Rest In Peace Beautiful Kitty . . .

Good Evening,

Tonight I write this discussion more for me as writing helps me balance my energies and emotions, at least with situations like I encountered today. Let me start, as is always a good place, at the beginning.

I was driving down the road to get my morning coffee before work today, and saw on the side of the road a beautiful cat that had been hit by a car. I didn't think, but immediately pulled over to see if it was still alive and perhaps in need of a vet. What a beautiful cat it was too. A large, very clean, white cat with a few orange spots and the most beautiful blue eyes. Unfortunately it was already gone. My heart sank as I stroked this poor animal. I could feel the stiffness settling in its body, even though it was still warm.

At first I lifted it off the road and tried to place it on the side where it wouldn't be run over time and again by drivers un-aware, but the grass was tall on the side of the road and I feared it wouldn't be found by its owners, or that the coyotes that come around this time of year would find it first. I couldn't leave the poor thing, so I placed it's body gently in the back of my truck.

I went to work at Enchantments and proceeded to try to bury the body. Easier said than done! The outer perimeter of Enchantments property is populated with Elm trees and their roots make digging in the dirt more than an inch or so impossible. I was troubled as I couldn't imagine disposing of the body in a way other than a proper burial and then it struck me, I could bury the beautiful cat in my garden.

It was still long and arduous digging with a large shovel and a crow bar to soften the soil, but after an hour or so I had opened up a large enough hole to provide a respectable grave for the cat. I then went into Enchantments and gathered some ingredients. A clean white bag, fennel seeds and a cauldron with charcoal and incense,and then I went back outside. I wrapped the body with the bag and gently placed it into the grave making sure it was face up. I blessed and consecrated the fennel seeds and then sprinkled them over the body. I asked the Goddess to lead this beautiful animals spirit to the Summerland (our Pagan Heaven) and allow it to run and hunt and frolic in the sunshine and fields chasing mice and rabbits and birds all the rest of its days. I swung the cauldron over the body, censing it with incense and made the sign of the pentagram which is a protective divine symbol and thanked the Goddess for her help. Then I cried tears for this poor, beautiful animal and wished it had had a different end, but I knew in my heart that it was as it was meant to be.

I then covered the body with soil and firmed it down. I had made sure the hole was deep enough to prevent animals from coming around to dig it up, though I will be keeping a close eye on it over the next several weeks.

My heart goes out to the owners of this beautiful animal and as it did not have a collar or identification I have no way to contact the owners to let them know their precious cat is now at peace.

It is a sad day for me, as is any day I lay to rest a beautiful animal but I am glad in a way that I was there to do so, as I feel someone needed to do this work today for this precious kitty.

Thank you for letting me tell you this tale and thank you for reading this story. Now I am gong to go sit under the large, old maple tree in the gardens of Enchantments and relax.


I hope you find the magick in this day!


Peace and Happiness





© 2010-2012 Faith M. McCann. Portions of this blog posting may include materials from my book “Enchantments School for the Magickal Arts First Year Magickal Studies.” For more information, see www.enchantmentsschool.com or go to the title of tonight's discussion and click, it will link you to my school's website. Please note that the copying and/or further distribution of this work without express written permission is prohibited.


If you know someone who would like my work, please send them this link. If you or they would like to be included on our daily email distribution list send me an e mail with your email address to be included. If you ever wish to unsubscribe to this blog, please contact me and you will be immediately removed from our list.

What a wonderful birthday week!

Good Evening,

This week was my birthday and I had a very magickal one! I was fortunate enough to have both Janet Farrar and Gavin Bone at my shop, Enchantments, for the weekend where they conducted tarot readings, of which I had one and healings, also got one of those. Someone mentioned it was like having a witches spa day, hahahaha, and I agree. They also ran a two day Cosmology workshop that was well attended.

Janet read my tarot cards and I'm excited as the next year will be a prosperous one for Enchantments and Gavin did a healing for me, which worked absolute wonders on a hyper-extended knee I was suffering from. All the pain and swelling is gone, and it left a mere few hours after the healing. It is as good as new!

Then the Cosmology workshop dealing with Chakras, pathworking, the inner soul and the shadow self was just tremendous! I actually closed the store early so I wouldn't miss any of this amazing workshop and I'm glad I did. Sometimes you have to go with what is best for you and I apologize to those who came to the shop and found us closed, but an opportunity like this doesn't happen everyday!

I had a wonderful birthday party with close friends and family, that consisted of an old fashioned New England Lobster/Clam bake and we had a wonderful troupe of fire dancers for entertainment. They were truly spectacular and everyone had a great time. Talk about a pagan event, the fire dancers brought the element of fire up close and personal.

Then I had a quiet day of rest and the next day, for my actual birthday . . . I did say I celebrated my birthday week!. . . I spent the day with my best friend, and a lovely day we had!

Now, for a little birthday magickal lore, let me share with you, that when you're blowing out your candles on your birthday cake, that you are performing one of the oldest candle spells known to man. This dates back over 2,000 years ago to the temple of Artemis in ancient Greece. People would bring little crescent moon shaped cakes to the temple and arrange candles around them. They would wish for something special and then blow out the candles, knowing the Goddess Artemis would grant them their wish. When you blow out your candles, know that Artemis is listening and may possibly choose to grant you your wish!

There was so much magick, happiness and joy in this birthday this year, I am truly blessed and grateful for all the wonderful people I find in my life. Have a magickal day!


Peace and Happiness!


© 2010-2012 Faith M. McCann. Portions of this blog posting may include materials from my book “Enchantments School for the Magickal Arts First Year Magickal Studies.” For more information, see www.enchantmentsschool.com or go to the title of tonight's discussion and click, it will link you to my school's website. Please note that the copying and/or further distribution of this work without express written permission is prohibited.



If you know someone who would like my work, please send them this link. If you or they would like to be included on our daily email distribution list send me an e mail with your email address to be included. If you ever wish to unsubscribe to this blog, please contact me and you will be immediately removed from our list.

Ms. Janet Farrar and Mr. Gavin Bone at Enchantments this weekend!

Good Evening!

I'm very excited and proud to present at Enchantments, world renowned authors, lecturers, witches and priests, Ms. Janet Farrar and Mr. Gavin Bone, this weekend!

They will be conducting their 'Inner Mysteries Intensive Workshop' which is a two day workshop giving the participants an experiential base in magickal practice who wish to work as solitary practitioners or as members of a working Wiccan group.

This workshop includes: Working with core magical energy, the magic circle, the group mind, cosmology, path-working, working with polarity magic, magical laws, the Mysteries, finding your guides and guardians and much, much more!

Ms. Farrar and Mr. Bone are authors of 'A Witches Bible', 'The Witches Goddess', 'The Witches God','The Healing Craft', 'Progressive Witchcraft' and 'Inner Mysteries' and have lectured and conducted workshops all over the world.

The workshop starts at 9:30 am on Saturday and Sunday and goes until 5 pm each day. If you are interested in signing up, please call Enchantments at 860-791-6033 and have your credit card ready, there are only a few spaces available.

I look forward to seeing you there!

Peace and Happiness!!





© 2010-2012 Faith M. McCann. Portions of this blog posting may include materials from my book “Enchantments School for the Magickal Arts First Year Magickal Studies.” For more information, see www.enchantmentsschool.com or go to the title of tonight's discussion and click, it will link you to my school's website. Please note that the copying and/or further distribution of this work without express written permission is prohibited.


