Using Sympathetic Magicks to Start Your New Year off Right

Good Afternoon,

The New Year will soon be upon us and I am often asked what can be done magickally to mark this special time of the year.  This time of the year is especially good for utilizing sympathetic magicks. What I mean by sympathetic magick, is when you do something magickally that will mimic or mirror the same energy back to you. Remember what we send out returns threefold, when done magickally.

For instance, to bring abundance and plenty into your home during the next, upcoming year it is good to have fresh loaves of bread in the kitchen. Bread has for thousands of years represented financial wealth and prosperity. To have lots of fresh bread translates that you have wealth and abundance. Even of you do not have all you need in the wealth department, sympathetic magick, mimics what will be drawn to you in the coming year. Of course after the New Year day has passed, you can freeze the bread for later use.

Having Fresh flowers in the house to start the New Year, represents a healthy, strong and beautiful year ahead. On the eve of the New Year, be sure to throw out all of the trash into the bins outside, wash any dirty laundry so all is clean on new Year's day.  Clean the refrigerator out so any and all spoiled or unwanted foods are discarded. Again, bring them outside to the trash cans. Even if it is a few days before trash pick up, having it all outside gives your home a fresh, clean start for the New Year.

Plan a few nice, fancy meals to enjoy around the New Year's mark. Even if you go out to eat, having a fancy meal, with a few extras that you might normally not indulge in, like dessert or a fancy wine, will translate into an abundant year with extras coming to you and your family.

Some things to avoid during the New Year's days, which is New Year's Eve and day of, as well as New Year's Day and for this year, the weekend of:

Try to avoid getting totally drunk, even with the customary celebrations as the subsequent hang over and nausea will affect you in the coming year in less desirable ways. You might find you lack energy, stamina and endurance during the next year. Your thoughts could be muddled and concentration and focus hard to come by.

Try to avoid having fights, arguments or disagreements during these few days as sympathetically this can lead to a year of discord and unhappiness with these people whom you argued with. If there are people whom you normally have difficulties with it is best to avoid them completely during these few days. Also, this time of year, a time of reflection, may have you asking yourself if you should even keep these people in your life, if they cause you anger and unhappiness. This time of the year is a good time to start off fresh, perhaps with surrounding yourself with more positive, happy people.

Try to avoid clutter and messy areas in your home or where you do your work. If it's other people's clutter or mess, especially in a work environment, there may be little you can do about it, but keep your immediate area clean and clear. To help, especially if surrounded by others clutter, place a small bowl of quartz crystals on your desk, or even scatter them on your desk top, where they won't interfere with your work. This will help keep the energies around you clean and clear.

And, this year, instead of making a resolution that may or may not be kept, instead make a list of all the things you'd like to accomplish this upcoming year.  A year long to-do list, if you will. The things listed should be fun things you'd like to experience, to enjoy and look forward to. We often give ourselves to-do lists of things we need to do but are not much fun, chores is another word for these lists. But the list I want you to make is of things you should 'gift' to yourself. Maybe a short trip to a place you've been wanting to visit, or a purchase you've been putting off because it's an extravagance or luxury you've been denying yourself. Maybe it's a visit with an old friend you haven't seen in far too long. Sit down, write out this list, then light a fresh candle (one that has not been previously burnt) any color, and allow it to burn while you sit and meditate for a few moments, thinking about what you have written on your list and 'see' in your minds eye, yourself doing these things. Save the list after the candle has gone out and place the list somewhere where you can see it everyday or a few times a week. By the end of the year, see how many items you've done on your list! Hopefully all of them!!

These are just a few ideas to help you ring in the New Year in a magickal and happy way. Have a healthy, happy and magickal New Year!


I'll look forward to having many more discussions with you in 2016!


Peace and Happiness








© 2010-2015 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.

Let's Discuss Magickal Intentions vs Magickal Goals

Good Afternoon,

We, many of us, have finished the Christmas/Yule celebrations and are gearing up for the New Year's Eve/Day revelries.  For many, this also means New Year's resolutions. Well, we know where, all to often, those end up! Right out the window!

I bring this up today, to make a comparison, and to discuss, magickal intentions. For those of us, who consider ourselves practicing magickal people, whether we call ourselves witches, Pagans or both, we often hear of intent or intention. We will hear others say, "as long as you have good intent" and we read about it also in magickal writings.  But I threw out the word intent a long time ago. Honestly, it just doesn't serve.  Here, let me explain. When you look at the word 'intent', it brings to my mind the same energy as a New Year's resolution. A nifty concept, but seldom followed through to the end. Not to mention, vague .  .  .  well, I guess I just did!

To be brutally honest, many magickal people go through their day to day lives trying to have the best of intentions and things still don't go right. Life happens and stuff hits the fan. So, let's look at it a different way. A way, designed more specifically, where you have a much better chance of achieving the end result you have been 'spelling' for.

It's as simple as waving your magick wand and focusing instead on a magickal goal. Sounds simple but the differences are significant. Whereas an intention can be vague, not really thought out, no specific imagery, just a feeling of wanting everything to be 'good' or 'right' or something along the warm and fuzzy lines. But what does it look like? And let us not forget, an awful lot of not nice things are done to others with the person doing the harmful deed having the 'best' of intentions. And need I remind you 'the road to hell is paved with lots and lots of good intentions?'

Instead, sit down, and design a magickal goal. A goal, unlike an intention that can easily wisp away on a breath of emotion, is solid, specific and even though you might miss your intended goal the first time you strike out for it, you can take aim again and again until you hit the mark.

A magickal goal is not simply wanting to be good but during spell work, having a specific 'picture' of what the end result will look like. An ability to visualize helps immensely in this endeavor. Being able to see the future and what you would like it to be, aides one in then creating the reality you desire.

Alas, my dear Witchlings, casting effective spells and living a magickal life is not just having the desire and wearing witchy clothes and jewelry. It takes work. Yes, having a magickal goal and working towards it is a lot more difficult than just having a vague intention. But are you a magickal person by desire .   .   .    or by practice?

Start this upcoming calendar year with the 'intention' of making magickal goals for yourself and working towards them. Write them in your Book of Shadows (You do have a Book of Shadows, don't you?) and follow them through until each and everyone has manifested in one way or another.  At the end of the next 12 months you might be surprised at how much your life has changed and how it has become so very magickal.  All because of a simple twist in how you look at things. For that is what the definition of magick is 'to bend and shape'. To twist things just slightly and then they start working for you.

Happy bending and shaping! Ms. Faith



Peace and Happiness and a Happy, Healthy and Prosperous New Year!






