Tag: Shopping

Grounding Your House: Creating the Right Energy Field for Your Home

Grounding Your House: Creating the Right Energy Field for Your Home

by Sienna

Home Sweet Home. Home is where the heart is. Be it ever so humble, there’s no place like home.

Humans pride themselves on living in large homes. We are the only species that creates homes much larger than the space that we need for sleep. Bees and ants create large homes, but only as the swarm or tribe grows. We don’t hibernate, nor do we share our stores with large groups. Therefore, we make sure that our homes can keep us warm in bad weather, provide us with a place to prepare meals, hold all our stuff and be a safe haven when the world outside turns bitter.

But if you are energy-sensitive or emotionally sensitive, you want to make sure your home is a pleasant place to be, a place of contentment, happiness and peace. Sometimes this is more difficult than it sounds, as negativity comes and goes through our lives. A bad day at the office can come home with us, make us slouch around the place, slam doors, insult the pet. If we live with others, their bad moods can affect us more than is commonly recognized. So how do you keep that energy from affecting your peaceful place of solace?

There are many ways to cleanse energy, such as smudging with sage, cleansing with sprinkled salt and water and doing banishment by a rote working. But trying to do these things while the thoughts of traffic jams and crappy work schedules cloud your mood is usually counterproductive. Who wants to go through the hassle of lighting that sage bundle when all you really feel like doing is lighting your boss’s house on fire? Usually, when we come into our houses feeling negative from the outside world, all we want is to sit undisturbed for a few minutes and get rid of that feeling. If your house is full of that feeling anyway, it makes finding a peaceful mood even more difficult.

The method I present can help you keep your house clear all the time. It doesn’t hurt to smudge or cleanse or banish daily as well. However, if you don’t have time, or you want to create that mellow feeling in a new place, this method really works.

I recommend doing this practice with any new home before you move in, while the place is still empty of furniture. Once you have the keys to your new place, you can slip in before the moving van shows up. It only takes a few minutes, and you can have all the necessary articles in a gym bag or other “incognito” carrying case if you don’t want to alert your new neighbors to your paganism. It works just as well with apartments on the fifteenth floor as it does with entire houses. If you want to ground a home that you already occupy, take into account the furniture layout and try to get as close to the walls with the cleansing as you can. In either case, if you’re concerned about neighbors’ opinions and are using a smoking sage bundle, keep it below window level until or unless you have privacy blinds or curtains in place.

Start by smudging, banishing or cleansing with salt and water, as you might already do. If you don’t know these methods, the easiest one to learn is cleansing with salt and water. Use sea salt and ordinary tap water or rain-caught water, and combine them in a special bowl or chalice. Then walk around the interior walls of your home clockwise, sprinkling the water sparingly as you go. The thoughts in your head should be of clearing out old negativity. Imagine the negativity scurrying out through the walls as you go around the edges of all the rooms, through doorways and past windows. Don’t skip over alcoves, closets or small rooms.

Once you have made an entire pass around the outer rooms, go to any rooms at the center of the home and make sure they are cleared also. You should feel a difference immediately. Next, find the middle of the floor plan. You can do this by looking around the place and estimating (if you have lived there long enough, this should be easy). By examining the floor plan on paper or measuring the distance between all the outer walls and calculating the center mathematically, you might be more exact, but you may also find that your center point is in the middle of a wall. If that is the case, then pick a point just to one side of the wall. If you have several floors, do this on the lowest floor or in the basement.

When you have located the center point of your home, sit there. In your typical meditative posture, calm yourself, center yourself and begin visualizing a large tree root growing from your body down through the floor and into the Earth. If you are above the ground floor, make that root go through the floors below you in a straight line downward. See that tree root go all the way to the hot molten center of Mother Earth, creating a flow of energy downward. You may be surprised when that warm Earth energy travels back up the root. This is clear, clean energy and will replace any negative energy you removed with the cleansing. If the flow upward doesn’t happen automatically, use your visualization ability to make it happen.

When you have established the flow of energy to and from the heart of the planet, use your mind to attach the energy permanently to the floor space you are sitting on. You can see it attached biologically (tendons), mechanically (bolts) or electronically (circuitry), whichever suits your personality best. Next, imagine that smaller roots reach sideways from the main root to the outer corners of the home. See these roots attach to the edges of the home in the same fashion, as many as you think necessary. When you are done, the system of roots might resemble a tree with your house perched in its branches.

Activate these smaller roots with the same flow as the main root. See all the energy from the corners of the house following the smaller roots to the main root, then down the main root to the heart of the Earth and the positive Earth energy following it back again. If you have several floors, make sure the small roots reach all the way up to the attic. If you are in an apartment, and you have people living below you, remember that the root is astral and will not negatively affect anyone or anything below you.

When you have that visualization in place, emphasize its permanence within your mind. Know that it will be there daily. Then open your eyes, and consider yourself finished.

This working will create an atmosphere in your home that is self-cleansing. All negativity will be funneled away and replaced with that good, clean Earth energy, every day, without you having to lift a finger. It is still a good idea to smudge or cleanse on a regular basis, but now you won’t have to do it until your mood is right.

When you come home each day from your daily schedule, remember that the root system is there, and allow it to pull that negativity from you as you settle in. This practice will go a long way toward helping you keep a peaceful, mellow atmosphere in your home.

Planting Seeds at Imbolc

Planting Seeds at Imbolc

By C. Cheek

When I was a student at UW, I walked to class every day from my apartment. Along the way, I’d pass some less-than-beautiful sights; empty lots, alleys, easements, and the crud that gathers near gutters in parking lots. Not to worry, I assured myself, come spring, flowers would grow, filling these ugly spots with bursts of color. But then April came, and May, and June, and the route I walked to school stayed barren. Nature provided the sun, soil and rain, but no one had planted seeds.

Sometimes life just hands us what we need. Sometimes all we have to do is wait. And sometimes we have to do a little helping on our own. An envelope sits in my coat pocket. Inside this envelope are seeds mixed with sand to make them spread farther. Some of the seeds I purchased at stores, some I gathered last summer. Now, whenever I pass a patch of dirt, I’ll sow some of those seeds, and with them, I’ll sow a little hope. Hope is the time between planting a seed and seeing it bloom, or die. Hope is when you hear the phone ring and don’t know yet if it’s your best friend. Hope is the moment between buying a lottery ticket and scratching off that final square. When I was child, my mother often told me that wanting was better than having. It took me many years to find out what she meant. Even if your seeds don’t sprout, even if it’s a telemarketer on the other end of the line, and even if you don’t win the lottery, for a brief moment, possibility shines.

