Friday Form A Circle - Solitary Sabbat Spring Equinox Ritual

De-Anna Alba's Solitary Sabbat Spring Equinox Ritual
Written by De-Anna Alba from Pagans Online – but the link is dead – well not dead it takes you to a search engine now…

A Pace-Egging Ritual

The use of eggs in Spring Equinox rituals is a centuries-old custom. Our Pagan ancestors first used eggs in Spring fertility rituals in a variety of ways. With the coming of Christianity, the use of eggs was transferred to the celebration of Easter. The Greek Orthodox church uses red colored eggs to this day. They say the red color represents the blood of Christ shed for us in anticipation of the resurrection. (I feel there is a much older, more accurate, and certainly more Pagan explanation. It symbolizes the blood of birth that happens all over the animal kingdom at this time of year in the northern hemisphere. And by extension, represents the whole cyclical theme of death and rebirth, with an obvious emphasis on the rebirth part of the cycle.)

The use of eggs was also transferred to the "childish" celebration of Easter, including the Easter egg hunt, the Easter bunny (another fertility symbol), and various other sensuous treats like chocolate kisses, cream-filled eggs and jelly beans. (In other words, the fun and fertility were taken out of the original celebration and given to the children, while the adults concentrated on sin, suffering and getting their mortal souls saved via the crucifixion and resurrection of one divine sacrifice.

Modern Wiccans and Pagans have been reclaiming the fertility symbolism of the egg in their Spring Equinox rites for some time now. It usually takes the form of garden/seed planting rituals for those born with, or encouraging, a green thumb. Or, the use of colored or decorated eggs to encourage fertility to happen in their lives in one form or another--fertility of mind, body, spirit, whatever. This ritual is a variation on this last theme.

The ritual is to take place on, or near the Spring Equinox. If you are not able to do this on the actual day of the Equinox, or would prefer to do it on a weekend, I'd suggest you do it the weekend before the Equinox instead of after it. Part of the intention behind celebrating the Sabbats of the Wiccan year is to participate in and encourage the actual turning of the Wheel of the Year - to make sacred the cycle itself. If you wait until after the holiday, you've lost the opportunity to participate in the sacred turning (although you can still honor this after the fact).

Depending on your time, inclination, and perhaps your physical capabilities, you can do this ritual in one of two ways. It's intended to be a ritual that includes some walking and/or driving around. If this seems too much for you for whatever reason, you can simply eat the eggs over a period of days. Read on to see what I mean. The purpose of this ritual is to seed things you would like to have come into your life during the upcoming season of birth, growth, maturity and harvest. You will decorate one egg for each of the things you wish to have bloom or bring to fruition in your life. Take some time during the week before the ritual to decide what those things will be. If you're like me you'll need to write them down so you don't forget. Think about any colors, symbols or designs you might associate with each thing you want to manifest in your life. Write them down as well if you need to.

Conveniently enough, Easter is coming soon, so you'll be able to go out and buy egg dying kits. Just be sure the kit you choose includes one of those wax crayons for drawing on the eggs. You know, the kind that writes in invisible wax on the egg and then the writing (or drawing) magically appears on the egg when it is placed in the coloring medium. If you're planning on doing the pace-egging part of the ritual, you'll need to locate a small digging trowel or trench-shovel as well. The object here is to symbolically decorate each egg and then take it to a place associated with the things you'd like to bring into your life and plant it there. For example, if you want to bring more psychic ability into yourself, you might want to take an appropriately decorated egg to a body of water and drop it into it. Water is associated with things psychic. If you need to slow down the pace of your life, you might want to bury an egg dedicated to that purpose at the base of a slow growing tree, like an Oak If you want to bring love into your life, trying burying the appropriate egg in a spot beneath the intertwining branches of two trees. You get the idea

On the day of the ritual, hard boil your eggs. That night, gather together all the things you will need to create the number of eggs you'll need. Set it all up in your ritual space. (On a practical note, you may wish to turn your kitchen table into your altar for the night so that you'll have plenty of space in which to work and access to other things you might need from the kitchen that you may not have anticipated, like water, spoons, towels, etc.) Have your usual altar accoutrements there as well. Once your altar/work area is set up, take a few minutes to mentally / physically prepare yourself for ritual. (Ritual bath, meditation, smudging, whatever you usually do.)

Cast your circle, call the quarters and invoke Goddess (or do whatever it is you do to create sacred space and call on/up the divine). Now begin creating your eggs. Be sure to concentrate on/visualize what you want to have happen as you create them. Repeat affirmations to yourself about each one if you find that Magically useful. When you are done with all of them, place them in a basket or cauldron and say a spell over them that summarizes all the actions/things you'd like to have manifest. Dismiss your circle, etc.

Now take your basket of eggs, your trowel, and anything else you think you'll need, and "plant" each seed/egg where you think it Magically belongs, thinking about the egg's intent as you "plant" each one. This could take place within the space of a couple of hours or over the space of a couple of days, depending on your own preferences. If, for whatever reason, you are unwilling or unable to take your eggs out and "plant" them, simply put them in a basket and place them in the refrigerator. Then eat one each day for breakfast until they are gone, visualizing the Magic of each egg being planted within you and beginning to take root and grow at once.

That's it! If you have children you can have them make eggs with their own wishes for themselves on them. Then you can hide them as in the traditional Easter egg hunt, and have them find them. Be sure to tell them that the finding and eating of each egg will be the trigger that releases the spell on each egg to begin coming true in their lives.

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.

