Kitchen Witch - Craft & Magick ....

Pele - She Who Shapes the Sacred Land

2012-03-05T13:25:00.000Z

Goddess Pele is a Hawaiian Volcano and Fire Goddess. She is known as She Who Shapes the Sacred Land.

Pele is passion, purpose, dynamic action and eternal and profound love.

She originally came from Tahiti, where her sister Namaka, a sea goddess would send waves over Pele’s home to put out the flames.

Pele travelled in search of a new home, carrying the egg of her unborn sister Hi’iaka under her arm. Throughout the journey Namaka made the water treacherous as Pele travelled in a canoe on the sea.

Pele tried to land on several different islands but jealous snow goddesses who lived in the high mountains sent blizzards to quell her flames. Namaka also continued to harass Pele whenever she tried to land.

Eventually Pele found her home on Hawaii in a volcano called Kilauea.

Her story reminds her that once we know who we are we can honour our inner self, our true self. It also reminds us that when we follow our true pathway, working through any problems along the way, and not to give up we will achieve our goal. Dedication and perseverance will get us there.

Pele is also a shape shifter, she can be seen as a beautiful young lady, a crone or as a dog. Her symbols are the Ohi’a lehua which is a beautiful tree that grows on lava flows, Lehua flowers and the Honey Creeper plant.

Volcanoes are destructive and violent, and Pele is often linked with them and her actions can be similar, but as with all destruction this can be good, it is cleansing and clears away that which is no longer necessary within our lives, even clearing away that which is destructive to us. It is the never ending circle of birth, death and rebirth. Destruction has to happen before rebirth can take place. It is as She Who Shapes the Sacred Land that Pele achieves this. She reminds us that we have the power and ability to create our own universe, our own lives are in our hands. By using our own words, thoughts and actions we can create that which we desire.

Pele reminds us to believe in ourselves, to be who we are, who we want to be, to acknowledge our connection to the Divine and therefore to understand and accept the Goddess within.

Pele is a Fire Goddess, fire as an element is power, energy, motivation and strength. She brings all those with her, she helps to manifest our desires to create positive intent and to clear out old and unwanted energy. She helps us to create new ideas, new situations and new opportunities. She brings with her feminine energy, the power of woman, dignity, courage and inner strength.

Pele will help to relight your own inner flame, to open us up to passion, purpose and meaning in our lives. She will open us up to recognize our talents, she will stimulate our creative ideas.

She will bring with her love, passion, creativity, motivation, energy, cleansing, renewal, fearlessness and also protection.

Tansy

Top image is Pele Honua Mea by Herb Kawainui Kane

Second image is Pele, goddess of volcanoes by Vedic Hawaii

The Magical Egg

2012-03-03T09:55:00.000Z

Eggs symbolise the essence of life, rebirth and fertility. Within that they also symbolise long life and also immortality. An egg itself encompasses the mystery and magic of creation.

In legend faeries would consume eggs of mythical birds such as the phoenix.

Throughout history people have eaten eggs for lots of different reasons. Some to absorb the magical properties by eating them, others to ensure fertility.

In the Slavonic and Germanic lands people also smeared eggs onto their hoes to ensure fertility for the soil.

In Iran brides and grooms exchange eggs for fertility.

In 17^th century France, a bride would break and egg when she entered her new home for the first time.

The idea that eggs were a symbol of fertility and life force compelled certain cultures not only to shun them as food but also to avoid destroying them at all costs.

Certain aborigional groups in Australia believed eggs descended from the emu, so strict taboos were placed on eating eggs of these ancestral birds.

Eggs were often used though, for divination. This stemmed from the belief that eggs symbolised life and particularly life in the future. One method involved painting the eggs, boiling them and reading the patterns in their cracks. Another method involved tossing the eggs and divining the future, a system of divination known as oomancy. Egg white can also be used, by dripping it into a bowl of water and reading the shapes that it makes.

In Egypt eggs were hung in the temples to bring fertility, for birth and renewal.

The Hindu description of the beginning of the world saw it as a cosmic egg.

The yolk in the centre of the egg has also been used to represent the Sun.

Cascarilla is made from egg shells that have been crushed and ground to a powder. It is used in hoodoo and folk magic as well as other magical practices. The powder can be dusted on the body to protect from spirit possession and also acts as a shield from psychic or magical attack. It can be sprinkled around the perimeter of your home to create a peaceful environment and to protect from intruders. It can also be used for drawing runes, sigils or other symbols in rituals and workings.

The egg is a complete set of elements in one handy pack: The shell represents Earth, the inner membrane represents Air, the yolk is Fire and the white is Water.

Tansy

Cosmic egg image from fearedbumblebee.wordpress.com

The magic of Sea Shells

2012-02-29T08:34:00.000Z

Living near the sea I am lucky enough to be able to collect sea shells easily, I love walking along the beach and always come back with pockets full of shells and hag stones.

So how about the magical properties of the humble sea shell?

Obviously sea shells are associated with water, I often use a shell to represent West when I am in ritual, I also use them in water element witches bottles.

The Moon controls the tides of the ocean so shells are also associated with the Moon, I have a large round flat mother of pearl shell on my main altar to represent the Moon.

Being associated with water and the Moon I think the shell works perfectly in spells for emotions too.

Shells also have an association with Aphrodite, so can also be used for love spells. Use a shell as a love drawing talisman.

In the past shells were also used in some parts of the world as currency so they also have the association of money and prosperity. Use in money drawing medicine bags or pop a small shell in your purse.

Think about what a shell is, it is a protective covering for the creature inside making shells also good for protection. Use them in your witches bottles, or strung on a necklace for this purpose.

Shells can also be used in divination, use in a set with pebbles, crystals and bones to cast a reading (think Tia Dalma on Pirates of the Caribbean LOL!!). Africa has a history of cowrie shell divination.

Particular shells also have their own individual meanings:

Abalone - general use and containment of empowered herbs and stones
Clam shells - purification and love
Conche shell - love
Cone shell - protection
Cowrie shell - prosperity, money - if you look at a cowrie shell is also looks very 'feminine' ;-)
Whelks - dramatic positive change
Limpets - courage, confidence, strength
Scallops - travel, movement

If you are collecting your own sea shells please make sure that the creature is not still inside it, if you do pick up one with a living creature toss it back into the water.

If you are purchasing your sea shells in a shop or from the internet please make sure they are from sustainable and viable sources.

Tansy
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The Druid's Primer

2012-02-27T13:42:00.001Z

I received a copy of Luke Eastwood's book The Druid's Primer from those lovely people at Moon Books last week.

The back cover of the book says that "The Druid's Primer is a comprehensive guide to genuine druidic knowledge and practice based on ancient texts and surviving Celtic lore and customs".

And I have to say that is pretty much spot on, this is indeed a comprehensive guide to druidry.

The chapters covered are:

History of druidry
What is a druid?
Gods & Goddesses
Myth & Legend
Elemental Forces
Cosmology
Inspiration - this chapter also includes some lovely visualisation exercises
Immrama
Animism and animal worship
Cycles of the sun, moon and earth - this chapter covers the sabbats too
Tools of the trade
Divination
Ogham
Medicine & healing
Justice & wisdom

Having been on a similar path myself for many years now a lot of the information wasn't new, but it was all interesting. I especially enjoyed the chapter on Immrama.

Lovely to see all the cycles of the sun, moon and earth covered, rather than just the moon.

It reads well and is laid out in an easy to follow format, lots of interesting historic facts added to Luke's own understanding of druidry.

Comprehensive it certainly is and a must read for anyone interested in the path of druidry and even for those already on that path I would think as well. For someone on the druidic journey it will end up being very well thumbed and one of those books that will always be referred back to for reference.

Tansy
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Moon Books

2012-02-24T21:44:00.000Z

I recently found (via facebook) a brilliant book publishing company that specialises in pagan books, their name is Moon Books. I could try to tell you what they do in my own words, but as they put it so perfectly on their own website this is what they say:

What is Paganism? a religion, a spirituality, an alternative belief system, nature worship? You can find support for all these definitions (and many more) in dictionaries, encyclopedias, and text books of religion, but subscribe to any one and the truth will evade you. Above all Paganism is a creative pursuit, an encounter with reality, an exploration of meaning and an expression of the soul. Druids, Heathens, Wiccans and others, all contribute their insights and literary riches to the Pagan tradition. Moon Books invites you to begin or to deepen your own encounter, right here, right now. We're a traditional publisher, in that we do all the usual things - print books, sell them, pay royalties, but we’re unusual in many respects. We have a different kind of vision to most of what the author/publisher relationship should be, and where publishing is heading.

Their website goes on to say that they "focus obsessively on" - low overheads, networking, author involvement, international sales and marketing.

They have some fabulous titles in their range of books, go take a look at their online catalogue on their website moon-books.net every pagan area seems to be covered! Titles such as The Druids Primer, The Daughters of Danu, Avebury Cosmos, Shaman in Disguise and the one that I will be adding to my wish list - Traditional Witchcraft for the Seashore - these are only some of the titles, there are many more!

They should also be of interest to those of you out there that have a book you want published too, they have a page on their website to contact them for that too.

They also have a facebook page facebook.com/MoonBooks pop on over there and 'like' their page to be kept up to date on new releases and the occasional giveaway!

Tansy
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Crystal Meditations

2012-02-22T08:12:00.000Z

One of the exercises I like to do with crystals, especially when I receive a new one is to do a crystal meditation. It helps me to connect with the particular crystal's energy and really understand it's properties. This exercise works particularly well with quartz points or crystal clusters.

How?

Make yourself comfortable, you can sit quietly or have gentle music or drumming on in the background, whatever suits you.

Hold the crystal in your hands in front of you.

Focus on your breathing.

When you feel ready gaze at and into the crystal, turn it over in your hands, really look at it and all it's details. Take your time with this step, examining it very carefully.

Then visualise yourself growing smaller or the crystal growing larger, whichever suits you, so that you can imagine yourself climbing onto and over the crystal itself.

Explore the crystal now, climbing up any points it has, if it has inclusions or cracks visualise them as a doorway, a portal into the inside of the crystal. Put out your hands and feel the 'walls' of the crystal.

Notice how you feel exploring the crystal, is it cold, is it warm - what energies do you pick up from it?

Once you have finished your explorations climb out and return to normal size, focus once more on your breathing and slowly come back to your conscious.

Make a note of what feelings and energies you found within that crystal to refer back to.

Tansy
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Of Witches and Warlocks

2012-02-19T10:33:00.000Z

I recently downloaded (for free) onto my Kindle a book called 'The Trouble with Spells' by Lacey Weatherford.

Within the first few pages I was hooked.

Beautifully written and filled with witches, warlocks, magic and a heap load of passion too ;-)

There are five books in the series:

1. The Trouble With Spells
2. The Demon Kiss
3. Blood of the White Witch
4. The Dark Rising
5. Possession of Souls

The story centres around a teenage girl, Portia who on becoming 16 discovers she is a hereditary witch, she is joined by Vance, a warlock who turns out to be her soul mate. They embark on a journey together discovering her magical powers, and setting out to defeat his demon father.

I have only read the first book so far, but had to download the next one to my Kindle straight away the read was so compelling.

This book makes you laugh, cry and hold your breath in anticipation of what will happen next.

A love story intertwined with magic - perfect!

Lacey has a website laceyweatherfordbooks.com

The books are all available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Smashwords and Create Space in Kindle, Nook, Kobo, PDF and 'real' book format.

Tansy
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Dance to your own beat...

2012-02-17T10:03:00.000Z

Drumming

Drums are incredibly useful within ritual, meditation or just to make you feel good.

In a ritual the beat of a drum can help to focus everyone to raise energy, the drum beat starting out slowly and gradually increasing to raise the energy within the circle.

Listening to a steady drum beat during meditation can help you focus on your own heartbeat, a slow steady beat can help create calm, and help to take us off onto pathworking or journeying.

Drumming can help focus your energy when working on chakras.

I had the pleasure of being part of a ritual within the White Springs in Glastonbury a couple of years ago, whilst inside several people started to drum, the energy it created was totally amazing!

Drumming can aid with physical healing, promotes well being and can release pent up emotions.

Studies have revealed that healing effect of drumming helps to deal with stress, fatigue, anxiety, hypertension, asthma, chronic pain, arthritis, mental illness, migraines, cancer, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s disease, stroke, paralysis, emotional disorders and physical disabilities.

Drumming helps with relaxation, lowers blood pressure and reduces stress it has also been shown to boost the immune system.

Research has shown that the physical transmission of the drumming energy to the brain synchronises the two cerebral hemispheres. When both sides are in harmony it allows your intuition to flow and creates conscious awareness.

A rhythmic drumming beat can also induce an altered state to allow you to trance, journey or pathwork.

You don’t even have to own a drum, although the bodhran is a beautiful thing! There are plenty of drumming CD’s available and even You Tube has some drum tracks. You could also make your own drum beat just by beating your hand on a plastic tub!

Go on…dance to your own beat!

Tansy
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The Magic of Valerian Root

2012-02-16T14:23:00.001Z

Valerian, Latin name Valeriana officinalis, is native to Europe and parts of Asia, but has been introduced to North America. It is a tall perennial (2 - 4 ft), that flowers in the summer with sweet-scented clusters of pink or white flowers. Other names for this herb are Vandal Root, All-heal, Setwall, Amantilla and Setewale. It grows amongst marshy ground, or along the banks of ditches and rivers. Though farther north, a shorter variety can also be found on heathland and dry, grassy hillsides.

Medicinally the root of this herb has proven use since Classical times, described by Hippocrates and Galen, by the later to be used for insomnia. It is commonly used as a sedative and tranquilizer, to treat anxiety, for mild pain relief or as a muscle relaxant. It was used in England during the air-raids of World War II to counteract the acute stress of these occasions. It can also be used as a stimulant, lowering blood-pressure, stimulating the appetite, and in raising low self-esteem.

There are several methods of taking valerian root - the dried root can be used in a tea or tincture, though not using boiling water as this may destroy the more volatile oils. Or its dried material and extracts can be incorporated into a capsule or tablet. Valerian has a strong odour, which not all find pleasant, so in these cases the latter option of capsule or tablet may be preferable.

Valerian has also been used to treat gastro-intestinal conditions, epilepsy and ADHD. Although in these cases, as with most others, there is little clinical proof as to its effectiveness. There are no proven harmful side-effects, but likewise, there is no proof that prolonged or excessive use is not harmful, though it may cause headaches and dizziness. Accidental use during pregnancy or whilst breast-feeding is probably safe, but as there has been no research into the effects it may have on the foetus, it is probably best avoided during these times.

Culpepper writes in the seventeenth century, 'The root boiled with liquorice, raisons and aniseed is good for those troubled with cough. Also, it is of special value against the plague, the decoction thereof being drunk and the root smelled. The green herb being bruised and applied to the head taketh away pain and pricking thereof.'

The essential oil of valerian is unusual in that it appears to act as a cat-attractor, with similar properties and effects as catnip. It also attracts rats, and has been used as bait in traps, and it is rumoured that the success of the Pied Piper of Hamlyn is attributed to his carrying of valerian about his person. In the Middle Ages, valerian was used in to perfume clothes, placing a root amongst folded clothes. The Saxons used it in salads, and in the North of England, no soup or broth was complete without it.

Sprinkle valerian at the front door to deter unwanted visitors, or hang the leaves around the home to promote harmony amongst loved ones. Combine valerian with other herbs and crystals in sachets or amulets to use for protection, or in a dream-pillow to ward off nightmares. Use in cleansing and consecration, or drink as a tea to purify oneself. In hoodoo, it can be used as a substitute for graveyard dirt. Soak the dried stalks of the valerian plant in tallow or oil, then use as a magical torch.

Magical Correspondences

Gender: Feminine
Planets: Venus, Mercury
Element: Water
Zodiac: Aquarius
Magical Properties: Protection, Calm, Sleep, Love, Purification, Harmony.

Sources
ods.od.nih.gov
botanical.com
pagan-magic.co.uk
themagickmoon.com
scribd.com
Wikipedia

Picture
paganwiccan.about.com

Blessed be

Blaidd

Faeriecraft

2012-02-16T12:16:00.000Z

One of my favourite working with the Fae books is Faeriecraft by Alicen and Neil Geddes-Ward.

"Faeriecraft is the creative melding of the Faerie faith and natural witchcraft". This is the statement on the back of the book and it is spot on.

Beautifully written and including some wonderful illustrations this book takes you on a journey to meet and work with the Fae.

Chapters included:

Who are the Faeries?
Finding your own way to Faerie land
How to begin working with the Faeries
The Faerie Queens and how to work with them
The Faerie Kings and how to work with them
Reaching into Faerie land with meditation
Who is the Faerie temptress and where is she taking us?
The tools and attire of Faeriecraft
Celebrations for groups and solitaries working with Faerie magic
How to create a Faeriecraft wedding, baby naming and other rites of passage

Pretty much covers it all!

There are some quite beautiful meditations and journeys included in the book along with how to create a garden or a wild altar, ways to contact the Faerie royalty, ideas for celebrations and everything you need to know about working with the Fae.

I have read the book from cover to cover and also dip in and out quite regularly to pathwork with the Undines or journey to meet the Snow Queen amongst others!

A must have for those that love the Fae.

Alicen Geddes-Ward has a website alicen-geddes.co.uk
Neil Geddes-Ward also has a website neilgeddesward.com

Tansy
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The Hedgewitch Approach to Making Runes

2012-02-15T10:28:00.000Z

The runes come from the Norse traditions, they are symbols that can be etched into a material, for empowerment of an object, or for use as a divinatory tool. They are also easy to make ourselves, unlike the Tarot or Oracle decks, but possibly one of the harder tools to use when reading, as all we have in front of us are a whole heap of symbols.

Since I began using the runes, I tried to turn the symbols into little pictures. Learn what the runes mean, then look at the rune, feel the rune, what does it remind you of? What images and emotions does it evoke? What would the keywords belonging to the rune have meant to our ancestors all those centuries ago? Now you begin to build up your own picture, your own interpretation of the runes, your own bond.

There are some lovely sets of runes out there - etched into crystals - but they are expensive. The hedgewitch tends to go for the cheap and cheerful, but no less effective options. A rune set doesn't have to be expensive to be powerful, with practice and attunement, you can get some really good results from a plastic set that weren't really even intended for the "serious practitioner" (he he he, how little they knew ;) ). It's another example of not having to throw money away on expensive "witch endorsed" tools - hedgewitches, kitchen witches, we use what we can find and spend the money on something nice for the family instead.

Making runes couldn't be simpler, and there are all sorts of things you can use to make them out of. Traditionally they are made from wood, and you will see all sorts of opinions about "live wood" or "dead wood" out there on the Internet. Personally, I have no problem with using pre-cut wooden disks from a craft store or DIY outlet, or from cutting up a curtain pole, or something similar. We use our inventiveness, and in that we are already creating a bond to our runes.

I've seen it said that only a branch from a fruit bearing tree can be used, that it must be before the tree has fruited, as afterwards the branch is dead. I find this rather restrictive, and I don't like anything that cuts down my options for improvisation.

However, I've also seen Master Runemakers use just the fallen branches they find on forest walks. I like this option the best. The number of times I will go for a walk and be called to pick up a certain stick or rock. If you go out into the woods with the express purpose of finding a suitable fallen branch with which to cut rune disks, then you are bound to find just the one. Probably lying in the middle of the path seemingly shouting "Take Me!!!"

The runes can be carved into the wooden disks, or burned with a wood burning tool, they can be drawn or even painted (though these will definitely need varnishing). Again I've seen conflicting opinions about these methods too. Go with your gut instinct, as it will be giving you all the direction you need.

You can use anything as a rune. I have a set that were made from beach pebbles (they are in the photo above). Try to find ones that are of a similar size, and it's a personal choice as to whether their colours have to match or not. Then simply draw or paint the runes onto each stone, but make sure that you varnish them afterwards to protect the runes.

Another alternative is to make rune cards. These will be similar to Tarot cards, but it is entirely up to you as to how you present them. You can choose to keep them fairly blank, just have the individual rune on each one. Or you can decorate them with colours, pictures and symbols of what each rune means. In this way, you are creating something extremely personal, but which has more of a visual trigger to help you read their meaning.

Cleansing and consecrating methods are entirely personal. Do what you would do for any of your other magical tools. My personal favourite is to carry my runes (or whatever) around with me for a while, to touch, to play, feel them and to USE them. This way they become imbued with my own energies - or it strengthens the bond that we have already begun in their creation.

Blessed be

Blaidd

Review: The Wyrm Conspiracy - Rich Middleton

2012-02-14T16:43:00.000Z

"A gripping new fantasy thriller for teenagers. When Emily and Sam accidentally witness a failed attempt to capture a mythical monster - a wyrm - they are plunged into a nightmare of conspiracy and betrayal that could lead to the end of everything they know. Can they solve the clues hidden in relics of the past and stop the terrifying Old King Coel from returning to wreak his revenge? Can they even escape from the legions of possessed Wardens chasing them? And is Emily's dad really in league with the enemy?"

I downloaded this book for Kindle costing 77p, and it had me turning off the computer so that I could read it. People who know me will know how difficult it is to dislodge me from my computer games. In a word, this book is brilliant.

I was gripped from the beginning. Written for younger readers it's easy to follow, the imagery vivid, but it is full of twists and turns and is entirely captivating. At the end of each chapter I was compelled to read on to find out what happens, very few of the chapters ending without a bit of a cliff-hanger.

