WitchyWays

The Dance: Pas de Deux

2012-02-14T14:21:00.003-05:00

This is just beauty. It feels like the dance that started the universe; the dance of souls falling in love; the dance between ourselves and our god soul. Yum!

Upcoming Workshops for Fall 2011

2011-09-27T16:42:00.006-04:00

My fall workshop line-up is complete!

I will be teaching at Le Mélange Magique and Charme & Sortilege in Montreal, as well as at The Elemental Book and Curiousity Shop in Winnipeg. With the exception of Intro to Contemporary Paganism, advanced registration is required and a minimum number of people must be registered for the class to run. All classes are capped at 9 participants. Please register directly with the shops.

Fall Series: September through December
Building a Personal Spiritual Practice *FULL*
Privately organized.
The focus of the work of this class is to develop a core devotional spiritual practice. Devotion can be outwardly or inwardly expressed. For example, the class can be used to enter into relationship with a deity/spirit or set of deities/spirits, or to come into closer contact with our own soul, inner light or higher self. Class is every second week. Each session builds on the last one and the exercises are flexible enough to be adapted for individual beliefs, traditions and deities.

Thursday October 6th, 7pm -9pm
Intro to Contemporary Paganism
Le Melange Magique, 1928 Ste-Catherine W, Montreal H3H 1M4
What is Paganism? Ask a dozen people and you’ll get at least a dozen answers. In this brief introduction, we will discuss what we mean when we use the word Pagan in a contemporary religious or spiritual context. We will explore some of the various philosophical underpinnings that seem to unite most contemporary Pagan traditions, as well as some of the common conceptions and misconceptions people have about Paganism. ($5 donation to the MPRC, register with Le Mélange Magique)

Sunday October 16th, 2-4pm.
Crafting Ritual: An Introduction
Le Mélange Magique, 1928 Ste-Catherine W, Montreal H3H 1M4
Ritual is a space in time carved out for spiritual or transformative work. It usually involves set forms to create and contain the energy of that moment; and is an integral component of many contemporary Pagan practices. This introductory workshop provides an overview of common ritual formats and some basic considerations when crafting a ritual for yourself or small groups. ($30; Register with Le Mélange Magique)

Saturday October 29th, 1-4pm.
An Introduction to the Elements
Charme et Sortilège, 4933 de Grand Pré, Montreal H2T 2H9
Many contemporary Pagan and esoteric traditions use the five foundational elements of earth, air, fire, water and ether/spirit. What are they, where do they come from, what do they represent, how can we tune-in to their energies for our magical or spiritual work, and why would we want to? This 2-hour introduction scratches the surface of these questions and offers some practical exercises to explore the five elements. ($45; Register with Charme & Sortilège)

Thursday November 3rd, 7-9pm
Developing Daily Practice
Elemental Book and Curiousity Shop, Winnipeg, MB
Daily spiritual practice is a commitment to self-care, as well as personal and spiritual growth. Depending on your tradition and beliefs, it may also be a commitment to your gods, coven- or Craft-mates. For a daily practice to work for you, it has to be something that satisfies your spiritual goals and that you enjoy. It also must fit into your daily life. In this workshop, we will discuss some of the reasons for undertaking a daily practice, as well as its most common forms and commonly-encountered obstacles. We will then develop individual plans for starting, and maintaining, a daily spiritual practice.

Saturday and Sunday November 5th-6th
Elements of Ritual
Elemental Book and Curiousity Shop, Winnipeg, MB
Ritual is is a space in time carved out for deep work, usually involving set forms to create and contain the energy of that moment; and is an integral component of many contemporary Pagan practices. This hand-on workshop is an introduction to crafting ritual for solitary work, or for small or large groups. We will break ritual down into its individual components to work with them, and then build it back up again. This workshop is offered as a weekend intensive.

Wednesday December 7th, 7-9pm.
Developing Daily Practice
Charme et Sortilège, 4933 de Grand Pré, Montreal H2T 2H9
Daily spiritual practice is a commitment to self-care, as well as personal and spiritual growth. Depending on your tradition and beliefs, it may also be a commitment to your gods, coven- or Craft-mates. For a daily practice to work for you, it has to be something that satisfies your spiritual goals and that you enjoy. It also must fit into your daily life. In this workshop, we will discuss some of the reasons for undertaking a daily practice, as well as its most common forms and commonly-encountered obstacles. We will then develop individual plans for starting, and maintaining, a daily spiritual practice. ($45; Register with Charme & Sortilège)

Summer Solstice Ritual June 23rd

2011-06-20T19:39:00.002-04:00

What's a kick-off to summer without some drumming, dancing and chanting in honour of the shining eye in the sky? Please join us for an open summer solstice ritual in Angrignon Park on Thursday June 23rd starting at 7pm sharp. We will be exploring all the ways that we define ourselves under the summer sun.

The ritual is being organized by individual members of the local Pagan community coming together for this occasion and will take place rain or shine. The event is kid-friendly, but anyone under 18 years old must be accompanied by a legal guardian or have a note from a parent. It's ritual is FREE to attend, but we will asking for donations ($2-$5).

We will meet at Angrignon metro at between 18h30 and 18h50. Make sure you arrive on time or you may not be able to find us (the park is pretty big). There will be someone near the benches inside the metro station waiting to greet you and take you to the ritual site.

The ritual will start at about 19h00 and end at about 20h00 (with a light feast afterward).

If you can, please bring:

seeds to sprinkle and throw away
feast food to share (finger foods)
drums or other rhythmic instruments if you have them (optional)

For more information, check out the Facebook event page.

Witchy Ways of Knowing. What's Yours?

2011-06-09T08:34:00.005-04:00

As witches, we believe in (and hopefully regularly engage) alternative forms of 'knowing.' We don't just rely on the material realm and reality to give us information. Many of us pay attention to 'hunches' or intuition, have conversations with our gods or spirits, consult divination systems like the tarot or runes, read clouds or tea leaves, or practice some other form of nature divination or augury. The information we receive supplements--it does not supplant--the information that our analytical self is receiving from the material world.

I think some people use intuition, or similar ways of knowing, without really realising it. Think of the people you know who always seems to carry good fortune with them or be 'at the right place at the right time.' However many of us tune out our intuition or come to doubt it through many years of people telling us that decisions and actions should be based on facts, not feelings. I find this particular ironic because just about all the successful research scientist I've spoken to have told me that most of their 'big discoveries' have come from following hunches or even vivid dreams.

What's interesting about the scientists is that while they may be following a sense of intuition, or even guidance, in their research, their methods are rooted in a strong foundation of practical science. The two--conventional and alternative knowledge--work synergistically. It's through building practical foundations and actively developing our intuition and other ways of knowing that we can gain our deepest understandings and work our most powerful magic.

A wise witch once told me that an effective witch should know (and trust) the different intuition-like ways that they receive alternative knowledge, as well as being proficient in several different systems of more tangible divination to help check or deepen the guidance. For example, I often will follow-up a hunch or omen with a tarot or rune reading and some material research.

What are you ways of knowing? We don't all receive alternative knowledge the same way. Do you get flashes or visions? Hear sounds, voices or hold conversations? Sporadically perceive deeper meaning from seemingly everyday things, occurrences, conversations or songs? Get 'gut feelings' or read 'vibes' off of people or objects? Have vivid or prophetic dreams? Simply 'know' something? Get a whiff of a scent or aroma, or a taste on your tongue, real or not? Or perhaps the hairs on your left arm stand up or you get a pain in your right big toe.

Pay attention to your ways of knowing. Develop them. One way of doing this is to keep a small notebook and simply jot down when you have a 'flash.' As part of your daily or regular practice, see if there are patterns to any of them. Which ones ring true or are revealed as true over time? You can also work with a flash through divination, art or stream of consciousness writing.

The Celtic Tree Ogham Online 8 Week intensive

2011-06-07T11:51:00.002-04:00

This is a really unique online workshop offering from my friend Raven in the UK. It's fairly hands-on and I'm sure will be fantastic. Even though the Celtic Tree Ogham is based on UK trees, part of the workshop will help you build a personal Ogham that relates to the trees of your land. It also looks at tree ecosystems. Very, very cool stuff.

Here's the info:

The Celtic Tree Ogham Online 8 Week intensive
The Celtic Tree Ogham is one of the lesser known forms of divination. This ancient Celtic alphabet has some parity with the runes, ie an alphabet for which each letter also has magical significance and meaning. In this case the divinatory meaning is derived from observation of the ecological, practical as well as magical properties of twenty trees native to the British Isles, e.g. Birch, Rowan, Alder, Willow and Ash.

Interest in... the Celtic Tree Ogham is beginning to grow and has expanded outwards from the British Isles, extending into countries such as the USA where many of the Celtic trees are not native to the land. Where the traditional Celtic trees are found, they frequently occupy different ecological, practical and magical niches.

In this workshop we will work on learning skills and tools to develop and build energetic connections to the trees of the Celtic Ogham, along with using other resources and research to learn about the ecology of the trees. We will learn how to translate these energies into understanding the trees that are part of our native ecosystems whether you live in mountains or the desert or even in the British Isles (!); and work towards building a personal tree ogham system that is relevant to your own land, and which may be more or less based on the traditional Celtic tree ogham system. (Read more...)

About Raven:
I am a British Witch who has been working and teaching in the Reclaiming tradition for over ten years. I am also an initiate in the Anderson Feri tradition. I love to travel and has taught courses, classes and Witchcamps in the UK, Germany, US, Finland and Israel, as well as online classes. I have an on-going love affair with trees - the Celtic Tree Ogham is my favoured divination tool, and I have spent many years studying it, teaching it and offering readings using it. I am an ecologist by training and a lover of the natural world, and sees much of my work as building connections. I am a self-employed artist and crafts-person (I make ogham sets, runes and more!), jack-of-all-trades, a poet, writer and recovering academic.

Register by the 26th of June directly with Raven (greenwomancrafts@gmail.com)

Norse Shamansim Workshop With Prudence This Saturday

2011-05-27T14:20:00.004-04:00

This is a blatant plug for a couple of workshops at Le Mélange Magique this Saturday by an extremely knowledgeable guest teacher.

On Saturday May 28th, Prudence Priest from California will be giving two workshops:

Amber & Jet Saturday May 28th at 12-2PM $15 per person
Nordic Shamanism Saturday May 28th at 3-5PM $25 per person

Some of you met Prudence and her fabulous amber this past weekend at Gaia Gathering. I don't have her bio in front of me, but for those of you who don't know Prudence, she is a wealth of information and has been active in the Craft/Paganism since the 1970s. She is an elder in COG, a founder of the American Vinland Association, and was involved in the early days of the Asatru Alliance and the Ring of Troth. Seriously, don't miss these!

More information is here. Or call the store (514-938-1458) to reserve your space.

My Panels at Gaia Gathering

2011-05-16T16:06:00.005-04:00

The Gaia Gathering programming team is in the process of ironing out the scheduling to make sure none of us who are scheduled to sit on panel discussions or offer workshops need to perfect the art of bilocation. In the meantime, these are the panels that I'll be participating in as a panelist:

Priest/essing our Craft
This panel seeks to define the qualities a person needs to be able to take on a leadership role in the Pagan community. What does it mean to be a Priest/ess in our covens, groups and communities? What are the risks and challenges, and what skills do we need to cultivate? Do we have a need for a Pagan chaplaincy to make clergical services available in our communities, and how can we support our leaders in that endeavor?

Community Leader and Clergy Burnout
Many of our communities hinge upon the efforts of the few to provide services, organize events, and plan rituals that the community members can take part in. Sometimes these people receive the support they need, but much more often, they are left to do the work on their own, which is the well-worn path to burn-out. How can we better support our community leaders and clergy to prevent burn-out? More importantly, how can we help them recover from the burn-out they‘ve already experienced?

Documenting our Histories
Our communities are constantly evolving in terms of culture, population, and the response to crisis. How do we chronicle these events that make-up our modern history? We have discovered such wisdom in ancients texts, but what can we learn from the legacy of our modern-day elders? How do we preserve our recent history so that future generations can benefit?

Song and Chant Share
This is an opportunity to share songs and chants and other music from our communities across Canada.

As soon as I have the complete list of topics and times, I'll post them here. From what I've seen it looks like an exciting programme!

For more Gaia Gathering, visit the website or blog, or check-out the facebook page or event page.

Courting My Own Health

2011-04-28T10:30:00.005-04:00

I've been so busy recently that I've been finding it hard to set aside the time I need to take care of myself. For the most part, I feel like I've been grasping in stolen snatches for the habits that I feel help sustain me. I also haven't been reading my usual blogs or listening to my usual podcasts.

So I take it as a bit of a cosmic clue-by-four that in a moment of procrastination from the work at hand, I snuck a peak at my blog feed and at the top of it was a post from Thorn's titled, No Sick Mystics. Crap, I thought. That might be me!

There is a lot to unpack in Thorn's musings on being a healthy mystic. She covers everything from physical health, to running energy, to coming back from mystical states. However in its essence, she reminds us to know and honour ourselves.

On a physical level:

"What I’m lobbying for is deep listening to all of our parts. What kind of movement does my body want in order to feel happy? What sort of food does it crave when I’m not pumping myself full of toxins, or forgetting to eat until I feel crazed? Can I slow down enough inside to truly listen, every day, to body, mind, emotion, and spirit within, and to the earth, the cosmos, and the spirit realms around me?"

The way I see it, when we're working from this place of self-knowledge and respect, we're courting our own health. If we're not working from this space and we're simply reacting, much of what we're doing in the name of self-care may simply treating the symptoms.

For example, I know that when my upper back and shoulders bother me it is usually because I'm spending too much time writing in front of the computer and not enough time physically moving my upper body. In the past couple of weeks my friends have been graciously providing with me with massages. That helps and I feel better (for a bit), but if I really want my body to stop hurting, I need to take a time out from writing and go for a swim, take a dance class or lift some weights.

When we court a new lover, we often don't find it difficult take time out for a date, a romantic afternoon, or some steamy sex. Why not court our health and our selves in the same way?

Gaia Gathering in Montreal

2011-04-17T12:19:00.003-04:00

Gaia Gathering, The Canadian National Pagan Conference, is fast approaching. This year I'm excited that it's in Montreal. I'm on the organizing committee and we've been working really hard to bring some fabulous Canadian speakers and entertainment to the event, in addition to the panel discussions, roundtables and workshops that make up the core of the conference.

The preliminary programme is now available in pdf format. You can download it here.

The workshop lineup has been announced. Read more about the workshops here.

We're in the process of finalising the panel and roundtable discussion topics. This is a longer process because we really try to get input from folks planning to attend the Gaia Gathering about what they want to see at the conference and what they want to participate in. The list of possible discussion topics is here.

If you haven't registered already, you can register online through EventBrite, here. You can also download the registration form and snail mail it in.

Details about accommodation are here.

My Workshops for April and May

2011-03-29T15:34:00.007-04:00

I have three workshops coming up at Le Mélange Magique (1928 Ste-Catherine W) in April and May; and of course, Gaia Gathering (Concordia University) is coming up over the May Victoria Day long weekend and I'm sure I'll be on some panels there too.

Both the Powers of Air and Crafting Ritual workshops need a minimum number of participants to run, so advance registration is strongly encouraged. You can show up on the day of the workshop without registering, however, if the minimum registration was not reached by 48 hours before the workshop start time then it gets cancelled. Register at Le Mélange Magique (514-938-1458). No advance registration is required for The Pagan Umbrella. I run it whether there is one person or 20 people!

