Tag Archives: Goddess

October 28, 2011 · 8:38 pm

My Samhain Altar and Ritual 2011…….

Merry Meet my friends!  Wow, just 3 nights until Samhain!  This month has gone by way too fast for me.  I love October so much, my favorite month, and I have kept myself busy enjoying every minute of every day.  We have had a few rainy days so colorful leaves are rapidly falling off the trees.  We’ve had some frosty mornings so the last of the summer flowers and herbs have gone away til next Spring.  My mums are fully bloomed and gorgeous.  The bird feeders are more active, squirrels and chipmunks and other furry creatures are scurrying to gather quicker.  Some of my friends have already experienced snow where they live! 

I can’t wait to see my grandkids in their costumes on Samhain evening.  We’ll be having dinner at my daughter’s house and hubby and I, will pass out candy while they take my grandkids out to collect some candy 🙂  Chili, cornbread and cherry crisp will be on the menu…quick and easy for such a busy day.  Then I’ll be home to do my ritual I have written here, and some time outside by the bonfire in my circle in the woods.  I’ve decided to do my Dumb Supper on Sunday evening as Samhain night will be so busy.  I hope to post some pics of the table set for it on my wordless wednesday blog post next week.  I think the table will look fantastic and I’m quite sure my grandmother will come to visit 🙂

I have spent some time the last couple of nights writing this ritual.  Please remember, this is just what I’m going to  do.  It may not be at all what YOU are thinking of doing or saying or using.  That’s just fine…make it yours and by all means, do it your way.  Your magick is your own after all!

First, here are some pictures of my Samhain altar.  It is to honor my ancestors and I think it’s one of my favorite altars I’ve done.  I think the pics speak for themselves of what I used and why.

Samhain Ritual to Honor Your Ancestors

By Autumn Earthsong

 Have your altar decorated however you like.  You can get some ideas from the pictures on my altar above.  A couple things you must have….. a God and Goddess candle and pictures or keepsakes from your ancestors and loved ones. I also highly recommend you have LOTS of candles on your altar…I set several votives to lighten my altar up bright!

Cast your circle in whatever way you do.  Ground and Center when you are ready.  If you are using elemental representatives, light the fire candle and the incense.   Light the Goddess candle and say ….

 “Dark Mother, Goddess of Death and Rebirth, Ruler of the night,  assist me in my magickal rite.  Lift the Veil between the worlds, as this time-out-of-time begins and as the barrier thins.  I ask for your blessing and guidance as I commune with my ancestors this Samhain night.”

Light the God candle and say…..

 “Dark Father, aged Consort of the Crone, Lord of the Underworld,  I ask for your blessing and favor on this magickal night, during this time-out-of-time, and during this rite.  Keep safe my ancestors as they come to me, from the other side of the Veil, for me to hear and see.” 

 Call the elements by saying what you usually do or something like this:

Earth and Air; Fire and Water
Guard and guide your loving daughter
I call on you this Samhain night,
Assist me in my sacred rite.  Sit quiet for awhile and wait for your ancestors to come..don’t forget
 your pets who have passed too….
 Quiet your mind and body and you will know when they are with you.
 When you know they are, say something like this:

    

“On this Samhain night the Veil has thinned


and the Spirits of my loved ones are here once again.

For my ancestors and loved ones who have gone on before me

I remember you with great love, in my heart you’ll always be.

Guide me and protect me, until one day I’m with you

I honor you every day, in everything I do.”

Blessed be! Blessed be!

 Now would be the time to do some divination with your tarot cards or runes, or do some scrying and see if any Spirits have anything to show you.  Enjoy some apple cider or wine and a “cake”.  When you are ready start to take down your circle by thanking those who came to you:

 “Dearest Ancestors thank you for joining me this night. I will never forget what you mean to me as you retreat once more beyond the Veil. For now, Merry Part.” 

 Release the elements as you usually do.
 Say Thank you and good-bye to the Goddess and God however you like.
 Snuff out candles, take down your circle, and make an offering to Mother Earth, outside, 
by leaving a bit of cake and wine.  Spend some time by a fire and relax.  You may feel
 a bit tired after having the Spirits of your ancestors with you on the glorious Samhain night!
 Samhain night, the Witch's New Year! Celebrate it! I found this poem a year or so ago,
 and have since connected with the author on facebook. I'd like to post it here for
 you all to enjoy! It makes me thrill to my witchiness :) I wish all of you a very Blessed Samhain!  

 

The wheel has turned, the wheel of light

 stoke the fire and make it bright

Samhain call, Samhain come

 feel the rhythm , hear the drum

The veil it thins, the veil it shrouds

 the spirits rise upon darkened cloud

The time of orange , time of black

 time to move forward and not look back

Pumpkin lit , with candle burn

 away dark spirits this guardian turns

Night of the ancients, night of the olds

 remembered in stories now to be told

The Crone doth rise upon this night

 look into the shadows without a fright

Rituals and rites across the lands

 empowers the soul where they stand

 Trick or treat, heal or curse ,

 the hand should be crossed from a silver purse

The Wheel begins its time anew,

 the release of the old for the knowledgeable few

The time to scry to see the path we must take

 and of the choices we need to make

She comes to us in many guises

 the Crow and the owl her favourite disguises

The Earth gives us her last to give

 the bountiful harvest so we can live

We feast and drink in a sacred space

 behind samhain masks to hide our face

Through darkened day and moonlight night

 All hallows Eve is a beautiful sight!

(C) Copyright Phiona Hutton July 2010

 

 
Blessings and Love, Autumn 
PS..I have NO IDEA why this post came out all weird..it obviously had the margins
set wrong..and I have NO IDEA how to fix it LOL...sorry..it's still readable I think :)

  

 

 

 

 

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October 15, 2011 · 4:50 pm

Blood Moon and the Drumming Circle

Merry Meet my friends!  I hope, like me you all are enjoying a fabulous Autumn Saturn day!  The weather here is amazing…breezy, sunny, clear blue skies, and low 60’s.  It smells fabulous too! People are burning leaves or have a fire going in their fireplaces.  We are at about peak color too but grass is still green and still growing from all the great rains we’ve had. The nights have been clear and starry and the Moon bright!   It is a truly magickal time right now.

Speaking of magickal, I had the most wonderful experience and I thought I’d write about it today.  This past tuesday night, the night of the Full Blood Moon, I was invited to a “Full Moon gathering” by a new facebook friend who lives in the little village I love to go to…10 mins away.  Now I had no idea what to expect at all but I knew that it was for women only and that she owned a yurt..and that is where the gathering would be.  She sent me directions and times and I told her I’d be there. 

Oh ..this is a yurt by the way…….

