CANDLES PART I

Candles are usually molded or dipped mass of wax or tallow containing a wick that may be burned to give light, heat, or scent. They are also used for celebrations purposes, resembling a candle in shape, or used as a sulfur candle for fumigating. The original candle was made from tallow melted animal fat wrapped around what we now call twine and other materials. That will be covered later.

Im going to touch on something a lot of people wonder about candles. There is so much information on a multitude of things except candles. I thought I would write a little about what I have learned about them. Plus, some of the other meanings that most people have not heard about before.

The candle flame represents the light in the darkness of life, mostly your individual life. Im not sure how many have heard of the saying ” What happens at night will come to light”? It may make sense now about the candle flame representation. The illumination is the symbol of the truth. Lit them in times of death; they signify the light in the next world. They represent peace and calmness. Candles are used to summon gods and to honor them. Purification and cleansing are closely related. Festive in nature and used to ward off evil spirits. As long as your candle continues to burn, your intentions are working, sometimes stronger or weaker than intended. For Samhain, candles were carried from eleven till midnight. If the candle went out, it was an evil omen. If it didn’t, it meant one year free from spell attacks.

If you are curious about incorporating witchcraft into your spiritual practice and magickal rights, candle magick is a term that some who practice witchcraft would rather use. It is a good introduction because it is so simple and inexpensive. All you need is a candle, something to light it with, intentions, and purpose. If you happen to have herbs, you can powder up your herbs to add to your candle and intention.

Candle magick is also a form of alchemy in which all the elements are represented. You have the flame, air to feed it, melted wax represents the water, and solid wax for the earth. If you add powdered herbs, the herbs can also represent the earth or even crystal pebbles in the bottom once you melt it down to remold it. Other than the basic elements, you can use whatever colors, herbs, oils, crystals you want that will suit your intentions and rights workings. You can do candle magick with any type of candle, as long as your intention is there; keep in mind, though, the candle’s color and properties have to match your intentions. I do not purchase scented candles. If a smell has to be added, I add a drop or two of essential oil to the candle wax after I have melted it down and use a tree twig to mix it into the wax.

Candle magick can be made to your specific desire. Everyone has a different practice and a different path; not many divert from the true practices, but some things are tweaked for other desired intentions; that is as it should be. Pick and choose what you want to incorporate and pull from other practicings if you wish, but do it as close to the authentic, ancient, and ancestorial ways as possible.

This is known more along the lines of being an eclectic witch. You can start by putting your candle on a cleansed dining room table or clean and purify your Altar and go to it at the same time every night to meditate on your intentions until the candle has quit burning or the wick is gone. For the nights the candle is burning, observe how the flame is burning. Never blow out the candle. Pinch the wick or use a bell snuffer to put the flame out. You could blow out your intention, and I have also heard that you are blowing away the gods or spirits you have called upon.

When I try to solve a problem, sometimes I’ll put just a dab of witches protection salt on my white or black candle. Cinnamon is used for purification and protection. Yellow candles are for focus and intellect. You can buy a ritual candle for just a few dollars. Metaphysical shops sell little candles for rituals in a large selection of colors for cheap. So it is really easy and quick to just get a candle, add your intended purpose of its job, and add any other ingredients. The strongest works come from handmade items. Even just melting down the wax and reshaping or molding it is better than just when bought. It is the quickest and easiest magic to perform. Most of the time, when you purchase a ritual candle from the metaphysical shops, the intent is almost already added because each candle color has its purpose and meaning. They each have their properties. Some of their properties are closely related, such as red and pink for love and self-love. You simply call out what part the targeted purpose is.

You can add on meanings by engraving symbols, runes, sigils, or even a name and a birthday on the side of the candle. Working rights are all about adding unique meanings to things. It makes much more sense while you’re doing it, as well as pinpointing your intended target.

If you’re looking to use candles for your working rites, take some time considering your plans in advance. Put some thought into what you want to draw in. Then go shopping with a clear mindset allowing your intuition to guide you to what you need at that moment and pay attention to what pulls you to it.

You need to consider all the characteristics of the candle. Think about your intentions and your target and if it will fit, and how you can best symbolize that in the candle. What smell should you add? If any? How long do you want it to burn for? Do you want to shape or form it into a silhouette? Do you want a female or male candle? Do you want a penis or vagina as a representation of a male or female? Do you want a vehicle formed to represent a car wreck or a mechanic’s job? Does a blue eye candle help bring forth sights or strengthen sights? There are so many things you can do with candle magic. If you want to buy a spell candle with an intention already set, buy them from an actual witch, wizard, sorcerer, magician, or apothecary that “knows their stuff.”

You will hear or see results coming to the surface fairly quickly. Candle magick is fast-working and plays no games, and is intense, so be sure that this is what you want, and by all means, be prepared for the outcome. An example of a witch using candle magick —It was believed that witches would use holy candles to put a curse on individuals. When the witches would do this, it was talked of that they would say “the Paternoster” and drop the holy candle in a man’s steps that they hated and say, “hath done his feet rotten off.”

Candles have been used as a LIGHT source for celebrations for more than 5,000 years. Candles played an important role in religious ceremonies. Hanukkah, the Jewish Festival of Lights, which is homes in on the lighting of candles, goes back to 165 B.C. There are Biblical sources to candles, and Emperor Constantine has also been documented to have given orders for candles to be used during Easter (Ostara) services in the 4th century A.D

The Colonial women made America’s first design of candlemaking. They found out that boiling the grayish-green-colored berries from a bayberry bush created a sweet-smelling wax, and it has a clean burn when used. Although, getting the wax from the bayberries was extremely time-consuming and tedious. As a result, the bayberry candles quickly disappeared.

Ancient people would stare into the candle flames, and it would reveal mysterious things. By staring into a flame, you can go into an altered state of mind and see the gods, the future, what will happen, who it is going to happen to, or someone you’re supposed to be with or do some workings with. You could receive answers to things that need some resolution; today, this is called meditation and having sights.

Around the third century, the Egyptians would use lamps, and candles, in a magic ritual for getting answers from dreams. During ancient times, a person would go to a cave, sit facing south, and stared into a flame; once he saw a god, that person would lay down in the cave and sleep, expecting the god to come to him in his dreams with the answers he was looking for.

Most Western cultures relied on candles created from animal fat called tallow. A huge improvement that came during the middle ages was to use of beeswax to make candles. It was introduced in Europe by a traveler. Beeswax wasn’t like an animal tallow; beeswax burned pure and clean; it didn’t make a smoky flame. A very sweet smell came from the beeswax instead of a nauseating, decaying odor of tallow. Beeswax candles started being used at church ceremonies, the beeswax candles were expensive, and if you are not rich, you could not afford to burn them in your home.

When the fourth century came around, both candles and lamps were part of Christian rituals. It was not until the ending of the Middle Ages and the twelfth-century candles that were placed on church altars. The Catholic Church used the consecrated holy candles in rituals of blessings, cleansing away the sins, and exorcisms.

The whaling industry, late in the 18th century, brought the first large change in candlemaking since the Middle Ages when crystallizing sperm whale oil made a wax (called spermaceti), became available in large quantities. Like beeswax, the spermaceti wax did not give off an odor when burned and would give off a much brighter flame. It was harder than tallow or beeswax. In return, it wouldn’t soften or bend from the summer heat. Historically, it has been documented that the first “standard candles” were made from spermaceti wax.

Candles became a common household item for Europeans; by the 13th century, candle-making had become a booming craft in England and France. The chandlers, candle makers, would go from home to home to make candles from the fat saved. They would make and sell their handmade candles from small candle shops.

Historical evidence has found that many early civilizations made wicked candles using waxes made from plants and insects. Some of the first Chinese candles were molded in paper tubes. They rolled rice paper to make the wick. Sometimes they made their wax from naturally found growing insects combined with seeds. In Japan, candles were made from wax extracted from tree nuts. In India, candle wax was made by boiling cinnamon tree fruit.

The ancient Egyptians used candles as early as 300 BC. Even though their candles didn’t have a wick, they used plant reeds instead. The reeds were soaked in tallow for days. The original use of candles started with the ancient Egyptians. Originally, they would wrap old frayed cloth material that was no longer useful as clothing material. They would wrap it around a large stick and dip it in tallow for several hours at a time to soak the material to get it to burn for a longer period. The cloth didn’t burn as much. Then they would mount them on the walls to light their way through the castles and pyramids.

Ancient Romans are given credit for creating the first wicked candle. Before that, dipping rolled papyrus repeatedly in melted tallow or beeswax was the way candles were made. They were also used to help travelers at night to see as they were passing by and were also used for religious ceremonies and rituals.

Later on, the Egyptians and Romans made candles from sheep and cow tallow. Tallow was melted into a liquid form and poured over flax, hemp, or cotton fibers, which was used as a wick. Tallow was always available and could be made in large quantities. They would melt tallow, and candles were made by dipping wicks in them to form tapered candles. These tallow candles dripped and smoked; they had a horrible smell. They also gave off very little light and burned fast. Poor people in the early 1800s made candles from the tallow that was collected during the annual autumn slaughter. Cows, sheep, pigs, and goats contributed to the 400 candles, which was the average every household needed a year to keep the lights on. Sheep tallow was everyone’s favorite because the smell was not as bad as the others.

In folklore, candles have a strong association with the dead. Perhaps dating back to old Jewish customs, later adopted by Christians, lighting candles for the dying and dead. A lit candle placed by the bedside of a dying person is believed to frighten away demons. One Jewish custom calls for keeping a lit candle for a week in the room where a person died to purify the air. In American folklore, a candle burning in an empty room will cause the death of a relative. Superstitions about candles hold that a guttering candle means someone in the house is about to die, and a candle that burns blue means a ghost is nearby.

During the witch-hunts of the Middle Ages and Renaissance, and the ones of unruly questions. Handbooks, such as the “Malleus Maleficarum,” recommended holy candles as among those consecrated objects that were used for protecting yourself from any injuries caused by witches. Farmers would use holy candles to protect their livestock from danger and curses cast by witch rite workings.

There used to be candles made from human fat and thought to hold property of a human life’s energy and used in the Black Mass of the 17th century, as well as other black magic rituals. “The Petit Albert,” an 18th-century grimoire, says a “Magic Candle” that was made from human tallow would tell you where the buried treasure was that would bring great wealth. The one hunting for the treasure took the candle into caves or very dark places. When the candle started sparkling brightly and hissed, the treasure was available. The closer they got to the treasure, the stronger the candle burned. When you were right there at the treasure, the candle would go out. Treasure hunters were advised to carry along lanterns with consecrated candles not only for light but to conjure the spirits of dead men who were said to guard the buried treasure. The spirits were summoned in the name of God and promised anything to help them find “a place of untroubled rest.”

At the turn of the 19th century, Francis Barrett, author of “The Magus” (1801), wrote that candles made of “some saturnine things, such as a man’s fat and marrow, the fat of a black cat, or the brains of a crow or raven. They are extinguished in the mouth of a man lately dead. It would bring great horror and fear upon the spectators about as often as it shone alone.”

GREEN WITCH

This was a personal request. This article is dedicated to Jessie Allen.

The Green Witch follows a mostly all-natural path. They are typically a solitary witch and practice a more closely followed path like Wicca. Im not saying they are Wiccan but very closely related and can be easily confused as Wiccan. They prefer to use items from nature and the universe for their spellcasting and rites. The Green Witch does workings involved with healings. They make spell potions, drinks, and creams. I have heard some people pick and kind of joke around at green witches. They call them tree huggers because they also lead a more health-conscious lifestyle, and they do things that help keep mother earth healthy and clean the best they can. They do not usually send out a hex or curse. They work more with love, light, and happiness even if someone wrongs them. This is based on personal interactions of my own on a green witch in the past.

They are naturalists, herbalists, and healers. A green witch embraces the power and energies of nature. They draw energy from the Earth and the Universe. They rely on natural objects, such as stones, gems, and crystals, to communicate with the land they live off of. Green witches use plants, flowers, oils, and herbs for healing. They also call on nature for guidance. They respect every living being regardless of size, nature, or human.

Others define the green witch as one who works with the elements, the land, spirits, and things considered green. The green witch harnesses the energy of the natural sources and moon cycles when practicing witchcraft. They create a bond or a close connection with all plants, trees, wildlife, and pets, as well as with the earth itself. Herbal magick is a primary tool for green witches, but even the most eclectic witch sometimes enjoys working with green herbal rights.

Becoming a green witch is not right for everyone. It is important to know more about what it means to be a green witch, and where it stems from, and being Pagan/neo-pagan and Wiccan, in general from ancient Paganism and ancestors to the “new age” green witches. It was a very slow change of practices and traditions throughout many centuries.

Green witches are peaceful, nature-based, and spiritual. They are more commonly Wiccan, the fastest-growing belief in the world. There are up to approximately eight hundred thousand Wiccans throughout the world. Although Wicca is probably the most well-known major “religion,” Not all Pagans, neo-Pagans, or Wiccans are green witches, and Not all green witches are Wiccan. Although there is a green Wiccan group, most green Pagans are eclectic solitary witches who do not identify with Wicca or a coven. They usually keep to themselves. You have your green witches in every path; just most green witches are more commonly associated or identify as a Wiccan.

A Wiccan saying is “harm none, do what ye will.” It means witches should never knowingly cause anyone, including themselves, any harm; instead, it is emotional, physical, psychic, and spiritual. Also, several pagans and Wiccan paths believe “what goes around, comes around.” It means any good or harm that a witch puts into the universe will come back to them somehow. It may not be immediately or even six months from that time. In the same aspect, they firmly believe at some point in time; the universe will send back to the witch any spells they did.

Many of you do not know me, but those who do know I am not Wiccan or pagan. I am solitary and use all my tools, not only herbs; I give equal exchange in return to the universe and do not believe in the three-fold law. I see myself as a “Witch.” No specific title was put to me. I use many natural items, such as herbs, but I am not a green witch. Some spells I do use poisonous items such as brown recluse spiders. I do all sorts of workings, from healing, hexing, cursing, etc. I mostly fall under a grey witch. I added this little bit about myself just for all to see that there are more ways of believing than just the threefold. Like me, some give equal exchange as payment which prevents a spell working from returning. It is paying forth your dues to the spirits, gods, and the universe.

In the next few paragraphs of the article, I will be talking a little about the history of the green witch. There is not an enormous amount of history because the practices were not tracked very much due to the persecution of witches in the past. With this being said, many documents were burned to keep them from being found and anyone from having proof of which people were witches. Convictions, hangings in Salem, and those set on fire and burned at stake in Europe is an excellent reason to keep yourself and your practices quiet. Unless you can trust who you tell, sometimes silence is golden.

In the history of the ancient witch, our ancestors, one of the things they would do when out and about was to pass an acorn to each other. It was to give protection and good luck to each other, but more so to see if someone they did not know was a witch or not. If they were a witch, they would say something along the lines of “thank you” or “bless you.” Some would even hand off the one they were carrying around to the witch that just handed them an acorn. If any of these things happened, they were able to know each other. If you gave an acorn to someone that was not a witch, they would usually ask what it is for or why you gave it to them.

As a witch myself, I believe in deities, goddesses, gods, universal spirits, ghosts, family ancestor spirits, the spirit of animals, and the name of the universe’s spirit, which is called Awen. It also depends on the individual witch and their own experiences. Some green witches believe in the goddess and god as the divine. Some believe that the universe itself is divinity and the universe manifests their rights’ working energies. Many witches call upon the earth’s nature spirits when performing their rights, especially faeries and ghosts. Faeries because they are listed up there with the gods. They are just one step below the gods and goddesses and are to be respected. A witch should never show any weakness when around faery. When you have a fae come to live with you, never say please or sorry to them. They see this as a sign of weakness and will run amuck on you. As well, some witches have relationships with a familiar, typically a pet dog or cat, whose magickal energies complement and intensify the witch’s working rights.

KNIGHTS TEMPLAR PART I

The knight is the most widely recognized in medieval Europe. They were also nowhere close to being romantic by any means. They wore their shining armor, rode their thirty hands high battle horses, and fought it out with their jousting spears and swords. With momentums from their lady love tucked away in the armor.

The knights were heavily trained warriors. They were armed to the teeth with protective gear and weaponry. They would ride their horses through enemy lands severing limbs and heads. Most knights came from wealthy families or were battle guards for royalty. The equipment needed for the horses and knights became very costly. There was still a cost if you traded your old gear to an ironworker for new gear.

Many knights were put in leadership roles and held at the top of the list to be responsible for the most critical battles in medieval times. They went down in history for this and many other things. Part of it was having a secondary job of writing poetry, working in the churches, having a religious position, and history.

One of the most successful battles in the middle ages was the Norman Conquest of England.
William of Poitiers was William the Conquerer’s Chaplin during the year 1066 during the invasion of England. He went through training in his teen years to become a knight. He was able to give an accounting for the king’s life. William of Poitiers later became a scholar and a priest.

William of Poitiers would document his writings extremely carefully to impress the king. He would write with extreme descriptive wording about the battles he fought. He discussed the gruesome and wonderful sights of the battle. As a mounted horse’s knight, he went into battle with the Anglo Saxons army. The majority of the Anglo Saxon army was made up of infantry soldiers. Most of the information on the battle of Hastings was documented from soldiers who had been in battle there.

Rodrigo Diaz, also was known by El Cid, is honored by the Spanish Reconquista as a hero. He leads Christian armies into winning battles against Muslim rulers in Spain. Even though he is a successful knight, his history runs a lot deeper than this. El Cid was serving two kings in Castile and was a leader in the military. He also spent more than ten years working as a mercenary. El Cid earned a lot of fame and wealth serving the Muslim leaders. As a commanding lead in the Zaragoza Taifa, he won several battles against the Christians. Muslim armies were a Muslim state in Spain. El Cid would only fight battles that would put him down in history notes. The history notes took place near the end of El Cid’s life. His military group took over the town of Valencia from Al Moravid Dynasty in 1094. Then again, he went back and took Valencia back from Al Moravid Dynasty in 1097.

The Knight Templar was closed down about seven hundred years ago. The main facility for the Poor Knights of the Temple of King Solomon became the Knights Templar. The main facility was placed upon the sacred Temple Mount, and that is where they took their vows to protect the Christians. The co-founder of the Knights Templar was a French knight named Huges De Payens, who was also the first Knights Templar Grand Master. In 1118, he was able to get this facility established with the help of Baldwin II. As the Christians steadily helped the Pilgrims get to the Holy City, they progressively became attacked more and more out on the streets.

In 1118 Huges De Payens and eight other knights went to get the blessing of Baldwin, the king of Jerusalem, to create security for the pilgrim tourists. Pope Innocent II and the Christian lawmakers both gave their blessings to do so. In 1129 The Knights Templar was steadily being downed by the religious leaders. A personal endorsement from the Catholic church and support from Bernard Clairvaux, a high-ranking Abbot, was giving to the Knights Templar. Donations and recruits piled up coming from all over Europe to the Knights Templar facility. They quickly grew into thousands and expanded to the western side of Europe, with new generations filling the new Templar facilities. They took an oath of poverty but still acquired wealth and land. They were under strict regulations of chastity and obedience. They were not allowed to drink, gamble, swear, have a wife, a girlfriend, or have children. It was a mandatory thing for their daily life to pray. Templars showed a lot of honor to the Virgin Mary.

In this time, they took on a cold and unpleasant code of conduct. They began being known as brutal and were forbidden to retreat unless outrageously outnumbered. They also took a dress code of white habits (robes) with a red cross on its front. In 1139 Pope Innocent exempted the Knights Templar from tax and everyone but the people of his land. The Knights Templar became a large economic monopoly. They had a multitude of banks, ships, and Knight Templar facilities everywhere in Europe up readily available to them and any of their needs at any time. Once the banks were set up, this gave religious pilgrims a way to deposit funds in the countries they lived in and were able to pull funds from the Holy land. This started giving the Templar a great amount of pull despite all their business ventures. They also owned the island of Cyprus and were loaners to nobles and monarchs.

In the later parts of the twelfth century, The Muslims retook Jerusalem. It took longer than ten years to lose their place. This caused the Knights Templar to switch tracks and relocate a multitude of times. This started a downhill spiral of the military campaigns in the Holy Land with the assistance of Europe. This situation pushes French king Phillip the IV to break apart the Knights Templar, and French King Phillip the IV had many of the Templars tortured and killed. The Templar refused to give any ruler indebted any further loans and expressed that they wanted to form their own state in southeast France. The last to be killed was Jacques De Molay, the last Grand Master in 1307. Huges De Payens was the co-founder of the Knights Templar and the first Grand Master and became a prominent public figure with the Crusades history. He also became a part of the first crusade with the French army, where the Christian/European army took over Jerusalem. As we all know, the Knights Templar, in the end, was violently dismembered in 1307.

The rules of the Knights Templar were very detailed and demanding. There were sixty-eight authentic rules of conformity to follow, from sleeping arrangements to eating, discipline, clothing, and repentance. The first time the rule guide had been written out, it was written to remind them of the vows they took to uphold the honor and dedication they made a lifelong commitment to and maintain their vows of poverty, obedience, and charity.

As time went on, the order got more extensive, and so did the wealth, and the more the demands conformed to a military-style organization. The discipline rule guide expanded and became more complex as a few original rules started to decinergrate. New rules were written up and quickly turned into several hundred within one hundred and fifty years. The authentic rule guide had become extinct but was written in French and Latin and re-written by other authors.

The following are the rules of the Knights Templar. Mind you; I can’t entirely agree with many of them because of my path. There is a second coming out about how they are tied into witchcraft. Some of the rules were from a history book I read; others I pulled out of some research I did some years ago. With all the rules they had, there was just no way to remember all the rules they had to follow.

(1) If a Templar was to step out of line and violate or become defiant of the written rules, instead it is one or multiple rules, the disciplinary procedures would be as minor as eating your meals on the floor up to and including corporal punishment and or “banishment” from the Templar brotherhood.

(2) There were not enough meal dishes to go around so that the Templar brothers will eat in pairs. Then one studies the other closer. That way, neither austerity nor secret abstinence is introduced into the communal meal. It seems fair that each person would have the same amount of wine in the cup.

(3) They were only allowed to eat meat three times a week, except for Christmas, The Saints, and the feast of the twelve apostles. It is understood that the custom of eating flesh corrupts the body.

(4) They are not allowed to leave the dining table unless there is an emergency or something that could disrupt the Templar home. For example, nose bleeds, horses in an uproar, a fire, or some form of war advancement on the home or Templars.

(5) When in the proverbial doghouse, the Knights Templar soldiers were ordered to eat on the floor.
*When a Templar is in penance when he eats, he must remain on the household floor to eat in front of everyone as a form of shame or discipline.

(6) The only time that the Templar is to eat without a napkin is if they are in penance on the floor eating or Good Friday, they clean the tables before the bread and water is put out and still no napkins, and all they can have to eat is the bread and water.

(7) All brothers’ habits should always be of one color, white, black, or brown. And we grant all brothers in winter and summer, if possible, white cloaks. The ones who have walked away from the life of darkness will recognize each other and have reconciled themselves to their creator with the white chastises, representing purity and whole chastity.

(8) These robes should be plain jane, dull, with no decoration or decals and no visible signs of pride. No one can have fur on their clothes, Any brother with a feeling of pride or arrogance would like to have a finer, better habit; he shall have the worst.

(9) The Knights Templar prohibited wearing pointed shoes, and shoe-laces were forbidden for any brother to wear. For it is a manifestation and known that these terrible things belong to pagans.

(10) Among the other things, because the heat is so intense, it exists in the East, from Easter, a linen shirt shall be given to any brother who wishes to wear it.

(11) No one may wear a hood on their head. No brother may wear a coif without a cloth cap.

(12) We forbid any brother to have gold or silver on his horse’s bridle, stirrups, or spurs. If a harness is given to him in charity and is so old that the gold or silver is tarnished, that the splendid beauty is gone and does not take pride in them, then he may keep them.

(13) No one is allowed to hang his mantle round his bed on hooks, for each is obliged to honor their habit.

(14) If a brother tears or gives back his habit willingly, he can not have it back for 12 months (one year) and one day.

(15) The company of women is a dangerous thing, for the devil has led many from the straight path to Paradise. Henceforth, women were not allowed to be admitted into the house of the Temple. That is why very dear brothers do not fit to follow this custom that the flower of innocence is always maintained among you.

(16) We believe it to be a dangerous thing for any religious man to look too much upon the face of a woman. For this reason, none of you may kiss a woman. Rather they are widowed, a young girl, mother, sister, aunt, or any other woman and, the Knighthood of Jesus Christ should avoid at all costs the embracing of women because men have given in to the likes of a woman, many times, so that they may remain eternally faithful before the face of God with a pure conscience.

!7) If a brother is found guilty of lying with a woman, and we hold the brother who is found guilty in a wicked place or house with an evil woman, he is not allowed to keep the habit. He should be put in irons, nor can he carry the piebald banner or take part in the election of a Master.

(18) The Templar prohibits and firmly forbids any brother to confide to another brother or anyone else about pleasures of the flesh that they have had with immoral women. If he hears them told by another brother, he should immediately silence him. If he cannot do this, he should straightaway leave that place and not give his heart’s ear to the pedlar of filth.

A- Forget about having kids too,
(19) We forbid all brothers to raise children over the font. No one should be ashamed to refuse to be a godfather. This shame brings more glory than a sin to the brotherhood Temple.

(20) This is the world of the MASTER, and another is invited into it. Jesus loves a well-behaved brother. To carry out their holy duties and be blessed by the glory of the Lord, escape the fear of hell-fire, it is fitting that all brothers who have to confess eternal brotherhood life strictly obey their Master. For nothing more humble to Jesus Christ than obedience.

B- Master, may I bathe,
(21) No brother may bathe, let blood, take medicine, go into town, or ride a horse without permission.

C- On a tight leash,
(22) No brother may shorten his stirrup leathers, girth, sword belt, breech-girdle without permission, but he may adjust his buckle without permission.

D- Ask first before using straps,
(23) No brother should carry his chainmail tunic or iron hose in a bag, neither in a guerilla nor in a profile. Still, he should hold it in a leather or wire mesh bag, he should not hang the wire mesh bag by the straps to have his hauberk, but he should carry it in his hand for as long as he or a sergeant can each hold it, and with permission, he may hold it or hang it by the straps.

Careful with that gear
(24) No brother may throw his lance without permission. He may repair his sword without permission, nor his wide-brimmed helmet, coat of mail, or throw their wide-brimmed helmets.

E- Here today, gone tomorrow, deal with it.
(25) The Master shall give whoever he wants the positions of another knight. A horse, armor, and whatever else, and the brother that used to own these things, should not become disgruntled or angry. If he becomes angry, he will go against God.

(F) Keeping outside influences at bay
(26)A brother can not have letters from a family member without the permission of his MASTER or his commander. Then if the Master chooses to, he or the commander can read the letter aloud to the brother and brotherhood.

G-Poverty isn’t just a concept.
(27) None of the brothers are allowed to have money without permission. When a brother asks any brother for money to buy something, he should purchase whatever it is as soon as possible, and only purchase what the brother says it’s for and nothing else also without permission to obtain the item.

H- You can’t take it with you anyway
(28) If a brother dies and money is found on him, his habit, nightclothes, or pouch will be considered his and stolen. And these brothers should not be buried with the other good brothers who have left this world, nor should they be placed in hallowed ground. They shall have him buried like a slave. (This is used in today’s spoken language)

I- Fixer-uppers, okay?
(29) If a brother was to build a house of stone or lime without permission of the Master or Commander of the Land, the habit is at the discretion of the brothers, whether to take it from him or let him keep it, if others were to ruin the house, he might repair it without permission.

J- Beware brothers in the dark
(30) And if possible, the house where they sleep and take lodging shall not be without light at night, so shadowy enemies may not take them to evil doings, which God forbids them.

(31) If a brother is tainted with the sin of sodomy, It is considered so filthy and disgusting that it should not be named.

