Tag: Stonehenge

The Witches Magick for January 10th – SEX STONE MAGICK

Witchy Comments & Graphics
SEX STONE MAGICK

You need to find two stones, one representing the female (either a shape with a hole in it or a triangular shape works also), and one representing the male (I think that shape is pretty self-explanatory). Hold these two stones together in your hand so that they are touching while chanting the following:

Stones of power, stones of might,

Love each other day and night.

Guard each other in the rain,

Until the sun will shine again.

Stones of power, stones of might,

Bring me love if it be right.

Repeat the chant as many times as you like and when you are done place the two stones inside a box to be put away where it will not be disturbed. It is important to make sure that the stones are still touching when they are inside the box.

Enhanced by Zemanta

The Winter Solstice

The Winter Solstice

The darkest day makes way for the return of light

Tarotcom Staff   Tarotcom Staff on the topics of winter solstice, capricorn, astrology
December 21, 2013 marks the Winter Solstice, which is the official beginning of winter, and the shortest day of the year in the Northern Hemisphere. But there’s a light at the end of this tunnel — literally! As the temperatures fall throughout the winter, the light grows, representing new hope during a time of darkness.

Ancient solstice festivals were the last big feasts before food became scarce during the harsh winter months. This magical day was celebrated from ancient Rome to China, and by the builders of Stonehenge to the Mayans. In fact, we all remember the Winter Solstice on December 21, 2012, which was the apparent end of the Mayan calendar, causing many to believe the end of the world is coming. Obviously, we’re still here!

Many modern holiday traditions, such as Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa and New Year’s, have their roots in the Winter Solstice celebrations of yesterday. Winter festivals continue today, complete with lights, feasts, dancing and singing, and spending quality time with those we love.

Astrologically, the Winter Solstice marks the moment the Sun — the ruler of the zodiac — moves from adventurous Fire sign Sagittarius to the steady Earth sign of Capricorn. This is the dark night of the year, a day when the Sun appears to stand still. It’s a time for light and laughter, but also deep reflection.

The Sun’s move into steady Capricorn urges us to take some time to look back on 2013 before we make those New Year’s resolutions. What did we do right? What do we wish we’d done differently? Don’t fight the seriousness it brings to the festive holiday season — use it to start 2014 on the right foot! Just make sure to keep some of the Goat’s ambitious energy alive when the Sun makes its next move.

Confessions of a Former Otherkin

Confessions of a Former Otherkin

Author:   BellaDonna Saberhagen   

I’ve been contemplating this article for a while, but someone’s response to The Chicken or the Egg prompted its necessity. I was going to make it a less personal piece, however, I think it comes off as less judgmental when explaining my own experiences rather than appearing to tear into others’ beliefs.

Karl Marx stated that ‘religion is the opiate of the masses’. I love being Pagan, I love the gods, and I love being me. Sometimes however, Pagans become deluded; their brand of Paganism seems to have become a wild LSD trip. They refuse to face facts or accept reality at all. These are, unfortunately, the ones who yell the loudest and get the most media attention (making people unfamiliar with our religions assume we’re all wackos) . Those Pagans who speak out against these claims (such as myself on some forums) are called closed-minded and bigoted. But must we be so open-minded that our brains fall out?

Want to know a secret? I used to be one of them. SHHH! Don’t tell anyone! I’m going to take you back to when I was a fairly new Pagan. When the world was all shiny, my friends weren’t just witches and shamans…they were werewolves and dragons and angels and gods. What was I? I was a fairy.

I say I was fairly new because I hardly count my high school days of having two Cunningham books hidden away and being active in my parents Church (and still wishy-washy about which way I wanted to go) as being an active Pagan or Witch. I still hid when I was at home on break, but my closet was non-existent on campus. Sometimes I was too ‘out and proud’ for some of my friends.

The culmination of my personal ‘delusion’ really was the fall semester of 2001. That semester, our group believed we were being psychically attacked by a blind lizard druid (a side note: this guy was actually dangerous; he choked one of my friends) . My boyfriend (at the time) believed we’d always been together in past lives (and that we were the real-life inspiration for Gomez and Morticia Addams in a past life) …he also stalked me when I broke up with him (and I almost beat him upside the head with a Sobe tea bottle. We’ll call him Stalker Boy) . Before I broke up with Stalker Boy, my roommate (henceforth called Dragon) , another friend (henceforth called Angel) , and a third person decided to implant the idea in my head to tell Stalker Boy I loved him by waking me up and pretending to be the Fates. Since when I’m woken up, I’m actually AWAKE, it didn’t work.

Dragon really thought she was a dragon. When her aura got too dirty (as it did from time to time as she was dealing with a bad break-up and the rest of that semester’s insanity; September 11th certainly didn’t help) , it got scaly and had to be cleansed. When it got scaly, she supposedly could not physically move. After the crazy events of 2001, she either stopped being Pagan or stopped practicing as those same events scared her from delving any further. Our friendship ended in May of 2003.

