Summer 2011

Litha

Lughnasadh

Writing Pagan Poetry

The Beltane Rituals of Glastonbury

The Top Ten Magickal Mobile Applications

Little Witch Magazine

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Out of this wood do not desire to go:Thou shalt remain here, whether thou wilt or no.

I am a spirit of no common rate;The summer still doth tend upon my state;And I do love thee: therefore, go with me;

I’ll give thee fairies to attend on thee,And they shall fetch thee jewels from the deep,

And sing while thou on pressed flowers dost sleep;And I will purge thy mortal grossness so

That thou shalt like an airy spirit go.

William Shakespeare--A Midsummer Night’s Dream

TitaniaAct III--Scene I

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In thIs Issue:

4 The Goodie Bag Top Ten Magickal Mobile Applications5 Examining the season The Warmth of Summer6 Pagan world Flower Magick8 Witchy Things The Art of Poetry9 Discussion Alone or in a Coven?10 Litha11 Lughnasadh12 Branching out Adopting Practices13 Practical Pagan Yes or No to Kids?14 By the firelight The Life of Lugh16 Visiting: The Beltane Rituals of Glastonbury

This Little Witch

can’t believe it’s summer al-ready. Where did the time go? Where

did Spring go? Somehow the run through Spring always seems so short. There is so much to see and so much to enjoy that time passes by remarkably fast. Yet Summer has much to be enjoyed as well; the sun, the flowers, get togethers in parks and the shameless joy of ice cream are my favourites. At Little Witch we kick the summer off with a brand new magazine which focuses on the possibilities of the summer. I’m really happy we are able to fea-ture Lunadea’s beautiful account of the Beltane celebrations in Glastonbury as well as her take on the difficult decision to practice solitary or in a coven. Aurelia talks about her experiences in writing Pagan poetry now she’s working on her Druid degrees and Bear, our resident storyteller, tells the story of Lugh, the key God of Lughnasadh. Besides Lughnasadh we also discuss

Litha, or Midsummer, adopting practi-ces from other bran-ches that fall under the Neo-Pa-gan umbrella—and some sources that don’t. We talk about becom-ing or not becoming a parent and about the top ten magickal applications for mobile phones a modern Neo-Pagan can’t do without. We at Little Witch magazine look forward to the coming months and we hope this issue of our magazine gets you in the summer mood as well. We wish you a wonderful holiday and hope you get to spend time in the sun with friends, family and our magazine.Have a blessed summer and we’ll see you in the Fall!

Blessed be,Elani Temperance

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The Goodie BagTOP TEN MAGICKAL MOBILE (AND IPAD) APPLICATIONS - By ELANI TEMPErANCE

n the modern witch world, you are just as likely to run into a

Neo-Pagan with a pentagram around his or her neck as you are to see them hold a mobile phone. This is why this issue of the Goody Bag focuses on witchy applications for the iPhone, the iPad, Android based phones and even the Blackberry. Applications are free unless otherwise noted.

1. Compass (iPhone/iPad/An-droid)Compass is an easy to use, no nonsense compass app. Incred-ibly useful for any ritual.

2. Pagan Calendar (Android)Pagan Calendar is a bit of a clut-tered and messy application but with very useful information about a host of Pagan festivals and events, including lunar cycles.

3. Google Sky (Android/iPhone) / Starwalk (iPad) / Planetary Positions (Blackberry/ iPhone/iPad)

All three applications show you the sky and/or calculate the cur-rent positions of the planets, the zodiac signs and the stars.

4. E-book reader (iPhone/iPad/Android/Kindle) (varies)E-book readers allows you to take your favorite Craft books and guides with you wherever you go and access them at any time.

5. Voice recorderRecord your own meditations and play them back while on-the-go, take quick notes after rituals or meditations and record bits of poetry, songs or chants you are struck with.

6. Memoirs: The Diary (An-droid) / Momento (iPhone) (2.99) / Chronicle (iPad) (2.99)Carry your Book of Shadows with you wherever you go with these personal journal applications. The applications can also be used for dream journaling or for keeping track of meditations.

7. Galaxy Tarot/runes (An-droid)

Pick a tarot card or rune stone a day, create spreads and read up on meanings of the cards and stones . Both very user friendly.

