'Tis the Season . . .

Good Evening!

What a wonderful, full, busy weekend I have had! I have spent this past weekend with the lovely weather and still long days decorating my yard for Autumn and for the upcoming Samhain season, also known as Halloween!

Mums and pumpkins are coming out in the markets now and are beautiful and plentiful. I took some Zebra Grass, which grows as a perennial in my yard each year and needs to be cut down in the fall, and wrapped it around my lamppost out front and it looks a lot like cornstalks, only prettier and not as messy.

I then tackled a project I had seen on the Internet and wanted to try. Cute little ghosties dancing in a circle that you place on your front lawn. It took me a couple of hours to make eight ghosts and then a few minutes to put them in place, but the results are worth the time. I will, closer to Samhain, put a bundle of tiny lights, orange and purple, in a mock fire in the center of the ghost dancers and run an extension cord to an outdoor outlet.

It was a very busy weekend, but rewarding and I hope the weather stays mild so I can continue to decorate and add a bit of theater to my yard in preparation for the little ghosties and goblins that will come to my door this Samhain eve, begging for candy. I often get between 80 and 100 trick or treaters and, as last year we were robbed of Halloween at least in Southern New England when a freak snow storm plunged us into darkness for two weeks, I am really ready for the festivities this year!

Here are some photos of the work I've done so far. I'll continue to post photos as the decorating progresses over the next several weeks. Happy Holiday decorating to you!

© 2010-2012 Faith M. McCann. 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.


 Please note that the copying and/or further distribution of this work without express written permission is prohibited. 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 Mabon!

Good Evening,

Tomorrow, Saturday September 22nd, we all get to experience Mabon also know as the Fall or Autumnal Equinox. I say experience rather than celebrate because the Equinoxes like the Solstices happen whether we celebrate them or not!

What's going to happen tomorrow is a natural event that happens twice a year. The daylight hours and hours of darkness will be of equal length, that is, 12 hours of daylight and 12 hours of darkness.

In the springtime when this happens, each day afterwards, the daylight hours get slightly longer until we reach the peak or zenith of daylight hours on the Summer Solstice around June 21st. When the Equinox happens in the fall the opposite happens, which is, we will get slightly more darkness each day until we reach the longest night, shortest day of the year around December 21st which we call the Winter Solstice.

This division of daylight, nighttime hours made a pretty big deal back when we were all farmers and our world was largely agricultural. The pagan Wheel Of The Year that modern pagans still follow is actually an ancient agricultural calendar created by the ancient Celtic peoples of ancient Europe.

Today, with modern electrical lighting, man created heat sources, refrigeration and such we don't follow the times of the year as precisely as the ancients did. We simply don't need to. We have food sources available year round in our modern supermarkets, and we create a summer like atmosphere indoors year round. Although in New England we follow the seasons primarily because they happen and affect us whether we want them to or not! Some people like winter, some of us do not. But in Southern New England 'Winter Happens'!

For modern pagans, few of us need to harvest the grains from the fields to survive the winter, and thankfully so! But we can still recognize the Sabbat of Mabon by how it metaphorically manifests in our lives. This is what I mean. What 'seeds' have you planted in the last year? By seeds I mean, what ideas, concepts, promises and goals have you made or set down for yourself? Many in our culture typically do this around New Year's Eve and call them New Year's resolutions. As pagans many of us do this same thing around the Sabbats of Imbolc and Ostara. Following the agricultural theme, I call these ideas 'seeds' that we are to plant, nurture, tend, weed and eventually harvest when they come to full growth.

If you had 'planted your seeds' earlier in the year, how are the ideas you had for yourself coming along? Have you been nurturing your concepts, doing what needs to be done to bring them to fruition so that they can be harvested? If not, no worries, the Wheel Of The Year is a yearly calendar and new seeds or the same seeds can be re-planted and worked on again for next year. Next year is right around the corner, you know.

