New Year's Resolutions

So yes, I have made some resolutions.

I want to be healthier, more in-tune with my body.
I just joined a local and online group that combines some lifestyle changes, Raw Foods Dieting and exercise of your choice.
I'll be going on a 3-day fast starting January 1st, including a colon cleanse. I will go from there on a 50% Raw Diet and eliminating processed sugar and starches.
I will also be walking 2 miles a day at least and doing yoga again.

Wish me luck!
What are your new years resolutions?

Experiment in Intention

I read in The Secret  Life of Plants about an experiment done by Marcel Vogel and Vivian Wiley that involved picking leaves off of plants (2 or 3) and ignoring 1 leave and every day willing the other to continue living. It worked. The ignored leaf withered up and died and the other not only stayed fresh and vibrant but he wound created on the stem upon picking healed!
I'm doing an experiment with the ivy growing in the house along the walls of the kitchen and dining area. I watered them today and charged the water with the intent to Grow and Thrive. I also meditated under the ivy pots with the same intent like a mantra. I will make this my experiment for the next week or so and see if there's any change in the ivy.

My Altar

I'm about to rearrange my room and therefore my altar (I'm relocating the table its on and putting the altar on something else) So I wanted to post what it looks like right now before I move it.

Photo of my Great-grandmother and myself, wooden Ganesh statue, various stones and crystals, small Traveling Buddha, Ganesh pendant, pentacle pendant, and an offering of Yerba Mate tea to Ganesh

added: vase of every rose my husband has ever given me, my glasses for a sight blessing; also put my yerba mate offering in a small satchet

Give Thanks

Thanksgiving is this Thursday and I have a lot to be thankful for.

I have a loving husband who is my world. He has stood by me in all my struggles, encouraged me in every venture I've taken, and wiped away my tears when things have fallen apart. I can only hope that I can give him the same love, care and devotion he has given me these past four years.

My in-laws. They took me in when my own parents would not.

My friends who have been so helpful and fun and loving this past year.

My grandmother and her brothers and sisters. They have been so supportive of me and my husband this past year which was so difficult for us.

So much love in my life and I love that there is a Holiday set aside from all the days in the year to give thanks for it...and the food is if course great ^_^

All things make sense in time...

So my lack of employment has worked out.

We've decided to auction off a lot of our personal property before moving in the spring. Who would have thought we had so many antiques!

Between the backing, the date-finding, the price comparison, and of course the cleaning and repacking I have been a busy bee.

My schedule is crazy and keeps changing. Just learned this morning we will be doing an antiques auction this friday as well as next friday (Black Friday) then we will do a much larger auction of all of our other stuff the beginning of next month.

On top of that we have the real estate agent coming in and out, doing measurements and paperwork, selling the house. We have a feeling it will go quickly as our agent is AWESOMES!
We've also done a little magic as well. We buried out little St. Joseph statue near the real estate sign. My mom-in-law swears by it as 2 weeks after burying she's sold her last 2 houses, her daughter's house and her daughter's boyfriends house. Huzzah for Santeria.

So...that being said, I'm so sorry I've been MIA lately. I miss blogging but barely have the time. I hope once the house is sold and we're settled at a friend's house before moving in April that I will be able to get more writing in.

BB
Dawn

New Month, New Year, Updates for the Holidays

MM All,

Sorry I've been MIA. Yesterday I lost my job (well...they wouldn't let me work out my 2 weeks notice...) so there's been a lot going on. I'm currently looking for something I can use my skills in whether its my certification in bartending, my writing skills, or even my divinatory skills. I'm considering a candle spell for Thursday but I'll have to figure everything I'll need for it first...might have to be next week.

What else is going on...

Recap of Halloween/Samhain

Friday I hung out with some friends just talking about Halloween in general, having a few drinks, enjoying each other's company.
Saturday I went to a party at the local club with a bunch of friends, old and new, and my hubby. He was dressed as a Gangster and I was a witch.
Sunday was the Witch's Tea Party for my friend's birthday, pictures shown previously. We had so much fun just hanging out and eating. The dinner was very autumnal with apple stuffing and appled pork and roasted potatoes and brie...yum! And of course my cake was a show-stopper hahahaha

The next holiday for me is Thanksgiving. We're probably traveling this year, I'm not sure how its all going to work out between out spread out family. I think we're having one Thanksgiving at home with our relatives here and another one in Maryland with my father-in-law's family. I'm considering making a couple of healthy vegan or raw dishes for both events.

After that is the biggest holiday of the year...My Birthday! I'm havign a goth-lolita party at the local club. I'll be making myself a small pink and white layer cake and a bunch of matching pink-champagne cupcakes. I'm so excited!!!

Of course following my birthday, by a Day, is Yule and then Christmas. I celebrate both (hey, why not). For Yule I mostly eat drink and make merry (considering trying a mead this year or some dandelion wine).
For Christmas, to make Damon and I both feel more comfortable with decorations, we're following the same theme as last year - Tim Burton Christmas. We have a small black tree and Tim Burton decorations mixed with ornaments that look like candy and blue snowflakes as well as purple Christmas lights. I only buy 1 ornament a year and this year it will be a set of skeleton reindeer on Etsy that I find adorable ^_^

We also don't have children so thankfully we've not had to figure out what we're gonna tell them about the 2 different holidays or what they mean or any of that. Leave that worry and fight for another year...or two...or five lol.

Do you celebrate both Yule and Christmas? How do you compromise the beliefs?

The Witch's Tea Party/Birthday Party

So I had to, for sake of time, combine my Witch's Tea Party with my friend's birthday party - which she was all for and loved the idea.

I baked the cake and did a few of the decorations.

The little witch hat candy bowls were my friend's party favors for us ^_^

Its me all pretty in my lace hat ^_^

31 Days of Samhain: an over view 11-18

Since I've missed 13 days of the 31 Days of Samhain fun posted by Salem Witch Child...I'll do an overview of some of the posts in the next few blog posts. I don't have kids, so I wont be doing the posts regarding them and I don't put my cat in costumes so I'm skipping Day 15 as well...
That leaves...

Day 11: What's your favorite recipe for Samhain Dinner?
Pumpkin pie of course but there are a few other pumpkin recipes I would like to try and share, most are from
www.PumpkinRecipes.org including
Pumpkin Curry
Pumpkin Stuffed with sausage - I would use a sweet and spicy sausage for this, preferably one that was apple smoked...mmm

And this recipe is not form that website: Pumpkin Risotto


Day 12: How do you celebrate Samhain/Halloween?

I normally go to a party or a club night thats local (there's usually one in Knoxville, TN that has a good goth crowd for Halloween). This year I'm hosting a birthday party for a friend of mine in Halloween style - a Witch's Tea Party ^_^ I'll also be making the cake

For the Samhain part of that, I celebrate alone. I normally set up a small altar, thank my ancestors, specifically my Aunt Venus and my great-grandmother Bertha and my grandfather Walter.
I ask for guidance form the Crone, my patron, and do some divination for the coming year.


