Administrator September, 2010

Well Met Everyone:

Welcome to the September issue of PaganPages.  Fall is upon us and we hope you all had a blessed summer.  Goodbye Heat!!

A few announcements:

All classes EXCEPT the following have been canceled due to unforeseen emergencies in the teachers lives:

• Astral Travel
• Household Magick
• Magickal Correspondence
• Principles of Paganism
• Spellwork Through poetry
• Wicca History

We are currently looking for more teachers on different topics.  If you are interested and have the time, email admin@paganpages.org

We are currently looking for writers for the following columns:

Herbs

Colors

The Moon

Oils & Incense

Faeries

If you are interested in any of the above, email us at admin@paganpages.org

We hope you enjoy this issue and have a wonderful Fall Equinox!!

Tags: greeting, merry meet

• Articles

Mamie M. September, 2010

Ghost hunting Basics

Ghost hunting has gained increased popularity over the years due to recent movies and television series.  Paranormal investigation is no longer something strange or unusual; in fact it is becoming not only a hobby but at times a career choice.  There are several things to consider when entering the world of ghost hunting.  Many enter this field because they have unanswered questions regarding the afterlife, or just want to experience something that proves there is so much more out there than we as a society are led to believe.  Whatever the reasons, there must be an understanding of the rules and guidelines to paranormal investigation

First; pick your location.  Do the proper research on what the experiences have been and what type of entity you are searching for.  This will help you prepare for the actual investigation.  Always get permission to be on the property, never trespass under any circumstances.  If you are unfamiliar with the area you may want to visit the location during the day to avoid any potential hazards in the dark.  Try to avoid visiting locations alone, not only is it better to have multiple sets of eyes to review potential evidence but it is just safer.  Always make sure someone who isn’t going to be with you knows where you are heading and there is a way to contact them if needed.

Second; get prepared.  Be sure to dress comfortably and wear good walking shoes.  Try not to wear any cologne or perfume so as not to affect other people in your team.  Some experiences center around scent, such as an entity carrying the smell of roses, smoke, sulfur and so on.  Keep supplies to a minimum and have a comfortable and convenient way to carry them.  There are a lot of ghost hunting gadgets out there but some of these things can get pretty expensive.  Start out with the basics. A flashlight, a pencil and notepad to make notes or reference back to previous research, a camera ( either film or digital), a voice recorder, extra batteries,  baby powder (works great to capture ghostly footsteps), water, and of course a first aid kit.

Third; investigate. Once you have arrived at your location be sure to have a plan with your group and try not to separate if possible.  Make sure you have referenced what you are actually looking for but try not to narrow your focus.  Many times experiences occur that are different from previous reports.  Remember what type of entity are you searching for, is it a residual or intelligent haunting, is it known to be shy, friendly, or ill tempered, are there certain things you can say or do safely to increase the chances of it appearing, is there a language the entity understands best, and is it a human or non human entity.  Some people like to say or do something for protection before starting an investigation, this is up to you.  Make sure to take a lot of pictures, do not just click once if you hear a strange sound, point and shoot randomly and often, you will have a lot to review later but it will increase your chances of seeing something paranormal.  When using the voice recorder, be sure to speak clearly, any whispering done by you and your team may sound like potential evidence later.  Find a “hot spot” or a location known for heavy activity and use your voice recorder to ask questions, allow enough time for an answer.  You may not hear anything at the moment but upon review you may discover an EVP or Electronic Voice Phenomena.  Once you feel you have thoroughly investigated your location, make sure you clean up anything left over and head home.  Since many investigations are done at night, you may want to wait until the next day to review everything. Never look for evidence with tired eyes.

Fourth; review. This can be the most tedious and yet most exciting part of the process.  Examine your pictures and listen to your recordings.  If anything unusual is heard or seen, have a second or third person review it as well.  Take into consideration anything that may have contaminated the film or audio, was the investigation outdoors, and were there animals, traffic lights, or other people that could have made the picture or sound seem ghostly.  If the investigation was indoors, was it an old building, was there faulty plumbing or electrical outlets.  If none of these things are possibilities, you may even have to return to the same location to try and recreate what was seen or heard.

