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Halo Quin

~ Author, storyteller, witch

Tag Archives: Devotional

Book Review: Sekhmet

11 Tuesday Jan 2022

Posted by Haloquin in Magic, review

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Author, Bard, Bardic, beauty, book, Book Review, Devotional, Egyptian, Fire Magic, Goddess, gods, learning, Magic, Neopagan, New book, Pagan, pagan theology, paganism, review, Sekhmet, Solstice, Summer Solstice, sunshine, Thealogy, Theology

I’ve long known of Sekhmet, that lion-headed, powerful Goddess of healing and rage, but I have never really known much about her. Olivia Church’s book has definitely changed that.

A pile of books on top of a laptop, "Pagan Portals: Sekhmet" on top, with a small black cat statuette, and a red and gold background.
Yes, I know that’s Bast.

Heavy with the weight of history, Church’s slim book clearly arose from a deep academic understanding of the sources and research surrounding the vengeful Lady of Flame and Pestilence, but the depth of direct experience also shines through. This is not a dry, dusty, text. Although it is dense the language is graced with rich and poetic illumination, and a bright passion for both the Goddess and her culture.

I now know much more than I expected to find out about this ancient Egyptian power, and would certainly use this as a reference book, and for inspiration if I ever choose to work with this multifaceted deity.

Despite the concise nature of the Pagan Portals books, Church has succeeded in including a both breadth and depth of information, and has in no way diminished the Eye of Ra, Sekhmet herself.

The short version: beautifully written, research heavy, introduction to a multifaceted Goddess, crafted with obviously personal, passionate, devotion.

Pagan Portals – Sekhmet, by Olivia Church (Moon Books, 2022)

Quin's Books - Bookshop banner - gold writing on red background, trying to look fancy.
Find this and other magical books, including mine, at Quin’s Books. (affiliate link)

Remembering – Faery Vision

09 Sunday Dec 2012

Posted by Haloquin in Art Craft and Beauty, Enchanted, Faery

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Art Craft and Beauty, Devotional, Faery, inspirations, Magic, process, Stories

(Originally posted April 2009)

On the Spring Equinox I walked up to the edge of the woods near my home town and sat on the moss there.

In this liminal space I sang to the Fey, left offerings and asked the Faery Queen to open my senses to the Faery World.

“How,” I asked her, “how can I open to the Faery World, open to beauty and joy and the heart of things, myself?”

And I had the image of the little bottle from Alice in Wonderland with a label saying ‘Drink Me.’

Words followed the image;
“Open, drink the world in, breathe deep and let yourself see.”

And so I did.

The Journey

Map-Making Step 1 – Prepare the Page

14 Wednesday Nov 2012

Posted by Haloquin in Enchanted, Faery

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

Beginnings, challenge, Commitment, Devotional, Enchantress, Faery, Faery Queen, Feyhearted path, Heart, Intent, Map, Strangeness of Life

For the past few years I’ve been picking my way down a dimly lit path through the forest, following a song just barely heard but so insistent it cannot be ignored.

Long time readers here have seen me return and return again to my attempts at drawing out the map of where I’ve been, where I need to go. I share because, in part, I discover and explore this path through writing and in part I feel compelled to share what I’ve found in case others find it helpful… and the few voices that have replied to tell me that seeing my sharings reassures them that they are not alone have reassured me in turn.

I wrote The Faery Heart as a guidebook to uncovering one’s Fae self, the magic of your heart. Pixie Kisses came from a project for enchanting your own life. Both start with the self and the home.

Now it is time to move outwards.

The seeds I’ve been planting in my own life, in the soil prepared by the work of self-discovery and making space for enchantment, are growing and I know of no better way to nurture, strengthen and develop the seedlings than to write and paint through the journey.

So here I go again. Sharing pieces of my work with you all here.

***

The new moon is breaking through the darkness. The ground is laid. The next stage of training the Enchantress must begin!

I have begun where I am.
(Where are you in your life?)

I have explored who I am.
(Who are you? What roles do you play? Who do you wish to be?)

I have made space for magic, for Faery, for Enchantment in my life.
(How can you make space in your life for enchantment?)

Each of these are continual steps, a never-ending process of self-discovery, of making space and of choosing the path again and again from where I am right now and I have reached a point where the foundation is strong enough for me to explore the landscape and share some of the map I am drawing. Not everything is shareable because some magics are a mystery and no two paths are the same but I can shine a light on the page and, perhaps, it will illuminate the road-name you have been searching for too.

