Hey! Remember January, February & March?

 What a beautiful summer day!,

Just a short note to remind us, even with the yard work, errands, and other demands made upon us by day to day living, that it is such a beautiful day!  I'm going to go out, enjoy the gentle breezes and warm air, and take a moment to be grateful for all that I have in my life!

Take a walk, call a friend, hug your cat or dog, or both! Enjoy your day and evening, because the magick is all around us, even when we don't see or feel it.  Go out and have a magickal moment! I'm going to.

"I thank the Goddess for this moment,
and for this special day
a day of sunshine, a day of happiness
a day to put away.

In my memories, to be remembered much later,
a secret smile, as I fondly recall
in the midst of next winter,  cold and bitter,
this day I will remember all. 

For just this moment, I am so grateful for all .  .  . 
for all the wondrous gifts
that life has given and continues to share,
which puts a smile in my heart and on my lips.

Enjoy this, a special day.



Peace and Happiness



Please check out my newest blog The Life and Recipes of a Medieval Cook @ http://thelifeandrecipesofamedievalcook.blogspot.com

© 2010-2011 Enchantments, LLC Portions of this blog posting may include materials from my book “Enchantments School for the Magickal Arts First Year Magickal Studies.” For more information, see www.enchantmentsschool.com or go to the title of tonight's discussion and click, it will link you to my school's website. 

If you know someone who would like my work, please send them this link. If you or they would like to be included on our daily email distribution list send me an e mail with your email address to be included. If you ever wish to unsubscribe to this blog, please contact me and you will be immediately removed from our list.

What's being witch-crafted at Enchantments? Let me tell you!

 Good Evening,

So much had been happening, all good things, with the onset of summer and the growth and abundance of the earth right outside our windows. I've been in a crafty mood of late and have been working on my newest project, Goddess candle kits.

What these are exactly,  are pillar candles that I have closely worked with, charging with magickal energy, and have associated with a specific Goddess from historical culture.  I take each candle and with the specific Goddess in mind, I meditate for a few moments, visualize certain symbols that seem appropriate for the Goddess I'm working with and carve these symbols on the top, bottom and along the sides of the candles.  I then take a mini vial filled with a magickal blended oil, made only with essential oils, that I have formulated to include the magickal qualities, each specific Goddess is known for, to be used to anoint candle before burning.

Each Goddess Candle kit is wrapped with a label that unfolds to show you an artistic impression of each Goddess that you can focus on while anointing and then burning the candle, the magickal qualities of the Goddess that will come into your life when you prepare and burn this candle, an incantation written by me, and instructions on preparing and burning the candle.

I created these candles because so many people have said to me that they want to work with a specific goddesses, but don't know which one to pick!  Relax, dearie, no worries!  You can work with different Goddesses and have their magickal qualities enter your life for different situations.  No reason to stress about dedicating to one Goddess, (and which Goddess?? There's so many good ones!) nowadays you can benefit by utilizing the knowledge available to us from different cultures and thus bring in the energies you desire.

I have developed a Goddess candle kit for ten goddesses as of this point and I have more I plan on making.

The Goddesses available at Enchantments right now are:

• Hecate - Greek - Goddess of Witches - brings in strong, powerful magick 

• Aphrodite - Greek -  Goddess of Love - love, passion, lust

• Diana-Artemis - Greco-Roman - Goddess of the Hunt - protector of animals, animal magick and healing

• Bast - Egyptian - Goddess of Protection and sensual pleasures - protection especially of women, and lust & sex.  I love this kit as I use black cat shaped candles.

• Freya - Norse - Goddess of Love -  Love, beauty, destiny 
• Gaia - Earth Mother Goddess - abundance, energy of creation
• Cerredwen - Celtic Welsh Goddess - inspiration, wisdom
• Danu - Celtic Irish Goddess -  Mother Goddess wisdom, protection
• Morrigan - Celtic Irish War Goddess and Warrior Queen- protection, passion, courage, strength, intense love 
• Ultimate Goddess - General divine energy for any and all requests petitioned directly to Her. 

Goddess Candle Kit Bast where I use a black cat shaped candle for this kit.

 Goddess Candle kit for Norse Goddess Freya - Thanks for the suggestion for this sexy Goddess Gary!!

Each candle kit sells for $13.00 and you will get appx 30 hours of burn time from the candle. Large oversize candle kits are priced separately and will give many more hours of burn time.

 This is an Ultimate Goddess candle carved, prepared and burning.


I am enjoying working with the energy of each Goddess while creating these candles for you. If you have a specific Goddess I would be willing to consider making a kit to represent her. Just let me know!  I am in the process of creating a kit for:
A harvest Goddess of Grain and Corn
Rhiannon// Epona
Isis
and I'm excited about making a candle kit to honor and work with the energy of both the Goddess and God simultaneously.  I'm hoping this kit will be perfect for altar use in any type of ritual. I'm working with a master candle maker or chandler and we're looking a creating a dual candle set with wicks entwined.  I hope you stop by Enchantments to try my new Goddess candle kits and that you like them.  Each has been personally crafted by me so you can feel good knowing they weren't made by machine and mass produced. We will be soon placing this item on our website for internet orders.

A new exciting order of witch-crafted magickal wands have arrived at Enchantments!!

Let me tell you about a friend of mine, Roger. I met Roger a few years ago when he stopped into Enchantments and introduced himself to me. A pleasant, handsome young man, he had interest in all things magickal and was in the area from far off Ohio (I believe) for the Renn Faire being held right down the road in the next town.

He took a few classes while he was in town and generally endeared himself to others, as he was and remains a very nice man.  He was selling leather goods at the Renn Faire and in the next couple of years he had branched out into his own company, WitchWorks and started to make wands.  He had asked my opinion on gathering the wood for an effective magickal wand and we discussed the concepts of harvesting the wood from living trees as opossed to gathering dead fallen wood.  I have worked with natural energy my entire magickal life and death in the magickal world is the same as in our physical reality. Dead wood is just that, no life, no energy.  Instead I teach students how to properly harvest wood from a living tree without harming or causing stress to the tree, and sealing the energy into the branch to be crafted into a wand.  He did his research and asked a lot of very knowledgeable people in the world of magick and he was soon crafting his wands.  I am so proud to offer Roger's WitchWorks  magickally witch-crafted wands at Enchantments.

