Memories of Halloweens Gone By
Ah, Halloween. Our Wiccan friends celebrate it as Samhain. Many Pagans believe this is the time of year where the veil between the living and the dead is thinnest. I gotta say, that has been my experience. I feel a mighty pull by bonds to loved ones on the other side right about now. Always...
Human Sacrifice Pt 1: What Is It? Who Did It? And Why Does the Definition Matter?
It starts today: a modern Pagan’s take on religion’s sordid past of death and dismemberment in the name of a god. This post’s not so gruesome (yet!)...
A Steamy Halloween – Steampunk, that is
“It’s a subculture that embraces the simplicity and romance of the past, at the same time couples it with the hope and promise and sheer super-coolness of futuristic design.†– Richard Castle describes Steampunk in Season 3 Episode 4 of Castle Today’s topic is not so pagan-y, but it’s a fun one anyway: Steampunk! I...
The Inaugural Ancestor Chair
It was more than little surreal, standing in a circle with vampires, a pirate, a redneck, a carnival mistress, and all of them so serious. I was about to lead my first public ritual, and I was dressed as a waitress from a tv show. My long blonde hair – a wig – caught my...
The Oxymoron of a Secular Holiday: Whose Day is it Anyway?
Most people recognize the word holiday comes from “holy day†(actually, according to etymonline it comes from Old English “halig dæg,†which means… holy day), but in America we often use it to mean any day we would normally go to work and don’t, regardless if the reasons are secular or religious (such as the...
Don’t Forget to Send an Invitation or People Won’t Come to Your Party
In a funny turn of events (funny as in raised eyebrow, not really funny as in haha), Jax and I completely forgot about sending an invitation to the Halloween dinner party. We did send a “save the date†email to guests last week, but that was only to guests with kiddos, so they could secure...
Southern Gothic Menu Planning – Princess Style
I believe I’ve mentioned my intense love of all things gastronomic, and so planning a feast fit for The Princesses and friends was not a chore in the least. Figuring out a menu that will balance diets, please a variety of palates, and still be fun to cook was, as always, a challenge, but I...
A Chair for My Friends
While American memorials of the dead usually end with the funeral, many cultures around the world have an annual festival recognizing kith and kin who have passed before – like the Japanese Bon, the Korean Chuseok, or the Mexican Dia de los Muertos. Though there are limited instances of this practice in the U.S. (like the...