Monday Make A – Magical Crystal Ostara Eggs

How To Make Magical Crystal Ostara Eggs
By Patti Wigington, About.com

This is a neat craft project you can make before Ostara. Hide these eggs for your kids to find, and then when they crack them open, they can find the treasure hidden inside!
Difficulty: Average
Time Required: Varied 
You'll need:

• 1 C. all-purpose flour
• ½ C. salt
• ¼ C. clean sand
• 1 C. used coffee grounds
• ¾ C. warm water
• Crystals or gemstones
• Non-stick cooking spray
• Acrylic paints in your favorite colors

Blend flour, salt, sand and coffee grounds together. Gradually add the water, and knead until you've got a thick, gritty dough. Spray a crystal lightly with non-stick cooking spray, and place it in the center of a small scoop of dough. Shape the dough around the crystal to form an egg shape. Bake the eggs at 350 for about 15 minutes, and allow to cool. Once they've cooled, they should be nice and hard, like a rock. Paint the eggs, and allow paint to dry. Hide the eggs on Ostara, and let your kids crack them open to reveal the hidden crystals!

 

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 – Using Candles for Divination

Lithomancy Using Candles
From Collins Gem Predicting

Lithomancy is divination using precious stones, one form of which involves candlelight. Scatter gemstones of different colors around a candle. Darken the room, light the candle, close your eyes and clear your mind of thoughts. when you open your eyes, notice which color of stone first reflects light back on you. (In the absence of a good selection of gems, colored glass can be used as an alternative.)

• Colorless : Success and happiness.
• Red : Romance.
• Dark Red : A wedding.
• Yellow : Infidelity.
• Green : A wish will come true.
• Turquoise : An unexpected opportunity.
• Blue : Good luck.
• Violet : Grief.
• Purple : A quarrel.
• Black : Ill luck.

 

 

 

Other Candle Omens
Also From Collins Gem Predicting

• A candle burning with a tall straight flame: Expect the arrival of a stranger.
• A dripping candle: A drip of wax on the side of the candle indicates ill luck for the person sitting on that side.
• Birthday cake candles: You should carry a lighted candle for each year of your age. Make a wish, and try to blow out all the candles in one breath. If you succeed, the wish will come true.

 

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 – Ostara/Eostar Ritual

Ostara/Eostar Ritual
from Under A Silver Moon

Needed:

• Spring flowers
• Cauldron
• Spring water
• Flowers/buds/blossoms, etc for wearing (optional)
• Pastel colored candles
• A small potted plant

Flowers should be laid on the altar, placed around the circle and strewn on the ground. The cauldron can be filled with spring water and flowers, and buds and blossoms may be worn as well. A small potted plant should be placed on the altar. Arrange the altar, light the candles and incense, and cast the Circle of Stones. Recite the Blessing Chant. Invoke the Goddess and God in whatever words please you. Stand before the altar and gaze upon the plant as you say:

"O Great Goddess,
You have freed yourself from the icy prison of winter.
Now is the greening,
When the fragrance of flowers drifts on the breeze.
This is the beginning.
Life renews itself by Your magic,
The Earth Goddess.
The God stretches and rises,
Eager in His youth,
And bursting with the promise of summer."

Touch the plant. Connect with its energies and, through it, all nature. Travel inside its leaves and stems through your visualization - from the center of your consciousness out through your arm and fingers and into the plant itself. Explore its inner nature; sense the miraculous processes of life at work within it. After a time, still touching the plant, say:

"I walk the Earth in friendship,
Not in dominance.
Mother Goddess and Father God,
Instill within me,
Through this plant a warmth for all living things.
Teach me to revere the Earth and all its treasures.
May I never forget."

Meditate upon the changing of the seasons. Feel the rousing of energies around you in the Earth. Works of magic, if necessary, may follow. Celebrate the Simple Feast. The circle is released.

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 -

Home Cleansing
source unknown

Needed:

• sagebrush stick
• glass of water
• bowl containing a shallow pool of water

This is a great spell used to clean your home of negative energy. Spell performed preferably during a waning moon but can be cast at any needed time for a cleansing during any moon phase.
Any evening after sunset, light the sagebrush. Have the glass bowl nearby. Blow out the flame and blow on the embers of the stick to increase the smoke. In each room of your house, Blow smoke in each of the four directions. Blow gently upon the burning stick as you face each wall of the room. Say aloud:

I clear this space of all negativity
And of the energy of people or things
That have no purpose in this household.
I ask that this clearing be gentle
And that all of this energy be returned to its source.

When you are done with your whole house, Return to the room you started in. Take the stick and dip it into the bowl of water to douse the embers. Take a sip of water from your glass. Say aloud:

This home is a gentle and supportive environment.
I offer gratitude to the universe that this is done.
So it be and so it is.

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 Whatever – Lady Day – The Vernal Equinox

* Lady Day: The Vernal Equinox *
by Mike Nichols; August 28, 2000
from The Witches’ Sabbats

Now comes the Vernal Equinox, and the season of Spring reaches it's apex, halfway through its journey from Candlemas to Beltane. Once again, night and day stand in perfect balance, with the powers of light on the ascendancy. The god of light now wins a victory over his twin, the god of darkness. In the Mabinogion myth reconstruction which I have proposed, this is the day on which the restored Llew takes his vengeance on Goronwy by piercing him with the sunlight spear. For Llew was restored/reborn at the Winter Solstice and is now well/old enough to vanquish his rival/twin and mate with his lover/mother. And the great Mother Goddess, who has returned to her Virgin aspect at Candlemas, welcomes the young sun god's embraces and conceives a child. The child will be born nine months from now, at the next Winter Solstice. And so the cycle closes at last.

