June 17, 2010 · 8:03 pm

Summer Solstice…

We are very close to celebrating Summer Solstice on June 21.  Summer solstice is the  longest day of the year and when the Sun is at its strongest.  The Sun god is at his mightiest, and as of this moment, will begin to decline as the days grow shorter and the winter months come.  Pagans in ancient times (and now) celebrate on this day,  the power of the Sun and his love for the Goddess, who is now pregnant with his child.  The sun causes the Earth’s bounty to ripen and grow, as those of us who garden can attest, much as the child the Goddess carries grows. 

Midsummer or Litha, is a fire Sabbat.  It is most appropriate to have a  bonfire and spend time outside.  Also, the faerie realm is very active during this time.  Make an offering to the Fae  and thank them for the help they give to you in your garden.  A gift of a crystal point or a bit of bread and honey are much appreciated by them.  Your herbs should be growing tall and you can use them in your cooking and spellwork now.   Spend time outside, have a cook out, take a walk, sit under a tree and feel the Goddess’ presence, offer up thanks for the many blessings this season is giving you.

This is a good time to rededicate yourself to the God and Goddess in your chosen path.  Handfastings are of course perfect for Midsummer.  Spells for health and prosperity will be answered this time of year.  Decorate your altar with summer flowers, a faery statue, summer crystals such as tiger’s eyes and any green stone, birds feathers, fresh fruit slices, a pot of honey.  Use the summer colors such as green as grass, gold as sun, blue as sky, yellow as sunflower and red as rose!  Lighten up and brighten up for this sumertime Sabbat!

My altar is pretty much done..though I’ll be adding slices of fresh citrus fruits and strawberries and a bit of honey on that night.  Here is a picture of what I’ve done so far…..

The ring of stones is for the fae, Gaia and Greenman, my goddess and god, faeries, my elemental representations, my ritual tools,  all there.  As I said, my natural elements of honey and summer fruits will be put on when I’m ready to use it.

My family will be enjoying a bonfire and a feast. We will  make an offering to the Fae, and enjoy each others company.  That night I will spend time at my altar privately, doing my own ritual.  Summer Solstice is a joyous celebration and I hope that you all enjoy it too!  May the sun shine on you brightly, may the faeries bestow their blessings on you and may you live everyday in Joy, Love and Light!

Bright Summer Blessings, Autumn

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June 12, 2010 · 11:52 am

New Moon, antiques and granola……

Merry Meet again friends..today is the New Moon or dark of the moon.  Use this time to start a new project, change something about yourself, change the way you look at things,  and start anything new in your life.  It’s also a great time to re-consecrate your altar and tools.    Thats what I plan on doing tonight. 

My gardens and herbs are looking great, growing fast and smell wonderful!  Except for my purple salvias…:(  a baby groundhog has been visiting and has eaten the flowers off the tops of all of the plants.  The green leaves still are alive and growing but now flower heads…dang critter.  However, it is kind of cute so we’ll deal.  Hubby is going to put some fertilizer to it to help the flowers bloom and we haven’t seen the groundhog for several days now..hopefully it moved on. 

This past week, my sister, daughters, grandbaby and I went shopping for antiques at a local antique mall.  We found some amazing things of course and our witchy hearts were very pleased with some of our inexpensive finds.  I found a very large cast iron cauldron with three feet in perfect condition..several inexpensive jars with thick heavy metal lids for storing my herbs, and a beautiful old, leather bound book of poetry from Tennyson, who I love.  The Lady of Shallotte is one of my favorite poems.  Here’s a pic of my finds:

I love antiquing and I often think about where it came from, who used it before me, what was their story.  I find old things to have a soul…they carry the energy of the people who came before me and used them in their everyday lives. 

I made my homemade granola this week too.  I’d like to share the recipe with you 🙂

Ingredients

4 cups of quick oats

2 cups of rice krispies cereal

2 cups of nuts (I use 1 cup slivered almonds and one cup pecan pieces)

2 Tb cinnamon

2 cups brown sugar, packed

2/3 cup of butter (the real thing)

1/2 cup honey

2 cups dried fruit (I use 1 cup raisins and 1 cup dried cherries)

Mix oatmeal, cereal, nuts and cinnamon in an extra large mixing bowl.  set aside.  In a medium sauce pan, melt butter and honey and stir in brown sugar.  Heat til butter melted and brown sugar smooth.  Pour over oatmeal mixture and mix well.

