The Contemporary New England Witch

The Contemporary New England Witch
Author Ms.Faith

Thursday, December 26, 2013

The Magickal Power of Words





 Good Afternoon,

I recently viewed a video on the Internet that demonstrated a strong message as to the power of words. It showed a blind man begging in the streets.  He was seated on a piece of cardboard with a can for change and a sign that said " I'm blind" and as the day went on people would stop and throw down a quarter or dime, every so often.
Then a woman came up to him, he felt her shoes, and she reached down and took his sign and turning it over, she, with a black marker, wrote some words and placed the sign back next to the blind beggar. As the day progressed more and more people came along and started leaving much more change and monies for the blind man. Later the same woman came by, he recognized her by feeling her shoes, and he asked her. 'What did you do to my sign?' She replied, I wrote the same thing, I just used different words. The video then panned to the sign which read " It's a beautiful day, but I can't see it."

Pretty deep, huh? The witch has known for a very long time, the hidden power of words. We have, what we call, incantations, which we use along with our spells to create magickal manifestation. Words placed together that when spoken aloud, bring magickal energies to bear.

Simple incantations tend to rhyme, which allows the magickal practitioner ease in remembering them.  Such a simple incantation may be "As I will it, one times three, an' it harm none, so mote it be". Simple but effective when paired with a candle spell or a potion being  used, or even at the end of a longer incantation which in itself can be a spell. 

Our words have power when used towards other people also. Words spoken can be forgiven, but not forgotten. Our words have the power to build up and empower another or to tear down and deject one. The power ultimately lies in your hands and in your words.

Think carefully about the words you will use in any given circumstance. Be especially careful when anger or emotion is fueling your words. For the power lies within.


Peace and Happiness





© 2010-2013 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.

Tuesday, December 17, 2013

Happy Yule!





Good Afternoon,

It's a snowy day here in Southern New England but it's starting to look a lot like Yule outside!  Yule is also known as the Winter Solstice and usually falls around December 20 or 21st. There are  a few things about this holiday that we have come to appreciate whether we celebrate Christmas or Yule.

Evergreens and wreaths as well as evergreen trees are common this time of year, as these greens are luscious and abundant and are really the only visible living plants to be found in the snow. The ancients used evergreens to decorate their homes in the attempt to bring 'life' into the home during the winter months when everything else was 'dead'.

The colors red and green are attributed to the ancient Celts.  There is also an alcoholic drink the ancients would consume, Wassail.  Years ago groups of people would travel from house to house where their drinking mugs would be filled with Wassail and socialization would happen with the people in the home, before traveling to the next home. Somewhere along the way, Christmas carols began to be sung as the group of people arrived at each house. The atmosphere was ripe for partying and  revelry.

Candles being placed in the windows was started by the Celts, to welcome wandering travelers on Christmas Eve. At one time in Ireland, after dinner was cleared from the table on Christmas Eve, a loaf of bread, drink and a candle was left on the table for anyone who happened to visit that evening.   

Today, modern witches celebrate Yule with a ritual called a Sabbat, and a feast. This year at Enchantments we will also follow our feast with a greenery workshop where everyone will be able to make a greenery centerpiece and take it home with them. 

If you wish to attend Enchantments Yule ritual and feast, please come to Enchantments by 10 am on Saturday December 21st and bring a dish to share at the potluck feast. Don't be late as we will start the ritual at 10 am and late comers may not be allowed into the circle.

It would be lovely to have you there!

Happy Yule! 

Peace and Happiness







© 2010-2013 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.

Thursday, December 12, 2013

How to discard of candle bits after a ritual or spell.






Good Afternoon,

Many people ask me what to do with left over candle bits and bobs when using candles in ritual and in spells. Firstly, candles used in rituals that have burned down and have just left overs, these pieces can be thrown away. Some students of mine prefer to save up the bits and melt them down to make other candles, which is fine, just don't use spell candles for this purpose.

I have another student who has a nifty idea, she uses the leftover wax to melt down and dip pine cones in to make fire starters for her fireplace. A great idea if you have a fireplace.

Imbolc, also known as Candlemas, the beginning of February, is the time to replace all of your altar candles and watchtower candles in the ritual room with new ones. The old ones can be discarded. I like to save mine and burn them up in the fire pit outdoors during the summer months.

For spell candles, burn the candle down until it extinguishes itself, then any remains can be discarded. Since magickal intent is infused into the candle when charging the candle with it's magickal goal, it's not a good idea to re-use the bits of these candles for other candles. The magickal intent will stay and mixing it with other parts of spell candles will just make a magickal mess!

At Enchantments we use and also sell, small 'chime' candles for spell casting. These candles are crafted for the holiday times for a brass candle holder that turns from the heat of the candle and has little chimes on it. I believe it is from the Swedish or perhaps German culture. They are quite popular still and the candles we sell are made for them, but they also make excellent spell candles. These candles burn down within an hour or two and leave virtually no trace behind. Less to have to discard. You might wish to try these 'chime' candles the next time you cast a spell. They come in many colors, for all magickal purposes.

The dark of the year, now, is an excellent time to do candle magick as it brings a bit of hope and light to the darkness of the winter days. Happy Spell casting.

Peace and Happiness






© 2010-2013 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.

Wednesday, December 4, 2013

Aiding your community, is an ancient and modern witch's job






Good Evening,

Ancient witches survived by aiding their community. They would sell simple spells, work folk magicks and make potions and brews to aid the sick and in-firmed. In return they might be paid back by receiving bread, eggs, a chicken or portion of meat for their stew pot. At least this is how many survived in ancient times, when barter was a matter of survival.

Today, we work for our coin. Yet the witch is still in a unique place to be able to aid her or his community.  We have magicks that can help others, we simply do not cast magick for others, but today we teach others how to do it for themselves. It really is most effective that way. 

Having a witch shop I find myself in the position of giving advice on a daily basis for those in need of guidance.  Whether it be smudging their homes or businesses, which is something I do for a fee, even though people can do it for themselves, or selling them an inexpensive spell kits and teaching them how to use them.  

Listening to those who have had paranormal experiences, when at times no one else will listen to what can seem like crazy stories also has it's place.  Sometimes the only one you can talk to is the local witch! But even if you do not have your own witch shop you can aid your community in many ways.  Help by volunteering in your community. Collect hats and gloves during the winter for those staying in the local shelter. Bring old towels and blankets to your local pet shelter or veterinarian.  Run a food drive for your local soup kitchen. Really there are many ways to help, and being a solitary practitioner does not exempt you from your responsibility and duty to your community. No it doesn't.



Being a witch is a way of life, and as a way of life we must give back to the universe that cares for us. Remember the witches credo "What you send out, returns back to you" and it's true, it does. It doesn't matter if you're a white witch or not, a Wiccan witch or not, we must give back for the universal flow of energy to keep coming back to us. What happens if we don't? Well, it simply stops. The magick stops. We stop making effective change within our lives and we stop making magick. I've talked to many that this has happened to. Magick just seems to slip out of their lives, leaving them wishing and wondering what happened and where it went.

There's magick there for you, but you must work it and you must give back (earn it) for it to be at hand for your use.

Think of some way to give back to your community this holiday season. You will see it affecting your magick and your life in wonderful ways.

Peace and Happiness









© 2010-2013 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.