Tag: paganism
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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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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…
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Spring in Appalachia: Starting a Farm With Trauma
It’s an absolutely beautiful day here in western North Carolina. We’re having a run of unseasonably warm weather which has me itching to get the garden going. I have dreams. Big dreams. Lush flowerbeds, a full-on witch’s garden with all my favorite poison plants, and of course enough veggies to feed a small army (or…
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Embracing The Darkness of Yule and Winter
The shortest day of the year is drawing to a close as I write this. Yule is a time of darkness as much as it is a celebration of returning light. A time to draw in, to germinate. And, I’m beginning to realize, a time when darkness is not to be defeated but embraced. Have…
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Practical Polytheism: a Week’s Worth of Gods and Spirits
One of the things I found most confusing as I was first developing my pagan practice was how to incorporate multiple deities and spirits without offending any particular one. Especially since I was coming out of Fundamentalist Christianity, where the deity is notoriously jealous and demanding. I don’t seem to be alone in this as…
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Biddy Early: Healing Comes With a Price
In the southwest of Ireland, midway between Galway and Limerick, a mother and father are worriedly tending their sick daughter. Tenant farmers in the time of Famine, most of the family was starving. They’d likely be evicted when the rent next came due. But none of that was as urgent as what was happening to…