Sunday, May 31, 2020

Enchanted by Morgan le Fay

I have long held a fascination with Morgan le Fay, the half-sister to Britain's "once and future king" (Arthur), whose brief tryst with Lancelot of the Lake saw her turn her back on her inheritance, her calling and seemingly spend her life wandering without any true meaning or purpose.  Yet, despite all that, there is something alluring about her.

The Morgan le Fay we often hear about today, the evil sorceress who appears largely as the bane of King Arthur's existence, stems from the Le Morte d’Arthur by Sir Thomas Malory. Hailed as the greatest piece of English literature to have emerged from the Medieval era, Malory's version consisted of 21 books, commencing at the ill-fated meeting between Uther Pendragon, the King of Britain, and Gorlois, the Duke of Tintagel, where the king become infatuated with Gorlois's beautiful wife, Igraine, and ending with the death of King Arthur from a wound inflicted upon him by his own son.


Wednesday, May 27, 2020

Catching Up With The Cackle Club

The Cackle Club is the monthly gathering organised by the Launceston Pagan Network, based in Tasmania.  Like many groups, The Cackle Club gatherings are currently being held via Zoom while social distancing and gathering restrictions are in place.  Tomorrow evening, Thursday, 28 May 2020, I have the great privilege of being asked to be this month's guest speaker.

Details about the Zoom call can be found here.  Please note that you will need to register your interest in attending so that you can received the Zoom link.  As the Launceston Pagan Network is organised by volunteers, donations to help cover costs are always gratefully received and can be made via PayPal.

More information about The Cackle Club can be found here.


  

Tuesday, May 19, 2020

Pre-Orders of Encountering the Dark Goddess: A Journey into the Shadow Realms

I am delighted to announce that from 1 June 2020 I will be taking pre-orders for my forthcoming book, Encountering the Dark Goddess: A Journey into the Shadow Realms, due for actual release by Moon Books in March 2021.


Encountering the Dark Goddess: A Journey into the Shadow Realms
The Dark Goddess is often associated with the Underworld where she leads the uninitiated through a transformative journey of self-discovery, change and soul renewal.  She is connected with the unwanted, the forgotten, the ignored or even ashamed parts of our psyche.  However there is more to her than that.

Encountering the Dark Goddess: A Journey into the Shadow Realms guides you through what this challenging facet of the Divine Feminine, the Dark Goddess, is truly about, and encourages you to step through the veils into her hidden realm to explore 13 aspects of herself.


Saturday, May 16, 2020

When Author Copies Arrive

Friday evening just passed I made a trip to my local post office rather begrudgingly.  I had only been there the night before to post a LunaNoire Creations etsy order, yet when I had gotten home, there was a card in my letter box advising me of a parcel needing collecting.  Why hadn't they given me this parcel the night before?

When I opened the box, all was quickly forgotten - my author copies of ENCOUNTERING THE DARK GODDESS: A JOURNEY INTO THE SHADOW REALMS had arrived.  Rather unexpectantly.  I was not expecting to receive any copies until closer to the release date, 26 March 2021.

To actually be holding in my hands the manifested result of something that I had been working on for the last five or so years, well I could barely contain myself not to squeal with delight when I hastened a live streamed video for Facebook (as this is apparently what one does these days).


This video is a brief flick through of Encountering the Dark Goddess that from mid-late June 2020, should be appearing on the John Hunt Publishing webpage as well as appearing for pre-order through Amazon US, Amazon UK, Indiebound, Barnes & Noble, Waterstones and the like, with ebook pre-orders appearing a month or so before publication (26 March 2021).

The book has arrived in perfect timing with my Encountering the Dark Goddess month long sadhana due to commence in just under three weeks as one lucky participant will be gifted a copy of one of these author copies.

Friday, May 15, 2020

Weathering the Storm - A Free Guide for People Feeling Isolated and Vulnerable

As COVID-19 saw the majority of the world self-isolating, a group of Moon Book authors (including myself) consolidated their talents.  The result is Weathering the Storm, a book offering support for spiritually orientated people who is feeling isolated and vulnerable during these extremely stress and rather unprecedented times.

Covering areas from loneliness and anxiety, self-care and gardening, to cooking and crystals, Weathering the Storm is divided into three parts.  The first part offers a selection of psychological assistance.  This is within this section that my essay, "Bobbing in the Sea of Uncertainty", can be found.  Recounting a life changing experience that I underwent during a week's "spiritual retreat" in Bali, the lessons gifted to me I share for others to draw upon should they feel that they are losing control on life - sometimes we just need to surrender that control.

The second section of Weathering the Storm focuses on articles that offer spiritual assistance through the use of working with your ancestors, crystals, and much more.  The final section offers practical advice in the form of recipes, crafts and much more.

Described as "A treasure-trove of advice and inspiration for all of us living through difficult times", Weathering the Storm is available as a free ebook through Amazon.com and Barnes & Noble, and for £0.99 on Amazon UK.

Contemporary Witchcraft is inching closer to the finish line

After years of having students complain that there was not a suitable beginner's book for the Southern Hemisphere and that books available today tend to either ignore us living south of the equator, or adding mention like some hurried byline, I have finally finalised the manuscript for my own version of a beginner's book.

Reflecting my own teaching emphasis, Contemporary Witchcraft: Foundational Practices for a Magical Life is designed to be just that, a manual that will provide the neophyte (seeker) with what I hope will be a solid foundation upon which they can shape their own practice.

So what is contemporary witchcraft?