I remember very clearly a beautiful day in May, when I was 12 years old. I was walking to school and the sun was shining bright and warm and all the trees and bushes were bursting with greenery. I thought about how much pleasure I got from this. I agreed to myself that appreciation for nature was very important to me, and I considered this to be the foundation of my spirituality. I had been reading about this thing called paganism, which my mum told me about. She said that a pagan was someone who worshipped the Earth and the Sun and the Moon. This sounded like a good thing to me. A few of my friends were Christian and one of them had persuaded me to go to church with her. They were singing and clapping their hands and it all seemed very strange to me. I thought I better give it a try, just in case I went to Hell otherwise. After the singing and clapping, some kids were talking about how they were going to do a play about Noah's ark. This sounded like fun at first, but then I r...

Someone once asked me if I was a spiritual person, and I really wasn't sure what they meant. I shrugged and said "yeah I guess". What one person might mean by "spiritual" could be very different to the next, and I'm not even sure what it means to me. At first, I start to think about ghosts and spiritual mediums who claim to communicate with the deceased. Does being spiritual mean that you believe in ghosts? Spiritualism is a religion in the UK which seems to be based around communication with the deceased, but I'm not sure what else their beliefs entail. I often pass the local Spiritualist church on the bus. It's a very humble little building, and I imagine seances being held every week where people imagine conversations with their dead grandparents. I don't give them much credence myself, but if that's how they want to spend their weekends then that's their decision. Who knows, maybe there is some way to reach those who are no lon...

I remember a former me having a very critical view of "New Age" as something "fluffy" and "commercial". There are many negative views about the industry which has grown around the concept of a New Age, but when we look past the stereotypes and dig deeper than the surface level, what is the New Age really all about? To me, the belief in a New Age means hope for the future. It is the belief that we are approaching a new era full of promise. It is the belief in revolution, on a global scale. Hindu scriptures view history as a cycle of ages, each cycle or Maha Yuga is subdivided into four ages which repeat like the seasons. The ages are called Satya Yuga "Golden Age", Treta Yuga " Silver Age", Dvapara Yuga "Bronze Age", and Kali Yuga "Dark Age" the present age. Kali Yuga is described as "an abundance of strife, ignorance, irreligion and vice, true virtue being practically nonexistent, and this ...

Monday crept up on me today and suddenly I remembered its time for another blog post! This time I'm writing from my phone as my laptop is at the bungalow and I'm in a new flat. Surprise I'm moving again! The bungalow belongs to my brother, he's getting into property development, whereas I am a mere peasant, paying rent to a never ending series of landlords. My boyfriend and I have been looking for a little flat to rent between us, and we have found a snug flat situated about 5 minutes from the beach and 5 minutes from the highstreet. Perfect! Our only problem right now is mould. Unfortunately the previous inhabitants left a lot of mildew in the flat due to poor ventilation. We've got a dehumidifier in here now and are waiting for the estate agents to sort out the black stains on the ceilings and walls. Gross. The stink of mould sinks into my clothes and hair. I don't want to move any of my stuff in until the problem's sorted. The estate agents say th...

Tarot of Marseilles This card shows a central figure that we might describe as Mother Nature, surrounded by symbols for the Cardinal Directions. These four quarters also represent the four suits of the Minor Arcana which are to follow. The World card is a reflection upon the third card, The Empress. This is the final card in the Major Arcana, and therefore represents the "big picture" of the cosmos as a unified being. "The number 21 is the number of destruction or rather of universal termination, because, as 2 is separated from 1, it is necessary that it has a means of to unite there if it wants it. This number shows at the same time the command of the production of things and their end, as well in the spiritual one as in the corporal one." Claude of Saint-Martin The destruction here is of illusion, of egocentricism. When the illusion is shattered, we wake up to the stunning reality of the universe.  "21, the highest possible number of 3 in the cor...

I remember when I was at school we had a text book that covered all the major world religions, and there was one section of the book called "Earth-based Religion" which covered neopagan spirituality. The phrase "Earth-based" amuses me because it suggests that some religions are based on other planets. Many religions speak of worlds that are separate to this planet, heavens and hells which exist in different dimensions. An Earth-based religion would be concerned with the here and now, rather than other worlds. It also suggests to me a religion which is well "grounded" in reasonable ideas, and is "down to earth" in the sense of being practical, straightforward, and sensible. I asked some friends what "Earth-based" and "Nature-based" spirituality and religion meant to them: "To me; It means a spirituality brought about by an awareness, born of the Wonders of Nature and of the Planet, the elements and the c...

What is the difference between religion and spirituality? Paganism and New Age? This is something I wanted to make a video about but I'm finding it difficult to put my words together. When I think of the word religion , I think of how people say that they do something "religiously". Do you go to the gym, religiously? Do you mow the lawn, religiously? It seems to mean dedication to a strict routine. So if you are religious, it seems to mean that you are someone who is faithful to a tradition. If you have a set of rituals that you practice on a routine basis, I would call this a religion. You might also have a certain dress code or dietry restrictions. Religion is not necessarily something imposed upon you by someone higher up. It is not necessarily a set of instructions in a book. It could be something you have decided for yourself, you could create your own religion. You don't need permission from the state to call what you do "a religion". So long as yo...

Last year I posted an advert on witchvox calling for local people who would be interested in starting a new coven. Interest has been slowly and steadily growing. I currently have a potential coven of 10 ladies. I'm excited in a nervous kind of way. I am not the most socially confident person. The thought of meeting strangers is quite terrifying. I don't know how many of the potential witches are really up for trying this. I always assume that out of all who express an interest, only half will follow through. Since last year I had a good feeling about May, that this would be the time for new projects. I've proposed a coven meeting in May and so far three individuals have said they would like to meet up. What I worry about is being able to meet everyone's needs, because I want the coven to work for everyone. I want clear communication, this is the most important thing, that we are able to share our ideas. I don't like the idea of a coven where a select leadership...

Stewart and Janet Farrar There are a lot of people who choose not to use the word Wicca, because they see it as too restrictive and dogmatic. A dogma is an official system of belief held by a religion, or a particular group or organization. But who has the authority to decide what the official beliefs of Wicca are? I would suggest that Wicca as a whole is not dogmatic, but that some Wiccan groups may be. In Wicca it is generally agreed that every coven is autonamous, independent and self-governing, not subject to anyone else's laws. No Wiccan has the right to tell another coven what they can or cannot do. We can give each other advice, sure, that's what the Rede is after all, a piece of advice. This is what makes Wicca so difficult to define, and I think the difficulty makes some people very uncomfortable. Other religions seem more than willing to offer up official creeds, rules and regulations by which they may be recognised. Other religions have sacred texts, but Wicca ...

The rain held off long enough for me to make this video at the beach: I consider myself very fortunate to live so close to this beautiful coast. The golden sands stretch out from the horizon in the East to the West. I have lived here for about 16 or 17 years. I remember my mum setting up her altar in the new house and explaining that she was "pagan" which meant that she worshipped "the earth and the moon and the sun". She bought me a big book called "mind, body, spirit" which was designed to introduce children to spirituality. I was fascinated and set about devouring any books I could get my hands on. Our new house had a "study" room with huge book shelves covering an entire wall and a massive desk for our home computer. Do you remember how the internet was back in the 90s? I would sit there patiently waiting for the dial-up. There was always a drawing pad to scribble on as you waited for websites to load. It was a beautiful green day in Ma...