Category: Our History

Let’s Talk Witch – Magical Ethics

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Magical Ethics

Magic itself is neither negative nor positive; it is simply energy. People often refer to negative or positive magic, but what they actually mean is that the intention of the person doing the magic is negative or positive— the terms positive and negative magic are a shorthand way of speaking. Black magic is another term for magic performed with a negative intent, and white magic is often used to describe magic performed with a beneficial intent. Both forms of magic have ethical considerations that can shift a seemingly positive spell into the realm of negative magic. Manipulation, permission, and personal benefit are all elements of magical ethics.

 

 

The Everything Paganism Book: Discover the Rituals, Traditions, and Festivals of This Ancient Religion
Selene Silverwind

WOTC Extra – Karmic Consequences (What is Karma/Leftover Karma from Past Lives)

Irish Celtic Fighting DragonsKarmic Consequences

(What is Karma/Leftover Karma from Past Lives)

Karma is a Hindu concept that has been adopted by many Westerners, especially those in the New Age and Pagan communities. While many people talk about karma, not everyone fully understands it. Its effects over several lifetimes are also often misunderstood.

What Is Karma? Karma is the Hindu law of cause and effect. For every action you take, there is a reaction, although it’s not equal and opposite. When you take beneficial action, you receive a beneficial effect. When you take baneful action, that will come back to you, too.

Your karma is a part of your soul, and it determines, in part, how your life will play out. If you live a just life, you will receive more just benefits. If something negative befalls you, look to your history and see what might have caused it.

Leftover Karma from Past Lives

The karmic backlash or reward for your actions is not always immediate. Sometimes it takes years to feel the full karmic effects of any action. The span of time between an action and its karmic effect can actually stretch over more than one lifetime. The actions you took in your past lives affect your current life to some degree. They might decide your role in this life, or how your life is lived. You can rest assured that really evil people will receive appropriate punishments in their future lives. Hopefully, you weren’t a terrible person in your past life, but if you can’t see any reason why so many things in your life seem to be going wrong, you might be dealing with retribution for mistakes you made in a previous life.

The Hindu concept of time is not strictly linear, so there can also be a karmic influence for an action you’ve not yet taken. Living the best life you can in order to balance out the negative weight on your karma is the best solution for dealing with karmic effects you had no role in creating in this life. A Hindu’s goal in life is to carry out his dharma (duty). If you attempt to serve your life purpose, it will benefit your karma and counterbalance the mistakes of the past or future.


The Everything Paganism Book: Discover the Rituals, Traditions, and Festivals of This Ancient Religion
Selene Silverwind

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Let’s Talk Witch – Personal Responsibility

Irish Celtic Fighting DragonsPersonal Responsibility

Pagans do not have the option of confession to remove their spiritual or societal errors, nor do they believe that forgiveness should automatically follow a certain amount of penance. The rallying cry for Pagan ethics is personal responsibility. Whether you’re acting to help or to harm, you must carefully consider all the effects of your actions, and be prepared to accept the consequences. Personal responsibility isn’t all bad, though. It also means you get to accept the credit for good deeds. A reasonable amount of pride is a virtue among Pagans.

Every action you take affects others and yourself. Sometimes it’s as simple as hurting someone’s feelings, and a sincere apology will repair the damage. The first step is admitting that you were wrong. Then you can best decide how to proceed.

Most of the time you’re aware that you’re causing someone harm, but occasions do arise when you think you’re helping someone, but really you’re making things worse. It can be difficult to admit that you did more harm than good, but you must accept the reality of the situation. Once you acknowledge your error, you can get to work making up for it.


The Everything Paganism Book: Discover the Rituals, Traditions, and Festivals of This Ancient Religion
Selene Silverwind

 

Let’s Talk Witch – Air Magic

Winter WolvesLet’s Talk Witch – Air Magic

Air magic pertains to all things that travel through the air. This includes cludes death, music, thoughts, spirits, dreams, and invisibility. Other specialty areas include travel magic and twilight studies. The word twilight is used here to describe the state of mind when we are not quite asleep and not quite awake. It is a shift in consciousness that allows lows for the more surreal parts of life to come into sharper focus.

Like dirt and water, each type of wind contains its own primary properties. The magical properties and purposes corresponding to the different types of winds are as follows:

Whirlwind: Whirlwinds run the gamut from gentle “dust devils” to full-blown tornadoes. This is a powerful aspect of wind to use; however, it is best to only use the violent form on the astral tral plane. This is the best wind to use to banish or destroy. Be careful with whirlwinds, even if only on the astral plane, because cause they tend to confuse.