Day 13: Favorite Halloween Movie

Oooo...thats tough as I am a major horror movie fan...
I suppose i would choose Nightmare on Elm Street (original), Pet Cemetery 2, Salem's Lot, Dracula...yea i can't pick one...sorry

Day 14: Favorite Costumes for Adults:

I will say I love group costumes

Day 17: What's your favorite scary monster?

Day 18: What God/dess do you invoke on Samhain?

The Crone. She is my patron deity and has been with me since birth. I dedicated my divination to her since i was 14, when she showed herself to me.

More to come in next post...

Twittering Update

So...I'm on Twitter now in order to announce I'm back online from my hiatus...which really wasn't a welcome one as I love October and wanted to celebrate online.

Come and follow me @DCorobane

Tarot Readings Becoming More Accurate

So I have found, since coming back from my hiatus from reading, that my readings are not only becoming more accurate but that I'm starting to get time frames of when things are going to happen.

My last reading about my job was if I was going to take the leap of faith and get a new job I would have to do it immediately. I didn't and literally days later the new job was no longer available to me.
In a reading before that, I was focusing on whether or not to buy a new house and the cards told me that in a month's time the decision was going to be made for me. I forgot about this as the house we were looking at turned out to have black mold in the foundation. Today, I learned that we will be moving before the new year to a new state...more on that soon.
These are only a few examples...more are happening only they are with the readings I have done for friends and more personal and not appropriate for blogging...

Has anyone else felt a surge of accuracy or timeliness in their readings?
I wonder if its just me or the coming of 2012.
I am doing another reading regarding a very personal matter tonight that I may put up here after some further verification on Tuesday...that will make more sense when I'm able to explain, promise.

I am still technically on hiatus from blogging but I think I will be done with that on Wednesday. -crosses fingers-

Practical Magic

I just finished Reading Practical Magic by Alice Hoffman

While I really enjoyed the book, I will say I feel like it is nothing like the movie. I recommended it to a few friends, some of which were sad to hear this last statement but others were happy because they felt they didn't really believe Sally's character in the movie and the book, I feel, explains her better.

I still really love the movie, and wouldn't have changed it at all.

I really love the theme of true love vs obsession in the book as well as the Maiden Mother Crone theme evident of 2 maidens, the 2 aspects of the mother/huntress and the 2 crones. It would be a good book to do papers on in high school or college.

How did you all feel about it?

Happy Belated Blogiversary

Happy Blogiversary!

I started this blog, October 13, 2008

Then I just wanted a place to ramble on about my life as a pagan, maybe promote my workplace a little, and now...

Now I've had almost 600 pageviews, several followers and I feel a lot of love from the pagan blog community. Thank you all.

Blogging Schedule Change

Hello all,

I'm just posting a brief apology and notice that I'm going through some schedule changes at work and until things are worked out there (if they ever are), I'm going to be a little absent from the blog or my posts are going to be very short and to the point.

For those of you who are wondering what is going on:
I went into work yesterday and was deviated for breaking my scheduled time. When I looked at my schedule (which is normally 9-6 m-f) I found it had been changed over the long weekend to 11-8 without warning. My boss and the woman who makes the schedules informed me the only way to get my schedule changed back is to trade with someone else (the only people requesting trades that I've found work 1-10). The same woman who makes the schedules knew about the change Wednesday of last week...but I got deviated with several others for not knowing about it and coming in at the wrong time.
To top it all off, the woman who makes the schedules knows very well that my husband and I share a car and need to work the same schedule as we live an hour away from town and there's no logical way for him to drive to work and then back to get me.
At this point, I can either go in at 9 and get my full hours and be deviated until they fire me or not go in to work at all because I have no way of getting there...I'm not sure how its going to work out.

Saying a little prayer to the calendar and work gods and hoping that my applications at the hospital and at a few bars for bartending will be accepted and I'll be able to make the choice to leave my current position.

Thanks for listening to my little rant and again, sorry if I'm a lil MIA here in the next week or so. I promise to catch up on my 31 days of Samhain and on the other magickal craziness going on this month.

BB
Dawn

Mail Blessings to Brighten my Day

So my day has been terrible...and now I go to bed with a headache wondering if I will be able to even make it to work at a scheduled time tomorrow.

However, I did receive in the mail my copy of Alice Hoffman's Practical Magic. While I love the movie, I have never actually read the book and am very excited about receiving this. I had actually given up looking for the book due to the cheap price (99 cents plus $2 shipping) and thought it was indeed too good to be true. I was wrong to think so and was also given the pleasant surprise that the book was hardback, not paperback like I had expected.
Ironically, it was just after ordering it through Ebay that I received my Kindle...oh well.

I'll let you know what I think when I finish it ^_^

Listen to Your Instinct

So remember the reading I did that was related to finding a new job?
I didn't jump on the offered job when it was available and now, first day back after a long weekend, I learn that my current job has dropped from kinda sucky to worst hell hole ever!

I could write page after page of rants but suffice to say that the management is disorganized to a point that its making working there unbearable.
Of course, now, the aforementioned job is no longer available to me.
However, a friend of mine might be able to get me a job bartending,which I am certified for.

So, I'll be doing some divination and maybe a 'find a job' spell in the week to follow. Stay tuned for more info later.

Samhain Treasury Lists on Etsy

I've made a few Samhain Treasure Lists on my Etsy and thought I would share these favorite Halloween blessings with you, my readers.

Samhain Blessings - mostly pre-made spells and ritual kits.

Under the Samhain Moon - jewelry and other pretties

More coming soon I'm sure ^_^

31 Days of Samhain: Day 9

I've finally caught up on Salem's Creations' 31 Day of Samhain list!

Day 9: Share a Pagan/Wiccan Story about Halloween/Samhain

I don't know very many stories about Halloween that relate back to witches or paganism. I know about the myths and legends only as a text book would explain them.

I will say that I am currently reading (on my new Kindle) The Book of Hallowe'en by Ruth Edna Kelley and it is a good book for explaining the history and origins of this celebrated holiday.

31 Days of Samhain: Day 8 (belated)

Day 8: What sorts of things do you put on your Samhain altar?

Sadly, my altars are usually pretty sparse and simple, so this post won't be all that elaborate.

For Samhain, I am usually alone in my celebration and will decorate either a blanket on the floor or a small table with black candles in candle holders, a small pumpkin, maybe some maple leaves, a pentacle, my athame, and a black bowl with water for scrying. Also available will be the ritual written out on parchment nearby for me to work off of.

Sorry for the simple and short post. In order to make this post a little more pleasing to read, I'll include some photos of beautiful Samhain altars I've found through a search engine.

31 Days of Samhain: Day 6 and 7 (belated)

I am skipping Day 6: If you're a parent, how do you involve your children in Samhain celebration? as I do not have any children of my own, yet.

Day 7: What is your favorite design for a jack-o-lantern?

