New Year Envisions

As a new year is now upon us, this means that the deadline for Call of the God: An Exploration of the Divine Masculine within Modern Paganism only has a month to go for submissions to be received.  Already I have felt extremely blessed and privileged to receive those which have appeared in my inbox thus far, and as such, work has commenced in respect to the possible sequence.

 

 

If you have missed the original call for submissions, you still have until 31 January 2015 to get something to me - more details as to what I am hoping to receive for this anthology packed the testosterone can be found here. 

 

Special Deal on Both Books

The first delivery of In Her Sacred Name: Writings about the Divine Feminine is expected this week, and as a way of celebrating this exciting event, I have decided to offer a special deal on both my books.

 

Purchase both In Her Sacred Name: Writings about the Divine Feminine along with Dancing the Sacred Wheel: A Journey through the Southern Sabbats and have both delivered to you anywhere in Australia for only $50.00.  And if you like, I will even autography them for you $50.00.

 

If you would like to take advantage of this special deal, simply go here and pay through Paypal.

 

In Her Sacred Name available very shortly

I am absolutely delighted to announce that my second book, In Her Sacred Name: Writings on the Divine Feminine will be available for purchase as of Monday, 27 October 2014 from Createspace and shortly after that, from all Amazon affilitated stores before being released on Kindle. 

The first evidence of the worship of the Goddess, or at least the female principle, dated back to around 35,000 BCE with the discovery of "Venus figurines", and throughout time, has been honoured in various cultures all around the world.

Kindle version of Dancing the Sacred Wheel now available on Amazon

I am delighted to announce that finally Dancing the Sacred Wheel: A Journey through the Southern Sabbats is available on Amazon's Kindle and as a way of celebrating this, it is available at a rather ridiculous price.  To obtain your copy, simply go here for Amazon.co.uk or here for Amazon.com.

Physical copies can still be obtained direct from me via this link at the top of the page (which can be autographed), or, for international customers, direct from Createspace.

Second Book nearly completed



Over the last month I have been attempting to finalise the manuscript of In Her Sacred Names: Writings on the Divine Feminine in order to have at least a proof copy of this book ready for the Australian Goddess Conference that I will be attending in October.  I am delighted to announce that last weekend the first proof was ordered and I am now tapping my fingers somewhat nervously awaiting its arrival.

 

Heeding to a number of suggestions that I have received over the years, In Her Sacred Name: Writings on the Divine Feminine is a collection (albeit a small one) of articles that I have written over the years about the Goddess, the Divine Feminine - from historical accounts based around the discovery of artefacts and figurines such as the "Venus" figurines, through to various cultural aspects and specific Goddesses who have come down to us within mythology, and concluding with ways and techniques of honouring the Goddess in this modern highly technologically orientated age.

Spring Book Special for All

When daisies pied and violets blue

And lady-smocks all silver-white

And cuckoo-buds of yellow hue

Do paint the meadows with delight,

The cuckoo then, on every tree,

Mocks married men; for thus sings he,

Cuckoo;

Cuckoo, cuckoo: Oh word of fear,

Unpleasing to a married ear!

 

 

So wrote William Shakespeare in his poem entitled "Spring".  Here in Adelaide the jasmine, daffodils and jonquils are all in flower in my garden.  So too are my beloved irises (which have never actually stopped flowering) and before too long catkins will appear on the wisteria.  Ooh, what a joyous time of the year it is. 

 

As a way of celebrating the arrival of spring, I have decided to  have a "Spring Sale" and reduce copies of Dancing the Sacred Wheel by $10.00 when purchased through Paypal.  This Spring price includes postage anywhere in Australia as well as the book autographed by myself.

 

Ancient Goddesses at the Goddess Conference

At this year's Australian Goddess Conference, to be held over the weekend of 24 to 26 October in Sydney, the theme is "The Wellspring" - a place of community gathering, exploration of wise ways, and the celebration of the receptive waters of womanhood and the moon.

 

It is within these receptive waters that the wisdom of the ancients, the primordial mothers, can be found. As such, I am delighted to announce that I will be presenting a workshop at this year's Goddess Conference on two such "mothers" from the ancient lands of Mesopotamia - Tiamat (the primordial Creatrix) and Ereshkigal.

 

Winter Solstice - A Time of Chaos and Misrule

For those of us living south of the equator, today marks the time of the Winter Solstice, where for a short period of time the sun seems to "stand still" as it has reached the northern most point in it journey, before making the slow swing back to the southern point. 

 

In Beyond the Blue Horizon, astronomer and author Dr Krupp described this time as “the turning point” of the year and the moment when “all of nature was poised to step over the border” of the old cycle into the new.  In other words, it will be the winter solstice, the time when the sun reaches its southern most point of its cycle, resulting in the shortest number of daylight hours. 

 

First Delivery has Arrived

And it is joy upon joy when I collected two large and rather heavy boxes of books from the local post office this afternoon. 

 

Now to undertake the slow process of handwriting personal dedications to all those wonderful people who have been waiting patiently for their books - not to mention addressing all the satchels that will then be carted back to the post office.

First Delivery Only Days Away (I hope)

When things are out of your control and you are dependant of others, the process of waiting can be rather excruciating.  This is the situation that I find myself in as I wait for the first delivery of Dancing the Sacred Wheel to arrive. 

