Tag: Gatherings

(One Person’s View Point) Familiars In Witchcraft and Paganism

Familiars are an often talked about and highly debated topic in the witchy world.

As with most things, I don’t personally believe there is a “right” or “wrong” way to think about them, but there are definitely many options. I’ll share a few of them and let you know what I believe!

Familiars Throughout History

Familiars have made appearances for a variety of purposes and in a variety of ways throughout time.

Some perspectives view them as demons that inhabit the bodies of small animals like cats, dogs, rats, birds, and toads. They are there to help a witch with their workings.

In some cases familiars have even said to exist in human form!

Some accounts describe inheriting familiars through family members, covens, or mentors, usually around the time of an initiation. Witches were also thought to be presented with a familiar after making a deal with the devil.

Others say a witch’s familiar will appear to them out of the blue during mundane activities.

During the European witch hunts, animals believed to be familiars were often used as evidence of witchcraft. Even the presence of a fly or bee was enough to convince some witch hunters of an accused witch’s guilt!

Familiars Today

Today, familiars are not seen as something negative and Click here to finish reading this article about familiars on apaganmess.com

Celtic Tree Month – Hawthorn Tree May 13 – June 9

Hawthorn Tree – Spring

The Hawthorn is a prickly sort of plant with beautiful blossoms. Called Huath by the ancient Celts, and pronounced Hoh-uh, the Hawthorn month is a time of fertility, masculine energy, and fire. Coming right on the heels of Beltane, this month is a time when male potency is high — if you’re hoping to conceive a child, get busy this month! The Hawthorn has a raw, phallic sort of energy about it — use it for magic related to masculine power, business decisions, making professional connections. The Hawthorn is also associated with the realm of Faerie, and when the Hawthorn grows in tandem with an Ash and Oak, it is said to attract the Fae.

From LearnReligions.com

Hawthorn Tree – Summer

The Hawthorn is Known in Ireland as the fairy tree. It is often referred to as the gentle bush, lone bush or thorn, as it is disrespectful to mention the fairies by name.

As it is considered a fairy tree, it is believed to be extremely bad luck to cut one down, remove branches, or even hang things upon it (except at Beltane when this was customary) in case you disturb the little folk.

This belief has survived into modern times.

In 1999 work was interrupted on the main road from Limerick to Galway because a fairy tree stood in its path. The road had to be rerouted and construction was delayed for 10 years.

In 2009 there were numerous sightings of an ancient ghost thought to reappear in Tyrone after the felling of a fairy tree.

Few people will speak of the fairy tree out of a mixture of fear and respect and even fewer would ever remove or damage a hawthorn standing alone.

Couples fell in love under the hawthorn blossom

Contrary to these beliefs, in Britain, the hawthorn was associated with love and …

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Hawthorn Tree Leaves and Fruit

(One Person’s View Point) Fertility Deities of Beltane

Fertility Deities of Beltane

Beltane is a time of great fertility — for the earth itself, for animals, and of course for people as well. This season has been celebrated by cultures going back thousands of years, in a variety of ways, but nearly all shared the fertility aspect. Typically, this is a Sabbat to celebrate gods of the hunt or of the forest, and goddesses of passion and motherhood, as well as agricultural deities. Here are a list of gods and goddesses that can be honored as part of your tradition’s Beltane rituals.

Artemis (Greek): The moon goddess Artemis was associated with the hunt and was seen as a goddess of forests and hillsides. This pastoral connection made her a part of spring celebrations in later periods.

Bes (Egyptian): Worshiped in later dynasties, Bes was a household protection god, and watched over mothers and young children. He and his wife, Beset, were paired up in rituals to cure problems with infertility.

Bacchus (Roman): Considered the equivalent of Greek god Dionysus, Bacchus was the party god — grapes, wine, and general debauchery were his domain. In March each year, Roman women could attend secret ceremonies called the bacchanalia, and he is associated with sexual free-for-alls and fertility.

Cernunnos (Celtic): Cernunnos is a horned god found in Celtic mythology. He is connected with male animals, particularly the stag in rut, and this has led him to be associated with fertility and vegetation. Depictions of Cernunnos are found in many parts of the British Isles and western Europe. He is often portrayed with a beard and wild, shaggy hair — he is, after all, the lord of the forest.

