Category Archives: Pagan Holidays

The Witch’s Corner ~ October Newsletter & Video

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The Witch’s Corner Newsletter ~
http://www.thewitchscornernewsletter.yolasite.com/

Video Contents ~
Court Case Spells/DUI & Consequences
Samhain Special/Talking about Black Cat Oil
Tarot Card for the Day/Cutting things out of my life
My Sedona Crystals/and my ley line experiences!
Final Footage/Hiking trail in the Grand Canyon

Links:

The Witch’s Corner ~
http://amythystraine.blogspot.com

Court Case Spells ~
https://wytchymystique.com/spells/court-case-spells/

Oils, Potions, n’ Powders/more information on Black Cat Oil, scroll down! ~
https://amythystraine.blogspot.com/p/oils-potions-n-powders.html

 

A Post Before my Trip

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In the wee hours of Sunday night (or early Monday morning), some of my kids and I will be headed for the Omaha airport where we’re flying out to Arizona.  There are connections there now that I feel will grow with the years.  I’m going to take advantage of this trip to immerse myself in Sedona for a few days and then go on to the Grand Canyon.  I’m such an incurable home-body that this is a step away from my usual existence, ensconced in my old house and the busy rooms, enjoying the woodsy wild back yard, and just being surrounded by and appreciating our multitude of pets (mostly cats, 6 of them black), and all of this in perfect contentment.

But destiny calls.

  My Kitchen

I’ve been going through checklists of things to do, things to get, things to address, before leaving.  The house-sitter is set with a loaded pantry and fridge and an abundance of pet supplies.  Financial things are done, and strangely enough most of my monthly household bills have come in and been paid, so that’s one less thing to think about.  I have to pack today (Saturday), and I have one more work-as-usual day coming up (Sunday).  And then, we’re off!

I’ll be posting regular updates, photos, and video clips both at my Instagram and at my main Facebook page:

https://www.instagram.com/amythyst_raine/

https://www.facebook.com/amythystraine

I’ve managed to get a few last minute witchy business things done, which were also on my list, including my Samhain Special at The Witch’s Corner:  follow this link and scroll down, it’s right there http://amythystraine.blogspot.com

I’ve put together a charming little bag to celebrate Samhain and draw in the spirits, spirits of the season and spirits we wish to communicate with.  Samhain is traditionally a time to connect with our ancestors and especially loved ones who have passed.

Honor your ancestors, and honor the spirit of Samhain,
with these magickal items.

The Samhain Special:

a white spirit dollie,
a bottle of Black Cat Oil,
and a black votive candle

$24.99

*Note:  The Black Cat Oil included in this offer 
is safe for your skin, so feel free to wear it!  

It’s my own recipe, and it
smells wonderful!

From The Tarot Parlour ~

Audio Readings

$25.00

With Samhain right around the corner, the end of the year coming, so many of us are questioning so many things about our lives.  There’s relationships and the changes that come with them, the doubts, the questions, the mystery of it all.  Some of us have reached pivotal points where jobs and careers are concerned.

If you’ve ever asked yourself, “Is this it?  Is this all there is to my life?  Is this where I’m suppose to be?”… you’re more than ready for a reading to find some answers.

Follow this link and scroll down to order 
an Audio Reading

http://tarotreadingswithamythystraine.blogspot.com

 

 

 

The Witch’s Corner ~ May Magick!

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“…Thank you to all the people who sent me their true Ouija Board Experiences! It was fascinating hearing about what you went through and how it has affected you. I enjoyed reading your stories, and I’m betting the viewers will enjoy hearing them! Again, thank you for taking the time and effort to send them to me. You’ll find the Ouija Board Stories in this month’s Newsletter Video…scroll down.

The “Special Offer” for this month’s newsletter ~ When you purchase a 3 card audio tarot reading, you’ll receive a FREE crescent moon pendant. (While supplies last). This offer expires on May 31st, so you’d better scroll all the way down to the bottom of this newsletter and use the Paypal widget found there.

Check out the section, Spell-a-Day: Monday-Friday Magick, for some magickal inspiration and some pretty vibrant and major magickal candle spells. Included in this section are the following spells ~ Spirit Guide Protection; Goin’ to the Chapel; Loosin’ the Pen; Goin’ for Broke; The Goddess in Me.

There’s also a special video section this month with some inspiration from some amazing Youtube women. Kudos to them! I hope you enjoy their videos as much as I do!

You’ll find all the usual sections on herbs, stones, and moon magick… I hope you enjoy browsing this newsletter as much as I enjoyed writing it. Have a wonderful, happy, magickal May!…”

http://www.thewitchscornernewsletter.yolasite.com/may-2018.php

 

 

Samhain Magick ~ Calling in the Ancestors

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October’s Special!

A Magickal Bag of Items
created for this Magickal Month

Samhain Magick
Calling in the AncestorsThis bag includes:1. Black Cat Oil
2.  a black candle
3. a mini ghost poppet (white)
3.  Ancestor’s Oil
4.  Mugwort
5.  3 straight pins

Dark Moon Special!
Samhain Magick Spell Bag

$24.99

 click  HERE and scroll down

Hello, June ~ Here Comes The Summer Solstice!

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I’m excited and giddy, because this is one of my most favorite times of year (the other being October).  There is something “new” and “birth-like” about the summer solstice for me.  It’s a time of new beginnings, starting over, beginning a new page, making a new list.  June for me is rife with this kind of energy.  Maybe it’s because my first child was born in this month 43 years ago, and the birth of your first child is a pivotal life-changing point.

With all that said, enjoy the following essay on the Summer Solstice, also known as Midsummer’s Eve, or Litha.  This is an excerpt from my book, “The Spiritual Feminist” (which I regret not titling “The Ultimate Goddess Connection”, but that’s another story).  And be sure to read it to the end, because there are RECIPES!  You’ve gotta’ try my “Fairy Punch”.

The Summer Solstice:  Litha
(June 21)
Mid-summer’s Eve, the longest day of the year.  This holiday, steeped in
fairy lore, is a magickal time filled with the Earth’s bounty.  Gardens, fields, and forests are blooming with productivity, overflowing with abundant fertility and the promise of rich harvests to come.  As the Earth is pregnant with summer’s lush growth, so too is the goddess, pregnant with new energy, infinite possibilities, and the promise of a rich spiritual harvest.