© 2010-2015 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 Magick to be Found in your Holiday Foods!

Good Afternoon,

Today I want to discuss the magicks to be found in foods we normally eat during holidays. In truth any celebration, typically involves food of some sort, whether it is snack foods, appetizers and finger foods like at Superbowl parties, birthday and cocktail parties or full, multi-course meals like one would find at Christmas or Easter dinners, Thanksgiving or Sunday dinners.

Historically food has been associated with magickal energies since the most ancient of times. It is not surprising, since the substance of food gives life, nourishment and satiation when consumed. Anything that can 'give' life and makes one feel so good afterwards would be bound to have magickal associations given to it by the ancient peoples who once inhabited the tribes and villages of the Earth. These people saw the magick inherent in the plants, trees, grasses, crystals, minerals and herbs of the land. Many still attribute a 'magickal' quality to the consumption of the food at meals today, when they take a moment to say grace before eating the food. This spiritual practice is simply a magickal incantation, which are words spoken to invoke a desired effect from a spiritual realm.

Let's look at some magickal qualities attributed to various holiday foods.

Meat - There are very few magickal qualities associated with meats as the ancients ate very little meat.  The meat that was consumed like beef or swine (pork, which was a sacred meat to the ancient Celts and Druids) was only consumed a few times a year at a Major Sabbat or two. There were a couple of reasons for this, if a village had a few cattle or pigs they would use them for milk, in reference to the cows and the pigs were extremely hard workers when it comes to tilling an area to prepare it for planting. The earliest time for the development of agriculture, the planting of seeds and plants to be harvested by humans was 11,500 years ago. Before this time people were gatherers and would gather what nature provided, where and when it was provided.

So, the magickal qualities of meat is primarily sacred energy, and thanks is given to the God and Goddess for the provision of meat.  Scott Cunningham retells a story told to him by the publisher of Llewellyn Worldwide in relation to meat. A woman contacted the publisher and told him she was under psychic attack. Someone had cast a spell on her, she couldn't eat, sleep, was losing weight etc. He asked her if she was a vegetarian, she replied 'yes'. He told her to eat a hamburger. She did and her 'attack' ceased and never returned. It is possible she was lacking in protein and needed grounding energies, which meat will provide. Meat also helps us stay in touch with Earth energies in a way simply fruits and vegetables and grains do not. I do not endorse any specific diet, that is totally up to the individual and their sense of what is right for them, but I found this story very interesting as to what our bodies and spirit needs at any given time.

Breads - Bread has been a staple of the human diet for thousands of years. It is found in every, earliest, ancient culture.  It can be simply made with very few ingredients, the simplest recipe contains just flour, water and eventually they added salt. This would make a flat bread (unleavened) that was a staple for centuries for many Egyptians and those in the Middle East. Eventually a simple ingredient which was a by product of brewing ales and wine making, yeast, was introduced making bread much more like what we recognize today. In ancient time, due to the association of grains and fours with the Goddess and Gods of the Earth, breads were important and considered sacred during birth events, death events, when a new home was inhabited fresh loaves of bread were considered the perfect housewarming gift bringing protection, love and abundance to the new household. Eating bread together at a meal had the 'magickal' ability to bond the diners together and became known as 'breaking bread'. The most simple of meals consisted of bread and water, wine or ale. This most simple of meals eventually became the sacred act of consuming cakes and ale in Pagan circles also known as communion in Christian religious practice.

In seventeenth century England, midwives would place a loaf of bread on the bed of a woman in labor to prevent the theft of the mother and child. In modern day Greece, men would pack a piece of bread before going into the Army and engaging in battle for protection, whilst field workers n Greece would bring a roll or hunk of bread with them. They wouldn't eat it with their lunch but only when they returned safely home at the end of the day. Some cultures will take a fresh baked chunk of bread, ripped from a loaf, and dipped heavily in salt and place it in a place of honor in the house, such as the dining room table, to protect the house from harmful, evil spirits.

Pies - Many celebrations have desserts for the enjoyment of party goers, and pies have been a favorite in Europe and America for centuries. It is the ingredients found in many pies that together can be considered magickal spells when eaten. For instance, pumpkin pie, with the ingredients of pumpkin squash, cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg and sugar, along with brown sugar and or molasses, all combine to make a love spell especially enticing to men. Whereas the ingredients in apple pie, apples, cinnamon, sugar, mace and nutmeg, when combined all become an attractive love spell which attracts women.  By giving a slice of these pies to a possible love interest it may help them perceive you in a favorable light, but it will not cause them to fall in love with you, if it is not meant to be.

You can make sugar cookies with fresh lavender buds (flower buds only) added and baked into them and give them to a friend or family member you may have had a falling out with. It can help heal the riff if you so desire.

Eggs - Eggs are eaten for spirituality, fertility, magick and abundance. Eggs have many past cultural associations of healing, protection, divination, money drawing, to name but a few. We still often incorporate eggs into our festive feasts  from deviled eggs, egg bread, quiches, frittatas or omelets for celebratory breakfasts and brunches. In contemporary magick, I have found, having fresh eggs in the household, especially at the beginning of the year will bring abundance, health and happiness. Be sure to throw away any old, or rotten eggs before the New Year or you could draw into the household unwanted energies such as depression, sadness, anger and unhappiness.

For many cultures, many foods are consumed at different festivities during the year to draw in good luck, wealth, happiness, good health and many more wanted energies, such as:

In the UK, eat Mincemeat Pies for good luck on New Year's Day
The Asians eat noodles for good luck on Chinese New Year's
Pears are consumed on Thanksgiving for good luck
And for general good luck throughout the year eat at anytime:
Red Beans and Rice,
Pancakes
Sauerkraut
Bananas
Coconut
Green Foods

Foods for physical strength in the body are the same foods that provide magickal power. The energies are the same. Some of these strength/magickal power foods are:

Chocolate (my favorite!!)
Coffee
Pineapple
Dates/Figs
Honey
Meat/Proteins of all kinds
Salt
Sauteed foods
Spicy foods
Tofu
Tea

Grounding Foods, especially good after any ritual/spiritual practice, when very stressed out and 'in your head', when feeling 'spacey' or not in touch with the physical plane, these foods might help:

Potatoes/ root vegetables like carrots, beets, turnips
beans/grains
cheeses
eggs
dense proteins like meat
peanuts
pasta dishes
tofu

There is so much material that covers the magickal energies found in food and most of them come from different cultures and eras, this is just a small sampling. Having just celebrated Christmas and Yule, Hanukkah and Kwanzaa, we have all recently enjoyed traditional and comfort foods we remember from our childhood. Sometimes that is the greatest magick of all, the warmth and peace, comfort and memories the foods bring to you, as you celebrate with loved ones. Enjoy!  




