Episode 18 - the big good bye

Click here for the final episode

It has been an amazing ride recording the Magical Earth for all of you. Sadly all good things must at some point come to an end. As the Facebook fans and blog readers already know Susan and Jacinthe have had to step back from working on the show. It became nearly impossible to schedule times to record episodes and live got busy all around. You can see all the details of their farewell post at on the blog you can also here all the details in the show.

It was with a lot of thought and discussion that Alex and I decided to bring an end to the Magical Earth. It started out with 4 of us and we would rather start something new and let be remember as the quadcast it was. That being said we are not ready to give up on the Pagan Podcasting Community. We have started our own new show called the Spirit of Life. You can find it at http://spiritoflife.podbean.com/ we both hope that you will continue to listen and look forward to hearing from you. Any farewell messages you have can still be sent to themagicalearth@gmail.com

Thanks for listening and please walk softly

Episode 17 - We're Meeeeellllllllting !

The Magical Earth - Ep 17


Greetings, fellow travelers, and welcome to the Magical Earth. Let's walk together a while...

Our check in reveals that the weather is damp and the snow is melting, and our old decrepit bones are achey and our allergies are flaring up and we're a wee bit congested. "What a drag it is getting old ..."

Three of us are also enjoying the National Beverage of Winnipeg - "the Slurpee". Jacinthe doesn't like them. Go figure.

We resume our Olympic commentary - and note all the "pagan familiar" symbols and ritual components of the opening ceremonies - from the greetings of / to the four directions, to the raising of energy through sacred dance - all these symbols made sense to us - and the subsequent spectacle of Canadiana Unfurled - it was amazing.

Cliff thinks that many of our athletes raided the Superhero wardrobe - bobsledders looking like Spiderman, speed skaters that looked like Xmen - and a certain Manitoba Skeletor that was The Flash. (yay Jon Montgomery!)

Thanks as always for your emails (themagicalearth@gmail.com) and comments on the Facebook page. We were sent an email with a great cartoon of a woman knitting via video game - we'll see if we can include that here in the show notes.


We each give our final thoughts (Jacinthe & Alex are already fantasizing about spring cleaning...)

To wrap things up - on a sombre and respectful note - Susan dedicates a poem to the people of Georgia, in honor of their fallen Olympian .... To An Athlete Dying Young by A.E. Housemann.

Until next time - walk softly ...

Episode 16 - The Olympic Edition

The Magical Earth Episode 16


Greetings, Fellow Travelers, and welcome to another stroll on The Magical Earth.

Our check in reveals the following:

Cliff is about to be published - his short story - Rescue Dogs is being included in a Friday Flash Anthology for 2009! Woo Hoo! We are so proud of him.

Alex comments on the sign in front of the church down the street - "Suffering From Truth Decay - Brush up on Your Bible". Many of these signs come from a subscription service and there are books of the really good ones. If you want to make your own Church sign - try this. Of course - we'd love your suggestion on what the sign outside a Pagan Temple say? Send your thoughts to themagicalearth@gmail.com

Susan is playing with new yarn, has hired a minion at work (yay), and reminds everyone that there are Cats in the house, and there might be feline intervention in the sound mix.

Jacinthe is on new pain meds, and we're all a little goofy! Other than that - she is working lots, life is good - no complaints - and is knitting her poncho (46 rows plus a collar to go!)

Remember to watch our Facebook page for announcements of our impending recording sessions (usually every second Thursday) - and send us your thoughts, questions, comments, and join us in the Facebook chat function in real time.

Reminder that we are doing Top 5 lists in our Ostara podcast - send yours along - or your requests about what we consider the top ten whatever! Again, our email is themagicalearth@gmail.com

We discuss the Olympics. We want to be very clear that we are talking about the Institution - not the athletes, or the Games themselves. Our running commentary starts out a bit on the caustic side - but we move towards the magical aspects as we explore how we feel about this cultural bombardment of sporting culture.

The Olympics were very pagan in their origins - and there are lots of online resources talking about that - from this article on the Ancient Olympics in Wikipedia and other places, as well as the occasional media article - like this one from the Winnipeg Free Press. The discussion ranges far and wide, and ends with some Canadian Pride. (remember that this was recorded before we knew how crazy Vancouver -and the entire country - would get.) We are also proud that the Royal Canadian Mint in Winnipeg cast the medals. Here's a picture of the Mint - but it doesn't have the Olympic window decorations - they have the images of the medals "on" the glass 30 feet high - it is spectacular.