It’s all about the fairies, this celebration, this pagan holiday.  Fairy contact is generally easier to achieve on this day, for those of you who are brave enough to invoke the mischievous little folk, that is. But don’t be surprised if soon after you can’t find your favorite earrings, or the car keys, or any other shiny inviting objects you may have left laying around.  They are fickle, unpredictable, light-fingered creatures, a loaded gun.  If you do decide to invoke the wee folk, you should know that there is a physical reaction you could experience when they appear.  Your skin may feel “crawly”, as though there were ants or bugs walking on you.  This isn’t harmful, and you will be perfectly okay, in spite of the ‘ick’ factor.  It will just be a cue to you that your invocation was successful.

If you prefer to avoid fairies, you should know that they detest iron.  To keep them at bay, lay iron nails in the four corners of your house, or your property, keep iron kettles in your kitchen, witches– keep your cast iron cauldron’s out in the open.  Fairies will avoid you.

And this all being said, know that fairies heal…they heal.  Call upon them when you need them without fear.

This is a popular month for weddings, though few in the Christianized world
realize why.  The Druid’s celebrated the Summer Solstice as the “marriage
between heaven & earth”, and thus the popular belief that June is a “lucky” month for marriage ceremonies.  There will be Pagan spirit gatherings all around the world at this time, the most famous and the most notable at Stone Henge, where large groups of people will light bonfires and stay up all night in order to welcome the dawn.

My Celebration:
For several years, all during my son’s childhood, there has been one very special tradition at our house connected with the celebration of Litha:

When my son was a little boy, he used to like to stay up through the “Witching Hour” and watch for fairies. He’d get comfy in his pj’s and robe.   I’d gather up a lawn chair and place it beneath the large apple tree in our yard; and I’d prepare a special candle, placing it in a fire-proof reseptacle along with some herbs to offer the fairies. It was his time to sit quietly outside in the dark and watch for these magickal creatures, the only light being that of the candle and the moon, if it were out.

Most of the time, these evenings were uneventful, but one Mid-Summer’s Eve, my son’s patience was rewarded.

From across the lawn, he saw what he said looked like three very small blue lights dancing along the top of the fence. Eventually these three tiny lights dropped from the fence to the lawn beneath, where they bounced around in the grass for several seconds, and then they disappeared. My son came back to the house breathless and wide-eyed to tell me what he had seen.

The next morning, we went out to investigate the grass where the lights had been. Overnight, three mushrooms had popped up to create a perfectly formed triangle in this area, and the grass in the middle of this formation was whithered and yellowed.

I can’t tell you with 100% accuracy whether what my son saw were fairies or not, but that really doesn’t matter. All that really matters is that one little boy had a very magickal and memorable night.

Litha Correspondences
Herbs: fennel, lavender, chamomile, cinquefoil, mugwort, thyme
Altar Flowers/Herbs: larkspur, rose, wisteria, St. Johns Wort
Feast Foods: apples, citrus, fruits, ale, mead, honey cakes
Animals: butterflies, frogs, toads, wrens
Incense: ylang ylang, thyme, rose, sandalwood, chamomile
Rituals/Spells: all night fairy vigils, candle magick, dream work, familiar blessings, herb gathering, self-dedication, sun magick

Litha Recipes
Strawberry Shortcake
3 pints fresh strawberries
1/2 cup white sugar
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
4 teaspoons baking powder
2 tablespoons white sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup shortening
1 egg
2/3 cup milk
2 cups whipped heavy cream

1.  Slice the strawberries and toss them with 1/2 cup of white sugar. Set aside.
2.  Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C). Grease and flour one 8 inch round cake pan.
3.  In a medium bowl combine the flour, baking powder, 2 tablespoons white sugar and the salt. With a pastry blender cut in the shortening until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Make a well in the center and add the beaten egg and milk. Stir until just combined.
4.  Spread the batter into the prepared pan. Bake at 425 degrees F (220 degrees C) for 15 to 20 minutes or until golden brown. Let cool partially in pan on wire rack.
5. Slice partially cooled cake in half, making two layers. Place half of the strawberries on one layer and top with the other layer. Top with remaining strawberries and cover with the whipped cream.
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Fairy Punch
1 (64 fluid ounce) bottle fruit punch, chilled
1 (64 fluid ounce) bottle unsweetened pineapple juice, chilled
1 (2 liter) bottle ginger ale, chilled
1/2 gallon orange sherbet

In a punch bowl, mix together fruit punch, pineapple juice and ginger ale. Add scoops of sherbet into the punch. Wait for the sherbet to begin melting, approximately 10 minutes, stir gently, and serve.

This blog post is courtesy of “The Spiritual Feminist”, your ultimate Goddess Connection, be sure to follow THIS LINK to order your copy.

June and the summer solstice (Midsummer’s Eve) are coming up.  I view this time as a “new beginning”, and I created a tarot spread just for June that mirrors and celebrates this idea:
Tarot Spread Featured for JUNE ~
Midsummer Delight
1.  This is what I desire.
2.  This is what makes me happy.
3.  This is what I really need.
4.  This is what’s blocking my success.
5.  This is the solution
To purchase June’s featured audio reading, follow this link:
http://tarotreadingswithamythystraine.blogspot.com/p/featured-readingt.html

Resurrection ~ The Rebirth of Spring ~ Ostara’s Personal Connection for Me

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The Spring Equinox:  Ostara
(March 21)
The Goddess manifests her treasures in the material world, and Mother Earth marks this event with the emergence of plants and young animals, setting the stage once again for future harvests, both those of the physical world and those of the spiritual realm.  The miracle of birth is highlighted, and the miracle that is womanhood confirmed.  Within the celebration of Ostara, fertility is emphasized and celebrated.  Nature’s womb, filled with the seeds of life, embellishes the earth in productivity and prosperity.

Ostara is a day when the period of light and dark are equal, heralding springtime planting and the promise of warmth returning for the summer months.  Sunlight is going to reign supreme starting the very next day, second by second, minute by minute. This is also a celebration of the Saxon goddess of fertility…Eostre. Eggs and rabbits are symbols belonging to this Goddess and are incorporated into the festivities and celebrations. Sound familiar yet?  It’s all about bunnies, fertile eggs, and growing things.  Now’s the time to start those seedlings in egg cartons, time to start planning your herb garden, digging out those pots and diving into a bag of potting soil.  Smell the earth women, get your fingernails dirty, follow that natural instinct that you know is there, the one you’ve probably been trying to ignore…Grow Things!

