Episode #2 General Reading

 

Episode #2 The truth will set you free... this is the most important message coming out of this reading.

Incorporating Green Witchcraft Practices in Your Daily Life

 

The Green Witch may begin her day with a pot of tea or coffee, each being laced with an herb or herbs appropriate for her intentions:  you’re afraid your husband’s eye is straying, if not your husband himself? A pinch of nutmeg in his morning brew will do well to keep infidelity at bay. You’re going to be doing tarot readings on this morning and want to pump up your intuitive energies? A pinch of crushed bay leaves or a bit of ground anise to your tea or java will do just that.

When you cook up wonderful tasty dishes for your family, you keep this kind of herbal magick in mind. Does your family seem a little chaotic, disconnected, or argumentative today? Drop a pinch of rosemary or sage in the stew or mashed potatoes. The general public uses herbs every day in all kinds of mundane ways when they cook, never realizing the magickal potential contained within them. Oh, and be sure to stir your cooking pots full of food deosil (clockwise) only to instill positive energy.

The Green Witch will use herbs when cleaning her house, or scrubbing her floors.  A little rosemary wash will clear your living space in a magickal way as you clean away the mundane dirt and grime. Are you having a little problem with mischievous spirits and it’s time for them to go? Light a white candle and a stick of sage or some sandalwood incense, and walk deosil around each room, smudging the area.

Are you a busy soccer mom chauffeuring kids from school to various events and practices?The Green Witch will have within her vehicle a mojo bag for safe travel, within it will be plantain, calamus root, and a stone of tiger eye. If she’s like me, she’ll also have a special stone talisman created specifically to keep her passengers safe, tucked discreetly beneath the seat.

Your child awakens you during the night with bad dreams or fears of shadows and boogie men? Give her a small saucer of salt on her bedside stand and instruct her to take a pinch and toss it at the shadows that frighten her. Not only will this clear away unwanted entities, you have just taught your daughter that she has nothing to fear and that she is the one in control of her living space.

Having trouble winding down at the end of the day to get much needed sleep? Tie a bundle of lavender together and drop it into your bath water. Light a white candle and soak, grounding yourself, clearing your mind and relaxing your body. Finish up the day with a hot cup of chamomile tea just before turning out the lights.

The idea here is that the Green Witch incorporates herbs into her every day activities and chores and uses them with magickal intention.

I suggest Scott Cunningham’s book,“Cunningham’s Encyclopedia of Magickal Herbs”, for an extremely comprehensive list of herbs, their correspondences, and magickal uses.

Don't Ask if You Don't Want an Honest Answer

 

You call yourself a witch. Do you ever worry about the negative connotations behind the term?

I identify completely, specifically, and thoroughly with the word “Witch”. It is who I am  It is what I’m made of. It envelops me genetically through familial connections, through spiritual connections, ancestral connections, and through universal esoteric connections. I revel in the word. I worship the word and the idea of the creature behind the word. It is one of the most positive connotations in the world. It is the wise-woman, the healer, the mid-wife, the herbalist…it is the ultimate image of the perfect woman.

Here I should note that in modern times many males who embrace the pagan path refer to themselves as "male witches", and they are, by all means, free to call themselves whatever they wish. But for me, within my world, within my practice, within my experience, within my coven… "Witch” is “Woman".

*Note: This blog and my experiences are related to the world through my eyes, through my world.  It is a Woman’s Point of View, a woman born of another generation, a women who views gender in much simpler terms. My focus is on the feminine aspects of my spirituality, my beliefs, my practices, my experiences. I could not, and would not, try to explain or write about the male pagan experience.

Do witches have a creed of some sort?

Some do... those who follow specific paths and formal traditions, those who consider themselves Wiccan, those who practice what they call White Magick, those who stand at the edge of the cauldron and only dip one toe daintily, cautiously, carefully within the bubbling depths, they will have a creed. The Wiccan creed is, “Harm none, do what ye will”, and this isn’t a bad creed. It actually makes a lot of sense. 

Those of us who follow this pagan path did not choose to do so in order to harm anyone. Harming anyone or anything is not our intention, it is not what magick is for. But there are exceptions. Within the world of the Gray Witch, there are boundaries that, under certain circumstances, can be crossed. The one thing that breaks the Wiccan Rede for me is the need for protection, the need for self-defense, the need to keep safe myself, my family, my home, and anything else connected to my world which would directly affect my standard of living, or my sense of well-being.  

Harm me or mine, and you will experience the wrath of the dark angels, the animosity of those spirits called upon for protection, for retribution, for justice.

What are today’s witches like?

