A Day in the Life of a Domestic Enchantress

DEMONOLOGY

2011-12-04T21:36:00.000-08:00

Occult

Demonology (occultism)

Practitioners of ceremonial magic sometimes attempt to constrain and command demons to do their bidding, using methods such as the Goetia and The Book of Abramelin. The demons are often those mentioned in Christian demonology. These practitioners do not necessarily worship demons, but seek to deploy them to obtain their goals. Other followers of the occult do worship demons, and some refer to their religion as "demonolatry." Demonolators consider methods such as the Goetia very disrespectful towards the demons, and possibly dangerous for the operator. They instead use forms of prayer, magic, and ritual which petition the demons, asking for their aid rather than commanding them.

Demonolators are not identical to practitioners of Theistic Satanism. They worship other demons (such as Belial and Leviathan) either alongside, or instead of Satan. Some demonolators say that their form of demonolatry is a tradition, often familial, that is not related to the modern religious and philosophical movements collectively referred to as Satanism. Not all of the occultists who worship demons use the word "demonolator" to describe themselves, nor do all belong to the specific group mentioned above.

DEMONOLOGY

2011-12-03T09:33:00.000-08:00

Hinduism

Hindu demon

Hindu mythology include a range of spirits (Vetalas, Yakshas, Bhutas and Pishachas) that might be classified as demons. These spirits are souls of beings that have committed certain specific sins. As a purging punishment, they are condemned to roam without a physical form for a length of time, until a rebirth. Beings that died with unfulfilled desires or anger are also said to "linger" until such issues are resolved. Hindu text Atharvaveda gives an account of nature and habitats of such spirits including how to persuade/control them. There are occult traditions in Hinduism that seeks to control such spirits to do their bidding. Hindu text Garuda Purana details other kinds of punishments and judgments given out in Hell; this also given an account of how the spirit travels to nether world.

DEMONOLOGY

2011-12-02T09:29:00.000-08:00

Buddhism

Traditionally, Buddhism affirms the existence of hells peopled by demons who torment sinners and tempt mortals to sin, or who seek to thwart their enlightenment, with a demon named Mara as chief tempter, "prince of darkness," or "Evil One" in Sanskrit sources.

The followers of Mara were also called mara, the devils, and are frequently cited as a cause of disease or representations of mental obstructions. The mara became fully assimilated into the Chinese worldview, and were called mo.

The idea of the imminent decline and collapse of the Buddhist religion amid a "great cacophony of demonic influences" was already a significant component of Buddhism when it reached China in the first century CE, according to Michel Strickmann. Demonic forces had attained enormous power in the world. For some writers of the time this state of affairs had been ordained to serve the higher purpose of effecting a "preliminary cleansing" that would purge and purify humanity in preparation for an ultimate, messianic renewal.

Medieval Chinese Buddhist demonology was heavily influenced by Indian Buddhism. Indian demonology is also fully and systematically described in written sources, though during Buddhism's millennium of direct influence in China, "Chinese demonology was whipped into respectable shape," with a number of Indian demons finding permanent niches even in Taoist ritual texts.

DEMONOLOGY

2011-12-01T09:18:00.000-08:00

Islam

Demons in Islam

In Islam, the devil Iblis or Shaytan was a Jinn (humans are created from Earth, Angels from light, and jinn from 'smokeless fire'). The jinn, though, are not necessarily evil; they could be good-doers or sinners just like humans. Since the jinn and humans are the only kinds of creation who have the will to choose, the followers of Iblis could be jinn or human. The angels, on the other hand, are sinless and only obey the will of God. In the Qur'an, when God Ordered those witnessing the creation of Adam to prostrate before him (Adam), Iblis refused to do so and was therefore damned for refusal to obey God's Will.

DEMONOLOGY

2011-11-30T09:15:00.000-08:00

Christianity

Christian demonology

Christian demonology is the study of demons from a Christian point of view. It is primarily based on the Bible (Old Testament and New Testament), the exegesis of these scriptures, the scriptures of early Christian philosophers and hermits, tradition, and legends incorporated from other beliefs.

A number of authors throughout Christian history have written about demons for a variety of purposes. Theologians like Thomas Aquinas wrote concerning the behaviors Christians should be aware of, while witchhunters like Heinrich Kramer wrote about how to find and what to do with people they believed were involved with demons. Some texts are written with instructions on how to summon demons in the name of God and often were claimed to have been written by individuals respected within the Church, such as the Lesser Key of Solomon or The Grimoire of Pope Honorius (although these the earliest manuscripts were from well after these individuals had died). These latter texts were usually more detailed, giving names, ranks, and descriptions of demons individually and categorically. Most Christians commonly reject these texts as either diabolical or fictitious.

In modern times, some demonological texts have been written by Christians, usually in a similar vein of Thomas Aquinas, explaining their effects in the world and how faith may lessen or eliminate damage by them. A few Christian authors, such as Jack Chick and John Todd, write with intentions similar to Kramer, proclaiming that demons and their human agents are active in the world. These claims can stray from mainstream ideology, and may include such beliefs as that Christian rock is a means through which demons influence people.

Not all Christians believe that demons exist in the literal sense. There is the view that the language of exorcism in the New Testament is an example of what was once employed to describe the healings of what would be classified in modern days as epilepsy, mental illness etc.

DEMONOLOGY

2011-11-29T09:09:00.000-08:00

Judaism

Jewish demonology

While historical Judaism never "officially" recognized a rigid set of doctrines about demons, many scholars believe that its post-exilic concepts of eschatology, angelology, and demonology were influenced by Zoroastrianism. Some, however, believe that these concepts were received as part of the Kabbalistic tradition passed down from Adam, Noah, and the Hebrew patriarchs.

The Talmud declares that there are 7,405,926 demons, divided in 72 companies. While many people believe today that Lucifer and Satan are different names for the same being, not all scholars subscribe to this view. Use of the name "Lucifer" for the devil stems from a particular interpretation of Isaiah 14:3–20, a passage that does not speak of any fallen angel but of the defeat of a particular Babylonian King, to whom it gives a title that refers to what in English is called the Day Star or Morning Star (in Latin, lucifer, meaning "light-bearer", from the words lucem ferre). In 2 Peter 1:19 and elsewhere, the same Latin word lucifer is used to refer to the Morning Star, with no relation to the devil. It is only in post-New Testament times that the Latin word Lucifer was used as a name for the devil, both in religious writing and in fiction, especially when referring to him prior to his fall from Heaven.

There is more than one instance where demons are said to have come to be, as seen by the sins of the Watchers and the Grigori, of Lilith leaving Adam, of demons such as vampires, impure spirits in Jewish folklore such as the dybbuk, and of wicked humans that have become demons as well.

DEMONOLOGY

2011-11-28T09:08:00.000-08:00

Ancient Near East

Mesopotamian demon

Further information: Asag and Pazuzu

In Babylonian mythology, the seven evil deities were known as shedu, or "storm-demons". They were represented in winged bull form, derived from the colossal bulls used as protective genii of royal palaces, the name "shed" assumed also the meaning of a propitious genius in Babylonian magic literature. It was from Chaldea that the name "shedu" came to the Israelites, and so the writers of the Tanach applied the word Shedim to certain Canaanite deities. They also spoke of "the destroyer" (Exodus xii. 23) as a Lord who will "strike down the Egyptians." In II Samuel xxiv; 16 and II Chronicles xxi. 15 the pestilence-dealing angel, that is spirit, called "the destroying angel" (compare "the angel of the Lord" in II Kings xix. 35; Isaiah xxxvii. 36).

DEMONOLOGY

2011-11-27T09:05:00.000-08:00

Under the heading of demons are classified only such spirits as are believed to enter into relations with the human race; the term therefore includes:
1.angels in the Judeo-Christian tradition that fell from grace,
2.human souls regarded as genii or familiars,
3.such as receive a cult (e.g., ancestor worship)
4.ghosts or other malevolent revenants.

Excluded are souls conceived as inhabiting another world. Yet just as gods are not necessarily spiritual, demons may also be regarded as corporeal; vampires for example are sometimes described as human heads with appended entrails, which issue from the tomb to attack the living during the night watches. The so-called Spectre Huntsman of the Malay Peninsula is said to be a man who scours the firmament with his dogs, vainly seeking for what he could not find on Earth -a buck mouse-deer pregnant with male offspring; but he seems to be a living man; there is no statement that he ever died, nor yet that he is a spirit. The incubi and Succubi of the Middle Ages are sometimes regarded as spiritual beings; but they were held to give proof of their bodily existence, such as offspring (though often deformed). Belief in demons goes back many millennia. The Zoroastrian faith teaches that there are 3,333 Demons, some with specific dark responsibilities such as war, starvation, sickness, etc.

DEMONOLOGY

2011-11-26T09:03:00.000-08:00

The ascription of malevolence to the world of spirits is by no means universal. In Central Africa, the Mpongwe believe in local spirits, just as do the Inuit; but they are regarded as inoffensive in the main. Passers-by must make some trifling offering as they near the spirits' place of abode; but it is only occasionally that mischievous acts, such as the throwing down of a tree on a passer-by, are, in the view of the natives, perpetuated by the class of spirits known as Ombuiri. So too, many of the spirits especially concerned with the operations of nature are conceived as neutral or even benevolent; the European peasant fears the corn-spirit only when he irritates him by trenching on his domain and taking his property by cutting the corn; similarly, there is no reason why the more insignificant personages of the pantheon should be conceived as malevolent, and we find that the Petara of the Dyaks are far from indiscriminating and malignant, being viewed as invisible guardians of mankind.

DEMONOLOGY

2011-11-26T08:57:00.000-08:00

According to some societies, all the affairs of life are supposed to be under the control of spirits, each ruling a certain "element" or even object, and themselves in subjection to a greater spirit. For example, the Inuit are said to believe in spirits of the sea, earth and sky, the winds, the clouds and everything in nature. Every cove of the seashore, every point, every island and prominent rock has its guardian spirit. All are potentially of the malignant type, to be propitiated by an appeal to knowledge of the supernatural. Traditional Korean belief posits that countless demons inhabit the natural world; they fill household objects and are present in all locations. By the thousands they accompany travelers, seeking them out from their places in the elements.

In ancient Babylon, demonology had an influence on even the most mundane elements of life, from petty annoyances to the emotions of love and hatred. The numerous demonic spirits were given charge over various parts of the human body, one for the head, one for the neck, and so on.

Greek philosophers such as Porphyry, who claimed influence from Platonism, and the fathers of the Christian Church, held that the world was pervaded with spirits,

the latter of whom advanced the belief that demons received the worship directed at pagan gods.

Many religions and cultures believe, or once believed, that what is now known as sleep paralysis, was a form of physical contact with demons.

DEMONOLOGY

2011-11-25T08:52:00.000-08:00

So I wanted to educate everyone about my job with PIRCOM- Paranormal Investigation and Research Counsil of Michigan. I am a DEMONOLOGIST and OCCULT SPECIALIST sounds fancy huh? Well here is a basic overview of Demonlogy.
Demonology is the systematic study of demons or beliefs about demons.[1] It is the branch of theology relating to superhuman beings who are not gods.[2] It deals both with benevolent beings that have no circle of worshippers or so limited a circle as to be below the rank of gods, and with malevolent beings of all kinds. The original sense of "demon", from the time of Homer onward, was a benevolent being,[3] but in English the name now holds connotations of malevolence.

Demons, when regarded as spirits, may belong to either of the classes of spirits recognized by primitive animism;[4] that is to say, they may be human, or non-human, separable souls, or discarnate spirits which have never inhabited a body. A sharp distinction is often drawn between these two classes, notably by the Melanesians, several African groups, and others; the Arab jinn, for example, are not reducible to modified human souls; at the same time these classes are frequently conceived as producing identical results, e.g. diseases.

The word demonology is from Greek δαίμων, daimōn, "divinity, divine power, god"; and -λογία, -logia.

FRUGAL WITCH

2011-11-24T08:41:00.000-08:00

One of my favorite Frugal Witch tips is to go to the library instead of buying new books ( I have to admit I am soo guilty of buying every book I see, but it is something I afford myself). I just checked and my local library has over fifty titles available and I live in a very smal county.
If the library doesnt work as any of your witchy friends to loan you a book or two, I am sure they would be more than happy to do so.

Another tip is the dollar store as mentioned before and I swear I will do a dollar store trip and show you some things you may have never even thought of using.
You can get candles, oils, dolls, herbs, etc. The possibilities are endless.

FRUGAL WITCH

2011-11-23T08:35:00.000-08:00

Ten Ways to Deepen Your Practice for Little or No Money
There are plenty of witchy activities you can do that cost nothing, or next to nothing. Here is a list of ten, just to give you the idea:

Grow your own magickal herbs and flowers. Even apartment-dwellers usually have a sunny windowsill they can devote to a few herbs. And growing the plants yourself means that you are putting your energy and intent into the magick you will eventually do with them from the very first moment you plant the seeds.
Go for a walk and pay attention to nature. If you live in the country, or have a park nearby, it is easy to take a mindful stroll and watch for the animals and birds we share the planet with. Even in a city, you can usually find a green spot, or go to a botanical garden. Breathe the air and notice what you smell. Listen to the sounds, and just connect back to the earth. If you can, sit for a while with your body in contact with the earth or a tree, and feel its strength supporting you.
Stand out under the night sky and look at the stars. Feel how small you are, and yet how vital a part of the universe.
Stand out under the night sky and look at the moon. What phase is it in? Is there any way in which that phase corresponds to where things are in your life? If the moon is full, be sure to soak up the light and love of the goddess while you’re out there.
Teach someone something about The Craft. Passing on knowledge in one of the most important aspects of being a Pagan. Share what you know with another Witch who is just starting out, or gently educate a non-Pagan about what it really means to be a Witch.
Sit by a body of water and listen to the soothing sounds it makes. Think about how all the water on the planet is connected, from the smallest drop of rain to the biggest ocean, and so are we.
Plant a tree. You can usually get bare-root trees for very little money at your local Cooperative Extension, or from the Arbor Foundation. If you don’t have property on which you can plant a tree, see if a local park will let you plant one there, or help a friend to plant it on their land. Or donate to the Arbor Foundation and they will plant one for you, if you can’t do it yourself.
Drum. The drum has been used by Pagans for as long as we have history to look back on, so drumming is a connection with all those who went before. It can help you achieve a meditative state, or you can just use it to send out a message of joy into the universe.
Help someone who needs it. I firmly believe that the goddess (or deity in whichever form you find it) wants us to look out for each other. When you help another without expecting anything in return, you are doing Her work.
Give someone a kiss or a hug and tell them you love them unconditionally. Perfect love and perfect trust are at the core of a Witchcraft practice, yet who among us can say we truly get or give enough.
courtesy of LLewellyn Worldwide

THE FRUGAL WITCH

2011-11-21T20:30:00.000-08:00

Instead of buying garb, go to a consignment store or the local Salvation Army shop and find something funky that can be used as witchy garb. For instance, if it is black and lacy, any shirt or skirt is likely to look Pagan. Or keep your eye out for old Halloween witch costumes at yard sales.
Instead of buying an expensive metal chalice, go to the dollar store and buy a glass goblet. Decorate it with glass markers or ribbons if you want to dress it up a little.
Instead of using fancy candle holders, get some inexpensive glass or pottery plates (bowls work, too) and sit your pillar candles or votives on them. Just make sure the containers are fire-safe and that the candles won’t tip over. Instead of a pricy athame or wand, go out into the woods and find just the right piece of wood and sand or decorate it as needed. If you have one, you can use a wood-burning kit to inscribe mystical symbols on your stick. Or use colored markers, ribbons, feathers, or crystals to make it a little more magickal. But since both tools are primarily used for pointing and directing energy, a plain piece of wood is fine. For that matter, your finger will work, too.
Instead of buying a pre-made Book of Shadows, take an inexpensive binder or folder and decorate it with magickal symbols, a pretty cloth cover, or pressed leaves. Or just find a cheap journal that already has a cover you like.
Instead of spending a lot of money on special spell candles, take a votive or taper (less than a dollar, most places) and anoint and consecrate it for whatever magickal work you are doing. You can etch appropriate rune signs into the candle with the point of a toothpick, if you want.
AND REMEMBER THE DOLLAR STORE IS YOUR BEST FRIEND

A new study

2011-09-06T04:48:00.000-07:00

A study has revealed that the kind of face a woman finds attractive on a man can differ depending on her menstrual cycle. For example: If she is ovulating she is attracted to men with masculine and rugged features.

