by Ann Young | Aug 6, 2019 | Spirituality
Like many of us in the US, I was raised as a member of organized religion. But by the time I was 17, I knew the faith I grew up in wasn’t for me. For the next 27 years, I did a lot of spiritual searching, and felt intensely uncomfortable in any kind of church. I did...
by Ann Young | Jun 29, 2019 | Did You Know, Symbols
Dating back to ancient times, roses have a long, rich history as a sacred symbol. Early, wild roses had only five petals, and it is the five-petaled rose that appears most often as a sacred symbol—in mythology, mysticism, the occult, and even in conventional religion....
by Ann Young | Jun 29, 2019 | Did You Know, The Moon
The Vernal Full Moon—the first full moon after the Spring Equinox—carries special significance in religions ancient and contemporary, pagan and conventional. For the ancient pagan Germanic tribes, the Vernal Full Moon was a time for honoring their Goddess Eostre (also...
by Ann Young | Jun 29, 2019 | Did You Know, Wicca
Wicca is a modern nature religion based on ancient Witchcraft tradition. Wicca has been the subject of much criticism, controversy, and misinformation. But there is one source—the Celtic Connection website—that provides a clear description of Wicca: “a belief system...
by Ann Young | Jun 29, 2019 | Beltane, Did You Know
Beltane, a holiday observed by Wiccans and other contemporary pagans, is a time for celebrating the birth of summer and reveling in the fertility of both humans and the crops they raise. Celebrated on May 1st or 5th on our modern calendar, Beltane was one of the four...