Wednesday What Herb Is This - Male Fern

Male Fern
The Male Fern is also called by the names Male Shield Fern - Dryopteris Filix-mas; Bracken Fern - Pteris Aquilina; and Moonwort - Botrychium lunaria. The male fern is also known as the ‘bear’s paw’ and it probably earned this nickname owing to the look of its rhizomes or tubers that are hairy and dark brown. Scientifically, the male fern is called Dryopteris meaning ‘oak fern’ in Greek. It acquired this name because the male fern is habitually found to grow in oak woods. On the other hand, botanists call this species ‘filix-mas’ meaning the ‘male fern’. Interestingly, another species called the Athyriumfilix-femina or the ‘lady fern’ has been named so owing to its fragile appearance. Significantly, till the middle of 1800 botanists were in the dark regarding the fact that the ferns do not have any gender and there is nothing like "male" or "lady" fern in reality. In fact, the spores found in the underneath of the fern leaves or fronds produce both male as well as female cells. These spores are not visible to the naked eyes and the strange renewal of ferns, at times, has given rise to an antique faith that the spores found in the underneath of the fern leaves or fronds bestows invisibility to people on whom it is showered. Even Shakespeare refers to this belief indirectly in his play Henry IV, where he writes “We have the receipt of fern seed, we walk invisible.”

Planet: Mercury
Element: Air
Part Used: Leaves and stems

This fern appears to have some qualities in common with the Bracken. The ashes of both have been used in soap and glassmaking, and the young curled fronds have been boiled and eaten like Asparagus. The inhabitants of Palmaand Gomera (islands of the Canary Group) use it as food, grinding the rhizome to powder and mixing it with a small quantity of barley, and the young fronds are eaten in Japan. In Siberia and in Norway, the uncoiled fronds have been used for brewing a kind of beer. In times of great scarcity the Norwegians (over a century ago) used the fronds to mix with bread and also made them into beer. The leaves, cut green and dried, make an excellent bitter, and when infused in hot water make good fodder for sheep and goats. 

The male fern is one of the most powerful medications for tapeworm ever documented in the records of medicine - the root can be used in a powdered form. Right from the days of the ancient Greek civilization to the present day, male fern has been recommended by most physicians to expel worms from the body. The root powder can also be added to salve for wounds and burns, and over the centuries people have been making use of oil taken out from the tuber or rhizome of the herb to cure problems arising from liver flukes or barbs.  Despite its medical utility, the U.S. Pharmacopeia listed the male fern for medical use quite late - 1965. It is interesting to note that even Louis XVI of France coughed up a hefty sum to obtain a remedy containing the male fern.

*****Here is a word of caution. It must always be borne in mind that excessive dosage of the male fern is highly noxious and one should never use the herb without consulting qualified physicians. If taken in high doses, medicines prepared from the male fern may prove to be fatal too.

Father Kunzle's Oil

• 5 fern fronds, well dried
• 4/5 (200 ml) cup olive oil

Detach the dried leaflets from the stems and macerate in the oil for 1 month. Carefully strain. This oil can be kept for 6 months away from light. This is an ideal massage oil for muscular pain.

Normally this useful herb grows up to two to four feet in height and bears insipid green leaves also known as fronds. These fronds are narrow and tasseled and grow closely packed all the way up to the fleshy stem. On the underside of the fronds, there are two rows of dark brown spores. The rhizome or tuber of the male fern is reddish brown in color and is usually small, bulky and scaled. As mentioned earlier, the spores found underneath the fern leaves or fronds produce both male and female cells. Thus, the ferns reproduce from these spores.

In many cultures across the globe, people think that the ferns have the capability to transform poor people rich. For instance, a Russian myth says that if a person finds a fern blossoming on Midsummer Eve and throws the fern in the air, he will find a fortune where the fern lands. On the other hand, a fable in Syria says that collecting fern spores on Christmas night will compel the devil to part with his money. 

Moonwort/Fern is an herb of immortality and must be gathered by moonlight if it is to work. Fern should be kept in a room where studying is done to help concentration, and you should burn a sprig of fern before an exam. It can also be used in sachets and amulets for powerful auric protection. You can mix fern leaves with black snake root chips and carry them in a mojo bag for protection from harm and to ward off unnatural illness.

The Fern is an extremely powerful protective plant. Grow them in and around the house for protection from evil and negativity. It aids in gaining mental clarity, and is also used for cleansing, purification, and dispelling negativity. Fern has a reputation for preventing evil from entering the home. Some folks sprinkle crushed fern leaves along the inside window sills in every room of the house to keep out burglars and other intruders. You can also brew fern leaves and black snake root together and add it to your regular floor wash to get rid of jinxes and enemy tricks laid on your doorstep. Freshly crushed fern leaves can also be used as a floor sweep by sprinkling them onto the floor and then sweeping them out the front door.

Fern can be used to bring luck and prosperity. If it is carried, it will attract women to the carrier and if it is burned outdoors it will attract rain. If the Fern is dried over a balefire on the day of the Summer Solstice, it can then be used as a protective amulet. The 'seeds' from a Fern are said to render one invisible - but only if the seeds are gathered on Mid-Summer's Eve. It is claimed to aid in opening locks and was also said to have been used by the Alchemists, who thought it had power to condensate or to convert quicksilver into pure silver.

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Fair Use Notice: This page may contain copyrighted material the use of which has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. This website distributes this material without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. We believe this constitutes a fair use of any such copyrighted material as provided for in 17 U.S.C § 107.

Sunday Surprise - Midsummer's Eve or St. John's Eve

Midsummer's Eve or St. John's Eve

Taken in it's entirety from The Element Encyclopedia of Witchcraft by Judika Illes.

Midsummer's Eve was originally intended to coincide with the summer solstice, the day when the Sun enters the sign of Cancer, the astrological sign that belongs to the moon, and Earth's magical forces are at their height. Midsummer's Eve is a major holiday for witches and those who love them. Because fixed calendars came into existence, Midsummer's Eve, especially in its guise as the Feast of John the Baptist, does not necessarily correspond exactly with the solstice. (The solstice moves; the Feast doesn't.) Modern Neo-Pagans, however, frequently coordinate Midsummer's Eve with the solstice and so this festival may be celebrated anytime, depending upon place, traditions, and participants, from approximately June 20 through the 24th. A wild anarchic joyous festival, the ancients would have had no objection to it lingering for three or four days.

Midsummer's Eve is a fire and a water festival characterized by ritual baths and bonfires. Bonfires are built upon carefully selected magical wood with special aromatic herbs thrown into the fires. The ashes are later preserved as amulets. Bonfires are built on the shores of lakes, rivers, streams, and oceans. Just as livestock is driven between or around bonfires, so the were once driven into the sea to be buffeted by spiritually cleansing and magically empowering waves.

Midsummer's marks the convergence of Sun and Moon. The sun is at its zenith but the zodiac has entered the watery sign of Cancer, the only sign ruled by the Moon.  Children born during this 30-day period are known as Moon Children. Lunar deities like Artemis, Diana, and Hecate have powerful associations with fire and water as well as botanical magic.

