In Sumer is Icumen In we discover new and exciting ways of surviving (and enjoying) the truly pagan excesses of the Midsummer Festival. Here we can establish and instigate a new smorgasbord of traditions of our own for the purpose of celebration and observance and, in time, even though we must never lose sight of our authentic history, they may even be integrated into future pagan revels.

In the good old days, the harvest festivals began in August (Lunasa - ‘beginning of harvest’) followed by September (Meán Fómhair) and October (Deireadh Fómhair) - translated as ‘middle of harvest’ and ‘end of harvest’ respectively. Harvest was one of the most sacred times of the pagan year and the Harvest Home or ‘in-gathering’ was a community observance at the end of the harvest to celebrate and give thanks for the bounty. Celebrating the harvest is still the holiest time of the Craft year and Lammas celebrates the coming of harvest-tide with its decoration of corn sheaves, fancy loaves, berries and fruits - all leading up to the Autumnal Equinox (or Michaelmas) that marked its zenith with the eating of the traditional goose and the raucous festivities of the community harvest suppers and country fairs.

Candlemas/Imbolc is the re-awakening of the Old Lass within Old Craft belief and also coincides with the Roman Candelaria and Fornicalia - a spring corn festival celebrated in honour of Fornax, goddess of ovens, and observed by each ward of the city. All this merging of primitive origins and rites, belonging to the European pre-urban agricultural culture, meant that it also commemorated the search for Persephone by her mother and the festival of candles symbolizing the return of the Light. So it continued to be performed until the Christian era, when it was transformed into Candalmas in AD494. In pre-Christian times, Imbolc observance began the night before 1st February, and celebrants prepared for a visit from Brigid into their homes by crafting an effigy of the goddess from bundles of oats and rushes. The clothed effigy was placed in a basket overnight, and the day was celebrated by burning lamps and lighting bonfires in tribute to her. Traditions from both the pagan celebration and the Christian observance of St. Brigid's Day can be found in the modern Imbolc festivities - while celebrants sometimes make a Brigid's Cross out of reeds, as well as a Brigid corn doll or effigy.

Every month is full of magic, each day has its own energy, and the seasons rotate as part of the cycles of nature. Pagan Portals - Rounding the Wheel of the Year looks at ways to honour each month with folkloric customs, herb and plant lore, traditional crafts, spells, visualisations, and pagan rites that go beyond the eight festivals of Imbolc, Spring Equinox, Beltane, Summer Solstice, Lammas, Autumn Equinox, Samhain, and Winter Solstice. The wheel of the year turns smoothly, it doesn't bump over eight cogs, and that's the meaning of the title of this book. Inside these pages you will find the history behind some much-loved folklore and modern pagan customs, as well as practical suggestions for ways to celebrate the turning of the year.

Ishtar and Ereshkigal are the daughters of the Moon God Sin and sisters of the Sun God Shamash and members of a family of deities called the Anunnaki who arrived from the heavens to the earth many thousands of years ago. Ishtar, as Inanna, was the original goddess of love and the forerunner to all of the fertility goddesses that followed. Ereshkigal was the original ruler of the underworld and the goddess of death. As the queens of heaven and the underworld, Ishtar and Ereshkigal represent the opposing forces that allow life, death and rebirth to occur in the world.

'A valuable tool on how to develop a relationship with the Goddess of Rainbows, Iris. With historic sources, how to work the colors of the rainbow, and how to create rituals in her mighty name, this book will open your eyes and soul to this Messenger of the Gods.' Jennifer Teixeira - Author of Pagan Portals: Temple of the Bones; Rituals to the Goddess Hekate Iris, the Goddess of the Rainbow, is an often-overlooked goddess in Greek mythology. As a messenger, she offers us the words and wisdom of the gods, traveling between worlds to tell us what we need to know. In Pagan Portals - Iris Goddess of the Rainbow and Messenger of the Godds, we will explore the mysterious Iris, following the colors of her magick to inspire our lives.

Pagan Portals - The Inner-City Path: A Simple Pagan Guide to Well-Being and Awareness was inspired by Chet Raymo’s book of similar title that chronicled his own daily urban walk to work and his observing the seasonal changes with a scientist’s curiosity. The Inner-City Path is written from a pagan perspective, for those times when we take to our local urban paths as part of our daily fitness regime or dog walk. It is based on several urban walks that have merged together over the years to make up a book of the seasons and offers a glimpse into the pagan mind-set that can find mystery under every leaf and rock along the way. A simple guide to achieving a sense of well-being and awareness.