Truly, I am blessed to have amazingly supportive and loving friends in my life. One of my girlfriends is very much like me in that she is trying to really pinpoint her home’s aesthetic and sometimes purchases items that no longer serve her. As it so happens, this awesome piece is one of them.
It definitely matches my home’s aesthetic and my personality more so of course I took it happily! I love her so much. She had just recently moved down here to San Antonio and so it was a bit dusty but that was easy enough to clean up for sure! After wiping it down, I turned it into my husband’s new gaming snack station. There is no place to actually put in .25c everything he grabbed a snack BUT, if there was, I would be rich and able to retire tomorrow.
I hope everyone has the opportunity to make friends and receive unique and delightful gifts that support their home so perfectly. Thanks again, Bestie!
The new moon is a wonderful time to make new goals and bring intention into your life. I participate in a very large pagan service every Sunday here in San Antonio and so I opened it up to the students to drop their new moon intentions into the bowl and I would burn them in the evening. (Spell below). I do read them just in case of suicidal ideations as I am a mandatory reporter and while there was none of that, it really made me realize that people’s basic needs are not being met. Work on mental health/anxiety, find love, learn to love myself, fix my finances, get out of debt, take care of my family, learn real skills, let go of people who don’t care about me, get stronger, and happiness were some of the most repeated. We always talk about how there is a mental health crisis in not just the U.S., but the world and this really drove that home. I hope that every one of them gets their wishes granted with the new moon because everyone deserves happiness.
Ingredients: Something to write with Something to write on Bay leaves Dandelion root Fireproof area to burn your intentions Lighter/matches
First, write out what your new intentions are. They can be as simple or as complex as you want. However, the simpler the better. It makes it easier to concentrate on it later on. By writing out your intentions, you are now commiting to it as an end goal, not just a hopeful wish. Place your paper in the fireproof location. You could also write your wishes on the bay leaves themselves. That is another fantastic way of performing this spell. Next you will cover the paper in bay (or add more bay to the fireproof area if you want to increase the spell’s effectiveness) and add dandelion as well. Finally, set all of it on fire. Paper and dried bay leaves are highly flammable so make sure you do this safely. Allow everything to burn and release your intentions up into the universe until it is nothing but ash.
Witch Tip: Use those ashes for later happiness spells or to create black salt afterwards.
I absolutely love spooky season and the stores never disappoint. However, there are some items that are really cool or a really cool concept but they don’t quite meet my home’s aesthetic. But that is where a few drops of glue and a few charms come in to play! I say this because the winter months can be very difficult to get through but arts and crafts are a great way to explore your practice, add to the decor or even seasonal decor, and focus your mind if you are feeling overwhelmed. I know I am! So without further ado… My snake entangled mirror!
I bought this super cool wall hanging but it was just so simple and nothing in my house is simple. I was out of clear glue so I just used clear nail polish and that worked just fine. I didn’t have charms small enough but I did have some cool manicure nail art charms on hand! It worked out perfectly. I took my time laying out the pattern first. I didn’t just jump in and start gluing things down! It took a few tries but I finally found the right pattern that really gave my new snake entangled mirror the perk it needed to fit into my home. Finally, I used some tweezers to move the charms around and glue them down. All of this took maybe 10 minutes and that is with pulling things out and putting them away again.
I am quite happy with the finished product and it looks great in my hallway. Did anyone else get this mirror and jazz it up? I would love to hear all about your creativity in the comments!
You guys may remember a few months back in April I did a post about The Donkey Lady Bridge just outside of San Antonio, Texas. Well at the end of the post, I did mention that during the spooky season, a phoneline is available where you are supposedly able to speak to The Donkey Lady or at least she is able to communicate with you.
There are many stories as to how The Donkey Lady came to be and why she haunts the Applewhite Bridge but my favorite is this one: a farmer set fire to his home, murdered his children, and left his wife horribly disfigured. Her fingers were melted down to stumps from the heat of the flames, creating hoof-like appendages, and the skin on her face was charred giving her face an elongated, donkey-like appearance. Grieving the loss of her children and the betrayal of her husband, she haunts Elm Creek and torments those who try to cross.
From midnight Oct. 31 through Nov. 6, call the local phone number and each night, a new 45-second message awaits callers to the Donkey Lady Hotline. Some who call the hotline will hear creepy sounds, or sometimes even talk to her if she surprised them by picking up. Others will hear a prerecorded message updated daily, and then apparently every Saturday through Dec. 31. Her story will unfold in a series of segments as she reflects on present-day San Antonio. Now, I have no idea what that means but we will be doing this in our household each evening to see what it is about and you are welcome to a well!
