Try ’n scry Merry Meet. This month’s column will be about how to make a divination tool: a scrying mirror. Even if you’re not on a budget, it’s always nice to make your own tools. Creating something by hand puts your magical energy into the tool, making it an extension of yourself. Scrying is one of the oldest forms of divination. The shiny surface of water – in pools and bowls – is a common medium. Mirrors (“Mirror, mirror on the wall, who is the fairest of them all?” in “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.) and crystals (often polished balls) are also often used as a clairvoyant aid to…

Fertilizing an Egg Merry meet! Eggs are a major theme for Ostara. They represent rebirth, fertility and spring. This spell will fertilize an egg with your intention that then can be placed on your altar, buried or hidden in nature as a gift to the God/dess. Write your desire, wish or intent on a piece of paper and roll it up tightly. Inflate a small balloon, insert the paper and tie off the balloon. reprinted with permission from Amy Anderson from her blog With a sponge brush, apply Mod Podge to the balloon. Tie one end of a ball of yarn or string to the knot of the ballon, then…

Bread for Cakes Merry Meet   Every Easter, my Catholic Sicilian grandmother made a special bread. It was a bit sweet, braided and had colored eggs in it. Last year, when planning cakes and ale for Ostara, it occurred to me to use this bread – after all, Easter does draw on may Spring Equinox celebrations. I was able to special order a braided ring, complete with eggs, from an Italian bakery, even though Easter was still weeks away. (See photo.) This year, I plan to make my own. I feel it honors my ancestors and keeps a tradition alive, albeit modified. Gram’s recipe died with her, but I think…

Flower Child Merry Meet! Spring is synonymous with flowers. I always like to have them on my altar, especially when I do a ritual. Those I associate with Ostara are snowdrops, crocuses, daffodils and showy happy faced pansies. Because spring is associated with the direction of East, I am somewhat partial to the yellow forsythia because it just about sings, “Spring has sprung.” Flowers and budgets can go together. Look around outside for what nature might be gifting to you. Are there dandelions? Bloodroot? Violets? A pussy willow bush from which you can cut a few branches and force the blooms? You might consider investing in bulbs that bloom annually.…

Get Swept Away Merry meet! Besoms – along with black pointy hats and cauldrons – are the three symbols most associated with witches. That was part of the reason my coven decided to have some fun with them. One full moon we adorned black hats. On another, we decorated brooms. The idea was to personalize it while incorporating all our energies. We each began with a standard broom, a crystal, and ribbons and beads for the directions, the God and Goddess. We then exchanged offerings. I gave everyone shells and a skeleton key. Each woman chose how to incorporate the items into her broom, so no two were alike, yet…

Everyday Rituals   Merry meet! Washing dishes. Folding clothes. Sweeping floors. Making soup. Taking a bath. Setting the table. Weeding the garden. While you might think of these as mundane chores, they are actually everyday rituals. Birthday parties, Memorial Day parades and bedtimes stories are also rituals. So are ceremonies such as graduations, weddings and funerals that mark stages of life. The Catholic church in which I was raised was ripe with ritual, and when I rejected the religion, I also rejected ritual. It took me decades to realize its importance and to add it back into my life. Pagans have no doubt experienced of the power of ruitals as…

Grow Your Craft   Merry Meet! Because a common Imbolc ritual is to bless seeds, the timing is right to plan a magical herb garden. Do you find yourself buying chamomile and rosemary for magical purposes? Do you use vervain or St. John’s Wort? Would you use lavender and rue more freely if you didn’t have to buy it? Do you think you’d like to make an offering of tobacco now and then, but you don’t smoke? Make this the year you grow your own. If you have a garden center close by, you might be able to find everything you’re looking for there. If not, there are many places…

Let it Rain Merry Meet! There’s an old Led Zeppelin song that ends with the words, “Upon us all a little rain my fall.” I want to show you how that rain can be used in ritual. One of the directions I turn to each day is west as I honor the element of water. It comes in many forms: tears, sweat, blood, rain, snow, ice, streams, rivers, oceans, wells. I remember early on my path, there was freezing rain on Yule, forcing the cancelation of an event I’ve come to think of as the Sacred Circle of Deep Dark Silence. I was pouty because I was missing out on…

Own it Merry meet! January 20th’s new moon in Aquarius is all about change. Radical change. To manifest that change, there can be no doubt, no second-guessing, no half-hearted attempts. Harness the power of this new moon and claim your new life. You are deserving. Step out of the prison of unhealthy relationships, behaviors and attitudes. Let go of your insecurities, pain, sadness and anger. Let your spirit soar to places you never dared to go. I have come to understand that the best way to move from where I am to where I want to be is not to desire it, but to own it. When we come from…

Candle Crafting         Merry meet! Candles are a symbol of Imbolc, which is also known as Candlemas. With some advance planning, you could make your own this year. The easiest way is to buy beeswax sheets and roll of square-braid wick. (The larger the finished candle will be, the larger size wick you’ll want.) You simply cut the sheet as wide as you want the height of the candle to be. A straight edge and a craft knife work well, but other items in your kitchen will also suffice. Cut the wick about an inch longer than the wax. With a blow dryer, warm up one end…