Put into a foil lined jelly roll pan and even it out.  Bake at 350* for 10 minutes…give it a stir…bake for 10 more minutes.  Take it out of the oven and let cool for 5 minutes. Pour into a large covered storage bowl, stir in the dried fruit..let it completely cool before covering.  Enjoy!  Great as cereal and on yogurt and ice cream!!  This is not a healthy granola but really really good! 

Please continue to pray and send healing to our Mother Earth..until this oil gusher is stopped and the damage is repaired.  Hope you are all enjoying your Summer (or Winter) and making the most of each day.  Find joy in your life everyday and hug your family and friends close.  Being a witch is something I’m very proud of and I strive everyday to honor Mother Earth and God/Goddess.  May you all follow your chosen path everyday with pride and a full heart.

Blessed Be, Autumn

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June 1, 2010 · 7:58 pm

Poor Mother Earth….

 

I am so sad and so upset about what is happening in the Gulf with the oil spill.  They call it a spill for one thing!  Seriously!!  Hasn’t it gone way way WAY past a “spill”!!!  I would call it a huge monsoon, typhoon, hurricane of a oil catastrophe!!  I can’t believe that BP has no idea how to fix this in a timely manner!  Did they ever think “what if?”  this happened???  What if that happened??  Oh my Goddess!! 

There are people out of work because they can’t fish, there are restaurants who can’t get fish to serve their customers, New Orleans is getting hit hard..again!  But the worse thing is the long term destruction to our ocean, its occupants, the wetlands, the beaches, and the other animals such as birds, turtles, snakes etc that survive and live in those areas.  The longer the oil is allowed to gush..the more years it will take to clean it up and the more time it has to destroy life and professions.  It is a major calamity of epic proportion and the extent of it hasn’t even began to come out yet!

I am a witch and honor our Earth Mother in my everyday life..in every way I can.  This hurts to the core.  But it shouldn’t matter what your religion, creed, race, class…it should be devastating to us all!  But because I’m a witch, I believe that I can add my voice the the prayers, spells, rituals, requests, that are going out all over the USA…

I have written a charm that I’m doing every day ..at least until the “spill” is stopped.  I’m sharing it here with you..

Light a blue candle, anoint it with peppermint oil for healing, protection and purification.  Light the candle…

Focus your intent into the candle..if you can do this spell by a body of water..even better!

Now say:

O Goddess of the stars, moon and sun

Let thy love and healing come

To Earth who is my mother

Please help Her to recover

Her oceans and land are in great need

Because of our own uncaring deeds

Bless her and heal her, make her whole again

Now let the healing power begin

By candle and scent, and prayers to thee

As I will it, so mote it be.

 Do this often and with great intent!  I know I am! 

I pray and implore that we learn a lesson in this terrible tragedy, Blessings to you all and Blessings to our Mother Earth…

Autumn

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May 24, 2010 · 8:28 pm

Herbs, gardening and stones…….

After about 10 days of rain and dark gray skies, the sun has finally come out, the ground is drying up and it feels like summer!….

This weekend my hubby and I were finally able to start planting, weeding, mulching etc.  I love going to the garden centers and walking thru the aisles looking for just the right thing!  So far we chose marigolds, red and blue salvia, dianthus, speedwell, shasta daisys, impatience and of course, more lavender!  These are in various beds around the house.  This year I planted my herbs early from seed, in little pots I kept in a sunny window.  I planted about 15 different herbs.  Some grew, some didn’t.  So for the ones that didn’t sprout from seed, I went and bought them at the garden center.  For my herbs I planted, lavender, catnip, oregano, chives, cilantro, basil, sage, lemon balm, parsley, marjoram and mint.  I just realized tonight though that I forgot thyme so I’m gonna have to go back and get some, got to have that! 

We also bought seeds for sunflowers so we have free feed for the birds in the late summer, early fall..plus we get to enjoy them all summer!  We bought a new bird feeder that is supposed to be squirrel proof but I’m not sure its working! LOL..I don’t mind feeding the squirrels and chipmunks either!  We have plans to remove some ugly bushes I hate and put in peonies and hydrangeas!  I love mapping out the improvements along with the yearly stuff we always do! 

