Lupercalia is an old Pagan festival coming from Ancient Rome.  It takes place on February 15th and it began as a way to honor the founding of Rome. The root of the word Lupercalia means “wolf” so this festival celebrated the twin founders Romulus & Remus, who were cared for by a she-wolf as children.

On Lupercalia two groups of priests would meet in the Luperical Cave within the Palantine Hill.  One group of priests were descended from the followers of Romulus and the other group were descended from the followers of Remus.  Like most pagan festivals, Lupercalia began with a big feast and lots of wine. After the feasting the priests would sacrifice some goats & one dog to the Gods.  

It was very rare among the Romans to sacrifice a dog so Lupercalia was most likely the only time during the year when this happened.  Since this festival celebrated the she-wolf that saved Romulus & Remus, the dog was a symbolic stand-in for a wolf in this instance. 

After the sacrifice two priests would come forward and the sacrificial blood would be placed on the forehead and then washed off with goats milk.  This symbolically washed away the feud & violence between the founding brothers of Rome. 

Afterward, all the priests would leave the cave and take the hides of the sacrificed goats to  create whips out of the pieces of hide. They stripped naked and ran up and down the city streets lightly whipping the people as they ran.  The whips weren’t designed to hurt anyone; this was meant to be a playful and humorous act. In fact, people wanted to get hit as it was believed that being hit with the goat whip would bring good luck and make you more fertile.

Over the years Lupercalia increased in popularity among the Roman people and transformed into a festival that primarily celebrated fertility & childbirth.  This festival was so loved that it even survived after the Western Roman Empire fell. Unfortunately, in the 5th Century Pope Gelasius banned the festival due to its nudity and drunkenness and then replaced it with a much more sober occasion called the the Festival of the Purification of the Virgin Mary.   

Even though Lupercalia stopped being widely celebrated after the 5th century I do think it’s telling that we celebrate our own modern fertility festival, Valentine's Day, at about the same time as Lupercalia.  

Will you be celebrating Lupercalia this year?  Share your thoughts below in the comments. 

Here in Chicago the days are dark and Spring still seems so far away. For me, Imbolc is a much needed reminder that this coldness is just temporary and that the wheel of the year will continue turning.

Imbolc is a call to appreciate the stark beauty of this season. The falling snow, the warm comfort of a cup of tea, and the bright lights of candles are all things I associate with Imbolc.

Like all other sabbats, I like to decorate my fireplace mantle as an altar so that I can appreciate the holiday. I like to start by laying down a simple altar cloth. The colors I associate with Imbolc are white, red, and green so I try to incorporate these colors for my altar set up.

Imbolc is traditionally a festival to honor Brigid, a Celtic goddess associated with fire and the hearth. Her presence was such an integral part of rural communities that Christian missionaries could not stop people from honoring her. Instead, Bridget was woven into the Catholic church as St. Bridget and today many pagans and Catholics alike celebrate her at this time of year.

One of the most popular activities for Imbolc is making a Brigid’s cross out of reeds or grasses. Living in the city, I didn’t have easy access to green reeds so I made some Bridget crosses out of simple pipe cleaners. This is a really easy craft and if you have kids it would be a great way to introduce them to this Pagan holiday.

The term Imboc comes from Imbolg meaning 'in the belly'. Thus, this time of year is associated with pregnancy and the reawakening of the earth. At this time we welcome the growth of the returning light and witness the earliest stirrings of rebirth. I love lighting lots of candles for my Imbolc altar to symbolize the light reawakening in the world.

Traditionally, festivals honoring Brigid occurred at the beginning of the lambing season. For me, Paganism is all about reconnecting with the land and our agricultural roots, which can sometimes be tricky for me since I live in the city. So, for a simple snack while I worked on my altar I got some Sheep’s milk cheese to honor this lambing season.

As Imbolc represents the earliest return of life any type of Spring flower or new growth would be a great element to add to an altar. We don’t have any new plant life yet here in Chicago so I just picked up a simple bouquet of baby’s breath to use for my altar this year.