Each wand is accompanied with a tag that describes the type of wood, the magickal properties of the wood, the type of moon, (new, full, blue) that it was harvested under, and the date of harvest. He then treats them to a hot soak in water in an iron cauldron, over an open flame and then allows them to cure in the open air for a lunar month before shipping them to stores. So each wand is exposed to the natural elements we work with often, earth in the iron cauldron, air, fire and water.  Each wand is unique and quite special.  We have many varieties to choose from and many of the woods we have only one of, so if you see one you might like, stop by! These wands sell very enthusiastically and we were down to just one wand when this new order came in today!

We have, off the top of my head the following woods: Peach, apple, pecan, walnut, elm, birch, maple, pomegranate, willow, corkscrew willow, alder, aspen, cherry, hawthorne, mulberry, oak, horse chestnut, sycamore and that's just the ones I can remember! 

 Oak wand

 We have expanded our days at Enchantments and our current summer hours are: Tuesdays 10 am until 4 pm and Wednesdays through Saturdays 10 am until 5 pm. Things are getting better, economy wise at Enchantments and I have you to thank. Please keep telling your friends about us and we will do everything we can to stay in business. Thank You!!


Peace and Happiness


Please check out my newest blog The Life and Recipes of a Medieval Cook @ http://thelifeandrecipesofamedievalcook.blogspot.com 

© 2010-2011 Enchantments, LLC Portions of this blog posting may include materials from my book “Enchantments School for the Magickal Arts First Year Magickal Studies.” For more information, see www.enchantmentsschool.com or go to the title of tonight's discussion and click, it will link you to my school's website.

If you know someone who would like my work, please send them this link. If you or they would like to be included on our daily email distribution list send me an e mail with your email address to be included. If you ever wish to unsubscribe to this blog, please contact me and you will be immediately removed from our list.

Pagans and the Law - What should you know about your legal rights?

 Good Evening,

                        Lady Justice with Scales

Tonight we discuss our religious freedoms as afforded us as American citizens by our Constitution and the 1st and 14th amendments. This is a tricky topic. I know, I know! We have freedom of religion in our country, so that's that! Or is it?  There are entire books written regarding this topic, and I will only cover the basic areas in this discussion,  but before we start I need to make something clear. I am not an attorney. Nor do I play one on T.V.!!

But I have for many years taken an interest in the laws of our country and state and how they apply to me, and I personally feel every Wiccan, Pagan and Witch should have a working understanding of the laws that concern us.  If we drive an automobile, we need to know the laws of the road right? Well then, if you have ever felt discriminated against because of your beliefs,  the wise thing is to look up these laws and do a little research.  Many of these laws are tested and strengthened in our court system and below I have included a reference listing of the court cases that have been tested over the years. I have also included a short bibliography of reference materials I used for this discussion.  

Let us start at the beginning, and I mean the very beginning. Our Constitution of the United States of America, within the First Amendment states " Congress shall pass no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof;" 

What this means in my understanding is that Congress shall not pass any laws regarding religion, either for or against. Our right as American citizens,  which allows our free practice of any religion or religious belief is protected by this amendment.  It is important to note that the belief or practice does not require one to be part of any organized religion or belief system. It does not require one to believe in any singular supreme deity, and truly all religious beliefs, i.e. individualistic, indigenous, agnostic, polytheistic even atheistic beliefs all are given protection under the law as it stands.

Interestingly, this amendment to our Constitution was originally only imposed on a federal level and it wasn't until the mid twentieth century, that lawsuits such as  Everson v. Board of Education (1947) incorporated the Establishment Clause, which made the 1st amendment in regards to religion apply on a statewide basis. The Establishment Clause "prohibits the federal, state or municipal establishment of an official religion or other preference for one religion over another, non-religion over religion, or religion over non-religion".  The Establishment Clause's meaning has often been a point of contention among different groups during different times in America since its inception. Primarily because its meaning can be interpreted differently and has been over the years.  According to liberals for example, the Establishment Clause erects a wall of separation between church and state, although this term does not appear in the First Amendment or in our Constitution, but in a personal letter sent by Thomas Jefferson to church leaders in Connecticut.  Hmmm.

It was not until the late twentieth century that the Supreme Court began to interpret the Establishment and Free Exercise Clauses in such a manner as to restrict the promotion of religion by the states. It was common until this time for states to promote and encourage the participation of one religion over others and to the exclusion of some.  In the Board of Education of Kiryas Joel Village School District v. Grumet, 512 U.S. 687 (1994), Justice David Souter, writing for the majority, concluded that "government should not prefer one religion to another, or religion to irreligion." 

Actually the courts are not allowed to even determine if a religion is valid!  "Courts cannot judge the validity of any belief or doctrine; US v. Ballard, 322 U.S. 78 (1944)  What does this all mean? Let me put it in simple witch language.  Can you still get fired from your job if you are Pagan?, Can you lose custody of your children because you're Wiccan?, Can you be discriminated against because you are Pagan, Wiccan or a Witch? The answer to all of these questions is a resounding YES!  Yes, you can. 

Hey now! I didn't say it was right, or legal or even nice.  But the reality is, these things happen and continue to happen on a regular basis.  Just check out my list of the cases below heard in some of the highest courts.  Now, these cases and the eventual judgment of the court do hold up our constitutional rights, but they all started with an action of one against another and people did lose their jobs, custody, rights etc. etc. along the very long, expensive and time consuming process until they reached the end.  

One famous case for Wiccans everywhere! is Dettmer v. Landon 799 F. 2d 929 (4th Cir. 1986) was a court case in which the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit held that 'although Wicca is a religion , it was not a violation of the first amendment to deny a prisoner access to rituals objects.   Yikes! To sum up this case, a prison inmate who was a practicing Wiccan wanted access to ritual materials in his cell for religious practice. .  .  .  Wiccan materials.  We use fire .  .  .   sharp knives .  .  .    hmmm, I tend to agree with the courts on this one even if it was against the Wiccan prison inmate. Um, prison inmate is the key phrase here. Yet this was a "Win" for Wiccans everywhere, simply because the courts are not allowed to even declare a religion a religion, so by this simple 'Ooops' Wicca obtained a tad more credibility than it had before.  So, this is good.  Yet, there are decisions stated also by the highest court in the land, the U.S. Supreme Court that have hurt us equally. 