8. Meditation Helper (Android) Meditation helper allows you to set a timer as well as write down your experience when you meditate. You can also schedule recurring events.

9. relax Melodies HD (iPad) / Bloom (iPhone/iPad) (3.99) / relax and Sleep (Android)These applications help you put together your own meditation music without fuss or hassle.

10. DisasterAlert (iPhone/iPad/Android)This application shows natural disasters around the world on a map. Send prayers to remote lo-cations or to keep track of trends occurring in the natural world.

More applications? Add them to our blog post on mobile applications:http://tiny.cc/mobilemgc

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Examining the season

ummer-time and the living is easy...’ Clara sang

to her baby in the opening act of the musical Porgy and Bess and while the musical didn’t have a Pagan theme, the lullaby was definitely right. Summer is a time of fruitfulness and leisure. It’s also the time of the year where the God takes centre stage. We celebrate the hight of His power but also commiserate His pass-ing. This season focusses on the sacrifice the God makes to save the harvest. Without His sacrifice, the earth would burn and the har-vest wither, leaving all creatures to starve.

For those who do not believe or worship Gods, summer is a time of plenty. The sun is strong and it’s a time of high energy. Rituals undertaken in this season are often strong and filled with positive energy. Ritual acts like dancing, drumming and singing are encouraged to stir the energy which can lay on the land like a blanket of heat. Most rituals in the summer period are performed during the day, when the sun reaches its height. It’s at this time where the energy is strongest and the Sun God rules. This is a season of life. Like Spring, this is a time for herbal-ism and gardening. Even simply sitting in the garden can feel like a magical experience during this

season. As the Summer wanes and makes room for the harvest-ing season of Autumn, we say goodbye to the bright beaming sun. As days get shorter from the Summer Solstice on, we are once more urged to remember the cycle of the seasons. Where we were building to the high of Summer energy, we now decline once more into the low of winter, a time of contemplation and re-charge. But first we celebrate, we get together, we eat, drink and are marry. Summer is a season best spend together and activities in this season, both ritualistic as well as recreational are generally more enjoyable when undertaken as a group.

THE wArMTH Of THE SuMMEr - By ELANI TEMPErANCE

ActIvItIes for summertIme

Summer is the perfect time for outdoor activities like pick-nicks, get togethers and late

night campfires with friends, good stories and rituals. Sum-mer is the time of the first grain

harvest. Home-made bread with creamy butter and honey are special summer treats.

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Pagan WorldfLOwEr MAGICK - By ELANI TEMPErANCE

ummer is the season of flowers. Everywhere you look

they pop out of the ground, look-ing for rays of sunlight to help them grow. They come in all shapes and colours, in the wild or in your back yard and sum-mer is the best season to use them in your magickal workings, your meditations and your herbal remedies. Careful though, not all flowers are eatable and some are even poisonous to humans

or pets. Make sure you read up on what you put into your garden, your mouth or even on your skin or in your burner.Flowers are often forgotten when we practice magick. Sure, there will be a flower on the altar as an offering to the Goddess but flowers are extremely potent and can enrich your magical working quiet a bit. Flowers grow nearly all year round. The crocus signals the beginning of Spring and flowers continue to blossom well into the Fall. Dried flowers can be used

in magickal and herbal workings come Winter, making flowers a wonderful addition to any Neo-Pagan garden. Besides their use-fulness, flowers also brighten up any garden and truly reveal the beauty of nature. Flowers draw insects like butterflies, bees and spiders and these little critters will keep the rest of your garden strong, potent and vibrant. Flowers are beautiful focal points to practice visualisation and to meditate on. A very simple medi-tation can be found on the next page. By visualizing a specific

Put a pot on a very low heat and put in it 10-15 elderflower heads and three cups of boiled water. Add two tablespoons of linseed and twelve eucalyptus leaves and leave for about an hour. When the liquid starts to have a similar consistency to egg white, the mixture is done.Break a cup of Gum Arabic into very small pieces and add three tablespoons of dried elder-berries. Makes sure the elderberries are completely smashed. Add the mixture to a cup of hot water and stir until the mixture is the consistency of jam.Strain the infusion, and add a cup and a half of it to the Gum Arabic mixture. Next, add one cups of icing sugar and mix.Place it on a low heat and stir continuously for about half an hour until it gets to a really thick, syrup-like consistency. Bottle the mixture so it’s air tight and take a spoon for an immediate cough relief.

