The Spiritual Ecosystem is stormy of late, Starlet. It can feel like being churned up by the deepest waves, suffocated, and smashed against the rocks, leaving us breathless and frantic, and when at last we grasp a life-line, it turns out to be made of barbed wire. There has been thunder cracked moments that leave us raw and scorched, shaking in the shock of it all, not sure where to turn next. Where do we turn when every exit feels like we are skidding over on ice patched lan

Original image by Laura Sheridan There are no mistakes in the shaping of who we are under the Goddess Morrigan; we step out onto the proverbial battlefield, uncertain, untested, but willing to prove ourselves in Her eyes, hungry for the recognition we all crave, to be worthy; worthy of The Morrigan, worthy of the call, worthy of the trust that She has placed in us. Unfortunately, this can be the first downfall. Tempestuous, ravenous, and determined, it is easy to become sin

“Reality is merely an illusion, albeit a very persistent one.” ― Albert Einstein It is worth noting that we, as human beings, can deconstruct everything into nothingness, build something from the smallest electrical impulse of inspiration, and change the course of history on a whim. The debate around what is 'real' therefore is somewhat infuriating; at once everything and nothing is real, based only on our perception and belief. We categorize every part of our existence,

images - Natalie Ving You are nobody's first choice. You are easily forgotten. You don't matter enough to be wanted. You are easily replaced. Sound familiar? For as long as I can remember, I just wanted to be someones first choice. The thought would hit me like a tidal wave of loneliness where my self worth plummeted under the riptide, causing tears until my lungs ached. The beginnings of feeling that I as a person was replaceable are not difficult to pinpoint; that despite

art - kindranikolephotography Shadow priestess, Walking that space where liminality weaves, Lighting candles from the pain in your knees, You have bent, you have crawled, you have run the gauntlet... And in so doing set fire ablaze from every graze, Follow me, let me lead, I’ve been that way, I know that need. When your heart is broken in places, I shift between all Witch faces. Priestess golden, shining, bleeding, poking the shadow in you too, That becomes a space unfet

As I watch the Spiritual community swirl with the latest drama infused whirlpools full of threats, judgments, poor ethical standards and those capitalizing on the drama for the profit of their own egos or to line their pockets, I find my heart heavy as though I have been thumped in the chest. And I wonder to myself; is the creative energy so bankrupt right now that we must lower our standards to keep relevancy? That lies are spun become cobwebs in the ears self-righteous tira

image - Helen Warner There were two important and deeply personal spiritual mysteries that remained on the tip of my minds' eye this year. One was heard, a whisper on the wind, "to crown yourself in roses," the other was felt, an internal chaos that wrecked havoc within and was only later understood; the phantom death. Both were elusive, like the strands of red thread woven together by the Norns, sisters to the Goddesses of the Underworld. It felt as though the Nordic God

edit - Dedicated to Kelly-Ann Maddox whose powerful voice helps women like myself walk through the shadows of self healing. I confess, I do not know how to love myself, but I am learning. Sometimes it seems an inevitable consequence of the world that we live in, that teaches women that they are not enough and worse; that “enough” is a moving goal post that is designed to suck the power from their bones and leave them isolated, having spent years of their time dedicated to a f

Image - Jenna Denise There is something to discovering that the over arching theme of your birth chart is attached to the archetype of the Wounded Healer. That and the lines that clearly mark you as wounded, broken, at a young age, and the slow alchemization of that pain and suffering into soul speak. I have been mulling over and over the spiritually divined phrase, "This is your medicine to give to the world." In my heart, I have long wondered if that deep twinge of sad

art - Natalia Drepina "You're a shadow priestess, you already know it speaks to the poison already in them and not you..." - Molly Roberts What does it mean to walk the path of a Dark Goddess, when the vibration of your soul, deep in your bones, infused within your very blood, calls out, screams for authenticity, and in so doing births a Shadow priestess? The calling aches and births us from pain, with pain, and for pain, embodying the wounded healer and receiving Chiron's ke