Cleansing was done by our shaman friend (who set himself up as our leader long before this, and either thought he was a werewolf, or was so intimately connected to his totem that his aura could shift against his will) . This was before the term ‘therian’ was used (or at least, if it was, our group remained ignorant of it while we were together) . I’ll call him Wolf. Wolf and I had an odd connection. He set himself up as my teacher, and honestly, I rue the day I saw him as such. The relationship I had with him kept me in my little bubble much longer than I probably would have been otherwise. Whenever I doubted my fey-ness, he would be there to re-affirm it and keep me in the fold. Luckily, I escaped his influence in May of 2004.

Angel is more like me. We have remained friends and laugh about those old days. She still feels a strong connection to heaven, but I don’t think she believes she’s an angel anymore (at least not as far as I am led to believe) .

I can’t say I really knew anyone who professed to be a god from myth reborn in human form. However, in our state, my friends and I saw certain gods in acquaintances. We were wise enough not to tell them, though. We confirmed their godhood through pendulum use (which is a very subjective form of divination, but it was our favorite at the time) . Stalker Boy’s pendulum was a glow stick on a string, which, looking back, hung crookedly, so it couldn’t be properly balanced to work as such. However, I will take this chance to state that this is the most harmful form. Look at cult leaders who tell their followers they’re Jesus Christ. Yes, it’s the same kind of thing. Even if the person claiming to be a god fails to have the charisma to be a cult leader, they (at the very least) have delusions of grandeur and are being extremely rude to those that worship that god.

I’m not saying that a god could not choose to become incarnate for a human lifetime, but I am dubious as to any real reasons why they would choose to do so. Why would they abandon those who believe in them by limiting their perceptions to those of a human being? It just makes no sense to me. Even if they could somehow get the actions of the faithful (prayers, circle castings, and I’m not even sure how invocation would work) fed into their limited human brain, they would not be able to manage… have you ever seen Bruce Almighty? It would be like that but without a computer to help manage it.

In one of the most profound visionary experiences I ever had, I shared some portion of my consciousness with Cernunnos, and it was overwhelming just to feel the forest directly surrounding me in all of its processes for even just a moment. I refuse to believe that such consciousness is maintainable as a human and that therefore being a human would be a viable option for a god.

What does all of this have to do with anything? Well, I outgrew my personal delusions once I left a crowd that fed them. By refusing to allow others like me to call someone on some of these behaviors, we make it impossible for them to escape that cycle and face reality. We create a community that consistently feeds and reaffirms the beliefs of such people. Sadly, the Internet can be blamed for a good bit of the inability to escape that cycle. Even when I was involved, otherkin forums began appearing, though, as with ‘therian’, the word did not seem to exist then.

So how crazy was I? I believed that I not only had fey blood, but a fey soul. I believed I had wings that simply could not manifest due to there not being enough ‘magick’ in the world. I believed that Stalker Boy, Dragon, Wolf, and myself were the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, that we were to tear open the ley line intersections at places such as Stonehenge on December 21, 2012 to bring about the new age of magick into the world. I was crazy. I was deluded. I was insane. Now, I am not.

I’m not saying that to be Pagan, you have to believe exactly as I do, but there is a line of sanity. Some Pagans cross that line.

And guess what? You don’t have to be a god to be an effective magician. You don’t have to be a fairy to work with them or be a powerful Witch. You don’t have to be a dragon to have a hoarding problem. You don’t have to be a therian (wolf or otherwise) to be a wonderful shaman. You are MAGICKAL ENOUGH without giving into delusions.

So why do you need to be more ‘other’ than Pagan? Being Pagan automatically puts you into society’s ‘other’ category.

I felt different from most of society because spiritually, I was different. I wanted something different to feed my soul than what I saw as the obvious options. Maybe that was why I felt so disjointed and jumped to the ‘I must not be human’ thought; maybe that’s why most of those who see themselves as such do this as well. I can’t speak for anyone else. I can speak for me. I can say that having moved beyond that particular period that there were rocky times; there were times when I felt disconnected and lost my faith. I think I purged too much of the ‘good’ of my faith when I purged the ‘bad’ and am now fighting to get some of that back. But it does not mean I really am a fairy in denial and that that denial caused the rockiness of more recent years. I think I am afraid, knowing my propensity for becoming deluded, and I second-guess my spiritual findings too much. That is my own lesson to learn.

At the very least, otherkin claims should be understood to be Unverifiable Personal Gnosis. Not everyone will believe you, or has to believe you because you’re Pagan and they’re Pagan. It doesn’t necessarily have to be part of your religious experience at all. You can have had a vision that King Arthur is really a dragon god and it could be really meaningful to you. That does not mean that everyone (or anyone) else has to accept that vision as well. It is yours and yours alone.

So, if you think you’re (insert otherkin here) , it might be wise to keep it to yourself until you’ve vetted the group you’re entering. They might not want to encourage you and you shouldn’t feel they have to. I would highly recommend that if you do think you’re otherkin to really examine why. If spirits came to you and told you such, examine those spirits; see if they had your best interest at heart (often many like to mess with the human mind, and some definitely do not have our best interest at heart) . If a sensitive told you, examine how accurate he/she has been about other things… and how flighty or grounded he/she is in his/her own life. If you just feel ‘other’ somehow and don’t know why, check for any variations on your sexual orientation or for any forms of gender dysphoria. I couldn’t accept my own bi-sexuality until I acknowledged and accepted my humanity.

