Strega Nona Entertaining: Conjuring Creative Fun

From recipes to rituals, I will kindly divine the perfect celebration for you!

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Colleen DuVall

Colleen DuVall

Colleen DuVall has written articles, plays, short films, and a novel. Most recently, her work has been featured in her new blog, Off The Beaten Path for the Shepherd Express online (http://shepherdexpress.com/blogs-1-1-1-61.html), and the Wisconsin Life radio show for WPR. She recently adopted a little grey and white cat named Tessa, after beloved 22-year-old Bootise passed on.

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Savoring the Summer Solstice

Summer is nearly officially here and all around us, the flowers, trees, birds, fireflies, and elements are bursting with life. If you stop and close your eyes, you can practically feel it pulsating. This is the time to savor all these sensual pleasures in abundance and revel in all that nature's bounty has to offer! Since the Solstice falls on Father's Day this year, you may choose to combine your festivities. However you celebrate the Solstice, being outside as much as possible seems to be the order of the day.

A Magickal Market

Speaking of being outside, were you aware that Houston boasts a magical, witchy outdoor marketplace? They do! The Thorn & Moon Magickal Market, headed by Jessica Anderson, runs the first Saturday of every month downtown at the White Oak Music Hall and Raven Tower from 6 - 11 p.m. Jessica is this month's "Women Who Howl at the Moon" podcast guest, so be sure to tune in and hear her describe all the sights and sounds in glorious detail. Everything from themed vendors to Goth Yoga is available for you to try. They often wrap up with some apropos entertainment, such as the Bewitched Burlesque troupe performing a show. Amanda Marie Parker from Bewitched Burlesque was our April podcast guest.

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Feeling the Rhythm of May

I Fell in Love With the Djembe

There's nothing quite like the sound or the feel of slapping a djembe for the first time. The smooth, organic touch of the taught drumhead can produce the cleanest, crispiest tones. There's variety too: the higher pitched sounds will snap through the air, while striking the middle with an open palm, fingers curled upward, will reward you with a resonant, booming bass. Shaped like a chalice and used in many a drum circle, djembes can be as small and portable as a mason jar and large enough to require straps and a carrying case if you want to stand and play it to your heart's content. The djembe also has a deeply spiritual and communal history.

I'd always loved the sound of drums, from enjoying a band to anticipating a parade. It was when an old friend of mine in Chicago formed an all-female drumming troupe and they began to host public drum circles that I developed a serious interest in learning to play.

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Every Day is Earth Day

"Every day is Earth Day to a Pagan," quipped our recent podcast guest, Amanda Marie Parker, aka Belle Be Damned. The latter moniker is her burlesque stage name in the Houston-based troupe, Bewitched Burlesque. A creative brainchild of Parker and Jessica Anderson of the Thorn and Moon Magical Market, they are now performing socially safe, in-person shows after launching virtually a year ago* in the wake of the pandemic. Parker also performs in Houston with Strange Bird Immersive, which recently a shout-out from The New York Times. Strange Bird Immersive includes Bradley Winkler, who acts with them and also handles some sound design, PR, and marketing. A longtime actor and friend of mine, Bradley and I met in the Boulevard Theatre community here in Milwaukee. He was the one who had the foresight to introduce Amanda and I for a podcast chat.

 What Can We Do?

Amanda has a point about Earth Day that is easy to forget. We should be mindfully living with reverence for Mother Earth each day with gentle and kind intent. If it weren't for her, we wouldn't be here after all! Whether it's keeping up with our recycling, using non-toxic products in our food purchases and lawn care, carpooling, biking, and hoofing it whenever possible, or making a point to clean up trash in our local waterways and parks, there are so many ways we can help. Make no mistake, it's never too late to make a difference and if enough of us do, it can still make enough of an impact to heal some of what we've wreaked over time. We owe it to the young people in our lives that we cherish, as well as the animals, trees, and all of earth's living creatures dependent on her intricate ecosystem.

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For the Love of Succulents

I’ll be the first to admit it. I’ve never had a green thumb. Not even a green pinky. Now I know that succulents have been quite trendy for a spell, but with good reason. They are incredibly self-sufficient and easy to care for. Their leaves don’t tend to shed or leave little leaflets all over your floor. In fact, their often full, pleasing, rubbery leaves are what retain all the water that you douse them with– often as little as one good soak in the sink a week. Another thing that makes them so fun is they come in a vast array of shapes and sizes: viny, cascading, or growing full and upward like a sturdy little tree. Some flower, aloe and cacti fall into the category, and all seem to have whimsical names.