In closing - we offer our blessings to our athletes.

For our final thought - Susan discusses the new We Are the World - and encourages all of you to go to iTunes to download and donate a few more dollars to the Haitian Relief Fund. We end the show with a song from Michael Franti (we would follow Michael Franti into battle.)

Hey World - Walk Softly.....

Episode 15 - Intention (using a familiar metaphor)

The Magical Earth - Episode 15


Welcome, fellow travelers, as we walk together on the Magical Earth ...

Thanks to all our listeners - old - new - aged - faithful - we have seen an increase in our subscribers and we are very appreciative of the time you invest in us - let us know how you heard about us - and what you think! Your comments here on the blog and your emails to themagicalearth@gmail.com help guide us in the way we shall go.

Our checkins reveal the following truths:

• Alex got laid off, but has plans to go to University and take Theatre - concentrating in stage craft and costume design. Light a candle that funding comes her way to make this possible.
• Jacinthe talks about her daughter's ongoing battle with crystal meth addiction - and offers hope to anyone who is walking a similar journey. Please let her and / or Susan know if you have a similar story - or a loved one / parent / child / life mate / friend that is struggling with addictions - there is strength in hearing each other's stories. Places like the Addictions Foundation can offer real help - for the families as well as the addicted person. Find the help you need near you - and ask for what you need.

• We digress into a conversation about being Pagan parents in a non-Pagan culture, and what it means for Pagan children to be "different" from their classmates with different holy days, etc...
• Susan is just plain grateful that she won the birth lottery - and doesn't take it for granted. She has been writing more, blogging at h"Where I Am, Knitting is Also - Not a Knitting Blog" on some self-introspection about how to contribute to and create community. That gives Jacinthe more time to read and to cook.
• Cliff also talks about his writing, and we all have various levels of lust for the iPad. Thanks to the good folks at FailBlog for the image.

So - we use knitting as a metaphor. Please stick with us - there is a point to the preamble about knitting - it really does lead to a deep magical conversation about magic and intent. We talk about the tools of our trade - needle size, wool types (like Fleece Artist - great Canadian yarn company) - and our patterns. Alex mentions her 10 for 10 project - doing 10 new things in 2010 and Ravelry - a social network for the crafty set. You can connect to Alex (Tamile ) Jacinthe (as Jacinthe ) or Susan (suhurrell) as a knitting buddy. Cliff is STILL not knitting. We also refer to Knitpicks - and the KnitPicks podcast - with thanks!!!

We also remind people to join us on our Facebook page - and to give us feedback! It is from this feedback that leads us to our topic in a fibre-kind-of-way. This is NOT a knitting podcast! We are here to talk about intent! Knitting is the metaphor for INTENTION. Mentally substitute "magic" or "prayer" " for the word knitting - think "ritual" for "pattern" - its a bit of mental gymnastics, but it makes sense - in some places more than others.

If you want to skip all the "casting on" of preparatory stage setting - skip ahead to where the conversation get a bit more magically specific (but not much) at 38:55 - but really - its worth ploughing through the rest of the preamble.

We mention two books - Wicca Covens by Judy Harrow and Deepening Witchcraft by Grey Cat. Cliff is going to put an Amazon affiliate link up on our blog - so go through that portal to order your books and we get a penny or two to keep the lights on at the Magical Earth studios.

If you have ever received a Susan created "Circle of Love" - please snap a quick photo with your mobile camera - and send it along. I'd love to create a gallery of all the blankets and shawls I've given away over the years. No pressure. (maybe no pictures).

Susan talks about the situation in Haiti - having connections as a Canadian with a Haitian-born Governor General, and a dear friend whose mother is Haitian born. Please pray for the people of Haiti - and find a cause that you support - Susan supports Doctors Without Borders and Mennonite Central Committee. Think about praying for Haiti on the 12th of every month.

In our final thoughts - Cliff praises Canada's own DART - Disaster Assistance Response Team who are bringing water purification technology to Haiti. This makes us all proud to be Canadians. (Susan also references Michale Prichard's LifeSaver water purification video that is part of TED talks - and is a worthy philanthropic effort in need of support)

Alex refocuses on Intent as a guiding principle of magic and life. Jacinthe can't wait for the snow to melt and to get her hands back into the mud (garden lust). Susan is reminded that intent is everything - the seed that we plant that grows the tree of our life. She also mentions Dee's project at Pagan FM to create a Pagan musical recording to raise funds for Haiti.

