Stories wield incredible power, and are one of the core shaping influences in human cultures. We can easily look around the world for examples of this: here in the United States, our culture is shaped by Christian mythology. In India, Hindu mythology forms the culture. In Iceland, the Icelandic and Norse mythology of old supports…
Tag: advice
We inherit a lot of perspectives from our parent culture. Some of these are obvious, and we begin the work of deconstructing them pretty quickly. I began hacking at the “girls can’t be strong” trope almost as soon as I could walk. As a result, I’ve made good progress on pulling that particular weed out…
Our will – the function of the brain that makes us do things, even stuff we don’t really want to do, can best be viewed as a kind of mental muscle. We have a finite quantity of it when we start the day; using it causes our reserve of willpower to deplete. This is why…
I feel a little bit like I’m spinning my wheels right now. I work hard, but it often seems like any headway I make is short-lived, or simply reveals yet another task lurking beneath the stack I clear. I wrestle with the needs that are expressed to me and whether or not I can meet…
My homes have always had something of a reputation – a good friend described one of them as a ‘magickal bunker.’ Others comment on the richness of the energy, or how safe and comfortable my houses feel. So, one of the questions I get pretty frequently is how to achieve the same thing: what enchantments…
When the world gets scary, the comfort of home becomes even more important. We need places where we can let our guard down – where the hypervigilance so many of us adopted during the pandemic can ease a little bit. For a lot of us, relaxing has become difficult. Devices that keep us connected to…
“I wish it need not have happened in my time,” said Frodo. “So do I,” said Gandalf, “and so do all who live to see such times. But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us.” ― J.R.R. Tolkien, The…
I still remember when finding a Pagan book in a mainstream bookstore was a rarity. One of my favorite examples of that was a book on Pagan Parenting that I picked up in the late 90’s simply because it had ‘Pagan’ in the title. I did not have children, and had no intention of becoming…
I think some of us were hoping for a quieter and less tumultuous year after the past two years of pandemic, but it appears that is not to be. The highest court in the United States is threatening the bodily autonomy of half the population, which means the witches here (and some of our allies…
The return of spring is so joyous here in Western Maryland. It seems like the dawn chorus of birds gets a little louder every day as the warm sunlight convinces more spring flowers to open. With grateful hearts, we welcome back the growing season. We begin dusting off our hiking shoes and gardening gloves; we…