soothIng elderflower cough medIcIne

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type of flower or picking a flower shape with a specific colour, we can train our mind to focus and visualize what we want to achieve in our magickal workings. The simple practice of opening and closing the flower in your mind can have a very calming effect and strengthen your abilities.In magickal work, flowers work like herbs do. They can be burned, made into oils, simply added to the altar or sprinkled around the circle to release their scents when stepped upon. They can be sacrificed to the God and Goddess or woven into clothes or hair as decorations. For a refer-ence to the magickal correspon-dence of flowers go to the link provided on the next page. Different flowers bring differ-ent elements into your rituals. Flowers, when taken as a whole, are usually representative of the element of water. Just think of the flowers we keep in vases and the amount of water they consume in even a day. Their stems are full of it. Flowers can represent earth. Especially flowers that grow low to the ground like narcissus, viola

and the flowers of several spe-cies of moss can be connected to the earth. Long stemmed flowers like chrysanthemum or petals of any flower fit well within the element of air. Even the element of fire can be represented by flowers. Just look at some fiery versions of the tulip or the rose. Flowers have been largely forgot-ten in herbalism over the last few decades. Before that time we ate flowers in salads or used them in dishes. Most flowers grow relatively fast so they provided a constant source of nutrients from spring to fall. There are heaps of herbal flower recipes out there for just about every single illness. A great re-cipe for throat soothing elderflow-er syrup which is adapted from botanist and TV celebrity James Wong’s recipe can be found on the previous page. This syrup lasts about half a year in the fridge which means you’ll have it ready when the winter months come round again.Enjoy the plethora of ways flow-ers can be an addition to your Craft!

More information:

Original recipe:http://tiny.cc/jameswongMagickal correspondence:http://tiny.cc/mgc_flower

Find a calm place where you can relax. Pick a flower with significant meaning or colour and picture clearly why you made this choice. Close your eyes and visualise the flower as a bud in your mind. The shape, the texture, the colour and a tiny hint of the smell. When you have that picture solid in your mind, try to picture the flower as it blossoms and the scent in-creases. Let the light play of the leaves. Repeat this until you can picture the flower clearly in your mind within seconds.

medItAtIon

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Witchy Things

riting poetry and stories was and is of crucial importance

for Druids. History is captured in stories and poetry. This is why the first degree in Druidism is Bardhood. In the olden day, Bards were required to remember 250 legends by heart and be able to recite them any moment of the day. Bards were the memories of their communities, like Philip Carr-Gomm describes in his beautiful book, ‘Druid Mysteries’. Writing and reading poetry brings us closer to ourselves as well as the natural world around us.Writing poetry is closely related to the eight annual festivals and the four elements for Bards. Every element represents a different aspect of life and nature. Earth represents the practical and all we pick up with our senses. Wa-ter represents our ability to feel and get touched by the feelings of others. Air represents analytical thinking and fire represents intui-tion and enthusiasm.Writing poetry opens your mind

and body to new insights into yourself and your environment. Poetry as well as the process of writing it give you a way to express yourself, your values, your religion and your way of life. It doesn’t matter if you’re a Wiccan, Druid or Christian or if you are a bit of everything. You can look at yourself and the world around you with a bit of distance when you write about it. One of the things you will notice is how all paths come close to having a similar goal.Writing poetry can be difficult. Perhaps you are inspired to write a single sentence, sometimes two, before the inspiration goes. What can help is to go outside, alone or with a friend. Walk through the green that surrounds

you and look at what you see. Don’t limit yourself to the large but also turn your eyes to the small. Don’t think, just experi-ence. Listen to the sounds that surrounds you, feel the air mov-ing around you. Sit down if you see a place that draws you to it. Always return to nature if you look to write Pagan poetry; she is the best inspiration by far for any-thing you will ever hope to write. After a walk you will feel your inspiration return to you. The Druids call this inspiration Awen. Remember that poetry doesn’t have to span pages. Do what feels right to you. The poem above was written as part of a blessing for large stones like the ones used in Stonehenge or similar constructs. Enjoy it!

