Magical Shop ~ Rev. Vanessa: Author, Pagan Spiritualist Teacher, Psychopomp ("Rescue Medium"), Intuitive Healer, Spirit Oracle
Here in New York we are in the midst of maple syrup season! 🍁🌙🍁 March 18th-19th and March 25th-26th are “Maple Weekends” where you can visit local farms to see how maple syrup is made, have a pancake breakfast, and eat a bit of sweet maple candy. As a folk witch, I enjoy connecting with…
Have you ever heard of Urglaawe? Urglaawe is a Heathen tradition in America that has developed from Pennsylvania Dutch folklore, mythology, folk healing and magical practices (“Braucherei” – folk magic for healing & protection & “Hexerie” – witchcraft). I recently discovered this homegrown form of Heathenry stemming from Germanic PA Dutch descendants. Their ancestors came…
Valentine’s Day is right around the corner on February 14th. Some theorize that this holiday is connected to the ancient Roman holiday of Lupercalia (Feb. 15th), and of course to St. Valentine, a Christian martyr. But this post isn’t about Lupercalia or St. Valentine. It is about the sweet, chubby baby cupids we often see…
Happy Cailleach Day (Feb. 2nd)! Above is a drawing I did of Cailleach a couple years ago. Cailleach is the Irish and Scottish goddess of winter and weather who sometimes ventures out on Imbolc to gather wood. If the day is sunny and pleasant, Cailleach will collect firewood and extend winter in order to use…
A long time ago when I was only 12, I had a beautiful dream of being in an ancient forest where there was a small cottage. I was invited inside and discovered that the cottage was connected to my ancestors. A female ancestor dressed in Victorian era clothes asked me to sit down. She opened…
I have a positive view of snakes. Snake energy is often thought of as “life force” energy, and in certain cultures, the spirit of the land. Medusa, the snake haired Goddess, has been a long-time spirit ally of mine. Over the years, she has taught me how to incorporate “snake” energy into my clearing and…
November 16th was Hecate’s Night. This eve honors the goddess of magic, the crossroads and mist. Among her goddess aspects are guiding souls to the Underworld – think of Persephone – and protection against harmful spirits. On Hecate’s Night, I was unable to take time to honor Hecate in the way that I had planned…
Helheim is the land of the dead in Norse mythology. It is where the ancestors who did not die in battle reside (i.e., those who passed due to old age, illness, etc.). Helheim is overseen by the goddess Hel or Hela, whose face has one side that is beautiful and the other skeletal or ghostly.…
“Psychopompery” (rescue mediumship) helps to heal earthbound spirits by guiding them into the Light that leads to a beautiful afterlife in the Land of the Ancestors, Summerlands or the Heavens. Through this healing practice, restless spirits – also called ghosts – can finally find peace. I wanted to share a few psychopomp practices you can…
I have always loved the idea of “casting the clew” (a ball of yarn) for divination. This practice is associated with the Goddess Nicneven, the Queen of the Witches and Faeries in Scottish lore. In “The Flytting Betwixt Montgomerie and Polwart,” written in 1621, it states: “Then a clear Companie came soon after closs, Nicneven…
Spirit Spindle & Root 