July 31st, 2015

I'm so excited - this weekend is Fairy Fest! And, as if that weren't enough, Destiny is coming over tonight to stay the weekend, and it's a Blue Moon Esbat! So much going on; I love it. I've gotten to start some crystal research, too, which is good since I'm sure I'll get lots more little beauties this weekend.

Blue Calcite

Physical Characteristics: Generally opaque and with a texture describable as "soapy" or "waxy", Calcite is white or clear in its pure form, while the presence of other minerals can turn it grey, red, orange, yellow, green, blue, violet, and even black.

In Nature: Calcite is a carbonate mineral, and is common in sedimentary rocks like Limestone. It is often the primary constituent of the shells of marine organisms (e.g. plankton and bivalves) and the hard parts of red algae and sponges.

Chemical Composition: CaCO3

Mohs Scale Hardness: 3 (low)

Can be Found: Worldwide, including Mexico, Africa, and North America

Healing Properties*: This stone helps one get the rest one needs, especially when recuperating from a period of illness. It is a good choice for long distance healing work. Use it to strengthen the bones and joints, or to heal complaints of the throat and head. Paired with a blue or purple candle, its healing properties are especially strong.

Magickal Properties: Blue Calcite soothes anxiety and calms its bearer. It is a great facilitator of communication, particularly when people hold opposing points of view. It encourages people to speak honestly and to reconcile their differences. 

It is also a powerful psychic stone which can be used to enhance astral travel, channeling, and dream recall. Activating intuition, it can likewise improve one's experiences with meditation. The stone draws upon both its psychic and communicative properties by strengthening telepathic and thought-transference skills. 

Additionally, it can be used as a purifier, clearing the energy of a person, room, etcetera.

Chakra Association: Fifth (Throat) and Sixth (Third Eye) chakras

Element: Water

Energy: Receptive

Planetary Association: Venus

*Magickal healing should never take the place of seeing a doctor and following any recommended prescriptions, actions, or other advice. Magick works best in tandem with physical efforts, anyway, so don't skimp on those check-ups!

July 27th, 2015

I finished my cross stitch last night, and just got it all ironed!

The design was already pre-printed, and all I did was come in and add the glittery embellishment stitching, but it was still a pretty involved project, and I'm happy with how it came out. I will need to get a frame for it eventually, but right now I may just set it on my altar, so as to honor Lugh the Master Craftsman.

Just a little bit of mystical artwork for you all this afternoon.

Also: Wow! Hello to all my readers! I haven't had this many page-views since December of 2012, so I'm not sure what's up with that, but it's great to have you all, and I hope you're enjoying my blog.

O hí Lughnasadh

I haven't done an actual Lughnasadh ritual in at least four years because I'm always spending the weekend at Fairy Fest. This year, however, with Destiny coming over, we're planning to do something in the evening. As such, I figured I ought to get my altar set up ahead of time.

I rather like this design. I might edit it a little still before next week, but I think I've got a nice, solid foundation.

On the left, I have my chalice, gourds, (plastic) grapes, a cup and saucer for water, salt, and a pair of dried corn cobs.  I also have a "corn dolly" goddess figure (actually made out of taffeta) which I put together several years ago. 

In the center, I've my elemental candles all sitting around the direction plate I got at the auction last month. In the center is the tea light from Rebekka, as well as a tiny incense holder and my new Selenite wands. 

Over on the right side of the altar, there's a god figure to match the goddess one, as well as my wand, athame, and a feather. There are more gourds and grapes, and I filled my cauldron with some festive potpourri I found. A seasonal fairy hangs in the back, and up front sit pieces of Orange Calcite, Citrine, and a crystal which I've finally identified as Aragonite. 

All of this is sitting on an orange tablecloth with a smaller green swatch in the center. The orange is one which I've generally reserved for Samhain in the past, but I decided that I might as well use it since I likely won't even be here for Samhain, and I wanted some more color. The green is actually a piece I got in Japan during a high school calligraphy class. Hidden under my elemental items is the Japanese kanji for "festival"; it's really just as well that it's hidden, because I didn't do the neatest job of writing it. C'est la vie.