Midsummer's Eve is considered the absolute optimal moment for harvesting magical and medicinal plants. Plants are ideally picked at midnight or when the first dew forms. (Rolling in the dew is believed beneficial for people, too.) Special, unique plants such as the fern seed that provides invisibility are available only on the night. Witch-hunters claimed that this was the night witches rode off to join Satan; witches, on the other hand, claimed that this was the night they congregated to celebrate the Earth and to harvest botanicals for the coming year's spells. According to the tenets of Russian witchcraft, the most powerful botanicals in the world are ritually harvested on Midsummer's Eve atop Bald Mountain.

This is the time to stay out all night reveling and then gather plants before calling it a night. It is a magical time for divination, communing with the spirits, and finding true love - or at the very least romance, flirtation, and fun.

Although Midsummer's Eve was Christianized as St John's Eve, this is perhaps the church holiday with the thinnest veneer. In Siberia a popular name for St John's Day id Ivan Travnik (John the Herbalist) or Ivan Koldovnik (John the Magician.)

In Denmark, Midsummer's Eve has been celebrated since at least the time of the Vikings and is associated with Odin. Healers gathered their botanical supplies for the year on this night. Bonfires were lit, a tradition that survives today, however, visits to the healing springs were once incorporated into the festival as well. Bonfires are still sometimes built on beaches, In Scandinavia, "maypoles" are sometimes erected at Midsummer's instead.

Midsummer's Eve bonfires and water celebrations were particularly beloved in Mediterranean regions. Midsummer's Eve pre-dates Christianity and Islam, and although the later associations have diverged from each other (on the Mediterranean's southern shore, in Muslim Algeria, Morocco, and Tunisia, the festival is identified with Fatima, the Prophet's daughter rather than with John the Baptist,) the rituals and associated botanicals are virtually identical on either side of the sea.

John the Baptist is much venerated by Freemasons. There is a tremendous Masonic component in Vodoun. In Haiti, John the Baptist is considered among the Iwa; his feast day is celebrated with bonfires, ritual bathing and ceremonial. Whether these celebrations arrived in Louisiana from Haiti, directly from France or even perhaps directly from Africa are unknown.

The most important annual New Orleans ceremonial during Marie Laveau's time was held on St John's Eve at the Bayou St John, the natural waterway which once connected Lake Pontchartrain, popularly known as St John's Lake, with the Mississippi River ant the heart of the Vieux Carre. When these ceremonials began is unknown. Marie Laveau presided over St John's Eve ceremonials at the Bayou St John for years. (See Hall of Fame: Marie Laveau) Celebrations included bonfires, ritual bathing, ancient snake rites, drumming, dancing, singing, and a communal meal. Once secret and forbidden, the festival's reputation (and remember, ostensibly at least this is an official Church-sanctioned feast, although certain practices - those snakes! - were consistently condemned) spread and by 1831, the Pontchartrain Railroad began running special cars to the lake for the festivities for tourists and spectators, not for the participants.

Eventually St John's Eve Voodoo celebrations became a tourist attraction. Tourists, non-practitioners, and observers came to watch, not to participate. Eventually tourist shows began to be staged for which fees were charged. Once again, it became necessary to hold true ceremonials in private. Post Civil War, the tourist fascination with Voodoo culture waned, resulting in periods of great oppression. By the late 1890s, private ceremonies as well as St John's Eve celebrations at Lake Pontchartrain were routinely broken up by the police.

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Fair Use Notice: This page may contain copyrighted material the use of which has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. This website distributes this material without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. We believe this constitutes a fair use of any such copyrighted material as provided for in 17 U.S.C § 107.

Saturday Something - Litha / Midsummer, Correspondences / Associations

Litha Correspondences / Associations
from The Sacred Grove

Date: June 20-23 (varies according to the position of the Sun).
Names: Summer Solstice; Midsummer; Litha (Wiccan); Alban Hefin (Druidic); nti Raymi (Incan); Feast of the Sun (Aztec); Celtic New Year, according to some; St. John's Day/Festival of Saint John the Baptist (Christian).

Sacred To:

• Gods: Horned Gods; Oak Kings; Sun Gods; Baldur; Mars; Nergal
• Goddesses: the Midsummer Bride, the lion-guarded Queen of the Year; Aine of Knockaine; Kupala; Mother Nature; Aphrodite Erycina, Aphrodite of the Heather, the nymph-goddess of Midsummer; Astarte/Anatha, the Love and Death, Goddess of Midsummer; Vesta, for whom fires were lit at Midsummer.

