The Contemporary New England Witch

The Contemporary New England Witch
Author Ms.Faith

Thursday, July 23, 2015

Working with Goddess' Continued

 Good Afternoon,

A couple of weeks ago we discussed working with some Goddess' for love. But there are many Goddess' from different cultures or (Pantheons) that you can choose to work with for many different purposes. We'll discuss a few of them here today.

The Celtic Goddess - The Morrigan

The Morrigan is a Celtic War Goddess that is reputed to take the souls of men slain on the battlefield and brings them to a place where they can rest, become renewed and refreshed before continuing on their way after death. She is a Might Protective Goddess who will come to protect you when in danger. Her candle colors are black and red. Her animal spirit is the Raven, and she often assumes the shape and form of the Raven. There are many myths and legends concerning the Morrigan, that you can read. I work with her to bring protection to myself and loved ones, and also to give strength and courage in the midst of difficulties. To call upon her, light a red or black candle or one of each color. Her traditional offering was blood, from a simple pricked finger and smear onto a candle. Now a days blood substitutes can also work to appease the Great Phantom Queen, such as placing bloodstone rocks around her candles. These green rocks have specks of red that resemble drops of blood. You can also use Dragon's blood resin to burn as an incense or oil to anoint candles or even yourself.

Diana/ Artemis Goddess of the Hunt

Diana/ Artemis is the same Goddess just called two different names from two different Pantheons. She is known as Artemis from the Ancient Greeks and Diana from the Ancient Romans. Her basic energies are the same though. She is the Huntress. She can be invoked to help out with any problems with animals, large and small. You can burn a brown candle, silver candle or a green one to help with animals that are feeling poorly. Her offering would be saffron, which is an exotic, expensive spice found in the market in the spice aisle. Her symbols are the bow, the arrow and the moon. If you invoke her for help with a sick animal be aware that the animal might pass over to the other side, as with her help she helps the animal transition with no pain or discomfort. If the animal is meant to live, it will rebound and get better. Invoking Artemis can even help with problems with insects in your house! Just ask her to help them leave and find another place to live.

Bastet

This is the Goddess Bast also known as Bastet, both pronounced Bast . She is an Egyptian Cat Goddess that will help you with any magickal workings devoted strictly to cats and kittens. She is also a Goddess that works with women and secrets. Her candle color is black. Offerings to Bast can be any little toy that a cat might like, such as a toy mouse, a toy bird, a ball, a feather or something similar. You could even put out a small bowl of kitty treats or dry food. Not milk or cream, as cats are naturally lactose intolerant and so it would be inappropriate to offer the Goddess something that would make a cat sick. Catnip is also a very good offering, as well as a lovely incense when working with Bast. You may use Egyptian Musk oil as an anointing oil on candles. She will help you with specific issues regarding cats, whether they are sick, lost, having to go through difficult treatments to helping their spirits pass on after death. Stones that work well with Bast are Lapis Lazuli, turquoise and gold.


These are just a few Goddess' I work with on a regular basis and I find they really do work great magicks in my life. You can get a statue or picture of the Goddess you wish to work with, which will help you identify with and become closer to her as you work with her. You can work with one, or many Goddess' it's up to 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.

Tuesday, July 14, 2015

Our Lughnasadh Celebration is Coming Up Soon!

Good Afternoon,

Soon our First Autumnal Sabbat, Lughnasadh also known as Lammas or Loaf Mass, will be upon us. This year we will celebrate this Sabbat on it's actual day, Saturday, August 1st, 2015, at 10 am at Enchantments, in the front ritual garden. This year we are incorporating, for the very first time, a blessing of the animals. Please come and bring your pet to be blessed within the ritual sacred circle. If you have a few pets and can't bring them all you can bring a picture of each pet.

