Full Moon in Aquarius & Rune Crafting
I was browsing Pinterest and found a post featuring a Rune Chain crafted for home protection & goals. I thought it was a really innovative way to use runes as decor, especially the combining of runes into multi-meaning symbols (kind of like sigils). I am very interested in how people create tools and objects that ‘hold’ their intent, and this seemed like such a wonderful idea that I had to see if I could make it work for me. I am so pleased with how well it turned out!
In the original post, the author was very thorough in laying out all of her steps, so I won’t cover that again. The part that interested me most was the actual crafting of the runes and how they were combined, so that’s what I am going to focus on in my post.
Here’s a disclaimer that I feel like I should probably make: I am in no way a rune-work expert. Other than a couple of classes I’ve attended on runes, and a couple of craft days where I made sets of runes, that’s about the extent of my knowledge. They’re not a thing that I use terribly often, though I have gone through phases in the past where I’ve been more interested in using and working with them.
That said, I really like them: the having of them and holding and handling of them. I like the way they’re shaped and formed, and find them incredibly visually appealing. I like them for their simplicity and their complexity. On the surface, runes are a fairly straightforward type of tool. They can be used to create words and text, or cast for their divinatory meaning, or used on a daily basis as a meditation focus or ‘wisdom/warning of the day’ type of practice. On a deeper level, runes carry ancient memory and meaning. Using them ties the practitioner to an ancient history, and sometimes that connection is felt more than others. I like divinatory tools with more than one meaning, and runes fit that profile. To some degree, the interpretation of the runes – be it a single drawn rune for the day or a casting – is left up to the practitioner to interpret. Those interpretations vary according to so many factors, and it is that kind of personalization of practice that appeals to me so very much. That’s why this project spoke to me with such a loud voice!
I spent some time looking up the meanings of various runes, and deciding on words, meanings and aspects of their meaning that I liked. As I wrote and doodled, I found runes that worked well together or complimented each other and worked out how I wanted to combine them. Once I had a few that represented the main ideas I wanted to bring to life in the chain, I drew them in the order I planned to arrange them in on a piece of paper. Then I created a word cluster for each of my created symbols, which helped me decide what aspects I wanted to draw on, and how the runes worked together to create a specific or more focused meaning.
To start with, I created a rune symbol that combines ‘Algiz’, ‘Eihwaz’, and ‘Jera’. I really like her concept of ‘binding runes’, but I tweaked her meaning a bit; rather than a rune that reinforced the symbol above it, I chose to create a binding rune that reinforces the entire chain, and is repeated throughout it as a central feature. My binding rune pulls on the parts of the runes used throughout the chain to ensure that the goals expressed in the chain are reasonable, and that the efforts we put into realizing them are matched with the strength to see them through. There’s a protective/defensive element as well; to protect our home and family, both physically and spiritually.
I made my chain with 6 binding runes. I began the chain with it, and ended it with a binding rune, to reinforce the intent and purpose of the chain. The binding rune is also between each rune and the next, to reinforce the strength of will and restate the intent.
The second rune (and the next to the last rune) is the most complex. I am calling this the ‘marriage rune’. It’s another type of binding rune, and holds space both in the beginning and end of the chain. My husband and I celebrated 18 years of marriage (and over 20 of coupledom) the first week of August, and our marriage is the platform from which every other aspect of our home and family are built upon. It is the stable base that serves as the foundation for every aspect our lives. It is the thing without which our family would not exist, and is therefore absolutely central to anything else that will happen in our home. From that perspective, this is perhaps the most important rune form in my chain.
The runes I chose to create this symbol are ‘Ehwaz’, ‘Mannuz’, ‘Dagaz’, ‘Gebo’, ‘Wunjo’, ‘Ingwaz’, and ‘Othala’. Combined in this way, the symbol draws on the individual aspects of each of the runes used to create it to reflect the importance of, strengthen and protect our bond and union as the touchstone of our family, as well as calling on the elements of the individual runes that speak to home life, communication, harmony and joy.
After the binding runes and marriage rune, there are three focused runes, intended to reinforce the values we favor in our home, and what we want for our children, separated (and reinforced) by the binding rune between each of the three focused runes.
The first, I call the ‘prosperity’ rune. It is made up of ‘Fehu’ and ‘Uruz’. There’s an element of good fortune and luck tied to this one, but also the wisdom and vision to make sound investments and financial decisions. There’s a fair amount of self-direction as well, and since independence and leadership are two things I value for my children, I think that makes for a good combination to represent prosperity in both a financial sense and generally-in-life sense.
The second rune, I’m jokingly calling the ‘upward mobility’ symbol, and is made up of ‘Raido’ and ‘Kenaz’. In reality, it would probably better be described as the ‘self-actualization’ rune. Raido is traditionally the ‘travel’ and ‘protection in travel’ rune, which works for my kids’ futures as they’re getting to the age where plans for college and embarking on their own journeys outside of our little nuclear family are imminent. More than that, though, I am calling on the ability to see the right move and make it, and the power that is inborn within them (and in all of us) to shape our own futures into happy and successful ones. I very much want both of my children to find their calling – to find the thing or things that make their souls happy. I want them to find their unique rhythm, and their place within the rhythm of the world, and thrive there.
The third symbol is my ‘strength and endurance’ rune. It’s made up of ‘Pertho’ and ‘Nauthiz’. Pertho calls again on being able to determine your future path, and Nauthiz for self-reliance, strength and endurance. Though I am not ashamed to call on good fortune and blessings, I know that a happy life isn’t just handed to you; it takes work – and often a lot of it. Along your path, there are adversities that help shape you into the person you will become, and help you see yourself more clearly; to become who you are ultimately meant to be. Mental illness runs in my family, and it is with a realistic eye that I recognize that my children may also struggle with mental health issues, however much I hope that they escape them. Strength sometimes means accepting weakness and asking for help; endurance means recognizing when you need to stop or slow down so that you can rest and regroup before continuing on. It is those qualities that I call on in this symbol, for my children and for myself.
Finishing the chain are the marriage rune again, and the last binding rune, to seal the chain and reiterate the intent and purpose of it.
Last week (last night when I started this post) was the Full Moon in Aquarius. I took my oracle cards out, my moon journal, and my rune chain to cleanse and charge it under the light of the full moon, with palo santo and sage to smudge. It was such a pretty night; fresh from rain all day, but a clear sky towards the evening. Afterwards, I hung the chain on the back of our front door, so it’s visible every day as we come and go.
Brightest Blessings,
New Moon Names – Part 1
Most of us are familiar with the various names for the Full Moon, but when I went looking for the names of the New Moon, I was a little surprised to find that there weren’t any. It seems odd that such a notable recurring event wouldn’t also have names to mark the passage of time, especially pre-calendar. I’ve talked before about non-traditional elemental associations and since this is one that I am making up, I thought I’d share my thought/creative process. For each month, I looked up several things, ranging from the history/origin of the month’s name and the deity(ies) they were associated with, as well as properties and other associations that go along with them. I also considered my own personal feelings and insights. Since this is a slice of my personal practice, how I interpret the months and times of year as the cycle turns plays a role in how I chose their names.
Because it’s the first of the year, let’s start with January. Even though, for many Pagans (myself included), January isn’t the beginning of the magickal year, it’s still ‘a’ beginning. I orient myself in the years’ planning starting in January, so for me, it is a beginning. Because I typically print of create my Moon Calendar by calendar year, and because my almanac runs from January through December, this is a logical starting point to me.
The Latin word for January is ianua, or door, since January is the door to the year. January’s deity is the Roman Goddess Juno. There’s some contention with that; apparently Janus was the original deity associated thought to be associated with January as He is the God of Beginnings and Transitions, but more recent research suggests it was, in fact, Juno. Because I am a woman, happily married and mother, the association with Juno speaks to me more. She is generally thought to be linked with protection of the state and of women, love, youth, fertility and vital force, marriage, and other complex roles. In particular, Juno’s name is associated with the Latin words iuvare, “to aid, benefit”, and iuvenescendo, “rejuvenate”, which could potentially connect her to the renewal of the new and waxing moon, which suggests that she may have been revered as a moon goddess. I like that idea. The word for January, or door, fits because in a way, Juno – and thus, January – can be seen as the guardian of the new year. She holds the doors to the year ahead, and as a gatekeeper, creates the way for the new path. For me, January is a time of beginnings – it’s when I reset my calendar, I’ve filed away things from the previous calendar year and get ready for the new year ahead. It’s a time of starting fresh, of making plans and setting goals and intentions – it’s sloughing off the previous year and starting anew. Because of those ideas and concepts, I’ve decided to call January’s New Moon the Renewal Moon.
Because of the potential length of this post, I am breaking it up into several parts. I will come back and edit the list below with the links to the other posts as I make them. For now, subscribe and you’ll get future posts in your inbox!