A noteworthy tidbit: Easter is always celebrated on the first Sunday after the first full moon after the Spring Equinox.

(The Goddess is smiling now.)

My Celebration:
The biggest part of Ostara for my family has always been coloring Easter Eggs (we decorate about 4 or 5 dozen– often with witches, animals, and other very un-Eastery images).  The magickal nocturnal visit of the Easter Bunny is also a yearly tradition at our house, complete with pretty baskets of goodies.  With seven children, putting all those baskets together, dividing all that candy, has been quite a process.

But this celebration has a deeper meaning for me, one that was made indelible upon my soul.  The year was 1969, I was 12-years-old, and it was the traditional Christian Easter Sunday that my family was celebrating:

The night before, my Aunt was glowing– beautiful and striking looking at thirty-two.  She was helping my sister and me color Easter eggs, finishing up by combining all the colors to get an interesting brown egg.  I’ll never forget the sight of her holding the egg up in the air so we could all get a look at it, laughing out loud.  This was to be the last truly happy day this woman would know for a very long time to come.  The next day, her husband (my uncle) would suffer a massive heart attack and die in her arms in the foyer of their home.  It was just after a beautiful Easter Sunday meal, and we were all there.

Every year since, when we color eggs for this spring celebration, I remember  coloring eggs with my aunt the night before Easter Sunday 1969.  It’s a crystal clear memory 44 years later.  The symbolism of this holiday is brought home to me in the idea of rejuvination, resurrection, a return to life– life in the form of warmth, sunshine, growing plants, small animals, and souls.

“Everything is connected.” the goddess is telling me.

Ostara Correspondences
Herbs: cinquefoil, rose, violets, tansy, celandine
Altar Flowers/Herbs: honeysuckle, iris, lily, daffodil, crocus
Feast Foods: eggs, fish, honey, sweet food, leafy vegetables
Animals: chicks, hares, rabbits, swallows
Incense: honeysuckle, jasmine, lavender, lotus, magnolia, rose, violet
Rituals/Spells: planting/sowing, rejuvenation spells, consecration of tools, grounding work, Earth blessings, spring cleansing

Ostara Recipes
Magickal Egg Salad
6 hard-boiled eggs, sliced
1/4 cup mayonnaise
2 tsp. fresh lemon juice
1 Tbsp. minced onion
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
1/2 cup finely chopped celery
Lettuce leaves

Reserve 4 center egg slices for garnish, if desired. Chop remaining eggs.
Mix mayonnaise, lemon juice, onion, salt and pepper in medium bowl. Add chopped eggs and celery; mix well. Refrigerate, covered, to blend flavors.
Serve on lettuce leaves; garnish with reserved egg slices.
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Honey Baked Ham
18 to 20-pound smoked ham, water added, ham hock removed
One 16-ounce box light brown sugar
1 cup (8-ounce jar) clover honey

Adjust the oven racks to accommodate a large covered roasting pan. Fit the pan with a shallow rack. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Unwrap the ham and rinse it in cold water. Place it on the rack in the roasting pan. Cover the pan with the lid and bake for half the estimated cooking time (Total cooking time is about 20 minutes per pound.) Halfway through the estimated cooking time, add the sugar and honey to a saucepan, cooking over medium heat until smooth and sugar is dissolved. Pour the mixture over the ham and continue baking the ham, basting occasionally with the drippings in the roaster.

Check for doneness at the end of the estimated cooking time by inserting a meat thermometer at a meaty point (not into fat or touching the bone). It should register 160 degrees F.

Allow the ham to stand for 15 minutes before slicing to allow the juices to set.

The Source for this blog post is my book ~

The Spiritual Feminist

Follow this link to purchase your own copy:

The Spiritual Feminist, Publisher ~ Moon Books

The Witch’s Corner

Magickal Curios & Infinite Possibilities

http://amythystraine.blogspot.com

The Tarot Parlour

Book a reading with Amythyst Raine:

http://tarotreadingswithamythystraine.blogspot.com

The Tarot Parlour

5 Things That Bring Samhain Home for Me

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samhain7.jpg picture by witch_of_endore

I can’t believe it’s this time of year already!  Where did 2016 go??  This past year has been wracked with huge changes in my life.  All hell broke loose December 31, 2015, and it’s been a wild ride ever since– spiritually, emotionally, and financially.  However, the wild ride appears to be calming down now, life smoothing over with regular routine, new opportunities, and a new-found sense of stability.  The transitions involved have included acceptance, transformation, and new connections.  As I slide into the end of October, into the end of this year, I’m warmed and comforted by another celebration of Samhain at our house.

Five things that highlight this holiday for me include, but are not limited to:

  1. Hot Apple Cider ~ Every Samhain for the past 20+ years, I’ve drug out my huge (HUGE) silver canning kettle and set it on the back of the stove to slowly heat the Drink of the Evening.  My recipe —

5-7 large jugs of applejuice
8-10 bags of peach tea
a handful of cinnamon sticks
and a large metal tea ball filled
with whole cloves and allspice

You can leave a shaker of nutmeg sit on the counter & anyone who wants to add a dash of this spice to their mug of apple cider can do so.

If you don’t like this cider full force, you can dilute it some with water to suit your own taste.

My Hot Apple Cider

Let’s take a look at the ingredients we just used from a magickal perspective:

Peaches— love

Nutmeg— one of the most popular uses for nutmeg is to assure fidelity.  It’s also used for spells centered around luck, money, and health.

Cinnamon— spirituality, success, healing, power, psychic powers, lust, protection, love

Allspice— money, luck, healing

Cloves— protection, exorcism, love, money

Apple— love, healing, garden magic, immortality

2.  Autumn leaves & flowers ~ There is nothing more beautiful than a tree caught in its seasonal death throes.  It puts a new spin and realization on the idea of death and rebirth for me; the idea of shedding oneself of all the outward trappings of ego, vanity, and expectation; the idea of natural beauty that comes with age and experience, and a miraculous rebirth, whether physically or spiritually.

