Left: "Death" is removed from the village.        Right: "Life" is returned to the village with the May Queen.

More Information: https://www.facebook.com/events/1467466783804446 

In April, 2015, there was a near total lunar eclipse visible in the dawn hours over Lake MI. Here are photos.

Things you can do:
*Look up the exact times that the eclipse begins, its peak, and its end.
*Use a hole-punch to make a round hole in a piece of cardboard. Hold it over a second flat piece of white cardboard. You’ll be able to see the eclipse progress on the paper.
*Take pictures!
*Look at the eclipse through welders’ goggles. Or look at the surrounding area – NOT directly at the sun – with special eclipse glasses.

*Enjoy, because it won't happen again for 21 years.

*Use this occasion for working magick!


This rite will take place at "A Day of Magic", sponsored by Goddess Grotto and Sanctuary of the Winds. Cost is $30 person for the whole day, classes, food, and eclipse  viewing. Proceeds support the Grand Rapids Pagan Pride day on Sept. 21 in Richmond Park, GR. 


https://fb.me/e/5qmPONtsu
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​The rite:

As the moon occludes the sun, visualize with intent the removal of undesirable conditions and unwanted situations. These can include your own faults – anger, fear, jealousy. It can mean getting rid of untenable things such as a binding or roadblock to your success. It is a good time to lift curses and cut unwanted ties. Word your request to eliminate baneful or difficult circumstances – NOT people – for example, “My annoying boss has no effect on my life, his irritating traits are nullified,” without doing harm to the person themselves. Write these undesired conditions down. Draw pictures, use sigils and images to represent the situation.

Burn the paper while speaking your will into manifestation. Use words like banish, eliminate, remove, cleanse, cast out, change, expel, vanquish, eradicate, dismiss, draw away. Be very specific about what you want to remove.

During the time the moon is moving away from the sun, and the light is revealed, write down desired situations and beneficial conditions to replace the things you just banished. Or, write down some brand new things you wish to summon. These can include traits within yourself: courage, tenacity, good health. They can be material things: Financial well-being, a new car. These desired conditions can also be things like friendship, doing well in school, happiness.

No, it is NOT true that eclipse magic does the opposite of what you want. We have used it several times during the last three solar eclipses – finding these astronomical events to be very powerful! This is also a new moon, the time for beginnings, the inception point.

Again, be specific in your working, and talk about how and when you want the conditions to improve. Speak in positive terms, such as “I want a new job that is perfect for me in every way.” Again, draw pictures, use sigils, make images to reflect the ideals you wish to manifest. Call upon magickal helpers such as deities, ancestors, the Sun himself. Use herbs representing the sun such as heliotrope, or burn “Sun” incense.

Again, Visualize with intent what you want the desired conditions to look like. Keep this paper with you or in your sacred space / altar until the condition has manifested to your liking. Use words like invoke, manifest, call forth, bring into being, summon, activate, entreat, evoke, create, improve, bless. Ask nice and say please. Remember to thank helpers for their aid.

Your rite should end before the sun is completely restored in the sky. 

Today for April Fool's Day I am reprinting my son Brandyn's article about the Fool. It's a good one. The image is Picasso's Fool.

For Millennia, the fool has captured the attention, hearts, and minds, of the people of every country. From politics to playing cards, this character has been the role of many people, to play its part in politics, acting, and religion. The very word “fool” is derived from the Latin form of “follis”, meaning bag of wind, a reference to both the taunting jokes from his mouth, and the stinking odor from behind.

