Awakening Vasilissa's Doll

Before any poppet or helper doll can be put to work it must be enlivened and connected to either the person in effigy or a spirit you are working with. You can make poppets to represent prosperity, saints, divinities, people ( for healing or hexing), or any other spirit you wish to work with. I like to work with fairies and having a poppet around that represents them in this world helps make the magic with them a little more tangible for me. Here we will be awakening a helper doll much like Vasilissa's from the old Slavic fairy tales.

The first thing you will want for this ritual is activation incense. It's easy enough to make. Blend together in equal measures and burn on a charcoal:

black pepper
ginger
nutmeg

You will also need:

white candle
poppet
water
salt

Set your altar with your poppet upon it in the normal way you would for your own magic rituals and light the candle and incense. Make sure to set circle. Be sure to focus on your need and desire before picking up your poppet.

Hold the poppet over the incense saying:

with this air I give you breath

Make sure to turn the poppet over a few times to let it soak in

Hold the poppet over the flame with out scorching it saying:

With this fire I give you desire

Sprinkle the poppet with water saying:

With this water I give you power

Sprinkle the poppet with salt saying

with this earth I give you life!

Cup your helper doll in both hands draw up the earth energy from your grounding cord. Let it fill you and spill out into your doll. Focus on your helper doll taking on life perhaps from a beloved ancestor or spirit guide you have been working with, but be certain to have chosen this carefully before you begin. When you feel as though the doll is full. begin your chant. Here's the Vasilissa one I have used with success.

Dance with me friend and show me good paths.
Hop in my pocket, help find my desire.
Help me do Baba's impossible deeds,
Help me bring home the needful fire.
Awaken awaken awaken my friend!

Say this until you feel light and buzzy, blow three times on the poppet's face and whisper it's name thrice in its ear. Be sure the first day to put it in your pocket and parade it around to let it get to know your life and needs. Keep it a place of honor in your home and on occasion an offering and smudging do wonders.

http://www.viona-art.com/portfolio/sets/vasilisa-brave

Origami Bird Devotion.

A friend of mine came over this morning for the usual coffee, chat while the little ones take command of the living room and build train sets together. Although we were minus the other child, as she was at home and not with grandpa today. Which works for me right now, because poor little man has caught his sister's cold ( read as: here we go).

Today was let's do some reiki magic today with cranes. . . oh hey, let me teach you how to do cranes. If I wasn't going to do Hecate's night last night I can at least do it tonight, if little man let's me ( read as: I am going to be up all night anyway.) So he was actually pretty good at building origami . . . cranes not so much. This is where the project got interesting. The first crane actually looked like a crane, the others looked clearly like other birds, including a bird of prey! They seemed to be directly applicable to his situation. I will be watching to see what happens with this. I will also be pulling out my Language of the Birds book out here very soon to review anything I may have missed earlier.

I have my craney looking cranes ( I'm soooo boring, I guess) and put them aside for a small devotion tonight. I'll pull out my cast iron cauldron and commit them to flame.

I developed this short devotional ritual a long time ago when I began to realize that as a Mother some of my devotion acts must be short and sweet. Life happens. . . it is quite that simple and I don't always have the time to do exactly what I want to do and I'm pretty fine with that. As far as I can tell, I have had no complaints about being human and alive yet.

Before you start to fold your crane on a square piece of paper or nice origami paper, take a little time to roll a wish around in your head. Make it clear and concise. I also like to make sure that it matches the phase of the moon ( yes I know, crazy right??) When I have a clear statement, I write it down quickly as a rough draft somewhere because there are going to be about fifty million interruptions as I go about my day, especially if some one is not feeling well. I just go with it. As the house quiets down, I get out the paper I will be working with and take my time with the process of building an origami crane.

Artwork by Prince-Zaire on deviantArt.

I usually let a period of time pass before I actually set circle quickly and do any energy work. I am waiting to see who is going to come shuffling out of bedrooms in a sleep walked daze requesting that the freezer be filled with ice cream then settling for water. ( I keep waiting for the part where one says there's a monster under the bed so I can pull my Hog's Father routine out.)

Artwork by Prince-Zaire on deviantArt.

There is a feel to the house when everything has finally settled into night. You can hear the clock pendulum in the library tick and the whole room feels like it's lines with silk instead of child litter. The kitchen smells clean and the air hums. I'll be waiting for this moment tonight.

Light Bringer: Hekate Phosphoros!

We do not teach history; we recreate the experience. We follow the chain of consequences -- the tracks of the beast in its forest. Look behind our words and you see the broad sweep of social behavior that no historian has ever touched.

Bene Gesserit Panoplia Propheticus

Chapterhouse: Dune

Strewing the floors

From cavalcades to ticker tape parades the art of strewing is well and alive. Strewing is a means of sanctifying a place whether it be a somber offering to those who go off to battle or the floors of your hearth and home. Herbs, flowers, leaves and magic powders would be tossed on the ground before the  procession to offer blessings of protection or celebration of a job well done.

My children are always excited by strew days in my home. Just like fear, they smell it coming. The herbs and essential oils come out and they anxiously wait for the mix to be ready so they can help me. It's really the only time when I don't get upset with them for throwing stuff on the floors. The strew changes as the needs of my hearth and home shift and so does the length of time that the strew sits. Most of the time I leave it on the floor for about and hour and vacuum it up after the kids have had their fill of running and shuffling through it with glee. Other time in preparation for a sabat or other magics it can sit for a few days after the ritual before the vacuum has it's say.

When I leave a strew on the floor for an extended period it gets added to periodically. I leave it in honor of the divinities and spirits I am working with to see the magic off in a good way and 'set' it. My cue to break out with the vacuum in these cases is usually indicated through my dream work. Something will signal to me that the working or ritual has been accepted and then it is time to clean up and leave any final offering of thanks.

