Goddess Devotional and Cleansing

So I could've sworn that I had posted this a long time ago but I can't seem to find it. This is something that I do on my own before my altar. It was inspired by a book I read called The Shamanic Witch by Gail Wood.

First you will need to get into your meditative state. You will need the elements represented before you: a bowl of salt for Earth, a red candle for fire, a bowl of water, and incense for air. I like to place these in their respected directions around my cauldron which is always placed upon my pentacle.

Take a pinch of salt and sprinkle it around you deosil thrice while saying:

"I stand in the presence of the Goddess.
I cast all negativity into the Earth,
so that I may be cleansed by Her strength."

Place your hand over the flame of the red candle and say:

"I feel the passion of the Goddess,
I cast all negativity into the fires of change,
so that I may be cleansed by Her vitality."

Sprinkle the water around you thrice in a deosil direction while saying:

"I bathe in the heart of the Goddess.
I cast all negativity into the wells of change,
so that I may be cleansed by Her love."

Waft the smoke of the incense over you and say:

"I breathe in the breath of the Goddess.
I cast all negativity into the winds of change,
so that I may be cleansed by Her intuition."

Move your hand over each element and say:

"By Earth, Fire, Water, and Air,
through Her strength, vitality, love, and intuition,
I am cleansed! As I do will, so mote it be!"

What I like to do at the end is take some loose sage and light it within my cauldron and meditate for a few minutes to complete it. This represents the Spirit.

Positive Affirmation Seal

Last night I performed an Esbat ritual and I thought that some of the elements I put into it would be very beneficial to those setting their goals for the New Year. I'm going to call it, a Positive Affirmation Seal. You can either perform this as just a spell or in a ritual all it's own. So to begin you will need:

• Parchment paper
• Pen (may be previously enchanted or not)
• Anointing Oil
• Bowl of Salt and Water
• Frankincense incense
• Red candle
• Pentacle
• Cauldron
• Loose Sage and igniting coal
• Sealing wax and seal

Set up your altar and say your blessings. Light the sage on the coal within the cauldron on the pentacle. Make sure the smoke permeates the air accordingly so that the space is cleansed. You may also consecrate, charge, or bless the area in your own fashion. Once your sacred space has been prepared, you will begin by meditating. The purpose of this meditation is to divine your positive affirmations. Light the red candle and the incense and sit for several minutes. As soon as these affirmations enter your mind, write them down upon your parchment paper. Once you have completed this to your satisfaction sprinkle the paper with salt and say:

"By the strength of the Earth,

I charge these affirmations.

As I do will, so mote it be!"

Run the paper over the flame of the red candle and say:

"By the vitality of Fire,

I charge these affirmations.

As I do will, so mote it be!"

Sprinkle the paper with the water and say:

"By the love of Water,

I charge these affirmations.

As I do will, so mote it be!"

Run the paper through the smoke of the incense and say:

"By the intuition of Air,

I charge these affirmations.

As I do will, so mote it be!"

You may wish to call upon your deities to bless your affirmations as well. You will then fold the paper three times as you would do putting it into an envelope. You will then seal the paper with your sealing wax and keep the paper in a safe place such as a power chest for the rest of the year. Leave it somewhere you can see it so you are reminded of it. At the end of the year you may break the seal and burn the paper to release its energy. This is also something you can also do during the lunar cycle.

Mistletoe

Mistletoe is an herbal generally associated with Yule. It is classified as a parasitic plant that grows on top of existing plants and draws nutrients from its host. These plants are usually harvested in the winter and hung to dry for use later on. Generally, this plant is considered a good luck charm. You can carry it on you for luck or lovers who kiss underneath it are ensured happiness. It is also a symbol of peace.

