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Hello all,
Spring is tantalizingly close here in Michigan. The weather has turned, turned back, done a few cartwheels, and thrown a few curve-balls over the last two months. Here, as March is closing out, the snowdrops are almost spent, the wood violets are just getting going. The air is full of calling geese, sandhill cranes, and arguing cardinals. I have heard the spring peeper frogs a few times, between freezes and thunderstorms. As I am writing, the wren in the bush next to my window is scolding a robin for getting too close as evening comes.
At the end of February I had the pleasure of attending ConVocation in southeast Michigan for one day. I was able to attend a number of classes, catch up with friends, and add to my “to be read” library pile. Themes of community, hospitality, everything is sacred, small things done regularly are good, and learning from your neighbor threaded through the whole experience. As usual at events like this, some of my favorite moments of connection happened in the halls between classes.
It feels fitting that the final lessons for the first iteration of Introduction to the Northern Tradition went live on the night of March 2nd, a full moon, heading into a major eclipse. After more than 18 months of planning, writing, recording, learning new software, experimentation, and hours of discussion, the whole thing is live. Currently it has 9 modules, 142 lessons, 59 original videos, with over 21 hours of video content. Whew. We made it!
Soon both Kenn and I will be uploading some of our conversations onto Patreon. We found as we recorded material for the Intro class that we often had interesting discussions that, while related, weren’t what we needed for the class. Thankfully we thought to hit record for some of those, and have prompts noted for several more discussions yet to come. Hopefully that will be coming in the next few weeks.
April Events:
Events Later This Year:
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May 7-11 Primal Fire Festival in Maryland, I will be presenting Creating Energetic Containers for Kink
Ongoing:
Food for Thought and Inspiration:
This newsletter I wanted to focus on things that made me smile and think because, dear spirits I need it right now and would love to share with you if you are so inclined. What are some things that have made you pause to enjoy them recently?
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Article: “Do You Believe Magic is Real” by John Beckett
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Book: The Triumph of the Moon: A History of Modern Pagan Witchcraft New Edition By Ronald Hutton 2021
- I read the original 2001 book back around 2010, and found the new material, especially the forward, to be quite useful. It can be quite dry, going through the backstory of how specifically British Wicca came into the form it is today, and if you enjoy dry British Academic jokes (and at times outright shade) like I do, it has decidedly fun bits.
As a practicing polytheist and spiritworker who veers into witch territory without being Wiccan, I find it really useful to have an idea of where the dominant strands of conversation originated (to the best of our knowledge) and see how they may be playing out.
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Article: “The Necessity of Embedding Practice in Cosmology” by Sarenth Odinsson
- Sometimes you are working on a project and someone else happens to put their finger on a clear part of it while you are in process. I felt this way when Sarenth’s article came across my feed. Like there is something in the air prompting us to think in a direction, and confirmation that you are headed down a path that needs exploring. Often in the media spiritual and magical practices get presented without any of their surrounding context, I want to ask “Where and from whom did you learn that? Why do you do it this way? What does it mean? What do you do if it goes wrong?” In my work I am always striving to see more of the what, why, and how behind what I am doing. Like in any other art, knowing the rules helps you know how to break them intentionally, on purpose, and to the effect you want, rather than randomly FAFO.
- https://sarenth.wordpress.com/2026/01/28/patreon-topic-130-on-the-necessity-of-imbedding-practice-in-cosmology/
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Article: “Are Asian Folk Traditions Pagan” By Benebell Wen
- I have learned so much from Benebell Wen over the years (Holistic Tarot and the Tao of Craft are immense resources, amongst many others), seeing this post right after coming back from ConVocation and seeing David Shi speak hit a chord. I appreciate this window into her experience, and look forward to more.
- https://benebellwen.substack.com/p/are-asian-folk-traditions-pagan
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Non-Fiction: Material World: The Six Raw Materials That Shape Modern Civilization by Ed Conway (2023)
- If you enjoy learning how things work, this was a fascinating dive into the material world.
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Non-Fiction: The Dress Diary of Mrs Anne Sykes by Kate Strasdin
- In prepping for the Dressed & Undressed class over the last few months, I dropped back into fashion history reading. This book is a fascinating journalistic view, spurred on by the serendipitous gift of a 19th century journal filled with scraps of cloth.
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Comic and post: “We invented the dildo 27,000 years before the gun” post by Oh Joy Sex Toy
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Novella: Thornhedge 2023 novella by T. Kingfisher
- I have a soft spot for twisted, re-imagined, retold fairy tales and folktales. This one felt like it fit nicely with The Orphan’s Tales by Catherynne M. Valente and The River has Roots by Amal El-Mohtar.
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Novel: All of Us Murderers by KJ Charles
- Very, very queer gothic murder mystery by an author I deeply enjoy.
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Artist: The Steady Thread
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Amidst everything, I decided I should learn a new-to-me form of embroidery, and actually do some projects. The multi-color designs from The Steady Thread have caught my eye for years, and I decided I was actually going to go through with picking up a project to get comfortable with this type of stitching. Wish me luck!
May your roads be kind, and your landings soft.
Warmly,
HG
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