Plant plants. Depending on where you live, this may or may not be a good time to plant plants outside. You can also start seeds inside if it’s too cold outside to plant anything yet.
Dye eggs. Eggs have been a symbol of death and rebirth for over 60,000 years. However, dying them is one of the few traditions that do have Christian origins. It was the early Christians in Mesopotamia that dyed eggs red to symbolize Christ’s blood. Though there are a few sources that link it to Germanic Pagan practices as well. Either way, you can still enjoy dying eggs. There are many online tutorials explaining natural dying methods, or you can get a kit from the store.
Have an egg hunt. Whether it’s plastic eggs with toys or candy inside or actual eggs, this can be a lot of fun, especially with kids.
Balance an egg. I know that this seems weird, but it can be done! Supposedly this is one of two days a year where this is possible.
Go for a walk outside. No matter what climate you live in, this is a great way to connect with nature and whatever Ostara feels like where you live.
Decorate your home or altar with flowers. Flowers are another symbol of the fertility of the season.
Go flower picking. Many areas have flowers that grow naturally. Go for a walk and find them!
Make flower crowns or necklaces.
Make foods related to the time of year. Make and eat foods with eggs, baby greens, veal, rabbit, or any foods that are in season for you right now.
Plan a garden. This is a great time to plan a garden, unless the planting season has already begun.
Decorate a tree with wooden painted eggs. Many people decorate outside trees with plastic eggs, but wooden eggs are an environmentally friendly alternative.
Decorate your home with symbols of new life. Bunnies, chicks, baby animals, seedlings, flowers are all fun things to decorate your home with.
Have some intimate time. Fertility is a big part of this holiday, though there are some superstitious people who don’t do it during this unless they’re trying to conceive.
Bake. Challa, hot cross buns, bunny or egg shaped cookies are all things that are appropriate for this season.
Read stories about the season. Read about the Green Man or Persophone. There are many stories about this time of year.
Do animal magic. This can be anything from pretending to be an animal with young kids to doing actual shamanic work.
Go bird watching. Birds tend to be more active this time of year. You may want to learn some nice calls as well.
Dance. Find some music and let yourself go!
Do an Ostara ritual. One of these days I will get around to writing some rituals for each sabbat. When I do that, I will post the link here.
Dress in new clothes. This is an old custom for this time of year.
Decorate your home or altar with evergreens. This used to be a common practice. There’s also something to be said for the pine smell. In recent years, plastic decorations seem to have prevailed. However, it is my opinion that a religion that considers nature to be sacred should use items from nature to decorate, if possible. Even if you don’t have access to evergreens to decorate with, most grocery stores sell wreaths made from real evergreens. Last year, I found a branch on the ground while taking a walk and left that on my altar with some pinecones. Just make sure to discard it after the holiday so you’re not sweeping up pine needles for the next year, like I did! Here are some great ideas for decorating with evergreens.
Decorate a Yule tree. I have had the same plastic tree for a number of years now because I just can’t afford to buy real ones every year. However, we try to decorate it naturally. We string cranberries and popcorn instead of garland. Ribbons in holiday colors can be tied in knots and how’s on the branches. You can use your own or make ornaments. My son recently found some red shredded paper in a gift box and started hanging it on the tree like tinsel.
Create and light a Yule log. There are many different options when it comes to Yule logs. If you can’t have a fire, you can take a lot, drill holes in it, and place candles there. Three is a traditional number, but I have also seen seven used. It is usually created out of birch. There are some folk traditions regarding Yule logs. If it is in the hearth, it is considered unlucky to have to light it twice. If it has candles, the youngest person present must light them (though it could prove problematic if you have a baby). While it is being lit, everyone should be silent, focusing on hopes and wishes for the new year. After it is lit, all other lights are put out until the log or the candles have been burned completely. While it is burning, stories can be told and board or card games played.
Baking. One of the most Pagan baked goods you can make is a Yule Log, which is also called a Bûche de Noël. As far as baking goes, these are definitely one of the more difficult items to bake. A Swedish tea ring can symbolize the wheel of the year, but is also a more advanced bake. You don’t have to be an expert to enjoy baking at Yule though. Simple sugar cookies are great, especially if you use Pagan themed cookie cutters. Even so, regular Christmas ones can be decorated in a Pagan way. Angels can become fairies, Santa can become the Holly King, etc. There are also Celtic cakes, icicle cookies, and many other great cookie recipes out there. I have a number of family recipes from Scandinavia that are traditional for my family like serina kakar and krum kakar (kakar is the Norwegian word for cookie). Most Yule breads are a little like fruitcakes with bits of dried fruit added.