Thursday April 14th, 6:30 pm
Powers of Air
The elements of earth, air, fire, water (and aether) are foundational underpinnings of many esoteric traditions. Through a combination of lecture and hands-on exercises, we will delve into the element of air, the direction of east, power of new beginnings, knowledge and ideas, and beings like birds and sylphs. You will also be provided with activities to continue to deepen your relationship with this element on your own. (2 hours; $20; advance registration required; minimum enrollment required for the workshop to run)

Thursday April 28th, 6:30 pm
Crafting Ritual: An Introduction
Ritual is a space in time carved out for spiritual or transformative work. It usually involves set forms to create and contain the energy of that moment; and is an integral component of many contemporary Pagan practices. This introductory workshop provides an overview of common ritual formats and some basic considerations when crafting a ritual for yourself or small groups. (2 hours; $20; advance registration required; minimum enrollment required for the workshop to run)

Sunday May 8th, 2pm.
The Pagan Umbrella
What is Paganism? Ask a dozen people and you’ll get at least a dozen answers. In reality, paganism is probably best considered to be an umbrella term for a variety of spiritual and religious traditions. In this brief introduction, we will discuss what we mean when we use the word Pagan in a religious or spiritual context, discover some of the more popular Pagan paths being followed today (such as Wicca, witchcraft, Druidism, Heathenism, or simply Pagan), and explore some of their commonalities and differences. (2 hours; free)

Friday May 20th to Monday May 23rd
Gaia Gathering
The Canadian National Pagan Conference (CNPC), Gaia Gathering, is a grassroots national Pagan organization founded in 2004. Each year the conference is hosted over the Victoria Day long weekend in a different Canadian city through a bidding process similar to the Olympics. Past host cities include Edmonton, Halifax, Winnipeg, Ottawa, and Vancouver. This year (2011) it comes to Concordia Univesity in Montreal. The conference is organized collaboratively by Canadian Pagans and brings together Pagans, Pagan-curious, Pagan elders and community leaders, and interested others for a long weekend of networking, discussion, and community. Traditionally, the panels and discussions have focussed on the issues we experience as Canadian Pagans living in the 21st century, with special emphasis on the experience of being Pagan in the host city. For more info visit their website, blog, or Facebook page!

My March 2011 Workshops

2011-03-14T18:04:00.003-04:00

Here is a list of workshops and talks for March. Actually there is only one this month as I concentrate on Gaia Gathering.

The Pagan Umbrella
Thursday March 17, 2011 6:30-8:30 pm, FREE
Le Mélange Magique, 1928 Ste-Catherine W, Montreal
What is Paganism? Ask a dozen people and you’ll get at least a dozen answers. In reality, paganism is probably best considered to be an umbrella term for a variety of spiritual and religious traditions. In this brief introduction, we will discuss what we mean when we use the word Pagan in a religious or spiritual context, discover some of the more popular Pagan paths being followed today (such as Wicca, witchcraft, Druidism, Heathenism, or simply Pagan), and explore some of their commonalities and differences.

"The Pagan Umbrella" is essentially a talk and Q&A with me sharing my perspective on contemporary Paganism and the various paths that I see falling under this umbrella term.

Also, the study/reading group is still ongoing and it looks like we have a couple of spots open for the Spring session starting March 23rd. We meet every second Wednesday and will be exploring Aphrodite. Contact me for details if you're interested.

Gaia Gathering Open Meeting

2011-01-19T10:50:00.002-05:00

DATE: Tuesday January 25th 2011 / mardi le 25 janvier 2011
TIME: 7:00pm / 19h00
LOCATION: Concordia Multifaith Chaplaincy, 2090 Mackay

Please pass the word along to your groups or put up on your blogs!

It's that time again for our open meeting and update. Gaia Gathering is seeking volunteers to help with local fundraising events and the Conference as a whole. This is a great way to both get involved with the community and plant something special onto a CV.

On the agenda this meeting is:
1) Update on planning
2) Beat the Winter Blues concert
3) Brainstorming for conference programming
4) Current volunteer help needs

If you want to attend, and you're in the Montreal area, the meeting will be held on Tuesday January 25th at 7pm at Concordia Multifaith Chaplaincy (2090 Rue Mackay, Montreal, QC).

The Facebook event page for the meeting is here.

If you can't make the meeting (or if you're outside of Montreal) and want to offer your help, please email Scarlet, our volunteer coordinator, at scarletcougar@gmail.com and include what you can offer, you email and phone contact information.

Gaia Gathering is the Canadian National Pagan Conference(CNPC). Each year, it travels to a different host city over the May longweekend. Past host cities include Edmonton, Halifax, Winnipeg, Ottawa and Vancouver.From May 20-23rd, 2011, it will be coming to Montreal! This is a great opportunity toshowcase our city and our paganisms, as well as to meet other Pagans from across the county, often from traditions and paths not represented in Montreal. For more information, visit the Gaia Gathering web site. You can also join our Facebook page here.

We look forward to seeing you on the 25th!
Amanda, Hobbes, Melanie, Scarlet, and Alex

Defining Paganism

2011-01-18T13:31:00.002-05:00

I've been working on my handouts for the Pagan Umbrella course that I'm teaching on Thursday. One of the challenges of talking about contemporary Paganism is defining it. I half-jokingly said in the class description, "Ask a dozen people and you’ll get at least a dozen answers," but this statement is true. We each have our own understanding of what Paganism is.

Here are some of the definitions and thoughts on Paganism that I've pulled out as a starting point for the course on Thursday:

Polytheistic nature religion, such as ancient Greek, Roman or Egyptian, or indigenous folk religions (Margot Adler in Drawing Down the Moon, 1979)
Polytheistic nature religions based on older or Paleopagan religions (Isaac Bonewitz quoted in Drawing Down the Moon, 1979)
A constantly-evolving philosophy that views humanity as a functional organism within the greater organism of all Life. (Oberon Zell quoted in Drawing Down the Moon, 1979)
Religion or spiritual practices that have widely-accepted associations with the country-side and the natural world based on the 19^th century understanding of “pagan” meaning country-dweller or “rustic”. (Ronald Hutton in Triumph of the Moon, 1999)
Followers of polytheistic religions, whether ancient or modern. (Chas Clifton in Her Hidden Children.)
An affirmation of interactive and polymorphic sacred relationship by the individual or community with the tangible, sentient, and/or non-empirical. (From Pagan Theology by Michael York, 2003)
Spirituality that is based upon personal experience as its ultimate standard of validity, and that is distinguished by the following five characteristics: pantheism or panentheism, animism, polytheism, the eternal present, lack of a concept of ultimate evil. (Gus DiZerega in Pagans and Christians, 2001)
A polytheistic nature religion in which reciprocal relationships between humans and all others are important, and which is recreating ways of relating to the earth and all its inhabitant, and has little or no dichotomy of sacred and profane, or differentiation between ordinary and religious activities. (Graham Harvey in Contemporary Paganism, 1997)

After these, we'll be briefly looking at some of the historical roots of contemporary Paganism before getting into the various paths and traditions that fall under the umbrella, or sit along its edges, not quite in under it or outside of it either.

January/February 2011 Workshops

2011-01-03T14:57:00.003-05:00

I'm presenting some workshops and talks at Le Mélange Magique over the next two months. Some of them are free and others have a fee. Please help spread the word.

Descriptions are below. "The Pagan Umbrella" is more of a talk with me sharing my perspective on contemporary Paganism and the various paths that I see falling under this umbrella term. The other two workshops are actual workshops with experiential components and exercises that you can take away from the workshop and work with. "Introduction to the Elements" is very introductory. I have a more advanced one that I will probably be offering over several weeks or as a weekend intensive in March or April. "Developing Daily Practice" is suitable for all levels and spiritual paths and includes some personalised follow-up.

In other news, the study/reading group is still ongoing and it looks like we have a couple of spots still open for the Winter session starting January 12th. Contact me for details if you're interested.

The Pagan Umbrella
Thursday January 20, 2011 6:45-8:45 pm, FREE
Le Mélange Magique, 1928 Ste-Catherine W, Montreal
What is Paganism? Ask a dozen people and you’ll get at least a dozen answers. In reality, paganism is probably best considered to be an umbrella term for a variety of spiritual and religious traditions. In this brief introduction, we will discuss what we mean when we use the word Pagan in a religious or spiritual context, discover some of the more popular Pagan paths being followed today (such as Wicca, witchcraft, Druidism, Heathenism, or simply Pagan), and explore some of their commonalities and differences.

Introduction to the Elements
Sunday January 23, 2011 2:00-4:00 pm $5
Le Mélange Magique, 1928 Ste-Catherine W, Montreal
Many contemporary Pagan and esoteric traditions use the five foundational elements of earth, air, fire, water and ether/spirit. What are they, where do they come from, what do they represent, how can we tune-in to their energies for our magical or spiritual work, and why would we want to? This 2-hour introduction scratches the surface of these questions and offers some practical exercises to explore the five elements.

Developing Daily Practice
Thursday February 10, 2011, 6:45-8:45 pm $30
*Advance Registration Required*
Le Mélange Magique, 1928 Ste-Catherine W, Montreal
Daily spiritual practice is a commitment to self-care, as well as personal and spiritual growth. Depending on your tradition and beliefs, it may also be a commitment to your gods, coven- or Craft-mates. For a daily practice to work for you, it has to be something that satisfies your spiritual goals and that you enjoy. It also must fit into your daily life. In this workshop, we will discuss some of the reasons for undertaking a daily practice, as well as its most common forms and commonly-encountered obstacles. We will then develop individual plans for starting, and maintaining, a daily spiritual practice.

Honour the Dead

2010-11-11T11:29:00.006-05:00

Today is remembrance today. We honour those who fought for our freedom, human rights, dignity and life. They are part of our heritage, our ancestry.

In November, much of my mystical work and other-worldly conversations revolve around ancestors. For many, Samhain is the big ancestor night or honouring of the dead (and sometimes new life), but for me, one night is not enough. Nor does it feel like it should be. There is a liminality leading into Samhain as the veils become become gossamer. They don't part and then close immediately in a single night. Like the moon that appears to be full over a few days, the thinness remains for a period of time before thickening again.

For me, I start to feel the shift in the last week of October. The sense of closeness to my ancestors and the river that separates the living from the dead remains well into November. I take this period of weeks to remember and be open to my Mighty Dead, the ancestors I have known and those who passed long before I was born, and personal heroes whose wisdom or experience I admire. Sometimes they visit; different ones each year. I light candles and remember fallen heroes. I ponder the mysteries of death and life, darkness and light, the Divine Twins. And I spend time with the gods of the dark, those who help us make difficult choices and often tell us (sometimes brutally) what we don't want to hear.

This isn't work, or visits, that I can 'do' in a single night. It's a period. A wave. Remembrance day falls firmly into this time. I feel the veterans gather as we call them forth. Some at the river, and some by our side. It's powerful. It's painful. It's hope. It's part of Samhain. I honour it. I honour them.

Metal Magic with Helmut

2010-10-29T09:57:00.004-04:00

In case you missed it, Helmut from Helmut's forge from southwestern Ontario will be in Montreal this Saturday. He will bring horns and blades and leather journals to sell. (They're magical, gorgeous, and well-worth the money. Stock up on your yule gifts early; or treat yourself.) AND! And he will be giving a workshop.

Metal and Magic (Helmut)
Thirty years of making ritual tools, research and experimentation have taught me that when it comes to metal, magic follows a predictable pattern of behaviour linked to its physical state. In this workshop, I will describe these properties and how they affect the ritual and magical use of metal for today’s practitioners.

Helmut started blacksmithing forty years ago, and this year celebrates his thirtieth year of making metal work for the pagan community.

Saturday October 30th 2-4pm $40
Le Melange Magique
1928 St. Catherine West
514-938-1458

Gaia's Bardic a Success

2010-10-26T10:26:00.000-04:00

::Reposted from the Gaia Gathering blog::

This past Saturday night, Atwater Library was host to an evening of music, storytelling, and more than a few surprises! If you missed it, you really denied yourself a rare treat. You shouldn't deny yourself such pleasures... you deserve better!

We had over 50 people in the audience that night, and thanks to their generosity and mathematical formulas that I've never been very good at, we raised over $600 for the Gaia Gathering conference. Amazing!

As with all pagan events, we started the evening about 15 minutes late (logistics and waiting for certain people), but once we got going, we found it difficult to stop! The evening's entertainment included:

Hobbes and Shayne Gryn (storytelling and music)
Triskelia (music)
Alex and the Goddesses (music)
Kanaska (music)

All the performances were amazing and the audience were very appreciative and responsive.

As for surprises, well here's one that caught everyone by surprise. One of the performers couldn't make it that night, so when we were approached by Kanaska offering to sing a couple of songs, we found room in the evening for her.

She. was. amazing. The beautiful passion and raw power that came from this woman and her guitar floored the room. After each song, the audience went crazy with applause and cheers. She added something to that evening that we were hoping for, but not to that degree: magic.

From that evening, we already have 4 people signed up for the conference and many more people interested in finding out more about it. It was a great kick-off event to lead into and help promote the Montreal edition of Gaia Gathering.

Scarlet recorded a few of the performances and posted them on her YouTube channel, so have a look. Gaia Gathering has it's own YouTube channel, so you can check that out too.

The next big event for Gaia Gathering is the Slave/Product auction to take place the first weekend of December. Stay tuned for more information about it!

Gaia Gathering in Montreal!

2010-06-10T20:46:00.002-04:00

The Board of Directors of Gaia Gathering-The Canadian National Pagan Conference is very pleased to announce that Montreal, Quebec will be the host city for the 2011 conference to be held over the May Long Weekend, May 20th – 23rd, 2011.

The Host Team has put together an exciting plan for the conference. The proposed theme for 2011 will be “Language to Liturgy”. This theme reflects the cultural diversity of Montreal and reflects upon how language itself can affect our practices and beliefs. What better a city to do this in then Montreal where the two solitudes of English and French collide in a multicultural kaleidoscope?

The host team is comprised of energetic and dedicated community leaders. Amanda Strong, JD Hobbes, Robyn Stroll and T.Scarlet Jory are planning several fun, community building fund raisers in order to ensure that the momentum, energy and cash are available to provide an exciting and worthwhile conference.

Please stay tuned for exciting updates from the Gaia Board and Montreal Host team.

We look forward to seeing you in Montreal! Mark your calendars!

- The Gaia Gathering Board of Directors

Facebook Event Page
Gaia Gathering Website

MPRC Pagan Art Expo 2010

2010-03-03T15:25:00.002-05:00

::Community Announcement::

The Montreal Pagan Resource Centre (MPRC) is proud to host Montreal’s first Pagan Art Exposition. Our goal is to showcase artistic work created by pagan artists from our community, but also to give these artists a venue in which they can present their work to a larger audience.

The art exposition will be held above the MPRC space on the 3rd floor (1928 Ste. Catherine Street West) from Friday April 23rd to Sunday April 25th, 2010.

The artwork can reflect pagan themes, but this is not a requirement. In the spirit of promoting artists within our pagan community, we are looking to work with artists who themselves follow a pagan spiritualistic path.

We must receive your application no later than April 12th 2010. You can submit your completed application, along with your $20 processing fee, to Le Melange Magique (1928 Ste. Catherine Street West).

You can download a copy of the application from here: Word Document // Adobe PDF

Roles and Responsibilities

All artistic submissions will be reviewed by a jury that consists of MPRC volunteers. The MPRC jury reserves the right to choose the art works as they see fit. The MPRC jury will NOT select art that promotes violence or hatred of any kind.
All artwork must be delivered to the exposition space by the artist on April 23rd and must be removed from the exposition space by April 25th.
All art work must be ready for display.
All pieces must be firmly attached to a base.
For three-dimensional pieces, we suggest that the artist provide proper display supports.
IMPORTANT: Artists are responsible to insure their own art works. The MPRC is NOT responsible for lost, stolen, or damaged works.

Application Fees and Sales
The MPRC is asking for a $20 processing fee per artist who wishes to submit their work for the Art Exposition. If the artist’s work is not retained for the exposition, the artist will be refunded their $20.

The MPRC requires 10% of any sales made during the Art Exposition, which is to be collected at the end of the exposition (Sunday April 25th).

Questions?
If you have any questions, please contact us at mprccrpm@gmail.com.

Pagans and Giving

2010-02-04T09:28:00.002-05:00

Macha Nighmare is doing a survey on Pagans and giving. It's a timely and interesting topic, and one that Brendan Myers raises in his blog about a month ago. If you're Pagan, I encourage you to go take it. Here's the link and her note:

I am presenting a panel at PantheaCon on Pagans & the Commonweal, i.e., how Pagans involve themselves in efforts to create a better world, or for those who don't, why. To give us some idea of how Pagans do or do not volunteer, donate to charities, etc., I’ve created a brief survey. Please consider taking it before February 10, 2010. Thank you kindly.

Click here to take the survey: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/FGXB29Z

And on the note of giving. A bunch of diviners and the MPRC have gotten together for a fundraiser this Sunday afternoon in the space above Le Melange Magique. There will be tarot reading and other forms of divination from the readers, and the MPRC will be selling off some of the doubles of books that have been donation. I think there may also be music and a bake table, but don't quote me on that. All funds raised are going to the red Cross for relief in Haiti. Hope to see you there. More information about Divine Relief is here.