Cliff is all about the lists - for our Ostara episode - we are all bringing a list of 5 favourite things - a list or two - to share. We invite you to either ask us for our list of our "Five Favourite whatever's" - or to send us your own Five Favourite lists - we can't promise to get to them all - but we'll do what we can. there will be an episode or two between now and then - so thanks for keeping tuned it.

Susan closes the show with an original poem, cause she forgot the big book of Pagan poetry. Hope you enjoy.

Until next time,

Walk softly .....

Episode 12 - Dark Days - Dark Season

Episode 12


Greetings, Fellow Travellers, and welcome to the Magical Earth - recorded about 10 days before Samhain 2009.


Our check in reveals that:

• Cliff is now the secretary of his union at work (yay), is getting ready for Nanowrimo (please friend Randilin)
• Alex is also competing in Nano, immersed in work and knitting Yule gifts,
• Susan is going to visiting Savannah GA in November (any listeners from the Deep South?), is also trying to compete in Nano (please friend me - SuHurrell - too!) and has been in a blur of catching up to losing most of September.
• Jacinthe is NOT nano-ing, but is planning to compete next year. Lots of outdoor gardening ..... and family matters.

We read an email from Drake Atlas on magical names. His podcast ``Get Out of the Broom Closet`` is highly recommended.


Jacinthe shares some thoughts on an article she is reading in What is Enlightenment Magazine that leads us into our deep dish discussion this episode about death and dying, Pagan Style.


Some information on Eco- Burials, Natural Burials, and Pagan Options


Challenge of the Show - to write down your wishes for your funeral - your memorial service - your burial - your estate - and think about what you need to have in place - a Living Will - a DNR order - your insurance documents - whatever .... to make it as easy as possible for your family of origin and family of faith to midwife your death and celebrate your life after your transition to the Summerland.


We`d love to hear from you - comments - suggestions - opinions - stories about what is going on in your corner of the Magical Earth - email us at themagicalearth@gmail.com and join us on our Facebook Page - and friend any of us when you find us out there in social networking land.


As always, we end with some sacred poetry, once again drawn from The Goddess Book of Hours and the God Book of Hours by Galen Gilotte. The Samhain theme runs through these beautiful words as well. We hope you enjoy.




Until next time, walk softly.

episode 11 - Happy 1st Birthday To Us!

Click here for Episode 11

Greetings, fellow Travelers, and welcome to the Magical Earth Quadcast. We are so happy to have you with us to celebrate our first full trip around the sun. We couldn't have done it without you - our listeners. We appreciate the time you spend with us.

Its great to have Jacinthe back in the circle - now that the lawn is torn up and the heirloom eggplants have been turned into spicy pickled goodness. We do our usual check up and check in to share what's been happening in our lives over the past month or so.

WE GOT MAIL - thank you so much to those of you who took time to send us such wonderful emails - many of them were mini essays on some of the points we were discussing - we greatly enjoyed reading and discussing them, and bring some of the highlights to our discussion . If you want to add your thoughts to the mix - please comment on the blog or email us at themagicalearth@gmail.com.

If anyone is still interested in doing a distance ritual for energy around jobs - promotions - employment - job satisfaction - let us know - this is a carryover from Episode 10's idea - and we're always game for a good ritual.

Our topic this show - a reader suggestion - and its a hot topic - "Magical Names" - where we start out safe and then veer sharply into political incorrectness. You've been warned. :) Our quesiton of the show is about the "who / how / what /why / when" of your magical name. How did it come to you - what does it mean to you - what impact has it had on your magical and regular life?

We are all very excited (squeeeeeeeeeeeeeee) about the impending opening of "Where the Wild Things Are" - as well as a handful of other movies. But really - "WTWTA" is what it's all about - such a great book for kids of all ages and the adults who love them. LET THE WILD RUMPUS START!

Time for our closing thoughts - Here's a question for you - "why do all the pagan calendars start on Jan 1/secular calendar change day - why not Samhain?" (we know that there are a few that do - but not many)

This episode's Sacred Poetry come from a pair of books called The Book of Hours (one for the Goddess and one for the God) by Galen Gillotte.

It has been a pleasure to walk this episode with you! Have a blessed Samhain if you celebrate it - and may the Ancestors give you wisdom and peace.

Until next time - walk softly.