© 2010-2015 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.

Do You Know the Magick to be found in your Christmas Celebrations?

Happy Yule, Merry Christmas and Season's Greetings!

Everyone seems to celebrate something this time of year, and with good reason. You see the earliest mid-winter celebrations started many centuries ago in an attempt by man to keep the breath of life going in the deadest of times on the Wheel of the Year.

That what we are really celebrating, the birth of the SUN, as after the Winter Solstice, the Sun starts to shine longer, albeit imperceptibly at first, but longer, and longer everyday.  The ever shortening days of winter now over as we start to move in the other direction. A direction that will bring us to Summer.

But, even though we know the days are growing longer, we still have at least three very harsh, cold and "dead" months to get through. For the ancients, the winter also represented dead, in a much more intimate and personal way as many that were sick, elderly or the very young often perished during the harsh winter months. The ancients used sympathetic magicks in much of their lives. Sympathetic magick is simply having or doing something representative of what you want to happen.

Our modern Christmas celebrations are chock-full of ancient sympathetic magicks, and many are not aware of them. Let me tell you about some of the ancient magicks found in our modern Christmas:

• The evergreens brought into the house, or used in decoration outside of the house. Christmas trees, wreaths, evergreen garlands, even holiday flowers and living plants brought into the house. All of these symbolize the ancient people's desire to bring "living" green life into the home. Greenery that didn't die, so to speak. Even today, with flowering plants such as poinsettias, Christmas cactus, Cyclamen, paper whites, Amaryllis. All plants that the ancients would not have recognized, but we have cultivated them to be brought inside during the dead of winter for the exact same reason the ancients would adorn their homes with evergreen everywhere. To bring life in during the dead time of the year. Sympathetic magick being, if you had fresh living plants, and evergreens in the home, death wouldn't visit.

 Many are not aware of the full cycle of the Christmas/Yule tree. It would be chopped down and brought into the village square or into a home during the Winter Solstice. Then during the Beltaine celebrations, it was used as the May pole, then after it was well aged for the rest of the year, it would be used as the Yule log. A piece of the Yule log was retrieved from the fire, and saved to rekindle the log during the next year's Yule fire.

• Do you burn candles at Christmas time? Candles have been used for thousands of years to dispel the evil forces of the night and the harmful spirits that would lurk in dark corners. The first candles were most likely used in a practical sense, to simply light up a darkened area so one could see what was happening and where they were going. After a time, ritual and magick started to be associated with burning candles and we still use candles in today's modern witches spells.  And yes, even in the Church, when you burn a candle for a person, ask a Saint or God himself to look over a person, or to fix a situation favorably, this is a spell. Spells are not evil, or wrong, simply misunderstood. I bet you have done a candle spell, probably several times in your life! If you have ever blown out the candles on your birthday cake, you are performing an ancient candle spell that is over 5,000 years old!  Placing candles on your dining room table, in the colors of the season, red, green, silver and gold and burning them, will succeed in drawing love, abundance, good health and happiness into your life for the upcoming season. 

• Some people, at this time of year, burn incense or enjoy the incense burned during church services, especially Frankincense and Myrrh. These two resin incense have been used since before Biblical times, especially in ancient Egypt during mummification and other funerary rituals. They are quite magickal indeed and were given for their magickal purposes to the baby Jesus because it was known to the religious scholars of the day that he would need protection from harmful forces. Burning these resin incenses today succeeds in raising the vibrational level of a room or area, in effect, creating sacred space. Of course the witch does more work to assure her sacred space is ready for magickal workings, but anyone can burn this combination of  resins to create  peace and tranquility not normally found in an area. 

Next week we'll talk about the magicks found in the food and drink normally reserved for the Christmas/Yuletide season! 

Peace and Happiness

© 2010-2015 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.

A Contemporary Witch's Way of Celebrating the Holidays!

Father Christmas/Green Man


Good Afternoon,

Well the holiday season is upon us, and many witches celebrate the upcoming winter season in a variety of ways. With owning a witch shop, one gets a pretty good view of how others choose to celebrate. Some witches have disregarded the "Christmas" part of the holiday and celebrate Yule, with a celebration on the 20th or 21st of December and treating the 25th a just a day off from work. Others due to work requirements and such, celebrate Yule, just on the 25th when almost everyone gets the day off to spend with family. Some still celebrate Christmas, and still others celebrate both! Yes, you can celebrate anyway you choose.

 Many witches and magickal people whom I have met have bad feelings about Christianity and the Church and don't wish to be associated with it. But in my view, if we stop to think about it, what has the church or Christianity actually done to you, that is so bad? Now, yes, there are those who have an actual bad experience or memory that causes them to dislike the church. But many of us, don't. We just dislike what the institution of the Christian Church has done over the centuries to so many. Some, today, actually wave the banner of hatred and disgust against the Christian church as if they are on a crusade! My personal feels are, I try not to hate anyone, I might hate actions of cruelty and neglect, but the actions, not the person.

I wasn't brought up in a religious household, but like so many in our country, we celebrated what would be considered Christian holidays, like Christmas and Easter. In our family we would have a big family dinner and all the trappings of the holiday at hand. For Christmas, there would be presents, a tree and decorations and lights around the house.

I have had my years with just celebrating Yule as a younger witchling (just getting started) and of course, like so many others, absolutely appalled at the history of the Church against the pagan population in Europe. A few years of celebrating on the 21st and just treating the 25th as any other day. But I felt as if something was missing.

And over the years, my life as a witch has evolved as much as my practice of witchcraft. In the beginning we read all sorts of books, take classes and learn from others. But eventually, if you stay on the path long enough, you must branch out and start doing it your own specific way. Make the lifestyle your own, not someone else's. Like spell casting, where you get to a place where you start writing your own spells, designing your own recipes and making magick that is completely your own. You do this by observations and seeing what works for you and disregarding that which does not work for you.

Yule Log

So over the years I have become what I would call a hybrid Witch. Enjoying the tradition of both Pagan and Christian traditions. For truly, especially in the United States, we have the luxury of celebrating exactly how we choose to. For me, and I don't make the assumption that my way is the way for everyone, shudder to even think that!! But, for me, I love the idea of a Yule log, whether burning in the fire place or the yummy chocolate cream filled rolled cakes one might find on the buffet table for dessert.

Yule Log dessert

I also have a Christmas/Yule tree as it just doesn't seem like the season without one. The decorations can be as Christian or Pagan or sentimental as you like. It's also a really nice way of incorporating both faiths on one tree, especially if there are both Christians and pagans in the family, no one will feel left out.

