#mhara starling

[godzilla-reads]

I will be carving a pumpkin tonight, though I’d like to try my hand at carving a turnip one day.

Iykyk

[jasper-book-stash]

I hate to say this, but Welsh Witchcraft by Mhara Starling is a 10/10 book on my scale. How? Well shit, just by being good. The few parts I found where I deducted a point don't really impact the quality of the book in the long run. So if you're looking for insight into another person's craft, pick up Welsh Witchcraft: A Guide to the Spirits, Lore, and Magic of Wales by Mhara Starling.

[jasper-pagan-witch]

You are a unique, powerful, and artistic soul; your magical practise should not lack any of your artistic expression.

-Mhara Starling, page 148 of Welsh Witchcraft: A Guide to the Spirits, Lore, and Magic of Wales

[the-witch-of-cedar-and-bone]

Currently at the top of my witchy reading list: 'Welsh Witchcraft: A guide to the Spirits, Lore, and Magic of Wales' by Mhara Starling and 'Queering Your Craft: Witchcraft from the Margins' by Cassandra Snow.

Though I have listened to the audiobook version of 'Welsh Witchcraft' already, I wanted a physical copy to support Mhara and to more easily follow the exercises (rereading lines is easier than fiddling with Spotify imo).

[hedgewitchgarden]

[transcript:

Twitter post by Mhara Starling @MharaStarling Trans people, and people who transcend the binary notions of gender have, across many cultures, and faiths in history been associated with magic, witchcraft and a closeness to the divine. And that is exactly why I cannot for the life of me understand transphobic witches.]

[witchcraftandmayhem]

Sometimes, we get caught up in trying to mimic other practices and rituals. Following spells exactly as shown or instructed and buying all the same tools our mentors use. While that's all helpful, we forget that it's our own personal craft. We need to make our own thing.

Writing poetic spells, using plants and items we are familiar with, and creating our own spells and rituals from things that have personal meaning. That's what may advance your craft to feeling more impactful

There are so many ways of doing this. using the weeds you used to pick as a child, using spices and herbs your grandmother used a lot, writing your own rhymes into spells and chants. It's surprising what small things can make such a huge difference.

When I first started out, I studied so many different things and paths. But one thing really connected with me, and that was welsh folklore. Something I learned from another witch, Mhara Starling, through her videos and her book was rather than only using spells and rituals I learned from someone else I could make my own.

So, using folklore and superstitions passed down from my family and from Wales, I started making my craft my own.

Of course, I will still use spells taught to me by other witches and even use some for inspiration. But having a few things that are my own has made my craft feel special and personal.

[angiethewitch]

Sorry to bother you, is this a real Welsh thing that exists ?

not bothering me at all! so, while I don't know if that exact thing happened, I do trust Mhara Starling because she is very good at putting out accurate information on welsh folklore.

however, fun bit of history for you! you know the stereotype of the celtic tribes, specifically welsh, running into battle naked and screaming and covered in blue paint? that wasn't our traditional way of warfare. we were actually very efficient at war, it is theorised we actually created the longbow! caesers account of first coming to Britain was seeing celtic tribes in chariots lining up along the cliffs in war gear and war formation, it actually scared them because they knew they had no chance fighting us on the beaches, which is why they abandoned that plan and went a different way.

we were also incredibly good at psychological warfare. the druids tricked the roman invaders into participating in a mass human sacrifice and that absolutely terrified the roman army. you have a highly trained roman army that understand traditional war tactics, so what did we do? we did what scared them. we got naked and ran onto the fields in an ambush screaming. it wigged the romans out so much they were afraid of us. we took on the savage stereotype and used it to our advantage. the welsh were incredibly good at ambush warfare, we would surround camps and pick the men off one by one, all while looking like blue demons and screaming nonsense. we were unpredictable and wild and that frightened the roman army.

so while I don't know if that exact scenario happened, going off historical context, I can definitely see a female welsh warrior dropping to her knees, taking her top off and yelling just to freak the enemy out.

[honoringthor]

🍃Gwyn Ap Nudd🍂 (Go-WIN app Neath)

Welsh 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿

Gwyn son of Nudd

King of the fairies, Arthurian knight, a leader of a wild hunt, maybe, fallen soldiers, hunting. He’s a deity of liminal spaces, death, the otherworldly, water, psychopomp, and woodlands. He’s invoked by soothsayers and to evert the evil eye. 🧿 He’s also called on before going into the woods while carrying iron and and fire. in some stories he holds in him the demons of Annwn so they don’t destroy the world. As he’s described in Culwch and Olwen.