Such as United States Supreme Court's notorious decision of Employment Div., Dept. of Human Resources of Oregon v. Smith, 485 U.S. 660, 670 (1988)  In Smith, Justice Scalia wrote that the accommodation of religion should be left "to the political process" where government officials and political majorities may abridge the rights of free exercise of religion.   .  .  .  Wait, what?!  

The American Civil Liberties Union has responded to this decision with this statement "The ACLU, along with almost every religious and civil rights group in America that has taken a position on the subject, rejects the Supreme Court's notorious decision of Employment Division v. Smith."

Outside of the court system, we have leaders in this country  that also pose stumbling blocks to our religious freedoms.  In 2000 for instance there was an on-line cyber debate with the then candidates for President of the United States and a girl from San Diego California submitted this question to the candidates:

"With religious diversity increasing, what are your thoughts on the protection of religious freedom and the separation of church and state? Should religions like Wicca be banned from recognition by the military, as some legislators suggest?”

George Bush (then Governor Bush)  answered: 

"I am committed to the First Amendment principles of religious freedom, tolerance, and diversity.  Whether Mormon, Methodist, Jewish, or Muslim, Americans should be able to participate in their constitutional free exercise of religion. I do not think witchcraft is a religion, and I do not think it is in any way appropriate for the U.S. military to promote it." 

Hmmm.  Well he became president, I guess its a good thing he didn't get nominated to the Supreme Court, where he could have done real damage!  

  

I personally know a woman who lost custody of her children because the father wanted the kids to go to a parochial school and she was Wiccan, and he didn't want them educated in any magickal way. The court found in favor of the father and she was unable to afford additional representation and had been spiritually beaten down by the long divorce and pain of the entire process, so she didn't fight the case further.  Was this fair? Right? Just? Of course not.  But it happened. 

My point? Many run around using the first amendment and also the14th amendment "No state shall deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws." (The fourteenth amendment protects against discrimination by state and local governments on the basis of religious beliefs, as well as gender or ethnicity.), to proclaim their rights as Wiccans, Pagans and Witches.  While its true that we do have this ultimate protection, realistically while we wait and pay the high expenses for our case to get to the United States Supreme Court which on average takes many years, and in the end many cases are not even heard, we are still out of a job, discriminated against and  judged unfairly.  Knowing your rights and resources available to you can help.  

There are many Pagan anti-defamation groups springing up in all states.  One of the first I had ever heard of was the one founded and organized by Ms. Laurie Cabot the 'Official Witch of Salem', over twenty years ago, and is called the (WLPA) Witches League for Public Awareness and more recently she founded the (PWP) Project Witches Protection and is still today a group made up of professionals who can represent and defend those who have been discriminated against.  Another excellent resource is www.religioustolerance.org.  This website lists all sorts of pagan anti-defamation groups, as well as Wiccan and Pagan educational groups and other informative sites. The American Civil Liberties Union is also a place to get needed information on how you may be represented and helped. The ACLU can be reached through www.aclu.org. 

I have found it a personal responsibility to role model and demonstrate to the lay and magickal public a credible, reasonable, polite respect for others and to present a down to earth real persona that others can relate to and engage with.  Don't get me wrong, I had my wild witchy moments in my 20's.    O.K. .  .  .  I guess a part of my 30's also .  .  .  if you must know, where I wore long cloaks, long Gothic dresses (not just to the Renn faires as one would think, but to the local Stop and Shop and the mall! Seriously, I did!)  I still like dressing up witchy, but I keep it to special occasions like Sabbats and usually just dress nicely, a tad Bohemian, but fairly 'normal'.

Why the change? Is it just because I'm getting older! Oooh, how dare you! I'm just a few centuries young! (Big smile)   I think its because I'm getting a smidge wiser, perhaps. Because in my 20's and 30's I was just a private individual who had no interaction with the general public and most just thought me a bit different, to put it nicely.  Now, I am a business and school owner and I teach this stuff in a Adult Continuing Education program at Manchester Community College. I may only impact a tiny portion of the world, but many people do come to me as a public witch in the Manchester area for advice, questions and knowledge of a witchy sort.  I know that I can influence and affect people in many ways, just by playing this public role. I see deep responsibility in that.  We all affect people everyday by our interaction with them. How we come across is vital.  I choose to affect people in a positive, fun and non frightening way, and hopefully answer their questions in reasonable, everyday language.

When people meet me and know I'm a witch, because of the class or lecture I'm giving or behind the sales counter at the store, they will ask me questions or start a conversation and after several minutes I've heard many times " You should talk to more people about this.  .  .  You don't come across at all like I expected .  .  .  (translation, you're not freaky, scary or weird!?) .  .  .  I've heard, "You're very knowledgeable .  .  .  You look just like anyone else! (Well I don't know about that!) .  .  .  all basically saying that my words have credibility and something of value, at least to them.  We all can affect this path positively, and I know you also have much to offer with what you've learned. But when people can't get by your outside appearance, just because its so foreign or unusual  they never get to really hear your words in the first place.  Thus when they leave you they are left with an image of what they saw and little of what you know.

 Those that wish to come across as totally freaky, weird, strange and really edge, although I understand and respect that as a personal choice, they should not be surprised when some might discriminate against them, for example:  you may not get a job you applied for, because the boss is afraid you will scare away the customers because of your individual looks! Oh my,  but don't say its religious discrimination. And no they will never tell you the real reason! I mean really why would they? 

Also some people take the 'freedom of religion' concept a tad too far in my very liberal opinion. For instance, you don't get to light candles and burn incense at your desk in your cubicle at work just because of your perceived rights.  Nor will every employer give you every Sabbat off especially when that adds an additional eight calendar days that are not found on everyone else's holiday calendar.  AND I know the accepted calendar holidays are many times Christian or Judaic in nature, and yours are also religious in nature but  .  .  .  pick your battles my dear witchlings.  It's also important to pick battles that you have an actual chance to win.   It's also important to realize that every battle is not meant for us to fight personally.   

I guess I want to sum up this discussion by saying, in my opinion,  we do live in the most wonderful country in the world, if civil, religious and societal rights and freedoms are important to you.  We have the best there are.  Frankly for those who don't fit in the majority mainstream, nor want to, this country affords many rights and privileges not found elsewhere.   The laws in our country, like our government, are always changing, evolving, morphing and growing. Administered by humans, things don't always go our way, as people are only as fair and just as their filters allow them to be.  Take responsibility for you. Know your rights, understand what they really mean, and present yourself in a way that others can learn from.  So many people want to know of these ways, if they ask you, realize you can affect them in so many ways.  