Episode 9 - Summer Time and the Witchin is Easy...

Episode 9

Sorry for the problems with getting this episode up and online. There were some difficulties with our hosting service that had to be overcame.


Welcome to another trip on the Magical Earth! The photos are from last year's Summer Solstice Open Circle at Pagan Park - the sun coming up over the trees by the river ... glorious.

Thanks so much for giving us a listen. We know you're out there, the download numbers tell us so. To those of you who have found us for the first time - a special welcome, and if you like what you hear, please check out the earlier episodes. For those of you who walk with us regularly - thank you for tuning in again and again. We'd love to hear from you - whoever "you" are - to let us know what's going on in YOUR corner of the Circle. Email us at themagicalearth@gmail.com

So - we recorded this just before Summer Solstice. We do our check in - Cliff & Alex welcome a new-to-them car, Susan & Jacinthe say farewell to a friend, Alex's voice gets potentially recognized on a work related call, and Jacinthe celebrates her daughter's choice to "work the program" and make her current stay in a rehab facility a success - and then there's the garden...
digging - planting - plant trading - and potential photos either on this blog or on Cliff's blog.

Sacred Poetry - once again from Her Words by Burleigh Mullen, an anthology of poetry about the Great Mother.

• The Goddesses by Jeanine Canan
• The Power of the Soul by Sheila Glover
  

We say farewell to The Pagan Activist - a wonderful site that educated, entertained, informed and delighted a world wide pagan audience - we honor the work of the Publisher (Edain Duguay and her publishing venture, Wyrdwood and all the contributors of the wonderful columns. Sad to see it go - and acknowledging that all things have the season. It was a magnificent collection of diverse voices - and it will be missed.

We talk about the state of Pagan Periodicals - real time and online - and Pagan online gathering places like The Witches Voice - PaganSpace - all the various groups on Facebook - the pagan themed groups on other special interest groups like Ravelry (for Knitters) and Etsy (for crafters) - the yahoo groups - the google groups - the Ning groups.

One question about these various community gathering places - so many people "opt out" of wanting to receive invitations - so how do people get together if no one wants to be invited to anything? How do you find out about what is going on in your community - how do you connect to other pagans and pagan events. How many lists are you on? Do you have a store in your community that is the hub of the wheel?

Who and what is your community? Does it have young families - young singles - families with near adult children - seniors - who is filling up the open circles?

Are you curious about what is going on elsewhere in Canada or the greater Pagan world - to learn from what other community groups are doing?

People - we're serious about wanting some feedback here. We have good questions - we just need some rally good answers. :) help us understand! We're so confused!

Come Plurk with us - Cliff and Susan and Alex are all on Plurk - Susan also Twitters as well as Plurk - Cliff is a Plurker, as is Alex. Join the Facebook Page and "friend us" if you'd like - send us an email - we want to know what you think.

Book Review: Alex talks about the classic The Spiral Dance by Starhawk. We also mention her 2004 release "The Earth Path - we consider both books "must reads".

Also we mourn the loss of The Crooked Path - Peter Paddon has closed down his site as well and is now focusing his efforts on Pendraig Publishing. We all found his site extraordinarily special - and part of the spell was woven through the magick of Peter's voice - made for broadcasting - we thank you Peter Paddon for all you have given to us on the Crooked Path. You leave a gap in the Pagn Podcasting community that will not likely be filled.

On that note, we wrap up - Jacinthe is looking forward to the Winnipeg Folk Festival - "where our light show is the sun" - Sunday night's closing concert is Loreena McKennitt. Cliff has agreed to camp - real tent camping. Alex is looking forward to Fringe Festival as well as Folk Fest and all the cultural events that happen here over the summer months - we get a huge cultural infusion from June to September. Alex celebrates her birthday at Midsummer. Susan wants to sing along with Summer is a Comin In by Paul Newman that she heard on Episode 14 of Druidcast - thanks to Damh the Bard for sharing such wonderful music- not to mention the general oaky goodness of Druidcast.

Hope you had a joyous and Blessed Solstice - and that there was a man with a rack of antlers on his head dancing in your garden at sunrise. Hope you sent him into the sunset well fed, well loved and full of the Goddess's blessing!

Until next time,

Walk softly....

April Showers, May Flowers, darned near Summer Fools

The Magical Earth Episode 8


Greetings Travelers, and welcome to the Magical Earth.