However if she is menstruating or menopausal she tends to be more attracted to a man with duct tape over his mouth and a spear lodged in his chest while he is on fire.. No further studies are expected on this subject...

MILK SHAKES and MORTARS Confessions of an Army wife

2011-09-05T18:00:00.000-07:00

Sunday, September 4, 2011

So we travel to Missouri (Misery) this week to see my huband Robert who has just finished his basic combat training! He looks great in the uniform....pics soon I promise! While he tells me about the intense NIC at night training( trust me not as fun as it sounds lol.) My husband enjoys the first milkshake in 9 weeks! Apparently crawling on your belly for 300 yards plus while being shot at and mortars being lit up is quite stressful indeed. I can still se the nights events in his eyes, lucky empath that I am. We were hopeful for a 48 hour leave which was more than earned and not given, but we spent time together on base. At the water park I watch him play with our daughter smiling, truly happy for a moment in time. Until yet again the thoughts of being away from her set in, and the man that stands before me is yet again a boy crying for things that are not possible anymore. A daughter he cannot see whenever he wants or needs to. A wife, friend, and love quite possibly beyond all remedy, because he recites as the army has taught him...My last name goes to the right of my chest, and the army patch over his left, because they teach your wife can keep your name but the ARMY has your heart. He cries as he says they did not issue me my children nor my wife. I am a beast I do not think, I do not talk, I breathe, I eat, I get dressed, I kill because that is what I am trained to be...a beast and not a man.

Theres no place like home...Theres no place like home

2011-09-05T17:55:00.000-07:00

Well, we finally arrived at our house. Trinity and I are glad to be back home, it is a bitter sweet moment

hmmn

2011-09-04T02:28:00.001-07:00

SPIRIT GUIDE MEDITATION

2011-08-20T11:23:00.001-07:00

Our guides are here to help us out everyday, so talk to them and ask for their guidance. Talk to them in your conscious states, in your dreams and in these types of Meditations. Remember they are on the astral levels and are filled with love and compassion. They never loose patience with us, they never get mad at us and they never judge our actions.
Since this is a special meditation, you may want to prepare your meditation space in a special way. Add a few ritualistic events, such as lighting a white candle and saying a prayer stating your intent for this meditative session. Some people like to decorate their meditative space with a spiritual symbol, a celtic cross, ankh, pentacle, or other symbols to add to the spiritual significance of this meditation.
Find a piece of music you really like for meditation and stick with it. If you use the same piece each time you meditate, you will pre-program your mind to step into a state of relaxation. Each time you practice, your mind will move into this state with less effort and more quickly, allowing you more time for greater meditative work. Once you are all set and prepared, this is what you do. Take your time, try to imagine as much detail as possible.
Sit in a comfortable position, one that you can sustain for about 30-45 minutes.
Close your eyes and take in a deep cleansing breath. Fill your lungs to their fullest capacity. Then release the breath through your mouth and push all the air out of your body. Take in 3 deep breaths through the nose, imagine the white light from the universe coming into your lungs and collecting at your solar plexus.
With all 3 exhales, image all the stress, anxiety and negativity you have leaving your body carried out to the universe on a gay smoke where it can be dissipated and no longer do harm to anyone. As you exhale, imagine the events of the day or week floating out of your body. Put these worries aside and begin to relax your entire body and mind. Feel the tension in your muscles begin to subside. Begin at your solar plexus and imagine the white light moving up and down your body from this point. Imagine the warmth of the energy as it passes through your muscles and organs. Feel the tingling sensations as the light moves down to your toes and up your body to the top of your head. Imagine your entire body engulfed by this white divine light, from the inside out.
Say a prayer once more asking your guides and teachers to come to you and to help with the purpose of this mediation. State your intention clearly and ask 'God' to help you with your meditative journey. Don't forget to thank them up front for their efforts.
This step takes a little practice, don't worry if you can't do this for any extended period of time, but at least give it a try. Keep your eyes closed, but look up at the pituitary gland. This is a small gland located in the middle of your forehead, just above the brow. (this is also considered to be the position of your third eye and is therefore the gateway to higher conscious realms). Try to keep your eyes focused on this point. The muscles around your eyes may become sore as you stretch them upward, so don't over do this at first. As you practice, this step will become easier and easier to do.
As you focus on your third eye imagine your at the base of a tunnel, dimly light and slanted upward. Imagine your astral body (or your soul) standing up from your physical body and begin to walk toward and into the tunnel. See the lights on the walls and the texture of the floor as you walk through the tunnel. Imagine yourself moving upward.
Just a head of you, about 100 yards, you see a set of glass doors and through those doors you can see a brilliant white light. You feel in your heart that this is the light of the universal consciousness, of God. A feeling of Peace, calm, protection and knowledge fills your insides. With each step closer, you feel more relaxed and at peace..you feel uplifted and connected to this universal energy.
As you approach the doors, they automatically open and invite your soul into this realm of enlightenment. As you pass through you can see an image waiting for you, arms outstretched as if wanting to greet you with a loving hug. At first the image is little blurry and about 50 yards in front of you.
As you get closer to the image, you begin to see their features more clearly. You can see the type of cloths they're wearing, the style of their hair and any decorations they have, such as a hat or feathers, or jewelry.
Finally, standing right in front of this wonderful soul, you can see their face very clearly and you know this is your guide. As you embrace, you can feel their energy surrounding you, both spiritually and physically. You make a mental note of this feeling so that you can recognize it when you return and feel your guide during your conscious state.
The remainder of this meditation is up to the individual. You can ask their name, ask them what your purpose is in this lifetime. What lessons you're here to learn or what karma you need to resolve. Or how you know them, what their relationship is to you.
When you have concluded your visit, make sure you thank them deeply for their gift of service and protection to you. Thank them for coming here during this meditation to meet you and/or visit with you. Give them a goodbye hug, then turn and head back for the tunnel.
Imagine yourself passing through the glass doors and heading back down to your meditative space. Imagine your soul walking through the door to your room, and seeing your physical body right where you left it. As your soul steps back inside your spiritual body, all the visions sensations and answers you received merge with your physical brain and are automatically stored into your conscious mind.
Take in a deep breath, begin to feel your body, become more and more aware of your surroundings, have a nice long and hard stretch, then open your eyes.
The last thing you should do before you get up from your meditative spot is to record this event either on tape or in a journal. It's important to do it right away while the images, feelings and sounds are still clear in your mind.
You don't have to reserve this mediation for just meeting your guides. You can use it each time you want to visit with them as well. You can meet with them on the astral levels to work out problems and discuss solutions to any situation you are presented with in your life.

Frugal witchcraft

2011-08-13T23:05:00.000-07:00

Well, As most of you know I moved into a new house recently. Unfortunately, unlike almost every other time I have moved, I did not unpack all of my magical items...one of those things being an incense burner. Well, at 1:30 am I decided I needed to cleanse my kicthen of all negativity...... Found the incense...great. Now for the burner...oops not one in sight..too late to buy one and I wouldn't anyways.. so being the cheap ass I am I took the drain strainer outta my sink, and put it in a small saucer.. "POOF!sparkle"and there ya have it..instant stick incense burner!!!
And here is the picture.....not pretty by any means, but functional

Hunab KuHe

2011-08-12T21:07:00.000-07:00

Hunab KuHe - The supreme god and creator of the Maya. He is the head of the Mayan pantheon and called 'god of the gods'. Hunab Ku rebuilt the world after three deluges, which poured from the mouth of a sky serpent. The first world he created was inhabited by dwarfs, the builders of the cities. The second world was inhabited by the Dzolob, 'the offenders', an obscure race. The third and final world Hunab Ku created for the Maya themselves (who are destined to be overcome by a fourth flood). The god Itzamna is his son. He is similar to the Aztec Ometeotl.

The tides are turning

2011-08-11T20:57:00.001-07:00

I woke up this moring with a new found sense of inner peace and balance. Something I have not felt in a long time. Luckily I have someone to share it with, my friend,my chosen sister, and my heart. I am so lucky to have you in my life, you help to give me balance and perspective. Thank you for always being there

Something from Facebook This is how I feel everyday.

2011-08-06T23:18:00.001-07:00

It's hard to explain to someone who has no clue. It's a daily struggle feeling sick on the inside while you look fine on the outside. Please put this as your status for at least 1 hour if you or someone you know has an invisible illness (Anxiety, BiPolar, Depression, Diabetes, Lupus, Fibromyalgia, Crohn's, Diverticulitis, MS, Arthritis, Cancer, Heart Disease, Autism etc.) "Never judge what you don't understand."

COUNT YOUR BLESSINGS ALTAR

2011-06-29T06:20:00.001-07:00

This can be a space on top of a dresser or a

small table. Make a list of everything you are

thankful for-including your family, friends, job,

good health, home, and so on. Make the list as

long and specific as possible, and list everyone

and everything by name. Then take a clear jar or

vase and fill it with small objects, such as

pebbles, or marbles, one for each item on the list.

Place a few pictures of specific blessings, such as

pictures of your children, your mate and so on,

in front of the jar. Place a white candle on this

altar, and light it every day for a few minutes

while you give thanks for your many blessings

HUITZILOPOCHTLI

2011-06-28T08:49:00.000-07:00

His temple (next to that of Tlaloc) on the Main Pyramid was the focus of fearsome sacrifices of prisoners captured by Aztec warriors. Victims' heads were strung as trophies on a great rack, the Tzompantli, erected in the precinct below.
God of War-Lord of the South-The Young Warrior-Lord of the Day- The Blue Tezcatliopoca of the South-Patron God of the Mexica. Known metaphorically as "The Blue Heron Bird", "The Lucid Macaw", and "The Eagle".

The derivation of his name may have come from the ancient Chichimeca "Tetzauhteotl", possibly meaning "Omen-God".

He is considered an incarnation of the sun and struggles with the forces of night to keep mankind alive. Only to have found a place of major worship among the Aztec peoples. Huitzilopochtli is credited with inducing the Aztecs to migrate from their homeland in "Aztlan" and begin the long wanderings which brought their tribe to the Mexico Valley.

According to Aztec legend, Coatlicue, goddess of the earth had given birth to the moon and stars. The moon, Coyolxauhqui, and the stars called, Centzonhuitznahuac, became jealous of Coatlicue's pregnancy with Huitzilopochtli. During his birth, Huitzilopochtli used the "serpent of fire" and the sun's rays to defeat the moon and stars. Every day the battle continues between day and night. The Mexica saw the sunrise as a daily victory for this deity over the forces of darkness.

Huitzilopochtli can only be fed by Chalchihuatl, or the blood of sacrifice, to sustain him in his daily battle. He resides in the seventh heaven of Aztec mythology. The seventh heaven is represented as blue. His temple on the great Pyramid in Tenochtitlan was called Lihuicatl Xoxouqui, or "Blue Heaven". Over 20,000 victims are thought to have been ritually killed at the opening of his great temple in Tenochtitlan during a four day period.

Duran relates that the great temple contained a wooden statue carved to look like a man sitting on a blue wood bench. A serpent pole extended from each corner to give the appearance of the bench as a litter. On his head was placed a headdress in the shape of a bird's beak. A curtain was always hung in front of the image to indicate reverence.

Tlacaelel, the Aztec power broker, is thought to have propelled this god into the place of importance that Huitzilopochtli held, some suggest even re-writing Mexican history.

Huitzilopochtli's creation may have come from the ancient Mexica god "Opochtli", the Left Handed One, and a leading old Chichimec god of weapons and water. He was called "He Who Divides the Waters", and was principal in worship in the Huitzilopochco area and it's famous waters. Opochtli is thought to have been worshipped in ancient Aztlan.

Huitzilopochtli is said to be a representation of Tezcatlipoca in midsummer as the high sun in the southern sky. His name may have derived with his association with the color blue as when staring at the sun, spots of blue are seen by the eyes after looking away. His association with "on the left", was because when facing in the direction of the sun's path, east to west, the sun passed on the left.

Huitzilopochtli was the most celebrated of the Mexican deities and came to embody the aspirations and accomplishments of the Aztec. His cult could have been considered the "state cult" and was a focus of the powerful economic and political system.

Also known as "The Portentous One", as he directed the Mexica on their nomadic trek into the Valley of Mexico through a series of signs and omens. It was Huitzilopochtli who sent the eagle to perch on the nopal cactus to indicate the site of the Mexica's final resting place. His elevation to the rank of a major deity coincided with the formation of the triple alliance between Tenochtitlan, Texcoco, and Tlacopan. At this formation of the alliance his recognition as the god of war was complete and total.

As the power of Tenochtitlan grew his image was incorporated into the new lands and regions coming under Mexica control and he assumed new prominence and attributes even to the point of usurping the more traditional sun god, Tonatiuh. His main temple in the great temple of Tenochtitlan, (the Temple Mayor), was set alongside Tlaloc, god of rain, the symbolism of these two deities elevated above all others was a reflection of the economic status of the Mexica empire, (agriculture and war-tribute). Of interest many pictures and statues have survived of Tlaloc and other major deities but relatively few of Huitzilopochtli.

Images of Huitzilopochtli may be found in the Codex Borbonicus in which he is depicted standing in front of a small temple in his honor, in the Codex Telleriano-Remensis, in his capacity as symbol of the month of Panquetzaliztli, and in a dual painting with Paynal, (messenger god), in Sahagun's Primeros Memoriales. His image further adorns the Codex Boturini in his guidance of the Mexica on their wanderings.

In the Codex Azcatitlan he is represented as a combination hummingbird and serpent tail being carried in what might be thought of as a backpack. In the Codex Florentine his birth is recorded as well as his famous battle with the stars. In all painted images his adornments are different, some with a shield of turquoise mosaic, others with a shield of white eagle feathers. The central image in all drawings is that of a warrior and a leader. He is often depicted as a seed dough image or "teixiptla" which was often made and prized during feasts.

Although Huitzilopochtli was worshipped greatly during the entire Mexica year he was of particular importance during the feast of Toxcatl, Dry Thing, Tlaxochimaco, Giving of Flowers, Teotleco, Arrival of Gods, and Panquetzaliztli, Raising of Banners. The feast honoring the raising of banners is generally thought to be his major yearly feast.

