Archive for the ‘Study’ Category

Fire festival

Date: April 30th – May 1st, or first Full Moon in Taurus. The Scottish tradition of PectiWita celebrates their Sabbat on May 15th. The astronomical date for Old Beltane is usually May 5.

Pronunciation: “BELL-tayn”, “bell-tan”, “BELL-tain”, but also can be “BEEL-teen”, “BEEL-tawn-uh”, or “B’YAL-tinn”.

Etymology: Beltane derives from the Irish Beáltaine or Scottish Gaelic Bealtuinn; both from Old Irish Beltene “bright fire” from belo-te(p)niâ), where belo- is allied to the English word bale (as in bale-fire), the Anglo-Saxon bael, and also the Lithuanian baltas, meaning “white” or “shining” from which the Baltic takes its name. “The bright fire” is known in Welsh as “Calan Mai”, the “Calends of May”. Beltane or Bealtaine (Irish language), Bealltainn (Scottish Gaelic). Mí na Bealtaine “month of the Bealtaine festival” is the name for the month of May in modern Irish. It was formerly spelt “Bealtuinn” in Scottish Gaelic. The name of the month is often abreviated to Bealtaine but this strictly speaking only refers to the first day of summer (May 1) and the festival associated with that day.

Symbolism: Sacred marriage, new life, and the fertility for all living things. As Samhain is about honoring Death, Beltaine, its counter part, is about honoring Life. For modern Pagans, Beltaine is the time of union and pleasure, of celebrating the returning warmth of the Sun, and the greening of Earth. It is about the reconciliation of opposites through love, and the fruitfulness that arises from this reconciliation.

Mythology: Celebrating love, fertility and matrimony. Honoring the Earth as now fully awakened and the start of Summer. Fertility of all areas of life is invoked during this holiday as well as sexual fertility. Fertility is a central theme of Beltane. The people lived in close connection with the Earth. To have food to eat, the crops and the beasts of the fields would have to be fertile. In the time of the ancients, this was a life and death matter. For this reason, we have a number of holidays and rituals that are connected with fertility. The maypole is connected to this theme by way of the viewpoint of it being a phallic symbol.
Beltaine is also one of the only Pagan holidays that is usually celebrated in the full light of day.
It is a time of bonfires and feasting, drumming and dancing; a time of brightly colored ribbons woven around that ancient phallic symbol, the maypole. And it is a time to renew our commitments to the land, to love, and to each other.
Beltaine is one time of the year when the Veil is at its thinnest, honoring the ancestors while celebrating life is important at this time of the year.

Place in the Natural Cycle: Beltaine sees Spring come to and end and Summer begin. For the Celts, this was the end of Winter and start of Summer and is still the traditional first day of Summer in Ireland, Scotland and the Isle of Man. This is a Cross-quarter day, marking the midpoint in the Sun’s progress between the Vernal Equinox and Summer Solstice. It is the time when the Sun is fully released from the bondage of Winter and is able to rule over Summer and life once again. This festival marked the beginning of the pastoral Summer season when the herds of livestock were driven out to Summer pastures and mountain grazing lands. The astronomical date for this midpoint (Old Beltane) is slightly later, May 5. At Beltaine the Pleiades star cluster rises just before sunrise on the morning horizon, whereas Winter (Samhain) begins when the Pleiades rises at sunset.

Celtic Tree Month: Willow (Saille)

Druid/Coligny Month: Cutios, Giamonios

Planetary ruler: Venus, Moon

Zodiac: 15 degrees of Taurus

Moon: Bright Moon, Dyad Moon, Flower Moon, Grass Moon, Growing Moon, Hare Moon, Mother’s Moon, Seed Moon

Element: Fire, Air

Threshold/Time of Day: Dawn to noon

Symbols: Butterchurn, bowers, chalice, crossroads, eggs, fire, fields, flowers, May baskets, Maypole, twin fires, ribbons

Colors: Green, white, red, dark yellow

Crystals/Stones: Bloodstone, emerald, sapphire, emerald, rose quartz, lazuli, orange carnelian, yellow agate

Herbs: Angelica, clover, cowslip, damiana, frankincense, foxglove, hibiscus, ivy, meadowsweet, mint, mugwort, primrose, rose, rosemary, saffron, satyrion root, sorrel, St. John’s wort, woodruff, yarrow

Trees: Almond, ash, birch, elder, hawthorn, oak, poplar, rowan, willow

Flowers: Bluebells, cinquefoil, daisies, hawthorn, honeysuckle, lilac, lily of the valley, marigold, primrose, rose

Incense: Frankincense, lilac, passionflower, rose, rosemary

Oils: Passionflower, rose, tuber rose, vanilla

Animals: Cats, cows, doves, goats, honeybees, leopard, lynx, rabbits, swallow, swan,

Astral/Mythological Beings: Faeries, giants, pegasus, satyrs

Musical Instrument: Horns

Household Decorations: Flower wreaths and garlands are typical decorations for this holiday, as well as ribbons and streamers. Leaves, branches and cuttings from traditional trees placed at windows and doorways. Lilacs and hawthorn should be brought inside on this day, along with flowers of all kinds to represent the fertility of the earth.