May the map of a world enchanted help you to find your path to Faery and Home again!

Religious Art, Spiritual Art

28 Saturday Apr 2012

Posted by Haloquin in All Posts, Art Craft and Beauty, Creative Process, Magic, Philosophy

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Art, creativity, Devotional, musings, prayer, process

Perhaps painting is a prayer.

A prayer as a conversation with the divine… sometimes one-sided, sometimes where understanding flows thick and tangible between those present.

Once released into the world it becomes an invocation… invoking into those that view it the feelings found by the artist in dialogue with the divine.

A blessing or a curse.

Through what do you pray?

And what do you invoke into the world?

The Forest, The Dark Mother and Elephant snot (part 3)

17 Saturday Dec 2011

Posted by Haloquin in Following Delight, Magic, Reflections

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Tags

Devotional, Faery, Goddess, Imperfection, Living Life, Magic, musings, Religion, Skande Vale, Strangeness of Life, Unexpected

Valli the Temple Elephant

An elephant's trunk is rough like stone... and its blessing is sticky!

A three-part story of a pilgrimage to The Community of the Many Names of God – Skanda Vale, part 3. Find part 1 here and part 2 here.

It was dark, night had fallen and I thought that Valli the elephant would be asleep for the night.

J, N, P and I walked past the door to Valli’s home, and P told us the story of how she gives blessings for treats as one of the Monks darted past us with a bag of carrots… and opened the door to her home.

“Would you like a Blessing?” He asked us.

I was in awe. She was huge and beautiful and had such presence. How could we say no?

She brushed my hair with her trunk and held it out for the carrot.

“Now that wasn’t a very good blessing Valli,” said the man, “try again”.

She placed the end of her trunk on my head… and SNORTED!

Ew! Covered in Elephant snot!

Queue peals of giggles and wiping with tissues. Valli got her carrot and I had a definite blessing! No-one else got snotted, so I feel honoured, if dubiously.

As we entered the forest to return downhill the sense of the land Spirit/s returned and, again, I was filled with Bliss. I wished the lights were off so we could walk through the forest in the darkness and feel Them more strongly. N turned to ask me how I was doing and, before I could tell them my wish, the lights blinked out leaving the path lit by the Full Moon’s light! Divine!

The curry, made from the food donated to the Temple and blessed in the Puja’s by the Gods, was heavenly too. Very, very spicy. As P says; ‘Religion is delicious.’

Its a fascinating place, Skanda Vale. Multifaith but primarily Hindu in form. Is it right to go and attend the Puja’s if the god-forms are not the ones you connect with most strongly? Is it cultural tourism to go to somewhere like this and participate when we don’t worship Kali at home? Is it ok that I see Her as a form of the Dark mother, who I do worship, and that I enter the Pujas with respect while seeing Kali as part of a larger form? I’m both a hard Polytheist and a believer that all is one. The faces of the Dark mother are an interface for her AND each Dark Mother Goddess is a being in her own right. She may not claim me, but I respect Kali and participating in her Puja’s move me, touch me, effect me in ways I appreciate.

As long as we enter into these relationships with respect and honour, following the rules of the Temple and the Gods and we hold a space in our hearts for these beings, then is it wrong?

Skanda Vale is a special place, deliberately open as a multi-faith space. Believing that all gods are, ultimately, the faces of The Divine. Protecting life where they can, offering connection to those that come with right-mind. In such a place as this to enter with respect and love – Perfect Love and Perfect Trust – is right, even when the Hindu Gods may not be your primary pantheon.

 

The Forest, The Dark Mother and Elephant snot (part 2)

14 Wednesday Dec 2011

Posted by Haloquin in Following Delight, Magic, Reflections

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Tags

Devotional, Goddess, Imperfection, Living Life, Magic, musings, process, Religion, Skande Vale, Unexpected

Mother Kali

The Dark Mother is present and adored.

A three-part story of a pilgrimage to The Community of the Many Names of God – Skanda Vale, part 2. Part 1 lives here.

We were refused entry. Two of us, J and N, had not observed the obligatory vegetarianism and so knew they’d be watching from the terrace of the temple. But P and I had. As a full moon Puja it was more full than usual and so, there was no room for us!

Things will be as they will be.

The terrace is seperated from the main Temple room only by double doors and a wall with windows. A screen shows Kali throughout the Puja. The doors are open and the terrace is still part of the Temple.

I got as far as the door, the last female at the gates, and was told no.

