Getting Spiritually Unstuck

Wheat fields are more mystical than fields of other crops. You are 7,000 times more likely to meet an old god or see a portent of doom in a wheat field than in a field of like… soybeans.

““My first religious experiences came to me both in wild places and in very human places, but perhaps the most poignant were where the two were intimately blended, at least in my perception. An example that I would share here is that of lying on a warm stone in rural Spanish sunshine, alone, my eyes closed, my soul infused with the scents of cistus and thyme, listening to the sound of goat bells above the tumbling rush of the river beside me, and I knew—with that subjective certainty which so thoroughly imbues such moments—that time did not exist: everything around me was the wholeness of all that had ever happened in that ancient valley. It was not crowded with humanity, but human culture was fully involved, scratching its living in the dusty hills, quietly but so very deeply rooted, and perpetually narrated by the stories and songs of those people generation after generation. Eight years old, for me it was an experience of feeling completely held, in peace and security—home—to the extent that I recognise my spiritual journey to have been in some measure a seeking to recreate that exceptional feeling.””

— Emma Restall Orr, in her essay Pagan Ecology: on our perception of nature, ancestry, and home, in the book The Wanton Green, Contemporary Pagan Writings on Place. I promised I would post these descriptions of childhood moments sometimes. Here’s one.

Blueberry Lavender Rolls

The summer rolls over stabbed by the city red plumage explodes across the trees. The colors always reminded me of you. She slowly drips back into the earth until everything is stained, removed, then frozen. And the world begins again.

Michelle K., Fall. (via enchanting-autumn)

Fairy Tale Spells by Bree NicGarran

Fairy tales have always been with us. Apart from teaching moral lessons and practical cautions, they remain a source of wonder and inspiration that persists even in a modern age dominated by technology.

There is magic in these tales as well - spells and charms that aid the worthy and conquer obstacles, heal the ailing and bring wealth to the poor, thwart the wicked and exact terrible revenge, or grant someone their hearts' desire and make their dearest wishes come true.

I have created over a hundred such spells, inspired by the tales recorded by the Brothers Grimm and the folklore collected by Andrew Lang. One volume was published back in 2017 and another is forthcoming. If you're curious (and maybe a little bit daring), here are some previews of the spells to be found in the pages of The Sisters Grimmoire.

After all, who couldn’t use a bit of Happily Ever After?

The Sisters Grimmoire, Vol. I

A Bellyful of Stones - A curse to punish the greedy.

Roughskin - To protect and disguise oneself from those who mean to harm you.

Table of Plenty - To obtain needed money or provisions.

The Red Flower - For removing enchantment.

The Sorrow Pot - To relieve your sorrows and bring justice for a grievance.

The Wall of Thorns - To protect one’s home and property.

The Sisters Grimmoire, Vol. II (forthcoming)

Make Sure You Lock Up - To set your household wards when you lock your front door.

The Ferryman's Curse - To curse another with the problems that plague your own life.

The Shining Web - To repel trouble from the home.

You can find more spells from The Sisters Grimmoire, Vol. I and potion and powder recipes from Pestlework by checking out the mid-month minisodes of Hex Positive, available on your favorite podcast platform.

All of my titles can be found on Amazon or ordered from the Willow Wings Witch Shop. (If you'd like to see them in your local witch shop, feel free to give the proprietor my contact information!)

If you're enjoying my content, please feel free to drop a little something in the tip jar! 😊

Except i have a weiner dog and am eaten alive by mosquitos.

Summer evening.

But what are schools for if not to make children fall so deeply in love with the world that they really want to learn about it. …In a proper school no fact would ever be presented as a soulless one, for the simple reason that there is no such thing. Every facet of reality, discovered where it lives, startles with its wonder, beauty and meaning. ~ Marjorie Spock Spock, M (1973) Too Much Like Work in Waldorf Schools. Kindergarten and Early Grades 1993. Mercury Press

Floral dressed

Artist Lim Zhi Wei, aka @lovelimzy discovered her talent for mixed material art, while she was trying to make a very special birthday gift for her grandmother. “I pressed some rose petals and made her a bookmark with a painted girl wearing a petal dress,” explained Wei. “That’s how the floral works started.”

Wei’s elegant compositions are always depicting the delicate shape of the female body, which she draws with watercolor, beautifully blended together with flower petals from orchids, roses, hydrangeas and chrysanthemum leaves.

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MORE I Follow us: Inspiring Pieces

“i would never confess to a crime I didn’t commit” you would. “I would never plead guilty if i was innocent” you would. “I would never give up fighting” you would.