The history of this blog
I began blogging in AOL Journals (2003-2008). I didn’t blog about anything in particular. I explored the medium and participated in community blogging challenges. Later, I moved to Blogger, but I was not fond of that platform. I moved to WordPress and have lived here since. I have investigated other platforms, such as Squarespace and Wix, but prefer WordPress’s flexibility and control.
I had different blogs because I tried to compartmentalise my life. I thought that I needed to keep my spirituality separate from other areas of my life for my safety and security as well as the interest of my readers. Blogging best practice has long included having a niche. Readers of my birdwatching blog would not be interested in my Witchcraft journals; they might even be repelled.
When I moved to Australia, that life transition became the focus of my blogging. My blog was filled with reflections on my travels, commentary, and guides for other expats. I’m still an American national, but I’ve lived here for ten years, and there was a natural shift away from expat blogging.
With an expat blog over here, a Pagan blog over there, and several other blogs, maintaining them became a chore. I write to share and process. I’ve never been interested in monetising my blogs, but I treated them as if I would. I was also tired of compartmentalising my life online. That’s not an accurate reflection of me. So, I stopped and consolidated all my blogs into this site in 2017.
Revival
After I consolidated my blogs here, this site was dormant for a long time. I still didn’t know what to do with it. One advantage of having a niche is that it gives your work direction. Plus, I wasn’t feeling inspired. Then, last year, there was a significant shift. I felt more connected, energised, and I wanted to start writing again.
I gave the site a facelift and a temporary name and tagline. I started writing again with little care about whether anyone would read or enjoy my articles and a comfortable sense of not knowing where it would take me. It turned out well. People read and engage with my content, ask questions, and prompt me to think more about the subjects I write about. But a lot has happened in recent months, and life is moving very quickly. And so here we are again with another redevelopment.
What's new?
What’s new here is a name and registered business called Divine Hours. It reflects a growing venture that includes formal training in counselling skills and professional tarot. I’ve read tarot on and off for many years and decided to incorporate it into my Priestess work as well as my service. There’s more unfolding, but this is where I am now.
My blog and its history will remain, and I’m still going to write about whatever I want, but we can safely say that this is the blog of feminist Pagan Priestess and Witch. Instead of just the catch-all “Spirituality” category, I’ve created more specific blog categories such as “Goddesses and Gods”, “Spiritual Practice”,” and “Magick and Ritual”.
The most notable change is the look and feel of the site–new branding and mobile-first web design. My goal is to make the website lite, fast, and accessible. This is work I love to do. Readers who receive the latest blog entry in their email inbox will notice a change to the email design.
It will take a few weeks before it’s all finished. I need to build some elements and fix missing pages, broken links, and other wonky things. Thank you for being so patient.
