Grasping Witchcraft

Grasping Witchcraft

Author: Charmed By The Moon

I know the title is a bit misleading as Witchcraft isn’t something we can physically hold. In fact, it’s more of something we can embrace and become. I’m referring more to the idea of getting a hold on it, seeing it, understanding it and living it.

I’ve been on this road for so long but haven’t made the true connection to the facts and ideas that are Witchcraft. There is so much to learn and so much to do and so much to envelop, it can often feel like a horse running down the road and I’m trying to get a rope on it to bring it back in again. It gets away from me sometimes. It becomes too big for me to truly grasp and hold close to me.

Some would say, “Well faith isn’t something you can capture; it is a free moving spirit of the Universe knowing no bounds, limits, or time”.

I agree to a point.

How do Christians and Jewish and Muslim people get a hold of their religion? I believe in some cases it is indoctrinated into them at birth and they have spent years studying and applying what they learn through weekly ritual, holidays etc. They have parents and family and friends in the same realms and it becomes a part of their life.

They have many years of preparation and teaching to reach the important milestones of their particular faith. There are huge parties and gatherings of celebration, families bonding and loving, and a strong sense of community.

That’s fine and wonderful if you are of a major Belief System but what about us? Or should I say me?

What about the Witchcraft of today and how it is still perceived by our peers?

There is no building to belong to, no sense of community really. No one wants to hear how you just made a second initiation and chose a new name. No one wants to know what crystals you bought for ritual. No one cares about the books and discoveries you are making.

Point is unless you have friends and family in the know, you don’t have any real support or ways to learn and certainly no one to celebrate with that might matter to you.

I do have a partner in my life and for that I am grateful and he too is on the same road as I but he knows about as much as I do. We can share moments and lessons but we still need more, still need direction so I set it as my personal goal to gain enlightenment on a different level at least for myself.

That leaves us on fact-finding missions. It leaves us open to strangers in our Belief System to guide us. (Some of which I have to say based on personal experience are total flakes!) Or, we meet people whom ‘don’t owe us anything’ and they choose not to teach what they have learned or even help to get us started. Fine. They have the right.

Next we have books by 1, 000 authors at least! Some writers and practitioners are on the same page, others are more complex, more don’t make any sense, some are so busy saying “this is the only way” and how do they really know? Books are great but there is no real way to ask a book a question! No way to talk to the author directly so it leaves many an unanswered query. So then we move to the online world and there is no real way to know if the person on the other end is real or not, what their motivations are, what they represent and where do they get their information. I suppose you can find a local coven and hope they accept you if your willing to do the work. Again these are strangers and you are in a vulnerable state as it is and for some insecure people they can fall into a terrible way.

It can be such a lonely world and very disheartening. There had to be a better way and I think I may have found it! I had to put some trust in someone I didn’t know and I am pleasantly surprised to say the least.

I paid for my classes. I exchanged money for knowledge.

Granted it isn’t a lot but there is a personal responsibility to each person and we carry it out. I know there are many people who are telling me that I shouldn’t have to pay. I can find information everywhere and yes, I have indeed found info. I’ve found so much I can’t organize it all and I don’t know how to manage one particular sect of Witchcraft.

I’m overwhelmed. I need direction, accountability, projects, motivation, detail, organization and even coaching.

That’s it!

I needed a Witch Coach! I needed someone to break it down and give me a starting point.

So, after a 2-year search and investigation I did come across one woman. She teaches many classes in person as well as correspondence and her style completely resonates with me, and I like her! I like the way she thinks. I like how she isn’t all about props and deliverance as much as common sense and developing natural ability. I got a cool little lesson book with projects, ritual ideas, reading material, supplies to buy, etc. and a nice note saying to me “Welcome” and a few other things.

I loved it. Granted I’ve not had a conversation with her yet and I will soon but I still felt like someone was at least a nice person and to the point. Anyone can say welcome to the group but I picked up a sincere feeling.

Upon receiving my materials I set out to start by doing the first lesson and I am still doing them day-by-day.

I feel good and I feel like I might actually one day grasp the element of being a Witch. I know I am one. I always knew but didn’t know how to get it off the ground.

It isn’t a race to ensue one’s faith; it is a journey of mind, body and spirit and it is meant to be as such. I want to taste it in my breath, feel it in my soul, and wake everyday knowing I am special and I know what many others do not know but seek.

No one can become anything over night. it takes study and determination and a natural love of what your doing. It takes wanting it more than you’ve wanted anything and not giving up because it becomes hard. In reality if we don’t learn how to do things right, we can cause more harm than good.