THE ArT Of POETry - By AurELIA BELLIS

I call upon thee, stone of earth.Formed by fire, sculpted by water and weathered by wind.

Impart the deepest secrets of the earth to me.Teach me how to be silent, how to listen.

How to be strong without force.And how to be firm without anger.

Lend me your strength.

-- Ruby Lavender (http://tinyurl.com/stonepoem)

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DiscussionCOVEN VErSuS SOLITAry - By LuNADEA

here are many kinds of witch-es but they can be crudely divided into

two types; solitary witches and those who have joined a coven. Those practising solitary far outweigh coven workers but there are still many who join a coven. Covens tend to keep their practi- ces within the group. There is a sense of mysticism that is kept intact because those inside the coven feel new members should put effort into the discovery of the coven. Physically finding the coven is considered part of the dedication to the group. But is working in a coven better then alone, is often asked?Practising solitary is plea- sant. You don’t need to explain yourself to anyone and can work only on those subjects which interest you. But if you’ve been practising for a long time, you might come to a point where you feel you have learned all you can and that you can no longer find new information despite the many books and internet pages on the

subject. Many solitary witches reach this point and often turn to coven work to find new paths, challenges and subjects con-nected to their Craft.A coven is a collaboration between those of like mind. It’s a group you will develop strong bonds with in a relatively short period. Coven nights are often nights filled with energy, informa-tion, love, friendship and special moments. You can learn a lot in a relatively short timespan. Ritu-als performed on coven nights often have a greater impact than rituals you perform alone because they get infused with the energy of many. You often learn faster and about a broad range of subjects. Often these subjects lie beyond the scope of your inter-est and therefore broaden your horizons.The study period in a coven is often long. A year and a day per degrees is the standard. A coven often has three degrees but the study time is almost always longer than three years and three days. It’s a symbolic standard which is more often exceeded

than shortened. This means you will have to decide if you are willing to follow the pace of the coven or if you would rather fol-low your own. Are you willing to let your knowledge and very be-ing be tested by others? It can be very difficult to face and if other who start at the same time as you develop faster than you do, it can be hard as well. Especially if they have started at the same time as you have. It can bring with it a natural competition you wouldn’t have had as you were solitary. This is something you will need to accept. In the end, the choice to join a coven or remain a solitary practitioner is a choice only you can make. Religious witchcraft is based on experiences and it’s up to you to decide which experi-ences strengthen your path.

Lunadea is High Priestess of coven Salix, priestess of Diana, practitioner of the Old Religion, herbal healer, reiki-master and most of all: herself!www.lunadea.nl

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Litha

itha, also called Midsum-mer, Alban Heruin, the

Summer Equinox or the Summer Solstice, is one of the two major turning points in the wheel of the year. Yule, the Winter Solstice, is the second one. Litha focuses on the strength and the sacrifice of the God now he dies to save the harvest. Fire and joy are important themes during Litha. Celebrate the life of the God and the memory of long days with a fire ritual (see right) and prepare for the waning of the solar light by absorbing as much of the fire’s energy as you can. Jumping over the Midsummer bonfires with the person, or people, you want to spend the rest of the year with has been an important custom for hundredths of years and is a great one to keep alive.In addition to the God’s fire ele-ment, Litha focusses on the water element of the Goddess. An old Druidistic custom is to go to the waterside of a lake or large pond and watch for the first three rays of light that hit the water. This

is the Awen, the inspiration, of the Goddess Cerridwen who is the guardian of the best known cauldron in history. For whomever is looking for a good time for healing rituals and medicinal herb work, this Solstice is especially potent. Midsummer is the time of awa-kening for the dragons of old. Prometheus and Helios are powerful Gods for the midsum-mer celebration. For whomever doesn’t work with the Gods but does want to work with Godesses who are connected to the Sum-mer Solstice, Vesta, Athena and the Golden Aphrodite rule over the sun in these golden days.This magazine started off with a quote from Shakespeare’s ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’ in which the Faery World collides with ours. At Midsummer, the veil between these worlds is thin enough to travel through from both sides. Welcome the Faery Folk with warmth and respect but be careful never to eat their food! Legend says that whomever does will be forced to serve the Folk forever.

lIthA Amulet

This is an outdoor ritual for multiple people but can be performed alone or indoors as well. Perform this ritual at day-break, noon or dusk. Cast a circle if your tradition requires it and light a fire or multiple can-dles in the centre of it. Call the sun Gods and/or Goddesses of your choice.