- January – Renewal Moon
- February –
- March –
- April –
- May –
- June –
- July –
- August –
- September –
- October –
- November –
- December –
- Black Moon (2nd New Moon in a month, also called the Secret Moon or the Finding Moon)
Do you have names for the New Moons? I’d love to read about it!
Brightest Blessings,
Arts and (Witch)Crafts
Houston’s Pagan Pride day is coming up soon, and my Circle-mates and I are planning on having a vendor’s booth set up, which means that I am going into arts-and-crafty-mode very soon to prepare. I’ve been thinking about what kinds of things I have typically seen for sale at events like this and considering what I might want to make. As a consumer/practitioner, I don’t typically buy tools for my personal practice because I prefer to make them myself (for various reasons), but there are some things I can’t make, and some things I want to purchase because they have a level of craftsmanship that I lack. So in that vein, I’ve been considering what kinds might be attractive as a customer, what skills I have as a craftsman, and how the two might merge.
I have an Etsy store, but if you’ve ever clicked on the link, it’s usually closed; I don’t craft with sales in mind, so this is kind of a new thing for me. The only reason I started the store was because I went through a period of sculpture and thought the little figurines I made were cute, but I didn’t need quite so many of them! I ended up giving them away, and then lost the inspiration for sculpture, so my store has been closed for a long time. My next crafty endeavor was wood burning. Turns out I love doing that, so I started making spirit boards and boxes and other burned art projects. I kinda ran out of things I need personally, so that may be a great way to blend my talent with what someone else may be seeking.
But I am getting off-topic of what I really wanted to talk about, which is art. Yes, crafting is art, but I mean meaningful art. The argument could be made that all art is meaningful, but I am specifically talking about art with a purpose. In this case, Shadow Books (or Books of Shadows/Light/Mirrors or Grimoires – whatever you choose to call them individually or collectively – I call them all Shadow Books because it’s easier and I’m too lazy/busy to make the distinction). I love art journaling; I’ve been an avid fan for several years now. When I first started, it was just art for arts’ sake – nothing particularly meaningful behind it. But as I progressed, it took on new forms; I found myself working through personal issues through my art journals, and eventually that spread to my practice. 
I was looking back through a few of my old journals, and came across these – a couple of Shadow Books in art journal format. They’re both fairly old, from around 2012. The one on the left is a more personal reflections journal (Book of Mirrors) and the one on the right is more path-based (Book of Shadows). It was interesting to go back through and read what I had written. Some of the things in the Mirror Book were dream logs, which was fun to go through. I don’t write my dreams down as often anymore and it’s actually something I miss doing now that I have had the opportunity to read back over how detailed my log was – I don’t remember that much anymore!
There is a lot of drawing in both of these books – something else I don’t do nearly as much anymore. I just don’t have the time – more to the point, I am not making the time to work on these kinds of reflections that I used to.
Over the next few weeks, I will be working on creating arts and crafts to offer to my local Pagan community. I do take pride in my work, and I put a lot of time and effort into making sure that anything I make that is to be used in practice is mindfully and intentionally made. I am grateful for both the skill and the opportunity to create beautiful things hat will serve its bearer well, and I love the thought that something I make might be passed down to a future witchling. I think this stroll back through my older books is also a wake-up call that I needed as a reminder of what I loved and to make time for that style of reflection and note-booking. As a Pagan, I like having the progression of my practice – how it’s changed and evolved over the years, and I think it will be an interesting keepsake to pass down to my children one day.
For now, I encourage you to try art journaling as a way to take notes and record how your practice looks and feels. Even if you’re not particularly ‘artsy’, it’s still a really great way to convey more than just words. If you’re raising witchlings, art journaling is a great thing to introduce to them – something you can do together!
Brightest Blessings,
Witte Wieven
I’ve been seeing quite a few posts on Facebook lately that talk about ‘women’s wisdom’, and the idea that all women have something of a witch inside them. That notion feels right to me; any woman who has children (be they born to her or only close to her heart) has an innate sense of them – sometimes reaching far beyond what science would consider reasonable – and yet she KNOWS when her child needs her. This sense too can be applied to her partner or spouse, siblings or even close friends – many of us have either experienced it firsthand or know of a woman who has. I don’t think that this applies only to women, of course; many men are very sensitive to the vibrations or cosmic twinges or whatever it is that makes your spidey-senses tingle. That intuition is there, if only we care to listen to it.
It’s more than just an awareness of your kindred though; it’s the connection to the moon, and the cycles of life that are inborn in women that connect us to each other and to the earth. I’ve been spending some time contemplating these connections and it’s led to some interesting thought experiments! Since I’ve been exploring Germanic paganism more of late, and I came across the witte wieven which are (depending on which source you’re looking at), either the spirits of the ‘wise women’ of a village, or the women themselves. It could also be referring to folklore and elven healers, but in the historical context, I tend to think of them more as the wise women or healers… the witches, if you will.
Wikipedia says:
Witte wieven in modern Dutch literally translates to “white women”, but originally meant “wise women” in dialects of Dutch Low Saxon. Historically, the witte wieven are thought to be wise female herbalists and medicine healers who took care of people’s physical and mental ailments. It was said they had the talent for prophecy and looking into the future. They had a high status in the communities, and so when they died ceremonies were held at their grave sites to honour them. According to mythology, their spirits remained on earth, and they became living spirits (or elven beings) that either helped or hindered people who encountered them. They tended to reside in the burial sites or other sacred places. It was thought that mist on a gravehill was the spirit of the wise woman appearing, and people would bring them offerings and ask for help.
My interest in my Germanic roots, and the arrival of Spring has brought all of this together. Spring is the time of year that I start checking the medicine cabinet and preparing for fall and winter, so I thought it was interesting and appropriate that I look to the witte wieven, in my case, my maternal ancestors, to help me with that task this year. The connection of the witte weiven to traditional folk healing (so-called ‘white witches’) is an easy one to make, and so I thought it quite appropriate!
I’ll be making another post on what’s in my medicine cabinet, so be sure to check back for that!
Brightest blessings,
Simple Rituals – Imbolc 2016
Imbolc is a time to ‘wake the Earth’ from her slumber. For many, it is also seen as the Return of the Goddess from her trip to the Underworld that started at Samhain. Traditionally, Imbolc is the Sabbat celebrating the passing of another winter, and the start of the agricultural year. For Pagans who celebrate the Triple Goddess, Imbolc is the point where She transitions from Crone to Maiden.
A big part of Imbolc for me is the celebration and honoring of the Goddess Brigid. Brigid is a Triple Goddess, and so gets honoured in all of Her aspects. Though technically Imbolc is the beginning of Maiden energies, as a mother, the Goddesses of Fertility, Birth, Midwifery and Motherhood feature prominently in my practice since that’s where I am at this stage in my life. Brigid, being associated with midwifery, would naturally fit, along with Frigg, Hathor, Nephthys, Hera, Artemis, Bast, Diana, Hekate, and Juno, among others. With the birth of the Sun at Yule, I love the imagery of the ‘baby’ Sun nursing from the Goddess’s breast. Now that my kids are older, I sometimes miss the (admittedly sometimes frustrating) nights awake with just my baby to keep me company and Imbolc is a time to honour not only the Goddess and Her Son, but also my own.
Brigid is the Goddess of things you make with your hands, and in the aspect, as an artisan, appeals to me greatly. Imbolc is Her day; a festival and Goddess figure so important to ancient Celtic peoples that is reflected in the Christianization of Her into St. Brigid. The Church couldn’t eradicate Her as they did with other deities, so they adopted her. Craftsmen and women invoked Her in the crafting of everyday items, from clothing to farming or animal husbandry equipment, to poetry and art. I keep a mini Brigid offering dish in my kitchen window in remembrance of how essential and influential She is in daily life, and usually keep my Brigid devotional candle lit while I am crafting.
I am part of a Flamekeeping Cill for Brigid, Cill Willow, and have been for several years now. Every 20 days, each of the 19 people in our Cill takes a ‘shift’ tending the eternal flame, saving the last day for Brigid. Though I participate in the flamekeeping vigil during my appointed shift, Imbolc is also a time for communing with Her and tending Her sacred flame.
After the dearth of Winter, Imbolc is a celebration of Light – the return of the Sun and celebration of its returning power. The God may be visualized as a lusty young man, spreading his warmth and attention to the Earth (Gaia), fertilizing and encouraging the growth of the early Spring flowers and vegetation. The connections to fertility are obvious; so fertility rituals and the ‘rekindling’ of everything – activity, agriculture, the birth of animals and babies. The connection to warmth and heat and light and Fire is and important on for me. There are several ‘fire’ associated traditions that appeal to me; the snuffing and re-lighting hearth fires. We don’t have a fireplace, but have found that ritually re-lighting candles symbolizes the same. Other traditions include sweeping out the old and welcoming in the new, filling the house with the smell of baking bread, making corn dollies filled with intentions for the year, and other such ‘Spring Cleaning’ activities that set the tone for the coming season.