There are many words for a fool, a clown, a jester, and all meaning extremely similar things, with a similar goal in mind: to entertain, to bring joy, and to demonstrate a message beneath. We can date oldest fools to around 2400 B.C, in the clowning of the Fifth dynasty of Egypt, the pantomimus in ancient Greece, as well as the shaman animal traits of Russia and North America, all of which have been fulfilled by religious leaders. Each of these has gone on to affect each kind of foolery we know today.  The Clowning of Egypt has become the circus and rodeo clowns, the tom foolery of fairy tale, the makeup worn in theatre, and in storytelling, to show more closely the role the person is supposed to play. The Pantomimus became the French mimes, the improv, and the comedies we watch in the theatre, from plays to movies. The Shaman animal traits have developed into the court jester, from the motely garb they wear, to their ancient place in the courtroom.
Because of their kind demeanor and honesty in the courts, this has often been some of the main elements for the fool, chastising peasant and king alike. In medieval courts there were two types of fool, that of the natural, and that of the licensed. The natural fools, often considered “touched by God,” were the disfigured, the mentally handicapped, or the insane; the licensed fools were those given permission by the courts. Both were given permission to mock and ridicule the royalty and their guests, as a form of advice and warning, and as entertainment to the others watching.

Examples of historical, clown-like comedic performers have been the pantomimus in ancient Greece, the Lazzi of Commedia dell'Arte, buffoons, court jesters, as well as the French mime tradition. On top of this there are many non-European clowning traditions including clown-like figures in Japanese Kabuki theatre, and North American native shaman traditions to consider, which may or may not have influenced what we now think of as a clown in the Western world.

However, fools set themselves aside from the clowns we think of today, in the fact they had an excuse for folly, and in the idea they did not commit the acts of tumbling, juggling, stumbling and etcetera, but to advise, provide an idea for free open thought, fully aware of the power held to influence, delivering information no one else would dare deliver, but the lack to commit proper action himself. A major example of such is in 1340, when the French fleet was destroyed at the Battle of Sluys by the English. Phillippe VI's jester, who told the king that the English sailors "...don't even have the guts to jump into the water like our brave French.”

“That, of course, is the great secret of the successful fool – that he is no fool at all.” –Isaac Asimov
Fools are often shown wearing a three-cornered hat, two corners being in the front and a third in the back; this was based upon the original hat of choice, a pair of donkey ears and tail, both to make an ass of the target of the fool, and “To make an ass of me”, in the words of William Shakespeare.  Also in the bard’s words: “Motley is the only garb.” Fools would dress in motley during the reign of Elizabeth I, keeping the fool outside the social hierarchy and therefore not placed in a certain class, being outside sumptuary law, and able to speak more freely. Motley, meaning in most forms, a mix of varying things unrelated to each other and together relating to nothing at all, much as the fool’s social place was.

During the holidays of Samhain, Yule, and Saturnalia, we see a shaping of the fool from different folk cultures, which Gerald Gardner incorporated into his Wicca, from the popular Loki, Pan and Puck, all effected during Roman expansion. These created the title of Lord of Misrule, who had precedence over all for the holiday. This position was a joyful one for the twelve days of Saturnalia, as the fool could make any person do as he pleased in the sense of good fun, but records show he was often sacrificed, in honor of Saturn’s own sacrifice.   In Britain and France, the Feast of the Fool was held, in which a Lord of Misrule was chosen to preside over the drunken, and often rowdy festivities, and social precedence was postponed, forms of a silly switching of places were performed, servants and masters, men and women, all were fools to life, the festival made famous in America as a basis for Poe’s “The Cask of Amontillado.”

In the Tarot, we can see many forms of the fool. In fact, the fool is not the only one to wear Motley. In the Middle Ages, Death was shown in Motley wear, because both humble all, but the last laugh is reserved for death. Often, in the decks before Waite-Smith, the Fool is almost always unnumbered. In the fifteenth century, the fool was numbered as a zero, an Arabic number, when all others were Roman; Charles Williams numbered the fool as "nought" in his book “Greater Trumps” These were both done in the presence of a sense of nothing being the opposite of an amount.

