🌷🐸Ostara🐰🌿

Winter Witchcraft

❄ Gather pine cones

❄ Collect feathers from winter fowl. Do not collect feathers if you live in the     US!

❄ Collect snow and melt it. Charge the water under the December full moon to     create a powerful snow water to use in your winter spells. Use snow water to     protect your house and hearth, to charge your magick tools, and to purify         your amulets. Snow water possesses healing powers.

❄ Have a winter bonfire to celebrate winter solstice.

❄ Set yourself goals for the new year.

❄ Take a walk under the full moon when the snow is reflecting its light. This is        a time for reflection and visions. Record you experience and any important        thoughts or visions you receive. 

❄Stand outside in a blizzard and feel your energy restoring. 

❄  Brew yourself a cider. Add herbs and fruits with certain correspondences for      December such as joy, peace, family happiness, etc.

❄ December is a time for reflection of the passing year.

❄ Do Yule baking and incorporate kitchen witchcraft. 

❄ Weave a wreath with holly and plants that correspond with protection and         yule.

❄ Burn incense of cinnamon, patchouli, frankincense, orange, and myrrh.  

❄ December is a time for hearth and home magick.

❄ Burn candles throughout your home to invite positive energies, coziness,           and peace. 

❄ Collect evergreen, holly, cedar and pine clippings.

❄ Forage for rose hips.

❄ Tie up any loose ends you have in your life.

❄ Finish this years grimoire and add any last minute touch ups.

❄ Collect dried leaves. Define their properties and put them in your herbal             grimoire.

❄ Brew yourself new tea combinations to start off the new year with.

❄ Make witch balls and other magickal decorations to hang on your yule tree       and decorate your house with. 

❄ Make winter solstice lanterns.

❄ Throw a sprig of holly into a yule fire to burn away your troubles from the            past year.  A large amount or if thrown into an indoor fireplace may be      poisonous, use with caution!  

❄ Make a yule log. 

❄  Throw a ritual or celebration to welcome back the sun.

❄  Use elements from nature to decorate your home.

❄  At the end of the month do a deep house cleansing to remove all negative        energy and to give the new year a fresh start. 

Have a happy Yule! 

==Moonlight Mystics==

Historical Witchcraft 101: Familiar Spirits

I’m sure you’ve all heard of the witch’s familiar. Nowadays, a familiar is considered to be an animal that has an unusually close bond and a spiritual connection with its owner. This animal could be a cat, a dog, a mouse, a toad, a rabbit, or even a fly; and birds such as owls and ravens could also be considered familiars. The familiar’s function is to aid the witch in their craft, accompany them on their travels, as well as provide general companionship.

[Image description: Frontispiece to Matthew Hopkins’ ‘The Discoverie of Witches’. Matthew Hopkins, witch finder, stands at the top. Two witches sit in chairs either side of him, naming their familiar spirits, which are shown at the bottom of the print.] [Image source]

A physical familiar is certainly one form a familiar can take. Looking at the records we have, it’s often suggested that the familiar is a spirit (often referred to as a devil, imp or a fairy) that is seen as taking physical form. The witch is sometimes said to possess their physical familiar and go out and perform magic. (This will appear again in a later post on shapeshifting)

The idea that familiars were spirits that took physical form could be part of the reason why it was commonly believed that witches fed their familiars blood, as blood would be necessary to give a spirit physical form, although obviously a desire by the elite to make witches seem as horrific as possible plays a large role in this as well. Other food/ payment for familiars includes milk, bread, leftovers from your plate, and in the case of a ‘fairy wife’ (we’ll get onto that), sex.

The practice of feeding familiars bread and milk in particular points to a different type of familiar: a familiar spirit, or a fairy familiar. This is especially resonant of the practice of leaving out bread, milk, beer and/ or water in the kitchen in case the fairy host visited your home overnight. These familiar spirits play a more active role in aiding the witch with their craft, often performing tasks, acting as a spy, or even teaching magic to the witch. They were often described as either very small or very tall, wearing black, white or green (all fairy colours, especially green).

A final type of familiar is the ‘fairy wife’, or fairy lover, I mentioned earlier. The best example of this is probably Tam Lin, or perhaps the Queen of the Faeries in Thomas the Rhymer. The fairy wife often takes humanoid form, sometimes with some small marker such as horns or animals to show that they are more than human. They give the witch magical knowledge in exchange for sex. For example, Aberdeenshire cunning man Andro Man claimed that the Faery Queen was his lover, and he had had several children with her. In witch testimonies, this is normally sex with the Devil, and could even extend to marriage: Rebecca West, in Essex, claimed that the Devil promised to be her loving husband until death.

Familiars can be obtained in a number of ways. In some stories, they appear to those in need and offer assistance, such as appearing to those who are hungry and offering to teach them skills that can help them make a living, typically healing and the power to locate lost objects. For others, familiars are granted by the Devil when they first become a witch, at their initiation. Another common theme is hereditary or bloodline familiars, which are passed down between family members and sometimes covens. For example, Elizabeth Francis confessed to receiving her familiar, a white spotted cat named Sathan, from her grandmother.

