Booklist for 'Interesting Times'

Remember that apocryphal Chinese curse, "May you live in interesting times"? Well we certainly seem to be living in interesting times at the moment.

In such times, we all need a source of comfort. Some of us take comfort in music, or by spending time in nature. Some of us comfort eat - yes I am prone to this but trying to resist the urge to bury myself in a trough of pasta. Some dance, or go for a run, or snuggle up with a pet or a plush toy.

I could be persuaded to try any of the above, but I've been realising recently that one of my preferred sources of comfort is books. When T and I moved to Australia for 18 months (due to his job), he was horrified by the fact that I felt it necessary to bring a box of books with me. I was equally horrified by the idea of leaving them behind (there were numerous crates of books which were left behind, the ones I brought with us were the ones it was unthinkable to be separated from).

The photo above shows my current book pile, and I think it's quite telling. 'Truth or Dare' and 'The Fifth Sacred Thing' both by Starhawk are old, well-thumbed favourites. 'Truth or Dare' is an illuminating study of power structures and full of helpful strategies to move from a model of 'power over' to one of 'power from within' and 'power with'. 'The Fifth Sacred Thing' is a novel examining the culture clash between a dystopian and a utopian society. It provides such an alluring vision of the reality we could have I find it a great source of inspiration and comfort. This of all these books is the one I'm clinging to like a security blanket, and not only reading but also listening to on Audiobook when I'm driving.

Joanna Powell Colbert's 'Journey Through the Gaian Tarot' is there because in times of stress I not only read  but also hit the Tarot cards. The Gaian Tarot is hands down my favourite deck and my go-to whenever I need to read for myself. Apparently there's a new edition of it being published in April - I'm pretty sure I'm going to order one as a back up deck because I love it so much.

Michael Hughes' 'Magic for the Resistance' and Laura Tempest Zakroff's 'The New Aradia, a Witch's Handbook to Magical Resistance' are both excellent guides to -well, magical resistance.

Finally, Rebecca Solnit's wonderful 'Hope in the Dark' is another old favourite telling of all the many victories and steps of progress that we've already made and reminding us that we can always do things differently, better and that there are so many reasons to have hope. And of course, hope is so, so necessary. 

What is your favourite form of comfort in 'interesting times'? And do you have any 'security blanket' book recommendations? I'd love to hear them.

 v

The Month of The Rose

It's June, the month of the rose. I have been working magically with roses and their scent a lot over the last couple of years. I find their fragrance soothes, heals, nurtures. My work with rose has been to do with self-love and self-care, both of which can be a challenge for me! Taking time to sit with rose, meditate while inhaling her fragrance, drink rose-petal or rose-hip tea, cleanse and anoint myself with rosewater, light a rose-scented candle whilst enjoying some quiet me-time... all these things help to calm and centre me, whilst reminding me to take care of myself. 

Rose is heart-healing medicine in the emotional sense. I work with her to refill myself when I've been pouring from an empty cup for too long, and restore my emotional equilibrium. Roses have soft, gentle petals, generous blossoms and nourishing rosehips but they also have strong stems and defensive thorns. Rose is sweet and generous, but no pushover. She reminds that self-care is not only about softness but also about boundaries.

I wish you could smell the gorgeous fragrance of this particular rose, it's absolutely wonderful. Perhaps you can go and find a fabulous rose of your own to sweeten your day. 

Messages From the Universe

Things On The Blog have been pretty quiet lately, mostly because Things In Real Life have been anything but quiet. IB and I find ourselves with three elderly parents between us who are increasingly reliant on our help with day to day living. As they become less able-bodied and begin to struggle with cognitive issues we've taken on more and more caring duties. It's been one of those situations that has rather snowballed in recent months, in that what was initially just a small amount of extra work has begun to seem all-encompassing. I work days and IB works evenings so his Mum - who now lives with us and is physically very frail - always has someone at home with her if she needs anything. My parents only live a 20 minute drive away, but they are also increasingly reliant on my help so I have had to drastically cut my work schedule so that I have enough time to assist them. Our social life has pretty much shrunk to zero, and we don't even get to spend that much time with each other. 

The last few weeks have been especially stressful, with lots of medical issues and appointments for all three parents, a blizzard of paperwork and officialdom to deal with, the death of several household appliances (why do they all break at once?) and all the kind of SNAFUs usually thrown up when Mercury is in retrograde. I find myself fantasising wistfully about going on retreat - or even just running away for the afternoon to sit in blissful peace in the woods. 

Yesterday as I walked to work after parking the car I was feeling incredibly stressed and overwhelmed by everything, wondering if I am actually strong enough to cope with it all. Part of the pavement was coned off due to some kind of groundworks in progress, so I stepped out into the road to go around the obstruction. As I did, I spotted something on the ground. It looked like a shell, and I wondered how on earth it had got there - and how something as fragile as a shell has survived lying in the middle of the road. I nearly stepped over it, but curiosity got the better of me and I picked it up, expecting to find it was actually just a pebble that looked like a shell. Yet as my fingers closed around it, I realised it really was a shell. 

Now I should mention at this point that this isn't the first time I've found a strange object in my path. I call it pavement divination - when I find these oddities I think of them as messages from the Universe and pay attention to what they may be telling me. A while ago I was working on self-care and heart magic and I found a tiny 'Ace of Hearts' charm in my path while walking to work. I took that as a sign of encouragement that I was on the right track. And of course, there was that whole dead frog thing many years ago. 

I turned the shell over in my hand, and saw that it was filled with cement. I think it had come from  the hard core that had either been excavated during the groundworks, or was waiting to backfill the hole. It seems incredible to me that something as fragile as a shell - even one filled with cement - could have survived being dug up, knocked about, and thrown down onto the road in a town centre. And yet here it was, nestled in the palm of my hand. It had sustained some chips and scratches, but it had weathered it all. 

I smiled, closing my fingers around this small miracle, this battered but resilient treasure. If this small shell can endure the tough times and come out intact then so can I. 