Traditional Foods: Almonds, breads, dairy foods, green herbal salads, honey, marigold custard, oats, red fruits such cherries and strawberries, sweets, vanilla ice cream. Additional foods to include are oatmeal or barley cakes, sometimes known as “Beltane Cakes”.

Traditional Drinks: Teas made with burdock, damiana, hibiscus, rose hip, saffron. May Bowl punch (wine or non-alcoholic) made of Sweet Woodruff blossoms. Red or pink wines and juice made from red berries are also appropriate.

Special Activities:
v Welcome in the May at dawn with singing and dancing.
v Gathering flowers.
v On May Eve, bless your garden in the old way by making love with your lover in it.
v Prepare a May basket by filling it with flowers and goodwill and then give it to someone in need of healing and caring, such as a shut-in or elderly friend.
v Form a wreath of freshly picked flowers, wear it in your hair, and feel yourself radiating joy and beauty.
v Set up, or fix up, a woodland or garden shrine.
v Favorite Beltaine past times include plaiting and weaving, and in general, anything where you join two substances to make a third.
v Weddings are frequently held on or around Beltane.
v One key action to keep in mind during this time in the Wheel of the Year is to take action on the activities and projects you had planned and started on Ostara.
v Dress in bright colors.
v Light household fires from the Bel fire.
v Make a wish as you jump a bonfire or candle flame for good luck.
v Dance the Maypole and feel yourself balancing the Divine Female and Male within.
v Witches at this time used to ride broomsticks and jump into the air to show the crops how high to grow (hence the myth of Witches flying on broomsticks).
v Sending flowers to loved ones, planting new gardens, cleaning out the cupboards and general spring-cleaning are all traditional Beltaine gestures.

Magickal Studies: This being a time of great magick is a good time for divinations of all types, and for establishing a woodland or garden shrine. This is a time of self-discovery, love, union and developing your potential for personal growth. Search for, and study of, plant and other totems and power objects from the Land. This is a good time to build shrines, begin gathering for your herb collection, and to make offerings to elementals, faeries and such. Collecting sacred waters and scrying in sacred springs, wells, ponds, other waters. May morning is a magickal time for wild water (dew, flowing streams, and springs), which is collected and used to bathe in for beauty, or to drink for health.

Spellwork: Spellwork to consider includes those for fire, fertility, love, safety, prosperity, divination, and conservation. Also crop blessings, and the household guardians should be honored at this time.

Meditations: Spiritual communion/closeness with deity. Meditations on love, sex and close relationships. Meditation on the Earth and its fertility. The study/meditation of plants and trees.

Ritual Tools: Athame, cauldron, chalice

Altar/Circle Furnishings: Cauldron filled with flowers, fresh flowers, candle and/or lantern, garlands, maypole, mirrors, potted plant or tree, phallic shaped candle, ribbons

Balefire: Ash, birch, oak, poplar

Cauldron: Water and flowers. Or, light a fire within the cauldron. May Bowl Punch may also be placed in the cauldron.

Personal Adornments: Crown and garlands of flowers or crescents, bright colors

Ritual Actions:
v Hang ribbons and wedding charms/tokens on trees.
v The crowing of the May Queen and May King and receiving blessing from them.
v Extinguishing and re-lighting the Bel fire.
v Horn blowing to awaken the land.
v Dancing around the Maypole entwining the ribbons that are symbols of fertility.
v Morris Dancers and pageants (with Hag & Jack-in-Green) to awaken the fertility in the Land.
v Making offerings to encourage the fertility of the land.
v Handfastings are common at this time.
v Couples wishing to conceive children will jump the cauldron or balefire together.
v All rites of fertility such as blessing the garden or planting a tree.

• Start by reading Juniper’s article “What is a Hedgewitch?”

• And the older version of it called “What the Heck is a Hedgewitch Anyways?” on Witchvox or here at Mysticwicks Magazine

• As well as The History of “hedgewitch” by Juniper

• “Hallmarks of a Hedgewitch” by Juniper

• And “Hags and Hedges” by Juniper

• “Hedge Witchery” by Sarah

• “The Hedgewitch (Hagwychia variegata)” by Louise P.