Christmas/Yule tree

One decoration I like to put out every year in a special nativity scene. I had collected the white bisque porcelain figurines for several years and my husband made the manger of the creche, so that has sentimental value to me. And the scene itself highlights a time when all the world was pagan and is on the cusp of the new religion being born into the world. And while many could argue that many bad things have happened over the centuries in the name of Christianity, it can also be argued that many good, charitable things are being done everyday in the same vein.

I like my nativity scene because when I look at it, it gives me peace and hope for a better day in our world.

Nativity Scene

It is important to remember that a holiday like Christmas is predominantly a holiday of memories and tradition. We often think back to the Christmases we celebrated as children and the memories that they invoke often come back to us as adults. We might see the ballet of the Nutcracker every year as tradition, or watch "A Charlie Brown Christmas" because we've always watched it! We might be surprised that a Christmas movie like "It's a Wonderful Life" still brings tears to our eyes, but it is the memories that really make our holidays. The memories from yesteryear and the ones we make today.

So celebrate the holidays the way that feeds your soul. If you want to bring some part of the Christmases of your childhood into your current Christmas celebration, there is no one to tell you no! Or if you wish to start a new tradition and make your holiday season different from what you experienced as a child, that is just fine too!  It should be about what makes you happy, in the end.

So, especially if you are new to the craft, think about what makes you happy in observance of the Yuletide holidays and decide what you wish to do. If it make you happy, it can't be wrong.


Peace and Happiness! Ms. Faith



© 2010-2015 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.

Gratitude is a Vital Component to Any and All Magickal Workings

Good Afternoon,

I really hope you had a beautiful Thanksgiving Holiday. Today I want to discuss with you a component that we find to be the basis of the Thanksgiving season, gratitude. Many will incorporate a moment of giving thanks and gratitude before their holiday dinner, even if they do not normally do this at other times of the year.

Gratitude is also a vital component to your successful magickal workings. I believe there are those who cast spells and practice magick without bringing in the aspect of the Divine, but those that do are simply not utilizing the fullest aspects of magickal practice. For the Divine is the basis of magick and what we send out is returned to us, but enhanced and made complete by the grace of the Goddess and the God.

So, we give thanks and gratitude to the Goddess and the God for the manifestation of our spells cast, for accepting our offerings (which are tangible signs of gratitude) and for blessing our circles and rituals.

The basis of all spells cast, circles cast and rituals held should be love and gratitude. For what we send out will return to us. When we send our love and gratitude our spells which we cast to draw to us love, money (abundance), protection, healing, tranquility, etc. will return to us with love from the Divine.

For, you see, The Divine (The Goddess and The God) ONLY works from a place of love and acceptance. Don't make the mistake of blaming the woes of the human population on the Divine. We have created all of the Earth's problems ourselves. WWe have only our selves to blame.

If you find yourself being moved to cast a spell due to emotion that is not loving, i.e. anger, hatred, vengeance, jealousy, pettiness, or fear, please be aware that those energies will overcome the magickal workings you practice and those energies will be what you will receive back to you. And to do a spell under the above, less than loving emotions, know that the spell you direct at another will do absolutely nothing to our intended 'target', but will return only to you, and with devastating consequences.

For to understand the science of witchcraft, you must understand the metaphysics. To feel that, 'I will send out a loving spell so it returns to me', but "I'll send out a destructive, harmful spell to someone else and it won't return back to me', just does not make any sense.  It is the same as expecting gravity to work sometimes and not at others!

If you have not been incorporating love and gratitude into your spell casting, your potion making, your candle spells, your rituals and circle castings, try it for a change and see how the energy increases and magnifies. See how much stronger your spells manifest and how much better your life becomes on so many levels.

Practice witchcraft, by all means, but practice love and gratitude, right along with it!




Peace and Happiness!






© 2010-2015 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.

Kitchen Witchery for the Upcoming Thanksgiving Holiday

Good Afternoon,

Food has always been a focus in humans lives, as it is necessary for survival. Over the centuries, ritual, magick and spell casting have become interwoven with the harvesting, preparation and serving of food stuffs to our family and friends. Magick at it's very base is used for protection, healing, drawing love and abundance and for creating the life people want to live.

It's no surprise to see magick in and around the kitchen and dining table, especially at large holiday feasts.  But would we always recognize the magick for what it is? Maybe, not always.

Firstly, when getting started in the kitchen, wash hands thoroughly and dry them, then rub or clap hands together to get your energy and magickal ability awake and ready to go. You can also have a candle burning some where in the kitchen to give extra ummph to your magickal workings. Of course candles on the dining table for love, abundance and happiness are also a good idea. And people won't think anything strange about having candles on the holiday dining table. Be sure to hold the candles for a few moments and in your mind's eye see the magickal goal, like a happy loving family gathering at your holiday feast table. Then carve magickal symbols like hearts for love in the wax surface of the candle and anoint with a small drop of olive oil, rubbed in very good, before lighting.

When stirring in any bowl or pot be sure to stir deosil, clockwise, and concentrate on stirring love, and wanted energies into the ingredients you are stirring. Kitchen witchery takes a lot of visualization, so as you cook allow yourself to day dream, if you will. "See" the end result of your cooking. Which could be a healthy, happy, loving family gathering.

Of course, doing a little research on the magickal properties of ingredients you will be using is helpful for knowing the magickal energies you can add to a recipe. For instance, pumpkin pie. All of the ingredients found in pumpkin pie, i.e. the pumpkin puree, the cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg, sugar, molasses, all combine to make a love 'potion' for a man. Men simply are drawn to this combination of ingredients.  Whereas the complimentary pie for causing women to feel loving feelings is apple pie.

When fashioning a pie, and placing a top crust on the pie you need to cut little slices in the dough to let steam escape while baking. When you do this you can cut little runes or symbols to help you bring protection, love or abundance to those who eat the pie.

Having a pretty bowl with fresh citrus fruits, like lemons, limes, oranges and tangerines and kumquats banish negativity and unwanted energies from the home, while having a fruit display with a pineapple on top is a magickal culinary way of welcoming guests to your home. Be sure to hold each fruit for a few moments and with eyes closed see the fruit glowing with white light energy and after you empower each fruit put them together in the display. They are fine to eat afterwards, no worries!