And then the Universe sent another message. As I straightened up, a car horn sounded behind me, reminding me I was still standing in the road. I turned to wave an apology at the driver, only to see it was one of my closest friends driving past and waving in greeting. This is a friend who has always been there for me, someone who I know has my back and who I love dearly. Of all the cars that could have driven by at that moment... It seemed like the Universe wanted to remind me that not only am I resilient enough to get through this challenging period, but that I am lucky enough to have wonderful, loving, supportive people in my life.

My miracle shell is now on my altar, and I will keep it as a token to help me remember in the tough times that I am stronger than I think - and that I am not alone.      

A Lesson from Blackthorn

I love all the contrasts in this photo - white blackthorn blossom against black twigs, the softness of moss and sharpness of thorns, a muted palette of black/white/khaki with a bright splash of warmth and colour from the sun.

Blackthorn blossom is in full exuberant froth mode right now, brightening the hedges and thickets. It's strange in a way that a tree I experience as having a such a dark, Scorpionic energy to it can have such pretty, delicate flowers. Yet I've recently realised that this is part of blackthorn's magic. I've always associated blackthorn with protective, defensive magic (the ThriftWitch Home Protection Charm uses blackthorn). The thorns are so sharp and tough, it's used extensively as stock-proof hedging, and the hard wood was used to make shillelaghs (Irish fighting clubs) for self-defence. 

Just the other day, blackthorn taught me another lesson about self-defence. It was a lovely sunny afternoon and a thicket of flowering blackthorn was looking gorgeous. I decided it would make a great photograph. Yet somehow I couldn't find a good place from which to take the shot. From far away, the blossom lost impact through the camera lens. Closer to,obstacles in the way spoilt the composition. Finally I decided to clamber inside - no easy task, given those thorns - to get a shot of the mass of flowers against the blue sky. But once inside the thicket, the flowers became invisible against the brightness of the sky. No matter how I twisted and turned, I could not get a photograph of them. Frustrated, I climbed back out assuming I'd just picked a bad spot without flowers, but it was immediately clear that there was in fact an abundance of blossom - it just became invisible from inside the thicket.

And then I got it: blackthorn is the Queen of defensive magic. Hiding in plain sight is the very best kind of defensive magic, allowing the eyes of your enemies to pass straight over you, keeping you safe from harm with the minimum fuss and effort. 

What a wonderful reminder that we have many tools in our kit bag. Sometimes we need thorns, but sometimes it's much simpler than that. 

ThriftWitch: Home Protection Charm

I came up with this Home Protection Charm a few years ago, when we were feeling a bit vulnerable. I've maintained it since then, which includes refreshing the ingredients periodically. When I did this recently I thought it would be the perfect time to take some photos of the process and share it on the blog. 

  

To make your charm you will need the following:

• A small lidded glass jar
• Some thorns (if you can't get thorns you could use pins)
• Some small pieces of mirror 
• A small square of paper and a marker pen
• A small length of fine wire or yarn, tangled
• Some dried rosemary 

I snipped my thorns off some blackthorn twigs I'd pruned from the hedge. Late winter/early spring is a great time to find thorns, before the foliage has grown back and obscured them. I like using blackthorn thorns as the plant is used in protective spells, and in Ireland it was used to make shillelaghs - a fighting stick or club used for self-defence. Blackthorn is fierce and uncompromising (just the qualities you'd want to be defending you and your home) and its use in the countryside to create impenetrable stock-proof hedges makes it a great enforcer of boundaries. Take care when using blackthorn though as the thorns are extremely sharp and are notorious for causing wounds which become infected.

To assemble your charm, use your marker pen to inscribe the rune 'Algiz' on your square of paper. Algiz is a protective rune, and the square shape of the paper symbolises stability and strength. Put the rune-inscribed paper in the bottom of your jar to create a firm foundation for the energy of the charm. 

Scatter your pieces of mirror on top of the paper. These are intended to 'bounce back' any negative energy that is sent your way. I have a container in which I keep any bits and bobs I come across that I think may be useful for spellwork or art projects, so I had some small pieces of broken mirror and a small round shisha mirror that had come loose from an embroidered Indian cushion, but if you don't have any suitable bits of mirror you could use beads or any small thing with a reflective surface (even cut-up fragments of an old CD, or pieces of a shattered Christmas bauble would do).

Next add your thorns or pins. This adds a strong layer of defensive energy to the charm. Try to ensure the points are all facing in different directions to guard against threats from any source.

Sprinkle in a pinch or two of a dried protective herb. I used rosemary - I find kitchen herbs are just as effective as other magical herbs and they have the advantage of being easy to come by and not too expensive. But you could substitute other herbs if you prefer - consult a good witch's herbal or check an online list such as this one if you're not sure what to use. 

The last item to add is a piece of fine wire or yarn which has been tangled up. This echoes the old folk idea that evil spirits become tangled in such things, or are compelled to spend time unknotting or untangling them. Either way, while they are so occupied they are unable to cause any trouble!

The charm is complete!

Screw the lid tightly onto the jar, and place it by the entrance to your home, or on a windowsill. Mine sits on a small, round mirror (more reflective power!) on the kitchen windowsill overlooking the entrance to my home. I just have the one Home Protection Charm, but you could make more if you wanted to. 

Periodically - say once a year, or more frequently if you feel the need - tip out the contents of your jar and re-make it to keep the energy fresh and strong. When I do this, I put the herbs and thorns in the compost bin and add fresh ones, burn the paper with the rune on and re-inscribe it on a fresh square of paper, and re-tangle the wire/yarn before returning it to the jar.

  

 

Winter Blessings and Beauties, Day 90: Winter Retrospective and Winter's End Ritual

As we near the end of Winter, it's a good time to pause and review the last few months - and this project, intended to encourage a positive experience of the season. 

Winter Blessings and Beauties: Day 90

Winter Retrospective

I suggest you take a few days to go through this process of looking back (and forward) to examine your experience of Winter in sufficient depth before you move onto the Winter's End Ritual.