The Donkey Lady hotline: 210-960-3826.
There is no charge for the call and while you are having a chat with her, why not have a drink as well?
Whether or not the Donkey Lady is real, she is certainly a lingering presence in the folklore of central Texas.
Truly I adore the planters I have made and distributed around the house! It gave me the idea to work on this cute little ghost planter I had. Of course the succulent I had inside died…… So I removed it and used some lysol wipes to clean him up a bit.
This skull has a lot of history with me. Originally it was a Halloween decoration that I began using at the dental office I work at as a visual aid. Unfortunetly, one day it fell and broke so I began using it as a planter instead. The snake plant I had inside died a long time ago. SO NOW I used some lysol wipes to clean it up a bit for its new life as a permanent succulent garden.
I think they both came out great and will look wonderful in my bedroom. They cleaned up well and now add a bit of green to the dresser. It’s a good fit!
What do you guys think of my move to fake plants? Let me know in the comments below!
The New Year and Yule are almost upon us and with it comes a new vigor for life and renewal. Purify yourself or consecrate any of your (water and salt resistant) tools in the special purification path.
1 Cup Epson salt 1 cup sea salt 3 parts geranium 2 parts rosemary 1part frankincense
Combine all ingredients together and put in a small silken bag so that herbs do not clog the drains or substitute with essential oils. Bathe to purify body, spirit, and soul.
Samhain is one of the best times of the year to engage in psychic work and divination in general. This bath is a great way to prepare yourself for that.
Cup Epson salts 4 parts yarrow 1 part bay 1 or 2 drops Blue food coloring
Combine all ingredients together and put in a small silken bag so that herbs do not clog the drains or substitute with essential oils. Bathe to strengthen your psychic awareness.
Spooky season is upon us and the veil grows thin! That being said, a lot of people become mentally bogged down with the end of the fiscal year and the onset of winter. This is an excellent bath to help out during stressful times. With its combination of relaxing Epsom salts and protection herbs, this is fantastic craft to partake in from start to finish.
1 cup Epson salts ½ cup sea salt 3 parts rosemary 2 parts frankincense 1 part lavender
Combine all ingredients together and put in a small silken bag so that herbs do not clog the drains or substitute with essential oils. Bathe regularly to strengthen your psychic armor and to stave off all manner of attacks- physical, mental, spiritual, psychic, and emotional.
As a sea witch that deals with a lot of water magic and such, I tend to have quite a few oceanic references throughout my home and altar area. I found a giant cement clam shell that I absolutely loved at first sight. I’ve been using it for years as an offering dish and holder of my deity statues. My main colors are blue and gold and so I generally will paint or purchase items in those colors. I had imagined the shell would look fantastic with a shimmery golden interior and decided to do just that. It cost me all of 2tbsp of paint, 1 large paintbrush, and 15 minutes of my time due to multiple coats.
The initial shell is very cool and very heavy. It had a lot of dark areas and I accidently burned a few spots with incense. Oops! I wanted to cover this up as well as make it look a little more fancy. I decided I wanted to mix a few shades of gold so that I had a bit of shine to it that would reflect candlelight beautifully.
Once I had a color I really liked, I went ahead and started painting! Honestly, all I knew is that I wanted at least the inside of the shell to be gold. I did a little bit along the rim as I went to ensure that I could cover up my incense burn marks. I also brought the gold all the way up to the top of the shell and I feel like it really came out well! The shine in the sunlight and candlelight is gorgeous. After painting 3 coats to make sure everything was very even, I left it to dry for 24 hours. Finally I could use my new and improved altar shell!
The final product has made me really happy and I have received many compliments on it whenever I have visitors over. Every day I put a few gold nuggets, diamonds, ancient Chinese coins, or doubloons in the altar shell for each of the blessings I feel I received that day. It is a form of mindfulness that has really helped me see… no matter how bad my day could be, I still had something at the end of the day to be grateful. It really helps you to end the day with a positive attitude and is very much like the manifestation box. Honestly, once my shell fills up, I put all the offerings in the manifestation box I originally posted about and it makes me happy to see the treasure chest continue to fill with all of my blessings. It also really adds to the sea theme of my home.
This was actually a very fun and easy craft to do. It adds a great ambiance to the house. Or if you don’t plan to leave it out all year long and only want it as a Halloween craft, that works as well!