We think that the customs surrounding the celebration of the spring equinox were imported from Mediterranean lands, although there can be no doubt that the first inhabitants of the British Isles observed it, as evidence from megalithic sites shows. But it was certainly more popular to the south where people celebrated the holiday as New Year's Day, and claimed it as the first day of the first sign of the Zodiac, Aries. However you look at it, it is certainly a time of new beginnings, as a simple glance at Nature will prove.

In the Roman Catholic Church, there are two holidays which get mixed up with the Vernal Equinox. The first, occurring on the fixed calendar day of March 25th in the old liturgical calendar, is called the Feast of the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary (or B.V.M., as she was typically abbreviated in Catholic Missals). 'Annunciation' means an announcement. This is the day that the angel Gabriel announced to Mary that she was 'in the family way'.

Naturally, this had to be announced since Mary, being still a virgin, would have no other means of knowing it. (Quit scoffing, O ye of little faith!) Why did the Church pick the Vernal Equinox for the commemoration of this event? Because it was necessary to have Mary conceive the child Jesus a full nine months before his birth at the Winter Solstice (i.e., Christmas celebrated on the fixed calendar date of December 25). Mary's pregnancy would take the natural nine months to complete, even if the conception was a bit unorthodox.

As mentioned before, the older Pagan equivalent of this scene focuses on the joyous process of natural conception, when the young virgin Goddess (in this case, 'virgin' in the original sense of meaning 'unmarried') mates with the young solar God, who has just displaced his rival. This is probably not their first mating, however. In the mythical sense, the couple may have been lovers since Candlemas, when the young God reached puberty. But the young Goddess was recently a mother (at the Winter Solstice) and is probably still nursing her new child. Therefore, conception is naturally delayed for six weeks or so and, despite earlier matings with the God, She does not conceive until (surprise!) the Vernal Equinox. This may also be their Hand-fasting, a sacred marriage between God and Goddess called a Hierogamy, the ultimate Great Rite. Probably the nicest study of this theme occurs in M. Esther Harding's book, 'Woman's Mysteries'. Probably the nicest description of it occurs in M. Z. Bradley's 'Mists of Avalon', in the scene where Morgan and Arthur assume the sacred roles. (Bradley follows the British custom of transferring the episode to Beltane, when the climate is more suited to its outdoor celebration.)

The other Christian holiday which gets mixed up in this is Easter. Easter, too, celebrates the victory of a god of light (Jesus) over darkness (death), so it makes sense to place it at this season. Ironically, the name 'Easter' was taken from the name of a Teutonic lunar Goddess, Eostre (from whence we also get the name of the female hormone, estrogen). Her chief symbols were the bunny (both for fertility and because her worshipers saw a hare in the full moon) and the egg (symbolic of the cosmic egg of creation), images which Christians have been hard pressed to explain. Her holiday, the Eostara, was held on the Vernal Equinox Full Moon. Of course, the Church doesn't celebrate full moons, even if they do calculate by them, so they planted their Easter on the following Sunday. Thus, Easter is always the first Sunday, after the first Full Moon, after the Vernal Equinox. If you've ever wondered why Easter moved all around the calendar, now you know. (By the way, the Catholic Church was so adamant about not incorporating lunar Goddess symbolism that they added a further calculation: if Easter Sunday were to fall on the Full Moon itself, then Easter was postponed to the following Sunday instead.)

Incidentally, this raises another point: recently, some Pagan traditions began referring to the Vernal Equinox as Eostara. Historically, this is incorrect. Eostara is a lunar holiday, honoring a lunar Goddess, at the Vernal Full Moon. Hence, the name 'Eostara' is best reserved to the nearest Esbat, rather than the Sabbat itself. How this happened is difficult to say. However, it is notable that some of the same groups misappropriated the term 'Lady Day' for Beltane, which left no good folk name for the Equinox. Thus Eostara was misappropriated for it, completing a chain-reaction of displacement. Needless to say, the old and accepted folk name for the Vernal Equinox is 'Lady Day'. Christians sometimes insist that the title is in honor of Mary and her Annunciation, but Pagans will smile knowingly.

Another mythological motif which must surely arrest our attention at this time of year is that of the descent of the God or Goddess into the Underworld. Perhaps we see this most clearly in the Christian tradition. Beginning with his death on the cross on Good Friday, it is said that Jesus 'descended into hell' for the three days that his body lay entombed. But on the third day (that is, Easter Sunday), his body and soul rejoined, he arose from the dead and ascended into heaven. By a strange 'coincidence', most ancient Pagan religions speak of the Goddess descending into the Underworld, also for a period of three days.

Why three days? If we remember that we are here dealing with the lunar aspect of the Goddess, the reason should be obvious. As the text of one Book of Shadows gives it, '...as the moon waxes and wanes, and walks three nights in darkness, so the Goddess once spent three nights in the Kingdom of Death.' In our modern world, alienated as it is from nature, we tend to mark the time of the New Moon (when no moon is visible) as a single date on a calendar. We tend to forget that the moon is also hidden from our view on the day before and the day after our calendar date. But this did not go unnoticed by our ancestors, who always speak of the Goddess's sojourn into the land of Death as lasting for three days. Is it any wonder then, that we celebrate the next Full Moon (the Eostara) as the return of the Goddess from chthonic regions?

