Two eclipses are visible this month, one on Tuesday March Third, and one on Wednesday March 18.

Some folks advise not performing magick during an eclipse, nothing at all, not even making "moon water". 

I suggest this is a powerful time for rites to banish an undesirable condition, to bring about dramatic changes, and to reset events that need some kind of intervention. Be prepared for dynamic change.

​Here is the schedule for WitchCon Online:
 https://www.witchcon.com/schedule.php  
There are over a hundred presenters including some famous Witches, some academics, and all kinds of traditions -- Witchcraft, Wicca, Hoodoo, Voudoun, Druidry, folk magick, ceremonial magick and more.
The cool thing about this online festival is that you buy a ticket once and then you can watch ALL the classes, demonstrations, and entertainment from ALL the years, going back to 2022.
My class is at 7:00 on Sunday, Feb. 22 on Sheila-na-Gigs, Matrikas (Venus Figurines) and the Green Man.

Here is the ConVocation 2026 Schedule:
https://convocation2026.sched.com/

Convocation is held in Ann Arbor, Michigan and features no fewer than fifty presenters. There is an art room, a merchant room, party suites, a divination room, entertainment, a dance ball, and TONS of classes, demonstrations, and performances. The hotel is really nice. 

My classes are on Friday and Saturday. Kids' activities include drumming, sculpey clay, and painting rocks to hide around the hotel, or to take home. Adult classes: Saturday at 9 -- Folk Magick from the British Isles, Sunday at 11 --WitchCraft Traditions: What's really Old, and What likely Ain't

​https://www.bbc.com/news/live/cgqg0pwkq2kt   From the BBC about Lunar New Year

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 

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.

