The Sacred Pleasure Temple

In this episode, I'm deep diving into what astrology is, how to read your own birth chart, and why your birth chart can help you in all areas of your life. We're talking about the planets and luminaries, the twelve signs of the zodiac, the twelve houses, and how they can combine in infinite ways to reflect who you are as a person.

Learning about my own moon sign many years ago, and then the rest of my chart, has quite literally changed my life. It's given me so much more self-awareness and understanding of and compassion for my tendencies, triggers, and needs. I hope it can do the same for you!

Astrology Certification: https://witchoflupinehollow.com/certification/

S1 E6: How to learn astrology, the sabbats, and the moon phases right now – the easy way: https://witchoflupinehollow.com/2020/03/10/ep-6-how-to-learn-astrology-the-sabbats-and-the-moon-phases-right-now-the-easy-way/

In this episode, I'm joined by Rae Diamond, who is a mentor, teacher, and artist, who works with the creative intelligence of nature through Qigong, meditation, energy medicine, and creative work. Their book, The Cantigee Oracle, accompanies an oracle deck painted by Laura Zuspan, which we discussed at length.

Rae and I had a fascinating conversation about finding connection to ourselves and to nature through creativity, movement, and stillness. We discussed how the book and the deck came to be, how they can help you pursue healing and resonance with nature, and much more.

Connect with Rae

Website: www.rae13diamond.com, www.raediamond.com

Instagram: @rae13diamond

Twitter: @rae13diamond

In this episode, we are talking all about the meaning of Imbolc, the Irish festival of the goddess Brighid and the harbinger of spring! This is perhaps one of the most overlooked festivals in the Wheel of the Year, but I love its quiet subtlety.

Imbolc is associated with the agricultural instances of the first lambs and ewe's milk in the late winter and very early spring, which can be difficult to relate to in our modern, 21st century lives. But this halfway point between the winter solstice and the spring equinox actually calls us to do the last deep inner work of the winter before we move fully into action and intention-setting in the spring, so it serves an important spiritual purpose.

In the northern hemisphere, Imbolc always occurs during Aquarius season. It also occurs within a few weeks of the new moon in Aquarius and full moon in Leo, activating this axis of individuality and the collective. At the opposite end of the year, Lammas occurs during Leo season. In the southern hemisphere, these are reversed, but Imbolc and Lammas always activate this Leo-Aquarius axis.

Listen to learn all about the history, themes and symbolism, and astrology of this festival and how to celebrate Imbolc.

Free Resources on Imbolc:

10 Free and Low Cost Ways to Celebrate Imbolc

Imbolc Essential Oil Diffuser Blend

Imbolc Ritual Bath of Inner Light

Click here to register for the free on-demand masterclass on working with the moon phases in your real, daily life!

Wheel of the Year Episodes:

The Ultimate Guide to the Spring Equinox

The Ultimate Guide to Beltane

The Ultimate Guide to the Summer Solstice

The Ultimate Guide to Lammas

The Ultimate Guide to the Autumn Equinox

The Ultimate Guide to Samhain

The Ultimate Guide to the Winter Solstice

In this episode, we are talking all about the meaning of the winter solstice, also known as Yule! This is the Norse and Germanic pagan precursor to our modern Christmas. The winter solstice is the shortest day and longest night of the year, when the sun is at its lowest point in the sky. This is the darkest part of the year, a time considered sacred by cultures all over the world from Europe to South America to Africa.

Many secular Christmas traditions are actually pagan in origin, such as decorating trees and evergreen garlands, drying orange slices, cooking with spices, hanging up lights and singing songs. All of these festivities have a common theme of bringing light to the darkness - metaphorically or literally.

In the northern hemisphere, the winter solstice always occurs when the sun reaches 0 degrees of Capricorn. It also occurs within a few weeks of the new moon in Capricorn and full moon in Cancer, activating this axis of structure and support. At the opposite end of the year, the summer solstice occurs at the start of Cancer season in June. In the southern hemisphere, these are reversed, but the solstices always activate this Cancer-Capricorn axis.

Listen to learn all about the history, themes and symbolism, and astrology of this festival and how to celebrate the winter solstice.

Free Resources on Yule:

6 Simple and Meaningful Ways to Add More Light to Your Yule Season

Grandma's Yuletide Gingerbread Cookies

How to Maintain Your Spiritual Practice During the Busy Holiday Season

Click here to register for the free on-demand masterclass on working with the moon phases in your real, daily life!

Wheel of the Year Episodes:

The Ultimate Guide to the Spring Equinox

The Ultimate Guide to Beltane

The Ultimate Guide to the Summer Solstice

The Ultimate Guide to Lammas

The Ultimate Guide to the Autumn Equinox

The Ultimate Guide to Samhain

The Ultimate Guide to Imbolc (coming soon!)

In this episode, I'm joined by Leah Kent, who is a writer, book coach, and book designer. She helps radiant, creative visionaries bring their books and sacred body of work to life. From idea to finished book, she supports heart-centered experts and entrepreneurs to write and self-publish nonfiction books that clarify their message, establish their thought-leadership, and expand their impact and visibility.

In this episode, I'm joined by Vicky Gourlay (they/she), who is a non binary queer Priestess and worker of Aphrodite, no bullshit astrologer, disabled and lazy witch and all round Gemini/Sagittarius icon. Through the lens of pleasure centered witchcraft, they help support their students disrupt norms and craft a witchcraft practice that feels like a FUCK YES!