I actually prefer nicely painted pumpkins to jack-o-lanterns as they last much longer than carved. I've painted most of my own, though I sadly have no pictures of these.

I will show some carved jack-o-lanterns I like though for the sake of having an aesthetically pleasing blog post ^_^

Kindle(ing) the love of a good book

I have a new (well new to me) Kindle!
I've been wanting one since they came out and now I have one!

So far I have just under 50 books (most of them classic novels) and all free. I'll be taking a few boxes of old fiction novels to the used book store and selling what I can and using that money to buy e-books of the same titles.
We tend to move pretty frequently for one reason or another and Damon isn't too keen on lugging around boxes of heavy books. I wont, however, be selling my rare or antique books or my metaphysical books for reasons I feel are obvious.

I have been looking at the free books available on amazon and have found quite a few on witchcraft including anthropological looks on witchcraft, texts on the witch burnings in Europe and America, and even the Pagan Book of ABCs. ^_^

Any of you have e-readers? Recommend any good e-books (preferably free or cheap)?

Hunting and Magick

Its hunting season here in TN and my husband, as I type, is outside practicing shooting his bow. I was picking up a broken bow of the kitchen table earlier and thought, "This would make a decent wand." This led to many other ideas about how magick and hunting could easily be integrated.

A witch that hunts, or has loved ones that hunt, could do spells that vary from ensuring a kill to protecting the hunter to preventing bad weather.
While I haven't put that much thought into it, I did come up with what I feel are good ideas to integrate into hunting spells.

Use an arrow for a wand or athame.
Consider making camo print robes...could be cute if you go for that sort of thing, plus, they certainly call to the earthier side of magick.
Bless all the hunting clothes they will wear with both protection and health spells
Bless weapons with victory and protection (that they don't hit anyone else other than their intended target)
Blessing the kill after the hunt and giving thanks not only to the gods but also to the animal.

Gods and Goddesses of the Hunt that you can call upon in your spells include:

• Artemis or Diana (especially for bow hunting)
• Cernunnos (especially for deer hunting)
• Skadi (especially for winter hunts)
• Neith (Neit) (especially for bow hunting and Egyptian fans)
• Herne (especially for protection on the hunt or night hunts)
• Sarbanda (an assimilation of Ishtar)
• Horus is also said to be an Egyption God of the hunt

What are your ideas? Do you hunt? Do you use magick while hunting or preparing to hunt?

31 Days of Samhain: Day 5 (belated)

Day 5: A Short Biography of an Ancestor

My Aunt Venus aka Jodi was one of my favorite aunts. She was my grandfather's only sister and 1 of 8 children.
She never married and there have been many comments just in my lifetime about how she was called Jodi, rather than Venus, because she was not nearly as pretty as her namesake implied.
Though my aunt was not a beauty, she had a beautiful heart.

Aunt Jodi took care of my of her family from her grandparents to her brothers' grandbabies.
It was stated after she died that though she had no children of her own it seemed like she was the mother of many.

I am told I am very much like my aunt. We are both crafty women, making everything from our own jewelry to up-cycling clothes. We also shared a love of herbalism.
When I was sharing the recipe for the Essiac cure and speaking about Sheep's Sorrel, my mother commented on how Aunt Jodi would make the children go harvest sheep's sorrel for a cleansing tea.

I celebrated the life and blessed the after-life of my dearest aunt last Samhain, asking that she in turn bless me and my works as I follow in her footsteps of creation and healing. I will do so again this year.

BB
Dawn

31 Days of Samhain Day 4 (belated)

Day 4: A favorite picture that represents Samhain

I couldn't choose...BUT I did find an old post by witchy woman, Celtic Lady that list several Samhain-y pics that feature the Crone along with a good article about her HERE. The crone is a patron deity of my own and I love to celebrate her this time of the year.

I hope that satisfies (^_^) <- my attempt at a jack-o-lantern smiley.

31 Days of Samhain Day 3 (belated)

Day 3: What do I want to Teach people about Samhain?

That its not a commercialized party but a true religious holiday...

Remember in the movie, Hocus Pocus, where the boy was talking about how Halloween was created by the candy companies? Well, it seems that this is the accepted belief by many and is encouraged, sadly, by the chuches around me as they discourage people from going to parties and taking their children Trick or Treating. I hear most churches are doing "Harvest" celebrations at the church, which involve candy and food and a little bit of preaching for your immortal soul. It just makes me a lil sad.

And then theres this little anecdote:

I'm sitting at work earlier this week and learn that I get Monday off for Columbus Day...a day celebrating a person who did not do anything. He did not found the Americas, they were already found by Europeans, he did not even set food on American soil!.
I playfully asked, what were we supposed to do on this day, apologize to Native Americans?
Another pagan I work with asked if we got Halloween off.
Answer: No...we work overtime that Monday...
So we get off for a holiday celebrating someone who didn't really do anything to warrant celebration...but we don't get off for a holiday that is thousands of years old...has a religious background...and is actually celebrated?

I would like to teach people that Halloween isn't just some excuse to get candy, dress up and party. Its an actual religious celebration, the most important holiday for many.

Sorry for my rant, I try not to do many of those.

31 Days of Samhain Day 1 and 2 (belated)

The lovely witch at Salem's Creations is doing a 31 Days of Samhain blog topic reel and I decided to join in...a little belatedly. These next few days I'll be making multiple posts in hopes to play catch-up.

Day 1: What is a Memorable Experience During Samhain? combined with Day 2: What do I remember as most exciting about Samhain/Halloween as a child?

While it isn't particularly pagany, my most memorable Halloween experience was when I was about 9 or 10 and my mother took me to Six Flags Kentucky Kingdom for Halloween. I went as a vampire and enjoyed the entire day riding rides, seeing so many people in costume, and just being an excited kid during my favorite holiday.
We were late getting home and I almost missed trick-or-treating but my mom grabbed a pillow case off a pillow and walked me through the neighborhood and the surrounding streets to fill my pillowcase (turns out that you'll get loads if you go late as people unload what they didn't previously get rid of).
I remember be exhausted by the time I got home but I was so happy. I wished then that every day could be like Halloween...and grew up a goth witch...heh.

Maybe this little anecdote isn't what Salem's Creations was expecting but this is one of my favorite Halloween memories as vague as it is...

Pagan Prompts: Artwork (Body Art)

For the Pagan Prompt I thought I would do something a little different and share some Pagan Bodyart that I found appealing and inspiring:

I just love the coloring!

Very simple but beautiful

Gorgeous tree work

I just love this one, its like the YinYang gone Wiccan

I love the whimsy of this one, makes me want one similar to it

Personal Tarot Reading: Change in Job

So I've been offered a change of job today and I do have time to make the decision so I'm trying not to freak out. Thing is, the job I currently have, I don't really like BUT its stable and has insurance. The job I'm being offered I think I'll love BUT its not all that stable in that I depend on commission style work and doesn't offer health benefits. SO I did a tarot reading to guide me:

Card 1 Strength
Despite the challenges I have faced, I have the strength and courage to succeed. I have recovered from an ill relationship (with the person who offered me the job) and am ready and willing to move on.

