Preparing for Your Celebrations


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Preparing for Your Celebrations

 

Many of us like to set up an altar and scent the air with incense or oils when we talk to our Goddess or God, in the same way we might set our table and put on a pot of coffee when we invite a friend over to visit. These things set the mood and help make the time we spend together extra special. But just as a true friend will gladly come over to talk without being served refreshments, so will the Divine be there for you, without all the ritual settings.

Celebrating the Sabbats can get complicated with special foods, activities and decorations involved. For some, eliminating these things is like trying to hold a Yule celebration without a tree or gifts. Keeping old traditions are what these events are really all about … right? Well … traditions certainly DO make the events special, but our ancestors observed the Sabbats to help them stay in tune with the changing seasons and to celebrate the blessings those changes brought. This is where our focus should be!

A great way to honor the Divine is to share the season’s harvest. That could be fresh flowers and herbs or berries and produce, whatever gifts our Earthly Mother is providing us. Our activities should also center on the changing seasons. Walking in the woods to collect May flowers or gathering wood for a fire on a cold October night are activities that can connect us with Nature. These things help us celebrate the season and give us a chance to thank the Divine for the many blessings each season bring us.

We should connect with our God or Goddess in a way that feels right to us. Many find that connection through Nature, but others find it through a craft or form of art. Writing, painting, photography, woodworking or singing and dancing are a just a few activities that allow us to express our spiritual connection with the Divine and share it with others.

Music and dance have long been used in magical and religious ceremonies. Many believe these activities can raise power, alter consciousness and help them unite with the God and Goddess.

In his book Wicca: A Guide for the Solitary Practitioner, Scott Cunningham writes, “Music is simply a re-creation of the sounds of nature. Wind through the trees, the roar of the ocean hurling itself against jagged cliffs, pattering rain, crackling of a lightning produced fire, the cry of birds and roars of animals are some of the ‘instruments’ that constitute the music of nature.”

There are an unlimited number of ways to incorporate sound into your activities. As with everything else, the best music, tools or activities for your rituals will depend on what feels right to you. If something helps you connect with the spirit of the Divine, then don’t worry if it’s not what others are doing or if it’s not in the book you just read.

In Wicca, how you choose to practice your religion is between you and your God or Goddess. As long as you abide by the Wiccan Rede, your celebrations and rituals will honor the Divine.

These Eight words the Rede fulfill:

“An Ye Harm None, Do What Ye Will”

Wiccan & Pagan Holidays: An Easy Beginner’s Guide to Celebrating Sabbats and Esbats (Living Wicca Today Book 1)

Zoe Kardia

An Autumn Chant


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“I will dance
The dance of dying days
And sleeping life.

I will dance
In cold, dead leaves
A bending, whirling human flame.

I will dance
As the Horned God rides
Across the skies.

I will dance
To the music of His hounds
Running, baying in chorus.

I will dance
With the ghosts of those
Gone before.

I will dance
Between the sleep of life
And the dream of death.

I will dance
On Samhain’s dusky eye,
I will dance.”  


–  Karen Bergquist, An Autumn Chant

The Ferryman

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“No regrets cloud my thanks
no fear of the river,
slower now than the swift moving channel
I deigned to cut
in the exuberance of youth.

The River Lethe trickles through cracks
opened several summers ago
but not before I earned,
and still hold in my own right,
the gold coin Charon will demand,
though not a word be spoken,
not a breath exchanged.

As we make passage on the River Styx
I know not what lies ahead,
less of what I’ve left behind,
but I will go to complete
my preterdained journey to the otherworld
as the Ferryman leaves me off
and guides his boat
back to earthly shores.”