 

Well, I asked my daughter Kate to come with me but she couldn’t this time and I asked my sister, who Did come with me.  So on tuesday night we found our way down a long gravel road til we saw an amazingly large,  beautiful yurt standing in the yard of our friend’s house.  Needless to say we were a little early and a little nervous 🙂  As we got out and were meeting our friend and introductions being made, another car pulled up and 3 women got out of the car…then they pulled out the djembe drums!!  I looked at our new friend and said..Oh…is this a drumming circle???  LOL  She looked at me like I should have known that..but a thrill went right thru me.   I had always wanted to go to a drumming circle but did not know there was such a thing in our area! 

We settled into the yurt on big cushions that sat in a circle on layers of area rugs.  Goddess flags and twinkle lights were all around us, an altar was set up to one side and sage was burning.  We watched as 40 or more women of all ages piled in and took their seats..some hugging and greeting each other and some maybe were new to this experience like us.  The women were as young as 6 and as old as 70 or so.  Many of them pulled up drums, some tamborines or maracas, and some had no instrument.   My sister and I were handed a couple of extra drums.  We were cleansed with the sage and a couple of women started drumming a slow steady beat..then more chimed in…then chanting and singing began.

I kid you not..for the first 20 mins I had goosebumps all over!  It was so amazing to me that I was sitting there in that circle.  Well, if you’ve ever been in one, then you KNOW what it’s like and what happened.  The songs got louder and the beat got faster and more joyful.  Women got up and danced with great joy and abandon.  The pace would slow..then grow again..then slow again.  The songs were so uplifting and wonderful.  It was one of the most joyous spiritual experiences I ever had.  and YES!!  I want to do it again and again!!

As the night wound down, good byes and hugs were said and we piled out to see the Blood Moon sliding in and out of the clouds and I felt so joyful, emotional and Blessed by the Goddess.  I was told we were welcome to come as much as we wanted to….told about New Moon gatherings as well..more meditative and quiet..no drumming, and that every Full Moon gathering was like this one 🙂  You can bet I will be there..and my daughter and sister as well!!

Oh yes, I’ve bought a djembe drum and so did my daughter 🙂 …and I plan on using it often..even when I’m alone.  The energy that drumming helps to build up is like nothing I had experieced…you can feel it with your heartbeat..in your core.  I’d like to suggest that if you get a chance to go…Go!!  You won’t regret it!  I feel so blessed to have met my new friend and the wonderful women I connected with that night.  The Goddess was very much present for us on that Blood Moon night!

This is my new drum 🙂 

 

Blessings and love,

Autumn

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October 2, 2011 · 12:29 am

The Witches Sabbat……Samhain!

Merry Meet!  It is October!..the favorite month of the Year for most Witches, including this one!  The wheel of the year has turned, Mabon has passed and October has come, bringing cool crisp days, brilliant foilage of reds, golds, rusts and browns, jackets and sweaters are coming out of the back of the closets, garden centers are loaded with Mums, pumpkins, gourds and corn stalks, the smell of woodsmoke hangs in the air, and the Witch’s heart and soul quickens…for Samhain is coming, the New Year…the thinning of the veil….and there are things to be done for the favorite night of the year! I’m so excited!

 

       “A white lace of frost webs the sidewalk a kaleidoscope of leaves.  Hillsides are ablaze with flame-colored trees, fields lie fallow and dark, and cornstalks dry to the color of bone in the low golden sun.  The sky promises rain tonight and winds rise to torture the clouds.  Fog swirls down the darkened street, shrouding the candlelit grin of a glowing jack-o-lantern, and the veil between the land of the living and the land of the dead grows as thin and insubstantial as the mist.”      from Simple Wicca by Michele Morgan

 I love this description…it is so perfect for this time of the year.  Samhain (pronounced Sow-en)  known also as All Hallow’s Eve or Halloween  is the third harvest festival of the year.  The God has died, returning to the Underworld, to wait to be reborn at Yule.  The Goddess is a Crone, mourning for him, leaving the world in darkness for a time. It is  a time to honor our departed loved ones and the night when  it is believed the veil between the material world and the Spirit world is at its thinnest and that the dead return to commune with the living.

In ancient times,  Balefires burned on every hillside and great feasts were held.  A place was set at the table for family members who had passed on to the Spirit world.   For the Celts, tis was New Year’s Eve.  In some traditions, Samhain marked a “time out of time,” the ending of the old year, the new year not beginning until the Sun’s rebirth at Yule. Samhain is considered the oldest and most sacred of the Sabbats because it honors the cycle of Life and Death. 

Samhain Correspondences

*Element/Gender— Water/Male

*Threshold— Midnight

*Symbolism— Death and transformation, Witches New Year, wisdom of the Crone, end of summer, Honoring our ancestors, thinning of the veil between worlds, death of the year, time outside of time, night of the Wild Hunt, begin new projects, end old projects, Magick, knowledge.

 *Symbols/Tools/Decorations—  Jack-O-Lanterns, Balefires, Masks, Besom, Cauldron, the Waning Moon, black altar cloth, oak leaves, acorns, straw, black cat, Crescent Moon, grain, bare branches, pictures of ancestors, candles.

 *Herbs— Allspice, broom, comfrey, dandelion, deadly nightshade, mugwort, catnip, ferns, flax ,mandrake, dragon’s blood, sage, straw, thistles, oak, wormwood

 *Incense/Oils— Frankincense, basil, yarrow, lilac, camphor, clove, wood rose, wormwood, myrrh, patchouli, apples, mint, nutmeg, sage, ylang ylang

 *Colors— Black, orange, indigo,

 *Stones/Crystals—  Black stones, jet, obsidian, onyx, carnelian

 *Customs/Activities—  Carving jack o’lanterns, spirit plate, ancestor altar, costumes, divination, the Feast of the Dead, feasting, paying debts, drying winter herbs, masks, bonfires, apples, tricks, bats, cats, ghosts

 *Foods—  Apple, pumpkin pie, pomegranate, pumpkin, squash, hazelnuts, corn, cranberry muffins, bread, ale, apple cider and herbal tea.

 *Gods—  Horned Hunter, Cernunnos, Osiris, Hades, Loki, Arawn, Anubis

 *Goddesses—  The Crone, Hecate, Cerridwen, Arianrhod, Caillech, Baba Yaga, Bast, Hel

 *Spellworking/Ritual—  Honoring/consulting ancestors, releasing the old, foreseeing the future, power, understanding death and rebirth, entering the underworld, divination, dance of the dead, fire calling, past life recall.

 How can you celebrate Samhain?..besides of course trick or treating, visiting corn mazes and haunted houses, hayrides and Halloween parties?  One custom  of this Sabbat that I love is the “Dumb Supper.”  This is setting a place for the spirit of your departed loved ones at your table and lighting their way to your hearth with carved pumpkins and candlelight. I have done this for several years now and it’s really a special thing to do.  You can set a picture at the place setting or settings of the person you are inviting to join you.  Turn off all the lights and just have candles lit at the table.  Make it a silent meal..no talking….just focus on your loved one you are remembering, and maybe THEY will have something to say to you! 