If you know someone who would like my work, please send them this link. If you or they would like to be included on our daily email distribution list send me an e mail with your email address to be included. If you ever wish to unsubscribe to this blog, please contact me and you will be immediately removed from our list.

A Beautiful Summer's Day and More Magickal Stones!

Good Evening,


Today is such a glorious Summer's day! This entire Summer has been wonderful, in this witch's estimation, that is. Hot, long, wet and just wonderful. I might need to note that I'm not terribly crazy about Winter, though it is a season we all must live through and respect here in Southern New England.

Yes, it has rained a lot this Summer season, but that just saves us from having to water the garden manually as well as saving water reserves. Another plus!! Well, onto tonight's magickal discussion!

Just last weekend I went to a Lapidary show (rocks, minerals and tumbled stones) and purchased some very nice pieces for Enchantments. I wanted to tell you about some of the magickal stones I gathered and their magickal energies that you can utilize for your own benefit.

Red Calcite

The first favorite of mine is red calcite. Red calcite is a stone used to energize the body and spirit and to help de-toxify the body. It increases stability and courage within. It is a stone that helps with fear and carrying red calcite helps one beset by fear to gently release it. It eases the fight or flight rush of fear that will at times course through the body, and can be utilized to great benefit by those who do 'battle' in their day to day lives.

It will attract love to the wearer. It is an overall beneficial stone for a healthy sex life and will increase one's sensuality. In the area of detoxifying, it is greatly useful for those trying to rid their bodies of toxins from the over use of alcohol and food poisonings. It is associated with the root chakra and aids in all areas of physical health.

Lapis Lazuli

I love Lapis Lazuli. A stone once revered by the ancient Egyptians, it is a beautiful blue stone shot through with gold pyrite. Lapis when viewed in direct sunlight is brilliant and sparkling, whereas in candlelight or artificial lighting it becomes dull and lifeless. As an amulet is is used for increasing happiness in love, sex and passion. It brings about a sincerity of the spirit, increases interest in new pursuits and strengthens friendships and relationships. Use lapis to help rid the spirit of bad memories and past pain and distress.

To bring about a peace to the soul energy take a piece of Lapis and place on the third eye, the middle of forehead between brows and lay down and become still for several minutes. Think peaceful and happy thoughts and do this every other day or so to bring about a release of painful energies from the past.

In addition to tumbled Lapis I was able to get some incredibly beautiful flat Lapis Lazuli pendants that make a tremendous fashion statement as well as being beneficial from their magickal properties that come from wearing such a special stone. The picture above is an example of the pendants.

These are just two of the special magickal stones I have recently bought for Enchantments as well as many others. if you love stones and minerals or wish to start using some in your life, please stop by and browse through our large and varied stone wall display. We are proud to carry one of the largest collections of magickal stones and minerals in the state, and all come with a paper detailing the magickal properties of each stone so you can use it magickally in your life.

I am also happy to bag each stone separately with its paper tag so you can keep every stone organized and remember what each one was when you get home!

I look forward to seeing you at Enchantments soon! Have a beautiful rest of your week!!

Peace and Happiness


© 2010-2012 Faith M. McCann. Portions of this blog posting may include materials from my book “Enchantments School for the Magickal Arts First Year Magickal Studies.” For more information, see www.enchantmentsschool.com or go to the title of tonight's discussion and click, it will link you to my school's website. Please note that the copying and/or further distribution of this work without express written permission is prohibited.

If you know someone who would like my work, please send them this link. If you or they would like to be included on our daily email distribution list send me an e mail with your email address to be included. If you ever wish to unsubscribe to this blog, please contact me and you will be immediately removed from our list.

Enchantments hosting "Women's Spirituality Group" on Sept 5th at 5 pm

Good Evening,


I'm so excited about this new event I am planning and want to share it with you! For a long time I have wanted to host a Woman's Spirituality group and finally the time is right.

Firstly, may I extend my apologies to my wonderful male readers as this group is as it states for women only. Don't get me wrong, I love men and always have and rituals and covens I have run have always been for both sexes, but this group is being planned specifically for women. Why?

I find the changing times in our country have become more and more challenging for women, our rights are again in jeopardy, our opinions and voices are more and more often ignored or overlooked and this group is designed to address those issues and more.

Frankly as women get together we talk, about everything!! Yet, we will censor ourselves if men are present. How many women really want to talk about the challenges of their moon cycles or menopause with men? And how many men want to join in that discussion? Be honest!

Women have come together for centuries to support, encourage, rally and befriend other women in times of stress, hardship and need. I want us to be able to do this again in this group. This group will meet for our first meeting at 5 pm, at Enchantments on September 5th and the meeting will go appx 1 1/2 to 2 hours.

Our first discussion will center around the theme of "How did you find your personal path of spirituality?"

Coffee/tea and refreshments will be served and discussion on future meetings will be held. This is a free group and any female over 18 is welcome. I hope to see you there!

If there are questions or concerns please call me at Enchantments at 860-791-6033 on Tuesdays from 10 - 4, Wed - Saturdays 10 - 5 and I'll be happy to answer your questions. Thanks You, Ms Faith


Peace and Happiness



© 2010-2012 Faith M. McCann. Portions of this blog posting may include materials from my book “Enchantments School for the Magickal Arts First Year Magickal Studies.” For more information, see www.enchantmentsschool.com or go to the title of tonight's discussion and click, it will link you to my school's website. Please note that the copying and/or further distribution of this work without express written permission is prohibited.


If you know someone who would like my work, please send them this link. If you or they would like to be included on our daily email distribution list send me an e mail with your email address to be included. If you ever wish to unsubscribe to this blog, please contact me and you will be immediately removed from our list.

Happy Lughnasadh! What are you thankful for?

Happy Lughnasadh to you!,

Today is August 1st, Lughnasadh or Lammas to many pagans and Wiccans around the world. This is a Sabbat, a solar celebration that marks another click on our pagan wheel of the year.

This celebration has been recognized as the first harvest for centuries and with good reason. November first marks the third and last food harvest of the growing season and for many, centuries ago, there was not to be another food harvest until the following August! That's 9 months away! Food was to be stored and carefully guarded throughout the year, but mishaps occurred, from mold to rats to fire, any number of hazards could happen that would destroy the grain crop, virtually all the food a village or tribe had to survive on, back in the day.

Ancient man did not eat meat as often and as much as we do today. Firstly, one had to hunt and actually kill an animal, which, when using hand held weapons or bow and arrows was not that easy to do. Then storing the meat was difficult and most of it had to be eaten quickly. Dried meat was made but a substantial grain harvest was needed to sustain a community.

Vegetables as we know them today also did not exist for Celtic man. The Celtic culture is what I write about primarily because that culture is where our Wheel of the Year developed from. Vegetables such as maize (our corn on the cob), potatoes and tomatoes came from other cultures centuries later. Celtic man had cabbages, leeks, onions and turnips. These vegetables needed to be stored throughout the winter months also, with similar hazards threatening their existence as those that could destroy the grains.

So when Lughnasadh came around, the first grain harvest of the growing season, a cause of celebration and thanksgiving abounded. Bread, fresh baked bread was made. Fermented drinks made from grain, similar to beer was made. Fresh cooked cereal such as oatmeal and meal made from millet was cooked. Soups and stews with fresh vegetables and herbs, strengthened by the addition of grains was cooked over large fires and the first animals of the year were slaughtered to create an abundant feast that everyone would enjoy and most likely would over indulge in, having gone for so long with rationed supplies.