Most of all have fun, try not to go into an investigation fearful, sometimes our own imaginations can run away with us and everything seems spooky like some old haunted house film with creaking doors and screeching owls.  Just relax and enjoy the experience.  Do not be disappointed if your first few investigations turn up with no ghostly results.  Some experienced investigators have several occasions with no results.  Each ghost hunt is a chance to try new techniques, test new equipment, and see new places; it’s all about opening your mind to the unknown.

Tags: ghosts, hunting, paranormal

• Articles

Hearthkeeper September, 2010

Letting Go

Merry Meet all, and I hope you have all had a happy Blessed Summer in the Northern Hemi and Winter in the Southern Hemi…

Recently I have had to look deeply into my heart to deal with something I never thought would be hard.

Letting go… of my son. Not in death.. but in life.  Growing up and growing away.

As they grow..  They become independent, strong, opinionated (very) and educated. But we as parents do not grow the same way. We create this life, nurture it, hold it, teach it, and bandage it… but never do we think we will be cut off from it. But cut off we are, often very abruptly. Suddenly they become all that we have worked towards… but what then???

Suddenly we are cast adrift, loaded with things we have yet to teach, advice we have yet to share, help we have yet to give.

Still we have to trust that we have given them all of the tools that they will need. That all the time we have spent on them, shared with them will arm them to go into the world able to survive.

Letting them go can (and is) one of the hardest most painful moments in a parents life. But it is also one of the most joyful. Look at what you have done… you have spent a huge portion of your life guiding this wonderful person on the path he or she needed to be on to become all that they can be. You have brought love, religion, faith, joy, rules and the enforcement of them. And out of the cocoon of childhood here they are.

Remember that even though they are pulling away, pushing you away. All they are doing is exerting their independence. They do not love you less (even if it feels like it).  They just have not found a way to show you how much they love you without falling back into childhood. They are striving so hard to be adult, to prove that they can be on their own, they fear falling back into being a child. They fear that they will fail, be unable to be the adult that you taught them how to be. You have to trust in them, know that they will achieve greatness if they have enough of the support that they need. The invisible, strong support that only their parent can give them. Give them all the love you have, and remember that the older they get the smarter you get. They will come back asking for your advice, your help. Give it graciously when they do.. as if they never left.

You have to wait. Wait and see what wonderful things they will do with their lives.

My own son who is 18 ½ is moving out. He has already started on the path he has chosen; He is an EMT, he volunteers in the local fire Department and Ambulance Department. He is working, toward a car( to get a better job) and apartment which he will share with 3 others. He is going to do great things and be very good at them.

Even though this makes me amazingly proud of him.. I grieve the loss of my little boy.  I have invested ½ my life to him and now he has moved on, to hopefully create his own family, life and future. The image of him as a two year old, a five year old, a teen overlay the man he is now, making it hard to see him as he is.

While I still have my sweet daughter, who is only 14, I know she is running fast on the path out the door.. Even though she promise me she will never leave me.. I know I will go through this again in a few years. But I will cherish these year all the more knowing what is to come.

So , as the days go on and the moments of grief pass. The moments of joy and pride take over. And hope you live long enough to watch him or her go through this with their children.

My only advice is to cherish every moment that you have with them when they are young.. for you WILL miss them later on. When they are teens and all in your face, remember that you WILL miss it when they are grown. Hugg them and love them and teach them everything they will need.. And then get a box of tissues.. Because you most likely WILL cry when they leave.. Tears of sadness, of grief, of pride and of love.

Until next time
Blessed Home and Hearth
The Hearthkeeper

PS. If there is anything you would like to see here… Please email me at
theheartkeeper@gmail.com

Tags: letting go

• Articles

Jennie Johnston September, 2010

Competitive Pagan = Competitive Parent?

