Herbal Cupboard Make-over

Yes...I know...I have a warped sense of humour. But a witches Herbal Cupboard needs to have eerie things of fantasy fauna and witchy lore....or else its...well...boring.

So I dreamed up a bunch of labels and a nice collection of bottles, all the same size.

 So ..."ahem".... I have managed to collect a bit of "Dried Fairy Wings" taken from the donations of a special family of Fairies who shed their wings once per year. (so I told my daughter) and I have also managed to collect and dry some Toad Skin, which was then chipped up for easier use.

They are actually dried hibiscus petals (wings) and dried orange peel (toad skin)...LOL.... but these labels are waaaayyyy more fun, and they freak the hell out of people. My son had a good laugh.  I have also managed to collect a stash of "Road killed Newt Eyeballs" all flattened nicely...(pumpkin seeds), but still have to make the label for those.

Here is a tea which is good for gas, and bloated tummies:

TOAD TEA


Two tablespoons of Toad Skin Chips (Full moon alchemists brand)
One table spoon grated ginger


Boil with three cups of water and sweeten with brown sugar. 
Drink for bloated tummies, or gassy stomachs. Makes a great morning tea to wake up digestion.

Creepy short film from Pixar's Rodrigo Blaas

Heh heh heh........

Ark

Sharing a short Clip I found on you tube...can't find the creator's Name though.

Wyrd Sisters

Can't have a proper witchcraft blog without some Witchy fun.
About the best, most developed character I have read with regard to the theme is Terry Pratchett's Granny Weatherwax. You may want to take in the Witches Trilogy, three of Pratchett's books featuring Granny, Nanny Ogg, and Magrat Garlick.

I just think that the antics that they get up to are hilarious. Granny is cool...I love her character....ecclectic witch and all that. Although I think Granny herself would scoff at the description!

                                                       

Etsy Miniatures

Beautiful Miniature Bed from this Etsy Shop!

http://www.etsy.com/shop/Bearcabinminiatures?ref=seller_info

Spirits, Memes and energies- Dealing with negative influences

In the Christian revivalists’ faith, many speak about “Spirits” which are passed from person to person, just by constant associations with them. Evolutionary theorists call these phenomena “Behavioral Memes” which is observed when an idea passes from one individual or another, and is taken on as a “belief” system, which then affects the person’s reaction to certain situations.

I myself, after a few months of observing, realized that I had unconsciously adopted one such meme. There are two individuals working close to me who are constantly under the fear that they are being victimized. I caught myself the other day mentally brooding over the same idea, and started to observe this more carefully. It was indeed a meme, a spirit of…… choose which ever name you wish to call it. Added to that, was the tendency of the two of them to over dramatize every little event, as if it was deliberately put there to thwart them (I guess it’s the same thing as feeling victimized constantly).

Just noticing the phenomenon is enough to turn your mind around.

That we are able to adopt each other neurosis is a scary thing. For the opened mind, it is a scary thing.

Good thing I know about Psychic Shields.

BOS Entry 2008 - “Hold your hands out at your sides, with your palms facing the ground. Imagine all stress, strain and worry, and any other physical discomfort flowing from your body down into the ground. Imagine it all being transmuted to positive energy (it may glow a different happy colour like bright gold). Next, imagine the energy of the earth as a golden or citrine light. This light enters your feet and fills up your whole body. You feel the flow stop as it reaches the top of your head.

Then imagine a bubble of blue-white light surrounding you like an egg. It forms from the top of your head and arches all the way down into the ground under your feet. Now imagine zipping it up from the ground up. There is your Protective Sphere. All negative energies will now bounce off of it and not enter you. As you go about your day, you will see the negative energies coming. But they cannot touch you, as they bounce off your sphere!

Blessed Be.

Divali

One of my favourite festivals which is celebrated here is Divali.
On the darkest night of the year (Dark Moon night) the Hindu community light little lamps to commemorate the return of a son, many many years ago. There is more to the festival, I just don't feel confident that I know enough of the story to blog it....but I will find out.

So last night I visited a friend's home, and the neighbourhood was ablaze with lights and song. All the women were decked off in glittering sari's of greens and golds. My friend has six sisters, four blood relations and two adopted ones. I could imagine someone getting a kick out of seeing them lined up together and watching the East Indian/Spanish/Chinese ethnic groups in all of them. Family Heritage in this country is a convoluted tale...but the end results are beautiful to look at!

The principle Goddess in the celebration is Mother Lakshmi. Which is apt. The Deyas which light the streets and yards symbolize light over darkness, good over evil. Mother Lakshmi herself, sits on a Lotus Flower, which is another symbol of triumph over adversity, conquering darkness etc.

