Everyday herbs - Salt

New segment!

Salt is something that we use in magic as well as in daily life. But do we really think about its use when we add it to a meal? Here is a simple way to add magic into your daily life. Next time you pick up a salt shaker, think about what you are adding to your food. Food is grounding, it keeps us connected to the earth. While salt is grounding in the same way as any other food in this context, it has much more to it. Salt can be healing - it is used in cold remedies when you use a salt water spray or for your throat. But magically can it not be use in the same way? Consider this. Most of the water in the world contains salt. If water is healing since it washes away impurities, salt that is found in water or from deposits where once was ocean should have the same properties. If anything, salt enhances that natural tendancy of water by absorbing negativity. Personally when I want to cleanse a particularly tainted tool for magical use, I will put it in a bowl of salt. Consider this next time you buy salt at the store and don't know wheter to get iodized or sea salt.

Aside from the obvious, here are a few other uses for salt you may not have thought of. Salt is white, thus a symbol of purity. This ties back to its ability to absorb negativity. Some people add salt to their coffee to make it less bitter. If you do this, when you add that pinch of salt to your coffee in the morning, bless that coffee through the salt to start your day with purity. The fresh brewed coffee brings a fresh start aided through the purity of the salt. A simple reminder is all it takes.

Salt also bonds together, though that bond is easily broken. Here is an idea for a simple spell to remove negativity from your life. Pour some salt in a clear or black vessel and add water to cover it. Place this by your bed. If desired, burn a black candle beside it for 30 minutes before you sleep to pull in negativity. Disclaimer, don't leave it burning when you fall asleep! You can say something such as 'Negativity absorbed from my life will release me from it's hold.' Do this for three nights, or until the water is dissolved. The salt should for a solid, or at least part of it should be in a clump. In the sunlight if you can, take that clump of salt and say something like 'as negativity builds up, it takes control of my life. As this negative influence in my life is broken up, may the negativiy in my life be broken up as well.' Crumble the salt clumps so that the salt is no longer bonded. If you wish to dissolve it completely you may, or throw it to the wind to release the negativity.

Perhaps one of these ideas can help you.

Cross-dressing

Just some curious thoughts rumbling around in my head today. Why do we hold a double standard from dressing in the clothes of a different gender? For example, if a man wears a skirt, it is still a skirt, but if a woman wears a kilt, now its a skirt. This occured to me when I was discussing with my male best friend and my boyfriend that I wanted a kilt. They both informed me that if I wore a kilt, it would just be a skirt. The annoyance here I am sure comes from years of seeing men's costumes and thinking how unfair it was that the coolest costumes could not be worn correctly by women. A tunic falls wrong for our build, so being a musketeer or a templar (since I am a RenFest geek) requires a complete re-tooling of the costume. I have since realized that I can deal with that, but it is the everyday clothing that I look at now. As a woman, I have realized I can wear almost anything with the understanding that there is nothing wrong with what I wear, other than it is not fashionable. I wear men's clothing all the time. But if a man goes out in women's clothes, it is odd and always commented upon. Perhaps I am making a too big of deal of something that isn't a deal at all. But to me, I see these fights for everyone to be equal and as a straight person, I have no right to complain. I am the one seen as normal. Is it bad that I want to be seen as different? Perhaps I just want the double standard removed.

Well that is just my little rant on differences for the day.

Kitchen Witchery Segment - Chocolate Apple Pie

I am going to skip defining a kitchen witch for now, and jump straight into a recipe I made last night.

Chocolate Apple Pie

Sliced apples (enough to fill your pie, this varies on apple size and size of pan)
Pie crust (I used frozen)
Cinnamon
Sugar
Chocolate chips

I find apples to be a wonderful way to celebrate fall/winter months to represent the bounty of the earth. In this instance, I used the apples to represent abundance and happiness. Do a layer of apples, I prefer thin sliced, and cover it with cinnamon and sugar. I used this to represent the comfort of home. Do two more layers of apples and cinnamon and sugar, then do a layer of chocolate chips. I recommend just making sure there is chocolate everywhere, but not coating the apples. Chocolate is the remedy to all ailments in this instance, to tie together the happiness and rest within the home. Do a few more layers of apples and sugar/cinnamon. Bake at 425 15 min until brown, then at 350 and additional 25 or until apples reach desired softness.

Feel free to use this however, just sharing my ideas. Ask any questions in the comments, and hope you like it as much as I did!