Even if being otherkin isn’t a ‘delusion’, there are reasons not to focus on it. You may have been a fairy or a dragon in a past life; but for whatever reason, your soul chose to be born as human now. There are some lessons that are best learned by being human and you cannot truly be human if you’re constantly trying to recapture the magick of your past incarnations. You’ll stagnate and be stuck in a form your soul is not entirely comfortable with… over and over and over again, until you learn to be human.

There might be trace amounts of holdover DNA, however, just as I doubt you could find any of the Cherokee or Italian markers in me that are supposedly a part of my family’s genetic heritage, you will never be able to verify it through science. And I would have to think, just as there’s a ratio cap on your bloodline for being able to call yourself a member of a specific tribe or nation (my 1/64th Cherokee doesn’t get me in) , that fairies and dragons would think similarly and laugh at you for calling yourself ‘Fairy” or ‘Dragon” like you’re a full-blooded member of their camp.

So if you find yourself caught between needing to learn this life’s lessons and being so infinitesimally related by blood that being recognized by full-blooded members of those species is unlikely, you might want to just give it up and be human.

Humans are magickal and that should be enough for any of us.

Daily Cosmic Calendar for February 2nd

The Moon leaves void status in Libra by entering fixed and potent Scorpio (4:03AM PST). Research, investigations and in-depth studies receive the proverbial green light with the Moon in the eighth sign of the zodiac. Don your detective garb to solve personal mysteries and ferret out ancestral secrets.  Giving you an extra dose of psychic sensitivity is a Moon-Neptune harmonious trine of 120-degrees (7:46AM PST). Pressing the anger button is a no-no around the time-period when Mercury forms a caustic, 45-degree tie with underworld-ruling Pluto (4:01PM PST).  Healing forces are back on the march — courtesy of a Moon-Chiron trine in water signs (5:39PM PST). Learn more about The Great Pyramid, Stonehenge, and the building of ancient megaliths. Don’t be surprised if feelings of deja vu pop up without warning.  Turn the tables on self-doubt or pessimism later on during the monthly Moon-Saturn union (11:46PM PST).

Welcome, Darkest Night

Welcome, Darkest Night

by Janice Van Cleve

 

I love this season of growing dark. The night starts earlier to cast its blanket of quiet and peace upon the land and calls me to wrap up what I am doing. Early darkness coaxes me to sit down to supper at six o’clock instead of nine, so I can digest properly before I go to sleep.  Longer nights delay the prodding light of morning, so I can grab a few more winks. It encourages me to work more efficiently with the daylight that I do have. The dark time of the year is a healthy time for me.

It is a healthy time for plants and animals as well. Perennials focus on building up their root systems during the dark time, and annuals spread their seeds. Leaves fall to the ground to be leached and composted into next year ‘s soil. Animals feast on the yield of crops and orchards and store up surplus to see them through the winter and spring. In the dark time, all nature refocuses on renewing itself, sloughing off that which is no longer necessary and nurturing the best for the new year.

For northern tribes who lived where night falls longest and deepest, the dark time of the year was a time of great creativity. Bards honed their songs and added new verses for the entertainment and education of their audiences. Farmers turned to woodworking to fashion furniture or to decorate the interiors of their homes. Tradespeople made cloth, tools, jewelry, clothes and other goods to sell the merchants when they returned in the spring. Cooks became more and more inventive as the darkness lingered and the variety in the larder grew more limited. Even today, most school and university classes are scheduled for the winter months. In the business world, new product releases from software to movies to automobiles are debuted during this time.

In short, the dark time of the year is a busy, industrious and very creative time for nature and for human activity. So why in modern society does it get such a bad rap? The ancients certainly figured out that spring followed winter every year, and they used their skills to create solstice calculators like Stonehenge to predict how much more winter they had left. Were they really immobilized in fear of the dark, waiting for solstice to give them hope of spring? Or, on the other hand, did they grumble at solstice that they only had a few more months to play, eat, sing and finish their carvings before they had to get back out and work the farm again? Ancient peoples, after all, did not create surpluses for profit or a year-round global economy. They simply raised enough to sustain themselves so they could devote their time to crafts and play.

Perhaps it was the new religion of Christianity that tried to separate light from dark, exalting the former and disparaging the latter. Perhaps it was Christians’ idea to create fear of the dark so they could make light seem like a sort of salvation. However, nature doesn’t seem to need saving from anything, except from human greed. Nature goes on, year after year, with summer and winter alternating appropriate to the latitude. Nature values the dark time as much as the light and uses both to its advantage. The dark time is healthy and wholesome. It is as necessary for life as rain and sun, decay and bacteria.

And so it is appropriate that our pagan new year starts with Samhain, the beginning of the darkest time of the year. We rest before we work. We focus inwardly before we focus on the wider world. We sleep, we feast, we meditate, and we renew ourselves so that when spring’s light returns and calls us to next year’s work we can respond with new health and strength. These are gifts of the dark time. We are fortunate to have them!

Calendar of the Sun for June 22

22 Lithemonath

LITHA – SUMMER SOLSTICE

Colors: Yellow and gold
Element: Fire
Altar: Upon cloth of yellow and gold light eight yellow candles, incense of cedar and bay, many yellow flowers, a golden chalice of mead, another of citrus fruit juice, and as many figures of the sun as you can find or make. A great sun on a pole should be brought in procession, and one man should stand before the altar with it, and read the call and response.
Offerings: Open the House to others to share the ritual, or take it elsewhere. Like all the great high holidays, this ritual should be shared with the greater community.
Daily Meal: Yellow and orange food of any kind.

