Copper Moon is an online blog/magazine for Wiccan and Pagan practitioners in their teens and early twenties. It was created in 2002 by author Gwinevere Rain. Features include in-depth author interviews, articles, book reviews and more!
Currently, we are seeking articles, essays and prayers by aspiring writers age 13 to 26! We publish two to four times a month and have over 500 subscribers.
Please continue reading to find out more about the e-zine and how to submit your work for consideration.
Fire of the Goddess is a beautiful goddess-centric guidebook by Katalin Koda. With myths, exercises and ritual tips, Fire of the Goddess is a spiritual guide that offers words of wisdom, courage and kindness. Copper Moon E-zine is lucky to have had the opportunity to interview Katalin Koda regarding this latest work!
Can you tell us about Fire of the Goddess and how the idea developed?
I had been working directly with the goddess and sacred feminine for about fifteen years. I was first introduced to the goddess through Wicca, then later while living in India and studying Yoga, Tantric texts and Vajrayana Buddhism. I lived with my husband in India for seven years and our daughter was born in Kerala. There, I found myself surrounded by women who were immersed in a different kind of relationship with the divine feminine, one that had many faces, moods and qualities. When we left India, I was contemplating a book on the sacred feminine and in one moment, this list of archetypes emerged during one of my evening meditations. Then I began researching the goddess much more in depth, really seeking out stories and myths and the evolution of the sacred feminine. Then my family moved to the Big Island of Hawaii where I was introduced to Pele, the goddess of the volcano and the rich stories of Hawaiian mythology and culture. That was a huge turning point, to be able to feel the presence of the sacred feminine beyond India, and in relation to the land even more deeply. All of this inspired me to create a way for women to access archetypes beyond maiden, mother and crone, something more complex. During the writing of Fire of the Goddess I co-taught a women’s group on Power, Love and Wisdom of the sacred feminine which corroborated with my research and I used those as the themes for my book.
The book begins with the Fire Bearer and the Initiate. These two archetype themes at first seem dark in nature but have purpose. Why did you start out with such intense archetypes ?
I feel a sort of urgency right now to reclaim ‘darkness’ which for me is actually the indigenous heart and connection to the earth. In order for us to do this, it seems imperative to face things as they really are, to face our own rage, fear, sorrow, loss and allow those things to be there and then learn to accept them, thus creating space for dissolution. To me, this is true power and I don’t know how far we can progress if we do not first begin to interact with our inner power. I find in many spiritual traditions, there is first the work on quieting the mind and building compassion in the heart and these are essential of course, but often these spiritual traditions are born out of male lineages AND are from eastern cultures. Although in essence, we are all the same mind, still women, western women have specific cultural and gender issues which I feel must be dealt with before we can really cultivate this quiet mind and compassionate heart. It is as if thousands of years of subjugation lives in our DNA even, dominating earth, women, fear of birth, menses and death, racial slaughter, the list goes on. And my method is to get in there and start digging around, unearth, get that soreness out to the light, so we can examine it and begin to build our power, which is really an aspect of deep self love. I feel that by connecting with our inner fire first, gives us the strength to face the darkness revealed by the initiate and allows us the ground to reclaim our specific traumas around our first menses, rape, molestation, or simply feeling lesser for being a woman. Then the healing process arises naturally and we are better able to grow in a loving manner without suppressing these parts of us that are yearning to be heard.
Continue reading "Interview with Katalin Koda author of Fire of the Goddess" »
Kyrja is the author of the Rupert's Tales series of books. The author has generously agreed to share some insight into her world and the creation energy behind Rupert and his stories. This popular pagan centered children's book series has been published by Schiffer Publishing.
Can you tell us about Rupert's Tales and how the idea developed? Where did you draw your inspiration from?
Rupert’s Tales started because I first wrote “The Monster Got Mom.” My family was gathered for one holiday or another, with my brothers reminiscing about their childhood adventures in seeking out a monster in the dead of the night. They claimed they were up because they heard some scary sounds. Everyone was delighted with their silly stories. But then it happened - one relative laughed, saying “Someone should write a book about that!” Another said, “Kyrja, you’re the writer in the family ....” So that’s what I did. Like Rupert’s Tales, it rhymes all the way through and is delightfully ridiculous to read – with a surprise ending.
If you’re a writer, perhaps you know the feeling of the “pressure” you get when one of the voices in your head is wriggling more than the others. The story (or parts of it) pops up through the whirling chaos of creativity more and more often, until you simply have to stop what you’re doing to listen. That’s what happened with Rupert. I’d been getting glimpses of him off and on – and I still had all this rhyming stuff in my head. At the time, I was working as a laborer and heavy equipment operator in the construction industry. I had been at work for two hours one morning, when I knew I could stand no more. I told my foreman I had to go home to write. He was probably the best foreman anyone ever had anywhere, so he let me go. I wrote “Rupert’s First Beltane” that day. Then created a series of Rupert’s Tales by writing another story about our furry friend for each Sabbat that followed. It has been impossible not to keep writing them.
My inspiration for Rupert and what he will learn next is derived from my own life; how I understand and celebrate the sabbats, what things are important to me, and the desire to share the wonder of life and magick with others.
What age group is Rupert's Tales created for? Who can be a Friend of Rupert?
As far as I am concerned, Rupert’s Tales are for everyone, from cradle to grave. These are the stories you wish you would have had as a kid, because you can pull them out each and every sabbat to find out how Rupert celebrates, and what he learned this time. They are specific enough to be useful, while general enough to allow for a wide variety of traditions. One of the most-important things about Rupert’s Tales is that they make a point of saying there are many ways to celebrate – and they rhyme; making them a lot of fun to read out loud.
What I envision is parents reading to their children, then they read the stories for themselves, as they grow older. As a child becomes more aware of the world at-large, and their own path in particular, the lessons Rupert learns in his tales become the child’s own lessons. They provide a beginning place for discussion and education. A parent might say, “This is how Rupert celebrates, but we do something a little different.”
I think it is very, very important to include children from the earliest moments in life in our celebrations and in our everyday magickal workings. Rupert can help, but if parents want their children to have choices, then they must teach their little ones what their own choices are.
Everyone can be a Friend of Rupert! While the first two books are about the eight sabbats of the Wheel of the Year, you do not have to be a Pagan to be enchanted by Rupert and the magick found in his tales. All knowledge is worth having.
Continue reading "Interview with Kyrja, Author of The Rupert Series " »
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