Friday Form A Circle – Healing Magic Ritual

Healing Magic
Source Unknown (by me…if you know, please tell me *grin*)

 
This is a ritual for healing any problem. This is usually best performed on a waning moon, when it is almost new moon. You cannot perform this ritual on someone else without them being present. You can, however, guide the person who needs healing to do this ritual on their own. It is only effective if the person with the ailment performs it, so it is ideal to heal yourself. Your primary ritual tool will be an element. Choose one from the list that is most appropriate for whatever area of the body you will be healing:

• Abdomen: Fire
• Arms: Earth
• Blood: Air
• Bones: Earth
• Chest: Air
• Ears: Water
• Eyes: Water
• Feet: Earth
• Genitalia: Fire
• Hands: Earth
• Heart: Fire
• Legs: Earth
• Lungs: Air
• Mind: Fire
• Nose: Air
• Skin: Earth
• Stomach: Water
• Teeth: Earth
• Throat: Air
• Uterus: Water

You should prepare for the ritual with a ritual bath. Once you are ready, you can go to your magical place and get ready. Your working area should be equipped with whatever is needed to invite the element of choice into the magic. You can use any method you want to have the element present, but if you need ideas, here is some help:

• Earth: Stones, crystals, a dish of earth, or salt.
• Fire: Candles or a small bonfire (be careful and keep a bucket of water handy for emergencies!).
• Air: Incense
• Water: A dish of water will suffice, but if you can perform the ritual near a body of water like a river or lake that would be ideal.

You only need to have the element pertinent to your ritual at hand. However, if you want to invite all the elements, that is fine too. Just keep the focus on the one vital healing element. You should dress is all white if at all possible. Cast your circle around your entire prepared ritual area. Sit in the center with your element before you. Inhale and exhale deeply and slowly to reach a meditative state. With your eyes closed, envision a pure white light surrounding you. Now that you have entered your magical state, take the element into your hands (if it is water, hold it in a container; if it is fire, hold the candle; if it is air, hold the incense stick, etc.). Feel the energy of the element flowing through you. Hold the element over the general area that needs healing and envision the energy flowing into that area. See it being healed. Continue to allow the elemental energy to flow into the area until a feeling of peace comes over you. It is done! Close the circle and return the element to nature.

***Note: Do not blow a candle out! Pinch it or extinguish it with a bit of water.

Have an after-ritual meal of cakes and wine (or bread and juice). This ritual will begin doings its work immediately, but it will not cure anything instantly. Allow it a good amount of time, a week for a minor ailment, a month for a major illness. If you are using any medications or supplements for your illness, it helps to have those present during the ritual. They will be charged with magical energy so that when you take them they will be doing twice the good!

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 – Full Moon/Cleansing Rite

Full Moon / Cleansing Rite
I have no source info on this :(

Special tools:

• Cauldron filled with salt water

Altar Devotion.
Cast the circle.
Invocation of the Goddess:

I greet the Lady and call upon thee
Mighty Mother of us all, bringer of all fruitfulness.
I ask you, Mother, to descend upon my circle
And reside within me, thy priest/ess.

Invocation of the God:

I call upon thee O Great Father,
Sun and Consort of the Mother,
Who brings her light and warmth.
Come forth Mighty Horned One.
Live now within the body of this thy priest/ess.

Cleansing:
Anoint forehead with salt water

"I cleanse my thoughts
That they might be pure and honest -
Grant that they always be pleasing
To the God and Goddess."

Anoint throat

"I cleanse my voice
That all that I say
Might be for good
And naught for ill or harm."

Anoint heart

I cleanse my heart that it might be open,
Giving and full of light.
Grant that I might give freely
Of my love and care to others."

Anoint hands

"I cleanse my hands
That I might use them
For workings of good,
To help and never to harm."

Anoint feet

"I cleanse my feet
That they might take me far in life,
That my journeys may be
Filled with love, light, peace
And the joy of the Goddess and God."

