Tag: witch

Are You Majickal?

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Today I am watching my grandson, who has been with me for care since his mommy went back to work. I first watched him every day, but now I trade off with the other grandmother. We are different in wonderful ways, and my grandson will have a richer life because we are.

One way we are different is that I’m a witch, and she doesn’t declare herself as one, although I’ve seen the magick she does in the kitchen and in her home. So, some day, when my baby boy is old enough to start noticing such things, he will ask about the goddess statues in my house, or the altars I have set up in various places. I will have to explain what a witch is. And I think the next question will be whether I can do majick.

The easy answer is yes, of course I can do majick. The more important answer is that everyone who wants to can do majick. You see, for a cottage witch like me, majick is creativity. It’s a form of majick to be able to make art, to write poetry and stories, to score music, and so on. But the arts aren’t the only way people do majick. Creativity is found in many things–the business report that concisely and elegantly explains the solution to a problem, the perfect configuration of processes to accomplish a goal, a parsimonious mathematical equation, and so on.

Majick is in the ordinary, but the reason people miss it is because they think only the extraordinary matters. Right now, my ordinary grandson is rearranging the lightweight metal tables on the patio. He’s not even two yet, but he’s the size of a 3-4 year old (tall people in his background). He doesn’t talk much but makes himself understood. This is a child who arrived 6 weeks early and spent three of his first weeks of life in an incubator. I’ve watched him problem-solve many things with his toys, working at a task until he conquered it. Just now, he managed to climb up the slide rather than use the stairs, and laughed brightly at his success. That is a form of majick.

I live in a desert, essentially, made livable by water brought to us. And yet there are all kinds of plants here that prosper without it. A green guava tree grows near the fence without any help from me. The California Live Oak doesn’t like water much. Succulents and cacti, of course, do well with very little at all. Isn’t that a kind of majick, that a living thing might find a way to prosper in the soil where it grows?

Majick is all around us. It’s the hummingbird knowing which flowers give the sweetest nectar. It’s my grandson exploring his world and the wonder he finds in the ordinary things of my household. It’s the comfortable love between two people who have been together a long time. It’s the feel of growing grass on bare feet, a drink of water on a hot day, a fire in the winter. Majick is all the beautiful things that manage to work together so that this earth keeps turning and we keep living.

Majick is also candles, spells, and what not. But that’s a story for another day. Blessed be.

Aine Summermoon

The Majick of Air

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If you are an early riser, you have to opportunity to watch the sun rise and feel the first stirrings of the wind. A gentle breeze might be blowing as you walk outside, stirring the strands of a wind chime, creating a light melody for your pleasure. And if you’re lucky, you’ll see a beautiful circular web, woven through the night by an orb spider. One of Arachne’s descendants has graced you with a gift of Air, a reminder of the element we cannot live without for very long at all.

Air is not only associated with wind but with smell and hearing. Did you know that certain smells can invoke your memories? Some argue that smell has the strongest association with memory of any of our senses. We associate the seasons, for example, with smell—Autumn and apples, Spring and new mown grass. A song can take us back to a particular event or place where we heard it.

Although we need all the elements for life, Air is the most precious to us. If we cough too long or choke, we know a sudden terror of being without Air. We can bundle up if we’re cold, go for a while without food, and last a few days without water. Most of us can barely go a minute without Air. A baby’s first breath is a miraculous event.

Invisible to us, we almost take Air for granted. Unless the wind is blowing hard, we barely notice it. Sometimes the quality of Air will call attention to it—a smoggy or foggy day will make us notice. But experience a sleepless night, and you’ll find yourself thinking about your breathing at some point. Once you start, it’s hard to stop thinking about it, and it results in your being even more wide awake. When you meditate, you might be aware of your breathing until you reach a deep state of relaxation. It’s easy to take breathing for granted; indeed, we must, or we’d never get anything done.

Air, like Fire, is a masculine element, represented by an equilateral triangle pointing up, with a line through it.

Air is the opposite of Earth, just as Fire is the opposite of Water. Air is associated with movement, intellect, learning, and communication. Because it is a masculine element, there are few goddesses directly associated with it. Aura is one in Greek and Roman mythology; she is joined by the Slavic goddess Dogoda, Japanese goddess Shinatobe, and the Mesopotamian goddess Ninlil.