A time for Thanksgiving was recognized by all. Thanking the Goddesses and Gods for the survival of the clans, villages, tribes and family was very important to the people of the day. They realized and believed it was only through the beneficence of the Gods that they survived another year. Everyone helped with the bringing in of the grain harvest. The young, the strong, women, men and the elderly helped in anyway they could. Everyone was needed for this very important occasion.

The strong men and boys that may have been away from home fighting to keep marauders from overtaking their homeland borderlands would have returned as would every fighting force regardless of culture to help their families bring in the harvest. For without the harvest, their families back home would perish and there would truthfully be little to fight for should that happen. So, everyone followed a 'cease fire' and went home to become farmers.

While at home, during the harvesting and feasting time, games would be played. These Celtic games were ofttimes called the assembly or games of Lugh, which is the translation of Lughnasadh. Lugh being a Celtic God of the harvest, of light, of war as well as other attributes. These games were similar to the Greek Olympic Games and were games of warfare. So while the soldiers were home they were still keeping in fighting form as they competed with one another in these games.

This is a time of celebration, a time of abundance, fertility of the Earth Mother, a giving of thanks and a taking of sustenance. This is a time where one can contemplate their life and give gratitude for the blessings abundant within it.

What are you thankful for?

Take a moment and light a candle, make a bountiful feast or give love to someone to show your gratitude to the Gods. Allow your gratitude to overwhelm your soul and so it will spill out and affect others and thus it will return back to you magnified and transformed into divine energy.

So Mote it Be!



Peace and Happiness






© 2010-2012 Faith M. McCann. Portions of this blog posting may include materials from my book “Enchantments School for the Magickal Arts First Year Magickal Studies.” For more information, see www.enchantmentsschool.com or go to the title of tonight's discussion and click, it will link you to my school's website. Please note that the copying and/or further distribution of this work without express written permission is prohibited.


If you know someone who would like my work, please send them this link. If you or they would like to be included on our daily email distribution list send me an e mail with your email address to be included. If you ever wish to unsubscribe to this blog, please contact me and you will be immediately removed from our list.

Come Celebrate Lughnasa with us at Enchantments!

Good Evening,

Lughnasa. Translation: "The Games of Lugh" The ancient pagans celebrated a thanksgiving feast around the first food harvest, which is traditionally held on August 1st.

Lugh was a God of war, light, and the harvest for the ancient Celts. In ancient times when the men and boys were off waging war to defend their territory and boundaries from warring invaders, and the women and elderly were left running the tribes, clans and villages, this was known as a matriarchal-run society. These were an agricultural farming people, the Celts. Yet they were known to fight when their land and people were threatened. All across Europe, cultures sent to war their men and strong boys to protect their lands. And, all across Europe, when the harvest was upon them and the food needed to be brought in from the fields, everyone declared a cease fire and all went back to their farms and villages to bring the harvest in. If this wasn't done, there would have been nothing and no one left to go back to.

Even so, when the harvest was in, the men and boys still practiced and engaged in war games to keep up their fighting form. They would hold, what we could call the forerunner of the ancient Greeks Olympic Games. Feasting, giving thanks for the bountiful harvest was also an important part of this Sabbat celebration.

Lughnasa is right around the corner. At Enchantments this is our Thanksgiving Sabbat. At Enchantments we will be celebrating our Thanksgiving Lughnasa ritual and feast on Saturday August 4th at 11 am. We will have a Sabbat ritual first and then follow it up with a Thanksgiving feast.

For this holiday we celebrate the spirit of the harvest, with foods to commemorate the harvest season.

We will have rotisserie chicken, mashed potatoes, vegetables, pies, bread and stuffing. If you will be attending please contact Enchantments to find out what we will need for the feast. It is pot luck with everyone bringing a dish to share, and typically we encourage people to bring what they like, but for our Thanksgiving celebration we try to stick to a specific menu.

It would be wonderful if you could make it! I hope to see you there. And remember this Sabbat will start at 11 am.






© 2010-2012 Faith M. McCann. Portions of this blog posting may include materials from my book “Enchantments School for the Magickal Arts First Year Magickal Studies.” For more information, see www.enchantmentsschool.com or go to the title of tonight's discussion and click, it will link you to my school's website. Please note that the copying and/or further distribution of this work without express written permission is prohibited.


If you know someone who would like my work, please send them this link. If you or they would like to be included on our daily email distribution list send me an e mail with your email address to be included. If you ever wish to unsubscribe to this blog, please contact me and you will be immediately removed from our list.

Janet Farrar & Gavin Bone to conduct intensive workshop at Enchantments!

Good Evening,

I have some exciting news! Internationally renowned magical practitioners, teachers and authors Janet Farrar and Gavin Bone will be holding an 'Inner Mysteries Intensive Workshop' on Saturday and Sunday August 25th and 26th at Enchantments.

This workshop will include; working with core magickal energy, the magic circle and the group mind, cosmology, path-working, working with polarity magic, magical laws, The Mysteries, finding your guides and Guardians and much more!

Ms. Farrar and Mr. Bone are authors of 'A Witches Bible', 'The Witches Goddess', The Healing Craft' and 'Progressive Witchcraft' and seldom will you have the opportunity to learn directly from teachers as experienced as these!

I myself am signed up for the workshop and I'm looking forward to learning from these wonderful instructors.

The Friday before, August 24th, they will be at Enchantments performing readings and healings for those who wish for an entire magickal experience! Be sure to sign up soon, because we have limited space available and the spaces are filling up!

The two day workshop scheduled to run from 9 am until 5 pm each day costs only $100 per person and includes all listed above and more. The tarot readings on the 24th will be conducted by Ms Farrar and costs $50 each, with Mr. Bone doing healings the same day at a cost of $40 each.

You must sign up in advance for the workshop,the readings and healings at Enchantments Witch Shoppe and they must be paid for in advance. Please remember that we have limited space so if you're interested, don't wait! This opportunity comes infrequently and you certainly don't want to miss it!

Please call Enchantments at 860-791-6033 if you have any questions that I haven't answered here.


Peace and Happiness








© 2010-2012 Faith M. McCann. Portions of this blog posting may include materials from my book “Enchantments School for the Magickal Arts First Year Magickal Studies.” For more information, see www.enchantmentsschool.com or go to the title of tonight's discussion and click, it will link you to my school's website. Please note that the copying and/or further distribution of this work without express written permission is prohibited.



If you know someone who would like my work, please send them this link. If you or they would like to be included on our daily email distribution list send me an e mail with your email address to be included. If you ever wish to unsubscribe to this blog, please contact me and you will be immediately removed from our list.

My latest project, a YouTube Video on 'Anatomy of a Spell'

Good Evening!

I have some exciting news for you! My latest project is a YouTube video. 'Anatomy of a Spell' is an 8 minute video with me teaching the concepts of my understanding of the anatomy of spell-casting, 5 simple steps.

To view this video, curser over the title of this blog post and click, its a link that will take you straight to the video. I hope you enjoy it! Comments are welcome! Ms. Faith







© 2010-2012 Faith M. McCann. Portions of this blog posting may include materials from my book “Enchantments School for the Magickal Arts First Year Magickal Studies.” For more information, see www.enchantmentsschool.com or go to the title of tonight's discussion and click, it will link you to my school's website. Please note that the copying and/or further distribution of this work without express written permission is prohibited.