Kaaren Whitney, The Ferryman  

The Witches Correspondences for Thursday, October 29


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The Witches Correspondences for Thursday, October 29

 

Thursday (Thor’s day)

Planet: Jupiter

Colors: Purple, Deep Blue

Crystals: Amethyst, Lepidolite, Sugilite, Tin

Aroma: Melissa, Clove, Oakmoss, Jupiter Oil, Cinnamon, Musk, Nutmeg, and Sage

Herb: Cinquefoil Ruled by the planet Jupiter and dedicated to Thor, god of thunder and agricultural work. His parallels in various European Traditions include Zeus, Taranis, Perun, and Perkunas.

Magical aspects: controlled optimism, energetic growth, physical well-being, material success, expansion, money/wealth, prosperity, leadership, and generosity.

Thursday is the day of Jupiter, the largest of the planets and said to be the most powerful. Spellcasters would be wise to use this day for attempting wealth, success and prosperity spells.

Thursday is also associated (in Greek mythology) to Thor – Thor’s day – and some even say that Jupiter and Thor are one in the same. Both are strong and powerful, yet wise and just. Try a small prayer to Jupiter before commencing any ritual on Thursday as a sign of respect. This is the proper day of the week to perform spells and rituals involving luck, happiness, health, legal matters, male fertility, treasure, wealth, honour, riches, clothing, money, desires, business, group pursuits, joy, laughter, and expansion.

The Witches Almanac for Thursday, October 29


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The Witches Almanac for Thursday, October 29

Thursday (Jupiter): Expansion, money, prosperity, and generosity.

Iroquois Feast of the Dead

Waning Moon

The Waning Moon (from the Full Moon to the New) is a time for study, meditation, and little magical work (except magic designed to banish harmful energies).

Moon phase: Third Quarter

Moon Sign: Taurus

Taurus: Things begun now last the longest, tend to increase in value, and become hard to alter. Brings out appreciation for beauty and sensory experience. .

Moon enters Gemini 2: 24 am

Gemini: Things begun now are easily changed by outside influence. Time for shortcuts, communication, games, and fun

Incense: Balsam

Color: Crimson

Reclaiming Samhain


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“A year of beauty. A year of plenty.
A year of planting. A year of harvest.
A year of forests. A year of healing.
A year of vision. A year of passion.
A year of rebirth.

This year may we renew the earth.
This year may we renew the earth.

Let it begin with each step we take.
And let it begin with each change we make.
And let it begin with each chain we break.
And let it begin every time we awake.”.

–Starhawk, Reclaiming Samhain

Custom Made Magick for Thursday


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Custom Made Magick for Thursday

Well, let’s see … abundance, prosperity, and good health has been our focus for this day. Now how about a little more information and ideas for working practical magick with one of our fascinating featured deities of the day?

Juno was the Queen of Heaven. As the matriarch of the gods, she guarded over women in every aspect of their lives. Juno was thought to have renewed her virginity every year. Similar to other goddess stories, Juno was a triple goddess-a virgin who belonged to no one; a mother and woman in the prime of her life, sexual and mature; and also a crone, powerful, wise, and sometimes vengeful (as she made her husband’s many mistresses’ lives either fairly unhappy or short).

There are references to an early all-female triad of goddesses known as the Capitoline Triad. This triad consisted of Juventas, Juno, and Minerva. To the Greeks, they would have been known as Hebe, Hera, and Hecate. Ultimately the triad became Juno, Minerva, and the male Jupiter. Jupiter, another of Thursday’s gods, was Juno’s consort.

As mentioned earlier, Juno, in her aspect as Juno Moneta, was the patron and protector of the Roman mint. The coins produced at her temples were blessed by Juno and imbued with her powers of abundance and prosperity. In another of her aspects as Juno Augusta, Juno was the goddess of an abundant harvest.

In addition, another of Juno’s magickal correspondences is the semiprecious stone malachite. Malachite is a beautiful green-banded stone that was also called the “peacock stone” in Italy. The peacock was a sacred animal of Juno’s, and the magickal energies of malachite encourage health and prosperity.

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

Lore of the Door


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“Between the heavens and the earth
The way now opens to bring forth
The Hosts of those who went on before;
Hail!  We see them now come through the Open Door.

