Good Selection, Great Prices!

Kindle Edition

Purchase your copy today by
clicking here.

TWPT Talks to...
10 Authors of the Pagan Community

The Wiccan/Pagan Times has been on line since March 1999. Over the years, we have interviewed many of the most notable Authors in the Pagan Community.

Authors mean a lot to the pagan community. We have been referenced as the people of the books, and many will start their path with a book. How the author feels about the pagan community is important, as we like to think that the information in the books are practiced as well as printed.

Presented here are some of the many memorable interviews we have published over the last 13 years. We have taken 10 of these interviews and put them together with author bios, pictures and weblinks so you can explore the authors further.

Interviewed are Anna Frankin, Dorothy Morrison, Edain McCoy, John Michael Greer, Kristin Madden, M. R. Sellars, Margot Adler, Patricia Telesco, Raymond Buckland and Yasmine Galenorn. Preserved here is a place in time within the pagan community when we were still new, but growing. We feel these interviews convey the flavor and the heart of the pagan community.  

Chris Highland

Cherry Hill Seminary TWPT Column

Here's to a More Natural Holiday Season: from a Christmas Baby by Chris Highland

Trees and turkeys hate this time of year, especially Christmas.  Well, I suppose if you’re an oak tree or a palm or a sequoia you may not dread the axe before Gratefulness Day.  And if you’re a wild turkey who can shut your gobble long enough to hide in the hedgerow you may be safe. Nevertheless, it’s not a good time to be an evergreen or a fat tom.  There be fowl play in the air.  

Though I was born on December 25th, I don’t like it much myself anymore.  I love the Season but not the seasonings, Solstice but not the silly Santa and the same-old-Sacred.  I think I’ll celebrate with the forest and the birds.

Don’t get me wrong.  I have no desire to make good will and peace go away.  I like a few lights, some cider and a little more time with family and friends, if they can leave the cellphones in the car.  I enjoy a simple exchange of a few presents.  But what I really celebrate is that wetstuff from the sky with the gifts of greening hills, the freshness of the air, hikes to the glorious waterfalls, migrating birds and maybe a bit of wine-tasting by a fire.

For the rest of this column please click here.

Other Columns from Cherry Hill Seminary

• Bare Hands, Faithful Attendance, Open Heart by Khalila RedBird
• Whitman and Muir as Guides to Restoring Connectedness by Holli S. Emore
• Nourishing the Body Sacred by Selina Rifkin

Taylor Ellwood

The Samhain Elemental Ritual by Taylor Ellwood

Traditionally, Samhain is considered to be the day when the dead and living can mingle. The veils of the world are at their thinnest and there is a sense of liminal space in the air. Liminal space is border space, the in between place, where anything can happen.
From Taylor's article called The Samhain Elemental Ritual.
Click here to read the entire article.

Other Samhain Articles for Samhain

• The Veil Between the Worlds by Marcus Foxglove Griffin
• Samhain: A Time for Introspection--and Activism by Morgan Ravenwood
• Speaking With the Dead at Samhain by Dark Willow
• I'm Going to Be Myself For Samhain by Lupa

Katalin Koda

Author's Corner Home

Fire of the Goddess TWPT talks to Katalin Koda

Katalin Koda is a passionate explorer of earth stories, women’s mysteries and the mythic expression of our world. A practicing Vajrayana Buddhist, Koda also works with indigenous wisdom and shamanism in her healing practice. She is a visionary artist, poet and dreamer and has been teaching workshops on women’s wisdom and spirituality, Reiki, shamanic journey and chakra healing for over fifteen years. Katalin resides in Hawaii.

Click here to go to the Author's Corner home.