South wind: The south wind is the warm wind of fire. It can work as an all-purpose magical booster; however, it can easily cloud a situation. The south wind brings blessings of friendship. Singing into the south wind can facilitate contact with loved ones. It is the wind of celebration.

North wind: The north wind is the proverbial wind of change. It is the icy cold wind of death and works well in spells of destruction tion or banishment. It is connected to the element of earth and can be used as a healing wind. The north wind moves things forward in time.
East wind: The east wind relates to air. It symbolizes new beginnings nings and fresh starts. This is a good wind to use for matters involving intellect and self-improvement. It ushers in clarity and clears the mind.

West wind: The west wind is the wind of love and emotion. It relates to the element of water. Cleansing and divination are favored when the west wind is blowing. The voices of the dead are heard on the west wind.

 

 

Elemental Witch: Fire, Air, Water, Earth; Discover Your Natural Affinity
Tammy Sullivan

 

Let’s Talk Witch – Personal Power

Let’s Talk Witch – Personal Power

Now that your intuition is up and humming, we can turn our focus to personal power, the next step in natural witchery. Here is where we begin to make the magick more individual. I mean, honestly, don’t you want your magick to have some character?

Just a little something special that separates you from everyone else? Of course you do. By discovering your personal power, you’ll crank up the level of your expertise and put the focus on your own individual style of magick.

We are going to accomplish this by taking a deeper look into the elements of earth, air, fire, and water, and how they play out and affect our magickal selves. Our personalities are a wonderful mixture of the qualities of the four elements. And while it is certainly true that we each feel an affinity to a certain natural element or elements from time to time, we need to be in balance to harmoniously employ all four. It is important to reflect on each of the elements and to consider how you individually experience magick through all four of them. Then allow those elements to flow into your life.

To boost your personal power and to have it up and running at top speed, you will need to get— well, for lack of a better word—“ personal,” and do a little soul-searching. After all, the best individual to transform your life and help you reclaim your own powers is, of course, you.

The power of the elements and all of nature is deep and infinite, and the following elemental information is not a 101 rehash. Truthfully, this type of knowledge is vital for everyone; this includes the more experienced or advanced practitioners too. For years I always thought that to be an “advanced Witch” meant you had somehow discovered all these phenomenal mysteries of the cosmos— when in actuality what you begin to discover is that those basic lessons you first learned have many hidden layers. The longer you study and practice, the more of those levels you will begin to explore and uncover. There truly are worlds within worlds.

Study and take the time to search inside yourself and to uncover the hidden, layered powers of the natural elements. These lessons will be a bit different for everyone. That’s what makes this type of magick so special, because you are adding dimension to your craft. By using your intuition— and stretching out those psychic abilities that we worked on in the first section of this book— you will begin to see how each of the four natural elements play out within your magickal personality. Why is this so darn important, anyway? Because you will gain an understanding of your elemental strengths and your weaknesses. For your magickal power to be its most effective, you have to take a little private inventory and then remove any imbalances or blocks. This in turn allows you to focus and fine-tune your magick, and turn up the level of your personal power. To begin our lesson of self-discovery, look over the following elemental personality traits and see which ones you most closely identify with.

Natural Witchery: Intuitive, Personal & Practical Magick
Ellen Dugan

Let’s Talk Witch – Finding Where You Fit In

Halloween Black Cats
Let’s Talk Witch – Finding Where You Fit In

Everyone wants to fit in, that is no secret. You want to feel like you are a part of something special, and it is the same with this religion. Just as there are several different sanctions of Catholicism and Christianity, there are many different branches of Wicca as well. In fact, it seems that the Wiccan religion is more flexible than even Christianity because Wiccans can make their own groups based on their belief system. Find your Wiccan community, and if you don’t feel like you fit in, just go on your own way, and be a lone wolf. There are a lot of lone wolf Wiccans.

Covens
This is one of the best known types of Wiccan groups. Think of it like the country club for Wiccans. This is a large group of Wiccans that schedule regular meetings, and they often have club dues. Along with having dues, they often have a lot of rules and regulations that you don’t see in a less strict group of Wiccans, but that is because they want their coven to stay on the straight and narrow, and when you have too many witches in one group, then you could have some serious issues if one of them go rogue. You as a part of the coven could get taken down with the rogue. So covens have to be kind of strict to keep things organized.

Covens are also great for beginners because there are rules. It may feel confining to not be able to find your style in the beginning, but you could grow to appreciate having so much help as you are learning. With covens, it is an all hands on deck deal. If one member is not up to par, all members of the coven pitch in to help the weak link. However, within a reasonable amount of time, there are possibilities you may get kicked out if you are in a pretentious coven. It is for the best if you are kicked out of a coven like that. A coven based on pretenses is one that has the most risk of turning to dark magic.