Getting in touch with Imbolc means gathering a kernel of hope. For me, as a writer, this means sending out my manuscripts. I call it “applying for rejection letters.” I read the editor’s requirements, check over my story for loose commas, type up a query letter, double check the spelling of the editor’s name, put the pages in an envelope with an extra SASE, and wait. Query letters have a germination period of about three months. At the end of three months, I’ll usually get a tiny slip of paper, not much bigger than a cookie’s fortune, which reads “Thank you for your submission, but it does not suit our current needs.” These little slips of paper cut me, they wound me, they callously toss aside what I’ve spent months writing. So, I find another name, and send it out again. Why? Why do I keep sending the stories out again and again? Because for three months, I can imagine how great it will feel to get an acceptance letter. In my fantasies, an acceptance letter turns into a three-book contract. My daydreams take root, and soon I’m the next J. K. Rowling, with legions of adoring fans, and respect of fellow authors, and book tours in Europe and then… and then…

And then, most likely, I’ll get a slip of paper, or maybe even a letter written just for me, telling me “No thank you.” But for those three months, the daydreams flourish, as sweet as the bite of chocolate you imagine just before tearing off the foil and wrapper, when the bar of candy lies unopened, waiting in your hand. Hope is rich soil, seeded with maybes.Providencewill decide if I happen to write the right letter to the right editor, and if she’s in the mood to read my work. Nature decides if the wildflower seeds I scratched into the mud will grow into seedlings. Even if my efforts don’t bear fruit, I’m guaranteed a period of hope, while waiting to see what happens as the months pass.

The other gardening chore for early spring is pruning. Trees don’t have many ways of communication, but they “know” that sharp loppers shearing off branches early in the year means that it’s time to send out buds and shoots. Roses too, lie dormant in the winter and need the snip-snip of a gardener to wake them up. “Wake up,” I tell them, as I trim off last year’s growth. Inside the house, I peer out the window at the bare canes and think of the months of fragrant blooms lying under that frost-touched bark. When the weather warms, they’ll send out furled leaves, reddish then green, and buds will soon follow. As an inexperienced gardener, I didn’t trim the roses. It felt wrong, cruel somehow to cut back a perfectly healthy plant. The roses still bloomed, still grew, but the leaves didn’t get as large, and the flowers weren’t as numerous. I’ve learned my lesson now. My shears are sharp and ready.

Sometimes nature takes its course without our help, and sometimes it needs our assistance. Friendships are like that too. When I was at the store, I purchased a handful of postcards. Who buys these things, except tourists? Who sends postcards, except people who want to brag about how far they’ve gone on vacation? Well, I do. I got out my old address book and started writing down names of friends I hadn’t talked to in a while. It seems so hard to call people out of the blue. I’m always afraid of what they’ll think. She’ll think I need to borrow money, he’ll think I just broke up and am trying to flirt, my cousin will think I want a favor. So I write instead. No one, it seems, minds a postcard.

I’ve learned that I don’t have to write much. “Thinking of you,” seems to cover it. Or maybe, “I saw this postcard with a beagle on it, and remembered your old dog Spot. How are you and Spot doing?” People don’t often write back. Sometimes you have to send them four or five cards before they write you, sometimes they don’t write back at all. Sometimes they’ve moved, and don’t get the postcard. And sometimes, sometimes they’ve missed you too, and wondered why you’ve drifted apart. Sometimes they get out their address book, and pick up the phone, and call to ask you out to coffee. A rectangle of cardstock and a twenty-three cent stamp, and you automatically get a week of hope that you’re about to rekindle an old friendship. And even if that old co-worker doesn’t remember you, or if he’s moved and the postcard arrives at the house of a stranger, you’ve probably brightened someone’s day. That’s worth fifty cents.

Every day we pass people whose names we never learn. That pierced, pink-haired barista that you buy your latte from might have gone to your high school. That old woman who sits on the same spot in the bus might have important lessons to teach you about life. Your study-partner in that night class might be looking for someone to share his theater tickets with. Sure, they’re just strangers, people we don’t know, and don’t need to know. On the other hand, if you see the same person every day, or every week, how do you know that person isn’t meant to be in your life? It’s hard to be outgoing, hard to strike up conversations without an introduction or the comforting venue of a cocktail party. Seeds don’t need much to grow, a bit of warmth, a bit of rain, and nature takes its course. The wind changes, and flocks of birds know it’s time to return home. Maybe all it takes to turn “that girl from the coffee shop” into “Tina, who plays tennis with me on Mondays” is an extra smile, an extra nod, an extra moment of attention. We are each other’s sun, we are each other’s rain. We have the power to turn the barren soil of strangerhood into a small connection between fellow human beings. You don’t have to do it all, in fact, you can’t make a relationship develop by force any more than you can make a turnip grow faster by tugging at its root, but you do have to make an effort. Plant a small seed of possibility.

I’ve got a small stack of postcards on my desk, each one addressed and stamped and ready for the mailman. It took an hour, and half a booklet of stamps. I wrote just a sentence, or just a smiley face and my name. I’m already imagining how fun it would be to throw a party and invite people I haven’t seen for years. On my kitchen windowsill, tomato seeds wait in their peat pots. In my mind the tomatoes (which haven’t yet sprouted) taste like sunlight, miles better than any of the icy slices the guy at the deli puts on my sandwich. At lunch, I smile at the deli guy anyway, and comment on his funny button, and call him “Eddie,” from his nametag. He recognizes me when I come in now, and even though he calls me “No Peppers, Right?” it’s a start. A lottery ticket, unscratched, is stuck to my fridge with a magnet. It could win me ten thousand dollars–or maybe not. It’s fun to wonder, and hope. I’ve got my novel in the hands of an editor too. As February turns into March, and March turns into April, she’ll work her way down the stack to mine. She’ll read it, and she’ll send me a yes, or a no. I’m in no rush to get my SASE back with the answer. For now, I’ll just savor the possibility of what might happen. Few things in this world taste as sweet as hope.

13 Ways to Celebrate Imbolc

13 Ways to Celebrate Imbolc

by Heather Evenstar Osterman

 

Regardless of what religion we grew up with, most of us have favorite memories of things we did every year for specific holidays. These traditions were what made our celebrations special. So what do you do when the holidays you celebrate now aren’t the same ones you grew up with? How do you share the joys of Imbolc with your family?

Imbolc (or Candlemas/Brigid/whatever you choose to call this celebration) falls on February 2nd and is a time to honor the quickening of the earth and the first manifestations of spring emerging from winter. This Sabbat is sacred to the goddess Brigid in particular, and is a wonderful time to acknowledge your own creativity, expand your knowledge, and practice the healing arts. Here are my suggestions to get you started developing your own family traditions!

  1. Help your kids go through all their clothes, toys, and books to find the unwanted and outgrown items. Donate everything to a charity that will give the items to children who need them.
  2. Collect canned goods from family and friends to give to a food bank. Yule isn’t the only time people are in need.
  3. Go for a walk! Search for signs of spring. Take off your shoes and socks and squish your toes in the mud.
  4. Open all the doors and windows and turn on every light in the house for a few minutes. Let the kids sweep all the old energies out the doors.
  5. Lead the family on a parade around the outside of your home, banging on pots and pans or playing musical instruments to awaken the spirits of the land.
  6. Make corn dollies and a cradle for them to sleep in.
  7. Create a sun wheel out of stalks of grain and hang it on your front door.
  8. Meditate as a family. Have everyone explore what it would feel like to be a seed deep in the earth, feeling the first stirrings of life. Lie on the floor and put out tendrils. Stretch and bloom.
  9. Have your children hold some herb seeds in their hands. Talk to the seeds. Bless them with growth and happiness. Fill them with love. Plant an in-door herb garden.
  10. Decorate candles with stickers, metallic markers, paint and anything else you can think of! Light your candles and give thanks to Brigid for her inspiration.
  11. Help your kids make a special feast! Spicy foods and dairy dishes are traditional. Try Mexican or Indian cuisine. Top it off with poppy seed cake. Drink milk or spiced cider.
  12. Set a fabulous dinner table with your candles, evergreen boughs spring flowers, dragons, sun symbols, or whatever says Imbolc to you. Use the good china.
  13. Let your children make their beds in a special way to represent Brigid’s bed. Go camp style with sleeping bags or build a makeshift canopy! Have sweet dreams…

Heather Osterman is the Family Services Coordinator for the Aquarian Tabernacle Church.