K- Maybe it’s best to bundle up at bedtime
(32) You should always sleep in a shirt, pants, and in a woolen hose, belt with a small belt, and your bed should have three pieces of linen, that is to say, a bag in which to put straw and two sheets, and in place of one sheet, you may have a light blanket if the Draper wishes to give it to you.

L- Charge in battle only with a commander’s say-so
(33) If a brother who is in battle charges without permission, and harm comes of it, the habit is at the discretion of the brothers, whether to take it from him or let him keep it. But if he sees a Christian in peril of death, and his conscience tells him that he can help him, he may do so. But in no circumstances should a brother of the Temple charge without permission.

M-Beware banner infractions
(34) If a brother of the Temple who carries the banner in battle lowers it to strike, and no harm comes of it, the habit is at the discretion of the brothers, whether to take it from him or let him keep it. And if he strikes with it and harm comes of it, he may not keep his habit, so it may be decided to put him in irons; he may never carry the banner or be a commander in battle. So basically, if you carry the banner, you do not engage in battle.

N- Save a life? Fine, keep quiet.
(35) And if it happens by chance that any Christian acts foolishly, and any Turk attacks him to kill him, and he is in peril of death, anyone who is in that area wishes to leave his squadron to help him, can as long as his conscious tells him to do so and can aid the fallen knight.

O- Holy relics need special attention.
(36) When the True Cross is transported by horse, the Commander of Jerusalem and the ten knights should guard it day and night and should camp as near to the True Cross as they can for as long as the journey lasts, and if a camp is established, everyone should lodge with the convent.

P- Staying within bell range
(37) When the brothers are in camp, they should not go out for pleasure without permission, except as far as they can hear the call or the bell, not to their dwellings, or carry any baggage on their horses, near or far, without permission.

Q- No rogue hunting
(38) And let it be known that the brother should not search for any food except what is given communally, except green vegetables from the fields, or fish if they know how to catch them themselves. They are not to hunt wild game unless they know how to take them without hunting, in such a way that’s not to disrespect the commandments of the house.

R- Share with your neighbor
(40) Each brother may give some of the food in front of him to the other brothers around him, and only in arms reach, but no farther, and if you have the best of whats to share, you invite the ones who have the worst to your circle.

S- A head held high
(41) Each brother should strive to live honestly and set a good example for other people and other orders in everything, in ways that that no one can say anything bad about him, not in his riding, his walking, drinking, his looks, and in no action or work. And especially should each brother strive to conduct himself humbly and honestly when he hears Lord.

T- Brothers should be seen and not heard,
(42) When the brothers come out of their night prayers, they don’t have permission to speak except in an emergency. But each goes to his bed quietly and in silence.

U- Stick it out at the chapel
(43) Each brother is required to hear the sermons entirely through. You are not allowed to leave, unless a brother has chores which can not be avoided, or if he goes in search of the one who has the place next to him in the chapel, only then can the brother be looked for in the bed or out with the horses and taking care of them.

(44) To each knight’s brother, he is given three horses and one squire, and if that squire serves charity, the brother can not beat him for any sin that he commits.

Beat, yes; maim, no
(45) No craftsman brother, neither one from the prison, nor any other, should strike a slave in such a way that he places irons round his neck without permission if he has deserved it; none should put him in a pillory nor pierce him with a sword without permission, but he should beat him and may without permission with a leather strap if he has deserved it. Still, he should take care not to maim him.

(46) None should place a wager on a horse or anything else, except an arrow without iron, or something that does not cost him or anyone else money, like an open lantern, wooden mallet, camping tent pegs, each brother of the Temple may wager against another brother, with his crossbow, ten pieces of a candle without permission, nothing else.

The paupers’ feet
(47) Whenever the Master is in on Maundy Thursday, the Thursday before Easter, he should wash the feet of 13 paupers (a person who receives from a charity) and should give each a shirt and pants, two loaves of bread, two deniers, and a pair of shoes, if he is in a place where he does not have them when he comes to the first of the house of the Temple where he has them, he should give them, for love of God.

(48) And the brother should wash the paupers’ feet and dry them with the towels, and afterward kiss their feet humbly. And let it be known that the Almoner should ensure that those paupers who are to be washed do not have any vile disease on their feet or legs, for perhaps it could bring illness to a brother’s body.

(49) Of all the brothers who are given a penance in the presence of the Master, none may rise from the floor unless the Master raises him, and the brothers may pardon them from manual labor and fasting but may not raise them from the floor and Friday fasting.

Toe the line or else
(50) If a brother refuses to carry out the commandment of the house he has been given and persists in the folly(commits a sin), the habit will be taken from him and, he will be arrested.

(51) When a brother is on penance, he should work with the slaves, and when he eats, he should sit on the ground before the household, eat his food, and always wear a heavy hooded cloak without a cross.

(52) If a brother lays his hands on another brother out of anger, he should not keep his habit(robes), and if the blow is serious, he may be put in irons(arrested).

(53) Whoever strikes a Christian man or woman with a sharp weapon, stone or staff, or anything a blow from which could kill or wound him, the habit is at the mercy of the brothers.

(54) If a brother leaves the house and sleeps two nights outside the house, he loses his habit, and he may not recover it for a year and a day. And if he keeps the things that they’re not allowed to have more than two nights, he is banished from the house.

CHAMOMILE

GENERAL INFORMATION
German and Roman chamomile is the most common chamomile flower and herb. It has several medicinal uses. You can eat them or put them in a drink. Use them as incense or as a simple decoration, such as a centerpiece on your dining table, once they are dried out or picked fresh from the garden.

NAMES
Chamomilla (chamomile) means ground apple in Greece. The flower is called manzanilla in Spain, which also means little apple. Te’ de Manzanilla in Mexico spanish for the chamomile tea.

ORIGINS
An English botanist found the chamomile flower growing in the wild and took it back to England, and it is now one of the most common chamomiles cultivated.

HISTORY
Some of the histories of the chamomile herb/flower started in ancient Greece. The Egyptians would grind down the flowers into a powder and use them as makeup/cosmetics. It was added to shampoos by the horsemen to add luster to their hair. In the medieval era, the flower petals were thrown around on the ground during marriage ceremonies to create a beautiful area and make a pleasant aroma. The U.S.A. has been producing chamomile tea since about the 1980s. It comes in tea bags and loose tea forms.

HORTICULTURE
You can plant chamomile in your garden and around other plants that may be ill and droopy. Chamomile will help to make them look better and perk up. Chamomile prefers the sun but will tolerate some shade in hotter climates of the world. In between getting drenched, it likes some dryness. When planting the seeds, do not bury them too deep in the ground. The seeds flourish when the sun can kiss the seeds. Chamomile would do well, being started in a clear container. It would make it easier for the sun to get to it. Once sprouted, place it in the ground root side down. When it is time to harvest, pinch off the flower head just below the shoulder when it is in full bloom. You can harvest chamomile all summer since they bloom fast all summer long. Once you have gathered some flowers, you can rinse the heads under cold water to remove any dust or dirt, let them sit out to dry off and dry out. Once they are dry, put the heads in an air-tight container and store them year-round. Some chamomile can grow up to two feet tall.

CULINARY
Chamomile is found in grocery stores and online in bulk for reasonable prices. You can also purchase this great tea in some metaphysical shops in loose form for an average price of one dollar a teaspoon which is a great price and fair. Metaphysical shops rarely price gouge their clientele. If you grow your chamomile, that is awesome. Once they are dried out and stored, you can use them to make tea. Crumble the flower heads and place them in a filter, and brew in a coffee pot. Or, if you have a tea ball, put it in the ball and drop it in the cup of hot water. You only need about a teaspoon of crumbled chamomile per cup. The chamomile leaves are also used for tea. They are a little bitter, so you may want to use a little sweetener. German chamomile makes many seeds, and they will wind up everywhere if you dont stay up on clipping and cultivating. You could end up with chamomile all over your property.

MEDICINAL
Chamomile helps to alleviate intestinal diseases that are digestive system-related. People have started using it as a natural sleep aid, combined with lavender, and helps you go into a deep sleep, Use chamomile, milk, and honey for an upset stomach. If you add black sage(mugwort) to it, you will have a deep sleep with prophetic dreams. For this tea to be decaffeinated, it has many beneficial properties and holds a solid natural sweetness. Chamomile was used as a cure for a fever, referred to as ague.

Essential oils were made from this herb to preserve the deceased. Similar to what embalming fluid does nowadays. Chamomile also assists in lifting your spirits if you are feeling down or depressed, and also if you are excited or experiencing anxiety, it helps to calm your nervousness. Chamomile brings peace and tranquility. You can use the used tea bags under your eyes to reduce soreness and alleviate the puffiness from them. Or you could pour some tea on a washrag and place the rag on your eyes in place of the tea bags.

MAGICAL
Chamomile, although it helps in magickal training, a lot of witches use it to make essential oils out of it for folk medicine. Ancient witches understood the properties of this herb and knew how to use it to change energies over in the use of magic. There is no limit to the magickal uses of chamomile. One way that is very useful and popular is chamomile teas. Add in some sweetener and start humming a lovely chant for abundance or for a friend’s abdominal area to heal and stop hurting. If you sprinkle a little chamomile over a grave, this will help the spirit of a deceased one to rest and sleep. Have you ever stuffed dream pillows or sachets to solve chronic insomnia? Chamomile is a light, pleasant scent that makes it easy to fall asleep, and you can mix it with mugwort in a pillow or a dream bag to bring prophetic dreams.

If you enjoy making homemade body and hand soaps, add a little chamomile, rosemary, and mint to it. The soap gives a great feminine sweet smell, and the rosemary mint combination gives a magickal cleansing and protection to your life every time you wash your hands or bathe with it. It wards off evil spirits and ill will individuals you cross every day. So why not ward off that evil, hateful neighbor or co-worker that sits across from you.

Are you a kitchen witch? Do you love the thought of making homemade candles where so much more intention and heart go into them, and it maximizes their magical strengths? So why not make that beautiful pink and red candle. Drop some chamomile, cinnamon, and dehydrated green apples into your motor and pestle and grind away, mixing the intention and purpose into the ingredients as your wax is melting down. Once you have your wax and herbs ready to be combined, start adding the powdered herbs into your wax (sing your spell). Pour out the melted wax into a mixing tray on top of the parchment or wax paper. Lay your wick in the wax a few inches from each other. Let the wax cool and become soft; as long as the wax is soft and does not stick to your fingers, you can start cutting the wax into candle strips. The candle is complete.

You can use chamomile mixed with sunflowers and calendula and st johns wort for a sun ritual and charge your magickal tools. Pace the chamomile in a child’s room with some rosemary for protection and happy dreams. Make a cleansing mop wash or an elixir to wash your doors and windows. Just add a little mint and rosemary to it and remove all negativity and ill will left behind by anyone and prevent it from being brought in when they show up again.

When you place them in the jar, if you wish to pour some sand in the bottom to absorb the melted wax or have a lot of witches’ black protection powder, sprinkle that in with the sand and place your candle in it. The sand should be thick enough to hold the candle up. Make sure the jar you are going to use is a tad taller than the candle. Chamomile also holds magical properties associated with prosperity, growth, confidence, good luck, money, praying for love, and avoiding negativity.

NEEDED ITEMS
You will need a yellow candle, dried powdered chamomile, powdered rosemary, powdered mint, and black sage: an old saucepot, a burner for the pot, and water. Fill the pot about halfway with water while the candle is sitting in the pot, tie a string to the wick, tie the other end of the string to a pencil, roll the extra string around the pencil, and lay it on the top candle jar. This step keeps the wick from falling into the jar and keeps the wick centered. Let the candle meltdown, and then add the herbs to it. Take the candle out of the pot and let it sit to harden. Once it has hardened, use a blowdryer to fill in the air pocket that is created from the candle hardening. Once it has dried and become solid, say this spell over the candle.

SPELL
I say this rhyme to bring forth the chime of rhyme and time when the clock strikes two, I call to you, the sight that I hum for me, I rhyme for the time to have a relaxing time, I call to the universe to bring a calm night for the rights I send out tonight for the peace I long to have. As I will this into existence, so mote it be.

ELEMENTS
Sun, masculine, Leo, sun gods, goddesses Helios, Apollo, Amaterasu.

GARLIC

GENERAL INFO
The garlic production and purchase have gone sky-high. The demand for garlic has increased now that society is learning more about the useful properties garlic provides for the human body health-wise.

NAMES/MEANINGS
The garlic bulb you buy is not called a clove. The whole garlic bulb is called a head or a knob of garlic. The garlic head is referred to as a bulb because when it grows up from the ground, the part you see is the green stems and leaves. (A bulb of cloves) The part you get out of the ground is a ball referred to as a bulb. There are twenty-two kinds of garlic out there to purchase. Here are a few to name: Asiatic Hardneck, Asian Tempest, Pyongyang, Creole Hardneck, Glazed Purple Stripe Hardneck, Marbled Purple Stripe Hardneck, Middle Eastern Hardneck, Porcelain Hardneck, Purple Stripe Hardneck, Rocambole Hardneck, Turban Hardneck, Artichoke Softneck, Silverskin Softneck

HISTORY/ORIGINS
Garlic is found in Central Asia, China, Pakistan, S.W. Siberia, the United States, and many other countries. Garlic once upon a time was used as a form of monetary payment in Egypt. The workers and slaves of the great pyramid were paid and fed garlic in return for work. Many upper-class families, kings, and queens could not handle the strong effects of the garlic, and it would make them sick to their stomachs. The only ones that could eat it and be satisfied were the lower-class families. They enjoyed the garlic bulb.

HORTICULTURE
Garlic is easy to grow; there are a few steps involved but simplistic. You can start a crop in late fall and still have great results. There are two types of garlic. You have what is called a soft neck and a hard neck. When at the grocery store, you are most likely going to find soft-neck garlic. It is the easier of the two to grow and the most common one to find. This bulb has a milder garlic flavor. It produces more cloves and has a longer shelf life than hard neck garlic does. Most chefs use hard-neck garlic since it has a stronger flavor, and it is easier to peel the shelling off of it. Softneck garlic grows so much faster than hard necks and does so much better in warmer climates. Hardneck garlic flourishes in colder parts of the countries and world. The best time to plant hard neck garlic is right after the first frost. It is the start of late fall and the beginning of winter.

The best way to plant the garlic is to break the bulbs into cloves and plant them four inches apart in rows. Space your rows out 18 to 24 inches between each other. Cover the cloves with about two inches of soil. Garlic can grow in practically any soil, but it is more productive with well-drained soil rich in organic matter. Plant the pointed ends facing up. Mixing your soil with mulch is a great way to retain moisture and regulate the temperature of the soil. Keep your garlic garden watered, remove weeds regularly, and during spring, start feeding the garlic manure or fertilizer. You should cut the scapes when they start to curl towards the leaves. It helps the bulbs grow much bigger. From about midsummer, normally from July to early August, the leaves will start to become discolored. Usually a yellow or brown. It means the garlic is almost ready to harvest. Stop watering the plants and wait until a third of the plant looks withered or is changing brown before you start pulling up the garlic bulbs. Remove any dirt and be careful not to damage the outer layer of the garlic.

To cure the garlic, bundle or braid the stems and hang them in good air circulation and minimal sunlight. It takes about three to six weeks to cure the garlic bulbs. When the garlic is ready, cut the roots and store them in a cool, dry place. Keep in mind soft-necks have a longer shelf life, approximately eight months. Hardnecks are good for close to six months or less.

CULINARY
This extraordinary protection bulb can be incorporated magickly in holiday foods with thyme, rosemary, and cinnamon. Sing an enchanting invitation as preparations are being done, and send your family members home for another safe and happy year. They will never know the difference. You, although, you will know you have given them many incorporated blessings and protections.

MEDICINAL
The disease-prevention department has learned that garlic helps with heart health, diabetes, cancer, infections, and so much more. For thousands of years, garlic has been used for medicine, as aphrodisiacs, and made into a skin salve or cream. Garlic has also been added to antibiotics.

MAGICKAL
Garlic was hung up over door frames in medieval times to protect the people staying inside from evil, protected the pregnant women from evil nymphs, and ward away the evil eye. When you use this herb in potions and spells, remember the uses that garlic has and provides. Intentions can be placed upon it for interference or healing in what part of a friend or target’s body needs. Intentions are everything and must be clearly expressed. Egyptians used to worship the garlic as they would a god or goddess. There are many different ways garlic is and has been used in magical workings. One of the ways it is used is as an offering to the gods. Many love garlic and beer. Garlic is incorporated into some types of beer. Some witches grow garlic near their front doors. It has also been suggested to leave some at crossroads. For those that work with Hekate, she likes garlic. Garlic is used in diverting evil. Some witches have used garlic to deter their bosses at work from encounters with them as much as possible.

ITEMS NEEDED
The spell below will be in honor of Mother Hekate.
You will need an offering dish, thirteen garlic cloves – peeled, lavender incense, an incense plate for the ashes, a purple candle, and something to light the incense and candle.

SPELL
To walk with Mother Hekate
Hail Mother Hekate. I request to take your hand as your witch daughter/son. I come to you to guide me in my path. To lead me on my journey with you. Show me the way. I request that you assist me with my discoveries and show me the knowledge I long for and need on this magickal discovery of my newborn life calling. I do this in honor of you, you are the mother of all witchs, and you are the one I should be learning from. Lead the way, mother, for I shall follow you. You have the wisdom I seek to be able to venture out with one day. I ask to hold your hand, mother Hekate, as I know, you shall not lead me astray and bring me forth to the path I should be on. You know the ancients ways I request and long for and to know. You know how I should apply the ancestor’s ways of doing their ways today. I wish to walk the magickal ancestor’s ways of doing mystical magick.
As I will this, so mote it be.

ELEMENTS
Fire, Earth, Hekate, Heart chakra.

WITCHES BLACK SALT/POWDER

GENERAL INFO

Witches’ Black Salt is made in different ways for centuries. Suppose you add or subtract an ingredient. It will determine if you will have a protection salt or a hexing or cursing mixture. The witches’ black salt is used for hexing, cursing, jinxing, blessing, protection, and healing. There are many places you can purchase witchs black salt. If you have the time and ingredients at home to make it yourself, the black salt will hold a lot more energy than store-bought. 

NAMES/MEANINGS

Witches’ protection salt is known by many names, such as witches’ black protection powder, Sal Negro(Spanish for black salt), witches’ salt, Hoodoo salt, and Santeria salt.

MAGICKAL

Witches’ black salt is used very dominantly in protection. The witches’ black salt can be sprinkled anywhere in your home, where you work, your prayer or blessing circle, or even casting your circle of protection before casting a spell. The purpose is to ward away any evil or negative energies from individuals of the mundane world or from spirits that would cause you any harm, physically or spiritually. Black salt is also an ingredient for creating a hex or curse. Salt is an excellent element for any spell due to its purities from our beautiful mother earth. It will act as a protectant from physical and psychic attacks and absorb psychic energies. You can sprinkle it in the footprints of someone who is bothering you to make them go away.  

It is also a representation of the earth. It is a base for alchemy, Hoodoo, witchcraft, used in some sorcery workings, and helpful at your workspaces. The purpose of this Salt is to deter any ill will or adverse intentions. Sprinkle the witches’ black salt around the perimeter of your property line or casting a line on the ground at the foot of your front door, inside or out. If I have used it inside, I will sweep it up and put it into a bag to throw in the trash instead of putting it outside in the grass to return it to the earth because it will kill the grass once it has served its purpose. 

Negative energies can make crazy things happen. So if you bury it, bury it as deep as absolutely possible and as far away from your home as you can. The reasoning is if someone were to break ground to build something, you would want to try to make sure it isn’t pulled up and discovered. Once the spell items are found, the spell intentions can cause harm or stick to the unintended person that stumbled across it. There are two ways I make the witches’ black salt; one is for hexing, and the other is for personal protection and to protect a spell I cast.

 1)- Witches’ protection salt/powder: Add powdered eggshell, sea salt or Himalayan Salt, white sage ash, incense ash, three pinches of used coffee grounds (for added energy), and cinnamon powdered up.

INGREDIENTS:

Six eggshells powdered, membranes removed completely (membranes easier to remove when soaked in hot water) allow them to sit and dry before using them. A jar with a lid, the size does not matter. Just a quarter of that container is filled with powdered salt. Put the salt in a bullet blender to powder up the salt. A bullet blender is so much easier to use than a mortar and pestle when using it for salt. The ash of one whole white sage bundle or the ash of six burned incense sticks, one teaspoon of cinnamon powder. Used dried coffee grounds(for added energy) or one teaspoon full, depending on the size of the jar you make. Place all of this into a jar with a lid and shake vigorously until well mixed. 

Another way of making witches’ black salt/powder is to combine sea salt, black pepper, and ashes from a charcoal disc. You can still add the ashes from incense or your white sage bundle if you like. Alternative to black pepper is cast iron shavings. 

When I make black hexing salt, I mix in Himalayan salt. I use the ash of burned charcoal disc with burned used coffee grounds, the shavings of cast iron skillet, the outer part because it is the darkest and most condensed, powdered black pepper. I also add powdered black walnut leaves, bark, branches, or a piece of root broken into pieces. After they are completely dry, I put the bark, root, and/or shells in a blender to get them powdered up as much as possible. If you chose to, you could burn the walnut root or bark to be powdered easier. Then I add used tobacco out of the butt of a cigarette(allow it to sit in the open to dry out and crush it into a powder). You can also get a bag of tobacco. I add powdered up sulfur. When I use black hexing salt, I sprinkle it around my spell. I have used this once on a sour jar. A sour jar’s life is usually seven to nine days. This one took effect on the third night after a third black candle was burned on top of the jar.

So as you can tell by this information, there are many differences between a hexing salt and a protection salt. First, they become solid and potent. Kosher table salt is acceptable to use if this is what you have available to you. If you have a fireplace or a barbeque pit, and you have the ashes from the charcoal and wood used to make your fire, feel free to grab some of those ashes as well. It is fine because of the charcoal.

Kosher table salt– (This is ok for witches’ protection salt) No, it is not blessed by a rabbi. That is a myth. Now, if I was to grab the shaker off of a Rabi’s family’s dining table EEHH maybe, but I am sure he would look at me about half-crazy, so if Kosher table salt is what you have, it is lovely and just as safe to use as sea salt. 

Sea salt- (recommended for witches’ protection salt) This is a little better than your essential Kosher table salt. It is more natural, and for protection, it is perfect. Add in some ash from a sacred fire ritual ceremony.

Himalayan Salt ( Highly recommended for witches’ protection salt) is pink because of the iron it has infused into it. Iron is also an element that represents the earth. With that being said, it offers protection during an out-of-body experience which is astral projection and used for shamanic workings. 

Black lava salt- (Add to turn the witches’ protection salt into a curse/hex salt) This is sea salt mixed with activated volcano charcoal. It is very good for rituals and ceremonies. It’s useful for removing physical and psychic toxins. It is awesome for any purifications you perform. 

Dead sea salt- (If you have this, use it to make your holy water) Due to the connections to the Holy Land, it is highly recommended for purification ceremonies and rituals. It holds many minerals and comes up from under the ground. It is excellent for cleansing baths and breaking negative psychic attacks. 

Your casting the witches’ black salt is for your protection, your home’s protection, and the protection of your family. The only time you put the witch’s black salt around a candle, at the base of the candle on the altar or table, is if any candle you have lit keeps going out. Doing this protects it from the evil spirits or negativity from blowing out the candle or a greater force from making it go out. 

Only do this when it does not stay lit for the protection of the candle. Occasionally, I will add witches’ black protection salt to the candle, but the protection powder is made with powdered rosemary, not with salt because the salt breaks down into water and will ruin the candle. When doing home protection with the witchs’ black salt/powder, you do not need a candle; if you want one, use a white candle. I gave the ingredients above. You sprinkle the witchs’ black salt and say the protection spell as your sprinkling the salt. The candles that are being used are for the spell you are casting out. There is always a white or black candle lit for the protection of your magic and your home. No matter what spell you’re doing, you always use the witches’ black salt in a circle casting as a circle of protection.

ITEMS NEEDED

All the required items you will need are a spoon/altar spoon, jar of witches’ black protection salt/ powder, spell, and yourself. You do not have to use a candle for this spell. 

SPELLS

 HOME PROTECTION SPELL

I call upon Mother Hekate by this salty spell and line I lay; negativity and evil may not stay, I lay this line, you may not cross, I send it out and forth to (NAME IF YOU CHOOSE). I hover over my home and family. My aura lays over them like a thick blanket of snow. I cast you away; you may not come, you may not stay. You have been given another way. Now go away and play with others; you can not stay. My family and home come first. You are not welcome; you have not been invited and shall not stay. As I will this, So mote it be. 

ELEMENT

Earth.

COFFEE

GENERAL INFORMATION

When the coffee came, it came to stay and completely floored people of many cultures. The fantastic aroma, flavor, and energy that infuses within everyone shocked the world. Coffee is excellent for various things, culinary, magickal, medicinal, gardens-horticulture, and drinks. 

NAMES/MEANINGS

Some of the names coffee is known by are Coffea arabica, Coffea canephora, and satans drink.

ORIGINS/HISTORY

Coffee is grown around the world and can trace its heritage back centuries to the ancient coffee forests in Ethiopia. A legendary goat herder, Kaldi, found the potential of coffee beans. Kaldi saw the coffee beans after eating the berries from a particular tree. His goats were eating the coffee beans and became so energetic they would not sleep that night. 

Kaldi told his situation to the abbot of a local monastery. This abbot would make a drink with the berries and realized it kept him energetic and focused through many hours of evening prayer. The abbot shared his drink with other monks, and word of mouth started spreading throughout the town about the energizing berries. As word spread east and coffee reached Arabia, a journey began to bring these beans worldwide.

HORTICULTURE

Planting coffee seeds is from June through December. As seedlings and young plants, they need shade, and they are planted on slopes. They enjoy lots of water, but the soil has to remain moist, not soggy. The best way for this is to plant the coffee plant on a slope. They need hot, humid weather but not direct sun. Next, the farmers prune the plants as they grow to keep them short and easy to handle during cultivation. Once they are harvested, they are sat out in the sun to dry, and then the white skin covering the bean is removed. The last step is putting the beans in an oven for roasting. That is when they get their dark brown and black colors.   

CULINARY

There are bakeries throughout the world that use coffee in their baking goods, from bread, cakes, pies to even decorations on the top of bread pudding dessert with raisins. The coffee is used in braised meats while it is cooking. As the liquid cooks down, it will caramelize and become a bittersweet flavor to the meats, marinades, syrups, gravy, and barbeque sauces. Next, add some powdered espresso to the toppings of your dessert. It is potent, so only use to flavor. Next, you can mix espresso with paprika, brown sugar, heavy whipping cream, and egg whites to make an espresso meringue.   

MEDICINAL

When someone has any problems going to the restroom, about two cups of coffee will help them have a bowel movement. For some people with ADHD, if they drink caffeinated coffee, it has an adverse effect on them. However, it will help them calm down. It is not a good thing to drink coffee while you are pregnant or if you are breastfeeding because coffee is a natural diuretic. I suggest talking to your doctor about anything with caffeine since it is a diuretic. If you are dehydrated, do not drink coffee; it will release more fluid from your body. When you are pregnant, you need the extra fluids. Coffee assists in protecting against liver cancer and liver disease. Coffee is also an antidepressant through aromatherapy and helps to protect against type two diabetes. 

MAGICKAL

Coffee is good for blockages, creativity, energy, scrying, spells, hexing, jinxing, cursing, and making witches’ black salt. Bathe with a coffee scrub in a coffee bath. Drink a coffee potion to remove energy blockages in your life, aura, body and empower your chakras. Place a coffee bean on your chest to add power to your chakra.