Gwyn loves/lusts after Creiddyylad (Krey-THULL-add) who may also be his unnamed queen. He fights over her against Gwythyr ap Greidol (Gwee-THERE app Gray-doll) This is part of the story of Culwch and Olwen.

He may be riding a white or black horse and/or white dogs, the Cŵn Annwn(Coon ANN-oon) his servants may be wearing red and blue.

Animals associated with Gwyn are ravens, horses, screech owls and dogs 🐦‍⬛

Colored associated with him are white⚪️ red🔴 blue🔵 grays🩶 gold💛

Modern depictions of often show him with antlers

Some say Gwyn and Arawn may be the same

What do you associate with Gwyn ap Nudd?

Source.

Starling, Mhara. Welsh Fairies. Llewelyn Publications 2024

[paganposting]

hey, i was wondering if you had any specific resources/books (mostly books) to recommend for people looking to practice paganism?

sorry for answering so late, paganism as a whole is out of my wheelhouse but irish paganism specifically

Morgan Daimler did several mini books with the Pagan Portals series that are all pretty good. Specifically i love Gods and Goddesses of Ireland as a quick easy reference for the deities- who they are, how they relate to eachother, what stories theyre in, associations list, this book has it all in nice little page long entries. Also she has one just called Irish Paganism which is a pretty good starting place for beginners!

Harp, Club, and Cauldron from Eel and Otter Press is the best book about the Dagda in existence. Genuinely- start here to understand this deity, skip everything else, just read this book. Excellent work, no notes.

Through the Mist by Morgan Daimler is the author's translation of several stories written in old irish. i generally trust her translations above those of like Lady Gregory for example for accuracy's sake. Lady Gregory and some other contributors to irish mythology have great and interesting work thats super important to know, but Daimler does very little/ no embellishing and essentially just translates the texts.

Ogam Weaving Word Wisdom by Erynn Rowan Laurie is the best book to read about ogham imo. its not perfect and she does a lot of her own theorizing to explain letters, but its super grounded in the lore and has the most accurate stuff in one place ive ever found!

not irish but Welsh Witchcraft by Mhara Starling is pretty good for understanding some general concepts of celtic isles philosophy and magic, has some good spells and ritual suggestions, with a heavy emphasis on solitary practice. super helpful and interesting stuff!

[alchemy-fic]

My book wishlist!

Egyptian Magic by E.A. Wallis Budge (1901)

Magic of the Ordinary: Recovering the Shamanic in Judaism by Gershon Winkler, David Carson (2003)

Ashkenazi Herbalism: Rediscovering the Herbal Traditions of Eastern European Jews by Deatra Cohen, Adam Siegel (2021)

Jewish Magic and Superstition: A Study in Folk Religion by Joshua Trachtenberg (1939)

Ancient Jewish Magic: A History by Gideon Bohak (2008)

The Encyclopedia of Jewish Myth, Magic & Mysticism: Second Edition by Geoffrey W. Dennis (2007)

The Green Mysteries: An Occult Herbarium by Daniel A Schulke, Benjamin A Vierling (2023)

Reading Sumerian Poetry (Athlone Publications in Egyptology & Ancient Near Eastern Studies) by Jeremy Black (2001)

The Literature of Ancient Sumer by Jeremy Black, Graham Cunningham (2006)

Handbook to Life in Ancient Mesopotamia by Stephen Bertman (2002)

Weavers, Scribes, and Kings: A New History of the Ancient Near East by Amanda H. Podany

Auguste Racinet. The Costume History (Bibliotheca Universalis) by Françoise Tétart-Vittu

The Arthur of the Welsh: The Arthurian Legend in Medieval Welsh Literature by Rachel Bromwich (2009)

The Complete Dead Sea Scrolls in English: Seventh Edition (Penguin Classics) by Geza Vermes

Thomas Aquinas: Selected Writings (Penguin Classics) by Thomas Aquinas, Ralph McInerny

The Treasures of Darkness: A History of Mesopotamian Religion by Thorkild Jacobsen

The Tibetan Book of the Dead: First Complete Translation (Penguin Classics Deluxe Edition) by Graham Coleman, Thupten Jinpa

The Egyptian Book of the Dead (Penguin Classics) by Wallace Budge, John Romer

History Begins at Sumer: Thirty-Nine Firsts in Recorded History by Samuel Noah Kramer (1981)

The Sumerians: Their History, Culture, and Character (Phoenix Books) by Samuel Noah Kramer

Welsh Witchcraft: A Guide to the Spirits, Lore, and Magic of Wales by Mhara Starling

An Annotated Sumerian Dictionary by Mark E. Cohen

A Sumerian Chrestomathy by Konrad Volk

Toward the Image of Tammuz and Other Essays on Mesopotamian History and Culture by Thorkild Jacobsen

Early Mesopotamia by Nicholas Postgate

Amulets and Talismans by E. A. Wallis Budge

Mundane Astrology by Michael Baigent, Campion, Nicholas, Harvey, Charles

[enfyswanders]

Angelsey Island, Wales: July 26-28, 2024

After an initial misadventure getting to my hotel, I had an absolute blast in Angelsey, thanks to my fantastic friend and fellow Llewellyn author Kristoffer Hughes and his darling husband Ian, who coordinated a phenomenal experience.

