It is nearly upon us, everyone! Samhain approaches, are we ready? I’ve been ready since last Samhain, you know that. I also have to thank everyone who has purchased my book, Love & Light Blood & Bone, you guys are amazing. And if you’ve taken the time to write a review or even just give it a rating, I could just kiss you on the mouth. This community of witches is so special and I know I’ve said it before but I’m so grateful that I get to talk to you and communicate with you, either through emails, DMs or on the forums. I don’t live in a place that has a huge witchcraft community, but you witches are my coven.
Autumn Equinox/Mabon 2022
Welcome to the Autumn Equinox 2022 episode. Yes, I know, Mabon isn’t until next Thursday, but I want to talk about it today, give us a little time to make some plans, get some ideas for ritual activities.
Lughnasadh/Lammas
Happy Leo season, witches! I thought we’d never make it! That last week of Cancer season had me very nervous, there were a lot of big emotions. But here we are in Leo season, it’s a New Moon tonight and it’s all good. Today we are going to spend some time talking about Lughnasadh, or Lammas, which is the first of the three pagan harvest festivals, and which takes place this Monday.
Litha/Summer Solstice
Hello my friends, and welcome. I hope everyone is well. Today we are going to talk about Litha and the Summer Solstice, which isn’t for another week and a half, but I like to talk about it a little early so we can think about what kind of rituals or spells we might want to work, and have a little time to prepare for that. So Litha is the topic of the day. But very quickly, before we get to that, I want to read a message from a witch who is having a little issue that I think a lot of us have from time to time, if not all of us.
Beltane
Hello and welcome to the last episode of April, what a month. I know the spring hasn’t been super springy everywhere, but I have to just give April props for being a really beautiful month here where we live. It has been so gorgeous and mild, and I know it won’t last through the end of May. Here in my neck of the woods, we frequently see triple digit weather in May, but my hopes are high that we can just cruise in the mid to upper 80s and save the triple digits for June. Exciting weather-related conversation on the podcast today.
Ostara/Spring Equinox
Welcome, welcome to the Ostara episode! I love doing sabbat episodes; they’re my favorite. Sabbats are just the funnest part of being a witch. And the Spring Equinox, or Ostara, is always such a breath of fresh air because it’s the first day of spring, it’s the first major Sabbat after Yule, and the symbolism is so gorgeous and fresh and lovely. The Spring Equinox, just like the Autumn Equinox, marks the day the sun crosses the celestial equator, when day and night are equal length. This is the day when we are officially on the other side of winter, the days from here forward grow longer, the weather gets warmer, the grass gets greener, we can begin to work our gardens. It’s just such a revitalizing time.
Imbolc/Maiden Season
Hello and welcome to the final episode of January 2022. We are one twelfth of the way through this year already. How has the year treated you so far? Well I spent about two weeks of the year just absolutely sick as hell, and of course Mercury and/or Venus have been in retrograde the entire time, so that kind of blows, but we will get a bit of a reprieve next week on February 3rd when Mercury stations direct. So that’ll be nice.
Yule/Winter Solstice
Well hello everyone, and happy Yule season. Before I say anything else, I want to thank everyone for your kind comments and reviews; they are my lifeblood. And I’d like to give a huge, warm, consensual hug to Julie for becoming a supporter of the show. You are so lovely. I have the most wonderful, thoughtful, powerful witches listening and supporting this podcast and you humble me. Let’s get into the meat of the episode today. I hope everyone is recovered from the New Moon and solar eclipse we just enjoyed at the end of this past week. I was so physically wiped out that I really didn’t do much of anything for it. I just didn’t have the energy. But maybe you did, and if so I would love to hear about it.
Samhain/Ancestor Work
Hello and welcome! Today is Thursday, October 28. A little light housekeeping before we jump into the topic at hand. I have been talking about my plan to do a Q&A episode in November. The plan is to read listener questions and answer them on that episode. I’ve gotten a really great response so far, and I’m kind of excited to do an episode that is a really different format to what we usually do here, which is I pick a topic and just run my mouth about it for 20 minutes.
Autumn Equinox/Mabon
Today is Thursday, September 16, the moon is waxing gibbous, and at least here in Southern California, the weather is cooling ever so slightly. And, in about a week, we will be celebrating the Autumn Equinox here in the northern hemisphere. Now, because the mission statement of this podcast is practical witchcraft for everyday life, I thought we could talk a little bit about this festival and what it can mean in our lives as modern witches.