If you feel like a coven could be a good fit for you, you can go online to find one that is near you. There are a lot of online forums for Wiccan covens. This is often how they find new members in their area. If you are interested in it, try it for yourself.

Circles
A circle is a little different than a coven. The main difference is the size. A circle is always five people no matter what. One person for each element. The best part about this is, you can build your own circle pretty easily if you know four other Wiccans. Circles have rules and regulations like a coven, but they are often less strict due to the fact that they do not have the sheer volume that covens have.

Circles are a great way to establish rituals, and learning how to cast spells. If you do not feel like starting your own circle, you can look to see if there is a circle that is needing a new member online. Circles are great because you have people who can help you get to their level, and you don’t have to worry about pretentiousness. You also don’t have to worry about information overload, because there are a lot fewer people who are helping you.
When you are a part of a circle, it can be a great bonding experience as well. Since you don’t have to pay dues to be in a circle, you find yourself making true bonds with the people you are working with. In a coven you are making forced bonds because you paid your money to be there, and you have to drag your butt there at least once a month. More if there is a celebration that month.

With a circle, you don’t have to meet a certain amount of times if you choose not to. Most circles only meet when there is a need, or they feel they need to practice a spell. Needs could be a pollution problem in the area, and needing to cast a protection spell on the trees and the earth. Or it could be a drought, and you need to beg to Mother Goddess to please bring rain. These are some of the needs that circles meet for.

If one of you finds a spell that you think is useful, you may meet several days in a row to practice it until you have it down.

Circles also meet for celebrations, but rather than a whole ordeal where an Elder gets up and speaks about how you should thank the great goddess and horned god that you are able to gather with your brothers and sisters in this time of power and all the other things that Elders drone on about, you can actually be out there using your power. This is one of the best perks of being a part of a circle.

If you feel like you might fit in with a circle, you can either start your own or look for one in your area looking for a new member. You never know, you might find the place that you belong.

Eclectic
This is a group of Wiccans who really don’t have a lot of rules, and are all at multiple different levels. It is great if you do not want to be pressured into having to become great in a short period of time, but the lack of rules and structure can cause a lot of rogues if you are not careful.
Eclectic groups are made up of a lot of different Wiccans, of all different ages. This makes it the most different from covens and circles because with circles, it is generally people around the same age, and with covens, there are groups of ages. And by a certain age, you are expected to be at a certain level. With an eclectic group, you may find a twenty-one-year-old at a level seven, and a forty-year-old at a level two. There is no limit for what level you have to be at what age. You just have to be willing to put in the time, and the effort to become the best you can be. Electic groups are also a little out there when it comes to beliefs. They are like the hippies of the Wiccan world. They have some radical ideas that could change the world, but they are often looked down upon by “civilized” groups such as covens or circles. Because eclectic groups are so different, there is not a lot of information on what they do, but if you want to find out what they do, you could look online for an eclectic forum and learn more about if there is a group in your area taking members

Solitary
Some Wiccans choose to learn the ropes by themselves, rather than let someone else take the reins. This is because they do not want to be steered in the wrong direction due to choosing the wrong group, or because they are just more comfortable being alone.
If you choose to be alone, you have to be good at self-motivating. However, it is a lot easier to learn at your own pace and you don’t have to search for a group.

Wicca for Beginners: A Beginner’s Guide to Mastering Wiccan Beliefs, Rituals, and Magic (Wicca, Wicca Spells, Wicca Books, Wicca Symbols)
Valerie W. Holt

Helpful Hints: Knot Hard

Winter Fantasy Woman Helpful Hints: Knot Hard

If you want to carry a spell around with you but don’t want to lug around a charm bag or such, simply tie a knot into a small piece of string when you first cast the spell (this will find the spell into the string), and tuck it into your wallet or purse.

 

Everyday Witch A to Z: An Amusing, Inspiring & Informative Guide to the Wonderful World of Witchcraft
Deborah Blake

Let’s Talk Witch – Knot Magick

Winter Fantasy Woman Let’s Talk Witch – Knot Magick

A lot of Witchcraft involves what we call sympathetic magick. No, this doesn’t mean doing magick for people you feel sorry for (although that’s okay, too). Sympathetic magick is when you use one thing (a poppet or doll, for instance) to represent another (the person the spell is going to affect).

Knot magick is one of the oldest and simplest forms of sympathetic magick. Its use dates back to ancient Mesopotamia, and it went on to spread through Greece, Rome, and on into the rest of Europe. Although it originated with male mystics, it eventually came to be thought of as “women’s magick” because working with thread was seen as a woman’s occupation. (As if woman’s magick was somehow less powerful because a woman did it. Silly, I know, but there’s the medieval male mind for you.)