Flora (Roman): This goddess of spring and flowers had her own festival, Floralia, which was celebrated every year between April 28 to May 3. Romans dressed in bright robes and floral wreaths, and attended theater performances and outdoor shows. Offerings of milk and honey were made to the goddess.

Hera (Greek): This goddess of marriage was the equivalent of the Roman Juno, and took it upon herself to bestow good tidings to new brides. A maiden about to marry could make offerings to Hera, in the hopes that she would bless the marriage with fertility. In her earliest forms, she appears to have been a nature goddess, who presides over wildlife and nurses the young animals which she holds in her arms.

Kokopelli (Hopi): This flute-playing, dancing spring god carries unborn children upon his own back, and then passes them out to fertile women. In the Hopi culture, he is part of rites that relate to marriage and childbearing, as well as the reproductive abilities of animals. Often portrayed with rams and stags, symbolic of his fertility, Kokopelli occasionally is seen with his consort, Kokopelmana.

Pan (Greek): This agricultural god watched over shepherds and their flocks. He was a rustic sort of god, spending lots of time roaming the woods and pastures, hunting and playing music on his flute. Pan is typically portrayed as having the hindquarters and horns of a goat, similar to a faun. Because of his connection to fields and the forest, he is often honored as a spring fertility god.

Priapus (Greek): This fairly minor rural god has one giant claim to fame — his permanently erect and enormous phallus. The son of Aphrodite by Dionysus (or possibly Zeus, depending on the source), Priapus was mostly worshiped in homes rather than in an organized cult. Despite his constant lust, most stories portray him as sexually frustrated, or even impotent. However, in agricultural areas he was still regarded as a god of fertility, and at one point he was considered a protective god, who threatened sexual violence against anyone — male or female — who transgressed the boundaries he guarded.

Sheela-na-Gig (Celtic): Although the Sheela-na-Gig is technically the name applied to the carvings of women with exaggerated vulvae that have been found in Ireland and England, there’s a theory that the carvings are representative of a lost pre-Christian goddess. Typically, the Sheela-na-Gig adorns buildings in areas of Ireland that were part of the Anglo-Norman conquests in the 12th century. She is shown as a homely woman with a giant yoni, which is spread wide to accept the seed of the male. Folkloric evidence indicates that the figures are theory that the figures were part of a fertility rite, similar to “birthing stones”, which were used to bring on conception.

Xochiquetzal (Aztec): This fertility goddess was associated with spring, and represented not only flowers but the fruits of life and abundance. She was also the patron goddess of prostitutes and craftsmen.

Source: Patti Wigington Published on ThoughtCo

Some of the Witchcraft/Magickal Correspondence for Beltane

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Crafts for the Beltane Sabbat

Click here to read all the Beltane craft ideas Source: learnreligions.com

April’s showers have given way to rich and fertile earth, and as the land greens, there are few celebrations as representative of fertility as Beltane. Observed on May 1st (or October 31-November 1 for our Southern Hemisphere readers), festivities typically begin the evening before, on the last night of April. It’s a time to welcome the abundance of the fertile earth, and a day that has a long (and sometimes scandalous) history.

Crafts for the Pagan Beltane Sabbat

As Beltane approaches, you can decorate your home (and keep your kids entertained) with a number of easy craft projects. Start celebrating a bit early with fun floral crowns and a Maypole altar centerpiece, do some meditative braiding, or even get to the know the Fae! A few simple seasonal crafts are a great way to celebrate the Beltane Sabbat. There’s more to this time of year than just plants and greenery, so be sure to check out these simple craft ideas!

Make a Spring Floral Crown…

Maypole Altar Centerpiece…

Make a Faerie Chair…

Make a May Day Cone Basket…

    The History Behind May Day Flower Baskets…

    Make Your Own May Day Basket…

Magical Weaving and Braiding…

Beltane Fire Incense…

Wigington, Patti. “Crafts for the Beltane Sabbat.” Learn Religions, Feb. 25, 2026, learnreligions.com/crafts-for-the-beltane-sabbat-4126784.

For Your Listening Pleasure – Beltane

A Pagan Love Song (Beltane)

Let’s Have Some Fun – Samhain

Let’s Have Some Fun – Beltane

(One Person’s View Point) Samhain (Sow-en) – The Celtic roots of Halloween

As millions of children and adults participate in the fun of Halloween on the night of October 31st, few will be aware of its ancient Celtic roots in the Samhain (Samain) festival. In Celtic Ireland about 2,000 years ago, Samhain was the division of the year between the lighter half (summer) and the darker half (winter). At Samhain the division between this world and the otherworld was at its thinnest, allowing spirits to pass through.

