Several months ago, I received an email from someone asking questions about Samhain for a Religious Studies course lesson they were doing on Wicca. Now that the season is upon us, I am going to share those questions and my answers here. I am including the text of our original email exchange as well. Hello, … More Questions About Samhain
An it harm none, do what ye will. This is known as the Wiccan Rede. ‘An’ is an antiquated term meaning ’if’ not ‘and’. The word ‘rede’ basically means ‘advice’ or ‘counsel’. Upon first glance, this seems rather simplistic and I’ve heard complaints from those among other religious traditions claiming that it’s “too free”. This is not … More Ethics and Morals: The Wiccan Rede
I have a cell phone that is a few years old. It does what I need it to do: text, access the internet for Google Maps, emails, Facebook & Messenger, and make or receive the occasional phone call. I also use apps for online ordering through Chewy and Amazon, and have things on there to … More Is Witchcraft a religion?
I’m not Christian, but that is a large part of my background and upbringing and as a seriously religious person who has devoted herself to the study and practice of theology as educator and clergy, I want to make it very clear that when I speak about topics surrounding Christianity my focus is on the … More A Pagan perspective of the 2020 National Prayer Breakfast
For clarification on the duties and definitions of Priest/ess, High Priest/ess, and Ritual Facilitator — My Path to Being a High Priestess. A Priest/ess or High Priest/ess will often function as a ritual facilitator, but a ritual facilitator might not be a Priest/ess or High Priest/ess. A Public Ritual, as I’m going to use it … More How to Facilitate a Public Ritual
I’m a Witch, a writer, and a language nerd. These three things combined together cause my inner cauldron to boil when people claim things that don’t ring true in the context of certain words and the religio-magical expressions of the Craft. “When (insert religious label here) people pray, they’re really casting spells.” “Spells are the … More Prayer and Spells are not the same thing
Xenophobia is an unreasonable fear or hatred of foreigners or strangers, or of that which is foreign or strange to you. Essentially anything outside of your personal comfort zone that makes you twitch and have the reaction of acting nasty towards those who are different than you is xenophobia. Xenophobia is most often directed at … More “X” Is For Xenophobia
The phrase In Perfect Love and Perfect Trust, while not as common (and perhaps not as over-used as “Blessed Be”) is still one of Wicca’s quirky phrases. It comes across almost like code words, and it kind of should, because that’s where it originated. The phrase comes to us from British Traditional Wicca/Witchcraft and … More “P” Is For Perfect Love & Perfect Trust
“What do Wiccans believe?” That’s a pretty straightforward question. The answer, however, is never as straightforward. “Ask ten different Wiccans that question and you get twelve different answers.” To some people, that’s a sign of what’s wrong with the Wiccan path when compared with other religions, faiths, or spiritual paths. For others, being unable to … More “O” Is For Orthopraxy vs. Orthodoxy
The Nine Woods of Wiccan lore have a bit of variance to them, but if we go with the trees specifically mentioned in the long-form poem “The Wiccan Rede” we at least have somewhere to begin. Just know that this isn’t an absolute listing and depending on where you look, you will come across different … More “N” Is For Nine Woods
The Keeper's Path 