By any name... Samhain is only its Gaelic name. Dia du Muertos in Mexican culture. Many peoples from many times and places set aside a day to celebrate and honor death and the dead, most frequently coinciding with the period surrounding the final harvest. This period is a time in-between times. Summer is over, and winter is already casting his shadow over us. We teeter on the precipice of autumn, watching it slowly cross-dissolve as the leaves fall. This is a powerful time. W

During the day, gather several large leaves that have fallen from trees. These carry the essence of autumn, and of the balance of the equinox. During the night, sit before your Mabon fire, with the incense burning nearby. Or, if indoors, sit before your cauldron with a tea light burning inside. Be sure you have room to move around the fire. Take one of the leaves, hold it in your hands, and think about something that has come to you during the spring or summer, or will come t

Autumn is officially here. But as always, I like to talk about how our own cycles reflect the seasonal ones, and what the changing seasons mean to me on a deeper level. The energy of Mabon and fall is adulthood. Maturity. The fullest level of growth. It’s harvest time. The fruits of our actions are coming to us now. It’s a time for gathering and appreciating all we gather. It’s a time for celebration and a true moment of balance. Not just between light and darkness, but betwe

Here is what I got. I was shown my cupped hands, and my spirit-self pouring its energy down into them  and from them into my body. I  meditate near a rippling stream, so the sound effects assisted this vision beautifully. I directed the flow to my third eye, then to my throat and heart and on down. And then I felt this clear message: You don’t have to channel it. You ARE it. I am it. I am spirit. I am Source. I am light. The song, I Am Light by India Arie came to me and I lis

Here is what I got. I was shown my cupped hands, and my spirit-self pouring its energy down into them  and from them into my body. I  meditate near a rippling stream, so the sound effects assisted this vision beautifully. I directed the flow to my third eye, then to my throat and heart and on down. And then I felt this clear message: You don’t have to channel it. You ARE it. I am it. I am spirit. I am Source. I am light. The song, I Am Light by India Arie came to me and I lis

Here is what I got. I was shown my cupped hands, and my spirit-self pouring its energy down into them  and from them into my body. I  meditate near a rippling stream, so the sound effects assisted this vision beautifully. I directed the flow to my third eye, then to my throat and heart and on down. And then I felt this clear message: You don’t have to channel it. You ARE it. I am it. I am spirit. I am Source. I am light. The song, I Am Light by India Arie came to me and I lis

The Quickening Imbolc is said to be the first quickening of all those plants and roots and creatures deep beneath the ground. They begin to stir awake, to yawn and stretch from their long winter’s nap. As with anything we desire, there’s a lot that happens beneath the surface before we see the new reality. Just because we can’t see them yet, doesn’t mean our dreams aren’t in the process of becoming. In fact, there are always things in the process of becoming in our lives. Not

The Quickening Imbolc is said to be the first quickening of all those plants and roots and creatures deep beneath the ground. They begin to stir awake, to yawn and stretch from their long winter’s nap. As with anything we desire, there’s a lot that happens beneath the surface before we see the new reality. Just because we can’t see them yet, doesn’t mean our dreams aren’t in the process of becoming. In fact, there are always things in the process of becoming in our lives. Not

The Quickening Imbolc is said to be the first quickening of all those plants and roots and creatures deep beneath the ground. They begin to stir awake, to yawn and stretch from their long winter’s nap. As with anything we desire, there’s a lot that happens beneath the surface before we see the new reality. Just because we can’t see them yet, doesn’t mean our dreams aren’t in the process of becoming. In fact, there are always things in the process of becoming in our lives. Not

When you’re one with your Self, that’s when you become truly magic. That day by the pond, I came out of meditation with the very clear goal of looking at the beauty around me as if it had been a mud hole the day before. The pond actually was a mud hole when I first moved into this house in 2006. So I came out of that meditation thinking, what if I went to bed last night with a mud hole and woke up this morning with this? And when I opened my eyes, I really was able to feel th