A seasonal episode, a little later than anticipated due to

Thanks to our elder Podkin, our Wigglian brother and sister, Mojo & Sparrow, for helping us with our little April Fools "podcast exchange".

We take a few minutes to get caught up on the rising floodwaters, and talk about local initiatives to reduce our civic environmental footprint.

• garbage day is not "recycling day" to increase awareness of recycling as an option, shifting the focus of public consciousness. (ah, magick)
• exploring the recycling of the sand used over the winter to give our streets more traction. Winnipeg as a city does a poor job of "being green".

Alex talks about her class field trip to the Costume Museum of Manitoba and how fashion used to be far more reusable than it is today.

Susan and Jacinthe are excited about some recycled fibre that they have ordered that uses waste fibre from the sari industry to create lucious yarn for knitters.

Susan's workplace implemented a hazardous waste disposal program, including safe battery disposal, through one of our clients business initiatives.

Jacinthe talks about how Spring Cleaning is a form of "honoring the ancestors" - and a time of remembering.

How do we celebrate the holidays when the seasons are changing - thank you Climate Change. While the Solstices and the Equinoxes remain constant, the "agricultural connection" is not so strong depending on where you are in the world. We reference Wiccan author and friend Kevin Saunders and his books , where he talks about using the "first full moon" in the astrological sign for the non-solar holidays. We've decided as a working group to go back to observing the holidays based on the lunar/solar cycles.

Spring Cleaning is occurring in both households - Jacinthe starts hers in the first full moon in Aries - and in each room she starts at the east-most doorway and goes counterclockwise around the room. Cliff and Alex make a plan, and then "execute!". YMMV

We talk about setting books free after our time with them is done - and talk about the most recent edition of Pangaia magazine and their article on Influential Pagans. Congratulations to the fine folk at the Pagan Centered Podcast and Mojo and Sparrow at the Wigglian Way for getting mentioned.

Cliff now Plurks and has abandoned Twitter.. Susan also plurks, and still tweets. Alex laughs at the geekyness of it all, and Jacinthe sticks to her knitting . We declare a Pagan Plurk Revolution. We Plurk. Join us plurking. Cliff is Randilin, Susan is SuHu - Alex is Tamile. Come Plurk with us.

Pagan Poetry ensues - two very different approaches to the body of the Great Mother. Speaking of great mothers as found in nature - check out this Youtube video.

This episdoe, we select the GeekWitch Podcast with its lovely host with a nerdy twist - Tallea Moonwater for our Pick a Pack of Pickled Pagan Podcasts.

Our episode has been brought to you by the World Card - this is Susan's least favourite card in the deck - (she is more of a Tower fan). May we embrace every new experience as a near-naked androgene holding a pair of pointy sticks, being cheered on from peanut gallery of the four corners of the globe by scary monsters.

Jacinthe talks about the power of creation at a molecular level - she explores her own spiritual growth and her soul's evolution through her ability to create through food -through her knitting and upcoming spinning - very nicely said by our usually quiet little French one.

We wind it up and look forward to the next episode. Until then...

Walk softly.

Episode #3 - Happy ho ho!

Click on the Pod Icon to listen


Welcome, Fellow Travelers - it's Yule-tide - and we are happy to be with you all again for our last show of 2008. We start, as always, with Ralph Blum's "Greeting" - the way we have opened our sacred work with this poem for years and years .... Our 2nd "take" - due to the blowing up of the lightbulb in our Himalayan Salt Lamp - which made for a flurry of sparks and activity. Nothing dire - just an unexpected "sizzle" to the start of our first take. We're all fine.

We quote the late visionary Arthur C Clarke - who said "Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic." This is one of Clarke's Three Laws that govern the Universe.

Our quick check-in reveals that we are hyped up on hot chocolate, pumpkin pound cake and whipped cream, and that Alex got some more work done on her tattoos - see pics on our Facebook Fan Page - and we all have tattoos by Jodie Wentz of Rock Road Tattoo - the best tattoo artists anywhere for spiritual themed pagan tattoo work - in our humble opinion. Her "secular" tattoo work is also wondrous, but for we Crafty folk - she has been our first choice.


This episode is brought to you by the Rune - Isa - and we talk about the beauty of winter and the need, at this most hectic time of year, to take time to STOP - PAUSE - REST - and enjoy the moments in winter where nothing seems to be moving.


Pumpkin Pound Cake Recipe - courtesy of Jacinthe's Kitchen, and taken from 1500 Best Bars, Cookies, Muffins, Cakes, & More by Esther Brody.

