Reading Tarot for the Winter Solstice

“Under a sliver of new moon and the sound of church bells,” writes Meg Elison, “the town Witch was sat in the corner of the café with her tarot cards spread out, ready to read for the people of this small Berkshires town.” (The Witch is Meg.)

Beyond the Light: The Inescapable Reckoning of Yule

As the year darkens, Yule invites something deeper than celebration. The solstice season calls for honesty, rest, and reckoning—listening to what the long nights reveal, releasing what no longer belongs to us, and preparing, quietly, for the light’s return.

Pagan Community Notes: Week of June 19, 2025

In this week’s Pagan Community Notes: We honor Juneteenth and share Solstice Blessings as the Wheel turns once more. We report on Pakistan’s controversial move to criminalize magical practitioners, highlight a divination conference in Southern California, and bring you Star’s Tarot of the Week. Happy Litha, Happy Midsummer, and Happy Yule—wherever you are in the world, may the season bring light, insight, and joy!

Christmastide

“What if,” I say idly, “I started celebrating Christmas again, but in an Arthurian sort of way?” “Camelot is the Christian wart on the face of pagan England,” my husband grumps.

The Offer Stone

This is the first time I cross path with what Finns call a hiidenkivi (“cult stone”) and the Swedes a jättekast (“giant’s throw”), and for a little while longer my mind meanders, thinking about the ancient stories that were more than likely told about this place in ages past.