For me, I planted seeds of happiness, satisfaction and love. These are concepts I always feel I can have more of in my life and tomorrow I plan on 'harvesting' those feelings by celebrating with like-minded folks and friends and enjoying the bounty of the harvest with a Mabon feast and then socializing with others as some walk the Labyrinth. For me the celebration of each Sabbat brings a deep, spiritual satisfaction and being with others of like mind brings me happiness. Now is also a good time to start thinking about what 'seeds' we may wish to plant in just a few months time.

I wish you a bountiful, happy and healthy Mabon Sabbat!



Peace and Happiness





© 2010-2012 Faith M. McCann. 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. Please note that the copying and/or further distribution of this work without express written permission is prohibited.



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.

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Meet me in Salem, Mass for my lecture on the 1692 witch trials!

Good Evening,

It is that time of year again, Halloween is just around the corner, and I'm planning my annual pilgrimage to Salem, Massachusetts, and you are cordially invited!

Our trip to Salem takes place this year on Sunday, October 7th and I plan on meeting everyone at noon at the 1692 Victim's memorial adjacent to the 'Old Burying Ground'. My lecture will cover the high points of the Summer and Fall of 1692 which consisted of the witch trials and hangings that took place.

I have personally studied and researched the witch trials of that fateful year for over 30 years now and I like to re-tell the story with interesting facts that bring this story to life over 300 years later.

After my lecture I conduct a small memorial ceremony where we remember those 20 victims who lost their lives in 1692. The Victim's Memorial park has benches, one for each victim that lost their lives with their respective names and dates of execution carved into the stone bench. During the ceremony we have one person stand before each bench and at the sound of a bell the name is read aloud and a flower is placed on the bench. It is a solemn ceremony that brings to life the tragedy of lives lost for very little reason save for hysteria, fear and ignorance.

After the lecture and ceremony at the Victim's Memorial we all go to a lovely restaurant for lunch and then many of us go to Pickering Wharf to shop the real witch shops run by real witches! It's a beautiful location and the day tends to be a beautiful one also.

I truly hope you can come on our trip with us. If you wish to, please meet me at the 1692 Victim's Memorial Park at noon on October 7th, 2012. For those with GPS punch in 2 New Liberty Street, Salem, MA. This is the Visitor's Center. You can park in the parking garage right next to the Visitor's Center. Be sure to stop at the Visitor's Center for a street map of Salem, and the Victim's memorial is just two blocks South from the Visitor's center. I look forward to seeing you there!


© 2010-2012 Faith M. McCann. 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. Please note that the copying and/or further distribution of this work without express written permission is prohibited.

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.

Walk the Labyrinth during our Mabon Celebraton!

Good Morning!,


I am celebrating our Mabon (Autumnal Equinox) Sabbat next Saturday, September 22 at 6 pm. I would like to invite you to attend. In addition to the ritual and Sabbat feast we will be walking the Labyrinth.

We will construct a Labyrinth in the parking lot of Enchantments and we can use help! If you have the time and inclination to assist us please come by the shop at 4:30 pm. We line a traced outline of a labyrinth with small terracotta cups each with a tea light inside. We light the tea lights and when it gets dark we walk the path of the labyrinth which brings us to an altar set up in the center.

Why do we walk the Labyrinth? Good question! The labyrinth is a patterned layout that can be made from stones, hedges, walls etc and have bee constructed for thousands of years. Some may remember the Labyrinth that Theseus walked to get to the center where he could slay the Minotaur in the ancient Greek fables.

Many feel that walking the Labyrinth can aid one in unraveling problems in ones life. Walking the path only to encounter a barrier and being forced to go in another direction can be metaphoric when it comes to issues, problems and complications in life. It is felt that by walking the Labyrinth one can tap into deeper levels of understanding. Carl Jung felt that in Jungian psychology the labyrinth is one of the most powerful symbols of the subconscious. In his book ‘Man and His Symbols’, he explains its meaning:

“The maze of strange passages, chambers, and unlocked exits in the cellar recalls the old Egyptian representation of the underworld, which is a well-known symbol of the unconscious with its abilities. It also shows how one is “open” to other influences in one’s unconscious shadow side and how uncanny and alien elements can break in.”