Recently I’ve been thinking a lot about competitive people, especially when it comes to parenting and paganism.  Whether in your coven, circle or class we are faced with competitive people in our spiritual domain as well as the domestic/mundane one.

Not being very competitive for the most part I’ve found that being a parent has brought out that shred of doubt in me.   When I encounter another child at the playground that can already tie his shoes and my child of the same age hasn’t even attempted to try yet, there is a little pang for me.  A slight, oh, man should I be teaching my kid this?  Are they going to be lagging behind for not being able to do this already?  Wise ones have said to me in these times of doubt: Can the other child do this yet, like your child?  And usually the answer is, no.  That way of putting things into perspective has been invaluable to me.  No child is perfect, no child is better than another.  They all have their own time and place to learn and we must simply be there to help and guide them.

In the pagan arena I’ve felt little of the same pangs of competition.  I don’t mind if you’ve reached your 3^rd degree faster, dried lavender and written a chant this week and I haven’t even managed to have a morning meditation.  The spiritual journey is specific to the individual to me.  I’m not trying to be pagan of the year.  I just want to be true to my path.  A little competition isn’t always a bad thing though.  Reading about what other witches are trying these days, seeing examples of artwork dedicated to their gods, altars created for a season or books read for self exploration are inspirational.  A pang of hey, why aren’t I doing that, is good for you.  It is motivating and helps to keep your desires for your own path on track.

An extreme can develop in some people regarding parenting, paganism or anything really that is alarming to me.  Motives become only about competition and not about your child’s journey or your own.  You start to do things because the mother you most admire at your family coven does them like that.  You feel the need to be better, more pagan, more like a super mom than a real mom.  Because let’s face it no one is capable of being everything at one time.  Often we project ideals on to those we admire and think that they are accomplishing more than us.  Deep down though they probably have similar feelings of incompetence and are pushing themselves too hard, trying to be too much.

My philosophy of parenting and being a pagan is about honouring where I am in the moment and trying to accept what I can do.  My priority at this point is being a parent.  It is my full time job.  My spiritual life is secondary and I have accepted that for now.  Young children require energy and time.  I’m not capable of taking a class with a pagan leader or dedicating myself to a tradition.  I could try and do this but something would lag.  Something would fall through the cracks and my son is too important for me to risk.

The moral to this story is that support and sharing of our doubts is an important step towards keeping competition out of our spiritual practice and our parenting.  I won’t judge you for not having time to bring a snack for after the ritual, if you won’t judge my daughter for not knowing her ABC’s yet.  Let’s give each other the benefit of the doubt.  Let’s live in a community that embraces each individual’s journey to self.  That way we can leave the competitive feelings where they belong, in the boardroom or on the sports field.

Tags: kids, parenting

• Articles

Administrator September, 2010

Faery Oils

Dryad Oil

musk (main  scent)
oakmoss (minor scent)
civet (trace)
vanilla (trace)
An  excellent blend for pursuing the arts of natural magick, this
preparation was  specially designed for contacting the elemental spirits of the
earth.

Faerie  Enchantment Oil

10 drops rose
5 drops thyme
1 drop evening primrose  oil

Faerie Fire Oil

(Useful  in contacting Faeries connected with the Fire element: Will o'
the wisps, Flame  Dancers, etc.)

1/4 oz. almond oil
12 drops peach oil
5 drops ylang  ylang
4 drops new-mown hay oil
4 drops dark musk
2 drops chamomile
2  drops poppy oil
2 drops dragons blood oil
chamomile  flowers
oatstraw
peridot
garnet

Gnome's Cap Oil

(useful in  contacting Faeries connected with the Earth element:
Gnomes,
Dwarfs,  etc.)