With the kids, taking time to celebrate the beginning of the calendar year, recalling seasonal and Sabbat Lore to strengthen their connections to their paths is always a focus. Though I don’t seek to indoctrinate my kids into any particular pathway, offering various Spring seasonal stories, recounting traditions and coming up with ways to honour that passing of season to season is important to me; much more than cementing a particular belief system is just the recognition and honoring of the Turning of the Wheel. Since this is a devotional Sabbat, it re-affirms my own path, and helps me maintain my focus for the coming year, and whatever my children take from that to form their own path works for me.
I have said in the past that I feel a special affinity for cross-quarter days (Imbolc, Beltane, Lughnasadh & Samhain). These ‘in-between’ times are times of change and examination. This is when I evaluate, and make adjustments when needed, to my path or journey towards a goal. I update my journals, Shadow Books, make changes and consolidate information, and occasionally add a new Shadow Book or section in my existing Books if I need to. It’s a time of ‘housekeeping’ and organization in both a literal and symbolic sense.
This year, I am focusing on ‘simplicity’. Though I tend to focus on the Sabbat throughout the month, I have lately felt the need for a simplified ritualistic practice that marks the occasion on the day of. I recently found this Simple Imbolc Rite that really spoke to me, and thought I would share.
Here’s my Imbolc altar and simple ritual:
How did you celebrate Imbolc this year?
Brightest Blessings,
Air in the North, Part II
I really miss the alphabetical challenge that the Pagan Blog Project was doing – though I understand why they stopped, it was a fun challenge, and even though I don’t think I completed one of them ‘on time’, it did keep me writing. So I thought I’d do a modified version of it just for myself, with a more-or-less weekly alphabetical update.
I also found another site with monthly blog prompts, at Mom’s a Witch. I’ll probably work some of those in over the course of this coming year as well.
Starting with ‘A’, this week’s post is on Air in the North, Part II. A while back, for one of the other PBP posts, I did the original Air in the North post, but I’ve learned more since then and thought it was worth another post. I also met another few people who put Air in the North, which was really cool, since most of the people I practice with on a regular basis keep to traditional elemental directions.
At Pagan by Design, the article starts off with acknowledging the discrepancy and sometimes conflict among different Pagan paths regarding elemental and directional correspondences. There are a lovely few paragraphs that indicate other Pagan cultures and paths that use additional directional and elemental correspondences (of note, Chinese, with fire, wood, metal, earth and water). I particularly like the Celtic and Gaelic preference of North, East, South, West, Above, Below, Within; and the concept of the Spirit being divided into 3 – Light, Dark, and Soul. I’ve written Druidic-inspired Rituals, using only three correspondences: Land Sea & Sky; and have participated in Native American-inspired Rituals where we did a Medicine Wheel rather than a traditional Quarter Call.
Part of my preference for Air in the North comes from thinking along these lines:
Native American:
The North improves mental wisdom, discovery, and logic in an illuminating fashion. Knowledge accumulated through our lives is purified, as if a swift breeze blew away all dust and confusion. We prepare for intellectual illumination as these winds sweep into our awareness. It seems that gusts of enlightened, intellectual processes of “knowing” blows into our lives.
I was also particularly intrigued to find that the Lakota People also associate North and Air. I am not Lakota, but I’ve learned a bit about them over the past few years as one of my good friends is of Lakota heritage, and identifies with some of the spiritual paths and practices of the People. That makes total sense to me, as the Dakotas would be among the first territories to feel the chill of the Northern Winter storms – Air would absolutely make sense coming from the North for them, which is a big part of my feeling that Air belongs in the North for me as well.
After a lengthy explanation of why traditional correspondences exists and speculation as to how they came about, Pagan’s Path ends with this:
For you, the wind might be warm instead of cold. The waters might be cool instead of warm. What do you “feel” when you think of each element? Does the fire rise or flicker? Does the Earth rise or spread out upon a vast land? Make your own saying and then think about where these elements fit within the cardinal directions of your location. Is it cold in the North or the South? Does the warm water flow to the South or East? Does the sun represent your fire? If so, when it rises in the East or sets in the West? Does the Earth rise up to greet you in the mountains of the East, West, or maybe some other direction? These are the things that make you connected to the elements, the directions and the Divine Energy around you. It’s not how your friend feels, or your partner thinks, or what your Teacher says is right or wrong. None of those outside forces are going to be there when YOU sit down to do a working or to commune with the Divine world around you. So this is your time to think about where you are, and what you believe. You have the answers within yourself. Just sit down, meditate a little and ask your higher self what goes where and why.
That, I think, is one of the key elements as to how ‘being Pagan’ works. “You have the answers within yourself. Just sit down, meditate a little and ask your higher self what goes where and why.” This, exactly.
Though I am pretty vocal about my preferences, I don’t have to have Air in the North to be part of a Ritual Circle. I have, and do, function just fine when someone whose correspondences differ from mine leads Ritual. In fact, I’d go a step further and say that my practice is enriched by being part of Circles where things are vastly different form how I normally do them. Being exposed to new things always adds an element of wonder to my experience within that Circle, and I have always come away from that experience with something to take back to my practice (or know with certainty that something is ‘not for me’).
If you keep non-traditional correspondences, I’d love to hear form you – what they are and why you have them!
Brightest Blessings,
PBP: The Wheel of the Year – Part 2
Prompt: The Wheel of the Year
“When celebrating the Wheel of the Year, you can interpret it many ways. You can see it as symbolic, agricultural, astrological, etc. You could even do a combination. How do you find significance of each holiday in the modern world we live in? For example, during the fall season, the holidays relate strongly to the harvest. In this day and age, most of us don’t live on a farm harvesting grain and ensuring the following year’s crops. How do you stay in touch with the roots of the holy days we observe when some times we are so far placed from them?How do you interpret the Sabbats of the Wheel of the Year and make it fit the modern world around us?”
Lughnasadh
Mabon
Mabon is another easy connection for me. When I first heard the legend of Blodeuwedd the Owl, it struck a chord for me. She’s gotten kind of a bad rap over the years, but when the culture and circumstances of her life are discovered, her role and actions in the larger tapestry are revealed. The Triple Goddess is another important part of my path, and at Mabon, She is represented fully to me. Of the three Harvest Festivals (Lughnasadh, Mabon, Samhain), Mabon is the one that is ‘Thanksgiving’. It’s the main harvest, and as such a time for reflection and giving thanks. It is Spring, fulfilled, and celebration for the completion of what was planted earlier in the year (be it seeds or a garden, spellwork, or plans). For my family, Mabon is a season of pouring back into the community and into the people who touch our lives. Though we are involved in community service work throughout the year on a regular basis, Mabon is a time for recognizing the blessings we have received and showing thankfulness through generosity. Mabon is also a time to celebrate the Dark Mother. As the earth is dying just a little, preparing for Winter. Persephone/Proserpina and Demeter/Ceres are also honoured at this time, as the earth descends to darkness and the Crone aspect of the Goddess is beginning.Samhain
Yule
Yule is the Winter Solstice as well; traditionally a time of rest – settling in with kith and kin by the fire, counting blessings and weathering out the last of winter. Though I’m in the Southern United States, and our temperatures reach to 80’s (F) sometimes, the sentiments are the same – gathering close to freinds and family, and counting ourselves fortunate.
Another observation that I feel is important to do is ‘Walking the Boundaries’. Every year, on the Quarter Days (Yule, Ostara, Litha & Mabon), I walk the boundaries of our property and leave Thanks and Offerings to the boundary spirits for continued good-will and protection. We share the land with Those Who Came Before, so we try to honor them with a little something.
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If you’re so inclined, feel free to use the same promt and write your own blog post. Be sure to link back!
Brightest Blessings,
Disposing of Spellwork Leftovers
Every witch tends to do things his or her own way, and the matter of what to do with remnants and leftover bits from spellwork is just as varied as anything else can be. Like many questions along the Pagan Path, there is no one ‘right’ way to do things.
Something I’ve seen come up recently is, ‘what do you do with leftover remnants of spellwork?’
By this, I assume that people are talking about things like the bottle filled with herbs, sachets or paper or even ashes or spent candles – whatever is ‘left’ when your spellwork is completed.
I don’t generally have to deal with this issue since I prefer to burn everything. I primarily work with herbs and papers and stones, which can be cleansed (usually), I burn everything in the spell-casting process. I prefer that, as there’s never anything but ash to dispose of, but I have done other spellwork that leaves bits behind. I keep ashes in my cauldron until it’s full-ish, then I either scatter them on the wind or bury them. I have brought them to the creek in the past, but I don’t anymore; I don’t like putting things into the water that shouldn’t be there.
