Author: ladyoftheabyss

Spell for Today – A Bloodstone Protection and Courage Spell

 

Now that you are starting to get into the passionate, courageous, and daring qualities of Tuesday, here are a few more spells for you to experiment with. Don’t be afraid to adapt these spells to suit your needs. Add some tarot cards, herbs, scents, crystals, or essential oils to these Tuesday spells, and crank up the volume on your own witchery! As long as your intentions are honorable, I am sure they will work out beautifully

 

A Bloodstone Protection and Courage Spell

The bloodstone, when worn or carried, brings courage and eliminates fear and anger. The bloodstone was often used as a talisman for athletes and warriors. When you need a little extra courage and bravery to face challenges and stressful, scary situations, give this practical Witch’s spell a whirl.

For this particular crystal spell, you will need a few supplies: a red spicy-scented votive candle, a votive candle cup, three bloodstones (inexpensive tumbled stones are perfect), a photo of yourself or a small snip of your own hair, a small cast-iron cauldron, and matches or a lighter. Set up on a safe, flat surface.

Place the photo or snip of hair in the bottom of the cauldron. Now place the candle inside of the cup. Set this in the center of the small cauldron, on top of the photo or the hair. (If you are worried about the heat damaging the photo, then set the photo beneath the cauldron.) Next, arrange the three bloodstones around the candle cup. Ground and center yourself. Then, when you are ready, light the candle and repeat the following spell three times:

On this Mars day, there is fiery energy to spare

I call for courage and passion to know, to will, to dare

Three green bloodstones and a burning candle of red

I call for bravery and banish fear and dread.

Focus on the flame for a few moments. Believe in your ability to handle the situation, whatever it may be.

Close the spell by saying:

For the good of all, with harm to none

By Mar’s energy, this spell is done.

Let the candle burn until it is consumed. If this is an ongoing problem or conflict, then repeat the spell every day for one week (in other words, from a Tuesday until the following Tuesday). Clean out the votive cup and light a new red votive candle for each day of the spell. When you are finished working this, clean up your setup, and put away all of the spell components. If you like, you can carry those tumbled bloodstones with you to help reinforce your convictions.

 

 

—Book of Witchery: Spells, Charms & Correspondences for Every Day of the Week

Ellen Dugan

Esbat Soap

Esbat Soap

This take (the cleansing recipe a step further in that it is designed to prepare you for the working elements of ritual and Magick, when you will need the additional ability to focus and control.

Add the following to liquid shower gel:

tbsp rosemary leaves

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

6 drops frankincense oil

6 drops sandalwood oil

4 drops jasmine oil

4 drops oil of orange

(you can literally scrape the oil from the outside of an orange using a blunt knife)

Popping Pills and Magical Practice

Popping Pills and Magical Practice

Author: Deborah
Since writing my latest article for WitchVox on Magically Cleansing Your Home, I’ve been getting the same question over and over:

Do you think that taking medication affects your magical practice?

My short answer would be: No.

For those of you interested in a discussion, I will share my thoughts with you here. Firstly, I’d like to say that I really dislike it when people are made to feel like they need to engage in secrecy and shame. If that happens, something has really gone wrong in my opinion. The fact that apparently a lot of Pagans/Magical Practitioners feel that they can’t talk about taking prescription medication — and need to hide the reality that they do take medications from the community — makes me really sad. Taking care of your health and taking advantage of modern medicine shouldn’t be something you have to feel shame about in spiritual circles.

So let’s start kicking down some walls and lay it all out there. I have depression, anxiety, anemia and fibromyalgia. I currently take the following medications to make it so that I am a productive member of society: Prozac, Xanax, Remeron, Savella, Celebrex, Vitamin D, Multi-Vitamin and Birth Control. In the past, I have: gone to therapy and tried Kava and St. John’s Wort to help.

The therapy helped immensely, the Kava and St. John’s Wort significantly less so. In addition to my medication I use yoga, stress management techniques, japa/self guided meditation, massage, journaling and talking to loved ones to manage my conditions. I see my doctor regularly. She is very tight fisted with all the “fun” meds and I don’t think I could get a Vicodin out of her if it meant she could retire on an island of her own. But at the same time, she treats my conditions very aggressively.

Even with good coping mechanisms, good medication and a good support structure, I still have days where I’m anxious and can’t sleep and I occasionally have days when I am depressed for no reason. Sometimes my fibromyalgia causes me so much fatigue and pain still that I can’t get out of bed.

Even with taking medication, I still feel the normal human range of emotions and generally only feel sad or stressed when I’m “supposed to”. I’ve worked since I was fourteen. I pay my taxes. I write; I ran a convention. I go out and have fun doing all the things early thirty-somethings like to do. I have loving relationships and I own a car and a condo. My medication makes it so that instead of being too depressed to be motivated, or paralyzed with inexplicable fear and anxiousness, or too bedridden with pain and fatigue, I can lead a fairly “normal” life.

Which is the reason I get confused about why shame needs to be implemented if people choose to take advantage of first world medical care in order to lead functional lives. Are there people who abuse prescriptions? Um, yeah. They’re addicts like the people who are alcoholics and drug abusers. Is that the majority of people who take meds? No.

There’s this idea that really bugs me that there are all these people who take medication they don’t really need and this medication magically takes away all of their problems so they don’t need to deal with them. Last I knew, you needed to take like a fistful of Xanax or are shooting H to get that effect. Which . . .see: addict.

Medication (and therapy) helps get you to the point where you’re not in a full-blown chemical freak-out so you can effectively solve your problems and live your life. If you can do that for yourself without meds, awesome! You have an incredible immune system and brain chemistry. If you can do that solely with homeopathic methods, great! There’s nothing wrong with homeopathy if it works for you.

If you feel taking meds makes you a lesser person somehow then that’s your business and you certainly have a right to your feelings. But I start to get really touchy when someone who thinks that taking meds makes him/her a lesser person insists that I should think that too. I get even more touchy when you start to try to tell me what to do with my body because I have a real problem with that. Agency over my body goes way beyond whether or not I decide to have an abortion; it’s also about having the right to make the decisions I make regarding my health care.

And this junk that some people in our community put on others — about how taking prescription medication is selling out, supporting corporate evil and bringing our community down and how you don’t “believe” in the pharmaceutical industry so neither should anyone else, along with the hype that positive energy/crystals/herbs/alternative therapies would work for everyone regardless of their brain chemistry and body systems and personal desires — is just that: junk.

Because honestly? Unless you’re completely off the grid (and then would not be reading this on the internet) , we all have to make compromises every day with big business. Do I like that? No. Am I willing to compromise my issues with big business in order to be a reasonably functioning human? Yes. Am I saying you have to make that compromise? No. Am I saying you need to leave me alone and make my own big girl decisions about that compromise and why I don’t use crystals for healing? Yes.