Meditation for a time.
Cakes and Wine (eating bread and drinking wine or juice to restore energies spent during ritual). Release the circle, thank the God and Goddess.

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

Sunday Surprise - Hestia's Cleansing Meditation

Hestia's Cleansing Meditation
By Hestia

This is a mediation I wrote a number of years ago for an Imbolc ritual. I suggest taping it or finding someone to lead you through it. It doesn't take you down so you will have to use your own method for finding alpha. Let me know what you think.
Hestia

Take a candle and place on your right, close to hand

Earth.

You see a large depression about the size of a large hot tub, of soft, wet earth that reminds you of the mud puddles you may have played in when you were younger, or perhaps you still do. Sit and kinda roll in it. Feel it squish up between your fingers and toes. Feel it softly scrubbing away all worries about finances, work, responsibilities, commitments that you no longer seem to have the energy to face. Quiet your inner thoughts and listen carefully to the heartbeat of the mother. Let the sound help you renew your sense of foundation. Feel yourself become even more centered, your sense of balance greatly improved. Do you hear other sounds? Perhaps the sounds of things stirring in the veins of the mother? Sap running? Seeds sprouting? The much needed rest of the winter is loosening her grip. You must avoid becoming stagnant.

Air

Feel a gentle breeze blowing through your hair, tugging at any clothing you may be wearing, pulling gently at it, becoming stronger until it is a whirlwind tearing at your flesh. The dirt that was still clinging to you is "blown" off. The wind slowly rids you of all your negative thought patterns that you've been carrying with you this year. It also cleans your system of the impurities that cause sickness, giving your body the much needed health and vitality to enter this fast paced time. Your mind is clear, no longer held back with old "proven" ideals. You see things as they really are, not as you have been led to believe. New creative ideas are given the space needed to flourish with a greater capacity to remember, but also you must remember that others may not have the capacity to do as you do. Learn to communicate without demeaning others.

Fire

You see a great tower of fire, that, while you can feel heat, does not burn. Somehow you know it will not hurt you as you step into it. At first things feel uncomfortable, your blood has been very sluggish with the cold of winter, but as your blood moves faster it no longer bothers you. In fact it invigorates you. Your energy level knows no bounds. You begin to see the underlying reason, motivation of the things you are doing as well as the motivations of those around you. You no longer want to sit and think. You want to do! And then something else occurs to you, fire is hard to control. You must use this energy wisely.

Water

A large, deep lake stands before you. The water looks cool and inviting after the heat of fire, so you slowly wade in, relaxing your emotional muscles. You begin to swim around. Noticing how clean the water tastes, you cup your hands and drink your fill. Your connection with the Lady is now complete. Your psychic eye is open. You are open. You see the flow of energy around you, connecting everything together as if a giant spider had caught the world in its web. You see the relationships between you and your loved ones and notice the emotions that flow back and forth along those lines. The water your skin is drinking in feeds your creativity, giving support and encouragement to your ideas. Allowing your dreams to be fulfilled. Before you leave the water, visualize your shields. Remember that your subconscious mind needs those shields to protect itself outside of your sacred place.

Center

Move back towards the center of your sacred place. Remember the candle that was beside you and to your right as you entered this state. Pull all the sensations, thoughts, energy and feelings you experienced together into yourself and send it into the candle. When you have finished, remember to ground any excess energy and recenter yourself. When you are ready, return to the circle. Take the candle with you and use it anytime you feel that you need to reconnect with this state of mind. Also use it to clean your crystals, tarot cards, home, anything that may need extra special attention.

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 – Ritual Use of House Cleaning

* The Ritual Use Of House Cleaning *
by Monti ElfDragon – Found in my collection of ‘Stuffs”
but also located online at Pagan Speak

I am someone who hates housework, who is totally disorganized, forgetful,and a stressed out mom of 3 little witchlets (each one a wyld chyld). I have a major problem of finding time for ritual and personal spiritual growth. Well, along came the Spellcraft Tapestry Spring Cleaning Edition. And I have discovered that I am starting to enjoy cleaning. I know this sounds silly. I can hear you housework haters out there........." this witch chick has lost ALL her marbles!"