As a final note, we can consider today, the role of the political fool still exists, in forms of shows which cordially make fun of recent politics, by political cartoonists, joke news reporters, and comedians alike. If one wishes to bring the elements of the old fool about, to incite in ritual or to study, some famous fools include:

Harlequin, based upon a number of sources, essentially playing the character of a motley dressed, black masked man, chasing down the damned souls to end them to inferno. However, he rarely pursued them, being heavyset, although extremely nimble. He often chases a woman, Columbiana, caring only for food and fear of his master, often regarded as Death or some form of Satan, more than she. He is not considered an evil spirit, but care should be placed in invoking him, much like Loki, he is very mischievous.

Richard Tarlton (died September 1588), an English Thespian, was most likely the famous clown of his era. Information of his early life is rare, working poor men’s hard labor. 1583, he is reported as one of the original members of the Queen's Men, and already an experienced actor. He was a major influence on Elizabethan fools and clowns, “he of clowns to learn still sought/ But now they learn of him they taught.” Tarlton studied natural fools and other simpletons to add knowledge to his characters. He combined the styles of the medieval, the professional minstrel, and the amateur Lord of Misrule. While on stage, he would match and provoke hecklers by responding with a creative, sometimes insulting rhyme. He would spend time after the play in a battle of wits with the audience. He worked with Queen Elizabeth's Men at the Curtain Theatre at the beginning of their career in 1583. The 1600 publication Tarlton’s Jests tells how Tarlton, upon his retirement, recommended Robert Armin take his place.

Robert Armin, most likely the best Shakespearean actor to have ever lived, becoming so popular, the bard felt  the need to write him out of Henry IV.  In “A Nest of Ninnies”, Armin wrote about the difference between a natural and artificial fool. 

​Cultural Appropriation?

In the past couple-six years, there has been a lot of buzz in the Pagan / Witchcraft / Earth Spirituality movement about so-called cultural appropriation.

In my definition, that would be using aspects of a culture or ethnicity that is not your own, without giving credit to the original people who practiced a particular folkway.

An example is those tacky souvenir “dream catchers” that appear in every gift shop and flea market throughout America. The story about a woven dream catcher comes from Indigenous tribes of the American southwest. Buying an authentic dream catcher from an Indigenous artist, learning the story behind it, and using it appropriately is NOT cultural appropriation. Buying a plastic knockoff truly IS.

However, those who are “woke” / politically correct claim that EVERYTHING is appropriated from other cultures. Smudging to cleanse an area with fragrant smoke. Wearing braids in one’s hair. Eating particular foods. Wearing particular clothing. Practicing Tarot. Using a sweat lodge. African / Cuban / Diasporic traditions of drumming. And so forth.

Some culture praxes are “closed,” which means you have to possess the genetics and cultural heritage in order to participate. You must be appropriately taught by an individual who has mastered the techniques, as well. Which is understandable.

To an extent, everyone does some form of cultural appropriation. For example, the Romans invented indoor plumbing and paved roads. Every time you flush a toilet or drive to the market, you’re technically appropriating Roman culture. Things like Chinese food, Madras print fabric, various forms of music – classical, rap, country, rock – were appropriated from traditions other than our own American culture. Yet now they are shared by everyone.

You know what is upsetting? When “gatekeepers” decry cultural appropriation amongst eclectic magick-users, but fail to notice that mainstream Western Esoteric Tradition (especially Wicca and Gardnerian Witchcraft) has swiped many things from British Folkloric Traditions. That means us working-class peasants. Gerald Gardner, Cecil Williams, and Robert Cochrane incorporated the folk magick praxes of working-class people from the British Isles into their esoteric practice. This includes sweeping a space to hallow it, tying knots for spellwork, use of poppets and natural objects for sympathetic magick (although many cultures do so), use of certain poems, dances, and songs; brewing potions for sympathetic magick, the use of ritual drama(s), God/dess names, dates for holiday celebrations, the use of a ritual knife or athame (although that’s also done in other cultures) and other magickal symbolic tools, sending remote energy, meditation and esoteric rites, many herbal and other healing rites and recipes – and so on.