With all that out of the way, let’s get to the nuts and bolts of the question asked. While I haven’t been completely unmedicated in roughly ten years, there are occasions when I have a little time in between prescriptions due to various reasons (mostly due to the length of time it takes for my prescriptions to arrive to me via mail) . It is during these times when I am in a quasi-unmedicated state — and/or if my fibro-flare is that impressive that it punches past my meds — that I feel able to give my own take on whether or not my medications have affected my magical practice.

When I was unmedicated/quasi-unmedicated, it was significantly easier for me to be in touch intuitively. What that means to me is that Tarot reading was easier to “pull”, getting random psychic impulses and having an easier time seeing what’s going on with what I call The Tapestry. The Tapestry refers to everything that’s happened in the past, everything that’s happening right now, everything that will happen and everything that never happened. To me it looks like a huge tapestry constantly weaving and unweaving itself in bits and pieces. Typically I could see about like one billionth of the whole tapestry, and it was mostly my little corner of the world.

However. And this is a big however, my magic has significantly improved since medicating. My spells are much more effectively, I now have the focus to have a personal practice (which I didn’t previously) and my rituals are more effective and meaningful.

So while yes, my general fuzzy random psychic ability was better unmedicated, having the ability to cast better and have a better personal practice to me far outweighed my unmedicated abilities. My unmedicated abilities were more “traditional” psychic aspects.

The ability to get the perfect condo through my targeted magic work far outweighed the benefit of being able to say, “Gordon! I think something is going to happen to you on Wedne- Thursd- No, definitely Wednesday. No idea what though. Cheers!” So for me, being more functional in my daily life and being more effective in my targeted magical practice far outweighed being unmedicated.

Spell For Today – Contacting A Friend

This spell should be used to cause someone with whom you have lost contact to contact you. It is not manipulation so much as an astral call for contact when you have no other way to reach them that you know of.

You will need:
White candle anointed w/ sandalwood oil
Sandalwood incense
photo of the person
small glass of water.
salt

Light the white candle and the incense. Place the picture of the person on your altar. Put 2 heaping tablespoons of salt in the palm of your right hand. Let a small amount of salt trickle into the glass while making the sign of the equal armed cross of the elements. Make this cross 3 times. Say ” Call me” three times as you do this. Then set the glass on the altar and say “Get in touch with me, please.” They should contact you by the time the water has evaporated from the glass.

Author:
Rowan Moonstone

Let’s Talk Witch – 13 Meditations for a Short Attention Span

Ultimately, meditation has only one rule: you must turn communication within yourself. For most people, this means not communicating with others during meditative time. Even if you can only cut off the world for fifteen seconds, do it— outside input is NOT meditation. While the meditation may come in stolen moments, it is a cumulative skill, and even those tiny meditations make you better at it.

There are, ultimately, many reasons why traditional deep meditation might not work. People with jobs and families just don’t have much time to meditate. Others suffer from ADHD or other neurological dysfunctions, and between corporate life and traditional schooling, it’s very easy to fall into the trap of the “more, better, faster” mentality.

For people in these situations who want to use meditation to break out of them, small present-moment techniques work best. You may not be able to step entirely out of the flow of life, but you can take a single moment and make it yours. A moment as tiny as pushing the off button on your computer monitor to savor a sip of coffee can count as an act of meditation.

The following thirteen techniques are indeed meditation methods; each one can, with practice, train your brain to reach a meditative state. For beginners, it’s more important that you know how to get to that state than it is that you stay in it for any particular amount of time.

Count to two, and repeat. Seriously, that’s it. You don’t need to count slowly. Count at the natural speed of your own mind. Do so without timing it to your breath for as long as you can stand it. It’s about directing your attention and giving your mind something to do at a time when it might fight you with excessive boredom or stress signals. You may also try counting to 100 at any natural speed. This is a popular and effective technique in anger management, too.

Find your achy body parts and breathe into them. Identify an area that has tension and picture every breath you inhale entering through your pores where the ache is, and each exhalation as the pain leaving. If your attention shifts, move on to a different spot on your body, or stop— you’ve worked your attention as far as it can go for the time being.

Pick an image and see how long you can hold it in your mind. For example, you could choose a tarot card and continue to picture it as you go about other business. At the end of the day, you can stop to evaluate what you learned. You may receive insights into the card, object, or person that you can write about.

Walk. The simple act of walking alone is a type of meditation. You are not communicating with others, but you are paying attention to the world around you. To advance the walking meditation, walk and count. You can count the steps to a tree ahead of you on the path. Count how many steps to your car from your doorway. Count how many steps to the coffee maker from your desk. It keeps you focused entirely on what you are doing— and that is in itself a meditative state.

Stack or line up some items, and then deliberately scatter them. The act of clearing space and positioning items like pencils, paperclips, or shoes, is actually a meditative practice. You can find yourself engaged with making things line up just right, and just as Buddhist monks scatter their sand mandalas when finished, you scatter your tidy stacks in an exercise of nonattachment/ enjoying mild chaos. You will still need to sweep up. Playful meditation has as much value as serious meditation— perhaps even more, as it can stimulate creativity in ways that gigantic revelations rarely can.

Close your eyes and listen to all ambient noise. Meditation does not require you to ignore everyone and everything around you— it requires you to focus your attention on specific things without engaging with them. Rather than trying to shut out the noises of traffic, chatty neighbors, or the children, close your eyes and simply listen as though they are static or other low-meaning noise.

Name objects in front of you. You can do this anywhere— at work, during a long car ride, even at home. Look at one object, and say its name to yourself: “book,” “wall art,” “carpet,” and so on. Simply name every item immediately before you.

Keep a small bottle of a favorite fragrance on hand. Sniff every so often— this alters your mood, and brings your attention fully to one thing in your environment. Clary sage and lemongrass are both wonderful fragrances for meditative clarity.

Use your sense of touch. Comparing the textures of your clothing can give you a brief meditative timeout. Run your hands over your legs and over your abdomen. Notice the differences in how the fabric of different pieces of clothing feels.

Try stretching your hands. Touch each one of your fingers to the thumb on the same hand. Press down with each connection. In some cases, it may take some practice stretching your fingers.

Visualize as many colors as you can in one sitting. This pulls together the right and left hemispheres of your brain and is a key skill for most chakra work. Notice which colors you dwell on, and which you have trouble picturing.

Tell yourself a story. If you are alone, speak that story aloud. It can be about something as simple as a chicken crossing the road, or involve monks and dragons. The point is to engage yourself on your own power, not with the input of a book or television. Do not write these stories down— they are for you in your moment. They need not be long— two or three sentences, maybe even just one sentence.

Practice the slow version of what dancers call spotting. Turn your head and focus on one point of the wall. Stay there for two to three seconds, then look up and focus on the ceiling for two to three seconds. Then focus on another spot on the wall, then the carpet, etc. This is all about directing attention and only takes seconds to practice.