• “What is a Hedgewitch?” from House Shadow Drake

• “Being a Hedgewitch” by Sally Morningstar

• Check out Hedge Magick

• Here’s a book list worth checking out

• Check out our fourm, where you will meet some great people, newbies, elder and in between.

That should get you started, happy reading!

Contact Juniper at juniper@walkingthehedge.net

What is a Mystery?

So what are these Mysteries Pagans, especially Wiccans, are always talking about? Why does the word get a capitol “M”?

A Mystery is a “Divine Secret” or spiritual truth. It is the very moment of enlightenment. A Mystery is something that causes one of those earth shattering, life changing, spiritual moments that changes who you are as a person.  Basically, a Mystery is when something happens that causes you to take a leap or sprint ahead on that development of your soul. The Mystery is the wisdom, knowledge, realization, inspiration etc that comes from those moments in time.

You do not have to be Wiccan to experience such things, nor do they have to occur during an initiation. Mystery is simply the word Wiccans (and most modern Pagans) use to describe a very old thing. A great example of this is the “Shamanic death” it in itself is an initiation of a different sort (and horrifically traumatic), it is certainly not Wiccan, but it is a Mystery that has been part of the human spiritual experience since we lived in caves.

And it’s simply that such things tend to occur during (or shortly before or after) initiations, but not only then.

It is the Gods, our guides, totems and ancestors who are the custodians of the Mysteries. A High Priestess, teacher, or some such person may guide you toward the Mysteries. But it is up to the spiritual beings in your life to decide when you are ready to receive a Mystery, and what that Mystery may be. I’d like to point out that experiencing a Mystery can be rather traumatic, due to the fact that it changes not only your perceptions but it changes YOU. This is why it is safer to have a teacher, friend, or group to help you, and why a solitary practice is so difficult.

I have been both prepared and supported for such things, and not at all. When left on my own and not ready (mistakenly thinking that I was) it was rather like being an insignificant worm that has just been stepped on. The recovery and assimilation from/of the Mystery is incredibly difficult on your own. It can be difficult with the support of others as well, and they can only do so much for you. Each Mystery is a personal experience.

When you are new to your Path, it’s natural to want to rush headlong into such things, like the short child desperate for a growth spurt. I know I was once desperate to FEEL some special spiritual something…looking for some sort of validation or proof.

There is a fantasy novel by one of my favorite authors in which a rather bitter saint (someone who has talked to the gods and done their “dirty work”) comes across a group of pilgrims. One pilgrim talks the saints ear off about her devotion to the Mother and what she would do if the goddess ever showed Herself to her. The saint thought to herself something along the lines of ;
“Yeah right, if the Mother showed herself to you; you’d be kneeling on the floor, pissing yourself from fright and weeping at the unfathomable-ness of it”

Do not allow someone to claim they can teach you the Mysteries, they can only guide. Do not allow someone to claim the Mysteries belong to their Tradition alone, this is not truth. Do not feel left out or like there is something wrong with you if you have not experienced such a thing, it will come when you are ready. Keep studying, keep practicing, keep meditating and eventually it will come. Be prepared to not be the same person you were before it did.

Juniper

Some Topics of study for a Hedgewitch

 

Yes, there are many listed here, and others could probably add more. Obviously, you could never study everything! Part of a Tradition like Hedgecraft is being able to choose what areas you wish to focus on. You are also not expected to become an expert at any thing, unless you choose to. Hedgewitches tend to be jacks of many trades, but master of none or few.

It is important to act with integrity and never misrepresent yourself as an expert when you are not. Be honest with yourself and others about your knowledge, experience and abilities.

Start with what interests, excites and calls to you. Remember that this is not a race.