Nowhere was Huitzilopochtli more honored than in his main temple atop the great pyramid in Tenochtitlan in the Temple Mayor. His main cult statue stood in the southernmost corner of the twin shrines to him and Tlaloc. The shrine to this deity is described in detail by Duran as well as accounts by several of the soldiers with Cortes, namely Andres de Tapia and Bernal Diaz as well as Cortes himself.

Duran claims to describe the statue based on reports from native informants and from direct interviews with surviving conquistadors. He describes the image as a wooden statue carved to look like a man seated on a blue wooden bench in the form of a liter. The liter poles contained images of serpents long enough to be carried on the shoulder of men. The bench was in the traditional Huitzilopochtli "sky blue" color. The image itself had a blue forehead with a blue band reaching from ear to ear also blue.

The image had a headdress shaped like a hummingbird beak made of gold. The feathers adorning the headdress were a beautiful green. In his left hand he held a shield, white, with five bunches of white feathers in the form of a cross. Four arrows extended from the handle of the shield. In his right hand he held a staff in the image of a serpent which was also blue. Gold bracelets were on his wrists and he wore blue foot sandals. This image was covered from view with a type of curtain adorned with jewels and gold. Bernal Diaz also relates an account and it is certainly worth reading.

Huitzilopochtli shared the top of the great temple with Tlaloc in Texcoco as well as in Tenochtitlan and is described in detail in Pomar's book. Pomar's Huitzilopochtli was an image of a standing young man, made from wood adorned with a cloak of rich feathers and wearing an ornate necklace of jade and turquoise surrounded by golden bells. His body paint was blue with a blue striped face. His hair was of eagle feathers and had a headdress of quetzal (46) feathers.

Oh his shoulder was a form of a hummingbird's head. His legs were adorned and decorated with gold bells. In his hand was held a large spear, a spearthrower, and a feathered shield covered with a lattice work of gold stripes.

There was no greater worshipped image to the Mexica and the stone idol that was atop the pyramid in Tenochtitlan that was removed under the eyes of Cortes. The idol was entrusted to a man called Tlatolatl. Tlatolatl successfully was able to hide this image of Huitzilopochtli as was uncovered during an investigation by the Bishop Zummaraga during the 1530's. The statue has never been found and is probably resting and waiting today in a cave somewhere in northern Mexico.

Listed in the Codex Boturini, the sacred bundle of Huitzilopochtli carried during the wandering years was born by four "bearers", named Tezacoatl, (Mirror Serpent), Chimalma, (Shield Hand), Apanecatl, (Water Headdress), and Cuauhcoatl, (Eagle Serpent). The Codex Azcatitlan shows only two god bearers. Duran agrees that there were four bearers but does not name them. Juan de Torquemada in his "Monarquia indiana also confers the four god bearers. Hernando Alvarado Tezozomoc keeps the bearer Cuauhcoatl but replaces the other three with Quauhtlonquetzque, Axoloa, and Ococaltzin. To further confuse this issue the Cronica Mexicayotl replaces Cuauhcoatl, (Eagle Serpent), with Iztamixcoatzin, (White Cloud Serpent).

Huehueteotl

2011-06-27T08:48:00.000-07:00

Huehueteotl ("Old god"; agéd god in Nahuatl) is a Mesoamerican deity figuring in the pantheons of pre-Columbian cultures, particularly in Aztec mythology and others of the Central Mexico region. He is also sometimes called Ueueteotl. Although known mostly in the cultures of that region, images and iconography depicting Huehueteotl have been found at other archaeological sites across Mesoamerica, such as in the Gulf region, western Mexico, Protoclassic-era sites in the Guatemalan highlands such as Kaminaljuyú and Late-Postclassic sites on the northern Yucatán Peninsula.
Huehueteotl is frequently considered to overlap with, or be another aspect of, a central Mexican/Aztec deity associated with fire, Xiuhtecuhtli. In particular, the Florentine Codex identifies Huehueteotl as an alternative epithet for Xiutecuhtli, and consequently that deity is sometimes referred to as Xiutecuhtli-Huehueteotl.

However, Huehueteotl is characteristically depicted as an aged or even decrepit being, whereas Xiutecuhtli's appearance is much more youthful and vigorous, and he has a marked association with rulership and (youthful) warriors.

EHECATL

2011-06-26T04:44:00.000-07:00

In Aztec mythology, Ehecatl ("wind") was the god of wind, an aspect of Quetzalcoatl. His breath moved the sun and pushed away rain. He fell in love with a human girl named Mayahuel, and gave mankind the ability to love so that she could return his passion. He had no known permanent physical form. The One Who Causes Movement of Matter in the Universe: Yohualli Ehecatl referring to Our Creator as the Mover of Matter in the universe, as Our Father.

COYOLXAUHQUI

2011-06-25T08:21:00.000-07:00

In Aztec mythology, Coyolxauhqui ("golden bells") was a moon goddess. She was a daughter of Coatlicue and the ruler of the Centzon Huitznahuas, the star gods. She was a powerful magician and led her siblings in an attack on their mother, Coatlicue, because she became pregnant in a shameful way (by a ball of feathers). Coatlicue's fetus, Huitzilopochtli, sprang from her womb in full war armour and killed Coyolxauhqui, along with many of the brothers and sisters. He cut off her limbs, then tossed her head into the sky where it became the moon, so that his mother would be comforted in seeing her daughter in the sky every night.

A shield-shaped stone frieze reflecting this story was found at the base of the stairs on the Templo Mayor. In this frieze, Coyolxauhqui is shown spread out on her side, with her head, arms and legs chopped away from her body. She is distinguished by balls of eagle down in her hair, a bell symbol on her cheek, and an ear tab showing the Mexica year sign. As with images of her mother, she is shown with a skull tied to her belt. Scholars also believe that the decapitation and destruction of Coyolxauhqui is reflected in the pattern of warrior ritual sacrifice. First, captive's hearts were cut out, then they were decapitated, their limbs chopped off, and finally their bodies were cast from the temple, to lie, perhaps, on the great Coyolxauhqui stone.

Coyolxauhqui's celestial associations are not limited to the moon. Other scholars feel she should be understood as the Goddess of the Milky Way, or be associated with patterns of stars associated with Huitzilopochtli.

COATLICUE

2011-06-24T04:20:00.000-07:00

Coatlicue, also known as Teteoinan (also transcribed Teteo Inan) ("The Mother of Gods"), is the Aztec goddess who gave birth to the moon, stars, and Huitzilopochtli, the god of the sun and war. She is also known as Toci, ("Our Grandmother"), and Cihuacoatl, ("The Lady of the serpent"), the patron of women who die in childbirth.
The word "Coatlicue" is Nahuatl for "the one with the skirt of serpents". She is referred to by the epithets "Mother Goddess of the Earth who gives birth to all celestial things", "Goddess of Fire and Fertility", "Goddess of Life, Death and Rebirth" and "Mother of the Southern Stars".

She is represented as a woman wearing a skirt of writhing snakes and a necklace made of human hearts, hands and skulls. Her feet and hands are adorned with claws (for digging graves) and her breasts are depicted as hanging flaccid from nursing. Coatlicue keeps on her chest the hands, hearts and skulls of her children so they can be purified in their mother's chest.

Almost all representation of this goddess depict her deadly side, because Earth, as well as loving mother, is the insatiable monster that consumes everything that lives. She represents the devouring mother, in whom both the womb and the grave exist.

According to the legend, she was magically impregnated while still a virgin by a ball of feathers that fell on her while she was sweeping a temple. She gave birth to Quetzalcoatl and Xolotl. In a fit of wrath her four hundred children, who were encouraged by Coyolxauhqui (her daughter), decapitated her. The god Huitzilopochtli afterward emerged from Coatlicue's womb fully grown and girded for battle and killed many of his brothers and sisters, including decapitating Coyolxauhqui and throwing her head into the sky to become the Moon. In a variation of this legend, Huitzilopochtli himself is conceived by the ball-of-feathers incident and emerges from the womb in time to save his mother from harm.

A massive sculpture known as the Coatlicue Stone was discovered by the astronomer Antonio de León y Gama in August of 1790 after an urban redevelopment program uncovered artifacts. Six months later, the team discovered the massive Aztec sun stone. De León y Gama's account of the discoveries was the first archeological work on Pre-Columbian Mexico.

CIHUACOATYL

2011-06-23T08:19:00.000-07:00

In Aztec mythology, Cihuacoatl ("snake woman"; also Chihucoatl, Ciucoatl) was one of a number of motherhood and fertility goddesses. (See also Ilamatecuhtli, Teteoinnan, Tlazolteotl, and Toci.)
Cihuacoatl was especially associated with midwives, and with the sweatbaths where midwives practiced. She is paired with Quilaztli and was considered a protectress of Chalmeca and patroness of Culhuacan. She helped Quetzalcoatl create the current race of humanity by grinding up bones from the previous ages, and mixing it with his blood. She is also the mother of Mixcoatl, who she abandoned at a crossroads. Tradition says that she often returns there to weep for her lost son, only to find a sacrificial knife.

Although she was sometimes depicted as a young woman, similar to Xochiquetzal, she is more often shown as a fierce skull-faced old woman carrying the spears and shield of a warrior. Childbirth was sometimes compared to warfare and the women who died in childbirth were honored as fallen warriors. Their spirits, the Cihuateteo, were depicted with skeletal faces like Cihuacoatl. Like her, the Cihuateteo are thought to haunt crossroads at night to steal children.

Cihuacoatl was also a noble title among the Aztecs, given to the secondary ruler of Tenochtitlan who was responsible for the day-to-day affairs of the capital city. Tlacaelel served as Cihuacoatl under four Aztec kings (Tlatoanis) during the 15th century. As Cihuacoatl he counselled the ruler and personally took charge of the military and public sacrifices.

CHICOMECOATL

2011-06-22T08:17:00.000-07:00

In Aztec mythology, Chicomecoatl ("Seven Serpent", also the name of a day of the Aztec calendar) was a goddess of food and produce, especially maize and, by extension, a goddess of fertility.
Every September, she received a sacrifice of young girl, decapitated. The sacrifice's blood was poured on a statue of Chicmecoatl and her skin was worn by a priest. She was thought of as a female counterpart to Centeotl and was also called Xilonen ("the hairy one", which referred to the hairs on unshucked maize), who was married to Tezcatlipoca. She often appeared with attributes of Chalchiuhtlicue, such as her headdress and the short lines rubbing down her cheeks. She is usually distinguished by being shown carrying ears of maize. She is shown in three different forms:

As a young girl carrying flowers
As a woman who brings death with her embraces
As a mother who uses the sun as a shield

CHANTICO

2011-06-21T04:13:00.000-07:00

In Aztec mythology, Chantico ("she who dwells in the house") was the goddess of fires in the family hearth and volcanoes. She broke a fast by eating paprika with roasted fish, and was turned into a dog by Tonacatecuhtli. She also wears a crown of poisonous cactus spikes, and takes the form of a red serpent.

CHALCHIUHTLICUE

2011-06-20T04:12:00.000-07:00

In Aztec mythology, Chalchiuhtlicue (also Chalciuhtlicue, or Chalcihuitlicue) ("She of the Jade Skirt") was the goddess of lakes and streams. She is also a patroness of birth and plays a part in Aztec baptisms. In the myth of the five suns, she had dominion over the fourth world, which was destroyed in a great flood. She also presides over the day 5 Serpent and the trecena of 1 Reed.Her husband was Tlaloc and with him, she was the mother of Tecciztecatl and ruler over Tlalocan. In her aquatic aspect, she was known as Acuecucyoticihuati, goddess of oceans, rivers and any other running water, as well as the patron of women in labor. She was also said to be the wife of Xiuhtecuhtli. She is sometimes associated with a rain goddess, Matlalcueitl.
In art, Chalciuhtlicue was illustrated wearing a green skirt and with short black vertical lines on the lower part of her face. In some scenes babies may be seen in a stream of water issuing from her skirts. Sometimes she is symbolized by a river with a heavily laden prickly pear tree growing on one bank. She is depicted in several central Mexican manuscripts, including the Pre-Columbian Codex Borgia on plates 11 and 65 and in the 16th century Codex Borbonicus on page 5 and Codex Ríos on page 17. When sculpted, she is often carved from green stone as befits her name.

CENTEOTL

2011-06-19T04:11:00.000-07:00

Corn god. Son of Tlazolteotl and husband of Xochiquetzal.

Aztec Gods and Goddesses

2011-06-18T04:09:00.000-07:00

Aztec Gods and Goddesses, I have decided to give some props to my ancestors and their beleifs. I hope you guys enjoy.
Religion was extremely important in Aztec life. They worshipped hundreds of gods and goddesses, each of whom ruled one or more human activities or aspects of nature. The people had many agricultural gods because their culture was based heavily on farming; also they included natural elements and ancestor-heroes.

They believed that the balance of the natural world, the processes that make life possible - like the rain or solar energy - and that the destiny of people depended on the will of these gods. While some deities were benevolent, others had terrifying characteristics.

The Aztecs thought that the power of the gods should be acknowledged and thanks given to them, so as to avoid the catastrophes that their rage or indifference could cause. For this reason, the monumental ceremonial centers were built and there were so many religious rites. The existence of the gods and their goodwill were maintained by offering up the most valuable human possession, life. This then, was the origin of human sacrifice and the ritual of bearing intense physical pain, which believers intentionally caused themselves.

HUEHUETEOTL

2011-06-17T08:46:00.001-07:00

An Aztec Goddess

2011-06-17T08:03:00.000-07:00

The Aztec pantheon is not often heard about in modern Pagan circles, but the Aztec Deities are interesting nonetheless (and somewhat difficult to pronounce).

Tlazolteotl - Eater of Filth
Tlazolteotl was the Goddess of love, lust, passion and sex. She was also considered an Earth Goddess and related to childbirth and fertility. Her colourful nickname comes from how She devoured the sins of the dying. She also consumed the sins from anyone who confesses them to Her.

Almost time

2011-06-17T07:52:00.000-07:00

Well, my hubby leaves for basic training this coming tuesday, he will be gone for 14 weeks our daughter is gonna miss him sooo much.

They grow up so fast

2011-06-02T09:29:00.002-07:00

Someone wants to be like her mamma

DAILY PAGAN DEVOTIONAL

2011-06-02T09:29:00.001-07:00

Act by not acting;
do by not doing.
Enjoy the plain and simple.
Find that greatness in the small.
Take care of difficult problems
...while they are still easy;
Do easy things before they become too hard.

Don't fret over the small details, and let things happen as they may.

Stairs

2011-05-24T07:20:00.001-07:00

Oh how I hate thee. I just fell down a flight.

Prarnormal

2011-05-04T08:59:00.000-07:00

Im sorry I havent been posting much lately. But I feel the need to let everyon know there has been paranormal occurences in my new house it has become opressive and I am dealing with it, but it will take time even as I type my screen keeps shutting off. It doesnt like that I am taking steps to remove it. Please light some candles and send some energy to my family it has been trying to go after my kids now. as a mom this will not be tolerated. I just want some peace in this house an I WILL HAVE IT

To My Daughter With Love

2011-03-24T09:52:00.001-07:00

A mother tries to provide her daughter with insight
into the important things in life
in order to make her life
as happy and fulfilling as possible.

A mother tries to teach her daughter
to be good, always helpful to other people
to be fair, always treating others equally
to have a positive attitude at all times
to always make things right when they are wrong
to know herself well
to know what her talents are
to set goals for herself
to not be afraid of working too hard to reach her goals.