Source:
13 Meditations for a Short Attention Span
Author: Diana Rajchel
Llewellyn’s 2014 Magical Almanac: Practical Magic for Everyday Living

Spell for Today – Energy Binding

 

This spell is meant to bind the energies around a person to stop them from effectively using magic.

WARNING: Use this with caution, there are currently no counter-spells to stop this. Secondly, there is a possibility your target can breach the barrier if she/he is physically touching a powerful energy source which has greater energy than the barrier itself.

You will need:

Full/New Moon/Sunlight
An energy source or an object of which energy can be drawn
Bowl of water – optional

 

First, take out a glass bowl, and fill it with water. This is used to gather energy for the spell, but if you don’t want to use the water, choose another energy source. Then, have the water reflect the sun or moon, and say:

 

Solar flare, Lunar mist
I call on thee this day
Bring forth your light,
strength and power,
so cast this spell I may.

 

(Imagine the sun/moon energy flowing into the water)

 

Like I stated above, this is completely optional. Now, to form the barrier. Draw upon your energy source, and send it towards your target. Once you have reached them, attempt to have your energy surround them in a bubble. Then, say:

 

Light, Earth, Spirits strong
Leave ‘s presence forever long
Let their powers cripple, and fail with dismay
I hereby banish your magic on this very day!
So mote/might/may it be.

 

Imagine the bubble drawing the energy from your target and all around him, draining him of magical resources. Continue feeding the bubble/shield/wall with energy until you feel you can release them.

Conjuration of Aradia for Spellwork

Conjuration of Aradia for Spellwork

English version
My lady, my beautiful lady,
Beautiful altar of Diana,
Goddess of the moon,
Merry one, sacred woman,
I pray you grant me a favor I ask,
The favor I ask now.
If you grant me this favor,
Always the Vangelo of Aradia
I will profess.

Italian version
Mia donna, mia donna bella,
Bell’ ara della Diana,
La dea della luna,
La gioconda, la sacerdotisa,
Ti prego mi assengno il favore che chiedo,
Il favore che ora chiedo.
Se questa grazia mi farmi,
Sempre it vangelo della Aradia
Io asseriro.

copyright March 2005 Myth Woodling

What Exactly Is The Purpose of Your Spell?

A spell is designed to initiate change on some level by shifting the balance of energy within a situation. The shift does simply occur in response to your wish for a change: there are certain stages through which you must pass. Let’s take a look at them.

The Basic Steps:

While every spell is different, most steps can be classified somewhere in the following:

  1. Establish your need or desire. There’s no point in doing a spell for the sake of doing a spell. That’s simply a waste of time and energy.
  2. Compose your spell. Take the time to think about your desired outcome, and what energies you wish to harness to help you achieve this outcome.
  3. Shift consciousness. In order to maximize your spellwork, you should ideally be in a spellcasting frame of mind. Author Lilith McLelland calls this being in “magick mode.” Our everyday, scattered, and busy brains aren’t very efficient at gathering energies, including them into a sleek, powerful spell, and releasing them toward a goal. Shifting consciousness allows you to attain a different state of mind, filtering out the surface noise and distractions in order to concentrate and focus on what you’re doing.
  4. Raise energy and release it toward your goal. This is the moment where spellcrafting becomes spellcasting. Spells are powered by the energies held by the components or ingredient you choose to use and by your own personal energy as well.
  5. Manifestation. Ideally, the final step is the achievement of your goal.

Spell for Today – A Midsummer Night’s Fire Ritual

smile

A Midsummer Night’s Fire Ritual

The Summer Solstice, known to some as Litha, Midsummer, or Alban Heruin, is the longest day of the year. It’s the time when the sun is most powerful, and new life has begun to grow within the earth. After today, the nights will once more begin to grow longer, and the sun will move further away in the sky.

If your tradition requires you to cast a circle, consecrate a space, or call the quarters, now is the time to do so.

This ritual is a great one to perform outside, so if you have the opportunity to do this without scaring the neighbors, take advantage of it.
Begin this ritual by preparing the wood for a fire, without lighting it yet. While the ideal situation would have you setting a huge bonfire alight, realistically not everyone can do that. If you’re limited, use a table top brazier or fire-safe pot, and light your fire there instead.
Say either to yourself or out loud:

Today, to celebrate Midsummer, I honor the Earth itself. I am surrounded by tall trees. There is a clear sky above me and cool dirt beneath me, and I am connected to all three. I light this fire as the Ancients did so long ago.

At this point, start your fire. Say:

The Wheel of the Year has turned once more
The light has grown for six long months
Until today.
Today is Litha, called Alban Heruin by my ancestors.
A time for celebration.
Tomorrow the light will begin to fade
As the Wheel of the Year
Turns on and ever on.
Turn to the East, and say:
From the east comes the wind,
Cool and clear.
It brings new seeds to the garden
Bees to the pollen
And birds to the trees.
Turn to Face South, and say:
The sun rises high in the summer sky
And lights our way even into the night
Today the sun casts three rays
The light of fire upon the land, the sea, and the heavens
Turn to face West, saying:
From the west, the mist rolls in
Bringing rain and fog
The life-giving water without which
We would cease to be.
Finally, turn to the North, and say:
Beneath my feet is the Earth,
Soil dark and fertile
The womb in which life begins
And will later die, then return anew.

Build up the fire even more, so that you have a good strong blaze going.

If you wish to make an offering to the gods, now is the time to do it. For this sample, we’re including the use of a triple goddess in the invocation, but this is where you should substitute the names of the deities of your personal tradition.

Say:

Alban Heruin is a time of rededication
To the gods. The triple goddess watches over me.
She is known by many names.
She is the Morrighan, Brighid, and Cerridwen.
She is the washer at the ford,
She is the guardian of the hearth,
She is the one who stirs the cauldron of inspiration.
I give honor to You, O mighty ones,
By all your names, known and unknown.
Bless me with Your wisdom
And give life and abundance to me
As the sun gives life and abundance to the Earth.
I make this offering to you
To show my allegiance
To show my honor
To show my dedication
To You.

Cast your offering into fire. Conclude the ritual by saying:

Today, at Litha, I celebrate the life
And love of the gods
And of the Earth and Sun.

Take a few moments to reflect upon what you have offered, and what the gifts of the gods mean to you. When you are ready, if you have cast a circle, dismantle it or dismiss the quarters at this time. Allow your fire to go out on its own.

by Patti Wigington
Published on ThoughtCo

Spell for Today – Protection

The theme of the day is protection. Here is a spell for you to try to keep you feeling safe & sound at all times.

