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Samhain Correspondences
Evening of Tue, Oct 31, 2023 – Wed, Nov 1, 2023 Other Names: celtic ~ Summer’s End, pronounced “sow” (rhymes with now) “en” (Ireland), sow-een (Wales) – “mh” in the middle is a “w” sound – Greater Sabbat(High Holiday) – Fire Festival Oct 31-Nov 1(North Hemisphere) – Apr 30-May 1 – The Great Sabbat, Samhiunn, Samana, Samhuin, Sam-fuin, Samonios, Halloween, Hallomas, All Hallows Eve, All Saints/All Souls Day(Catholic), Day of the Dead (Mexican), Witches New Year, Trinoux Samonia, Celtic/ Druid New Year, Shadowfest (Strega), Martinmas or Old Hallowmas (Scotttish/Celtic) Lá Samhna (Modern Irish), Festival of the Dead, Feile Moingfinne (Snow Goddess), Hallowtide (Scottish Gaelis Dictionary), Feast of All…
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Book Review – The Witch’s Yearbook: Spells, Stones, Tools, and Rituals for a Year of Modern Magic by Clare Gogerty
Book Review The Witch’s Yearbook: Spells, Stones, Tools, and Rituals for a Year of Modern Magic By Clare Gogerty Publisher: David & Charles 128 pages Publication Date: August 10, 2021 Clare Gogerty, a seasoned practitioner of the craft, gives a year’s worth of ideas and wisdom for celebrating the sabbats that makes for a helpful resource for beginners. Chapters begin with an introduction to the festival, a topic of interest (trees for Mabon, the moon at Yule, magical creatures for Ostara), botanical and crystal correspondences, holiday traditions and customs, rituals and spells, and a witchy craft (apple wand, incense, Brigid’s cross). On the Samhain pages, for…
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Book Review – A Spell A Day: 365 Easy Spells, Rituals and Magic for the Everyday by Tree Carr
Book Review A Spell a Day: 365 Easy Spells, Rituals and Magic for the Everyday By Tree Carr Publisher: Watkins 336 pages Publication Date: June 13, 2023 Tree Carr gives readers 365 spells and rituals in book form, organized by element. There are several ways to choose which spell to cast: by intention, chronologically, synchronized to magical and celestial dates, and using the divinatory art of bibliomancy by opening the book to a page at random. For each of the five elements – air, fire, water, earth, spirit – Carr presents spells for three new moons, three full moons, three solar returns, sabbats, and a collection…
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Book Review – Flower Magic of the Druids by Jon G. Hughes
Book Review Flower Magic of the Druids: How to Craft Potions, Spells, & Enchantments Written by Jon G. Hughes Publisher: Destiny Books 200 Pages Release Date: May 2, 2023 Reading Flower Magic of the Druids; How to Craft Potions, Spells, & Enchantments by Jon G. Hughes reminded me of both the traditions of our Druidic Ancestors and the more modern flower traditions of my western life growing up here in the United States. Although Jon Hughes is mostly speaking to the flower landscapes of Great Britain and the United Kingdom, I was able to relate and extract much wisdom from his thorough teachings and guidelines as well…
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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…
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Notes from the Apothecary
Notes from the Apothecary: Columbine The columbine, or Aquilegia, is a striking flower, with hooked spurs that resemble either eagle’s talons or the heads of doves gathered together. It’s in the same family as buttercups (Ranunculaceae), which while isn’t obvious in the shape of the flowers, becomes more apparent when you look at the hairy stems and the lobed leaf shapes. There are up to 70 species of columbines that we know about, with colours ranging from bright blue to deep red. Also known as Granny’s Bonnet, these fantastic flowers carry a wealth of folklore and magical associations. The Kitchen Garden Columbine are one of those plants that…
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Stay in Your Magic, Keep in Your Power an Excerpt from “Happy Witch” by Mandi Em
Stay in Your Magic, Keep in Your Power (Excerpted from “Happy Witch” by Mandi Em) Magic can help you feel powerful, but there can be a big difference between the way you feel post-ritual and the way you feel as you’re going through your mundane life. The feeling of connectedness and otherworldly magic can get lost in the shuffle sometimes when the day-to-day chaos starts piling up, leaving you feeling zapped and depleted. No more! Cultivating a magical life can be the antidote to feeling pressed by the mundane and disconnected from your power. This is the big secret of the craft: It allows you to keep perspective of the…
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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…
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Book Review – Ossman & Steel’s Classic Household Guide to Appalachian Folk Healing by Jake Richards
Book Review Ossman & Steel’s Classic Household Guide to Appalachian Folk Healing: A Collection of Old-Time Remedies, Charms, and Spells By Jack Richards Foreword by Silver Ravenwolf Publisher: Weiser Books 122 pages Publication: August 1, 2022 From the publisher: “A long-treasured but forgotten classic of folk healing, with an introduction and commentary by the author of Backwoods Witchcraft and Doctoring the Devil. Ossman & Steel’s Guide to Health or Household Instructor (its original title) is a collection of spells, remedies, and charms. The book draws from the old Pennsylvania Dutch and German powwow healing practices that in turn helped shape…
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Book Review – The Magick of Birthdays by Hannah Hawthorn
Book Review The Magic of Birthdays: Rituals, Spells, and Recipes for Honoring Your Solar Return Through Rootwork and Conjure by Hannah Hawthorn Publisher: Penguin Random House 269 Pages Publication date: July 12, 2022 Bright Blessings! I am thrilled to share an amazing new book with you that discusses exactly what the title says it does — birthdays and all the magic that comes along with them. I don’t read all that much for myself, because my day job entails plenty of research. As somebody who has to share facts and history on a weekly basis, I have to say I…