Cast your mind back in time to the beginning of November. Samhain had just been and gone, and the whole Winter lay ahead of us. How were you feeling then? If you've been following this project, perhaps look back to the very first post to help stir your memories of how you were feeling then, mentally, physically, emotionally. What did the prospect of Winter seem like then? What were you anxious about? What were your hopes? What were you looking forward to?

Scrolling forward through the Winter Blessings and Beauties posts - and/or your journal - how did Winter unfold for you? Did it go as you expected? What surprised you? What disappointed you? What delighted you? What did you discover? 

Winter's End Ritual

After working through the Winter Retrospective exercise thoroughly, move onto the Winter's End Ritual.

Looking back, at the end of this Winter what will you be leaving behind? Write a list of those things you wish to leave behind in Winter 2020/21, and burn it or add it to your compost heap to be transformed. 

As the door between Winter and Spring swings open, what will you choose to carry forward? Make a list in your journal of all the Winter blessings and lessons for which you're grateful and carry them forward with you. 

What do you hope Spring be bringing in for you? On a fresh sheet of paper, make a list of your hopes, dreams and plans for Spring 2021. Put it somewhere you will be able to see it every day, and make sure to check in regularly to monitor your progress and keep yourself on track.

Blessed Be. 

Winter Blessings and Beauties, Day 28: Holly Magic

Now that deciduous trees have shed virtually all their leaves, the evergreens come into their own. Especially eye-catching is the Holly, with its distinctive evergreen glossy, spiky leaves and bright red berries. A mature Holly tree can grow up to 15m and live for 300 years. 

Holly is dioecious (meaning male and female flowers occur on different trees), and only the female trees bear berries. Holly is valuable for wildlife. It provides protective cover and nesting opportunities for birds, while its deep, dry leaf litter is used by hedgehogs and small mammals for hibernation. The white flowers provide nectar and pollen for bees and other pollinating insects and they and the leaves are food plants for butterfly and moth caterpillars. In winter, Holly berries are a vital source of food for birds and small mammals, such as wood mice and dormice. Deer are known to graze the leaves. The mistle thrush is known for vigorously guarding the berries of Holly in winter to prevent other birds from eating them!

Holly wood is hard and white, with a fine-grain. It can be stained and polished and is used to make furniture, tool handles, walking sticks and chess pieces or in engraving work and marquetry. It also makes good firewood, burning with a strong heat.

The leaves and berries are toxic to humans, causing vomiting and diarrhoea. As few as 20 berries can be fatal to a child. 

In the Bach Flower Remedies, Holly is used to treat feelings of anger and jealousy. 

In folklore, Holly was often paired with Ivy, whose black berries symbolized night and darkness. In some regions, Holly was seen as the Winter King and Ivy the Winter  Queen. The carol 'The Holly and the Ivy' has its origins in this ancient belief. In other lore, the Holly King (symbolising Winter) battled with the Oak King (symbolising Summer) at the equinoxes. Holly was used as protection against malign spirits and lightning (it is now known that the spines on Holly leaves can act as miniature lightning conductors, thereby protecting the tree and other nearby objects), and it was considered unlucky to cut down a Holly tree. In heraldry, it symbolises truth.

Folk names include Holm, Hulver, Hollins, Aquifolius, Bat's Wings, Christ's Thorn, Holy Tree, Christmas Tree, and Tinne. In Welsh it is known as Celyn.

Winter Blessings and Beauties: Day 28

Holly Magic

Go out for a walk and try to find some Holly. Cut a few sprays of leaves (and berries if you can) - ask the Holly's permission first. Tie them into a bunch with red ribbon (to match the berries) or gold ribbon (to symbolise the Holly's 'Kingship') and tie them over your door as a protective winter charm.  

Celebrating Samhain - and Hallowe'en - in Lockdown

Note: To be clear, for the purposes of this post when I write about Hallowe'en, I mean the secular, spooky, fancy dress, witches-pumpkins-spiders-bats-ghosts-and-ghoulies fun and games which occurs on 31st October. When I write about Samhain, I'm referring to the Pagan festival which occurs on the same date but which marks the Pagan New Year, a time when the veils between the worlds thin and we honour our ancestors, celebrate the dark half of the year and practise divination etc (pumpkins optional).

As life began to return to something more closely resembling 'normality' over the summer I began to think there was no need for further posts on 'How to Celebrate [Festivals] in Lockdown'. For that reason there was no such post for the Autumn Equinox/Mabon. Yet it seems I was a bit premature in my optimism. Many areas of England are now in Category 3 Lockdown, and here in Wales the whole country is currently on a 17-day 'firebreak' lockdown which will cover the weeks either side of Samhain. It's not really surprising, given the British Government's woefully inept response to the Pandemic. So here we are again, and we are likely to find ourselves back here again in the future before this is all over. So let's take a look at some things we could do to celebrate Hallowe'en and Samhain - or both - even if we're restricted by lockdown measures.

Ideas for Celebrating Hallowe'en at Home

I have seen people complaining on social media that 'Hallowe'en is cancelled this year!'. I imagine they mean that children can't go trick or treating as they normally would, but Hallowe'en is about far more than trick or treating, even if that is the current cliché. You may not be able to go door-to-door trick or treating with the kids this year, but don't worry - there is still plenty of Hallowe'en fun to be had. Here are some ideas of Hallowe'en activities you can enjoy together, if you are in a lockdown area:

• Throw a Hallowe'en party for the family. Decorate the house with spooky things - you can keep the kids busy beforehand drawing and cutting out spiders, bats, ghosts, etc to hang up. Prepare some spooky food - cut sandwiches into ghost or skull shapes and decorate them, turn a pot of hummus into 'frog spawn' by adding a few drops of green food colouring, use icing to decorate chocolate cake, cookies or brownies with piped white 'spiderweb' icing - or make traditional fare like pumpkin soup and apple pie. Dim the lights, light a few candles and tell each other spooky stories. Or if that's too scary put on a DVD of a classic kids Hallowe'en movie like Hocus Pocus.
• One year I kept my friend's kids busy all day making a life-sized witch figure (a bit like a Bonfire Night Guy). We used a couple of old pairs of tights stuffed with newspaper for her arms, legs and head. A pillow-case stuffed with newspaper formed her body. Then we dressed her up in a fine witchy costume cobbled together from my black clothes and a pair of my boots. We made a mask for her face and a witch's hat out of black card. Then we sat her on the toilet in the downstairs cloakroom and had great fun listening to the shrieks of the unsuspecting adult members of the household as they returned from work and walked in on 'Winnie' unawares! 
• The whole family could have a fancy dress competition. Make sure you have enough prizes for everyone. You may need to invent a few categories like 'Best Witch', 'Best Monster', 'Cleverest Idea', 'Creepiest Mask' etc to ensure everyone wins something, but if you do it will ensure no squabbles erupt! If you can't be with extended family and friends, you could check in with them via Zoom or Skype and admire each others costumes to extend the fun.
• Have a ghost story writing competition and read them to each other by firelight. Smaller children could draw or paint pictures of pumpkins or black cats (or dinosaurs if they prefer!). Finish the evening with all the lights on and big comforting mugs of cocoa to settle everyone down before bedtime!
• Try some traditional Hallowe'en party games like apple bobbing.
• Make a special Hallowe'en playlist (suggestions to get you started: 'Thriller' by Michael Jackson, 'The Monster Mash' by Bobby 'Boris' Pickett and the Crypt Kickers, the theme song from The Addams Family, 'The Time Warp' from the Rocky Horror Show, 'Ghostbusters' by Ray Parker Jr) and have a Hallowe'en disco for the whole family. You could have themed dances too - 'Dance to this one like a zombie!' 'How would a witch/werewolf/mummy dance?'
• Carve pumpkins together (obviously younger children will need close supervision and probably a lot of help!). To get the most out of your pumpkin, don't forget to read this!

Ideas for celebrating Samhain in the countryside or at the beach/park

• The weather is less likely to be kind at this time of year, but if you can get out for a walk, it's a great opportunity to get in touch with nature at a time of year when there is much change to observe. What bird or animal species are in your area? Some species are going into hibernation, or growing a winter pelt or plumage. Some, such as deer, are in their breeding season. Plants are going to seed or dying back. Now is a good time to familiarise yourself with how trees look without their leaves. Many have distinctive shapes that make identification possible even when you only have bare branches to go by.
• Gather fallen leaves, twigs, nuts, seedpods, stones, flowers etc to make into a mandala as an offering to the Spirits of the Land - there's a great article about making and working with mandalas in nature here. Or take some home to decorate your altar and honour the trees as they prepare for their winter slumber.
• At the beach, write messages to your ancestors in the sand at the shoreline, and let the water carry them away as the incoming waves slowly dissolve the words.
• If you would like to forage some wild foods for a seasonal feast at this time of year, look out for apples, sloes and bullaces (wild plums), sweet chestnuts, hazelnuts, walnuts, or beechnuts.

Ideas for celebrating Samhain in your garden

• Create a shrine to your Ancestors in a corner of the garden (a spot in the west, direction of the setting sun and the Celtic otherworld would be most appropriate). This could be as simple as a cairn (pile of stones) with each stone representing a different Ancestor, or as elaborate as you care to make it. As the sun sets, use it as a focus point for a ritual to honour your Ancestors and Beloved Dead. Create sacred space in your preferred way, then light a tealight for each person you wish to honour and remember, saying "[their name], be welcome this night!" aloud as you do so. Spend as much time as you need with them, telling them what you want them to know and listening for any answers or messages. When you are finished, pour a libation to them. Then thank and bid farewell to each of them in turn, extinguishing their tealight as you do so. Devoke/open your sacred space.
• The second Full Moon of the month - making it a Blue Moon - falls on Samhain this year. This would be a great time to practise your scrying! Within sacred space, take a dark coloured bowl and half fill it with water. Under the light of the full moon, gaze into the bowl allowing your gaze to become soft. Breathe slowly and deeply, keeping your gaze soft and your mind receptive. After a little while you may see images in the water, or they may seem to form in your mind's eye. Don't try to control or force the images, just let them come. When you are ready, set down the bowl and write down what you have seen in your journal, in as much detail as possible. Devoke/open your sacred space.
• If you are able to have a bonfire in your garden, use it to celebrate the Pagan New Year. Gather fallen leaves and write on them with a marker pen the things that you wish to shed and leave behind in the old year. Feed them one at a time into the flames, to be transformed. Have a small dish of sunflower or pumpkin seeds ready. Eat a seed for each of the things you wish for in the coming year and state your intention to make them a reality (e.g. "I will enrol on the astrology course I want to do", "I will create a productive vegetable patch to help feed my family"). Say 'So Shall It Be' to seal your intention. Now celebrate - raise a glass of celebratory mead or mulled wine, toast marshmallows round the fire, sing songs.
• Keep an eye out for shooting stars if the night sky is clear, as the Southern Taurids Meteor Shower will be peaking towards the end of the month. Don't forget to make a wish if you see one!

Ideas for celebrating Samhain in your home

• Create an altar to honour your Ancestors and Beloved Dead. Place photos, mementos, family heirlooms etc on it and use it as a focus for communing with them at Samhain.
• Prepare a feast of the food most loved by your Ancestors and Beloved Dead, and sit down to share it with them. It may be a strange mixture of dishes (for example, my own Feast for the Ancestors typically includes custard tarts for my Granddad, Stilton cheese for my Grandpa, ice cream for my Nanna, grapes for my Gan (Gran), a cup of tea for my Cousin Enid and friend Ivy, and a saucer of tinned tuna for the cats who are no longer with us). Yet strangely, it brings back so many happy memories that it is delicious. While you eat, tell their stories (even if you are alone) and relive the sweet times you shared together. Any uneaten food at the end of the evening can be left overnight for the spirits and then placed outside as an offering to the local wildlife. 
• There are online Samhain rituals on 29th October here, or 30th October here, or you can join the famous annual Spiral Dance in San Francisco which is happening online on 31st October this year here. 
• Samhain is a wonderful time for divination. Use your preferred method, or try something different - tarot, runes, scrying, dowsing, tasseomancy, the I-Ching.  If you read the tarot, there is an excellent Samhain tarot spread here. If you have friends who also enjoy divination, you could swap readings for each other via the phone or online.

