I felt the coming change of season a few nights ago. The usual August heat had given way during an afternoon thunderstorm and a cool, damp breeze touched my skin. The relief from the sweltering temperatures was immediate, joyful, and then contemplative: I know what this means. Summer is winding down. We still have some…
Tag: gardening
Here in the mid-Atlantic, the winter birdsong is giving way to spring singers. There’s a rush of excitement in the air as returning species arrive and mate-seeking and nest-building begin. Birds have been referred to as the messengers of the gods in many different cultures. This connection of our winged companions to the Divine Ones…
One of the fun intersections in my life is the overlap of witchcraft and gardening. There is something powerfully satisfying about growing my own food. Equally, there is something powerfully magickal about working directly with the land spirits I live with. Those two streams combine to make one of the quietest but most profound sources…
Many years ago, I was introduced to the idea of selecting a single word for each calendar year to act as an intention, touchstone, and big-picture goal. The beauty of a single word intention is that the simplicity means multiple ways of connecting are possible. For example, one of my words over the years was…
This short sermon was offered for the December 13th, 2020, streaming service at the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Frederick. Full text below. I sometimes joke that paganism is an unusually intense form of environmentalism. One of the common threads that comes up when talking to other pagans is that we were pretty feral as children. …
This short meditation was offered for the August 23rd service streaming service at the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Frederick. Full text below: I don’t remember where I first heard it, but somehow I learned the phrase ‘if you want to know where a culture will be in 20 years, look at where the counterculture…
I live in the mid-Atlantic, a region blessed with a long growing season. It is high summer here. Hot days and abundant sunlight drew the first round of life from the dark earth. Afternoon thunderstorms watered tender, twining greens. The spring seeds grew and flourished, and the first harvest has now been gathered: radishes, peas,…
Think about the friendships you value the most. Maybe you are thinking about your best friend or the sibling who just ‘gets’ you. Maybe you are thinking about that friend who makes you feel better every time you are together – the one that somehow helps you see the brightness in life. Friendships take many…
There is great power in spiritual practice. One of the truest things I know about magick and life is that which is fed increases. Repetition matters. We form deeper friendships with people we interact with regularly, we become more skilled at the work we do frequently and the paths we often tread become easier to…
One of the things I’ve observed about the witches, seers and neoshamans I admire most is their focus on cultivating relationships. They seem to have a visceral understanding of being part of our planet’s tapestry of life (physical, spiritual and energetic) in a way that most of us do not. Their Work, magickal and otherwise,…