Of casting wishes & running baths…

I took my first of 7 spiritual healing baths on Monday… I started by steeping 7 different herbs, barks and roots in nearly boiling water for half an hour…

• Oak Bark: I always like to use something I associate with my ‘Patron Pair’ and the Oak tree is linked to Cernunnos and is used to bring strength, vitality and healing…
• Elder Flowers: I always like to use Elder, as this is Elen’s tree… It is also used for healing, to bring protection and change…
• Althaea: Known as ‘The Healer’, so need I say more?
• Lemon Verbena: I find anything that smells Lemony is good for cleansing…
• Lavender Flowers: For healing and peace – And also brings good sleep…
• Chamomile Flowers: Purification, and to bring sleep…
• Queen Elizabeth Root: To give me a bit of a boost and to feel sensual and womanly…

~Obviously these herbs, etc have other properties, but these are the ones I wanted to draw on…

Then I leave the infusion to cool… When ready, I take 2 cups of the infusion and add to a special crystal bowl I use only for this purpose, along with:

• A splash of Florida Water
• 1 cup of Chalice Well Water, from both the red and white wells in Glastonbury
• And 1 cup of milk that has had some oil whisked in… I used a few drops of Lavender, Frankincense & Myrrh and Special #20 for an added kick
• 2 cups of warm water…

I then light the candle I have fixed, and dressed in the same oils as above, with a touch of ground Hyssop and Lavender… I run a nice hot bath and add half of the herbal bath to the water, along with a wee sprinkling of magnetic sand and some Calendula (Marigold) Petals…

I get in and relax…

Soaking away all my aches and pains, and tension… Thinking about my body cleansed & healed, fully rejuvinated, and my spirit lifted… This bath is also good for clearing negativity, and giving your physic senses a wee zap!

Basically a good, powerful all-rounder!

Just before stepping out, stand up  pour the remaining herbal bath over your head… I use 3 pours and rub it up my body, for bringing healing TO me (If I was banishing, etc I would stroke down and away from my body)…

With spiritual baths you should always drip dry… If you use a towel it’s like rubbing the working away…

So tonight will be my third bath, and I’m already feeling a lot better than I did on the weekend, but still go the rest of the week left…

Anyways… I was also having a wee browse about and came across Jamie Ridler’s blog, and her WishCasting Wednesdays… So I thought I’d jump on in with her question this week…

What do you wish to embrace?

I could get all deep here and say;  my destiny, life as it’s meant to be lived, opportunities, uncertainty, my true-self… And I always wish to embrace my husband and son…

But obviously… I wish to embrace my friends and family who are across the ocean!

It’ll have nearly been a year that I haven’t hugged and cuddled with my folks and my brother, Mike… And I have to wait until June to be able to snuggle with my friends (that will be well over a year since I did so last)… Since I was pregnant when I moved here in Feb, and having to wait for my greencard and work authorization, I haven’t held a job since January, so I haven’t made many friends here as of yet… There are a couple of couples we hang out with, and I love them dearly, but they just don’t seem to be the snuggling type… I’m a very tactile person, and I miss the closeness…

There is one embrace I wish to feel above all… And those are the embraces of my dear friend Jeremy…

Jeremy, a 6ft-god-knows-how-many-inches, burly, bearded, ex-Angels biker; My best friend and Pagan brother, who sadly lost the battle to cancer,  is now riding his motorbike on the streets of gold in sky…

I miss you, Brother… Whenever I hear the Thunder, I know it’s you…

 

“You can be a maker of magic and a tender of wishes. It’s easy. Answer the wish prompt above on your blog and then add a direct link to your post in the box below. Support wishes by visiting other participants, leaving a comment saying “As (insert name) wishes for her/himself, so I wish for her/him also.” It’s that simple. There is great power in wishing together.”

Much needed R&R…

 

I have been very quiet on here recently… What with a newborn and finding time to juggle everything, my mother-in-laws health issues, my folks and brother’s pending visit, the holidays upon us – It’s hard to take a few minutes for myself…

I’m ecstatically happy in my new role as Mother, and Jason is a star… But I’m drained, homesick and exhausted, plagued by headaches and backaches… And I’m not healing as fast as I thought I would, as I’m not one for ‘taking it easy’ and I’ve been trying to do more than I can physically handle…

So tonight I’ve promised myself my first spiritual and healing bath in a while… That will help with the aches, pain and fatigue… And to restoring my balance…

I have some herbs and roots steeping just now…

Do any of you have a favourite spiritual, cleansing and healing ritual you prefer? What are your personal tried and true methods?