1/4 oz. almond oil
10 drops cypress e.o.
5 drops lilac  oil
25 drops Siberian fir oil
10 drops dark musk oil
2 drops narcissus  oil
cedarwood
fir needles
tiger's eye

Gossamer Wings  Oil

(useful for contacting Faeries connected with the Air element:  Sylphs,
Elves, etc.)

1/4 oz. almond oil
12 drops violet oil
20  drops lavender oil
10 drops lemon oil
5 drops cajeput oil
lavender  buds
clear quartz

Siren Song Oil

(useful in contacting Faeries  connected with the Water element:
Undines,
Naiads, Sirens, etc.)

1/4 oz.  almond oil
4 drops lavender
15 drops camphor oil
3 drops lemon
3  drops primrose oil
3 drops rose geranium
geranium petals
rose  buds
iolite
amethyst

Tags: fae, faery, fairy

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Cassandra Sagram September, 2010

Tags: merlin

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Mama Donna Henes September, 2010

Are you cyclically confused? In a ceremonial quandary? Completely clueless? Wonder no more.

*Ask Your Mama™

The What, When, Where, Why, How, and Who of

Ceremony & Spirituality

by

©Mama Donna Henes, Urban Shaman

A Question of Intention

Dear Mama Donna,

I am looking for some information/advice. I consider myself a Goddess Worshiper and don’t really know anything about magic. The little I do know is that it has a lot to do with intention. I like the pentagram design; to me it is a symbol of the order and interconnectedness of the universe.

Recently I bought a walking stick/staff at a craft festival just because it seemed like a neat thing to have. The vendor offered to put a pentagram on the top of the stick I bought after I asked if he had any with one on. He must have known at least a little about such things, because as he was doing it he said something about turning two of the points inward if I wanted to use if for protection and two outward if I wanted to use it for something else (I can’t remember the word he used) He also had a lot of other sticks with Norse runes on them, and said he’s made them for people who use them in rituals.

It occurred to me that I don’t know what intention, if any, this stranger was putting into the staff I purchased. I remembered a conversation I had overheard about exorcisms and evil.

My question is: Is it possible to have brought an evil influence into my life by having made this purchase or to be “evil” unintentionally?

Thank you for taking the time to read my message. Bright Blessings,

-Concerned about Evil Intentions in Minnesota

Dear Concerned,

Don’t be. I wouldn’t worry that he was putting any evil intentions into your staff. Why would he? His intention was probably to make a great staff, to make a great customer and to make money.

But it is always a good idea to cleanse any sort of ritual tool that you purchase in order to remove the energy and influence of anybody else,

which might have been absorbed by the object. In this way you make it truly your own.

Why don’t you smudge it with purifying smoke? Try burning sage, cedar, juniper, copal, frankincense, myrrh or camphor and wash the staff with this holy smoke.

Then when you feel it is clean, put your own best intention into it. After that, you can draw it through the smoke of sweet grass. This invites in the sweet, positive, protective spirits.

It is very common to “dress” ritual objects — that is, to add decorative elements such as glitter, ribbons, flowers, fabric, etc., to enhance their beauty. You can also affix spiritual amulets of personal significance to charge the power of your intention.

Now bless your staff to be a partner to help keep you merrily walking along on your path. For this blessing you can use water or any special oil. Or you can put it outside to be blessed by moonlight or sunlight or whatever feels right to you.

You have thus erased all energy but your own and you have claimed this object as something special and holy. Now it is ready to serve your needs and intentions, whether it be for ceremony or simply to take a walk in the woods.