Naturally, this is the season to celebrate the victory of life over death, as any nature-lover will affirm. And the Christian religion was not misguided by celebrating Christ's victory over death at this same season. Nor is Christ the only solar hero to journey into the underworld. King Arthur, for example, does the same thing when he sets sail in his magical ship, Prydwen, to bring back precious gifts (i.e. the gifts of life) from the Land of the Dead, as we are told in the 'Mabinogi'. Welsh triads allude to Gwydion and Amaethon doing much the same thing. In fact, this theme is so universal that mythologists refer to it by a common phrase, 'the harrowing of hell'.

However, one might conjecture that the descent into hell, or the land of the dead, was originally accomplished, not by a solar male deity, but by a lunar female deity. It is Nature Herself who, in Spring, returns from the Underworld with her gift of abundant life. Solar heroes may have laid claim to this theme much later. The very fact that we are dealing with a three-day period of absence should tell us we are dealing with a lunar, not solar, theme. (Although one must make exception for those occasional male lunar deities, such as the Assyrian god, Sin.) At any rate, one of the nicest modern renditions of the harrowing of hell appears in many Books of Shadows as 'The Descent of the Goddess'. Lady Day may be especially appropriate for the celebration of this theme, whether by storytelling, reading, or dramatic re-enactment.

For modern Witches, Lady Day is one of the Lesser Sabbats or Low Holidays of the year, one of the four quarter-days. And what date will Witches choose to celebrate? They may choose the traditional folk 'fixed' date of March 25th starting on its Eve. Or they may choose the actual equinox point, when the Sun crosses the Equator and enters the astrological sign of Aries.

(Document Copyright © 1986, 2000 by Mike Nichols; This document can be re-published only as long as no information is lost or changed, credit is given to the author, and it is provided or used without cost to others. Other uses of this document must be approved in writing by Mike Nichols.)

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 - Hot Cross Buns

"Hot cross bun, a round bun made from a rich yeast dough containing flour, milk, sugar, butter, eggs, currants, and spices, such as cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, and cloves. In England, hot cross buns are traditionally eaten on Good Friday; they are marked on top with a cross, wither cut in the dough or composed of strips of pastry. The mark is of ancient origin, connected with religious offerings of bread, which replaced earlier, less civilized offerings of blood. The Egyptians offered small round cakes, marked with a representation of the horns of an ox, to the goddess of the moon. The Greeks and Romans had similar practices and the Saxons ate buns marked with a cross in honor of the goddess of light, Eostre, whose name was transferred to Easter. According to superstition, hot cross buns and loaves baked on Good Friday never went mouldy, and were sometimes kept as charms from one year to the next. Like Chelsea buns, hot cross buns were sold in great quantities by the Chelsea Bun House; in the 18th century large numbers of people flocked to Chelsea during the Easter period expressly to visit this establishment."

---Oxford Companion to Food, Alan Davidson
[Oxford University Press:Oxford] 1999 (p. 114)

found on The Food Timeline

* Hot Cross Buns *
From Ray

Ingredients for bread:

• 4 c pastry flour
• 2 c sugar
• ½ c ground almonds
• ½ c vegetable shortening
• 1 tube almond paste
• ½ tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 5 eggs, slightly beaten

Ingredients for icing:

• 1 c confectionary sugar
• ¼ tsp almond extract
• 1 tbsp soft butter
• 4 tsp water

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Combine bun ingredients in large bowl until a medium-soft dough forms. Add a little flour as needed for consistency. With your hands, shape biscuit-size balls. Slightly flatten the balls when you place them on an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake until golden brown, 15-20 minutes. Cool. Beat icing ingredients together until smooth. Frost buns with large cross (+) with icing.

 

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

Monday Make A – Chicks In Nests

Chicks in Nests

You will need:

• Brown Yarn (cotton works the best),
• Three 1" Yellow Pom Poms,
• Orange Craft Foam,
• Six Wiggly Eyes,
• One Small Round Balloon,
• Liquid Starch,
• Tacky Glue,
• Scissors,
• Bowl,
• Newspapers

Blow up balloon to about 4". Tie off. Use a piece of yarn to hang it over your work area. (Working on the kitchen counter and hang the balloon from an upper cabinet knob works well.)  Place newspaper under balloon to catch drips. Pour a cup of Liquid Starch into an old bowl. Cut several 4' pieces of yarn and place them into the starch. Make sure each strand is coated evenly with starch. Wrap starched yarn pieces around balloon in all directions until balloon is covered to look like filigree. Cut and dip as many pieces of yarn as you need. There will be empty spots where the balloon shows through. Let dry overnight. Cut down your yarn covered balloon. Pop the balloon and pull it out. Cut the yarn ball in half. You may want to set one half of the nest inside of the other for a fuller looking nest or use each half to make one nest. Cut six small triangles for beaks. Glue two on to each pom pom to make it look like the chick's mouth is open. Glue on eyes. Glue chicks in nest.

I found this at PaganSpace The social network for the occult community on the Pagan Crafts Discussion page. If you haven’t yet discovered Pagan Space, go check it out – It’s essentially My Space or Facebook, but specifically for pagans. You will find a link over in the Good Stuffs! Places to visit list on my sidebar. The poster indicated they found it at Making Friends.

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 - Ceromancy

Ceromancy or How To Tell Fortunes With Wax
From The Realm Of White Magic

To know the future by a candle's flame is covered quite adequately in this little poem from an unknown poet:

Touch a light to the little wick
Watch it burn to the candlestick.
Study with care the little blaze;
Fortunes are told in its tiny rays.
If an unseen power makes it weak and low,
For you it foretells a tale of woe.
If that same power makes a blaze bright and healthy,
You'll be happy and wise, be good and wealthy.