When using dried spices and herbs in cooking be sure to 'wake' up their dormant magickal energies before using. Place the desired amount of spices or herbs in the palm of your non-dominant hand, with your hand cupped to make a bowl of your hand to hold the spices. With the index finger of your dominant hand mix the spices and visualize white light energy flowing from your finger into the spices/herbs in your hand. Mix deosil only, for a few moments, then pour the spices/herbs into the dish you are cooking, or proceed to use them as you need to.  The inherent, magickal properties of the spices/herbs will awaken and bring those properties to the foods you are preparing.

You can take a large quartz crystal and place it on or near your stove for food to taste better.

A witch's kitchen should never be without a lunar calendar or chart showing the phases of the moon and it's movement through the wheel of the zodiac.

A pot of garden basil grown in your kitchen keeps your home safe from evil forces and negative energies.

Offerings made to the Goddess/God are always a welcome gesture when preparing and then consuming foods. A simple but sincere offering is a piece of good quality bread dipped in a bowl of olive oil and then salt and placed on a small plate as an offering to the Divine in thanks for the food we have in abundance on our table this holy day (holiday). A small cordial glass with a small measure of wine can be placed next to the salted bread as thanks for the drink which staves off thirst. After the meal the bread can be placed outside in the garden and the wine spilled upon the bare ground to complete the offering.

These are just a few ideas you might wish to incorporate into your holiday feast preparations for this upcoming Thanksgiving feast. You can add your own magickal touches as they come to you, for the longer you practice the more easily the magick will come.

Have a Blessed and Healthy Thanksgiving Holiday! Ms. Faith


Peace and Happiness


© 2010-2015 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.

Friday the 13th and other Superstitions

Good Afternoon,

Happy Friday the 13th! Does this day scare you, maybe a little? There really is no reason for that. The superstition for the day of Friday the 13th considered by many to be a day of  bad luck, or having bad things happen to you, was a rumor whipped up in Medieval Times when everyone was fearful of witches and demons and the devil getting you!

Early Christians in their zealous attempts to get the Pagan populous to convert to Christianity, employed many methods to achieve this end. They built cathedrals on Pagan Sabbat gathering sites, they adopted and Christianized the holy days found on our Wheel of the Year, and also those things which were directly associated with the Goddess, such as days like Friday, which was a day associated with love Goddesses, and the whole industry of love. From being in love, making love, using love potions, brews and love spells, these were all considered evil and consorting with the devil, according to the priests of the New Religion.

So days like Friday and May day (also known as Lady's Day in honor of Her) even numbers like 13, which s a combination of the number 1 which stands for the Divine source and the number 3 which stands for the Holy Trinity, Maiden, Mother, Crone (The three aspects of the Goddess) all became suspect. The simplest way to get people to stay away from what you don't want them to 'play with' is to tell them it's bad for them, or bad luck. Many people attribute the bad luck of Friday the 13th to the last supper with Jesus Christ and his disciples (of which there were a total of 13 people in attendance) and his crucifixion the next day, which some religious scholars believe it to have been on a Friday.

I think because the death of Jesus started the world on a new path, which was to eventually almost eliminate the Goddess from religious worship, that both theories  have influenced the common modern day belief that this day is bad luck. But luck is truly what you make it, so it is up to you to decide if this day is bad luck or good luck.

There are many superstitions, especially in New England. I have, for many years, studied New England superstitions and I personally feel that many of the Old World Magicks brought to this country by immigrants can be found hidden away in the superstitions people believe in. Let us discuss some of them here:

Red Doors -  In Germanic and British folk magick the color red was used to fend off evil spirits and unwanted ghosts. It is believed that the front doors of homes in New England are a throw back to these old customs, that are now found to be superstitions. But different cultures use colors in different ways. In Asian cultures, for instance, the color of red was for prosperity and abundance. There is a Christian belief that the color red represents the blood of Christ and that by painting the front door red, it will protect those within the home.

Weddings: There have always been many superstitions surrounding weddings, even to this day. You've heard of a bride wearing  something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue. These come from British folk magick and are believed to bring good fortune to the bride and groom and their married life.

When a man and woman would marry in Colonial America, they would then move into a house to start their lives together. One of the first things the husband would do would be to plant an evergreen tree on either side of the front door. Almost any type of every green was acceptable, except Yew as that was a plant that would herald in death and was regulated to cemeteries and grave yards.  The evergreen trees or bushes on either side of the front door was to assure a long, happy and prosperous married life together. As the evergreen never loses it's foliage, it is symbolic magick that the relationship would never die.

Interestingly, in Colonial America, summer weddings were not as popular as winter weddings. It is believed that the winter season was a time for festivities and the summer was a busy time with farming and tending the fields. Thanksgiving eve was an especially popular time to get married, as the entire family was usually present and a feast was already planned.

Some other fun superstitions from old New England:

If a cat starts washing it's face you will soon receive company. Hmmmm, since cats clean themselves daily, visitors must have been dropping in on a regular basis back then!  And another sign of company coming to visit is if a bumblebee flies in an open window. Much more likely happening back then than now as they didn't have window screens in Colonial America!

New Englanders in the Colonial days were by majority Puritans, and while the Puritans were a religious lot they were just as superstitious. They felt the devil was around every corner just waiting to get them. And that their lives were ruled by luck, either good or bad. They saw omens for good or bad luck in almost everything! Such as:

They were fond of putting old shoes within the walls of buildings they were constructing to keep evil demons and bad luck, such as lightening strikes away. Many times things such as coins, shoes, nails or other 'good luck' tokens were placed within the corner stone of a new building being constructed.

If your buttered bread fell butter side down it was a sign of bad luck. Kind of goes without saying!! As many of the floors in Colonial America were dirt, the 10 second rule probably didn't apply!

If you spill the salt on the table, you might argue with your best friend. Break this 'spell' by throwing salt over your left shoulder.

If a strange dog or cat comes to live with you it will bring good luck! (I firmly believe this one!!) And if you have a black cat it will bring it's owner good luck. Huh, this last one is interesting as nowadays many people believe a black cat is bad luck. But that most definitely is not true.

And of course, even today, finding a penny is one of the best harbingers of good luck. "Find a penny, pick it up, and all the day, you'll have good luck."

There are a myriad of superstitions that our fore fathers believed in, and some have remained to this day. As far as superstitions go, and if I believe in them? I believe that if you believe in them it makes them true, and if you don't then they are not true. For our beliefs shape our reality, each and every day.

Have a peaceful and magickal evening! Ms. Faith


Peace and Happiness




© 2010-2015 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.

A Witchy Craft to Make for the Holiday Season

Good Afternoon,

Whew! The hustle and bustle of the Halloween/Samhain season is past, and a busy season it was. Now we can settle down and make some home made gifts and goodies for friends and family that have a witchy flair.