Lastly, I like to add some tarot cards to my altar that remind me of this particular season. The Empress is a great card to use as she can represent the fertility of the earth. I’m also going to use two Aces - The Ace of Pentacles can represent the earliest stages of new plant and animal life and the Ace of Wands can represent the beginning of a new fiery energy in the world.

I really hope you enjoyed this post & video! Comment below what items you like to use for your altar, or even better make a video response. I look forward to reading all your comments!

Recently I’ve been obsessed with The Witcher series on Netflix. While this show is based in a fantasy universe, it is largely inspired by Slavic mythology. In the show we see several fascinating creatures from the Slavic mythos, such as the Striga and the Kikimora.

This show has made me realize how little I know about Slavic Paganism and has really inspired me to seek more knowledge about this topic. So, I've done some research and in my video linked below you'll find some introduction information about Slavic Paganism.

Early Slavic paganism has been a challenge for historians to study. Unlike Greek & Roman paganism there is no existing original source material because the early Slavs left no records of their gods, prayers, or rituals. The only texts we have is through secondary sources, which were mostly written by monks during the period when the Slavic states were Christianized. However, The Slavic peasants were not Christianized to the extent that other areas of Europe were so a lot of the religious customs from Slavic Paganism were preserved as Folk traditions.

There are numerous deities in Slavic Paganism, many of whom have dual aspects. The deity Rod, is a creator God and considered a father god to many other figures in Slavic mythology, such as Perun, a god of thunder and the sky. His opposite is Veles, who is associated with wild animals, the Underworld, and magic.

The best known Slavic deity here in America is probably Czernobog who was the incarnation of darkness. In Slavic lore, Czernobog decided he wanted to control the world and universe, so he turned into a great black serpent. Svarog, The God of Celestial Fire, knew that Czernobog was up to no good, so he took up his hammer and forge and created additional gods to help him stop Czernobog. When Svarog finally called for aid, the other gods joined him to defeat Czernobog before he could take over the universe.

In the Slavic creation stories there began with only darkness, inhabited by Rod, and an egg that contained Svarog. The egg cracked open, and Svarog climbed out; the dust from the eggshell formed a sacred tree which rose to separate the heavens from the sea and the land. Svarog then used gold powder from the underworld to create a world full of life, and then he created the sun and the moon. The debris from the bottom of the egg was gathered and formed to create humans and animals.

While there are many variations of this creation story, they almost always include two deities, one dark and one light, representing the underworld and the heavens.

One very popular figure from Slavic Folklore is of course the Baba Yaga. Baba Yaga is a supernatural being who appears as a deformed or ferocious-looking old woman. In Russian fairy tales, Baba Yaga flies around in a small cauldron, and dwells deep in the forest in a hut usually described as standing on chicken legs.

Like other Pagan religions, Slavic rituals were based on agricultural celebrations and the movement of the Sun and the Moon. One important celebration is Velja Noc, which falls in March and is considered the Slavic New Year’s Eve since the Pagan Slavs followed the Lunar calendar. On this day shamans wear elaborate masks and coats of sheep wool and roam around the villages to welcome the spirits of the ancestors so that they may celebrate the new year with their living relatives.

Today there is a strong resurgence of interest in Slavic Paganism and I’m excited to see that Slavic folklore & deities are still remembered and honored across Eastern Europe and beyond.

I hope you enjoyed this short introduction to Slavic Paganism. Share your favorite Slavic deity in the comments. 👇

Pagan altars come all shapes and sizes and I have several in my home. I use my fireplace mantle as an ever changing altar space that I rotate with the seasons. For Yule this year I’ve decorated my mantel with several different items that I connect with this particular season and holiday.

For me the best altars are ones that incorporate a lot of nature and don’t take much money to create. So for this year I used mostly items I already had around my apartment and items I could source from nature. I have a list below of the items I’m using for my Yule Altar but keep in mind that your altar may look very different and that you should include items that you spiritually resonate with & aspects of nature that best reflect where you live.

