Yesterday was an absolutely perfect Vermont winter day, with fresh sticky snow and lots of sunshine, perfect for building snow sculptures, roasting hotdogs over a fire, and gathering with friends safely. It was a true blessing as you cannot ask or truly even predict whether you will get such conditions, which means your gatherings either need to be spontaneous or willing to work with what you get. As my apprentices are many we must rely on our ability to be flexible and wor

It has been a personal tradition of mine for the last twenty years to do my deep house cleaning during the weeks between Thanksgiving and the beginning of December. I live in a cozy little cottage and I like stuff, which means it's important for me to purge my space yearly. I sometimes wonder where I get all the stuff I accumulate but recognize it's because I'm a crow. ,I treat this experience of winter cleaning as a ritualistic event, in which I am recognizing the bounty o

We lost power last night around 6pm. I love the quiet that comes with a snow-storm, particularly when the power goes out. My house was built by living-off-the-land Hippies, so we are perfectly ok if the power goes out. Start the woodstove, light some candles, put the kettle on for coffee/tea, listen to audible books and get cozy. Only yesterday was different, with the power out, I was greatly aware of the outside, I could feel the Moon and the Storm calling me, whispering

The Holidays are over and many of us are feeling the heaviness of too much; too much food, too much drink, too much shopping, & too much peopling. We have partied, and hob-knobbed to the best of our capability and we simply feel spent. Not only are we tired, but so our homes and offices. It's the perfect time for some spiritual housekeeping... That's exactly what some of us Witches @ the Grindstone did! We had been feeling a heaviness in our space since around the time of

Winter is a time of darkness and deep introspection; the long nights inviting us to look at what needs mending. In ancient times; when we lived closely with the land, people sat around the fire on the long nights fixing equipment, and darning clothing, which left their mind free to examine their personal problems. While most of us no longer work according to the rhythms of the seasons, we are still hard-wired to slow down and look deep within while the land around us sleeps