Lupercalia is /was a Roman holiday which was celebrated every place they colonized, including the British Isles. The day for the celebration is Feb. 15th. It's about wolves and sex, so what's not to love?





​Here's what AI has to say about it:

Lupercalia was an ancient Roman pagan festival on February 15 focused on purification and fertility, involving priests (Luperci) sacrificing goats and dogs, smearing their blood on young men's foreheads, then running naked or semi-naked around the Palatine Hill whipping women with goat-hide strips for good luck and fertility. It celebrated purification and health for the city, linked to the legendary she-wolf that nursed Rome's founders, Romulus and Remus, and its rituals included feasting, ritualistic blood, and a lively, sometimes wild, atmosphere, with some scholars linking its timing and themes to modern Valentine's Day.

Here's a link from the History Channel:

https://www.history.com/articles/lupercalia 

Bindings and Hexings, Handle With Care: (part one)

(warning, there is a political statement in this post, but it’s germane to the topic, I promise)

Witches in the 1970s – 80s were very much against using any type of hex or curse, because they wanted to distance themselves from the media’s negative image of witchcraft, as well as from the practice of diabolism. Authors and clergy were quick to proclaim “We are not Satanists!” Which is true, we’re not.

Wiccans from that era looked to “the threefold law,” which proclaims “an it harm none, do as you will.”

The first part, the Threefold Law, means that energy or intent sent out three times will come back to the sender in the same amount, or enhanced three times. For example, if a Witch curses someone with Covid, they might themselves die of the illness. This is also called rebound energy or a reversal, and in folk-magick, a bounce-back or a swing-around. Some modern folks equate it with the Hindu religious concept of Karma, which is rather different – yet it’s still used in popular lexicon. Think of John Lennon’s song about Instant Karma.

The second part, the Harm None, means that as long as no person or entity will be caused any pain, difficulty, or other harm, we can pretty much do as we please.

There are many interpretations of those tenets. It’s impossible to do NO harm – every time we breathe, we kill certain microbes. And what kind of harm? Is it okay to hurt someone in the short term, for long-term benefit? For example, getting stabbed with a needle hurts, but not getting tetanus is worth it. Breaking up someone from an abusive partner might cause them temporary angst, but it’s worth it in that they are no longer being abused.

Yet nowadays, there are all kinds of debates about the ethics of binding someone, or downright cursing them.
There’s even proscriptions against “curse-shaming,” which means chiding someone for sending baneful energies to a bona-fide enemy.

I tend to be in this camp, reason one – because I have seen that the “three-fold law” is not just a witchcraft religious tenet, but an actual LAW, like the Law of Gravity. I’ve seen some serious bounce-backs, some really immediate and painful reversals happen. Someone does something awful – cursing someone to steal their boyfriend, zapping a rival to get their job – then the person who sent the baleful magic drops dead. No, I am not exaggerating.

Reason two – because it’s not our place to cause harm, ourselves, any more than I can smash my snowplow into someone who taps my fender in traffic. That’s the job of the Gods and the courts, respectively.
We can petition the greater Law and say, “Hey, Jimmy is doing XX harmful action, please make him stop.” We can appeal to deities who represent justice, like Taranis or Hekate, and ask for the individual to be given lessons, awareness, or even punishment.

Reason three – because I personally tend to go too far in retribution, which is a character flaw that I’m working on. Just because the restaurant worker forgot my salad fork is no reason to get them fired. Or make them fall down the stairs and break a leg. Just next time, please remember that I don’t want to eat my cole slaw with my fingers, okay?

Binding means stopping someone from doing something. As with any magick, finesse and subtlety must be employed. Binding someone from, say, causing you problems at work must be expressed in such a way that the individual actually stops doing harm, but is not harmed, themselves. Not getting canned. Not having their child get sick, so they have to stay home.

Some of the bindings and hexes I’ve mentioned are actually symptoms of borderline personality disorder. Being a psychopath. Not caring how you affect others. Which is just awful. It puts the witch who sent the curse on the level with someone who shoots a gun into a crowd.

Now for the political stuff: Okay, I do not like president Trump. I think he is senile, and not a nice person to begin with. I think many of his policies are whack. Anyway. During his first term, some Witches did a mass spell, a nationwide working, to bind and /or curse Trump. Their reasoning was fairly pure – they wanted him to not be able to harm anyone. However, their execution was pretty terrible. I find it not to be a coincidence that right after these Witches did their working to hex Trump, Covid-19 happened. Businesses were shut down, and many small businesses went under. The economy tanked. Thousands of people became homeless. The government was moribund. And, well, a million people died. Yes, Trump was stopped, and didn’t get reelected. But at what cost?