If you know someone who would like my work, please send them this link. If you or they would like to be included on our daily email distribution list send me an e mail with your email address to be included. If you ever wish to unsubscribe to this blog, please contact me and you will be immediately removed from our list.

The Mortar and Pestle

Good Evening,

Have you a mortar and pestle? It's a very useful tool and a must have for all well stocked witches cabinets! A mortar and pestle pictured here:

is a tool that is made up of two parts. The bowl being the mortar and the grinding handle that is the pestle. It is the ancient version of the food processor or food grinder. It has long been used to break up and pulverize all sorts of foods. Meats, vegetables, spices, herbs and grains have been broken down using the mortar and pestle in a practical sense. This ancient tool also has magickal properties attributed to it.

It can be a symbol for the unity of the Goddess and God with the mortar, bowl, being representative of the Goddess and the pestle, grinder, being a symbol of the God. The two together, the pestle resting in the mortar is a symbol of the Great Rite, the union of the Goddess and the God.

I instruct my students to use a mortar and pestle instead of the easier, more modern food processor to process and grind down ingredients for spell mixes and incenses simply because you put more of your own physical energy into the mix with a mortar and pestle. Yes, a food processor is much easier but with magick you get out of it what you put into it.

I remember a few years ago, I had signed up for a hearth cooking class at a local Historical Society property from the 1700's. It was a homestead for a famous Revolutionary War hero from the area and around Thanksgiving time they sold tickets for a small group of people to gather in the ancient kitchen with a huge open hearth fireplace and to cook a complete meal using nothing but the tools and supplies available in the 1700's. We made butter from scratch in a butter churn, apple pie from scratch, a chicken stew and vegetables all cooked over the open fire. Part of the meal required cinnamon. They had a very large, granite mortar and pestle at least a foot in diameter and sticks of cinnamon that needed to be ground into a fine powder.

When I saw that mortar and pestle, I fell in love!!! I politely let everyone have a chance at grinding the cinnamon rather than give into my secret desire of pushing everyone aside and grabbing it for myself, but soon everyone tired of the seemingly tedious job of endless breaking down of the sticks of cinnamon and the grinding. Soon the beautiful mortar and pestle lay in my lap and I was grinding away, so very happy and content! I offered everyone another go at it, but everyone was more than happy to let me continue and I did!! Far too soon the cinnamon was a fine, beautiful powder that was to be used to spice the apple pies. The mortar and pestle was property of the Historical society but I still remember it with fondness.

The meal came out delicious and everything was cooked perfectly, all over an open hearth. If you ever have the opportunity to try open hearth cooking with authentic 18th century tools and supplies I highly recommend it!

If you are planning on purchasing a mortar and pestle be sure to get one that is functional rather than decorative. A functional one has a slightly rough inner surface to the mortar and to the end of the pestle for grinding purposes. They can be made out of many materials such as ceramic, stone, even glass. There are some made out of metals that do not have a rough inner surface, but are used primarily in the formation of medicines and the pestle is used to break up ingredients by a gentle pounding rather than a grinding.

Mortar and pestles that are completely smooth I consider decorative. They can be used as described above like the metal ones, and used for pounding and breaking up ingredients but I use mine primarily for grinding herbs so a rough surfaced one is best for my needs. I collect mortar and pestles and have some around the house, on my office desk at work and of course ones in the potions room at Enchantments.

I have even used the mortar and pestle as the center piece instead of an altar pentacle on my altar. Especially when doing 'green witchery' and crafting potions and herbal simples.

If you don't have a mortar and pestle I would recommend spending some fun time this summer searching out the right one for you. Even if you don't use it, it is an ancient symbol of the witch who was amongst other things the physician, surgeon, pharmacist, midwife and herbalist. I find the mortar and pestle as important to have as a pentacle, at least for me!

Peace and Happiness



© 2010-2012 Faith M. McCann. Portions of this blog posting may include materials from my book “Enchantments School for the Magickal Arts First Year Magickal Studies.” For more information, see www.enchantmentsschool.com or go to the title of tonight's discussion and click, it will link you to my school's website. Please note that the copying and/or further distribution of this work without express written permission is prohibited.


If you know someone who would like my work, please send them this link. If you or they would like to be included on our daily email distribution list send me an e mail with your email address to be included. If you ever wish to unsubscribe to this blog, please contact me and you will be immediately removed from our list.

One way to think like a witch, practice mindfulness

Good Evening,

I've been working on various objectives in my life, as I'm always trying to improve, make myself a happier, more fulfilled witch and I've come across a concept that is commonly called mindfulness.

Mindfulness is the concept of focusing totally on something rather than multi-tasking, which allows one to semi focus on many things at once. Multi-tasking allows one to half halfheartedly do a number of projects, but many times they just get done adequately rather to the best of the person's ability. Mindfulness is total focus, being present and aware during every aspect of a project or task. I have practiced total focus in my magickal practice for years, such as spell casting and have taught the concept to my students as I feel effective spell casting and magickal manifestation requires an intense focus and total concentration.

Now, I'm just allowing it to flow into my day to day life and its changing my life in a positive way. Even simple things like watching television or a movie. I used to, as many do, watch television while working on my laptop computer and while on my laptop I'd be immersed in several different projects, and each would get some attention, but not my all. At the end of the day I would find myself tired, but stressed and without that feeling of accomplishment I used to find before modern technology made it easy to do a bunch of things at once. So, I have slowed down. I will watch a television show without turning on my computer, I even pay attention to the commercials. I will watch a movie from beginning to end and be able to recall what it was about! I eat dinner without reading a magazine article or watching t.v. and find I can appreciate my food and dinner company better.

I spend time with my cats just playing with them, not doing anything else. I have also put into my day to day life time to sit under the old maple tree in front of Enchantments and just gaze at the gardens, enjoying the view and feeling at peace with nature. Mindfulness. Being aware in the moment of the moment.

It's a lovely practice that you might like to try, it has started to change my life in many positive ways and continues to do so. A concept that is a must in magickl manifestation, that I find is manifesting needed change in my day to day witchy life.



Peace and Happiness





© 2010-2012 Faith M. McCann. Portions of this blog posting may include materials from my book “Enchantments School for the Magickal Arts First Year Magickal Studies.” For more information, see www.enchantmentsschool.com or go to the title of tonight's discussion and click, it will link you to my school's website. Please note that the copying and/or further distribution of this work without express written permission is prohibited.


If you know someone who would like my work, please send them this link. If you or they would like to be included on our daily email distribution list send me an e mail with your email address to be included. If you ever wish to unsubscribe to this blog, please contact me and you will be immediately removed from our list.

The longest day of the year can do with another discussion from your Contemporary New England Witch!

Good Evening!,

I'm feeling a bit chatty today and have a bit more I'd like to share with you! Considering it's the longest day of the year, I figured I could squeeze in another fun discussion surrounding the Summer Solstice! This one concerns the harvesting and use of the magickal herbs gathered on the Summer Solstice.

The herbs I gathered today are just wonderful. In addition to gathering St. John's Wort (Wort is an ancient word for herb) and by the way St. John's Wort is good for health, protection, love and happiness, I also gathered Lavender and Thyme. I made little bundles of Lavender with Thyme and I call it my Faerie bouquet as both herbs are used in faerie magick and to attract the faeries to your garden and into your life. Thyme is also good for healing, love, increasing your psychic powers and courage. Lavender is good on its own for Love, protection, sleep, happiness and peace.

