Pendlecraft yule magazine

Yuletide Articles, Interviews, Crafts and much more

Contents PG 3: PG 4: PG 5-6: PG 7-9: PG 10-13: PG 14-15: PG 16-17: PG 18-20: PG 21-22: PG 23: PG24-25: PG 26: PG 27-28: PG 29=30: PG 31: PG 32: PG 33: PG 34: PG 35: VF) PG 36: PG 37: PG 38-43: PG 44-45:

Submissions Editors Letters and “In Darkness” Poem Winter Solstice and History of Yule Tree (RMR) Yuletide and Multifaith (AS) Singing, Ringing Tree (JR) Soul Dolls (CG) Urban Druid (AS) Tarot with Mystic Winds Awen Elemental Guardian of Danu’s Spring Herbworld (AS) Nemeton Energy System (VML) Gill Swainson Interview (TC) Authenticity (ALW) Kristen Jarvis Interview - Making Magic (SW) Yule Ritual (CM) Craft Corner (RMR) Orange Bird Feeder Craft (RMR) Magic of Nature Cards (SC) Wassail Drink Recipes (RMR) Celtic Tree Calendar & Paganism Poem (VM, Astrology (RMR) Totem Animal Readings (RMR) Fast Food At The End Of The World - Pt 1 (NB) Hunter Game Pt 2 (LE)

Editorial Team Editors: Ethan Kent & Tasha Clark Chief Sub-Editor: Victoria Furminger Subeditor: Raquel M Reichert Copy Editor: Nimue Brown Layout/Graphic Designer: Sarah Miles Editorial Photographer: John Robinson

Contributers

If you would like to submit an article or any pictures to the Pendle Craft for consideration in one of our forthcoming publications please do so by sending to the editors at thependlecraft@hotmail.com The editorial team reserve the right to abridge content and edit for style, clarity and accuracy. We will of course contact you if we decide to make any major changes and the editors decision is final.

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Cover Artwork, original work by Sarah Miles

Adele Sutcliffe, Andrew Sutcliffe, Mystic Winds, Sheena Cundy, Raquel M Reichert, John Robinson,Claire Gerrard, Vicky MacLean, Tasha Clark, Amy Lynn White, Samantha Wiltshire, Lorraine Ellison, Nimue Brown, Vix Furminger.

Editor’s Letter A note from both Pendle Craft editor’s Tasha Clark and Ethan Kent.

It’s me again, Tasha Clark. I am currently stepping in for my partner as he is not very well. Most of you know who he is and are aware of the situation.

I would like to thank all those that have stood by us through this entire time: the ezine staff, those in the Pagan Federation, the hospital staff, our dear, dear friends and family…

We have met so many new people over this last month and I would thank you all old friends and new individually but there are so many and I wouldn’t want to miss any of you. So to you all – thank you!!

So here we are; it’s time for Yule. I hope you all have a wonderful time with your families and enjoy the company of all those around you.

The staff of The Pendle Craft have all been doing a fantastic job through this difficult time and have helped pull together this fantastic edition. I hope you all enjoy it. I must apologise to anyone if we have missed an interview or a story in this edition.

If you wish to add your stories, moots, poems or events please write in to: thependlecraft@hotmail.com

Ethan Kent

On November 11 at 8 in the morning, just a normal cold November morning, this is what I think happened, as I am not sure. I climbed (but to others it would be called crawling) the stairs to go to the toilet. However, I am not normal for I have severe rheumatoid arthritis in amongst other problems and I am not meant to climb stairs. I am meant to wait for my partner, Tasha. I didn’t though and after finishing the toilet I tried to come back down and as I took a step down with my left leg it gave way and I came crashing down the 12 steep steps, seriously injuring myself. I picked myself up and rang Tasha at her work, asking her to come home before taking myself back to bed (our bed is downstairs in the dining room as I can’t climb it daily to go to bed); my heart hurting and my head hurting. When I woke, Tasha was home and really concerned. I told her what happened and that I wasn’t feeling well. I asked Tasha to call an ambulance and by the time they arrived my left side had completely gone; it was no longer mine. I was rushed first to Blackburn and then to Preston, where I was to stay for two weeks undergoing tests before being moved to Marsden Ward of Pendle Community Hospital, a stroke rehab ward. I have been told that my brain has stopped communicating with the rest of my body and I now need constant help as I have lost my long-term memory and cannot do the basic tasks such as tie my shoes, make a cup of tea, or even wash myself. I cannot read or write properly and doing this is really difficult as my words are coming out backwards and Tasha is having to show me where the letters are. The following poem was written while I was lying on my bed in Preston and it is about the dark time I am feeling right now.

In Darkness In Darkness there is no light, And I am blind of sight.

All hope lost, And at what cost?

In darkness I have no words, And my dreams sore like birds; With wings open and free, High above roof and tree.

Who am I in this darkness, With no contrasting starkness; Who is this man I want to be?

Who is this man in the mirror I see?

In this darkness, I walk the longest mile, In this darkness there is no grace or style; In this darkness I see a spot of light, Finally, it gets so bright.

Winter Solstice and the Origin of the Yule Tree

by Raquel M Reichert The traditional purpose of the Winter Solstice in the Pagan tradition is to celebrate the longest night of the year. In the days of Old, the people felt so profoundly connected to the Earth and its seasons they felt it their responsibility to increase delight to entice the Sun, so as to ensure its return back and nourish them

and the land all through the upcoming half of the year.

Great fires were lit and a special log placed inside it,

referred to as the Yule Log. The Log had been decorated with symbolism representing their collective intention to welcome Warmth and Light. It was by this fire’s power, their collective intention was sent as a prayer in the Smoke to the Lord of Warmth and Light, additionally known as the Nordic Tradition, Odin.

Ways to celebrate Winter Solstice included making masks and head dresses decorated with feathers and things found thriving in nature during this time of year. Like pinecones, evergreens, holly, and mistletoe.

It’s said anything that thrives in this types of condition does so by sheltering good and protective spirits that share their spirit with you when you keep it close. Also, the merriment of making generous and silly toasts with mead or wine; feasting traditionally on bread and honey or the sacrificial hogs and/or goats.

When the seasons turned

and winter was said to bring numerous evils and malicious spirits that stalked the shadows of snowy forests, the Pagan people would turn to magic and ask the aid of nature spirits.

Mistletoe, holly and evergreen were believed to have special powers against the dark magicks of winter; as they were the only plants that stayed green throughout the year. Throughout the winter, to clear their homes of malicious winter spirits, the Pagan Germanic people hung wreaths and placed heaps of evergreens over their doors and windows, believing the spirits that were present in them were enough to ward off winter evils.

The evergreen decor would also be brought indoors as their scent would refresh the dark, medieval homes of otherwise stagnant straw and thresh. Pinecones and needles would be burned as a form of incense; allowing the protective spirit magic of the evergreen and its smoke to fill the home.

YULETIDE AND MULTIFAITH

by Adele Sutcliffe When we start to discuss faith, it can conjure up all sorts of images; as we each have our own paths, from pagans to Islam to Buddhism and so on.

We each are free to practice what we believe, but at certain times of the year these sometimes intertwine. And to see just what other faiths do at Yule and Christmas, I set about asking a few how they would celebrate Yule or Christmas and what it means to them. I asked a couple of questions to each:

1. What does Christmas or Yule mean to you?

2. What traditions do you and your family have at this time of year?

Bob: London “To me Christmas is as it says on the tin. Christ Mass, Mass for Christians and Catholics in particular is the most relevant

act of worship. The key thing for us is to put Christ at the centre of Christmas. We know that Jesus wasn’t born on December 25th, but that is not important. The holiday or Holy Day is a time to remember and celebrate when God became human and lived among us and started the most important 33 years in the history of mankind.

“So how does this affect how I and other Christians celebrate? Well, we do all the presents and the turkey and booze thing but we also go to

church as well. The Christian period starts with Advent, leading up to Midnight mass and Christmas day services.

It’s a happy time with lots of carols which most people will know. But there is another side to Christmas, a time to be thankful for family, friends and what God has blessed you with.

“You also remember those that are no longer with us, but we also and should think of others. Try to be a servant to the needs of others, which is anything from helping the homeless to paying a visit to the lonely neighbour, and just taking time to have a chat. Spreading the love and friendship are practical things that Christians like to do anyway but more so at Christmas.

“We mainly have a tradition in our home putting a tree up, decorating the home, buying presents and storing under the tree. We go to church Christmas morning, a good fry up breakfast on Christmas day, followed but a Turkey dinner around 3pm,and we open presents at anytime. Then it’s a salad tea on Christmas day evening.”

Yas: Yorkshire “As a Muslin 25th December means nothing to us; it’s just another day. Our Christmas is after Ramadan, which moves every year. And we just give gifts to the children and family. I will buy and send my Christian friends a small gift and send cards. Also, if I am invited to a Christmas party, I will go.

“We always watch the Queen’s Speech on Christmas day; something my Dad always

did when we were children.

We all sat down to watch it.

So in a way I suppose that’s a Christmas day tradition to us.

It’s more Boxing Day where we have our traditions of going to the sales – that’s a must in our house. Things are different now. As a child, my mum and dad would hang Christmas card up that they had revived.

Even now they still do this and buy their Christian friends gifts.

“But on the other hand, my children will not give out cards or gifts at this time of year, not even to their teachers or friends. Just goes to show how times have changed and I find it really sad.

“At Christmas time I buy friends gifts and those who know me will sent me gifts at Eid, but I’m not offended if I receive Christmas cards or a gift at this time of year.”

Col and Derek: Aberdeen “We feel it’s a time for family and friendship, to be with the ones you love. Although we are not religious as such, we believe in God and the birth of Jesus. Col loves Christmas and all the decorations. I llove all the hymns and the music that we got taught as a child. We both love to hear them now. Even at our age, Christmas morning is still special, because you have picked the gift for your family and friends, even though your children may be grown up and you may have grandchildren.

It’s so nice to see their faces, and that special gift for your partner: to see this makes me happy. It’s a day of love and happiness, and I think it’s what Jesus would have wanted in a

sad cruel world. Col loves to hear the songs of old, not all this modern Christmas songs you get now.”

“Christmas eve we used to make homemade sausage rolls and mince pies and get all the veg ready for Christmas day; plus we used to get a bar of soap and write on the mirror a wee message from Santa, like thank you for the whiskey and sausage roll, scatter a carrot or two about, and put the turkey in about midnight on a low heat. Now it’s just Derek and I. We usually cook on Christmas day.”

Merry Christmas to you all.

THE FAITH SYMBOL

A Universal Symbol of Affirmation (Interfaith Emblem).

Information on this symbol can be found at http://www.faithsymbol. org/

The Singing, Ringing Tree Burnley

by John Robinson

The Singing Ringing Tree can be found on the moors overlooking Burnley in Lancashire.

This sculpture got its name because of its shape which is a series of different lengths of hollow tubes which are similar to a tree. These tubes capture the ever-present wind which comes across the moors, making a very eerie, haunting musical sound.

In 2006, the tree was completed from a design by award-winning architects Mike Tonkin and Anna Liu. In 2007, the sculpture won the national award of the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA).

Since then this iconic sculpture has been chosen as one of the twenty-one landmarks that define Britain in the 21st Century, coming above York Minster, the Shard and Highclere Castle.

As well as being a top landmark, the Singing Ringing Tree has also been named as one of the top ten strangest musical instruments in the world.

I am lucky enough to live just two miles from this amazing landmark which can be found at Crown Point, an area of natural beauty. To get there couldn’t be simpler...for anyone interested, just park up in the car park and there it is just a short walk away. To see this iconic panopticon is breath-taking and, as you get nearer, the haunting sounds become louder and louder. If you add this experience to the spectacular views from on high, it really makes a visit very special.

The Singing, Ringing Tree can be found just off Crown Point Road. Further information and details of how to get to site and also information of events at the SRT can be found at: http://www.midpenninearts. org.uk/panopticons-singingringing-tree

by John Robinson Photographer at Pendle Craft and Frameousfotos Bespoke photography.

Portfolios, Family shoots, Portraits, Landscapes, Calendars, special occasions. All at extremely competitive rates.

FRAMEOUSFOTOS Bespoke Photos, Portfolios, and Family Shoots Find Out More At: http://www.frameousfotos.weebly.com/ or email: frameousfotos@gmail.com

Soul Dolls Wild Doll Medicine to Nourish Your Soul

by Claire Gerrard Soul Dolls : Flights of fancy created from twigs and clay, feathers, tatty fabric, wool, metal, bones and Gaia’s bounty, moon magic and soul sighs.

contemporary doll artist’s.... doll making and playing is in our DNA. As well as for decorative

Enchanted Anam Caras made by your Inner Child to light your path through the Forest.