This episode is an excerpt from our 3rd annual Empowered Modern Witches Summit in 2022, an annual online gathering of witches to celebrate the most magickal time of the year. This was a panel discussion between Tenae and several current members of the Starlight Coven, sharing their experiences of bringing magick into their daily lives and truly embodying their most magickal selves.

In this discussion, we talked about bringing magick into your mundane activities and responsibilities, how to have a morning ritual that actually works for you, the many different ways that a magickal life can look and feel, how astrology and the seasons have helped each of these amazing witches embrace themselves more fully, and much more.

The panelists in this discussion have vastly different backgrounds, lives, and perspectives to share, which made this such a special conversation. Lara is an Ayurvedic coach and yoga teacher in Georgia with a Capricorn Sun, Leo Moon and Scorpio Rising. Jade is a wedding, portrait, and boudoir photographer in Oregon with a Scorpio Sun, Virgo Moon, and Sagittarius Rising. Grecia is a chemical engineer in Texas with a Virgo Sun, Scorpio Moon, and Scorpio Rising.

Connect with the panelists on Instagram:

Lara Spell-Worsham: @intentionallara

Jade Hincks: @invokeboudoir

Grecia Williamson: @g.m_williamson

We also talked about the Starlight Coven and how being a part of this seasonal sacred circle has helped each of these witches understand their astrological charts more deeply, accept and love themselves, to practice shadow work and heal witch wounds, and much more.

Click here to join us in the Starlight Coven and start living YOUR most magickal life today: https://lupinehollow.krtra.com/t/W0P5Ue1iEta4

In this episode, we are talking all about the meaning of Samhain, the ancient Celtic precursor to our modern Halloween, and a favorite festival of many witches!

Samhain is the most magickal day of the year, when the veil between worlds is said to be at its thinnest. That means that the barrier between our physical, human world and the spirit realm becomes very thin - so thin that spirits and the dead can pass into our world to walk among us. That includes deceased loved ones and mischievous or evil spirits alike, so it is common both to honor our ancestors with altars and to do protection spells at this time of year.

Many of your favorite Halloween decorations are actually pagan Samhain symbols, including jack o'lanterns. The ancient Celts carved faces into root vegetables to protect their homes on Samhain; when colonizers came to North America, they discovered that pumpkins worked even better for this purpose.

In the northern hemisphere, Samhain always takes place during Scorpio season. It also occurs within a few weeks of the new moon in Scorpio and the full moon in Taurus, activating this axis of life and death, of pleasure and darkness. At the opposite end of the year, Beltane occurs during Taurus season. In the southern hemisphere, these are reversed, but Samhain and Beltane always activate this Taurus-Scorpio axis.

In 2022, this axis is even more potently activated, as the new and full moons near Samhain will also be eclipses.

Persephone, the goddess of vegetation and Queen of the Underworld from Greek mythology, is also often honored at Samhain, as this is the time of year when she is said to descend into the underworld to be with her husband. It's traditional to eat six pomegranate seeds in honor of Persephone's six months in the underworld.  Click here to listen to my ultimate guide to Beltane episode, where I talk more about Persephone.

Listen to learn all about the history, themes and symbolism, and astrology of this festival and how to celebrate Samhain.

Free Resources on Samhain:

6 Crystals for Samhain or Halloween

An Easy Ancestor Summoning Spell

Pomegranate Beauty Ritual

Click here to take the free "What Kind of Witch Are You?" quiz and discover your inner witch this Samhain season.

Wondering how to pronounce Samhain? This Scottish Gaelic festival can be a tricky word, especially for English speakers in the United States! Samhain is actually pronounced "sow-in" - now you know!

I'm joined in this episode by Lara Spell-Worsham! Lara is an Intuitive Life Coach, Shadow Witch, Yoga & Meditation teacher and Women's Circle leader focused on empowering women to find meaning and magick by nurturing their mind, body and spirit.

She is also a member of the Lunar Mysteries Collective, my radically new kind of mastermind for spiritual business owners.

Lara and I are talking all about how you can change your mind, body and spirit practices and rituals with the seasons. Altering your rituals and practices with the seasons can help reinvigorate and inspire your magick and help them better support your overall wellbeing.

Lara shares her insight on the five elements of ayurveda and tangible ways you can shift your practices from summer into fall and create balance in your life and practice all year long.

Join us for the 3rd annual Empowered Modern Witches Summit, happening September 19-23, 2022. Get your free ticket or grab an All-Access pass and get lifetime access to the summit replays and over $1,000 in bonuses! Click here to get your free ticket!

Connect with Lara

Website: www.intentionallivingwithlara.com

Instagram: www.instagram.com/intentionallara

I'm joined in this episode by Mandi Em, the author of Witchcraft Therapy and Happy Witch. Mandi is a humorist, author, and chaotic wellness witch and she shares funny, approachable self-help guidance on her blog and social channels for Healing for Hot Messes and resources for nonreligious witches over at The Secular Witch.

Mandi and I always have the best conversations whenever we collaborate and this episode is no exception! We're talking all about archetypes and how to work with them in your spiritual practice.

Archetypes are essentially characters that we can step into the shoes of to help us transform and show up in the ways we desire, such as more confidently or more lovingly or more intuitively. We talk about working with archetypes in tarot and oracle cards, in astrology, and through practices like bath magic and visualization.

Mandi will also be one of our speakers for the 3rd annual Empowered Modern Witches Summit, happening September 19-23, 2022. Click here to get your free ticket or grab an All-Access pass and get lifetime access to the summit replays and over $1,000 in bonuses - including two free months in Mandi's Hot Mess Coven!

Connect with Mandi

Website: www.healingforhotmesses.com

Instagram: www.instagram.com/healingforhotmesses