I found a CD at the library the other day by the band Gjallarhorn and I love it! The Cd of theirs was Ranarop (Call of the Sea Witch) and it has a bunch of Swedish/Finnish folk songs on it. It's really beautiful and I highly recommend it.

I finally decided to kick my butt into getting iTunes again (since getting the new laptop I hadn't bothered yet) so I can get a bunch of the pagan podcasts back. So there I was, downloading a bunch and one came in from Pagan Living called Ethics of Spellwork (All of their pods; ethics was done on 22 May 2006) and I thought they brought up a valid point. At what point do you cast spells? Do you do everything you can first before casting said spell or do you spell upfront and then put in the work.

I've always been more of a spell-now-work-later kind of witch myself. But I can see how some people would try doing everything themselves first. That way if you get the job/partner/object then you know it's you who's done this, not Spirit. I always viewed magic as a way to enhance my chances to get what I wanted though; from jobs to luck to helping me spiritually. Even when it comes to gardening, I'll do a bit of a blessing/spell before planting things rather than waiting until everything has grown. I see as it a way to help me so I don't have problems casting spells.

I even consider rituals for the different Sabbats as spells. Sure you're not getting something physical out of it, but it's a formal prayer to your deities and isn't that what we do in spells? To me spells can be one of two things, which could even be both in some cases. Spells are formal prayers to your deity, asking them to help with this and that. Or spells are ways in which you manipulate your energy to direct to a specific cause, deity or no deity involved.

For most of what I do I rely on my own energy and direct it with or without help from a higher being. So in that respect I see it as another way to working towards my goal. It's my own energy that I'm working with so why shouldn't I try to use it to reach my goal?

Like I said, I'm more of a spell doer than a spell thinker. Don't get me wrong though, I don't cast them all willynilly but I would consider it for what ever it is I need.

I just signed in and saw that I have 13 followers. We're a coven! lol
And I haven't gotten the chance to get/read Utterly Wicked Tracy. I just haven't the time honestly.


Now on to what I actually meant to write.
I'm sure many of you are familiar with the concept that witches used to spread "flying" ointments on their bodies to go to their Sabbaths (supposedly to hang out with the devil for a while). Those ointments are believed to have been made out of various herbs - usually consisting of hemlock, mandrake, hen bane and/or belladonna. All such herbs contain hallucinogens, not to forget some are poisonous.

I'm not saying you should start mixing these herbs together (far from it! Mandrake and belladonna are HIGHLY poisonous. NEVER consume these or other poisonous herbs without knowing EXACTLY what you're doing!) but rather these ointments where used to insure the safe journey to and from the Sabbath.

Jump to the present day and we're not riding brooms to Sabbaths anymore (for the most part). We're using cars, buses or even trains and planes now. But just because we're not using brooms doesn't mean that we shouldn't use some protection. Accidents still happen. And when we are gathering to celebrate something wondrous dying afterwards definitely kills the moment (no pun intended).

There are various Deities you can turn to for protection. From Ekahau, Dosojin, Min, Chun-kuei, Hermes, Janus, Adeona, Hasamelis and even Lam Lha. I personally would call on Artemis because I work mostly with the Greek pantheon. Plus she's the Goddess of the hunt! She's supposed to be able to go hunt and then come back. No accidents involved! A great thing to do is grab something that symbolizes your deity (be it a picture, an object like an apple or pine cone or something, or various herbs and stones that are associated with your deity). Ask for a blessing from your God or Goddess to protect you on your trip and carry the object that invokes their presence to you.

If you're in a pickle though. You can grab a small mirror (preferably something small so you can slip it in your purse/bag/pocket) and hold the mirror in front of you so you're looking at it. Turn it counterclockwise three times and say this each time:

Dilemmas deflect, evil avert
bad luck reflect, all problems divert

Then turn it clockwise three times and say:

(Deity of choice), in this mirror shine
so that safety will me mine

Happy travels!

Spell belongs to Goddess in My Pocket by Patricia Telesco

My feelings on "taboo" spells

Now when I'm talking about "taboo" spells I'm talking about the spells that a lot of people seem to not even touch with a 10 foot pole. Spells such as love spells, hexes/curses and general black magic.