In all these cases, there is an implicit or explicit contract being made: freedom from want, assistance, knowledge and companionship; in exchange for food, good treatment, sex, the renunciation of one’s faith, and/or the witch’s soul.

Sources:

“A Note on the Witch-Familiar in Seventeenth Century England”, F. H. Amphlett Micklewright

“The Witch’s Familiar and the Fairy in Early Modern England and Scotland”, Emma Wilby***

“Concerning the familiar spirit”

“Familiar Spirits”

“Of Imps and Familiars”

“Familiars and familiar spirits”

“The Witch’s Familiar”, Charlotte Smith

‘Cunning Folk and Familiar Spirits’, Emma Wilby***

‘The Visions of Isobel Gowdie’, Emma Wilby

‘The Element Encyclopaedia of Witchcraft’, Judika Illes

‘The Discoverie of Witchcraft’, Reginald Scott

Rosenfrüchte

(Hagebutte).

Rezepte:

*Hagebutten-Ketchup

*Schwedische Hagebutten-Suppe

(Nypon-Suppa)

*Hagebutten-Biscuits

*Hagebutten-Sirup

*Hagebutten-Dessert

*Hagebutten-Taler

*Hagebutten-Leckerli/Hagebutten-Quadrate

*Hagebutten-Likör

*Kernles-Tee.

Renate Lehminger-Mertens

simple sleep sachet 💜

Vila is a Slavic name for female spirits or nymphs who can appear in a plethora of different variations. Some live in clouds, meadows, ponds, trees or even high up in the mountains and their appearance can be either almost human-like as beautiful maidens with long white hair, nearly translucent skin and green eyes or they can be similar to ghosts, see-through and with billowing cloaks wrapped around their bodies. 

It is said that if even one of their hairs is plucked, the Vila will die, or be forced to change back to her true shape. A human may gain the control of a vila by stealing a piece of the vila’s skin. Once burned, though, she will disappear. Though they seem deceptively frail, vilas are fierce warriors skilled in combat and will attack lone travellers. However, offerings of cakes, flowers, fruit and ribbons might win their favour. 

Liminal Spaces in Witchcraft

First of all, what is a liminal space? A liminal space refers to a place or time that is in a period of transition between two phases. These are usually places where reality feels altered because you are neither moving forward or backward, like a rest stop. The word liminal originates from the Latin word limens, meaning threshold. These places often give off a sense that time stands still and that you are experiencing some sort of reality shift. 

        In magic and witchcraft these spaces are considered to be the boundary between our world and the other, it is known as “the in-between”. These places are considered areas of great magic because it is believed this is where the veil is thin. These places are great for divination, spirit work, meditation and astral travel; they are ideal for hedge witchcraft.

Times & Spaces of Liminality:

crossroads manmade or natural

river, creek or lake shores/ beaches

hallway/corridor/stairwells/landings/doorways

graveyards

dawn, dusk, afternoon, midnight

valleys

forest glades

many more!

      Samhain/Halloween is considered the best time to communicate with spirits and faeries because of its liminality, it is a time of transition between autumn and winter. Irish folklore tells that this is the day faeries and ghosts come out to play because of the veil thinning. The equinoxes and sabbats like Beltane and Imbolc are also days of liminality because the time of day and night are equal (equinoxes) or it is a transition between seasons.  

       Mental states of liminality are also times of spirit communication. While being in a meditative state we are in a state of transition between our concious and sub-concious minds, this is where we sometimes experience astral projection or messages from spirits. People often experience spirit while falling asleep because this is another state of liminality. 

     In my craft I often practice in liminality in order to connect with the faerie realms.

-Moonlight 🌙

Hexenringe und Feenringe: Ein tiefer Tauchgang in die nordische Kultur

Die geheimnisvollen Formationen von Pilzen, die als Hexenringe oder Feenringe bekannt sind, haben in der nordischen Kultur einen besonderen Platz. Über Generationen hinweg wurden diese natürlichen Erscheinungen mit verschiedenen Überlieferungen, Mythen und Folklore assoziiert.

Das Phänomen des Hexenrings

Hexenringe entstehen durch den natürlichen Wachstumszyklus bestimmter Pilzarten. Ein Pilzmyzel beginnt im Zentrum des Rings, breitet sich unterirdisch in alle Richtungen aus und nimmt Nährstoffe aus dem Boden auf. Im Laufe der Zeit sterben die Pilze im Zentrum ab, da die Nährstoffe dort erschöpft sind, und neue Pilze wachsen am äußeren Rand des Myzels. Dies schafft den unverwechselbaren Kreis von Pilzen an der Oberfläche.

Von Elfen, Trollen und anderen Wesen

Elfen und Feen: Die Vorstellung, dass Elfen und Feen in den Feenringen tanzen, ist tief in der nordischen Folklore verwurzelt. Die Legende besagt, dass sie bei Mondschein tanzen und singen und jeden, der in ihren Ring tritt, in ihren Reigen ziehen. In einigen Geschichten erhält der unglückliche Eindringling die Fähigkeit, in die Elf- oder Feenwelt zu sehen, aber oft zu einem hohen Preis.