To begin with, I had a stack of sticker labels and one of them said werewolf lure which is why I decided to make this craft for my home. I had a cheap plastic container that I had gotten from Michael’s craft store for $3.99. I used mod podge and a regular brown paper bag for lunches to add that more Apothecary feel to the lid. The first thing I did was placed the sticker on the container as neatly and straight as I could so that I would know how much of the paper bag could cover the top. After that, I glued a large swatch of the paper bag to the lid and then trimmed around the extra after it was dry. While the glue is drying, I took a de-shedding brush and brushed out Tsar Nikolai Romanov because spring is coming and he definitely needed the brushing. The pile of fur I had after could have made another cat. The curse of the longhair!
This was not all of his fur… this is the small portion I put aside to work with for the lure….
I took a little of his extra fur and tied it together with sinew and added a wolf howling at the moon silver charm. This completed the actual lure piece that was going to be inside of the container. This was pretty easy overall but I did take the extra time to brush it out straight and trim the top.
Finally, after I trimmed the brown paper bag to make a neat circle around the top that screws on, I glued a little of the overhanging paper to the sides of the top and wrapped a thin rope material around the lid so that it would be secured and again, have that Apothecary look. Afterwards, to ensure it stayed in place, I used Mod Podge to seal everything.
The final product came out a lot better than I thought it would. King Charlemagne was a delight and kept me company throughout the whole process. He also walked off with my werewolf lure at one point and had to be chased around the house to retrieve it. I wonder what that says about him…
Bottle crafting was requested so I will be showing how I used this pretty bottle I got for $2.99 from a thrift store into an excellent storage for litter deodorizer pellets. The bottle is very beautiful and the plastic container used to store litter deodorizer pellets is very unsightly. I try not to leave things out that are obviously a type of cleaning product or sent product. The decanter bottle was obviously some kind of crystal liquor bottle. Now it is going to hold litter scent pellets!
Since I have a bit of an ancient Egyptian theme whenever it comes to the kitties, I made sure to continue along those lines. I went through all of my beads and found enough to make a very beautiful double charm that hangs off of the bottle. I also had enough to make a charm to go on the little cat deity bust that I planned to put next to it.
The little ushabti figure is actually a little chalk figure that I got years ago which came with a book on Ancient Egypt I received as a present. I never did use it and it was so unbelievably cute that I kind of just kept it around. I figured this would actually be the perfect opportunity to make use of it without wasting it as a piece of chalk and no longer having the figure. Originally, I was going to have just one set of beads hanging off of the bottle, but I found a necklace that I never wear and used the main bead from that. I planned out how each one was going to look first. Originally, I was going to use wax to secure the beading to the bottle, but I did not want to prevent the bottle from being able to be washed since it was going to be in proximity of the cat litter box. In the end, the charm just hangs around the bottle at the neck and can be removed when for cleaning purposes.
Once I planned everything out, it was just a matter of beading everything together and getting the correct lengths for each charm. I really like how they came out and it was enough to make me want to adorn the cat bust that I was going to place with the bottle and candle. First things first, I washed the bottle very thoroughly since it did come from a thrift store. After it had been washed, I used a normal plastic kitchen funnel to pour the deodorizing pellets into the bottle. I was able to fit about one and a half cans of the deodorizing pellets.
Next came the beading. After everything was laid out and the patterns I wanted figure it out oh, I beaded everything together and secured it with one last bead holding all of the strings together. It was as easy as 1, 2, 3 to fit the little charm over the bottle. Again, I had considered using a sealing-wax to secure the charm to the bottle but I wanted to ensure that I would be able to wash the bottle in between uses since it would be near the litter box.
Next, was to dress up the cat bust that was also going to sit on the same tray. I had an ankh from another necklace but it was silver and that was one of the reasons I had never used it before. It was pretty but…. inaccurate. If you know anything about ancient Egypt, then you know that they basically ran their entire Empire with gold.
I used a shimmery gold paint to first paint the metal portion of the Ankh. It actually came out very nice and afterwards, I laid out the beads in the manner that I knew that I would be stringing to the choker I was going to give the cat bust.
Once everything had been completed, the necklace was tightened and tied to the bust and it came out looking quite nice. The Ankh definitely looked better in gold.
I don’t think it looks quite as authentic as the other charm hanging off of the bottle but I still really like the collar that the bust was wearing in the end. Maybe one day I will go back and make it look a little more authentic but for now, it looks great! The gold tray completed the look and now it sits atop my litter box and no one is any wiser!