Melanie Marquis

Articles Home

Summertime Tarot Magick by Melanie Marquis

Who doesn’t like a summer romance? Try these simple spells based on the principles of attraction magick and see what happens! Attraction magick can be carried out with different methods. One technique is to combine the energies of what you wish to attract with your own energies. You simply weave the energies together, entwining them, through visualization, will, and symbolic action. So for a tarot love spell based on this principle, you can choose a card to represent yourself, a card to represent your ideal lover, and a card to represent the feelings you wish to share. Place the Sun card above these cards to amplify the spell with summer’s magick. Imagine all the energies shown in the cards combining. Look at the images and stack the cards on top of one another. You can say an affirmation if you like, a positive statement in your own words such as, “These energies are now entwined, in love, united.”

Click here to read more of this article.

Adrienne Piggott

W/P Beat

From the Mist: TWPT Talks to Adrienne Piggott

Adrienne hails from an immigrant family and grew up surrounded by stories and songs from Ireland and the British Isles that were part of every day life, ensuring her love of the music, legends and traditions from these cultures. 

She began singing in pub sessions in her late teens and early twenties, then went on to sing in a cappella groups and folk bands. Her interest in the occult and magic led to the creation of the band Spiral Dance - her ‘dream child’- a passionate union of her voice and song writing gifts. 

Adrienne has won awards for her vocal talents and wordsmith skills and has written most of the songs that appear on the Spiral Dance albums.

Click here to read the interview

Other Music Interviews on The Wiccan/Pagan Times

• Elemental TWPT talks to Kellianna
• The Golden Section TWPT talks to Michelle Mays

(photo by Brittany Sherman)

Mickie Mueller

Artist's Canvas Home

Art of Fantasy, Fairie, and Myth: TWPT Talks to Mickie Mueller

“I decided to make my dreams reality, drawing upon the magic that I grew up with, singing to inchworms with my mother and watching nature create miracles in the sun and under the moon. I love researching the legends of fairies, Goddesses, nature spirits, folklore and history.  I feel these themes are a part of us all on a deeper level, so when I have an opportunity to reach into that realm and bring something back, it’s an honor and I feel that I have a certain responsibility to do it with respect to these powerful entities.  When I work on a piece, these beings speak with me, and when someone else sees it, and loves it, they get to be a part of that fantastic realm where anything and everything is possible too, and bring that energy into their lives.”  -Mickie Mueller

Today Mickie has a growing business with her magical fantasy art.  Her work has been seen in magazines and books internationally, including a school textbook in Norway.  Her prints are sold in catalogues and on the Internet all over the world. She has two critically acclaimed divination decks published by Llewellyn, The Well Worn Path and The Hidden Path.  Mickie’s third deck comes out in 2011 and is her first deck that she created on her own, concept, writing, and art.  The Voice of the Trees, A Celtic Ogham Oracle is based on the rich and fantastic Celtic history, myths and legends and the Ogham system of letters used in 4th-6th century.

Click here to read the interview

Deborah Blake

Book Spotlight Home

Everyday Witch A to Z Spellbook TWPT talks to Deborah Blake

Deborah Blake is a Wiccan High Priestess who has been leading her current group, Blue Moon Circle, since 2004. When not writing, Deborah runs The Artisans' Guild, a cooperative shop she founded with a friend, and works as a jewelry maker, tarot reader, an ordained minister and an Intuitive Energy Healer. She lives in a 100-year-old farmhouse in rural upstate New York with five cats who supervise all her activities, both magickal and mundane. She is the author of Circle, Coven and Grove: A Year of Magickal Practice, Everyday Witch A to Z, Everyday Witch A to Z Spellbook and the forthcoming Witchcraft on a Shoestring (September 2010 Llewellyn). She has written many articles for Pagan publications, and her award-winning short story, "Dead and (Mostly) Gone" is included in the Pagan Anthology of Short Fiction.

Click here to read the interview.

M. Macha Nightmare

Community Focus

M. Macha Nightmare Cherry Hill Seminary Interview

• Our Mission: Cherry Hill Seminary provides quality higher education and practical training in Pagan ministry.
   