Still not entirely sure what our ritual is going to consist of - I'll continue researching that this evening - but I'm excited!

July 23rd, 2015

Oh my goodness, the crystals I ordered arrived today, and I am in love!

Rebekka's products always come very well-packaged, as you can see. The items also come with labels, so there's no confusion about what is what.

This was one of her $10 "Mystery Boxes" (contents reflected by the price), and it's like Yuletide in July! For starters, she threw in a little white tea light, which are always useful to have around for spells and rituals, and then there were the crystals themselves.

Here, a glittering chunk of Black Tourmaline.

Next, seven lovely Amethyst points - maybe now I can look into some crystal grids for dealing with anxiety!

Then, two Selenite wands - I might use one of these next Esbat!

And finally, the pièce de résistance: a palm-sized chunk of Blue Calcite. This is my new baby. It's so beautiful, and the vibration it exudes is astonishing. Expect a post regarding its properties soon. In the meantime, see the following posts on Black Tourmaline, Amethyst, and Selenite for further information.

Please do consider supporting Rebekka's business. Her store can be found here on Etsy, and truly is a quality establishment. I don't believe she has any additional mystery boxes on sale at the moment, but she always has stunning handmade crystal jewelry at very reasonable prices. I know I plan to be buying from her again!

EDIT: Rebekka's store has moved - she now has her own website! Check out her work here.

July 22nd, 2015

I had such a productive day today! I found some shell shards while cleaning the other day, so I set them outside with some bread and honey as an offering (and a thank you for keeping me safe from wild drivers yesterday!).

I also got a lot done on my unicorn and fairy cross stitch, and then Destiny came over after dinner. She's going to go to Fairy Fest with me! Whoo hoo!

July 18th, 2015

I finished reading one of my books from the thrift store today, collected some herbs from our garden, and cleaned out the big, previously very messy, space under my bed. In other words, it's been a productive Saturday, in spite of the brutal heat, humidity, and occasional torrential downpour.

Title: Power of the Witch: the Earth, the Moon, and the Magical Path to Enlightenment

Author: Laurie Cabot

©1989

Laurie Cabot is one of the closest things American witchcraft has to a celebrity. She is Salem's official witch, and has appeared on multiple television shows as a result of this fact. She is also known for always wearing robes and a pentacle in public. As a result of her national presence, her book was naturally quite successful when it was published.

My feelings on it are mixed. On the one hand, it was popular in its time, which means it influenced development of the Craft and as such is important for putting our community's emergence into a historical context. On the other hand, it is now two-and-a-half decades out of date, and definitely reads as such.

There were two major problems I had with this text: first, the language is extremely rooted in the gender binary. The phrases "men and women", "opposite gender", etc. both appear frequently, as does the assumption that only people who identify as female experience menstruation and related bodily functions. While I recognize that even today this is a common mistake made by plenty of people, I could see it being potentially very triggering for people who are transgender, nonbinary, or etc. She does clarify later that absolute male and female are only theoretical extremes on the ends of a spectrum, but that doesn't make up for the rest of the exclusionary language. Also, and this may be due to the age of the book and changes in terminology since then, but I'm reasonably sure that she equated being bisexual with being bigender, which is obviously incorrect.

The other thing I took particular issue with was more of a community problem. Cabot uses "witch" and "Wiccan" interchangeably, even though the two are fundamentally different concepts. Also, while she does use the word "Pagan" on occasion, she mentions no other branch of Paganism besides Wicca. To be fair, she does at least acknowledge that there can be witches belonging to other religions (e.g. Christian witches, Jewish witches, etc.), which I was glad to see, as that is often overlooked.

With my two largest criticisms out of the way, here are a few of the things I liked. Her account of the early history of original European Paganism wasn't perfect by any means, but it was better than a lot that I've read, especially considering when it was written. The first fifth of the book was a bit of a throw-away in my opinion, but it improved steadily from there.