February Events around Montreal

2010-01-25T08:00:00.000-05:00

I recently realized that when I update the "Local Events" widget on my blog, it doesn't really notify those of you who are getting blog updates via an RSS feed. So I'm going to try to agglomerate them monthly into a single post. Here are the events that I know about for this coming week and for February:

Sunday January 31st - Pagan Sunday Brunch
Saturday February 6th, 2:30pm - Public Imbolc Ritual
Sunday February 7th - Divine Relief Fundraiser
Thursday February 4th - MPRC Discussion Night
Thursday February 4th, 9pm - CUPS Pub Moot @ Hurleys
Sunday February 28th - Pagan Sunday Brunch

Also my workshops for this coming week, February and March:

Thursday January 28th - Exploring the Elements: Air
Thursday February 11th - Exploring the Element: Fire
Thursday February 25th - Exploring the Element: Water
Thursday March 11th - Exploring the Element: Earth
Thursday March 25th - Exploring the Element: Aether

Registration is required for all workshops offered through Le Mélange Magique, such as the Exploring the Elements series. Space is still available in Exploring the Elements.

Divine Relief: A Fundraiser fro Haiti

2010-01-23T09:36:00.000-05:00

::Community Announcement::

On Sunday, February 7th 2010, from 12pm to 4pm, there will be a fundraiser for
Haitian Relief sponsored by Montreal Diviners, Catharine Allan, in conjunction
with the MPRC and sponsored by Le Melange Magique.

There will be several well-known readers present to give short readings to you
for a suggested donation of $20 for 15 min, $10 for 10 min, and anything more is
greatly appreciated.

We have Tarot readers, Astrologers, Mediums, Clairvoyants, Palm readers, and a
Reiki master all available in one spot so take advantage of this opportunity and
give generously to the Red Cross for Haiti as you do!

There will be an opening prayer led by Catharine Allan to kick off the event at
12pm, and a public ritual by Hobbes of the MPRC to close the event at 5pm for
all who want to attend them.

You can visit the Facebook event page at:
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?invites&eid=235626844566

Information will also be posted on the MPRC website:
http://www.paganuniverse.com/mprc/

Words from a Blind Poet Sant

2010-01-19T11:31:00.000-05:00

Until you wake up to what you really are
You'll be like the man who searches the whole jungle
for a jewel that hangs at his throat.
Oil, wick, and fire: until they mingle in a cruse
they scarcely produce light,
So how can you expect to dissipate the darkness
simply by talking of lamps?
You're the sort of fool who sees your face
in a mirror, befouled by inky filth,
And proceeds to try to erase the blackness
by cleaning the reflection to a shine.
Surdas says, it's only now the mind can see--
now that so countless many days are lost and gone--
For who has ever recognized the brilliance of the sun
but by seeing it through eyes gone blind?

Surdas (NPS 368)

Winter Workshops Reminder

2010-01-15T12:52:00.003-05:00

'Just a reminder that I'm offering some workshops this season through Le Melange Magique. Spaces are still available for the following ones:

Developing Daily Practice Thursday January 21st
(starts at 7pm promptly; $25)

Exploring the Elements series, every second Thursday starting January 28th, 7pm
($30/workshop or $120 for all 5)

If you want to take these workshops, you must register for them in advance with Le Mélange Magique at 1928 Rue Sainte-Catherine Ouest (514-938-1458).

Daily Practice

2010-01-14T12:09:00.004-05:00

The Winter Feast for the Soul starts tomorrow. Are you ready?

If you're still looking for ideas, here are a few simple ones that have worked well for me in the past, or for people I know:

Read a poem daily with intention, preferably aloud. I rotate a few books on the coffee table and open one at random. Bonus: Serves as divination too!

Simple 5 minute sitting practice. This is part of my own daily practice and I'd be lost without it. Basically, set a timer and be your own company for 5 minutes. Be open to any messages from the Divine, your higher self, guides, etc

Say a morning and/or evening prayer. This is also part of my own practice. Write one yourself or use one from a book or website. Try to make it the same prayer(s) for the 40 days, or to change it no more often than weekly. Alternatively you can take a few moments in the morning and/or evening to say hello to your god(s), guides, etc, in the same way you'd greet or say good night to a parent, child or lover. Don't forget to listen for their reply!

Drink a glass of water or eating a piece of fruit each day with intention and attention. If you want, you can charge the water or fruit with an intention beforehand.

Commit to 5 minutes of stretching or physical activity each day. Pay attention to the energy in you body and set the intention that the activity will help release any energetic blocks and strengthen your energetic pathways. Again, don't forget to listen during this practice.

Do you have a suggestion for a simple daily practice? Let me know about it!

Winter Feast for the Soul

2010-01-07T09:45:00.004-05:00

The Winter Feast for the Soul starts this year on January 15th, a new moon. It's a commitment to 40 days of daily spiritual practice. Winter, especially after the craziness of the Yuletide season, is a perfect time for this. For me winter is a time for drawing inward, introspection, and energetic preparation. The best way for many of us to do this is regular and consistent spiritual practice.

I love the quote from Rumi on the Winter Feast for the Soul Website:

What nine months in the womb does for the soul,
Forty early mornings will do for your growing awareness.

I'm not so sure about early mornings--that I think is a personal predisposition--but 40 days of consistent, mindful spiritual practice will certainly grow awareness, whether we want it our not!

I think that one of the reasons that many people find daily practice so difficult is partly because of that growing awareness. It's scary. It can challenge our preconceptions. It can open us up to new ideas. It can shine a light on those dark places of our selves or our environment that we'd rather keep hidden. It's often easier to subconsciously find an excuse not to continue the practice, or to do it so inconsistently that we are effectively starting over each time, than it is to face our demons or our grandeur.

I have a daily spiritual practice. There are simple 'things' I do every day regardless of where I am or how I feel; and they form the foundation of my spiritual being, in a similar way to washing my face, brushing my hair and saying hello to my loved ones in the morning. On specific days, or if I'm working on a particular exercise or goal, I may add to this litany; but the foundation is essentially the same. In a similar way that a painter prepares her canvas, my foundational daily practice is the primer coat for deeper spiritual work.

I haven't decided yet how I'm going to approach the Winter Feast this year, Usually the winter months have me yearning to deepen my work with the Iron Pentacle; just as the emergence of spring calls forth the Pearl for me. What I do know is that I'm going to use these 40 days to stretch my edges and open to possibility.

Will you join me?

MPRC February Discussion

2010-01-06T14:56:00.002-05:00

::Community Announcement::
Reposted from the MPRC

The MPRC returns to it's monthly discussions. Upcoming:

Topic: Humanity’s Quest for Enlightenment/Ascension
Date: Thursday February 4th, 2010
Location: At the MPRC in the Melange Magic Store 1928 Ste-Catherine West, Montreal
Time: 6h45-8h45pm
Cost: Free! Donations always welcomed

Many People today and throughout history have been on a quest for spiritual or religious enlightenment/ascension. The meaning behind this process has so many variations for different people.

Do you relate to ascension as being the shift of consciousness to another level; finding the true relationship with oneself; or the reuniting with the “source of all”?
Are their stages of evolution that we must go through prior to reaching higher levels of consciousness? Does enlightenment come with the ascension into higher “realms”? Is ascension a process of “grades” to go through or simply a moment in which we claim “I’m ready, the time is now.”?

What are your opinions on Christopher’s Penczak’s theories of Ascension (from his book Ascension Magick) such as:

- Literal Ascension: The literal shift of our bodies and souls from this physical plane of existence (3D) to another plane of reality?

- Posthumous Ascension: Occurs when one completes all necessary “levels” of this world and no longer required to return to the cycle of reincarnation?

- Enlightenment: A continuous state of consciousness and in communion with the divine. (ego ascension)

- Next Age Ascension: What does it mean to enter a New Age? Leaving the zodiac Age of Pisces into Aquarius… how do you relate?

- Returning to Source: After having gone through the cycles of life, we return to the source of life. The universe folding “back” into the divine.

- Personal Initiation: The levels of ascension of one’s personal consciousness through experiences on the spiritual path. This includes all life experiences, from pleasures to painful illnesses. Etc.

- The Unknown and Unknowable: It’s a perception thing. Ascension an enlightenment cannot be truly known through our current perceptions or at it’s opposite will be known “depending” on our perceptions…

- Symbolic Ascension: Ascension is not about going anywhere, but about a deeper expression of the spiritual life on a daily basis. Influencing the world around us simply by living a better life. A combination of the personal initiation and the unknowable. Inner and Outer realities being reflections of each other. What separate the two are our perceptions.

Come share with us your opinions, comments and arguments!

Snow-Laden Fields Transformeth...

2009-12-08T09:54:00.001-05:00

The Life of Love: Winter

Come close to me, oh companion of my full life;
Come close to me and let not Winter’s touch
Enter between us. Sit by me before the hearth,
For fire is the only fruit of Winter.

Speak to me of the glory of your heart, for
That is greater than the shrieking elements
Beyond our door.
Bind the door and seal the transoms, for the
Angry countenance of the heaven depresses my
Spirit, and the face of our snow-laden fields
Makes my soul cry.

Feed the lamp with oil and let it not dim, and
Place it by you, so I can read with tears what
Your life with me has written upon your face.
Bring Autumn’s wine. Let us drink and sing the
Song of remembrance to Spring’s carefree sowing,
And Summer’s watchful tending, and Autumn’s
Reward in harvest.

Come close to me, oh beloved of my soul; the
Fire is cooling and fleeing under the ashes.
Embrace me, for I fear loneliness; the lamp is
Dim, and the wine which we pressed is closing
Our eyes. Let us look upon each other before
They are shut.
Find me with your arms and embrace me; let
Slumber then embrace our souls as one.
Kiss me, my beloved, for Winter has stolen
All but our moving lips.

You are close by me, My Forever.
How deep and wide will be the ocean of Slumber,
And how recent was the dawn!

Kahlil Gibran
From Tears and Laughter, p23-4.

Yule Fair This Weekend

2009-12-03T10:14:00.006-05:00

The annual Montreal Yule Fair hosted by Le Mélange Magique and the MPRC fair kicks off this weekend. Doors open at 10am, and the event wraps up with a Yule ritual on Sunday at 6pm. There is a great line up of vendors and speakers, including yours-truly who is filling in a last-minute workshop void at 11am on Sunday morning. The full schedule, including a downloadable pdf programme of vendors and speakers, is here.

What am I speaking on? By popular demand, I'll be chatting about a few of the pentacle practices that form part of the foundational philosophies and practice of the some Pagan traditions, and offering resources for those who want to learn more. For me, the pentacles constantly offer new insight and challenges; and my relationship with them informs a huge part of my whole being. The element pentacle from a Wiccan perspective was part of my early training. Then about 8 or 9 years ago, I started working with Iron and its permutations, and the rest flowed from there. Here is the workshop description:

Exploring the Pentacles

The pentacle is a powerful symbol in many witchcraft traditions. In some, the pentacle is a way to understand the universe, ourselves, and our communities; and ultimately a gateway to alignment and Mystery. This workshop is an introduction to the element, iron, pearl and related pentacles that come to us from traditions associated with Anderson Feri, most notably Reclaiming.

Please keep in mind that this is an introductory discussion/backgrounder about pentacles, including resources for where to find more information if this topic grabs you. It is not a workshop.

In other news, just a quick reminder that tonight is the monthly MPRC discussion. The topic this month is "The Power of Dreams." The conversation starts at 18:45.

Baking Soda in the Home

2009-11-29T11:34:00.005-05:00

I use baking soda when I clean. Not only does it cause less damage to the earth than harsher cleaning products, it is also cleanses the energy of my home. Commercial cleaning products seem to have either little effect energetically, or they remove all the energy, just like they remove all the dirt!

I noticed the energetic effects of housecleaning with baking soda when I switched over for environmental reasons. At first I was simply amazed at how well baking soda cleaned the grime off my bathtub, removed dirt from my tile flours, and shined up my counters and all thing stainless steel. It took a little while longer to notice that my home felt different energetically. The rooms cleaned with baking soda felt lighter, calmer.

It's not surprising really. Chemically, baking soda contains sodium. Energetically, both are cleansers that remove and hold adverse energy or influences. The recommendation to bathe in salt water is common across many religious traditions for 'cleansing' or atonement. Many folk recipes also recommend bathing in water to which salt or baking soda (sometimes both) has been added to remove negative influences, or to release emotional or psychic tension. I suspect that cleaning my home with baking soda is affecting my home in the same way. It certainly feels that way to me.

Now I clean all my rooms to some extent with baking soda. Since baking soda is abrasive I adapt how it is used for what I'm cleaning. For example, I'll happily scrub down my tub with it; however on my wood floors, not so much. Instead I lightly dust the floors with baking soda before passing the mop.

Reflections on the AAR in Montreal

2009-11-11T10:16:00.007-05:00

My head is still processing many great discussions and presentations at the American Academy of Religion (AAR) conference in Montreal last weekend. Certainly I've got the ingredients for 'brain food' for the winter months, and most likely through to next year's conference. It was also great to meet many of the Pagan scholars informally at the various receptions where Canadian scholars were definitely well-represented.

Chas Clifton has a brief summary of the Contemporary Pagan Studies Group sessions (here). I also agree that the presentations in the idolatry session just "nibbled at the edges" of the topic. Particularly intriguing was the discussion around what is actually being worshipped or revered: the idol, the divine present in the idol or the divine of which the idol is representative. I suspect that the reality varies by the flavour of the Paganism and the intent of the idol. Later that afternoon, I attended a session in the Religion in South Asian Studies on "Trees and Plants in Hindu Thought." A couple of the presentations really followed-up well to idolatry. One described the tree marriage and the other tree worship. In both cases, the question once again is who or what is being worshipped or revered. It'd be interesting to see a combined South Asian/Contemporary Pagan session; but that might just be my bias.

I also really enjoyed the Literature and Contemporary Paganism session. It was a very mixed bag. A couple of presentations looked at how rituals and worldviews from works of fiction have worked their way in contemporary spiritual practice. Certainly the influence of Stranger in a Strange Land on Church of All Worlds was no surprise to me, but it seems that some Pagans continue to inspired by modern fiction writing. I'm not sure if I'm intrigued or disturbed.

Aside from the presentations, local scholars arranged at Magical Mercantile Tour of Montreal, which included stops at Le Mélange Magique and Charme et Sortilege following a tour of the John Waterhouse exhibit at the MMFA.

Other sessions I attended over the 4-day conference included a couple on Western Esotericism, one on religion and ecology, and one on South Asian studies. It was interesting to note the considerable cross-over between the participants and panelists in all the sessions. Some of the presenters in the South Asian session I remember seeing in at least one of the Contemporary Pagan Sessions. There was also cross-over between the South Asian and Ecology groups.

Paganism in the News

2009-11-02T15:55:00.004-05:00

It's that ghoulish time of year again, so of course witchcraft and Paganism are in the news.

The Montreal Witches' Ball got a mention in the Montreal Mirror and in the Montreal Gazette. Not full articles to nice to see anyway. (Good job on publicity guys!) Sadly I wasn't able to go to the ball. I'm sure I missed a great event.

On Saturday, the New York Times ran a nice overview of how Samhain is less ghoul and quite a solemn celebration in a mainstream religion. It also mentions the upcoming American Academy of Religion (AAR) conference in Montreal this coming weekend.

Also Scarlet from CMS and Hobbes from the MPRC were interviewed on CKUT last week. You can listen to the interview here.

I'm sure I missed a few mentions. if you know of any, let me know.

Upcoming Workshops

2009-10-30T11:15:00.008-04:00

After a brief respite from offering public workshops, I'm pleased that my schedule is once again sane enough to offer the occasional workshop. I have committed to offering two (well six actually)through Le Mélange Magique in Montreal this Winter. The details are below. The daily practice workshop grew out of my own insights and struggles with a regular daily pracitice over the last several years, and incorporates a lof of the good advice that was offered to me by my own teachers, mentors and peers. The elements series is based on similar workshops I offered in 2005 through 2008, and my own ever-evolving work with the elements since the early 90s. I am also considering offering Ecology of Magic again starting in the spring, although through a slightly different format. Please let me know if you're interested.

Please register with Le Mélange Magique directly either at the store or by phone. (I think they may require a deposit though.) A portion of the revenue from the workshops is donated back to the Montreal Pagan Resource Centre for their work financially supporting local public activities.