From the Palaeolithic 26,000 year old Dolni Venus Goddess artefact, to Brigid’s Dolls, the Shamans Ongun, Witches Poppets, Hopi Katchinas, Guatemalan worry dolls, Matryoshka nesting dolls, Corn Husk dolls and, Frozen Charlotte’s ,the Health Guardian of the Delaware and Ekeko ‘peddler doll ‘ of Bolivia to Barbie, Bratz and

Spirit of the forest

reasons and imaginary play Dolls have also been made to animate and personify power in different ways .

Soul Dolls evolved organically out of discarded bits and pieces leftover from my work as a jewelery maker, at a

time I was deepening into Earth based spirituality. In an alchemical process; spirit, creativity and matter fused in a magical way and soul dolls were born, a form of assemblage art.

Working with them continues to be an exciting and mystical journey of exploration and insight, bringing me home to my own Intuition and wisdom and extending my practice of visionary art and making.

It is my joy to share this with others along the way.

The Making of a Soul Doll is a spontaneous , meditative and intuitive process. Therapeutic and relaxing in itself, but also bringing hidden depths and treasure from the primordial realms of fantasy, myth, symbol, archetype and fairy tale.

that works.

Making

There are no rules, recipes or ways of doing – you and your Dolly Muse find your way together – that’s part of the enchantment. Free to be as wild, free, weird, strange or unconventional as you want – there is no judgment here : ugly/ pretty/ nice /not nice It’s all good.

The Dolls could be made with an intent; healing and blessing for example, but often the richest gifts come from dolls that are allowed to evolve with either no conscious agenda or having been inspired by a dream, wish or vision, letting the materials at hand and spirit of the doll assemble themselves, with just a tweak and little encouragement here and there.

Suggested materials : driftwood, twigs roots air dry or oven bake clay, wire, fabric scraps, paint , PVA and super glue, ribbons, charms, crystals , feathers , stones , bones and found objects. Herbs and spices to add; if for healing/ blessing. Be as eclectic as you like, and prepared to use anything you resonate with

The creative process seems to involve many moments of synchronicity with just the right meaningful element popping up to be included.

When your Anam Cara is complete, let her rest for a while before the deeper work begins.

It would be fine of course to stop here and value will

have been found in the flow and imagination of making, however, the finished doll holds up a mirror to our souls, inviting us to ‘mine our shadow for gold” (C.G. Jung).

The finished doll symbolises a soul fragment, survivor self or character from our inner tribe, a quality, fear, hope or desire we have hidden in our shadow, locked away from ourselves.

A couple of simple questions such as ‘what part of me do you represent’ or ‘what would you like to be called’ help us to dig deep. Everyone’s process, projections and experience is unique and it’s important to honour what comes up for you. My own experience has been full of

surprises, uncovering lost soul fragments, embracing poignant moments where unexpressed sadness and pain has arisen for healing, celebrating and redeeming strengths and gifts contained within. The dolls can embody our own energy, holding a temporary mirror to our souls and by their symbolism, help us externalise and find resolution to trauma, desires and conflicts.

A lovely doll to make is an anthropomorphic ‘power animal ‘ doll to honour your power animal and connect more deeply. Dolls could also be made for guides and deity.

Often as I’ve completed the work with a Doll, a poem will surface that seems to tether itself to that work.

Soul Dolls are for boys too of course. A great way for a man to connect with their Anima and vice versa. In some of the great plains Indian tribes,

only boy’s who had undergone a purification ritual could make the sacred Sun Dance Doll. Sadly our culture has ‘feminised’ dolls, labeling them

a ‘girly pursuit’ plasticising them and stripping their power. The real magic is in the making and bonding with your own creation.

of the Soul Dolls and Soul Animals I have made recently and a few of the insights gained. I hope you will feel inspired to make your own.

Keeper of the Mysteries.

Named Magdala.

This spellbinding lady in red carries a vintage key from an old fob watch, implying arcane knowledge of timeless wisdom. A mystical and elusive Blue Rose is also close

I’d like to end with a passage from Clarissa Pinkola Estes book ‘Women who run with the Wolves’; “The doll is the symbolic homunculi, a little life. A symbol of what lies buried in humans that is numinous.

It is a small and glowing facsimile of the original Self.

Superficially it is just a doll.

But inversely, there is a little piece of soul that carries all the knowledge of the larger soul – Self. In the doll is the voice, in diminutive, of old La Que Sabe, The One Who Knows”.

Please remember, when your doll journey is complete, to integrate and ground these re owned self – projections and wisdom, letting them empower and bless your onward journey. The dolls can stay around as quiet witnesses and companions, placed in a sacred medicine bundle/Mesa or Crane bag, or gifted as an heirloom piece accumulating Manna with every loving look and touch.

I would like to share a few

to her heart. Her silver Moon face has been hand crafted from fine silver, with the Bindi placed at the brow chakra representing her awakened state and intuitive abilities. Her 2.5” tall body is made from a small piece of Iona driftwood and her dress is the fine gold organza of a butterfly’s wing with her deep midnight red cloak made of pure raw silk, symbolising her connection with the feminine mysteries.

A creature of the liminal spaces, she may grace your dreams and imaginings, encouraging the re wilding of your deepest self with her healing and knowing presence.....

Admit something: “Everyone you see, you say to them, “Love me.”

Of course you do not do this out loud, otherwise Someone would call the cops.

Still, though, think about this, this great pull in us to connect.

Why not become the one who lives with a Full moon in each eye that is always saying, With that sweet moon language, what every other eye in This world is dying to hear?”

Hafiz Doll below: Known as the Bone Mother or Wolf mother, radiating her ancient beauty and deep wisdom. She gathers the bones of grief and suffering and singing her song with compassion and mercy brings forth the new.

Doll Opposite: Moon Cat. A tribute to Bast and reconnection to my own instinctual nature. In the ancient world were well known for their mystical attributes.

Some feared them, some revered them, but all in the ancient civilizations agreed that cats have a special place.

Creative thought for the day: “Creativity is about the relationship of the self to the Self - of the embodied ego, who moves through the daily world earning a pay check, pushing a grocery cart, grooming the dog, or mulching the garden; to the higher Self, that person in harmony with spirit. Creative self-expression is a tool for the process of what C.G.Jung calls individuation”

from ‘Faces of your Soul: Rituals in Art Mask making, and Guided Imagery’ by Elsie and Kaleo Ching.

More inspiration for making can be found on the Soul Dolls face book page : https://www.facebook. com/Soul-Dolls351600881710356/?ref=aymt_ homepage_panel.

Claire offers one to one sessions of Soul Doll Making and can be contacted above.

With many thanks to Mike Williams, author of ‘Prehistoric Belief’, ‘Follow the Shaman’s Call’ and ‘Shaman’s Spirit’ for his enthusiastic and insightful input into the process.

Do We Have Time For Ritual?

by Andruid Over the last few weeks I have had conversations on Facebook and face-to-face with people feeling guilty about not having time for ritual or worried that they don’t have the right ‘bling’. So I thought I would do a piece on these things from my point of view and I hope it will help others.

First of all the guilt about not having the time to thank their deities, ancestors or spirits. I wrote a little Samhain ritual for a few people on a Facebook page and some of their friends. It was part of a bigger ritual I had written for a few years ago that our group used.

I told them all they needed was some incense, a tealight candle and a cup with mead or drink of their choice in it. Just light the candle and focus on it and then recite what I had written (I can’t print it here as it has some bits taken from other sources found around the internet.) I am creating more

little things that don’t take long to do and people can use when time is short (watch this space).

We all have to deal with the real world in our daily practice and feeling guilty because life gets in the way is silly (our Gods or whatever will understand this). I recite the Druids’ Prayer everyday but I say it looking out of the kitchen window whilst waiting for the kettle to boil in the morning. At any point in the day you can just find two minutes to give thanks to whoever you feel the need to (even sitting on the toilet).

Whoever your thanking won’t care; all they care about is the intent and that you mean what you say.

Now let’s talk about the ‘bling’: ritual tools, clothing and jewellery. As a Druid some people would expect me to wear a white robe and cloak, have long hair and a beard, and a fancy carved staff with crystals on it. Nothing could be

further from the truth. The truth is slightly different; I have a black cloak (why would I want a white one when walking over hills and through woods etc?), usually with normal clothes underneath (although I now have a kilt). The only ‘Pagan’ jewellery I wear is an Awen pendant. My staff is a plain birch one made by very good friends of mine from tree fall; the only thing that decorates it is an Awen symbol, no crystals or jewels or fancy stuff at all, no intricate carvings depicting magical things.

Now I know people who may read this have staffs covered with all that stuff and all the jewellery and fancy clothes and if that’s what they want then there is nothing wrong with that. I just don’t believe I need it for what I do.

I have only come across one person in all the events, rituals and functions I have attended telling someone “you are not dressed correctly for this ritual”. The person who was

told this was embarrassed and upset (the person who said this was not a Druid but another Pagan path). I am part of an OBOD grove even though I am not doing the course and there is no dress code as such. I know that in OBOD there are different coloured robes for the different grades Bard, Ovate or Druid but this has never been a problem at our grove rituals.

To me what you wear or carry is not important during ritual.

The only thing that matters is the intent. You can dress as flashy as you want but if the intent is not there prepare to feel the boot of your Deity, Ancestor or spirit on your backside.

I have seen people ask on social media and at events where to buy an altar kit (and there are people out there who will willingly sell you one that’s as flashy as you’re prepared to pay). Again, if that’s your choice and what you want to buy then that’s up to you (I won’t judge you). I personally have a little ‘altar’- it’s a shelf next to my computer. It has a painting of Morrighan done by a friend of mine; it has an ornament that belonged to my dad; and a stick made from hawthorn that I peeled and sanded down myself. That’s it, that’s all I need. A Druid I respect very highly once told me that you carry your altar with you wherever you go: the earth you stand on , the air in your lungs, the fire that is your passion and the water that makes up most of our body, simple isn’t it ?

So ask yourself what do I need? An athame? What about a piece of tree fall like a twig? Sand it down if you wish, or even use your finger and it will do just as good as a £30 knife (unless you’re cutting things). A fancy offering bowl?

What about an old ashtray or an egg cup? As long as it is waterproof it will be fine. A fancy statue of a God/dess, Deity or whatever? What about a piece of stone or an old ornament that means a lot to you? (I have known someone use a piece of Yorkshire stone from their garden). An altar cloth? What about a piece of material that means a lot to you? A piece of your child’s first school uniform, a bit of clothing that you wore on your first date with your partner?

Anything that has some meaning to you. Do you need fancy incense? (I’m lucky as my wife makes all that we use). But what is wrong with just an incense stick? They are cheap and do just as well as expensive handmade incense (although we can sell you some if you wish).

I’m not saying that we should all have homemade ”Blue Peter” style altars made from toilet rolls, plastic tubes and sticky back tape. All I’m saying is please don’t feel guilty about not having the right ‘gear’ or the time for ritual, and if you want to buy all the gear you need for ritual there are some great stockists out there.

But all I ask is that you get recommendations from others as there will be people out there who will try to rip you off.

The real world is not all love and light.

Remember it’s all about intention as all the fancy stuff in the world will not matter to your chosen Deity if you go about it half-arsed and, believe me, they will let you know.

Peace, Love and Blessings /I\ Andruid

and heat. Stars rise above the Earth, beckoning our searching minds to reach beyond our own solar system and grasp the vastness of space. The swirling clouds of stellar dust that formed the heart of the stars spiral outward into infinity and turn with the cycle of the Universe. The blessing of the Pole Star radiates to the Earth across the abyss and reminds us that the same stuff of creation that fuels and binds these mighty sentinels of the night sky burns within us. Latest research shows that stars are initially formed as a sphere within a ring or circle of matter, echoing the cup and ring symbols found carved on the stones of prehistory that may represent the dead of manifestation and the source of creation itself. The blessing of the stellar world bathes the Earth and the human spirit with healing and regenerative energy.

awesome power that burns at the heart of these stellar giants and yet that they are only the sentinels of our own visible reality. The Pole Star reminds us that there is a greater, unseen power in the Universe; one that can manifest and balance the enormous gravity, light and energy that form the heart of a star and yet also weaves the subtle interactions between the subatomic particles that exist in multidimensional states that we can only theorize about. Since the dawn of time, stars have been revered and studied as they traversed the sky. For the first travelers, the Pole Star offered a constant navigation The Pole Star. aid as the star fields wheeled around its fixed position. Long Position on the Wheel: range calendar predictions The Pole Star is placed at and mathematical equations Imbolc, on February 1. It is also developed from these associated with the new moon first attempts at Astronomy. and universal lore, and stands Research suggests that the between the elements of Earth pyramids were laid out in the and Air. shape of the constellation of Meaning: Orion and ancient peoples Description: saw mythical beasts, Gods The pure white light of the Pole The Pole Star symbolizes and history laid out pictorially universal law, higher spiritual Star illuminates the dark void in the twinkling star patterns knowledge and power. The of the universe and casts its of the night sky. Like the first breath of creation formed radiance upon the Earth. The Sun and Moon, the stars the stars and binds them stars represent the remotest moved through the heavens together as constants within power in the celestial sky and in a regular, predictable cycle; the visible Universe. Our own the interaction and fusion of some vanishing beneath the star, the Sun, reminds us of the horizon during the summer particles that produce light

and reappearing during winter.