Unlike the concept that we do not do spells for other people, there is nothing wrong with making magickally charged items for others to use. They are still the ones using the item for the magickal purpose, you just put it together for them, and this is perfectly acceptable.

Money Pentacles:

One fun, aromatic item to make is money pentacles. The picture above is of a sugar cookie with a pentacle stamp on it, which is very much what the money pentacles look like, except they are a darker brown.

 Once they are made and dried, carry one in your change purse, put it in a small zip lock baggie and carry in pocket, put it in your cash register if you have a business, or anywhere your financial energies congregate. Maybe in a desk drawer where your bank book and financial papers are kept.

Mix together a quarter of a cup of the following dry spices: Cinnamon, Allspice, Ginger and Nutmeg. In a separate bowl mix a quarter of a cup of warm water with a teaspoon of gum arabic. Let the gum arabic soften in the water and dissolve into it. Keep stirring it until it starts to thicken. Then mix it into the dry spices and mix into a dough. If it crumbles and is too dry, add a few drops of water at a time until it is a dough that holds together.

Take a teaspoon and scoop a teaspoon full of the spicy dough and with your hands roll it into a small ball. Then take a pentacle cookie stamp (available at your local witch shop) and stamp the pentacle into the ball, flattening it slightly. You can sprinkle green fairy dust on it while it is wet. After you have made a bunch of these money pentacles, place them on a dry paper towel and let them dry in a cool, well ventilated area. There is no need to bake these or refrigerate or anything else. They will air dry in a couple of days. Important note!! You CANNOT eat these!!

The Pentacle

Let's discuss the pentacle, especially after the Halloween season with all sorts of horror movies depicting this symbol in all sorts of horrible ways. Look at the star of the pentacle or the pentagram shape within the circle. As Wiccans and Pagans we see the apex, or top most point of the star to represent Spirit, the Holy, the Divine. The four lower points of the pentagram stand for the physical world i.e. Earth, Air, Fire and Water. We present the symbol with the point up, an upright pentagram, and as such we are saying we put the spiritual above the physical in all things. Or at least we try our very best to do so.

In addition to that description, the pentacle (which is simply the pentagram within a circle) is also a symbol of protection, especially for women and for all who wear it. It also stands for abundance and material wealth and physical health. All in all, a versatile, multi-purpose, nifty little symbol to have around.

We will be visiting additional witchy crafts over the next few weeks to learn how to make, in the manner of the witch, some magickal holiday gifts to be able to gift to others or to keep for yourself.

To purchase the above ingredients, you can find the spices at your local food store, as at Enchantments we do not carry herbs and spices you can get simply and cheaper at a food store. The gum arabic, which is not so easy to come by, we do carry as well as the pentacle cookie stamps.

The cookie stamp can also be used with sealing wax for letters and holiday envelopes, as well as for making anything you wish to impress a pentacle upon.  So, until next time, Happy Witch Crafting!
Ms. Faith


Peace and Happiness



© 2010-2015 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 Samhain or Halloween!!

Good Afternoon,

Yes, it is that witchy time of the year again! A time when witches celebrate Samhain pronounced (Sow-wen) also known far and wide as Halloween.

Do you know the history of Halloween? Well, it is a vast and expansive history that trails back over 5,000 years to Celtic Europe. Let me touch on a few points concerning the history of Halloween. If you would like to learn more, please make plans to attend my "History of Halloween" lecture and PowerPoint presentation this upcoming Friday, October 30, 2015 at Manchester Community College, Manchester, CT. USA The lecture starts at 6 pm and goes until 8 pm. We put on a very brief, silly skit emphasizing the stereotypical witch from legend and lore. Then the PowerPoint presentation, followed by a guided meditation where you will be able to contact a loved one who has passed and take home a magickal stone which will help you connect with them at other times. If you would like to attend, please call Manchester Community College at 860-512-3232 Monday-Friday between 8:30 am - 4:30 pm. You may pay by MasterCard, Visa or Discover Card. The cost is $20 a person. Please reference the course number CRN 31810. The lecture will take place in Great Path Academy on the MCC campus in room GPA GP139. I look forward to seeing you there!

Now those interesting facts about Halloween I promised you. Here they are:

• The holy day or Sabbat of Samhain really falls on November 1st. But like all of the Celtic Sabbats the actual holy day starts the evening before, at sunset. 
• The name Samhain is thought to be old Gaelic and means November, though if you look on the Internet you'll find 20 different interpretations. From my research, November, is the closest actual translation. 
• The name Halloween is derived from the old title of All Hallow's Eve, with the day itself being "All Hallow's Day"  which is what the early Christians re-named this day in an attempt to absorb and Christianize the Pagan holy day. "All Hallow's was named such as it was a day to revere those who were Hallowed in the Christian faith, i.e. Some of the more special Saints and Angels. The very next day, November 1st, was re-named and Christianized as "All Saint's Day" which incorporated all those Saints not included on October  31st. Then November 2nd, became all souls day. This was a day to pray for all souls on Earth, everybody. This three day Christianized super-imposition over the Pagan holy day was an attempt to wipe out one of the most sacred holy days on the Pagan calendar. 
• Samhain is a Celtic observed Day of the Dead. This is the holy day we remember the loved ones we have lost, especially in the past year, and others who have gone before. 
• There are many ways to celebrate this holy day. One fashion is to hold a "Dumb Supper". A Dumb Supper is a feast where people are invited to sit down and eat wonderful foods and drink, only no one speaks. At all, throughout the entire dinner party. This is a way to honor the spirit guests who are present but cannot speak. 
• A "Dumb Supper" can be a bit intense for some, so an easier way of honoring those who have passed, and are visiting in spirit form, is to have one plate of food, piled high, with all the goodies at the dinner. A glass of drink and the plate of food are placed on the table with an empty chair in that place. No one of the living sits there, or eats or drinks of the food and drink. They are placed there for the spirits. Pictures of loved ones who have passed can be placed at this table setting in honor and memoriam. 
• The night before Samhain, October 31st, is an excellent night to commune with the spirits. It is believed that the "Veil between the Worlds" grows thin at this time of the year, also at Beltaine on May 1st.  These two days are the half way points on the Wheel of the Year. It is believed that spirits can talk to you more easily at these times. So holding a seance' , using an oracle or talking board (Ouija) , using your pendulum, using tarot cards or crystal balls are all very effective this time of the year. 
• Trick or Treating actually evolved from Western Europe when on this night villagers would go from door to door looking for a hand out of free drink, liquor of some sort or food. These were adults, whereas today we expect children looking for candy. Many years ago, with the poor and hungry, many people would simply not survive without the generosity and hand outs of the other villagers. 
• On a final note, a bit of American History concerning Halloween. The scare everyone gets at Halloween concerning poisoned candy or treats with harmful objects inside, is just that a scare. Checking with the FBI, who handles all crimes such as these, they report that in the past 100 years in the United States (Halloween wasn't celebrated much before this time in this country) there have been only 2 instances where a child was killed or injured with candy that was tampered with. Only 2 times. And both of these cases were found to be caused by sick and twisted family members who wanted to cash in on insurance policies held on the children in question.  Now I'm not at all suggesting parents do away with diligently checking their children's candy bags, because crazies are among us. But a sigh of relief can be had by knowing your children are safer than the media would have you believe every year around this time. 