Foods: fresh vegetables, summer fruits, pumpernickel bread, ale and mead.
Incense: frankincense, lemon, myrrh, pine, rose and wisteria.
Candles: blue, green, gold, red, yellow, bright colors, pastels.
Gemstones: all green stones (emerald and jade).
Celebrating: abundance, fertility, virility, the beauty and bounty of Nature. It is a good time for empowerment, for strong magic and male rituals, for handfastings and communing with Nature Spirits, for workings of consummation or culmination. The door to the Faery Realm is said to open on Midsummer Night, and twilight to be the best time for faery magic. Celebrate Mid-Summer with fire and singing and feasting, with all-night vigils and torch lit processions. Weave green boughs and crowns of flowers. Dance around a bonfire. Decorate your altar with candles and flowers. Perform the Great Rite in the fields. Erect a Midsummer Tree. Set a fire wheel ablaze (being mindful of fire safety, of course). Walk naked or ride a broomstick through fields as a fertility charm. Draw down the Sun. Drink mead or use it for offerings. Make honey cakes or cornbread with honey butter for the feast.
Tools: wand, athame, sword, spear, staff ... all the phallic ones.
Plants: all flowers, roses, heather, oak, St. John's Wort, MugWort, St. John's Flower. St. John's Wort symbolizes the Wiccan festival of Summer Solstice. A plant was hung up in the house for each member of the family. The remaining plants were bundled, tied to a pole, and set up where grain would be brought at the next harvest. Farmers prayed to the goddess Kupole for a good harvest. The bundle of herbs, called the Kupole, represented her. Heather is the Midsummer Tree of the Summer Solstice. Aphrodite Erycina, Aphrodite of the Heather, mated with the sacred king atop a mountain then killed him by tearing out his genitals. St. John's Flower/St. John's Blood/Mouse-eared Hawkweed (Hieracium pilsoella) was uprooted with gold coins on Midsummer Eve in Germany and Bohemia. Celts, Druids and Scandinavians gathered mistletoe at Midsummer. White elder flowers are sacred to the White Goddess at Midsummer. Orpane/Midsummer Men (Sempervivum telephium, a variety of houseleek) was gathered on Midsummer Eve along with sprigs of red sage and used to divine the fate of lovers.
Fire: Midsummer fire was considered the fire of heaven.
Bonfires:: Bonfires are kindled for health, fertility, love, sacrifice or purification. There is a long European tradition of lighting bonfires at Midsummer, especially of oak wood and in high places. Twin bonfires were common. Smoke of the green oak, burned on Midsummer Eve fires, is painful and gives inspiration to those who dance between the twin sacrificial fires. In some places a  Midsummer Tree was used to kindle the bonfire.
Health: The Midsummer bonfire was thought to drive away the dragon that causes disease.
Fertility: The ashes of the bonfire were scattered as a fertility charm. Moroccans and Algerians threw incense and spices on their Midsummer bonfires all night, invoking divine blessings on the fruit trees. In parts of England the Midsummer fires were lit in the fields to bless the apples. Midsummer bonfires were jumped over to make flax grow as high as the people could jump. In some parts of Germany young people jumped over Midsummer bonfires to make the flax or hemp grow tall.
Sacrifice: Basques burned vipers in wickerwork panniers on Midsummer Day. Firewheels: Firewheels symbolize the sun at its highest point. They were usually rolled down a hill into water, simulating the course of the sun. Midsummer Charms: The charred embers from a Midsummer bonfire are potent magic, charms against injury and bad weather. They are placed in fields or around trees for agricultural fertility, placed in meadows and atop houses to protect them. People in some parts of France held branches of nut trees when they jumped the Midsummer bonfire. These branches were then hung over the doors of cattle stalls. On the Isle of Man blazing gorse was carried several times around folded cattle on Midsummer Eve. St. John's Wort, gathered on Midsummer Eve, is worn as an amulet or hung up over doors or windows as a charm. Gathered naked that night, it is used for fertility. Mugwort has magical powers when gathered on Midsummer Eve. A Mugwort garland woven at Midsummer, worn as a crown or used for viewing the bonfire through, was a charm to ensure that you would have no headaches or eye pain that year. Mugwort was sometimes thrown on the Midsummer bonfire. The French wove garlands of it at Midsummer for protection against ghosts, magic, bad luck and disease for that year. In Bohemia, fir cones gathered before sunrise on Midsummer Day were believed to confer invulnerability. Wild thyme collected on Midsummer Day in Bohemia was used to fumigate trees as Solstice as a fertility charm, to make them grow well. Fennel was hung on doors on Midsummer Eve in medieval times to ward off evil spirits. Ferns generally reproduce via spores, but it was believed that fern seed was magical at Midsummer. Gathered on Midsummer Eve by spreading a white cloth below it, so as not to touch it with the hands, fern seed was believed to confer invisibility and the ability to understand the language of animals. Bohemians believed that fern seed bloomed with fiery golden blossoms on Midsummer Eve, and that the person who climbed a mountain holding it would find a vein of gold and see the treasures of the earth shining with a bluish light. Oil of St. John was a decoction of mistletoe that had been gathered on Midsummer Eve. It was believed to heal all wounds made with cutting instruments. In Sweden the Midsummer mistletoe was attached to the ceiling of the house, horse stall or manger to render the Troll powerless to inflict harm on people or animals. In Italy young singles gathered around a standing stone at Midsummer, the boys wearing green ears of grain and the girls wearing flax flowers, to leave plants on the stone. The affections of a couple were believed to last as long as the plants stayed fresh upon the dolmen.
Divination: Nettles were planted or put into water on Midsummer Eve in Sicily. The way they were found on Midsummer Day, blooming or fading, was an omen, especially as to fortune in love. In Moselle, France a good vintage was expected if the Midsummer Eve fire wheel was still aflame when it rolled into the river. In Italy wheat and barley were sown in small pots a few days before Midsummer. Each pot represented a specific person. Fortune and good luck were believed to come to those whose grain had sprouted well by Midsummer Day, bad luck to those whose grain had not.
Midsummer Trees: Maj Stanger, Swedish Midsummer trees, were made from tall, straight spruces with their branches stripped off. Wood was sometimes attached so that the trees represented a man with his hands on his hips. The Midsummer tree was decorated by village maidens with leaves, flowers, strips of cloth and gilt eggshells. A large vane or flag was placed on top. Bohemian Midsummer trees were made of fir or pine and decorated by girls with flowers, garlands and red ribbons. The bonfire was kindled of the tree that night, the garlands tossed back and forth across the blaze by boys and girls. Couples held hands and jumped over the embers three times. Singed garlands were saved to burn in the hearth during thunderstorms, or fed to sick or calving cows.
Death of The Sacred King: We have evolved and no longer practice blood sacrifice of any sort, but the ritual murder of the sacred king was once a solemn European vegetation rite of Midsummer. He was not a king as we understand that term in modern times but rather the embodiment of male virility, a Hercules figure. He was crowned with roses and wreathed with myrtle, enjoyed the favors of the queen/priestess, but Midsummer was when he felt the stab of the thorns and his rule came to an end. The sacred king's sacrificial death ensured the fertility of the crops and the survival of the tribe. The ekingi was symbolically beheaded as a part of the Bohemian Midsummer vegetation ceremonies. He wore a tree bark robe decorated with flowers, a bark crown bedecked with branches and flowers, a mask, and had ferns on his feet. He carried a hawthorn switch for a scepter and was accompanied by young people wearing bark  girdles who carried wooden swords and willow bark trumpets. There was a chase through the village followed by a mock trial. If the king was found guilty, several hats would be placed atop his head so that they could be chopped off when he knelt down.
Global Rites:

• Incan: Inti Raymi, the Feast of the Sun, marked Winter Solstice in the southern hemisphere. To celebrate make libations of chicha (maize beer). Make offerings to the Sun. Kindle new fire from the sun, with a mirror.
• Egyptian: In some parts of ancient Egypt the somber rites of the presentation of the first sheaf of harvest wheat to Min took place at Midsummer.
• Phoenician: Dirges were sung for the child Linus at Midsummer during the flax harvest.
• Native American: Sun Dances
• German: Latzman, the Lazy Man of Midsummer Day festivities, was a conical or pyramidal wickerwork frame covered with fir sprigs.
• Irish: Torches made of bundled reeds were carried on Midsummer Eve.
• Serbian: Birch bark torches were lit on Midsummer Eve and carried around the sheepfolds and cattle stalls. The people then climbed up into the hills, where the torches were allowed to go out.
• Austrian/Bavarian: Boys decked out in green fir branches went from house to house with a group of young people to collect wood for the Midsummer bonfire.

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Disclaimer: No one involved in this blog or its contents may be held responsible for any adverse reactions arising from following any of the instructions/recipes on this list. It is the reader’s personal responsibility to exercise all precautions and use his or her own discretion if following any instructions or advice from this blog.

Friday Form A Circle - The Omen Quest Divination Ritual

The Omen Quest
Divination Ritual
Source Unknown

The Omen Quest is based on the folk traditions of Scotland and other Celtic countries and is described and detailed in some of Tom Cowan's books on shamanism and Celtic shamanism. To the Celts, the places that were betwixt and between were doorways into the unseen world and the careful observer could tap into the magic of such places and receive information. Omens are observations of the everyday world around you. The positioning of a tree branch or the reflection of the sun on a puddle, suddenly take on new significance.