Now the veils of worlds are thin;
To move out you must move in.
Let the Balefires now be made,
Mine the spark within them laid..

Move beyond the fiery screen,
Between the seen and the unseen;
Shed your anger and your fear,
Live anew in a new year!”
–   Lore of the Door  

Thursday’s Must Dos


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Thursday’s Must Dos

 

Try wearing some honeysuckle-scented perfume to encourage prosperity. Bewitch someone by wearing deep royal blue or brighten up a dreary day by wearing lucky, prosperity-drawing green. Brew up a pot of mint tea to help increase your cash flow. Try adding a pinch of nutmeg or cinnamon to an unscented candle to encourage some fast cash. Bake up a loaf of wheat bread for the family, and celebrate abundance and be thankful for all that you have.

Conjure up a witchy craft and create a philter or two for your magickal needs. Work with the deities and the magickal plants corresponding with Thursday.

How did the energies of the plants of Jupiter enhance your magick? What did you learn by working with Juno, Jove, or Zeus? The truth is that by adding these new techniques and information into your spellcasting repertoire, you will indeed advance your skills, thereby moving up in the ranks to become a more adept magickal practitioner

Just by believing in yourself and working toward creating abundance, health, and prosperity, you have already begun to transform your outlook on life. Put your game face on; think positively. Work with Thor for perseverance and courage, and apply those qualities to your own prosperity spells and healing witchery. Break out the tarot cards; How could you incorporate that symbolism into other spells of your own design?

Use your imagination, check Thursday’s correspondence list, and see what other bewitching things you can conjure up for prosperity magick all by yourself. Call on the gods and goddess of Thursday and bring some positive change, abundance, health, and prosperity into your life!

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

Thursday’s Witchery


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Thursday’s Witchery

 

Today is the day for prosperity work of all kinds. It can also be used for healing work, whether that is a physical healing of an illness or an emotional healing. Also remember that you have to follow up your healing work and prosperity magick and physical action.

I can’t tell you the number of times I have met new witches who complain to me that their prosperity spell or “I need a better job” spell did not work as they expected. They’ll ramble on and on about how much time and money they spent working their magick….but, alas, they had no glorious manifestion of wealth or fabulous job that suddenly dropped out of the sky and landed in their laps.

Then, when I gently ask them, “Did you enchant your resume or application when you filled it out? Did you do a little confidence-boosting spellwork when you went to apply for the job or went to the interview?” typically they give me a blank, confused stare.

Nine times out of ten, their response is, “You mean I have to go out and actually look for the job too?” Um, yes, my dear, you certainly do. Magick follows the path of least resistance, which means it’s going to manifest along the simplest, quickest route. Get out there and hit the pavement. See what you can find. Times are tough and competition for good jobs is fierce, so you need whatever edge you can get. For folks like us, we’re going to get the edge by using our magick and our spellcraft.

Thursdays have such a rich source of magick for us to draw upon that, honestly, the sky is the limit. This is the day associated with the gods of the sky and heavens, after all. Get to know these deities and add their wisdom and magick into your days

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

Thursday

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Thursday

Jupiter’s (Thor’s) day

 

The name is derived from Old English Þūnresdæg and Middle English Thuresday (with loss of -n-, first in northern dialects, from influence of Old Norse Þorsdagr) meaning “Thor’s Day”. Thunor, Donar (German, Donnerstag) and Thor are derived from the name of the Germanic god of thunder, Thunraz, equivalent to Jupiter in the interpretatio romana.

In most Romance languages, the day is named after the Roman god Jupiter, who was the god of sky and thunder. In Latin, the day was known as Iovis Dies, “Jupiter’s Day”. In Latin, the genitive or possessive case of Jupiter was Iovis/Jovis and thus in most Romance languages it became the word for Thursday: Italian giovedì, Spanish jueves, French jeudi, Sardinian jòvia, Catalan dijous, and Romanian joi. This is also reflected in the p-Celtic Welsh dydd Iau.