Now, let me explain what I have started doing. This amazing thing that has turned a drudgery, something to be put off. Into something to look forward to. As a Kitchen Witch, I try to make everything I do, every moment in my life magical. Because I have so little time for ritual. I decided to incorporate specific rituals in everything I do. I have turned cleaning into a magical ritual. This works for me. It may not work for others in just this way, so experiment. Make it your own. I started to make my own cleaners. When I make them, I create them magically. That is, I ritually charge them with what is needed in my life. Or what I need to be rid of. I also magically charge any store bought cleaners with specific intent.

Each day before I start to clean. I ground and center. Then meditate on what I need to do that day. I meditate on what I want in my life(good habits,love, peace, joy, prosperity, etc.) And/or the things I want to be rid of,(anger, resentment, bad habits, strife, stress, etc.) I then light the appropriate color candle and incense. I have found that when I meditate on the things to do and the things I want/don't want in my life. I can visualize the need with the appropriate chore. As an example, I have been feeling the need for clarity and organization of thought and deed. The chore that came to me was; cleaning & polishing mirrors and glass. Cleaning is pretty mindless sometimes. So visualization comes easily. I just asked the Lord and Lady for what I needed. And visualized being organized(able to accomplish everything I set out to do). And, visualized myself with clarity of mind and purpose. I may not get everything accomplished that I set out to do that day. But I find that I accomplish more than normally.

Believe it or not, but scrubbing the toilet is great for getting rid of anger and resentment. Visualize all your anger and resentment into the toilet bowl, add it to all the yuck in the bowl. As you are scrubbing the toilet see yourself scrubbing away your anger, resentment, or anything you want gone from your life. Then flush, as the yucky water is flushed away, see those things you want gone being flushed away as well.

Cleaning the woodwork and oiling/polishing it down, is great for adding good things into your life. Although for me it filled me with wonderful ideas, thoughts and feelings(ways to reach my goals).

Laundry

I also magically charge laundry detergent to cleanse all psychic yuck that collects, as well as the mundane dirt. Imbue your fabric softener with things you want in you and your family's lives. Putting clothes away for me, the disorganized person that I am. Is a treat my family looks forward to. They are very lucky if it gets done in a timely fashion. So, when I fold/hang them I visualize order in my mind, in my life. As I fold my families clothes. I fill each article of clothing with love and peace for each member of my family. If there is some really nasty things going on in your life or the lives of family members, i.e. rough time at work or school, or an illness. A few drops of an appropriately charged oil in the laundry works wonders.

Scrubbing Floors and Walls

If you make your own cleaners, or if you use commercial cleaners, as you are mixing them up. Visualize the cleaner not only cleaning away the dirt and grime, but psychically cleaning your home/room of any bad psychic energies. When you mix up your rinse water, add a couple of drops of a protection oil, or a peace and harmony herbal infusion. The direction in which you clean will be determined by whether you are wanting to bring something into your life (clockwise), or getting rid of something(counter-clockwise)

Dishwashing and Spiritual Growth

I really must give Diane (St. Lucy, Mom) credit for this one. This is her sink meditation. Put a pagan picture above your kitchen sink, or something that comforts you (I have a lovely view of my woods as well as my prayer to Brigit, a few Witch Bottles, plants and such). As you run the water, stick your hands in the water and see the stream washing away all of the schmoo that builds up in your aura......and down the drain. Then make a mental note of something you want to get rid of, and visualize it coating the dishes. As you wash the dishes see the problem being washed away. It helps keep the stress levels down a lot. I also say my prayer to Brigit out loud as I'm finishing up the dishes. I also try to say it every time I am at the sink. Even if its just to get a drink of water.