So I guess before I really get into those different kinds of spells I want to start off saying that this is how I feel about them, not how everyone should feel about them.

I started off following Wicca and of course with the Rede I said nay and looked the other way from "black" magic. I figured that that was what was right and only doing "white" magic I was in perfect balance with the universe.

After a few years though I started to think about it. Isn't harmony about having a balance of both dark and light, yin and yang? At this point of my pagan path I figured that Wicca wasn't really for me, especially once I found out about some of the inner court information (not really being told because that out make the speaker an oath breaker but it had gotten to a point here they couldn't say no to my questions). So I branched out and stumbled upon hedge witchery/green magic and kitchen magic.

Now with my new found feelings as just being a witch I sat down one day and really put some thought into what magic is. I've heard different spells being referred to as dark/black, grey and white/light magic. It didn't really make sense to me that once something is light it will always be light. Like if you cast a spell to get money then it's considered white, but if that money had come from the death of someone in the family it was still white? Which led me to the realization that magic doesn't have a colour, it just it. It's what you do with that magic, the intent that you use it that makes it either black, grey or white.

And if magic just is, why would there be "bad" spells out there? Then I thought back to the idea of balance. Now to be a doctor, you need to know how to save lives and stop them. To be able to sell anything (whether you're a sales person or a corporate tycoon) you need to know both how to sell and how not to sell. That way you know what you should and should not do. To have that balance. Shouldn't that be the same with magic? Shouldn't you need to know how to curse and hex to be able to heal?

With my new resolve to learn how to cast hexes and curses, the old rule of three popped back in my head. And really what you do does come back to you, whether it be something small or something big, right? But say if you kill the latest cockroach running across your kitchen floor or your eating that steak shouldn't that mean that your friends and family start croaking? No. Obviously there are people who eat meat every day and no one seems to die because of that (besides the animals but that's beside the point).

So after thinking that I started not to really think of karma as this end all and be all of magic doing. Really I started thinking of it as more as what you can personally live with. If you do a hex on someone (say they stole your lunch at work) and you heard that they had gotten seriously hurt then of course you have to live with the idea that that might have been because of you. Say if it's a serial killer on the loose though, I don't have any problem trying to stop them, with any means at my disposal. I mean, magic is for us to make the world/our lives a better place and I'm sure karma wouldn't nip you in the butt for stopping a killer.

In conclusion, I have no problems with love spells, hexes/curses or black magic. Magic is there for you to use and if you do something that you will regret then that's your fault for not thinking things through. Magic isn't one thing or another, it just is.

Crescent Cakes

I love these cookies and they're a great treat - be it for a party or for a ritual (especially for Esbats). Hope you guys like!

Ingredients:

• 1 cup finely ground almonds
• 1 1/4 cups flour
• 1/2 cup confectioner's sugar
• 2 drops almond extract
• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1 egg yolk

Combine almonds, flour, sugar and extract until thoroughly mixed. With your hands, work in butter and egg yolk until well blended. Chill dough (about 4-5 hours for us, or leave it overnight). Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Pinch off pieces of dough about the size of walnuts and shape into crescents. Place on greased baking sheets (or line sheets with parchment paper) and bake for about 20 mins (until golden).

Cleansing Bath

I know sometimes I just want to kill people. It's stressful having to work long shifts and in my job, I'm a telemarketer, you have to deal with the general public for hours on end.
Needless to say, at the end of the week I'm usually a bundle of nerves who just wants to find a rock to crawl under and just sleep for a month. I got the basis of this ritual bath from MagicTV's ritual Bath video and then added to it to make it a bit more me.
What I do is do this spell/ritual bath and it refreshes me every time.