Making resolutions. Some Pagans consider Samhain to be the last Sabbat of the wheel of the year. Yule is often thought of as a time for making a fresh start and new beginnings. You can share your resolutions or keep them to yourself. Either way, try and use smart goals to ensure that you are more likely to keep your resolution. Smart goals are specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and timely.
Helping the less fortunate. You can volunteer at a local soup kitchen, head a coat drive, donate food to your local food bank, or buy necessary items to give to the homeless. Even visiting local nursing homes and spending time with the residents is a kind thing to do this time of year. There are only a few Pagan charities that I am aware of. Angel Greer, author of Pagans of the Path, is heading a fundraiser to help those in need at Yule. The link will take you to her personal PayPal account, so make sure you specify that the money is for Yule. Dagda’s Cauldron, out of Ohio, I believe, is collecting food for the hungry. Here is a list of charities that, while not necessarily Pagan, many Pagans might be interested in donating money towards.
Cook and/or eat a feast. Historically, feasting was very popular this time of year. Without grocery stores and modern food preservation methods, during the winter you ate whatever you had managed to harvest and preserve. During Yule, if livestock were kept, many were slaughtered so they wouldn’t have to be fed over the winter and to provide food for the duration of the winter. Because of that, traditional Yule foods include meat, root vegetables, as well as grains and dried and preserved fruits, though in America, squash is also considered a staple.. The oldest records of Yule seem to indicate that boar or goat were the meats of choice, though any type of game was fine, including venison and pheasant. If you don’t have access to any of those foods, any other type of roasted meat is good too. Winter squashes like acorn squash, butternut squash, pumpkin, and other varieties of squash are native to the Americas, so they aren’t traditional foods for Europe, where Yule began, during this time of year, but seem to have become a holiday staple in recent years. Root vegetables were commonly consumed during this time as well. Potatoes, carrots, parsnips, onions, yams, turnips, and rutabagas are all good choices for a Yule feast. Wheat, the, barley, and oats were all common in Scandinavia, where Yule originated, for over 1,000 years, so they would all make excellent choices to accompany your meal. And of course, who can forget the right pudding?
Stay up all night. Because it is the l ongest night of the year, there are places where it was traditional to stay up all night long. This practice was usually combined with celebrating the rising of the sun.
Celebrate the sun rising on the morning after Yule. Traditionally, people rang bells to celebrate the return on the sun on the morning after Yule. My coven prefers to sing instead.
Sing songs. My family is particularly musical, so we love to sing. There are many Yule songs to choose from at this time of year. Here is an article I wrote on the subject. There is also a YouTube playlist that you could play as well, to set the holiday atmosphere.
Give gifts. The idea of gift-giving stems from the ancient Roman holiday of Sigillaria, which was celebrated on December 19th. Gifts were often small tokens that were not expensive, but meant something to the giver or givee. Toys were given to children. Gag gifts were common. Some expensive gifts were given, but as a general rule, most of the gifts given weren’t worth much money. Short poems on paper often accompanied the gifts, which may have been the origin of modern greeting cards.
Celebrating for multiple days. Historically, Yule (Jul back then) was celebrated for three days. It was said that with King Hakkon’s conversion to Christianity, he changed the date of Yule and passed a law that the feasting must last 12 days instead of three. However, I don’t think that’s where it came from. While 12 is a very Christian number, with the 12 disciples and all that, New Year’s Day is 12 days from Yule. In modern times, our extended family is large, so we really do end up celebrating for most of those 12 days with various relatives, partially because most of them celebrate Christmas instead. Some of you may prefer the three days or even stick with the one day.
Feed local wildlife. The simplest way to do this is to hang a bird feeder. However, some people decorate an outdoor tree with ornaments that are edible by the local wildlife. These ornaments can include strings of popcorn and cranberries, balls of diet, peanut butter and birdseed on pinecones, and dried fruit tied with bright string.
Spend time with family. Each family spends time together differently. Some love to play board games or card games. Some play video games. Every family has something they do together. My extended family gets together by all bringing homemade pizzas every year on Christmas Eve.
Spend some time outside. There is plenty to do if you have snow, such as snowmen, snowball fights, skiing, snowshoeing, etc. Even if there isn’t, you can take a walk outside and enjoy the winter, however it may be where you live.
