PaganSquare


PaganSquare is a community blog space where Pagans can discuss topics relevant to the life and spiritual practice of all Pagans.

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Posted by on in Paths Blogs
My Monster Powers February 2025 part 2

Happy Double Freya's Day! Double Freya's Day is not a traditional holiday name but I think it conveys how special today is. Every Friday is Freya's Day, but this year we also have February 14th on a Friday.

I don't usually make a huge deal about Valentine's Day. Its origins are non-heathen, and many Asatruers and other Heathens celebrate a completely made up holiday today instead, Vali's Day. It was created based on the similarity of the names Vali and Valentine. Vali of course is one of our gods, but he's not a romantic figure. His personal story is about Odin setting up all the proper conditions, tools, and people to make Ragnarok happen correctly someday. The end of the world has to be done right so the next world can be better.

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Posted by on in Culture Blogs

The Magic Formula ALU - YouTube

 

Ansuz-Laguz-Uruz: God-Lake-Aurochs. ALU, “ale.”

This mysterious word is one of the earliest and most frequently-occurring runic inscriptions, which commentators generally agree seems to have some sort of magical component: in effect, a “magic word.”

But what does it mean?

Occurring both by itself as well as in other inscriptions, the on-the-face-of-it meaning of the word would seem to be “ale.”

Meaning—what?

(Note the visual similarity of all three rune-staves. Something powerful is happening here.)

Over the course of the past 150 years, since the decipherment of the Elder Futhark, runologists have proposed various readings of the word—frequently referencing ale's supposed entheogenic qualities—but personally, I can't help but wonder if maybe we shouldn't take it at face value.

“Ale.” It's a verbal libation.

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Posted by on in Culture Blogs
Leo Full Moon Goddess Energy

Leo Full Moon Blessings! Enjoy this excerpt from my Zodiac Goddess Playbook which accompanies the Zodiac Goddess Power Deck.

Leo – The Lion

Time of Year – Summer, July 23 – August 23

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Posted by on in Culture Blogs
An Early Valentine for You

 Who do you love? What do you love? What are you passionate about? In these current crazy times of unrest, sometimes getting back to simplicity and what is truly important can be the most effective way to deal. This is still the contemplative season, and if you are able to go on a quiet winter retreat–even an overnight, I would highly recommend it. Journaling, self-care, walking in nature while the silent snow falls gently all around you–the spiritual revelations that can come can be deep and poignant at this time. Above all right now, tapping into the spiritual strength of nature–and our own inner reserves–can be the most powerful thing we can do. That and being there for others close to us that might be struggling or having a difficult time processing everything.

Phyllis in February

These are just a few of the many topics that our cherished return guest, author/teacher/activist Phyllis Curott brings to the table on the latest podcast episode of, “Women Who Howl at the Moon.” I enjoy having Phyllis back every year, as I tell her at the beginning of the show. She has such powerful insight and worthy advise to weather various storms, of all kinds. Speaking of which, we had quite a doozy, in the Midwest all day yesterday, well into the evening! So although we couldn’t fully appreciate the light of Grandmother Moon here last night, we can still feel the power of the February Quickening Moon tonight, Friday, and Saturday. Phyllis shares a wonderful ritual you can perform under the full moon’s light–especially if you have some privacy and warmer temperatures. However it could also be adapted to a back bedroom, where you can see and feel the full moonlight shining in on you through a window.

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Posted by on in Culture Blogs

The Square: Geometry, Symbolism ...

OK, we're going to throw the bones in order to determine the god's will in a given matter, but first we have to give the bones a ground.

The ground is always either circular or square. Can anyone tell me why?

Good: it's a horizon, a world in microcosm. The horizon is a circle, and the square marks out the four directions. Circle and square are analogous: the circle is a curvilinear square, the square a rectilinear circle.

(Incidentally: these days people mostly cast circles, but back in the days of our people's wandering—nomads don't have fixed holy-places, mostly—our temporary sanctuaries were square.)

So, we begin by spreading out the casting-cloth on the ground. The casting-cloth is square and woven of linen. Why linen? Anyone?

Good: it's the ancestral fabric. Wool would be the other good option here. Either way, we're talking Web of Wyrd imagery here, right? The weaving of Fate? Of course, that's something that's intrinsic to our divination.

(In days before weaving, I suppose you'd have used an animal skin, but of course it would need to be the whole skin of a small animal, not something cut from a larger hide, right? Be thinking about why that might be, and what animal you'd want to use; we'll discuss it further next time.)

So, you lay out the casting-cloth. If we were outside, we'd align it with the corners pointing to the four directions, but since we're indoors, we align it with the corners pointing to the four walls.

Can anyone tell me why we lay it out like this, instead of with the four sides of the cloth parallel to the walls?

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Fishing in Minneapolis Northwest

 

A priest, a minister, and a witch go out fishing one day.

The Sun comes out and it starts to get hot, but it turns out that the sunscreen has been left back in the car.

“That's OK,” says the priest, “I'll go get it.”

He climbs out of the boat, walks across the water, and gets the sunscreen out of the car. Then he walks back across the water and gets back in the boat.

The minister doesn't say anything.

After a while, they start to get thirsty, but the water, too, has been left in the car.

“That's OK,” says the witch, “I'll go get it.”

She climbs out of the boat, walks across the water, and gets the jug of water out of the car. Then she walks back across the water and gets back in the boat.

The minister doesn't say anything.

Finally it's time for lunch, but the food, too, has been left in the car.

“That's OK,” says the minister, “I'll go get it.”

He climbs out of the boat, and immediately sinks like a stone to the bottom of the lake. The priest and the witch pull him back into the boat, and he sits there sputtering.

“How come you two can walk on the water, but I can't?” he whines.

The priest smiles at the witch.

“Should we tell him about the rocks?” he asks.

The witch looks puzzled.

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Posted by on in Culture Blogs

 

Let's face it, the ancestors were head-hunters.

According to the Roman geographer Strabo, writing in the first century BCE

The Gauls practice a custom common to many northern tribes. In battle, they hang the heads of their slain enemies around the necks of their horses, then at home they hang them on pegs in their houses.

The practice persisted for a surprisingly long time. While in Scotland, I paid a visit to the Well of the Seven Heads, where in 1663 a McDonald war-party stopped to tidy up the severed heads of seven clan rivals before presenting them to their chieftain.

Of course, the McDonald Himself probably didn't hang them around the Great Hall afterward.

What, I ask myself, would it be like to live in a home with severed heads hanging from the walls? While, say, you were eating dinner?

Surely they must have cured them in some way? Surely the stink would have been prohibitive otherwise? ("Oh Luvernios, not another one!") Of course, the old Celtic roundhouses lacked louvers—smoke-holes—over their central fires; smoke just percolated out through the thatch. It would have made for a smokey house-place, but also have kept down insects, and made an ideal environment for preserving meats. I suppose, with time, the heads would have dried and smoked along with the sausage and hams.

I look up into the eyes of the Green Man hanging above the computer. Like many pagans, I have many in my home: maybe 30 or so. (Every time I try counting them, the total is always different.)

Green Men we call them, but let's face it: they're Green Heads, mostly. In my own way, I suppose, I'm as avid a collector of heads as the doughtiest Celtic warrior.

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