Lughnasadh as the ancient Celts knew it, was renamed Lammas meaning Loaf Mass, or the Mass of Bread by the early Christians, but for everyone it was the first harvest of the food from the fields. The first grains will be cut and the first vegetables as the ancients knew them would be harvested. The ancients did not have vegetables as we would recognize them to be. They had root vegetables, like carrot and parsnip and turnip. Also cabbage was a very common vegetable in the ancient's cooking cauldron. The first of these, if the season has been favorable, would be harvested along with the first grains to bake the new breads and cakes.

Being a harvest festival, this Sabbat, was considered the original Thanksgiving feast the ancients used to celebrate every year at this time. Those that think of the Pilgrims and Indians in the first Thanksgiving feast after the Pilgrims landed on Plymouth Rock back in the early 1600's, remember Thanksgiving feasts were known to them. They wanted to have one for the year they were in the New World, and circumstances caused their feast to be held later in the year.

Today, as Witches, Pagans and Wiccans we celebrate Lughnasadh as our Thanksgiving feast. It is common to have Turkey, or Pork (which was a sacred meat to the ancient Celts), root vegetables, dishes made out of bread such as stuffing and bread puddings, and fruit as berries are common this time of year. Served with cheeses and creams, this is a rich, abundant feast with many side dishes and desserts. If you wish to attend this year, try to bring a dish to share that goes along with our Thanksgiving themed feast.

Also if you bring a pet to be blessed during the circle, bring a leash so they can be tied up safely as the street in front of Enchantments is very busy and dangerous, as well as a bowl for water. We have a faucet outside with clean, fresh water, you just need to bring the bowl.

 Munchie One of Ms. Faith's cats.

I look forward to seeing you all at our next Sabbat! Until then, Happy Harvesting! 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, July 3, 2015

Working with Love Goddesses



 Aphrodite

Good Afternoon,


Today I want to discuss with you, working with Goddesses, most especially love Goddesses. There are many but for our conversation today we'll work with the Greek and Roman versions of love Goddesses, Aphrodite and Venus.  Specifically Aphrodite is from Greek Mythology and Venus is from Roman Mythology.

Now working with either is fairly simple. You can burn a red candle for either Goddess. When getting ready to burn a candle, you hold it in your hands for a few minutes, close your eyes and see the end result. Now, don't envision another person without that person's express permission. Just see yourself surrounded by pink, warm, golden, loving energy. The right person will come to you when the timing is right.

Working with these Goddesses works best on a Friday, like today. Hold the candle, envision the light surrounding you and then rub a little rose oil on the candle. If you don't have rose oil, then using a bit of olive oil  in a pinch will do. Thank the Goddess you are working with for bringing love into your life (even if it's not there yet) and place the candle in a holder and light it.

Offerings to the Goddesses are also appropriate. For Aphrodite you can place roses on her altar, burn frankincense and myrrh resin to call her forth, and place in a bowl roses,oranges, papaya, mango, orange blossoms, spicy orange tea, bubbling bath lotions, fancy soaps and lotions, and hand mirrors. 

Offerings to Venus can be emeralds, turquoise and pearls, jade and lapis lazuli. Sea shells, as her legend is she rose from the sea foam. She also loves roses and lilies. Placing fragrant oils in a sea shell on her altar is also appropriate.

Venus



 After the offerings have been on Her altar for three days, you can remove the items and replace them with fresh. Oils that were used, can be placed in a bath for you as you burn a candle to Her. Speak with your Goddess. Over the years this has been proven to me to be one of the strongest ways to work with your Goddess. Use your voice, out loud and speak with Her. Tell Her what you need and desire in your life, what your problem or challenge is, what you need done. She will answer you, with changes that She brings to your life. When changes come to you, look at them closely.

If you desire better health for example, your might find yourself in the hospital or needing to go to your doctor all of a sudden. On the surface this may not seem like what you were asking for, but indeed, it will give you what you desire. So look at changes that happen in your life closely, to see Her hand at work in your world.

There are many Goddesses with which you can work, you needn't just choose one. But before you work with a specific Goddess, find out about Her and see what it is She needs from you.


Next week we'll discuss other Goddesses and how they can work in your 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.