Developing Daily Practice
Thursday November 26th, 2009, 7-9pm
Daily spiritual practice is a commitment to self-care, as well as personal and spiritual growth. Depending on your tradition and beliefs, it may also be a commitment to your gods, coven- or Craft-mates. For a daily practice to work for you, it has to be something that satisfies your spiritual goals and that you enjoy. It also must fit into your daily life. In this workshop, we will discuss some of the reasons for undertaking a daily practice, as well as its most common forms and commonly-encountered obstacles. We will then develop individual plans for starting, and maintaining, a daily spiritual practice. (2 hours; $25)

Exploring the Elements Series
Thursdays 7-9pm, Jan 28th, Feb 11th & 25th, March 11th & 25th 2010
One of the foundational underpinnings of many esoteric traditions is the belief that existence is comprised of a combination of foundational elements. In this series of five classes we will explore the elements commonly associated with the five points on the witches’ pentacle--air, fire, water, earth and ether--using activities designed to bring us in tune with their energies. We will also explore their history, magical associations, and some common symbology. Each class will focus on a separate element. The course is designed as a series that builds over eight weeks, but they can be taken individually. (2 hours each workshop, $30 each or $120 for all 5)

Montreal Witches Masquerade Ball 2009

2009-10-13T18:38:00.001-04:00

::Community Announcement::

Montreal Witches Masquerade Ball 2009
Bal masqué des sorcières de Montréal 2009

Friday, October 30th 2009
vendredi, 30 octobre, 2009
6pm - 1am
Visit the Facebook Event page!

6870, rue de Terrebonne, NDG
Vendome metro > 105 West/ouest until/jusqu'a Rosedale ,
walk North on until/ marche nord jusqu'a Terrbonne (2 blocks/coins de rue)

Samhain ritual/rituel (free/gratuit) : 6:30pm (18 years/ans +)
Celebration 8pm (open to all/ouvert à tous)

Tickets sold at/Billets en vente à:
Melange Magique
1928 Ste. Catherine Ouest
$10 ticket/billet, $12 at the door/à la porte

Outdoor Celtic labyrinth: open to all!
Labyrinthe celtique extèrieur: ouvert à tous!

Wear your wildest masks!/Porter vos masques le plus fantastiques!
Music spun by DJ / Musique par DJ
Bring your drums!/Apporter vos djembés!
Event is alcohol-free/Evenement sans-alcohole

Sponsored by/Presenté par:
Montreal Pagan Resource Centre
Centre de Resources Paienne de Montréal
www.paganuinverse.com/mprc

Wors. Those Slippery Words.

2009-09-01T19:01:00.001-04:00

Words have power. Our choice of words influences both our own psyche and the person who hears them. Aware of their power, I try to choose my words precisely; and be aware when my words are trying to trick me.

A common trick I've noticed is the response, "I'll try to get you that by...." or "I'll try to get around to doing that..." Hmm. What do I mean by try? Is my intention to truly put in an honest attempt, or am I using 'try' as a cop-out to avoid or delay the inevitable, "couldn't" or "didn't." What is my intention?

On the flip side, sometimes we need to use words imprecisely. "Could" is a good example. When we ask someone if they "could do" something, often what we're asking is whether they would do something; or perhaps we are actually asking for a specific action. It isn't even a question. In writing email, using 'would' or simply telling someone to do something will probably come across as confrontational. The word 'could' is what we expect.

Some words are slippery, such as 'know.' A while back I noticed that I tended to say "I know that..." when what I really meant was, "I heard that...", or "I read that..." or "I have been told that..." I subsequently worked really hard to retrain my language accordingly. Not only did it make my words more precise, but it also brought about the added effect of raising my awareness around where my information came from and how my worldview is influenced.

Sometimes paying attention to a single word in our speech or writing can provide a lot of insight.

My Failures are my Successes

2009-07-23T22:11:00.002-04:00

Nice quote from John Cleese, a man I really admire, courtesy of Thorn Coyle.

I don't think life is about avoiding mistakes. I think it's about making them and coming to terms with them and actually getting to a more interesting place as a result. Playing safe is the worst thing that anyone can do. (John Cleese)

I'm always saying I learn more from my mistakes or failures than my successes, yet I still seem to be constantly battling the fear of 'getting it wrong,' whatever the nebulous 'it' may be. Perhaps the mistake is worrying about making a mistake so much, that we miss opportunities.

2009-05-04T09:59:00.000-04:00

A couple of interesting tidbits on my news wires and various feeds this morning:

New Scientist asks how to map the multiverse.... " BRIAN GREENE spent a good part of the last decade extolling the virtues of string theory. He dreamed that one day it would provide physicists with a theory of everything that would describe our universe - ours and ours alone. His bestselling book The Elegant Universe eloquently captured the quest for this ultimate theory. Greene's transformation is emblematic of a profound change among the majority of physicists. Until recently, many were reluctant to accept this idea of the "multiverse", or were even belligerent towards it. However, recent progress in both cosmology and string theory is bringing about a major shift in thinking. Gone is the grudging acceptance or outright loathing of the multiverse. Instead, physicists are starting to look at ways of working with it, and maybe even trying to prove its existence..." (read article)

The Mindful Table tweets about an article on the reintroduction of Chilean Sea Bass from an MSC-certified sustainable fishery. The article delves into the double edged sword around having a certified-sustainable source for what is in effect a endangered species. Read the full article from the San Francisco gate here.

(PS. The Elegant Universe is an excellent read; and the associated website is a great resource. I can't remember if the book or the PBS NOVA series came first. )

On Ancestors and Dependents

2009-05-02T19:10:00.002-04:00

Hmmm. I think my ancestors and house spirits are consuming more of our best scotch than I am.

And yesterday, over pie, my man started to muse about whether the government would accept if we claimed them as dependents...

WynterGreene and Beltaine Fair

2009-04-24T13:19:00.001-04:00

::Crossposted from WynterGreene Blog::

The Summer 2009 issue, Science and Spirituality, is done, printed and copies have been distributed to Le Mélange Magique for sale at their Beltaine Fair this weekend.

Unfortunately we'll not be at the fair due to other Beltaine commitments this weekend, but the line-up looks great!

I want to thank our printer, Mardigrafe, for their help resolved some graphics problems on this issue and for really bending over to make sure this issue got delivered in time for the fair. In case you don't know Mardigrafe, they are an ecological priner and design company in Pointe-St-Charles. If you need 'green' printing, they're the guys!

The Science and Spirituality issue is 24 pages and includes two new regular features: The Witch Whiz Quiz and a letters page. Articles this issue include a look at quantum magic, osteopathy, the neurology behind meditation, metal magic, and more. We also have some books related to science and spirituality reviewed. The full table of contents will be posted shortly.

Subscribers and distributors should expect to receive their issues next week, depending on Canada Post

Montreal Beltane Fair

2009-04-16T05:30:00.000-04:00

::Community Announcement::
::Reposted from MPRC blog::

There have been rumors for weeks now about the upcoming Beltane Fair. Now the speakers' schedule is available at last! Click here to download it as a pdf document: http://www.themagicalblend.com/downloads/BeltaneFair2009.pdf

The Mélange Magique Beltane Fair will be held over the weekend of April 25th and 26th, from 10am to 6pm on both days. There will be FREE workshops and discussions all day long (see the schedule for details) as well as an artisans' crafts fair, storytelling, 6 authors signing books and a 10% sale off everything in Melange Magique (as if the rest were not incentive enough!!).

Our honored guests and authors include Helmut (of Helmut's Forge), Judika Illes, Arin Murphy-Hiscock, Brendan Myers, Sian Ried (aka Meredith Macdonald), Rob St. Martin and Greg Stroll, along with local guest speakers Asherah and Apollonius, Meri Fowler, Melanie Halpert, T. Scarlet Jory, Valerie Laville, and Karyn Torrie. Whats more is that we have two wonderful storytellers at the open and close of our fair, Sarah Comrie and John David Hickey (aka Hobbes).

We are very excited to be hosting what looks to be the event of the season, and truly hope that you will come and join us!

Gaia Gatheing Update: Five Weeks to Go!

2009-04-09T11:20:00.003-04:00

::Community Announcement::
::Reposted from Various Lists::

Wow. Only five weeks left to Gaia Gathering; and three weeks to the pre-paid registration deadline. Are you registered?

Preliminary schedule
-------------------------
The preliminary schedule is up and accessible through our blog (gaiagathering.blogspot.com). The schedule includes panel discussions and roundtables, a history panel (BC is rich in Canadian Pagan history), academic stream, social events, two guest speakers (Kerr Cuhulain and Andrew Burton), a world premiere of a new documentary about Wicca in Canada, and more!

For the workshops and roundtables, we've tried to group similar topics together into 'streams' and the schedule so all topics in the same stream are in different time slots. Here are the streams we've got: Taking Care of Each Other, Diversity, and Organizing and Leadership. There's a lot of content packed in there right now and there's not much breathing room. We're considering thinning out some of the options. Discussion is happening on our Yahoogroup and FaceBook . You can also leave a comment on our preliminary programme blog post. This is *your* conference and your voice counts!

Academic/Scholar Stream
--------------------------------
We are still accepting abstracts for the academic/scholarly stream. This is a peer-reviewed academic stream that is open to both independent scholars and those affiliated with an educational or research institutions. We have received abstracts from across Canada, across the continent and across the pond (Europe/UK). For more details about the stream and how to submit an abstract, visit our website or blog.

Spread the Word
---------------------
Help us continue to spread the word. Publicity posters and postcards are available for download from our blog. Help us reach folks who are not on-line. Print them up and pin them up at your local esoteric or Pagan stores, or had them out at local events.

Programme Advertising and Sponsorship
---------------------------------------------------
Once again this year, we will be producing a conference programme highlighting the activities of the weekend, presenters, bids for the 2011 conference, local information, and more. Every participant will receive a conference programme as part of the registration package when they check-in at the registration desk.

To offset the cost of producing the programme, as well as the cost of the conference itself, we accept paid advertising in this programme. If you run a business, advertising in the programme is a great way to get visibility for as little as $35. It's also a tax deductible as a business expense. If you don't run your own business but work for a Pagan-friendly company, consider asking them if they'd like to advertise in the programme; or consider running a fun 'ad' of support.

For more information, or to download the advertising contract… you got it… visit our blog!

Subscribe to Updates
-------------------------
For the latest news and updates, subscribe to one of our blog feeds. Visit our blog and select the one you want.

We look forward to seeing you in Vancouver!

Amanda, ByThor, Charlene, Lucie, and Sam
For Gaia Gathering, CNPC 2009

ps. To register, visit our website or blog and download the registration form. You can snail mail it to us, or return it via email. Payment by cheque, paypal or credit card accepted.

----------------------------------------------------
About the Canadian National Pagan Conference, Gaia Gathering:
The CNPC is a grassroots national pagan organization founded in 2004. Each year the conference is hosted over the Victoria Day long weekend in a different Canadian city through a bidding process similar to the Olympics. Past host cities include Edmonton, Halifax, Winnipeg and Ottawa. (2010 will be in Guelph).

The conference is organized collaboratively by Canadian Pagans and includes three-days of discussion and workshops about our Paganisms – our Asatru, our Druidry, our Wicca and so on— and brings together Canadian Elders, community leaders, and interested Pagans or Pagan-curious for networking, discussion, and community. Traditionally, the panels and discussions have focussed on the issues we experience as Canadian Pagans living in the 21st century, with special emphasis on the experience of being Pagan in the host city.

Legally, we are incorporated federally as a non-profit organization and operate with a national Board of Directors as well as a local host committee. For more information, visit: www.gaiagathering.ca or email info at gaiagathering.ca

About CNPC Gaia Gathering Vancouver 2009
This year's conference will be held from May 15h to 19th, 2009 at the University of British Columbia. The theme is "Left Coast Paganisms: where land meets sea and history meets modernity." The featured speaker is Kerr Cuhulain, internationally-acclaimed Wiccan author, policeman and long-time Pagan organizer from British Columbia. The conference will also include panel discussions, round tables, academic/scholars stream, music, a banquet dinner, and more.
Registration is $100 for the full conference. Early bird discounts are available. For more information and to download the registration brochure visit: gaiagathering.blogspot.com or www.gaiagathering.ca

Affordable accommodations, starting at $38/night for a single, are available through the UBC conference and accommodation services. We have a block of rooms reserved. Book online:
https://reserve.ubcconferences.com/pls/wss/html_ui_search.availability?ref=12345&ses=&cha=GROUP&grp=G90515A&arr=05/15/2009&dep=05/18/2009&pro

Airfare and rail discounts are currently being negotiated. (Travel scholarships are also available.)
Vending is $35 for registered participants.

Have your say or ask questions on our yahoogroups site: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Gaia_Gathering
Or join our facebook group:http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/group.php?gid=27638246008

For more information, visit: www.gaiagathering.ca or email info at gaiagathering.ca

Just Because...

2009-04-01T07:13:00.000-04:00

The Life of Love
~Spring~

Come, my beloved; let us walk amidst the knolls,
For the snow is water, and Life is alive from its
Slumber and is roaming the hills and valleys.
Let us follow the footprints of Spring into the
Distant fields, and mount the hilltops to draw
Inspiration high above the cool green plains.

Dawn of Spring has unfolded her winter-kept garment
And placed it on the peach and citrus trees; and
They appear as brides in the ceremonial custom of
the Night of Kedre.

The sprigs of grapevine embrace each other like
Sweethearts, and the brooks burst out in dance
Between the rocks, repeating the song of joy;
And the flowers bud suddenly from the heart of
Nature, like foam from the rich heart of the sea.

Come, my beloved; let us drink the last of Winter's
Tears from the cupped lilies, and soothe our spirits
With the shower of notes from the birds, and wander
In exhilaration through the intoxicating breeze.

Let us sit by that rock, where violets hide; let us
Pursue their exchange of the sweetness of kisses.

From "Tears and Laughter," Kahlil Gibran, p22

Full Moon Drumming March 10th

2009-03-02T20:24:00.001-05:00

::Community Announcement::

Come make music with us as we honor the full moon with our voices, our rhythms, and our bodies!

The next Full Moon Circle is Tuesday, March 10th, at 8 pm. Everyone is invited! Bring drums and/or other instruments/noise makersif you have them. Feel free to bring friends, but remember that thisis a Pagan circle and everyone should be comfortable doing spiritual work.

Circles are held at a residence at 1890 rue de la Visitation,apartment #1. This address is just on the south-western side of Parc Lafontaine, below Ontario. The closest metro is Beaudry. Exit onto deMaisonneuve, and just walk a couple of blocks east to de laVisitation, then turn left to walk up until you find #1890 (5-10minutes).

For more information, visit our website: http://www.cosmic-muse.com/reclaiming/drumcircle.html

----
Venez faire de la musique avec nous pour honorer la pleine lune avecnos voix, nos rythmes, et nos corps!

Le prochain cercle pour la pleine lune est le mardi 10 mars, à 20h. Tout le monde est invité! Veuillez amener vos tambours ainsi quen'importe quel autre instrument si vous en avez. Vous êtes libre d'amener des ami/es, mais rappelez-vous que ceci est un cercle païen,et tous les participants doivent être à l'aise dans ce milieu.

Les cercles sont tenus à 1890 rue de la Visitation, appartement #1. Cette adresse est juste un peu au sud-ouest de Parc Lafontaine, en bas d'Ontario. La station de métro la plus proche est Beaudry. Sortez sur de Maisonneuve et marchez à l'est jusqu'à de la Visitation. Tournez à gauche et marchez jusqu'à 1980 (5-10 minutes).

Pour plus d'information, veuillez voir notre site internet: http://www.cosmic-muse.com/reclaiming/drumcircle.html

Food and Magic

2009-02-28T12:16:00.000-05:00

The lovely and talented Jen Byers has alerted me to a new blog that she's contributing to. I strongly suspect it will appear to the hearth-crafters and homesteaders among us: Magical Eating.

From the opening post:
"Our hearths and homes are our most intimate expressions of self; the seat of our magic and our values. We welcome our beloveds into these sacred places; we laugh, work, make love and share food together there..."

Mmmmm. Yummy. Food for the tummy and the soul.

Gaia Gathering Less Than 3 Months Away!

2009-02-20T09:31:00.002-05:00

Reposted from gaiagathering.blogspot.com

‘Just a reminder that our next Early-Bird deadline is approaching for registration.

Register before February 28th, 2009 and pay only $80 for three days of presentations, discussions, and meeting fellow Pagans from across the country. Social events will be available for an extra fee. Our banquet gala on Sunday night is a ‘steal’ at $30 (vegetarian options available.) To download the registration form, click here.

