A Visit by a Spirit and Our Annual Trip to Salem Mass

 Good Afternoon,

As a witch I have dealt with spirits before. Usually on my terms. We have spirits at Enchantments that will visit at times and a friendly woman spirit that will say "hello" to the customer's, occasionally. But the other night I was sleeping soundly and dreaming when I turned over and half awake I heard a mans voice say "Hello Faith".  I said "Hello" and realized what was happening and I opened my eyes and thought I could see a tall, thin man standing in my bedroom. I blinked a few times, then turned on my bedside lamp. The tall, thin shape I made out was my china cabinet. I know I could have been dreaming, but my dreams had nothing to do with a man, and I know I heard his voice clearly. It woke me up. Instead of being scared or freaked out, I just thought about his voice and realized it was friendly. Well, friendly is good for me. I turned out the light and went back to sleep. I know we don't have any spirits that inhabit my house, so it must have been passing through. Spirits will do that at times. I don't know why he stopped by, but maybe it was just for a brief visit!

We are about to  embark on our next annual trip to Salem, Mass. Every year the Witches of Enchantments caravan to Salem, Mass to enjoy a day in the Witch capital of the world. If you want to go, you're invited. This year we will be going on Sunday, September 7th and you can meet us in Salem, at the 1692 Victim's Memorial at Noon. I will conduct a lecture about the 1692 witch trials and after that we hold a Memorial service where we will place roses on the stone memorials for all 20 victims of the witch trials. Afterwards we all go to a fun eatery where we have lunch together, then we travel around Salem, visiting the witch shops run by witches, for witches. I don't bring you to any of the 'touristy' spots, but to the real witches Salem.

If you'd like to go I suggest you head up to Salem to meet us at the victim's memorial at Noon. There is a visitor's center where you can get a nifty brochure/map showing all of the attractions of Salem. The Visitor's Center is located at 2 New Liberty Street, Salem, Mass. I would put this into my GPS and plan about a two hour drive from the Greater Hartford, CT area.  There is no charge for my tour of Salem, and everybody's welcome.

Just for your information. So many people ask me if I go to Salem, Mass in October. The answer is no, I do not. The reason .  .  .   well 20 years ago I started to go to with friends to Salem, annually. At that time the Salem Chamber of Commerce told me they received approximately 40,000 tourists a year in Salem. I checked in with them about 10 years ago and the numbers are now, approximately 400,000 people visit Salem in the month of October alone! That, my witchy friends, is NOT a typo. Yes almost a half million people in one month! It makes it hard to get into any stores, the lines reach down the block. Impossible to get a table at a restaurant, let alone trying to find a place to park. I recommend early September. There's less people, you can still get the flavor and feel for the witch city without the massive throngs of people. There are those who love to go in October and to them I wish the very best of experiences. But for this witch, I go when I can really enjoy the city, not have to wait to be seated in a restaurant and can find a parking place in the parking garage.

It would be great if you decided to come with us this year. I hope you do. Ms. Faith








© 2010-2014 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.

Having gratitude in the face of everyday stress

Good Afternoon,

In this day and age we can all say we know stress. Or that we know of stress. From the daily news to stressful things happening within our own family and friend group, stress makes itself known and felt to everyone it seems.

To me, this makes it all the more important to combat stress with gratitude and love.  Can we stop stressful things from happening? Most of the time, no, we can't. But we can change how we react to stress and what we do in relation to it.

Today, for instance, I received stressful news concerning three friends of mine, all within a couple of hours of each other. I, in turn, spoke with some friends who always make me feel better when I share stressful news with them. I recommend that, in fact. When you have, or hear something upsetting, share it with someone you care about. Someone who loves you. Together you become stronger in face of the stressful news. Leaning on each other, being there for the other. Be grateful for friends like that in your life.

I am also going to burn a candle for the people involved in the stressful situations I mentioned. This way I can speak to the Goddess and ask her to give her help and blessings to those involved. 

When things seem overwhelming, I stop and consciously start to list the things, people and circumstances in my life that I am grateful for. It's easy to see and think of the negative things. Bring back to the surface those things which make your life worth living. It will make a difference.

Be grateful for something, everyday. Even if it's one thing, or one person. Do this consciously everyday and you will begin to see a difference for the better, start to occur in your life. The stressful things will not stop or go away, they just get filed in their proper place and you will be able to deal with them in a better way.

Now, I'm going outside to sit under my tree and commune with nature and this beautiful August day!


Peace and Happiness








© 2010-2014 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 Goddesses at Enchantments

 Good Afternoon,

For those who have had the opportunity to sit in my tarot reading room, they will recognize the following Goddesses that grace the walls of my reading room. I wanted to share them with you and tell you a little about them. They are all paintings (prints of paintings) from famous masters.

 This painting is done by John Collier and is called "Priestess of Delphi" (1891) also known as "The Pythia". The Pythia was also known as the Oracle of Delphi and she sat in the temple of Apollo in Greece and gave those that came to her a glimpse into their futures. Apollo was a Greek god known as the God of prophecy. I like that she graces the wall in my tarot card reading room where I also try to give people a glimpse into their futures. She, the Oracle of Delphi, was not just one woman, but it was a title held by many women, as young as 12 over the centuries. She would chew on raw bay laurel (which is a narcotic and can make you sick, so please don't do this!!!!) as well as hen bane (poisonous) and would then speak in tongues. The Priests would interpret her words and tell the person what she had said. If you can see in this painting John Collier has included natural gasses emanating up from a natural crack in the ground.  Archaeologists have just recently, in the past 20 years, proven that such a fault exists under the temple of Apollo and does release odorless and invisible gasses, that would have affected the Pythia as she was stationed inside the temple.

Another painting I have is called "Circe Invidosa" by John William Waterhouse (1892). He along with John Collier were known as occult artists and their paintings reflected certain elements of magick. This one, Circe shows a Goddess scorned by her lover who she stands upon and appears as a serpent in the water. She is poisoning him with the liquid she is pouring into the water. I believe this shows the time when women and witches were considered dangerous and evil. Deep into the burning times when so much rumor and legend had colored peoples images of the magickal woman.

This next painting is also by John William Waterhouse and is a personal favorite. "The Magic Circle" (1886)

This shows a witch at work. I often ask my students, is she opening a circle or casting a circle? Those that are familiar with circle casting can tell at a glance. She is opening a circle after having done her work. John William Waterhouse also incorporated symbols into his paintings. In this one, he has included ravens. The raven is a bird of magick and he has painted one standing upon a skull in the far left hand side of the painting.

These three paintings are on the walls of my tarot reading room and I see them everyday. I love the feel they give to the room and the sense of the Goddess being close by. I hope you can see my reading room some day.  Now, as it is a glorious August day here in Southern New England I am going to go outside, water some flowers and sit beneath my Maple tree and watch the garden bloom.


Peace and Happiness






© 2010-2014 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.