Fabulous Folklore: Storm Callers

Seidr, a form of pre-Christian Norse magic, was concerned with discerning the course of fate, to bring about change or to alter the path of destiny. Amongst other things, there were Seidr rituals for controlling the weather.

In medieval lore, Tempestarii were weather-making magicians. These people lived amongst the commoners in a village, but they were adept at raising or preventing storms. Some held the belief that the Tempestarii were in league with a mythical race of cloud-dwellers, who could sail the skies in storm clouds, whipping up storms over farmland, so that they could sweep down under the cover of cloud to cause trouble and to steal corn and other crops.

During the witch hunts, there was a strong belief that witches could cause all sorts of harm using the weather, but others argued that anyone who had control over the weather and could ‘raise a gale’ must have a belief in God to be able to do such things.

Today, Storm Magic is a favourite of many witches. It allows the practitioner to access thunderstorms using the storm as a battery from which to take energy, or to manipulate the air of blizzards and hurricanes. Clouds and cosmological events are used as divination tools, in a type of scrying known as Aeromancy. Under this umbrella, you have cloud divination (nephomancy), thunder and lightning divination (ceraunoscopy), meteor and shooting star divination (meteromancy), amongst others.

Any form of Air Magic is potent because Air is the element of movement, making it perfect for Seidr rituals and other forms of magic where change is sought. Air can be gentle or raging, it can extinguish fire or ignite it, give life (oxygen) or destroy; offering many nuances and possibilities for spell work. Divination of clouds is a great skill - they’re always at hand (especially if you live in the UK!), they’re free, and you just have to look up! 

NEXT - Fabulous Folklore: Lesser Celandine

NEXT - Fabulous Folklore: Salt

Simple Magick: Cleansing the Home Using the Element of Air

The element of Air is said to represent life, purity, and harmony. It is connected to the mind, wisdom, spirits, and the soul. With these in mind, when I think of Air, I think of the home.

You can incorporate the element of Air in your home decor. Windows should be large and unobstructed, allowing air and light in. Colour schemes should include pale yellows and whites.

Plants associated with Air are traditionally Anise, Birch, Cedar (due to the aroma), Lemongrass, Pansy, Primrose and Violet. Whilst it’s not possible to grow many of these indoors, you could display paintings or sketches instead. Flags are also physical representations of the air - these can be a magical addition to any home. Crystals associated with Air are aesthetically pleasing, and create a beautiful energy - try Citrine, Labradorite, Topaz, and Moonstone.

Cleansing the Home Using the Element of Air

Smoke Cleansing:
Eucalyptus, Lavender, Cedar, Palo Santo, Rosemary and Mugwort are great herbs you can burn, and there are many mixed-herb smoking bundles available.

Incense:
There are many types of incense - stick, cone, dhoop, loose hand-blended, and more. They cleanse and change (or charge) the atmosphere and add fragrance.

Clapping:
The air caught between your hands causes a loud noise that cleanses. Stand in the middle of the room facing the window. Pull your arms back and pull the negative energy into the clap. Visualise any straggly bits of negative energy exiting through the window. Repeat until until the energy is clear, and shut the window if you have opened it.

Windchimes:
Windchimes or bells hung by an open window consistently cleanse the room with their soft chimes. Hang bells or windchimes in the garden to keep social or dining areas fresh.

Opening Doors and Windows:
My personal favourite. I open doors and windows throughout the whole of the house and allow the air to flow through, usually whilst I am cleaning.

NEXT - Simple Magick: Using Water & Rainwater 

Fabulous Folklore: Crystal Balls

I’m catching up on a little reading today inspired by Crystal Week over at @witch.with.me and thought I’d share some Crystal Ball facts.

A modern crystal ball is known as an orbuculum, and is made from glass or crystal. Early crystal gazers - or specularii - used a polished sphere of beryl, well known varieties including Emerald and Aquamarine.

Crystal gazing was commonly practised by the people of Yucatan, the Persians, the Egyptians, the Chinese, and the Incas, to name but a few.

The mythical Merlin supposedly carried a beryl sphere to provide King Arthur with readings whenever he needed them.

Crystal gazing, crystal seeing, crystallism, crystallomancy, gastromancy, and spheromancy are all terms to describe the method of ‘seeing’ by gazing at a crystal, which is a form of Scrying.

As well as being popular in the Middle Ages, and made more visible by travelling Roma, the Crystal Ball became a favourite of stage magicians and ‘Mentalists’ in the early 20th Century.

The Crystal Ball is iconic and has appeared in books and films - off the top of my head I can think of Labyrinth, The Lord of the Rings, and the Wizard of Oz. The Crystal ball has also featured in artwork; most notably The Crystal Ball (1902) by John William Waterhouse.

Do you have a Crystal Ball? Give me your favourite Crystal Ball films and books n the comments. 