While you’re travelling to Vancouver, why not take the opportunity to see the Rockies? It’s off-season for ViaRail, so fares are comparatively inexpensive. Some sample travel return fares to Vancouver are $246 (taxes included) from Edmonton ($718 if you want a berth), $377 from Winnipeg ($943 if you want a berth), and $804 from Montreal ($1650 if you want a berth). There’s also the option of flying one-way and training the return, or vice versa. One-way fares are effectively half the return fares.

Some examples of current return airfares to Vancouver (taxes and surcharges included) through Air Canada are $250 from Calgary , $366 from Winnipeg, $470 from Toronto, and $680 from Halifax. West Jet fares are usually similar, but check them out for your selves.

Accommodations start at $38/night for a single dorm accommodation. Or gather together six friends and share a suite with a fully equipped kitchenette for $259 (maximum occupancy is seven people). Visit our accommodations page to book online: Click here.

If travel fees are completely out of your reach, but you’d like to contribute to Gaia Gathering, consider volunteering to help out during the event and apply for one of our travel scholarships. For more information see our website. Click here.

Have money left over after booking your travel? Consider donating to our travel fund to sponsor those of us on tighter budgets and from further away. Simply indicate the amount of your donation on your registration form.

We look forward to seeing you in Vancouver!

Pagan Sunday Brunch Moving Locations

2009-01-23T19:23:00.000-05:00

::Community Announcements::

The Pagan Sunday Brunch is moving location! We are trying a new cafein NDG, conveniently located between Villa Maria and Vendome metrostations.

January 25th 2008, 10 am sharp
Orange Cafe
4011, boulevard Décarie
Montréal (NDG)
(514) 487-5455
Breakfast: $5 - $10

Come join your fellow pagans for brunch and socializing at the OrangeCafe. No level of pagan experience is necessary, but as long as youcan wield a knife and fork like a guru master, you'll be respected andadmired by your peers.

This is a kid-friendly event, so feel free to bring your offspring.If you have any questions, email jdhobbes @ yahoo.ca.

If you don't know anybody, don't fret. We'll be in the room on the right of the door, in the centre of the room.

Winter Feast for the SOul

2009-01-15T08:50:00.000-05:00

Just a quick reminder for those of you interested in participating the Winter Feast for the Soul that it starts today. (I meant to send this reminder yesterday, but my Wednesday seemed to slip away from me.)

Winter Feast for the Soul is a commitment to 40-days of daily spiritual practice. (See my original post here.) It can be as simple or as intricate as you want to make it; however I recommend if daily practice is new to you to start with something simple that will take no more than 10 minutes of your day, or to do transform something you already do daily into a spiritual practice through shifting the intention.

Some examples include:

A simple morning or evening (or both) affirmation or prayer
A daily 10-minute yoga, stretching or exercise program with the intention of strengthening body and soul
Eating one meal or piece of food per day with intention and attention
Meditation, chanting
Daily journaling
Reading part of a sacred text daily
Playing music, doing art or anything else that nourishes your soul
Cooking with intention and choosing foods that nourish the body and soul
A daily divination
Spending 5 minutes per day in joy

We have a handful of locals who have told me they want to do this. I'm going to be planning a couple of potlucks of tea-and-sweets evenings over the next 40-days for folks to get together. Stay tuned. This weekend is an option if folks are available. Another option is a weeknight (let me know which one works best for you.) Also, I'd like to put all the locals in touch with each other. Can I share your names and email addresses?

Finally, I want to emphasis that the Winter Feast for the Soul is not my brainchild. It's a global effort for peace. More information can be found on the Winter Feast for the Soul website.

Life is a Vibrating Vortex of Lust

2008-06-13T21:54:00.001-04:00

I simply love this imagery from an article in Hopedance Magazine. I find it so true:

"Well I got it standing on my farm in B.C. a few weeks ago. I was out there with the deafening sound of thousands of frogs fucking in my ponds, earthworms doing it beneath my feet, mason and bumble and honey bees fighting to stuff themselves into every flower in sight and I suddenly realized that I’m not farming, I’m presiding over one big giant orgy.

"I realized that every form of life on my farm is absolutely immersed in this incredible humming, buzzing, and vibrating vortex of lust. […]

"It’s not just like the bumper sticker that says, "organic farmers are more fertile." It’s more than that. You can’t possibly live and work in the midst of all this uncontrollable lust each and every day and night of your farm life and not become a part of it, not begin to embody it, attract it."

Mmmmm. Yes. More here: http://www.hopedance.org/new/issues/57/article2.html

Actually, I think his last point extends to more than the farm and nature's lust. We really can't live or spend a lot of time in any environment without beginning to embody it or have it change us in some way. The more intimate our connection with the environment, good or bad, the more potential it has to penetrate our being.

In Other Blogs...

2008-05-28T09:11:00.001-04:00

In recent browsing, a couple of posts caught my attention recently. They are the type of posts that generally had me nodding my head or at the very least grateful that someone was willing to write these words.

Freedom and Power by yezida
"Freedom is a two-edged sword of which one edge is liberty and the other responsibility, on which both edges are exceedingly sharp; and which is not easily handled by the casual, cowardly or treacherous hands. - Jack Parsons [ ...] Parsons is speaking both of personal and social freedom. Both of these are based on power. Without power, there is neither liberty nor responsibility. [...]"

Fundamentalist Rant by loveandpower
"Seems no matter where I go these days, "open minded" pagans, witches, leftists and hippies are busy espousing their particular world view and making not-so-nice judgements about others who do not agree or practice their value system. [...] if I don't live with three partners/lovers/spouses who tie me up in the dungeon and force feed me vegan cupcakes baked in a solar powered oven while letting my blood or raising welts on my skin . . . does that mean I am less spiritually evolved than you?"

I Feel Oh So Pretty by Deborah Oak
"[...] been thinking a lot lately about narcissism and how my spiritual traditions seem to exacerbate and sometimes even create it. Reclaiming is a fertile ground for extroverted narcissistic tendencies to blossom, what with easy access to being in the center of the circle, a focus on empowerment within a climate of no accountability [...] Is it possible to create spiritual community where healthy narcissism is encouraged, but not the disorder?"

Rooted in Experience on The Wild Hunt (guested by Cat Chapin-Bishop)
"Let me make a pitch for one of my favorite Pagan causes: being rooted in experience. [...] why is nearly everything we write in the form of a recipe book? Why so little in the way of lived experience? For a religion of direct, personal gnosis, we have remarkably little writing about what happens when we set out to practice rather than preach."

Community Vision on The Wild Hunt (guested by Thorn Coyle)
"[...] Why are we so worried about jockeying for position, and fighting over scraps? My answer: because, as communities, we are afraid of autonomous power. We seek to uphold the status quo. Her unique expression may rock the carefully balanced boat. His deep study is seen to take away from what the group needs in the moment. Anything different becomes a threat. [...] Community does not mean we all do the same thing. Community is not about who gets the biggest role in ritual. [...]"

Most Excellent Post Day

2008-04-09T11:42:00.002-04:00

Yesterday I was thrice blessed with deliveries from Canada Post.

I finally received the latest edition of The Pomegrante. The issue came out before Yule, but for some reason it always takes months for it to make its way across the pond and through my mail slot.

I also received the latest issue of Witch Eye and some books of poetry, which were also having problems getting into my hot little hands.

Then, Canada Post delivered New Age and Neopagan Religions in America, which has been sitting on my wish list for a while now. (And yes, the postman did come three times yesterday.)

Our National Pagan Conference

2008-03-26T22:55:00.004-04:00

I've just realised how quickly Gaia Gathering, Canada's National Pagan Conference, is approaching. Six weeks left to register!

This year the conference is close to home, in Ottawa. For those of us in Montreal, it may not be this close again for a while since the conference rotates cities and the organisers try to move it to completely different geographic regions each year.

For folks interesting in attending the conference--which I highly recommend--it costs $90 for three days of workshops participatory panels and other events over the Victoria long weekend in May. Accommodation at the University of Ottawa residence starts at $23 per person per night for a shared student room with 2 single beds (ie, $46 per night for the room). Dorm rooms may not be pretty but they certainly are a bargain for the budget conscious.

If past years are anything to go by, this conference brings together Canadian Pagans from across the country to celebrate our identities as both Canadian and Pagan, and to discuss issues relating to Canadian Paganism. For example last year, Prof. Lucie Dufresne gave a comprehensive presentation on how the law in Canada views Paganism, and how our laws rights and freedoms differ from those of our neighbours to the south. Very enlightening. Past conference have also discussed the legal how-tos of creating churches and performing handfastings in Canada. Who knows what this conference will hold.

The program is not final, but the conference is essentially a co-creative effort and you can see the discussions and proposals on the YahooGroup list at: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Gaia_Gathering/

The conference also has an academic stream for pagan scholars, both those academic and amateur, as well as a music stream and a visual arts gallery displaying the work of our talented peers.

On March 11th the line-up looked like his:
Featured speakers talking about Pagan parenting.
Featured speaker talking about Pagan resource centers
Academic / Scholar's stream of presentations
Song and Chant share

Panels on:
Pagan parenting
Numbers and Visibility
Teachers and Mentors
Counselling skills
Pagan civil rights
Pagan businesses
Conflict resolution
Gender roles
Song as ritual tool
Druidry

For those of you who remember the Montreal conference in the fall: yes, some of the panels are similar. The format of the conference is also similar: moderated peer panels rather than speaker/audience.

You can get information about the conference and the registration form at http://www.gaigathering.ca

Ostara Rituals in Montreal

2008-03-18T22:07:00.002-04:00

::Community Announcements::

From the Montreal Sabbats website:

Friday March 21st
CUPS and ADF Ostara Come join us in our Ostara celebrations as CUPS and the Island Willow Protogrove, ADF (Ár nDraíocht Féin: A Druid Fellowship) join forces to create a Druid rite celebrated in the Norse Tradition.

When: Friday, March 21st, 2008 at 7:00pmWhere: Le Melange Magique, third floor, 1928 St. Catherine Street West(between Guy-Concordia and Atwater metros).

Samedi le 22 Mars
Rituel d'ostara célébré par Corbeau et RainVenez célébrer Ostara avec nousDate: Samedi le 22 mars 2008Heure: 13h30Endroit: 1710 rue Beaudry local 2.7, 2e étage )Donation suggérée: 5$
Si vous le désirez, vous pouvez apporter de la nourriture que nous partagerons pour le festin d'Ostara qui aura lieu après le rituel

Direction à partir du métro Beaudry (Sortie Ste Catherine/Beaudry): Remontez la rue Beaudry vers le Nord. Continuez après le boul. de Maisonneuve.

Iron Pentacle in May

2008-03-11T17:56:00.002-04:00

Step into your authentic self for a weekend and explore your relationship with the five points of the Iron Pentacle: Sex, Pride, Self, Power, and Passion. We believe that these points are our sacred birthrights, and we're willing to claim them.

The Iron Pentacle is one of the core elements of Reclaiming and Feri Traditions of contemporary American witchcraft. It challenges us to look at our relationships with the qualities/energies of sex, pride, self, power and passion; and then integrate these energies into our lives and magic. It is definitely shadow work!

Using trance, spellwork and ritual, we will experience the connections between these points and what happens when the points become out of balance. We will access each point of the pentacle using techniques including guided meditation, art, creativity, song, movement, and sacred play. Together, we will learn to balance the Iron Pentacle within ourselves and bring it more fully into our lives.

This weekend intensive will be taught by Zoe SoulSpirals and myself on May 10th and 11th in the Mile End district of Montreal. Space is limited. More information, including the registration form, is available here.

Science and Magic

2008-03-08T19:15:00.000-05:00

I finally got myself to the MPRC discussion night. The topic was "Science and Magic". How could I miss that? It was a pretty good discussion. Lot's of thoughtful dialogue all around. I avoided leaping across the room every time someone tried to apply quantum mechanics to the macro-sized environment, bit my tongue during the incredibly New Age 'fieldy' explanation of entanglement , and managed not to take it too personally when the ethics (or perhaps moral values?) of science and scientists were questioned. Hopefully I can go to future ones.

CUPS Energy Workshop on February 28th

2008-02-07T17:46:00.001-05:00

::Community Announcement::

The Movement and Nature of Energy
There will be a workshop focusing on the movement and nature of energy within a Neo-Pagan context taking place on the evening of Tuesday February 26th from 7:30-roughly 10 pm. Location is at Concordia's Multi-Faith Chaplaincy (2090 MacKay St.), in the meditation room (the basement). Cost is free.

To elaborate a bit on the theme: we will be discussing and doing exercises related to visualization, grounding, shielding and clearing in addition to some energy sensing exercises.If you're new to magick (or need a refresher), this workshop is right up your alley! Please be sure to wear comfortable clothing as we will be moving around.

Please email me at mailto:movinginreverse%40hotmail.com to RSVP for the workshop and/or to ask any questions you may have. I welcome both new and old faces to this event, so don't be shy!

Elements of Magic

2008-02-07T17:20:00.000-05:00

::Community Announcement::

Elements of Magic is one of the Reclaiming tradition's core classes. In this six-part series we explore the elements (Air, Fire, Water, Earth and Spirit) in a context of magic, experiencing and working with them through energy work, chant, trance, movement, creation of sacred space and ritual.

The class series begins on the February Full Moon (Wednesday the 20th), and continues through the next four Wednesdays. The final session, which is on a Friday, will be an open ritual co-created by the class for the March Full Moon, which is also around the Spring Equinox.

Exact dates are:
Wednesday, February 20th: Air
Wednesday, February 27th: Fire
Wednesday, March 5th: Water
Wednesday, March 12th: Earth
Wednesday, March 19th: Spirit
Friday, March 21st: Co-created open ritual

Classes will go from 7-9 pm. The final ritual will also begin at 7. Location is in the Mile-End/Plateau area; please RSVP for details.

There is no cost for this class series. Elements of Magic is a prerequisite for the Iron Pentacle course that will be offered later in the spring. If you plan on being a part of that and have not yet taken Elements, please consider joining us. This class is geared toward people of all experience levels, and everyone is welcome, regardless of path or tradition. We welcome all genders, sexual orientations, ethnicities, languages, and differences in ability.

Please RSVP as soon as possible, as class size is limited. We will give preference to those who can commit to all six sessions, as it is important to us to create and maintain a cohesive group while doing this work.

For any questions, more information, or to RSVP, contact reclaiming@cosmic-muse.com

Teacher bios:
Josie is a community organizer and Reclaiming Witch, and has been practicing this tradition for the past five or six years. She has a great deal of experience organizing open workshops and rituals in Montreal and the Maritimes. Her academic background includes Religious Studies, Women's Studies, and Community Development. Her experience with the Reclaiming community includes ritual (co)creation at Vermont Witch Camp and co/facilitating a class on Elements of Magic in 2006 and Ecology of Magic in 2007. She also was part of the organizing team for the Montreal Pagan Community Conference in 2007.

Rosemary has been co-organizing and co-facilitating rituals, workshops and other events in the Montreal Reclaiming community since 2006, including Elements of Magic in 2006, as well as designing and maintaining the community website. She was also part of the organizing team for the Montreal Pagan Community Conference in 2007. She is currently finishing up a Master's degree in Anthropology at l'Université de Montréal. She loves working in the Reclaiming tradition because of its openness to all people and to new ideas, and its emphasis on consensus, spontaneity and co-creativity, and she is excited to be offering Elements of Magic again to the community.

Iron Pentacle in Montreal in May

2008-02-07T15:16:00.000-05:00

I'm pleased to announce that Zoe Soulspirals and I currently conspiring to co-teach Iron Pentacle together in Montreal as a weekend intensive on May 10th and 11th. Mark your calendars now. More details will follow.

Training Local Leaders and Teachers

2008-01-16T10:42:00.000-05:00

Le Mélange Magique is offering a five-week Pagan leadership program starting January 28th, and a five-week 'Teaching the Craft" program at a date that will be announced once enough students have signed up. Both courses are being taught by Scarlet.

Pagan Leadership Program
What kind of leader are you? Based on the Myers-Briggs personalitytypes, we will explore your unique style and teach you how to apply itto your pagan activities, such as: running a study group, leading asmall coven, coordinating public events, or leading a public ritual.This is a 5 part course that will run every other week.Monday, January 28th, 20087 –9 pm, $30/ week - or - $100 for full program(a $50 discount to bi-monthly payments!)