 Cleanse with coffee, brew coffee, or add coffee to your spells to break a curse. Make a floor wash with a cup of coffee to cleanse your home. You can also brew some coffee without straining your grounds out. Then ask a simple question, drink your coffee, and read the coffee grounds in the bottom of your cup like a tea leaf reading. Drink your coffee brewed with cinnamon and nutmeg. Breathe the scent of coffee to boost your energy. Grab a jar with a good lid and add some fresh coffee beans to it. When you feel a little down, breathe in the coffee aroma from your little personalized jar of coffee. You can also add coffee to your spells to break a curse and help them manifest better, faster, and more potent. Light a coffee-scented candle, or enjoy some coffee aromatherapy to increase romance and help with depression. Make a sachet filled with ground coffee beans and pieces of rosemary leaves and use it as a pillow to help remove nightmares. When you have mental or emotional blockages, brew a hot pot of coffee. Add some cinnamon and pumpkin spice with a bit of sweetener and take in the aroma as you get ready for a sip of that lovely hot coffee. You will start immediately feeling the warmth, comfort, and relaxation take hold of you. By the time you have completed your cup, you will feel the energy that has filled you to the brim take over before you know it. I, as an author, personally start my morning with a cup of hot coffee and burn some white sage nearby, open up my laptop and log in. The comforting feeling is lovely, and I mentally and emotionally feel great by the time I am finished with my first cup. I also have a nice calming burst of energy to complete my morning tasks and focus exceptionally well. Before I know it, I have completed and published two or three articles for you.

You will suddenly have the clarity to start your tasks and where to begin those tasks. So toss in a bay leaf and awaken that wonderful inspiration. Have you ever thought about coffee scrying? No? Well, you might. It has become a new trend now in the twenty-first century. If you do not have an obsidian mirror or scrying cloth, brew a hot pot of coffee, run it through three or four times. The darker and thicker the coffee is, the stronger it becomes and the clearer your response. Then hold your pendulum over a bowl of coffee, let your eyes zone out until your vision becomes blurry, and then scry away for your answers. 

Make good use of old used coffee grounds if you have a spell that does not seem to be working. Sprinkle some coffee grounds around your spell and say your spell one more time. It will help throw it into overdrive and light a fire under it into high gear. Adding coffee to your spells will help them manifest better and stronger. For example, if you are doing one of your floor rituals, sweep, mop, dry the floor up well, sprinkle some coffee grounds around your work area, or grab some coffee beans and toss them about the area. If you are doing some spell casting, meditation, or cleansing and blessing your altar, add some coffee grounds or coffee beans to it. Sprinkling coffee on the altar will add energy for breaking through a mental blockage for meditation and open up your writer’s block. If you are having problems with an individual, keep some spare coffee grounds on hand, and brew up a pot of coffee. It will open up the crown and throat chakras so you can find the correct words to use to communicate the problem with your friend and resolve the issue with them. 

When casting a hex or curse, coffee grounds are used in witches’ black cursing powder. You mix dried used coffee grounds, cast-iron shavings, powdered black walnut leaves, black burned charcoal, and some ground-up sulfur. Throw that around your spell, whether it is a curse jar or a cauldron of mixed herbs that are burning as incense with the hexing powder. Next, you can get a send jar and make some chaos water. Add the hexing/cursing powder to the chaos water and throw the hex/curse into high speed. What is black chaos water, you ask? Black chaos water is solid and robust but nasty water. It stinks like crazy, and the war water will hiss when the lid is removed from the jar if it is made correctly. It creates a highly disgruntled situation between your target and their friends and or family. It creates terrible luck and makes for a horrible day, week, month, or however long you create the spell to last. This mix can make anything go bad and flat-out wrong. Trust me; I’ve used it once before. 

ITEMS NEEDED

You need the dried ground used coffee, cast-iron shavings, sulfur, tobacco, ground black walnut leaves, and a good glass jar with a lid to mix it up. You also need a black, red, and white candle, and something to light the candles with. If you have a blender, add the dry mixture to the blender and grind it into powder. If not, it is acceptable to use as it is. ( Be warned, these rites are very potent, as I have used it myself, when you do the spell, document what you want to happen and be very clear and very precise as to what you want to happen) 

SPELL

I call forth Hades and Thanatos to join me in this casting. I send this curse to (NAME). They spoke of doing physical and mental damage to me. I send this curse to (NAME) For wanting to harm my family and me physically. I send this curse to (NAME) for verbally slandering me and making false claims on my family. I cast this curse on (NAME) for doing wrong to the family. (NAME) has attempted to cause bodily harm by trying to set the home on fire. I call down Thanatos and Hades to come to make a mockery of (NAME) and the click. I call my Mother, Hekate, to initiate revenge on the(se) people/ person. I call upon Hekate to open the blind eye of all to see clearly what she’s been doing to (NAMES) the family; I curse this woman for the rest of her days.   

ELEMENT

Fire, Masculine, offer coffee or espresso to any deity/gods you work with, Root and Sacral Chakras, Archangel Gabriel and Chango, Sagittarius and Aries, Mars, and Earth.

LILITH

The intimidating Goddess Lilith is known by many names and is also very similar to Hekate. So similar that if I did not know any better, I would have thought she was known by this name years ago when women were making a stand to be seen and acknowledged as equal to men and having a mind of their own.

Some of her other names are “The Goddess of the Night,” “The Queen of Vampires,” and “Screeching Owl.” In Babylonia, she is called “Lili,” or “Lilitu,” meaning the spirits. In Hebrew, her name is similar to “Night Monster” or “Screeching Owl.” Her name originated from ancient Syria. Her other name is Lilitu in the Sumerian world and means “Wind Spirit” for female demons.

She is also viewed as a sex slave for men in the sex occults. As a man, if you call upon her for a sex slave, she will haunt you to no end and will put you through pure hell. She becomes very mean. Men that have been verbally, physically abusive, or have been narcissistic towards women end up with a very long bad luck streak and even a tragic streak of something horrible happening to them. So I advise men to treat her with respect and work with her in their castings and training in deepening their path and knowledge. You summon her just the same as women do. Lilith does not like men because of what they put her through and made the hardships they made her endure till she could escape the garden of Eden.

Lilith has many meanings and interpretations. Along with that come many stories and misconceptions. Many witches fear her. When I say fear her, I am not talking about the respectful fear that most will have for their parents. I am talking about a deathly, terrified fear of her. Even with me saying she is not one to be reckoned with, she will come to you when summoned to help carry out a spell and grant your need to help push along the spell to be carried out as long as you show her respect and do not patronize her intellect and powers. Give her offerings with good intentions. No matter what they may be. Then you will be fine.

The fear usually comes from a lack of knowledge of who she is and what makes up her personality and character. In return, witches avoid her. She is one of the most feared Goddesses. For what she has to offer, you should hold some fear. She is also a misunderstood Goddess, so let us all take some time to learn about her and gain some understanding of her and her life.

She, like Hekate, is out for vengeance and justice on those who abuse their witches. Lilith, unlike Hekate, is a much darker Goddess. If she comes to you to work with you, you have graduated from Hekate to a much stronger and much deeper Goddess and a deeper part of your path. She is a famous figure in Jewish mythology. Her powers and presence go back much further in history. If She says it is time to move forward with your training, feel honored she has chosen you to teach. Feel flattered that she feels you are strong enough to move on in your path and work with her. If she has come to you, be warned, she is strict. She will not deal lightly with slackers and demands respect. She insists that you look her in the eyes.

Lilith is always willing to work with you to help women in trying times. She cares for women like they are sisters because she has a complete understanding of what they are going through since she has been there herself. She dislikes the “poor me” role because you have to take a stand and take back your life instead of dwelling on past issues and mishaps.

If you are Wiccan, she may not be what you are looking for, but she will help you with your path and workings if you open yourself up to her. She also has many misconceptions attached to her name due to “God’s” threats when she fled the garden of Eden. You will see why she is not a Goddess to be reckoned with as you read through the article. Meaning she is a powerful Goddess. She is very firm, fair, and consistent. She is extremely strict and has no room for games and cry babies. If you have reached a chapter in your life to take your life back and make changes, seek Lilith to help you make those changes.

In the Jewish legend, she was formed just as “God” created Adam from the soil. From the very beginning, she was associated with witchcraft, chaos, and sexuality. It is another reason that the Christians and Baptists feel the way they do about witchcraft because “God” wanted women designed to be submissive and subservient to men and to succumb to their wants and needs. By legend, her name means “The Night.” She is the Goddess of freedom.

Her presence is known well in the Middle East. The Middle Easterners insist and swear that Lilith is a demon and a “Night Hag.” Mostly because she will not succumb to Adam, in their culture, they believe in the old ways of women being servants to their husbands. They are only to speak when spoken to. They walk behind the man due to the man being the first to encounter any danger to protect the woman. They are to remain covered due to their body only to be seen by their husband. They marry a man their family chooses that will be good for them and will support them. If the man they chose ever passes away, the brother takes over the role of the caregiver and provider for her. If the brother chooses, he can marry her or find her a new husband. Otherwise, she will always remain in his family. (More explanation of her fleeing from Adam in the article.)

Women in the Christian and Muslim beliefs are to succumb to man. Lilith refused to be inferior to Adam. She was defiant to the ways of their culture, so she was considered evil and the night hag. She could not behave the way they wanted her to and fled the garden of Eden. God was very unhappy with this and sent three of his angels after her. When they found her, she was told to come back to her husband and the garden of Eden. She refused to return to him. The angels delivered the message to God. He went to her and warned her that she either needs to return or he will kill one hundred of her children a day till she does come back. Lilith’s response to this is that she was born to kill men and children. She was doing this to use reverse psychology to keep him from killing them since he would believe it did not phase her.

This is where the “baby killer” interpretation came from. With that being said, this is what has made her be called a baby killer. She is saying she would rather keep her freedom and have her mind than go back to Adam and be controlled and ordered around, not to be allowed to have her own opinions, and not to be allowed to have her expressive thoughts. She accepts who she is as a woman and an individual.

Lilith had the expectations of being Adam’s equal, but Adam had other plans such as Lilith serving him, his wants, needs, lying beneath him. Because she refused to do so, Adam just took what he wanted. He held her hands down and raped Lilith. In other stories, he demanded she lay beneath him and never laid a hand on her. When she left Adam and the garden of Eden, she left with a lot of anger and hatred. When she left, she went to join the Patriarchal Society as a demon but also as a guiding Goddess in the shadows.

A Goddess of such power and strength only uses what power she must. It is usually only revealed to the one it is being placed upon. It is done with great vengeance and justice. Her knowledge and wisdom are an extremely powerful gift, so be greatly pleased to have her choose you. For a woman of such strength, she has endured many trials and still stands strong. She carries on with her much-deserved independence. Humble yourself to her and embrace what she has to offer you.

Any woman who has endured and survived rape, beatings, incest, violence, divorce, death of a child, and abuse, and has the strength left to teach, learn, perform, think straight absolutely deserves the utmost respect and honor. She never sits around and dwells on things she can not change. Instead, she makes a stand against the situation and person saying, “You again? So you want to make a go-around again. You want more; bring it on!”.

Lilith found out what makes her happy, and that was by embracing her independence and freedom. This also means she had to accept what consequences came with her independence. She stands flat-footed and looks you in the face, and demands to be treated as an equal. She has endured the attempts of society to try and change who and what she is. Like others, she has been put in a fight or flight situation, and she fled. Just as she did Eden from Adam. She made that distance between herself and the controlling situation. She chose not to succumb to the demands of a man. When she made her entrance into the world again, she became stronger than ever before. She kept sight of what was more important to her, which was her independence, and took responsibility for her actions.

Some of the ways to work with Lilith and to call upon her are things such as needing a girl to talk with someone looking from the outside in at the situations. Not from a friend of the mundane world. When life gets to you and your anxiety acts out, yell out for Lilith and just have that one-on-one spiritual discussion about what to do or how to handle it. She will be there for you. If you are feeling down and depressed, talk with her, she will remind you that you are a strong woman. Feed off that depression to build inner strength to feel the opposite of how you are feeling. Summon her during meditation with a red and black candle to bring strength and power to your inner witchy soul. When you are angry with your husband or just a man in general, she will definitely come to help you work through it. If you have been traumatized, have a seance for her, and all will be well. Offer her some pomegranate kernels as a thank you for being there for you. Her favorite colors are red and black.

These are some ideas for honoring her on your altar. A few of these are my favorites to do and are simplistic and inexpensive. Get some of the plastic overhead sheets that the teachers used to use for class. You can find a pack of 10 for like five dollars the last time I checked. Draw some snakes on it with red and black permanent markers, cut them out, place some parchment paper in a baking pan and place the colored plastic snakes on it and bake them on low heat about two hundred works, so you dont burn them. As they heat up, they shrink and harden. They make a nice plastic decorative piece for your altar. Get some read and black modeling clay and mix them just enough to give the clay a marble appearance. Roll out the clay with a glass or a rolling pin and then cut out some snakes and bake them until the clay is hard. Draw in pencil a picture of Lilith and use pastel chalks or even oil pastels to add color to the picture of her and place randomly around the altar or use a thumbtack (push pin) to pin it to the wall.

She also loves the woods. Finds something to represent the nature of the forest. Set up another small table and put plastic green turf on it. Go to a resale shop and buy some of the little plastic trees and such. Use super glue to glue the trees and birds to the turf. Place the hardened plastic snakes on it and put a little picture of her on each corner of her in different poses. Put a few pomegranate kernels in the little coffee creamer cups that you find in the gas stations. Place them randomly around your honoring setup for her. Go to goodwill and buy a small black skirt and pull out last year’s Christmas tree skirt. Place the black one in the center of the red one and use an iron and sewing glue to tack it together. Trim it up if need be. Place a picture of her in the center and place it on your altar.

JASMINE

GENERAL INFORMATION

Green Witches try to keep all their workings, tools, and herbs organic and as pure as possible, but there is just no way to keep the essential oils from going bad. Rubbing alcohol is included when making essential oil. It is homemade by steeping fresh jasmine flowers. You would add a tad bit of vodka if you dont have any rubbing alcohol to keep it from spoiling or going sour. Almost every jasmine-scented product contains additives. The number of jasmine flowers needed and how fragile the fragrance is made jasmine one of the few most expensive essential oils in the world. At hundreds, sometimes thousands of dollars per ounce, the extracted oil of jasmine is not readily available except to higher-end perfume developers. Several synthetic products on the market state it is all-natural essential oils. In all honesty, the synthetic jasmine scented liquid is a mixture of other liquids to bring forth the aroma of the jasmine flower. It helps others to be able to afford some of the jasmine and different similar smells. Fortunately, natural jasmine aromas are made of benzyl acetate quite often. These chemicals and this fragrance are copied in the production labs. Many jasmine oil blends are exquisite and will allow you to enjoy this beautiful aroma if it is in a tea, a perfume, a floor mop solution, or an air freshener without going broke.

NAMES/MEANINGS

Jasmine comes from the Persian name Yasmine, which means fragrance. It is also called Yasmeen, which means a gift from God. In flower language, jasmine stands for purity and grace. By ancient flower language, jasmine means amiability. Other names are Queen of the Night and Moonlight on the Grove because the flowers blossom as the sun has gone down below the earth line to not burn them and after dark. 

 HISTORY/ORIGINS

This flower began its long history in the middle east and the far east end of their country. Royalty has a beautiful jasmine flower growing in the gardens around the palace, where the royal family comes to embrace its beauty. The jasmine tree has also inspired many poets. Poets have come to admire the beauty of the jasmine flower and the jasmine tree. Poets have also reported they have gotten an epiphany from the great trees to pour out mesmerizing and exquisite writings about the jasmine tree and flowers and the comforting smell from the tree. According to the Druids, jasmine is considered a birth tree. When you get this tree, you can almost always count on showing an interest in politics, a political representation, communications, or even some kind of social interest. They love to explain why their thoughts are such and bring them to that way of thinking on that particular subject. 

HORTICULTURE

Many companies use jasmine flowers to make lotions, perfumes, essential oils, and different herbal teas. This flower is in high demand by many companies because of the natural oils from this flower. The jasmine flower blossoms have to be cultivated by hand and not by machine to keep the aroma from the oil. That keeps the flower petal from bruising and ruining the smell of the flower. Jasmine only blooms from late evening to dark. The flower naturally does this to protect its frail character. The sun burns the flower petals, and the Jasmine scent is no longer available. Jasmine comes as just a dried flower and in an oil form. The dried yellow and white flower petals do not have much of a smell. Due to this, the jasmine flower is used primarily for its magical powers. 

CULINARY

Many will also use the jasmine to make tea by adding green or white tea leaves with jasmine blossoms. You will need one teaspoon of dried jasmine flower blossoms for one eight-ounce cup of tea to make jasmine tea. Let it simmer for about twenty minutes. Jasmine tea can be drunk as it is or add it into a container with other teas. I like it with honey or stevia as a sweetener. You can drink it two or three times a day if you wish. 

MEDICINAL

Jasmine is used for its relaxing effects. Both jasmine, lavender, and chemical substitutes have a calming effect on rodents, wild animals, and people. When smelling jasmine oil, I see people become more romantic, flirtatious, more upbeat, and have more energy all the way around. In addition, it helps to alleviate stomach aches and cramping, indigestion, and inflammation. Jasmine is high in antioxidants and can stop several bacterias that cause diarrhea, vomiting, and nausea. 

Jasmine is used to calm the nerves, anxiety, ease your depression, and help you sleep when dealing with insomnia. The smell of jasmine is calming and helps to uplift your spirits when you are feeling down. When jasmine is dried, the yellow-white petals do not have much aroma—instead, used for their concentrated magickal power. For jasmine essential oils, put six to eight drops in your bathwater. The oil helps out as a relaxant. Put lotions or massage creams in a bowl and slowly mix them with a drop of essential oil for each ounce a little at a time till you have reached your desired scent. Use a medicine plunger to replace the creams and lotions in their original containers. Put another label on the lotion bottle or tube showing you have this one made with jasmine oil. This essential oil will reduce inflammation of the muscles. Jasmine is good for the kidneys when brewed into tea.

MAGICAL

Jasmine is used in a multitude of magickal spell castings, happiness charms, psychic dreams, dream magick, and prosperity spells. Jasmine has the honor in that it is associated with the moon and moon magick, lunar magick, dream magick, and purity. Jasmine’s scented oil has become a prized possession. It is worn to attract love, lust, and happiness. Jasmine is highly recommended in China and other Eastern countries to form wreaths with jasmine flowers for women’s hair for gatherings such as marriage ceremonies and to help bring forth love and happiness. The two primary uses are in love spells, and divination works. 

An undisputed Lunar Herb, Jasmine is an excellent choice for moon magick, prophecy, dreaming, and attraction. The jasmine bloom is brief. It only blooms overnight and for a few days before new blossoms come. It is used to attract spiritually pure love. Jasmine may be burned, carried, scattered, or added to dream pillows and baths. 

It makes a perfect anointing oil for feminine tools like scrying mirrors and chalices. Respect this long-lived flower, and it will surprise you with vivid visions and intense love. It is also known as the king of oils, henceforth carries properties of money and prosperity. You can use essential oils in the burners, wax burners, diffusers to put on candles or in candles when producing your own. You can anoint yourself or others in spells, bags, sachets, amulets, talismans, baths, mop water, dab on crystals, stones, basic rituals, and magick. Wipe some around the outside of your door to only allow loving intentions in your home. 

You can also infuse some of the jasmine flower buds into homemade Holy water to gain a protective love for your home. Steep the buds for twenty minutes and add that into the Holy water with a blessing and protection spell. It is perfect for divination working when incorporated with mugwort. You can do many things with the intentions you possess from within yourself. Jasmine’s scent has become a prized possession because the flowers are used to create oils worn to attract love, lust, and happiness. 

 In Thomas Moore’s book, “The Light of the Haram,” the Enchantress Namouna is familiar with all spells and talismans. She gives instructions to Nourmahall to gather at midnight, which is the hour that scatters spells on the herbs and flowers. Individual flower blossoms are braided into a wreath. A chant is hummed and sang while putting the wreath together to recall Selim’s love. 

“The image of love, that nightly flies

To visit the bashful maid;

Steals from the Jasmine flower that sighs

Its soul, like her, in the shade.

The dream of a future happier hour,

That alights on misery’s brow,

Springs out of the silvery Almond flower

That blooms on a leafless bough.” 

Place jasmine flower blossoms inside a dream pillow to bring prophetic dreams. Add dried powdered jasmine to Lunar incenses, mojo bags, spell bottles, and homemade candles. Crystals may be cleansed and charged in a bowl of jasmine blossoms. You can pass them through the smoke from jasmine incenses as well. Carrying jasmine in a locket or sachet inspires confidence and inner beauty. Dab a little bit of jasmine oil on your third eye before meditation or psychic readings.

A ritual “marriage” of jasmine and holly will attract a new passionate love affair or reconcile an old one. Jasmine is considered a birthing tree due to their newfound loves and marriages. Then being married or in a union, most will have children, which means newborn life. When given this tree sign, a person usually always shows an interest in politics or some public relations and communications or social interests. They get great joy out of creating a debate in politics. 

Jasmine flowers attract emotional love and are associated with beauty, kindness, and romance. Jasmine brings prophetic dreams and psychic abilities and brings back the love of a lost family member. If a person chooses the Jasmine flower, it means their intentions will be cheerful. Like all the other flowers, each has correspondence, and yellow jasmine is the flower of an epiphany. By folklore, if you dream about the jasmine flower, it brings good luck. If lovers dream of the jasmine flower, it means they will be married soon.

Burn some dried jasmine in your bedroom when you sleep to help with divinatory dreams. It is also helpful to burn loose incense on the charcoal disc when performing any divinatory work such as scrying, tarot readings, or rune casting. Burning Jasmine is also instrumental in lucid dreaming, astral projecting, and contacting the divine and guides through your dreams. Jasmine also attracts money and connects with others emotionally for wisdom and creativity, particularly creating something that will touch the emotions. Use Jasmine flowers or even use finely ground Jasmine wood for money or love spells. I would use Jasmine wood as a love incense. You can also add jasmine in poppets for money or love spells and used it for making your wands as well.

ITEMS NEEDED

You will need red, pink, and white candles and a lighter or matches. Jasmine, rose petals, lavender blossoms, rose quartz, a small piece of paper with the person’s name you wish to bring to you for love, and a red or pink pen for writing. You can add in some rose water on the altar, too if you wish, or on the piece of paper and then burn it in the flame of each candle. Let the ashes drop in the red candle. Sprinkle the flower petals and blossoms on your altar or your workspace and around the candles.

SPELL

Love, love, come to me. You are all I need. I need you now. I call you from a lonely heart. I wish to have love with all my heart. Bring me, true love, from you to me. I call this to the universe. Please come to me now. So mote it be.

ELEMENTS

Waxing moon. Water, Feminine Venus, Female, Virgo, Cancer, Air, Love, Psychism, Abundance, Joy, Divination, Creativity, Heart chakra, Aphrodite, Áine, Bastet, Eostre, Ishtar.

WHITE SAGE

GENERAL INFORMATION
Many people are just now being made aware of sage and what it is, are asking these simple questions. I am here to try and answer these and supply an abundance of information that many probably never knew. Where does sage come from? Why is there such a huge demand for this amazing herb? How many kinds are there? What do they all look like? How can they be used? What are they used in? This herb is used for cleansing, foods, history, medicinal, incense, smudging, redemption, cleansing, memory, wisdom, home blessings, prosperity, longevity, and healing, along with many other questions. In this article, I will be answering many questions. Right now, it seems like this ancient white sage herb is everywhere.

Different kinds of shops, baked goods, you can find it on youtube videos, Instagram posts, coffee shops, and I have even personally seen a small sage bundle in a shadow box mounted to the wall in the hospital in South Bend, Indiana, at the Beacons Memorial Herman children’s hospital, 5th floor. So as you can see, even now, it is everywhere practically. It is becoming useful in the world for people taking a more health-conscious route to their well-being. Being conscious consumers means doing our homework when making purchases, especially true for anything we buy for spiritual reasons. The witchy aesthetic may be all the rage right now, but remember, just because a company markets something spiritual does not mean that they are doing things ethically behind the scenes.

NAMES/MEANINGS
White sage, technically named “salvia apiana,” is also known as “bee sage” or “sacred sage.”

ORIGINS/HISTORY
It grows in northwestern Mexico, and it is usually found in southern California and Baja California. This amazing evergreen is found and grown in the United States, Albania, Bosnia, and a few other countries. Its natural habitat is known as the coastal sage scrub habitat. If you do choose to use white sage, make sure to consider the origins. After all, if you’re going to purchase an herb to cleanse your space, you want to make sure that your money is going towards people who respect your environment. You also want to ask the shop owner or talk to the people that are a part of the sales of the sage online; some countries have forced labor of people and dont pay the migrant workers as they are supposed to. So definitely do your research on where the sage came from before purchasing it.

The current popularity of sage started many years ago, but it’s becoming more noticeable now as larger companies attempt to capitalize on this herb. Over the past few years, more and more people have gotten involved in honoring goddess-centered beliefs focused on nature and worship. Many people are also involved in witchcraft and doing ceremonies and rituals that involve a wide variety of herbs. However, there has been some opposition to the sale of spiritual herbs originally used by indigenous people, and people can easily get the details of these traditional ceremonies wrong. Sage was in such high demand that it was planted on German farms for its expanding trade business. Since white sage has traditionally been used by Native Americans for spiritual ceremonies, people interested in these paths began using it in their practices.

HORTICULTURE
Sage is from the mint family and comes from evergreen shrubs. The long, slim, and narrow greyish-green leaves have a cotton-like feel to them. Some smudging sticks sold by large companies may not even contain the herbs they advertise, and some can contain materials that are toxic when burned! Also, many companies selling cheap bundles of sage are not harvesting the herb sustainably, and because of this, its natural habitat is being threatened. You can grow your own, carefully prune wild sage, or find a local, organic farmer who provides information about their sustainable harvesting methods. To grow, black sage leaves must be pruned correctly, and the base of the plant has to be left intact, which means, when harvesting the sage plant, you need to cut it a foot above the ground to leave enough of the stalk to reproduce the plant and the leaves. For example, if you have to plice an electric cord, you want to cut about 6 inches from the end, so there is enough wire to connect the other end of wiring; if you cut the very end, there’s no way to reconnect the cable and continue the use of it. However, many companies are simply clearcutting fields of sage—which means they’re cutting off the plant at the base, making it impossible for it to grow back. It kills the plants, and over time, it can alter the natural ecosystem of the area. Then there are even those who are taking white sage from public lands without a permit. In June 2018, 4 people were arrested after illegally harvesting over 400 lbs of white sage from the North Etiwanda Preserve in California. Thankfully, white sage is not endangered; but if companies continue to sell it in mass quantities, and as climate change and record-breaking droughts further stress the ecosystems in California, it could easily land on the list of threatened species. So, should you personally be using sage in your spiritual practice? There isn’t necessarily a right or wrong answer to that question—but it’s best to err on the side of caution. Whenever we’re engaging in a practice that comes from a culture we’re not a part of, we should always do our research and make sure we’re respecting its roots—and sometimes, that could mean simply not participating. Other herbs like lavender, sweetgrass, and cedar are also said to have cleansing properties, so you have plenty of alternatives to choose from if you not comfortable with engaging in the smudging from the sage herbs. Native Scents is a sustainably-minded network of Native-American wildcrafters that sources its white sage using a water-conserving drip irrigation method. Native Scents also donate sacred objects and herbs to Native-American prisoners to support and nurture this marginalized group.

CULINARY
White sage has a strong, noticeable scent when burned. Native American tribes along the Pacific coast used white sage for various purposes. For example, the Cahuilla tribe mixed it with flour and sugar to make dough for biscuits and bread, and they also steeped it to make sage tea. The Chumash tribe ate the leaves and seeds of the plant. Meats, salads, cheese, and pasta sauces get a big boost of flavor from sage. To name a few more, sausage, lamb, and pork all absorb and take well to the sage aroma. Salad leaves blend well with sage, adding a pleasant fresh earthy taste and smell. Powder up the sage and put it in with melted cream cheese and eat on nachos or throw some in with cream cheese and spread on a sundried and olive oil cracker with an olive slice. It is a nice surprise to the taste buds. Check the sage before ingesting. Some are not edible. The Chinese liked the French sage tea better than Chinese tea. The Chinese would trade pounds of Asian tea for a single pound of French sage tea that was already steeped.