Card 2 The Chariot
What I want most is to succeed and not give up the fight. I am assertive in most things and if I haven't yet gotten what I want I will soon.

Card 3 The Hierophant (could not find a picture)
I doubt my own counsel and seek the advice of others - even though they will tell me the same thing.

Card 4 The Fool (could not find an adequate picture)
A time of excitement and potential. In consideration of a change for a new job, take the leap and do not worry about the safety net.

Card 5 Temperance
Life will seem hectic and full of challenges, you will need to find the right perspective on things.

Card 6 Death (could not find picture)
Change and transformation - No matter how turbulent this time may be, endings always make way for new (and sometimes better) beginnings. It is time to make a fresh start!















So What do you all think? Should I throw caution to the wind like the Fool and go for the job I'll love or should I hold on to the stability of a job I'm unhappy with?

BB
Dawn

Getting Back to the Decks

So I am reading again and its been a such a relief, which I found most unexpected. By reading tarot, I open up my throat chakra - the one I have the hardest time with - and can speak my truth freely. I learn to slowly not let others prevent me from speaking or filter my words. I tell them what it is they need to hear from the cards and, from my belief, the higher self or the divine.

Starting to read the cards for more people lately and I'e seen my creativity blossom as well. Once I find the wood burning kit in storage I plan on making me a tarot reading sign for when I do festival type readings.

I thought I would share with you what decks I use and the spreads I am most comfortable with.

My primary deck, which is still AWOL at the moment is the Fantastical Tarot - out of print.

Fantastical Tarot High Priestess

This deck I bought used in Lexington, KY and fell in love with immediately. While many feel that the images are dark I feel they remind me of a perspective not so different from my own with a little dash of the movie Labyrinth thrown in.

The Jane Austen Tarot I've spoken about here a long time ago when I first bought the deck.

I have such a connection to this deck due to its literary nature - however, I feel that if someone has not read all of Jane's books they may feel a little lost in the imagery.

My last two decks are witch's tarot decks.

Not my favorite of decks but one that I get a lot of accuracy with and, for some reason, one of the more popular people's choice decks.

The Tarot Nova deck

This deck was my very first and it was given to me by my good friend Aconita and I will always treasure it because of that.
This deck is difficult for me to shuffle due to the thickness and squareness of the cards and thats one of the main reasons I don't use it much. The imagery is very simple - almost like an oracle deck in that it would be difficult to decipher the kabbalistic and kemetic meanings of the cards from the pictures. Mostly I just go on instinct with this one.

Update 4:06pm:
Forgot to add the spreads:

1 card question and answer usually yes or no question that I've thought about for a long time to ensure that the answer is specific

3 card past, present and future spread

Celtic cross using 10 cards for full explanation of the situation at hand

Finding Spells

Anyone have a good spell for finding things?

So much has gone missing lately...

My primary tarot deck (including the box and protective stones its with)
My jewelry pliers
My nice, black dress slacks

I'd be really happy if I could find these things...wondering if the fae in the neighborhood are playing tricks on me again. -sighs-

Crafty Witch and Halloween Specials

So I grabbed up a friend of mine yesterday and went to Michael's, the Dollar Tree and WalMart to get supplies to make Witch's Bottles - Damon came along and between the three of us the adult ADD moments were rampant.

One item necessary for the bottles is the bottle itself and I looked and looked in the jewelry, glass and art department for small glass bottles with a cork - nothing. I figures I was just overlooking them so I went to ask a store associate and learned that they were in the Scrapbook department...O.o
I asked why, and its due to the brand of the bottles all being in the same area, which I assume makes sense.

Since I was in the scrapbook department, I looked around a little at scrapbook supplies for my Scrap BOS. In the Halloween collection I saw the perfect paper for BOS pages (all witchy and black and fun) but the book of it was a little out of my price range so I vowed to return the first of November for the lovely paper and went on.

This strange little vow made me think of frugality in witchcraft. We are a group of people who use what we can, what we need, what we can get our hands on for the purpose of changing and bending. I like this concept. The idea of the witch being a creature of necessity and creativity.
That, I think, is also where the Witch's Bottle comes from - a bottle filled with random objects such as bits of broken mirror, bent or broken needles, scraps of cloth, whatever else was lying around the house that could be used in protective magick.
I seriously doubt any person back in ye olden days purposely broke a needle when they weren't sure if they could afford the next one, nor did they waste such a valuable commodity as a mirror or a bit of glass unless it was broke beyond use.

I collected all the things we needed for the bottles and headed back to my friend's house where her hubs made warming rice and turkey soup (with dried habanero that we gave them a few weeks back, Yay for the barter system!) and taught her a little about witch's bottles. We also discussed crafting our own candle holders and had fun sorting out some craft supplies.

Damon, on the other hand, has his own craft project coming along - he bought some fabric at Wally world and is making me some comfy hippie pants. The fabric is black filigree with some purple cotton for the etching and the pockets (so I'll be a gothy-hippie, my favorite) ^_^ and he and the other hubs spent the evening having a beer and  discussing sewing and knitting and I noted the irony of this more than a few times.

Happy October!

Its 52 degrees outside, fall leaves are whirling on the autumnal breeze, there's news of snow upon the mountains surrounding our little 'holler' of a neighborhood - we have a fire on the hearth crackling away and filling the house with the sedative aroma of wood smoke.

I spent the day canning a fall harvest of spiced pears and just tasted the literal fruit of my labors - delicious.

My astrology reading for the month says that I shall reach a spiritual awakening in the coming days and I look forward to it. Turns out I am not the only one...

Last night, Damon and I hooked up with some friends of ours (also a married couple, which is rare in our circle) and went to Perkins (a restaurant and bakery that is open 24 hours) where we had a waitress who shared similar faith paths (we recognized each other by kind and jewelry). It was a moon-blessed meeting as I learned that she also has her own business - we exchanged business networking and I obtained her personal contact information.

After dinner (the only downfall of which was that they did not have the Pumpkin muffins I was looking forward to), we went back to our friends' home where I processed to give them a tarot reading - as I am a little rusty on giving them to friends and family (which I find harder as I have to separate myself form them and any biases I may have).

In the reading of the husband, I learned that he too is on the brink of a spiritual awakening and growth - how blessed!

October is such an amazing month and I look forward to it all year for the harvest of the years many blessings (both physical and spiritual).

Divination Tools Etsy List

Divination is an aspect of the Craft that I am very drawn to and I love all the different ways witches have to scry and divine past, present, future, answers to questions, inner conflict, etc.
My favorite means of divination are via cards (Tarot and oracle), a bowl of water, or my black Rainbow Obsidian sphere. I also scry using fire either by candle light or at the hearth.

