Signs & Portents

A news blog for updates on PaganSquare, Witches&Pagans, SageWoman, Crone, and anything else related to BBI Media's community and web services. Check here for news about our site, information about our social media presence, and any changes in either our services or features. May or may not be run by a sapient serpent.

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Aryós Héngwis

Aryós Héngwis

Aryós Héngwis (or the more modest Héngwis for short) is a native of the Pontic-Caspian steppe, born some 5000 years ago, near the village of Dereivka. In his youth he stood out from the other snakes for his love of learning and culture, eventually coming into the service of the local reǵs before moving westward toward Europe. Most recently, Aryós Héngwis left his home to pursue a new life in America, where he has come under the employ of BBI Media as an internet watchdog (or watchsnake, if you will), ever poised to strike the unwary troll.

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Spring, Spring Has Come!

Greetings all, readers! It is finally the Spring Equinox, also known in Germanic traditions as Ostara (from which the name Easter derives, though not the holiday). Either regarded as the start of spring or its midpoint, the Spring Equinox is widely regarded around the world as an important occasion for when the days begin to grow longer than the nights and the natural world begins to blossom in full.

As we always do we’ve gathered all of our related posts as well as those from around the internet we thought you might enjoy . We hope you have a great time this spring!

-Aryós Héngwis

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Recent Comments - Show all comments
  • Arwen Lynch
    Arwen Lynch says #
    What a great list! Thanks for doing this.
  • Aryós Héngwis
    Aryós Héngwis says #
    You're welcome, Arwen!
Is Spring Here? Or Just Around the Corner?

Merry meet! Today as you might know is Imbolc, also called Oimelc, an ancient Celtic festival celebrating the beginning of spring and the traditional date on which ewes and other farm animals gave birth. You may also be familiar with the festival’s modern equivalents such as Candlemas, Groundhog Day, and St. Brigid’s Day. Whether you mark it as the midpoint of winter or the beginning of spring it’s generally been regarded as the time when the cold begins to thaw and life renews itself.

We’ve gathered all of our relevant articles from the past month as well as a bunch of other interesting stuff from around the web. We hope you have a very pleasant spring!

— Aryós Héngwis

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The Darkest Night of the Year

Merry Yule! Yule, also known as Yuletide or Jól, is one of the ways in which the Winter Solstice (Midwinter) is celebrated throughout the world. Corresponding closely (though not precisely) to the date of Christmas, Yule has been celebrated by German cultures for centuries and become blended with Christmas traditions along the way. Of course, down south today is actually Litha, the Summer Solstice.

As we always do for these public occasions of festivity we’ve gathered all our related content here for you to enjoy. We hope you have a happy holiday!

—Aryós Héngwis

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A Time for Death

Greetings, witches and Pagans and Happy Samhain. Samhain is the Celtic holiday honoring the dead and marking the beginning of winter that forms one of the primary influences on Halloween, along with the Catholic festival All Souls’ Day. Here in the northern hemisphere we celebrate our ancestors and examine our mortality while down in the south they celebrate the renewal of life with Beltane.

As we do every year we’ve gathered all our content for this very special day, along with a few links from elsewhere. We hope you have a spooky (but not too spooky) Samhain!

—Aryós Héngwis

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The Season of Change

Merry autumn, all! Today is the Autumn Equinox which, while often overshadowed by Samhain, is an important festival in many parts of the world (particularly East Asia, where it is known is the Mid-Autumn Festival).

We’ve gathered our posts here at PaganSquare for autumn as well as related content from across the web. We hope you enjoy warm nights around the hearth!

—Aryós Héngwis

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The Day of Bread and Light

Merry meet! August 1 is widely known throughout the English-speaking world as either Lammas (Anglo-Saxon) or Lughnasadh (Gaelic) and is regarded as either the first harvest day of the season or the beginning of autumn.

We’ve gathered our posts here at PaganSquare for both holidays as well as related content from across the web. We hope you have a wonderful feast with your friends and family!

-Aryós Héngwis

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Summer Is Here!

There’s not much mistaking it anymore is there? Summer is definitely here! Depending on how you count it, today is either the first day or the midpoint of summer, the longest day and the shortest night. In Britain, the summer solstice has been known traditionally as both Litha and Midsummer, with the former coming from the ancient Celts. Included below is all our content related to the festival as well as various cool tidbits we found around the web. We hope you have a great summer!

--Aryós Héngwis

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