Mythical stories of great hunters and slain warriors honored by the Gods and placed forever in the night sky were handed down through the time and developed into ancient religious practices.

Card 2

My Thoughts:

Reading Points: The power of the universal lore is at work here, either within the individual or permeating a web of circumstance that will bring profound change and new spiritual hope. The Pole Star of prophetic guidance and inspirational knowledge has risen and will guide you on your forth coming journey through the forest. If you hold this basic and ancient truth near the core of your being and navigate by it, you cannot go far wrong. It is there as a talisman as well as a symbol of the universal cycle of nature.

Whenever you are feeling lost in the dark labyrinth of life, remember that the same laws and primal matter that bond the Pole Star and fuel its giant heart also formed you.

My Thoughts: As we journey on our paths, even in the darkest of night or the darkest hour that is put before us, we can be assured that up above us there is that everlasting burning star that lights our way and shines so brilliantly. It will guide us on our life’s journey as all the heavenly Gods and Goddesses watch over us...

Blessings...

knowledge it can in order to do so. It works hard and traps a bountiful harvest.

Page of Arrows---Wren.

Moving from the Spring Equinox towards Beltane.

Meaning:

The wren is so small but yet so mighty and at times our looks can deceive us. We think because of the size it can’t do much. It is amazing to see such a little tiny thing working so hard with determination.

The determination that tells him “do not give up” and letting him know that up ahead as he works and gains the knowledge he needs and the harvest he needs that the bounty is much. The size of one does not matter; it is what and how hard they work to reap what lies ahead for them...

Blessings...

Mysticalwinds

The colors of the gold crest – red, white, green and black – were once held to be sacred and the common wren was considered a guardian of the winter mysteries. Druids kept wrens as totem animals of augury and prophecy and ritually sacrificed them on St Stephens Day (Dec 26).

Reading Point: Study and application bring wisdom and understanding which can be applied to most situations. Your youth and determination will carry you forward and your nascent skills bring you to a dynamic realization.

Strongest before Beltane, the wren is the guardian of mysteries and alone holds the secrets of winter having lived through it unlike many other birds. It is a studious creature, learning quickly and gaining wisdom. It is determined to survive and will gain all of the

Tarot cards used are Wild Wood Tarot and can be found at: http://www. thewildwoodtarot.com/ Picture to left is: The Flammarion engraving by an unknown artist, first documented appearance is in Camille Flammarion’s 1888 book L’atmosphère: météorologie populaire.

Being The wood brings together time past and time to come, the hour-glass pivot-point of shifting sand; this moment where I stand eyes closed, letting time fuse.

A meeting place of roots and feet where Autumn roars its fury drowning out all sound save for itself and the hoarse kaahr, kaahr of rooks; black rags that swirl and dive and make the wind their own.

I am caught in this apex, crossed-road of time and space where all things meet and meld where all befores and afters disappear become this now, this moment, this herein of being.

BY JANE HARLAND

Anwen Elemental Guardian Of Danu’s Spring by Vicky MacLean

Woolston near Oswestry is the location of a site named after the Welsh Saint, Winifred, known generally as St Winifred’s Well. It stands at the end of a woodland path.

The Christian story of the well is that during the 12th Century the monks of Shrewsbury journeyed to Flintshire to the shrine of St Winifred charged with bringing the saint’s

remains back to their Abbey.

During the journey home

the remains were laid on the ground at Woolston and a miraculous well appeared. The declaration of a miracle lead to pilgrims arriving at the well for healing.

A lesser known fact is that just below the site of this well a natural spring bubbles to the surface and these waters had healing properties, which would cure eye troubles.

Over this spring stands a small black and white building from around the late 15th Century.

The building seems to have had multiple uses depending on which story one follows.

Perhaps a well house, and later a Court House for the local area, and even a cottage dwelling. More recently it has been converted into a holiday let. The spring rises right below the structure and a stone chamber encloses it. There is a small door-like opening with steps down to the spring head itself. The water is crystal clear and flows gently upwards and out through a hole in a large sandstone block and into a manmade sandstone bathing pool which has steps down into it at both sides. The

arrangement continues into a second stone pool which in turns flows out through another hole into a shallow reed bordered pond that empties to the North over a small waterfall and into a lively little brook presumably to connect to the River Morda close by.

I have visited this site a number of times and have always been enchanted by the energy of the spring. Sadly, it is now rather neglected, and seems to have few ‘pilgrims’ in these modern times.

At the end of October 2015 two friends and myself decided to visit the spring as one of them was visiting from Devon and had never heard of the healing spring. Both of my friends follow the Pagan Path and are male. The reason I mention this fact will become clearer as I write.

We arrived at the spring just after lunch and it was a crisp warm autumn day. Birds sang and the sun shone, but the air of sadness and neglect was palpable, and all three of us commented on the low energy.

It is usually a very uplifting

energy by the flowing water.

Our Devon companion is clairaudient and very knowledgeable on many subjects, My second companion is a Reiki Master and Practitioner of Nemeton Energy; he has a sound knowledge of herbs, oils and raising energy and ritual practices.

We decided to light some candles and incense that we had brought with us to honour the Goddess of the spring which obviously pre-dated the well site of the 12th Century.

We had also planned to invoke the Goddess Nemetona of the Sacred Groves there amongst the trees.

Our friend from Devon seated himself at the side of the lower bath and closed his eyes; in meantime the two of us continued our devotions doing our best to clear the sad aura and raise the energy.

We were both standing in the shallow water when our

companion whom I shall only call Wolf, as he may not desire publicity, spoke: eyes still closed. He described being aware of a Guardian Spirit attached to the spring. She was intrigued by what I and my other companion, whom I will refer to as Draco, were doing at her spring. What then followed was around an hour of amazing dialogue and information. In all my 30 years of being involved in energy work, Earth magic and Spiritual practice I have never been as overwhelmed as I was that day by the information and insights that poured out via Wolf and his channelling ability.

The story has its beginning long before the Christians arrived in the Marches between Wales and England. In fact according to our narrator Druids came to Her spring and took Her water, her own words.

Our guide’s name as near as Wolf could tell because of her ancient accent was and still remains Anwen. She once had human form and dedicated her life as High Priestess to the Earth and Water Goddess who we believe was most probably Danu/Anu mother of the Tuatha De Danann the Fey people of the Bruna Boinne area of Southern Ireland.

Anwen was also the Spiritual

Mother to a small group of attendant Priestesses.

Anwen told us that she had been forgotten along with her Goddess and the spring neglected. In her life as its Guardian she had passed into Spirit at a “good age”.

Over time she had become the spring’s Elemental Spirit Protector in the absence of any more Sisters or a High Priestess to serve the Goddess.

This is the sadness we felt when we arrived and what had motivated us to work together to offer devotions and to clear out the fallen leaves from the water.

All the time Draco and I worked at clearing and energising, Anwen talked on.

She said it had been 563 years since she last communicated directly with a human. It might explain her desire to chat for so long. She was moved by the attention we showed but was a little surprised by a man working words and spells. She also kept referring to Draco as “One of those”, meaning his Druidic connections. She was not enamoured of Druids or indeed men in general; however, she apparently very much liked my energy and told Wolf that I was a natural-born healer. I simply said “Thank you, Mother for your kind words” out loud. Apparently this pleased her greatly and through Wolf she replied “Daughter, had you lived in my time I would have initiated you to the Goddess right away on meeting you”. I said to Draco that I wanted to come back soon to continue cleaning the algae from the spring and tidying away leaf fall. The response from Anwen took us all by complete surprise. She said that She would always be at the Spring to watch over it, but that She was passing the Guardianship to me: it was

blade and usually covered.

However, when I showed it to him he told me it was the triple spiral form of the Goddess Danu. He believes that Danu marked me seven years ago as her own, even though at that time I had not taken the Pagan Path.

now in my charge, but she would forever offer guidance when I needed Her. We all just looked at each other. Wolf then explained Anwen felt a kinship with me and knew I would honour the role as a daughter of the Goddess and keeper of the spring. I could only tell her I accepted. She then told me I must bring back the healing herbs that once grew there and planted by her and the Sisters. I fully intend to complete that task as I have many of the old wild and healing herbs in my seed collection, and with the help of Draco and my younger sister Jane next year we will begin that work.

There are a number of other things that connect me to Anwen and the sacred spring: I am a water element; Anwen has not spoken for 563 years,

I am approaching 63; Anwen said the English version of her name equates to Ann, my middle name is Ann. During my weekly healing group my four regular ladies were working with the water energy and using water from the spring. One of them heard a woman clearly say “I have all my daughters again”. The final piece seems to be my tattoo done when I visited friends in New Zealand after my husband passed over. New Zealand is a truly beautiful and spiritual land, and I was in desperate need of its healing energies and hot springs. At 56 I decided I wanted/needed a tattoo. My friend Jane, also a healer and intuitive, helped me to draw up a design and a close friend of hers, a Maori Artist and Shaman, created it for me. I love its energy.

Wolf had never seen the tattoo as it is on my right shoulder

I know that the “Muggles” of the world will probably think me insane, but those of us with a deeper understandin will appreciate how amazing this journey of empowerment is for me. The rising of the Divine Feminine since the Millennium shift in awareness has seen the awakening of so many women as they come into their true power and purpose. These things having been taken from them over hundreds of years of patriarchal control and subjugation. Balance in all things in Heaven and Earth, male/female, God/Goddess.

I am humbled and honoured and realise this has been my destiny since I began my healing path so many years ago, everything was leading me to my Pagan road and service to the Divine Feminine and the healing arts. I have so much yet to learn and it is exciting.

I hope you have enjoyed reading about Anwen,Danu’s Spring and my wonderful companions, Wolf and Draco.

May the Goddess watch over each of you. Blessings, Love and Light.

Herb World

by Adele Sutcliffe

Here we are again. My, hasn’t the time flown. How are you all getting on with making your own incense?

Yule is fast approaching now so this month we are going to focus on Yule incense and herbs that we may have or buy for Yule.

As we covered Cinnamon last month, we don’t need to revisit that one but it will be used in the Yule incense this month.

FRANKINCENSE This is a resin that is used to make the incense burn slower and it has a wonderful aroma.

This resin has been traded on the Arabian Peninsula and North Africa for more than 5000 years; a mural depicting the sacks of frankincense traded from the land of punt adorns the wall of a temple of Ancient Egyptian Queen, Hatshepsut.

This wonderful resin is tapped from the scraggy but hardy trees by slashing the bark which is called stripping, and allowing the exuded resin to bleed out and harden. These harden resins are called tears. Soil and climate differences can create a diversity of the resin within the same species.

Tapping is done two to three times a year, and generally the last tapping produces the higher quality and more opaque resin. The finest resin is produced in Somalia; this is where the Catholic Church buys most of its stock.

Frankincense is used for protection, as well as consecration, purifying and healing. It is also good to blend with others for a good deep meditation.

PINE We all know pine trees, and the needles that they drop, but did you know that Pine

is also a resin too? They are evergreens and an enduring symbol of winter, growing up to 80m tall. The bark of most pine is thick and scaly. These trees are long living trees, reaching ages of 100 and up to 1000 years old. One of the world’s oldest pine trees is in the white mountains of California. It is dubbed Methuselah, which is 4,600 years old, and an older tree which has been cut down was dated 4,900 yrs old.

The scent of the pine is unmistakable: sweet, slightly woody and spicy. It is brilliant for strength, purification and cleansing.

GINGER Most will know this spice. It is mainly used in cooking curries, Parkin, Yule or Christmas cakes. But this little beauty is an herbaceous perennial and grows about 1 meter tall, having narrow green leaves and yellow flowers. It is indigenous to South China,

and was later spread on the Spice Islands and other parts of Asia. It was exported to Europe via India in the 1st century AD, as a result of the very lucrative spice trade. The Romans used it extensively.

