The Witching Hour will soon be among us and that means time for reflections and release. Samhain has always been a time of renewal and review for me and a time of setting new goals. I do this while looking over the past year as I realize lessons that were taught in various ways.   It is also a time of honoring those gone by, those who have transitioned before us. While I place respect for those as a group, I hold a personal vigil for my father and my best friend, who went on in 1989 and 2009, respectively.   Ah Samhain – a time for transformation, a…

    Samhain is almost upon us. We’ve passed the equinox, the point of no return; the balance of light and dark; the perfect union of night and day. The nights are visibly longer now, and we know we are heading into the winter months. In years gone by we would be storing our food away, slaughtering beasts that could not survive the harsh winter and carefully caring for those that would.   We may now live in a world of supermarkets and central heating, but for those of us who feel the turn of the wheel in the changing of the season, Samhain (in part) is still about making…

(“Witching Moon” Book of Shadows Parchment, Binder Refill Pages from Gypsy Wytch Diaries, OddSoul etsy shop.) The Season of the Witch is upon us once again and Samhain is just about here!  You will need the following objects to complete this Spell and Enchantment.   We will start with the Object Enchantment first.  The main focus of this enchantment is for PROTECTION (of house, home, self, family.)  The Enchantment is an “object enchantment.  You will need to find an object suitable for enchanting from your home or purchase something that you wish to enchant.  This item can be a gemstone, a necklace, a sun catcher, a scarecrow in your front yard is an…

“The Magical Art of Crafting Charm Bags: 100 Mystical Formulas for Success, Love, Wealth, and Wellbeing”     by Elohim Leafar Published by Weiser Books Published: 2017 Pages: 235   We all have them – stones, botanicals, charms, claws and other objects that we consider precious and that we protect. Our ancestors in all cultures and magical traditions the world over had them, too.   These talismans go by many names: charm bag, mojo bag, medicine bag, conjure hand, gris-gris bag, trick bag. They come in all shapes and sizes, can be used for almost any purpose, are fairly easy to make and offer powerful magic.   Elohim Leafar –…

    Although we Pagans and Witches celebrate many festivals throughout the year, Hallowe’en (which most of us call by its old Celtic name of Samhain) is the one that most people know about. Although of course, their concept of witches and what they get up to at this time of year is pretty far removed from ours!   Whilst I enjoy seeing all the Hallowe’en trappings in the shops, carving pumpkin lanterns and handing out sweets to trick-or-treating children, all of that has about as much relevance to the true meaning of Samhain as Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer has to the true meaning of Christmas.   For me,…

Hexing     Hexing, this is a word that conjures up images of Shakespeare’s witches in Macbeth huddled over a bubbling cauldron; of the Sanderson sisters in Hocus Pocus and of Terry Pratchett’s Granny Weatherwax (who doesn’t love that ol’ gal). Bring up hexing at a Meet-up or discussion group and suddenly you are bombarded by someone quoting the Three Fold Law, The Wiccan Rede and Karma.   According to the Merriam Webster Dictionary: Hex – \’heks\ verb Etymology: Pennsylvania German hexe, from German hexen, from Hexe witch, from Old High German hagzissa; akin to Middle English hagge hag. Date 1830 1: to put a hex on 2: to affect…

Bright Blessings.   Fall is here, and we are rapidly moving towards the final harvest, Samhain.   In years past, my Samhain articles gave information about historic observances in Pre-Xtian times, including historic sites. I always include a working, and some personal anecdotes as well.   This month, I had the opportunity to talk about ghoulies, ghosties, long leggety beasties, and things that go bump in the night with horror writer, and director Michael Williams.       He and his team just released a fun, and creative horror called The Atoning, which I reviewed, and highly recommend all of you watch. I would like to thank Michael, and his…

Notes from the Apothecary: Pumpkin     It’s that magical time of year again, where anything that can be fragranced or flavoured seems to take on the aroma of a combination of vanilla and pumpkin, with the emphasis on the sweetness of this gorgeous gourd. But why do we revere the pumpkin at this time of year? The answer comes from Irish Celtic history, and the seasonal nature of the fruit (yes, it’s a fruit!) itself.   The Kitchen Garden Although the pumpkin, like other squashes, originated in North America, it can now be found all over the world. It’s classed as a ‘winter squash’ due to the fruits ripening…

A very wise friend recommended that I start a Mother Book: a safe space to vent all my thoughts about mothers. Even, especially the not so pretty, not so generous thoughts now have their safe place, their private page in this journal. This is a relief. I am the writer of this book as well as the only reader of this book.   My book starts with the following words: “I have a mother and I am a mother” My own mother’s favourite quote about motherhood is: “God couldn’t be everywhere – that is why He made mothers!”   We live in a polarised world of putting mothers on a…

Baba Yaga (Photo Credit – journeyingtothegoddess.wordpress.com) In Slavic and Russian folklore, Baba Yaga is the old woman of autumn. She was a fearsome witch-like woman with iron teeth, who rowed through the air in a mortar, using a pestle as an oar. As she travels, she sweeps away all traces of herself with a broom made of silver birch. She is the epitome of the fairy-tale witch, who lives in a hut deep in the forest, this hut having the legs of a chicken and would spin around and around. Its’ windows are its’ eyes. This hut is surrounded by a fence on which skulls are placed, with eyes a-blazing.…