To do the omen quest, form a question that you would like answered. This is not the time for yes or no questions, something more complicated. The Summer Solstice is the time when our planting and planning of Imbolc, Ostara, and Beltane should becoming manifest. Once you have your question, go outside. Being in a natural place is always better, but there's no reason not to do it in a city. Spirit is everywhere. When your outside, find a betwixt and between place. Betwixt and Between is a border where you are neither in one place or another. Here are some examples:

• The Solstice - We are on the border of the growing light and the growing dark time of the year.
• Dawn/Dusk - The border of day and night - more importantly, not day or night.
• In A Doorway - neither in the house nor out of the house
• With Clothes On But No Shoes - neither dressed nor undressed
• In A Gate - neither in nor out
• On The Curb - neither in the street nor on the sidewalk
• In The Shadow Of A Tree - not beneath the tree but under the tree
• Shadows Of Any Kind - in the sun, not in the sun
• Edge Of The Water/In The Surf - neither on land nor in the water

Find your betwixt and between place. The more betwixt and between, the better. Take some deep breaths and ground and center. The reports in folklore ask you to "say your prayers and charms." So call on the help of the powers that are important to you, spirit guides, guardian angels, Gods, Goddesses, ancestors etc...

Think of your question. With that in mind turn to the East, close your eyes and ask - Where am I? Wait with your eyes closed until you feel a signal or an urge to open them. What is the first thing you see/experience? This is your omen. Now, the omens are simple every day things like:

• oak tree
• bird flying
• bird flying south
• sound of a hammer banging
• golden glow on the horizon
• woman in red dress approaching

Write down your first impressions with appropriate adjectives:

• dying oak tree
• knobby oak tree
• young oak tree
• oak tree with two trunks

If you write down an omen that sounds like: yellow 1954 Volkswagen beetle with flat tire. Crying woman with bleached blond hair sitting inside. Child on skateboard passing car on sidewalk heading S-SW on boulevard as hot dog man shouts, "Get 'em while their hot!" You missed it. Probably only one of those things is the first thing you saw. So keep that in mind. Write it down and move into the other three directions doing the same.

Turn to the South, close your eyes and ask - What is my strength?

Turn to the West, close your eyes and ask - Where am I going?

Turn to the North, close your eyes and ask - What is my power?

These are questions about your main question, what is my power in this situation/problem/change of life? Thank the powers and guardians you asked to help you.

Now is the time to interpret your omens. Some will be obvious to you. Remember, these were given to you and were chosen, because you would be able to know what they mean. So if you see lavender waving in the breeze, don't grab every herb lore book to find out what lavender means, what does it mean to you? Some will not be so obvious. I was once given an omen of a young oak waving in the breeze for my strength. To interpret it, I did a meditation and saw myself becoming the young oak. By shape-shifting into the oak, I saw the world through its eyes and its relationship to the rest of the forest. I realized that the message it was trying to give me was about living in community. My strength was community. Some other things may be confusing because you can't tell what you're seeing. I spotted a rock at the base of a tree as an omen. I went closer to the rock and it had painted on it "Believe". So, I think the omen in this case was not the rock, but the message "believe". Tom Cowan gives the example of the "golden glow." On further investigation, it turned out to be the sun reflecting on a yellow pool cover. Based on the person he was questing for and their discussions, they decided the omen had to do with the golden glow and not a pool cover. So, think on your omens. Journal and meditate on them. In the end, they will give you answers.

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Disclaimer: No one involved in this blog or its contents may be held responsible for any adverse reactions arising from following any of the instructions/recipes on this list. It is the reader’s personal responsibility to exercise all precautions and use his or her own discretion if following any instructions or advice from this blog.

Wednesday What Herb Is This - Makes An Appearance!!!! Fairy Flora

Fairy Flora
by Eileen Holland, © Eileen Holland, Open Sesame

Alder - Alder is a charm against malevolent fairies. Water sprites are said to protect alder trees, so be cautious of cutting one down. Clethrad is an alder fairy known to us from mythology.

Apple - Fragrant apple bark can be added to incense that is burned as an offering to the fae on Midsummer Eve. The fruit or bark of apple trees can be used in fairy magic, especially for love spells. Apples are suitable offerings to the fae.

Ash - Ash trees are believed to provide protection from fairies, who are said to be unable to harm anyone standing in the shadow of an ash tree. Placing ash berries in a cradle is said prevent fairies from taking the baby and trading a changeling for it. (Also see Hawthorn)

Birch - Ghillie Dhu, a Scottish fairy who wears moss and leaves, is said to live in birch thickets. According to the Hanes Taliesin, from the 13th century Red Book of Hergest: "On a switch of birch was written the first Ogham inscription in Ireland, namely seven B's, as a warning to Lug son of Ethliu, to wit, 'Thy wife will be seven times carried away from you into fairyland or elsewhere, unless birch be her overseer."

Blackberry - It was taboo to eat blackberries in Celtic countries - a cause des feés - because of the fairies.

Blackthorn - Blackthorn trees and shrubs are said to be held sacred by fairies. The Luantishees are blackthorn fairies, who guard the trees. November 11 is their festival.

Bluebell - Some consider bluebells the most potent plant for fairy magic. Fields of bluebells are said to be so dangerously enchanted by fairies that a child who wanders into one may be held captive there by the fae. Adults who enter bluebell patches may become so enchanted that they are unable to leave until other humans come to lead them out. Plant bluebells to attract fairies to your garden. They are said to be called to their midnight revels by the sound of bluebells chiming. If you hear a bluebell ringing, this indicates the presence of a malicious fairy.

Clover - Fields of clover are believed to attract fairies. A four-leaf clover is said to provide protection against the fae, and to be able to break fairy spells and glamours. Wearing a four-leaf clover in your hat supposedly grants you the power to see invisible fairies, as does anointing yourself with an ointment made from four-leaf clover, or carrying a charm made of seven grains of wheat and a four-leaf clover.

Cowslip - Cowslip blossoms are said to be loved by fairies, who use them for umbrellas, and protect the plants. Shakespeare had a fairy say of cowslips:

"And I serve the Fairy Queen,
To draw her orbs upon the green.
The cowslips tall her pensioners be,
In their gold coats spots you see:
Those be rubies, fairy favors:
In those freckles live their savors.
I must go to seek some dewdrops here,
And hang a pearl in every cowslips' ear."

"That they do dwell within the cowslips hollow is truth for I have seen them fly out in intoxicated abandon."

Edmund Canterbell

Cowslips are used in fairy magic. They are considered helpful in finding fairy treasures, and keys to unlocking the secret location of hidden fairy gold.

Daffodil - Daffodils are useful for evoking fairies and elves.

Dogwood - Pixy Pears is one name for the tree's fruit.

Daisy - Daisies are used in fairy magic, for working with elves or fairies. Putting a daisy chain on a child is said to prevent fairies from beguiling the child and carrying her or him away.

Elecampane - Elfwort and Elf Dock are folk names for elecampane, an herb whose roots are used in fairy magic. Scattering the root about is said to attract fairies to your home, and growing elecampane is said to attract them to your garden.