I would like to learn to read tea leaves at some point - a combination of two of my favorite things Tea drinking and Divination!

Playing around on Etsy I decided to make a treasury list of some very nice divination tools I've come across.

Here

Do you scry or divine? What is you're favorite way to scry? What have you used and what has worked or not worked for you?

Bad Economy Bloggery

So, I work in Short Sales, which means every day I go to the office, to my little cubicle, I log into a phone, sip my tea and I talk to people who are looking for alternatives to foreclosure. Sometimes  can help these people with short sale of their homes, other times I have to tell them, unfortunately, that they will lose their home and there is nothing to be done about it.
I work very hard at not getting trapped n the guilt and shame and anger that comes with this job and focus on trying my best to help people and moving on if I cannot.

That being said...there are a few Pagans on YouTube who have done videos in regards to foreclosure, bad economy, etc. I thought  would share a few here:

I love Madame Dubois and her Real Witches of Orange County Videos and she did a very genuine video about foreclosure here:



Mrs. Fiendish Bat has a few political, economical, talking videos on her channel but I wanted to share her Get a Job Spell for those of you interested in prosperity magick:



And of course a Witch Bottle ^_^

Pagan Prompts: Familiars

I have a cat who could be considered a shared familiar between myself and Damon. Her name is Halloween – due to the day we found her and her calico coloring of pumpkin orange, midnight black, and ghost white with moth green eyes.

Halloween talks to us in a way I’ve never seen of another cat (we have 2 others that are very intelligent but not quite at this level) and I’ve also done guided meditations with her – and she was the guide!

Halloween’s astral form varies from looking like herself now, to a larger white cat, to a human form that is tall, white and blonde. The same thing about all these forms is her eyes, the same luna moth color. The feel of her astral projection is both feral and protective, as if she would kill any ill meaning interloper on our journey.

On the down side, Halloween insists on being a part of all of our magickal activities and will yowl and scratch at the door of our bedroom during private meditations. She also in a bit of an energy hog and will snuggle everything from spread tarot cards to crystals laying in the lunar light.

She is also our surrogate fur-kid, especially for Damon. I believe if anything happened to that cat, he would be just as devastated as someone who had a hurt or lost child. 

My Mabon Etsy Picks 2011

Check Out my Mabon Picks on Etsy...including treats, clothes, and more

Here

The Dalai Lama's Great Plan Part 1.m4v

See Part 2 here

Grounding and Transformation

I was taught this Kundalini mantra by a friend to help me ground myself. Now I do it when I'm upset, when I feel my blood pressure rise, when I feel dizzy, etc and it works in a matter of seconds.

The Grounding Excersize

With both hands, press your thumb to your forefinger and say "Sa" (pronounced S-ah), then your middle finger and say "Ta" (pronounced Tah), your ring finger and say "Na" (pronounced N-ah), then pinky/little finger and say "Ma" (pronounced Mah) then back to fore finger and work your way through the procession again.

You do not have to say the mantra out loud for it to work so this simple exercise can be done in public, at work, where ever.

This works with the meridians of the body and by pressing each finger to the thumb is representative of pressing each element in the body to the earth element (the earth meridian resides in the thumb), thus grounding them.

The Sounds

SA TA NA MA represent the words Sat Nam, which is the bij mantra or seed mantra. It is the mantra that sows the seeds of truth in our consciousness. The sounds of the mantra, Sa Ta Na Ma, connect consciousness to the evolution of existence itself and can be transformational when used regularly with meditative practices such as Kundalini yoga.

Sa represents both beginnings and infinity - all that ever was or will be.
Ta is life, existence, creativity.
Na represents death and change
Ma is rebirth

SA TA NA MA is said to help not only ground and lead towards transformation but can be used to break bad habits and addictions because it strongly effects the subconscious mind.

Halloween Movies: Witchcraft

So Halloween is my favorite time of the year, and because of that I thought I would get a jump start on some Halloween blogging including lists of favorite Halloween witchiness including movies, books and more.

My Favorite Witchy Halloween Movies include:

Hocus Pocus - very cute and the soundtrack is full of campy fun ^_^

The Craft - loved this movie since I was twelve and trying to bespell my black lipstick from being seen and thrown away by my parents.

Halloweentown - this is also one of Damon's favorites and he'll watch it every time its on TV without fail.

The Witches - Raold Dahl movie I've liked since I was a kid

The Witches of Eastwick - the book was terrible and gave the impression that women are either virgin goddesses or sluts...or so I thought, but the movie is hilarious and one of my favorites with Cher.

Teen Witch - another hokey teen movie complete with dance numbers but cute all the same and another of Damon's guilty favorites.

Practical Magic - of course!

The Worst Witch - I somehow sympathize and am jealous at the same time o.o

And all of the Harry Potter movies ^_^ I love going to Harry Potter Halloween Parties as Bellatrix Lestrange.


This year I also plan to watch:

Season of the Witch
Bell Book and Candle
Both Wicker Man movies back to back and decide which one I like best o.o
The Worst Witch series
and all the Hallmark, Family Channel, Disney etc Halloween series of movies and shows that will be played next month! Green make-up not included...wish me luck!

Halloween Tea Party

I will be attending Frosted Petunia's Hallween Tea Party blog event this coming month along with my many other Halloween events I have planned. I plan to get some witchy friends together, complete with glorious witch hats, for a picnic style tea party if the weather allows. The menu will includ Witch's Brew tea, scones, cookies and more ^_^ Thanks to Frosted Petunia for another excuse to party it up! Will you be joining the party, dear reader?

Update

I know, I'm lame. Sorry for the month + of no blog or word from me. There's no excuse for it, I know, dear reader.

In order to play catch up and make ammends...I'm going to let you in on a little secret!

I am looking into starting my own business! Now, its not going to be terribly huge and I'm not quitting my day job, but, it should be fun, yes?

What am I doing?
Selling small spell kits and zodiac kits online. I haven't decided whether I'm going to use Ebay, Etsy, Poppyswap or WitchMarket yet, I'm still comparing notes. If you have any suggestions, please feel free to comment them ^_^
I'm also starting to push my card readings more and offering them for Halloween parties and the like.

So not the cats out of the bag. I'll let you know when the shop goes live and where...for now, back to blogging.

Viewing the Dead

I’ve seen ghosts. It’s not really that big of a deal. Almost everyone I know has seen one at some point in their life. So when I saw the ghosts of my dead relatives at a young age and on up, usually just after their death or during a time of hardship, I wasn’t afraid.

My fear might have also been stopped by the caring presence of the ghosts I saw at a young age. My grandfather is a constant presence for my. He comes every time my grandmother has a hardship (i.e. a death in the family, one of her 4 heart attacks, etc). His appearance is younger than when he died and always the aura is full of love. I am never afraid of him.

My second encounter was my uncle, just after his death. His presence was reassuring because of some bad feelings during the time he was dying over the four months in the hospital. Again, I wasn’t afraid.