Knot magick is a type of sympathetic magick because the knot represents binding. Essentially, tially, you tie the knots as you cast your spell, and this action binds the power of the spell into the thread or cord you are using, making the spell more powerful and longer lasting.

You can tie just one knot or you can use the more traditional practice of using a long cord and tying nine knots, with the first knot at one end, the second at the other end, the third in the middle, the fourth and fifth halfway between the end and the middle, the sixth and seventh between the fourth and fifth and the end, and the last two between the central knot and the ones closest to it. (If this is too confusing, don’t worry about it: just tie nine knots anywhere.)

Either way, remember to focus on the spell you are doing and what you are trying to achieve.

There are many variations on the words to say while you are tying the knots, and you can always just make up your own.

But here is one example I particularly like:
By the knot of one, the spell’s begun.
By the knot of two, it cometh true.
By the knot of three, so mote it be.
By the knot of four, open the door.
By the knot of five, the spell’s alive.
By the knot of six, the spell is fixed.
By the knot of seven, the stars of heaven.
By the knot of eight, the stroke of fate.
By the knot of nine, the thing is mine!

When you are done with your knot magick, remember to put your thread or cord on your altar or someplace else that is safe–there is a lot of power “tied” up in it now.

Everyday Witch A to Z: An Amusing, Inspiring & Informative Guide to the Wonderful World of Witchcraft
Deborah Blake

 

Let’s Talk Witch – Spells

winterLet’s Talk Witch – Spells

Performing a magickal spell is the practice of manifesting thought, emotion, and desire into form and action by your own will. You need to decide what you want to happen as a result of your spell. You must be clear and concise regarding your desired outcome. There are also many factors to think about when casting a spell or ritual. The lunar phases should also play a major role in determining the time and goal of the spell being performed. Karmic consequences and free will should always be taken into account. You also need to think about what type of magickal tools to use; like candles, crystals, incense, herbs, runes, etc.

The lunar phase is important and helps in determining the best time for magick and spell casting. Remember there are basically two lunar phases:
Waxing moon (ideal time for constructive magick) and Waning moon (ideal time for banishing and destructive magick, study, and meditation).

In between you’ll have the dark moon (the time of greatest power for banishing and negative magick) and the full moon (the time of greatest power for positive magick).

Basically, as the moon grows, so grows the opportunity or desire for which you are working. As the moon gets smaller, so does the habit or thing you are trying to overcome or push away from you. Please note that if timing and need are so important that you just can’t wait, then do the spell when needed.

The most important factor in doing a spell is the emotion and mindset of the person casting it. Raising your magickal energy and having the absolute belief in what you are doing is vital. If you are weak, tired, or have doubt, the chances of your spell working are slim and none! Argue for your limitations and they will surely be yours.

When you do a spell, try to not constantly think about it. It is also best to not talk about it or tell others before the spell runs its course.

Spells are like baking a cake. If you keep opening the oven door to check on it, it takes longer to bake and you could even wreck it. You should also keep it secret and not talk about it. Assuming your spell has been performed correctly, it should begin to work within a few days to a couple of weeks. It is generally advised that if results have not manifested within 4 weeks or one lunar cycle- that you re-work your spell.

Spells may fail if done incorrectly or if performed when you are distracted or you are sick. It is also vitally important to remember that the success of magick and spells depend on the energy and desire put into them. So be sure that you are in good health and have a determined and focused mindset when casting your spell.

Sometimes it is just fate or the will of the universe that keeps a spell from working. There could be karmic lessons that you have yet to learn and overcome standing in the way of the spell being successful. Spell casting involves trial and error as well. Remember it is a skill and the more you practice the better and stronger you should get.

The main tenet of Wicca is the “Wicca Rede.” It states, ” and it harm none, do as ye will”. In other words, as long as you don’t hurt anyone, anything goes. Of course, views of what actually causes harm vary from person to person! Many witches also believe that whatever magick you do will come back to you three-fold, so it pays to be careful. Some, however, believe that it is sometimes acceptable to cause harm as long as you are willing to accept the karmic consequence. As with everything else, you have the free will to decide for yourself.

 

 

Blessed Be Introduction to the Craft and Spiritual Magick
Shaman Vitki

 

Let’s Talk Witch – Working with Energy

Crown Prince
Let’s Talk Witch – Working with Energy

To really feel magic, to make spells work and to get the right result from a ritual you need ENERGY.

Every living thing has its own energy, whether it is a flower, a crystal, a person or a pebble. All of the ingredients you might gather together for a spell will have their own individual energies and characteristics. If you use a wand, that has its own energy too, but the real energy comes from YOU.