The element of Air is associated with the east and sunrise. Its colors are yellow and white; when representing it in candle colors on an altar, yellow is preferred as white is generally used to represent Spirit. Aquarius, Gemini, and Libra are all Air signs. Most birds and flying insects are representatives of Air, as are spiders. Fantasy creatures of air include angels, sylphs, griffins, hippogriffs, the Sphinx, and Pegasus. Musical instruments representing Air are the flute, especially, and all other wind instruments.

Majickal tools for Air include feathers, wands, athames (also representing fire, depending on the user), and the censer or thurible, which is an elaborate device for burning incense. Other incense burners are as simple as something that holds a stick of incense and catches the ash, or a dish for cone incense. A recent arrival in stores is the backflow incense burner, which draws the smoke of incense downward on a sculpture so that it looks like water flowing.

Air is represented by clear and lightweight crystals and gems are best for Air, such as citrine or mica. Herbs and plants include dandelion, mint, nutmeg, and mistletoe. Flowers with a strong scent may also be used to represent Air. Majickal spells invoking Air might be used to help resolve a conflict, study for a test, prepare for an interview or other event requiring strong communication skills, make a decision, call/control/befriend wind, and travel safely.

Cottage witches like us at Awen’s Cauldron invoke Air throughout our homes. Wind chimes are found near doors and windows to create natural music in our spaces. Having chimes that are tuned to different scales makes the sound particularly interesting. In addition to wind chimes, simply having hanging items that move in the breeze like ornaments or dream catchers invoke Air. Open windows as often as possible to allow air to flow through your dwelling (although if you’re in our area you probably want them closed with the air conditioning blowing hard as temperatures are still in the triple digits most days). We don’t use censers to burn our incense, but instead use scented candles or flowers to create fragrance in our homes. Witches tend to gravitate toward learning, and you will find many books gracing shelves in our living spaces.

As conflict is a frequent visitor to most lives, we include this spell for resolving conflict. To prepare, you’ll need a yellow candle, a feather or hand-held fan (made of feathers is best) and sandalwood incense in the form of your choice. A general image of the Goddess can help focus your attention. If you have instrumental flute music, play that in the background. Light the candle and incense, focus your thoughts, wave your feather through the smoke of the incense, and say

Elements and Powers of the Air
Goddesses of the Air Aura, Dogoda, Shinatobe, Ninlil
Hear me now in this time of need
My speech has faltered, and my words have failed
One whom I care for is angry with me
               [Or, I am angry with one whom I care for]
Grant me wisdom to understand what divides us
Give me intuition to see each side
Prepare my heart for resolution
Open my ears to hear what the other really says
And provide me with the words to speak my truth
Flow around us, Winds and goddesses of Air
Surround us
Blow away that which no longer serves us
Blow into us that which creates new understanding
As I will it, so it is

Until the next time, blessed be!

Fractured Sky by Ruth Anna Abigail. Used with permission of the artist.

The Majick of Earth

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Close your eyes and imagine yourself in a place where you are connected to the earth. What do you see? Is it trees, lush grasses, and colorful plants in dappled shadows? Are you surrounded by green? Do Perhaps a faun, dwarf, or an elf features in your imagined space.

Certainly, all those things are part of the element of Earth. Often, though, people forget that the element of Earth element also includes deserts, mountains, and prairies. We are so accustomed to the idea of verdant forests that we don’t even include the other settings in our imagination. In fact, when you examine all the writings on the element of Earth, it is rare to see anything that doesn’t evoke the idea of dense greenery, whether the information is about correspondences, creatures, or colors.

All the elements help us move toward some purpose, but Earth is primarily our focus when we are working on material intentions. We appeal to Earth when we are seeking healing, as well calling Earth when working spells related to prosperity, employment, fertility, family matters, the home, and abundance. As cottage witches, Awen’s Cauldron is closely aligned to the element of Earth because of its association with the home and family. Gardening is a type of majick closely aligned to Earth.