If you are the sort of person who really wants or needs a fast crystal protection spell that is no muss, no fuss, then try out this Saturday witchery while working with your black tourmaline. Hold the black tourmaline jewelry piece or the raw chunks of stone in your hands. Visualize what it is that you want them to do. Then repeat the following spell verse three times:

Lovely tourmaline crystal so chunky and black

Reflect all negativity right out and back

While I am inside of this magickal boundary

I am protected from any psychic vampirey

By the element of earth, keep me free from the mire

May this crystal spell grant the outcome I desire.

Now go ahead and work with the black tourmaline. I bet that you will notice a huge difference.

–Ellen Dugan, Book of Witchery: Spells, Charms & Correspondences for Every Day of the Week

Spell for Today – Wisdom Spell – Printable

Astral Travel Training

 

 

 

 

Astral Travel Training

This article was written by Douglas De Long

 

Man, tree, and flower are supposed to die; but the fact remains that God’s universe is spiritual and immortal…
~Mary Baker Eddy, Treasury of Spiritual Wisdom, p.270.

The human soul is eternal and linked to God or The Creator. A person on a spiritual path knows this, and understands that he or she is a soul with a body and not a body with a soul. Astral travel is a marvelous experience that allows you to travel anywhere. Some of the places you can visit exist in either the earthly realm or in the heavenly realm. You can travel to the homes of friends and loved ones while in your soul form. Astral travel can also take you to healing temples and beautiful gardens that exist in Heaven. You can even visit the Akashic Records (or universal library); this is a magical place where all knowledge, wisdom, and information is stored. It is located on a higher field or plane of the Heavenly Fields.

Everyone travels astrally while sleeping. Many people recall these events as lucid dreams or “flying dreams.” These dreams will feel very real to the individual. Unfortunately, few people can remember their astral travel dreams, but there are methods available to recall astral travel during sleep. These same methods or techniques can be used to astral travel while in a waking-but-altered state of consciousness, or in a near- or light-sleeping state.

The body, the soul, and magnetism
Before we discuss some of these techniques, let us digress for a moment. The Law of Magnetism is involved in astral travel and sleep. When you fall asleep, this natural law takes over. Your body enters into a relaxed mode and your brain wave patterns slow down dramatically. This changes the magnetic polarity of the human body. Normally, the body has a more negative charge or polarity. But during sleep, your body takes on a positive charge.

The human soul, on the other hand, has a naturally positive polarity at all times. As brain wave patterns alter during sleep, both the body and soul have a positive charge. Therefore, the soul has a natural inclination to leave the body at this moment. Under the Law of Magnetism, positive and negative charges attract while positive and positive repel. This is the same situation in regards to the soul and the body. The soul (which is naturally positively charged) and the body (which becomes positively charged during sleep) start to push or repel each other. This then makes it easier for the soul to slip out of the physical form.

Prior to attempting astral travel, certain preparations are necessary in order to give you a better chance of success. These preparations involve diet, breathing, and water.

Diet
Diet can influence astral travel in many situations. This is especially true regarding astral travel in altered waking states. Once again, the Law of Magnetism comes into play. Most foods have either a positive essence or a negative essence. The consumption of positively or negatively charged foods can affect the body’s polarity.

Vegetables and many fruits tend to have a more positive essence. These foods should be considered as having a lighter or higher vibration. They are sometimes referred to as “spirit foods” due to the high frequency and the more positive essence they contain. Eating these foods will aid in attempted astral travel.

Breathing
The breath of life is important for astral travel training. When you draw in breath, you bring Chi (or universal energy) into your lungs. This energy has an extremely high vibratory rate and can be found in the air we breathe and the water we drink. It originates from the Heavens above. If you hold this breath in your lungs for a few seconds, this energy will flow via the circulatory system to the entire body charging all the organs with this powerful Chi. This raises your vibrations and allows the body to become lighter, and to carry a more positive essence.

Deep breathing exercises can be taken one step further when attempting astral travel. Try taking in deep breaths and holding the air in your lungs for a period longer than five seconds. The longer the breath is held, the more positively charged the body becomes. Also, the vibrations of the body become much higher. Be careful and reasonable, though, and don’t hold your breath for longer than is comfortable.

Water
Anyone considering astral travel should drink a large amount of water during the day. This has a tendency to flush the body and remove unwanted wastes and poisons (which carry a very low vibratory rate). The release of these undesired substances helps the physical form to maintain healthy energy within.

Additionally, there is an exercise called the “Glass of Water Technique” that teaches you how to magnetize or “charge” water in a glass, thereby giving it a higher vibration of energy. (See below for full instructions on this technique.) This has great potential when used in astral travel training.

The combination of spirit foods, deep breathing exercises, and the charging of water can all be used together in the following manner. This will ensure that you have a better chance of success when attempting astral travel.

For seven days prior to attempting any astral travel, adhere to the following regimen. (A week is normally the required time necessary for the desired energy changes in the body and the soul to manifest.) Remember that this is only a temporary situation and these guidelines are not written in stone. Try to find a balance that works for you. It is simply easier to learn to astral travel if you can make these changes during the preparation stage.

During this week, you may need to adjust your diet. If you are a vegetarian and do not have a sweet tooth, then you probably won’t have to make massive changes in your food intake. However, if you normally eat substantial amounts of red meat, then you should try to cut down during this week. If you love sweets, limit your intake of these delicacies for the seven days. Both of these types of foods possess a more negative essence and a lower vibratory rate.

Green leafy vegetables have some of the highest vibratory rates of all of the spirit foods. They possess an abundance of positive essence. This is especially true of lettuce and spinach. If you can eat large amounts of these vegetables over the seven days, the benefits may be felt during astral travel attempts.

You can also practice longer deep-breathing exercises during the preparatory week. The deep breathing should be done twice a day, in the morning and then again in the evening prior to sleep.

Begin each morning by taking a deep breath into the lungs. Hold it, and count to twelve slowly in your mind. As you do this, feel the lungs as they start to pulse. You will begin to feel pressure in the chest. Avoid the urge to rush it out. Expel all your air slowly. Then repeat the exercise in the same manner. Do the same deep breathing a third and final time that morning. Return to normal breathing and return to your everyday activities. In the evening, do the deep breathing exercise three times in the exact same way that you did in the morning. Follow the same deep breathing regimen for six more days.

As the week progresses, you may start to notice that your body feels as if it is vibrating. This is a normal occurrence. Your body is becoming more positive, and allowing your soul to begin slipping out. Actually, your soul is moving slightly out of the physical body – into the aura and back again.

During the week you should practice the Glass of Water Technique at least once every other day. If that’s not possible, try to do this technique a minimum of three times during your period of preparation.

The Glass of Water Technique
The right hand possesses a naturally positive essence, while the left hand has a negative essence. As mentioned earlier, under the Law of Magnetism, like repels like but opposites attract. Therefore, the positive essence of the right hand attracts the negative essence of the left hand. When these two essences are sent through opposing sides of a glass of water, eventually, the water will be magnetized or charged, and have a higher vibratory rate. The positive polarity will be the dominant essence in the water.