Teaching the Craft
This is a workshop for people wanting to improve their teaching/mentoring skills. We will explore such things as: whetherteaching is an art or a science; learning styles; preparing forteaching; writing lesson plans; presentation techniques; how to assessstudents; and how to be a reflective spiritual teacher. We will also address concerns of teaching the craft specifically. If you are interested in this course, please put your name down on thewaiting list. A date and time will be announced once a minimum of 5students have registered. 5 four-hour session every 2 weeks$50/session, includes reading packs

For more information on these workshops, contact Le Mélange Magique at 514-938-1458 or sales@themagicalblend.com

Goddess Discussion Group

2008-01-16T10:33:00.000-05:00

::Community Announcement::

A new discussion group for women starting up in the West Island:

Women's Circle
Each month this open discussion circle will take, as its theme, a different Goddess. Come and explore how the Goddess manifests in ourlives. The circle is open to women only and will meet on the lastSunday of each month at the Beaconsfield Chalet (100 Harwood Gate). First meeting is January 27th, 2008 from 7-9 pm. Cost is $5 to coverrental of the space. For more information, please contact Mae at volurian@yahoo.ca

Reclaiming Discussion

2008-01-15T09:48:00.000-05:00

:: Community Announcement::

From Chris:
For some time now, a few of us have been talking about getting together to have a discussion about what it means for us to be Reclaiming Witches. We have finally come down with a date and place for it! So if you are interested, please join us next Saturday, at our (Chris & Rosemary's) place, at 6pm, for a dinner potluck and discussion. Note that this is a discussion, not a Reclaiming 101-type workshop; however I would like to encourage people of all levels of experience to feel free to participate. So to sum this up:

WHAT: "What does it mean for us to be Reclaiming Witches?" discussion and dinner-potluck
WHERE: At Chris and Rosemary's place, PLEASE EMAIL ME OFFLIST FOR DIRECTIONS (adlam.c(at)gmail.com)
WHEN: Saturday January 19th, 6pm

Please bring something yummy to share and/or non-alcoholic drinks! I hope to see you there,

Working With the Gods

2007-11-16T15:45:00.000-05:00

Wise words from an amazing Priestess and teacher, Katrina Messenger:

"I no longer ask the gods to do the work for me. I ask them instead to guide me in my work, to help me do my work, and more importantly, to reassure me that I am on the right path."

This was from a recent blog post of hers. You can read the whole post here

4th Montreal Pagan Communty Conference

2007-11-10T13:19:00.000-05:00

::Community Announcement::

November 17, 2007
From Language to Liturgy
Crafting understanding in Montreal's diverse Pagan community.

The next Montreal Pagan Conference is less than three weeks away! The conference is open to all solitaries, self-identifying Pagan groups and their members, Pagan businesses, Pagan scholars, and Pagan-friendly interested individuals. It is also open to experienced practitioners, beginning practitioners and the Pagan-curious. (Is that everyone?) Does this sound like you? Come and participate in the conference, share your ideas, and meet other local Pagans while you'e at it.

Saturday November 17th, 2007
Scottish Centre, 1610 Stephens Ave, Verdun
9:30am-6pm (doors open at 9am)
$15 (work exchange available)
Food provided, cash bar at lunch

Plenary Session: Bilingual Inter-Path Panel featuring participants from various pagan traditions in Montreal

Six workshops and discussions offered in two concurrent sessions:
Anglophone/Francophone Open Dialogue
Voice of Youth in the Pagan Community
Teachers, Mentors and Clergy Skill Share
Academic Presentations by Local Pagan Studies Scholars
Atelier "Au-delà de la base de la Wicca"
Pagan Songs and Chants Workshop and Skill Share

Morning coffee and pastries, lunch, and an afternoon snack will be provided. The Scottish Centre will also open their cash bar at lunch for soft drinks, juice and alcoholic beverages. Please let us know of any special food (or mobility) needs by Wednesday November 14th. We will do our best to accomodate you.

Tickets are available at Charmet et Sortilege (4933 de Grand-Pré), and Le Mélange Magique (1928 Ste-Catherine W.) and through PayPal at our website (mpcc-ccpm.blogspot.com).

For more information contact us by email or visit our blog/website:
montrealpaganconference(at)yahoo(dot)ca
http:// mpcc-ccpm.blogspot.com

The website has a map and directions to the Scottish Centre, full schedule and door prize info, and a paypal link for advance ticket purchase.

CUPS Yule Fair

2007-11-05T18:53:00.001-05:00

::Community Announcementt::

The Concordia Pagan Society is planning it's 3rd annual Yule Fair. We are currently looking for individuals who would be interested in selling arts, crafts, treasures, bath and cosmetic products, jewelry, doing divination, and anything else you may wish to offer for sale.

The fair itself is taking place on Saturday Dec 1, 2007 from 10-6 at Concordia University, down town campus. Exact location to be announced.

For more details, or to request a vendor sign-up form please contact one of the following individuals:

David: dragonhearts62@hotmail.com
Terri: movinginreverse@hotmail.com
Trish: Athena81683@aol.com
Jasmine: faerie.maiden@gmail.com

We look forward to hearing from you!
the Yule Fair committee

Reclaiming Spiral Dance Ritual

2007-10-29T23:00:00.000-04:00

::Community Announcement::

This year’s Reclaiming Samhain ritual will take place at 7:30 pm on Friday November 2nd at 5145 Boul. St-Laurent, just north of Laurier (doors open at 7pm). This location is at street-level and is accessible for the mobilty impaired.

The ritual will be modelled after last year’s ritual coordinated by Alex and friends, which used the framework of the popular San Francisco Reclaiming Community’s Spiral Dance Samhain ritual, now in its 28th year.

Two key parts of this ritual are the creation of community altars to honour the dead, and the naming of our deceased as well our newly-born in the past year.

If you’d like to create an altar at the ritual (for example to honour fallen soldiers, victims of AIDS, deceased pets, ancestors, etc), please email reclaiming(at)cosmic-muse.com before October 31st. Please arrive at 6:30 pm on November 2nd to set up your altar so that it is ready when participants start to gather at 7pm.

If you’d like the names of your deceased read out during the ritual, please email reclaiming(at)cosmic-muse.com before November 1st. There will also be an opportunity to add to the list just prior to the ritual itself. Please also write the name phonetically so we can make sure to that it is pronounced properly. You do not need to attend the ritual to add a name to the list of deceased that we will be honouring at the ritual.

Finally, please bring a thoughtful snack or beverage to share following the ritual, As well as your own plate and 'chalice' (cup). This is an alcohol-free event. If you have a few dollars to spare, there is a suggested donation of $2-$5 to help cover the cost of renting the location.

So in summary:

Samhain Reclaiming Spiral Dance Ritual
Friday November 2nd
5145 Boul. St. Laurent (north of Laurier)
6:30 pm altar set-up
7pm gathering
7:30 ritual starts
Suggested donation $2-$5
Please bring snacks and non-alcoholic beverage to share following the ritual.

For more information, visit www.cosmic-muse.com/reclaiming or
email reclaiming(at)cosmic-muse.com

CUPS: Samhain Ritual 2007

2007-10-23T21:52:00.001-04:00

:::Community Announcement:::

CUPS presents their annual Samhain Ritual! Come join us for a night ofreflection and remembrance.

When: Friday, November 2, 2007 at 6:30 pm

Where: 2090 MacKay Street (Guy-Concordia Metro)

What to Bring:
1. Items to place upon our Altar of Remembrance
2. Feast food (with a list of ingredients) and feast gear for our Silent Supper Feast taking place after the Ritual. Feel free to bring extra gear for your departed friends and relatives.
3. Divination tools for use after the Silent Supper feast.

We respectfully request that any food brought to the Ritual be free ofnuts and nut oils (including peanut and almond oils) to accommodate ritual participants with very severe nut allergies. We also (unfortunately) cannot permit the consumption of alcohol during thefeast due to university policy. Thank you in advance for your cooperation in these matters.

Pagan Community Yule Baskets

2007-10-18T22:27:00.000-04:00

::Community Announcement::

We are starting our collection for the Pagan Community Yule Baskets. Anyone who would like to contribute food or food vouchers for families in our Community who might appreciate receiving a YuleBasket can leave donations at the MPRC.I f you are unable to bring your donation to the MPRC please contactme at meri_fowler@hotmail.com and I will arrange for a volunteer to come and pick it up. Please note we are accepting only non-perishable food items, money or food vouchers this year. Please check the food you bring to makesure that it is not past its expiry date. Anyone who would like to put their name or someone else's name in to receive a Yule basket please contact me off list. This informationwill be held strictly confidential of course.

Blessings!
Meri Fowler
Wiccan Sacred Circle

Ancestors

2007-10-01T22:32:00.001-04:00

I've been thinking a lot about ancestors recently. I don't do a lot of ancestor work in my spiritual practice but that's changing.

At camp, I was introduced to the idea of an ancestor collage. I love collages. They're fun to make, and when made with intent they can be powerful for both spell-work and self-work. I've considered making Sabbat collages before (like I need more things to do!), so I don't know why I never considered doing an ancestor collage to remember my ancestors before. The possibities are endless. I could make a collage just of one person; of one side of my family line; of all the blood ancestors I've known; of a specific number of family generations; of people who have made important contributions to my life, blood relatives or not; of spiritual ancestors; ... the list goes on....

My wheels are also turning after some interesting conversations about ancestors. We talked about ancestors being anyone who helped make us who we are, whether they were related to us or not. This is in contrast to the idea that ancestors are our blood lineage, our parents and grandparents. We also talked about spiritual ancestors, as in those who share a spiritual heritage like or Craft foremothers and forefathers; as well as racial ancestors, ethnic ancestors and ancestral memory. All in all, lots of food for thought and meditation during this Samhain season.

Iron Pentacle Update

2007-09-28T22:31:00.000-04:00

A couple of things have conspired to delay the Iron pentacle workshops until early 2008. First, I have had difficulty finding a suitable and reasonably-priced location for the evenings that I am available, and second (perhaps more importantly), the co-teacher that I was hoping to offer this work with is no long available this fall. Stay tuned....

Montreal Public Mabon Ritual

2007-09-17T15:06:00.000-04:00

:::Community Announcement:::

Mabon Public Ritual 2007
Saturday September 29th, 19h00
Angrignon Park
Meet at Angrignon Metro at 18h30-18h55

What to bring:
Warm clothing (we'll be outdoors)
Warm feast food/drink (it'll be cold!)
Drums, rattles, flutes (optional)
Ritual gear (robes, wands, no athames, etc. -- optional)
Guests (optional)

The summer is coming to an end, the summer is coming to an end, and the new year is about to begin. As the land prepares for its long sleep, the trees are starting to shed their leaves, the days shorten, and the night stretches out before us. As the land around us transform, so do we change and transform ourselves. What are you ready to shed? What dead weight are you prepared to leave behind so that you can take on a new challenge?

The Green Man will be visiting with us in our sacred circle and has wisdom to share with you all. Come with us and bid him a fond farewell until his presence once again lengthens the days and the earth is reborn in the Spring.

We will be holding this public ritual in Angrignon park at sunset on Saturday September 29th, 2007 (19h00). Yes, this will be an outdoor public ritual (probably the last one of the season), so dress warmly!

The ritual will be held rain or moonshine; in the case of rain, we will try to tarp-out an area. However, in the case of an absolute downpour, we will have to cancel the event. Keep an eye on the MPRC website for any last minute changes (http://www.paganuniverse.com/mprc/).

If you have any questions, please contact Hobbes at jdhobbes [at] yahoo.ca

Montreal Pagan Community Conference

2007-09-17T14:28:00.000-04:00

:::Community Announcement:::

The Fourth Montreal Pagan Community Conference is currently being planned for:

DATE: Saturday November 17th, 2007
TIME: to be determined
LOCATION: Scottish Centre in Verdun (metro Monk)
COST: to be determined

Morning coffee, lunch, and afternoon snacks will be provided. A pub moot will follow the conference.

For more information:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/montrealpaganconference/

If you you wish to have a voice or just want to see what goes on, we hope you will come to the conference and lend your voice and energy to the building and growth of our community.

Blessings!
The 2007 MPCC organizing team.
(Amanda, Aurora Rising, Freya Kä, Isis Shakti, Josie, Phoenixia, Rosemary)

Song and Drum Circles

2007-09-10T13:03:00.000-04:00

::Community Announcement::

The next new moon song and drum circle is tomorrow night. These are co-creative circles where participants are invited to share drum rhythms and Pagan-themed songs. Some improvisational toning and rhythm exercises are also incorporated each session to help participants build skills and confidence. All instruments (not just drums) and levels of experience are welcome.

The circles are held on the night of the full moon at 8pm at Coop Sur Genereux, near the corner of Papineau and Mount-Royal.

The dates of the next circles are: Tuesday September 11th, Thursday October 11th, Friday November 9th, and Sunday December 9th.

Iron Pentacle Update

2007-08-26T10:34:00.000-04:00

I've been looking for space for either a Monday or Thursday night since those appear to the best nights for most folks who have expressed interest in the workshop series. However, so far, I've only found a place that has studio space available for rent on Friday nights. I'm not sure if Friday nights will be a good night for the classes, especially so close to the Christmas season. A few places have weekend availability. I'm debating doing an introductory weekend intensive in November, followed by the weeknight workshop series in the new calendar year. Although I may find myself with similar space booking dilemmas. Stay tuned.

Drum Circle Tomorrow

2007-08-20T16:08:00.000-04:00

Come one, come all! Our second Drum and Song Circle is next Tuesday, August 21st!

Everyone is invited; bring drums and/or other noise makers if you have them, but don't worry if you don't! We'll be doing some singing too, so bring your favorite Pagan songs to share!

Where: Coop sur Genereux

Directions: At the corner of Mont-Royal and Papineau, turn toward the north (you should see the club La Tulipe straight in front of you) and walk just a few meters until you get to an alley (this is rue Genereux). Turn left into the alley, and go to the second white door on the right (#4518). The door will be open; come on in and go all the way up the stairs. No need to knock! (and if you do, you probably won't get an answer anyway). The closest metro is Mont-Royal; it's about a 10 minute walk east to Papineau, or you can take the bus #97; there's also bus #45 that goes north from Papineau metro. The phone # there is 514-524-3452; call if you have any problems finding it.

For more infomation, visit www.cosmic-muse.com/reclaiming/events.html

Research on Paganism in Montreal

2007-08-10T12:40:00.000-04:00

Marisol Charboneau is doing her MA in Antropology of Religion focussing on Paganism in Montreal. To this end she is doing a survey of Montreal pagans (ie, residing on the island of Montreal). I think she is collecting dat until mid-August. If you'd like to complete her survey, it can be found here: http://www3.sympatico.ca/arktos/

Back from Fest

2007-08-10T00:42:00.000-04:00

We've been back from KG a few days now. I'm still nursing and trying desperately not to scratch many, many killer mosquito bites, and today we finally managed to finish cleaning the camping dishes and airing out the tent. (We packed up in the rain so everything was still wet and pretty grubby when we left!) .

At fest, I reveled in dancing around the fire, hanging out at the swimming hole, and catching up, if all too briefly, with many friends and acquaintances. I also co-taught a workshop on the Sunday, which went very well. Because of vacation scheduling conflicts, it's been a few years since I last went to KG. Until I arrived and settled in, I really hadn't realised how much I missed it, and how much my soul relishes the freedom from societal and urban chains that KG brings.

But I also felt something different or missing at KG this year compared to past years' experiences. I can't quite lay my finger on it, but right now I'm chalking it up to being camped on the outskirts in a shady spot instead of on a sunny site along one of the main pathways. But it might also have been the size of the fest that felt different from previous years. Twice as many folks attended the fest compared to the last time I went, and dancing around the firepit at night I could really feel the difference. I also didn't recognise many of the faces wandering the site, and I tend to feel uncomfortable and retreat around crowds of folk I don't know.

I didn't get around to trying out my new drumming circle skills at the firepit this year; nor did I get around to spinning some fire down at the beach. But there is always next year. Right?

Iron Pentacle Workshops

2007-07-27T10:57:00.000-04:00

I'm starting to look at the logistics now for the Iron Pentacle workshop that I promised I'd offer in the fall. October seems really far away, but I need to think about booking space (if we need it) and getting the word out about the whens and wheres of the workshop.

The Iron Pentacle challenges us to look at our relationships with the qualities/energies of sex, pride, self, power and passion; and then integrate these energies into our lives and magic. It is most definitely shadow work!

Because Iron Pentacle can be very intense, I would prefer to offer this workshop as a series of six weekly classes on a weekday evening, possible with a weekend intensive to get us started. We would do one point each week and use the sixth class to bring it all together.