Blessings along the way,

xxMama Donna

*Are you cyclically confused? In a ceremonial quandary? Completely clueless? Wonder no more. *Send your questions about seasons, cycles, celebrations, ceremonies and spirit to Mama Donna at: CityShaman@aol.com

*************************************************************

Donna Henes is an internationally renowned urban shaman, ritual expert, award-winning author, popular speaker and workshop leader whose joyful celebrations of celestial events have introduced ancient traditional rituals and contemporary ceremonies to millions of people in more than 100 cities since 1972. She has published four books, a CD, an acclaimed Ezine and writes for The Huffington Post and UPI Religion and Spirituality Forum. Mama Donna, as she is affectionately called, maintains a ceremonial center, spirit shop, ritual practice and consultancy in Exotic Brooklyn, NY where she works with individuals, groups, institutions, municipalities and corporations to create meaningful ceremonies for every imaginable occasion.

www.DonnaHenes.net

www.TheQueenOfMySelf.com

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donna_Henes

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Queen_of_My_Self

Watch her videos:

http://www.youtube.com/user/MamaDonnaHenes

Follow her on Twitter:

http://twitter.com/queenmamadonna

Connect with her on Facebook:

http://www.facebook.com/#/donnahenes?ref=profile

Read her on the Huffington Post:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/donna-henes/

Read her on Beliefnet:

http://blog.beliefnet.com/thequeenofmyself/

Tags: Advice

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Administrator September, 2010

Amazonite

Improves self worth.  Gentle and friendly, calming and soothing.  Opens throat, heart, and solar plexus centers.  For self-expression, artistic creativity, healing.  Helps the throat, thyroid, nerve and brain paths.  Reduces self damaging behavior, increases self respect, confidence, grace, self assuredness with communication.

Amber

Clear yellow or orange ancient petrified resin.  Electromagnetic.  opens solar plexus chakra for mental clarity, mood balance, confidence.  Stomach anxiety, spine, central nervous system, brain, memory loss, cell regeneration.  Aligns mental and emotional bodies.  Excellent detoxification and protection from radiation, especially x-rays, sun, computers, airports.  Used for grounding, protection, and purification.  Also helps to attract money.  absorbs negative energy.  Ancient people used to believe that it changed color when danger was around.  Supposed to protect the wearer against fever, throat infection, and witchcraft.  Acts as a healing agent and a filter.  Radiates light and heat.  Holding amber is said to protect the wearer against rheumatism, toothache, headache, rickets, jaundice, and goiters.

Tags: crystals, gems, stones

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R. Wolf Baldassarro September, 2010

Investigation Procedures: Doing the Research (Part 2 of 5)

Just visiting a place that has reported claims of the paranormal and snapping a few pictures or recording some audio doesn’t mean you’ve investigated it thoroughly.  Once you’ve landed a big investigation you’ll want to research the location as much as possible.  Background and historical research is a big part of any valid investigation of the paranormal, especially one with a long history of reported activity.  It involves conducting a lot of pre-investigation interviews of witnesses, tedious historical research, looking up prior media coverage, and contacting other investigation groups who may have been there before.

Take organized and concise notes of the names, places, and events you find in your research.  Make sure you also site exactly where you found your information and site your sources.

The historical data of the land itself must be looked into including any geological and environmental factors; the architectural history of any buildings that currently or previously existed on the land needs to be looked into as well as the people who occupied the land.

Google might be easily accessible and convenient but despite its claims, you can’t find everything on Google- or accurate information for that matter.  Many historical documents aren’t on the internet at all.  It takes deeper insight and work to find the answers you seek, often resulting in a need to actually GO somewhere and looking over hardcopy yourself.   Look through historic documents and manuscripts such as a photographs, maps, newspaper clippings, and artifacts by visiting local libraries and historical societies; tell them what you’re looking for and ask for their help; they’ll be more than happy to assist you in your search and they’ll likely know exactly where you need to look or who to talk to.

Visit the county or city’s Registrar of Deeds office and do a background on the history of the building and the land it resides on.  Look up the current landowner under Warranty Deeds and trace the ownership of the land backwards.  Take note of the various uses of the land itself as it may not have always had a business or home on it.  The names you encounter can also help to cross reference with local news about and events connected with the area like epidemics, murders, and other newsworthy events.  Often a spirit isn’t attached to the home as much as it is to the land itself.  We’ve all heard stories of homes being built near or directly on Native American burial grounds.  There could have been a natural disaster that wiped out early settlers to an area, famine, war, the possibilities are endless so extensive research of the area is crucial.  A massacre could provide the emotional fuel for a haunting.

