon the human population. All “objects” or material phenomena were seen to have agency – they acted independently and made their own free choices. Our ancestors…
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Experiencing Freyja In Iceland’s Northern Lights
It’s hard to describe everything Freyja is. To me – and I’ve done a lot of research to come to this conclusion – she is the sun, the Great Goddess of northern Europe that appears in so many guises. A goddess of life itself, of death and fate and witchcraft. When my husband and I…
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Appalachian Folk Magic, Hoodoo & Appropriation
A few things Appalachian natives do not love: First, “skinwalkers” aren’t a thing here, that’s a Navajo legend out west. A whole lot (but not all) of what’s scary in the wilderness here is humans doing things they don’t want noticed. Second, a whole lot of what gets passed around as “Appalachian” magic (especially online)…
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Appalachian Magic: Stump Water
The magic practiced in the backwoods of Appalachia for the past few hundred years has been, by necessity, one that used what the practitioner had to hand. Before we had the internet, we had no way of getting our hands on specific crystals or herbs laid out in some ancient European grimoire. Outside of maybe…
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Nature As Healer
Science has found a lot of proof in recent years of what our Ancestors knew all along: Nature is our greatest healer. “There is mounting evidence, from dozens and dozens of researchers, that nature has benefits for both physical and psychological human wellbeing,” says Lisa Nisbet, PhD, a psychologist at Trent University in Ontario, Canada,…
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The Year of Aun: A Cycle of Healing
Before the Christianization of Scandinavia, there was a major offering every 9 years at holy places such as Uppsala. If you’re familiar with the show Vikings, this event is depicted in the first season, when Ragnar takes Athelstan with his family to the sacrifice with the intention of offering him as one of the 9…
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Loki the Trauma Survivor
As someone with a significant amount of trauma, most every deity I encounter gets a write up about it eventually – either in how they experienced it in the lore, or how they work with human survivors today. Loki Laufreyjarson dealt with trauma on an almost unfathomable level. CW: violence against (mythological) kids Loki as…
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Learning About Loki
It began, as far as I can consciously tell, with John Beckett’s article about Loki’s message at this year’s Mystic South conference. As I read his report of the Trickster’s words I began to feel a tug. A spark if you will. Up till now the only deity that’s really held my attention has been…
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An Appalachian Lughnassadh: Lugh, Fascism & Family Trauma
It’s been just over a year since we signed the papers and finally settled down on a mountaintop in western North Carolina. Sometimes I drive around town and still marvel that I’m here, on the very mountain that I used to feel protected by as a child. Last year at Lughnassadh, we were still digging…
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These Sacred Mountains
It’s been raining all day today, a magical sound in the Smoky Mountains. Up here, my little farm sits at about 3100 ft, and sometimes that means the clouds wrap themselves around our little ridge and we disappear inside them, unable to even see the cars in our driveway. The mountain I live on is…
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So You Want To Hex a Public Figure
There’s apparently quite a controversy brewing over on Tik Tok about hexing public figures, such as Supreme Court Justices. Having cast a few successful hexes, I’m here to offer some guidance on how to do it effectively. First off: I’m not Wiccan, and do not subscribe to any “rule of three.” Some of the controversy…
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The Mórrígan as Mother and More: My Appearance on Personal Pans
I had the honor of appearing this week on the Personal Pans podcast with Vanessa Walilko. We had so much fun, I feel like I’ve gained a new friend. Here’s how she described the episode: What happens when your mother is not a mother? Where do you find a maternal figure? When you find yourself…
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Do Abusive Ancestors Grow On The Other Side?
More thoughts spurred by Tyler Henry’s new Netflix series, Life After Death. In one episode, Tyler gives a message where a departed mother apologizes for how she treated her child in life. “I see it now,” Tyler quotes her as saying to him. “I couldn’t before but I do now.” (May not be exact, I’m…
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Becoming A Forest Witch
Now that I live in my own forest in southern Appalachia, it’s time to turn my back on humanity and become the forest witch we all learned about in fairy tales. Minus the baby eating. Eww. The turning my back on humanity is relative, of course. I don’t have local friends yet, and the only…