Elder - Elder trees and bushes are said to protect fairies, especially at night, from negative energy and from people and entities who would do them harm. It was a British belief that placing a child in an elder wood cradle could cause it to be pinched black and blue by fairies. Elderberry wine is considered fairy wine. Drinking it is said to enable you to see fairies. Add dried elderberries to an incense mixture that you burn to attract fairies to a gathering.

Fairy Wand - Fairy Wands (Dierama pulcherrima) are associated with Titania, Shakespeare's fairy queen. They are used magically to call upon the fae for help.

Fern - Ferns are favored by pixies, who are said to sometimes be found near them.

Fig Tree - The Apsaras, also called Sky Dancers, are fig tree fairies (devas) ho are known to us from Hindu mythology. They bless humans at important stages of our lives. They also sometimes seduce scholars and scientists, and sexually exhaust them so that they will not discover things which are better left alone. Evoke the Apsaras for blessings, sex magic, and for good luck and protection for gamblers.

Flax - Purging Flax (Linum catharticum) is also called Fairy Flax.

Forget-Me-Not - Forget-Me-Not flowers provide protection from fairies. They are said to help to unlock the secrets of the fae, and pave the way to fairy treasures.

Foxglove (*Poison) - Folk names for foxglove include Fairy Thimbles, Fairy Glove, Little Folks' Glove, Fairy Fingers, Fairy Petticoats, Fairy's Cap, and Fairy Weed.. Foxglove is strongly associated with fairies, who are said to wear the tiny flowers as hats and gloves, and to leave their fingerprints upon the flowers. Foxglove is used in fairy magic, and for the evocation of elves or earth elementals. The leaves are said to grant release from fairy enchantment. Planting foxglove is an invitation to fairies to enter your garden. Wearing foxglove is a charm to attract fairy energy. The juice of the plant is said to be effective in breaking fairy enchantments.

Grass - Small fairies are said to ride bundles of grass as horses.

Hawthorn- Hawthorn, also called Whitethorn and Fairy Thorn, is the thorn in Oak, Ash, and Thorn. A grove comprised of those three trees was believed to be the perfect habitat for fairies, and an excellent place to catch sight of them. Pixie Pears is another name for hawthorn berries.

Heather- Heather stalks are said to provide food for fairies. A field of heather may contain a portal to the Fairy Kingdom.

Holly - Holly berries are said to be a fairy favorite.

Hollyhock - Fairies are said to love hollyhocks, especially pink ones.

Lavender - Elf Leaf is another name for lavender, which is used in elfin magic.

Lilac - The scent of lilacs is said to attract fairies to a garden.

Mistletoe - Adding mistletoe to a fairy spell on Midsummer Night's Eve makes the spell more powerful.

Morning Glory - Plant morning glories in your garden to keep away hostile fairies, especially nocturnal ones.

Mushrooms & Toadstools - Mushrooms and toadstools with knobbed caps are said to be used as stools and umbrellas by small fairies. Some of the folk names for various types of fungi reflect this belief: Fairy Club, Elf Cap, Pixie Hood, Dryad's Saddle, Elf's Stool, etc. A circle of mushrooms on a lawn is called a Fairy Ring, Fairy Circle, Fairy Dance, or Fairy Court. Fairy rings were believed to be places of dangerous enchantment that formed where fairies danced.

Nut Trees - Nut trees provide homes for the Caryatids, who are nut tree nymphs or fairies.

Oak - In British folklore ancient, hollow oak trees that stood in old sacred groves were often believed to be the homes of elves or fairies. Such trees were called bull oaks in England, and bell oaks in Scotland and Ireland. You were supposed to turn your coat or cloak inside out to neutralize their magic:

"Turn your clokes
For fairy folks
Are in old oaks."

Any oak tree may provide a home to fairies, elves, or other such beings. Dryads are oak tree nymphs. (Also see Hawthorn)

Orchid - Hammarbya paludosa is called Green Fairy Orchid.

Pansy - Plant pansies to attract fairies to your garden. Oberon, the fairy king, used pansies in his love potion

"Yet marked I where the bolt of Cupid fell.
It fell upon a little western flower;
Before, milk-white; now purple with love's wound-
And maidens call it Love-in-idleness.
Fetch me that flower, the herb I showed thee once.
The juice of it, on sleeping eyelids laid,
Will make a man or woman madly dote
Upon the next live creature that it sees."

"A Midsummer Night's Dream"

 

Peach - Some consider peaches to be fairy fruit.

Pear - Japanese pears were called Fairies' Fire in the old Language of Flowers.

Pearlwort - Placing a spring of pearlwort above the front door is said to prevent fairies from stealing any member of the household away.

Peony - Peonies are a charm to bring dreams of fairies.

Primrose - Primroses were considered fairy flowers in Ireland and Wales, where they were believed to grant fairies the power of invisibility. Eating primroses is supposed to enable you to see fairies. Hanging a spray of primroses on your door is said to be an invitation to the fae to enter your home, and to draw fairy blessings; but scattering primroses outside your door is said to keep fairies away by making a barrier that they cannot cross. Touching a fairy rock with a primrose posy that contains the right number of blossoms (try five) is said to open the way to Fairyland and fairy gifts. Be cautious though, for using a bouquet with the wrong number of flowers is said to bring certain doom. Use primroses for fairy magic. Plant primroses in your garden to attract fairies to it. Be sure to take good care of them though, for allowing primroses to languish or die is said to earn you the enmity of fairies.

Ragwort - Ragwort stems are said to be used as horses by tiny fairies.

Rose - Cultivate roses to attract fairies to your garden. Rose petals can be used in fairy magic, especially for love spells.

Rosemary - Grow rosemary, or place fresh sprigs of it about, to keep malicious fairies away. Burn dried rosemary as incense to attract the fae.

Rowan - The presence of a rowan tree in the yard or garden is said to provide the home and family with fairy blessings, and the protection of the fae. Rowan is also believed to provide protection from fairy spells. Rowan was once used as a charm to prevent fairies from spoiling butter as it was churned. In Scotland, the smoke from fires kindled of rowan wood was used to protect cattle from malicious fairies.

St. John's Wort - St. John's Wort is said to offer protection from the fae, and from fairy spells.

Thistles - Thistles are also called Pixies' Gloves, because the fae are said to use the tiny flowers as gloves.

Thorn Trees - All thorny trees, such as blackthorn and hawthorn, are said to serve as meeting places for fairies. Kindling a fire of thornwood atop a fairy mound is said to force the fae to return a stolen child.

Thyme - Thyme is associated with fairies. Wearing a sprig of wild thyme, or essential oil of thyme, is said to help one to see fairies. If you place springs of thyme on your closed eyes and sleep upon a fairy mound, this will supposedly guarantee your seeing fairies. Dried, powdered thyme, sprinkled on doorsteps and windowsills, is an invitation to the fae into your home. Wild thyme, gathered from the side of a fairy mound, is especially potent for use in fairy magic.