 

 

Dark Moon Giveaway…

The goodness that will be sent this weekend to Treya…

I stole the dining room table, and set up a small makeshift altar on my old writing box…

Dark Moon Oil and Witches Bottle

The Darkening…

Samhain is not only a day for me, it’s a season that starts on Samhain eve (31st Oct), until The Stillness at  Yule we are in a season which I like to call The Darkening… For me, the ‘festival’ of Samhain ends tomorrow night, because today begins Los del Muertos as it is All Saint’s Day (I’m not Catholic, but some of my Beloved Dead were, and I am drawn to the celebrations and incorporate them into my own, plus my Uncle died on this day), and tomorrow is All Soul’s Day & Fet Gedé, the Voodoo celebration of the Dead… The 2nd Nov also coincides with the Full Moon, making Samhain this year even more auspicouis and sacred…

So I  have more Witchyness planned over these few days…

The Darkening is the season when we face the dark Gods, the darkness inside us, and acknowledge the Underworld powers of transformation and regeneration. It is a time when we let go of all that no longer serves us in preparation for  a new beginning. I honour Elen as Mother Death and Cernunnos as The Reaper, as they smite the land with their Black Rod and everything sleeps, or dies back into the Earth. The flowers, grasses, shrubs and trees begin to lose their colours and substance… It is also a time for honouring the dead…

Whereas most neopagans these days only remember their dead at this time, I actively work with my Ancestors and Beloved Dead (family and friends who have past over), throughout the year, revering and honouring them and working with them, etc… But as the viel is the thinnest, at this time it’s easier to call forth the spirits, Ancestors and your Beloved Dead…

From Samhain to Yule as the hours of darkness increase we move inwards, in our homes, in our lives, in ourselves… Our natural instinct is to move towards hibernation as the light decreases, and just like animals, the hedgehogd and squirrels, who fill their bellies with fruits and nuts, laying down for the winter, we eat more… Flowers fade away, the trees are stripped bare, rain pours, the air cools… Our seeds of intention lie in the dark within the earth…

Here are a few bits I did last night…

Fast Luck Money Draw Mojo:-
Flannel Drawstring
1 whole Nutmeg
1 Lodestone
1 John Conqueror Root
8 dimes
8 whole Cloves
8 whole Allspice
Pinch Cinnamon chips
Piece of Peridot – Cleaned with Florida Water and Charged
Tsp Fast Luck Money Draw Powder

Fast Luck Money Draw Feeding Powder : Feed on Thursdays
Tsp Five Finger Grass
2 tablespoon Magnetic Sand
1/4 cup powdered Chamomile Flowers
1/8 cup powdered John the Conqueror Root
Few drops of Attraction & Money Draw Oil

Peaceful Mojo:-
Red flannel
3 pieces of Myrrh
4 pieces of Frankincense
Pinch of Chamomile Flowers
Pinch of Angelica Powder
Piece of Amethyst  – Cleaned with Florida Water and Charged

Peaceful Hand Feeding Powder - Feed on Sunday
1/4 cup Lavender Flowers
Teaspoon of angelica powder
2 drops each of Myrrh, Frankincense and Lavender Essential oil

I also started a wee jar working… I started with a wee glass jar with gold lid, and I filled it with a bit of  my hair  wrapped in a dollar bill dressed in Money Draw oil, and smudge with a few drops of my blood… I pop in two Lodestones, a High John the Conqueror Root, 2 dried Calendula flowers, a sprinkling of Blue Flag Root, a bay leaf and a touch of Basil & Thyme, a few Cinnamon Chips, a few whole Allspice berries and Cloves, a whole Nutmeg, a dash of Green glitter (for Faerie blessing), 3 dimes and a wee piece of Irish Moss. I then put in a few drops of Prosperity oil, close the jar and stick a green candle on the jar’s lid… I asked Elen to bless the jar, then called on my Ancestors and stated my intention as I lit the candle and incense…

I also left some Cinnamon Chips and Sugar by the front door to draw new trade in for my online business once it’s all set up, set out offerings of cake and honeyed milk for the Faerie, and put a bowl out to collect rainwater from after dark tonight, until the 3rd of November (the day after Los del Muertos and Full Moon) as it is especially sacred at this time and will be very powerful in numerous occult areas from Necromancy to Love Spells…

And I also made some very, very yummy Peanut butter and Chocolate cupcakes… It can’t be a proper Samhain festival without a little Kitchen Witchin’…

Since this is my first Samhain in the US, I wasn’t sure how that connection to my Ancestors would feel, I was worried that since I wasn’t in my homeland I wouldn’t feel the connection as much… But my worries were unfounded, as my Ancestors are not tied to a physical ‘place’, they are with me at all times… And last night when I shared my usual drink and cigarette with my Beloved Dead, and called on my Ancestors to aid me in my workings… I felt them as keenly as I have ever…