(Four who have been chosen to do the work of the ritual come forward and cast the quarters.)

North Caller: All hail the Standing Stone of the North,
Guardian of the Earth!
Whose name is the Great Bear,
Whose name is Midnight Star,
Whose name is Sleep of Winter
Whose name is Constancy.

West Caller: All hail the Standing Stone of the West,
Guardian of the Waters!
Whose name is the Salmon of Knowledge,
Whose name is Edge of Twilight
Whose name is Autumn Rain
Whose name is Yielding.

South Caller: All hail the Standing Stone of the South,
Guardian of the Fire!
Whose name is the Coiled Dragon,
Whose name is High Noon
Whose name is Summer Solstice,
Whose name is Fervor.

East Caller: All hail the Standing Stone of the East,
Guardian of the Air!
Whose name is Hawk in Flight,
Whose name is Light of Dawn,
Whose name is Equinox,
Whose name is Wanderer.

One steps forward and pours a libation of mead onto the ground, and says:

Accept this offering, O sun above us, whose golden rays pour down and give us Life, and yet can give Death if we do not take care. Teach us to glory in your generosity and yet respect your power. Do not desert us, but burn forever in our souls.

Call and Response:
All Hail the longest day!
We have slept away the shortest night,
We have watched the wheel turn
From early darkness to early light.
All hail the highest moment of the year!
Come forth Sun and shine upon us!
Let nothing cloud your brilliance!
Let nothing cloud your light!
Let all your veils of rain be cast away!
Come forth and give us life, O Sun!
We stand where our ancestors stood,
We hail you on the day they hailed you,
We follow in their footsteps!
Hail Apollo of the golden chariot,
Hail Lugh Sun-Face of many talents,
Hail Ra who battles serpents each night,
Hail Amaterasu Omikami, mother of emperors!
Take joy in the morning rays!
Take joy in the noon heat!
Take joy in the sunset colors!
Take joy! Take joy! Take joy!

(One steps forward and says:)

Never forget that we live because our world, our green Gaea, is the right distance away from the Sun’s power. Further away and we would be robbed of its lifegiving rays; further in and we would be burned to death by them. Never forget that life depends on the right amount of closeness and distance. Ponder this as you go your ways, and remember it every time you look up at the Sun above you.

(Another steps forward and says:)

For this is the time of the Sun’s highest glory, and like Him, we will fade and decline, and then be reborn new. For this is the way of the Universe: unending cycles within cycles. Rather than praying for an end to things, see it rather as a source of comfort that all dies and is reborn, and so nothing truly dies forever, and so nothing ever truly ends.

Song: Oak and Ash and Thorn

[Pagan Book of Hours]

Designing Labyrinths

Designing Labyrinths

 

 

Labyrinths can be complex or as simple as a rock spiral. The rock spiral can be a simple as a widely spaced line of small stones that curves inward until a center is reached, rather like the design of a snail’s shell. The best way to provide for a working center is to first establish a circular space big enough to stand and move around in; center this over a power spot if you are fortunate enough to find one. Surround this center with a border of rocks, leaving an opening on one side. Then curve your spiral path out from this at least three times around the center. Be sure that the path is wide enough to comfortably walk in. Make the path turn clockwise.

In the very center of the spiral, you can place a flat stone. It does not have to be very large. Whenever you find such a stone, before placing it within your power area, cleanse it with a bath of salt and water. This flat stone can do double duty as an altar and also to stand or sit upon when you are working within your sacred space. There are some human-constructed flat stones used for facing buildings that work quite well. Stay away from plastics. Several bricks set up in a square or oblong pattern can be substituted; however, they are not very good at conducting energy into your body. The real stones can become power-sinks in their own right, drawing in and storing Earth dragon power or even the power produced by repeated rituals.

Much more elaborate labyrinths can be formed if you first plan them out on paper, but I cannot say they are any more effective than the simpler design. One side effect of such a spiral is an improvement of the atmospheric vibrations thought the immediate neighborhood, as well as on your own property.

Circle of stones will work in the same manner, especially if they are built over lines of dragon power. In Circles, Groves & Sanctuaries(Llewellyn 1993), Dan and Pauline Campanelli wrote of a man who built a wooden henge, as in Stonehenge, in his yard. This circular structure would work on the same principle as a stone circle or labyrinth.

Although the mere laying out of the spiral or circular rock pattern will activate and center the dragon’s breath energy, you might want to specifically tie it to your own energy vibrations. This can be done with a simple welcoming ritual. Using your staff, walk along the spiral path into the center. Take with you a small gift of herbs. If you have laid out a circle, choose one particular direction to use as a consistent entrance place. Stand in the center facing north and tape the ground three times with the staff, saying;

Arise, O breath of dragon.

Fill this land with goodness.

Bless me and mine with your positive energies,

And repel all those who wish to harm in any form,

I welcome all dragons who come to this place of power.

May we work in harmony and in love.

May this sacred spot become a haven of centeredness,

A refuge that revitalizes,

A door that leads to Otherworld knowledge.