However, I have recently seen a ghost who has shown me that not all appearances are loving and reassuring. The other day I joined my husband up to help out at a relatives house, taking care of her animals while she was gone. It is common knowledge in the family that her house is haunted by another relative who killed herself in the house. While waiting outside the car, I happened a glance up at the house and saw a woman in the window staring down at me and my husband. It scared me. I felt a tightening in my chest and throat and a strange sense that she did not want us there at all.

This was my first encounter with a malicious spirit. I brought the encounter up with my mother-in-law who told me various stories about how this woman has haunted most of the family in stages but is now kept up at the house. She has attempted to kill people in their sleep, poured nail polish over kitchen floors, cussed up a storm loud enough for all to hear, and so on. Most people have seen her at one point or another.


Strangely, the one person I would have liked to have seen after their death was a close aunt of mine. She and I are very similar according to my family. We both are creative, making jewelry and other crafts and we both were herbalists. After she died a little over a year ago, I hoped to just have a simple, reassuring glimpse of her. But never did. Strange how that works out.


I feel like seeing ghosts helps me out with my fear of dying. Its proof to me that there is life after death and that you’re not gone. I’m not claiming I know what happened after we die, or how ghosts contact us. I just feel reassured by their presence, even if they’re malicious.

Pagan Prompt: Wiccan Rede

When I was in high school, I was one of the few pagan students in the entired town I lived in as well as one of the most studied and experienced of the group (next to a young man who was raised in the Wiccan faith). There was a large push by the whole group for covenship and for me to take place as a sort of young High Priestess. I did not and, instead, removed myself from the group in many ways, though they were my friends. I was not ready for that sort of responsibility and now am glad that i made this decision.

My withdrawel from the pagan group at my school and in my town was viewed by many in two very different ways. One group saw this as an act of humility and modesty on my part, encouraged me and my work, and remained close friends to this day.
Another group felt I was being pompous, that my removal was in a way saying that I felt I was too good for them. One person in particular, though she acted as if she was my friend, began to perform certain spells, host certain rites and act in certain ways that were hurtful to myself and many of those around us.
In the end, I felt that if I did not do something to stop her someone was going to get hurt.

I did a simple, yet powerful bind spell on this person. I will not post the spell on here and it is listed in my BOS with words of precaution. After the binding I refused to speak to this young woman again. The binding was fairly thorough and this person found that not only could she not harm anyone but had a hard time performing any magical working. I heard from a mutal friend that her binding has lasted to this day and has caused her some problems in the magical and pagan community she has recently moved into (they will have nothing to do with her).
I did, however, set the spell so that she or someone of ability can break the binding if they do so in love, compassion and with the desire to not harm but help others (the opposite actions and emotions of why I performed the binding int he first place).

I tell this long story in order to say this.
ALL ACTIONS have an EQUAL REACTION! WHATEVER you send out WILL COME BACK! This can be viewed however you wish and be the basis of whatever lesson anyone would like to teach and set creed to: Golden Rule, 3-fold law, Wiccan Rede, Karma, etc. It is simply how the Universe works.

When I bound this person in high school, I did not consider that this act (which was done out of the desire to prevent harm, an it harm none) would eventually come back to me.
Almost a year later exactly, I began to have disturbances in my ability to perform any magical act or even meditate. It felt like my mind was in a fog any time I even thought about doing magic and when I meditated I felt literally bound up. At first I thought I had somehow picked up a leeching energy in astral travel, that recent stress had worn me thin, that I was somehow ill.
Finally, it struck me after a phone call from our mutual friend (the girl I had bound was getting married to another mutual friend). I realized that my binding spell had come back to me.

I worked through this ricochet magic slowly and with as much patience as I could muster. When I mentioned it to a local magical practitioner, she repremanded me not for binding another but for thinking I would be punished in some way for protecting myself.
I do not feel that I am being punished for trying to prevent harm. I don't think the Universe works that way. I think this was merely the Law of reaction. I did this, it was done to me. It is simple.

Covens and Cults

I want to take a moment to post about a problem come to my attention today.
I met a girl at a local ecclectic shop who explained that she was pagan and in a coven almost right after giving me her name. I have no issue with people who identify themselves predominately by their belief systems, don't get me wrong, and I do find this very common among younger pagans.
I asked, with interest, what path their coven followed. She seemed quite confused so I rephrased and asked what religious beliefs the coven followed. She replied matter-of-factly, Wicca. I paused then asked, well, which path of Wicca? She continued to seem confused and then said, mostly just wicca and pagans.
I gave up on this line of questioning but the girl continued. We plan on getting a temple eventually. Our High Priest wants to make us wide spread, at least through Tennessee. First we have to get a coven house.
I asked what a coven house entailed.
She explaiend that one of her coven members was getting a large farm house, out away from town with hardly a neighbor that was large enough for the whole coven to live in.
At this point Damon had grown interested in the conversation and asked the girl how long she had been practicing.
She said she had been in paganism for only 3 months and that her High Priest had brought her into it by helping her get in touch with her abilities as an empath.

Now, I'm trying not to be critical of any coven or their practices but it seems strange to me to
1. initiate a young girl
2. collect and seclude the whole of the coven
3. concentrate, at an early stage of coven-hood, on widespread outreach for the coven
4. have a coven member who seems confused on the coven's basic doctrine

This seems bordering on cult-ishness. Maybe I'm wrong and have a skewed view as a solitairy pagan but the whole situation seemed uncomfortable to me.

Altar

My altar is set up, finally!
When we were living at the apartment, I have a 3 tiered altar in the eastern part of the main room. Now that we're with my in-laws, I have a smaller altar in our bedroom, trying to face as eastward as possible.

The base of the altar is a little besdide table my grandmother gave me. Its abotu a foot square around and 2 feet tall. There's a flat surface on tope, an open shelf beneath that and then a cupboard. Perfect.

On the table I have Ganesh, who I need now that we're starting new journeys and I need help with my business and finances. With him I have a few homemade supplies I sell for my business (including 1 votive beeswax candle, 1 4oz bottle of homemade shampoo, 1 bar of soap, 1 tin of lip balm), a quartz crystal, and an offering of yerba mate tea.

Om Gum Gana Patie Namaha

The shelf holds my almanacs and a deck of faery oracle cards by Froud.

The cupboard has incense, my witchy kit (a chesk of salt, oils, bell, chalace, and everything else I feel I need on hand), and a stone incense burner.

I feel so much more at home with the altar set up.

Pagan Prompt: The Rapture

What a topic! Though understandable after the "event" of Saturday...I had so many invites to hedonistic End of the World parties it was crazy.