Light a Candle, Cast a Spell

Light a Candle, Cast a Spell

by Melanie Fire Salamander

 

In Northern European societies, Imbolc or Candlemas traditionally fell at a time when, with the end of winter in sight, families used the animal fat saved over the cold season to make candles. I don’t butcher stock, and I’m not planning to render meat fat to make candles, but I like connecting with the past through candle-making. And though the days are longer now than at solstice, they’re still short enough that a few candles help.

To further your magickal purposes, you can make a spell candle for Imbolc — a candle into which you imbue a particular magickal purpose. Once you’ve made and charged your spell candle, you burn it over time to further your intention. I find spell candles particularly good for goals that require a period of continued energy to manifest, for example a new job, and for things I desire recurrently, for example peace and harmony for myself and the people around me.

Also, Imbolc is traditionally a time of initiations, of divination and of all things sacred to the goddess Bride, including smithcraft, poetry and healing. To align with the season, consider making spell candles dedicated to these ends.

You can make two kinds of candle, dipped and molded. For spell candles, I’d recommend molded candles, so you can include herbs and other ingredients that wouldn’t mix evenly with dipping wax.

Things you need

  • Cylindrical glass container or containers
  • Paraffin-based candle wax
  • Double boiler or other large pot in which to melt the wax
  • Wick
  • Scissors to cut the wick
  • Popsicle sticks (tongue depressors), one per candle
  • Metal tab to anchor the bottom of each wick (a heavy paper clip will do)
  • Crayons, old candles or candle coloring for color, if desired
  • Small objects appropriate to your spell
  • Herbs appropriate to your spell
  • Scent appropriate to your spell

For your molding container, the best thing is the used glass from a seven-day candle. You can find seven-day candles all over, including at Larry’s Market. The Edge of the Circle Books has them, or check your local pagan store.

You can also use glass tumblers, jelly jars and the like. The larger the container, the bigger the possible candle and the longer it will burn. Seven-day candle containers have the advantage of having a good candle shape, so that the flame easily melts the wax at the sides of the glass. To accomplish your purpose, ideally you’ll burn the entire candle, leaving no stub, which is easiest to do in a container shaped like a seven-day candle’s. Make sure also that the glass of your container is fairly thick.

If you do use a seven-day candle, you’ll need to clean out any remaining wax. To do so, heat the glass in a pot of water to melt the wax. Be sure to heat the glass with the water, rather than introducing cold glass into boiling water, which might break the glass. You’ll need a bottle brush, detergent and some concentration, but it is possible to clean these containers.

Candle wax can be found at candle-supply stores and craft stores. It comes in blocks of two pounds each; the smallest amount you can buy is more than enough for several candles. For wick, again you’ll need a candle-supply or craft store. Lead-based wick, which has a thin thread of metal covered with cotton, is easiest to work with, but you can also use pure cotton wick. The popsicle stick, a craft store or drugstore item, is used to anchor the wick at the top of the candle.

If you do use a seven-day candle container, and the tin tab at the bottom hasn’t disappeared, save it. Such a tab anchors the wick to the bottom of the glass, making sure the wick lasts the length of the candle. If you haven’t saved the tab, you can use a heavy paperclip or buy the real thing at a candle-supply or craft store.

The remaining ingredients depend on the intention of your spell and should have associations appropriate to that intention. None of these ingredients is required — you can make a spell candle by simply making and charging it, or by charging an ordinary candle. However, as with any charm, the more energy you put into in its creation and enchantment, the stronger the spell. I give some ideas for ingredients following; for a full list of associations, check your favorite table of magickal correspondences, or see The Spiral Dance, by Starhawk; Wicca: A Guide for the Solitary Practitioner, by Scott Cunningham; or Aleister Crowley’s 777.

The easiest way to color candles is to melt crayons or old candles with your wax. To get a strong color, use more colored wax. Don’t mix colors, or you’ll end up with a muddy brown. You can also purchase candle coloring at a candle-supply or craft store. For color symbolism, check tables of correspondences; as always, your personal associations and preferences are the strongest and most resonant. Some common associations follow:

  • Red: Lust, passion, health, animal vitality, courage, strength
  • Pink: Love, affection, friendship, kindness
  • Orange: Sexual energy, earth energy, adaptability, stimulation
  • Brown: Earth energy, animals
  • Yellow: Intellect, mental energy, concentration
  • Green: Finances, money, prosperity, fertility, growth
  • Blue: Calm, healing, patience, peace, clairvoyance
  • Purple: Spirituality, the fey, meditation, divination
  • Black: Waning moon, release, banishing, absorbing and destroying negativity, healing
  • White: Waxing or full moon, pro-tection, purification, peace, awareness; good for most workings

Probably the most common small object to add to a spell candle is a written expression of intention. Candle makers often add semiprecious stones; you can add a stone appropriate to your intention, for example sacred to a deity who rules that area of life, or personally connected to you, say a birthstone. Depending on your spell, other small objects might suit. If you’re doing a spell to invoke the peace of the ocean on a still day, you could include sand or seashells. A candle to draw love might include small cut-out hearts, one to draw money pieces of dollar bill. Note that any added objects should ideally be flammable, or if not flammable small enough not to prevent your candle from burning.

You can use herbs suitable for incense to further your spell. Use herbs you can safely burn indoors. Herbs may make a candle smoke and can combine with the wick to create a large flame, so use them sparingly. Also, herbs tend to clump at the top and bottom of the candle, often producing a stub at the end that’s hard to burn. However, herbs are easy burnable ingredients to add in line with your intention, and if you choose the right herbs they’ll smell good. For lists of herbs, try any incense-making book, such as Scott Cunningham’s The Complete Book of Incense, Oils and Brews or Wylundt’s Book of Incense. To make sure your herbs smell sweet, burn a pinch first.

Both the preceding books also discuss scents, which you can incorporate also. For a strongly scented candle, you’ll need to add perfume. It’s best to use candle scent, found at candle-supply and craft shops, or synthetic perfume oil. Essential oils are volatile and break down in the wax, leaving your candle with no scent at all.

The candle making processAs with any spell, start by considering what you want and what symbols represent your goal. Likewise, as always, don’t try to compel someone who hasn’t consented. Remember that what you do returns to you threefold.

Start by collecting your ingredients and planning your candle-making for a day and hour appropriate to your intention. Imbolc this year falls just after the full moon, so for spells of increase you might want to wait till the moon turns. Or phrase your spell to release something negative. If you need money, banish poverty. If you want love, banish loneliness.

Give yourself a few hours to make your candle or candles, during a period when you’re unlikely to have your concentration broken. Just melting the wax alone, depending on the volume melted, can take from 15 minutes to an hour. You’ll be using the kitchen, so make sure you’ll have it to yourself or that any visitors will be attuned to your purpose.