Go a-wassailing (responsibly please). The English custom of wassailing involves going door-to-door singing. At each stop,you stay long enough to have a cup of wassail. Wassail can be alcoholic or non-alcoholic. Even if you don’t think your neighbors will participate, you can always make the drink for friends and family at home.
Leave food or offerings for mythological creatures. Christian kids leave cookies for Santa. Does the Holly King or someone else come to your house to leave presents for the kids? Leave them some food or drink they might like. Even if they don’t, now might be a good time to leave offerings to your land spirits to stay in their good grades.
Do a ritual. I intend to write a separate article on ritual ideas. When I do, I will link it here.
Celebrate Jolabokaflod. This is the Icelandic holiday where, on Christmas Eve, they all unwrap books and spend the night reading and eating chocolate. My family does something similar on Yule’s Eve.
One common question newer Wiccans have is about altars. Many of them want to create an altar, but don’t know where to start. Some traditions have specific ways of doing things. If that’s the case, do what your tradition requires. If not, the easiest thing to do is find something representing each of the elements.
Place a symbol of each element with the direction associated with each element. You may need a compass for this. This can be done cheaply or you can spend a lot of money. Here are some ideas for altars:
A candle for each element, in each color of the element.
Something simple for each element: a stone for earth, a feather for air, matches for fire, and a cup for water.
Salt in a bowl for earth, incense for air, a candle for fire, a bowl of water for water.
A pentacle for earth, a wand for air, an athame for fire, and a cauldron for water (see ritual tools).
You could have come a written symbol of each element.
You can put a corner shelf in each corner of the house or a room, one for each element.
If you have them, you can also honor deities on your altar. They typically go in the center of an altar. Some traditions state whether the Goddess or the God is on the left or on the right side of the altar.
You can find a mini statue of your deity.
Find what color is associated with your deity and place a candle of that color there.
Find what stone is associated with your deity and place it there
Find a drawing of your deity.
Create a representation of your deity, whether drawn, carved, or molded.
Find another symbol of your deity and place it there (a cat for Bast, a Thor’s hammer, etc.).
You can also create a separate altar for each deity.
There are other items you can include on an altar.
An altar cloth can help set the tone and keep your table or shelf protected from incense, candle wax, etc.
A bell. They are sometimes used during rituals.
Offerings to God’s or Goddesses.
Something that needs to be charged energetically.
Essential oils.
Plants.
Ritual jewelry.
In-progress spells and energy-work.
Decorations for the upcoming Sabbat or Esbat.
Anything else that you think helps you spiritually.
My personal altar is made from a repurposed TV stand
Midsummer or Litha takes place on the summer solstice (around June 21st in the northern hemisphere and December 21st in the southern hemisphere. This is my explanation of this holiday. It may or may not work for you and your path. There are a number of things that this Sabbat usually celebrates:
The power and strength of the sun
Various sun Gods
The longest day of the year
The Oak King takes over for the Holly King
Some ways of celebrating culturally are:
Have a bonfire
Eat foods that honor fire (usually spicy)
Eat seasonal foods
Go on a picnic
Go for a hike
Drink mead, but drink responsibly
Have a drum circle
Dance
Host a barbeque
Watch the sun rise
Spend time with family
Pick herbs
Make a flower or oak leaf crown or wreath
Pick seasonal foods (where I live, this means we go strawberry picking)
Watch A Midsummer Night’s Dream
Some ritual ideas are:
Fire magic
Drum or make other music
Dance or move
Honor a sun God
Reaffirm your relationship to any deities you work with
I realized that working on improving my spirituality alone wasn’t doing anything. Sadly, even blogging about it wasn’t doing anything either. I decided to start a Facebook group: Getting Unstuck: Pagans Restoring their Path. I had debated starting it for a long time because I was struggling too. What was I supposed to offer anyone who was going through the same problems I was?
It was interesting. Most of the people had some of the same problems of time. Others had just not done anything in a while and felt a disconnect. It has been nice to discuss this with others who go through the same things. I had a few initial ideas for the discussion of just getting to know everyone, but I don’t know where to go from there. On the bright side, I have meditated 4 out of 7 days this week, so I am happy about that! I feel like I’m starting to get a small connection back and my intuition seems to be slowly returning. Even so, I wish I knew what to do with this group and how to help everyone!