3.  The Ancestors ~ As I’ve gotten older and time has marched mercilessly on,  all through the past few decades, I’ve watched the Older Generation of my family die off.  First, the “Greats” (and these are people I actually knew, whom I remember)…great-grandparents and aunts:  Alpha, Tracy, Gma Smith, Gpa Smith, Lizzie.  And I still watch, even now, as the passing generations move up, ever closer to me and my generation…my grandmother, Darlene, Jim (my father).  And then there are those that died tragically, before they had time to get old…Joe, John Patrick, Norman.  It’s with a sense of awe and wonder, a sense of growing knowledge and acceptance, that I’m beginning to understand the real meaning behind the “Wheel of the Year” and its natural progression.

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Last Year’s Ancestor Altar

4.  Spices ~ allspice, cloves, cinnamon, nutmeg…They say that your olfactory sense, your sense of smell, can snap a memory into your brain faster than almost anything else, so closely are certain scents associated for us.  And this is true of the traditional smells of autumn at our house.  I can visualize Grma’s teapot, particular cups, favorite old trees adorned in autumn leaves, pets (both present and past) who laid at our feet around the kitchen table, puddles of glowy golden light from lamps on a wet and cold drooling autumn day…I could go on and on.  These smells, as pleasant as they are in themselves, hold all kinds of memories for me.

coffee-time-59

5.  Chili ~ Every year, for 20+ years now, I drag out my Great-Big-Red-Cooking-Pot and make a walloping batch of homemade chili.  You can tell the prosperous years from the lean years by my chili…on prosperous years, it will contain more meat.  This is another one of those scents that also connect closely with Samhain at our house, it’s a family tradition.  I usually start the chili early in the morning and let it sit and simmer on low all day, giving the flavors time to blend deliciously together.

My Chili

So, what are the things that bring this holiday, and this time of year home to you?  What are your family traditions and memories?  How does Samhain touch you?

Imbolc

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The following blog post is a short excerpt from my book:
The Spiritual Feminist

witch 52


Imbolc
(February 2)

The Goddess celebrates renewed fertility, fertility of body, mind, and spirit.  Seeds are sown now for future harvests; the bricks and mortar of new paths and new adventures are laid.  The Goddess is reborn as her younger self, the Maiden, and it is her strength and power and sinewy young muscle that we imbue ourselves with, so as to have the strength and endurance to fulfill our life journey.

This is also a festival of the Celtic goddess, Bride, so beloved by the people of the old world that the Roman Church couldn’t eradicate her. Instead, they made her a saint, Saint Brigit. In Celtic lore, the Old Woman of Winter (the Cailleach) was reborn as Bride, the Young Maiden of Spring.  It’s this image that is most nostaligic in my mind, from the halls of Catholic Parochial School, the beautiful shining faces of the female saints, innocently biding their time among the patriarchal rhetoric, waiting for The Great Awakening…St. Brigit most prominent among them (the nuns adored her).

The celebration of Imbolc is also a celebration of light, a celebration of the sun, in the fact that a successful new growing season depends upon it.  The light and warmth of the sun is celebrated in the flames of candles and bonfires.

My Celebration:

This milestone passes all but unnoticed at our house, in all truth.  I touch on it with a public comment and picture at social sites, or among my pagan internet friends; but here, it’s like a soft shadow passing over the house, sometimes lit with the glow of a blue candle on the kitchen table that hardly anyone else notices, since I’m always burning candles it seems.  But I notice, and I remember, and I think…The time of The Great Awakening has come.

Imbolc Correspondences

Herbs: basil, bay, celandine, benzoic
Altar Flowers/Herbs: angelica, myrrh, flowers that are yellow/white/or blue
Feast Foods: bread, cakes, dairy products, seeds
Animals: burrowing animals, ewes, deer, goats, lambs
Incense: jasmine, myrrh, neroli
Rituals/Spells: candle magick, initiation, hearth/home blessings, fertility magick, healing magick, cleansing rituals

Imolc Recipes

Creamed Cabbage

1 lb. pre-cooked ham, 1″ cubed or shredded
1 heaping tsp. flour
1 firm white cabbage
1/2 tsp. each salt & pepper
1 cup cream
grated nutmeg (optional)

Cut cabbage in half, then cut the halves once again.   Drop them into a pot of boiling water and cook for 5 minutes, drain. Slice them up. Melt a little butter or margarine in a sauce pan and add the shredded cabbage. Stir it up good. Add salt, pepper, and a dash of grated nutmeg. Next add the cream and a heaping teaspoon of flour, still stirring, and let it come to a boil. Add the cubed or shredded ham, and lower the heat. Cover the sauce pan and let the mixture simmer for about 30 minutes. Serve hot. Makes 6-8 servings.

Interestingly enough, and just as a sidenote, Nutmeg is the most popular herb used to induce fidelity in a romantic partner. Think about this, when used with magickal intention, if you’re making this dish for your husband, boyfriend, fiance, etc.  (“This is a perfect example of a little innocent kitchen witchery in the making.”, she says with a wicked grin.)
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Brigit’s Biscuits

2 1/4 cup Bisquick
1/3 cup milk
1/3 cup honey

Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Spray a baking sheet with non-stick spray or line with parchment paper. In a bowl, combine all ingredients. Drop by Tablespoon onto baking sheet, 2 inches apart. Bake for 10-12 minutes until golden. Serve warm with butter.

 

The Witch’s Desk: Celebrate October! ~ Full Moon & Samhain

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Samhain

(October 31)

The goddess is old and wizened. She’s settling into this stage of her persona to reap the benefit of all that she has experienced, all that has transpired on her journey to this point. She’s preparing for the dark months, gathering her harvest about her, both for her physical survival and her emotional revival, using this time to rest, to gather energy for the future and the light that she knows will return. On this phase of her journey she can afford to sit back in quiet reflection, to shed those things in her life that have become a burden, and to look forward to the end of her journey, or rather, the beginning of the next.

Samhain (pronounced ‘Sou-wen’) is a celebration that has a more somber side than the revelry of modern Halloween. It is a day of remembrance of your ancestors and for those family members who have passed over. Pagan families may set an extra place at the supper table on this evening, to honor those loved ones who are no longer with them. The veil between the world of the living and the dead is thinnest on this eve, and this night is an excellent time to perform divination, or to try and connect with those spirits from the other side.