A magical and blessed Samhain to you all.  

Solstice Magic: The Tale of the Dancing Weasel

Photo credit: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Mustela_nivalis_-British_Wildlife_Centre-4.jpg

One Summer Solstice morning, many years ago, T and I set off to watch the sun rise from a nearby hilltop. As we were still living in Essex at that time, there weren't an awful lot of hills to choose from, but we had carefully scouted out some east-facing fields in an elevated position that we hoped would give us a good vantage point.

It was still dark when we rose and threw on some clothes in preparation for our adventure; I grabbed a small pack containing a few ritual tools and some food and drink. We made our way out into the pre-dawn quiet and found our way into the field by torchlight, waiting expectantly in the damp chill. When the much anticipated sunrise came, it was an anticlimax. Instead of the bright golden rays I had expected, clouds blurred the horizon and the sky lightened slowly into a disappointingly grey and indistinct dawn.

Nevertheless, it was still the Summer Solstice: I drew the items I had brought with us from my pack, murmured a blessing and made a small offering to the sun, including some fruit and a small libation of mead which I left at the edge of the wheat growing in the field. We sat to eat some food ourselves and that was when the magic happened...

A movement at the edge of the wheat, close to where I had left our offering caught my eye. Only a few metres from where we sat, a small weasel appeared - apparently unafraid - and eyed us curiously. We both froze, not wanting to scare it away. The slender animal sniffed the air, completely unperturbed by our presence. Suddenly, it leaped into the air, twisting its long lithe body mid-air into a kind of somersault, landed with perfect agility and shot back into the wheat - before immediately running back out again, doubling back, leaping and twisting and capering in what appeared to be a joyous gymnastic dance. We held our breath as the weasel danced an exuberant celebration of life for precious moments, until suddenly it disappeared back into the standing wheat, and we were back in the everyday world of a grey June morning.

I have heard that weasels 'war dance' to confuse their prey before attacking, but there were no prey animals around. Perhaps it was a young animal practising and honing its hunting skills. But I like to think on that Solstice morning it was just dancing for the sheer delight of it, in celebration of life and summer and all that's good.

We may not have witnessed the awe-inspiring sunrise we had hoped for, but instead we experienced something more amazing and magical than we could have imagined. It felt like a special blessing, something I'll never forget. Moreover I learned something very important that day: The magic you go looking for may not be the magic you find - but that's all part of the magic.

May you find your own magic this Summer Solstice. Blessed Be!

Celebrating the Summer Solstice in Lockdown

The Summer Solstice, or Litha, this year falls on Saturday 20th June, (astronomically it varies between 20th and 22nd June). Although some restrictions are being relaxed, by and large we will still not be able to gather to celebrate, a fact I am happy to accept in order to keep people safe. But it does mean we'll need to be creative and adaptable in how we mark the occasion, just as we were at Beltane. Many of the suggestions I made in that post can be adapted for the Summer Solstice, but here are a few additional ideas too. As before I've grouped them depending on a variety of lockdown/isolation situations.

If you are able to get out to the countryside/beach/park

• One of the simplest and most memorable ways of celebrating the Summer Solstice is to go and watch the sunrise from an east-facing hill or a beach near your home. You can check sunrise times in the UK here, and there are other online resources that give the times for other parts of the world. There is something really magical about experiencing the world awake to a new day as the sky gradually lightens, the dawn chorus begins and the sun appears over the horizon. Take a small picnic breakfast to celebrate this special day, and don't forget to leave a small offering of food and pour out a little of your drink for the spirits of the place.
• If you are confident of your plant-identification skills you could take a walk and forage some wild plants for a Summer Solstice feast. Plants to look out for at this time of year include wild strawberries, chickweed, elderflowers, sea kale, fat hen, linden blossoms and honeysuckle flowers.
• If you can't travel to sacred sites such as Avebury or Stonehenge for the Solstice, do a little research to find sacred sites in your local area that you may be able to visit instead. Many of these smaller, less well-known sites have an amazing atmosphere and are all the more special for not being crowded with visitors.

If you have access to a garden or small green space

• It's a great time of year for roses, and if you have some in your garden take this opportunity to really appreciate their beauty and fragrance with a small ritual. Gather some petals - the more perfumed the better - and make yourself some rose petal tea. Remove the thicker white base of the petals (where they attach to the rest of the flower) as this can be bitter. Steep the petals in boiling water for a few minutes, then sweeten with a little honey if liked. Sit in the sun to drink your brew, inhaling the fragrant steam and feeling the warm sun on your skin. Let the warmth and fragrance spread through your body. Take a moment to imagine your heart as a rose in your chest, gradually unfurling its petals and opening to the sun. Raise the cup in your hands as a toast to the sun, the source of all light and energy. Feel yourself blessed. 
• If you have children, throw a special 'Sun Day' party for the family. Decorate the house and garden with sunny colours, get the children to make sun-themed art and get everyone to dress in sun-themed clothes (yellow, orange or gold coloured, sparkly, or their favourite summer clothes). Have a sunny foods feast - make yellow cupcakes, drink orange juice or home made lemonade, have a barbecue, eat ice cream, enjoy slices of watermelon... and later on as the sun sinks in the sky, share toasted marshmallows round a fire. 
• Make a small sun altar, if possible in the South corner of your garden. Here you can put sun-themed garden decorations, solar-powered lanterns and grow plants ruled by the sun - like sunflowers, marigolds, St John's wort, chamomile and rosemary.   

