For I Have Wept My Blackthorn Tears
For I have wept my blackthorn tearsTasted of the poisoned cupHave I taken the crooked road I've seen the sum of all my fearsThe starry night shall be my friendOne star shining brightly from allOne Kiss to lighten all my loadI do not see this journey's endYet I shall eat all my past sinsI shall see them all consumedI shall seek the true benisonI shall keep faith with kith and kinI hold aloft my lone lanternIts steady flame a trusty guideIts beacon call an orisonUntil to the Rose I return

Don't Shed A Tear For Me, I Stand Alone
By now, a lot of you reading this know that my wife (now ex) and I are parting ways. This does not strike me as something sudden. Our lives have been moving in this direction for some time. The real blow that struck down many things came last January with the death, by his own hand, of our friend and - by extension - Kinsman, David. Grief shattered our two cuveens and set in motion a series of events that have caused many partings of ways. This parting will hopefully be the last, but it is possible that the process will continue.Now at this journey's end, we've traveled far and all we have to show are battle scars. From the beginning of this painful leg

Hallowmas 2009
Hallowmas is a powerful time of year for Witches and occultists. It marks one end of the Great Crack in the Cauldron or the rent in the Veil. In terms of Compass Geography, it occurs roughly at Zodiac W by SW, while its counterpart, May Eve or Roodmas occurs at approximately Zodiac E by NE. The understanding of the positioning of these days, and the Crack that links them, is critical for they mark the doorway out of the veil and into the Holy of Holies. It is interesting that, though understanding of the positioning of this Crack is critical, it does not occur consistently. If you look back at my post on the Sabbat Tides, you'll note that it's fall lies within a range rather than on a speci

She Came to Me With A Serpent's Kiss
Yes, I've copped a bit of style from someone I respect rather highly. Robin the Dart of the Clan of Tubal Cain is fond of titling articles after favorite songs and this seems me not a bad idea. So here it is. The associations with November of Scorpio, Death (Tarot Trump XIII) Samhain and the Hallows prompts me to think about the Great Goddesses and their role as Keeper of the Gateway to the Void (The Moon) Rulers of Lust, Love, and Death (Venus) Creatrices/Destroyers (Venus/Moon/Mercury) Lightbringers (Mercury/Sol)Violence and Conflict (Mars) and Time (Saturn) and this in turn conjures up the image of a perfect Crossroads. Indeed,

The Witches Picture Book - Progress Report
Most of you know that I am one of the two members of the creative team for the Witches Picture Book Tarot. We've been hard at work on this deck for three, nearly four, years now and we're nearing completion. As I type this, I am taking a break from working on the "Dextral Separation by Tens - Sinistral Return by Unity" chapter, which covers an in-depth method of plotting compass correspondences with the trumps that was started by Nigel Jackson, continued by Griffin Ced, and finally I arrived at the point I'm working at. I haven't received a *lot* of questions about the deck - more comments on the imagery. But I thought I'd address a couple of these:1. Do you mean a Wiccan deck b