 

Eleven days has passed since I received notification that the order was on its way, yet nothing has arrived at my post office.  Unlike the first edition which was printed locally (where I was able to telephone to check on the status), the second edition is printed overseas.

 

Due to the overwhelming response, I am on the verge of placing my second order as a way to ensure that my patience isn't tested as it is now.

 

Dancing the Sacred Wheel is also available online through Createspace and I am hoping that an ebook version will be available on Amazon.com before the end of the month.

Naming the Goddess to be released soon

Naming the Goddess is one of two anthologies due to be released by Moon Books that I have contributed towards.   Carol Christ, author  of Rebirth of the Goddess" who also leaders pilgrimages to Crete, described Naming the Goddess as "a delightful read, answering questions and raising them, from a variety of perspectives, all grounded in personal experiences, often in years of seeking and finding the Goddess and Goddesses. There is something here for everyone, for those new to the Goddess and for those who know Her."

 

She further goes on to say that one of the aspects of this book she enjoyed was the "reflections with which the book begins and appreciated the catalogue of Goddesses written by different people who understood the different Goddesses from their different standpoints."

 

Pre-orders for second edition of "Dancing the Sacred Wheel" now being taken

I am delighted to announce that the second edition of Dancing the Sacred Wheel: A Journey through the Southern Sabbats is on verge of being available and pending a June 2014 release.  As such, pre-orders are now being taken at a discounted rate through Paypal (Australian customers only) for copies will be autographed by the author.

Dancing the Sacred Wheel was originally released in November 2012 and while there many books available on the Sabbats, the eight sacred festivals that are central to modern paganism, most are written from the Northern Hemisphere point of view (where most of the sabbat associated folklore and mythology originated). Dancing the Sacred Wheel is unique in that it is specifically written from the Southern Hemispheric perspective by someone who actually lives in the Southern Hemisphere and who has been following a Pagan path for over 20 years.
 

Devotional to the Morrighan now available

Shapeshifting triune daughter of the

Great Ernmas

Fading in and out of dreams with bloody desires and lust
Morrigu of the ancient land, whom

the Dagda loved
Prophesising heroes and battles that would

be lost.*

 

It is always exciting when a new anthology that I have contributed towards is released and By Blood, Bone, and Blade: A Tribute to the Morrigan (edited by Nicole Bonvisuto and Bibliotheca Alexandrina) is no exception.

 

The Morrig[h]an was referred to by many titles including "Phantom Queen", "Night Hag", "Mistress of Battles" and "the Great Raven".   To the Irish she was both the benevolent mother and righteous wrath, the creative destruction and destructive creation.  She inspired, perplexed and even maddened those who came across her.  

Second Edition of Dancing the Sacred Wheel is almost available

Cover to the second edition of
Dancing the Sacred Wheel

It has been a rather interesting journey over the last six months.  Towards the end of last year I was under the impression that a local publishing company was interested in picking up the manuscript for Dancing the Sacred Wheel: A Journey through the Southern Sabbats.  However, they changed their direction to one where they "assisted" upcoming authors to get published which was not what I was after. 

 

Having already self-published the first edition, I was actually looking for a publisher to take over the publishing of my nearly sold out book.  With Australian-based publishers few and far between, I decided to take matters into my own hands again and venture into the world of Print-on-Demand (an area of book printing that is quickly gaining popularity).

 

Exploring the Mystical Matters of the Ancients

On Sunday, 25 May 2014, participants will be invited to "step into the realm of the mystic and discover simply techniques to help improve your life". There is also the opportunity to "create your own talisman adorned with sacred symbols, empower crystals, and undertake a candle protection blessing" or so goes the description of my Mystical Matters workshop that I will be running through the WEA South Australia.  It was difficult for me to attempt to describe all the things that will be covered throughout the day in this very interactive workshop in only 25 words, especially as an increasing number of new ideas have come to mind since I first submitted the description.

 

So what will actually be happening in this workshop will more than likely depend on the openness and enthusiasm to experiment of the participants.

Now Available "Paganism 101"

As mentioned my previous blog, the latest anthology that I have contributed towards, Paganism 101: An Introduction to Paganism by 101 is now available through sites such as Amazon.com as well as other bookstores and Brumby Sunstate within Australia.

 

Consisting of some 279 pages, this introductory guide is edited by Trevor Greenfield of Moon Books and contains essays from many well-known Pagans including Emma Restall Orr, Brendan Myers, Melusine Draco, Cat Treadwell, and Mark Townsend.

My own contribution is a short vignette on undertaking ritual.

 

Paganism 101 is described as offering "a truly unique insight" into Paganism by 101 person who walk various paths under the umbrella of Paganism.

 

This is the first of three books produced or being produced by Moon Books that I have contributed towards.  The other two are Witchcraft Today - 60 Years On (marking 60 years since the publication of Gerald Gardner's book of the same name, and due for release in June 2014) and Naming the Goddess (release date unknown).

Update Thus Far for 2014

It is March already and with it the first two months of this new year appear to have flown by.  For the last few weeks I have noticed a distinct changing in the seasons as we move into Autumn and the Autumn Equinox inches ever closer.  The mornings are distinctively darker, even though (with our extended daylight savings dragging on until the end of this month) the afternoons are still quite hot.  The two heatwaves that we have endured has all but destroyed my beloved garden, and with the cooler weather, what plants hadn't been annihilated has gathered a second wind and are trying to flower again.  It seems like Mother Nature is just as confused as the reason of us.