During my first year as a Pagan I hit each stop on the Wheel hard, with the zeal of a new convert. This year, not so much. I did do Bealtine huge this year – went all the way to Ireland for the traditional fire on the Hill of Uisneach […]
Ireland
In the southwest of Ireland, midway between Galway and Limerick, a mother and father are worriedly tending their sick daughter. Tenant farmers in the time of Famine, most of the family was starving. They’d likely be evicted when the rent next came due. But none of that was as urgent […]
Biddy Early: Healing Comes With a Cost
This week, previously unknown monuments have been discovered near Newgrange. The discovery was made by Anthony Murphy of Mythical Ireland – the same Anthony Murphy who was kind enough to be my tour guide to the monuments of the Boyne Valley during my trip to Ireland. Which made me realize […]
Newgrange: Old Magic and New Discoveries
3 My younger son asked me that question just a bit ago. If you don’t know, he’s 17, but is on the Autism Spectrum, bipolar, and a few other things that cause him to be less mature than his age, overly tender-hearted and generally anxious as fuck. I asked why on […]
“Mom, am I a bad person?”
The day I landed in Ireland I was exhausted, aching, and completely overwhelmed. After getting the rental car I was supposed to stop at this town called Swords that had a large shopping center. The idea was a cheap coffeemaker, grinder, and flat iron for the bestie as none of […]
Tara: Seat of Kings, and one Great Queen
This is one of those stories that seemed a bit hairy in the moment, but get funnier as time passes. So. One of the cottages I rented between Roscommon and Shannon was as picturesque as they come. When I arrived, an older man was out in the street with a […]
Irish Men Never Lose Their Mojo
Just outside of Tulsk, as part of the Rathcroghan royal complex, sits the holy well of Ogulla. This place has been a sacred site well back into pagan times, and so of course has been coopted by the Catholic church. This, however, did nothing to diminish the powerful experience I […]
Ogulla Holy Well: A Microcosm of Irish Spiritual History
Every signpost in Ireland is currently blanketed with posters regarding an upcoming referendum. On May 25, Irish voters will go to the polls to decide the future of their 8th Amendment, which outlaws abortion in pretty much every circumstance. What Outlawing Abortion Really Means I’ve mentioned before that I’ve always […]
Ireland’s 8th Amendment
“I’m gonna blog EVERY DAY!!” Said the naive American, confident in her blanket cell phone service and wall-to-wall wifi. Then, she landed in an airport in Dublin, which is supposedly a European capital city, yet has an airport strangely reminiscent of a dilapidated Social Services building. She was immediately confronted […]