PAGAN PRIDE! The Witches are Back!

Ohh, it's Witches Pride in Fredericksburg this weekend! Idol Hands and Darkflower are hitting the road to vend in what is now a two-day event...and apparently there's a ball on Saturday night? I'll be sleeping through the dance...we have to get on the road for Saturday at 5 a.m.! Will you be in the Fredericksburg area this weekend? Here's more info: https://www.facebook.com/vawitchespride/

I'll be in the main building as soon as you walk in by the door! Come say hi if you are around!

OTHER NEWS.....

EPISODE 4 is now out! Jennifer Taylor and I will be putting out new episodes every Friday. We've been so excited about the response we've gotten...we can't thank you enough. Find it on your favorite platform or here: https://mysticalmusings.buzzsprout.com

Blue Ball Inn Paranormal Update!

We've hit artifacts from the 1700s, and I couldn't be more thrilled! And...there's an event at the Inn on September 28-29th! There will be vendors at a park right near the Inn (I'll be vending and teaching hand-broom making classes there to benefit the Inn on Saturday...sign up here: https://www.tavabaird.com/event-details/blue-ball-inn-benefit-at-paracon-introduction-to-appalachian-broom-tying) and there will be tours of the house and a nighttime paranormal investigation! Tickets for the investigation are here: https://bbi1747.com/

And from personal experience...this place is hella haunted, folks.

BOOK UPDATES:

Spooky Season is bouncing me all over from market to market and class to class...and I am already thinking of winter when several new books should be released, many of which are in their final editing stages!

Later this Fall will be The Angel and the Blackbird, the sequel to The Ballad of Birdie MacLeod. This is the prequel series to The Spiral Pathways and has lots of crossover characters. Medusa makes her series debut in this book....as does Lilith!

The Book of Samael: Dreams will also come out this winter. It is further conversations with Samael (the first book, The Book of Samael: Conversations, was released earlier this year, and is running neck-in-neck with Wyldwood as my best-selling book.) It is the book I thought I would never write: channeled conversations with a Seraphim. A Seraphim that often has a very, very unique world view (and may have recently expressed his interest in Lenny Kravitz's music among everything else.)

The Book of High Places: The Spiral Pathways Book Six. Alex and Saorsa are back....and so is Fia Grace Elliot. There are new players on the field now, and Alex and Saorsa must decide where their allegiances lie. Angels, Daemons, and Elementals are coming out of the woodwork in a tangled game of politics, war, and magick. Can Saorsa protect those she loves as they are forced to make choices that will determine the future of the known worlds?

If I don't see you in Fredericksburg this weekend, look for me at the Bluemont Fair in Bluemont, Virginia the following weekend...I'll have an author booth there!

Hope all of you are having a safe and happy September as we rocket towards Samhain!

A Reiki Master and a Witch Walk Into a Room....NEW PODCAST for Your Drive Home!

Or oh, what the heck, it's Friday afternoon before a long weekend. Put on your headphones and listen at work!

SURPRISE! There's a new podcast for your drive home today...the first three episodes have already arrived on your favorite podcast platform!

What would it be like to sit in on a conversation between a Reiki Master and a veteran Witch where they discuss healing, magick, history, empowerment, spirit guides, doubt, the afterlife, and more? Join hosts Jennifer Taylor and Tava Baird for a personal look at their unique spiritual journeys as you navigate your own path forward. Each episode contains an inspired invocation and closing blessing in song from Jennifer and often also has channeled words from Tava's spirit guide, Samael.

Listen now HERE: https://mysticalmusings.buzzsprout.com

And get in touch with your hosts here:

Jennifer Taylor: https://www.willowridgereiki.com/

Tava Baird: https://www.tavabaird.com/

Hope to see you at the SILVER MOON EMPORIUM in Manassas at the Salisbury Center on Sunday! Darkflower Books and Folk Art will be there with new prints and poppets!

Cover art for The Angel and the Blackbird - the sequel to The Ballad of Birdie MacLeod, coming your way this fall!

FUN FALL EVENTS for you APPALACHIAN WITCHES!

It's here! It's here! The end of summer and the beginning of SPOOKY SEASON! And there's stuff happening in Winchester, Frederick, Glen Burnie, Fredericksburg, Manassas, and MORE!

