Tomorrow, 20 March, is the astronomical equinox. The day and night will be equal and it is a celebration of spring in the Northern Hemisphere. There are magical events taking place from now onwards, and here's a list of online and in-person things to do. I generally list events in the UK, especially in or near London because that's where I live, but some are a bit further afield.
Tuesday 19 March 2024
Magical Online & London Events over the Equinox
Monday 18 March 2024
Spring Equinox Picture Puzzle: Spot the Difference
Before I give the answer, I'll explain why they're different. The one on the left was printed before the one on the right. My publisher, Moon Books, always sends a few samples to authors months before the official publication date. When I got my copies I spotted something I wanted changed, and the editor was absolutely lovely about doing that. I later got sent another complementary author copy, printed the way I wanted.
Have you spotted the difference yet?
If you want me to tell you now, read on...
Here's the answer...
The photograph of flowers throughout the seasons is one way up on the first book, but the other way up on the second. I took the picture and submitted it to the designer with the honeysuckle at the top and the ivy leaves at the bottom because that was how I wanted it to appear on the cover. The designer presumably felt it was better reversed.
I can understand why they might have thought that. Pagan Wheel of the Year charts usually show Yule at the top and Summer Solstice at the bottom. I don't know, but I suspect this way of thinking might be influenced by analogue clocks with round faces that have 12 at the top indicating midnight and the start of a new day (or a new revolution of the hour hand at noon). It would be a bit like Winter Solstice representing the final festival of the old year before the start of the new one.
However, if you look at the Wheel of Fortune on a tarot card it has the happiest, lightest spot at the top. That was my inspiration when I took the photo for the book cover. Personally, I don't believe a wheel has to have a set position of top and bottom as it's round, so either cover design works perfectly well in that respect. My book is about "rounding" the Wheel of the Year, after all. It's more that I prefer the look of the second design.
I thought I'd share this little puzzle as we are currently approaching the spring equinox, when day and night are equal length and it's a time of balance. I think they both look OK - but that first small printing is now the rare version!
Which do you prefer?
Find copies of my books
You can view Pagan Portals - Rounding the Wheel of the Year on Amazon and also search for any of my Pagan Portals titles as well as my Gothic novel Erosion on Moon Book's website: https://www.collectiveinkbooks.com/moon-books/
Note: I earn commission from some links. This helps subsidise my blog at no extra cost to readers.
Previous related posts
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2023/10/video-of-my-talk-on-rounding-wheel-of.html
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2024/03/poppet-craft-doll-to-do-three-things-at.html
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2024/02/rounding-year-snowdrops-finally.html
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2024/02/rounding-year-camelia-forsythia-blossom.html
Friday 15 March 2024
Wonderful Weeds: Nettles & Cleavers for Food & Spells
Share your seasonal photos!
I recently started prompts to share seasonal pictures, art, crafts, words and other creativity. I'll continue this over the months ahead. I'd love to encourage readers to record what's happening in nature in various ways including photographs, journalling, drawing or painting and crafting.
Here are ways to share the things you're doing or what you see out and about as the wheel turns:
- Leave a comment on this post about what you're up to
- Find my prompts to share on my Facebook Page: Lucya Starza Pagan Portals Author
- Share on Instagram or X (formerly Twitter) with the tag #RoundingtheYear
My book offers more ways to acknowledge the Wheel of the Year and celebrate the seasons in ritual, magic, folklore and nature. You can find it at estoeric bookshops and via my publisher Moon Books: https://www.collectiveinkbooks.com/moon-books/our-books/pagan-portals-rounding-wheel-year
Previous related posts
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2024/03/spring-spellcraft-growing-herbs.html
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2024/02/rounding-year-camelia-forsythia-blossom.html
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2024/02/spring-herb-lore-greater-periwinkle-or.html
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2024/02/rounding-year-flowers-birds-pancakes.html
Thursday 14 March 2024
Celebrating Book Sale Success: Poppets & Magical Days
Poppets are dolls used for sympathetic magic, and are designed in the likeness of individuals in order to represent them in spells to help, heal or harm. Pagan Portals – Poppets and Magical Dolls explores the history of poppets and offers a practical guide to making and using them in modern witchcraft. It also covers seasonal dolls, from Brigid dolls, used in celebrations for the first stirrings of spring, to fairy dolls enjoyed in tree-dressing at Yuletide.
As well as coming up with the idea for Every Day Magic, I edited and contributed to it - and I'm very proud of it. However, as it is a community book I do not receive royalties - I asked for any money raised from it to be used to help bring more pagan writers' works into publication.
You can view Every Day Magic on Amazon and via my author page at Moon Books. Please note I earn commission from some links. This helps subsidise my blog at no extra cost to readers.
Previous related posts
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2019/08/witchy-craft-how-to-make-sewn-cloth.html
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2023/05/another-milestone-for-my-poppets.html
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2022/05/old-beltane-and-new-milestone-for-every.html
Wednesday 13 March 2024
Magical Online & London Events over the Equinox
The equinox is next Wednesday, 20 March. The day and night will be equal and it is a celebration of spring in the Northern Hemisphere. There are magical events taking place from now onwards, and here's a list of online and in-person things to do. I generally list events in the UK, especially in or near London because that's where I live, but some are a bit further afield.