The plot is fairly simple, and the protagonists follow predictable patterns in their thoughts, but it's still an extremely enjoyable read. We care about the characters, and even the fact that they are children, doesn't require a suspension of belief - it's because they are children that they can progress in their adventure in the way they do, and it is key to the whole tale.

It's a rip-roaring, non-stop adventure, and the reader is carried from one crisis to the next, and I would love to see this in film.

It's set in what seems to be a modern day alternative universe, or a technologically advanced fantasy world. The story set in Wormwell, a town similar to Venice, with canals instead of streets, and all transportation is by watercraft, the reason for which becomes apparent as the book comes to a conclusion - as all things are explained and loose ends tied up nicely.

The last lines of the book even give scope for the sequel, Worm Gold, yet to be released, but one which I will be waiting eagerly for.

Much love

Blaidd

Magic on the Breath

2012-02-13T10:36:00.000Z

I have just finished reading Tylluan Penry's book 'Magic on the Breath'.

It was an interesting read, possibly aimed at those newer to the craft but also a useful read for those more experienced, with some really good exercises in.

The book is based on Tylluan's years of experience and her belief that power comes from our own breath. I hadn't actually realised it but on reading her book I do use my breath a lot when I am working magic so it made perfect sense!

Tylluan has an open and honest way of talking about the craft which was very refreshing to read.

She covers a whole host of topics all based on casting spells, good sections on glamour magic, talismans & amulets, working with the moon, knot magic, the magic around us, lots of practical uses for magic on the breath and an excellent chapter on thought forms.

A very interesting read, lots of exercises to work with and a totally honest and refreshing view of working magic.

You can purchase this book and others in her collection from thewolfenhowlepress

Or Magic on the Breath can be purchased for Kindle download for the silly price currently of £1.53 amazon.co.uk/Magic-On-The-Breath-ebook or if you are in the USA amazon.com/Magic-On-The-Breath-ebook

Tylluan also has a blog tylluanpenry.blog.co.uk

Tansy
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Goddess Guidance Oracle Cards

2012-02-11T08:00:00.003Z

Goddess Guidance Oracle Cards by Doreen Virtue.

I was gifted this set of cards some time ago.

This is a set of 44 cards by Doreen Virtue, each card focusing on a different Goddess from a wide range of pantheons - Celtic, Mayan, Egyptian, Greek, Tibetan, Buddhist and a whole host of others.

The cards themselves are beautiful, the back of each one is a bright yellow with a crown in the centre and the edges of the cards are shiny gold. The artwork is beautiful, each card showing a picture of the Goddess below the name, then a keyword, then a phrase relating to the card.

You can do readings with the cards as you can with most Oracle sets or just draw a card a day. Each card gives you a message to help you improve your life, your situation and your spiritual path.

The accompanying book has messages from each Goddes, along with various meanings for each card and then a little bit about each Goddess.

A friend also suggested to me that the cards are also good for use on altars as a focus for that Goddess, I think they would also be useful when calling upon a Goddess in ritual or to do a working, you could use the card as a focus.

If you aren't set on working with a particular pantheon then this is a lovely set of cards.

The card I drew today was Abundantia - Prosperity.

"The universe is pouring its abundance out to you. Be open to receiving"

Message from Abundantia:

Asking for help is a sign of strength, not weakness. You are very powerful, and I am here to support your growing power. It's right for you to receive this help, as we function as a team. I've heard your prayers, worries and affirmations. I'm pouring my cornucopia of prosperity upon you now, so expect unforeseen windfalls and gifts. Notice the new ideas, feelings and visions within you. This guidance gives you clear direction about actions to take in conjunction with my assistance. Together, we're unstoppable!

Various meanings of this card:

Be open to receiving.
A new windfall of money is coming to you
You have nothing to worry about
Your new venture will be financially successful
Visualise and affirm abundance
Abundance comes to you in many ways, including extra time, support and ideas

About Abundantia: (pronounced Ah-bun-DON-she-uh)

Abundantia is a beautiful Roman and Norse goddess of prosperity, success and abundance who is said to bring good fortune and financial windfalls to all who call upon her. She carries a cornucopia of golden coins, which trail behind her wherever she goes. One sign that she's with you is that you'll find lots of spare change in unlikely locations. And rest assured that Abundantia brings more than pocket money to those who call upon her. She bestows all kinds of prosperity, including increased amounts of time, ideas and other forms of support.

I think I like her!

Tansy
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Cleansing

2012-02-10T11:49:00.000Z

I have been asked on several occasions how to cleanse crystals or magical tools, so here are a few ideas:

Hold under running water (a stream or a tap)

Lay item outside (in a safe place) in the moonlight

Lay item outside (in a safe place) in the sunlight

Either of the above two can also be done by placing the item on a windowsill

Sprinkling with salt

If it feels like it needs a really good cleanse then cover completely in salt and leave for a few hours

Smudge with incense

Smudge with burning sage or sweetgrass

Sprinkle with a cleansing herb like sage and leave for a few hours

Visualise the item being cleansed by a bright, white light

Ring a bell over the item, using the vibrations to cleanse it

Sprinkle with blessed water

Sprinkle with salt water

Bury the item in soil (but remember where you buried it!)

Please be careful, make sure the particular crystal or magical tool is not porous and that it won't be damaged by water or salt.

All of the above can be worked into a ritual if you choose to, or you could say a few blessing words over the item as you are cleansing it.

Really the choice is yours, go with what feels right for you.

Tansy
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Tales of Aradia The Last Witch

2012-02-07T19:56:00.000Z

I recently downloaded onto my Kindle (for free) Tales of Aradia The Last Witch by L.A. Jones.

Initially I thought "oh it's another Twilight based story, vampires and werewolves". And although it does have vampires and werewolves and a few similarities to Twilight - well it has to really as vampires and werewolves behaviour is the same whatever book they are in right? It also has a witch and members of the Fae.

I have only read the first book in the series, but having finished that one I have also downloaded books 2-4 as well because I need to know what happens!

Set in Salem it tells the story of Aradia the last of her kind - a witch. She doesn't realise at first but she is living amongst the 'hidden' races - those of vampires, werewolves, shape shifters and the Fae. Her presence there causes a stir and the story unfolds with her helping to solve a murder.

The story is easy to read and although fantasy from the point of view that Aradia has 'super powers' it does work on the basics of real witchcraft.

A very captivating read with interesting characters, I am looking forward to reading the next part of the series!

And the fact that the first book is free to download and the other three are less than 80p each I think it's an absolute bargain for an excellent read.

From Amazon Tales-Aradia-Last-Witch
The facebook fan page facebook.com/pages/Tales-of-Aradia-The-Last-Witch-fan-page

Tansy
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Fennel

2012-02-06T16:18:00.000Z

Fennel

One of my favourite spices/herbs.

Gender: Masculine
Planet: Mercury
Element: Fire
Deities: Prometheus, Dionyss
Powers: Protection, healing, purification

Fennel is a perennial herb with fine feathery foliage, midsummer flowers and small curved seeds that have an aniseed flavour, the root bulb is also used as an aniseed flavoured vegetable (raw or cooked - it is delicious in salads).

Grow around your home for protection. Hang fennel in your windows and over doors to ward of evil spirits, the seeds can be carried for the same purpose. Use in purification sachets and incense as well as for healing. Carry with you also to help influence people to trust your word.

Fennel tea is good for the digestion and to aid with bronchitis or a cough. It is also good for menstruation problems, constipation and a tea made with the leaves boiled with barley help to increase breast milk. Add root extract and it is also good for detoxing. It is also said to be good for repairing liver damage due to alcohol. Also drink fennel tea to aid your memory.

The seeds and root help to clean out the liver, spleen, blood and gall bladder. Chew the seeds to stave off hunger pangs. Mix fennel oil with honey to ease a cough, drink as a tea and/or use as a gargle. Use fennel oil externally to ease rheumatism.

Roman soliders chewed the seeds before battle to instil courage and confidence.

Fennel seeds can be thrown at newly weds instead of rice to encourage fertility.

Tansy
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Simple Imbolc Candle Ritual

2012-02-03T13:17:00.000Z

A simple Imbolc candle ritual for you:

Place a candle of your choice (white, pale green, pale yellow or pale pink makes me think Imbolc, but go with what colour you feel is right for you).

I used some pretty sea pebbles to surround the base, but place it in a candle holder that you like.

Gather together some herbs, think about what intent you have, I used:

Bay for protection, psychic powers and strength
Lemon balm for love and success in my new ventures
Thyme for health, psychic powers, love and courage

Sit yourself in a comfortable spot and place the candle in front of you.

Take a few deep breathes to clear your mind then light the candle.

As it burns watch the flame, really focus on the flame and let your mind stay open to images that might present themselves.

Then sprinkle some of each herb onto the candle over the flame, stating the intent of each one as you do so.

Then I called upon Brighid, as Imbolc is her Sabbat it seemed right to me, but go with what feels right for you.

I requested her presence and then sat for some time, still watching the candle flame and listened to her wise words.

I sat until the candle flame had gone out, I used a small beeswax candle which burns fairly quickly. Once I was ready I thanked Brighid for her presence and returned the candle stub and the un burnt herbs to the soil.

Whilst I was out in the garden I also poured some milk and honey onto the soil for the Fae.

Tansy
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Craft of the Wild Witch

2012-02-02T11:01:00.000Z

One of my favourite books in my collection is Craft of the Wild Witch by Poppy Palin.

Beautifully written book about 'green spirituality and natural enchantment'.

Poppy is an author, a seer, sacred tattooist and artist all of her wonderful pathways can be found on her website poppypalin.org

On the back of the Craft of the Wild Witch book it says "a poetic guidebook to the green spirited path" and that is exactly what it is.

This book shows you how to embrace nature, how to be a free spirited and wild witch.

It covers rituals, chants, seasonal prayers, tree meditations, spellweaving, other life memories, trance work, the world of the Fae, pathworking, herbs and sacred intent.

I want to list the chapter titles for you because I think those in themselves capture the feel of the book:

The magical life
Strong roots, lengthening branches
Wild landscapes of the Soul
Off the beaten track
Wild enchantments, green wilful wishes
Into the wild green beyond

If those titles don't entice you into the book I don't know what will!!

Tansy
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Elen Hawke books

2012-01-31T11:57:00.000Z

I own three of Elen Hawke's books:

In the Circle (Crafting the witches' path)
The Sacred Round (A witch's guide to magical practise)
Praise to the Moon (magic and myth of the lunar cycle)

and I love all of them!

Elen Hawke is a practising witch who lives in the UK, she is also a photographer, illustrator, astrologer and tarot reader.

Her books are just so easy to read and understand, her style of writing is as if she were sitting across the kitchen table from you having a coffee and a natter.

In the Circle was one of the first witchcraft books I ever purchased and it helped me immensely. It covers each solstice and how she herself celebrates them, creating your altar, Deity, magical equipment, the moons and initiation. Each chapter headed with a beautiful illustration. This book helps you to get in touch with your spirituality through nature, it explains how to work with the ebb and flow of the seasons and is beautifully written.

The Sacred Round I purchased after reading In the Circle and was not disappointed. This book written in the same friendly style deals with spells, rituals, seasonal rites, the chakras, divination, magic, meditations, visualisations, sacred space and the elements.

And then Praise to the Moon. This book makes sense of the lunar cycle. It explores each moon phase and the relevant qualities. It will help you to become more in tune with your daily life and your magical work by aligning what you do with the moon phases. It also includes lunar Goddesses, rituals, invocations and spells for each moon phase along with details on moon gardening and circle casting.

All three books are beautifully written, initially I read them cover to cover but now I use them to dip into for information as and when I need it, they are an indispensable part of my book collection.

Tansy
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Books - FREE Kindle downloads

2012-01-27T12:46:00.000Z

A few offerings of FREE Kindle books to download from Amazon - some may only be free today, others will be free for longer, get 'em while they're hot!!

Tales of Aradia the Last Witch Volume I
The thirteenth Unicorn
The mark of a Druid
The apprentice of Fyordorn
The frog, the wizard and the Shrew
A touch of magic
Compleat Magical path magical lessons
Magic as science and religion
Trapped between the two worlds
Cosmic Shekinah
Somebody tell Aunt Tillie she's dead
The smell of magic and other stories
Dragons to loose
Chakra Balancing
Saraswati (Tales of the Vedas)
The Bewitching Hour's Totems February 2012
Viking Warrier (The Strongbow Saga)

Some are fiction some non. I haven't read them myself yet, let us know if any of you have!

Keep an eye on our Facebook page kitchenwitchuk for regular postings of pagan related books for free Kindle downloads.

Tansy
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The Old Sarum

2012-01-25T11:47:00.000Z

Earlier this week I visited the Old Sarum in Salisbury.

It is an English Heritage site (website english-heritage.org.uk) so it did cost to get it but it was a reasonable £3.70.

The site combines evidence of a royal castle and a cathedral within an Iron Age fortification.

The earliest fortification was believed to have been around 400BC. Once the Romans arrived the Old Sarum begins to appear in the historic records as Sorviodunum, it was occupied intermittently during the early Middle Ages when its defences were an advantage during the Danish wars of the early 11th Century.

It was William the Conqueror who decided in about 1070 to build a royal castle in the middle of the site. He divided the old hillfort in two which created an inner set of fortifications (a complex of towers, halls and apartments with a huge outer bailey). The hillfort was also to be the site of a new cathedral built under the instructions of Bishop Roger (1102-39). The result was a very grand castle and cathedral.

However in 1220 the cathedral was moved to the village below, Salisbury. This left only a handful of people living in the castle much beyond 1400.

The Old Sarum lived on though as a notorious 'rotten borough' it continued to elect members of Parliament until 1832.

There are three major things to see at the Old Sarum, these are the earthworks of the Iron Age hillfort, the inner stronghold of the Norman castle and the remains of the cathedral.

The Oath of Sarum

The Anglo Saxon Chronical states that on Lammas Day 1086 William the Conqueror came to Old Sarum with his council, and he was joined by all the landholding men of any importance from all of England, they all bowed down to him and became his men, they all swore oaths of fealty to him.

The Oath was an act of great theatre to assert William's right to the loyalty of his subjects but also an administrative exercise, an affirmation of the post Conquest patterns of landholding enshrined in Doomsday.

It won't take you a whole day to visit, probably just a couple of hours to walk round it all but it is well worth a visit.

Old Sarum info .english-heritage.org.uk/daysout/properties/old-sarum/

Tansy
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Madame H.P. Blavatsky

2012-01-24T09:17:00.000Z

"There is no religion higher than truth " - Theosophical Society Motto

Helena Petrovna Blavatsky was born to a noble Russian family in 1831 in the Ukraine, a highly supersititious people. During her childhood family moved frequently, and she continued this wanderlust all her life, travelling all over the world. Her mother was a well-known writer, her father an officer in the horse-artillery. Her grandmother spoke five languages and had corresponded with some of Europe's eminent natural scientists.

Madame Blavatsky, as she would become to be known, was the founder of the Theosophical Society and controvercial pioneer is eastern mysticism, opening up a whole new branch of esoteric study to the world. Theosophy is the word she uses to describe "Divine Knowledge".

She was a gifted child, though something of the enfant terrible, preferring to spend time with the children of the domestic servants, rather than those of her own social class, and conversing with nature spirits. After the death of her mother, the family moved to a house that contained her grandmother's library - a place that Helena spent a lot of time. As well as receiving an excellent education, it was here that she developed her interest in medieval occultism.

In 1949, Helena married a much older man, Vice-governor of Yerevan, Nikifor Vladimirovich Blavatsky. This was no love match, merely a stepping stone towards her own independence. Almost as soon as the marriage took place, Helena left her husband, returned to her relatives, and embarked on her life-long world travels: Constantinople, Egypt Greece and Eastern Europe. During this time she learned to play the piano, taught by I. Mosheles, a famous composer and pianist. She even toured internationally, performing at concerts.

It was during one such tour, in London, that the she first mentions meeting her "Teacher", an Eastern Initiate, the Mahatma Morya. She had seen her Teacher many times, but usually in her dreams. It was her Teacher that guided her travels, bringing her into contact with the people from which she could learn. In Hyde Park, on her birthday in 1851, she had met and talked with her Teacher, who had informed that that she would go to Tibet for three years and study there.

She travelled to India via Canada and Central and South America, staying in the country for two years. Every month she said that she received instuctions and money from her unknown sponsor. She attempted to pass into Tibet at the end of this time, but a British representative prevented her. It was extremely rare at this time for any Westerner to gain entry to Tibet.

Helena returned to England, there she again met with her Teacher, before sailing for the United States. She travelled across the States, through the Rockies she accompanied a settler caravan. She continued her travels across the Pacific to the Far East, and again returned to India via Japan and Singapore.

In later years she would publish an account of her travels in India with her Teacher, the book, "From caves and jungles of Hindustan", a collection of essays, which she published under the pen name of Radda-Bay. In 1857 she repeatedly tried to cross into Tibet, until shortly before the Mutiny, where she was instructed by her Teacher to return Madras and thence to Java and Europe.

1859 brought illness to Helena, which lasted some months. Once she was stronger again, she was travelling once again, through Eastern Europe, the Middle East and southern Europe. She was present and an active participant at the Battle of Mentana in Italy. She received a broken hand from a sabre and two separate shrapnel wounds.

After recovering from her injuries, she once again travelled eastwards, finally succeeding in getting to Tibet. When questioned about why it had to be Tibet, she replied

"Really, it is quite useless to go to Tibet or India to recover some knowledge or power that are hidden in any human soul; but acquisition of higher knowledge and power requires not only many years of intensive studying under the guidance of higher mind together with a resolution that cannot be shaken by any danger, and as much as years of relative solitude, in communication with disciples only which pursue the same aim, and in such a place where both the nature and the neophyte preserve a perfect and unbroken rest if not the silence! There the air is not poisoned by miasmas around a hundreds miles, and there the atmosphere and human magnetism are quite clear and there the animal’s blood is never shed."

Here in Tibet, she spent several years in tutilage with the Buddhist masters, without doubt she was initiated into the deeper levels of the teachings. Nearly three years later she began her travelling again.

She was shipwrecked in 1871 off the island of Spetsai, in the Mediterranean, when the powder magazine of the ship she travelled in exploded. She survived, 30 of her fellow shipmates were killed, her belongings and money were lost. She made her way to Cairo, where she founded a Spiritualistic Society along with Emma Cutting, a woman who would reappear in India years later as Emma Coulomb. The Society in Cairo was forced to close after a financial scandal, and later Emma Coulomb would seriously undermine Helena's reputation.

Helena once again travelled north, around the Mediterranean countries, before coming to Paris. Here she purchased a ticket to New York. Here it is rumoured that on meeting a lone woman with two children who could not afford the fare, she herself exchanged her first class ticket for four third class ones. Thus she travelled to America in the not so comfortable steerage.

In 1873 in the USA, she met Colonel Henry Steel Olcott. Together they founded the Theosophical Society in 1875 in New York. The objectives written down then are the same objectives in use to this very day:

1. to form a nucleus of the Universal Brotherhood of Humanity, without distinction of race, creed, sex, caste or color.

2. to encourage the study of Comparative Religion, Philosophy and Science.

3. to investigate unexplained laws of Nature, and the powers latent in man.

She married a Georgian in America, but the marriage only lasted a few months. She published the first of her seminal works in 1877, "Isis Unveiled". The first thousand copies of the first print were sold out within ten days.

She became an American citizen in 1878, and within a year, she and Olcott left for India. Here she founded the headquarters of the Theosophical Society near Madras. It was during this time that her previous acquaintance from Cairo reappeared, Emma Coulomb. She and her husband were employed by Helena, They were later accused of fraudulent behaviour and asked to leave. In revenge, the Coulombs engineered evidence apparently proving Helena a fraud. This unfortunately coincided with an investigation by one Richard Hodgson, employed by the Society of Psychical Research, who unsurprisingly wrote an extremely unfavourable report. A modern investigation into the charges against Madame Blavastsky, again conducted by the SPR, have found the Hodgson Report to be "biased, unscientific and completely unconvincing".

She remained in India until 1885, moving to Europe due to ill health, and then London. During the years 1878 to 1888 she was the editor of the Theosophist Magazine. Once in London she busied herself in writing, three of her influential works, "The Secret Doctrine” (1888), "The Voice of the Silence” (1889)and “The Key to Theosophy” (1889), publised in quick succession. Helena died after a bout of influenza in 1891 at her home in London.

There are many differing opinions as to whether Madame Blavatsky was a true visionary or whether she was merely a skilled fraudster, as with any controvercial subject facts can be provided to prove either case, and as such an influential character, she will have attracted her fair share of critics. She claimed to have psychic powers, and performed many acts of magic throughout her career. There are many texts attempting to prove her guilt or innocence, controversy was to plague her within her lifetime, many claims of fraud laid before her, but none that her charm and force of personality could not weather in her favour.

What cannot be denied is that her work was of incredible importance to the New Age movement. She may have prempted the coming change and shift towards spiritualism, or, indeed, she may have hastened its arrival, influencing the formation of such societies as the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn. Whatever your opinion, she has certainly inspired a whole movement, and synthesising the hidden esoteric mysteries of the east with the scientific knowledge of the west, laying down the spritualist concepts that we now are all familiar with, and even some scientific ones that were unheard of in her day - the splitting of the atom.

