Croning: Wisdom Merry meet! This month is the fourth of a six-part series on croning – a feminine rite-of-passage ritual for those reclaiming the power and wisdom of the old woman, the crone. I hope it prompts you to reflect on your life and the wisdom you have to share. While the crone is a symbol of death, she also symbolizes wisdom and power. Fifty years or more of living brings the inherent wisdom that comes with experience. She has birthed and buried, laughed and cried, danced and crawled, succeeded and struggled. She has seen Saturn return twice, and with it, a host of lessons. Her life has demanded patience,…

Croning Part 3 Merry meet!  This month is the third of a six-part series on croning – a feminine rite-of-passage ritual for those reclaiming the power and wisdom of the old woman, the crone. It touches on some of the symbols of the crone you can consider incorporating into your ritual. Croning : Symbols Amethyst: This is often considered the gem of the crone because it is associated with spirituality and wisdom. Everyone who attended the weekend event at which I croned was given a small piece of amethyst and the instruction to give it to me with a personal message. I was given an etched champagne glass to collect…

More Dollar Store Delights Merry Meet. Magical stores are few and far between, but dollar stores are everywhere and they have a wealth of items for altars, rituals and sabbats. With Litha in mind, I snapped these photos as more examples of items you can find for $1. On mid-summer’s eve, the fairies are said to be at their merriest. You can be, too. Whether or not you are donning fairy wings, you can still wave a wand. Butterflies are as much a part of summer as are bubbles. Celebrate both. What’s your best dollar store find? Merry part. And merry meet again…

Save the Sun Merry Meet. June brings Litha, the summer solstice – the day with the most sunlight. This craft will allow you to keep some of it for other times. Gather together glitter, confetti and any similar material – perhaps crushed yellow gemstones – and put it all in a clear jar or in a bowl. Hold it up to the first rays of the morning sun. Keep it in the sunlight for as long as you feel is necessary to absorb its essence, power, life force, joy and warmth. Perhaps even put it out again at noon and sunset. Then, divide your material into tiny bottle or jars…

Altar Maypole Merry Meet. For some, it wouldn’t be Beltane without dancing around the Maypole. While not everyone gets to have a 20-foot pole sunk into a 3-foot hole in the middle of a field, everyone can have a mini version on their altar. You just need a dowel or stick about a foot long, a base and ribbon. Let a stick find you, or buy a dowel about a foot long. You will also need a base: a piece of wood from the craft store, a slice of a thick branch or a mound of air-hardening clay. Use a screw, nail or glue to anchor one end of the…

Croning Part 2 Croning : when, where and with whom Merry meet! This month is the second of a six-part series on croning – a feminine rite-of-passage ritual for those reclaiming the power and wisdom of the old woman, the crone. It touches on when, where and with whom to celebrate. Croning can be a done alone or before a group. That group can include only women, a community such as a grove or a coven, or family and friends. It can include a formal circle, a picnic or a restaurant dinner. In other words, it can be be anything the crone wishes. The crone rules the dark of the…

Dollar Store Delights Merry Meet. Magical stores are few and far between, but dollar stores are everywhere and they have a wealth of items for altars, rituals and sabbats. With Beltane in mind, I snapped these photos as examples of items you can find for $1.   The world beings to turn green and bloom at Beltane, and you can find flowers and ivy at the dollar store.   They can be stuck into the florist foam to make a wreath that goes on the door or around the base of a candle. The ivy and the flowers can also be woven into grapevine wreaths (hot glue will keep the…

Culinary Magic Merry Meet. Making magic using the objects on your altar is expected. Making magic in your kitchen may take some thought at first, but once you connect cooking and spell casting, you’ll see limitless possibilities – and cooking will go from being a chore to becoming a ritual. Since the beginning of time, meals have been about coming together of family, so that – with their knowledge and consent – you can share the magic. Eating becomes away of internalizing or absorbing the magic, making the spell more powerful. Think about the symbolic foods you carefully select for the sabbats that are rich in magic: custard at Imbolc,…

Croning : Are you a Crone? Merry meet! This month begins the first of a six-part series on croning – a feminine a rite of passage ritual for those reclaiming the power and wisdom of the old woman, the crone. Crone is one of triple Goddesses, the third stage, the wise elder. Two characteristics generally used to determine cronehood are reaching menopause and having moved through your second Saturn return, a sort of cosmic transition, which generally happens by your 58th birthday. (You can enter your birth day, month and year and learn your dates at www.astrocal.co.uk/saturn-return.php.) Saturn return marks the time when the planet that rules lessons, responsibilities and…

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…