• Our Vision:  Cherry Hill Seminary supports Pagans and their communities by —
  Providing an extensive education in diverse aspects of Pagan philosophy, practice, and skilled ministry;
  Supplementing existing ritual and magical skills with training for professional ministry and counseling;
  Serving as an ongoing resource for individual continuing education; and
  Providing a forum for scholarship and community 

• Our Values: Cherry Hill Seminary —
  Honors the sacredness of the Earth
  Values scholarship
  Respects diversity
  Encourages individual and spiritual autonomy
  Values community
  Promotes service

 Read this interview with M. Macha Nightmare  by clicking here.

Seasonal Celebrations Home

Next Holiday: Ostara/Spring Equinox March 20, 2012

Now comes the vernal equinox, and the season of spring reaches its apex, halfway through its journey from Candlemas to Beltane. Once again, night and day stand in perfect balance, with the powers of light on the ascendancy. The God of Light now wins a victory over his twin, the God of Darkness. In The Mabinogion myth reconstruction that I have proposed, this is the day on which the restored Llew takes his vengeance on Goronwy by piercing him with the sunlight spear. For Llew was restored/reborn at the winter solstice and is now well/old enough to vanquish his rival/twin and mate with his lover/ mother. And the Great Mother Goddess, who has returned to her Virgin aspect at Candlemas, welcomes the young Sun God’s embraces and conceives a child. The child will be born nine months from now, at the next winter solstice. And so the cycle closes at last. 

For the rest of Mike Nichols' article on Ostara/Spring Equinox click here.

Next Holiday Southern Hemisphere:
Mabon/Autumnal Equinox
March 20, 2012

For an article on Mabon/Atumnal Equinox by Mike Nichols click here.  

Link

Link's Lesson Book

Your Own Celebrations of Winter

Can you feel the chill in your bones?  In the coldest, darkest of times, perhaps that’s when we enjoy warmth the most.

Winter’s Chill

From Autumn’s gentle cool, we turn to the extreme of Winter.  Winter sorts out those things which are strong enough to survive the harsh cruel times, to sow their seeds again in Spring.  After the new birth of Spring, the growth of Summer, and the fruition of Autumn -- Winter brings a cold dark sleep to the busy Earth.  Likewise, our own lives “chill out” a bit during Winter, as we put away our Summer toys.  We turn inward; we renew our love affair with hearth and home.

In Winter, we need to make our own warmth and light, rather than merely find it in the Summer sun.  We proactively create warmth in our home.  Blankets and boots, sweaters and scarves, heaters and hot cocoa – these are the magical tools of Winter, with which we evoke the warmth that we crave.  Whether you use a wood-burning fire place, or modern-day furnace, you invite the powers of fire to enter your home.  To make an analogy, for food we can hunt and gather what is already available, or we can farm -- and actually create the food that we eat.  Likewise, in Winter, we create the “fires” we need to survive, warmth that otherwise would not be there.  Creating something is one of the most magical events we ever do.  How do you create fire and warmth?  How do you relate to the warmth-making tools you use, year over year?  Celebrate the people, places and things which keep you warm when you need it most.  See them as a magical part of your life, and honor them for the gifts that they give.  Say a few special words each time you light your flame, set your thermostat, or prepare your warm wooly clothes.

 Read the rest of this article by clicking here.

Posted March 6, 2011

5 environmental revelations from WikiLeaks
What can 28,000 rubber duckies lost at sea teach us about our oceans?
Eastern cougar officially declared extinct

Posted November 27, 2010

Shakmah Winddrum passed away November 27, 2010

Posted November 19, 2010

Druid Jehanah Wedgwood passed away Nov. 15, 2010

Posted November 17, 2010

Women and the Changing Faces of Paganism: T. Thorn Coyle's latest podcast Episode # 37

Posted November 13, 2010

Camp Zoe, Site of Schwagstock (and PSG) , Facing Seizure After Drug Investigation
Pagan Spirit Gathering Looking for new site for 2011

Posted August 11, 2010

Where Are the Pagan Role Models?
A Pagan site to visit in the SF Bay Area
Reclaiming a San Francisco Pagan Tradition
Pagan Group Listings Now Available