India is now the largest producer of ginger.

Fresh ginger and dried ginger: the aromatic smell is one of the nicest, I think. Not only is this used a lot in my kitchen, I use it for wealth and prosperity in incense blends, but it can also be used for love and lust.

As always, please be careful using oils and herbs if you are pregnant!

After Samhain has gone, I’m busy again making the incense for Yule. Here are some simple blends for you to try. Yes, there’s time to make one.

This is a simple loose one with no oils: As always I work in teaspoons: 1 part = 1 tsp; 1/2 part = 1/2 tsp.

YULE 1 2 parts frankincense 2 parts pine needles 1 part cedar 1 part juniper berries Mix these together. If you have a pestle and mortar then crush slightly. If not, use two large spoons. You want this slightly chunky as it is to be used more or less straight away.

YULE 2 2 parts frankincense 2 parts pine needles 1 part cedar 1 part juniper berries

1/2 part sandalwood 1/2 part benzoin (resin) 1/4 part myrrh, 5 drops each of cinnamon oil and orange oil.

Do the same as above, but make the blend slightly smaller. Add the oils after, taking care to count each drop.

YULE 3 This is a long one and can be made now or later in the year for next Yule: 2 parts pine needles 1 part cedar 1 part cloves 1 part juniper berries 1 part cinnamon 1 part ginger 1/2 part sandalwood 1/2 part benzoin (resin) 2 parts frankincense 1/4 part myrrh, 1/2 part mistletoe 1/4 part orange peel 5 drops each of cinnamon oil and orange oil 3 drops bayberry oil Quite a lot in that one. As always, please take care using oils and some herbs.

As I keep saying, these are not set in stone. There may be something you really don’t like. That’s fine; just don’t use it.

I have listed below everything that can be used to make your Yule blend: Pine needles; cedar; cloves;

juniper berries; cinnamon; ginger powder and root; sandalwood; benzoin (resin); frankincense; myrrh; mistletoe; orange peel; chamomile; bayberry; mixed spice powder; nutmeg; holly leaves and berries; sage; all spice powder; spruce needles and/or oil.

If you are short of time (sometimes I have been), you can make an oil blend instead.

Pick out your favourite herbs from the list and if you don’t have the oils, go buy some.

You done have to get them all, maybe one or two, such as cinnamon and clove, or orange and pine. The choice is yours.

Hope you have all enjoyed this edition; see you next time.

HAPPY YULE TO YOU ALL

Here is a reminder of how to prepare and test the incense from last issue: As before, set out a piece of tissue paper, get all your herbs and resins and oils out, then begin making you incense. once you have them in little piles in front of you, begin mixing them together, omitting the oils till last, when you are happy, take a small amount and a charcoal disk, and test burn, this will give you an indication of what the smell will be like, This is where you can add more if you wish, you may decide that sandalwood is good and wish to add more of that, you may prefer to make a larger quantity, that’s fine, make sure that if you do it needs to be stored in a glass jar with a tight fitting lid and label well, but for smaller amounts its fine to wrap in tissue paper and label it.

t Neme

by Vicky MacLean

tem ys S

n o

Energy

rebalance, ground and energise their own centres.

My first article about the Nemeton Energy System Trees and plants each have described its origins and Patron their own distinct signature and personality, and to Deity Nemetona. communicate with those I would like this time to outline energies is life-changing.

I the practical application of have a beautiful Silver Birch tree/plant energies, and how tree, Beith is her Celtic name, we can benefit both ourselves outside my bedroom window. and others through their use.

She always fills me with a Firstly, can I say that I believe sense of renewal, ethereal in one simple truth - All Healing the moonlight, a tree of new is the same: it comes from the beginnings. She seeded herself, heart, it is the desire and intent The White Lady of the woods, to channel healing energy that some 17 years ago and we creates positive changes. It have become close friends. Her does not matter what name we grace and strength inspire me. apply, Reiki, Spiritual Healing, She shares the gentleness of Laying on of Hands or indeed her Spirit leading me to devote NES. It is in the desire to work my time to healing, teaching encouraging spiritual for the Highest Good that we and growth and understanding in connect to those beneficial others. energies.

We may follow certain Taliesin son of Cerridwen is disciplines on the path to identified with Beith. Use the becoming Healers but the energy of Beith to initiate new outcome is always the same. beginnings, fresh starts, to I use Usui, Shiki Ryoho and change negative patterns and Tibetan Reiki, Nemeton, to drive out negativity ready for Crystals, Radiothesia, a new start. Protective Beith Kinesiology, whatever I am was used for cradle making for guided to employ. The energy newborns to protect them from dictates and works with the any negative psychic energy needs of the receiver. I do which might attack them. not heal anyone; I am simply This is the essence of NES the conduit that enables the to use each energy to correct individual to open themselves dis-ease in the human energy to what they need in order to field. During the birthing of

NES, symbols were channelled for the tree and plant energies not just by myself or Wendy Jackson but by all the students who began working with the discipline.

To find yourself “called” by Beith is truly a blessing.

Oak (Duir) energy is entirely different, most definitely masculine.

Oaks provide shelter to so many living creatures, and acorns as food and medicine. The tree of life, deep rooted, strong and sacred to Thor. Place your hands on the Oak, close your eyes, reach out with your heart and mind to sense the spirit within.

Sacred to the Druids and Ancient Celts, oaks are seen as protectors or guardians. A sprig of Oak protected babies and infants from being swapped as Faerie changelings. It likewise protects us from glamour or charms.

Use Oak energy to protect energetically “weak” individuals and aid recovery from illness which leaves one psychically vulnerable, fatigued and with low physical energy.

Go to any tree which calls to you, place your hands on the bark and focus. Communicate with its Spirit, always be respectful. Close your session by thanking the tree spirit, leave a token in exchange, and use the same method with plants.

Sit in a wood or garden with your back against a tree and connect to the Spirit in this way too, feel the rise of the sap, the wind in the branches, and the warmth of the sun. Follow the energy of the roots deep into the Earth. This method is also very discreet if you are at all concerned by any passers-by staring at you in “tree hugging” mode.

Enjoy

G i l l S w a i n

Gill Swain Interview

by Tasha Cark Q: Firstly, I want to thank you for agreeing to the interview.

For the readers, can you introduce yourself?

A: I live in a village, and I am separated with two grown-up children and six grandchildren.

I have been drawing all my life but never did anything with it.

Circumstances came about so I decided to do something more with my life - set myself up with an ironing round to support my art and both are combining well.

Q: Ironing round? Can you explain more? And how does that combine with your art?

A: The ironing supported me while I was waiting for my art to sell. Now my art is selling.

Q: Ah ok. I used to be paid to do ironing with family friends; now I only iron if the clothing needs it.

How did you get into art? What would you class your style as?

A: I was five and I won first prize for drawing a portrait of a man in class. When I was

13, my father who encouraged me sent in some work I did to London Art College. I won first prize. I went through some tough times a few years back; art helped me through it. I did a portraits course and studied the pencil, as I love to draw in black and white .I love doing children as fantasy pieces.

Always try and put a lot of feeling in my work. I would class my style as fantasy artist.

I tried cats,dogs, landscapes but they don’t work for me.

Q: Do you find fantasy art a de-stressor and a means of escape for you?

A: Yes I think I do. My favourite piece I have drawn is ‘Winds of Change’. it symbolises moving on away from tough times, hence the name.

Q: That sounds beautiful. Is this then a way of you saying this is how I was and this is how I am now? Is it then a case that you find and enjoy having a story behind each piece of work?

A: Yes, spot on. Most of my pieces are about life - either things that move me or things that have been part of me.

Q: My partner’s mother won a scholarship to the Royal Academy of Art in London; she learnt through her teachers to draw what she sees. Where do you take this from with being a fantasy artist, where do you see your subjects? How do you draw what you see?

A: Yes, I think all artists do.

Some for hairstyles, legs, even pictures in the woods near me for leaves and trees.

Q: The Pendle Craft is a

Q: When creating your work, you’ve already said black and white and pencil, but what do you prefer to work with - oils, acrylics etc.? What works best for you? Or is it a case of as you do the work you get that feeling as to what you need to use?

A: Pencil work is my favourite.

I am only just going back to using water colour and acrylics. I always draw the subject then decide. Oils I just don’t have patience to wait for drying time.

magazine serving the Pagan community. With fantasy art, do you find you have similar beliefs or ideas, i.e. Nature, fae etc.?

A: Yes I do. My daughter is very much the same. I have just painted her a Green Man picture with a working clock for Christmas .I spend a lot of time in my woods; I love it in summer and especially when the leaves change colour. I also made my daughter a ‘Book of Shadows’ which she loves. I love watching the moon; sometimes it helps to draw inspiration.

Q: Would you say then that you and your family or some of them follow a Pagan tradition?

What advice would you give to up and coming artists in this area?

A: I know myself and my daughter definitely do as I think it comes from my father. I think as an artist it’s important

Q: How can people buy or find your work?

A: I have just opened a shop on Etsy. They can contact me through the Facebook page, Gill Swains Studio. And I am about to go on Red Bubble.

Q: With the piece ‘Winds of Change’, if you don’t mind, can you tell us the story behind that piece and how you’ve grown from it?

to find your style of art. Don’t be afraid to try anything new.

But once you have found your style, the rest will come together and importantly never give up.

A: The ‘Winds of Change’ represents strength, coming to terms with some hard times in my life.

The throwing back of the hair represents the release of change within; breathing new air; starting my life over with courage and believing in myself again.

Thank you Gill for your time today.

AUTHENTICITY

by Amy Lynn White To find balance in one’s soul, one must first find peace in their world and come to accept oneself.

To establish this peace and achieve this acceptance, one must embrace the light of love, the pitch of darkness and everything in between.

One must find and maintain their own balance, which is highly individualized.

No two souls are the same and what’s right for one may not be for another.

In the maintenance of one’s balance, one must not forget to accept others as one cannot successfully practice one without the other.

one’s entire life. They must confront, acknowledge, battle, accept and in some way befriend every facet of themselves - the good, the bad and the in between!

One must do whatever they must to come to peace with everything.

This process is well worth the effort and brings interesting revelations about oneself.

Put into mindful practice, it can change one’s world and hopefully have a ‘ripple effect’ with any others one may associate.

One becomes the wonderfully unique soul that one was meant to be.

One discovers that it’s really not that hard to have the courage of their convictions.

Coexist!

Honesty. Loyalty. Integrity.

One must find their own form of peace. This part is far from easy.

Then one becomes authentic.

Blessed Be

One must objectively survey

Kristen: I’m not really religious in any way.

Sam: Ok, brilliant.

Do you mind telling us about the work you do?

Making Magic with Kristen Jarvis Hey folks, I present to you all for this Yule edition, an interview with Fairy Artist Kristen Jarvis. It was a lovely experience interviewing her and I hope you all get something out of this interview because I sure learnt a lot!

Kristen: I make tons of different creations that are all fairy themed. It all started with my fairy wing earrings made with real cicada wings. I also make art from animal bones and decorate skulls with crystals. All crueltyfree and ethically sourced.

Sam: To start, how old are you, Kristen?

Sam: So you were your own inspiration, would you say?

Kristen: I’d say nature, in general, more so is.

‘Kristen Jarvis - Fairy Raccoon Skull’ Sam: Wonderful, and how long ago did you find this inspiration and start your business?

Kristen: About a year ago.

Sam: Was it easy starting up the business?

Kristen: I don’t think so. Like anything else in life, you have to work hard to make it, and I continue to work hard to try to make my business grow where I could flourish off of it.

Sam: Excellent, I’m glad it’s going well for you. Have you always wanted to be an artist?

Did you see yourself going down any other path?

Kristen: I’m 19!

Sam: And where are you from?

Kristen: Gastonia, North Carolina, United States.

Sam: Awesome! Do you have any religious or spiritual inclinations that you’d be comfortable sharing with us? If you’re not, don’t worry about it!

Kristen: It honestly came after I started making my earrings.

Kristen Jarvis - Aurora Borealis wing earrings Sam: Amazing. What made you want to be a fairy artist?

Where did your inspiration come from?

Kristen: Yes, I have always wanted to be an artist. I struggled as I went through high school because everyone was figuring out what they wanted to do for college and I never could figure it out.

Sure, I was good at anything I applied myself to in school, but I wasn’t passionate about it like I was in art class.

magazine is a British Pagan magazine and I’m the youth/ student correspondent, and I was wondering if you had any advice for young pagan entrepreneurs?