For those who wish to pursue ceromancy, which is divination from forms produced by dropping melted wax in water, it is simple enough for anyone to try. Use any color candle,though the darker hues will show up best. It takes only a bit of imagination on the part of the magician to "see" the images which emerge from a bit of hot wax allowed to drop into a bowl of cold water.

Airplane - A trip of a disappointment

Anchor - Your loved one is true

Baby - Troubles are coming

Ball or Balloon- Your problem will not last very long

Beans - Money difficulties

Bed - A vacation would be good for you

Bells - A wedding

Bird - News will reach you soon

Bridge - Take a chance

Broom - Make a change

Candle - Spiritual growth

Cat - A friend is untrue

Chain - Go ahead with your plans

Circle - Reconciliation

Cloud - Something or someone threatens you

Cross - Do not fear for you are protected

Crown - Sickness

Cup - Bitter quarrel with a friend

Dog -Your self-esteem is too low

Ear - Be alert for an opportunity to advance in your work

Egg - New developments soon

Fan - A surprise is in store for you

Feather - The problem will be solved

Fish - Someone will betray you

Ghost - Someone from the past is looking for you

Grass - Good fortune is approaching

Hat - A change of location is indicated

Heart - A friendship will turn into love

House - Better times are coming

Key - A setback in plans should be expected

Kite - Your wish will come to naught

Ladder - Take steps to change your attitude toward an old friend

Leaf or Leaves - Things will be changing soon

Lion - An unpleasant situation is developing

Moon - Indicates more money

Mountain - Good friends are willing to help you

Pants - You will be tempted

Pen - Expect a letter from a relative

Pin - Your lover may be attracted to another

Pipe - Peace and comfort

Ring - Marriage may be possible in the near future

Scissors - Separation

Shoe - Be suspicious of a new acquaintance

Snake - Be on guard against an enemy

Spider Web - Pleasant happenings

Star - Happiness

Sun - Good fortune

Table - An abundance of blessings

Tree - A good time for new undertakings

Umbrella - Trouble is coming

Walking Stick - Get out of the house and visit friends

Wheel - One who has been away will return soon

Witch - Danger will pass you by

Worm - Business troubles ahead if you are not careful

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 - Seed Blessing and Indoor Planting Ritual

Unfortunately for me, this is a ritual I, personally would never attempt. Not only do I not have a green thumb, I have a decidedly black thumb. Yeah, some witch I am! I kill mint! You know, mint…most people drop a small clipping in their yard, on the way into the house and two weeks later have a yard overrun with mint. Not me! I try to grow it & it dies. Every plant I even so much as touch dies! Well, that’s not entirely true…if I want it to go away, like the wild onions which essentially made up the front yard at our old house, they will reproduce and spread rapidly. Yes, it sounds an exaggeration, but really, it’s not. Even my co-workers who sit near me have learned to keep their plants from dangling over the top of their cubicles into mine, as the part that finds itself on my side of the wall soon starts to turn brown & wither….oh well, such is life :) I am relegated to buying what herbs & plants I need, or convincing Hunny to grow them – he has a very green thumb, but very little free time to take advantage…Anyways just because I can’t do it, doesn’t mean you can’t, so here goes :)

bb

,  

(Get your very own sig tags that you, too, can customize! I found this one at Eye4Expression)

* Seed Blessing and Indoor Planting Ritual *
adapted from rituals in Silver RavenWolf's To Light a Sacred  Flame &
Pauline Campanelli's Wheel of the Year
from RainForest – (unfortunately this link is dead, but I did find it also posted at Earth Witchery which seems to be just chock-full of good information :)

Seeds that were gathered at Mabon or that you have purchased in packets can be blessed and started indoors at Ostara. This ritual should be conducted in the dark, as we are asking the Mother to bring the seed's light from the darkness of the warming earth.

You will need:

• Seeds
• Flower pots
• Soil
• A green marker
• Popsicle sticks (optional)
• Four candles, one for each of the four quarters
• Priapic Wand (an oak wand with an acorn or pine cone tip)

Place your supplies on the altar. Cast a circle by walking clockwise, with index finger pointing down, saying:

"Creation flows from the arms of our Mother Goddess.
Creation flows from the strength and light of our God.
Creation is the mission of the human spirit.
From my lips the oath was sworn,
From my hand the circle is born
The earth, the air, the fire, the water
Return, return, return.
And the gifts of the land return.
Behold the circle is cast."

Ask special blessings from each Quarter as you call them. Lighting candle at North, say: ***

"Elements of the North;
Rich earth, comforting soil
Bless this ritual with your gifts."

Lighting candle at East, say:

"Elements of the East;
Sweet breath, carrier of gentle spring rain,
Bless this ritual with your gifts."

Lighting candle at South, say:

"Elements of the South;
Caressing sun, warming creation,
Bless this ritual with your gifts."

Lighting candle at West, say:

"Elements of the West;
Pure water, transformation energy
Bless this ritual with your gifts."

Using the priapic wand, tap each seed packet three times, saying:

"Now is the dark half of the year passing
Now do the days grow light, and the Earth grow warm
I summon the spirit of these seeds
Which have slept in darkness
Awaken, stir, and swell
As you are planted in the Earth
To grow and bring forth new fruit.
Blessed be!"