Working with energy is really a combination, you can draw energy up from the Earth or from an item such as a crystal and you channel it through yourself, but you also add a bit of energy from your inner self as you do so. When you are in ritual you might also call upon the God and Goddess to lend their energy to your workings too, you can raise energy from other sources as well. The elements can provide us with energy too – Earth, Air, Fire and Water all provide sources of energy that we can tap into.

But generally you are also the conduit, you summon the energy, you gather it, you add to it and you direct it.
Everyone has energy within them, everyone has the power to access it, to tap into it and use it. Unfortunately most people have no idea how to do so, and boy are they missing out.

The energy created by our bodies and by the spirit within our bodies is generally referred to as the aura. The energy that flows around and through our bodies is usually referred to as chi.

I would like you to try something now… yep right now… rub both your hands together (palms together) quickly for a few seconds, then very, very slowly pull them apart. Can you feel anything? You should feel a slight pull or a tingling sensation. What you can feel in between your hands is energy, that’s the stuff we want to work with.

Another exercise to try is to hold your hands a couple of feet apart, palms inwards and slowly bring your hands together. You will hopefully start to feel a pressure as your hands get closer, a resistance – again this is energy. (Don’t worry if you don’t feel it at first, sometimes it takes some practice.)

Part of being a witch is to be connected to the Earth, her plants and her creatures, to be aware of the energies around us so that we can connect and interact with them.

You can form the energy and one of the most well used forms is the cone of power. This usually happens within a circle, the energy is raised by chanting and/ or dancing in a circle, the energy builds and forms into an upwardly pointing cone that shapes itself in the centre of the circle and rises skywards. Once the cone is ready and it is felt that no more energy can be added, it is released and sent to its destination.

On a smaller scale we raise and direct energy when we work a spell, for instance a candle spell. We would take the energy from the Earth, channel it through our body and out through our hands and into a candle, this will charge the candle with energy. We add our intent and any other ‘ingredients’ such as herbs and oils. Once the candle is burning it releases the energy we filled it with, that energy then goes on its merry way to fulfil the intent that it was meant for.


Pagan Portals – Kitchen Witchcraft: Crafts of a Kitchen Witch
Rachel Patterson

Let’s Talk Witch – Deosil or Widdershins?

dragons:my red angel

Deosil or Widdershins?

 

I love the use of archaic (that is, really darned old and not in common use anymore) terms in the practice of Witchcraft-I think it gives us a feeling of connection to the Witches who have gone before us. But it can get confusing, too. Two of the most apt-to-befuddle terms are deosil and widdershins (also sometimes seen as windershins). These are both used to tell us which direction to turn in when we are moving in circle. Deosil (DEE-oh-sill or JESS-il) means to turn clockwise, or sunwise. Widdershins (wID-der-shins) is the opposite, or counterclockwise.

Almost all movement inside a magickal circle is done deosil. We cast the circle moving to the right, and once in circle we continue to move in that direction-so that if you get up to go to the altar, for instance, you then continue tinue moving all the way around the circle until you come back to your place. Widdershins is only used to undo things, so it may be used at the end of a ritual to open the circle space or in doing any magick for “undoing” (such as unbinding spells).

 

 

Everyday Witch A to Z: An Amusing, Inspiring & Informative Guide to the Wonderful  World of Witchcraft

Deborah Blake

 

WOTC Extra – The Element Earth

to infinity and beyond:queen of dragons
The Element Earth

What comes to mind when you think about the element Earth?

The first thing I think of is soil, the brown stuff I plant things into in my garden. The soil contains and stores all the minerals and moisture plants need to live. Earth is everything we are, and everything we have comes from this element. We come from it, and at the end of our lives we return to it.

No wonder the Earth element is associated with abundance and prosperity. Earth is where things grow and have their foundation. This is where the association with abundance and prosperity comes from.

Earth is also rock and stones, it makes up the foundation of our planet. It stabilities and grounds us. One of my favourite grounding exercises is to visualize myself as a tree. My roots growing down into the soft, brown soil. Wriggling my roots into it, down to the core of the very planet itself.

Earth is associated with North, with the season of winter and the advancement of old age. Winter, to me at least, is a time of reflecting. The trees and plants and even the animals have all withdrawn into Mother Earth to recuperate, to replenish, ready to venture forth in the spring, renewed and refreshed.

Don’t forget to look after this element, the planet, the environment around you. It can even be something small like picking up a piece of litter.

Earth has the colours of the season of winter; those of the dark nights, brown soil, dark grassy landscape and the white of frost and snow. It is also the time of the Cailleach; she is the Goddess of Winter.