Scrying - divination segment

In honor of the season and the thinning of the veil  as it is said, I decided to have the discussion group I run make some scrying mirrors. I myself have never had much luck with scrying, but it is something I have always been interested in. So I provided clear plates and photo frames to be painted. For a twist, I printed out some magickal alphabets to use to paint along the edge of the mirror for those who wanted to add a message. I noticed something about myself in doing this. I was the only one in the group that used the alphabet. I was trying to add magic in the making, while others were using the magic of surroundings and such with the understanding they would add magic when the mirror was consecrated.  Both ways of construction are interesting to me, but I can't help but wonder at the difference. A few others did designs to  add magic as they went, so I just wanted to know some of my readers' opinions on the making of magickal tools. What are some benifits to leaving the tool plain? What are some reasons to dress it up? In either case, I provided to my group a special scrying candle and incense. This was mostly for myself in that I wanted to see if the candle and incense would make a difference. For those interested, the incense was made of blessed thistle, sage, rosemary, and cinnamon. But I guess the whole scrying thing is a mystery to me. I have 2 other 'mirrors' I have made, and a crystal ball. None of these have worked for me. I hope to consecrate my new tool tomorrow, and will have to let you know how it goes. In any case, let me know how you go about scrying. Maybe it will help.

Into the Depths part 1

Into the depths will be our divination segment. Today I am going to talk a little about something new I have been dabbling with. 

Dice

Dice can be a quite interesting divination tool. Based on numerology, there is much to be said for reading dice. What little experiance I have had with the dice so far has lead me to believe that dice are very direct, but bring up the most important issues that need to be considered. The cool thing about dice, is you can play with them without raising too much attention. Multi-colored sets or a set of like dice, whatever you have, can suit the purpose. My set I have put together is a set of 15 different types of dice, all of different colors, but I made sure to include at least 3 of each type of die used to make readings more fluid. I have been using 3 or 6 dice per reading, and using my notes on numerology to interpret the dice.

Does anyone else have any experiance with dice? Do you want me to talk more about my methods or the meanings of numerology? Let me know!

What to expect

So, I decided that there is no reason for me to teach the basics on a blog. There are plenty of places you can go for that information. With my resurgance, I will be focusing on the stuff I find important to daily practice. Correspondances, ways to use them, and little bits of other information that can be useful. It looks like I will for sure be featuring Kitchen Witchery, Earth Witchery (garden witchcraft mixed with stone magik), Divination, and correspondance information. That gives you something to look forward to! I am excited. I may do a section on basic spells as well. We will see how it goes. Woot!

OMG 500 page views?!

People actually read this? I realize it goes up every time you see a page but still that means more than one or two people visit here. Holy crap. Thanks to everyone for reading! That will absolutely motivate me to get this up and running.

Not lost...just busy

So I am not going to apologize for not posting, but I will offer an explination for my absence.

I have been working seven days a week and some things had to be let go. Simple as that. My online presence has diminished greatly. However, I am moving soon and going back to only working 5 days a week, so my ability to do something more with this blog as I had planned should fall into place within the next month.

I am determined to continue with this blog and to scope out the reason I started it to begin with. I wanted to be able to talk to others about my experiances on the path, and maybe encounter friends and mentors along the way. I guess I got discouraged from the lack of feedback. I have been playing with the idea of a podcast to go with the blog, but in reality if I can't keep up with this, I won't keep up with a podcast.

So, I have been trying for awhile to make 'segments' of the blog to give me something solid to talk about. I would like to assign different segments to a schedule, but I know that won't work for me. Perhaps a list of things to be covered when I have time. Is there anything you want me to address? Let me know.

Also, I am considering starting over since I haven't had much of a direction here up till now. Like, I want to discuss basics and work my way up to more advanced topics. Is this something reasonable, or would you as a reader prefer the more free formed discussion?

Let me know. Its going to be probably around a month before I get back to posting normally. So that gives you time to help me out! I really want this to be something special, but have been floundering with where I am actually supposed to take it.

In any case, Blessed Be!
F.A.

Dollar Store Witch

It has come to my attention that I get a good deal of my magickal supplies from dollar stores. Don't judge me, I will explain why it's a good plan ;) .

