Yule has many customs and traditions, and those practices differ from region to region. One of my favorite aspects of Yule is the amount of figures associated with the festival – folk figures unique to the regions from which they hail. For many people, if you ask them about figures they associate with the Yule season, you’ll hear Father Christmas, Krampus, and maybe even a nod or two to Hans Trapp, but there are so many more Yule figures out there! In this post, we’ll meet a variety of these folk figures, and we’ll learn a bit about their Yule tales. It’s my hope that readers of this blog may find a new way of incorporating beliefs or customs of their ancestors or of their homelands (for our readers who are members of diasporic populations), and that, in doing so, their winter holidays may be even just a bit brighter for it. Now, shall we dive in? Who to meet first…
Death. The prospect of death – the word alone – has stirred fear and discomfort amongst the vast majority of people since mankind first came to understand mortality. Death isn’t simply death, but a time when something meets its end, when a light is dimmed, when a door has closed. Death, whether literal or figurative, plays a role in many magical practices and customs, including (though not limited to) divination, spirit work (in its many forms), ritual work, and spell crafting. It is no surprise then that, as death plays so significant a role in magical practice, there are countless folkloric, religious, and mythological deities, spirits, and figures that are associated with (or represent) death, figures that are often also associated with magic in some form or another. This post will explore some of the many deities, spirits, and figures of death, their roles in the crafts of many magical practitioners, and how death deities and figures are incorporated in different practices associated with spirit work.
Practitioners of cottage magic possess a deep connection to their homes and the land around it. Although some may think of this as a connection to the beams and bricks that make up the house itself, many cottage witches also seek to build a connection with the rich spiritual energies that reside in their homes. For those who acknowledge the spirit realm and seek to walk in step with it, household spirits can be a source of peace and comfort as well as powerful magical allies.
When we discuss the link between spirits and witchcraft, we often focus on the practitioner’s connection with spirits of nature or the spirits of the dead. While it is certainly true that we should celebrate our connection to these spiritual forces, there are many other types of spirits that are deserving of our attention. During the autumn months, when the cooler weather entices us into the warmth of our homes, it is also fitting for us to take time to connect with the household spirits that reside with us in our homes.
Friday the 13th is a date that has a long history of association with superstitions and fears, but for witches and practitioners of magic, it can be a day filled with enchantment, mystery, and opportunity. Rather than hiding from black cats or broken mirrors, practitioners of magic can embrace the unique energies of this day to enhance their spiritual practices. Let’s talk about a few ways in which you can celebrate Friday the 13th as a magical practitioner and tap into its energy.
As the month of October unfolds and the daylight hours grow shorter, many witches and other practitioners of magic begin to turn their thoughts to honoring their ancestors. One practice that allows us to express this desire to reconnect with our honored dead is the creation of an ancestral altar or shrine. Creating an altar dedicated to honoring one’s ancestors is a magnificent way to connect with your roots, remember loved ones who have passed, and tap into the themes of death and remembrance associated with the autumn season.
‘Aos sí’ is a term used to encompass a complex and powerful array of figures within Irish pagan theology and Celtic mythology, figures I sometimes refer to as the Otherworld Folk and Otherkin. You’ll hear them more commonly called the Sídhe, fairies/faeries/the fae, the Good Neighbors, the Folk, the Good Folk, daoine sídhe/daoine sìthe. There are no doubt countless terms and names used to mean the aos sí, and just as many theories as to who these figures are, where they come from, and what they do.
Samhain is one of the four major festivals within the Gaelic calendar, and easily the most widely known of the lot. The festival marks the end of harvest season, the transition into winter, and the beginning of the dark half of the year. Samhain is a time when the walls between our world and the Otherworld – the realm of spirits of all kinds – are down. During this time, it is easier for the Otherworld folk to walk among us, and easier for the living to see and commune with these spirits. For many, this time of year is when the connection to the spirit world feels stronger than otherwise. Because of this Samhain is considered an auspicious time to practice divination.
Samhain (pronounced sow-in or sah-win) is one of the four major Gaelic holidays, a festival that marks the passing of summer into winter, of the ‘light season’ into the ‘dark season’, and the end of the old year and beginning of the new. Now celebrated or acknowledged by many modern pagans, wiccans, druids, and magical practitioners throughout the world, Samhain’s origins lie in Ireland.
The Nornir (Nornir being plural for Norn; sometimes pluralized as the Norns) are female beings of tremendous power who are responsible for crafting and controlling the fates of all living things, as well as managing the delicate workings of time. Even the fates of the gods are in the hands of the Nornir.