The deepest, truest magick I know is the power of self-determination. Much more than the simple ability to make choices, there are additional layers and abilities that come from having a rooted sense of Self. I teach a Mystery School and the very first magickal tool Blackfeather students start with is a mirror. Establishing a…
I have nightmares about the ocean. They never start off scary. In my dreams, I am excited to go to the beach. It’s often the same seaside town I visit in my slumbering journey: a rather New England-looking village that slopes down a hill toward the shore. Cheerful buildings, boardwalk, winding sidewalks and narrow roads,…
We stand in the Underworld right now – that space between Samhain and Yule where darkness, quiet and inner work reigns. We carry the burdens of the past year with us and some of them are incredibly heavy. One of the things I hear from people constantly these days is that they’re tapped out. A…
“For many of us, the prospect of multiple family gatherings over the next couple months can be anxiety-inducing. Add shopping, holiday parties, school obligations and packed grocery stores, and we have the ingredients for a very stressful season. The good news is that we know it’s coming, which means we can prepare for it. So…
The Wheel turned, and the final harvest lies behind us. The nights grow longer now and cool darkness whispers against the windows after the sun goes down. It is the time of the inward spiral. Living in rhythm with seasonal shifts includes many challenges, though. Although our ancestors were governed by their seasons and climate,…
October 31st marks one of the High Holidays in the widely-used Pagan Wheel of the Year – Samhain. Out of all our holidays, I’d say this one gets the most press. Our celebration of the end of the growing season coincides with all that is spooky in the larger culture. This time of endings in…
The change of seasons can bring in more than a shift in temperatures and sunlight. Over the years, I’ve noticed a pattern around the spring and fall equinox: people also make changes in their lives. Sometimes these are small things – they choose to get healthier, they clean (or purge) their houses, they finally boot…
“The green world around us will appear to slip into death or sleep. The truth, of course, is that deep beneath the winter soil, the plant spirits are recovering: healing, resting, growing and rooting deep for their rise in springtime. When we follow the cycle of the inward spiral, we can take advantage of the…
I have a secret to tell you. It goes against everything our Christianity-drenched culture wants you to believe. It goes against a lot of pop psychology. It will probably make you uncomfortable. It’s also true. The first person who told me this secret was the victim of horrific childhood abuse. The kind you don’t recover…
I recently play-tested a new Tarot deck live on my Facebook page (here’s the video). The deck in question is the TrueBlack Tarot and I specifically acquired it for Shadow readings. I’ve gotten a lot of questions since then about how and when to use a Shadow deck and what layouts to follow. So, today,…