To begin, fill a glass with water and find a quiet place to sit. Place your hands in a comfortable position around the glass, making sure that you maintain contact with the surface. This will ensure that the healing energy and Chi flows into the water where it will be absorbed.

Now, feel the warmth and energy moving through your wrists and into your hands. Concentrate on this for a few moments until you feel a pulsing sensation in your hands, thumbs, and fingers. Let this pulsing get stronger.

Allow your focus to move to the glass of water. Sense your hands pulsing against the surface of the glass. Feel this pulsing getting stronger until it feels like a throbbing emanating from the glass of water. The water will begin to feel different to you. Continue to hold the glass for about five minutes. When you feel as if the glass is trying to push your hands away from it, the water has now been fully magnetized.

Drink the glass of water quickly. You might feel a pleasant warm sensation in the tummy. This is a sign that the charged water is having a positive effect upon the body. The vibratory rate of the body has been raised and contains more of a positive essence within.

The next steps
By the end of the seven day period of preparation, the combination of diet, deep breathing, and water will give you the necessary changes to your vibratory rate to allow you to astral travel. You are now ready to begin.

On the eighth day you can attempt the following technique. This exercise can be used on a regular basis. It is simple and easy.

Situate yourself in a fairly quiet room. Sit down in a comfortable chair with a full glass of water placed nearby. Make you sure that you are relaxed – all negative emotions such as anger or fear should be put aside. Take in one deep breath, hold if for a few moments, and then release it slowly through your nose. Repeat this a second and third time. Then return to normal breathing.

Pick up the glass and do the Glass of Water Technique again. This time you might notice an improvement while performing this technique. Your hands may begin to pulse faster and stronger than previous attempts. As before, drink all of the charged water.

From this point you can either stay seated or lie down in a comfortable position. This is up to you. However, if you practice this technique just prior to bedtime, then the latter position would probably be the best one. For the sake of simplicity, these instructions will assume you are lying in a bed.

As you rest on the bed, visualize a white light encircling the inside of the walls of your bedroom. Then, visualize another white light encircling you and your bed. You will have an inner and an outer circle of light surrounding you while you attempt to astral travel. This is a measure of protection that helps you to keep negative entities from bothering you. These white lights also attract angels, spirit guides, and other heavenly beings towards you. You should always ask for your angels and spirit guides to enter into the room and protect you during meditation and astral travel.

By this time you may be feeling some warmth in the pit of your stomach. You might also experience the sensation that your body is vibrating either side to side or back and forth. This is the result of the magnetized water and indicates that your soul is trying to slip out.

Now, longer deep-breathing techniques will be used. You will do the longer deep-breathing or breath-holding techniques twice, in the same manner as before (breathe in, hold for twelve seconds, release). The third deep breath will be done differently. After releasing all of your breath the second time, wait for about four seconds. Let your eyes look towards the foot of the bed and imagine that you are standing here looking back at your prone body. Shut your eyes and picture this in your mind.

Now take in the third breath and hold it for the slow count of twelve. Then, release your breath in a forceful fashion. Expel all your breath quickly. As you do this feel as if you are pushing yourself out of the physical body. If you’re lucky, you might slip out of the body and end up at the foot of the bed staring back at your reclining form. Or you may not notice any change when you try this for the first time. You are likely to have some positive results, even if you don’t succeed in pushing your soul out of your body completely. For instance, you may feel as if you are vibrating within your body in a very powerful way. Perhaps you might be aware of moving out of the body a few feet for a second or two. You may even feel pleasant sensations throughout and some lightheadedness.

The secret to successful astral travel is to keep practicing this technique on a regular basis until you become more adept. Eventually, you will be able to consciously astral travel. This can be done in a light altered state or in a near-sleep state. If you are interested in learning more about these techniques, check out Ancient Teachings for Beginners.

When you travel astrally you can meet and work with angels, spirit guides, and other light beings. Answers you need, knowledge and wisdom you seek, can be obtained from these beings. You can find peace of mind and contentment through astral travel. As an eternal soul you can maintain your connection to the Creator through this process. Allow the light within you to shine.

 

Author Information

Douglas De Long (Saskatoon, Saskatchewan) is a spiritual/personal counselor, past life therapist, and chakra master. He has studied and developed his own psychic abilities and spiritual growth for over twenty-five years.

Born with the ability to see human auras, chakras, spirit guides and angels, Douglas was always reading books about psychic and metaphysical subjects. But due to the nature of his stepfather’s profession, he and his family traveled for many years and his psychic abilities started to close up from lack of use. It wasn’t until after a near death experience at the age of nineteen that he reawakened his childhood gifts.

Through numerous life lessons and years of metaphysical studies, Douglas was able to enhance his abilities and create a unique course that he has been teaching for more than fifteen years. In the past 25 years, he has regressed close to 1,500 individuals and students. He has been guided to put his knowledge and channeled teachings into book form in order to help human kind open up and develop their innate abilities.

Douglas De Long and his wife, Carol, reside in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan where they own and operate the De Long Ancient Mystery School. For more information please visit http://www.douglasdelong.com.

COPYRIGHT (2013) Llewellyn Worldwide, Ltd. All rights reserved

Direct link to article: http://www.llewellyn.com/journal/article/1875

Spell for Today – The Penny Spell

You can tweak this spell to use it for many different things.

The Penny Spell

Items needed for this spell:

2 pennies

Your hands

Take two pennies in your hands and shake them, fairly hard. While doing this, say this chant three times:

“Penny, Penny, Penny.

 I’m shaking these pennies.

And all is fun. In a snap,

I need this done.

Sending this out in a run.

I will slap

These, two pennies, down, into one.”

After this chant, throw the pennies on-top of each other, on the ground. The hardness of the throw and the clanking of the pennies will send out the serious urgency of your spell.

 

A Witch’s Week of Spells and Activities

Helga C. Loueen

 

Spell for Today – For A Good Night’s Sleep

 

For a Good Night’s Sleep

Wynken, Blynken and Nod sail away,
Bringing me rest at the end of the day.
I close my eyes, then sweet dreams will come.
Sleep through the night, to slumber I succumb.

 

–The Power of Positive Witchcraft: Daily Incantations & Enchantments: A Spell a Day for 30 Days
Garden Summerland

A to Z – A Wiccan Glossary (Flashback from Lady Abyss)

A to Z – A Wiccan Glossary

AKASHA: the spiritual ether (or Aether); the omnipresent fifth occult element which embraces the other four-earth, air, fire, and water; and from which they stem. This is the realm of “pattern” or causality, from which the realm the normally thought of “five senses manifests. Some define it is the “other” of the “two worlds” that the witch or magician walks between.

 

ARADIA: Daughter of the Goddess Diana, and a name for the Goddess used by Italian Witches or Strega, commonly used in many Wiccan traditions today.