Interesting.

As we sat and sang and rocked and prayed I let my ego roll the wound around my mind – Rejection! Rejection! it shouted. I waited until it calmed down and breathed through the disappointment. So close…

And then we came to a place where we could share in the place we were, my Ego and I.

Things will be as they will be.

Perhaps it was just as well – I had space to breathe, to move and avoid the pain of siting still for nearly 3 hours. I had space to breathe, to take in what I was able to and not be overwhelmed by the echoes of the burn-out from the pilgrimage I’d made there last. I had space to breathe, and to remember the place I find myself in many rituals – always on the edge.

At the last of Her Pujas I sat in the doorway.

Many many rituals I have ended up on the edge of the circle, holding the space, walking the boundary.

In my chosen career I walk the edges of acceptability – Philosophy does not look kindly upon Faeries.

In my religious traditions I tend to have to find my own way – neither dark nor light but both and neither.

On the edge.

I laughed and cried and sang and rocked and prayed. I smiled at the children who ran round the terrace. I searched for the words in the prayer book to try to understand. I made an offering of my pain and my singing to Her and I asked for her to destroy those blocks that no longer serve me. Those blocks that hold me back. Gladly, like the whirling scythe at harvest time, I felt her dance through me. I gave them to her. We’ll see if I try to claw them back again!

Shivering from the cold kiss of winter I entered the warm temple-room in the space allowed for the pilgrims to present themselves to Kali. I washed myself in her flame, knelt to her and accepted the blessings of sacred ash and colour and food that washed the body of the Goddess.

Time passed faster in the terrace than it had passed for me in the Temple room last time I was there.

Dealing with the disappointment and the cold and the strange experience of finding myself on the edge again was a good thing.

What will be, will be.

I really did not expect what happened when we left the Temple to join the other pilgrims in eating blessed curry…

The Forest, The Dark Mother and Elephant snot (part 1)

11 Sunday Dec 2011

Posted by Haloquin in Following Delight, Magic, Reflections

≈ 3 Comments

Tags

Devotional, Faery, Forest, Goddess, gratitude, Honesty, Living Life, Magic, Religion, Skande Vale

Skanda Vale Forest

The land is alive around us...

A three-part story of a pilgrimage to The Community of the Many Names of God – Skanda Vale.

Four of us walked through the darkening forest, a reddening full moon rising over the horizon as raindrops dripped upon our brows.

The trees were full of magic, the Spirit and spirits of the land – I could feel them around us, moving swiftly, watching.

I last stood on this land after an early morning Puja to Her, several years past. I’d stayed at Skanda Vale for two days with a friend and we’d been to every Puja each day. I was burnt out. The lack of sleep, the intensity of devotion-devotion-devotion in a language I did not really understand, the immense amounts of vegetarian curry (very tasty but not my normal diet!). We’d planned to stay a further day. I left that morning and said, even then, that I’d love to go back to visit the land if only I didn’t have to go to the Pujas too.

Last night, as I walked through that forest, I remembered why I fell in love with the land there.

Somewhere so alive my skin tingled and my heart overflowed with joy.

The twilight filtered through the trees and lit the way. I felt blessed to be able to feel the life that flowed through that place, recognising that the work I’ve been doing to open my awareness is not without success. I once thought myself as psychically sensitive as a brick, unable to sense the magic in the world around me. Now I step onto devoted land and almost fall over. Take heart, the things you long for can be developed over time.

I grinned the whole walk up through that beautiful, haunting forest and wondered what the Dark Mother, in the Dark time of the year, under a Dark Full Moon would share with us at the Temple that evening.

Skanda Vale’s site is here… and parts 2 and 3 of the story will be posted soon…

Facing Fears

06 Tuesday Sep 2011

Posted by Haloquin in Following Delight

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

challenge, Determination, Devotional, Facing fears, gratitude, Imperfection, Living Life, Magic, Music, Singing

Today I opened Pandora’s box and sang on stage.

Pandora's Box by JW Waterhouse

When we look in the dark corner of our minds we find spells woven by ourselves and the people around us - our friends are the ones who help us break the spells that hold us back and weave new webs of wonder. Open the box and face it with friends.

Not only did I sing on stage – I pushed for the chance to do so.

I was terrified.

And afterwards… people were supportive. No one laughed at me (though I think I made a few people giggle at my antics), the world didn’t end (though it might have crumbled a little round the edges) and I feel proud of myself.