"Great Goddess Brigit
I ask for your inspiration
In all my endeavors
Help me to learn new things
Please give me the gifts
Of poetry and creativity
Help me to clean out the old and musty
In my mind and heart
Show me how to make mundane tasks
A joy and Honor to you
Make my hands, my lips, my mind
My heart and my soul, a blessing to you
Forge me into your instrument
That I may be a blessing
To you and the Old Ones
As well as a blessing to all I meet
May they see your love and power in me
Teach me to Honor you in being
A wife, a mother, and keeping a home
I dedicate my life to you
My body, soul, heart, and mind
To your service
So mote it be ! ! “

Vacuuming

Vacuuming the carpet is when I come up with some of my best ideas. Also with 3 small witchlets, 2 dogs and 1 cat. I have to vacuum at least twice a day. Every other night after the family is in bed. I mix up some baking soda, salt and powdered herbs. I infuse this mixture with peace and love, and let it sit overnight to absorb odors, then vacuum it the next morning. It keeps the house smelling fresh and the family happy. At least once a month I use this vacuum cleaner spell to get rid of unwanted energies that may have built up. A simple ritual that can be adapted for just about any need or purpose.

Supplies:

• Vacuum cleaner
• Powdered herbs (for specific intent), mixed with equal parts
• Baking Soda and Salt
• Quarter Candles, Altar candles, Candle of intent
• Incense

Gather supplies at your altar (or the center of your house). Ground and center. If you are doing a home purification ritual put the quarter candles at the cardinal points in your home (not all in one room). Establish sacred space as you light the quarter candles. You can do a full blown circle, or this simple one; (for this one light the quarter candles before or after you establish sacred space, your choice. Or you can omit the quarter candles.)
Face north;

"Here in the center of the world I stand.
Earth is before me, Air on my right hand.
Fire is behind me,  on my left water lies,
As I stand here between
The earth and the skies."

At your altar, prepare your powdered herbs with a mortar and pestle, while visualizing your intent. Mix equal parts of herbs, salt and baking soda in a large ceramic bowl or vessel, still visualizing your intent. For increasing Magic, stir with your hands clockwise. For decreasing Magic, stir with your hands counterclockwise infusing it with your intent.

Starting at your front door move deosil for increasing; widdershins for decreasing/banishing Magic. Sprinkle the herb/salt/soda on your carpet. If you so desire you can draw (sand paint) runes, pentacles or other magical symbols of your intent, saying appropriate words for each symbol. Or words such as these for purification/house blessing:

"Begone and leave, all hate, strife, ill will, and bad luck!!
In the Names of the God and Goddess I cleanse this house!!
This home is a sacred sanctuary of peace
For Myself, My Family, and our Friends!!
Anger and misfortune have NO place here!!"

Do this in every room of your house. When done return to the altar. Visualize your intent. For purification, see the salt, soda, and herbs drawing in, absorbing the negativity, anger, strife, whatever is troubling your house. Cense your vacuum cleaner, saying these or similar words:

"I ask the Lord and Lady
And the guardians of the quarters
To bless this home,
Grant us harmony, knowledge, freedom,
Love, healing, perception, pleasure,
Friendship and happiness.
Grant us riches, treasure, prosperity,
Employment, stability,success,
Business and money.
'An it harm none, So mote it be."

Starting at your front door, vacuum in a clockwise direction. When finished, throw out the vacuum cleaner bag (outside). Visualizing all that psychic goop/bad luck/bad feelings / illness/whatever, is being thrown out with the bag.

These are just a few ideas that I have come up with that work very well for me.I also have 3x5 cards tacked up all over the place with all this information. In my laundry room, with my cleaning supplies, the inside of cabinet doors all over my house. My family thinks I'm crazy but it helps me jog my memory. Since I have started doing this, I have received many answers to my questions. Figured out ways to organize my time and life. Gotten rid of unwanted thoughts, feelings, anger and things that were keeping me down. I've welcomed the new thoughts, feelings and ideas into my life joyfully. I realized, that even though I don't have everything I want or need, that I am not where I want to be"yet", I am well on my way. Each day, I wake up to the joy that life has to offer. I am becoming more patient with myself and others. I am accomplishing more each day, and feeling good about myself. I am more at peace.

