My Moon Time

Its that time of the month again and if you're a male reader who isn't comfortable with women talking about their menstruation...you should 1. get over it and 2. prolly ignore this post

I am writing about my period because I think it is a form of female magick that is ignored by so many women.
So often, a woman's period is called a Curse. What I think we need to consider is that a period is a very powerful time for women.

Back in times of tribal units and nomadic life and magickal shamanism, etc - the fact that women would bleed for 5-7 days without injury and they lived was a very magical and spiritual and mysterious process. This was celebrated and when girls started their periods they were put through a rite of passage to celebrate this and invite them into womanhood.

We don't see this in Modern Western culture today and its a shame. TOday we see it as a curse, as something painful to be supressed, as a process of punishment in the Christian idea of Eve and the serpent and the apple.
I say eat the apple, celebrate the knowledge and the womanly act of mestruating!

Don't dread the coming of Aunt Flo but accted GodMama Flow and embrace her and ask her to teach you more about what it means to be female.

Menstruation is a time to be still, look within, relax.
Grab a cup of red raspberry leaf tea with some valerian root or chamomile to relax those muscles. Meditate on Divine Feminine and how this part of life relates to that. Reflect on another month of the Childbearing Years that your fertility could be used on something else other than creating another human.
Release the pain of menses and with it any pain you have suffered physically, emotionally, mentally, spiritually in the past month.
Celebrate yourself, your health, your blood, your body this time of the month.

Feminine Blessings Upon You
Dawn

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.

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.

Where is Henna Magick?

So I've been interested in researching how Henna has been used in magick and ritual but I haven't been able to find any books or sites or anything on the subject.
My first reaction is...well if I can't find any books, why not make one instead. (make anyone think of the Grinch much?)
If you can find rites, spels, workings that use Henna I would appreciate the aid.
Also, if you would like to help out, come get some henna tats or if you are working a rite and think a henna tat would help then give me a hollar.
Thanks and Blessings,
Dawn