If you are confined to your home/can't get outside

• As has been widely reported, English Heritage have cancelled the sunrise celebrations at Stonehenge this year, but they will be livestreaming the sunrise at the stones on social media.
• Make a sun-catcher to hang in your window to honour the sun and send rainbows dancing across your walls. There's the story of one I made here to get you started. All you really need is some sparkly things - crystals, beads, sequins - and some wire and/or thread to hang them from. Just be careful not to use any convex glass pieces/balls/marbles etc which could focus the rays of the sun and potentially start a fire.
• Honey is already a very 'solar' substance, as it is concentrated nectar from flowers. Charge a jar with the power of the sun by placing it on a sunny windowsill for a day. Then use your sun-powered honey to give yourself a boost of sunshine by adding to recipes or in your tea on those days when you need a little extra lift.   

Happy Summer Solstice everyone! Stay safe and have a wonderful summer. 

ThriftWitch: Candle Magic Part 2 (or How to Get the Most Out of Your Candles)

Pagans tend to be fond of candles, both for ritual and magical use, and for the soft ambience they create in the home. But what to do with the left over candle wax? It's such a waste to just throw it away. Luckily you don't need to. There are so many uses for candle wax, you'll never throw another candle stub away once you have read this post.

A little candle info first. In earlier, pre-gas and electric times people used tallow (rendered animal fat) to make candles but apparently it didn't smell too good and tended to produce a lot of soot! Beeswax candles were available but were prohibitively expensive for all but the wealthiest in society. Those who couldn't even afford tallow candles had to make do with rush lights - strips of the inner pith from rushes soaked in grease. Nowadays there are three different types of wax commonly used to make candles: paraffin wax, soy wax and beeswax. Paraffin wax - derived from petroleum - is the most common and the cheapest. Many people prefer soy or beeswax candles but they are more expensive. Some candles blend wax types - read the label if you're unsure! You can use most types of wax interchangeably in the following suggestions, or blend different waxes together - I have specified where this is not the case.

Make New Candles

This is probably the most obvious thing to do with all that leftover wax. It's pretty simple too, but you will need to buy some candle wick - easily obtained from High Street or online craft suppliers. You will also need a double boiler (bain marie), a mould to pour the wax into (you can buy one, but an old yogurt pot or similar will do), a piece of blu-tack and something like a chopstick or skewer.

First set up your double boiler - this is a saucepan with water in it, in which you place a heat proof container. I use a second saucepan that I got from a charity shop for this, but you could use any heat proof bowl (bear in mind you will have to clean wax off it later!) or even an old (clean) tin can. Heat the water gently - you don't want it to boil - and break up your old wax, dropping it into the heatproof container. Stir it (with something you don't mind getting wax on!) until it has completely melted.

In the meantime, get your mould(s) ready. It's a good idea to first grease the mould with a little vegetable oil to make getting the finished candle out easier. If using something like an old yogurt pot, poke a small hole in the centre of the bottom and thread the wick through. The bottom of the mould will be the top of the candle, so leave enough wick this end to be able to light it! The hole can be sealed and the wick held in place with a small piece of blu-tack or something similar.  

When the wax has melted, pour it carefully into the mould. Lay the chopstick or skewer across the open end of the mould and fix the end of the wick to it to hold it in place while the wax solidifies. Tip: As the wax cools, it will contract a little and you may want to melt a little more to fill any gap that forms at the centre.

Leave the candle to cool completely before releasing it from the mould. Trim any excess wick and voila! New candle from old.

Variations:

Dipped Candles
Making dipped taper candles is a little more tricky and honestly, I've never tried it. But if you'd like to have a go, there's a good tutorial here. 

Sand Candles
Another way of making a mould - and this can be a fun activity to do with your kids - is to make sand candles. You can do this at the beach, or use a bucket of damp sand in the back garden. The method is pretty much the same, but you make the mould by pressing a shape into the damp sand into which you insert the wick and then pour the wax. When it's cooled, gently dig around the candle to extract it. The outside of the candle will have a sandy coating which gives it a rustic charm.

Additions: Colours/Fragrance/Decoration

• You can blend your own colours by mixing different coloured waxes, or grate in a wax crayon (or two) to colour white wax.
• Make striped candles by pouring in layers of different colours - just allow the first colour to cool and solidify before adding the next. 
• Add fragrance with essential oils
• Make spell candles by putting in crystals or coins etc which will slowly be revealed as the candle burns down
• Safety First! - Don't add anything flammable to your candle which could create a fire hazard! For this reason I am not in favour of adding dried herbs etc to wax. They can 'spit' or flare up and could potentially start a fire.

Fragrance your Living Space

I'm a big fan of scented candles and don't want to waste any of that lovely scented wax. I re-use it in my home-made candles of course, but I also use it to fragrance my home. I put any scented candle remains into a heat-proof dish and place it on a radiator from where it scents the house beautifully. You could also make your own wax melts for a burner, if you have one (I pour melted wax into silicon muffin moulds for this). 

Another idea is to break the scented wax into pieces and put it into little hand-sewn drawstring bags to fragrance drawers, airing cupboards or wardrobes. 

Tip: If you don't use scented candles but you like these ideas, you could always make your own fragranced wax from unscented wax + your choice of essential oils.

Firelighters 

It's easy to create home-made firelighters for a woodstove or campfire with leftover wax, which you can scent with essential oils or dried herbs/spices if you like. Here are two suggestions:

1. Take a cardboard egg carton and put a little sawdust or wood shavings in each egg holder. Melt wax in your double boiler and when melted pour into each egg holder. When the wax is cool, cut into separate firelighters. 
2.  Gather pine cones, and make sure they are fully dry (leave them outside in the sun, on a warm radiator for a few days or pop them in a cool oven to dry out). Melt wax in your double boiler and using tongs, dip the pine cones into the melted wax one at a time. Set them to cool and harden on sheets of newspaper.

One of these firelighters added to your kindling will guarantee your fire catches quickly and easily.