Dress up for the occasion..whether you wear a costume or put on your best witchy clothes, hat, robe…  It’s your night…dress for it!  Have a bonfire under the Moon.  Throw your dried harvested herbs in to make the smoke even more magickal.  All forms of divination are paramount on Samhain Eve.  Dark mirrors for scrying, Tarot cards, runes, or pendulums are all perfect tools to take advantage of  the heightened spiritual energies at this Sabbat. Set up a table by the fire and do some tarot or rune readings for your friends and family or just see what the Universe has to say to you on this night.  If you are blessed to have some time alone, contemplate the coming winter, and use this time out of time to let die old ways of thinking, outworn beliefs, and negative patterns.

Leave some bread and wine outside as an offering to the wandering souls and the Faeries.  Make sure you have some jack o-lanterns or luminaries lighting the way for them to your home!  The grinning pumpkins provide protection as well 🙂 

One of my favorite things to do just before Samhain, is to have a Harvest Soup Party.  I invite some friends and family over, telling them to be sure to dress warm.  I set up about 3-4 crockpots of different soups…like chili, veggie, potato, and corn chowder.  I have bowls of toppings such as crackers, shredded cheese, bacon bits, sunflower seeds, sour cream, croutons.  I have a pumpkin tureen filled with warm spiced cider..some vodka or rum can be added for the adults.  A couple of desserts such as pumpkin pie and apple crisp round off the menu.  A bonfire is going, bales of hay with fleece blankets are great for extra seating, and bandannas in orange, black, brown and red are great to use as napkins!  You can have a table set up for pumpkin carving for the kids..with the adults help of course. Tell ghost stories and roast marshmallows to finish up the evening.   Everyone loves a great night outdoors with good food and good company….they will look forward to your party every year!

I’ve got my Autumn decorating mostly done today…decided I needed to shop for a few new things for the house and the weather will be perfect this week to go pumpkin and mums shopping and apple pickin is on the agenda too. I’ll be making my famous Amish Apple Pies this next week as well.  Yummy!!

October is a wonderful month and it seems to go so so fast..at least for me it does. LOL!  Be sure to enjoy every minute of it…take a walk or a drive and take in the brilliant color. Visit an apple farm and have a caramel apple or sip on some apple cider. I love to bake and cook this time of year.  When you do cook or bake, make up some extra and take it to a neighbor or someone you know would love it.  Don’t forget the critters! Put out Indian corn, peanuts, and bird seed for those who are gathering for the long winter ahead.  Bring in the last of your harvest before the first frost.  I have herbs to get in and I need to do it tomorrow as we have frost warnings already! 

I’ll post blog soon with some of my favorite Autumn recipes.  In the meantime, enjoy the cooling weather and the change of the Seasons….Happy October!

“Listen! The wind is rising, and the air is wild with leaves, We have had our summer evenings, now for October eves!”
Humbert Wolfe

 

 

Bright Blessings, Autumn

*Sources..my BOS & Simple Wicca by Michele Morgan.  Pictures from the internet. 

 

 

 

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September 20, 2011 · 10:07 pm

The Sea Witch…….

The Sea Witch

 The Sea Witch watches the Sunset from the beach…vivid oranges and pinks to deep purples and dark blues..and finally darkness.  As she stands with her feet in the warm current of the ocean, the sand slipping away from under her bare feet,  she quietly observes  the Full Moon rise up and over the blue-black water of the ocean.  It is the Harvest Moon….deep red, then warm orange,  pale yellow, then bright white as She rises majestically in the star filled sky.  She lights a candle and  casts a circle.  Pulling crystals from her pocket, she buries them in the sand with quiet words spoken from the heart.  She calls forth the elements, all four right there with her…Earth, Air, Fire and Water.  Then invoking the Goddess, asking Her to attend, to lead, to love her thru her ritual. She feels Her near…

  The Sea Witch raises her arms to the sky to draw in the energy from the Moon Goddess.   Beneath her feet, she feels the earth moving, warm water lapping,  soft breeze caressing, the flame of the candle flickering… and the tingling  and warmth  in her body, heart and soul as she connects with her Goddess, feels the  energy, strong and sure,  coursing through her.  Both calming and exhilarating, joy and peace fills her as the energy builds within her.  She wants to laugh and she wants to cry, and the beauty of the moment engraves itself on her mind and heart forever. She sinks into the sand to rest, to ground and center, to have a glass of wine.  She pours some of the wine into the ground as an offering. 

Taking a few more minutes to meditate, the sound of the ocean soothing  her, the bright light of the Moon shining on the white sand, the scents swirling around her..the Sea Witch  thanks the Goddess for the blessings in her life.  She thanks the elements for their attendance, takes down her circle, and snuffs the flame of the candle.  With renewed energy and feeling very blessed, she goes back to her loved ones…… who wait.

 

 

Blessed Be….Autumn

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July 28, 2011 · 7:47 pm

Blessed Lughnasadh 2011…..

Merry Meet my friends!  Chances are there are some of you out there having the same weather I’m having here in Ohio!  Sweltering heat for a few weeks now! It is Hot Hot Hot!!  Though we’ve had some rain, our grass is brown and burnt from the heat.  My gardens…well some of it’s doing well and some of it not so much.  Even with watering, things are dying out.  I’ve never been a big fan of Summer because I don’t like it when it gets too hot, but this Summer has been one of the hottest I can remember for a while.  Because of this, my thoughts have turned to Autumn, my favorite time of year.  I’m dreaming of cool crisp mornings, leaves falling, pumpkins, apple picking, and warm things coming from the oven and the slow cooker 🙂 

Well…Lughnasadh, the first Harvest festival is upon us on August 1 and that just makes me smile!  Though we are in the midst of this heatwave and the peak of Summer…I can feel a bit of a shift around me.  The Sun is rising later and setting earlier, corn is tall and ready in the fields, the breeze feels different and our gardens are full and ready for harvest.  Stores even have their Autumn/Halloween decorations out on display! *sigh*  I love it!!

Today I was able to get my Lughnasadh altar ready.  I love the Autumn themed altars..more than any other.  The I kept in mind the Correspondences for Lughnasadh when putting it together and I was happy with the simplicity of it and how pretty it looked. 

Oh…the sunflower plate will hold my cakes of course! The crystals are any that are of the colors of Fall!  Green, gold, orange…aventurine, citrine, carnelian!  I have gold, orange and brown candles.  I wanted sunflowers but not luck finding them around here unless I raided somebody’s yard! LOL.  So I picked out some soft orange, purple, & yellow flowers and I LOVE the ornamental cabbage they stuck in the bouquet! The crow…well, crow’s and corn just go together 🙂  My “cakes and ale” will be homemade honey oatmeal bread, or corn bread, and a nice glass of red wine to represent the grape harvest.  I can’t wait to work at this altar.