The Western Esoteric Tradition culturally appropriated stuff from all over – not just from my ancestors. Including, but not limited to: The words “witch” and “Wicca” from Anglo-Saxons. Much of the Qabalistic magick from Judaism. The use of the four directions / watchtowers / elements from the Greeks. And the Native Americans. And the Egyptians. The names for the elemental creatures, such as undines and sylphs, from the Swiss – yes, really, although Greek names were used. Ritual use of the athame /ritual knife from Judaism, and also casting a ritual circle from the Jewish people and the Sumerians. God and Goddess and entity names from all over the place.

You know what is NOT culturally appropriated?

Smudging – it is not just a Native American practice. The word “smudge” itself comes from Middle German and means to clear an area with smoke. It can also mean to summon various spiritual beings with smoke. British Isles Folkloric Traditions call it “enhazeling” because hazel, blackberry, and willow withes were burned. Catholics had their incenses. So did people from India. Indigenous peoples of the Americas used white sage – and this plant is being over-harvested, so they have a point – with a traditional ritual. People who are not of that particular heritage should not employ the ceremony. Yet please don’t tell me that smudging is exclusively reserved for Indigenous people.

Tarot – This practice did NOT come from Roma people in Europe, although they used it for divination. The Tarot likely came from Egypt, or possibly India (so maybe from the Roma), but the earliest references to Tarot are from the mid-fifteenth century in Venice, Milan, and Florence. It was originally a card game, and was brought to the rest of Europe by traders. It has been associated with the Qabalah but was not originally used in that manner – although divination with it works fine.

Drumming – many cultures use drumming for healing, trance work, dancing & ecstatic rites, communication, invoking spirits, raising energy, and for martial purposes. Everyone has it. Not all cultures use all rhythms – people who enjoy African beats, which might honor entities as well as being great for dancing and drum circles, might not enjoy the lively marching tunes of the Scots – while I find Celtic driving three-counts and five-counts perfect for getting my housework done. It summons ambition, for me.

Sweat Lodges – yes, Indigenous people from the American continents used these for spiritual reasons, as well as for healing, cleansing themselves and social interaction. However, we Celts used sweat houses as well. In Ireland, they were made of stone and were called tigh’n alluis. Scandinavian people have their saunas. Japanese folks have their baths. As do the Romans. (see above for an Irish sweat house).

Braids/ Locs - here, read this: https://lionlocs.com/blogs/dreadlocks/history-of-dreadlocks?fbclid=IwAR1TqTDeiXY1H1RkyojFoaXEtnG2f7PtYskLMoYxx_bhU-uYgqaO7X-P3rE​

In fact, appreciating and appropriating the cultures of others is so frequent worldwide that we cannot identify when it first began. British grave goods and trash pits contained beads from Asia, glass fragments and statuary from Greece by way of Rome, metal goods from Spain, and so forth. The famous Gundestrup Cauldron was likely made by Thracians, found in a bog in Denmark, depicting Gaulish and British deities and figures of the Near East. The Franks’ Casket (below) depicts Germanic and Biblical deities, Roman mythology, with Anglo-Saxon runes and Roman letters, and was probably made in Northumbria, UK. It may have originated in France. People in Rome and the Near East used copper, tin, bronze, and iron imported from the British Isles.

