In today’s post was a lovely surprise — the 2010 Herbal Almanac and 2010 Witch’s Companion! The Herbal Almanac has two articles from me, and I have one in the other.
yippee!
2010 Llewellyn Annuals!
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Category Archives: Writing
Update Delay at Facing North
My car accident the other day has produced definite injuries — mostly having to do with sitting at the computer for more than an hour or two at a time. As a result, my usual Facing North update will be delayed a week.
Facing North Update!
Despite Mercury retrograde, Facing North has been updated! It’s a great collection (as always) of honest opinions about items of interest to our community. I’ve got an even dozen reviews of books, ‘tools’, and CDs, some old, some hot off the presses.
Michele Morgan and I did a fun interview a few months back, and that’s been posted for you to enjoy.
Mark Lesser wrote a couple of articles for me, each based on the idea that doing less means you’ll do more. It’s a groundbreaking idea in this day and age of busyness. My review of his book (Less: Accomplishing More by Doing Less) will be in next month’s update. I can tell you now that it is making em think very carefully about certain assumptions I’ve been making for a decade or more.
Brooks Palmer gave me a great article (Clutter Busting!) which feels timely for all of us looking at our spring cleaning rituals.
All in all, a nice bunch to add to one of the largest collections of reviews of interest to the Pagan and alternative spirituality community. (And yes, it is free.)
Check it out!
Facing North Update
Its our last update for the year, and its a particularly good one.
We have three articles, two on Creative Visualization by the foremost expert, Shakti Gawain and “The Search for Peace” by new author Isha.
We have a review of Llewellyn’s 2009 Herbal Almanac (which includes an article by me on “Four Seasons of Crafts”), Faith and Magick in the Armed Forces, Magic When You Need It, a couple of children’s books (Watchers and Rabbit’s Song), the forthcoming Green Egg Omelette, new fiction (Closing Arguments) and Ellen Dugan’s controversial How To Enchant a Man.
18 reviews in all, making a total of 120 reviews posted this year.
NeoPagans and Marriage
I’m interested in writing an essay about NeoPagans and their view of marriage and I need your help. I’m looking for anecdotes and experiences from people who are married, handfasted (or the equivalent of ‘joined but not according to the State’), and/or performed such ceremonies.
- Did you get legally joined as well as go through the religious ceremony?
- What genders are you and your spouse?
- Why marriage/handfasting/joining?
Please feel free to tell me more, but the above are the key points I’m looking at for now. I am perfectly prepared to keep everything shared with me strictly anonymous and confidential; if you are comfortable with me using you/your story as an example please let me know that (otherwise, stories will be altered to make a point and not break confidentiality). Responses via the ‘comments’ feature on this blog are great, or you can write to me directly at lisa*@*cybercoven.org (remove the spambot-foiling *)
Share this message far and wide — I want to hear from as diverse a group of NeoPagans as possible.
Interviewing Morgan and Illes
I have the opportunity to interview two Red Wheel/Weiser authors — Michele Morgan and Judika Illes — and I thought it would be a great chance for y’all to ask questions of them on your behalf.
Michele Morgan is the author of Simple Wicca (recently re-released) and A Magical Course in Tarot. Her website is http://www.michelemorgan.org/.
Judika Illes is the author of The Element Encyclopedia of 5000 Spells, The Element Encyclopedia of Witchcraft, Pure Magic and the recently released Magic When You Need It. Her website is: http://www.judikailles.com/
Please spread the word and let me know what you want to know from these very intriguing ladies! I can be reached at: lisa_at_cybercoven.org or lisa_at_facingnorth.net (replace the _at_ with @).
thanks!
Dark Lightning
I’ve disliked my tradition’s Samhain ritual for years. YEARS. Its got a vaguely condescending tone to large swathes of it, it doesn’t show so much as TELL, there are bits that don’t align with anything else in our mythos, and — worst of all — it is incredibly wordy. (Less of a problem in person, but online — deadly!)
Since last year, yes a full year, I’ve had it on my ‘to do’ list to rewwrite the Samhain ritual. Let me just point out that I am not a procrastinator. But I am at the mercy of the Muse and although I tried to tackle this task a number of times throughout the year, I failed. I had conversations with various people. I researched alternate styles and methodlogies and mythos’.
I failed.
Today, at 1:30 — a mere five hours before we were to gather in preparation for the ritual — the Muse came to visit. Two hours later I had a completely redone ritual. Completely.
And you know what? Its damn good. (and I don’t say that lightly.)
Many blessings, Muse. Many thanks.
10 Commandments: My Version
ysabetwordsmith posted (from another LJ) the “10 commandments of Coyote” and I found them amusing. They inspired me to do the following:
1. I am the Divine; by whatever name you shall call Me, I AM
2. Worship Me, not My image.
3. My name — any one of them — is Sacred; to speak it is to invoke Me.
4. Keep the holy days in ways that are pleasing to Me.
5. Honor those who raised you.
6. Take not the life of a sentient being.
7. Engage only in consensual adult sexual pleasures.
8. Take not another’s earnings.
9. Do not lie.
10. Eschew envy.
The Pop Culture Grimoire
Great news! The Pop Culture Grimoire is out! The first article in this anthology is by me, a ‘ritual’ created by music. I believe its a new way of looking at magick and I’m quite pleased about it.
Check it out at Amazon.com.
Published in Spellcraft!
UPDATE: Spellcraft has, sadly, gone defunct. The article is now available through my “Writings” page.
Spellcraft magazine is ‘the ultimate guide to magick in the southern hemisphere’ and the Spring 2008 issue (#10) features an entire section on cyber witch. I’ve got an article in there about Pagan Schooling Online (page 20). I’ve always liked this magazine (this is my third article/working with them in as many years) amd feel its one of the best pagan magazines available — even if everything is ‘backwards’! 🙂
Go check it out: http://www.spellcraft.com.au