"EJ: How much of your Basque heritage plays a role in your creative career?
CL: Asko! (A lot!) Basque people love a good story, and we have plenty of them to tell. When I visit my family in Spain, it seems like my uncle always has a new ghost story for us, like the tale of the priest who walked for miles and miles to perform an exorcism on my great-grandfather’s childhood home (which sits abandoned to this day). The very first book I started writing was set in a fantasy-version of the Basque Country (I still need to finish that one, dagnabit). I’ve published a book of short stories inspired by Basque folklore (Galtzagorriak and Other Creatures), and I’ve plotted a stand-alone horror novel based on one of my favorite ancient Basque deities. I love being Basque and I inject it into my writing as often as I can. 
EJ: What part of the publishing world do you think needs change?
CL: I would love to see less gatekeeping and tribalism by members of the various publishing communities. There are so many paths to publishing, and wish I never had to hear or see the phrase “REAL writers do XYZ” anywhere ever again. A writer writes. That’s it. And whichever path helps someone meet their goals in a way that keeps them happy and spiritually sound is great. 
EJ: For you, can you talk about the power of your work, what you are trying to do with your writing?
CL: For me, reading and writing are very cathartic. There’s something about experiencing an emotion through the lens of a character on the page that just makes it easier for me to process what I’m dealing with (or what I’ve been avoiding dealing with). With the Soul Searchers mysteries, I’ve been processing a lot of pent-up grief. Writing the series has spanned five years of my life, and during that time, I’ve lost many dear and important members of my family, so I’ve had plenty to work through. Earlier this year, a reader reached out to let me know reading Donn’s Hill (the first book in that series) helped her get through a period of loss in her own life. That closed a pretty incredible loop for me. I never imagined I would create something that helped someone else that way, and I’m very grateful I had the opportunity to do it."
Excerpted from "Caryn Larrinaga, Basque-American Author",  by Enheduanna Journal, an author interview forthcoming in Vol 5 of Enheduanna Journal.

"Ireland maintained loyalty to Rome in order to create its own national identity wholly separate from the English and their alien Anglicanism. By the early Twentieth century, the newly formed Republic of Ireland demanded global recognition as an independent state—to “take her place among nations”—yet Ireland also insisted in maintaining allegiance with a soteriology that most of Europe after the Reformation considered “hocus pocus” or somehow magical in nature (238-9). Stephen refers to himself as a servant of two masters, “an English and an Italian” referring to the idea that an Irish citizen is both a political subject beholden to England and an ideological prisoner of the Vatican (17). The slippage or variance between a republican modern Ireland and its antiquated religious beliefs provides a receptive canvas for Gothic literature. Joyce’s Ireland wanted to move toward the future but was saddled with the trappings of a medieval past that held back Ireland from ideological progress. The shrinking space between the two walls of Church and State is where we find the monsters of ancient folklore." 
Excerpted from "Ghoulies, Ghosties, and Long Leggedy Beasties; The Gothic Tradition in James Joyce’s Ulysses " by Kelly Marie McDonald, literary criticism forthcoming in Vol 5 of Enheduanna Journal.

O, Divine Ones and Honored Dead, we beseech and pray to you at this time of great change, upheaval, and loss for many in the world. Bring us peace and understanding, the ability to accept the new path that has opened before us, as the others have closed. We, the people of Terra and children of Mother Gaia, ask of you to give us the strength to move forward, to take the next step, and be the middle path. Our spirits are heavy, our souls weary, as we travel into the next decade of life. The sun shines, the moon beams, and the clouds are merry, but the weight of this place is unbearable, unsinkable, and untenantable. The fog of doubt clouds our eyes, as the mire of burden pulls us down. But we have hope. We affirm that we are open to new ideas, new states of being, and new existence, but we cannot walk alone. Send us our fellow human in arms, our fellow loved on, and the friend to lend us support, community, and love. Send us the joy when we feel down. Send us the calm when we feel anxious, and most of all, send us the dreams of tomorrow when we sleep, so we may, for a while, be soothed. 