I wish you the very happiest, healthiest and spookiest of Samhains or Halloweens! Whatever you celebrate, make it the very best!! 

Peace and Happiness Ms. Faith 

© 2010-2015 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.

Afraid To Cast a Spell Because You Might Do Something Wrong? Let's Discuss

Good Afternoon,

We are going to discuss spell casting today. But not the specifics of spell casting, more like the ethics of spell casting. It has come to my attention, from talking with magickal people that frequent the shop, that many people read a lot about the magickal world and about spell casting, but do not actually cast any spells!

To this witch, that is akin to reading cookbook after cookbook but never going into the kitchen!! And when asked why? The answers are invariably the same. They do not want to do anything wrong. They do not want to send something out that will return to them and cause problems in their lives. They do not want to piss off the Goddess and the God or any other divine entity. Hmmmmm, tapping finger nails on the desk. Interesting, indeed.

First I would ask "Are you trying or intending to do anything harmful or negative to another?" The answer is always "No! Of course not!" followed with, "I just don't know enough." Well, let me take a few moments to explain. Witches practice witchcraft. Practice. One is never perfect right out of the cauldron! Of course not. One needs to practice AND make mistakes, and practice some more and make more mistakes etc. etc. before one can master anything! That's right, you can only master a thing once you have worked it a good long while. And mistakes are guaranteed. But let's address some concerns:

• Firstly, you will not, actually can not piss off the Gods. Well, I suppose if you really try to do so, and set off to accomplish this, it can be done, in some philosophies. But unless you are trying to disrespect them, you won't do so just by practicing and making a few mistakes. Do you really think the Gods care how you set up your altar? Or if you start your circle in the East or in the North? Do you think they care if you forget to light the candles or ring the bell? Seriously? How petty do you think you Goddess or God is? They are beyond human, and a mistake humans consistently make is that we assume the Gods are subject to the same petty stuff we are. Our Gods DO NOT sit in judgement of us. That's a Westernized Christian concept, for some Christians, not all. You can and will make mistakes and the Gods, like kindly, understanding grandparents, will smile and nod understandingly while you go back and re-do.
• Next, the Karma connection. When someone is worried that 'what they do' will return to them threefold, they first have to be doing something specific. Just casting a circle incorrectly won't return any karmic feedback, because you've not done anything to anyone. For karma to come to you, you must send out specific good or bad, deliberate intentional stuff. Say you cast a spell for love. And you don't visualize, or don't use the correct candle color, or something that just makes the spell difficult to manifest. You know what will happen? Nothing, period. No manifestation. You're not going to create chaos in your life because you forgot to cast a spell properly. There is simply nothing to return back to you. People put so much 'energy' on stuff returning back to them, but realize it has to be concentrated, specific intentional energy that you are sending out. And if it's good and loving to begin with, why, in the name of the Goddess, would it return in a negative way, simply because you forgot a step or two?? 

By not practicing your spells, by not casting circles you are just simply not living the life of a witch. You are existing on the fringes of a very magickal circle that will welcome you into it, all you have to do is step inside and get to work. And enough of the excuses as to why you can't practice. If you wish to live the life of a witch you will practice, as simple as that. Or be content to sit on the sidelines watching. It's really up to you. 

Now that you know how the energies and the karmic thing works, you can feel freed from the restrictions you have imposed upon yourself and start practicing. I st practice casting a circle. You can find previous posts for casting a circle by putting those words in the search box at the top of this page. After you've practiced casting and opening a circle, then you can start practicing casting spells. Only do one spell at a time, focus on one a week to start. Or even one a month. And be sure to journal your work in a notebook, called a Book of Shadows. Put all of your magickal workings in this book. Over time you will accumulate several Books of Shadows, and this will become your magickal library.

Happy Circle and Spell Casting! Write in the comments on how you do, I'd love to hear from you!! 

Peace and Happiness

© 2010-2015 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 Witches Pyramid

The Witches Pyramid

Good Evening,

The Witches Pyramid is an old concept that Witches of old were thought to follow. It has four levels, lessons or sides of the pyramid. To know, To will, To dare, To keep silent. These are the four aspects of the pyramid. The lessons of the pyramid are simple and each are associated with a direction and element:

To Know: A witch must have knowledge and not just book or (shudder) Internet knowledge. Anyone can read and read and read. That doesn't make you a witch. Practice, ritual, working magick are all part of becoming a witch and a witch has knowledge. To know. To know on a physical, intellectual, emotional and spiritual level and that takes more than just reading a book or taking some classes. A witch practices at home, and come to a place where she/he lives the life. And then truly know. To Know is associated with the Eastern realms and the element of Air.

To Will: A witch is often challenged on her/his path. Sometimes the challenge is obvious and comes from a close minded person, perhaps a co-worker or relative. Many more times though the challenge comes from the world around you. You must have the Will, the drive, the desire the courage to practice and live your life as a witch. It's not always going to be easy, did you expect it to be? Living the life of a witch is easy when everything is going your way, but it becomes life changing and life enhancing when you live the life of a witch when everything is going against you, and you still do your 'witchy' thing. To Will is associated with the Southern realms and element of Fire.

To Dare: Yes, you must have the will, the desire to practice a witchy lifestyle, but you may also be called upon to be daring! To face up to opposition and do it anyways! Regardless of what others may think, say or do. Of course, you must be safe and if your safety is in jeopardy be sure to call the authorities, but other than that, practice as you choose to. I long ago got over the neighbors or others in my neighborhood knowing I practice witchcraft. I have rituals and do all sorts of things right in the front yard and people just continue on their way. Sometimes people drive by and beep and wave, others simply ignore us. It's all good, because I practice as I will and fewer people than you would think have a problem with it. Or if they do have a problem, they never say anything to me. To Dare is associated with the Western realms and the element of Water.

