Lughnasadh Blessings: Welcoming the Harvest

Wishing you all a beautiful Lughnasadh tomorrow, however you may celebrate it.

I find this Sabbat incredibly bittersweet. We are well beyond the Summer Solstice now and we are heading towards the darker part of the year. I’m not looking forward to the damp and cold, which start in September in our old stone house. It means there are only two seasons here; winter and summer, and summer has (nearly) gone all too quickly. I’m actually quite nervous of what’s to come as last winter was so difficult.

What are you doing to celebrate this turn of the Wheel?

What is the harvest you gather this year?

I am proud of my ability to keep going, even though this year has been very challenging and the challenges are not over yet. 

However you celebrate I hope it’s a good one. Love and blessings,

Wren. X

NEXT - Journaling: Harvest Reflections for Lughnasadh

NEXT - Pagan Holidays: Lughnasadh

Fabulous Folklore: The Major Oak

The Major Oak in Sherwood Forest, Nottinghamshire, is one of our oldest trees.

It stands near the village of Edwinstowe and has been present during the age of the Vikings, the Battle of Hastings and over 50 monarchs, which is just incredible.

It is propped up by girders and planks, which sparked an interesting conversation between me and my friend: should this incredible tree be supported in this way, or should we let nature take its course?

What do you think?

Have you been to see the Major Oak? Maybe you have made friends with another very old tree? I’d love to hear your tree stories!

NEXT - Fabulous Folklore: Wing Maze
NEXT - Fabulous Folklore: Yew
NEXT - Fabulous Folklore: Rats Castle
NEXT - Fabulous Folklore: The Broadbean

Fabulous Folklore: Foxgloves

I absolutely ADORE foxgloves (Digitalis purpurea), especially when I see them in the wild. They are one of those really fascinating plants with lots of interesting folklore.

One of the best things about foxgloves is the HUGE amount of local and regional names given to them. In this way they remind me of another magickal thing: wood lice ~ aka cheesy bugs / chiggy wig / granther giggles / grammer zow!

Foxgloves are also known as goblin gloves, witches’ gloves, dead men’s bells, fox fingers, flopdock, cowflop, bunny rabbits, fairy petticoats and fairyweed. 

Have you heard of these names? In what country and region are you in? What do YOU call them?

NEXT - Fabulous Folklore: The Tulip Piskies
NEXT - A History: Midsummer Day (24th June)
NEXT - Natural Remedies: 6 Ways With Lavender Essential Oil
NEXT - Simple Magick: Power Flow for August

Fabulous Folklore: The Broadbean

Cultivated in the Middle East for over 8000 years and grown in gardens since about 1200, the broad bean or fava bean (now we’re all thinking of THAT film) are grown abundantly in my part of the Midlands.

They are a species of vetch and have the most beautiful, delicate, sweet scent that carries on the wind. There is nothing like it, although the scent of the lilac comes close. It’s no surprise that their scent is considered an aphrodisiac, it is simply beautiful.

Whilst not particularly tasty (not to me, anyway!) they are high in L-dopa, which the body converts to dopamine.

They have a lot of folklore and superstition surrounding them. They often appeared in old wortcunning recipes and spells to cure warts. Usually this involved rubbing the inside of the broadbean pod on skin, and throwing it over a shoulder or burying it. Preferably by moonlight. The belief was that by the time the pod was rotted the wart would be gone.

It is believed that the beans in Jack & The Beanstalk were fava beans. Jack, a poor Cornish country boy, trades the family cow for some magic beans which, when planted, grow into an enormous beanstalk ladder that reaches into the sky. Jack climbs the ladder to find himself in front of a giant. I sometimes wonder if the feel-good dopamine is reflected in this story by the magical appearance of the beans and the beautiful ladder reaching up into the heavens.

NEXT - Fabulous Folklore: Wolfsbane
NEXT - Winter Aconite Magick: Herbal Lore
NEXT - Sticky Willy Magick: An Abundance of Folk Names

Simple Magick: Birthday Cake Candles

Birthday cake candles! One of the best magickal tools around (imho).

They are:

Small

Perfect for spells, they’re quick to burn down. This means you’re not waiting around for ages to see your spell through to completion. Great for magick in a hurry/emergency.

Cheap

Much cheaper than dedicated spell candles. Some say they haven’t been made with magick in mind, but I disagree - what else is a birthday wish?! Can you truly say those mass-produced spell candles are?

Accessible

Find them at the supermarket. Easy and convenient. Say no more!

Colourful

You can find every colour online. Black, metallics, and even brown if you look hard enough.

Under the Radar

Kept in the kitchen drawer, the witch still firmly in the broom cupboard will remain there.

Versatile

The perfect tool for numerology spells (use as many as you need), to create a sigil, and in spells associated with to happiness and innocence, to name but a few.

Do you use birthday cake candles? I’d love to hear!

NEXT - Simple Magick: Candle Replacements
NEXT - Simple Magick: Birthday Rituals
NEXT - Simple Magick: Kitchen Candle Magick