What do with the remnants varies, in my opinion, greatly upon what the spell was for, what the remnants are and how the spell was used. Sometimes, I’ve kept the remnants as an inactive reminder or keepsake. I have several witch’s ladders that have become bookmarks, dollies that have become Sabbat decorations, and other bits and pieces here and there that just go into a jar on my altar or in my cabinet. Before I put the keepsake away, I either smudge or salt it – something to ground any leftover energy in the object, just to make sure it’s ‘done’ and safe to handle.
There are some things that I don’t keep, like Witch Ball remnants. If one breaks, it gets removed as in-tact as possible, and taken to be buried off my property or into the big trash bin outside to be taken away. I believe that protection magick remains in-tact until it’s spent; I don’t want whatever is tangled up inside it to be released near me, so I don’t and wouldn’t keep those.
Sometimes, the spell, itself, calls for the destruction of the tangible part of it. Poppets come to mind; I don’t often do poppet magick but depending on what the spell was used for, it might get burned or buried during the casting process. Most of the spellwork I do uses simple supplies that are used up in the casting process, but occasionally, I find that it suits me to do something more elaborate, at which point disposal becomes an important part of planning the work. I don’t want something lingering that could contaminate other work or energies.
Other ways to destroy remnants, aside from burning, throwing into the bin, or buried, include disposing of the remnants in water, preferably a flowing steam or river. The ocean can also be used, but I would worry about either discovery or contamination for either of those methods. Depending on what you’ve created for the working, simply dismantling the spell may work, but do consider carefully and completely cleansing everything that went into it before using it again. Spells involving something you may not want to dispose of, like tarot cards, come to mind.
How do you dispose of spell remnants?
Brightest Blessings,
Women of Magick and Nature 2015 Retreat
A few weekends ago, Bridey and I went to a retreat called W.O.M.A.N. – ‘Women of Magick and Nature‘. I’d learned about it earlier this year, and had been looking forward to going for some time. Despite how ‘connected’ I tend to think I am, it always surprises me to stumble upon some gem of knowledge or activity or event that is totally new to me. WOMAN has apparently been around for years, though it’s gone by several different names and changed leadership over the years – but the spirit of the gathering is in tact (at least I hope so – what I brought home from the experience was absolutely wonderful).
Over the course of the weekend, I got to meet so many bad-ass Texas witches – who have been around for years and both been instrumental in shaping the Pagan community in Southeast Texas and guiding the women who will come after them. I love that the traditions that started within Texas are being passed on, and at the same time, new life and vitality and ideas are breathed into them as new ones learn and adopt and grow. It felt good – being part of a group that, with each change of name and hands, both honors what came before while accepting and facilitating the changes to come. It’s a process that’s on-going… not without moments of frustration and sadness for what was lost, I’m sure, but overwhelmingly with love and excitement for that which is yet to come.
One of the things I was surprised to find is how much I enjoyed talking with the older women at this retreat. Having a community with a more diverse mix of ages is something that I hadn’t realized I was lacking. I remember sitting underneath the kitchen table while my mother and grandmothers and aunts and great-aunts (both those by blood and those by choice) would sit around talking and shelling peas, or playing cards. I always assumed that I would have that when I grew up, and I suppose in some ways, I do – but there were often elements of faith discussed in those kitchen-table gatherings and that’s the part that’s been lacking. It was energizing to be in an environment where spiritual ideas and concepts were so openly discussed and considered.
In my friend group, I am one of the oldest there – my kids are older, I’ve been married for the longest… I don’t have anyone to learn from. That’s not to say that I know everything, or that those with less time on the clock can’t or don’t have things to teach me – they absolutely do, and I eagerly accept their teaching just as readily as I do that from elders – but it’s not the same as being taught/mentored by an older woman. There’s something about the way an older woman imparts her knowledge – not universally, of course – personalities are what they are, but in general, the wisdom of years has something unique to offer, and I’ve missed it.
It was lovely being around so many women who wanted to teach and to learn from them. There’s something about the Pagan community, about the willingness to teach and be taught, that I don’t see in other religious communities. Whereas other communities all look to a single leader or group of leaders, at events like this, the floor is open to anyone who has something to offer. We had classes and workshops all weekend long, from divination, to crafts, to astrology… it was really interesting and fun to be part of. I felt like there was plenty of room for everyone’s time and differing opinions were heard and no one was belittled or told that they were ‘wrong’… it was such a great atmosphere.
One of the things I learned that I just love is a style of stone divination. Basically, you choose small stones, one for each planet in the solar system, plus ones for the sun and moon, and (to start with), a stone to represent yourself. Using either traditional or personal correspondences for the planets/stones, cast the stones within a circle (a 3’ loop of leather cord, or on a cloth or other surface with a defined edge). Depending on your preference, you can read the stones with the center point as the present, moving outwards for a timeline, or as the edge of the circle closest to you being the present, moving further along the timeline as you move away form yourself. Stones that are closest to ‘you’ (your signifier in the spread) have more of an effect, or their influence is in play, while those farther away from you have less influence. That’s a very (very) simplistic explanation, but gives the gist of the method. It’s also highly adaptable and open to various personalizations. We were left with the instruction, “Make it your own!”, so I did.
And then, there were the rituals. I won’t go into detail, simply because I feel like those were special times to me, and private. But these ladies went all out for planning and preparation, and it was really just awesome to be part of it.
I am so glad that I went. I struggle with anxiety issues, and as a child, I’d have passed an opportunity like this up. I’d have wanted to go, and been regretful for bowing out, but the stress and dread of meeting new people and participating would have been too much, so I’d have declined or bowed out when it came time to leave. I am so glad that I’ve worked through a lot of those issues. It was still hard to walk into a room in progress (we arrived mid-class), but without a doubt, this was one of the best things I’ve done for myself in a long time and I am so glad that I got to share the experience. There’s another retreat in the Spring, and I am hoping that I get to go!
Brightest Blessings,
Crystals and Gems for Everyday Use
I was asked recently about my stones and crystals, and thought I’d make a post about them; specifically, about how they’re used. But first, some basics!
Most of the Pagans I know tend to think of their stones as ‘living’ objects, and by that, I mean that they recognize the energy and effect that stones and crystals have on their user/wearer. If you’re not familiar with stones and crystals in your personal practice, they can be a useful addition. I recommend getting a couple of books on stones, both scientific/geology-related and Pagan-related, to get an idea of what it is you’re dealing with. Knowing the geological profile of a stone can help you place it into your practice and correspondences more easily, in my opinion (especially if you use non-traditional correspondences, or follow an eclectic path). DK Press has several ‘stones and gems’ books, and I found one that is organized by color that is useful for identifying stones I find in the wild. Cunningham’s Encyclopedia of Crystal, Gem and Metal Magic is another good one, and The Crystal Bible by Judy Hall is another good one.
While it’s tempting to start your stone and gem collection and pack it away, stones and crystals can’t help you if they’re tucked away in a drawer. To get the most effect, they need to be handled, loved and taken care of. It’s important to recharge your stones, too. But first, let’s talk about choosing the right stones for your collection.
Choosing Stones and Crystals
So how do you go about choosing the ‘right’ stones and crystals? Mostly, it’s by ‘feel’. Sometimes, you can be drawn to certain stones or crystals and know instantly that it’s right for you. Other times, you may need to touch and hold several in the bin before finding the ‘right’ one. It’s not uncommon for me to be walking around outside by the beach or in the woods and be drawn to something I can’t readily see, only to find a beautiful bit of sea glass or a stone that feels like it’s ‘mine’. Crystals seem to be a bit different, in that they often warm to the touch if they’re meant to go home with you! I can imagine that it has something to do with the cuts and the vibration of your personal energies, but that could be a load of hooey. In either case, crystals are easier for me to choose or recognize that it’s not meant to be mine than stones.
Can you use ‘just any’ stone or crystal? Probably, but if you don’t feel it, then chances are you won’t see the result that you were looking for.
Cleansing & Charging
This isn’t my picture, but my set-up is very similar to this.
I’ve read a lot of different methods for cleansing and charging. As with any magickal tool, I feel like cleansing prior to use is essential. Not only does cleansing clear whatever other psychic vibrations or energy attached to it, but it also gives you a chance to impose your energy on it, and ‘tune in’ to the stone or crystal. I use crystals and stones all the time – herbs and stones/crystals are probably the most often used in my personal practice – so I want to make sure that my stones work for me. Cleansing is a vital step for best results.
