As Lughnassad approaches, I am excited to harvest my favorite fruit for mead making: wild plums. The fruit heavily loads down the branches of a tree behind my house as I wait in anticipation until they have ripened to sweet perfection. Which is perfect timing for giving thanks at the first harvest festival feast, and …
The Wiccan holiday of Lammas is upon us, so let’s decide what to sing! Lammas is the first of the three harvest festivals celebrated by modern pagans and Goddess worshipers. Lammas is also called Lughnassad, for the Celtic god Lugh. It’s the festival of the first harvest, as Mabon (fall equinox) is the second harvest …
Crow Magic was my first foray into recording with the Crow Women. Imagine my elation when our most prolific and arguably most talented songwriter Alane Crowomyn asked me to sing a lead on one of her songs. If only because of that, Farewell, My Familiar holds a special place in my heart. But it isn’t the …
“It’s Summertime, Summertime, Sum-Sum-Summertime…” We have traveled halfway around the Wheel from Yule , and the Sun stands still once again. We experience the longest day, the shortest night, the brightness and the fullness of the start of our season of summer. We celebrate the life-giving, life-affirming, life-abundant time of growth, both within and without. …
The days are growing longer and hotter as we arrive at the longest day of the year. The natural world is busy and bright with bees collecting the succulent nectar of flowers. The Crow Women have a number of songs to honor the Summer Solstice including Suncycle on Crow Magic, which I love to listen …
Have you or someone you know ever uttered the words, “I’d like to have more music in my ritual, but I can’t sing”? If so, you are not alone. We run into many circles and solitaries who love hearing music far more than they are comfortable making it. My own mother swears she could drag an entire church …
I’ve always been leery about religious or spiritual types who are unwilling to occasionally poke fun at their own beliefs and practices. As Witches/Wiccans, we have a lot of stereotypes to satirize, thanks to Halloween, such as the old hag with green skin and a big wart on her long hooked nose. Like you, I …
Happy Mother’s Day! Earth spirituality often depicts the earth as a mother: the source of nourishment, healing and comfort. From “give thanks to the Mother Goddess” to “the earth is our mother, we must take care of her”, images of the divine mother abound in pagan songs. One of the things that drew me into …
And the wheel turns to springand the wheel turns to spring… I got to hear that Crow song (Dance of Spring) frequently over the past year. It took a lot of rehearsal. Of course my human Mom would prance around the house singing “And the bunny turns to spring!” because she is ridiculous and likes to insert …
In the Fire is a movement song. It generates physical movement with its rhythm and spiritual movement with its message. Hindu Goddess Kali dances in the fire, and is a fearsome, dark and very popular manifestation of the Goddess in India. She destroys what is ready to be reborn, and in this way she urges …