My best friend and her boyfriend came to visit me and we had a wonderful time drinking dragon fruit margaritas and painting Day of the Dead sugar skulls. Samhain is coming, and with it a plethora of super cool things in stores. Add in some sopapilla and dulce and chips and queso and you now have an amazing evening. We found them for $10 each at Target. They are ceramic skulls that light up and it was a very enjoyable time. We put on Disney’s Coco and were singing along and watching it for inspiration for the skulls as we painted. Arts and crafts are a great way to bond and enjoy time with friends and family. It helps you destress and can often be an incredible accomplishment or conversation piece in your home. Whenever I see my completed sugar skull, I think of the wonderful time I had with them both.
The skulls are a plain white so they are a perfect blank template to work with. We each took a different approach to our skulls. My Bestie went with a more modern, almost masquerade influence. Her boyfriend had a more traditional approach and I went with a galaxy inspired look. It matches my Believe in Magic art project that I did and I love it!
The finished product came out great and looks even better when they are all lit up! I hope this helped to inspire you and bring you ideas of things to do with friends and family! It is the memories we make that bring us the greatest joys in life.
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Painting has been proven to be an excellent method of destressing and channeling your creativity. It is a lot of fun and can be done solo or with friends. One of my girlfriend’s came over this past weekend and we did a bit of spooky painting while chilling out and chatting about our daily lives. We found these awesome little cut outs at Joann’s Fabric store for I believe $7. I had a pumpkin and she had a cat. Our original plans are absolutely not what came out in the end but we both decided that the end product was actually better than what we had planned in the beginning.
I had a cauldron full of popcorn for us to munch in between paint brushes and I put down Press and Seal wrap on the table. It is a GREAT method for anyone who is participating in messy crafts or for anyone with kids that tend to be messy. It sticks to the table, you can make a huge mess, and when you are done, just pull it up and throw it away. My table was safe!
My end product pumpkin is a galaxy pumpkin, somewhat matching my galaxy sugar skull pain project, and is covered in constellations. I actually really love it! I can’t wait to find a place to hang it up. My friend’s cat painting turned out fantastic as well and, considering she really doesn’t paint very often, she is QUITE proud! As she should be! This is a great craft date you can do with friends, kids, or significant others!
Honestly, little crafts like these make the holidays a lot of fun. They make great memories, relieve stress as you zone out in your painting and let your creativity flow, and become decorations you can put up time and time again or year around. In my case, this will definitely be year around!
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I really enjoy the witchy aesthetic in general and honestly, having my home look and feel more witchy makes me FEEL more magical all around. I also hate having mundane and boring things out on my counters. I am all about making my home bougie or at least unique. I did a bit of shopping recently and I found a super cute container from the Home Goods store for only $7.99.
How absolutely perfect a container is this for anything that might normally sit on my counter? I usually leave a big container of Premier Protein out on my counter because I work out at the gym so often that it is a hassle to move things around and put the big thing in the pantry only to take it out again. Since this new container seals quite well, I thought, it’s the perfect size! No more ugly container! After, it fit everything perfectly and now my counter looks even nicer.
From there, I decided that I did not like my knife block any longer. My cousin got me an ABSOLUTELY GORGEOUS 6 piece knife set for Yule one year and those are pretty much the only knives I use besides my Serbian cleaver. The knife block just takes up space and holds the 6 I use while my cleaver sits on my drying mat at all times because I don’t have anywhere else to put it. I decided to rectify that and ordered a kitchen wall magnet. After removing the knife block and keeping only the knives I used, it freed up so much counter space and allowed me to display my gorgeous knives in a way that they were still easy to access. I even found a magnet with a wood finish to match my kitchen.
This is easily one of my favorite corners of the kitchen right now. I also completely recommend these knives to ANYONE interested in adding to their collection. The knives are extremely sharp, sturdy, and easy to use and sharpen. Complete with my protein powder and this portion of the counter automatically upgraded to maximum aesthetic and efficiency.
I hope you enjoyed my personal upgrade and maybe inspired you to do something yourself! It was worth every penny considering how often cook and use the container!
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The scented bone powder potion bottle with my sandalwood talcum powder was such a success for me that I decided to get rid of another container from my vanity that isn’t cute. I really enjoy using the scented bone powder just about every other day. The aesthetic is fun and it just makes me feel extra witchy in the morning. That being said, I am not a huge fan of the bottle of make up remover that I use every single day. So I decided to make that my next project!