First, melt the wax in the top of your double boiler. If you want all your candles to have the same color, add the crayons or old candles now. You can use a single pot if you’re willing to watch the wax closely — you don’t want it to burst into flames. Break the wax into small chunks beforehand, so it will melt faster. Heat the wax over medium heat, but don’t let it boil. If you want candles of different colors, you’ll need to melt the crayons or old candles separately, then add clear wax to about the right volume in the pot and mix before filling your containers. Add candle coloring according to package directions.

While the wax is melting, pad your working space well with newspaper, because you will almost certainly spill some wax. Make sure all your ingredients and tools are handy. If you have herbs in unmanageable sizes, for example whole rosemary stalks, break them down so the pieces are a size to burn without becoming small bonfires.

Once the wax is fully melted, turn the heat low and let the wax cool till the wax on the sides of the pot starts to set, at approximately 120 degrees Fahrenheit. Cooling the wax a little helps prevent the creation of large air bubbles in your finished candle.

Now you’re ready to start forming candles. I usually cast a working circle at this point, calling my patron deities to witness, but without a lot of tools or formal setup. You can work as elaborately or simply as you like. However, I would recommend making the candle with focused intention, as well as charging it later.

Take a moment, then, to focus your concept of your goal. You might create a running mantra to repeat through the rest of your candle-making, or consider an image or group of images to help you concentrate. Be sure to state your intention simply and firmly. If it seems appropriate, write your intention down.

First, if you want multiple candles with the same scent, or you’re only making one candle, scent the wax now.

Next, cut a wick for each candle. The wick needs to be as long as your candle container, plus several inches. Thread the end of the wick through the metal tab or paperclip, or other object appropriate to your spell — for a money spell, you might anchor the wick with a folded bill. Then, drop the weighted wick-end to the bottom of the glass container. Making sure the weighted end sits flush on the bottom and the wick stays as straight as possible, wrap the other wickend around a popsicle stick and set the popsicle stick across the mouth of the glass. Make sure the wick-tail is in the center of the candle-to-be. The more centered your wick, the more evenly your candle will burn.

If you’re using unleaded wicking, pour a little wax around the tab at the end, then let it harden firmly. Then gently stretch the wick taut, and rewrap the top around the popsicle stick.

Next, add the nonwax ingredients to your candle. Drop your folded written intention, if any, and any other objects into the bottom of the candle glass. As each falls, imagine it adding strength to your spell. You can add herbs now as well, or you can add them to the top after pouring, if you want them to float down through the wax and be distributed through the candle.

When your objects and initial herbs are in, pour the wax. Pour evenly and slowly, and try to make sure your wick stays in the candle’s center. If you want to add herbs after pouring, do so directly afterward. If you want to scent a candle singly, now’s the time.

The next part is the really hard part — set the candle out of the way, and leave it alone! It will take up to an hour to harden. You can continue to meditate on your purpose, set up an altar to formally charge your candle, or take down your circle for the time being. You might want to check your candle in this interim period, as the top’s center may form a depression, which you can top off with melted wax. To this end, keep some wax melted.

When your candle’s solid, cut off the extra wick at the top, leaving about a half-inch.

Next, energize the finished candle with your intention. Cut your circle and call any deities or spirit helpers you like, if you haven’t yet, and restate your purpose. Then raise energy in your chosen manner. When the energy’s at its height, send it into your candle, then ground any excess into the earth, keeping what you need for yourself.

Finally, burn your candle. One of the great things about burning a candle in a glass container is that you can keep it going night and day in relative safety. Make sure, however, that the candle is in a place where no human or pet can knock it over, and where no combustible thing can fall across it. Also, at the end of the candle’s life, you might want to burn it while you can watch; it’s during the last inch or so that the glass will break, if it’s going to. Either way, just in case, burn the candle on a nonflammable surface, say an earthenware plate or a tile floor.

If you don’t want to burn your candle every day, burn it on days appropriate to your spell. For example, burn a love candle on Fridays, a day sacred to Aphrodite, Freya and other love goddesses. Again, tables of correspondences can help you figure appropriate days, or you can determine them astrologically. Or you can burn your candle when you feel particular need.

Ingredients for different intentions

If you can’t find or don’t like any of the following ingredients, by all means cut them, substitute or better yet create your own recipe from scratch! The stronger the associations for you and the more personal your candle’s creation, the more effective your candle will be.

  • For divination and psychic work: Purple coloring; a small image of an eye, for far-seeing; lemongrass, sandalwood, cloves, yarrow and a pinch of nutmeg; frankincense scent
  • For protection: No coloring; basil, vervain, rosemary, St. John’s wort and a pinch of black pepper; vetiver or patchouli scent
  • For healing: Pale blue coloring, bay, sandalwood, cedar, carnation, lemon balm; eucalyptus scent
  • For peace and harmony: Pale blue or lavender coloring; lavender, meadowsweet and hops; lilac or any light floral scent
  • For inspiration in the arts: Yellow coloring; a small image of a lightbulb; a piece of amber; bay, cinnamon, lavender, orange peel; scent of bergamot, or any citrus scent
  • To attract love: Pink coloring; small silk or candy hearts; rose petals; jasmine scent
  • To attract sex: Red coloring; sexual images; rose petals, ginger, damiana, ginseng, a vanilla bean; musk scent
  • To attract money: Green coloring; a folded bill or shiny dime; dill, lavender, sage, cedar, wood aloe; oak moss, vetiver or patchouli scent, or some combination of these
  • To get a job: Green coloring; a topaz or turquoise; pictures of tools you use in your work; bay, lavender, cedar, red clover, nutmeg; orange scent, or any citrus scent

As you make and burn your candle, attune to the season as well as your intention. Now is the time to ask Bride for inspiration and to light a new flame, beckoning the longer days to come.

Today’s Aromatherapy Tip – Perfume for the Hair

Today’s Aromatherapy Tip – Perfume for the Hair

Blend a drop or two of your favorite essential oil or synergistic blend
with a drop or two of Jojoba Oil then gently run your fingers through your hair.
The scent will remain with you all day.Try a blend with Lavender, Rose and Patchouli..

Enjoy!
..
http://www.aromathyme.com

Wiccan Book of Days for January 26th – Efficacions Eucalyptus

Winter Images, Pictures, Comments
Efficacions Eucalyptus

This day’s element is Air, which promotes clear thinking. But it is difficult to breathe, let alone think straight, if your sinuses are painful and your chest is congested with catarrh. So if you are suffering from a cold, turn to eucallyptus for help:  many commercial inhalanats and chest rubs contain this natural decongestant, but a home-made steam inhalation usually provides longer-lasting relief. Simply add 2 to 4 drops of the essential oil to a bowl of hot water, then lean over the bowl, cover your head with a towel, and start breathing in and out slowly and deeply; do this for up to five minutes.

“A Mystical Message”

Air is an agent of communication, for sounds are carried on the airwaves. Practice chanting a mantra, such as the Sanskrit Om, the mystical sound of creation in hindu belief, and you may find that this resonant repetition aids your meditation or trance-work.