Then, Trump came back, and now is even worse. Wouldn’t it have been better to do a mass working for “the good of the country and all its people”??? Maybe add that Marian Weinstein caveat, “this working is to do no harm and be for the good of all”. Yeah.

Bindings can also stick a person / situation in the same place, rather then preventing them from doing further harm. So if you want the bully to stop hurting your kid, a binding might stick him in the same classroom, doing the same behavior. You want your spells to manifest for the best possible outcome, right? So be careful how you word them.
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Most of our summer was spent facing a serious challenge. 

One of our dear loved ones was faced with an episode of mania and psychosis. These conditions are not like they are portrayed in the media. Nor are they like what is described by psychologists. The individual may become very hyperactive, and personable, and energetic. Sentences become incoherent, reasoning is something out of a fairy-tale, and impulsivity is rampant. They can also transform into an unrecognizable screaming rage demon, leaving their family members baffled. It's a total Jeckyl-and-Hyde experience. It's even worse when they have Anosognosia, which means they do not understand that they are ill.

The so-called "mental health community" proved to be no help whatsoever. Because I did not have guardianship, I could not get diagnosis or speak on my loved one's behalf for treatment. Guardianship is needed to get the paperwork in order to get guardianship. It's a Catch-22.  None of the doctors, social workers, or court officials seemed to have any clue as to what to do (until the second hospitalization, see below).

Holding a person against their will, even one who is maniacally raving, is against the law. It's considered kidnapping. So is forcing an adult to take prescribed medication.

If you wonder why there is such a severe homelessness problem in America, this is why. The psychotic individual often runs off into the wilderness -- or city homeless encampments, same thing -- and gets lost. Literally lost. For six weeks, we did not know if our loved one was even alive.

They can go to an emergency room, and be "petitioned" to go to a mental health facility. It can take several days, and they are often held for only a few days. This is not long enough for treatment to take effect. Then they are released while still psychotic. Rinse and repeat.

They often get into trouble with the law, for screaming at strangers, panhandling, relieving themselves in public, attacking other people, and public intoxication. Some of them fatally attack people, such as the person with mania who stabbed 11 innocent bystanders in a Walmart in Traverse City. The mentally ill individuals often self-medicate with dangerous street drugs such as methamphetamine and fentanyl. This just makes their condition worse. 

My loved one was raging, screeching, and throwing things inside an oncology clinic, which they mistook for a hospital emergency room. They were arrested, petitioned, and court-ordered to a mental health facility. It was a nightmare -- for them, for their family members, as well as the cancer clinic patients and personnel. My loved one has no idea what they did to warrant being locked up.

Most doctors are unwilling to sign papers granting guardianship, or even to diagnose severe mental illness.

Finally a nurse found a paper that had been signed a few years ago, graning me limited power of attorney, which I could use to get court documents and hospital records. I was able to use this to petition for guardianship, which costs money, and to convince mental health professionals to hold my loved one against their will and to do some type of aftercare. One individual from "Integrated Services of Kalamazoo" and a social worker at the mental health facility were helpful. But it took an arrest, petition, and court order, as well as lots of groveling from me, to get there. And prayers and workings. Many, many prayers and workings.

Both political parties contributed to this mess. Liberals insist that mentally ill people have "rights", even though the individuals have no comprehension about what is wrong, what treatment is needed, their anti-social behaviors, and sometimes, ​not even their own name. They closed all of the long-term mental health facilities, claiming they were "cruel". Like letting someone who is incapacitated live outdoors without food, water, or medication isn't. Like letting them rave at innocent bystanders isn't. Conservatives cut funding for needed services. Both of them are culpable for our current mental health crisis and homeless epidemic.

I have some solutions to this problem, but I'll save it for another day. I'm exhausted.

​Since last posting, I’ve had lots of exciting things occur in my work life.

WitchCon Online was an amazing magickal conference that has presenters from all over the USA and the world, giving classes on a plethora of subjects. Despite a couple technical glitches on my end, I’d say my “Magick 101 for newbies” went very well.

Our first WitchCraft TV show, “Festival Fun” were posted on the WitchCraft TV site, www.witchcrafttv.online and on their You Tube page. We interviewed the always-interesting Christian Day as well as two of the con-chairs from ConVocation Take a look! 