May your power become one with mine (kneel and

Touch the ground with palm of your hand).

That I, my family, my community, my country, the

World,

May become whole and healthy again.

 

 

Tap the staff three times on the ground. Sprinkle the gift of herbs about your center space. Exit the circle or spiral with dignity and thanksgiving, knowing you have begun a neighborhood change in vibrations for the better.
Sometimes you will find a house or building that sits on a line of dragon’s breath energy. Some of the older houses that exude an atmosphere or either welcome or repulsion are often situated on such lines. Disembodied spirits or ghosts are frequently seen in these building, and not just by psychics. If the energy stream is a positive one, the ghosts will not be troublesome. However, if the sits over a black stream, one finds poltergeist activity, malicious ghosts, and a general set of negative vibrations that harass the family living there. It may be that these ghosts are trapped by the negative energy flow or that they use it to boost their own power.

I rented such a negatively situated house once and never was able to stake the energy line right or get rid of the hateful ghost who stayed there. One of the two stairways in that house was always as cold as the inside of a freezer, even on the hottest days of the year. The evil that was felt on that stairway made everyone, even nonbelieving visitors avoid going that way. I found out that forty years before, a teen-aged boy had died in the room at the top of the stairs. What his reasons were for staying on after death, I do not know, but the noises, evil feelings and trouble he caused were unwelcome. No renters stayed for any length of time.

Tracing flows of “dragon energy” is an excellent exercise for strengthening your psychic energy. The vibration of such power is quite similar to that felt when dragons are in the vicinity, so it helps the magician become familiar with the feeling of arriving dragons. Best of all, it is just plain, inexpensive fun.

“Dancing with Dragons”

D. J. Conway

A Little Winter Solstice Lore……

Winter Comments & Graphics

 

The solstice itself may have been a special moment of the annual cycle of the year even during neolithic times. Astronomical events, which during ancient times controlled the mating of animals, sowing of crops and metering of winter reserves between harvests, show how various cultural mythologies and traditions have arisen. This is attested by physical remains in the layouts of late Neolithic and Bronze Age archaeological sites such as Stonehenge in Britain and Newgrange in Ireland. The primary axes of both of these monuments seem to have been carefully aligned on a sight-line pointing to the winter solstice sunrise (Newgrange) and the winter solstice sunset (Stonehenge). Significant in respect of Stonehenge is the fact that the Great Trilithon was erected outwards from the centre of the monument, i.e., its smooth flat face was turned towards the midwinter Sun.

The winter solstice may have been immensely important because communities were not certain of living through the winter, and had to be prepared during the previous nine months. Starvation was common in winter between January and April, also known as the famine months. In temperate climates, the midwinter festival was the last feast celebration, before deep winter began. Most cattle were slaughtered so they would not have to be fed during the winter, so it was almost the only time of year when a supply of fresh meat was available. The majority of wine and beer made during the year was finally fermented and ready for drinking at this time. The concentration of the observances were not always on the day commencing at midnight or at dawn, but the beginning of the pre-Romanized day, which falls on the previous eve.

Since the event is seen as the reversal of the Sun’s ebbing presence in the sky, concepts of the birth or rebirth of sun gods have been common and, in cultures using winter solstitially based cyclic calendars, the year as reborn has been celebrated with regard to life-death-rebirth deities or new beginnings such as Hogmanay’s redding, a New Year cleaning tradition. In Greek mythology, the gods and goddesses met on the winter and summer solstice, and Hades is permitted to enter Mount Olympus (his domain is the underworld so he of course does not get accepted any other time). Also reversal is yet another usual theme as in Saturnalia’s slave and master reversals.

~Magickal Graphics~

Solstice Meditation and Visualization

Solstice Meditation and Visualization
 
Winter Solstice is an excellent time to undergo a vision quest to find your magickal name, a totem animal, a mantra, or other empowering
insights. This meditation is meant to accent that quest by opening your awareness to the power within and without all things. Begin in a
standing position. Center yourself and breathe deeply. Slowly take off your mundane clothes., likewise removing the “World” with each.
Wrap a blanket around yourself for warmth, but remain naked for the meditation. You need no trappings to discover personal power.
 
Sit and close your eyes. Let any remaining tension drain away, then begin listening to the sound of silence. Smell the aromas of oak and herb.
Feel the latent energy of everything around you and the magick you’ve placed there. Know it is your own. Listen to your breath and your heartbeat.
Sense the pulse and bb within as the same energy without. Listen closely; does it whisper a message to you? Does it whisper a name? Do you
hear the cry of an animal? Do you hear words that fill you with energy? Linger in this place between Earth and stars until you receive a message.
Then return to normal levels of awareness, and write the experience in your journal.

The Hedge Witch’s Home (Or A Guide to Practical Paganism)

The Hedge Witch’s Home (Or A Guide to Practical Paganism)

Author: Liofrun

For most of us Pagans, the altar can be seen as a spiritual or peaceful refuge in our own special corner away from the mundane and away from the rest of the world. For others of us, we may prefer to meditate and still others would like nothing more than a peaceful walk in a forest. But our homes can be places of spiritual refuge as well, from the front door to the bedroom at the furthest end of the house. In fact, the home should be a refuge, a Pagan one. It goes without saying that most of us want to feel Pagan and live Pagan but for some of us this can be difficult.

