Getting Ready for MoonCon

In our current COVID effected world, one positive side is that fact that for the last year a lot of events have moved on line as a substitute, which means that people all around the world are able to access such events.  

I was involved in my first online event in July last year with the wonderful Australian astrologer, Kim for her Witch: Radiant + Rooted podcast.  Since that time I have been involved in a number of international "events" that I probably would not have had the opportunity to attend physically.

Next weekend I will be involved in another online event, this time something that the publisher of my latest two books, Moon Books, are organising - MoonCon21 - that will be involve two days of talks, panels and Q&A live sessions with a whole host of Moon Book authors on Moon Books' own FaceBook page.

Submission Call to Mark the 10th Anniversary

I realised the other day that next year, 2022, will mark the 10th anniversary since I self-published my first book, Dancing the Sacred Wheel: A Journey through the Southern Sabbats.  Only 400 copies were released in the initial printing, all but two copies sold out in only nine months.  In June 2021, after updating and expanding the original manuscript to some 292 pages, I released the second, and a subsequent third edition through print-on-demand platforms.

In preparation for the 10th anniversary  of Dancing the Sacred Wheel next year, I thought it is about time to not only update my continual study with respect to working with the traditional eight sabbats that form the "Wheel of the Year", especially from a Southern Hemispheric perspective, but to offer the opportunity to anyone else who has been working at re-visioning working with the sabbats to contribute.

Having already edited an anthology in the form of Call of the God: An Anthology Exploring the Divine Masculine within Modern Paganism, I am now officially putting out a call for submissions for an anthology focusing around working through the seasonal year that may differ from the traditional wheel with its eight festivals. 

If this is something that you would like to take part in, more information can be found here.  At this stage, submissions will close in November 2021.

Breaking Time Barriers on This Old Witch

Did you know energies flow differently in the southern hemisphere?

Join This Old Witch hosts (E. Massey and Alexander Cabot) along with author Frances Billinghurst (me) as we break time barriers and discuss what it means being a witch in Australia.

Breaking the debate of initiated and non initiated Witches.

You can watch the whole interview here. Warning: It does go on for over two hours (just).

Chatting on This Old Witch

 Ever wonder what happens when a country witch crosses paths with a city witch? We did too. This Old Witch is a podcast that brings together a country witch (E. Massey) with a city witch (Alexander Cabot) to share their perspectives on witchcraft, spirituality, and magick.

Guests speakers have included Stephanie Taylor Grimasi (wife of the late Raven Grimasi), Orion Foxwood, Silver Ravenwolf, Ivo Dominguez, Sorita d’Este, Selena Fox amongst others.

I am delighted and extremely humbled to soon be included to this list of guests as I will be making my appearance on the This Old Witch show at 7pm on Saturday, 15 May 2021 (American Eastern Standard Time) – which is around 8.30am Sunday morning (16 May) here in Adelaide.

I first became aware of E. Massey (the country witch of the duo) some five or six years ago when he contributed a piece of his artwork to my anthology, Call of the God: An Anthology Exploring the Divine Masculine within Modern Paganism. It wasn’t until March of this year when our paths crossed again as we both presented at Witchcon. So when E. contacted me and asked if I would like to be a guest on their show, it was an offer I couldn’t refuse.

You can join us live 7pm Saturday night (American EST) or 8.30am Sunday morning (Adelaide time) where our chat will be recorded live on the This Old Witch Facebook page as well as on Spreaker. You can also listen to the previous shows through these links.

PAN, PAGAN Dash Campaign and Me

PAGANdash hopes to better group pagan religions and this may help the Australian Bureau of Statistics to reduce the number of inadequate description responses which is over 137,000 respondents. Pagan Community Project, and specifically MorganAkasha asked Pagan Awareness Network (P.A.N.) to take over the running of the PAGANdash campaign after the 2006 census. In 2011, P.A.N. dedicated much of its early focus to the PAGANdash campaign, providing the website and all free downloads from it for all pagan groups across Australia.

One of the reasons behind specifying an “Other” religion is not necessary to provide a more accurate number of people within Australia who identify as pagan but also so to show the social acceptance of paganism and the gradual removing of any stigmas associated with pagan paths.

On Wednesday, 12 May 2021, at 7.30pm (Sydney time) P.A.N. will be going live on their Facebook page to not only launch this year's PAGANdash campaign, but there will also a line up of speakers, including yours truly who has been invited as the key note speaker.

You can join the Facebook live here.

Turning of the Sacred Wheel

Within modern Paganism, Samhain (a Gaelic word that is pronounced "SAH-win") is a time when the veils between the land of the living and the realm of the dead are at its thinnest. As such, it is a time for remembering our ancestors and our departed loved ones.  It is often considered to be a rather solemn time that is set side for contemplating the mysteries of birth, life, death and even rebirth as is found within the sacred teachings of many spiritual and religious practices.  This cycle is also seen all around us in nature. 

Within the seasonal mythos contained within contemporary witchcraft, the God (the divine masculine) transforms from the Lord of the Wine to the Dreaded Lord of the Shadows, represented in the third and final harvest (that of blood and animals) encouraging us to make final preparations for the coming colder months.

Samhain is a time of introspection, of emptying the false from the mind, heart and soul.  It is a time to heal the source of our deepest wounds, and those we have inflicted upon other people around us, before time fails us.  This inward reflection and contemplation teaches us how to see things more clearly.

Within my tradition of contemporary witchcraft Samhain is supposed to mark the gateway to the colder, winter months.  Last weekend, however, as I hosted an observance on this sabbat, it was a rather summery 26C.  This did not deter us as we honoured those who have passed through the veil in the hope that they will continue to guide us in this life.

Interview of Jo from Avalon by Nature

It is May already and it is hard to believe that it has been almost a month since I sat down with Jo from Avalon by Nature for Jo Avalon's Cuppa Chat where we discussed my recently released book, Encountering the Dark Goddess: A Journey into the Underworld, together with the next book that I have coming up by Moon Books, that being Contemporary Witchcraft: Foundational Practices for a Magical Life. 

This book is aimed at providing a solid foundation into the art magical especially for those people who are interested in witchcraft, but also magick, with the slant being on the Southern Hemisphere (readers north of the equator are also very well catered for).  As I mentioned to Jo in this interview, a lot of the techniques and insights that I discuss in the book actually stem from the teachings I initially received back in the 1990s, many of which I still utilise within my own practices today.  

Jo sells copies of both these books as well as some of my earlier titles through her Avalon by Nature online store as well as from her market stalls.