In all the information I’ve gathered in four years I couldn’t differentiate what was bogus and what was truth and then who deemed it to be truthful? I discovered I have to find my own truth in what makes sense to me and what calls to me.

I found it, finally.

Daily Feng Shui Tip for December 27th

You know what they say — there’s no place like OM for the holidays! Ancient scriptures from Eastern cultures tell us that the ‘OM’ is the mother all languages and that repetition of the word enables us to maintain mental and emotional calmness, overcome all obstacles and facilitate deeper understanding of the circumstances and situations in our lives. OM is the primordial breath. Take a minute to give yourself a break and a boost by using the power of your OM breath. Lie down and keep one hand over your heart and one over your abdomen. The hand that is over the belly should have the thumb over the belly button and the other four fingers below. The fingers of both hands should be spread. Breathing in through the nose, take in a big bit of air and pull it into your belly so it puffs up like a balloon. As you slowly exhale back out through the nose, visualize your breath as a silver ball of light traveling from your belly, down and around and then back up your spine, over your head and out your nose again. Do this three times in succession to successfully oxygenate your blood while massaging and bringing a big boost of energy to all of your organs. Man, OM Man, you’ll feel a lot better after doing this empowering exercise!

By Ellen Whitehurst for Astrology.com

Today’s Tarot Card for December 27th is The Fool

The Fool

This Tarot Deck: Aquarian

General Meaning: Pamela Coleman-Smith’s artful rendition of an “innocent Fool” archetype (Rider-Waite deck) is often used to represent Tarot in general. Early classical versions of the Fool card, however, portray quite a different character — a person driven by base needs and urges, who has fallen into a state of poverty and deprivation.

In some instances, he is made out to be a carnival entertainer or a huckster. In others, he is portrayed as decrepit and vulnerable — as the cumulative result of his delusions and failures. Not until the 20th century do you see the popular Rider-Waite image of the Fool arise — that of an innocent Soul before its Fall into Matter, as yet untainted by contact with society and all its ills.

Modern decks usually borrow from the Rider-Waite imagery. Most Fool cards copy the bucolic mountainside scene, the butterfly, the potential misplaced step that will send the Fool tumbling into the unknown. Don’t forget, however, that the earlier versions of this card represented already-fallen humanity, over-identified with the material plane of existence, and beginning a pilgrimage towards self-knowledge, and eventually, wisdom. The Fool reminds us to recognize the path of personal development within ourselves — and the stage upon that path where we find ourselves — in order to energize our movement toward deeper self-realization.

Daily Feng Shui Tip for December 26th

On ‘National Thank You Note Day’ you could get out your red pen and your stationary and start writing all those obligatory notes of thanks. Or you can say ‘Thank HU’ the way I do. That’s right. I say ‘Thank HU’ as often as I can, especially when trying to chant that same sacred seed sound at least 108 times throughout the day. Phonetically pronounced, this second word of that appreciative phrase sounds like the name ‘Hugh’ and has long been believed to be ‘woven into the language of life. It is the Sound of all sounds. It is the wind in the leaves, falling rain, thunder of jets, singing of the birds, the awful rumble of a tornado’ or so says common philosophy. Chant the sound ‘HU’ silently or aloud. Some say that you should chant for twenty minutes while others say that this sound connects you with the Originator of All Life within a few seconds of intoning it. But everyone in touch with this miraculous sound agrees that chanting it for any amount of time will open your heart to divine love and transform your very existence. When you chant this sacred seed sound/name of God you will experience more love, more joy and more freedom, as well as the sort of beautiful uplifting energy that is your birthright. If that’s not something to be grateful for, I don’t know what is. Sing this sound while you write all those ‘thank you’ notes today and you’ll get the gift that keeps on giving!

By Ellen Whitehurst for Astrology.com

Your Number of the Day: 8

You may be the recipient of an unexpected financial reward today. It’s a great day to focus on promotion and sales. Social gatherings may bring good news and positive new connections; don’t turn down any invitations!

Fast Facts

About the Number 8

Theme: Power, Responsibility, Good Judgment, Financial Rewards
Astro Association: Leo
Tarot Association: Strength

Feng Shui for the New Year

Feng Shui for the New Year

  • Betsy Stang

A new year is like a new doorway. A new year offers a new chance to bring who we truly are into manifestation. Each turn of the wheel has its wisdom. What does the wisdom of the New Year hold for you? Your home? Are there obstacles in your way?