I still find I get sidetracked, but I try to get back on track quickly. And figure out why I got sidetracked in the first place, and ways to prevent it next time.

The following are some oils and herbs that I have found useful in ritual cleaning:

Oils

Prosperity: Almond, Bergamot, Honeysuckle, Mint, Peony, Bayberry, Hyssop, Clove, Ginger, Nutmeg, Pine, Basil

Healing: Carnation, Mimosa, Rosemary, Sandalwood, Eucalyptus, Lotus, Clove, Pine, Lavender, Myrrh

Protection: Basil, Frankincense, Lavender, Myrrh, Bergamot, Cinnamon, Cypress, Rose Geranium, Rosemary, Sandalwood, Gardenia

Purification/Cleansing: Bay, Benzoin, Chamomile, Camphor, Cedarwood, Cinnamon, Eucalyptus, Frankincense, Lavender, Lemon, Lemon Verbena, Myrrh, Peppermint, Pine, Rosemary, Sandalwood,

Success: Bergamot, Clove, Ginger, Lemon Balm, Apple Blossom

Happiness: Lavender, Lily of The Valley, Marjoram, Apple Blossom, Lotus, Magnolia, Basil, Orange

Peace: Lavender, Gardenia, Passionflower, Skullcap, Cumin Seed, Lilac, Magnolia, Narcissus, Rose, Tuberose

Blessings: Benzoin, Cumin Seed, Rue

Harmony: Basil, Cumin Seed, Lilac, Narcissus

Love: Rose, Jasmine, Basil, Chamomile, Cinnamon, Clove, Ginger, Lavender, Lemon, Lemon Balm, Lemon Verbena, Lime, Neroli, Orange, Palmarosa, Rosemary, Yarrow, Ylang-Ylang

Herbs

Purification/Cleansing: Anise, Bay, Calamus, Chamomile, Camphor, Cedarwood, Eucalyptus, Fennel, Hyssop, Lavender, Lemon, Lemon Verbena, Lime, Mimosa, Parsley, Peppermint, Pine, Rosemary, Thyme, Valerian, Vervain

Protection: Angelica, Anise, Balm of Gilead, Basil, Bay, Bergamot, Calmus, Carnation, Cedarwood, Cinnamon, Cinquefoil, Clove Clover, Cumin, Cypress, Doll, Rose Geranium, Heather, Honeysuckle, Hyssop, Juniper, Lavender, Lilac, Mugwort, Orris, Patchouli, Pennyroyal, Peppermint, Pine, Rose, Rue, Sage, Violet, Woodruff

Peace/Harmony: Cumin, Gardenia, Lavender, Lilac, Loosestrife, Meadowsweet, Narcissus, Pennyroyal, Tuberose, Violet

Love: Apple Blossom, Basil, Chamomile, Catnip, Chickweed, Cinnamon, Clove, Gardenia, Rose Geranium, Ginger, Jasmine, Lavender, Lemon, Lemon Balm, Lemon Verbena, Marjoram, Mimosa, Myrtle, Orchid, Orris, Peppermint, Rose, Rosemary, Thyme, Tuberose, Vanilla, Violet Yarrow

Healing: Allspice, Angelica, Bay, Carnation, Cedarwood, Cinnamon, Citron, Eucalyptus, Gardenia, Heliotrope, Honeysuckle, Juniper, Lemon Balm, Mugwort, Peppermint, Pine, Rose, Rosemary, Spearmint, Thyme, Violet, Willow, Wintergreen, Yerba Santa

Prosperity: Allspice, Basil, Bergamot, Chamomile, Cedarwood, Cinnamon, Clove, Elder, Ginger, Honeysuckle, Jasmine, Nutmeg, Orange, Patchouli, Peppermint, Pine, Sage, Woodruff

To make an infusion to add to your rinse water steep 1 to 2 small handfuls of herb in 1 quart boiling for 30 minutes. I hope you find something useful in this article. Like I said before experiment, make it your own.