This is also the first time in YEARS that I have not had a proper altar space… But I’m making do with using the dinner table, and it will have to suffice for now… I just cannot wait until May when Jason and I move into our own place with Connor and I can once again have the space to set up my Ancestor and working altars…

Anyways, I usually perform a ritual for Samhain but I haven’t managed to find the time just yet… But I will leave you will a wee snapshot of a ritual from a Samhain past…

“The fire spits… There must have been Pine in the kindling… The smoke wafts towards me and I close my eyes, whispering ‘Take it up, wind-kin, take it up, through the trees’… As the breeze shifts, swaying, playing with the fire, I look up at the stars glinting in the dark sky, my focus gently returning to my ritual…

I walk around the fire three times and bathe myself in the smoke, the smoke filling up with all I want to release… It flows away from me, caught on the stinging breeze and I pull my oversized woolen jumper sleeves down over my fingers… My hair a loose, tangled, wild mess from the sharp breeze that I had to walk through in order to find my refuge beneath the trees… I must have looked a Bansidhe… Wild woman, crouching low to the ground… Wafting the smoke around herself… Circling and circling…

The sky devoid of moon… The dark moon, hiding Her face from me as I gaze up through the opening in the trees… My swirling and spiraling smoke creating faces, images from past and future as I scry the smoke…

Feeling the damp ground seeping through my dark jeans in onto my knees as I kneel before the fire, chanting away my worries and the year that has past…

I await death… And in that I await rebirth… Now is the time of inner workings… Of a turning inward for the Winter to embrace the darkness… To nurture my rebirth… Her rebirth…The Earth’s rebirth …

I chant quietly… Building and building my whispered chant as I pull the energy into me… My emotions build…

I release the energy with a tear… My tear falls into the fire, and my dark rite of Calan Gaeaf is done… I raise my smiling, laughing face to the sky in thanks, with a lightened heart…”

I know I didn’t keep up with the October Blog Party, but the Dark Moon giveaway winner was Treya… And I shall be finishing up her bits on the Full Moon tomorrow…

Catching Up & Awards…

So while I’ve been away preparing for baby, birthing and being a new mother, I’ve received the Kreativ blogger award from the beautiful and very talented Carolina Gonzalez, and the wonderful Sunfire at Pagan Blog Prompts…

Thank you both so very much… I’m very grateful to you both, it’s such an honour…

Now, here are the rules:
1.) Thank the person who gave this to you.
2.) Copy the logo and place it in your blog.
3.) Link the person who nominated you.
4.) Name 7 things about yourself that no one would really know.
5.) Nominate seven ‘Kreativ Bloggers.’
6.) Post links to the seven blogs you nominate.
7.) Leave a comment on each of the blogs letting them know you nominated them.

So, you want to know 7 things about me… Ummmmm?!

1.) I am petrified of two things – Needles and hairy plants… Yes hairy plants! Weird but true…

2.) Some people don’t know my real name, and only know me as Naedys Channirra… It’s a long story, but I am a huge fan of Robert Jordan’s Wheel of Time series, and I’ve been an online member of the TarValon for 4 years, where I have been an Aes Sedai of the Green Ajah for about 2 years and it is where I met my soulmate – My husband Jason…

3.) I have sang at St. Paul’s Cathedral, Westminster Abbey and the Royal Albert Hall…

4.) I love music  -  I’m very eclectic, I love anything from Cajun to Death Metal… I love music so much I managed a band I loved, but everyone else hated for a while… I have busked in London, Glasgow and Edinburgh (busker = street performer)… And I totally believe in magic on the dance floor… There’s such a beauty in losing yourself to the beat, on a crowded dance floor, the energy weaving is amazingly magical!

5.) My uncle went to school with Richard Harris…

6.) I have pins and bars holding my left ankle together, after breaking my ankle tripping over my brother… I crash a motorbike into a railway bridge, and only get a concussion…

7.) I hate red lipstick!!!

And here are the blogs I award… Please enjoy them as much as I do!

Chasing Domestic Bliss
Crafts o f a Jewitch
Deaf Pagan Crossroads
Song of the Old Wanderer
The Hermitage
Wandering Soul
Witch of Forest Grove

I also received another great fantastic package, to add to those from Carolina, Mel from Wandering Soul and Amy from Magical Musings… All the way from Wiggins, Mississippi and Papa Toad Bone’s Apotheca… It was chock full all all things conjure, and I literally jumped with joy when I received it… I’m such a lucky lil Witch!