Bibiography:

* Blavatsky, H P (1877), Isis unveiled, J.W. Bouton, OCLC 7211493
* Blavatsky, H P (1880), From the Caves and Jungles of Hindostan, Floating Press, ISBN 1775416038
* Blavatsky, H P (1888), The Secret Doctrine, Theosophical Publ. Co, OCLC 61915001
* Blavatsky, H P (1933) [1889], The Voice of the Silence, Theosophy Co. (India) Ltd, OCLC 220858481
* Blavatsky, H P (1889), The key to theosophy, Theosophical Pub. Co, OCLC 612505
* Blavatsky, H P (1892), Nightmare tales, London, Theosophical publishing society, OCLC 454984121
* Blavatsky, H P; Neff, Mary Katherine (1937), Personal memoirs, London, OCLC 84938217
* Blavatsky, H P; Goodrick-Clarke, Nicholas (2004), Helena Blavatsky, Western esoteric masters series, North Atlantic Books, ISBN 9781556434570

Her many articles have been collected in the Collected Writings of H. P. Blavatsky. An alternative link is: collectedwritings.net This series has 15 numbered volumes including the index.

Sources:

blavatskyarchives.com
theosociety.org
blavatskytrust.org.uk
newworldencyclopedia.org
Wikipedia

Blessed be

Blaidd

Stories from Stonewylde

2012-01-22T10:19:00.000Z

Yesterday I finished reading the second book in the Stonewylde series and wanted to share with you.

WOW! Both books I have read so far have been amazing, truly magical stories with enchanting characters and captivating plot lines.

Stonewylde is an idyllic setting shut away from the manic outside world, full of Earth and Moon magic, magicians and crones.

The stories are about the fight between good and evil with a wonderful passionate romance entwined within the story line along with heaps of magic. The wonderful Kit Berry obviously knows her magic and her history of the Green Man, adding to the tales her knowledge and experience of Moon and Earth magic.

If you have pagan beliefs you will love these stories and the magic within, if you aren't pagan you will love the stories just as much.

It was late when I finished reading Moondance last night, a total 'page turner' some pages being turned whilst I held my breath to find out what happened on the next page, I won't spoil the ending but as I read the last line I actually exclaimed out loud "oh noooooooooooo" and even though it was way past my bed time I had to pick up book three and read the first few pages just to find out what was going on!!

Outline of the stories from the Stonewylde website:

Stonewylde is an alternative community, hidden away in the heart of Dorset and ruled by the charismatic Magus. It's a place of standing stones and earth energy – a place where the old ways are remembered. Within a great stone circle the eight pagan festivals are celebrated and ancient rites performed. The thirteen full moons are honoured and the people live natural and uncomplicated lives, as their ancestors have done for hundreds of years.

But all is not quite as it seems. There's another side to Stonewylde; a darker side where cruelty is rife. There's a more sinister purpose behind the rituals held in the Stone Circle than simply honouring the Earth Goddess and the elements of nature. Sylvie and her mother are invited into the community, victims of modern life. Suffering from the stresses of inner city life, they believe that by entering the enclosed world of Stonewylde, their troubles will be over. Magus promises them fulfilment; that they will lack for nothing. He promises to heal them and care for them, calling on the green magic that pervades everything at Stonewylde. But one boy alone understands the true reason for their invitation, and what malevolence their arrival has triggered.

As the series unfolds, the struggle between Yul and his master becomes more brutal and the stakes are raised. Sylvie is in terrible danger as an old prophecy is revealed and the pieces of the puzzle start to slide into place. Sylvie and Yul must battle not only to save themselves, but the very heart of Stonewylde.

Highly recommended, if you haven't read them yet ...do it!

There are four books in the series published so far, the fifth and last book will be published this year...I can't wait to see what happens, although if it's not a happy ending I will be devastated!

The Stonewylde website is stonewylde.com

Tansy
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Branwen

2012-01-20T08:00:00.001Z

Branwen (pronounced Bran-oo-wen) is the Welsh Goddess of love and beauty. She is daughter of Llyr, god of the sea and Penarddun also a Goddess of beauty. She is considered the Venus of the Northern seas.

The name Branwen means ‘white raven’ in Welsh.

Branwen is one of the five Goddesses of Avalon.

The full moon in June is Branwen’s moon.

She is also honoured during the waxing moon each month.

She is considered to be the Maiden aspect of the Goddess and also the Mother.

Her magical attributes are: invoking beginnings, new projects, ideas, inspiration, energy, vitality and freedom.

She is also the Goddess of sovereignty and can be called upon in rituals that deal with the land or earth.

Her symbols include: the cauldron, the cup, the starling, the waxing moon, the white raven.

Her story:

Bran the Blessed was ruler of Britain.

The King of Ireland, Mallowch came to Wales seeking a wife, Bran offered his sister Branwen to Mallolwch. However Evnissyen (Bran’s half brother) was upset that they had not asked his permission before Brand offered his sister for marriage.

Evnissyen attacked the King’s horses. When Mallolwch found out he was outraged and decided to leave. Bran was humiliated by the act and had to offer the King his own fine horses plus a magic cauldron that could bring a man back to life to appease him.

Mallolwch accepted the offer and Branwen’s hand in marriage. Mallolwch took his new wife back with him to his kingdom in Ireland.

At first the couple were very happy, Branwen bore the King a son whom they named Gwern.

Branwen was a generous Queen and always gifted her female guests with small presents. However some of the nobles were upset to not receive more from Bran for the insult, so Mallolwch agreed to punish Branwen.

Branwen however was a resourceful lady and taught a starling how to deliver a message to her brothers in Britain, although it did take her three years to teach the bird!

When the bird arrived at the court of Caer Seint yn Arvon, Bran found his sister’s message tied to the bird’s leg. Bran was not a happy man.

Bran gathered together a large force of men and set out for Ireland. On learning this news Mallolwch was alarmed and decided to retreat further west. Mallolwch and his men crossed the river Liffey and destroyed the bridge to prevent Bran and his army from crossing. However Bran, being a giant was able to lay down across the river so that his men could use him as a bridge instead.

Mallolwch heard that Bran was travelling through a large forest, only Bran could be seen as he was taller than all the trees. Mallolwch decided to make peace with Bran by sending him a messenger. The message was that Mallolwch would step down from the throne and allows Branwen’s son Gwern to become King. Mallolwch also promised to make right his mistreatment of Branwen.

Mallolwch had arranged for a large house to be built to shelter Bran, however it was a trap to kill him. Mallolwch had 200 men hiding inside bags that hung from the pillars of the house.

Bran and Mallolwch met in the house to watch over the proceedings of Gwern becoming King. Evnissyen was unhappy about this, and when Gwern stood before his Uncle, Evnissyen took him by his feet and thrust him into the fire. Branwen tried to save him, but Bran prevented her and protected his sister with a shield because as this all happened a fight broke out between the Britons and the Irish.

The Irish warriors that were hiding in the leather bags were killed by Evnissyen but were then thrown into the cauldron of rebirth and resurrected. A fierce battle raged and began to turn in favour of Mallolwch, as his warriors kept being brought back to life.

Evnissyen realised that it was the arrogance of his family that had brought destruction upon Britain, it was his actions and words that had caused the problems. He made his way towards the cauldron and laid down amongst the dead Irish warriors. He was not noticed and thrown into the cauldron with the dead warriors, once inside he stretched himself out fully so that it broke into four pieces. Unfortunately this also broke his heart.

Once the cauldron was destroyed the Britons managed to win against the Irish, every single Irishman being killed, including Mallolwch and Gwern. Almost all the women and children on the Irish side were killed too, except for five pregnant women who had sheltered in a nearby cave.

From the Briton army only seven men survived. Bran himself was inflicted with a mortal wound in his foot from a poisoned spear. He told his brother to cut off his head, as it would be impossible to transport his huge body back to Britain for burial. He asked that his head be taken home so that it could accompany them on their journey and entertain them in the hall of Gwales. Bran also foretold that they would remain in Gwales until someone opened the doors facing Cornwall, 80 years later, after that they must bury his head in White Hill in London.

The seven survivors and Branwen returned to Britain. Branwen was so distraught at how many lives had been lost that she died in sorrow. She was buried on the bank of Alaw.

Tansy

images:

in purple by Emily Bruner

others from the internet but not named

Skulduggery Pleasant

2012-01-19T11:44:00.000Z

I have just finished reading book 6 - Death Bringer in the Skulduggery Pleasant series written by Derek Landy and it was brilliant, just as good as the first 5 in fact maybe even a little bit better :-)

Skulduggery Pleasant is a skeleton detective, with his side kick Valkyrie (her magical name) who is a teenage student when not being a detective. Fighting evil forces, necromancers and generally kicking bottom in the magical world, filled with zombies, vampires and magicians. Lots of action packed fights using the elements, interesting plots and a whole load of problems for Valkyrie running a secret life as a detective whilst still living in her parents house!

Along with the interesting plot that started in book one and continues through the series, all the action packed adventure and magic has the added bonus of humour.

The books:

Skulduggery Pleasant
Playing with Fire
The Faceless Ones
Dark Days
Mortal Coil
Death Bringer

The Skulduggery website ( skulduggerypleasant.com ) describes Skulduggery as a wise cracking detective, powerful magician, master of dirty tricks and burglary (in the name of the greater good of course) oh yeah and dead!

A very good, magical, funny and enjoyable read, can't wait for the next one!

Tansy
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Peter J Caroll

2012-01-18T08:00:00.002Z

Peter J Caroll was born in England in 1953. Alternative Scientist, author, and an original contributor to the theory of Chaos Magic, having been influenced by the works of Aleister Crowley and the artist Austin Osman Spare. It was Spare that developed the use of sigils, a tool heavily used in chaos magic, and the practice of empowering them by the use of gnosis (an altered state of consciousness necessary for the successful completion of many magical works). A simple tenet of chaos magic is that the power is in the actual act of Belief itself, rather than the object of that belief.

He is the co-founder of the Magical Pact of the Illuminates of Thanateros (IOT). The Pact is an international organization run on a meritocratic basis founded in 1978 and remains active today. He has written under his own name and this magical name Stokastikos. He has almost 40 years of experience in research and experimentation, and is remains a contributing writer to Chaos International magazine.

His childhood was spent in a succession of knights and castles, rockets, and occult literature. He graduated from the University of London with a degree in science, before working as a school teacher. He later spent four years in India and the Himalayas, before backpacking became fashionable. He was accompanied by his girlfriend, a lady who would become his wife on their return to England. He established a business where his books on Chaos Magic theory earned him international lecture tours, and from this he founded the IOT.

In 1995 he stepped down as Grandmaster of the IOT to pursue other commitments, but he regained his interest in magic in 2005 when asked by Robert Anton Wilson to run a course of tuition at the Maybe Logic Academy. He later established the Arcanorium Occult College with other chaos magicians, where he remains the Chancellor of the School, and holds the Chair for Sorcery and Alternative Science.

Bibliography:
* Liber Null. (1978) and Psychonaut. (1982) (published in one volume in 1987) ISBN 0-87728-639-6
* Liber Kaos. (1992) ISBN 0-87728-742-2
* PsyberMagick: Advanced Ideas in Chaos Magick. (1995) ISBN 1-56184-092-0
* The Apophenion: A Chaos Magic Paradigm. (08/08/08) ISBN 1-86992-865-2 [6]
* The Octavo: A Sorceror-Scientist's Grimoire. (Roundworld edition, 2010) ISBN 978-1906958176

Sources:
maybelogic.org
mandrake.uk.net
Wikipedia

Picture:
maybelogic.org

Blessed be

Blaidd

Why do spells work ... or not?

2012-01-17T13:14:00.000Z

Why do spells work...or not?

Interesting question, here are some thoughts/ideas on giving a spell the best chance of success, there are many things that come together to contribute to the success of a spell or ritual:

The Moon Phase
Planetary day and hour
Corresponding materials, ingredients and supplies
The practitioner's state of mind at the time of casting/working
The Universe
The practitioner's experience
The amount of energy raised or channelled
Belief
The right wording/working
Intent
Effort

When you sit down to write a spell you really need to take into account all of the above list. Tying in the spell to the correct moon phase (banishing on the waning moon, drawing to you on the waxing moon etc) will add power to the working. Similarly working the spell at the correct time, on the day to correspond with your intent and the hour all add to the success of the spell.

Using the right materials - the correct corresponding herbs for instance will all add to the end result.

Your state of mind at the time of casting - if you are for instance extremely angry this can disrupt and twist the energy and intent you put into the working.

And of course the Universe and it's Will. If what you are trying to achieve is not meant to be...then it isn't meant to be and the Universe has a habit of intervening.

If you are attempting something on a grand scale then it is probably advisable to have a bit of experience behind you, start small and work your way up!

Energy is important in any working, the power you add to the working, the energy you put into it will all add to the outcome.

Belief - got to have belief! You have to believe in your own powers, believe in yourself and believe that you have the ability to make it happen.

Getting the words right is also important, one wrong word or ill thought word can send a spell twisting and turning in all sorts of directions! Make sure you read it all through properly and really get clarity into your wording.

Intent and I am going to say effort here too are needed. At the end of the day the magic is in YOU, the magic comes from you so you have to have the intent to see the spell through. You also need effort, performing a spell to bring money to you and then sitting on the sofa for the next year will not help bring the spondolicks rolling in! Follow up your spell with the intent you have formed and do something practical about it too!

I think it's important to start out with all these 'ingredients', and to keep a journal, a record of each spell and what correspondences were used, all the details and then record the results.

If you are in a hurry you will find that you can work round some of them, re-wording the spell to correspond with the current moon phase rather than waiting a week, substituting a herb for another if you don't have the usual/specified one - it all comes with practice!

Tansy
x

Odin - Ruler of Asgard

2012-01-17T09:58:00.000Z

Odin, the leader of the Aesir and ruler of Asgard, not only features in Nordic myth, but has also influenced that of the British via his other guise of Woden. Odin is one of the primeval gods who helped in the creation of the worlds from the body of the slain giant, Ymir. He is the All-Father, along with his wife Frigg, though not adverse to dallying with other goddesses. In some ways he is extremely similar to the Roman Jupiter, including having shape-shifting abilities.

The worlds he helped to create are those of the great tree Yggdrasil, with upper, middle and lower realms. Within those realms was the home of the the Frost Giants in Jotunheim. Here extended one of the roots of Yggdrasil, and beneath that root was the Well of Knowledge. Guarded by the giant Mimir, who set the price of an eye, that Odin must pay for drinking at the Well. This is why Odin has only one eye - the other lies at the bottom of the Well of Knowledge, but from this he gained wisdom and foresight.

Odin's appetite for knowledge is insatiable. On one such quest he pierced himself with his spear, and hanged himself upsidedown from Yggdrasil for nine days, after which he was shown the secret of the eighteen runes, and he learned nine poweful songs. Thus he brought the gift of writing to the world.

Odin is a god of war and death, poetry and wisdom. His hall in Asgard is known as the The Shelf of the Slain, and he also resides in Valhalla, The Hall of the Slain, to where Valkyries bring the souls of dead warriors to prepare for Ragnarok - the Doom of the Gods and the end of the cosmos. From his throne in Asgard he can observe everything that happens in the nine worlds, and his ravens, Huginn and Muninn (being Thought and Memory respectively) reported to him every night with what they had learned in their travels that day.

The dead souls taken to Valhalla feasted on roast boar - which would regenerate in time for the next feast. The dead would also be sparred against by the gods, and any who were "killed" were raised again. Both themes can be seen in the Celtic stories with the Cauldron od Rebirth and Dagda's pigs.

Amongst Odin's prized possessions were his spear that never missed its target, Gungnir, his ring that copied itself nine times every night, Draupner, these rings were placed on the funeral pyre of his son Baldur. His two wolves, Geri and Freki, sat at his feet, and he fed them his food for he needed none.

He has the eight-legged horse, Sleipnir. This horse the result of a prank of the trickster god, Loki, who has changed himself into an alluring mare to distract a magical stallion from completing his task of building a wall around Asgard. Loki later gave birth to Sleipnir, and gave the horse to Odin as a gift. Sleipnir enables Odin to move between states of consciousness, between the realms of spirit and matter, which again points towards his thirst for knowledge.

As well as the Valkyries collecting the souls of the chosen dead, Odin himself is also said to collect them, riding his horse Sleipnir, accompanied by his wolves and with the souls of the dead following behind, gives rise to the myth of the Wild Hunt.

Odin was brought to England, by the Saxons, under the guise of Woden, the day Wednesday is named for him. Although Woden has few of the abilities of Odin, he retained the role of psychopomp, collecting the souls of the dead, and headed the Wild Hunt.

A saxon area that was settled is now the Great Windsor Park - the haunting ground of Herne the Hunter. Herne began his life as a mortal, but was mortally wounded on a hunt when he placed himself in front of the King. Magicians managed to save his life, but he was framed so as to lose favour with the King, and he was later found hanging from a tree. From that date, Herne has taken on some of Woden's attributes, especially that of the Wild Hunt.

The celts also had their own Lord of the Wild Hunt, in Gwyn ap Nudd, who was accompanied by the Cwn Annwn, the hounds of the Underworld, or hellhounds. Though it is extremely unlikely that Odin and Gwyn are one and the same, it is interesting to note the Wild Hunt theme that is consistent across the North European continent.

Blessed be

Blaidd

Selena Fox

2012-01-16T12:53:00.000Z

Taken from the Kitchen Witch Forum:

Selena Fox is an ordained Wiccan minister and qualified psychotherapist, as well as influential and prominent public speaker on multifaith platforms. In 1974, she, along with others, founded the Circle Craft Tradition, based since 1983 at the Circle Sanctuary, a 200 acre Nature Reserve in south west Wisconsin. This site was specifically created as a pagan retreat. She was also one of the founders of the oldest nature spirit festivals in the U.S, the Pagan Spirit Gathering. She has founded many networks for the benefit of pagans throughout the USA and globally during the course of her work.

Selena was born in Arlington, Virginia in 1949, she attended her first pagan ritual at the age of 21. Since then, she has become a well-known media spokeswoman. She graduated from the College of William and Mary with a BSc Psychology with honours in 1971, and with a Masters Degree in Counselling from the University of Wisconsin in 1995. Her thesis there was When Goddess is God: Pagans, Recovery, and Alcoholics Anonymous.

She is a published author, and is the editor of the Circle Magazine, originally the Circle Network newletter, she also has several audio recordings with chants, meditations and discussions.

Her style of spirituality, and that of the Circle, is very much geo-centric. She was raised in the countryside, as a child she learned the names for many of the plants and trees around her. At school she was introduced to the ancient Greek and Roman myths, and she began to compare these religions with the patriarchal Baptist faith in which she was raised, she became more and more disillusioned by the attitudes of the Baptist Church, especially in their views towards women and women as clergy. By her late teens she had begun to study paraphycology, psychic phenomena and the Tarot. It was whilst she was working on her post-gradute studies that she met with a practising witch, and was drawn in by the similarities between wicca and her own nature based spirituality.

She studied with several traditions, and within a few years she had worked her way to a role as High Priestess. She met her first husband, Jim Alan, at a psychic fayre in 1974, and within a year they had founded Circle Wicca. By 1978, Selena had succeeded in creating an official non-profit Wiccan Church, the Church of Circle Wicca, changing the structure of the Circle from that of a coven, to that more akin to a regular church, with a board of directors and an ordained ministry. She was married to Jim Alan for ten years before they parted. She is now married to Dennis Carpenter, with whom she runs the Circle Sanctuary and Circle Magazine.

The rise of paganism in the seventies meant that there were many people who were attracted to the pagan ideals, but were rather off-put by the Garnerian and Alexandrian style of Wicca. Selena and her then husband and high-priest had moved to fill that gap. Nature spirituality and environmentalism are the general themes. Her public-speaking engagements have covered talks to those in the pagan community, but she is also an activist for religious freedoms, environmental matters and civil rights, speaking on the international scale, with more than forty years experience in these areas.

She is a member of several interfaith organisations, and has written and performed interfaith ceremonies, some held at the Circle Sanctuary, some at other venues. She continues to work in counselling on interfaith matters, from an individual and family level, right up to whole communities. She is one of the 250 members of the Assembly of Religious and Spiritual Leaders, which is itself associated with the Parliament of the World's Religions. She serves as a Wiccan consultant to chaplains in public service, including within the military, hospitals, prisons and educational insitutions. She has served as an advisor to the Pentagon and US Department of Justice.

Periodicals:
*Circle Network News. Editor, publisher and primary contributor of Circle Sanctuary's newsletter/newspaper from 1978 to 1997.
*Circle Magazine. Editor and publisher of the quarterly magazine replacing Circle Sanctuary's newspaper in 1997.

Bibliography:
* Circle Magick Songs (1979) with Jim Alan. Circle Publications.
* Goddess Communion: Rituals and Meditations (1988). Circle Publications.
* Planetary Healing Rituals: Meditations, Rituals & Prayers for a Healthier World (1991). Circle Sanctuary.

Discography:
* Circle Songs and Chants - Jim Alan & Selena Fox (self-produced cassette)
* The Magickal Movement: Present and Future - panel discussion with Isaac Bonewits, Margot Adler and Robert Anton Wilson (ACE cassette)
* Magick Changing the World, the World Changing Magick - panel discussion with Bonewits, AmyLee, Jeff Rosenbaum and Robert Anton Wilson (ACE cassette)

Sources:
selenafox.com
circlesanctuary.org
controverscial.com
Wikipedia

Picture:
selenafox.com

Blessed be

Blaidd

Avalon Within

2012-01-13T08:00:00.030Z

A while ago I stumbled upon a book called Avalon Within written by Jhenah Telyndru - it is "A sacred journey of myth, mystery and inner wisdom".