MEDICINAL
Sage has become the most popular herb around the world. Romans used it for snake bites, colds, fevers, and liver problems. And medical uses. Sage had many healing benefits. One was used in the digestion of fatty meats to get rid of ulcers and to aid in releasing joint pain from arthritis. Just a few of the many listed medicinal uses are for depression, anxiety, mood swings, lighten stress in the air, and stressful moments and feelings. Not all tribes practice smudging, though. Shaman use sage to help the ill reach a state of healing. Some sage has what is called thujone. This chemical is put off when heated up by either burning, baking, or boiling. It assists the person in reaching the spiritual realm. It happens because thujone is a psychoactive chemical. Most sages have antimicrobial. It means that it keeps any bacteria, viruses, and fungi down to a controllable level. Both white sage and prairie sage have antimicrobial. White prairie sage has antibacterial. I have learned these both help to get rid of insects. SO…that funny little post on Facebook about not enough sage in the world for this; if there is not, we need to try to make enough. It kills viruses and bacteria to a controlled point. For anyone who has upper respiratory problems, sage can help. You should not be inside or in the same room when smudging if you have upper respiratory problems. Although it does more than just warding off negative issues, sage smoke can neutralize mold, dust, pet dander, and pollution. Your breathing will become a lot easier, and you will have a more clear bronchial. It also gives extra needed energy by getting rid of fatigue to help get you through the day. It eliminates insomnia and promotes a restful night’s sleep. Sage tea is also used to treat several medical issues such as stomach discomfort and sore throats.

MAGICAL
White sage has been used for witches’ purposes for centuries; many tribes in this general area burnt white sage leaves in practice known as “smudging.” This ceremony was said to cleanse negative energy from a dwelling, and smudging sticks could also be used in ceremonies to cleanse people or objects. Some tribes even had rules around when sage could be picked and used in a ceremony—for instance, a ritual might require a sage picked in the evening under a full moon at a certain time of the year. This herbal evergreen can be used for clearing the negativity in the air for a better connection in meditation and clearer sights. The burning of sage is called smudging. It is used to ward off evil spirits, negativity and to connect to the spiritual world. It is an old Native Indian ritual. Sage is used in many spells in kitchen witch workings. Some of them are granting wishes and helping get past a grieving stage in death or loss. It is used to ward off evil spirits, and it cleans the home or work area. It even helps clean and detach an evil spirit from an individual before moving your belongings into a new home. Be careful not to bring whatever has attached to you into the new home. I recommend this be done to your belongings as well. Evil entities can also attach to an object, usually to a sentimental item. These things are kept for centuries if people take care of them. The only way the negative spirit or energy will detach is by either smudging around the object or if the object is destroyed and removed from the home. At this point, if it is destroyed, the energy can move to another object. Inevitably, sage is a tool for more than one purpose.

When getting ready to smudge your home, think about your intentions. While doing this, open a window in each room and at least one door leading outside. The traditional way of doing your cleansing is to start in the middle of the room and work out like walking in a spiral motion, fanning with a feather (inside/center outward counter-clockwise). It pushes out entities in the home. When you have completed this, dab or tap the burning end of your sage in a small bowl of sand or ashes to stop the burning; if those are not readily available to you, use some flour, cornmeal, or baking powder, or soda.

ITEMS NEEDED
White or black candle. A way to light the candle and white sage. A decent-sized shell for the ashes and a feather, some flour, corn mill, or baking soda to snuff out the sage bundle if you are not using the ground or powdered sage.

SPELL
With this sage, fire, smoke, and ash, I burn away the ill things, negative ways, and all the things creating an ailment you may not stay. I cleanse my soul, body, home, and family. I detach any pain and negativity attached to us and our belongings. That includes the home. It is time for you to be free and move forth. As I say it, I will it into existence and call it into power and removal. I use this fire to light the sage, the smoke to show you the way out, the ash to represent the death of the old, and the renewal of life after leaving here. This is my will. So mote it be.

ELEMENTS
Fire, Jupiter, Earth, Air, Water, Abalone shell used to collect the ashes and represent water.

POST SCRIPTURE:
When purchasing your sage, look into where you are getting it from and where the store owner is getting their product. Show respect and appreciation for the Indian tribe’s culture, rituals, the native collectors, and for sharing their traditions and beliefs. To support them, try to purchase from the Native Indians by purchasing any herbs from the Native Indians; this ensures that the plants are being well taken care of and do not come with ill intentions attached. It also helps to continue the growth and production of the herbs, and the chances of them becoming extinct are at a much lower percentage.

ROSEMARY

GENERAL INFO
Rosemary has a lot of different uses. The smell is relaxing, and the aroma, when added to food, gives a pleasing, calming effect as you enjoy your evening meal. There are several magickal approaches of use for the rosemary and rosemary from the mint family Lamiaceae. Oregano, thyme, basil, and lavender are also a part of the mint family, to name a few others. Rosemary is a perennial plant and lives more than two years.

NAMES/MEANINGS
The Greek meaning for rosemary is ‘Ros’ ‘Marinus. The genus Rosmarinus comes from Ros and Marinus’s Latin words, which means “dew of the sea.” The Greeks and Romans have used rosemary since their ancient ancestors.

ORIGINS
Rosemary is found in and around the dry, rocky areas of the Mediterranean, predominantly along the coastline.

HISTORY
Many women will twine rosemary stems to make a wreath to be worn on their wedding day and pass out rosemary stems to the guests at the wedding. In Wales, the family would bring rosemary stems to the funerals and drop them onto the coffin as it was placed into the ground. The Christians say that the rosemary plant will live for thirty-three years or gets as tall as Christ was when he died. Then it will stop growing. It is sacred to the Virgin Mary, Hebe, and Aphrodite. The story behind the flowers and scent of the rosemary is that the virgin Mary threw her cloak over a rosemary bush to let it dry when she was fleeing to Egypt. It is rumored that the rosemary acquired its lovely piney scent and beautiful blue flowers from her cloak being placed upon it to dry. The rosemary is associated with Aphrodite and is shown in many historical ancient pictures and paintings of Aphrodite.

HORTICULTURE
Rosemary is an evergreen shrub. It has leaves similar to a spruce green on top and whitish colors beneath. In spring and summer, the rosemary puts out flower blossoms as long as the weather is humid enough and the flower is labiate. Rosemary can reach five feet in height. It is a member of the mint, lavender, sage, basil, and oregano family. Rosemary can be pruned in early summer from a branch without flowers on it. The best area to plant is continual sunlight and moist and well-drained soil so as not to drown the rosemary. Rosemary is good for clippings and likes being trimmed and shaped as well. Rosemary does enjoy being trimmed regularly. If there is a freeze, rosemary needs to be brought inside and put in front of a window facing the east to receive ample sunlight. Once there is no longer a freeze threat, the plant is safe to be taken back outside.
It is safe to plant cabbage, beans, carrots, and sage near the rosemary plant. The plant will keep away moths, bean beetles, and carrot flies.
Rosemary does make excellent oils and vinegar. When drying this herb, it should be hung upside down to dry for a few weeks. Rosemary oils have natural chemicals such as hepatoprotective, antifungal, insecticide, antioxidant, and antibacterials. The properties in rosemary are mainly due to phenolic compounds. The oil can be harmful if ingested by people or animals, but the herb itself is safe. The herb can be used to kill pests if need be.

CULINARY
Add to the food early on in the cooking phase. Fresh rosemary tastes great in culinary dishes. One of the dishes is a rosemary chicken and braised lamb meat. It is usually used whole and dried and powdered, while teas and liquid extracts are made from fresh or dried leaves.

MEDICINAL
Rosemary has been used practically since the beginning of ancient times for many medical purposes. Rosemary was initially used to help reduce and sometimes remove muscle pain, improve memory loss, boost the immune system, improve the circulatory system, and promote hair growth. The rosemary is high in iron, calcium, and vitamin B-6. Rosemary is used for improved concentration, digestion, and brain aging.
If the rosemary is used in enormous amounts, it can cause vomiting, coma, and pulmonary edema. But it is safe to eat in cooked foods. If you are diagnosed with high blood pressure, ulcers, Crohn’s disease, or ulcerative colitis, you should not eat rosemary. Unless rosemary oil was purchased as cooking oil, it can be toxic if ingested and should never be taken orally.

MAGICKAL
Rosemary has a history of warding off evil and ill will from others. It is also known to prevent nightmares. Some witches would use rosemary wood to make musical instruments. On Yule, it is given as a gift with an orange stuck with cloves. Rosemary is combined with mistletoe and holly for decorations.
There is an old saying, “Where rosemary flourishes, the woman rules.” It is also said that rosemary can not be in the garden of a home unless the woman is the master of the home. Rosemary is also burnt with juniper berries in the house and hospitals of a sick room to cleans the air. It is believed that the reason a maiden, mother, and a crone hung fresh rosemary over a baby’s crib or bassinet was to prevent the Fae from stealing the witch’s babies.
Rosemary is used in infidelity, remembrance, and dispel jealousy spells. It is used to make sacred herbal waters for ritual cleansings, purification, and blessings. Rosemary makes a person very rememberable by dabbing a little rosemary oil behind each ear. It also enhances memory used for success in school. Also, to retain your youth. Burn it during meditation or when doing some dream workings to remember past lives. Rosemary under the pillow helps a person remember their dreams, end nightmares, and remember psychic sights during the night.
It helps to prevent nightmares, improve memory, stop infidelity, purifying, blessings, and protections. I sometimes will powder the dried rosemary in a mortar and add it to rubbed or ground sage and cinnamon powder. Place it in a dish and heat a charcoal disc. Once it becomes red and glowing cinder-like, I will place it on the charcoal disc and use it as incense.

NEEDED ITEMS
Depending on how many doors you have leading outside will determine how many bowls you will need. There is a bowl for the front door, one for the back door, an individual bowl made to sprinkle along with the window sills, six garlic cloves, three for each bowl, sea salt, or any other alternative salt, fresh rosemary, or rosemary essential oil. Put a small handful of salt in each bowl. Place the rosemary and garlic cloves on the top of the salt and oil or rosemary leaves.

SPELLS
I call upon our dearest Mother Hekate for protection of my home; I place these bowls by my entry and exit of the house, I also sprinkle it along the window sills of every window, I place this protective barrier to rid this home of any negative entities and an ill will. With this protection, anyone who attempts to enter this home to cause harm in any way shall forever have a harmful action take place any time they try to do ill will or cause damage on or to others always; I call this into action and shall not be removed by anyone other than me, If another attempt to rid the spell from the person causing harm, they to shall acquire the same consequences as the first. This home shall always remain safe and protected. I will this into existence as of now. I thank ye, My mother Hekate, for joining me for this protection and offer you a bowl of rosemary and garlic cloves for you as well. This is my will. So mote it be.

ELEMENTS
Virgin Mary, Hebe, and Aphrodite, male by nature, ran by Leo, and the element is fire.

CHINESE STAR ANISE

GENERAL INFO
The Chinese star anise has so much information. There is an abundance of beneficial things this herbal spice has to offer in many areas. So sit back, relax, and be prepared to be swept off your feet with the amazing information this herb has to offer. Many people are unfamiliar with the star anise spice/herb and wonder what it is, exactly what it is used for, and what it looks like. The star anise has an eight-point star design with seeds in the points in the underside of it. Sometimes the underside is open where you can see the tiny seed inside it like the sunflower seed. There are times it is closed off where you can not see the seeds inside at all.

NAMES/MEANINGS
There are several folklore names for his great herbal spice. One is Illicium verum. It is the Latin pronunciation. A few of the other names are Anise Estrella, Badian, Chinese Anise, and Swamp Star.

ORIGINS/HISTORY
The geographical locations of the star anise originate in southern China and Vietnam. The star anise comes from the evergreen family. The star anise has been known to have three-thousand years’ worth of history. Some of the histories of this superb herb date back to one hundred B.C. An English sailor brought over the star anise seed pod to introduce Europe in the late fifteen-hundreds. Eventually, tea was introduced to the Europeans, and they started to trade with it. There was a trade made on the tea trade line between Europe and China into Russia.

HORTICULTURE
The star anise is picked just before it is ripe. When they are picked like this, they have a greenish tan color until they are set out in the sun to dry. Once they dry, they have a real dark burnt red brick, woody color similar to the color of a cinnamon stick. This color is caused by the chemical release called anethol. The tree is a difficult one to transplant. So make sure to plant the seed where you want it to be because there is a big chance it could die if it is removed from its rooted place. It takes fifteen years for the tree to produce the star anise seed pods. Due to this being the situation on transplanting and the difficulties of transplanting the star anise tree, the production remains in China and Vietnam.

CULINARY
With the star anise having a licorice taste, with it not being the most favorite flavor to most people, combined with cinnamon, honey, or stevia, these will sweeten the flavor of the star anise. This will give the star anise a more tolerable flavor to the pallet. When the anethol is released, a chemical reaction is an oil the star anise produces naturally and creates the licorice flavor and aroma. The star anise was not only used for an herbal tea, but it was also introduced into cooking sweet foods, such as puddings, syrups, and jams. When added to meat, it is added to the cooking process at the beginning of the cooking stages for the meat to absorb the flavoring. When choosing a star anise tree, make sure you get the “Chinese” star anise if you are going to use it in your drinks or to use it in things that you cook.

The reason is that the Japanese star anise is poisonous to the human body and not designed for human consumption. It is important to distinguish between the Chinese star anise and the Japanese star anise. They both taste the same. It is essential to be able to distinguish between the star anise and the star anise seed. Many get them mixed up. At times they are thought to be the same as others because of the name, taste, and smell. The two are not the same, and because one is poisonous and the other can be consumed, it is vital to know the difference.

The star anise is from the magnolia family, and the aniseed is from the parsley family. They also do not look the same. Star anise seed is a dark brownish-red color caused by the antheol, a chemical produced by the star anise pod. The star aniseed looks like fennel seeds and sometimes has a tan-ish eggshell color to it. Star anise has many great uses because of its long-lasting solid aroma, spicey scent, relaxing taste, and all of the health benefits it has to offer. My favorite time of the year to use this spice is late fall and winter Yule time.

I make it by putting water in the coffee pot machine as if I were to make a pot of coffee. I place a cinnamon stick, a star anise pod, and honey in the pot and start the pot to percolate if you use a cinnamon stick and whole star anise pod. Otherwise, I use the tea ball that you would put loose tea leaves in and drop it in the pot, so the star anise seeds do not get in your tea.

Once it has completed brewing, let it steep (simmer) for about twenty minutes and let the flavors mix in the water. Star anise is famously used in Pho. Pho is a loved and favored soup in the Eastern cuisine kitchens, Thai teas, and the five herbs stick for miniature spicey Asian ribs. It also holds a strong licorice flavor as well.

When cooking with it, depending on how strong of a licorice flavor and aroma you want, determine when you add it into your foods and drinks during the cooking and steeping process and what you are making. This process will also depend on if you would want to use it in a whole star anise pod or a powder form. If you use the powder, the flavor and aroma decenegrates faster than if used in the whole form.

When making this decision between using powder or pod, consider if you want a mild aroma and flavor or if you want it bursting in flavor. If you want a mild flavor, just like a light hint, you will want to powder it before use. And add when the food your making is almost finished cooking. If you want it bursting, use it whole and add it into the food early on in the cooking process. The whole star anise lasts a whole lot longer and is much stronger. The best foods to use the whole star anise in will be soups, broths, sauces, stews, and fatty braised meat plates. So with this being said, drop in an entire Star Anise pod.

Allow it to simmer a bit and remove it from the pot. Ground star anise is used the same as any other powders, seasonings, and spices. The problem with this is that once an herb or spice is powdered if it is not used immediately, it will lose its flavor fast. So it is best to powder your spices and herbs just before use to keep the flavor. Some of the other foods and spices it works well with are citrus, onions, poultry, beef, cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger. Due to the strengths of aromas and flavors, it is sometimes suggested to use in minimal amounts.

MEDICINAL
This herbal spice is loaded with vitamin A, C, D, and B complex. It is loaded with health benefits for the internal organs. Vitamin A works to increase the health of the immune system. It is excellent for improving heart health, improving lung health, improving the health and vitality of the kidneys, and improving eyesight. For these organs to operate properly, they need vitamin A. Vitamine C is responsible for body tissue, immunity, cardiovascular system, and functioning and performing regularly. It also has vitamin B that helps with common colds and viruses. The star anise also has riboflavin and niacin. Riboflavin helps to keep the skin tight on the face, around the eyes and increases the health and production of the nervous system. It helps to produce and increase red blood cells. The star anise turns carbs into energy and not sugar and helps to control diabetes. This spice aids in hormone production that contributes to adrenal hormones and serotonin. Star anise is used as an anti-fungal for clearing up thrush and yeast infections, normally found in the intestines, mouth, and throat. If you have caught a cold or flu, star anise is great for these as well. It contains thymol, anethol, and terpineol. These chemicals are found in the star anise oil. All these combined help clear up the common flu, bronchitis, lung inflammation, respiratory infections—A and C help clear up the coughs and other respiratory problems. Honey fights cancer and the cancer cells and helps with clearing up allergies and providing relief from the allergies. Sugar feeds cancer cells, so I do not use sugar if I can help it. With that being said, I had to break myself from using sugar. I switched to stevia and honey. They are both all-natural. When I add sweeteners to any herbal teas, I use either stevia or honey; the two are a lot healthier for your body. The star anise will help to replenish any vitamin D your body loses. It is a good idea to use the pod in a drink as you start to get older or if you simply lack the vitamin D because your body will begin to pull the vitamin from your bones and, in return, will cause you to end up with osteoporosis. This spice is very beneficial to the human anatomy. The Chinese anise star helps to reduce and calm any anxieties you may have and helps to promote a restful night’s sleep; another one to add for rest is lavender blossoms. The Chinese anise has a sedative to help you rest.

MAGICAL
If you purchase the Japanese star anise, it is used only for incense or for your spells and ritual rights. It comes with the stabilities of expanding to connect to the divine. For the beginner witch, it means this is a great herb to start with for either opening your third eye or to increase the strengths of the third eye psychic abilities, increase success, and it brings you luck to succeed at things. With is being used for divine healing, it is recommended to use during any shadow works, which helps with inner healing from past traumatic experiences and situations; shadow work isn’t a pretty thing but helps to heal the heart and mental, emotional state of mind so you can move forward in life. It also brings prophetic dreams. I use it to make an herbal tea, add a little cinnamon, honey or stevia, and you are on your way to relaxation.

You have just made a psychic tea for meditation and help to open up the crown chakra for the spirits to communicate with you and the third eye. It adds stability to prophetic dreams. The star anise is for expanding on these and helps to connect to the divine. Suppose you find one with nine or more points on it. Nine points represent financial wealth is coming your way; good luck will fall upon you and bring lots of success. There are many other uses for this herb/spice. Some of the following are listed predominantly for altar uses:

The star anise has the same shape as the stars glowing lights beaming off of it. With that being said, the name of this amazing herb and spice fits its name well. The star anise can be used for a dark moon ritual or divination workings. We all share a dark moon once a month. The moon shares the spotlight with only the stars that one time a month. They brighten up the dark sky around that dark moon. The star anise represents a moonless horizon. To honor this beautiful once-a-month dark moon, place a blue altar covering on your altar, or even dark blue construction paper taped together will work. Then place several star anises around the altar for divination rituals.

The star anise holds protection properties and cleansing properties. So why not make a string of star anise, holly, and cinnamon sticks together for decoration during the winter months of Yule/Solis. Take long strands of green, gold, and red yarn, cut it approximately three feet long. Then cut some more, around six inches. Twist the three colors together and tie them around the Star Anise. Then tie the other end of the three to the three twisted together that are three feet long. Do this process several times evenly space apart.

I space them six inches apart for the purpose that six represents love. With this decoration, you have the intention of cleansing and sending protection to anyone who passes under this decoration coming into your home. As well as sending and spreading love to each other as they come and go.

Some of the magickal properties of the star anise are calmness and protection. I use the star anise as a form of incense and protection. Instead, it is to burn on a charcoal disc or as a cleansing and protection before or after casting a spell after my ritual rights are completed. Use the star anise its self or essential oil as a sense of productive calmness.

Rub a drop of essential oil on your wrists. You can also rub it behind your ears to bring the relaxing aroma just a bit closer to your nose so you can bring in the relaxing aroma as closer to your nose as possible. Another magickal property is for protection. Place star anise in your pocket, purse, or wallet and keep it on you for protection from the evil eye; place it in a mojo bag for protection or with some cinnamon stick as a form of cleansing to ward off the negativity from the evil eye.

For all you Green Witches, this one is specifically for you. It will put a smile on your face. You can use the whole star anise if you wish, or just the seeds with rosemary tossed in a bonfire for a full moon ritual with your coven or alone for cleansing and protection. The rosemary rids your area of mosquitos. It also releases the wonderful aroma of both of them combined. You can also use the star anise as a natural fire starter for your fireplace or campfire rituals.

For good luck, place star anise in a green mojo bag with a piece of cinnamon stick, and rosemary too. You can tuck it away in your pocket or purse for good luck. You can also smell the star anise aroma to awaken and enhance psychic awareness. Tie the star anise to a purple or green piece of yarn or string of your choice and use it as a pendulum. It can be used as an inner cleansing before any spell or ritual work. So as you have read here, the main properties the star anise holds are– Psychic abilities, money, success, warding off bad luck, protection, consecration.

NEEDED ITEMS
Star Anise, a dark blue candle, for the third eye, psychic abilities, mugwort, or four winds herbal smoke from the native Indian shaman, you can either smoke it or burn it as an incense, or do both, dragons blood oil to anoint the candle with and the role the candle in it as well. A lighter or matches.

SPELL
As I call upon the winds of the day and the peaceful winds of the night, I come to you with this call to enhance the powers of my third eye; the desire to see what my mind’s eye is wanting to show me; the desire to float and fly with my spirit guide to the realms of sight and knowledge, I call upon you to bring forth what I need to know and see, this offering is for you to thank you and to show my appreciation for your assistance in what I come to you in need of. This is my will. So mote it be.

ELEMENTS
Jupiter, Mercury, Air, Water, Masculine

BLACK WALNUT

GENERAL INFORMATION
The eastern black walnut is one of the most cherished trees and most commonly used woods from the Appliachine Mountains Forest. Trees are abundant with lots of uses but not nearly as many as the eastern black walnut tree does. It offers approximately seven benefits, from foods to antibacterials to insecticides. They are great for food sources, medical purposes, wood uses, and magical properties, to name the first primary four. I will go over each one of these purposes, starting with the ones just notated.

NAMES/MEANINGS
ORIGINS
You can find this tree through various southern states and Texas to Georgia, mid-Ontario Canada to northern Michigan, and anywhere from north to mid-Minnesota to Wisconsin.

HISTORY/ORIGINS
The French went crazy for the walnut in the 4th century A.D. The king of France started telling the gardeners to plant walnut trees on every acre of his property. The 11th century came to pass, and the French peasants were made to tithe the walnuts to the French Churches.
When the Greeks were not eating walnuts. They used them to dye hair, wool, and skin. Boiled walnut shells make an effective dye make lamp oil and medicine. Boiled walnut shells made an effective dye for wool because it does not need anything added to fix the color. They also used walnuts to make makeup and medicine. This walnut shell’s dye looks a lot more natural. The women became creative with the walnut dye. During and after the world wars, the boiled-down juice from the green casing of walnuts was used as a stain to dye their legs, as an alternative to pantyhose for the ladies—just some little fun facts of the notorious black walnut and the tree.

HORTICULTURE/USES
The eastern black walnut is one of the most magnificent woods to use. It is the most demanding and firmest wood. It does not decay very quickly and lasts the longest in this department. The black walnut tree needs rich, moist forest soil. When getting ready to plant this fantastic tree, there are many steps and a planting ritual that comes with adding this wild tree to your property. The insects hardly attempt to eat away at the walnut wood because it is so hard. Walnut wood is fantastic lumber to use to build your home. The black walnut is excellent for deterring lightning. If the tree is struck by lightning, it will split before it ever catches fire, so it is perfect for building your homes and for making walking sticks out of them. You can make a lovely and lasting wood dye with the rotted leaves and bark from the walnut tree or even from the cherry wood tree. Using the tree leaves and rotted bark to make a stain is because it becomes a thick dark mixture and lasts for a long while. If it starts rubbing off the furniture, it takes no time to make more and redo the stain. (A little witchy secret.) I will discuss why this wood is highly recommended. To give you a great idea of how strong the eastern black walnut wood is, this wood was used for decades as railroad ties, which means putting some thought on the weight and speed and the pounding the trains do to this wood. With all that and the weather, this wood lasts at least twenty years before needing replacing. If this does not help to understand the strength, I am not sure what will. It does hold a poisonous chemical within the tree’s roots. This tree has a chemical called allelopathic. The roots release this chemical. It will stunt the growth of some plants and kill others if planted too close to the eastern black walnut tree. This chemical is also called Juglone.

CULINARY
Even though the eastern black walnut is beautiful and robust, one of the benefits is its food source. Walnut wood is solid! It does not warp or twist up when dyed or stained. It is used to make many kitchen items and other household items. To name a few, they are kitchen counters, cutting boards, cooking utensils, dining tables, chairs, flooring, and salad bowls. Then some to call for outside are outside furniture and telephone poles. During Medieval times, Europeans soaked and crushed walnuts to create nutritious milk. The poor hunted and searched the forest grounds and trees for wild walnuts, while the rich could afford to buy the more expensive varieties of walnuts. By the end of the 17th century, walnuts were an important food source in France, and during the food depression in 1663, the poor would eat walnuts. They would also grind up the shells of the walnut and acorns to make coarse flour for bread. In World War II, walnuts were the primary source of protein. The people talked about how the nuts were high in fat but, in return, were a highly great nutritional food source.

MEDICINAL
A couple of medical purposes is all nuts offer iron and protein. Two vital minerals a human body must-have. If you’re low on iron, you will stay cold because iron helps regulate your body’s regular temperature. In addition, it helps to keep your heart rate and blood pressure controlled. On the other hand, if you are low on protein, your body will pull it from your bones and, in the long run, could cause osteoporosis, another good herb to use to balance your protein and vitamin “D” level is fantastic Chinese star anise. This walnut tree has been used in making herbicides and anti-bacterial for decades. Plus, anti-fungal. Green walnut juice rids your skin of ringworms when rubbed on the skin. To stop allergic itching, boil sulfur, water, and the whole walnut with the green hull still on it, let it boil down to a concentrated point, and rub it on your skin. (If you have any allergies to any of these items, I suggest using a different concoction or see your doctor).

MAGICAL
If the walnut, the shell, and hulk is boiled down a little more to a concentrated point, add a tiny bit of flour and water almost as if to make homemade gravy consistency to thicken it up, it becomes an ink to write your spells out on parchment paper. Better yet, you can even create your very own homemade paper, yes, homemade paper.

