1971 and I was 9, living an almost idyllic childhood, deeply loved and sheltered from the world and news of the Vietnam War, riots, racism, and rising feminism. But that summer, the protest lyrics and subversive rhythms that began drifting through the car window at stop lights, on the radio at a friend’s pajama party, …
We’re the Crow Women, a Goddess-focused women’s circle that has had a long, rich life as a pagan coven as well as a parallel identity as an award-winning pagan choir. We’re feminists, and that informs our political actions, our spiritual practice and our music. When a group of pagan musicians from across the USA decided …
The Dream of Gaian Culture Almost all of the Gaia Consort ideas came from the dream of building community and culture around celebrating the natural world. Imagine a world where the Great Cycles were taken seriously, hearkening back to the early days of agriculture, when we didn’t have the “luxury” of ignoring the seasons. None …
Do you believe that lovers and partners are meant to find each other? Once upon a time, back in 2006, I was on my way to the airport with a friend. We were running a little late but we were both excited about the adventure that lay before us. That was when the Lady decided …
“March me up a mountain. Push me off the edge I’d rather die flyin’ Than to ever leave this ridge…” I was going to write about Nothing Holy but the Blood, my contribution to the upcoming compilation, The Red Album. Instead I chose to write about aging and starting over. A few years ago, after …
Lupercalia: goat skins, kink, and fertility. The snowdrops are up. That’s how I know it’s February. With February comes the Feast of Lupercalia or its mild, newer religious overlay. As much as I love chocolate, I get a sweet giggle out of the old ways. Besides, they’re not mutually exclusive by any means. As the …
You’d think that we humans would be used to it, this dark time of Winter. It happens every year, with greater intensity the farther north you live. It is almost a ritual in my own home to remark on how dark it is and how early the darkness comes, how the light of the morning …
Songs and Chants for Clearing Sacred Spaces Space Clearings and Home Blessings are essential tools for creating safe and powerful containers for Ritual, Healing, and Magick. We all have certain spaces where we spend most of our time. Whether it be our bedrooms, cars, our workspaces, or even our heart space; adding songs and chants, rhythm and melody …
One of the things that brings ritual powerfully alive for me is the combination of symbol and song. The melody of a song pitched just right can create a powerful opening to the Otherworld. And the imagery we choose for the lyrics can guide us to where we are going. Symbol and Song As magic …
I have written a lot of music over the years about the seasons, how I see them and how they make me feel, both instrumental acoustic guitar compositions and vocal songs too. I am sharing 3 of those songs with you now: Moonlight on Snow Covered Branches, Holly and the Oak and The Light of …