And it is a very lovely book :-)

This book takes you to the Isle of Avalon where you can experience and utilise the magic and mysteries of the Priestesses of Avalon.

You are guided to connect with five Goddesses - Rhiannon, Ceridwen, Blodeuwedd, Arianrhod and Branwen working with the five elements and tying it all in with the sacred landscape of Glastonbury.

Taking you on a journey of empowerment and transformation to seek the Goddess within using Celtic mythology and the wonderful Arthurian legends.

The book is extremely well written and laid out with easy to follow pathways.

I have read the book through and am now going back over and working through all the details and exercises.

Jhenah Telyndru is also the founder and Morgen of the Sisterhood of Avalon.

Jhenah's website ynysafallon.com
Sisterhood of Avalon website sisterhoodofavalon.org

Tansy
x

Journaling

2012-01-11T10:36:00.001Z

I have, over the years journaled regularly, mostly on the computer I must admit but every so often I am gifted a beautiful book with lovely blank pages for me to fill with my inner most thoughts or as usually turns out general babble ;-).

So why journal?

You can use the journal to 'empty your head', get out all the random thoughts that might be clogging up your thought process, sometimes by writing it all down and then reading it back it will make perfect sense and if you have a dilemma it can also aid in coming up with a solution. It is a simple way to gain insights that you might otherwise have missed.

It also helps to journal before bedtime, to empty all the chaos from your head so your mind is peaceful to aid you in sleeping.

It is also interesting to journal about your spiritual journey, then you have something to look back upon and see how far you have come. Writing all your thoughts and experiences and reading them back can be a very powerful self development tool.

A journal is a good place to keep a record of your experiences too, again something to look back on in the future and re-live the memories.

Some journal ideas:

Spiritual journal to record the journey on your path.
Moon journal - write how you feel, what your mood is like each day and keep a track of the moon phases - see how it affects you.
Family journal to record things your children say, events you go to together etc.
Memories journal - jot down something that happened each day that you want to keep as a memory.
Thankful journal - write down one thing each day that you are thankful for.
Book journal - keep a record of all the books you read, write a short review about each one.
Partners journal - write down experiences or events with your partner, something to look back on.
Friends journal - keep a record of things you did with your friends, meet ups, chats etc.
Recipes journal - make a note of recipes you have tried and how they turned out.
Hobby journal - if you have a hobby; walking, stamp collecting, anything really - journal what you have collected, what you have done etc
Goals journal - do you have ideas? do you have things that you want to achieve? jot down goals or items to focus on, make a note when and how you achieve them.
Travel journal - if you travel or holiday a lot, keep a note of where you have been and what the places were like.

The ideas are limitless really. Or just put it all in one great big journal!

It doesn't have to be a paper and pen journal it can just as easily be kept on your computer - give it a try!

Tansy
x

Raven Grimassi

2012-01-10T17:36:00.000Z

Taken from the Kitchen Witch forum:

Raven Grimassi is best known for his writings on Italian Witchcraft, or Stragheria, although he has written on a wide range of subjects relating to the Craft. Grimassi is his pen-name, as he is highly secretive and protective of his private identity and family. He was born to an Italian immigrant to the United States of America in 1951, his mother a war-bride. He was still a child when he began learning the folklore and old religions of Italy and southern Europe, which came to him with a strange mix of Catholicism. By the age of 18, he had discarded any Catholic associations altogether, and was determined to delve deeper into the old ways of his heritage.

In 1969 he first came across Wicca, a tradition compatible with the Italian Witchcraft he was more familiar with. Unsurprising when considering the influence the 1890 book, "Aradia: Gospel of the Witches" by Charles Leland, had on those who brought Wicca to life. He initiated into what claimed to be a Gardnerian Coven, though these claims were later proven as untrue. Since then, he has also initiated into several other traditions, Brittic (1975), Pictish-Gaelic (1983) and Traditional Celtic Wicca (2001), the latter two at third degree level, and more as a guardian to preserve their knowledge. He has also studied the Kabbala with the First Temple of Tiphareth (1975).

Drawing elements from both Strega and Wicca, Grimassi created the Aridian Tradition in 1979, specifically designed for the neo-pagan, not necessarily of Italian descent. He is purported to have initiated Scott Cunningham into this tradition, though Cunningham never rose above first degree, and they parted with some differences of opinion.

Also in 1979, whilst the editor and contributing writer of the magazine "The Shadows Edge", a publication concentrating on Italian Witchcraft, he began writing articles on Wicca and Witchcraft. A year later, he published his first books, The "Book of the Holy Strega" and "The Book of Ways". Both books were to be out of print within a few years, but the latter was brought back into print recently. In 1995, Llewellyn published his book "Ways of the Strega", shortly after, an expanded and retitled version was released as "Italian Witchcraft".

Some misinterpretation of the phrase "initiated into the Family Tradition" have caused controvery, with critics claiming that it's not actually the traditions of HIS family. However, he has never claimed that his work recreated that of the old traditions, but that he has built upon his existing knowledge of Italian Witchcraft and folk magic, adapting it for the contemporary practitioner, thereby creating a new tradition.

Grimassi is regarded as a foremost expert on the work of Charles Leland and his Aradia book. Though he sees much Christian distortion in the work, there are many underlying elements that he sees as truth.

Grimassi is married to Stephanie Taylor, his co-author in the Well Worn Path oracle. He is the Directing Elder of the Arician Tradition of Italian witchcraft, co-director of the College of the Crossroads, along with Stephanie, a school devoted to the pre-christian European mysteries, though now known as Fellowship of the Pentacle. The couple run an online shop called "Raven's Loft" and further information on Strega can be found on his website stregheria.com.

Bibliography:

1981: The Book of the Holy Strega
1981: The Book of Ways Volume I and II
1994: Ways of the Strega reprinted as Italian Witchcraft: The Old Religion of Southern Europe in 1995
1999: Grimassi, Raven. Hereditary Witchcraft: Secrets of the Old Religion. Llewellyn Publications. ISBN 1567182569.
2000: Grimassi, Raven. The Encyclopedia of Wicca and Witchcraft. Llewellyn Publications. ISBN 1567182577.
2001: Grimassi, Raven. Beltane: Springtime Rituals, Lore and Celebration. Llewellyn Publications. ISBN 1567182836.
2001 Grimassi, Raven. Hereditary Witchcraft. Llewellyn Publications. ISBN 1567182569.
2002: Grimassi, Raven. Wiccan Magick. Llewellyn Publications. ISBN 1567182550.
2002: Grimassi, Raven. The Wiccan Mysteries. Llewellyn Publications. ISBN 1567182542.
2002: Grimassi, Raven. The Witches' Craft: The Roots of Witchcraft & Magical Transformation. Llewellyn Publications. ISBN 073870265X.
2003: Grimassi, Raven. Spirit of the Witch: Religion & Spirituality in Contemporary Witchcraft. Llewellyn Publications. ISBN 0738703389.
2003: Grimassi, Raven. The Witch's Familiar: Spiritual Partnership for Successful Magic. Llewellyn Publications. ISBN 0738703397.
2004: Grimassi, Raven. Witchcraft: A Mystery Tradition. Llewellyn Publications. ISBN 0738705969.
2005: Grimassi, Raven & Taylor Stephanie. Well Worn Path: Divination Kit. ISBN 073870671X.
2007: Grimassi, Raven & Taylor Stephanie. Hidden Path: Divination Kit. ISBN 0738710709.
2008: Grimassi, Raven. Crafting Wiccan Traditions. Llewellyn Publications. ISBN 073871108X.
2009: Grimassi, Raven. The Cauldron of Memory: Retrieving Ancestral Knowledge & Wisdom. Llewellyn Publications. ISBN 0738715751.
2011: Grimassi, Raven. Old World Witchcraft: Ancient Ways for Modern Days. Weiser Books. ISBN 1578635055.

Sources:
ravengrimassi.net
absoluteastronomy.com
witchcraftandwitches.com
wikipedia

Picture:
ravengrimassi.net

Blessed be

Blaidd

The Rainbow Prince

2012-01-10T10:27:00.000Z

Today I am working with the Wisdom of the Hidden Realms oracle cards by Colette Baron-Reid, the first card I pulled was:

The Rainbow Prince
compensation, perserverance

When the Rainbow Prince appears, he reminds you about the Law of Compensation and the Law of Receiving. After the rainstorm you have endured on your journey, the Rainbow Prince brings you a pot of gold, which is the result of your using all the elements of your inner light and reaching into the sky until you touch the material realm from one end to the other.

This isn't always an easy process and hard work must be rewarded by compensation. When you align yourself with the energy of giving the highest value, your compensation is inherent in the act itself.

But the message here is more than that: the Rainbow Prince says to keep your sights on the sky after the rainstorms that may have upset your life. Follow your bliss to the pot of gold waiting for you. Perserverance pays off and your reward will be greater than you can imagine.

So...follow your rainbow! Grab it with both hands and GO FOR IT!!

Tansy
x

Celtic Religion in Pre-Christian Europe - Edward Anwyl

2012-01-09T12:27:00.000Z

As the very happy owner of a new Kindle, I made use of the many free books that can be downloaded from such sites as Amazon and Project Gutenberg. One of these was Celtic Religion in Pre-Christian Europe.

Sir Edward Anwyl was a Welsh academic, specialising in the celtic languages, and this book was published in 1906, to be republished in an online format some hundred years later.

It's a fairly short book, so not as arduous as some others of the age. The material in it is fairly familiar to me, as I have studied celtic history and druid history, but I still learned some new things. Like the reason why the pig is sacred to Ceridwen is because of its connections with the earth (or mud) and therefore Underworld.

He talks through the slow, steady integration of the celtic race into the indigenous populations, and how their ideas spread throughout the peoples we now refer to as the Celts. He discusses how the deities we recognise now, were probably descended from tribal totems and earth spirits, gradually becoming humanised throughout the centuries. He describes their perceptions of the Underworld, or after-life, and of reincarnation.

He refers to several of the ancient scripts recording details about celtic society, though these are generally more of the Gauls than the British or Irish celts. The ancient Greek and Roman historians and philosphers noted the celtic attitudes to live, death, the earth and their clansmen.

He also writes about the druids, how their roles and organisations. The Druids, made up of the three divisions of Bards, Vates (seers) and Druids, were highly respected and exempt from military conscription. There is only one area where I slightly disagree with him - where he seems to place a great deal of emphasis on human sacrifice. I don't necessarily disagree with the fact that it happened, but he reasons that the Romans weren't ordered to carry out the genocide of the actual druid orders, but only to stamp out their heinous traditions of human sacrifices. When we think of the Roman traditions in the Arenas and Colliseums, I wonder who really held the most barbaric practices.

On the whole, for a free book, it's well worth a read, the first couple of chapters are a little dry, but after that it was throughly enjoyable.

Blessed be

Blaidd

Image from http://www.aon-celtic.com, a site of Celtic Artwork including some free clipart

Robin - bird of new beginnings

2012-01-08T15:37:00.000Z

I spent a lovely morning yesterday in the Chalice Well Gardens, Glastonbury.

When I reached the Well itself I walked in and sat on the wall, when I had got myself settled I realised there was a little robin sitting onto of the well cover. Slowly and careful I got the camera out of my bag, trying to be careful not to disturb him. I took a couple of photos and even the flash didn't seem to bother him, after he had posed for photos he came and sat right next to me! We sat there for ages together - it was beautiful.

Robin as a totem/power animal:

Happiness, guide in the wisdom of change, growth, renewal, guidance in the beginning of a new cycle.

The following information is from the website shamnicjourney.com:

Robins are good parents like many birds are. One facet of this power animal their ability to nurture themselves into true adulthood. This is signified by the robin's red breast - it symbolizes the activation of creative energy, inciting growth. This is also linked with the Robin's traditional connection to spring - the season of renewal. When we let go of our past - a lot of which stems from childhood experiences - we are refreshed and renewed, thus unburdened and free to nurture and serve ourselves as well as others. If the robins gifts have not been learned and utilised correctly, you will be continually challenged by the prospects of change with difficulties cropping up as well as emotional disharmony. Let go of the past…move on……

If there is an abundant food supply, robins will live the year-round in an area. This can show us that when our heart and soul feels gloomy and cold, we are able to thrive if we possess sufficient inner strength, courage and trust. Therefore, the robin is an especially good ally to have through the winter months.

One part of growth is learning how to deal with conflict in a mature manner. Male robins immersed in territorial disputes sing to each other. This trait upholds the creative aspect of this bird's energy. To become truly mature, we have to learn to trust our intuition and our unique creative expressions.

Robin will incite new growth in all areas of your life, areas that have become stagnant and out-dated. You must believe in yourself as you move forward for if you do, barriers will disappear, and confrontations will be for show only. Robin will show you how to do this with joy in your hearts. Their song is a happy one, reminding you to let go of your personal drama and learn to laugh with life.

The robins eggs are powder blue. This colour is associated with the throat chakra in man and is also linked to heavenly inspiration. As the throat chakra's main function is use as an expression of All That Is and the egg is symbolic of new life, you will be taught how to express yourselves positively in all you do. You will be lead to new beginnings without fear by restoring trust in yourself and your soul. Meditate on Robin and the right path will be shown to you.

The red colour on the robins chest is linked to the kundalini in man. This is the life force that resides coiled up within the base of the spine. When sufficient spiritual growth has been reached, it uncoils and moves up the spine to create heightened awareness. This will enhance psychic vision and leads us to enlightenment. If robin is your guide, you will most probably be a dedicated spiritual seekers. Although growth can be slow and testing, with patience, compassion and proper focus spiritual ideals will be fulfilled.

Tansy
x

Arianrhod

2012-01-06T08:22:00.000Z

Arianrhod

This deity is known from the Maginogi of Math fab Mathonwy and the Welsh Triads.

She is a moon goddess and protector of the dead that await re-incarnation, she is also Goddess of the Wheel of the Year/cycle of life, fertility and a figure of great female power. Sometimes also depicted weaving which links her to magic and spell weaving.

Her name means ‘silver wheel circle’. It has been suggested that this also refers to a spiders silvery web.

She resides on the isle of Caer Arianrhod which lies in the Corona Borealis where dead souls go to await. She and her attendants preside over their fate. This connection to the Corona Borealis also makes her a star Goddess.

Her father was the God Beli and her mother the Goddess Don. Her Uncle was math, he was compelled to keep his feet on the lap of a virgin whenever he was not fighting in battles. After his first ‘lady’ ‘ahem’…became no longer a virgin, he asked Arianrhod to take her place. To prove she was a virgin she had to step over a magic rod, as she did so twin boys dropped from her. It has been suggested the birth was a result of an affair with her brother Gwydion. Math named the first child Dylan, the second named Lleu, was taken away by Arianrhod’s brother and raised in a magical forest.

Arianrhod was not best pleased with events so she laid three curses on the boy Lleu saying that he should not no name except the one she gave him. That he should bear no arms except the ones she gave him, that he should have no wife of the race that was then on the earth.

Through a lot of trickery and some fancy magic Gwydion deceived Arianrhod into breaking the first two curses herself. Then Math and Gwydion created Blodeuwedd, a woman made of flowers she was to be Lleu’s bride. Blodeuwedd betrayed Lleu which resulted in his death but his spirit hung on to a tree and was resurrected the next day.

Humiliated, Arianrhod returned to live out her days in the castle Caer Arianrhod, it was here that she later drowned when the sea reclaimed the land.

Arianrhod is the mother aspect of the Goddess. She has the ability to shape shift into an Owl, it is through these owl eyes that she sees everything, even into the soul. Owl symbolises death and renewal, wisdom, moon magic and initiations. The owl also stands for comfort, healing and solace.

Call upon Arianrhod to help with feminine power, spirit contact, sex and fertility magic and past life knowledge, she can also be called upon to bless handfastings.

Correspondences – wheels, silver, full moon, blood, geode stones, moonstones, owls.

Tansy

top image by Jessica Galbreth

second image by Michelle Maiden

I like January

2012-01-05T10:54:00.000Z

I like January. I look forward to January, it's one of my favourite months in the year. Actually, the season between Yule and Ostara is my favourite, with Imbolc the high-point. After that the year tends to go downhill a bit (though it does pick up a bit come autumn).

Yule brings the return of the Sun, and although it's not exactly noticeable at the time, the days start to lengthen, and the life energy of the world begins to reinvigorate the northern hemisphere. The year is just so brand, spanking, shiny and new! The possibilities are endless and just so positive.

I like the rest of the winter months, my birthday falls amongst them. But so do the preparations for Christmas, whilst not necessarily stressful, they take a lot of planning. Which is probably one of the original meanings for Yule itself - to take the mind off the long, hard, cold winter stretching ahead. In my book, the original meaning of Christmas is a great big party, something to occupy us for weeks on end in preparations, something in the bleak midwinter to look forward to with anticipation. Something to bring the community and families together.

And once it's past, we find that the wheel has turned and spring is on it's way. We are no longer looking at long, grey, dismal months of winter, but now we have something new to plan for, new preparations to be made. We have a whole year ahead of us, the spring, the summer, the light and the warmth. What a Christmas gift is that!

Now the decorations come down, and we all sigh with relief, our rooms look so much bigger, so much more spacious. We can stand tall, we can breath and stretch out, we are so much lighter. That's why we have spring cleaning... because once we've decluttered the decorations, once we've felt that lift, we want more of it, and so we tackle those dreaded corners of the house where the dust is piled thick.

Of course, it's still far too cold, wet and windy to spend a great deal of time outdoors. Perfect weather for sitting around the fireplace with book or crafts in hand. We can start planning projects for the year ahead, maybe around the home, maybe in the garden, maybe for the summer holidays. Checking tools and equipment, restocking necessary supplies.

I like January for the brand new year that it brings, for the return of the Sun, hope and revitalised energy. I like January for big, wooly jumpers. I like January as I have a whole year in which to prepare gifts for the next Christmas, though perhaps this year I will spend less time on the planning, and more on the crafting...

Blessed be

Blaidd

Embracing the Moon

2012-01-04T11:04:00.000Z

One of my favourite books is Embracing the Moon by Yasmine Galenorn – catch it while you can though as her website says it’s going out of print – eek!!

It is described on the cover as “A witch’s guide to ritual spellcraft and shadow work” and contains chapters on:

Faerie magic

Hex work

Goddess rituals

Earth healing rituals

Elements & Deities

Magical tools

Prosperity & abundance spells

Recipes for oils & powders

Love & beauty magic

Household magic

God rituals

Shapeshifting & animal magic

Candle & herb magic

Magical life mapping

Protection & healing spells

Rune charts and symbols

Pretty inclusive really LOL!

It’s all written in an easy to read and understand way, you can read from cover to cover or just dip in and out for reference (although I encourage you to read it from cover to cover as it is extremely good!).

Yasmine Galenorn has an impressive book catalogue having written many non fiction books as well as a huge list of fiction including the hugely popular Otherworld series.

Have a look at her website galenorn.com

Tansy
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Pagan Blog Project

2012-01-03T16:56:00.000Z

Another challenge for 2012 that I shall be partaking of!

The Pagan Blog Project - brain child of the fabulous Rowan Pendragon.

Details of the project are here onewitchsway.com

Basically it is a challenge that asks everyone taking part to blog once a week (on a Friday) about anything pagan, but using the 26 letters of the alphabet over 52 weeks of the year (i.e. two weeks on letter A, two weeks on B etc).

Take a look at Rowan's site for all the intricate details of the challenge, looks like it will be fun!

Tansy
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Witchy Book Reading Challenge

2012-01-03T16:46:00.000Z

A challenge I am taking up this year:

Pagan Culture's Witchy Books Reading Challenge

Details on their page pagan-culture.blogspot.com

All you have to do is ready witchy books (no hard ship there right?).

First of all add the Witchy Challenge button to your blog page.

Write a post on the Pagan Culture blog page to say you are taking up the challenge and include a link to your announcement.

At the bottom of the post add all the witchy books you read in 2012.

Simples huh?

Tansy
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Quartz Crystal

2012-01-03T16:09:00.000Z

Quartz is such a beautiful and multi purpose crystal.

Quartz or as it is sometimes called Rock Crystal, attracts and directs energy. It nourishes and balances your mind, emotions and physical body.

Use/wear clear quartz to:

Increase energy

Bring balance and harmony

Banish sluggish energy

Alleviate pain or illness

When you are feeling overwhelmed

To bring about calm

Quartz also helps you to have greater awareness of your emotions and feelings. It will help balance out any negative energies. It can also help protect against negative emotions.

A quartz is a master of all trades it can bring structure, store energy, amplify energy, aid with focus, transmit and transform energy, those of matter, thought, emotion and information.

Quartz is a good crystal to use to balance the chakras.

It is also a lovely stone to use for meditation – especially a piece that has lots of inclusions. Sit with the crystal in front of you and gaze into it, really take in all the aspects of it, all the detail and let your mind wander as if you were very small and strolling around inside and all around the crystal.

Quartz crystals are good for expanding the mind to connect with spirit and to enhance the spiritual life force itself.

Drink crystal water (water that a quartz crystal has been placed in) to take on the benefits of the crystal.

