I was gifted an acorn pendant tonight as a reminder that I have "planted a seed" as the Pagans of Dubuque honored me as a community Elder. My heart is overflowing right now with joy.

And so it begins...

During this season my thoughts turn to those who I have lost, including my first love, the lady Amber, priestess of the Ring Coven. Here she is with her beloved dog, Tamarack. She and I broke up just before I moved to Kansas City in '77, but we remained friends until her death several years ago.

Tonight my Druidic hearth received this wonderful omen from our ancestors!

I guess I should scrap my plans for a book on herb magic. Coby Michael has a book coming out this spring that looks very similar to what I was working on. I'm buying this book as soon as it becomes available, and you should too!

I love this tee shirt for El Día de Muertos that I found at the Latino festival in Dubuque this weekend. It reflects the spirit of Samhain/Winterfinding.

Tomorrow I'm giving a presentation on defensive magic at our local new age shop here in Dubuque. We'll cover shielding, cleansing and banishing, as well as protective charms like the hexenspiegel (pictured).

I'm working on a new book, this one on herb magic. Specifically magic - in contrast to herbal remedies (for which there are countless books on the market). Not sure yet if I have something that I want to send to my publisher, but I'm into the fourth chapter and it's looking good to me so far.

Okay, I'm giving this "Bluesky" a try. Not sure that I understand it yet, but I thought I'd post something just to say howdy.