Even though I was born and raised in Canada, my family is both Scottish and Irish, apparently it is an old tradition that our ancestors were once secretly Pagan, which got some of us in a bit of trouble with the religious authorities in the 1500s and 1600s. I have only recently found out about this, several years after the following experience took place. This might not be what you would usually be interested in, but it was my introduction to the supernatural, February 6th, 2011, Province of Québec: After a six-hour long near-death experience (in which I entered a state of indescribable communion with the Great God Pan in his highest cosmic form, looking as if he was made of all of the stars and galaxies in the Universe), my mother told me that the first time she came to visit me at the hospital, right after surgery when I was practically comatose, she clearly heard her sister's voice in the room with us. My aunt was telling her "I'm so sorry, I was so selfish, I'm so sorry..." over an

Continuing the section of the magazine, but now within this blog, we will be posting new poems from contributors on a regular basis. Anyone wishing to submit their work for consideration should send their poems to editor@paganireland.com The Green Man Through the deep green undergrowth There emerges from the trees A wild, green being covered in leaves, Part of the wood, a man but not a man. There’s nothing to separate him from the wood, To tell where it ends and he begins, For his is the forest deep, Nature grows out from his skin. He blends in with the greenwood grove, A guardian of all that grows. His beard of leaves grows green, alive, His hair abundant foliage, His eyes shine with transcendent light But he seems at home right here. He moves slowly as if rooted But the undergrowth allows him pass As if he reigns in the forest, Though he seems from some ancient place. He opens his mouth and whispers “Welcome home to yourself, For you are also part of me, Even though from another star

Lúnasa (Lughnasadh) blessings to you! This post is a tad late, but Lúnasa may have come a little early, in Europe and other places, due to the exceptional run of hot and dry weather. This may not suit all plants but it certainly suits grains such as wheat and barley. For many the rain in Ireland that came today is a welcome break in the sunny weather, especially for many trees, plants, birds, animals and insects. This festival is very old, perhaps 3000 years or more, but we just don't know for sure. It was inaugurated by Lugh (of the Tuatha Dé Danann) in honour of his foster mother of Tailtiu, t the site od Tailtin (modern Teltown) as funeral games in her memory, Many festivals take place around this time in early August, such as Reek Sunday, the Dingle Races and Puck Fair. Lughnasadh is the old-Irish spelling but in modern Irish it is Lúnasa, which is also the Gaeilge word for August!

It is just over 5 years since Pagan Ireland magazine was started and now it is ending... well sort of. It has been a struggle from the start, to build an audience, to finance the venture and to keep it running. However, myself (Editor, Luke Eastwood) and the handful of people who have helped make it happen, thought it was worth the effort and the risk. The magazine is going to transform into a blog only, for the foreseeable future. We hope to update the blog regularly with both new content and some extracts from issues 1-20, from time to time. We will continue to sell the emagazine online at this website, either individually or in sets (at a reduced price). We will also continue to sell books and merchandise for the time being. It is our hope to be able to return to physical and electronic publishing in the future, once the economic uncertainty of current times has abated, hopefully that will not be a massively long wait. In the meantime, watch out for new articles, poetry and other fe

This interview is from Issue 5 (Autumn 2022). You can buy a copy of it at https://paganireland.com/buyissues Lorraine comes from a family with a Bean Feasa tradition and has explored a variety of esoteric paths over several decades, although she is a very much steeped in Witchcraft. She’s also involved in eco-tourism and storytelling. Lorraine lives and works in Co. Wexford. PI: How did you first become involved in Witchcraft? LO’D: I think it was always there, my Great Great Granny was a Bean Feasa just outside Enniscorthy. Married to the Blacksmith, she made tablets from dried herbs and beeswax and sold iron nails for protection against the fairies. Now she died long before I was born, but it was in the family. Her daughter (my Great Aunt) Eithne taught me about the fairies and how you needed to keep your garden wild to attract them. My mum was sending us to school with crystals to protect us and while like most other child growing up in the 70s and 80s in Ireland, I attended a Catho

Published in Issue 15 of Pagan Ireland (Spring 2025). Get a copy of this issue here: https://paganireland.com/buyissues Why are we here? Good question! Why indeed? The planet has no use for us. We are a blight. For countless eons the Earth revolved around its sun. Forming and re-forming without any help whatsoever from humanity. Oceans and landmasses. Shifting and shuffling round the surface of the planet. Volcanoes erupting. Earthquakes and inundation. Life, somehow starting to take shape. Plants to produce the oxygen necessary for animals to emerge. Fossils show us the myriad forms that came before us. Extinction events that occurred after millions of years of stability. New life-forms gradually re-inhabiting the newly-formed planet. Life and death in a constantly shifting harmony. A perfect synergy on land, in water, in the air. Each living being provided with its individual needs. Eventually settling into the Goldilocks world, filling up with life from equator to poles. A self-repl