Ritual Tools Dedication Rite
Day: November 15, 2011
Ritual Tools
Ritual Tools
Attuning to Power Objects
Attuning to Power Objects
Power Objects & Ritual Tools
Power Objects & Ritual Tools
Power Objects
Power Objects
Using Your Fire Dish
Using Your Fire Dish
A fire dish is ideal for any seasonal or personal rite of passage for which traditionally a bonfire was lit. Sometimes you can have a bonfire or remove turf and make a fire pit with bricks, but this is not always possible, especially near sacred ground.
A fire dish is wonderful for unifying those sharing a rite, whether a coven, friends or family.
When you are not travelling, keep your fire dish to the south of the outdoor altar as a powerful representation of the fire element and to attract fire spirits and faeries. You can cover it when not in use or during inclement weather.
Sprinkle incense or herbs directly on to the burning wood to make personal empowerments and to raise or release power during a spell.
Burn wishes scratched on the inside of bark with a small knife or burn dead leaves and twigs to represent banishing what is redundant in your life.
Use your fire dish as a focus for chanting and dancing and as an added bonus for supplying light and warmth during a ritual.
Make sure the fire dish is not too full to avoid the danger of tipping over or getting too hot. Keep water nearby to extinguish an over-zealous fire.
Some woods like juniper and cedar spit; ash and pine are excellent as is oak although some people will not burn the latter. Sandalwood smells fabulous if you can get it; you can sometimes buy small sandalwood logs in bags from a hardware store. You can mix the woods.
Practice before your first ritual with your fire dish so you know how to light a good but not ferocious fire. When everyone had an open fire in the living room, this was daily practice. Nowadays, unless you were a Scout or Girl Guide or belong to a coven, you may not have been taught the art. Follow the instructions on a pack of firelighters or ask an older relative for a lesson.
Choosing Your Fire Dish
Choosing Your Fire Dish
I have seen beautiful copper fire dishes on metal legs for sale in garden centers which are not expensive and need no adaptation.
Alternatively, you can use any large fireproof metal dish either with metal legs or raised off the ground on heat-resistant bricks to avoid scorching. This can be very large cast iron wok or the bottom half of a domed iron barbecue, again the kind with legs.
A chimenea is also a good alternative and these are widely obtainable, as is the less exotic incinerator base.
A Witch’s Fire Dish
A Witch’s Fire Dish
Primary Element: Fire
Another favorite tool for outdoor magick is a fire dish. Though you can burn a small fire in a cauldron, having a fire in a special bowl or dish is one of the most magickal experiences, particularly under star- or moonlight. You can carry it with you in the back of the car for rituals on beaches. Some stone circles, such as the Rollright stones in Oxfordshire, have a fire dish in situ to borrow for ceremonies under supervision of the warden.
Ideally, you would use the cauldron for water and the dish for fire: a perfect elemental balance.
Using Your Cauldron
Using Your Cauldron
In the center of a ritual area (with or without an altar) the cauldron can be used to receive offerings such as flowers, fruits, crystals, etc., in a seasonal celebration or abundance ritual.
Half-fill your cauldron with water on the full moon so that you and anyone present can look into the silvery water and scry (look for images). You can interpret these images as you would dreams to answer questions or to receive wisdom from the moon mother and your wise inner self.
Scry also in bright sunlight or by candlelight by dropping a handful of dried, chopped cooking herbs on to the water to give you moving images to answer questions.
If your cauldron is cast iron and not a replica, you can put a heatproof fire basket or metal liner inside and light a small fire. Alternatively, fill the cauldron with sand and embed a candle in the center. In this you can burn wishes, or scatter herbs of incenses.
Burn incenses in the cauldron either as charcoal or as sticks or cones embedded in sand.
Dance and chant around the cauldron.
Fill the cauldron with water, then cast petals or herbs on to the surface as you circle the cauldron to symbolize healing energies flowing. Alternatively, as a banishing ritual you could ritually tip away the water, for example, dead leaves you threw into the water symbolizing what is unwanted. Best of all, tip it back into the earth or water source.
Fill the cauldron with earth and during a ceremony, plant herbs and flowers and bury coins or crystals. This indicates prosperity, love or healing growing as the plants grow. You can transplant the whole lot after the ceremony or use an old or spare cauldron for this ceremony so that the rite can be ongoing (maybe from spring equinox to autumn equinox).
Choosing Your Cauldron
Choosing Your Cauldron
A cast-iron cauldron is by far the best if you intend to use it for any fire work. These are for sale in some garden centers as well as New Age stores. You can sometimes discover an authentic cauldron in an antique shop or in street or flea markets, especially in the countryside. It may be an original iron cooking pot. You can clean it up with a gentle wire brushing and a little grate polish. Alternatively, adapt a round coal scuttle.
A Witch’s Cauldron
A Witch’s Cauldron
Primary element: Water
The three-legged iron cauldron really comes into its own as an outdoor natural magickal tool. If you have a small one, it can also fit in your altar room to the northwest of the altar as it is a tool of earth and water (and also of fire, if a candle is set in it).