She also shares many of her personal experiences in the Craft, which I always find an interesting read. Some of her narrative comes from her coven's rituals, while other parts are drawn from workshops she's taught, or from things she's experienced with her family.

Then near the end of the book, she actually gets to sharing how-to pieces of Craft info, in addition to more theoretical content. She provides several meditation sequences which I liked, as well as a lot of spells. Most of these contained oils and herbs which I don't have easy access to, but other people might find them useful. Additionally, she provides a sample altar set up, as well as ways to cast a circle or charge objects.

Overall, this wasn't the sort of thing I'd recommend rushing to the store to purchase, but for an 89¢ find at the thrift shop, I think it was worth it. 

July 17th, 2015

Cite your sources, kids.

No, really. I've spent something like ten solid hours digging through books trying to find all the places where I had gotten info for my Book of Shadows. 12-year-old me couldn't be bothered to write any of that down, and now 19-year-old me is going batty trying to locate the original authors of rituals, spells, etc.

Obviously, one should never take copyrighted material and publish it on the internet unaltered whilst claiming it as one's own. But even if your BOS is only ever going to be seen by your eyes, trust me - sooner or later, you'll want to know where you found something. And when you've read enough books, the number of possible sources gets a little overwhelming. Keeping track of source material ahead of time makes things so much easier down the road.

I just started adding footnotes to my pages. If something was from a book, I noted the title and author. If it was from a website, I noted the username and URL where it could be found. It's simple, and doesn't take up much space. It's also quick, provided you aren't trying to do it all at once seven years after the fact.

There's still some I haven't found yet, so I guess that means I need to make another trip to the library.

July 13th, 2015

I've been productive this afternoon! After months of just sort of thinking about it, I finally got up the energy to consolidate all of my Pagan files to a single jumpdrive.

I got a 8GB USB for free at school, and figured that would be sufficient for my purposes. I had typed up my Book of Shadows several years ago, so as to ensure that things were spelled correctly, formatted neatly, and etcetera. Today, I moved the BOS folder over from another, smaller drive (which is, incidentally, held together only by tape and a prayer), and also typed up some new spells I found.

Then I got all my Pagan tunes transferred from yet another drive, and am in the process of downloading some more.

I also found the font which I'd used on my original BOS pages and downloaded that .zip file again so that I could continue using it.

And last night I discovered a link to Dark Books Magic Library which has over 1,500 public domain manuscripts on the occult, Paganism, magick, Wicca, etc. You can download them all for free (although she also includes some reviews for books which are still under copyright, so those can't be downloaded). I've been stocking up interesting ones in yet another folder.

July 12th, 2015

Destiny came over for a while this afternoon, and among other things, we decided to make God's Eye crafts. We found some redbud tree sticks out front of my house, and then I had no shortage of yarn for the actual construction.

Mine is the green, and hers is the blue.

~~~~~

The history of the God's Eye amulet is an interesting one. I've used them in the past for altar decorations at Mabon or Samhain, and have seen them conflated with the Egyptian Wedjet (Eye of Horus) elsewhere on the internet.

While they may serve similar purposes, further research tells me that the God's Eye is not Egyptian at all, but actually originated in the Americas. The jury is out on whether the design comes from the Pueblo people of present-day New Mexico, USA, or from the Huichol people of Sierra Madre, Mexico. Either way, similar crafts were produced across much of the region for spiritual and decorative purposes.

The more correct name for the God's Eye is Ojo de Dios (literally "Eye of God" in Spanish). To the Pueblo, they were tokens of celebration or blessing. Often, they were given as gifts and/or were used to bless a home. From the 1500s - 1800s, they were found along trails or places where people worked to "see" things not visible to the mundane eye. To this end they had a protective quality. They were made meditatively, either in solitude or with others, and the making was a spiritual undertaking.

The Huichol and Tepehuan natives used the Ojo de Dios as a ritual, magical, and cultural tool. They referred to them as Sikuli, which meant that the crafts symbolized the power to see that which is unknowable. Meanwhile, the four corners represented earth, air, fire, and water. Sikuli, along with other objects including feathers and arrows, were left in sacred caves as offerings to the gods. 

Some Christians have appropriated this craft as a symbol of their single, all-seeing god. 

Making and Ojo de Dios is simple. The materials are only sticks and yarn, although a drop of glue may be helpful for children. Cross the sticks, and wind the yarn around them as seen in the diagram:

They can be further decorated with beads or feathers, as desired.

Place on the altar, or hang near a door to bless and protect a space.

July 11th, 2015

It occurred to me after posting my spell instructions yesterday that I had actually left out a rather important piece of information: what to do with the poppet once your spell has manifested. As such, here's a quick post-script to go along with that.