Earth is associated with the north and with winter, and it is the element for the astrological signs of Taurus, Virgo, and Capricorn. It is considered a feminine element. Like Water, it is represented by an upside-down equilateral triangle, with the addition of a horizontal line drawn across it. Earth goddesses include Gaia, Persephone, Mokosh, and Sif, any of whom may be called upon to bless rituals relating to Earth. Its tools include the pentacle, cords for knot majick, stones, and salt. Salt can serve more than one purpose: it can represent Earth but also be used to purify a space or form a protective circle for ritual. Many witches pour a line of salt around their houses and renew it regularly. Stones and crystals associated with Earth include emerald, jet, tourmaline, quartz, and peridot; plants and herbs associated with Earth include cypress, honeysuckle, ivy, grains, sage, vetiver, and patchouli. Animals associated with Earth are bulls, stags, wolves, and cats, while mythical creatures include dragons, gnomes, elves, and brownies. Colors associated with Earth are, not surprisingly, brown, black, and green.

We suspect an earth ritual in dry climate or desert might be very different from what we’ve described based on traditional writing. For example, the colors associated with Earth in a desert setting would be the light browns of sand and the grey green cactus or yucca. Lizards, tarantulas, or snakes would be more likely representatives of Earth, and fantasy creatures might include a jinn, a ziz, or a re’em. Calling on Hathor, Sekhmet, or Spider Grandmother would be a good fit for arid land.

In Nevada, a couple hours north of Las Vegas, there is a temple dedicated to Sekhmet. There, away from light pollution, you see the Milky Way and can watch the movement of the stars. There are probably not gnomes or dwarves peeking around the creosote bushes and cacti, but there is majick to be found in the desert. The earth is a wondrous place, and Earth is an element that comes in more forms than we expect at times. Perhaps we witches need to do a bit more imagining so we can create rituals that include every kind of terrain Earth offers.

How can you incorporate Earth into preparation for ritual? One way is to eat a meal slowly and appreciate all the tastes in the food you consume. Think about the land in which it grew, the nutrients in the soil that helped create it. Feel the different textures in your mouth. Another way is to ground yourself before ritual—stand barefooted on the ground. Feel yourself growing roots that connect you to Earth. Gather flowers and plants to touch and smell. Take time to feel the textures on your fingers and the smell that comes from them.

To celebrate Earth around you, plant a garden. It can be as simple as a few cooking herbs. Caring for those plants connects you to Earth. If you have space, create a labyrinth and walk in it frequently. Put up bird feeders and spend time watching the creatures who visit. Plant trees around the perimeter of your dwelling to make your space a sacred grove, and if you live somewhere dryer, take advantage of the information available to you to create a hardy, drought-resistant earthy space.

Earth majick includes using cords, and a knot spell is a great way to start with earth majick. To cast a knot spell, it’s very important to be specific about what you want as an outcome, without constraining the universe in its response to you. Including words such as “an even better result” is helpful. And, of course, those following a Wiccan path don’t cast spells that compel another person against their will.

You’ll need a length of cord long enough to tie 9 knots in it. Too thin or thick, like string or rope, makes it hard to tie the knots. Concentrate on the outcome you want as you tie the knots. Say this spell as you tie the knots.

By knot of one, the spell’s begun.
By knot of two, it cometh true.
By knot of three, thus shall it be.
By knot of four, tis strengthened more.
By knot of five, so may it thrive.
By knot of six, the spell we fix.
By knot of seven, success is given.
By knot of eight, the hand of fate.
By knot of nine, the thing be mine.

You can do different things with the cord after casting the spell. Some witches wear the cord until the outcome of the spell arrives. You can also place it on your altar near an image of an earth goddess or one associated with luck, such as Lakshmi or Habondia. Once you believe you have received the outcome of the spell you’ve cast, untie the knots in reverse order and bury the cord in the earth.

The Earth supports us, nourishes us, heals us. Whether we stand in a forest, climb a mountain, wander the deserts, or walk the prairies, we need to look around an appreciate the many ways in which Earth appears to us. Sink your toes into the dirt! Blessed be.