I don't usually go into the dollar store looking for magickal stuff, usually it's just to waste time. But somehow, I almost always end up with something perfect for my practice. Usually it ranges from small containers for oils and herbs, to bowls and chalices for altar work, to various candles, to... well... I have made a complete altar with dollar store material. Point is, it is a cheap way to get what you need when you can't afford the expense that goes hand in hand with magickal workings.

Even if you can afford the fancy stuff, the dollar store provides a wonderful place for disposible resources. Traveling? Decide to do a makeshift ritual? Stop by the local dollar store. You can get candles, incense, a mirror or picture frame if you prefer to set it all on, a lighter or matches, a pocket knife, a toy wand or even a pencil, and a set of bowls (there is a great sized small bowl set of 3 I love to get), and salt, all for about 7.50. That's a whole altar! Athame, chalice, wand, god and goddess representations, even directions can be included, and incense. If you are traveling, pick up a compass too.

Still not seeing the advantage here? Do you make potions of any kind that you brew on the stove but don't want to contaminate your cooking pans with potentially harmful herbs. Get a dollar saucepan. Works like a charm. Haha no pun intended. No herbs on hand and need a quick memory boost? Go by the dollar store and get a container of rosemary from the spice section to sprinkle on your next meal or to add to your water. That's just one idea!

Still not seeing it? I can keep going.

Bottle of carrier oil for homemade herbal oils - $1.
Herbs (anything carried as a normal cooking spice) - $1.
Stuff to plant an herb garden (set of assorted seeds) - $1.
Prayer/spell candles (the glass encased ones) - $1.
Cakes and ale? Cookies - $1 and juice -$1.
Fairy or woman statue to be a goddess representation - $1.
God representation - $1.

Yes, some of these may be a stretch, but hopefully you are getting the idea.

In any case, with a bit of creativity, and a 10 dollar bill, you can get the materials for whatever working you are trying to do.  

Overworked and Under Funded

I am not going to apologize for my absence, since I only do what I can. I will say however that there is no longer a guarantee that I will post on any sort of regular basis, especially since my last attempt to get ya'll keeping me on track didn't work ;).

Recently I have taken a turn in my spiritual life. Since I am so busy in my mundane life, studying religion in my free time is not something that I find enjoyable right now. Because of this, I have decided that for me, at this point, religion is something that helps me relax. I have been working on craft projects that go along with my practice in order to keep me practicing in an off hand way, as well as preparing me for the times ahead when I will be able to do ritual again.

This creative streak has caused me to put block in my bed and call it a stress free zone, start working with oils again to make my home smell peaceful, and put together a morning ritual based on decorated felt. I have also been working on an additional traveling altar, and a home made pentacle that will take quite some time to place on my altar. I have other small projects going on as well, and all of this together is somehow keeping me from going insane amidst all my stress.

Basically, I am now working 7 days a week and don't know how I am accomplishing everything without the aide of time travel.

Would it help if I actually put certain segments in the blog for you the readers to look forward to? Let me know what you think.

Stuff

I have noticed lately that I try to overload myself with pagan stuff when I am busy. Its like I feel bad for not spending time with my personal path, so I start becoming really attatched to my pagan podcasts, I start thinking of new ideas for tools or journals I need, think of things to research, and decide on a billion new books to read. Then, when things calm down, I find I have spent ungodly amounts of time listening to podcasts, started about 5 books and haven't gotten more than a few chapters of each book actually read, and started many many todo lists that haven't even been touched. On top of this I will have a portion of a grimoir or something similar printed up, and not know why I even started it because my beliefs don't even mirror the information that I printed out. It is all research I may never use. By that time, I can't even figure out how to pull everything back together. I can't be the only one that does this. My current goal is to get a project going that I don't have to restart every time I do this. I decided to put together on book, or volumes hehe, of research that I will have reguardless of what I am interested in researching at the time. I am hoping dividers will help... but the problem is, I am not around my computer long enough to work on it. I have these great ideas, but no time at the computer to put it all together...so when I figure this delima out I will let you know... anybody have any ideas on this?

Yay Nature

So lately the group I have started in my area has been spending a lot of time outside. It is so great. Just to spend time with other like minded people out in the elements is tons of fun. Personally, I have been very stressed so spending some time refreshing is great. So that stress is why there have been such uninformative posts. I will do my best to write something longer on my bus ride in the morning, since an hour on public transportation tends to be inspiring in some way.

By the way, I am trying to add a link to sell things....so if you find random links that don't do anything for a few days, no worries, I will figure it out in time.