To represent this element you could use a small dish of soil, an earthenware dish, a stone, a pebble, a crystal or even a piece of wood.

Direction: North

Nature: Fertile, nurturing, stabilizing, grounding

Elemental: Gnome

Colours: Green, brown, black, grey, white

Places: Caves, forests, groves, valleys, fields, farms, gardens, parks, kitchens, basements, mines, holes

Magic: Money, prosperity, fertility, stability, grounding, employment, material matters

Herbs/ plants: Patchouli, vertivert, moss, nuts, roots, barley, cotton, cypress, fern, honeysuckle, horehound, knotweed, mugwort, oats, potato, primrose, rhubarb, rye, sorrel, tulip, turnip, wheat

Stones: Emerald, peridot, agate, apache tear, aventurine, orange calcite, carnelian, diamond, fluorite, jade, jasper, jet, malachite, petrified wood, ruby, sugilite, tiger eye, black or green tourmaline, unakite

Metals: Iron, lead Animals: Dog, horse, earthworm, gopher, ant, cow, burrowing animals, wolf, bear

Season: Winter Time: Night

Tool: Pentacle

Signs: Taurus, Virgo, Capricorn

Sense: Touch

Symbols: Salt, clay, soil, rocks, wheat, acorns

Magick type: Gardening, magnet, image, stone, tree, know, binding.

 

Source

Pagan Portals – Kitchen Witchcraft: Crafts of a Kitchen Witch
Rachel Patterson

WOTC Extra – The Element Air

►gOTHic ◄
The Element Air

What do you think of when you think of the element of Air? The image of a bright blue sky with wispy white clouds comes to my mind. The sky is limit less; you can’t see an end to it.

Air is all about intellect, truth and knowledge. Air means truth, truth in who you really are and the freedom that comes with that realization.

Think about the qualities of the wind too, when it whips up the leaves and sends them dancing around. When a wisp of breeze catches your hair. There is nothing quite like the feeling of standing on top of a windy hill with your arms outstretched just letting the wind wrap around you. Don’t forget that Air also has its destructive side, think of hurricanes and tornadoes.

Air represents East, the season of spring and youth. It is the place of hope and new beginnings. We get up, we start each new day fresh with new opportunities to learn and grow. We go out into the world to go about our business.

Spring has the same feeling – fresh, new energy. We have hibernated over winter, dreaming and planning. Now it is time to put those plans into action.

Youth is an exciting and even slightly scary time. We set out on our own, starting to explore the big world for ourselves. New experiences, new people, new ventures. This is the time when we start to discover who we are.

Air is associated with thoughts. We need Air to breath, and therefore to live. The Air we breathe in allows us to think clearly, to clear our minds.

Air has the colours of spring: yellow of the rising sun, the light blue of the sky and white of the clouds. Even pale green and pink of new foliage and blossom of Bride, the Goddess of Spring.

To represent the element of Air you might like to use feathers, incense or spring flowers.

Direction: East

Nature: Flying, moving, intelligence

Elemental: Sylph

Colours: Yellow, pale blue, pink, light green

Places: Mountain tops, plains, cloudy skies, high towers, airports, schools, libraries, offices, travel agents, psychiatrist therapy rooms

Magic: Travel, instruction, study, freedom, knowledge, recovering lost items, creativity, visions, psychic power

Herbs/ plants: Any flowers, agaric, agrimony, anise, benzoin, bergamot, bittersweet, borage, bracken, brazil nut, broom, caraway, chicory, dock, endive, fenugreek, hazel, hops, lemongrass, mace, maple, marjoram, meadowsweet, mint, mistletoe, palm, parsley, pecan, pine, carnelian, chrysoprase, citrine, diamond, fluorite, moldivite, opal, pearl, snow quartz, sapphire, sodalite, blue topaz, blue tourmaline, turquoise

Metals: Tin, copper

Animals: Spider, birds, winged insects

Season: Spring

Time: Dawn

Tool: Wand

Signs: Gemini, Libra, Aquarius

Sense: Hearing, smell

Symbols: Feathers, incense, flowers

Magic type: Divination, concentration, visualization, wind magic

Source

Pagan Portals – Kitchen Witchcraft: Crafts of a Kitchen Witch
Rachel Patterson

Meditation on the Pentacle and Earth

Meditation on the Pentacle and Earth

Into a dark world comes the dawn, the start of a new day coming from the East. The powers of Earth spring from the same source. Buds burst forth into new growth. Animals come out to look at the world as it blooms again and fill their bellies once more, the starvation and hunger of winter at an end. The Earth is our foundation and our stability as we learn to frolic and play.