The astrological and astronomical sign of the planet Jupiter (♃Jupiter) is sometimes used to represent Thursday.

Since the Roman god Jupiter was identified with Thunor (Norse Thor in northern Europe), most Germanic languages name the day after this god: Torsdag in Danish, Norwegian, and Swedish, Hósdagur/Tórsdagur in Faroese, Donnerstag in German or Donderdag in Dutch. Finnish and Northern Sami, both non-Germanic (Uralic) languages, uses the borrowing “Torstai” and “Duorastat”. In the extinct Polabian Slavic language, it was perundan, Perun being the Slavic equivalent of Thor.

There are a number of modern names imitating the naming of Thursday after an equivalent of “Jupiter” in local tradition. In most of the languages of India, the word for Thursday is Guruvar – var meaning day and guru being the style for Bṛhaspati, guru to the gods and regent of the planet Jupiter. In Thai, the word is Wan Pharuehatsabodi – referring to the Hindu deity Bṛhaspati, also associated with Jupiter. En was an old Illyrian deity and in his honor in the Albanian language Thursday is called “Enjte”. In the Nahuatl language, Thursday is Tezcatlipotōnal meaning “day of Tezcatlipoca”.

A Very Blessed Thursday Morning To All My Sweets! Two Days To Samhain, You Can Feel It In The Air!


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“Your tombstone stands among the rest;

neglected and alone

The name and date are chiseled out

on polished, marbled stone

It reaches out to all who care

It is too late to mourn

You did not know that I’d exist

You died and I was born.

Yet each of us are cells of you

in flesh, in blood, in bone.

Our blood contracts and beats a pulse

entirely not our own.

Dear Ancestor, the place you filled

one hundred years ago

Spreads out among the ones you left

who would have loved you so.

I wonder if you lived and loved,

I wonder if you knew

That someday I would find this spot,

and come to visit you.”

– Dear Ancestor

A Very Good Wednesday Morning To All My Sweets!

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I hope everyone is having a great Wednesday. It is raining and gloomy here today. I figured you would see the new graphics and wait around for us to start the daily postings. Well it is true I finally got the graphics up but unfortunately we won’t be on the net today. We have a meeting this morning with the insurance company, their adjustor and our contractor. The insurance company is turning out to be a pain in the ass (call a spade, a spade). I know all of you have dealt with insurance companies and you know to get your own estimate right off the bat. That’s what I did and turned it into the insurance company. The insurance, in their great wisdom, decided our estimate was too high. They turned around and sent out their own adjustor. The funny thing about it, I had dealt with their adjustor in the past. He is a super sweet man and I have never had a problem with him. We were talking and I told him what I would like to do to get the place back to normal. He thought it was a great idea! Come to find out, he wrote his estimate higher than our estimate. So we have a meeting with them this morning to figure out what they are going to pay, do we need another estimate or what? I don’t believe they know or perhaps they are about broke and don’t want to pay (that is what I am figuring anyway). We will be having all sorts of fun, you see! Much rather be here with you that’s for sure!

 

If this doesn’t take all day, hopefully we will see you later on this afternoon. Till then, my sweets….

Luv & Hugs,

Lady A

Spell To Heal A Broken Heart

Spell To Heal A Broken Heart

You will need the following ingredients:

¼ cup sea salt
2 candles
a mirror
a small cloth, drawstring bag
a copper penny
1 teaspoon dried jasmine
1 teaspoon orris root powder
¼ cup lavender flowers
1 teaspoon yarrow

On the eve of a full moon, the sun having set, prepare and take a bath with the sea salt added, by the light of a single candle.

When you have finished the bath, dress first, and then extinguish the candle.