A mother tries to teach her daughter
to have many interests to pursue
to laugh and have fun every day
to appreciate the beauty of nature
to enter into friendships with good people
to honor their friendships and always be a good friend
and to particularly respect and love our elder members
to use her intelligence all times
to listen to her emotions
to adhere to her values

A mother tries to teach her daughter
to not be afraid to stick to her beliefs
to not follow the majority when the majority is wrong
to carefully plan a life for herself
to vigorously follow her chosen path
to enter into a relationship with someone worthy of herself
to love this person unconditionally with her body and mind
to share all that she has learned in her life with this person

If I have provided you with an insight
into most of these things
then I have succeeded as a mother
in what I hoped to accomplish in raising you
if many of these slipped by
while we were all so busy
I have a feeling you know them anyway
One thing I am sure of though,
I have taught you to be proud of the fact
that you are a woman equal to all men and
that I have loved you every second of your life
I have supported you at all times
as a mother, as a person, and as a friend
I will always continue to Cherish and love
everything about you
my beautiful daughter.

By Susan Schutz

Moving

2011-03-24T06:47:00.001-07:00

Well it is official, we will be in our new place this Sunday night. WHEN WE LOST OUR NICE OLD HOUSE AND HAD TO MOVE INTO THIS TRAILER I cut out a pic of the type of house I wanted and said to myself every morning as I looked at the pic. " In 2 years I will own a house again! and here it is 2 years later and I am moving!!!!!!!!!!!!! We actually closed on the 2 year anniversary of the day I started the spell, lol. I love it. Here are a few pics I took the other day of the house.

When hubby gets ready to leave for the Army we are havin a going away slash house warming party. Even though I have been telling him I am gonna throw a party when he leaves, lol.

Hunting

2011-03-08T06:03:00.001-08:00

I know it is a long time before hunting season, but I say this prayer and loved it.

For Lord they are your creatures Given for our use But each one falls within your sight They're not for our abuse And when I loose my arrow Please guide it swift and true Or let it miss completely, Lord That pain be not undue A clean kill or no kill, Lord Such is my heart's desire Give me the skill to make it so Or let me hold my fire And when my time upon this earth The days they are fulfilled Grant that I may die at least As clean as those I killed

Ke$ha - Take It Off

2011-03-01T08:00:00.000-08:00

Convocation 2011 you have to be there next year the theme is the moon and the ball theme is The End of the World!!! No pics though what happens at con stays at con.!!

Back from the dead

2011-02-14T08:26:00.001-08:00

Well It has been a while for sure. I thought I would pop in and let everyone know whats up. A few weeks ago my hubby found me unresponsive and barely breathing. I was on a ventilator for 2 days and in the hospital for a week I am back now. I have been devoting all my time to getting better and my kids. I wanna personally thank my hubby and dedicate this song to him. I think it is very fitting. Thanks honey for bringing me back to life.

The leg wound that never heals

2010-11-24T12:22:00.000-08:00

I had my cancer surgery on the 21st of October, the incision got so infected the stitches popped and now I am left with this...a wound that will not heal. Fun Huh?

Posted by a good friend Merlyn on his blog. What are your thoughts. I personally live it.

2010-11-24T12:21:00.000-08:00

What exactly is practicing witchcraft? I hear this said all of the time and it drives my nuts...I put it right up there with practicing medicine...if you have to practice something that means that you are not getting it right! Thus the saying "practice makes perfect".

I say let those who are not sure of their spells practice, or those who are not quite sure how to do a ritual practice! Practice is great if you don't have it right to begin with thus you keep doing it until you get it right. If you are not sure of what you are doing how in the heck is your working going to manifest...if it's born in doubt it wont manifest.

Here is something that was said to me as a child " If you are a practicing witch you aren't ready to do magick, you are not ready to lead a coven you are only learning " Live the craft don't practice it.

Way to many witches practicing and too few living the craft if you ask me! Be a witch, be in charge of your own destiny...bend the universe to your will and stop practicing the craft and start to live it. If you live it devoutly everyday you will understand all that I have just said. The world will be bent to your will, your magick will work and you will lose all doubt!

The first thing to know is that witches do not hold power we are given it by the Goddess to bend to our will. Real witches do not hold power we are given it as we require it! I hear people talk all of the time about their powers...you noticed I used the word "people" and not witch! There is a difference if you have to wonder what it is perhaps your path should be re thought!

We witches only have what the Goddess will allow us to have when we require it..she holds all of the power not us. This post was inspired by listening to a few young pagan girls today at work who's only powers was the power of delusion..I guess they thought I was just a little old man..I didn't change their perception of me..I feel that they was all powerful alright..I sure am glad that they are only practicing instead of living the path.

More Halloween lore

2010-10-03T04:27:00.000-07:00

MODERN TRADITIONS
After the Romans' conquered the area, they combined their own traditions of Feralia, a late October day that commemorated the passing of the dead with the Celts' existing tradition of Samhain. Another Roman tradition was Pomona, the Roman goddess of the trees and fruit. The symbol for Pomona was an apple, thus the tradition of bobbing for apples began with the Romans.

As the spread of Christianity enveloped the land, November 1 was named All Saints' Day, a day to honor saints and martyrs, by the Catholic Church. Many believe that the Catholic pope was attempting to replace the evil within this holiday. Later, the church created All Souls' Day on November 2, in which the dead were honored.

The trick or treating tradition began with the All Souls' Day parades in England where beggars would ask for food and they would receive soul cakes for a promise to pray for that family's dead relatives. At the beginning of the 20th century, Halloween festivities began with communities urging parents to take the fright out of the celebrations.

More Halloween lore

2010-10-02T04:22:00.000-07:00

ORIGINS OF THE HOLIDAY
Halloween traditions began in modern United Kingdom, northern France and Ireland. These countries celebrated their new calendar year on November 1, a day that concluded the summer harvest period and began the dark wintertime that was directly associated with death. The Celts believed that on the night before the New Year, known as Samhain or the "Lord of Death," that the separation between the living world and the dead one wasn't apparent to the ghosts of the dead.

Throughout Samhain, these ghosts would return to the Earth. They would cause trouble and damage the harvest crops of the past season if food was not provided to them. With their presence, the Celtic priests could effectively make prophecies that were vital to the townspeople's comfort toward the dark winter ahead.

Generally, the tradition of costume wearing began at this time when many people feared the return of these ghosts. They then wore costumes, usually of animal heads or skins, or dressed in others disguises and masks to attempt to look like the dead themselves. This would help put them out of harm's way.

A little halloween lore

2010-10-01T04:18:00.000-07:00

The Jack-O-Lantern

The legend of the Jack-O-Lantern comes from Ireland from about the 18th century. With some variations the basis of the Jack-O-Lantern is as follows:

There was a stingy drunkard of an Irishman named Jack who tricked the Devil into climbing an apple tree. Then Jack quickly cut the sign of a cross into the trunk of the tree, thereby preventing the Devil from climbing down. Jack made the Devil swear that he wouldn't ever come after Jack's soul again or claim it in any way. However, this did not stop Jack from dying and when he did he was not allowed into Heaven, because of his life of drinking, being tightfisted and being deceitful. And because of the oath the Devil had taken Jack was not allowed into Hell either. "But where can I go?" asked Jack. "Back where you came from!" replied the Devil. The way back was windy and dark. The Devil, as a final gesture, threw a live coal at Jack straight from the fire of Hell. To light his way and to keep it from blowing out in the wind Jack put it in a turnip he was eating. Ever since Jack and his "lantern" has been traveling over the face of the earth looking for a place to rest.

The moral of the story: Don't mess with the devil.

Ghosts, Bats and other Halloween stuff...

Halloween is based on an ancient holiday 'All Hallows Eve'. It was the one day of the year where dead spirits were allowed to walk the earth.
Bats fingers are actually parts of its wings and their "fingers" are bigger then their body
Bats always turn left when exiting a cave
"Phasmophobia" is a fear of ghosts.
Of the 4000 species of mammals on the planet, there are 900 different species of bats.
Worldwide, bats are the most important natural enemies of night-flying insects.
9% of Americans report having been in the prescence of a ghost.
During WWII, Americans tried to train bats to drop bombs. They failed.
Wiccaphobia: Fear of witches and witchcraft.
Samhainophobia: Fear of Halloween

A Prayer Cup Spell

2010-09-29T04:13:00.000-07:00

Prayer cups are rarely used these days, but they produce powerful magic. First, you’ll need a tea or coffee cup and saucer. Wash and bless your cup and saucer according to your spiritual path. Speak words of power over them according to your spell as you hold the cup in both hands. Next, sprinkle herbs in your cup suitable to your wishes. Raise the cup and present it to each direction, plus Heaven and Earth. Cover the cup with the saucer; set them aside and let the spell do its work. When the spell physically manifests your desire, sprinkle the herbs around your magic circle or outdoors. Then wash your cup and saucer. End by rubbing the inside of your cup with a drop of olive oil to show your thanks. Now your prayer cup is ready for your next spell.

James Kambos

I cant beleive October is almost here!

2010-09-28T04:23:00.000-07:00

Holy shit people where did the month go? LOL jk, I have been spending most of my time dealing with Doctors and Specialists. How bout you?

By the way here is a pic of my biposy.....Yummy huh?

Spell to balance energy

2010-09-27T04:13:00.000-07:00

On this post–Full Moon day, the Sun is in Libra. One of Libra’s characteristics is balance, so you can utilize this solar energy to weave your spell. Begin by taking two sheets of parchment paper and, with black ink, draw a large “plus” sign on one, and a large “minus” sign on the other. This represents the yin and the yang: the positive and negative currents of energy flowing through reality and upholding all of existence. This is the dualistic principle of reality (e.g., up/down, light/dark, god/goddess, etc.). Stand and position your legs together with your arms at your sides. Look to the heavens, close your eyes, and raise both arms at the elbows, cupping your hands. In each hand, hold one of the sheets of paper. This position represents the scales of Libra. Chant:
I summon thee, energy and spirits of Libra, oh great scales of balance! Hear my prayer. I invoke the power of absolute balance, and ask you to balance my mind, my heart, my body, and soul. Ever toward spiritual
wholeness I grow, and forever shall I be balanced in life. This I ask, this I pray. So mote it be.

Raven Digitalis

To heal a friend or relative:

2010-09-26T04:09:00.000-07:00

You Will Need:
Purple paper.
White yarn or string.
A pair scissors.
Fresh violets (whole, with stems).
Black pen.
A purple candle.
A small vase or holder (for flowers).

This spell is for healing a friend or family member. It is best done when the moon is full, but you can do it whenever you feel it necessary. Light the candle and fill the small vase with water. Place the freshly cut violets in the little vase and say a chant, focusing on the well being of the person and the healing of their ailment. Cut a heart out of the purple and write the name of the person on one side, and a short but heartfelt "Get Well!" message on the other side. Poke a small hole in the top right side of the heart and thread the white string through it, tie it, and attach it to the vase. Give the little vase of violets to the target person and await their recovery.

Healing someone in your family:

2010-09-25T04:07:00.000-07:00

Prepare an envelope from a square of paper that you have folded - If you do not know how to do this, you can use a very small letter envelope.
On the envelope write the word "Health". Then write the name(s) of the person you are directing the healing toward.Enclose the following herbs into the envelope:
Angelica, Burdock, Galangal, Horehound, Elder, Lavender, Lemon Balm, Mandrake, Root, Rose, Rue, Sassafras, and Yellowdock.

Chant the following:
I charge these herbs to aid my spell,
that ............. (name of person) will be well,
That by free will that can be blessed,
with total health and happiness,
I ask the Goddess to hear my call,
that it may be correct and for the good of all.Pass the envelope through your altar candle and catch the envelope on fire. Focus on the smoke and visualize the energy blowing with the smoke toward those in need. Allow the envelope to burn completely.

Chant the following:
I call upon a breath of wind.
Empowered by the Spirit of Air.
To carry my spell toward my kin, and gracefully deliver it there.
By all the power of three times three.
This spell bound around shall be.
To cause no harm, nor return on me.
As I do will, So mote it be!

Found on the internet

Belt

2010-09-24T19:17:00.000-07:00

Well, My belt is complete, I now have to wear it for three days continuously.....Wow no shower for three days sorry hon! And unfortunately readers thats the only info I can give on the subject

The big C

2010-09-24T19:03:00.001-07:00

So as some of you know I have been diagnosed with malignant melanoma. Well at my visit to Karmanos I was told if my lymphnodes come back clean the only treatment I will require is surgery to remove the cancer.

2010-09-09T04:41:00.000-07:00

Salsa canned and ready to go. Extra spicy.

2010-09-08T04:40:00.000-07:00

Blanching green beans to put in the freezer from my mother inlaws garden

2010-09-07T16:38:00.000-07:00

She is training to be just like her mommy!!! I love the smirk on her face.

Harvest Basket Spell

2010-09-07T07:14:00.000-07:00

September 7
Tuesday

Color of the day: Gray
Incense of the day: Cedar

Find a large basket or cornucopia and fill it with a variety of fresh fruits and vegetables. As you wash and prepare them for your basket, imagine the life cycle of the bounty before you. Think of the brave farmers who work the land, and the pickers, packers, and produce clerks who have helped this food make its way to you. Strive to appreciate this cycle and imbue your basket with honor and gratitude. When you entertain visitors at your home or prepare meals for family and friends, use the fruits and vegetables from your harvest basket to help share your wealth with those around you. Let this spell remind you of the true bounty of generosity.

MIA

2010-08-25T08:37:00.001-07:00

I am so sorry I have been MIA lately. I am just trying to figure out what to post for you guys! Thanks for your patience
LOVE YA ALL
RAVEN

Dust in the wind lyrics - Kansas

2010-07-23T07:40:00.000-07:00

Poppet magick, aka voodoo doll

2010-07-23T07:38:00.000-07:00

Wax Poppets

This is an intriguing poppet. If you saw the movie "Witches of Eastwick", you saw Cher, Susan Sarandon, and Michelle whats-her-name make one of these.

Take 7 white candles (new candles, not used) and melt down in a double boiler on low heat. You don't want to melt them down to liquid, just soften them so they can be worked with. (If indeed you do liquidize them, just let them cool until they can be handled.) Remove wicks.

Rub lavender oil on your palms and fingers before working the wax. When the
wax can be easily shaped (don't burn your hands!), begin to shape your poppet. Oils, herbs, and personal effects (hair, nails) should be kneaded into the wax. Try to incorporate some of the features of the person. Are they thin? Stocky? Any distinguishing features will help.

When the figure is shaped, place a representation of the heart in the chest area. This can be a piece of copal resin, a small piece of tourmaline, or any other stone or item that represents the heart. Take a pin or other pointed object and draw your magickal representations on the figure.

A variation on this process would be to rub an oil that corresponds to your magickal intent on your hands as you shape the poppet. Rose if it's a love poppet. Patchouli for a prosperity poppet. Any oil that you would incorporate into the spell would be appropriate.

Cloth poppets

My favorite method. Cut two identical gingerbread shapes from fabric. (See
pattern). Felt, cotton, or muslin is suitable, but so is fabric from the subject's old shirt or any piece of clothing. Embroider, draw, or paint magickal symbols, words, anything meaningful to the spell on the right side of one piece of your pattern. Green eyes? Dark hair? This is where you add those details. Right sides together, sew the shapes together, leaving a good sized hole to stuff it with.

