Frances Billinghurst's Blog, page 4

Book Review Received from Exclusive Magazine

" ... more than just another book about working with the moon, On Her Silver Rays: A Guide to the Moon, Myth and Magick is an informative guide to developing a deep ultimate connection with our night time companion."

The moon and witchcraft go hand in hand. Lady Lunar has long been both a guide and a companion, a sign by which we mark time, all the while she gently aids us in our explorations into the self and magical workings. She is a reflection of not only the sun’s light but also the endless cycle of birth, life, death and rebirth. The ebbing and flowing energy of the moon influences our thoughts and emotions.

Many people believe that this energy can also bring change and enhance our own lives, through knowing when and how to use it. On Her Silver Rays: A Guide to the Moon, Myth and Magick is a collection of science, myth, poetry, and ritual. It will guide you through working with the different phases of the moon in order to gain a better sense of well being.

Discover how best to harness the lunar energies for healing and emotional strength, as well as physical and mental wellness. Deepen your connection with Lady Lunar through making your own ‘moon water’, prayer beads, incense and anointing oils.

In tasking herself to write a book honoring the moon, author Frances Billinghurst has brought forth a quite magnificently sculpted, wholly heartfelt, genuinely impassioned, and in certain aspects hued with delightfully subtle nuances, that will have you looking up at night at the object in question through totally different eyes.

Complete with a comprehensive, and descriptive list of the lunar gods and goddesses, Frances does more than just provide the facts, the history, the here and now, for she also dives deep into bringing forth, teaching us at the same time, the importance of this heavenly body to the esoteric practices of modern pagans and witches.

You can read the rest of the review here.

On Her Silver Rays is now Available

My ninth book, ON HER SILVER RAYS:  A GUIDE TO THE MOON MYTH AND MAGIC, was officially released on 1 July 2023 by Moon Books, and it has been receiving rather outstanding reviews including this one from Liliyana Shadowlyn:

"This is a great guide for those just starting out on their journey and more experienced practitioners seeking to deepen their connection to the moon. Billinghurst did an amazing job of compiling the information and making it easy to read and accessible. You get to learn more about the moon, humanity’s history with it, and the connection it has to us and our magic. You can pick up during any lunar phase, and begin the meditations and rituals presented in that section of the book without losing anything, or waiting for the cycle to begin all over. Highly recommend, whether you’re looking to get in touch with your witchy side for the first time, or simply want to deepen your connection with the moon!"

WitchsFest USA 2023 is Happening Again

I am delighted to be returning to WitchsFest USA - A Pagan Faire again this year.  This festival event is held in the heart of New York as well as promoting magicks of the world wide web.  In other words, it will be continuing to offer its online presence which is absolutely fantastic.

The dates for this year are from Friday, 7th July 2023 through to Sunday 9th July 2023 - naturally making adjustments for different time zones as both Friday and Sunday sessions are online.

Over the weekend there will be a combination of virtual workshops, presentations, and even a market place.  If you happen to be in New York during this weekend, then on Saturday, between 10am and 5pm,  make sure you head down to Astor Place (between Broadway and Lafayette Streets) in all your witchy finery where you will be able to attend this even for free and check out the 12 workshops that will be on offer.

Both Friday and Sunday are reserved for the online Zoom presence where you can watch presenters from all around the world, like myself, struct their stuff.
While the web site is in the process of being updated, presenters for this year's WitchsFest USA include:
Starr Raven Hawk, Selena Fox, Silver Ravenwolf, Phoenix Coffin-Williams, Alexander Cabot, Freya Bishop, Ellen Evert Hopman, Yeshe Matthews, David Shi, Rachel Patterson, Brian Cain, Tony Mierzwicki, Ness Bosch, Christian Day, and Jim Sayers to say a few.

Go to the website Witchs Fest USA - A Pagan Faire to keep up to date as the happenings and do not forget to book your ticket.  

I look forward to seeing you there - even if I will be online.

Are You Ready to Make a Difference?

Over the last year I have been allowing a new life direction to take root. Well, I guess if I am 100% honest, it is not all that new – being able to be self-employed has long been a dream of mine. Now, will it the actually become a reality?

For the first week in May this year, I will be hosting my first online global conference that is centered around a topic that has been on the back of my mind – how to make my spiritual path more aligned with the planet upon which we all live – Mother Earth. I have been a spiritual person as long as I care to remember, and indeed, my own spiritual path is extremely earth-centric. By that I mean, it is cyclic in nature whereby it follows the turning of the seasons as well as ebbing and flowing with the phases of the moon. There is also a religious element to it in that I believe in “something” that is beyond my human existence – the Other, not to mention a more esoteric aspect as well.

