Word Magick: Courage - What Does it Mean?

Today’s topic is “courage”, which is defined as “the quality of mind or spirit that enables a person to face difficulty, danger, pain etc. without fear; bravery.”

But what else is courage? I spent some time thinking about this in relation to my life and craft.

I decided that, for me, courage is:

Being your authentic self.

Acting in accordance with your beliefs, especially in the face of criticism.

Being honest with yourself, and others.

Stepping out of your comfort zone; trying new things without fear of failure.

Commitment to the development of oneself; undertaking Shadow Work.

Dedication to your path.

Having integrity.

Knowing and accepting there aren’t enough lifetimes to learn all is there is to know, and being ok with that.

Loving, honouring, and respecting yourself, the way we do others.

What do you think courage is?

Magickal Correspondences for Courage

Herbs: 

Borage, Rosemary, yarrow

Crystals:
Carnelian, bloodstone, aquamarine

Colours:
Red, dark red

Flowers:
Edelweiss, protea, thyme

Deities:
Athena (Greek), Bellona (Roman), Inanna (Sumerian)

Animals:

Buffalo, lion, wolf.

NEXT - Word Magick: As Above So Below
NEXT - Simple Magick: 45 Colour Correspondences For Crystals 

Simple Magick: The Wisdom of Land Wights

Today I wanted to talk about finding and identifying herbs and plants, and gaining other local wisdom, in relation to land wights.

Land wights are the unique spirits that reside in each herb, plant, rock, crystal, mineral, animal, and stone. Collectively, they form the genius loci; the living, breathing, spirit of a place.

I moved to this area a year and a half ago, and felt instantly connected from Day 1, despite growing up several hours away. A recent genealogical DNA test has revealed that despite no family living here, my ancestors originate from here. Now here’s where it gets interesting.

Since moving here, I am being imparted with wisdom. Whilst I am fascinated by foraging and herbalism, I am by no means an expert. Weirdly, when I am travelling through the countryside I am being magnetically pulled to certain plants, which I am intuitively identifying. When I get home and research I find out I‘m correct! This has happened twice in the last week alone. I am also getting ‘the feels’ that a particular herb or plant is nearby, and sure enough it is. Last week we came across a small body of water which I was ‘told’, by some inner knowing, was a Canal. My husband who grew up here insisted it wasn’t, but my research revealed that this stretch of water was the last part of a Canal that was built in 1802, and has since been filled in except for the part we had found.

I feel like the land, and the spirits that reside within the land, are revealing themselves to me, furthering my education. It is a truly magical feeling.

Is this wisdom coming from the land wights? I know I am totally honoured if that’s the case, but it does feel that way.

Have you ever felt instantly connected to a place? Did it reveal its secrets to you? Have you experienced what I am?

NEXT - Simple Magick: Cleansing The Home Using The Element of Air 

Fabulous Folklore: Meadowsweet

A couple of days ago I shared a meadowsweet foot soak, and promised to write more about this ultimate self-care herb.

Known as the Queen of the Meadow, Brideswort, and Meadwort, its name refers to its favourite place and most obvious characteristic.

It is a plant high in aromatic oils, and the flower heads were strewn on the floors of churches and houses before proper floors; such is its sweetness. Culpepper tells us that meadowsweet “makes a merry heart”, and so it does, such is the beauty of its scent. Whilst a favourite of the Druids, old folklore insists that bringing meadowsweet into the house also brings death.

As well as glorious foot soaks and mentally uplifting aromas, meadowsweet is rich in iron and magnesium, essential for the production of red blood cells; so a daily meadowsweet-infused water is perfect for women who are anaemic due to childbirth or menstruation. It also makes a lovely tea.

It is said that many witches will dry the flowers in the garden shed, but will not be tempted to bring a living spray into the house, in case it puts one into a death-like sleep.

I think she is beautiful. I’ll take my chances. 

NEXT - Fabulous Folklore: Bittersweet

NEXT - Natural Remedies: Meadowsweet Foot Soak

Natural Remedies: Meadowsweet Foot Soak

Meadowsweet (Filipendula ulmaria), also known as Meadwort, hars been used for its medicinal purposes since the Bronze Age.

Today, its job was to soothe my tired, aching feet, and lend some comfort to my frazzled nerves ahead of a busy week.

I’m going to share a bit more about Meadowsweet over the coming days, including a photograph of this wonder herb, but today I want to share with you my recipe for a foot bath.