As each seed is blessed, visualize that particular plant in full bloom or full fruit. At this point, you may charge the seeds with blessings you hope to "sow" in the year ahead -- things like wisdom, prosperity, understanding, or certain magical skills. Next, draw the Birkana rune

(a B with points instead of curves),

the rune of new beginnings, on the Popsicle sticks or on the flower pots. Add soil. Plant the seeds and water. Thank the Goddess and God. Dismiss the Quarters and close the circle. Tend your seeds carefully in the coming weeks. If desired, plant the seedlings outdoors when the danger of frost has past.

***As I’ve said before, these are not the directional associations I use. If you choose to follow it as written, and it works for you, that’s fine :) If I were to do this ritual as laid out, it would be ineffective, because I don’t believe the direction/element associations are correct, and Magic is funny that way. Your beliefs influence the outcome of everything you do, very strongly. Therefore, you must do what works for you to be effectual. This is one of the reasons any good mentor or teacher will make very clear that using a pre-written spell or ritual isn’t the way it’s done. Don’t get me wrong, it may very well work, but not necessarily as you want it to, and rarely as well as it would if you “tailor” it and add your own touches…

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 – Candy Easter Eggs

Candy Easter Eggs
from Eliza

Ingredients:

• 2 packages unflavored gelatin dissolved in 1/2 cup cold water
• 2 cups sugar
• 3/4 cup water
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp. vanilla
• 1/2 lb. sweetened baking chocolate
• 3 milk chocolate bars
• 1/2 stick paraffin wax

Boil sugar, water and salt until thread stage. Add gelatin and heat until thick and stands in peaks. Add 1/2 tsp. vanilla. Beat for about 20 minutes.To shape eggs, fill large bun pans with flour and press eggs (chicken eggs, that is) into flour for molds. Pour candy mixture into molds. Let set. Make chocolate coating: melt chocolates and paraffin in double boiler. Dip eggs into chocolate mixture. Place on waxed paper to set up & harden.

Candy Easter Eggs 2
from Eliza

Ingredients:

• 1/4 lb. soft butter
• 3 lbs. icing sugar (start with 2 lbs. and then add gradually)
• 15 oz Eagle Brand milk
• 1/4 cup corn syrup
• 1/2 tsp. vanilla
• 1 Tbsp. flour
• 12 to 14 oz semi-sweet chocolate
• 1/4 slab paraffin wax about 1" (12 - 14 squares)

Place butter in a large bowl. Add milk and vanilla and corn syrup. Gradually work in icing sugar and flour. Turn mixture onto a table dusted with icing sugar. Work in remainder of sugar and knead until all has been used up. Kneading is the big secret. When mixture becomes shiny, it is ready to be shaped into Easter eggs. Roll it into a cylinder. Take a small amount (about the size of a baseball) and set it aside for coloring. Cut the rest of the cylinder into 20 pieces. Color the amount set aside with yellow food coloring and roll into 20 round balls. These are to be placed inside of each piece of the white mixture, then shaped into Easter eggs. Put aside to sit for one day. Place chocolate and paraffin in top of double boiler of hot but not boiling water. Melt. Insert the end of a small knitting needle into center of eggs. Dip quickly in chocolate. Place on waxed paper and spoon chocolate over hole made by needle. Let set. Store in refrigerator.-

Chocolate Fudge Ostara Eggs
From ShadoeRose

Ingredients

• 1/4 pound butter; melted
• 2 packages (3 5/8 ounce each (chocolate pudding mix)
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 pound confectioners' sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 8 ounces dipping chocolate

Combine butter, pudding mix and milk. Bring to boiling and simmer 2 minutes,stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Add sugar and vanilla; stir until smooth. When cool enough to handle, shape into eggs and place on wax paper lined tray. Chill until firm. Melt chocolate, dip cooled eggs. Place on wax paper. Let stand until coating hardens. Makes 2 1/2 lb. of filling.

Marshmallow Ostara Eggs
From ShadoeRose

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons Knox gelatin
• 1/2 cup cold water
• 2 cups sugar
• 3/4 cup hot water
• 1 cup white Karo syrup
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• cornstarch for hands
• milk chocolate

Mix gelatin and cold water. Set aside until water is absorbed. Combine sugar, hot water, 1/2 cup of the Karo syrup and cook to the soft ball stage (240 degrees). Cool a few minutes. Beat with mixer at full speed. Add the remaining Karo syrup and all of the gelatin mixture, 1 tablespoon at a time. Beat 7 to 8 minutes after the last addition of the gelatin. Add vanilla Pour into a well greased 7 x 9 inches pan and chill thoroughly. Dust hands with cornstarch. Spoon marshmallow out of pan and form eggs. Brush excess cornstarch off and let dry for 1/2 hour on waxed paper. Pour melted milk chocolate over eggs and let set. Refrigerate for easier handling.

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.