Among my favorite methods for cleansing are Sun Cleansing, Moon Cleansing, and Water Cleansing. With Water Cleansing, you can use Salted Water, Moon-Blessed Water, or Holy Water to cleanse. For Sun Cleansing, I choose a day when the sun is bright and the sky is clear. The Summer Solstice is an ideal day to cleanse stones in the sun, but any day would work. If correspondences are important to you, then you might choose a day that corresponds to the stone you’re cleansing, and use other favorable trappings as well (like color of tablecloth, or herbs on the table as well). I don’t cast a Circle for cleansing stones, but I do set a small, temporary altar, with the elements represented and the stones in the center. I leave the stones out in direct sunlight during the hottest part of the day, and bring them in afterwards. A word about Sun Cleansing for crystals – I don’t use the sun for crystals. The UV rays can discolor your crystals, and some crystals can crack or shatter if they get too hot. They’re still the same, energetically speaking, but not as pretty.
other ways to cleanse stones and crystals
For Moon Cleansing, I recommend waiting until the Full Moon. I try to cleanse and charge my crystals by moonlight only, and every month. If I am home, it’s easy to leave them out overnight, but even just a little while under the moon can cleanse and re-charge them. You don’t have to do anything fancy; leaving them in a windowsill where the moon can touch them is perfect if you can’t get outside.
Something that is also very effective is Spirit Cleansing. Spirit Cleansing is ideal for those on a limited budget, or who practice discreetly, or just prefer to do things without a bunch of ‘stuff’. We Pagans tend to like our ‘stuff’, so sometimes it’s nice to get back to basics, and really connect with the idea that the power is in the witch. Spirit Cleansing is essentially using your own energy to cleanse and charge a stone or crystal. Using Spirit to charge is common; it’s how I charge all of my stones and crystals – but using Spirit to cleanse as well is just as effective. If you think about it, the intent is what matters. Even with other methods, you’re still drawing on your energy to set the intention. Spirit Cleansing is just a little more overt. To cleanse with Spirit, like with other methods, I don’t cast a Circle. I prefer to do Spirit Cleansing at my altar, with my altar and working candles lit. Spirit Cleansing is a little like meditation practice, in that you’re holding the stone and focusing your energy into it, and through it, and drawing your will and intent into it.
Charging your stones and crystals is something different from cleansing (though you can do both at the same time). Much like with Spirit Cleansing, charging uses either your own energy, or the energies of the elementals and things around you, combined with your will, to help the stone or crystal do the work you intend it for. One of the reasons stones and gems and crystals are effective is because you’re drawing on its own energy as well. When your intent is in alignment with the energy and purpose of the stone or gem or crystal, then it just works! Generally speaking, to charge my stones, gems and crystals, I hold it in my hands, and use visualization and focused meditation to set the intention for the stone. Some stones, I have specific goals for; others are for more general use.
Everyday Use
One of my favorite ways to use stones is by wearing them. Lots of places have necklace pendants that you can either tuck a stone into, or open and put a stone in. I have both kinds, and 
they’re ideal for wearing small stones. The ones I have are large enough to put multiple stones in, which makes customization easier. Using harmonious stones or gems in one group can maximize a particular effect, or mediate the effects of one stone by using another. I wear my stones to help control anxiety and stress, and to promote compassion and harmony in my interactions with people. My son wears stones to help with gastrointestinal stress, and digestive issues. They’re also useful on the bed-side table, to help with falling asleep, staying asleep and dream-magick.
Another way to draw on the healing and/or magickal properties of crystals and stones is to make tinctures or oils with the stone or crystal inside. My jars and vials of Moon Blessed Water, for example, usually also contain a bit of moonstone, or quartz (or both). If you’re making massage oil, adding rose quartz, amethyst, tiger’s eye, or carnelian can either help with relaxation or help spice things up. For prosperity oil, gold, adventurine, unakite, goldstone, labradorite and other stones that attract wealth or luck can boost the oil’s effectiveness.
Many stones also have a deity connection; that is, a stone or crystal is associated with a particular deity. They can be used to focus on your connection and communication with a particular deity, or to establish one. In some cases, being drawn to a particular stone may be deity trying to get in touch with you! If that’s something you’re open to, a little research can go a long way towards figuring it out.
I also use stones in spellwork. Larger stone can be used as candle holders – I drip some wax onto the stone, and set the candle into it, then place it on my altar until it’s done or my work is finished. Stones are also great for long-acting spells; stones are very stable and can hold onto an intention for a long time (especially with regular care). I use them on my altar as place-holders for intention or as the visible reminder of spellwork for prosperity and protection that are either in other areas of my home or outside (like Witch Balls).
Crystal grids are another good way to maximize your intent. Laying a grid can be somewhat time-consuming, but once it’s laid, the stones use each other to stay active. The old infomercial ‘set it and forget it’ comes to mind (only don’t ‘forget it’ – you ARE the magic)…. Stone massage is 
another great use for your stones. Much like the very popular (and costly) ‘hot stone massage’ that many spas offer, you can achieve similar effects with your own stone collection. Certain stones are aligned with the seven chakras, and can be used to balance them, and affect your musculature and overall health. Though you can buy fancy sets of chakra stones (and there are some really nice, big flat stones that are engraved), you don’t have to go to such lengths to get the same effects that you can get from stones you find our buy in rock bins.
Crystals, stones and gems can also be used in decorating. I mentioned a while back that I was somewhat interested in Feng Shui, and found that they can be useful in bringing harmonious energies in, and helping the flow of energy in your home in general. I haven’t put this to the test, but I am fascinated by the possibilities and will probably try it and see what sticks.
Something that I’ve found to be very useful is purchasing vials of stone or crystal chips or shards. Those are very small, and can go into things like charms and spell bottles more easily than larger stones. They can also be ground in a mortar and put into things that you might not otherwise think to put them in (like sprinkling in doorways or around the foundations of your home for protection).
***
If you’re not currently using stones in your personal practice, I encourage you to give it a go. Start simple; your birthstone is a good place to start. Those are really easy to find and
completely inconspicuous (if discretion is important to you). From there, you can learn about the correspondences associated with it, and how you can use it to focus your energy, will, intent or spellwork. Birthstone jewelry is simple, but can be an important tool, too.
This is far from an exhaustive guide to how stones, gems and crystals can be used, nor are my methods the only ones. One of the most important facets of many Pagan paths is personalization. Trial and error are expected; ask any witch and they’ll tell you about the many mistakes and fumbles that they endured when they were new to the Craft. It’s okay to try something and if it doesn’t work for you, to scrap it. It’s also okay to try something multiple times until you get it (to a point where it feels) right, or to discard it today only to pick it up down the road.
How do you use stones in your practice?
Brightest Blessings,
New Shadow Book
I have been wanting to post this for some time, and am at long last getting around to doing it – yay! I have finally created a Shadow Book that I am happy with. I’ve experimented for years with different combinations of methods for creating and maintaining my Shadow Book, or as more proper pagans than I call it, Book of Shadows (I’ve always called it a ‘shadow book’ and am too old to change that habit now, so deal with it). Here it is, in all it’s unveiled, gigantic glory!
Over the years, I’ve tried various books and journals and binders, only to find that nothing was big enough to house all of the information that I wanted handy. Or, if it was big enough, I’d find or write something that needed to go between two pages that were already written on. I’m also notoriously fickle, so I’d end up wanting to change the way the sections in the book were ordered, which is impossible in a traditionally bound book. So, frustrated, I’d try another method.
Binders worked well for me for a long time. I used two main three-ring binders, and a variety of small notebooks for reflections and journaling. That got tiresome, as everything had its specific book that I had to keep up with. I’m a pretty organized person, but that was too many books to keep up with, even for me. To make matters worse, when I was working, inevitably I’d want something that was in another book or binder, and have to stop, locate the information and then continue. Such disruptions became bothersome, to the point that it was interfering with my practice – why bother if I was constantly under-prepared (and by under-prepared, I mean some bit of information that would flicker to life in remembrance once I got started – not things I should have had prepared before beginning).
But now, I have all of my information – what would traditionally be separated into a Book of Shadows, a Book of Mirrors and a Grimoire, all between two covers. Because of the way this book is maintained, adding new information, or changing the way information is organized is a matter of removing the cover, adding or shifting pages around, and replacing the cover.
I was inspired by some of the more commercial journals that I’ve seen on YouTube, particularly Pagan Scrapbook Supply. I love her books and supplies, but I am definitely not in the market to spend in excess of a hundred dollars for something I was reasonably sure that I could make for myself. And so, I started crafting! I knew that I wanted a post-bound Book. As a formerly avid scrapbooker, post-bound albums have the best flexibility when it comes to making changes; even PSS used the same concept (but with straps instead of posts, and two instead of three). All I really needed was the front and back cover. My first version was made from an old scrapbook that I had. It was the bare-bones, cardboard covers that tied with a string that I found at a dollar-store years ago. I cut the cover down (from 12×12 to a more manageable 8.5×11) and then used a variety of glues, papers and paints to make it look like old leather. I was semi-successful. It worked, but ultimately was a little more ‘rugged’ than I wanted. As a first attempt, it wasn’t bad, but was crooked, and not as solid as I wanted.
