5 Ways to Celebrate Yule

 

The year is coming to a close, but the Wheel of the Year keeps on turning! Out come the twinkle lights and the yule trees, the mulled wine and the yule logs. Yule is finally here to remind us of the warmer days and the returning of the light just around the corner. Many of us are familiar with all of the cozy Christmas traditions that take place at this time of year, but did you know that many of those traditions were co-opted from the pagans of the time? If you'd like to make your Winter Solstice a little more witchy, then read on for a few festive ideas!

5 Ways to Celebrate Samhain

 

Samhain, Halloween, All Hallow's Eve. Whatever you call the holiday, you know that this is the biggest day of the year for many Wiccans, pagans, witches, and other Halloween enthusiasts! Most of us know how to celebrate Halloween. After all, many of us grew up trick-or-treating, carving pumpkins, and watching the spookiest movies we could get our hands on. And while you can do all of those things for Samhain, as well, maybe you're looking to switch things up and find other ways to honor this turning of the wheel. Need some ideas? Keep reading!

5 Ways to Celebrate Mabon

 

Summer is coming to a close and fall is in the air, which means that Mabon is right around the corner. One of the eight sabbats commemorated by the Wheel of the Year, Mabon is a harvest festival celebrated by Wiccans, as well as some pagans and witches. While it is not necessary that you celebrate Mabon or any other holiday along the Wheel of the Year, it is always a good idea to stay in tune with the changing of the seasons and honor the wisdom that each one brings to the table.

For instance, Mabon falls on the Autumnal Equinox when day and night are of equal length. It's the turning point in the year where the days begin to get shorter and the nights longer. This is the perfect time to start turning inward and settling down for the long fall and winter nights ahead. But before we head into the darker days, Mabon gives us the opportunity for one last hurrah with the warmth and light of the sun. Need some ideas for how to celebrate? I've got you covered!

5 Ways to Celebrate Imbolc

 

Winter is still in full swing, but the days are becoming longer again and hints of spring are starting to be seen. Beneath the snow and the frost, blooms are beginning to peek their heads and animals are slowly beginning to rustle awake. The promise of warm days around the corner looms large in our minds. Imbolc is a fire festival that honors this time of year and celebrates the returning of the light and the warmth of the sun. Wondering how you can celebrate this cross-quarter day and the changing of the seasons? Here are five ideas to get you started!

REVIEW | Angels and Goddesses by Crystal Pomeroy

Thank you to NetGalley and Llewellyn Worldwide for providing me with an advanced copy of Angels and Goddesses by Crystal Pomeroy in exchange for my honest review!

From Goodreads: This book is all about connecting with archangels and their twin flame goddesses. You will discover seven pairings of angels and goddesses with dozens of hands-on invocations, prayers, mandalas, visualizations, and rituals. This book also teaches you how to work with chakras and focuses on bringing out feminine archetypes as you work with goddesses from a variety of world cultures.

Each chapter explains who the archangels and goddesses are, how they can help, and how to connect with them. Angels are here to help you retrieve your hidden gifts—from healing, compassion, and transmutation to courage, focus, and authority. The techniques in this book will support your work with the angels and their goddess companions so you can restore your confidence and true power.

I hate to begin my relationship with a beloved publisher on such a sour note, but unfortunately Angels and Goddesses just doesn't cut the mustard. Frankly, there is just so much in this book that I disagree with. As a witch who lives with bipolar disorder and chronic illness, I vehemently disagree with the idea that mental and physical illness is due to negative entities which needs to be banished, something the author speaks about in Chapter Two. It implies that these things are controllable with positive thinking. While thinking positively can have an effect on our mental and physical health, it is not enough to cure people. Implying that negative entities (like demons, for example) are the cause of our ailments is dangerous and irresponsible. And while the author does have a disclaimer at the beginning of the book to use her advice in concert with conventional medicine, it doesn't remove the need for the author to wield her words and ideas responsibly.

I also find it odd that the author has, in essence, created her own feminine archangels by taking several goddesses that share similar traits and coalesced them into an archetype that she then labels as the twin flame to actual, well-known masculine archangels. And then she uses all of these goddesses interchangeably, removed from their pantheons, cultures, and religions, which is incredibly appropriative. She also divorces the archangels from their Abrahamic roots, stating that they existed before religion. While angelic entities are present in many religions, albeit in differing forms, the archangels she chose for the book are, in fact, pulled directly from Abrahamic faiths, prominently Christianity and Judaism. As someone who works with Judeo-Christian figures in her practice, I don't mind their inclusion in the book, but I do wonder why the author chooses to erase their roots.