Hello friends! Can you feel it in the air? The heat is starting to fade, the spiders are weaving like mad, and the Wheel of the Year turns. That's right, it's nearly SPOOKY SEASON!

Darkflower Books and Folk Art is busy, busy busy at this end of summer-time. The dig at the Blue Ball Inn is humming along as we try to get as many artifacts out of the ground before the ground freezes in a few months. We've found out first artifacts from the 1700s and more are appearing all the time! And....hoo boy, are there a lot of classes and events on the schedule. Just look here at the end of August and beginning of September!

CLASSES:

KICK OFF YOUR SPOOKY SEASON RIGHT with new friends, fun, and a return to our roots! Take a class or workshop in your area with local author, artist, archaeologist and witchcraft mentor Tava Baird! Broom-tying, scrying, Appalachian quilting inside a haunted house, and more!

PLEASE KEEP IN MIND, PRE-REGISTRATION is REQUIRED and closes before the event! To register, please visit https://www.tavabaird.com/classes 

THIS WEEKEND: Introduction to Appalachian Crazy Quilts: Piecework and Embroidery! Blue Ball Inn Benefit Class! August 18, 10-12, CLEAR BROOK, VA outside of WINCHESTER on Sunday

Make a unique little lavender dream pillow using crazy quilt and embroidery techniques with a mountain theme. Dive into our stash of cloth, ribbons, buttons and yarn to express yourself just as our Appalachian grandmothers did! Proceeds benefit the restoration of the haunted Blue Ball Inn. Class is $60 and is held inside the Inn and if you come, you can bring a friend for FREE! All materials are included in the cost.

Bind Your own Book of Shadows August 18, 6-8:30 PM, WINCHESTER, VA at Raven Conjure on Sunday

Learn to hand-bind your own leather soft-cover Book of Shadows or journal with a beaded spine. A fantastic introduction to the art of bookbinding! Leave with a one-of-a kind journal and the skills you need to make more books! Cost is $75 and includes all materials.

Poppets and Healing Dolls for the Spiritual Journey August 24, 11-2:30, MANASSAS, VA next Saturday

Design and create a healing poppet or Reiki distance healing doll to help manifest your intentions and be a companion on your spiritual path! Cost is $65 which includes all materials. Class is $65 and includes all materials.

Introduction to Traditional Broom-Tying Sunday, August 25, 1-3 pm at Abija Blue in WINCHESTER, VA

Join us and launch your journey into traditional broom-making! In this class you will learn to tie two 14” handle-less hearth brooms and learn all the techniques you will need to move into besom and cobweb brooms in the future. Class fee of $55 includes all materials.

KITCHEN DIVINATION: TEA LEAVES and SCRYING JARS Saturday, August 31, 2:30-4:30 pm at Moon Phased in WINCHESTER VA

Scrying and tea leaf reading are ancient arts that have been practiced worldwide…but how do you actually do it? In this adventurous class with your guide Tava Baird you will gain experience in reading tea leaves for yourself and others, and talk about many forms of scrying and how to ask the right questions. You’ll make a scrying jar to use and take home with you after for your fall divination needs! $55 includes all materials.

And then...there's MARKETS!

THIS SATURDAY: Metaphysical Market in Glen Burnie, MD

Link for info: https://www.tavabaird.com/event-details/metaphysical-market-glen-burnie-md

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 1: SILVER MOON EMPORIOUM in Manassas, VA

Link for info: https://www.tavabaird.com/event-details/silver-moon-emporium-metaphysical-market

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 8 in Frederick, MD: MARYLAND PSYCHIC FAIR

Link for info: https://www.tavabaird.com/event-details/maryland-psychic-fair

and then...TWO DAY EVENT: WITCHES and PAGAN PRIDE in Fredericksburg, VA on September 13 and 14!! This is a big one, folks! 75 vendors! https://www.tavabaird.com/event-details/2nd-annual-witchs-pride-market-fredericksburg-2-day-event

Come and visit me at these markets if you are out and about...I'd love to see you and say hi! As you wrap up your summers and head into fall, I hope your days are filled with peace, hope, and lovely witchy things to make and do. I appreciate all of you in the community and can't wait to celebrate the changing of the seasons with you!