Sage Advice on Abundance . . .

Always be careful not only what you wish for but how much!

Visualizations of New Beginnings . . .

The full moon is an excellent time for new beginnings.  One key is to have a new path fully visualized.  Where you want to go, what you want to be doing, etc.  One thing that you must consider though is the pathway to the new beginning.  You have to visualize that as well, or the fates may pave it for you in a way you don't expect.  For example you see yourself in a different home.  Unless you visualize how you're going to get there, the fates may take it as a sign to kill off everyone in your home, leaving you without one, or making something happen to cut ties to the safety net you already have.  It's like when you want  a better job than the one you have, you don't quit that job until you've found the better one.  It is important doing any type of magickal working to keep your visualizations clear and sharp.

The Witches Garden . . .

As a Hedgewitch, plants and herbs are a staple in my practice, but this holds true for many paths.  Plants, herbs, crystals and stones add extra oomph to your workings, an extra kick, if you will.

Gardening isn't that difficult, it just takes dedication, like working your path does.  Soil, sun and water makes a garden grow.  Love and care nurture the garden to true magnificence.

I read over the following website and indeed the plants mentioned here would make an excellent Witches Garden.  Books like Complete Encyclopedia of herbs by Scott Cunningham will help you decide what plants and herbs you need for what type of working.

Here is the link:

http://balconygardenweb.com/how-to-create-a-witchs-garden/

The Sun . . .

I have to admit, I'm not much of a "day" person.  I usually tend my garden near twilight, or at least in the very late evening.  Don't do early mornings unless it's a dire emergency.  But sometimes I get 'called' outside during the day.  I found this website, Christopher is a wonderful author and source of all things magick, so I'll just share it here for you sun lovers and those, like me, who need to love it more:

Sun Magick

The Blue Moon of January 2018 . . .

This month's blue moon has the distinction of being a super moon, a blood moon, and will be eclipsed.  What does this mean magickally?  Well ... nothing really.  It's a blue moon but can be attributed to the month of February as it's energies are strong the day before, the day of and the day after the actual full.

Taken from the Farmer's Almanac:
February’s Moon is called the Snow Moon.
This year is unusual! In 2018, full Moons crest on January 31 and again on March 1, so there is not a “Full Moon phase” listed below.
FEBRUARY’S SNOW MOON
Traditionally, the Moon in February is called the Snow Moon because usually the heaviest snows fall in February. This name dates back to the Native Americans during Colonial times when the Moons were a way of tracking the seasons. And the Native Americans were right. On average, February is the USA’s snowiest month, according to data from the National Weather Service.
Hunting becomes very difficult, and so some Native American tribes called this the Hunger Moon. Other Native American tribes called this Moon the “Shoulder to Shoulder Around the Fire Moon” (Wishram Native Americans), the “No Snow in the Trails Moon” (Zuni Native Americans), and the “Bone Moon” (Cherokee Native Americans). The Bone Moon meant that there was so little food that people gnawed on bones and ate bone marrow soup.
Magickally, you'll work with this moon as you will any other full moon.  As it precedes Imbolc I plan on adding in blessings for healthy growth of seeds and comfortable happiness in the home for the upcoming spring.

Magickally, you'll work with this moon as you will any other full moon.  As it precedes Imbolc I plan on adding in blessings for healthy growth of seeds and comfortable happiness in the home for the upcoming spring.

For Beginners . . .

This is a list of helpful links if you're just starting out, a comprehensive reading list, and links to two VERY helpful free libraries from which you can download complete books for free:


New to Paganism:
http://www.ecauldron.net/newpagan.php

Magick and Spellcasting Basics:
https://exemplore.com/wicca-witchcraft/A-Witchcraft-Primer-Magic-and-Spellcasting-Basics

To learn of different paths/traditions:
http://rainy-day-witchcraft.tumblr.com/post/124106815477/types-of-witches-updated

Reading List:

River and Joyce Higginbotham:  Paganism:  An Introduction to Earth-Centered Religions

 Lisa Chamberlain:  Wicca Wheel of the Year Magic: A Beginner’s Guide to the Sabbats, with History, Symbolism, Celebration Ideas, and Dedicated Sabbat Spells