Lets see, what else is going on..I am reading “the Craft of the Wild Witch” by Poppy Palin and love it so far.  She writes very well and I’m learning alot.  I just finished reading the first 7 books of the House of Night series..so good!  Now, I know these books are aimed at teens and at 52 years old I’m most definitely not a teen..but they are good books and I read all 7 in about a week..I just couldn’t put them down! LOL..now, alas, I have to wait for the 8th which doesn’t come out until January of next year I think!  :(….I have been encouraged by some witchy friends of mine (you all know who you are! )  to read the Sweep series so I’ve got the first two and will be starting them…I love to read and will read just about anything! LOL! 

I’ve also been working on my BOS..that is alot of work and always in progress but I really love working on it..its coming out just like I pictured it would!  I have so much fun going thru my witchy books and planning out the pages I want to keep in my book and finding pics to put with it..very creative!

Thursday is the Full Moon..I love the full moon every month.  Its really a special time for me.  This one I think is going to be extra bright..it already is a bright light moon and its not full yet!  I plan on doing a Full ritual this month.  I usually keep it simple, light a candle, and re-cleanse and energize my crystals, tools and jewelry in the moonlight.  This month I’m going to take advantage of the warmer weather and spend some time, outside, really communing with my Goddess. 

This has been a bad week too in that I lost an Aunt and am now losing an old friend who is too young to die.  At these times I realize even more how we are put here to love each other, to love life, and live it to the fullest!!  Blessings to both of them and their families as they start a new journey.  May their path be lit by Moonlight as is mine…..

Blessed Be, Autumn

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May 8, 2010 · 9:29 pm

Happy Mother’s Day…..

My family and I have been able to get away for a few days to our cabin in Tennessee to celebrate Mom’s Day!!  Hubby, 2 daughters, son-in-law, grandaughter and my daughter Sara’s nurse are all here.  The trip down was uneventful, got here safe and sound and in good time.  The weather is gorgeous!  Not a cloud in the blue, blue sky and a bit cool, especially for TN this time of year!!  It hit 72 today and the next couple of days won’t even hit 70..perfect weather!!  We went to an italian/greek restaurant for dinner (Yum) and now baby girl is asleep and the rest of us are relaxing with open windows and enjoying each others company!

Celebrating Mom’s day with my family in Tennessee…priceless!   The last time we were down here, there was snow on the mountains!  Now everything is green and lush and spring flowers are blooming all over.  Thank Goddess, east TN has not had the flooding that has so terribly ravaged western TN..Nashville especially.  My heart goes out to everyone there..especially those who have lost family members and property.  Between the oil spill and the flooding, Mother Earth is not in very good shape right now.  As a lover of our Mother Earth, I know her beauty and her terrible powers to destroy as well.  Maybe if we treated her better she would treat us better….

Before we left for this trip I did a Safe travel spell as did my daughter.  We are carrying our safety charged amethyst with us in our cars to keep us safe and I am wearing an amethyst ring too.  Amethyst is a great stone for protection.

Here is the spell I did:

Supplies needed:

a white tealight candle

Jasmine essential oil

a good sized amethyst stone

Anoint candle with oil focusing your intention on where you are going and getting there safely.  Light the candle and say:

Bless our journey and keep us from harm

With light of protection and amethyst charm

May our path be straight and free from strife

Many more adventures left upon our life

I close this verse, with harm to none

By fire and stone, this spell is done.

Place your amethyst next to the candle and allow the candle to burn out on its own…Anoint the amethyst with the oil and place in your purse or glove box to keep it with you while you travel.

This is a very simple spell but very powerful and for me it has always worked. 

I wish all of my readers who are moms, my family and friends who are moms a very Blessed day and may your children show you the love you deserve!!

Blessed Be, Autumn

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May 1, 2010 · 4:11 pm

Blessed Beltane….

Just a brief post to wish all of you a very Blessed Beltane…Light your fires and be joyful that the May Queen has come and the Sun God is young and strong in the sky!  Trees, shrubs, flowers, herbs are blooming, animals are birthing their young, The faeries are busy and afoot, and Love and lust is in the air!!

Light a bonfire and dance around it joyfully, leave a gift to the faeries, plant flowers and herbs, have a feast, and Thank the Lord and Lady for the turning of the Wheel!  I am grateful too for all my witchy friends and embrace you all.