Anyways, I’ve got all your names added to the Witches Hat for the draw for the Samhain Dark Moon Giveaway tomorrow… The oil is just about ready, as the herbs have been infusing a full month from last Dark Moon… I’ll just finish off the blend tomorrow during the Dark Moon itself, bottle and decorate… And the winner will also have to chose the intention for their custom made Witch Bottle… So this is your last to get in on it…

So today is a day of catching up…

On here for starters, I also have my Columbus Pagan and Witches Moot gathering to sort out and arrange for some time this month, I have a whole barrage of emails and Pagan related correspondences to shift through and reply to, I have some altar work to catch up on and carry out,  laundry and sundry mundane chores… Then to get to posting on some topics which I have been promising myself, and certain people, all in between my gorgeous baby boy’s feeds, and awake time, but right now my little precious is napping…

I should really follow suit, but there are so many things to do and get done…

Bear, or bare, with me… Whatever takes your fancy!

New Arrival…

So…

I haven’t had a chance to post yet, but on the 26th September at 2:50 in the morning, I gave birth to the most gorgeous, wonderful little man, weighing in at 6lbs 12oz…

The labour was long , very long, at 44 hours…

I went into labour proper at about 6 Thursday morning… And finally my wish of having a natural delivery went out the window on Friday night… After being in labour and having seriously intense contractions they had to give me Pitocin to help things along, as I wasn’t dilating past 5 cms, and I had not had any sleep since Wednesday night… If the Pitocin didn’t do anything in a few hours I would have had to have had a c-section…

Since the Pitocin would only make things more painful and closer together and I was already so tired I opted to go for an Epidural…

The only issue we had was that my heart rate dipped, and in turn so did Connor’s, for a while… But after some oxygen, etc I was fine…

As soon as I relaxed everything progressed along just fine… I dilated the last 5 cm in an hour and only had to push for a grand total of 15 mins!

Yes, 15 mins… They had to stop me as my Obgyn was on her way up, but not there yet!

But it was all well worth it, and the other half and I brought Connor Rhys home on Monday afternoon…

He is precious and I am totally in love with our wee man!

Everything I’ve planned for this month is still in effect…

The draw will be in 10 days!

And I need to update on the October Blog Party…

Bear with me…

Nesting…

I am still alive, but nesting has kicked in in full force!

I’m not sure how much time I’ll have to blog before the wee one arrives, but I promise that I’ll make an appearance and finish what I’ve started soon enough…

I’m still keeping up with everyone and will still be participating in the October Blog Party, and the giveaway will continue as planned…

It’s just a little hectic here with my newly found energy, rewashing & organising, and making sure everything is just right… As Connor could make his appearance any day now…

My First Giveaway…

As I am participating in Domestic Witches October Blog Party, I thought that it would be fitting to offer my very own giveaway for the Dark Moon… Which is on the 18th October…

So I’m offering those who sign up a chance to win a Witch Bottle made by my own fair hands specifically for them (you can chose the purpose of said bottle)…

Along with that I’ll also throw in my own blend of Dark Moon oil…

Both bottles will come in wee glass, corked bottles… Sealed with wax… And decorated for you!

On the 18th I will draw a name randomly from my Witches Hat…

Anyone can enter, but here be the rules:

• To receive one entry into the Witches Hat you must leave a comment…

• To receive two entries into the Witches Hat you must write an entry in your blog linking back to this entry, leave a comment…

• To receive three entries into the Witches Hat you must write an entry in your blog linking back to this entry, leave a comment  AND wear the wee button above in your sidebar…

The code for the above button is:

<a href=”http://shimmeringways.wordpress.com/2009/09/08/my-first-giveaway/” target=”_new”><img src=”http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y279/PandoraSilverMoon/witchbottle-1-1.jpg” border=”1″ /></a>

You can also receive a bonus entry for:

• Listing my blog amongst your favourites, friends, or a blogroll of some description…
• You wear my blog’s button…

So, with that I’m off to nest some more, and will deliver the awaited Part 2 of my entry from yesterday on the morrow!

Depending on how this goes, I shall be announcing another giveaway for my birthday on the 17th of September… So keep tuned!