Kristen: My best advice for any pagan entrepreneurs, or just anyone really is, do not let others pressure you into changing who you are. Do ‘you’; don’t be afraid to do ‘you’. Most importantly, always follow your heart because that’s the only chance you’ll ever have at making your dreams come true.

‘Kristen Jarvis - Blue Fairy Box’ Sam: Are your family and friends supportive of the work you do, and are there any particular moments you could share with us about that?

Sam: I hope it all works out for you. There is definitely a place in the world for your work. As you may, or may not, know, The Pendle Craft ‘Kristen

Kristen: They can find me in a multitude of places!

Etsy: http:// kristenjarvisart.

Etsy.com Facebook: http:// Facebook.Com/ kristenjarvisart

Kristen: My mom says I’m not applying myself and that I need to go to college. My dad helps me with things I need help with like drilling things sometimes, but I do think he only tells me to keep doing this because he doesn’t want to help pay for college.

Instagram @ kristenjarvisart Tumblr: http:// kristenjarvisart.

Tumblr.com

Sam: I can understand their concerns, but your work is fantastic. Where do you see yourself in three years from now?

Kristen: Honestly, I really don’t know. Basing my life off of my art is still being tested out, and I’d love if it could work. But if it doesn’t, I really don’t know what I would do.

Sam: Thank you for such an inspiring message. I hope our readers get something from this! Last question I have for you is where can our readers find you and your work?

Sam: Brilliant, thanks Kristen.

That’s all my questions. It’s been wonderful talking to you!

Jarvis Rabbit Fairy Skulls’

Kristen: And thank you!

YULE RITUAL

by Claire Moone This is a quick and simple ritual for the Yule season. It can easily be adapted for being a group or solitary ritual, and can also be amended to suit your own paths. Take it, change it, use it. Yule Blessings!

Preparation · Yule Log (created by your own fair hands – a thick log with holes drilled in for candles.

Can be decorated if you wish. Make it your own) · Tea lights and candles (coloured if you have a specific intent or just plain if you’d prefer) · Fire (optional) Before starting any ritual, it is important to relax and ground yourselves: If you are in a group – Please take hands and centre your energies. Imagine a seed of light flowing down through your body, into the ground.

Feel it linking with the energy of the person next to you. Feel the tendrils flowing, expanding and joining with the energies of the space, the earth and the Universe.

If you are on your own – Take the time to imagine yourself in

your own scared grove. Feel the protection, energy and love of it. Feel your energy reaching down and stretching upwards, connecting you to the land below and the sky above.

Intent For a few months the days have been growing shorter, and the nights longer. After today, little by little, the hours of light will increase. The days will grow longer until once again it is Summer.

We celebrate now the time of Winter Solstice which is called Yule. It marks the birth of the Sun, and brings new and hope to the world. As we join the Goddess in greeting the new Sun, we also welcome the new light within ourselves. We are present here to welcome the new light.

Ritual East: Guardians of the east, place of Air. Breath of the Gods which gives us life, inspiration and clarity of thought. Hail and Welcome.

South: Guardians of the south, place of Fire. The flame that warms our hearts and souls, and grants us passion and intuition. Hail and Welcome.

West: Guardians of the west, place of Water. The ever-changing cycles that

nourishes life, without which we would not be and allows us understanding of emotions.

Hail and Welcome.

North: Guardians of the north, place of Earth. For which I am ever of and linked to the Gods, granting stability. Hail and Welcome.

Goddess: Goddess of all seasons, we see you now as mother with child. Be with us tonight. Hail and Welcome.

God: God of all seasons, we see you now as the dying sun, and yet also as a tiny baby, the Sun reborn. Be with us tonight.

Hail and Welcome.

Ancestors: It’s the blood of the Ancients that runs through our veins. And the forms may change but the Circle of Life remains. To the Ancestors who have gone before us - join us as our honored guests in this holy place. Hail and Welcome!

As the darkness increased, we felt the death of the Sun-God approach. But in the darkest of winter, He is reborn as the light of the infant son. It is the Lord of Light and Life who is born again! Let us aid his passage.

ALL REPEAT: The night is dark, the Sun is gone Yet we know the wheel turns on.

Through midnight’s hour, solid dark, Within our hearts remains a spark And as the morning Sun greets us As we celebrate in his name We’ll take the heavy Yule log And set it to the flame *Place the Yule log on the fire and take a time to meditate, make a wish or cast a thought to the Universe, so that they be empowered by the returning light.

If you don’t have a fire/ unable to have one, light the candles within the Yule log.* As you light the Yule log fire, And the candles are all a-glow, Be thankful for what you’ve reaped this year, And all you’ve grown to Know!

Great God of the Sun, we welcome Your return. May You shine brightly upon the Goddess; May You shine brightly upon the Earth, scattering seeds and fertilizing the land. All blessings upon you.

Hail the Oak King as he

retakes his throne at the end of of clarity. Hail and farewell! this Solstice night! HAIL! Goddess: Great Goddess, Mother Earth. We thank you May the spirit of Yule remain with us all for the whole of the for your presence in our celebration of the Sun’s return. next year. May our obstacles Stay if you will, go if you must. and snares vanish. May our seeds take root and flourish.

Hail and Farewell!

May we be blessed by the God: O Horned Lord of spirits and ancestors of old Winter’s Darkness. We thank who watch over us all. you for your presence as we rejoice in Solstice joy. Stay if North: Spirits and Guardians you will, go if you must.

Hail and Farewell!

Ancestors: To the ancestors who have walked this path and join us here today – we thank you for your ever presence.

We shall remember.

Stay if you will, go if you must.

Hail and Farewell!

Take hands again (or if you’re on your own, stand of the North, we thank you for in your mind’s eye grove) and your presence here and for just feel the energy releasing your gift of stability. Hail and around you. Flowing back into farewell! the earth. Soaring above you into the air. Connecting you West: Spirits and Guardians with the surroundings. of the West, we thank you for your presence here and for Release your energies by your gift of empathy. Hail and calling the Awen. *Chant the farewell!

Awen three times* South: Guardians of the The Circle is open but not South, we thank you for your unbroken. If in a group, please presence here and for your gift use the space for any personal of purity. Hail and farewell! time needed.

East: Spirits and Guardians of the East, we thank you for your presence here and for your gift

CRAFT CORNER A simple “Fairy Necklace”

by Raquel M Reichert

Necklace chording of your choice* (silver, gold, leather, twine, the list is endless) Bead caps*

This is possibly the easiest craft I’ve done, and the quickest… I love how they turned out. I’m thinking these also would make beautiful bracelets, earrings, or even ring. An important note on the marbles: They MUST be clear or single colour; not swirly colours like you find in children’s play marbles. I purchased mine from the dollar store. I purchased a bag of blue and one bag of clear.

These make great gifts, or to sell at fairs, or keep for your littles or yourselves.

Eye pins* Jump rings* Needle Nose pliers A pre-heated 500 degree F (260 degree Celsius) oven A METAL bowl or pot filled with ice water (the colder the better) To start:

What you will need: Plain old marbles, like the kind you would fill in a decorative vase.

A baking sheet E6000 glue (or any very strong, clear drying glue)

Pre-heat oven to 500 degrees F (260 degrees Celsius).

Open bag of marbles, place them on the baking sheet. Let them stay in the oven for 20 minutes. NO PEEKING. Once the 20 minute time is up, pull the baking sheet CAREFULLY from the oven and immediately slide the marble into the ice water bath. Let them sit about 10 minutes to completely cool and crack. Remove from the water and get ready to make

that necklace.

Take your eye pin and insert into the bead cap, and trim the end of the pin. You will need to leave enough “pin” to create a loop. Using the fine-tipped pliers, turn the trimmed section of the eye pin into a loop. With both ends of the eye pin secure in the bead cap, apply some adhesive to the inside of the cap (E6000 works great). Next adhere the cap to the marble.

Set aside to dry. Next you will attach the marble pendant to your necklace cording that you have selected…. You are DONE! *all jewellry items can be found at your local craft store or online. They are very inexpensive and you will be able to make several necklaces.

Orange Bird Feeder Craft You will need: 2 envelopes of Knox Gelatin 1 cup water Hollowed out navel oranges or mandarin oranges 2 cups of birdseed String for hanging Empty contents of gelatin in medium size pot and add 1 cup of water. Heat on low, until gelatin is completely dissolved. Remove from stove top and stir in 2 cups of birdseed. Prepare the orange by cutting an end open just enough so you are able to get in and scrape the rind clean. Poke a small hole on each side (use a metal skewer) and thread a piece of string on each side for hanging.

Once the orange is clean, and holes made, pack the orange with the birdseed mixture recipe. Place in the fridge for 2 hours. Once this has set up, it will be hard to the touch and ready for you to hang from your favorite tree branches for the birds to enjoy‌. *Recipe can be doubled to accommodate the number of hangings bird feeders you’d like to create.

another. She wraps her winter cloak around us and calls us to slumber deeply and recognise that a greater plan lies beneath the surface of all things. Each cycle passes from one phase to the next and nothing ever really dies as the circle of life continues.

The Magic of Nature is

an oracle card deck based on British wildlife for spiritual and healing guidance. Inspired by the spirit of the Crone, the cards were created with the intention to connect with this magical thread of wisdom and weave it into our everyday lives.

Winter ~ Rest At the moment, for those of us in the Northern hemisphere, Winter pokes her head round the corner and cries: Stop you lot!

Are we going to heed her call?

Weariness can lead us to rest and stillness; we may feel the need for personal space, to withdraw from the madding

crowd for a while and retreat.

How many of us kick against this? How many of us ignore the voice of Nature when she speaks to us? We do so at our peril. She tells us that without a season of rest we dishonour ourselves and our bodies.

Our lives mirror everything back to us. Winter is a time to reflect and recognise this natural dying back of old energy, a time to cast off and build up the new. The womblike presence of the Earth Mother offers us a resting place, and in retreating we find comfort in the dark and the stillness. The darkness is a great teacher if we can learn to face it without fear.

Why must we always be doing? A life full to the brim with activity needs punctuating with resting points… When we are feeling disconnected and stressed with too much busy-ness; re-aligning with the Earth’s energy brings us back into balance. Stopping to ground and centre will stabilize and re-orientate us. The soul still grows in dormancy, but in the peace and quiet of an environment better suited to its needs.

The regenerative energy of the Crone teaches the acceptance of endings as a natural passing of one thing to

Transformative times bring healing and change; the essence of all Magic. If we can see it in Nature, then we can see it in all things. We can see it and feel it in ourselves. We can recognise it at work in our own lives and we can use it to empower everything we do.

Reflection helps to understand where you have been, all that’s been learned along the way and all that has determined who you are now. Remember that change signifies all that has been outgrown as you conserve your energies, prioritize your time and rest up fully.

Relax deeper into the self, stretch and grow.

The spirit of Winter is a gift from Nature. She brings her healing energy to revitalise, to restore all that has been lost and directs you to find again the Magic within.

Magical Mantra ~ I rest and renew ~ I hope this resonated in some way for you and look forward to choosing a card and sharing its message in the next issue...

Winter Blessings!

Sheena )O( © Sheena Cundy 2015 Artwork by Tania Copsey www.sheenacraftycrone. blogspot.com www.sheenacundy craftycrones.org@gmail.com

APPLE CIDER WASSAIL WITH SLICED APPLES

HOT BUTTERED RUM adapted from Emeril Lagasse

Serves 16

1 gallon apple cider, 3 TBSP brown sugar, 2 cinnamon sticks, ¼ teaspoon ground mace, ¼ teaspoon anise seed, 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon, 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg, 1 teaspoon ground ginger, 1 thinly sliced orange, 1 thinly sliced lemon, 6 cored apples cut in 1 inch pieces Add cider, apples, and cinnamon sticks to a large pot and bring to a boil over medium heat. Reduce heat and add remaining spices and brown sugar. Stir to dissolve sugar. Simmer 20 minutes. Add orange and lemon slices. Simmer 5 more minutes.

Serve in mugs with fruit.

1 teaspoon cinnamon 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg 1/4 teaspoon cardamom 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt 1 stick unsalted butter, soft 2 cup dark brown sugar

Cream together the butter, spices and sugar.

At this point you can roll up the mixture with parchment into a log. Cover well and refrigerate or freeze for later use. In the fridge the mixture will keep for two weeks; in the freezer, a couple of months.

In a mug add a tablespoon of the butter and sugar mixture (the original recipe called for 2 tablespoons but we found 1 was great). Top with a couple ounces of rum and roughly 1/2 cup of hot water. The ratio of the ingredients is really preference.