ASPECTING: Any advanced magickal activity in which a practitioner manifests a particular aspect of the Goddess or God, in thought, feelings, behavior, appearance, etc.; Often as a direct result of a “Drawing Down”. Often a minor variation of this phenomena occurs with the selection of a “Magical Name”, of Craft Name.

ASPECTS: Forms, facets, or personas of Deity: for example, Brighid, Iseult,Eos, and Kore are all aspects of the Maiden, and the Maiden is an aspect of the Goddess

 

ATHAME: black handled, double edged dagger. Principally used to cast and dissolve the circle, for which purposes it is interchangeable with the magic sword. A tool of the “Element” of Fire in the Georgian Tradition and some others.

 

BELTANE: May Eve festival. One of the Ancient Celtic “Fire Festivals.” on this night, the cattle were driven between two bonfires to protect them from disease. Couples wishing for fertility would ” jump the fires” on Beltane night. Also the traditional Sabbath where the rule of the “Wheel of the Year” is returned to the Goddess. This Festival also marks the transition point of the threefold Goddess energies from those of Maiden to Mother.

 

BOOK OF SHADOWS: Traditionally hand copied book of rituals, recipes, training techniques, guidelines, and other materials deemed important to a Witch or a coven. Each tradition has it’s own standard version of the Book and each Witch’s book will be different as he or she adds to it with time from many different sources. Only another Witch can see your book of shadows. Also, traditionally, it may never leave your hands or possession until death, when it should be destroyed, or (in some traditions) returned to the coven to be disposed of.

 

BURNING TIMES: a term used by some Witches for the period of persecution in the Middle Ages and later. It is in fact a misnomer in some places, as Witches were only burned in Scotland, and on the continent of Europe. In England and the U.S., they were hanged.

 

CANDLEMAS: Festival held on Feb. 1. One of the 4 Celtic “Fire Festivals. Commemorates the changing of the Goddess from the Crone to the Maiden. Celebrates the first signs of Spring. Also called “Imbolc” (the old Celtic name). This is the seasonal change where the first signs of spring and the return of the sun are noted, i.e. the first sprouting of leaves, the sprouting of the Crocus flowers etc. In other words, it is the festival commemorating the successful passing of winter and the beginning of the agricultural year.This Festival also marks the transition point of the threefold Goddess energies from those of Crone to Maiden.

 

CARDINAL POINTS: North, South, East, and West, marked in the Georgian Tradition by candles of green, red, yellow, and blue, respectively. The Circle is drawn to connect these four points.

CHALICE: one of the tools of the Witch. Placed on the altar to represent the element of Water.

 

CHARGE OF THE GODDESS: The Traditional words of the Goddess to her followers, or “hidden children”. Normally declaimed by the HPS at every coven Circle.

 

CIRCLE: the area in which the magickal worship and spells takes place. Can also be used to designate a particular group of Witches or Pagans such as “Silver Acorn Circle”.

 

CONE OF POWER: power raised in the circle by the Witches assembled, and sent out into the world to work magick, is usually visualized as being retained and built in the form of a “cone” prior to release.

 

COVEN: an organized group of Witches, led by a High priestess and/or a High Priest who meet regularly for worship and fellowship. The traditional membership is 13, but in fact most covens number considerably less. 3 is the minimum in the Georgian Tradition. In Middle English, “Covin” a group of confederates; In Old French “Covine” a band or group with a single purpose; Latin “Com”-together, “Venire”-to come or move.

 

COVENSTEAD: regular meeting place for a coven. Usually the home of the High Priestess or High Priest.

 

COWAN: a non-Witch. Formerly used in a very derogatory manner. Still used in Masonic Ritual to indicate the non initiate and/or pretender to “real craft”. Not often used today among most Witches.

 

COYOTE ENERGY: trickster energies. Named for the American Indian Trickster, Coyote, who tricks man into learning what he needs to learn. Applies to one who constantly jokes and clowns. Also applies to the concept of “Holy Fool” in many traditions.

 

CROSS QUARTER DAYS: The modern name for the Celtic Fire Festivals of Samhain, Imbolc, Beltane, and Lammas.

———————————————————————————————————————————————————–

 

Abracadabra- A word from the Jewish mystical tradition of Qabala. Its root is the name of the Gnostic deity Abraxas, meaning “hurt me not”. It is said to possess magickal powers, especially of protection from illness.

 

Adept- An individual who through serious study and accomplishments is highly prficient in a praticluar magickal way.

 

Aeromancy- Divination by the stars.

 

Aisling– Ireland: Dream or Vision. In the many Irish tales having this title, the person who dreams sees a speir-bhean or vision-woman from the Otherworlds, pronounced “ash-leen”.

 

Aka- The cord between the astral body and the physical body, most likely this concept is derived from the biblical reference to a “silver cord” connected the body and the soul

Akashic Records- Edward Cayce’s concept which states that somewhere there is a universal hall of data about past lives, magic, healing, and spirituality. It does not exist on the physical plane but rather on a more psychic level. Some believe it can be accessed on the astral plane, others feel it can only be accessed through a visualization journey in the mind.

 

Alba– The Isle of Skye; Scotland

 

Alchemist- One who practices alchemy.

Alchemy- A form of high magick which stems from the middle ages noted by the attempts of alchemists to make lead turn into gold.

 

Alexandrian Tradition– A form of Garderian Wiccan practice developed by Alex and Maxine Sanders in Britain in the 1960s.

 

Alignment- Synchronization of mental and spiritual vibrations with a god, goddess, or astronomical body. Often the complete balance and centering of the chakras is called an alignment.

 

Altar- A small working area and shrine many pagans maintain, where they perform most of their ritual and spell work.

Amulet- An object charged with personal energies through ritual or meditation often used to ward off a certain force or person.

Aradia- The Italian goddess Diana’s daughter, said to be the origin of all witches. The book “Aradia, Gospel of the Witches” was written by Leland about Aradia and the practice of witchcraft

Arcana– The two halves of the tarot deck.The major arcana consists of 22 cards showing dominant occurrences in our lives.The minor arcana consists of 56 suit cards (commonly called the lesser arcana) that assists the major arcana cards,or shows smaller influences in our lives.

Archetype- Symbolic imagery seen in visions, dreams, meditation, and mind quests. Used to interpret the meaning of the vision thereby betting understanding and communicating with the subconscious.

Arthurian Tradition- A Welsh tradition of paganism based on the lore of King Arthur (the “Once and Future King”), Merlin the Magician, and Guinevere.

Asatru- Modern worship of the old Norse gods.

Aspecting- An advanced magical practice which is seen most commonly in a coven as opposed to solitary. The practitioner attempts to manifest an aspect of the Goddess or the God. This is seen in the pagan ritual of Drawing Down the Moon as well as in other pagan religions such as Vodou, where the priest often allows the deity to speak through his or her body.