Yule Altar Items

Altar Cloth: This year I used an old scarf with a pine tree motif as my altar cloth.

Local Greenery: As the solstice represents the darkest time of year I like to bring in as much greenery as possible as a reminder that the earth is always fertile, even in the darkest of winters. For my altar I harvested some pine & holly branches and several pinecones.

Candles: I love adding as many candles as possible to my altars. Here for Yule, the candle light reminds us that the Solstice also represents the rebirth of the Sun.

Deity Representations: Many of the Yule traditions derive from older pagan celebrations connected to the Norse God, Odin, so I have a few statues representing him on my altar this year. There are several deities associated with Yule & the Solstice so feel free to incorporate the deities you connect with most.

Tarot Cards: I picked 2 tarot cards (The Hermit & The Sun) and 2 Oracle cards to feature on my altar this year. Each of the cards I’ve picked connect with a certain aspect of Yule tradition and lore.

You can watch my Yule Altar Video below to see the full altar all put together. Do you have a Yule Altar this year, what items are you using for your altar? Share below in the comments.

For this Yule season I’d like to tackle where the symbolism of Santa originates and the possible Pagan origins behind his appearance. The name Santa Claus has its roots in the informal Dutch name for St. Nicholas, Sinterklaas.  Sinterklaas was a historic 4th-century Greek saint. However, St. Nicholas looks nothing like the jolly St. Nick we’re familiar with, so where does the symbolism of Santa come from? 

The image of a jolly, chubby, grandfatherly face of Santa was largely popularized by two individuals from the 19th century: the political cartoonist Thomas Nast, and the book Twas the Night Before Christmas by Clement Clarke Moore.  Book these works helped define much of the appearance & symbolism we associate with Santa today.  My curiosity comes from trying to understand what religious and cultural traditions inspired Thomas Nast & Clement Moore to create our contemporary image of Santa.

There are many Pagan origins that may have inspired our modern day Santa Claus and I’d like to present just two possible ideas: Odin & Siberian Shamanism 

ODIN

Odin, one of the major gods in Norse paganism, shares many physical characteristics with the image of Santa Claus. The winter solstice, or Yule, was a time when Odin led a hunting party, known as the Wild Hunt, in the sky with his eight-legged horse named Sleipnir. 

The 13th century Poetic Edda said the mythical horse could leap great distances -- a trait reindeer possess. Children would leave their boots by the chimney filled with carrots and hay to feed Sleipnir and legend has it that whenever Odin flew by he would leave gifts by their boots.

After Christianity took hold, this practice of gift giving was later adopted in relation to St. Nicholas. Children would leave their shoes on the windowsill or bedroom door for the Saint to reward them with nuts, fruits and sweets.   With all these similar symbolic and physical traits it’s very likely that the tales of Odin inspired many of the characteristics we associated with our stories of Santa.    

SIBERIAN SHAMANISM 

The classic red & white color scheme of Santa possibly derives from a much older Slavic deity known as Father Winter.  This red and white color scheme was chosen because it’s colors match a historically significant hallucinogenic mushroom, known as Amanita Muscaria.  

This mushroom was integral to not just early Pagan civilizations, but also to early Christianity.  I recommend the book The Sacred Mushroom & The Cross if you’re interested in learning more about the influence on this mushroom in early Christian society. 

These mushrooms played a large role in Siberian village life, especially during the winter solstice festivities.  During mid winter, the local shaman would collect enough mushrooms for everyone in the community. They would collect them in a large sack and deliver them to each house in the village.  In Siberia, the snow would be really high at midwinter, making it unlikely that the Shaman would enter through the door. Instead, the Shaman would probably have to climb through the smoke hole of the hut and this may be the origin of the concept of Santa entering through the chimney. 

The villagers would put the mushrooms in a sock and then hang them by the fireplace so that they would dry out.  After they were dried the family would consume the mushrooms on the winter solstice, which would induce an altered state. 

This specific mushroom also happens to grow beneath pine trees, the very same trees we decorate with today for Christmas & Yule.  These mushrooms are also regularly consumed by reindeer in Siberia. So many reindeer at this time of year are ‘flying high’ if you get the idea.  

