Tag Archive | Insights

Pagan’s Path Surpasses 500k Visitors

The Pagan's Path © 2013 Springwolf, D.D., Ph.D. Springwolf Reflections / Springs Haven, LLC. All Rights Reserved.

The Pagan’s Path ©

Party Opportunity

Sometime in the past few months here my original pagan website site “The Pagan’s Path” surpassed 500k Visitors & I didn’t notice. Well I would have Partied!!

PagansPath.com is a free spiritual education site. Offering online information and studies to those on a path of enlightened growth. Whether you’re Pagan, Christian, Jewish, Buddhist, Muslim or traveling on any other spiritual path, learning about other beliefs and ways, will teach you how similar we all really are. And how our differences are nothing to fear.

This information is shared in the hope of opening one’s heart to the blessings of tolerance and acceptance to those who have chosen to walk on the Pagan Path.

PagansPath.com was born from what we called the “SpringIce Network” Established On October 2, 1996 as an original AOL website. Wow that was a long time ago. As AOL evolved so did our intent to share information. And so was my life.

ppath-500kI separated from my first husband, the “Ice” part of SpringIce and moved on. Since he had never participated in our original site, I evolved the name and The Pagan’s Path was born on Ostara 1999.

Tonight I noticed the counter on the site. It’s been a while since I thought about that part of the site. But this evening my son and I were looking at our blogs and comparing visitors.  Which had me thinking about Pagan’s Path. It was both exciting and sort of sad that I hadn’t paid attention to such a milestone number as 500,000 visitors.

I’m celebrating today though, in my own little way. Time really does fly when you’re having fun!

© Springwolfs Hanko

© 2013 Springwolf, D.D., Ph.D. Springwolf Reflections / Springs Haven, LLC. All Rights Reserved.

Be Cautious Of Social Media Connections

Be The Alpha LeaderGuilt By Association

A couple of years ago I read an article about being careful who you “Like” on social media sites if you’re a small business. It’s unfortunate that “guilt by association” is something we must be cautious of in a spiritual community, but sometimes it’s even more important in our world.

We make our way in our spiritual practice or business based on our reputation and through word of mouth. Here our reputation is everything! Few things can damage your reputation as quickly as a link to an unsavory person or their business.

Because of this article, I am very cautious about accepting invitations online. Unless I have time to do some research or already know and trust the person, I don’t accept the connection. Whether it’s on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter or any other social media source. It’s not something I do out of arrogance or disdain. But it is done for purely selfish reason; to ensure my reputation is always within my control.

Today a friend who has a small spiritual candle business in the north-west contacted me asking for prayers because of this very issue. She makes the most amazing scented candles with an emphasis on aroma therapy. She uses her own energy to connect with the Divine in her life as she creates the wax and pours the candles. She includes an incantation as she pours the wax to infuse each candle with a specific energy. It’s truly a special gift and talent. (At this time I’m going to keep her name and her candle business out of this article as she wants this story to be shared, but wants to be anonymous).  Continue reading

Merry Lughnasadh or Imbolg!

Arctic Wolf Fire

“Arctic Wolf Fire”
By Tom-in-Silence

The Summer Fire Festival

Whether its Lughnasadh for Celtic paths or Lammas for Wiccan paths, the summer fire festival is always a fun event to honor the changing seasons!

As with most things on the pagan calendar, different traditions celebrate and recognize seasonal festivals at different times of the year. Here in the northern Hemisphere, Lughnasadh is recognized on August 1st or 2nd.  It’s the time to recognize and honor Gratitude, Abundance, and bring things to Fruition (Getting it done!)

In the Southern Hemisphere this is the time for Imbolg, the Festival of Lights, when honoring the goddess Brigid and Purification, Initiation, and Dedication to one’s path is recognized.

There are many ways to give thanks and honor during this 1st harvest festival. It celebrates the warmth of the sun, the rain and the faery folk who help tend to the gardens, flocks and fields. As a Celtic festival of the harvest, what better way to give thanks than to prepare a meal with the harvest of your own garden.

Which ever holiday you observe, may it be a wonderful and blessed celebration!

From all of us here to all of you;
Merry Lughnasadh & Imbolg!!
Springwolf   🐾

© Springwolfs Hanko

© 2013 Springwolf, D.D., Ph.D. Springwolf Reflections / Springs Haven, LLC. All Rights Reserved.

Springwolf On Amazon

readingAmazon’s Author Central

This week I gained access to my Author Central page on Amazon. The Author Page on Amazon.com provides a handy place for customers to learn about authors and the books they have written.

It gives authors a place to  share the most up-to-date information about themselves and their works with millions of readers. It does this by providing an easily accessible area to learn about an author through their biography, photos, blog, and more directly on Amazon.com.

For author’s it provides inside information, such as timely sales data for free, including sales trends over time and where in the US your books are selling.

You’ll find my Amazon Author page here:
amazon.com/author/springwolf  amazon.com/author/springwolf

© Springwolfs Hanko

© 2013 Springwolf, D.D., Ph.D. Springwolf Reflections / Springs Haven, LLC. All Rights Reserved.

A New About Page

graduating wolfSpring’s Educational Experience

This month I’ve received four emails and two Facebook contact messages about my thoughts on the programs at the University of Sedona and the University of Metaphysics. I’m excited there’s an increase in interest this month. Perhaps because of the continual negative or bad news we’ve seen here in July, people are looking for spiritual answers and inspiration. At least I hope so.