Fresh Meadowsweet Foot Soak:

Take ten heads of Meadowsweet and place in a large pan. 

Cover with 1.5L of water.

Bring to a boil, then leave to steep for 15 minutes.

Strain into a basin. Add some cool water if needed.

Soak your feet, and relax!

Whilst this recipe is simple, it is super-refreshing, and my feet always feel like new afterwards. They are soothed, softened, and moisturised. The fragrance and time out has made me ready, mentally, for the week ahead.

Do exercise some caution as the Meadowsweet stains some materials yellow. 

NEXT - Natural Remedies: Stinging Nettle & Rosemary Hair Rinse
NEXT - Fabulous Folklore: Meadowsweet
NEXT - Simple Magick: The Wisdom of Land Wights

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

Personal Magick: My Beltane Handfasting

This photograph of my handfasting at Beltane 2016 is one of my favourite pictures. It’s a good depiction of who we are, both individually and as a couple. We are both witches - the other person is who we have chosen to be with, this is how we live our lives, this is how we worship, this is how we observe and celebrate the milestones in our life.

It made perfect sense to be handfasted at Beltane; as we celebrated the union of the Goddess and Green Man, the coming together of male and female energies, we also came together as Man and Wife. We were lucky to be handfasted at our beloved Avebury Stone Circle by the Archdruid and Keeper of the Stones, Terry Dobney, who also happens to be our dear friend. Here he is offering us the apple in our ceremony.

Beltane is a special time when the veil is thin again. It is a time of celebration, of merriment, of festivity, of joy, of abundance, of fertility, of making love in the fields, enjoying your sexuality and sensuality openly, and of embracing your masculinity or femininity. It’s a time to recognise and remember that our connection to nature is absolutely vital.

Samhain is the beginning of Winter; and opposite on the Wheel, Beltane is the beginning of Summer - the days are longer, the Sun is warm, the land is blooming. And so are we.

What is your favourite festival and why? Have you ever been to a handfasting? What are you doing for Beltane? 

NEXT - Beltane Preparations: Preparing for Summer
NEXT - Personal Magick: Our Handfasting Besom
NEXT - Dear Terry: Until We Meet Again
NEXT - Fabulous Folklore: The Ring Stone at Avebury

Beltane Preparations: Preparing for Summer

The days leading up to Beltane are my favourite. As you can see from the colour of my stone walls, the Sun is now warm again; the balance has been tipped, the days now longer than the nights.

I now have energy to spare! The warmth of the Sun does wonders for me, and I usually spend this special time making preparations. We usually go away for Beltane, back home to Hampshire to celebrate with friends, but due to Coronavirus, this year will be different.

My preparations usually involve Spring cleaning, potting-up Summer bedding plants, sorting and tidying our home, visiting the local Sheela-na-Gig, and getting ready to travel down South.

This year we will have a local walk, a foraged meal, and a fire at home.

Beltane Preparations & Celebrations:

Decorate your altar
Make a flower crown
Dance the Maypole
Visit sacred wells and springs
Find wild spaces to connect with the Fae
Hang ribbons in trees
Spend time with hawthorn

NEXT - Pagan Holidays: Beltane 
NEXT - Autumn Equinox Blessings! 
NEXT - Recipe: Beltane Carrot Cake 

Flower Magick: 52 Floral Magickal Correspondences

For hundreds of years flowers have been used in magic. Now that Spring is here (at least in the UK!) many flowers are blooming, or are about to bloom.

You can mix up flowers and create a magical combination, depending on your purpose and intent. Here are some flower magic correspondences.

Magickal Correspondences for Flowers

Apple Blossom:
Associated with immortality.

Crocus:
New love, good for enhancing visions and intuitive dreaming.

Lesser Celandine:
Psychic ability. Associated with the Sun, Artemis and Scorpio.

Daffodil:
Strong connection to love. Associated with fertility, luck, and abundance. Also connected to Hades and death.

Hellebore:
For spells/rituals for healing mental or emotional issues. Banishing, exorcisms. For intelligence, protection, and invisibility spells.

Dandelion:
Positive change, divination, drawing good energy in.

Hyacinth:
Abundance, luxury, attracting gifts, charm, irresistibility, glamour, influence, granting wishes, and chasing away bad dreams.

Lilac:
Flirtation, new love, short-term attractions. Banishing, getting rid of negative energies. For jump-starting your life or a project.