Today I also put together a couple of herbed oils and an herbed vinegar.  I did a rosemary/olive oil, a basil olive oil, and a lemon balm/apple cider vinegar.  I lightly warmed the oils since I was using fresh herbs from my own garden.  I can’t wait to use them.  I’m going to use the basil olive oil on tomato/mozzarella stacks, the lemon balm vinegar in salad, and the rosemary oil will be great on grilled veggies and meats.  Yummy!  I really need to get more of these bottles too..I think they’re so pretty, inexpensive, and look great sitting on the counter.  Would make nice gifts as well. 

Now I’m going to be upfront and tell you that I do NOT have a formal ritual for Lughnasadh.  I’d like to write my own and frankly just haven’t had the time.  If you research it online, you will find the same 2-3 rituals written over and over again.  Scott Cunningham’s being one of them of course.  Though I don’t have one to share here with you, I can most definitely give you some ideas.  Doing a Blessing and a prayer of thanks for the bounty and abundance of the Harvest would be a perfect quiet celebration.  You can do this while eating the bread you have baked or even while mixing the ingredients to make it.  You can Honor the Sun God who is dying, to be born again by his lover, the Goddess, who is pregnant with him.  A great time to do that would be as the Sun is setting on Lughnasadh night.  Light a fire, burn some of your harvested herbs..and reflect on your year so far.  What bad habits would you like to let “die”?  What new things would you like to manifest..to grow in your life…as the Goddess is growing the God?  Smudge your house and throw open windows to allow good energy in and the negative out.  Really, I smudge for every Sabbat!  Harvest your herbs and can your veggies from your garden or make jams from the bountiful fruits that are ripe like berries, peaches and plums.  Go take a walk, enjoy the Sun while it’s still hot..you’ll remember the warmth in the dead of Winter.

I have decided to bake my breads on the weekend and I’m looking forward to it.  There is nothing better then the smell of bread baking and the taste of it warm, slathered with sweet butter…it makes my mouth water just thinking about it 🙂  I’ll be making the crab dip and the pear salad for sure as well.  Don’t forget to check out my recipes I posted in a previous post..let me know if you try them what you think! 

I wish each of you a Blessed Lughnasadh and May the Sun God shine on you and the Goddess surround you with Love. 

Autumn

*Sources…my pictures.  🙂  My words.

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May 11, 2011 · 9:26 pm

Countdown to Litha……

Merry Meet my friends!  This last couple of days here in Ohio have been really wonderful!  Very warm, rains coming and going,  everything is so green,  flowers are blooming…. it’s starting to feel like Summer!  I actually had to turn on the A/C..yep…it was that warm 🙂  My ferns are now hanging on the porch and I’m pulling out the summer cushions and pillows tomorrow for the porch as well.  My hubby has our new shed mostly painted..it’s sooo cute….and we will finally be planting our flowers this next weekend.  This week I’ll  buy my new patio pots..big ones!….and will transplant my herbs that I grew from seed outside as well.  We are spending more time outside now that the two full weeks of rain is gone and I’m looking forward to getting Summer started!

The Summer Solstice..or Litha is June 21st this year. I love the Summer Solstice..the longest day of the year!

 “Nights are warm, and stars shimmer in the sky like a blacktop road in the noonday sun.  Roses spill over garden gates, heavy with bees and perfume; field and forest are lush and teeming with life.  Faerie-folk gather in the woodland glades, and frolic beside moss-banked streams; the fires of summer burn green and gold, and everywhere there is high magick afoot!”…………………..Michele Morgan  “Simple Wicca”

Isn’t that the most delicious description of Summer…I couldn’t improve on it so I quoted it.  

Summer Solstice, Litha or Midsummer’s Eve..whatever you call it…. means that the Sun God is at his strongest,  the height of his reign, but now He begins his decline, as the days give way in the coming months to darkness.  The Goddess is now pregnant with His child.  The Earth’s bounty is in full swing…gardens are growing, everything is green and lush, trees and shrubs are fully bloomed.  Animals are scurrying, enjoying the warmth and Sun but at the same time..collecting food for the winter. Litha is a fire festival!  It  is also when the realm of the Fae is most astir.  Faerie magick is about!  It’s a time to romp with the faeries!  Put out gifts of food and libations for the faeries.  Fresh milk or cream, butter, wine, cakes, and honey are all much desired sustenance in the realm of Faerie.  Gifts of coins, ribbon, or colorful stones are also fancied.  Leave your offerings in the garden, near a stream or pond, or beneath a tree in your woods or yard.

In ancient Norse countries, the people celebrated the battle between the Oak King (God of the waxing year) and the Holly King (God of the waning year).  Of course, the Holly King wins, for it is he who will reign until Yule, when he gives way to the rebirth of the Child of Light, the baby Oak King. 

    Handfastings, or Pagan marriage ceremonies, are commonly held at Midsummer.  Hum..I wonder if that’s where the June Brides come from?  Spells of transformation and purpose are often done on this Sabbat.   Other customs include lighting a ritual bonfire, sprinkling it with magickal herbs, and dancing round the flames, asking for the blessings of health and prosperity. Harvest your magickal herbs on Midsummer morning, and hang them to dry for use in spellwork in the coming months.  Catch a jar of fireflies, whose green glow represents faerie fire deep in the heart of the forest.  Make wishes upon the tiny creatures, and then release them to carry your wishes to the Goddess.

Litha Correspondences

*Element-Fire

*Threshold-Evening/Dawn

 *Symbolism-Crowning of the Sun God, death of the Oak King, assumption of the Holly King 

 *Symbols/Tools/Decorations-The Sun, oak, birch & fir branches, sun flowers, lilies, fire, seashells, summer fruits and flowers, sun wheel, sun dials, circle of stones, bird feathers, Witches’ ladder, love amulets.

 *Herbs-Anise, mugwort, chamomile, rose, oak blossoms, lily, cinquefoil, lavender, fennel elder, Mistletoe, hemp, thyme, nettle, wisteria, vervain, St. Johnswort, rue, fern, wormwood,  Pine, heather, yarrow, oak & holly trees.

 *Incense/Oils-Heliotrope, saffron, orange, frankincense, myrrh, wisteria, cinnamon, mint, rose,  lemon, lavender, sandalwood, pine.

 *Colors-Blue, green, gold, yellow, red.

 *Crystals/Stones-Lapis lazuli, diamond, tiger’s eye, all green gemstones.

 *Customs/Activities- Bonfires, all night vigil, singing, feasting,  herb gathering, handfastings,  rededication to the  Lord and Lady, beginning of the harvest, honoring the Sun  God and the pregnant Goddess.

 *Foods-Honey, fresh vegetables, lemons, oranges, summer fruits, summer squash, ale, mead, Pumpernickel bread

 *Gods-Father Sun/Sky, Oak King, Holly King, Arthur, God is at peak power and strength.

 *Goddesses-Mother Earth, Mother Nature, Venus, Aphrodite, Yemaya, Astarte, Freya,  Hathor, Ishtar, All Goddesses of love, passion, beauty and the Sea, Green Forest Mother, Great One of the Stars

 *Spellwork/Rituals-Nature spirit, fey communion, divination, love and protection, rededication of faith, rites of inspiration, nurturing, relationships, fire.