The family’s ancestors were honoured and invited home whilst harmful spirits were warded off. People wore costumes and masks to disguise themselves as harmful spirits and thus avoid harm. Bonfires and food played a large part in the festivities. The bones of slaughtered livestock were cast into a communal fire, household fires were extinguished and started again from the bonfire. Food was prepared for the living and the dead, food for the ancestors who were in no position it eat it, was ritually shared with the less well off.

Christianity incorporated the honouring of the dead into the Christian calendar with All Saints (All Hallows) on November 1st, followed by All Souls on November 2nd. The wearing of costumes and masks to ward off harmful spirits survived as Halloween customs. The Irish emigrated to America in great numbers during the 19th century especially around the time of famine in Ireland during the 1840’s. The Irish carried their Halloween traditions to America, where today it is one of the major holidays of the year. Through time other traditions have blended into Halloween, for example the American harvest time tradition of carving pumpkins.

Two hills in the Boyne Valley were associated with Samhain in Celtic Ireland, Tlachtga and Tara. Tlachtga was the location of the Great Fire Festival which begun on the eve of Samhain (Halloween). Tara was also associated with Samhain, however it was secondary to Tlachtga in this respect.

The entrance passage to the Mound of the Hostages on the Hill of Tara is aligned with the rising sun around Samhain. The Mound of the Hostages is… Click here to read the rest of this article about Samhain

Spell for Tomorrow – Simple Hoodoo Spells for Protection

(YOU CAN COPY AND PASTE ANY SPELLS POSTED TO A DOCUMENT TO PRINT AND/OR SAVE ON YOUR COMPUTER FOR PERSONAL USE ONLY.)

To Keep Someone From Using Foot Track Spells Against You

Ingredients:
– Red Pepper
– Your Right Shoe
Place the red pepper inside your right shoe to prevent foot track spells from being able to latch on to you.

Silver Dime to Prevent Hoodoo

Ingredients:
– Silver Dime
– Drill
– Leather Throng
Drill a hole into the silver dime and string it with the leather throng. Wearing this amulet will protect you from others attempting to Hoodoo you.

Rattle Snake Skin For Protection Against Bewitchment

Ingredients: – Shed Rattle Snake Skin
Carry the shed rattlesnake skin on your person to prevent others from bewitching you. (If you kill the snake it will not work the reason being that any bewitchment cast on you will rebound to the snake.)

To Protect Against Evil Forces

Ingredients: – Horseshoe
Place the horseshoe over top your front door to keep evil forces from entering the home.

Cinnamon Bath for Protection Against Evil Forces

Ingredients:
– Cinnamon
– Bath
Tub Run a bath sprinkling in ground cinnamon. Make sure to fully submerge yourself to wash away any negative influences that may have attached themselves to you.

Source: Gray’s Pocket Book Of Hoodoo Protection Spells: (Gray’s Pocket Books Series Book 3) by Deran Gray

A Little Humor for Your Day

 

I hope the rest of your and your family have a day and evening that is relaxing, filled with fun, laughter, and love. Always remember to take a little me time every day to recharge yourself!

Merry part until we merry meet again!

Spell for Tomorrow – Healing Charm to Banish Sickness

(YOU CAN COPY AND PASTE ANY SPELLS POSTED TO A DOCUMENT TO PRINT AND/OR SAVE ON YOUR COMPUTER FOR PERSONAL USE ONLY)

HEALING CHARM TO BANISH SICKNESS

A charm to banish sickness is make by placing a gold coin in a glass of red wine.
Put this beneath the stars and waning moon for three nights, and each night drink one
third of the wine to shrink your sickness until it’s gone.

This originated in rural Welsh regions,
with some similar spells appearing in Scotland and England.

Sun Phases – Sunset

Sun Phases – Sunset

The predominant energies of sunset provide a suitable condition for spellwork requiring reduction or alleviation. This phase lends itself to the removal of stress and confusion, hardship, and depression, and the disclosure of deception. It is also a good time for dieting magick.

To seal spells performed at sunset, use this chant or one of your own choosing:

Oh Setting Sun of passing day,

Aid me in Your gentle way.