Look for any mineral deposits or environmental factors which could explain the reported occurrences.  Theories suggest that water lines, quartz, and limestone deposits amplify paranormal activity so if a home lies on a property rich in certain elements take it into account when examining the paranormal activity.  Look into known or reported environmental phenomenon specific to the area and consumer energy depots.  Consider factories and plants that could be producing byproducts that affect health and mental states under prolonged exposure.  I should note that electromagnetic fields are unavoidable in residential areas and despite the theory surrounding so-called “fear cages” there is no significant scientific data to support the claims that it causes hallucinations or nausea.

Research the previous owners.  Often families will write or pass down stories of unexplainable events that occur in their homes.  Talk with former owners to see if they had any odd or paranormal events occur during their occupancy.  See if there are any consistencies in stories from family to family.  Sometimes a cause can be found to debunk or explain claims, or further support the claims.

You’ll want detailed information from the client about the types, frequency, and level of paranormal activity.  Are the events specific to a day, date or time?  Do they recur at specific anniversaries as is the case with residual hauntings or do they interact at random?  Do they occur only in specific rooms or do events occur in every room except a certain one?  Do they occur only when certain people are in the home?  This could even be the result of a friend or someone else who visits the location.  There could be something positive or negative about the person that is causing psychic turbulence or giving unrest to the spirit.  Also make it clear from the stat what the client’s desires are.  If a haunting is confirmed are they comfortable with it or do they want it removed?  They may have a lot of needs and wants before, during, and long after the investigation.  These will all be covered later.

It might be uncomfortable for some people to ask or discuss, but it is also important to find out about the emotional, psychological, and physical status of each resident as well.  You don’t want to claim a place is haunted if it turns out the daughter was hallucinating due to high fever from the flu or the father has a history of paranoid schizophrenia.  During an investigation of claims of apparitions you find a stash of marijuana or anti-psychotic meds in the bathroom.  Obviously that makes any paranormal activity suspect.

My own group was all excited when I got a call to investigate a residential home.  The home owner had the most fantastic claims including apparitions, moving objects, voices, you name it.  He was adamant we come over ASAP and investigate.  Three of us went over for a pre-investigation interview.  The house had no working lights, no clothes or food, and Spartan décor.  Chalking it up to eccentrics we continued.  In the next few days I had received no fewer than 64 phone calls.  He had claimed that 17 other groups had investigated within the past 2 years.  I contacted some of these groups and was provided a wealth of information regarding the individual and the case.  It turns out he has been diagnosed with bipolar disorder in the past and is under no treatment whatsoever.  He continues to harass myself and any group spanning five different states that will listen.

This brings up a good point.  Never, ever meet with a potential client alone, especially if it’s a residence.  You can never know what a person’s motives are.  Even groups like TAPS have had these situations.  They were investigating a house that turned out to all be a ruse because the woman wanted to seduce Jason Hawes in the basement!  Always have someone with you and at least one person off site that knows who you’re with and where you are.  These things can happen, and there are numerous situations that you’ll encounter that just have to be experienced.  I try to cover as many as I can through this column.

If you’re pressed for time you can always do more research afterward to gain a better understanding and clarification of events or to finish up documentation.  You’ll have a better and more detailed report to give your client in the end.  Do some follow up research after the initial investigation if something comes up like a name on an EVP or an interesting bit of info or eerie personal experience.

Assuming claims have panned out and your background research was fruitful.  Next month we’ll get into the hands-on, real-time investigation procedures to make the most of your research experience.  Until next time then, happy hunting.

Tags: ghosts, paranormal

• Articles

Modred September, 2010

Putting a Spell in the Bag

The word craft implies a skill that does or produces something practical and useful.  If you want to put the craft back into witchcraft, try looking for the places where material and spiritual crafts overlap.