Thea Sabin:  Wicca for Beginners

Scott Cunningham:  Wicca for the Solitary Practitioner and Living Wicca

Raymond Buckland:  Buckland's Complete Book of Witchcraft

Raven Grimassi:  Wiccan Magick 

Marian Green:  A Witch Alone

Janet and Stewart Farrar -- A Witches' Bible Complete

Illes, Judika - The Element Encyclopedia of Witchcraft

To help develop psy ability:

http://www.magia-metachemica.net/uploads/1/0/6/2/10624795/hermetic_studies_-_psychic_abilities.pdf

Books to download:  https://www.dropbox.com/sh/q3g86jkbupk12af/AADB-tp51282rdNx3HzNkGSfa?dl=0&lst=

If you feel you are experiencing psychic phenomena and you want to learn more about it, what it is, how to develop it, how to control it, get your hands on these books:

Develop Your ESP (ebook)
$9.99
Google Play

How to Develop Your ESP; Paperback; Author - Susy Smith
$7.78
Barnes & Noble

Understand and Develop Your ESP : Based on the Edgar Cayce Readings by Mark A. Thurston - Used (Good) - 0876040970
$3.99

Thriftbooks.com

Abuse of Magick

Magick can be used in some way in most every day lives, but can magick be abused?  Oh surely.  Good intentions are fine, but when you want to heal someone make sure they are on board, even if the deed is good let the other person in on it.  You could end up doing harm, instead.  As far as doing something like a healing on yourself, that's fine, but some things should be healed on their own.  I firmly believe hurts like heartache, healing from physical abuse, etc., are better healed by moving through the process.  Using magick to heal your heart could prove harmful, could turn you callous and cold.  Healing takes time but if you take the time and go through the process you learn so much more about yourself and your ability to stand on your own than you'd ever do by using a shortcut like magick to bandaid our heart.  And there is always the prospect of failure, which could make things worse.  It's just better to go through the process and move on.  It is life's learning process and it's the best thing you can do for you.

Magick Can Help . . .

Magick is not a cure all.  It's kind of like the christians believe "God helps those that help themselves".  Our faith and practice is kind of like that.  If you want something you can manifest it using magick.  BUT.  You have to put in some work.  If you want a job, magick can help with that but you have to look for work, you have to put in applications, you have to make phone calls.  If you want to find love magick can help, but you have to get out of the house.  You have to make yourself available and visible.  If you want a garden to grow beautifully and healthy magick can help but you still have to till the soil, water the garden and feed/weed the garden.

The way I view magick is that it is a key that unlocks doors, it is a battering ram that breaks down obstacles in my path.  Magick works, or starts working, the moment you can clearly visualize the end result.  Though you really don't need a lot of tools and major astrological knowledge in order to make magick work, you still need a fair amount of study and the more you can put into a working the stronger it is.  Which is why it's a good idea to study and find out if tonight is a good night to do your working astrologically.  It's not hard to find that out.  Or what herbs/stones would lend even more kick to your working.  Again, not hard to find that out.  The more you put INTO your magick, the more you get out of it.  Half assed going into anything is never a good way to do it.  Take your workings seriously and put everything you can into it so your result is as solid as your will.

Blessed be!

I Want To Be A Witch . . .

Ok so for the 175th time in our chatroom someone has come in who says their grandmother was a witch and they want to be one too.  So, let's examine that.  My initial thought is, ok so what if your grandmother was a witch, is that the ONLY reason you want to be a witch?  If your grandmother was a witch WHY do you not have her books and grimoire?  We all know every witch has them.  WHY has your grandmother not taught you?  So here they come to us.

Ok I can be a trooper.  The first lesson I am going to teach you about being a witch is that it's not television or movie crap.  It's really rather mundane, though, in my opinion, the rituals are quite lovely.  Secondly study is crucial.  You are not going to learn this path on the internet or in chatrooms.  There are thousands of paths out there.  Everyone you ask EVERY SINGLE ONE will tell you something different.  So start there.  Study the different traditions and spiritual paths out there.

You're doing that?  GREAT.  You are going to have to have great focus, determination, dedication and discipline to do anything along this path.  Study, in my opinion, for a year or even more before you begin practice.  There could be simple, small things you might discover to do early on but PLEASE make sure you are well versed in grounding and protections.  PLEASE.

Meditate.  And I mean from day one.  You have to know yourself inside and out.  You have to ready yourself for workings, and that means be relaxed, focused and well prepared.  Meditation gives you the opportunity to communicate with the energies around you that could give you important visions, through symbols, sounds and other images during meditation, that can help you along.  Answer daunting questions.  Show you your guides.  There are books, cds, dvds and even youtube vids that can help you learn effective meditations.  Start looking into them.