Today’s witches are a diverse panorama of women from a varied melting pot of humanity. They are immersed in our culture and within our communities so completely that they have become part of the tapestry of our modern world, rather than some medieval myth.

Who is the Witch?

She’s a teacher, a librarian, a nurse, a doctor, a lawyer, a shop keeper, a writer, a mother, a student. She’s a blue collar woman, she’s a professional woman, she runs a business, runs for office, runs a household. She’s a companion to her spouse, a grandmother, a partner to her same-sex mate. She could be any woman you’ve ever met and any woman that you interact with everyday.

What makes her different from other women? She sees things that other women don’t. Nature speaks to her in an ancient tongue that has been forgotten by most. Her body responds to the waning and waxing of the moon, to the powers of the planets, the changing of the seasons, the behavior of wild animals, the energies of the plants, the energies of the stones.

The Universe speaks to her with the colorful images on cards, by the crystal images of a glass ball, by the movement of the pendulum, by the visions only she is shown.

Who is the Witch?… she is the Sorceress, the Mother, the Healer, the Wise Woman, the Priestess. She is part of a dim and distant past, and she is the shining light of our future.

Witches celebrate the earth and the seasons. What specifically do you do?

We most certainly do celebrate the earth, the turning of the seasons, called “Wheel of the Year”. The progression of the Goddess’s story is highlighted throughout the year.  It’s connected to the natural world, through the cycles of birth, death, and rebirth. 

As I try to explain about the significance of the Pagan holidays in our modern world:

“I think, for one thing, we have some innate deep-seated unspoken need to have our lives punctuated by milestones, whether personal milestones like weddings, graduations, and births; or societal, communal, and spiritual milestones. There’s a strange reassurance that the universe works in an ordered and predictable manner and time table. And maybe this is comforting to us because so much of life is unexpected, unpredictable, played without a script, and undeniably finite.

Long after we are but a memory, there will still be people celebrating these pagan holidays, punctuating the end of summer, welcoming with open arms the predictable end to the season of light and warmth, retreating into the dark and comforting confines of winter and the still peace that it will bring, only to return to a new season of light with spring.”

What specifically do I do to celebrate these holidays?

Some of these holidays might pass quietly, barely noticed by the rest of the household, significant only to me, celebrated with somber reflection in the flame of a candle upon my personal altar. Other holidays are more all inclusive. like Samhain (Halloween), when we get all giddy and excited, decorating the house and grounds for the evening, opening our doors to friends and family, reconnecting with our ancestors, but also reconnecting with each other. As the bonfire burns late into the night on Samhain Eve, and the air gets cooler, we huddle together, punctuating another year, reminiscing about the past and looking towards the future.

Is a coven supposed to be 13 women?

A coven can be anything you want it to be.  As far as I know there are no written rules and laws to be followed, there are no Pagan Police who will break down your door and serve you with a warrant if your coven is all female or all male, whether it has 13 members or a hundred. A coven is a very personalized group of people, like-minded people, gathering to celebrate their pagan spirituality, gathering to support each other in the day to day humdrum of daily life. Coven members provide a shoulder to cry upon, an ear for listening, a field board for new ideas. Your coven consists of people you can laugh with, be totally yourself with, and they are a group of individuals within this great big wide world with whom you can depend upon for loyalty. Your coven should be a safe haven.

My personal preferences?... my coven is an all female coven consisting of 13 members. I prefer the all female energy, the hen-party aspect if you will.  I prefer a small group, and I like the number 13.  It’s significant to me and it "feels good". I want Coven Sisters for all the reasons I just stated in the paragraph above.

Reality check:  when you put any group of people together, it might take some time, some experimenting, some failures, before you create a group of individuals who will work well together, who will successfully support each other, who will get along, and who will click. But when it works, you know it; and when it works, it is an amazing experience.

Is there a prescribed form to your rituals?

Yes and no. I’ve performed formal rituals, and I’ve written formal rituals. I’ve done so in the past, and I probably will do so again in the future. But this is not the only way I connect with the Divine.  This is not the only way I celebrate my spiritual path; this is not the only way I create magick. My favorite form of witchery lay in the world of the Kitchen Witch, the Green Witch, the natural witch. Spells put together by the seat of your pants, on a wing and prayer, have been some of the most powerful and successful magickal endeavors of my life. When Spirit hits you, when you make this connection, you want to grasp it when and where you find it. My special connection with the Goddess does not rely upon getting all dressed up in formal robes and wielding a ceremonial sword to cast a formal circle.

How does being a witch help you in your everyday life?