My Celebration:

Samhain is a big deal at our house. Some years ago we began the tradition of a bonfire in the front driveway, an open house for friends, childrens’ friends, and acquaintances. You’ll find a table set up by the fire pit for a weinie roast, with smore’s for dessert. In the kitchen, I’ve got a large kettle of chili on the stove, and a large kettle of hot apple cider. Costumes are optional, for those who are comfortable dressing up, I say go for it; for those who are not, don’t sweat it. And, of course, there will be a large bowl of candy for the children in our neighborhood who follow the age-old custom of trick or treating.

You always hear that the veil has thinned on this night and spirit contact is almost inevitable if one wishes to put forth some effort. Samhain is also reputed to be a superb night for divinantion of any kind, and with this in mind, I set up a table on the backporch full of divination tools: tarot cards, rune stones, pendulums, oriental divination sticks, and don’t forget the ouija board for those who wish to try their hand communing with the spirits. Guests seem to love this opportunity, and there will be people seated around this table off and on all evening. It gives many a chance to learn about, touch, and use divination tools that they may not be familiar with and might otherwise not have access to.

Samhain Correspondences

Herbs: patchouli, sage, heather

Altar Flowers/Herbs: acorns, apples, pumpkins/gourds, dittany, autumn leaves

Feast Foods: pumpkin, squash, nut breads, sweet potatoes, milled drinks (cider, wine), roast meat, root vegetables

Animals: bats, cats, crows, ravens, owls

Incense: cinnamon, cloves, myrrh, patchouli, pine, mugwort, nutmeg

Rituals/Spells: making besoms, divination, spirit contact, crone magick, working with dark energy, spells for new beginnings

Samhain Recipes

My Pumpkin Pie:

1 16 oz. can pumpkin (about 2 cups)

1 13 oz. can evaporated milk

(but sometimes I use sweetened condensed milk– it makes it more “chiffony”…is that a word?)

2 eggs

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 sugar

the spices:

Cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, allspice, cloves, and a dash of salt. Most recipes call for 1/2 teaspoon each, but I’m much more generous with my spices!

the crust:

I tried for years to learn to make a good pie crust, and I almost gave up out of frustration, then I found this recipe. It’s almost fool-proof, no kidding.

2 and 1/2 cups flour

1 teaspoon salt

1 cup shortening

1 beaten egg

1 tablespoon vinegar

1/4 cup water

Mix the dry ingredients together and cut in the shortening, as usual. Then combine the egg and vinegar, stirring it up a bit, and add this to your dry ingredients. Add the water a dash at a time as you work it in, you’ll be able to tell when you get a good texture.

Bake at 400 degrees the first fifteen minutes, and at 350 degrees for the next 30-40 minutes. When you can stick a butter knife in the center of the pie, and it comes out clean, your pie is done.

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Hot Apple Cider

I have a *Huge*– did I say huge?– kettle that I use to mix up my cider. This sits and simmers all afternoon on the backburner of my stove, wafting a wonderful aroma throughout the house.

Ingredients:

5-7 large jugs of applejuice

8-10 bags of peach tea

a handful of cinnamon sticks

and a large metal tea ball filled

with whole cloves and allspice

You can leave a shaker of nutmeg sit on the counter & anyone who wants to add a dash of this spice to their mug of apple cider can do so.

If you don’t like this cider full force, you can dilute it some with water to suit your own taste.

October

Blood Moon

Herbs: ginger, myrrh, allspice, basil, clove

Stones: alexandrite, citrine, lilac kunzite

Scents: pine, patchouli

Colors: dark green, brown, gold

Trees: yew, cypress, maple, oak

Deities: Astarte, Horned God, Lakshmi, Ishtar

Astrological Signs: Libra, Scorpio

Elements: Air/Water

Crafting Your Magic:

Ancestral magic is cast with the Blood Moon. Do magic now to communicate with family members who have passed, to connect with your ancestors and your heritage. Magic surrounding divination is relevant, it’s the perfect time. Cast spells for justice and balance, and to overthrow anything oppressive which may be blocking your path to success. Ambition is highlighted, use magic to increase the potency of your own, or cast magic to contain ambition that may have run amok. This is also the perfect time to step into the dark shadows and take advantage of the vibrations found there. The gray witch revels in the magic of the Blood Moon and in this season.

Sources:

The information from this blog post was taken from my books ~

The Spiritual Feminist

The Gray Witch’s Grimoire

To order your copies, click  HERE

The Witch’s Desk: Celebrate September! ~ Full Moon & Autumnal Equinox

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Wine Moon

Herbs: lilac, mugwort, marjoram,
rose, thyme

Stones: sapphire, bloodstone,
rainbow obsidian

Scents: gardenia, rose, lilac

Colors: brown, yellow-green, amber

Trees: hazel, larch, bay

Deities: Demeter, Ceres, Isis,

Astrological Signs: Virgo, Libra

Elements: Earth/Air

Crafting Your Magic:

Feminine energy is highlighted, receptive energy. Cast magic to draw inward, magic to draw those things– both intangible and material– to you that you need to fill the void. The Goddess is in the spotlight. Work magic to benefit female issues, such as fertility, independence, and protection.

The Wine Moon works its magic in the area of love and relationships. Cast spells to discover your soul mate, find a lost love, or nurture a secret desire. The energy of Libra will bring balance to all magic cast at this time, and its energy promotes the very essence of love and sex. Cast spells now to promote healthy sexuality and to maintain or regain physical health of the reproductive system.

Concentrate on the third eye chakra, opening the doors to psychic experiences. Prepare to enter the autumnal dark months with the clairvoyant vision to see well beyond, into the light of the future.

The Autumnal Equinox: Mabon

The Goddess, in the death throes of the growing season, is at her most beautiful. As she moves towards the final harvest, in preparation for the dark days to come, she shines with the brilliance and color that is mirrored in the physical world as golden leaves, ripened fruit, withering vines, and frost-covered grass. The spiritual aspect of this stage is one that is just as beautiful, emphasizing once more the idea of completion and accomplishment, of finding that moment within development that culminates with depths of wisdom and the light of knowledge.