Don’t like it? Stop using your Roman plumbing and dig yourself an outhouse. 😊

What trad am I, anyway?
Nowadays, the movement in magick is away from the label “Wicca”, since apparently, Gerald Gardner only used the term once; and the connotation is of fluffy bunnies, little girls on Tic-Toc trying to curse the moon, and authors such as StarHawk and Scott Cunningham, who had beautiful liturgy but were a bit short on historic facts.
The Wicca label is useful since it’s now federally recognized. The US Army uses it – Dave was one of the first to have it put on his “dog tag” identification prior to Desert Storm. It was helpful in that the chaplain would have to look up appropriate prayers and rituals instead of just mumbling the Lord’s Prayer over a wounded soldier, and calling it good. We got our holidays recognized, which doesn’t get us any federal days off, but at least kids in school might get a nod for Beltane. So thank you, Wiccans, for helping to gain federal recognition for soldiers’ tombstones, hospital and prison visits by chaplains, and a minimal recognition by local governments when it comes to holiday celebrations and gatherings.
The current trend is toward using the word “Witch” and “WitchCraft”, which many people like, but I have a few issues with. For one thing, some magick-users are trying to be ooky-spooky as part of their mystique, and I am hustling away from that stereotype – I’m scary enough without openly calling myself a Witch. The appellation “Swamp Witch” is true, but mainly used humorously. For another reason, “Witch” comes from the Anglo-Saxon-Germanic languages, and those folks were the historic enemies / colonizers of we Cymric people. The Dobunni tribe, who were Celtic, once dwelled on the eastern side of the Severn River in what used to be Cymru, and is now England. The Dobunni were wiped out by the Hwicce tribe of Saxons. So I don’t want to use my enemies’ name for myself – Witch, Welsh, none of that.
Many people have rejected the term “Pagan”, since it meant “people of the country” in Latin. Urban magick-users don’t really want to call themselves Pagan, or Earth Religions, or Nature Spirituality. However that moniker TOTALLY applies to me, since I AM, in fact, a hick from the country who goes barefoot and eats venison and can identify every local species of bird. I do realize that term does not fit everyone. “Polytheist” means people who worship multiple deities, entities, and spirit beings. That also applies to me, but I realize there are non-theistic magick-users. And even with the “K”, magick-user sounds like someone engaged in a tabletop role-playing game that involves wizards, monsters, and polyhedral dice. (Nothing wrong with that, but it ain’t a religion.)
I have some Cymraeg words for use in my file about “Witchy Words” on my “Works” page on this website. For example, a dyn hysbys is a male wizard, and a gwrach is a female magick-user. Although it sounds like a cat vomiting. So yeah, gwrach gors would translate at swamp witch. At least I can communicate with the raccoons and frogs.
So let’s see. I’m Earth Religious, and a practitioner of Nature Spirituality. I am an animist, believing that everything has a soul. Even cars. Especially cars. I am a polytheist, which includes deities, ancestors, spirits, land wights, the Fae, and other beings. I am of Cymric heritage, but purists keep arguing that I was not born there – to which I reply that African-Americans were not born in Africa, either, yet the hyphenated term is a good one to signify African or Cymric or any other ancestry. My tradition is part hereditary, partly achieved by study and research, and partly I made it up or swiped it from others, because it works. I can blend in reasonably well with Wiccans and Heathens at their events, so that makes me a bit eclectic. I refuse any initiations, degrees, or other gate-keeping measures – they are useful for many practitioners, since they welcome the discipline and recognition of achievement. I practice folk magick but it’s not all from Cymru – there are elements from around the British Isles. My ancestors did a lot of that form of magick, but I also learned by observing and just trying out stuff for myself.
All of this is too darn complicated, so I’ll just keep calling myself a PAGAN. So there.

Ace & Dave in their natural environment.

At ConVocation this year, Feb. 22-25, there were a plethora of programs – rituals, drumming, a masked ball, drumming, ceremonies, drumming, vendors, drumming, a raffle, and a panel discussion. It was a well-organized, friendly, open event. We performed the Mari Lwyd, gave a workshop on making talismans, and had a discussion about the differences and similarities between British Isles Folkloric Traditions, Gardnerian Witchcraft / Wicca, and Traditional British Witchcraft with up-and-coming Crossed Crow author, Nathan King. He has an encyclopedic knowledge of British Witchcraft History.

https://mec.convocation.org/ The event is sponsored by the Magickal Education Council of Ann Arbor MI, a tireless board of organizers who put on this 4 day event, as well as Pagan picnics and educational programs.