Every year, at Midsummer, I do two things.  I re-dedicate myself to my faith. It is a ritual I look forward to and doing it outside, on the longest day of the year, when the night is warm, fireflies are about, faeries are flitting, the Moon is shining….it connects me to the Goddess in a most amazing way!  The other thing I do is to make up a new witches protection bottle and my outdoor protection talismans, salt circle etc.  I usually do this on the Full Moon in June. Again, it’s all about being outside and really connecting my magick to the Goddess.  Of course a bonfire will be going at the same time and I’ll have something cool and fruity to drink 🙂  Then I will just sit under a tree, feel the warmth of the Earth beneath me, and just appreciate the humming of life going on all around me.  It’s magick!

So it’s time to think about this wonderful Sabbat coming soon and really plan for a fun, outdoor celebration!  Future posts will include recipes, my altar, ritual etc…just like I always do 🙂  If all you do is have a bonfire and have your family or friends over for a cook-out..you are celebrating! On the Solstice night, watch the Sun go down!  Consider the re-dedication, I can’t tell you how great you’ll feel afterwards….it is so rewarding and emotional!  Summer is coming and the Summer Solstice is a fabulous way to get the Summer fun started! 

 

“Dirty hands, iced tea, garden fragrances thick in the air and a blanket of color before me,
who could ask for more?”
–   Bev Adams, Mountain Gardening

 

Blessings and Light, Autumn

*Sources….internet pics, Simple Wicca by Michele Morgan, and my BOS!

 

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March 15, 2011 · 1:46 pm

My Ostara Altar and Ritual……..

Merry Meet everyone.  I hope that you are all well and I continue to pray for Japan and the victims of all the terrible things going on over there.  The risk of a nuclear meltdown is very real  now and I am praying it doesn’t happen…..would not be good for the entire world for that to happen.  I am doing my best to stay positive and not to let it drag me down to the point I can’t help.  If I don’t have positive energy, I can’t send it out to the Universe.

So today I am undergoing a very unpleasant day of prep for a medical test tomorrow so I am close to home.  Yes, at my age, and some history, I’m having a colonoscopy tomorrow.  Nuff said.  Ugh.  It’s raining and gloomy so I finally took the time to get my Ostara altar completed and wanted to post some pics here for you.  I am quite happy with it.

I posted the correspondences for Ostara in a previous post so I’m not going to list them again.  I think the items on my altar are pretty easy to understand why they are there, but I’ll talk a little bit about each picture.

Sorry for the pics being a little dark..but well, its raining out and I don’t have a lot of light where my altar is.  This is the left side of my altar.  As you can see, in the center is my usual working items to represent the elements..they are always there.  I have fresh cut tulips, an egg basket, lamb, chick, bunny for obvious reasons.  My little goddess my hubby gave me for Yule, cauldron where I will burn my Ostara loose incense, Gaia, and my illuminator and goddess candle.  I picked all pastel colored crystals..rose quartz, blue calcite, amethyst, citrine, green flourite..just because I love the way they look 🙂

Right side of Altar…  Greenman, god candle, my pentacle and chalice, then I have a bird house and birds nest which speak of Spring to me, A garden faery for the same reason.  Another bunny I love..looks like he’s praying to me 🙂  and my altar tools. I wanted to put some seed packs here too but I did that ritual already as I posted a couple of days ago..but that would be a great idea too! 🙂 

 

Sorry agan about the darkness…my altar cloth is pink checked by the way….very soft and Spring-like.  I used soft green and pink candles..would have loved to have added some yellow elements but I had a terrible time finding pastel colored candles this year.  Was actually told at my local craft store that nobody uses taper candles anymore! LOL..I told them I beg to differ.  Oh well, I’m happy with it and it will feel most magickal to me on Ostara night.  And I know that you all KNOW there is a Full Moon the eve of Ostara..a SuperMoon actually….so it will be a most magickal weekend!  Make the most of it!

Oh yes, I also do a simple altar on my kitchen counter for the Sabbats as well.  Here is the one for Ostara I finished today as well.  I am wanting to get a potted plant for it but the tulips worked for now. I love the sparkly stones around the candle…so pretty.  As I’m in the closet with some family members, this altar is perfectly accepted as an Easter altar 🙂  But I add the crystals which gives it the witchiness I need. 

So my altars are ready and I have decided what ritual I’ll be doing as well.  Thought I’d post another here for you all..again, I have no idea where I got this as I’ve had it for sometime.  It may have come from the internet or it may have come from a book…I’m keeping better track of those things now that I’m blogging, but I didnt’ use to unfortunately.  I love this one because it should be done outside!  A great one for the full moon and Ostara this year!

 Ostara Ritual for Outdoors

Gather the supplies you’ll need:

-Two chalices of wine or water

  -Two white candles or pastel if you’d like

  -matches or lighter

  *Two bowls are necessary if working indoors

   Arrange a small altar placing one candle to the left of the altar and one to the right.  Place the chalices next to the candles.  If working indoors put the two bowls on the floor on each side. Offer prayers of thanks to the Lord and Lady for the blessings of Ostara.  Say them out loud being thorough.  Then say:

I stand at the center and balanced be,

the change of seasons meets here in me.

From wintertime’s dark and lonely nights,

to summertime’s warm and lively light.

     

  Light both candles:

 Now at the center at Ostara am I,

not light or dark to dominate the sky;

but a time of lengthening light and day,

as we pass from balance to summer’s days.

 

Extinguish one candle to represent the balance of light and dark.

Take the chalice to your right and hold it up, saying:        

 God of the Sun and Lord of Light,

I honor your spirit in which I delight.

Pour the water or wine onto the ground to your right or into the bowl to be poured onto the ground later.  Then take the chalice to your left, hold it up and say:

 Goddess of the Earth and of the night,

I honor your spirit as the earth turns light.

 Pour the contents of this chalice on the ground to your left or into the bowl.

 Spend as much time as you’d like at your altar, speaking with your deities, meditating, praying.  When you are ready, extinguish the candle and thank the Lord and Lady.  If you performed this ritual inside, take the bowls outside and pour them on the ground as an offering to Mother Earth.

 This is a very simple and beautiful ritual that will add beauty to the Sabbat for you.  As Spring comes in…whether like a lion or a lamb…honor Mother Earth and her greening.  No matter what is going on in the world, one thing is constant.  We can count on the turning of the wheel of the year, that Spring will come again after a long, cold, snowy winter.  That trees and flowers and grass will bloom and grow, that critters will come out and bask in the Sun and gather food again, that we will shed our heavy winter clothes and head outside to our gardens, porches, picnics, and we too will re-connect with the Earth Mother.  And She will re-connect with us.  I wish you all a Blessed Full Moon and A Blessed Ostara.  May Spring bring you great joy!