In the Northern Hemisphere the New Year follows shortly after winter solstice, the time of year with the longest night, the time of the Great Yin, the Dark Feminine, when the energy of all growing things goes deepest into the ground. We are each given this time to dream of what we might become as the light and growth return.

In the ancient Chinese traditions this is the time of K’un—The Receptive, Earth

The Receptive brings about sublime success,
Furthering through the perseverance of a mare.
If the superior man undertakes something and tries to lead,
He goes astray;
But if he follows, he finds guidance.
It is favorable to find friends in the west and south,
To forego friends in the east and north.
Quiet perseverance brings good fortune.

The elements of spring are sleeping in the dark with the bears and moles and many other animals. In Native American traditions this is a time for dreaming, storytelling, coming together as community and of contacting the spirits of the Earth.

This is not a time to reach outside for answers, but to go deep within.
As we go in, we notice.

Notice your home. What patterns are outmoded? Where are the obstacles to your realization of self? Look at piles of what is not being used. Is there a tool, a skill you have, clothing, computers, cameras that you no longer use? Are they outmoded? Will you use their gifts? If not they need to move along, so give those possessions away. If you are not willing to pass them along, then use them.

Do you have old obligations and debts you have not dealt with? It’s time to clear them too, at least begin to gather the information you will need. It is not possible to truly move into prosperity and abundance, until you are in full integrity with yourself.

All traditions celebrate this time as new birth and the return of sun from its journey to the southern hemisphere. Be gentle with your new beginnings they are infants and need to be nourished until the sap starts to flow in early February.

Make small movements. Allow yourself quiet time. Listen. Clear, clean, restage resting and work places of your life. And bring sustainable light into the time of dark.

In the new year, as you sit cozy in your home, remember there are always those who are cold and hungry or in the dark. Can you pass along something you no longer need to someone who may need it more? Not just people, the animals need your help now too. Can you find a way to share your wisdom and prosperity with those who have no voice? The ancient Chinese masters said: “Feed the Earth, feed the fish and the birds and your world will be abundant.”

May you be a steward of the earth and have a new year full of abundance and joy.

—The Rev. Betsy Stang

Your Daily Number for December 24th: 4

Your courage may be challenged today, but no obstacle is too great if you work with diligence and resolve. Keep track of all details; an opportunity is at hand. You are steadily making a stellar impression on those with whom you work.

Fast Facts

About the Number 4

Theme: Form, Work, Order, Practicality, Discipline
Astro Association: Aries
Tarot Association: Emperor

Bright Blessings To You, My Dear Friends!

Blessed Be Comments
Bright Blessings

 

Earth Mother
Giver of life
Strengthen me during my life-long strife.
Teach me Your ways of perfect love,
peace, and wisdom true.
Spawn from my purest heart
These words to You
May this prayer help me to better
myself in word and deed,
To a higher plane I shall succeed.
Beautiful Light of Goodness Fair
Lore of old we both do share
A Witch’s brew, I drink to You
My love for You, by day, by night
In thought and in sight
Will my soul learn
the meaning of this life again.

 ~ Author Unknown ~  

~Magickal Graphics~

Daily Feng Shui Tip for December 23rd

Take a break from all the holiday hoopla and do something special just for you today. Go for a long walk in the fresh air and count all your many blessings. Take a bike ride if climate and location permit. Do anything that takes you outside your head, your office or your home. Connect with nature by hugging or just touching a tree. Some Shamans say that sitting with your back against a tree will do more to keep you rooted and grounded than any amount of the same style of meditations. Celtic cultural tradition tells us that touching wood, usually with the right hand, is a custom that has long been thought to bestow the benevolence of Mother Nature upon you and everyone you love. Many other cultures believe that touching wood while discussing new projects or ideas will encourage those efforts to spread roots and grow while also being shaded from failure or misfortune! So show the universe that you mean business and swallow some vitamin E (as in Ellen’s Empowering advice!) during these hectic holidays by giving yourself a much deserved and all-natural break! It will do you good — knock wood!

By Ellen Whitehurst for Astrology.com

Today’s Tarot Card for December 23rd is The Sun

The Sun

This Tarot Deck: Gummy Bear Tarot

General Meaning: What has traditionally been known as the Sun card is about the self — who you are and how you cultivate your personality and character. The earth revolves around the sun to make up one year of a person’s life, a fact we celebrate on our birthday.

The Sun card could also be titled “Back to Eden.” The Sun’s radiance is where one’s original nature or unconditioned Being can be encountered in health and safety. The limitations of time and space are stripped away; the soul is refreshed and temporarily protected from the chaos outside the garden walls.

