Yvonne Aburrow's Blog, page 43

We all rise together

On solidarity with other people, small acts of kindness, self-care, and activism.

I have a saying, “we all rise together”. When authors review each other’s books, or promote each other’s blog posts, projects, books, etc, we all become more visible. I am very grateful to all the people who reviewed my recent books, and I often try to promote others’ work, especially when it is about queer and inclusive Paganism.

And, a plea to readers generally: if you like a book that you have read, p...

Sacerdotal roles

What title do you use, or prefer? What archetypes do you associate with it? Priestex, Priestess, Priest?

Although I am nonbinary, I like the title priestess, for various reasons:

I don’t associate it with motherhood (I’m not the motherly type).It makes me think of the High Priestess card in the Tarot (particularly the one created by Pamela Colman-Smith).I gather that the Reclaiming Tradition use the title priestess for everyone, regardless of gender.It has only ever been used to refer ...

The tree in autumn

Since my last post about the tree that I can see out of the window, it has been turning orange.

19 September 2020,
9:18 am21 September 2020,
7:59 am21 September 2020,
5:06 pm22 September 2020,
7:54 am23 September 2020,
7:14 am25 September 2020,
8:17 am28 September 2020,
7:07 am28 September 2020,
8:26 am27 September 2020,
8:51 am30 September 2020,
8:58 am29 September 2020,
7:52 am3 October 2020,
8:29 am13 October 2020,
9:00 am14 October 2020,
8:01 amThe tree in autumn

Madge Worthington

Madge Worthington (1913-2005) was the co-founder of the Whitecroft tradition of Wicca, and was immensely important in the development of the Gardnerian Craft. She was initiated around 1964 by her high priest, Arthur, who was in turn initiated by Eleanor (Ray) Bone who died in 2003. Madge and Arthur used to hold their meetings in Arthur’s house in Whitecroft Way and to this day her many magical descendants speak of themselves as being of the Whitecroft line. Sadly, in the last few years of he...

The Witches’ Pyramid

The Witches’ Pyramid. To know, to dare, to will, to keep silent.

Remember when you were a kid and you made a wish when you blew out your birthday cake candles, and you had to not tell anyone what the wish was, or it wouldn’t come true? That operates according to the principle of the Witches’ Pyramid. You KNOW what you want, and you KNOW what to do, and you KNOW you have to keep it secret. So you WILL what you desire (making a wish). You DARE to blow out the candles and make a wish. An...

Samhain

I have written quite a lot of posts about Samhain over the last few years.

I thought I would collect them all into one post.

How to make an ancestor altar

OCTOBER 8, 2020 / YVONNE ABURROW

Halloween and Samhain

OCTOBER 3, 2018 / YVONNE ABURROW / 2 COMMENTS

The season of Halloween is fast approaching, and with it, the opening of several different silly seasons. It’s the season for racists to dress as caricatures of other ethnic groups. It’s the season for journalists to f...

Progressive Witchcraft

What is Progressive Witchcraft? by Terminus

“We do not see our ‘trainees’ as empty vessels, waiting to be filled up, but as individuals with a wealth of experience and ideas which they can contribute to the craft.”

(Ariadne Rainbird, 1993)

The use of the term progressive arose from a discussion between Ariadne Rainbird and Tam Campbell in London in the late 1980s (*3) They were discussing the evolution of Wicca, and the fact that it had moved on over the decades, beyond the labels of “...

How to make an ancestor altar

Make an altar from a box or a couple of planks and some bricksCover it with a black, dark green, dark blue, purple, or brown cloth.Add some candles.

Ancestors can be members of your family who have died, but they can also be people you admire (ancestors of spirit) and people who lived where you live (ancestors of the land). Ancestors of spirit can include LGBTQIA people and Pagans.

You can download photos of Queer and Pagan ancestors from the web. If you’re handy with a gra...

Notable and quotable 23

I opened the WordPress app on my phone after a bit of a hiatus and found three top quality posts that I wanted to share. I hope you will appreciate them as much as I did.

Nimue Brown writes on Druidry’s attitude to pain, with reference to Celtic mythology:

What the mythology tells us about Gods, punishment, suffering and learning is that it’s all very personal. It is the deals you personally made that you will be held to. It’s breaking your personal taboos that will land you in trouble...

Potted history of witchcraft

The other day I had a long rambling conversation with some people over Zoom where I ended up giving them a highly condensed version of a potted history of witchcraft.

This made me realize that I could make a short accessible series of videos on the subject. So I am doing exactly that, on my YouTube channel, The Witch’s Mirror.

Witchcraft in Antiquity video:
the witches of Thessaly, Pagan attitudes to witchcraft, mystery cults



Witchcraft in the Middle Ages and Early Modern period vi...