Asperger- A bundle of fresh herbs either carrying dew or dowsed with spring water, used to sprinkle the water during ritual purification.

Astral– Another dimension of reality.

 

Astral Plane- A plane parallel to the physical world, traveled through by the astral body during projection.

Astral Projection/Travel– The proccess of separating your astral body from your physical body to accomplish travel in the astral. 

Astrology- The practice of revealing the future by interpreting the arrangement of stars and planets in relation to astrological theory and the zodiac.

 

Athame– A Wiccan ritual knife. Generally double edged with a black handle, but not always. This knife is seldom used for physical cutting, if at all, and need not be sharp. It is *never* used to draw blood and Wicca do not draw blood or use blood in ritual. Its primary use is as an energy directing device, much like the wand, though with different common uses. compare: Boline, Wand

Attune- To bring different psyches into harmony.

 

Augury- Divination based on “signs” or omens.
Aura- An energy field which surrounds living beings. An aura is most often visible only to those born with the skill to see it, or those who developed this ability. A visible aura contains various colors and tells about the spiritual and emotional persona of the plant, human, or creature surrounded by it. However, an aura can also be felt, heard, or sensed through other means.

DEOSIL: clockwise, or sunwise. Traditional direction for working “building” magick.

DRAWING DOWN THE MOON: Ritual invocation of the spirit of the Goddess into the body of the High Priestess by the High Priest.

DIVINATION: magical method of exploration or inquiry into a situation via such methods as Tarot cards, runestones, I-Ching, etc.

ELEMENTS: Earth, air, fire, and water, plus spirit, which includes them all. These are regarded as realms or categories of nature (both material and non-material) and are not to be confused with the physicists table of elements, which the modern witch, of course, accepts.

ESBAT: weekly or biweekly meeting of a coven. Traditionally held either on the full moon or the new moon.

FAMILIARS: Either a Witch’s pet animal which has been trained to be a magickal helper, or an artificially created “elemental” which performs the same functions as the animal friend.

FIVEFOLD KISS, FIVEFOLD SALUTE: The Witches’ ritual salute, with kisses; (1) on each foot, (2) on each knee, (3) above the pubic hair, (4) on each breast, and (5) on the lips-really 8 kisses in all. It is only used within the Circle, but the words that go with it are the origin of “Blessed Be.”

GARDNERIANS: Tradition of Witchcraft descended from the teachings of Gerald Gardner

GNOMES: an “entity” or “elemental” that dwells in the plane of Earth or is associated with the EARTH Element.

GREAT RITE: The rite which is the main feature of the third degree initiation, and which is also laid down for certain festivals. It is sexual in nature, but may be `actual’ (and private to the couples concerned) or symbolic, as the participants wish.

HALLOWS: name used by some traditions for Samhain, or Halloween

HANDFASTING: Wiccan equivalent of a wedding. It can be made legal if the Priestess and/or Priest are registered as clergy with the local authorities, or it may only be considered binding within the coven.

HIGH PRIEST/ESS: Technically speaking, a Witch who has received the 3rd. degree initiation. More usually, the male and female leaders of a coven.
IMBOLC: Celtic name for Candlemas.
INVOCATION: The ritual “calling-in” of an entity (or energies) higher than human, either for communication with the caller through a medium or by visible manifestation or else to enter into a human body as in the Drawing Down the Moon. In some traditions, a Prayer

LAMMAS: August 1st. Witch Festival. The Old Celtic name for this festival is Lughnassadh. It is the Festival of the First Fruits, and is the first of the 3 harvests. This festival also marks the change of the Threefold Goddess energies from that of Mother to Crone.

PENTACLE: a disc shaped talisman; in particular, the metal disc which represents the earth element among the witch’s working tools.

PENTAGRAM: The five-pointed star. With a single point uppermost, it represents the human being. Inverted, with two points uppermost, it can have Satanist associations; but not necessarily. Some traditions of Wicca use the inverted pentagram to signify an initiate of the second degree.

QUARTERS: The North, East, South, and West parts of a magickal circle or other ritual area. (See also “Watchtowers”)

REDE: rule or law

SABBAT: one of the Eight festivals or high holy days of Wicca.

SALAMANDER: an entity that dwells in the realm of Fire.

SAMHAIN: The festival of remembrance for the dead, held on the eve of Nov. 1st. It is the last of the three harvests. This festival also marks the transition of rulership of the “Wheel of the Year from that of the Goddess to that of the God.

SCRYING: divination, usually using such methods as crystal gazing, or divination via incense smoke, or water as opposed to tarot or other manipulative means.

SPELL: a prayer, or verbal direction of magickal energies toward the accomplishment of some goal.
SUMMONER: The male officer of the coven who corresponds to the Maiden. He is the assistant High Priest

SYLPH: an “entity” or “elemental” that dwells in the plane of Air or is associated with the AIR Element.

TRADITIONS: any of the various “sects” of Wicca such as Gardnerian, Alexandrian, Georgian, Seax, etc.

UNDINE: an “entity” or “elemental” that dwells in the plane of Water or is associated with the WATER Element.

 

WAND: A rod or staff that is prepared so that it may be used for magickal or psychic purposes, usually to project some form of power

WARLOCK: a term coined in the Burning Times . It was used to denote a traitor to the Craft, or one who had betrayed the followers of the Old Religion. It’s origin is Scottish. Because of the negative connotations, it is not used by most Wiccans today.

WATCH TOWERS: Originally from the Enochian branch of Ceremonial Magick, now incorporated into many “Traditions” of Wicca, these are the four elemental “directions” or “quarters” (corresponding to the appropriate points on the compass) called to protect the Circle during its establishment. Each of them have a correspondence between the compass point, an element, and (varying amongst different traditions) color associated with them.

WICCA: the name most modern day Witches use for the Craft. It comes from the Anglo-Saxon word Wicce, meaning to bend or to shape. This is the root word from which we get wicker.

WIDDERSHINS: counter clock wise. Used for “tearing down” OR BANISHING magick.

WHITE HANDLED KNIFE: the working knife of a Witch. It is used to carve candles, and for fashioning the other tools. Traditionally, it can only be used in a circle.

Deosil and Withershins

When casting, dancing or chanting in a circle for ritual purposes. Wiccans refer to the direction described as either “deosil” or “Withershins.”  When “deosil” (comes from the Irish Gaelic meaning, “turn to the right) is specified, this means clockwise, the direction in which the Sun apparently moves in the Northern Hemisphere, and in which circles are usually cast for positive magick. “Withershins” (or widdershins”) whose roots are embedded in the German words wider (“against”) and Sinn (‘sense’), means counterclockwise, and this is the banishing direction used for negative magick.

Sunny Days

Maximize the power of a spell cast during Leo’s reign by practicing it on a Sunday, the weekday whose dedication to the Lion’s planetary ruler remains enshrined in many modern European languages, including English.