Having been raised from childhood mostly by my Southern Baptist grandmother and a mom and aunt who rarely said anything about religion (but did let me miss church if I wanted to) I have had what you could call an immersion course in the Rapture Riot (as I like to call it).
Hearing enough about it, the Book of Revelations was the first book I read thoroughly (at age 8). I also asked a lot of questions because what I was being told didn't go hand in hand with what I was reading (what a shocker). In the end, I decided if the rapture happened before "The Tribulations" I didn't want to be a part of it. I wanted to see many of the things detailed in Revelations such as the dragon, the Lady clothed in the sun and crowned in stars, the angels and horsemen, etc.
Of course my desire to stay behind horrified my grandmother and after a stern talking to from her and her pastor, I never mentioend a word of it again...

14 years later...

After 2 years at a Christian college, where I studied the bible academically (and the New Testament in Greek), I am more apt to believe the Old Testament is more Kabbalistic wiht 127 different meanings for each verse, and the New Testament needs to be taken with a grain of...well...I won't go into all that.
I will say that now, Revelations still hold interest in me and more and more I am reminded of Aleister Crowley's books and teachings when I read this book.

The mysticism of a man, John, who had a vision and saw God and his thrones and all these magical things.
Plus, theres a Goddess in the book! Who woulda thunk it? The Lady clothed in the Sun, crowned by Stars, standing on the Moon. The Bride of Heaven. Sounds goddess-like to me.
The dragon has always been a favorite of mine (it wasn't until I was 15 that I made contact with my Dragon Guide and Guardian). Which leads to a second goddess! The Harlot. Now she may not be a goddess in the eyes of many Christians but she's a figure of great darkeness and the companion of the Dragon.
The 4 horsemen(no, not Jim Jack Johnny and Jose) with Hades following (I love how in Greek it is actually Hades in many translations and never The Devil, but sometimes Death. Just more fun when explaining there is not Devil in the Bible). The use of 4 is all through Revelations, which has a very strong numerological connotation. 4 hosrement, 4 thrones, 4 creatures, etc.
The use of 7 is also very strong with the 7 seals.

Anyways...I digress from the prompt...

What about the Rapture?
Well the Bible says Jesus Christ will come back for his followers but he will be like a theif in the night and no one will know the Day nore the Hour of his return.
So why are so many Christians obsessed with "It'll be in my lifetime" or "It'll be May 21, 2011" or "October 21, 2011" or "December 21, 2012" (now I have my own beliefs on 2012 but that's for another post).

I read another post on this ask, why are Christians so ready to be done with this life and move on with eternity? I think that it is because, even though they claim no belief in reincarnation and enlightenment, all beings desire it. We all desire to reach enlightenment or "heaven" and this life on this plane of existence is the main area to change your karma and reach enlightenment. We all feel this on a basic level and seek for it through religion, magic, meditation, etc. Even Christians.

Do I believe Christ is coming for his followers? Sure, but I don't think its going to be like in the Left Behind series or how many Christians think. I think Christ bridges a span of planes so that Christians can reach a level of heaven when they die instead of condemning their souls to a personal hell in the next life (for even Buddhists believe in hell).
Do I believe I will be left behind? No. I believe that I will transcend due to my own personal beliefs and work. I doubt that my next stage is true enlightenment but I have met people who are at that stage and it is glorious.

I'm sorry if thise post rambles. There is so much to say on the subject (which is why there are so many books on the topic).

Pagan Prompt

Stumbled upon Pagan Prompts today adn thought I'd give it a go since I am in a blogging mood.

What is my Book of Shadows like?
Well...I have 3 full BOSs.
1 is a basic store bought BOS with an embossed Pentacle on the cover bought at either AzureGreen or Dillys (I can't remember).
2 is a digital copy on my computer and on disc. This one has more on it but most of it is copied off line.
3 is a Scrab Book of Shadows. This is the least developed of the 3 but mostly due to the work that goes into it. Pictures, drops of annointing oils, a bit of melted wax, dried leaves and flowers, drawings, etc.

I am also working on a Lineage Book of Shadows that I plan to pass down to my future daughter. This is a book of everything I feel she will need to know if she follows the path of witchcraft and contains a little of each sect including wicca, hedge witchery, ceremonial magic, kemeticism, etc. This particular book is made up of handmade paper, bought at a bookstore.

Anothe rbook I have is a fairy/drema diary and it is also made of handmade paper. I write faery oracle readings, dream interpretations and the like in this one.

Magick in the Mundane: Canning

So I've been picking, pitting and canning cherries today and as I worked on stirring the juice I had a thought about how to make this seemingly mundane practice magical.

Use specific fruit and herbs to create a magical concoction.
Example: cherry or apple and rose for love, golden peaches or apples and cinnamon and nutmeg for prosperity, mint for prosperity, etc.

Stir clockwise to bring desired outcome, counterclockwise to banish the undesired.

Decorate, set on altar, make during certain days or planetary phases, surround with crystal grids, add elixir drops to brew, etc.

There is just so much you can do to make simple tasks into a spell or potion! This is why I love being a witch!

Moved!

WOW! What a month I've had. Between family drama (I think Pluto is in retrograde?) and cleaning up and job junk, my partner and I have moved AGAIN!
We're back in East TN, from 8 months in Kentucky.

I have so much going on!

As we prepare for a few weeks with my in-laws and are looking for new jobs and a new home, I'll post a few basic witchy things about our move such as travel protection, a small altar for our room, and some other things going on magically.

I do want to post the books that I grabbed to have on hand as the rest of mine are packed up and stored.
They are: Llewellyn's Magical Almanac and Spell-a-Day almanac for 2011. I read daily forcast as it were for inspiration for my day. Sometimes they inspire me to do a spell, write a journal entry and maybe even a blog post! Totally recommend them.
I also grabbed my Prakriti (Ayurveda) book to keep my healthy lifestyle inspired and I plan to dig out my Cunninghams herbal encyclopedia in the next week as I'm doign quite a bit of herbal work right now.

Other things I have ready:
My altar in a box - 1 deck of basic tarot cards (small), 1 large quartz crystal, 1 mini chalice, 1 bottle of sea salt (try salt packets as well), 1 small bottle of olive oil, 2 small white candles (also try tea lights), 1 small altar cloth decorated with pentacle, 1 lighter, and a couple sticks or cones of incense.
I also have readily available a fairy statue/candle holder, my teeny medicine Buddha and my Ganesh statue. I recommend having whatever available that makes you feel connected to patron deities or the divine no matter how small.

We've only been back in TN for...about a week now. I still plan to check in at Dillys in Kingsport, Three of Cups, Atlantis and Caravan Mystique in Johnson City. There's also a few places I havent been yet that I want to check out (specifically a small local in Greeneville, TN). Just wanted to give my fav witchy spots a shout out!

P.S. Apparently I moved just in time for the End of the World on May 21 ^_^

Spiritual Housecleaning

I was reading the 2011 Llewellyn Almanac and enjoyed the article on Spairitual Housecleaning by Deborah Blake. Since my last couple of posts have been on spring cleaning and protection, I thought I would add a few suggestions from the article.

Blake, like many writers who broach the topic of adding spirituality to mundane acts, like house cleaning, explains that by doing so you add a bit of magick to your everyday life. I would also like to add, that by doing so, a witch can keep herself in the practice of raising and grounding energy and of keeping the area around her free of harmful and non-beneficial energies.