Monday Make An – Egg Shell Mosaics

Eostare, Ostara, Easter, no matter what you call it, almost all celebrations of the upcoming holiday involve eggs. Usually hard boiled eggs. Which are yummy, but can also be a bit messy, especially with little ones involved! And trying to tell your witchlet to “be careful not to get eggshells everywhere, because they’re a b*^ch to clean up” tends to have little to no effect on the actions of said witchlet. Who cares about cleaning up the mess when they’re 2 or 3 or 17…or male…(with my anal retentive, neat-freak Hunny being a notable exception to that last category…)
But! “be careful with those shells, because we’re going to use them to do a craft & make a beautiful mosaic you can keep forever!” might have a bit more effect. Theoretically. (on the witchlets, but probably not the males…).
Anyway, with that in mind we have today’s craft idea :)

bb

 

* Egg Shell Mosaics *
From ShadoeRose <

You will need:

• Colored egg shells
• Construction paper
• Pencil, crayon, or marker
• Glue
• Your imagination

How to proceed: Carefully peel the shells from the colored eggs. Remove the membrane from the inside of the shell (otherwise, it will smell over time). The shell pieces should be large enough to handle, and small enough to lay mostly flat when placed on paper. Group like colors together. Draw an outline for the mosaic on the construction paper (this may be necessary for younger children, or if you can't complete the project in one sitting). You may want to use Sabbat-appropriate designs, or just whatever takes your fancy. Coat the mosaic area with glue. Place eggshells on the glue in the patterns you desire. Allow the glue to dry.

Saturday Something - Heritage of Eostar

* Heritage of Eostar *
by Lark (last updated 22 June 1998ce)

Under the full moon of March, mad hares dance before mating. If you look at her closely, you can see that the moon is a hare, the other self of the Saxon Goddess Eostre and of the Celtic Goddess Andraste. As a hare, she gives omens for battles and for love. Her witches dance by moonlight like hares in the  sprouting fields. Her power and her desire are greatest at the full moon nearest the vernal equinox. This is the moon of the Lady's mating-madness, the season of wildness, the moment of flowering, the time of renewal. What you seek at this season, you will surely find. What you pursue will not elude you long. What you plant will grow and flower.

This is the full moon of March, the balance point of day and night, when sun and moon light the skies from dawn until dusk and from dusk until dawn again. This is the season of Summer Finding in the North. Druids celebrate the equinox as Alban Eiler, Light of the Earth. English witches celebrate March 25 as Lady Day, the return of the Goddess from the Underworld. This is the month of the Hag, the Time of the Old Woman, notorious for bad weather. In the Scottish Highlands, each week of March has a name: the Sweeper, the Whistler, the Sharp-Billed One, and the Cailleach-the Hag herself. At this season, the folk who sail the North Sea ask kindness of Aegir and Ran, God and Goddess of weather and tides. Scottish fisher folk go to the shore to ask St. Columba--or Manannan, the sea God--for a bountiful yield.

The Roman year began at the new moon of March. Anna Perenna, Goddess of the turning year, began the month as a crone. At the full moon, she married the young God Mars and became the maiden Goddess Neria. Their union reconciled the lunar and solar years. Priests of Mars, the Leapers, danced and leapt in the streets, clashing weapons against shields. The fires of the hearth Goddess Vesta were lighted using fruit wood and sunlight reflected from a mirror. Vesta herself was crowned with laurel, and her priestesses led a sunwise procession through the city, visiting 27 shrines on the way and casting reed puppets into the Tiber River. Masked flute players roamed the streets in honor of the birth of Minerva, Goddess of wisdom and inventor of the flute.

This is the season when Dionysus danced down from the hills, calling the women to leave their weaving and follow him. Maenads and Bacchantes danced night-long in the mountains, crowned with ivy, mad with wine or spruce ale, and feasting on the tender flesh of Amanita Muscaria. City dwellers celebrated Dionysus and Ariadne, Lady of the Labyrinth, with music and drama contests and festivals of new wine at the full moon. The Phrygian lion Goddess Cybele held two weeks of festival at the equinox. In Rome, she had two festivals, one for the patricians and one for the common people. The Goddess, in the form of a black meteorite brought to Rome from Asia Minor, was paraded through the streets and ritually bathed in the Almo Brook, to the accompaniment of flutes and cymbals.

At the new moon of March, Osiris, consort of the Great Goddess Isis, entered the House of the Moon. Isis, who invented the sail, opened the Mediterranean for navigation in early March. In the ports, her people carried the new ships down to the sea in processions. Isis herself rode through the streets in a ship built to look like her sacred goose. Carnival parades continued the custom with floats called Triumphs carrying images of the gods, especially Dionysus and Ariadne. The Triumphs became the Greater Trumps of the Tarot deck.

In Macedonia, a traditional Carnival play depicts the marriage of a maiden to a man in a bear skin. The bear is killed by a rival, then revived by a Gypsy woman carrying a bundle of grain dressed as a baby. After the play, the actors parade through the town, scattering seeds and calling, "May wheat be ten piastres the bushel!" Bears are said to take human shape during the /winter and return to their own forms in the spring.

Chickens begin to lay in March, and eggs are plentiful by the equinox. After the lean time of the winter, eggs are a promise of plenty. Their yolks symbolize the sun. In Eastern Europe, a straw doll representing winter is dressed and adorned with a necklace of blown eggs, then burned or carried to a river and drowned on Palm Sunday.

The vegetation God Adonis dies and is resurrected at the equinox. In Asia Minor, anemones are called the blood of Adonis. When their blossoms turn the hillsides red, women weep for Adonis in the streets, and the new year begins. In England, women planted Gardens of Adonis--wheat, barley, lentils, lettuce, fennel, privet, and flowers--in pots and took them to church on Easter Sunday. Gypsies decorated a willow tree to honor the Green Man on Easter Monday.

This is the full moon of the Deer Month, the season of birthing. Artemis celebrates her festival of new fawns with cakes shaped like deer. Her priestesses are her hounds, the Alani, who pursue their heart's desire tirelessly over the roughest ground. She celebrates the full moon of April with moon-shaped cakes marked with the quartered circle and left at the crossroads to bless all who pass by. The hot cross buns of Easter tradition were originally her moon cakes.