If you are using a crystal grid use a piece of rock crystal to amplify the other stones used, it will increase their power.

Tansy

Yuletide Blessings

2011-12-21T09:00:00.011Z

Kitchen Witch would like to send everyone

Wonderful Yuletide Blessings

Happy Holidays to you all, have a wonderful time whatever you will be doing and whoever you will be doing it with ;-)

Love, light and happiness.

Kitchen Witch
x

A Yule Story by Blaiddwolf

2011-12-15T10:22:00.000Z

King Holle stalked the Great Hall. In his wake, the Midwinter celebrants felt the chill of his passing. Not that he was an unkind ruler: not cruel, as such; not harsh, as such. He was merely not sentimental, he did what needed to be done. A man in the prime of life, his hair as white as the snow that covered the ground outside, was tightly braided. his beard precisely trimmed. Cold silver adorned his brow and his shoulders easily carried the huge weight of chinking chainmail.

The merry making was in full swing now. The apple trees had been wassailed, flattered and pleaded with to provide a bountiful crop the following year. Now men, women and children revelled in the warmth from the massive fireplace, specially kindled from the scorched remains of the previous Yule-fire. Winter's chill temporarily chased from their bones.

The tables here were laden with the Midwinter feast, meats, breads, fruits, delicacies especially saved for this very day, the day that had kept the people going through the harsh, dark days. The preparations for this day had occupied many a mind for weeks before hand, there had been no room for despair. The drinking cups were full to brimming, and by the end of the night, the floor will have seen its fair share of mead, cider and ale.

The rafters of the Hall were decked out in winter evergreens, the scent of the pine competing with those of the feast. The red and white berries of holly and mistletoe contrasting in the firelight, more than enough good luck talismans to last the year.

Around the settlement, particularly outside the doors and windows, were lined boots, all stuffed with hay. Offerings to the Lord of the Wild Hunt and his mounts should he choose to pass by that night. Perhaps if he did, he would look favourably upon them all, and turn his attention elsewhere.

Upstairs, the Queen laboured. The child was coming. Soon now.

Holle's circuit had brought him back to his throne. He sat, and gazed upon the faces. Whilst tonight, hope would return to the world, it would depart from his own. He would not live to see another summer.

He stood, all eyes turned to watch him as he raised his cup in salutations. Suddenly, he felt the wave wash over him. He staggered slightly, and made the effort to drain his cup. As the cheers echoed around the room, he slumped back into his chair, overcome by the unaccustomed weakness.

The Queen gazed down into the face or her golden-haired, new-born son. Already he was so strong. Duir, she whispered, you shall be named Duir.

(c) Blaiddwolf 2011

Lucky Nutmeg

2011-12-09T10:07:00.000Z

Nutmeg (myristica fragrans)

Gender: Masculine

Planet: Jupiter

Element: Fire

Powers: Luck, money, health, fidelity

It is said that nutmeg was the most prized spice in medieval times.

During the Elizabethan era it was used to fend off the plague.

Carry a nutmeg with you for good luck, string with star anise and tonka beans for a potent necklace. Also carry with you to ward of rheumatism, cold sores, neuralgia, boils and sties. Put on a string (short enough so that it won’t strangle!) for a baby to aid in teething. Include nutmeg in money & prosperity spells. To ensure fidelity, cut a nutmeg into four equal pieces, bury one part in the earth, throw one off a cliff into the air, burn one part and boil the last in water. Drink a sip of the water and take this last piece of nutmeg with you everywhere, even when you sleep. Carry with you to strengthen clairvoyant powers.

Considered lucky for people that like to play games of chance – dice, lottery, bingo, cards etc. Some people drill a hole in a nutmeg and fill the hole with liquid mercury then seal it with wax to bring in the winnings.

A resident of Banda Island, nutmeg is actually the seed of a plant. It bears yellow flowers in a bell shape that gives a unique smell when blooming. The pale yellowish or red fruit of the tree resembles that of an apricot. Once the fruit is matured the seed is removed and used for medicinal or culinary purposes.

Nutmeg was used in numerous medications in ancient times and even today it is used in several pharmaceutical preparations. The oil extracted is used in liniments, perfume, hair lotions and antispasmodic carminative.

Powedered nutmeg mixed with apple juice or banana is useful to remedy diarrhoea. Also take for indigestion – combine the powdered nutmeg with fresh Indian gooseberry juice, also helpful for morning sickness and hiccups.

For insomnia mix powdered nutmeg with Indian gooseberry juice and drink before bed.

Soak half a nutmeg in water and mix with coconut will help with rehydration after vomiting and diaorhea.

Make a paste by rubbing a nutmeg on a stone and mixing the nutmeg with water, apply to the skin to aid with ringworm and eczema.

Use coarsely powdered nutmeg fried in oil until the mixture turns brown (then strain from the oil) as a external salve to relieve pain, neuralgia and sciatica.

Nutmeg oil can help lower blood pressure.

Massaging with nutmeg oil can help encourage mental activity, relieve stress and anxiety, works as an anti inflammatory to relieve muscle and joint pain and aid in sleep.

Aids as a liver tonic to flush out the toxins from the body and can help heal the infections caused by kidney stones.

NOTE: nutmeg should always be taken in small amounts, heavy doses can be dangerous for your health.

Making a difference...

2011-12-06T08:34:00.000Z

Whilst watching some TV with my 6 year old son yesterday an advert came on from the Salvation Army asking people to make donations to help old and lonely people at this time of year. My son looked up and asked me “will we be doing that mum”?

We as a family do our bit for charity, we always donate to collectors in town and in the stores, always drop a few coins in any boxes that are at the checkout in the stores, via both schools when they have charity collections and each Yule we make up a present box for a less fortunate child but his comment made me think about what other ways there are for all of us to help in our communities, not just at this time of the year but all year round. So here are some ideas:

Donate to a charity the cost of a present, there are plenty of charities to choose from and most have websites that you can donate to online to make it even easier.

With the help of your children, sort through their toys and clothes that they have outgrown and donate them to a charity – it will also make room for the new ones they will receive at Yule too!

Purchase Yule cards from your favourite charity, one Pensioners Club that I know make their own handcrafted cards to sell.

Buy gifts for overseas projects, we did this last year from the Good Gifts Guide, gifting mosquito nets, money for literacy skills, clean water and even a goat!

If you buy gifts for your pets see if your local animal hospice sells any items, the money will then go to the hospice to help the animals.

Buy an extra gift and drop it into your local church or shelter.

When doing your festive food shop buy an extra can or two and drop it into your local shelter, or buy extra pet food and drop that into your local animal hospice.

Bake a cake or pudding and seek out a local community group that might like to sell it at their festive fair or use it as a raffle prize.

Check out your local area when buying your Yule tree, a lot of local community groups sell trees.

If you are hosting a Yuletide party, ask your guests to donate a coin or two to your nominated charity.

Buy fair-trade food and drinks for your Yuletide festivities.

Something that will cost you nothing but a bit of time – donate blood!

Check in on any elderly neighbours to make sure they are OK.

If you are buying a new mobile phone or computer this year, check out your local area to see if there is anywhere you can donate your old one to.

And what about those presents you receive that are not really your kind of thing? Donate them to a local charity.

Recycle your Yule cards, plenty of places collect them after the festivities.

Try and shop locally for your festive food and gifts, keep the small businesses going or use the online sites folky and etsy.

Even when it’s chilly it’s nice to get outside for a walk with the family, visit a local park or beach and pick up the litter as you go.

I would love to hear any other ideas!

Tansy

Marco's Pendulum

2011-12-05T10:10:00.000Z

Two of my very favourite fiction books are written by author Phil Rickman, writing as Thom Madley - the first is Marco's Pendulum and the sequel is Marco and the Blade of the Night.

Both stories are about a young boy and his escapades in Glastonbury. If you have visited Glastonbury and know even a little bit about it, these books will explore the places that you know and love with a bit of the local lore and history thrown in too...oh and of course a bit of magic!

Amazon says of Marco's Pendulum:

When Marco is dumped in Glastonbury to stay with his weird hippy grandparents for the summer, he's sure he's going to hate it. But he soon starts to recognise the magic of the place - the magic that a development company is planning to exploit and, his grandparents are sure, destroy the process. With his mysterious new found talent for dowsing, Marco is quickly drawn into the dangerous struggle to protect the ancient mysticism of Glastonbury.

and of Marco and the Blade of the Night:

Glastonbury is a town steeped in mysticism, magic and religious cults. So when Marco's friend Rosa pulls a strange rusted object out of the riverbank, the rumours start spreading. The power of legends is back in full flow and the hunt for Excalibur is on.

Although written for the teen market I love them!

Phil Rickman, writing for children as Thom Madley, is the successful author of a series of adult thrillers featuring the Rev Merrily Watkins. Phil has worked as a journalist and a TV and radio reporter. He currently presents the book programme, Phil the Shelf, for BBC Radio Wales

Tansy
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Cloves

2011-12-01T10:39:00.000Z

Cloves

(Eugenia aromatica, Eugenia caryophyllata)

Gender: Masculine

Planet: Jupiter, Uranus

Element: Fire

Magical Properties: dispel negativity, protection, money, anti gossip, visions, cleansing, exorcism, love, clairvoyance, divination, memory, peace of mind, psychic development, spell breaking.

The name clove, as well as Spanish clavo, Catalan clau, Portuguese cravinho and Tagalog clovas, ultimately derives from Latin clavus (because of shape resemblance). The word made its way into English via Old French clou. The word clove is related to the verb cleave (which is what you can do with a nail) and therefore also to clove as in a clove of garlic.

Cloves have a mild antiseptic quality and can be used to ease toothache in the form of clove oil, or in tea as an expectorant for colds, also to ease nausea or vomiting. Cloves will promote sweating with fevers, colds and flu. They are also used in some whooping cough remedies. Cloves are antibacterial, antiseptic and analgesic so they will help prevent disease and infection. They are safe for pregnant women to take. Use clove oil in a mouthwash too. Cloves also ease digestive ailments.

Clove tea is also good for relaxing and calming the nerves.

Chewing on a clove after you have had spicy or garlicky food not only helps with digestion but assists in sweetening the breath.

Wear cloves in an amulet to dispel negativity and hostility and also to stop gossip. Carried they can stimulate the memory and can also be added to attraction spells.

Clove oil can be worn as an aphrodisiac.

Place cloves in sachets with mint and rose to chase away the blues and to aid with sleep.

Also carry with you to bring comfort in bereavement and mourning.

Burn in incense blends to attract riches, drive away negativity, purify, bring about astral sight and produce spiritual vibrations.

Try putting a tablespoon of cloves into a pot of simmering water to fill your house with a beautiful aroma and fill it with magic.

Cloves are native to the Molucca islands in Indonesia. Cloves were once very expensive, causing wars to be fought in Europe with native peoples to secure the rights to the clove business.

Natives in Molucca would plant a clove tree for every child that was born. They believed the fate of the tree was echoed in the fate of each child.

And of course apple pie wouldn't be right without cloves in!

Tansy

The Power of Parsley

2011-11-28T10:38:00.000Z

Parsley

(petroselinum crispum, petroselinum sativum)

Gender: Masculine

Elements: Air and Earth

Planets: Mars and Mercury

Folk names: Devil’s Oatmeal, Persely, Persil, Petersili, Petroselinum, Rock Parsley

Parsley is a member of the carrot family and is widely used as a herb garnish to meals.

It is also added to soups, sauces and stews.

The Ancient Greeks simply associated parsley with death as it was supposed to have sprung from the blood of Archemorus, whose name meant 'Forerunner of Death.' Homer tells of chariot horses being fed parsley by warriors prior to battle in hopes of making the animals more fleet of foot. Victors at funeral games, athletic contests held in honor of a recently deceased person, were crowned with parsley.

The Romans did not generally eat parsley but they did wear garlands of parsley on their heads during feasts to ward off intoxication. Parsley was kept away from nursing mothers because it was thought to cause epilepsy in their babies.

Medicinal uses:

The chlorophyll in parsley helps to prevent bad breath.

Parsley helps to stimulate urination thus making it a good therapy for kidney stones, bladder stones and urinary infections.

It is also used to aid premenstrual discomfort.

Parsley can also help to inhibit the body’s histamines so can be useful in treating colds and congestions.

Parsley extract can help to treat bruising when applied topically.

Also useful for treating breast milk deficiency, frigidity, hair loss, heart problems, respiratory, arthritic pain, infection, high blood pressure, liver disease, skin problems and stomach ache.

Chew on a sprig or two after a meal, or drink daily – adding 1 or 2 teaspoons of dried parsley to a cup of hot water. The root of the parsley is said to be more effective than the leaves. (Pregnant women should avoid all but small quantities of parsley).

Parsley oil can be used to repel headlice and a parsley ointment can be used on swellings. Try dipping a cloth in parsley tea and place over closed eyes for 10 minutes to reduce fatigue.

Magical uses:

Magical powers: Healing, lust, protection, purification, vitality

Call the power of Earth and drink as an infusion.

Restores a sense of well being.

Use to increase strength and vitality after surgery or illness, also to add new life to a stale situation.

When eaten parsley promotes lust and fertility, but old folklore says if you are in love don’t cut parsley as it will cut your love as well.

Use parsley in your bath for purification and to stop misfortune.

Folklore states that you can only grow parsley in your garden if the man rules the house, if you can’t grow parsley then the woman is in charge!

Tansy

Yule Crafts

2011-11-24T09:41:00.000Z

Some Yule craft ideas:

Salt Dough Decorations:

Salt dough is one of the easiest things in the world to make, and you can create just about anything from it. Use it with cookie cutters to make your own Sabbat ornaments.

Ingredients:
4 Cups flour
1 Cup salt
1 ½ Cups hot water
1 tsp vegetable oil

Preparation:
Combine the salt and flour, then add the water until the dough becomes elastic. Add the oil at this time and knead the dough (if it's too sticky, add more flour). Once it's a good consistency, make your decorations with cookie cutters. Bake ornaments at 200* until hard (about 20 - 30 minutes). Once they've cooled, paint them with designs and symbols, and seal with clear varnish. If you're planning to hang them, poke a hole through the ornament BEFORE baking them. Then after you've varnished them, run a ribbon or thread through the hole. You can also add a teaspoon of cinnamon and/or some glitter into the mixture too!

Pine Cone Ornaments:

Simple things such as seeds, acorns, feathers, and other found items are easy to make into ornaments and other decorations.

For this simple project, you'll need the following:
Pinecones, of any shape or size
Equal amounts ginger, nutmeg and allspice, blended
A 1:1 mixture of water and craft glue
Glitter
Ribbon
A small paintbrush

To prepare the pinecones, rinse them under running water and then spread them out on a baking sheet. Bake at 250 for about 20 minutes - this will make them open up, and also get rid of any trace amounts of bacteria that might remain on them. Don't worry if there's sap on them - it will harden into a shiny glaze and look pretty. If you bought your pinecones from a craft store, they're probably open already, so you can skip the rinsing altogether. Once the pinecones have cooled, use the small paintbrush to apply the glue to the cones (I'd recommend spreading out some newspaper ahead of time). You can either cover the entire cone, or just the outer tips of the petals for a more "frosted" look. Add the spices and glitter to a zip-loc bag. Drop the pine cones in, and shake until coated with spices and glitter. Allow to dry thoroughly, and then tie a ribbon around the end so you can hang it up. Add a few springs of greenery if you like. Use it on a holiday tree, or place them in a bowl to scent your room.

Yule Log Ornaments:

These are super easy to make, and in addition to being cute ornaments for your holiday tree, they also make great favours to give to guests.

You'll need the following:
A stick about an inch thick
Red yarn
Small feathers (you can find these in the craft store)
Small pieces of evergreen plants - pine, fir, spruce, etc.
Seed beads in your choice of colours
A hot glue gun

Cut the stick into 2 - 3" lengths. Decorate each small log with the feathers, evergreens and seed beads as you would a full-sized Yule log. Tie a piece of red yarn around the center and knot in a bow, like a ribbon. To hang as a tree ornament, use a bent paperclip or wire hanger. To give as a party favor, you may want to attach your miniature log to a piece of cardstock, on which you can write a note to friends, such as "Wishing you the blessings of Yule."

Pine Cone Wreath

Pine cones are excellent material for making art and crafts. They come in lots of shapes and sizes. When collecting, it's important to leave behind the cones that haven't opened. The seeds from these cones should be left so that the animals such as squirrels and chipmunks have something to eat. Find the cones that have the tips spread open. After you bring home the cones and allow them to dry, you need a wreath base to attach the cones to. A pizza box or other sturdy cardboard could be used to make a doughnut shape or any other shape you might like. You can attach the cones with a hot glue gun or tub and tile caulk that comes in tubes. You can add other natural materials such as dried flowers, leaves, moss, or stones if you like. Attach a wire loop to the back of the wreath and hang.

Pomander Balls

You need:
oranges, lemons or apples
push pins or small nails
whole cloves
spice mixture:ground, allspice, cardamom, cloves — mix you own combination
shallow pan to hold the spice mixture
yarn or ribbon for hanging

What to do: If necessary (when using a thick-skinned fruit), use the nail or push pin to puncture holes in the skin of the fruit about 1/4 inch apart. Press the whole cloves directly into the fruit, working to cover most of the skin of the fruit. This can be done over several days. When the fruit is studded with cloves, roll the fruit in the spice mixture. Knot two pieces of yarn or ribbon together at the middle and place the pomander over the knot. Take up the four ends, tie them together in a firm knot and then tie a bow.

Dress Up Your Candles for Yule

You can do this with existing candles...it's quick, easy, and can be free! Tie on some greens with raffia or ribbon, glue on some pinecones in a star pattern. Use brass tacks from the dollar store to press into the candles in patterns. You could even glue on coffee beans or kitchen beans to add texture and color and pattern. (Use a glue gun!) Group candles on a mirror top reflect the dancing light. Don't have a mirror? Use an empty picture frame, cover the cardboard insert with foil, then place back in the frame, group candles on the frame and enjoy the sparkle! Note: Always use care when using candles, never leave them unattended, and be careful whatever you craft your candles with cannot be reached by flame.

Hand & Feet Reindeer

You may use brown paper bags, construction paper, poster board for this project. Help to trace o the child's shoes and both hands onto the paper, then cut them out. Using the shoe for the reindeer's head, glue on the hands to make the antlers. You may do the nose by gluing either a red pom-pom, piece of red construction paper, or it may be drawn with colours. Now have the child finish it by either drawing on eyes and mouth or you may wish to use larger sized "wiggle" eyes and a piece of pink felt for the mouth.

Table Decorations

You will need:
Cinnamon sticks, 4-5 inches long
natural raffia
dried flowers of your choice
hot glue gun, glue sticks

To make a centerpiece glue together two cinnamon sticks, then top with two more, gluing the four of them together. Glue dried flowers to the top of the sticks to decorate, but not overwhelm. Tie a few pieces of raffia around the middle of the sticks and flowers to form a bow with a few ends hanging slightly off the piece. Place one in front of each place setting during your holiday meal. Guests can then take home their cinnamon craft.

Cinnamon Stick Candle Holder

You will need:
1 clear glass votive candle holder
about 20 cinnamon sticks
transparent tape
scissors
hot glue gun, glue sticks

Measure the height of your holder, and add 1/2 inch. This is the length you will need to cut your cinnamon sticks. Cover the holder completely with tape. Hot glue does not adhere well to glass, so this will give you a good surface to glue to. Glue each stick vertically to the holder, making sure they are placed evenly, until the entire surface is covered. Use like this, or decorate with raffia, or other small holiday decorations.

Wishing Stars

Whether the kids are getting a bit antsy as the big day approaches or you're just looking for a very simple, yet wonderful accent that can be used as a tree ornament, a napkin ring, or party favor - your imagination is the limit with this totally simple craft:

wide black marker pen
star cookie cutter
shirt cardboard
wax paper
craft glue
assorted glitter
transparent fishing line or thin ribbon
staples
scissors

With a marker pen, mark around the cookie cutter star to make a template on the cardboard. Cover each board with wax paper, stapling it into place. Using the bottle of glue trace the star shapes onto the wax paper with thick, wide lines of glue. Using one colour glitter immediately sprinkle a lavish amount of glitter onto each star so it is completely covered. Allow to dry for one day or overnight. Shake off the excess glitter. Cut away the excess wax paper, then carefully peel the glitter star away from the backing. Use as ornaments, package decorations, etc. Use fishing line or thin ribbon to hang the stars. Don't forget to wish on a star this Solstice Eve and let the glow from these heavenly ornaments light up your Yule Tide.

The Yule Wish Tree

Find a small, potted evergreen and a few yards of red, green, and white ribbon. During the Thanksgiving supper, introduce the tree to the family and the tribe to the tree. Each member of your clan should tie a ribbon on the tree to represent an intangible blessing they would like for the upcoming Yule season. Wishes could be for peace, enough rest, health, etc. Bless the tree and set it where it will have enough light.

When family and friends visit, explain the purpose of the wish tree to them and give them a ribbon to tie on the tree, too. The tree is for everyone. If you plan to use the tree in ritual, have everyone participating make a small ornament, empowered for strengths like self-esteem, goal planning, security, etc. And hang it on the tree while connecting with the divinity of their choice.