I liked how Blake wrote this article with all witches of all walks of life in mind, not just the ones who own their own home and live in an area that has easy access of nature and the land but also those who live in urban areas and apartments. By adding this and the alternatives to the cleansing such as walking around the inner rooms of an apartment or around the owned property, a witch doesn't feel hindered by his or her living arrangement.
Blake also gives the reader free reign on when she will be performing her magickal housecleaning, rather than encouraging the witch to perform the cleaning on a specific date such as Spring Equinox.

One of the things that Blake encourages doing when doing spiritual housecleaning is smudging, which I failed to mention in my last post. Sage smudging is a very powerful action that can be done when cleansing the home, sacred space, etc. My husband is a big believer in sage smudging and uses the smudge bundles whenever he does a healing whether its a personal one or on another person.
Blake starts out the instructions for spiritual housecleaning by opening the windows (or one window if its cold out) and smudging each room, starting at the room's boundaries. She adds that this can be followed by sprinkling salt and water along the room's boundaries.

I definitely encourage any witch to buy one of these Almanacs and reading the nifty little articles that can help add a little magick to everything you do.

Spring Cleaning: Protection Charms

Just about every witch or practitioner I know has a charm or two for protection. Whether its in their cars, homes, purses or on their person.
I have 2 protection charms that are very prominent in my life: the evil eye in my car and the orgone accumulator on my t.v.

Evil Eyes are those blue disks with blue, white and black eyes painted on them. They are very popular in Southern Asia but can usually be bought at craft stores and new age shops. Evil Eyes are said to deflect any bad energy sent at you, whether intentional or not. This included anyone looking at you or your things covetously, cussing you when you accidentally pull in front of them, or a serious curse upon your well-being.

Orgone Accumulators are crystal and copper designs in special resins that work to turn EMFs and un-beneficial energies into beneficial ones. They work best when set in the area of your home that sets off the most micro-waves or EMFs. I would set it on our laptops but ours is the size of a fist and our laptops are constantly moving. So ours sits on the t.v. in the central area of our home.

I try and cleanse my protection charms about once a year. This is partly so the don't leave their intended space for long (and so I don't forget to put them back) and partly so that I'm not constantly handling them and changing their energy.

To cleanse them, I use a small white candle (usually a tea-light), tea tree oil and water in an oil burner and/or a preferred incense, sea salt and filtered water and a rag.
I usually draw a circle and ask my guides to watch over me and bless my actions but this is not normally a formal circle or calling the quarters. You may perform a formal circle if you wish.

With each charm, I'll wash it over with some sea salt and water. I visualize the grim of bad energies caked on their being scrubbed away to reveal the shining charm, almost like new. I then dry each one off and prepare to recharge them and cleanse them spiritually.
In order, I hold the charm above the flame (being careful not to burn myself) and charge the charm with the cleansing and protecting power of fire, which burns away the bad and lights the path. Above the incense and/or the burning oil I charge the charm with air's ability to clear the bad and breath new life or a breath of fresh air. With the clean water I recharge each charm with water's cleansing ability to wash away the bad and change the tides/energies for good. With the salt I ground each charm and charge it with the strength of earth to stand against bad energies like a protective shield or fortress.

I thank those energies that have helped me, ground the energy I have stirred up, and close the circle. I immediately put each charm back where it needs to be.

This small rite can also be done after a move since the charms are dealing with ricocheting energies.

Spring Cleaning: Magick and Mundane

My mother is the world's biggest lover of lists. She has a list for just about everything whether its shopping, wish lists, to-do lists, book lists, etc. She has encouraged this habit in me so I've made a basic list of things I need to do in order to finish my spring cleaning.

If you decide to make a list yourself, you can actually add a lil magick to the mix by asking guides (whatever you please, including deities of the hearth and home or maybe some friendly house faeries) to bless this list as a sign of your intentions and give you aid and motivation to get the listed projects done. You can event add a few runs or sigils to the paper for added energy and motivation if you are like me and need that little kick to get going.

My partner, Night, and I have a very small apartment. It literally is a box and the bathroom has the only door, aside from the front entrance door. Everything else is in the same room including bedroom, sitting area and kitchen. So this is the cause of my organizational grief.

My first thing to do, before I start cleaning, is to put up all the clothes, take out all the trash, and clean all the dishes. Then, the fun starts, I get to go through everything, EVERYTHING, and pick out what I no longer want or need (and can reasonably part with) and put the mess in bags and boxes to take to Good Will or the dumpster.

The next thing to do is a thorough cleaning of the apartment. If you have a house, this will probably be taken a day at a time. I will vacuum, mop, wash, dust, and polish until I am worn out. Then I'll get my cleansing tools together. For me, this is usually sea salt, filtered water, a purple rag, and intention. You could also ad your besom as a cleansing and clearing magickal tool but as I do not have one, it is not on my list.

I will salt the corners of each area, banishing un-beneficial and bad energies (I no longer say negative after reading Penczaks' book The Inner Temple of Witchcraft) and protecting the home. Salting each corner is something I do just about every new moon or so for protection of the home and those in it. My cat usually follows each salting with a good investigative sniff and then a nod in my direction as if she approves.

I will also add salt to warm water and bless it with protection and cleansing. With the purple rag I will literally wash the walls and the tiled kitchen bathroom floors with the blessed water. I'd do the ceiling too but I can't reach and my partner doesn't feel its necessary.

With the same salt water or with a smaller bowl of higher salt concentration, I'll draw runes and sigils of protection over the front door and the window-sills, using my index and middle finger.

I will also burn incense and a mixture of tea tree oil and water in an oil burner to add to the protection and cleansing. Tea tree oil is not only a protective oil but also rids the area of molds, bacteria, fungus, and viruses. I also mix tea tree oil with alcohol or witch hazel and water and spray it around the bathroom to prevent fungus.

To end the day, I'll call upon my guardians, spirits, faeries, and deities to bless this home, those who live here, and all those who enter it with love in their hearts. I ask that they protect us and keep us. So Mote It Be.

Update

Greetings and apologies my readers. I know I don't keep up on this blog nearly often enough.
That being said I hope to write a bit more frequently now as I'll have much more to write about. My partner, friend and myself are shaking the dust off our wands and brooms so to speak. We're honing in our abilities and love of the craft and taking our city by storm in search of like minds, shops to buy necessary tools, and so on.
Sounds a little gung-ho, I know but that's just how excited I am about this new decision and revelation the 3 of us have had.

Spring is also on the way and the best part of spring, for me, is spring cleaning. Out with the old and the clutter, shine up the neglected. I'll be doing a few projects for spring cleaning outside the mundane and plan to share them with you along with how to mix some magick in with my normal cleaning.

So if you can find it in your heart to forgive a neglectful witch, please continue reading and maybe add some of your own ideas into the mix. I love comments ^_^