To Keep Silent: This level or lesson of the Witches Pyramid has been the most important one throughout the history of the witch. For when a witch (suspected witch) was arrested she/he was tortured for information on their illicit activities s well as for names of other 'witches'. Under the types of torture common during the Burning Times, people often gave up the names of anyone with the slightest suspicion on them if they thought it would stop the pain and suffering. Midwives, herbalists, anyone who practiced the old folk magicks would all be suspect. Those accused were seldom let go, once arrested the path quickly led to death by either burning or hanging. So to keep silent was crucial for your life and the life of your family. To Keep Silent is associated with the Northern realms and the element of Earth.

These lessons of the Witches Pyramid have been taught and practiced for decades if not centuries. There is little historical information as to the true origins of the Witches Pyramid, but it is important to note it is much older than Wicca, and is not Wiccan per say, but  rather a basis for practice of effective magick and living a magickal life. The Witches Pyramid has evolved over the past few decades and modern magickal practitioners have added yet a fifth aspect or lesson to the prior four. The fifth lesson is;

To Go: It refers to the physical action required by a witch to do her/his work. It is not simply a matter of thinking about something, or praying about something to make a thing manifest. Many belief systems do just that, thinking or praying about a thing. The witch acts! To go, is the lesson of action. Do something, get the energies moving, to make your magick manifest. Also invoke the Goddess/God to aide you in your work. For this level or lesson is associated with the Realm of Spirit which is held above all things physical.

The Witches Pyramid is considered very old by some magickal practitioners and I can't say whether it is or it isn't. But I do know the lessons to be learned when practicing the levels gives a witch a sound foundation with which to work and practice a magickal life.

Peace and Happiness




© 2010-2015 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 Magick of the Moon in Honor of the Super Moon Lunar Eclipse this Sunday

Good Evening,

There are so many things happening in the magickal world this week! In addition to Mabon, the Autumnal Equinox, we also have a Super Moon Lunar Eclipse which will occur this Sunday, September 27, 2015 late in the evening.

First to explain the astronomy aspect, a super moon is a full or new moon, in this instance a full moon, that happens at the same time the moon is closest to the Earth on its elliptical orbit. So the moon is closest to the Earth and it's full and looks the biggest to our eye, hence the coined name Super moon.
Then we have, at the same time a lunar eclipse, which will occur Sunday, just a night before the complete full moon, but it will look spectacular none-the-less.  With all of this happening, you might wonder what kind of moon magicks could be had.

Well, magickally, the full moon, in my study of witchcraft, is a time for banishing things you no longer want or need in your life. Putting things aside, finishing up projects, ending unwanted relationships, completing projects are all appropriate for a full moon and a super moon just gives you more power to your desired magickal goal.

Write the 'thing' you no longer want in your life on a piece of paper and on that night, burn it up and scatter the ashes outside, if there are ashes left over. If not, no worries it will still work.

A night of a lunar eclipse has additional magickal energy to it. This is a night when things that may be hidden in your life can be brought into the light. The truth of a matter can be brought to your attention. To do this, burn a yellow candle on the night of the eclipse, preferably during the eclipse. Your answer as to what exactly has been hidden from you will be brought to light within a month of the eclipse candle spell. Before burning the yellow candle, hold it in your hand and ask the God/Goddess/Universe to bring you the truth of a certain situation. State your desire out loud. Light the candle and let it burn for an hour and put it out if it doesn't burn out by then.

Traditionally moon magick can be done three days before, the day of and three days after the full or new moon. But for this particular moon the closer you can do your magick to the actual day of the full moon, the stronger the spell. Take note the eclipse is Sunday night, the night before the complete full moon, which is on Monday night. You can do a truth spell Sunday night, and a banishing spell on Monday. Do not do two spells on the same night. Keep your focus on one thing at a time.

Even if you do not choose to do a spell during this moon, going outside to see it and bask in it's light will be wonderful. There have only been 5 super moons since 1900. So it is a rarity and worth seeing for yourself.  I hope you enjoy the super moon!

Peace and Happiness



© 2010-2015 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 Autumnal Equinox, What Pagans Call Mabon. Why Is It So Special?

Happy Mabon Greetings to you!

I shared last week with you about the Autumnal Equinox celebration held at Enchantments with our beautiful lit labyrinth. The students, known as the Witches of Enchantments, did an excellent job building the labyrinth and this is what it looked like this year:

As much fun as we have celebrating Mabon, the Autumnal  Equinox, what is the celebration all about? Why is this day so special? Well, from my research we can credit the ancient Druids, who were the Priests of the ancient Celtic peoples in Western Europe. The Druids, a very learned people, studied Nature and looked to discover all of her mysteries.

The Druids taught the Celts that there was much magick to be found in Nature. It was everywhere, surrounding us always. And they found that the most magickal, were the 'things in-between'. For instance, ice. Ice is water, but water is a liquid, but ice is solid like rock, but it isn't rock. It is in -between. Fog or mist, is water vapors, but it isn't water, it hangs in the air, but it isn't air, again something in-between. Midnight, the stroke of midnight isn't yesterday, but it isn't quite today. In-between. Many, many things fell into this category for the Druids, even the seasons.

We believe, and much of what we suppose of the Druids is just that supposition, because they didn't write anything down, and if they did it was wiped out by the Roman occupation of Great Britain for over 400 years. We do have diary accounts of scholars and Roman generals that observed the Druids and wrote down what they thought they were seeing. But we believe the ancient Celts observed two halves of the year. Winter and Summer. Winter started on November 1 and Summer started on May 1st. But, having said that, they did observe the Spring and Autumn, because they had three celebrations each, in Spring and Autumn. But only one celebration each in Winter and Summer. I believe the reason for this was because the Spring and Autumn fell in-between the two major seasons.

And for the Autumnal Equinox, as well as the Spring or Vernal Equinox, these are two days of the year that the length of daylight and darkness are of equal length. Right smack dab, in-between the days lengthening in the Spring and growing shorter in the fall. Very special and to the Druid's, very magickal, indeed.

This concept of being in-between also occurs at Beltaine May 1st and Samhain, November 1st when the veil between the worlds of the living and the spirit world is said to become thin, and we are able to communicate more easily with those who have gone before.

The world of the Druid is to me, very much like the world of the Witch. In the sense that everything is tinged with magick, if you but look for it. The days each have their own magick, the nights, the plants in the garden, even the pebbles on your foot path. Magick can be found everywhere. I find Autumn to be a very magickal time of the year, and many people say it's their favorite time of the year. But do they know why? I think, even if a person does not consider themselves a magickal being, they still sense the magick as it surrounds us all.

Have a Blessed Magickal Autumn!



Peace and Happiness










© 2010-2015 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.