Anyway, I thought it might be helpful for those searching for information to merely add a page here on my blog so they can find it in their research. And hopefully it answers the questions more easily.

So I’ve added a new page in the about section “Spring’s Educational Experience” that addresses the common questions I’ve been asked over the years, and especially this month.

I hope it helps those looking into enrollment. If you’re looking into these Universities and you do enroll, I wish you all the success and achievement you set for yourself. And I hope the program you choose meets all your personal goals.

© Springwolfs Hanko

© 2013 Springwolf, D.D., Ph.D. Springwolf Reflections / Springs Haven, LLC. All Rights Reserved.

Expectations

Expectations

Expectations

When You Have A Good Heart

A long time ago, someone much wiser than I said:

When you have a good heart:
You help too much. You trust too much. You give too much. You love too much. And it always seems … you hurt the most.

I can relate to this old adage. I think any Mother can without question. But I also know we are responsible for our own feelings. So the question isn’t why do we get hurt, but rather why do we allow ourselves to feel hurt?

That’s an easy one to answer, but it’s not an easy answer to live with. Because it’s our own expectations that cause us to feel hurt. Continue reading

It’s Raining Cats and Dogs

It's Raining Cats and Dogs

It’s Raining Cats and Dogs

Where Did It Come From?

Tonight I was doing a little reading and came across something I had to share. What caught my attention on this story was the cat sleeping on top of the computer monitor. The cat could be the twin to my cat Mooshu.

But once I started reading the story, this paragraph said..”you have to share this!”

Some authorities tie the idea to Norse mythology. Odin, the Viking god of storms, was often pictured with dogs and wolves, symbols of wind. Witches, who supposedly rode their brooms during storms, had black cats, which became signs of heavy rain. Therefore, “raining cats and dogs” referred to a storm with wind (dogs) and heavy rain (cats).

Anything that shares the mythology from pagan cultures and it’s symbolism is worth a share I think.

The article is from The Old Farmer’s Almanac, which I absolutely love! And it was posted on their Weather Blog under “Cats and Weather – The Folklore” by Evelyn Browning Garriss.

It’s really worth the read and tells you where this saying really came from.

© Springwolfs Hanko

© 2013 Springwolf, D.D., Ph.D. Springwolf Reflections / Springs Haven, LLC. All Rights Reserved.

 

A Little Inspiration For Your Day

Morning Sunrise

In the early morning hours,
as the sun begins to rise;
you can hear the sounds of nature,
as the world first opens its eyes.
The birds cry out a morning song,
as the warmth begins to spread,
with the squirrels chattering right along,
and that’s all that needs to be said.
~ Springwolf
© 07.2013
Lake Sunrise by Springwolf © 07.2013

Lake Sunrise by Springwolf ~ © 07.2013

© Springwolfs Hanko

© 2013 Springwolf, D.D., Ph.D. Springwolf Reflections / Springs Haven, LLC. All Rights Reserved.

What Is A Spiritual Expert – Series

Eyes of the Hunter

Eyes of the Hunter by Charles Alexander

 A Six Part Series of Leadership and Inspiration

One of the first set of articles I created for my new blog in February 2012, dealt with what it takes to be a Spiritual Expert. I wrote these at the behest of my students entering into teaching themselves. Asking me to give some guidance for success and warning for the pitfalls.

I finally decided to put the idea into action when I started receiving a large number of questions from others about how to get started on their path of Shaman, Priest or Priestess. So it maybe time to talk about this series again.

It’s important to note that this path of spiritual expert is not an easy one. Ask any Minister, Priest, Shaman or whatever title one has taken and they’ll probably agree. The moment you put this idea of Spiritual Leader out there into the Divine Universe, you set energy in motion to mold you and your life.

If you are committed and sincere, the lessons brought to you will be designed to fulfill your goal. Some will be interesting, others will be difficult and some will even knock you on your backside. Be careful what you ask for; you might get it. Continue reading

Lost Hope

Communication

Howl And Let It Go

What Do You Do?

What do you do when you’ve reached the point of despair, no hope and all pride is lost? The news media prefers to cover sensationalized stories instead of actual news. So they don’t realize how many people around the world are still struggling and sliding backward without employment.

But whether or not the news covers the economy or not, doesn’t make it any less painful for families who are suffering and trying to make ends meet. And most, don’t even come close. They are losing hope, if they have any left at all. The pride they once had in themselves was given up a long time ago when they had to start asking for help. It dwindled away even more when they started asking for hand-outs.

Here in the States, it evaporated completely when they were told they don’t qualify for welfare or food stamps because of this reason or that. You might be surprised how many middle-class families who lost their jobs and are still struggling to find work don’t qualify for social assistance. It’s staggering. Here in Virginia, if you own a home, you will not qualify for aid. No matter how bad your situation, it seems many simply aren’t bad off enough and they’re punished for it.

I receive emails from families, single moms or dads and each one is heart wrenching. Each one has their own tale of struggle, looking for work and not finding any. Either they’re over qualified, or they’ve been out of work for so long their skill set is out dated. Or so they’re told. I can relate. Add to that people who have worked their entire lives who have crossed that 50 mark, and their age plays into the mix as well. Continue reading