Ok that's a start.  There is much more to learn.  KEEP READING!

Lessening the Chaos . . .

Ever since THE EVENT WHICH HERE WILL NOT BE NAMED occurred, I've been thinking about magick, witchcraft and what that actually can do for a person's life.  I know from experience it can bring a certain amount of freedom and peace.  So I'm working on coming up with daily rituals I can do to enhance my life and living space and mind.  I'll let you know how that goes if I'm not incarcerated soon.

Moon Bath

So the full moon is coming up and I want to take a moon bath.  To me that means to stand under the full moon skyclad and literally bathe myself in her light.  A serene meditation will ensue.  However, if you want to have an actual BATH on the full moon that is relevant and useful, there is a good one I found, I saved the information so I can do it at another time.

Full Moon Bath

So head over there, copy it and try it out yourself!

The Paths We Weave

If you're not flying by the seat of your pants and completely weaving your path out of thin air, you could be following one of these:

Wicca – The most recognizable pagan faith in non-pagan circles. It emerged in the 1950s and 1960s with Gerald Gardner at the helm, but has evolved into a rich diaspora of faiths including Alexandrian Wicca, Dianic Wicca, Kemetic 

Wicca and Judeo-Paganism. Some of the major components of Wicca include rituals, ceremonial magic, and the celebration of Sabbats.

Druidism – A pagan faith with a large following. It is build on practices of Celts from the Iron Age. Like Wicca, Druidism includes ceremonies (rites) and the celebration of seasonal changes.

Ásatrú – Also called Heathenry, this is a modern reconstruction of Nordic/Germanic Paganism. Jax has discussed Heathenry in an earlier post. It includes ancestor worship, offerings (called Blots), and feasts (called sumbels).

Hellenism – This faith is a reconstruction of Greek religion and practices, including the Twelve Olympian Greek gods. Hellenic practices include ceremonies and offerings.

Kemetism – This faith began as a reconstruction of ancient Egyptian beliefs and practices, but has evolved to include components from other African religions. The practices are too diverse to summarize here.

Native American faiths – Traditional faiths practiced by Native Americans are also extremely diverse. Many share several components, including a connectivity between the natural and spiritual worlds.

I am 1/8th Chocktaw so I do mix in some native american spirituality in my path.  Otherwise I keep it pretty much green.  For a short time I was "Eclectic Wicca" until I realized what bullshit that is and focused solely on the green path with my smatterings of NA spiritualism.  I think GreatGrandma would approve :).

As far as being 'just a witch' goes, you can be a kitchen witch, a hedge witch, a witch of family tradition if you were raised in it, or a number of other traditions.  A completely eclectic path is fine, as long as you don't throw an established path into it, such as Wicca, Druidism, etc.  That is just my opinion but it's shared by a large part of the magickal community.

This is what Laurie Cabot says on the subject:

I pretty much agree but seriously, there are people, people like me, who have severe trust issues.  So connecting with people and learning from people is very difficult, so learning from books is the best way to go.  I DO agree that people can help, that is where the internet comes in and pagan-based chatrooms.  Our chatroom,  WitchesChat  , is an excellent source to connect to people who KNOW and people who are willing to help, when respectfully approached.

Blessed be!

Spells? REALLY?

Editorial

I think anyone who talks to me and talks about spells, doing spells, going to do spells, spells, spells, spells is still more motivated by movie magic than what magick actually is and what it can do for you in your life.  There is more to working magick than casting spells.  What?  Well there is protecting your home, forwarding your professional career, calming psychosis.  But please, if all you want to do is cast spells?  Go on with your bad self.  It shows me you have little knowledge, no focus or discipline (which is actually needed for even the simplest tasks) and you simply are not serious about this path.  In other words, you're going nowhere magickally and never will.

Look Up, Look Down . . .

We're taught as children to walk with our heads held high, our chins up and shoulders back.  As witches, well, that's good, but occasionally we need to look up.  The day sky holds a deep blue mirror that a sky scry could use to his/her advantage.  Clouds that form shapes sending messages to us from deity.  The night sky holds the phases of the moon and all those glorious stars.  My favorite thing in all the world is to lie underneath that velvet, star studded blanket and watch the twinkles, and the occasional flash of a falling star.  Looking down also has its merits.  The other day I was walking down our road in search of the owners of the cutest little dog that had shown up at our house.  On the way I happened to glance down and found the most BEAUTIFUL stone, a crystal white quartz!  