Some of us live in must urban settings or very small dwellings with little room. Maybe you’re renting an apartment with strict rules such as no holes in the walls. But it’s anything but hopeless. We can “Pagan” up our houses in the simplest of ways. It is possible even if we live in tiny, cramped apartments or dorm rooms where lighting candles and incense isn’t practical and is prohibited by post-secondary institutions.

Kitchen Witches make much use of their kitchens. Their altars are their counters and their ritual tools are the big wooden spoons and saucepans by the stove. Green Witches have their gardens and hedge witches have the tinted jars of sundry herbs lined upon the shelves.

There are a few simple steps a Pagan can take to make their home really their home. Setting up a modest altar in a preferred room is one way, perhaps with a smudge stick or perhaps with images of ancestors lining the edges. This is really very simple, a nicely framed picture of Grandma and Grandpa on a side table will most surely do! My altar has a calendar set up neatly on the left side. You can decorate your altar according to your path’s holidays and decorate your house with seasonal sprigs or seasonal emblems.

One can also make use of many readily available herbs to feel close to nature such as creating sachets, herbal rinses, soaps, incenses, teas or any variety of delicious culinary dishes. I have only a few words of advice and those are: DO NOT OVERPICK. And be sure to pick ethically as many plants are endangered or becoming endangered just as animals do. And do not pick anything out in the wild without thoroughly making sure you know what it is and use it to the best of its abilities If you can’t be sure, leave it or consult someone who knows. That being said, the practical Pagan may want to get rosehips from the roses in his garden and they appear when the blooms die for any number of practical purposes from teas to desserts.

These and many other herbs can also be found at a local loose-leaf teashop, or if you’re lucky enough, your local herb shop or Pagan shop. There are many practical ways to utilize these small charms as well. A kitchen Witch might go to the supermarket and buy some thyme or ginger to cook with and saturate it with his or her witchy knack for cooking. If you live in the city, and want to feel more “naturey”, set up a windowsill spice garden and be sure to get a few potted plants.

When friends come over, the hedge Witch can brew a mean tea from those same rosehips, which are high in vitamin C and thus helpful with colds. If you’re looking for a sleeping potion and warm milk just isn’t doing the trick, try some chamomile. As a mild sedative, it does wonders to help you, or your active children get to sleep.

To make your home feel like being home and feel more Pagan, you could tie an herb sachet by the bathtub and the scent will be released with the steam. You could collect your favorite Pagan authors and place them on a bookshelf in the living room. You could keep a diary, dream journal or recipe book by your bed stand.

For the more spiritual, you could buy a nice broom and decorate it to your tastes and use cleaning the home as a ritual or if you’re Heathen, place a blót horn or ancestor image on the mantel. Mine is only big enough for a single shot so if you’re space is cramped you can still aim small. You do not have to feel like you are trapped in a cramped, mundane and utterly unPagan apartment.

You can imbue almost anything with a spiritual significance. Even if you are a teenager in a strict nonPagan home you can try your hand at cooking or placing a broom in your room to clean with and of course you can buy little figurines for your bedroom that have special significance to you.

Last but not least, you could try your creative hand and add a very personal element. If you can write, write a prayer for your bedroom wall. If you can paint, paint an image of your patron God. If you can carve, carve an image of your totem. If you can work with wood, well, you get the idea.

It is very easy to be the Practical Pagan without cheapening the experience or overdoing it dramatically. After all, no one really need a big witch hat and a cast iron cauldron sitting dead centre in the front foyer for all to see to have a Pagan home and neither do you need to set up a mini Stonehenge in the backyard (a small altar by a tree or birdfeeder may do just fine) .

If space is an issue, aim small. If disapproving eyes are an issue, aim for subtle and above all, aim for modest and something which will complement your personality!

Make your home really feel like yours and let it be inspired by your Pagan path.

Happy (Pagan) interior decorating!

 


Footnotes:
N/A

Power Objects

Power Objects

 
Do you ever pick up special rocks, feathers, or shells? Do you have a special necklace or ring that you wear just for ritual? Can an array of crystals be found around your home, office or in your pockets? If so, you already have some personal power objects.
 
Power objects are items that hold strong energy for you. A power object may evoke a connection with spirit allies, bring healing, act as a focal point, or heighten your own magickal abilities. These may be object whose energy is apparent to all that come in contact with them–perhaps soil from Stonehenge or water blessed by the Dalai Lama. On the other hand, they may be items that resonate with you alone. Your grandmother’s wedding ring may hold power for you, or a lock of your child’s hair.
 
Power objects are often believed to be gifts from the gods or spirit allies. While walking in the woods, you may come across a feather or unusually shaped stone that seems to call to you. Your attention is drawn to it again and again or your might know instantly when you see it that it is there just for you. You may find yourself in a store, just wandering on a lunch hour or shopping for a friend. Before you know it, a crystal speaks to you in some way and you just know that you can’t leave the store without taking it home.
 
For whatever reason, these objects have a reason for being in your life. The reason is likely to be incredibly personal, something specific to you and you alone. For some people, the meaning is rather general. A bear fetish or turkey feather reminds you of all that these spirit animals have been to you and provides as instant connection to their energy. For others, a power object is very specific. A horse hair represents freedom from an abusive relationship, or a blue topaz holds the ability to voice one’s needs and opinions. Attuning to your power object will not only help you understand the power and meaning it has for you, but will also assist you in accessing that power.
 