This day brings equal hours of light and dark, a second celebration of perfect equality. Beyond this day, light will gradually fade as the dark season descends upon the world. At this time of year, the ancient Druids would burn a large human-like wicker figure as part of their celebration. This figure represented the vegetation spirit, and indeed, the heralding of the dark season would bring an end to the growth and flowering of summer.

Modern Pagans may celebrate this holiday with many of the foods connected with this time of year in their area. Decorations may include leaves of autumn hues, sunflowers, pumpkins and gourds. The most amazing thing, I believe, is how this miraculous milestone of earth and time passes almost unnoticed by the mundane multitudes.

My Celebration:

I welcome the growing darkness that I know will follow Mabon. Moment by moment, day by day, it creeps up almost unnoticed. Until one day, you glance at the clock and realize that afternoon is barely over, evening has barely begun, and it is pitch dark outside.

My favorite way to celebrate Mabon is by lighting candles all over the house. In doing so I’m actually celebrating the darkness with light.

I light white candles for cleansing and purification, for Spirit, for the Goddess. I light white candles to wipe the slate clean, to start new lists, to begin new projects. I light yellow candles to celebrate the sun and its grace and dignity as it steps back to make way for the moon. I light yellow candles to celebrate communication and everything I’ve ever wanted to say to anyone, and those things I might regret not saying. I light yellow candles to fill my mind with words and thoughts that run into sentences and paragraphs and pages. I light lavender candles to celebrate the spirits I know are there but cannot see. I light lavender candles to acknowledge that little voice in my head, the one that’s saved my life over the years, not to mention my sanity. I light green candles to celebrate and embrace the earth. I light green candles to celebrate and embrace this wonderful physcial body that is mine. I light green candles to bathe in the glow of good health and prosperity. I light green candles to feel the soles of my bare feet connect with the dying grass, the withering garden, the falling leaves.

I light one tall black taper candle that is me, to celebrate the spark of life I carry, to celebrate future days to come, to celebrate my passage through another year…and to acknowledge and embrace my mortality.

Mabon Correspondences

Herbs: marigold, myrrh, thistles, sage

Altar Flowers/Herbs: asters, mums, pine, ferns, milkweed, honeysuckle

Feast Foods: autumn berries, nuts, roast game, root vegetables, cider, wine, bread

Animals: stags, goats, blackbirds, canines, owls, birds-of-prey

Incense: cedar, myrrh, patchouli, pine, sage, sweet grass, oak moss

Rituals/Spells: drying herbs, gathering late harvest, past life work, harvest moon rituals, making willow wands, harmony spells, protection spells for winter

Mabon Recipes

Carmel Apple Crumb Treat

2 Golden Delicious apples

4 small (or 2 large) Granny Smith apples

1/8 cup fruit juice

1/3 cup loosely packed light brown sugar

2 tablespoons butter

1/4 teaspoon ground ginger

12 soft caramel candies

1/2 cup quick rolled oats

1/2 cup flour

1/3 cup tightly packed light brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

1/3 cup butter

Slice and core the apples, mixing the types together.

Pour the fruit juice into a large pot. Put about a third of the apple slices into the pot. Sprinkle with half the lightly packed brown sugar and dot with 1 tablespoon of butter. Add more apples and the remaining brown sugar and butter, and 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger.

Turn the heat on Low and simmer for a while. Stir apples occasionally, until they start to soften. The Golden Delicious will pretty much turn to mush, binding together the slices of Granny Smith. This takes about an hour or two, depending on the heat and the apples.

Meanwhile, cut the soft caramels into quarters.

Preheat the oven to 350ºF.

To prepare the crumble topping, stir together 1/2 cup quick rolled oats, 1/2 cup flour, 1/3 cup tightly packed light brown sugar, and 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger. Slice 1/3 cup butter and add to bowl, then cut it in with a butter cutter until the mixture is loose and crumbly.

Spray a ceramic or glass pie plate with cooking spray. Spoon in about a third of the apples and spread them on the bottom. Top with half the caramel pieces. Spoon in another third of the apples; top with the remaining caramel pieces. Spoon in the remaining apples and spread them smooth. Use another spoon to sprinkle the crumble topping evenly over the top of the apple filling.

Bake for 20-30 minutes until filling is bubbly and topping melds into a lightly golden crust. Serve hot.

____________________

Broccoli Casserole

2 eggs, lightly beaten

1 can (10-3/4 ounces) condensed cream of mushroom soup, undiluted

1 medium onion, chopped

1 cup (4 ounces) shredded cheddar cheese

1 cup (4 ounces) shredded Swiss cheese

1/2 cup mayonnaise

2 tablespoons butter, melted

1 package (16 ounces) frozen broccoli cuts, thawed

1 package (10 ounces) frozen chopped broccoli, thawed

1/4 cup dry bread crumbs

In a large bowl, combine the first seven ingredients; fold in broccoli. Transfer to a greased 1-1/2 qt. baking dish. Sprinkle with bread crumbs. Cover and bake at 400 for 30-35 minutes or until heated through. Serves 8.

Notes:
1.  The full moon for September 2015 falls on the 28th; the autumnal equinox falls on the 23rd.
2.  The art in this post is courtesy of Craig Koskov
3.  The sources for this blog post are my books: The Gray Witch’s Grimoire & The Spiritual Feminist…
Amythyst’s Amazon Author Page…click Here

The Witch’s Desk: Lammas!

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 We’re gearing up for the first Pagan harvest festival of the year:  Lammas (also known as Lughnasadh in some traditions).  How time flies; it’s this time of year again.  Summer may still feel in full-swing in your area, but Mother Nature is tapping us on the shoulder with this first harvest of grain, reminding us that it’s not going to last forever, giving us a heads-up to be prepared for the inevitable winter-to-come.  Following is more information on this holiday in our Pagan “Wheel-of-the-Year”, including the Goddess connection, my personal reflections on this harvest festival, as well as correspondences for Lammas, ritual suggestions, and recipes!

Read on, enjoy.