Prepare your herbal mixture. For those of you into numerology, one method is
to choose a number that corresponds with your magickal intent and add that number of herbs. I use multiples of three in my poppet blends. Using multiples of three, a prosperity blend might include patchouli, honeysuckle, and basil. If I'm adding honeysuckle flowers, I might add 6 or 9. I mix my personal effects with these herbs (hair, fingernails, a cut up picture, whatever I have.) For a money spell, I might shred a dollar or add three silver coins. For a healing spell, I might add a stone that represents the ailing body part and use herbs that would medicinally treat the sickness. This is where you can get entirely creative. I like to place representations of the heart inside cloth poppets. Again, a piece of copal resin or tourmaline would do nicely if stuffing inside. Some sew hearts on the outside in a color corresponding to the purpose of the spell.

You don't have to stuff the poppet entirely with herbs. You can include a small herbal mixture with other kinds of stuffing -- batting, shredded paper, whatever you have on hand. I just love the smell and feel of poppets stuffed entirely with herbs. Once you're satisfied with the stuffing, sew the poppet up and consecrate.

Paper Poppets

The easiest of all. Cut a gingerbread figure from a piece of clean paper. Write the name of the person for whom you're making your poppet on the paper. Draw your sigils and any other distinguishing signs. This is a very quick, yet surprisingly effective alternative to putting hours into poppet design. Anoint the paper with herbal oils corresponding to your spellwork. For the emergencies or impromptu spells.

Root or Wood Poppets

Several herbal roots and wood are very well suited for poppet magick. Of course, there is the mystical mandrake. This wo/man-shaped root has been used for centuries in sympathetic magick, especially love magick. To activate a dried mandrake, place it on the altar undisturbed for three days. Then place it in warm water overnight. The root will then be activated and ready for any magickal purpose. A human shaped mandrake root is going to be very expensive. Substitute ash roots, apples, root of the briony, or the American may apple if the cost is prohibitive. Ginseng root has a human shape, and is especially good for protection, love, and healing spells. Ginseng is expensive too, though!

Poppet shapes can be carved from wood. Apple wood is a great choice. This can be labor intensive unless you are a wood carver or just happen to find a nicely shaped branch or stick.

Clay Poppets

Buy clay or gather from the riverside. When your figure is formed, hollow out a hole in the heart area to place hair, nail clippings, herbs, or other magickal ingredients. Cover the hole with clay and proceed with spell. Clay poppets may crack if dried too quickly. If cracking occurs, wet fingers and smooth clay over cracks. Repeat daily, if needed, until poppet is dry.

Mr. Potato Head

Potatoes can be carved into poppets. Apples too. A carrot would make a good fertility poppet. Are you getting the idea that just about anything will work as a poppet? Focus and magickal intent are the keys.

CONSECRATING THE POPPET

As with all magick, it's best to perform it when the moon and other astrological signs are favorable. (For a list of moon phases, signs, etc and their magickal correspondences, go here.)

Gather your materials. Cast a circle. Construct a chant to use while making
your poppet. This can be as elaborate as a sigil or as simple as repeating
the name of the poppet's intended or a rhyme stating your magickal purpose.
Visualize your magickal intent as you work.

When the poppet is finished, lay it on the altar and repeat this or
something like it:

Though separate you were,
Now you are one.
The link of unison has begun.

Continue with your spell, visualizing what you intend to accomplish. Close the circle.

CARE OF YOUR POPPETS

After performing your magick, wrap the poppet in a white cloth and store in a safe place. You should keep the poppet safe until the magick has manifested. I've worked magick on the same poppet more than once. I'm one of those witches who sees no harm in repeating spells (as long as you don't obsess over your magick). Some witches are strongly opposed to this.

DISPOSING OF YOUR POPPETS

Take it apart and bury it after the magick has manifested. Be sure to sever the magickal connection between the poppet and the person it represented with this or a similar chant.

By the Moon and Stars
and Goddess above.
I now sever this link
with thanks and love.

REM - Everybody hurts (with lyrics)

2010-07-22T15:32:00.000-07:00

DAILY PAGAN DEVOTIONAL

2010-07-20T06:42:00.000-07:00

Witch, Please
(borrowed from GreenWoman then from moonfirewolf)

Here are the things I don't care about :

I don't care what the name of your religion is.
I don't care what the names of your gods are.
I don't care how old your religion is.
I don't care if your great-great-whatever grandmother passed down your famtrad Book of Shadows under the watchful eye of the Inquisition.
I don't care if an entire civilization worshipped your Goddess for ten thousand years.
I don't care if you made Her up based on manga or Tolkien or a dream you had.
I don't care where you place your altar.
I don't care which direction you call Earth.
I don't care how psychic you are.
I don't care if you're smarter than me.
I don't care why you eat meat, or don't.
I don't care how many shields you think you need.
I don't care how your childhood trauma made you a powerful magickian.
I don't care if you spell "magic" with a k.
I don't care if you were an Atlantean Magus in your last life.
I don't care if you're brand-spanking new.
I don't care how much you hate Christians.
I don't care how many degrees you have.
I don't care if people call you "Lady" or "Lord."
I don't care if you're King of all Londinium and wear a shiny hat.
I don't care if you can read minds or light candles with your breath.
I don't care how the world owes you a living.
I don't care if you've been studying the Craft for thirty years or thirty minutes.
I don't care what your totem animal is, especially if it's a wolf, raven, or unicorn.
I don't care if you can trace your lineage back to Gardner.
I don't care if you think I'm a moron, fraud, or basket case.
I don't care how many books you've read.
I don't care how much or how little money you have.

What do I care about?

I care that your religion has made you a kinder, more compassionate person.
I care that you can hold down a job.
I care that you're growing past whatever happened to you as a child or last year.
I care that your gods help you become stronger without coddling you.
I care that you are willing and able to adapt and change as your life does.
I care that you care about the Earth.
I care that you care about someone and something outside yourself.
I care that you practice your religion with devotion and reverence.
I care that you respect others' paths.
I care that you never stop learning.
I care that you can conduct adult relationships with respect and understanding.
I care that you get how hilarious life is.
I care that you know when to ask for help.
I care that you realize that someone will always be smarter, more powerful, and more together than you.
I care that you realize it doesn't matter, because tomorrow you'll be smarter, more powerful, and more together than you were yesterday.
I care that you have reasons for everything you do, even if those reasons are purely intuitive.
I care that you can admit when you're wrong.
I care that you know you're both a tiny speck in a vast universe and a rare, precious jewel in the darkened sky.
I care that you're making a difference.
I care that you know when to speak and when to shut the hell up.
I care that you are seeking a relationship with Deity and with Nature.
I care that you are healthy.
I care that you're contributing to your family and community.
I care that your capacity for love and joy increase with every passing year.
I care that you believe in yourself.
I care that you're doing the best you can.

Racism

2010-07-08T14:04:00.001-07:00

While watching Wendy Williams today they showed a clip of kids looking at cartoon pics of kids of different colors. A three year old white girl picked a white blond gilr as nice cause she looked like her. She picked the black girl as ugly and mean because she was dark. In defense of this girl she really hasnt been around people of color, the girls mom was in tears. Remember people teach our little ones young that the color of ones skin doesn't mean anything and that we are all beautiful. When a girl of color was asked the same questions she said does it really matter? to all of them, how wonderful is that? My kids don't even notice color they look at the persons soul and my son has always seen auras. And to those people out there who are racist I feel sorry for you. I know personally if I hear the "N" word I go off it don't matter if you are a 250 linebacker I will kick your ass, or go down trying. I have black family members and it is plain to see I am not nessacarily caucasion. I grew up being called N**ger girl, spic wetback, you name it. It is hard to be judged because of the color of your skin. Lets all make an effort to be better than that. I love you all
RAVEN

Basil & Cinnamon Love Amulet

2010-07-08T04:57:00.000-07:00

Basil & Cinnamon Love Amulet

Should be done on a Friday during a waxing moon

Needed:

Large, flat plate

Small picture of yourself

Ground cinnamon

Dried basil

Ceramic or glass bowl

Pink houshold or taper candle

Small piece of pink cotton cloth

Pink yarn or cord

Hold the candle between your hands & envision yourself as a loving, giving person. Fill yourself with feelings of love & sensuality. Infuse those feelings into the candle and then place it in its holder. Light the candle.

Place the plate before the candle. Put the small picture of yourself in the middle of the plate. Pour a small circle of ground cinnamon on the plate around the picture & say:

"Love surrounds me."
Pour a larger circle of basil around the ring of cinnamon, saying once again:
"Love surrounds me."
Now pour a third, larger circle of cinnamon around the basil and say once again:
"Love surrounds me."

Hold your hands, palms down, over the three herb circles and your picture for a few moments. Sense the energies that are rising from the herbs. Raise energy. Visualize again what you want the talisman to accomplish. Carefully pour the herbs and the picture into the bowl. Place your hands into the bowl

and mix the herbs with your fingers, infusing them with your personal energy as you do so and saying these words or something similar:

" Spice and herb, Plant and tree:
send someone to love only thee.
Love we shall share,Equally
As is my will & desire, So mote it be!"

Pour the spices and the picture into the center of the pink cloth. Gather up ends and tie them shut with the pink yarn. Place the love talisman beside the candle. Let sit there for at least 15 minutes or so as you concentrate on what you want it to accomplish for you then pinch out the candles flame.

Burn the candle for at least 7 minutes at approximately the same time each day and carry the talisman with you to attract appropriate love. It is best to make another talisman or recharge this one about every 6 months or so.

Adapted from a spell by Scott Cunningham

Sexual Attraction Spell

2010-07-07T04:55:00.000-07:00

Sexual Attraction Spell
Kala Trobe

To increase sexual attraction, cast this spell when the Moon is waxing, and during the season at or near Beltane or the start of Lammas.

To begin, girdle your thigh with a green garter. Become an Aphrodite(entranced by thoughts of love) as you place this erotic symbol about your limb, and light a pink or green candle in honor of the beauteous goddess, saying:

"Venus, Astarte, Inanna, Ishtar, may your power be compounded in this garter I wear."

Imagine the ancient impetus to merge and procreate summarized on your thigh, spreading its irresistible aura about your person. Now say:

"Let only those I choose perceive this charm."

After all, you do not want every Tom, Dick and Harriet harassing you.

Concentrate until you feel your allure. Establish your magnetism with a confident smile.

An Amulet for Peace & Reconciliation

2010-07-06T04:53:00.000-07:00

An Amulet for Peace & Reconciliation

On a piece of paper, trace your strong hand (the one normally extended in a handshake). In the center of the tracing, write the name of the person to whom you wish to extend peace. Wrap this carefully around a green olive (or olive leaf), and tie it with two circuits of white thread. Bless this amulet by saying, "I open my hand and heart so all anger can depart. Let peace now grow, between me and thee." Carry this to your next meeting with that individual to encourage resolution. Once the problem is reconciled, bury the amulet so the past remains buried.

If your words with this individual were unusually harsh you may wish to substitute a honey-flavored candy or honeycomb for the olive. In India, honey represents wise words. In this form the amulet stimulates discourse tempered with gentle speech.

2010-07-05T04:52:00.000-07:00

Amulet for Opening & Balancing the Third Eye

Author Unknown

(Brow) Chakra

Materials:

4 inch by 4 inch Indigo colored cloth (this is the best) OR 3 inch by 5 inch Indigo drawstring pouch.

A small piece of Lapis Lazuli (Lapis Lazuli is best) OR Blue Sodalite.

A small piece of Moonstone.

White yarn, twine or string.

Instructions:

Place the stones in your power hand.

Sit comfortably and do whatever meditation exercise you do that helps you ground and center.

Once centered visualize a beam of indigo colored energy radiating from your spiritual core and flowing from your center, down your arm to the palm of your hand and into the lapis lazuli or blue sodalite.

Once you feel the energy is into the stone, visualize a beam of white energy radiating from your spiritual core and flowing from your center, down you arm to the palm of your hand and into the moonstone.

Now focus on the energized stones in your palm and visualize the two color energies mixing and swirling together until they have become a pale shade of indigo.

Keeping this visualization of the colors swirling and mixing and moving, place them in the center of the cloth.

Visualize the colors flowing over and through the cloth, completely surrounding it.

Now gather the corners of the cloth to the center, making a small pouch. Bind the tops with the white yarn or string, leaving enough ends so that you can wear the amulet as a necklace if you so choose.

Place the amulet in your power hand and chant three times (or until you feel it is empowered):

"My third eye is opened and balanced.

I accept the gift of awareness.

I am able to see past illusion."

Place the amulet around your neck or in your pocket.

A DAILY PAGAN DEVOTIONAL

2010-07-03T10:51:00.001-07:00

I Believe

I believe-
that we don't have to change friends if we understand that friends change.

I believe-
that no matter how good a friend is, they're going to hurt you every once in a while and you must forgive them for that.

I believe-
that true friendship continues to grow, even over the longest distance. Same goes for true love.

I believe-
that you can do something in an instant that will give you heartache for life.

I believe-
that it's taking me a long time to become the person I want to be.

I believe-
that you should always leave loved ones with loving words. It may be the last time you see them.

I believe-
that you can keep going long after you can't.

I believe-
that we are responsible for what we do, no matter how we feel.

I believe-
that either you control your attitude or it controls you.

I believe-
that regardless of how hot and steamy a relationship is at first, the passion fades and there had better be something else
to take its place.

I believe-
that money is a lousy way of keeping score.

I believe-
that my best friend and I can do anything or nothing and have the best time.

I believe-
that sometimes the people you expect to kick you when you're down, will be the ones to help you get back up.

I believe-
that sometimes when I'm angry I have the right to be angry, but that doesn't give me the right to be cruel.

I believe-
that just because someone doesn't love you the way you want them to doesn't mean they don't love you with all they have.

I believe-
that maturity has more to do with what types of experiences you've had and what you've learned from them and less to do
with how many birthdays you've celebrated.

I believe-
that it isn't always enough to be forgiven by others. Sometimes you have to learn to forgive yourself.

I believe-
that no matter how bad your heart is broken the world doesn't stop for your grief.

I believe-
that our background and circumstances may have influenced who we are, but we are responsible for who we become.

I believe-
that just because two people argue, it doesn't mean they don't love each other. And just because they don't argue, it
doesn't mean they do.

I believe-
that you shouldn't be so eager to find out a secret. It could change your life forever.

I believe-
that two people can look at the exact same thing and see something totally different.

I believe-
that your life can be changed in a matter of hours by people who don't even know you..

I believe-
that even when you think you have no more to give, when a friend cries out to you, you will find the strength to help.

I believe-
that credentials on the wall do not make you a decent human being.

I believe-
that the people you care about most in life are taken from you too soon.

THE LEMON CURSE

2010-06-29T09:32:00.001-07:00

THE LEMON CURSE
Items needed:
1 lemon
1 black candle
9 nails
Cursing Oil
Picture of person (to be cursed)
Athame Black bowl
Light the candle.
Cut a slit into the lemon.
Place the picture of the person inside the slit.
Take one if the nails and feel your anger rise.
Visualize your anger.
Pierce the nail into the lemon.
Do the same for the remaining nails.
With each nail your anger should rise for this person getting blacker and blacker.
When you reach the last nail, place the lemon in the bowl.
Pour cursing oil onto the lemon filling the bowl until the lemon is half covered (with oil.)
Let the lemon rot in this bowl on your alter.
As the lemon rots, so too will the life and luck of the person!

Note to self

2010-06-24T18:01:00.000-07:00

When making hotfoot powder..... do not touch face or eyes.