The powers of Earth are vast and abundant. When she is angry, the ground shakes and trembles, warning us to change our actions and helping to shake us free from standing around and watching life pass us by. The gifts she gives are boundless.

If this element were to be placed on the face of a clock, following the path of the sun, it would be in the east, at dawn, when time is new and the earth is just beginning to burst forth with new life. It is a light, creative time that holds the promise of the day to come.

Similarly, the moon rises in the west, and if a witch wished to follow the lunar cycle, the element would be placed there. The new, waxing moon is a time of promise of things to come. It is a time of bringing things into being and manifesting growth into the world. This is the time of the Maiden, of the Huntress, those who hold the reins of creativity and inspiration.

The earth, for a witch, is symbolized by the pentacle. It may be as elaborate or as simple as is meaningful. Simple rocks have been used along with things as complex as sun catchers, crystal plates, and hand thrown pottery. It is the foundation to all a witch’s works and all her spells and magick. It helps to keep them stable and able to work their magick and let go of themselves into ecstatic states, knowing they will find their way back.

If a stone is to be used, the best kinds are ones that are found out on one of the walks or trips that the witch takes. Tumbled or polished ones will work, but they are somewhat distracting from the natural ties that the pentacle has to the earth at times. If you want a shiny one, purchase a small rock tumbler (Most are less than $20.00) and tumble the rocks that you find outside on your own. Granite also works well, if there is a source nearby, since it has both a rough surface and a glossy one.

Marble is another choice, if available, that is a good option if a fancier pentacle is desired. Since the pentacle represents the north and is the stability that a witch ties her spells to as she casts them, it is the anchor point for a circle. Make certain that your pentacle is sturdy enough to take the strain of these things before you acquire and consecrate it.

Meditation on the Wand

Meditation on the Wand
Take your wand with you to your meditation time. See how it fits into all the things that you have found out about yourself and the element of Air. It is what balances out your weaknesses. Find out how the interaction of the wand and your own self create one unified whole to allow you to work with Air completely.
Once you have truly seen your wand, lift it up. Feel the weight of it and the balance of it. Hold it to you so that it can learn about you. Listen and see how it reacts, learn about its skills and knowledge. You will find that your wand, like all your tools, has its own personality and ideas. This is what you must learn to work with. Once you can, it will help you to bring what you wish into being as well as calling it down and directing it.

Meditation on the Wand and Air

Meditation on the Wand and Air
Think of a dark winter night, cold and harsh. This is the power of the North, of Air. It is the time of midnight, a dark so black that it is almost impossible to see. The wind is bitter and biting, desolate. The snow howls through the land echoing the call of the wolf as he hunts the stag. It is a time to be tested for survival to see how we will fare. Only the strong can survive it. Only those who plan can live through it.
This biting power can also sweep away stagnation and ready us for new things to come. It has the energy to sweep away stagnation and cobwebs. In the early spring, the wind howls just as strongly, but it brings with it the touch of new growth and the coming warmth.
Air is the thinking element, associated with the mind and with creativity. It brings us inspiration and new ideas. This element can help us to create innovative solutions to problems that have existed for many years.
Air is also a destructive force. Each thing in existence has a creative and destructive side. The destructive side of air is the storm, the tornado, the hurricane. It destroys what is not stable and supportive. It shakes up the existing arrangements of things. When one of these storms blows through, things die and make room for the new that will follow.
Both of these are the power of the Air and the North. It holds the power of tornados and the power of new growing things. As we look at the phases of the moon, at this time she is dark, hiding her face from all. It is a time for introspection and rest. Divination is a favored activity at this time as the Goddess rests.
The Wand is closely tied to the element of air. It is the tool that we call things into being with and the tool that we use to ask for blessings. It also has the characteristics of air, that being those of holding creativity and inspiration, thinking and planning, the ability to find new solutions.
Imagine the power of the wind. It can be soft and gentle, blowing across the land in a sun-warmed kiss of spring. It can also be the destructive force of the tornado and the hurricane. The wand, representative of the power of Air, the element of the wind, can be just such a tool. It is the tool representative of the powers of Air and of the North. It holds the power of survival and represents the ability to think and learn.
Wands can be anything that you choose. It can be a branch of hawthorn or a pewter wand with a crystal on the end. Of all the tools, the wand is often the most whimsical, reminding the witch that the religion is not all seriousness and formality. This is a tool of invoking and of calling something into your presence. It is something that you should feel comfortable with and should be non-threatening looking.

WOTC Extra, Extra – The Element Fire & Its Associations

ALL HALLOWS EVE
The Element Fire & Its Associations

Animals: Lions, tigers, and most reptiles. The more fierce an animal is, the stronger its connection to fire.