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 – The Four Planes

The Four Planes
found at khakani’s mystical world

To get successful results from magic, work must be done upon all four of the planes. In ascending order, these are the physical plane, the emotional plane, the mental plane,  and the spiritual plane.
The Physical Plane:
It is suggested you work with a structure which is similar to a four-story house when practicing magic. Imagine that the ground floor represents the physical plane. This floor contains  a number of rooms, each representing a particular magical technique appropriate to this plane. This is a room where oils are blended and poured, a room where candles are molded and consecrated, a room where waters are created, a room where powders and incense are compounded, and a room where crystals are cleansed and charged with energy. Each of
these rooms is dedicated to a particular element, so that as you work with these physical tools you learn about the four elements and their correspondence to the various facets
within your character.
There is a kitchen with a large hearth; this is your lab. And there is an herb garden just outside the kitchen. There is also a storage room which contains supplies of magical tools.  As a novice, you will, of necessity, spend more time obtaining supplies for magical practice than in creating the supplies themselves. Later, when you are more experienced, you may
decide to specialize in the creation of one or more magical tools. Finally, there is a small room which serves as a temple where, after all your preparations, you may practice your Magic. There are 2 important reasons to practice magic on the physical level.
First: physical materials such as herbs and incense stimulate your senses, which in turn activate certain areas of your psyche and create an emotional state in you conducive to
the practice of magic. Second: the use of physical materials grounds energies generated on the higher planes so that you obtain tangible results from your magical operations.

The Emotional Plane
According to Nancy Watson, this is the second floor of the house. It also contains several rooms. There is a quiet room where you can daydream and visualize what it is you want to achieve. There are studios where you can experiment with music, dance, or the visual arts to see what effect these have upon your emotional state. And there are a variety of therapy rooms available so that you may release the emotional stresses which are the primary cause of physical illness and pain. The emotional plane plays a pivotal role in magic. Desire to achieve a goal urges you to move up on level to the mental plane where you can plan your magical operations for optimal results.

The Mental Plane
The third floor is a symbol of the mental plane. This story is a vast library, with books of knowledge on all subjects, not just metaphysics and magic. There are chairs and couches so that you can mull over your goals and plans in comfort. There are writing desks, where you can create affirmations and incantations. The only sound tolerated here is the muffled shuffle of cards and the click of runes or coins as oracles are consulted.  The analysis and planning you do on this level are critical to the safe achievement of your goals through your practice of magic.

The Spiritual Plane:
The fourth and top floor represents the spiritual plane. This is a large and lovely room, filled with works of art of all that has ever been held sacred on Earth. There is a beautiful brazier, containing the fire of purification and creativity. The roof opens, like the dome of an observatory, on clear starry nights. A spiral ladder climbs to the open sky so that you may without hindrance observe the stars, offer prayers, and receive the influx of divine inspiration. It is a generally quiet plane, except for those times when chants and music are heard. the work you do on the spiritual level affects all lower levels, and gives depth and permanence to your magical operations.

These four planes comprise the formal architecture of magic.

Cellar:
The cellar is a dark and labyrinthine place. It contains all your instincts and personal memories. It also contains those feelings, thoughts, and urges you choose to deny or ignore.
Your sanity and the quality and quantity of your energy depend on this, for what goes on in the cellar will eventually affect, for good or ill, the emotional plane. The cellar is otherwise known as your personal unconscious. if you wish to practice magic safely, you must have a deep knowledge of what is going on in your personal unconscious.

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 – Ritual To Get A Job

Job Ritual

Here are the things you need:

• 3 white candles(to add to your spiritual strength)
• 1 pink ( to add to your general success)
• 1 yellow ( to instill confidence)
• 1 green ( for money, luck financial success)
• 1 purple ( to give ambition, and to promote business progress)
• 1 black ( to soak up the negative energies)
• Oils, either success oil (if you have it) or Frankincense oil, your choice really.
• Incense: frankincense, or myrrh( again your choice)

Carve into each candle a pentagram  Anoint the candles. Write on a piece of parchment paper what you desire and if you know the name of the person that would do the interview write their name on the paper. If you don't have the name of the person interviewing you, write down the company name. Then write down these words, for Power, Skill and Fame

Helimaz
Feridox
Solodar.

