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Samhain Ritual for Families with Kids
If you’re raising kids in a Pagan tradition, it can sometimes be hard to find rituals and ceremonies that are both age appropriate and celebrate the aspects of the particular Sabbat. Factor in that small children tend to have a shorter attention span, and the days of standing in a circle for an hour watching someone chant are pretty much out of reach. That said, there are plenty of ways you can celebrate the different Sabbats with your children. This ritual is designed to celebrate Samhain with younger kids. Obviously, if your children are older, or you have younger kids who are very focused and mature, you may not need…
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Samhain Divination
In many agricultural societies, a popular pastime at Samhain was that of divining the name of one’s future lover. Some revealed a face, others an initial or even a full name. These traditional methods were practiced in rural societies for centuries. You can use them today for your own divination. Apple Divination Apples have always been popular tools for foretelling the future. There are a number of traditional methods in folklore for seeing who one’s lover might be. Peel the apple, keeping the peel in one long piece. When the peel comes off, drop it on the floor. The letter it forms is the first initial of your true love’s…
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Halloweenery: The Green Skinned Witch Issue
From the magical mailbag, a reader asks, “I’m not sure if I’m overreacting or not. Every year at Halloween, there are green, ugly, warty witches everywhere and my son keeps asking me to buy one. I don’t want him to think that witches are ugly – after all, his mommy is a witch – but it seems like it’s all over the place at Halloween. On the other hand, I know it’s meant in the spirit of fun and silliness, and I don’t want to make a big deal out of something that’s small. How can I figure out a way to talk to my son about the stereotypes of…
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Ghosts, Poltergeists, and Hauntings, Oh My!
Belief in ghosts, poltergeists, and other entities is not something that is unique to the Pagan religious traditions. Many people – Pagan and otherwise – accept the existence of some sort of spiritual plane, a place where a variety of entities exist beyond the veil. Because this is a discussion topic that is often popular in the Pagan community, particularly around the Samhain season, we’re going to take a brief look at ghosts, poltergeists and other types of hauntings. As with many aspects of the metaphysical world, it’s hard to define exactly what a ghost is. However, there are a number of theories about what ghosts could be. The most popular theory is…