How will you affect others with your magickal knowledge?

  (Author's Note- As stated in the above discussion, I am not an attorney, nor do I have any legal training.  The information above was compiled by myself during research for this topic over the years and for this discussion.  Please always seek out a competent attorney or legal adviser for any legal needs you have. Please do not use the above information provided to make any determination as to your legal rights and status.  I myself, although I have done much research on this topic over the years, would run to an attorney should I find or suspect that my rights have been violated or infringed upon. Witches can be pretty opinionated, some of us stubborn, and we tend to feel strongly about many things.  But with today's technology and so many resources at our finger-tips we can also be highly educated and wise in the decisions we make. There are many out there with so much more knowledge than we have, seek them out.)

 Ms. Faith McCann ~owner and Head witch of Enchantments a School for the Magickal Arts and Witch Shoppe, located in Manchester, CT USA and author of 'The Life and Times of a Contemporary New England Witch' witch blog 

Court Cases used as background research  for this discussion: 


Church of Lukumi Babalu Aye, Inc. v. City of Hialeah, 113S.Ct 2217 (1993)
Frazee v. Illinois Dept. of Employment Security, 489 U.S. 829 (1989)
Callahan v. Woods, 658 f. 2d.679 (9thCir. 1981)
Employment Division, Dept. of Human Resources of Oregon v. Smith, 494 U.S. 872 (1990) 
Sherbert v. Verner, 374 U.S. 398 (1963)
Religious Freedom Restoration Act, 42 U.S.C. 2000bb (1993)
Lawson v. Dugger, 844 F. Supp. 1538 (S.D. Fla, 1994)
Walz v. Tax Commission, 397 U.S. 1 (1947)
Everson v. Board of Education, 330 U.S. 1 (1947)
Lemon v. Kurtzman, 403 U.S. 602 (1971) 
Larson v. Valente, 456 U.S. 228 (1982)
 Police Dept. of Chicago v. Mosley, 408 U.S. 92 (1972) 
Also see under RFRA 1993:
Campos v. Coughlin, 854 F. Supp. 194 (S.D.N.Y. 1994)
Western Presbyterian Church v. Board of Zoning Adjustment of District of Columbia, 849 F. Supp. 77 (D.D.C. 1994) 
Additional Protection is provided by  The Civil Rights Act of 1871-1978 
American Indian Religious Freedom Act (1978) 


Additional materials used for the basis of this discussion provided by: 


The Witches Voice website www.witchvox.com  and 
Pagans and The Law  Understanding your Rights by Dana D. Eilers Attorney and Pagan Activist
www.religioustolerance.org
www.aclu.org

Please check out my newest blog The Life and Recipes of a Medieval Cook @ http://thelifeandrecipesofamedievalcook.blogspot.com 

© 2010-2011 Enchantments, LLC Portions of this blog posting may include materials from my book “Enchantments School for the Magickal Arts First Year Magickal Studies.” For more information, see www.enchantmentsschool.com or go to the title of tonight's discussion and click, it will link you to my school's website. 

If you know someone who would like my work, please send them this link. If you or they would like to be included on our daily email distribution list send me an e mail with your email address to be included. If you ever wish to unsubscribe to this blog, please contact me and you will be immediately removed from our list.

Ooh, a fun story of witnessing magickal energy in ritual

Good Evening,

I have a short but interesting story to share with you this evening.  A couple of weeks ago we celebrated Beltaine.  I held a Sabbat ritual in the front gardens of Enchantments and the majority of the group consisted of students in our magickal studies classes.  I incorporate rituals, both Sabbat and Esbat, in the magickal studies course at Enchantments and on this day class was held outdoors as we conducted a ritual.  We had beautiful weather and it was a delightful day all around. 

A few days after the ritual I was speaking with a student who had attended and she shared a cool story with me of what she and her mother had witnessed during the ceremony.  She described how after I had finished casting the circle, and had proceeded onto the Sabbat ceremony, her mother and herself, standing side by side were looking into the air above the ritual area and saw a black crow take off from a branch and fly towards the ritual area. She had said they anticipated the bird flying right over the ritual area and that it would be a cool part of the activities, as any natural occurrence during a ritual is usually a very welcome thing.

I was excited to hear this part of the story as I have worked for many years with the energy of the Goddess Morrigan, a Celtic Goddess, her symbols are the crow and raven.  Then the story got even better. She described how the crow flew towards the ritual area but when it got to the place in the air where the perimeter of the circle would be, it reacted as if it had flown into a wall, it dropped down a foot or so and regained its equilibrium and flew in a different direction!  She looked at her mother who confirmed what she had seen.  As they were in a part of the circle facing me, I had my back to the drama in the sky, so I missed the spectacle.  

I've experienced many different phenomenon over the years in regards to the circle which is cast for a ritual or service to be held.  I personally feel the energy of the circle was the resistance the crow met.  The student said that a short time later a smaller bird flew through the area, and I don't know what to make of that. I don't know if size of the bird would be a factor? Even the crow meeting resistance is a bit of a surprise to me, as the circle never has been understood by practitioners to provide any sort of actual physical barrier, its more electromagnetic than tangible. 

I have seen photographs taken of the magick circle where the picture has distortions where the perimeter was, (there's an example in the right hand side bar of this website, the top photo) I have felt the extreme temperature change that can take place inside vs outside the circle, I have seen spirits manifest, and all sorts of unexpected and magickal phenomenon. 

 I felt this was an interesting and fun story of a magickal moment encountered on a really nice Sabbat, and I'm glad I could share it with you. Have a beautiful rest of your day and evening. 



Peace and Happiness






Please check out my newest blog The Life and Recipes of a Medieval Cook @ http://thelifeandrecipesofamedievalcook.blogspot.com

© 2010-2011 Enchantments, LLC Portions of this blog posting may include materials from my book “Enchantments School for the Magickal Arts First Year Magickal Studies.” For more information, see www.enchantmentsschool.com or go to the title of tonight's discussion and click, it will link you to my school's website. 

If you know someone who would like my work, please send them this link. If you or they would like to be included on our daily email distribution list send me an e mail with your email address to be included. If you ever wish to unsubscribe to this blog, please contact me and you will be immediately removed from our list.

