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…
Tag: modern paganism
I’ve discovered that one of the most fun and rewarding aspects of releasing a book is the opportunity hang out with Pagan podcasters – they’re really cool! I have two new podcasts I was a guest on for you today, both of them recorded earlier in the year but released just recently. North Witch Podcast…
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…
My practice of life as well as witchcraft is oriented toward the physical senses – I naturally gravitate toward an embodied way of being in the world. I want to feel experiences on my skin, in the movement of my limbs, in the taste on my tongue, in the sounds that I hear, in the…
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…
When I look at the path of a river, I sometimes marvel at the way it cuts through stone to wend its flow through the landscape around me. I’m lucky enough to live near both the Potomac and Conococheague rivers and I’ve spent a lot of time wandering their shores and paddling kayaks along their…
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…
This sermon was offered at the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Frederick on Sunday, July 10th, after my the ceremony that made me a Commissioned Lay Minister. I remember the moment it happened. The exact moment I accepted my call to service. I was just a kid – nine or ten years old. There was…
This week’s offering is my rotating contribution to the The Frederick News-Post‘s “On Faith” column. As is true of my other columns there, this article is written for a broader audience. Today’s offering is all about Midsummer, and ways to connect to the rhythm of this season. As always, I am so grateful to the…
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…