Yvonne Aburrow's Blog, page 60
March 3, 2019
The Deep Blue Sea
I see oppressive systems as being like water pressure in the ocean. The deeper you go in the ocean, the greater the pressure.
People who are very oppressed are at the bottom of the ocean and need a lot of internal pressure to keep from imploding. That internal pressure is things like support from your community, confirmation that Black is Beautiful, Trans is Beautiful, Black Lives Matter, and so on. This is why Black-only spaces, LGBT-only spaces, and women-only spaces are needed, as places w...
March 1, 2019
Noteworthy posts 2
This week’s noteworthy posts and a letter to The Guardian.
Following on from the theme of refugia for wildlife, Ryan Cronin has written a great post on making your lawn wildlife-friendly. The title, Leave the Lawn Alone! is making a certain Pink Floyd song go through my head, though. As Ryan says, why have a lawn when you could have a meadow?
I think that from a visual perspective, a meadow of mixed grasses, flowers and clover swaying gently in the breeze, festooned with golden dandelions, w...
Noteworthy posts
This week’s noteworthy posts and a letter to The Guardian.
Following on from the theme of refugia for wildlife, Ryan Cronin has written a great post on making your lawn wildlife-friendly. The title, Leave the Lawn Alone! is making a certain Pink Floyd song go through my head, though. As Ryan says, why have a lawn when you could have a meadow?
I think that from a visual perspective, a meadow of mixed grasses, flowers and clover swaying gently in the breeze, festooned with golden dandelions, w...
February 28, 2019
Bath Time Witchcraft
Witchcraft tip of the day.
To sensitize your hands to be able to feel auras, next time you’re in the bath with some bubble bath, grab a handful of bubbles and hold your hands parallel to each other with the bubbles between your hands. Then bring your hands slowly together and note the subtle increase in pressure of the bubbles on your skin. Do this more than once (it’s fun!)
Later, when you’re not in the bath, bring your hands together in the same way (but without the bubbles) and you should...
Books I’ve read in February
February 22, 2019
Noteworthy Posts
Inspired by Ryan Cronin’s Friday Foraging, I decided to create a roundup of posts that I found interesting, inspiring, or important over the last week.
Consent cultureI was interviewed this week by the excellent Star Bustamonte of The Wild Hunt Pagan News. The resulting article: Consent Culture: are we there yet? has raised the profile of my public pledge that people can sign not to attend events that don’t have a code of conduct.
Educating people on rape culture and consent is an ongoing...
February 13, 2019
Winter in Ontario
I love winter, especially when it involves snow, frost, and sunshine.
Winter in Ontario is (mostly) crisp and dry, unlike the British winter where the damp gets into your bones even when it’s only minus 2 Celsius.
The scary thing about global warming and climate change is that the winters won’t be cold enough to kill off bugs such as the ticks that cause Lyme Disease, and the black flies that rampage all over Canada, seeking out fresh new flesh to prey on.
As folklore has it, “a green Januar...
February 6, 2019
What makes you a priest/ess?
Michael asked, Am I a real priest?
Short answer, if you feel a calling to be one, then you probably are one, even if you’re on the beginner slopes.
My working definition of a priest or priestess is a person who can facilitate contact between the other-than-human and the human, and/or who can create meaning, community, and a sense of connectedness for others. Note that this definition includes atheists and animists.
Priest/ess as mediatorTraditionally a priest/ess is a person who makes conta...
Reblog: Where do your stones come from?
Where do your stones come from?There is a deep irony in this. Pagan-y type folk often use stones and crystals to connect with the earth, to honour the spiritus mundi, the world-soul. Yet, frequently these stones themselves have been industrially yanked out of the earth without any consideration of the spirit of the place where they were mined, and often without any consideration of the humanity of the exploited workers toiling in hellish conditions.
Read on at wrycrow.com
Please read this...
January 31, 2019
Books I’ve read in January
At the end of 2018, I decided that I needed to read more books on Wicca and witchcraft, and magic in general. I also have an ongoing intention to read more books by women, queer people, Black people, Indigenous people, and people of colour. Here are the books I have read in January.
After I had written my post on books that I read in 2018, I read two more books, The Golem and the Djinni by Hélène Wecker, and Disobedience by Naomi Alderman.
The Golem and the Djinni was excellent and had magic...