The cauldron is a symbol of Cerridwen, the Celtic mother Goddess, whose cauldron brought rebirth and transformation. It was originally a household cooking pot hung over black ranges and open fires in many lands and so is a reassuring and stable tool.
Special Kitty of the Day for November 15th
![]() |
|||
Name: | Lily |
Age: | Five weeks old |
Gender: | Female |
Kind: | Tuxedo |
Home: | Washington Court House, Ohio, USA |
||
This is our new family addition Lily! We got her at just four weeks old when she needed a home, and she is already taken over the home! She is as cute and cuddly as can be! She of course stole our hearts right away! Did you see the almost-heart-shaped mark around her little pink nose?
She’s very curious interested in everything! She is very sweet! Our dogs are shy but gentle around her. They want more attention now that we got Lily, so they don’t feel left out. But everyone so far gets along fine! Welcome Home Lily! We Love you! ![]() |
Dog-Gone Doggie of the Day for November 15th
![]() |
|||
Name: | Chocolat |
Age: | Two years old |
Gender: | Female | Breed: | Chocolate Labrador Retriever |
Home: | Auckland, New Zealand | ||
We adopted Chocolat in April 2010, sometime before her first birthday. We had decided it was about time to welcome a new dog into the family, so we went down to the SPCA. She was my first choice of course, just the way she looked at me I knew there was something special about her. The volunteers at the SPCA had said she had been found as a stray. They found her wandering the streets in Auckland alone and she had looked starved. She had a bump above her eye and an injured paw (which they helped), so they assumed her previous owners had been abusing her. She was extremely shy and cautious about everybody, but she eventually overcame it once she realized we weren’t going to hurt her. They told me that she was looking for a new home, so of course I said yes and she came home with me. I’m not sure of her exact birthday, but the vet estimated she was about Eleven months old when I got her, going on a year. So I assumed her birthday to be in May, and made it May 19. She is not as cautious around people anymore, but she puts her head down whenever you put your hand or something near her face sometimes.
Chocolat is now two years old and living in the suburbs of Auckland with me. She is a very fun-loving girl who loves playing in the waves, fetching, carrying her rugby balls around with her, trying to carry logs, giving kisses, long walks on the shore and long rambles with her favorite humans! She has many dog and human friends that she loves seeing whenever she goes on walks. She sniffs everything, all the plants, flowers and even the sand, though it gets all over her nose. She gets very excited when I walk towards where we keep her treats because she always thinks she will get one! Though sometimes she shakes me down with the sweet puppy-dog face. Also when I’m baking something I always have an audience staring at me saying, “Please feed me.” She really loves her food. Her favorite homemade treats are Peanut Butter Biscuits. She is also very smart and knows over 30 commands! She knows all the basics and some more advance ones. Her best trick is “Balance” where she balances treats and cookies on her nose or head until I tell her she can eat them. During walks at the park or on the beach, I can always let her off-leash. She is trained to not run away and I taught her to always go back home, since she knows the way there by heart. Chocolat is my proof that rescues can be the sweetest. Rescuing is a very selfless and noble deed to help those animals that desperately need a loving home, and a new start at life. When animals have been thrown out on the street and abandoned, they always want a loving family to give them a new start and a new, permanent place to call home. So me and Chocolat would like to tell anybody considering welcoming a new family member, whether it be a Cat, Dog or any animal; Please consider adopting before going out and buying from a breeder. If you do rescue, it can be one of the best choices you’ll ever make. |
Your Daily Number for November 15th: 2
You’re fine tuned and sensitive today, reading other people easily and clearly. You may play the part of the peacemaker today, and others may perceive you as being a bit self-righteous. Try not to annoy others with the force of your convictions.
About the Number 2



Feng Shui Tip of the Day for November 15th
Today’s ‘I Love to Write Day’ is one after my own heart, and I’m sure that after you see the excellent results achieved from using today’s advice, you’ll love to write, too! All you need to do is take pen in hand (this cure must be done by your own hand with a red ink pen) and write a letter. But not just any letter. You’re going to address this letter to your Higher Power, your teachers, masters, gurus, angels and saints. In short, you’ll address this letter to all of the blessed beings you might normally petition in prayer. Then you will ask, in high detail, for whatever it is that you want. Spell it out, literally and figuratively. Once done, put that piece away in a sacred space for at least the next 49 days, but not before re-reading the contents and telling each of those words you just wrote how much you love them. Pour pink light from your heart onto that paper and thank each word for making your dreams come true. In whatever form or fashion it takes for you, express a profound sense of gratitude for this easy opportunity to have a wish come to pass. Gratitude, and then acting ‘as if’ are critical components to having your concerns addressed. But once you write this letter, those concerns will indeed be addressed and the return to the sender will be more than worth the effort!
By Ellen Whitehurst for Astrology.com
Your Horoscope Animal Allies
Your Horoscope Animal Allies
- posted by Annie B. Bond
Adapted from Earth Magic, by Claire Nahmad (Inner Traditions, 1994).
