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!

Ground. Breathe. Ground.

At the end of my last post I asked the question, "What have you found to be helpful during these difficult times?". And since then I have been wondering, what actually DOES help? I find myself checking in with myself regularly. When do I feel best? What bolsters my resilience? How do I stay balanced emotionally? 

It helps me to stick to some kind of routine. I'm not naturally a morning person, and if left to my own devices I can easily sleep the day away. But I make sure I set the alarm and get up every morning - it helps that I have the cats and chickens relying on me to get up and feed them! But even if I didn't, I would still be setting the alarm and getting up in the morning because I find the structuring of my day helpful. It makes me more productive, and that is also helpful. The days I don't feel so good are the vague, unfocused ones where I waste the day on Facebook, over-eat, don't actually achieve anything and end up bored and dissatisfied.

I am gentle with myself, though - I don't over-structure my days, preferring to leave room for flexibility, last minute changes of plan and some down time too.

Most of the time I get it right - or at least right enough that I maintain my equilibrium. Every now and again though, my equilibrium slips and I'm filled with a storm of emotions - panic, grief, rage, despair, helplessness or fear: an unpredictable mixture of one, many or all of them at once. What helps then?

This is what works for me: I try to remember to ground. And breathe. And ground.

Grounding, as I have written before, is not always granted the importance it deserves. But I would argue it is an absolutely crucial skill for magical practitioner and Muggle alike. I believe it's something that everyone should know how to do, something to teach our children from a young age so that it becomes second nature and a valuable coping mechanism in times of stress, change and crisis. 

There are many, many ways to ground - a quick Google search will turn up a myriad of methods - but this is my go-to way of grounding and calming myself at the moment:

• Stop for a moment and make yourself aware of the emotion(s) you are experiencing. Find a name for it/them. Fearful? Angry? Isolated? Name it. Say it aloud. "I am feeling ....."
• Notice how you feel it in your body. Numb? Tension in your shoulders? Nauseous? Name it. Say it aloud. "My [body/shoulders/back/stomach etc] feels....."
• Pay attention to the physical edges of your body, the border of your physical being where skin meets air, where feet touch ground etc. When I am overcome by emotion it's easy to lose touch with my body, to get carried off by the thoughts in my head. Have you ever heard the expression "I was beside myself with anger/anxiety/excitement"? Think about those words, beside yourself. Strong emotion can make you feel completely disconnected to your physical self. It's important to bring yourself fully back into your body.
• Take a deep, slow breath in through your nose. Hold it for a moment, then exhale fully and slowly through your mouth. Repeat a few times, concentrating on the feeling of the air entering and leaving your lungs. 
• Concentrate on your feet and their connection to the earth. If you like, imagine roots spreading out from the soles of your feet, down into the stable, supportive earth beneath you. Feel the strength and resilience you can draw from that connection. Remember to keep breathing slowly and deeply.
• Know that you are held and supported by the earth beneath you.
• Breathe. Ground. Breathe. Ground. Repeat until you are feeling calm and in control. 

Another quick way to get 'out' of a chattering mind and turbulent thoughts is to concentrate on your five senses - sight, hearing, touch, smell and taste. Take a deep, calming breath and mentally list three things you can see - three things you can hear - three things you can feel - three things you can smell - three things you can taste (Taste can be a challenge! If necessary stick your tongue out and 'taste' the air - what does it taste of? Lick your lips - what do they taste of? etc). After you have listed three things for each sense you should be feeling in touch with your body, more in control of your thoughts and calmer. If not - list three more for each sense!

Remembering to Ground and Breathe and be present in my body is proving invaluable for me at the moment. I hope it is helpful for you too.

Ground. Breathe. Ground. 

Living in Interesting Times

It has probably never been easier to understand why the saying 'May you live in interesting times' is considered a curse and not a blessing. The novel Coronavirus pandemic finds us - all of us - navigating completely uncharted waters. No wonder there is so much confusion and so many conflicting opinions and attitudes.