At the new moon of March, Hera the Queen of Heaven, grown old as Theria the Crone in the long winter, goes down to her sacred spring at Canathos to bathe. She emerges as Antheia the flowering Maiden, one-in-herself, her virginity renewed. Her priestesses are all Heras, glorying in her wholeness, belonging only to themselves. Her priests are all Heracles, her glory and her secret son, the little hero who dwells in the hearts of us all.

In the woods, the Green Man puts forth sprouts from every root and branch. Even in churches, he flowers in carvings of wood and stone, on arches above doorways or hidden beneath benches. "Here, a throat come aleaf, there a branch held aloft," his green fire races through the woodlands and pulses in our blood: "this green source, this welling-forth in ever-widening circles, this 'spring'."*

*from "The Book of the Green Man" by Ronald Johnson

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 - * Satrina's Solitary Ostara Ritual *

* Satrina's Solitary Ostara Ritual *
written by Satrina J. Starlight; this had a link with it, but it’s dead :( If this is yours, and you have a site, let me know, I’ll link ya!

Preparation: For decorating the altar use dyed eggs and pink and green ribbons or streamers. Prepare the altar with the God and Goddess candles and the supplies for casting the circle. Include a soil-filled cauldron, a sword, a small shovel, a small pot, a few seeds of your favorite flower or herb, a Corn Dolly, and a Grape Dolly. The Corn Dolly should be dressed in white. The Grape Dolly should be dressed in green. The cauldron should be placed in front of the altar. Begin by casting the circle. Say:

Here I am on this day, Ostara, Lady Day, Rite of Eostre,The Vernal Equinox, And the first day of the planting season. I am here to understand life, death, and rebirth,and to give reverence to those who have endured each

Bow your head to think about how Ostara fits in one of the three groups above and how it fits in the Wheel of the Year. Say:

I stand at the gate between the living and the dead on this night when both light and dark are equal. I am here to witness the union of my Goddess, Mother Earth, the waxing Lady of the Moon,and of our God, Green Man, the waxing Lord of the Sun. Conception. . . a necessary transition on the Wheel of the Year

Lay the Dollies next to each other on the pillow. Say:

Now is the time of the Great Rite between the beloved Maiden, one of the three faces of my Goddess,and her consort, the beloved Sun King,one of the three faces of my God. I watch as the Goddess is impregnated by the God with the seeds of conception

Unite the blade of the sword with the depth of the cauldron symbolizing the Great Rite. Leave the sword standing. Hold the God candle and mingles the flame with the Goddess candle. Replace these on the altar and set them closer than they were before. Say:

The Elder Gods wish to bestow upon us the gift of knowledge.Thus they shall speak

Hold the Grape Dolly and Corn Dolly up high, one in each hand. Say:

These wise words are their gifts. 'There is a time for every purpose under the heavens above. Now is the time to sow that which will be reaped come fall and winter. Now is the time of the conception of the Divine Child which is necessary to keep the Wheel of the Year turning. As I plant these seeds of child and harvest, each dependant upon the other, the Wheel of the Year turns, the land also ready to take to it seeds.It is now your time to begin your sowing of seeds, material, spiritual, and symbolic, to ready you for the coming seasons.' So mote it be.

Place the Dollies closer to each other on the pillow. Say:

The Gods have shown me the way. Now, on this day of Ostara, at this time of planting and beginning, I shall sow my own seeds for the coming seasons.

Use the small shovel to transfer soil from the cauldron to the small pot. As you are plating the seeds, you should be thinking about your goals as though they were the seeds. You can now conclude the ritual. Say:

May these newly planted seeds material, spiritual, and symbolic, bring to me plentiful fruits and bounties.

Close the circle. Serve yourself hard boiled eggs, honey cakes, and eggnog. You can leave the cauldron and sword on the altar until Beltane to remind you of the seeds sewn on this day. Also leave plastic colored eggs to remind you of the conception of the Divine Child.

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 – Getting Pregnant Spell

The upcoming Ostara holiday is all about fertility, so in that vein…

Getting Pregnant Spell

You will need the following:

• ace of wands,
• 10 of cups,
• the SUN,
• something for a baby you bought specifically for this ritual (a bib, a small blanket...etc.....),
• 9 red candles.

Light the candles and lay out the tarot cards one by one.
Visualize yourself finding out your pregnant, staring at a positive pregnancy test. Repeat the following:

With these cards and with this spell
I call upon the good and helpful powers.
I desire to start a family
I desire energy and love to continue.
This small item (hold up the baby item)
Is the token of the commitment
We are ready to make.
We are ready to love our children
We are ready to teach our children
And we are ready to have our children
So it is - so it shall be!

Seal this spell with kisses and hugs followed by the actions necessary to start a family. Seashells represent fertility. She can create a small seashell altar in her bedroom. If she wants to add a deity, I'd use the Goddess of Willendorf. Any round and fertile/pregnant goddess will work, and there are many!

Holed stones are also symbols of fertility. Have her carry one her person or have her wear one around her neck as a charm.
Placing one by the bed or between the matters is also good.

Eat healthy! Diet plays an extreme part in fertility. Use visualization.

She must be relaxed. Also, studies show that when the man and woman climax together the woman has a higher chance of conception.

Full moons... In tribal times and pre-electricity, women would ovulate around the Full Moon and menstruate around the Dark or New Moon. One way to get yourself onto this cycle is to start paying more attention to the phases of the moon and also going out under the moon for even a minute or two.

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.