Here's some pictures of the little herb bundles I made today whilst sitting beneath the lovely old maple tree in the front gardens of Enchantments:





I think they're lovely and I had a wonderful time making them. I blessed each one and now they're available for sale to be used as you wish. If you gather herbs and wish to bless them, just hold a handful gently in your hands and close your eyes. Ask the Goddess to bless the herbs and make them ready for your use. Give thanks and open your eyes and then tie the bundles with string or ribbon and hang or place where they can dry.

I also had a phone call today where a friend of Enchantments asked me about harvesting herbs today. She knew that the herbs should be harvested during a certain time for maximum peak effectiveness but was worried that she was working all day and was not able to harvest until tomorrow. Not to worry! Pagan days like the Summer Solstice have a way of falling where they will and this year it fell on a Wednesday! And, we don't live in a culture that is always understanding of our Pagan need to commune with nature, not when our bosses expect us to be at work! But as I said, no worries.

Let me explain. Sometimes we come across books or 'experts' in the magickal world that live a pretty black and white existence. For instance they'll have you believe that you must harvest an herb at a specific exact time and no other time will do! I gently reply 'NONSENSE'. Nature is not and never has been that specific in general. You see the magick that builds up in an herb or flower follows an arc. It slowly builds over the course of its growth until it reaches its zenith and peaks and then seems to almost balance out for a few days to a week and then slowly starts to dissipate again until it dies in the fall or winter. Which means, from this witch's perspective at least, you can harvest your herbs anytime this week! And again in a month or so. The magickal ability the plant contains will work for you, as its a tool that aids you in your magickal workings. Truly the majority of the magick comes from you.

Don't get hung up on 'missing a moment'! Can't do a full or new moon spell on the exact night of the moon? You have three days before and three days after to do a spell and I've found over 30 years of spell casting using the moon, that its just as effective as the actual day of, I don't care a wit what anyone says. Be careful of people that try to force you into extreme specifics, its usually a power trip they themselves are on, and has nothing to do with effective magick or spell casting.

So worry not, by dear witchling! Harvest your herbs throughout the summer, just know that this week is a really lovely time in which to do so. Dry them in a cool, dry place where they will get plenty of air, which discourages mold growth, and then store them away to use throughout your magickal year. They will work wonderfully for you, their witch.


Have I wished you a Blessed Summer Solstice? Please let me do so and I hope the magick of the Solstice remains with you all season long! Blessed Be



Peace and Happiness





© 2010-2012 Faith M. McCann. Portions of this blog posting may include materials from my book “Enchantments School for the Magickal Arts First Year Magickal Studies.” For more information, see www.enchantmentsschool.com or go to the title of tonight's discussion and click, it will link you to my school's website. Please note that the copying and/or further distribution of this work without express written permission is prohibited.

If you know someone who would like my work, please send them this link. If you or they would like to be included on our daily email distribution list send me an e mail with your email address to be included. If you ever wish to unsubscribe to this blog, please contact me and you will be immediately removed from our list.

Happy Litha! May you have a Blessed Summer Solstice!

Stonehenge Summer Solstice Sunrise



Good Day!,

Today is Litha, the Summer Solstice also known as midsummer. I wish you a happy and blessed day! This day is the longest day of the year and the shortest night. It's only appropriate that I have been up since very early this morning as one shouldn't waste a precious moment of such a beautiful day.

At the moment, I am watering the gardens of Enchantments as this is also supposed to be one of the hottest days of the summer, reaching almost 100 degrees! Now, even for a witch, that's hot!

I'd like to share some interesting tidbits about Litha, that you may not know about. For instance today is the first harvest. Not a food harvest, that happens in August on Lughnasa, but today marks the first harvest for medicinal and magickal herbs and flowers. With the Sun at its zenith in the sky, the magickal essences within plants are at their peak also, making this a perfect time to cut and dry herbs for the rest of the year. I will be harvesting St. John's Wort today trapping its medicinal and magickal essence in and drying it so it can be used throughout the upcoming year. St. John's Wort grows wild on Enchantments property, truly a gift from the Goddess.

Today is a time for faeries to come out and play. One time, around this time of the year I actually saw a real faerie. We had just lost our cat, she had grown ill and passed away and I was very upset and grieving and had just buried her beneath a yew bush in our yard. I lit a candle and was sitting nearby sending prayers and blessings to her spirit. I saw a being, glowing white (it was nearing dark) reach around the yew bush and it lifted its head and it looked at me. I looked at it. I knew our cat would be safe and cared for on the other side. I just knew it. I've never seen a faerie since, but I know they exist. There is an old legend that if you sit near the base of an elder tree around dusk on this night, and stay very still, you may see a parade of faeries,led by the faerie king, troop by playing instruments and dancing.

In Great Britain, The Summer Solstice is celebrated by the thousands around Stonehenge as its believed that the megalith was created by those who celebrated the Solstices. There is one stone that at the moment of sunrise on the Summer Solstice the sun lines up perfectly and shines through a key stone marking this moment. There is a picture at the top of this blog that demonstrates this phenomenon.

Litha is an ancient name, some feel it is the name of an ancient Celtic Goddess of Summer, but my research fails to confirm this. It may be a Saxon name or even Germanic as the ancient Celts were a migrating agricultural culture that moved from far Eastern Europe to far Western Europe over the course of many centuries. Yet, I don't mind not knowing the origins of the word Litha, to me, it speaks of summer, dancing around a circle in a large field of green grass, feasting and making merry.

In America, this day is referred to as the first day of summer when in truth it has traditionally been called midsummer for centuries in many countries. I call it mid summer because it makes summer longer for me. I start celebrating summer on May 1st and continue until November 1st, a full six months. But again, it matters not as long as you have the spark of summer within and can find your own way to celebrate.

In the past I've done many things on the Solstice from Handfasting couples (performing weddings) to hosting a goddess festival, to holding large open circles (ritual services), conducting drum circles and many times in the past I've stayed awake 48 hours or longer just to get everything done. I even celebrated Summer when I was growing up, and not just by taking a vacation from school.

When I was a girl, growing up on a dairy farm I would often lay down in a hay field and gaze at the sky and marvel at the clouds, playing in the woods and trying to find natural clay along the edges of the brook that I could sculpt and play with. I always had many things to do growing up on the farm and celebrating Summer was one long glorious event. I rode horses, made make believe while playing on stone walls and climbing trees. Always outside, always happy to be outside!



Today, I will sit under a beautiful old maple tree ad gaze at my garden, blooming profusely with flowers and herbs. Watch the cars drive by and look for the bunnies that have made their home under the front ramp of the Enchantments store. I will separate my St. John's Wort into little bunches and wrap them in tissue paper and ribbon making them ready for sale and just enjoy the day. It may not sound like much, but to me its peaceful, enchanting and just what I want to do. I hope you get to do just what you want to do today, also.


Peace and Happiness






© 2010-2012 Faith M. McCann. Portions of this blog posting may include materials from my book “Enchantments School for the Magickal Arts First Year Magickal Studies.” For more information, see www.enchantmentsschool.com or go to the title of tonight's discussion and click, it will link you to my school's website. Please note that the copying and/or further distribution of this work without express written permission is prohibited.