Kristin Madden
Llewellyn’s 2007 Magical Almanac

Welcome, Darkest Night

Welcome, Darkest Night

by Janice Van Cleve

I love this season of growing dark. The night starts earlier to cast its blanket of quiet and peace upon the land and calls me to wrap up what I am doing. Early darkness coaxes me to sit down to supper at six o’clock instead of nine, so I can digest properly before I go to sleep. Longer nights delay the prodding light of morning, so I can grab a few more winks. It encourages me to work more efficiently with the daylight that I do have. The dark time of the year is a healthy time for me.

It is a healthy time for plants and animals as well. Perennials focus on building up their root systems during the dark time, and annuals spread their seeds. Leaves fall to the ground to be leached and composted into next year ‘s soil. Animals feast on the yield of crops and orchards and store up surplus to see them through the winter and spring. In the dark time, all nature refocuses on renewing itself, sloughing off that which is no longer necessary and nurturing the best for the new year.

For northern tribes who lived where night falls longest and deepest, the dark time of the year was a time of great creativity. Bards honed their songs and added new verses for the entertainment and education of their audiences. Farmers turned to woodworking to fashion furniture or to decorate the interiors of their homes. Tradespeople made cloth, tools, jewelry, clothes and other goods to sell the merchants when they returned in the spring. Cooks became more and more inventive as the darkness lingered and the variety in the larder grew more limited. Even today, most school and university classes are scheduled for the winter months. In the business world, new product releases from software to movies to automobiles are debuted during this time.

In short, the dark time of the year is a busy, industrious and very creative time for nature and for human activity. So why in modern society does it get such a bad rap? The ancients certainly figured out that spring followed winter every year, and they used their skills to create solstice calculators like Stonehenge to predict how much more winter they had left. Were they really immobilized in fear of the dark, waiting for solstice to give them hope of spring? Or, on the other hand, did they grumble at solstice that they only had a few more months to play, eat, sing and finish their carvings before they had to get back out and work the farm again? Ancient peoples, after all, did not create surpluses for profit or a year-round global economy. They simply raised enough to sustain themselves so they could devote their time to crafts and play.

Perhaps it was the new religion of Christianity that tried to separate light from dark, exalting the former and disparaging the latter. Perhaps it was Christians’ idea to create fear of the dark so they could make light seem like a sort of salvation. However, nature doesn’t seem to need saving from anything, except from human greed. Nature goes on, year after year, with summer and winter alternating appropriate to the latitude. Nature values the dark time as much as the light and uses both to its advantage. The dark time is healthy and wholesome. It is as necessary for life as rain and sun, decay and bacteria.

And so it is appropriate that our pagan new year starts with Samhain, the beginning of the darkest time of the year. We rest before we work. We focus inwardly before we focus on the wider world. We sleep, we feast, we meditate, and we renew ourselves so that when spring’s light returns and calls us to next year’s work we can respond with new health and strength. These are gifts of the dark time. We are fortunate to have them!

Welcome, Darkest Night

Welcome, Darkest Night

by Janice Van Cleve

I love this season of growing dark. The night starts earlier to cast its blanket of quiet and peace upon the land and calls me to wrap up what I am doing. Early darkness coaxes me to sit down to supper at six o’clock instead of nine, so I can digest properly before I go to sleep. Longer nights delay the prodding light of morning, so I can grab a few more winks. It encourages me to work more efficiently with the daylight that I do have. The dark time of the year is a healthy time for me.

It is a healthy time for plants and animals as well. Perennials focus on building up their root systems during the dark time, and annuals spread their seeds. Leaves fall to the ground to be leached and composted into next year ‘s soil. Animals feast on the yield of crops and orchards and store up surplus to see them through the winter and spring. In the dark time, all nature refocuses on renewing itself, sloughing off that which is no longer necessary and nurturing the best for the new year.

For northern tribes who lived where night falls longest and deepest, the dark time of the year was a time of great creativity. Bards honed their songs and added new verses for the entertainment and education of their audiences. Farmers turned to woodworking to fashion furniture or to decorate the interiors of their homes. Tradespeople made cloth, tools, jewelry, clothes and other goods to sell the merchants when they returned in the spring. Cooks became more and more inventive as the darkness lingered and the variety in the larder grew more limited. Even today, most school and university classes are scheduled for the winter months. In the business world, new product releases from software to movies to automobiles are debuted during this time.

In short, the dark time of the year is a busy, industrious and very creative time for nature and for human activity. So why in modern society does it get such a bad rap? The ancients certainly figured out that spring followed winter every year, and they used their skills to create solstice calculators like Stonehenge to predict how much more winter they had left. Were they really immobilized in fear of the dark, waiting for solstice to give them hope of spring? Or, on the other hand, did they grumble at solstice that they only had a few more months to play, eat, sing and finish their carvings before they had to get back out and work the farm again? Ancient peoples, after all, did not create surpluses for profit or a year-round global economy. They simply raised enough to sustain themselves so they could devote their time to crafts and play.