Raquel Reichert **conversion chart located at http://www.convert-me.com/en/convert/ cooking/

Celtic Tree Calendar ELDER

Paganism Paganism is not goats to the slaughter It is welcoming the returning light Guidance through a darker night Giving thanks at seasons’ end Remembering the passing of a friend

by Vicky MacLean As I covered the Yule period of the calendar in Samhain’s issue because the Celtic Tree Calendar does not start on the first of each month I thought we might look at some of the qualities Elder brings to those born under her influence. The Elder Mother 25th November to 21st December is called Ruis in Ogham, the Faery Tree and has a huge medicine chest of beneficial uses.

The Elder child is freedom loving, always living life at a faster pace than most. A deep thinker of ten interpreted by others as somewhat introverted, perhaps even moody. However, underneath this exterior they are often considerate and helpful souls, but maybe just a little too honest and straight from the shoulder for some to cope with.

Your frankness can be harsh at times.

The Elder often brings out the visionary aspect in those under her influence, they like a challenge and will pursue energetically any quest for knowledge. They often choose careers in the military or other structured disciplined roles.

The totem animals associated with Elder are the raven, a black horse and the badger.

The stone of Jet compliments this energy.

Paganism is not sacrificing your daughter It is burning of the Yuletide log Sending my wishes into the fog Following one’s own true path Striding proud on life’s helping staff Paganism is not as the media portrays It is delighting in the simple things Admiring all that Nature brings Holding hands with fellow man Helping those who I can Paganism is not evil in its ways It is visiting monumental stones Feeling the Earth’s very bones Enjoying every moment in pleasure Being with those who I treasure Paganism is not worshipping the devil It is jumping Beltaine fires for love Lasting protection from the ancestors above Tying hands in blessed hope Never being alone to cope Paganism is not blood-filled revel It is watching the world pass by Feeling humbled gazing at the sky Being a part of the Universe’s plan Understanding what I am Vix Furminger

Astrology Aries Astrology (March 21 to April 20): You must communicate. You will have no choice. So observe yourself and assess just what it is you are communicating about. Observe also the quality of your words, your tone, and how you are speaking. Try to unite things, create bridges, and synthesize.

Taurus Astrology (April 21 to May 21): You have the ability to attract money and resources this and next month. You can also attract people, too, important to your endeavors.

Do not be extravagant and be extra careful with money. Notice that you are not practical and that your tastes may be over the top. Negotiate now.

It will be to your benefit.

Gemini Astrology (May 22 to June 21): Relating to others will be most significant and meaningful. You will even make compromises, much to your surprise, even stepping back from what you consider your personal rights. There is so much warmth within you that it would be sadness not to project and radiate it. Making peace with others is advisable now. But most of all have a good (better) time.

Cancer Astrology (June 22 to July 22): Begin a manifestation of money and resources that clearly articulates the elimination of debt and the creation of a savings account.

Thriftiness is most important now and will, during the next few months, become a resource to you. Conserve all spending as you conserve your energy. A new talent arises.

Leo Astrology (July 23 to August 21): You have two months left to discuss important matters with those you work and live with. It’s not

reliable to think and plan alone now.

Another’s reality assists you with clarity and perspective. You will also assist them too. All intimate talks are supposed to occur now. Whether the subject is love or difficulty, the results will be the same. Harmony.

Virgo Astrology (August 22 to September 23): Assess your monetary situation. Place as much as possible in a savings account.

You need to travel soon in order to balance the vicissitudes of your home life. You need new resources for your eyes and heart and mind to see. This will create new dreams and a greater appreciation of what’s at home and what you already have.

So you can realize you live the “life abundant”.

Libra Astrology (September 24 to October 23): You may have a Venusian encounter. Either it’s someone you’re attracted to or it’s concerning the art world.

Concentrating on art and music is most advisable, creating less strain on your heart and mind. What you really need is some sort of enchantment, things different, but most of all beautiful. A loved one presents new yet strange realities.

You assess.

Scorpio Astrology (October 24 to November 22): You may continue to be behind the scenes for about a month or more, tending to the ill, the homebound, the sad, and perhaps the disillusioned. When you have moments to yourself, either read mystery novels or do research.

Things secret are still about and only you know about them. The feelings of limitation are actually teachings on discipline. Don’t fret.

Sagittarius Astrology (November 23 to December 22): You are attempting to create a balance between yourself and the rest of the world. In order to feel more harmony in your life this is a good time to express affection to everyone, both professional and personal. Making peace with everyone would be of great benefit. Don’t be put off by anyone who is hostile. Maintain your equanimity.

Capricorn Astrology (December 23 to January 20): It is time to discuss openly any difficulties you have with anyone because the outcome will be smooth, clearly understood, and favorable. Careful with too many sweets and/or carbohydrates. Any overindulgence may create a slight yet continuing health problem.

Do your duty each day. You will be rewarded with organization, constancy, and care.

Aquarius Astrology (January 21 to February 19): All activities should concentrate around things that amuse you, a new love affair, and children. Perhaps you seem to have no more self-discipline. You’re not supposed to, actually. What creative things are you doing? If nothing, then do something, especially with art and music. No surrendering your identity anymore. And don’t pretend to.

Pisces Astrology (February 20 to March 20): It would assist your health if you spend quiet hours alone, perhaps at home. This is a sensitive time for you and time alone would allow you to understand inner feelings. Do nothing lavish or extraordinary. Be practical, tend to digestion, and work in solitude and in nature as much as possible.

TOTEM ANIMALS

by Raquel Reichert December Birthday Totem Animals Native American and Celtic shamanistic beliefs are strong on animal symbols, referred to as “totem animals” or “power animals”. For those who follow traditional Native beliefs, it is explained that a totem animal is one which is with you for life.

An animal with whom you share a connection, either through interest in that particular animal or its similarity to or common characteristics of the animal.

The power animal is a spirit in animal form that comes through with a precise lesson for you, and will change throughout the course of your life.

esteem. They represent our dark side – the aspect of our soul that we have a tendency to ignore or suppress due to the implications that they signify and the accountabilities that they impose upon us, forcing us to look at ourselves, stand before our weaknesses and honor and accept those weaknesses as steppingstones to power.

21 May – 20 June (S. Hemisphere) Owls require freedom of expression. Owls are energetic, self-sufficient, and courageous birds, with an eye for detail. Both inquisitive and malleable; they tend to overexert themselves.

GOOSE When we come across certain 22 December – 19 January (N. animals in our lives it can be a sign that they have been put in Hemisphere our path to give us messages 21 June – 21 July (S. or guidance from the Spirit on what we need to be focused on at that present time.

Some animals will be with us for our whole life time, while others come in for a short period to help us deal with a specific situation.

Totem animals are your spiritual allies. We do not choose our totems: they choose us.

Offering confirmation when necessary, support when invoked and as a choice when they offer confirmation. The totem is anything of Nature that we feel a strong bond with. Not all will notice their animal totem, but instead feel a gravitation toward the inorganic kingdom OWL or the world of plant life.

23 November – 21 December Shadow Totems are animals (N. Hemisphere that we fear. And are equally as significant and equally as important as one’s totem animal to teach and guide us. Representing the aspects of ourselves that we elect to ignore: our secrets, fears, dark thoughts. They depict our personal boundaries, those self-imposed limitations and parts of ourselves that reject impulsiveness. They are a part of the development of self-

Hemisphere) Goose people are perceptive idealist who are eager to explore the unknown. Their overt perfectionism can cause them to appear unduly serious.

The Goose approaches life with passion and an unwavering drive to fulfill their dreams.

fast food at the end of the world

BY NIMUE BROWN PART ONE

Fast Food at the Centre of the World Originally written, read and recorded in a cupboard by Nimue Brown as a nerdbong production. For nerdbong.

May or may not contain either nerds, or bongs.

Episode 1 Hazel Across the road in a vacant parking lot, a man was down on his knees. Arms spread wide like he’d just been shot.

As he didn’t fall over, it rapidly looked more like theatrical praying. Hazel couldn’t see anyone else around. She stopped at a safe distance to take a look. It might be a surrender. No sense running into a gang war. There were no shots, no warning sounds. If anything, the lot was too quiet.

Still the man hadn’t moved.

No blood pooled. He didn’t fall down. The situation no longer struck her as dangerous, so long as she moved on. There were packages in her pockets that needed delivering.

The man on his knees raised his head, and even at this distance, locked her gaze with his. Straggly hair fluttered around a narrow face. He had the emaciated build of a druggy, and being here, like this… did not bode well for him. Still she lingered, fascinated by the scene.

Her first take on him was ‘trouble’, but ‘nutter’ came a close second. Substances seemed likely. Rapture maybe, or delirium. He could have picked a better place.

Maybe he’d done a blend.

That could fry your mind no trouble. Whatever he’d

taken it didn’t look clever and staying around dumb people wasn’t her style. Dumb people turned into dead people so very easily. This nutter looked interesting, because he made no immediate sense. Curiosity remained one of Hazel’s big weaknesses. That, and being a soft touch. He might be in trouble.

She moved in closer, keeping to the buildings and alert for signs of possible threats.

It might be quiet now, but there were no guarantees the street would stay that way, the disused car parks and empty buildings sometimes got themselves inhabited.

Currently this dead zone made a good short cut on her rounds, but it never paid to get over confident. The overconfident people were usually second in line behind the dumb ones, when it came to getting dead at short notice.

Or worse. Hazel had spent nineteen years successfully not becoming dead, and meant to continue that way.

Mister crazy car park man dropped right down, hands on the cracked tarmac, long hair falling around his face.

He looked thin and odd, but not like he was street. Too clean. Too unshredded in the clothes department. So what was he doing? Hazel had watched people in the throes of all kinds of insanity, from just about every mad making chemical a body could take.

Not one of them had ever done anything quite like this before. He seemed too still and quiet to be off his face.

However, straight, clean, normal guys did not, in her experience, lie face down in empty parking lots, unless someone killed them first.

She knew it would be sensible to walk away and forget all about it. Spending her whole

life running along the edges between sensible and insane to make a living, Hazel trusted her instincts. They kept her alive. Stupid risks were not part of her plan. Not very often. Hardly at all really. And after all, it wasn’t a huge risk, just a lone nut job in a big empty place with no one else around. What could possibly go wrong?

Getting closer, Hazel saw the man was crying. Not your regular understated bloke with leaky face scenario either.

This looked serious. His whole body shook with it, low, agonised sounds coming out of his mouth in short bursts.

Hazel revised her opinion of the whole setup. Less likely a drug fiend, more likely he was sick or injured.

“Hey mister, you in some kind of trouble there?” Hazel asked.

He straightened up, wiping a sleeve across his tear-streaked face. The intensity of his gaze startled her. He didn’t look hurt or wasted. Which left the possibility of him being just plain loopy. Hazel took a step back, very casually.

“I’m fine, thank you for your concern.”

That sounded coherent, if weird.

“You appear confused,” he continued.

“Oh yeah, well, I saw you.... wondered... though you might need some help.” She took another step back just to be on the safe side and well out of arm’s reach.

The man said nothing for what seemed like a long time. He just kept staring at her. Hazel had the uncomfortable feeling he was looking a lot deeper than her mop of tangled hair, piercings, war-paint and tatty clothing. Lifting her chin, she

returned that searching glare as best she could. Looking down on him was a plus, but not a big one. The weird man could have been in his thirties, plus or minus a bit. Gaunt, and fierce looking, but not, she decided, mean. There was something about his mouth that struck her as generous.

Not a man who smiled much though.

“You’ve a good head and a decent heart,” he observed.

“You know the area? Live round here?”

“Round about.” She offered no details. “Here and there, you know how it is.”

“I don’t, but I mean to learn. I get the feeling that you’d like to help me.”

A warm feeling pooled in her stomach. The man’s lips were still moving, but no sound reached her ears. She had the vague feeling there were words, somewhere beyond the reach of her perceptions.

Dancing, joyful words full of good things to come. Words that promised safety and a home. For a moment, Hazel became aware of all the many things she wanted and didn’t have. The moving lips said so many things, but through and between the words, she heard, “I will give you the world if you help me out here.”

“Yes. I’m a helpful sort of person,” she said. “What is it that you need?”

The guy wiped his eyes again and frowned. “Still working on that one. Stick around, yes?”

Again that warm, melting feeling caught her, the need to say ‘yes’ stronger than her usual good sense. It seemed like he couldn’t possible ask anything bad. “What, around here? This parking lot?”

“That’s the one. I need to fetch

a few things, but I should move in tonight, before anyone else does.”

the nine shedding nuts into the sacred pool for the salmon of wisdom to consume.”

“Move in here?” She looked around, reassuring herself that there were absolutely no habitable buildings. Not even by her low standards. At the very least you needed a door to bar.

