magic

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, […]

Appalachian Folk Magic: Healing, Death and Planting by the Signs

Appalachian folks blended ancient Celtic rituals from Scotland and Ireland, Protestant Christianity, and African traditions with teaching from local Native Americans into a unique mixture of witchcraft, religion, and earth magic. And, for the most part, they didn’t seem to see any problem with their variety of practices, as they understood it all came from the Divine.

Little Red Riding Hood – Magic

An excerpt from issue 30 of Hag Stone Journal: In some versions of Little Red Riding Hood, Red’s encounter with the wolf is so transformative that she becomes a werewolf– a human that transforms into a wolf, or a human-wolf hybrid. In some stories, Little Red escapes the wolf, kills it, and trades in her […]

Psysanky eggs

The award for most magically decorated eggs has to go to the Ukrainians and their pysanky eggs. Pysanky eggs are decorated by applying melted beeswax to a hollow eggshell. The layering of intricately applied melted wax and dying can take hours per egg. Before Christianity came to the Slavic peoples, Ukrainians decorated their eggs for the sun god Dazhboh. […]

Grow a witchy garden

Against a dark sky all flowers look like fireworks. There is something strange about them, at once vivid and secret, like flowers traced in fire in the phantasmal garden of a witch.” – G.K. Chesterton What flowers should you grow in your witch’s garden, amongst the herbs for your potions and your outdoor altar? Foxglove, […]

Spring Equinox: Renewal

March 20th is the Vernal Equinox, which, in the U.S., heralds the beginning of spring. I, for one, am more than ready for spring and its warmer weather, budding trees, flowers, and showers. The earth is waking up, stretching, and greeting the dawn. Spring is a time of renewal. Everything is fresh. The world is […]