~~~~~

After your spell comes to fruition, you should generally dispose of the poppet. It is important to do this safely and respectfully.

Materials:

• Scissors
• White cloth (optional)
• Pendulum (optional)
• Shovel
• A patch of dirt

First, untie or cut the thread holding the poppet against the picture. As you do so, state that the bond between person and poppet is broken. I liked the rhyme from this site, so I used a similar version:

"By moon and stars

And Goddess above

This link is now severed

With blessings and love."

Then, take apart each individual element of the poppet in the reverse order from how you made it. In my case, I removed the yarn "hair", cut open the side seam and removed the stuffing, and then undid the rest of the seaming and turned the material back wrong-side out. As you disassemble it, place the pieces on the white cloth to make them easier to transport later.

For good measure, I next recited this verse from Silver Ravenwolf's* Solitary Witch:

"The future has come, my desire was granted,

Your work is now finished, no longer enchanted.

Air will disperse and fire combust,

Water joins Spirit, earth turns to dust.

Though you must depart,

Your gifts shall remain

Blessings upon you in Goddess' name."

At this time, because I was feeling a little paranoid, I used my pendulum to check that all traces of residual energy had been dispersed from the materials. This step is unnecessary if you are comfortable with your work.

 

Pick up the cloth and carry it outside, or to wherever your dirt is. Since this was a sort of binding spell, as opposed to a banishing one, I chose to bury it on our property. Dig a small hole, remove the materials from the cloth, and bury them in the hole.

The poppet has been disposed of.

*Yes, I understand that Ravenwolf is a highly problematic source. Most of the complaints against her work are entirely valid. That, however, is a discussion for another post. I like the verbal flow of some of her verses, so I use them. If you are uncomfortable doing so, that is entirely your prerogative. Feel free to substitute that step with something else.

Greens, Greens, & Nothing But...

I finally remembered to take down that yarrow from where it's been drying. It's only been there.... two weeks?

Anyway, I got it cut into smaller portions and stashed in a nice jar:

Now I just have to pick some of my basil....

July 10th, 2015

My spell from yesterday manifested, so now I'm happy to share it with you all. I made a lot of it up on the fly, but it worked out even better than I had hoped! This was my first time trying a poppet spell, but I had read a lot about them and felt comfortable with the idea.

This spell was specifically geared towards helping my girlfriend get her hair cut how she wanted it, but could be easily adapted to any spell where the desire is to manifest a physical change in one's appearance. As such, it is not a glamour spell - this one is to change your appearance, not to change other people's perception of it. You can do it for yourself or for others, but the instructions here are written in the style of doing it for another person.