Life has taken on a surreal quality for many people, myself included. As one of the self-employed, my work has completely dried up. With the country going into lock-down I find myself at home in a serene little bubble. The coinciding spell of warm, dry sunny spring days has been wonderful, and I am loving the opportunity to get my hands into the soil and coax the neglected garden back into shape. I often complain that my usual work schedule gives me either enough money to pay my way or enough time to do the things I want, but not both. Suddenly I have ample time - and I'm trying not to fret about the money. I am lucky enough to have put some savings aside for a rainy day (and if the current situation doesn't count as a rainy day I don't know what does!). 

So the days pass in quiet and calm. I tend the animals, work in the garden, make soup, watch the sun set, listen to the blackbird singing in the cherry tree. And at intervals through the day sudden spikes of anxiety leave me breathless and afraid as news from the outside world bursts in - sickness, death, shortages, panic and uncertainty about this strange new world we now inhabit. I am terrified for my loved ones, furious with the hopelessly inadequate response of the Government, fearful of the long-term consequences of this turmoil.

How to stay afloat then, within this strange sea of serenity and anxiety?

For all of us, this is a work in progress. This is a completely unprecedented situation, which means a steep learning curve.

Here then is some of the useful advice I'm following, having pieced it together from various sources.  

1. Keep to a routine of sorts - it's up to you what that is, but try to keep a regular sleep pattern and schedule in a balance of work (if you are working from home)/chores/relaxation/fun/contact with people (via phone, social media or whatever if you live alone). I've been setting the alarm to make sure I get up at a reasonable time (admittedly slightly later than when I'm working!) showering, dressing, eating breakfast, tending the animals, doing the chores, gardening, cooking proper meals, checking in with family and friends.
2. Be kind to yourself. Now may seem like the perfect time to finally teach yourself to play the trombone or write your magnum opus - but don't beat yourself up if what you actually need to do is lie on the couch binge-watching your favourite show... 
3. ...But at the same time find some balance between self-comfort and self-discipline!
4. Keep informed, but use trustworthy mainstream news sources and limit your use of social media to avoid making yourself overly fearful. This is a useful fact-checking site specifically addressing some of the myths and rumours that are circulating about Covid-19: https://infotagion.com/?fbclid=IwAR2n4TjeCP1B0xGSUFokZCe9rOw6QKebxqwTZ2TuWluGdYHIAZjTJq-7y8s
5. I found this article on grief and anticipatory grief very helpful: https://hbr.org/2020/03/that-discomfort-youre-feeling-is-grief?fbclid=IwAR2206owif6oEUiX3iGgRiWx4QR-d4kz_mcDinGRdys8zu_cvWB58aQq7v0
6. This is a useful practice to help you cope with difficult feelings around the epidemic: https://www.patheos.com/blogs/chargedbythegoddess/2020/03/step-into-the-circle-and-be-held-restoring-connection-and-community/?fbclid=IwAR0IR6WsW0jyjLcredf-DOfbnTrWBz0zDUJxjBRUmbZqUjGPesyjcX9wyLc
7. Find inventive ways to help you to feel connected to others. For example our local Moot was unable to meet as planned due to the restrictions, but we came up with a simple Coronavirus candle healing spell that we could all do at the same time, although we were unable to physically be together. Later we checked in on social media to share our experiences with each other.

What have you found to be helpful during these difficult times?

Snarling Lions and Stinging Nettles

"If March comes in like a lion, it will go out like a lamb" - traditional weather prediction

March this year has definitely come in like a lion. With Storm Freya snarling outside, we are content to cwtch up at home today. Snug in my cosy sheepskin boots and an oversized slouchy jumper, I've been pottering around the house catching up on chores and making soup. Yes, it's definitely a soup kind of day - but it's not just the weather that inspired me. As spring arrives, so do the first new nettles of the year and soup is a great way to make use of them.