Hazel continued to stare at him.

“I can rig up a tent for tonight and start on something more ambitious in the morning, when I’m fresher.”

“A tent?” Back to the possibility that he was off his rocker.

“Yes, a tent. I do hope you aren’t going to keep repeating fragments of everything I say. It won’t make for very interesting conversations, and patience is not my greatest virtue.”

“Oh!” She tried to think of something to add, and failed.

“Well, I suppose that’s progress. Do you have a name at all?”

“Yes.” The overwhelming urge to be helpful had gone, leaving Hazel with no idea what she’d got herself into. The regular instincts to keep her secrets and stay on guard kicked in again.

“But enough sense not to hand over such a powerful thing to a total stranger. That is well. So I will offer my name first, and then you will know that I can be trusted.”

She stared at him, trying to get his words to make sense.

They didn’t, not in any kind of logical way. Power in names?

And yet... she felt something as he spoke.

“You may call me Dunsany.”

“Ok Dunsany, you may call me Hazel.”

“A good name. Tree of myth,

Dunsany looked perplexed.

“What?”

“I’m still trying to figure out what you’ve taken. I thought I was hot on the scene, you know? But you’re spouting weirder shit than a poet on delirium.”

“I shall take that as a compliment.”

“So, give, what are you on mister?”

He opened his arms slightly.

“Hazel, I am drunk with inspiration and the future. I have taken a hearty dose of true reality. I am inebriated with optimism.”

“Ok, that’s three I’ve not heard of. You’re on three different pills at once? No wonder you’re barking.”

“Not drugs my girl. I have taken nothing. I am simply alive, and a man of the craft. I need no chemicals.

“Well mister man of the craft Dunsany, what was it you wanted me to do?”

“For now? Stand guard while I source a tent and fetch a few things.”

This did not sound like much of a plan. “Is that going to take long?”

“Probably, but I’m sure that won’t give you any trouble at all.”

The warm feeling was back, making her nod and agree.

Dunsany took off at a jog, leaving her the guard duty.

In an hour or so it would be dark and there were no working streetlights in this abandoned part of the city. It

would not be safe for her to be here then, not in such an exposed spot. How on earth was she supposed to guard such a place? And from who, or what? There would be night people about, but none of them would be fussed unless someone muscled in on their own particular game. You didn’t guard places, you found safe places to hide. What the hell was this Dunsany about?

Try as she might, no answers occurred to her. He certainly wasn’t any kind of crime lord in the making.

On the whole, she felt it would be better to be somewhere else. Slip away into the night, get on with her rounds, forget the whole bizarre incident.

Getting her feet to move proved hard though. Her body didn’t want to go. Like her shoes had been glued to the road. Holding the thought of leaving in any clear way wasn’t easy. Like he’d somehow put a device in her mind that was messing with her thoughts.

“What the buggery is this?” she asked out loud, just for the reassurance of hearing her own voice.

Fortunately, nothing from the derelict surroundings offered an answer.

“He’s done something to me.”

It made sense. After all, Hazel knew she was too canny to do something this suicidal.

She wanted out and couldn’t go. But what did that leave by way of options? Dunsany hadn’t touched her or given her anything, so how could he be controlling her?

I’ll just take a walk, she decided. She headed out to the edge of the lot and very carefully walked all the way around its edge. Moving was fine, going any further, just didn’t happen. A couple of

anonymous figures paused at the end of a street, and then hurried on, away from her. The sky grew thicker, heavy with approaching darkness. The nearest place she could doss down was ten minutes away on foot, but that was Creepy Dave’s pad, and a shelter of last resort. Things had to be very bad before Creepy Dave’s digs seemed worth thinking about. Preferable to a slow and painful death, but that was about all you could say for it.

She had stayed there twice before, and each time came away feeling soiled and sticky.

As though Creepy Dave had been sniffing her boots while she slept. He seemed the type for that. The sort of man who would steal your underwear, and talk to it.

Right now, the prospect of creepy, lecherous Dave and his sweaty palms seemed preferable to being stuck here.

All she had to do was figure out how to get off the freaking lot, and the greasy discomfort of Dave’s home could be hers to enjoy. Not the most cheering line of thought in the world.

Before the light entirely disappeared, Dunsany returned with a mound of fabric that looked as though something had died all over the outside of it, about fifty years ago. There were metal poles, which he engineered into an unstable shape, before throwing the mouldering fabric over the top. The construction’s one window was torn and fluttered free. Once he had the pitiful structure up, he weighted the flighty edges down with bits of rubble. Hazel watched the entire process in disbelieving silence.

“It’s a palace,” she eventually said as he rolled out a second portable bed. “Hang on, two

beds? That’s because you’ve got a friend coming and you don’t need me anymore, right?

Please?”

“I thought you would prefer it to sleeping on the ground.”

“Steaming arse, I don’t want to stay here.” Hazel folded her arms across her chest. “I don’t know what you’ve done to me, but give it up already. I’ve got places to be and you’ve had more than enough of my time.”

“No you don’t.”

“Ok, maybe I don’t have anywhere else I actually have to be right at this moment, but that’s not the point. It doesn’t mean I want to be here. I don’t want to be here, as it happens.

Let me go!”

He looked like he was going to apologise. “I can’t.”

“You what?”

“I’m not the one keeping you here. You are.”

“Oh right, mister wise arsed craft man. Very good. Now stop bullshitting me and let me go.”

Dunsany shook his head.

“I see you are going to be hard work. You are still here because you pledged to serve me. Your oath binds you.”

“No way. I didn’t promise you anything.”

“Way.” He pronounced the word slowly, and with care.

“But... then I ought to be able to go when I feel like it.”

Dunsany sat down on one of the camp beds and gestured for her to take the other. He rolled out an ancient, tatty bit of carpet between them, put a stove down on it and set a kettle boiling.

“We will drink tea, and I will explain.”

“Oh good. Because this is starting to do my head in, yeah?”

“Oh dear. If I am ‘doing your head in’ already, as you so eloquently put it, I think you are poised to spend a great deal of your time feeling confused.”

“Great.”

Dunsany made her a bitter tasting brew that inclined her think of gutter flowers, and the bottoms of trash cans. He drank as though it was good.

“The words you spoke bind you in service to me. You can’t undo that.”

“I didn’t say any such thing!”

“I’m afraid you did. You didn’t even limit your pledge, you just said ‘yes’. Twice.”

Hazel sipped the tea, and tasting it again, wished she hadn’t. “So now what happens to me?”

“I’m not sure. Any other place and we might have been able to unpick it, but this is… an unusual spot, which complicated things. I’ll admit I was a bit distracted at the time, or I’d have been more careful with you.”

“Are you saying sorry, mister?”

“For unthinkingly allowing you to bind yourself into my service for the rest of your life, if not longer? Well, yes, I suppose so. It never crossed my mind that you would.”

“This life or longer?” Hazel was somewhere on the far side of stunned.

“You are repeating and echoing again. Please don’t.

It’s off-putting.”

She growled at him. There weren’t words angry or filthy enough to express how she felt.

Dunsany seemed untroubled by this. “On the plus side, it should be an interesting sort of life. More tea?”

Hazel had no idea where the first cup had gone, but accepted a refill. “So what have I got myself into? What’s your bag?”

“My bag?” Dunsany looked perplexed. He lifted the bag the tea things had been in.

“This bag? What does my bag have to do with anything?”

She got a kick out of having wrong-footed him. “What’s you gas? Your mojo?”

He remained blank.

“What are you doing camping in an old parking lot, you numpty?”

“I’m saving the world. Or at least, the city.”

“Oh well, I suppose that should have been obvious from the moment I saw you.

Do I get any more details of the grand plan, or do I have to guess?”

He smiled. “I’m going to save this city from itself, by building a fast food restaurant. That will show them.”

“Well, obviously.” Hazel came to the immediate conclusion there was no point even trying to figure this one out.

Something woke her. Just a small sound but enough to set off all the self preservation instincts. Adrenaline jolted through her body, bringing her to full awakeness.

Hazel always knew where she was on waking and never experienced any kind of disorientation. Waking unexpectedly to strange sounds was a regular part of life. Sometimes it meant hitting the ground running. She kept

still, barely breathing and listening for a clearer sense of the threat. Her last thought before it all went crazy was, Oh yeah. Walls made out of cloth. Clearly that was a good idea.

The tent lasted about five seconds. Instead of protecting them, the aged cloth became a trap, wrapping around her limbs and threatening to smother her. From outside, blows knocked her about – hard enough to hurt but not doing too much damage. Not being able to see, drove her nuts.

“Wake up!” she shouted at Dunsany.

The knife from her boot cut a rapid hole to freedom and she rolled out. Up on her feet in a trice, she prepared to fight whatever had started this.

There were four grey shapes visible in the moonlight.

They were slow moving and deliberate, but the tent still held their attention. Apparently they couldn’t tell what was a person, and what was Dunsany’s array of random items. Four on one did not look like good odds, and there was also Dunsany to think about. What would happen to her if he died? No time to wonder about that right now, best to keep him in one piece, she figured. With a bit of luck, these were just your run of the mill lightfingered Joes, looking for cash or a chemical blast. The kinds of reasons you hid at night. One of them turned her way, and a second followed.

Hazel decided to gamble on being right. “Hey, dickwads, looking for jollies?” she shouted.

The two who previously hadn’t noticed her, now turned as well. She couldn’t make out their faces, which made it

harder to guess how to play them.

and the stench that wafted up from the mess made her gag.

“I’ve got a whole packet of highride, a couple of whiz and some blast. You can have the lot.”

One of the remaining three seemed up for fighting, but the other two took shuffling steps in retreat. The third opted not to have a go alone, and followed. Hazel advanced on the trio, and they backed off again, until she had them out of the lot and beyond her reach. Gasping for breath and unable to follow, she didn’t have the energy for another round. Hopefully they didn’t know that. It took them a long time to disappear from view, vanishing into the greying predawn. Once they had gone, Hazel returned to see if there was anything left of Dunsany.

“Food,” one of them said in a low voice.

“Not on me, no. Take one of these and you’ll forget about being hungry. Really. Works like a dream.”

“Food.”

It wasn’t a question. More like a statement. Three of them moved towards her, gestures slow and malevolent.

“Food.”

“Om nom nom,” said the fourth one. “Oms and noms.”

Hazel ran, sprinting round so that the line of four were in a row heading away from her.

She hit the first one at full tilt, kicking high. Heavy boots connected with flesh. There was a squelching, crunching sound and the figure toppled back. She landed and moved away quickly as the remaining three tried to flank her. They kept coming, but at no great pace. The one she’d knocked down, got up again. Given how hard she’d kicked, that felt wrong. He should have stayed down longer.

The knuckleduster on her right hand slammed into flesh. It gave under her blow in very much the way living tissue shouldn’t. She couldn’t afford to think about that right now.

An elbow jab met with far too little resistance where ribs should have been. She kicked again, and one of the four went down. Rather than take any chances about it getting up, she jumped, both boots slamming down on the prone head. The skull collapsed like a cardboard box beneath her,

Viewing the trampled remnants of the tent, the odds of him being unscathed seemed slim.

She paused, surveying the wreckage. If he died, would that free her from this weird kind of slavery? Or would she be bound to serve him even then? Would she die if he did? Hazel didn’t have much opinion either way as to the existence of a possible afterlife, but right now, the length of his hold over her made that seem like a very pertinent issue.

“Some kind of problem?”

Dunsany asked, brushing shreds of tent from his black jacket as he clambered out. He glanced around and sighed.

“Looks like we won’t get a great deal more use out of the tent.”

Hazel glared at him, torn between relief and disbelief.

“You slept through all of that?”

“All of what, precisely?”

“Oh, nothing much. Just be thankful you survived.”

She didn’t expect he’d say anything nice at this point.

Dunsany wrinkled his long

nose. “What is that smell?”

She gestured towards the one whose head she’d stomped on. Now the light had improved, it looked even worse – a mix of decaying meat and slime, roughly arranged into the shape of a person.

“Oh, that is beyond gross,” she said, looking down to see just how much dead stuff she had on her boots. There were nasty splatters on her denims as well.

Dunsany crouched down to examine the putrid mess. “I take it this walked in all by itself?”

“No, while you were asleep I went out cruising for corpses.

It’s what I do for kicks. What do you think?”Dunsany’s expression remained so serious that she opted to ditch the sarcasm. “Ok, there were four of them, all pretty much like this. I took this one out and the other three took off.”

“What are they?” He stood, looking at their surroundings with a thoughtful expression on his gaunt features.

“Well, you know what they say,” she offered. There were things she didn’t want to consider right now.