Because poppets are a particularly potent form of magick, I was careful to fully cleanse and consecrate my work space before even casting a circle. If you are experienced in poppet magick, then feel free to work at your own discretion. If you, like me, are new to the concept, cleansing the surrounding area with the elements is a good place to start. Without further ado...

~~~~~
Hummingbird's "Changing Your Look" Poppet Spell

Materials: 

• Fabric scrap
• Should represent the person in some way; it could be their skin color, favorite color, a scrap from an old shirt of theirs, or etc.
• Marker
• Gingerbread cookie cutter (optional)
• Needle
• Black thread
• Stuffing material
• Cotton balls work well for this
• Lavender (optional)
• Slip of paper
• Scissors
• Something to represent how the person looks now and how they want to look
• In my case, this was brown yarn for hair. 
• A picture of the person

Cast a circle. If you so choose, you can invoke a deity or deities at this time. Fold the fabric scrap in half and draw the poppet shape on it, either by outlining the cookie cutter or by free-handing a basic human figure. Sew about 3/4 of the way along the outline, leaving the last section open. As you do so, you might recite a chant of your choice. I used Starhawk's classic Kore Chant, since it is literally about changes. 

Carefully cut out around the poppet shape and turn it right-side out. Stuff it with cotton, and if you wish, add some lavender to ease any frustration or anxiety associated with making the change. Also, write the individual's name on the slip of paper and stick it inside the poppet*. Then, finish sewing the remainder of the poppet closed and tie off the thread.

At this point, you should add whatever decoration you're using to represent the person's current appearance. In my case, I sewed on several lengths of yarn to show my girlfriend's hair at its original length. Then, stating your intent out loud, ritualistically alter the appearance of the poppet to show the desired look. I did this by cutting the yarn into the hairstyle she wanted.

Finish up by tying the poppet to the image of the person and stating out loud that they are now bound together.

Thank any deities or spirits you have called, and release the circle.

To dispose of the poppet after the spell manifests, see this post.

*In this case, the paper is the taglock. Therefore, you're best off using the person's full name. Alternatives include adding a lock of hair, fingernail clippings, or etc. but unless you are doing the spell for yourself, these can be hard to come by. A second, small photo of the person would also suffice.

July 9th, 2015

I have been unusually productive today! Got some reading done, reorganized a few things, vacuumed, worked another spell... I also made the effort to stay on top of my crystal research. We visited the zoo on Sunday, and I picked up a new treasure from the gift shop. Here's what I found on it.

Turritella Agate

Physical Characteristics: Fossiliferous brown Agate, which contains white or tan snail shells. The shells appear conic with multiple chambers, while the Agate matrix may appear translucent. 

In Nature: Circa 50 million years ago, rains falling on the young Rocky Mountains carried sand, silt, and mud into the nearby lakes. As the layers piled up, Elimia tenera - the snail originally misidentified as belonging to the Turritella genus - died and sank to the bottom, where they were preserved within the sediment deposits. Over time, groundwater precipitated silica into the mass, which slowly fossilized the material into Agate (Chalcedony). Often, the shells' surrounding matrix is only partly silicified, and may remain as Sandstone or Shale.

Chemical Composition: SiO2

Mohs Scale Hardness: 6 - 7 (medium - medium-high)

Can be Found: The Green River Formation, in Wyoming, USA

Healing Properties*: A Root chakra stone, Turritella can assist with most medical problems of the diaphragm, lower back, and feet, including gastro-intestinal disorders, gallstones, swelling, physical balance, and so on. Worn in the center of the chest, this Agate promotes a healthy heart and veins. For a mild fever, place a cold Agate against the forehead. 

Magickal Properties: Like many fossils, Turritella Agate has a strong connection to the past, and can be used in work pertaining to one's ancestry, homeland, and heritage. They are record keeper crystals, and offer access to the Akashic Records, past life recall, and etcetera. The stone stimulates inner composure and maturity. It is also handy for travelers, warding off danger, maintaining a connection with home, and alleviating fear. They could be similarly employed by nervous drivers, as they ward off traffic accidents. 

Additionally, the Agate can be used to heighten concentration or stimulate analytical thought. Turritella is beneficial for self-analysis, as well as for dealing with deep-seated trauma and any accompanying phobias or physical symptoms of suffering. It is likewise a balancer of energy(ies); as such, it could help those who find themselves struggling with hyperactivity or manic emotional swings. It may also help to ease symptoms of dysphoria in transgender individuals, or others outside the gender binary.