Colors: Reds and oranges.

Court cards: Knights.

Dragons: Dragons are related to fire for obvious reasons. These mythical fire-breathers can often be called on as guardians and guides.

Function: Feeling.

Phoenixes: Phoenixes are birds that live long lives, and when they die they are reborn from their own ashes. Call to the phoenix when you need to be reborn, too.

Qualities: Heat. Lightness. Brilliance. Rapid motion. Activeness. Generally masculine. Too much fire is hot, hyperactive, and angry. It can lead to insomnia and bad moods like brooding. Not enough can lead to your head feeling foggy, your body feeling sluggish. Fire is inspiring and passionate, bringing change into your life.

Salamanders: Salamanders are connected to the power of fire. Pliny the Elder, a Roman author, noted that the Salamander is “an animal like a lizard in shape and with a body starred all over; it never comes out except during heavy showers and disappears the moment the weather becomes clear.”

Sense: Sight.

Stones: Fire opal

Tarot trump: Judgment.

Tibetan failing: Desire, passion.

Tibetan wisdom: Discriminating Awareness.

Time of day: Noon. Do your magic at this time of day under the hot noon sun and your fire and love spells will be at their strongest.

Types of magic: Love and passion magic. Fire will bring more energy to your spells. It can also be used in destruction magic.

Zodiac: Aries, Leo, Sagittarius

Source

Harnessing Water Magic (A Witch’s Guide to Elemental Magic)
Viivi James

WOTC Extra – The Element Fire & Connecting With It

ALL HALLOWS EVE

The Element Fire & Connecting With It

Close your eyes for just a moment. Imagine yourself holding a candle in your hand, its flame flickering in a gentle wind. All around you is black, the sort of darkness that could hold anything. That darkness means death. The only thing keeping you safe is this lone candle in your hand.

Hold your other hand over that flame, slowly moving it closer to the heat. Feel the warmth, and then the burn when you get too close for just a second. The smoke dances around your hand, lightly caressing your skin. Feel the destructive power of the flame.Pull your hand away, then snap your fingers.

The scene changes. Suddenly, you’re in a forest surrounded by these flames. You open your mouth to scream and smoke strangles your throat. The heat overwhelms you.

Snap your fingers again for a scene change, and now you’re in the arctic. Your bones chatter, your lips clench tight. There is no warmth here, nothing to keep your blood flowing and your skin from freezing.
You’ve now experienced the exact reasons why fire is so closely related to life. Each element is necessary for life, but none are quite so powerfully connected to life or death. Too much fire can ruin you. Not enough fire can, too.

Working with the element of Fire can be powerful, life changing, and transforming just as much as it can be destructive. How you work with Fire will determine if your desires come to fruition or if you’re scorched in the process. Starting small when making your own spells is a necessity here, and fully understanding this element will help you to control it.

Remember to try and find your own associations and meaning while you’re on your journey with Fire. Don’t just rely on what I, or anyone else, tells you.

Source

Harnessing Water Magic (A Witch’s Guide to Elemental Magic)
Viivi James

WOTC Extra – Children and Spells

Celtic princess

Children and Spells

People are sometimes worried about involving children in magic. However, most children are natural witches and magicians, because they are utterly focused upon want they want (‘ Give it to me’), have wonderful imagination and can usually concentrate sharply, although for only short periods. Besides this, they are free from so many of the preconceptions and doubts that cluster around us as adults.

As an example of how we ‘learn not to believe’, the story of the landing in South America of the explorer Magellan illustrates the point. The natives welcomed the Europeans as they disembarked from their boats, but they were totally unable to see the larger ships that had brought them, for to them so immense an ocean-going vessel was simply an impossibility. So all that they could see was the sea, stretching unbroken to the horizon! It is worthwhile absorbing this anecdote and realizing to how great an extent we structure our own reality, and that it is subjective, not objective. Don’t be tempted to put this down to the limited intelligence of primitive natives, for it has nothing to do with intelligence and everything to do with conditioning and human attitude.

Needless to say, young children should never be exposed to complex rituals that they do not understand and that could frighten them, or be exploited in any way by adults. Nor is it suitable to initiate them into a spiritual pathway, such as witchcraft, until they are old enough to understand and make choices. However, never underestimate or patronize the magical abilities of young people. My best, most successful spells were done when I was too young to know what I was doing. Children can be useful. Many’s the time, on my way into town, I’ve said to my sons ‘We’re getting a parking space, where we need one. Visualize it, We need it. We’re getting it: And we do.
 

Source

Spells and Rituals: A Beginners Guide To Spells And Rituals
Gabby Benson