The reason I could do this when my self-belief was shattered long ago by people I trusted? Dear friends who have helped me rebuild my confidence. And one particular person who faced her own, rather similar demon with me.

When we face demons together, we can conquer them.

When we spend time with people who put us down, the demons grow, even where there weren’t any before.

The people we spend time with are important.

Who in your life binds you with your fears? Who builds your demons up because of their own? And who stands by you, helping you to break the spells that hold you back?

Who in your life helps you to enchant your world for the better?

We enchant ourselves and each other with our words, its up to us to choose which enchantments we’ll accept in our lives, and which we will break.

I will be singing to an audience again… with gratitude to the people in recent years who have helped me break the chains that bound my wings.

Who stands by your side and helps you fly? They’re your true friends, know them well.

Pearl Pentacle – Wisdom

11 Monday Apr 2011

Posted by Haloquin in All Posts, Magic, Pentacles

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

Art Craft and Beauty, challenge, choice, Devotional, Heart, inspirations, Iron Pentacle, Journey, Living Life, Magic, musings, Pearl Pentacle, Suggestions, Tools

Pearl Pentacle - Wisdom

Wisdom

When we are free, what will we do?

When we stand in our passion, what will we choose?

With all the choices of the world before us, to what do we say yes, and no?

 

 

A deep understanding of the flow of our feelings, our passions, our emotions and our loves, leads us to something precious… Wisdom.

 

There is a time for yes, and a time for no.

A time to dance, and a time to sleep.

A time to reach out, and a time to curl up small.

 

These moments, these choices, are not dictated by the outside world or by our intellect; they are the choices of our hearts.

 

Are you living the life that feels right to you?

Are you making the choices that are true to your heart as well as your thoughts and words?

Are you saying yes when you choose to, and no when you need to?

What would life look like if the answer to these questions was ‘Yes!’?

 

I am passionate about many things, things that feed my heart and soul, things that flash a grin upon my face and draw me out to dance in the sunshine with joy. And sometimes I say no to them, through fear, or the life I’ve crafted which isn’t quite right, or some other choice I make that isn’t in tune with my heart but makes sense elsewise… but when I say yes, my world is set alight, my heart blazes and I fly.

 

What makes you fly?

What do you need to do to craft your life into something that allows you the space you need to light up your world?

When do you need to say yes, and when, no?

 

This is the sixth post of seven on the Pearl Pentacle, part of my Pentacles series, which started with the Iron Pentacle. I’ll be posting on the points of the Pearl Pentacle for the next few Magical Mondays.

Magical Groundwork – Earth Below

06 Wednesday Apr 2011

Posted by Haloquin in All Posts, Magic

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

Beginnings, Commitment, Devotional, Energy, Faery, Grounding, Heart, Honesty, Magic, Meditation, musings, reasons, Strangeness of Life, Suggestions, Tools, Visualisation, World Tree

Being pagan and loving the earth, its worth making sure you’re connected to it before any kind of magical act… as embodied beings we are made of earth, we walk upon her, we eat what grows on her, and we will one day be buried in her.

Being human, its worth making sure you’re connected to the earth!

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Meet Halo

Snow Pixie

Welcome to my world!

Halo Quin is an author, a storyteller, and a practicing witch with a lifelong relationship with the spirit realm (faeries, deities, and the primal powers of land, sea, and sky, specifically) who aims to share magic through experience. Halo lives in wild West Wales, right by the roiling sea, and loves to sing, dance, and otherwise enchant through performance. She also runs the local storytelling circle, and an ADHD resource centre, and ultimately encourages self-knowledge, self-acceptance, self-healing, and self-enchantment through everything she does... leading to:

Beauty ~ Magic ~ Delight

Re-enchanting the world, one story, one song, one spell, at a time.

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I'd love to hear from you! Email me at haloquin@gmail.com Or find me on Twitter!www.twitter.com/haloquin

Recent Posts

  • Imbolc Inspiration
  • OUT NOW! Crimson Craft – sexual magic for the solo witch
  • Happy 2023! (and where I was in 2022)
  • The end of a chapter
  • Book Review: Sekhmet
  • Book Review: Intuitive Magical Practice
  • Book Review: The Bird Atlas
  • An Ode to Books
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NSFW – Twisted

And for the over 18s… My alter-ego, Ms Quin, writes erotica, kinky poetry, on sacred sexuality and the like. You can explore some of Her writings and poetry readings, and find her sexy book of poetry via links at Twisted Ms Quin.

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