Image – Ashley Joncas *Sidenote props if you understood that pop culture reference. We stand at the boundaries, the edge walkers, the hedge jumpers, peering out into the Unknown with our Other Eyes seeking to better understand the depths of the world. We raise energies in circles, embodying a temple within and without of the self, structuring our magickal practice with border lines and directing our power to protect and allow (or reject) certain levels of spirit encroachment

Image Source For the first time in a long time; this New Moon felt like a chore. Almost everyone around me seemed to be suffering with a form of shaman sickness; manifesting their shadow through their physical selves, whilst technology seemed to fail entirely, and the general atmosphere of the world seemed toxic beyond all measure. It’s not always a popular move to point out when the spiritual ecosystem feels funky, but to deny that areas need addressing is a head in the sand

Image – Natalie Ving “Fate always goes as it must.” – Beowulf c.800 I.455 There have been storms of late. Moments of terrible tumultuous change vibrating through every iota of the universe, encapsulated in physical ballets of destruction across the world, as nature echoes the spiritual landscape. Then alongside these crescendos of chaotic will are moments of stillness and silence, almost pregnant pauses that seem to punctuate this riotous ballad, and the contrast is so stark

Scales in the void, the eternal ellipsis of rebirth; vilified, demonized and feared. Lidless eyes peer into the depths of our souls and we, as humans, flinch at the ‘otherness.’ In times long past the sand and earth parted as the side-winding symbol of deeply connective Goddess energy imparted wisdom to those willing to learn, and the snake symbolized fertility, healing, sexual liberation, and rebirth. But as a culture of sexual repression and shame rose up in the dregs of h

Image – Highly deadly black tarantula We are the unlovable The damaged and the broken Those with complicated scars And lurking memories We don’t know how to fake a smile anymore, Let alone a whole lifestyle And so many chattering mouths and mean voices tell us that We are too difficult to love. Following in the murky footsteps of the Cult of Not Belonging is a painful shadow; fear based, suffocating in its icy grip… the shadow that if we show ourselves completely to so

Image – Obscurity – Natalia Drepina Witches wear many masks. There are those masks we wear to elevate ourselves through our magick; placing void fabric against our bare skin in order to peer into the in-between spaces, seeking to understand the lessons of our ‘Other eyes.’ Then there are the masks we wear built from our own shadows; carved from our fear, jealousy, and resentment. Adorned in our weakness, we project outwardly from a place of spiritual insufficiency; projectin

Image Source – Voodica So far, 2017 has been a year of fluctuation that has highlighted how damaging polarisation can become in the social and cultural landscapes. In the Musing about the energies of Spring essay the emphasis was on resilience, on refusing to be buried, only planted. This concept evolved into my Spiritual advice for people in general: “Stop planting yourself in concrete. You have roots that need to spread out and grow, they need to be in fertile soil, enric

Image –Symbols by NataliaDrepina I have never been one of those spiritual women. The kind that present themselves at best as light, approachable, and over whelmingly positive, and at worst, kind of overly saturated sweetly cloying. I have been annoyed by these women, jealous of these women, interested to see how they analyze the world, and I have pitied them in moments too. I have wished to be sweeter, lighter, better liked. More appealing to people en masse but so completel

Image by Nocturny Deviantart “You were once wild here. Don’t let them tame you.” – Isodora Duncan Stepping into the labyrinth of Spiritual adventure is to open ones self to a myriad of experiences, the commitment to the notion and practice of seeking. That search on a personal level came from a place of inner yearning; to know, to understand, to unravel the mysteries; to touch the primal livewire of something magickal and Other. There was an innate knowing already, almost w

Image – Natalia Drepina All her own property How quick we are, as human beings, to ridicule, deride, and dismiss the personal experiences of others, whose visions, contemplations, and expressions are unlike our own. Sadly in Spiritual realms, where the quest for understanding is meant to be a key to personal enlightenment, this trend continues to spread like a toxic spore amidst the ecosystem. Following the discussion about Toxic Spirituality there has been a surge in accus