Violet - Violets are sacred to the Fairy Queen, and may be used in fairy spells.

Willow - The wind in the willows is said to be the whisperings of a fairy in the ear of a poet. Heliconian is a willow fairy who is known to us from mythology.

Wood Sorrel - Wood sorrel is used in fairy magic, and for the evocation of elves.

Fair Use Notice: This page may contain copyrighted material the use of which has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. This website distributes this material without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. We believe this constitutes a fair use of any such copyrighted material as provided for in 17 U.S.C § 107.

Disclaimer: No one involved in this blog or its contents may be held responsible for any adverse reactions arising from following any of the instructions/recipes on this list. It is the reader’s personal responsibility to exercise all precautions and use his or her own discretion if following any instructions or advice from this blog.

Saturday Something - Midsummer Hail and Farewell

Midsummer Hail and Farewell
by Ahneke Greystone, Midsummer 2000;
excerpt from: Cauldrons & Broomsticks
A newsletter for and by the Pagan/Wiccan Internet Community,

That I am mortal I know and do confess my span of day:
But when I gaze upon the thousandfold circling gyre of the stars,
No longer do I walk on earth, but rise
The peer of God himself
To take my fill at the ambrosial banquet of the undying.

-Claudius Ptolemaeus,
Greek-Egyptian, 2nd Century

Such a wonder, this season of paradox! A vibrant moment of existence, warm caresses from the Sun, long days to share with family and friends. It is a time for first harvest and second sowing. For some there is more to do than a day's time allows; for others it is a time of sweet pause and respite. We are poised between increase and decline. Balanced on the Mystery.

Gathered around the fires of Midsummer Eve, we reflect on the turn of the Wheel and the symbolism of fire as a sign of our consciousness. The awakening we experience, as did the God, when times of frivolity and independence turn to times of responsibility and community. It is a time of maturity and reflection. On Midsummer Day our focus will be on celebration; a time for living in the moment and making merry. A Dance of Life, with our minds and bodies attuned to the awesome possibility and promise of existence. Tonight we are comforted knowing that as fire burns it cleanses and purifies, clearing the land and our psyche for the time of repose ahead. Providing the fertile source from which the cycle turns again in Winter.

This holiday transcends all time and culture. The heritage of the celebration is sometimes unacknowledged, and sometimes celebrated much as it has been for hundreds of years. Modern pagans recognize several names; it was called Litha or Vestalia in ancient Rome, Gathering Day in Wales, Feill-Sheathain in Scotland, Alban Heflin in the Anglo-Saxon tradition, Thing-Tideln in Scandinavia and All Couple's Day in Greece, and it is the Celtic Feast of Epona. It was and often still is celebrated throughout Russia, Europe, the East,  Africa and the Americas, and other places throughout the world honoring the season of ripeness and the advent of the harvesting.

In ancient times Midsummer was as well a time for celebration and reflection. Rites were ecstatic, celebrating fecundity and harvest, placating the gods for gentle rather than destructive weather. We knew that Divine whim could destroy the crops we needed to harvest in order for human and animal to survive the upcoming Winter. This was the most powerful fire festival of our solar holidays.

Summer was a time of war, a time of invasion and defense. Our ancient family connected the death of their compatriots with the peak and passing of Summer. The symbolism of the burgeoning land, cut into harvest, and the strong men who died in war was a powerful and integral part of the holiday. Even in ancient times, the paradox prevailed. Life and death.

The wedding month of June traces to our pagan roots. Courting traditionally began at the Winter Solstice, when days were not as filled with tasks, and there was time to focus on familial matters. Towards Spring, pregnancies became obvious. Marrying in May was considered unlucky, as that was the time of the Sacred Marriage. Thus, marriage became common after Beltane. Mead was traditionally drunk for the month following the bonding to guarantee fertility and the health of children conceived. The Full Moon in June is known as the Mead Moon, and we honor this today in our reference to a wedding holiday as a honeymoon.

Midsummer, especially the Eve, is a time when the Fairie become visible to our human eyes. The boundaries between the worlds are thin. Even those of us who rarely experience fey moments can be caught up in the mischief and mayhem brought to us this evening. We will be reminded that our world is a quixotic one. If we have become too staid, that will be remedied this evening! The fairies delight in revealing our human foibles and turning our world on end.

Midsummer in some traditions was the time the Ivy King was seen as battling and overcoming the Oak King. He ruled for the next six months, until the Winter Solstice when the fated battle began again, with the Oak King then victor. In other traditions, the Sun King was seen as born on the Winter Solstice, reaching his peak at Midsummer, to decline and pass either into the Underworld as reigning King there or into repose until his rebirth in Winter. The myth of Demeter and Persephone gave inspiration to a yearly cycle of the Feminine Divine, who at Midsummer is seen as the Daughter who has just begun her journey to the Underworld and the Mother who has not yet realized that her beloved daughter has gone. She will shortly understand this, and she will send the Earth into decline and mourning.

The Goddess at Midsummer is the Lover-Mother. She is pregnant and aware of the life within. This is a bittersweet time. The mature God is her husband and the father of her child. He is more her partner at this time than at any other. Emotionally and intellectually they are equals. She is enjoying this time of mundane connection. It is as though her tasks are done and she finds the time to relax and enjoy life. She who always leads and inspires can briefly lay her head upon the shoulder of her consort and let someone else take charge. Shadowing her joy is the knowledge of what will come. Her lover will pass over and she will evolve once again separate from him. The child within is her connection to this Earthly time and the wonders of physical existence. It is also her connection to Eternity. What agony she will suffer, though, to see all that she loves pass. Even as her wiser self knows the purpose.

Goddesses for Midsummer include Earth Mothers and Goddesses of beauty and mature sexuality, fire goddesses and goddesses of the animals and the hunt. They include: Aine, Ameaterasu, Anahita, Aphrodite, Artemis, Asherah, Brighid, Cardea, Coaltique, Corn Mother, Danu, Erzulie, Esmeralda, Freya, Flora, Gaia, Hera, Hestia, Iamanja, Inanna, Ishtar, Li, Litha, Mawu, Oraea, Oshun, Oya, Pele, Rhea, Rhiannon, Spider Woman, The Corn Mothers, Tiamat, Tonantzin, Vesta, Yellow Land Earth Queen, Yemaya.

The God has matured from the free and independent young man to the wise elder, the King who has learned of commitment and responsibility to his Queen, his family and his community. He is the counselor and the person others turn to for leadership and guidance. The Lord of the Greenwood is now the Sun King. He wears his crown with dignity and with some sorrow. For he remembers how at Beltane he envisioned the blood upon the corn. He knows his time is about to end. He reflects on a life of joy and abandon, of peace and contentment, of accomplishment and triumph. It is the time when he looks back on his life, rather than forward. The time remaining is short. With age and maturity comes the wisdom in him that accepts his life, is aware of  the contributions he has made and acknowledges his fate. He looks to the end with peace now, fearless and aware of his role in the theater of life.