We start walking the Labyrinth by taking a piece of specialized paper, either water or fire paper, and writing a word or concept upon it. The person then starts by entering the passage way and slowly starts to travel the path, eventually getting to the center. once at the center they destroy the paper by either putting the water paper (made of cornstarch) in a bowl of water and dissolving it or the fire paper (flash paper) touched to the flame of the candle on the altar and allowing it to flare up and disintegrate.

Then the person gives thanks to their higher power, and starts to travel back along the path to the entrance.

Over the next few days and weeks following the Labyrinth walk I have talked with people who have had remarkable circumstances happen. Some have dreams, some have their problems resolutions appear clearly before them, some have felt more at peace and are more calm and relaxed. Some claim anxiety and inner stress is reduced or in some cases goes away completely. Some just enjoy the quiet walking time which in itself is a physical meditation.

If you are interested in coming to the Sabbat celebration we are starting the ritual sat 6 pm, and the feast starts right afterwards. We will be serving pork roast, sauerkraut with apples and we can use some side dishes to go along with the main dish. We can use dessert, bread and drink. Please contact me at Enchantments at 860-791-6033 to let me know what you will bring, so we don't have too many of one item.

I would love to see you there!




Peace and Happiness


© 2010-2012 Faith M. McCann. 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. Please note that the copying and/or further distribution of this work without express written permission is prohibited.


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.

You Can Speak With The Dead By Using a Pendulum

Good Evening,

You may have used a pendulum to ask questions and perhaps to divine your future, but I find the pendulum to be less accurate than say the tarot or witches runes for simple divination. But I have found, over the last few years, the pendulum to be a very useful tool in communicating with loved ones who have passed over, using it to do the work of the medium. One who speaks with the dead. I am able to do this, though I don't advertise myself as a medium. There are times when I'm doing someone's tarot cards when I start to hear things or visualize images that are meant for them. I use a pendulum to control the thoughts and images, so I may best relay them to the client.

If you wish to use the pendulum in this manner first you need to find one you like. It does not have to be made of a certain material, or look a certain way, you just need to enjoy the look and feel of it.

After you have found the right pendulum for you, then you need to 'program' it. There are many publications and websites out there that tell you to have the pendulum itself show you what a yes or no looks like, by asking it and watching the way it swings. I disagree with this. YOU are the one using the tool, so you should be the one programming it and telling it what a yes will look like and so forth for a negative response.

Too many times I've seen the magickal practitioner give away the power to the tools, supplies, ingredients and energies they are using. You control the power, you are the practitioner. Therefore you are the one running the show.

Hold the pendulum at the end of its string or chain between your thumb and forefinger. Then using deliberate hand movement (really move your hand) cause the pendulum to swing in a circle and strongly say "this is a yes" and let it swing for a few moments. Then stop the pendulum's movement and start it swinging back and forth in a line and say strongly "this is a no". Allow it to continue for a few moments. Then stop the movement and now it is programmed to answer you when you wish to use it.

To speak with those loved ones who have passed on, sit quietly for a few moments and picture them in your mind's eye. When you think of them, they come to you. The cannot NOT come. Love is the connection that will always keep you together.

Think of them, see them in your mind's eye and verbally, out loud, ask them to "please come and speak with me" It is recommended that you use their name, as full and complete a name as they had in life. Given name, maiden, married, confirmation the entire name. No matter if you only know a first and last name, but visualize them as clearly as you can.