Choosing and Caring for Your Plants

Most like some sunlight, so you should definitely take that into consideration when looking for the right location for your cheery indoor greenery. Two of my recently acquired succulent plants currently reside in my kitchen. The viny ones do especially well as hanging plants, so kitty can’t get at them to nibble something she shouldn’t. One of the longest lasting indoors succulent that I owned survived three moves over a five-year period was a rope Hoya plant. It almost looked fake, but upon closer inspection, you could feel that these twisty, plump, round leaves were definitely the real deal. I believe it would have even survived longer, had I not accidently toppled it after rewatering one day. My replanting attempts definitely need some work, but that’s a tale for another time. When I visited my neighborhood Stein’s Garden & Home in search of more succulents to brighten up my continued pandemic winter this year, alas they had no ropas. One of the saleswomen referred to it as a “grandma plant” that she hadn’t seen in a while.

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Of Magic and Mardi Gras

Journeying With Tarot

In my second delightful interview with High Priestess, Author, and Activist Phyllis Curott, we dove deeper into her new tarot deck, The Witches' Wisdom Tarot. She shared how she and artist Danielle Barlow journeyed to discover the true meanings of the cards and they developed them together organically. I intimated that I treated myself to the tarot as a gift for the holiday season and have been doing some journeying of my own with them. To be sure, this is no ordinary deck, but a re-envisioned working of the tarot deck concept, with a focus on nature, the Goddess, and an "as above/so below" theme which is much more aligned with the belief system of Witches, Wiccans, and Pagans. Each card is meant to be meditated on—there are lessons to be learned as well as overall themes and takeaways. Additionally, Phyllis has included a bit of magic you can perform incorporating the card into your spellwork. Intriguingly, drawing just one card a day while familiarizing myself with them has been telling the story of what's going on in my life in the here and now. The cards beautifully echo what is in already in the framework and help me focus on next steps for my goals. I can also tune into areas or relationships that might need more of my attention. Listen to one woman's journey with the cards described in detail in our latest "Women Who Howl at the Moon" podcast interview.

 Podcasting and Patreon

Phyllis also had some exciting news in the way of a trilogy of new books she's working on! Speaking of things exciting and new, I'm launching a Patreon page where listeners can lend support for my "Women Who Howl at the Moon" podcast. There are opportunities for giveaways, gift bags, and personally crafted spells for you, so please do check it out. It's also a chance to hear extended versions of the witchy good interviews I'll be conducting–many are so fascinating I'm reluctant to edit them down, so this is a win-win for me, as well! To hear more details, I will have the extended interview with Phyllis available for Patreon patrons.

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The Beauty of Black Cats

Tap Into Your Own Feline Energy Through Black Cat Art

Have you ever marveled at how cats are able to stare at you, unblinking, for extended periods of time? At times they seem to stare at nothing at all yet stay extremely focused in doing so! Other times, they just appear totally Zen in the moment. They are not asleep– but their eyes are closed, a slight smile playing on their furry lips, totally at peace. They sleep, eat, and certainly play when they need to. They are natural born hunters, in touch with their wild sides. The most wild of all domesticated animals, and the most worshipped and revered pets since the times of ancient Egyptians, cats seem to have it all going for them. They know how to communicate to get what they want (sometimes in the form of naughty early morning meowing for their food). They also know how to show affection. Who doesn’t love a friendly head butt combined with loud purring? Let’s face it– cats are cool. Who wouldn’t want to be one?

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Building Your Witchy Community, Even in a Solitary Time

This is the first time in fifteen years that I will not be able to host my beloved annual Winter Solstice Shindig and I must be frank: I’m bummed. However, that does not mean I won’t still enjoy a great meal with my constant companion, light a bunch of candles, meditate, and raise a glass of vino while reveling in my umpteenth viewing of the musical version of “Scrooge,” starring Albert Finney (available for free viewing on YouTube, BTW). Hands down, this version of Dickens’ classic tale of the old miser and his redemption features the best depiction of The Ghost of Christmas Present EVER. He is the living embodiment of the Holly King in my eyes, and man would I want to party with that guy– especially as depicted in the cheery ditty in the film, “I Like Life.” For more notions on a liberal Yuletide spirit, check these out.

Just because we may be feeling more cut off from our loved ones this year or may only be able to have virtual or limited contact with them, doesn’t mean those relationships are lessened, or any less important. As I learned during my conversation with our third “Women Who Howl at the Moon” guest, Anne Newkirk Niven, these bonds are more vital than ever now.

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