The idea just came to me one day. I had bought the bottle from Michael’s Halloween collection this year because I thought the bottle was super pretty. I didn’t expect to use it so soon! I was in debate between toad slime and frog slime because I found a label on Pinterest for both. Pinterest is an amazing and often overlooked resource for printing inspiration. Both labels looked cool but toads don’t generally have slime and I remembered the pretty green bottle I had just purchased a few weeks ago, frog slime seemed the best option.
The items I used for this crafting project were: – One green bottle from Michael’s – A tighter fitting cork (I got from a previous bottle of alcohol. I have a cute decorative basket with corks in it) – Printed label(s) – Mod Podge and spray on adhesive – A paintbrush for the Mod Podge – Crafting twine – The last of my makeup remover – Vitamin C oil – Rose quartz beads – Sealing wax (not pictured) – Wax seal (not pictured) – Knife (not pictured)
First, I removed the animal print ribbon and fake looking skull key that was around the neck of the bottle. I put them to the side because maybe I can use them later in a different crafting project. But for now, they are not the look I am going for with my frog slime makeup remover. I also set aside the cork that came with the bottle. It wasn’t secure enough for my liking considering it was about to be holding a lot of liquid. I added it to my cork/stopper collection basket in case it fits a future bottle better.
I printed the label in 2 sizes so I could experiment with the look and go with the one I liked best. After cutting them out trying them against the bottle, I found that the smaller label looked best. Now it is time to attach the label. I used the spray adhesive to attach the label to glass bottle and then painted over it with Mod Podge. This will create a waterproof seal so that if any makeup remover runs or my sink splashes, it won’t ruin the label and cause it to peel off.
Now it is time to decorate the bottle. I had all kinds of ideas for the neck of the bottle, but in the end, I went with a simple crafting twine look. I felt like it gave it a swamp witch bottle look to it. I wrapped the twine around the neck of the bottle and sealed it with Mod Podge so that the organic twine wouldn’t mold if it got wet in the bathroom/sink area. Finally, the last step in decorating was ready. I decided to make it look like it had been sealed. I used a nice deep green wax first and then dripped gold wax overtop that. While both were still melted, I pressed a crown seal into the wax as a finishing touch. You don’t have to but I have always enjoyed the Princess and the Frog story since I was little so this was a sort of a cute personal reference to that.
Once the wax had fully set and was cool, I used a very thin knife to gently detach the cork from the bottle without disturbing the wax that had adhered to the stopper. This way, the bottle opens but every time I recork it, the wax will line up and look like it is still sealed when not in use.
Now that the bottle had been decorated properly, I filled it up with my make up remover, added 9 drops of Vitamin D oil for a little extra skin care kick, and dropped in 3 rose quartz beads. The reason I used small round beads is another reference to the ball lost by the princess in the Princess and the Frog’s original story. I used rose quartz to add a little self love to my potion.
The finished product has now been added to my shelf and I have used it for a full week now. I love the aesthetic and I have gotten so many compliments from friends who have seen it. Being able to whip out my potion bottles in the morning feels awesome. I am a very visual person. For me, it is easier for me to visualize something if I have something tangible to inspire me. Using a rose quartz filled potion bottle, where the 3 small beads jingle every time I pick it up, really gives me a nice little serotonin boost each day!
I hope this has been a helpful tutorial and inspires you in your own craft! Or if that isn’t your thing and nothing else, I hope it inspires your future Halloween props!
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I bought the Bath and Bodyworks water globe cemetery candle pedestal a few weeks ago. I love it but nothing in my house is just pure BLACK. I decided I wanted to spruce it up a bit! The easiest way to do that is with ribbon or charms or something simple that pops and adds to the look without making it look gaudy.
I chose braided ribbon rope in gold. I prefer gold over silver and especially with the Egyptian touches I have around my home, gold makes more sense. It goes well with my eyes and hair as well. All in all, between silver and gold, I almost always choose gold. The fact that it pops very nicely against black is a huge plus as well!
This craft only needed gold rope ribbon, scissors, and a hot glue gun. I measured the ribbon around each area I planned to wrap it and cut it ahead of time. I chose to wrap it in 5 areas. I thought about doing more but it just seemed like too much. The 5 were absolutely perfect and now it looks even better than it did before! The black is so nice and uniform with a bit of dazzle that I think it would have looked good with ANY color chosen. This craft project took about 10 minutes total including time allowed for the hot glue gun to heat up.