Pansy:
Attract new love, and strengthen and deepen existing love. Aids focus, helps you find direction. Use it in rain spells. Rebirth, love, divination, curses.

Tulip:
Prosperity, offers flexibility by using in colour magic. 

NEXT - Imbolc Magick: 40 Correspondences 

NEXT - Pagan Holidays: Imbolc 

NEXT - Flower Magick: Using Flowers in Cooking

Tarot Method: Unblocking with Chase The Ace

Today I’m sharing my ‘Chase the Ace’ method. You can use this with any of the four suits to represent something in your life; to see where blockages or issues lie, and to see how to move forwards.

For example, I use the Ace of Swords to represent what may be causing me conflict in life. The card below the Ace is what’s causing the issue, the card above the Ace is how to move forwards.

The Ace of Swords could also represent communication - the card below the Ace to represent what’s impeding communication, and the card above the Ace to represent how one could communicate better. Or clarity; what’s obscuring one’s vision, and how to see more clearly. And so on.

Swords:
Action, movement, mental matters, spiritual matters, communication, issues, conflict, clarity, struggle.

Pentacles:
Money matters, the material or external world, career or work concerns, health, physical matters, manifestation, proof, prosperity.

Wands:
Ideas, growth, ambition, expansion, passion.

Cups:
Emotions, family matters, creativity, love, connections, intuition, healing, desires, experience, Spirit.

You could go a step further and use each suit as a Season; using the card below the Ace to represent things to watch out for, and the card above the Ace as positive things that will happen within that period.

Please have a go! And let me know below what Ace you used, and how it went. 

NEXT - Simple Magick: Storing Tarot Decks
NEXT - Simple Magick: The Pendulum
NEXT - Simple Magick: 10 Easy Witchy Self-Care Tips  NEXT - Word Magick: Defining The Words Witch & Witchcraft

Simple Magick: Using Water & Rainwater

In many Pagan traditions ~ as in other religions ~ water is considered holy and sacred.

Rain is cleansing and purifying, and readily available ~ especially in England! ~ making it perfect for rituals and spells. Rainwater can be enhanced by being left to charge under a Full Moon.

Different rains will bring different energies to your spell; rain from a warm summer rain may bring peace and tranquility, whereas rain from a thunderous storm may be used far more forcefully.

Rainwater Spell

Fill a bowl with rainwater. On a small piece of paper write down a bad habit you wish to be rid of, or something you’d like to let go of, in chalk. Immerse the paper in the water and imagine the bad habit washing away.

Alternatively, you can take the spell outside - and allow the rain to lash down upon you, washing the words away from the piece of paper.

NEXT - Simple Magick: Casting A Circle

Rose Quartz Magick: 8 Ways to Use the Stone of Unconditional Love

Rose Quartz is the stone of unconditional, and universal, love. It is one of the most important stones for heart healing, and heart chakra work. It opens the heart to all sorts of love, and in doing so it allows healing of the heart; and diseases related to the withholding of negative emotions.

It fosters empathy, forgiveness of others, and aids reconciliation. It is an excellent aid in healing trauma. It has high energy, but is calming and soothing. In many ancient cultures it was considered a powerful tool to help prevent ageing.

Feng Shui has some of the biggest collections of Rose Quartz in the form of wealth pots, mandarin ducks, and hearts. It is considered an ideal wedding gift or a fifth wedding anniversary gift. It is one of the birthstones for Taurus.

Using Rose Quartz: 
Place by your bedside to attract new love.

Hold whilst using a daily mantra - I like “I am enough, I have enough, I do enough.”

Wear Rose Quartz to help mend a broken heart.

Place by your hospital or sick bed to aid recovery.

Put under your pillow to open your heart.

Place over your heart and close your eyes. Breathe. Know in your heart and soul you are loved. Repeat nightly.

Use or wear Rose Quartz to lower stress and tension, and to clear out negativity and anger.

Add to the relationship area of the home to strengthen and add trust to an established relationship.

Simple Magick: Casting A Circle

Casting a circle is personal preference. Many witches choose not to cast a ritual circle, believing that it is entirely possible to work magic without one. Many Wiccans do cast circles for most types of magic.

Of course it’s not necessary to cast a circle to experience divine presence, and when you do cast circles what you choose to cast it with is a personal choice. Some use a wand, some use an athame; others choose something different altogether, such as a finger or crystal. It is said that the teacher and activist Starhawk uses a pen.