If you are at all interested in this class, please contact me [ravenka(at)cosmic-muse(dot).com]. Also feel free to pass this along if you know someone who might be interested.

At this point I am trying to decide between offering the workshops on either a Wednesday or Thursday evening (7-9pm), and whether to run the course from mid-October to December, or from November to mid-December. If you think you might want to attend these workshops, your input is very appreciated!

Drumming Workshop

2007-07-02T09:50:00.000-04:00

I'm coordinating a drumming workshop in Montreal with a drumming friend from out of town. Details are below:

Gaia's Heartbeat - Explorations in Drumming, Rhythm and Song

In this introductory workshop with Melissa MoonGoddess we will be exploring the basics of rhythm, basic hand drumming for energy raising, ritual and song/chant, and trance drumming techniques. Please join us as we listen to the the heartbeat of the mother--our first rhythm--and share the joy of our spirits in song.

When: Wednesday July 11th, 7pm
Where: Near Angrignon metro, Montreal
Cost: $15-25 sliding scale, you decide where you slide

Please bring drums and rhythm-makers, if you have them. The organisers will bring some for general use at the workshop as well.

To RSVP, for more information, or for details about the exact location of the workshop, please contact the workshop coordinator at ravenka(at)cosmic-muse(dot)com

Instructor Bio: Melissa MoonGoddess has been a performer and musician all of her life, but only discovered the ecstasy of drumming six years ago. Currently, she drums for two West African Dance & Culture Troupes, Adja and Shidaa, hosts a women's drum and dance gathering in her home twice a month, and drums for an exercise/dance class in the town where she lives. Melissa delights in helping others explore their edges, musically, and finding their own true voice in rhythm and song. Her life mantra is, "Don't hold back, fully be who you are!"

2007-06-11T18:58:00.001-04:00

Bioregional Quiz for June

Trace the water you drink from precipitation to tap.
Name your watershed.
How many days until the moon is full? (Slack of 2 days allowed.)
What was the total rainfall in your area last year? (Slack: 1 inch for every 20 inches.)
What were the primary subsistence techniques of the culture that lived in your area before you?

2007-05-30T11:31:00.000-04:00

Ponderings on Public Ritual
A very interesting post by Pandora about how deep individual work supports deep, strong coven work, that in turn supports quality public rituals, festivals and workshops.

A quote that stands out for me:
"I'm totally uninterested in figuring out how to get more people involved in the public rituals, so that we can make them big and flashy. I'm interested in figuring out how to get more people interested in working deep, in small groups, so that we can make the public rituals solid and powerful."

In many ways this echoes my own feelings. Covens and groups that work deeply together generally put on the most powerful and meaningful public rituals. They've done the 'work.' They also have an established group of people, who are already comfortable working with each other, to navigate the various logistics of public ritual planning. Even the simplest public rituals involve a fair amount of logistics and require several people to be involved in the planning and execution of the ritual.

However, having said that, I have also seen some pretty outstanding rituals led by groups of solitaries or friends. In an area where established covens or other groups seem unable or unwilling to offer public rituals, then often an experienced solitary (or not-so-experienced, but very eager, solitary) will try to pick up the ball. This person has to try to get others involved in the creation of the ritual, otherwise the rit simply won't happen; or it won't happen well.

Public rituals are important. They often help seed new groups, and feed existing groups. Ideally, as Pandora suggests, once these small groups have achieved a level of depth and cohesiveness working together, they in turn are able to offer 'solid and powerful' public rituals back to their communities . The relationship is symbiotic: A positive feed-back loop that creates a richer and stronger community.

This quote also reminds me that offering public rituals is just that: an offering. A public ritual that is put on simply to be "big and flashy" misses the point.

2007-05-09T10:56:00.000-04:00

Bioregional Quiz for May

As part of the workshop series that I'm facilitating over the summer, we're asking participants to get to know their local bioregion. One of the tools that were using for this is a modified version of a Bioregional Awareness 'Quiz developed by the precursor to Whole Earth Review in the 1970s. Each month we're asking the participants to find the answers to some of the questions.

If you'd like to join in, here are the questions for May:

What soil series (soil class, characteristics, drainage and primary use) are you standing on?
What primary ecological event/process influenced the land form where you live?
From where you're reading this, point north.
What spring wildflower is consistently among the first to bloom where you live?
Where does your garbage go?
Where does your recycling go? What percentage of the curbside recycling in your area is actually re-used?

Canadian Wicca

2007-05-08T09:25:00.001-04:00

I'm finding interesting bits of information in my research for this article about the history of Wicca in Canada.

It seems that most Canadian Gardnerian covens are not descended from Buckland, they are descended from British immigrants to Canada; and most Alexandrian lineage in Canada comes from one Alexandrian coven in Toronto in the 60s! This is fun!

Now onto looking at different traditions...

2007-05-02T12:22:00.000-04:00

The Timing of Beltaine
Chas Clifton had a couple of interesting questions on his blog the other day about the timing of Beltaine. The Wiccan cross-quarter hoildays are interesting because the dates are usually fixed a few days before the actual midpoint between the solsitice and equinox, as opposed to solstice and equinox festivities that are often celebrated each year according to the actual astronomical date of these events.

The actual astronomical date of Beltaine this year is May 5th, as opposed to May 1st which is the date usually given for Beltaine.

In his blog, Mr. Clifton asks:
Meanwhile, you may decide if Beltane and the other cross-quarter and quarter days is
a. Calculated by the solar/astronomical calendar.
b. Calculated by the secular calendar and celebrants' work schedules.
c. A week-long season, so the day does not matter.

If (a) or (b), is it better to celebrate early to get "rising energy" or as close to the actual moment as possible?

For me, the astronomical dates seem to ring truer 'in my bones' than the fixed dates. Samhain always seemed to 'feel right' a few days after Hallowe'en, and Beltaine seemed to naturally fall slightly after May 1st. On the the other hand, this does not hold true for Imbolc, although this is a festival date that I have a hard time resonating with (see previous post).

I've never really considered the 'rising energy' aspect of when to ritually celebrate Beltaine. This is definitely a bit of food for thought. Certainly, in makes sense that if you choose not to celebrate the festival on it's astronomical date then you'd want to celebrate it sooner rather than later in order to take advantage of the rising energy. Maybe this is why the fixed date actually falls before the astronomical date?

2007-05-02T10:36:00.000-04:00

Call for Submissions
WynterGreene needs your help for an upcoming issue offering different perspectives on Wicca...

What is Wicca? What does it take to make someone Wiccan? Who qualifies as Wiccan and who doesn't? Where do you draw a line, and should a line be drawn?

Wyntergreene is looking for *short* 100-200 word answers to these questions for our upcoming issue on Wicca. We're looking for different perspectives from a broad variety of backgrounds. If you'd like to tell us what you think, please send your answer to wicca@wyntergreene.ca . In your answer, please include a few words about your own background, so we know where you're coming from!

Email: wicca(at)wyntergreene(dot)ca; wicca@wyntergreene.ca

Deadline: Thursday May 10
About WynterGreene: http://www.wyntergreene.ca/

2007-03-26T21:30:00.000-04:00

Signs of Spring
I had a lovely weekend out in the countryside. The sap in the maple trees had started flowing the day we arrived, so at dinner time our hosts shared with us a taste of it (okay, more than a taste!). That felt really special. On Sunday we had pancakes with the first syrup of the season. It was so yummy. The sap was actually flowing so well over the weekend that we could hear the steady and fast drip-drip-drip of it into the collecting buckets.

On the drive down on Friday, we saw geese flying north. Another sure sign of spring.

Out for a walk on Saturday, we could hear rivers of running water beneath the melting snow. We could see the spontaneous spring streams created by the thaw twisting through the forest landscapes, carving out their paths. The ground was soft beneath our feet. Signs of deer were everywhere--tracks, scat, and chewed twigs--as well as evidence of foxes and other animals. There was still lots of snow in places.

Our hosts have a wonderful 200+ foot diameter labyrinth that they have been cultivating with trees and plants for almost ten years. Being quite well sheltered it was still covered with snow; deep snow in places too. As I walked it, I frequently found myself sinking almost knee-deep in snow. The usual 30- to 45-minute walk took a good hour to complete in the snow, and I felt like I had done a good workout at the end of it! A part of the labyrinth is 'pathed' with blackberry bushes. Last year was an incredible year for blackberries and our hosts don't cut the bushes back a lot in the labyrinth since they harvest the berries. Consequently, parts of the path were overgrown with blackberry thorn making the passage difficult and thorny. Between the snow, the thorns, and other obstacles, it was a very different experience from any other labyrinth meditation I have done.

Other signs of spring I've been observing closer to home. The birds in my neighbourhood have been flying around with strands of grass and other soft things to make their nests with; and my cats have been chasing spiders and ants. It's wonderful.

2007-03-17T18:10:00.000-04:00

Ecology of Magic
I'm so excited! Josie and I are going to do a series of nature/ecology workshops with a spiritual focus. Its something I've been ruminating (and gathering notes) on for a few years now. I'm so excited to see the seed start to sprout. And I love working with Josie.

The workshops will run one Sunday a month for six Sundays (five months). There will be a series of activities that build on each other for participants to do between workshops. There will also be at least one interim face-to-face mini-workshop or discussion between workshops, as well as an on-line discussion forum for participants. A lot of the work will focus around observing the natural environment and its cycles as well as interacting with and embodying them, so we feel that it is important to build a solid environment where participants can share their observations and discoveries with each other. (It's also a way for me to test-run this distance education software that I've been experimenting with.)

So far the themes for the six meetings are: Spirits/History of the Land, Water and Watersheds, Weather Magic, Fire and Energy, Plant Harvesting and Seed Saving, and Web of Life. Some of the planned activities we are considering include working with nature spirits and natural energies, dowsing, exploring ecosystems, plant identification, observing weather patterns, making fire by hand, forging in fire, and harvesting and storing seeds. We hope to have guest educators to facilitate some of these activities, but most I think we'll do ourselves.

2007-03-13T14:57:00.000-04:00

Elders, Hierarchy and Listening
A few thoughts that aren't fully fleshed out for this post, but that I wanted to get out there. Maybe I'll expand upon them in future posts.

Anne Hill has an interesting post on her blog about Elders, hierachy and social needs in contemporary Pagan traditions, particularly Reclaiming. It's worth a read.

She also talks about the quality of deep listening as a magical skill that is not taught often enough (and a skill that for her is a hallmark of a true Elder). This is an opinion that echoes my own very closely. Knowing how to listen and listening deeply to others as well as ourselves is important. I also feel that listening skills are also too widely ignored in secular education as well.

The ability to listen well is a crucial aspect of communication.; yet it is rarely taught. It seems that it is something that we are expected to simply know how to do, or pick up as we interact with others. For me, listening is a 'muscle' I need to exercise.

One way I do this is through silence. The year I spent working with "to be silent" was so wonderfully rewarding for me because I spent so much more time listening and being in 'the moment,' instead of talking and mentally thinking ahead. By listening I learned more about people and ideas and 'things. I also spent more time 'noticing.'

So, yes. Listening. Noticing. Elders. Authority. Food for thought.

2007-03-02T22:22:00.000-05:00

Dark Moon Magic

Dark moon magic is magic that's performed on the dark moon. This is the period (about three days) when the moon is not visible because it is in between the sun and the earth. Some folks believe that this is a very good time to do 'banishing' or 'destructive' magic, like getting rid of things we don't want. Also since it is that liminal time between death and rebirth, it can be a very powerful time to transformation magic that focusses on death and rebirth. Some people also believe that the dark moon is the ideal time to explore 'the mysteries' or the unseen. This makes it a good time to do 'inner' work and shadow work, or working with 'other worlds'.

Gail Wood's Sisters of the Dark Moon (Llewellyn 2001) works specifically with dark moon energies. It is intended to be used over a period of a year and offers meditations and rituals for 13 darkmoons. I find it is from a Wiccan perspective.

For inner or shadow work (and not necessarily dark moon work), Dark Moon Mysteries (Llewellyn 1999) and Apprentice to Power (Crossing Press, 2000) by Timothy Roderick are both excellent. They are also from a Wiccan persepctive. I also like The Mist-Filled Path by Frank MacEowan (New World, 2002), which offer a 'Celtic-Shamanic' perspective, with hints of eco-psychology influences, on inner-work. Plus there are a number of books on shadow-work from a Jungian perspective (the concept of the shadow, I believe, is actually Jungian). Owning Your Own Shadow by Robert Johnson (Harper 1993) is a slim book that discusses the concept of 'the shadow' in accessible terms. It's from a predominantly Christian perspective.

I don't recommend embarking on shadow work on your own, but these books can give you a bit of perspective on the concept. I'm not up on spellcrafting or ceremonial magick books, but I'd be surprised if there isn't anything out there that looks at the spellcasting or magic specifically from a lunar phase perspective. You might want to try looking at some books on biodynamic planting (planting with the moon phases). I suspect the underlying principles of why it is better to plant and prune at different moon phases will be similar to the underlying principles of spell casting by different moon phases; but don't quote me on that.

2007-02-05T12:34:00.000-05:00

Musings on Imbolc

For me, Imbolc is perhaps the most challenging of the 'traditional' neo-pagan festival dates. It was originally explained to me as a festival to mark and celebrate the beginning of spring, which makes perfect sense in the British isles, but certainly does not hold true in most regions of Canada. Nope, Imbolc as the beginning of spring simply did not resonate with me. Nor did its association with milk. Maybe in Britain lambs were being born the milking season was beginning, but in Canada?

Originally I simply discarded Imbolc. My wheel of the year is strongly tied with natural cycles and Imbolc didn't fit. (Actually I didn't quite discard Imbolc, I effectively moved it. Instead of celebrating the beginning of spring on the first of February, I celebrate it at the vernal equinox. Of course, some of the 'traditional' neo-pagan associations with Ostara don't work for me on the spring equinox, but that is post for a different day.)

Over time, however, I found Imbolc creeping into my worldview: Not as a festival of spring, but as a festival of light. After Yule, the days get longer. At first the lengthening of the days is barely perceptible to me. Dusk still comes too early and dawn not early enough. However toward the end of January I begin to notice the sun. I notice that it is 5pm and it is still light outside. I notice the quality of the light changing. I notice that dawn is not breaking, but has arrived when I wake up in the morning. And it feels good. The lengthening of the days, the return of the sun... now there is a reason to celebrate! My great Canadian home may still be covered with a thick blanket of snow, but the sun is back baby, and he's going to shine. His rays are warm and soon that blanket of snow will be replaced by fresh mud, then green grass and then the colourful dancing heads of meadow flowers. It's not spring yet. It's still decidedly winter. But it is getting warmer and the light is getting stronger.

The other dimension to this time of the year is the celebration of winter. Most winter festivals in this part of Canada take place at the end of January and beginning of February. The explanations are varied and usually centre on get rid of the winter, but a celebration of winter makes sense to me too. Winter is a season. In fact, I'd venture to say that it is perhaps 'the' season that most of us Canadians are preoccupied with. We seem to spend a huge amount of time preparing for winter, dealing with winter, and then wishing winter away. We celebrate spring. We celebrate summer and autumn. Why not celebrate winter? Winter is part of the wheel of the year, even if we rather wish it wasn't quite so long or quite so cold. So slowly, Imbolc as a celebration of winter started to creep into my worldview.

Today I celebrate 'Imbolc' by encouraging the return of the sun. I sing, I dance, I drum. I make fiery food (usually a bright yellow curry). I bake to bring warmth into the house. I burn candles. I make candles. I celebrate winter. I enjoy the beauty of the snow. I go outside and play, making snow angels, and snowmen and catching snowflakes on my tongue. This is 'Imbolc' to me. But then, it's not really Imbolc is it? At least, not what most neo-pagans would associate with Imbolc.

So what do I call this festival? What do I call this time of the year that I celebrate? I am always tempted to call it Candlemas because of my association of the season with candles and light; but that doesn't really fit, because I'm not really celebrating Candlemas, a festival representing the purification of the Virgin Mary following the birth of Christ as I understand it, either. I could call it the "Festival of Light,' but I associate that epithet with the Hindu festival of Diwali held in the fall. Imbolc is also known as Brigid's Day, in honour of the goddess Brigid or Saint Brighid, in some traditions. However Brighid currently doesn't figure into my celebrations at this time of the year, so that doesn't make any sense for my celebration either. I briefly considered calling it Midwinter; but that name is associated with the winter solstice. Technically, it also means 'the beginning of winter,' so that wouldn't quite fit either. So I continue to call my festival Imbolc.