Blessed Be, Autumn

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April 26, 2010 · 4:58 pm

Beltane altar……

It’s Beltane time my witchy friends..saturday May 1!  This Sabbat is all about Spring, fire, passion, fertility, the Union between the God and Goddess, and faeries!  It is the celebration of Spring being here, flowers, trees and shrubs blooming, young animals being born,  Father Sun burning bright and bringing warmth and longer days, and the faeries coming out to help our gardens bloom! 

I set up my altar a couple of days ago.  I used a white base cloth for light, bright days of summer, with a grass green over cloth to represent Spring and everything greening up in nature.  I place a red taper candle to represent Goddess and a white taper candle to represent God.  I used my Gaia and Greenman statues to represent the Earth waking up and greening also.  I have a faery, rose quartz, and a small potted blooming flower.  I still need to make my mini Maypole yet.  I also have the usual elements of my Athame and wand, and the 4 items representing the Elements which is my incense burner, a small green candle, a bowl of water and a bowl of salt.  It looks lovely and a very good representation of Spring.

I’m hoping if the weather is good to have a bonfire in our outdoor fireplace, to plant my herbs into their outdoor pots and I’ll do my Beltane ritual in the morning..to represent the coming of the Sun King as the Sun is climbing in the sky.  I will leave a crystal point and a bit of bread with honey as a gift to the faeries and ask them to help me with my gardening and herb growing.  They also will help to attract the butterflies, birds, insects, ground critters etc to my yard and care for them.  

I hope to find time to make oatmeal cookies or granola as grains are a good thing to eat for Beltane..along with dairy foods.  Homemade granola on yummy yogurt would be perfect!  I’m not going to have time to do May baskets but that is a lovely way to welcome Spring and to show your neighbors or friends appreciation for being in your life.  How nice would it be to find a May basket hanging on your front door on May Day!  I think I will though get a bouquet of spring flowers..daisies are my favorite!…for my own home.  Open windows and let the fresh air in and the negative old air out!  Start fresh  on anything you want to change in your life..now is the time!

I hope to spend the day with both of my daughters and my grandaughter having lunch and spending some time together. I hope that you have someone to share this wonderful Sabbat with…

with much Love and Blessings…Autumn

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April 20, 2010 · 4:30 pm

Spring is here…..

Here in Ohio we have just had such a beautiful couple of weeks..the weather has warmed, the sun has been shining and plants and trees are blooming.  I have purple phlox all bloomed out and gorgeous, my dogwood and crabapple trees are covered in white flowers, my lilac bush is bloomed and smelling wonderful, and even plants like coralbells, sedum and hosta are blooming!

There are yellow finches, cardinals, blue jays and other small birds on the feeders.  The chipmunks and squirrels are everywhere…I just love this time of year.  Of course, my allergies are acting up too which is not a good thing but thanks to allergy meds I’m hanging in there.  I planted small pots indoors of herbs and veggies and some of them are doing well and some haven’t done a thing!  I’ll transplant the healthy ones to outdoor pots around Beltane..the ones that aren’t growing I’ll replace with plants from the garden center.  We are hoping to build a garden shed/storage shed soon too.  We had to take out some dead trees this year and trying to decide what we are going to do with the empty space they left behind.  I hate losing trees but I’m hoping to plant flowering bushes or ornamental trees in their place.  I’m anxious to get my flowers planted too but here in Ohio its best to wait until around Mother’s Day to do it..we can get frost pretty late in the year..for instance, it was only 32 degrees night before last!

Beltane is coming up fast..I’ve got to buy a white tablecloth for my altar then I’ll top it with a grass green scarf to represent the color of spring and things blooming.  I’ll decorate it then for Beltane which I’ll discuss in the next post after I’ve done it!  We are hoping to celebrate with a fire in the woods, planting my herbs outside, offering a gift to the faeries, and fixing a feast!

Here’s hoping you all are having a beautiful Spring too…remember, You can make it so..just go outside and embrace the Earth waking up around you!  Thursday is Earth day so do something good for you Mother Earth..at least take a walk and maybe pick up some trash while you’re walking or drop some wildflower seeds along the way, or plant a tree or two!  Say a prayer to the Goddess and God for the Earth and her gifts.

