• Spells & Rituals

    SpellCrafting: Spells & Rituals

    New Year’s Intentions Merry meet! With Samhain marking the end of one year, it’s a time to focus our intentions on the witches’ new year ahead – and help them manifest. This spell will match a wish to each of the elements.     Prepare an altar for Samhain with a candle for each of the elements. Have four small pieces of paper and, to put them in, four envelopes or small glass jars. Add sacred objects, and perhaps items related to your intentions. Put the four aces from the Minor Arcana, which will represent the elements, and the Nine of Cups, the wish card, on the altar.   Burn…

  • Spells & Rituals

    The Rite Way

    A Ritual for Samhain   This Samhain ritual is written for a solitary practitioner, but can be adapted for more than one. In sacred space, you will be writing your own Charge of the Dark Goddess or God … or both. Because I prefer to spread out materials, I will be setting up a minimalist altar on my dining room table with a black candle; a pentacle; objects representing each of the elements; books, papers, and computer, a cup of a psychic tea blend, and pumpkin bread. To begin, cleanse your space by ringing a bell, clapping your hands, or smudging the area. Create sacred space to protect you and…

  • Spells & Rituals

    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…

  • Spells & Rituals

    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…

  • Spells & Rituals

    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…

  • Spells & Rituals

    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…

  • Spells & Rituals

    The Rite Way

    A Ritual to Honor the Fae     It is perhaps most common to work with the sun on the summer solstice because, after all, it’s the day with the most hours of sunlight. Litha, though, is also a good time to work with the fae. It is one of the “between times” along with equinoxes, dawn, and dusk. The veil between the worlds is thin, and they often cross over to take part in the battle between the Oak and Holly kings. That makes this a good time to reach out to them. I wrote the ritual below for the solo pagan to do just that – by leaving…

  • Spells & Rituals

    SpellCrafting: Spells for Witches

    SpellCrafting: Starting Beltane Fires Merry meet! This issue’s WitchCrafting column has ideas for making fire starters. If you’d like to take it one step further, you can craft them as a spell. Beltane themes such as burning away that which no longer serves your highest good and greatest joy, planting seeds, and nurturing goals can be incorporated when making fire starters. For instance, toilet paper tubes stuffed with dryer lint can be decorated with Beltane colors (green, soft pink, blue, yellow, red, brown), pictures of flowers in bloom, or a sigil made for a specific intention. On it you can write what you are ready to release, what you desire…

  • Spells & Rituals

    It’s All Rite

    Spring is a time of hope, new beginnings, potential, and planting. Air, east, the new moon, the maiden archetype, inspiration, imagination, fresh flowers, nests, eggs, hawks, seeds, chimes, dragonflies, wonder, joy, playfulness, communication, spiders, purification, daffodils, childhood, and adventure are all associated with Ostara. For readers who want to keep it simple, below is a collection of easy yet meaningful activities to celebrate the Spring Equinox. Pick whatever interests you, and continue as long as you wish. Perhaps one of them will become a daily practice. * Put a bowl of candied eggs on a table or counter to bless new beginnings with sweetness and happiness. * Hang wind chimes…

  • Monthly Columns,  Spells & Rituals

    Peeking in the Shadows: Crafting a Book of Shadows and Light

    A Journey Through the Witch’s Wheel of the Year 2022!   The Witch’s Wheel of the Year In the February Issue we began exploring the Sabbats of the Witch’s Wheel of the Year and beginning a journey of filling our BOS with information about how we celebrated and what we found to be true of our practice. For a review of what the Wheel of the Year is take a look at February’s posting here: Peeking in the Shadows: Crafting A Book of Shadows and Light-February2022   We Continue Our Journey Through the Witch’s Wheel and call to the Light of the Summer Solstice…. THE SUMMER SOLSTICE/LITHA   The King…