The food was great too...all vegetarian.  The six seater table was occupied several times as batch after batch of people sat and ate.
The fireworks, the fun snaps and the starlites all added to the air of festivity......I wonder if I should light up my house next year???

Tropical Storm Tomas....we were missed again

Tracking Tomas

The link will take you to Tomas.
Its gone northward, thank goodness. Many people are complaining that the authorities made much ado about nothing. I for one am glad that they did. Storms can turn at a moments notice.

The night was extremely still, no breezes at all, and not too warm. But the sun shone brightly in a blue sky this morning, amid reports of high winds and rain in Barbados, an island nearby.

There is a local saying : "God iza Trini"  we have rarely been hit by a Tropical storm, so much so that the last heavy storm I remember is as a child, probably three or four years old, and sleeping under my bed hearing the winds batter our little home.

On to Saturday.......and Halloween Parties tonight!

Trapped...can Planetary Magick help?

Every so often I feel exactly like this picture. There is a hazy image that I can see, that I want to see clearly, but I cannot, because I am trapped by current circumstances in life.
I go through the process of trying to obliterate (in my mind) some of the "walls" that hold me from where I want to be. Then I realize it is pointless, there isn't anything much I can change, and just ...well gather strength to keep keeping on. One of those moments came upon me this morning and I felt to run away from everything and everyone.
One thing about magick, is that is offers you the opportunity to analyze the situation....because in the process of deciding which spell is best to banish the feeling, you actually sort through the issues, and may realize....well...I don't need to do a spell...I just need to tweak here....and (ting ching ting!) presto...the feeling is dealt with.

At times like these I may resort to Planetary Magick, and ask that Saturn pushes back his boundaries a bit (you are choking me!!!!) but I need to know what the boundaries have to be pushed back on. Will give more about Planetary Magick in another blog.....

This time......it is clear....my current career is not fulfilling, and I need to follow my dream........which brings me to my financial situation without my job ....which brings me to managing car and rent payments.....spiraling into a vortex of anxiety and worry. Honestly, I think I have too many responsibilities....thats the whole of it.

Moongirl

Found this animated short from Henry Selick, who worked on Tim Burton's Nightmare before Christmas. I like it.....will search for more of his stuff

Is Sharing Spells/ Ritual effective?- Part Two

In an earlier blog post:http://cocyeabroomstick.blogspot.com/2010/10/is-sharing-spells-ritual-effective-part.html

I began outlining the differences between spells and rituals. I also pointed out that learning styles had a profound effect on determining the elements in the spell/ritual which would be most effective for ourselves. I stopped at that point as I didn’t want the blog post to be too long.

What I have seen, is that people share spells; using someone else’s spell well…..”word for word” without considering if the spell’s associations have any meaning to them.

Spells and rituals, must mean something to the individual…..its no good doing a spell for new beginnings using yellow and purple, when the colours or baby pink or blue always came to mind as your association to the idea of new beginnings.

The inner work must be done before the spell. Sometimes, it is helpful to make notes in preparation for the spell. I usually outline the following points in preparing:

1)      In one sentence, what is the spell’s/ritual’s intent or goal

2)      Is it phrased in a way to “harm none”

3)      What colours do you associate with this goal?

4)      What scents do you associate with this goal?

5)      What actions / shapes etc do you associate with the goal

The process of creating your own spell leads to an inner work that is missed by just borrowing a spell. I remember reading a bit from  Austin Osmand Spare where he pointed out that attempting to teach others his magickal techniques was futile, as the techniques were developed  by his mind, for his mind. 

The same idea is put forward in learning any creative subject. The process of finding the end (painting) is more important than the end (painting) itself. You need to discover for yourself, what makes your mind click, and the only one who can do that is you.

Do the ground work……..you get deeper into your spiritual style by doing so.

Tim Burton Fairy Tales

Just sharing something I found...... a website of Timmy Tales....Tim Burton-like characters and poems....
I am not sure if they came from the creator themselves...but they are his flavour.
Link here:

http://homepage.eircom.net/~sebulbac/burton/home.html

Found this entry in my BOS which was written on the 14th November 2008.


Causal Body (Air)- beliefs, reason and memory. This give rise to:


Mental Body(Fire)- the body of knowledge stored within. Which is responsible for:


Emotional Body(Water)- a living history of all the things you like and dislike; all of your fears, hopes and desires. These three create:


Physical body(Earth)- the final manifestation of the previous three.


To change the Physical reality, begin at the source. Look for holes in the belief system you hold.


It is almost a year later, and I feel no closer to who I want to be than I was last year. I go through serious periods of indecision flipping back and forth between security and passion......can I make the passion give me security....my biggest, most challenging hurdle is a bloody career decision!
It should be simple to shift............