As I think I have stated before, we are trying to celebrate the Pagan sabbats (holidays) more as cultural holidays. For Imbolc, we planned to do a thorough cleaning of the house, to purify it, and have a dinner with my family with Imbolc-appropriate foods. My husband and I spent the first half of the day dusting, sweeping, vacuuming, and mopping our house. Even though there were still several areas that needed work, the areas that had been attended to (clothes, books, and papers) were starting to be happy areas amid the rest of the chaos. I was actually starting to be happy with how our house was looking!
Afterwards, we all went to go see two houses that were for sale in our area in our price range. Our price range was low and everything was in a “fixer-upper” category. We’ll see how the process goes!
We got back later than expected. I was going to make cheese pull-apart bread and my husband was going to make sugar-free brownies. He was also going to make homemade cheese curds for poutine (french fries with gravy and cheese curds). He did make the fries from scratch though. They were delicious! Everyone but me had iced cream for dessert.
In talking over the holiday with my mom and step-dad, they seemed to think that there should be something more to the holiday than they saw. Not being Pagan, I expected them to just want to eat dinner with us. However, I guess they wanted some weird Pagany stuff. I told them that divination was common and I could get out my tarot cards if they wanted (I’m really very bad at them, but I’m working to get better). Luckily for me they declined. Lighting candles is a big part of Imbolc, but I couldn’t figure out what we were going to do after those candles were lit! Although at the end of the evening, I realized story telling was also a good idea, so maybe we will try that next year!
I got started with a new sponsor. She seemed to be very thorough and to-the-point (which I like). She gave me a list of eating behaviors and asked which ones I did. She then gave me a bunch of rules that I needed to follow in addition to abstaining from sugar. I don’t remember all of them because many were non-issues for me. The ones I do remember are: don’t eat standing up, eat slowly, do not do anything else while eating (like play on your phone or watch tv), do not take seconds, do not hide your eating, do not eat in the car, and only weigh yourself once a week. I argued for weighing daily and for our movie night once a week where we share a big bowl of popcorn. She was willing to allow movie night, but not weighing more often than once a week. She did not ask that I provide her with my food ahead of time and seemed to trust that I was following the guidelines, which I was. There was one exception, but I figured it wouldn’t count. I wanted a banana for a snack. However, my son loves bananas and would want one if he saw me eat it. We only allow him one banana a day because they make him constipated and he already had one that day. So I ate a banana while standing and hiding so my son wouldn’t put up a fuss (he’s only one and a half).
With this new sponsor, I was flying through the steps. She had me read each step in the book and then discuss the step with her. There seemed to be some pivotal questions to answer and then I was onto the next step. Today I reached step 3: “Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood Him.” I knew I would have to deal with this eventually. I prayed and meditated for weeks hoping to find a deity willing to take on me and my recovery. Instead, I was met with silence. I finally decided to use “my-best-and-highest-self” or “Goddess-within-me” as my higher power. I’m glad I did, because when I thought about turning my will and life into the care of an outside deity, I think I would have had a more difficult time doing it. Instead, I could definitely turn my will and life over the best version of myself. Gods know, I am certainly not the best version of myself right now, but she is in there somewhere.
I attended my fourth meeting today. I had even convinced my husband to attend (albeit in the back). He has eating issues but is still convinced he can handle them on his own. Even so, he was curious about what happened at these meetings. He was called out at the beginning of the meeting for not being part of it. The woman who did this was the only sponsor in the room (what a great example). She claimed she was concerned about anonymity (even though this was an open meeting) and told him to go sit in another room. I was annoyed but stayed because I am abstinent for 33 days today and was looking forward to getting my coin for 30 days of abstinence.
The meeting continued with their usual announcements at the beginning, including “children are welcome so long as they are supervised”. My 1.5 year old son was there, giggling, running around and smiling at everyone. He was never an issue before. In fact, I was told to bring him back because he was a sweet boy. Now I am not one of those parents who is deluded in thinking that my terror of a son is a sweet boy. My son did not scream or cry. He didn’t even babble much and when he did it wasn’t that loud. They asked if my husband could look after my son. I said he could for today, but that there were days when I would have to bring him. I brought my son to my husband in the other room who suggested we leave. I agreed with him and started crying because I really felt unwelcome. One woman came out and apologized for the others and begged me not to give up OA because of it. I told her I didn’t intend to, but that I wasn’t going to drive an hour to go to that meeting again either. I was livid. There were no other meetings within an hour drive of me (except for the ones that met when I was at work). I never did get my coin.
