When we understand how powerful witchcraft and spellwork can be, we know that there is as much potentiality for causing harm as there is for healing.I don’t believe that ethics in this area (or any, really) are black and white or something that can be written in a post and passed right along to you. I think ethics are both nuanced and personal. So in this blog, I’ll be sharing a bit of my own thoughts about spellwork and witchcraft ethics, and offering some different areas of reflection for your own spellwork and witchcraft ethics.

Mabon, also known as the fall equinox, is the holiday on the Wheel of the Year that descends us into autumn. On this day, as with both equinoxes, light and dark find balance — we hover, suspended, at an even keel before tipping into more darkness.When we fear darkness, this descent may feel scary. But intentionally working with the seasons and the Wheel of the Year can teach us the inherent goodness in every season, and the necessity of each point in the year.

Lammas, or Lughnasadh, is one of the four cross-quarter days on the Celtic Wheel of the Year. This holiday, celebrated by ancient European pagans, marks the beginning of the harvest season. The name Lughnasadh comes from “Lunasa,” which means August in Gaelic. Lammas is the English word for this harvest festival, which is Anglo-Saxon for “loaf mass.” I tend to use both names, as I have both Irish and English ancestry.

Beltane is a cross-quarter holiday on the Wheel of the Year that honors the return of summer, the return of the fertility of the Earth, and the element of fire. It’s a nature-based holiday that many of our ancestors celebrated for a long time, and now we get to carry that tradition forward. Like Samhain, Beltane is a time when the veil is thin. This holiday is a particularly beautiful time to connect with nature spirits, as well as any other beings you’re wanting to create a connection with. At Beltane, we honor the goddess as part of us. We honor the body, pleasure, sensuality, and sexuality. We bask in the fiery energy of the sun and the fertile energy that’s present. In this blog, I'm sharing three rituals and suggested tools for Beltane that you can work with to honor this sacred holiday.

The spring equinox, also called Ostara, takes place around March 20th each year. This sabbat marks the day when dark and light are in equal balance. After Ostara, we have more light each day and less darkness as we build up to the peak of the sun at the summer solstice. These rituals are great to perform anytime between the Ostara and Beltane.

Imbolc is a sabbat on the Wheel of the Year that happens on February 1st.At Imbolc, the Earth is beginning to wake up and we celebrate the approaching return of spring. We are through the hardest and darkest part of the winter, and we begin to prepare ourselves to direct our energy outwards again in the lighter part of the year to come.The word Imbolc means “in the belly” - offering us the promise of hope, renewal, of the awakening of the Earth again. Imbolc is also deeply associated with the Celtic triple goddess Brigid and her sacred flame. Brigid was one of the most powerful and most loved goddesses in Ireland, and she is the goddess of healing, poetry, and smithcraft. She is associated with the hearth, fire, the home, and water. At Imbolc, as the Earth reawakens, Brigid is said to be in her maiden aspect. In this blog post, I’ll be sharing some ways to align yourself with the sacred energy of Imbolc. Keep scrolling to read them!

Samhain, the sacred festival of the dead, occurs on October 31st and the 1st of November. It marks the beginning of winter and the season of the crone. This holiday reconnects us to the cycle of death and rebirth.It is believed that the veil between the spirit world and our world is thin during Samhain, making it easier to communicate with spirits. That’s why it is the best time to honor the wisdom of your ancestors during this time.This meditation and breathwork will take you within, to honor the wisdom you possess inside and the wisdom from those whom you come from.

Around Samhain and Halloween is the most magical and powerful time to bless and cleanse your house. So, if you haven’t performed a house cleansing and blessing ceremony, now is the time to do it! If you’ve stumbled upon this blog during another month, don’t worry, you can still perform a purposeful house blessing and cleansing any time of the year. Just be sure to perform another one at the end of October for Samhain.