The Gods of Midsummer are the Gods of the hunt, Gods of the Sun, Father Gods and the Gods of the Arts. They include: Apollo, Arthur, Balder, Balin, Cernunnos, Faunus, Gwynn ap Nudd, Hades, Heimdul, Helios, Herne, Hugh, Lugh, Pan, Perkunis, Phol, Ra, Taliesin, Woden.

Midsummer Correspondences-

• Verdant and growing shades, colors of light and fire - gold, green, hazel, orange, peridot, pink, red, yellow.
• Trees: The most powerful being the oak, ivy and mistletoe, but also including evergreen and fruit-bearing trees - fir, holly, mistletoe, pine, hawthorne, maple, oak, peach, palm, rowan.
• Crystals/Stones: Amber, carnelian, cat's eye, citrine, clear quartz crystal, copper, emerald, garnet, peridot, ruby, sulfur, yellow topaz.
• Flowers: Red flowers, carnations (red), honeysuckle, iris, lily, marigolds, nasturtiums, rose, sunflowers, trefoil, wisteria, witches' broom.
• Creatures: Cardinal, dove, lizard, magpie, parrot.
• Herbs: Basil, chive, chervil, dragon's blood, fennel, lavender, mint, parsley, Rosemary, rue, sage, St. John's Wort, tarragon, thyme, vervain, violet.
• Incense: Carnation, cedar, cinnamon, copal, fir, frangipani, frankincense, myrrh, pine, rose, rosemary, sandalwood, tangerine, thyme, vervain, violet, wisteria.
• Oils: Carnation, citronella, geranium, lime, musk, orange, tangerine, ylang-ylang.
• Foods: Hot and spicy foods, corn, dark breads, tomato and red vegetable juices.

And now it is Midsummer! May you cherish the special moments of your life, honoring them as Divine gifts. May the love you have for family and community be paramount today, and may you see in the eyes of your mates, children, family and friends that spark of eternity that is a part of each of us. Celebrate!

Blessings of the Sun King and the Queen of Summer to you!
The night has a thousand eyes,
And the day but one;
Yet the light of the bright world dies
With the dying sun.

-William Bourdillon

Fair Use Notice: This page may contain copyrighted material the use of which has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. This website distributes this material without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. We believe this constitutes a fair use of any such copyrighted material as provided for in 17 U.S.C § 107.

Disclaimer: No one involved in this blog or its contents may be held responsible for any adverse reactions arising from following any of the instructions/recipes on this list. It is the reader's personal responsibility to exercise all precautions and use his or her own discretion if following any instructions or advice from this blog.

Thursday This Is Your Spell Swap – Monday Make A Child’s Book of Shadows

Children's Book of Shadows
By Baboo Kyra Finch (permission given – you can find more work from this wonderful lady at A Witch’s Teat)

A Book of Shadows can be a Pagan equivalent of a Baby Book. It's a record of your children's growth and development into strong, creative, and psychic individuals. Keep a copy for yourself for as long as they will allow you to do so. I recently found some stories and drawings by my older daughter from her
grammar school days. One is a picture of Morgana Le Fay, her namesake. The story is about a magick necklace lost by a Witch and found by a young girl. Her birthright is clearly shining through the pages. I prefer using a loose leaf notebook with page holes reinforced. This way you can keep sections organized
according to topic. If this is too anal for you, do whatever works.

Have your child decorate the binder. It will create a sense of ownership from the very beginning. Book should contain stories, crafts, pressed plants, spells, drawings, chants, and so on. Just remember whose Book it is. You can make your own! Include your kid's favorite folk stories and faerie tales and their
illustrations. I have some wonderful drawings of Baba Yaga's dancing house done by my camp kids. Put in all the stories they create, preferably dictated and transcribed in their own words. Read these together, often, from the Book, adding to them, making changes. Keep the originals intact. I like to leave several blank pages between each entry for this purpose. Date everything. The beauty of this is in watching the changes take place.

Learning how to create poetry is especially important. Poetry turns into spells and chants. Rhyming words have a great deal of power. A person who can think in rhyme can harness their Will efficiently. Start with simple rhyming words. Progress to couplets and limericks. Use a drum to teach rhythm. Put everything
into the book. Date the pictures from all the Sabbats. Take pictures of all altars. Have your child describe ritual robes, items on the altars, and the purpose of the ritual as they see it. Write it down. date it! As you have probably guessed, I am very bad at dating things. Learn from my mistakes. It's hard to brag about what an amazing Witchlet your child is if you can't remember whether he drew the picture when he was three or nine years old. Oh, if you can't remember, say three. It sounds better.

Keep a separate section on herb lore and healing. You can get plastic covers to protect pages of glued on, pressed plants. Otherwise, you're likely to find a fine powder and some fat silverfish instead of a plant sample in a few years. It's a good idea to have only one or two plants on each page. Date it. Note the names (Latin and common) of the plant, where it was found, what it is used for and any myths or folk lore attached to the plant. On the back of the page, you can write down recipes, cautions, and the results of personal use. Does it taste good? Does it sting? Did it work? What's the best way to use it: tea, tincture, salve, or poultice?

You should be merely a secretary. All information should be in your child's own words. It's also interesting to have samples of the same plant taken at different times of the year. Note when it flowers, fruits, and goes dormant. Plants can look remarkably different from location to location, and in different seasons. It's a good idea to learn to identify plants from one or two consistent characteristics. Write these down and keep track of the usefulness of the information. For example: poison hemlock smells like a dirty mouse den – wild celery smells like celery, wild carrot (Queen Anne's Lace) smells like carrots; comfrey smells like cucumbers - Foxglove does not; Nettles' leaves look like they were cut with pinking shears and they sting. Plantain has veins that come from the center of the stem, rather than branching from a central vein; it has concave stems and grows from a central cluster. Learning to look at plants gives a real sense of how the wheel of the year turns, the Goddess Changes, and the Green Man is born, grows old, seeds and dies and is once again born in the spring.

You can make similar entries for feathers, noting the bird it came from, when you found it, and what it represents. Owl feathers are striped and denote wisdom. Raven feathers are longer and more blade shaped than Crow feathers. The Red Breasted Flicker has bright orange feathers. Find special rocks. Try to identify them and enter the information along with the date and circumstances under which you found them. Ask about the deities and the Sabbats and transcribe what your child tells you. Take pictures of your child dressed as Gods and Goddesses.

This is a good place to start teaching your child the runes and other secret alphabets. I've found that children who start learning to read and write before four absorb the ability as a language rather than a skill. They stash it in a different part of the brain, a deeper part, and never remember not knowing how to do these things. I think that children with several languages, including American Sign Language and the scribing languages, perceive the world in a broader and more varied manner. They don't just think in terms of sound, but with their eyes and bodies as well. When you have added the non-spoken languages to their repertoire, you have people who think and communicate in many different dimensions. This increases psychic abilities.

