Actually, Wicca became more well known in the 1950’s due to Gerald Gardener who was researching that very same thing. In his travels, he discovered a number of Wiccans who passed their tradition down through many family generations and continued to practice in secret due to the persecutions that were still legally punishable by law.

Gardener went on to then create his own branch of Wicca, hence the Gardenarian tradition. This branch is renown for working “skyclad” i.e., in the nude. Gardener is considered the father of modern Wicca because of his dedication to bringing the craft to the light of modern day man.

Paganism itself is as old as time itself. We still see remnants of its early history with the pantheon in Hinduism. Ancient people adapted their deities according to their locale and climate. One will find these elements with the Gods and Goddess of Ancient Egypt, Rome, Greece and many other early world developers. They had similar deities, though they had different names and some slight variations because of their location.

Since Wicca/Paganism is an “Earth based” religion, it only makes sense that it would vary from place to place according to the needs of the people.

Through many archeological excavations, scientists have discovered many Pagan symbols of worship. Some scholars call these forms of “mythology,” while others continue to practice the spiritual essence of our ancient ancestors.

No one really knows how Wicca became the religion it is today, however it does predate Judeo-Christian religions as continuously seen from the archeological discoveries that continue to astound scientists.

This month, I also have a special review for you.

I first heard about Lush when I was up late one night watching the Style channel. The host of whatever show it was (you know how late nights are, you don’t know what your watching but your glued to the TV set) was in an adorable little shop that looked like a deli, but they were actually selling beauty products! I remember the shop hostess treated her interviewer to some kind of an unusual foot masque that had tomatoes in it. Anyway, I had completely forgotten about the program and the name of the company, until about a year or so later when I attended a “girl night” slumber party at the house of Mistress McCutchan. On the agenda were pizza, facials, pedicures and a lot of good old fashioned girl talk ;) The Mistress excitedly showed us her great finds from a store in Toronto called Lush, and even was gracious enough to share her “mask of magnaminty” for the facials and “pied de pepper foot cream” for the pedicures. I was instantly hooked and have been a regular visitor to their web site ever since!

Managing director Mark Constantine started LUSH in 1995 taking inspiration from delis and cheese shops. The products are hand made from the finest all natural ingredients, with little or no preservatives, and no animal ingredients. So freshly made, in fact, that each item is labeled with the date is was made as well as a “use by” date. The packaging is unique as well, soaps, lotion bars and other solid products are wrapped in Lush imprinted deli paper while lotions and creams come in plastic deli containers. Everything in their catalog is geared towards fun right down to names such as “Middle Earth Turns Into Rock soap”, “Wow Wow Face Mask”, “Wiccy Magic Muscles massage bar” and their line of henna hair coloring called “Les Cacas: No S**t Hair Colour.” One note of caution, these products look and smell like food, but they’re made for your skin, so don’t try to eat them.

The girls in the Lush PR department were kind enough to send me samples of some of their latest concoctions for review, and I’m also going to list some of my favorites from the collection.

Freeze Shower Gel: This one is minty! It contains menthol and is great for waking up in the morning. The smell alone is a great stimulant, and it has a cooling effect on your skin. I’m not much of a morning person, so this one has helped me out a lot.

Herbalism Facial Cleanser: This brand new cleanser is a great little scrub containing kaolin and chlorophyll to help heal up those pesky break outs. It’s full of herbs and essential oils. To use, you just break off a small piece and mix with water then scrub onto your face. It’s a little messy, so don’t wear your white bathrobe while using. It’s a really lovely treat for your face!

Below are some of my personal favorites that I order on a regular basis.

Pied de Pepper Foot Cream: This one smells like a spicy, vanilla-y pudding. It contains cocoa butter and vanilla to soften the skin on your feet and help get rid of callouses. The essential oils of clove and cinnamon serve the dual purpose of preventing odors as well as soothing the muscle aches from a long day of walking. I use it in the morning as part of my every day moisturising ritual as well as on those nights when my feet just hurt. I’ve tried many different types of foot creams that are on the market, but most of them seem to leave an odd sticky feeling on my feet and hands, while this one leaves nothing behind but a pleasant smell.

Wiccy Magic Muscles Massage Bar: It’s massage oil in a solid bar! The essentials oils of cinnamon and peppermint in this one not only smell really nice, they also warm up on your skin to relieve all your little aches and pains. I have occasional back pains, so I rub this on when I need to. There are little aduki beans inside for a nice rubbing effect, and the base is cocoa butter so it’s very moisturising on your skin, too!

Butterball Bath Bomb: All of their bath bombs are really nifty inventions. You drop one into warm bath water and it fizzes away into the bath to condition your skin and contain all sorts of beautiful smelling essential oils. The Butterball is my personal favorite because it contains cocoa butter and vanilla to make it smell like a piece of candy. I usually store these in my dresser drawers like you would with scented sachets until I’m ready to use them so I can enjoy them before I they even get used!

Silky Underwear Dusting Powder: I have dry skin, so this one was a great choice for me because it contains little pieces of moisturising cocoa butter, in addition to the fine cornstarch and china clay and wonderful smelling essential oils. I have never been much of a body powder person, but I fell in love with this product and use it every day now.

I’ve never been lucky enough to actually visit one of their shops, since until just recently they had no United States locations. I just receive a press release with good news for us all in the US! Lush recently opened a shop in San Francisco, CA (240 Powell Street, off Union Square) which has taken off so well, that they plan to open more locations in the United States within the year (Los Angeles, Boston and New York are among the prospective cities and I’m keeping my fingers crossed for a New York location soon!)

If you don’t have a Lush shop near you, you can order online at www.lush.com or call 888-733-LUSH for a copy of their Lush Times Newspaper style catalog.

Got a favorite or want to ask a question? Feel free to drop a line.