Specific life situations made better with the magick of stones Part I

Good Evening,

We've discussed the magick to be found in crystals, stones and minerals over the last few discussions and tonight we will touch again on this very useful magickal system.  I have been using stones in magickal applications for several decades and they prove themselves again and again to help sway life situations in our favor.

You see, that's what magick is all about, really.  It's not as Hollywood depicts with the snapping of one's fingers and having something suddenly materialize, out of nowhere.  That's more optical illusion, and in truth sleight of hand practitioners do this very thing, make something appear from apparently nowhere, but even so, the object existed in the first place.

The magick a witch does, at least this witch, is to use the magickal energies of natural substances to draw or repel other energies which by doing so, will aid and enhance my life.  Stones, crystals, plants, fire, lightening, rain, wood, seeds, pods, grasses, soil all contain magickal energies to repel or attract energies such as love, health, protection, justice, strength, and if the practitioner uses these substances in a magickal fashion things start to manifest in magickal ways.

But .  .  .  the magickal areas we focus on may seem vague for some people.  What about some real life issues that could use a healthy boost of magick?  Situations such as a court case, a broken relationship you desperately want to fix,  a test or course of study you really need to pass, protection against a stalker or someone who means you harm.   These are some real life, real serious situations that can be aided and swayed in your favor by using stones and magickally charging them to work for you. Tonight we will discuss the first two, and follow up with my next discussion of the last two.  Of course, if you have a specific situation please comment and I'll design a specific spell for you. As long as I can discuss it in this forum so everyone can benefit, feel free to give me your specifics. Of course, real names will never be used, so use a pseudonym or I'll pick one for you. 

The following spells (as this type of work with stones would be classified under spell casting) utilize stones as their main component while also employing other spell casting methods or techniques.  The more serious and necessary a magickal goal,  the more layers or steps you are encouraged to work with. The level of effort directly translates with the level of manifestation, in my years of experience. Take your time, focus and have a clear, magickal end result in mind.

A Court Appearance

 Get Lady Justice to tip the scales in your favor!

There are times in many peoples lives when they have to go to court. Or to be in a place where judgment will be rendered whether in their favor or against.  If you find yourself facing a court date the following stones can be helpful in directing the winds of justice in your direction.

Carnelian - for eloquence
Bloodstone - prosperity, abundance, verdicts in your favor
Malachite  (especially if business is at all involved)
Citrine - clarity, intellect
Tiger's Eye - justice, victory
Yellow Calcite - justice, truth
Quartz Crystal- power boost to the entire collection

spell candles that will be used completely with one burning. The colors of:
silver
red
orange
yellow
green - if its a business situation

Place an altar pentagram on your altar and a Goddess figure or God figure to focus your petition on.  Hold each candle separately and anoint each with oil of rose, violet or orange. Just one oil, no need to mix. While rubbing the oil into each candle, slowly and carefully, visualize clearly your end result.  A court case positive end result would be the phone call, most likely, that you receive giving you the good news.  Perhaps you visualize the celebratory dinner you will have once you win. After each candle is anointed and charged by your visualization, and set around the pentagram and God/dess figure.

Take a few more drops of the oil you chose and rub on the palms of your hands and when your hands are lightly covered with the oil pick up the stones and hold them for a few moments. Also visualize slowly and carefully, no rushing!!, and after a few moments of seeing your end result clearly, place them carefully on the pentagram on your altar.  Then light the candles, and of course, ask the Goddess or God (aloud) to help you in your situation. Ask for your desired outcome clearly and be sure that what you are asking for is just and deserving to you.

Be able to see the candles and the altar over the next hour or so, you can watch television or work, whatever you wish, while they continue to burn, just every now and again stop and focus on the end result again, until they burn out completely. Don't do this spell if you can't devote the time to burning the candles out completely, only full out measures for these real life situations.  When the  candles are out, take the stones and place them in a green or gold pouch and carry them with you into court. Have them in an inner pocket, and none of these stones will set off a metal detector (be careful as some can!!) and you should be able to have them with you to help you while in the court room. 



To help mend a broken relationship

For those who have had a quarrel with a friend and loved one, the following stones can help a reconciliation as long as both parties are willing.

Turquoise
Selenite
Amethyst
Sodalite
Moonstone
Lapis Lazuli

three pink spell candles

Take a silver or crystal bowl, (no skimping now! This friendship is too important for plastic ware!) then hold your stones in hand, visualize your friend and you together, happy and at peace, reconciled and friends again.  Take a few drops of olive oil mixed with lavender oil and rub over hands and hold stones, coating them completely. Keep the visual. Now place them in bowl. Gently sprinkle salt over stones, only a few pinches. Then take a bottle of spring water and gently pour over stones.

Place three spell candles around the bowl with stones, (remember to charge the candles as we did in the first spell discussed tonight.) Use the oil you used for the stones to anoint the candles and the visualization of you being reconciled. Light the candles and allow to burn out.

Carry the stones in a pink pouch once you've taken them from the water, after the candles burn out. You can contact our friend and attempt reconciliation but do not push it.  I would wait a couple of weeks before contacting to allow time for your friend to contact you. Its also very possible you two will accidentally meet, take this as a good omen and go with it.

Of course the above spell all hinges on the concept that both parties want to reconcile, and there is no restraining order or stalker laws in effect concerning your situation!! Magick will NOT allow you to manipulate or harm another, even with fear, so don't go there .  .  .

Our next discussion will discuss using tones to help with studying for a test and protection from very real danger. 

Peace and Happiness


Please check out my newest blog The Life and Recipes of a Medieval Cook @ http://thelifeandrecipesofamedievalcook.blogspot.com

© 2010-2011 Enchantments, LLC Portions of this blog posting may include materials from my book “Enchantments School for the Magickal Arts First Year Magickal Studies.” For more information, see www.enchantmentsschool.com or go to the title of tonight's discussion and click, it will link you to my school's website.

If you know someone who would like my work, please send them this link. If you or they would like to be included on our daily email distribution list send me an e mail with your email address to be included. If you ever wish to unsubscribe to this blog, please contact me and you will be immediately removed from our list.

Green Medicine and Enchantments' Official Stance on offering medical advice

 Good Evening,

Tonight we'll discuss a serious topic. Self medicating using herbs, natural, homeopathic, naturalistic or other home remedies.  Enchantments official stance on this is we don't give any advice concerning this topic to customers.  For several reasons, of which we'll go over tonight.