Love and Light, Autumn

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March 2, 2011 · 11:25 pm

Living a Magickal Life…….

Merry Meet friends!  The Sun has come out for 3 days now and signs of Spring are showing up here in Ohio!  There are shoots coming up of daffodils and crocuses, wildflowers are popping up, chipmunks and squirrels are out and about, my crabapple trees are starting to bud and my fish are moving around in the koi pond!  All wonderful signs of the return of the Sun god.  I have been enjoying gorgeous sunrises earlier in the morning and the Moon comes out later at night.  Ostara or the Spring Equinox is less then 3 weeks away…ahhhh..Spring 🙂

I recently read a newletter  from Patti Wigington at About.com that I thought was a great article and I wanted to talk about it here on my blog. She talks about how we come to this path for various reasons and that finding our way of practicing our craft and honoring our Deities should be something we think about and “do” everyday.  There are many of us who may only celebrate at Full Moons or on Sabbats or perform a spell occasionally when the mood strikes us.  They may have read a book or two or three and think that they know everything they need to know.  She calls them “Weekend Wiccans”.

“Living a magical life is something that one does twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. Depending on the needs of your tradition, it may involve something as complex as daily ritual, or as simple as taking a moment to thank your gods each morning when you get out of bed. It means being in tune with the spiritual world around you, and staying in balance physically, emotionally, and spiritually.”

A pagan or witch who really grasps the meaning of living the magickal way of life…finds some way to celebrate everyday.  They take notice of the small things throughout their day to day life that brings joy and magick to them.  Everything they do is with purpose and intention…to honor their deities and Mother Earth  and Her inhabitants,  and to increase their own power in manifesting the life they desire for themselves and their families. I am sure that you know  someone who does this and does it beautifully.  How do they do it?  How do they find the time?  Well, lets talk about that.   This newsletter brings up some suggestions and I have a few of my own.  You see I am one of those witches who strives to find magick in my everyday life.  Some days I am wonderfully successful, some days I’m mediocre, but I DO try, every day, to make my home and my life magickal.

-My very first suggestion is to watch a sunrise or a sunset and moonrise.  Watching this wonderful moment in time..everyday…will remind you of the wonder of the turning of the wheel, of the day that is starting or ending.  I can’t watch a sunset and then the mystical moon without feeling so blessed in my path and to thank the Goddess for it. 

-Know the phases of the Moon..pay attention to when the Moon will be full or new,  or if She is waxing or waning.  Pay attention to how you are feeling during the different phases.  Knowing the phases will ensure that any spells or rituals you perform will be as strong as they can be if done during the right phase of the Moon.  It connects you to the flow of energy, the changing seasons, etc.  The Moon rising and setting is what keeps the wheel of life rolling.

-Read everything you can get your hands on..never stop learning!  I have been reading witchcraft books for 13 years now and there are many, many I still havent’ read or want to re-read.  Everytime I read a book I learn something new..and can apply it to my practice or discard it as not helpful to me.  With the internet at our disposal and our witchy facebook friends, we get alot of differing opinions and ideas thrown out as facts.  Being knowledgeable about your craft will help you to decide what feels right to you.  

-Be a caretaker of this Earth we live on.  You can do magick everyday by being mindful of  your relationship with nature.  Recycle, compost, reuse, watch your energy usage.  Also you can plant trees, vegetables, herbs and flowers.  Collect rainwater.  Be close to Mother Earth, dive into her dirt, sit under a tree, feed and water the birds.  Be aware of the subtle changes in the seasons.  These things alone bring awareness of the magick in our everyday lives.   

-One of my favorite ways to bring magick into my everyday life is to light a candle with intention.  I light a candle everyday with the intention of sending healing to someone I care about.  There are so many ways to be witchy. Make loose incense, burn it in your cauldron and smudge your house with it to clean out the negativity.  I love grinding herbs and resins with my mortar and pestle and make a sweet or spicy incense.  Carry crystals with you for the purpose you are needing that day such as healing or protection or to draw love.   Take a few minutes everyday at your altar to meditate or send a prayer to the Goddess/God.  Have a cup of tea that you have made yourself from your own herbs grown in your garden.  Give an offering to the fae and ask them to aid you in your garden.  All of these things just take up minutes of your day or no time at all. 

-Be empowered.  Be aware of the power you have to manifest your desires yourself.  Be honorable in word and deed.  Use your magick for good and to better your life.  Be helpful, loving, respectful to others and yourself.  Giving love is what we are all here for after all.  Be responsible for you own actions.  If you are unhappy or living a life much less then you should be, take the steps to fix it.  You deserve your best life!

-Find happiness in the small things in life.  A gorgeous sunny day, a moonlit starry sky, a good simple meal of fresh foods, a good book, the smell of woodsmoke or lavender growing in your garden.  Keep your home harmonious, clean, happy.  Live a balanced life.  Be aware of small things with big impact and be grateful for them.  Focus on the positive and let the negative go.  Be happy!

-Honor Goddess/God everyday in some way.  A morning prayer for a good day, an evening thank you for the things you are blessed with.  Go out and look at the Moon goddess and draw Her in….feel the energy you can receive from Her!  Sit in the Sun and feel the warmth from the Sun god.  Be aware that they are within you..not without!  You can draw strength from them by looking inward.  When you are still…they will talk to you.

-Keep a BOS or journal.  I have journaled for 15 years and writing down my thoughts and feelings and the things that are going on in the world or just my world is very important to me.   It is a record of my life that will be passed down to my children & grandchildren.  It helps to free my mind from all the thoughts floating around in there as well. LOL.  A BOS is a witches most important tool besides themselves.  It is a place to go for information to aid you in your magick, your spells and rituals.  It makes life easier to have that information in one place when you need it. 

-Bring magick to the mundane part of your life.  When you cook, put all your love into it…no matter how simple the meal, your love will make it delicious.  When you bathe or shower, use yummy smelling products that remind you of your garden or your favorite spice.  Picture all the negativity washing away from you..any bad feelings or anger go right down the drain.  Listen to music that soothes your soul or makes you feel positive and happy and energetic.  If you are washing your car,  place protection all around it to keep you safe.  When you clean your house, wash out the stagnant air and bring in fresh air.  Place protection and love all around your home while dusting it.  Picture your home as a place of love and harmony and balance.  You are manifesting a better life for yourself when you do this.

-Give Love to your family and friends everyday.  Never be too busy to take a few moments to let them know you love them.  When you give love, you will receive it back!  This is something you all know..you brilliant witches 🙂

Now I know that some people will be saying that they do NOT have time to do all of this.  After all, you have jobs, kids, furbabies, errands, extended family, appts, etc to take care of.  But many of the things I mentioned above, you are already doing.  Just change the way you look at what you are doing every day.  Don’t look at it as a chore, look at it as a chance to bring magick into your day.  Find a way to find the time for your craft everyday.  If all you do is spend 10 minutes outside…to connect with nature….then you will find that magick and want it so bad that you will find other ways to get it…I promise you.  The more you practice..the better you get at it! Picture in your mind..you ….at your best witchy self and you will achieve it!