Nettles have a long association with people. The plants tend to prefer nitrogen-rich soils, so often thrive where human activities have enriched the soil. They appear in such folk tales as The Twelve Wild Swans, where the heroine has to make shirts from nettle fibres to release her brothers from an enchantment. The story reflects the fact that nettle fibres were often used to make a linen-like fabric in the past. They have long been an important food source, and to this day are a great free food for foragers, being a plentiful weed in most locations. They're also full of vitamins and minerals (including beta carotene, vitamin C, vitamin E, vitamin K, calcium, iron, phosphorus and potassium) and were traditionally eaten as a spring tonic. 

If you haven't cooked with nettles before, rest assured that cooking them completely removes their sting. You will need gloves to pick and prepare them though - I usually wear rubber gloves and use a pair of scissors. Choose nettles from a spot away from traffic, and concentrate on picking tender young tops as the stalks can be stringy. Rinse them thoroughly in cold water before use. Like spinach, they will reduce right down in volume once they're cooked.

If you fancy giving it a try, here's my nettle soup recipe:

Ingredients:

1 onion, finely chopped

2 potatoes cut into small dice

1 carrot, chopped

1 small leek, chopped (optional)

a colander-full of young nettle tops

vegetable stock

single cream 

1 tbspn olive oil

a knob of butter

fresh parsley, chopped

salt and black pepper to season

Method:

Gently fry the onion in the oil and butter until soft and translucent. Add the potatoes, carrot, nettles and leek if you're using it. Stir well and cover with the vegetable stock. Bring to the boil and then reduce to a simmer, stirring occasionally until the vegetables are tender. Add the parsley towards the end of cooking. Remove the soup from the heat and using a blender, reduce it to a smooth consistency. Check the seasoning and adjust if necessary, and swirl through the cream before serving.

Serve with crusty bread - enjoy! 

Winter Light

Have you ever noticed the light has a different quality in winter? Today the low-slung sun illuminated the hills in a way that seemed to make them glow, almost as if they were lit from within. This is part of the magic of winter.

Every season has its own magic, its own flavour, its own beauty. Observing and marvelling at this ever-changing cycle delights my Pagan heart. In winter I swoon at the way the sun's slanting rays gild the delicate tracery of naked tree limbs against the slate coloured sky. I stand motionless in thrilled awe as a murmuration of starlings swirls before the oncoming dusk. I savour the call and response cries of tawny owls as evening sets in, and the unearthly scream of foxes in the deepest dark of an icy night. I revere the glacial clarity of the moon and stars in a cloudless sky. I relish the sparkle of a frosty morning, as my breath steams and my cheeks tingle with the cold.

Already the earliest signs of spring are appearing - snowdrops, pussy willows and hazel catkins, the wheeling courtship flights of ravens. The days lengthen, at first imperceptibly. Always, the wheel of the year is turning. And always there is something to marvel at, some ephemeral beauty to drink in. How can we not fall in love with the world on a daily basis? 

Lammas or Lughnasadh?

Lammas or Lughnasadh (pronounced LOO-nah-sah) is generally celebrated by Pagans on 1st August, a date pretty much midway between the Summer Solstice (aka Litha) and the Autumn Equinox (aka Mabon). Many of us use the terms 'Lammas' and 'Lughnasadh' interchangeably (I am guilty of this myself). So what exactly is the difference between the two?

In many ways they are the same festival. Lughnasadh is the Gaelic name for this date, and literally means 'Lugh's Gathering'. Some people have interpreted the nature of the Gathering as a wake for the God Lugh, in his role as a sun deity - the summer sun now beginning to wane as the days begin to shorten as we move further away from the Summer Solstice when the sun's influence was at its peak - and others as a celebration of His wedding. What is certain is that Lughnasadh was marked by great gatherings of people (often high on hills or mountains or at holy wells), celebrating the harvest of the 'first fruits', feasting, matchmaking and athletic competitions. 