NEXT - Fabulous Folklore: Witch Balls

NEXT - Fabulous Folklore: Norse Magick

Malachite Magick: Protection Against the Evil Eye

Malachite ~ from the Greek ‘malache’, meaning ‘mallow’ ~ is the Stone of Transformation.

Found worldwide, it was popular with the ancient Egyptians, Greeks, and Romans, and was believed to protect against the Evil Eye. In ancient Egypt the colour green was associated with death and resurrection, as well as life and fertility, and they referred to the eternal paradise in the After Life as the Field of Malachite.

It was used as a mineral pigment in green paint from antiquity until about 1800, and a 17th Century Spanish superstition believed that wearing Malachite to bed would keep evil spirits at bay and help a child to sleep.

Malachite is a protection stone - it absorbs negative energies from the atmosphere, and protects against negative entities by concealing your energy field from them.

It helps beat depression and anxiety, heals childhood trauma, and helps heal the heart on an emotional level. It encourages expression of feelings, and balances the heart chakra. It helps activate other chakras and promotes change and spiritual growth.

Placed on the Third Eye it activates visualisation and psychic vision. Placed on the Solar Plexus it facilitates deep emotional healing; releasing old traumas and negative experiences. It lowers blood pressure, regulates the menstrual cycle, and eases labour pains and menstrual cramps.

Simple Magick: 45 Colour Correspondences for Crystals

Crystals, crystal healing, and using crystals in magic, can be an extremely daunting subject. Whilst there are four types of crystal ~ covalent, ionic, metallic, and molecular ~ these are further split into other categories depending on how they were formed, how they look, number of points etc, making crystals a huge subject to learn. Where to start?

Judging crystals purely on their colour is it going to give you the specifics of each stone, but it can be a good way to get a feel for the energy of a crystal (each colour having a vibration), and what that crystal might be used for. Using crystals by colour is a good way to at least get started, and colour symbolism of crystals can be loosely correlated to the colours of the 7 chakras. Crystal colour meanings also correspond generally with society’s general association with colour. For example, white representing peace.

These correspondences are by no means set in stone (excusing the pun!) but may aid you when first starting out, or for ritual or spell work.

Red:
Action, passion, power, strength, motivation.

Pink:
Self-love, compassion, love, openness, kindness, healing, forgiveness.

Orange:
Creativity, change, success, enthusiasm.

Yellow:

Self-expression, confidence, willpower, optimism, positivity.

Green:
Abundance, nature, growth, wealth, prosperity, money.

Blue:
Soothing, calming, communication, clarity.

Purple:
Spirituality, intuition, opening third eye, enlightenment.

White:

Purity, peace, serenity, meditation, energy clearing, boosting other crystals.

Black:

Banishing negativity, security, safety, dispelling fears.

Recipe: Beltane Carrot Cake

Each Sabbat I like to cook something special or seasonal. For Beltane I made a Carrot Cake. It actually took me all day to make this, as I kept getting distracted, but I got there in the end, and it was well worth it.

I’m going to give you the original recipe, but obviously you can swap certain ingredients out to cater for Gluten-free or vegan diets.

BELTANE CARROT CAKE

Ingredients:
235ml oil
100g natural yoghurt
4 large eggs
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 orange zested
265g self-raising flour
335g muscavado sugar
2 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
265g grated carrot
100g raisins
100g walnuts roughly chopped
100g unsalted butter
300g icing sugar
100g full fat cream cheese

Method:
1. Line two 20cm cake tins. Heat the oven.
2. Whisk the oil, eggs, yoghurt, vanilla, and zest together in a jug.
3. Mix the flour, sugar, nutmeg, and cinnamon in a bowl.
4. Add the wet ingredients to the bowl.
5. Add in the carrots, raisins, and half the nuts.
6. Split into two tins and bake.
7. When the cakes have cooled and are ready to ice - beat the sugar and butter together. Work the cream cheese into the mixture but by bit. Ice the cake and sprinkle on the nuts. 

NEXT - Recipe: Wren's Autumn Apple Cake
NEXT - Pagan Holidays: Beltane
NEXT - Review: Witchology Magazine (Spring 2022)

Moon Magick: Full Super Moon in Scorpio

“Everybody has a little bit of the Sun and Moon in them. Everybody has a little bit of man, woman, and animal in them. Darks and lights in them. Everyone is part of a connected cosmic system. Part earth and sea, wind and fire, with some salt and dust swimming in them. We have a universe within ourselves that mimics the universe outside. None of us are just black or white, or never wrong and always right. No one. No one exists without polarities. Everybody has good and bad forces working with them, against them, and within them.”

~ Part Sun and Moon by Suzy Kassem.

Enjoy the energies of the last Supermoon of the year everyone! This powerful Full ‘Flower’ Moon is in Scorpio, at 1135hrs today for those of us in the U.K.

Arguably this is the most intense Full Moon of the year; Scorpio is the sign that deals with all the deep stuff - intimate connections, deep emotions, and mysticism. Of course it’s also a time for letting go of things that don’t serve you; and for making intentions. Be patient with yourself, and honour whatever emotions you are feeling right now.

