While things may seem fairly routine and quiet here in the Western world on this day, there are big celebrations happening amongst millions of people in other cultures. Today is the culmination of the ten day long festival of Navaratri. It is among the most important festivals celebrated on the India sub-continent. In Northern India, … Read more
Blessed is your gift of Autumn, which we celebrate now: The cooling and the clearing, Swirling, falling leaves of gold and crimson; Birds on the wing, Frosty mornings, And the harvest gratefully gathered in. These are the words I use when I give thanks for the gifts of Autumn with my prayer beads. I love … Read more
Blessed is the gift of the Summertime, just now departed… Hot, Sticky sweet, Humming and buzzing with life And the ripening… Summer love. Summer breezes. Summer nights. Summer vacation. Peaches. Flip-flops. Beaches. Fat, red tomatoes. Hummingbirds. What are you most grateful for when summer comes? Has summer changed for you over the years? For instance … Read more
Blessed Mother Goddess, Queen of Heaven, She of Ten Thousand Names. Star Goddess. Mama Gaia. My Lady of the Green Wood. Brighid. Danu. Hecate. Minerva. Kuan Yin. Yemaya. I give thanks and praises to you this day for your presence in my life and my heart. I give thanks for your many gifts to us… … Read more
Blessed Mother Goddess, Queen of Heaven, She of Ten Thousand Names. Star Goddess. Mama Gaia. My Lady of the Green Wood. Brighid. Danu. Hecate. Minerva. Kuan Yin. Yemaya. I give thanks and praises to you this day for your presence in my life and my heart. I give thanks for your many gifts to us… … Read more
The mantra becomes one’s staff of life and carries one through every ordeal. Each repetition has a new meaning, carrying you nearer and nearer to God. — Mahatma Gandhi Have you started collecting your beads yet? Assuming you have 1) your intention and 2) your prayer, including each part of it, it’s time to gather … Read more
Prayer is not an old woman’s idle amusement. Properly understood and applied, it is the most potent instrument of action. — Mahatma Gandhi In case you have never used a rosary, mala, or other prayer bead tool (I certainly had not when I first made mine), the idea is to construct a circle or line … Read more
Isis, Astarte, Diana, Hecate, Demeter, Kali, Inanna; Isis, Astarte, Diana, Hecate, Demeter, Kali, Inanna… – The Goddess Chant, various artists Today we actually begin to create and work with our prayer beads. As I have explained, I learned this from Donald Engstrom-Reese in 2003 at SpiralHeart Witchcamp. So my directions will be based on how … Read more
The preserving shrine is nature and what is preserved in it. The preserving shrine is memory and what is preserved in it. – Irish Brehon law My magical heart-sister, Isar Danu, was the first who ever told me about Reclaiming Witchcamps back in the mid-90s, when she started attending them. Officially called “Summer Intensives,” they … Read more