Capricorn, The Goat December 22 to January 20 Modality: Cardinal Element: Earth Ruler: Saturn Keywords: Ambitious, resourceful, disciplined, creative, materialistic As a Capricorn you are sensible and practical, but your ruling planet of Saturn can make you a bit overly cautious at times. Efficient, organized, and ambitious, you can at times be intolerant of those who may not measure up to your high standards. You are decisive in most situations, thanks to your cardinal sign. You are defined by your ambition and desire to make your mark on the world, even if this may not happen until much later in your life. Capricorns often have fast-paced home lives with frequent visitors,

The Yule card (aka XIII, Death) from the Book of Shadows, volume 1: As Above Tarot

As we come to the end of the year, I'd like all who practice magick of any kind, but especially those who do group rites, to consider a simple question: Are you doing ritual… or ritual theater? There is nothing wrong with either. There is nothing inherently "better" doing one rather than the other. I think there's great value in both. But there are major differences between ritual and ritual theater. Ritual, if done well, is magick Ritual theater, if done well, is magickal Ritual, if done well, can help you achieve your magickal goals Ritual theater, if done well, can remind you of your past and/or provide catharsis for the present Ritual, if done well,  is designed to change

Readers, please enjoy this guest blog post by Lupa, author of New Paths to Animal Totems. This is a quick guide for working with “found” animal parts—naturally shed fur and feathers from pets, farm animals, or wild critters; bones discovered in the woods; and so forth. It’ll work with other animal parts, too, but found ones are relatively low-impact, don’t cost anything, and are relatively easy to find. First, make sure what you have is legal; for example, in the U.S. it’s illegal to possess the feathers of almost every wild bird. You can check laws at my Animal Parts Laws page; contact your local game authority if you have questions on how to interpret the laws. Next,