There’s no better example than weaving and knot-tying.  Getting married is called “tying the knot,” and everyone’s heard of tying a bit of string around a finger to remember something important, or has used the phrase “weave a spell.”  When you tie a knot you store up a bit of your will, bind up some energy (possibly for use later), or even create a physical manifestation of a hope or a dream.  To untie a knot is to release that energy, to let that which was bound go free once more.

Try this very simple craft.  Once you get the project set up and the tying process becomes automatic, try either (a) unfolding your mind outward so that it’s free to wander and relax, or (b) fold your thoughts inward so that you focus completely on the task at hand, perhaps even spontaneously working a spell as you weave.  For example, if you are planning to use your bag to carry a water bottle on a difficult hike or survival trip, you can use the unfolding to imagine and predict the hazards that lay ahead; or you can fold inward and allow your intent to manifest and become tangible in the survival tool you are making.

When you’re done you’ll have a useful bag for carrying a bottle (plastic, steel, or homemade gourd).  The same technique can be scaled up with longer and heavier cordage to make a net that can hold a pot for a hanging basket.  You can even make a bag to hold potatoes and onions in the pantry, to hold seasonal decorations like small pumpkins and gourds for Halloween, or any number of things.  Instead of working with a hoop, you can even weave on a broomstick with rope to make a cargo net to cover the bed of your truck like I did.

If you feel adventurous, use sturdy colored yarn or strips of colored cloth twisted into cordage, or add a bead or two between knots for decoration.

Start by finding a spot where you can hang your project and sit comfortably.  You’re going to need 50 feet or so of cordage – jute twine works nicely – a knife or pair of scissors, and about an hour of free time.  Start by making a hoop about 10 inches across from a green stick.  Use a scrap of twine to hold the ends together.  Take two lengths of cord and tie the ends to opposite sides of the hoop.  Hang your hoop like a mobile at a comfortable height.

Now cut about twenty lengths of cord approximately 2 ½ feet long.  The easiest way to do this is by wrap cord around your thumb and elbow twenty times; slip the loops off and cut one end.

If you want your bag to be a bit deeper you’ll need to cut them one a time, or wrap around a larger object such as the back of a large chair, adjacent fence posts, etc.

Now start tying your lengths to the hoop using cow hitches.  It’s important to use a cow hitch so that you can snip apart the hoop and slide out the pieces without leaving any knots.  Space them around the hoop evenly.

Your hoop should now look like the one above.  Now you’re ready to begin weaving and tying.

Move around the hoop, tying adjacent strands together using overhand knots like the one above.  As you go forward, row after row, you will be creating a series of diamond shapes.  When you’ve reached the bottom your project should look like the picture above.  Cut the hoop using pruning shears or snips and slip out the scraps of twig.

Here’s how to tie off the loose ends.  Cut a length of cordage and lay it alongside your ends.  Form a loop, and begin wrapping one end very tightly around the entire assembly.

Insert the free end through the loop and pull the other end.  The loop and the free end will disappear beneath the wrapping and pull even tighter. Clip the ends even with the wrapping and you’re done (this tying method, by the way, can be used to wrap knife handles, to secure spear and arrowheads, to finish the ends of braided cords for necklaces, and so forth).

Now for the final step.  Thread a length of cord through the top row of open sections and tie it off.  Now when you place something in the bag and hold the loop, the bag will cinch shut and hold firm.

Above is a net bag my daughter made for holding a water bottle.  That’s a rubber snake in the background by the way, not a copperhead.  Keeps the chipmunks humanely out of my Calendula!

Please do give this little craft a try, incorporate the spiritual elements, and see if you don’t have a pleasant experience.

If you get stuck and need a hand, or just want to share your thoughts insights, feel free to email me at woodwitching@gmail.com.

Tags: bag, craft

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