Yvonne Aburrow's Blog, page 36

About me

September Pagan Challenge #1: Introduction.

I am Yvonne Aburrow. I have been a Pagan for 36 years and a Wiccan for 30 years. I am nonbinary and bisexual. I lived in the UK for the first fifty years of my life; now I live in Canada, on the lands of the Anishinaabe, the Hodinohshó:ni, and the Attawandaron. I’m married to Bob. I am a software developer.

I have written about ten books, the most recent being “Dark Mirror: the Inner Work of Witchcraft”, “The Night Journey: Witchcraft as Transformation”,...

Books I read in August

I read the second and third books of Robert Sawyer’s WWW trilogy. Then I re-read his Neanderthal trilogy. Then I read a book that I picked up in Tobermory by a local Indigenous man.

WWW: Watch, by Robert Sawyer

This is the second time I have read this book and I enjoyed revisiting the characters and the setting. There was more game theory in the book than I recalled, and sometimes the science exposition is a bit clunky. However, I think he went some way towards fixing some of the issu...

Books I read in July

I read Crosstalk by Connie Willis and then decided to re-read The Deptford Trilogy. Then I read a book on Indigenous stories, and then a book on walking in Paris, which I bought secondhand ages ago and only just got around to reading. And then I re-read Terry Pratchett’s last book, The Shepherd’s Crown.

Crosstalk by Connie Willis

Hilarious and complex romp through communication, social media, and corporate culture. A neurologist has devised a way to enhance communication between couple...

Drag

By Yvonne Aburrow

July 16th was International Drag Day, so it seems like a good time to look at the history of drag. 

Drag is a subversive art-form that holds a distorting mirror up to societally-imposed gender norms. It is not the same as being transgender, and has a different history. The key difference between drag and being transgender is that drag is an impersonation of another gender for dramatic effect; being transgender is to genuinely experience being a different gender than t...

Recipe: British flapjack

My Mum always used to make this and it is incredibly moreish. I’ve got some in the oven right now. Yum yum.

British flapjack4 ounces butter 4 ounces soft brown sugar1 tablespoon golden syrup1 tablespoon maple syrup12 ounces easy-cook Quaker Oats

OR

4 ounces butter4 ounces soft brown sugar2 tablespoons golden syrup12 ounces easy-cook Quaker Oats

If you live in North America, about the only place where you can get golden syrup is from your local British store (if you have one)....

Talking about your spiritual path

There are different ways to talk about one’s religion: interfaith dialogue, enthusiasm without any underlying agenda, evangelizing, and proselytizing. Each of these has different underlying assumptions and values.

Interfaith dialogue is where I tell you about my religion and you tell me about yours, with no attempt at converting the dialogue partner; just a mutual exchange of information. Interfaith dialogue comes from a place of respect for the dialogue partner and their religion. It inc...

There are different ways to talk about one’s religion: in...

There are different ways to talk about one’s religion: interfaith dialogue, enthusiasm without any underlying agenda, evangelizing, and proselytizing. Each of these has different underlying assumptions and values.

Interfaith dialogue is where I tell you about my religion and you tell me about yours, with no attempt at converting the dialogue partner; just a mutual exchange of information. Interfaith dialogue comes from a place of respect for the dialogue partner and their religion. It inc...

Mark Goddard’s book in hardback

The Book of Dreams was an unfinished typewritten manuscript by Mark Goddard. He had wanted it to be published, and gave it to his friend, Art Quester, who gave a copy to me after Mark was tragically killed in a car accident in 1988. It is now available as a hardback.

Mark was a dedicated occultist, before the internet made occultism more accessible. He had clearly developed a good pathworking technique and read several works on occultism prior to writing these visualizations. There we...

Adding your pronouns online

Why

“It’s helpful for cisgender people from both within the LGBTQ+ community and outside of it to include their pronouns in their bio as it creates a safer environment for trans people. It opens a safe space to talk about pronouns and it also lets those of us who use different pronouns to share ours without being the odd one out. When cisgender people share their pronouns whether it be in an online bio, on a name tag, or shared face to face during introductions it helps to normalize the a...

Ritual writing prompts

Ever had that feeling where you are staring at a blank sheet of paper and wondering what to write for your ritual?

Here are some writing prompts.

EsbatsWhat is your favourite animal / bird / tree / flower / plant?Does it have any mythology associated with it?What is its life-cycle?In relation to the ritual year?In relation to the four elements?Who is your favourite mythological character / deity / being?What is their symbolism or their story?Can you retell it as a ritual drama?...