If you know someone who would like my work, please send them this link. If you or they would like to be included on our daily email distribution list send me an e mail with your email address to be included. If you ever wish to unsubscribe to this blog, please contact me and you will be immediately removed from our list.

Do you think you have bad luck?

Good Evening,

In my capacity of running a witch shop I encounter all sorts of interesting people and all sorts of issues that can be solved magickally. One I run into often is people that feel they have 'bad luck'. Simply that, bad, awful luck. Everything goes wrong for them, nothing turns out as they desire, and they attribute it to bad luck or energies that surround them.

Well . . . I see this problem in another light. I truly believe that we create our reality. Let me state that again. Our world, that we are surrounded by, our friends, family, job, the good times, the crappy times, we create them all! We may not want to recognize this, or take responsibility (especially for the crappy stuff) but its true. We create our reality. So if we have bad luck, we need to look to ourselves to help change that.

I believe very much in visualization. We visualize all the time. What we're going to wear tomorrow, what we'll have for dinner tonight, how much fun we'll have at that party we're going to etc. When it comes to luck and how it manifests in our lives, we can get into a habit of remembering and visualizing all the crappy stuff that we've experienced. Or the last few crappy things. If we do that, then we will draw to us more unwanted crappy stuff.

I guarantee everyone that says they have bad luck, that by speaking with you for a few minutes that I can prove to you that you have just as much, if not more good luck! Did you drive to work today and back home tonight? Did you do it without an accident? Good luck!! Have you been feeling O.K., no colds or flu for the past few weeks or months? Good luck!! Do you have friends in your life you love and enjoy being with? Good luck! Now, now some of you may say "Hey, those things just are, they're not necessarily good luck." I'll respond, "Aren't they?" To a person who has an accident everyday they travel by car, gets a cold and flu every month or has no friends or loved ones at all in their lives, they would differ!

You see in our media crazed, drama fed society we are given a regular diet of 'bad' stuff. From the nightly news, to tabloid television and print media, to the gossip around the water cooler at work everyday, we thrive on situations and experiences that aren't good. So, it makes sense (to this witch at least) that we'll focus heavily on the negative and we tend to lightly dismiss the positive. So, we think we have bad luck. Well, say you do, have bad luck that is. I can teach you to "think like a witch" and help you change that. Here's how:






Candles and Stones

First gather the following supplies: Candles (any color will do, but white or purple are good choices for general bad luck. Green for financial bad luck, red for love, blue for emotional issues, green again for physical.

Some stones that are known to promote general good luck and help repel negative energies such as: Tiger's Eye, Turquoise, Chrysoprase, Jet, Sardonyx, and Amber to name a few. You don't need all of them, just a few of one or two of them.





Gather your stones and hold in your hands for a few minutes and with your eyes closed feel them pulsating and glowing with bright white energy. Ask the Goddess to bring into your life the ability to see the positive, appreciate the wonders and love and light in your life. Do this also with the candle. Then take the stones and place closely around your candle. Light your candle and visualize yourself happy, strong and empowered with everything going right in your life. Keep this visualization strong in your mind's eye and feel the flow of magickal energy flowing from the candle flame into the stones and watch them glow under the flickering light. After the candle has burnt out take the stones and place them in a pouch and carry the pouch with you. Touch and hold the pouch, or even take the stones out occasionally and hold while visualizing your image of yourself.





Do this, hold your stones at least once a day after burning the candle and you will find the 'bad luck' you've been having fade away to be replaced by all the wonders in your special life.


Peace and Happiness



© 2010-2012 Faith M. McCann. Portions of this blog posting may include materials from my book “Enchantments School for the Magickal Arts First Year Magickal Studies.” For more information, see www.enchantmentsschool.com or go to the title of tonight's discussion and click, it will link you to my school's website. Please note that the copying and/or further distribution of this work without express written permission is prohibited.


If you know someone who would like my work, please send them this link. If you or they would like to be included on our daily email distribution list send me an e mail with your email address to be included. If you ever wish to unsubscribe to this blog, please contact me and you will be immediately removed from our list.

Working hard in the gardens of Enchantments! Some magickal tips for your gardening projects!

Good Evening,

I have spent the last week or so working and loving every minute of it, in the gardens of Enchantments! While doing so, I often employ little magickal tips and tricks which seem to make my garden grow better and bloom brighter. I want to share those tips with you tonight.

Ask for Blessings:

When working out in the garden start your work by asking the Goddess to bless your work for the day. To make your garden healthy, vibrant and lush. There's no ritual needed, just an honest request that She bless your work. I often say something like "Lovely Lady, bless the work I will do today. Make my gardens vibrant and gay, healthy and strong, all the summer long. I thank you for your blessings"

Burn a green candle:

While working in the garden, having a glass container within which you have a green candle burning is also quite helpful. I like to burn a votive candle which can have up to 15 hours of burn time. As I move about the garden, I move the little candle and its flame keeps me focused on the job at hand. I always keep it in a small clear glass container so an errant breeze doesn't put it out.





The Breath of Life:

When planting or transplanting seedlings, new plants, trees or shrubs in your garden
be sure to hold the root ball up to your mouth and gently blow your breath onto the roots. This is an ancient technique that 'gives life' to the plant and encourages it to grow and become strong. You may have to bend down if its a tree or shrub, but just a gentle breath is all that is needed. While doing this envision a stream of bright white energy flowing from your body, along your breath to enter the plant.





White Light Energy:

In addition to the breath blown onto the root system of the plant, holding the plant in your hands or, if its a large specimen, placing your hands on the plant, root system or stem (it matters not) and envisioning the entire plant glowing a bright, vibrant white will also help it grow and become strong. Closing your eyes and imagine the plant pulsating with vibrant, bright white energy. Imagine the energy flowing all along the structure of the plant, from the root system, up the stalk or trunk, through the branches and into the leaves or petals.





Protective Pentacle:

After planting the plant in the ground following proper planting and gardening techniques for the specimen at hand, place your palm (your dominant hand) onto the surface of the ground and feel your energy combine and intermingle with the energy of the plants roots, underground. Just give the surface of the soil a firm pat and then take your index finger and inscribe in the air in front of the plant an invoking pentacle. That's a five pointed star surrounded by a circle. Start at the top of the star, move your finger down to the right lower foot of the star, up to the left arm of the star, across to the right arm, back down to the left foot and back up to the top. Then going in a clockwise direction move your finger in a circle surrounding the star you just inscribed ending back at the top again. That's it. The plant has been blessed and protected.




These are just a few tips and witchy tricks to make you a greener witch than you were before! Now I have posted some pictures of the work I have done this past week at Enchantments. I hope you enjoy them.


Peace and Happiness






© 2010-2012 Faith M. McCann. Portions of this blog posting may include materials from my book “Enchantments School for the Magickal Arts First Year Magickal Studies.” For more information, see www.enchantmentsschool.com or go to the title of tonight's discussion and click, it will link you to my school's website. Please note that the copying and/or further distribution of this work without express written permission is prohibited.


If you know someone who would like my work, please send them this link. If you or they would like to be included on our daily email distribution list send me an e mail with your email address to be included. If you ever wish to unsubscribe to this blog, please contact me and you will be immediately removed from our list.

More magick of plants, herbs and flowers! Bleeding heart, Carnation & Foxglove

Good Evening,

Tonight we are discussing, again, some of the special magicks of plants, herbs and flowers. The plants we will discuss are common enough plants found in many gardens; Bleeding heart, Carnation and Foxglove.