Perhaps it was the new religion of Christianity that tried to separate light from dark, exalting the former and disparaging the latter. Perhaps it was Christians’ idea to create fear of the dark so they could make light seem like a sort of salvation. However, nature doesn’t seem to need saving from anything, except from human greed. Nature goes on, year after year, with summer and winter alternating appropriate to the latitude. Nature values the dark time as much as the light and uses both to its advantage. The dark time is healthy and wholesome. It is as necessary for life as rain and sun, decay and bacteria.

And so it is appropriate that our pagan new year starts with Samhain, the beginning of the darkest time of the year. We rest before we work. We focus inwardly before we focus on the wider world. We sleep, we feast, we meditate, and we renew ourselves so that when spring’s light returns and calls us to next year’s work we can respond with new health and strength. These are gifts of the dark time. We are fortunate to have them!

The Hedge Witch’s Home (Or A Guide to Practical Paganism)

The Hedge Witch’s Home (Or A Guide to Practical Paganism)

Author: Aethelbera

For most of us Pagans, the altar can be seen as a spiritual or peaceful refuge in our own special corner away from the mundane and away from the rest of the world. For others of us, we may prefer to meditate and still others would like nothing more than a peaceful walk in a forest. But our homes can be places of spiritual refuge as well, from the front door to the bedroom at the furthest end of the house. In fact, the home should be a refuge, a Pagan one. It goes without saying that most of us want to feel Pagan and live Pagan but for some of us this can be difficult.

Some of us live in must urban settings or very small dwellings with little room. Maybe you’re renting an apartment with strict rules such as no holes in the walls. But it’s anything but hopeless. We can “Pagan” up our houses in the simplest of ways. It is possible even if we live in tiny, cramped apartments or dorm rooms where lighting candles and incense isn’t practical and is prohibited by post-secondary institutions.

Kitchen Witches make much use of their kitchens. Their altars are their counters and their ritual tools are the big wooden spoons and saucepans by the stove. Green Witches have their gardens and hedge witches have the tinted jars of sundry herbs lined upon the shelves.

There are a few simple steps a Pagan can take to make their home really their home. Setting up a modest altar in a preferred room is one way, perhaps with a smudge stick or perhaps with images of ancestors lining the edges. This is really very simple, a nicely framed picture of Grandma and Grandpa on a side table will most surely do! My altar has a calendar set up neatly on the left side. You can decorate your altar according to your path’s holidays and decorate your house with seasonal sprigs or seasonal emblems.

One can also make use of many readily available herbs to feel close to nature such as creating sachets, herbal rinses, soaps, incenses, teas or any variety of delicious culinary dishes. I have only a few words of advice and those are: DO NOT OVERPICK. And be sure to pick ethically as many plants are endangered or becoming endangered just as animals do. And do not pick anything out in the wild without thoroughly making sure you know what it is and use it to the best of its abilities If you can’t be sure, leave it or consult someone who knows. That being said, the practical Pagan may want to get rosehips from the roses in his garden and they appear when the blooms die for any number of practical purposes from teas to desserts.

These and many other herbs can also be found at a local loose-leaf teashop, or if you’re lucky enough, your local herb shop or Pagan shop. There are many practical ways to utilize these small charms as well. A kitchen Witch might go to the supermarket and buy some thyme or ginger to cook with and saturate it with his or her witchy knack for cooking. If you live in the city, and want to feel more “naturey”, set up a windowsill spice garden and be sure to get a few potted plants.

When friends come over, the hedge Witch can brew a mean tea from those same rosehips, which are high in vitamin C and thus helpful with colds. If you’re looking for a sleeping potion and warm milk just isn’t doing the trick, try some chamomile. As a mild sedative, it does wonders to help you, or your active children get to sleep.

To make your home feel like being home and feel more Pagan, you could tie an herb sachet by the bathtub and the scent will be released with the steam. You could collect your favorite Pagan authors and place them on a bookshelf in the living room. You could keep a diary, dream journal or recipe book by your bed stand.

For the more spiritual, you could buy a nice broom and decorate it to your tastes and use cleaning the home as a ritual or if you’re Heathen, place a blót horn or ancestor image on the mantel. Mine is only big enough for a single shot so if you’re space is cramped you can still aim small. You do not have to feel like you are trapped in a cramped, mundane and utterly unPagan apartment.

You can imbue almost anything with a spiritual significance. Even if you are a teenager in a strict nonPagan home you can try your hand at cooking or placing a broom in your room to clean with and of course you can buy little figurines for your bedroom that have special significance to you.

Last but not least, you could try your creative hand and add a very personal element. If you can write, write a prayer for your bedroom wall. If you can paint, paint an image of your patron God. If you can carve, carve an image of your totem. If you can work with wood, well, you get the idea.

It is very easy to be the Practical Pagan without cheapening the experience or overdoing it dramatically. After all, no one really need a big witch hat and a cast iron cauldron sitting dead centre in the front foyer for all to see to have a Pagan home and neither do you need to set up a mini Stonehenge in the backyard (a small altar by a tree or birdfeeder may do just fine) .

If space is an issue, aim small. If disapproving eyes are an issue, aim for subtle and above all, aim for modest and something which will complement your personality!

Make your home really feel like yours and let it be inspired by your Pagan path.

Happy (Pagan) interior decorating!


Footnotes:
N/A