Yvonne Aburrow's Blog, page 33

No platform for fascism

I recently posted on Instagram about a book I was reading by Nigel Pennick, and was informed by Amy Hale that the author has links with the far right (she published an article about it in The Pomegranate in 2012). I was horrified, as I have been recommending his books to people. If you Google his name, the first results that come up will not be related to his links with the far right, but if if you Google his name along with “Arcana Europa”, a far right publisher, you can find ample evidence of ...

What “inclusive” means

Inclusive doesn’t mean that we have to include everybody who asks to join; it means that we don’t exclude whole classes of people due to their innate or acquired characteristics (such as ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, or physical characteristics).

Some people may not be suited to Wicca because they are drawn to a different path. Some people might not be suited to coven life because they don’t play well with others, or because they are not kind and considerate of others.

Inclus...

Moon water

I had never heard of moon water until very recently. It seems to be a piece of North American folk magic. It also seems to have gained in popularity very rapidly, especially on Instagram (and possibly on Tiktok too, but I’m not on there). So I wondered where it came from.

Sacred waters

In Britain, there are many many holy wells, originally sacred to Celtic and Romano-British deities or spirits of place, and subsequently dedicated to saints. The most obvious and well known example is Aq...

The Golden Shadow

Shadow work seems to be the thing all the kids are talking about these days. I assumed that people were talking about the integration of the shadow as is talked about in Jungian psychology. But do you know about the concept of the Golden Shadow? Check out my YouTube video, “Archetypes and shadow work” for more about Jungian shadow concepts, including the Golden Shadow.

‘In Jungian psychology, the “shadow” refers to an unconscious aspect of the personality, everything of which a person is ...

Fire Magic and Earth Magic

Llewellyn have recently published a series of books on the Four Elements, called Elements of Witchcraft, and the two that I was asked to provide endorsements of are excellent. All the authors of this series are experienced occultists and Pagans, so these books are well worth your time, whether you are a beginner or a more experienced practitioner, or someone who is interested in folklore and mythology.

Earth Magic, by Dodie Graham McKay

Whether you are new to the Pagan path or have...

Witchy aesthetics

There’s a lot of talk about Halloween being “the season of the witch” and it is true that what sets us apart from many other paths and traditions is an enthusiastic embrace of both darkness and light. But that is not the full extent of witchy aesthetics.

There should also be winter witches and springtime witches and summer witches. We are a religion for all seasons!

In Italy, of course, they have La Befana, the Christmas witch.

La Befana

In Sweden, they have Easter witches.

S...

Books I read in October

I’m currently also reading Rune Magic by Nigel Pennick and SPQR by Mary Beard, but I haven’t finished them yet. These are the books that I have read this month.

Black Water Sister, Zen Cho

Brilliant story of ghosts and gods and revenge, family ties, and the difficulty of coming out to your parents. There was a slight slump in the plot in the middle of the book but then the pace picked up again and the ending was excellent. The world of Malaysian deities is fascinating and the femi...

Book review: Queer Qabala

Queer Qabala by Enfys J Book

Incredibly clear, beautifully written explanation of the Hermetic Qabala and its inherent queerness, expressed in the idea that there are three pillars (force, balance, and form), and that the Divine includes all genders and sexualities.

The book is written with style and wit by an expert in the subject. There are pathworkings to help you fully experience all aspects of the Qabala, and journal exercises to deepen your understanding of the worlds, spheres, and ...

Conspiracy theories and witchcraft persecutions

Contemporary conspiracy theories and older witchcraft beliefs have a lot in common. Both are networks of ideas, mostly unconnected with each other, but linked by tenuous theories. This comparison has been explored by a team of researchers at UCLA and Berkeley using AI and folklore to map the key people, things, and relationships in thousands of social media posts.

On reading the article in The Guardian, a couple of things struck me. One was the similarity to rhizomatic theory as expounded...

Place names

Indigenous people frequently and correctly point out that Indigenous place names in North America are based on geographical features or things that happened in that place, whereas settler place names in North America are either named after the first person to settle there, or a place in Britain or Europe. This is true.

What’s more, the and Europe are named after geographical features, things that happened there, Pagan deities, and previous inhabitants’ names for the pl...