The Wicca Book of Days

A Sip of Inspiration

A Sip of Inspiration

by Miriam Harline

Invocation/Meditation

You are in a dark room, empty of furniture, a box of wood rough-hewn. The window looks out on night. You smell woodsmoke, though there is no fire. You are cold, and you huddle on the floor, wrapping your arms around yourself.

The door opens, and standing in the doorway is a woman with long blonde hair. She wears a white dress, hanging in graceful folds, and no shoes. In her hand is a white candle, burning. “Rise,” she tells you; you do, and follow her.

Outside hangs black night, a sky dusted with stars, no moon. The ground is cold, frozen hard, but there is no snow. You follow the woman down a narrow path. To either side rise hills, grass tan when the candle shows it. You walk down; the stones under the hills begin to show to either side. Beside you, slowly, rock walls rise.

The walk down turns steep. You smell salt, hear waves crash. The land flattens, and under your feet is sand; you are on the seashore.

Ocean water pours across the sand, a margin of foam at its edge. The candlelight glows, a yellow globe on the water. You follow the woman still; you turn and walk above the surf. It is low tide.

A cliff rises ahead, to your left, and in the cliff you see a black mouth, a cave. It is so dark, black on black, you feel some fear. But the woman walks right up to it, enters the tall mouth, twice her height. You walk after her into the cave, still on hard-packed wet sand; when the tide is high, the cave floor must be covered in water.

The path of sand narrows between rocks; you continue along it. You turn a bend, and behind you can no longer see the sea, but you hear it still, rushing, sighing.

You walk on. To either side rise black walls of stone, occasionally veined with red. Ahead, as the path curves, you see not darkness, but golden light.

You turn another bend, and the cave ceiling rises; you are in a vast room, lit by candlelight. Before you is a line of eight women robed in white, all holding white candles.

One woman steps forward. She is blonde, like your guide, but taller, older, in the prime of womanhood. Her face is still, not smiling, full of pride. “Greetings,” she says. “What is your name?” You tell her.

“Why have you come here?” she asks. Your eyes go wide, because you have no idea; you were waiting, and were summoned, but you do not know why. But your guide steps up and whispers in your ear, “For inspiration.”

You repeat, “For inspiration.”

The woman who greeted you smiles; you have made the right answer. “Very well,” she says. “Come forward.”

All nine women turn, move further into the cave, form a circle. You see in its center a huge cauldron, waist-high, its legs straddling a fire. The cauldron is boiling, and from it rise rainbow bubbles that pop in the air, leaving a smell of spice and honey. “This is the cauldron of inspiration,” your greeter says.

Two women in the circle loosen their hands and beckon to you. You pass by them, and the circle rejoins around you. You stand before the cauldron. “Drink from the cauldron,” the greeter says.

Drink? you say to yourself. But the liquid in it is boiling. I will boil my hands. “Drink,” she says. “That is why you are here.”

You look around, in fear. These people are crazy. Then you catch the eye of the woman who guided you, and she smiles very slightly. You sense there is some magick here. Foolishly or wisely, you lower your hands into the cauldron.

The liquid is just cooler than lukewarm, delightful, like a bath on a hot summer day.

You cup liquid in your palms, raise it to your lips. The smell of spice and honey fills your nostrils. The liquid seems to shine upward into your face, rainbow colors. You sip.

An explosion goes off in your head. You fall backward onto the ground. You see stars, moons, suns, rainbows flare; a stream of firework, many-colored, falls from the sky. You hear music, whispers, laughter; someone close is speaking in your ear, you can almost make out the words….

After a long time, you wake on the floor of the wooden house. All is dark, and your head hurts. But now the house is warm.

Calendar of the Sun for January 25th

Calendar of the Sun

25 Wolfmonath

Sementivae Feria: Seed Blessing

Colors: Green and brown
Element: Earth
Altar: Upon cloth of green and brown set all the seeds for the next year, with the seeds saved from last year’s garden in bowls in the center.
Offerings: Give seeds to poor farmers and gardeners.
Daily Meal: Vegan.

Sementivae Feria Invocation

Hear us, Ceres, Mother of the Grain,
You whose breath stirs the seed in the ground,
Though Earth sleeps now in her bed of stone,
We ask for her blessing on these seeds
Which will soon be sowed.
These are our hopes, our dreams,
Our aspirations, all promise and possibilities,
Waiting dry and dormant to be awoken.
Though we will not wake them today,
Soon the time will approach when they shall
Come into the embrace of the warm soil
And blossom into manifestation.
Bless our seeds, Great Ceres,
Mother of the Corn, Spark of the Plowed Earth,
Bless their promise, and ours as well.

(All cry, “Hail Ceres!” Then all surround the seeds and hold their hands over them, and together sing Ohm and Ah in harmonies, to carry Ceres’ blessing. The seeds are then placed in a special basket shaped like a cradle, and covered with a cloth, and sung to.)

