The Urban Witch - Adventures & Lessons in Wicca

Samhain (pronounced Sow-en), dates back to the ancient Celts who lived 2,000 years ago. Contrary to what some believe, is not a celebration of a Celtic god of the dead. Instead, it is a Celtic word meaning "summer's end." The Celts believed that summer came to an end on October 31st and the New Year began on November 1st with the start of winter. But the Celts also followed a lunar calendar and their celebrations began at sunset the night before. Many today see Halloween as the pagan holiday. But that's not really accurate. As the pagan holiday of Samhain is on November 1st. But their celebrations did and still do, start at sunset on October 31st, on Samhain Eve. During the day on October 31st, the fires within the home are extinguished. Often families would engage in a good "fall" cleaning to clear out the old and make way for the new. Starting the winter months with fresh and clean household items. At sunset on October 31st, clans or local villages begin ...

Ostara is here and what better way to begin your spring and summer seasons than with a good spring cleaning. I mean that in both the literal and the spiritual sense. A good deep cleaning is mandatory in our household a few times a year actually. They say cleanliness is next to godliness, and I believe that is true on many levels. When we de-clutter, disinfect, and organize, we can make room for new and important things that want to move into our lives and our homes. Just like a computer hard drive slows down because of gunk and unnecessary files, our lives can do the same if we don't take a physical and mental inventory of our surroundings. A few times a year I will rearrange and redecorate my home and office, and not always just for the reason of bringing change, but also to allow new perspectives, and new energies into my life; dusting out old corners and moving furniture around helps define the things that are important to us and the things that are holding us back or "in t...

Greetings! It is hard to believe that 2015 is upon us! Where does the time go? They say the older you get the faster time flies due to simply our own perception of time in our brains. Taking a moment to slow down time is important, as things happen too quickly around us. The next thing we know we are in places in our lives and doing things that we either missed out on or weren't privy to in the first place. Slowing down time is easier than you think, taking a moment in between the hustle and bustle to really look around at things, smell the trees and the flowers, say hello to people by making eye contact and smiling, take your time enjoying meals and sipping cordials, taking a nice warm herbal bath, engaging in prayer, meditation, or just taking a random stroll with nowhere to go and nowhere to be with a loved one is a wonderful way to slow things down. January is also a wonderful time to hone in on the goals and dreams and manifestations of what we want to experience in our life. ...

Happy Yule my fellow friends and Wiccan's! This is a wonderful time of year, as we all know, not to sound cliché, but the winter solstice seems to bring people much-needed joy and excitement more than any other time of the year. No matter what memories or experiences in or from our past, how/ where and when we celebrate this time of year, is OUR choice! Every new season brings upon an opportunity to create a new memory or tradition, despite any painful memories from the past. Staying in the present and enjoying each change of season brings productivity, insight, and sows seeds of future joy and magical manifestations! Especially this time of year, when the loving and generous spirit of others permeates the air and the energetic vibration. Ride on the energy of the season to be merry! As a Wiccan, there is also nothing wrong with celebrating Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, or any other way you wish to celebrate the solstice. It is important to state here that just because you may iden...

Greetings my friends! Winding down from the wonderous activities from Samhain and easing into winter is a glorious time for introspection gathering of energy! Happy Thanksgiving! I have heard many say that Thanksgiving is their favorite holiday because it doesn't involve any religious meaning, it is simply an American day of gratitude. Although some would argue that our questionably unethical history and how we treated the Indians, our native peoples when we first came to the Americas, has a stigma attached to the holiday. But we can't change the past, we can only learn from it and move forward and not make the same mistakes the best we can. On that note, Thanksgiving is a wonderful time to gather with family and friends and feast and rejoice for the lives we have created. I have mentioned before in other blogs that gratitude is everything- not just on Thanksgiving, but every day that we awake! Being thankful for things, people, and experiences even if they haven't happened...

Hello my friends, happy Lughnasadh! The summer harvest is here! It's been a wonderful, New York summer so far, nice and cool temperatures, temperate weather, and many exciting things happening! As you know, I, Lady Shadowe, was featured on coast-to-coast on Friday night, August 1st, 2014 with George Noory. It was a wonderful experience to be able to share about metaphysical Wicca and the love and light that we Wiccan's are all about. I have been inundated with fan support and fellow witches reaching out in support of the show and what we do here at Souls and Spirits. THANK YOU THANK YOU! And I am so grateful for you all and for those of you who stopped by the website to check us out AND for those that purchased some of our services! We are sure you will enjoy them! We hope that you will be a part of our community as we grow not only here at the website, but as we grow as practitioners of the craft and start to band together so that we all feel comfortable practicing what we do ...