This herb can be used magically for:

• masculine energy
• attracting love
• protection
• good luck
• forgiveness
• increasing sexual potency
• banishing energy and unwanted spirit

Medicinally, it can be used for:

European Mistletoe

• lowering blood pressure
• general health of the heart and circulatory system
• epilepsy
• rheumatism

American Mistletoe

• uterine contractions to aid in menstruation and childbirth

When using mistletoe in teas for medicinal remedies be careful as it is toxic. You would have to ingest a substantial amount to kill you but you must keep out of reach of small children and pets. Do not use mistletoe if you are pregnant or nursing.

For more information you can visit this very informative site here.

Yule Blessing

Blessed Yule brings forth the Light

as the flames dance in the dead of night.

Return dear God to the darkened Earth,

as we celebrate your sacred birth.

Bless the Mother and bless the Son

for blessings bestowed upon everyone.

By the Sun, the Moon, and the Sea

as I do will, so mote it be!

Elements To Creating A Ritual

So I've realized that I've been writing rituals and explaining how to cleanse space and cast Circles but I haven't really explained to anyone how they can create their own ritual. I only just thought of this while I was reading a book by Scott Cunningham who started explaining the different elements to creating your own ritual. While he explained the elements listed in his book were not required but more of a guideline, I would like to create my own guideline here. My guidelines don't really have as many elements to it as his does; this is probably due to the fact that I create very simple and memorable rituals and a lot of my rituals are spontaneous. I do understand that there are a lot of people out there who would rather do formalized rituals that have been written in advance and possibly even practiced.

Generally, I write down Sabbat rituals beforehand and my Esbat rituals are spontaneous since that is a time for creativity. So here is an extremely simplified list of how a typical ritual is laid out.

• Cleansing yourself
• Cleansing the Sacred Space
• Casting the Circle
• Calling the Quarters
• Honoring and calling the deities
• Celebrating the Sabbat or working your ritual magick
• Meditation/grounding your energy
• Thanking your deities and Quarters for helping you
• Opening the Circle

So of course what you do inside your ritual, the 'body' of it, is all up to you. When I am within my Circle there is no concept of time. Many people ask me how long ritual will be and I cannot give them a straight answer because the Circle is a space outside of time. It is a separate plane of existence altogether. Typically my rituals can last anywhere from an hour to 3 hours and feel like it lasted just 20 minutes. Most people in my Circle make the same comment "How was it actually that long?!" 

Sweetheart, it's magick!

Using Energies From Esbats and Sabbats

Everyone knows that Full Moons, New Moons, and Sabbats are great times for ritual and spell work. These days hold immense amounts of energies that can be used to our Will and directed towards a common purpose. However, there has been some debate about when these energies mature enough to the point to be effective, especially in regards to Full Moons and Sabbats. Certain traditions in Wicca and Witchcraft have a time limit on when these energies can be tapped into, if you will. To some this may sound ignorant since there is energy all around us just waiting to be utilized everyday but to others this is a legitimate concern.

I believe there is energy all around us. The term I like to use for it is Prana which is a sanskrit term for "life force" which is from Hinduism. I remember when I was reading a book about 6 years ago when I first discovered this term and a meditation for it (something I'll probably blog about later) and thinking to myself wow, that makes so much sense! However, I consider this universal energy that can be tapped into at any time. Full Moons and Sabbats have a certain special energy, to me at least.

Full Moons are filled with the divine feminine energy from the Goddess. These are Her nights and I expect most would agree with me on this. The Moon belongs to the Goddess in all her forms and give off immense amounts of psychic and spiritual energy that can be used specifically for divination, candle magick, psychic development, astral projection, and a ton of other stuff. Since most of my training is in the Celtic Witchcraft Tradition, I tend to stick to my rule of when it is appropriate and effective to harness this kind of energy for my rituals and spell. In short, I was taught that with Full Moons you can harness this energy up to 3 days before the Full Moon and up to 3 days after the Full Moon. This is because the energy has almost reached it's peak 3 days prior and the residual energy 3 days after is still strong enough to use as well. The moonlight given off reflects the energy in a way.