I received a phone call from one of the members of the meeting about an hour later. Apparently after I left, they were all discussing how they could have handled it better. They decided to add language at the beginning of the meeting to mention that all who were interested in OA were welcome at the meeting. Unfortunately, they also changed the language at the beginning of the meeting from “all children are welcome if they are supervised” to “all children are welcome, but they must be in a different room from the meeting.” There is no way in hell I’m putting my one and a half year old in another room by himself (or with another child). So basically I can only go when I had child care, meaning my husband would stay at home with him when he could. That also meant that he could not come to meetings with me. I am very angry that this happened. I resent them for the way they treated my family today. I also resent them for changing the rules so I could no longer attend regularly. I am told that the next step is all about resentments, so this next step should be fun.
I’m going to start this post by stating that I live in the U.S.A.. This is relevant because here we supposedly have freedom of religion. Basically, The First Amendment to the “United States Constitution prevents the government from making laws which respect an establishment of religion, prohibit the free exercise of religion….” There is also a clause preventing workplaces from discriminating on a number of factors, one being religion. The exception is if the employer is a religious institution.
Just because the laws say there shouldn’t be any discrimination against religions, doesn’t mean it doesn’t happen. It just means that employers can’t mention your religion when they fire you for it. I’m pretty sure I have been fired for my religion at least twice in my life. It could have been more than that, but when I get fired because I’m “not a good fit” with a school district, yet they kept a teacher who literally held a student forcibly against a wall and lied about his knowledge of the subject matter he was supposed to be teaching, it’s pretty clear there was something off about their explanation of my firing.
Why is this coming up now? I was chatting with my husband the other day. He couldn’t understand why I enjoyed watching The Good Witch. I explained that not only is it the most accurate portrayal of Paganism that I’ve seen on TV, but also that I have a dream of one day of moving somewhere and finally being accepted for who I really am, Paganism and all. My husband flat out told me that it would never happen. I held back my tears and told him I needed time to myself. He assumed it was for another reason and I let him. When I got there, I cried. I cried for all of the times that I have had to move. I cried because he had almost dashed my hopes that it was possible to be accepted in a small town for being Pagan.
While I have gotten good at hiding it from my employers over the past 5 years or so, my son will be starting pre-K in the district I work in before I get tenure. I had a choice. I could hide my religion from my son or I can live my truth at home and hope that when the time comes, I will have been there long enough that they will overlook it. I refuse to hide who I am from my son, so that’s the option I’m going for right now.
Having to hide who I am in order to get (and keep) a teaching job really hurts. It’s not like I would ever teach my students about my religion. I just want to be able to wear a pentacle to work without worrying about being fired. I want to be able to take my holidays off of work without fearing that I will lose my family’s sole source of income.
It really pisses me off when I see some of my Christian friends complain that there is a “war on Christmas” because people say “Happy Holidays”. Really!? Christmas is a national fucking holiday! Or when they complain that they’re being discriminated against because they can’t pray in schools. Uh, actually, the students can. They just can’t have it be led or required in any way by the school or any adult. Not to mention if I had a dollar for the number of times someone on the Pagan Parenting group that I’m part of complained about the promotion of religion by someone at their school, I would be rich.
I’m just sick of feeling like this. I’m sick of hiding who I am. I’m sick of worrying about losing my job if I do anything to even hint at being Pagan. The gays had their chance at rights. They’re working on transgender rights now. I just wish there was something that I could do. But there’s already a law that’s supposedly protecting me. It just doesn’t. Please comment and tell me that there’s hope. I want to know that there are some open Pagans out there — preferably in small towns and teaching positions, that are actually accepted for who they are.
One thing that I find is that the more experienced I get, the less ritual tools I need. I will list some of the more commonly used ritual tools in Wicca and their uses. Also, all tools should be consecrated (cleansed). Usually this is done by the four elements (passing it through incense, passing it through flame, sprinkling water on it, and sprinkling salt or earth on it).
This is actually the one I have on my altar
Athame – Pronounced “ah – thah – meh” , this a ritual knife. Different traditions have different ideas about what this should look like. Some state what color the handle must be, what it is made of, or whether or not the blade should be double-edged. It is associated with the element of fire but some traditions believe it is associated with the element of air. It is often used for channeling and directing energy, cutting things for ritual purposes, and sometimes for casting a circle or calling the elements.