In folklore, 1) If you carry the walnut, it is used to prevent you from becoming separated from your family. 2) Used to stop an unforeseen death. It also includes the association of love and poison. 3) Another folklore attributed to this tree is that the walnut shell is not to be burned. When burned, it is said that you will receive a long and steady streak of bad luck. 4) If you have a large crop of walnuts, this means that winter is coming early. 5) If you toss walnut leaves around the inside of your house, it wards off insects. 6) It is said to help mental illness. The walnut meat is the brain, and the shell is the top of the skull. You eat the walnut meat any way you choose, just as it is, or you can put it on a baking sheet and candy it. You can also chop it up and bake a nice walnut and banana bread with it and make some cinnamon and sugar butter. Yumm, a great mouth-watering treat for the Holidays. 7) It is also known by folklore that if you dream of cracking a walnut in your dreams, good fortune is coming and money in the hand is on its way to you. 8) If you carry a walnut in your pocket, it wards off headaches by absorbing it into the walnut. In American hoodoo rituals, walnut is used to jinx, hex, and curse. It is also used to break the cords of love between two people. The way to do this is by boiling three quarts of water, add walnut leaves, bark, walnut, husks, and any part you can get to add from the walnut and boil it down to one quart. Hand bathe with it as is. Do not add it to the bathtub of water and soak in it like that. To get the best results, crack open the walnut and drop it in the water to boil. As you are cleansing yourself in the walnut bath, you say what you want to be removed from yourself or off of yourself. Be specific with your desired request and said out aloud. Then you take the concoction outside and throw it all out on the trunk of the walnut tree to be rid of a love you no longer wish to have in your life.
The walnut tree, like the acacia tree, is used to make some great wands. It is an excellent kind of wood to make wands with because it represents the strengthening of matters of the heart. It also wards off rheumatism and assists in astral projecting. For all you ladies in a union, this is for you. Every year you do not want childbirth. That is how many walnuts you carry with you. If a walnut tree has been cut down due to it dying or fell from a significant storm, cut part of the trunk off the part still in the ground and carve yourself a brand new altar table. It also gives the spirit of the tree love and value. It will let the tree spirit know that its life was not ended in vain. Whatever you do, ask the tree gods for the approval for the wood and thank them for allowing you to take from the remains. The black walnut is excellent to use in all types of weather works, abundance spells, awakening your third eye, and rituals. It is perfect for blocking emotional feelings and assisting you in concentrating or focusing on those things. The wands and walking sticks are helpful for alignment with the fertility of the mind and different forms of love magicks. It is also adequate for works on the poisonous path to get some walnut tree roots—magickal workings with tools or bowls for holding shadow materials and darker working ingredients.

ITEMS NEEDED
You will need black walnuts, leaves, shells, or husks; sprinkle the black walnut leaves around your altar to bring forth the energy to your altar. On a clean altar, place your tools. Place your crystals randomly around your altar. Put a black candle and a white candle on your altar. The candles are to help remove an unwanted love, a lighter, or matches to light the candle with witches protection black salt. Sprinkle the witches’ protection black salt around the candles to protect the cleansing and protection energy they provide.

SPELL
I call upon Thore the thundering god to aid in the removal of an unwanted love and adding energy to my protection candle, and I offer you this meal offering in appreciation for your assistance in carrying out this spell; cover this altar with your vigorous strength to bring forth needed energy for the protection and ridding me of this unwanted love and help the discord continue with speedy flight throughout the wind like the feathers of a bird, carry it out, far and wide. This is my will. So mote it be.

ELEMENTS
Sun, Jupiter, Saturn, Moon, Native meaning, Fire, Earth, Spirit, Black, Green, Brown, Masculine, Feminine Mental Powers, Infertility, Health, Wishes, Abundance, Motivation, Zeus, Jupiter, Thor, Vashaan, Vishnu

You can make homemade paper to get several different kinds of paper together, such as old used unneeded printer paper, old newspaper, and even paper grocery sacks. Tear the old paper up and place it in water for a day or two. Make sure you have at least two cups or more water on that paper, showing two cups above the top of the paper. You need this paper nice and diluted, mushy even. Pour it all into a blender and put it on the highest level possible. You will need some metal window screening. You also need four pieces of trim, the same length as the four sides of the screening. Either use hot glue, super glue or tacking nails, or even thumbtacks and a metal baking pan. You will use the adhesive on the trim. Place the screen side on the edge that matches the size you are working with. If you are using thumbtacks or tacking nails, place the side of the screen on top of the trim that matches the size of the trim you are going to start with and use a tiny hammer that has a small head on it to tap the tacking nails or thumbtacks through the screen into the trim. You will want a tight pull on the screen to the trim it is attached to. Place the screening in the baking pan trim side down.
Once the water-downed paper is blended up like tiny looking fibers of the mushy paper, pour it over the screen from top to bottom or side to side, whichever you choose. It just has to be evenly spread out. Run your hand over it and even it out and smooth it out, and press on it. Not too hard, so you do not break the screening off the trim. Just press a little at a time and get out as much water as possible to dry it out quicker. Either sit it out in the heat of the sun or use a heat gun, but not too close to the paper, as it will turn dark the more it dries. Viola! You now have homemade, recycled paper. (Witchy tip, as it is still wet, spray perfume or cologne into the water- paper mixture to give the paper a nice smell and extra property and intention to the magickal use of the paper.)

When I use the black walnut, I use it in my hex/curse/ jinx—revenge powder jar. The way I make this powder is very easy but does take time to achieve the desired texture and results you wish to gain from the purpose. The nastier it is, the better the magickal intentions will be, so keep this in mind.

Okay, so what I do is take the used coffee grounds from the coffee pot and set the filter and grounds in a bowl. I let them sit for a good month, depending on the quantity or amount of coffee grounds you kept. The longer you let them sit in a moist hot space, the nastier it becomes. By the time im ready to prepare my concoction, there are baby maggots on the underlying side of the coffee grounds. EEEWWW yuck, some say, but some are like, oh my yes, my dear lol. I will put the coffee and filter in an old frying pan turn the stove on about medium heat. Then I will let the coffee and the coffee filter sit there for about 10 minutes and then turn the filter over. If all the coffee grounds come off of it, ill leave it out of the pan and dry the coffee grounds out. As the filter dries, the grounds will fall off of it. Put the filter in a ziplock baggie for a later time when you are ready to make some homemade paper to use the black walnut ink on. Then I continue to mix the coffee grounds to get them completely dried. Once this is done, I place the grounds in a bowl you can occasionally stir them in to reduce the heat from them, and the condensation doesn’t build up. Next, I will get some old cigarette butts and put the tobacco in the same frying pan to dry it up well; you want it at a dry, crispy texture as to be able to powder it up in a mortar or a bullet blender and add it in with the coffee grounds. Mix it up well. The next step would be to powder up the black walnut leaves and add them to my concoction. Mix it all in.

The last step is where some come into a small problem because nowadays, not everyone’s home comes equipped with a beautiful cast iron skillet on hand anymore. The best ones to use are the ones that were used thousands of times, nicely seasoned and blackened; you will need a short, very sharp but strong knife. You will also need to be very careful not to cut yourself; start scraping cast-iron shavings off of the cast iron pan. I get them from the sides of the pan, inside or outside; it doesn’t matter, obtain as much as your hands will allow you to acquire; this is no easy task. It takes me sometimes all day to do this off and on because I have carpal tunnel, and this task will make it act up even on the best of days. I sometimes will separate a portion of this mixture for a separate jar and add Spanish, oakmoss, or Irish moss and use it to make war water, which by the way, stinks to all hell, lol. Very handy, though.

If you like my articles, hit like and follow to get an automated email every time a new article is published. There is a donations button with it. The donation allows me to keep the website running and the drafts portion up and running and the proofing and editing of the articles, with my remarkable proofreader and editors’ help; thank you, Kimberley Lukasavitz Brewer.

Stay tuned to my Youtube channel coming out soon to help all of you newbie witches and even some of my admired Crones to learn even more. I plan on the youtube channel to start in the fall. Just know, as my profile says, I am a hereditary, grey herbalist witch, I am also 3/4 Native Indian and Irish, I do all sorts of magickal working from healings, blessings, etc., to curses, hexes, and revenge. Nothing too big or small. Have fun.

BLACK SAGE-MUGWORT

GENERAL INFO
Hanging the plant around the home helps to get rid of insects. Put sachet bags of black sage in closets, drawers, and cabinets/cupboards to keeps moths away from your belongings, blankets, clothes, and such. Anyone can use the sage for smudging and cleansing. You do not have to be a native Indian to do this; all the Native Indians request is that you do this in an honorable way and without malice. When doing this, they also request that it be performed according to the ancestorial ways.

NAMES/MEANINGS
Black sage is a variety of sages known as Salvia mellifera. Black sage is also known as mugwort.

ORIGINS/HISTORY
Black sage is a dominant plant along among the coastal sage plants extending through California with the inland and coastal habitats and is viewed as the best western native honey plants. It grows in coastal bluffs to the inland foothills, from north to south California and Baja California. Plant in full sun and well-drained soil, provide low amounts of water.
Smudging is the process of burning dried plants or other natural elements and then using the smoke to cleanse themselves, objects, or even places of negative energies and negative spirits, and rid an illness away according to Native Indian cultures.

HORTICULTURE
Black sage can grow to three to six feet high. It is an evergreen shrub and produces white to light blue flowers from March to July. This plant can be grown in full sun but will tolerate some shade. The plant can handle some drought, but it can not take the actual desert temperatures and drought. Without the essential daily watering, the plant needs about fifteen inches of rain to be prosperous. Prune young plants regularly in the first year, so they have a longer developed life span and a long-term development of a solid bushy figure. Go on and prune the flowers the first year. You will end up with more flowers in the long run and longer-lived better-looking plants for years.

Young plants allowed to grow too many long flower stocks will break from the weight of their flowers. After spring into early summer flowering, you can prune back the bushes. Doing this almost immediately after the first bloom will bring better, more fuller blossoms later on. Unfortunately, doing this early on will sacrifices the development of seeds for wildlife to eat. Get rid of dead seed heads in the Fall about October and cultivate as need be. Try to leave some of the pruned dry seed heads in the garden for food, nesting material, and habitat for birds and other wildlife you want around.

Cut back 1/2 inch or more of the leafy part of the branches in Fall. It will keep them in a compact form. Leave at least two green nodes on each stem. These plants might not push any to very little new growth if cut below green nodes and into old wood. Older plants grow less and less each year, so they may only need a light cut back and dead-heading. Black sage is a woodsy shrub growing with a mounding to sprawling, 3-6 ft tall and just as wide. The dark green leaves have a wrinkled surface and are very aromatic when crushed. Tall stems bearing numerous pale blue to white flowers occur from late spring into early summer and brighten the landscape when backlit by morning or afternoon sun. Black sage is beautiful, but it is also vital to butterflies, bees, and hummingbirds. Quail love the seeds, and some companion plants for Salvia mellifera are Quercus agrifolia, Trichostema lanatum, Keckiella cordifolia, and Eriogonum fasciculatum. These are all safe to plant with and near black sage. The black sage is a shrub and a native Evergreen. It grows like wildfire and Spreads everywhere, which is another reason to keep on top of pruning, or you will lose control of it. It is a dark green color with white and lavender flowering blossoms. It grows best during the summer and spring.

CULINARY

MEDICINAL
Meditation with the aromatic sage scent can change your brain and help you handle stress a whole lot better. So if burning sage enables you to relax and enter more of a focus point, then it is well worth it. Sometimes, the smell alone can calm and relax you, regardless of the chemical properties. The scent alone can have a significant grounding effect. It allows you to think more clearly, reduces anxiety, and creates a sense of calm in your daily life. However, suppose the smell of sage isn’t very pleasing to you. In that case, you can also add other aromatics into your smudgings, such as lavender, rosemary, cedar, rose, thyme, yerba santa, cloves, and cinnamon are all great add-ins to burning sage. Research shows that relaxing aromas like lavender, rosemary, and cinnamon, can help improve how your body and brain work after a stressful encounter or situation.

According to recent studies, sage has powerful antibacterial, antioxidant, and anti-inflammatory qualities. Researchers are at the moment keeping it quiet as a natural treatment for a whole bunch of issues, including depression, dementia, obesity, lupus, heart disease, and cancer. Sage is antibacterial, a natural disinfectant. This ancient Native American practice has been in use for hundreds of years. It is still in use. As it becomes more prevalent in mainstream culture, it is essential to honor and respect the cultural roots of smudging. Burning sage brings you to a mindfulness state of mental capacity, heightens your senses, and reduces stress. I burn sage every day regardless of the type of sage.

MAGICKAL
It is best to use black sage at sunset. It is great to cleanse the atmosphere of your space when needing something encouraging and robust. It is a stronger sage to use than white sage. Silvia melfia is exceptional to use. Do some house cleaning, dust, and declutter, even do some organizing. To use it, light one end of the herb stick and blow it out or let it go out to create an aromatic smoke. Waft the smoke throughout the space with a feather. Cleanse yourself with the smoke. Open a window in every room and one door so that you can remove the negativity and unwanted spirits out of each room. Waft it about with the feather starting in the middle of the room and working outwards in a spiraling motion as if cleansing the air. It becomes immediately effective. Black sage is wild-crafted, hand-tied with thin string to the smudge sticks. It has a sweet herb smell and is burned for multiple metaphysical purposes. Longer-lived for spiritual journeys, astral projecting, encouraging dreams, and visions, psychic powers, and abilities burned just before crystal ball gazing, forms of divine workings. For protection, you would hang the plant over your doorway rather than in whole branches. Or you can crush the leaves and flowers for a sachet type of bag, often along with other herbs such as rosemary, cinnamon, and cloves. Sage is antibacterial, a natural disinfectant. Usually, the dried plant is burned over a red hot glowing charcoal disc placed in a large shell or a bowl on the ground. They put both hands over the smoke, take the smoke within their hands, and beginning with the head and continuing downward washes the entire body with the smoke.”

ITEMS NEEDED
You will need a safe dish to burn the sage for burning the sage. Typically, it would be a large shell that is the native ancestors’ way, an excellent feather to waft the smoke around in the environment you are using the black sage. Plus, a small bowl of corn mill to snuff out the black sage bundle once you have completed your cleansing or smudging.

SPELL
I cleanse this environment and the physical and spiritual souls of these people here. I release you free and clear to be on your way to be free in the spiritual world and to be at peace; you no longer have to be here and unhappy, please go and be free, you are released and to release the environment and people of your unhappiness, you can let go and be happy. To be free, you now need to leave this place. You are no longer required here. It’s time to be on your way. This is my will. So mote it be.

ELEMENTS
Artemis-Greek goddess of the moon, hunting, and innocence of women makes her associated with young women. Taurus, Libra, Venus, Moon, Feminine, Earth

AGRIMONY

GENERAL INFORMATION
They stick onto everything. It is very easy for you to track them in your home and get them stuck in your carpet. In this bur casing, the spikes are very sharp and uncomfortable when stepped on barefoot. Agrimony grows through most of North America. It is a perennial herb.

NAMES/MEANINGS
Agrimony means a plant used for treating cataracts. Actually, agrimony is not used for cataracts. It is Greek and has been known as agremone. Agrimony is also known by other names, such as Cockleburr, Cocklebur, Church Steeples, Stickwort, Sticklewort, Philanthropos, Ackerkraut, Agrimonia, Funffing, Herbe de Saint-Guillaume, Liverwort, Acrimony, Harvest lice, Aigremoine, Odermennig, Agrimonia, Herba agrimoniae, Agrimoniae herba, Burr Marigold, Garclive, Hooked Agrimony, Tall Hairy Agrimony, Tall Hairy Grooveburr. Agrimony is also known as a fairys wand.

ORIGINS/HISTORY
The agrimony bush is found in Western and Southwestern Asia and North Africa. It grows in large amounts all over England and Europe. It is very prominent in the UK north of Scotland. This herb has made its way through most of the U.S and Canada, where it grows in damp meadows, pasture, along stream banks, and among shrubs.
Agrimony is regarded as a powerful magickal herb, and one of the earliest most common names for it was fairy’s wand. In an eighteenth-century Scottish witch trial, agrimony was mentioned as a witch’s cure for elf-shot people. Elf-shot means the person was suffering from an unexplained illness, and no one could figure out why they were ill or what they even had caught.

HORTICULTURE
There are several types of agrimony. It belongs to the Rose family. It can be found in wastelands, fields, and hedges. The agrimony has bright yellow flower blossoms. It has spikes on a Downey feeling stem that grows approximately twenty inches in height from June to the end of September, into the start of fall. It can be planted in moderate climates. The seeds are kept in a bur-like casing. The leaves have a furr on the top, and the underside of the leaf has a silver hue to it. The roots look like a black rhizome, and the smell of the agrimony has a sweet citrusy scent. It should be grown from a seed in the winter or placed in the refrigerator for several weeks before planting in the garden. It prefers well-drained soil and partial to full sunlight. It also tolerates dry spells well.

Agrimony is known for growing very tall for a bush. You can harvest agrimony right at about mid-summer or just as the flowers start coming into bloom. Chop the whole plant or just a few twigs and hang upside down outside to dry. You can also pluck the leaves for use as needed. Agrimony is an invasive perennial, so you will need to watch it and keep it trimmed back because if you do not, it will take over your yard.

CULINARY USES/PURPOSES
It can be made into a “spring drink.” To liquefy it for tea, it is too diluted that you do not taste it very well. The “spring drink” is the name of tea made from agrimony. The smell is very similar to apricot and real bitter; to use it as a drink, it’s recommended to add a sweetener. I found a recipe online for this tea. I came across it on Pinterest. Since I have personally never made a “spring tea,” I am sharing it here. In some rural areas, a “spring drink” is made from agrimony, a tea that cleanses and renews. You can include agrimony tea in cleansing or renewal spells by covering 1 – 2 teaspoons of the dried herb with 1 cup boiling water. Let it steep for 10 to 15 minutes and sweeten with honey. Drink the brew as part of your ritual preparation or as part of the working itself.

MEDICINAL USES
In the past, Anglos Saxons referred to it as garclive, and it was used for herbal remedies. They used agrimony for sore throat, upset stomach, mild diarrhea, irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), diabetes, gallbladder disorders, fluid retention, cancer, tuberculosis, bleeding, corns, and warts. It was made for a gargle, heart tonic, sedative, and antihistamine. It was also boiled for healing sores. It is known as a healing herb but is not used in many things anymore because when used as a healing agent, it has to be boiled down so much that it becomes too concentrated to use. There are around thirty-eight remedies it can be used for, but due to the dilution, it is rendered practically useless.

MAGICKAL USES/HOW TO’S
Agrimony is magickally very powerful. Agrimony seeds are good for mid-winter rituals and ceremonies. The occult is known to use this herb. It is called church steeple by the occult because it has been known to ward off evil spirits and break hexes, curses, and jinxes. Witches that practice hoodoo or voodoo, use it to block or repel any curses sent forth to them. Many used to hang a sachet over the doorways in their homes and at the window seals to protect the voodoo or hoodoo witch from evil goblins that may come to them. Agrimoney can be found in essential oils, dried, or powdered. This holds the properties to banish negative energy, protection, sleep, psychic healing, and cleansing your aura.

ITEMS NEEDED FOR SPELL
A black candle, agrimony essential oil, powdered agrimony, rub the agrimony oil on the sides of the candle and roll the candle in the powdered agrimony herb. Powdered black walnut leaves a lighter or a match. Light the candle with the oil on it and powdered agrimony herb and say this spell.

CURSE REVERSAL SPELL
I reverse the curse that has been sent up and out for me. I double the damage as I return it to thee. I bind you as it coasts on the wings of the wind. I double the damage as I returned it to you. My sister foe, I am here to teach you though. Ye shall learn to know. Thy wilt not come to blows. With my antheme in my right palm, I palm up the wind fire and universal rage. My ancestors, ye shall get an education from today, as they show you the chaos today from you future ancestor to be. You shall remember me. This is my will. So mote it be.

ELEMENTS
Jupiter, Mercury, Air, Masculine-dominant, Cancer, Amethyst, Temperance.

CINNAMON

GENERAL INFORMATION
There are many things cinnamon is used for, such as food, drinks, protection, energy, relationships, money, abundance. The best thing is it is in season year-round,

NAMES
Cinnamon means sweet root, and Cinnamon Verum is Latin for cinnamon. The most common cinnamon tree is the Genus Cinnamomum. It is called “True Cinnamon.” Another kind of cinnamon is called cassia. It is sold more often than the Cinnamomum. The cinnamon belongs to the Genus Cinnamomum.

ORIGINS/HISTORY
The first cinnamon was from Asia. Several species of trees are used to get cinnamon. The cinnamon from long ago came from the zeylanicum tree. Most of today’s cinnamon comes from the cassia tree. Cinnamon has been used since antiquity. It was widely used in Egypt, Rome, and China. It was worth a lot of money back in those days. Today, you can find it almost everywhere that sells spices and herbs, and it is not that expensive.
It has been found in many ancient textbooks. It turns up in text in Ancient Egyptian as early as 2000 BC. They used cinnamon in rituals with several other herbs that are known to be exotic, for instance, marjoram, and cassia, and many others, as well as being used in the mummification process with the tallow wrap. The Egyptians have an enormous amount of respect for cinnamon since it is used with dehydrated flowers off the cinnamon tree with myrrh and holly oil to anoint the candles. It first showed up in Chinese books around 2800 BC. Many Greek and Roman writers used cinnamon in their workings. Cinnamon was popular during this time because of its smell. It was used in incense. Though, they did use it in their food also. In Western Europe, wealthy people were the ones who could afford cinnamon. They used it in meals and for medicinal purposes.

HORTICULTURE
It is an Asian evergreen and listed in the Laural family. The bark on the cinnamon tree is cinnamon in its raw form. Most cinnamon trees are found on the private property of homeowners. Once the cinnamon has ripened, the property owners go and break off one branch at a time and soak them in water for hours, sometimes days at a time to soften the branch and the bark. Then they use an elongated, curved cycle blade to shave off the cinnamon bark from the branch into two-inch long strips. The strips are laid out in the sun for days at a time to dry out and harden; Once the strips are dried and processed, the cinnamon bark has curved in edges. The leaves have a leathery texture to them. The tree has yellow flowers that grow on it. Immediately following the flowers are purple berries. The cinnamon has a pleasant earthy smell to it. The cassia is darker and thicker than the Cinnamomum. Cassia has a stronger cinnamon flavor than Cinnamomum.

CULINARY
Cinnamon is used in all kinds of foods and drinks. There are lots of dishes that a chef will use cinnamon on meats. It will be added during the sauteing, steaming, and baking point. Cinnamon is added to some hot teas, hot chocolate, and coffee. Add a few more marshmallows, and your good to go. Another idea is to put a pot of water on the stove to simmer, drop in some orange slices, pumpkin spice, peppermint tea, and a cinnamon stick. Let it go all day for a nice warm, welcoming smell to the air that will fill every room. You could also dip in a ladle and pour a nice hot cup of tea, add some honey and lemon with it to warm you on a cold winter day sitting in front of a beautiful glowing fireplace. The cinnamon is found in practically every spice rack in every home. Cinnamon has a long and intriguing history.

MEDICINAL
Cinnamon holds a lot of “Anti” properties. People use it to help mouth sores heal. Swish it around in your mouth with hot water, and it kills any bacteria that stops the sore from clearing up. Cinnamon is used for helping toothaches and is also used as an anti-inflammatory. Once the inflammation starts going down, so does the bacteria. Cinnamon and ginseng mixed in with milk help an upset stomach to ease up. Asians will sprinkle it on sushi for a more youthful skin appearance. I met a very beautiful Asian lady nineteen years ago. I found out she was in her sixties. She did look as if to be in her mid-thirties. She has been eating sushi and other foods that were infused with ginger and cinnamon. I was floored. Over thousands of years in the healing books of China, cinnamon is discussed as what’s called a “Yang herb” associated with the flower QI. Cinnamon is used in traditional Chinese medicine for increasing the blood flow of being stagnant.

MAGICKAL
Use the essential oil made from cinnamon oil as anointing oil. Use it on candles for clarity and spiritual awakening for the third eye. Rub cinnamon on your hands or on the bottoms of your feet to achieve victory for a problem you have been trying to resolve on or sprinkle a bit inside your shoes. It is also used this way to bring forth abundance and prosperity. Cinnamon, similar to sage, it is also a protection. With that being said, a few simplistic options you have to use for incense. You can burn it on a charcoal disc. You can light a cinnamon stick and use a feather to waft the cinnamon smoke around the house like you would smudging or sagging your home to remove any evil or negativity that has just been lingering around.

You can boil it with cloves and white sage. Once it is boiled down a bit, run it through a strainer and fill a water bottle and spray the house with the protection spray if you can not burn it. As your doing this, you can hum or sing a nice cleansing or protection spell and dance around honoring the gods. Another idea for this spray, pour it into your floor wash and dance and sing your spells with the mop. Why not and have a little fun with it. In a spell, cinnamon is good for love and lust. You can use it for added energy to your spell rites. Use it to add some spice to the bedroom life with your spouse.

Another great idea for Yule is to string nine cinnamon sticks and hang them over the thresh hold of your front and bedroom doorways/windows. In between, each cinnamon stick, tie a piece of holly on the line. Or you can pop some popcorn and spray a fine mist of the protection spray on the popcorn, put it all in a grocery bag and put some powdered cinnamon in the bag and shake the popcorn around in it and string it for decoration to put on your tree.

Cinnamon is used for a multitude of things and holds a lot of useful properties. Spiritual awareness, luck, psychic powers, abundance, healing, and any spell rites to add strength and power. Cinnamon, like ginger, adds a shot of warmth to your life. Eat a little to add warmth to your spell rites. After all, why not? It will benefit you and your family in the long run and keep you safe and happy throughout the year. As you have read, there are several things you can use cinnamon for in your daily life.

ITEMS NEEDED FOR SPELL
A spoon-regular kitchen spoon is fine if you dont have an altar spoon, The spell, yourself, and the desert your making with the cinnamon as you mix the desert, getting it ready for baking, stir in a clockwise direction to bring forth the added energy.

ABUNDANCE/PROTECTION SPELL
I call upon Aphrodite to bless this wonderful Yule desert for my family, myself, and friends. I request your aid and assistance in bringing forth great blessings of protection for us all as we eat this wonderful dessert. For each bit we infuse into our being, I ask for another year-long protection for us all and to bring forth prosperity and abundance; as I send this spell out to the universe, I share these requests with you Aphrodiety and share a slice with you as you are always with us throughout this next year. This is my will. So mote it be.

ELEMENTS
Masculine by nature, Sun and Mars are ruling planets; the sign is Aries, the deity is Aphrodite and Dionysus, Root and Sacral chakra. Fire element.

ACACIA TREE

GENERAL INFORMATION
The acacia tree has many uses, and it all started in Egypt. Many trees in these areas fall under the same family category as the acacia tree. It is from an Indigenous family. This wood is rugged and robust. The acacia tree wood is about as solid and sturdy as the black walnut wood is, if not stronger but will burn instead of exploding or just split when lightning hits it. The flower heads were used to make makeup. I will discuss these properties throughout the herbal article.

NAMES/MEANINGS
Acacia has several different names, such as gum arabic, cassie flower, and Egyptian thorn, and The name Acaciais is sometimes called snakewood. The acacia tree has many uses, and it all started in Egypt.

ORIGINS/HISTORY
The acacia tree grows in a broad range of areas. They are seen growing in Ethiopia, India, Afghanistan, South Africa, Iran, Angolia, East Africa, Arabia, and the Nile. These areas are dry and semi-dry desert-like areas, so the trees act as shading for the workers, animals, and homes for the birds. The acacia tree dates back to ancient Egyptian times and has been used since 2650 BC for multiple things, which are listed in the article. Ancient Egyptians would use acacia tree wood to make many hand-made tools and necessities to make daily life a little easier. They made wheels, homes, tools, makeup, and ink. The Egyptians would make wreaths with acacia leaves for funerals. The Hebrews would plant the evergreen spring to mark a gravesite of a friend or family member that passed away. The Egyptian gods honor the acacia tree because they believed this is where the first known gods were born, right under the Heliopolis branches. The stern of the celestial boat of Ra is sentimental to the goddess Isis because it was made of the acacia tree. The ancient Egyptians used the Nile acacia for communicating with the gods. The god they have for the acacia tree is Osiris, who they as their spiritual guide and legend. Osiris was the first god born under the acacia tree and believed to be the spirit in all acacia trees.

HORTICULTURE
The roots are so thick and robust they stem down in the ground to the top of the water in the ground. The acacia tree is very environmentally important to nature. It is from an Indigenous family.
It has a hard rustic brown bark with feather-like leaves and bright yellow flower heads up to 6 inches long. The bark is collected at seven years old and older, then it is matured for one year. They can get up to 70 feet tall and have up to 1,200 species of acacia flowering trees and bushes. They help to nourish the soil by fixing the nitrogen in the ground, and air then restores any fertility for more plant growth. It has an acoustic brown bark with feather-like leaves and bright yellow flower heads up to six inches long.