My life as a witch just keeps getting better and better and I understand more and more that magick and the divine and nature is all around us.  There for us to enjoy and take in.  I can make of my life what I want it to be.  Even when everything seems to be going wrong, I can find the silver lining on a cloudy day.  So can you…just look for it…MAGICK! 

Blessings and Love, Autumn

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February 16, 2011 · 5:22 pm

Countdown to Ostara……..

Merry Meet everyone!  I hope you all had a LOVE-ly Valentine’s Day.  Mine was very nice..hubby spoiled me and I spoiled everybody else!  I am having Spring fever big time for some reason.  I normally love Winter..as I’ve written here before…but something about this year has put me in the mood for Spring earlier then I usually am.  It might be that we are having some balmy weather right now for Ohio.  We have hit 50* today and 60* then next two days.  It rained this morning a bit, melting all that dirty snow, and the Sun just came out.  I actually just put my rosemary tree and my new gerbera daisy plant outside to enjoy the sun a bit….it’s warm enough to do so.  I also am seeing all the seed packages and pots and garden tools coming out at the local garden centers and I have already been looking to see what I want to plant this year.  So Spring is coming..hold on to that thought!

Along with Spring, comes the next Sabbat on the Wheel of the Year….Ostara.  Ostara is also the Spring Equinox…when Night and Day are again balanced  and the Earth swells with new life.  In ancient times, people celebrated the arrival of spring, and the Goddess Eostar, or Eostre, whose symbols were the egg and the hare, both representations of the Great Mother. “Ostara is a festival of fertility and resurrection, the union of sun and soil, a time of planting, mothering, and tending to young children and animals.  At the Spring Equinox, the God and the Goddess are now equals, and they dance together across the Earth.  Wherever they step, flowers appear and bloom beneath their feet, and sorrow turns to delight as the world is reborn.” *

This is the time of re-birth.  Animals are bearing their young, shoots are growing up from the ground, grass is greening, trees are sprouting leaves and our hearts feel lighter with more daylight and warm breezes and the smell of the rich earth as  Mother Earth wakes up.  Ostara is a wonderful time of year and celebrations are light and centered around the outdoors.  The Correspondences of Ostara are:

*Element/Gender-Air/Male

*Threshold-Dawn

*Symbolism-Greening, sprouting, balance of light and dark, The God comes of age, union of the Lord and Lady, fertility, birthing, beginning,

*Symbols/Tools/Decorations-Colored eggs, baskets, rabbits, lamb, shamrock, butterfly, cocoons, sprouting plants, violets, lily, spring flowers, new clothes.

*Herbs-Daffodil, jonquils, woodruff, violet, iris, narcissus, peony, acorns, tansy, cinquefoil, crocus,  dogwood, irish moss, ginger, honeysuckle, jasmine, rose, strawberry.

*Incense/Oils-Jamine, rose, strawberry, african violet, sage lavender, ginger, magnolia, broom.

*Colors-Gold, light green, grass green, robin’s egg blue, lemon yellow, pale pink, anything pastel.

*Crystals/Stones-Red jasper, rose quartz, moonstone, amethyst, aquamarine, bloodstone

*Customs/Activities-Planting seeds or starting a Magickal herb garden, taking a long walk in  nature, coloring eggs, bird watching, egg hunts,  starting new projects, wearing green or pastels

*Foods-Leafy green vegetables, pumpkin, sunflower and pine nuts, dairy,  fish, hot crossed buns, sweet breads, hard boiled eggs, honey cakes, seasonal fruits.

*Gods-Green Man, Youthful Gods, Warrior Gods, Dagda, Cernunnos,  Pan, Adonis

*Goddesses-Eostre, Ostara, Maiden, Isis, Astarte, Ishtar, Minerva, Youthful Goddesses,  Faerie Queen, Lady of the Lake, the Green Goddess

*Spellworking/Rituals-Spellcrafting, invention, new growth, new projects, seed blessing, herb  garden, herb blessings

An ancient Ostara custom was to dye eggs red, the color of life-force and regenerations. Make “oracle eggs.”  Draw magickal symbols on hard-boiled eggs with paraffin or white crayon.  These can include astrological signs, runes, and symbological signs such as the pentacle, or a moon or a sun.  Fun to do with a grandchild 🙂  You can  celebrate Ostara with fresh spring flowers, bouquets of freesia, daffodils, lilac, and tulips, and herbs such as clover, lemongrass, and mint.  Collect rainwater  and steep it  overnight in the light of a full Moon.  Use it for your holy water or water your houseplants with it.  Play favorite childhood games.  Blow bubbles, play hopscotch and jacks, and jump rope.  Bring out your inner child and let her play.   Bless the seeds for your garden, and envision health, happiness, and prosperity growing for you in the warmth of the Sun.

I will be posting Ostara recipes, rituals, pics of my altar etc in the coming days.  A book  I highly recommend you read is written by Edain McCoy…its a plethora of information about Ostara..I really enjoyed it.

So my friends, Spring and Ostara are coming.  Soon the days will be longer, the rains will come, and Mother Earth will wake up and start spreading growth and warmth all around us.  We have almost made it thru another Winter!  Think about shopping for some new lighter clothes, get out your seed catalogs, go buy a bouquet of tulips, take a walk, gaze at the Moon…Watch Spring unfold before your eyes.  That is what I’ll be doing…right along with you!

I come, I come! ye have called me long, I come o’er the mountain with light and song: Ye may trace my step o’er the wakening earth, By the winds which tell of the violet’s birth, By the primrose-stars in the shadowy grass, By the green leaves, opening as I pass.
Mrs. Felicia D. Hemans

Blessings and Love, Autumn

*References…..Simple Wicca by Michelle Morgan and my own BOS.  All pics on this post are from the internet.

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January 20, 2011 · 9:59 pm

Home Protection…..

Greetings my friends!  I hope this Wolf Full Moon time has been magickal for you and that She continues to shine her energy on you.  I have not been able to see Her unfortunately…we have had heavy cloud cover, fog and about 5-6 inches of snow so far today.  The snow is beautiful but has made for some slippery roads, busy grocery stores, sore backs from shoveling and smoke coming out of many chimneys.  I stepped outside earlier for a moment and the smell was incredible from the wood smoke and the sharp cold.  A beautiful snowy night despite the fact the Full Moon Goddess is hidden from my sight.  Though I can’t see Her I can feel Her incredible energy and after having a tough couple of days, her magick is most appreciated by me!