PILLOW FIGHT!!!

2010-06-18T08:03:00.000-07:00

LOL I love my kids!

Native american sun dance

2010-06-13T07:25:00.000-07:00

Many Plains tribes still celebrate the annual Sun Dance.

Sun worship is a custom that has gone on nearly as long as mankind itself. In North America, the tribes of the Great Plains saw the sun as a manifestation of the Great Spirit. For centuries, the Sun Dance has been performed as a way to not only honor the sun, but also to bring the dancers visions. Traditionally, the Sun Dance was performed by young warriors.

According to historians, Sun Dance preparation amongst most of the Plains peoples involved a lot of prayer, followed by the ceremonial felling of a tree, which was then painted and erected at the dancing ground. All of this was done under the supervision of the tribe's shaman. Offerings were made to show respect to the Great Spirit.

The Sun Dance itself lasted for several days, during which time the dancers abstained from food. On the first day, prior to beginning the dance, participants often spent some time in a sweat lodge, and the painted their bodies with a variety of colors. Dancers circled the pole to the beat of drums, bells, and sacred chants.

The Sun Dance was not held solely to honor the sun -- it was also a way of testing the stamina of the tribe's young, unblooded warriors. Among a few tribes, such as the Mandan, dancers suspended themselves from the pole with ropes attached to pins that pierced the skin. The young men of some tribes lacerated their skin in ritualized patterns. Dancers kept going until they lost consciousness, and sometimes this could go on for three to four days. Dancers often reported having a vision or a spirit walk during the celebration. Once it was over, they were fed, bathed, and -- with great ceremony -- smoked a sacred pipe in honor of the Great Spirit's manifestation as the sun.

10 activities for Pagan Kids!!! ( From about.com)

2010-06-08T08:59:00.001-07:00

1. Make a Wand
What's not to love about making your own wand? Take your kids out in the woods for a nature walk, and ask them to keep an eye on the ground for the "right" stick. The wand should be about the same length as the child's forearm. Once your child has a stick, bring it home and decorate it with flowers, ribbons, glitter, even crystals. Hold a consecration ceremony so your child can claim the wand as his or her own.

2. Drumming
Everyone likes to drum, and the louder the better. If you don't have a professional drum, don't worry -- that's why the gods made coffee cans. Let your kids experiment with containers of different sizes and shapes, and see which ones make the most interesting sounds. Fill an empty water bottle with dried beans to make an impromptu rattle. Two thick dowels tapped together make a percussion instrument as well. Have a family drum circle night, and let everyone bang away to raise energy.

3. Meditation
Sure, the idea of teaching a toddler to meditate sounds crazy, but you'd be surprised what kids can do if they're interested. Even if it's just two minutes lying in the grass looking at trees, it's not a bad idea to start your youngsters meditating early. By the time they get to be adults with stressful lives, meditation will be second nature to them. Use breathing as a way of teaching counting to small children. Elementary-school age kids can usually handle a ten- to fifteen-minute guided meditation.

4. My Very Own Altar
If you have a family altar, that's great! Encourage your kids to have an altar of their own in their bedrooms -- this is the place they can put all the things that are special to them. While you may not want a tribe of Ninja Turtles on your family altar, if your son says they're his Personal Guardians, give him his own place to put them! Add to the collection with interesting things your child finds on nature walks, shells from trips to the beach, family photos, etc. Be sure that young children don't have candles or incense on their altar.

5. Moon Crafts
Kids love the moon, and they love to wave at it and say hello to it (my oldest claimed the moon as her own when she was five). If your family does any sort of moon rituals, such as an Esbat Rite or New Moon ceremony, have the kids decorate a mirror with lunar symbols, or make a Moon Braid to hang in a window, and use it on your altar during family moon celebrations. Bake a batch of Moon Cookies to use during Cakes & Ale ceremonies.

6. God's Eyes
These are an easy decoration to make and can be adapted seasonally, simply by using different colors. All you need is a pair of sticks and some yarn or ribbon. Make a God's Eye in yellows or reds for solar celebrations, green and brown for an earth ceremony, or in the colors of your family's household deities. Hang them on a wall or place on an altar.

7. Salt Dough Ornaments
Salt dough is one of the easiest things in the world to make, and you can create just about anything from it. You can follow our easy Salt Dough recipe, and use it with cookie cutters to make your own Sabbat ornaments. After your ornaments have cooled, paint them and decorate with your favorite Pagan and Wiccan symbols.

After you've painted them, seal them with clear varnish. If you're planning to hang them, poke a hole through the ornament BEFORE baking them. Then after you've varnished them, run a ribbon or thread through the hole.

8. Wheel of the Year Journal
Get your child a blank notebook, and have them keep track of the patterns of nature. Note the dates that the first buds appear in spring, when birds begin to migrate, and when the weather changes. If your child is old enough to surf the Internet, have him predict the weather for the next few days and then compare it to your local weather forecast -- and then see who's right! As the Wheel of the Year turns, your child can help you prepare for upcoming Sabbat celebrations.

9. Mythic Tales
Many parents aren't really sure how to incorporate their Pagan beliefs into their children's upbringing, so story time is a great way to do this. Teach your child the myths and legends of your pantheon. Storytelling is an age-old tradition, so why not use it to educate your kids about what you believe? Tell them tales of gods and heroes, fairies, and even your own ancestors.

10. Singing and Chanting
There are a ton of great songs out there for Pagan kids, and most of them are really simple. You can make up your own with some simple rhymes and a little bit of ingenuity. Clap your hands, stomp your feet, and celebrate the gifts of the earth. If you want to find pre-recorded music for your kids, read some of the Pagan and Wiccan magazines; there are nearly always ads for Pagan musicians and their work.

Toilete paper spell ( inspired by Ellen Dugan)

2010-05-26T05:35:00.000-07:00

Items needed
Toilete paper
toilete
marker or pen

The idea is to write down on the paper anything that is bothering you, anything that you want out of your life. You then fold the paper up and flush it down the toilete while saying.... " I can't beleive you bothered me so much, you are out of my life with the sound of a flush."
The spell is done!

She is growing up soo fast Trinity 18 months give or take

2010-05-24T15:24:00.001-07:00

Blog goals

2010-05-23T07:05:00.000-07:00

1 to blog at least half of the month

2 get up to at least 100 followers then 300 and so on and so forth.

3 make more posts about family including pics (example: Trinity's training)

4 I can think of more but this is a good start.

Suboxone

2010-05-19T06:10:00.001-07:00

So here is the whole story because I tell my friends everything. I have been on Schedule 3 narcotic pain killers for 5 years now. My body is physically addicted to them I cannot function if I go a day without them. I often think it has become mental as well. Therefore, I have decided to go on Suboxone therapy. I start putting myself into full opiod withdrawl today, and the therapy starts tomorrow. For anyone who has ever gone thru opiod withdrawl I know you understand the boat i am in right now. I will be out of sorts for a few days , so everyone take care of yourselves. I will be back on when I am feeling well again. By the way if anyone lives nearby saint clair and gives massage. I will pay you, lol

A photo shoot in the cemetary

2010-05-16T21:06:00.000-07:00

SOME MOJO HAND COMBINATIONS YOU CAN MAKE

2010-05-16T07:01:00.000-07:00

Here are a few representative mojo hand combinations, to which it would be customary to add a name-paper or wish-paper signifying the person for whom the work is being done:

To draw money:
A silver "Mercury" dime, a pinch of sugar, a lodestone, and a John the Conqueror root wrapped up in a $2.00 bill, fixed in a green flannel bag with a metal money bag charm and dressed with Van Van Oil.

To attract love:
A matched pair of lodestones covered with magnetic sand -- or the less traditional but equally effective pair of Magnetic Scotty Dogs -- fixed in a red flannel bag and dressed with red Fast Luck Oil or Love Me Oil. (For a variant of this conjure bag, created by a couple to preserve faithful love during absences, see the page of Love Spells.)

"Ole' Conjure Man's" Hand for luck and protection:
The advertisement shown above depicts a popular mojo bag consisting of two lodestones and two horseshoe nails in a red flannel bag that was sold nationally during the early 1930s by King Novelty Company (the occult supply branch of Famous Products, about which see below). The text reads in part: "An old Conjure Man or Trick Doctor of the South used this Curio Charm consisting of a Red Flannel Bag filled with Lodestone, Nails, and Hair. This has been claimed to ward off the Devil, to be a Good Luck Charm against HANDICAPPING and to PROTECT against other 'HANDS.' PROTECT aginst other 'HANDS' means, we believe, to ward off evil intended by someone else..." In place of the owner's hair, the use of this mojo for magical protection against witchcraft would also rendered quite powrful by the inclusion of a pinch of salt, which has a long history in this regard.

To remove a jinx, stop crossed conditions, or drive away evil:
A broken length of chain; a broken ring; a rat bone or toy plastic rat; a catseye shell; a miniature metal, bone, or plastic skull; a pinch of five finger grass; and a miniature dagger; fixed in a red flannel bag and dressed with Stop Evil Condition Oil, Jinx Removing Oil, or Uncrossing Oil.

For luck in gambling:
A Lucky Hand root, a pinch of five-finger grass, a miniature pair of dice, and a John the Conqueror root, fixed in a red flannel bag and anointed with red Fast Luck Oil or with the urine of your lover. An added dried bat heart and an alligator tooth or badger tooth is good here too, as are a rabbit foot or alligator foot.

For the return of an estranged lover:
A black cat bone wrapped in cotton wool, fixed in a red flannel bag and dressed with Follow Me Boy Oil or Reconciliation Oil.

For peace in the home:
An Angelica root, a hair-charm made of family members' hair, a metal dove-with-olive-branch charm, balm of Gilead buds, flax seeds, rosebuds, lavender flowers, and basil leaves, fixed in a pale blue flannel bag and dressed with Peaceful Home Oil.

For a wish to come true:
Seven wishing beans, a rabbit foot, and a piece of parchment upon which the wish has been written in Dragon's Blood ink (or other red ink), fixed in a red flannel bag and anointed with Van Van Oil. Some people write a different wish for each bean, seven wishes in total.

"Root Doctors' Hand" for good luck:
Another combination sold during the 1930s by King Novelty is shown in the above advertisement. It contained Sampson's snake roots, devil's shoestring roots, a piece of brimstone (sulphur), and a magnetic lodestone in a red flannel bag. As a bonus, the buyer received a good luck ring bearing the image of a horseshoe and a four-leaf clover, plus a copy of the then-popular "Witch's Dream Book," one of a number of similar dream books used by players to predict lucky numbers when betting on illegal lottery games such as policy. The text reads in part: "A HAND made by an old-time Conjure Man contained the following: One piece of Sampson Snake Root and a piece of 'Devil's Shoe Strings.' This was wrapped in a piece of Black Cloth folded always toward the maker and sewed with White Thread and then incased in a Red Flannel Bag. The Conjure Man said that the whole should be thoroughly wet with Whiskey or Camphor [camphorated oil] at regular intervals and should always be carried with you. It was said that such a Bag brings things to you and the twine-like roots of "Devil's Shoe Strings" ties them close and the folding of the cover towards you brings you GOOD LUCK in Gambling..."

For steady work:
A John the Conqueror root, a metal clock charm, devil's shoestring roots, gravel root, salt, and pyrite crystals, fixed in a green flannel bag and dressed with Steady Work Oil. A simpler version, employed by day laborours, consists of carrying salt and gravel root in one's pocket. A bit of the mixture is sprinkled inconspicuously where the hiring boss will step in it.

To keep a man at home:
A detailed desription of this form of woman's mojo hand appears in the page on nation sacks.

LUCKY MOJO

KEEPING THE MOJO HID

2010-05-15T06:55:00.000-07:00

Mojos made for an individual are usually carried on the person, always out of sight. They are very rarely worn on a string around the neck, fairly commonly pinned inside a woman's brassiere, and much more commonly pinned to the clothes below the waist or caried in a pants pocket. Those who make conjure bags to carry as love spells sometimes specify that the mojo be worn next to the skin. Mojos intended to purify or protect a location are generally placed near the door, hidden in such a way that they cannot be seen by strangers.

Keeping the mojo from being seen is important because if another person touches it, the luck may be lost. This is sometimes called "killing the hand." The proscription against touching is far stronger in the case of the woman's nation sack than it is in any other kind of mojo.

A song lyric that describes the mojo touching taboo occurs in "Take Your Hands Off My Mojo," recorded in New York on February 17, 1932 by Leola B. Wilson and Wesley Wilson (a husband and wife duo also known as Coot Grant and Kid Wesley Wilson, Kid and Coot, and, singly, as Leola B. Pettigraw and Socks Wilson). This hokum blues number was a follow-up to the couple's double-entendre dance-hit "Get Off With Me," which explains the reference in the first line. It is sung in alternating line form, with a spoken introduction. (Thanks to Frank Sandoval for the recording date and to Bob Dunn for the picture.):

TAKE YOUR HANDS OFF MY MOJO
by Leola B. "Coot" Grant and "Kid" Welsey Wilson

Spoken:
(F) Ah, play that thing! Did you get off?
(M) Come here, honey; I got something to tell you.
(F) Whaddaya want? Don't do THAT! Don't DO that!
As long as you KNOW me, don't you put your hand on my mojo!
(M) Why, honey?

Sung:
(F) Now, the Depression has made me do a lot of things
That i never done befo'
That's why I went to a fortune teller
And got me this lucky mojo
(M) Honey, I done seen your mojo
That thing ain't nothin' but a joke
(F) But if you keep your hands off a' my mojo,
I'm one woman will never be broke

Just keep your hands off a' my mojo, you can't cut off my luck
Now, keep your hands off a' my mojo, if you ain't got a buck
Time's is hard as hard can be
I don't want no broken man messin' 'round with me
Keep your hands off a' my mojo, you ain't got no time for me

(M) Now, me put my hands on your mojo,
Honey, what harm would that do?
(F) Now, it ain't no tellin', red hot Papa,
Mama may start lovin' you
(M) Heh, if...if you EVER start to lovin' me
Baby, won't that be just fine?
(F) But who's got time to love a man
Ain't got one thin dime?
(M) Yeah, but looky here -- I can give you lots of lovin'
'Cause you know I'm a lovin' cat
(F) But times' so doggone hard now, Baby
A woman can't live off a' that

It's time to love, it's time to pray
It's time to moan and shout
It's a time a woman's got other things
That she wants to think about

Now, keep your hands off a' my mojo, 'cause it sure is lucky to me
Now, keep your hands off a' my mojo, I wish i had two or three
I wear my mojo above my knee
To keep you from tryin to hoodoo me
So keep your hands off a' my mojo, if you ain't got no stuff for me

The concealment of the mojo hand is what has led to confusion about the meaning of the word. Many acoustic rural blues songs of the 1920s-30s refer to mojos, among them a dozen that carry a floating verse about "keeping a mojo hid." Here is a sample of such a lyric, from "Scarey Day Blues" by the Georgia-born musician Blind Willie McTell. The reference in the third line to "Georgia Bill" is explained by the fact that Willie Samuel McTell recorded for several competing labels under an assortment of pseudomyms including Georgia Bill, Hot Shot Willie, Blind Sammie, and Barrelhouse Sammy. "Scarey Day Blues" was a "Georgia Bill" recording, cut in Atlanta in October, 1931 for the Okeh label.