Lammas is the Anglo-Saxon name for the festival and is a contraction of the words 'Loaf Mass' and also celebrates the harvest of 'first fruits', in this case specifically the beginning of the grain harvest. The first loaves baked from the new crop of wheat, barley or rye would be taken to church to be blessed.

Lughnasadh has more obviously ancient roots and may therefore appeal more to purists, Lammas has the advantage of being easier to spell and pronounce! Or there's the Welsh name for the festival, Gŵyl Awst, (pronounced Gool OWst) meaning 'August Festival'. Either way I think in this case unless you are following a specific Tradition whichever name you use is fine, rather like Samhain/Hallowe'en. Yes, they do have different overtones but as long as people get the general gist of what is being spoken about it probably doesn't matter too much to most of us.

What does matter is the meaning of the festival. It is a time for celebration - community gatherings, reaping the results of hard work, the beginning of (hopefully) a time of plenty for all. But interestingly it is tinged with sadness too. The sun is beginning to wane, the end of the summer (though still at a distance) is beginning to be glimpsed. The God of the Grain, in order to feed His people must be sacrificed. Just around the corner is winter - will it be harsh? Will there be enough of a harvest to ensure the community can get through the long, dark days? No wonder our Ancestors gathered together to celebrate while they could, to give thanks for the harvest gathered in. 

Nowadays most of us are lucky enough to have food security, yet it is still a good time to pause and count our blessings. One way our local Pagan community has often celebrated this is with a 'Basket of Abundance' at our Lammas ritual. Everyone brings a small, wrapped gift (or gifts) to put into the basket and during the ritual it is passed round for everyone to draw something out (it's a bit like a Pagan 'Secret Santa'!). If you don't have a group to celebrate with you could still have fun giving out little token gifts to your friends and family. If you're a gardener and have excess fruit and veggies, or flowers and herbs, you could take some round to your neighbours. Or a lovely idea would be to donate food to your local Food Bank, or a few hours of your time volunteering at a homeless shelter. Or you could give unwanted items to your favourite Charity Shop, or tins of dog/cat food and old blankets to an animal shelter. In these times of (relative) plenty and security, let's share our abundance with those who need it.

Blessings of the harvest to you!

Blessed by Bees

The walls of the house here at Halfway Up A Hill are about 18" thick, the construction of local stone and slate. The house was built in the 1930's but its traditional style makes it look older.

In one corner of the kitchen is a cupboard, recessed into the wall adjacent to the chimney breast. Here the walls are even thicker because of the chimney. I assume the cupboard was used as a primitive fridge, as there's a vent to the outside that allows the circulation of fresh air. In winter it's quite effective, and we have used it to store excess fruit and vegetables when our own fridge has been struggling to cope (although mostly it has cookware and crockery in it).

A couple of weeks ago I returned home from work to find the kitchen full of honeybees. They were entering through the vent in the cupboard - a swarm had found the vent and decided it looked like the perfect place to set up their new colony. By opening the windows and blocking the vent where it opened into the cupboard I managed to vacate the kitchen of bees. I imagined that with the vent blocked inside, there wouldn't be enough room for the new hive and the colony would vacate. But there must be more space in the walls than I imagined as they have stuck around, and can be seen industriously zooming in and out of the vent in the outer wall by the patio at the side of the house. It's just above head height, so the bees and I don't bother each other in our comings and goings. I decided I rather liked having them there, it feels like a blessing on the house. 

This morning I discovered something even more wondrous: when I open the cupboard I can faintly hear the humming of the hive, hundreds of bees gently buzzing as they go about their work building and tending their home. It sounds like some kind of distant choir. It's the kind of soothing sound that could lull you to sleep, like distant gulls and gentle waves on the shore or the soft patter of rain on leaves. 

I imagine the orderly world taking shape within the walls of the house, and the sweetness being created there. My house is truly blessed by bees.