Blog Button Exchange…

<a href=”http://shimmeringways.wordpress.com” target=”_new”><img src=”http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y279/PandoraSilverMoon/tree-1-1.jpg” border=”1″ /></a>

Here is the link to my lovely new shiny button… You can see it up on my side bar…

I was wondering if anyone wanted to exchange their buttons with me, so I can put them up on my blog…

And Visa Versa…

Religious Orientation vs Magical Practice… (Part One)

I have been forging my path for quite a while… It’s taken on different forms over the years, to finally become the version of Folk Magic I practice now…

My Grandmother was from Eastern Europe, and had her own style of Folk Magic which I adapted (after I found out what she did, she wasn’t very open about it until the end of her life)… I’ve blended that with English and other forms of Folk Magic, namely Hoodoo/Conjure (I’ve always felt a very strong pull towards a handful of areas throughout the world, and the Deep South has always been one of them!), and various forms of European Folk Magic practices…

Alongside my Folk Magic practice, I also follow an old form of English WitchCraft and Paganism…

I see my religious orientation (being a Pagan and priestess of Elen and Cernunnos) as something separate from my Folk Magic practice…

It all gets very difficult to explain…

Now, I’ve often said that I am a Pagan Witch and a Folk Magic Practitioner, conjure woman, herb/root worker (to start with)… I see the two as separate parts of myself, yes they can be blended together in ritual, etc (and I do so regularly at certain major points throughout the year)…  But at the end of the day, Folk Magic is something you need no religion to practice…

I spoke a little last time on my views towards working with my patron God and matron Goddess, and today I want to speak a little on how that blends in with my being a Folk Magic Practitioner… How they are separate parts of myself… How I came to follow the path as I do… What it means to me to be a Pagan Witch, and how I balance both aspects within my ‘path’…

Now, where to start…?

I practice religion in some of my workings (part of being a Pagan Witch), but in others I purely use conjure and folk magic to obtain certain outcomes for myself and others (Folk Magic)…

I think it might be easier if I break this down into sections, to define certain terms I will use throughout this explanation:

Ritual – Honouring deity, etc – So how do I explain ritual… To me, ritual is a form of honouring my chosen deity/spirit/ancestor etc… It in itself isn’t a magical act, it’s a religious act of honour and respect… If I perform a  working within a ritual, this is where the magical element may enter, but I purely hold rituals as a religious form of honouring deity, and celebrating the different major points throughout the year…

To describe this in Christian terms, I guess you could describe what a ritual means to me,  as similar to a church service… The ‘workings’ within my ritual, maybe likened to what Christians, etc see as a prayer…

Workings – One word you will hardly ever, if at all, see me use when refering to ‘what I do’ is the word ’spell’… I dislike it, it just brings up the wrong picture for me, and once again, it’s too light and airy… A ‘working’ on the other hand ‘does exactly what it says on the can’ – An act that works towards a specific goal… It also conjures up an image to me of a profession, instead of being something to dabble with…

Oh and – You will never catch me spelling magic with a ‘k‘… Neither do I  hold to the threefold law of return, follow the Rede, or will I ever refer to myself as a ‘White Witch’... I am far from Wiccan! *nods*

Workings for myself – When performing a working for myself, I might  bring a religious aspect into what I do… I will bless ingredients and/or charge specific items with energies from my specific deities… But there are a lot of times I will whack up a mojo hand, dress and fix a candle, perform certain workings, etc, etc without a thought for any diety at all… It’s a personal preference, and a magical freedom I have the right to exercise as & when I feel the need, for different workings, outcomes and situations…

Workings for friends and family - Most of the time when working for friends and family I will perform them using mostly Folk Magic, as others have their own ideas of deity, or have their own faiths and I do not want to ‘force’ my ideas and beliefs onto them… Though I have been known to bring a religious element into it for other Pagan friends, or those that have asked for that energy to be worked with while performing the working for them… I will on the other hand work with spirits, faerie and the ancestors with no quarms what-so-ever…

Professional workings – Everything will be charged with a ’specific intention’, I will also work under the guidance and with the energies of certain spirits, faerie energy and the ancestors, but I WILL NOT ever mix professional Folk Magic workings with a religious element… One, I would never feel right charging for ‘religious’ workings – Which is why I offer certain altar work free of charge! And most people do not have the same religious orientation, so I feel the outcome is best achieved when items and workings I have worked for others are used without a ‘religious’ attatchment… They are created as purely a ‘magical item’ for the client, for their specific need and situation, whatever that may be…

Wow…

I see that this is going to be a more in depth post than I originally intended… So think I might split this into parts, as there is far too much material to cover in one post…

Please keep you eye out for: Religious Orientation vs Magical Practice – Part 2 &3

Where I will cover:

• Defining what a Pagan Witch means to me, and how I honour and celebrate my religion…
  
• Defining what Folk magic means to me, and how I work…
  
• What exactly I do within a ritual and how…
• How I perform a simple working…

  … and to follow shortly: Feminine Power – Part 2   (part 1 HERE)