In more recent times, I have watched, almost in disbelief, the continual disassociation between Western (corporation driven) society and Earth, our planetary home. As a species, we appear to be venturing extremely close to the point of no return when it comes to the damage we have caused – not only to our own environment and quality of life, but to other species sharing our home. Yet we continue to do little to right our wrongs, or even acknowledge that we have strayed off course.

It has gotten to the stage where we are experiencing the worse [insert climatic disaster here] in a hundred years over and over again. Yet still, we bury our heads in the sand.

We have also seen the raise of movements that have given voice to the oppressed such as the “Black Lives” and the “Me Too” movements. Yet, this seems to be have been only temporary as policy makers continue to seek to silence, limit, control through passing almost unbelievable outdated legislation.

Within the spiritual communities, it has been disappointing to see that, while I do acknowledge a lot of good has been achieved in some areas, in others, spiritual bypassing and cultural appropriation still continues – even the definitions and interpretations have become more confusing.

It was for these reasons that I decided to create my first online conference – Re-Awakening the Sacred Self: Finding the Way back to Our Ancestral Soul is a free conference that will commence on Monday, 1st May 2023. During the five days that the conference will run for, some 25 interviews and presentations from speakers hailing all around the world will be released.

I have gathered together an unique collection of speakers from various racial and cultural backgrounds, as well as from different spiritual and religious paths, to share their own individual insights and offer practical ways as to how we all can leave the “Old Way” of seeing Mother Earth as merely a commodity behind us, and by deepening our spiritual paths, how we can step into the brighter, clearer future for all inhabitants of our planetary home

You can find out more about the upcoming Re-Awakening the Sacred Self conference here, and if you want to register for free, you can do so here.

I hope to see you there.

Blessings, Frances

Grab Your WitchCon Tickets

WitchCon was conceived out of the global shut down in 2021 where some 90 odd witches, magicians, conjurers and other magical folk from all around the world gathered together online to offer classes to an audience of nearly 1,000 ticket holders. I was very privileged to be part of the 2021 event where my presentation was on Exploring the Shadowy Realms of the Dark Goddess as well as showcasing LunaNoire Creations in the n the Virtual Vendorium. 
Now in its third year, being held from Friday, 3 to Sunday, 5 March 2023 (4 to 6 March here in Australia), I am delighted to announce that I will be returning once again with a presentation entitled Meeting Ereshkigal: Queen of the Great Below which will be aired on Monday, 6 March 2023 at 11:15am (ACST) in the Saturn Library.
Often considered to be the antagonist of Inanna who, in the "Descent of the Goddess", descended into the Underworld, Ereshkigal strips the Sumerian Queen of Heaven of her divine powers and titles, before allowing her to resurface again.
So powerful is this ancient story that it forms the basis of many Underworld or shadow journeys, and it can even be found within initiatory, or contemporary, witchcraft, yet often retold from Inanna's point of view.
More about Ereshkigal can be found in my book, Encountering the Dark Goddess: A Journey into the Shadow Realms.
My presentation at WitchCon will focus on Ereshkigal, the Queen of the Great Below, and her undeniable sovereignty over this subliminal realm.
What I love about being involved in WitchCon is not only the huge diversity of presenters, is that tickets enable you access to recording of every single class after the event has ended via the on-demand library.
There are only 1,000 tickets available so if you do not want to miss out, you can secure your ticket to WitchCon Online here.

Win Yourself a Copy of my Latest Book

My latest book, On Her Silver Rays: A Guide to the Moon, Myth and Magic , is due for release at the end of June this year. However, I am waiting on a delivery some early pre-release copies straight from the printers, which is very exciting.

While there seem to be an endless supply of books about working with the moon, what (hopefully) sets my book apart is that it is not simply looking at "manifesting with the new moon" and "banishing with the waning moon". For it navigates you through astronomy, astrology, mythology, divination, healing and ritual, as well as a good dose of magic and inner reflection thrown in for good measure.

This video is an excerpt from the first couple of sections from On Her Silver Rays. And if you leave a comment as to how the moon makes you feel in the YouTube comments before 9 February 2023, you might actually win yourself a copy.