Magical Uses

Divination

Did you know you can use wax for divination? It's called Ceromancy and originated with  the Romans. Take a glass or ceramic bowl and fill it with cold water. Take a moment to focus and form your question (if you have one). Speak it aloud. Then melt your wax and dribble it a little at a time into the water. As the wax comes into contact with the cold water, it will solidify into shapes. Take your time to examine them closely, and interpret them as you would when reading tea leaves.

Spells

Wax can be used in binding spells, dripped onto knots etc to symbolically immobilise and constrain an adversary. You could also use it to seal a spell until you are ready to break it by writing your intention on a piece of paper, folding it and dripping wax onto it to 'seal' it. You could personalise this seal by pressing a thumb or fingerprint into the wax before it completely hardens.

Fun Activities For Children (or your Inner Child!)

• Use melted wax to seal letters - you can buy seals to press into the wax or you could make your own by carving a symbol or initial into the cut end of a carrot. Make sure you hold it in place long enough for the wax to harden or it will be smudged. A little vegetable oil smeared over your seal before using helps to stop it sticking!
• Secret messages - use the end of a candle to write secret messages or draw secret pictures on paper. They will remain invisible until you wash water-based paint over them when they will suddenly be revealed!
• Warm wax in your hands until it is soft enough to shape, then mould it into animals, flowers or other shapes. It will harden once cool.
• Home-made batik: Paint melted wax designs onto plain white cotton, then immerse the fabric in dye. When the fabric is dry, peel off the wax and wash the fabric in warm soapy water to reveal the design.
• Decorated eggs: Paint melted wax designs onto hard-boiled eggs then immerse them in water coloured with food dye for 20 mins. 

Household Uses:

Candle wax is great to un-stick stuck things! I have used it before now to help curtain rings that were catching on a wooden curtain rail run smoothly - I just rubbed a candle stub a couple of times along the length of the curtain pole and the problem was solved. You can use the same trick on zips, drawers and doors.

Rubbing a piece of wax over a surface will help it repel water, and rubbing wax onto metal items (such as garden tools) will help to keep them rust-free.

Household Uses for Beeswax

* These recipes specifically need beeswax * 

Leather polish
Combine 4 parts vegetable oil with 1 part beeswax (you can add a few drops of essential oil of your choice if you'd like it to be fragranced). Heat together in a double boiler until the beeswax is melted. Store in a jar and use to polish and nourish leather boots, shoes and bags.

Furniture Polish
Melt together 3 parts coconut oil with 1 part beeswax in a double boiler. Add a few drops of essential oil (I like lavender or lemon for this one). Store in a jar. To use, apply to wooden furniture with a cloth, then use a second clean cloth to buff to a shine.

Food Wrap
Instead of cling film, make your own re-usable eco-friendly food wrap. Cut thin cotton fabric to size. Spread the fabric out flat on a clean baking sheet and grate beeswax evenly over the fabric. Place in a cool oven for a few minutes until the wax has melted. Use a clean paintbrush to spread the wax evenly over the fabric. If the wax doesn't impregnate the whole piece of cloth, grate on a little more and return to the oven for a few more minutes and repeat the process. When it's done, hang it to cool and dry, then store in a clean dry place until you need to use it. If it gets dirty you can wash it in cold water (warm water will remove the wax). You can rejuvenate your food wrap if it starts to lose its 'cling' by repeating the above process.    

Lip balm/Skin salve
Melt together equal parts of coconut oil and beeswax in a double boiler. This is your basic balm/salve mixture which you can then tailor to your purpose by adding other ingredients before pouring it into your container of choice - I suggest a lidded glass jar.

For lip balm, you could add a little honey for sweetness, a drop of red food colouring if you'd like it tinted, and a drop of essential oil to fragrance/flavour (but go easy on the essential oils, they're very concentrated and your lips are sensitive - you don't want to cause any irritation).

For a salve you could infuse healing herbs of your choice in the mixture while it's in the double boiler, or add a few drips of essential oils, depending on what it's intended for. I would suggest adding a drop each of eucalyptus, rosemary and lavender oil for a salve to rub into sore muscles, or a drop each of lavender, frankincense and chamomile oil for a sleep salve (apply to your temples and wrists before retiring to bed).

Cleaning Up Wax
Finally, if you're going to be trying some of these ideas out, at some point you are likely to need to be able to clear up wax! Here's the best ways I've found to (1) clean wax from glass jars and votives and (2) clean wax off textiles (including carpets!)

Cleaning wax from glass jars/votives/candle-holders
My usual method is to use a knife to break up and remove large bits of wax first. When you're down to the last few difficult-to-get-at bits, run hot water into the sink and immerse the jar for a minute or two. Then, wrap the jar well in a tea towel and pour boiling water into it (if you pour boiling water straight into a cold jar you run the risk of cracking the glass, which is why you warm the glass first by immersing it in hot water). You can then stand it back in the sink of water (hot water outside the jar, boiling water contained within). The wax should melt and float up to the top of the jar. Some resistant bits might need poking with a knife or teaspoon to help them along! When the water has cooled and the wax solidified on the surface, you can skim off the wax and then wash the jar in hot soapy water to remove any last bits.

Cleaning wax spills from fabric and carpets
First - don't panic! Resist the impulse to brush/wipe etc the liquid wax. You are more likely to spread it further and drive it deeper into the fibres if you do this. Take a deep breath and wait for the wax to cool and harden. If possible apply ice to the wax which will make it harden and become brittle. Then break up the wax and peel off/break off/brush off as much of it as possible. The more wax you can remove at this stage the better. Finally, get something absorbent like blotting paper or kitchen towel (brown wrapping paper will work too), a tea-towel and an iron. Put the iron on a cool-ish temperature - especially important if you've spilled the wax on a man-made or delicate fibre. DO NOT USE STEAM FROM THE IRON. Put the blotting paper or kitchen towel under  the wax-stained area and a second piece on top (if it's a carpet you'll only be able to put it on top). Fold the tea towel and cover the top layer of paper with it. Apply the iron, then lift. The wax should have melted and been 'soaked up' by the blotting paper or kitchen towel. If there is still wax to be removed, put fresh, clean paper/kitchen towel down and repeat. Continue until the wax is gone - or until no more is being released to the paper. If you're treating fabric, wash it. If it's a carpet, brush the area over with a stiff brush and then vacuum.
Hopefully, it will be as good as new.