The Pagan Society
March, 2020

Enheduanna vol 4 is nearly here. We are honored to include Oberon Zell this year as an essayist.
Here is a featured review by Alder MoonOak of his Essay “The 2020 Vision: Awakening a New Cycle,” about the future of Earth.
“The visionary beliefs and actions required in this century are being written on hearts and minds by postmodern prophets like Oberon Zell, founder of the NeoPagan grok flock The Church of All Worlds. Without these visions, we have no cultural story to battle the demons of climate change and violence plaguing the world. In his ‘2020 Vision’ article, Zell offers one of the most cogent and exciting documents I’ve read in years. It articulates many of our finest dreams and most grounded hopes, maps out practical lines of the future, and provides guidelines for activism within the context of deep community. As profound as it is practical, the 2020 Vision supplies the right ideas at the perfect time. Join the movement and help create a tomorrow our great-grandchildren can celebrate.
Alder MoonOak, PhD
Gainesville, Florida
Professor, College of Central Florida”

"25 August, 1991-Sunday
​I woke up in beautiful Niassa’s arms. Others were already stirring at the campfire, wanting the sleeping lovers to get up from their love nests, and we all slowly began to stir. It was misting enough to keep everything damp but still we had a fire and we had fun being grumpy. We then ate a little breakfast from food we didn’t devour last night. We closed the circle we had opened yesterday calling back all the spirits of the four directions. Gillian and Homo Erectus did a tremendous job pulling off this Faerie Gathering. Many of the faeries started to flitter home at ten thirty, to be back in Salt Lake City for various reasons, but others stayed the entire day down at the hot springs until heterosexuals began to arrive dispelling the magick. I went back early to open up the Utah Stonewall Center at one this afternoon. I stayed until five when others began to arrive back to Salt Lake and we went up to Hooter and Gypsy’s place to visit and bask in the afterglow of our magical crystal experiences. I will always have beautiful memories of Niassa and I walking hand in hand along a midnight shrouded trail and his sharing his story of how he escaped the grim reaper Cronus by disappearing in a crystal that his grandmother’s spirit guided him into for safety." Excerpted from "The Sacred Faeries' Chronicles: Memoirs of Gayflower Momma Bear Mother Slut--Year of the Ant, 1991-1992", by Ben Williams, a memoir forthcoming in Vol 4 of Enheduanna Journal.

“Any cut pieces or shavings should be returned to the hole from which the plant was pulled. Leave a bent silver coin in the hole and then re-fill the hole with dirt. Make offerings to the Earth of Vervain, Apple cider, milk, or honey to recompense her for the loss.
Bury the root in the Earth again at a place of power such as a crossroad, a place where three streams meet, or in or near a graveyard.
On the next Friday that is a Dark of the Moon or a New Moon “feed” the root with milk and then dig it up.
While your root is incubating in the soil, prepare a beautiful container such as a carved or painted box. Smudge it with sage or juniper to sanctify and purify it for your Alraun.
When the root is extracted from its burial place, take it home and wash it with wine. Then dry it thoroughly in a warm oven, or near the hearth, etc.”
–Ellen Evert Hopman, “The Sacred Herbs of Beltaine” being published Spring 2020, Inner Traditions Bear & Company, book excerpt forthcoming in Vol 4 of Enheduanna Journal.

 En"I grew quite unhappy in Michigan and was contemplating whether to stay or to consider applying for a job in Western PA, the land of my blood and birth. One night, not long after I began considering this, a badger broke into the coop in the darkest hours. The coop was far enough away from the house that I did not hear what happened and remained sound asleep. But in the morning, I found the door literally ripped off of its hinges. Inside, intact but frightened, were all of the hens–and not a trace left of Anasazi. In his life and in his death he protected his flock above all else. His death was a powerful sign for me a sign that I had to move on, from my beloved homestead, returning to the mountains of my birth. For I realized that I could not run my homestead without Anasazi; he was such an integral part that it was not the same without him. My dear hens found good homes with a friend, and I packed up my things and headed East towards the rising sun, back to the mountains where I belong." --Dana O'Driscoll, PhD. Excerpted from "Ode to the Rooster," Creative non-fiction forthcoming in Vol 3 of Enheduanna Journal.