What happened trying to get to the hotel, you ask? Well, here's the thing. The hotel website said it was "close to Holyhead Station." I checked the map and it said it was .9 miles away. Not too bad. Walkable if necessary, right? But I have heavy luggage and would really rather get a ride, so I planned to get a cab from the station.

Except...Holyhead is an Uber dead zone, as I discovered, with no cabs waiting at the station because it's so small, and the cab company a station employee told me to call had no availability to pick me up when I arrived. So I had to hoof it. And the walk took me about 45 minutes, because though it's .9 miles to drive, walking is a bit more circuitous.

And all that would've been okay, except that I discovered very early in the journey that my 45 pound suitcase wasn't rolling quite right. A quick inspection revealed why:

So, fuck. And another one of the wheels wasn't working well, either.

I tried flipping the suitcase around and dragging it on the better wheels, which was do-able but very awkward. I did eventually make it to the hotel, though, where I checked in, showered, then promptly went back out to walk 15 minutes back the direction I came from to buy another suitcase from a very weird department store that was just a bunch of kiosks in front of a warehouse. Wild.

After that adventure, I was picked up by Kristoffer and Ian, who took me out to dinner at the Sea Shanty Cafe with fellow Llewellyn authors Tiffany Lazic and Jhenah Telyndru and Tiffany's husband George. Both Tiffany and Jhenah were slated to present at the Goddess Conference, where I also presented the following week, so I got some good intel on the conference during dinner. The conversation flowed easily and I had some delicious seafood tagliatelle with steamed vegetables, and lemon crunch ice cream for dessert.

After dinner, Kristoffer and Ian took me to a 5500 year old stone burial mound across the street from my hotel. Neat! (Sorry, I did not get a photo.)

The next day was absolutely bombastic. Kristoffer and Ian picked me up again, and we did a grand tour of various holy ruins around Angelsey Island with fellow authors Mhara Starling, Moss Matthey, Brett Angelsey, and Lyndon and Clint, the hosts of the magickal postcast Shove It Up Your Awen.

The tour began at this unassuming pond across from an Air Force base, which has an interesting history you can read about on the signs below.

Another highlight was this amazing religious site, where the Angelsey Druid Order conducts rituals.

And, as a bonus, we visited Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch, the longest town name in Europe.

Our final site visited was this life-size D&D map village ruin with lots of fun places to explore.

We went to a fish & chip shop for dinner, where I found out they were appropriating Minnesota culture, how DARE.

I came away from the experience grateful for new and deepened friendships with these fine folks, as well as a deep envy of the Angelsey Druid Order for getting to practice their tradition at so many phenomenal ancient holy spaces.

[y-gododdin]

MHARA STARLING IS ONE OF THE SPEAKERS AT THE SCOTTISH PAGAN FEDERATION CONFERENCE IN SEPTEMBER AAAAAH

[jasper-book-stash]

One of the things I love most about reading region-specific books on magic (i.e. H Byron Ballard's works, Brandon Weston's works, and now Mhara Starling's works) is that you can really, truly tell how much the author loves the area they live in.

[jasper-pagan-witch]

"I would argue that it is difficult to find a Witch who does not have a deep spiritual connection to our bountiful Mother Earth."

-Welsh Witchcraft, page 85

I am literally right here, Mhara. Hi, hello, Wizard/Witch who does not have a deep spiritual connection to Mother Earth or a deity that can fall under that category.

[b1odeuwed]

how do you pronounce your username?

hiya! so my username is the name of a character (blodeuwedd or blodeuedd, spellings vary) from y mabinogi which is a body of welsh medieval literature so, it’s pronounced using the welsh alphabet and it’s sounds.

here’s a great video demonstrating how to pronounce her name (at 5:43) by mhara starling, who is a really awesome author and has made many videos explaining Welsh myth and lore: https://youtu.be/YkzkoF8KRwg?si=oilTkN3QDLVCt8Aw

[hedgewitchgarden]

Mabon and the Autumn Equinox!

mhara_starling - tiktok Mhara Starling