Now meditate and say this ritual:

Daily desire in myself grows
To have (name what it is you desire) in my life show.
Soon this reality I will know.
What I am seeking will seek me
I have the power to see it through
So my desire to ( name desire) will come to me
Energy flowing giving added strength to me
Success in my desires growing steadily
(name desire) is realized quickly
(name desire) coming to the fore
(name desire) to have forevermore.

Sit and meditate on what you want, Repeat this ritual for 9 days.
This ritual needs to be done at night. At the end of the 9 days, burn the paper over the green candle.

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.

Tuesday Try A New Taste – Brigit’s Serpent: A Baking Meditation

* Brigit's Serpent: A Baking Meditation *
By Starhawk, Diane Baker and Anne Hill

Early on Brigit's morn
Shall the serpent come from the hole,
I will not harm the serpent,
Nor will the serpent harm me.

You will need:

• 4 C flour
• 3 T sugar
• 1 t salt
• 1 T double acting baking powder
• 4 T butter or margarine at room temperature
• 1 1/2 C milk (or soy milk)
• jam
• dried fruit (cranberries, apricots, raisins, currants or cherries)

Set aside six raisins or cranberries. Chop the remaining dried fruit until you have a cup and place it in a bowl. Cover it with water and let it soak. Put the flour, sugar, salt and baking powder into a sifter. As you sift them together, say thank you for the different kinds of grains and foods that grow out of the earth. Cut the butter into small pieces, add to dry ingredients and mix, using your fingers. Say think you for any of the extra good things in your life - the things that you don't need but that make life more fun or richer, like butter on bread. The butter should end up so well mixed in that you can hardly see it, the four just looks a bit grainer than before. Make a well in the center of the mixture. Think about the well you have inside you, and what you need right now to fill it up. Pour the milk into the well, remembering that the Goddess always does fill our well of love and joy and ideas, and thanking her. Mix everything together, kneading it with your hands just enough to make it stick together. Don't knead it too much or it will get tough. Divide the dough into three parts. On a floured pastry board, roll and pull one section of the dough until it makes a long thin cylinder. Then roll it lengthwise with a floured rolling pin until it is even longer and thinner. IF you don't have room on the board, use the table. The dough should end up about 1/4 inch thick or slightly less. Spread jam on the dough, not quite to the edge. Make a line of the dried fruit all along the jam-covered dough. Think about what in your life you would like to see bear fruit, what poems you'd like to write, what pictures you'd like to paint, what creative things you'd like to do, and ask Brigit's blessing. Fold the dough up and over the fruit, so that you make a long tube. Pinch the seams shut. Grease and oil a cookie sheet. Place the tube on the cookie sheet and form it into a loose, open spiral. Form one end into a triangular serpent's head and place raisins or cranberries for eyes. Repeat with the other two sections of dough. Bake at 450 degrees for 20 to 25 minutes. Baking temperature is important. If your oven is not reliable, take special care. Before serving, say:

Brigit, we offer you this serpent,
Made of grain, and milk,
With thanks for the food that feeds our bodies,
The fire that feeds our spirit,
And the waters of healing.

Break off pieces and feed each other, saying:

May Brigit's serpent bring you inspiration.

Friday Form A Circle - The Gift of Shadow

* The Gift of Shadow *
by Christopher Penczak

Samhain is a celebration of death bringing new life. On this day, the veils between the worlds of the living and dead are thinnest. Traditionally, it's the time of the meat harvest, when the herd is slaughtered for food in the winter months. What better time of year to give yourself the gift of shadow. We each have a shadow, a dark side to the light. Part of us is hidden below the surface when the rest of us faces the world. We are all a synthesis of light and dark. Some deny it, and lock that part away completely. Others let it out sparingly, and have a difficult relationship with shadow. It may manifest as their repressed emotions. They don't understand the shadow's function and desire. Some embrace it and lose control, relinquishing their own judgment. The shadow may give voice to all the urges they've had but never dreamed of acting upon. The wise ones, in my opinion, make friends with the shadow self.