Like most of my seasonal festivals or sabbats, 'Imbolc' isn't tied to a particular date. It's a flow. It's a transitional time that marks the turning of the wheel. When I start to notice the days getting longer, I say 'Imbolc' is beginning. My mood changes and I get joyful. I want to celebrate the return of the sun. I want to cook and bake. I want to go outside and play. Eventually (schedule permitting), I take a few hours or a day to 'officially celebrate' Imbolc. When does the period of 'Imbolc' end for me? I'm not sure. Imbolc simply flows into the beginning of spring. By celebrating the return of the sun, I find myself more 'awake' and able to focus on 'wrapping up the old,' like doing my income tax and finishing other projects, and 'preparing for the new." This is my preoccupation for that liminal time between Imbolc and Spring. The Spring arrives and I celebrate the end of winter and the turning of the seasons to Spring.

2006-12-01T16:09:00.000-05:00

Book Musings
The delivery of my latest book has got me musing about the types of Neopagan books currently available, and which ones are best for which audiences. For example, which books are good for someone interested in learning more about Neopaganism or specific traditions? Which ones are good for someone wanting to take a forray in the spiritual world of Neopaganism him- or herself? Which ones are good for intermediate or advancing seekers? And what about specialty books for those on specific paths?

I still consider Margot Adler's Drawing Down the Moon an excellent starting place to learn about Neopagan traditions and history. Pagans and Christians by Gus DiZirega is also an excellent book for explaining Neopaganism to someone who is curious about it. I also like The Paganism Reader put out by Routledge, and of course Hutton's Triumph of the Moon.

Hmm. I have to give this more thought.

2006-11-30T16:35:00.000-05:00

New Book!
My postman just delivered a review copy of Between the Worlds: Readings in Contempory Noepagnism, edited by Sian Reid at Carleton University. I'm so excited!

2006-10-18T15:47:00.000-04:00

Musing on Samhain and New Moons

The late fall for me is a time to prune back what is not needed. It is a time of reflection when I try to shed what is holding me back so that I can free up that energy to flow elsewhere. It is also a time to assess where I am and where I want to be.

At Samhain (which for me always feels more right around November 5th instead of October 31st), I mourn the passing of the dead, including those projects (or parts of me, or relationships, dreams, etc) that I have chosen to let die. I acknowledge the people that I am far away from and those that I seldom see; and I acknowledge plans, dreams and projects that I am choosing to put on hold.

New moons for me are generally introspective. They are often like mini-samhains in some ways. I seem to forget about new moons these days. I can see a full moon and acknowledge it; but you don't really see a new moon. Unfortunately spending time with the new moon is probably what I need to do more of these days, since I rarely have that inner reflective time. (And when I do get it these days--usually in the solitude of a bus, train or plane--I just want to zone out!)

2006-09-14T15:51:00.000-04:00

On Witch, Witchcraft, Magic and Definitions

In class we were talking about definitions of some words that come up pretty frequently in neo-paganism: witch, Wiccan, magic, witchcraft... You know the ones. My own definitions are pretty fluid. I never seem to quite manage to nail them down. How I define the words one day might be different days, weeks, months or years later as my own knowledge and understanding evolves.
Many definitions in the study and practice of religion, especially mystical traditions, are open to personal interpretation. Neo-paganism is no exception. In fact, I'd argue that finding consensus on lexical definitions in neo-paganism is probably more problematic than most religions because of the heterogeneity of beliefs under the neo-pagan umbrella, the general lack of formal structure, and its young age. Stipulative definitions are often much more helpful. Having said that, here are a few of my own. Your (and my) mileage may vary.

Religion: The expression of acknowledgment of the divine or something beyond 'physical reality,' usually incorporating a system of beliefs and practices relating to the sacred and uniting its adherents in some sense of unity or community.

Pagan: An umbrella term for folk religions and theistic nature religions.

Neo-Paganism: An umbrella term for a set of spiritual and religious traditions that incorporate the following set of beliefs: the world is holy/sacred and sacredness is imminent; a worldview that includes unseen realms or energies; religious tolerance; self-responsibility; right relationship with self, community and the sacred; personal relationship with the sacred; self-identification as a neo-pagan.

Wicca: An initiatory mystery tradition/religion with specific tenets of belief such as a belief in both a god and a goddess, reincarnation, and the natural law of threefold return.

Witch: (a) Primarily one who walks the edges, in-between, and liminal spaces, holding all possibilities within oneself. But also one who seeks to know his or her true self; who acknowledges and seeks to align with natural cycles, 'unseen' energies, and (often) the sacred or something beyond 'physical reality;' and who is willing to acknowledge and step into his or her own personal power. (b) Any one of the huge number of accepted lexical definitions of the word witch.

Magic(k): (a)The art of opening individual awareness at will to specific (or universal) consciousness, energies and patterns in order to effect some sort of transformation, usually one the 'material plane.' (b) The intentional manipulation of powerful symbols in order to produce predictable results within the psyches of the practitioners.

Witchcraft: (a) The practice of folk traditions that consciously work with consciousness, energies, patterns and symbols. (b) An ecstatic tradition usually employing magic that seeks to align an individual with natural cycles and energies, the self, and often the sacred or something beyond 'physical reality'.

Cyberhenge Review

2005-06-21T12:35:00.000-04:00

Cyberhenge: Modern Pagans on the Internet
by Douglas E. Cowan
Routledge, 2005
ISBN: 0-415-96911-5; $35.95 CDN

Written by a non-Pagan religious scholar, Cyberhenge explores contemporary Neo-paganism through its presence on the Internet and looks at the Internet as a modality for modern Neo-pagan innovation.

The vast majority of the book is handed over to examining the way Neo-pagans view the Internet and how it appears to have impacted Neo-pagan belief and practice. To do this Cowan draws on Internet sources as well as books written by Pagans about Pagans and the Internet (some of which are reviewed in this issue). He examines computer-mediated community, cyber-covens, virtual reality versus online activity, online ritual and its evolution over the past few years, online teaching, cyber-identity, and Neo-paganism as an “open-source religion.” To my surprise, I personally found it made for fascinating reading.

Cowan also examines a variety of different types of Neo-pagan web presences, from virtual covens and discussion groups, to personal pages and resource-based websites. He observes that there is an “appearance of far more activity online than the substance of that activity warrants.” (p 116) Although there are some well-run and maintained resources, he finds that much of the Pagan web consists of vast wastelands of outdated websites, unused discussion groups, and the beginnings of projects that never really got off the ground. He also describes the content on many websites as “shovelware,” a term used to describe unoriginal and generic content simply used to fill up a website or CD-ROM (ie, quantity over quality).

Cowan does not assume that the reader is intimately familiar with either Paganism or the Internet. Throughout the book Cowan takes the time to discuss contemporary Neo-pagan culture as well as technology terms in sufficient depth that the reader is able to understand the concepts being examined without feeling lost or overwhelmed. The result is that Cyberhenge gives almost as much insight into Neo-Pagan culture as a whole, as it does into Neo-paganism on the Internet. Highly recommended.

This review originally appeared in the Midsummer 2005 issue of WynterGreene.

Review: Gaia Eros

2005-03-21T12:46:00.000-05:00

Gaia Eros: Reconnecting to the Magic and Sprit of Nature
By Jesse Wolf Hardin
New Page Books, 2004
ISBN 1-56414-729-0

Gaia Eros is a collection of essays by Jesse Wolf Hardin, a writer, artist, activist and practitioner of Earth-centred spirituality. Wolf is the founder of the Earthen Spirituality Project, a river-canyon sanctuary in New Mexico where he has lived for over 20 years developing rich relationships and a deep sense of harmony with the land. There are 38 essays in this book. Each logically flows from the previous one, but they were all independently written and stand solidly on their own.

Gaia Eros is a book to be savoured. The prose is eloquently and thoughtfully crafted: each word and combination of words carefully chosen for their meanings as well as their emotional responses. At the end of each essay, I found myself wanting to close the book and simply reflect upon the words and thoughts presented before moving on to the next one.

In Gaia Eros, Wolf chooses to use the term New Nature Spirituality (NNS) to describe a collection of spiritual paths that form relationships with, and draw insight and instruction from, a living and inspirited earth. NNS, he says, encourages an interactive relationship with nature, not just the observation and study or it, nor the simple celebration of it.

Through personal anecdote and reflection, Wolf inspires the reader to move beyond the way he or she views the planet and foster a new, deeper relationship with the earth: One that is conscious, active, responsible, supporting and interdependent. He also suggests extending this relationship to others in our lives, and offers suggestions on how to do this.

A couple of aspects of the book did present problems for me. Because Wolf’s style of writing is informal and poetic, it means that he writes mostly in sentence fragments. This probably wouldn’t bother most readers, but the editor in me was increasingly distracted by it. Also, the last few essays are longer and more political. While still inspirational and often very worthy of reflection, they also sometimes bordered on preachy, especially when the focus of the essay was more about our responsibility towards the land than with seeking and building relationships.
Despite these drawbacks, Gaia Eros is an excellent book that easily belongs on the bookshelf of anybody seeking to connect more deeply with the living earth.

© 2005. This review originally appeared in the Ostara 2005 issue of WynterGreene.

Review: Witching Culture

2005-02-01T12:49:00.000-05:00

Witching Culture: Folklore and Neo-Paganism in America
By Sabina Magliocco
University of Pennsylvania Press, 2004

Witching Culture is the first ethnography that looks specifically at the roles of anthropology and folklore in Neo-Paganism and revival Witchcraft, from historical roots to modern ritual creation and cultural politics.

An established anthropologist, Magliocco first become interested in Neo-Paganism in the mid-1990s when she started studying the use of folklore and cultural appropriation in Neo-Pagan ritual. While participating in a Reclaiming ritual during the course of her research, she had an extraordinary experience, one that changed both herself and the course of her research. She eventually underwent initiation in a Gardnerian Coven, as well as undertaking training in the Reclaiming tradition of Witchcraft.

In Witching Culture, Magliocco asserts that “Neo-Paganism represents the most important folk revival movement since the folk music revival of the 1950s and 1960s” (Magliocco, p7), and proceeds to examine the Neo-Pagan movement in North America from the perspective of both a folklorist and anthropologist. She also examines the cultural mixing of spirituality and belief in American Neo-Paganism, as well as her own observation and theory that religious ecstasy is the key uniting experience of American Neo-Pagans.

To do so draws upon her own extensive participation in Neo-Pagan culture, primarily in the San Francisco Bay area, the narratives and experiences of others, as well as the works of other established scholars of the Neo-Pagan movement. She also makes wide use of non-Neo-Pagan-specific anthropological literature pertaining to religion, ritual, construction of identities, culture, and folklore.

Magliocco is careful to define her use of terms and labels throughout the book. In doing so, she introduces readers to the term ‘Witchen,’ an adjectival form of ‘Witch’ commonly used among San Francisco Bay-area Pagans to describe those practising traditions of Witchcraft as opposed to Druidism, Norse Paganism, etc.

Witching Culture is one of the best-written and most-comprehensible academic books on Neo-Paganism that I’ve had the pleasure of reading in a long time. Magliocco provides a wonderful mix of personal narratives and academic thought, often seamlessly weaving the two together without losing academic credibility. Her first chapter on the study of folklore and reclamation of Paganism should be, in my opinion, a must-read for any serious student of Neo-Paganism, as should be the second chapter on Pagan community.

© 2005 . This review originally appeared in the Imbolc 2005 issue of WynterGreene.

Review: Black Magick Woman

2004-08-01T12:53:00.000-04:00

Black Magick Woman: The Sinister Side of the Song of Solomon
By Janet Tyson
EcceNova Editions, 2003
ISBN 0-9731648-5-9, 196 pages

You may never look at the Song of Solomon the same way again. Traditionally thought of as a love song or a symbolic tribute about God’s love for Israel, Janet Tyson, a Fellow with the University of British Columbia, takes you on a whole new and unorthodox interpretation of this classical Hebrew tale.

In Black Magick Woman, the Egyptian Priestess Bathya is portrayed as a seductress casting spells and using sorcery to get what she wants most from King Solomon: his royal bloodline. The song, Tyson claims, was originally intended to convey to Israeli men the dangers of women, especially foreign women. It also might have been a lesson to keep the Jewish blood pure. As times changed, so did the interpretation of the song.

Tyson goes through each line in the Song of Solomon in great detail, getting right down into the symbolism, incantations, and other cultural, historical and religious aspects. This makes the work an awesome academic accomplishment and a fascinating read. It also somehow manages to accomplish this with an easy style that doesn’t send the reader’s head spinning, like so many academic books do. Overall, whether you are familiar with the Song of Solomon or not, Black Magick Woman is highly recommended.

© 2004 . This review originally appeared in the Summer 2004 issue of WynterGreene.

Review: Handfasting

2004-06-23T13:06:00.000-04:00

Handfasting: A Practical Guide
By Mary Neasham
Green Magic, 2003
ISBN 0954296311, $26.95

Handfasting: A Practical Guide gives a good solid overview of handfasting, including historical roots, traditions, rituals, ceremony planning, ritual logistics, and modern spiritual considerations. It looks at betrothals, as well as handfastings for set periods of time, for life, or for eternity. It also includes information on handparting and unbinding rituals. Although written for a British audience, it works just fine for Canadians as well.

For clergy, the author goes through ritual structures and standard stuff like that. However she also touches on the role of the Priestess, the differences between a spiritual and non-spiritual ceremony, as well as practical considerations like whether to raise energy during the rite, and how, considering that many participant may be non-pagan.

For the celebrating partners, Neasham describes many different historical types of rituals, and gives tips on planning, preparation, location, altar set-up, music, feasting, and much more. The book even has some blank planning pages with key words on each page to help get you started.
This is the first book that I’ve seen that really takes the reader through the historical roots of handfasting, as well as different handfasting traditions over time and geography such as Medieval Druidic, Celtic, Viking, Irish, Saxon, and Tudor Weddings. To my delight, the author starts her section on history with a disclaimer, stating that “like many ancient British customs and traditions, the origins of handfasting are hard to pin down with any degree of chronological accuracy,” reminding readers that in questions of history nothing is known absolutely and the best we can do is to look critically at the evidence available.

Another unique section in this book is one devoted to tying the handfasting knot itself, and the different symbolisms that could be worked into the different types of knotwork. This section could have used some illustrations though, especially for the more complicated knots.

The author has done such a good job pulling the content of the book together, it is a real shame that the editing is truly horrendous. Sections of text are occasionally ambiguous, and I found myself rereading passages to make sure that I understood them properly. Worse yet, in some places the text refers the reader to earlier information that was must have been removed in the editing process, or simply not included to begin with, making the book read like a second draft.

Apart from the poor editing, which really detracted from my enjoyment of the book, Handfasting: A Practical Guide is very good with lots of interesting information and food for thought for people planning or considering a handfasting ceremony, whether spiritual or reconstructionist, as well as for Pagan clergy asked to Priestess the event.

© 2004. This review originally appeared in the Midsummer 2004 issue of WynterGreene.

Review: Joining Hearts and Hands

2004-06-23T13:02:00.000-04:00

Joining Hands and Hearts: Interfaith, Intercultural Wedding Celebrations
by Rev. Susanna Stefachi Macomb
Fireside (Simon & Schuster), 2003; $22.00
ISBN 0743436989

This book was an absolute delight to read and explore. Written from an interfaith perspective, Joining Hands and Hearts explores the religious, spiritual, cultural and personal aspects of marriage. It then takes you through some of the practical matters of the creating and planning a ceremony, including working with family and friends.

Next comes the part of the book I liked the most. Well over half of Joining Hands and Hearts is devoted to exploring various marriage rituals and wedding traditions across world religions and cultures. If you are interested in world religion and customs, then this book is worth buying for this information alone, regardless of whether you are planning a handfasting or wedding. If you are in the process of planning an eclectic or multifaith ceremony, then this book is a real gem and a great starting place for ideas and inspiration.

To help put the customs in context before they are presented, a brief yet informative description of the history and beliefs preceeds each section on the 14 religions covered. The cultural information is more general and does not provide as much context, but is just as interesting nonetheless. Wedding traditions that occur in some form across many religions or cultures are also discussed, and handfasting is included in this category. However, Neo-Paganism is not specifically addressed. Also included are selected readings and vows ranging from traditional religious ones to the words of modern poets, authors and philosophers on matters of the heart. All in all an excellent book.

© 2004. This review originally appeared in the Midsummer 2004 issue of WynterGreene.