If Zeus had willed it soThat o’er the flowersOne flower should reign a queenI know, ah, well I know,The rose, the rose, that royal flower had been.— Sappho Since ancient times dating back to records from Mesopotamia, the “cradle of civilization,” the rose has been a treasured companion and central to our most enduring myths. … Read more
As the sun spirals its longest dance,Cleanse us!As nature shows bounty and fertilityBless us!Let all things live with loving intentAnd to fulfill their truest destiny.— from a Wiccan Summer Blessing (as reported by the BBC) Happy Litha (Summer Solstice) to those of us in the northern hemisphere, and Happy Yule to our friends below the … Read more
The Fires of Beltane(trad.) Nine woods in the Bel fire goBurn them fast and burn them slow. Birch wood in the fire goesTo represent what the Lady knows. Oak in the forest, towers with mightIn the fire it brings the God’s insight. Rowan is a tree of powerCausing life and magick to flower. Willows by … Read more
Hail Thalia, Grace of Flowering and Mirth! Hail to The Lord and The Lady!Hail to the King and Queen of Faery, to blessed Flora, and to Maia Majestas! ©Helena Nelson-Reed Hail to the Summer!Hail to the Summer!The season that drivesThe cold Winter away!Hail to the Summer!Hail to the Summer!Light your bonfires –Today is Beltane!— from … Read more
Blessings of May Eve! New life we see, in flower and treeAnd summer comes again.Be free and fair, like earth and air,The sunshine and the rain. Walpurgis Night, Walpurgis Night,Upon the eve of May,We’ll merry meet, and summer greet,For ever and a day.— Anonymous, quoted by Doreen Valiente in Witchcraft For Tomorrow Today is one … Read more
I gather thyme upon the sunny hills,And its pure fragrance ever gladdens me,And in my mind having tranquillityI smile to see how my green basket fills.And by clear streams I gather daffodils… — from Immalee by Christina Rosette To enhance the fresh, clearing energy of Spring, I like to make a magical dry potpourri (as … Read more
Spring ChantBy Ivo Dominguez, Jr Joy In The Gold Buds Of Spring.Passion In The Greening Leaf,Joy In The Rising Day.Passion Neath The Glowing Moon,Come Swelling Tides Of Spring.Fill Me With The Promise Of Green. The Spring rites continue as many Pagans and Witches will be gathering over this weekend to celebrate the Full Moon Esbat … Read more
The Goddess Ostara © Mickie MuellerThe country habit has me by the heart,For he’s bewitched forever who has seen,Not with his eyes but with his vision, SpringFlow down the woods and stipple leaves with sun. – Vita Sackville-West Also known as Lady Day or Alban Eiler (in Druid traditions), on this day, night and day … Read more
Supple and turbulent, a ring of menShall chant in orgy on a summer mornTheir boisterous devotion to the sun,Not as a god, but as a god might be,Naked among them, like a savage source.Their chant shall be a chant of paradise,Out of their blood, returning to the sky;And in their chant shall enter, voice by … Read more
In some mysterious way, woods have never seemed to me to be static things. In physical terms, I move through them; yet in metaphysical ones, they seem to move through me.— John FowlesThe daylight hours in the Northern Hemisphere slowly, almost imperceptibly, grow longer. But the Moon now fades, and we move towards Her dark … Read more