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Making massage candles is very similar to making any other type of potted candle  I recommend using soy wax as it is soooo gentle on the skin . Soy wax is also nice and soft; it melts easily and stays together in a puddle after melting and can be reused for us thrifty crafters. If you have an allergy to soy (and it won't irritate your skin unless you have a soy allergy,) you can use beeswax instead which is very widely used. (For example, it is in nearly every single Burt’s Bees product.)  It is the addition of the oils that prevents it from hardening again and also enables your skin to absorb it. Essential oils or cosmetic-grade fragrance oils are also added to create a soothing atmosphere. All soap-making fragrances that are also soy candle safe are perfect choices for scenting your massage candles. Try the basic directions below to make your first candle. For every three ounces of wax, you'll add one ounce of liquid oil, and one-quarter ounce of fragrance. I suggest making two candles in 4-ounce metal tins while you master this craft.

New item available at Arkansas Crystal Works!

I am proud to announce a new item that has been a couple of years in the making. Handcrafted, lighted crystal display boxes! The boxes have been ready to go and I have been diligently trying to get them photographed and described.

I am finally ready!

Light a fire at sundown (and better it be if you light it in the old way: flint and steel or, best of all, wood on wood). Keep it burning all night.

Stay up all night. (If you sleep at Midsummer, you'll be sleepy for the rest of the year.)

Go to the highest point in your area. Sing the Sun down. Sing the Sun back up again in the morning.

Build a bonfire.

Deck the house with boughs of green leaves.

Have a picnic.

Eat the sacred foods of the season: fresh greens, radishes, strawberries, rhubarb, fresh cheeses, stuffed eggs, new potatoes, asparagus, cherries.

Pachamama entreats us to
restore her clean waters,
allow the singing of the birds
to bring peace to her skies,
renew cosmic harmonies
on our sacred land.

excerpt © Marcia Starck 2012

Here in the northern hemisphere, we're coming up to Summer Solstice, the height of the Sun's power over the yearly solar cycle, a time to celebrate the Minoan Sun goddess Therasia and the solar year-king Dionysus. In the Mediterranean, where the ancient Minoans lived on the island of Crete, this was (and still is) an incredibly hot, dry time of year - the Sun's power is overwhelming.

As modern Pagans, we have multiple options for what to focus on and how to celebrate this special point in the year. Most of us probably don't have the resources to put on a huge Midsummer mystery play the way the ancient Minoans probably did at their big temples. But we can celebrate with modern-style ritual that focuses on the Minoan deities who are associated with this time of year.

Back when our youngest coven kid was first learning to talk, the two of us went over to the park one day to watch the rehearsal for the big May Day ceremony. As the costumed performers came in one by one, we played Name the Animal.

“Who's that?” I ask.

“Bear,” he says.

“Who's that?” I ask.

“Wolf,” he says.

“Who's that?” I ask.

“God,” he says.

It was Deer.

A question asked in my group, the Asatru Facebook Forum: Which gods are the actual gods and which ones were just made up over the years?

My answer: