Spirit Writer

A Winter Solstice sunrise. Image by gdizergega/Pixabay . I hope Heathen folks had a good First Yule/Mother's Night yesterday if you celebrate (or whenever you do). For Pagan and Heathen folks, Happy Winter Solstice to those in the Northern Hemisphere and Summer Solstice to those in the Southern Hemisphere. May the season bring you love, joy, and prosperity. © Trish Deneen  

Nightcat was a Lokean at heart, hence the fox. May she be at peace. Credit: Graphic made by me in Canva. I'm still shocked at the news that a favorite  YouTuber  died suddenly on Saturday. I've enjoyed her polytheist content for a couple of years and became a member. There have been times when her channel was my spiritual home. She was unabashedly real about her beliefs and her struggles with mental illness, both of which I could relate to. But she also included fun gaming content and held a safe space for Lokeans, godspouses, and LGBTQ+ Pagans.  She was so welcoming to everyone who was kind and respectful. I know that those who knew her personally are suffering more, but the closest word I have to describe what I'm feeling is grief. I know I'm not the only one if the comments on her channel and Discord are anything to go by. Rest in peace, Sweet Nightcat. You're in the arms of your beloved holy ones and ancestors now. Thank you for your honesty, food for thought, l

Winter sunrise is the theme of my  Sigdrifa prayer video. Credit: Wolfgang Dietz/Pixabay I created a new video for contemplation and/or meditation using a version of Sigdrifa's prayer from the Poetic Edda.  My goal is to create four videos, one for each season with a different version of the prayer.  I hope you enjoy it.  My channel is not monetized at this time, which I believe fulfills the requirement Wyrd Designs, the author of this version of the prayer, states on their Patheos post here . Please also check out their blog post offering free bookmarks with the prayer for U.S. veterans and active military members here . Also, please bear with my audio skills as I'm still learning how to smoosh all the elements together in the different editing software I use.   Trish Deneen

Cover of my copy of Polytheistic Monasticism: Voices from Pagan Cloisters I'm working on a longer review of this book to publish elsewhere and will post a link to that when it's finished, but I wanted to share my Goodreads review for this excellent book.  Polytheistic Monasticism: Voices from Pagan Cloisters by Janet Munin My rating: 5 of 5 stars A fascinating intro to the concept of polytheistic monasticism from different viewpoints. While the book is slim, its essays from different authors pack in a lot of information to contemplate. Off the top of my head, some of the ideas covered are: 1. Addressing the stereotypes that come up that may be a kneejerk reaction by some when they hear the words "Pagan" and "monasticism" in the same sentence, i.e. celibacy, rules, prayers, devotion. 2. Acknowledging the difficulties of this path while being optimistic about its present and future. 3. Acknowledging that there are good resources out there from other faiths

Nasturtium, peppermint, and chamomile  from my garden last year. I've considered myself technically a prepper for over a decade, though admittedly on the smaller scale side of things. I also considered myself conservative for about 15 years before my former party nominated an orange mad man, but was slowly coming into the prepping mindset during the Bush 2 era.  I've just never fit into a box politically.  I think there've always been Pagan preppers from different political backgrounds.  It's just that liberals don't tend to do the chest-pounding and flag-waving that fits the prepping stereotype, so you may not hear about it so much.   I've always thought there should be a marriage between elements of the more right-wing pro-gun and the left-wing herbal healing aspects of prepping culture.  Both sides are interested in homesteading.  I don't think I'm the only one who believes this, so prepping has become more quietly mainstream even with people who thou

I created this short, 10-minute video of the sound of snow falling against the backdrop of a garden gnome in my back yard which I consecrated as a symbol of the land wights for offerings. My goal is to create these short pieces for when I need a visual and audio focus during a prayer break during my day (or night).  I hope you find it helpful in your practice.