The online home for Lisa McSherry, author and priestess
In classic sociology, small groups follow a consistent pattern of forming-storming-norming-performing and finally, adjourning [1] and most, if not all, magickal groups fall into this pattern as well. For the group leader, trying to navigate your group through the storms can feel like standing in the middle of a field in a lightning storm—shocking, dangerous, […]
In the first part of this article, I talked about the first two of three steps I feel are necessary to build a long-lasting and health magickal group, defining the group’s purpose and creating connections among group members. This essay continues that with what I see as the third vital aspect: creating a group mind, […]
As a co-founder of JaguarMoon, a coven I helped manifest in May 2000, I’ve witnessed its evolution through various stages. It hasn’t always been a smooth journey, and there were moments when I questioned its longevity. Yet, here we stand, stronger than ever, as we embark on our 25th year together. You feel an urge, […]
(This piece has had a strange history. I first wrote it on spec in 2008 for a book that accepted it, but accidentally forgot to print it. It was then picked up and printed in the Summer ’08 issue of PanGaia magazine, which has since gone out of business. Weirdly, perhaps ironically, it is the […]
For many of us, Hans Christian Anderson’s The Little Mermaid was our introduction to this fascinating and compelling myth, but stories of mermaids have appeared in every culture. Her form has been the chosen subject of diverse artists like Munch, Waterhouse, Beardsley, Pyle, Rubens and Bosch. Shakespeare mentioned mermaids and sirens repeatedly in his work, […]
Last year I had the pleasure of visiting Ireland, land of my ancestors. While there, I specifically visited a number of sacred places, looking to immerse myself in the land’s rich history of spirituality. The one I was most looking forward to visiting was Brigid’s Well outside Kildare.
. . . Take your trash — ehem, sorry, I meant *offerings* — with you instead of leaving them at special sites.
We’re in the middle of Mercury Retrograde right now, and I — as always — am feeling it in a Big Way.
Let me start off by being very clear that I don’t think the pranks played on April Fool’s Day are very funny. By and large, they are mean and rude. And this year we’re all going to start the month on rocky footing as Mercury begins its retrograde dance on the 1st. Ignore that first […]
I grew up in a house full of altars. My nominally Catholic mother would probably dispute my calling them that, but every flat surface in the house had a grouping of objects that were special. Candles in unusual holders sat next to the flowering violets and small portraits of family members in the hall. Pottery […]