The end product looks great and I get a lot of complements on it when people see it. It turns out, most people like my version better than the original! I couldn’t possibly think of a better complement! I hope this inspires you to do creative additions like this on your own displays around the home!
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This project wasn’t so much making the bottle as much as I was trying to use the bottle in a productive manner around my home. A few years back, I bought this really cool witchy looking bottle. I am currently in the process of making my house just a bit more my aesthetic but I don’t like things to just be for display. The bottle was cool but I wanted to be able to actually use it. The cork was hot glued down but otherwise, it was large enough I could definitely make use of it.
I decided to use the current label it had to inspire what I would use it for! I use sandalwood baby powder every day because Texas is hot and humid and sweat is a thing here. Scented bone powder indeed! I figured I could use my heat gun to melt the hot glue and loosen the cork. It worked great!
Very carefully, I used the heat gun to heat up around the cork and did my best to kind of wedge it out. After about a minute of heat and wiggling, it popped right out. I removed the last of the hot glue from the cork and glass opening area after that. I had to break off the top of the sandalwood powder to get it open but it was ok because it all fit. I didn’t want to make a mess with the powder and used a regular kitchen funnel to fill the bottle. Everything fit perfectly and the cork fit nice and tightly back on to secure the powder! Now my bathroom has a bottle of sandalwood scented bone powder that I can use every morning instead of a big bottle of big plastic bottle sitting out and taking away from my house’s bougie/witchy aesthetic!
I definitely recommend this crafting project for anyone who wants to add a little magical glamour to their home! It took about 5 minutes total from start to finish. The bottle was cheap and tons of this type come out around Halloween every year. The At Home store, Dollar Tree, and Michaels tend to sell these types of bottles. Take a look around and see which ones have labels that match something you use every day and begin storing them in a much more exotic manner for daily use!
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Alright Witches! It’s time for some more crafting! One of the my favorite things about witchcraft is how versatile the ingredients are and how easy it is to come by them. Just before my surgery, I found a key on the street in front of my house. It made me feel better knowing that Hekate was aware of my fears and giving me a sign. One of the Hekate’s symbols is a key, if you were not aware of this particular goddess’s attributes. The day OF my surgery, I walked outside to take out the trash and found 3 feathers in my yard. I took all of those as proof that Hekate was watching over me and giving me a sign that I GOT THIS. I kept all 4 items on my altar until just recently when an idea came to me to make them into a good luck charm.
Honestly, it was very simple. The key color was not doing it for me and so I used a basic acrylic paint to paint it black. I considered an ocean theme but….. Nah. Not this time. I used some gardening thread to tie the 3 feathers together and form the loop to attach them to the key. Finally, I sculpted a bird skull, painted it for more realism, and hot glued it onto the key.
Personally, I am a HUGE fan of the outcome. It now sits on my altar charging so that whenever I need it, I can use it as my personal good luck charm. What’s better is that all of the items were gifted to me from Hekate at a time when I was scared with moving forward. They hold meaning and that makes the charm even more potent.
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As promised, my next post is going to be about how to make a healing sachet! As I said previously, I did undergo a surgery and now I am one organ down so healing is very important for me right now, especially with some of the random bleeding I have experienced while healing.
The finished sachet turned out lovely and smells amazing. I carry it with me in my purse and hold it during meditations.
Finger Labyrinth Travel Meditation Cards can be found here
I began by gathering all my ingredients and clearing my mind with a labyrinth meditation. This labyrinth is the Poitiers Cathedral Labyrinth has an asymmetric shape that resembles a tree. I chose this design because it creates a central alcove where you may reflect on life and growth.
As I was preparing, Constantine decided to get some meditation of his own in.
Ingredients:
White sachet or material- White is a color associated with healing and positivity. Tiger’s Eye- A stone of protection, particularly useful in healing illness. Hematite- Hematite is connected to the blood. Hematite is considered to be one of the best stones for increasing healthy circulation in the body which is great for healing. Hematite keeps your tissues healthy, it makes sure you can properly absorb all your nutrients, and it detoxifies the body. Pearl- Helps to treat wounds and prevent infections. Sage- Used to cleanse your space, your energy, crystals, rocks and rid any negative or low energies. Helps amplify good intentions. Rose- Rose petals are mildly sedative, antiseptic, anti-inflammatory, and anti-parasitic. The antiseptic nature of rose petals makes them a wonderful treatment for wounds, bruises, rashes, and incisions. Lavender- Relaxing and stress releasing, lavender is great for mental healing. Mint- Mint is clean and healing, especially on stomach and bowels. Black Pepper- Protection, banish negative energy, ward off evil. Sea Salt- Protects personal energy, purification, and cleansing. Frankincense resin- Healing and protecting, resin functions as sympathetic magic because resin is what the trees use to heal themselves. Myrrh resin- Healing and protecting, resin functions as sympathetic magic because resin is what the trees use to heal themselves.