Chant: Carry our wishes
Carry our hoping
Carry our blessing
Till you be awoken

HERBS FOR THOSE WITH STOMACH ACHES, ULCERS, AND HEARTBURN

HERBS FOR THOSE WITH STOMACH ACHES, ULCERS, AND HEARTBURN
c. 2002, Susun S Weed

1. WHAT IS THE BIGGEST MISTAKE PEOPLE MAKE ABOUT STOMACH ACHE?
Calling it stomach ache. The stomach (fortunately) does not ache. Usually when people say their stomach aches, they mean they have a gas pain. Gas pain can be severe pain. My friends who work in emergency rooms say you wouldn’t believe how many people come in for what turns out to be gas pain.
2. WHAT HERBAL ALLIES WOULD YOU RECOMMEND FOR THOSE DEALING WITH:
2A. HEARTBURN?
Herbalists, myself included, see heartburn as a lack of HCL (hydrochloric acid) in the stomach, instead of the prevalent opinion, that it is caused by too much acid. So instead of trying to turn off production of HCL (as drugs attempt to do), herbalists seek herbs that increase HCL, such as dandelion (Taraxacum officinale). In my book Healing Wise I devote an entire chapter to dandelion, with lots of recipes and ideas on how to use it.
You can use any part of dandelion: the flowers make dandelion wine, you can cook the greens, or eat them in salad, you can even cook the root, or make a vinegar with it (my favorite), or tincture it. Some people make a coffee substitute from roasted dandelion root. Any way you take it seems to work. (A standard dose would be 10-20 drops of the root tincture taken at the beginning of the meal.) Dandelion, and its friend chicory (Cichorium intybus), which is a fine substitute should you have access to one and not the other, are true tonics. That is, the more you take them, the less you need them. You don’t have to keep taking this remedy forever. After 3-6 weeks you’ll find you need it less and less.
In Europe it is customary to take bitters before a big meal. Most mild bitters, such as yellow dock (Rumex crispus), cronewort/mugwort (Artemisia vulgaris), gentian (Gentiana lutea), barberry (Berberis vulgaris), and Oregon grape are liver tonics and digestives. They aid in digestion, and decrease risk of heartburn, by increasing production of both HCL and bile.
A few more tips for those who suffer from heartburn:
~ Eat less at each meal
~ Stay upright after eating; no lounging around or sleeping
~ Avoid eating late at night
~ Reduce the amount of coffee you drink
~ Don’t overdo it with the orange juice, either
~ Use slippery elm lozenges (available in health food stores) for immediate relief from heartburn
2B. ULCERS?
The herbs that increase HCL in the stomach, such as dandelion, also decrease ulcers, which are the result of a bacterial infection. When stomach acid is increased, that bacteria has a harder time of it and is less likely to cause ulcers.
Amusing isn’t it that medical science says “OK, there must be a mind/body connection, because gastrointestinal ulcers are caused by stress”; only to find out what my herbal teachers taught me long ago: bacteria cause ulcers.
Here’s one way to kill that bacteria (besides taking drugs): Get a food grater with a very fine grating side. Grate a large potato as finely as possible. Into another bowl, grate ¼ to ½ of a cabbage. Let them sit for 10-15 minutes, until liquid starts to collect in the bottom of the bowls. Use your hand, or something hard, to press and squeeze the potato until it is dry. Throw away the pulp and keep the liquid. Repeat with the cabbage. Don’t use a juicer. There are plant starches that you don’t get when you use a juicer. A food processor is ok.
Put the liquids in separate jars in the refrigerator, taking 1-3 tablespoonfuls 2-3 times a day. The more severe the symptoms, the larger and more frequent the dose would be. I expect symptomatic relief within 36-48 hours. But this remedy is safe to take for weeks at a time if needed.
If you can’t make the potato liquid, you can buy potato starch and mix it with water. Instead of the cabbage liquid, you could buy coleslaw. It isn’t the same as grating the potato and the cabbage, but it is better than nothing. And even if it doesn’t work as fast, if that is what is available to you, use it.
2C. STOMACH ACHE?
To me, this means gas pain. Herbs that relieve gas pain are called “carminatives” because they make you “sing” (carmen). Many aromatic herbs are carminatives, especially the seeds of members of the Apiaceae family including dill seed, caraway seeds, fennel seeds, anise seeds, coriander seeds, and cumin seeds. Just put a big spoonful in a cup, cover well with boiling water, steep five minutes, sweeten if you like, and drink.
Ginger is another readily-available carminative. Especially warming to the guts. You can make a tea with powdered ginger, or use up to a tablespoon of fresh ginger per cup of water for a strong brew. Ginger works best sweetened with honey. NASA found it would counter the nausea of space-sickness. You can also buy crystallized or candied ginger to take traveling with you.
The fastest remedy for gas pain is two capsules of acidophilus. I expect pain relief in 5-10 minutes. And I don’t pay much attention to the expiration date on it. I keep mine in the refrigerator, and use them so rarely that I often have a bottle for ten years – and they still work.
Eating yogurt helps prevent gas pain, and can be used as a remedy, but it is not as fast as the acidophilus. A quart of yogurt a week is a good goal. And buy plain yogurt. No need to pay a fancy price for white sugar and poor quality fruit. Add maple syrup or honey and fruit of your choice, fresh or frozen at home. Make your own fantasy yogurt creation.
And the bitter tonic herbs mentioned above are also excellent allies to take long-term if you have frequent gas pains.
When I was in Spain I often had to eat late at night. Then I would take a sip of their very strong coffee, served in tiny cups. It had just the right amount of push to get that food into my digestive tract and still allow me to fall asleep at a reasonable time.
But most people in America drink coffee in the morning on an empty stomach. Might this be one reason so many are in such digestive distress? Instead of coffee, try this:
~ Put one ounce by weight of dried peppermint leaf in a quart jar and fill to the top with boiling water.
~ Cap tightly and allow to steep for 4-8 hours. (OK to let it steep while you sleep.)
~ Strain the plant material out after the allotted time, squeezing it well.
~ Then drink the liquid: hot or cold, salty or sweetened, with milk or whiskey or what have you.
~ Refrigerate what you don’t drink then. This will stay good in the refrigerator for up to three weeks.
Peppermint helps move the intestines and make you feel really awake, just like coffee. I would not use it if someone were feeling nauseated, as it tastes vile on the way back out.
3. CAN PEOPLE EXPECT QUICK RELIEF FROM THESE REMEDIES?
(See above)
With dandelion, you often see results in the first 24 hours.
4. HOW OFTEN WOULD YOU HAVE TO TAKE THESE REMEDIES?
(See above)
5. DO YOU THINK THE PUBLIC DISMISSES HERBAL REMEDIES AS A LAST RESORT?
The World Health Organization (WHO) reports that 90% of the health care given on any day is given in the home by the woman of the home. Just by cooking dinner a woman can heal her family and keep them healthy. She can protect her husband’s heart by using lots of garlic. And protect his libido by serving less soy.
Many Americans have food phobias. Think about how many people are frightened of drinking milk. How many won’t eat bread. I go into the health food store to get bread and there are loaves with no flour, and those with no yeast, and those without wheat, and I wonder where all the bread has gone.
We have a national history of food phobias, starting with Graham (inventor of the healthy graham cracker), continuing with Kellogg (of breakfast flake fame), and right into the modern day’s current fads (no fat? no carbs? all protein? all raw?). Not too much has really changed. More and more people are learning about herbal medicine, but I am sure many of them think it is difficult and arcane. They may be unaware that herbal medicine is the medicine for the people, of the people, and by the people.
6. ARE THERE ANY WARNINGS ABOUT ANY OF THE HERBAL REMEDIES TAKEN TO RELIEVE STOMACH ACHE?
I specialize in safe, food-like herbs. I prefer them to drug-like herbs. The remedies I have suggested here are as safe as foods, taken in food-like quantities. When herbs are powdered and encapsulated, they can be dangerous. They are more like a drug and you have to be more careful. I use herbs because they aren’t drugs.
7. ARE THERE FOODS THAT CAN INITIATE A STOMACH ACHE?
Beans! The magical fruit. So good for us, but so hard on the guts. And even worse when they are soy beans. The gas people get from tofu and tempe and soy beverage is outrageous.
From regular beans, try this simple five-step approach – guaranteed to reduce how much you “toot”
(i) Soak your beans overnight in a generous amount of cold water. Add a piece of wakame or kombu if desired.
(ii) Rinse beans thoroughly in cold water (retain seaweed).
(iii) Cover beans with fresh cold water, add retained seaweed, and cook until tender.
(iv) Cool.
(v) Reheat beans to serve.
8. IS THERE ANYTHING ELSE YOU WOULD LIKE TO ADD?
Yes, I believe all peppers are upsetting to the digestive tract. I suggest avoiding black pepper and cayenne, jalapeno and all others if you are prone to heartburn, have frequent gas pain, or suffer from irritable bowel or even simple diarrhea.
Green Blessings!
Susun Weed
 

Kitchen Tips Hints & Other Magical Stuff

Kitchen Tips Hints & Other Magical Stuff
Various Sources

* Please Note: In some of these suggestions it says that you are to simply
throw away what has gone bad. I personally always go bury and give it back to
the Earth and offer up a small prayer of thanks for what the item has done to
help me or my family out.

All purpose sifted flour is excellent for attracting money. Take a little
pinch and spread it somewhere dark…under your kitchen counter, in the back
of a cupboard, or under the sink.

Running out of salt supposedly foretells a loss of health or wealth. Always
keep an extra box of salt that you never use on a high shelf to help ensure
good fortune.

Fill a small jar with alfalfa and deposit it in the food cupboard. As long as
it remains there, the family will never know hunger.