This book is a journal, not of the mundane world but the world of Spirit. Treasure the pages you've copied. You can share it until the day the book's owner tells you that it is private. At that time, go in your bathroom and have a good cry. Your baby just took another snip out of the umbilical cord. My grandfather read to me daily. My mother and grandmother told me stories, took me to the ballet and other forms of theater. This is how I learned about the deities, and how I taught my children.

For more ideas on creating a book of shadows, you can go here, here, and here.

bb,

Disclaimer: No one involved in this blog or its contents may be held responsible for any adverse reactions arising from following any of the instructions/recipes on this list. It is the reader's personal responsibility to exercise all precautions and use his or her own discretion if following any instructions or advice from `this blog.

Saturday Something – Tarot Reading Tips & History

Tarot Reading Tips & History

The exact origin of the tarot is not known, but it is thought that they originated from somewhere around India and were brought to Europe with the Gypsies. The earliest known deck seems to have appeared around the fourteenth century. During the Renaissance, the tarot was a part of a growing interest in the studies of the mystic arts, such as Qabbalah and alchemy. The tarot saw a revival in the nineteenth century and has been enjoying popularity ever since.

The modern day deck of playing cards is believed to have come from the tarot The face cards of the tarot deck are the King, Queen, Knight, and Page(where in some decks, the Knight and Page are known as the Prince and Princess, respectively). As the modern day playing card deck began to evolve the Knight was dropped and the Page became the Jack. The suits of the tarot are related to the suits of playing cards. The suit of spades is equivalent to the tarot suit of swords, and diamonds corresponds to pentacles. The clubs equals the tarot suit of wands or staves and the hearts corresponds to cups in the tarot deck.

Choosing your own tarot deck is a very personal thing; every deck "feels" different to every person. You should choose the deck whose images really speak to you. For me, I have only found one deck that “speaks” to me, and in turn through me. I have tried many different decks, but have ended up giving them away. That’s another thing – you will find a deck to be much more “effective” when it comes as a gift. If you want to become a collector of decks, then by all means purchase all you want. But you will find that for use, a gift deck will be what you want to use.

I have also found FOR ME that for my deck to be mine, it can only be handled by me. Ever. When I read for someone, I shuffle the deck while they focus on their question. I’ve had it remarked that this would make it harder to achieve accuracy, but for me that just hasn’t been the case. So far, my readings have seemed to be pretty accurate. In addition, when I read for someone, I prefer they not tell me their question until after the reading. If I know what they are looking for it tends to color my readings. The cards may be trying to tell this person something that will be overlooked or misinterpreted if I am only looking for information relating to say love or finances.

After I do the reading of what I see, I then inquire about their specific question, and look deeper, for alternate meaning relating to their question. While there are specific associations for each card, each card can also have numerous meanings. As can the meanings of cards vary in relation to each other. The same exact fall of cards can have drastically different meanings for different people.

I use the picture on each card - I rely on the information gained by doing so quite heavily, which may be part of the reason I only use a specific deck. I dunno – I’ve had some beautiful decks, but just couldn’t “read” them. A good way to pick your own deck is to find a website that carries many different decks. A good one, and a site I shop frequently is Capricorn’s Lair. Go to the site & find decks you like. Then go to search engine like Google and type in the name. You should be able to find examples of the artwork, pictures of the cards. Once you’ve narrowed the selection somewhat, then go find a store in your area that sells many different decks, and see if they have the ones on your list. New Age and metaphysical bookstores are more likely to have a good selection on hand, although many chain bookstores do carry the more popular ones, such as the Rider-Waite, and will be glad to special order any of the other decks. When you visit the store, ask if they will let you look at a deck from the box, but I have a warning note here: if you do not know much about the tarot, you may not think this is a big deal, but many tarot readers will not buy a deck that has been handled by others. A deck is a personal thing, and many tarot readers believe that their decks take on something of themselves. Personally, I would never buy an unsealed deck – even with cleansing, I prefer a few hands as possible to have touched them.

You can also purchase carrying/storage cases for cards, either from a webstore or an actual store, but I personally made mine. Granted I am somewhat skilled at sewing, so it was only natural for me to do so, but making a bag is extremely easy. All you need is a piece of silk the width of your deck plus 2 1/2 inches, by the length of your deck plus 2 1/2 inches. Fold it in half long-ways, right sides together, and stitch up the sides. Fold over the top about 3/4 of an inch, and stitch it where the edge of the fabric meets the rest of it, leaving an opening you can run a piece of leather or a ribbon thru and tie it closed. Again, making your own limits the energies going into it. Place your cards in your case, and put them under your pillow, leaving them there for a couple of nights, to absorb your energy.  

There are many good sites out there in cyberspace. There are also many charlatans. One of the ones I have found that I like is ifate. It shows several layouts, and what each card position represents. It will also allow you to receive a reading, and the one time I did it came back fairly accurate in a generic sort of way : ).

There is however, more to reading the tarot than card meanings and positions. A large number of one type of card can add insight and greater depth to your readings. Here are some examples and their suggested meanings:

• A large number of Major Arcana indicate an important time in the querent’s life. The decisions made and the actions taken will have long term consequences. The Major Arcana holds sway over our spiritual life, matters of our inner being.
• If the cards are predominantly Minor Arcana, the querent’s question is of a mundane matter. Despite how important it may seem at the time, it will have little effect in the long run. Our character or nature will remain as it is.
• A large percentage of Wands can indicate growth and energy. A large percentage of Court Cards that are Wands indicate business transactions.
• An excess of Cups can indicate that the question has to do with love, children or pleasure. An excess of Cup Court Cards indicate delightful company.
• A great deal of Swords suggests aggressive ambition or destructive activities. A great deal of Sword Court Cards indicate conflict.
• Many Pentacles would indicate that the querent’s question revolves around money, goods or material gain. Many Court Cards that are Pentacles indicate politics or high finance.
• Specific Court Cards or numbers have their meanings as well. A large number of Court Cards can indicate the influence of a great many people. A situation that is almost beyond the control of the querent.
• A large number of Kings relate to honors and meetings of those of high rank.
• A large number of Queens can indicate powerful friends and influence.
• Many Knights can foretell haste and unexpected meetings.
• A great deal of Pages denote news and other messages.
• Many Aces indicate power, force and success. They are often the cards of beginnings as well.
• Twos in number reflect partnerships and important conversation.
• Many Threes reflect determination, but one must beware of the truth being bent.
• A large number of Fours represents rest earned through good planning and hard work.
• A great deal of Fives almost always indicates quarrels and difficulties.
• Many Sixes represent gain and pleasure.
• Sevens in number indicate agreements as well as possible disappointments.
• Many Eights can represent news or journeys.
• Nines in number warn of added responsibilities.
• A great deal of Tens can indicate heavy responsibility, commerce and anxiety.

Taken in part from:

The Tarot: A Key to the Wisdom of the Ages by Paul Foster Case
A Complete Guide to the Tarot by Eden Gray

Disclaimer: No one involved in this blog or its contents may be held responsible for any adverse reactions arising from following any of the instructions / recipes on this list. It is the reader's personal responsibility to exercise all precautions and use his or her own discretion if following any instructions or advice from this blog