Trolle: Besonders in norwegischen und schwedischen Überlieferungen werden Feenringe manchmal als Spielplätze von Trollen dargestellt. Die Trolle, oft als schelmisch und manchmal auch gefährlich beschrieben, könnten denjenigen bestrafen, der ihren Tanzplatz stört.

Geister und Hexen: In einigen Gebieten wurden die Ringe auch als Orte gesehen, an denen Hexen tanzen oder Rituale durchführen. Geister, insbesondere die Seelen von Verstorbenen, könnten auch in den Ringen gesehen werden, besonders in der Walpurgisnacht, einem traditionellen Frühlingsfest.

Rituale und Aberglaube

Die tiefe Ehrfurcht und Furcht vor diesen Ringen führte oft zu Ritualen und Aberglauben. Es wurde geglaubt, dass das Mähen von Gras oder das Entfernen von Pilzen aus einem Feenring Unglück bringen könnte. Um Schutz zu suchen, könnten die Menschen um den Ring herumlaufen oder bestimmte Sprüche und Gebete sprechen.

Man glaubte auch, dass das Platzieren von Steinen in einem Feenring oder das Zeichnen von Kreisen mit Salz oder Kreide die magische Energie darin einschließen oder neutralisieren könnte.

Moderne Interpretation

Mit dem Fortschritt der Wissenschaft und dem besseren Verständnis von Pilzwachstumsmustern wurde das Mysterium der Hexenringe zwar entschlüsselt, aber ihre kulturelle und mystische Bedeutung in der nordischen Kultur bleibt bestehen. Für viele sind sie weiterhin ein Zeichen für das Übernatürliche, ein Fenster in eine andere Welt oder einfach ein wunderbarer Anblick in der Landschaft, der an vergangene Zeiten erinnert.

Fazit

Obwohl die wissenschaftliche Erklärung für das Phänomen der Hexenringe heute bekannt ist, bieten die mit ihnen verbundenen Geschichten und Mythen einen faszinierenden Einblick in den Volksglauben und die Vorstellungskraft der nordischen Kultur. Sie erinnern uns daran, wie die Natur und das Übernatürliche oft miteinander verflochten waren und wie Landschaftsphänomene die kulturellen Erzählungen und Traditionen beeinflussten.

by Jatukham Ramathep

🌱🧚Finding Earth Spirits In The Wild🧚🌱

🌱Earth spirits are just about the easiest ones to make contact with. Their forms tend to be less subtle than those of many fairies,and they generally stick to one place- so if you feel a location is haunted by these beings, it will always be haunted. Wherever anything grows, there will be a fairy to attend to it.

🌱 Earth fairies love gardens,and will gather round you while you are planting and watering. At the end of a hot day they exult when you get out the hose or watering can, and will dance among the refreshed flowers with glee. Often they do not like you weeding,though,so make sure you always do this with respect. Leave a patch of your garden to grow wild, for the fairies love this and it creates a space for all the plants that are unwelcome elsewhere- just because humans do not like them, this does not mean they do not have a valuable place in the scheme of things.

🧚 Method 🧚

To draw close to the gnomes,settle quietly in your garden or in a park,woodland, field, or hillside- close to a barrow-mound may be the most powerful place of all. Gnomes of the deep earth may be experienced in a cave or hollow,whereas others may be more of the flower- or tree-fairy types. Let your bare feet and hands make contact with the earth,mud or stone. Beat a soft rhythm on a drum,if you wish.

Be very still, relaxed,and quiet. Try not to see anything,because that will put you in the wrong frame of mind. Just be there, and be observant- these spirits do not show themselves in the ways you might expect, and seeing them can seem almost ordinary.

Be aware of any little movements out of the corner of your eye, for that is where spirits are often first perceived. An animal running in the undergrowth may also be a shy gnome in disguise. Look out for the face of the Green Man among the leaves, and watch flowers, for they can also be sweet faces, nodding and smiling.

To show they have drawn close to you, gnomes will often give you a tangible gift,such as a coin or a piece of jewelry. If you find this on your path,treasure it, for it is very lucky.

Days of the Week and Witchcraft ✨

A good way to plan when to do your spells

Sunday - The Sun - Solar power, success, personal empowerment, material wealth, health, beginning anew. 

Monday - The Moon - Lunar power, purity, spiritual cleansing, astral work, divination, psychic ability.

Tuesday - Mars - Physical power, passion, sexuality, drive, ambition, achievement, masculine power, activate protective talismans, reverse hexes and psychic attacks.

Wednesday - Mercury - Knowledge, money, communication, the arts, change, acceptance, adaptability.

Thursday - Jupiter - Luck, growth, fulfillment, worldly power, justice, authority, health, and prosperity. (Mercury brings quick cash, but Jupiter governs the long term accumulation and preservation of wealth.)

Friday - Venus - Fertility, love, money, prosperity, healing, charm, goodness, blocking, glamour, self-care, feminine power.

Saturday - Saturn - Binding, banishing, stopping, ending, loss, renewing, transforming, protection.

— Just a thing from my grimoire