Hold the pendulum as before, but try to keep your hand as still as possible. Note, that you are a tool through which the spirit will speak, so if you feel slight movement in your hand, do not try to stop it. There are tiny, micro muscle movements that will assist the pendulum in movement, and the spirit uses these to help answer your question. That is why we don't hand a pendulum from a hook on the wall and ask spirit to speak to us through it. The spirit uses our body and our hand and the muscles within, so there will be slight movement on your part but go with it, don't try to fight it.

Ask questions of the spirit you are communicating with that can be answered with a yes or a no. After the question is answered, and you must ask the question aloud, stop the pendulum's movement for the next question. Be careful if you do this with other people in the room, as side conversations and comments can be what the spirit decides to answer. Complete silence after a question is asked is best. Also asking the question and keeping your mind blank of the next question is also helpful.

Be patient and wait for the pendulum to start moving. At times, when I work with spirits, I can feel a strong tug on the pendulum's chain as it starts to swing and at times the swinging movement becomes very strong, and I know the spirit is working with me to answer the questions.

Play with the pendulum, but don't treat it as a toy. Asking questions you already know the answer to i.e. am I a girl? Will just insult the spirit and I've seen cases where the pendulum ceases to work for the practitioner. Respect the tool, the spirit and the process and it will work wonderfully for you.

As we creep closer to Samhain (Halloween) it is said the veil between the worlds grows thinnest, and that this is the perfect time of the year to speak with those whom we love and have lost. Write down the messages you get from beyond and also pay attention to thoughts, images, smells and words or sounds that just pop into your head while this process is going on. This is medium work and spirits will attempt to communicate with you in many ways. Don't discard any of them, they are all messages meant for you.


Peace and Happiness




© 2010-2012 Faith M. McCann. 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. Please note that the copying and/or further distribution of this work without express written permission is prohibited.



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.

The Women's Spirituality Group was a huge success!

Good Evening,

We just hosted our first Women's Spirituality Group at Enchantments last night and it was a great success. Thirteen women attended and the discussion was quite lively.

I especially enjoyed the discussion because I felt a part of the group rather than 'leading' the group and that was a very nice change of pace. As I sat there listening to the stories, insight and sharing it occurred to me that the group that attended was made up of many strong women deeply in touch with their spirituality and dedicated to their spiritual path.

Even though it is a 'women only' gathering, we discussed men and especially those men we know that are strong, confidant and self assured yet gentle, compassionate, loving, understanding and not threatened by their 'softer' side.

Talk centered around each person's introduction to their spiritual path and triumphs and challenges faced while walking that path. All in all it was an amazing hour and a half and we could have stayed for another hour easy!

We will be meeting the first Wednesday of every month and the next meeting will go from 5-7 pm, just to give us time to 'discuss'. If you missed this meeting, mark your calendars for the next one in October on October 3rd at 5 pm.

I'd love it if you could attend!



Peace and Happiness









© 2010-2012 Faith M. McCann. 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. Please note that the copying and/or further distribution of this work without express written permission is prohibited.


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.

Women's Spirituality Group Meets for first time this Wednesday!

Good Evening,

I have had a lot of interest expressed about our upcoming Women's Spirituality Group
which is starting this Wednesday, September 5th at 5 pm. I hope you can make it!

The group will meet upstairs in the classroom of Enchantments at 5 pm and the first group will plan on meeting for an hour. Depending on the number of women who attend we may extend this meeting in the future.

There will be coffee and pastries served and the topic of the evening will be "How the Goddess Manifests in our day to day lives"

There will also be discussion concerning what each participant hopes to get out of the Spirituality group. There will be no charge for this group and any woman over the age of 18 in the magickal or local community is invited.

If there are any questions concerning the meeting please call me Wednesday from 10 am until 5 pm at 860-791-6033 and I'll be happy to talk to you.

I hope to see you there!


Peace and Happiness



© 2010-2012 Faith M. McCann. 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. Please note that the copying and/or further distribution of this work without express written permission is prohibited.


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.