Blessed Be, Autumn

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April 11, 2010 · 8:15 am

New moon……

The new moon is coming up in the next couple of days…this is a time for growth and healing and new beginnings or new projects.  Ask the God and Goddess for their help with this….I will be asking for healing from emotional hurt that was dealt to me this last couple of weeks by someone who claims to love me….my mother.  She has made her feelings for me perfectly clear….while still claiming she loves me, she said some really hurtful things to me which tells how she really feels.  She’s always been difficult and my life with her is riddled with bad memories.  My siblings and I never had a soft place to fall with her.  We could never please her, never get her unconditional love, very rarely drew a positive word from her.  After this last couple of weeks, and the fact that I’m almost 52 years old,  I AM DONE!!  Done trying to get along with her, done trying to please her, done trying to make her happy.  While I won’t tear the family apart by having a full blown separation from her, I am separating from her emotionally and more physically than I have in the past.  She has hurt me many times..more than I can ever relate…..but this last time is the worse.  I’m too stable (LOL) to let it affect my life totally in a negative way..but finding out how she really feels about me hasn’t been easy to take.  Thank god I have my other siblings, my husband and daughters and a great group of friends…I am not alone.  I hold my daughters dear and will never hurt them as I have been…

So on to more positive news…my herbs and veggies are growing in their little pots…once it warms up a bit more, I can move them outside until it is time to pot them.  Not all of the seeds are blooming yet…some take longer than others.  My book of shadows is coming along.  Its been alot of work and time consuming but all fun!  I love seeing it come together and I think its beautifully done and I’m very happy with it.  My sister, daughter and I are enjoying working on our books together.  My daughter Willow, sorrowfully, hasn’t received her book yet…..but she is also working on her pages.  It’ll be fun when her book gets here and we can have days we are all together working on them.

Beltane is coming up fast…we’re going to spend a day making small maypoles for our altars and flower circlets for our hair.  I’m hoping my husband will help me have a bonfire in our woods that night.  Beltane is a lusty festival!  All about fire, dancing, prosperity, fertility and fairies!  A fun and happy time, knowing that warm summer days are on their way.  It’s a good time to start gardens too.  A feast is expected with good wine and good food!  We will be giving gifts to the faeries to let them know we are aware of them and appreciate their help in our gardens!

So again, on the new moon, start that new project or start healing, and recognize that the Goddess is there to help you.

Blessed Be, Autumn

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April 4, 2010 · 11:31 am

Happy Bunny day…..

Today is Easter….Happy Easter to those of you who celebrate it.  In my family, we celebrate it mostly because my parents and sister are christian.  This year however, due to a family situation, we didn’t celebrate it with all the family.  My husband, daughter, family friend and I went out to breakfast and the weather is beautiful and we had a nice time.  My daughter Willow and her family spent this year with her husband’s family.  They are so busy on the holidays trying to see all the family on both sides that they have to alternate between families..this was not our year :(.   The had us over friday night though for a cookout which was fabulous.  We brought our little grandaughter Lily her Bunny basket, had grilled burgers and good company and this early in April the weather was 80!!  It was awesome. 

A few days ago was the full moon.  I made up Blessing Oil and my Blessed water under a starry clear sky.  However, even though it was like 10:30 at night, and the moon was full, it still wasn’t showing up in the sky.  Funny how it comes up so late in the night this time of year.  It was a warm, gentle night and while I was communing with my God and Goddess, I saw a shooting star!  It was amazing as I don’t see them very often.  I took it as a response to my prayer and felt at peace after.  I also like to recharge my jewelry, crystals, altar tools etc in the moonlight so I did that too.  I love that Spring and warm weather are here again and I can be outside to commune without having to bundle up! 

Here’s my recipe for Blessing Oil:      

1/4 cup almond oil

10 drops sandalwood oil

4 drops camphor oil

2 drops orange oil

2 drops patchouli oil

Put in a pretty bottle and use it to bless your altar, candles, yourself after a ritual bath, or your tools.  You can also anoint your doors to bless your home.  Many uses and it smells great!  This is a double batch, feel free to 1/2 it.

I decorated for Ostara, both Altars, and left them up for Easter as the symbols, eggs, lamb, bunny, spring flowers etc are the same.  I’ll be undoing them tomorrow and getting ready for Beltane.  I’ll talk more about Beltane in the next month as Beltane is also known as May Day and is on May 1.  My Book of Shadows is coming along slowly but surely.  I love working on it and seeing it come together!

Have a blessed day,

Autumn

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