Make sure you have a flam-mable offering like dried herbs and sacrifice this to the fire. Think of the sacrifice of the God. Now dance around the fire, feeding it with sing-ing, shouting, drumming or chanting so the fires be-comes charged. When you’re exhausted, stop and carefully take a burned branch from the fire or quench a single candle. Carry this charm with you for solar strength in the winter months.

Elani Temperance, 2006

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Lughnasadh

ughnasadh is named after the Irish God Lugh whose

history as well as the history of the festival of Lughnasadh will be chronicled by our resident storyteller, Bear, on page 14. Lughnasadh is also referred to as Lammas; the festival of bread. Lammas is a Christianized version of Lughnasadh but still celebrates the first harvest, the waning of the sun and, of course, bread made from the first grain. Teltown weddings were a com-mon custom in Ireland and signaled weddings that were performed by a bard and lasted a year and a day. These weddings were considered trial weddings and were formalized the year after if the couple so desired. Lughnasadh is a time of contem-plation. Like the harvest which is sown and harvested, you can look at your endeavors so far and see what you can harvest at this time and what you need to sow anew. Goddesses who are remembered at this time are Demeter, who

looses her daughter to the under-world anew and starts her period of grief around this time of year, and Lugh’s stepmother Tailtiu, who dies of exhaustion after readying the Earth for agriculture. From Lughnasadh on, which is traditionally celebrated on the first of August, the days will grow no-ticeable shorter. Therefore Lugh-nasadh was a time of tension for our ancestors. The winter months were fast approaching and much of the harvest wasn’t ready to be brought in and prepared for stor-age, leaving everyone to worry if they would have enough food to survive the winter. As Lughna-sadh celebrates the first harvest, it is a time of thanksgiving. Espe-cially in our current time where any food item is readily available in our supermarkets in any sea-son, it’s good to remember where that food actually comes from and how much we depend upon the fruits of the Earth to sustain us. This is a great time for cooking and baking. The simple recipe for bread found on the right can be used to make a corn God which can be sacrificed in ritual.

lAmmAs BreAd

Warm up a bowl. Mix one package of active yeast and make sure there are no lumps. Melt five tablespoons of butter and add it to the yeast mixture along with 1/4 cup of milk, five tablespoons sugar and one tablespoon salt and stir until even. Add two cups of flour and stir until the flour dis-solves. Then add another 1/4 cup every minute or so until the dough is sticky but doesn’t stick to your hands (around three cups). Knead the dough for ten minutes on a floured tabletop. Leave the dough for an hour in a fairly warm place. Beat the dough and form it. Wait another hour then put it in a preheated oven at 200 de-grees Celsius or 400 degrees Fahrenheit for thirty minutes. Pull it out and voilá! You have a bread God which is lovely with butter and jam!

- By ELANI TEMPErANCE

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Branching OutADOPTING PrACTICES - By ELANI TEMPErANCE

s we all share the same religious um-brella term,

Neo-Pagans tend to be grouped together as followers of a single, nature loving religion whose members have a polytheistic and pantheistic view of the divine and see nature as a theophany. We are often viewed as animists. At its foundation this homogene-ous concept isn’t wrong. We will discuss the intricacies behind the Gaia principle in the Fall edition of Little Witch magazine but no Neo-Pagan can deny we fit much of this description. From there on out, however, the practices of Druids, Wiccans, Witches, mag-ick users, Shamanists, Heathens, Technopagans and followers of the many other branches of Neo-Paganism differ greatly. All Neo-Pagan practices have their foundation, even if it’s only in thought, in history. Shaman-istic customs stem from the way of life we practiced when we were still hunter/gatherers. While many are now based on Native