SCAREY DAY BLUES
by Blind Willie McTell

My good gal got a mojo, she's tryin' to keep it hid
My gal got a mojo, she's tryin' to keep it hid
But Georgia Bill got something to find that mojo with
I said she got that mojo and she won't let me see
She got that mojo and she won't let me see
And every time i start to love her she's tried to put that jinx on me

Well, she shakes like the Central and she wobbles like the L & N
She shakes like the Central and she wobbles like the L & N
Well, she's a hot-shot mama and i'm scared to tell her where i been

Said my baby got something, she won't tell her daddy what it is
Said my baby got something, she won't tell her daddy what it is
But when i crawls into my bed, i just can't keep my black stuff still

Since the least conspicuous way for a woman to wear a hidden mojo is hanging from a string under her skirt -- or, as Coot Grant put it, above her knee -- a male blues singer is making a double entendre when he declares he's going to find that mojo. It's a sexual joke, but the mojo itself is not sexual.

Astral travel

2010-05-15T06:28:00.000-07:00

Per a discussion yesterday When I send energy to someone I usually appear to them in their dreams. Not sure why it happens, sometimes it just does. I am aware when it happens and usually have controll over the events that occur, but not always. so here is a little on astral travel

So what is "Astral Travel" and why are we making such a big issue about it? Well, quite simple, it's very important that you learn how to do this consciously because the majority of you are doing this without knowing it at night. Every night when you are asleep; the majority of individuals, unconsciously leave their actual physical body and travel throughout the night to far-off places. As the majority of people are unaware of this very natural process - religious beliefs or otherwise - we immediately wake up and think it's all just been a dream or nightmare; depending on your nights travels.
Your physical body is not the real you, it's just a shell used to enable the real you to be on this planet; to learn the lessons you came down here to learn. If you study how to “consciously” astral travel you will be able to see the “real world” and life for what it really is; things are definitely not as they appear whilst within the physical. Many true aspects of life cannot be understood or appreciated until you are “outside” of the physical.
On "such-and-such a day" I am going to travel in the astral world, and I am going to remain fully aware of all that which I do, and be fully aware of all that which I see. I shall remember all this and recall it fully when I am again in my body. I shall do this without fail

"such-and-such a day" should be a date, say three to six month's into the future; you decide. The prayer should be repeated just before you sleep and repeated three times. Sit with bare feet together with toes and heels touching, then clasp your hands together so that your fingers of each hand interlock, and so that your hands and feet each form a sort of closed circle. Then call your subconscious by name and then say your prayer, repeating it three times in your normal voice, don't whisper and there is no need to shout. Then one day you will find yourself consciously astral traveling and you will return back to your physical remembering everything.

There is no secret in astral travel; it just needs confidence. It just needs the firm knowledge that you are going to do astral travel while you are fully awake. And the best way to start about it is not to imagine that you are out of the body, but to visualise that you "are" out of your body. This word "imagination" is badly misused, whereas it would be better to say "visualise". So, visualise yourself leaving your physical body, visualise yourself gradually inching out and floating inches above the recumbent physical body. Actually visualise yourself doing it, actually form the strong thoughts that you are doing it, and sooner or later you will do it. You will find, with the greatest amazement, that you are floating there looking down upon a padded, whitish-green or what ever coloured fleshy body. Probably it will have its mouth open, probably it will be snoring away because when you are out of the physical it doesn't matter at all if your body goes to sleep. Because if you get out while the body is awake, you will remember the whole experience.

Remember never to panic even if you do get a few swaying sensations trying because you CANNOT BE HURT and you can ALWAYS get back into the physical once out. When you have finally got out of the physical, rest awhile. Just keep still, you don't need to feel panic nor triumph, just rest peaceably for a few moments. Then - if you think you can stand the shock - and depending on what sort of a body you've got; gaze down on the thing you've just left. It looks all lopsided, it looks lumpy and heavy, it looks an untidy mess. Well, aren't you glad to get away from it for the time being?

Some people have dreams. Now frequently the dreams are rationalizations of what actually happened. The person is a doubter to start with and just would not believe the possibility of astral travel, and so as a solution to what would be a difficult problem the subconscious of the doubter cooks up a fantastic image or dream which truly is stranger than anything that could happen in real life. Dreams, then, are either the rationalization of an astral experience or the mindless wandering thoughts of a body of which the soul or astral form is far, far away - so far that no check is being kept on the mental processes of the sleeping form.

Thank you Brian for this award.

2010-05-15T06:04:00.000-07:00

1. What's your all time favorite movie?
I love movies so much I can't really decide, maybe Practical Magic ( I watch it almost nightly). Right now Iron man 2 I have this INSANE thing for Mickey Rourke!

2. If you could live anywhere in the world, where would you live?
Easy one of 2 places... Maine or New Orleans, I have never been to either but there has always been a strong pull for me. I am told I am a modern day Marie Laveau ( I wish)

3. If there was only one dish that you had to choose to eat for the rest of your life what would that dish be? Pierogi Mine homemade of course fried in butter and inions, cause if you can only eat one thing for the rest of your life....you want it to be short, lol.

4. What talent (that you don't currently possess) would you like to have?
Learning to ride my motorcycle (I am a sisssy) and playing the guitar

5. Biggest pet peeve?
Too mny to list my hubby should be nominated for sainthood....I really do hate almost anything.

6. What's the one thing that happen in your life that you would like to go back in time a revisit?
Other than having my children and meeting my YA YA's for the first time, nothing beyond a few choice events, my life has been total hell. I was a varsity cheerleader Nuff said, lol

7. Favorite holiday?
Duh, Samhain

8. Cat or Dog person?
Both but hubby is alergic to cats

9. Who is the one famous person in history (living or deceased) that you would like to have a conversation with?
Anton Szandor LaVey

10. Do you believe in plastic surgery just for recreational needs? As in I got a nose job just because I hate my nose compared to someone who's been in a car accident who might plasic surgery?
Yes I am not opposed to making myself look better, but I dont think it should be overdone. Plus I really really want to have a bigger rack!

Now my questions

What do you like most about yourself?

What does magic mean to you?

When did you cast your fist spell if applicable?

What is you favorte holiday and why?

What do you do to unwind?

What is your passion right now?

Wiccan, Pagan, LaVeyist, Satanist, Spiritualist, other ?

Tell us someothing few people know about you?

I ran out of questions deal with it!

Who's getting this.

Brain ( haha cause you couldn't see that coming)

Luna

Domestic Witch (Dawn)

Rosena (you know who you are, lol)

Andréann at Aux Demilunes

A Witches Daily.

FIXING AND FEEDING THE MOJO HAND

2010-05-14T06:54:00.000-07:00

Fixing the mojo is not merely a matter of dumping a bunch of items into the bag. It involves a ritual -- which will vary from maker to maker -- of filling the bag and then awakening it to life. It may also be "smoked" in incense fumes or the smoke from a candle, or breathed upon to bring it to life. Prayers may be said, and other methods may be used to accomplish this essential step.

Once prepared or "fixed," the mojo is "dressed" or "fed" with a liquid of some kind. The most common liquids used to feed a hand are alcohol, such as whiskey; a perfume, such as Hoyt's Cologne or Florida Water; bodily fluids, such as spit or urine (or sexual fluids for a love-drawing hand); or with a specially-prepared condition oil. The bag is not generally soaked through, but simply dabbed with the liquid, although some old-time poker players i knew during in my youth, during the 1960s, used to say that to get a gambling hand to really work for you, you had to have your lover pee all over it out in the alley between rounds of play.

Why is the mojo fed to keep it working? Because it is alive with spirit.

One major difference between typical European-style magical talismans and a mojo is that it is almost universally claimed and believed by practitioners of conjure that the mojo is alive, is inhabited by a spirit, and/or contains a fragment of the spirit of the owner. Few, if any, European magicians say that sort of thing about their religious or astrological talismans. Yes, astrological talismans are embued with, or reflective of, the energy of a planet or a fixed star, or a moment of transient vibration between two or more such planets or stars -- but they are not alive, kept fed, and cossetted the way a mojo is -- and for good reason.

A secondary difference between mojos and European talismans is that mojo hands are customarily fed with scented liquids that are themselves derived from various magical herbal ingredients -- herbal conjure oils, magical herbal-floral colognes, and even liquors such as whiskey ("water of life") in which herbs have been soaked. This is nature magic, the use of this earth's spiritual interweb of magically active beings, in which persons, animals, plants, and minerals are bound together in social patterns on an invisible plane.

2010-05-14T06:43:00.001-07:00

Gods I am sick of all this pain!

Read me

2010-05-13T13:34:00.001-07:00

No creed must be accepted upon authority of Divine Nature. Religions must be put to the question. No moral dogma must be taken for granted, no standard of measurement deified. There is nothing inherently sacred about moral codes. Like the wooden idols of long ago they are the work of human hands, and what man has made, man can destroy!.....Anton Szandor LaVey

HOW A MOJO BAG IS MADE

2010-05-13T06:53:00.000-07:00

Although most "Southern Style" conjure bags are made of red flannel, some root doctors favour the colour-symbolism employed in hoodoo style candle-burning magic and thus use green flannel for a money mojo, white flannel for a baby-blessing mojo, red flannel for a love mojo, pale blue flannel for a peaceful home mojo, and so forth. Leather bags are also seen, but far less frequently than flannel; they are associated with West Indian obeah, another form of folk magic closely related to African-American hoodoo.

And what is contained in the mojo hand? Well, that varies a lot, based on what the wearer hopes to accomplish by carrying the amulet and what the maker finds effective or customary to use in preparing it.

A mojo carried for love-drawing will contain different ingredients than one for gambling luck or magical protection.

The objects most commonly found in mojo bags are roots and herbs, minerals, petition papers, name papers, plus a variety of animal parts such as hair, fingernails, bones, or dyed feathers -- green for money, red for love, orange for change or warning, blue for spiritual peace -- rattlesnake rattles, dried frogs, swallow hearts, and bat wings. (Modern urban practitioners may substitute a toy plastic bat for the latter). Coins, metal lucky charms, crystals, good luck tokens, and carved stone amulets may also be added for extra power or for their symbolic value.

Generally there are at least three items in a mojo hand. Many root doctors try to ensure that the total number of ingredients comes to an odd number -- usually 3, 7, or 9, but sometimes 5, 11, or 13. On the other hand, just as many root doctors don't bother counting the items at all; they just compile the traditional items they like to work with, according to the situations, conditions, and needs of their clients.

Some conjure workers who do like to count out 3 ingredients will make sure each item is singular and distinct -- say, one root, one personal item, and one mineral. To other, equally proficient workers, the count of 3 may include one personal item, one petition paper, and two paired minerals counted as one; or one animal curio, one petition paper, and half a handful of mixed herbs and seeds, in which case, no matter how many varieties there are in the mixture, the mix itself is counted as one item.

Some root doctors are known for their use of favourite or "trade mark" ingredients -- one man i knew, for instance, put tobacco snuff in every bag he made; another was famed for his "Good Luck Herb Mixture" and used it in almost every bag i bought from him, as well as selling it in the form of incense and baths; a third man was known to me for his consistent and otherwise unexplained inclusion of a coin -- usually a modern penny -- in every bag he made. But the use of such "trademarks" is not too common, in my experience; most makers vary the contents of their bags quite a bit, depending on the case at hand.

Some root workers top off their mojo bags with parchments upon which are printed medieval European seals and sigils of talismanic import, particularly the seals from the Greater Key of Solomon and The 6th and 7th Books of Moses, both of which are sold as sets of seals printed on parchment paper, and are used without reference to the rituals given in the texts of the books.

These last items surprise many Caucasians, who are unaware that a strong vein of Germanic folklore runs through traditional African-American hoodoo. Still, however strange it may seem to cultural anthropologists in search of "African survivals" in hoodoo practice, it is a fact that John George Hohman's "Pow-Wows or the Long Lost Friend" -- first published in America in 1820 and translated into English in 1856 -- has long been a staple source of inspiration for conjure-workers in both the African-American and European-American Appalachian traditions, and many a black hoodoo practitioner can cite chapter and verse of "Albertus Magnus," "The Black Pullet," "Secrets of the Psalms," "The 6th and 7th Books of Moses," "8th, 9th, and 10th Books of Moses," and other occult books of European origin.

Mojo bag? Gris gris

2010-05-12T06:52:00.000-07:00

GRIS-GRIS, JOMO, TOBY, NATION SACK, TRICK BAG
Alternaive American names for the mojo bag include hand, mojo hand, conjure hand, lucky hand, conjure bag, trick bag, root bag, toby, jomo, and gris-gris bag. In the Memphis region, a special kind of mojo, worn only by women, is called a nation sack. A mojo used for divination, somehwat like a pendulum, is called a Jack, Jack bag, or Jack ball.

The word "gris-gris" looks French (and in French it would mean "grey-grey"), but it is simply a Frenchified spelling of the Central African word gree-gree (also sometimes seplled gri-gri). Gree-gree means "fetish" or "charm," thus a gris-gris or gree-gree bag is a charm bag. In the Caribbean, an almost-identical African-derived bag is called a wanga or oanga bag, from the African word wanga, which also means "charm" or "spell" -- but that word is uncommon in the USA.

The word "conjure" -- as in "conjure work" (casting spells) and "conjure woman" (a female herbalist-magician) -- is an old alternative to "hoodoo," thus a conjure hand is a hoodoo bag, one made by a conjure doctor or two-headed doctor. Likewise, the word trick derives from an African-American term for spell-casting -- "laying tricks" -- so a trick bag is a a bag that contains a spell. Similarly, "wanga" is a West African word meaning a spell, hence a wanga bag is a bag containing a spell.

The word "hand" in this context means a combination of ingredients. The term may derive from the use of finger and hand bones of the dead in mojo bags made for various purposes, from the use of a rare orchid root called Lucky Hand root as an ingredient in mojo bags for gamblers, or by an analogy between the mixed ingredients in the bag and the several cards that make up a "hand" in card games.

Luckymojo.com

MOJO HAND and ROOT BAG

2010-05-11T06:45:00.000-07:00

Everybody in America seems to have heard the word "mojo," but darned few white folks know what it means. Cecil Adams, author of "The Straight Dope" series that purports to give truthful answers to often-asked trivial questions, mumbled his way through theories that "mojo" means the sex act or a male sexual organ, even giving space to the drug-addled white singer Jim Morrison's self-applied sobriquet of "Mr. Mojo Risin'" as an indication that a mojo may be a penis. By the end of the 20th century, the second Austin Powers movie, steeped in white retro-culture, reinforced the idea of the mojo as a sex organ, but other white people took the idea in different directions, giving rise to a brand of mountain bike called a Mojo, a brand of cookies called Mojos, and numerous pets (especially cats) named "Mojo" by their loving owners.

For the record, "Mr. Mojo Risin'" is nothing more than an anagram for "Jim Morrison" and it came about because during the 1960s, Morrison apparently heard the word "mojo" on a recording by the Mississippi-born Chicag-style blues singer Muddy Waters [McKinley Morganfield], shown at right, one of whose most popular songs was "I Got My Mojo Working." Here are the lyrics which so impressed Mr. Morrison:

I GOT MY MOJO WORKING
by Preston Foster
Recorded by Ann Cole, Muddy Waters, et al

I got my mojo workin' but it just don't work on you
I got my mojo workin' but it just don't work on you
I wanna love you so bad, child, but i don't know what to do

I'm going down to Louisiana, gonna get me a mojo hand
Going down to Louisiana, gonna get me a mojo hand.
Gonna have all you women under my command.