All ingredients were ready and I had some fennel, star anise seed, and ginger tea to ground myself afterwards. I blessed each ingredient and asked for healing as I added them so the sachet.
Once it was finished, I sorted through my stones to seal the sachet closed.
Originally, I was going to use labradorite but I couldn’t figure out how to incorporate it in a way that worked for me. Labradorite is a useful companion through change, imparting strength and perseverance. I also had a moon charm as our bodies recover while we sleep. The 3 stars represent Hekate. Again, I couldn’t figure out how I could possibly incorporate it in a way that worked for me. Always be flexible and fluid in your designs! Even if you want to incorporate every healing and symbolic stone, charm, herb, etc. into your design, sometimes, the best way to go about magic is by your gut and what calls to you. The final design only incorporates the pearl inside the sachet and tiger’s eye and rainbow hematite around the outside tying the sachet shut.
I really love the final design!
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Celebrating Lammas today- Honoring the past. In our modern world, it is often easy to forget the trials and tribulations our ancestors had to endure. For us, if we need a loaf of bread, we simply drive over to the local grocery and buy a few bags of prepackaged bread. If we run out, it’s no big deal and we just go and get more. When our ancestors lived, thousands of years ago, the harvesting and processing of grain was crucial. If crops were left in the fields too long, or the bread not baked in time, families could starve. Taking care of one’s crops meant the difference between life and death. By celebrating Lammas as a harvest holiday, we honor our ancestors and the hard work they must have had to do in order to survive. This is a good time to give thanks for the abundance we have in our lives, and to be grateful for the food on our tables. Lammas is a time of transformation, of rebirth, and new beginnings.
Honor the sovereignty of the land: the land is all important this time of year. It gives us sustenance and brings us so much. Honor the spirit of the land where you live and recommit to being a servant of the earth. Walk lightly, honor the spirits, and remember where you fit in the scheme of things.
Attend a craft fair: Lugh was the god of craftsmen and many festivals, fairs, and renaissance fairs appear around this time. Honor Lugh by attending one of these festivals.
Lammas Spell of Courage:
6 inch square of orange cloth
Red thread or ribbon
Pinch of dried thyme
Pinch of dried basil
A few black peppercorns
A few drops of orange oil
Lay out the cloth and sprinkle the herbs onto it saying:
“strength of the bull, daring of the boar, Grant me courage, now and more. Grant me bravery in my life each day To follow my path and have my say.”
Tie the sachet with the red thread or ribbon and keep it near you, in your bag or pocket, or place it beneath your pillow when you sleep. Every full moon, replace the herbs and oil. When the sachet has served its purpose, untie the knot and bury it.
Lammas Ritual: It is best to do this ritual outside.
Apple
Athame
Candle
Incense
Small hand trowel
Cast your circle and then light your candle. Light your incense and then slice the apple into 2 pieces. All things born must come to their end. In sacrifice we see the death in winter to be born again in the spring. I entreat you to bless this harvest of the land and of the mind, in my body and soul in the path I walk physically and spiritually. Please accept this offering of the apple that while it is consumed and returned to the earth, nothing is dead forever. All return in the great wheel of life. Eat ½ the apple and then bury the second ½ . Close the circle.
Offer a portion of your harvest: if you have a garden with things coming ripe, this is an excellent time to offer a portion of your harvest to the spirits. Offer the first fruits or the last cut to give back to the earth. If you don’t garden, take the fruits of your work and make an offering of a portion of that work.
Lammas Wishing Powder: In a mortar and pestle, grind together vervain, rose petals, and calendula. Add rose, frankincense, and sandalwood essential oil. You could even add yellow, gold, and orange glitter. On Lammas morning, hold the wishing powder in your hand. While thinking of your wish, face the sun and allow the powder to slip through your fingers and onto the bare ground so your wishes can take root.