American or Aboriginal founda-tions, all practices go back to a simpler, slower and more honest way of living than practiced now. Neo-Druids trace their lines back to the Iron age Druid vocation of Britain, Ireland and Gaul. The Wiccan view on Deity traces back to Goddess worship of prehistoric times and weaves in a multitude of pantheons from that point on, including, but not limited to, the Egyptian, Greek and Celtic. Their magick system traces back to the 19th century Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn. Witches have much in common with Wiccans in regards to lineage but are less strict in their believes. The witch-hunts are an important time period for many Witches, magick users and religious herb-alists. Some Witches or magick users have familial lines tracing back to witches burned in these times. While the main lines don’t borrow a lot of customs, there are many people who follow a combined path. They call themselves Witches, (Neo-)Pagans or refuse to label themselves. It’s here

where the water gets mucky but the greatest freedom is gained. Combining Wicca or Witchcraft with Shamanism is a popular combination—even though re-moving from or adding to Wiccan practices makes the practice of it no longer Wiccan. Druidcraft, the combination of Druidry and Witchcraft is another favoured one. Then, of course, there are those who spruce up their believes with Buddhist, Christian or Islamic practices, often infu-sing and filtering their childhood believes with knowledge gained as adolescents or adults. It’s small wonder non-Pagans have trouble keeping our prac-tices apart. In the end it’s all labeling and there is strength in choosing your own label instead of letting others define your label for you. All branches of Neo-Paganism have another thing in common; practitioners value their own experiences over those of others. Whatever practice brings you closest to your inner—and ethical—self should be valued and applied. No matter where it comes from.

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ecoming a parent is a life changing experi-

ence. You life changes in ways you hadn’t even imagined when you were discussing the pos-sibilities of having children with your partner or, in some cases, yourself. The decision to have children should never be one taken without thought of the con-sequences and the quality of life one can give a child. Obviously, children are wonderful and our bodies were designed to produce them. Fertility is a major theme in many (Neo-)Pagan fes-tivals and we see what reproduc-tion does to our natural land-scape. Without reproduction in nature, everything and everyone would die within a year. Without reproduction in the human spe-cies, we would be extinct in about one hundredth years. That’s not to say that children should be and can be in everyone’s path. There are many biological, sociological and psychological factors that prohibit or give pause to having

children. Some people know at a young age if they want or do not want to have children when they grow up. Turning onto the Neo-Pagan path brings with it another dimension to having children.Raising children takes time. We will discuss the many ways in which combining children and paganism can be done in a later issue of Little Witch magazine but in this issue we only discuss the actual decision to have them or not. Neo-Paganism can be practiced in a variety of degrees, from anything to being more aware of nature, to dedicating your entire life to it and sacrificing everything else in life for it. For those who don’t perform rituals or practice magick, Neo-Paganism won’t really interfere with your desire to have children. If your religion or way of life takes up a good portion of time, you will need to figure out a way in which the two things combine and decide if you can give up some freedom for your kids. If worship and magick take up a large portion of your life, you should seriously consider

if you are willing to make the sacrifices that are needed to have children. Having children will min-imize your ability to practice and will slow your spiritual growth as your energy levels will go down and you have a lot less time than you had before the kids. Women have a wonderful stash of feminine energy they can dip into to fuel magick and rituals. The actual birthing process can and will permanently lower this energy level as this is why wom-en have this extra energy stash in the first place. This means that magickal work and rituals might be more difficult to power after given birth. For female practition-ers whose life revolves around their religion and lifestyle, this might be a serious reason not to have children. Having children is probably one of the most rewarding, fulfilling and natural things in life. For the large majority, having them is well worth sacrificing a bit of religious time and magickal power. As with everything in Neo-Paganism, it’s up to you to decide what works for you.

Practical PaganyES Or NO TO KIDS? - By ELANI TEMPErANCE

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By the firelightTHE LIfE Of LuGH - By rAGNILD

h children, how time passes. It seems as though it was only a moon

ago since you took your first breaths. Look at you now, my old eyes can scarcely believe it.” The haggard old man eyed the happy young couple standing before him.A full cycle of the seasons ago they had come to him, asking him for his blessing. He had given it without thought; they were so well suited to each other. Ilsa was fiery in spirit and Will was always calm and considerate. Well suited indeed. The days were growing shorter again, and today was the day. Today was Lughnasadh. Today they mourned the death of Tailtiu, the foster mother of the sun God Lugh as well as celebrate new beginnings. There would be a feast tonight. Bear smiled at this. The young couple had decided to stay together, their decision on this day signifying a new beginning for both; a beginning together. Double the reason for