Herbalism & wortcunning; growing, magickal, ritual and healing

Shamanism & shamanic tecniques

Gardening

Horticulture

Agriculture, hunting & farming

Homesteading

Permaculture

Weather and climate

Nature Magick

Seasons & the wheel of the year

Trance work

Greenhouse; building, running, growing

Environmentalism

Biology

Geology

Animals and animal husbandry

The Elements

The Gaia theory

Evolution

Botany

Plant folklore

Garden Magick

Landscaping

First Aid

Nursing

Natural healing

Homeopathy

Reiki

Aromatherapy

Midwifery

Alternative healing

Holistic healing

Candle making

Incense & smudge stick making

Oil making

Soap making

Crystal and stones; healing, ritual and magick

Cooking

Nutrition

Kitchen Magick

Hearth Magick

Wildcrafting

Identification of and researching of flora

Identification of and researching of fauna

Animal Tracks

Outdoorsman-ship

Orienteering

Bird Watching

Mythology

Folklore

History

Religions and spirituality

Divination

Prophecy

Meditation

Energy work

Spell crafting

Charm, talisman, etc making

Making ritual tools

Arts and crafts

Astral travel and out of body experiences

Sustainable living

Sprit guides

Nature spirits

Totems

The First Thing You Need

Basics of Identifying and Researching Plants

STOP! Before you do anything, before we go any further, before I wax poetic about the worship of Nature and reverence for the Earth, before we discuss meditations on plants, before we talk correspondences or magickal properties. Before any of that, there is one thing you need, and some skills you must learn. This is for your own and Nature’s safety. The thing you need is a field guide, and one of the skills is how to use a field guide. A field guide is often times the best first step towards the other skills you must learn; identifying and researching plants.

Sounds terribly boring, doesn’t it? It’s natural to want to jump right in, making incense, collecting plant totems, hugging trees, walking through the forest barefoot. But what if it turns out the incense irritates your lungs? What if the plant you cut to make your totem was not the plant you thought it was? What if the tree you hugged produces oil that irritates your skin? What if, while walking barefoot through the woods, you step on some poison ivy?

Before we talk the spirituality of a Nature Path, before we talk about Nature magick, let us talk practicality. You need to know how to identify plants and how to research them so that you do not end up accidentally poisoning yourself, or making everyone in a ritual circle cough up a lung.

Many plants look very alike, and it is common for a harmless plant to look much like a dangerous one. Most plants have some sort of defensive mechanism, usually in the form of thorns, oils, poison and such. So before you touch a plant, you better make sure you know all about that plant!

I couldn’t begin to tell you how many times I’ve come across someone who brought home a bunch of plant matter they bought or picked, brewed a tea and drank it… and wound up very ill. Plus, if you are planning on using plants for ritual and magickal purposes, you need to know the plants species and genus and such. There are plenty of plants that resemble one species but actually belong to another. I had a friend who made a wand out of what she thought was Alder; only for it to turn out it was made of Poplar. Oops!

The best tools and skills any Nature loving witch could have is a field guide of plants, a working understanding of how to use one, and knowing how to identify and research a plant.

Now, some of you may not know what a field guide is, so here is a definition courtesy of Wikipedia:

Field Guide: A field guide is a book designed to help the reader identify wildlife (plants or animals) or other objects of natural occurrence (e.g. minerals). It is generally designed to be brought into the ‘field’ or local area where such objects exist to help distinguish between similar objects.

It will typically include a description of the objects covered, together with paintings or photographs and an index. More serious and scientific field identification books will probably include identification keys to assist with identification, but the publicly-accessible field guide is more often a browsable picture guide organized by family, color, shape, location or other descriptors.

For an online field guide, follow this link:

http://www.enature.com/home/

A field guide is a great way to know what grows where, what it looks like, when it blooms, how to tell it apart from other plants and many other useful tips. Field guides have photographs, drawn pictures, diagrams, maps, detailed descriptions and more to help you figure out what plants grow where, and makes it easy to identify each plant. Some field guides will even have practical and medicinal uses listed in them as well. If you always wondered if verbena or sage brush or any plant grows near where you live, this is the best way to find out.

You can find a field guide at your local book store, usually for about 20 dollars or less. The MOST important thing about your field guide is that you have one that is appropriate for the region in which you live and can gather plants. The SECOND most important thing is that it is easy for you to use.

Any book store in your area will have field guides for your area. Today there are field guides for all of North America; for just the eastern or western half; for specific states or provinces, and even for smaller geographic areas, such as counties, hiking trails, and specific refuges, parks, or preserves. For your first guide, I recommend getting one for as small an area as possible that is still where you live or where you can get to some nature. This will help you to avoid flipping through many pages of plants that grow more than a couple of hours drive from your home.

If you live in the city, do not despair! Flipping through a field guide, you will see that many of the plants listed grow in the urban areas; such as in vacant lots, ditches, and “disturbed areas” – construction sites.

Do not pick up a field guide more than 5 years old. With the genetic and advanced scientific testing available today, the older field guides have too many inaccuracies. The best field guides are put out by Peterson Field Guides and by The National Audubon Society, but there are many great field guides to be had. The ideal field guide is easy to use, portable, and accurate.

