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This is a translation I did in 2016, but I thought it would be fun to share here today. Its a well known 9th century Irish poem about a scholar and his cat called. The following original Irish is from Stokes' 1903 Thesaurus Paleohibernicus; the English is my own.

Messe ocus Pangur bán,cechtar nathar fria saindán;bíth a menma-sam fri seilgg,mu menma céin im saincheirdd
(Myself and Fair Pangurboth of us with our tasks;for his mind is on hunting,my mind on each separate art)
Caraim-se fós, ferr cach clú,oc mu lebrán léir ingnu;ní foirmtech frimm Pangur bán,caraid cesin a maccdán.
(I love the quiet, better than fame,and my book zealously I studyno envy against me has Fair Pangurhe loves his own youthful skill)
Ó ru-biam ­scél cén scis ­innar tegdias ar n-oéndis,táithiunn ­ dichríchide clius ­ ní fris 'tarddam ar n-áthius.
(Where we are adventuring without rest  here in our house, the single pairwe have unlimited featsof acuteness to apply against something)
Gnáth-huaraib ar greassaib galglenaid luch ina lín-sam;os me, du-fuit im lín chéindliged ndoraid cu n-dronchéill.
(Usually his furious attackcatches a mouse up in his net: my eye, my own net, reachesa difficult concept that is well hidden)
Fúachaid-sem fri freaga fála rosc a nglése comlán;fúachimm chéin fri fégi fismu rosc réil, cesu imdis.
(He sharpens his skill against thesehis eye is the perfect tool for thisI direct my clear eye, though very weaktowards sharpening knowledge)
Fáelid-sem cu n-déne dul,hi nglen luch ina gérchrub;hi-tucu cheist n-doraid n-dil,os mé chene am fáelid.
(He rejoices with his swift snaringCleaving a mouse in his sharp clawsI grasp a question, difficult, dear,and my mind in that time is happy)
Cia beimini amin nach réní derban cách a chéle;mait le cechtar nár a dánsubaigthiud a óenurán.
(Even if we work thus every timeneither hinders the other one;good we each are at our skillrejoicing when alone)
Hé fesin as choimsid dáuin muid du-n-gní cach óenláu;do thabairt doraid du gléfor mumud céin am messe.
(He himself is capable of the purposeat the work he does every single day;to bring a dark thing to lightat my own work, am I)

To rid a house of haunting intrusion, brew a peppermint and clove infusion. Drizzle the potion throughout the space, and out, out, the ghost will race. Burning frankincense and myrrh incense sends negative spirits flying away as well.

Speak to us, sir, said the children, of the Battle in the Valley of the Black Pig.

I will, said the poet, and that gladly. For well you remember the words of the poet Yeats, when he said:

A time will come for these people also—he speaks here of the fisher-folk of Ireland—when they will sacrifice a mullet to Artemis, or some other fish to some new divinity, unless indeed their own divinities set up once more their temples of grey stone. Their reign has never ceased, but only waned in power a little, for the Sidhe still pass in every wind, and dance and play at hurley, but they cannot build their temples again till there have been martyrdoms and victories, and perhaps even that long-foretold battle in the Valley of the Black Pig.

We remember them well, they said, and for this reason we ask. Have you heard, then, of this long-foretold battle, and what can you tell us thereof?

I have, replied the poet, but is not its nature clear from the words of the poet? It is the dream of the great battle that shall open the way for the coming-again of the old ways, and the going-down of the new.

Is this then the battle that they call armageddon? they asked.

I do not know, he told them, but we, have we not already seen our armageddon? And lo, we have come through to its other side. Whereas their armageddon still awaits them; though surely, to judge from the times, its day cannot now be long delayed.

And who shall fight this battle? they asked. Will some new king or chieftain arise among us?

In order to do any healing work, you must clear the clutter that can create blocks. Banish the old, bad energy from your house by following this spell. Make a tea from herb lavender or vervain. Once it cools, dip your finger in the tea and sprinkle it throughout your home while reciting:

Clean and clear, nothing negative near

“Oh, I just love kale!”

So insists my friend. Frankly, I don't believe him.

Let's be honest here: kale is not a lovable vegetable. Bearable, yes. Lovable? Well, let's be generous and credit my friend with magical (i. e. wistful) thinking. Call it the “little lie.” You really, really want it to be so, you keep saying that it is, and eventually you may even start believing it yourself.

Well, half-believing.

As a vegetable, kale has a lot going for it. It's cold-hardy: there's kale to be had when nothing else will grow. It doesn't get much more nutritious than kale.

On the other hand, there's the flavor and the texture.

If any vegetable besides onions and garlic has a claim to be the ancestral pagan vegetable, it's probably Brassica oleracea. We've been cultivating it for the last 4000 years; every bite of kale that you eat is a taste of the Bronze Age.

Here's something that I can tell you for certain: the ancestors had more sense than to make kale chips.

Unlike contemporary food-faddists, the fore-mothers understood that kale plays best in a supporting role, not as a star. So, on the principle that any vegetable can be palatable if you know how to cook it, I set about looking at the peasant cuisines of Europe. If anyone knew how to make the most of kale's nasty rubbery texture and unappealing sulfurous flavor, I figured, it would those who had to eat it because that's what there was.

My favorites so far in the search for edible kale are incavolata, an Italian bean-kale soup thickened with corn meal, and trinxát (treen-SHUT), a scrumptious savory cake of potato, kale, and onion from the Catalan Pyrenees, Iberian kin to the Irish Samhain staple, colcannon.

The major secret to enjoyable kale seems to be to blanch it first to take off the sulfur, and then to wring it dry and mince it fine, thus getting rid of the rubber.

Oh, and another thing: if you want to enjoy your kale, don't bother with that curly shite that they overcharge shamefully for at the stores: that's a decorative, not fit to be eaten. Go instead for the black or Italian variety, known mostly here in the US by the delightful name of “dinosaur kale.”

Part One: The Problem with Trying to Change

Healing my spirit, increasing inner power, becoming my biggest self—these can be terribly challenging. 

I suspect everyone becomes discouraged about inner growth, now and then, feeling like it’s just too much to take on. It is not unusual to think that life’s hard enough as is without also trying to grow spiritually and emotionally. 

Personal transformation can be daunting. Faced with all the effort that might be required, a person might end up just watching Netflix instead.

Your altar is your sacred work space, a place imbued with your personal pagan power. I recommend starting with a flat surface, at least two feet across each way for the four directions of the compass. Perhaps you have a favorite antique table, at once simple and ornate. I have set up my altar to face north, long believed to be the origin of primordial energy. North is the direction of midnight, and an altar oriented in this fashion promises potent magic. 

Find a pure white square of fabric to drape over your table, just touching the floor. Take two candles in matching holders and place them on the two farthest corners. Place your incense burner exactly in the middle. If you don’t have favorite incense yet, start with the ancient essence of frankincense. Select objects that appeal to you symbolically to place on your altar. I have a candlestick of purest amethyst crystal, my birthstone. When I gaze on the candle flame refracted through the beautiful purple gemstone, I feel the fire within me. This inculcates your altar with the magic that lives inside you, that lives inside all of us, and magnifies the ceremonial strength of your workspace. You should decorate your altar until it is utterly and completely pleasing to your eye. After you’ve been working spells for a bit, an energy field will radiate from your altar.