What you need:

• Preferably a bath tub, though a shower will do
• A hand full of Sea salt, though regular salt is ok
  
• A tea ball or cheese clothe with string
• Various herbs, such as Rosemary, Sage, Caraway, Chives, Catnip, Coriander, Ginger, Black Pepper, any herb that promotes protection, clarity, cleansing or soothing (Catnip is rest)
• If you have it, Lavender oil or bubble bath, anything that soothes you
• White candles (though they are not necessary)
  
• A mirror, can even be your bathroom mirror
• Anointing Oil, preferably sandalwood but olive oil is just as good (and cheaper lol)
  

Fill the tub with warm water; not too hot to burn, but not too cold to make it uncomfortable. As the water is filling the tub, put the herbs in the tea ball/cheese clothe and through it into the water, including the hand full of salt and lavender oil or bubble bath as well.
Light any candles that you have a turn off the lights, if you don't have candles then leave the lights on. Before getting into tub, take a moment and ground yourself. Feel the energies around you and breath in and our deeply until you feel ready. You can say a little something like "Oh Goddess, help me to cleanse myself and to release everything that is holding me back". Get into the tub.
Rinse yourself in the tub, covering every part of your body and then lay back and get comfortable. Lay there and feel everything melt into the water. Imagine it's rinsing away everything that is bad and causing you trouble. Take your time to visualize this.
Now, think back, maybe over the week, month and/or year. Think back and think about anything that has held you back in anyway. If anything has come up, acknowledge it and say something like "I acknowledge that __this__ has held me back, and I release it so it may never trouble me again." If any random thoughts come to you, release them. Don't focus on anything but the moment you're in the bathroom.
Take a moment and relax, breathing deeply in and out for a few minutes. Remain as long as comfortable (not too comfortable to fall asleep though!). Rise out of the tub and think back to everything that you had let go. Unplug the drain and imagine everything that was troubling you wash down the drain, being carried by the water. Don't dry off, let the air air-dry you. Look into the mirror and start at yourself. Remind yourself that you are a good person and tell yourself that you love yourself and that you're the child of your deity.
Take the anointment oil and put a little on your fingers. Anoint your feet saying, "Blessed be my feet, may they always walk on sacred paths." Then anoint your knees, "Blessed be my knees, that I may kneel at the altar of (insert your deity's name)." Then anoint your pubic area, "Blessed be my second chakra, that I may bring forth life and art and joy." Then anoint the center of your chest, "Blessed be my heart, that I my love and receive love." Then your lips, "Blessed be my mouth, that I speak the words of power." Then anoint the center of your forehead, "Blessed be my mind's eye, that I may see the unseen and recieve the messages from spirit." Finally, anoint the top of your head, " Blessed be my crown, that I may be one with (spirit, deity, your deity) always."
When done, look into the mirror again and say something like, "With everything that I have released, let it be filled with love. So mote it be."
And you're done! Clean up and release any extra energy/ground yourself.

Simple Magical Herbal Teas

Making a herb tea is a great way of using the power of a herb. These can be made my pouring a cup of hot water over a teaspoon of powered or crushed herbs and allow to steep for 2-5 mins (I personally use one of those metal tea balls). Strain and drink up!

• To ward off negative energies drink Sage tea (highly protective energies)
• To encourage love energies, try a mixture of orange rind, rosehip and cinnamon. Makes a delicious tea, especially if you add a little honey
• To attract luck and opportunity, make lemongrass tea and place an almond in the tea pot
• To draw abundance and wealth, try a mix of one part ginger and one-eighth part each of clove and nutmeg
• For drawing courage, use herbs like parsley, raspberry leaf, nettle, aniseed and ginger
  

You are The Moon

Hope, expectation, Bright promises.

The Moon is a card of magic and mystery - when prominent you know that nothing is as it seems, particularly when it concerns relationships. All logic is thrown out the window.

The Moon is all about visions and illusions, madness, genius and poetry. This is a card that has to do with sleep, and so with both dreams and nightmares. It is a scary card in that it warns that there might be hidden enemies, tricks and falsehoods. But it should also be remembered that this is a card of great creativity, of powerful magic, primal feelings and intuition. You may be going through a time of emotional and mental trial; if you have any past mental problems, you must be vigilant in taking your medication but avoid drugs or alcohol, as abuse of either will cause them irreparable damage. This time however, can also result in great creativity, psychic powers, visions and insight. You can and should trust your intuition.

What Tarot Card are You?
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