CULINARY
Acacia is used in foods and beverages because it acts as a stabilizer or bonding agent for a food or beverage. It adds a floral flavor and aroma to the foods and beverages. The only part of the acacia that can be eaten is the flower. You can even eat it raw right off the bush, which is highly recommended for people to try.

MEDICINAL
The tree gum was used to soak gauze for wrapping mummies. The Egyptians used it to tighten loose teeth and make antiseptics. Most of the herbalists in the United States hardly ever use acacia for the infestation of parasites, although it is used regularly in other countries. Several countries still use the acacia tree for medicinal purposes. The deep dark rustic brown bark is used for decoction. It is a base ingredient for cough drops for a sore throat and inflammation, mouth sores such as mouth ulcers, binding skin back together at the tissues, and soothe the tender tissue in the mouth. Other countries still use the acacia tree for medicinal purposes. The majority of people in the US do not use herbal remedies anymore. The acacia pods, leaves, and flowers are used to make a lotion to be used on the skin to remove worms from under the skin, stop bleeding, stop coughing up blood, and tighten up mucous membranes. Witch hazel can do the same thing for mucous membranes. The flowers and leaves of the acacia tree are made into a sedative. It is also used for diuretics, hemostatic, antiseptics, anti-inflammatories, lotions for bleeding gums, mouth gargles to calm sore throats, scrubs for eczema, wounds, eyewashes, conjunctivitis, sanitary flush, and several other useful things. In addition, veterinarians use it in medicine for diarrhea.

Herbal remedies are still used today, but you should contact your doctor before trying one. Many of the trees in the Indigenous family are used medicinally for their soothing properties. Mexico uses it to make relaxing teas and to make washes for mucus membranes. It is good for urinary tract infections and oral inflammation. Many of the trees are used medicinally for their soothing properties.

MAGICKAL USES/HOW TO’S
Each tree has different properties but generally has the same magical properties and is usually used for the same purposes and intentions, for magickal workings. The Egyptians would rub boxes and chests to store their ritualistic tools with the essential oils made from the acacia tree to bless and protect them. The gum was also used as a base to make incense. They would use the gum in combination with sandalwood for a clear meditation. Leaves were burned on charcoal for enhancing personal powers and anointing candles. The gum was also used as the base to make incense. They would also use the gum in combination with sandalwood for a clear meditation. Leaves were burned on charcoal for enhancing personal powers and anointing candles.

The acacia tree wood was used in magickal workings and reminded me a little of Palo Santo sticks. It is used for protection, spiritual and psychic enhancements, money, abundance, platonic love, and friendships.
This particular type of wood is a little off the beaten path of things. Not many wands are made from the acacia tree. Acacia wood is used to create a very different kind of wand. It is a very special type of wand. The acacia wand is a tricky wand to work with due to the acacia wood. This wand rarely produces any magick for its witchy owner. The acacia tree wand is very stubborn, and it is hard to get it to do anything. Once you can work with your wand, you have the potential to become a spiritual leader, according to folklore. If you desire, design a wand from the acacia branch or use a part of the root to strengthen it. Make the wand of your liking by your artistic techniques, or whittle and carve a special design in the root or branch to create the wand. It is said to bring strong spiritual leadership. The acacia wand is said to increase confidence, integrity, and authority. Of course, you’ll need to charge your wand in the sun since the sun is an element of the acacia tree.

The wand holds its best effects for the most gifted and powerful witches. With the acacia tree having a sensitive nature, it is hard to put it in the right hands of any witch, sorcerer, or wizard if they are not strong enough to satisfy the temper of the acacia wand. When paired well, the acacia wand will connect well for all powers. The acacia is usually underestimated due to the odd temperamental characteristics it has. Suppose you have any acacia wood and wish to bring forth its natural powers to work with you. In that case, you can use the acacia leaves blessed with holy water and place them on your acacia wood or wand if you chose to consecrate/bless the acacia. Put some even place some of the acacia leaves on your altar to bless your altar too.

You can also burn it on a charcoal disc as an altar offering. When using the acacia gum/sap as in incense, it is referred to as resin.

ITEMS NEEDED FOR SPELL
You can use acacia sticks, flowers or leaves, mugwort, a charcoal disc, a lighter, or matches to light the charcoal disc. A cauldron to put the charcoal disc into when you light the disc, so you dont burn your hands if you dont have a pair of tongs to hold it with and a blue and white candle. Once you light the disc, place the preferred part of the acacia and mugwort on the charcoal disc, it will start smoking immediately; light the white candle first, then light your blue candle second and sprinkle some of the acacia and mugwort on it. Then say this spell.

THIRD EYE PSYCHIC SPELL
I call upon the lord and lady. I request your presence to assist me in this call for sight, as I burn this acacia and mugwort for you as an honoring and offering. I call upon you to bring forth the wisdom and power to see without seeing. I request you to blind me to get spiritual sight with your passion and blessing to move forth through your guidance. As I request this. This is my will. So mote it be.

ELEMENTS
Acacia is Masculine by nature, Dominant energy by nature. It stands joined with the sun. The element for Acacia is Air. The goddesses and gods associated with acacia are Diana, Osiris, Astarte, Ra, Zeus, and Isis; the sabbat as Litha.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: LYNN REED

Note: I need to make sure everyone knows that I am not a doctor or a medical representative of any kind. I suggest you call or go to your doctor before using any of the herbs in a book for medicinal purposes of any kind. I take no responsibility for how you use the herbs listed in my book.

Hello, all my beautiful witches. I want to introduce myself. My name is Lynn Reed, and I am the author of “A Witches Eternal Herbal Academy.” This book focuses on herbs and how to use them in spells.

I enjoy helping others learn more about the tools to strengthen their knowledge of the magickal and powerful herbs we all love to incorporate into our spells and everyday magickal uses. 

I am a hereditary witch, and my heritage consists of Native American Indian Chippawa and Irish. I am a mother and a crone with lots of experience and knowledge. I am also a spell caster and a tarot card reader. In addition, I make homemade candles for spells and homemade magickal hand sanitizers. 

I am very knowledgeable about witchcraft. I am mentoring several other new witches, including family members and crone witches too. 

I run two Facebook groups:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/642589573278099/ https://www.facebook.com/groups/206646514458352/ 

Plus, an online websites: Http://dragonsbloodcom.wordpress.com.

My book contains the following information for each herb: 

1. General information
2. Names the herbs are known by 
3. Origins
4. History
5. Horticulture aspects
6. Culinary uses 
7. Medicinal uses
8. Magickal purposes
9. A spell
10. Elements 

So sit back, settle in with a good mint and chamomile tea, add a little honey and lemon, and be prepared to be swept off your feet. This book is definitely well worth your time. 

With my experience in life, we need to work towards going back to ancient times and learn about the herbs that grow wild out in the forest. But, unfortunately, with the way things are going with civilization, we eventually may have to go back to our ancestors’ old ways of hunting, picking herbs, and pulling roots from the forest ground. The herbs are known by one name and have a second name that is more common. 

No matter what type of rites practitioner you are, a witch’s herbal garden can sometimes be challenging to grow but fun and relaxing. A witch’s garden or any rites practitioner’s garden can be a powerful or vitalizing part of any rite’s worker and their particular path. Anything made or done with your own hands, from writing your spells to cultivating and harvesting your ingredients from the ground, rather it is pruning trees or trimming herb plants. There is a stronger intention since you have put in your energy, intentions, time, love, and communication with them, watering them and providing plant food fortified with iron while caring and nurturing them. 

Furthermore, what comes from within while incorporating the items with the same properties as your intentions, you will have more potent and better results in your spells. As you care for each plant throughout its growth, you create a bond with them and learn what they like and what the plant needs. They are seedlings in their shells until they have reached adult stages and are ready to be harvested. They will create lots of power, strength, and focus for your rites and spells as they are carried out. 

As time goes by, this will strengthen your skills and enhance your knowledge. Your skills, in time, will also expand and broaden. It will help build your confidence in time, as you see more robust and faster results. Your confidence will blossom and flourish with all of this happening in your path and magickal rites taking place. It is discussed in many conversations of rites workings on how the spirits also play a vital role in the spell castings taking place.

 For instance, my son never knew that I was a witch until recently. He was present when there was a spell cast with me assisting his wife. He said the hair stood up on his whole body. The hair stood up on his neck because of the calling upon the spirits and providing everything they enjoy with my spells simultaneously in equal exchange and trying to help keep spiritual balance in the universe. 

The herbal plants you use in your rites and spells also hold a spirit. When performing spells, the plant’s spirit is also involved in the workings. It would be best if you allowed yourself to open up to this. While you were caring for the plants, their spirits got to know you. As long as you open up to that, they are aware of your presence. The garden or even a forest is the most incredible place to do this. As you honor them, they learn about you just as you have learned about them.

Stay tuned to my Youtube channel coming out soon to help all of you newbie witches and even some of my admired Crones to learn even more. Just know, as my profile says, I am a hereditary, grey herbalist witch. I do all sorts of magickal working, from healings, blessings, etc., to curses, hexes, and revenge. Nothing too big or small. 

If you like my articles, hit like and follow to get an automated email every time a new article is published. There is a donations button with it. The donation allows me to keep the website running and the drafts portion up and running and the proofing and editing of the articles, with my fantastic proofreader and editors’ help; thank you, Kimberley Lukasavitz Brewer.

If you enjoy reading my articles here on the website, consider a contribution to help keeping the website up and running, at the moment it is out my pocket.

NANNA

This article was a personal request from an individual in the past. Nanna is a confusing God in my opinion but enjoy the read. If you have any questions feel free to post in the comments.

The symbol of the moon gods was a bull. The horns represented the crescent moons, and the bull’s face was the full moon. The bull’s face leads the people to believe that the moon god was a cow herder.
The history and beliefs of the Sumerian Gods were kept quiet. Nanna married and had Utu, the sun god, and would rise in the east and set in the west.
Ther are a variety of stories and information on Nanna. One of the others talks about how she’s the deity of two others. The second son of Nanna is Nusku, and Nanna was also associated with Baldar. When Baldar dies, she mourns his death to the point of dying herself out of grief. They were both put in a ship that was too large for anyone to push out to sea. The townspeople got the biggest god they could find, they set the ship on fire, and the god pushed the ship out to sea. I believe this took place in Hawaii somewhere. In Hawaii, if one passes, they put certain belongings and ritual foods in a ship and send it out to sea on fire to release the one-loss spirit and honor them.
Another part of the mythological history of Nanna is she is the daughter of Enki, who is the god of wisdom. She was the ruling deity of the city of Uruk, A city in Mesopotamia. They had a reed tied to a stalk, and this is how they represented her.
She was the protector of the kings, was in support of many battles, as well as political issues. During these times she had many temples in this city, she also had a Mesopotamia called the god of wisdom or Inanna and a Hulluppy tree. She played a key role and brought knowledge to the Uruk. The dating of Innana and Dumu and the history of their marriage is in a poem dedicated and written from the sixteen hundreds to the nineteen hundreds. During those times, she traveled to the underworld. People sang many hymns in honor of her.
When Innana and Ishtar were to enter the underworld, they had to enter completely naked, including no personal items on their body. Every gatekeeper they encountered at each of the gates would have to submit a piece of material they had on from jewelry to clothing or shoes till entirely nude. This gave up a piece of them and the civilization they were once a part of, considered an element of physical realms and the 7 chakras of the body. Ishtar and Inanna had a difficult time handling these things over as these items were a representation of their lovers as a gift.

SEA SHELLS

There are numerous superstitions, myths, and tales on this topic. The beach, be it by the ocean, sea, or lake, is a liminal space where magic abounds. A place where the spirits meet willingly and unabashedly. A place where earth, sea, and sky meld in one glorious conjunction. Use the sea’s power to manifest abundance, healing, love, friendship, release, peace, solitude, and more. Learn about the sea and water magickal works rites below.

Similar to foraging in the woods, there is a multitude of different kinds of magical objects. We find plants, barks, berries, trees, leaves, wildlife, flowers, different forms of roots, and rocks. When I decide to go out to the beach and go for a stroll on the waterline, I always find lots of different seashells of different colors, shapes, and sizes. I also find coral, hag-stones, driftwood, feathers, and sea glass. Many witches collect these things and never use them to assist in their magickal rites. The ocean is full of magickal mysticism.

From a sea, lake, pond, river, or beach, seashells have various magical properties, including love, fertility, healing, emotions, intuition, and dreams. When you figure out what kind of shell or stone you have, it becomes that much more powerful. For example, the shell of an oyster draws love to a person’s life. Oysters are known as powerful aphrodisiacs, so why not use that as an example of having love properties. Spiral shells represent eternal life and a past life portal, thus this seashell is connected to past life work. The beach is full of a multitude of seashells that are known to hold magical properties due to the connections with different sea gods and goddesses. Seashells are also associated with the water element and the moon because the moon controls the tide of the ocean. So when setting up your Altar, set up should be done as the following: North-spirit-incense, East-sun-candles flame, South-earth-bowl of dirt, or a small plant, West-shell-bowl of water.

The seashells are often used as a symbol of femininity and fertility. Some shells have features that look like female breasts and vulva. If you work with Aphrodite, honor her with an offering of seashells.

Oyster shells represent a mysterious deep, hidden beauty of a woman and of course feminine divine. Our ancestors used to use the seashells for hair decoration and jewelry pieces. Centuries ago, shells were used as a form of currency in different cultures and hold prosperity and abundance properties. The ocean holds tons and tons of shells and they all have a magnetic attraction that grabs people’s attention. The bigger shells like a muscle shell are used for a trey to hold and tap the ashes off of the sage bundle when smudging or sagging and cleansing the home. Some use it to make a small Altar candle, such as a pink or white for purity and self-love, or matters of the heart.

The nautilus shell is a representation of growth and renewal. Nautilus does not shed their shells, instead, their shells expand as their bodies grow. The outward spiral shape of the Nautilus suggests that it can keep growing indefinitely. This shell is used for magical workings on spiritual growth and expansion.

Abalone, known also as sea ears, has a strong elemental bond with the healing properties of water and earth. They are typically found off the coasts of South America, Japan, and China. The native Northwest American Indians use it for offerings, cleansing, and prayers. This shell is known to heal the body from within the chakras points but resonates most with chakras of the third eye, heart, and solar plexus. Abalone greatly reduces anxiety and stress-related problems. Abalone provides relief from heart problems, arthritis, muscular and joint disorders, and pain.

The cowry’s shell is linked to femininity and it is used for spells on fertility, birth, sexuality, menstruation, and prosperity. The cowries are also used as a form of currency in some parts of Africa.

The auger’s shell has both masculine and feminine properties, thus, representing completeness. An auger has a venomous tooth and is known to be aggressive. Augers are linked to Mars and used for decorating headdresses, magickal wands, and dressing protective charms.

Oyster shells are great in spells for good fortune and banishment. They can generate pearls to protect them from irritating grains of sand. It is related to the moon and some cultures view its pearls as tears of the moon. Oysters are used for lunar magic, spells on passion, good fortune, virility, sexual love, and banishment. In particular, oysters shells represent the deep, hidden beauty of womanhood and the feminine divine.

Store-bought shells should be cleansed and recharged before using them. To do this, soak the shells for a day in a bowl of water mixed with sea salt. Recharge them by setting the bowl under the sun or full moon for some hours. This would charge it with the ability to grant your heart desires.

Starfish don’t possess a shell but the starfish is used to represent renewal, good luck, power, and heavenly creatures. When worn as an amulet, it works as an intuition that reminds a sensitive person to adapt and thrive within their surroundings. The starfish speaks to the mystic mind and it is associated with the number 5 which is also linked to the Pentagram. They are used in preparing charms on strength and recovery. It is said to have the capability to regrow a missing limb.

If you enjoy tarot cards and have a deep inner love for the ocean, here is an idea I came across a long while back that I thought I would incorporate into my article.

The Fool- whelk egg casing, Janita shell, The Magician- pear whelk, The High Priestess- crown conch, moonshell, The Empress- conch, cowrie and Junonia shell, The Emperor- auger, with shell, The Hierophant- spider conch, The Lovers- clam, cockles, tulip shell, The Chariot- helmet shell, cone shell, Strength- lion’s paw, bear’s paw shell, The Hermit- drupe shell, frog shell, carrier shell, Wheel of Fortune- whelk, spindle shell, left-handed whelk, Justice- slipper shell, conch, The Hanged Man- mussel, Death- worm snail shell, Temperance- angel/turkey wing shell, The Devil- oyster shell, The Tower- left-handed whelk, The Star- bubble shell, The Moon- moon shell, The Sun- sundial shell, Judgement- scallop shells, The World- worm snail shell, scallop shells

You can also design your special shells to fit you personally.

Gather sand when you are on a beach and put it in a jar. Sprinkle beach sand anywhere around the house to invoke powerful water magic. Set the jar on the west side of your Altar to represent water. Use the sand to draw a magical circle for a sea ceremony or sabbat. Put some sand and several herbs in a spell bag. Then charge it to manifest your goals and intent. Beach magic is calming. The tides remind you of the continuous, changing of life. The old is washed away, but new things are brought in, which include fresh starts and a second wind of energy. Beach sand is the perfect representation of the old going out and the renewed brought in. People consider the beach as a peaceful place. Use beach sand in relaxation, peace charms, helping you sleep, and sleep magic. Ocean water has splashed and drained on the sand over and over. This would likely imbue it with the element of water and the properties of salt. Use beach sand to help one achieve stability through change. It can help pair strength and emotion, and it can help keep one level headed through overwhelming and stressful events.

When collecting things from nature, keep in mind that if you are into asking nature, elements, or local spirits for permission make sure after you ask for the item that you always let the element know why you wish to obtain it and say thank you. If you are into just going off of feeling and collecting things that are safe the by all means do so. Always take into consideration that some places do not like people taking natural things from the area and they will get upset you remove something

Sand, shells, driftwood, and other items found at the beach are nice ideas for offerings to certain deities and spirits depending on what they enjoy.

It is always exciting to find the different colors of feathers on any beach. When they are found at the beach, they represent an abundance of seabirds, to list a few, they are the gull, heron, osprey, egret, sandpiper, pelican, etc. When you find the feather, go research the descriptions of the feather and what bird the feather came from for some extra excitement in your sea magick. Add the identifying information to your BOS. Place feathers on your Altar. They can be added to a dreamcatcher, worn as a charm, or if you find enough, they can be made into some kind of Native American Indian headdress. Feathers are reminders that someone from the spirit realms are watching, and they also represent a connection to the spirit world and divination. Use a large feather as an old-fashioned quill to write your wishes on a piece of parchment paper or crumble up a piece of paper from a grocery bag and write your rites on the paper. Use a hole punch and add it into your BOS or Grimoire book for an added appearance of antique. I f you find a good size feather, use it to waft the sage smoke throughout your home to cleanse the negativity out.

SELENITE

This crystal represents grounding, communication, connections, cleansing, love, vibrations, calming, meditation, spiritual, honesty, expand horizons and awareness, past lives, judgment, spiritual insights, spiritual work, in-depth expansions, auras, chakras, use it with moonstones and light meditations, divination work, telepathic works, gridding, balance, healing, flexibility, alignment of the spine, and neutralizes mercury.

Selenite is named after a Greek goddess, Selene. She is one of the moon goddess’s. It is in the gypsum family and is colorless, but with a white appearance. It gives off the appearance of the moon if in an oval shape and the light hits it, the light radiates through the Selenite, the same glow shines through the crystal that the moon puts out. When this crystal is put under pressure it bends in the direction of the pressure.

 The selenite is a magnificent piece to have in the home.  It is great for the crown and heart chakra. Selenite cleanses the emotional, energetic, leftovers that just sit there and create negativity. Selenite has some of the most powerful energies on the planet. With the help of this crystal, you can reach deeper levels, feel more, and see things that you never have before, or ever thought you would. So be prepared, be warned, or even just ready. This is an absolute tool. The Selenite tool will allow you to use the highest chakra, it will help you to ground your entire body, not just your mind. This will help open places in your mind you have never had a connection with before. 

This has high vibrations, not the same vibrations as others around you and the earth vibrations but the calming, relaxing vibrations you would get from hearing the selenite humming bowl. The nice thing about Selenite is it is a sunstone. This crystal has so much energy flowing through it and is always cleansing its self,  It never has to be charged because of all the natural energy flow and vibration it holds. The Selenite cleanses other crystals and even the body of the owner. This beautiful crystal has a never-ending energy flow. As long as it sits on your Altar top, it will cleanse and charge everything placed on the Altar top. 

Selenite is a soft stone, keep it dry, if it gets wet it will break down very easily. If for some reason you need a piece cut off the selenite crystal, it is best to let an experienced stone cutter do it. The reason for this is because the crystal is so soft that when the crystal is cut into, it tends to put off a soft powdery dust. This dust is toxic to the human body. When you handle it, immediately wash your hands because there are tiny Selenite fibers that can get into your lungs or eyes. If it gets in your lungs, it will cause internal bleeding and cause you to lose eyesight or cause a major eye infection. As long as you wash your hands, you will be fine.

Selenite is feminine by nature and ruled by the moon, and cancer zodiac. She is known by several names, satin, saar, gypsum flower, the stone of light body, and desert rose. Her element is water. Her chakra is crown, third eye, and heart,

JUSTICE/COURT CASES

This article was a personal request. I dedicate this article to Maurizio Kelly.

When I do any casting rites, I have always used all of my tools. I use herbs, crystals, incense, candles, and one crystal, in particular, my Selenite wand. As I go through the article, I will touch on the needed herbs, crystals, incense, and candles, for this type of spell rite. In the end, I will add one of the special spells that I wrote for justice and court cases.

When I started learning stuff for the craft and rites workings, a family member had been in trouble with the law off and on for minor, stupid things for a few years. The last case that he got into, he legitimately should not have gone to jail for. He was not the aggressor this time. He was just trying to defend himself. I started looking and searching for the items needed for the spell that I already had on hand for the court case he was up against. He ended up getting violated unjustly on his probation. I became fed up and decided to take action.

The first thing I did was started looking for the candle that would be needed for his court case. The reason I wanted to create the candle myself is that anything created by your own hands for either your Altar or for rites’ workings holds a lot more strength, power, and/or energy. The more you can make by hand, the more it is guaranteed to produce faster and stronger results. I started researching the properties of the red and yellow candles and then the gained properties for the orange candle. Then I got busy melting down candles. While the candles were melting down, I started researching herbs and spices.

When making an orange candle, it is a combination of red and yellow candles. Yellow holds the property of mental agility and red holds the property of actionable energy. The properties of the orange candle are energy, prosperity, action, sudden changes, energy stimulation, gaining control, changing luck, inciting justice, courage, confidence, self-esteem, power, success, fertility- (due to the red candle), matters of the law, justice, legal cases, warmth, spiritual, personal strength, authority, alertness, and balancing element. It is also a solar color and the representation of the Libras justice scales. It cleanses negative attitudes, promotes emotional healing, draws good things in life, takes action, helps reach goals, brings happiness, inspires emotional healing, alleviates fear and worries, communication, instant change, male by nature, male energies, and the sacral root.

There are three steps in making the candle alone. Orange represents justice and court cases. Orange candles can be found but most are scented. With having to add herbs to the candle, you dont want to purchase a scented candle. With this being said, I buy the $1.50 candles, the wax, and wax dye, or I will buy the orange wax and melt it down and get some wicks.

Other times, I will melt down red and yellow wax to create orange candles. Due to them being in their jars already, I can make one and a half of an orange candle. Then put the remaining wax in an old coffee container for later use. Since no rites have been incorporated into any of the wax, it is safe for the remaining wax to be kept. As the wax is melting down, I start gathering up my herbs and start powdering them up so they are ready to mix into the candle wax.

Once the candles are melted down completely, use a medicine plunger to transfer the wax into a new jar. I mix one plunger of red and one and a half to two plungers of yellow to have a nice bright orange mixture. Then put three teaspoons of powdered herbs into the candle jar that holds a measurement of one and a half cups. Keep mixing the wax as you fill the glass jar to get the powdered herbs mixed into the candle evenly throughout the jar. While the candle wax is still liquid, tie one end of thread onto the top of the wick. Then tie the other end of the thread onto the center of a pencil. Wrap the thread around the pencil till the wick is set in the center and held up straight. Once the candle hardens completely, there will be an indention in the center which is called an air pocket. Use your blow dryer, on high heat, and melt the wax at the top of the candle. It will fill in the air pocket. Once again, let the candle harden up at the top again. At this point, your candle is completed and ready.

Next, if you are into sigils, draw some on the glass jar and go over it with dragons blood oil, put it in the sun, or place it under the moon to charge the sigils. Another idea is to put the candle in a bag, get a solid size rock, tap the glass till it cracks, and take the glass off the candle very carefully so you dont cut yourself. Get a thumbtack or a nail, if you have to, borrow a nail from out of the wall behind a picture. Then use the thumbtack or nail to engrave the sigils into the wax. Since the candle was melted down, the air bubbles were taken out of it and the surface should be smooth for drawing sigils. Then rub some dragons blood oil on your hands and rub it onto the candle. I also draw a pentagram on the top and bottom of the candle so the wick is in the very center of the pentagram. I do this for marking the candle with added witchy energy.

You then want to gather up all the crystals you will need for justice, court cases, protection, to lead up to victory in the outcome of your rites. Once all of this is done, the final thing to do is to write out your spell from your thoughts and desired results. If you chose to, you can revise a spell found online but you may not get the same desired results. There is a chance your results will not be as strong or come as fast. I also recommend being precise about the desired request.

When I call upon the gods, I call the god/dess or deity I need to work with and I also call upon Awen, which is the spirit of the universe. Awen adds a lot of energy and power to the workings as it gets sent out and carried out through the openings of the universe and the open space of the sky with the assistance of other spirits to carry it out.

Before I do any spell rites, I do meditation works as to my desired results and listen to the Awen chant to help open up the universe and to call upon Awen for assistance. I use the extra powdered herbs, that I did not add to my candle, to burn on a charcoal disc during the start of my rites. Then I go around the perimeter of my home saying a protection spell to block any evil or negativity from crossing the thresh hold of my home while sprinkling witches protection salt. Then I come inside and sprinkle more witches protection salt at the inside of the door thresh hold. I cast a circle of protection around my family if they are here and my daughter while she is asleep.

I get a small plate or saucer and put out an offering of equal exchange, such as some sweet foods, an alcoholic beverage, milk mixed with honey, bread and honey garlic cloves, rose petals, peanut butter, and jams, and/or fresh fruit. I dont believe in the law of three or the ten-fold regulation. I then go back to my Altar and cast a circle of protection with witches salt and my Selenite wand. I then kneel in respect and appreciation to the gods and/or goddesses I am calling upon for help. I say what has happened and verbally request their aid and assistance in carrying out these rites and start lighting my incense. Once this is finished, I start saying my spell and light my spell candle. I also burn a black candle and a white candle at the same time.

The reason for adding the black and white candles is because they hold properties the spell candle doesn’t. When this is done, all your properties are covered.

Black represents – Banishing, removing negativity, binding, safety, protection, pride, shape-shifting, grounding, learning, indexing, scrying, hexing, defense.

White represents – Purity, protection, moon, transformation, peace, healing, innocence, divination, all-purpose, unity, cleansing, balance, spirituality, aura, truth, loyalty, concentration, strength, higher self, and substitution.

Orange candle – Holds the property of justice, deals with court cases, and evens the judgment of injustice. The candle holds the property of success. That is what you want with your casting. It is male by nature. Anything male by nature holds a hard, solid, abrupt hit. This means the spell rites will take effect immediately and fast. After all, if you’re coming to the Altar for criminal issues, court cases, and justice, you want something with strength and intense results.