There are also other things that I can't personally support, such as statements about the "mass hysteria around danger for women" or the appropriation of practices and concepts such as mandalas and chakras while divorcing them from Hinduism for mass consumption without context. This book is also essentially Christian faith healing in New Age-y clothing, with a side of prosperity gospel. So many of the toxic parts of Christianity that people long to leave behind and actively are working to deconstruct show up in this book under the guise of New Age spirituality, but are just as harmful divorced from religious trappings.

I did appreciate how much the author focused on the divine feminine and how tapping into sacred femininity was important for and attainable for both men and women. However, those passages were a small part of a far larger, messier work. The concept for the book seems like a good one, and I'd love to see a book that connects angels and deities written by a much more thoughtful, reverent author. This one, unfortunately, just wasn't it.

I cannot in good faith recommend this book, but I do think it can spark a larger conversation in the spiritual community about things like toxic spirituality, science vs. faith, and cultural appropriation, among other things.

PUBLISHER: Llewellyn Worldwide
PUBLICATION DATE: February 8th, 2022

VIDEO | Witchy Thrift Haul (with Jillian of Mystic Moon Yoga)

When it comes to practicing witchcraft, you don't have to blow your bank account on expensive tools and items. In fact, when it gets down to the nitty gritty, you don't have to use any tools in your practice at all. The beautiful part about witchcraft is that you can make it as simple or as ornate as you want. YouTube and Instagram can frequently give the picture that we all have to have elaborate altars, large stores of herbs and other spell-crafting ingredients, and scads of fancy tools at our disposal to truly make our craft come alive. And while that is all fine and good for some, it may lead new practitioners to believe they have to spend a lot of money to fit in.

This week's video is all about how easy it can be to gather tools and altar items in the unlikeliest of places: the thrift store. Come along with me and Jillian of Mystic Moon Yoga as we take a trip to our local thrift store to find unique pieces and quirky accoutrements to incorporate into our personal practices!

Witchcraft 101: How to Pick a Pendulum

When it comes to divination, tarot and oracle cards are the face of the whole operation for most people. However, there is a whole world of divinitory tools available to us outside of our beloved cards. Whether you believe that these tools can truly tell the future, connect with deities and spirits, or are just there to help you tap into your intuition (I believe in a little of column B and a little of column C personally), there is a tool out there to suit everyone's fancy.

One of the tools I believe should be in every witch's repetoire is the small, but mighty pendulum. Where tarot and oracle cards are good for questions that need broader answers, the pendulum can get down to the real nitty gritty for queries that need a solid yes, no, or maybe. With a simple swing you can tease out how you really feel about a situation or what course of action should be taken. But before you can do any of that, you have to get a pendulum first! The question is, how do you pick one? What should you be on the look out for and how do you know when you've found the right one for you? Today we'll be looking at my tried and true tips for picking out the perfect pendulum!

VIDEO | Witchy Book Haul - January 2022

I'll admit it. I'm a massive bookworm. My friends never let me forget how much of a nerd I am. And when it comes to learning more about the Craft, I want as many books as I can get my hands on. Knowledge is power, right? Recently, I went a little book mad and bought a massive stack of tarot and witchcraft books that I can get cozy in bed with this winter. And I figured I can't possibly be the only one who goes a little gaga over witchy books, so I decided to make a little video sharing all of my latest finds. Looking to add some new titles to your TBR list? I've got you covered!

Welcome to Magickally Mimi!

Hello, witches! Welcome to Magickally Mimi, a blog about magick, tarot, books, and all things witchy. And what better time to start than the day after the new moon?

So what can you expect from Magickally Mimi? You can expect to find reviews of books, tarot and oracle decks, and witchy subscription boxes, as well as tips and tricks to help you hone your craft, plus a peek into my life as a thirty-something eclectic folk witch. We'll explore all the things that a modern, discerning witch wants, needs, and shouldn't live without, and create a magickal life that fulfills and inspires you every day.

If you're ready to carve out a path all your own, then give Magickally Mimi a follow, throw on your shades, pop on your pointiest hat, and hop on your trusty broomstick! It's going to be a fabulous ride!

XO