When you’re one with your Self, that’s when you become truly magic. That day by the pond, I came out of meditation with the very clear goal of looking at the beauty around me as if it had been a mud hole the day before. The pond actually was a mud hole when I first moved into this house in 2006. So I came out of that meditation thinking, what if I went to bed last night with a mud hole and woke up this morning with this? And when I opened my eyes, I really was able to feel th

When you’re one with your Self, that’s when you become truly magic. That day by the pond, I came out of meditation with the very clear goal of looking at the beauty around me as if it had been a mud hole the day before. The pond actually was a mud hole when I first moved into this house in 2006. So I came out of that meditation thinking, what if I went to bed last night with a mud hole and woke up this morning with this? And when I opened my eyes, I really was able to feel th

May 1st, May Day, Beltane, is traditionally celebrated as the marriage of the Goddess and the God. It represents the fertilization and impregnation of the earth by the sun. And it’s the perfect time for fertilizing our own projects, goals, and lives with this same wonderful springtime power. An in-between time! In the world of natural magic, things that are “in between” are believed to have inherent power. Maybe because they contain the energies of two very different things.

May 1st, May Day, Beltane, is traditionally celebrated as the marriage of the Goddess and the God. It represents the fertilization and impregnation of the earth by the sun. And it’s the perfect time for fertilizing our own projects, goals, and lives with this same wonderful springtime power. An in-between time! In the world of natural magic, things that are “in between” are believed to have inherent power. Maybe because they contain the energies of two very different things.

May 1st, May Day, Beltane, is traditionally celebrated as the marriage of the Goddess and the God. It represents the fertilization and impregnation of the earth by the sun. And it’s the perfect time for fertilizing our own projects, goals, and lives with this same wonderful springtime power. An in-between time! In the world of natural magic, things that are “in between” are believed to have inherent power. Maybe because they contain the energies of two very different things.

The Celts The ancient Celts divided their year according to astronomical cycles. They recognized, (we think): The Winter Solstice, Spring Equinox, Summer Solstice, and Autumn Equinox as the 4 quarters of the year, and the dates halfway in between each of those dates as the “Cross-Quarters.” The Cross-Quarters, (Imbolc, around February  2, Beltane around May 1, Lughnasadh around August 2, and Samhain, around November 7) were and are the major turning points of the year, and th

The Celts The ancient Celts divided their year according to astronomical cycles. They recognized, (we think): The Winter Solstice, Spring Equinox, Summer Solstice, and Autumn Equinox as the 4 quarters of the year, and the dates halfway in between each of those dates as the “Cross-Quarters.” The Cross-Quarters, (Imbolc, around February  2, Beltane around May 1, Lughnasadh around August 2, and Samhain, around November 7) were and are the major turning points of the year, and th

I love living here... where the most subtle of changes are felt in every breeze, every breath, and every cell of our bodies if we’re in tune. The constant shifting of the seasons is reflected in every leaf on every tree, and oh how our Autumns thrill me! August 1st was the exact mid-point  between the longest day and shortest night of the year (June We’re a week past that point at this writing. It’s August 6th, and everything is su

I love living here... where the most subtle of changes are felt in every breeze, every breath, and every cell of our bodies if we’re in tune. The constant shifting of the seasons is reflected in every leaf on every tree, and oh how our Autumns thrill me! August 1st was the exact mid-point  between the longest day and shortest night of the year (June We’re a week past that point at this writing. It’s August 6th, and everything is su

3 Steps to Successful Wish-Making, in which I’ll teach you how to easily and quickly ritualize your wishing. Why a Ritual? When you launch a desire, it’s a thought on its way to becoming thing. Any time you focus on your wish in a positive way, you add to its power. I used to describe it as being just like rain. I remember in school being taught how the moisture condenses into a droplet, but isn’t yet heavy enough to fall, and how it sort of circles up again, gathering more m