Spell for Today – Knot Healing Spell

 

Knot Healing Spell

This involves tying and untying the string.

 Tie seven knots in a string

 Visualize the illness and suffering as you tied the initial knots (you are not wishing the illness – in fact the opposite. You are transferring the illness into the knot)

 Make it into a bracelet for the patient

 Untie one knot each day – visualizing the relief as the knots are untied, as the illnesses negative energy is allowed to dissipate into the atmosphere.

 On the last day, unravel the thread and throw everything into running live water, flowing away from the patient’s location.

Flashback 2010 – Printable Basic Spell Template – Recording Spell Notes

RECORDING SPELL NOTES:

*It is a good idea for someone new to the Craft to print several of these till they get the hang of what they are doing and feel comfortable doing it*

*Name of Spell:

*Date and time performed:

*Moon phase:

*Location:

*How long it took to cast the spell:

*Weather:

*Your state of health:

*Purpose of the spell:

*Deities/Elementals invoked:

*Tools and ingredients required:

*The full text of the spell or ritual:

*Your immediate reaction:

*Short term results:

*Long term results:

History of Ostara, The Spring Equinox

History of Ostara, The Spring Equinox

The word Ostara is just one of the names applied to the celebration of the spring equinox on March 21. The Venerable Bede said the origin of the word is actually from Eostre, a Germanic goddess of spring. Of course, it’s also the same time as the Christian Easter celebration, and in the Jewish faith, Passover takes place as well. For early Pagans in the Germanic countries, this was a time to celebrate planting and the new crop season.

Typically, the Celtic peoples did not celebrate Ostara as a holiday, although they were in tune with the changing of the seasons.

According to History.com,

“At the ruins of Chichen Itza, the ancient Maya city in Mexico, crowds now gather on the spring (and fall) equinox to watch as the afternoon sun creates shadows that resemble a snake moving along the stairs of the 79-foot-tall Pyramid of Kukulkan, also called El Castillo. On the spring equinox, the snake descends the pyramid until it merges with a large, serpent head sculpture at the base of the structure. While the Maya were skilled astronomers, it’s unknown whether they specifically designed the pyramid to align with the equinox and create this visual effect.”

A New Day Begins

A dynasty of Persian kings known as the Achaemenians celebrated the spring equinox with the festival of No Ruz, which means “new day.” It is a celebration of hope and renewal still observed today in many Persian countries, and has its roots in Zoroastrianism.

In Iran, a festival called Chahar-Shanbeh Suri takes place right before No Ruz begins, and people purify their homes and leap over fires to welcome the 13-day celebration of No Ruz.

Mad as a March Hare

Spring equinox is a time for fertility and sowing seeds, and so nature’s fertility goes a little crazy.

In medieval societies in Europe, the March hare was viewed as a major fertility symbol. This is a species of rabbit that is nocturnal most of the year, but in March when mating season begins, there are bunnies everywhere all day long. The female of the species is superfecund and can conceive a second litter while still pregnant with a first. As if that wasn’t enough, the males tend to get frustrated when rebuffed by their mates, and bounce around erratically when discouraged.

The Legends of Mithras

The story of the Roman god, Mithras, is similar to the tale of Jesus Christ and his resurrection. Born at the winter solstice and resurrected in the spring, Mithras helped his followers ascend to the realm of light after death. In one legend, Mithras, who was popular amongst members of the Roman military, was ordered by the Sun to sacrifice a white bull. He reluctantly obeyed, but at the moment when his knife entered the creature’s body, a miracle took place. The bull turned into the moon, and Mithras’ cloak became the night sky. Where the bull’s blood fell flowers grew, and stalks of grain sprouted from its tail.

Spring Celebrations Around the World

In ancient Rome, the followers of Cybele believed that their goddess had a consort who was born via a virgin birth.

His name was Attis, and he died and was resurrected each year during the time of the vernal equinox on the Julian Calendar (between March 22 and March 25).

The indigenous Mayan people in Central American have celebrated a spring equinox festival for ten centuries. As the sun sets on the day of the equinox on the great ceremonial pyramid, El Castillo, Mexico, its “western face…is bathed in the late afternoon sunlight. The lengthening shadows appear to run from the top of the pyramid’s northern staircase to the bottom, giving the illusion of a diamond-backed snake in descent.” This has been called “The Return of the Sun Serpent” since ancient times.

According to the Venerable Bede, Eostre was the Saxon version of a Germanic goddess called Ostara. Her feast day was held on the full moon following the vernal equinox–almost the identical calculation as for the Christian Easter in the west.

There is very little documented evidence to prove this, but one popular legend is that Eostre found a bird, wounded, on the ground late in winter. To save its life, she transformed it into a hare. But “the transformation was not a complete one. The bird took the appearance of a hare but retained the ability to lay eggs…the hare would decorate these eggs and leave them as gifts to Eostre.”
Modern Celebrations

This is a good time of year to start your seedlings. If you grow an herb garden, start getting the soil ready for late spring plantings. Celebrate the balance of light and dark as the sun begins to tip the scales, and the return of new growth is near.

Many modern Pagans mark Ostara as a time of renewal and rebirth. Take some time to celebrate the new life that surrounds you in nature–walk in a park, lay in the grass, hike through a forest. As you do so, observe all the new things beginning around you–plants, flowers, insects, birds. Meditate upon the ever-moving Wheel of the Year, and celebrate the change of seasons.

Author

Patti Wigington
Published on ThoughtCo.com

OSTARA LORE

 

OSTARA LORE

A traditional Vernal Equinox pastime: go to a field and randomly collect wildflowers [Thank the flowers for their sacrifice before picking them, using a collection formula such as can be found in “An Herbal Grimoire”]. Or buy some from a florist, taking one or two of those that appeal to you. Then bring them home and divine their magickal meanings by the use of books, your own intuition, a pendulum or by other means. The flowers you’ve chosen reveal your inner thoughts and emotions.

It is important at this time of renewed life to plan a walk (or a ride) through gardens, a park, woodlands, forest and other green places. This is not simply exercise, and you should be on no other mission. It isn’t even just an appreciation of nature. Make your walk celebratory, a ritual for nature itself.

Other traditional activities include planting seeds, working on magickal gardens and practicing all forms of herb work – magickal, medicinal, cosmetic, culinary and artistic.

Foods in tune with this day (linking your meals with the seasons is a fine way of attuning with nature) include those made of seeds, such as sunflower, pumpkin and sesame seeds, as well as pine nuts.

Sprouts are equally appropriate, as are leafy, green vegetables. Flower dishes such as stuffed nasturtiums or carnation cupcakes also find their place here. [Find a book of flower cooking or simply make spice cupcakes. Ice with pink frosting and place a fresh carnation petal on each cupcake. Stuff nasturtium blossoms with a mixture made with cream cheese, chopped nuts, chives and watercress.]