On the first day of February, remove all the ornaments and ribbons. Burn the ribbons and cast the ashes to the winds. Pack the ornaments away. Next year, when you open the box, you can de-magick the ornaments and return them to their owners, or hang them on your big tree in memory of last year's prosperity. Continue to take good care of the tree over the remaining winter months. Don't forget to give it water and plenty of love. In the spring, you can plant the tree outside on your property or on the property of a friend.

Bay Balls

Take some Bay leaves. Fresh is best but if all you have is dried, then soak them overnight in warm water to make them pliable (that means you can bend them more easily without breaking them). The next morning, pat them dry. Next, take a Styrofoam ball and use Tacky Glue to cover it with bay leaves. Start at the bottom of the ball and work your way toward the top so they overlap a bit. Some of the leaves you may have to hold in place while the glue dries so they don’t pop up. Cloves or rosebuds stuck through the leaves into the ball will help hold the leaves in place and look pretty besides. A very pretty effect is to “dust” your finished ball with a light spray of gold paint. Pin a pretty loop of ribbon or gold cording to the top to hang it by.

Gilded Acorns

Often, when you find acorns on the ground, their little caps have come off. If that’s the case, then collect both caps and bases. If not, then remove the caps yourself when you get home. Paint both halves with spray paint or craft paint using either gold or silver. Then cut a slender ribbon about 3 inches long and glue each end to the inside of the cap so that it forms a loop. Then glue the cap back on to the base of the acorn. When it’s done, you can paint the cap with watered down white glue and dust it with glitter.

Have fun!

Tansy
x

Sources:
Aboutwiccan.com
adf.org
grannymoons morning feast
daughtersofearthwisdom.org
pookapages.com
Silver Ravenwolf

Blog for your Kindle!

2011-11-21T14:43:00.000Z

Kitchen Witch is very pleased to announce that our blog is now available via Amazon - auto delivered direct to your Kindle!

Ooooh get us going all techno!!!

Let us know if you want us to blog about particular subjects, we are always happy to help if we can.

Kindle Blogs are auto-delivered wirelessly to your Kindle and updated throughout the day so you can stay current.

It's risk free – all Kindle Blog subscriptions start with a 14-day free trial. If you enjoy your subscription, do nothing and it will automatically continue at the regular price. You can cancel at any time during the trial period at no cost. If you cancel at any time after the trial period, you will pay only for the items you've already received.

NB: Kitchen Witch blog has only just been registered with Amazon so it may take 48 hours before it becomes available for order.

Tansy
x

Glastonbury Abbey

2011-11-18T09:38:00.000Z

I spent yesterday in Glastonbury and spent some time wandering around the Abbey ruins. The Abbey has such a special energy to it, so calm and peaceful. It helped that the weather was gorgeous with beautiful blue skies but the Abbey itself is beautiful.

From the Abbey website (glastonburyabbey.com)

The Saxons, who had been converted to Christianity, conquered the ancient county of Somerset in the 7th Century. Their King was Ine of Wessex, who was widely regarded as one of the most important figures in the history of the Abbey. He was a local man who boosted the status and income of the Abbey, and it is said that he put up a stone church, the base of which forms the west end of the nave.

This church was enlarged in the 10th century by the Abbot of Glastonbury, St. Dunstan, who became the Archbishop of Canterbury in 960.

In 1066, the wealth of the Abbey could not cushion the Saxon monks from the disruption caused by the foreign invasion and subsequent conquest of England by the Normans.

The Norman betterment of the Abbey was extensive. In 1086, when the Domesday Book was commissioned to provide records and a census of life in England, Glastonbury Abbey was the richest monastery in the country.Even though the first Norman Abbot, Turstin, exerted force on any of the brothers who failed to toe the new party line, skilled Norman craftspeople contributed much to the Abbey by adding magnificent buildings, built to the east of the older church and away from the ancient cemetery, to the existing Saxon church.

The great Norman structures were consumed by fire in 1184 when many of the ancient treasures were destroyed. One story goes, that in order to raise extra funds from pilgrims to rebuild the abbey the monks, in 1191, dug to find King Arthur and his Queen Guinevere; and bones from two bodies were raised from a deep grave in, the cemetery on the south side of the Lady Chapel. These bones were reburied, much later, in 1278 within the Abbey Church, in a black marble tomb, in the presence of King Edward I.

When the monastic buildings were destroyed in the fire of 1184, the medieval monks needed to find a new place to worship. There is evidence that the 12th century nave was renovated and used for this purpose for almost 30 years, until some of the work was completed on the new church. The monks reconsecrated the Great Church and began services there on Christmas Day, 1213, most likely before it was entirely completed.

In the 14th century, as the head of the second wealthiest Abbey in Britain (behind Westminster Abbey), the Abbot of Glastonbury lived in considerable splendour and wielded tremendous power. The main surviving example of this power and wealth is to be found in the Abbey kitchen - part of the magnificent Abbot's house begun by John de Breynton (1334-42).

Privileged pilgrims might once have stayed in the Abbey itself; excavations have disclosed a special apartment at the south end of the Abbot's house, erected for a visit from the English King, Henry VII.

In 1536, during the 27th year of the reign of Henry VIII, there were over 800 monasteries, nunneries and friaries in Britain. By 1541, there were none. More than 10,000 monks and nuns had been dispersed and the buildings had been seized by the Crown to be sold off or leased to new lay occupiers. Glastonbury Abbey was one of principal victims of this action by the King, during the social and religious upheaval known as the Dissolution of the Monasteries.

If you get the chance to visit I highly recommend it.

Tansy
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Mind Mapping

2011-11-03T10:37:00.000Z

When I am stuck, when I can't decide where to go or what to do next I do a mind map.

It is like brainstorming ideas onto paper. It helps layout all the ideas from you head and make some sort of sense of them and even prompts new ideas too.

It breaks down the subject into understandable pieces and makes connections so that you can see the 'big picture'. It makes sense of things, stops you from becoming overwhelmed and lost and gives you direction and a master plan.

It also allows you to act like a kid and get the coloured crayons out ...

So how do you start?

1. Write the title of the subject that you are exploring in the middle of a piece of paper and draw a circle round it.

2. Then jot down around it major subheadings related to that topic - just whatever comes into your head, then draw lines out from the centre circle.

3. As you continue you will discover further levels of information, more subheadings - draw lines linking these to the subheading circles.

4. Then for individual ideas, facts or details, draw lines out from the appropriate heading line.

5. As you discover new information link it into the mind map as you see fit.

A finished mind map will probably have lots of main topic lines radiating out in all directions from the centre, with sub headings all branching off like a mad spiders web. You don't need to worry about how pretty or neat it looks.

Tips:

Use single words or keep the phrases simple.

Excess words clutter up the mind map so keep the words/phrases strong and short.

Don't use joined up writing it is not so easy to read.

Use different colours for separate sections or ideas.

Use symbols and images if this helps.

Some information in one section may link to another - join it up with a linking line.

This doesn't just work with mundane issues and subjects, try it for spiritual ideas too, spell working, crystals, herbs etc - see where it takes you!

Tansy
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Affirmations

2011-11-01T12:43:00.000Z

Affirmations - do you use them? Even if you think you don't I bet you do!!

Affirmations are simple statements that we make, positive or negative. They can be made on purpose - when we want to change some aspect of our life. They may also be made automatically without even thinking about it - for instance when we tell ourselves "Oh I am no good at that".

What we say, positive or negative affects our behaviour.

In order to change your situation and create a new reality, you have to bombard your subconscious mind with positive thoughts. This is where affirmations come into play...

"I will live each day to the fullest"
"I am strong, confident and wonderful"
"Today and always, I am patient, kind and generous"
"I am worth it"
"I am in total control of my destiny"
"My life is full of love and happiness"

They all sound pretty positive don't they?

But what about the ones we do without thinking? Take a moment and think about the things you say automatically:

"I can't do that"
"I am no good at that"
"That is too scary"
"I can't attend that as I don't like crowds"

All of these statements or variations and similar ones I bet you make all the time without thinking.

See if you can catch yourself doing it, pay attention to what you say and how you say it, stop yourself and see if you can turn the negative comment into a positive affirmation.

You will be surprised how affective it is.

Start your day with a couple of positive affirmations, stop a few times throughout your day and think about what you have said or thought - positive or negative?

You have the power!

Tansy
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Empowerment

2011-10-26T13:12:00.000+01:00

Recently I had to think about the word 'empowerment' and what it means to me...

The dictionary meaning of empowerment is – empowerment refers to increasing the spiritual, political, social, or economic strength of individuals and communities. It often involves the empowered developing confidence in their own capacities.

To me empowerment means strengthening my own being.

To empower can also encompass learning skills, adding to your own knowledge and abilities.

I don’t believe empowerment is something that is given, I believe it is something that you, yourself have to work towards. It takes time, commitment and effort. I believe it is also a ongoing process involving conscious steps to gain that empowerment, to express yourself, to defend yourself, to have greater awareness and control of your own self.

I also believe part of empowerment is about taking responsibility for your own words and your own actions. Taking responsibility opens you up to better communication and a clearer flow of information. It also leads to a feeling of ownership, of your own self, your own actions and words. It is about being in control and creating your own balance.

Empowerment allows you to be more proactive, to contribute to a group or society, to bring solutions to your own issues, to assist you in making decisions.

To empower you need to develop creativity, creativity that is probably already there, you just need to know how to release it and use it wisely.

Empowerment also covers involvement, accountability, encouragement, setting boundaries for yourself and others and also listening to other people and your own inner intuition, and then acknowledging that advice and knowing how to put it into practice.

Personal empowerment is about knowing and recognising your own abilities and doing something with them, taking control of your own life or a part of your life and making it happen. I also see it as encompassing personal growth, taking spirituality and working with it.
It is knowing who you are, what you are and being the person that you truly want to be.

Recognising and working on personal empowerment is a transition, it takes you to the place you want to be and helps you become the person that you want to be.

Tansy
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When do we become...?

2011-10-06T10:23:00.000+01:00

The question was raised recently, of when does that point come when we are entitled to call ourselves witch, or druid, or whatever word we feel best describes our path.

For myself, it was simple, that happened as soon as I'd picked up my first book on witchcraft and put the name to the very familiar path I was already walking. It was an enlightement, it explained everything, I was a Witch!

A witch is something I am, rather than something I choose to be. It is one of the definitive categorisations (is that a word?) of the person I am. I am British. I am female. I am caucasian. I am a witch.

On the other hand, with a viewpoint that I can completely understand, some people prefer to earn the title of witch. They cannot arbitrarily nominate themselves with witch-hood, as it requires knowledge and experience, something that the novice obviously does not have.

There is also the opinion that to pick up a book and declare oneself Witch is an insult to those genuine witches of times past, the ones that put in the time and dedication, the ones that perhaps risked their lives if not just their livelihoods.

Do I feel that I am insulting my ancestors? Actually, no I don't. Times change, political and technological times change. The reason that our craft has survived the millenia is because it has adapted to the times it has lived through. Irrespective of whether there is a physical "official" link to the past, I feel as if I have taken up the beacon of the craft, passed on through the ages and to shine on each and every new incarnation. We take from the past, apply it to the now, and give to the future.

However, it is a valid question that every witch/druid/whatever should ask themselves at some point. When can I call myself ... ?

It can be that initial lightbulb moment if you experience one, it can be after a course of tuition, it can be after an initiation into a group, it can be different times for different people - and it should be that time when you KNOW you are a witch. There's only one person in the whole world who will know when - and that's YOU.

Love and hugs

Blaidd

What witchy wear?

2011-09-29T08:30:00.000+01:00

We have been having some discussions recently on the Kitchen Witch forum (www.kitchenwitchhearth.com) about what robes a druid or a witch wears.

My personal thoughts about ritual wear:

I like to wear my druid robes or a witchy dress and my cloak to ritual for several reasons. I think it is respectful and it honours deity. But I also think it puts me in the right frame of mind for ritual. To put on special clothing is like a 'key' it transforms me into ritual mode.

But what colour to wear? This is what we have been debating about the most!

Having done a lot of research on this it seems that as a druid white or cream is the most standard colour for ritual robes. If you belong to OBOD you also have the option of wearing blue if you are in the Bardic grade or green if you are in the Ovate grade, the colour for the Druidic grade is white. You could also stick to the plain white robe and add a coloured cord or sash to indicate the grade you are on.

As for witchy wear, it does seem that pretty much anything goes! Although black, green and purple seem to be the most popular colours. A lot of witches also seem to dress in colours that suit the season, so would wear brown and orange for the Autumn for instance. Personally I like velvet dresses and corsets!

I think the conclusion is that you wear what you feel comfortable in. And of course budget comes into it too, not everyone has the pennies to purchase robes and cloaks - they can be pretty expensive. So I would also say don't let not having any robes stop you from attending a group ritual!

Tansy
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Temple of Witchcraft

2011-09-27T10:46:00.000+01:00

I have recently been reading some of Christopher Penczak's Temple of Witchcraft books and I have to say I am very impressed.

From his bio on his website www.christopherpenczak.com

Christopher Penczak is a Witch, teacher, writer and healing practitioner. His practice draws upon the foundation of both modern and traditional Witchcraft blended with the wisdom of mystical traditions from across the globe as a practitioner and teacher of shamanism, tarot, Reiki healing, herbalism, astrology and Qabalah. He is the founder of the Temple of Witchcraft tradition and system of magickal training based upon the material of his books and classes.

The first book in the series The Inner Temple of Witchcraft covers magick, meditation and psychic development and essentially covers the First Degree in witchcraft. Written incredibly well with just enough of the sometimes boring history before he deals with the good stuff! This book is about exploring your inner temple, your personal scared space. It contains 13 lessons with exercises, one chapter per month. It starts with the magical mind, meditation and the magic of science, going on to cover spirit and journey work too. The exercises contained in this book are truly inspiring.

The next book is The Outer Temple of Witchcraft, essentially the Second Degree. This book is written in the same easy to understand way as the first. Laid out in a similar way as the first book, with 13 lessons together with exercises for each month. This book provides you with your foundation in the craft. Covering rituals, attunements, visualisations, magic circles, tools, herb and stone craft and divination to name but a few.

Then on to The Temple of Shamanic Witchcraft - shadows, spirits and the healing journey. Again 13 lessons with exercises to be done over 13 months. Covering journeying, dreamwork, totems, drumming, animal and plant medicine, soul retrieval, shapeshifting and shadow work plus much more. Building on the work done in the first two books.

And onto my particular favourite at the moment - The Temple of High Witchcraft - ceremonies, spheres and the Witches Qabalah. 13 lessons again, each with exercises. This book takes your spiritual evolution to the next level. It introduces the concepts of the Qabalah and the rituals of high magic. It guides you into the realm of creative and critical thinking, communication, knowledge and truth.

But it doesn't stop there...

The next book is The Living Temple of Witchcraft Vol I - The Descent of the Goddess. Venturing deeper into the mysteries of witchcraft, discovering a new level of wisdom, love, power and responsibility. Covering power and the right and left hand paths, healing, ethics, soul history and discovering your own spiritual laws.

The Living Temple of Witchcraft Vol II - The Journey of the God. This book deals with zodiac signs, earth stewardship, working with ley lines, ancestor work, mediumship and trance amongst many other things.

I cannot recommend these books highly enough.

And if you want to join us as we work through them together at Kitchen Witch we have a study group on our forum www.kitchenwitchhearth.com (you will need to purchase the books from a reputable retailer to work with this study group, but you don't need to buy them all at once!)

Tansy
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Practical Magic

2011-09-26T12:16:00.000+01:00

Most people will have heard of the film 'Practical Magic' starring Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman (also with Stockard Channing and Aiden Quinn *swoon*). For me it is one of my all time favourite movies and one that I put on to watch if I need some added 'witchiness' ;-)

However I recently picked up the book that the film was taken from. The book carries the same title as the film and was written by Alice Hoffman.

The description of the book is very similar to the film, Alice Hoffman's website says:

For more than two hundred years, the Owens women have been blamed for everything that went wrong in their Massachusetts town. Gillian and Sally endured that fate: As children, the sisters were forever outsiders, taunted, talked about, pointed at. Their elderly aunts almost seemed to encourage the whispers of witchery, with their darkened house and their love concoctions and their crowd of black cats. All Gillian and Sally wanted to do was escape. One would do so by marrying, the other by running away. But the bonds they shared brought them back to each other, and to the magic they couldn’t escape. A delicious novel about witches and real love, family life and everyday spells. A literary incantation.

I had not read any of Alice Hoffman's work before but I have to say I am impressed having read this book. The story is, as usually happens not quite the same as the film but it is excellent and is in fact a lot darker than the film. She does use the 'F' word quite a bit which is not to my liking but that doesn't detract from the general brilliance of the story.

Ms Hoffman is a very prolific writer and has more than thirty books to her name so far and is very well respected in the literary field. Her website is www.alicehoffman.com

If you have not seen the film - I highly recommend it, and if you have not read the book I highly recommend that too!

Tansy
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The Magic of Corndollies

2011-09-03T16:44:00.000+01:00

The making of corndollies dates back to pre-Christian Europe, when the spirit of the corn-field (wheat or grain) lived within that crop in the field. So when the last of the crop was harvested, that grain was woven into a shape for the spirit to reside the winter, the corndollies became the winter residence of the Corn-Mother. The dolly would be ploughed back into the fields the following spring - returning the spirit to the earth.

There are many different traditions relating to the making of corndollies. From whom was responsible for their making, to the actual design. Regions developed their own particular signiture designs, many of these patterns are named for their location, for example, Norfolk Lantern, Stafford Knot or Yorkshire Spiral. Each is a complex weaving of the long stems of the grain crop.

With the coming of the combine harvester, the types of crop planted became more suitable to this machine, and moved away from the traditional corndolly materials. They were pithier, as opposed to the long, hollow stems of the older grains. However, due to the demand for traditional thatch on cottages, there is still enough of the traditional grains grown for this market, for the making of corndollies to continue.

In some traditions, the art of weaving corndollies was passed from father to son, who would take the last grain harvested, create the dolly, and make a gift to the prettiest girl in the village. In others, the last grains were given to an older woman, a crone, who would weave it for the maiden to carry to the house of the squire, where the corndolly would take pride of place atop the harvest supper table.

The corndolly is a symbol of fertility and thanks, by honouring the spirit of the grain, the farmers hope to safeguard the crop for the following year - as the very suvival of the whole community is dependent on a good harvest. The traditions of elder woman weaving the dolly for the maiden, or the father passing on his weaving skills to his son, it is all symbolic of the cycle of the seasons, of ensuring one successful crop after another.

With the coming of the Church, the practise was still continued, the last of the grain woven into Christian symbols and kept in the Church over winter, to be placed back into the plough's furrow the next spring. Harvest Festival and Plough Monday became part of the Christian calendar.

With the fertility and protection of the community in mind, the corndolly was often made as a gift or favour, presented by a hopeful suitor. Alternatively, some were woven as a token for a new-born child. Others were woven into a likeness of a nature spirit, an animal or a deity, all with the desire to find favour from that spirit.

Most of the modern opinion of the corndolly is based upon the work of Sir James George Frazer, in his influential book, The Golden Bough (1890). Whatever the true reason for them may be lost to time, as the making of the dollies had died out pre World War 2. It may well be that he romanticised their use and function somewhat. The practise was revived in the fifties and sixties, and has become a fairly thriving rural craft nowadays. But whatever their original meaning, they are a beautiful and intricate token of good luck to have, and it can't be a bad idea to honour the spirit of the grain that we depend upon...you never know!

Blessed be

Blaidd

Souces:
Wikipedia
answers.com
legendarydartmoor.co.uk

Image from Wikipedie of Cambridgeshire handbells

The magic in BONES

2011-08-22T17:31:00.000+01:00

Bones

In a recent discussion with one of my lovely, learned friends the subject of bones came up and the magic that they hold. It started out about bones of our ancestors and the magic they possess, but I wanted to write here about animal bones in particular.

In the old days bones and animal parts were used widely for magical purposes. People were hunters they used all the parts of an animal primarily for food and warmth, and the bones for magic.

Now I do not advocate anyone popping out and hitting a badger over the head with a stick just to use the bones in a spell. However nature itself provides dead animals and birds and man in his motor car provide a lot too. Picking up road kill may sound a bit yucky and is not for everyone or the feint hearted (thankfully my lovely friend is very brave and does it for me!) but I think of it as honouring the animal, that it’s skin and bones will be put to some good use after it has passed away.

Bones are to me a sort of fetish, the word fetish originates from a Portuguese word meaning charm or sorcery, an item filled with magic. Feathers, leaves, twigs and stones are all also types of fetish.

The bones themselves are a good way of connecting with the spirit of the animal and working with those energies. I have a magpie skull on my altar as magpie is one of my animal totems, I put it on my altar in honour of the spirit. The bone of the animal works as a vessel for the spirit to reside in within our realm. Animal bones can also be carried in medicine bags to utilise their particular energies. All animal spirits take time to bond with, so don’t rush it and it is also a nice idea to leave offerings for the animal bones too.

You can wear the bones as well to take on the attributes and power of the animal that they belonged to. A lot of animals are shamanic in nature too, enabling you to tap into their ability to travel between worlds.

Feathers, animal skins or bones can also be used in shapeshifting. The skins can be worn, the feathers or bones used as jewellery to aid you in taking on the form of the animal.

Ritual tools can also be made from animal bones – rattles for instance, or tie bones to your staff or wand for an added energy boost.

Divination with animal bones can also be done - I love the part in the Pirates film where Tia Darma casts her bones & shells to tell a fortune - and small bones make good oghams.