February Happening

Here we are in the second month of this year already.
February will see the annual  Yemaya Blessing of the Waters  taking place on Monday, 6 February 2023.  
As I mentioned last month, regular attendees of this event will notice that it will be taking place a month later than normally.  This is because of personal commitments making me unavailable until February.  As per usual, this event is "gold coin donation" and is open to the public.  
More information about this event and what you are suggested to bring can be  found here .
There are only TWO places now available for the first workshop that I will be offering this year, that being the   House Cleansing and Protection  workshop which will be taking place on Saturday, 11 February 2023. During this full day workshop we will be looking at how to cleanse your home from negative energies using sprays as well as commonly found (and grown) herbs, protecting your home by erecting protective energetic boundaries as well as powerful rituals such as the Rosy Cross.  
You will also gain insight into why a number of techniques that are found on social media may not actually be as effective as claimed to be, or even do not actually work at all!!
Participants will also partake in the the practical component where they make a number of items for use in their own home.
I will also be offering a couple of workshops in February.   There are limited places available, so bookings are essential.  You can  secure your place here .
The second workshop that I will be offering in February is the  Journey through the Chakras  workshop will take place on Saturday, 23 February 2023.
This workshop will provide participants with a detailed exploration through the seven major chakras (energy centres) as well as a number of minor chakras. I have noticed a rather sad demise of in-depth teaching occurring especially within the realms of energetic healing modalities where a course which was once held over two weekends (or even longer) is now reduced to half a day.  I have always held the belief that no assumption should be made that a student already has a suitable level of understanding, and even if they do, there is always something new that can be learnt. 
Therefore, what I offer in the Journey through the Chakras workshop, incorporate both tradition yogic teachings with Western metaphysical concepts.  This way the participant will discover how each chakra relates to aspects of your personality, undertake a powerful chakra cleansing and balancing meditation, as well as exploring how to use sound, colour, crystals and even gentle exercises to unblock your chakras and allow your energetic power to flow more freely.  
If you are interested in chakras, energy or personal healing, you might be interested in this workshop.  The degree of foundational material will also be beneficial for anyone trained in various energetic healing modalities.
Further, as this workshop will form a module of the  Metaphysical Healer's course  that will be made available from 2024, the opportunity for a prior learning credit will apply.
You can  secure your place here  for the  Journey through the Chakras  workshop.

If online learning is more convenient, I have a number of courses available through Udemy which provides students with unlimited access and where they can study at their own pace.  
The courses that I currently have available are: Exploring the Dark Goddess  consists of some three and a half hours of video content Dancing with the Hindu Goddess Kali Ma  consists of five hours of video content Celtic Goddesses and Warrior Queens  consists of some four and a half hours of video content.
Udemy offers an assortment of courses, however as some are better than others, it is recommended that a level of discernment be used when choosing.  
Don't forget to  subscribe to my newsletter  where I provide insights on the magical, mystical and metaphysical matters.  
EXTENDED CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS
There is still time available to submit an article, poetry, artwork or even ritual to the proposed anthology,  Re-Visioning the Wheel of the Year , as the deadline has been extended until 31 March 2023.
It has been over ten years since I released  Dancing the Sacred Wheel  and as such, this proposed anthology is hoped to expand upon the concept of working with the sabbats and other seasonal festivals in the Southern Hemisphere beyond the contemporary witchcraft or pagan format.
If you are interested in contributing towards this unique anthology, more details can be  found  here .

Blessings, Frances

Moon Con 2023 - Now Two Events

 

Who doesn't love free stuff?

MoonCon is back in 2023 and it still remains to be a FREE online event.  The only change is that it will be held twice a year - the first date being 11 March 2023 and the second taking place on 9 September 2023.  Both events will feature a wide range of Moon Books authors.

How you can get involved in this free event is simple - follow and subscribe to MoonCon 2023 which will be run live on both the Moon Books Publishing Facebook page and the corresponding YouTube channel .As these times and dates are based on British Standard Time ensure that you work out the corresponding times and dates as to when these talks are happening in your neck of the woods by using programmes such as World Time Buddy.
So pencil the dates of 11 March and 9 September 2023 in your diary to ensure that you do not miss out of this FREE online event.My latest offering from Moon Books is On Her Silver Rays: A Guide to the Moon, Myth and Magic, which is a collection of science, myth, poetry, and ritual that will guide you through working with the different phases of the moon in order to gain a better sense of wellbeing. Discover how best to harness the lunar energies for healing and emotional strength, as well as physical and mental wellness. Deepen your connection with Lady Lunar through making your own ‘moon water’, prayer beads, incense and anointing oils.Through the keeping of a lunar diary, learn how to effectively manifest and release with the endless changing energies of the moon. Even learn how to create your own unique moon names regardless of where you live. While the anticipated release date for On Her Silver Rays is not until 30 June 2023, you can, however, pre-order your copy through various outlets which are listed on  Moon Book's web page .  Further, if you subscribe to my newsletter, Realm of a Modern Day Mystic , you will get updates as to how you can obtain autographed copies direct from me.

The Wait Is Almost Over

I am rather excited to announce that this week I have been advised by my publisher that early release copies of On Her Silver Rays: A Guide to the Moon, Myth and Magic  can be ordered.  This is very exciting considering the official release date is not until the end of June 2023.