This is the general rule in my tradition which I'm sure it varies across the board in other sects and traditions. But, if you ever wondered about it, this is what I go by. Now as for Sabbats, they're a little different.

So Sabbats are basically Wiccan Holy Days. They reflect the Wheel of the Year. What I was taught, was that you can celebrate a Sabbat 3 days prior to that Sabbat but never after. Celebrating a Sabbat after the Sabbat has already passed is basically void. They depict certain astrological occurrences that happen on those days as well as the cycle of life, death, and rebirth. It would be like going to watch a meteor shower the day after it happened. You're not going to see anything. Also, to celebrate a Sabbat after it has already occurred disrupts the cycle, You wouldn't celebrate Thanksgiving on Christmas so why would you celebrate the death of the God on Yule when he's being reborn? If you miss a Sabbat it's not the end of the world. Just move on to the next chapter just as life does.

I understand this may be absurd to some people but to me, it's just what I stick to. I understand people have busy lives and may be too tired to do anything on a Sabbat and therefore want to do it later; that's cool, whatever floats your boat. To me, Sabbat days are significant for a reason and I believe that reason to be that that's when the energy has peaked. Anything after it starts to wane so I try my best to harness it when I can.

New Moon Thoughts

The new moon is tonight and I've been thinking a lot about my spirituality and about the knowledge I've been seeking over the past few weeks. This hunger has led me to meet up with several group classes and it's given me a new meaning. I've gotten to the point where I feel like teaching others again and joining a Coven rather than practicing as a solitary, which is what I've been doing for a while.

In fact, on this new moon I will be doing another Dedication Ritual because I feel like it's something I need to renew with myself. Dedication rituals, I believe, are helpful in keeping one with their goals. These are goals one makes to themselves and to their deities and to the Universe. It's a very personal thing and no formal ritual needs to take place in order to dedicate yourself.

I just think that I need to spend some time within my Circle and sit and contemplate everything that has been happening in my life recently. So tonight, if you are having having troubles or are searching for yourself then join me. Set up your sacred space. Plant your seeds upon this new moon and as the moon waxes watch them grow into exactly what you were hoping for.

Sex Magick Taboo

I know this is a topic that people tend to shy away from, especially those that see sex as a taboo subject. If this is a topic that you find upsetting or triggering please do not read any further. Sex Magick, especially in the Western world is not something that I hear about very often in Covens or among the general Pagan, Wiccan, Witch population. In fact, in a lot of the groups I have met, the first two stipulations for the group is, "We do not do skyclad [naked] rituals", and "We do not practice sex magick [group sexual participation]." There is absolutely nothing wrong with these statements and it is everyone's right to be comfortable with what they are participating in. However, for those who do have a group that participates in sex magick or those who do it individually or just with their partner, I just want to say there is absolutely nothing wrong with that either.

I've heard a lot of Wiccans/Pagans/Witches say that sex magick isn't a valid form of magick, or that those who practice it are perverted. This is not true. It's easy to say these things when one is afraid of them or has grown up with a certain code of morality. Sex magick is very powerful and generates significant amounts of energy that can then be directed towards your spell or ritual intention. It's not for everyone, but I'm becoming more and more agitated with people of the Craft polluting the idea that sex is anything but a natural phenomenon. Some people choose to represent the union of the God and Goddess symbolically by placing the athame in the cauldron and others choose to show it through the union of their own bodies in an actual representation. It all depends on the persons' preference.

Right now, I am reading a wonderful book on Celtic sex magick and I would like to reach out to those who are interested and tell them it's a wonderful journey. Your journey is different from everyone else's and that is perfectly fine. Don't listen to judgement and do what you need to do in order to continue your journey. Just remember to be safe in the process!

This is the book I am currently reading if others would like a reference:

Book Review: Witchcraft: Theory and Practice by Ly de Angeles

I know I haven't posted a book review in quite sometime but that doesn't mean I've stopped reading them! I will update on previously read books later on but this one I just finished tonight. I wanted to go ahead and write about it since it's fresh on my mind.