Full Moon blessings everyone.

NEXT - Moon Magick: The Snow Moon

Natural Remedies: Stinging Nettle & Rosemary Hair Rinse

Nettle is rich in many nutrients and antioxidants, making it a great plant ally. It is rich in silica and sulphur making hair shinier, thicker, and healthier. Nettle boosts the circulation, which means that more oxygen - and therefore nutrients - will reach the hair follicles. Nettle contains super antioxidants that help get rid of damaging compounds, and inhibit the formation of dihydrotestosterone (DHT), an androgen (type of hormone), that causes baldness in both men and women.

Rosemary is believed to prevent DHT from bonding to hormone receptors that enable the hair follicles to be attacked, and it contains ursolic acid which increases (scalp) circulation. It’s unsurprising, therefore, that hair re-growth has been observed in trials using Rosemary oil. It’s antibacterial properties gently cleanse the hair and increase shine. Working together, Nettle and Rosemary do amazing things for the hair.

This recipe has been in my Book of Shadows for over 20 years now. It seems a bit odd rinsing your hair after washing it with what is basically tea(!), but it will add body and shine to your hair.

Step 1 - Add a handful or two of Nettles, and a handful of Rosemary sprigs, to a heat-proof bowl. Add 1L of boiling water and leave over night to steep.

Step 2 - Strain. At this stage you could add 50ml raw apple cider vinegar if you wanted, but I don’t bother.

Step 3 - After shampooing rinse your hair with this mixture, no need to wash out. Use all in one go, this mix isn’t for storing.

CAUTION: this beautiful reddish-brown mixture will stain ceramic bathroom ware, so please be careful. Rosemary can darken blond hair over time; so if you’re blonde - and enjoy being so! - you might want to avoid frequent use. 

NEXT - Natural Remedies: Lavender Oil
NEXT - Rosemary Magick: 17 Uses & Correspondences
NEXT - Personal Magick: My Kitchen Apothecary

Natural Remedies: Lavender Oil

On Beltane Eve I completed the first step in making Lavender Salve. I’ve shared the recipe for Lavender Salve before, but I didn’t go into much detail in making the oil. This is really easy, with only a few steps to follow.

Step 1 - add your plant or herb (eg. Dandelion or Lavender) to a canning jar, halfway. It’s really important that your ingredients are bone dry, therefore no moisture in the jar, as this can lead to mould.

Step 2 - cover with carrier oil, cap, and leave in a place out of direct sunlight for at least 10 days, but up to 4-6 weeks if you can. You can use any type of oil, but olive oil is safe on the skin and great for infusing.

Step 3 - strain into a clear jar using a strainer or cheesecloth. In a cool, dark, place your oil should keep for up to a year, but you may wish to use it immediately if part of a recipe for body products or cosmetics.

You can repeat the process if you want to make the oil stronger; simply strain and add to a new batch of dried plants. You can add a few drops of Vitamin E oil at the end of infusing to extend the shelf life. 

NEXT - Natural Remedies: Lavender Salve
NEXT - Chamomile Magick: 9 Protective Correspondences
NEXT - Natural Remedies: 15 Ways to Use Dried Lavender

Personal Magick: My Kitchen Apothecary

The word ‘apothecary’ is derived from the word ‘apotheca’ meaning a place where wine, spices, and herbs were stored.

My apothecary is mounted on our kitchen wall, and we have another unit coming soon for our (separate) cooking spices. Witching overtakes cooking in this household! Anyone that knows me will also know how much love and intent went into making the labels (I love organising!), a kind of ritual in itself.

I use my herbs for a variety of uses and now they’re close at hand it makes life a lot easier. I’m looking forward to sharing some herbal recipes and information with you this week.

I was going to ask what your favourite herb, but instead I ask: what herb do you use the most?

NEXT - Personal Magick: My Beltane Handfasting
NEXT - Rosemary Magick: 17 Uses & Correspondences
NEXT - Review: Aromafume Incense Brick Burner 

Pagan Holidays: Beltane

Happy Beltane everyone! And a very Happy Anniversary to my husband. Four years ago today we were handfasted at Avebury Stone Circle by Druid, beside rock, under a huge sky.

Beltane, opposite Samhain on the Wheel of the Year, honours life.

It is the peak of Spring and Summer is close by, or has just started if your local Hawthorn has flowered!

Just as you might expect to connect with spirits at Samhain, the Faeries are close by at Beltane. The veil is thin once more, and earth energies are at their strongest. It is a time of joy, abundance, fertility, and celebration. Of growth, creativity, and expansion.

Today I raise my cup to you - all of you - and wish you a very merry, beautiful, and abundant Beltane. And to those in the Southern Hemisphere, have a wonderful Samhain also. Blessed be. 

NEXT - Personal Magick: My Beltane Handfasting 
NEXT - Personal Magick: Our Handfasting Besom 
NEXT - Fabulous Folklore: Midland Hawthorn