Firstly and most importantly, I, nor is anyone associated with Enchantments a doctor nor do we have any medical degrees.  Of any sort.  That's very important.  The last time I checked you still need to have a license to practice medicine in this state or any other in this country.  A valid medical license.  No this does not mean a course in Reiki making one a Reiki master, nor a massage therapist, a yoga instructor, nor an herbalist, or any sorts of alternative healing practices going on in our world today.  We work with magick, simply that.

Many people today have a pretty dim view on modern medicine and some have good reason.  But many whom I have spoken with, disdain modern medicine because "the doctors over prescribe!".  Well, it takes two. If your doctor is over prescribing medications for you, you must be going to them and asking for some relief from symptoms.  If you are feeling like crap, because you have the common cold then many times, I've been told by a doctor, you need to ride it out and feel a bit crappy for a while. Most of us want and demand instant relief, as promised by television commercials.

Trying to self medicate using natural ingredients speaks to the novices inexperience with herbs.  Yes, years ago the herbal green witch used herbs to treat just about everything, but many things could not be cured or treated. Simply because modern medical pharmaceuticals had not been developed yet.  Today we are surrounded with chemicals that can cause an adverse reaction if taken with herbal remedies. Especially if you take prescription drugs you must check with your doctor or pharmacist to make sure you won't cause a nasty cross reaction.  Don't take pharmaceutical drugs, recreational? What about vitamins? Over the counter medication? So many of these have warnings against taking them with other drugs, vitamins even fruit!  Yes, some over the counter drugs mixed with fruit can be a bad thing!!

Some birth control pills have cross reactions when taken with certain fruits or vitamins making them less effective! Trust me, we on average know much less about this topic than we believe. In fact some people you may know may be virtual experts in the subject, just ask them. But do they have that all important training that tells you they actually know what they're talking about?

Yes, as a green witch I feel that herbal accompaniments can enhance one's life and health. I believe that modern medicine may have it's issues, but it's responsible for keeping millions of people alive each year and making their lives better and healthier.  But it's a responsible person that uses all the gifts the Goddess has given us, and uses them wisely. 

We can't and won't give medical advice for those searching for alternatives. I have recommended people that are determined to find herbal cures to check out a health food store, as they are often staffed with knowledgeable people when it comes to herbal remedies.Working with a naturopathic doctor  in combination with an allopathic (Western Medicine)  doctor that respect each other's profession can be the best combination for someone wanting to keep healthy and strong.

I do not try to treat myself or family members, even though I have read extensively on the topic.  I like to be knowledgeable and aware while consulting experts who can make more informed decisions than I.  If something feels a bit sketchy, check with another doctor, do research yourself on the computer and find a safe, effective solution to your issue.

Many throughout the ages have learned that the local witch has answers for all sorts of ills and maladies.  I personally find it a good thing that we no longer have to rely on a wise woman to fix our medical issues, because the Goddess has given us all sorts of respected, authentic medical practices and personnel that can help us with our problems.  Being a witch should not be an indicator of medical competency and when a lay person asks because they sincerely believe this, or hope it to be so, then we have a responsibility to gently correct them and encourage them to seek out competent professionals.

I read the tarot and give spiritual consultations for many people.  Many readers find like the stereotypical hair stylist that you are in effect giving a type of therapy, but it's just as important to be able to recognize individuals who need real clinical help and to encourage them to seek this type of help rather than having them come back month after month.

We in the field of professional witches work closely with the community to offer help, give answers and needed change for troubled, challenging lives and recognizing when to move them to professionals is very important, at least in my opinion.

My only advice when it comes to living green is to eat plenty of fruits and vegetables, fresh is better,  breath lots of fresh air, drink water and get enough exercise for you and be happy.  At the end of every day, be happy or make change.

Peace and Happiness





Please check out my newest blog The Life and Recipes of a Medieval Cook @ http://thelifeandrecipesofamedievalcook.blogspot.com 

© 2010-2011 Enchantments, LLC Portions of this blog posting may include materials from my book “Enchantments School for the Magickal Arts First Year Magickal Studies.” For more information, see www.enchantmentsschool.com or go to the title of tonight's discussion and click, it will link you to my school's website. 

If you know someone who would like my work, please send them this link. If you or they would like to be included on our daily email distribution list send me an e mail with your email address to be included. If you ever wish to unsubscribe to this blog, please contact me and you will be immediately removed from our list.

Magickal Stones - How to charge, cleanse and recharge stones for your magickal use

Good Evening,

Tonight we'll continue our discussion concerning magickal stones and their use.  We've talked about their magickal properties and some ways to use them in your day to day life.  Whereas all natural things are 'created' with a natural ability to attract or repel certain energies, after they have been used for a bit, they may need to be cleansed or re-charged. 

This is the realm of the witch.  Anyone can find a pretty stone and carry it around with them, or have a piece of jewelry with stones that they wear,  but for it to 'work' for you, magickally, some basic understanding is necessary. 

Knowing the magickal properties of the specific stones you are using is key. Understand what energies you first wish to attract or repel if banishment is desired, and have a visual image of yourself with those magickal properties manifesting in your life.   For instance if you are using stones to attract love to your life, see yourself with that love in your life, how will you feel? How will you look? How will your life be different?

Charge your stones: 

To charge or empower  your stones with the 'job' you give them to do: 

We'll stick with the love scenario, although these steps can be adjusted for the specific magickal property you choose. Just change your visual for the magickal property you desire and choose stones that sync up with that property.

• Have stones you've chosen gathered together. 

• Be seated comfortably and make sure you will not be distracted for a few moments.

• Hold stones in your palms, and close your hands over them.  You may wish to lay one palm over the other. 

• Close your eyes and see a pink mist covering your hands ad the stones inside. Just imagine the mist, in your mind's eye.

• Now see a bright white light, again in your mind's eye, covering the stones and being absorbed into the stones.

• With your eyes closed, see yourself with the love you desire in your life. (Note- don't worry about visualizing how you'll meet, when or any specifics,just that a special love is in your life and how you'll look and feel when that happens) 

After a few moments, you're done. The stones are 'charged' or energized with a specific job utilizing their specific properties.

Cleansing your stones:

After the stones have worked for you and the love, in this case, has manifested you may re-use the stones for another magickal goal, or desire. But to do so, you will need to 'cleanse' the stones first. Not actually cleaning them, if course, unless they're dirty for some reason. But to psychically cleanse them and re-charge them to be used for your next job for them.