Selenite – Grounding the mind and body, communication, connections, cleansing, love, vibrations, calming, meditation, spiritual, honesty, expand horizons and awareness, past lives, judgment, spiritual insights, spiritual work, in-depth expansions, auras, crown, and heart chakras, use it with moonstones and light meditations, divination work, telepathic works, balance, healing, flexibility, alignment of the spine, and neutralizes mercury. It cleanses the emotional, energetic, leftovers that just sit there and create negativity. Selenite has some of the most powerful energies on the planet. It helps open places in your mind you have never had a connection with before. It is always cleansing its self. It never has to be charged because of all the natural energy flow and vibration. It cleanses other crystals, the body of the owner, and a never-ending energy flow. (A separate article of its own.)

Hematite – For legal matters brings positive results for judgment and is a protective stone during difficult times.

Citrine – Used to give confidence and optimism. Carry them on you during the time of your legal issues and court case appointments.

The herbs listed hold a lot more properties than what is here. I documented the properties for the court case and justice.

Here is a list of some of the herbs you can incorporate into your justice/court case rites by mixing into your candle as you are making it and also keeping a little extra to burn on charcoal did for incense. Use a Myhhr incense stick for added power.

Acacia – Burn for altar offering, aids in psychic powers, and meditation.

Agrimony – Protection, return spells to their sender, and promotes sleep.

Angelica – Sprinkle around the house to ward off negativity, protection, and divination.

Anise – Purification, protection, and entices spirits to aid in spells.

Acorn – Good luck, protection, wisdom, and personal power.

Ash – Wands, protection, leaves for prophetic dreams, and prosperity.

Banana – Fertility, prosperity, and Altar offering for the gods.

Basil – Protection, wealth, love, and repels negativity.

Bergamot – Success.

Betony – Purification, protection, to be rid of nightmares, and psychic powers.

Birch – Protection, purification, and wards off negativity.

Blackberry – Protection, health, and prosperity.

Borage – Tea aids psychic powers. Carry leaves for protection.

Broom – Purification. Hang in doorways for protection.

Black Walnut – Access to divine energy, bringing the blessing of the gods, and wishes.

Burdock – Wards off negativity, purifies, and protects.

Buckthorn – Used as a luck generator in legal matters and for winning in court. Put Buckthorn branches near doors or windows to ward off evil and negative vibes. To make a wish, stand in an open area facing east and concentrate on your wish. Turn to your left until you are facing east again steadily sprinkling buckthorn bark powder or a potion made with buckthorn bark, as you turn. Make sure it is completely dried out and powder it up. Buckthorn is also Called, Arrowwood, Black Dogwood, Black Alder Dogwood, Black Alder Tree, Persian Berries.

Calendula Flowers – Protection, legal matters, and carry to help justice favor you in court. It is also known as Marigold, Summer’s Bride, Bride of the Sun, Sun’s Gold, Ruddes, Ruddles.

Carnation – Protection and goddess offering for the Altar.

Cascara Sagrada – In legal matters, sprinkle an infusion of the herb around the home the night before court proceedings to help you win your case. It is also known as Cascara Sagada, Sacred Bark, Purshiana Bark, Persian Bark, Chittem Bark, Bearberry.

Celandine – Cures depression, brings victory and joy, and assists in legal matters. It serves as a protective ward when worn. It is a deadly poison. Use with caution. It is also called Devil’s Milk

Cinnamon – Protection, success, burn for spiritual and psychic powers.

Cinquefoil – Protection, purification, prosperity, and divination dreams.

Fennel – Sacred to the Gods, hungover doorways at Litha, and protection.

Fern – Burn outside for rain and burn inside for protection.

Frankincense – Power, blessing, meditation, and protection.

Furze – Burn at Ostra and preparation for conflict.

Garlic – Protection, Sacred to Hekate, and the flowers are used as altar offering.

Galangal Root – Magickal uses include winning in court. Carry it with you to court to make the judge or jury feel favorably inclined toward you. Burn it vigilantly for fourteen days before a court case, saving the ashes, and bringing them to court in a green flannel bag for luck. Also known as Lo John, Low John, Lo John the Conqueror, Lesser Galangal, Galanga, Colic Root, Garnaut, Catarrh Root, India Root, China Root.

Ginger – Success and love.

Hawthorn – Protection, powerful wands, and fertility magick.

Hazel – Used for wands, healing, protection, and luck. string the nuts in the house, or ritual room to invite plant fairies for assistance.

Heather – (White) – protection.

Lovage – Add an infusion of lovage to the bath immediately before attending court to help bring victory

Marigold – provides good luck in court and other legal matters. Great for bath spells. Also called Bride of the Sun.

I am going to go ahead and stop the list of herbs here. The rest I have available to put down are repeating on protection, and purity, and altar god/dess offerings, but you can see the number of herbs alone for protection is endless.

I hope this gives a great amount of help to those of you fighting any court cases. If it is a civil suit, use what’s here and add a green wealth candle to the orange, black and white candles.

The spell that is added to this article is the one I used for my family member. He was looking at getting twenty years in prison. He was released from the county jail, reinstated on probation, and received a new probation officer. They lowered his fines from sixty-five dollars a month to thirty dollars a month, gave him less community service time, and approved him to reside at a new address. The old probation officer was placed under investigation by the O.I.G. (Office of Internal General) and the Ombudsman is being informed of her work actions and behaviors.

Not all spells have to rhyme. Your intentional casting won’t always have rhyming words to fit the rite’s workings.

God and Goddess hear my call.
Tip the scales of justice now, as (NAME) has been unjustly accused and treated unfairly.
Right the wrongs that have been done. I avenge the courts for wrongful injustice.
I call upon you now my Lord and Lady, just the unjust, avenge my wrongful detainment.
Return the injustice back to who sent and caused this.
The time has come to collect the past due debt. Debt, as they all
forget their wrongful actions way too early.  Works and debts, do not let them get away debt-free.
Bring light forth from what they did in the dark and expose them where they hide. What happens at night will come to light.
Show the unjust mercy and free the injustice. Right the wrong and give too all that’s right and due.

ODIN

The Viking gods hold many names with many meanings. Odin, not only with many characteristics, held many titles. He is the Viking god of war, knowledge, death, kingship, sorcery, king of Aesir, and Norse god. Earth’s people refer to him and worship him as the god of wisdom. He was also known as the top god of nine realms and eventually appreciated peace. Odin contradicts himself often with several things, one being that he shows aspects of feminine elements. He was banished for participation in feministic magickal workings in Asgard. Jalkr refers to the Seidr and questions Odins’ manhood. He was also known by Alfadir meaning all fathers. The family tree throughout Norse history shows a history of incest. There were lots of gods bore of situations like this. Odin being a Norse god sits at the top of their family tree.
He is viewed as a bloodthirsty animal. He lusts after the war and desires victory for self-gain. He has turned peaceful people violent and vengeful animals themselves. He feels at home with savaged animals. They make him feel more powerful and aggressive for war. His son Loki is the same way. Thor is known as a shapeshifter.
Odin is related to the god Woodan, a German god. Odin can be found in the town of Asgard, which is the town of the gods and known as a super deity of them all in absolute. He is also known as a shapeshifter, a mentor of all the new young heroes, and a protector. He has three children and the husband of Frigg.
Odin is known as a one-eyed shapeshifting old man. He is seen in sculpture and historical paintings with two ravens on his shoulders. Their names were Hugin and Munin. He is also shown as a one-eyed old man with a pack of wolves and ridding an eight-legged horse. When he comes to someone, he shows himself to them in a dream.
The nine realms he rules over will be discussed further at a later time:
Asgard * Alfheim * Midgard
Jotunheim * Nidavellir * Hel
Muspecheim *Muspecheim *Nidvaellirs/Svartalfheim
Niflheim
These Norse world realms are held in the roots and branches of the tree of life. Latter on Odin started joining some of these worlds together to make one. These realms are homes of the gods, goddesses, and giants.

OBSIDIAN

Obsidian is a very pretty stone that doesn’t seem to ever lose its shine. Unfortunately, the Obsidian isn’t a stone or a crystal. This is formed by hot molten lava from the volcanic eruptions and was hit with a hard fast cooling point. Once this is done, the lava hardens into a big chunk of glass and is offered in many colors. The other colors offered are black- powerful, creative, protection stone that helps you to get to know yourself better. Blue- divination, telepathic, helps people to cope better with mental health problems. Green- opens up the throat and heart chakras, allows you to be able to speak on matters of the heart.

Mahogany- same as black obsidian just a lot easier going or softer and more delicate. Rainbow- brings about spiritual nature and a strong protector. Red/black- brings vitality. Silver- strengthens meditation practices. Snowflake- this one will help to stabilize energies, is great for calming any fears you hold on to mostly in abusive situations. Gold sheen- solar plexus chakras, clear and purify energy fields of negativity, clears negative emotions when someone is abusing their authority. To make positive use of power by aligning their energy with the Divine or Higher-will and enhancing your power to manifest reality. This will give you an idea of what obsidian will be best for your self or as a gift for a friend or loved one.

This glass stone is a very strong truth enhancing element. It will “make!” secrets come to light. HaHa, beware. The black obsidian will also get you to reflect upon yourself and will give growth to one mentally, and spiritually. Since this is a protective stone. It will block any negative energies sent your way. The obsidian stone is the strongest one out of all the others listed. It is known as the teacher stone, so it would be a good one to gift your children with when they are at the start of their spiritual paths as well.

The black obsidian also will make the deepest hidden mind thoughts come to the surface. Makes any unresolved issues become evaluated. It evaluates attitudes in spiritual growths, protects against psychic attacks, protects from abuse, and is used in protective rituals. It is used in manifestation workings, used in grounding, helps to deal with buried issues, centering, scrying, extend divination, and helps in meditation.

Some of the medicinal uses are that it helps to ease joint pain, helps with detox, aids in digestion, and eases cramping. It physically helps the stomach, intestines, muscle tissues, and also rids a person from viral and bacterial infections. It sharpens the internal and external vision.

HADES

Hades is the Greek ruler of death and the afterlife and the god of the Underworld. Hades, is not the god of death. Hades is the ruler of the dead and the Underworld, but technically this isn’t his role. Thanatos is the God of death. With Thanatos being the god of death, Hades feels caged and stuck because he is not recognized as the god of death.

Hades, at one point, commanded respect from Greek gods since he used to be a god as well. Hades’ brothers Zeus and Poseidon feel they earned that right by killing the guards of the gods. There was a war that lasted ten years called the Titanomachy. They all drew lots to divide up the realms and cosmos of the world. With Hades being the worst acting one of them all he ended up with the underworld and to rule over the dead. Zeus became the god of Olympus, the sky, and king of the olympian gods. Poseidon became the god of the sea. To find comfort, he puts his energy into trying to obtain a larger population in the underworld and doing everything to keep any one of the deceased from leaving.

In the long run, Hades ends up ruling over everything, including the good, the bad, and the indifferent. Most citizens of ancient Greece are not concerned with Hades. Since Greeks are polytheists, they were more concerned with other gods and took them into account instead of Hades. For example, they would ask Aphrodites for love blessings, and blessings for matters of the heart.  Ares, the goddess of war, was more important to the Greeks than dealing with Hades and death. They felt like this because eventually, everyone will come into contact with death, the God Thanatos, and Hades. 

Hades rules the Underworld with his queen, Persephone. He is given the job of judging and torturing the deceased in the Underworld. This was a job he assigned to one of his workers. Like death, he is not moved or changed by grief stories, or of sorrow. It only refers to the large realm of death that he rules. Hades is the original, “He Who Must Not Be Named”. It is also said that he is not to been seen either unless Thanatos has come to take you to the underworld where you will then meet Hades. People not only wouldn’t articulate his actual name but would also refer to him by Euphemisms.

When speaking of Hades or giving him an offering, it’s traditional to avert one’s eyes at the same time. Eye contact is looked down upon. The gates of the underworld are also called Hades and are guarded by Cerberus, a three-headed dog.

The god of wealth is Hades, He is also named Pluto because of the metals mined from the earth. He ended up having several things he was ruling over, not only the dead but also everything in the underworld, including seeds, grains, gold, and silver. It wasn’t as bad as it is made out to be. People ended up naming the underworld after him, calling it Hades.

Another name he has to go by is Pluto — this means ‘the rich one,'” He is linked to his wife Persephone, who is the god of fertility and crops, she gives a pretty good deal. With him being married to the god of fertility he has an input of what comes up from the ground. Hades sounds like he has a pretty cool thing going on.

Hades is even seen as a serious, strict god in greek literature and his three-headed dog Cerberus has always been seen by Hades side and will forever remain in the underworld.

Hades doesn’t draw people or trick them into the underworld the way the devil does in other religious beliefs about the underworld and its domain. Hades is a ruler, not a fallen angel like Satan. Hades rules over anything that falls in his lap. The dead, good and bad, and prevents them from being able to escape. The story, most famous about Hades is about a brief invasion outside of his kingdom. It discusess the capture of his wife, the goddess Persephone, daughter of Demeter and Hades sister, and Zeus. Hades was very smitten with Persephone and a little lonely in the underworld, That’s when the god of the underworld and he who receives many guests made his swoop. Hades tempted her with a beautiful flower, seized her when she bent down to pick it, then drew her into the depths to rule by his side.

I touched on the story of Hades kidnapping Persephone in My article about Hekate, Hekate heard the cry of Persephone’s mother searching for her daughter after Hades kidnaped her from the physical realms. She [Persephone] was filled with a sense of wonder, and she reached out with both hands to take hold of the pretty plaything. And the earth, full of roads leading every which way, opened up under her …

Hades was in his chariot drawn by immortal horses. The son of Kronos. He snatched her up against her will, put her on his golden chariot, and drove away as she cried.

The kidnapping didn’t fly with Demeter, the goddess of grain and agriculture, who mourned the loss of her daughter and neglected her duties, this created a famine in the land. The famine threatened humankind and so, after the god-to-god bargaining — after all, the gods couldn’t let humans die off; who would praise them? — the brothers Zeus and Hades agreed that Persephone could leave the underworld every year for six months to be with her mother.

The only stipulation was that Persephone had to be brought back to Hades every six months, as an agreement and was sealed when Hades tricked Persephone into chowing down on a pomegranate, the magic of the pomegranate mandated her return to the underworld.
Whenever Persephone returns to the underworld for the winter, crops suffer as Demeter mournes.

BALDUR

In Norse it means brave. In Iceland it means bold. Baldur’s parents are Odin and Frigg. Baldur is known as the god of light, purity. He was categorized as a fair, wise, gracious, and, humble god. Baldur was the god of elegance and beauty. He was thought of as the best god, and he was loved by many.

Baldur had a tragic experience in his life that happened right after he started dreaming about his death. He started telling Frigg about this and then everyone became concerned for Baldur’s safety and protection. Frigg decided she was going to cast a protection spell over Balder. She revoked all the town’s people’s magickal powers. The spell she was to cast had mistletoe as an ingredient. The townspeople were at a town hall one day and Baldur dared them all to throw knives at him. Later on, the gods started using Baldur for target practice for knife throwing. They all would get a kick out of the knives bouncing off of him since Frigg cast a protection spell on him. Loki, being Loki, conned Frigg into telling him her secret about the mistletoe that was left out of the spell. Now that her secret was revealed, Loki gifted Baldur’s blind brother Hodr a dagger made of mistletoe. When Hodr threw the dagger at Baldur, he subsequently stabbed him with the dagger and killed him. Baldur was a little mischievous when he would get picked on or bullied. He would run at lightning-fast speeds around the bullies and conk them over the head before they realized anything happened.

Odin met with the Hel goddess to bargain for Baldurs’ life to be returned. Hel agreed, but in return, Hel wanted everyone, alive and dead, to mourn for him. The only one who would not mourn for him was a giant name Thokk. Later, everyone found out that Thokk was Loki in disguise. He then tried to turn into a fish and slip away, but he got caught. Loki was carried off and chained up with Hel for his crime. Baldur was allowed to return home.

ZEUS

Zeus is better known as the famous Greek god of thunder and lightning. The best way to learn about Greek mythology is by getting to know Zeus, the almighty king of all Greek gods. The pantheons are twelve Greek gods that come together to live on M. Olympus. Pantheons mean twelve Greek Gods.
One of the myths says that these twelve Greek gods were always arguing amongst one another and also would torment one another. These twelve could never get along or find common neutral ground. The soul argument between all these gods was because they just couldn’t stop interfering in mortals. The eleven other gods that lived on Mount Olympus were Athena- who has been covered. Poseidon, Hermes, Aphrodite, Ares, Hephaestus, Apollo, Hera, Demeter, and Artemius.

There is one on this list missing. There are various myths about this infamous twelve seater. some stories tell of it being Hades, others tell of it being Hestia. I suppose its duck goose on this last god/dess that would sit in.
Zeus is listed as the “Father of all men” as well as the God and ruler of all the Olympian Gods. Yes, known for a quick temper and would throw around the actions of the sky such as thunder and lightning bolts when he would fly off the handle. He would also be called the God of hospitality and fairness if a guest was to come and settle a bit.

Zeus didn’t like liars, thieves, ones who broke vows or were dishonest about anything that was traded in the market, he would surely tell them about their selves and would have a hard time getting back in good standings with Zeus. He would surely give them a run for their money if they wanted to get right with him. Although there is a myth about him having an affair with Lo, who could be the mother of the son who split his head open to rid him of a horrible migraine for him to bare Athena. so as we can see here he wasn’t so innocent himself. Zeus had many other responsibilities.
Zeus’s name means shinning from the Indo-European roots. Which fits him well as “God of the sky”. Zeus in Latin translates to Deus, in English, it lives in the Deity roll and divinity.
Zeus’s father was Cronus, God of time and his mother was Rhea, Goddess of female fertility. Cronus ate all his children before Zeus was born because he received a prophecy that Zeus would be a very powerful god. Cronus wasn’t sure which one of his children would overtake him so he ate them. yes, Just like Zeus ate his wife, Mother of Athena. as we sit here we now see where Zeus got the bright idea to eat folks haha. Rhea on the other hand was fed up with Cronus eating up all her children and put a big stone in baby clothing and fed the stone to Cronus in place of Cronus eating Zeus.
Zeus was in exile when he was growing up to be protected from his father. When he came into adulthood, he went to find his father and confront him on why his siblings were eaten. Zeus’s grandmother Gaia goddess of earth gave him a potion to feed Cronus. This potion made Cronus throw up his siblings. All the kids fought Cronus and put an end to their father.

This here tells a little about Zeus being born, who his parents were, how he comes about, and where he spent his life, and how up on Mount Olympus.

CANDLES PART 2

By: Lynn Reed
Red – energy, health, vitality, vigor, represent the element of Fire. Red is physical and bestows energy general, dynamic, receptive, passionate love, physical desire, willpower, athletic ability, especially competitive, arousing anger, pure lust, physical gratification. Red is a fiery color, attracts, and magnetizes, hot aphrodisiac, represents blood, sex, fertility, defense, incite passion in love spells, sexual love, passionate, romantic, fertile, eliminate pessimism, negative attitudes, gives strength against enemies, fast action, activity, ambition, assertiveness, battle, competition, combativeness, desire, drive, exercise, lust, mechanical ability, sports, stamina, strength, accidents, injuries, invoke power, and intensity before darker magick rites, spells for revenge, anger, courage, determination, dealing with enemies, in the physical world – in touch with the power of the flesh, temporal pleasures, Physical work, in the healing of people and animals, command the Root Chakra, inspiration, pride, bravery, emotions, purification, arid places, aggressive music like drumming similar to a heartbeat, lightning storms, grounding, stimulates fertility, represents Mars, the god of war, courage, determination, potency, increase life force, for survival, pleasure, righteous anger, overcome injustice, change. Red can be a real strong color and used for honorable purposes and used in a good state of mind. It is a good color for Alchemy, and magickal arts strengthen magnetism in rituals. If red is used in conjunction with darker magic, with a black candle, it will sudden attacks, accidents, danger, bloodshed, violence, with hatred. It is used to create war and cruelty. Mars rules red and masculine. Rites workings using red need the power of the root chakra and is recommended to be performed on Tuesdays when Mars is in waxing. Combined with agate, red jasper, garnet, pyrite, ruby, red tigers eye. Mars, the sign is Aries, Scorpio, Numbers are- 5 and 9.

Orange Candles are a combination of yellow and red. Yellow is for mental agility, and red is for action-energy, so, the color orange represents the properties of vitality, energy, prosperity, positively attracting others, outgoing, assertive, encourages fun, discourages laziness, promotes a happy-go-lucky appearance, adaptability, creativity, sexual attraction – stimulation – magick, enthusiasm, natural impulsive vivaciousness, attraction, attractiveness, friendship, sudden changes, energy stimulation, gaining control, changing luck, inciting justice, encouragement, confidence, courage, self-esteem, independence, kindness, good health, weight loss, joy, buoyancy, spontaneity, power, success. Orange is a solar color, fertility(because of red) both physical and mental, creativity, growth, career matters, pride, courage, heroism, kinship, ambition, trade, enterprise, Plus, matters involving the law, justice, legal cases, warmth, spirit, will, personal strength, authority, alertness, balancing element, cleanses negative attitudes, situations, and places, happiness, emotional healing, sudden change, draw the good things in life, performance arts, Burn an orange candle if you lack vitality and or motivation, setting goals, an excellent source of stimulation, energy, willpower, bring self joy, success, taking action, achieving goals, bringing happiness, enthusiasm, attracting friends, inspires emotional healing, cure fear, doubt, worry, positive attitude, communication, movement, enterprise, sudden change, instant and profound change, weddings, contains male energies, performed on a Sunday, inciting lust and sexual attraction, sacral and root chakras, combined with amber, agate, carnelian, or coral, Planet- Sun, Sun Symbol, Day- Sunday, Chakra- Sacral, Astrological Sign- Leo. Leo Symbol, and the numbers 1 and 8.

Yellow- brainpower, focus, concentration, intellect, creativity, logic, learning, improve visualization, improve memory, confidence, charm, persuasion, attractiveness, to compel others, inspiration, knowledge, wisdom, mental strength, clarity, communication, power, self-esteem, promotes cheerfulness, optimistic outlook, invoke or represent the element of Air, access the wisdom, gain control over mental powers, endurance, stability, the security, passing school tests, increasing intelligence, get insight to problems, logical conscious, alters dark mental mood swings, Enhance knowledge for healing, concentrate, improve, increase learning ability, speech, writing, publishing, success, careers in business, communications, media concerns, break mental blocks, eliminates obstacles, good luck, associated with the East – fire element, Yellow candles for spells intended to heighten visualization abilities. Yellow is used for mental clarity, activity, comfort, joy, swift action, accuracy, cheery, positive disposition that is full of charisma, spells to enhance your fulfill your ambition, attain your goals, encourage the activity, mental exercise, gain a person’s confidence and approval, gossip, jealousy, slander, interviews, spiritually, astral projection, overcome addictions, break bad habits. Yellow has a male energy. It is also good for friendships, lonely, helpless, depressed, enhances communication, encourages communication, especially in relationships, workings of black magick, yellow is used to incite infidelity, cowardice, decay, disease, dying, insanity, and inconsistency in others, a messenger of gods, rules over yellow, mental work, meditation, will, and intellect, divination, fortune-telling, and prophecy, confidence in spell casting, will, imagination, power in rituals.
Golden yellow – friendship, goodness, and faith, charm, trust, Summer, children’s laughter, upbeat music. Pastel yellow – Spring, psychic endeavors, and creativity, improve balance, self-esteem, charisma, divination, creativity, the strength of will, vitality, purpose, effectiveness, 3rd solar plexus chakra, intellect, and communication, working on a Wednesday, yellow jasper, yellow calcite, golden tiger eye, or citrine. Planet- Mercury, Mercury Symbol, Day- Wednesday, Chakras- Solar Plexus, Astrological Sign- Gemini, Gemini Symbol, Virgo, Virgo Symbol, and number 1 and 12.

Green Candles – beginnings, growth, nature, renewal, rejuvenation, harmony, balance, healing, good health, regain goals, money, financial success, good luck, good fortune, earning increases, financial, material gain, possessions, riches, abundance, cooperation, generosity, charity, and matrimony, Goddess and her green earth. prosperity, bountiful harvest, finding employment, business, success, growth, garden, crops, money, wealth, money to transcend, money-drawing spells, business, career, the achievement, personal goals, In darker magick, green is used for jealousy, greed, suspicion, resentment, sickness, disease, and disharmony, money growth, prosperity rituals. When green candles are burned in rituals for wealth or money gain, they manifest a gradual increase in profits or a necessary resource, heart chakra, jade, aventurine, peridot, or green tourmaline, Planet- Venus, Venus Symbol, Day- Friday, Chakras- Heart, Astrological Sign- Taurus, Taurus Symbol, Libra, Libra Symbol, and the number 2, 3, 7.

Blue- is good to use in spells about spiritual well-being, meditation, healing, rest, serenity, patience, kindness, inner calmness, inner peace, sincerity, encouraging fidelity, loyalty, knowledge, wisdom, gaining truth, contact with Higher Self, establish harmony at home, increasing occult wisdom, power, spiritual protection, dream magick, prophetic dreams, summoning demons, feeling indecisive, nervous, to think clearly, to gain hope, courage, impulsiveness, fight depression. Fear of flying and other forms of travel can be helped by burning a blue candle, house blessings, healing, curing fevers, re-uniting friendships, Burn a blue candle for spells to affect sleep, calm, harmony, satisfaction, bliss, oneness, understand spiritual realms. Blue is the color associated with the West, the water element, blue represents emotional work, soothes, and cools, bright blue is an inspiration and clear communication. The deep blues are good for wisdom, royalty, and protection. Devotion, honor, and loyalty are associated with deep blue, balances logic with intuition, protection, sleep, prophetic dreams, confidence, of crisis, turmoil, thoughtfulness, harmony, communication, resonance. Blue is ruled by Jupiter, royal blue, Thursday, the Moon, light blue, Monday, Saturn- dark blue, Saturday, male energies of Jupiter, Light or pale blue candles is another very spiritual color, they are more in tune with lunar energy, intuition, radiate Aquarian energy, calm waters, and are ideal for pursuing inspirational meditations. Those who light a blue candle are seeking truth, harmony, peace, calm, conciliation, agreement, and guidance, piety, devotional, meditations, For black magick, blue can be used for creating a depression in your target, lack of sympathy, coldness, and causing a gloomy feeling. Jupiter rules royal blue, using blue energy is done on Thursday, throat chakra, sodalite, lapis lazuli, blue lace agate, and turquoise, Planet- Jupiter, Jupiter Symbol, Day- Thursday, Chakra- Throat, Astrological Sign- Sagittarius, Sagittarius Symbol sky blue, co-ruler in Pisces, Pisces Symbol, and numbers 4 and 6.

Indigo candles- represents ambition, awareness, balance, karmic, spiritual, clarity, clairvoyance, spiritual communication, ancestor connections, consciousness, dignity, discipline, divination, endurance, fear, honesty, karma, marriage, peace, purification, quests, rebirth, renewal, relationships, clear sight, spirits contact, truth. Planets- Jupiter, Venus Symbol, Neptune, Neptune Symbol, Saturn, Saturn Symbol, Uranus, Uranus Symbol, Venus, Venus Symbol, Day- Friday, Saturday, Thursday, Chakra- third Eye, Astrological Sign- Aquarius, Aquarius Symbol, Capricorn, Capricorn Symbol, Pisces, Pisces Symbol.