I also found a fascinating piece of flint that I think I'll use in a craft project, a fairie garden.  Stones are important and when one catches your eye it was meant for you to see it and retrieve it.  So look up into that vast blue day sky and see what messages come to you.  Be at peace gazing into the dark star studded night sky and behold all the wonders there and mostly, look down every once in a while and behold special gifts just for you!

My Pendulums . . .

Divination is a tool of witches.  Whether you use Tarot, Oracles, Rune or pendulums (or other form of divination, there are quite a few), accuracy is, of course, essential.  I started collecting pendulums and have amassed this collection:

Amethyst, Bloodstone, Aventurine, Carnelian, Moonstone, Red Jasper, Sunstone, Opalite, Rose Quartz, and Tiger's Eye.

MOST of them give me accurate yes/no answers, but, of late, they've lied.  So I am going to have a talk with them, and recharge them under the September full moon.  Do you know how to charge a tool?  I'll tell you.

Get a mirror, any type round or square, large enough to hold everything you want charged.  Consecrate the mirror, and reconsecrate your tools.  (Sprinkle them with salt water, or pass them through Sandalwood incense smoke, reciting a cleansing chant of your making.)

Place the items on the mirror and place outdoors where the full moon will be able to fully shine on them and the mirror.  That way they get a FULL all around charge.  Keep them there until NOON of the next day, bring them in and wrap/bag them as you normally would.

Happy divining!

How Our Garden Grows . .

As a kitchen witch, hedge witch, green witch, I grow stuff.  I want to grow my own herbs and will eventually.  Right now I'm trying my hand at vegetables, from seed.  One spring I raised peppers successfully.  Now I'm trying cucumbers and tomatoes

One of My Cardinal Rules . . .

Don't send out undirected energy.  Why am I not in rite tonight?  Well, because I have no place to direct the energy to.  I need to direct it to getting a job but I can't do that until I can find some targets to send it out to.  Next month, I'll have targets.  Oh I could do a rite to honor earth, to open myself and my property to prosperity, luck, fortune and peace, but . . . again there is nothing I can really direct that to.  We can't play the lottery, so really, what's the point?  I will go out and honor Her though.

Feeling Witchy?

There are days of the month I feel more magically inclined than others.  As the moon grows fuller my mind turns to magic and mayhem.  Yes, I can be a little stinker when properly motivated.  At these times I pull out my books, meditate, and feel the empowerment of the earth's lines of power.  We'll discuss ley lines in another post.  But yes, it's possible to be feeling very witchy tonight :)

About Books and Moons . . .

I have a number of books from a number of authors.  Laurie Cabot, Silver Ravenwolf, Gerwina Dunwich, Raven Grimmassi, the spelling of some of these names my be incorrect but I'm being lazy today.  I think the most useful ones I have are Green Witchcraft by Aoumiel, several books by Scott Cunningham, and this neat 5000 Spells or something like that by Judith somebody.  I think you can go out and buy a book that speaks to you in a language your heart understands.  I do suggest rather than just admiring the cover you sit down with it, browse through it randomly and read a page here and a page there, check the index and make sure it covers the subject matter you're looking for.  So many authors have been deemed "hacks, frauds or idiots," but the truth is, magic is will and if Ravenwolf can help you find words that elude you to help you harness and use power, there is nothing wrong with her books.  I own To Ride A Silver Broomstick or To Stir A Silver Cauldron, one of those, and I liked it very much.  Gerina, I own one of her candle spell books, I use them as framework for my own spells.

Spells do need to be done best during specific moon phases.  Full moon this month is the 25th, I'm sick of being unemployed and bored so I will be in rite that night to see if I can move some more positive workforce energy my way.  One can find wonderful rites in the Green Witchcraft book, I also use these as framework for my own.  So don't listen to what others tell you about an author if that author's work speaks to you.  Follow your heart, always follow your heart.

Holy Days . . .

What are holy days for Witches?

Depends on the witch.  Some hail to 8 holy days, some 4, me?  Moon phases, Halloween (Samhain) and the equinox/solstices.  My least favorite solstice is the Summer solstice because I deplore summer but then again, I do live in Southeast Texas so . . .

Some spells/rites are geared to a specific time of the year or a particular phase of the moon.  Some study can give you a background on this.  I'll talk a little about books next entry.