When looking to buy a field guide, look for a book that feels easy to use. Flip through, if you can, and look at some of the identification keys (usually found in the front), the photographs, maps and descriptions of plants. Does it feel confusing or does it feel like you could figure out what kind of pine that tree in your back yard really is? Are the pictures, drawings and photographs clear and give you a good look at bark, flower, leaves and such? Is it written in a style that will be readable by you, or is a tad too scientific, or not scientific enough?

Make sure the book you buy is also going to be easy to carry around. A big text book sized one will get heavy in your bag or pack after a while.

For the purposes of a Nature witch, you will want a book that also has some practical and medicinal uses listed for each, or most, of the plants as well. Check to see if the book lists whether or not plants are edible or poisonous, you’ll want to know that.

If you are having a hard time finding the herbs in any book, understand that most herbs, like mint for example, are classified as wildflowers.

Get a book that is a “field guide for plants” if you can, as it will have trees, shrubs, herbs, wildflowers, mosses etc. If you cannot find one for all plants, then decide what kind of plant interests you the most. Do trees and shrubs call to you, or mosses and lichens? Are you more interested in herbs and wildflowers than ferns or fungi? How about cacti and succulents?

There are many online field guides as well, use you search engine to find one for your area, or use the one above. Online field guides are great when you just do not have the money to buy a book. However you cannot take your computer into the field. It is a lot easier to put a book into your backpack.

Once you have purchased your first field guide, it is time to try it out.

Exercises:

After purchasing your book, take the time to read through the introduction and sections at the front about your region and what kind of plant life can be found there. Spend some time looking at the maps. Now open up your journal or note book (or what works best for you. I recommend something that will go easily into your back pack along with the field guide. Something you do not mind getting a little muddy) and write in it what kind of plant life, climate and geography is prevalent in your area. Do you live in or near Alpine forest, plains and grasses, arid desert etc? What sort of plants live there? If you are in a plains area, you will be finding lots of grasses. If you live in an arid area, you will be finding plenty of cacti and succulents, and so on.

One of the most important things about using your field guide is being familiar with its content and layout. When you have some spare time, flip through the guide and get to know where the mosses are, where the mint family is, where the roses are – so you can find them quickly when you need to look up a plant. If you already have certain favourite plants, now it the time to write down their page numbers, earmark their pages, or bookmark those pages in some fashion.

Now go identify some plants! Start with some easy ones, like the tree in your back yard, the dandelions in the front yard, the cedar hedge that lines the parking lot at work, how about that weed with the funny shaped leaves that grows in the cracks of the sidewalk in front of your apartment building.

DO NOT CUT OR PICK THE PLANT!!!! That is for another lesson.

If you have a camera, you might want to take a picture of your newly identified plant. If you have any artistic abilities, you could sketch it. Using the Herbal Info Outline, start to write down the info you have gleaned on each plant from the field guide and from finding and studying it. Do not worry if you do not have much to write right away, and that some parts of the Outline will be left empty. Just leave yourself enough space to add more info later.

If you wish to go a little further in depth, you can now research the plant online; try typing both common and scientific names into your search engine of choice. Watch for discrepancies between sites! Double check the info you find online with the info in the field guide. Use your brains and common sense when researching, especially online. If you really want to get good practise and good info on your identified plants, you can head over to the library and look them up in books from the botany and horticulture sections. Remember, the older a book on plant life is, the less accurate the info will be. Keep adding to your notes on the plant.

Once you have a feel for your field guide and for identifying and finding info on plants, you can move on to actually gathering and using them.

Juniper 2007

This article may be reproduced, without changes and with author’s name. No changes, or money, may be made.

A Few Things That can be Damaging to Your Growth on Your Path

Expecting everything to be easy

Believing everything you see, hear or read.

Lacking critical thinking skills

Lack of respect for Nature, magick, Gods, sprits etc

Looking for shortcuts rather than paying your dues

Dishonesty, especially with yourself or any teacher you may have

Laziness

Depending entirely on other’s work and research

The belief that whatever path you are on is the only right one, not only is this damaging to yourself, but it can be harmful to others. It also does not leave you open to growing and changing on your path.

Arrogance, hubris & delusions of grandeur

Being overly judgmental

Failure to admit to your mistakes, or learn from them

Lack of commitment

Not setting goals, or setting unreasonable goals

Impatience, rushing headlong into things

Willful ignorance

Worrying about what everyone else thinks, or what they are doing

Lack of faith

Lack of personal responsibility

Lack of self-control/will power

Competition with others, every spiritual path is unique to each individual

Baggage from the past, especially any baggage from a previous religion or spirituality

Narrow-mindedness

Faking it