Yeah

Anything I could have posted yesterday would have been a rant about people being irresponsible and using the freedom of paganism as an excuse. Today, anything extended would be about the holidays no one understands and such and of course I am only in a bad mood because I am not celebrating it... so happy Valentines to you who celebrate it, hope you and yours get to celebrate in peace.

Fail!

Yep, I missed Sunday again.

But, I just got a spark of inspiration! There was a man on the bus, who at first I was trying to ignore. He would not stop talking and I wanted to be content with the podcast I was listening to. After awhile, his attention turned to me, and I had to listen to this man's story. It was partially through this conversation that I realized he was very insightful. It was like he was a character from the movie Waking Life, imparting his life knowledge on anyone who would listen. I see a lot of people on the bus that talk, but this man actually had something interesting to say. Basically, he was reminding me to enjoy life. How often do you get to be reminded by a total stranger out of the blue of what you need most in life? I guess the point is don't judge so much. Someone you think is only a bother, or unstable, could be the person you need to talk to.

A day late...and more than a dollar short

So, on Saturday I was waiting for the bus to head to school downtown. This is not something I ever intend to do on a Saturday, but had no choice. While sulking at the bus stop, I saw a man in a suit walk up. I saw him stop and talk to one of the other people waiting. He was flipping through a pamphlet, and my mind went 'shit. This guy is either mormon or seventh day advent, and either way I don't feel like dealing with it'. The bus rolled up and I breathed a silent thanks to Gods...a moment too soon. The man walked up an said his bit in the seconds before the doors open. I shrugged him off by saying I was saved and getting on the bus.

I thought nothing more of this occurance until this morning. Couldn't help but wonder, all this man wanted to do was hand me a magazine to teach me about his God. As a religion major, passionate about learning about how all different types of people interact with the devine, I turned him down. How does this reflect on me? This man's god is an aspect of mine...so why wouldn't I be eager to learn about him? Yes, I grew up in a christian environment, but that doesn't mean I understand all aspects of the christian god. Now I feel like I lost out on an opportunity, but I realize I could easily go to a local church to learn more if I really wanted to.

But why is it I react so violently to people trying to convert me? I know this goes back to my upbringing. I was constantly preached to because I didn't go to church. Even more often, I was told I was going to hell because I wasn't baptised. Don't get me wrong, I was a very christian person before my change of path. I never got baptised. I didn't feel that I was afraid of being dunked in water by someone I barely knew, but it just didn't feel right. Now I know it's because I didnt really fit on that path to begin with.

Which leads to my answer of 'I am saved'. Yes, in my own mind I have no fear of the hell that I don't believe exists and at one point did indeed accept Christ. I see him very differently now, but somehow I still find it acceptable to say I am saved. However, I use it as an excuse to not learn more about the aspect of deity I left behind. Being so opposed to learning is completely ridiculous for a person of my educational interests, and that applies to my personal religion as well. I need to stop being so dismissive of something that don't understand. Maybe next time I will take the opportunity to learn something. Maybe its time to let this god of the christians back in to my life.

Another Sunday

Yet another week I am not sure what to write about. Sigh.

I have been diving into my studies of my own religion any time I have had a bit of free-time recently. Which has lead to reading about 3 books at once, making a new set of runes, and having about 50 bazillion other religion based projects going on as well. The good news, is it is keeping me connected to my religion despite the fact I am incredibly busy.

So give me topics! I am currently reading through Uncle Bucky's big blue book, so I guess I will talk about something he mentioned.

He spends a lot of time talking about athames and how important it is to use one you have worked on yourself instead of a store bought knife. I don't think it matters as much as Buckland tries to make it sound. If a wand, as he puts it, can be a dowel rod painted gold, then why does the knife have to have some special effort put into it other than energy and cleansing? I have an athame that I bought from a local metaphysical store when I was just starting. It works beautifully and I have never had any problems with it. In fact, I would feel that I was disrespecting a knife if I took off the original handle to make my own as Buckland seems to find fitting. What happened to respecting the artisan? The person that made the piece doesn't matter, it is the way we respect and treat the items we use. For example, you use store bought cauldrons and statues. They are used for directing energy as well, even if it is not as intense. What I am getting to I guess, is I see no reason for a knife that is store bought to not have an intense connection with it's owner, just like any other piece on your altar would.

Bad me!

I missed Sunday. Sorry about that guys! And no one even got on to me...