And…Happy Lammas!

ladyamythyst.com/wheeloftheyear.htm

Lammas

(August 1)

As the matron of ancient times would start early to prepare her family for the harsh winter months ahead, so the Mother Goddess prepares us. She reminds us of the bounty yet to come with an early harvest of grain. She encourages us to take stock of what we have, and this pertains to the physical harvests, of course, but it can also include taking stock of ourselves, re-evaluating our goals, our lives, our paths, our relationships, our strengths, and our weaknesses.

This is the first of the harvest festivals, and in the ancient world this was indeed a time of celebration. A successful harvest would mean survival in the harsh winter months. In the northern countries this was, in particular, a celebration of the first harvest of wheat, thus bread is featured in the celebration of Lammas, also known as Lughnasadh.

As the modern day Pagans celebrate this festival they will build roaring bonfires, feed each other a mouthful of bread, and with wine they will toast each other…”May you eat the bread of life.“

My Celebration:

Yes, it’s a harvest festival. Yes, bread and wheat, as well as other grains, figure into it. But for me, it was more about the passage of time. It’s about how time plays tricks on us, and as a child on summer vacation from school, these three months seemed like a whole year rolled up into one magickal moment.

August 1 in South Dakota meant lots of lingering blistering summer days ahead, the heat being almost as intense as July; but it also meant something different in the air, that faint scent (an autumn scent), a nuance of change in the sunlight, the slight tinge starting at the edge of the leaves. And then one morning, being greeted with crisp air and a sky so blue it was almost painful to look at, so beautiful it was.

This holiday, this moment in time, is a mystery. It is the ability to look back into the past while standing on some invisible magickal horizon so that you can see the future, but just enough of the future to tease you forward. And you come to this exact same time and place year after year. August 1, another summer coming to a close, one of so many, and another autumn returning. An end, to make way for something new to begin, again, and again, and again.

The figure standing on the horizon grows, matures, changes, morphs, ages, expands, learns, regrets, loves, hates, wonders, questions, fears, laughs, and listens. The figure on the horizon passes through a human life time in the blink of an eye, with one inaudible breath…and then they fade into an ethereal creature of smokey wisps with a voice that is but the wind.

Lammas Correspondences

Herbs: frankincense, wheat, cornstalks, heather

Altar Flowers/Herbs: corn ears, hollyhock, myrtle, oak leaves, wheat

Feast Foods: apples/apple pie, cornbread, sweet potatoes/sweet potato pie, grapes, blackberries

Animals: calves, roosters, deer

Incense: chamomile, rose, rosemary, allspice, sandalwood, carnation

Rituals/Spells: maternal magick, prosperity spells, purification spells, thanksgiving rituals, career spells

Lammas Recipes

Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins
(with glaze)

For the Muffins:

2/3 cup sugar

Grate 2 lemons

Juice of 1 lemon

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup sour cream

2 large eggs

1 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1 stick (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter, melted and cooled

2 tablespoons poppy seeds

For the Icing:

1 cup confectioners’ sugar, sifted

2-3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Line 12 molds in a regular-size muffin pan with paper muffin cups. Place the muffin pan on a baking sheet.

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Banana Bread

1 1/4 cups sugar

1/2 cup butter or margarine, softened

2 eggs

1 1/2 cups mashed very ripe bananas (3 to 4 medium)

1/2 cup buttermilk

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

1 cup chopped nuts, if desired

Move oven rack to low position so that tops of pans will be in center of oven. Heat oven to 350°F. Grease bottoms only of 2 loaf pans, 8 1/2×4 1/2×2 1/2 inches, or 1 loaf pan, 9x5x3 inches.

Mix sugar and butter in large bowl. Stir in eggs until well blended. Add bananas, buttermilk and vanilla. Beat until smooth. Stir in flour, baking soda and salt just until moistened. Stir in nuts. Pour into pans.

Bake 8-inch loaves about 1 hour, 9-inch loaf about 1 1/4 hours, or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes. Loosen sides of loaves from pans; remove from pans and place top side up on wire rack. Cool completely, about 2 hours, before slicing.

[Source:  This blog post is an excerpt from my book The Spiritual Feminist]

Woman Speak

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My Google Hangout: Woman Speak

Premiering: FRIDAY, January 9th, 3pm-3:30pm CST

My Google Profile: https://plus.google.com/115470498364726846205/posts?hl=en

Explore the world of women, witches, and pagans on a variety of levels at Woman Speak. Reconnect with The Goddess. Find healing, empowerment, and sisterhood through Matriarchal Divinity. The topics are pagan, occult, new-age, paranormal, and supernatural. The topics will also center around feminism, relationships, family, careers, writing, and books…(Woman Speak– exploring women’s issues.)

 

*Note: to join me “live” and participate at Woman Speak, you have to be on my Google Friends list.

A Special Holiday Blessing

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I was initially going to share this blessing with a very small group of sisters and co-conspirators in life, but I realized that there were so many other people who popped into my head, connected in some way with this blessing, these desires, these wishes, and these needs.  As we traverse through the holiday season and come to the end of this year, read this intention, wish with all your heart, “know” with that magickal part of you, and light a white candle.

The blessings and magickal intentions going into our white candles:

Peace & Harmony…may all and any issues causing you concern smooth out and resolution be found.

Prosperity…where there is material need, may the golden touch of a golden angel bring you a blessed and full cornucopia.

Love…amplified a gazillion times, like the stars in the heavens.

Success…on all your many and varied adventures and projects.

Health…may all the infirmities that we suffer be rolled into one large black ball, and may this ball be given a mighty toss, that it rolls away, past the moon, past the stars, to a netherworld.

Hope…that we all know good things are right around the corner.

Laughter…because it feels good and makes us healthy, and when we laugh our personal magickal energy is released in beautiful silver bubbles that burst all over the universe, causing a contagious rush of happiness to the world.

Satisfaction…that we are content with ourselves, wherever we are at this point, with whatever we may be doing, that we know we’ve given life our best shot, and where the universe takes us…it will be our destiny.

Garden Magic 5

Magic path Print by Cristo Bolanos

Good-by Sweet Summer

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For all the Pagans out there who celebrate Mabon (the autumnal equinox), may you have a glorious day of equal sun-light & darkness.  The dark season will be upon us now, before we know it.  This means that I will happily light candles around the house earlier and earlier in the evening and relish their beautiful golden glow.