Opening Image by Carl Spitzweg – http://www.kettererkunst.de/kunst/kd/details.php?obnr=100800185&anummer=334, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=11059517

Shine On, Silver Moon

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Photo by Alfredo J G A Borba – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=58447865

Have you ever simply stared at the moon as she rose? The moon is magnificent when full and near the horizon. She looks larger. Often, her color is more pronounced. She commands our attention, and she gets it. When you find yourself in a place where there is little light contamination and the moon is full, you can walk easily without fearing you’ll make a misstep. You see shadows from the light it reflects from the sun. In the city, it is difficult to see how much light the moon provides for us, but step into a place where people aren’t lighting up the sky and you will be awed by the moon’s power.

One of the things we enjoy in our majickal life is the rhythm of the moon. Most pagans hold full moon rituals of some kind. Others hold new moon rituals, and still others do both. But what is so important about the moon that we would take the time to stop and do a ritual in her honor?

Since humans looked up into the sky, the movement of the moon has fascinated them. Like the sun, it gives light. As with the sun, its movement is regular and predictable. The moon takes about 27 ½ days to orbit around the earth, but the time between new moons (when the sky is dark) is about 29 days. While the sun projects light, making it a masculine force, the moon reflects light, making it a feminine force. Despite what you may have heard about the “man in the moon,” pagans know the moon as She. Some goddesses associated with the moon are Diana and Luna (Roman), Artemis, Hecate, and Selene (Greek), Cerridwen (Celtic), Chang’e (Chinese), Coyolxauhqui (Aztec), Hekate/Hecate (Greek), and Sina (Polynesian).

The moon affects us in many ways. She exerts a tug on us. Many people find it difficult to sleep when there is a full moon, even with blackout curtains. For others, the dark or new moon exerts a pull on their senses. But the regularity of her appearance, and her relationship to our bodies, particularly women’s bodies, makes her an important part of our lives.

Many things are calculated by the moon. Easter, for example, is celebrated on the Sunday that occurs on or after the first full moon after Spring Equinox. Its date moves because the moon cycles don’t directly correspond to the way we have split up the months. Planting and harvesting are often completed according to the cycles of the moon, and many societies before the current era counted time in terms of lunar, not solar cycles.

Did you know that each moon has a name? A blue moon, for example, is one that is the second full moon in a month, and a black moon references the rare occurrence when February has no full moon at all. Other moons are named according to the month in which they occur, and the type of moon affects the kind of ritual pagans choose to do. Moons that occur in the spring are our favorites: April’s Pink Moon, May’s Flower Moon, and June’s Strawberry moon.

Different phases mark the changing of the moon. This image at NASA demonstrates how the moon goes to full and back to dark. It’s interesting that while many languages read from left to right, the moon goes from dark to full by filling in from right to left. Perhaps that’s another thing that makes the moon so fascinating for us.

Pagans group the phases together as Dark Moon, Waxing Crescent, First Quarter (when there’s a half-moon showing), Waxing Gibbous, Full Moon, Waning Gibbous, Last Quarter (another half-moon on the opposite side), and Waning Crescent. At Awen’s Cauldron, we do our majick based on the phase of the moon. We find the power of the full moon to be best in charging the bath salts, tea, and other items included in our ritual boxes.

On this day, Tuesday, August 6, 2019, the moon is in her Waxing Crescent phase, growing toward full. This is a good time to do majick that calls on something to increase. If you want to lose weight, for example, you’d cast a spell to increase your willpower. But if you want to decrease your appetite, the Waning Moon would be better as spells cast during a waning moon are better centered on pushing things away. The New Moon is a good time to set intentions for yourself, while the Full Moon is a time to see how those intentions have borne fruit. Although some pagans avoid majickal workings at the Dark Moon, it can be a powerful time. Some say that the Dark Moon is when She is showing her true face to us, without reflecting another’s light, so it is a good time for introspection and reflection, focusing on one’s own needs and thinking ahead.

There’s no one way to celebrate the phases of the moon. But if you want to start living a majickal life, the simplest way to do it is to mark the phases of the moon. Get a calendar that shows when each phase is. When the moon is visible, take some time to step outside and be with her. You will feel the majick in the air, beckoning you to join. Look upon her and be at peace.