Wicca & Witchcraft for Dummies sets out some of the many benefits of casting a ritual circle:
The circle keeps in the personal power for the ritual. This is the reason Wiccans usually cast a circle for a ritual or to work magic.

The circle keeps out distracting, negative or unwanted energy.

The circle casting helps prepare a person psychologically for a spiritual experience.

The circle is a safe, consecrated place to enter a light trance and engage the unconscious mind.

NEXT - Simple Magick: Kitchen Candle Magick

Flower Magick: Using Flowers in Cooking

Today I took inspiration from Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall’s River Cottage Cookbook. He talks about flowers and how they can be used in cooking to flavour, colour, and garnish. Broom Buds, Elderflowers, Crab Apple Blossom, Primrose and Wild Roses can all be used to create culinary delights, and of course each flower comes with its own magical properties, too.

I decorated these vegan muffins with icing flavoured and coloured with rose petals, and sprinkled a few on top to decorate.

Roses are used to enhance female intuition since the Rose is closely associated with with female, or ‘Yin’, energy. Roses attract love, health, and good luck; and enhance self-acceptance and self-esteem. They protect, and relieve personal tensions and conflict.

To create Rose water for your recipes and potions add some edible rose petals to a bowl, pour on boiling water, and leave to steep. 

NEXT - Rhododendron Magick: 13 Beautiful Correspondences
NEXT: Rose Magick: Correspondences
NEXT - Fabulous Folklore: Spring Blossom

Simple Magick: Kitchen Candle Magick

For me, ritual and magic extend from the altar and into the kitchen. Recipes are a ritual of sorts; they are a set of tasks or actions performed to a prescribed order.

I have a kitchen journal which is much like my Book of Shadows; it is a collection of recipes, things that I’ve tried, scribbled notes, successes, failures, and all sorts of experiments. It has been with me since I left home, and some of the recipes ~ such as Lammas Loaf and Beltane Oat Cakes ~ appear in both books.

I am a food lover and there is a spiritual and energetic aspect to food; the way it is prepared, how it is shared, what it may represent, its vibration, and the fact that we take it into our bodies.

There are several rituals I like to carry out when I am cooking, cleaning, and even turning the light out at the end of the day. I especially like a candle ritual focusing on the use of a candle as a symbol of spirit, which I light while I am cooking, which can be found in The House Witch (p.232) by Arin Murphy-Hiscock:

Sacred flame,
Burn brightly in my heart,
I light this flame in recognition of your sanctity.
Bless me, sacred flame,
With your light.

NEXT - Simple Magick: Divination & The Clairsenses

Review: Traditional Jams & Preserves by Eve Parker

At this time of year ~ when I am waking up and coming out of hibernation! ~ I start to think about the gifts of Mother Nature throughout the year, which ones I will use, and what I will do with them.

Elderflowers, Elderberries, Blackberries, Ramsons, Rosehips, Nettles, Apples, Chestnuts, Cherries - so many lovely things!

I love this simple book; it is full of tasty recipes for Jams, Conserves, Chutneys and Butters.

Apple & Elderflower Jam

Ingredients:
1kg Cooking Apples
500g Elderflower heads
400ml water
500g preserving sugar

Method:
Rinse the Elderflowers, shake dry. Pull the flowers from the stalks and tie in a square of muslin.
Placed the peeled, cored, diced apples into the pan with the Elderflower bag.
Add water, bring to a simmer. Cool for 20 minutes, or until the Apple is pulped.
Add sugar and stir until dissolved. Bring to the boil and cook for 20 minutes, making sure the jam is bubbling on the surface, stirring occasionally to stop it sticking to the pan.

Test for set. When ready pour into sterilised jars, add wax disc, and screw lids on tightly. Leave to cool.

NEXT - Review: The House Witchy by Arin Murphy-Hiscock

Tarot Method: Storing Tarot Decks in Drawstring Bags

“The desire to create is one of the deepest yearnings of the human soul” ~ Dieter F. Uchtdorf

Though Craft Week at @witch.with.me is coming to a close, I wanted to share these bags I made for my Tarot cards.

A lot of Tarot decks come in really big boxes and I was running out of space. Now my cards take up less space and they’re portable - they’re handbag ready.

I’ve tried many crafts over the years and they all have one thing in common: their therapeutic effect. I love the meditative process of crafting.

NEXT - Tarot Books: Sunday Witchstack
NEXT - Simple Magick: Offerings - What Are They? 
NEXT - Simple Magick: Disposing Spell Remains