For more information on this Pagan Holiday, including a beautiful video by MsJulieCarol, follow this link:
http://www.ladyamythyst.com/wheeloftheyear.htm

Mabon Altar

Imbolc: The Next Pagan Holiday

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Happy Imbolc! If you’re not pagan, you may recognize this holiday as ‘Candlemas’ (February 2), a holiday celebrating the purification of the Virgin Mary, according to Jewish law, and a presentation of the infant Jesus in the temple, also according to Jewish law. However, long before Judaism & Christianity arrived on the scene, pagans in the old world celebrated this day as ‘Imbolc’, a celebration of birth and lactation, as their herds of sheep began to grow with the birth of lambs. The celebration of Imbolc is in honor of the Old Woman of winter who is magickally reborn as the Young Maiden of spring.

This was also a festival to celebrate the Celtic goddess Bride, a goddess of fire/flame, poetry, craftsmanship, and healing. This goddess is invoked when survival is an issue, whether physical, emotional, financial, or spiritual. When the Roman church invaded the British Isles, they discovered that the people’s devotion to Bride was so strong it could not be eradicated. To solve this dilemma, the Roman Catholic Church renamed the Celtic goddess ‘Brighid’ and made her a saint.

The following is a list of corresponding herbs, flowers, animals, feast foods, etc., that are used in the festivals of Imbolc for symbology, as decorations, and for the magick performed at this time:

Herbs: basil, bay, celandine, benzoic
Altar Flowers/Herbs: angelica, myrrh, flowers that are yellow/white/or blue
Feast Foods: bread, cakes, dairy products, seeds
Animals: burrowing animals, ewes, deer, goats, lambs
Incense: jasmine, myrrh, neroli
Rituals/Spells: candle magick, initiation, hearth/home blessings, fertility magick, healing magick, cleansing rituals

Pagans today celebrate the Wheel of the Year, eight sabbats (holidays) which recognize and acknowledge the changing of seasons, the earth, and nature. This celebration of and homage to the natural world, and the practices that accompany this spiritual path, is called “Witchcraft”.

For more information, including videos, go to: http://ladyamythyst.webs.com/wheeloftheyear.htm

 

Winter Solstice: December Magick, the Whys & Hows

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winter solstice 1

Happy Winter Solstice!

 December

 Named for: “Decem”, meaning ‘ten’

Anglo-Saxon: Midwintra-monap

Birthstone: turquoise, zircon

Flower: holly, narcissus, poinsettia

 December Moon Magick:

Oak Moon

Herbs: cedar wood, juniper, sage, star anise, carnation

Stones: lapis, smoky quartz, lazulite

Scents: violet, patchouli, frankincense, myrrh, rose geranium

Colors: red, white, black

Trees: pine, fir, holly

Deities: Hathor, Hecate, Athese

Elements: Fire/Water

Astrological Influences for December:

Sagittarius:

ruled by Jupiter, projective/masculine, mutable/fire

Capricorn:

 ruled by Saturn, receptive/feminine, cardinal/earth

 Pagan Holiday:

Winter Solstice/Yule

December 21

Winter Solstice…the longest day of darkness in the year; and with the darkness comes the promise of light, the rebirth of the Sun. It is no wonder, because of the importance of this date to the ancient pagans and the symbolism involved, that the Roman church chose this date to celebrate the birth of Christ.

 This is the time that the brothers battle– the Holly King & the Oak King. The Oak King will win this fight with his brother, and light and warmth will return to the Earth.

 Herbs: frankincense, myrrh, sage, bayberry, rosemary

Altar Flowers/Herbs: holly, mistletoe, pine cones, evergreen, thistle, cedar

Feast Foods: fruitcake, gingerbread, cranberries, dried fruit, eggnog, cider/wine

Animals: white buffalo, stag, weasels, owls, squirrels, blue jays, cardinals, doves

Incense: bayberry, cedar, frankincense, myrrh, orange, sage, rosemary

Rituals/Spells: hearth and home magick, lighting the Yule log, hopes and dreams spells, wishes

 (The information above is from, “Natural Magick the Gray Witch Way”,  by Amythyst Raine)

© Natural Magick the Gray Witch Way, Amythyst Raine, 2011

Magickal Herbs for the Holidays:

 mortar_pestle-1.jpg picture by witch_of_endore

 Holly

Gender:  Masculine

Planet:  Mars

Element:  Fire

Powers:  Protection, anti-lightening, luck, dream magic

 Magical Uses:

Holly is a protective herb used to keep you safe from lightening, poison, and evil spirits.  Planted around the home, it keeps the occupants safe from black magic.  Holly is said to tame wild animals, and holly water sprinkled on newborn babies will protect them.

This herb is carried to promote good luck– especially when carried by men, because its energy is masculine.  At Yule time its hung around the house for good luck.

Its said that holly leaves added to a mojo bag and kept beneath your pillow will make your dreams come true.

 Ivy

Gender:  Feminine

Planet:  Saturn

Element:  Water

Powers:  Protection, healing

 Magical Uses:

Ivy is carried by women for good luck in general, and is traditionally carried by brides for this reason.

Where Ivy is grown or scattered, its suppose to guard against negativity and disaster.  Its also used in fidelity and love charms and spells.

Ivy is magically “paired” with holly as a potent charm.

____________________

Magickal Stones for the Holiday Season:

stones

To commemorate the season, we’re going to look at stones that promote “Peace”.

 

Sapphire

Energy:  Receptive (feminine)

Planet:  Moon

Element:  Water

Powers:  Psychism, love, meditaiton, peace, defensive magic, healing, power, money

 Magical Uses:

Sapphires are worn to awaken the third eye chakra and increase your psychic powers.  This stone is said to be the ‘guardian of love’, promoting positive feelings and fidelity between couples.  The sapphire also banishes envy, promotes positive social interaction, and is said to reconcile foes.

Sapphires are worn during meditation to induce a peaceful state.

 

 Sodalite

Energy:  Receptive (feminine)

Planet:  Venus

Element:  Water

Powers:  Healing, peace, meditation, wisdom

 Magical Uses:

Sodalite is a healing stone used for emotionally related diseases, such as those caused by stress, nervousness, anger, or fear.  This stone is said to dispel fear and guilt and to calm inner turmoil.

This is also a popular stone for meditation, said to promote wisdom.