Yvonne Aburrow's Blog, page 23
February 14, 2023
The language of flowers
Back in the day, people would send bouquets fraught with meaning. You could buy little handbooks with lists of the language of flowers, so you could anxiously decipher the bouquet sent to you. You’d better hope that you and the sender were using the same system, because some of these meanings are different than the ones on other lists… Thank goodness we have emojis nowadays!
Cornflower—riches
Daisy—attachment
Hundred-leaved rose — sincere love
Violet—modesty
Convolvulus (bind weed)—tender...
February 11, 2023
✨Emojis for Heathen festivals ✨
Yule 
Mōdraniht 
Álfablót 
Dísablót 
Þorrablót 
Disting 
Lenzen 
Hrēpmōnab 
Sigrblót 
Midsummer/Litha 
Lammas 
Sunwait 
(just my suggestions, add your own as desired)
For more information on Heathen festivals, check out the Wikipedia page about them.
February 9, 2023
✨ Emojis for Druid festivals ✨
Samhuinn 
Alban Arthan 
Imbolc 
Alban Eilir 
Beltane 
Alban Hefin 
Lughnasadh 
Alban Elfed 
Just my suggestions, add your own as desired.
For more information on Druid festivals, visit Druidry.Org: The eightfold wheel of the year
February 7, 2023
✨Emojis for Pagan festivals ✨
Candlemas / Imbolc 
Spring Equinox [image error]
Beltane 
Midsummer 
Lammas 
Autumn Equinox 
Samhain 
Yule 
And of course, add your own personal associations for each festival
Whenever I wish someone happiness on a Pagan festival, I like to leave emojis with my wish.
January 29, 2023
Place names
In the British Isles, place names reflect their geographical location and topographical features and history.
Oxford = oxen ford — the place where the oxen cross the river. Cambridge: the bridge over the river Cam. London: Lugh’s town. Norwich: north village (wick). Southampton: south village/town. Northampton: north village/town. Lancaster: the Roman town on the River Lune. Kirby Lonsdale: the church village in the Lune Valley.
You can also identify which culture named the place from...
January 28, 2023
Myths about Wicca
Fantastic article by River Enodian from the Tea-Addicted Witch blog.
A Tale of Two Wiccas: Tackling MisinformationExplains how eclectic Wicca and initiatory Wicca are two different things; discusses cultural appropriation in Wicca; looks at the Wiccan Rede and the Threefold Law; and explains Wicca’s relationship with Crowley, Thelema, and the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn. I’ve tackled some of these topics myself but this is an excellent overview.
Oliver Postgate autobiography
Currently reading Seeing Things by Oliver Postgate. The most gripping autobiography I have ever read. It’s my second time reading it and I’d forgotten how gripping it is.
He went to school in Dartington – I’ve been to the summer music school there and on trade union courses there.
His parents were part of the Bloomsbury set, and his grandfather was George Lansbury, a well known and popular Labour politician, which was interesting. They went on a cycling holiday in France in 1938 and ...
January 15, 2023
Wassailing
It’s the time of year for Wassailing in the apple-growing regions of England (Herefordshire, Somerset, Worcestershire, etc), and places where the weather is warm enough that fruit trees can blossom. (In Ontario, Canada, we wait until February to do the Wassailing.)
Wassailing consists of two distinct practices: carrying a Wassail bowl from house to house to bless the inhabitants (and hope that they will give you food and drink), and blessing the apple trees in orchards. Different regions ...
Books I read in 2022
Mini reviewsJanuary 2022February 2022March 2022April 2022May 2022June 2022July 2022August 2022September 2022October 2022And then I ran out of steamSingle book reviews Queer Qabala by Enfys BookCultish by Amanda Montell Chaos Monk by Steve DeeThe Actual Star by Monica ByrnePrevious years’ roundups2021 books 2020 books2019 books2018 booksIf you enjoyed this post, you mi...
January 1, 2023
Queer Pagan Reading List 2023
New titles this year: Mat Auryn’s Mastering Magick, books by Jack Chanek, The Pagan Heart of the West by Randy P Conner, The Witches of Thistle Grove series by Lana Harper, books by T Thorn Coyle, Chaos Monk by Steve Dee, two new books by Casey Giovinco, Traversing Gender by Lee Harrington, Sacred Gender by Ariana Serpentine.
Check out the 2015 list, the 2018 list, the 2020 list, the 2021 list, and the 2022 list.
Yvonne AburrowAll Acts of Love & Pleasure: inclusive Wicca – Yvonne ...