The next version, and what I am currently using, involved a pre-made, 8.5×11 post-bound scrapbook frame that I found at the craft store (similar to this one, with extension posts and multi-size posts). With a coupon, it was $10. I’d have done this straight away had I known that there was a commercially produced 8.5×11 size album available. All of my Books before have been printer-sized; I didn’t want to change to a larger page (or a smaller one). This album was exactly what I was looking for.
Initially, I had each page punched and inserted, but like the books in the video above, found that for maximum visibility, they needed to be mounted. So I used old file folders to create a bracket for the pages to stick to. Rather than have each page on a separate bracket, some brackets hold several pages (mounted to the fronts and backs) so that I have sections of related information where necessary. I’ve also found that plastic page protectors work in a pinch, but I dislike the look (and feel) of the plastic in my book. I do have some pages (herb info, mostly) that are currently in plastic page protectors, but will remove them eventually and mount them properly.
The image I have in the window of my book The Morrigan Raven by Peggy von Burkleo
To create the page mounting strips, I traced a plastic page protector that could hold an 8.5×11 sheet of printer paper, and traced the area where the holes are, then cut it out and replicated it (dozens of times!!). It was time-consuming, yes, but the result was exactly what I wanted. Then I coffee-stained (like tea-staining, but with coffee – smells *amazing*) the 500+ pages that I’ve collected in my various binders over the years, mounted them and added them to the book.
What I ended up with is an amazing (if slightly bulky), useful tool that houses everything I need, from basic information, to more personal reflections, correspondences, recipes, spells and relevant material all in one place. Another feature that looks odd now, but becomes less so as time goes on (and more is added), is that there is ample room for embellishments and additions to the pages. I am an avid ‘art journal-er’, and my Shadow Book is eventually going to end up with the same treatment as my art journals – as a platform for my art. In this particular case, I still need my Shadow Book pages to be legible, but adding embellishments that add to the look, feel and general attractiveness of the book is part of nurturing my spirituality that I have been neglecting lately, and I am eager to get back into the process.
Though I tend to keep the pages of my Shadow Book private (you probably won’t see me doing a flip-through on YouTube), I don’t mind answering questions about the contents, so if you have a question, please feel free to ask in the comments. As I said though, I’ve combined the elements traditionally separated into the Book of Mirrors (personal reflections; a diary of one’s path), a Book of Shadows (practices; Sabbat and Esbat Rites; history, etc.) and a Grimoire (spells, recipes, etc.). I also keep blank pages in the center of the book so that when I wish to add notes, I can write in the book itself, and then move the pages to the appropriate section later on. This keeps all of my notes and things in one place, which I find helpful (and space-saving).
The last touch, which will probably be a while in coming, will be to create the spine cover. I need to get black posterboard (or regular posterboard and cover it with fabric) to make the spine look neater; it’s not required, but it will lend a more finished look to my Book. If you’ve made your own Shadow Book, I’d love to see it! If not, I hope you’re inspired to create one of your own. It’s something I’ve found to be very rewarding. Happy crafting!
Brightest Blessings,
Tasseography, Tasseomancy, Tassology
This is a subject that I know next to nothing about, but am extremely curious about, so I thought I would write my ‘T’ post on it – Tea leaves! More specifically, the reading of them.
Some of the girls in my local Circle and I joined a tea co-op, and for $6, I now have bags upon bags of wonderful, flavored and traditional loose teas sitting in my kitchen just begging to be read.
I also come from a long line of teacup collectors, so it seems natural that tea leaf reading would be implied. However, the religion I was raised in had very strict censures on anything even remotely related to divination ‘lest the demons get ‘cha‘, (you have to say that part with one eye squinty and a really bad Southern accent to get the full effect of that statement), so I’ve never had the opportunity to play with it much.
I also didn’t know that there were special tasseography cups, so the combination of tasty loose tea, knocking on Satan’s door via the practice of divination and another tea cup to collect? Sign me up!
To begin with, I haven’t yet bought any books or materials to go along with this art. I say ‘yet’ because of course I am going to be collecting books on the subject; I just haven’t gotten around to it yet. I had The Girls over a while back with instructions to bring teacups so we can practice. We had a lot of fun trying to interpret our own cups and each others.
Some of the websites I’ve found that I plan to use are:
This seems to be a pretty good step-by-step for the beginner site. I have read through the steps, but still haven’t learned enough to go without a refresher. This website says that since tasseography is so subjective, that reading your own leaves is preferable and likely more useful than having someone else read for you. She likens it to the Rorschach tests – what I see may be totally different than what you see. That makes sense to me; since what I am thinking about while reading may be something totally unrelated to what you’re thinking about, and so our readings will naturally reflect our differing states of mind. I do like that she gives a pretty long list of symbols and possible interpretations; I think that, like dream diaries, keeping a log of my own symbols and interpretations would probably be useful as well.
There’s another symbol list at mojomoon.net, but the one at tasseography.com seems to be a little more complete, and has more symbols. I tend to prefer multiple lists and usually create my own with a mixture of traditional meanings and space to write my own interpretations as well.
For practice, Reading Tea Leaves has a long list of specimen cups that you can work on to improve your reading skills. I thought that was a neat thing to offer! There’s also quite a bit of general information on tasseography as well. There’s also a symbol dictionary as well.
Serena Powers’ website has something different than other sites I’ve seen; she mentions that before you even drink the tea, the reading has begin. Signs to look for are bubbles, floating tea leaves, an accident of teaspoons… I wonder how much of this is superstition and how much of it might be considered a true part of the reading, but most superstition has roots on coincidence of facts, so who knows. It’s fun, in any case. Serena also has a symbol guide at the bottom of her page.
There is also a set of tea leaf fortune cards that I think would be fun to play with.
What is your experience with reading tea leaves?
Brightest Blessings,
A Questioning Path
I really like this picture. One of the reasons I chose it for this post is because it’s not just one path; it’s a path that allows for turns that interact with other people, and that can bring you back to the places you were before. I think that’s more representative of the way that life is – the choice I make today may lead me somewhere new, but it might also bring me back to a place I was before, or at least a very familiar place. I also think that this is such a valuable thing for my kids to learn as they grow and find their place in the spiritual world.
This is, in part, what happened to me. I revisited a familiar crossroads – one that I had been at before – where my needs and beliefs differed greatly from that of those around me (my family). At that time, I chose one direction… but then slowly started making choices that ultimately brought me back to that same crossroads again. This time, I have chosen a different course – one that takes me farther away from those whom I once chose to please.
While I define myself as Pagan, that’s not a tidy little word that encompasses everything about my spiritual beliefs. I think that, especially over the last decade or so, the definition of ‘Pagan’ has grown to include almost (if not more) styles of practice, belief and worship as the many Christian religions. When you hear ‘Pagan’, though there is a certain set of ideas that you can assume they might hold, the specifics of their individual beliefs are as vast as the stars. From individual direct paths like Wicca, Kemetic, Hellenic; to the various Reconstructionist or Ecclectic versions of those paths, to purely Ecclectic paths… the structure and exact definition of beliefs of each of those varies even within the coven or group themselves.
This, to me, has the potential to be an utterly amazing thing. Indeed, among the people I have met within the Pagan Community in my own Circle, and came into contact with at Pagan Pride Day, the openness and willingness of a group of people with such vastly differing beliefs to come together for a moment and celebrate both the diversity and the unity of belief is especially tantalizing to me; someone who is always questing for something that resonates for my own practice.
I don’t know where my path will lead me, ultimately. I am not dead-set on anything – I’ve had too much ‘organized religion’ in my life to feel either the need for or comfort in a truly structured, ‘THIS is how we practice’ religion of any kind. But partake occasionally? Find an element from their worship that appeals to me? Yes, please! And I am fortunate, indeed, to be part of a community that makes my questioning path both acceptable and feeds my desire to participate in and learn new things.
Brightest Blessings,
This post is part of the Pagan Blog Project. To read more posts with the ‘Q’ topic, originally for the week of August 17, 2012, click the button:
Candle Magic
It’s been a while since I participated in Pagan Blog Prompts. This have been pretty busy lately and I have been missing out!
This week’s prompt is on candle magic.
Do you use candle magic in your spells/rituals?
How do you do it?
What would you recommend for beginners?
I am a longtime fan of candle magic. It’s one of the easiest magics to learn and perform, and in its simplicity, is viable for a wide range of magical uses.
Candles hold several appeals for me. Fire is my element, and the obvious connection between candles and fire makes the magic easy for me to access. Having something to focus on (the flame), having something to write on (inscribe the wax), and even embedding objects on the wax make candles ideal for so many things.