Our family attended ConVocation – always a wonderful time – and presented a few classes for kids and teens, including a folkplay, the Stag Hunt. Shad the Stag was well and thoroughly dispatched. Awaiting photos! The entire event was so well-organized and everyone was very friendly and nice. And drumming. Lots and lots of drumming. We had a blast!

Recently, I have been reporting on my news site some disturbing events in my tiny Midwestern city. Our local council, who were annoyed by people spreading rumors, adopted the following resolution:
"Motion to allow City Attorney ___ to file charges with the court against all parties involved in statements that have caused harm to the city."

Anyone who knows anything about the Constitution, the Bill of Rights, and the First Amendment will see a problem with this resolution. The attorney later quantified the resolution to say that it actually meant statements that were "untrue" and "defaming".  But that is NOT what it actually says. As worded, the resolution could mean complaints about blight, calling the police to report a crime, criticism of government, funny parodies of city officials, NEWS ARTICLES, or ANY statement which the council and the attorney deem harmful. What matters is WHAT is WRITTEN, because that is what passes into LAW.

The same thing must be considered when doing acts of MAGICK.

When speaking your will into manifestation, choose your words carefully. Think it over. Write them down. Practice them to yourself silently, before enacting a rite to bring them into being. Ensure that your word is truly expressing your will. 

For example, say you do a rite to increase your abundance. Do you want an abundance of kittens, an abundance of weeds in your yard, or an abundance of money? How do you want your abundance to manifest? Do you want a beloved relative to die and leave you their life insurance? Do you want to be injured and collect a settlement, yet be disabled for the rest of your life? Or do you want your hard work and good ideas to pay off?

Be very cautious in uttering words of power. You wish to manifest your desires in ways that are beneficial, specific, and positive. Boed Felli / So Be It!

Just a friendly reminder, WitchCon Online is coming up THIS weekend. My class is Saturday at 11:30 Eastern Daylight time. It is geared for those brand-new to the Craft. Other classes are for everyone from beginners to initiates to those who've practiced for many years. There are over 100 presenters, including very famous authors and teachers: Maxine Sanders, Laurie Cabot, Silver Ravenwolf, Priestess Miriam, Oberon Zell, David Shi, Z Budapest, and many more. The presenters represent traditions from around the world: Bulgaria, the UK, Australia, Brazil, Korea, African-American Hoodoo and Voudoun, and so many more. WitchCon only costs $100 and you can watch ALL the videos, including those from previous years, forever afterward. There are also vendors, a drumming circle / concert, and opening and closing rituals. Please join us!

Many common Imbolc and Candlemas rites have to do with counting the days until Springtime. Of course, it's six more weeks until the Spring Equinox, no matter what.

Phil The Groundhog saw his shadow in Punxsutawney, PA, meaning six more weeks of winter weather. Yet Woody from Michigan did NOT see her shadow, predicting an early spring. Good news, since we sometimes get slammed with snow as late as April 29. In Medieval England, it was a badger who predicted the weather.  This tradition may have come from the Teutonic countries, brought to the USA by German immigrants.

In Ireland, the Cailleach Buehr (old woman of Winter) used the hours of sunshine to gather more firewood to burn during a long winter season. If it was cloudy on Brigid's Day, the Cailleach would sleep in, ensuring that spring would arrive earlier. The Cailleach may be the flip-side of the Goddess Bridget, in her Crone aspect. 

Christian traditions replaced some of this Pagany stuff with their own rites, including burning candles for various spiritual reasons. Yet candles were also used for lighting the home during the long winter evenings. For the first time since Halloween (in the Eastern Daylight time zone) the sun sets AFTER 6PM. The period of daylight will lengthen until the Summer Solstice. There is a little verse about it: "After the time of Candlemas Day, goodfolk put your candles away."

In Cymru / Wales, Imbolc wasn't widely celebrated, prolly because the sheep were busy lambing, and the people were outside helping them at 3:00 AM. Instead, Catholics celebrated Gwyl Fair y Canwhyllau, pretty much the same as Candlemas, in which candles were blessed in church for the year. Yet there are plenty of Pagan overtones: divination, processions, candle-lit vigils, wassailing, and Mari Lwyds. If sunlight shown through the window, there would be a good harvest in autumn. You can read an article (in English) on Nation Cymru here: https://nation.cymru/feature/gwyl-fair-y-canhwyllau-marked-across-wales-today/
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One of the symbols of approaching springtime is the snowdrop, the first flower to emerge in spring, often poking through the snow. The ones in my yard have yet to come up, since we still have a foot of packed, frozen snow covering them. In fact, the snowdrops might wait 'til March.