Being connected to your spirituality, no matter what path you take, is reassuring in the idea that there is more to the big picture. There’s something larger than ourselves.  There is a higher power, there is a rhyme and reason to the Universe and how it works; and thus, there is a rhyme and reason for existence within this realm.

Witchcraft is a very unique spiritual path, in that the power to create change, the power to shape our lives, the power to overcome obstacles all lay within us. Divinity is part of us, not some intangible stereotype hovering in the heavens above watching us. I embrace the Goddess.  I am the Goddess, and the Goddess is me. All of life’s infinite possibilities lay in the knowledge of my own being and within the energies and entities that I have aligned my life with.

If you approach your spirituality in this way, everyday is a celebration of the miraculous.

The Hedge Witch, Kitchen Witch & Green Witch

 

What is the difference between...
the Hedge Witch, Kitchen Witch, & Green Witch?

A lot of people view these three aspects of the witch as one in the same thing, with a few minor differences, and I believe this to be true, especially when you look at the similarities between the Hedge, Kitchen, and Green witch.  

All three of these practices involve using natural things of the world, those things found around you, to create magic:  herbs and stones; energies of the animal world; folk magic; personal spells; and informal spell casting, rather than heavy-duty ritual. Most of these practices involve a solitary practitioner, and this practitioner tends to be very independent and imaginative in their magickal endeavors. Simplicity is the bottom line, inter-laced with old world charm.

Green Witch…

connects with the power and magickal energy found within herbs. Her magic is natural and is often attuned to healing– healing of the body, mind, and soul through the world of herbs and the abundant magickal power found there. This witch tends to be a solitary practitioner, often tending her gardens, perhaps even growing many of the herbs she uses in her practice. She has a unique connection to nature and to the seasons, particularly in the aspect of growing and harvesting.

Kitchen Witch…

her magick lay in the heart of the home, at the hearth-fire itself. Her practices will also include using those items around her that are a natural part of her world. The Kitchen Witch has the ability to tap into herbs, stones, as well as other mundane items found in her home, and unleash the magickal energy from within. This witch incorporates this magick in her daily life:  in the meals she prepares for her family, the way in which she cleanses and cares for her home, through magickal potions from her own unique recipes, and in her private and simple rituals and spells.

Hedge Witch…

this witch prefers to live close to nature and is strongly connected to the natural world, often enjoying a relationship with the wild things that mundane people may find strange or unusual. The Hedge Witch is grounded, closely connected to the earth and all its elements. She is the most elusive of the natural witches, often secretive about her practices and her magick, protective of that which she holds sacred. Her magick transcends the more common use of herbs and potions, candles and such, and originates strongly from her natural connections to all things in nature and the fundamental energy found there.

Magick Spells... using Shoes!

 

The theme for the spells found in this post is…shoes. The idea of magic associated with foot wear isn’t new—remember Cinderella’s glass slipper and Dorothy’s sparkling red pumps?

• Someone Special Shoe Spell

1. Obtain a lock of hair from the one you desire.

2. Wrap it in a small square of silk, folding the cloth toward you.

3. Wear it in your shoe.

4. The object of your desire should soon approach and give you the opportunity to make a favorable impression.

• Courage Oils Shoe Spell

Add one drop of Courage Oil to each of your shoes to get you where you need to go with less stress.

Courage Oil ~

Herbs: clinquefoil, gardenia petals, rosemary leaves

Grind these herbs into a fine powder and add it to jojoba or sunflower oil.

• True Love Dream Spell: Fetch My Lover

1. Sprinkle a pair of your beloved’s shoes with spring water.

2. Place a sprig of thyme in one shoe, rosemary in the other.

3. Place a shoe on either side of your bed.

4. Tuck yourself into bed... and dream.

• Bridal Protection Spell: Needle in a Shoe

Wrap a needle and a little salt in a piece of red silk. Place this in the bride’s right shoe to promote her magical well being.

• Insomnia Spell: Datura-Leaf Shoe Spell

*Note:  This is an old spell, and I've included it here more for historical interest.  I don't recommend actually using this herb: not only is datura poisonous, it’s also a skin irritant. 

Place datura leaves in your shoes, then place these shoes under the bed facing the wall to encourage sleep.

Merry Meet

"Reclaim your power, O' ancient one.

Walk the paths of your ancestors,

communicate with the spirit world,
and challenge the shadows.

The universe will be still to hear
your whispered words of wisdom."

~ Mystic Crone



Witchcraft, Tarot, & Life...
from an unapologetic crone.

They say that once you reach a certain age you become invisible, and to an extent, that's true. However, with age and invisibility comes a certain sense of power.