“I’m not from this part of the world Hazel, so no, I have no idea what anybody says, much less the all important ‘they’.

Please enlighten me.”

“You hear stories. Things that eat people. Especially anyone who dies on the street. Of course it could just be packs of dogs. Some of the guys I know swear cannibalism is on the up. Too many hungry people. But even so, this Joe’s not like anyone I ever hang out with, right?”

TO BE CONTINUED...

Hunters Game Part 2

by Lorraine Ellison Sara watched from behind the bush as a light shone from the open front door. Parents and children were coming out; they were all yawning and looking tired.

The girl had managed to drop the sleeping potion into the punch. She smirked as she soon as she saw the effect it was having on the adults and children.

Hunger took over the vampires quickly. They feasted heartily, blood dripping from their fangs. Horrible sucking and squelching noises could be heard, but only if you were still awake!

entered. Her face was covered in blood; she had eaten plenty and felt her strength returning.

The girl flew at Sara. Sara pushed the girl away, knocking over a dining room chair as she did so.

Sara crept under the window.

She knew where to find the spare key. She lifted the mat and placed the key into the keyhole, and slowly snuck through the door. She crept into the lounge, took out her silver dagger and marked a circle around the sleeping children; one by one she managed to get everyone into the circle.

The parents looked up at their daughter had been attacked.

They both lunged towards Sara. The mother was on top of Sara, scratching her madly, trying to get at her neck. The father had hold of Sara’s feet.

She grabbed the silver dagger and plunged it deep into the mother vampire’s heart. She twisted the dagger and pulled it out swiftly. Sara felt for the holy water and sprayed a fine mist over the mother vampire.

The latter let go of Sara and started to scream. Her flesh started to peel away from her face; her bones started to crumble. Within minutes, the mother vampire turned to dust.

People were falling asleep where they were; some managed to make it to the sofas and chairs. Many of the children were fast asleep on the carpet. Sara watched them She placed a silver strand closely. around them all, and marked the circle again with magick The vampires dragged Molly salt. With that she said, “Silver and her father and one other strand and salt, hold these adult into the dining room. people here for their own Plastic had been laid all over the floor; people just thought it protection”, before moving was going to be a party game towards the dining room. later.

The girl looked up just as Sara

The vampires had made their

way around the dining room table towards the stairs. Sara followed them. The vampires hid themselves. When Sara reached the top of the stairs, she was knocked back by the force of the father vampire.

The glass went deeper into her shoulder. She managed to pull herself up by the banister railings but the father vampire lunged again at Sara. This time Sara moved out of his way. The father vampire went over the railings but didn’t land on the ground. He floated back up and over the railings; his eyes red with anger. He grabbed Sara by the throat and squeezed. She felt the life force going from her. The girl was yelling, “Go on, squeeze her.”

Sara could feel the chair leg that she had picked up. With the strength she had left she lifted it up and struck the father vampire straight into his heart. He gasped and suddenly let go of Sara. She took a deep breath of air; the girl screamed as loud as she could. Sara rammed the silver dagger into the father vampire; he too was turning into dust.

The girl fled into a bedroom.

Sara needed some air. She opened a window and took in the cool breeze. The moon was still full but somehow looked big outside the window. Sara’s shoulder was hurting like mad; the throbbing was making her feel sick. She slid down the wall and stayed there for a moment.

The girl had hidden herself under the coats that were piled on the bed; a scarf was in her hand ready for Sara.

Sara opened the bedroom door. She crept in and opened the wardrobe but nothing was there. As she got closer, the dragon tooth glowed and burnt her neck – she knew she was close. Sara looked under

the bed.

The girl jumped onto Sara’s back and wrapped the scarf tightly around Sara’s neck.

She pulled hard. Sara tried to get the girl off her but the more she did it, the tighter the scarf became. Sara stumbled and knocked the girl into the door. The door knob caught the girl; she let go of the scarf and fell to the ground. Sara unwrapped the scarf from around her neck.

to open. Sara took their coats and hung them up. Her husband gave his parents a glass of sherry each and Sara watched them from the doorway. A tear slid down her face. Just then her husband put his arms around her and kissed her teary cheek; she smiled at him.

Sara’s husband carved the turkey as they all sat around the table. Sara’s daughter got down from the table and walked around to her mother.

The girl crawled out onto the In her hand she held the landing near the open window. dragon tooth. The girl had She knew this was her only found it. As she handed it escape. Sara could see what back to her mother the dragon the girl was thinking. With all tooth turned red. Sara gasped the strength she had left she as she saw the mark imprinted sprayed the holy water onto into her daughter’s hand; the the dagger and hurled it at the same mark that she had on girl. It caught her just as she her palm. She took the dragon jumped out of the window. tooth and kissed her daughter.

Sara managed to get to the She looked at her husband window and watch as the large and whispered, “So, I’m not black shape took off towards the last.” He nodded and the moon. As she looked smiled. closely she could see strands of dust in the moonlight.

Everyone picked up a glass and said “Merry Christmas and People were beginning to blessings to those who cannot wake. Sara could hear parents be here with us”. and children chatting amongst themselves. “Awesome party,” Merry Christmas and Happy they all said, making their way Yule. home.

Months went by and nobody really mentioned Molly and her dad. They just thought they had moved, or even the strange girl who would sit by her window.

Sara placed the last decoration on the Christmas tree. The table was set, food was cooking. Just as she basted the turkey, the doorbell rang. Her husband yelled, “I’ll get it.”

Her husband’s parents stood on the doorstep loaded up with Christmas presents. As they entered the living room, the children gave a scream of delight – more presents

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MOOTS AND MEETS If you would like to add your moot or meet please contact thependlecraft@hotmail.com

Abergavenny Moot Second Tuesday of every month, Hen and Chickens Pub, Flannel Street, Abergavenny. Starts 7pm. Contact Laura or Craig.

You can also e-mail the.shadows.light@hotmail.com Albion Moot - https:// www.facebook.com/ groups/72533580743/ - First Thursday of each month, starts @ 7.30pm; location is the Old Queens Head pub, Pond Hill.

CoA Bath Gathering Local Gathering in Bath. We will meet on the first Tuesday of every month at the Saracens Head, 42 Broad Street, Bath, BA1 5LP at around 7.30pm.

Everyone is welcome to come along, look for the table with a Witchcraft & Wicca Magazine on it. For more details please email coacentral@witchcraft. org or follow our official Facebook page on: https://www. facebook.com/coabathgathering Belfast Pagan Moot First Tuesday of the month 7pm start. Croabh Rua Community Temple, Conway Mill, Belfast https:// www.facebook.com/ groups/BelfastPaganMoot/

Bishops Stortford Gathering Third Monday of the month, 8:00pm start. The Castle Public House, Castle Street.

Bishops Stortford Bradford Social Moot Last Wednesday of the month, 8:00pm start.

The Castle Pub, 20 Grattan Rd. Bradford Cannock Moot Third Sunday of the month, 7:30pm start. Bridgetown Social Club, Bridgetown, Cannock.

Cardiff Pagan Moot Second Monday of the month, upstairs in the Rummer Tavern, Cardiff. Open from 7pm, starts properly at 730pm. Contact Catherine Abbott or Derek Storey or visit the page at https://www.facebook.com/ groups/167919513251601/ Cardiff Coffee Moot Third Saturday of the month at Pipi’s on Caroline Street, Cardiff Starts 10am.

Caerphilly Moot Every Thursday location varies, currently at the Grazing Ground on the high street. Starts around 11am onwards. A really informal group of mostly pagan people who like to meet up and have a natter :) Shout out on the South Wales Pagans

group for up-to-date info.

Camarthen Pagans Last Thursday of the month. Get Stuffed Pizza, John Street, Carmarthen 7:30pm onwards.

Contact the Camarthen Pagans group - https://www. facebook.com/groups/CarmarthenPagans/ Central London Gathering Last Tuesday of the month, 6:00pm start. Bishopsgate, venue is subjected to change so please check our Facebook page for further details: https://www. facebook.com/groups/CarmarthenPagans/ Chesterfield Moot Second Tuesday of the month, 7:30pm start. The Telemere Lodge, Hasland, Chesterfield.

Clacton on Sea Moot Third Monday of the month, 7:00pm start. The Plough, 1 North Road, Clacton on Sea Coventry Earth Spirit Moot Third Wednesday of the month, 8:00pm start. The Broomfield Tavern, Spoon End, Coventry.

Cowbridge Moot First Saturday of the month. Upstairs at the Little Shop of Calm, Cowbridge starts 11am-1pm.

Kids welcome, tea, coffee

and cake provided. Contact Siany or vist their page https://www.facebook.com/ groups/231922846985828/ Doncaster Pagan Moot at Mystical Offerings, Carcroft, Doncaster. The 3rd Sunday of every month at 4pm.

Gloucester Moot Last Thursday of the month, 8:00pm start. The Fountain Inn, Westgate Street, Gloucester.

Hertford Gathering Last Wednesday of the month, 8:00pm start. The White Horse pub, 33 Castle Street, Hertford.

Lampeter Pagan Society Folkmoot First Sunday of the month, Cwmanne Tavern 7.00 - 7.30pm onwards. Contact the Lampeter Pagan Society group: https://www.facebook. com/groups/24065160648/ Lancaster CoA Gathering Meeting last Wednesday of the month. Table 11, Pendle Witch Public House, Penny Street Lancaster. For more information just email: friendsofthelancashirepagans@outlook.com or the official Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/ pages/Lancaster-CoAGathering/457553581070731 Long Eaton Moot Last Tuesday of the month, 7:30pm start. The Harrington Arms, Derby Road, Long Eaton.

Long Eaton Coffee Morning Second Tuesday of the month, 10:30am start. The Harrington Arms, Derby Road, Long Eaton.

Lyndon Moot Every Tuesday, The Lyndon Pub, Olton, Solihull, 8:00pm start

Manchester CoA Gathering Social meeting held second Wednesday of the month at 7pm at the upstairs of Churchill’s Public House, 37 Chorlton Street. For more details please email coacentral@ witchcraft.org or like the page at: https://www.facebook.com/ manchestercoagathering Mansfield Moot First Tuesday of the month, 7:00pm start.

William IV pub, Stockwell Gate, Mansfield.

Mansfield Market Moot First Saturday of every other month, Bettws near Newport. Starts at about 1 pm. Have a look on their page for details of the next Market Moot https:// www.facebook.com/ groups/270507793048162/ Neath Pagan Moot last Thursday of the month. Upstairs in the Highlander Pub, (2-4 Lewis Road Neath, West Glamorgan SA11 1EQ) Starts 7:30pm until close.

Nidd Pagan Moot A friendly informal moot for all paths held in my home in Knaresborough near Harrogate. We are usually held on first Fri day of the month. For more information visit our page on Facebook under “Nidd Pagan Moot” or email me at stivellchild@hotmail.com.

Okehampton Gathering Third Tuesday of the month, 7:30pm start. The Highwaymans Inn, Sourton, Devon.

Pagan Moot In Mold Meet monthly at Liz Rose’s home, Glan Aber, 123 Chester Rd, Mold, Flintshire, CH7 1UJ. We have a Facebook page called Pagan Moot in Mold, https://

www.facebook.com/ groups/1000777406628448/ Sheffield Pagan Moot - https:// www.facebook.com/ groups/22297514876/members/ Southampton Pagan Moot (ex Duke of wellington and ex the Strand) Meets on the second Monday of every month at The Dancing Man Brewery, Town Quay, Southampton, SO14 2AR. Friendly, informal moot, welcoming Pagans of all faiths and roads.

Webpage - http:// southamptonpaganmoot. altervista.org/ FB GROUP - https:// www.facebook.com/ groups/209895582509312/ Tefi Pagan Moot Last Thursday of the month (unless it clashes with something else) Camarthen (contact for venue details) 7pm - 9pm Contact Tamra at tamra66@hotmail.com Todmorden Pagan Moot – First Thursday of every month, starting 7:30pm in The Queens Hotel, Todmorden. Alternate social and workshop moots.

Thatcham in Berkshire Valleys Moot First Wednesday of every month at the Griffin Inn, Hendreforgan, Gilfach Goch.

7:30pm - 10:30pm.

True Spirit Moot Last Thursday of the month, 7:30pm start.

The Taste of England, Newbury.

Wyldwood Moot Fourth Monday of the month at The Royal Oak, Stafford. 7:30pm start.

2016 MAGAZINE DATES Imbolc Feb 1st Ostara Mar 20th Beltane May 1st Litha Jun 20th Lammas Aug 1st Mabon 22nd Sept Samhain 31st Oct Yule 21st Dec.

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