Wand – This is probably the most famous ritual tool and appears in many movies about witches and wizards. However, magic doesn’t happen like that in real life. The wand has little to no power of its own. Like the athame, it is a channel for energy and is also used to direct it. Unlike the athame, it’s usually made out of wood and is associated with the element of air but some traditions associate it with the element of fire. There are many traditions that state how long a wand should be or what should or shouldn’t be added to the wood. It is usually used for casting a circle.
Chalice- This usually represents the element of water. It can be used to share ritual drinks. It can also hold liquids that are used as an offering on an altar. It can represent a womb or a vagina in various workings as well.
Pentacle – This usually represents the element of earth. It can be made of ceramic, wood, or metal depending on your preferences or that of your tradition. A pentacle has the symbol of a five pointed star surrounded by a circle. Contrary to popular belief, it does not have to be ‘point up’ or ‘point down’. I haven’t seen it used often in rituals and believe that its primary purpose is to help provide grounding and to be a symbol of spirituality. Sometimes it is kept in the middle of the altar as well.
Incense – Incense varies based on the herbs and the scents. While it is considered an air element, the uses vary based on what type of incense you are using. For example, sage is usually used for cleansing and purification.
Candle – Candles usually represent the element of fire, but their uses can vary depending on their color. For example, they can be used to represent the four elements if you choose candles with colors representing each element. They can also represent a God or Goddess. They can be inscribed with symbols, herbs, or oils for a purpose and burned to achieve that purpose.
Cauldron – These are also often associated with witches. Cauldrons can be used similar to a chalice to represent a womb. They are associated with the element of water. They can also be used to combine herbs or “potions”. Mostly, I have seen them used to burn pieces of paper with words written on them.
Salt – Salt is sometimes left as an offering in a dish or used as a cleansing/purifying agent.
Crystals and gemstones- Crystals are often chosen for a purpose (for example amethyst is used to promote the psychic abilities). Gemstones all have different uses and affiliations, similar to incense. Clear quartz can be imbibed with power and used for a specific purpose. They can also be used to represent the different elements or a specific deity.
One of the reasons I started this blog was because I was feeling really stagnant in my spirituality. I used to just celebrate the Sabbats with my Circle. Then I moved away for a year and didn’t really celebrate them much at all. I am really trying to find a way to live as a Pagan rather than just be like one of those Christians who goes to church on just Easter and Christmas. I am back, but moved a bit far to make it to every Circle, though I am close enough to attend some of them now.
Anyway, what I really want to do is make Paganism a daily habit and a family identity, now that my son is 15 months old. Now is the time to start new habits and traditions because my son will grow up thinking that this is the way things have always been because he won’t remember a time when they weren’t! My religion was always very internalized. It doesn’t help that I have to hide it at work, so my practice has almost always been in my mind and my heart. It’s difficult to do this with any religion that one converts to because one must start from scratch and learn to start incorporating new traditions. At least with the book religions, there is a set way of doing things. One thing I like about eclectic Paganism is that you can pick and choose what you like. The down-side is I have to pick and choose how to practice. There are a number of things that I need to do:
a grace or blessing for food (I wanted something relatively short and simple that rhymes, but haven’t found one that really resonates with me yet)
create holiday traditions
find some sort of meaningful daily practice that ties into my religion
find or make some Pagan decor
decorate for each holiday
make decorations for each holiday
find a way of explaining each holiday to my family and friends and find a way for them to celebrate it with us if they choose (and if appropriate)
change language from Christian to Pagan (like instead of “oh my God” replace it with “oh my Goddess”, ‘Jesus Christ” can become “Odin’s balls”, etc.)
find some Pagan-friendly children’s books to read to my son
I really like writing this blog because it gives me the opportunity to reexamine my beliefs. I have been focusing on book reviews and Sabbats lately. I love going through my books and rating them based on their usefulness to me! I also love doing each of the Sabbat posts! It’s really starting to give me some more ideas for how to celebrate each Sabbat. I have some ideas for the future too! Once I’m done with the Sabbats, I will move onto the Esbats. Then I will continue onto different deities, ritual tools, spells, and rituals. Oddly enough, out of all of those, I am least familiar with the deities. It’s probably because I see all of the deities around the world as just aspects of one Goddess and one God who, in turn, are just the male and female aspects of one energy/deity/being. As such, I really haven’t researched many of their identities or lore. Ugh, so much to do, so little time!
Anyway, I would love to hear any suggestions you have for ways to incorporate Paganism into daily practice, please leave a comment! Also, if there’s some content you would like to see on here, please comment and let me know!