Most of us know our birthstone (although I have never liked mine, preferring the one for January, go figure), but how many of us know the animals that are traditionally associated with our astrological sun sign?
Your horoscope’s power animals may surprise you! Find out what they are, right here:
You may want to honor your sun sign’s animals by bringing small pictures or figurines of them into your life, and thinking about their qualities.
Aries, March 21-April 19: Ram, tiger, leopard, stallion, vulture, magpie, robin.
Taurus, April 20-May 21: Bull, cow, dove, sparrow, swan.
Gemini, May 22-June 20: Dog, squirrel, serpent, parrot, linnet, eagle, finch.
Cancer, June 21-July 22: Crab, otter, seal, stag, heifer, unicorn, seagull, owl, white peacock.
Leo, July 23- Aug 22: Lion, wolf, griffin, peacock, rooster, eagle.
Virgo, Aug 23-Sept 22: Rooster, squirrel, magpie, parrot.
Libra, Sept 23-Oct 22: Hart, hare, dove, swan, sparrow.
Scorpio, Oct 23-Nov 21: Scorpion, wolf, panther, dog, wild boar, eagle, vulture, dragon, griffin, phoenix.
Sagittarius, Nov 22-Dec 21: Mare, lion, unicorn, eagle, peacock, bird of paradise.
Capricorn, Dec 22-Jan 19: Dog, elephant, goat, bear, owl, falcon.
Aquarius, Jan 20-Feb 18: Dog, otter, cuckoo, albatross, phoenix.
Pisces, Feb 19-March 20: Sheep, ox, seal, swan, stork, sandpiper.
Today’s I Ching Hexagram for November 15th is 30: Clinging Like Fire
30: Clinging Like Fire
General Meaning: Flames cling to their source of fuel in order to keep the fire burning. Likewise, in the human world, emotional attachment results from everything that radiates light or warmth is dependent upon something else. Through these dependencies we can see that all things are related, each thing to the other. Awareness of your own dependency on others is the key that unlocks the door to your true place in the world. No woman is an island.
Fire is also a symbol of liberation — sending out crackling molecules that fly away from home. Paradoxically, by clinging to what is balanced and true, we gain inner freedom.
Given perseverance on your part, this hexagram indicates success. In spite of challenges, cling to what is luminous in yourself, in others, and in life itself, never forsaking your belief in what is right. When events seem foreboding, or people seem oppressive, remember the good that has been and is yet to be. Holding to this idea is to cling to the power of the light and love within you.
Today’s Runes for November 15th is Dagez
Today’s Runes
![]() |
Ice Runes are most commonly used for questions about struggle, conflict, and achievement. Dagez means daylight, and represents divine light. This rune generally refers to dawn (the initial sparking of energy) or to midday (the climax of energy). Both dawn and midday are symbolic of change, but unlike the changes in the perpetual circle of the year which are slow and subtle, the changes over a day are much faster and more dramatic. The breaking of a new day is symbolic of the rapid illumination of dismal circumstances, and is suggestive of Satori. Be careful – although this rune generally suggests a positive change, the symbology of a peaking point suggests that there must be a change downward as well. Fortunately for some, this rune is cyclic and irreversible, and so permanence is not promised – the only thing you can be sure of is an exciting ride. |
Today’s Tarot Card for November 15th is Judgment
Judgment
This Tarot Deck: Medieval Cat
From a modern point of view, this great reunion — which includes every personality that you have ever been and every soul that you have done deep work with — reunites to consciously complete the process. In a way, we symbolically celebrate this returning to center every year on our birthday.
In personal terms, the Judgment cards points to freedom from inner conflicts, and so clear a channel, that the buried talents and gifts of past incarnations can come through an individual in this lifetime. This card counsels you to trust the process of opening yourself, because what emerges is of consistently high quality. You can effortlessly manifest as a multi-dimensional being, and assist in evoking that response from others.
Your Daily Cosmic Calendar for November 15th
Tap into your creative artistry early as Venus forms an inspirational, 72-degree link to its higher-guardian planet Neptune (12:45AM PST). Love vibrations increase in frequency and erotic impulses intensify. While this particular Venusian alignment is favorable, later this morning the tables are turned as Venus squares Ceres (10:49AM PST). Strive to keep your productivity quotient going strong around this time-period. Trust your feelings and instincts as the day proceeds because the Moon in Cancer and the Sun in Scorpio form one of their two monthly trines (8:04PM PST). Experiment with one of grandma’s old-world recipes for fish chowder, apple pie or corn muffins. The lunar orb dives into a void uncertainty cycle at 9:23PM PST during a Moon-Saturn 90-degree clash. This void-of-course Moon cycle lasts until tomorrow morning at 8:18AM PST when the lunar orb enters heart-centered Leo. Meanwhile, Venus and Vesta reach a supportive, 60-degree rapport tonight (11:13PM PST). Connections with a soul-sister or female relative can give you a lift. Issues concerning insurance rates, safety and security matters, and investment plans may be of central concern.
You must be logged in to post a comment.