Darkness has gotten a bad rap, being equated and confused with evil. At times darkness can be cruel, but darkness is the touch of the star filled sky, the womb of Mother Earth, the healing water of the underworld, filled with regeneration for the weary soul. It is a natural part of the universe. Many benevolent goddesses and gods exist in the dark worlds. Macha, Dagda, Rhiannon, Pywll, Persephone, Hecate, Vulcan and Osiris bring great teaching, but at times the lessons can be difficult.

In your healing journey through the darkness, you release your fears of death and mortality, and of living life to the fullest. Life can often be the scarier alternative to death. The darkness forces you into the places where you hide from yourself. Walking through the gates of darkness opens all the unloved soul shards, filled with fear, anger and unhappiness. These unwanted emotions are sometimes necessary for the journey. Desiring not to experience them, many travelers equate these feelings with the darkness, and fail to see the potential for healing. Your shadow wants only to be loved and recognized as part of you.

Part of the shamanic initiation is coming to terms with the darkness to travel freely between the middle world, Earth, the lower world and the sky realms. Shamans often have journeys in the darkness where they die and are resurrected with new abilities and insights. We all have dark nights of the soul, private, personal initiations often having nothing overtly mystical about them. We may fall into the pits of despair and finally realize we are the only ones with the power to get out. But these experiences transform us as people. These initiations, mystical and mundane cannot be forced. They all happen when the time is right. You can, however, start the process by working with your shadow spirit and your light spirit together.

By acknowledging your shadow, you start building the friendship with it. Potential volatile situations become diffused because you are honoring your hidden side. You honor your anger and fear. They have a purpose. You have a right to feel it. But it does not have a right to control your life. If you acknowledge it, you honor it, and can let it pass, like other thoughts and feelings. If you ignore it or cram it away in the back of your mind, you hold on to it. The unwanted emotions held back fester and brood. They can manifest as unhappiness, the inability to change, spiritual sickness or actual physical illness.

Find a quiet place to meditate. Choose someplace you will not be disturbed. Leave all other concerns behind. This is time for you and only you, but you may want to have a friend on hand to guide you through this exercise and be there for support. Close your eyes and relax you mind, body and spirit. Count from thirteen to one backward. You are now in a meditative state. Ask that all you do be for your highest good. Imagine a sphere of protection around you made from multi-colored light. Ask for any guides or guardians in harmony with your intentions to join now.

Imagine a big mirror before you, the size of a door. The reflective surface could even be a pool of liquid or a windowpane of glass. The surface is all cloudy. No reflection is cast. The longer you look into it, the clearer it becomes. There is an image behind the mist. It is becoming more and more visible. Soon the mirror becomes perfectly clear, and in it is your shadow self, your dark reflection, looking back at you. Look carefully at it. It may be just a shadow, or it may be a fully formed being, similar to you. Greet your shadow. Tell it you wish to make friends. Do not feel fear, it cannot hurt you. If you are comfortable, invite the shadow out of the mirror and into your world. It will step through. Ask the shadow any questions you have. Ask it how it feels and how you can honor it better. I'm sure it will tell you something. Go with the first impressions you get from it. When you are finished with your shadow spirit, thank it. It will return to the mirror and the mirror will dissolve away. You may contact it in a similar manner anytime you like. Other rituals can help you integrate it Count up from your meditation.

When you have difficult emotions, feel them, honor them and let them go as they pass through you. You always have a right to feel the way you do. Your friend is there for support. Take it. And you can always ask the shadow how you may honor it. Take some time near the season of darkness to do this meditation. For the pagan new year, give yourself the gift of shadow.

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.