Greetings from Miami! I’m back in my hometown, visiting family and friends. I’m glad to rest and relax after harrowing travel and spending an incredible five days with the village of remarkable Mt Shasta Priestesses. Travel mishaps from Melbourne to Reno I have flown from Melbourne to Los Angeles and Miami many times, and the journey has always been different. Sometimes, it’s been comfortable and smooth with no hiccups. This was not one of those times. This journey from Melbourne to California was the longest. I was supposed to travel from Melbourne to Sydney to L.A. and catch a domestic ..read more

YouTuber Lennan Smith posted a video titled 10 Fundamentals of Witchcraft. Smith’s video inspired fellow YouTuber Anibal of AB’s Witch Journal to create a video called Fundamentals in my Craft. Those are two different approaches to a similar subject. I’ve decided to follow Anibal’s approach because it’s a subject I’ve been thinking about a lot lately and discussing with friends. So, here are the fundamentals of my Craft: Lukumi, tantra, and Wicca. Lukumi I was born in Cuba and raised in the Miami neighbourhood known as Little Havana. I’m an American citizen living in Melbourne, Australia ..read more

This week, I’m doing something different. Tarot lends itself well to video. So, instead of writing about it, I made a video exploring the art and development of the Fool in the tarot. An edited transcript follows. The art of the Fool in the tarot Watch it on YouTube Transcript Hello and welcome. Let’s look at the Fool in various tarot decks throughout history. So, first, we have the Fool in the Tarocchi Visconti Sforza by Il Meneghello. This one is from Milan, 1450. As we can see here, he is going through a rough period. His clothes and shoes are tattered, and he has feathers in his ..read more

Ella Harrison, Polish Folk Witch, and the Redheaded Witch kickstarted a conversation online called “Social Media Witchcraft: Grifters, Aesthetics, Imposter Syndrome, Consumerism & Gatekeeping” via the hashtag #OcculTea. It’s a long title, and the prompt has many questions. Most of the responses I’ve seen are in the form of long YouTube videos, but people can respond however they like, including blogging and social media posts. I’ve only ever made one YouTube video, and I don’t enjoy being in front of the camera, so here we are. This blog entry is long, about 3,700 words and 15 minutes o ..read more

I dedicate February to Themis, the Greek goddess of divine order. I devote each month to a different goddess. I spend the month learning about the goddess and deepening my devotion. But when the month ends, I don’t just put her away until next year; I carry her lessons forward. I’ve written about who Themis is, my devotion, and how I connected with her in Delphi and Dodona. This last blog entry on Themis describes how I continue applying her wisdom daily. Themis is a Titan, a pre-Olympian primordial deity renowned for her role as a divine force embodying the natural order of the cosmos. She ..read more

I dedicate February to Themis, the Greek oracular goddess of justice, divine order, and custom. Last year, I travelled to Greece and was fortunate to visit three sacred sites associated with Themis. This blog is about one of those sites, the beautiful ancient site of Delphi. Delphi, the oracle of the goddess Delphi, located on the slopes of Mount Parnassus in Greece, is best known for having been the seat of Pythia, the high priestess of the Temple of Apollo who served as its oracle, the Oracle of Delphi, also known as the Pythoness. The stories of how Apollo acquired the Oracle at Delphi ..read more

I dedicate January to Prajnaparamita, “the Perfection of Wisdom” in Mahayana Buddhism embodied as the Great Mother. I spend the month learning more about Prajnaparamita and deepening my practice. I’ve written an introduction to Prajnaparamita and described my January practice devoted to her. This blog entry is about how I carry her lessons all year. The goal of Buddhism is to become enlightened, thus ending suffering and reaching nirvana, the end of the cycle of death and rebirth. As an earthy Pagan Witch, I’m not very concerned with nirvana, but I appreciate Buddhism’s insights into the nat ..read more

Loneliness has popped up on my radar four times in the last month–in the news, on social media, and in a discussion group I attended with some brilliant Witches. So, let’s talk about it. This blog is about the rising rate of loneliness in the U.S. and Australia, theories about why we’re feeling increasingly isolated and lonely, and how we, as Pagans and Witches, can ease loneliness for ourselves and others by cultivating social connection. The rising tide of loneliness One out of every two Americans is experiencing loneliness. Last year, The New York Times invited readers to share how lon ..read more

Mysticism and psychic encounters are in the fabric of our humanity. History is full of inspiring mystics like the Oracle at Delphi, Hildegard von Bingen, Dion Fortune, Pamela Colman Smith, and Rosaleen Norton. For many Pagans and Witches for whom the world is numinous, alive, and inspirited, connecting with spirits, human and otherwise, alive and dead, is part of our magical and devotional practices and everyday life. We accept that we can use psychic abilities, travel in the astral realm, and embrace all the positive potential these can bring, such as connecting with benevolent spirits, hea ..read more

New Year, new Bullet Journal! Setting up my new Bullet Journal is one of my favourite New Year’s activities. Here’s what my 2024 minimalist Bullet Journal looks like. What is a Bullet Journal? But first, what is a Bullet Journal? A digital product designer, Ryder Carroll, developed the Bullet Journal, a customisable and versatile organisation system that combines elements of a to-do list, planner, and diary. The core elements of the Bullet Journal are: Index: The Bullet Journal has numbered pages; an index at the front helps you find what you need. Logs: The original Bullet Journal co ..read more