3 cups all-purpose flour - ½ tsp salt -½ tsp baking powder - 1 tsp cinnamon -¼ tsp ground cloves - ½ tsp ginger -1 ½ cups butter, softened -2 ½ cups granulated sugar -1 tsp vanilla - 6 eggs -1 cup canned cooked pumpkin purée (not pie filling)

1. Combine flour, salt, baking powder, cinnamon, cloves and ginger.
2. In a large mixer bowl, cream butter, sugar and vanilla on medium speed until smooth. Beat in eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition, until well blended.
3. Beat in flour mixture alternately with pumpkin, making 3 additions of flour and 2 of pumpkin, on low speed, beating only until well combined. Spoon into two prepared baking pans (greased and floured).
4. Bake in pre-heated oven for 60 to 70 minutes (or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean and dry). Let cool the pans on a wire rack for 10 minutes – then remove to wire racks to cool completely.

Changes that I made to the original recipe: I used a mix of wholewheat, graham and unbleached flour. I thought that the graham flour would give it a nuttier flavor. I used ¾ persimmon purée and ¼ pumpkin purée – both created in my kitchen.


Best served topped by whipped cream, with a steaming mug of Hot Chocolate (also topped by whipped cream - the balm to all the season's stresses.)


We are so blessed and amazed to have so many of you listen to us. Thanks and we appreciate every download! We only keep going because you keep listening! Thanks to our Podkin for their support!

Speaking of Podkin... Pick a Pack of Pickled Pagan Podcasts - We listen to a lot of podcasts - we compare days of stored podcasts on our computers - and wonder how many days of podcasts YOU have to listen to? What do you listen FOR in a podcast? What makes you subscribe - or unsubscribe to a podcast? What is important? What matters? Should it be edited or "live and raw"? Does sound quality matter? Music - how much is the right amount? We want to "review" a couple podcasts each episode, to introduce our listeners to other great Pagan Podcasts out there - so please go and explore these three podcasts that are our "regular listens" -

• The Wigglian Way - Mojo and Sparrow are the Elders of the Pagan Podcast community - not that theirs is the oldest podcast, necessarily, but their generosity of spirit, their support and encouragement to their Podkin (that's us) to go out and try to do it.
• Druidcast - Damh the Bard (Dave, for you non-Gaelic speakers) from the Order of Bards Ovates and Druids - an amazingly intelligent show that has great music (and occasional music themed show).
• Moonshine - Tegan has the best theme music of any podcast (though Susan has a soft spot for Druidcast's "The Hills They Are Hollow" - but that is a proper song, not a "theme" per se). A great podcast with a great perspective and some "southern spice".
  

Sacred Poetry this episode is from Andrew Harvey, and is called "Song for the Divine Mother.

Alex leads a discussion about "Triumph of the Moon" by Prof. Ronald Hutton - the book that our circle as been studying for the past year (or more). (new people always welcome to join the book study, by the way - if you are in the Wpg area, email us for information). This winds its way about how media has influenced our "visioning" of Craft images and then winds its way back to the book and how Wicca is a syncretic religion, whether we like it or not.

We recommend listening to Episode Four of Druidcast to hear Prof. Hutton deliver a lecture on the Horned God - hearing his speaking style and being able to enjoy his sense of wit and humor really open up "getting" Prof. Hutton's writing style. It "is" an academic text (and is printed in 6pt type) but what some people "read" as dry-ness is really a cutting sense of wit and "edge" that does not translate well to the printed page. There are several of Prof. Hutton's lectures on various Druidcast episodes - and all are well worth the listen - as is Druidcast in its own right. We also mention Prof. Hutton's "stirring and uplifting" rendition of Crowley's "Hymn to Pan" from Episode Four.


Cliff won Nano this year so his blogging has been a bit "tardy" but we are very proud of him for writing 50,000 words in 3 days! We discuss how to put the sacred back into the season. What does it mean to Pagans to put the "Sacred" back into this holiday season? What do you do? Let us know!


There will be a small token of congratulations to the first person who can correctly identify by name the newly started blog by Jacinthe. (disclaimer: members of The Magical Earth, their immediate families, and anyone that Jacinthe has personally told, are not eligible to win the prize. so there.)

We close with our own holiday wishes, and a poem submitted to us by a listener, Craig - thank you for sharing with us, and our listeners... Hope you had a "Cool Yule" and spent it exactly the way you wanted to!