It is a fascinating subject and one that I will be working with a lot more.

Tansy

Our magical intent process..

2011-08-11T12:13:00.000+01:00

Our magical intent process and how it works..

A question that we have been discussing this week.

All our Kitchen Witch items are hand crafted by Tansy & Blaiddwolf – between us we have nearly 25 years of witchcraft experience added to that our druid experience, herbalism training and Reiki amongst other things!

At Kitchen Witch when we make a magical item, a poppet or a witches bottle for instance, it starts with the herbs.

Most of the herbs we use are grown in my own garden, organically and pesticide free. So not only are they looked after with love, care and attention they don’t have any chemical nasties in. Herbs themselves as living things carry their own power and each herb has its own special magic before we even get to use them.

The items used are cleansed and blessed such as the bottle for a witches bottle or the felt used in the poppets.

If the item is for a specific use, for instance a prosperity witches bottle – each herb is selected for its magical intent so for prosperity we might add mint, basil and poppy seeds as they are carry the magical intent of prosperity, but we might also add cinnamon for success, rice for abundance etc. As we add the herbs we charge them with that intent. So not only do the herbs carry their own magical intent power they are also charged as well. Any other items we add such as a string knotted three times – we add the intent as we knot the string so again for prosperity the first knot would be abundance, the second prosperity the third money wise ability or something like that.

We also like to use colour magic, so if we are dressing a witches bottle for prosperity we will add green ribbon and green wax – again charged with the intent. Green being a good colour for prosperity.

Once an item is finished we then bless it and charge it with intent again – should be some nice power in the item by that point!

Then once the customer receives the item they can then add their own personal energy and intent to it. Usually this is done by visualisation – sending their own energy and intent into it. This then personalises the item and gives it that final magical charge. A person can also recharge their item if after a few weeks/months they feel the item needs a boost – this can be done as before by visualising their intent and sending their energy into the item.

Items you make for yourself will obviously have your own intent in them, but not everyone is crafty or has the time – that’s where we can help!

Yes herbs have their own magical energy, yes all plants do, yes colour magic helps, yes the fact that the items are made by witches helps…but at the end of the day the real magic is in YOU.

Tansy
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Beli Mawr, the Father of the Welsh Gods

2011-08-08T12:08:00.000+01:00

Father of Caswallawn, Arianrhod, Lludd Llaw Eraint, and Llefelys. Possibly derived from Belenos, and as such he becomes a sun god , or god of Light (Shining One, or Bright One), but more probably he could have come from Bolgois, God of Lightning, or God of Death. Medieval Welsh grammatical rule tend towards the latter, whilst popular theory toward the former.

Medieval texts have him placed as the consort of Don, the Earth-Mother, and thus the ancestor of several Celtic lineages. He is also brother to Bran, and rival, which lead to the battles between the Sons of Don and the Sons of Llyr, of which Bran was one.

Caswallawn is said to have lead the rebellions to the first Roman invasions of Britain, which places him on the throne in the years just before. Arthurian legend places him as Pellinor, the father to Percival, which is grammatically feasible.

Although conflated with Belenos, he is more likely to have translated into Welsh from the Britonic Bolgios. For all intents and purposes, however, he may well have combined both roles of Belenos and Bolgios with the intense confusion of early British and Welsh history and mythology, Beli Mawr, Belenos and Bolgios have become fairly interchangeable. Perhaps it is Beli Mawr who has the wider personality, taking in both polarities of the other two, so he can range from the benevolent sun to the destructive power of lightning.

There are no myths or legends about Beli Mawr, save for him being the All-Father and consort of Don (Danu/Anu) and father of the gods and of many tribes of people. He has been christianised as the husband of Anna, cousin of the Virgin Mary, and daughter of Joseph of Arimathea, that same Joseph who has such strong links with Glastonbury and the Holy Thorn.

Dragons are also linked with Beli. The Snowdonia mountain city of Emrys, also known as Dinas Affaraon, was home to both Beli's dragons and the druid alchemists the Pheryllt. It was here that the Goddess Ceridwen visited, in her search for the formula for the Awen. These dragons are reputed to be harnessed to the chariot of the sky god, and occasionally the chariot of Ceridwen, but there are many tales of a lone flying dragon.

A common story is that of two dragons fighting, one red, one white. The red dragon is victorious. It has been said that the red dragon represents the Britons, and the white the Saxons (no coincidence between the colours of the Welsh and English rugby teams here!). But tales of dragons are far more ancient than the anglo-saxon invasions of celtic lands.

This is an article from mabinogion.info which I found particularly useful

Beli Mawr and the Belgae

Cassivellaunos, the first-century leader of British Celtic resistance against the armies of Caesar, is remembered in the Medieval Welsh tradition as Casswallon son of Beli Mawr. Beli Mawr, as we have seen, was the ultimate progenitor of the Brythonic ruling tribe, from whom a number of the most powerful royal houses in the British Celtic West claimed some kind of descent. However, there is no definable historical figure from Britain of the Late Iron Age with whom we can readily identify this figure. The origins of Beli Mawr, on the surface at least, would appear to be in mythic rather than historical reality.

Some have argued, along with the great Ifor Williams, that the name of Beli Mawr relates to the Gaulish god known as Belinos or Belenos. Numerous inscribed dedications to Belinos have been found in continental Celtic areas, especially around the Cisalpine Gaul area of Northern Italy, suggesting that this was one of a handful of meta-deities in the Celtic world to have gained pan-tribal, regional popularity. Frequently thought of as a solar figure, the name has been related both to Gaelic elements bel- / bile- meaning ‘fire’ ‘light’, as well as Celtic-derived Latinate words denoting beauty: bellisima etc. In view of this etymology and the evident popularity of this god in the Late Iron Age West, it is conceivable that this figure was somehow related to the Celtic festival of Beltain - which was celebrated in early May, when cattle were brought out of their winter quarters, and driven between two fires before being released into their summer pastures.

Furthermore, there can be little doubt that Belinos was powerful cult figure in Late Iron Age Britain as well: and it may even have been the case that (like Beli Mawr in Medieval Wales) Belinos had mythical importance as the divine progenitor of the ruling tribe. The name of Cassivellaunos itself is usually interpreted as ‘Lover (i.e. devotee) of Belenos’. The tribal grouping led by Cassivellaunos were subsequently known as the Catuvellauni ‘The Host of Belenos’, by the first century AD. One of the subsequent leaders of the Catuvellauni, who died shortly before the Claudian invasion, was known by the name or title of Cunobelinos (Welsh Cynfelyn) - ‘Hound of Belinos’.

However, much as the identities of Beli Mawr and Belenos may have become conflated, it seems unlikely that their names were etymologically related. Following the regular sound changes which caused the British Celtic tongue to mutate into the medieval language of Welsh, Belinos might be expected to produce a form like a form along the lines of Belyn or Belen. Indeed, this name is found in Welsh sources, both modern and medieval. A certainBelen o Leyn is described in the 62nd triad as the leader of one of the ‘Three Fettered War-Bands’ of the Island of Britain. The popular Welsh name Llywelyn, evidently contains this name in combination with that of another powerful Brythonic deity: Lleu (< Lugus) and Belyn (< Belinos). So if this is the medieval survival of the Gaulish god Belinos, it seems we must look elsewhere for the etymological origins of Beli Mawr. The most convincing Gallo-Brittonic exemplar for the Medieval Welsh Beli is the name Bolgios, who is described in Ancient Greek sources as a warlord from among the Galatoi (or Keltoi) in the third century BC. More of this figure and his association with the Sack of Delphi in 279 BC will be discussed below. But what must be initially made clear is that it is the name of Bolgios (rather than that of the Gaulish god Belenos) which, following all the regular sound changes of the Common Celtic language would have rendered a name like Beli (Mawr) in Medieval Welsh. A further connection is discernable between this name, and that of the tribal name of Belgae: the final wave of Late Iron age settlers who would have represented the last dominant British Celtic power before the arrival of the Romans. Although the precise details of the sound changes in Proto-Celtic and Common Celtic languages between 279 and 50 BC remain far from clear, the derivation of the tribal name of Belgae from the genitive form of the name of Bolgios would be entirely consistant with what we know about the Celtic inflections, sound-changes and onomastics. Thus Belgae (< *Bolgioi) can be understood to have had the literal meaning: ‘(The Host) of Bolgios’. The connection between the first-century Belgae, that Gallo-Brittonic hegemony of north-western Europe and the host of the Balkan Celtic chieftain some three hundred years before is reinforced by some startling correspondences in the archaeological and numismatic record. What this implies for the provenance of the Belgic people, and hence for the tribal-historic traditions of the Medieval Welsh, will be considered in more detail in the section after next. But first we must recap on the situation in Britain in the Late Iron Age, which witnessed the ascendancy of Belgic power over the British tribal scene.

Blessed be

Blaidd

Online or offline?

2011-08-03T11:40:00.000+01:00

I have been a witch (knowingly) for over 15 years, and in that time, have been lucky enough to experience a variety of situations and environments.

As with many, I started off as a solitary. I didn't know anyone else on the path, except for a rather intimidating witch who ran a shop in the local town. Ha - she probably wasn't that scary, but to a newbie with limited confidence, everyone was intimidating!

For years I had only books to learn by. I found the types of books I was drawn to (the solitary hedgewitch ones) and the books that made me less comfortable (the wiccan coven ones). But on the whole, I mostly drifted without direction.

Fate brought me to meet and befriend another who walked a very similar path to myself. She was a member of an online college, which I sought out and also joined. One of the best decisions I ever made. The community was huge and amazingly supportive and friendly. For months I was distracted from my lessons by the wealth of information there, and the social interactions.

The first proper ritual I ever attended was an online one. It wasn't mind-shattering or life-changing - but I could feel the amazing potential. Online rituals need a bit of practise, but it is entirely possible to link many people, in all corners of our planet, into one chatroom and raise an incredible energy. Some of my best ritual experiences have been online.

Good visualisation skills are key, not seeing with your eyes, but with your mind. If you can read a book and "see" the pictures of the story as you go along, then you'll know what I mean. Everyone "sees" things differently. You can be part of an online ritual, and have a totally personal experience. No two people will "see" the same deity. I once took part in an exercise to describe how we saw Brighid. The answers ranged from a raven-haired, dark eyed woman in a deep-red dress, to an ethereal blonde in pale blue. But whatever you see - it is your personal relationship with divinity that you will experience.

In this last year, I have been lucky enough to experience some group rituals. One thing I have learned here is that location does matter. Offline rituals also take some practice to get the most from. You can attend in body, and have a nice time, or you can bring your visualisation skills, attend in mind, body and spirit, and have an amazing time. I do like the locations that are wide and open, almost a blank canvas for "other landscapes" to superimpose over the top, for other beings to come and stand around us - those that occupy the astral world.

Group rituals are nerve-wracking at first. Especially to those who are a bit shy or uncomfortable in bigger social situations. I have also learned that when I stretched my boundaries, I felt really good. Being amongst people of like mind is the best feeling, knowing that you don't have to hide, that you can talk about invisible dragons sitting on your shoulder, and that the people around you will think nothing of it...who knows what is sitting on their shoulder!

I have also learned that group rituals don't have to be rigid and theatrical ceremonies. They can be informal and FUN. They can involve laughing and cake. They definitely involve friendship.

So, which is better? Both have their advantages, and it depends on what is available to you. I am in the envious position of living close to other like-minded people, close to a druid Grove, and close to my pagan friends. Most of these friends I found online. I have very good memories of my time online, it brought me to where I am now. A good online group is better and more effective than a bad offline group. If you are unable to find a good group of people near to where you live, then definitely give the online route a go - it could well change your life, open up many more opportunities than you expect.

Blessed be

Blaidd

Paleolithic Man and Procreation

2011-08-01T10:32:00.000+01:00

I am going to conjecture about ancient people. Over the past few months, the subject has occasionally arisen in conversations of whether or not ancient man realised where babies came from. I have some interesting conversations!

If you undertake a course of study in magic, you generally can't escape some sort of historical basis to give credence to our current studies. Usually, we will be told how palaeolithic peoples worshipped the Goddess long before they had a God. This is a belief based on the findings of the little statues, the most famous being the Venus of Willendorf.

The God figure came much later, where he is found in cave-paintings, and presumably invoked to aid in a successful hunt. He became the Lord of the Beasts, as the Goddess was the Earth Mother.

We assume that, as a Goddess worshipping society, that women were venerated as something rather special - for their magical ability to produce new people, seemingly at random. Women were magical for their obvious link to the cycle of the moon through their menstruation. Women were PART of the Earth Mother, not separate from her, separate from the earth, like the men were.

We assume that our ancestors were a bit simple...I wonder what future generations will make of us!

I digress. Personally, I do believe that women enjoyed a social status much higher than in any time period since, and I do believe that this was a direct result of their biology. In the struggle to survive as a species, the ability to reproduce is paramount. Women were valuable, and needed to be protected. Men were basically replaceable in ways that women were not. Perhaps this is why it was the men who faced the dangerous beasts of the hunt - not because women weren't good enough - but that women were too good.

But the debate remains. Did ancient peoples understand about conception, and how it took two people, a woman AND a man, to make babies?

I'm not so sure that our hunter-gatherer ancestors did. There's a long time between doing the deed and a woman being noticeably pregnant. Plus, only a small percentage of "deeds" will result in a pregnancy - though I am assuming that female biology was pretty similar then as it is now, but then, assuming that the female cycle was in tune with the cycle of the moon is a rather bigger general assumption.

I do think that by the time our ancestors became farmers, they knew about "the birds and the bees". Though I think they will have learned about biology through watching the habits of the animals they hunted. Animals have a far more predictable reproductive calendar than humans. There is a mating season and a birthing season, and this is something a good hunter would need to be aware of.

Perhaps it was realising that a source of meat could be bred in a secure field that turned our ancestors from hunter-gatherers into farmers. The knowledge of how to make babies, and baby animals. The question now is - did this knowledge make women less magical or the men more so?

Love and hugs

Blaidd

The Ethics of Spellcasting

2011-07-29T12:34:00.000+01:00

There is much debate about the ethics of spell casting these days. Our ancestors had felt no compunction in throwing those curses around amid all that work on the lotions and potions for healing. They knew which herbs would heal fevers, but also the ones that would end an unwanted pregnancy. There was no white magic and black magic, there was just Magic.

We all hear of the "harm none" rule, and the muddying of the ethical waters that it entails. The general rule is not to work magic upon a person unless one has their express permission to do so. It is much easier for magic to work if both sender and receiver are in alignment. But the rede is a guideline, it shouldn't prevent you from being able to defend your loved ones from harm.

Personally, I wouldn't cast a love spell on someone. Forcing someone into a course of action that they wouldn't normally take doesn't put them in a very good mood. You may succeed in securing the object of your unrequited love, but it isn't likely to be a happy relationship. However, there is nothing to stop you putting your wish to find love out to the Universe...it might know just the person, it may well just "engineer" that chance meeting that leads to all sorts of possibilities - it's up to you to make of those chances what you will.

The same think goes for healing. The automatic response would be to immediately send healing to someone that was sick or injured. It's quite natural to see a loved one with a terminal disease, and to want to do something to make it go away, to make them well enough so that they can spend more time in the land of the living. But what if their greatest wish was to pass on? Perhaps they are more than ready to move on and to reunite with those who have passed on before them. There are always more sides to the story to consider when working magic.

Of course, if a person would like a little extra healing help, it's easy enough to find out just by asking..."would you like a drink?", "would you like a pain-killer?", "would you like a little extra magical healing?".

But what if you aren't able to ask permission? What if you are in the broom-closet? What if the idea of magic is totally abhorent to that person? Then send out the energy to the Universe, add it to the pool of healing energy that can be tapped into by a person's higher self - that part of them that doesn't have preconceived ideas about what magic is, that part of them that could perhaps use a little extra energy if needed.

This type of healing is more passive than active, and passive spell-work fits extremely well in the hedgewitch range. Active spells have a specific target, a person, a habit, a situation or object. Passive spells work in the background, rather like a bowl of pit pourri. The energy of a passive spell is there for the taking, it can be accepted, or not, it has no specific target, and it's acceptance is entirely optional - much like the pool of healing energy sent to the Universe.

Passive spells can be worked for many reasons, a house-blessing, a cleansing, a ward for negative energies. You can add a little magic to your cooking along with the herbs and spices used to flavour it - the energy is there to be accepted by those who want it. It is their choice of what to do with that energy - much like those in receipt of a simple smile can choose whether to pass on that smile, or to ignore it and remain in a grump. There are no tricky ethical issues to distract you and rob your intent of its power.

Passive spells can be used to manifest our desires. Permeate the house with magic for attracting abundance, a job, love, happiness, etc. Let the energies flow around you and through you, and you will become in tune with these energies also. Use fragrances, crystals, candles, whatever you have. Work in harmony with the world, and the world will work in harmony with you.

Work a little passive magic everyday - and soon there will be difference between magical and mundane worlds.

Blessed be

Blaidd

The Dark Night of the Soul

2011-07-26T10:15:00.000+01:00

The Dark Night of the Soul...we've all been there at some point in our lives, and they aren't the best of times to actually live through, but they are one of the most necessary processes that we need to go through in order to grow and progress in our paths. If we never experience the Dark Night, or as many witches know it, The Fog, then we really aren't properly living at all. We will probably experience several or even many Dark Nights in our lifetimes.

It's not just a simple depression (ha, quickly skirting around the fact that depression isn't at all simple!) it can't be treated with medicines and tablets, it can't be cured, if just has to be waited out and worked through. The Dark Night is that loss of contact that we get with our spiritualness. It can be sparked off by all sorts of things, and it is more likely to happen if we are stressed and under a lot of strain in our every day "mundane" lives. We lose that connection to deity, can even doubt the very existence of Spirit, we are very, very alone. It is hard.

But it's not meant to be easy! It's a test, and a blooming big one. It is supposed to be challenging, as it is only by being challenged, almost to our very limits, that we can grow and learn and progress. If things came to us easily, we'd not value them.

Recognising that we are experiencing the Fog is a test in itself, it's not always obvious, there are often very many other factors distracting us from the fact that we haven't felt that divine connection for a while. Health, money, family, careers, the Universe will throw many a distraction at us. But what do we do once we realise what it is that we are experiencing?

That is a good question, and as usual, there are no easy answers. But the biggest help I have found is communication. Talking to people, to others who may have had similar experiences. It doesn't even have to be about spiritual matters, just find a friend for a bit of a natter, even better with chocolate. Go out into the world and make contact with real people, and for a little while, put aside all those worries and stresses.

Secondly, stop pushing yourself. If something isn't working, then leave it be awhile, then come back to it another time when you are more relaxed. How many times have I watched my husband get uptight, frustrated and angry because he couldn't do some fiddly task or tricky mental problem? The more he keeps trying, the more stressed he becomes, the more obsessed with his failure, and the less he is able to complete his task. When he actually listens to me to put it down for a little while, when he goes back to it, he completes the task in next to no time!

It's not easy to stop worrying at a problem and leave it be, we all have that urge to prod and poke about, but we usually end up making things worse. It is a matter of being patient - and that is something we're not good at.

The Fog, the Dark Night, is a process that we must go through, it is a period of time for reflection, not action. We need to assimilate what we have experienced, what we have learned, and what's more - we must understand what we have learned - not just know the mechanical facts, but understand deep down within our souls. Sometimes, this just takes a little more time than we expect in our fast-paced living styles.

The Dark Night is our time to slow down and to rest up a little. The more we push ourselves, if we move far more quickly than is good for us spiritually, then we will be hit harder and faster with some forced downtime. I'm sure many of us have been hit with illness when we have pushed ourselves too quickly physically, we get ill so that we are forced to slow down and rest.

If you are experiencing the Fog, try to do one small thing a day. Baby steps. Ease yourself back into a magical routine, be gentle with yourself. Get back out into Nature, feel the trees and earth, the wind and the rain and the sun. Listen to the birds and insects. Taste the pure water of a spring or ripe berry. Sit or lie on the ground and Connect.

Finally, and this is perhaps the hardest concept of all to accept. Look upon the Dark Night as a gift. The fact that it has come into your life signifies that you are about to experience enlightenment. That your rewards for working through the Fog will be a huge spurt of spiritual growth, like a snake shedding its skin, you will experience the pain of the Dark Night, and emerge renewed, stronger and shining.

But the most important thing of all is - you are not alone.

Blessed be

Blaidd

Finding your next step in life

2011-07-22T10:42:00.000+01:00

The Most Fulfilling Road

Finding Your Next Step in Life

It is when you are willing to listen to yourself and be fearless that figuring out your next step becomes easy.
Our lives are made up of a complex network of pathways that we can use to move from one phase of life to the next. For some of us, our paths are wide, smooth, and clearly marked. Many people, however, find that they have a difficult time figuring out where they need to go next. Determining which “next step” will land you on the most direct route to fulfillment and the realization of your life purpose may not seem easy.

There are many ways to discover what the next step on your life path should be. If you are someone who seeks to satisfy your soul, it is vital that you make this inquiry. Often, your inner voice will counsel you that it’s time for a change, and it is very important to trust yourself because only you know what is best for you. Personal growth always results when you let yourself expand beyond the farthest borders of what your life has been so far. When figuring out what your next step will be, you may want to review your life experiences. The choices you’ve made and the dreams you’ve held onto can give you an idea of what you don’t want to do anymore and what you might like to do next. It is also a good idea to think about creative ways you can use your skills and satisfy your passions. Visualizing your perfect future and making a list of ways to manifest that future can help you choose a logical next step that’s in harmony with your desires. Meditation, journal writing, taking a class, and other creative activities may inspire you and provide insight regarding the next step in life that will bring you the most satisfaction.