Posted August 6, 2010

An Argentine Gem Hidden No More
Past Lives and Reincarnation
Fertility Statues May Work, Believe it or Not
The Wigglian Way Pagan Podcast Episode 72

Posted August 5, 2010

LA area Pagans celebrate Lammas/Lughnasadh
Los Angeles area Pagans cope with economic slump

Posted August 4, 2010

Bonewits Papers to be Donated

Posted August 2, 2010

Psychics stir up conversation, provide perspective

Posted August 1, 2010

Witch School International Names First Board of Directors, Faces Major Challenges
Sunday conversation: Byron Ballard loves her Earth religion, and her community
Wicca
A Brief History of Nakedness
Smith: Lammas celebrates first harvest of fall season
Pagan Travel Examiner Musician of the Month: July 2010: Caera: Part 1 of 2
New Book on Convicted Highland Witch

Posted July 31, 2010

Witch at a Catholic Celebration
Jesus the new Pagan God
Ancient Spirituality and Commerce Clash in Mari El
Five stunning stone circles (besides Stonehenge)
Confluence of harvest celebrations on August 1st
Anne Rice 'quits being a Christian'
Bread God-figure for Lammas: a recipe

Posted July 30, 2010

Science and religion clash in 'Agora"
Sybil Leek: Brevard author writes biography of famous ‘white witch’
Woman 'who dragged cop' shuns witch tag
Do Pagans Worry About Blasphemy?

Posted July 28, 2010

Pagan Leadership Skills Conference
Lammas Countdown: Ritual Honoring Lugh
Pagans celebrate the full moon with a ceremony on the beach in Atlantic Beach
Images of New Henge at Nat. Geo.
History of Religion and Paganism Connection
Witch Eilish De Avalon drags cop 200m at high speed after claiming Earth laws don't apply

Posted July 25, 2010

Save Triple Goddess Bookstore Rally
Shedding light on ways of pagans
All the young Druids
Native Americans Setting Environmental Example
Rachel Weisz challenges herself
'Agora': Rachel Weisz shines as a heroine caught in an orbit of hate
LA area Pagan calendar of events and classes from July 23 - August 1

Posted July 21, 2010

New Goddess & Spiritual Feminism Organization launched
15th Glastonbury Goddess Conference

Jesse Wolf Hardin

Updated 10-09-2008

Columns Home

TWPT's Earth Magic

This month Jesse's new article is entitled
Pitfalls on the Magical or Spiritual Path.

Otherwise benign New Spiritual practices can suffer from some of the same pitfalls as conventional organized religion. Fortunately, once we’re aware of these diversions we can make the informed choices that reunite us with the inspirited world, rather than contribute to our estrangement.

In my life of pilgrimage the voices of the earthen Anima have repeatedly contradicted what I’ve read, was taught, once thought, and so badly wanted to believe... Thus as I became a teacher myself, I deferred again and again— not to presumed authorities or established traditions, but to the actual Source of every real truth they contain. Our realization of wholeness/holiness begins not in contemplation or conclusion but in a great listening. It begins in a vulnerable condition of openness, with fierce focus, gentle humility, and the overwhelming gratitude that makes us worthy of such gifts.

Read Jesse's column on TWPT

Boudica

Bookviews Home

Crafting Wiccan Traditions by Raven Grimassi

I enjoyed this book because of the concept. I was surprised at the amount of material that Grimassi covers for this process. The contents of this book puts it all together to show you how it's done.

Tradition is the foundation of our spiritual system. Each person sees the Wiccan path as a personal path. Gardner did it, Buckland did it, even Grimassi did it; establishing a system of spirituality that worked for them, and enabling it to work for others.

Raven Grimassi presents a “system” here to establish your own Tradition. In it he also includes all the trappings and tools and beliefs and reasons to do so. It is a complex method, with all the basics, all the elements and all the workings that we may want to include.

Read Boudica's review of Crafting Wiccan Traditions by Raven Grimassi

Networking Home

Featuring the links page and the events calendar.