Thanks to Rhiannon and Shad and Dave, my offspring, grandson, and my long-suffering husband, respectively, for all of their assistance.
​
Here’s some highlights:

Nathan King is holding the Stang on the right. Watch for his book coming this summer from Crossed Crow, entitled Awakening the Witch Blood.

This penile rock carving was done by soldiers on Hadrian's Wall between England and Scotland. It was likely a kind of middle-finger aimed at the Picts, whom the Romans were fighting.

 
The whanger on the left is believed to be a dildo, again Roman, found in the British Isles. My theory is the Romans were rather sub-par in the endowment area, so to match up with the Celtic men whom they were replacing as husbands, , they had to build something a little bigger, to satisfy their British wives...

The Dong on the right is from the Roman collection in our own University of Michigan Archeology Dept. in Ann Arbor, Michigan. That's right, an authentic Roman D*ck  is only a short drive away. Get it? A "short drive"? hahaha

​Yuletide Yowling and New Year’s Notes:
This is gonna contain some history and some religio-political rantings, so maybe just read a bit, then look at the pretty photos. If you’re into history, by all means, proceed!

As mentioned previously, we’ve had a really good Alban Arthan / Yule / Winter Solstice season. We did the obligatory tree harvest and decoration, baby Willow visiting Santa, parade of lights with Scouts, Lions’ Club Toys for Tots Fundraiser (4K toys just from little towns here in Van Buren County! Yay, us!), and the Stag Hunt, our family’s pre-Christian folkloric tradition. We did gift-a-palooza on the solstice, along with “Christmas Crackers” which are purely silly.
​
We also went to New Year’s Fest in Kalamazoo, which entails going to a bunch of churches (I did not melt!) and public buildings to see and hear various performers – magicians, singers, ventriloquists, dancers, instrumental musicians, lecturers, etc. A fun way to start the calendar new year – and it only costs $7.
During some discussions online, a debate arose about the Yuletide season, New Year’s Day, Epiphany (when the wise men supposedly gave the Christ Child incense and gold instead of diapers) which is celebrated on January 6th. Specifically, when to celebrate what. And why.

We had a fantastic Yuletide / Alban Arthan season with family and friends. This was Baby Willow's first Christmas / Yule. This was also the first time our grandson, Shad, portrayed the Stag in the Stag Hunt.

 The Stag Hunt was a folkplay I did as a child, and I passed it on to my family, since my offspring, Rhiannon, was age two. It is performed in various British Isles communities and in places British / Cornish / Welsh people settled. Other folkplays are similar, all over the world -- sacred hunts, deer dances, deer images too. It is likely a commemoration of a sacred Hunt and possibly a fertility ceremony. There are images of Stag Hunts in prehistoric art. The Abbots Bromley Horn Dance might be a similar custom.

The image, above, is my grandson Shad, his cousins and friends, and his puppydawg, doing the stag hunt. Shad is the stag.
​
The legend goes: Llew, the Sun God, and Donia, the Earth Goddess, had a quarrel. Llew stormed off, leaving the earth cold and dark. Their daughter, the goddess Mawb (Mab, Madrone, Mabh, Maeva, Mab Queen of the Fae) -- Mawb means "mother" and "all" in old Cymraeg language -- anyway, Mawb turned her husband into a deer and led the sacred Hunt to capture him. We just called him Herne or the Bucca. Although he gave consent for his children to kill and eat him, as a deer, he lost human consciousness, the Bucca ran away. The "hunters", usually small children, hunt the deer and drag him back to be symbolically eaten -- by eating gingerbread cookies in the shape of a deer, and venison stew. 

Below is a mesolithic deer headress (L) found in Starr Car, UK; a stag mummer from a mummer's play in the 16th century, and a modern stag "beastie" from a Morris Dance. These are all examples of FolkPlays.