Take this spell, oh Ancient One:

Give it Your strength as You pass on.

Sun Phases – Afternoon

Sun Phases – Afternoon

As the Sun journeys downward, His energies take on a receptive quality. Use this phase to work efforts involving professionalism, business matters, communications, and clarity. It is also of benefit for spellwork involving exploration and travel.

To seal spells performed in the afternoon, use this chant or one of your own choosing:

Aging One of Amber Light:

Hearken! Hear me! Aid my plight!

Take this spell where it must go,

And give it power that it might grow.

Sun Phases – Morning

Sun Phases – Morning

During the morning hours, the energy of the Sun expands and becomes strong and active. Any project that requires building, growth, or expansion work well during this phase. This is an excellent time to build upon the positive aspects in your life, to resolve situations where courage is necessary, and to add warmth and harmony to your home. Morning-Sun energy is also of benefit when performing plant magick or working spells for financial increase.

To seal spells performed in the morning, use this chant or one of your own choosing:

Oh Brother Sun of growing strength,

Come to me and stay at length.

Wrap this spell with intensity,

And add to it Your potency.

Sun Phases – Noon

Sun Phases – Noon

The influence of the Sun reaches its peak at high noon. This vibration is excellent for performing efforts that involved the mental abilities, health and physical energy. It is also of value when charging crystals, stones or metal ritual tools such as athames, censors, and cauldrons.

To seal spells performed at midday, use this chant or one of your own choosing:

Father Sun, of strength and might,

Aid this spell in taking flight

To its target, now please guide—

Increase its power as it flies.

Sun Phases – Sunrise

Sun Phases – Sunrise

Sunrise lends its energies to beginnings, change, and cleansing. This phase is beneficial to magickal workings that involve new endeavors in employment, love or direction in life. Rejuvenation matters such as renewing hope and trust, good health, or even mending a broken heart also benefit from this energy.

To seal spells performed at sunrise, use this chant or one of your own choosing:

Oh, Youngest Babe, so newly born,

Help me on this bright new morn.

Aid this spell with Your fresh power.

And strengthen it with every hour.

Spell for Tomorrow – 6 New Moon Spells

(YOU CAN COPY AND PASTE ANY SPELLS POSTED TO A DOCUMENT TO PRINT AND/OR SAVE ON YOUR COMPUTER FOR PERSONAL USE ONLY. You can find the origin of the spell by clicking on the hyperlink.)

New moon spells are always done during the new moon and are used to drawn in a desired outcome.  New moon love spells will bring in a new love or solidify an existing relationship.  New moon money spells are used to draw in money versus decrease bills.  Focus on bringing in your desires versus pushing away something you don’t want during the new moon phase.  New moon magick can be as simple as a bath ritual to draw in good fortune and new blessings. We wish you many blessings using these spells for tonight’s new moon. We hope you get everything you desire!

6 New Moon Spells Source: ezspells.com

New Moon Wicca Protection Spell

Before beginning create a calm environment. Do this by meditating, listening to calm music, taking a bath or something else that helps you to create a safe and calm environment.

Take three deep breaths, imagine a silver light that flows into your body. This is the energy of the Moon Goddess.

Take three deep breaths and imagine a golden light flowing into your body, this is the energy of the Sun God.

Take three deep breaths and imagine a white light flowing into your body, this is the joint energy of the Universal Life Force. Then say the below three times.

“Blessed be my feet that walk the path of mystery. Blessed are my knees bending before the sacred altar.  Blessed be my heart, molded in beauty and love. Blessed be my lips, who pronounce sacred names. Open your arms to welcome protection and love. 

Head over to our Protection Spells page more.

New Moon Wish Spell

Items needed:

  • Piece of paper
  • Candle – chose the color based on your wish
  • Write your wish on a piece of paper.  Then light your candle.
  • While looking at the new moon chant the below three times.

“New moon so dark in the night sky.  That cannot be seen with a naked eye.  Grant me your dark energy to see.  The new and good coming to me.  Grant me the power of dreams so true so I can start my life anew.  Grant me strength day by day.  Mistress of darkness, show me the way.  Grant me love in my life.  Take away trouble and strife.  Grant me peace I ask of you.  On bad times help me through.  O’ Goddess of Night so divine.  If you have heard me show me a sign.”

Burn the paper in the flame, imagine your wish and look into the night sky.