It is when you are willing to listen to yourself and be fearless that figuring out your next step becomes easy. Beneath the fear and hesitation and uncertainty lies your inner knowing that always knows which step you need to take next. If you can allow the taking of your next step to be as easy as putting one foot in front of the next, you’ll notice that your next step is always the one that is right in front of you. All you have to do is put one foot forward and on the ground.

This is taken from a website called Daily Om - it is free to register and has a wealth of spiritual, uplifting and enlightening material along with daily horoscopes.

www.dailyom.com

Tansy
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Image from www.polyvore.com

Tylluan Penry

2011-07-20T12:04:00.000+01:00

My first encounter with the wonderful Tylluan Penry was at Witchfest last year, she is an amazing lady.

Tylluan is a practicing solitary pagan witch and published pagan author. She writes about all sorts of things - paganism, the green man, solitary witchcraft, spells, festivals, her family and the world around her.

Her books include:

'Seeking the Green' about her personal pagan path.
The author has been seeking the Green for most of her life. What this meant in practice was that she was drawn to every aspect of the pagan path that touched upon Nature, the natural world, and its deities, becoming aware of the green landscape that underlies and surrounds towns, cities and factories. In this book she shares what she has learned and experienced; finding and making green gateways that would take her on magical journeys where she could learn more about the mysteries that surround us. Looking at and listening to the natural world. Strengthening your inner self, psychic self defence, working with the Green world - both the physical such as the uses of trees and the otherworldly such as fairies, the element, festivals ans symbols are all covered here plus spellworking and much more. As you read through these pages, you will see that this path is intended for people working on their own, meaning you will never find things you cannot do without a partner or group; everything in Seeking the Green is designed for solitaries, but can of course be carried out by couples or groups. Years of experience, sound wisdom and commonsense run throughout the book - it reads like having a calm experienced guide right beside you.

'The Magical Properties of Plants and how to find them.'

In her introduction to the book, Tylluan writes: "What puts many people off using herbs in their magic is the idea they are going to have to become skilled amateur botanists. Of course it's true that the more you study plants the more you learn, but for most of us the plants we see everyday in our immediate surroundings are common weeds such as Daisies, Nettles and Forget-me-nots. Not very inspiring stuff, you might think. But I intend to show you that even with very limited resources, if you make the effort to find what is in your area you'll probably be surprised to discover you have the ingredients for virtually every magical purpose growing on your doorstep!
Discovering the magical properties of plants is a bit like being a detective; you need to follow the clues to unravel what any particular flower, tree, shrub or even toadstool is likely to contribute towards your magical practice. But you don't have to learn about hundreds of different plants, just half a dozen local ones will be enough to enrich your magical practice to start with, although as you become more skilled your options will increase. " An extremely well researched and informative book. A wealth of information is detailed in a very readable style. Instead of working through plants alphabetically, Tylluan has laid the book out in use order - it is rare to find a plant then look for something to do with it, far more often we have a need then have to find out what to use to achieve it so this makes a lot of sense. A detailed index completes this excellent tome.

'The Essential Guide to Psychic Self Defence.'
This is a truly excellent guide to psychic self defence, an invaluable resource for anyone experiencing psychic phenomena that concern them, and an important education to have in advance of possible trouble. As more and more people become aware of their own psychic capabilities, problems arising from negative energies and even psychic attacks have increased. This full and detailed guide to dealing with psychic attacks, negativity, hexes etc is based on Tylluan's extensive personal experience and is also very well researched, giving both a wealth of practical advice and a history of problems and their solutions through the ages. Whilst repeatedly reassuring the reader and describing how much "attack" is just others playing mind games causing fear, very full advice is given to deal with an extensive range of real problems!

She is also currently working on her latest book, 'The Magical World of the Anglo Saxons' which will be published later this year.

Her books are available from www.capallbann.co.uk

She also has a wonderful blog www.tylluanpenry.blog.co.uk

She is a regular speaker at the Witchfests run by the Children of Artemis and a regular contributor to Witchcraft and Wicca magazine, Myddle Earth Magazine, and Witchcraft Inner Circle on-line magazine.

Tansy
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Goddess Badb

2011-07-15T12:37:00.000+01:00

Badb (pronounced BIBE) is the Irish Goddess of war. Along with her sisters Macha and Anu, she forms the triple Goddess known as the Morrigan. She is often called ‘The Fury’. Associated with death, destruction and battle. She is often linked with the death portent faery, the Beansidhe (or banshee) who was seen washing the armour of soliders who would perish in upcoming battle.

Badb’s name has been translated as either “crow” or “boiling,” both of which fit her mythology. Variations of her name include Badhbh, Bave, Baobh, Badhbh Chaointe, Badb Catha (“battle crow”), and she was known in Gaul as Cathubodua, Cathubodva,Catubodua or Cauth Bodva.

All three sisters could take the form of crows or ravens, and would fly over battlefields, choosing who would die and who would live. They would then take the souls of the deceased in their wings, flying them off to the Otherworld. Badb would sometimes take part in the battles herself, usually in the form of a wolf. She had the power to cause confusion in the opposing soldiers and courage in those on her own side. The battlefield was sometimes referred to as ‘the garden of Badb’.

These three are named as daughters of the goddess Ernmas, an Irish mother Goddess and Delbaeth, High King of Ireland. She is also said to be the sister of Eriu, Banba and Fodla, the three matron goddess of Ireland. However other accounts identify the trio as daughters of the druid Cailitin and his wife.

It is also stated that Badb is one of the two wives of the war god Neit. And on occasion she has also been described as being the wife of the Formorian king Tethra.

Badb is said to have a cauldron of the Otherworld, one that can provide life to those who have died. Legend says that Badb will cause the end of the world some day when she lets the cauldron boil over and flood the world.

In Togail Bruidne Da Derga, she takes the form of an ugly hag who prophesies conaire Mor’s downfall. She appears in a similar guise in Togail Bruidne Dá Choca to foretell the slaying of Cormac Condloinges, as well as taking the form of a woman washing Cormac's chariot and harness in a ford in what was considered an omen of death. The cries of Badb may also be an ill omen: Cormac's impending death is foreshadowed with the words "The red-mouthed badbs will cry around the house, For bodies they will be solicitous" and "Pale badbs shall shriek".

During the first battle of Mag Tuired, Badb—along with her sisters, Macha and Morrígan—fights on the side of the Tuatha De Danann. Using their magic, the three sisters incite fear and confusion among the Fir Bolg army, conjuring "compact clouds of mist and a furious rain of fire" and allowing their enemies "neither rest nor stay for three days and nights". Badb plays a similar role in the Tain Bo Cuailnge, terrorising and disorienting the forces of Queen Medb and causing many to fall on their own weapons.

Following the defeat of the Formorians in the Second Battle of Mag Tuired, Badb prophesies both a blessing and the end of the world, declaring first:

Peace to the sky
sky to the earth
earth beneath sky
strength in everyone
a cup very full
a fullness of honey
honor enough
summer in winter
spear supported by shield
shields supported by forts
forts fierce eager for battle
fleece from sheep
woods full of stags
forever destructions have departed
mast on trees
a branch drooping-down
drooping from growth
wealth for a son
a son very learned
neck of bull in yoke
a bull from a song
knots in woods
wood for a fire
fire as wanted
palisades new and bright
salmon their victory
the Boyne their hostel
hostel with an excellence of length
new growth after spring
in autumn horses increase
the land held secure
land recounted with excellence of word
Be might to the eternal much excellent woods
peace to the sky
be this nine times eternal

Before concluding:

"I shall not see a world that will be dear to meSummer without flowers,
Kine will be without milk,
Women without modesty,
Men without valour,
Captures without a king.
Call on Badb to aid you with spirit contact (especially at Samhain) and to learn about past lives, she can also aid you in divination.

Correspondences – the Crow, the staff, the scythe, garnets, bloodstone, Samhain, apples.

Tansy
x

Images:
Badb Catha – from conceptart.org
Badb image by Gustave Doré taken from Edgar Allen Poe's The Raven.

The Lucet

2011-07-13T11:52:00.000+01:00

The Lucet

I have been crafting lately with a little gadget I found called a lucet. It has also been referred to as a lutal, chain fork or lyre.

This tool is used in cord or braid making and believed to date back to the Viking and Medieval periods when it was used to make cords to go on clothing or to make belts to hang items from.

It tied doublet and hose in the middle ages and bodices in the Elizabethan times.

It was also used to make ornamental frogging in the 18^th century and even to make necklaces and watch fobs for the Victorians.

The lucet cord is slightly springy but strong and resembles the cord produced on a knitting spool or knitting dolly.

Archaeological finds and information in literature suggest that use of lucets declined after the 12^th century but was revived again in the 17^th century.

The lucet is a fork shape with two prongs at one end with a handle on the other some also have a hole in the centre through which the cord can be pulled.

Medieval lucets were often made of bone but modern ones are usually made from wood. The Victorian lucets were often made from ivory, mother of pearl or tortoiseshell.

Tansy

Lucet cords now available from the Kitchen Witch website

Sources:

Wikipedia
thelucet.co.uk

Everything is Connected

2011-07-10T12:00:00.001+01:00

A beautiful article written by our lovely friend Pangur-ban Whitecat:

Everything is Connected.

One of the core values of Druidism is that everything is connected. There is no separation. Humanity in its so-called wisdom believes that it is the pinnacle of creation and this belief, of course, leads to so many problems.

Wars that pit nation against nation. Complete disregard for the world that sustains us, leading to environmental melt down.

The idea that we are somehow divorced from the rest of creation is of course a fallacy, and one we as Pagans need to admit to. Part of the problem is that we do not see past the superficial and really look at the world.

When we look at the world with our spiritual eyes we see that everything is connected and interconnected. The Native Americans talk of the stone people, the animal people, the tree and plant people, and of course the people people.

As a Druid I see it as my duty to reconnect to these realms of nature as I am made of the same energy they are. The same atoms that flow through the trees of a forest are the same atoms that flow through me. “We are stardust, we are golden”, as the song from the musical Hair so eloquently says.

In the rest of this article I am going to dwell on the relationship we have as Druids with trees. Why does the Druid have this relationship with trees? Why do people who hardly know anything of what a Druid is or does know this one fact that Druids love trees?

Most modern scholars agree that the word Druid is derived from the words Oak and wise with a meaning of one who has the “Wisdom of the Oak.” So without doubt the Druids of old were associated with trees.

What of today? I feel that it is most important for today’s Druid to care for and love trees as they are our lifeblood, and if we lose them we lose so many things not only in the physical realm but also in the spiritual.

Trees are the storehouse of the Sun's energy. They stand upon the earth, their roots going deep into the Goddess's body. The leaves of a tree absorb carbon monoxide and give out oxygen, they are literally the earth's lungs. We use trees in countless other ways as well for our houses, books (and oh, how Pagans love their books), for heating when it is cold and many other ways.

Consider this though, the oldest tree in the UK is a Yew tree estimated to be roughly three thousand years old. Just imagine what this ancient being has seen and what information has been stored in its rings of growth. Each time of drought, famine, and fire has been recorded by the tree.

It is not just the physical benefits of trees that the Druid celebrate, we also venerate trees for their spiritual qualities. As Druids we believe that we can enter into a relationship with trees, but this takes time and commitment. Trees are old beings and do not live in the same time-scale as we do, so whenever you try to form a relationship with a tree it must be on their terms and timescale.

I will end this post with an exercise.

Go for a walk in a forest or park where there are many different types of trees. Walk slowly and thoughtfully. Does one particular tree call to you? If so, go sit with it. Slow your breathing and send your thoughts to the tree. With perseverance, I believe that you will be able to form a relationship with trees.

Pangur-ban

Garnets

2011-07-08T20:52:00.000+01:00

Garnet

The name garnet comes from the latin word "granatus" (seed-like) - because it looks similar to a pomegranate seed.

Garnet is known as a stone of heroes – those that have to deal with difficult tasks and trials to prove their courage. Warriors used to have garnets set into their shields and sword hilts to protect them and bring luck, wealth and blessings.

Garnet is a fire stone and aligned with the planet Mars.

Garnets are usually red, but also come in various other colours such as pink, green, orange, yellow, brown and black.

Garnet is a stone of commitment – to purpose, others and yourself.

It is also a stone of health, drawing negative energy from the chakras and transforming the energy to positive. It cleanses the chakras and re-energises them. It purifies and balances energy and inspires love and devotion. It also alleviates emotional disharmony, activates and strengthens the survival instinct and brings courage and hope. It aids with past life recall, sharpens your perceptions, removes inhibitions and brings self confidence. Garnet controls anger, especially anger towards the self. It encourages faith, fidelity, grace and compassion, brings constancy to friendships, combats depression and fatigue, and enhances creativity. It also brings with it trust, understanding, sincerity, honesty and devotion.

Garnet aids with disorders of the spine, bone, cells and purifies the heart, lungs and blood. It also boosts the immune system and energy levels. Garnet helps the thyroid & the spleen and also repairs damaged DNA.

Tansy
x

Wisdom of Avalon Oracle Cards

2011-07-06T08:34:00.000+01:00

Today we have a guest blogger - our lovely friend Bunni has done a review of the:

Wisdom of Avalon Oracle Cards ~ Colette Baron-Reid (Artwork by Gary A Lippincott)

I adore anything Arthurian and when I saw these cards they called to me very loudly. I have a few decks of Oracle cards but these are the ones that I use for my daily draw (when I remember). The imagery is very 'simple' at first glance there isn't a lot going on - but for me that makes them a truly intuitive pack - there are key words on each card - so you don't 'have' to consult the book for each card - the keyword says it all ..... or the image!

First I'll talk about the book .......... I find the way it's written very clear and easy to understand, the cards are numbered which means you aren't hunting in the index to find the right page .... I like simple the one thing that I do have a slight issue with is there are no reverse meanings given - so it would appear on the 'outside' to be a very 'light' deck and as we know each emotion has it's dark equivilent - but that's my own personal grumble.

Now on to the cards ..... these are split into groups - The Messengers of Avalon, The Animal Guides of Avalon, The Guides of Faery and then The Sacred Journey Markers - as I mentioned earlier - each 'major' card has the keywords written on them (Dog ~ Loyalty, Sincerity, Unconditional Love) but unlike other Oracle cards - this deck is different in that it has the Sacred Markers - all the artwork on these 21 cards shows a Path - the path could be through a forest, up a hill, or something - but there is no pre-conceived imagery and there are no 'keywords' on the Sacred Markers - so when you (well when I) draw one of these cards I find I use my intuition more than being 'told' what the card means - however, in saying that - don't let me put you off - the Sacred Markers are called Joy, Re-Birth etc.

I would heartily recommend these cards to anyone, as Decks go they haven't got the most impressive artwork - but the clean and simple artwork goes well with the message of the cards - there isn't anything to 'heavy' that has you racing for the dictionary - nor is it over simplified - I'll share with you today's card:

As always when I do my draw my question is: What do I need to know today?

Card: The Hawk ~ Keyword: Omens, Messages

When the Hawk appears, expect a message to be delivered to you to aid you in your quest. Perhaps a telephone call from a friend will help you solve a mystery, or a chance meeting with someone may solve a riddle. You may, literally, see writing on the wall or overhear a conversation between strangers. You will know it when it happens. Be open to messages from others and be aware of omens and signs in Nature. The world is constantly attempting to communicate with us, but we human beings have forgotten how to listen. So, remember who you are - an intrinsic part of the Great Mystery of Life. Listen and learn. This is the gift of the Hawk as he soars into your life from Avalon's skies.

Bright blessings
Bunni x x x

NEW FORUM LAUNCHED!

2011-07-04T11:03:00.000+01:00

Kitchen Witch are pleased to announce the launch of the

Kitchen Witch Hearth

www.kitchenwitchhearth.com

an online, interactive Book of Shadows

We invite you to take a look, it's free to join - all you need to do is register.

So what is it?

The Kitchen Witch Hearth is a collection of information from our own Book of Shadows covering everything from sabbats, deities, crystals, divination, totems, Druidry, Shamanism to herbal magick, hedgerow & field spotter guides and everything else in between.

It is a work in progress, we have lots yet to add and would welcome any of your contributions if you would like to add to it.

This is a resource for us all to share - we share with you, you share with us and hopefully we will all learn together.

Our combined resources should add up to a valuable store of information.

If you can't find what you need, it is also a good place to ask questions. Hopefully someone within the community will know the answer!

If you want to just take a look around or feel you have information to share, come along and join us. There is no pressure, no commitments, no fees.

Even if you feel you don't have anything to contribute now, we would still love you to come and be a part of it. You may not feel you have anything to add today, but who knows what will happen in the future?

It is our hope and intention that this Book of Shadows is for everyone - pagans, druids, witches, shamans, nothern & southern hemisphere - in fact anyone with a spiritual leaning. New and experienced - everyone is welcome!

We would also like to thank a small group of our friends that have come on board in the past few weeks to add their own information and input - we truly appreciate you!

Tansy & Blaiddwolf
Kitchen Witch

Cloud Scrying

2011-07-01T11:28:00.000+01:00

For the past few nights just before I go to sleep I have laid on the bed and looked out of the window and watched the sky. It has been quite cloudy in the evenings here for the past few days, I have just laid and relaxed and let my mind wander to see what shapes I can see in the clouds.

To start cloud scrying, make yourself comfortable, you might be able to lie down on the top of a hill, or in an open field, or you could be lying on your bed as I did and looking out the window at the sky, then just let your mind empty and first of all just watch the clouds. Then if you have a question let it form gently in your mind, then just watch and see what signs or symbols you notice in the clouds. Don't hurry it or rush it - the answers will come.

Note down the images you see and think on them, they may make perfect sense straight away, they may take some thinking or meditating on or if it was say, an animal you saw you may need to look up the properties of that animal for it to make sense.

Even if you don't want to read the clouds for signs and shapes or ask questions of them, it is an extremely relaxing way to spend some time.

Tansy
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War Water Bottles

2011-06-30T16:46:00.001+01:00

We have been working some hedgewitch hoodoo in Kitchen Witch today, some fabulous things coming your way shortly.

However in our ponderings and researchings today we came across Hoodoo War Water Bottles.

A Hoodoo War Water bottle would be sent, left on your doorstep or thrown at an enemy. Each bottled contained, basically a swampy or bloody yuck, which if thrown at your property would smash and leave a foul smelling mess. It has been said that to break a bottle of War Water on the property of your enemy will bring strife and sorrow to their household.

War Water Bottles may have contained such items as black feathers, blood (probably from chickens) or blood substitutes (beetroot or tomato juice for instance), moss, rusty nails and broken glass amongst other things.

Each item being symbolic, according to the author Stephanie Rose Bird - the nails were to tie down wayward spirits and broken glass suggested the transparent spirit world and all came together to give the warning - watch out Hoodoo is coming your way!

However there is another use for these bottles in African American tradition and that is to use as a trap for wayward spirits.

We took the idea today at Kitchen Witch and added our hedgewitchiness (is that even a word?) and came up with the Dark World Bottle.

The contents of our Dark World Bottle are 'swamp inspired' and used as a trap for wayward spirits, bad thoughts and negative vibes.

Use this bottle to trap and ensnare bad and negative energies, dark thoughts, moods and feelings and any nasty vibes. Once you feel it is full take the bottle to a safe place and smash it - sending its contents back to Mother Earth to be purified taking with it any left over nasties. Ahhhh .... feel the beautiful release!!

But, please be careful to clear up any broken glass and dispose of it safely.

Tansy
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Recommended website - Stephanie Rose Bird

Medicine Bags

2011-06-29T18:57:00.000+01:00

Today Kitchen Witch has been conjuring up medicine bags.

Each medicine bag is filled with herbs, spices, feathers, crystals, in fact anything that we feel is needed to make it work for the intent.

Tied with a coloured ribbon corresponding to the intent, and each medicine bag comes with a little bottle of magic powder to feed it with.

A medicine bag (or you could call it a mojo bag) is 'alive' with magic and therefore must be fed. To do so, sprinkle a little of the feeding powder provided over the contents of the medicine bag. This gives the bag a magical charge. You need to feed it regularly to sustain its magical force.

All herbs, stones, crystals and natural items have a spirit and a particular medicine energy to them. Combine the right items together and you get a very powerful medicine bag.

When you receive your medicine bag feed it straight away and charge it with your own intent, visualise the outcome you desire and send that energy into the bag.

Keep the bag on your altar, mantle piece, bedside table, wherever you will see it, then feed it a little of the magic powder each day, again charging it and visualising your intent.

We are currently offering the following medicine bags, but we can make to order for specific intent:

Fast Luck - Need that extra boost of luck? This little bag of goodies packs the luck power you need.

Money Draw - Need that extra boost of cash? This little bag of goodies should bring money your way.

Unhex - Got that feeling someone has sent you a curse? This little bag of goodies will send the wicked witch hex on its way.

Go Away - Feel the need to protect and banish negative energy from yourself, your house, your property? This little bag of goodies will send negative energies on their way and keep them out.

Love Draw - Want to draw some loving your way? This little bag of goodies will send out the message and bring love your way.

Tansy
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