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. (see previous post).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.
I maintain that the Winter Solstice takes place at a very specific time, according to astronomical events. The sun enters the constellation of Capricorn. Its position in the sky makes it appear to stand still for three days. Solstice: Sol = sun, Stice = static or still, from Latin. It lines up with a certain node – and I’m not proficient in astrology OR astronomy, so I know not what. The earth’s axis is at or close to its furthest tilt toward the sun. Perihelion is when the sun seems to be closest to earth. It’s considered the first day of winter. All the other mythology stems from these visible, tangible, calculable events.
Many Mesolithic stone monuments, such as “Newgrange” in Ireland, have features where the sun shines through an aperture, or lines up with a particular menhir, on the Winter Solstice. In fact, there are monuments like that worldwide. In Britain and Wales, the pre-Christian people still used many of them to calculate time – when to move herds to a new pasture, when to plant, when to harvest. The ones for Winter Solstice were sometimes used for food rationing reasons. Google “winter solstice” + “monuments”, and you will find dozens. Add “British Isles”, “England”, “Wales”, and “Ireland” and you’ll find those specific to our British Isles Folkloric Tradition.
The evidence that Christ was NOT born on Christmas / Winter Solstice is that:
1.) Shepherds were watching their flocks by night. This is only necessary during lambing season, which is February / March.
2.) Jesus’s mother and father were coming to Bethlehem to be taxed. Roman tax assessors / census-takers made the citizens come to them once every 5-10 years or so. We know that Jewish people were taxed, because there were written objections and records of physical protests. For one thing, they were taxed without representation. For another, Roman coins had images of a deified Caesar, which Jews believed to be idol worship. For yet another, taxation is theft!
3.) The inn was booked full, which means some big event was happening – Jewish people don’t do much to observe the Winter Solstice – but they were obliged to be there.
4.) The magi, which is a term for Zoroastrian priests, were visiting and giving gifts. That prolly means it was Nouruz, their Spring Equinox festival. That’s also the Persian New Year. A guy called Amu Nouruz brings kids presents. Elders go visiting.
The Council of Nicea deliberately and intentionally moved the celebration of Christmas to the Winter Solstice, in order to convert European and Eurasian people to the new religion. When the Gregorian calendar was implemented in 1582, it added a few days, thus the celebration ensued on December 25th. When Europe finally adopted the calendar, in the eighteenth century, 11 days went missing in October, which set back celebrations of Epiphany from January 6 to Dec. 25. That’s where the date of Christ’s birth on Dec. 25th comes from.
The man called Augustine had a bug up his rear about converting us “Heathens” to Christianity – he wrote about it extensively in the 3rd century CE – including outlawing our customs such as the Mari Lwyd which were performed around this time. “Dressing in animal skins and skulls” at the “calends of January” was proclaimed “devilish”. These traditions were and are performed on or around the Winter Solstice.
There are other “died and reborn” gods from other religious traditions. Zoroastrians believe that Mithras, whom they equate with the sun, was sacrificed and reborn at the Winter Solstice. There’s the Isis / Osirus / Horus legend, where Osirus died and was resurrected after 12 days. That might be where the “Twelve Days of Christmas” derives from.
Our new year (Celtic / British Isles) was Nos Calan Gaeaf (see previous post). Why do we believe that was the new year? It was an Ysbrednos, a spirit night, when ancestors could communicate with their descendants. It was the day when rents were due – end of the year; and when all debts must be made good – end of the year. It was traditionally when slaughtering could begin – colder weather, so the meat doesn’t spoil – and when the harvest ended. The last grain crops and vegetables were left out for spirits (or the poor). There are many, MANY stories of ghosts, demons, and spirits who appear at this time. There are many customs related to communication with them, and traditional methods of divination performed at this time. The song “Nos Calan” meaning “New Year” – was performed at this time. That song later became “Deck the Halls,” sung at Christmas.
I kinda got in trouble for asking why Pagans, Witches, and Wiccans would want to observe Christmas. We, as a group, seem to put more effort into Christmas than our own holidays. Is it because we’re hiding our religion from relatives? Is it because we want to get presents? OK, I can understand, celebrating holidays with family, sharing their joyful traditions, visiting with relatives you don’t see often. I still do Channukah with my family – just as an observer, not as a participant. Yet why do neo-Pagans actually celebrate the holy day of the Christians – then complain about how Christianity persecutes us, and women, and PoC, and LGBTQ+, and so on? It might have to do with the post I made earlier about Play-gans. However, there is plenty to celebrate during our own holy days in our own traditions.
Many of our European Pagan traditions were culturally appropriated by Christian people. Decorating with greenery, a genuinely older Celtic tradition – holly, ivy, mistletoe, evergreen boughs. There is a version of the song “Holly and the Ivy” that is pre-Christian. Santa Claus may have come from the aforementioned Amu Nouruz, Saint Nicholas, or Odin, or even the various Christmas Witches from multiple locations. The decorated tree may have derived from the Beltane custom of decorating a tree outside the home’s doorway, or the Clootie Tree / Raggy Bush / Wishing Tree tradition. The reindeer came from the Sami people, and may have origins with various Stag Hunt traditions (see previous entry). Gift-giving was done by Zoroastrians during Nouruz and the Romans during Saturnalia. Wassailing came from Celts and Anglo-Saxons. Likewise, caroling came from numerous house-to-house mumming and folkplay traditions. Lighting things – candles, house and tree decoration lights – came from alighting bonfires and candles to commemorate the days lengthening after the Winter Solstice. So did the Yule Log. Traditional foods came from our British Isles culture – figgy pudding, glog, wassail, egg nog, the boar’s head, and so on.
Yule / Alban Arthan also has lost traditions, or ones that transferred to Nos Galan Gaeaf / Samhain. Divination and spirit communication. Looking for footprints in the fireplace ashes. Baking trinkets into a cake or figgy pudding, with various predictive meanings: coins for wealth, rings for marriage, etc. Our Stag Hunt. Mumming, folkplays, house-to-house processions. Bonfires – although this is still done on New Year’s in Scotland, for Up Helly Ah and Hogmanay. The Lord of Misrule. Swapping places with hired people. Playing games of chance and sports at Yuletide. Setting out food for ancestors. We have a plethora of beautiful traditions for Yuletide.

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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