Chakra Association: First (Root) chakra

Element: Earth

Energy: Receptive

Planetary Association: Mercury

*Magickal healing should never take the place of seeing a doctor and following any recommended prescriptions, actions, or other advice. Magick works best in tandem with physical efforts, anyway, so don't skimp on those check-ups!

Room Protection Pouch

Do you have problems with nosy parents, siblings, or etcetera prying in your personal space?

I recently did this spell by Honey Coyote on tumblr, where one creates an amulet-pouch filled with herbs and crystals that have protective and/or banishing properties, as well as a sigil of one's choice. The pouch I chose to sew myself so as to put some more energy into it, but a pre-made one could be used just as easily.

July 7th, 2015

I've been very absorbed the last couple of days in a craft project, but I finished it this evening, so here I am!

Mom took my brother and I to the thrift store this morning. She needed an ugly Christmas sweater or two for a convention, and I wanted to look around a little. I hadn't actually been planning to get anything, but I suppose the moral of that story ought to be, never let me into a thrift store.

I get a little excited around books (to put it mildly), and they had paperbacks for only $0.89. Most of them were things I'd never look twice at - weight loss manuals, Christian memoirs, you know the type - but after some digging, I was able to find a couple that looked promising.

From left to right, I found:

Power of the Witch, by Laurie Cabot with Tom Cowan

Astral Travel for Beginners, by Richard Webster

Celtic Lore, by Ward Rutherford

I'm hoping that I'll find the one on astral travel helpful; I've made attempts at it before, but haven't been especially successful. Also, Power of the Witch had unexpectedly positive reviews on Amazon, so that should be an interesting read as well. Reviewers were less enthused by Celtic Lore, but it was only 89¢, so I can't really complain.

July 3rd, 2015

We're still getting things unpacked from our vacation. Today, I opened up a box and got out two things which my mom had won in an auction but hadn't wanted (she got them in a box with some other things). The first is this:

It's a very heavy metal disc, probably cast iron, with the directions marked on it. It's probably meant to go out in a garden, and maybe one day I'll have a garden of my own to put it in, but for now it's lying in the middle of my altar as an additional elemental alignment.

Then there was this small plate. Made in Scotland, it carries a 6-9th century Celtic knot pattern on it. I've tried researching the manufacturer a bit (St. Andrew's?), but so far I have been unable to find additional information on it. That being said, it's a lovely little dish, and in very good condition. 

I love auctions - they're a great place to find unique witchy stuff at good prices!

Camp Log: Update

I finally got all my camping notes typed up, now complete with pictures! To find them all, check out my BWCAW 2015 tag.

July 2nd, 2015

It's been a busy week, so I'm taking the day off everything to recharge my batteries. This morning, I got the crystals I found last week settled and put two of them out in my fairy garden as offerings.

I also noticed that we have a lot of yarrow growing alongside our patio, so I clipped a bunch to dry and store, before someone mows the lawn and shreds it all. 

It looks a little wilted now because it's only just started to dry, but I've hung it upside down in front of my window to speed the process. When it's finished, I have a jar to store them in.

Yarrow is a useful herb for many reasons, and it can be found commonly across much of the planet's northern hemisphere. It is indeed so common that it is considered a weed in many places. 

When fresh, it has clotting and anti-bacterial properties. If you scrape yourself gardening, pressing a fresh yarrow leaf to the wound will quickly help it stop bleeding. It has the same effect on nosebleeds. I have used it to this end myself, with considerable success. Its genus name, Achillea, comes of course from the Greek Achilles, the hero who carried the plant into battle to treat the wounds of his soldiers. The flowers' essential oil is employed as an anti-inflammatory agent.

If you are working a healing spell, yarrow is an obvious choice. It could also be sympathetically identified with binding spells, as it "binds" skin together.

In the I Ching, a divination system originating in China, dried yarrow stalks were tossed as a randomizing agent. As such, the plant also has associations with psychism and traditional divinitory practices. 

Yarrow leaves are edible*, albeit somewhat bitter, and may help to reduce fever, to lower blood pressure, or to lessen menstrual symptoms. 

*I am not an herbalist, and this information comes from Wikipedia. Be certain when eating any wild plant that you know what it is, if you have any chance of being allergic to it, and what the anticipated effects are. Also be aware that many herbs are not safe for pregnant individuals to ingest. 

For the record: water hemlock looks similar to yarrow, and all parts of this plant are poisonous. Be safe when collecting.