Lammas Meditation Ritual: Light a white, yellow, or gold candle. Meditate on the flame, focusing on both the blessings in your life and the sacrifices you need to or should make. The other aspect of Lammas is one of sacrifice since it does mark the coming barrenness of winter and the ‘sacrifice’ of the harvest to sustain the village, family, or individual. This combination of blessing and sacrifice can often easily be found in our own lives.
Take a bite of bread and a sip of wine. Handwrite a blessing for continued and positive abundance. Lay a snipped leaf from your garden and a few heads of wheat or a piece of corn husk on the blessing and tie the bundle with a piece of twine. Burn the bundle while meditating on the year to come. Finally, when finished you will blow out the candle.
Segmented Wheel: Gather wheat, stones in colors of the harvest (think oranges, reds, browns), and create a segmented wheel on a round plate or table. As you place each item, give thanks for what lies ahead. Include one offering to represent what you need to leave behind.
Bake bread and share it: An easy way to honor the feast is to bake a loaf of bread or a biscuit and share it with a friend or your family. It doesn’t have to be from scratch, and it doesn’t have to be fancy, but it is a good way to interact with the harvested grains.
Breaking Bread: The most traditional Lammas practice is the breaking of bread (the name Lammas comes from the old English Hlafmaesse or Loaf-Mass) Baking bread is a gesture of gratitude for nature’s sacred gifts. Bake bread, pies, and have a feast.
Preserves: This time of year is the most prevalent for making preserves. Gather together some dandelion blooms for making dandelion wine or jelly. You are harvesting and making something that will remind you of sun and greens in the dead of winter ahead.
Summer Picnic: Cutting the corn used to involve the whole community, only stopping to socialize for an outdoor meal. Continue the tradition by organizing a picnic with friends at the loval park. Youc an all bring seasonal foods: fresh, ripe tomatoes and a sald of green beans and bright yellow flowers as the centerpiece for the tablecloth. Bring a Lammas loaf and enjoy the butter. Treat yourselves to a glass of beer to commemorate John Barleycorn, the grain god.
Candle Lighting: Since Lammas is also a festival of light, celebrating the last long days of the year, your ritual can be as simple as lighting a candle. Choose one in shades of yellow, wheat, and white. Let the candle burn until the sun goes down.
Wheel Wreath: The wreath is perfect to adorn your door or home, you can eve use this in rituals as decoration. The wreath is designed to represent all 8 of the witch’s celebrations of the year. During Lammas, we begin to take in our first fruits of the years planting. We take part in that which we have built to create in our lives and begin to seek wisdom and planning of the future as we see how well the crops have done, or how poorly. We can begin to judge the future and make our plans for the remainder of the year. And so this wreath reminds us of this past and future mentality without forgetting the present.
Grain Bunch: To make a lovely Lammas gift, gather up some ears of harvest wheat and tie them into a bunch with red thread or ribbon. This also serves as a charm to hang over your hearth, inviting in abundance for the coming winter.
The Corn Mother: Find a local grain (corn, wheat, barley, etc.) and create a doll that represents the harvest in your mind. Keep it on your altar year around for protection and blessings, and it will help bring things to fruition for you. The last sheaf of corn cut was traditionally made into a Lammas corn dolly. You can continue this ritual by making your own corn dolly to pay homage to the corn mother and the spirits of the land. You can find local wheat bundles in your craft store. You may choose to dress her too. Some attach her on a pole and place her in the south side of the circle in appreciation of her sacrifice and the sun god that gave her life to bring us the harvest we have. Be sure to keep the seeds on the doll as after you may throw them in your garden next year for abundant blessings or jar them and keep them on your altar.
Wheat Weaving: Use stalks of wheat to weave into crafts. There are hundreds of designs you can do. Hang them in your kitchen when finished.
Kitchen Altar: Create a kitchen altar where you can place seeds, offerings, light a candle, and place your corn dolly.
Plant seeds: It is appropriate to plant the seeds from the fruit consumed in ritual. If they sprout, grow the plant with love and as a symbol of your connection with the Goddess and God.
Scatter Grains: Go outside and scatter some grains upon the earth. This release will bring the return of the Green Man and Goddess when the time is right.
Finish a project: This is a feast of completion and the first harvest. Let the spirit of the feast carry a project through to completion. This is the time to begin wrapping up loose ends so that the winter will not be so hard.
Lammas fire ashes: Ashes from your Lammas fire are said to have properties of protection, healing & fertility. Use them in sachets, spread them around the outside of your home, or place them on your altar.
The Final Sheaf: In many societies, the cutting of the final sheaf of grain was indeed cause for celebration.