Purple – assist meditation, increasing psychic ability, awakening third eye chakra, intuition, visions, scrying, divination, astral travel, past-life work, fortune telling, bringing wisdom, spiritual power, strengthening magical powers, spiritual activities, contact the spiritual world, spiritual awakening, spiritual protection, ancient wisdom, remove curses, healing, enthusiasm, idealism, material, power, supremacy, royalty, sovereignty, dignity, ambition, control, command, mastery, honor, respect, recognition, influencing people in power, combined blue candles – used in healing rituals, severe illness, when meditating with a purple candle you can reduce stress and insomnia, the color of royalty, stands for judgment, industry, planet Jupiter, Thursday, seventh- Crown Chakra, old age, represents multiple astrological signs – Gemini, Virgo, Libra, Sagittarius, and Pisces, spiritual centering and meditation, extend consciousness, cosmic awareness. If you want to go big, use purple, spirituality, health, or love, money brings money, the rich get richer, poor get poorer, Purple brings more of what you already have, in a bigger way, wisdom, high idealism, brings knowledge of higher realms of magick, spiritual protection, healing, becoming of your highest potential, reverse a jinx or curse, purple can manipulate the law, business, commerce, courts, judges, officials in a position of power, power, psychic ability, and male energy. A purple candle can influence older men of power and women with a strong male nature. keeper of hidden knowledge, wise instructors, unconscious wisdom, color for the mystic, purple auras are sensitive, extremely aware. They need time to there selves, assist in mirror scrying, psychic protection, used for rituals where facts are not clear, secrecy, healing the spirit, banishing the past but haunts the present time, remembering the deceased, Students of esoterism believe that purple candles have the power to cancel out the negative effects of bad karma. Ancestorial wisdom and purple are related to the third eye. steeped in meditation, divination, hidden knowledge, spiritual protection, find recognition, used against black magick, demonic possession, ward away evil, Purple puts a veil up of spiritual protection. For black magick, it is used to cause tyranny, abused power, bring sadness, treachery to others. Jupiter rules purple. Workings using the color purple should be performed on Thursdays, psychic power needs the energy of the sixth chakra and the third eye and should be performed on Mondays when the Moon is placed and full. Purple is male, rituals are Thursday. Use with amethyst, sugilite, peacock ore, purple kunzite, and purple fluorite. Planet- Jupiter, Jupiter Symbol, Neptune, Neptune Symbol, Day- Thursday, Chakra- third Eye, Astrological Signs- Sagittarius, Sagittarius Symbol, Pisces, Pisces Symbol, and the numbers 7 and 8.

Gold – astral realms, attraction, awareness, beauty, confidence, connections, bless, consciousness, creativity, darkness, divination, energy, friendship, happiness, healing, the home, illumination, increase, influence, intuition, knowledge, light, power, protection, security, strength, skills, well-being, wisdom. Planet- Sun, Sun Symbol, Day- Sunday, Chakras- Solar Plexus, Heart, Crown, Astrological Sign- Leo, Leo Symbol, Sagittarius, Sagittarius Symbol, Virgo, Virgo Symbol, and the numbers 1 and 6.

White – cleansing, purification, healing, blessings, protection, purity, chastity, truth, sincerity, peace, spirituality, enlightenment, prophecy, clairvoyance, clarity, rest, wholeness, joy, repels negative energy, releases tension, helps with meditation, assists in happiness, unity, highest color in spirituality and protects, purify, heal, stands for truth, unity, harmony, Since all colors are made from white it can be substituted for any other color in any rites if necessary. It, therefore, gives a strong presence, eliminates negativity, concentration rituals, meditation, protective, consecration, cleansing rituals for healing, spiritual matters, rites-of-passage work, birth, marriage, Monday, the day of the moon. White is the color of Ceremonial Magick, ceremonies, rituals, purity, friendship, infancy. Crystal white is the color of sincerity, and divinity, blessings, For black magick rites, white can be used to create weakness, neurosis, and fear. The Moon rules white, rites using white candles should be performed on a Monday, uses the energy from the third eye. Use with clear crystals, moonstones, white stones such as the opal. Planet- Moon, Moon Symbol, Day- Monday, Chakra- Crown, Astrological Sign- Cancer, Cancer Symbol, and the numbers 1, 2, 5, 7, 9.

Pink – devotion, tenderness, affection, warmth, compassion, honor, friendship, faith, forgiveness, joy, harmony, sensitivity, emotional and spiritual healing, self-love, emotional love – not physical form, without a sexual connection, love freely given with no conditions, for example – feelings between parent and child, close friends, family, pure love, selfless love, feminine, love for friends, family members, unselfish emotions, and to start a relationship, lighting a pink candle says they are interested in starting a partnership, a form of universal love, unconditional, enduring, added to rites for attracting, attention, family, love, romance, respect, moral, attractiveness, beauty, purity, faithfulness, reconciliation, spiritual love, gentleness, sensitivity, nurturing, soothing, pleasantness, joyful conversations, togetherness, gentleness, and spiritual fulfillment. dark pink – help to break up bad conditions of several types, dispel negativity, hot pink – joy and pleasure, Venus, the goddess of love, healing wounds, emotions, quiet sleep, rebuilding trust, and new relationships, female energies, and feminine rituals, use rose quartz, tourmaline, and rhodonite, planet- Venus, Venus Symbol, Day- Friday, Chakras- Heart, Astrological Sign- Cancer Cancer Symbol, Gemini, Gemini Symbol, Libra, Libra Symbol, Taurus Taurus Symbol, Virgo Virgo Symbol, and the number 6 and 9.

Black candles- are used to fight evil, provide protection, absorb or remove, unblock, binding, banishing, reversing curses and hexes, uncrossing rituals, absorbing or destroying negative energies, repelling black magick, protection from illness or evil, removing confusion, ridding of bad habits, healing discord, shapeshifting, and meditation rituals, also associated with grey or darker magickal workings, it can be used to curse, hex, or jinx, it can be used for positive rites as well, for example – absorb illness and stop a bad habit, opens the subconscious mind, deeper meditative state, bind bad or negativity, absorbs all colors, used to absorb/banish negativity, strengthens inner strength, self-control, used in meditation to dig deeper into the unconscious, burn a black candle for strong healing, support through loss and grief. The burning of a black candle is not for the faint of heart, gives protection from illness, evil, removes negative energy cast upon you from outside forces, burned to capture healing energies of the universe, Black is the strongest of all colors, it absorbs light, black reflects very little, if any, gives the false impression that black is the absence of color, it is the absence of color reflection, it absorbs all light with little or no reflection given out, if used correctly, it can be one of the most useful and powerful colors, if used incorrectly, it can cause serious damage, black candles are used to absorb, and remove anything or to end something or to even manifest a desire, Black also represents the Crone of the Triple Goddess, it is ruled by Saturn, massive strength in all forms of banishing magickal rites, removing, or getting rid of sorrows, toxic relationships, acknowledging grief, and for rituals of parting. Black, and brown, are acceptance colors, containing both male and female energies. Rituals using these color candles are best worked on a Saturday, You should not use black candles if you consider them evil or dangerous. Black candles contain enormous power and can be used in magic where you are attempting to discover a secret or you are trying to determine the truth about something, they should not be used by children or by people who are emotionally drained. This is because black contains powerful energies that need to be handled carefully. A black candle exorcises evil spirits, cures severe diseases, absorbs and destroys negative energy, eliminates obstacles, it is used for deep states of meditation and it opens up the subconsciousness, used to banish evil or ward off negativity, it is used in uncrossing rituals and initiated in destructive magickal rites as well. Black is used in Sorcery and darker rites relating Saturnian energies, represents foreboding, fortitude, consistency, black is used as a protection color for magickal tools, rites of destruction are used in slower destruction of enemies, as opposed to accidents or sudden attacks associated with the color red, great for discord and confusing enemies, used for protection, binding negative forces, and breaking up obstacles and blocks, used to reverse and break up negative thoughts, absorbs, conceals, creates chaos, gaining knowledge of hidden things. Saturn rules black and used for retribution and when stabbed in the back–retaliation, . Be careful, you might want to punish someone immediately with a hex and make them suffer, it encourages self-control, endurance, as well as patience. Spells using black energy are best performed during a waning Moon, on a Saturday when Saturn is in waxing, use a jet obsidian, tourmaline, or onyx. Planet- Saturn, Saturn Symbol, Day- Saturday, Chakra-Root, Astrological Sign- Capricorn, Capricorn Symbol, co-ruler in Aquarius, Aquarius Symbol, and the numbers 8 and 13.

Lavender – peace, gentleness, calmness, tranquility, protection spiritual, consecrate/bless, inner healing, growth, insight, introspection, marriage, the underworld, divination, dreamwork, psychic ability, intuition, paranormal, sensitivity, dignity, and spiritual shields, softer side to purple, softer than violet but with a touch of pink, manifestation, selflessness, spirituality, compassion, understanding, inspiration, spiritual assistance, calming, Planets- Neptune, Neptune Symbol, Venus, Venus Symbol, Day- Friday, Chakra- Heart, Throat, Third Eye, Astrological Sign: Libra, Libra Symbol, Pisces, Pisces Symbol.

Brown – balance, grounding, home stability, nurturing, Earth magick, animal magick, home magick, friendships, agriculture, travel, increase, material gain, healing, longevity, beginnings, rebirth/renewal, Earth, represents the element of Earth, comforting, nurturing, fertile, stable, holds a grounding balance, connection to the land, intuition, psychic powers, ESP, telepathic abilities, survival, learn to ground, center your consciousness, connection with nature and the surrounding world, Earth’s energy, the color of soil, feminine, related to its sisters the Moon and Saturn, use on Monday, Friday, or Saturday. Foot chakra helps pass the Divine Energy to Mother Earth, which makes grounding powerful, it helps pass energy to all the chakras, as the energy is received from Earth. Since brown candles are associated with the Earth, they are used for spells regarding security, property, and real estate and the protection and balancing of a home, used to attract the Earth Spirits, reliable, conservative, unchanging, stubborn, obliging, should be used if your magick is connected with real estate, protect animals, pets, familiars, heal animals, brown Wizards usually work in pet stores, animal hospitals, animal shelters, zoos, park rangers, and wildlife rescuers, always surrounded by critters – pets, farm animals, wild creatures, and animal companions, communicating with nature spirits, grounding, centering your self, in black magick, brown is used for inciting indecision, hesitancy, sadness, dullness, uncertainty, feet chakras are used. Energy should be absorbed from the earth through the feet of chakras. Planets- Earth, Earth Symbol, feminine, Saturn, Saturn Symbol, masculine, dark brown, Pluto, Pluto Symbol, Day- Saturday, Chakra- Feet, Sacral, Solar Plexus, yellow-brown,
Astrological Sign- Capricorn, Capricorn Symbol, Gemini, Gemini, Symbol, Libra, Libra Symbol, Virgo, Virgo Symbol dark brown, Scorpio, Scorpio Symbol (reddish-brown), and the numbers 4 and 8.

CANDLES PART ONE

By: Lynn Reed
A true definition of a candle is as follows– they are usually molded or dipped mass of wax or tallow containing a wick that may be burned to give light, heat, or scent. They are also used for celebrations purposes, something resembling a candle in shape, or used as a sulfur candle for fumigating.

Im going to touch on something a lot of people wonder about. There is so much information on a multitude of things except candles. I thought I would write a little about what I have always heard all my life about the candles. Plus, some of the other meanings that most have not heard about before.

The candle flame represents the light in the darkness of life, mostly your individual life. Im not sure how many have heard of the saying ” What happens at night, will come to light”? This may make sense now about the candle flame representation. The illumination is the symbol of the truth. Lit in times of death, they signify the light in the next world. They represent peace and calmness. Candles are used to summon gods, and to honor them. Purification and cleansing are closely related. Festive in nature. They are used to ward off evil spirits. As long as your candle continues to burn, your rights are working, sometimes stronger or weaker than intended. For Samhain, candles were carried from eleven till midnight. If the candle went out it was an evil omen. If it didn’t, it meant one year free from witchcraft attacks.

If you’re curious about incorporating witchcraft into your spiritual practice and magickal rights, candle magick is a term that some who practice would rather use. It is a good introduction because it’s so simple and inexpensive. All you need is a candle, something to light it with, and an intention or purpose. If you happen to have herbs, you can powder up your herbs to add to your candle and intention.
Candle magick is also a form of alchemy in which all the elements are represented. You have the flame, air to feed it, melted wax represents the water, and solid wax for the earth. If you add powdered herbs, the herbs can also represent the earth or even crystal pebbles in the bottom once you melt it down to remold it. Other than the basic elements, you can use whatever colors, herbs, oils, crystals you want that will suit your intentions and rights workings. You can do candle magick with any type of candle, as long as your intention is there, keep in mind though, the color of the candle has and properties have to match your intentions. I do not purchase scented candles. If a smell has to be added, I add a drop or two of essential oil to the candle wax after I have melted it down and use a tree twig to mix it with.

Candle magick can be made to your specific desire. Everyone has a different practice and a different path, not a lot of diverts from the true practices, but some things are tweaked for other desired intentions, That is as it should be. Pick and choose what you want to incorporate and pull from other practicings if you wish, but do it as close to the authentic, ancient, and ancestorial ways as possible.

This is known more along the lines of being an eclectic witch. You can start by putting your candle on a cleansed dining room table or clean and purify your Altar and go to it at the same time every night to meditate on your intentions until the candle has quit burning or the wick is gone. For the nights the candle is burning observe how the flame is burning. Never blow out the candle. Pinch the wick or use a bell snuffer to put the flame out. You could blow out your intention, and I have also heard that you are blowing away the gods or spirits you have called upon.

When I try to solve a problem, sometimes I’ll put just a dab of witches protection salt on my white or black candle. Cinnamon is used for purification and protection. Yellow candles are for focus and intellect. You can buy a ritual candle for just a few dollars. Metaphysical shops sell little candles for rituals in a large selection of colors for cheap. So it is really easy and quick to just get a candle, add your intended purpose of its job, and add any other ingredients. The strongest works come from hand made items. Even just melting down the wax and reshaping or molding it is better than just as is when bought. It is the quickest and easiest magic to perform. Most of the time, when you purchase a ritual candle from the metaphysical shops, the intent is almost already added because each candle color has its purpose to work with. They each have their properties. Some of their properties are closely related, such as red and pink for love and self-love. You simply call out what part the targeted purpose is.

You can add on meanings by engraving symbols, runes, sigils, or even a name and a birthday on the side of the candle. Working rights are all about adding unique meanings to things. It makes much more sense while you’re doing it, as well as pinpointing your intended target.

If you’re looking to use candles for your working rights, take some time considering your plans in advance. Put some thought into what you want to draw in. Then go shopping with a clear mindset allowing your intuition to guide you to what you need at that moment and pay attention to what pulls you to it.

You need to consider all the characteristics of the candle. “Think about your intentions and your target and if it will fit, and how you can best symbolize that in the candle. What smell should you add? If any? How long do you want it to burn for? Do you want to shape or form it into a silhouette, do you want a female or male candle? Do you want a penis or vagina as a representation of a male or female? do you want a vehicle formed to represent a car wreck or a mechanics job? A blue eye candle help bring forth sights or strengthen sights? There are so many things you can use candle magic for. If you want to buy a spell candle with an intention already set, buy them from an actual witch, wizard, sorcerer, magician, or apothecary that “knows their stuff.”

You will hear, or see results coming to the surface fairly quickly. Candle magick is fast-working and plays no games, and is intense, so be sure that this is what you want and by all means, be prepared for the outcome. An example of a witch using candle magick —It was believed that witches would use holy candles to put a curse on individuals. When the witches would do this, it was talked of that they would say “the Paternoster”, and drop the holy candle in a man’s steps that they hated, and say “hath done his feet rotten off.”

Candles have been used as a LIGHT source for celebrations for more than 5,000 years. Candles played an important role in religious ceremonies. Hanukkah, the Jewish Festival of Lights which is homes in on the lighting of candles goes back to 165 B.C. There are Biblical sources to candles, and Emperor Constantine has also been documented to have called for the candle usage during an Easter (Ostar) service in the 4th century.

The Colonial women made America’s first design of candlemaking. They found out that boiling the grayish-green colored berries from a bayberry bush created a sweet-smelling wax and it has a clean burn when used. Although, getting the wax from the bayberries was extremely time consuming and tedious. As a result, the bayberry candles quickly disappeared.

Ancient people would stare into the candle flames and it would reveal mysterious things. By staring into a flame, you can go into an altered state of mind and see the gods, the future, what will happen, who it is going to happen to, or someone you’re supposed to be with or do some workings with. You could receive answers to things that need some resolution, today, doing this is called meditation, and having sights.

Around the third century the Egyptians would use lamps, and candles, in a magic ritual for getting answers from dreams. During ancient times, a person would go to a cave, sit facing south, and stared into a flame, once he saw a god, that person would lay down in the cave and sleep, expecting the god to come to him in his dreams with the answers he was looking for.

Most Western cultures relied on candles created from animal fat called tallow. A huge improvement came during the middle ages was to use of beeswax to make candles. It was introduced in Europe by a traveler. Beeswax wasn’t like animal tallow, beeswax burned pure and clean, it didn’t make a smoky flame. A very sweet smell came from the beeswax instead of a nauseating decaying, odor of tallow. Beeswax candles started being used at church ceremonies, the beeswax candles were expensive, and if you are not rich, you could not afford to burn them in your home.

When the fourth century came around, both candles and lamps were both part of Christian rituals. It was not until the ending of the Middle Ages and the twelfth-century candles that were placed on church altars. The Catholic Church used the consecrated holy candles in rituals of blessings, cleansing away the sins, and in exorcisms.

The whaling industry, late in the 18th century, brought the first large change in candlemaking since the Middle Ages when crystallizing sperm whale oil made a wax, (called spermaceti), became available in large quantities. Like beeswax, the spermaceti wax did not give off an odor when burned and would give off a much brighter flame. It was harder than tallow or beeswax. In return, it wouldn’t soften or bend from the summer heat. Historically, it has been documented that the first “standard candles” were made from spermaceti wax.

Candles became a common household item for Europeans, by the 13th century, candle making had become a booming craft in England and France. The chandlers- candle makers, would go from home to home to make candles from the fat saved for them to make candles with. They would make and sell their handmade candles from small candle shops.

Historical evidence has been found that many early civilizations made wicked candles using waxes made from plants and insects. Some of the first Chinese candles were molded in paper tubes. They rolled rice paper to make the wick. Sometimes they made their wax from a naturally found growing insect combined with seeds. In Japan, candles were made from wax extracted from tree nuts. In India, candle wax was made by boiling cinnamon tree fruit.

The ancient Egyptians used candles as early as 300 BC. Even though their candles didn’t have a wick, they used plant reeds instead. The reeds were soaked in tallow for days. The original use of candles started with the ancient Egyptians. Originally, they would wrap old frayed cloth material that was no longer useful as clothing material. They would wrap it around a large stick and dip it in tallow for several hours at a time to soak the material to get it to burn for a longer period. The cloth didn’t burn as much. Then would mount them on the walls to light their way through the castles and pyramids.

Ancient Romans are given credit for creating the first wicked candle. Before that, dipping rolled papyrus repeatedly in melted tallow or beeswax. They were also used to help travelers at night to see passing by, for religious ceremonies, and rituals.

Later on, the Egyptians and Romans made candles from sheep and cow tallow. Tallow was melted into a liquid form and poured over flax, hemp, or cotton fibers, which was used as a wick. Tallow was always available and could be made in large quantities. They would melt tallow, and candles were made by dipping wicks in it to form tapered candles. These tallow candles dripped and smoked, they had a horrible smell. They also gave off very little light and burned fast. Poor people in the early 1800s made candles from the tallow that was collected during the annual autumn slaughter. Cows, sheep, pigs, and goats contributed to the 400 candles, which was the average every household needed a year to keep the lights on. Sheep tallow was everyone’s favorite because the smell was not as bad as the others.

During the witch-hunts of the Middle Ages and Renaissance, and the ones of unruly questions. Handbooks, such as the Malleus Maleficarum, recommended holy candles as among those consecrated objects that were used for protecting yourself from any injuries caused by witches. Farmers would use holy candles to protect their livestock from danger and curses cast by witch rite workings.

There used to be candles made from human fat and thought to hold property of human life’s energy, and used in the Black Mass of the 17th century, as well as other black magic rituals. The Petit Albert, an 18th-century grimoire, says a “Magic Candle” that was made from human tallow would tell you where the buried treasure was at that would bring great wealth. The one hunting for the treasure took the candle into caves or very dark places. When the candle started sparkling brightly and hissed, the treasure was available. The closer they got to the treasure, the stronger the candle burned. When you were right there at the treasure, the candle would go out. Treasure hunters were advised to carry along lanterns with consecrated candles not only for light but to conjure the spirits of dead men who were said to guard the buried treasure. The spirits were summoned in the name of God and promised anything to help them find “a place of untroubled rest.”

At the turn of the 19th century, Francis Barrett, author of The Magus (1801), wrote that candles made of “some saturnine things, such as a man’s fat and marrow, the fat of a black cat, or the brains of a crow or raven. They are extinguished in the mouth of a man lately dead. It would bring great horror and fear upon the spectators about as often as it shone alone.

In folklore, candles have a strong association with the dead. Perhaps dating back to old Jewish customs, later adopted by Christians, of lighting candles for the dying and dead. A lit candle placed by the bedside of a dying person is believed to frighten away demons. One Jewish custom calls for keeping a lit candle for a week in the room where a person died to purify the air. In American folklore, a candle burning in an empty room will cause the death of a relative. Superstitions about candles hold that a guttering candle means someone in the house is about to die, and a candle that burns blue means a ghost is nearby.

SAMHAIN

BY: Lynn Reed

Halloween stems from the Celtic and Christian traditions.
While it has always been a morbid, but spooky celebration, it has changed a bunch over the centuries. The tradition began with the Celtic festival of Samhain with our ancestors, lighting bonfires and wear costumes to ward off ghosts. We would do this to blend in with any other spirits that came to haunt the All Hallows Eve, the only day a year they were allowed out to go run free. The history of Halloween goes back to a pagan festival called Samhain. The pagan and Christian occasions hadn’t always been back to back, though. Up until the 7th century, All Hallow’s Eve was on May 13. Maybe to offset the occasion with a religious celebration, Pope Boniface IV decided to change the observance to its date of November 1 date. Hundreds of years ago, people would dress up as saints and would go from door to door, which is the origin of Halloween costumes and trick-or-treating.

November 1 is All Saints’ Day, a Christian feast dedicated to celebrating the departed, and all saints. In Christian beliefs, people start celebrating major Holy Day feasts the night before it happens. Halloween’s beginnings are in the Catholic, and Christian religions. The Catholic holiday, All Hallow’s Eve, means the night before All Saint’s Day. Halloween is an antique way of saying the night before All Saints’ Day also called Hallowmas or All Hallows’ Day.

Hallows’ Eve, as it’s known by to, made its way to the United States by European immigrants in the 1800s and brought the witch’s costumes with it. With no scientific evidence, we could conclude that at least one out of four people has dressed up like the hooked-nose, broom riding, cauldron-stirring, wart-faced caricature at least one time in their Halloween experience.

Halloween is on October 31 because the ancient Gaelic festival of Samhain was considered the earliest known root of Halloween, occurred on this day. It marked a turning point in the time of year when the seasons changed. More important than that, observers believed the realms between the physical world and the spiritual world became extremely thin and was enabling them to connect with our ancient ancestors. This is shared by other cultures as well. Similar ideas are mentioned at Yom Kippur, a Jewish holiday. This occurs in October, also involves prayers for the ancient ancestors. This is also where Halloween got its “haunted” connotations.

Samhain has a lot of ritualistic ceremonies and rites to be able to connect with the spirits, as the Celts were polytheistic. While there isn’t a lot of information known about the ceremonies, others think the Celts celebrated in a costume made from simple animal hide from wildlife skin from a deer and such, as a disguise from the spirits, special feasts were enjoyed, and lanterns were made by hollowing out gourds; With this being done it started the carving of pumpkins and dropping in a lit candle. Over time, as Christianity took over, the pagan undertones of the holiday became less and less.

Halloween dates back at least more than 2,100 years. A time when Celtics celebrated New Year’s Day, or Samhain, As legend tells it, that the day before, or Samhain eve, Halloween day, faery and demon spirits would appear, as they traveled to the afterlife. Celts dressed in costumes to ward off the evil spirits and tap into the souls of their ancestry. Have you ever wonder why the broomsticks were a witch’s tool? Brooms were not technically meant for flying. In Celtic times, they had a bigger more mundane purpose. It was used to clean an area before a healing ritual could be carried out forthwith.

Halloween and witches will always be linked together just as roses and chocolate candies have been. Witches will always be one of Halloween’s favorite personifications for costume dress-ups as long as there are kids going trick or treating. Hundreds of years ago, people would dress up as saints and would go from door to door, which is the origin of Halloween costumes and trick-or-treating. Knowing the appreciation of the historical value of witches throughout history will definitely increase your Samhain enjoyment this year. One day a year we can be the way we are, and dress the way we want, and are comfortable doing so, showing out as a witch, blending with the background, and no one has a clue, is a wonderful breath of fresh air. Halloween has been linked to Samhain, It is the Celtic festival of the summer’s end celebrated in Ireland, Scotland, and the Isle of Man.

This century witch costumes have changed dramatically, and not many people will dress up as the ugly, old, wart-nosed witchs that are thought of in the myths, legends, and folklore. The women or better said, the witch of today, enjoy being a soft character that is, mystical character or creature. Today’s witch likes dressing up as faer folks or as the stereotypical Hollywood wiggle your nose, I dream of Jeanie witch. For the most part, who wouldn’t? It appears to be a fun way of being able to come out of the closet for most, even if it’s for one night. Go for it, have fun, entertain it. It’s a very pleasing and attractive look about today’ witch as well and so easily slipped by the Christian family members without a second thought. A witch costume with a sexy and feminine burst will put the witch in a standstill with a modern spin that most women like to embrace.

As we are all aware, Halloween is on the last day of October, but here’s some of you might not know, The word itself derives from “Hallowed Evening,” and was known by early Europeans celebrating as All Hallows’ Eve. All Hallows’ Eve — October 31st, and All Saints’ Day—November 1st, both paid respect to the saints. The name ended up getting shortened to “Halloween,”. Hallows means saints.

Drag queens started dressing up for Halloween in skimpy outfits in the 1970s. Halloween parade started in Greenwich Village in 1973 and was copied in Castro and West Hollywood, retailers were selling suggestive costumes. From digging around and hunting for old pictures and finding images of enchanting witches riding those broomsticks started in the 1910s, it looks like witches weren’t so much Salem any more but were much earlier than the disco era.

The mystical rituals of earlier times evolved into a more mediocre way of having fun and playing games. For example, then the heavy understanding of contacting the ancestors was replaced with the more simplistic idea of telling the future. One game was bobbing for apples, for example, became as popular as a fortune-telling game on All Hallows’ Eve. Apples would be used to select and represent all of a lady’s corners, and the guy—er, apple—she bit into would represent her husband in the future and Halloween was used as a matchmaking prop for young women in the 19th century.

All Hallows’ Eve ritual was mirror-gazing, this became a popular thing as people would hope to have a vision of their future by looking into the mirror. Party favors were being given out during earlier times such as fortune cookies and such. There were messages written on pieces of paper with milk, the notes were folded up then put into walnut shells. The shells would then be heated on a fire, which would cause the milk to brown making the message visible for the receiving client. People would make offerings of food to get on the good side of these spirits and departed ancestors, according to the Mirror.

Many people dress up in costumes as saints and would sing hymns or verses going from door to door. Children would go from door to door asking for what’s called”soul cakes,” which is like a biscuit. This was derived from the “All Souls Day holiday, Soul cakes on November 2. eventually this was a part of Halloween night and the basic concept evolved into trick-or-treating. The candy-grabbing concept also started in the U.S. around the early part to the mid-1900s, families would provide treats to children thinking they wouldn’t do any holiday jokes.

Costumes started evolving, from earnest costumes as saints, like most things as time goes, just bled out of popularity. Then a young Scottish and Irish guy decided to start pulling jokes come up with the idea to dress up in scary-looking costumes and did this as a way to scare neighbors and passer Byers. An act that simply caused a turning point in costumes and the traditional actions in Samhain. Halloween costumes became scary, spooky, funny, and creative all at the same time.

Halloween is still a very popular holiday in America today. Although Samhain just about didn’t make it across the Atlantic. The Puritans didn’t agree with the holiday’s pagan roots and refused to participate in the celebrations. When the Irish and Scottish immigrants started arriving in America, the greater numbers, the holiday came back. The very first American colonial Halloween celebration showed large public parties to commemorate the upcoming harvest, tell ghost stories and sing, and dance.