The easiest way to recharge stones is to put them either in the sun or moon shine, depending on if they are a receptive or projective type of stone.  If they are a projective type of stone, a stone that sends out energies and is usually found in the colors of red, oranges, yellows, clear, and golds the sunshine is the best energy to cleanse and  recharge their energy reserves. 

If they are of the receptive variety, which attracts energies to you, and are found int the colors of blacks, blues, greens, browns and silvers, the moon is the best energy to cleanse and recharge their energies.


After you have determined which stone is which and have chosen your energy source, place out in sun or under the full moon for at least an hour.  Important, take stones in before the next change of day/night. 


Some magickal stones to have on hand for all sorts of occasions:   Where there are books on the market that get into this more deeply, I will speak on those I know myself and have used for many years.

Projective stones and minerals:

Quartz crystal - to intensify and enhance magickal energies
Gold Pyrite - financial abundance, wealth, strength and protection
Carnelian - energy, courage, strength
Citrine - clarity of thought, intellect, anti-nightmare
Amber - wealth, health, intellect, God energy
Yellow/ orange Calcite-
Ruby -  love, wealth, power, joy, anti-nightmare
Garnet -  love, energy, strength, healing, protection
Diamond - strength, divine energy, increased sexuality, fidelity

Receptive stones and minerals: 

green agate - money, growth, health
Jet - protection
Hematite - healing, protection,warding off of negative energies
Sodalite -healing, wisdom, peace
Lapis Lazuli - healing, love, fidelity,  protection
Coal - money attractant, luck

Some additional ways of cleansing and recharging their natural energies besides the earlier mentioned sun rays or moonshine method are:

Placing stones in a mesh bag and allowing naturally running water, as found in a stream or brook to wash over them for several minutes.

Soak in spring water with three pinches of salt added in a silver bowl for three hours then cast a circle and run the stones through a ritual incense mixture of frankincense, copal, and sandalwood, then touch each stone to a Goddess representative candle on the altar. This should be done in a full cast magick circle.

Wearing a stone, or stones such as in a piece of jewelry for 28 consecutive days (a lunar month), without removing, cleanses and charges the stones with your personal magickal energy.  Stones you cannot wear around the clock can still be infused with your personal energy by touching them every day for a moment or two.

These are just a few ways to cleanse, energize and bond with your magickal stones and minerals. As far as starting to collect stones, just pick up and feel every stone you consider buying and if it feels 'right' buy it.  YOU are the only one to determine if a stone feels right to you, no one else can do this. Go with a list of stones you would like to see and learn about and start collecting them.  Also buy a pretty dish or bowl to store them on, or buy a pouch to keep them in.  Keep them around you, and start to use them.


Learning about your stones, collecting them and using them can make a difference in your life, for the better.



Peace and Happiness



Please check out my newest blog The Life and Recipes of a Medieval Cook @ http://thelifeandrecipesofamedievalcook.blogspot.com

© 2010-2011 Enchantments, LLC Portions of this blog posting may include materials from my book “Enchantments School for the Magickal Arts First Year Magickal Studies.” For more information, see www.enchantmentsschool.com or go to the title of tonight's discussion and click, it will link you to my school's website. 

If you know someone who would like my work, please send them this link. If you or they would like to be included on our daily email distribution list send me an e mail with your email address to be included. If you ever wish to unsubscribe to this blog, please contact me and you will be immediately removed from our list.

Happy Beltaine!

Good Evening,

What a glorious day!  Here it was sunny, warm and beautiful for a very welcome Beltaine.  Those that follow a pagan calendar have celebrated this weekend an ancient Celtic spring/summer festival called Beltaine, also spelled Beltane.  From the Gaelic 'Bealltainn' . 


To find the origins of Beltaine throw a stone back in history to land in 9th century Ireland.  We, of course, do not know how early this festival was created but we do have written records from an Irishman named Cormac, who wrote of the stores of Ireland in the ninth century, recording the cultural seasonal celebrations and spiritual practice of the Celtic people. He spoke of the Druidic festival of 'Bealltainn', "Bright Fire" and mentioned the practice of the Druid priests herding cattle along a path that went between two large bon-fires burning fiercely as a blessing, a cleansing and purification ritual.  This practice was thought to protect their very valuable cattle from disease and death.  

Also known as May Day, the first day of May, today!, is also the start of the Celtic summer season. Actually the ancient Celts recognized two seasons, Summer and Winter.  Summer starts on May 1st and continues until October 31st, and November 1st starts the Winter season which continues until April 30, or Beltaine Eve.  Like Samhain Eve, also known as Halloween, these two holidays are clearly marked and have been celebrated by mankind for easily over 1,000 years.  As there is much evidence of Samhain being celebrated by the ancient Druids as long ago as 5,000 years ago, so it makes sense that it's Summer counterpoint would also have been celebrated as far back also , although absolute evidence is hard to come by as so much of the written record has been destroyed, and scholars eternally disagree.  

In the ancient Celtic culture, long before Christianity and its stern frown on all things sexual,  the people looked upon sex as a thing of nature, a necessary and happy celebration of life and not something to be ashamed of and whispered of as sin. Beltaine was the sexual holiday of the eight holidays on the Wheel of the Year, which is an agricultural calendar. A calendar interested in planting seeds, fertilizing and harvesting.  We see the evidence of this in ancient chronicles which detail the Betaine celebrations such as this one from 1583 and credited to a Phillip Stubbs:

 “Every parish, town, and village assemble themselves together, both men, women and children, old and young……… and either going all together or dividing themselves into companies, some go to the woods and groves, some to the hills and mountains……… where they spend all night in pleasant pastimes, and in the morning they return, bringing with them birch boughs, and branches of trees to deck their assemblies withal.


It mattered not of any existing wedding or handfasting  vows, as all rules were suspended for this one day and night and any man could take the hand of any woman and go into the fields and make love with no repercussions or punishment. It was accepted not only in the individual families but throughout their society.  Beltaine was the 'fertility' festival and any children born of the 'Beltaine fires' were considered sacred.  A child conceived during Beltaine would be born the next year in early February, making these 'Belatine babies' born around Imbolc very special in the eyes of the tribe.