Under the light of the Sun, Life reclaims its primordial goodness, truth and beauty. If one person is shown on this card, it is usually signifying a human incarnation of the Divine. When two humans are shown, the image is portraying a resolution of the tension between opposites at all levels. It’s as if this card is saying “You can do no wrong — it’s all to the good!”

Daily Feng Shui Tip for December 22

On ‘National Regifting Day’ remember that anything you receive that once belonged to someone else, no matter for how long, needs to be cleansed and cleared of what Feng Shui calls ‘predecessor energy.’ This applies even if you’re the one doing the re-gifting. Just light a sage smudge stick or some sandalwood or frankincense incense. Let them burn for a few seconds and then blow them out before using the smoke to help clear away any and all other energies. Now the gift is good as new. Well, almost.

By Ellen Whitehurst for Astrology.com

Today’s Tarot Card for December 22nd is The Star

The Star

This Tarot Deck: Celestial

General Meaning: What has traditionally been known as the Star card is about reconnecting one’s Soul with the Divine — the transcending of personality, family, community and reputation. It has to do ultimately with the freedom to be one’s Self. The Soul is responding to celestial influences — forces that can provide the personality with a stronger sense of purpose. The Star card helps us to remember our exalted origins and our attraction to a Higher Union.

This card could also be called the “Celestial Mandate” — that which refers us back to our reason for being, our mission in this lifetime. The Star reminds us that, in a sense, we are agents of Divine Will in our day-to-day lives. If we let go of the idea that we are supposed to be in control, we can more easily notice and appreciate the synchronicities that are nudging us along. In this way, we become more conscious of the invisible Helping Hand, and we better understand our place within — and value to — the larger Cosmos.

Daily Feng Shui Tip for December 21

Seeing that it’s both ‘National Flashlight Day’ and ‘Look On The Bright Side Day,’ and that Hannukah, the Jewish festival of lights, started yesterday, I was sensing a theme here! Never mind that it’s also the day of the Winter Solstice, a time of increasing light while awaiting the arrival of the ‘Son/Sun.’ And speaking of good lighting, Feng Shui says that if you want to increase the odds of having excellent career opportunities come right to your door that you should change out the light bulbs in both your front hallway and outside the front door. These lights should now reflect the highest wattage that you can find and should also be kept on for a successive three hours every day for three, nine or 27 days straight when you are looking to pump up your income, or secure a new one. I illuminate a red light outside of my front door for the entire day whenever I am in my home office conducting business. I also leave the front hallway lights on and turn them off when my workday is done. Considering how much energy is devoted to brightening your day today, I hope this ages old philosophical enlightenment helps light up your life as well!

By Ellen Whitehurst for Astrology.com

Your Daily Number for Dec. 21: 7

You may find yourself feeling somewhat accident prone at work, and even a bit awkward. Exercise extra caution, even with routine tasks. Today is best suited for inner reflection rather than bustling social events.

Fast Facts

About the Number 7

Theme: Quiet, Insightful, Analytical, Mystical, Intuitive
Astro Association: Cancer
Tarot Association: Chariot

Today’s Tarot Card for December 21 is The Devil

The Devil

This Tarot Deck: Folklore

General Meaning: What has traditionally been known as the Devil card expresses the realm of the Taboo, the culturally rejected wildness and undigested shadow side that each of us carries in our subconscious. This shadow is actually at the core of our being, which we cannot get rid of and will never succeed in taming. From its earliest versions, which portrayed a vampire-demon, this card evoked the Church-fueled fear that a person could “lose their soul” to wild and passionate forces.

The image which emerged in the mid-1700’s gives us a more sophisticated rendition — that of the “scapegoated Goddess,” whose esoteric name is Baphomet. Volcanic reserves of passion and primal desire empower her efforts to overcome the pressure of stereotyped roles and experience true freedom of soul. Tavaglione’s highly evolved image (Stella deck) portrays the magical formula for harnessing and transmuting primal and obsessive emotions into transformative energies. As a part of the Gnostic message of Tarot, this fearsome passion and power must be reintegrated into the personality, to fuel the soul’s passage from mortal to immortal.

Today’s Tarot Card for December 20 is Temperance

Temperance

This Tarot Deck: Golden Tarot

General Meaning: What is traditionally known as the Temperance card is a reference to the Soul. Classically female, she is mixing up a blend of subtle energies for the evolution of the personality. One key to interpreting this card can be found in its title, a play on the process of tempering metals in a forge.