So I gave into reading this book because everyone seemed to be reading it. In fact, I felt like there was a fad going on with this book for awhile. Usually I don't like reading books that seem to be taking the Pagan community by storm because I feel like they may not be as authentic. However, I feel that the author of this book is extremely intelligent and for the most part I agree with what she says about the Craft. The things that I disagree with are of course personal to my own Craft and are irrelevant to discuss since it has to do with my beliefs which will obviously differ from everyone else.

Ly de Angeles has some incredible and highly valuable information within this book's pages. Some of it I've even recorded (with a few personal tweaks of me own) into my Grimoire. Of course she has meditation techniques, instructions in self-initiation, stuff on Astral projection, and many things on protection, banishings, and helping out your fellow neighbor. All of this information is great...I just wish it was presented more clearly. While reading this book, I felt like it skipped around or jumped rather quickly from topic to topic. There weren't really any set chapters even though she tried. There were a bunch of sub-topics that seemed to have no relation to one's before or after them. I felt disorganized while reading it and dare I say a little anxious. You could clearly see her thought process was a little scattered and unfocused. Some sections or sub-topics I felt were irrelevant and made no solid points.

Much of her information given seemed to be for more advanced Witches instead of first degree initiates. Her intro material seemed rushed which I assumed because she believed her target audience were already veterans at meditation, visualization, and basic ritual and spellcrafting but that's simply not true. This book was being read by first time people in the Craft and de Angeles is already talking about hexes and at least intermediate banishings of entities. I felt like that was a little bit of a leap from the couple of visualization techniques she gave in the first section of her book.

I wouldn't recommend this book to beginners as I don't feel like there's enough information to be of value to them within this book. I would say if you are intermediate or experienced in your Craft this would be a better book selection for you. Also, I saw more practice than theory in this book. In fact, I'm not even sure why the word "theory" is in the title. I thought there would be more background information on Witchcraft thus leading to some sort of thesis but I didn't really see it. Other than that I would say this was an okay book to read but it's not my favorite and certainly nothing to rave about like everyone seems to be doing.

Blessed be, everyone!

The Grimoire

The Grimoire, a Witch's Book of Shadows, is one of the most valuable tools of information a Witch possesses. Typically, this book is not shown to anyone or may be shown only to Coven members of the highest trust. Some Covens have a community Book of Shadows that is continuously written into by the High Priest/Priestess and possibly by Coven members depending on the Coven Laws or it may be copied from for Coven members to write into their individual Book of Shadows. Solitary Witches tend to keep their Grimoire private.

My Grimoire is for my eyes only as of now. I love my Book of Shadows and I intend to pass it down to my future children when I decide to have them. If and when I decide to create a Coven of my own I may show it to my members but I will most likely keep it to myself and simply teach from it. I think it's better for people to develop their own ideas about spells/rituals rather than copy it from me. 

Your Book of Shadows can be as fancy or as simple as you like. It can be anything from a leather bound journal to a simple notebook. The way your Book of Shadows is set up is personal to you. The way you set it up is very important to your Craft. I keep my organized and I hand write everything neatly. I even color in my book because I think it makes it look better than simple black and white (and because I believe magick comes in all colors). Some people choose to do theirs differently such as it being messy and chaotic. Both of these ideas are completely fine. It all depends on you and how you wish to portray your magick.

I keep my Grimoire close to my altar and it is locked when not in use. So what exactly do you write in them? They contain a plethora of magical information along with practical information that the owner deems necessary to write. They can contain secrets, dreams, goals, spells, rituals, basic information regarding the Craft and Wicca, divination, charts, definitions, tools and how to use them, etc. I regard this blog as a type of online Book of Shadows that I don't mind sharing. Other things I reserve for my personal one.

You can put anything and everything in your Grimoire. It is entirely your choice and your right. This is my personal Grimoire.