Yuletide is Here

Flame ye the old Yule log, with scythe cut mistletoe
Spiral oak and ivy, holly hung head to toe

The hooves of Herne strike the crag, early in the morn
The Boar is slain for the roast, to rejoice the Sun reborn

Wassailing in our hearts and hearth to a healthy, happy home
Children gather stockings awaiting the jolly Gnome

To fill with sweets and treats delight as in the days of yore
As Fathers told the tales of old and ancient Yuletide lore

Mother sits by the fire sipping a hot mulled wine
Remembering a Winter long since past and a lad so handsome and fine.

Who kissed her once, under the sprig when she was ere a lass
As snow did blow the cold wind fro and icicles glittered like glass

So make merry ye folk who toil with yoke, come gather under the tree
and to all of ye young and old behold a bright warm Blessed Be!

(c)CraigWicce Yule 2008

Episode 3 - Blessed Yule

Welcome to episode 3 of the Magical Earth.

the show notes will be posted December 23rd sorry for the delay.

Episode Two - We Do It Again!

The Magical Earth Episode 2 - We are on the Air

Greetings, Fellow Travellers,

Thanks to everyone who gave our first episode a listen - we really appreciate it! Welcome back for the second episode of The Magical Earth. Excuse the sonic clutter - there's a bit more background noise than we'd like - we're still learning how to do this gracefully. We recorded this on John Lennon's birthday (Imagine!), and this edition of The Magical Earth is brought to you by The Strength Card.

Once again, the magickal music of Patrick Bernard takes into our Ritual Greeting and we're ambling along the path of conversation. Thanks to Mojo & Sparrow of the Wigglian Way podcast for the encouragment. Be sure to vote for them in the 2008 Podcast Awards - they are the only Pagan Podcast nominated! Show the Podkin some love - vote early and vote often!

We also a shout out to the Pagan Parents on the Edge as a valued community resource for any pagan with kids in their life. (That would be just about everyone).

A vibrant discussion about the deeper meanings in The Greeting ensues, which includes a mention of Don Miguel Ruiz's Four Agreements and then we get into a discussion about The Strength Card.

Cliff talks about his preparations for NanoWriMo - his work for 2008 will be inspired by three years of his "Questions of the Week" on the Communitas Paganus list. You are invited to join the group and jump into the discussions. We'd love to have you join us. We also have a Communitas Paganus group on Facebook.


The Magical Earth also has a Facebook Page - come on over if you are on Facebook!

Next, we are pleased to present the second part of our interview with "The Small Medium at Large" - Rev. Vicki Eaton, Spiritualist, Teacher and friend of our community. If you haven't listened to Part One- please give it a listen as Part Two jumps right in from where we left off in the first half. She talks quite extensively about how to raise a child that sees the invisible world. A great fit for any Pagan Parents on the Edge!

This segment's Sacred Poetry is from an anonymous Akkadian Poet from 2000 BCE who gave us "They are Seven" - a testament to the powers of darkness, and a great fit for the time of year as we head into Sacred Season of Samhain. Could these 7 Powers be the precursor of what became known as "7 Deadly Sins?" This poem inspired a Cantata by Sergei Prokovief. You can find this poem in this World Poetry anthology.

We didn't want to do a Samhain themed show - but this time of year is definitely "Media Find-A-Witch Season" for pagan elders in almost every community. Our discussion about the dialogue between the media and the pagan community may sound familiar to anyone who gets that annual phone call from someone who needs to talk to a Witch before Oct. 31st. Cliff references our current bookstudy book - Professor Ronald Hutton's Triumph of the Moon, and a past book study title "The Historical Mary - revealing the Pagan Identity of the Virgin Mother" by Michael Jordan (no not THAT Michael Jordan).

It isn't too early to start thinking about what you / we want to do for Earth Hour! And check out another great pagan blog - "Confessions of a Pagan Soccer Mom".

We conclude with Alex reading one of our collective favourite pieces - "She Returns: The Hallowe'en Witch."

And that wraps up this stroll along the byways of The Magical Earth. Please let us know what you think - what you like - what you'd like to hear. You can post comments here on the blog page, or via email at themagicalearth@gmail.com. Thank you for giving us the gift of your time and attention. We hope you'll come back for Episode Three - which will be out around Yule.

Until then - be well, stay warm... and

Walk Softly.