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The Magic of Mullein
Mullein is one of those herbs I often forget about because I don’t grow it, mostly because it prefers dry soil and I’ve always lived in places that had rich, fertile ground. Recently, however, I moved to the hills of North Appalachia, and while I’ve got a nice dark-soil empty lot available for my planting adventures, behind my house is a steep hillside covered with dry, almost clay-like earth… and all kinds of things are growing wild upon it, including mullein. At first, honestly, I thought it was a random sprig of lamb’s ear, and then its telltale yellow flowers bloomed… yep, it’s mullein. In fact, it’s not just my…
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The Final Sheaf
In many societies, the cutting of the final sheaf of grain around Lammas time was indeed cause for celebration. People celebrated by making corn dolls, which represented the spirit of the grain. Sometimes these dolls were full-sized, made of the last stalks of corn to be harvested, and decorated with ribbons, streamers and even articles of clothing. Ivy was a symbol of rebirth, and so it wasn’t uncommon to dress the corn doll with a headdress of ivy. In some rural areas, the corn doll was kept in a place of honor at a farmhouse in the village, until it was time to make one the following year. At…
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The Spirit of the Grain Fields
In European cultures, a corn doll was often used to represent the spirit of the harvested crops. However, Europe didn’t have a monopoly on this at all. In South American countries, some communities took the largest portion of the crops — typically maize — and dressed it in clothing as an effigy. In Peru, people honored different spirits of the crops. The Maize Mother was the zara mama, the spirit of quinoa (please, for the love of dog, pronounce it KEEN-wa!) was known as quinoa mama, and everything from the cocoa tree to the lowly potato had a life essence. In North America, the native tribes grew corn, or maize,…
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Celebrate Lammas with Bread Magic
When Lammas, or Lughnasadh, rolls around, many modern Pagans celebrate the harvest of the grain crops. This is nothing new – for our ancestors, the grain harvest was a cause for great celebration. A successful harvest meant families would be able to bake and store bread through the winter – and that could mean the difference between life and death for many. The word “Lammas” comes from the Old English phrase hlaf-maesse, which translates to “loaf mass.” Today, it’s not uncommon to find a celebration of bread at a Pagan festival during the Lammas season. There are a number of different ways that bread itself can be incorporated into a…
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Basil Magic
I love me some basil, and here in Middle Earth, those shiny green leaves are blooming all over the gardens — although in my case, it’s all in pots and containers because I just moved, but whatever. I’ll put fresh basil on anything, and I’m a total whore for pesto sauce. Basil, part of the mint family, is known far and wide as a culinary herb, but it also contains some interesting magical properties. In Mediterranean countries, it is strewn on floors to purify a home. It also can bring luck to people moving into a new residence — a gift of a potted basil plant guarantees good fortune, so…
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July 19, 1692: Rebecca Nurse
In 1692, nearly two dozen people were put to death in Salem, Massachusetts, for the crime of witchcraft. One of them, Rebecca Nurse, was hanged on July 19. Rebecca was born the daughter of William Towne and his wife Joanna Blessing Towne, in 1621. As a teenager, her parents relocated from Yarmouth, England, to the village of Salem, Massachussetts. When Rebecca was about 24, she married Frances Nurse, who made trays and other wooden household items. Frances and Rebecca had four sons and four daughters together. The Nurse family lived on a tract of land owned by the Putnam family, and they had been involved in a number of nasty land…
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Hoo Boy, This Email About Ritual Sex Tho…
Y’all, I’ve been writing and publishing content on Ye Olde Interwebz since the glory days of the mid-2000s, the Naught Oughties, when AOL Chat Rooms still existed and many people were still using dial-up to get online. And over these many years, I’ve gotten some real winners (ahem) in my email box, from Bible thumpers offering me a one-way ticket to hell to people who think chubby chicks shouldn’t be Pagan to random dick pics from strangers (hint: they’re never impressive). And every once in a very great while, I get an email from someone who has glommed onto me because THEY MUST KNOW ALL ABOUT PAGAN SEX. And apparently…
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Bear Folklore and Legends
I was recently chatting with someone about the protective nature of teddy bears as talismans for kids — especially those who might have trouble with sleep disruptions — and it occurred to me that this a good time to repost this short article I wrote years ago, which is no longer available on the About/LearnReligions network. There are many animals associated with magical myths and legends throughout a variety of cultures. The bear may be one of the most widely recognized animals — from the plains tribes of the Pacific Northwest to the travelers of the Russian steppes, the bear has appeared in folklore for a very long time. Let’s look…
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The Magic of Hex Signs
I live in a place that has a goodly amount of German-descended folks in the rural population, so occasionally when I’m out cruising along back roads I’ll pass the occasional barn with a hex sign on it. Although hex signs are not associated with modern Wicca, or even ancient Pagan religions, they are certainly worth taking note of, because they’re a really cool and artistic form of folk magic. Found mostly in the Pennsylvania Dutch country, hex signs — also called barn stars — are symbols painted on homes, cradles, and barns for a variety of magical purposes. The tradition originated in Germany and Switzerland. During the waves of emigration…
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Hooray for Handfasting Cakes!
Coming on the heels of my post the other day about handfasting favors for guests, a reader messaged me and asked about cakes. Now, anyone who knows me knows I’m all about That Cake Lyfe, so I’m happy to weigh in. Fortunately, I wrote an article many years ago in the AboutDotCom days, which has since been redirected away from the internet, but like the digital packrat I am, I save a lot of stuff… so here we go. If you’re holding a handfasting instead of a traditional wedding, you may want to do something special instead of just having a traditional cake. Sharing a cake with your new spouse is…