On my facebook page today I asked the question..Do you have protection established around your home to protect you and your loved ones.  As per usual, my wonderful, amazing, smart and funny friends came through with many responses.  In general they DO have protection set up.  Everything from rosemary in their garden…to a broom over their doorway….to a witches bottle buried at their front door.  I learned about cutting an apple so the natural pentacle shows and burying them in your garden beds.  I learned about something called bindrunes which I’ve never heard of and am waitingly anxiously to hear about them.  I had friends who of course smudge , place crystals and/or salt in the corners of their house or property, have a pentacle on their front door, and use blessing oil on their doorways and windowsills.  

Putting protection spells on our homes is easy and smart. There are spells to protect from intruders and storms.  We can also protect ourselves from negative vibes sent our way, those who may put a dark spell on us, psychic vampires and the like.  There are many simple spells and rituals that can be done so I thought I’d post a few of my favorites for you. 

This first one is so easy and basic.  Choose your item carefully!

Home Protection Talisman Spell

  Make or buy an item to display in your home that you can charge with protective energy. This could be a wreath, ornamental plaque, a painting or statue.. anything you can display. Before you hang it or put it in view, place the item in a circle of salt. Sprinkle the salt clockwise as you say:

 Salt of earth, Guard this home,

While I’m here, or when I roam

Keep it safe, and all within

For good of all, this bond begins

By my will, with harm to none

By Earth power, this spell is done!

 *Not sure where I got this but it’s very possible it’s from Ellen Dugan…the charm sounds much like her. 🙂

Think about what you would want to use.  A statue, a piece of china or pottery, a painting, a candle holder.  I can picture using a statue of a faery, a dragon, a large crystal point.  You could use something from nature like a river rock, a large bird’s feather, a sea shell.  Use something that you will love to display.

Another talisman spell I like to use is making up a charm bag that you will literally hang over a doorway.  I think this one is really fun because of all the things you can gather for it.  Use what has meaning for you…what item means protection to YOU!

 Home Protection Talisman For When You’re Away From Home.

To make this talisman, choose at least 3 of the following dried herbs and place them in a charm bag that is white or gold.

Nettles                         Oak Bark                   Bay

    Anise                           Basil                           Linden

   Pennyroyal                 Valerian                      Wormwood

        Broom                         Angelica                      Yarrow

       Calamus                       Hazel                          Hawthorn

      Mistletoe                      Myrrh                         Thistle

      Meadowsweet             Garlic                          Flax

      Clove                           Cumin                          Frankincense

       Cinquefoil                    Black Pepper

Then add any amount of any of these stones….

Gold Pyrite                Malachite                     Cat’s Eye

   Tiger’s Eye                 Topaz                          Amber

    Mica                            Quartz Crystal            Red Zircon

      Flint                            Beryl                          Bloodstone

    Tie up the bag and with a permanent marker, make 3 large X figures and place the talisman over a main entry point of your home.  Then spell it with the following words of power! 

This dwelling is never empty,

Though I be not at home;

I leave behind a talisman

to protect it while I roam.

No intruder great or small

May gain entry past this line;

Protected, sealed, and warded,

     By my will, safety be mine

   I finish this charm with harm to none;

    By herb and stone, this spell is done!

 

 

Some other things that you can use for protection is a protection oil…you can use it to anoint your doorways and windowsills.  I like to draw a pentagram with it!

 

Protection Oil

 4 drops Patchouli

 3 drops Lavender

 1 drop Mugwort

  1 drop Hyssop

*You will add this to 1/8 cup of a base oil like olive, almond, jojoba..whatever you like.

Another simple way to protect your home is to put salt around the outside of your house, lay it in your windowsills, place it inside your house in the outside corners.  Now if you are a very picky house keeper, you might want to keep it outside.  Also a word of warning here…be sure that anything you have laying around is safe for your pets…you don’t want them to get sick from eating salt or some herb they shouldn’t.  That would not be good.

For me the ultimate protection is the Witches Bottle…. this is also one of the most fun things to do!  Remember in the movie Practical Magic when Sally (Sandra Bullock) goes around and collects her magickal items needed for her perfect love?  Gathering the items for your witches bottle?  Yes, it feels like that! 🙂  I feel very “witchy” doing it LOL..but it IS serious business too.  You really want to be sure, each step of the way, to put your full intention into the items and the ritual.  I put my bottle together on a Full Moon night for the added strength and I renew it at least once a year…

 

 Witch’s Protection Bottle

You will be burying this bottle in the ground at your front door.

Gather items needed:                                                   

-A Sturdy, clean, wide-mouthed bottle or jar with a tight lid.
-Soil or sand from the area surrounding your home.
-Something sparkly or shining like small tumbled crystals, beads, sea glass

-A rusty bent nail.
-A piece of broken glass
-Dried herbs

*Mint, Parsley, Sage, Rosemary, Thyme
-A new penny or other coin
-Some loose hair from any pets in your home
-A piece of hair from every person in the home

-A magickal spell candle
   

Find the appropriate spot in your yard to bury the bottle. Work on the night of a Full Moon at the height of the Full Moon,  or on the Full Moon right before Summer Solstice. Have all your items with you and a shovel. Use salt to purify the space.

 Cast a circle around your working area.  Light your working candle while you do your work. Dig the hole in the earth, try to keep the top sod in good shape to replace over the hole. Sprinkle with salt. Ground and Center.   When ready, say these words:

With the Goddess and God working for and through me
according to free will and for the good of all.
I now fill this bottle.

As you say the next part, actually add the items that you are naming as you go.  Take your time putting your intention into each item you place.

 

 
 

Earth anchors this magick in the ground.
This rusty nail, bent, now repels anything and anyone negative or life-denying.
The sparkling, shiny small pieces of crystals hold the light for me and my deities.
A broken piece of glass to deflect harm to anyone it is intended for.
These herbs infuse the bottle with their living properties…

 

 Mint for money and protection
Parsley for protection
Sage for wisdom and protection
Rosemary for love, healing, and health
Thyme for health, love, and courage.
This new penny manifests abundance in my home.
 Hair from my beloved pets to protect them.
Hair from my loved ones who dwell here, to protect and draw away negativity.

 

This home is divinely protected and effectively safe.
Nothing and no one can enter without my permission
Only those people and beings through whom the Goddess and God work
Can stay here, can visit, can touch this place.
 

Only Positive Magick lives in this place
In safety, protection, abundance, love, and joy
According to free will and for the good of all!

Start to bury the bottle, and replace the sod you dug up before hand and then say:

 

I now bury this bottle
It is invisible to all but me
And its magick continues
And so mote it be!

     By the time you have finished this spell, the bottle should be buried. Cover with leaves or something appropriate to make it truly invisible. Under the ground, it will continue to work until you choose to remove it. If you leave that area, it is best to dig up the bottle. Then perform this again at your next residence.

If you’re like me, your home is your sanctuary, your blessed space, where the people and fur babies you love the most of all, dwell.  You are the most comfortable, the most loved, the most ..YOU…when you are there.  Of course you want to do all you can to protect it and those who live there with you.  I wish for all of you a safe 2011 and all the Blessings that Goddess can bestow!

Blessed Be, Autumn

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