Use buttons, change, safety pins, or toothpicks in a jar to work on abundance
and prosperity spells. Add an item each day to increase your prosperity.

Olive oil is a good substitute for any kind of anointing of candles and great
for mixing with oils and powders to bless and anoint surfaces.

A clove of garlic sitting on the sink board draws illness away from the
family. Don’t eat it; instead throw it away every month and replace it with a
new one.

Braids of garlic, onions, or peppers make a lovely decoration for your kitchen
and also ward off negativity.

An onion on your kitchen windowsill will absorb ill will. When it starts to
decay, replace it and throw it away. Do not eat it under any circumstances!

Leaded-glass crystal sun-catchers hung in a sunny kitchen window are excellent
protective devices.

Chili pepper seeds are wonderful for protective magick and repelling. Wash
them, let them dry out, and then place them in a little glass jar with a
lid. Bless your seeds in any way you wish. You can even make a label for
your jar that reads “Magickal Pepper Seeds” or whatever you like. You can use
the seeds to banish negativity from your home whenever you feel the need.
There are two methods for this:

1. Sprinkle a few seeds around your kitchen or home and then vacuum
or sweep them out the back door.

2. Place some seeds in a mortar and ground them to a powder.
Sprinkle the powder where needed and the proceed to vacuum or
sweep up. Discard out your back door.

When sweeping, remember to do so towards the fireplace, if you have one. If
not, sweep in any direction except towards the front door. If you ignore this
warning, you might remove your house’s luck.

Take two needles, make an equal-armed cross with them and place the cross in a
broom. Stand the broom behind a door and it will guard your home. When
standing a broom in the corner, put its bristles up, handle to the floor.
This not only ensures that the bristles will last longer, it also brings good
luck.

All household work–from scrubbing stains in the kitchen sink to swabbing the
floor with a mop to polishing wood furniture–should be done with clockwise
motions. This practice imbues your work, and the object you’re cleaning, with
positive energy.

Next time it rains, hang one of your dishrags outside to receive the liquid
blessings. Or, bury one outdoors by the light of the full moon. Both actions
are thought to be lucky.

Salt water left out in the centre of a room all night will absorb negativity.
Wash it away with flowing water the next morning. If you are on a septic
tank, either pour the water into the woods or into a body of running water.

When cooking any type of food, add magick to your cooking by drawing an
invisible pentagram inside your pots and pans with you finger, a wooden spoon
or another utensil. This guards the pan and the food, ensuring its
wholesomeness.

For good luck hang a “kitchen witch” doll in your kitchen to oversee and bless
your magickal workings. You can purchase one or make your own.

Turn a ladder into steps for success by painting the ladder in bright colours
and adding plants as decorative objects. Paint magickal symbols under the
rungs to help your prosperity (and plants) grow. As the plants grows, so does
your prosperity.

Grow an aloe plant in your kitchen. To soothe burns and scrapes, gently cut
off a mature, fleshy stalk, thanking the plant for its sacrifice, and squeeze
the gel from inside the leaf onto the wounded area. The aloe plant has
magickal properties as well–it also guards the cook against food preparation
accidents that can be very nasty. When using aloe gel in the kitchen, dab
some onto major appliances, windows, doors, and tools to safeguard them as
well.

When you purchase fresh herbs or gather them from your garden, cut the bottoms
off and place the herbs in a nice vase in your kitchen. This not only
brightens up the room, it adds fragrance, keeps the fresh herbs longer, and
has the added benefit of reminding you to use them in your dishes.

If you are having trouble following a recipe or are feeling generally “out of
it,” take a whiff of rosemary. This herb helps to promote mental clarity and
improve memory.

Sew herbs and magickal powders into the lining of your drapes. Place packets
of herbs or powders under throw rugs.

A quartz crystal placed on or near the stove when cooking makes food taste
better.

Copper molds can be hung on the kitchen walls to lend their rich colours.
Since copper is ruled by Venus, the planet of love, these molds also bring
love vibrations into the kitchen.

Wash all the dishes every night if you work with faerie magick. The fairies
don’t like dirt and they won’t let you sleep peacefully until the kitchen is
clean!

Bells or wind chimes hung from the doors guard against intruders and stagnant
energy. Hang them where the air currents can ring them. They will set up
movement in the air and clear the psychic energy of your home.

Sieves, sifters, and colanders hung or placed around the kitchen for
protective purposes will keep the kitchen secure.

A kitchen witch bottle can be constructed to protect your food from
contamination. Put three needles, three nails, and three pins into a jar.
Fill the jar with salt, seal it tightly, vigorously shake nine times and drip
red candle wax over the seal. Then place it in the cupboard where it won’t be
seen.

If you wish to perfect your execution of a recipe, copy it in red ink. Lay
this on a flat surface in the kitchen. On top, place a red candle in a holder
and light the candle. Let it burn down completely before you try the recipe.
As it burns visualize yourself cooking the dish successfully.

When you burn food, cut yourself, drop pots and pans, or experience a rash of
accidents in your kitchen, this could indicate the need for a cleansing.

Before eating, place your hands on either side of the food and send energy to
the food through visualization. Receive its energy back and then enjoy.

In setting the table, put the salt on first, and take it off last thing after
the meal. The salt will guard the food and the diners. While dining with
others, pass the salt with a smile.

Pass items clockwise around the table to bless them with positive vibrations
and ensure that they are healthy.

Prior to eating any liquid with a spoon (such as soup or porridge), stir the
bowl’s contents clockwise three times, then withdraw the spoon and enjoy.

Turn your beverage glass clockwise three times before drinking to bless the
contents.

Whenever you make a toast, be sure that the glasses clink. If not, the toast
won’t be heard by the higher forces.

Always leave a morsel or two on your plate, for tradition says that they who
clean their plates will know only poverty.

The first time you use a new set of silverware, make a wish. Visualize the
wish every time you lift a fork or spoon and the wish may come true.

For unity, have all those sharing the meal drink from the same cup.

Decorate foods and beverages with unique toothpicks, umbrellas, stirrers, and
the like whose colour or imagery represents your goal; the item can then be
carried later as an amulet or charm to keep that energy going.

Choose a bowl, plate, or placemat whose colour or imagery represents your
magickal goal.

Arrange the food on the plate or platter in the form of a symbol to which you
can relate while eating, such as a smile for joy.

Cut food into a symbolic image, such as a toast house that you consume while
looking for a new residence.

Everyone manages to collect plastic grocery bags. Instead of stuffing them in
a crowded drawer, fold and pack them into an empty tissue box covered in
pretty self-stick paper. Then pull out as needed.

Storing Your Magick Stuff

Storing Your Magick Stuff

If you’re anything like me, over time you have accumulated a mixed collection of herbs, oils and incenses. What do you do with it all? Stuff everything into a shoe-box, still in their original packages? Or display it on an altar? Whatever your storage method, you might want to think about what is best for the items, rather than what is best for you. Herbs can go stale, oils can go rancid and incense can go bland, if left in the wrong conditions for any length of time.