I use a variety of candles in my personal practice: pillar candles, votives, tea lights, tapers, seven-day devotional candles, tiny tapers – even the odd jar candle has a place. Though they all serve a purpose in my practice, not all of them are ‘magic’ candles. I use tapers for my God and Goddess devotionals, I use a pillar (or two) for a Working Candle (usually inscribed with runes, symbols, words, and other tokens pertaining to my personal practice; I use a white pillar for waxing moon and a dark pillar for waning moon) and votives for various purposes – elements, devotions to specific deities or ‘for’ someone. When I do magic ‘for’ someone – more than just a candle to send healing, peaceful thoughts and energy – when I work a spell for someone (which is rare outside of my immediate family and very close friends), I use the tiny tapers. They’re meant to burn hot and fast, which means that I can work a spell and have it on its way relatively quickly – faster than votives.
If you have children, candle magic with tea lights is a great way to introduce them to spell-casting. The cups are just the right size to hold herbs or trinkets imbued with intent, and they burn fairly quickly and safely. Simple spells, like banishing bad dreams (add lavender and chamomile to the cup, then have your child write a description of the bad dream or draw a picture. Light the candle and burn the paper in the flame while saying something simple, like ‘Fire light, burning bright, take these dreams with you tonight.” Repeat as many times as it takes to burn the paper, and then ‘So mote it be’), or creating space to study for a test (add rosemary, frankincense, and sandalwood to the cup, then light the candle. Place on your desk while you study. This candle can be re-lit for each study session).
One thing that I have done in the past is to make candles similar to these:
decorated candles courtesy of Lightly Enchanted blog
http://lightlyenchanted.blogspot.com/2011/01/decorating-candles_18.html
The herbs, flowers and other things can be glued on with Mod Podge, school glue or with melted wax. If you’re making them with kids, then you can add bits of poems, songs or spell couplets to the outside (though use caution when burning!) or pictures that the kids draw.
In short, candle magic rocks! If you’re new to simple spell-casting, give candle magic a try.
Brightest Blessings,
Witchy Cabinet
There seems to be a trend on YouTube about sharing and showing off your sacred spaces – altars, meditation rooms, and witchy cabinets.
I love watching them – seeing how different people, who practice in different ways and follow different paths, have created sacred spaces in their homes is very inspiring to me. But the one I enjoy the most are the tours through people’s witchy cabinets!
I love seeing what ‘things’ are inside them, how they’re organized and what they’re made from. I’ve seen everything from bookcases (or just a shelf or two), to entire rooms full of things. Books, herb collections, crystal, stone and gem collections, ritual wear, crafting supplies, extra altar decorations, statuary, candles (oh, tons of candles!) and all kinds of stuff.
I don’t have a YouTube account, and I am a bit camera-shy, so I thought that I would share a bit here about my ‘witchy cabinet’, and talk about how to set one up if you don’t have one already. I’ve seen some people who have their things all over their homes. I personally prefer to have my things stored all together in one spot so I am not running around trying to locate this book or that binder, but have relatively recently embraced the idea and practice of secondary ‘mini-altars’ all over my home.
I keep the majority of my things in a trunk in my bedroom. My primary altar is right there as well, so I have everything I need at arms reach. I have all of my books that deal with Paganism, herbs, crystals, mythology, witchcraft and religion on a bookshelf, with my binders (Books of Shadows) underneath it. I keep herbs, extra candles, tools (mortar & pestle, extra candle holders, athame, etc.) and my divination tools in the trunk. I also store my ritual garb (that doesn’t have another home) in there – my cape and pointy hat (worn for fun, of course) are both in there as well as some scarves and other altar cloths. And lastly, I keep trinkets and other keepsakes in the trunk. Some of them are useful – meaning that they’re either charged or holding a spell, or have held something and I don’t want to get rid of them.
When I am doing spell work though, I most frequently work at my desk, which is in my office with all the craft supplies. This creates a bit of a transportation issue at times, because I am lugging books and herbs back and forth, but overall works out well, because everything is neatly stored when I am finished. Since I have curious children running around, and also play hostess at times, having my ‘supplies’ out in the open wouldn’t work for me – plus the tendency of children and guests to touch would be annoying to have to deal with all the time.
If you don’t have a cabinet, it’s pretty easy to set one up. They can be made out of any space that is big enough. I started with a box that was about 18″ x 24″, and 6″ deep under my bed. I think the first things I ever had that were ‘pagan’ were Scott Cunningham’s Wicca: A Guide for the Solitary Practitioner (still a favorite of mine even though I am not ‘Wiccan’) and a quartz crystal. I added candles in red, blue, green, yellow and purple and a scarf as an altar cloth. Later, I found a wand in the woods, and started collecting herbs and other trinkets. Slowly, that box filled up and I got a bigger one. Then I moved to a shelf to hold the books and a box on the shelf for my supplies.
Eventually, I had a ‘workroom’ of sorts set up, but with the addition of a husband and children, space became limited, so I boxed up most of my things. I always kept a small altar set up – just candles and incense, usually – in my bedroom, and for a long time, that’s all I had time (and space) for. Over the past few years, I’ve unpacked my altar and set it up again, added a couple more small altars around the house. My witchy supplies have migrated to a more readily accessible location so that I have what I might need right at my fingertips.
It’s been an interesting shift from having a small space, to a room, back to a small space and now, having my things all in one place, but my whole house has a more Pagan feel to it these days. I have decorations up that I have never had before – a handmade besom by the front door; a pentacle and witch balls up throughout the house, statuary in the kitchen… it’s comforting to have these small symbols up in my home.
So what about you? How are your supplies stored and organized?
Brightest Blessings,
Handmade Tools
“…with these hands, and with this heart, and with this mind, I can do anything!” ― Derek Vitatoe, With These Hands
That’s how I feel about tools. Obviously, some things are better bought – an athame (since I am not a silversmith), a mortar & pestle, a chalice – but that’s not to say that I wouldn’t make a blade, or that I wouldn’t treasure a large flat stone and rock like Native Americans used to grind maize, or that a red solo cup wouldn’t work well in a pinch… but there is a certain joy in making your own tools.
One of the main reasons I tend to make my own things is price. The other main reason is energy. I mention price first simply because I have seen some breathtaking tools and supplies that I would love to have in my cabinet. But the second reason plays just as much of a role. When I buy something, I can’t use it until it is cleansed, and sometimes the cleansing process is lengthy. I bought a deck of tarot cards once and couldn’t use them for over a month (they still don’t read well for me). On the other hand, things that I have made usually work very well, sometimes even before they’re finished.
I also seem to have more success making things from scratch rather than re-purposing things. That, I feel pretty strongly, is about energy and vibrations – the reluctance sometimes of things to function in a new capacity. But with time and practice, my handmade items usually cooperate fully and work well.
Some things I have made are pendulum boards (for myself and for friends), pendulums, scrying mirror, pendants and other spiritual jewelry, and other decorations for my altar and home.
You might wonder – do I think that handmade tools are superior to store-bought tools? Well, yes and no. Yes, because I believe that anything I make myself (whether for myself or not) carries my will and energy and intent with it. Since magic is all about energy and will and intent, I believe that my handmade tools – or those made by someone else’s hand and gifted to me – work better than those that are commercially produced. That’s not to say that superior results cannot be found with commercial products; I love my crystal pendulum! But they lack a certain feel to them.
One area that I stray from the ‘handmade is better’ camp in is with my Shadow Book. Though I love the idea of a fully handwritten book, and have not removed that goal from my list of Things I would Like to Do One Day, I am not a fan of my handwriting – I tend to write things, then go back and edit, make notes and changes and the page ends up looking like a jumbled mess. Some might find that appealing – I’d rather everything stay neat and legible. So, I usually type and print. I do have an art-Book of Shadows that has a lot of drawing in it, but that’s not a ‘working’ book – more of a journal. More on the virtues of handwritten vs. printed later {wink}.
How about you? What’s your take on handmade vs. store-bought tools? Do you work with tools you created yourself?
Brightest Blessings,
Book of Shadows for Kids
I have been looking high and low across the internet for a Book of Shadows (or as we call them here, ‘Shadow Books’) for kids. I’m not looking for a ‘story book’, but an actual list of things to include that would be useful for kids – spells and simplified versions of things that I might have in mine.
Once upon a time, there was a series of printable books for pagan kids by Eliza Fegley available at sacredspiral.com. There were several basics – one on the Elements, one on the Magic Circle, and one on Seasons, I think. Now, that site re-directs to sacred-texts, and you can still find some of the other sacredspiral pages up (like the Pagan Patterns and Design book) but I cannot find those books anymore. (update: I did manage to find a couple of them on the Austin Pagan Kids site and linked to them from there).