The Bleeding Heart plant has many blossoms that look like little heart charms dangling off a charm bracelet. It has been a popular flower since Victorian times and has the magickal reputation to bring love into ones life. It is in sync with the planet Venus and the element of water. There is a superstition that if grown indoors it will bring about negative energies, but this can be changed by burying a coin in the soil around the base of the plant.

The Carnation is also a plant that has been used for centuries and during William Shakespeare's time it had been called many things from pinks, scaffold flowers, sops-in-wine, to gilliflowers. Also known as Dianthus it has the magickal properties of protection, strength and healing. It is in sync with the planet Sun and the element of fire.

During ancient times the carnation was worn to protect one from coming to an untimely death on the scaffold! Today the protective qualities of the flower are still employed by one bringing carnations to a hospital bed-ridden patient to bring about strength, healing and to protect them from getting sicker and possibly dying. If using for healing purposes use the red variety of carnation. They may be placed on the altar during healing spells and the dried blossoms can be placed in healing spell kits and in sachets.

Now for foxglove, a popular garden plant in Victorian times as well as now. Foxglove grows wild in wooded areas and along the edges of meadows and is said to attract the fairies. It is host to a number of interesting folk-names such as Deadmen's Bells, Fairy Petticoats, Fairy Thimbles, The Great Herb, Witches bells, and Witches Thimbles. Foxglove is also known as Digitalis and is used in pharmacopeia for medicines designed to aid the heart. Foxglove is very poisonous and should never be taken unless administered by a trained medical doctor and NEVER should one self administer the herb as IT WILL KILL YOU!!!

The magickal properties of foxglove are protection and the repelling of evil energies. The plant syncs up with the planet Venus and again the element of water. When grown in the garden the plant protects the garden as well as the home. Never bring foxglove inside as that angers the fairies and your good luck will run a muck! Housewives in Wales will take the leaves of foxglove and make a black ink out of them and then use this ink to paint black crossed lines on their cottages stone floors to keep evil from entering.

Again, remember that foxglove is never to be taken internally as it is quite poisonous. This plant is a bi-annual plant that puts out its leaves the first year, the tall stalks with blossoms the second year and then dies away. You can keep your foxglove in your garden by being sure to shake the stalks when they set seeds so the seeds fall to the ground and grow the next year. If you do this every year you will always have the lucky, protective foxglove in your garden!!

Now, this witch is about to sit a spell in her garden and ponder on the many magickal qualities of the rest of her plants, herbs and flowers. I hope you liked this little series of the magick of plants, herbs and flowers as much as I've enjoyed discussing them with you!


Peace and Happiness


Tonight's discussion gets much of its magickal information from:

Mr. Scott Cunningham's - "Cunningham's Encyclopedia of Magical Herbs"



© 2010-2012 Faith M. McCann. Portions of this blog posting may include materials from my book “Enchantments School for the Magickal Arts First Year Magickal Studies.” For more information, see www.enchantmentsschool.com or go to the title of tonight's discussion and click, it will link you to my school's website. Please note that the copying and/or further distribution of this work without express written permission is prohibited.



If you know someone who would like my work, please send them this link. If you or they would like to be included on our daily email distribution list send me an e mail with your email address to be included. If you ever wish to unsubscribe to this blog, please contact me and you will be immediately removed from our list.

My garden this morning looked lovely, here let me share with you . . .

Good Evening,

My garden looked just lovely this morning and I wanted to share her with you. Here are some pictures of her for you to enjoy. I hope you have a wonderful day and the next discussion will have more about the magick of plants, herbs and flowers. Until then,

Peace and Happiness

Garden Sage - in its third and last year of growth. A Tri-annual, garden sage grows for three seasons, blooms profusely in its third year and then dies away. I will plant first year plants this year so that my sage bed doesn't fade away. If I plant new sage plants every year I should have blooms every year after the first couple.

Cinquefoil- a true witches plant. It is also called five fingered grass and we know it in Southern New England as 'butter cups'. Witches use cinquefoil for five magickal properties i.e. love, money, health, power and wisdom

© 2010-2012 Faith M. McCann. Portions of this blog posting may include materials from my book “Enchantments School for the Magickal Arts First Year Magickal Studies.” For more information, see www.enchantmentsschool.com or go to the title of tonight's discussion and click, it will link you to my school's website. Please note that the copying and/or further distribution of this work without express written permission is prohibited.


If you know someone who would like my work, please send them this link. If you or they would like to be included on our daily email distribution list send me an e mail with your email address to be included. If you ever wish to unsubscribe to this blog, please contact me and you will be immediately removed from our list.

The Magick of Plants, Herbs and Flowers Part 2

Good Evening,

Tonight we're continuing our discussion on the magickal properties of plants found in the typical garden. There are many plants we often put in our garden for decoration and use all the time and tonight we're going to look at three of the most common and one not so common; tomato, basil and morning glory along with the morning glory's cousin the moonflower.

The tomato has been used for years as a culinary fruit/vegetable and we commonly see it used in salads, sauces and condiments, but did you know it has magickal properties? It does indeed! The tomato which syncs up with the planet Venus and the element of water will bring prosperity, protection and love into your life.

To bring prosperity into your home place a bright red, ripe tomato on your mantle or in the center of your kitchen table for three days. Use and replace after three days.

Cherry Tomatoes


Placing a tomato at the entrance door or window of a home, or planting a garden of tomatoes by the entrance door to a home prevents evil from entering. The yellow of the flowers and the red of the fruit are excellent in repelling harm and evil. This employs the use of color magick. To bring in love to your life, cook and eat tomatoes. You may wish to invite a certain someone over and then cook a spaghetti dinner with a red marinara sauce and serve with a tomato salad and garlic bread. This is a nice meal with which to woo a lover. You may also wish to use a pinch of basil in your recipes, lets look at basil and its magickal properties.

I've planted a couple of beds of basil this year. I love basil. I love the smell, the look, the taste of basil and can't seem to get enough of it. Why? Maybe because it has the magickal properties of love, wealth and protection, all good things to have in abundance, no? Basil is in-tune with the planet Mars and the element of fire. The scent of fresh basil creates sympathy between two people and it is used to soothe tempers between lovers. Carrying basil in your pocket ensures that wealth will visit you and small bags of basil placed in a room will bring strong protective energies to the area.

IMPORTANT HEALTH WARNING!! It is important to note that if pregnant, or nursing one must not consume basil and it should not be eaten by infants or toddlers. Always check with your medical doctor before consuming herbs of any kind if pregnant or nursing or before feeding to little ones.

A pretty flower this time of year is morning glory. I have just planted seeds which should develop into some lovely vines hosting a profusion of pink morning glory flowers this year. Morning glory syncs up with the planet Saturn and the element of water and brings happiness and peace to a home when planted outdoors. The root of the morning glory may be substituted for the High John the Conqueror root, but be warned that morning glory is highly poisonous and should not be ingested at all and handled carefully and infrequently. Do not bring morning glory indoors as it may be accidentally eaten by household pets and this can harm or kill them.

The first cousin of the morning glory plant is called the Moonflower. I have a love affair with this wonderful plant all because of its wonderful habits and characteristics. It follows morning glory in following the element of water and brings peace and happiness to a home, but it is different in that it follows the planet Moon, and it is also helpful in making your magick manifest quickly. The moonflower loves the shade, but will tolerate some sun and whereas the morning glory as its name suggests opens its blossoms in the morning hours the moonflower opens up its large blossoms late in the afternoon between four and six o'clock.