Wow, what a marathon post! But hopefully useful. Let me know how you get on trying any of these.

ThriftWitch: Candle Magic Part 1

I was thinking about writing a ThriftWitch post on how to use up left over candles - one thing we Pagans all seem to get through a lot of is candles - when I realised that I haven't written anything about Candle Magic. What was I thinking! Candle Magic can be the very epitome of thrifty magic.

In its simplest form - and I'm all in favour of simplicity! - Candle Magic is about focusing your magical intention into a candle and then letting it burn down to release the spell.

Because you can use any candle, this doesn't have to be an expensive exercise. Of course if you want to buy expensive, hand-poured, bespoke-perfumed, fancy soy or beeswax candles you can - but a tealight will work just as well. 

My usual method of working candle magic is to take a simple white candle and carve or write/draw with a felt tip pen a symbolic representation of what I am working towards on it. A pillar candle works best for this, simply because there is more surface area available to mark. But you can also use a slim tapered candle or even a tealight if you are able to condense your intention into a simple symbol. Bindrunes (overlaying several runes into a single symbol, like a monogram) or sigils work well in this respect. 

Once I have marked my candle with my symbol/word(s) etc., I take a few moments to ground and centre myself and then focus on the intention behind the spell. So if I was doing a healing spell for a friend, I would concentrate on visualising her healthy and happy, laughing in sunlight, and repeat something like, 'Jenny is well, her body strong and healthy'. Keep it simple and remember to concentrate on drawing the outcome you want rather than banishing what you don't want (e.g. 'Jenny is healthy' rather than 'Jenny doesn't have cancer'). 

When you feel the intention strong and clear in your mind and heart, project the energy of it into the candle. I like to do this by imagining it concentrated into my breath and then forcefully blowing it with a strong exhalation into the candle as it is held in my hands.

Finally I light the candle and let it burn down, releasing the energy of the spell as it does. I don't necessarily burn it all in one go, often burning it for an hour or so over successive evenings until it is burned away - all the better if you can tie it into the energy of a waxing moon (for growing/increasing/drawing things to you) or a waning moon (for dissolving/lessening/banishing things). I don't recommend leaving candles to burn down unattended for safety reasons, so allowing them to burn down over the course of several days is a good idea in my book. If you want a really speedy spell use a smaller candle that will burn down quickly. The ultimate quick candle spell would use a birthday cake candle which will burn in minutes. 

The candle pictured at the top of this post is from a Coronavirus Healing Spell my local Pagan group undertook when we were unable to meet in person due to the lockdown. We each carved the healing sigil originated by Laura Tempest Zakroff (or a healing symbol of our choice) into a candle. Then at a pre-arranged time we lit our candles and attuned to the energy of the group. We visualised
* the spread of the virus lessening
* the virulence of the infection fading
* protection for the vulnerable
* good health for all etc.

As the candles burned down, we imagined the power of the sigil being released out into the world. It was a great way to feel connected to each other and hopefully the effect of the spell was amplified by the number of people participating.

Of course there are all kinds of ways to elaborate on the basic Candle Magic spell template. White is pretty much your all-purpose Candle Magic go-to colour, but the correspondences for coloured candles include the following:

• White: Purification, protection, beginnings
• Red: Courage, passion, life-force, strength 
• Orange: Energy, confidence, creativity
• Yellow: Inspiration, communication, happiness
• Green: Prosperity, healing, luck, the environment
• Blue: Intuition, dreamwork, calm
• Purple: Spirituality, leadership, good fortune
• Gold: Abundance, sun/God
• Silver: Psychic power, moon/Goddess
• Pink: Love, compassion
• Brown: Grounding, endurance 
• Black: Binding, banishing, endings 

You can also 'dress' the candles with oils and herbs to amplify your intent. To dress the candle you can either anoint it with ready-made magical oils or make your own essential oil blend (suggestions below). To do this I usually lie the candle on a work surface with the wick facing away from me (you may like to put down something like newspaper first to protect the surface from the oil). Then I pour a little of the oil on my hands and stroke it along the length of the candle, turning it to make sure the whole thing is covered. If I'm working to draw something to me, I apply the oil from the wick down the length of the candle, towards me. If I'm working to banish something, I apply the oil from the base towards the wick, away from me. To dress the candle with herbs, roll it in dried herbs (they stick better if you apply a little plain vegetable oil first). 

Suggested essential oils:

• Cleansing: Lavender, spearmint, peppermint, frankincense, lemongrass, pine
• Healing: Eucalyptus, thyme, lavender, rosemary
• Protection: Frankincense, clove, myrrh
• Happiness: Bergamot, orange, lemon, rose geranium
• Love: Rose, jasmine, ylang ylang, sandalwood

Suggested herbs:

• Cleansing:  Lavender, hyssop, sage, mint, sea salt 
• Healing: Blackberry leaves, meadowsweet, self-heal, betony, yarrow
• Protection: Rowan, nettles, blackthorn leaves 
• Happiness: Daisy, St Johns wort, sunflower 
• Love: Rose petals, primrose, periwinkle, thyme

You can of course use scented candles, and your choice of scent can reinforce the intention of the spell. The obvious example of this would be using a rose scented candle for a love spell, or a lavender scented candle for a cleansing spell.

Of course, all these correspondences are just suggestions. You know best which colours/scents/herbs mean these things to your subconscious so as always, go with what is meaningful for you. 

Well, to quote Bubba in 'Forrest Gump', "That - that's about it". 

Except it isn't! Tomorrow I will bring you ThriftWitch: Candle Magic Part 2, in which I will be looking at what to do with left over candles, in the spirit of "ThriftWitch: Getting the Most Out of Your Pumpkin This Samhain". Waste not want not!