Metals must undergo extremes of temperature, folding and pounding, but the end product is infinitely superior to impure ore mined from the earth. In this image, the soul volunteers the ego for a cleansing and healing experience which may turn the personality inside-out, but which brings out the gold hidden within the heart. (This card is entitled “Art” in the Crowley deck.)

Prayer Bowls

Prayer Bowls
 
What is a prayer bowl? A Prayer bowl is used to listen to your prayers, wishes, and thoughts, and carry
them into the other dimensions (the astral). They can be used to make any room more spiritual, without
causing to much attention. They are good for the workplace, because to co-workers, it is just a decoration,
and for you, it is a magical tool. The feather would be one that means something to you, perhaps a feather
of your power animal, and a feather of a power animal that you relate to. The crystals can be anything, from
clear quartz for focusing energy, to hematite for healing. These things can be looked up in various books.
A Prayer bowl is a fairly simple object to make. Take a small bowl that you like, a feather that means
something to you, some crystals, and some dirt. Put the dirt into the bowl, put the crystals on the dirt,
and place a feather in it.
After it is put together, empower it to listen to your prayers. In a dim light room, preferably candle lit, gaze
into the feather. Concentrate on what this prayer bowl is going to do for you. Think about the bird that it came
from, the views of the world that it must have seen. Thank that bird for giving of itself so that you may have this
prayer bowl. Next, think about the crystals, and what they mean for you. Visualize them in there natural
environment, deep in the Earth, and thank them for coming to you for this prayer bowl. In the Americas, they
are known as “stone people”.
After it is empowered, place it in an appropriate spot. I like to have mine near a window, so as they get a little
sun now and again. Also, the feather can hear the calls of the birds.
 
Pagan Hearth Recipes

Today’s Tarot Card for December 19th is The Hanged Man

The Hanged Man

This Tarot Deck: Lord of the Rings

General Meaning: Traditionally, the card known as the Hanged Man usually indicates a lack of ability to help oneself through independent action. This energy is arrested and awaiting judgment. With this card, there is no avenue for the will to regain control until the situation has passed.

This represents a good time to be philosophical, to study and meditate upon the position you find yourself in, and form resolutions for the moment you become free again. Only those who possess wisdom, patience and optimism will be able to see through limitations, including possible humiliation, to grasp the inspiring lesson one can gain from such an experience.

How To Make Glowing Crystals

How To Make Glowing Crystals

By Joan Collins, eHow Contributor

“Crystals are solids that form by a regular repeated pattern of molecules connecting together,” according to the website, Kiwi Web. Creating crystals, J. Bohm writes in his paper, “The History of Crystal Growth,” dates back to prehistoric time when man crystallized salt from the sea. Among the earliest written accounts, early Roman historian Phinius mentions the crystallization of salt. Creating crystals can be simple and fun. Glowing crystals will grow when you follow these steps.

 

Difficulty:
Easy

Instructions

 

 

Things You’ll Need

  • Alum
  • Bowl
  • Water
  • Pencil
  • Stir stick
  • Petri dish
  • Plastic gloves
  • Glass jar with lid
  • Hot distilled water
  • Thin cotton gloves
  • 2 fluorescent markers

 

 

  • Put on your gloves. Cut two fluorescent markers in half. Remove the felt inserts and place them in a bowl with 3 1/3 ounces of water. Let them soak for 15 minutes. Squeeze any remaining ink from the felt into the water.
  • Pour the mixture into a glass jar. Add two grams of alum to the fluorescent water. Stir it until the alum dissolves.
  • Pour a small amount of the saturated solution into a Petri dish. Put the lid on the jar. Allow the jar to sit in a warm place overnight. The solution will form crystals. Choose the largest crystal to be your “seed.” Tie the seed crystal to a thin piece of cotton thread.
  • Pour the rest of the solution into a clean jar. Tie the other end of the string to a pencil. Without touching the sides or bottom of the new jar, lower the string with your seed crystal into the solution. Rest the pencil on top of the jar. Set the jar aside for several days. As the solution evaporates, you will see more crystals forming. The seed crystal will grow larger.
  • Grow a giant alum crystal. Leave the crystal in the solution for an extended period of time. Replenish the alum solution as it evaporates.
  • Check your crystals. Set them under a black light. A successful experiment produces glowing crystals.

 

Tips & Warnings

  • Color the crystals with a fluorescent marker if the color fades or is not bright enough.
  • Not all fluorescent markers glow well. Check them under a black light before you choose one.