Wicca Archives - Page 2 of 3

June 11, 2021

Freyr, God of Summer

In Norse mythology, there are two tribes of gods: the Vanir and the Aesir. The Vanir tribe are fertility gods, while the Aesir are warrior gods. During the Viking Age, the people of Scandinavia relied heavily on farming for their survival, so the Vanir gods played a crucial role in their worship. As the son of Skadi, a frost giantess, and Njord, the god of the sea, Freyr is a sun god who is a member of the Vanir, associated with fertility and peace. His twin sister, Frejya, is also well known for her cunning and beauty throughout Norse mythology.

June 11, 2021

Customs, Traditions, and Folklore of Litha

As the sun reaches its zenith, Midsummer celebrations abound across the globe. People celebrate the balance of the dark and light while paying homage to sun deities in a variety of different ways. Litha is the Midsummer Sabbat as the wheel of the year turns. There are many customs, traditions, and folklore surrounding Litha.

May 18, 2021

Lunar Eclipse Astrological Effects

Our pagan ancestors have been looking at its gleaming globe for answers for millennia, synching their lives and their magickal practices with its phases. And today, modern witches and Wiccans know that everything from our spellcasting to our mood can be affected by whether the Moon is waxing, waning, or full.

May 14, 2021

Metaphysical Connectivity – Part Two

In my previous essay about Connectivity, I said, our life spark is connected to the great consciousness and therefore everything, everywhere everywhen. In theory we should be able to shift our consciousness to any point of Time and Space. In theory, yes. But in applied practice there are some nagging kinks. For about twenty years I taught classes in Remote Viewing or RV to my students and others from the pagan community. Now I hear some witch-oriented people moaning “Remote Viewing is not Witchcraft, it’s not the old ways.” I beg to differ. Think of it as a modern disciplined approach to the old skill of divining.

May 10, 2021

The Magickal Properties of Lavender

Mother Nature has all the remedies we need — and as witches, it’s important to know how to harness them through working with herbs and plants. Throughout this series of articles, we’ve examined some of the key herbs to work with for healing, spells, and divination rituals. After learning about the magickal properties of jasmine and clover, it’s time to look at another favorite: lavender.

May 6, 2021

Growing Your Coven Membership

Growing your coven membership can be difficult in a practice that does not proselytize or actively recruit. Plus, with paganism being a new religion that is often misunderstood by the general public, many practitioners don’t blatantly display their faith, so others might not even know they are a practitioner. But if pagans and Wiccans don’t recruit, how can they find new members? The majority of people learn about paganism and Wicca through books, online, or from close friends.

April 28, 2021

Gods and Goddesses of Fertility

Celebrating fertility has been very important to our Pagan ancestors. It had to be, of course. Whether it was to help secure the birth of new human (or animal) life or to coax rain to fall to make the land fertile, every pagan pantheon had its own gods and goddesses of fertility — many of who are still very much celebrated to this day. As Beltane, the great Wiccan Sabbat of union and fertility, draws near, it’s a great opportunity to get to know these gods and goddesses a bit better so that you can include them in your Beltane altar and ask for their blessing.

April 28, 2021

Metaphysical Connectivity – Part One

It is often said in mysticism that we are connected to an immediate local group of spirit instances. Lifetime after lifetime, we reincarnate together. My daughter in this lifetime may have been my mother in a previous life or perhaps my military captain, or even simply a colleague in a common profession, who knows. Lifetime after lifetime, we all wear different masks-of-flesh and participate in this game of incarnate life.

April 17, 2021

The Air Element

Whether you are new to Wicca or have been practicing for a while, it is always a good time to brush up on your knowledge of those aspects of the Craft that are invoked frequently. In many altar setups, spells, and rituals, the four elements are called upon or used. Though Air is the least tangible and visible of the elements, we still frequently incorporate it into our practice.

April 3, 2021

The Goddess Hera

Hera was worshipped in Greece way before people started speaking Greek there. She was the first deity to whom the people of that area ever dedicated a temple; she was worshipped all the way from Iran to Egypt. She’s often conflated with the Egyptian Goddess of fertility and agriculture, Hathor, and with Demeter, the Earth Goddess. Hera’s name probably comes from an older form of the word for “Lady” (Kera) but adapted to mean “Lady of the year” or “Lady of the season.” Some historians think it’s an anagram for the word for “air,” as Hera was considered the Queen of the Skies, or the Heavens. Just as Freya, the Lady of the Old Norse pantheon, played a much more important part in the past before her role was diminished to not antagonize Odin, so did Hera. Prior to her marriage to Zeus, Hera was considered a manifestation of the Great Earth Goddess in all her three aspects: Maiden, Mother, and Crone.

Category: Wicca