So, (before I found them) like many people who can’t find what they’re looking for, I wrote my own versions: The Young Pagan’s Book of Seasons and The Young Pagan’s Book of Elements and Directions. They’re relatively simple in format and I just pulled clipart pictures to illustrate them. I am uploading free pdf versions of them for general use. They’re inspired by Eliza Fegley’s similar books, but I have changed them to reflect my own path and correspondences (which means that they may or may not work for you). I wanted something that was simple, but with more content than Eliza’s books since my kids are a little older. I think they turned out nicely! I am also working on a book for tools and am considering creating a kids’ tarot – but that’s a pretty big undertaking (but I did find the printable and color-able Hello Kitty tarot – too cute!)
While the traditional Shadow Book is hand-written, I don’t know many Pagans who keep that ‘rule’ as unbreakable. I don’t consider myself a ‘techno Pagan’ and still follow the old rules about not having electronics in Circle, but I do rely heavily on the internet and on printing rather than writing things that I add to my book. In my Teaching Circle, we regularly have printed hand-outs that we use and most people add them to their Circle Book of Shadows. With my kids, asking them to write out long lists of correspondences and associations isn’t practical. So I ended up finding some really good resources for my kids’ books and printing them. We’ll also add handwritten things, but as they’re interested with an eye towards personalization with drawing and note-taking.
One source I found years ago that I just love is the Pagan Moonbeams newsletter. At one point, it was a large undertaking with multiple authors, covering things like ‘Focus on Faith’, which explored different religions, ‘School Bell’, which is a homeschooling lesson plan section, and sections for ‘Wee Pagans’ and ‘Teens’, ‘Beginner Magic’ and ‘Middle Magic’. As many publications do, it has waned as contributors have drifted off but they are still publishing it and the archives are posted. There are many pages that work well in a child’s Shadow Book, including a section on creating a correspondence journal (or just print the pages). My kids are very interested in the dream signs and animal messengers so they’re able to look up the things they see in their dreams and make connections on their own.
As a parent, one of my favorite features of the PM newsletter is the Focus on Faith section. There were only a handful of them written, but the format makes it easy to research, write (and maybe submit) additional religions for inclusion in their books. I think that it’s my duty to educate my kids rather than indoctrinate them, and so we approach religion as a bit more of an academic topic than some do. I want my kids to be familiar with my faith, but feel free to choose something else and be knowledgeable enough about other paths to make the choice that is right for them.
Another great resource for parents and pagan kids is the Pooka Pages Magazine. It’s an online magazine that is published before each Sabbat and focuses on Elsie and her little cat, Pooka. Each issue has stories, crafts and recipes for your child to try, and has a section that is printable for your child’s Book of Shadows with spells or information about the Sabbat. In one issue, there is a Full Moon Esbat rite story that Winnie the Pooh and friends participate in (led by Tigger). It’s cute, and nice to read about mainstream animated characters doing thins that are ‘normal’ to Pagan kids!
There are also kids’ pages at http://austinpagan.com/kids/ – coloring pages, binder covers and spells/ritual information.
For my kids’ Shadow Books, I started with a 1″ 3-ring binder. That’s what I use for my books, and I like being able to add things into the proper sections and move them around when needed. Using a loose-leaf format also makes it easy to divide my binders when the time comes. I currently use 3 binders – one for my ‘working book’, one for Esbats and Sabbats and ritual/family information, and one for my Teaching Circle. Eventually, I’d like to consolidate everything into a ‘pretty’ scrapbook style boud-by-loose-leaf style book, but not yet.
Back to the kids’ books… 1″ binder. I included a ‘what is a Book of Shadows’ page that I found on Pooka Pages in the Imbolc 2010 issue. There’s also a BOS craft page so the kids can make their own books later on if they choose. Since we are somewhat secular, I included the 15 Guiding Principles of Secular Paganism. I also included the Nine Noble Virtues of Asatru, and the Golden Rule as it is explained in other various religions.
I included the books that I made on the seasons and the directions/elements (linked to above), and basic information on what ‘ritual’ is, the power of positive thinking, altars and making them, the poem Desiderata by Max Ehrmann, and some other ‘food for thought’ that were printed from the Pagan Moonbeams newsletter.
The next section is for magick and rituals. I included things that we’ve made together – dream pillows and other charms, and a birthday ritual, and some family rituals that we’ve done. Everything in this section is age-appropriate and written ‘for kids’. Several spells are also printed from Pooka Pages’ ‘A Little Book of Spells’ section. I also have a section with simplified information on each Sabbat and rituals that are associated with each of them.
Next, they have correspondence tables – moon, animal messengers (dream), dream symbols, planetary and vegetation alignments, gem & stone correspondences.
Then is a section on Gods and Goddesses. There are only a few here, mostly added as we come across them of if they ask about a particular deity. Some information is printed from the PM newsletter, too.
Up next is a section on divination – basic rune and tarot information. Since I read cards and my kids are familiar with seeing them, I included a section that is easy to understand for them. There is also a page on drum divination from Pagan Moonbeams.
Then I printed the Faith Focus pages from Pagan Moonbeams for the kids. As I have mentioned before, we choose to present all faiths and all paths as viable for our children, and equally respected. With that in mind, we want our kids to have information on different belief systems at their disposal. I feel that having this information included in their Shadow Books is a good way for it to be accessible without having to ‘ask mom’ and a good jumping-off point if they are interested enough to pursue research on their own. Though we did print the PM pages, I will be adding additional, similarly structured pages and hopefully uploading them here in the future.
These books are a work in progress, like most Shadow Books, to be added to and changed as the kids get older and things become more or less important to them.
If you’re a Pagan parent, do your kids keep a Book of Shadows? Did you help them, initially? What did you include, and why?
Brightest Blessings,
Confusion with Correspondences
I am slowly but surely going back and catching up on the Pagan Blog Project prompts that I missed since I joined in so late. My topic for the letter ‘C’ is ‘confusion with correspondences’. I was reading some of the other posts and came across Life of an Imperfect Pagan’s post about creating correspondence charts and thought I would expand on my comments there.
As Michelle mentions, one author lists one thing, another lists something else. With all that information out there, how do you know what is Right™?
This may not work for everyone, but I have found that my correspondences tend to be fluid. They may change according to my need or intent, or if I am working for someone else, they may change for that person’s benefit. For example, I am a fire sign, my son is a water sign. Some stones and herbs that are associated with fire for myself would be invoked with water for him.
I have found that there are many herbs and stone that are evocative of multiple elements. Lavender for me is both air and earth. Moonstone is both air and water. Tigers eye is both fire and earth. Sage is both air and earth (and can sometimes be fire as well). Salt is earth and can be water on occasion; florals can be both air and earth for me. Jade is earth and water while gold and carnelian are earth and fire. Opal works with any element for me.
photo courtesy of Squidoo.com
I generally try to avoid using the same herbs at the same time for opposite effect – like something for drawing and something for repelling, or manifesting and banishing. While I don’t have a huge herb cabinet, avoiding that can get tricky when you’re working with limited supplies.
Other associations are less fluid – astrological and planetary correspondences are more solid for me, though herbs and stones may be associated with multiple planets, days of the week and colors. Moon phase associations are also pretty set; generally speaking, the more consistent an association is, the less I am to feel it in a different way.
Another interesting element to the correspondence question for me is the source of the material. I am a research buff, so on occasion, it’s been interesting to note the geographic location (if available) of the source of the correspondence. Northern or Southern hemisphere would alter the associations some, I think, as would time frame, societal associations and perceptions… those sorts of things.
I touched on this in a previous post, but one correspondence that I feel differently is the elemental/directional correspondences. Air is in the North for me, and Earth is in the East. Fire is South and Water, West, which is similar to most traditions, I believe. I have recently begun experimenting with different ways of casting a circle – using only three elements, calling on 5 and 6… it’s interesting, and I can’t wait to try it in a group setting.
One of the things I have been trying to do is help my kids with their own spirituality. They’re still young, but interested enough in the goings-on on my altar, especially now with the changing from Imbolc to Ostara that I can talk about why I chose light-colored candles instead of darker ones; why I am putting eggs on the altar, why I use this incense or those stones. I found printable correspondence tables in some of the older issues of Pagan Moonbeams that I included in my kids’ Shadow Books. They’re more interested right now in the dream sign and animal messenger charts, but I wanted the to have the correspondences anyway. Anytime I print something like that for them (or for myself), I do tend to make changes to the document as needed. I may put a line through something in favor of my own (or their own) association, or make notes in the page margins – or something even add a new page before or after the printed one with notes of my own changes. This preserves the ‘original’ while still being true to my own path, and encouraging my children to seek their own – not to be so bound to what someone else says is Right™.
So what about you – do you make associations that are non-traditional, or do they make the most sense to you when used as directed? How do you resolve conflicting correspondences?
Brightest Blessings,
Rowan Hale 