celebration this Cycle now. With the days growing shorter, the grain had started turning its deep yellow colour less than a fortnight ago. The first harvests were taken to the barns today. The feast would have to be pre-pared with fresh ingredients and the tiny village was bustling with activity. Bear could remember what his grandfather had told him about this time of the year; “Remember son,” the old man had said, “eve-ry time we celebrate Lughnasadh, Lugh sacrifices a part of himself for us. We take what we have been given and we offer a small amount to the Gods, so that Lugh may sacrifice himself for us again when the time comes”. When he was a boy, he didn’t think much of what his grandfa-ther had told him. Now, old and wizened as he was, he under-stood the importance; sacrifice was necessary to be able to start anew. He made sure the young ones in the village were aware. In the evening, they would gather around the customary fire and they would listen to his tales. It

was one of the few occasions that he would leave the comfort of the tavern for a seat outside.“Will you give us your official blessing today Bear?” Ilsa asked. He nodded and smiled, yes he would do that. He would give his blessing after the offering, but be-fore he told his tales of centuries past. The smell of baking bread wafted into the room through the window. He grew wistful on days like these; so many new begin-nings he had witnessed. Not all had ended well but Lugh had never forsaken them and today seemed promising and full of hope. That night Bear gave his blessing to the young lovers, joining them in marriage. Then he told the story of Tailtiu and her foster son Lugh.“Many many moons ago, when these Lands were young, and our forefathers’ fathers walked these fields, the Great Mother Tailtiu first came to the people.” Bear said as he looked at the people seated around the fire.“Tailtiu loved the people and she taught them how to care for the

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PAgAn AgendA

Activities by the Silver Circle (NL)http://tiny.cc/SilverCircle

Activities by the Cirkel van de Godin (NL)http://tiny.cc/CirkelvandeGodin

festivals and fairs (NL)http://tiny.cc/MagicalFeeling

Castlefest 5 - 7 Augusthttp://tinyurl.com/castlefest1

(Your Neopagan schedule or acti-vity here? Contact us!)

fields, for sowing and reaping of the crops didn’t come naturally to us. As she taught the people, she grew weak. With her energy drained, she grew weaker by the day. Many of the people were worried because Tailtiu had a son; Lugh. Now, Lugh wasn’t Tailtiu’s son by birth; his father Cain had given him to the Great Mother. Now why would a King of the Tuatha Dé Danann, the Children of the Goddess Danu, give up his son, you might ask? Well, it wasn’t that he couldn’t take care of his son. On the contrary, Lugh would have lived well had Cain not giv-en him up. Cain was so dedicated to the Great Mother, however, that he gave her his son. Tailtiu was honoured by Cain’s loyalty and took Lugh on as her own son, and thus, he became the Sun King.As the days went by, the Great Mother knew she was going to die. She told the people of her son, the Sun King. She told them that her son would lessen his light so the bright summer sun wouldn’t harm the harvest.

Lugh had to make a great sacrifice in order to give the people the means to survive the harsh winter months ahead; it would weaken the God greatly. Tailtiu knew of this and asked the people to honour her son at the harvesting of the grains for his sacrifice.When the Great Mother finally succumbed, Lugh asked the peo-ple to honour his mother as well as their own crops; he wanted there to be a day of making merry and thanksgiving for the har-vest’s fruits his foster mother had provided. Our father’s fathers took the God’s request very serious, and since then, Lughnasadh was celebrated on the first day of the harvest season. As you know, young ones, today is that very same day and we celebrate Lugh’s sacrifice and honour the Mother’s gifts to us. Make merry, enjoy the feast, and above all, do not forget what was sacrificed in order for us to live. Many winters will still come and the Sun King’s continuous sacrifice will help us through all of them.”

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Visiting:THE BELTANE rITuALS Of GLASTONBury - By LuNADEA

ime passes differently in Glastonbury. It feels like time doesn’t exist.

