Heather Gray

Cookery: Mushroom Soup

This week, cook up a delicious soup, stew, or chili. If you have a pressure cooker, like an Instapot, you can leave it to cook while you are working and return to a delicious smelling house and a ready-to-eat meal. I made a big pot of creamy mushroom soup. Ingredients: 2 lbs mixed mushrooms (like […]

Spiral Snow Spell

This winter ritual can work in the snow, but if you’re in a sunny climate like Southern California, you can practice it just as easily. Gather some stones– at least twelve, to arrange in a spiral– a candle, and matches or a lighter. With the stones gathered, hold your hand, palm down, over the stones, […]

Amae – a word for love

I am familiar with some of the ancient greek words for love, like eros, from which we got the lovely word erotic; agape, which means spiritual selfless love; and philia, deep non-romantic love, like the root of my hometown Philadelphia: the city of brotherly love. A couple weeks ago I learned of amae, a Japanese concept of love. Upon learning […]

Imbolc ritual for February 1st

Imbolc celebrations included bonfires, merrymaking, and parading the Brídeóg doll through the village. But, at its heart, Imbolc is observed in the home. Fires or candles were lit in every room, the home was cleaned, the stores were checked, a feast was made for the family, and a bed was made near the fireplace for Brigid to […]

Imbolc

Imbolc, pronounced EM-bolgk, is an ancient Irish festival marking the midpoint between the winter solstice and the spring equinox. Imbolc was celebrated in Ireland, Scotland, and the Isle of Man on February 1st and 2nd, or when the ewes were lambing. It is one of the four Gaelic festivals: Samhain in autumn, Imbolc in winter, […]

Set a positive intention

One of my favorite forms of magic is combining my mind, my heart, and my will to form a powerful intention. I am very careful with the words I say, think, and write, because I believe in the power of words. I believe the words we choose create our lives. When we say a lot […]