New Moon Money Spell

Items Needed:

  • 3 Shiny Silver Coins
  • Piece of Paper or Tissue

Wrap the three coins in the paper.  Make sure they can’t fall out.  Hold the package in your hand, close your eyes and focus on the coins multiplying.  Ask that no harm comes to anyone.  Bury the coins in the earth.  If you cannot bury the coins, you can use a pot filled with soil.  When the money arrives, you can remove the coins if you wish. 

For more money magical spells, check out our Wiccan Spells

New Moon Bath Ritual for Restoration and Replenishment

Items needed:

  • Bath
  • Salt
  • Candles
  • Herbs: mugwart, rosemary, cardamom, ginger, basil, bay leaf, yarrow
  • Oil: rose, cedarwood, sandalwood
  • Flower petals: lavender, marigold, rose
  • Crystals: rose quartz, black tourmaline, clear quartz, florite

Fill your bath, add salt, surround the tub with candles and crystals. Add the herbs, oils and flower petals of your choice and relax.  Say the below while you melt into relaxation.

“I am renewed with this new moon. I am replenished  I am open to new beginnings.”

“I am restored by sacred cosmic vibration. I am divinely protected. I relinquish the weight of that which no longer serves me. My spirit is awake, My path is revealed, I am open to receive.”

“I welcome transformation, I welcome growth, I welcome abundance, I know what I need.  I am ready.”

Let Go: New Moon Ritual

Items needed:

  • Bath
  • Candle
  • Crystals
  • Incense
  • Sage

Set intensions: Plan, Visualize, Find Focus, Dream, Make a Vision Board

During bath:  LET GO, relax, take deep breaths

Visualize what doesn’t serve you, write it down and destroy it.

Imagine it flies away or burns.

FORGIVE yourself and others

This is a great spell to cast in combination with our Healing Spells

New Moon Love Spell

Items Needed:

  • Pink Cord or Yarn around 12”
  • Pink Candle
  • Salt and Pepper Shaker
  • Jasmine Incense
  • Atraction Oil
  • Dragons Blood Incense

New moon rituals for love are focuses on drawing in the love you desire. New moon love spells free yourself and drawn in what you desire.

Begin by casting a circle at your altar with the help of some salt and mark an outline of the circle. Take the pink candle and rub it with your attraction oil.  Place the candle in the center of the circle.

Place one of the incenses on the left and the other on the right of the circle.  Now light the incense and candle.  Hold the pink cord and bind it to the salt shaker and say the below:

“Goddess be with me, the salt shaker is me.”

Take the pepper shaker and tie it on the other end of the cord and say the below:

“The pepper shaker is the love I seek.”

Tie the shakers together and keep them in front of the candle.  Meditate, wish and pray for pure love to come to you.  Imagine a good life with your partner, imagine doing all the things you want to do with them.  Meditate well and once you feel you have meditated enough, blow out the candle.  The next morning, untie the shakers and light the candle.  Then retie them again.  Do this again for seven days.  By the end of the seventh day your lover will enter your life in some way.

This spell can be done in combination with our Obsession Spells, Charmed Spells and Free Love Spells for a Specific Person.

Spell For Tomorrow – Hand of Time Spell

(YOU CAN COPY AND PASTE ANY SPELLS POSTED TO A DOCUMENT TO PRINT AND/OR SAVE ON YOUR COMPUTER FOR PERSONAL USE ONLY. You can find the origin of the spell is at the end of this.)

When dealing with a weekly spell guide, Mondays are thought to be the logical day for money, love, time and meditation spells. Since Mondays are thought to be the start of the work week, it gives plenty of time for a Monday spell to gain strength throughout the rest of the week.

Hand of Time Spell

Items you will need:

Both hands
6 fingers

Hold both of your hands in front of you. Stare at your hands, noticing your palms and fingers, for about thirty seconds. Then, say this chant one time:

“Palms sweaty,
From watching clocks.
No more.
One finger,
For every ten docked.
Seconds in a minute
1440 in a day.
Stop a few,
For singing birds
And trees that sway.”

This should feel like time has slowed-down and allowed you to appreciate life more.

Source: A Witch’s Week of Spells and Activities by Helga C. Loueen

A Little Humor for Your Day

 

I hope the rest of your and your family have a day and evening that is relaxing, filled with fun, laughter, and love. Always remember to take a little me time every day to recharge yourself!

Merry part until we merry meet again!