 
Herbs
If you are using fresh herbs for tea or ritual, then you should be using them up as quickly as possible. But dried herbs are a more common magickal item. The biggest problem facing dried herbs is exposure to air. Herbs will lose their aroma, texture and potency if left in the open air for even short periods of time. You shouldn’t leave your herbs in those little plastic bags from the herb store. They are prone to leaking, and your herbs will go stale in no time. The best way to store dried herbs is in jars with tight lids, and preferably stored in a dark place.

Oils
All oils, whether they are plain essential oils or custom ritual blends, should be kept out of the light. Good quality oils are usually sold in amber or cobalt blue bottles which are perfect to keep the oil at its best. Oils in these bottles can even be stored out on your altar, though I would keep them out of direct sunlight. Any oils that are in plain clear bottles should be either transfered to the darker bottles, or kept under wraps.

Incense
I used to store my incense sticks in the long bags I purchase them in, all bundled together in a box. Well, I ended up with a whole bunch of incense sticks that smelled the same. Even with the plastic bags, the scents blended and mingled until every stick had a pleasant but unidentifiable aroma. I have since purchased tall plastic containers designed for holding spaghetti. These work great, but they can get cumbersome if you have a lot of incense.

Overall, your supplies will last longer if you keep them protected and out of sight. If you like to keep your altar decorated with your supplies, you might want to select a few things for display only and not use them for ritual.

How many members of your sign does it take to change a light bulb?

How many members of your sign does it take to change a light bulb?

Aries: Just one. You want to make something of it?

Taurus: One, but just “try” to convince them that the burned-out bulb is useless and should be thrown away.

Gemini: Two, but the job never gets done — they just keep arguing about who is supposed to do it and how it’s supposed to be done.

Cancer: Just one. But it takes a therapist three years to help them through the grief process.

Leo: Leo’s don’t change light bulbs, although sometimes their agent will get a Virgo in to do the job for them while they’re out.

Virgo: Approximately 1.000000000000000000 with an error of 1 millionth.

Libra: Er, two. Or maybe one. No — on second thought, make that two. Is that okay with you?

Scorpio: That information is strictly secret and shared only with the Enlightened Ones in the Star Chamber of the Ancient Hierarchical Order.

Sagittarius: The sun in shining, the day is young, we’ve got our whole lives ahead of us, and you’re inside worrying about a stupid burned-out light bulb?

Capricorn: I don’t waste my time with these childish jokes.

Aquarius: Well, you have to remember that everything is energy, so…..

Pisces: Light bulb? What light bulb?

Aromatherapy in the Kitchen

Aromatherapy in the Kitchen

With so many essential oils having powerful antibacterial and
antiseptic qualities, use in the kitchen seems a very “natural” thing
to do! The scent from these natural cleaners is also a bonus, as we
don’t have to contend with the chemicals wafting around our
environment. We use these oils to wash down countertops after
cooking, chopping boards after cutting up meats, in the wash water
when washing the floor, walls or cupboards, cleaning the fridge or
freezer, its amazing!

When we cook, rising up in the steam are those tiny little molecules
of fat, which carry the scent of the food you are cooking. While this
is appetizing at the time, we don’t really want these smells to
linger by attaching themselves to our curtains, our clothing and our
furniture and carpeting. Blending essential oils of rosemary,
eucalyptus, lime, lavender or lemon (use one or all!) into a spray
bottle with a little alcohol and water makes a wonderfully air
cleansing room spray. The aromatic molecules of the essential oils
actually surround and deodorize those smelly little fat molecules,
rather then just covering them up like so many commercial, chemically
based synthetic sprays do. All the while these essential oils are
also helping to destroy any airborne bacteria that may have been
tracked home from school or the office, and are just waiting for
someone’s immune system to drop down so they can attack!!!

In the final rinse water for the cleaning of the refrigerator, a
drop or 2 of any of the citrus essential oils (orange, lemon,
grapefruit) will help to deodorize without permeating your food.

Washing down the counters and cupboards requires some serious
bacteria fighters, to make sure there are no surprises lingering on
your cooking and preparation surfaces. The following oils can be
dropped directly onto your cloth or combined to make 7-8 drops into
your rinse water (this is our favorite, as you get to enjoy the scent
of the molecules rising on the steam from the hot water!). Again, the
citrus oils are wonderful as well as thyme, pine, lavender and
eucalyptus (these can also calm you down and clear your nose if you
have a cold!).

Even doing dishes can be a little more fun (can we say those two
words in relation to one another?) when you add 10 drops of lemon,
grapefruit or bitter orange to your dish soap. You may not want to
sing and dance upon completion, but at least your psyche will be
suitably calmed and rejuvenated!

With so many essential oils having powerful antibacterial and
antiseptic qualities, use in the kitchen seems a very “natural” thing
to do! The scent from these natural cleaners is also a bonus, as we
don’t have to contend with the chemicals wafting around our
environment. We use these oils to wash down countertops after
cooking, chopping boards after cutting up meats, in the wash water
when washing the floor, walls or cupboards, cleaning the fridge or
freezer, its amazing!

From thymeforherbsandaromatherepy group

CHANNELING CRYSTALS

CHANNELING CRYSTALS

These crystals have seven edges surrounding the largest sloping face. These crystals are especially useful for obtaining information from deep within yourself or from sources that are outside of your normal realm. They can help you draw on the knowledge and information that is provided by the universe, and can aid you in getting help from a higher source. A channeling crystal
can be used anytime you are seeking answers or help from outside of yourself.

 

You must`listen’ very carefully when using this crystal and realize that answers can come from many sources. Meditation is used with these crystals to get knowledge from the universe, and to communicate with your spirit guide. It can only be used by the person holding the crystal.

Communication with Guide: A channeling crystal is a line of communication with sources outside yourself. Generally, the main source is your guide. A guide is a non-physical entity whose primary job is to look after you. Every human being has a guide. Guides are sometimes called other things, such as conscience, or angels, but they are always with us. We must learn to listen to what they have to say. Your guide will never tell you what to do, or interfere
in other ways with what you want to do, but your guide is there to help you find answers for yourself. And you can use your channeling crystal to let your guide be your conscience.
A channeling crystal can only be used by the person holding it. In other words, you can’t send the energy to someone else in order to let him receive the information directly. However, since guides communicate readily with each other, you can become good at getting information to people by asking your guide to give you the needed information for someone else, and then relaying it to the person. This is how you channel information for others.
Channeling crystals amplify the quiet inner voice of your guide, and can be a big help in learning how to channel information, both for yourself and for others.

SELECTING A CRYSTAL

SELECTING A CRYSTAL

To select a crystal, first put yourself in a calm space. Hold the crystal in your right hand with the point towards you. Feel it physically. Be open to sensations like tingling, or change in temperature. Also feel the crystal emotionally. Think of the purpose you want it for, and see if you feel attracted to it. Be more concerned with how it feels than how it looks.
Allow the crystal to pick you by interacting with it in this way. And remember to go with your initial feeling.

HOW CRYSTALS GROW

HOW CRYSTALS GROW

Generally, quartz crystals grow in a hexagonal (six sided) structure, with additional faces sloping towards a point at one end. A crystal with these characteristics is itself also called a POINT. Points may be totally clear and transparent, or they may contain streaks, lines, rainbows, water bubbles or other inclusions. They may also appear cloudy if they have grown in a place where it freezes in the winter. Optical clarity usually has little to do with
a crystal’s quality and its ability to amplify the subtle energies.