Stubbs goes onto comment more about the Celtic peoples Beltaine celebration:

"Their chiefest jewel that they bring from thence is their Maypole, which they bring home with great veneration, as thus; they have twenty or forty of oxen, each ox having a sweet nosegay of flowers tied on the tip of his horns, and these oxen draw this Maypole which is covered all over with flowers and herbs, bound round with strings and sometimes painted with variable colors, with two or three hundred men, women and children following it with great devotion. And thus being reared up with hankerchiefs and flags streaming on top, they straw the ground about, bind green boughs about it, set up summer halls, bowers and arbors hard by; and then fall to banquet and feast, to leap and dance about it"

My Maypole Beltaine 2011

Oh my, sounds like a grand time, indeed!  The Maypole has a long and important history and tradition that remains to this day.  It also fits into the 'fertility' focus of this holiday. The Maypole is a symbolic representation of the God, the large phallic pole representing the male genitalia while the ribbons represent the Goddess and the sexual organs of the Goddess wrapped around the God.  Pretty graphic depiction and the ancients saw it as thus.  It was by this combining of male with female that procreation was possible, and this was of utmost importance.  The Maypole was also traditionally the large tree trunk that would be used as the  Yule log in December thus keeping the continuing cycle, the circular dance going. 

'Cerne Abbas Giant" Best viewed from the opposite hillside or from the air.  There is no evidence that this ancient carving of a very erect male carrying a knobbed club is any older than 400 to 600 years old,  as this was when the references of the ‘Long Man of Cerne’ first appeared in records.

The ancient people gave us some evidence of their 'point of view' in the symbols they've left us such as the ‘Long Man of Cerne’ also known as the Cerne Abbas Giant.  This ancient artwork features a very large naked male image carved into a chalk hillside in Dorset, England. This location in south-west Britian was the  place where annual Beltaine festivals were held.

As air travel was not happening 4 - 600 years ago, the ancients most likely were carving this great image as a gift to the Gods. What was happening in England at the time this handsome man was carved? No one can be sure who carved this figure or why they carved it, but the 1500's and 1600's was a terrible time in England;s history in reference to the Bubonic plague. Consider that in 1563 an outbreak of the plague took 80,000 lives, again in 1625 some 35,000 died and in 1636 another 10,000 souls were lost. With these incredible numbers, when many villages had only a hundred or so residents to begin with, was devastating and would indeed have prompted people to go to great lengths to 'appease' the Gods and bring new, healthy life and offspring back to a country decimated by disease. 


Though the carving of huge figures in the chalk hillsides of Britain first appeared over 3,000 years ago with the 'Uffington horse', which has been proven to be prehistoric in origin.

"Uffington Horse"


What has been passed down through legend and lore is that Beltaine was celebrated as a sexual holiday.  Metaphorically the sexual union between a man and woman on Beltaine, symbolizes the romantic union between the Goddess and the God, the handfasting or marriage of the Goddess and God as well as the 'Great Rite' which is the act of intercourse between the Goddess and God.   This rite which symbolizes the fertilization of the seeds planted in the earth, which will burst forth and grow, producing life sustaining food which in turn keeps mankind alive and who by their sexual union produces offspring which in turns keeps the human race alive.  An endless circle of life and rebirth. Much is metaphor and many pagans today choose to celebrate a sexual ritual albeit in private.  Many people have the opinion that witches or pagans are indulging in orgies and all sorts of free love when that's really not true.  Most pagans, like typical folks,  feel some rituals best performed in private, so .  .  .  sorry to disappoint those who were hoping for some salacious, kinky inside information!



Today we also celebrate Beltaine to celebrate the first of Summer, as frankly who wants to wait until 'mid summer', June 21st, to celebrate, when now is the perfect time.  We also celebrate the life God/Goddess gives us and the opportunities a new year, and a new summer will bring.  We have planted metaphoric seeds around Ostara and now we will fertilize those seeds and start to nurture them to fullness to be harvested later this year. 

This is a festival celebrating the fruits of spring, such as the strawberry.  A legendary strawberry festival, because hundreds of years ago, we were experiencing a much warmer climate this time of year, almost a month warmer, and strawberries would have been ripe on the vine out in the garden.  Whereas right now my strawberries are in flower and getting ready to set fruit, which will be ready about a month from now.  A traditional drink for this festival is May Wine.   I make a non alcoholic version that is really delicious and the entire family can enjoy.

 Sweet Woodruff herb and ground cover


Take 1 bottle of Sparkling Strawberry Juice, or a pink cranberry or grape juice (its best sparkling) and place in a fancy stemmed glass, add a few slices of ripe strawberries and a sprig of sweet woodruff, an herb that is growing and flowering in gardens right now.  It's a plant associated with faeries as faeries are also a part of the Beltaine festivities.  If you have a ritual to celebrate Beltaine be sure to include cookies and sparkling juice for your cakes n ale ceremony as that makes the faerie spirits happy as they celebrate with you.  I always leave a few tidbits near the thyme bushes in my yard for the faeries to find.

A very magickal essence can be had if you are so inclined to gather it, Beltaine dew. Normally done on the morning of Beltaine, but the next few mornings will do, go outside lay on the grass of your lawn, take a small vial and collect the dew from the blades of grass.  It takes some time to gather enough to be of any use, maybe a teaspoonful or so, but it can be used for love spells, youth and beauty spells and spells for new beginnings and new starts. Tap each dew drop off of a blade of grass, and then the next blade, and the next.  It takes dedication and patience but you will be communing with nature at a fundamental level and it is very energizing and fulfilling. 

 Well, tomorrow I plan to continue working in my garden and creating some new theme gardens. I'm creating a medieval herb garden and restoring a magickal flower and herb garden designed loosely around the English country cottage garden look with emphasis on attracting the faerie folk.  We'll talk more on that in another discussion.  I hope you're enjoying the beautiful weather and finding plenty of opportunities to be outside.


Peace and Happiness









Please check out my newest blog The Life and Recipes of a Medieval Cook @ http://thelifeandrecipesofamedievalcook.blogspot.com 

© 2010-2011 Enchantments, LLC Portions of this blog posting may include materials from my book “Enchantments School for the Magickal Arts First Year Magickal Studies.” For more information, see www.enchantmentsschool.com or go to the title of tonight's discussion and click, it will link you to my school's website. 

If you know someone who would like my work, please send them this link. If you or they would like to be included on our daily email distribution list send me an e mail with your email address to be included. If you ever wish to unsubscribe to this blog, please contact me and you will be immediately removed from our list.