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January 24: The Festival of Sementivae
January 24 is the festival of Sementivae, which is a planting festival that honors Ceres and Tellus. Ceres, of course, is the Roman grain goddess, and Tellus is the earth itself. This festival was held in two parts — the first part was held from January 24 to January 26, honoring Tellus, and was a season of sowing the fields. The second part, which began a week later on February 2, honored Ceres as the goddess of agriculture. Ceres is the Roman variant of Demeter, who is strongly tied with the changing of the seasons. This whole celebration centered around praying for a good harvest in the coming seasons — after…
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Tumbleweed Magic
So, I recently found myself in possession of a pair of large tumbleweeds, plucked from a roadside in the middle of Montana. Now, keep in mind that I don’t live anywhere near Montana at all, so it was a neat surprise and quite a novelty to get them, and it stemmed from a long-running joke in my family’s group text. Regardless, now I’ve got these two big-ass tumbleweeds sitting on my front porch because honestly, it seems like a shame to just ignore them but also WHAT THE HELL CAN I DO WITH THEM?? Naturally, the first thing I did was google “what can I do with tumbleweeds?” which led…
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Plan a Goddess Garden
Last summer I bought a little cottage in the woods that has a decent sized yard. After three years of renting a house, and two years of apartment living before that, I am SO ready to plant a permanent, long-term garden. I’m already mapping out my raised beds along the fence, with a few nice arches for trellised plants like squashes, cucumbers, and the like. I’ve got cattle wire along my fence to keep the dog contained, but it seems like it might be a good place to add a few grapevines as well. There will be a spot for all the kitchen herbs – and of course, the magical…
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Magical Birds in Your Garden
OK, I know it’s really early to start talking about gardening — where I live, we don’t plant until Mother’s Day because frost — but still, it’s been sunny and not totally frigid, and the birds were doing bird things this morning outside my window. Birds do good things for your garden, like snacking on pests and insects, so why not invite them into your yard? During the spring, birds are busily building their nests. Many species have returned from wintering somewhere else, and eggs are getting ready to hatch. If you’d like to attract wild birds to your yard, provide them with places to nest that are safe and…
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Honoring the Ancestors When You’re Adopted
A reader asks, “I have a question about the “honoring ancestors” tenet. I am adopted, and don’t know my biological parents. When I envision my ancestors do I just think generally? For example, I am African American, do I just think of (for lack of a better term) random black people?” Answer: Well, first of all, keep in mind that not ALL Pagan traditions include ancestor veneration as part of their belief or practice. There’s no hard and fast rule that says you have to do this, or that if you don’t, you’re not a Real Pagan™. However, many Pagans do include honoring their ancestors as part of their practice…
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The 2022 Pagan Calendar
So, back when I was writing for About.com/ThoughtCo/LearnReligions, one of my most popular pages was the annual calendar, which featured things like full moon dates, Sabbats, and other items I thought might be of interest. Since I’m no longer writing for them, and have no way to edit or update the calendar on LearnReligions — and because people keep asking me for the annual calendar — I’m going to go ahead and post it here. Please note that some of the links will take you back to LearnReligions for more detail — also, I’ll be updating this periodically to reflect festivals, conferences, and other events as I become aware of…
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Yule On a Budget
Wondering how you’re going to make it through Yule when you’re working on a tight budget or fixed income? Here are some of my top tips on how to make Yule a budget-friendly part of your year. 1. Look At How Much You’ve Got to Spare First, figure out how much you’re going to spend on gifts for others, and for your family. If cash is tight, think about making gifts instead of buying them. Also, pare down the gift list — is there someone you constantly buy a gift for that you really don’t want or need to? Ask them if it’s okay to skip the exchange this year.…
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Surviving the Holidays with Your Non-Pagan Family
In some families, the holiday get-together is something we look forward to. In fact, it may be the only time you even see some members of your family. However, if you’re a Pagan and the rest of them aren’t, there are times when the winter holidays can be a bit awkward. So what can you do to make the season’s celebrations a bit more harmonious? First of all, remember that this is a day for families to get together and enjoy themselves. It’s not a day to battle about religion or anything else. If your extended family celebrates a Christian holiday, no matter how you feel about Christianity, don’t choose this…
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Don’t Let Yule Stress You Out
It should be the happiest time of year, right? After all, the Yule season is when we celebrate the return of the sun, and the days start to get a little brighter. The mundane world is observing Christmas and Hanukkah, gifts are being given all over the place — it should be a season of great joy. Yet for many people, late fall and early winter are a time when frustrations begin to build, and anxiety (and often depression) set in. Between getting together with family, preparing big meals, shopping for gifts, decorating the house, and spending money on others, for many people Yule can be a time of overwhelming stress. Here…
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Make a Blessing Bag
Does your group or coven ever do a service project to help others? Each year during the Yule season — or at least, when we’re not in the middle of a global pandemic — my group comes up with a community-based project to work on. We’ve adopted needy families, done a hat drive for underprivileged schools, and sent toys to kids who might not have had any otherwise. We’ve given new clothes, diaper packs, feminine hygiene supplies, grocery store gift cards, turkey dinners, you name it. And each year, this simple contribution makes a huge difference in the lives of someone in our community. A few years back, however, my…