So, naturally, I could not help but take advantage of this and place an order.

While it will still be a number of weeks before the first copies come off the printing press and arrive at my door, I thought I would make the announcement that if you are interested in purchasing one of these early release copies, then I am offering signed copies at a special price of $37.50 (including postage within Australia).

Click here to order your signed copy.

Unfortunately, this offer is only available within Australia at this stage, however, if you live outside of Australia and would like a copy, you can pre-order through one of a number of outlets listed on Moon Books‘ web page.

Alternatively, if you want a signed copy, contact me and I will work out postage once the books arrive.

January Happenings and More

A new year has arrived and as such, I would first like to say a big THANK YOU to everyone who has supported my various endeavours throughout 2022 - whether it has been by purchasing one of my books, something from my  LunaNoire Creations  Etsy store, stopping by to say hello at one of the many markets that I was at, participating in an event or workshop that I had presented or hosted, undertaken a healing or had a reading with me at the Isian Centre of Metaphysics, or even subscribing to my YouTube channel .  Even if you have read my blog, a hear felt THANK YOU.
Due to personal commitments, when it comes to offerings, with only the  Journey into Freedom with Kali  email-based sadhana (spiritual journey) scheduled to be taking place this month (commencing on Sunday, 8 January 2023 so there is still time to register if you are interested - more information about this 21-day journey with this Dark Goddess found within the Hindu pantheon can be found here .  

One thing that I have been setting up is a semi-regular newsletter that will contain information about upcoming events, presentations, appearances, and the like, as well as other insights that I find of interest that relate to magical, mystical and metaphysical matters.  If you read this blog, then you can subscribe to my newsletter here .
I have also been busy making a number of courses available online.  The platform I am using is Udemy which provides students with unlimited access and where they can study at their own pace.  
The courses that I currently have available are: Exploring the Dark Goddess  consists of some three and a half hours of video content Dancing with the Hindu Goddess Kali Ma consists of five hours of video content Celtic Goddesses and Warrior Queens  consists of some four and a half hours of video content.
Udemy offers an assortment of courses, however as some are better than others, it is recommended that a level of discernment be used when choosing.  
WORKSHOPS AND EVENTS

As mentioned earlier, the first event for 2023 will be the 21-day  Journey into Freedom with Kali  sadhana (spiritual journey) that will commence on Sunday, 8 January 2023.  
Every day for the following 21 days, you will receive emails that will assist you in exploring this rather complex Dark Goddess of the Hindu pantheon.  You are invited to study at your own pace as you will receive devotional practices that will enable you to connect with this powerful goddess on a deep soul level in order to bring about ultimate change.
Further information as to how you can register for  Journey into Freedom with Kali  can be  found here.  
FEBRUARY EVENTS
February will see the annual  Yemaya Blessing of the Waters  taking place on Monday, 6 February 2023.  Regular attendees of this event will notice that it will be taking place a month later than normally.  This is because of personal commitments making me unavailable until February.  As per usual, this event is "gold coin donation" and is open to the public.  More information about this event and what you are suggested to bring can be found here .
I will also be offering a couple of workshops in February.  House Cleansing and Protection  workshop will be taking place on Saturday, 11 February 2023 and will contain a practical component where participants will be making a number of items for use in their own home.  There are limited places available, so bookings are essential.  You can secure your place here .
On Saturday, 25 February 2023,  Journey through the Chakras  workshop will provide participants with a detailed exploration through the seven major chakras (energy centres) as well as a number of minor chakras.  Incorporating both tradition yogic teachings with Western metaphysical concepts, you will also discover how each chakra relates to aspects of your personality, undertake a powerful chakra cleansing and balancing meditation, as well as exploring how to use sound, colour, crystals and even gentle exercises to unblock your chakras and allow your energetic power to flow more freely.  
If you are interested in chakras, energy or personal healing, you might be interested in this workshop.  The degree of foundational material will also be beneficial for anyone trained in various energetic healing modalities.
Further, as this workshop will form a module of the Metaphysical Healer's course that will be made available from 2024, the opportunity for a prior learning credit will apply.
You can secure your place here  for the Journey through the Chakras workshop.

EXTENDED CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS
There is still time available to submit an article, poetry, artwork or even ritual to the proposed anthology, Re-Visioning the Wheel of the Year , as the deadline has been extended until 31 March 2023.
It has been over ten years since I released Dancing the Sacred Wheel and as such, this proposed anthology is hoped to expand upon the concept of working with the sabbats and other seasonal festivals in the Southern Hemisphere beyond the contemporary witchcraft or pagan format.
If you are interested in contributing towards this unique anthology, more details can be  found  here .

Blessings, Frances