Chop Wood, Carry Water
It’s amazing how the mind (and the rest of ourselves) falls into routines and patterns and learns to prefer certain methods over others. I am truly a creature of habit.
The majority of my adult life has been spent living on acreages of one sort or another, having access to large tracks of land, privacy and all that comes with it. As such my most effective methods for inducing trance states, (and any or all altered states of consciousness) which would be the step towards Crossing or full on ecstatic work, are built around a rural life. Or at the very least, having a yard or garden.
I am a repetitive motion Witch. Raking leaves, shovelling manure or snow, washing the floor, chopping firewood, pulling weeds, and other similar tasks have been my main methods of entering into trance states for much of my time as a Witch. I can quite easily gradually slip deeper and deeper into an altered state as I dig rocks out of the earth with my hoe until the task is completed and then leaving my tool in the shed, wander off to a pre-prepared ritual spot waiting for my arrival.
This style of trancing… Continue reading
Mastery
There is no such thing as an expert Witch.
There is no mastery of the Craft.
The more you learn, the more you see that one mortal Witch can know nothing compared to all there is in this many layered and multi levelled universe.
There is no need to achieve perfection. In fact if there be any sin in Witchcraft it would be just that. For it is impossible.
One should always be learning, experimenting, adjusting and making the appropriate corrections.
We should always be striving to do better, reach higher and go further. However: You never stop.
There will never be a time where you say; “I can learn no more, I can do no better. I have achieved all there is to achieve. I have reached the highest height.”
There is no such thing as an expert Witch.
There is no mastery of the Craft.
One should never claim to be such, never assume that another is such. Nor should one ever accuse another of being such in any manner, but certainly not as an act of spite or nastiness.
In fact such words as expert, guru, master and so forth should not be in our vocabulary at… Continue reading
Brighid Incense
Lis of Tiger Lilly Cottage came by yesterday for dinner and for planning Imbolg. While I made dinner, Lis set about making incense for our Hedge Group’s Imbolg ritual.
Brighid/Imbolg Incense
Roughly equal parts of:
White clover (flowers and leaves)
Red rose (petals)
Orange (dried peel)
Meadowsweet (flowers)
Spruce (cones, needles and some twig)
Rowan (berries and leaves)
Juniper (berries)
Yarrow (leaves and flowers)
Oak (leaves)
As well as:
Stuck it on my altar for the photo
1 thistle flower
A few Star Gazer Lily petals
Small amount of (ground) copal resin
All pieces were either ground to powder or chopped to roughly pea sized pieces or smaller.
We tested it after dinner and found that it was good. Earthy, subtly feminine, and invoking the feeling and scent of a hearth fire. So we put it in an attractive bottle and now it awaits Imbolg.
Wordless Wednesday: Brighid’s Candle
I purchased a devotional-style candle and then made the image for it
I used water color pencils on Kozogami paper.
To Fly By Night
Hoofprints in the Wildwood
Recent Comments