Lughnasadh: The First Harvest

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Imagine walking down a street in your neighborhood on an early August evening. For some reason, you’ve never been on this road before. Up ahead, you hear music and laughter. Walking on, you come to a dwelling that can only be called a cottage. The brick chimney is a little crooked, the slate shingles seem to undulate across the roof, and a blue door is open to admit visitors. Intrigued, you walk up an old brick path, lined by sunflowers, admiring those as well as the brilliant red geraniums that stand like sentinels beside the door. Wind chimes move in a gentle breeze to create soft whispers of music. As you approach, someone comes skipping out, saying “Welcome! Join us in a dance for Lughnasadh!” Intrigued, you decide to enter and discover more.

You travel through a cozy home marked by light and light breezes to a large yard where others have gathered. Soft green grass beckons you to remove your shoes as the others have done. It feels lovely on your feet, stalks emerging from between your toes. Musicians play a dancing tune, and a table groans under the weight of a feast, decorated by wheat stalks, corn, and fruits. Candles burn around the space, reflecting their orange, green, and brown wax. An altar is set up with different depictions of goddesses and gods, and small offerings of food and drink. And it looks as though there are things representing different kinds of work on the altar—a pad of paper with a pen, a stethoscope, a small shovel, a replica of a musical instrument, and so on. Another person greets you with a smile saying “Happy Lughnasadh!” After replying “And to you,” you find a chair and surrender yourself to this sacred moment.

Lughnasadh, or in some traditions, Tailtiúnasa or Lammas, is celebrated near sunset on August 1 or 2.  Those who call it Lughnasadh (loosely translated, the assembly of Lugh) are celebrating the Celtic god Lugh. Some say it commemorates Lugh’s wedding. Others say that the celebration represents a funeral rite Lugh held for his stepmother Tailtiú, who died of exhaustion after clearing Ireland’s fields so they could be planted. Dianic witches honor it with the name Tailtiúnasa in memory of the stepmother. “Lammas” is said to be a corruption of “loaf mass,” a church tradition associated with this summer time  in which farmers would bake bread, take it to the church to be blessed, then divide into four pieces to be placed in the corners of a barn to guard against pests.

Whatever you call it, on this holiday we celebrate the first harvest of wheat, corn, and other grains. Lugh was also said to be a many-skilled god, and so it is also a day to take note of your skills and applaud them. This is a cheerful, happy holiday, where people dance and sing even in the face of shorter days as the sun moves toward Autumn Equinox.

Falling approximately halfway between the Summer Solstice and Autumn Equinox, this holiday is one of the cross-quarter holidays in the Pagan Wheel of the Year. The quarter holidays are associated with changes in the amount of daylight, and are Summer Solstice (Litha), Autumn Equinox (Mabon), Winter Solstice (Yule), and Spring Equinox (Ostara). The cross-quarter holidays fall at the approximate middle between the quarters. The other cross-quarter holidays are Samhain (October 31), Imbolc (February 2), and Beltane (May 1). At Awen’s Cauldron, we use the traditional words to describe pagan holidays as they are more readily recognizable.

Celebrate this holiday by gathering wheat sheaves, corn, and sunflowers to decorate your altar. A small bolline knife (shaped like a scythe) reminds you of the harvest season. Put figurines of your favorite sun deities on it. You can always draw from other traditions if you aren’t comfortable with the Celtic ones: Demeter (the Greek goddess of agriculture), Anuket (the Egyptian goddess of the Nile) are appropriate, as well as any representation of a goddess or god associated with the sun or skills. Take some time to bake bread or muffins from scratch to honor the harvest, and then place your baked goods on the altar. Make a corn dolly to represent the day (you can find a video on how to do that here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2C1t3UyBFEg). Use candles in gold, green and brown to represent the sun and earth. And be sure to put something on your altar that represents your skill. This is a time to brag a little about what you have harvested in yourself.

Summer is waning, but the sun still shines, the fields are ripe with their crops, and the bread made from fresh grains is delicious. Eat, drink, and be happy. Blessed be!