One amazing thing about the Moonflower is it opens its blossoms from a tightly wound bud to full open blossom in under five minutes. It looks like time lapsed photography except you're looking at it happen with your very own eyes! Once opened the flower itself can be larger than a hand span and it has a delicate, beautiful smell. To use in magick, take a blossom that has closed up again the next morning and place carefully in a pouch (be sure no pets or children can get to it) and place pouch on altar to speed up spells and make manifestation come quickly. Be sure to carefully and safely discard after a day or two of it remaining on your altar. The following photos show you the Moonflower from bud to open blossom. Each blossom only remains for one evening and then can be picked off and discarded to encourage additional flowers to bloom.

These are just the latest in this series of the Magick of Plants, Herbs and Flowers. More to come later this week. Now I hope you have a chance to get outside and enjoy some of nature's gifts!


Peace and Happiness


Tonight's discussion gets much of its magickal information from:

Mr. Scott Cunningham's - "Cunningham's Encyclopedia of Magical Herbs"






© 2010-2012 Faith M. McCann. Portions of this blog posting may include materials from my book “Enchantments School for the Magickal Arts First Year Magickal Studies.” For more information, see www.enchantmentsschool.com or go to the title of tonight's discussion and click, it will link you to my school's website. Please note that the copying and/or further distribution of this work without express written permission is prohibited.


If you know someone who would like my work, please send them this link. If you or they would like to be included on our daily email distribution list send me an e mail with your email address to be included. If you ever wish to unsubscribe to this blog, please contact me and you will be immediately removed from our list.

Working in the garden, getting back to nature!

Good Evening,


Where should one look for a witch in New England during the spring and summer months? Why in the garden, of course! I've been working out of doors and enjoying myself so much. At times I find myself, like many people, feeling discontented and a bit out of sorts. That's when I need the magick of the garden the most. Feeling the gentle breezes in my hair, the sun on my body, handling the green plants with their gentle energy all make me happier and I end up feeling much more balanced and at peace.

This week I have been planting, weeding, cleaning up gardens and re-decorating them for the summer months. So far I've planted a few plants, especially some witches Broom bushes, to replace the ones I lost in the winter months.

Broom ( Cytisus scoparius) is a member of the sweet pea family and is used in purification and protection spells. Also known as Besom, Irish Broom, Scotch Broom, Green Broom, and Broom Tops, broom syncs up with the planet Mars and the element of Air and is often hung up within the home to banish and repel harm and evil energies. Broom is poisonous, so carry for spell work in pouches rather than using it in any brews, poisons or incense. If you burn broom outdoors, it will bring rain. If you are casting a circle, use a broom made from broom as a sweep for the air of the circle. Go around the circle deosil (clockwise), three times adjusting the broom's height in the air to a different level for each time around the circle. The levels are down around the ankle, waist level and then head height or slightly higher. It matters not in which direction you go, from lower to higher. Do what feels right for you.

That's right, I said that. Do what feels right for you. So much of witchcraft comes from within (not all mind you, as the manifestation of your magick usually comes from outside of oneself, in the tangible world.) Let me say this again, because I've come across so much out there that says you must do this, or certainly have to do that, etc. etc. I share lessons with you in witchcraft which is a science not a religion. Following traditions, following Wicca which has traditional religious ritual, many have formulas and 'ritual', which by definition must follow some sort of pattern.

If you belong to a group like this, or follow a tradition, by all means follow the 'rules' as it keeps you in unity and aligned with the balanced energy of the group. But when doing your magick privately, as I do , when you perform rituals by yourself, you alone can feel the energies and move with the energetic flow as you find comfortable. You might feel that sweeping the lower level of the circle and then moving higher makes energetic sense to your practice. Or to the contrary, you may find working from the top to the bottom flows better for you. Know the ritual, understand the practice and then do as it suits you. That's my style of witchcraft. I listen to the Goddess, I feel the energy flow and I follow the magickal flow when crafting my magick. Well, enough about that, let's get back to the plants and herbs, shall we?

In addition to Broom I also planted Salvia, a type of sage. Decorative Red Sage also known as Sawge can bring in the magickal properties of healing and abundance. There are a lot of superstitions regarding sage and one is, if you have a wish, write it on a sage leaf and sleep with it under your pillow for three nights. If you should dream of your wish, it will manifest. Regardless, afterwards take the used sage leaf and bury it in the ground, to ground the magick. I also plant sage with another plant as it is said to plant a bed of sage by itself would bring ill luck, and we wouldn't want that! Interestingly toads are also said to loooove sage! Sage syncs up with the planet Jupiter and the element of Air.

I love to plant marigold flowers along with red sage salvia. They make a beautiful combination and I find beauty immensely magickal. There are several varieties of marigold with the English marigold being what is also known as Calendula. There are also French, African, Spanish and Mexican marigolds. The magickal properties I will discuss are in reference to Calendula officinalis, and this plant is pictured below. Calendula marigold is also known as Bride of the Sun, Calendula, Goldes Holigolde, Husbandman's Dial, Marygold, Mary Gowles, and Summer's Bride, and finds itself in sync with the Sun and the element of Fire.

Marigolds when picked at noon when the Sun is at its hottest will strengthen and comfort the emotional heart. Plant marigolds around the doorways of your home to prevent evil from entering. Scatter marigold petals under your bed to give you prophetic dreams, and this technique is supposed to be very effective in discovering the thief who has robbed you!

It is an ancient wives tale that just by looking at marigolds it will strengthen the eye sight, but I'd check with my eye doctor before believing this! I am more apt to believe that looking at bright, happy little marigolds helps me to see beauty and joy in the world around me.

Do you find yourself in a bit of legal trouble? Carrying the marigold in your pocket helps justice to smile favorably upon you while in court. Just be sure to be innocent or in the right, as justice will be fair, even if its not in your favor. If guilty or responsible, wearing marigold can cause the judge or jury to go for leniency if possible.

Calendula Officinalis

Those are just a few of the plants I've played with this week. In a day or so I will be sharing more plants, herbs and flowers with you along with their magickal uses. The next few discussions will be based on a series of magickal plants and herbs. Right now I'm in the process of developing a one day seminar on the Magick of Plants, Flowers and Herbs. I am creating this using a PowerPoint presentation and hope to have it available for teaching purposes soon.

In the meantime if you have time to go to a local plant nursery and just commune with nature in all of her amazing, colorful, scented glory I strongly recommend you do so. I find myself wandering around plant nurseries this time of the year just to surround myself with an abundance of vegetative life, colorful extravagance and amazing variety. I love my yard and gardens, but its nice to see and experience different plants, some of which I wouldn't want at home. Also having so many varieties feeds my desire for looking at plants I don't have or couldn't have at home due to lack of space. So, my wish for you is that I hope you find yourself wandering around a nursery this week, just absorbing the energies and the scent of nature!

Peace and Happiness


Tonight's discussion gets much of its magickal information from:

Mr. Scott Cunningham's - "Cunningham's Encyclopedia of Magical Herbs"


© 2010-2012 Faith M. McCann. Portions of this blog posting may include materials from my book “Enchantments School for the Magickal Arts First Year Magickal Studies.” For more information, see www.enchantmentsschool.com or go to the title of tonight's discussion and click, it will link you to my school's website. Please note that the copying and/or further distribution of this work without express written permission is prohibited.

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