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Learning Lunar: Moon Magic and Mystery
First Quarter, The Waxing Half Moon The 2023 Autumn Equinox falls late on the 22nd or early on the 23rd September, depending on exactly where you are in the world. This year, the Equinox begins while the moon is an almost perfect half, the first quarter phase. The Equinox is a time of balanced light and dark, so it feels very mystically charged to have the moon half lit and half in shadow, providing a physical and highly visible representation of this festival. What Does First Quarter Mean? The cycles of the moon are often referred to as quarters, with the second quarter also being the full…
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SpellCrafting: Spells for the Craft
Mabon Mandala Merry meet! This issue’s spell coordinates with Mabon, but is also appropriate anytime you wish to offer gratitude. Given that a prayer is a spell and a mandala is a prayer, therefore a mandala is a spell. On the second of three and the most abundant of the harvests, I suggest creating a mandala from seasonal botanicals to thank the Mother for her blessings. In an open space, preferably outside as a gift of beauty to the earth, lay out fruits, vegetables, herbs, flowers, vegetation, and found items in a pleasing way. Make each piece you place an offering of appreciation for one of…
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The Rite Way
A Ritual Making Harvest Stew To celebrate the second harvest, this ritual consists of making a vegetable stew infused with magical intentions. It is written for a solitary practitioner, but can easily be adapted to a group. You will need more than an hour to complete this ritual. Read through it to know what you will need, making changes to suit your circumstances. Begin by purifying and cleansing your ritual space of any energy not aligned with the highest good; in this case it will most likely be the kitchen. You can sweep the space, ring bells, smudge it with herbs, or asperge the perimeter with water or other…
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Notes from the Apothecary
Notes from the Apothecary: Anemones Whenever you hear the word “anemone” you’ll either imagine a gorgeous yet shy sea creature or a beautiful flower found both in the wild and in gardens all over the world. Of course, here in the Apothecary, we’re excited about the flowers! There are well over a hundred species of anemone, including Anemone blanda and Anemone nemorosa, both often referred to as wood anemones or the more evocative name, windflowers. Anemones are in the same family as buttercups (Ranunculaceae) and grow from bulbs or rhizomes, usually coming back year after year. In Europe, anemones are keepers of living history, in a way, as large…
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Learning Lunar
The Full Moon How exciting to be three issues into our Learning Lunar column and already able to wax lyrical (pun intended) about the full moon! Lúnasa 2023 falls on August 1st which, this year, is also a full moon. Lúnasa, or Lughnasadh, is an Irish festival co-opted by many Pagan traditions as a time of harvest celebration, games, competitions, and other summer festivities. Another popular celebration held at this time is Lammas, the Anglo-Saxon early Christian festival of blessing the first fruits and loaves of the seasons. Having the full moon to add to these blessings can only add to their fruitfulness! What Does the Phrase…
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SpellCrafting: Spells for Your Craft
Lughnasadh Candle Merry meet! This issue’s spell coordinates with Lughnasadh, but is also appropriate anytime you wish to offer gratitude. It can be done without a ritual, or it can be substituted for the magickal working in the Lughnasadh ritual published in this edition. Choose a candle that is yellow, golden, orange, red, or color of your choice to represent the first harvest of summer. If you wish to dress it, consider rosemary, safflower oil, chamomile, frankincense, and sandalwood – all correspond to the sabbat. Aventurine, citrine, peridot, yellow diamonds, and citrine are gemstones associated with Lughnasadh. You may also want something with which to write on or carve…
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Living the Oily Life
Peppermint Peppermint oil is another favorite of mine for many reasons. It is also recommended as another oil for those starting to dabble in essential oils. I have peppermint in my own garden, but be warned it will grow wherever unless the roots are somehow restricted. I planted mine in pots and put the pots in the ground. Granted it smells amazing when grass is being cut and a few stray tendrils are ran over. Mint plants in general are fairly hardy and are perennials so once rooted they will keep coming back. Peppermint has a very long history, like 1000 BC long history. It was noted to be…
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Weyland’s Whey – That Old Familiar Feeling
That Old Familiar Feeling They’re a basic ingredient. When you’re a witch you gotta have the robe. An altar. And a familiar or two. Now, full disclosure time here: I’m no scholar or expert. I haven’t seriously researched this topic, nor do I intend to. But I deal with familiars on a daily basis (or at least I believe I do) and I’m happy to share my own experiences. I suppose familiars come in all genders and species or whatever, but I only deal with my boys Jinx and Spirit. They’re a couple of stray cats my girlfriend Sparkle took in long before she and I met. We hit…
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A Spiritual Alternative to Baby Showers, “Mother Blessings”
Mother Blessings are special and sacred ceremonies for mothers-to-be. The ceremony originated with indigenous traditions of “blessing way” ceremonies, which were traditionally held for women about to embark on a birthing journey. On their passage, one was blessed with song and dance during the ceremony. Keeping this in mind, we strive to respect other cultures and not appropriate their traditions. Thus, we hold our own modified version of this event within our community, not using the exact same title, but always acknowledging the roots of this ceremony. The concept of a Mother Blessing is similar to that of a Baby Shower, but there are major di?erences between the two events.…
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The Rite Way
A Ritual for Lughnasadh Lughnasadh is the first of the three harvest sabbats celebrating the crops of late summer and early fall – in particular grain. Also known as Lammas, or Loaf Mass, it honors the cycle of life, death, and rebirth, both in the form of the Harvest Mother aspect of the goddess and as the sacrifice of the grain god. Grain is harvested, thrashed, milled, and baked into bread. It is also fermented to make beer, ale, mead, kefir, wine, brandy, and kombucha. Consuming these foods during this ritual honors the god of the harvest who has died that we might be nourished. For cakes and ale…