Still today Siberian shamans wear red and white in a pattern reminiscent of the Amanita Muscara mushroom.  Perhaps this red and white color scheme associated with Siberian shamanism and the Slavic deity Father Winter inspired the classic fur trimmed outfit of Santa.  

It seems that the jolly old Santa stories we grow up with in fact tie back all the way to our Pagan roots.  Indeed much of modern Christmas has Pagan origins and I really enjoy peeling back the layers of history to uncover Pagan tales full of holiday cheer. 

What are your thoughts on my theories about the influence of Odin and Siberian shamanism?  Share your ideas in the comments.

Have you ever wondered why Christmas is celebrated on Dec 25th? While Christmas celebrates the birth of Jesus, his exact birthdate is not mentioned anywhere in the bible. Luke 2:8 states that on the night of Jesus' birth "there were also in that same country shepherds living out of doors and keeping watches in the night over their flocks." This would have been unlikely in December, as shepherds would be keeping their flock under cover during the cold winter. Also, it is written in the Bible that Joseph and Mary travelled to Bethlehem to register in a Roman census and we know that the census did not take place in winter.

Like many Christian holidays we can look towards Paganism to better understand the historical origins.

Pagans all over Europe were already celebrating the Winter Solstice around this time and of course it’s easier to convert someone by using traditions and celebrations that are already familiar to them. In fact, many of our ‘Christmas Traditions’ such as the evergreen tree, come from the Winter Solstice celebrations. However, the Winter Solstice falls on the 20th-23rd, so not exactly the 25th.

There is also the celebration of Saturnalia, an ancient Roman festival in honor of the god Saturn. This festival consisted of much feasting, gambling, and gift giving. This could indeed be the origin of gift giving that we currently participate in for Christmas. Saturnalia was held on December 17 of the Julian calendar and later expanded with festivities to December 23. So around the right time, but still not the 25th. Where does the date of the 25th come from?

For that we need to look at the Roman deity Mithras. Followers of Mithras, which became popular among the military in the Roman Empire from the 1st - 4th centuries CE, are believed to have celebrated his birthday on the 25th December. This was considered one of the holiest days of the year for many Romans. The worship of the Sun God, Mithra, has its origin in Persia, from around the 6th century BC and it is believed that Roman soldiers initially encountered this religion during their military excursions to Persia.

So in attempt to give the pagan holidays Christian significance, Christian leaders decided that the birthday of the Sun God would also be the birthday of the Son of God. Dies Natalis Solis Invicti means 'birthday of the unconquered sun' so lets all raise a glass and give a toast to Mithras, the true origin of why we celebrate on the 25 of December.

Will you be celebrating Yule this year? Share your Yule plans below in the comments!

Scorpio season runs from October 23 to November 22. The sign of Scorpio is a fixed water sign. Fixed meaning it falls in the middle of one of the 4 quadrants in the wheel of the year. So, scorpio season is midpoint between the Autumn Equinox and the Winter Solstice. If you would like to learn more about the differences between cardinal, fixed, and mutable zodiac signs, you can check out this episode of my podcast where I go over zodiac correspondences in detail.

Like all water signs, Scorpio is connected with attributes surrounding emotions and relationships. Those whose sun sign is Scorpio may also be considered to be intense, mysterious, or highly sexual. Though even if you are not a Scorpio sun sign you can still embrace the various scorpionic energies at this time of year.

Here are 5 different ways you can embrace Scorpio season:

1) Embrace Transformation

Scorpio and its planet Pluto rule over the Death card in tarot. The death card represents a time where we need to embrace transformation. It is a time to evaluate stale relationships and decide if they are still worthwhile to have in our lives. If they are not, it is a good time to end them so that new opportunities can arise and grow. You can also take the concept of transformation to your physical space by eliminating objects that no longer reflect your interests or style.