The first thing you should understand about your strew, is to understand the materials you are working with and have a clear goal in mind. (Always use a glass or wood bowl to mix your strew. Metal changes properties of the essential oils and herbs.) Clearing the house after tough times? Salt and baking soda make a great base. You can add a few drops of essential oils such as rosemary and eucalyptus to aid in the clearing process. Or, if you need to lift up the household spirits a boost of tea tree and peppermint are perfect. Hate using powders on your floor? No problem: herbs vacuum up great without making your vacuum demand filter cleaning. The very best thing you can do for yourself, if you are endeavoring to make your own strews, is to get your hands on a great magical herbal and essential oil book (if you intend to use essential oils.) You will have no shortage of ideas that fit your needs.

Since Oscar night is a huge event in my house, I am posting my Oscar strew. Good luck to all nominees!

Oscar's Strew:

rose petals 2 pts (For the love of the art)
pomagranate leaves 1 pt ( for good luck and wishes)
powdered aloe vera 1/2 pt ( prevention of accidents)
rosemary 1 pt ( celebrations like this can be exhausting . . . mental stamina!)
calendula 1/2 pt ( for happy dreams afterward!)

You've just been recruited!

Earlier I talked a little about penny magic. Here is a fun one we are all familiar with from a different perspective.

"Find a penny pick it  up and all day long you'll have good luck."

What if some witchy is running around leaving lucky pennies head side up on sidewalks and shopping mall floors? Well there is! And now with you reading this: there will hopefully be more. Let the penny games begin!

 I like to indulge in magical pay it forward. I like to use nine pennies that are 95 percent copper, pre 1982. Sometimes I include some of those hoarded leap year pennies in the mix. Really, any penny will do if you haven't had time to sort them out yet. I just like to add as much pow in a working as possible. Copper is a metal that attracts abundances. With this magic, I am calling forth abundances of good luck and joy for who ever picks up these pennies.

I set them on my altar, play some happy music and place energy in the penny pile. An added bonus would be to choose a lucky rune such as one for prosperity or joy to shape your pennies into. As I go about my daily routine while out and about I pull one out, place it head side up while no one is looking and whisper : " Find this penny, pick up and all day long you'll have good luck!" It is best to put these pennies in a place where it would be safe for a person to stop and pick it up; after all, we may be indulging children in their game.


This is a great way to leave happy magic where ever you go. It is especially helpful when things are in such a somber tone around you. A little light goes along way and it only takes one candle to light another. Before you know it the darkness is lifted! Happiness is just as contagious as depression. Happy spelling! You've just been recruited into the Witches' Penny Brigade!

Note: A variation to this casting can include magic pennies you have picked up along the way. After your day is up, put it in a special bag or jar to use in this working. Remember, this is supposed to be fun for you as well. Oh and remember: Silence is golden!

Four Thieves Vinegar

Not last night, but the night before, 24 robbers came running through my door…

OK so there weren’t 24 of them, only four. They were robbing the homes and businesses of the black plague victims AND not catching it which was something unheard of. Apparently as the story goes one of those dastardly dude’s mother was an apothecary, at least this is the version of the story I heard. She had whipped up a brew of cootie whoop ass so they wouldn’t get sick. Whether she knew what her brew was being used for is questionable; no one seems to talk about that detail. Eventually these thieves were caught and in exchange for the recipe they escaped execution.

So today, we have a brew that has been passed down through history that is not only a antimicrobial (if made with food grade materials you can eat it) but it is a potent magickal protection brew used for everything from averting the evil eye to getting rid of bothersome folk. Good stuff to have around as a staple if you ask me.

Here is a common recipe:

 You can make your own “Four Thieves Vinegar” by following the simple recipe below.

Four Thieves Vinegar Recipe: Use equal parts of the following herbs:

• Lavender
• Sage
• Thyme
• Melissa (lemon balm)
• Hyssop
• Peppermint
• A handful of garlic cloves

Let these ingredients cold infuse in a glass jar covered with apple cider vinegar for about six weeks. Shake it up periodically during that six weeks. Filter out the herb and pour into a clean bottle. I like to keep mine in the refrigerator.

While my personal recipe is a little different, the important factor lies in the fact that each of the herbs used are antimicrobial. I also do a similar mix using essential oils that I put in a spray bottle with water to mist around the house when the kids bring home the cold or if tensions in the house get high due to conflict in or out of the home.

You can make a salad dressing of it by mixing 1 part vinegar to 2 parts olive oil. Shake well before pouring over leafy green salads. You can take it by the teaspoon to help ward off winter illnesses.

I like to put about a teaspoon of it into a bucket of water and use it as a cleaning rinse. I also put it in a spray bottle to clean off counter and stove top surfaces.

While all of these seem to be rather mundane uses, the thing you have to realize that as you are physically cleaning, you are clearing out the magickal realms of your home as well. Negative energies love to gather in dusty, dreary, dirty cluttered places and the best way to deal with negative energies in your life is to give them no refuge in your home. WIth no place to hide, negativity and bothersome folk scurry away like the man in black himself is on their tail!

Energetic Effect of Time

Minutes

• 3: circulation and blood stability is affected
• 11: the pituitary and nerves begin to change
• 22: the three minds ( negative, positive and neutral) begin to work together
• 31: meditation begins to affect your whole mind, your aura and internal elements ( earth, air, fire, water, spirit)
• 62: Light and shadows of the mind begin to integrate
• 2 1/2 hours: Holds the subconscious change for the entire day’s cycle

Days

• it takes 40 days to change a habit
• it takes 90 days to confirm that habit
• it takes 120 days for the habit to become who you are
• it takes 1000 days to master the new habit