Got my mojo workin'!
(Got my mojo workin'!)
Got my mojo workin'!
(Got my mojo workin'!)
Got my mojo workin'!
(Got my mojo workin'!)
Got my mojo workin'!
(Got my mojo workin'!)
Got my mojo workin', but it just don't work on you!

I got a Gypsy woman giving me advice.
I got a Gypsy woman giving me advice.
I got a whole lot of tricks keeping our love on ice

Got my mojo workin'!
(Got my mojo workin'!)
Got my mojo workin'!
(Got my mojo workin'!)
Got my mojo workin'!
(Got my mojo workin'!)
Got my mojo workin'!
(Got my mojo workin'!)
Got my mojo workin', but it just don't work on you!
How the failure of Morganfield's mojo was cast into the phantasy of a male sex organ is a tale only white musicians and newspaper columnists can unravel; after all, the first recording of "Got My Mojo Working" was made by Ann Cole, a woman, and the famous blues singer Robert Johnson had written about a woman's mojo in "Little Queen of Spades," way back in the 1930s. The truth is, the word has nothing to do with the sex organs of either gender and never has.

So what is a mojo? It is, in short, the staple amulet of African-American hoodoo practice, a flannel bag containing one or more magical items. The word is thought by some to be a corruption of the English word "magic" but it more likely is related to the West African word "mojuba," meaning a prayer of praise and homage. It is a "prayer in a bag" -- a spell you can carry.

Four theives Vinegar....Always have a huge jar.

2010-05-10T06:25:00.000-07:00

Four Thieves Vinegar is a concoction of wine vinegar, herbs, and garlic that was believed to protect users from the plague. Its creation is credited to four thieves from Marseille or Toulouse, depending on the story. In the 17th or 18th century the four were arrested for stealing from the homes of dead victims of the plague and sentenced to death. They were given their freedom in exchange for the recipe of their concoction, which they used in cotton masks over their faces and to cover their bodies.

Modern day versions of Four Thieves Vinegar include various herbs that typically include sage, lavender, thyme, and rosemary, along with garlic. Additional herbs sometimes include rue, mint, and wormwood. One version called Vinaigre des Quatre Voleurs is still sold in Provence. It is also used by modern practitioners of witchcraft to ward off the spells of other witches

Four thieves vinegar is used by modern witches, magicians, and hoodoo practitioners for personal protection against psychic attack and to banish an enemy from their surroundings. Being easy and cheap to whip up in the kitchen has made it a popular magical item.

Legends of the Four Thieves
There are several legends associated with the use of the vinegar. Perhaps the most well known is that of four thieves who lived during the time of the plague in France. They were caught for their thievery and imprisoned but were promised that if they buried the dead and lived, they would be set free.

The legend says that one of these thieves knew the art of herbalism well. He made some of the magical elixir to keep he and his friends safe from the plague as they were busy burying corpses. Other legends place this tale in Italy.

These legends have woven their way into folklore and permeated magical culture. A French origin is plausible since this recipe was and still is popular in hoodoo, which has strong ties to New Orleans, a city heavily influenced by the French.

Common Four Thieves Vinegar Ingredients
Just as legends vary about the vinegar's origins, so do the recipes. Basically, at least four protective herbs are needed, one for each thief, and apple cider vinegar. Garlic is usually among the five ingredients. It wouldn't be too far fetched to assume these were used because garlic has long been known as a protection against evil and vinegar as a cleansing agent.

http://magick-voodoo.suite101.com/article.cfm/four_thieves_vinegar

Excuse me while I laugh my ass off.

2010-05-10T06:22:00.000-07:00

Hiding

2010-05-09T16:58:00.001-07:00

I promise to post very soon I have been doing some spellwork for others so it has been consuming my time and energy.

Black salt

2010-05-03T07:05:00.000-07:00

Domestic witch and I were mulling over some idead on how to make black salt we came up with these few.....Scrapings from a cast iron skillet, Food coloring, or coal that we gather when we are in Kentucky ( I just read coal is good for prosperity so that is an added bonus.) Earlier today i thought of a few more options. Lamp Black ( it is the black powdery stuff that satains your glass candle containers when burning candles). I figure that mixed with salt, or buying black chalk whih is also used for protection spells and mixing it with the salt. All I have to say is this... I am going to be making some hoodoo and hard to find spell componants and I am gonna have a giveaway soon!! So keep your eye out for my blog.

Crystals and stones

2010-05-02T07:56:00.000-07:00

This lesson focuses on the magickal properties of stones, not the healing properties.

Crystals, stones and metals have been used by humans for tens of thousands of years. They are used to make our homes and have been made into weapons or used to sharpen them. They also have been used as tools of magick and religious ritual and as talismans and offerings to the Gods. We may not notice them, but they are everywhere in our lives. It is not uncommon to find the even the most skeptical non-believer wearing a birthstone ring, the stone considered lucky for a person born during that month. Today, the natural energies of stones and crystals are being rediscovered by a whole new generation.

As tools of magick, stones lend us their energies and provide us with places to store our own energies. They are like natural batteries, storing within them the energies of the Earth. They come in a rainbow of colors from ice clear to solid, glossy black and come in a variety of shapes, sizes, and textures. They are a direct connection to the Earth that provides us with all we need for existence. They are found within the Earth, a true gift of the Goddess and God. Stones are used as talismans to protect from the unknown and are returned to the Earth to insure the fertility of the fields and the success of the crops. Stone magick covers all aspects of life: health, love, prosperity, spirituality, wisdom, just to name a few.

In conjunction with candle magick, stones add their energies and concentrate the purpose within themselves. Because of this, the stone used for a positive spell is retrieved and used as a talisman. For a negative or banishing spell, the stone is never touch and carefully returned to the earth far from your home.

Before a stone is used in a spell, the stone should be charged with the purpose of the spell. This is done by holding the stone in your projective (right) hand and letting the energy that is within you pour into the stone while visualizing the purpose.

Some say the best stones are the ones you gather yourself. For most of us, this is not very realistic, but if you can, try to find stones in stream beds or lake bottoms, maybe from a wooded path or even in your own back yard. Remember, when you do gather stones, ask the Earth first and then thank it for its sacrifice. Some witches perform a small ritual before they go on stone gather expeditions, making offerings to the Earth and praying for a good hunt.

CLEANSING YOUR STONES

Keep in mind that the stones you buy from whatever source, the stones need to be cleansed of any negativity or lingering psychic clutter. You have no idea how many people have handled the stones before you or how they were claimed from the Earth, but you can probably guess that the Earth was not asked or thanked for its sacrifice.

The stones can be cleansed using several methods. Set the stone in direct sunlight, preferable outside, and let the Sun's energies do the work. The stone should stay outside for anywhere from one day to a week, depending on how much other energy the stone's absorbed. The stone should be brought in every evening at dusk. Check the stone by placing it in your receptive hand (left). Does the stones natural energy vibrations feel normal? Once they do, the cleansing is finished.

If you happen to live near a stream or river or maybe on the ocean, you can use the running water to cleanse the stones as well. This is done by placing the stones in a mesh bag, tying them off somehow so as to not loose them and let the running water cleanse them overnight. If one night is not enough, leave it for another.

The Earth can also be used, although this method is much more time consuming. Take the stones and bury them in the earth. Remember to mark where the stones are buried! Leave them there for a week or two. Check them to see if they are cleansed. If not, rebury them and wait another week.

If none of these methods are possible, a small ritual can be performed using a bowl of fresh earth (North), a small basin of water (West), incense (East) and a red candle (South). Pass the stone through each of these elements while asking the element to aid in cleansing the stone of all negativity and unwanted energies.

RECEPTIVE AND PROJECTIVE STONES

There are two basic energies that stones possess. They are either projective, or receptive. Projective stones tend to be strong, bright, forceful. Receptive stones are calm, inward, peaceful.

PROJECTIVE stones are masculine in nature and can be used in healing, protection, intellectual powers, luck, success, will power, courage, and for self-confidence.

Some projective stones are Black, Brown and Red Agate, Amber, Apache Tears, Aventurine, Bloodstone, Carnelian, Cat's-eye, Citrine, Cross Stone, Diamond, Garnet, Red Jasper, Lava, Obsidian, Onyx, Opal, Ruby, Sardonyx, Sunstone, Tiger's-eye, Red Tourmaline, Zircon.

RECEPTIVE STONES are feminine in nature and can be used for soothing, love, wisdom, compassion, eloquence, sleep, dreams, friendship, growth, fertility, prosperity, spirituality, psychism, mysticism.

Some receptive stones are Blue Lace and Green Agate, Amethyst, Aquamarine, Azurite, Blue Calcite, Pink Calcite, Chrysocolla, Chrysoprase, Coal, Coral, Cross Stone, Quartz Crystal, Emerald, Fossils, Jade, Brown and Green Jasper, Jet, Lapis Lazuli, Malachite, Moonstone, Mother-of-Pearl, Olivine, Opal, Pearl, Peridot, Salt, Sapphire, Blue, Green and Pink Tourmaline, Turquoise.

ELEMENTAL STONES

Some people place four stones on the four corners of their altars to represent the four elements. Listed below are the four elements and some stone correspondences.

Element
Stone/Crystal

Earth Green Agate, Green Calcite, Cat's-eye, Chrysoprase, Coal, Emerald, Brown and Green Jasper, Jet, Malachite, Olivine, Peridot, Salt, Black and Green Tourmaline, Turquoise
Air Aventurine, Mottled Jasper, Mica, Pumice
Fire Banded, Black, Brown, Red Agate, Amber, Apache Tear, Bloodstone, Carnelian, Citrine, Quartz Crystal, Diamond, Garnet, Hematite, Red Jasper, Lava, Obsidian, Onyx, Ruby, Sardonyx, Sunstone, Tiger's-eye, Topaz, Red and Watermelon Tourmaline, Zircon
Water Blue Lace Agate, Amethyst, Aquamarine, Azurite, Blue and Pink Calcite, Chrysocolla, Coral, Quartz Crystal, Jade, Lapis Lazuli, Moonstone, Mother-of-Pearl, Pearl, Sapphire, Selenite, Sodalite, Sugilite, Blue, Green, Pink Tourmaline

all info from earthwitchery.com

BELTANE

2010-05-01T23:03:00.000-07:00

Lore

May is the time of fertility and new beginnings after a long winter. The Faeries are afoot! They dance in the hills and roll in the grass, reveling in the joy of warm May breezes. Our spirits are high with the lust and heartiness of spring. New life is stirring and appetites are keen. -Laurie Cabot, Celebrate the Earth

In Celtic tradition, the two greatest festivals of the solar year are Samhain and Beltane, celebrations of death and rebirth, respectively. Love is in the air at Beltane. In our rituals, we celebrate the union between the Great Mother and her young Horned God. Their coupling brings fresh new life on Earth. Some form of this Great Rite is enacted on this sabbat in nearly every modern pagan circle. The Great Rite symbolizes the sacred marriage, or sexual union, of the the Lord and Lady. Often the rite is performed symbolically by a male and female who place a knife (a phallic symbol) into a chalice (a female or yonic symbol). In Old Europe, whole villages would celebrate May Day by slipping away into the woods for indiscriminate sexual encounters. Any children conceived during this occasion were known as "merry-begots" and were considered children of the gods. These "greenwood marriages" were acts of sympathetic magick believed to have a positive effect on their crops, animals, and themselves. (In this age of AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases, however, we must exercise responsibility -- by means of safe sex, monogamy, or even abstinence. Use your better judgment.)

Crop fertility was a strong theme at this sabbat. Besoms were ridden hobbyhorse-style through fields by women in symbolic fertility rites. Menstruating women ran and danced naked in the newly-sown fields. Cows were led to the fields to calve, and ritually consecrated chalices of sheep's blood and milk were poured on the crops, as were ashes from the balefire.

The Altar
Drape the altar in a green cloth and decorate it with blooming flowers and herbs.

Herbs
All-heal, blessed thistle, broom, curry, daffodil, dogwood, coriander, dragon's blood reed, fern, fireweed, nettle, flaxseed, hawthorn, marjoram, paprika, radish, rue, snapdragon, mushroom, almond, meadowsweet, rose, woodruff, tansy, elder leaves.

Incense
Rose, jasmine, ylang, ylang, peach, musk, or vanilla.

Stones
Malachite, garnet, rose quartz, emerald, beryl, tourmaline.

Magick
Spells to ensure prosperity, conservation, safety, and love.

Activities
Jump the balefire. The bonfire, or need-fire, is one of the oldest Beltane traditions. When lighting the fire, use nine sacred woods from the following list:

oak, apple, hawthorn, birch, elder, ash, blackthorn, grape vine, mountain ash (rowan), holly, willow, cedar, yew, and hemlock.

Ashes from the balefire can be scattered in the fields as a fertility charm. Women wishing to conceive can tie a bag of the ashes around their necks. Traditionally, cattle and other animals were driven between two fires for protection, healing, and purification. Modern pagans can ritually purify tools or other things in the balefire. Jump the dying embers of the fire for summer blessings.

Dance around the maypole.

Gather the first wild herbs of the season.

Go a-Mayin' by going to the woods and fields to gather flowers. Take a picnic.

Wash your face in dew at sunrise on Beltane for beauty in the coming year. (Traditionally the dew from the hawthorn tree, but dew from grass and flowers will do.)

Make daisy chains and fresh flower wreaths and chaplets (head dresses) to wear and to place atop the maypole. Braid flowers in your hair. Make and wear leafy green masks to represent the Green Man who has returned.

Make a wish at the hawthorn tree, a tree associated with faeries. Place strips of cloth symbolizing your wish in the tree (the color should be appropriate to the nature of your wish, i.e. blue for health, pink or red for love, green or gold for prosperity). Take some time to attune to the tree. When you feel you have contacted its spirit, visualize your wish coming true as you hook the cloth on one of the tree's thorns, chanting your wish. When you have finished, leave a gift for the tree.

Make love in the woods. Beltane is the time of year when the Goddess and God consummate their passions. Traditionally it is a time when lovers pledge to live together for a year and a day. At the end of the period, they may part ways if things haven't worked out. If all has gone well, they may make plans for a handfasting at Midsummer.

Commune with the faeries.

Mark the boundaries of your circle with oatmeal, a traditional Beltane grain.

Food
Oatmeal and dairy products. Begin the day with a hearty bowl of Irish oatmeal topped with cream and brown sugar or country butter. Oatmeal brings good fortune and encourages the power and magick of the faeries. We always have warm oatmeal cookies and vanilla ice cream as a Beltane treat.

May Wine
from "Dancing with the Sun" by Jasmine Yalenorn

1 cup sweet woodruff
2 bottles rose' wine
4 dozen rose petal ice cubes
1 quart strawberries
1 quart chopped peaches
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup white rum
2 bottles champagne
1 bottle white wine
1 liter lemon-lime soda

Two weeks before serving: clean woodruff and pack into one bottle of wine. Cork and let sit.
The day before serving: make four dozen ice cubes by placing rose petals in the compartments before adding water. Freeze until solid.
Hull and wash the strawberries. Slice. Mix peaches and strawberries. Add sugar and rum. Marinate overnight.
An hour before serving: Strain woodruff out of wine and discard leaves. Mix champagne, all remaining wine, lemon-lime soda, and fruit in a large bowl. Stir.
Add ice cubes 15 minutes before serving. Serves 20.