2) Try Something New & Exciting

Scorpio season is a great time to get outside your comfort zone and try out one or several new experiences. This might be a good time to join a new club, create a new event, or start a new exercise class.

3) Kickstart a Meditation Routine

Scorpio season can represent a time where we experience a lot of emotional ups and downs. Starting a daily meditation routine, even if it’s just 5 minutes, can help with regulating our emotional state and bringing a scene of calm to our daily interactions.

4) Celebrate Your Sexiness

Scorpios are considered to be the most sexual of all the signs. So, don’t be surprised if you find yourself feeling a little more excited at this time of year. Scorpio season can be a great time to embrace pleasure and sexuality. ;)

5) Embrace Creativity

Like all water signs, Scorpios feel an innate need to express their creativity. This scorpio season would be a great time to focus on your own creative endeavors whether that be photography, drawing, sculpture, or any of the artistic pursuits.

What are some of the ways you plan to embrace Scorpio season? Share below in the comments.

When I was in middle school I became obsessed with secret codes and ancient alphabets. Luckily, the guy I was crushing on at the time had similar obscure interests and we both decided to memorize the Runic alphabet so we could pass letters to each other during class with no worries of our secret messages being read. Several years later when I purchased a big black notebook with the intention of starting my first Book of Shadows I knew immediately that I would write it in the Runic alphabet. I don’t know why I was so drawn toward the runes but I wasn’t the first and definitely won't be the last to become captivated my these sacred symbols.

Beyond their use as an alphabet, runes have also been used for centuries as a divination tool. Each collection of runes contains 24 individual stones, each with an inscribed letter from the runic alphabet. Each runic symbol is thought to be a magical talisman and has its own unique set of meanings. While several old texts contain sets of associations for the runes there is also space for the user to layer on their own intuitive feelings about each symbol.

Like many divination methods runes are not necessarily used to predict the future, but to provide guidance to the user. Runes are usually cast on an East-West axis or facing the sun. Traditionally a white cloth is laid down and then the user focuses on a particular question that they would like guidance on. Once the mind is quieted and focused the user can pull out a stone and interpret its meaning. While a single stone reading is the easiest form of reading runes, there are many different rune spreads that you can implement. If you would like to do a more traditional casting, you can take the whole bag of runes and cast all the stones onto a cloth. The runes that fall right side up are the ones that are read and the interpretations may be influenced if the symbol is reversed or not.

Do you ever use runes for divination? Share your thoughts in the comments.

Samhain is a celebration of the end of the harvest and the start of the colder half of the year. In the Wheel of the Year, Samhain is considered one of the Cross-Quarter days. While many Pagans celebrate Samhain on October 31, some Pagans choose to observe Samhain a bit later, to coincide more closely with the astronomical midpoint between the Fall Equinox and the Winter Solstice.

Samhain is considered a transitional time where the veil between the spiritual & mundane world is at its thinnest. With this transition it’s also celebrated as the beginning of the spiritual new year for practitioners, which is also why it’s nicknamed “The Witches’ New Year.” At its core Samhain is a time to honor the dead and our ancestors. There are many cultural celebrations around the world occurring this time of year that are associated with honoring our ancestors such such as Día de Muertos in Mexico or Obon in Japan.

One of the main ways I honor this holiday is by setting up a special altar. Here are the items I like to incorporate for my Samhain altar:

• Pictures of loved ones who have passed on

• Harvest foods, such as pumpkins, squash, or Indian corn.

• Candles - the colors associated with Samhain are black, white, orange, and red

• Items from nature that you find in your area such as pine cones, acorns or dried leaves

• Memento Mori, such as a skull or the Death Tarot Card

• Images or statues of Deities associated with death and the afterlife.

• An offering of a beverage for those that have passed on.

Keep in mind that these are just the items that I like to use to set up my altar. So what items feel right to you might be different and you should honor that. Paganism is about connecting with nature so if you live in a different climate you should use items that are local and seasonal to where you live. And remember with Paganism there is no rulebook, so you have the freedom to make your practice your own.

Share in the comments what items you like to put on your altar for Samhain.