In any case, I am not sure what to write about for a make-up blog. I have been working on trying to really understand the stones that I own and what they are useful for and such. Bought some herbs that are more popular in local cooking and am going to play with them a bit...other than that, mostly I have been fighting off another round of allergies. I hate being sick. And it is putting some major holes in my attempts to get back into the routine of doing energy work. So, I blame that for my lacking blog post. I know this one doesn't quite make up for it, but I will write another one when I think of a suitable topic.

Blessed be!

Almost missed a week ;)

So, an hour before Sunday is over I am posting. Such a bad person I am ;)

In any case, I have been trying to get back into meditation lately. I didn't realize what an impact just a short time away from the practice can have. Now when I sit down, I find my mind racing in a million directions. If I can get into the meditation state at all, I can't stop thinking about everything else I have going on and that I need to do. It feels like I am a beginner all over again. This is not the first time I have gone through this, but it never seems to be less traumatic. Since I know I am not the only one that has dealt with this, I will share a little insight on how I am getting through it. The important thing I am finding it to make yourself sit down, in the same area you meditate in, for the entire time you were hoping to meditate. That's right, even if you aren't meditating. Your mind will wonder, but don't let it get too involved in activity. Try to focus on something specific. If you like to color, use this as a meditative type exercise for a few days, focusing entirely on the page you are coloring. Maybe you have a small zen garden? Placed in the lap so that you can remain in your meditation area, a zen garden is a great way to focus the mind and keep yourself focused. Mediation balls are also helpful if you find yourself still having a problem getting back into meditation after a few days of focus. It is harder to focus on the balls form the beginning, so waiting until you are used to sitting in one spot the entire time is probably the best bet. I find it helpful to concentrate with a set of meditation balls in each hand to keep the mind focused. If you just can't find a way to keep yourself glued to that spot, that's alright too. Try for a few minutes at a time, for several times a day. If nothing else, there are many podcasts on guided meditations to get you back into the groove. Perhaps use one of these once a day, and then try again to maintain silence of the mind for a few moments before bed. Not only will this aide in falling asleep, but since you will force yourself to stay in bed, what better time could there be to practice quieting the mind? If you have anything to add, please post it in the comments. I look forward to hearing your techniques, and hopefully something can be gained from my experiences with the inability to get back into a solid meditation schedule.

Blessed be!

Tarot

Just thought I would let everyone know, I am now offering tarot readings for personal practice and experienced. If you are interested in a reading, email me.

Caring for an Altar

For most on a Pagan path, we find it important to have an altar. The problem is, when that altar is left to the elements rather than taken care of on a regular basis, it loses the reason we set up the altar to begin with. I never really understood the importance of this until I returned to my family's home for the holidays. I had set up an altar in my room there when I started on my current path. Now that I only return to that home ever two weeks or so, I sadly have not done anything to take care of it or to re-energize it in months. Before I left to return to my home, I took a look at my altar and realized I had not touched it my entire visit. Seeing the dust that had collected there and the untouched candles made me realize there was no bit of the divine left there. When I returned to the place I live, I looked at my much used and very crowded altar and wondered when the last time I actually did more than just light the candles and offer a simple sacrifice to the powers that be. In our busy lives, it is so easy to let our altars fall into disrepair. The problem is, we get into a habit of lighting our candles or a stick of incense and thinking that the simple act is enough to recharge the energy and keep our spiritual lives going. The problem is, when we do not take the time to further our spiritual lives, that altar with the candles lit once a week or once a month is no better off than the one that sits and collects dust. While both of them offer a visual reminder of what we are supposed to believe, neither of them offer the religious fulfillment they were designed to bring into our lives. I have always taken the time to change my altar every sabbat. Now I realize, that isn’t enough. Even with a busy daily life, we have to take the time to pay attention to our spiritual needs. Is five minutes a day really too much to ask when dealing with the price of possible enlightenment? How long must we ignore our spiritual practice before we have to start back at square one because we have forgotten what we have learned? I know for 2011 I am going to do my best to change my outlook on life and remember that religion has always been my driving factor, and the way I live my life should not change just because I feel like there is too much to do. I encourage all of you to look at your religious lives with the change of the calendar as well. What is it that you find important. Do you take the time to make sure it gets the attention it deserves? It’s time to dust off my altar and revive the journal I left sitting to make the most out of my life. It’s a simple change, but could make all the difference. What is your change going to be?