Light the second candle and place it on a flat surface, such as a table. Lay the mirror face up before it. On the mirror, place and mix well the jasmine, orris-root, lavender and yarrow. When done mixing, speak these words aloud:

Spirit of the moon,
Heal my broken heart,
Let the shadow of pain,
Drift away in your silvery light.
Spirit of the moon,
Let my heart heal,
And once more be strong,
That I may love again.

Place the mixture in the small, drawstring bag. Place the penny in the bag with the mixture and close and tie it. Extinguish the candle. Keep the bag in the room where you sleep, as close to you as possible and until your heart has healed.

Business Success Spell

Business Success Spell

This spell requires a small stone. The spell works best with a bloodstone, malachite, or green tourmaline, but any stone can work.

Hold your selected stone in your left hand during a full moon.

In your mind’s eye, visualize money flowing into your business using whatever images work best for you: customers handing you large amounts of money, your mailbox filling up with orders, or your next bank statement showing a huge increase. The image should take the incoming flow to the extreme, don’t hold back on this part of the spell.

While you are picturing this rush of cash, speak the following words aloud:
Money comes and money grows
Quickly in the money flows
Fill my coffers to the top, ever higher, never stop.

Place the stone in your pocket or purse and carry it with you at all times.

To Get The Answers You Seek Spell

To Get The Answers You Seek Spell

Instructions:
On the evening of a full moon, form a circle with the index of your dominant hand (right if you are right-handed, left if you are left-handed).
Raise your arm until you can see the moon in the circle thus formed and murmur these words:

Good moon,
Round moon,
Full moon that appears,
Let me foresee the future.

After reciting this sentence, and while continuing to look at the moon, ask a question.
You will receive an answer within 7 days.

Three Red Leaves Protection Spell

Three Red Leaves Protection Spell

 

Autumn is the ideal time for this protection spell. Begin by gathering 3 red leaves from any plant, bush or tree. Lay the leaves on a flat surface to form a triangle. In the center of the triangle of leaves, place a lighted candle. On each leaf, place a few drops of chrysanthemum oil.

Speak aloud the following words three times:

Red leaves, gift from earth,
Birth to death and death to birth,
Keep all evil far away,
Day to night and night to day.

When you have spoken the words three times, extinguish the candle and wrap the leaves in a white cloth or place them in a white pouch. Place the packet under your mattress or near your bed within three feet of your head for protection against nightmares and invasions of evil.

A Spell for Protection of Your Home

A Spell for Protection of Your Home

You will need:

Salt & Water
Incense
Milk & Honey
Oil
Wine
Bells, Pots, Pans, Whistles, etc.

Cast a circle in the main room and after casting, visualize the circle expanding to include the entire house. Call upon the spirits and energies living in the house (or apartment). Invite those who will be harmonious with the new household and its energies to remain. Invite/ask those who will be happier elsewhere to depart. Release all “energies” not compatible with the new household.

Note: This may be expressed as a “release” in order to unbind anything that may be stuck.

Then call upon, greet, and invite ancestors, patron deities, and all harmonious spirits and energies to dwell in the house as they please.

Gather up the pots, pans, and all the noise-makers. Go to each door and window, not forgetting the fire-place and dog-door, making as much racket as humanly possible–to drive out the unwanted.

Go again throughout the house and at each portal (door, window, etc.) sprinkle salt-water and incense, saying: “By the Elements I purify and charge this portal.”

Then anoint the portal with milk and honey, saying: “By Milk and Honey I ensure prosperity and peace within this place.”

Finally, anoint the portal with oil, saying: “With Oil I seal this portal and protect all within.”

At the front door a special prayer is said, asking the guardian deities to freely grant entry to all friends and loved ones, and to prevent passage (turn aside) to any who would do harm.”

Then, if it’s a house–pour wine across the width of the threshold; if it’s an apartment anoint the threshold with light touches of wine.

The house-holders then each take a sip of wine, leaving some as an offering to the Gods, and the Circle should be closed. The remaining wine, milk, and honey should be offered to the Gods which can be accomplished by pouring over the ground.