Glastonbury is a place between worlds and the days seem to last longer. A single day in Glaston-bury feels like two. The energy is different, more pressing, more magickal, and everyone who comes there has to get used to it for a couple of days.Glastonbury is also a place where little rituals evolve easily; placing flowers at White Spring, burning a candle at Red Spring, tying a ribbon around the branch of The Holy Thorntree, a meditation at a beautiful spot, releasing a balloon with wishes written on it from the top of the Tor... Everywhere are little altars to the Goddess and The Green Man. No one looks at you oddly if you stop at

one of them and take a moment to meditate. No one stares at you for wearing a robe and for wearing flowers in your hair. It fits perfectly within the moment.I came to Glastonbury with my best friend and several other from the ‘Cirkel van de Godin’, the Cir-cle of the Goddess, to celebrate Beltane. Glastonbury brings out a lot of emotions in me. Beauti-ful moments follow each other in rapid succession. Meditations which bring me closer to myself, the pilgrim’s path, meetings with beautiful people, singing, dancing, it all adds to the spirit of Beltane which is almost tangible in Glastonbury.We dance in spirals around the Beltane fire on one of the mead-ows of Chalice Well Garden. We’re dancing and singing with about a hundredth other people. It’s early in the morning of Bel-tane day but everyone is happy, full of energy and everyone belongs in this diverse group. We jump over the fire one by one, an ancient ritual to help fuel a new endeavor. Together we tie rib-bons around the branches of The

Holy Thorntree.This May day celebration wouldn’t be complete without a Maypole. Strong men carry the pole into the circle. As all the ladies and women cheer, the pole is erected and we tie ribbons around it. Together we dance. Again the mode is festive, aided by the symbolic meaning of the pole. Women with flowers in their hair dance the May dance. People drum the rhythm and everyone sings until the ribbons have been wound about the pole and the celebration is over. On Monday I went home. We had to go earlier than I would have liked but I have no regrets. We saw all we had wanted to see and visited all the beautiful and magickal places Glastonbury has to offer. We took part in rituals, learned a lot, gathered new ideas and witnessed special moments. It was time to go home and sort out all our experiences. Besides, this way there is still a lot in Glas-tonbury to dream about and look forward too because there is no doubt in my mind that we will go back to Glastonbury one day!

For the full report (written in Dutch) on Lunadea’s Beltane journey to Glastonbury you can go to:http://tinyurl.com/lunadea

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coloPhon

Little Witch magazine was launched in November 2010 as an initiative to bring a personal and universally Neopagan magazine to Neopagans and those interested in the Neopagan paths in both the Dutch and English language. Little Witch magazine intends to be a grounded, modern take on a life with Neopaganism and hopes to inspire and enlighten.Feel free to contact us with any ques-tions, tips, remarks, or to just let us know what you think.

CONTACT US AT: www.littlewitchmagazine.com Twitter.com/LWMag Contact@littlewitchmagazine.com

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF: Elani Temperance(Elani@littlewitchmagazine.com)ART DIRECTION: Elani TemperanceARTWORK: Maaike Kramer (www.maaikekramer.nl)All images copyrightedWRITERS:Calandriel an Cuiileur(Calandriel@littlewitchmagazine.com)Ragnild(Ragnild@littlewitchmagazine.com)Aurelia Bellis (Aurelia@Littlewitchmagazine.com)

nd so we reach the end of the 2011 Summer issue of Little Witch maga-

zine. It’s been wonderful to write, draw and put together. We have tried to capture the summer feel-ing for you and we hope you have enjoyed reading it and you will be back for our fall issue. As always, you can reach us through our website—www.littlewitchmaga-zine.com—and our Twitter ac-count—@LwMag—for feedback, a chat or anything else you’d like us to know. E-mail addresses of the writers are in the colophon to the left or can be found with their respective articles. They would love to hear from you!Of course our Fall issue will have a lot to offer the inquisitive reader as well. Next issue High Priestess of her own coven, Lunadea, will try to clear up some of the mis-conceptions about covens. Elani discusses the Gaia-Theory, Little Witch Magazine goes Halloween with the story of Jack-’o-Lantern and we discuss the practice of adopting Craft names. All this

and much more can be found in the 2011 Fall issue of Little Witch magazine which comes out on the 21th of September. We hope you join us for it. If you want to write for Little Witch magazine, the website, you have a subject you’d like us to write about, you wouldn’t mind being interviewed about something you did for the community or you have Pagan artwork to share, feel free to contact us at contact@littlewitchmagazine.com. We welcome your contributions! Have a brilliant summer and enjoy nature at her lushest! Don’t forget to use sunscreen while soaking up all that sunny vitamin D!

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